on standaiids fop. the analysis of iron and steel. 51 



Objects. 



It is proposed that the Committee shall co-operate with other similar 

 Committees in the more important iron-producing countries, in order to 

 provide standard specimens of iron and steel, the chemical composition of 

 which shall have been carefully determined. The specimens adopted as 

 standards shall be entrusted to some recosfnised official authority, such as 

 the Standards Department of the Board of Trade, and sliall be used either 

 for reference in the determination of the accuracy of any proposed method, 

 of analysis, or for controlling the results of analyses in any cases of 

 importance, which may from time to time arise. 



SUGGESTIOXP. 



1. Professor J. W. Langley, of the University of Michigan, U.S.A., 

 to be requested to superintend the production of the samples ; these to 

 be prepared and preserved in accordance with the directions to be 

 furnished by the Committee, and an equal portion of each sample to bo 

 forwarded to the several Secretaries of the respective Committees in the 

 United Kingdom, America, France, Germany, and Sweden. 



2. The specimens, which are eventually to be adopted as standards, to 

 be supplied to not more than seven representative chemists of repute in 

 each of the countries above mentioned, who shall be requested to analyse 

 the specimens by any method or methods they may prefer. 



3. In the event of the analyses giving results which in the opinion of 

 the Committee may be regarded as sufficiently concordant, the means of 

 the analytical results of each of the several constituents to be adopted as 

 representing tlie composition of the standards. The report on the ana- 

 lytical results not to be issued before the various analysts to whom the 

 samples have been submitted shall have had an opportunity of examining 

 it. The standards to be hereafter distinguished only by letters or 

 numbers. 



4. The attention of the Committee to be for the present confined to 

 five samples of steel, selected as containing as nearly as possible 1'3, 0*8, 

 0-4, 0'15, and 0'07 per cent, of total carbon, respectively. In addition to 

 the determination of the amount of carbon present in each condition, the 

 phosphorus, sulphur, silicon, manganese, and chromium also to be 

 determined. 



5. 200 kilos, of the samples selected for examination as standards to 

 be prepared in all. This would give, after allowing sufficient for the 

 required analyses, quite 5 kilos, of each standard for each of the five 

 countries interested. Allowing say 10 grammes for each applicant who 

 might desire to use the standards, this would permit of 500 appeals to 

 each of the five standards in each country, or at least 12,500 appeals 

 in all. 



6. The metal of which the samples are to be produced to be cast in 

 small ingoto, special care being taken to prevent any irregularity of 

 composition. After the removal of the outer skin the metal to be cut by 

 a blunt tool in the form of thin shavings, and mixed as intimately as 

 possible. 



7. The samples thus prepared to be preserved in separate small 

 quantities (say of 30 grammes each), which shall be hermetically sealed 

 in glass tubes so as to prevent oxidation. 



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