《Energetic Materials》chapter 8.pdf

293 8 Particle Characterization U. Teipel, J. K. Bremser 8.1 Particle Size Analysis Particle characteristics such as particle size and particle size distribution play a critical role in the manufacture and final properties of energetic materials. For instance, propellant, explosive and pyrotechnic material properties are highly de- pendent on the particle packing density and/or solids concentration and the burn rate tailorability of such materials is also directly related to the size and size distribution of the solid particles. As a result, accurate, reliable and reproducible measurement of particle properties is essential to material characterization. This chapter discusses the characterization of single particles and describes methods for assessing particle size distributions. Measurement techniques for determining these properties are presented and special features of these techniques are dis- cussed. 8.1.1 Size and Shape of a Single Particle The size of a particle can be characterized by geometric or physical size parameters. Geometric size parameters include, for example, the diameter of a particle, its surface area, projected area, volume and specific surface area. Such parameters can be measured directly or indirectly by microscopic observation and/or image analy- sis. In order to characterize a particle with a single length parameter x, the particle must be exactly spherical in shape. At least two length parameters are required to describe other types of regularly shaped particles. For irregularly shaped particles, a complete and unambiguous description of their shape using a small number of length parameters is, in principle, impossible. Because particles tend to orient along the direction of measurement, a statistical length measurement parameter can be defined, as shown in Fig. 8.1. The Feret diameter, xFe, is the dista