DEM analysis of the influence of stirrer design on die filling with forced powder feeding (Open Access)--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Zheng, C., Yost, E., Muliadi, A. R., Govender, N., Zhang, L., & Wu, C.-Y. (2024). DEM analysis of the influence of stirrer design on die filling with forced powder feeding. Particuology, 88, 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2023.08.018

DEM analysis of the influence of stirrer design on die filling with forced powder feeding (Open Access)

Chao Zheng ^a, Edward Yost ^b, Ariel R. Muliadi ^b, Nicolin Govender ^a, Ling Zhang ^a, Chuan-Yu Wu ^a *

a School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
b Small Molecule Pharmaceutics, Genentech, Inc., One DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA, 94080, USA

10.1016/j.partic.2023.08.018

Volume 88, May 2024, Pages 107-115

Received 2 May 2023, Revised 25 July 2023, Accepted 23 August 2023, Available online 14 September 2023, Version of Record 6 November 2023.

E-mail: c.y.wu@surrey.ac.uk

Highlights

• GPU-enhanced DEM method is applied to investigate the die filling process.

• Forced powder feeding is proposed to mimic the feeding action of a tablet press.

• Effect of stirrer design on the filling performance is systematically explored.

• The optimal stirrer design is identified for the current feeder configuration.

Abstract

Die filling is a critical stage during powder compaction, which can significantly affect the product quality and efficiency. In this paper, a forced feeder is introduced attempting to improve the filling performance of a lab-scale die filling system. The die filling process is analysed with a graphics processing units (GPU) enhanced discrete element method (DEM). Various stirrer designs are assessed for a wide range of process settings (i.e., stirrer speed, filling speed) to explore their influence on the die filling performance of free-flowing powder. Numerical results show that die filing with the novel helical-ribbon (i.e., type D) stirrer design exhibits the highest filling ratio, implying that it is the most robust stirrer design for the feeder configuration considered. Furthermore, die filling performance with the type D stirrer design is a function of the stirrer speed and the filling speed. A positive variation of filling ratio (η_f>0%) can be ensured over the whole range of filling speed by adjusting the stirrer speed (i.e., increasing the stirrer speed). The approach used in this study can not only help understand how the stirrer design affects the die filling performance but also guide the optimization of feeder system and process settings.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Discrete element method; Die filling; Forced feeding; Stirrer design; GPU computing

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