Apparatus for measuring friction inside granular materials - Granular friction analyzer

摘要

Flow of granular materials is a complex process but it is important to measure, because the flow of granular material during processing, handling and transportation strongly influences the quality of the final product and its cost Flowability of granular materials depends on the characteristics of the material and on the conditions at which flow is occurring. Existing methods of measuring flowability of powders are described in this paper, and a new methodology is introduced to measure friction between granular materials under pressure induced with uniaxial compression. Apparatus also allows analysis of conditions at which granular material starts to flow when exposed to uniaxial compressive load, i.e., zero-rate flowability.We call the apparatus the Granular Friction Analyzer (GFA).