Thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of Fe and Fe-Si alloys: Implications for variable Lorenz number

The Wiedemann-Franz Law is often used to calculate the thermal conductivity of Fe from experimental measurements of the electrical conductivity. It is shown by measurements of the Seebeck coefficient (S) of solid and liquid Fe at pressures up to 6 GPa and temperatures up to 2100 K that the Sommerfeld value (L0 = 2.445 × 10−8 W Ω K−2) of the Lorenz number (L) represents more than 99% of the electronic component of the thermal conductivity of Fe. Using experimental values of electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of Fe, L/L0 is shown to vary by as much as 1.22 in the solid state and 1.32 in the liquid state, signifying a non-negligible phonon component. An expression for the pressure dependence of L at the melting boundary up to 5 GPa is derived for electron-phonon scattering. For Fe-Si alloys, L/L0 varies more than for pure Fe and generally increases with increasing Si and state of disorder. New values for the conductive heat flow in a pure Fe core of Mercury are presented.