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X-RAY FLUORESCENCE

CMC has two (2) energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence units from Rigaku and Spectro for determination of chemical (oxide) compositions of various construction materials, as well as many other applications such as determination of water-soluble chloride, sulfate, and alkali contents in concrete.

  • Portland cement composition according to ASTM C 114;

  • Lime and Gypsum products' compositions;

  • Masonry mortar's bulk oxide compositions;

  • Bulk and water-soluble sulfate contents in concrete;

  • Soluble silica contents in cement, concrete, and masonry;

  • Cement Contents in Concrete and Mortar;

  • Water-soluble chloride analysis in concrete and mortar; and,

  • Water-soluble alkali contents (sodium and potassium) in concrete from various depths of a slab

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RIGAKU NEX-CG

Cartesian Geometry Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer

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• Analyze 11Na to 92U non-destructively

• Solids, liquids, powders and thin films

• Polarized excitation for lower detection limits

• Semi-quantitative analysis without standards

• Reduced standards requirements with RPF-SQX

• Novel treatment of peak overlap reduces errors

• Simplified user interface with EZ Analysis

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RIGAKU'S NEX-CG & QUANT EZ SOFTWARE THAT CMC USES FOR ROUTINE CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF CEMENT, MASONRY, CONCRETE, AND OTHER CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Rigaku NEX CG delivers rapid qualitative and quantitative determination of major and minor atomic elements in a wide variety of sample types — with minimal standards.

As a premium low cost benchtop Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) elemental analyzer, the Rigaku NEX QC+ QuantEZ delivers wide elemental coverage with a easy-to-learn Windows®-based QuantEZ software. Non-destructively analyze from sodium (Na) through uranium (U) in almost any matrix, from solids and alloys to powders, liquids and slurries.

AMETEK SPECTRO XEPOS

An elemental analyzer designed for demanding applications – the SPECTRO XEPOS energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectrometer redefines XRF analysis with exceptional new levels of performance. The new SPECTRO XEPOS spectrometer represents a quantum leap in energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technology. It provides breakthrough advances in multi-elemental analysis of major, minor, and trace element concentrations. 

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The associated X-Lab Pro software is an easy-to-use platform for method development, empirical calibrations of standards of pressed pellets of cements and other construction materials to various anion solutions for analyses of water-soluble chloride and sulfate contents in concrete. The special Spectro TurboQuant methods are available for effortless analyses of unknown samples. The range of applications includes geological samples, soils, sewage sludge, waste, cements, rocks, concretes, masonries, and other construction materials. 

OXFORD/HITACHI X-SUPREME 8000

For reliable quality control at the push of a button, The X-Supreme is the ultimate benchtop XRF analyser for materials such as petrochemicals, polymers, minerals and general chemicals in production environments and laboratories. Getting consistent, accurate analysis from production control instruments helps any process run more effi ciently. Performance and flexibility The X-Supreme8000 makes it easy to get reliable, repeatable results by combining application optimised hardware with software that is simple but powerful.

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To take a measurement, the operator simply prepares the sample, loads it into the auto sampler and presses the start key. Results are displayed on-screen, including pass/fail messages and instructions on how to handle a sample that is out of specifi cation. For added fl exibility the X-Supreme8000 allows advanced users to easily develop custom calibrations by following the step-by-step method creation guide.

XRF SAMPLE PREPARATION

  • A Sepor Mini Thor (Rocklab) tungsten carbide ring  pulverizer is used to grind sample down to finer than 50-100 microns. Usually, a few drops of anhydrous alcohol are added to reduce decomposition of hydrous phases from the heat generated from grinding.

  • A McCrone micronizing mill is then used to further pulverize the sample down to finer than 44-micron grain size

  • Approximately 10 grams of sample is ground first in the Sepor pulverizer, from which about 8.0 grams of sample is selected, mixed with three binder tablets (total binder weight of 0.6 grams, for a fixed binder proportion of 7.5%), the mixture is then further ground in Sepor and McCrone pulverizer down to finer than 44 micron size.

  • Approximately 7.0 grams of thus-prepared binder-mixed pulverized sample is then weighed into an aluminum sample pan inserted in a stainless steel die to prepare the sample pellet.

  • A 25-ton Spex X-press is used to prepare a 32 mm-diameter pellet from the pulverized sample.

  • The same pellet is then used for XRD to determine the mineralogy and subsequently for XRF to determine the chemical composition.

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This video from SPEX demonstrates various XRF sample preparation steps from powder pressed pellets to fused beads that we use in our XRF laboratory with SPEX pulverizer to X-press sample press. 

Webinar on Sample Preparation Methods to Ensure Accurate XRF Analysis by Oxford Instruments. 

XRF APPLICATIONS

  • Oxide composition of Portland cement according to ASTM C 114

  • Oxide compositions of lime and gypsum products

  • Bulk oxide composition of concrete

  • Bulk oxide composition of masonry mortars

  • Sulfate contents of cement, concrete, mortar, gypsum, and other products

  • Soluble silica content in cement, masonry, and concrete

  • Oxide composition of slag and other industrial byproducts

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SUBMITTING SAMPLES

CONTACT US

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