Symposia - Symposuim on Determination of Hydrogen in Steel - Determination of Hydrogen by Vacuum Extraction and Tin Fusion

At the General Electric ResearchLabora-tories, we have been interested in the iron-manganese system and the effect of hydrogen on the properties of these alloys. Dr. H. H. Uhlig previously has presented some of these results.' We wish now to offer some other of the data that have a bearing on the subject of this symposium. In the determination of hydrogen in the iron-manganese system by any heating Method we are presented with the problem of the evaporation of volatile manganese and the consequent adsorption of hydrogen by this evaporated metal. It seems wise. therefore, to extract gas at as low a temperature as feasible. Consequently we chose the vacuum or hot extraction method for the analyses of these alloys. The apparatus used is shown in Fig. I. The design is a modification of the apparatus described by Holm and Thompson. To limit loss of hydrogen, samples are stored in a chamber immersed in liquid air. We recommend this procedure whenever there is a question of loss of hydrogen at room temperature. Thence they are moved to the quartz furnace by means of a small magnet, where they are heated by induction to 700' to 800°C. The extracted gas is removed by the circulating pump and placed in the known volume VI (or V2). The circulating pump has been described.3 It is so designed that in spite of the fact that the outlet portion of the pump is part of the known volume, this volume is affected neither by the speed of pumping nor by the pressure of stored gas. The pump also serves to circulate the gases for analysis. The analytical system consists of a