Uniformity Differentiation Analysis. Part 1: Powder Deposition Characteristics in Rectangular Shallow Die Using Feed Shoe with Circular Cross Section

Abstract

The process of die filling is a significant unit operation in many industries. Inhomogeneity of distribution such as in mass, bulk density, and pressure might cause many tablet and compact quality issues, such as lamination, capping, and distortion. No systematic investigations have been done to evaluate pressure distribution characteristics in dies with small aspect ratios (ratio of fill height to characteristic cross section dimension <0.5). In order to evaluate pressure distribution during filling of shallow dies, a circular cross section feed shoe was used at two speeds. The deposition characteristics of two powders with differing particle characteristics were studied in this research. The second-generation pressure deposition tester (PDT-II) was used to measure the two powders' pressure distribution characteristics. A battery powder mixture (BPM) and microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH102) were used to fill a rectangular shallow die 32 × 30 mm in dimension and 6.5 mm deep. Feed shoe speeds of 20 and 100 mm/s were used to fill the die. Symmetry analysis, variance metrics, Gini coefficient, and uniformity analysis were used to quantify the deposition characteristics. The results showed that (1) the contour plot was the most reliable method for measuring powder deposition characteristics; (2) the leeward and forward pressure distrbution comparisons generated a larger symmetry index than the front and back pressure distribution; (3) based on contour plot analysis, BPM at 100 mm/s feed shoe speed resulted in the most uniform pressure distribution (64% uniformity at +/−20 dm (decimeter) resolution) among all; (4) feed shoe speed greatly influenced pressure distribution uniformity inside the die; and (5) the high stress zone was mostly observed in forward and back regions inside the die.