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Magee Scientific  When OEM Dependability Matters. Environmental Solutions by Sierra. Customer Dr. Tony Hansen, Magee Scientific, Berkeley, California Application OEM Product Mass Flow Solution Business Impact ... offers Magee Scientific a time-tested, reliable supplier in their supply chain
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| Magee Scientific Travels the Globe Dr. Hansen, founder and president of Magee Scientific, is one of a kind—inspired scientist, environmental steward, entrepreneur, and adventurer. For Dr. Hansen at Magee Scientific, dependability matters. Since 1994, Magee Scientific has used Sierra’s mass flow meters in their Aethalometer®, the most widely used instrument for the real-time measurement of optically-absorbing ‘Black’ or ‘Elemental’ carbon aerosol particles. And since then, “Sierra has offered us a smoothly running supply chain,” says Dr. Hansen. Dr. Hansen believes that “until you can measure something you don’t know the harm.” With his Aethalometer® in hand, Dr. Hansen has measured the concentration of harmful black carbon particles around the globe—in a shipping container 30 feet underground in the Sahara Desert, in the soot filled skies of Beijing, China and some of the cleanest air on the planet at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. Sierra and Magee Scientific Have a Time-Tested OEM Relationship Even though Magee Scientific’s Aethalometers® have travelled the globe, the company originated from more humble roots. In the mid-1980’s, after years of experimenting with real-time measurements of optically absorbing aerosols, Dr. Hansen’s entrepreneurial spirit was ignited. Using a large, heavy, expensive mass flow meter not suited for measuring flow at atmospheric pressure, he began to build his Aethalometer® in his garage, like the famed Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard of Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, California years before. In 1994, Dr. Hansen finally decided to make a change in his flow instrumentation. All he needed was a meter with no bells and whistles, 12 volt operation, readings at atmospheric pressure, the ability to measure 2-6 liters a minute of flow at 2% to 5% accuracy. Known as the mass flow measurement workhorse, Sierra’s TopTrak® Model 824 rose to the top with its small footprint, economical price, and proven OEM track record. “The TopTrak has the lowest cost and its specifications match our needs,” explains Dr. Hansen. The Aethalometer® Uses Optical Analysis to Measure Black Carbon Concentration Magee Scientific’s Aethalometer® is housed in a small case with a speed controlled pump, TopTrak® Model 824 mass flow meter, filter, optical chamber, and LED light source. Customers punch in a mass flow rate on the Aethalometer’s® screen, usually from 2 to 5 liters per minute. Once the signal is set, the TopTrak® Model 824 measures the mass flow rate of ambient air pumping through the system, which is adjusted with a speed controlled pump in a closed loop system, providing a constant mass flow rate of ambient air. Dr. Hansen explains that “the computer in our instrument controls the speed of the pump, so we achieve closed-loop flow control without needing a mass flow controller.” As this air stream is pumped through the optical chamber, black carbon particles collect on the filter and are optically measured, giving the real-time mass concentration of these carbon particles from tens of nanograms per cubic meter to hundreds of milligrams per cubic meter. Because he conducts end-to-end calibration on the entire Aethalometer® before it reaches his customers, Dr. Hansen attests that scaling accuracy of the meter is not as important as reliability. “It works. What more can you ask for,” says Dr. Hansen of the TopTrak. Black Carbon Pollution Impacts Global Warming According to Dr. Hansen, the U.S. government now recognizes that black carbon soot is the number two cause of global warming and the most important component of air pollution affecting our public health. Instead of worrying about the dependability of his OEM instrumentation, Dr. Hansen can focus on what he does best, giving the real story to countries around the globe about the concentration of black carbon particles polluting their atmosphere. Every year for 14 years and counting, Magee Scientific has ordered up to 100 TopTrak® Model 824s from Sierra. These units are in use from Antarctica to New York City, from the mountaintop observatory of Hawaii to the most populated cities of Asia. “Not a single one has failed in normal service, not one has had to be replaced either in warranty or ten years later,” says Dr. Hansen. Nothing pleases an OEM customer more than dependability. “Experience Our Passion For Flow!™” |
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