Low alloy steels are widely used for the production of pipes, automotive and aerospace bodies, railway lines and offshore and onshore structural engineering plates.
High-strength low alloy steel is used in these areas due to its corrosion resistance properties. Low alloy steels typically contain less than 10% alloying elements (C, Mn, Cr, Ni, Mo, V and Si combined).
Accurate and fast elemental analysis is a critical requirement during the production of steel. It is not only required for compliance with quality standards, but it also enables the steel producer to save costs in an increasingly competitive environment.
The LAS module for Malvern Panalytical WD XRF spectrometers
To address the needs of the steel-making industry for speed and flexibility in analysis, Malvern Panalytical offers the Low Alloy Steel (LAS) package for the sequential and simultaneous XRF spectrometers Zetium and Axios FAST.
This solution is based on more than 90 certified reference materials (CRMs) covering for a wide elemental range of up to 21 elements and 4 monitor samples for drift- and sample preparation correction.
What can I analyze?
The low alloy steel (LAS) calibration has been developed using more than 90 certified reference materials sourced from several suppliers. During the calibration process, this master calibration is transferred using six CRMs. The module is ideal for the analysis of:
- high-strength low alloys
- high heat resistance steels (Chromium-Molybdenum steel),
- low temperature use steels (Nickel steels)
- weathering steels and high yield
- high tensile strength steels
The LAS module consists of:
- 4 monitor samples for drift monitor and sample preparation correction
- Traceability documents
- A suitcase for safe storage
The LAS module is designed to be used in combination with Malvern Panalytical WD XRF instruments like Zetium and Axios FAST. Certain hardware requirements apply. The module can be delivered as pre-calibrated solution on new systems but can also be deployed on existing instruments running SuperQ software.
The 6 transfer samples will be made available by Malvern Panalytical for calibration. These transfer samples are not included in the module.
Elements and concentrations
Elements and their concentration ranges covered by low alloy steel application (LAS) on a Zetium or Axios FAST sequential and simultaneous spectrometers (wt%):
| Element | Concentration range (wt%) |
|---|---|
| C | < LLD - 1.29 |
| Al | < LLD - 0.3 |
| Si | < LLD - 1.46 |
| P | 0.002 - 0.072 |
| S | 0.0009 - 0.089 |
| Ti | 0.0005 - 0.31 |
| V | 0.0006 - 0.52 |
| Cr | 0.0015 - 5.15 |
| Mn | 0.0057 - 2 |
| Co | 0.0012 - 0.3 |
| Ni | 0.002 - 4.45 |
| Cu | 0.0013 - 0.66 |
| As | 0.0005 - 0.14 |
| Zr | 0.0015 - 0.2 |
| Nb | 0.0004 - 0.3 |
| Mo | 0.002 - 1 |
| Sn | 0.001 - 0.24 |
| Sb | 0.0005 - 0.072 |
| Ta | 0.001 - 0.23 |
| W | 0.012 - 0.3 |
| Pb | < LLD - 0.024 |
Note: If the certified concentration is lower than the LLD value, the term < LLD has been used to indicate the lower limit of the concentration range