Analyser eases material verification

The XLt alloy analyser uses x-rays to excite the atoms in the sample and measuring the fluorescent x-rays re-emitted by the material.

Checking the composition of alloys is a vital requirement for Process Control Equipment, a supplier of valves and actuators to the oil and gas, chemicals and power industries.

Ensuring components are of the material specified has been made easier by the purchase of a hand-held XLt alloy analyser from Niton UK.

"We recently had to check an order of 300 to 400 valves, with two pressure retaining parts per valve", said Process Control Equipment's Managing Director, Barry Jackson.

"We wouldn't have wanted to do that with anything slower than the Niton".

Previously for such tasks, the company used an external nondestructive testing house, but this meant they were at the mercy of someone else's timetable.

"Now we can test a valve within a matter of minutes, from getting it through the door, taking it out of the box, taking the reading and if necessary printing out and attaching an analysis report" Jackson said.

As well as the XLt's speed of use, the ability to download the information to a computer and print out a test report is an important advantage to the company, since it provides a valuable assurance of authenticity to customers.

The Niton UK instrument operates on the principle of x-ray fluorescence, which operates by using x-rays to excite the atoms in the sample and measuring the fluorescent x-rays re-emitted by the material.

From this it then rapidly determines the elements present as well as their relative concentrations.

For samples with known ranges of chemical composition, such as common grades of metal alloys, the analyser can also identify most sample types by name, typically in seconds.

Applications for the XLt range from simple metal sorting through to sophisticated elemental soil analysis and decontamination control.

The instruments are also ideal for checking RoHS and WEEE compliance, scrap metal recycling, lead paint analysis and precious metals analysis, and are rugged enough for use in mining and prospecting.

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