The Core Rheometer is the first system to integrate extensive viscosity and viscoelasticity measurements with easy, walk-up usability. With the RheoGuide user interface, all operations can be carried out directly via the touch screen, providing guidance, illustration, and validation at each step.
The new TA Instruments | Waters Discovery™ Core Rheometer enables users to perform rheological measurements, supporting formulation development, performance optimization, and product quality assurance. Whether the user is new to rheology, enhancing quality control testing, or expanding capabilities to meet increasing needs, the Core Rheometer equips the lab with insights into material behavior essential for achieving the objectives.
Discover insights beyond viscosity
Unlike viscometers, which provide only a single viscosity measurement within a restricted range, the Core Rheometer delivers a complete viscosity profile, capturing material behavior under all relevant conditions. Complex fluids, such as suspensions, emulsions, gels, pastes, and slurries, are non-Newtonian, meaning their viscosity varies with applied shear rate and time rather than being a fixed value. Accurately characterizing the full viscosity range is essential for understanding flow behavior in real-world applications.
Rheometer advantages
- Accuracy and precision
- Replication of process conditions
- Measurement range
- Rapid temperature control
- Controlled shear rate
- Small sample volume
Test modes
- Oscillation
- Flow
- Transient
Designed to streamline every step
- Automatic gap control accelerates workflow and ensures precise gap positioning. The axial motor adjusts the head throughout the method, controlling the test gap position with 0.1 µm resolution for highly accurate and reproducible outcomes.
- Touchscreen functionality extends beyond basic operations, creating an enhanced user experience suitable for high-throughput labs. Routine measurements can be performed directly on the instrument, eliminating the need for PC interaction.
- Integrated lighting improves visibility, making sample preparation easier and more consistent, which enhances data accuracy and precision. The sample is automatically highlighted during user interaction, guiding the operator and indicating test status.
- The Smart Swap™ 2 reader automatically detects the attached geometry, recalls its dimensions and calibrations and confirms alignment with the selected RheoGuide™ method. This feature reduces common errors, enabling a more efficient workflow.
- The compact design integrates electronics, a Peltier unit, and an air-cooled heat exchanger, requiring up to 75% less bench space than modular systems with liquid circulators.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Empower the lab with RheoGuide™ software
RheoGuide offers an intuitive entry into rheology directly via the Core Rheometer touchscreen. Users can select a method through an app-style interface and follow guided steps with visual instructions, minimizing operator errors. Results appear instantly on the touchscreen, enabling quick responses—ideal for high-demand settings.
Rheological testing enhances quality and consistency by detecting variations that viscometers might miss, helping to prevent potential issues and reduce downstream costs. Traditionally used in R&D, these insights are now accessible to QA/QC labs with the simplicity of a viscometer.
Methods can be tailored to include every step of standard operating procedures and provide instant Pass/Fail feedback based on specified criteria. Test methods are easily synchronized across global labs, ensuring uniform operation and reliable data that supports informed decision-making and solutions.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
RheoGuide™ features and benefits
- Walk-up usability: Routine tests can be performed directly from the instrument's touchscreen, from start to finish, without requiring PC interaction.
- Guided operation: Pre-defined methods, along with on-screen instructions and illustrations, guide each operator step-by-step, enabling users to perform successful rheology measurements with minimal training.
- Validation throughout: Common error sources are eliminated by ensuring the correct geometry is installed, the sample information is updated, and each step is completed. Operators avoid missed steps, resulting in more accurate data.
- Operator safety: On-screen alerts notify operators if the method exceeds safe-touch temperatures and remind them of appropriate PPE. RheoGuide prompts user interactions as needed and disables interaction when the head is in motion for added safety.
- Rapid results: Automated analysis displays results immediately on the touchscreen upon test completion, with a pass or fail indication. This feature eliminates routine manual data processing, making it ideal for fast-paced QA/QC labs.
- Synchronize methods: Methods from Discovery Hybrid Rheometers can be transferred directly to Core Rheometers, allowing R&D measurements to be replicated in QC testing. Shared methods across instruments and sites help ensure consistent measurements across operators.
- Powered by TRIOS™ software: Customize RheoGuide methods and access raw data files for further analysis through TRIOS, TA Instruments' widely used software platform.
Source: TA Instruments, Inc.
| Measurement Specifications |
| Minimum Torque |
0.5 µN.m |
| Maximum Torque |
125 mN.m |
| Torque Resolution |
10 nN.m |
| Displacement Resolution |
100 nrad |
| Maximum Rotational Velocity |
300 rad/s |
| Minimum Angular Frequency |
10-4 rad/s |
| Maximum Angular Frequency |
628 rad/s |
| Motor Inertia |
< 25 μN.m.s2 |
| Gap Positioning Speed |
10 mm/s |
| Dimensions (width x height x depth) |
30 cm x 77 cm x 42 cm
11.8 in x 30.3 in x 16.3 in |
| Weight |
34.5 kg (76 lb) |
Core temperature technology
Temperature control is essential for obtaining accurate rheology data, ensuring reproducibility, and assessing materials' behavior under real-world conditions. The Core Rheometer’s integrated Peltier system offers precise and rapid temperature control. Equilibration time is reduced by up to 60% compared to typical viscometer setups, minimizing downtime between measurements. The built-in air cooling system removes the need for a liquid circulator, reducing costs, simplifying operation, and conserving valuable bench space.
Source: TA Instruments, Inc.
| Configuration |
| Peltier Plate |
-10 °C to 200 °C |
| Peltier Concentric Cylinder |
0 °C to 150 °C |
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Peltier plate geometries
Parallel plate geometries are versatile and suitable for a wide range of materials, including liquids, dispersions, creams, emulsions, gels, and pastes, and come in sandblasted or crosshatched surface finishes to prevent slipping. Cone geometries offer a consistent shear rate, making them ideal for unfilled liquids. Both plate and cone geometries allow for small sample volumes (less than 2 mL) and are easy to clean.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Concentric cylinder geometries
Configure the Core Rheometer with concentric cylinders to achieve enhanced sensitivity for measuring viscosities as low as 1 cP, along with straightforward sample loading suitable for high-throughput labs.
A selection of upper rotors and lower cups is available to meet various material and testing requirements, including disposable cups ideal for high-throughput testing.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
TRIOS software
TRIOS is an advanced software platform that leverages cutting-edge technology for instrument control, data collection, and data analysis in rheology and thermal analysis. Using the intuitive Method Builder, RheoGuide methods can be customized to include each step of standard operating procedures.
Complete data analysis capabilities
Each measurement on the Core Rheometer, whether conducted via RheoGuide or in TRIOS, produces a unique data file with all parameters and raw data, ensuring full traceability.
- Comprehensive analysis features, including mathematical models, curve fitting, and statistics
- Intuitive and adaptable data visualization
- Control charts for tracking trends in results over time
- Unlimited licenses for accessing and analyzing data from any location
- Batch processing for automated analysis and report generation
- Data export in JSON format for LIMS integration
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.
Unlock direct rheometer controls
The Core Rheometer provides more than just routine testing. Advanced users can switch from RheoGuide mode to TRIOS Classic mode for direct control over measurement parameters. The user-friendly interface makes it easy to program experiments and seamlessly transition between adjusting procedures and viewing or analyzing data.
Image Credit: TA Instruments, Inc.