This week’s photo highlights a dry crush strength test from the FEECO Innovation Center.
Crush strength tests measure the strength of a pellet, or how much pressure it takes to completely crush the pellet. The tests are performed on a single pellet, using metal plates to gradually apply pressure on the pellet until it breaks.
Achieving the appropriate dry crush strength is essential to ensure the pellets are durable enough to survive all handling points. From screening and packaging, to shipping and application, product breakage and dust must be kept to a minimum. Additionally, the dry crush strength is critical to product performance. A pellet crush strength that is too low will break up too easily, while a pellet crush strength that is too high will not break up enough, or will take too long to dissolve.
Measuring crush strength is important to agglomeration process and product development. Testing crush strength after the agglomeration process allows our engineers to confirm the requirements of the process at hand, and make adjustments as needed. Adjusting binder concentration or testing different binders can help meet the ideal dry crush strength.
To learn more about tests conducted in the FEECO Innovation Center, contact us today!