Products
Hycal
“Market leaders in dissolved hydrogen analysis for the aluminium industry”
The groundbreaking Hycal Mk1 was first introduced to the market in 2014. Since then, EMC has been engaged in relentless and continuous development to meet the market’s evolving needs.
The aluminium industry demanded a more sophisticated hydrogen analysis solution with:- increased accuracy
- greater repeatability
- faster response
- ability to calibrate in-house
- reduced operating cost
Compare Hycal devices
Product | Hycal Mk4 | Hycal 1000 | Hycal 100 | Hycal 200 | Hycal Mini |
Preview |  |  |  |  |  |
Dimensions W x H x D | 340mm x 266mm x 223mm | 400mm x 400mm x 200mm | 400mm x 400mm x 200mm | 600mm x 600mm x 200mm | 160mm x 100mm x 35mm |
Weight (kg) | 9 | 16 | 15 | 21 | 0.2 |
Portable | |||||
Mass flow controller (i) | |||||
Automatic purge (ii) | |||||
Digital COMMS (iii) | |||||
Guided measurement | |||||
Guided degassing | |||||
Guided calibration | |||||
HMI (iv) | |||||
Internal gas tank (v) | |||||
PC software | |||||
Calibrated on-site | |||||
EEPROM ready (vi) | |||||
Signal I/O | |||||
Profinet / EtherNet/IP |
(i) Current devices (from January 2023) from the Hycal range have integrated mass flow controllers. This upgrade enables a controlled flow rate during the gas purge through the probe which, during Guided Calibration, is required for accurate in situ probe calibration with low (<3%) hydrogen content calibration gases.
(ii) Automatic purge feature controls the gas purge at the start and the end of every measurement. The Hycal Mini can effect the same process via a Probe Adaptor. However, the opening and closing of the gas purge valve is a manual process.
(iii) Hycal Mini does not have any digital comms. and as such has no output relays or any ability to connect to a PLC network.
(iv) Hycal (100 & 200) are designed to integrate with existing HMI, typically from existing degassing equipment. Hycal Mini has LCD screen only
(v) 300ml gas tank with integrated into Hycal Mk4 and Hycal 1000 devices only. This can be used to store nitrogen, argon or more typically, a calibration reference gas – such as 2% hydrogen 98% nitrogen mixture.
(vi) Legacy versions of Hycal are EEPROM ready following a firmware update. This allows the device to read embedded data within the latest Hycal Probes, providing for a true Plug and Play user experience.
How does Hycal work?
Electrochemical hydrogen concentration cell
EMC has developed cutting-edge technology based on a novel ceramic material (CaZrO3-In) – an efficient hydrogen ion conductor at elevated temperatures.
The hydrogen ion-conducting ceramic enables accurate determination of hydrogen concentration in molten aluminium by developing a voltage across the cell body when subjected to a differential partial pressure of hydrogen.
Patented solid-state reference
Incorporated within the sensor is a patented “solid-state reference,” which enables the partial pressure of hydrogen to be measured without the need of an external reference gas.
Patented probe design
With a porous diffusion barrier allowing hydrogen gas to form within the measurement chamber, the measuring electrode is exposed to the measurement gas.
Unrivalled precision and accuracy
Hycal’s revolutionary technology empowers the aluminium industry with unparalleled hydrogen concentration analysis. The hydrogen concentration cell, featuring a patented “solid-state reference,” ensures precise measurements, delivering reliable data even in challenging conditions.
The innovative probe design enables accurate determination of dissolved hydrogen levels in molten aluminium, facilitating effective process control.
The advanced analyser has numerous built-in features developed and refined over many years to meet the needs of the end user in the harsh environment of the modern industrial aluminium casting facility. Whilst boasting sophisticated on-board diagnostics and highly customisable backend settings, the end-user is presented with a very simple to use, step by step guided user-interface, enabling accurate and repeatable measurements to be taken even by users with minimal experience.
The result is an indispensable solution that revolutionizes the monitoring of hydrogen concentration in molten aluminium, elevating productivity and ensuring consistently superior product quality.