Moving Rheology forward

Karlsruhe, Germany, (11 May 2009) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, will showcase its future proofed Rheology portfolio at ACHEMA 2009 in Hall 6.1 on booths B1-C11. The international exhibition on chemical engineering, environmental protection and biotechnology takes place in Frankfurt/Main, Germany from May 11-15 and will serve the company as the platform to present its comprehensive rheometer and viscometer lines, thermogravimetric analysers as well as laboratory extruders or mini-injection molder unit to an international community.

Besides the modular rheometer platform Thermo Scientific HAAKE MARS with the controlled test chamber, the only commercially available extensional rheometer Thermo Scientific HAAKE CaBER will be presented. The instrument now makes it possible to quantify the extensional properties of fluids using normal force measurement. Physical effects such as surface tension, elasticity, viscosity and mass transfer determine the extensional flow and can be quantified using model fitting analysis. In this way, important insights can be gained for such processes as fluid filling behavior, the hardening of adhesives or the spray behavior and misting of printing inks and wall paints.

The rotational viscometer Thermo Scientific HAAKE Viscotester 550 is specially designed for quality control applications. Visitors on the booth can see how simply and quickly viscosity and flow behaviour of liquid and semisolid test materials can be measured with the instrument that covers an application range from very thin to very thick samples. All results like viscosity, shear stress, shear rate, yield point and operating temperature are measured, visualized and evaluated with the rheometer and viscometer software Thermo Scientific HAAKE RheoWin.

Another featured product from the company’s gravimetric instruments product line is the Thermo Scientific thermogravimetric analyzer TGA VersaTherm that allows scientists to study samples’ weight changes under extreme conditions like, sample size to 100 g, volume up to 35 mL, vacuum to 5 x 10-5 torr, and under desirable reaction gas environment. With its patented design and coupling, Thermo Scientific VersaTherm units can be coupled to an evolved gas analyzer like the Thermo Scientific NicoletTM 6700 FTIR spectrometer to pass over the most concentrated sample effluents for identification, helping scientists to understand reaction mechanism and to optimize products.

A complementary workflow solution is being exhibited with the micro-compounder Thermo Scientific HAAKE MiniLab coupled with the mini-injection moulder Thermo Scientific HAAKE MiniJet: The HAAKE MiniLab combines compounding and viscosity tests for small volume samples as little as 5g or 7 cm³. The instrument is based on proven, conical twin-screw technology with co- and counter rotating screws and works as a standalone unit with data export or as a fully computer-controlled system. When coupled with the HAAKE MiniJet, various test specimens can be easily produced from the compounded material and measured in the Thermo Scientific rheometers HAAKE MARS or HAAKE RheoStress 6000 afterwards.

An additional highlight during the show is the innovative torque rheometer platform, the Thermo Scientific HAAKE PolyLab OS that is designed to optimize process engineering applications. Data for melt characteristics, dynamic viscosity under shear load and the effectiveness of additives, heat and shear stability are readily attainable with this system. The system will be showcased with a Thermo Scientific PTW16 twin-screw laboratory extruder that has a proven record in continuous compounding. The feed-dosing of different additives (liquid or solid) along the extruder barrel and wide variety of industry-standard features make this compounding extruder ideally suited for challenging continuous mixing application needs such as engineering plastics compounding, masterbatch manufacture, bio-medical polymer compounding, dispersion of nano fillers in a polymer matrix and continuous pharmaceutical processing. The PTW16 twin-screw laboratory extruder can be equipped with small-scale versions of all of the feeding and compounding ancillary items that are normally associated with full scale compounding systems.

Visitors on the booth will be presented a broad rheology portfolio that is not only meeting standards needs in quality control or research & development, but also supporting individual requirements due to various applications that Thermo Fisher Scientific’s customers are dealing with.

Thermo Fisher Scientific successfully supports a wide range of industries with its comprehensive Thermo Scientific material characterization solutions. These products analyze and measure viscosity, elasticity, processability and temperature-related mechanical changes of plastics, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and inks, coatings, or petrochemical products. For more information, please visit www.thermo.com/mc.

Thermo Scientific is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With annual revenues of $10.5 billion, we have approximately 34,000 employees and serve over 350,000 customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as environmental and industrial process control settings. Serving customers through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, we help solve analytical challenges from routine testing to complex research and discovery. The Thermo Scientific brand represents a complete range of high-end analytical instruments as well as laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables and reagents to enable integrated laboratory workflow solutions. Fisher Scientific provides a complete portfolio of laboratory equipment, chemicals, supplies and services used in healthcare, scientific research, safety and education. Together, we offer the most convenient purchasing options to customers and continuously advance our technologies to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, enhance value for customers and fuel growth for shareholders and employees alike. Visit www.thermofisher.com.

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