The Core Rheometer represents the inaugural system that integrates extensive measurements of viscosity and viscoelasticity with user-friendly, accessible operation. The innovative RheoGuide user interface enables full functionality directly from the touchscreen, providing guidance, illustrations, and validation at each stage.
The latest TA Instruments | Waters Discovery™ Core Rheometer enables all users to conduct rheological measurements, facilitating formulation development, enhancing performance, and guaranteeing product quality.
Whether new to rheology, enhancing quality control testing, or expanding capabilities to meet increasing demands, the Core Rheometer enables laboratories to gain the insights needed into material behavior to support and advance their objectives.
Discover Insights Beyond Viscosity
Although viscometers provide merely a single viscosity measurement within a restricted range, the Core Rheometer records the entire viscosity profile, illustrating material behavior under all pertinent conditions.
Non-Newtonian fluids such as suspensions, emulsions, gels, pastes, and slurries exhibit viscosity that varies with the shear rate applied and over time; thus, it cannot be represented by a single value.
Fully characterizing the viscosity range is essential for understanding flow behavior in practical scenarios.
Rheometer Advantages
- Rapid temperature control
- Precision and accuracy
- Replicate process conditions
- Range of measurement
- Controlled shear rate
- Small sample volume
Test Modes
- Transient
- Flow
- Oscillation
Designed to Streamline Every Step
- Automatic gap control facilitates a more efficient workflow and ensures precise gap positioning. The axial motor automatically adjusts the head's height throughout the process and controls the test gap position with a resolution of 0.1 µm, ensuring accurate, reproducible results.
- Touchscreen functionality extends beyond basic operations, offering a novel user experience particularly suited to high-throughput laboratories. Conduct routine measurements directly at the instrument without the necessity for PC interaction.
- Integrated lighting improves visibility, making sample preparation easier and more reproducible, thereby enhancing data accuracy and precision. The sample is automatically illuminated during user interaction, assisting the operator and indicating the test status.
- The Smart Swap™ 2 reader automatically recognizes the attached geometry, retrieves dimensions and stored calibrations, and confirms that the geometry is consistent with the chosen RheoGuide™ method. Smart Swap reduces common sources of error and promotes more efficient operation.
- The compact design integrates electronics, Peltier, and an air-cooling heat exchanger into a single unit. In comparison to modular systems that utilize liquid circulators, the Core Rheometer occupies up to 75 % less bench space.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Empower the Lab with RheoGuide™ Software
RheoGuide serves as the gateway to the world of rheology, accessible directly via the Core Rheometer touchscreen. Choose a method from the app-like interface and follow the provided instructions and illustrations at each stage to minimize potential operator errors. Results are instantly displayed on the touchscreen, enabling users to act promptly, which is ideal for dynamic environments.
Rheology testing enhances quality and consistency by revealing variations that viscometers may overlook, thus averting future issues and associated costs. The insights gained from R&D are now accessible to QA/QC laboratories, offering the user-friendliness akin to that of a viscometer.
The methods can be tailored to cover every aspect of the standard operating procedure and will promptly indicate Pass or Fail based on the criteria. Testing methods can be effortlessly synchronized across laboratories globally, ensuring consistent operations and reliable data that can inform decisions and solutions.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
RheoGuide™ Features and Benefits
Walk-up Usability: Conduct routine tests directly on the instrument's touchscreen, from initiation to completion, without engaging the PC.
Guided Operation: Pre-established methods, along with on-screen instructions and illustrations, guide the operator through a sequential workflow, enabling every user to successfully perform rheology measurements with minimal training.
Validation Throughout: Common error sources are mitigated – correct geometry is installed and calibrated, sample information is refreshed, and each step is thoroughly completed. When operators consistently follow each step, data accuracy improves.
Ensure Operator Safety: On-screen notifications warn when the method exceeds safe-touch temperatures, accompanied by reminders to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). RheoGuide prompts operator actions when necessary and restricts interaction when the head is in motion.
Rapid Results: Automated analysis results are displayed on the touchscreen immediately after test completion, along with pass/fail indicators. The removal of routine manual data processing is particularly beneficial for fast-paced Quality Assurance/Quality Control testing laboratories.
Synchronize Methods: Discovery Hybrid Rheometer methods are directly transferred to Core Rheometers to replicate R&D measurements in QC testing. Sharing methods across instruments and locations ensures that every operator conducts the same measurement.
Powered By TRIOS™ Software: Tailor RheoGuide methods and access all raw data files for further analysis through TRIOS, the widely-used software platform from TA Instruments.
Source: TA Instruments, Inc.
Measurement Specifications
|
| Minimum Torque (Oscillation) |
0.1 µN.m |
| Minimum Torque (Steady Shear) |
0.3 µN.m |
| Maximum Torque |
125 mN.m |
| Torque Resolution |
10 nN.m |
| Displacement Resolution |
100 nrad |
| Maximum Rotational Velocity |
300 rad/s |
| Minimum Angular Frequency |
10-4 rad/s |
| Maximum Angular Frequency |
628 rad/s |
| Motor Inertia |
< 25 μN.m.s2 |
| Gap Positioning Speed |
10 mm/s |
| Dimensions (width × height × depth) |
30 cm × 77 cm × 42 cm
11.8 in × 30.3 in × 16.3 in |
| Weight |
34.5 kg (76 lb) |
Core Temperature Technology
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Temperature regulation is essential for obtaining precise rheology data, which ensures reproducibility and enables assessment of material behavior in real-world scenarios. The Core Rheometer features an integrated Peltier system for accurate, rapid temperature control.
The equilibration period is shortened by as much as 60 % when compared to standard viscometer setups, thereby decreasing downtime between various measurements. The incorporated air-cooling system eliminates the need for a liquid circulator, lowering costs, streamlining operations, and conserving valuable bench space.
Source: TA Instruments, Inc.
Configuration
|
| Peltier Plate |
-10 °C to 200 °C |
| Peltier Concentric Cylinder |
0 °C to 150 °C |
Peltier Plate Geometries
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Parallel plate configurations offer flexibility for a wide range of materials, including liquids, dispersions, creams, emulsions, gels, and pastes. These configurations can be found with sandblasted or crosshatched surface finishes to minimize slipping.
Cone configurations ensure a consistent shear rate, making them suitable for unfilled liquids. Both plate and cone configurations allow for the use of small sample volumes (less than 2 mL) and facilitate straightforward cleaning.
Concentric Cylinder Geometries
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Set up the Core Rheometer with concentric cylinders to improve sensitivity, enabling characterization of viscosities as low as 1 cP, along with a straightforward, reliable sample-loading process ideal for high-throughput laboratories.
A selection of upper rotors and lower cups is offered to meet various material and testing requirements, including disposable cups designed for high-throughput testing.
TRIOS Software
TRIOS is an advanced software platform that employs state-of-the-art technology for instrument control, data collection, and data analysis in both rheology and thermal analysis.
Utilize the intuitive Method Builder to customize RheoGuide methods, integrating every step of the standard operating procedure.
Complete Data Analysis Capabilities
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Each measurement conducted on the Core Rheometer, whether via RheoGuide or directly within TRIOS, produces a distinct data file that encompasses all parameters and raw data, ensuring comprehensive traceability.
- User-friendly and adaptable data visualization
- Broad analytical features, including mathematical modeling, curve fitting, and statistical analysis
- Batch Processing: Automated analysis and report creation
- Control Charts for tracking trends in results over time
- Data export available in JSON format for seamless integration with LIMS
- Unlimited licenses: access and analyze data from any location
Unlock Direct Rheometer Controls
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
The Core Rheometer offers capabilities beyond standard testing – seasoned users can transition from RheoGuide mode to TRIOS Classic mode for direct control over measurement parameters. The user-friendly interface enables the user to effortlessly and efficiently set up experiments, facilitating smooth navigation between adjusting procedures and observing and analyzing data.