(533c) Assessing Performance of a Rotary Tablet Press Feeder Using the Discrete Element Method

Rotary tablet presses are routinely used in the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of tablets. The selection of appropriate feeder operational parameters and geometric configuration are important to ensure tablet quality measures are attained. Specifically, the feeder must deliver enough powder to each die to ensure complete filling while, at the same time, avoid applying too much stress or shear to the powder that may induce attrition or cause extensive lubrication of the granulation or blend. Should the process fail to meet these criteria, tablet weights could be too small or too variable and the tablet strength and dissolution could be adversely impacted. In this work, the performance of a commercial-scale rotary tablet press feed frame is investigated using the discrete element method. A range of process parameters and feeder configurations are examined with key simulation results compared with experimental data. Feeder performance metrics including the die fill weight and powder residence time are reported and suggest optimal operating regimes.

All authors are employees of AbbVie and may own AbbVie stock. AbbVie sponsored and funded the study; contributed to the design; participated in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, and in writing, reviewing, and approval of the final publication.