The characteristics of single crystal bismuth wires produced by the Ohno continuous casting process

Bismuth wires approximately 2 mm in diameter were produced by the heated mould Ohno Continuous Casting process and their mechanical characteristics evaluated. It was found that cast wires produced under all speed conditions from 30 to 170 mm min(-1) were single crystals. Cast wires with an angle between the cleavage plane and wire axis of less than about 40 degrees were significantly more ductile than those with an angle of over 57 degrees. The former could be bent repeatedly before fracture occurred whereas the latter fractured after only a single bend. It was also found that the bismuth wires with a cleavage angle of less than 45 degrees, exhibited tensile elongations up to about 130%. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers.