Meet the New Requirements for Testing High Barrier Materials
08 June 2007
All around us new products are being developed whose viability depends on the availability of high barrier materials for packaging or protection. From pre-prepared, microwaveable convenience foods at the supermarket to medicines and other medical products, from thin barrier films for Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) and Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLED) to solar panels, these products are dependent on state-of-the-art barrier technology to ensure a viable shelf or operating life.
As new high barrier materials are developed for these applications, there is a need for highly sensitive permeability measurement methods to test these materials and quantify their barrier properties.
To meet the demands of this dynamic market, PBI-Dansensor is pleased to present L80-5000 LP, an enhanced model of the L80-5000 water vapour permeability tester. The new model has been specifically designed for the measurement of high-barrier materials with very low Water Vapour Transmission Rates (WVTR).
The new L80-5000 LP tester provides the customer with the ability to measure the water vapour transmission rate of high barrier films and foils with improved measurement sensitivity, faster measurements, and a better repeatability and reliability of measurement results.
The L80-5000 LP provides the following advantages in operation compared to the conventional L80-5000 instrument:
- Improved measurement sensitivity: the lower measurement limit of the L80-5000 LP is 0,003 g/m²/24hr, a factor of ten lower than the conventional L80-5000 tester.
- Faster measurement times, particularly for low permeability materials.
- Improved stability and reproducibility of measurements, providing more reliable test results.
- Improved sensor response and resolution, providing more accurate measurements at low water vapour transmission rates.
- Faster confirmation of the attainment of steady state conditions over the sample film using more frequent measurements.
- Improved instrument linearity over measurement interval, providing better results.
- Optimisation of the intrinsic leak rate within the tester, thereby reducing ambient effects and allowing a lower measurement sensitivity level.
The improved measurement sensitivity of L80-5000 LP has been achieved by using a specially optimised chamber, which replaces the present chamber of the L80-5000 tester. This new chamber features a special anti-absorption coating, significantly reduced internal volume, a new sensor design and placement, and special designed air inlet and outlet valves.
This design minimizes the air volume around the sensor and possible sources of measurement variation, allowing for more effective detection of small changes in relative humidity associated with very low water vapour transmission rates.
In addition to the new chamber, improvements have also been made to the tester software, minimising signal noise and providing better measurement stability and reproducibility.
