Transpec™ Systems
GnoSys UK Ltd undertakes specialist instrumentation development for rapid analysis
applications.
Transpec™ is a portable, NIR, diffuse reflectance
probe and spectrometer system. It has been developed as a rapid, non-destructive
method for field measurements of power insulation, engineering thermoplastics and
other organic materials. The instrument is used to characterise the aged condition
of these materials and predict parameters such as remaining lifetime.
TransChem™ is the software environment in which TranSpec™ operates.
The software includes a number of functions, including spectrometer operation and
configuration, remote controlled scanning from the probe, and the use of chemometrics
routines for on-line prediction of sample properties using calibration models that
are installed on the system. The calibration models are specific to the particular
sample type (for example, paper or plastics).
This method relies on spectral absorption to characterise materials. However, in
contrast to conventional analysis, which relies on discrete absorptions, TranSpec™
uses all spectral information over a wide wavelength range to analyse organic molecules,
such as natural and synthetic polymers and additives, to provide a “materials fingerprint”
sensitive to the local molecular environment.
Transformer Insulation Assessment
PCA and PLS analysis, implemented in the TransChem™ software, extracts correlation
between spectral features and sample properties, in this case degree of polymerisation
(DP), and indicator of paper degradation. Prediction of DP can be achieved to an
accuracy of 50 units using this method.
Key Steps
- Obtain calibration data from samples in laboratory
- Construct calibration models
- Take measurements on site
- Validate models and predict sample properties
More detailed information is available to
download.
Enclosure Plastics Assessment
Cluster analysis – implemented in the TransChem™ software – groups similar
materials together, allowing grade information to be extracted. The figure shows
the variation observed in PET bottles from many different suppliers - this includes
colour information, an important parameter.
The information in these data is rich, and provides more than just identity. It
can be used, through the inherent correlations between molecular structure and physical
properties, to qualify the materials without doing tedious and imprecise “first
principles” calculations.
The method is “trained” on characterised library samples for the materials of interest,
then validated.
Key Steps
- Obtain polymer spectral database
- Polymer type discrimination
- Polymer property/quality determination
More detailed information is available to download.
