Laboratory instrumentation

We maintain a state-of-the-art complex fluid characterization laboratory, including both conventional and custom-built instrumentation. The instruments below are available to the UCSB campus community on an individual basis. If you are interested in using one of the instruments, please contact Dr. Helgeson.

Rheometry

TA Instruments ARG2 rheometer


Instrument contact: Anukta Datta
User calendar

  • Stress-controlled rheometer (can operate in strain-controlled mode).
  • Conventional cone-plate, plate-plate and Couette geometries with peltier temperature control.
  • UV and light guide accessories with multi-wavelength exposure for photocuring and photorheological fluids.

Anton Paar MCR702 Twin Drive


Instrument contact: Anukta Datta

  • Strain-controlled rheometer (can control shear rate or shear stress) with two torque transducers and driving units
  • Custom rheo-PTV and rheo-microscopy setup for simultaneous rheometry and flow visualization
  • Temperature control using a Peltier plate

Anton Paar Lovis 2000M Viscometer/Densitometer


Instrument contact: Anukta Datta

  • Rolling ball capillary viscometer with peltier temperature control.
  • Flow-through vibrational densitometer for simultaneous viscosity and density measurement.
  • Appropriate for fluid viscosities from 0.1-100 mPa s.
  • Automated programming for multiple temperatures.

Microscopy

Olympus IX71 Inverted Microscope


Instrument Contact: Chelsea Edwards
 

  • Optics for bright-field, epifluorescence and high-resolution dark field imaging.
  • Peltier-controlled temperature stage for low-vibration temperature control with ±0.1 °C precision.
  • Custom software and hardware for timed photoexposure (for FRAP and photolithography).
  • Custom software and hardware for pressure-driven microfluidics with fast start/stop times.

Small angle light scattering

Brookhaven BI-200SM light scattering instrument


Instrument contact: Manisha Patel

  • HeNe diode laser for light scattering at 632 nm.
  • Goniometer for multi-angle measurement.
  • Index-matched recirculating bath for temperature control.
  • Brookhaven software for autmoated dynamic and static light scattering measurement.