MEASURING THE PARTICLE-SHAPE MIX IN A POWDER WITH THE CASCADOGRAPH

Recently developed, the sieve cascadograph is the first particle chromatograph that characterizes the shape of particles in the 0. 1-1. 0 mm size range. Working on the principle that the residence time of a particle on a sieve is a function of the particle shape, the cascadograph consists of a stack of sieves of identical size in a shaking device. A small monosized powder sample is placed in the topmost sieve, and shaking commenced. The weight of powder leaving the lowest sieve is measured as a function of time, and is used to produce a signature representative of the particle shape distribution in the powder sample. The sieve cascadograph is theoretically described and the results of preliminary experiments are presented.