A new method for determining platy particle aspect ratio: A kaolinite case study

A technique based on the detection method of particle size is presented to calculate the aspect ratio of particles with known layered silicate minerals. The principle relies on the premise that objects placed in an electric field modify the current flow of that field. The accurate volume of the testing particle is obtained from the difference of the conductivity of the particles and that of the conductive liquid. Platy particles have a disc-like shape. Therefore, the thickness and diameter of the particle can be calculated from its volume. The aspect ratio of the platy particle is successfully obtained from the results. This study uses a spherical standard sample with a diameter of 10 μm and two different kaolinites that vary in the conductivity of two electrodes by the particles as they pass through the aperture tube. According to the thickness of the particle size and the diameter (width and length) of the disc the particle extracted from the raw data, and the standard particles of the particle-size analyzer (Coulter Multisizer 3), a new method of determining the aspect ratio of the disc-shaped particle is obtained.