ASTM D6130 Determination of Silicon and Other Elements in Engine Coolant
ASTM D6130 Standard Test Method for Determination of Silicon and Other Elements in Engine Coolant by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
9. Calibration and Standardization
9.1 Set the up instrument according to the manufacturer's instructions. Warm it up at least 20 min.
9.2 Profile and calibrate the instrument according to manufacturer's recommended procedures with the blank and standards, aspirating the standard for at least 30 s to allow the instrument to equilibrate prior to signal integration. Water should be run for an additional 60 s after standards containing boron. Calibration should be validated and stability of standards should be monitored.
10. Sample Preparation
10.1 Dilute the sample with deionized water so the concentration of the element(s) of interest is in the linear detection range of the instrument. Generally a 1/20 or 1/50 dilution for used engine coolant and a 1/100 dilution for engine coolant concentrate are sufficient. Samples may be prepared by weight to volume or by volume to volume. Be certain when preparing dilutions by volume that the entire sample aliquot is transferred. Filter or centrifuge samples that contain particulate.
11. Procedure
11.1 Aspirate the prepared samples into the calibrated instrument using the same conditions established for the calibration procedure. Rinse sufficiently to prevent carryover. Run water an additional 60 s between samples containing boron.
11.2 Run a blank and an instrument check standard (a calibration standard, calibration verification or standard engine coolant) every ten samples or as established to be necessary for the instrument. Analyze a blank and check standard at the end of each run. The concentration shall be within ±5 % of the expected value. If the concentration is out of range, correct the problem, recalibrate the instrument and rerun the samples in question.
11.3 Matrix spikes and duplicates may be performed as quality control procedures if sample concentrations are suspect due to contamination, spectral interferences or trace levels of the element of interest.
11.4 Perform the corrections and calculations, including dilution factors, using the instrument host computer.
