“Feel The Width” Quality Control Of Vapour Permeability

Phil Black - PII Editor 14/05/2014

201 1 minute read

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The Urban dictionary tells us that the phrase “feel the width” is designed to persuade you that quantity is more important than quality. Nowhere is this less true than with permeability – where getting it wrong can have a catastrophic effect. It can cause a missile to crash, electronics to short-circuit, machines to jam, and can even make your cornflakes or pizza go soggy!

It costs billions of pounds every year and is a major headache for quality controllers as, traditionally, it takes weeks to check a single sample.

Versaperm has developed and introduced a range of vapour permeability measurement equipment that allows results to be produced in around half an hour for some samples.

The equipment requires only simple training to use yet it can measure the permeability of material samples as well as finished products, components and packaging, normally giving accuracies in the PPM (Parts per Million) range – PPB (Billion) for some materials and vapours.

Numerous options are available including single and multi-sample systems, a range of sensors and temperature control. Versions of the equipment are optionally available that can measure not just water vapour permeability but also the permeability for almost any other gas – including, hydrogen, oxygen, CO2, solvents and hydrocarbons.

Versaperm’s new permeability instrument range is highly automated and simple to use, it requires little or no training to produce consistent and accurate results. The company operates a laboratory service for companies with volume or logistics measurements that do not require a dedicated instrument.