The Research into Determination of the Particle-Size Distribution of Granular Materials by Digital Image Analysis

The granular materials, in particular fragmented biomass and cereal grains, are widely used in the power industry, the food industry, and agriculture. These materials are subjected to various processing methods and automated transport processes, which encourages implementation of fast tools (methods) for evaluation of the basic physical properties of these materials. The particle-size distribution is one of the basic characteristics of granular materials. The classic measurement methods are very time-consuming. Digital Image Analysis (DIA) provides new possibilities for quick, real-time measurements. The paper presents the study of the possibility of using DIA to determine the particle-size distribution of granular materials. The results obtained with DIA showed correlations with the actual particle-size composition at the values ranging from 0.63 to 0.89 R-2.