Other advantages of using this analog system include its simple eutectic phase diagram. As such this analog system can be used to evaluate the behavior of commercially important alloys such as steel, cast iron, and nickel base superalloys. Ammonium chloride is a common laboratory reagent.
Thermophysical data describing aqueous solution behavior are readily available.
Heat can be extracted with a dry ice heat sink. The solidification behavior of this analog was explored both through experiments and using solidification simulation software. A database of properties for the ammonium chloride-water system was developed. The succinonitrile-phenanthrene system was chosen as a second metal analog. Also, these organics have equal densities at their melting temperatures, making them interesting candidates for micro-gravity experimentation.