Materials Permeability testing in the Lab

Instrumentation design company Versaperm has introduced a new family of its technology-leading permeability measurement equipment meter which can measure permeability the permeability of most materials for an extremely wide set of gases. The equipment is based around a range of sensors including Mass Spectrometers, Photoionization, Infrared, Thermal Conductivity, Gas Chromatography and Flame Ionization. 

The Versaperm system also offers both single and multiple chamber options.
Today, laboratories have to characterise and measure an ever expanding range of materials, compounds, containers and laminates in the never-ending search for new technical and marketing features.

Permeability is critical in real-life applications as it substantially affects properties such as the shelf life of pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs, through to physical performance, handle-ability and even print quality.  Manufacturing processes such as heating, forming and bending can change this permeability by a factor of x4!  which means that results simply can’t usually be estimated from a material’s properties but must be measured directly. 

Versaperm’s new permeability meter is automated and its computerised control can cope with several samples at a time - and still produce a permeability measurement in as little as 30 minutes for some materials.  It needs very little re-calibration and requires, at most, minimal training to give results that can be accurate to better than one part per million. Sensitivities depend on sensors and materials but are usually in the PPM range, PPB for some materials. Results are both accurate and highly repeatable.

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