PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL ANALYSIS BASED ON THE CONTROL OF INTERFACE TENSIONS

摘要

Process and apparatus for analysing the characteristics of a liquid/fluid interface, especially in the presence of surface-active agents. According to the invention, a tensimeter operating according to the principle of the suspended drop is used, and the amount of liquid injected in the drop is adjusted according to the value of the calculated interface tension; the volume of the formed drop is progressively increased as the interface tension tends to diminish. There is provided, therefore, a drop-forming device (30), a means for acquiring an image of the drop, a means for reading the drop contour (40), a means (50) for calculating the interface tension based on the shape and the size of the contour and an adjustment means (60). The process avails itself of a method of high speed measurement of interface tension, using all the points in the drop contour and provides a value in less than a second with the aid of a microcomputer.