Grace Davison, a supplier of closure systems for rigid packaging, uses a rotational rheometer from Malvern Instruments to accelerate the development of new food-grade and industrial sealants.
The rheology of the sealants is a critical attribute for the performance of the package, from food and beverage cans through to 55gal drums that require a hermetic seal.
The Malvern rheometer has proven to be a reliable choice for steady shear and oscillatory testing throughout the product-development cycle.
'The bench-top Malvern data provides predictive modelling of liquid and dry flow properties, which are used as a screen to advance new developments into the pilot testing stage,' said Salvador Crespo, senior research and development chemist, Grace Davison.
'We can get very close to an optimal formulation through small-scale rheological testing,' he said.
'The rheometer is easy to clean and it's simple to switch between different test types for wet or dry samples, aqueous or solvent-based systems,' Crespo added.
Grace Davison supplies the industry with both solvent- and water-based can sealants, and the Malvern equipment provides the flexibility to develop products within both technology platforms.
The rheometer is said to combine steady shear and oscillatory testing capability with excellent temperature control.
Measuring viscosity as a function of shear rate, and of temperature, enables Grace Davison to optimise raw material choice and formulation composition to reach performance targets.
Particularly challenging is the development of stable, highly filled, high-solids dispersions.
Here degradation studies and analysis of the visco-elastic response as a function of time provide the information to formulate products that maintain stable performance under simulated commercial handling conditions.
