The material tensile strength of convex-faced aspirin tablets

The material tensile strength of a range of convex-faced tablets, compacted under controlled conditions at pressures of 40 and 320 MPa from a size fraction of acetylsalicylic acid, has been assessed. The calculation of the tensile strength sigma 1, from observed fracture loads obtained in diametral compression testing, is based on the equation derived by Pitt et al (1988), namely: (formula; see text) where P is the fracture load, D is the tablet diameter, t is the overall tablet thickness and W is the central cylinder thickness. The strength of a tablet of a given shape compacted at 320 MPa was between two and four times greater than that of a similar tablet compacted at 40 MPa. For the thicker tablets (W/D greater than or equal to 0.2) the material tensile strength was practically independent of shape. For the thinner tablets (W/D = 0.1) the material tensile strength varied considerably with face-curvature, showing a maximum for each of the two compaction pressures at a D/R value of 0.67.