Wettability measurment apparatus for porous material using modified washburn method

In this paper we are presenting the design and development of computer interfaced wettability apparatus which works on modified Washburn method for measurement of wettability and penetration kinetics of liquid into porous material. The mass gain of the penetration liquid in to tube filled with powder was measured vs time. A LabVIEW based data acquisition system was developed to acquire online wettability data in to computer. One of the primary objectives of research is to develop cost effective, user friendly apparatus for developing county like India. The wettability instrument developed at Shah Schulman Center for Surface Science and Nanotechnology uses electronic balance with little modification as a sensor, RS232 serial communication which eliminate requirement of proprietary protocol for communication and LabVIEW as data logging software which provides facility for online plotting and report generation. Here we are presenting results of starch powder coated with nano particle aerosol silica r972( hydrophobic) and 200p( hydrophilic) with water and hexene. We are also presenting wettability results of PTFE powder coated with AOT surfactant. This instrument is very useful for measurement of wettability in areas like food processing, horticultures, textile manufacturing and civil engineering,etc. This instrument is very useful for industries, small research laboratories and academic institution.