BPETCE

PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY
PTY 261S

PARTICULATE STUDIES

DR M AZIZ
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INTRODUCTION
•The most important characteristics of a particle are its
composition, size and shape.

•On the industrial scale, usually bulk quantity of materials is

handled. Sometimes it is necessary to define the system as a
whole. When the particle size of whole mass is needed to
know. Then average mean size of particle is calculated. This
mean size of particle represents the behavior of particulate
mass as whole.

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•Particle
3 size, in the sense commonly used, is a linear length
measure, measured in SI unit [m].

•In this sense it can be uniquely defined only for spheres,

where it is the diameter (or radius).

•For all other shapes, particle size must be clearly defined via
the measuring procedure.

•So called derived diameters are determined by

measuring a size-dependent property of the particle and
relating it to a single linear dimension.

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PARTICULATE SOLIDS
4
•Sphericity is a measure of how round an object is. It will
influence the settling.

•A frequently used measure of particle shape is sphericity ()

or phi. This measure we use to give the degree of sphericity of a
particle.

•The sphericity value normally lies between 1 and zero with 1

being associated with a perfectly spherical particle.
Perfectly spherical =  → 1
Perfectly flat =  → 0

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surface area of sphere of same volume as particle
=
surface area of particle

Vs

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 7 Calculation of Sphericity
 Sphericity is quantified by using a unique mathematical
property of the sphere; the sphere has the lowest surface-
to-volume ratio of any solid geometric objects.
 Thus, for an object with volume V, the external surface area
A is minimal if the object is spherical.
 The Sphericity φ of an object or particle can be calculated
by assuming/ visualizing that the particle has an equal
volume as a sphere.
 Then dividing the surface area of this sphere by the
actually measured surface area of the particle:
 φ = As / Ap
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 Let’s calculate the Sphericity of a cube

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 Our cube has a characteristic length of 1 and therefore has a volume of 1
unit and a surface area of 6 units.

 A sphere of the same volume (1 unit) will have characteristic dimension

of 3
1
3 4
 2 = 1.241

 And the surface area of a sphere with a diameter of 1.2407 is equal to;

2
 1.2407 
4   = 4.836


 2 

 And therefore we say that the sphericity will be the external area of the
sphere over the area of cube of same volume.
4.836
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6.0
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Where: As is the surface area of the equivalent
sphere and Ap is the measured surface area of
the particle. The Sphericity can have a value
ranging from 0-1, where φ = 1 for an ideal
sphere.

 The volume of a sphere is:

Vs= (4/3) π r3

The surface area of a sphere is:

As = 4π r2

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 Example 1: Calculate the Sphericity of a cube with length= 1 cm

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Vp = Volume of cube= a3= 13= 1 cm3

To calculate As, you need to find out the value of “r”

Remember the assumption above.

Volume of the cube= volume of a sphere

1=(4/3) π r3

r= 0.62cm

As= 4 x 3.14 x 0.622 = 4.83 cm2

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A cube measuring 1 × 1 × 1 cm has a
volume of 1 cm3, and
a surface area of 6 × (1 × 1) = 6 cm2.

Its sphericity is:

φ = As / Ap

φ = 4.83 / 6 = 0.806

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 Example 2:
A cylinder with a diameter of 1 cm, and height of
12 1 cm has a volume of (π r2h):

Vp = π r 2 h = 3.14*0. 52 × 1 = 0.785 cm3.

Its surface area of a cylinder is: 2 π r 2 + 2 π r h = 2 (3.14)(0.5) 2 + 2(3.14)(0.5)1=4.71 cm 2

Ap = 2 × 3.14×0.25 + 2 ×3.14 × 1 × 1 = 4.71 cm2

Vsphere = 4/3 π r 3 = 0.785

r = 0.572 cm

As = 4π r2 = 4(3.14)(0.572)2 = 4.11 cm2

The Sphericity of this cylinder is:

φ = 4.11/ 4.71 = 0.873

If we compare the Sphericity of the cube (φ = 0.806) to that of the cylinder (φ = 0.873), we
can conclude that the cylinder is more spherical (as would be expected).
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 There are a variety of techniques to classify non-

spherical particles from the perspective of diameter;
the most important and often used is that of equivalent
sphere.

 I.e. we say the characteristics of a particle are the same

as the characteristics of a spherical particle of such a
size and that is the size we attribute to the particle.

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Characterisation of particles
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•Sphere is the simplest shape of particle.

•It shows exactly the same from whatever angle it is

viewed and behaves in the same manner in the
fluid.

• Usually, size of particle with irregular shape is

defined in terms of size of an equivalent sphere.
According to the particle selected, the particle is
represented by a sphere of different size

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 1. Size of Equivalent Sphere
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Some of the sizes of equivalent sphere are as follows:
•The sphere having the same volume as the particle

•The sphere having the same surface area as the

particle

•The sphere having the same surface area per unit

volume as the particle

•The sphere which passes through the same size of a

square aperture as the particle.

•The sphere having the same settling velocity as the

particle in the specified fluid.
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 2. Feret's Statistical Diameter
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It is the mean distance between the two
parallel lines which are tangent to the
particle as well in an arbitrarily fixed
direction. It is irrespective of the
orientation of each particle coming up
for inspection. Usually used under
microscopic evaluation

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METHODS OF MEASURING PARTICLE SIZES
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Sieves
•An old fashioned, but cheap and
readily usable It allows separation into
some size bands if required.

•Using this technique it is not difficult

to measure particles <38mm.

•Cohesive and agglomerated materials,

such as clays, are also difficult to
measure and materials like 0.3m m
TiO2 are impossible.

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18 Microscopy
•This is an excellent technique that allows direct
examination of the particles in question.

•Examination of a particle under a microscope

provides a two-dimensional image

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19 Sedimentation
•Based upon study of the terminal velocity acquired by
particles suspended in a viscous liquid.

•Sedimentation time is longest for the finest particles,

so this technique is useful for sizes below 10 μm

•Sub-micrometer particles cannot be reliably measured

due to the effects of Brownian motion.

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Brownian Motion
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 Brownian motion is the presumably random moving of

particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) resulting
from their bombardment by the fast-moving atoms or
molecules in the gas or liquid. The term "Brownian
motion" can also refer to the mathematical model used to
describe such random movements, which is often called a
particle theory.[
• Typical apparatus disperses the sample in liquid, then
measures the density of the column at timed intervals.

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Laser diffraction
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•Particles are allowed to break a laser beam at a known speed.

•The duration for which the beam is broken is related to the

particle size

•The angle of diffraction increases as particle size decreases, so

that this method is particularly good for measuring sizes
between 0.1 and 3,000 μm.

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PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION (PSD)
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•PSD is a list of values or a mathematical function that defines the
relative amounts of particles present, sorted according to size

•PSD is defined in terms of discrete size ranges: e.g. "% of sample

between 45 μm and 53 μm", when sieves of these sizes are used
•Before a PSD can be determined, it is vital that a representative sample is
obtained (sampling)

How do we represent particle size distributions?

•On a frequency basis (not done often)
•On an accumulative basis (usually used)
On the frequency basis, we simply give the % on a mass basis, of a certain
quantity of solids that appears at various particle sizes
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23 Area under graph should add up to 100%

100%
PSD or frequency
0%

10m 50m 100m 150 200m

Particle size

On the frequency basis, we simply give the % on a mass basis, of a certain

quantity of solids that appears at various particle sizes

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 100%
25
PSD or frequency
0%

10m 50m 100m 150 200m

Particle size

On the accumulative basis things are done slightly

differently
A percentage of the sample mass is considered to be less
than a given particle size
e.g. 10% of the particles present, on a mass basis are less
than 100m in diameter
e.g. 50% of the particles present, on a mass basis are less
than 100m in diameter.
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AGGLOMERATION
The sticking of particles to one another or to solid
surfaces, is a natural phenomenon. For powders and bulk
solids, agglomeration can be unwanted, resulting in
uncontrolled buildup, caking, bridging, or lumping.

Arises from the interaction between particles, as a result of

which they adhere to one another to form clusters

Leads to:
• poor flow properties
•size analysis would also be hampered

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Mechanisms giving rise to agglomeration
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•Mechanical interlocking: Occurs if the particles are
long and thin in shape in which case large masses may
become interlocked
•Surface attraction: Surface forces, including Van der
Waal’s forces, may give rise to substantial bonds between
particles, particularly when particles are extremely
fine and their surface area is great compared to their
mass.
•Plastic welding: When irregular particles are in
contact the forces between the particle will be borne on
extremely small surfaces and the very high
pressures developed may give rise to plastic welding.
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•Electrostatic attraction: Particles may become charged
as30they are fed into equipment and significant electro-
static charges may be built up, particularly on fine
solids.

•Effect of moisture: The presence of moisture could

result in two actions. Moisture situated between two
particles could as a result of surface tension effects
hold the two particles together. Or moisture might
dissolve some of the solid which might then become a
bonding agent.

•Temperature fluctuations: Give rise to changes in

particle structure and to greater cohesiveness.
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RELATING PARTICLE
BEHAVIOUR TO PARTICLE SIZE

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 ANGLE OF REPOSE
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•The angle of repose or, more precisely, the critical angle of
repose, of particulate solids the steepest angle of descent or dip
of the slope relative to the horizontal plane when material on
the slope face is on the verge of sliding. This angle is in the range
20° (free flowing)–60° (poor flow characteristics).
•It is the maximum angle from horizontal at which a given
material will rest on a given surface without sliding or rolling.
It is normally seen that when a soil
stockpile is poured in a site, it is formed like
a cone shape. It depends on the particle
properties such as the internal friction,
angle, PSD,shape, unit weight, moisture
content, stratification, segregation, etc.

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ANGLE
33 OF FRICTION
•It is the minimum slope, measured in degrees from the
horizontal, at which loose solid material will start to slide or
flow.
•An angle which is similar to
the static angle of repose is
the angle of slide which is
measured in a similar manner
as the drained angle except
that the surface is smooth and
is not coated with a layer of
particles

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