Optical emission spectrochemical analysis of steel samples with inductively coupled plasma source

Abstract

To the aim of application of optical emission spectrometry with an inductively coupled plasma source (ICP) to the analysis for steel samples, it was tried to make clear the most suitable condition for analysis parameters, to make sure the detection limits for the alloy elements, and to apply these results to the analysis of low alloy steel samples. The results obtained are summarized as follows: (1) Output power, torch position, flow rate of coolant gas, sample uptake rate and pre-spraying time are important as the analysis parameters. The most suitable condition of these parameters are 1.6 kW, 16 mm, 18 l/min, 1 ml/min and 20 s, respectively. (2) The detection limits were evaluated with the reproducibility (standard deviation) in the repeated analysis of ten times. The limits for alloy elements in steel are generally smaller than those in flame atomic absorption analysis. High sensitive analysis is possible with ICP source emission spectrometry. (3) In the analysis of 35 kinds of low alloy steel samples, accuracies (σ_d) are 0.0008 to 0.0065% for 12 kinds of alloy elements such as silicon and manganese. In addition, notice for the analytical operation in the analysis of steel samples was pointed out.