Determination of trace impurities in high purity zirconium by emission spectrography

An emission spectrographic method is described for the determination of trace impurities in nuclear-grade zirconium and zirconium alloys. It is based on a dc arc, halide-carrier distillation technique, in which the temperature is limited to 1300 deg C by operating in an argon atmosphere. This temperature, the small sample charge and low sample-to-carrier ratio, combine to produce minimal volatilization of zirconium with complete volatilization of the impurities. Sensitivity and precision are greatly improved over previous methods. (author)