Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Flowability is the ability of a powder to flow freely under gravity or during mechanical handling.
This property is critical for processes such as packaging, conveying, silo discharge, and reconstitution.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us analyze the powder attributes listed in the options:
- Dispersibility and Sinkability: These are reconstitutability properties that describe how easily a powder wetted with water disperses and sinks into the liquid phase.
- Hunter ratio (or Carr index Hausner ratio): These indices relate bulk and tapped densities to powder compressibility, which indirectly correlates with flow.
- Angle of repose: This is a direct, classical measurement of powder flowability.
- It is determined by pouring the powder onto a flat horizontal surface and measuring the angle of the resulting conical pile relative to the horizontal base.
- A lower angle of repose (\(<\) 30\(^\circ\)) indicates a highly free-flowing powder, while a higher angle (\(>\) 45\(^\circ\)) indicates a highly cohesive, poorly flowing powder.
Therefore, the angle of repose is the attribute used to represent the flowability of milk powder.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The flowability of milk powder is represented by the angle of repose. Hence, the correct option is (C).