An expert system program for ICP-AES system diagnosis

Abstract This article is an electronic publication in Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (SAE), the electronic section of Spectrochimica Acta Part B (SAB). The hardcopy text is accompanied by two diskettes containing the installation program for the application. The main article discusses the purpose of this work and the Appendix provides instructions on the use of the program. ICP-AES performance can be followed by monitoring a series of atomic lines. QUID Expert is a Windows based program which uses line intensities from a standard solution in conjunction with a series of rules to determine when an ICP-AES is degrading and where the probable fault lies. The software provides other features such as a logbook and automatic recording to allow users to monitor system performance over extended times. In the tradition of modern expert systems, QUID Expert provides guidance as to what possible fault(s) might be present in the system and recommends remedial action(s).