Particle Size Measurement

Powder technology is a subject in its own right, and powder characterization is central to an understanding of this discipline. In the eight years since the printing of the third edition of Particle Size Measurement there have been two big changes in my life. After thirty years of academia I have returned to industry, and after a lifetime in Great Britain I have emigrated to the United States. In industry the initial demand is to relate powder properties to product performance and then to maintain powder consistency. This requires on-line or rapid off-line analysis which, in turn, has led to the demand for a whole range of new instruments whose primary function is process monitoring. Historically, chemical engineering courses have concentrated on the be­ haviour of fluids, and engineers enter industry relatively unschooled in the subject of powder behaviour . Yet, when my colleagues Reg Davies and John Boughton surveyed three thousand Dupont products, they discovered that 80% involved powder at some stage of their manufacture. The results of this survey illustrate the need for more training in this key subject. This edition reflects the changing image of powder characterization towards in-process size analysis. Hence the chapter covering on-line analysis has been largely re-written. Apart from this, I have expanded certain sections and describe the new instruments that have been introduced since the last edition.