Surface energy and interfacial rheology (DSA 100 and DSA 100E, KRÜSS GmbH - Germany)

• Interfacial surface tension measurement 

• Contact angle measurements in different mediums and in different operating conditions

• Surface energy of solid, soft or textured/engineered surfaces:

  • Device can measure the contact angles (equilibrium), dynamic contact angle measurements (advancing and receding), surface energy and wetting behavior of substrate under different medium as well as in different environmental conditions such as temperature − varying from -30°C (-22°F) to +160°C (+320°F).

• The interfacial rheology (elastic modulus and viscous/loss modulus) in air and liquid medium can also be measured for complex liquids under different environmental and operating conditions.

• Wetting under the influence of electric field (electrowetting)

Industries to Target: wherever features on solid/soft surface dictate the flow dynamics, for example pipe surface property dictate the liquid repellency and in turn the pumping power, spraying of pesticides, de-icing agents, printing, paints, pulp and paper industry, etc.

Interfacial rheology: elastic modulus and shear modulus and importantly the stability of the suspension of any colloidal solution such as surface tension of heavy oil, inhalers, proteins solution, etc.

Surface energy and interfacial rheology (DSA100HP, KRÜSS GmbH - Germany)

• Interfacial surface tension measurement under different operating condition (different temperatures and pressures; max 200°C and 75MPa)

• Contact angle measurements in different mediums (liquid or gas) and in different operating conditions

Industries to Target: wherever features on solid/soft surface dictate the flow dynamicsfor example pipe surface property dictate the liquid repellency and in turn the pumping power, spraying of pesticides, de-icing agents, printing, paints, pulp and paper industry, etc.

Interfacial rheology: elastic modulus and shear modulus and importantly the stability of the suspension of any colloidal solution such as surface tension of heavy oil, inhalers, proteins solution, etc.

Surface energy and interfacial rheology (DSA 100 and DSA 100E, KRÜSS GmbH - Germany)

• Interfacial surface tension measurement 

• Contact angle measurements in different medium and in different operating conditions

• Surface energy of solid, soft or textured/engineered surfaces:

  • Device can measure the contact angles (equilibrium), dynamic contact angle measurements (advancing and receding), surface energy and wetting behavior of substrate under different medium as well as in different environmental conditions such as temperature − varying from -30°C (-22°F) to +160°C (+320°F).

• Wetting under the influence of electric field (electrowetting)

Industries to Target: wherever features on solid/soft surface dictate the flow dynamicsfor example pipe surface property dictate the liquid repellency and in turn the pumping power, spraying of pesticides, de-icing agents, printing, paints, pulp and paper industry, etc.

Interfacial rheology: elastic modulus and shear modulus and importantly the stability of the suspension of any colloidal solution such as surface tension of heavy oil, inhalers, proteins solution, etc.

Mobile Surface Analyzer (MSA, KRÜSS GmbH) measures contact angle of liquids on solids and surface free energy of solids with two liquids. It is fully automated and mobile system, which can be used in a field tests. 

Tasks and applications:

- Measurement on large workpieces and finished products such as automobile parts, Christmas trees for oil and gas industry, wind turbines, and many others;

- Determination of the wettability of solid materials before coating or bonding

- Quality assurance of pre-treatment and coating processes

- Quality assurance of cleaning steps, e.g. during painting process

- Testing the effectiveness of hydrophobic coatings.

Force Tensiometer (K100, KRÜSS GmbH) performs high-precision, automartic and reliable measurements of surface tension and interfacial tension, critical micelle concentation (CMC) and contact angle on solids, fibers and powerds. 

Tasks and applications:

- Determination of the effectiveness and efficiency of surfactants by CMC measurement

- Wetting behavior of tablets, pharmaceutical active ingredients and excipients

- Wetting of varnishes and paints

- Decomposition product content in oils

- Tank clearance and cleaning validation in the foodstuffs industry

- Wetting and adhesion of coatings

- Development of cosmetic products

- Wetting properties of inks

- Wetting of fiber bundles and textiles

- Sedimentation and ductility of dispersions

- Checking of surface modifications.

Spinning (SDT, KRÜSS GmbH) measures interfacial tension with a high degree of accuracy and a particularly wide measuring range. The SDT is the ideal solution for the quality control and development of emulsions and surfactants thanks to its enormous bandwidth, small sample volumes and simple handling during preparation. Exact capture of extremely low interfacial tensions also makes the SDT an instrument particularly well-suited for analyzing the interfacial behavior of mini emulsions and micro emulsions, for example for tertiary oil recovery or the pharmaceutical branch.

Tasks and applications:

- Development of emulsions

- Enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

- Bioavailability of drugs

- Surfactant research

- Adsorption properties at phase boundaries

Dynamic Foam Analyzer (DFA100, KRÜSS GmbH) measures the foamability of liquids and the foam stability based on precise measurements of the foam height. With flexibly deployable modules, it also measures the liquid content of the foam or analyses the foam structure with regard to bubble size and distribution. The DFA100 assists in the optimization of foam-forming products or, in the case of unwanted foam formation, helps with specific foam prevention.

Tasks and applications:

- Foams for washing and cleaning

- Firefighting

- Foams in foodstuffs and body care products

- Surfactant development

- Flotation as a method for separating solids

- Foam-inhibiting and foam-reducing agents (Antifoamers / Defoamers)

- Foam prevention for paints and varnishes, process and waste water and cooling lubricants

Bulk rheology (Rheometer (Rheolab QC, Anton Paar) coupled to refrigerated/heating circulator (F12, Julabo GmbH)):

• The bulk rheology (dynamic viscosity, shear stress, shear rate, kinematic viscosity, yield stress, etc) of the complicated suspensions such as heavy oil can be measured under different environmental conditions, such as temperature − varying from -20°(-20F)  to 180°C.

High speed Camera (Phantom V711):

• A megapixel color camera capable of taking 1,400,000 pictures-per-second. The available optics allows viewing features up to few microns.  

High speed Camera (Nova S9):

• A megapixel monochromatic camera capable of taking 900,000 pictures-per-second. The available optics allows viewing features up to few microns.  

The Laurell WS-650Mz-23NPPB Spin Processor is capable of up to 12K rpm - depending on substrate size. The digital process controller allows for various settings to be implemented for each run.

The surface profilometer from Ambios allows for the surface roughness of a substrate to be determined. Additionally, thickness of coatings, or layer heights, can also be found.

The microscope for Leila allows for the viewing of objects at the micro-scale. 

The A10​ allows the lab to produce its own deionized water that is passed through two filters and a UV light source.