CAM 200 Interfacial Tensiometer

Interfacial tension is an important property for predicting interparticle adhesion forces and droplet size distributions in oil and water emulsions. The Center for Hydrate Research has recently acquired an interfacial tensiometer and a densitometer which together can be used to determine this property.

The CAM 200 from KSV Instruments is designed for the dynamic measurement of surface and interfacial tensions, static and dynamic contact angles and solid surface free energies. Interfacial tension measurements are made using the pendant drop technique where a Young-Laplace force balance is regressed to the droplet curvature.

Figure 1: KSV Instruments CAM 200

A critical component of the force balance is the density difference between the two liquid phases. Density can be measured using the DMA 4500 from Anton Paar. The density is measured using an oscillating U-tube where the frequency of oscillation is used to determine the density of the sample.

Figure 2: Anton Paar DMA 4500