13.01.2025 by Dr. Chiara Baldini

Exploring the Versatile Furnaces of the NETZSCH STA 509 Jupiter® Instrument Series - Part 2

Chapter 2: Low Temperatures, High Performances

In the first chapter of this blog series, we examined the high-temperature furnaces of the STA 509 Jupiter® series, focusing on their role in simultaneous thermal analysis at elevated temperatures. Now, we draw our attention to the other end of the spectrum. In this second chapter, we will explore the NETZSCH STA 509 Jupiter® silver, steel, and high-speed furnaces, each designed for precise control and performance at lower temperature ranges.

The NETZSCH STA 509 Jupiter® series is a highly adaptable simultaneous thermal analysis system with a variety of furnaces designed to meet different temperature ranges and material characterization needs. The STA 509 Jupiter® Select and Supreme models also offer the ability to mount two furnaces simultaneously, allowing seamless switching between analytical tasks without disassembly or complete recalibration.

With multiple furnace options, the STA 509 Jupiter® can accommodate a wide variety of materials and test conditions. For example, one furnace can be dedicated to low-temperature applications, such as polymer characterization, while another is available for high-temperature processes, such as those required for ceramics and metals.

Today, we explore the NETZSCH STA 509 Jupiter® silver, steel, and high-speed furnaces.

These units are tailored for applications where specific low-temperature treatments are essential, offering a different, but equally critical set of capabilities for materials characterization and research.

Let’s see how these furnaces can enhance your experimental precision and broaden the range of thermal analysis.

1. Steel Furnace
  • Temperature range: -150°C to 1000°C
  • Application fields:

The STA 509 steel furnace is capable of maintaining robust performance across a wide temperature range, with capabilities extending from sub-zero temperatures. This makes it particularly suitable for polymer and rubber analysis.

By measuring both TGA and DSC simultaneously, researchers can save time and reduce the amount of samples needed for experiments. This is especially important in fields such as pharmaceuticals and food science, where sample availability may be limited, but fast, reliable data is crucial for product development.

The ability to record DSC and TGA signals under identical conditions is beneficial for applications where the correlation of mass changes and thermal transitions is essential − from moisture or solvent release to stability testing.

2. Silver Furnace
  • Temperature range: -120°C to 675°C
  • Application fields:

Like the steel furnace, the silver furnace is also designed for the analysis of materials that require operation at low temperatures. However, silver's excellent thermal properties contribute to a more stable temperature environment, minimizing the temperature fluctuations that can affect a DSC measurement. This makes the silver furnace the better choice for specific heat measurements.

Materials that require precise temperature control, such as special advanced composites, filled polymers or phase-change materials (PCMs), benefit from the performance of the silver furnace. Industries, developing materials for cryogenic applications such as superconductors or components for low-temperature electronics, benefit from the detailed information on Phase TransitionsThe term phase transition (or phase change) is most commonly used to describe transitions between the solid, liquid and gaseous states.phase transitions and Specific Heat Capacity (cp)Heat capacity is a material-specific physical quantity, determined by the amount of heat supplied to specimen, divided by the resulting temperature increase. The specific heat capacity is related to a unit mass of the specimen.specific heat capacity. These are key elements for improving the efficiency and reliability of products.

3. High-Speed Furnace
  • Temperature range: RT to 1250°C
  • Application fields:

The STA 509’s high-speed furnace is specifically designed to simulate rapid heating processes, at heating rates of up to 1000 K/min. This capability is essential in industries such as metallurgy, automotive, aerospace, and glass production, where materials experience intense heating in a short period of time. For example, high-performance alloys, metallic glasses, and brake pads - used in critical aerospace and automotive components – can be precisely studied under real working conditions, helping enhance durability, safety, and performance of the final products.

In addition, the high-speed furnace's versatility allows for testing at more conventional heating rates, ensuring comparability across a wide range of thermal analysis methods and standards. This flexibility is also valuable for kinetic evaluations, which determine how materials respond to different heating rates in processes such as Decomposition reactionA decomposition reaction is a thermally induced reaction of a chemical compound forming solid and/or gaseous products. decomposition reactions.

Picture: The STA 509 Jupiter® combined with two furnaces

Two is Better than One!

For a more complete thermal analysis setup, the STA 509’s low-temperature furnaces can be paired with a high-temperature one, allowing for extending applications for metals, alloys, and ceramics.

This combination offers a variety of application fields, making it especially beneficial for university research groups that need to characterize both low- and high-temperature materials.

The dual-furnace system, available for both the Selectand Supremeversions of the NETZSCH STA 509 Jupiter®, is thus a future-proof solution, ready for a range of evolving research areas, including energy storage, sustainable manufacturing, and advanced material science.

The STA 509 Jupiter® Series

  • STA 509 Jupiter® Classic

    Best Price/Performance Ratio

    • RT to 1600°C
    • SiC furnace
    • Balance resolution: 0.1 μg
    • Optional 20-position ASC
  • STA 509 Jupiter® Select

    Tailored to Your Needs

    • -150 to 2400°C
    • Choice of 12 different furnaces
    • Balance resolution: 0.1 μg
    • Optional 20-position ASC or2nd furnace
  • STA 509 Jupiter® Supreme

    Instrument for Highest Performance

    • -150°C to 2000°C
    • Choice of 9 different furnaces
    • Balance resolution: 0.025 μg
    • Optional 20-position ASC or2nd furnace

STA(Y) TUNED

Next week, we will have a detailed look at the STA 509 Jupiter®’s furnace line-up by delving into these specialized furnaces tailored for controlled humidity environments and high-sensitivity evolved gas analysis (EGA).

If you think a low-temperature furnace could meet your needs, don’t hesitate to contact our NETZSCH experts: They are ready to help you find the perfect solution for your research or production requirements.

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