ON STANDARDS FOR THE ANALYSTS OF IRON AND STEEL. 



237 



An International Standard for the Analysis of Iron and Steel. — 

 Sixth Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor W. C. 

 Roberts- Austen (Chairman), Sir F. Abel, Mr. E. Riley,. 

 Mr. J. Si'iLLER, Professor J. W. Langley, Mr. G. J. Snelus, 

 Professor Tilden, and Mr. Thomas Turner (Secretary). (Draivn 

 up hy the Secretary.) 



In the previous report of this Committee it was stated that the work of 

 the British analysts was completed, so far as the four original standards 

 were concerned, and that the results of the analyses conducted by the 

 other Committees were in good agreement with those published by this 

 Committee. 



The remaining standard. No. 5, has now been analysed by Messrs. 

 G. S. Packer, J. Pattinson, E. Riley, and J. E. Stead, and the results of 

 their investigations are as follows : — 



Generally speaking, the agreement in these results is very good. The 

 carbon determination by Mr. Packer is somewhat high, and this is ex- 

 plained by the fact that Mr. Packer's determinations wei-e made in the 

 laboratory of Messrs. J. Brown and Co., Sheffield ; and as the operations- 

 -were conducted in the centre of a large works, with dust inevitably in 

 constant circulation, it was not found possible, even by carefully covering^ 

 the vessels in which the analyses were performed, to obtain strictly con- 

 cordant results with the combustion of samples so low in carbon content. 

 Por this reason, at Mr. Packer's suggestion, his numbers are not reckoned 

 in calculating the mean carbon percentage. The quantity of material 

 operated upon in estimating such small amounts of carbon is necessarily 

 large, and during filtration and other processes in a dusty atmosphere- 

 sufficient carbon is added to seriously affect the results. 



The manganese determinations vary from a minimum of 0'258 to a 

 maximum of 0'317, and the figures have been carefully checked by the- 

 analysts. This difference raises an important question as to the relative 

 accuracy of the methods employed, though such inquiries are outside the 

 present work of the Committee. 



Several applications have been received during the past year for samples 

 of the standards from chemists engaged in investigations as to the relative 

 accuracy of various methods of analysis, and it is hoped, now the stan- 

 dards have been prepared and their composition determined with very 

 considerable accuracy, that they may be frequently employed for such 

 purposes of reference. 



As the work of the Committee is now completed it is proposed to 

 shortly deposit the standards with the Board of Trade, as originally 

 suggested, or with some other suitable authority, where they will be at 

 the public service. 



The Committee do not ask for reappointment. 



