and salt were determined with the use of a Powder Flow Tester
(PFT) from Brookfield Engineering Laboratories Inc. which complies
with the test procedure ASTM D6128 using the annular and
Jenike shear tests techniques. The powder flow function is a plot
of the unconfined failure strength versus the major principal consolidation
stress. A vane lid was used in the measurement of the
flow function of the powders. The flow function tests were undertaken
using the 263 cc volume shear cell and running the standard
flow function test program. This program measures the flow properties
over the range of five major principal consolidation stresses
in a geometric progression that generates values of circa 0.6, 1.2,
2.5, 5.0 and 10 kPa. PFT was connected with a PC provided with
Powder Flow Pro V1.2 software. The flow functions of paprika,
oregano and salt are presented in Fig. 2 (the results represent the
average values of three independent measurements). The 3 powders
display different flow functions with salt being free flowing,
paprika being easy flowing and oregano being cohesive. The oregano
may be a little deceptive in the sense that its cohesiveness may
be due to mechanical interlocking under compaction due to its
large particle size and irregular leafy shape.