Gerhard Niederreiter

A micromanipulation particle tester for agglomeration contact mechanism studies in a controlled environment

Pressure agglomeration of powders is widely applied in various industries and an increasing interest lies in the identification and description of contact mechanisms between particles, which are responsible for the compaction product properties. In this paper, the design and development of a novel micromanipulation particle tester (MPT) is presented. This device makes it possible to measure the deformation kinetics and resulting adhesion of two individual particles in contact under load, which are strongly influenced by the applied process conditions. The MPT set-up is, therefore, designed to offer a unique control over the process conditions most relevant to the compaction of powders: external stress, dwell or holding time at constant deformation, compression velocity as well as relative humidity and temperature determining the physical state and mechanical characteristics of hygrosensitive amorphous particles. The latter are often part of powder formulations, e.g. in the food industry, and have been used for force and contact-zone development studies with the MPT. The experimental results on the microscale level will deliver valuable quantitative information for an improved tailoring of pressure agglomeration process conditions of bulk solids.