Heating and Vacuum Isolation Chamber

The drying system in place in the SiMM Laboratory is a fully instrumented and automated isolation chamber. The stainless steel chamber is connected to a 5 hp vacuum pump via 1" (2.5 cm) stainless steel tubing and flex hose. The plumbing configuration can be readily altered, as all fittings are Swagelock. The chamber is also wrapped with three 3.5 kW band heaters that are controlled by a PID controller. The interior dimensions of the isolation chamber measure 18" (45 cm) in diameter and 52" (130 cm) in height. The vacuum system is capable drawing the pressure inside the chamber down to approximately 0.5 torr ( 0.5 mm Hg), and the band heaters can be set at temperatures in excess of 300 degrees C.

The valves and heaters are controlled by a PC via LabVIEW control software. The system is fully instrumented with a plethora of thermocouples and pressure transducers, all of which report back to the LabVIEW control software via a Hewlett Packard data acquisition unit.

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This page is under construction. Stay tuned for future developments.



For more information, questions, or comments: SiMM Laboratory