By Ritah Kemigisa.
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), has acquired a shillings 235M Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES) machine used to test chemical composition of steel and aluminum metal products.
The machine is able to determine the amount of chemical elements as well as trace metals in steel and aluminum products.
The Bureau’s executive Director Dr Ben Manyindo says the acquisition of the machine is a great step in the fight against poor quality steel products on the market.
According to Manyindo, research shows that most of the substandard iron bars on the market also have wrong chemical composition.
He adds that some manufacturers mark steel iron bars with grades of 500 but after testing, some are found to have grades as low as 300 contrary to what is required by the standard.
Chemical composition of steel is a key factor in determining the product’s performance in terms of strength, hardness and ultimately quality of the final product.
