In order to determine the grade of alloys and metal compounds, different quantitative and qualitative information such as microscopic structure, chemical composition of materials, mechanical properties of materials and hardness are required, which can be named as the most effective determinant.
The chemical composition of the alloy allows you to determine the base alloy and the amount of chemical compounds and general characteristics of that alloy. Also the mechanical attributes and other properties of the material allow you to identify materials with similar chemical compositions.
The most important and accurate methods of determining chemical composition include quantum analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), X-ray diffraction (EDS) spectroscopy, which helps us to identify the chemical composition of small parts.
The use of quantum test (emission spectrometry) to determine the percentage of steel elements, ferrous alloys, base alloys of copper and aluminum is very common and can determine the grade of these alloys at high speed.
The XRF method is able to detect the amount of elements from chlorine to uranium. To identify elements such as Li, Be, B, N, O, F, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, this method must be performed in neutral gas.
EDAX (EDS) analysis (X-ray energy diffraction spectroscopy) is performed by a separate device that is installed in an electron microscope and determines the type and percentage of a wide range of elements. This method is able to detect light elements such as oxygen and carbon or halogens, although the measurement accuracy is proportional to the type of device used.
