Spraytec - Optical System

The design of the Spraytec optical system has been optimised to ensure that reproducible spray droplet measurements can be achieved without the risk of optical contamination.

• Wide Angular Range: The lens and detector systems permit light scattering measurements to be made over a wide angular range, ensuring broad spray droplet distributions can be characterised.
• Compound Optics: Enables both 750mm and 300mm focal length lenses to be used without the need for long optical benches, yielding improved measurement robustness.
• Large Diameter Lens: The Spraytec lens system has an effective diameter of 120mm. This allows the scattering from 0.5µm particles to be correctly captured over a working distance of 150mm, reducing the risk of optical contamination. This compares to a working distance of only 2mm for older laser diffraction systems.
• Logarithmic Detector Array: The angular range sampled by each detector in the Spraytec increases logarithmically as the angle increases, optimising the sensitivity to changes in both the coarse and fine particle fraction.
• Auto-alignment: guarantees that the optical system alignment is optimised at the beginning of each measurement, ensuring accurate results are obtained..
• Data Acquisition Electronics: Samples the entire detector array in parallel every 100 microseconds. This ensures that the atomisation dynamics can be followed precisely and guarantees accurate sampling of the particles within the spray plume.

The system is designed with flexibility of application in mind. Diverse spray systems can be measured; from the wide, concentrated sprays used in coating or agrochemical applications, through to the low concentration aerosols produced by pharmaceutical drug delivery devices:

• X95 Optical Bench: Provides a rigid platform that ensures accurate optical alignment is achieved, even over long distances (up to 2.5m). This also provides a reference point for each of the Spraytec accessories.
• Moveable Optics: The transmitter and reviver units can be moved along the optical bench, allowing the system to be easily reconfigured for different spray types.
• IP rated: The Spraytec system is totally protected against dust and protected against low-pressure water jets.