(267c) Predicting the Behavior of Different Tablet Press Feed Frame Systems Using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) Modeling

Tablets are the most common dosage form for pharmaceutical products. For bulk tablet manufacturing, rotary tablet presses are commonly used to compress powder blends containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). However, prior to the compression step the powder blend must be fed from a hopper to a feed-frame system before it reaches the die table of the tablet press. Consideration is required when transferring a compression process, such as encountered when moving to a different press of the same scale or during scale-up. Tablet presses vary in their feed-frame design which can result in different powder flow dynamics affecting the final drug product. In order to efficiently transfer the process from one equipment to another it is important to understand performance differences in the behavior of different tablet press feed frame systems. In this study, the discrete element method (DEM) is used to study the differences in powder flow dynamics across different rotary tablet presses. The effect of paddle speed, die table speed, particle and wall properties on the resulting powder flow behavior, feed-frame residence time, and tablet weight variability are investigated.