Fractional Vacuum-fusion Analysis for Determination of Oxygen in Steel

ABOUT three years ago eight standard steels were prepared for the cooperative investigation of methods for oxygen analysis, sponsored by the Iron and Steel Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and by the National Bureau of Standards. A preliminary report of the results was made at the annual meeting of the A.I.M.E. in February, 1936. ? This report showed the reliability of vacuum-fusion methods and further brought out certain advantages of the fractional vacuum-fusion method. The results obtained by the authors with the latter method will be discussed here, with some com-ments on the procedure for those who are interested in determinations of gases in steel. Some additional comments are offered on the use of the polarizing microscope for identifying the inclusions in the steel to check and amplify the findings of the fractional vacuum-fusion analysis. For details of the fractional method, see the paper by L. Reeve1.