subject: Benefits Of Icp Analysis [print this page] Metallurgical testing refers to the procedures and testing methods used to evaluate a material, in terms of its adherence to certain specifications, suitability for intended use and reaction to other materials or environments.
Metallurgical testing includes the testing methods such as micro hardness testing, tensile testing, grain size determination, ferrite counts in microstructure, metallography, hardness testing and failure analysis.
The use of SEM or scanning electron microscope and X-ray analysis also compliments the suite of tests available to the metallurgist. All of these tests confirm that every material within a product or component meets the necessary requirements in order to give the required performance in the marketplace.
Another procedure used to test materials is ICP analysis. ICP, or Inductively Coupled Plasma analysis, is an analytical technique used for the detection of trace metals, such as Arsenic, Boron, Erbium, Gold, Phosphorous and Zinc.
ICP Analysis is a kind of emission spectroscopy which works by creating excited ions and atoms that emit electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths characteristic of a particular element.
ICP analysis was first used in the 1960s, with the intention of improving on crystal growing techniques, since then it has been refined and used in conjunction with other techniques to provide quantitative analysis.
There are a variety of different applications for the use of ICP analysis. If your business produces toys, for example, and you are concerned that some of the imported parts contain trace metals which prevent your product from meeting industry safety standards, you could send a sample away for testing.
In the medical and pharmaceutical industries, ICP analysis can be useful to determine whether there are any metal contaminants in products. Analysis of water, including trade effluent samples are other fields where ICP analysis is useful.
One of the principal advantages of ICP analysis is that it can identify and quantify all elements (apart from Argon) and it also provides multi elemental analysis which can be achieved rapidly.
ICP analysis and various metallurgical testing methods provide peace of mind to organisations within various industries as they can be used to determine the composition, suitability and specifications of materials to ensure that they comply with safety standards and are suitable for their intended use.
