The usePAT technology uses ultrasound to significantly improve or enable measurements in liquids. usePAT offers add-ons for in-line sensors, through which small particles can be measured directly and continuously within the process. This leads to immediate process monitoring, however without the currently used time- and resource-consuming sample-taking. Furthermore, the time-gap between sample-taking and analysis results, which had led to working with non up-to-date data until now, no longer exists due to measuring directly in the process. The industrial process itself remains unaffected by the usePAT technology.
Learn more about this technology from Vienna by watching a webinar on three applications for ultrasound enhanced analytics.
Measurement of various particles
Particles ranging from 1-100µm can by controlled through applying the usePAT ultrasound-technology. This includes small particles such as crystals, biological cells, oil droplets, dirt, yeast, etc.
Dr. Stefan Radel: „Ultrasound allows us to influence many different particles. We can agglomerate them and keep them in place, but also can generate depopulated regions. These capabilities lead to various applications for in-line measurement techniques with respect to particles as well as the medium separately. “
soniccatch
The application soniccatch forms a virtual probe volume. It only takes small particles in liquids a few seconds to be trapped and held within it. Furthermore, the particles are presented to a measurement-probe at pre-determined locations, which enables the measurement directly within the process. The particles remain unaffected and are released again after the measurement to be added to production process again.
Moreover, measurements of particles and carrier-liquid respectively are possible with the usePAT technology. Amongst other things, the carrier liquid could possibly be analyzed to determine whether the base-component of the production has already been depleted, indicating that a new batch could be started. Also, a detection of toxic freight is possible.
The main advantages of soniccatch lie with optimized process control and monitoring of important liquids such as e.g. cooling lubricants, cell-suspensions, process media, crystallization media, etc. Therefore, depending on the field of application, the following advantages become relevant:
- Optimized production times
- Higher output
- Better quality control
- Lower rejection rates
- Higher productivity
- Reduced costs
- Greater yield
- Increased employee-safety
- Reduction in downtimes
sonicwipe
Not only can the usePAT technology catch and hold particles, but furthermore keep them away from certain locations. This ability is used by the sonicwipe to depopulate particles such as dirt, oil droplets, cell-fragments, etc. from sensors, guaranteeing clean surfaces. The cleanness of sensors is of great importance for measurements, for their accuracy can no longer be sustained after a certain degree of contamination. Measurements then become inaccurate, because sensors can no longer distinguish between deposited particles on the window and those within the liquid. Furthermore, the probe’s window could be too heavily clogged. Currently in these cases, sensors have to be removed from the process, in order to be cleaned. Depending on the customer’s application, this often leads to process interruption, which can be prevented with a sonicwipe application.
Application for various probes
soniccatch and sonicwipe applications can be realized for various sensor types. According to probe types, the results from in-line measurements can be substantially improved or an application as in-line probe enabled in the first place.
Some sensor examples, which have already been successfully applied: Raman-spectroscopy, in-line microscopy, UV/Vis, NIR spectroscopy, MIR spectroscopy, turbidity measurements, applications for refractometry, analysis of particle size & form.
Service: Free webinar