Material Property Packages…
METALPAK, CPPAK, and EXPAK are Command Line (DOS) executables that run on both 32bit and 64bit Windows OS. They serve as basic reference computer programs for the thermal properties of metals, specific heats, and thermal expansivities, respectively, for a number of materials. These codes are slated for upgrade to dynamic link library architecture with an associated stand-alone user interface and Excel template file for property access (anticipated release in late 2021). All three programs have been tested on the current Windows (32 bit and 64bit) operating systems and found to function as they have on earlier Windows operating systems.
METALPAK version 1.10
Is founded primarily upon extensive data collected and summarized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with some additional reference data from the Thermophysical Properties Research Center at Purdue University and the National Physical Laboratory in the UK.
METALPAK includes properties of 14 metals:
- Aluminum
- Chromium
- Copper
- Gold
- Iron
- Lead
- Nickel
- Niobium
- Palladium
- Platinum
- Silver
- Tantalum
- Titanium
- Tungsten
Fundamental properties calculated by METALPAK are:
- Specific Heat
- Thermal Expansivity
- Electrical Resistivity
- Thermal Conductivity
For use in engineering applications, derived properties are also calculated:
- Thermal Diffusivity
- Enthalpy
- Integrated Length Change
- Thermal Conductivity Integral
The temperature range for all metal properties is 1 to 300 K. Only normal state properties are calculated for superconductors. Mechanical properties are not included.
Theoretical basis
The electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity in any elemental metal at low temperatures are primarily determined by impurities and/or lattice dislocations.
METALPAK uses the method pioneered at NIST for characterizing the impurity/dislocation content of any given sample by a single electrical measurement of “RRR” (the residual resistivity ratio). Such sample characterization will not be accurate for all metallurgical preparation processes, especially those which introduce a unique orientation in the grain structure, but it may be a reasonable first approximation. The METALPAK code extends the NIST work by developing equations which accurately reproduce the available reference data as a function of RRR. The equations are then used to predict properties for an arbitrary RRR supplied by the user. For those metals where reference property data are scarce, the equations are scaled to yield credible properties estimates.
For aluminum, copper, and silver, METALPAK also calculates magnetoresistance and related field-dependent properties from NIST data.
METALPAK will likely be an important addition to your library of low temperature standard reference data. Comparable reference programs are not know to be available from other sources.
CPPAK version 1.20 and EXPAK version 1.20
Related to METALPAK, the CPPAK and EXPAK programs calculate specific heats and thermal expansivities, respectively, of a number of materials. For elemental metals, these properties are also available in METALPAK, with improved accuracy in some cases.
CPPAK also includes specific heats that are not in METALPAK for:
- Beryllium
- Bismuth
- Cadmium
- Constantan
- Diamond
- Germanium
- Glass
- Graphite
- Ice
- Magnesium
- Mercury
- Molybdenum
- Monel
- Pyrex
- Quartz
- Rhodium
- Rubber
- Silicon
- Sodium
- Teflon
- Tin
- Zinc
EXPAK includes expansivity data that are not in METALPAK for:
- 11 ferrous alloys
- 2 cobalt alloys
- 2 nickel alloys
- 4 aluminum alloys
- Be-copper
- Beryllium
- Brass
- Germanium
- Ice
- Indium
- Silicon
- Teflon
- Tin
- Zinc