CPE 124 Particle Technology - Study Notes

Dr. Jie Zhang

Chapter 1. Characterisation of solid particles
What is particle technology?
Techniques for processing and handling particulate solids. It plays a major role in the
production of materials in industry.
Chapter 1. Characterisation of solid particles
Individual solid particles are characterised by their size, shape, and density.
1.1 Particle shape
The shape of an individual particle is expressed in terms of the sphericity Φ s, which is
independent of particle size. The sphericity of a particle is the ratio of the surface-
volume ratio of a sphere with equal volume as the particle and the surface-volume ratio
of the particle. For a spherical particle of diameter D p, Φ s =1; for a non-spherical
particle, the sphericity is defined as

Dp: equivalent diameter of particle

Sp: surface area of one particle
vp: volume of one particle
The equivalent diameter is sometimes defined as the diameter of a sphere of equal
volume. For fine particles, Dp is usually taken to be the nominal size based on screen
analysis or microscopic analysis. The surface area is found from adsorption
measurements or from the pressure drop in a bed of particles. For many crushed
materials, Φ s is between 0.6 and 0.8. For particles rounded by abrasion, Φ s may be as
high as 0.95.
1.2 Particle size
In general "diameter" may be specified for any equidimensional particles. Particles that
are not equidimensional, i.e. that are longer in one direction than in others, are often
characterised by the second longest major dimension. For needle like particles,
Dp would refer to the thickness of the particle, not their length. Units used for particle
size depend on the size of particles.
Coarse particles: inches or millimetres
Fine particles: screen size
Very fine particles: micrometers or nanometers
Ultra fine particles: surface area per unit mass, m2/g
1.3 Mixed particle sizes and size analysis
In a sample of uniform particles of diameter Dp, the total volume of the particles is m/
ρ p, where m = mass of the sample, ρ p = density. Since the volume of one particle is vp,
the total number of particle in the sample is

The total surface area of the particles is

To apply the above two equations to mixtures of particles having various size and
densities, the mixture is sorted into fractions, each of constant density and
approximately constant size.
1.4 Specific surface of mixture
If the particle density ρ p and spericity Φ s are known, the surface area of particles in
each fraction can be calculated and added to give the specific surface, Aw.

where xi = mass fraction in a given increment, = average diameter, taken as

arithmetic average of the smallest and largest particle diameters in increment.
1.5 Average particle size

(1). Volume-surface mean diameter, , defined by

If the number of particles in each fraction Ni is known, then

(2). Arithmetic mean diameter

NT = number of particles in the entire sample

(3). Mass mean diameter

(4). Volume mean diameter

1.6 Number of particles in mixture

The volume of any particle is proportional to its "diameter" cubed.

a = volume shape factor

Assuming that a is independent of size

1.7 Screen analysis

Standard screens are used to measure the size (and size distribution) of particles in the
size range between about 3 and 0.0015in (76mm and 38µ m).
Screen is identified by meshes per inch, e.g. 10mesh, Dp = 1/10 = 0.1in.
The area of the openings in any one screen in the series is exactly twice that of the
openings in the next smaller screen. The ratio of the actual mesh dimension of any

screen to that of the next smaller screen is =1.41.

Analysis using standard screen: Screens are arranged serially in a stack, with the
smallest mesh at the bottom and the largest at the top. Materials are loaded at top and
then shacked for a period of time (e.g. 20 minutes).
14/20: through 14 mesh and on 20 mesh

Screen analysis gives: xi and .

Go to Chapter 2
(Motion of particles through fluids)

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