Powder size measurement by acoustic emission

Acoustic emission was used to measure particle size properties of steel, cast iron, and alumina powders. Many powder samples with different weight and size distribution were prepared by sieving and their size distribution was measured by means of optical techniques. Acoustic emission measurements were carried out by dropping the powder on a metal plate to which an acoustic emission transducer was fixed, and results were expressed in terms of number of counts of four channels for data acquisition. The measurement set-up and procedure were original and never investigated before. Very good results were obtained for steel and cast iron samples, as measurement curves showed a clear linear trend as a function of the particle mean diameter and were vertically shifted in dependence of the sample weight. Alumina powders showed similar trends only for large particles and high weight differences.