Santana Perdomo, Jose Carmelo (2015) Development of a test protocol for industry to predict and optimise flow behaviour of blended powders utilising particle to bulk scale models. PhD thesis, University of Greenwich.

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Abstract

Reformulation of blended particulate materials has been always a problem for powder industry because formulators have difficulty in measuring, controlling and/or modifying the bulk flow properties of powders. A recently developed powder flow tester (PFT) by The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, University of Greenwich is now available for industry to measure quickly and accurately the flow behaviour of single and blended particulate materials.

This new powder flow tester helps to characterise quantitatively the blends which show good flow behaviour in the industrial process lines and define the desirable standards for blends with poor flow behaviour. However, the current process of reformulation is basically a trial and error procedure based on the prior experience of the formulator with other blends reformulated. There is clearly a lack of practical understanding of the links between the particle and bulk scale of powders and how changes in the particle properties and/or blend compositions would affect the flow behaviour of blended powders.

The aim of this research work was to develop an “empirical understanding” of the links between the particle properties and bulk flow properties in order to predict the bulk flow properties of blended powders based on changes to the particle properties or blend components. This has been achieved evaluating analytical well-established models found in the literature linking particle and bulk scale for practical purposes in industry, developing new empirical models to predict the flow behaviour of single and blended powders based on the experimental work undertaken in this research and identifying methods or techniques that formulators in industry could use to predict the flow behaviour of their blended powders.

The solution provided is a test protocol which in combination with the standard characterisation tests commonly used in industry and the prediction tool called Virtual Powder Blending Laboratory (recently developed by The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology using the experimental and modelling work undertaken in this work) will help formulators and process engineers to formulate the composition of blended powders with the desirable flow behaviour in industrial process lines.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	uk.bl.ethos.679608 This research was carried out at the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	particle property measurement; bulk flow properties; particle characterisation; bulk characterisation; blended powders;
Subjects:	T Technology > TP Chemical technology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science > Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology Faculty of Engineering & Science
Last Modified:	30 Jan 2017 15:11
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/14318

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