WORK OF T H E COMMITTEES ON T H E “INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR T H E ANALYSIS OF IRON A N D STEEL..”’ 1 %J O~N S N . I.
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H E histpry of the orgatiizatioii ailtl work of tliese
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xnittees up to the preseiit \.ear is 1)riefly as follows : In the summer of I S M it \vas the fortune of the present \ n i t e r to present the subject of tlie tlesirnl)ilit>,of establisliiii~ a :jet of samples of steel ~vliiclishonld I E :irial!.zeti tvitli cztre:m care. in order that they niiglit l~ecoiiie stniidnrtls t o ivliicli scieiitific and coniniercial analyses of iron :itit1 steel could be subsequeiitl!. referred ; also, that greater unif iriiiit?. i i i the results of ntial!ws might be brought about, since t i w e staiitlartls would h : i r towards analjtical tnetliods soine\vh;it the positioii \vhicli tlic original units of weight and leiigth. the grain aiirl nieter, or tlie pound and yard, do to the mechanical arts. T h e plan met with heart). co-operation, ivith tlic result that coniniittees were appointed i r i Slveden, Gerniaiiy. Frauce, Eiixland, and America to receive the material arid necessary analyses were executed These committees were cotistitiitetl a s follon 111 Sweden, Prof. Richard iikerniaii : in C;erinati>-, \)y the authority of the niitiistcr of pii1)Iic works, the execution of the analyses has been entrusted to the Konig-liche Clieiiiisch ’I’echnischen ~ersuchungsaiistalt,i n Iierliii : i i i France, >loris. Fertl. l K e a d hefoic the \Vorld’i C o i i ~ r c . 5o! C:ir:iii,l,,
. \ i i ~ u h t1 2 . i , , :
STANDARDS FOR I R O N A N D STEEL ANALYSIS.
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Gautier ; in England, the British Association for the Advancement of Science ; in America, a joint coniinittee from members of the University of Michigan and of the American Society of Civil Engineers. This latter body appointed a committee of seven analysts as follows : Andrew A . Blair, Philadelphia, P a . ; Regis Chauvenet, Golden, Colorado; Thomas M . Drown, Boston, Mass.; Charles B. Dudley, Altoona, Pa.; John W. Langley, Cleveland, Ohio ; Albert B. Prescott, Ann Arbor, Mich.; P . W . Shiiner, Easton, Pa. T h e material for analysis at first consisted of four samples of steel prepared in this country. T o this was subsequently added a fifth standard selected in England by the committee for that country. Reports of progress have been made by the English committee in the Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, volumes for 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, the last one particularly containing a full account of the work on the four original standards. I n the United States the attention of the coinniittee was early drawn to discrepancies caused by different methods of analysis. They therefore prepared a set of supplementary samples known as the experimental standards and to be used only in reviewing methods of analysis. A full report of their work in this line will be found in the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, volume 19, 1890, and a brief one in volume 20. T h e Swedish coniniittee through Professor Akernian has made a report which will be given shortly. T h e outcome of the American committee’s work on the modes of determining carbon resulted in calling attention to important errors likely to occur when using double chloride of copper and ammonium as a solvent for the steel owing to the great difficulty of obtaining this salt free from pyridin and other tarry products. They recommend substituting chloride of potassium for chloride of ammonium, which is found to be a complete remedy. They also found that contrary ta the usual practice this solvent must not be neutral, but must be rendered strongly acid with
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S T A N D A R D S F O R I R O S :\XI) STEEL A K , \ L Y S I S .
from five to ten per cent. of its volume of strong hydrochloric acid. They also call attention to the great tendency which chloriiic compourids have to pass out of the coinliustiori apparatus niitl to lodge in the absorption train. thus increasing the apparent weight of carbonic acid, and they give methods for nrrestiiig it. During the past year this committee has continued its ivork. T h e conimunication from Professor Dro\\n given below eiiunierates very fully tlie precautions necessary and suiiie iiicvitnlile causes of variation i n carbon deterniiiiatioiis. A C > I L S E T T 5 ISSTITI.TE OF l ‘ P : C H 4 0 1 . 0 ( ; Y ,
I ~ S T O S .J r . 1 . ~ 29, 1893. PROF.J O H N W. LANGLES,Chnivwuii, Coitiuiiff(-coti l?itevnationa! Stnndavcis fov f h e Atitily.
