ABSTRACT
M. George & D.T. Goddard Nexia Solutions, BNFL, Springfields Works, Preston, UK
ABSTRACT: The handling of bulk powders is very important to a wide range of manufacturing industries, including the nuclear industry. In all these industries problems with powder flow and packing are commonplace. To be able to use modeling techniques to predict bulk powder behavior, the interactions between particles must be better understood. To achieve this, the atomic force microscope (AFM) with its ability to measure accurately very low forces and to characterize precisely the contact zone topography is a unique tool. We have used the AFM to carry out a preliminary analysis of the contact on model glass/mica systems. AFM observations and pull-off force measurements will be presented showing how the local radius of contact and the roughness are key factors in the interaction between two particles and how they might be inserted into the well-known JKR model. The application of the methodology to uranium oxide particles will also be discussed.
