A new method for determining the aspect ratio of kaolinite by image-resistance combination

• We present a new method to determine the aspect ratio of particles kaolinite.
• The thickness and diameter of the particle can be calculated from the raw data.
• The method is simple and adequately accurate when compared with image analysis method.
• This method combines the advantage of image method and the resistance method.

Aspect ratio tests of lamellar minerals are keys to industrial research on powder materials. However, no standard aspect ratio test of lamellar minerals such as kaolinite, whose thickness varies from several nanometers to more than one hundred nanometers, has been developed yet. In this work, the principle of resistance method was used to obtain the mean equivalent diameter of kaolinite (dc) according to its relationship to pulse height and subsequently calculate the volume of kaolinite. Scanning electron microscopy images of kaolinite were obtained to determine the mean diameter of lamellar kaolinite particle undersurface (d  ). The formula of aspect ratio, Aspect ratio (AR)=32(ddc)3, was then deduced by viewing hexagonal lamellar kaolinite similar to a round cake. Combination of the individual advantages of resistance and imaging methods enabled the simplification of aspect ratio test of lamellar materials such as kaolinite for practical applications.

The theory of resistance-image methodFigure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide