The spectrographic determination of nickel in molten steels

Abstract

A prerequisite for the direct spectrographic analysis of molten steels in industrial furnaces is the knowledge that good quality spectra can be obtained from molten steel surfaces, and that precise quantitative determinations can be made by using such spectra.

The emission-spectrographic determination of nickel from a molten steel surface at 1600° C under an argon atmosphere has, therefore, been investigated. When a condensed spark between a graphite electrode and the molten steel surface was used, spectra of good quality were produced. The standard deviations in the error for the determination of 0·7 to 1·8 per cent. of nickel in molten and solid steel samples, analysed under similar conditions, were 0·045 and 0·022 per cent., respectively.