Investigation into the rheological characteristics of aerated Flyash powder

Although numerous studies have been conducted to obtain rheological behaviour of the aerated granular material, the rheology of fine powder materials (10 μm<d₅₀< 100 μm) remain poorly understood. To improve the understanding of aerated fine powder rheological behaviours, this research has focussed on experimentally determining rheological properties using a modified rotary viscometer. The modified device comprises a fluidisation vessel and a common rotary viscometer (based on circular Couette flow). Flyash powder was selected as testing material. Experimental results indicate that the aerated Flyash can be characterised as a Yield Power-law fluid or a Power-law fluid, depending on the aeration level. Consequently, this research provides a significant increase in the understanding of rheological behaviours within fine air-powder mixtures.