The main objective of the experiment was to determine the manganese composition of the steel unknown by the methods of standard additions, involving visible spectroscopy, and volumetric analysis, involving back titration. The methods of determining the composition of steel can also be used to analyze the strength and durability of already standing structures that have been subject to corrosion and weathering as well. The composition of steel must be determined and double checked prior to its intended use to avoid consequences as large as a bridge collapsing due to the use of inadequate steel.
Adding Chromium to steel produces stainless steel that resists corrosion and adding silicon to steel creates silicon steel used for electronic purposes. Compared to iron, steel is tougher with high strength and has the ability to greatly alter form through heat treatment. For example structural steels contain alloying elements like Mn that can be used to produce complex structures and machine parts while tool steels have higher carbon mass percentage and contain alloying elements such as chromium. Pertaining to this lab, knowing the composition of steel reveals the best form of usage. Adding carbon to iron creates steel which has versatile uses for its general properties. An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements, one of them being a metal, and steel is an alloy of iron containing small amounts of transition metals. An accurate analysis of steel composition is important because the mass percent of carbon and transition metals in the steel determine its properties such as strength, conductivity, ability to be altered by heat, and corrosiveness that ultimately decide the steel’s usage. In both methods, the unknown steel was digested in hot concentrated Nitric acid, HNO 3, and analyzed for transition metals. The two methods were then analyzed and compared to decide the better method for determining the composition of Mn in the unknown steel. The goal of this experiment was to determine the mass percent of manganese in an unknown steel sample using methods of visible spectroscopy and volumetric analysis.
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