Measure the texture of powder and granules

The measurement of mechanical properties in powders and granules is a fundamental scientific pursuit with profound implications for various industries, particularly in pharmaceuticals, food processing, and materials science.

These properties encompass attributes such as flowability, compressibility, cohesion, and caking potential, which play a pivotal role in determining product quality, manufacturability, and performance. Accurate measurement of these mechanical characteristics is essential for optimising processes, ensuring product consistency, and advancing the design of formulations and materials.

In essence, the scientific measurement of mechanical properties in powders and granules stands as a cornerstone practice that drives innovation, quality control, and process efficiency across a wide spectrum of industrial applications.

The development and manufacturing of powders and granules have a myriad of applications, from pharmaceuticals to foods, and ensuring their optimal mechanical properties is crucial for performance, safety, and consumer acceptance. A Texture Analyser, with its capability to quantify these properties, can be a powerful tool in this industry.

Here's how it can be of assistance:

• Compaction analysis: Essential for tablet formation in pharmaceuticals, a Texture Analyser can gauge the force required to compress powders into a compacted form and the resultant cohesion.
• Flowability testing: The way powders flow affects processing, handling, and end-use. The Texture Analyser can simulate and quantify the flow of powders under various conditions.
• Caking and agglomeration assessment: Over time or under pressure, some powders might form lumps or cakes. The Texture Analyser can help understand and predict this behaviour, facilitating better storage and handling practices.
• Granule resistance and durability: For products like instant coffee or powdered detergents, granule resilience is vital. The Texture Analyser can determine how much force or abrasion these granules can withstand before breaking.
• Moisture effects: The Texture Analyser can measure how moisture affects the mechanical properties of powders, vital for products sensitive to humidity.
• Stress testing: Understanding how powders behave under stress can inform machinery design and optimise manufacturing processes.
• Bulk density measurement: This determines the weight of the powder when considering its overall volume, which is crucial for packaging and transportation considerations.
• Claims substantiation: If the powder or granule product comes with specific claims like "easily forms a cake" or "no clumping," a Texture Analyser can provide empirical data to support these claims.
• Quality control: Regular measurements can ensure that each batch of powder or granules conforms to the set mechanical property standards, ensuring product consistency.
• Influence of additives: Often, powders have additives to improve flow or other properties. The Texture Analyser can quantify these effects, guiding optimal additive incorporation.
• Feedback loop for R&D: By providing tangible data on mechanical properties, the R&D departments can make informed decisions on formulations, processing methods, and more.

In summary, employing a Texture Analyser in the domain of powders and granules bridges the gap between formulation and real-world performance. It provides invaluable insights, ensuring that the developed products not only meet theoretical specifications but also excel in practical applications.

Texture Analysers, when appropriately equipped, are versatile instruments capable of quantifying various mechanical properties of materials, including powders and granules.

Here's a breakdown of the key mechanical properties that a Texture Analyser can measure for powders and granules:

By measuring these mechanical properties, manufacturers can gain insights that inform product formulation, processing parameters, storage recommendations, and packaging designs. Ensuring the desired mechanical characteristics in powders and granules is crucial for both the end-use performance and manufacturability of the product.

Whether its providing the solution for the FDA to measure powder flow, allowing Evonik to measure caking or offering a method for Nutricia to file their patent for infant-formulae preparations, a Texture Analyser is adaptable and flexible in its application to measure the bespoke texture of your product and then enable its quality to be controlled in your manufacturing to guarantee consistency and customer satisfaction.

With deep expertise in powder and granule texture analysis, we’re well equipped to support innovation in this sector – just ask our customers.

A wide range of probes and attachments can be integrated with our instruments, allowing testing to be precisely adapted to the material or product under evaluation. Applications include the Granule Compaction Rig used to compare granule failure, Powder Vertical Shear Rig to assess powder cohesion properties or a Powder Flow Analyser employed to measure such parameters as cohesion, caking and flow speed depended of  powders.

When a suitable solution does not already exist, we develop one – examples include the the Powder Flow Analyser and Unconfined Yield Stress Rig expanding our portfolio of products and reinforcing our commitment to innovation in solving complex testing challenges.

The examples provided illustrate a selection of specialised attachments and commonly performed measurements within this application area. This list is not exhaustive; a wide range of additional options are available for the testing of powder and granule products. All instruments in the Texture Analyser range can be used to perform the tests described.

Exponent Connect software includes a comprehensive range of test methods for powder and granule products, all instantly accessible at the click of a button. We streamline your texture testing process, ensuring faster access to methods and ready-to-use analysis files for your product properties.

Powders and granules play crucial roles in numerous industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and more. Research and development in this sector are driven by the need for better processability, functionality, stability, and end-product performance. Here's a glimpse into some of the recent innovations and trends in the realm of powders and granules: