Eta 2100 Capillary Extrusion Rheometer from Celsum Technologies - Instrumentation for rheology, strain gages, pressure transducers, load cells, temperature control, sapphire window optical probes, precision extrusion dies, and much more.

The Eta 2100 is a high-performance instrument designed to provide flow data at the high speeds, pressures and temperatures found in modern processing technology. Shown is the Eta 2100 (left) at Rapra Technology Ltd in Shawbury, near Shrewsbury in the West of England. The lower housing contains the temperature-controlled barrel assembly, and the upper housing the drive components. The piston and load cell holder carriage can be seen in between. The operator is adjusting the pressure transducer, the tip of which sits above the die entrance. In the background, the instrumentation pack and control computer system are seen.

This animated diagram, right, shows the principle of operation of a capillary extrusion rheometer. The specimen, contained in a heated cylindrical barrel, is extruded through a die of known geometry by a closely-fitting piston driven at a series of controlled speeds down the barrel. The equilibrium pressure is determined for each speed, and, taking into account largely geometric factors, a characteristic Flow Curve may be constructed.

Key features:

Single and double barrel versions available
Maximum piston speed 1,012.5 mm/minute
High speed (3,000 mm/minute) version available
State of the art servomotor drive allows full
    digital control of piston motion
Max shear rate through 1mm dia die = 54,000 s^-1 Dynamic speed range 250,000:1 allows measurements
    at low rates too
Maximum barrel pressure 2,100 bars (30,000 psi)
Piston load independently monitored in case of bridging
Barrel diameter 20 mm standard, gives useful sample
    volume of >100 ml
Temperature to 400°C as standard, higher if required.
Fume extraction above & below barrel available as an     option
Barrel made of nitrided steel or ultra-pure hardened
    stainless steel
External threads on single-barrel die holder for ease of
    cleaning
Manual ram raise in case of power failure
Over-pressure, over-torque, over-load and over-
    temperature alarms
Wide range of die geometries available (for other
    rheometers too)
RheoTenax software controls the instrument, collects &
    analyses the data
All key parameters monitored and hard-wired to fail safe
PCV adaptor measures Pressure Coefficient of Viscosity
CIRP accessory allows measurement of viscous heating
CADS advanced high-speed die swell measurement to 2 microns
CLDS cost-effective laser die swell to 5 microns
CEST Combined Extrudate Swell and Temperature System
CESU extrudate stretching unit for fibre strength etc
Customised specifications at reasonable cost
    - see BFR 2100
Benchtop version, MiniCER, available soon for less
    demanding applications