Predictions for the Sound Velocity in Various Liquid Metals at Their Melting Point Temperatures

Sound velocity values for 32 liquid metals at their melting point temperatures have been predicted using two models that we presented; most of these metals are transition and rare earth metals. The sound velocities for most of these liquid metals have yet to be measured experimentally. Dimensionless common parameters, denoted by xi(1/2)(T) and xi(1/2)(E), were determined on the basis of the predicted sound velocities. These common parameters, which characterize the liquid state (i.e., an atom's hardness or softness and its anharmonic motions), allow for better predictions of several thermophysical properties (e.g., surface tension, viscosity, self-diffusivity, volume expansivity) of liquid metallic elements. The values of both the common parameters xi(1/2)(T) and xi(1/2)(E) vary periodically with atomic number. Using our viscosity model in terms of the parameter xi(1/2)(T), values of melting point viscosity were calculated for liquid molybdenum and platinum. The agreement obtained between calculated and experimental values is good when using predicted values of xi(1/2)(T) to calculate their viscosities.