Overview
ISO 1811-2:1988 defines methods for sampling wrought copper products and castings for chemical analysis. It is part of the ISO 1811 series on selection and preparation of samples for chemical analysis of copper and copper alloys. The standard covers sampling of common product forms (plate, sheet, strip, rod, bar, tube, profile, forgings, and various castings) and is intended to verify compliance with specified chemical composition.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Scope and applicability: Applies to wrought products and castings (sand, chill, die, continuous, centrifugal castings) for chemical-composition compliance testing.
- Definitions: Clarifies terms such as lot, unit of sampling, gross (bulk) sample, laboratory sample, and test portion (see ISO 197 series for related definitions).
- Selection of sampling units: Units are chosen at random from a lot unless otherwise agreed between producer and purchaser. For tubes, a sampling frequency table defines the number of units to take based on lot size (e.g., up to 50 tubes = 1 unit; 51–200 = 2; 201–1 500 = 3; >1 500 = 0.2% up to 10).
- Sampling procedures:
- Wrought products: take samples from four distinct pieces from the finished form (or from each piece if fewer than four).
- Castings: take at least one sampling unit per furnace charge, every 2 hours of continuous casting, or at start/middle/end of each shift; molten metal should be poured into a small mould when sampled.
- Methods include sawing or filing across full cross-section, or drilling through the unit at several points along its length. Thin metal may be sampled by cutting.
- Sample preparation:
- Clean sampling units (remove scale, dust, oil, grease); chemical cleaning allowed only if it does not alter metal surface.
- Use carbide-tipped tools and avoid lubricants; if steel tools are used, magnetize to remove ferrous contamination.
- Prepare a gross sample by mixing equal masses of chips/swarf from each unit; gross sample must weigh at least four times the required analytical mass.
- Split gross sample into four equal laboratory samples, sealed for producer, purchaser, referee and reserve.
- Special analyses: Additional laboratory samples may be required for oxygen determination (e.g., CU-OFE, CU-HCP); these are treated separately and tested by a common agreed method.
Applications and users
- Quality control and incoming inspection for copper mills, foundries, and fabricators
- Metallurgical and chemical laboratories performing elemental analysis (spectrometry, wet chemistry)
- Procurement and materials verification teams ensuring compliance with material specifications
- Arbitration and dispute resolution labs (sealed producer/purchaser/referee samples)
- Standards and quality engineers implementing sampling plans for copper alloys
Related standards
- ISO 1811-1 (sampling of raw cast forms)
- ISO 1811-3 (sampling of cathodes)
- ISO 197 series (definitions for copper and copper alloys: Parts 1, 3 and 4)
Keywords: ISO 1811-2, copper alloys sampling, sampling of wrought products and castings, sample preparation, chemical analysis, laboratory sample, quality control.