Voidage of ferrous sinter beds: new measurement technique and dependence on feed characteristics

Roller compaction: Infrared thermography as a PAT for monitoring powder flow from feeding to compaction zone

Roller compaction is a continuous dry granulation process, in which powder is compressed by two counter-rotating rollers. During this process, the powder feeding to the compaction zone has a significant effect on product quality. This work investigates the flow of powder from the feeding zone to the compaction zone using online infrared thermography as Process Analytical Technology (PAT) which is achieved via a specially built cheek plate (side-sealing). The powder undergoes increasing stress from the rollers when it is approaching the minimum gap of the compaction zone, which can be indirectly monitored by measuring the powder temperature. The online monitoring of the powder flow during the roller compaction helps locate the nip region and identify the effect of different roller forces on the temperature of the feeding powder. The results show that the nip region can be identified by analysing the temperature profiles from the feeding to the compaction zone. The increase of roller force results in an increasing slope of the powder temperature profile. In addition, offline X-ray CT measurement results show the increase of density along the feeding to the compaction direction, which is compared with Johanson theory under different roller forces in the roller compaction process.

Improving feeding powder distribution to the compaction zone in the roller compaction

In the roller compaction process, powder flow properties have a significant influence on the uniformity of the ribbon properties. The objective of this work was to improve the powder flow in the feeding zone by developing novel feeding guiders which are located in the feeding zone close to the rollers in the roller compactor (side sealing system). Three novel feeding guiders were designed by 3D printing and used in the roller compactor, aiming to control the amount of powder passing across the roller width. The new feeding guiders were used to guide more powder to the sides between the rollers and less powder to the centre comparing to the original feeding elements. Temperature profile and porosity across the ribbon width indicated the uniformity of the ribbon properties. Using the novel feeding guiders resulted in producing ribbons with uniform temperature profile and porosity distribution across the ribbon width. The design of the feeding guiders contributed to improving the tensile strength of the ribbons produced from the compaction stage as well as reducing the fines produced from the crushing stage.

Examining drug hydrophobicity in continuous wet granulation within a twin screw extruder

The influence of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) hydrophobicity on continuous wet granulation was studied in twin screw granulation utilizing foamed binder delivery. The APIs examined were caffeine, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and griseofulvin and the drug load was maintained constant at 15 wt%. In order to understand the impact of these APIs on the granulation process, API and binder distribution, particle size, porosity, and fracture strength were analyzed on samples collected along the screw length. It was found that the API and binder distributions were uniform along the screws regardless of the hydrophobicity of the formulation, in contrast to literature results with liquid injection. The absence of de-mixing of the hydrophobic ingredient was hypothesized to be a result of the high spread-to-soak ratio of a foamed binder that 'cages' those particles within the mass of local hydrophilic solids.

Quantification of the Relationship between Porosity and Interparticle Forces for the Packing of Wet Uniform Spheres

This paper presents an attempt to quantify the relationship between porosity and interparticle forces. In particular, it concerns the packing of wet mono-sized spheres where capillary force is dominant. The interrelationships between capillary force, porosity, and liquid content are first analyzed based on well-established theories and experimental observations. The resultant data are then used to correlate porosity with the force ratio defined as the average capillary force to the gravity of a particle. Application of this correlation is finally demonstrated by examples of porosity prediction. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.