Uniaxial Powder Tester

Description

Freeman Technology

The Uniaxial Powder Tester (UPT) is a stand-alone uniaxial shear tester for simple, sensitive and cost effective powder characterisation. The instrument delivers repeatable and reliable measurements, providing a robust alternative to traditional powder testing techniques. Uniaxial testing first involves the construction of a consolidated powder column. This is then removed from its confining sleeve before being fractured through the application of a vertical stress, directly measuring the uniaxial Unconfined Yield Strength (uUYS). This technique can therefore be used to assess and rank powder flowability. Cohesive powders have relatively strong inter-particular forces, which encourage the particles to bond together rather than moving easily relative to one another. By contrast, in non-cohesive powders, the tensile forces between particles tend to be much weaker. Uniaxial powder testing is a direct and reliable method for measuring the uUYS and Flow Function of powders.