A Vacuum High-Temperature Electric Furnace for Investigating Thermal Properties of Materials

A vacuum electric furnace for investigating thermal properties of materials at temperatures of up to 2500°C was developed and tested. The furnace allows experimental studies of the heat conduction of both liquid and solid materials and measurements of the temperature and heat of phase transitions. It can be used to smelt and cake metals and alloys in vacuum or in an inert-gas medium. The heater is made of a graphite tube with special slots for increasing its resistance. The electric power is supplied from an ОСУ-40 step-down transformer. The temperature in the heated zone is controlled and monitored with an РТЭ-4.1 digital temperature controller connected to a computer. The power consumed by the furnace is no higher than 20 kW, and the volume of the working chamber is 0.3 L. The time for reaching the maximum temperature is at most 30 min.