LACTOSE TEXTURE MONITORING DURING COMPACTING .2. DETAILED TEXTURAL ANALYSIS IN PORE GROUPS

Study of the texture of lactose compacts under various confinement pre ssures (100, 300 and 600 bar) was carried out by pore group analysis. Awareness of the groups of large pores, the number of which is reduced in response to pressure to yield more, smaller pores which are theref ore increased in number and the change in the pore profile in terms of volume, diameter and length has made it possible to obtain a better u nderstanding of the mechanisms of densification and cohesion acquisiti on in terms of lactose type and compression parameters. The authors di stinguish between: -substances which resist rearrangement and acquire cohesion whilst maintaining a high degree of porosity, - substances wh ich increase in density by rearrangement and then fragmentation which is accompanied by a significant increase in cohesion, - substances the structure of which collapses, by fragmentation, multiplying contact p oints, but in which the energy cannot be converted to sufficient cohes ion.