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Fractal Aspects of Powder Flow and Densification
Author(s) -
Mihranyan Albert,
Strømme Maria
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
particle and particle systems characterization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.877
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1521-4117
pISSN - 0934-0866
DOI - 10.1002/ppsc.200601085
Subject(s) - fractal dimension , materials science , microcrystalline cellulose , particle (ecology) , particle size , fractal , flow (mathematics) , microcrystalline , surface finish , surface roughness , mineralogy , composite material , chemical engineering , geometry , cellulose , crystallography , chemistry , mathematics , geology , mathematical analysis , engineering , oceanography
Powder flowability is affected by a number of particulate properties including particle size, surface area, and surface roughness. Surface irregularities play an important role in controlling powder flow properties. In the present work, a relationship was derived between the reactive fractal dimension – representing the fractallity of the part of the surface participating in particle‐particle interactions during powder flow – and the initial increase in density of a powder bed during densification. The reactive and true textural fractal dimensions for a model system comprised of silicified microcrystalline cellulose particles were also experimentally obtained. The concept of the reactive fractal dimension was shown to be helpful for a comprehensive description of the powder densification process. It indicates how rapidly the active interparticulate area involved in particle‐particle interactions grows with powder size reduction. It is suggested that the reactive fractal dimension can be used for describing powder flow behavior and to elucidate the sensitivity of powder flowability to particle size changes.