The contact angle is a commonly used parameter to determine the wettability of a solid substrate by a liquid. When a droplet of the liquid is deposited on the solid, the point where the solid, liquid, and vapour meet determines the contact angle. There are numerous practical applications for contact angle measuring instruments.
Kyowa Interface Science Co. Ltd. manufacture sophisticated instruments for fully automatic contact angle measurement. A liquid droplet is dispensed on top of the solid surface and the behavior of the droplet is observed via a camera. Apart from contact angle measurement, these contact angle meters can be customized to measure other parameters such as interfacial tension and surface free energy. This can be achieved by fitting the high-end models with specialized appliances.
To cater to all possible fields of application, Kyowa interface Science offers different models with each one having certain specific features necessary for that application. The following are the different types of Contact angle measurement instruments by Kyowa Interface Japan.
| Measuring methods | contact angle: sessile drop (static and dynamic) surface/interfacial tension: pendant drop (static and dynamic) |
| Measuring range | contact angle: 0.1 to 180° surface/interfacial tension: 0.1 to 100mN/m |
| Resolution | contact angle: 0.1° surface/interfacial tension: 0.1mN/m |
| Accuracy | contact angle: 0.3° surface/interfacial tension: 0.3mN/m |
| Maximum sample surface area and height (WxDxH) | 160x100x10mm |
| Maximum sample weight | 300g |
Measuring methods | contact angle: sessile drop (static and dynamic) |
Analysis methods | contact angle: θ/2, tangent, circle fitting, ellipse fitting |
Measuring range | contact angle: 0.1 to 180° |
Resolution | contact angle: 0.1° |
Accuracy | contact angle: 0.2° |
Maximum sample surface area and height (WxDxH) | 150x100x35mm |
Maximum sample weight | 300g |
| Measuring methods | contact angle: sessile drop (static), advancing/receding angle (dynamic) sliding angle (dynamic) 1) surface/interfacial tension: pendant drop (static and dynamic) |
| Analysis methods | contact angle: θ/2, tangent, curve fitting (ellipse, circle) surface/interfacial tension: Young-Laplace, ds/de surface free energy of solids: Owens-Wendt, Kaelble-Uy, Kitazaki-Hata, Wu, acid-base, Zisman |
| Measuring range | contact angle: 0.01 to 180° surface/interfacial tension: 0.01 to 100mN/m |
| Resolution | contact angle: 0.01° surface/interfacial tension: 0.01mN/m |
| Accuracy | contact angle: 0.2° surface/interfacial tension: 0.2mN/m |
| Maximum sample surface area and height (WxDxH) | 150x150x16mm 150x150x35mm |
Kyowa Interface Science’s proprietary software, FAMAS, makes its contact angle measuring instruments a much-preferred product. The FAMAS software is the crux for most of the features in Kyowa contact angle meters. Right from the simplest application of measuring the contact angle by the Sessile drop method, to highly specialized uses such determination of sliding angle using a tilting table, the FAMAS software is an integral part.
The following are some of the special functionalities offered by the FAMAS software:
The high-end models can be fitted with an extra hardware appliance for advancing and receding contact angle measurement. This is called the sliding method, tilting method, or roll-off method. This setup consists of an external tilting stage and an add-on for the FAMAS software, and can tilt the instrument by up to 90 degrees. The sliding angle, which is the angle at which the droplet starts to slide or roll off, is observed. Simultaneously, the adhesive energy between the droplet and surface is analysed. All this will help determine the hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature and characterization of droplet hysteresis.
Kyowa contact angle meters employ different methods to measure and analyse contact angle, surface tension / interfacial tension, and surface free energy. This enables the instruments to provide a wide measuring range without compromising on the accuracy. All models of Kyowa contact angle meters have a measuring range of 0.1 to 180° for contact angle and 0.1 to 100 mN/m for interfacial tension.
The basic model has an accuracy of 0.3° for contact angle and 0.3 mN/m for interfacial tension, while the flagship model has an unbeatable accuracy of 0.3° 0.3 mN/m for contact angle and interfacial tension respectively. The resolution required depends on how critical the analysis performed is. For a resolution of 0.1°, the DMe-211 would be the right choice. It has a resolution of 0.1mN/m for interfacial tension measurement. If the user is performing contact angle measurements requiring a 0.01° resolution, the DMo series, having a two-decimal resolution also for interfacial tension, will be ideal.
All Kyowa contact angle meters are equipped with high-resolution optical systems. The most basic model has a USB 2.0 CMOS camera that can record videos at 30 fps and 640 x 480 pixels. Top-end models, namely the DMo series, have cameras that can record videos at up to 333 fps and 640 x 136 pixels. Using the image captured by the cameras, drop deposition can be automatically detected. The live video which is captured can also be recorded and converted into a video for further analysis.
In addition to the bench-top models, Kyowa also have a portable variant which is preferred for on-site measurements which require the product to be moved around. The PCA-11 can be used to analyse the wettability of materials such as glass, metal, film, paper, pulp, polymer, wood, and a lot more. The product weighs just over half a kilogram and can perform the entire procedure on a single click in a non-destructive manner.
Contact angle meters are widely used to determine and analyse the following properties:
Agaram Industries is the exclusive distributor of Kyowa interface Science Co. Ltd products in India. To get a quotation with the contact angle meter price, you can fill up this form or send an email to sales@agaramindia.com
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