This study aims to an automated evaluation of contact angles in a three-phase system of selective agglomeration in liquids. Wetting properties, quantified by contact angles, are essential in many industries and their processes. Selective agglomeration as a three-phase system consists of a suspension liquid, a heterogeneous solid phase and an immiscible binding liquid. It offers the chance of establishing more efficient separation processes because of the shape-dependent wetting properties of fine particles (size ≤ 10 μm). In the present paper, an experimental setup for contact angle measurements of fine particles based on the Sessile Drop Method is described. Moreover, a new algorithm is discussed, which can be used to automatically compute contact angles from image data captured by a high-speed camera. The algorithm uses a marker-based watershed transform to segment the image data into regions representing the droplet, the carrier plate coated by fine particles, and the background. The main idea is a parametric modelling approach forthe time-dependent droplet’s contour by an ellipse.
展开▼
