A bead mill and an associated bead-mill-based machine for testing mechanical fragility of red blood cells, employing a cartridge configured to contain a sample while cells get stressed via bead oscillation and, in the case of the fragility testing machine, also while lysis levels get detected, for presentation of fragility information.

A method for assessing the release performance of microcapsules comprising at least one volatile ingredient, the method comprising the steps of: a. applying a plurality of said microcapsules to an underlying surface; b. applying a kinetic frictional shear stress τ through a contact surface of a probe under a predefined load, a predefined contact surface area and a predefined shear rate to said plurality of microcapsules; and c. measuring the amount of the at least one volatile ingredient released per second from said microcapsules under said kinetic frictional shear stress τ.

Discloses is a pressure and hardness tester of a planar material, comprising a base, a stage, a test frame and a test device. The test piece is flatly extended and fixed on the stage. The test frame comprises a floor stand and a cross bar hinged by a rotating shaft. The floor stand and the stage are fixedly connected with the base. One end of the cross bar is provided with a balance weight and the other end of the cross bar is provided with a counterweight and a connecting part. The connecting part is used to connect the test device including a pressure test assembly or a hardness test assembly and make the test device right opposite to the stage. After the cross bar rotates about the rotating shaft, the test device contacts with the test piece for testing a pressure resistance or a hardness of the test piece.

The present invention relates to an in vitro system for automatic chewing of solid and semi-solid food intended to simulate the human chewing process of a food sample, comprising a lower toothed ring and an upper toothed ring; and further comprising a force lever consisting of an arm from which a lead weight hangs, which is moved along the arm via the traction exerted by an electric motor controlled by a microcontroller board, which is connected by a spindle to the upper toothed ring; and wherein the shearing action is provided by an electric motor controlled by a microprocessor board which is connected to the shaft of the upper toothed ring via a chain. A second objective of the invention comprises a method for automatic chewing with controlled force and a specific number of chewing cycles and shear angle.

Apparatus and methods of evaluating brittleness by measuring force applied to an electrode specimen by simulating a wound state of a jelly-roll type electrode assembly are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a brittleness evaluation apparatus includes a jig unit, a driving unit, and a measurement analyzing unit. The jig unit includes two jigs, a groove formed between the jigs, a pressing plate, and guides. The jigs facing each other and have top surfaces formed in a horizontal plane and configured to receive a specimen arranged on the top surfaces along a length direction extending between and along the top surfaces. The pressing plate is arranged perpendicular to the length direction and configured to cause the specimen to bend by descending into the groove. The guides are located on each of the top surfaces of the jigs and configured to prevent distortion of the specimen during descent of the pressing plate.

An apparatus for use in testing the bulk crush characteristics of pellet materials. The apparatus constructed such that opening and closing can be conducted without complex binding and unbinding requirements. The apparatus may be used in combination with a universal testing machine fitted with compression test plates and a load cell capable of measuring force in a vertical direction.

The invention discloses a method for evaluating the longitudinal deformation of proppant pack, mainly comprising the following steps: displace the proppant evenly on one steel sheet and cover the proppant with another same steel sheet; place pistons on the outer surface of two steel sheets respectively to form a test unit; place the test unit on fracture conductivity tester, compact the proppant pack at a pressure of 0.6 MPa, measure the width between the two steel sheets at the four corners of the steel sheet, and calculate the average results; install the left and right displacement meters, increase the closure pressure from 6.9 MPa to 69 MPa with an increment of 6.9 MPa/time by pressure control system, record the readings of the left and right displacement meters after the pressure is increased each time and the meter reading is stable, and work out the total deformation of the experimental equipment and the proppant; make a curve chart of the relationship between pack thickness and pressure, and characterize the proppant pack deformation with Young's modulus. The evaluation method disclosed in the present invention makes up the technical gap in the study of proppant pack deformation in the prior art.

A crushing system for large-size natural gas hydrate rock samples, which mainly includes a crushing and stirring control subsystem, crushing and stirring execution subsystem and hydrate preparation subsystem. Full automatic control to parameter acquisition and experimental process is achieved by utilizing modern automation technology, including the function of automatically crushing the large-size natural gas hydrate rock samples and also monitoring, collecting and storing the drilling pressure, the torque and the internal furnace pressure and temperature parameters during the crushing process in real time, to provide reliable guarantee for the follow-up researches on crushing mechanism, crushing efficiency, drilling parameter optimization, rock crushing ability evaluation of a crushing tool and the like of the large-size natural gas hydrate rock samples and necessary experimental verification means for optimization of on-site exploiting construction conditions of natural gas hydrate.

An apparatus and method for determining the hardness of a granular material, comprises a base plate member, a sample cup for holding the granular material, an upper plate member, a crusher assembly and a crusher hammer release mechanism. The base plate member includes an upper surface with a recess for holding the sample cup. The upper plate member is positioned above and separated from the base plate member utilizing at least one separator post. The crusher assembly includes a crusher shaft, a crusher weight, a crusher hammer and a linear roller bearing having a retaining ring configured to slidably engage the crusher shaft through a conduit with the crusher weight and the crusher hammer positioned above and below the upper plate member respectively. The crusher hammer release mechanism includes a pair of levers operably connected to a latch cable having a latch pin that runs through a compression spring.

Apparatus and methods of evaluating brittleness by measuring force applied to an electrode specimen by simulating a wound state of a jelly-roll type electrode assembly are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a brittleness evaluation apparatus includes a jig unit, a driving unit, and a measurement analyzing unit. The jig unit includes two jigs, a groove formed between the jigs, a pressing plate, and guides. The jigs facing each other and have top surfaces formed in a horizontal plane and configured to receive a specimen arranged on the top surfaces along a length direction extending between and along the top surfaces. The pressing plate is arranged perpendicular to the length direction and configured to cause the specimen to bend by descending into the groove. The guides are located on each of the top surfaces of the jigs and configured to prevent distortion of the specimen during descent of the pressing plate.