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How to Calculate Eutectic Melting Point

Forming alloys of metals with different melting points requires determining the eutectic melting point. Coming from the Greek word meaning "easily melted," the eutectic melting point describes the temperature and composition at which the two metals in an alloy begin crystallizing together. In order to form an alloy, one must heat the two solids until both have melted entirely. Once the two metals are entirely liquid, one decreases the heat so that the compound cools to the eutectic point. Learning how to calculate the eutectic melting point allows you to determine the temperatures necessary to form an alloy.

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate the standard thermodynamic values for the two components of your alloy. Look up the standard melting points, which are given in Kelvin, and heats of fusion, which are given in kilojoules per mole, in a reference table.

    • 2

      Open your preferred Web browser. Navigate to the FORTRAN program "Phase.For." Enter the plain text of "Phase.For" in a plain text editor such as Notepad. Click "Save," select "All File Types," then type "Phase.f" in the "Save File As" field.

    • 3

      Run a command window, such as Windows' "cmd.exe." Type "f77 -0 phase phase.f" Type the name of the program, "phase" to run the file.

    • 4

      Enter the standard melting points and heats of fusion for the two components. Open the first text file generated by the program. Review the graph generated by the program for the intersection point of the three lines. Record the temperature (the Y axis value) and the percent composition (the X axis value) as the eutectic melting point. For example, lead and tin have a eutectic point at 456 Kelvin and 74 percent tin.

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