ASTM E32-15

4.1 These practices for the sampling of ferroalloys and steel additives are primarily intended to test such materials for compliance with compositional specifications. It is assumed that all who use these methods will be trained samplers capable of performing common sampling procedures skillfully and safely.

1.1 These practices include procedures for the sampling of the various ferroalloys and steel additives, either before or after shipment from the plants of the manufacturers. They are designed to give results representative of each lot that will be comparable with the manufacturer's guaranteed analysis for the same lot. For check analysis, the purchaser may use any sampling procedure he desires, but the analytical results obtained on such samples shall not be a basis for complaint or rejection, unless the procedure followed is of an accuracy equivalent to that prescribed in these methods.

1.2 In sampling ferroalloys and steel additives, serious errors often occur from contamination of the samples by iron from the sampling appliances. Therefore, special precautions should be observed to avoid this source of error. Metallic iron may be removed with a magnet from nonmagnetic alloys; its estimation in other alloys requires special analytical procedures (Note 1). To avoid this error, parts of crushers and pulverizing equipment contacting the samples shall be of steel or other material showing a high resistance to abrasion of the type involved.