The ONH836 Oxygen/Nitrogen/Hydrogen Elemental Analyzer is designed for precise, wide-range determination of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen in inorganic materials, ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, and refractory materials using inert gas fusion. Advanced automation combined with LECO’s Cornerstone® touch-screen software streamlines routine analysis, while a robust instrument design ensures long-term reliability in demanding laboratory environments.
Available Models
The ONH836 product family includes multiple configurations to match specific analytical requirements:
- ONH836 – Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Hydrogen Analyzer
- ON836 – Oxygen and Nitrogen Analyzer
- OH836 – Oxygen and Hydrogen Analyzer
- O836 – Oxygen Analyzer
- H836 – Hydrogen Analyzer
- H836EN – High-precision Hydrogen Analyzer
- N836 – Nitrogen Analyzer
- NH836 – Nitrogen and Hydrogen Analyzer
- O836Si – Oxygen Analyzer for Silicon Wafers
LECO 836 Series
Key Features and Design Highlights
The ONH836 Series is engineered to maximize analytical performance, stability, and ease of use:
- Robust sample loading area minimizes atmospheric contamination and simplifies routine maintenance
- Triple infrared (IR) detection cells for oxygen measurement provide one of the widest detection ranges available
- Automation options increase laboratory productivity and reduce manual handling
- Optional autocleaner minimizes manual cleaning between analyses
- 20-position shuttle loader supports both crucibles and samples
- Boom-mounted touch-screen interface improves ergonomics and intuitive operation
- State-of-the-art non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) and thermal conductivity (TC) detectors
- No moving parts
- No manual adjustments required
- Improved TC cell stability through:
- Bypassable OMI-2 carrier gas scrubber
- Patented Dynamic Flow Compensation (DFC) technology
Special Purpose Configurations
H836EN Model
Designed for high-precision, low-level hydrogen determination, particularly in aluminum:
- Optimized for trace hydrogen in aluminum, ferrous alloys, titanium, and other materials
- Software-controlled stepped temperature furnace profiles for speciation of surface and bulk hydrogen
- EN-specific sample drop, upper electrode, and crucibles support large low-level samples such as aluminum slugs or depleted uranium pellets
- Direct replacement for the RHEN602 Hydrogen Determinator
O836Si Model
Developed for ultra-low oxygen determination in high-purity materials:
- Exceptional low-level sensitivity using solid-state IR detection
- Novel sample loading design with programmable impulse furnace
- Ideal for:
- Silicon wafer analysis
- High-purity metals
- Electronics and semiconductor applications
Theory of Operation
The ONH836 system performs simultaneous, wide-range analysis of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen in steels, refractory metals, and other inorganic materials.
A pre-weighed sample is placed into a graphite crucible and heated in an impulse furnace. Oxygen reacts with the graphite crucible to form carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. An inert carrier gas, typically helium, transports the released analyte gases through a mass flow controller and into the detection system.
- Oxygen detection
- CO and CO₂ are measured using multiple NDIR cells for maximum accuracy across a wide concentration range
- Hydrogen detection
- CO is oxidized to CO₂ and hydrogen to H₂O in a heated reagent stage
- Resulting H₂O and CO₂ are measured by a second set of NDIR cells
- Nitrogen detection
- CO₂ and H₂O are removed from the gas stream
- Nitrogen remains as the only impurity and is measured using a thermal conductivity (TC) detector
LECO’s patented Dynamic Flow Compensation system adds makeup carrier gas to compensate for gas losses during scrubbing, ensuring stable TC detection. Quantitative results are calculated relative to calibration standards, with reference carrier gas measurements performed before each analysis to minimize drift and ensure reproducibility.
