Glossary

Reference Materials

Regular verification for most accurate results

The use of reference material is recommended to verify the correct function of the particle sizing equipment. A simple electrical, mechanical or optical test is generally not sufficient, as all functions of the measuring process, such as dosing, transportation, dispersion etc. are only tested with sample material applied to the instrument. Many vendors supply certified reference materials which either address a single or a group of instruments. As these materials are expensive, it is a common practice to perform only the primary tests with these certified materials and perform secondary tests with a stable and well split material.

For best significance, the size range and distribution type of this material should be similar to the desired application. It is essential that the total operational procedure is adequately described in full detail.

Further literature
“Improved Standards in Laser Diffraction”, Dr. Wolfgang Witt, Dr. Thomas Stübinger, Dipl.-Ing. Jens Jordan (WCPT6 Nuremberg, April 2010) 
"Possibilities of High Resolution Intensity Sampling for Laser Diffraction Instruments", Dr. Thomas Stübinger,  Dr. Ulrich Köhler, Dr. Wolfgang Witt (Particulate Systems Analysis 2008, Edinburgh, UK)

Reference materials for certified particle size analysis

Example for specification sheet | Si16-1-FREE

Reference material is used for re-certification of a Sympatec instrument. Sympatec prefers to test the precision of the instruments by real powder instead of reticles (transparencies with images of particles), because the proper function of the dispersing system, which is essential to a precise measured result, can only be tested by real powder.

A reference material is a dry powder or suspension of best possible stability with respect to temperature, humidity, or other environmental influence. All samples have been produced by a multi-step sample splitting procedure at our premises in accordance to ISO 17034:2016 standards, so the particle size distribution of all samples is identical.

A specification sheet with size distribution values and limits of acceptance is shipped along with every box of reference material. The values represent the average calculated from measurements of all Sympatec instruments of equal configuration during the final test in the factory.

Specification of reference materials by Sympatec

Reference material set 1

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for the re-certification of measuring ranges

  • R1 to R3 | laser diffraction HELOS/F series
  • R1 and R2 | laser diffraction HELOS/R series

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles of 5 g SiC-F1200 each
  • Dispersing additive | 2 bottles à 10 ml
  • 1 spatula
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0010

Reference material set 1

Reference material set 2

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges

  • R3 to R5 | laser diffraction HELOS/F and R series | dry
  • R3 to R6 | laser diffraction HELOS/F and R series | wet
  • M5 | dynamic image analysis | dry
  • M3 to M5 | dynamic image analysis | wet

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles of 10 g SiC-P600 each
  • Dispersing additive | 2 bottles à 10 ml
  • 1 spatula
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0020

Reference material set 3

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges

  • R6 to R8 | laser diffraction HELOS/F series | dry
  • R8 | laser diffraction HELOS/R series
  • M7 to M9 | dynamic image analysis | dry

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles each of 10 g SiC-P50
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0030

Reference material set 5

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges

  • R5 to R7 | laser diffraction
  • M6 and M7 | dynamic image analysis | dry
  • M6 to M9 | dynamic image analysis | wet

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles of 10 g SiC-P80 each
  • Dispersing additive | 2 bottles á 10 ml
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0050

Reference material set 6

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges with ASPIROS and ASPIROS/L

  • R1 to R3 | laser diffraction HELOS/F series
  • R1 and R2 | laser diffraction HELOS/R series

The set contains

  • 32 sample tubes each with 150 mg SiC-F1200 including bar code
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0060A

Reference material set 7

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges with ASPIROS

  • R3 to R5 | laser diffraction HELOS/F and R series
  • M5 | dynamic image analysis | dry

The set contains

  • 32 sample tubes each with 1.2 g SiC-P600 including bar code
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0070A

Reference material set 7

Reference material set 8

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges

  • M8 and M9 | dynamic image analysis | dry

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles of 20 g SiC-P16 each
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0080

Reference material set 8

Reference material set 9

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges with ASPIROS/L

  • M6 and M7 | dynamic image analysis

The set contains

  • 32 sample tubes each with 1.2 g SiC-P80 including bar code
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0090A

Reference material set 10

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges with ASPIROS/L

  • M7 to M9 | dynamic image analysis | dry

The set contains

  • 32 sample tubes each with 1.2 g SiC-P50 including bar code
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0100A

Reference material set 11

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges

  • M5 | dynamic image analysis | dry
  • M4 to M6 | dynamic image analysis | wet

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles each with 10 g SiC-F230
  • Dispersing additive | 2 bottles à 10 ml
  • 1 spatula
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0110

Reference material set 12

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring ranges with OPUS and NIMBUS

The set contains

  • 6 sample bottles of 50 g SiC-P600 each
  • 6 sample bottles of 2.5 g hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) to thicken the suspension liquid
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0120

Reference material set 14

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring range with ASPIROS/L

  • M5 | dynamic image analysis | dry

The set contains

  • 32 sample tubes each with 1.2 g SiC-F230 including bar code
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0140A

Reference material set 15

Silicon Carbide reference material suitable for re-certification of measuring range

  • M3 | dynamic image analysis | wet

The set contains

  • 8 sample bottles each with 7 g SiC-F800
  • Dispersing additive | 2 bottles à 10 ml
  • 1 spatula
  • Set documentation

Item code: HZ0150

Quality

Sympatec's Quality Management System is primarily designed to get the optimum performance and best system-to-system reproducibility of all our particle sizing instruments under real conditions.