POROSIMETER AS A MEANS TO MEASURE THE COMPACTIBILITY OF POWDERS

Samples of silica fume powder prepressed in the form of slabs under relatively small pressures and cut in spheres were coated with a thin flexible latex film by dipping them into the water emulsion of the natural latex, and their densification behavior was studied using the common mercury, intrusion porosimeter. The samples were compacted at isostatic pressure conditions by increasing the mercury pressure, and the volume changes as a function of pressure were recorded. The recorded pressure/volume changes provided information about the compaction course of the original green powder compacts in a continuous fashion.