Water Displacement and Bulk Density- Relation Methods of Finding Density of Powdered Materials

Abstract: Determination of true density of particulate substances is very essential particularly during formulation of

particulate composite materials. Production of particulate composite materials requires knowledge of the true densities of the individual constituents’ substances as this is essential in material selection especially if composite material of light-weight is so desired. Water displacement method of finding density of insoluble substances is very cumbersome and liable to error hence a bulk density-relation technique was devised to determine true densities of insoluble particulate substances. A case study of Kankara clay using the bulk density-relation (with known densities of calcium carbonate and PVC) was used to determine its true density. Comparison of the methods shows that bulk densityrelation gives a better result with higher degree of accuracy. The results found the density of Kankara clay to be approximately 1.8g/cm3 obtained using the bulk density-relation. Weight density relation was also determined to enable production of composite according to mass mixture proportion.

B. Dan-asabe, S. A Yaro, D. S Yawas, S. Y Aku
(International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology
[An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization] vol. 2, Issue 9, p. 5561-5566, September 2013)