The OnLine Rheometer Group of Rheology Solutions Pty Ltd, has brought to the world market the first OnLine Rheometer (OLR) to continuously measure, plot and report the flow properties of process liquids in the pipe. The OLR is for process monitoring, process control and quality control of liquids in the process and manufacturing of cosmetic and personal care products, food, chemical and household cleaning products.

ABOUT THE OLR

The OLR is used to measure the viscoelastic behaviour of the liquid in the pipe, and relay this information to the factory operator either through SOLR – the Software for the OLR or through the factory Process Logic Controller (PLC). In this way the operator can make a decision about whether the liquid is within specification and proceed to the next process step, or take corrective action as appropriate. The OLR will provide instant and accurate rheological data in real time so that liquids during manufacturing and processing are produced and maintained within specification – first time and every time.

The OLR monitors the process and displays the product conformance throughout the manufacturing and production process.

The schematic shows the alternative arrangements for the OLR installation. It can be directly connected in the main process pipe-line or in a side loop as necessary.

The OLR uses oscillatory squeeze-flow technique – it measures complex viscosity storage and loss moduli by imposing a small cyclic deformation on a liquid sample at a variety of frequencies, from 1 – 100 Hz. The OLR is used in conjunction with custom developed software specific for the sensor system – SOLR which provides flexibility – the user can determine from the drop down menu what they want to continuously measure, plot and report.

KEY FUNCTIONS OF THE OLR

There are three key functions of SOLR:

1. Set-up process monitoring and quality control parameters to monitor the process continuously and provide informed decisions about the process and product trends.
2. Monitoring and control of process either through SOLR or through the factory PLC with the provision of a pass/fail display on screen plus audio or visual alarms if required.
3. Out-of-specification product diagnosis allows the plant engineer to compare the out-of-specification material with in-specification data and diagnose why there is a change in the product quality.

THE OLR ADVANTAGES

The Advantages of the OLR include:

• Fast and reliable real time results
• Low maintenance
• Out-of-specification diagnosis
• Plug-and-play installation
• Precise and robust sensor system
• Process control
• Process monitoring
• Quality control
• State of the art technology
• Time and cost savings

The OLR measures the viscoelastic properties of a process fluid in real time and will improve product quality and reduce wastage and save time, therefore reducing processing costs.