Quantitative Analysis of Vacuum Induction Melting by Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Summary

During vacuum induction melting, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is used to perform real-time quantitative analysis of the main-ingredient elements of a molten alloy.

Abstract

Vacuum induction melting is a popular method for refining high purity metal and alloys. Traditionally, standard process control in metallurgy involves several steps, include drawing samples, cooling, cutting, transport to the laboratory, and analysis. The whole analysis process requires more than 30 minutes, which hinders on-line process control. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is an excellent on-line analysis method that can satisfy the requirements of vacuum induction melting because it is fast and noncontact and does not require sample preparation. The experimental facility uses a lamp-pumped Q-switched laser to ablate melted liquid steel with an output energy of 80 mJ, a frequency of 5 Hz, a FWHM pulse width of 20 ns, and a working wavelength of 1,064 nm. A multi-channel linear charge coupled device (CCD) spectrometer is used to measure the emission spectrum in real time, with a spectral range from 190 to 600 nm and a resolution of 0.06 nm at a wavelength of 200 nm. The protocol includes several steps: standard alloy sample preparation and an ingredient test, smelting of standard samples and determination of the laser breakdown spectrum, and construction of the elements concentration quantitative analysis curve of each element. To realize the concentration analysis of unknown samples, the spectrum of a sample also needs to be measured and disposed with the same process. The composition of all main elements in the melted alloy can be quantitatively analyzed with an internal standard method. The calibration curve shows that the limit of detection of most metal elements ranges from 20-250 ppm. The concentration of elements, such as Ti, Mo, Nb, V, and Cu, can be lower than 100 ppm, and the concentrations of Cr, Al, Co, Fe, Mn, C, and Si range from 100-200 ppm. The R² of some calibration curves can exceed 0.94.

Introduction

Due to its unique features, such as remote sensing, fast analysis, and no need for sample preparation, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers unique capabilities for on-line concentration determination^1,2,3. Although the use of the LIBS technique in different fields has been investigated^4,5,6, a considerable attempt to develop its capabilities in industrial applications is ongoing.

Analysis of molten material contents during the course of indus....

Protocol

1. Preparation of Standard Samples

NOTE: This step is not essential.

1. Prepare raw material (Table 1). To make a 100 kg of sample #1, add 12.82 kg of Cr, 3.39 kg of Mo, 4.79 kg of Al, 1.00 kg of Ti, 0.60 kg of Cu, and approximately 77.4 kg of Ni to the crucible. During the melting process, some elements will be burned. The final ingredient is determined by the melting temperature, melting duration, and other working parameters. The ingredient test shows the quantity of each element inside the alloys.
2. Perform vacuum induction melting at approximately 1,700 °C for approximately 45 min for each standar....

Results

Ten nickel-based alloy samples (#1-#10) are used to construct internal-standard calibration curves. The compositions of all samples are listed in Table 1. The elemental concentrations of these samples are orthogonally designed to avoid signal interference. The concentration of each element in all samples is measured with chemical analysis methods.

Nickel is the internal standard element. The calibration curves o.......

Discussion

For elemental analysis, popular methods are X-ray fluorescence (XRF), spark discharge optical emission spectrometry (SD-OES), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and inductive couple plasma (ICP). These methods are mainly suited for a laboratory and industrial online application for molten alloys, which is determined by the characters of these technologies, is difficult. XRF uses X-rays to shock samples, and SD-OES makes sparks on the samples. The working distance of these two methods are always in the range of several.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Laser source	Gklaser Co.,Ltd.
Molten alloy to be measured
Smelting furnace	Tianyu Co.,Ltd.
Spectrometer	Avantes
standard samples			Well known of its composition