Browsing by Author "Roberts, M"

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    Quantifying morphology of nickel crystals.
    (The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2001) Lewis, A; Roberts, M
    Particle morphology is a term that is used to describe the overall external shape and appearance of particulate solids. From the physical point of view, a precipitated solid is characterized primarily by the size and morphology of the particles (Sohnel and Garside, 1992). If the morphology of the crystal structures is to be related to the processing conditions, then the morphologies need to be quantified in some way. This can be achieved by using surface area measurements as well as fractal dimensions. The key idea is that rugged and indeterminate systems can be described by using a fractional number that describes the ruggedness of the system (Kaye, 1989). In other words, when the complexity of a structure, such as an agglomerate, increases with increasing magnification, it is useful to employ fractal dimensions to describe the structure. Fractal geometry proposes that, instead of attempting to measure the length of an irregular boundary, the rate at which the length of the boundary approaches infinity with increasing resolution should be calculated. Cross-sectional profiles of rugged particles can thus be quantified using the fractal dimension, and a measurement of the ruggedness of the morphology obtained. One of the additional uses of measuring the fractal dimension is that the measured value can be related to the physical properties and formation characteristics of the particle (Kaye and Trottier, 1995).The morphology of nickel crystals was quantified with fractal dimension calculations of particle cross-sections. Particle crosssections were obtained by mounting the particles in resin and polishing back. These were then photographed using Scanning Electron Microscopy and the resulting profiles analysed using the structured walk technique.
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    Three phase mixing studies for nickel precipitation
    (Elsevier, 2003) Roberts, M; Lewis, A E
    Hydrodynamics, temperature, pH and various other physico-chemical factors influence the morphology of nickel produced via hydrogen reduction. The focus of the current work is the effect on hydrodynamics of changing the impeller and reactor configurations in a 75 l stirred vessel with draft tube and baffles. The aim was to determine which configuration resulted in maximum particle suspension and local gas hold-up while using the minimum impeller speed and power consumption. A response surface methodology of experimental design was employed. This ensured that the number of candidate variables to be tested was reduced to a minimum and that interactive effects between variables were taken into account. The impeller configurations tested were a single Rushton turbine, a single axial flow impeller, and a double impeller system consisting of a combination of the two. The reactor configurations, tested at different gas flow rates, were varied to test the effects with and without baffles. It was found that optimum mixing could be achieved using a baffled vessel with an upper axial flow impeller and a lower Rushton turbine, and by keeping a minimum impeller clearance from the vessel bottom. This is in agreement with [Mineral Processing, 1–2 August 2002].
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    Using fractal structure to describe nickel crystal morphology
    (Springer Verlag, 2003) Lewis, A E; Roberts, M
    The morphology of nickel crystals can be quantified using measurements of fractal structure. In the study described in this article, fractal dimensions of cross sections of 16 nickel samples were determined, and the numerical analysis indicates that the more rugged surfaces are characterized by higher fractal dimensions although the relationship between morphology and fractal dimension is relatively weak. However, the data also show that fractal dimension is a better predictor of morphology than apparent density, which is the measurement currently used. The nickel samples were also subjected to an avalanching disc technique that has the potential to separate out the differences in flow in the different types of nickel powder. The differences in flow between powders were ascribed to the similar gross morphologies of the particles, and the presence of shattered individual particles in the mix.