A new perspective on the mechanical evaluation of granular material

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Pharmaceutical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Granule mechanical strength is critical for formulation processing, impacting material processability.
• Poor granule integrity can lead to issues such as segregation, content uniformity problems, and poor flowability.
• Existing methods like Heckel analysis, Kawakita analysis, and Young's modulus have limitations in characterizing bulk granule integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a systematic methodology for quantifying granule integrity under acoustic fields.
• To introduce a novel Granule Integrity (GI) index as a practical measure for bulk samples.
• To compare the GI index with established bulk characterization techniques.

Main Methods:

• Development of a systematic methodology to quantify granule integrity using a low-frequency acoustic field.
• Application of the developed methodology to four different processed samples.
• Comparative analysis of the Granule Integrity (GI) index against Heckel analysis, Kawakita analysis, and Young's modulus.

Main Results:

• The Granule Integrity (GI) index was successfully developed to quantify granule integrity.
• The GI index provides a practical and direct method for characterizing bulk samples in industrial settings.
• The combination of the GI index and Kawakita analysis offers enhanced mechanistic insight into granule formation.

Conclusions:

• The Granule Integrity (GI) index is a valuable and practical tool for assessing granule mechanical strength.
• This acoustic-based methodology offers advantages over traditional methods for characterizing bulk granule properties.
• The GI index aids in predicting and mitigating formulation processing issues related to granule integrity.