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.6

55

.1

66

.2

74

.6

31

.0

37

.9

43

.1

52

.0

62

.5

70

.5

32

.0

35

.8

40

.7

49

.1

59

.1

66

.6

33

.0

33

.9

38

.5

46

.4

55

.8

62

.9

34

.0

32

.0

36

.4

43

.9

52

.8

59

.5

35

.0

30

.3

34

.4

41

.5

49

.9

56

.3

36

.0

28

.7

32

.6

39

.3

47

.2

53

.3

37

.0

27

.1

30

.8

37

.2

44

.7

50

.4

38

.0

25

.7

29

.2

35

.2

42

.4

47

.8

39

.0

24

.4

27

.7

33

.4

40

.1

45

.3

40

.0

23

.1

26

.2

31

.7

38

.0

42

.9

This

tab

le s

ho

ws

the

max

imu

m a

dvi

sabl

e am

bien

t h

um

idit

y le

vels

for

the

ambi

ent

room

an

d t

est

tem

per

atu

res.

St

ayin

g w

ith

in t

hes

e li

mit

s p

reve

nts

co

nd

ensa

tio

n i

n a

nd

on

th

e V

SA.

Op

erat

ing

in h

um

idit

y an

d t

emp

erat

ure

co

nd

itio

ns

beyo

nd

th

ese

lim

its

void

s th

e V

SA w

arra

nty

an

d c

an d

amag

e th

e in

stru

men

t. P

leas

e co

nta

ct u

s if

yo

u h

ave

any

qu

esti

on

s or

req

uir

e an

y ad

dit

ion

al a

ssis

tan

ce.

98

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A1

INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

loss

ofanti

cip

ated

pro

fits

),occ

asio

ned

by

orar

isin

gou

tof

the

inst

al-

lati

on,

op

erat

ion

,u

se,

mis

use

,n

onu

se,

rep

air,

orre

pla

cem

ent

of

said

mat

eria

lan

deq

uip

men

t,or

out

ofth

euse

ofan

ym

eth

od

orp

roce

ssfo

rw

hic

hth

esa

me

may

be

emp

loye

d.

Th

eu

seof

this

equ

ipm

ent

con

-st

itu

tes

Bu

yer’

sac

cep

tan

ceof

the

term

sse

tfo

rth

inth

isw

arra

nty

.T

her

ear

eno

un

der

stan

din

gs,

rep

rese

nta

tion

s,or

war

ranti

esof

any

kin

d,

exp

ress

,im

pli

ed,

stat

uto

ryor

other

wis

e(i

ncl

ud

ing,

bu

tw

ith

-ou

tli

mit

atio

n,

the

imp

lied

war

ranti

esof

mer

chan

tab

ilit

yan

dfi

tnes

sfo

ra

part

icula

rp

urp

ose)

,n

otex

pre

ssly

set

fort

hh

erei

n.

3

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A13

AP

PE

ND

IXA

13

Ap

pen

dix

A

Tem

pera

ture

Corre

ctio

nof

Decagon

’sV

erifi

catio

nS

tan

dard

s

Tab

le3:

Water

Activ

ityof

Selected

Solu

tion

s

Tem

p.

H2 O

0.502.33

6.008.57

13.41

( ◦C)

mol/k

gm

ol/kg

mol/k

gm

ol/kg

mol/

kg

KC

LN

aCL

NaC

LL

iCl

LiC

l

10.01.0

000.984

0.9230.762

0.491

0.234

15.01.0

000.984

0.9230.761

0.492

0.238

20.01.0

000.984

0.9220.760

0.496

0.245

25.01.0

000.984

0.9200.760

0.500

0.250

30.01.0

000.984

0.9200.760

0.504

0.255

35.01.0

000.984

0.9200.760

0.508

0.261

40.01.0

000.984

0.9210.760

0.512

0.266

50.01.0

000.984

0.8940.740

0.517

0.275

60.01.0

000.984

0.8940.740

0.505

0.279

Note:

The

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

Am

easu

resth

eseverifi

catio

nsta

ndard

sto

±0.005

aw

,±0.02

with

vola

tileson

yes.

97

2A

BO

UT

TH

EV

SA

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

2A

bou

tth

eV

SA

Th

eV

SA

Isotherm

Gen

eratoris

anau

tomatic

moistu

resorp

tionisoth

ermgen

erator

that

cangen

erateb

othd

yn

am

ican

deq

uilib

rium

moistu

resorp

tionisoth

erms.

2.1

Moistu

reS

orp

tion

Isoth

erm

s

Am

oisture

sorption

isotherm

defi

nes

the

relationsh

ipb

etween

water

activ

ity(a

w)

and

moistu

recon

tent

ata

giventem

peratu

re.T

his

re-lation

ship

iscom

plex

and

un

iqu

efor

eachp

rod

uct

du

eto

diff

erent

interaction

s(colligative,

capillary,

and

surface

effects)

betw

eenth

ew

ateran

dth

esolid

comp

onen

tsat

diff

erent

moistu

reco

nten

ts.A

nin

creaseinaw

almost

alway

saccom

pan

iesan

increase

inw

atercon

-ten

t,b

ut

ina

non

-linear

fashion

.M

oisture

sorption

isoth

erms

aresigm

oidal

insh

ape

form

ostfo

od

s,alth

ough

food

sth

atco

ntain

larg

eam

ounts

ofsu

garor

small

solub

lem

olecules

have

aJ-ty

pe

isotherm

curve

shap

e.

Isotherm

sp

rovid

ein

formation

abou

tp

rod

uct

qu

alityan

dsafety.

Afew

uses

forisoth

erms

inclu

de:

1.M

onolayer

moistu

recon

tent

determ

ination

.2.

Determ

ine

criticalw

ateractiv

ityor

moistu

recon

tent.

3.L

imits

forcrisp

ness,

hard

ness,

and

flow

prop

erties.4.

Op

timize

moistu

recon

tents

ata

safew

ateractiv

ityth

atm

ax-

imizes

moistu

rean

davoid

sover

dry

ing.

5.D

etermin

esh

elf-lifean

dstorage

stability

ofa

pro

du

ct.6.

Pred

ictp

ackaging

requ

iremen

tsb

asedon

sorption

prop

ertiesof

ap

rod

uct.

7.D

etermin

ekin

eticsof

sorption

and

water

vapor

diff

usion

coef-

ficien

ts8.

Determ

ine

the

equ

ilibriu

mw

ateractiv

ityof

am

ixtu

reof

dry

ingred

ients.

9.D

etermin

eth

ed

egreeof

crystallin

ityof

pow

ders.

10.D

etermin

eth

elevel

ofam

orphou

sm

aterialin

ap

rod

uct.

11.D

etermin

ecritical

water

activities

forp

hase

tran

sitions.

4

12S

UP

PO

RT

AN

DR

EP

AIR

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

inco

rrec

tp

leas

eco

nta

cta

Dec

agon

rep

rese

nta

tive

.

6.T

ape

the

box

inb

oth

dir

ecti

ons

for

add

edsu

pp

ort.

7.In

clu

de

the

RM

Anu

mb

erin

the

atte

nti

onli

ne

on

the

ship

pin

gla

bel

.

Sh

ipto

:D

ecag

onD

evic

esIn

c.A

TT

N:

RM

A(i

nse

rtyo

ur

RM

A#

)23

65N

EH

opkin

sC

ourt

Pu

llm

an,

WA

9916

3

12.1

Rep

air

Cost

s

Dec

agon

Dev

ices

rep

airs

man

ufa

ctu

rer

def

ects

an

din

stru

men

tsw

ith

inth

eon

eye

arw

arra

nty

atn

och

arge

.W

ech

arge

you

for

non

-war

ranty

rep

airs

bas

edon

cost

ofp

arts

,la

bor

and

ship

pin

g.A

nex

tra

fee

may

be

char

ged

for

rush

wor

k.

Dec

agon

can

pro

vid

ean

esti

mat

edre

pai

rco

stu

pon

requ

est.

96

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A2

AB

OU

TT

HE

VS

A

12.

Det

erm

ine

the

rela

tion

ship

bet

wee

nw

ater

acti

vit

yan

dgl

ass

tran

siti

onte

mp

erat

ure

.13

.D

eter

min

eth

ere

lati

onsh

ipb

etw

een

wat

erac

tivit

yan

dcr

yst

al-

liza

tion

.14

.D

eter

min

ehyst

eres

isle

vels

for

ap

rod

uct

.15

.D

eter

min

eth

em

oist

ure

sen

siti

vit

yof

ap

rod

uct

.16

.D

eter

min

eth

eeq

uil

ibri

um

moi

stu

reco

nte

nt

ata

give

nw

ater

act

ivit

y.17

.A

llow

rap

idm

oist

ure

conte

nt

det

erm

inat

ion

from

wat

erac

tiv-

ity

an

alysi

sth

rou

ghan

isot

her

mcu

rve.

2.2

Measu

rem

ent

Meth

od

Th

eV

SA

isth

eon

lyau

tom

atic

isot

her

mge

ner

ator

that

can

crea

teis

oth

erm

su

sin

gb

oth

dyn

amic

and

stat

icm

eth

od

s.T

he

VS

Au

ses

the

Dyn

amic

Dew

Poi

nt

Isot

her

m(D

DI)

met

hod

top

rodu

ced

yn

amic

isot

her

ms

and

aco

ntr

olle

dhu

mid

ity

and

bal

ance

syst

em,

com

mon

lyre

ferr

edto

asD

yn

amic

Vap

orS

orpti

on(D

VS

),to

pro

du

cest

atic

oreq

uil

ibri

um

isot

her

ms.

Th

eD

DI

met

hod

for

dyn

amic

isot

her

ms

isa

wate

rac

tivit

yan

dgr

avi-

met

ric

analy

sis

met

hod

that

contr

ols

nei

ther

wat

erco

nte

nt

nor

wat

erac

tivit

y,b

ut

dri

esor

wet

sth

esa

mp

lean

dm

easu

res

wat

erac

tivit

yan

dw

ater

conte

nt

du

rin

gth

ew

etti

ng

ord

ryin

gp

roce

ss.

Th

eV

SA

det

er-

min

esw

ater

conte

nt

by

wei

ghin

gth

esa

mp

leu

sin

ga

hig

hp

reci

sion

mag

net

icfo

rce

bal

ance

and

wat

erac

tivit

yw

ith

Dec

agon

’sp

aten

ted

chil

led

-mir

ror

dew

poi

nt

sen

sor.

Th

eV

SA

imp

oses

dry

ing

ofth

esa

mp

leby

flow

ing

dry

air

from

ad

esic

cant

tub

eac

ross

the

sam

ple

and

wet

tin

gof

the

sam

ple

by

satu

rati

ng

the

air

wit

hw

ater

bef

ore

iten

ters

the

cham

ber

tofl

owac

ross

the

sam

ple

.T

he

VS

Aw

ate

rre

serv

oir

mou

nts

toth

ete

mp

erat

ure

contr

olle

dlo

wer

blo

ckto

ensu

rehu

mid

ity

satu

rati

onan

dm

inim

ize

tem

per

atu

refl

uct

uat

ion

.

Th

eD

VS

met

hod

for

stat

icor

equil

ibri

um

isot

her

ms

con

sist

sof

trac

k-

ing

sam

ple

wei

ght

chan

geas

the

sam

ple

isex

pos

edto

diff

eren

tco

n-

trol

led

hu

mid

itie

s.T

he

sam

ple

ish

eld

atea

chhu

mid

ity

for

ap

rese

tti

me

inte

rval

orunti

la

stea

dy

stat

ew

eigh

tch

ange

isac

hie

ved

,th

ego

alb

ein

gto

ach

ieve

equ

ilib

riu

mb

etw

een

the

sam

ple

wat

erac

tiv-

5

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A12

SU

PP

OR

TA

ND

RE

PA

IR

12

Su

pp

ort

an

dR

ep

air

Note:

Ifyo

upu

rchased

you

rA

quaL

ab

from

on

eof

ou

rin

ternatio

nal

distribu

tors,

plea

seco

nta

ctth

em.

They

can

pro

vide

you

with

local

suppo

rtan

dservice.

Wh

enen

counterin

gp

roblem

sw

ithyou

rV

SA

(that

youare

un

ab

leto

resolvew

ithth

eh

elpof

this

man

ual),

please

contact

Decago

nC

us-

tomer

Su

pp

ort

atsu

pp

ort@aq

ualab

.com,

509-332-5601

orfa

xu

sat

509-332-5158.

Please

hav

eth

eserial

nu

mb

eran

dm

od

elof

the

in-

strum

ent

ready.

Aqu

aLab

annu

alcalib

rationis

available.

For

details

onsen

din

gyou

rA

qu

aLab

toD

ecagonor

your

distrib

utor

forcalib

ration,

contact

us

by

ph

one

orem

ailat

sup

port@

aqu

alab.com

.

All

instru

men

tsretu

rnin

gto

Decagon

forserv

icing

mu

stb

eaccom

-p

anied

with

aR

eturn

Material

Au

thorization

(RM

A)

nu

mb

er.P

riorto

ship

pin

gth

ein

strum

ent,

please

contact

aD

ecagoncu

stomer

sup

-p

ortrep

resentative

toob

tainan

RM

Anu

mb

er.

Sh

ipp

ing

Dire

ctio

ns

Th

efollow

ing

steps

shou

ldh

elpto

ensu

reth

esafe

ship

pin

gan

dp

ro-cessin

gof

you

rV

SA

.

1.S

hip

the

VS

Ain

itsorigin

alcard

board

box

with

foam

insert.

Failu

reto

ship

inp

roper

packagin

gcan

dam

ageth

escale

and

voidth

ew

arranty.

2.D

on

otsh

ipth

ep

ower

cordor

serialcab

lean

db

esu

reth

ew

atertan

kis

emp

ty.

3.R

emov

eth

ed

esiccant

tub

esan

dw

rapth

emin

bu

bb

lew

rapto

inclu

de

with

your

VS

A.

4.R

emov

eth

ew

eight

pan

and

aircy

lind

er,w

rap

both

separately

top

revent

dam

age.

5.O

nth

eR

MA

form,

please

verifyth

esh

ipto

an

db

illto

infor-

mation

,con

tactn

ame,

and

prob

lemd

escription

.If

anyth

ing

is

95

2A

BO

UT

TH

EV

SA

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

ityan

dth

econ

trolledhu

mid

ity.C

ustom

ersty

pically

choose

several

hu

mid

itylevels

top

resetd

urin

gth

eset

up

pro

cess.T

he

instru

men

tth

entrack

seq

uilib

rium

progress

ateach

hu

mid

itylevel

and

auto

-m

aticallystep

sto

the

nex

thu

mid

ityw

hen

equ

ilibriu

mreq

uirem

ents

are

achieved

.W

eight

chan

geversu

stim

ed

atais

recorded

allow

ing

ford

etermin

ing

kin

eticsof

sorption

foreach

hu

mid

itylev

el.U

sing

lessstrin

gent

equilib

rium

settings

forw

eight

chan

geor

setting

are-

du

cedtim

ein

tervalat

eachstep

cansp

eedu

pth

eisoth

ermtest,

bu

tm

aygive

non

-equ

ilibriu

mresu

lts.In

add

ition,

setting

smaller

steps

inhu

mid

ityin

creaseth

ed

ataresolu

tionof

the

isotherm

,b

ut

at

the

exp

ense

ofm

uch

longer

testtim

es.

Th

eV

SA

isa

stan

d-alon

ein

strum

ent

with

anin

tegratedp

um

psy

s-tem

that

elimin

atesth

en

eedfor

anex

ternal

gas

cylin

der,

how

everyou

can

use

anex

ternal

gassou

rceif

desired

.T

he

instru

men

tcon

-sists

ofa

casew

hich

hou

sesth

ep

ower

sup

ply,

airp

um

p,

balan

ce,tem

peratu

recon

trolledsam

ple

cham

ber,

sensor

blo

ck,

sensor

an

dtem

peratu

recon

trolelectron

ics,w

aterreservoir,

and

desicca

nt

sup

-p

ly.S

etup

isas

simp

leas

plu

gging

the

instru

men

tin

,in

stalling

the

desicca

nt

tub

es,an

dfi

lling

the

water

reservoir.T

estp

arameters

can

be

setu

sing

anon

board

interface

oru

sing

acon

nected

com

pu

teran

dV

SA

software

package.

2.3

Aqu

aL

ab

Vap

or

Sorp

tion

An

aly

zer

Sp

ecifi

catio

ns

Water

Activ

ity(R

elative

Hu

mid

ity)

Accu

racy:±

0.005

aw

(0.5%R

H)

(forvo

latilessettin

g,±0.02

aw

,2%

RH

)

Water

Activ

ity(R

elative

Hu

mid

ity)

Resolu

tion:

0.00

01aw

(0.0

1%R

H);±

0.001aw

(0.1%R

H)

forvolatiles

setting

Water

Activ

ity(R

elative

Hu

mid

ity)

Ran

ge:0.03

to0.9

5aw

(3%

to95%

RH

)

Water

Activ

ity(R

elative

Hu

mid

ity)

Rep

eatability

:±0.00

3aw

(0.3%R

H)

(forvolatiles

setting,±

0.02

aw

,2%

RH

)

Op

erating

Environ

men

t:4

to50

◦C;

0to

90%R

elativeH

um

idity

(Non

-Con

den

sing)

6

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

Cap

Off

set:

Th

eca

pac

itiv

eR

Hca

lib

rati

onoff

set

isze

roif

the

VS

Ais

run

nin

goff

ofth

ed

efau

ltfa

ctor

yca

lib

rati

on.

Th

isva

lue

ind

icate

sth

eoff

set

the

inst

rum

ent

app

lies

toth

ew

ater

acti

vit

yre

adin

gs

for

accu

rate

read

ings

.

94

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A2

AB

OU

TT

HE

VS

A

Sam

ple

Wei

ght

Ran

ge:

500

to50

00m

g

Sam

ple

Tem

per

atu

reC

ontr

olR

ange

:15

to60

◦ Cat

ST

P

Sam

ple

Tem

per

atu

reS

tab

ilit

y:±

1◦ C

Exte

rnal

Gas

:7

PS

Im

ax,

ifre

qu

ired

Mass

Res

olu

tion

:0.5

mg

Sam

ple

Dis

hV

olu

me:

7.5

ml

reco

mm

end

ed;

15m

lfu

ll

Wat

erR

eser

voir

:20

ml

Pro

gram

Iden

tifi

cati

on:

Alp

han

um

eric

and

pro

gra

mm

able

tod

is-

pla

yp

rod

uct

nam

e,lo

tan

dID

nu

mb

er

Dat

aS

tora

ge:

1te

st

Dat

aC

omm

unic

atio

ns :

US

B

Dis

pla

y:

64x

128

Gra

ph

ical

dis

pla

yw

ith

bac

kli

ghti

ng

Cas

eD

imen

sion

s(F

oot

pri

nt)

:38

.1x

26.7

x30

.5cm

(15

x10

.5x

12in

)

Cas

eM

ater

ial:

Mac

hin

edal

um

inu

mfr

ame;

pol

yu

reth

an

ep

last

icw

ith

fire

reta

rdan

t

Wei

ght:

33

pou

nd

s

Un

iver

sal

Pow

er:

110

Vto

220

VA

C.

50/6

0H

z

Op

erat

ing

Envir

onm

ent:

4to

50◦ C

;0

to90

%R

elati

veH

um

idit

y(N

onC

ond

ensi

ng)

Cer

tifi

cati

ons:

CE

Warr

anty

:O

ne

year

par

tsan

dla

bor

7

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

weigh

tm

easurem

ents.

Th

eA

ctb

utton

isan

easyw

ayto

verifyth

eactu

atorfu

nctio

n.

Pu

mp

:T

he

pu

mp

pressu

reis

only

validw

hen

the

pu

mp

isactive.

Wh

enth

ep

um

pis

off,

the

pressu

resh

ould

be

betw

een0

an

d0.7

kP

a.T

his

pressu

reread

ing

alsoap

plies

toan

auxiliary

air

sup

ply.

Wh

enth

eair

sup

ply

isactive

the

pressu

rein

the

system

shou

ldn

otex

ceed52

kP

a.

Ifth

ep

um

pp

ressure

contin

ually

reads

zero(even

wh

enyou

press

the

switch

desiccan

tb

utton

)th

enth

ep

um

psy

stemm

ayneed

tob

eserv

iced.

Desic

cant:

Th

ed

esiccant

hu

mid

ityvalu

ein

dicates

the

effectiven

essof

the

desiccan

ttu

bes.

Initially

wh

enth

ed

iagnostic

screenis

turn

edon

,th

ep

um

psu

pp

liesfl

owth

rough

the

actived

esiccant

tub

eto

help

verifyth

at

itcan

desiccate

prop

erly.A

fter30

secon

ds

of

pu

mp

ing,

the

desiccan

thu

mid

ityread

ing

shou

ldb

e5%

orless.

Ifth

ed

esic-can

thu

mid

ityis

un

able

toreach

5%hu

mid

ity,refer

toS

ection

6for

instru

ction

son

replacin

gth

ed

esiccant

tub

es.

Weig

ht

Cal:

Th

ew

eight

calibration

saveda

scalarin

tom

emory

that

app

liesto

allsu

bseq

uen

tw

eight

readin

gs.A

scalarof

1m

eans

that

the

weigh

th

as

not

been

chan

gedfrom

the

defau

ltfactory

cali-b

ration.

Ifth

escalar

strays

too

farfrom

1,you

may

need

toreverify

the

balan

cean

dalso

certifyth

ew

eight

stand

ardaga

in.

Dew

Off

set:

Th

ech

illedm

irrord

ewp

oint

calibration

offset

iszero

ifit

isru

nn

ing

offof

the

defau

ltfactory

calibration

.T

his

valu

ein

di-

catesth

eoff

setth

ein

strum

ent

app

liesto

the

water

activity

read

ings

foraccu

rateread

ings.

93

3T

HE

OR

YA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

3T

heory

Water

profou

nd

lyin

flu

ences

pro

du

ctattrib

utes

such

asqu

alityan

dsafety.

To

comp

letelyu

nd

erstand

water

relations

ina

pro

du

ctre-

qu

iresan

un

derstan

din

gof

the

amou

nt

ofw

ater(m

oisture

conten

t)th

atcan

be

held

at

agiv

enen

ergystate

(water

activity

).M

oisture

sorption

isotherm

sd

escribe

the

relationsh

ipb

etween

water

activity

an

dm

oisture

conten

tat

acon

stant

temp

erature.

Th

en

ature

ofth

isrelation

ship

dep

end

son

the

interaction

betw

eenw

ateran

doth

erin

-gred

ients.

Th

eam

ount

ofw

atervap

orth

ata

pro

du

cth

asd

epen

ds

onth

ech

em-

icalcom

position

,p

hysical-ch

emical

state,an

dp

hysica

lstru

cture

of

the

pro

du

ct.C

onseq

uen

tly,th

eisoth

ermsh

ape

isu

niq

ue

toea

chp

rod

uct

typ

ed

ue

todiff

erences

incap

illary,su

rface,

and

colligative

effects.

(Figu

re1)

Pro

du

ctsth

atlie

inth

elow

water

activ

ityp

ortio

nof

the

isotherm

are

often

referredto

asd

ry,th

osein

the

ran

geof

0.6

0aw

to0.90

aw

arein

termed

iatem

oisture

pro

du

cts,an

dth

oseh

avin

gw

ateractiv

itiesh

igher

than

0.90are

high

water

activity

pro

du

cts.

For

easeof

interp

retation,

isotherm

sare

oftenid

entifi

edby

Bru

nau

erclassifi

cations

(Bru

nau

er,1945).

Most

food

and

ph

armaceu

ticalpro

d-

ucts

fallu

nd

erty

pe

I,II,

orIII.

Typ

eI

isotherm

sare

typ

icalof

veryhygroscop

icm

aterials.T

yp

eII

(sigmoid

al)isoth

erms

arety

pica

lfor

interm

ediate

moistu

rep

rod

ucts.

Typ

eIII

(J-sh

ap

ed)

isoth

erms

arety

pical

forcry

stalline

and

coatedm

aterials.T

hese

gen

eral

classifica

-tion

sproved

usefu

lw

hen

isotherm

son

everyp

rod

uct

was

not

feasible

du

eto

time

and

labor

constrain

ts.H

owever,

with

autom

ation

and

imp

rovedsp

eed,

isotherm

scan

easilyb

econ

du

ctedon

any

pro

du

ctan

dth

eu

niq

uen

essof

eachisoth

ermoften

proves

more

valu

able

than

placin

gth

emin

acom

mon

classification

.

3.1

Moistu

reS

orp

tion

Isoth

erm

Meth

od

s

Con

structin

gan

isotherm

consists

ofcollectin

gw

ateractiv

ityan

dm

oisture

conten

td

ataat

various

poin

tsalon

gth

ew

ateractiv

ityran

ge.T

he

range

ofw

ateractiv

itiesyou

use

oftend

epen

ds

onth

esitu

ation

,b

ut

norm

allyru

nfrom

0.10aw

up

to0.90

aw

.Y

ou

canru

n

8

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

Ifth

em

irro

rte

mp

erat

ure

isat

lid

tem

per

atu

re,

the

cool

erh

as

fail

edan

dm

ust

be

rep

lace

d.

Ifth

em

irro

ris

bel

owth

eli

dte

mp

eratu

reor

app

ears

tob

era

nd

om,

the

ther

moco

up

lew

ire

isb

roke

nan

dm

ust

be

rep

aire

d.

Ifth

eli

dte

mp

erat

ure

ism

uch

hig

her

than

the

set

tem

per

-at

ure

,th

eli

dfa

nm

ayh

ave

fail

edan

dm

ust

be

rep

lace

d.

RH

:T

his

scre

ensh

ows

the

cap

acit

ive

sen

sor

RH

per

centa

ge

whic

hsh

ould

alw

ays

be

bet

wee

n0

and

100%

.

Weig

ht:

Th

ew

eigh

tm

easu

rem

ent

up

dat

esin

real-

tim

ean

dca

nb

eze

roed

for

mea

sure

men

tsby

pre

ssin

gth

esc

ale

icon

(2n

db

utt

on

from

the

left

).If

the

wei

ght

read

sov

erlo

ador

un

der

load

,th

eb

alan

ceis

bro

ken

and

nee

ds

tob

ere

pla

ced

.A

neg

ativ

eva

lue

ind

icat

esth

at

the

bal

ance

nee

ds

tob

ere

-zer

oed

ifyo

uw

ant

tota

kew

eigh

tm

ea-

sure

men

ts.

Op

tical:

Aty

pic

alop

tica

lra

nge

isb

etw

een

500

mV

and

2900

mV

.

Latc

h:

To

det

erm

ine

ifth

ela

tch

isfu

nct

ionin

gp

rop

erly

,op

enan

dcl

ose

the

latc

hw

hil

em

onit

orin

gth

ela

tch

stat

us

on

the

scre

en.

Ifth

esc

reen

does

not

up

dat

eth

ela

tch

stat

us

wh

enyo

uop

enan

dcl

ose

the

latc

h,

the

latc

hm

agn

etm

ayn

eed

tob

ere

-sea

ted

(wit

hth

eco

rrec

tp

olar

ity)

orth

eH

all

Eff

ect

sen

sor

nee

ds

tob

ere

alig

ned

wit

hth

em

agn

et.

Actu

ato

r:T

he

Act

bu

tton

togg

les

the

actu

ator

onan

doff

,lift

-in

gth

esa

mple

pan

up

and

dow

nto

con

firm

the

actu

ator

fun

ctio

ns

pro

per

ly.

Use

this

bu

tton

tove

rify

that

the

actu

ato

rw

orks

corr

ectl

yan

dth

atit

isn

otth

row

ing

offw

eigh

tre

adin

gs.

Occ

asio

nall

yco

nta

m-

inan

tsor

def

ects

can

cau

seth

ecy

lin

der

tost

ick

and

pre

vent

acc

ura

te

92

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A3

TH

EO

RY

Fig

ure

1:M

oist

ure

Ad

sorp

tion

Isot

her

ms

the

ran

geofaw

by

contr

olli

ng

wat

erac

tivit

yle

vels

usi

ng

satu

rate

dsa

ltsl

urr

ies

orm

ech

anic

alhu

mid

ifier

san

dd

eter

min

ing

equ

ilib

riu

mm

oist

ure

conte

nt

atea

chw

ater

acti

vit

yle

vel.

Equ

ilib

riu

mis

assu

med

wh

enth

ew

eight

ofth

esa

mp

lest

ops

chan

gin

g.T

his

pro

cess

isof

-te

nac

com

pli

shed

usi

ng

seal

edch

amb

ers

such

asd

esic

cato

rsan

dth

eeq

uil

ibra

tion

pro

cess

can

take

wee

ks.

Th

ere

are

seve

ral

add

itio

nal

chal

len

ges

toex

ecu

tin

gth

ism

anu

alm

eth

od

.T

rack

ing

the

wei

ght

ofth

esa

mp

les

can

be

diffi

cult

.A

lso

wh

enre

mov

ing

the

sam

ple

sfo

rw

eigh

ing,

you

pot

enti

ally

exp

ose

them

toam

bie

nt

hu

mid

ity,

an

dat

hig

hhu

mid

itie

sth

ere

isth

ep

ossi

bil

ity

ofm

old

grow

th.

Th

eD

ecag

onV

SA

Isot

her

mG

ener

ator

use

sth

eD

VS

met

hod

des

crib

edab

ove

tosp

eed

up

and

auto

mat

eth

eco

nst

ruct

ion

ofeq

uilib

riu

mis

oth

erm

s,el

imin

atin

gth

ech

alle

nge

sof

man

ual

det

erm

inati

on.

Inad

dit

ion

al

toeq

uil

ibri

um

moi

stu

reco

nte

nts

ata

give

nw

ater

acti

vit

y,eq

uil

ibri

um

isot

her

ms

pro

vid

ein

form

atio

nab

out

kin

etic

sof

sorp

tion

and

wate

rva

por

diff

usi

onp

rop

erti

es.

Moi

stu

reso

rpti

onis

oth

erm

sca

nal

sob

ed

eter

min

edu

sin

gd

yn

amic

met

hod

ssu

chas

the

DD

Im

eth

od

use

dby

the

VS

A.T

he

DD

Im

ethod

9

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

Figu

re16

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.P

ressth

ech

eckb

utton

toretry

the

balan

ceco

mm

un

ication

.

2.T

rycy

cling

the

pow

eron

the

instru

men

t.

3.If

youcon

tinu

eto

have

prob

lems,

please

contact

you

rD

ecagonrep

resentative.

11.1

Dia

gn

ostics

Scre

en

If,after

cleanin

gyo

ur

instru

men

tan

dread

ing

the

oth

ertrou

blesh

oot-

ing

hin

ts,you

hav

ereason

tob

elieveth

aton

eof

the

comp

onen

tsof

you

rV

SA

may

be

causin

gm

easurem

ent

error,you

may

accessa

screenth

atd

isplay

svalu

esfor

comp

onen

tp

erforman

ce.N

avigate

toth

eC

onfi

guration

taban

dth

enscroll

dow

nto

the

Dia

gnostics

op-

tion.

Press

Enter

toop

ena

listof

comp

onen

tsan

dth

eirva

lues.

Th

isscreen

show

sty

pical

values

forth

etem

pera

ture

sensors

onth

ein

strum

ent.

Press

up

and

dow

nto

scrollb

etween

the

diff

erent

pages.

Lid

,b

asean

dsam

ple

temp

eratures

may

flu

ctuate

bu

tsh

ould

not

chan

gem

oreth

an0.03

◦C.

Typ

icalran

gesfor

the

lid,

base

and

sam-

ple

temp

eratures

areb

etween

24.5an

d25.5

◦C,

wh

enu

nit

temp

era-tu

reis

setto

25◦C

.

91

3T

HE

OR

YA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

directly

measu

resw

ateractiv

ityw

hile

gravim

etricallytrack

ing

weigh

t,so

there

isn

od

epen

den

ceon

equ

ilibration

tokn

own

water

activ

itylevels

tod

etermin

ew

ateractiv

ity.A

dsorp

tionoccu

rsas

satura

tedw

etair

passes

overth

esam

ple.

Desorp

tionh

app

ens

asdesiccated

air

passes

overth

esam

ple.

After

ash

ortp

eriod

oftim

e,th

eV

SA

halts

airfl

owan

dtakes

asn

apsh

otof

the

sorption

pro

cessby

directly

mea

-su

ring

the

water

activity

and

weigh

t.T

he

advan

tages

ofth

ism

ethod

inclu

de:

increased

analy

sissp

eedas

the

samp

led

oes

not

have

tow

aitfor

equ

ilibration

toa

kn

own

water

activity

and

anu

nm

atched

levelof

resolution

.T

his

makes

itp

ossible

ford

yn

amic

isotherm

sto

pro

du

ceh

ighresolu

tionisoth

erms

ina

matter

ofd

ays

instead

ofth

ew

eeks

itw

ould

taketo

make

acom

parab

leisoth

ermu

sing

equ

ilib-

rium

techn

iqu

es.T

he

high

resolution

ofd

yn

amic

isotherm

sm

akes

them

valuab

lefor

observ

ing

sud

den

chan

gesin

sorption

prop

ertiesasso

ciatedw

ithm

atrixch

anges

such

asglass

transition

.

Th

ed

yn

amic

natu

reof

the

DD

Im

ethod

mean

sth

atm

oisture

con-

tents

may

orm

ayn

otb

eat

equilib

rium

and

itis

possib

lefor

there

tob

ed

ifferen

cesb

etween

dyn

amic

and

equ

ilibriu

misoth

erms.

For

sam

-p

lesw

ithfast

vapor

diff

usion

,p

enetration

by

water

vap

orin

toth

ew

hole

samp

leis

rap

idan

disoth

erms

usin

gth

eD

DI

meth

od

for

these

typ

esof

pro

du

ctsare

comp

arable

toeq

uilib

rium

meth

od

s.H

owever,

forsa

mp

lesw

ithslow

diff

usion

rates,m

oisture

movem

ent

throu

gh

the

samp

leis

slowan

dcom

plete

diff

usion

ofm

oistu

rein

toan

dou

tof

the

samp

lem

ayb

eslow

enou

ghto

giveth

eap

pearan

ceof

vap

oreq

uilib

rium

inth

eh

eadsp

aced

urin

gw

ateractiv

ityan

alysis.

Inre-

ality,

the

moistu

reh

asn

oth

adtim

eto

be

comp

letelyab

sorbed

by

the

samp

le.Isoth

erms

forth

esety

pes

ofsam

ples

develo

ped

usin

gth

eD

DI

meth

od

may

have

lower

moistu

recon

tents

du

ring

adsorp

-tion

and

high

erm

oisture

conten

tsd

urin

gd

esorption

than

equ

ilibriu

misoth

erms,

resultin

gin

high

erlevels

ofap

paren

thysteresis.

Com

bin

ing

DV

San

dD

DI

inO

ne

Instru

ment

Au

niq

ue

and

imp

ortant

feature

ofth

eA

qu

aLab

VS

Ais

that

itca

ngen

erateb

othd

yn

amic

and

equ

ilibriu

misoth

erms.

As

exp

lained

ab

ove,b

othD

VS

and

DD

Im

ethod

sh

avead

vantages

and

disad

-van

tages.

Wh

ileth

ed

atath

eygen

erateagrees

insom

eca

ses,it

10

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.U

nst

able

ben

chor

sup

por

tfo

rth

eV

SA

.2.

Air

cyli

nd

erin

tern

alp

arts

nee

dto

be

clea

ned

.L

ift

out

air

cyli

nd

eran

dcl

ean.

3.In

teri

orp

arts

hav

esh

ifte

dan

dar

eco

nta

ctin

gso

air

cyli

nd

erd

oes

not

slid

e.4.

Ver

ify

actu

atio

nu

sin

gA

CT

Bu

tton

ind

iagn

ost

ics

as

des

crib

edin

Sec

tion

5.

26.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Sca

leca

lib

rati

onis

fail

ing.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.A

ircy

lin

der

and

inte

rnal

par

tsnee

dto

be

clea

ned

.2.

Air

cyli

nd

eris

not

actu

atin

g.M

ayb

est

ickin

gd

ue

toco

nta

mi-

nat

ion

inch

amb

er.

27.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Des

icca

nt

cart

rid

ges

har

dto

inst

all.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

Dam

pen

the

o-ri

ngs

onth

ed

esic

cant

cart

rid

geu

sin

gw

ate

rb

efor

ein

stal

lin

g.

28.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Poor

tem

per

atu

reco

ntr

olon

the

syst

em.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.C

lean

the

filt

ers

onth

een

clos

ure

fan

s.2.

Ch

eck

that

exte

rnal

fan

onth

eb

ack

ofth

eu

nit

isop

erati

onal

.

29.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Scr

een

Dis

pla

ys:

“Bal

ance

Com

mu

nic

atio

nF

ailu

re.”

90

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A3

TH

EO

RY

isth

eu

niq

uen

ess

ofth

ere

sult

sfr

omea

chm

eth

od

that

gives

them

valu

e.T

her

eis

info

rmat

ion

that

can

only

be

obta

ined

from

dyn

amic

isot

her

ms

such

ascr

itic

alw

ater

acti

vit

ies

for

gla

sstr

ansi

tion

.S

imi-

larl

y,th

ere

isin

form

atio

nth

atca

non

lyb

eob

tain

edby

equ

ilib

rium

isot

her

ms

such

askin

etic

sof

sorp

tion

.T

her

efor

e,to

pro

vid

eth

em

ost

info

rmat

ion

abou

tth

em

oist

ure

char

acte

rist

ics

ofa

mat

eria

l,b

oth

typ

esof

isot

her

ms

are

nee

ded

.T

he

VS

Aca

np

rovid

eb

oth

DV

San

dD

DI

isot

her

ms

and

even

run

them

bot

hon

one

sam

ple

.

Hyst

ere

sis

Fig

ure

2sh

ows

two

isot

her

ms,

one

obta

ined

by

wet

ting

asa

mp

lefr

omco

mp

lete

dry

nes

san

dth

eot

her

obta

ined

by

dry

ing

asa

mp

lefr

omsa

tura

tion

.T

he

arro

ws

show

the

dir

ecti

onof

the

pro

cess

.T

he

wat

erco

nte

nt

atea

chw

ater

acti

vit

yis

hig

her

du

rin

gd

esor

pti

on(d

ryin

gfr

omh

igh

wat

erco

nte

nt)

than

adso

rpti

on(w

etti

ng

from

low

wat

erco

nte

nt)

.T

his

ph

enom

enon

isca

lled

hyst

eres

is.

Th

ecu

rves

inF

igu

re2

rep

rese

nt

lim

its

orb

oun

dar

yis

oth

erm

ssi

nce

they

beg

inat

wate

rac

tivit

ies

nea

rze

roan

don

e.If

ad

ryin

gpro

cess

red

uce

sth

ew

ate

rac

tivit

yof

asa

mp

leon

lyp

art

way

tod

ryn

ess,

and

the

sam

ple

isth

enw

etag

ain

,it

foll

ows

ap

ath

bet

wee

nth

ew

etti

ng

and

dry

ing

bou

nd

-ar

ycu

rves

,as

show

nin

Fig

ure

3.T

hes

ecu

rves

are

call

edsc

ann

ing

curv

es,

and

ther

eca

nb

ean

infi

nit

enu

mb

erof

them

dep

end

ing

onw

her

ed

ryin

gst

ops

and

star

ts.

Fig

ure

2:F

ull

Isot

her

mS

how

ing

Hyst

eres

is

11

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

22.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Weigh

tis

increasin

gd

urin

gd

esorption

.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.D

esiccant

cartridge

has

been

used

up

.2.

Pu

mp

isn

otw

orkin

g.3.

Desicca

nt

tub

e/tub

esleak

ing.

4.S

calen

eeds

tob

ech

eckedfor

calibration

.

23.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Isotherm

testh

asstop

ped

prem

aturely.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.D

own

loadth

etest

with

the

Moistu

reA

naly

sisT

oolk

it.2.

Nav

igateto

the

Tab

leview

.3.

Scroll

dow

nto

the

lastd

atarecord

inth

elist.

4.L

ook

inth

esp

ecialcon

dition

colum

nto

seew

hat

caused

the

testto

stopp

rematu

rely.5.

Refer

toth

etrou

blesh

ootin

gsection

that

references

the

specia

lcon

dition

ind

icated.

24.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Isotherm

testis

takin

gan

unu

sually

long

time

tocom

plete,

even

ath

ighfl

owrates.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.S

amp

leh

asvery

slowsorp

tionp

roperties.

2.In

creaseth

efl

owrate.

3.W

atertan

kh

as

run

dry.

4.D

esiccant

cartridge

has

been

used

up

.

25.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Scale

readin

gsare

not

stable

orth

esam

ple

cup

scan

not

be

tared.

89

3T

HE

OR

YA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

Figu

re3:

Scan

nin

gA

dsorp

tionC

urves

From

Dry

ing

toV

ary

ingaw

Th

eseob

servations

help

clarifyth

ep

oint

that

anisoth

ermis

not

asin

glevalu

edfu

nction

.T

he

water

conten

tfor

any

givenw

ater

ac-tiv

ityvalu

ed

epen

ds

onth

ew

etting

and

dry

ing

history

ofth

esam

ple.

Itis

possib

leto

obtain

isotherm

data

wh

ichap

pears

tosh

owhys-

teresisby

failing

toallow

asam

ple

toeq

uilib

rateat

eachstep

,or

by

ind

ucin

gch

anges

inth

ew

aterb

ind

ing

prop

ertiesof

the

matrix

by

wettin

gor

dry

ing.

We

prefer

totreat

these

casessep

arately,

an

dre-

serveth

eterm

hysteresis

forsitu

ations

wh

ereeq

uilib

rium

isreach

ed,

bu

tw

atercon

tents

ofw

ettedan

dd

riedsam

ples

stilld

iffer

beca

use

of

their

history.

Th

ereare

four

prim

arym

od

elsfor

hysteresis.

Th

eseth

eoriesem

-p

hasize;

capillary

cond

ensation

ofp

orous

solids,

ph

ase

chan

ges

of

non

-porou

ssolid

s,stru

ctural

chan

gesw

ithin

asolid

matrix

,an

dsu

-p

ersaturation

ofsom

esolu

tesd

urin

gd

esorption

.D

epen

din

gon

the

comp

ositionof

the

samp

le,th

eseth

eoriesex

plain

why

the

water

con-

tent

ofa

desorp

tionp

rocess

isgreater

than

that

fora

wettin

gp

rocess.

1.T

he

“ink

bottle”

mod

elillu

stratesth

ecap

illaryco

nd

ensatio

nof

porou

ssolid

sth

eory,in

wh

ichp

oresan

dcap

illariesfi

llan

dem

pty

diff

erently.

Su

cha

pore

fills

wh

enth

ew

ateractiv

ity

12

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Ver

ify

that

the

foll

owin

gth

ree

item

sb

efor

est

arti

ng

ate

st.

1.T

he

sam

ple

wei

ght

isat

leas

t50

mil

ligr

ams.

2.T

he

test

mu

sth

ave

an

ame.

3.T

he

test

mu

stco

nta

inat

leas

ton

est

age.

Ifyo

uco

nti

nu

eto

rece

ive

this

erro

r,co

nta

ctD

ecago

n.

20.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Can

not

com

mu

nic

ate

wit

hth

eV

SA

.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.U

SB

cab

len

otp

lugg

edin

top

ower

.2.

Wro

ng

com

por

tse

lect

ed.

3.R

esta

rtV

SA

.4.

Res

tart

com

mu

nic

atio

nso

ftw

are.

21.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Wei

ght

isdec

reas

ing

du

rin

gab

sorp

tion

.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.W

ater

tan

kh

asru

nd

ry.

2.P

lug

onw

ater

fill

tan

klo

ose.

3.P

um

pis

not

wor

kin

g.4.

Mat

eria

lis

un

der

goin

ga

ph

ase

chan

ge.

5.S

cale

nee

ds

tob

ech

ecke

dfo

rca

libra

tion

.

88

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A3

TH

EO

RY

corr

esp

ond

ing

toth

een

ergy

stat

eof

the

larg

erra

diu

sis

ex-

ceed

ed,

bu

tem

pti

eson

lyw

hen

the

wat

eract

ivit

yd

rop

sb

elow

the

ener

gyst

ate

ofth

en

arro

wn

eck

rad

ius.

2.A

ph

ase

chan

geof

non

-por

ous

soli

ds

isil

lust

rate

dby

the

fact

that

des

orp

tion

from

rub

ber

yst

ate

can

reac

heq

uil

ibri

um

fast

erd

ue

toin

crea

sed

mol

ecu

lar

mob

ilit

y,w

hil

ead

sorp

tion

into

agl

assy

mat

eria

lca

nb

esl

owd

ue

tore

stri

ctio

ns

inm

olec

ula

rm

obil

ity.

3.S

tru

ctu

ral

chan

ges

wit

hin

aso

lid

mat

rix

occ

ur

wh

enth

em

a-te

rial

swel

lsan

dp

olar

site

son

ceob

scu

red

are

now

exp

osed

tob

ind

wit

hw

ater

.F

orex

amp

le,

hyd

rate

dp

rote

inco

nta

ins

man

ysi

tes

for

wat

er“b

ind

ing”

bef

ore

des

orp

tion

wh

ile

deh

y-

dra

ted

pro

tein

has

lim

ited

pol

arsi

tes

for

wate

rb

ind

ing

pri

orto

ad

sorp

tion

.

4.S

ome

solu

tes

may

sup

ersa

tura

teb

elow

thei

rcr

yst

all

izat

ion

wa-

ter

act

ivit

y(n

on-e

qu

ilib

riu

mco

nd

itio

n)

and

thu

s,h

old

mor

ew

ater

asaw

dec

lin

es.

Food

sw

ith

hig

hsu

gar

conte

nt

freq

uen

tly

exh

ibit

this

ph

enom

enon

.

Non

-Equ

ilib

riu

m

Ifd

iffu

sion

of

wat

erin

to(a

dso

rpti

on)

orou

tof

(des

orp

tion

)a

mat

e-ri

alis

slow

an

dyo

ud

on

otal

low

suffi

cien

tti

me

for

com

ple

ted

iffu

sion

,th

enth

ere

isp

rob

ably

ala

rge

amou

nt

ofap

par

ent

hyst

eres

isth

at

you

can

red

uce

by

allo

win

gsa

mp

leeq

uil

ibra

tion

.

Matr

ixC

han

ges

Fig

ure

4sh

ows

thre

ed

iffer

ent

isot

her

mcu

rves

for

spra

y-d

ried

mil

kp

owd

er,

each

wit

hu

niq

ue

max

imum

wat

erac

tivit

ies

an

dd

iffer

ent

sorp

tion

his

tori

es.

Th

em

oist

ure

sorp

tion

isot

her

ms

for

spra

y-d

ried

mil

kp

owd

ersh

owa

chan

gein

hyst

eres

isd

ue

toa

ph

ase

chan

geat

0.43aw

.W

hen

the

isot

her

men

ds

pri

orto

the

ph

ase

chan

geat

0.43aw

(red

squ

are)

,th

ere

isli

ttle

hyst

eres

is.

Wh

enth

eis

oth

erm

end

sab

ove

the

ph

ase

chan

ge(b

lue

dia

mon

d),

ther

eis

app

aren

t,b

ut

not

actu

alhyst

eres

isd

ue

toth

ep

has

ech

ange

.S

ub

sequ

ent

isoth

erm

sru

non

13

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Ifth

eV

SA

instru

men

tresets

becau

seof

ap

ower

outage

atan

y-

time

du

ring

atest

ord

ue

tou

nforeseen

circum

stances,

this

message

app

earson

the

screen.

IfA

uto

Restart

istu

rned

on,

the

testau

-tom

atica

llyresu

mes

aftera

dev

icereset.

IfA

uto

Restart

istu

rned

off,

then

the

teststop

sru

nn

ing

followin

ga

dev

icereset.

To

preven

td

evice

resets,D

ecagonstron

glyrecom

men

ds

that

youco

nn

ectyou

rV

SA

toan

Un

interru

ptib

leP

ower

Su

pp

ly(U

PS

).

17.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Screen

ind

icatesa

scalefailu

re,overload

oru

nd

erload.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Ifth

eV

SA

isu

nab

leto

comm

un

icatew

ithth

escale,

the

scalefailu

rem

essageap

pears.

Ifth

escale

isread

ing

overloador

un

derload

,th

enth

eb

alance

iseith

erm

isaligned

orb

roken.

Ifan

yof

these

instan

cesoccu

rD

ecagon

need

sto

service

your

VS

A.

18.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Screen

disp

lays

“Scale

Read

ing

Instab

ility”

SO

LU

TIO

N:

AS

caleR

eadin

gIn

stability

issue

occu

rsw

hen

the

balan

ceis

un

-ab

leto

readstab

leread

ings

fromth

eb

alance.

Th

ism

ayb

ecau

sedby

ad

irtych

amb

er,a

faulty

ord

amaged

aircy

lind

er,a

misalign

edscale

shaft

ora

pu

mp

assemb

lyp

roblem

.C

leanth

ech

am

ber

inclu

d-

ing

the

aircy

lind

er,th

ew

eighin

gp

an,

and

the

space

ben

eathth

eair

cylin

der.

Ifyou

contin

ue

toh

avep

roblem

s,con

tact

your

Decago

nD

evices

represen

tative.

19.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Message

onth

escreen

disp

lays

acritical

errorw

hile

starting

the

test.

87

3T

HE

OR

YA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

the

samp

leafter

exp

eriencin

ga

ph

asetran

sition(green

triangle)

do

not

show

anin

flection

poin

t,are

repeatab

le,an

dex

hib

iton

lysm

alllevels

ofhysteresis.

Th

eb

oun

dary

isotherm

with

a0.80

aw

max

i-m

um

exp

erienced

ap

hase

chan

geat

0.43aw

,in

dicated

by

ash

arp

infl

ectionp

oint

inth

ecu

rve.

Th

ed

esorption

curve

forth

isisoth

ermap

pears

tosh

owhysteresis,

especially

below

0.60aw

.H

owever,

anisoth

erm,

run

ona

samp

lew

ettedto

am

axim

um

water

activity

be-

lowth

ep

hase

chan

ge,ex

hib

itsvery

littlehysteresis.

Th

elack

ofhysteresis

inth

isisoth

ermin

dicates

that

the

matrix

chan

gesth

atoc-

cur

at0.43

aw

are

comp

letelyresp

onsib

lefor

the

app

arent

hysteresis.

Variou

sb

ond

ing

mech

anism

sb

ind

water

ina

sam

ple

top

articlesu

r-faces.

Wh

enth

econ

figu

rationof

particle

surfaces

chan

ges

du

eto

ap

hase

chan

ge,b

ind

ing

sitesch

ange

and

the

amou

nt

ofw

aterw

hich

canb

eb

oun

dat

agiven

energy

ofw

ateralso

chan

ges.A

nisoth

ermcu

rveof

the

ph

asech

anged

samp

led

oes

not

show

furth

erp

hase

tran-

sitions

since

simp

lyd

ryin

gth

esam

ple

does

not

return

itto

anam

or-p

hou

sstate.

Th

esem

atrixch

anges

represen

ta

true

physica

lch

ange

inth

em

a-

terial.T

hey

aren

otrev

ersible

by

dry

ing,

no

matter

how

man

yd

ry-

ing

cycles

occu

r.D

ifferen

cesb

etween

the

adsorp

tionan

dd

esorptio

ncu

rvesin

the

initial

isotherm

isn

ottru

ehysteresis

since

the

sam

-p

lem

atrixh

asex

perien

ceda

physical

chan

ge.D

ifferen

cesb

etween

sorption

curves

inth

esu

bseq

uen

tisoth

erms

represen

ttru

ehysteresis.

14

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

hau

sted

its

dry

ing

cap

acit

y,it

auto

mat

ical

lysw

itch

esto

the

oth

erd

esic

cant

tub

e.W

hen

this

even

tocc

urs

,a

mes

sage

ap

pea

rsin

di-

cati

ng

that

the

exh

aust

edd

esic

cant

tub

en

eed

sto

be

rep

lace

d.

See

Sec

tion

6fo

rin

form

atio

non

rep

laci

ng

the

des

icca

nt

tub

e.

15.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

aL

owor

Hig

hS

yst

emP

ress

ure

War

nin

g.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Anyti

me

the

VS

Ain

stru

men

tre

qu

ires

air

flow

,it

mon

itor

sth

esy

s-te

mp

ress

ure

and

sen

ds

aw

arn

ing

ifth

esy

stem

pre

ssu

reis

outs

ide

the

exp

ecte

dra

nge

for

the

curr

ent

scen

ario

.T

his

may

be

cau

sed

by

one

ofse

vera

lis

sues

.

1.E

xte

rnal

gas

flow

ing

wh

enth

eex

tern

alga

sse

ttin

gis

off.

2.E

xte

rnal

gas

not

flow

ing

wh

enex

tern

alga

sse

ttin

gis

on.

3.E

xte

rnal

gas

pre

ssu

reou

tsid

eth

ere

com

men

ded

ran

gefo

rru

n-

nin

ga

test

.4.

Exte

rnal

gas

inp

ut

plu

gn

otp

rop

erly

inst

all

edor

mis

sing

wh

enex

tern

alga

sis

off.

5.B

oth

des

icca

nt

tub

esn

otp

rop

erly

inst

alle

dor

mis

sin

g.6.

Wat

erch

amb

erp

lug

not

pro

per

lyin

stal

led

or

mis

sin

g.

7.P

um

psy

stem

fail

ing.

Ifyo

uco

nti

nu

eto

rece

ive

am

essa

geaf

ter

the

abov

eit

ems

hav

eb

een

chec

ked

,co

nta

ctyo

ur

Dec

agon

rep

rese

nta

tive

for

furt

her

opti

ons.

16.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“Pow

erw

asre

set.

” 86

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A3

TH

EO

RY

Fig

ure

4:S

pra

y-D

ried

Mil

kM

oist

ure

Sor

pti

on

Isoth

erm

s

Work

ing

Isoth

erm

s

Fu

llb

oun

dary

isot

her

ms

give

info

rmat

ion

abou

tth

ep

hysi

cal

char

ac-

teri

stic

sof

ap

rod

uct

,sh

owhyst

eres

is,

and

are

imp

orta

nt

ines

tab

-li

shin

gcr

itic

al

contr

olp

oints

,b

ut

inm

any

case

sa

wor

kin

gis

oth

erm

pro

ves

very

use

ful.

Aw

orkin

gis

oth

erm

show

sh

owa

pro

du

ctad

-so

rbs

and

des

orb

sw

ater

from

its

curr

ent

orty

pic

alco

nd

itio

n.

To

crea

tea

wor

kin

gis

oth

erm

,p

roce

ssth

ep

rod

uct

as

usu

al,

and

then

crea

tea

scan

nin

gcu

rve

by

wet

tin

gon

esa

mp

lefr

om

that

poi

nt

and

dry

ing

ad

iffer

ent

sam

ple

from

that

sam

ep

oint.

Fig

ure

5sh

ows

aw

orkin

gis

oth

erm

(blu

ed

iam

ond

)su

per

imp

osed

over

afu

llis

oth

erm

(red

squ

are)

for

wood

pu

lp.

Th

ere

isa

tran

siti

onfr

omth

en

ativ

est

arti

ng

poi

nt

(0.6

0aw

)on

the

wor

kin

gis

oth

erm

inb

oth

adso

rpti

onan

dd

esor

pti

onu

nti

lth

ecu

rves

mee

tth

eb

oun

din

gad

sorp

tion

and

des

orp

tion

curv

esof

the

full

isot

her

mat

wh

ich

poin

tth

ew

ork

ing

isot

her

mfo

llow

sth

efu

llis

oth

erm

.

Th

esc

ann

ing

curv

eth

ep

rod

uct

init

iall

yfo

llow

sd

epen

ds

onw

het

her

the

pro

du

ctw

asp

revio

usl

yw

ette

dor

dri

edto

its

curr

ent

stat

e.If

you

wet

ap

rod

uct

toa

cert

ain

wat

erac

tivit

yan

dth

end

ryit

bac

kd

own

,th

ere

isan

init

ial

tran

siti

onp

erio

das

the

pro

du

ctm

oves

from

the

adso

rpti

on

curv

eto

the

des

orp

tion

curv

e.T

he

sam

eis

tru

efo

ra

15

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Th

ism

essage

ind

icatesth

atit

has

been

atleast

on

eyear

since

your

instru

men

th

asb

eencalib

ratedan

dserv

icedby

Decagon

oryou

rlo-

cald

istribu

tor.D

ecagonserv

icep

ersonn

elreco

mm

end

edth

atyou

return

you

rin

strum

ent

soth

atw

ecan

help

youen

sure

that

you

aregettin

gth

em

ostaccu

rateread

ings

possib

lefrom

you

rV

SA

.C

lickrem

ind

me

laterto

be

remin

ded

ina

coup

leof

week

s,click

do

not

disp

layagain

ifyou

do

not

wan

tth

ed

evice

torem

ind

youin

the

near

futu

re.

13.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Message

onscreen

disp

lays

no

equ

ilibration

poin

tsavailab

le.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Wh

engrap

hin

ga

test,th

ism

essagein

dicates

that

there

are

no

data

poin

tsin

wh

ichth

ew

eight

has

stabilized

.T

he

time

itta

kes

foran

equ

ilibratio

np

oint

toap

pear

dep

end

son

the

samp

lep

hase

chan

gesan

dstage

triggertim

eout

specifi

cations.

Press

the

up

or

dow

narrow

toview

detailed

data

other

than

equ

ilibration

poin

ts.

14.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Message

onth

escreen

ind

icatesth

ata

desiccan

ttu

be

islow

.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Du

ring

atest,

ifth

eV

SA

determ

ines

that

ad

esiccant

tub

eh

asex

-

85

3T

HE

OR

YA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

pro

du

ctth

atyou

prev

iously

dried

and

then

wetted

up

.T

here

isan

initial

transition

perio

das

the

pro

duct

moves

fromth

ed

esorptio

ncu

rveto

the

adsorp

tioncu

rve.

You

canob

serve

this

transitio

nre-

gion

atan

yp

oint

onth

eisoth

ermif

youch

ange

the

direction

ofth

esorp

tionan

dth

ep

rodu

ctex

hib

itshysteresis.

(Figu

re5)

Figu

re5:

Work

ing

and

Fu

llIsoth

ermfor

Wood

Pu

lp

Note:

Plea

serefer

toS

ection

8.4

for

info

rmatio

nabo

ut

run

nin

ga

workin

giso

therm

usin

gth

eV

SA

.

Isoth

erm

Mod

els

Several

diff

erent

isotherm

mod

elsh

aveb

eenp

rop

osedan

dcom

pared

inth

eliteratu

re.T

hese

mod

elsare

necessary

top

redict

the

moistu

recon

tent

ata

givenw

ateractiv

ityan

dare

used

toevalu

ateth

ermod

y-

nam

icfu

nction

sof

water

info

od

s.T

he

mod

elsare

necessa

ryw

hen

us-

ing

isotherm

meth

od

sw

ithlow

data

resolution

toin

terpola

teb

etween

isoth

ermd

atap

oin

ts.W

hile

there

are270

prop

osed

isotherm

mod

els,th

em

ostcom

mon

lyu

sedm

od

elsare

the

Gu

ggen

heim

-An

dersen

-de

Boer

(GA

B)

an

dB

run

auer-E

mm

ett-Teller

(BE

T).

Sin

ceth

eB

ET

mod

elis

only

app

licable

up

to0.50

aw

,th

eG

AB

mod

elis

wid

ely

16

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Th

efi

rmw

are

onth

ein

stru

men

tis

corr

up

ted

and

nee

ds

tob

ere

load

ed.

Con

tact

you

rD

ecag

on

rep

rese

nta

tive

for

furt

her

op

tions.

11.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Mes

sage

onth

esc

reen

dis

pla

ys

am

issi

ng

boot

stra

plo

ader

erro

r.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Th

ein

stru

men

tca

nn

otd

own

load

new

firm

war

eu

pd

ates

.T

od

own

-lo

adn

ewfi

rmw

are

toth

eV

SA

,or

tost

opth

ism

essa

ge

from

dis

pla

y-

ing,

the

inst

rum

ent

mu

stb

ese

rvic

edby

Dec

agon

.

12.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Mes

sage

onth

esc

reen

dis

pla

ys

anan

nu

alca

lib

rati

onre

min

der

.

84

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A3

TH

EO

RY

acce

pte

das

the

mos

tu

sefu

lfo

rch

arac

teri

zin

gis

oth

erm

sac

ross

the

enti

rew

ate

rac

tivit

yra

nge

.It

sco

effici

ents

also

hav

eth

eore

tica

lp

hys-

ical

mea

nin

gsu

chas

pro

vid

ing

mon

olay

erm

oist

ure

conte

nt.

An

ewem

pir

ical

mod

elca

lled

the

Dou

ble

Log

Pol

yn

omia

l(D

LP

)or

Ch

ip

lot

has

pro

ven

tob

eev

enb

ette

rth

anth

eG

AB

atch

arac

teri

zin

gco

mp

lex

isot

her

ms.

Th

em

od

eleq

uat

ion

sar

esh

own

bel

ow.

BE

Tm

=awm

oc

(1−aw

)[1

+aw

(c−

1)]

Wh

erem

isth

em

oist

ure

ing/

100

soli

ds

org/

gso

lid

sat

wat

erac

tivit

yaw

andm

ois

the

mon

olay

erva

lue

inth

esa

me

un

its.

Calc

ula

teth

eco

nst

antc

wit

h:

c=expQ

s

RT

Wh

ereQ

sis

the

surf

ace

inte

ract

ion

ener

gyin

J/m

ole,R

isth

ega

sco

nst

ant

(8.3

14J/m

olK

)an

dT

(K)

isth

ete

mp

eratu

re.

GA

Bm

=m

okbca

w

(1−kba

w)(

1−kbaw

+kbca

w)

Wh

erem

isth

em

oist

ure

ing/

100

soli

ds

org/

gso

lid

s,kb

isa

con

stant

inth

era

nge

of0.

70to

1an

dc

isa

con

stan

tin

the

ran

ge

of

1to

2000

.In

add

itio

n,m

ois

the

mon

olay

erm

oist

ure

conte

nt

inth

esa

me

un

its

asm

andaw

isth

ew

ater

acti

vit

yat

moi

stu

rem

.

DL

Pm

=b 3χ3

+b 2χ2

+b 1χ

+b 0

Wh

erem

isth

em

oist

ure

ing/

100

soli

ds

org/

gso

lid

s,χ

=In

[−In

(aw

)]an

db 0−b 3

are

emp

iric

alco

nst

ants

.

Use

sfo

rM

ois

ture

Sorp

tion

Isoth

erm

s

Moi

stu

reso

rpti

onis

oth

erm

sp

rovid

eva

luab

lein

form

atio

n.

For

any-

one

wh

od

ries

orw

ets

thei

rp

rod

uct

,th

eso

rpti

onis

oth

erm

serv

esas

ad

ryin

gan

dw

etti

ng

curv

eth

atp

rovid

esin

form

atio

nab

out

the

moi

stu

reco

nte

nt

ofa

pro

du

ctw

hen

dri

edor

wet

ted

toa

spec

ific

wa-

ter

acti

vit

y.C

ust

omer

sca

nu

seth

eso

rpti

onis

oth

erm

toas

sist

inp

roce

ssco

ntr

olby

det

erm

inin

gd

ryin

gra

tes

and

opti

mal

end

poi

nts

.If

ap

rod

uct

exh

ibit

shyst

eres

is,

the

isot

her

msh

ows

wh

atim

pac

tth

ehyst

eres

ish

ason

the

moi

stu

reco

nte

nt

afte

rd

ryin

gto

agi

ven

wat

er

17

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Th

ecry

stalth

atru

ns

the

firm

ware

ish

avin

gtrou

ble

starting.

Oc-

casionally,

cyclin

gth

ep

ower

cansolv

eth

isp

roblem

.If

this

messag

econ

tinu

esto

app

ear,D

ecagonn

eeds

toserv

iceth

ein

strum

ent.

See

Section

12fo

rretu

rnin

struction

san

dcon

tactin

formatio

n.

9.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Message

onscreen

disp

lays

“Con

tamin

atedm

irror.”

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Th

em

irroru

sedfo

rd

ewp

oint

measu

remen

tsreq

uires

cleanin

g.F

ol-low

the

cleanin

gin

struction

sou

tlined

inSection

6b

eforetry

ing

toru

nyou

rsam

ple

again

.If

this

message

contin

ues

toap

pear,

contact

you

rD

ecagon

Rep

resentative

forfu

rther

optio

ns.

10.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Message

onscreen

disp

lays

the

error“F

irmw

areis

corrup

ted.”

83

3T

HE

OR

YA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

activ

ity.

An

addition

alfu

nction

ofth

eisoth

ermis

moistu

recon

tent

pred

ic-tion

.A

lthou

ghw

ateractiv

ityis

am

uch

better

pred

ictor

ofsafety

an

dqu

alityth

anm

oisture

conten

t,th

ereare

times

wh

enit

isn

eces-sary

tokn

owb

oth

water

activity

and

moistu

recon

tent

asw

ellas

the

relationsh

ipb

etween

the

two

param

etersfor

agiven

pro

du

ct.W

a-

tercon

tent

measu

remen

tscan

be

inaccu

rate,tim

e-consu

min

gan

dreq

uire

ap

recisionb

alance.

As

analtern

ative

tom

oisture

conten

tm

easurem

ent

meth

od

s,you

canu

seth

esorp

tionisoth

ermto

deter-

min

em

oisture

conten

tb

asedon

water

activity,

usu

ally

with

better

precision

than

actually

run

nin

ga

moistu

recon

tent

analy

sisan

din

mu

chless

time.

Cu

stomers

canu

tilizeisoth

erms

tod

etermin

eth

eeff

ectof

temp

er-atu

reon

water

activity

and

moistu

recon

tent

readin

gs.Iso

therm

scon

du

ctedat

severald

ifferen

ttem

peratu

ressh

owth

etem

peratu

reat

wh

icha

pro

du

ct,in

asealed

package

(atcon

stant

moistu

reco

nten

t),is

atu

nstab

lew

ateractiv

itylevels.

Isotherm

scan

be

very

valuab

lefor

formu

lationan

dpro

du

ctd

evel-

op

men

t.B

ycom

parin

gth

eisoth

erms

ofd

ifferen

tform

ula

tions,

itis

possib

leto

determ

ine

ifa

pro

du

ctcan

be

adju

stedto

allow

hig

her

moistu

recon

tent

ata

givenw

ateractiv

ityor

alow

erw

ateractiv

ityat

agiven

moistu

recon

tent.

The

result

canb

ea

moister

pro

duct

that

isstill

shelf

stable.

For

those

pro

du

cing

mu

lti-comp

onen

tp

rod

ucts,

itis

possib

leu

sing

the

isotherm

sof

the

two

comp

onen

tsto

determ

ine

the

fin

alw

ateractiv

ityof

the

mix

ture

with

out

actually

mak

ing

the

pro

du

ct.F

ord

riedp

rod

ucts,

the

isotherm

pred

ictsth

em

oisture

con-

tent

ofth

ep

rod

uct

wh

enit

isd

riedto

ash

elfstab

lew

ater

activ

itylevel.

Fin

ally,sorp

tion

isotherm

sare

valuab

lefor

shelf

lifep

rediction

.Y

ou

canuse

the

pro

du

ctisoth

ermto

determ

ine

packa

gereq

uirem

ents

de-

pen

din

gon

the

pro

du

ctssen

sitivity

tom

oisture

orto

determ

ine

the

mon

olayerm

oisture

conten

t,w

hich

represen

tsth

em

oststa

ble

stateof

you

rp

rod

uct.

Th

esh

ape

ofth

eisoth

ermcan

prov

ide

inform

ationab

out

the

level

ofam

orph

ous

tocry

stalline

material

ina

pro

du

ct.

18

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

6.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Mes

sage

onsc

reen

dis

pla

yin

gd

ewp

oint

sen

sor

failu

re.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

Th

eco

oler

isd

amag

edan

dn

eed

sto

be

serv

iced

by

Dec

ago

n.

See

Sec

tion

12fo

rd

etai

led

inst

ruct

ion

s.

7.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Ver

ifica

tion

isn

otco

rrec

t.

SO

LU

TIO

N:

1.T

he

sam

ple

cham

ber

and

mir

ror

nee

dto

be

clea

ned

.S

eeS

ec-

tion

6fo

rd

etai

led

clea

nin

gin

stru

ctio

ns.

Ifve

rifi

cati

on

isst

ill

not

corr

ect,

then

lin

ear

offse

th

asocc

urr

ed.

2.V

erif

yan

dA

dju

stfo

rL

inea

roff

set.

Aft

eryo

uh

ave

clea

ned

the

sam

ple

cham

ber

and

mir

ror,

use

aV

erifi

cati

onS

tan

dar

dto

veri

fyan

dad

just

for

Lin

ear

offse

t.(S

ecti

on

7)

8.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Mes

sage

onsc

reen

dis

pla

ys

“Cry

stal

Fai

lure

”

82

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A3

TH

EO

RY

Ch

ange

sin

the

slop

eof

the

isot

her

min

dic

ate

ph

ase

tran

siti

ons

and

can

pro

vid

ein

form

atio

nab

out

crit

ical

wat

erac

tivit

ies

for

main

tain

-in

gte

xtu

rep

rop

erti

esan

dp

reve

nti

ng

cakin

gan

dcl

um

pin

g.Y

ouca

nal

sod

eter

min

eth

ew

ater

acti

vit

yva

lue

wh

ere

the

glas

str

an

si-

tion

tem

per

atu

reeq

ual

sst

orag

ete

mp

erat

ure

orth

ecr

yst

all

izat

ion

tem

per

atu

reeq

uals

stor

age

tem

per

atu

re.

19

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

SO

LU

TIO

N:

You

rsa

mp

letem

peratu

reis

too

high

forth

ein

strum

ent

toeq

uili-

brate

with

itin

areason

able

amou

nt

oftim

e.T

he

instru

men

tan

dsam

ple

need

tob

ein

temp

erature

equ

ilibriu

mto

take

accura

tem

ea-

surem

ents.

Th

erefore,very

coldsam

ples

takea

long

time

tom

easure

forth

esam

ereason

.T

oavoid

this

prob

lem,

make

sure

toon

lym

ea-

sure

samp

lesth

atare

atth

esam

etem

peratu

reas

the

instru

men

t.

5.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Message

onscreen

disp

laysaw

below

instru

men

td

etectionlim

its.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.T

he

sample

isto

od

ryfor

the

instru

men

tto

readaccu

rately.

Ifyo

ur

sample

has

aw

ateractiv

ityth

atis

below

the

detection

limits

ofth

ein

strum

ent,

this

message

comes

up

.E

ssentially,

itm

ean

sth

atth

ereis

not

enou

ghsam

ple

moistu

reto

cond

ense

onth

em

irroran

dp

rovid

ea

readin

g.

2.O

rth

em

irrorm

ayb

ed

irty.T

ryclean

ing

the

mirror

and

cham

-b

eran

dm

easu

ring

the

samp

leagain

.

81

4G

ET

TIN

GS

TA

RT

ED

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

4G

ettin

gS

tarte

d

Com

pon

ents

of

VS

A

Th

eV

SA

requ

iresa

comp

uter

and

software

togen

erate

and

ana-

lyze

isotherm

data.

You

cand

isconnect

and

conn

ectth

eco

mp

uter

on

ceyou

begin

atest

with

out

losing

any

data.

You

rV

SA

ship

sw

ithth

eseitem

s.

•T

he

VS

AIsoth

ermG

enerator

main

un

it

•O

perator’s

Man

ual

•Q

uick

Start

Gu

ide

•C

alibratio

ncertifi

cate/

SD

Scertifi

cates

•P

ower

cord

•U

SB

interface

cable

•T

wo

stain

lesssteel

sample

cup

s

•T

hree

refillab

led

esiccant

tub

es

•O

ne

Decagon

cleanin

gkit

•T

wo

water

bottles

•T

hree

vials

eachof

the

followin

gverifi

cationsolu

tion:

0.250

aw

13.41

mol/k

gL

iCl

0.500

aw

8.57m

ol/kg

LiC

l0.7

60aw

6.00m

ol/kg

NaC

l0.9

20aw

2.33m

ol/kg

NaC

l

•M

oisture

An

alysis

Toolk

itS

oftware

Package

with

Registratio

nK

ey

•O

ne

2g

NIS

Ttraceab

lew

eight

•T

weezers

Note:

Plea

sekeep

you

rorigin

al

instru

men

tsh

ippin

gbo

x.If

you

evern

eedto

return

you

rV

SA

,yo

um

ust

ship

itin

the

origin

al

packa

ging.

20

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

3.S

ome

pro

du

cts

abso

rbor

des

orb

moi

stu

reve

rysl

owly

,ca

usi

ng

mea

sure

men

tsto

take

lon

ger

than

usu

al,

and

not

hin

gca

nb

ed

one

tosp

eed

up

the

pro

cess

.R

efer

toS

ecti

on10

for

furt

her

exp

lan

atio

n.

4.Y

our

sam

ple

may

conta

invol

atiles

.V

olat

iles

are

kn

own

toca

use

un

stab

lere

adin

gs,

bec

ause

they

con

den

seon

the

surf

ace

ofth

ech

ille

dm

irro

ran

dal

ter

read

ings

.P

leas

ere

fer

toth

evo

lati

les

sect

ion

inS

ecti

on10

for

hin

tson

red

uci

ng

diffi

cul-

ties

wit

hm

easu

rin

gsa

mp

les

wit

hvo

lati

les.

Ifyo

uh

ave

fur-

ther

qu

esti

on

sre

gard

ing

the

mea

sure

men

tof

vola

tile

sco

nta

ctD

ecag

on.

5.A

fan

bla

de

inth

eb

lock

cham

ber

may

be

bro

ken

or

ben

t.If

even

salt

stan

dar

ds

take

alo

ng

tim

eto

read

,an

dth

esa

mp

lech

amb

eris

clea

n,

you

may

hav

ea

bro

ken

cham

ber

fan

bla

de.

Th

isis

esp

ecia

lly

like

lyif

you

hav

eju

stcl

ean

edth

ech

amb

er.

Ifyou

susp

ect

this

may

hav

eh

app

ened

,co

nta

ctD

ecag

onfo

rd

etai

lson

rep

lace

men

t.

3.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Wat

erac

tivit

yre

adin

gson

veri

fica

tion

stan

dar

ds

are

too

hig

h/lo

wan

da

linea

roff

set

adju

stm

ent

can

not

be

mad

eany

hig

her

/low

er.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.T

he

ther

mop

ile

inyou

rch

amb

er,

wh

ich

mea

sure

ssa

mp

lete

m-

per

atu

re,

may

hav

eb

ecom

eco

nta

min

ated

.R

efer

toS

ecti

on

6fo

rd

irec

tion

son

clea

nin

g.

2.T

he

cham

ber

mir

ror

may

be

dir

ty.

Ref

erto

Sec

tion

6fo

rd

i-re

ctio

ns

oncl

ean

ing.

4.

PR

OB

LE

M:

War

nin

gsc

reen

dis

pla

ys

am

essa

geth

atth

esa

mp

leis

too

hot

.

80

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A4

GE

TT

ING

ST

AR

TE

D

4.1

Inst

rum

ent

Setu

p

1.P

lace

Aqu

aLab

VS

Aon

afl

atan

dst

able

surf

ace.

Use

the

bu

bb

lele

vel

(Fig

ure

6)an

dth

ead

just

able

feet

tole

vel

the

inst

rum

ent.

Th

esm

all

rub

ber

feet

onth

eb

ack

ofth

elo

wer

pla

tep

reve

nt

tip

-ove

ran

dd

on

otn

eed

tob

eto

uch

ing

the

tab

le.

2.U

seA

qu

aLab

VS

Aw

her

een

vir

onm

enta

lte

mp

erat

ure

and

hu

-m

idit

yre

mai

nst

able

and

are

non

-con

den

sin

g.(S

eeA

pp

end

ixB

)

3.P

lug

inA

qu

aLab

VS

Aan

dtu

rnon

the

pow

er(s

wit

chin

bac

k).

For

bes

tre

sult

s,le

tth

ein

stru

men

tw

arm

-up

for

two

hou

rsb

efor

eu

se.

Fig

ure

6:A

dju

stm

ent

and

Bu

bb

leL

evel

4.In

stall

the

two

des

icca

nt

tub

esin

the

fron

tof

the

inst

rum

ent.

Fig

ure

7sh

ows

the

pro

per

met

hod

ofin

stal

lin

gd

esic

cant

tub

es.

Bef

ore

inse

rtio

n,

mak

esu

reto

firm

lyse

alth

ed

esic

cant

tub

eli

donto

the

des

icca

nt

tub

ean

dre

mov

eth

eb

lack

vin

ylco

vers

from

the

air

fitt

ings

.L

ift

the

des

icca

nt

tub

ein

toth

ear

eaab

ove

the

des

icca

nt

rece

iver

and

then

inse

rtth

efi

ttin

gsin

toth

em

atin

gh

oles

.B

esu

reto

pla

ceth

eb

lack

fitt

ing

into

the

corr

esp

ond

ing

bla

ckh

ole.

On

cein

pla

ce,

the

des

icca

nt

tub

eis

seal

edfo

rfl

owp

urp

oses

even

ifit

may

feel

loos

e.

21

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

OT

ING

1.P

RO

BL

EM

:V

SA

does

not

turn

on.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.C

heck

tom

akesu

reyou

rp

ower

cordis

securely

attached

toth

eb

ackof

the

instru

men

tan

dit

isp

lugged

into

the

pow

erou

tlet.

2.A

pow

ersu

rgem

ayh

avecau

seda

fuse

tob

low.

To

chan

geth

efu

ses,follow

these

instru

ctions:

(a)U

np

lug

the

pow

ercord

.

(b)

Locate

the

pan

elw

here

the

pow

ercord

plu

gs

in.

Th

efu

seb

oxis

on

the

right

side

ofth

atp

anel.

Press

inon

the

release

taban

dp

ull

the

fuse-h

older

out.

Pu

llth

eb

rokenfu

se(s)ou

tan

drep

lacew

itha

1.25A

mp

250V

fuse.

Cau

tion

:D

on

ot

use

any

oth

er

kin

dof

fuse

or

you

riskd

am

agin

gyou

rin

strum

ent

an

dvoid

ing

you

rw

arra

nty

.

(c)R

eplace

the

fuse-h

older

and

pu

shit

into

the

fuse-w

ellu

ntil

the

releasetab

snap

sin

place.

(d)

Con

nect

the

pow

ercord

and

turn

you

rin

strum

ent

on.

Ifth

efu

seb

lows

again,

afailed

comp

onen

tm

ayb

ecau

sing

the

pro

blem

.C

ontact

Decagon

tom

akearran

gem

ents

forrep

airs.

2.

PR

OB

LE

M:

Read

ings

areslow

orin

consisten

t.

SO

LU

TIO

NS

:

1.T

he

sample

cham

ber

may

be

dirty.

Refer

toS

ection6

ford

i-rection

son

cleanin

gth

esam

ple

cham

ber.

2.T

he

temp

erature

diff

erence

betw

eenth

esam

ple

and

the

blo

ckch

amb

erm

ayb

eto

ogreat.

Th

esam

ple

need

sto

equ

ilibrate

toin

strum

ent

temp

erature

before

afast,

accura

teread

ing

canb

em

ade.

(Refer

toS

ection8)

79

4G

ET

TIN

GS

TA

RT

ED

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

Figu

re7:

Desiccan

tIn

stallation

5.In

stallth

eair

cylin

der

and

weigh

ing

pan

.W

ithth

elid

op

en,

insert

the

aircy

lind

eran

dw

eighin

gp

anin

toth

etestin

gb

lock

assh

own

inF

igure

8.T

hese

parts

shou

ldrem

ainin

the

instru

men

tcon

tinu

allyan

dare

only

tob

erem

ovedfor

main

tenan

ce.D

on

otin

serta

samp

lecu

pu

nless

youare

run

nin

ga

test.P

lace

the

aircy

lind

erin

toth

eb

aseblo

ckb

ore.It

shou

ldslid

ein

toth

eb

lock

easilyan

dsettle

atth

eb

ottomof

the

bore.

Th

ew

eighp

ancon

nects

toth

escale

and

hold

sth

esam

ple

cup

.F

orb

estresu

lts,verify

cleanlin

essof

allp

artsand

avoidd

rop

pin

gth

ep

artsas

dam

agedp

artsm

ayn

otslid

ep

rop

erlyan

daff

ectp

erforman

ce.

6.V

erifysh

ipp

ing

did

not

dam

ageth

escale

perform

an

cean

dtest

scalestab

ility:

(a)T

urn

onth

eV

SA

and

wait

forit

tow

armu

p.

Note:

The

scale

takes

abo

ut

two

hou

rsafter

pow

eru

pto

com

eto

full

equilibriu

m.

(b)

Go

toth

eC

onfi

guration

men

u,

nav

igate

toth

eD

iagn

os-

ticsscreen

and

press

the

leftarrow

orE

nter

bu

tton.

22

11T

RO

UB

LE

SH

OO

TIN

GA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

Tab

le2:

Tro

ub

lesh

oot

ing

Qu

ick

Gu

ide

Ifth

isp

rob

lem

occu

rs:

Refe

rto

:

VS

Ad

oes

not

turn

onP

rob

lem

#1

Rea

din

gsar

esl

owor

inco

nsi

sten

tP

rob

lem

#2

Aw

read

ings

onso

luti

ons

are

too

hig

h/l

owto

ad

-ju

stP

rob

lem

#3

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“sam

ple

too

hot

”P

rob

lem

#4

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“aw<

0.0”

Pro

ble

m#

5D

ewp

oint

sen

sor

fail

ure

Pro

ble

m#

6V

erifi

cati

onis

not

corr

ect

Pro

ble

m#

7S

cree

nd

isp

lays

“Cry

stal

Fai

lure

”P

rob

lem

#8

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“Con

tam

inat

edM

irro

r”P

rob

lem

#9

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“Fir

mw

are

isco

rru

pte

d”

Pro

ble

m#

10S

cree

nd

isp

lays

“mis

sin

gb

oot

stra

plo

ader

”P

rob

lem

#11

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“an

nu

alca

lib

rati

ond

ue”

Pro

ble

m#

12S

cree

nd

isp

lays

“no

equ

ilib

rati

onp

oints

avai

lab

le!”

Pro

ble

m#

13S

cree

nd

isp

lays

“des

icca

nt

tub

eis

low

”P

rob

lem

#14

Dis

pla

ys

Low

orH

igh

Syst

emP

ress

ure

War

nin

gP

rob

lem

#15

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“Pow

erw

asre

set”

Pro

ble

m#

16S

cree

nin

dic

ates

asc

ale

fail

ure

(ove

rloa

dor

un

der

-lo

ad)

Pro

ble

m#

17

Scr

een

dis

pla

ys

“sca

lere

adin

gin

stab

ilit

y”

Pro

ble

m#

18C

riti

cal

erro

rst

arti

ng

ate

stP

rob

lem

#19

Can

not

com

mu

nic

ate

wit

hth

eV

SA

Pro

ble

m#

20W

eigh

tis

dec

reas

ing

du

rin

gad

sorp

tion

Pro

ble

m#

21W

eigh

tis

incr

easi

ng

du

rin

gad

sorp

tion

Pro

ble

m#

22Is

oth

erm

test

has

stop

ped

pre

mat

ure

lyP

rob

lem

#23

Isot

her

mte

stta

kin

gu

nu

sual

lylo

ng

tim

eto

com

-p

lete

Pro

ble

m#

24

Sca

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Fig

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eta

ble

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the

tab

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the

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ruct

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7.F

ill

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erta

nk.

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ove

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ear

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kfi

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ten

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ack

right

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eV

SA

.(F

ig-

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9).

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lth

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)p

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and

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8.F

igu

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show

sth

elo

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stre

mov

ean

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low

out

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tim

eto

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ew

hen

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ild

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pon

it.

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eh

ousi

ng

arou

nd

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filt

eris

asn

apon

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sin

gth

at

you

23

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A11

TR

OU

BL

ES

HO

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ING

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lesh

ootin

g

Th

eA

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men

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inth

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perator’s

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ual.

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fortun

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the

best

operators

usin

gth

eb

estin

strum

ents

encou

nter

techn

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ifficu

ltieson

occasion

.

Tab

le2

prov

ides

aqu

ickreferen

cetab

lefor

the

troub

leshootin

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ide

tod

irectyo

uto

detailed

solution

sfor

some

ofth

ep

roblem

sth

atm

ayoccu

rw

ithyou

rV

SA

.T

his

sectionlay

sou

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em

ostco

mm

onp

rob-

lems

and

solu

tions

foryou

rtrou

blesh

ootin

gn

eeds

followin

gth

equ

ickreferen

cetab

le.If

these

remed

iesstill

do

not

resolve

your

prob

lem,

then

please

contact

Decagon

forh

elpat

sup

port@

aqu

alab.com

.

Wh

encon

tactin

gsu

pp

ortfor

anissu

e,b

esu

reto

inclu

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you

rcon

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formation

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itle,C

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hon

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strum

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serialnum

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ash

ortd

escription

ofyou

rissu

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Note:

Plea

seen

sure

that

you

read

thro

ugh

the

trou

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ting

por-

tion

sth

oro

ugh

lybefo

reco

nta

cting

Deca

gon

for

assista

nce.

Note:

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rchased

you

rA

quaL

ab

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strum

ent

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on

eof

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rin

ternatio

nal

distribu

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plea

seco

nta

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emfo

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lservice

an

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ppo

rt.

77

4G

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TIN

GS

TA

RT

ED

Aqu

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re9:

Tan

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9.U

seth

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kd

rainp

lug

torem

ove

the

water

fromth

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atertan

k.

Note:

Have

arecep

tical

ready

toca

tchth

ew

ater

flow

.

24

10S

AM

PL

EP

RE

PA

RA

TIO

NA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

run

s.G

lass

bea

ds

can

be

hel

pfu

lin

som

ein

stan

ces.

Vola

tile

Sam

ple

s

Sam

ple

sw

ith

cert

ain

vola

tile

sin

hig

hen

ough

con

centr

ati

ons

may

give

inac

cura

tew

ater

acti

vit

yva

lues

wh

enu

sin

gth

ech

ille

dm

irro

r.T

his

isb

ecau

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evol

atil

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nd

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onth

em

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rd

uri

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read

-in

gp

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td

onot

evap

orat

efr

omth

em

irro

ras

wate

rd

oes

.A

sa

resu

lt,

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read

ing

onsa

mp

les

wit

hvo

lati

les

may

not

be

ac-

cura

te.

Th

eco

nce

ntr

atio

nof

vola

tile

sth

atca

use

sin

terf

eren

ceis

vari

able

and

mat

rix

dep

end

ent.

Th

em

ost

effec

tive

met

hod

tod

e-te

rmin

eif

vola

tile

sar

ea

pro

ble

mis

tota

kew

ater

acti

vit

yre

ad

ings

and

com

par

ere

sult

sfr

omth

ech

ille

dm

irro

ran

dca

pac

itan

cese

nso

r.R

efer

toS

ecti

on5

for

how

tota

kew

ater

acti

vit

yre

adin

gsan

dsw

itch

-in

gb

etw

een

sen

sors

.If

the

dew

poi

nt

read

ings

are

mor

eth

an

0.0

2h

igh

erth

anth

eca

pac

itan

cere

adin

gs,

vola

tile

sar

eli

kely

ap

rob

lem

and

shou

ldb

ere

adw

ith

vola

tile

stu

rned

toon

.D

ecag

ondes

ign

edth

eV

SA

for

mea

suri

ng

vola

tile

ssu

chas

pro

pyle

ne

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l,et

han

ol,

and

acet

icac

id.

Th

eV

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conta

ins

bot

hth

ech

ille

dm

irro

rd

ewp

oin

tan

da

cap

acit

ance

sen

sor.

Aft

erm

easu

rin

ga

sam

ple

wit

hvol

atil

esw

ith

the

cap

acit

ance

sen

sor,

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od

idea

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ean

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ber

and

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char

coal

bef

ore

swit

chin

gto

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poi

nt

sen

sor.

Low

Wate

rA

cti

vit

y

Wh

ena

sam

ple

wat

erac

tivit

yis

bel

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olin

gca

pac

ity

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ech

ille

dm

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r,th

eV

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dis

pla

ys

ale

ssth

ansy

mb

olor

give

sa

low

wat

erac

tivit

ym

essa

gein

the

soft

war

e.If

the

erro

rp

ersi

sts,

see

the

trou

ble

shoot

ing

sect

ion

.

76

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

5U

ser

Inte

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ent

wit

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thre

eb

utt

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use

ful

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nav

igat

ing

men

us

and

beg

inn

ing

test

s.T

her

ear

efo

ur

tab

sat

the

top

ofth

ed

isp

lay

scre

en,th

eIs

oth

erm

,M

easu

rem

ent,

Con

figu

rati

on,

and

Dat

ata

bs.

Th

ese

tab

sin

dic

ate

the

four

men

us

you

can

acce

ss.

To

chan

geb

etw

een

the

tab

sp

ress

the

righ

tm

ost

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tton

bel

owth

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enu

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he

Ente

ric

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Rea

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on.

5.1

Isoth

erm

Tab

Th

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tab

isth

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ain

scre

enan

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isp

lays

each

tim

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utu

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.If

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her

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re-

fer

toS

ecti

on11

for

trou

ble

shoot

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Op

erat

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can

init

iate

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ewte

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utt

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omri

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nt

and

tem

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re.

Pre

ssin

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acti

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ech

art

vie

w.

5.2

Measu

rem

ent

Tab

Th

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easu

rem

ent

tab

allo

ws

you

tota

kew

ater

acti

vit

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adin

gsof

the

sam

ple

inth

esa

mp

lech

amb

erw

hen

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ga

test

.P

ush

ing

the

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wke

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chan

ges

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yto

ate

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erat

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ilib

rati

on

scre

enth

atsh

ows

the

tem

per

atu

red

iffer

ence

bet

wee

nth

esa

mp

lete

mp

erat

ure

and

the

lid

tem

per

atu

re.

25

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A10

SA

MP

LE

PR

EP

AR

AT

ION

5.D

on

otfi

llth

esam

ple

cup

with

samp

lew

hile

itis

sitting

inth

ech

amb

er.T

he

sample

cup

shou

ldb

erem

ovedfro

mth

ech

amb

er,sam

ple

add

edan

dth

enp

lacedb

ackin

the

cham

ber

toch

eckth

ew

eight.

Make

sure

the

riman

dou

tside

ofth

esam

ple

cup

areclean

.W

ipe

any

excess

material

fromth

ecu

pw

itha

cleanK

imw

ipe.

Material

lefton

the

rimor

outsid

eof

the

samp

lecu

pcan

contam

inate

the

cham

ber

and

poten

tiallyin

terferew

ithth

escale.

10.2

Sam

ple

Need

ing

Sp

ecia

lP

rep

ara

tion

Som

esam

ples

requ

iread

dition

alp

reparation

toen

sure

accurate

read-

ings.

To

fin

dou

tw

heth

ersp

ecialsam

ple

prep

aration

meth

od

sare

necessary,

mu

ltiple

water

activity

readin

gssh

ould

be

takento

seeif

readin

gsstab

ilize(w

ateractiv

ityan

dtim

e).

Coate

dan

dD

ried

Sam

ple

s

Sam

ples

with

high

sugar

orfat

coatings

oftentak

ea

lon

gtim

eto

equ

ilibrate.

Ifth

isis

the

casefor

your

samp

les,it

isn

ota

prob

lemw

ithth

ein

strum

ent;

itsim

ply

mean

syou

rsam

ples

takelo

nger

than

most

toeq

uilib

rate.T

ored

uce

the

time

need

edto

testth

esam

ples

you

cancru

shor

sliceth

esam

ple

prior

tosam

plin

g.T

his

increases

the

surfa

cearea

ofth

esam

ple,

thu

sd

ecreasing

readin

gtim

es.H

ow-

ever,if

the

effectiven

essof

the

coating

isb

eing

testedth

esam

ples

shou

ldrem

ainun

chan

ged.

Also,

mod

ifyin

gsom

esam

ples

canalter

the

water

activity

readin

gsan

dstart

poin

tof

you

risoth

erm.

Slo

wW

ate

r-Em

itting

Sam

ple

s

Som

eex

tremely

dry,

deh

yd

rated,

high

lyviscou

s,w

ater-in

-oil

(bu

t-ter),

hig

hfat,

orglassy

comp

ositions

hav

eslow

water

emittin

gp

rop-

erties.T

estsw

ithth

esem

aterialsm

aytak

elon

gerth

anw

ithoth

erty

pes

ofm

aterials.D

ecagonrecom

men

ds

run

nin

gth

etest

asa

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Srath

erth

anD

DI

toen

sure

equ

ilibriu

mis

reached

.D

DI

testson

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samp

lety

pes

do

not

reachfu

lleq

uilib

rium

and

cansh

owin

creasedhysteresis.

Sam

plin

gtech

niq

ues

areesp

eciallyim

portan

tfor

these

samp

lety

pes.

Th

em

oresu

rfacearea

tovolu

me

the

better

the

test

75

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

5.3

Con

figu

ratio

nT

ab

Th

eC

onfi

guration

taballow

sth

eop

eratorto

view

various

confi

gu-

rationop

tions.

Pressin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arrows

moves

throu

ghth

econ

figu

rationop

tions,

wh

ilep

ressing

the

right

and

leftarrow

sallow

the

operator

top

ageth

rough

the

option

s.

26

10S

AM

PL

EP

RE

PA

RA

TIO

NA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

10

Sam

ple

Pre

para

tion

Pro

per

sam

ple

pre

par

atio

nis

anim

por

tant

step

inkee

pin

gyo

ur

VS

Acl

ean

and

ach

ievin

gre

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tab

lere

sult

s.C

aref

ulp

rep

arat

ion

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ad-

ing

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mp

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len

gth

enth

eti

me

nee

ded

bet

wee

ncl

ean

ings

and

hel

pto

avoi

dd

ownti

me.

10.1

Pre

pari

ng

the

Sam

ple

1.M

ake

sure

the

sam

ple

tob

em

easu

red

ish

omog

eneo

us.

Mu

lti-

com

pon

ent

sam

ple

sor

sam

ple

sth

ath

ave

ou

tsid

eco

atin

gsca

nb

em

easu

red

,b

ut

resu

lts

may

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bas

edon

sam

ple

pre

par

a-ti

onm

eth

od

s.S

ome

sam

ple

sty

pes

nee

dsp

ecia

lp

rep

arat

ion

,se

eS

ecti

on10

.2.

2.P

lace

the

sam

ple

ina

stai

nle

ssst

eel

sam

ple

cup

that

has

bee

nta

red

.T

he

sam

ple

shou

ldco

ver

the

ma

jori

tyof

the

bott

omof

the

cup

,if

pos

sib

le.

Th

eV

SA

isab

leto

accu

rate

lym

easu

rea

sam

ple

that

does

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nn

otco

ver

the

bot

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the

cup

.F

orex

amp

le,

tab

lets

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nee

dto

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pla

ced

inth

ecu

pan

dn

otfl

atte

ned

orch

opp

edto

cove

rth

eb

otto

m.

Ala

rger

sam

ple

surf

ace

area

incr

ease

sin

stru

men

teffi

cien

cyby

pro

vid

ing

mor

est

able

infr

ared

sam

ple

tem

per

atu

res

and

enab

lin

gb

ette

rw

ate

rso

rpti

on.

3.T

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VS

Aca

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com

mod

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ple

sof

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to50

00m

g.D

ecago

nre

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men

ds

sam

ple

size

sof

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to15

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g.T

his

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ple

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leto

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igh

reso

luti

onis

oth

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curv

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ith

out

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gex

cess

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tim

eto

the

test

.

4.D

on

otov

erfi

llth

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mp

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p.

Op

tim

alre

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eob

tain

edby

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ing

ath

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yer

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mp

leco

ver

ing

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ora

sin

gle

layer

ofp

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uct

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chas

tab

lets

,p

elle

ts,

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iece

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illi

ng

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sam

ple

cup

can

exte

nd

test

tim

e,cr

eate

laye

rin

gw

ith

inth

esa

mp

lean

dca

se-h

ard

enin

g,an

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ad

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min

atio

nof

the

cham

ber

.T

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me

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mp

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miz

edfo

rea

chm

ate

rial

toac

hie

veth

ed

esir

edre

solu

tion

and

test

tim

es.

74

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Cali

bra

tion

Hig

hli

ght

“Cal

ibra

tion

”an

dp

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

onto

open

the

Cal

-ib

rati

onm

enu

wh

ere

you

can

mak

eei

ther

aw

ater

acti

vit

yor

wei

ght

adju

stm

ent.

For

mor

ed

etai

lson

wei

ght

and

wat

erac

tivit

yca

lib

rati

on

pro

cedu

res

refe

rto

Sec

tion

7:V

erifi

cati

onof

Cal

ibra

tion

.Y

oum

ayal

sore

set

the

cali

bra

tion

toth

efa

ctor

yd

efau

lts

by

hig

hligh

tin

gth

eD

efau

lts

opti

on

inth

eca

lib

rati

onm

enu

and

pre

ssin

gE

nte

r.

27

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A9

MO

IST

UR

EA

NA

LY

SIS

TO

OL

KIT

3.M

od

ifysta

gesin

the

curren

tlyru

nn

ing

test.

4.C

lickN

ext.

5.C

lickF

inish

and

Allow

the

Wizard

tofi

nish

comm

un

icating

with

the

dev

ice.

9.3

Dow

nlo

ad

an

dE

xp

ort

1.O

nce

youcon

nect

the

VS

Aafter

atest

has

been

run

,a

dow

n-

loadof

the

teststarts

autom

atically,If

not,

selectD

own

load

inth

eto

olbar.

Note:

Itis

stron

glyreco

mm

ended

tosa

veth

etest

(.vsa)

before

con

tinu

ing.

2.F

romth

eF

ilem

enu

oru

sing

the

iconin

the

toolb

ar,select

“Exp

ort”to

createan

Excel

comp

atible

table.

3.T

oview

your

data

intab

leform

at,click

the

Tab

leb

utton

inth

eto

olbar.

4.T

oview

your

data

inch

artform

at,click

the

Ch

artb

utton

inth

eto

olbar.

Wh

ileth

eM

oistu

reA

naly

sisT

oolk

itd

oes

not

have

aU

ser’sm

anu

al,

exten

siveh

elpfi

lesex

istto

guid

eyou

throu

ghth

evariou

sfeatu

resan

dp

rocesses

ofth

eM

oisture

An

alysis

Toolk

it.T

ofi

nd

these

help

files

inth

eM

oisture

An

alysis

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it,click

onth

eH

elpm

enu

iteman

dth

enselect

the

Moistu

reA

naly

sisT

oolk

itH

elpsu

bm

enu

itemto

disp

layth

eh

elpfi

les.

73

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

Vola

tiles

Th

ein

strum

ent

givesaccu

rateread

ings

onm

ostsam

ples

wh

enth

ed

efault

volatilessettin

gis

“Off

.”W

hen

readin

gw

ithvolatiles

offth

ech

illedm

irrorm

ethod

isu

sedby

defau

lt.H

owever,

samp

lesw

ithcertain

volatilesin

high

enou

ghcon

centration

sm

aygive

inaccu

ratew

ateractiv

ityvalu

es.T

his

isb

ecause

the

volatilescon

den

seon

the

mirror

du

ring

the

readin

gp

rocess,

bu

td

on

otevap

orate

from

the

mirror

asw

aterd

oes.

Th

econ

centration

ofvolatiles

that

causes

in-

terference

isva

riable

and

matrix

dep

end

ent.

Th

em

osteff

ectivem

ethod

tod

etermin

eif

volatiles

area

pro

blem

isto

comp

ared

ewp

oint

readin

gsto

capacitan

ceread

ings.

Ifth

ed

ewp

oint

readin

gsare

more

than

0.02h

igher

than

the

capacitan

ceread

-in

gs,volatiles

arelikely

ap

roblem

and

itis

recomm

end

edth

atth

evolatiles

setting

be

switch

edto

On

.W

hen

youtu

rnth

evolatiles

set-tin

gon

,th

ein

strum

ent

only

uses

the

capacitiv

erelative

hu

mid

itysen

-sor

forw

ater

activ

itiesm

easurem

ents

and

isotherm

tests.A

lloth

erop

eration

san

dfeatu

resare

the

same,

inclu

din

gm

easurem

ent

times

an

dad

justin

gfor

linear

offset.

Press

Enter

totoggle

the

volatiles

setting

onan

doff

.

Weig

ht

Refe

ren

ce

Weigh

treferen

ceis

the

reference

used

wh

encalcu

latin

gth

ep

ercent

chan

gein

weigh

tof

the

samp

le.T

his

canb

eb

asedon

the

initia

lw

eight

ofth

etest,

the

starting

weigh

tof

the

stageor

the

min

imu

mw

eight

du

ring

the

test.U

seth

isreferen

cean

ytim

eyou

are

calcu

lat-in

ga

percen

tw

eight.

28

9M

OIS

TU

RE

AN

ALY

SIS

TO

OL

KIT

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

9M

ois

ture

An

aly

sis

Toolk

itS

oft

ware

Wh

ile

the

Aqu

aLab

VS

Aca

nop

erat

eas

ast

and

-alo

ne

inst

rum

ent,

aco

mp

ute

rm

ust

be

atta

ched

tod

own

load

test

resu

lts.

Th

eM

ois

ture

An

aly

sis

Tool

kit

soft

war

em

akes

itea

syto

dow

nlo

ad

moi

stu

reso

rp-

tion

isot

her

mm

easu

rem

ents

from

you

rV

SA

,vie

wth

ed

ata

inta

ble

orch

art

form

,ex

por

tfo

ru

sein

oth

erp

rogr

ams,

and

easi

lyse

tup

an

ewte

stw

ith

mu

ltip

lest

ages

.A

fter

inst

alli

ng

the

Moi

stu

reA

nal

ysi

sT

ool

kit

ona

com

pu

ter,

foll

owth

ese

step

sto

uti

lize

the

soft

ware

.

Con

nect

1.C

on

nec

tyou

rU

SB

cab

leb

etw

een

the

VS

AC

OM

port

and

the

US

Bp

ort

onyo

ur

com

pu

ter.

2.O

pen

the

Moi

stu

reA

nal

ysi

sT

ool

kit

soft

war

e.

3.S

elec

tth

ep

rop

erC

OM

por

tin

the

tool

bar.

4.C

lick

the

Con

nec

tb

utt

onin

the

tool

bar

.

9.1

Con

figu

rean

dS

tart

aN

ew

Test

1.O

nce

you

con

nec

tth

eV

SA

,cl

ick

the

Wiz

ard

bu

tton

inth

eto

olb

ar.

2.F

ollo

wth

eW

izar

din

stru

ctio

ns

and

fill

inth

ep

ara

met

ers

ofyo

ur

test

and

each

stag

ed

esir

ed.

3.A

fter

com

ple

tin

gth

eW

izar

d,

foll

owth

ein

stru

ctio

ns

dis

pla

yed

onth

eV

SA

tost

art

you

rte

st.

9.2

Mod

ify

aC

urr

entl

yR

un

nin

gT

est

Note

:Y

ou

can

on

lym

odif

yst

age

sth

at

have

not

yet

begu

n.

Ifyo

uw

ish

tom

odif

yth

ecu

rren

tru

nn

ing

stage

,si

mply

crea

tea

new

stage

an

dadju

styo

ur

stage

behavi

or

from

the

curr

ent

readin

gof

the

VS

A.

1.C

on

nec

tto

VS

Aru

nn

ing

test

.

2.C

lick

the

Wiz

ard

bu

tton

inth

eto

olb

ar.

72

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Basi

s

Th

eV

SA

gen

erat

esw

ater

acti

vit

yva

lues

and

corr

esp

ondin

gsa

m-

ple

wei

ghts

du

rin

gm

oist

ure

des

orp

tion

and

reso

rpti

on.

To

com

ple

teth

eis

oth

erm

,th

esa

mp

lew

eigh

tsm

ust

be

tran

slat

edin

tom

oist

ure

conte

nts

.M

oist

ure

conte

nt

can

be

calc

ula

ted

ind

iffer

ent

way

san

dre

por

ted

wit

ha

vari

ety

ofd

iffer

ent

un

its.

Th

eb

asis

par

am

eter

al-

low

sth

ere

por

tin

gof

moi

stu

reco

nte

nt

intw

od

iffer

ent

way

s,p

erce

nt

moi

stu

reon

aw

etb

asis

and

per

cent

moi

stu

reon

ad

ryb

asis

.

Perc

ent

Mois

ture

on

aW

et

Basi

s(%

wb

,g/100g

tota

l)

%M

oist

ure

=in

itia

lw

eigh

t−

fin

alw

eigh

t

init

ial

wei

ght

×10

0=

gra

ms

ofw

ater

100

gra

ms

tota

l

Perc

ent

Mois

ture

on

aD

ryB

asi

s(%

db

,g/100g

soli

ds)

%M

oist

ure

=in

itia

lw

eigh

t−

fin

alw

eigh

t

fin

alw

eigh

t×

100

=gr

am

sof

wat

er

100

gra

ms

tota

l

For

food

app

lica

tion

s,m

oist

ure

conte

nts

are

rep

ort

edon

aw

etb

asis

.A

sim

ple

equ

atio

nco

nve

rts

bet

wee

nth

ew

etan

ddry

bas

is.

%m

oist

ure

dry

=%

moi

stu

rew

et

100−

%m

oist

ure

wet×

100

%m

oist

ure

wet

=%

moi

stu

red

ry

100

+%

moi

stu

red

ry×

100

Date

Th

eV

SA

has

anin

tern

alca

len

dar

and

clock

that

all

owit

tore

cord

the

tim

ean

dd

ate

ofea

chw

ater

acti

vit

yre

adin

g.P

ress

Ente

rw

ith

the

Dat

eop

tion

hig

hli

ghte

dto

set

the

dat

ein

the

inst

rum

ent.

Pre

ssth

ele

ftan

dri

ght

arro

ws

toch

ange

bet

wee

nth

em

onth

,d

ayan

dye

ar.

Pre

ssth

eu

por

dow

nar

row

sto

chan

gean

yof

the

ind

ivid

ual

valu

es.

29

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A8

RU

NN

ING

AT

ES

T

=Y

es→C

apacitive

Sen

sor,V

olatiles=

No→

dew

poin

tS

en-

sor).

71

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

Tim

e

Pressin

gE

nter

with

the

Tim

eop

tionh

ighligh

tedallow

syou

toset

the

curren

tlo

caltim

e.P

ressth

eu

por

dow

narrow

sto

chan

gean

yof

the

ind

ivid

ual

values.

Press

the

leftor

right

bu

ttons

toch

ange

betw

eenh

our

and

min

utes.

Th

eh

our

setting

autom

aticallych

anges

betw

eenA

Man

dP

M.

aw

Settin

gs

Settin

gsrelated

tow

ateractiv

itym

easurem

ents

canb

eu

pd

atedh

ere.T

hese

inclu

de

defau

ltsy

stemtem

peratu

re,tem

peratu

reeq

uilib

ration

tolerance

and

beep

s.

30

8R

UN

NIN

GA

TE

ST

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

lect

ing

New

and

pre

ssin

gth

eE

nte

rb

utt

on.

Th

ense

tup

each

stag

eas

outl

ined

abov

e.T

oed

itan

exis

tin

gst

age

that

isn

ot

curr

entl

yru

nn

ing

and

isn

otco

mp

lete

,se

lect

itan

dp

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

on.

Ad

just

the

sett

ings

asin

stru

cted

abov

e.

Note

:If

you

do

not

wa

nt

toen

dth

ecu

rren

tst

age

,m

ake

sure

ther

eis

not

aC

hec

kM

ark

nex

tto

“E

nd

Cu

rren

tS

tage

.”

4.T

oal

ter

acu

rren

tly

run

nin

gst

age,

inse

rta

new

stag

eaft

erth

ecu

rren

tly

run

nin

gst

age.

Mak

esu

reto

set

the

start

ingaw

to“cu

rren

t”if

you

wan

tth

en

ewst

age

tore

sum

ew

her

eth

ep

revio

us

stag

ele

ftoff

.T

hen

sele

ct“E

nd

Cu

rren

tS

tage,

”p

ress

Ente

rto

mak

ea

Ch

eck

Mar

kap

pea

ran

dcl

ick

the

Sav

eb

utt

on.

Th

ecu

rren

tst

age

end

san

dth

en

ewly

crea

ted

stag

eb

egin

s.

Note

:T

oed

ita

test

usi

ng

the

soft

ware

,se

eth

eM

ois

ture

An

aly

sis

Too

lkit

soft

ware

inS

ecti

on

9.

8.6

Ru

nn

ing

aW

ate

rA

ctiv

ity

Test

Note

:T

he

Wate

ract

ivit

yte

stca

nn

ot

bedon

ew

hen

the

isoth

erm

test

isru

nn

ing

You

can

als

ou

seth

eA

qu

aLab

VSA

asa

wat

eract

ivit

ym

eter

.F

orb

est

resu

lts

and

tem

per

atu

reco

ntr

ol,

we

reco

mm

end

you

use

acl

ean

stai

nle

ssst

eel

cup

for

wat

erac

tivit

yte

stin

gan

dth

atyou

rem

ove

the

wei

ghin

gp

anan

dp

lace

the

cup

dir

ectl

yon

air

cyli

nd

erw

hen

test

ing

for

wat

erac

tivit

y.If

you

set

vola

tile

sto

yes

asd

escr

ibed

inS

ecti

on5,

the

VS

Ad

eter

min

esw

ater

acti

vit

yre

adin

gsusi

ng

the

cap

aci

tan

cese

nso

r,ot

her

wis

e,it

use

sth

ed

ewp

oint

sen

sor.

1.F

rom

the

Mea

sure

men

tta

b,

mov

ela

tch

left

and

an

dre

adin

gst

arts

auto

mat

ical

ly.

Th

ep

inw

hee

lsp

ins

wh

enta

kin

ga

mea

-su

rem

ent.

Pre

ssin

gth

eE

nte

rb

utt

onal

sost

arts

are

adin

g.

2.T

heaw

read

ing

for

the

sam

ple

and

the

tem

per

atu

red

isp

lays

wh

enth

eV

SA

fin

ish

es.

3.T

oggl

eth

eV

olat

iles

Yes

/No

opti

onin

the

Con

figu

rati

onm

enu

toch

ange

bet

wee

nd

ewp

oint

and

cap

acit

ive

read

ings

(Vol

atil

es

70

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Tem

pera

ture

Th

isse

ttin

gd

eter

min

esth

ete

mp

erat

ure

that

the

inst

rum

ent

mai

n-

tain

sd

uri

ng

wate

rac

tivit

ym

easu

rem

ents

.It

isals

oth

ete

mp

erat

ure

that

the

inst

rum

ent

retu

rns

toaf

ter

com

ple

ting

ate

st.

Th

edef

ault

tem

per

atu

reis

25◦ C

.P

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

onto

chan

ge

the

tem

per

-at

ure

sett

ing.

You

can

set

the

VS

Aan

yw

her

eb

etw

een

15an

d60

◦ Cin

0.1

◦ Cin

terv

als.

Use

the

up

and

dow

nar

row

sto

set

the

VS

Ato

you

rd

esir

edte

mp

erat

ure

.

Tem

pE

q

Tem

per

ature

Equ

ilib

rati

onT

oler

ance

or“T

emp

Eq”

sets

the

max

-im

um

diff

eren

ceal

low

edb

etw

een

the

lid

and

the

sam

ple

.T

his

lid

tosa

mp

lete

mp

eratu

red

iffer

ence

mu

stb

ele

ssth

an

the

Tem

pE

qin

ord

erto

star

ta

wat

erac

tivit

ym

easu

rem

ent.

Ifa

sam

ple

isou

tof

this

ran

ge,

the

VS

Aw

aits

for

the

sam

ple

toeq

uil

ibra

tep

rior

tob

egin

nin

gth

ew

ater

acti

vit

ym

easu

rem

ent.

4◦ C

isth

ed

efau

ltse

ttin

g.

Beep

s

Ind

icat

esth

enu

mb

erof

aud

ible

bee

ps

afte

ra

wat

erac

tivit

ym

easu

re-

men

tis

com

ple

ted

.Y

ouca

nse

tth

isva

lue

tooff

(0),

4,or

infi

nit

y(∞

).

Regio

nal

Form

att

ing

:

All

ows

you

toco

nfi

gure

how

the

VS

Ad

isp

lays

info

rmati

on.

You

may

choose

the

tem

per

atu

resc

ale

(Cel

siu

svs

Fah

ren

hei

t),

the

dat

ed

isp

lay

(mm

/dd

/yy

vs.

dd

/mm

/yy),

the

hou

rfo

rmat

(12

vs

24hou

r)an

dth

ela

ngu

age

.P

ress

Ente

rto

swit

chth

ese

ttin

g.

31

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A8

RU

NN

ING

AT

ES

T

3.D

eso

rptio

nC

urv

e:

An

alyze

asecon

dsu

b-sam

ple

ford

esorp-

tionfrom

itscu

rrent

state.T

he

testis

againsetu

pw

ithon

esta

gew

ithd

esiredsettin

gsfor

meth

od

(DD

Ior

DV

S),

temp

er-atu

re,step

value,

flow

rateetc.,

bu

tth

estartin

gw

ateractiv

itym

ust

be

“curren

t,”an

dth

efi

nal

water

activity

mu

stb

ea

value

lower

than

the

curren

tw

ateractiv

ityof

the

samp

le.

8.5

Ed

iting

aR

un

nin

gIso

therm

Test

Users

caned

ita

testth

atis

already

run

nin

gby

add

ing

add

ition

alstages

toa

run

nin

gtest

(inserted

afterth

ecu

rrent

run

nin

gsta

ge)at

any

time

usin

gth

eed

ittest

fun

ction.

Th

iscan

be

don

eu

sing

either

the

instru

men

tin

terfaceor

the

software.

1.P

ressth

eW

izardicon

asyou

did

wh

enstartin

ga

test.T

he

Con

figu

reT

estscreen

app

ears.

2.P

ressth

ed

oub

lerigh

tarrow

toed

itth

eselected

test.T

he

Con

figu

reS

tagesscreen

app

ears.

3.T

he

curren

tru

nn

ing

stage(sp

inn

ericon

)an

dcom

pleted

stages(lo

ckicon

s)can

not

be

edited

.A

dd

add

itional

stages

by

se-

69

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

Ad

min

Settin

gs

Allow

syou

tocrea

tean

adm

inistrator

passw

ordas

well

asad

d,

edit

an

dd

eletead

dition

alu

sers.T

he

Ad

min

option

allows

the

adm

in-

istratorto

grant

orb

lock

accessto

some

orall

of

the

con

figu

ration

op

tions.

For

exam

ple,

ifth

ead

min

istratorw

anted

tom

ake

sure

that

all

samp

lesw

ereread

at25

◦Cth

ead

min

istratorw

ould

setth

eirtem

peratu

reto

25◦C

and

then

wou

ldlo

ckall

other

users

out

of

that

Con

figu

rationscreen

.T

his

isaccom

plish

edby

enterin

gth

eA

ccessfu

nction

and

selecting

the

desired

option

totog

gleit

onan

doff

.A

d-

dition

allyyou

canlo

ckan

du

nlo

ckall

ofth

emat

on

ce.(F

orex

amp

le,if

youd

on

otw

ant

anin

div

idu

alch

angin

gth

ein

strum

ent

measu

re-m

ent

temp

eratu

re,th

ead

min

istratorcan

lock

that

fun

ctionfor

that

ind

ivid

ual.)

Ad

min

istratorscan

lock

the

calibra

tion,

temp

eratu

re,tem

peratu

reeq

uilib

ration,

sensor

selection,

mod

e,d

ate/tim

e,region

,p

assword

,au

to-save,nu

mb

erof

beep

s,con

trast,an

dd

eletefu

nction

s.

Use

rS

etu

p

Users

canb

ead

ded

,ed

itedor

deleted

fromth

isscreen

.T

oad

da

user,

press

the

Enter

bu

ttonw

ithth

e“N

ew”

high

lighted

.T

oed

itor

delete

au

ser,ch

oose

the

targetu

seran

dp

ressE

nter.

Wh

encreatin

ga

new

user,

analp

hab

etscreen

app

earsw

here

youca

nen

tera

nam

eu

sing

lower

case,

up

per

casean

daccen

ts.

32

8R

UN

NIN

GA

TE

ST

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

8.A

fter

sett

ing

up

all

stag

eson

the

Ed

itS

tage

scre

en,

sele

ctth

ed

oub

leR

ight

arro

w.

9.F

ollo

wth

em

essa

geon

the

scre

ento

pla

cean

emp

tyst

ain

less

stee

lcu

pin

the

cham

ber

and

seal

it.

Pre

ssth

ed

ou

ble

righ

tar

row

tota

reth

ecu

p.

10.

Fol

low

the

mes

sage

onth

esc

reen

topla

ceth

esa

mp

lein

the

cup

and

sele

ctth

ed

oub

leri

ght

arro

wto

wei

ghth

esa

mp

le.

11.

Wh

enfill

ing

the

sam

ple

cup

,re

mov

eth

ecu

pfr

omth

ech

am

ber

toav

oid

spil

lsin

the

cham

ber

area

.

12.

Pre

ssth

eE

nte

rb

utt

onto

beg

inth

ete

st.

8.3

Usi

ng

DD

Ito

invest

igate

Gla

ssT

ran

siti

on

To

inve

stig

ate

glas

str

ansi

tion

even

tsu

sin

gd

yn

am

icis

oth

erm

s,ru

na

DD

Ite

stw

ith

the

init

ial

wat

erac

tivit

yse

tto

0.1aw

,fi

nal

wat

erac

tivit

y>

0.80

aw

,fl

owra

teof

80to

100

ml/

min

,re

solu

tion

of

0.0

1aw

and

no

tim

eou

tsh

ould

be

use

d.

8.4

Cre

ati

ng

aW

ork

ing

Isoth

erm

Usi

ng

the

VS

A

Use

rsca

nge

ner

ate

wor

kin

gis

oth

erm

su

sin

gth

eV

SA

,as

des

crib

edin

the

Th

eory

sect

ion

ofS

ecti

on3,

thou

ghit

requ

ires

seve

ral

step

s.

1.Is

oth

erm

Test

s:G

ener

ate

two

isot

her

mte

sts

usi

ng

the

VS

A,

one

for

adso

rpti

onan

don

efo

rd

esor

pti

on,

wit

hb

oth

star

tin

gat

the

“cu

rren

t”w

ater

acti

vit

yva

lue.

Aw

orkin

gis

oth

erm

isan

anal

ysi

sof

the

sorp

tion

char

acte

rist

ics

ofa

sam

ple

star

tin

gfr

omit

sn

ativ

est

ate.

Gen

erat

ing

this

dat

are

qu

ires

the

anal

ysi

sof

two

sub

-sam

ple

sin

the

sam

eco

nd

itio

nas

the

orig

inal

sam

ple

.

2.A

dso

rpti

on

Cu

rve:

An

alyze

one

sub

-sam

ple

for

ad

sorp

tion

from

its

curr

ent

stat

e.S

etu

pon

est

age

ofth

ete

stw

ith

you

rd

esir

edse

ttin

gsfo

rm

eth

od

(DD

Ior

DV

S),

tem

per

atu

re,

step

valu

e,fl

owra

teet

c.,

bu

tth

est

arti

ng

wat

erac

tivit

ym

ust

be

“cu

rren

t,”

and

the

fin

alw

ater

acti

vit

ym

ust

be

ava

lue

hig

her

than

the

curr

ent

wat

erac

tivit

yof

the

sam

ple

.

68

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Note

:U

ser

setu

pis

not

requ

ired

for

inst

rum

ent

ope

rati

on

.It

isava

il-

abl

efo

ru

sers

wan

tin

gto

beco

mpli

an

tw

ith

21

CF

RP

art

11

or

who

wan

tto

main

tain

the

sett

ings

they

have

sele

cted

.

Au

toR

est

art

Au

tore

start

enab

les

the

inst

rum

ent

toau

tom

atic

ally

resu

me

the

curr

entl

yru

nn

ing

test

ifth

ere

isa

pow

erfa

ilu

reof

any

kin

d.

Pre

ssE

nte

rto

toggl

eau

tore

star

tb

etw

een

onan

doff

.W

ere

com

men

dth

isb

ese

tto

onto

pre

ven

td

ata

loss

.

Note

:R

esta

rtte

sts

wit

ha

new

sam

ple

ifpo

wer

ou

tage

sla

stm

ore

than

30

min

ute

s.

Lig

hti

ng

Tu

rns

the

ligh

tin

gin

the

des

icca

nt

tub

ear

eaon

oroff

.

Exte

rnal

Gas

En

able

sor

dis

able

sth

eu

seof

exte

rnal

gas.

Wh

enE

xte

rnal

Gas

isO

n,

the

exte

rnal

gas

serv

esas

the

air

sou

rce

for

sam

ple

des

icca

-ti

onan

dw

etti

ng.

Wh

enE

xte

rnal

Gas

isO

ffth

ein

tern

alp

um

pu

ses

amb

ient

air

as

the

air

sou

rce.

Note

:W

hen

you

use

the

exte

rnal

gas,

itex

hau

sts

into

the

atm

o-

spher

e.B

esu

reto

pro

vid

eadeq

uate

ven

tila

tion

an

dsa

fety

mea

sure

sw

hil

eu

sin

gan

exte

rnal

gas

supply

wit

hth

ein

stru

men

t.D

on

ot

use

com

bust

ible

or

haza

rdou

sga

ses.

33

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A8

RU

NN

ING

AT

ES

T

equ

ilibriu

m,

three

%d

m/d

tread

ings

inrow

mu

stb

eless

than

the

settrigger

value.

You

canch

oose

any

value

betw

een1

to10

.S

etting

ah

igher

triggervalu

ean

da

lower

nu

mb

erof

events

makes

the

testfaster,

bu

tm

ayn

otresu

ltin

comp

leteeq

uilib

-riu

m.

We

recomm

end

begin

nin

gw

ithtw

oev

ents

at0.01

%/h

r.If

youtu

rnth

etrigger

off,

the

VS

Ah

olds

the

samp

leat

eachstep

forth

etim

ein

the

timeou

tsettin

g.A

fterad

justin

gall

settings,

press

the

Save

bu

ttonto

save

the

settings

and

return

toth

eS

tage

Setu

pscreen

.

5.T

och

oose

toin

clud

ea

timeou

tsettin

g,h

ighligh

t“T

imeou

t,”p

ressth

eE

nter

bu

tton,

and

then

cycle

toth

ed

esiredvalu

eu

sing

the

up

and

dow

narrow

s.A

ny

value

betw

een5.0

min

to30

day

scan

be

selected.

Th

etim

eout

determ

ines

the

max

imu

mtim

eallotted

foreach

aw

step,

not

the

time

from

startingaw

tofi

nalaw

.T

he

defau

ltvalu

eis

off,

wh

ichm

eans

there

isn

otim

eout

value

and

only

the

triggervalu

ed

etermin

esth

een

dof

step.

Ifb

otha

triggervalu

ean

dtim

eout

value

areset,

wh

ichever

isreach

edfi

rstd

etermin

esth

een

dof

the

step.

6.T

och

oose

toh

aveth

eisoth

ermlo

op,

hig

hligh

t“L

oop

”an

dp

ressth

eE

nter

bu

ttonto

toggleb

etween

onan

doff

.T

urn

ing

loop

oncau

sesth

eisoth

ermto

autom

aticallyretu

rnto

the

start

aw

(with

the

same

settings)

once

the

fin

alaw

has

been

achiev

ed.

Th

isw

ou

ldcreate

both

anad

sorption

and

desorp

tioncu

rve(or

vice

versa

dep

end

ing

onth

estartin

gd

irection).

7.W

hen

fin

ished

adju

sting

the

settings

forth

esta

ge,p

ressth

eS

aveb

utton

tosave

and

return

toth

eE

dit

Stag

escreen

.P

ressth

eC

an

celb

utton

toretu

rnto

Ed

itS

tagescreen

with

out

savin

gch

an

ges.

67

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

To

turn

extern

algas

on,

high

light

“Extern

alG

as:O

ff”

an

dp

ressE

nter.

Th

eE

xtern

alG

asscreen

app

ears.

To

startu

sing

extern

algas,

remov

eth

eex

ternal

gas

plu

gfrom

the

back

ofth

eV

SA

and

insert

the

desired

gassou

rce.A

dju

stth

eex

-tern

algas

pressu

reu

ntil

itis

betw

een5

and

35kP

a(0.7

to5

psi).

Th

eV

SA

hid

esth

eC

heck

Mark

until

the

gasis

with

inth

eaccep

t-ab

lep

ressure

range.

Press

the

Ch

eckM

arkto

enab

leex

ternal

gas

orescap

eto

cancel.

Note:

When

selecting

aga

sso

urce,

choo

sea

gas

supply

with

afi

ltersystem

that

elimin

ates

oil

an

doth

erpa

rticula

testo

help

pro

lon

gth

elife

of

you

rV

SA

.M

ake

sure

tokeep

the

external

gas

plu

gto

use

when

you

remove

the

external

gas

sou

rce.

Ifth

eex

ternal

gasis

turn

edon

inth

eC

onfi

guration

taban

dyo

uw

ant

totu

rnit

off,

pressin

gen

tercau

sesth

eE

xtern

alG

asscreen

toap

pear.

To

stopu

sing

extern

algas,

turn

offth

eex

ternal

gas

source

and

re-m

oveth

eex

ternal

gastu

bin

gan

dad

apters

fromth

eb

ackof

the

in-

strum

ent.

Rein

stallth

eex

ternal

gasp

lug

and

then

press

the

Ch

eck

34

8R

UN

NIN

GA

TE

ST

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

wh

ile

sele

ctin

ga

fin

alaw

hig

her

than

the

star

tin

gaw

resu

lts

inad

sorp

tion

.P

ress

the

Sav

eb

utt

onw

hen

fin

ish

ed.

3.T

och

oos

eth

ete

mp

erat

ure

ofth

est

age,

hig

hli

ght

“Tem

per

a-

ture

,”p

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

onw

ith

“Tem

per

atu

re”

hig

hli

ghte

d,

and

then

cycl

eto

the

des

ired

tem

per

atu

reu

sin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arro

wke

ys.

You

can

choos

ean

yte

mp

erat

ure

bet

wee

n15

and

60◦ C

and

each

stag

eca

nru

nat

au

niq

ue

tem

per

atu

re.

4.T

och

oos

eth

ed

esir

edaw

step

,hig

hli

ght

“Ste

p,”

pre

ssth

eE

nte

rb

utt

on,

and

then

cycl

eto

the

des

ired

valu

eu

sin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arro

ws.

You

can

choos

ean

yva

lue

bet

wee

n0.

003

and

1.0aw

.T

he

step

sett

ing

for

DV

Sd

eter

min

esth

eaw

valu

esfo

req

uil

ibra

tion

and

con

sequ

entl

yth

ere

solu

tion

.A

step

sett

ing

of0.

10aw

wit

ha

star

tin

gva

lue

of0.

1aw

resu

lts

inhu

mid

ity

bei

ng

contr

olle

dto

0.1,

0.2,

0.3

...

up

toth

efi

nalaw

,re

mai

nin

gat

each

leve

lu

nti

lei

ther

equ

ilib

riu

mis

ach

ieve

db

ased

onth

etr

igge

rva

lue

orre

ach

ing

the

tim

eou

tva

lue.

Set

tin

ga

hig

her

valu

em

akes

the

test

fast

er,

bu

td

ecre

ases

theaw

reso

luti

on.

To

choos

eth

etr

igge

r%

dm

/dt

valu

eth

atin

dic

ate

seq

uil

ibra

-ti

on,

hig

hli

ght

“Tri

gger

,”p

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

onto

open

an

eww

ind

ow.

Cycl

eto

the

des

ired

trig

ger

valu

eu

sin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arr

ows.

Th

etr

igge

rca

nb

esh

ut

offor

be

any

valu

eb

e-tw

een

0.00

1an

d1%

/hr.

Th

etr

igge

rva

lue

rep

rese

nts

anac

cep

t-ab

lech

ange

inm

ass

per

chan

gein

tim

eto

ind

icate

equ

ilib

riu

mfo

ra

give

nst

ep.

Nex

t,ch

oos

eth

enu

mb

erof

read

ings

orev

ents

mee

tin

gth

etr

igge

rva

lue

that

are

requ

ired

toac

hie

ve

equ

ilib

rati

on.

For

ex-

amp

le,ch

oos

ing

3m

ean

sth

atin

ord

erfo

ra

step

toh

ave

reac

hed

66

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Mar

kto

dis

able

exte

rnal

gas

orth

eX

tore

turn

toth

eC

onfi

gu

rati

onta

bw

ith

out

chan

gin

gth

ese

ttin

g.

Contr

ast

All

ows

you

tose

tth

eco

ntr

ast

ofth

esc

reen

toyou

rli

kin

g.V

iew

-in

gth

esc

reen

from

asi

ttin

gve

rsu

sa

stan

din

gp

osi

tion

may

requ

ire

contr

ast

adju

stm

ent

for

the

bes

tvis

ibil

ity

inth

atp

osi

tion

.

Dia

gn

ost

ics

Th

eD

iagn

osti

cssc

reen

pro

vid

esyo

uw

ith

det

aile

din

form

atio

nab

out

all

the

sen

sors

inth

ein

stru

men

t.R

efer

toth

eT

rou

ble

shooti

ng

sec-

tion

for

det

ails

onw

hat

kin

dof

valu

esyo

ush

ould

exp

ect

for

each

sen

sor.

Pre

ssu

por

dow

nto

pag

eb

etw

een

the

diff

eren

tD

iagn

osti

cssc

reen

s.

Th

esc

ale

icon

onth

eb

otto

mof

the

seco

nd

scre

enal

low

syo

uto

zero

the

bal

ance

soth

atyo

uca

nta

kew

eigh

tre

adin

gsvia

the

dia

gnos

tic

scre

en.

Th

eic

onla

bel

ed“A

ct”

togg

les

the

actu

ator

syst

emon

an

doff

.W

ith

the

lid

op

en,

pre

ssin

gth

isb

utt

onca

use

sth

ew

eigh

pan

and

actu

ator

cyli

nd

erto

alte

rnat

ivel

yri

sean

dfa

llif

wor

kin

gp

rop

erly

.

35

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A8

RU

NN

ING

AT

ES

T

value

usin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arrows.

You

can

selectan

yvalu

eb

etween

5.0m

inu

tesan

d30

day

s.T

he

timeou

td

etermin

esth

em

axim

um

time

allottedto

move

fromth

estartin

gaw

toth

efi

nalaw

(DD

Ion

ly)

and

isop

tional.

Th

ed

efault

valu

eis

off,

wh

ichm

eans

there

isn

otim

eout

value.

7.T

och

oose

toh

aveth

eisoth

ermlo

op,

high

light

“Loop

”an

dp

ressth

eE

nter

bu

ttonto

toggleb

etween

onan

doff

.T

urn

-in

glo

opon

causes

the

isotherm

toau

tomatically

return

toth

esta

rtingaw

(with

the

same

settings)

once

the

fin

alaw

has

been

achieved

.T

his

wou

ldcreate

both

anad

sorp

tionan

dd

esorption

curve

(orvice

versad

epen

din

gon

the

starting

direction

).

8.W

hen

fin

ished

adju

sting

the

settings

forth

estage,

press

the

Save

bu

ttonto

savean

dretu

rnto

the

Ed

itS

tagescreen

.P

ressC

ancel

toretu

rnto

Ed

itS

tagescreen

with

out

savin

gch

an

ges.

For

the

DV

SM

eth

od

1.T

och

oose

the

startingaw

,h

ighligh

t“S

tart,”p

ressth

eE

nter

bu

tton

,an

dth

ency

cleto

the

desired

value

usin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arrows.

You

canch

oose

any

value

betw

een0.03

and

0.95aw

inclu

din

g“cu

rrent.”

Ch

oosin

gcu

rrent

mean

sth

atth

esta

gestarts

atth

ein

itialaw

ofth

esam

ple.

Press

the

Save

bu

ttonw

hen

fin

ished

.

2.T

och

oose

the

fin

alaw

,h

ighligh

t“F

inal,”

press

the

Enter

bu

t-ton

,an

dth

ency

cleto

the

desired

value

usin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arrows.

You

canch

oose

any

value

betw

een0.03

and

0.95aw

inclu

din

gcu

rrent

(seecu

rrent

defi

nition

above).

Selectin

ga

fi-

nalaw

that

islow

erth

anth

estartin

gaw

results

ind

esorp

tion,

65

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

On

startup

,th

ep

um

pis

turn

edon

and

flow

sd

ryair

into

the

cham

-b

erto

mon

itorth

ed

esiccating

capacity

ofth

etu

bes.

Th

enu

mb

erb

utton

onth

eb

ottomscreen

allows

youto

switch

betw

eenth

etw

od

esiccant

tub

es.If

youp

ressth

enu

mb

erb

utton

with

the

arrow

toth

eleft,

itsw

itches

toth

eleft

desiccan

ttu

be

(#1).

Ifyo

up

ressth

enu

mb

erb

utton

with

the

arrowto

the

right,

itsw

itches

toth

erigh

td

esiccant

tub

e(#

2).A

ny

time

you

press

the

desicca

nt

tub

eb

utton

,th

ep

um

ptu

rns

on

and

blow

sd

ryair

into

the

cham

ber

tom

on

itor

the

desiccatin

gca

pacity

ofth

etu

bes.

Th

ew

eight

calibration

value

isth

ecu

rrent

calibration

app

liedto

bala

nce

readin

gs.A

value

ofon

em

eans

no

weig

ht

calib

ration

isap

plied

.T

he

dew

poin

tan

dcap

acitance

RH

senso

roff

setvalu

esare

the

curren

tlin

earoff

setsap

plied

tow

ateractiv

ityread

ings

forth

eresp

ectivesen

sorty

pe.

Avalu

eof

zerom

eans

that

the

VS

Aap

plied

no

water

activ

ityoff

set.

36

8R

UN

NIN

GA

TE

ST

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

2.T

och

oos

eth

efi

nalaw

,h

ighli

ght

“Fin

al,”

pre

ssth

eE

nte

rb

ut-

ton

,an

dth

ency

cle

toth

ed

esir

edva

lue

usi

ng

the

up

and

dow

nar

row

s.Y

ouca

nch

oos

esan

yva

lue

bet

wee

n0.

03an

d0.9

5aw

,in

clu

din

gcu

rren

t.S

elec

tin

ga

fin

alaw

that

islo

wer

than

the

star

tin

gaw

resu

lts

ind

esor

pti

on,

wh

ile

sele

ctin

ga

fin

alaw

hig

her

than

the

star

tin

gaw

resu

lts

inad

sorp

tion

.P

ress

the

Sav

eb

utt

onw

hen

fin

ish

ed.

3.T

och

oos

eth

ete

mp

erat

ure

ofth

est

age,

hig

hli

ght

“Tem

per

a-

ture

,”p

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

on,

and

then

cycl

eto

the

des

ired

tem

per

atu

reu

sin

gth

eup

and

dow

nar

row

keys

(hol

ddow

nar

row

sfo

racc

eler

ated

scro

llin

g).

You

can

choos

eany

tem

per

-at

ure

bet

wee

n15

and

60◦ C

and

run

each

stag

eat

au

niq

ue

tem

per

atu

re.

4.T

och

oos

eth

ed

esir

edaw

reso

luti

on,

hig

hli

ght

“Res

olu

tion

,”p

ress

the

Ente

rb

utt

on,

and

then

cycl

eto

the

des

ired

valu

eu

sin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arro

ws.

You

can

choose

any

valu

eb

e-tw

een

0.003

and

1.0aw

.T

he

reso

luti

onfo

rD

DI

det

erm

ines

the

targ

etaw

reso

luti

on.

Set

tin

ga

hig

her

step

valu

em

akes

the

test

fast

er,

bu

td

ecre

ases

theaw

reso

luti

on.

Dec

agon

reco

mm

end

sa

DD

Ist

epof

0.01

aw

.

5.T

och

oos

eth

eai

rfl

owra

te,

hig

hli

ght

“Flo

w,”

pre

ssth

eE

nte

rb

utt

on,

and

then

cycl

eto

the

des

ired

valu

eu

sin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arro

ws.

You

can

sele

ctan

yva

lue

bet

wee

n10

and

163

ml/

min

.H

igh

erfl

owra

tes

spee

du

pth

ete

st,

bu

tm

ayre

sult

inlo

wer

dat

are

solu

tion

and

non

-equ

ilib

riu

mco

nd

itio

ns.

Th

ed

efau

ltva

lue

of10

0m

l/m

inis

suit

able

for

most

pro

du

cts.

6.T

och

oos

eto

incl

ud

ea

tim

eou

tse

ttin

g,p

ress

the

Ente

rb

ut-

ton

wit

h“T

imeo

ut”

hig

hli

ghte

d,

and

then

cycl

eto

the

des

ired

64

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Ab

ou

t

Th

eA

bou

tsc

reen

pro

vid

esim

por

tant

info

rmat

ion

incl

ud

ing

the

se-

rial

nu

mb

eran

dfi

rmw

are

cod

eve

rsio

nof

you

rin

stru

men

t.

5.4

Data

Tab

Th

eD

ata

tab

allo

ws

you

tovie

wd

etai

led

info

rmat

ion

abou

tth

ete

stst

ored

inth

em

emor

y.Y

ouca

nvie

wd

ata

asa

list

,vie

wd

etai

led

dat

ap

oint

info

rmat

ion

,an

dgr

aph

all

orin

div

idu

alst

ages

.Y

ouca

nal

sod

elet

eth

ed

ata

inth

em

emor

y. 37

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A8

RU

NN

ING

AT

ES

T

9.T

osetu

pa

new

stage,select

New

and

press

the

Enter

bu

tton.

Ifm

oreth

anon

estage

isin

mem

ory,you

have

the

op

tion

ofin

serting

the

stageafter

any

existin

gstage

inth

etest.

Ascreen

with

severalp

arameters

app

ear.If

youra

na

prev

ious

test,th

estag

esfor

that

testlist

by

defau

lt.Y

oucan

use

these

stagesas

isor

up

date

them

with

new

settings.

Ifyou

need

tod

eleteor

edit

astage,

goto

the

specifi

cstage,

press

the

Enter

bu

tton,

and

then

selectE

dit

orD

elete.

10.S

electth

eiso

therm

meth

od

aseith

erD

DI

orD

VS

.D

DI

createsa

dyn

amic

isotherm

and

DV

Sm

akesa

staticor

equ

ilibriu

misoth

erm.

Th

eoth

erch

oicesad

just

accordin

gto

you

rselected

meth

od

.

For

the

DD

Im

eth

od

1.T

och

oose

the

startingaw

,h

ighligh

t“S

tart,”p

ressth

eE

nter

bu

tton

,an

dth

ency

cleto

the

desired

value

usin

gth

eu

pan

dd

own

arrows.

You

canch

oose

any

value

betw

een0.03

and

0.95aw

inclu

din

gcu

rrent.

Ch

oosin

gcu

rrent

causes

the

stage

tob

eginat

the

initial

aw

ofth

esam

ple.

Press

the

Save

butto

nw

hen

fin

ished

.

63

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

Vie

w

Th

isselection

brin

gsyou

toa

screenw

here

you

can

decid

eh

owyo

uw

ant

toview

your

data.

You

canch

oose

toview

your

wh

oletest

at

on

ceby

selecting

All

oryou

canview

anin

div

idu

al

stage.

On

ceth

ed

esiredp

ortionof

the

testis

selected,

you

canth

ench

oose

togra

ph

the

data

by

pressin

gth

egrap

hicon

orby

pressin

gth

een

tericon

toview

sum

mary

inform

ationof

eachd

atarecord

.S

eeS

ection9

for

inform

ationab

out

dow

nload

ing

testd

atato

acom

pu

ter.

Gra

ph

Scre

en

Th

isselection

show

sa

graph

ofth

eselected

data

fromth

ep

revi-

ou

sscreen

.P

ressth

ed

irectional

arrows

toch

ange

the

yor

x-a

xis

un

its.T

he

titleof

this

graph

ind

icatesth

etest

nam

e,stag

enu

mb

er(if

app

licab

le),an

dth

eisoth

ermty

pe

ison

the

right.

Exam

ple

of

agra

ph

with

wate

ractiv

ityas

the

x-a

xis.

Exam

ple

of

agra

ph

with

ela

pse

dtim

eas

the

x-a

xis.

38

8R

UN

NIN

GA

TE

ST

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A

6.E

nte

rin

itia

lm

oist

ure

conte

nt

ifkn

own

(op

tion

al)

by

pre

ssin

gth

eE

nte

rb

utt

onw

ith

Init

ial

MC

hig

hli

ghte

dan

du

seth

eu

pan

dd

own

arro

wto

ente

rth

eco

rrec

tm

oist

ure

.T

he

%w

bre

fers

toth

em

oist

ure

rep

orti

ng

bas

is,

wh

ich

can

be

eith

erw

etb

asi

s(%

wb

)or

dry

bas

is(%

db).

Th

em

oist

ure

conte

nt

basi

sis

set

asa

glob

alp

refe

ren

cein

the

Con

figu

rati

onta

b(s

eeS

ecti

on

5).

Pre

ssth

ed

oub

leri

ght

arro

wto

conti

nue

orth

ed

ou

ble

left

arro

wto

gob

ack.

7.S

etu

pea

chst

age

ofth

eis

oth

erm

test

.A

stag

eis

use

dto

ad

just

the

isoth

erm

sett

ings

for

anin

div

idu

alsa

mp

le(u

pto

20st

ages

).E

ach

stag

eis

set

up

wit

hth

eis

oth

erm

met

hod

(DD

Ior

DV

S)

and

the

sett

ings

for

that

por

tion

ofth

eis

oth

erm

.O

nce

you

crea

tea

stag

e,yo

uca

nm

od

ify

ord

elet

eit

anyti

me

bef

ore

you

beg

inth

ete

st.

8.F

orex

amp

le,

for

mil

kp

owd

er,

Sta

geO

ne

cou

ldu

seth

eD

DI

met

hod

tora

mp

qu

ickly

from

0.1

to0.

4aw

and

Sta

geT

wo

cou

ldu

seth

eD

VS

met

hod

tost

epfr

om0.

4to

0.8aw

slow

lyin

0.05

aw

incr

emen

ts.

62

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A5

US

ER

INT

ER

FA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Note

:F

or

DV

Sis

oth

erm

s,if

wate

ract

ivit

yis

the

x-axi

s,on

lyeq

uil

i-br

ate

ddata

poin

tsappe

ar

on

the

chart

.T

ovi

ewall

the

data

poin

ts,

the

x-axi

sm

ust

bein

term

sof

the

tim

eel

apse

d.

Su

mm

ary

Scre

en

Th

isse

lect

ion

allo

ws

you

tovie

wyo

ur

stor

edm

easu

rem

ents

.T

he

up

/dow

nar

row

sm

ove

you

thro

ugh

the

stor

edd

ata

wit

hth

em

ost

rece

nt

mea

sure

men

tsat

the

top

ofth

eta

ble

.Y

oum

ayal

sop

ress

the

left

an

dri

ght

arro

ws

top

age

qu

ickly

thro

ugh

the

dat

a.W

hil

eon

the

Su

mm

ary

scre

en,

pre

ssth

eE

nte

rb

utt

onon

ah

igh

ligh

ted

readin

gto

get

det

aile

din

form

atio

non

the

read

ing

inth

eD

ata

scre

en.

Th

ein

form

atio

nsh

own

isth

ew

ater

acti

vit

yof

the

sam

ple

,th

ete

m-

per

atu

re,

the

test

tim

e,th

eu

ser

wh

ora

nth

ete

st(i

fse

tup

),th

ed

ate

ofth

ere

adin

g,th

ese

nso

ru

sed

,th

eti

me

ofth

ere

adin

g,an

dth

ese

-qu

ence

num

ber

ofth

est

ored

read

ing.

Dele

te

Sel

ecti

ng

this

opti

ond

elet

esal

lof

the

info

rmat

ion

curr

entl

yst

ored

39

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A8

RU

NN

ING

AT

ES

T

1.B

eforestartin

ga

test,set

the

Volatiles:

Yes/N

oop

tionin

the

confi

guration

men

u.

Ifyou

rsam

ple

has

volatiles,select

Yes

otherw

iseselect

No.

2.O

nth

eM

ainscreen

,select

the

Test

Wizard

.

3.T

he

Warn

ing

screenap

pears

tolet

the

user

kn

owth

at

any

data

poin

tscu

rrently

onth

ein

strum

ent

fromp

reviou

stests

disap

pear

wh

enyou

begin

an

ewtest.

Select

the

dou

ble

right

arrowto

contin

ue.

4.A

new

message

remin

din

gth

eu

serto

make

sure

the

water

cham

ber

isfu

llan

dth

ereis

stillactive

(blu

e)d

esiccant

inth

ed

esiccant

tub

es.F

orin

struction

son

fillin

gth

ew

ater

cham

ber

and

replacin

gth

ed

esiccant,

referto

Section

4an

dS

ection

6resp

ectively.P

ressth

ed

oub

lerigh

tarrow

tocon

tinu

eor

the

dou

ble

leftarrow

togo

back

.

5.T

he

Ed

itT

estscreen

app

ears.T

op

rovid

ea

nam

efor

the

test,p

ressth

eE

nter

bu

ttonw

ithN

ame

high

lighted

and

then

use

the

arrowkey

sto

createth

en

ame.

Wh

enfi

nish

ed,

press

the

Save

bu

tton.

(Th

en

ame

ofa

prev

ious

testap

pea

rsby

defau

lt.)

61

5U

SE

RIN

TE

RFA

CE

AN

DM

EN

US

Aqu

aL

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40

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10:

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Fig

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11:

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trid

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Foam

2.L

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into

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des

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41

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the

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contact

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59

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43

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Ifyou

contin

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eight

readin

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tactA

qu

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by

email

atsu

pp

ort@aq

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.comor

by

ph

one

at509-332-5601

forfu

rther

instru

ctions.

Ifyou

pu

rchased

your

Aqu

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instru

men

tfrom

one

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ald

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leasecon

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sup

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57

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utt

onto

beg

inte

stin

g.

Note

:If

you

dec

ide

at

this

poin

tn

ot

toco

nti

nu

ew

ith

the

lin

ear

off

set

pro

gram

,ju

stre

turn

the

leve

rto

the

Ope

npo

siti

on

or

pre

ssX

tore

turn

toth

epre

viou

ssc

reen

.

6.A

fter

you

rV

SA

has

fin

ish

edm

easu

rin

gth

ew

eigh

tve

rifi

cati

on,

itd

isp

lays

the

test

valu

e.

56

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A6

CL

EA

NIN

GA

ND

MA

INT

EN

AN

CE

6.2

Cle

an

ing

the

Test

ing

Ch

am

ber

Kee

pin

gyo

ur

VS

Acl

ean

isvit

alto

mai

nta

inin

gth

eac

cura

cyof

you

rin

stru

men

t.D

ust

and

sam

pli

ng

deb

ris

can

conta

min

ate

the

sam

pli

ng

cham

ber

and

mu

stb

ere

gula

rly

clea

ned

out.

Pu

rpose

Th

ecl

ean

ing

pro

ced

ure

rem

oves

grea

se,

dir

tan

dot

her

solu

ble

sub

-st

ance

sth

at

can

abso

rbor

rele

ase

wat

erd

uri

ng

ver

ifica

tion

,ca

lib

ra-

tion

,an

dsa

mple

test

ing.

Th

em

irro

rm

ust

be

clea

nfo

ra

smoot

han

dev

end

ewfo

rmat

ion.

Any

conta

min

ants

(e.g

.fi

nge

rpri

nts

)on

the

mir

ror

can

cau

seth

ed

ewto

form

un

even

lyan

daff

ect

the

accu

-ra

cyof

the

read

ing.

Wh

en

toC

lean

Th

ein

stru

men

tsh

ould

be

clea

ned

ifvis

ual

insp

ecti

onin

dic

ates

the

cham

ber

isd

irty

oras

inst

ruct

edin

the

veri

fica

tion

flow

chart

.(F

ig-

ure

15)

We

reco

mm

end

clea

nin

gb

efor

eea

chn

ewis

oth

erm

test

.

Req

uir

edC

lean

ing

Mat

eria

ls

•A

thin

pla

stic

rod

orot

her

non

-met

alim

ple

men

t•

US

PP

uri

fied

Wat

er•

Isop

ropyl

Alc

ohol

(IP

A)

orA

qu

aLab

Cle

anin

gS

olu

tion

•K

imw

ipes

R ©

You

may

als

op

urc

has

eth

eA

qu

aLab

Cle

anin

gK

itw

hic

hco

mes

wit

hal

lth

eab

ove

mat

eria

lsex

cep

tth

eIs

opro

pyl

Alc

ohol

.T

he

mat

eria

lsin

the

kit

shou

ldla

stfo

rab

out

one

year

.

Befo

reyou

begin

Cle

anin

gyo

ur

VS

Ais

am

ult

i-st

epp

roce

du

rew

hic

hin

volv

esw

ash

ing,

rin

sin

g,an

dd

ryin

gfo

rea

char

ea.

Sec

tion

6.3

outl

ines

the

clea

nin

gst

eps.

Was

hyo

ur

han

ds

wit

hso

apan

dw

ater

and

use

clea

nla

bgl

oves

bef

ore

45

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A7

VE

RIF

ICA

TIO

NO

FC

AL

IBR

AT

ION

1.T

overify

the

balan

ce,toggle

toth

eC

onfi

guration

tabby

press-

ing

the

Men

uicon

.S

crolld

own

toD

iagnostics

and

press

the

Enter

bu

ttonto

brin

gu

pth

eD

iagnostics

Screen

.

2.S

crolld

own

until

yousee

weigh

ton

the

screen.

3.C

loseth

elid

and

sealby

pressin

gth

elever

toread

.

4.P

ressth

eb

alan

ceicon

atth

eb

ottomto

zeroth

eb

alance.

5.W

hen

placin

gth

etw

ogram

weigh

ton

the

balan

ce,h

and

leca

re-fu

llyw

ithtw

eezersan

dglov

esto

preven

tch

angin

gth

ew

eight

ofth

estan

dard

.

6.C

loseth

elid

and

verify

that

the

weigh

tread

ings

arew

ithin

±0.5

mg

of2000

mg.

Ifth

ew

eight

readin

gis

not

correct,you

rin

strum

ent

may

requ

irea

balan

cead

justm

ent.

Ad

justin

gfo

rW

eig

ht

Measu

rem

ent

Off

set

1.T

oad

just

the

balan

ce,toggle

toth

eC

onfi

guration

tabby

press-

ing

the

Men

uicon

.C

alibration

isth

efi

rstop

tionh

ighligh

ted

55

6C

LE

AN

ING

AN

DM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

starting

the

cleanin

gp

roced

ure.

Th

isp

revents

oilsfrom

conta

min

at-in

gth

eclean

ing

materials,

the

samp

lech

amb

eran

dth

esen

sors.

Accessin

gth

eS

am

ple

Ch

am

ber

Tu

rnth

ep

ower

offon

your

Aqu

aLab

VS

A.

Ifla

tched

,m

oveth

elever

over

toth

eop

enp

osition.

Lift

the

cham

ber

coverto

exp

ose

the

VS

Asam

ple

cham

ber

and

sensors.

Th

esam

ple

cham

ber

consists

of

all

surfaces

with

inth

ered

o-ring

wh

enth

elid

isclosed

.

Follow

the

cleanin

gp

roced

ures

and

do

not

getclean

ing

solutio

nor

al-coh

olon

the

capacitan

cesen

sorfi

lter.R

epeated

exp

osure

ofclean

ing

materials

or

contam

inan

tsto

the

filter

may

cause

inaccu

rateread

-in

gs.If

the

filter

app

earsto

be

contam

inated

,it

may

need

tob

erep

laced.

(To

replace

the

capacitan

cesen

sorfi

lter,u

setw

eezersor

asm

allkn

ifeb

lade

top

ryu

pth

eed

geof

the

filter,

bein

gcarefu

ln

ot

tod

isturb

the

sensor

ben

eath.

Discard

the

soiledfi

lteran

dw

ithclean

or

gloved

han

ds

press

an

ewfi

lterin

top

lace.)

Figu

re14:

Sam

ple

Ch

amb

erB

reakd

own

46

7V

ER

IFIC

AT

ION

OF

CA

LIB

RA

TIO

NA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

Pre

ssth

eE

nte

rb

utt

onto

beg

inte

stin

g.

Note

:If

you

dec

ide

at

this

poin

tn

ot

toco

nti

nu

ew

ith

the

lin

ear

off

set

pro

gram

,ju

stre

turn

the

leve

rto

the

Ope

npo

siti

on

or

sele

ctth

eX

tore

turn

toth

epre

viou

ssc

reen

.

6.A

fter

you

rV

SA

fin

ish

esm

easu

rin

gth

eve

rifi

cati

onst

an

dard

,it

dis

pla

ys

the

test

valu

e.

7.P

ress

the

up

and

dow

nar

row

sto

adju

stth

ew

ater

act

ivit

yre

adin

gto

its

pro

per

valu

efo

rth

eyo

ur

part

icu

lar

ver

ifica

tion

stan

dar

d.

Wh

enth

eV

SA

dis

pla

ys

the

corr

ect

valu

e,p

ress

En

-te

rto

stor

eth

isn

ewva

lue.

Can

cel

and

retu

rnto

the

main

men

uto

mak

en

och

ange

s.

8.M

easu

reth

eve

rifi

cati

onst

and

ard

agai

non

the

Mea

sure

men

tT

ab.

Itsh

ould

read

the

pro

per

valu

e(w

ith

in±

0.00

5aw

)at

agi

ven

tem

per

atu

refo

ryo

ur

par

ticu

lar

stan

dar

d(s

eeA

pp

end

ixA

for

tem

per

atu

res

oth

erth

an25

◦ C).

9.M

easu

reth

ew

ater

acti

vit

yof

ase

con

dver

ifica

tion

stan

dar

dac

cord

ing

toth

eve

rifi

cati

onp

roce

du

red

escr

ibed

ab

ove.

Ifb

oth

veri

fica

tion

read

ings

are

wit

hin±

0.00

5aw

then

the

inst

rum

ent

isre

ady

tob

egin

test

ing.

Ifyo

ust

ill

hav

ein

corr

ect

veri

fica

tion

stan

dar

dre

adin

gsaf

ter

clea

n-

ing

the

cham

ber

and

adju

stin

gfo

rli

nea

roff

set,

conta

ctA

qu

aLab

by

emai

lat

sup

port

@aq

ual

ab.c

omor

by

ph

one

at50

9-33

2-5601

for

fur-

ther

inst

ruct

ion

s.If

you

pu

rch

ased

you

rA

qu

aLab

inst

rum

ent

from

one

ofou

rin

tern

atio

nal

dis

trib

uto

rs,

ple

ase

conta

ctth

emfo

rlo

cal

serv

ice

and

sup

por

t.

Veri

fyin

gW

eig

ht

Measu

rem

ent

Th

eV

SA

use

sa

mag

net

icfo

rce

bal

ance

togr

avim

etri

call

ytr

ack

the

wei

ght

ofth

esa

mp

led

uri

ng

the

isot

her

mte

st.

We

veri

fyth

ep

erfo

r-m

ance

of

this

bal

ance

agai

nst

aN

IST

trac

eab

letw

ogr

am

stan

dar

dw

eigh

t.T

his

two

gra

mw

eigh

tsh

ips

wit

hth

eV

SA

an

dsh

ould

be

han

dle

dw

ith

twee

zers

and

not

bar

esk

in.

54

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A6

CL

EA

NIN

GA

ND

MA

INT

EN

AN

CE

6.3

Cle

an

ing

Pro

ced

ure

s

Vis

itw

ww

.aqu

alab

.com

/cle

anin

gfo

ra

clea

nin

gvid

eotu

tori

al

1.C

lean

ing

the

Sam

ple

Ch

am

ber

Note

:B

eex

trem

ely

care

ful

not

todam

age

the

fan

blades

(Fig

-u

re14)

when

clea

nin

gth

ech

am

ber.

(a)

Rem

ove

any

deb

ris

that

may

hav

eco

llec

ted

wit

hin

orar

oun

dth

esa

mp

lech

amb

er.

(b)

Wra

pa

NE

WK

imw

ipe

arou

nd

the

end

ofth

esp

atu

la(t

hin

pla

stic

rod

)an

dm

oist

enit

wit

hD

ecago

nC

lean

ing

Solu

tion

.

Note

:D

on

ot

dip

au

sed

Kim

wip

ein

toyo

ur

clea

nin

gso

-lu

tion

(the

clea

nin

gso

luti

on

can

beco

me

con

tam

inate

d).

(c)

WA

SH

—C

lean

up

per

cham

ber

,o-

rin

g,an

dal

lsu

rfac

esof

the

blo

ckw

ith

inth

eo-

rin

g.Y

oum

ayn

eed

tore

pla

ceth

eK

imw

ipe

ifit

bec

omes

too

dir

tyd

uri

ng

this

pro

cess

.(d

)C

lean

low

erb

lock

wit

ha

fres

hK

imw

ipe.

Be

sure

tocl

ean

the

enti

reb

lock

surf

ace.

(e)

RIN

SE

—R

epea

tst

eps

bth

rou

ghd

usi

ng

new

Kim

wip

esw

ith

US

PP

uri

fied

wat

er.

(f)

DR

Y—

Rep

eat

step

sb

thro

ugh

du

sin

gn

ew,d

ryK

imw

ipes

toh

elp

rem

ove

any

moi

stu

rere

mai

nin

gfr

omth

ecl

ean

ing.

Note

:D

on

ot

reu

seK

imw

ipes

.

(g)

Vis

ual

lyin

spec

tth

esa

mp

lech

amb

erfo

rcl

ean

lin

ess.

Re-

clea

nif

nec

essa

ry.

2.C

lean

the

Mir

ror

(a)

Wra

pa

new

Kim

wip

ear

oun

dth

een

dof

the

spat

ula

and

moi

sten

itw

ith

Dec

agon

Cle

anin

gS

oluti

on

.(b

)W

AS

H—

Sw

ipe

the

moi

sten

edK

imw

ipe

acr

oss

the

mir

-ro

ron

ce.

(Asi

ngl

esw

ipe

isu

sual

lysu

ffici

ent

tore

mov

e

47

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A7

VE

RIF

ICA

TIO

NO

FC

AL

IBR

AT

ION

Ad

just

for

Lin

ear

Off

set

for

Wate

rA

ctiv

ity

1.O

nce

youare

certaina

linear

offset

has

occu

rred,

toggleto

the

Con

figu

rationtab

by

pressin

gth

eM

enu

icon.

Calib

ration

isth

efi

rstop

tionh

ighligh

tedin

the

Con

figu

rationtab

.P

ressth

eE

nter

bu

ttonto

brin

gu

pth

eC

alibration

screen.

2.T

ooff

setfor

water

activity,

high

light

water

activ

ity,p

ressE

n-

ter,an

dth

eC

alibration

:aw

screenap

pears.

3.H

ighligh

tstart

and

press

Enter.

Follow

the

Wiza

rdon

screencom

man

ds.

4.E

mp

tyth

ew

hole

vial

ofsolu

tionin

toa

sam

ple

cup

.W

erec-

omm

end

usin

gth

e6.00

molal

NaC

l(0.76

aw

).D

on

otad

just

for

the

offset

usin

gd

istilledw

ater.E

nsu

reth

erim

and

ou

tside

ofth

ecu

pare

clean.

Place

the

samp

lecu

pin

the

VS

Asam

ple

cham

ber.

Note:

You

may

use

the

sam

everifi

catio

nsta

ndard

toverify

an

dadju

stth

elin

ear

off

set.

5.C

arefully

closeth

elid

and

move

the

leverto

the

Rea

dp

osition.

53

6C

LE

AN

ING

AN

DM

AIN

TE

NA

NC

EA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

contam

inan

ts.)(c)

RIN

SE

—R

epeat

steps

aan

db

usin

gn

ewK

imw

ipes

moisten

edw

ithU

SP

Pu

rified

water

instead

of

cleanin

gsolu

tion.

(d)

DR

Y—

Rep

eatstep

sa

and

bu

sing

an

ew,

dry

Kim

wip

esto

help

remov

ean

ym

oisture

remain

ing

fromth

eclea

nin

g.(e)

Visu

allyin

spect

the

mirror

forclean

liness.

Clea

naga

inif

necessary.

3.C

lean

the

Th

erm

op

ilean

dO

ptic

al

Sen

sor

(a)W

rapa

new

Kim

wip

earou

nd

the

end

ofth

esp

atula

and

moisten

itw

ithD

ecagonC

leanin

gS

olution

.(b

)W

AS

H—

Sw

ipe

the

moisten

edK

imw

ipe

acrossth

ermop

ilean

dop

ticalsen

sor.(A

single

swip

eacross

the

sensor

isu

sually

suffi

cient

torem

ove

contam

inan

ts.)(c)

RIN

SE

—R

epeat

steps

aan

db

usin

gn

ewK

imw

ipes

moisten

edw

ithU

SP

Pu

rified

water

instead

of

cleanin

gsolu

tion.

(d)

DR

Y—

Rep

eatstep

sa

and

b,b

ut

use

an

ew,d

ryK

imw

ipe

toh

elprem

ove

any

moistu

rerem

ainin

gfrom

the

clean

ing.

(e)V

isually

insp

ectth

eth

ermop

ilean

dop

ticalsensor

for

clean

-lin

ess.C

leanagain

ifn

ecessary.

4.A

dd

ition

al

Dry

ing

Tim

e

(a)V

isually

insp

ectth

esam

ple

cham

ber

and

sensors

forcon

-tam

inan

ts,in

clud

ing

moistu

re.If

necessary,

repea

tth

eclean

ing

pro

cessusin

gn

ewK

imw

ipes.

(b)

Leave

the

cham

ber

open

forab

out

five

min

utes

toen

sure

the

samp

lech

amb

eris

dry.

48

7V

ER

IFIC

AT

ION

OF

CA

LIB

RA

TIO

NA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

Dec

agon

sst

and

ard

sat

tem

per

atu

res

oth

erth

an25

◦ C.

7.If

you

rV

SA

isre

adin

gw

ith

in±

0.00

5aw

ofth

eve

rifi

cati

onst

and

ard

,ch

oos

ea

0.76

aw

stan

dar

d.

8.

Pre

par

ea

sam

ple

cup

ofth

ese

con

dve

rifi

cati

onst

and

ard

an

dm

ake

two

read

ings

.T

he

seco

nd

wat

erac

tivit

yre

adin

gfo

rth

ese

con

dver

ifica

tion

stan

dar

dsh

ould

be

wit

hin±

0.00

5aw

.

9.If

eith

erof

the

veri

fica

tion

stan

dar

ds

isn

ot

corr

ect,

itis

pro

b-

ably

du

eto

conta

min

atio

nof

the

sen

sor

cham

ber

.S

eeSec

tion

6fo

rcl

eanin

gin

stru

ctio

ns.

Aft

ercl

ean

ing,

rep

eat

veri

fica

tion

from

step

two.

10.

Ifyo

uar

eco

nsi

sten

tly

gett

ing

read

ings

outs

ide

the

wat

erac

tiv-

ity

ofyo

ur

firs

tver

ifica

tion

stan

dar

dby

mor

eth

an±

0.0

05aw

,a

lin

ear

offse

th

asp

rob

ably

occ

urr

ed.

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isca

se,

adju

stth

ere

adin

gto

mat

chth

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rrec

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lue

ofth

ever

ifica

tion

stan

dar

ds

this

sect

ion

outl

ines

.

Fig

ure

15:

Mea

sure

Ver

ifica

tion

Sta

nd

ard

Flo

wch

art

52

Aqu

aL

ab

VS

A7

VE

RIF

ICA

TIO

NO

FC

AL

IBR

AT

ION

7V

eri

fica

tion

of

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bra

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Aft

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uh

ave

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ned

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and

oth

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ofyo

ur

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itis

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the

inst

rum

ent

per

form

ance

inor

der

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ran

yli

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roff

set

that

may

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eocc

urr

ed.

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ore

you

chec

kth

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stru

men

tw

ere

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dth

atyo

um

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sam

ple

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the

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clea

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Mea

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er,

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lin

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ater

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stan

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and

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.A

qu

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mm

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7.1

Wate

rA

ctiv

ity

Veri

fica

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Aqu

aLab

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Au

ses

bot

ha

cap

acit

ance

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eter

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ew

ate

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y.If

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yes

asdes

crib

edin

Sec

tion

5,th

eV

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per

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ater

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ivit

yver

ifica

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onth

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pac

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ron

ly.

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o,th

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veri

fies

the

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poi

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sen

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the

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isim

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tp

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dic

ally

.T

he

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ater

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atio

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the

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and

ard

s.

49

Aqu

aL

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VE

RIF

ICA

TIO

NO

FC

AL

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AT

ION

7.3

Wh

en

toV

erify

for

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setagain

sttw

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verification

stand

ards

be-

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nn

ing

an

ewisoth

ermtest.

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erverify

the

linea

roff

setsolely

against

asin

glestan

dard

,sin

ceit

does

not

givean

accurate

rep-

resentation

of

the

linear

offset.

For

best

results,

cond

uct

the

VS

Aw

ateractiv

ityverifi

cationu

sing

the

0.25aw

and

0.76aw

stand

ard

s.C

heck

ing

the

water

activity

ofa

stand

ardsolu

tioncan

alert

youto

the

possib

ilityof

un

itcon

tamin

ationor

shifts

inth

elin

earoff

setfrom

other

causes.

Note:

The

verifica

tion

process

isth

esa

me

wheth

eryo

uset

the

vola

tilesto

yesor

no,

except

that

the

accu

racy

for

the

capa

citan

cesen

sor

is±

0.0

20aw

.

Verifi

catio

n

Use

steps

1th

rough

10to

verifyfor

linear

offset

ofyou

rV

SA

.(R

eferto

the

Measu

reV

erification

Flow

chart

inF

igure

15)

1.F

romth

eIsoth

ermT

ab,

nav

igateto

the

Measu

remen

ttab

by

pressin

gth

eE

nter

bu

tton.

2.C

hoose

a0.25

aw

stand

ard.

3.R

emov

eth

ew

eighin

gp

an.

4.E

mp

tya

vial

ofsolu

tionin

toth

estain

lesssteel

samp

lecu

pan

dp

laceit

inth

eV

SA

testing

cham

ber.

Make

sure

that

your

stand

ardis

asclose

toth

ein

strum

ent

temp

erature

as

possib

le.(S

ection5.2)

Note:

Make

sure

the

riman

dou

tside

of

the

sam

ple

cup

are

clean

.

5.C

arefully

closeth

elid

and

move

the

leverto

the

RE

AD

posi-

tion.

6.T

aketw

oread

ings.

Th

ew

ateractiv

ityread

ings

shou

ldb

ew

ithin±

0.005aw

ofth

egiven

value

forth

everifi

cationstan

-d

ard.

See

Ap

pen

dix

Afor

the

correctw

ateractiv

ityvalu

eof

51

7V

ER

IFIC

AT

ION

OF

CA

LIB

RA

TIO

NA

qu

aL

ab

VS

A

7.2

Verifi

catio

nS

tan

dard

s

Decagon

’sverifi

cationstan

dard

sare

specially

prep

ared

un

saturated

saltsolu

tions

that

have

asp

ecific

molality

and

water

activity

valu

ew

hich

areaccu

ratelym

easurab

le.F

orth

em

ostaccu

rateverifi

cationof

your

VS

Ap

erforman

ce,w

eon

lyrecom

men

dth

everifi

cation

stan-

dard

sm

anu

factured

by

Decagon

Dev

ices.

Perform

ance

verification

stand

ards

come

insix

water

activity

lev-

els:an

d0.250,

0.500,0.760,

0.920,0.984,

and

1.000aw

.W

ep

rod

uce

these

stand

ards

un

der

astrict

quality

assuran

ceregim

e.P

leasecon

-tact

Decago

nD

evices

toord

erad

dition

alstan

dard

sor

order

them

via

the

web

athttp

://ww

w.aq

ualab

.com/reord

er.

Note:

To

avo

idin

accu

rate

wa

teractivity

readin

gs,verifi

catio

nsta

n-

dard

ssh

ou

ldbe

used

on

ceim

med

iately

after

open

ing

an

dn

ot

stored

insa

mple

cups

for

repeated

use.

Tab

le1:

Verifi

cationF

lowch

art

Verifi

cationS

tand

ard@

25◦C

Water

Activ

ity

13.41m

ol/kg

LiC

l0.250

±0.005

8.57m

ol/kg

LiC

l0.500

±0.005

6.00m

ol/kg

NaC

l0.760

±0.005

2.33m

ol/kg

NaC

l0.920

±0.005

Note:

Ifyo

un

eedto

obta

ina

Safety

Data

Sheet

(SD

S)

for

an

yof

these

stan

dard

s,a

prin

table

version

isava

ilable

on

ou

rw

ebsiteat

http

://w

ww

.deca

gon

.com

/ed

uca

tion

/sa

fety-data

-sheets/

.

Alth

ough

distilled

water

and

the

0.984stan

dard

areavailab

leas

averifi

cationstan

dard

,D

ecagond

oes

not

recomm

end

usin

gth

emw

ithth

eA

qu

aLab

VS

A.

To

use

averifi

cationstan

dard

,rem

oveth

etw

isttop

and

pou

rth

econ

tents

into

one

of

the

stainless

steelsam

ple

cup

s.C

ustom

ersca

nfi

nd

inform

ationab

out

standard

values

and

molality

prin

tedon

the

ou

tside

ofth

ep

lasticvial.

50