Malvern Mastersizer 3000 Manual

Maintenanc e
78
Inspect cell holder
Clean the area where the cuvette is positioned.
Check condition of the cuvette locks – do they work correctly.
Cell windows — inspection for poor background
Inspect the cell windows for cleanliness every day and after each measurement session.
Material stuck to windows
Significant scattering on the detector channels, as shown below [1], often indicates that
fine material is stuck to the cell windows:
1
If your system displays high detector channels, refer to Cell windows — cleaning pro-
cedures on page84, and remove and clean the cell windows.
Contaminated dispersant or air bubbles in system
Contamination by coarse particles or bubbles in the dispersant may cause fluctuations in
the background over time.
This shows as rapidly changing signals [1] on the first few detectors. For example, the
Light Energy signals for a detector may show 20 units one moment and then 200 units
the next as shown in the below:

Malvern Mastersizer 3000 Specifications

General

Measurement principle	Laser diffraction
Blue laser wavelength	470 nm
Sample dispersion options	Wet and dry dispersion
Data acquisition rate	10 kHz
Particle size range	0.01 to 3500 microns
Laser type	He-Ne and solid state
Accuracy	Better than 1%
Repeatability	Better than 0.5%
Technology	Mie and Fraunhofer theories
Sample dispersion units	Hydro MV, Hydro LV, Aero S
Optical model	Mie theory
Power requirements	100-240 V, 50/60 Hz
Detector arrangement	Log-spaced array