aboni HydroTracer HT3 User manual

aboni
HydroTracer HT3
Operation Manual
Version HT3 STD
12/11/2019
aboni GmbH für Mess- und Automatisierungstechnik
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 27
D-14548 Schwielowsee- Caputh
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.aboni.de
www.hydrotracer.com

Table of Contents
1. Initial Operation.......................................................................................................3
1.1 Installation of the Control Software HT3 STD.......................................................3
1.2 Connecting the HydroTracer...............................................................................6
1.3 Measuring Principle ...........................................................................................7
1.4 The Reagent .....................................................................................................8
2. Performing a Test ....................................................................................................9
2.1 The procedure step by step................................................................................9
2.2 Selection of Temperature.................................................................................13
2.3 Selection of Sample Weight..............................................................................13
2.4 Using the serial balance ................................................................................... 15
2.5 Operation menu with manual input: Loading the HydroTracer.............................16
2.6 Operation menu with automatic weight input: Loading the HydroTracer............... 20
2.7 Influence of the filling procedure on the accuracy of the test ..............................22
2.8 Measuring period ............................................................................................ 23
2.9 End of the test ................................................................................................24
3. Output of the results and storage............................................................................ 25
3.1 HTML-Report ..................................................................................................26
3.2 PDF-Report..................................................................................................... 27
4. Selection Menus & Status Display............................................................................28
4.1 Menu: Settings & Company logo.......................................................................28
4.2 Menu: Operator List.........................................................................................29
4.3 Menu: List of materials .................................................................................... 30
4.4 Status Display & Information field.....................................................................31
5. Cleaning the reactor interior ...................................................................................32
6. Dry Run ................................................................................................................33
7. Errors ...................................................................................................................34
8. Remarks concerning calcium hydride .......................................................................35
Appendix
Declaration of Conformity
Safety Data Sheet Calcium Hydride

Initial Operation
3
1. Initial Operation
The HydroTracer is controlled by a PC and the signals from the instrument are analysed by
the PC software. The data transmission occurs via USB-Port. Before first operation, the control
program and the driver must be installed .
1.1 Installation of the Control Software HT3 STD
Insert the DVD or plug in the USB-storage at a free USB port of your computer and start the
installation by running the setup.exe within the directory [CD/DVD/USB]: \HydroTracer
HT3 STD Installer\Volume
Please follow the instructions on the screen.
This mask appears and the
installation program is initialized

Initial Operation
4
This mask appears. It is
recommended not to change the
settings. Click "Next >>"
Now click on the field "I accept the
license agreements", then on the
field "Next >>"
This mask appears. Click "Next >>"

Initial Operation
5
This mask appears. Click "Next >>"
Then the USB driver has to be
installed. This mask opens. Click on
"Extract" and follow the instructions
At the end of the installation of the
USB driver, this mask appears. Click
Finish"

Initial Operation
6
1.2 Connecting the HydroTracer
Switch on your PC (if not done already).
Connect the power supply cable on the rear side of the HydroTracer. Connect the HydroTracer
with the data cable (USB) to your PC. Switch on the power. If the HydroTracer is properly
connected to the power supply, the system fan runs and the blue LED glows.
The HydroTracer is now ready for operation.
In the Windows© Device Manager, a
new entry "USB serial port" appears
under the "Ports (COM & LPT)"
section when the HydroTracer is
connected to the computer via USB
cable.

Initial Operation
7
1.3 Measuring Principle
The patented method of the HydroTracer determines the absolute water content. The mass of
the water is measured within the reactor. The percentage of moisture of the sample is
calculated by division with the sample weight.
1 The test material is heated in the
sample tray; water evaporates
2 The hot humid gas ascends
3 The Reagent exchanges water by
hydrogen
4 The sensor measures the
concentration of hydrogen
5 The cooled gas descends and can
absorb water again
The sample is weighed and filled into the sample tray. The sample tray is shifted into the
HydroTracer, being a part of the reactor. A heater warms the sample to a temperature chosen
by the operator. The water within the sample material evaporates. The volatile water rises to
the upper part of the reactor. Two pipes connecting the heated sample tray with the cooled
upper part where the reagent is placed. The reagent tray is a small flat tray filled with
approximately 0.1 g calcium hydride. When the humid air flows over the reagent, gaseous
water reacts with calcium hydride according the following equation:
   󰇛󰇜 
So water vapor is exchanged against hydrogen and calcium hydride converts to calcium
hydroxide (chalk lime).
The cooled, dried gas enters again the lower part of the reactor. The gas circulation is
supported by natural convection, created by a special configuration of the vertical pipes. By
this method even hygroscopic materials are completely dried. The final concentration of
hydrogen in the reactor is proportional to the water content of the sample before the
measurement.
The ambient air also contributes water to the reactor atmosphere. To achieve accurate results
it is necessary to determine the air humidity and the air density. Integrated sensors measure
the humidity of the ambient air, the temperature and the air pressure. With this data the
software determines the water of the air humidity which is deduced off the final result.
The concentration of hydrogen is measured by a sensor detecting the thermal conductivity of
the gas.

Initial Operation
8
Note: The air-hydrogen atmosphere does not react chemically, because the temperature is
much lower than needed to supply the activation energy of the oxyhydrogen gas reaction.
Even if it would react, the theoretic maximum of the reaction enthalpy (the amount of energy
which would be set free by the reaction of hydrogen with the oxygen of the air) is about 0.1
kJ and therefore harmless.
1.4 The Reagent
Calcium hydride reacts with water to calcium hydroxide (hydrated lime, agricultural hydrate),
which is a weak base and quite harmless. Nonetheless, take care calcium hydride does not get
into contact directly with (liquid) water. The reaction heat together with the oxygen of the air
could ignite the developing gas. The small amount of reagent which is needed per
measurement averts this danger. Always close the reagent bottle directly after use. Because
the reagent is always added in surplus, it will be still reactive after the measurement. Avoid
the contact with inflammable, especially wet materials and leave the used reagent exposed to
the air, where it can react slowly with the air humidity. An ideal container is an open tin can.
After a few hours calcium hydride is completely transformed to calcium hydroxide. If left even
longer exposed to the air, calcium hydroxide reacts to calcium carbonate (CaCO3, chalk) with
the carbon dioxide of the air and can be disposed without any problems.

Performing a Test
9
2. Performing a Test
Take care the accessories are within reach. Do not leave your sample material exposed to the
ambient air over a longer period, especially if it is hydroscopic.
Note: It is recommended to acquaint oneself with the operation before doing a „serious“ test.
Therefore run the program and follow the menu until you have reached the step START / F10.
Then stop the program by clicking on the STOP–button. Repeat these steps until you are
familiar with the procedure.
2.1 The procedure step by step
Please make sure that the HydroTracer (optional, the serial scale) is connected to the computer
and powered on.
Start the program HT3 STD. A program window will open, which will initialize the software.
Select a language first.

Performing a Test
10
Then select a location on your PC where you want to store the measurement results and
reports.
Then the software is ready for operation and the following main menu appears:
(A) „Quit“-Button closes the application
(B) „Settings"-Button opens the menu" Settings "(see „4.1 Menu: Settings & Company
logo“)
(C) Information display of available or connected serial devices
(D) Status indicator for the HydroTracer (see „4.4 Status Display & Information field“)
(E) "Start"-Button starts a measurement. Note: If no HydroTracer was detected during
initialization, the "Connect" button will appear instead of "Start" and you can reconnect
to the HydroTracer.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)

Performing a Test
11
After pressing the "Start" button, these input masks 1 appears:
(A) Selection field of existing operators
(B) Selection field of existing materials
(C) The checkbox "Use Standard operator?" is described in „4.2 Menu: Operator List“
(D) Comment field for entering additional notes on the current measurement
-Button: Add a new operator or material
-Button: Opens the Menu "Operator List" or "List of materials"
-Button: Change to previous menu
-Button: Change to next menu (Next)
-Button: Disabled "Next" button, unless all required entries have been made
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Performing a Test
12
After selecting an operator and a material, a second input mask 2 appears:
(A)
Display of the set parameters for the measurement
(B)
Comment field
(C)
Checkbox for connecting a serial scale (if a scale is connected)
(D)
If a hook is set here, the program automatically opens an HTML report after the
measurement has been completed
(B)
Pressing
opens a tool for determining the sample weight (see section
„2.3 Selection of Sample Weight“)
If all the settings have been made, you can press to start the
measurement process.
If you need to change the setting, you can access with the previous menu
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)

Performing a Test
13
2.2 Selection of Temperature
The temperatures given in the materials table are proposals, which might not fit always for
each member of a group of materials. Generally a temperature is chosen which is as high as
possible to accelerate the evaporation of water but low enough to avoid thermal decomposing.
Usually the melting of the sample should be avoided to allow easier cleaning of the sample
tray. If you are not sure which temperature is appropriate, try lower temperatures first. In
some cases the melting of the sample might be necessary (e.g. to investigate the behavior of
compound fillers), then a (dry!) aluminum film can be inserted into the tray before the
measurement.
If the heating temperature and the density of a single sample deviates from the usual
characteristic, it can be added in the input mask 2 without changing the material table.
2.3 Selection of Sample Weight
The selection of the sample weight has to consider the expected moisture content: Samples
with a high moisture content have to be smaller than samples with a low moisture content. A
water content of more than 25 mg per sample has to be avoided. The software stops a test
when a water content of 25 mg is exceeded.
After pressing in input mask 2 the following window opens:
(A) Selection field for the expected water content of the sample
(B) Display field for recommended sample weight
(C) Pressing the button starts the calculation of the sample quantity
(D) Pressing the button closes the application
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Performing a Test
14
For an explanation, an example:
Selecting the selection field (A) opens a list of relative water contents according to the following
figure:
An expected water content of 0.01% is selected. When pressing button (C)the recommended
sample weight will be calculated.
The result of the calculation is shown in the following figure:
The recommended weight should be about 10 grams in this case.

Performing a Test
15
2.4 Using the serial balance
The connection of the serial scale with the software can be done in several ways:
A) Before starting the software HT3 STD connect the PC and the scale with the serial
cable and switch on the scale.
Start the software HT3 STD. The software automatically detects the connected scale.
B) The software HT3 STD is already started and you are in the main menu. Connect the
PC and the scale to the serial cable and switch on the scale.
In the main menu, press the button "settings" and put a checkmark in the checkbox
"Serial scale". To connect, press the "Connect" button. The scale is now connected to
the software (for more information on the "Settings" menu, see „4.1 Menu: Settings &
Company logo“).
If the balance is connected according to (B), you will receive the following info window as
confirmation for the successful connection:
Note: The number of the COM port may differ from the picture above!

Performing a Test
16
2.5 Operation menu with manual input: Loading the HydroTracer
This chapter describes the steps of the manual operation as shown on the screen.
The images in the instructions window clarify the activity to be performed. Under the current
picture, the respective step is briefly described. The indicator to the right above the image
indicates the amount of time, in seconds, that has passed to complete the entire fill operation.
Press “X”to abort the test.
Note: The opening time should be at least 15 seconds but not more than 180 seconds.
Note: If you use the test pads instead of the powdered reagent, the procedure and the
number of instructions and their sequence are not exactly identical to the following
instructions. In principle, however, the performance of the filling process is comparable.
Open the test chamber by pulling the one-
hand lever up to the stop. The system fan
is switched off.
Remove the sample tray. Remove old
sample material. Place the sample tray on
the scale and tare it.

Performing a Test
17
Remove the reagent tray with the pincer
and remove the used reagent.
Using the spoon-shaped end of the
spatula, take the reagent (about 1/3 of
the spoon area) and fill the reagent bed.
Distribute the reagent on the reagent
bed.
Close the reagent container carefully.

Performing a Test
18
Fill the sample into the sample tray.
Enter the weight in the input field.
Confirm with "".
Clean the edge of the sample tray with a
brush.
Insert the sample tray. Make sure the
bottom edge of the tray is over the heater
plate