THE CHARACTERIZATION OF INTERACTION EFFECTS IN FINE-PARTICLE SYSTEMS

In this paper we examine experimental methods and theoretical models that enable interaction effects in particulate systems to be examined. Two distinct regimes of behaviour are considered: firstly, the weak interaction case is examined and we show that in general low field susceptibility studies can be used to establish the effects of interactions only if care is taken to exclude other effects such as progressive blocking. Secondly the strong interaction regime is considered and we describe the use of remanence curves, chi(irr) curves and the deltaI(H) plot in the study of interaction effects. For both regimes we review the use of numerical models in this area.