RHEOSENSE m-VROC User manual

m-VROC
Quick Start Guide
1. Hardware Setup
1. Connect the USB cord and power cord to the rear panel of the m-VROC unit. DO
NOT connect the other end of the USB cord to the computer until the USB driver
ha been in talled (Step 5):
2. Plug the m-VROC unit’ power cord into a power ource. Leave the m-VROC
unit powered off.
3. Connect the bottom of the VROC Cell a embly to the plug from the ba e of
the m-VROC unit:
2. Precautions
1. Always u e the provided oftware package with the VROC Cell. The oftware
ha built-in afety feature that prevent pre ure from overloading the VROC Cell.
2. Only yringe from the Hamilton Company can be u ed in the m-VROC unit.
The e may be purcha ed from RheoSen e, or directly from the manufacturer.
3. Always clean the VROC Cell thoroughly after each u e, and before toring the
VROC Cell. Refer to ection 7 for cleaning procedure .
4. Particle larger than 10% of the flow channel gap hould be filtered out of the
ample to avoid clogging the VROC Cell.
5. Keep the in ide of the tube and the flow channel of the VROC Cell wet at all
times. Dried ample in the flow channel could cau e irrever ible damage to the
VROC Cell.
6. Keep the inlet valve clo ed when not u ing the VROC Cell.
7. Never te t immi cible ample back to back. Permanent damage may re ult.
8. Always leave the wa te tube connected to the VROC Cell a embly. Removing
thi tube expo e the en or area in ide the VROC Cell, which may cau e damage
or clogging.
9. Always operate the y tem with the VROC Cell a embly properly po itioned.
10. If the pu her block become jammed during operation, u e the clear tall
button in the oftware to unjam it. Do not attempt to unjam it manually.
3. Sample Loadin
1. Connect the pla tic intake tube (pla tic needle) and union to the yringe.
2. U e the pla tic intake tube to load the ample olution into the yringe.
3. Remove any air bubble vi ible in the yringe:
4. If nece ary, lide the pu her block on the m-VROC unit back. Make ure the
drive nut i unlocked:
5. Remove the Teflon intake tube and pla tic coupler from the yringe.
6. Screw the end of the yringe into the valve block on the VROC Cell a embly,
gra ping the end of the yringe body (near the plunger entrance point). Make ure
the valve to the VROC Cell i clo ed (the mall arm will be vertical).
7. Place the yringe in the bottom of the yringe jacket, making ure the hinge of the
valve eat in the cutout properly:
8. Slide the pu her block along the guide rod until the block i clo e to the end of
the yringe plunger, then lock the drive nut by pulling it out and rotating it:
9. Open the VROC Cell valve. Clo e the yringe jacket lid, and tighten the thumb
crew. Make ure the wa te tube from the VROC Cell a embly i in erted into the
wa te bottle. When everything i po itioned properly, the etup will look like thi :

4. Temperature Control
The m-VROC provide the option of controlling the temperature of a ample
within a given range u ing an external water bath. Plea e ee the m-VROC
U er’ Manual for detail on the recommended bath and in truction on u ing
thi feature.
5. Installin the Software
1. In ert the in tallation CD into your PC’ CD-ROM drive. If the CD doe not run
automatically, navigate to the CD and open the “Start.html” file. Note that the
in tallation CD only work with Window Internet Explorer.
2. A pop-up window warning about active content may appear. If it doe , click
“Ye ” to proceed.
3. Next, a oftware in tallation window will appear. Fir t in tall the driver; click on
the button that di play the operating y tem being u ed by the computer.
4. After the driver in tallation i complete, click on the “m-VROC In tallation”
button. Follow the prompt to in tall the m-VROC control program. After the
in tallation i complete, re- tart the computer.
6. Usin the Software
Connect the USB cable to the computer and power on the m-VROC unit. Open the
control oftware by double-clicking on the “mVROC_Control” icon. If temperature
control i de ired, plea e refer to the manual for in truction. The program con i t
of 4 tab :
1. Measurement Setup: Thi tab i where all the mea urement parameter are
entered and a mea urement i tarted.
2. Data Graphs: Thi tab contain all the graph of the data, which are plotted a
the mea urement proceed .
3. Results Summary: The average value from all the mea urement egment are
di played in table format in thi tab.
4. Temp Ctrl/Measurement Advisor: The en or temperature may be monitored in
thi tab. Additionally, thi part of the oftware give hear and flow rate range ,
recommended yringe ize, and minimum ample volume requirement information
for the in-place en or a well a other available RheoSen e en or type .
To perform a measurement at a sin le shear or flow rate:
1. In the Mea urement Setup tab, enter value into the e field : “Sample ID”, “E t
Vi co ity, mPa- ”, “Sample Vol, ul”.
2. Select the yringe ize from the pull-down menu.
3. Select the rate type, either hear or flow.
4. Enter a rate in the left column of the table between the minimum and maximum
value li ted under “Run Parameter ”.
5. Leave the “Mea mt Time” and “Pau e Time” column blank and both et to
“Auto”. A value will be entered automatically.
6. At thi point, both the “Start” button and ‘move block to plunger’ icon will
become bright, indicating they are available. The Statu Bar will di play “Click on
“Start” button when ready…”.
7. Click on the ‘move block to plunger’ icon to remove the gap left between the
pu her block and the yringe plunger when the yringe wa loaded.
8. Click on the “Start” button to tart the mea urement. The program will change
to the Data Graph tab to di play the re ult a the mea urement progre e .
9. After the mea urement complete , the data will automatically be aved to the
‘\....\(My) Document \LabVIEW Data\Te t Log ’ folder. The mea ured vi co ity
value will be di played on the Data Graph tab in the field labeled “Average Vi ,
mPa- ”, a well a on the Re ult Summary tab in the blue highlighted column.
10. It might be nece ary to perform a econd mea urement if the en or channel
wa not fully primed during the fir t one. The ba ic indicator that the
mea urement re ult i accurate are:
• The background of “Min Slope Fit R qrd” hould be green, indicating the
minimum value i above 0.98.
• The plot of “Vi co ity v . Time” in the upper left corner of the Data Graph
tab hould be a level , continuou line (minor o cillation will not adver ely
affect the re ult ) for the highlighted green portion.
• The “% Full Scale” indicator in the lower left corner of the Data Graph tab
hould be green.
To perform a measurement at multiple shear or flow rates:
1. Follow tep 1-3 from the previou ection.
2. Enter multiple rate in the table manually or automatically populate the table
u ing the ‘Generate Rate Sweep’ function.
3. Leave the “Mea mt Time” and “Pau e Time” column blank and both et to
“Auto”.
A value will be entered automatically.
4. Click on the “Start” button.
7. Cleanin the VROC Cell After Use
Always use the provided software with the m-VROC for any testin and
cleanin . Do not attempt to manually push cleanin fluid throu h the VROC
Cell.
Drying of a ample olution in ide the VROC Cell after a prolonged period of
inactivity carrie a high ri k of permanently clogging the VROC Cell, and cau ing
irrever ible damage. To avoid clogging, it i very important to clean the VROC Cell
thoroughly with a compatible olvent to remove ample olution after u e. The
recommended procedure for cleaning i :
1. Unload the yringe filled with the te t ample (rever e the tep in ection 3).
2. Wipe and clean the ample olution from the inlet fitting on the VROC Cell
a embly.
3. Connect a olvent-filled yringe to the VROC Cell.
4. In the Mea urement Setup tab, enter a flow rate (thi hould not exceed the
maximum u ed during ample te ting) that will command the oftware to pu h a
minimum of 250 µl of olvent through the en or. Thi will remove the majority of
the ample olution from the VROC Cell.
5. Now increa e the flow rate and flu h the VROC Cell two to three more time
with a minimum or 1cc of olvent.
6. Repeat tep 5 a many time a nece ary (the number of repetition will depend
on the type of ample olution). Plea e ee Appendix II in the m-VROC U er’
Manual for more on the ugge ted cleaning procedure.
7. Finally, te t the vi co ity of the olvent with the VROC Cell to verify that the Cell
i clean.
10. After cleaning the VROC Cell, unload the yringe (rever e the tep in ection 3).
11. Wipe and clean the inlet fitting on the VROC Cell a embly again, and make
ure the valve i clo ed (the mall arm will be vertical). Rheo en e recommend
that only lint-free wab and wipe be u ed (contact Rheo en e for availability
information).
Note that there i a pecial cleaning procedure for high vi co ity fluid . Plea e refer
to the m-VROC U er’ Manual for in truction. If clogging per i t , do not attempt
to force a flow a thi may cau e permanent damage to the VROC Cell. If there i
any ign of clogging, plea e contact RheoSen e for a i tance.
Note: Please refer to the m-VROC User’s Manual
(on the software CD) for detailed information on all
aspects of the m-VROC system.
900002.5-mVROC_QSG