Powder tester

Abstract

It is known that the properties of powders affect the ease or difficulty of handling in many industrial processes. In may cases, the only way to test the suitability of a particular powder for a given system is to pass a sample of that powder through the system. This involves using a large quantity of the material with the uncertainty that the properties of the material are in fact suitable for that system. Described herein is a test device which allows certain properties of a material in powder form to be determined without the need for large quantities of material. The device (10) comprises a frame (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) in which is mounted a curved test surface (26). An aperture (22) is provided in a top member (14) of the frame (12) to allow the material being tested to fall on to the test surface (26) to form a `footprint`. The `footprint` can then be measured to provide an indication of the properties of the material prior to it being introduced into a system in bulk.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.