Microgravity Experiment on SHS Reaction of Ti-Ni Intermetallic Compound by Using a Drop Shaft

　Microgravity experiments using a drop shaft require a neat experimental design because of short available time. SHS reaction is among the most suitable processes for such experiments.
　An experiment was carried out on rapid fusion and solidification of intermetallic compound; Ti-Ni(60-40 at %) phase, by SHS process 〔1〕, which realizes high temperature in a very short time under μ-g.
　This report describes briefly the system configuration for a μ-g experiment using a drop shaft. It has shown that the SHS process is very effective for rapid heating and cooling in a short duration during μ-g experiment, that the drop shaft facility provides an effective rapid cooling system in high-g experiment and that the effects of the μ-g on the sample shape and microstructure of the Ti-Ni intermetallic compound were recognized 〔2〕