Anton Paar Germany GmbH

Powder rheology  can be used to comprehensively analyse powders and bulk solids. This ensures efficient quality control and smooth processing. But the versatility of powder rheology is also becoming increasingly important in research and development and can help, for example, with scale-up.

The rheometers of the MCR Evolution series from Anton Paar are characterised by their precision and, due to their modular design, by their extremely flexible application possibilities. The shear cell and fluidisation cell open up versatile and unique possibilities for analysing powder behaviour.

The flow behaviour of powder is measurable

The production, processing and storage, but also the incoming and outgoing control of granular media pose challenges. These are mainly due to the complex flow behaviour of powders, which is influenced by a variety of factors: Particle size and shape, chemical structure, moisture, temperature, packing behaviour, static charge or surface morphology.

Various templates in the "RheoCompass™" rheometer software allow easy test execution with automatic subsequent analysis.

The powder fluidisation cell

This measuring cell can be used to characterise the behaviour of powder in a fluidised or de-aerated state. For example, pneumatic transport is simulated or segregation/desegregation is analysed qualitatively.
The unique, patented dust protection system allows clean and easy handling of samples and protects the user and the instrument from fine and potentially hazardous dust.

A typical measurement method is to determine the "pressure drop" to detect the volume flow for incipient and complete fluidisation. This is relevant for powders that are pneumatically conveyed or filled.

The determination of the air holding capacity, the cohesive strength, the compacting behaviour or the flow curve for the measurement of the shear rate- and volume flow-dependent apparent viscosity in the non-fluidised, subfluidised and fully fluidised state can also be easily realised.

The powder shear cell

This cell is used to characterise powders that are in a consolidated/compacted state - as in a silo or during mechanical conveying. For this purpose, the powders are consolidated and sheared. In this way, a variety of properties such as flowability, internal friction angle or compressive strength can be determined.

In addition, the powder shear cell is compatible with temperature and humidity options and allows precise control of the environmental conditions during measurements. In this way, it is easy to investigate the influence of temperature and humidity, for example in the case of hygroscopic powders, on the manufacturing process or during storage.

A typical measurement method is the shear test to understand how the powder behaves under different stress conditions. This can be used to determine the emptying behaviour of both a full and an almost empty silo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjTDpKLkVD8

The MCR rheometers

Take advantage of Anton Paar rheometers which are used for routine quality measurements, but also for high-end R&D applications, in rotation as well as oscillation for applications of any kind. Dynamic mechanical analyses in torsion, bending, compression and tension are also possible.

The MCR rheometers are based on cutting-edge technology: The built-in motor is based on technological highlights such as the air-bearing EC synchronous motor, the normal force sensor integrated in the air bearing, the TruRate™ sample-adaptive motor control for rotation tests and the TruStrain™ real-time position control for oscillation tests.

XRDynamic 500  drives unbeatable XRD data quality with maximum efficiency. Enjoy the benefits of a versatile platform covering a wide variety of applications with optimal solutions for powder XRD, non-ambient XRD, PDF analyses, SAXS, and many more.

Superb Data Quality

Many diffractometers offer a 240 mm or 300 mm measurement radaius, which can limit the maximum achievable resolution without the use of expensive optics. XRDynamic 500 offers a large goniometer radius of 360 mm or 400 mm as standard featuring evacuated optics and small detector pixel size. Compared with conventional diffractometers, XRDynamic 500 provides 20 % better measurement resolution for standard Bragg-Brentano measurements.XRDynamic 500 offers outstanding data quality and primary beam intensity at all times no matter the measurement configuration, thanks to TruBeam^TM. Reduce measurement times without sacrificing data quality to increase sample throughput.

Minimize Your Workload 

Switch between up to 3 beam geometries with the blick of a button. Automatic switching makes it possible to run completely different types of measurements sequentially on different (or the same) samples. Enjoy up to 50 % increased instrument uptime by running complex measurement batches overnight and on weekends without any user intervention.

Quality Components Pixos detection units based on cutting-edge photon counting technology from Advacam enable measurement in 0D and 1D modes. XRDynamic 500 features a choice of Si or CdTe sensors to cover every wavelength, active energy filtering, and the smallest pixel size on the market (55 µm x 55 µm).The combination of XRDynamic 500 with the EVAC module offers a fully evacuated beam path and dedicated SAXS optics to deliver a resolution of up to q_min = 0.05 nm⁻¹.

Anton Paar offers two instrument series to analyse particle sizes: The Litesizer series and the PSA series. The difference between these series is the measuring principle and therefore the measurable size range of the particles.

The Litesizer series analyses the following parameters via light scattering principle:

• Particle sizes larger than 0,3 nanometers (via dynamic light scattering)
• Zeta potential (via electrophoretic light scattering)
• Molecular mass, refractive index and transmission

Video to Litesizer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqqftv67YYQ

The PSA series determines particle sizes in the range from nanometers to 2,5 millimeters in dry or wet dispersion via laser diffraction.

The laser diffraction technique is an established method to measure particle sizes from the upper nanometer to the millimeter range. Anton Paar’s PSA instruments provide accurate and reproducible measuring signals. This guarantees full compliance with the ISO 13320 and USP <429> standards.

Measurement of liquid and dry samples

PSA instruments are the only particle size analyzers that can be configured with fully integrated liquid and dry dispersion modes in one instrument. This unique design eliminates the need for the operator to handle several accessories or make manual adjustments. The software enables the switching between liquid and dry dispersion modes with a single mouse-click, which saves time and prevents operation errors.

The PSA series measures particle sizes from submicrons to a few millimeters

The single-laser PSA 990 covers a wide measuring range of 0.2 μm to 500 μm. For an even broader range, PSA 1090 and PSA 1190 have a unique optical design for diffraction analysis, which includes multiple lasers. While PSA 1090 has been designed with two lasers to resolve particles as small as 40 nanometers, PSA 1190 contains an additional third laser to cover the full measurement range of up to 2.5 millimeters.

The NOVA Series instruments are the preferred choice of hundreds of laboratories worldwide. These fast, vacuum-volumetric gas sorption instruments provide research and quality control laboratories with the capacity they need to accurately determine specific surface areas and pore size distributions, at an affordable price. Combining two or four analysis stations with four sample preparation stations in one instrument reduces space requirements and maximizes performance. The integrated touchscreen makes operation even more intuitive and convenient.

Easy determination of specific surface areas and pore size distributions - the NOVA

The Nova series has been designed to make the entire analysis process simple and fast without sacrificing precision. The instrument has 4 degassing stations and up to 4 analysis stations and provides four 5-point BETs in 20 minutes with a reproducibility of 2%. Follow the analysis workflow on the tabs and you will learn which advantages Nova offers you and which features Nova is setting new standards in the characterization of surfaces and pores.

All devices in the NOVA series work independently and, in addition to the classic helium method for determining the free gas volume, also have the patented, time-saving helium-free NOVA method. The saturation vapor pressure can be determined continuously using a dedicated P0 pressure sensor, which increases the measurement accuracy and measurement speed. A level sensor (CLS) enables a constant, small cold zone in the measuring cell and thus high sensitivity of the pressure sensors over the entire measuring period (max. approx. 40 h). Three integrated gas connections allow great flexibility when choosing the adsorbent. With the ability to measure CO2 isotherms at 273 K, devices from the NOVA series can be used to determine the specific surface area and pore size distribution of microporous carbon.

The integrated touchscreen enables convenient work in stand-alone mode. Measurement and sample preparation programs can be called up directly from the touchscreen and up to four BET and pore analyzes can be started, while up to four samples are degassed in parallel and technically separately. Optionally, a computer can be connected to control the device directly with the software Kaomi for NOVA.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReKD-sPKrJE

Ultrapyc gas pycnometers measure the true and skeletal density of solids to analyze their purity and porosity. With measurements under 10 minutes, they are perfect for quality control of solids throughout the manufacturing process.

Combining decades of knowledge with groundbreaking innovations, Anton Paar's Ultrapycs are the most user-friendly gas pycnometers on the market. Measuring the true density of battery materials, pharmaceuticals, building materials or solids has never been so easy and precise.

TruPyc technology for unsurpassed accuracy in all measuring cells

The accuracy of gas pycnometers depends on the correct matching of the cavity in the sample chamber to the volume of the reference chamber. A mismatched ratio leads to great uncertainty. To avoid this, the Ultrapyc devices offer a perfect solution: All Ultrapyc systems have several reference chambers and thus ensure accurate results - regardless of whether the sample volume fills the smallest or the largest measuring cell. The instrument automatically selects and uses the appropriate reference chamber according to the selected cell size.

TruLock lid locking system for absolute measurement repeatability

The TruLock sample chamber lid is specially designed to ensure ease of use, consistent sample chamber volume and industry-leading precision. The lid closing system is characterized by immediate feedback to the user. You can be sure that the volume of the sample chamber remains the same from measurement to measurement.

PowderProtect technology for the safe measurement of fine powder

If you use the standard "sample first" expansion direction, a constant control of the maximum pressure on the sample during the measurement is guaranteed. Switching to PowderProtect mode reverses the direction of expansion, thus preventing the device from being contaminated by fine powder samples. The Ultrapyc 5000 series gas pycnometers are the only devices on the market that can work in any direction.

Accurate, fast and hassle-free temperature control

No more external water baths for temperature control: Ultrapyc 5000 is equipped with an integrated, modern Peltier temperature control and has a temperature stability of +/-0.05 °C. This ensures fast temperature stabilization and your samples are always measured at exactly the right temperature, regardless of the environmental conditions.

Intuitive user interface

The 7" touchscreen of the Ultrapyc devices is equipped with a smartphone-like user interface. The graphical representation of the measurement process always informs you about the measurement progress, and the results are displayed clearly and with all details. In addition, you only need one for measurements device, because an additional computer is not necessary - you save valuable space on the laboratory bench.

Avoidance of input errors through direct connection to scales

Connect your Ultrapyc gas pycnometer directly to any scale using an RS232 communication protocol, avoiding input errors that can occur with manual data entry.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y35sQ9G4uAI