I used to think that liquids were pretty simple things. Is that what you think too?
Not so fast. Let’s take a look at three properties of liquids and see if we change our view.
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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, Viscometers, Viscosity, Bostwick Consistometer, Consistency, duNouy Rings, Surface Tension Measurement, Surface Tension
Since I joined CSC Scientific in July 2013, I’ve been on a steep learning curve. You see, I’ve never been much of a science person. There was even one particular chemistry class in high school used to give me migraine headaches - routinely.
Having no real background in the sciences means that I’ve had a lot to learn since I joined a company that sells scientific testing equipment. Maybe you’re nodding in sympathy with me right now. Many of our clients – that is, the people doing the purchasing on behalf of their company – are not scientists and don’t have a thorough knowledge of the scientific principles behind the products they’re told to buy.
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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, "The Basics", Viscometers, Viscosity
Sieve testing, as I have stated many times, is the Cinderella of particle size analysis because it delivers more value than expected from something that’s so easy to use and relatively inexpensive. However, the problem with standard sieving techniques using wire mesh sieves is that they begin to exhibit accuracy problems in the lower micron sizes.
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Topics: Sieve Shakers, "Ask Art", Sonic Sifter, Micron-Sized Particles, Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Testing, Sieving Process
Can you do a fast moisture test? The answer is, “maybe”.
The direct methods of Loss on Drying and Karl Fischer have the benefit that between them they can get a good moisture content result on almost any product or material.
But these tests usually take several minutes.
When you need the moisture content in a truck load of grain while the load is being dumped, or when you need to check several hundred bags of coffee at an auction, or when you need to get a moisture gradient in a pile of corn, a faster test is crucial.
Can you do it?
The short answer is, “yes”. There are, however certain caveats to this answer.
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Topics: "Ask Art", Moisture Analysis, Moisture Testing
Automatic digital tensiometers are expensive - three to four times more so than a high-precision manual tensiometer. We hope to clearly depict when an automatic digital tensiometer is not merely nice to have, but essential.
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Topics: Wilhelmy Plates, Automatic Digital Tensiometer, Automatic Surface Tension Measurment, "Ask Art", duNouy Rings, Tensiometer, Surface Tension Measurement, Surface Tension
Break the Curse of Particle Size Calculations.
Every now and then I’ve had to calculate the results of a sieve test: I’d get the sieves and sample loaded on the shaker, run the shaker, then realize I’d have to start over because I forgot to get the empty weight of each sieve. Or I’d have to carefully brush out the sample onto a balance.
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Topics: Sieve Testing, Sieving Process, Sieve Analysis
Karl Fischer Titration and Loss on Drying (LOD) are both methods for determining moisture content in a product.
That’s where the similarities end, though. Here’s the difference between Karl Fischer and Loss on Drying:
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Topics: Moisture Analysis, Moisture Testing, Karl Fischer, Karl Fischer Titration, Loss-On-Drying
How Can I Measure Viscosity? The answer, like most answers in the measurement world, is it depends. To find out what it depends on we'll start with defining viscosity.
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Topics: "Ask Art", Newtonian Fluid, Measure Viscosity, Viscometers, Viscosity
Chapter One:
Jim’s life was dull. So, so dull. He spent his days surrounded by piles of sieves – his glamorous job was to calculate the ratio of particles left in the sieves of each stack after a sample of his company’s product was run through the stack using a sieve shaker. It was a job much like the one his cousin Hiram had, although he seemed to remember hearing that Hiram had found an easier way to do it.
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Topics: Particle Size Analysis, Sieve Testing, Sieve Analysis
We get the same two questions almost every week about the CSC Bostwick Consistometer:
1) What angle do I use to set it up?
2) How do I level the Consistometer?
The principle of the CSC Bostwick Consistometer is based on the slump cone. In this procedure, a cone is filled with the material to be tested. It is then set on a level surface with the open area facing downward. The cone is pulled away and after a fixed time, the amount that the material slumped is measured. The thicker the material, the less slumping occurs.
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Topics: "Ask Art", Bostwick Consistometer, Consistency
