The recent developments of the Pulse Discrimination Analysis by Optical Emission Spectrometry
(PDA-OES) and the application of this technique for static analysis as well as for chemical
mapping permit to characterize inclusions or heterogeneities with a size ranging
from 2 to 20-30 μm. The present improvements of OES permit the steelmakers to have a more
detailed information than by the conventional chemical analysis methods. The fast
identification of defects such as inclusions or segregation permits to validate more
easily the product quality and to adapt the processes.