What is sphericity in particle size testing?

Powder particles have two important properties: particle size and morphology. The most important characteristic of particle morphology is sphericity, which refers to the degree to which the particle shape approximates a sphere. Powder particles with high sphericity have higher specific surface area, packing density, and flowability.

Testing for sphericity is crucial because the properties of many materials depend not only on the “size” (particle size) of the particles, but also on their “shape”.

1. Affects powder flowability. Particles with high sphericity have better flowability. In processes such as pharmaceutical tableting, 3D printing powder spreading, and powder metallurgy, it can ensure uniform material filling and avoid bridging or segregation, thereby improving production efficiency and product quality.

2. Affects particle packing density. High spherical particles enable denser packing. In the preparation of coatings, ceramics, and composites, this helps produce a denser, more uniformly performing final product.

3. Affects specific surface area and reaction contact efficiency. In chemical reactions and mass transfer processes, sphericity is crucial for applications such as catalyst supports and drug dissolution rates.

With the development of image analysis technology, sphericity testing has become a standard procedure for particle characterization. This time, Winner99E is recommended to test particle sphericity.

Winner99E is an economical particle image analyzer. Its measurement range is 1-6000μm. It is suitable for particle size measurement, morphology observation and sphericity analysis of various powder particles such as abrasives, coatings, non-metallic minerals, chemical reagents, fillers, etc.