(569b) Extrusion Simulation and Its Application to Process Scale-Up

The suitability of a one-dimensional computational extrusion simulation to acquire fundamental knowledge of the extrusion processes, continuously improve commercial extrusion processes, and develop transferability between production scales has been demonstrated. By using proper inputs, including material properties and process information, a mathematical model can be tuned to match simulation results with experimental data.  The correlation of the amount of a key impurity for a product vs. simulation outputs was established based on historical data. This correlation was then used to study the impact of material properties and process conditions on this quality attribute, suggesting that (1) the simulation and degradation model fit experimental data both qualitatively and quantitatively for changes in process conditions; (2) the simulation and degradation model fit experimental data both qualitatively and quantitatively for changes in material properties; (3) process conditions can be selected on the pilot scale extruder to emulate behavior on the commercial scale extruder; (4) These predictions can help to streamline experiments on both scales. The predictive model was successfully challenged at multiple degradant levels when different materials or new process conditions were used.  The simulation could also have application in multiple areas including but not limited to: (1) mapping process ranges by “Virtual Design Space” exercises, (2) screening of new materials for impact on degradation, (3) linking variability from raw materials to product quality, (4) scale-up and process optimization for new products, and (5) changes in screw design to optimize extrusion equipment.