SIE and OME as tools to estimate the uncertainty in the correction for the effect of impurities applied to metal–carbon eutectic systems

Abstract

For high-purity metal fixed points the sum of individual estimates (SIE) and the overall maximum estimate (OME) have been introduced as tools to estimate the uncertainty in the correction for the effect of impurities. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of applying these tools to metal–carbon (M–C) eutectics as well on the basis of material collected for the eutectics Fe–C and Co–C. This would be of interest since it would obviate the need for modelling the full freezing or melting curve, which requires detailed knowledge of the material properties involved. For SIE we need only the liquidus slopes pertinent to the detected impurities, whereas for OME under certain conditions detailed knowledge of the impurity parameters would not be needed at all.