On the Measurement of Particle Contact Curvature and Young’s Modulus Using X-ray μCT

Contact curvature plays a pivotal role in the Young’s modulus determination and mechanical response of a particle. This paper presents the sensitivity analysis of a particle morphology to contact curvature and its influence on the Young’s modulus determination during the elastic deformation of a particle. X-ray computed micro-tomography (μCT) was conducted to obtain the prototype of a single particle. The digital information of the scanned particle, including 2D slices and 3D rendering was processed and the variation of contact curvature of the particle was examined using the circular (spherical at 3D) and polynomial fitting methods. The fitting sections of the particle are taken into account. The effect of contact curvature on Young’s modulus determination was investigated and it was found that Young’s modulus changed substantially from global fitting to local fitting. Young’s modulus is highly related to the surface roundness, which exerts a significant influence on the determination of Young’s modulus.