Caking, or clumping as it is alternatively referred to, is a common and potentially expensive problem for powder processors, often triggered by exposure to the environment at a single surface such as the powder-air interface at the top of a storage silo.
An assumption of homogeneous caking behaviour is therefore inherently unsound; crusting is commonplace. This creates a need for powder testing that detects and quantifies heterogeneity, that differentiates crusting from generalized caking. Dynamic measurements of flow energy with a powder rheometer can do this with precision and sensitivity. Katrina Brockbank explains how, and more importantly, the value of the resulting information by asking three key questions:
- Why do powder cake or crust and how can I tell if it’s going to be a problem?
- What insights do flow energy measurements provide?
- How can I use dynamic powder testing results to control caking and preserve powder value?
You can read the full interview in Bulk Inside - click here.
For further case studies using the FT4 Powder Rheometer, please read ‘Quantifying Powder Caking using the FT4 Powder Rheometer’.