Facilities

Facilities@APTLab

The laboratory uses a number of state-of-the-art facilities for particle and powder characterization or processing.

Ring Shear Tester

Designed for powder flowability tests (cohesion/adhesion , internal and wall friction, flow function, time consolidation). The main part of Brookfield Powder Flow Tester is an annular cell, where the powder specimen is placed. The volume of the cell is as little as 230 ml. The lid is subjected to a vertically acting normal force in order to attain the desired compression level. The shear stress acting on the sample is continuously monitored. The The lid displacement is monitored during shearing in order to capture volumetric changes occurring in the sample.

Texture analyser

Tex’An Drive, is designed and developped for a quick and complete texture analysis of the consistency, elasticity and adhesivity of solid and liquid samples and customized test on powders. The texture analyzer can operate in compression and traction; Sensor: 20 N (2 kg), Resolution 0.008 N (0.8 g); Temperature: The instrument has a Pt100 sensor to measure your sample’s temperature from -20 to 120 °C.

High shear mixer and granulator

The Eirich EL1 is a multi-purpose laboratory mixer. It mount a star-type rotor or pin-type rotor with infinitely variable tool speeds from 2 up to 30 m/s (300 up to 7200 rpm) and 2 directions of rotation. Mixing pan is low weight, easy changing/cleaning, ideal for small test samples (1 L volume) and has an adjustable inclination (0°- 30°). It is possible to monitor and save data (time, impeller velocity, motor current consumption and material temperature).

High shear ploughshare mixer and granulator

The MLH Laboratory Batch Mixer consists of a free-standing drive unit with integrated frequency converter, an easily exchangeable horizontal mixing shaft mounted on the drive end and a replaceable mixing chamber with an inlet and an outlet spout. Equipped with a variety of mixing tools (ploughshare tools avaiable). The mixing chamber is 6 L.

Planetary mixer

The Kenwood Major Premier KMM 760 is a robust planetary mixer with a 1200W motor, three power outlets and huge choice of attachments which allow to process complex ingredients mixtures. It is versatile because the open structure allows to observe the evolution of mixing and granulation products, to capture and analyse images of the powders, to perform kinetics studies (in mixing and in granule growth rate studies). Bowl size is 6.7 liters and beater speed ranges from 27 to 97 rpm.

Tumblers

The mixer consist of a tumbler (horizontal drumor double cone), a drum drive and rotational speed control unit. The tumbler typically consist of a transparent vessel so that images of the material inside can be taken by using recording digital devices. The driving system consists of two rubber covered rollers one of which is connected to a 2.5kW motor. Roller velocity is controlled (with resolution of 0.157 rpm) through a gear-motor and an inverter. Several mixing regimes can be explored.

Ball mill

The same driving unit used for mixing experiments can be used to rotate a jar containing different milling medium so that a ball mill (or jar mill) is obtained. It has rollers covered in rubber and the second roller can be placed in various positions so as to accept different size jars. Model with 0.5 hp motor. Variable roller speed: 0-95 rpm. A 3 liters porcelain jar is available with different milling media ranging from 3 to 25 mm in size.

Hammer/cutter mill

Laboratory mill for dry sample preparation with hammering and cutting chambers, sieve 2.0 mm. Easy to change grinding attachments and sieves extend the range of any samples that can be processed. This laboratory mill is characterized by a very robust design using solid milled parts and hardened components that have been designed for high wear and tear found with such processes as grinding of stones which can have a hardness of up to 6 on the Mohs scale.

Bulk density measurements

Different bulk densities can be measured according to the experimental procedure used to pack the powders. Each of them is characterized by different levels packing and consolidation. The aerated (dispersed), poured or tap density can be measured with dedicated devices and, if required, flowability indexes such as Hausner Ratio, Compressibility, Packing Ratio can be estimated.

Air permeameter

Permy-0.1 is an air permeameter. It consists of a 150 cc chamber with a perforated bottom containing the powder sample. The powder bed is crossed from below by the air with flow rates varying between 0.1 and 10 l / min measured by 3 rotameters. Pressure drops can be measured through a U tube manometer and range from 0 to 294 Pa (30mm H20).

Sieving machine

The Retsch AS 200 digit is an analytical sieve shaker AS 200 designed for sieves with a diameter up to 203 mm (8”). It covers a measuring range from 20 μm to 25 mm. Instead of the vibration height, the sieve acceleration, which is independent of the power frequency, can be set so that, comparable and reproducible sieving results world-wide are guaranteed. Presently only dry sieving can be performed, but the sieve shaker can be upgraded to perform also wet sieving.

Digital cameras

Several digital cameras (CCD and CMOS) are available for capturing digital images for solving several research problems. Image analysis, particle imaging velocimetry (PIV), single particle tracking, colour and texture analysis are common research strategies implemented through customized Matlab and Phyton scripts. Here a list of the cameras currently in use: Matrix Vision, Svpro, Basler, i-Speed camera IX iS-2S-220-C-2.

Microscopes

Inverted microscope, Olympus IX51. Stand high stability stand, vibration-free positioning of the controls. Infinity corrected optical system UIS, with path “V” path which allows the maximum reflection. Illumination with halogen lamp 6V 30W. External power supply. Bilateral coarse and fine focusing with a 1 sensitivity micron and locking device. Rotating revolver with six positions. A serial output for photographic systems or TV. Video outputs for obtaining primary image.

Workstations

Within the research group a great deal of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and distinct element method (DEM) simulations are being undertaken to further understand bulk powder behaviour. Currently, our resources include 3 workstations which allow for multi-processor calculations:WS1: CPU 2 x Intel i7, 8 core (3.4 GHz), RAM 32 GB WS2: CPU 2 x Intel i7, 6 core (2.8 GHz), RAM 24 GB WS3: CPU 2 x Intel Xeon, quad core (3.0 GHz), RAM 16 GB WS4: CPU 2 x Intel Xeon, quad core (3.0 GHz), RAM 16 GB

DIY equipment and tools

Several customized devices for experimental studies on powder flow. Example shown: vertical chute for studying granular motion at wall (stick-slip behaviour, wall shear bands formation, velocity profiles and powder rheology at the boundaries)