The pressure transmitting characteristics of dispersed systems of air-cured tobacco powder (Matsukawa) and water was examined by measuring the pressure distribution throughout the sample consolidated in a cylinder under various loading pressures. The rate of pressure transmitted from the axial direction of the cylinder to the radial direction increased with increasing static pressure of loading, hence with increasing degree of consolidation, and it reached a limiting value lower than unity, indicating that the system remained pseudoplastic. The limiting rate increased with increasing content of water, e.g. 0.89 for a 36.2%-water system and 0.93 for a 72.4%-water.
The flow behavior of the system was also studied with a ram-type extruder. The apparent viscosity η_a decreased with increasing rate of shear and with decreasing concentration of the tobacco powder. The effect was of comparable degree with that previously obtained for a dispersed system of flue-cured tobacco powder (Bright Yellow) and water (this Journal, 5, 8 (1977)). However, η_a of the present system was larger by about 8 times than that of the Bright Yellow system if comparison was made at the same condition of water content and shear rate.