Solids clamping and liquid immersion accessories

New rheometry fixture for testing 'large' solid samples in temperature controlled liquid is useful for bituminous and polymeric materials

Bohlin Instruments has introduced a new fixture that enables 'large' solid samples to be tested while immersed within a temperature controlled liquid.

The system is compatible with Bohlin CVO, CVO-ADS and Gemini rotational rheometers, and can be retrofitted to these systems.

Temperature control is by means of a Peltier device which offers simplicity and compactness as well as relatively rapid changes in set point temperature.

The advantage of using a liquid heat transfer medium is near perfect temperature control compared to other methods such as forced gas or radiation.

The new fixtures were originally designed for use with bituminous mix materials where measurement of bulk properties of the mix is required together with extremely accurate temperature control.

The measurement technique has already proved to be extremely effective to properly characterise certain asphalt mixes for roofing applications.

Other applications also exist with certain polymeric materials.

The clamping arrangement, which can accommodate samples of up to 10mm in thickness, utilises spring loaded clamps which do not require spacers and are infinitely adjustable to accommodate irregular sample thicknesses.

An optional alignment jig can be used to accurately load the sample into the clamps before insertion into the temperature control chamber.

The maximum sample width is 13mm with a free sample length of 50mm.

The working temperature range is -15C to +95C depending upon the fluid medium used.

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