Development of a Set of Reference Materials for Spectral Analysis of Anisotropic Electrical Steel

A set of solid reference materials of electrical steel with a wide list of standardized impurity and alloying components has been developed for determination of B, C, N, Al total, acid-soluble Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Nb, Mo, and Sn. The RM set allows one to monitor the accuracy of determination of elements by spectral methods. The consistency and stability of the chemical composition of the set were confirmed, and the error values of the certified elements were evaluated. Using this RM set the linear calibration graphs for determination of all the elements by spark atomic emission spectrometry (SAES) (R2 = 0.9817–0.9998) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) (R2 = 0.8141–0.9999) with detection limits of 0.1–170 and 0.8–18 ppm, correspondingly, were plotted. Using the Wilcoxon statistical criterion, the possibility of joint use of the developed and Czech SPL SST-1A–SST-4A sets for the determination of components by SAES and XRF was demonstrated. The developed set is used in the laboratories of a metallurgical enterprise.