|
June 2006 |
| Feature Product - Elevated Temperature Syringe |
|
The ramé-hart Elevated Temperature Syringe
(p/n 100-11) is design specifically for those applications where the
liquid phase needs to be dispensed at a high temperature. Included with
the Elevated Temperature Syringe is a ramé-hart Proportional Temperature
Controller (p/n 100-50). The controller allows temperature
settings in increments of 0.10°C
and the system can hold a
temperature within 1°C.
Shown below is our current generation Elevated Temperatures Syringe.
The syringe is designed to be used with our Environmental Chamber (p/n 100-07) with its own controller. Accordingly, the temperature of the gas or liquid phase in the chamber can be controlled separately. The Elevated Temperature Syringe is well-suited for studies involving polymers. As the glass transition temperature (Tg) of a polymer increases, it will become more rubber-like. This behavior can be explained in terms of long chains, networks of linked atoms which become glassy (i.e., reach a state of non-equilibrium characteristic of liquids). Some polymer variants when they are cooled to (Tf) will a abruptly reach a crystalline state. Scientist who use our Elevated Temperature Syringe are often interested in characterizing particular amorphous polymer variants at specific locations on the number two curve between liquid and glassy state identified on the chart below rubbery state.
So many of the properties of polymers, such as elasticity, are temperature sensitive, it's critical that surface tension analysis be done in a tightly controlled environment. One strategy is to use drop shape analysis with a pendent drop while the polymer is in a liquid state to obtain surface tension data (using DROPimage Advanced software). This data is used to predict wetting and adhesion properties and the effect of surface modifications. This type of study requires a pendant or sessile drop in either a gaseous or liquid phase and can also be done using the captive bubble technique. An interesting study was performed a couple of years ago in Ireland in which the contact angles and surface energies of thermoresponsive copolymers were studied. An abstract of the study can be found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15518505&dopt=Abstract In addition to polymer studies, we have customers who are also using our Elevated Temperature Syringe option for studying petroleum products, soft metals (such as tin and lead) and related alloys such as solder, as well as any other liquid with a melting point below 300°C. If you would like a quotation or more information regarding this product, please contact us. |
| Tech Corner |
|
Often, after extensive and repeated use,
your DROPimage installation may begin to behave differently than
expected -- or at least different than how it used to behave. With all
versions of DROPimage, the user settings are saved to a single DROP.INI
file which is stored in your default DROPimage installation folder
(typically c:\dropimage).
Start by backing up the current DROP.INI file by copying it to DROP.BAK. Next, with DROPimage not running, delete the original DROP.INI file. When you restart DROPimage, the program will automatically generate a new DROP.INI file using all default settings. In some cases, you may wish to use this new DROP.INI file. Normally however, you can open the new DROP.INI using Notepad and the old DROP.BAK and compare them side by side. Often you can quickly spot the difference which may be causing undesired behavior. Simply copy and paste the line from DROP.INI to DROP.BAK, copy DROP.BAK over DROP.INI and restart your DROPimage software. Note that under normal circumstances it is not necessary to modify the DROP.INI file as all settings are controlled from the software. The above technique should only be used for troubleshooting a specific problem. |
| Contact Angle Symposium |
| In our July Newsletter we hope to bring you some highlights from interesting new techniques and studies that will be presented next week at the Contact Angle Symposium in Toronto. ramé-hart instrument co. is an exhibitor and sponsor. If you are planning on attending, please visit our table; we look forward to meeting you and showing your our product lineup. |
|
Thank you for your continued business. |
|
Regards,
Carl Clegg |
