New Lab Capabilities Announced by Fauske & Associates, LLC

Burr Ridge, IL, May 13, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Fauske & Associates, LLC, the World Leader in Nuclear and Chemical Process Safety, announces new laboratory capabilities with the expansion of state-of-the-art equipment and space. FAI has doubled its Accelerating Rate Calorimetry (ARC) testing capabilities, yielding quicker test turnaround times. ARC provides thermal hazard evaluation of products, reaction mixtures and intermediates. The experimental results are used for reactor and pilot plant safety analysis. It determines the relationship between time, temperature, and pressure for exothermic reactions.

Thermal and pressure hazard parameters related to ARC data include:

Heat generation rates
Onset temperature
Decomposition temperature of the mixture
Adiabatic temperature rise
Pressure generation rate
Time to maximum rate
Temperature of no return
Self-accelerating decomposition temperature

FAI has also added battery testing equipment for ARC. Increasing demand for greater battery storage capability inevitably leads to increased safety risk in manufacturing and the use of various batteries. Manufacturers must ensure that customers are safe when using products that run off their batteries.

FAI’s ARC contract testing service test protocol conforms to ASTM standard E 1981, “Standard Guide for Assessing the Thermal Stability of Materials by Methods of Accelerating Rate Calorimetry.” Tests can be run isothermally or adiabatically in open or closed test cells.

In addition, FAI provides a variety of ARC test cells that can accommodate all ARC testing needs. According to Ken Kurko, Senior Testing Engineer, when choosing an arc bomb “not only must chemical compatibility be considered, but the possible peak temperatures and pressures should also be taken into account. Rupturing an ARC bomb during a test can be costly, not only in funds required to rebuild the calorimeter, but also the down time associated with it.”

Among other new FAI equipment and capabilities:

Thermal Activity Monitor (TAM) – isothermal microcalorimeter capable of measuring heat generation as low as 0.1 μW/g.
Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) – temperature scanning tool used to study energy involved with phase transitions and exothermic decompositions. DSC also provides material property data such as heat capacity and thermal conductivity.
Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) – temperature scanning tool used to determine changes in weight in relation to change in temperature.

In 1980, FAI assumed early leadership roles in the acclaimed DIERS program for AIChE and the IDCOR program for the nuclear power industries. These activities led to state-of-the-art methodology and laboratory tools for characterizing chemical systems and computer models for analyzing severe accidents in commercial nuclear power plants that are being used worldwide. Recognized worldwide for phenomenological modeling, related to the prevention and accommodation of chemical and nuclear power accidents, FAI also provides advanced training and research in physics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, computer science and other fields. FAI is committed to accepting responsibility for the resolution of technical problems and has established an excellent record of completing projects on time and within budget. Leading corporations turn to FAI to solve industrial problems recognizing the integrity of a firm willing to accept responsibility for the results of its work up to and through industrial application. FAI is ISO-9001 and TickIT certified. FAI became a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Co. in 1986.

For more information, please contact Ashley Swanson at Swanson@Fauske.com ,+1630-887-5269 or Ken Kurko at Kurko@fauske.com, +1630-887-5266. Please visit www.Fauske.com or call +1-877-FAUSKE-1.

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