Permeability is vital in real-world applications as it dramatically affects characteristics such as whether systems leak, components rust or fuel tanks explode, it also controls print- and paint-ability along with the shelf life of food & pharmaceuticals.  It is critical to the quality control of a huge range of products and processes.

Versaperm, already a world technology-leader in the area has recently introduced a new array of sensors, software and systems to its range of permeability measurement instrumentation.  The equipment can be configured to measure permeability for gases including water vapour, helium, hydrogen, hydrocarbons, solvents, oxygen, carbon dioxide and most other gases.

The equipment is highly automated and can deal with several samples at a time - and still produce a permeability measurement in as little as 30 minutes for some materials. Sensitivities depend on sensors and materials but are usually in the PPM range, PPB for some materials. Results are both accurate and highly repeatable.

Manufacturing processes including heating, forming and bending can quickly change permeability by a factor of 4!  This means the results for most products simply can’t be estimated from the constituent material’s properties but must be measured and checked directly.

Versaperm also offers a consultancy service for laboratories that need to measure permeability of complex new materials and assemblages.