CS-HVA Houillon Viscometer Automation System

The decision comes down to dwell time — how long each sample stays in the tube. If your method uses short 8–15 s dwell times, the 2-bath CS-HVA-2 is the right choice and delivers 800–1,000 viscosity measurements per 8-hour shift. If you follow strict ASTM D7279 30–90 s dwell times, choose the 4-bath CS-HVA-4: its extra baths run in parallel to deliver 1,000–1,200 measurements per shift despite the longer runs. Both run unattended overnight.

The CS-HVA is engineered around ISL/PAC Houillon viscometer baths and is fully compatible with current ISL/PAC models. Older VH1/VH2 generations work with a B&B Electronics USB-to-serial interface and a custom EPROM; newer baths connect directly. CINRG configures the integration at install time based on the bath revisions in your lab.

Each sample in the batch file carries an expected viscosity at 40°C and (if applicable) at 100°C. The CS-HVA software uses fuzzy-logic to assign the sample to the correct viscometer tube factor. If the right-factor tube is busy, the system queues the sample. If no suitable tube is currently in service, the sample is skipped temporarily and retried later when a matching tube becomes free. This eliminates the operator-error mode of manually selecting the wrong tube and producing an out-of-bounds time.

Each capillary tube can be configured with up to 2 process-control standards (PCS); the four-bath system supports up to 16 PCS in total. If a PCS measurement falls outside the configured upper or lower threshold, the tube is automatically locked out of service, samples already run on that tube are quarantined to a fail directory for review, and the tube cannot return to service until a fresh PCS passes. The remaining tubes continue running unaffected.

Yes. Bath temperature is set per-bath; a typical 4-bath configuration runs two baths at 40°C and two at 100°C, producing both KV40 and KV100 in the same overnight run. Samples carrying both expected-viscosity fields in the batch file are routed automatically to a tube of each temperature. KV100 accuracy benefits significantly from multi-point calibration, which the CS-HVA software supports natively.

Negligible. Three controls keep carry-over below the limit of detection: (1) the syringe penetrates only as far into the oil as needed and tracks the falling level during uptake, minimizing wetted surface; (2) after dispensing, the needle returns to a wash station with six 45° solvent jets that clean both internal and external surfaces, plus a drying pad; (3) automated solvent filling holds the cleaning reservoirs at constant level for reproducible rinse pressure cycle to cycle.

Yes — that’s a primary design goal. Solvent reservoirs are auto-filled, the sample table holds a full load of trays or racks, and an idle-timeout shuts down the vacuum pumps when the queue is empty, leaving the system idle and the lab ready for the next day’s pour.

CINRG-side validation runs against Conostan certified standards have produced internal-standard sample populations of n=196 with measured KV40 and KV100 values consistently inside the ±2% certified bounds. Internal-standard distributions tightened markedly after CS-HVA installation in customer labs compared to the prior manual workflow. The validation data set is available on request from CINRG and forms the basis for customer-side ISO 17025 method validation.