NMR for Process Control: Imaging and Localized NMR in Soft Matter

B. Blümich

Institute of Technical Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry and Magnetic Resonance Center

MARC, RWTH, D-52056 Aachen, bluemich@mc.rwth-aachen.de

ABSTRACT

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance is a form of radio-frequency spectroscopy in magnetic fields, which is a standard analytical tool in chemistry for structural analysis and an established diagnostic tool in medical imaging. The success of medical imaging thrives from the comparatively high NMR sensitivity of the proton and the wealth of contrast mechanisms which can be exploited for detection of otherwise invisible structures in heterogeneous objects from soft matter. The same features can be utilized for materials analysis including product and process control in particular of soft matter such as elastomers, polymer melts and food. While chemical analysis requires highly homogeneous magnetic fields and expensive equipment, many topics in materials analysis and process control can be addressed using inhomogeneous magnetic fields from simple permanent magnets. Unilateral NMR is explored for nondestructive inspection of large objects to assess material quality, and transport properties of fluids and particles. The fields of flow NMR and unilateral NMR are addressed with particular attention to the applications and developments based on the NMR-MOUSE (MObile Universal Surface Explorer).

Keywords NMR, Imaging, Flow, NMR-MOUSE