Acoustic Methods for Particle Characterisation

KONA Powder and Particle Journal

Malcolm J. W. Povey¹ 

[1] Procter Department of Food Science, The University ofLeeds;

关键词: acoustic;    ultrasound;    stability;    size;    size distribution;   

DOI  :  10.14356/kona.2006015

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Acoustic and Ultrasonic Methods for Particle Characterisation have manyadvantages. They are generally non-invasive, can be non-contact, are safe andoften are economic. However, it can be difficult to interpret data, and theexpertise and commercial equipment necessary may be in short supply andinappropriate to commercial requirements. Nevertheless the potential for thesetechniques is immense, particularly with regard to the newly emerging field ofnanotechnology. A less well-recognised but just as important requirement is theability to characterise systems on length scales between the molecular and themacroscopic. It is not so well known that acoustics can provide information overa huge range of length scales, from a few nanometres (ultrasound spectrometry)up to geological scales. Commonsense approaches to the understanding ofacoustics obscure the potential of the modality. Scattering theory underpins allthe theory of acoustic propagation, and adopting this initially theoreticalapproach indicates a world of new information. At one level particles andstructures may be sized, at another their molar compressibility obtained, atanother their shape determined. Acoustic methods are complementary to lightscattering techniques offering advantages where light scattering does not work?optically opaque systems, mixtures with small refractive index differences, forexample. So ultrasound spectrometry is uniquely well-suited to thecharacterisation of nanoparticle concentrates. In this article the theory ofultrasound propagation is outlined simply for a general audience, emphasisingthose aspects which provide the greatest potential for adoption of the modalityin the particle characterisation community and briefly describing the relevantcurrent commercial and laboratory equipment.

【 授权许可】

Unknown