A testing way to increase quality
- from food to seals and from packaging to electronics

Vapour permeability sounds obscure – but it is actually the source of many serious real-world “problems.”  It causes foods to deteriorate early (costing over a billion pounds a year in the UK alone), it cause printers to jam, can make printing look poor and dull and has caused both computers - and missiles - to crash! 

To boost quality and overcome prospective problems, Versaperm’s permeability meter offers not just high accuracy and sensitivity but it can measure the permeability of samples of material and finished products.  This allows designers to choose materials that overcome potential problems and QC staff to check both incoming materials and outgoing products.

Permeability is a measure of the rate of flow of a gas, often water, CO₂ or hydrocarbon vapours, through a material or system.  Altering permeability changes a material’s mechanical, physical and handling properties.  Damp paper jams photocopiers, petrol cans with the wrong permeability can be lethal.  

Versaperm’s new computerised equipment can measure permeability in as little as 30 minutes for some materials and gases, whereas conventional gravimetric measurement systems take many days or weeks.  Accuracy depends on the exact sensor used and the gas under test but is commonly in the PPM (Parts Per Million) range.

The system can cope with several samples, seals, enclosures or products at a time and can be configured to measure permeability with respect to water vapour as well as most other gases.  These include oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, helium and nitrogen.

The company also runs consultancy and laboratory services that advises on permeability in complex cases or where the volume or logistics of measurements does not demand a dedicated instrument.