Attrition

Attrition refers to the gradual wear and reduction of particle size due to mechanical forces like friction, impact, or shear. This phenomenon plays a critical role in industries such as pharmaceuticals, mining, and food processing, where particle integrity affects product quality and performance.

On this page, explore the causes, effects, and solutions for managing attrition, ensuring optimal material performance and process efficiency.

Featured Attrition articles

  • Dense-phase vs dilute-phase pneumatic conveying pipeline with bend and diverter valve in an industrial powder processing plant

    Dense-Phase vs Dilute-Phase Pneumatic Conveying: Matching Conveying Mode to Attrition and Segregation Risk

    Dense-phase and dilute-phase pneumatic conveying create different particle contact mechanics, and the resulting attrition and segregation risk depends on velocity, solids loading ratio, and the powder's own attrition sensitivity, not on a fixed assumption about which mode is gentler.

  • Technical cutaway of a rotary airlock showing particle attrition at the rotor tip and fine-particle leakage through the clearance.

    What Rotary Airlocks Actually Do to Powder

    Rotary airlocks function as pressure boundaries as much as metering devices. The rotor tip clearance governs particle attrition at the nip zone and the rate of fine-particle bypass under differential pressure. As clearance widens through wear, the downstream particle size distribution shifts in a pattern frequently misread as upstream process variation.

  • Pneumatic conveying attrition technical illustration showing how particles become chipped and generate fines after passing through bends in a pneumatic conveying line.

    Pneumatic Conveying Attrition: Transfer Quietly Changes Powder

    Pneumatic conveying attrition can change a powder even when the transfer looks successful. A line may run without blockage, and the material may still arrive with a broader PSD, more fines, and altered handling behavior. Therefore, if downstream dustiness, feeding, or blend performance shifts after transfer, the conveying line itself should be treated [...]

  • Selecting the right powder mixer

    Selecting the Right Powder Mixer for your blend

    There is no one-size-fits-all powder mixer—the right choice depends entirely on your powder’s flowability, sensitivity, particle size, and process needs. Whether you need gentle handling for fragile particles or intense shear for cohesive blends, matching the mixer to your material ensures better blend quality, efficiency, and product consistency. Selecting the wrong mixer can [...]

  • Powders and their diverse phenomena during processing

    Powder processing and their diverse phenomena

    The term "atom" originated in ancient Greece around 400 B.C., stemming from atomos, which means "indivisible" or "uncuttable." While the term persists, science now shows that atoms can split through fission reactions. Yet, atoms remain the foundational particles of matter, each uniquely defining an element on the periodic table. Atoms begin their journey [...]

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More Attrition Articles

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