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At Interphex 2006 (March 21-23, 2006; New York), Freeman Technology will introduce a Permeability Module for the company’s FT4 Powder Rheometer. The permeability of a powder is a measure of the ease with which air can pass through it under specified conditions. It has considerable significance in relation to powder processing, especially the influence that it exerts on a powder’s ability to entrain and release air. These characteristics can greatly affect flow behaviour and process efficiency.

The FT4 Powder Rheometer is a fully automated universal powder tester for the comprehensive characterization of powder flowability. The new Permeability Module uses a pressure transducer to measure pressure drop across the height of a powder bed in the system’s test vessel whilst the air velocity through the powder is controlled. Importantly, conditioning of the sample before evaluation ensures a homogeneous, stress-free and reproducible packing condition.

Permeability measurements using the FT4 can be conducted in a variety of ways to suit specific requirements. These include: measuring pressure drop versus air velocity at zero bed compression stress; using a porous piston to apply specific compression stresses to the sample while maintaining a fixed air velocity through it and measuring pressure drop as a function of the applied bed compression stress; or maintaining a specific bed pressure drop and measuring the air velocity versus bed compression stress.