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Geometries for (a) straight diet and (b) tapered die with a tapering angle of 0.56°. Geometries shown are not to scale.

Geometries for (a) straight diet and (b) tapered die with a tapering angle of 0.56°. Geometries shown are not to scale.

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In an effort to identify the origin and the evolution of damage during the compaction/ejection cycle of powder compacts, an experimental study that compares compacts in straight and tapered dies in terms of the presence and growth of microcracks was carried out using x-ray tomography and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The results prese...

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... compacts were produced using standard flat tooling and experimental data were obtained from compaction experiments using an Instron Universal testing machine 5800R IUTM (Norwood, MA). Die compaction experiments were performed using a standard straight die with a nominal diameter of 9.525 mm ( Fig. 2(a)), and a Natoli (Saint Charles, MO) single-ended tapered die with a nominal diameter and a tapering angle of 10 mm and 0.56° respectively ( Fig. 2(b)). The tapered die, due to its geometry, is expected to allow for radial expansion of the compact within the tapered region of the die. In this manner, the stresses in the vicinity of the ...
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... experiments using an Instron Universal testing machine 5800R IUTM (Norwood, MA). Die compaction experiments were performed using a standard straight die with a nominal diameter of 9.525 mm ( Fig. 2(a)), and a Natoli (Saint Charles, MO) single-ended tapered die with a nominal diameter and a tapering angle of 10 mm and 0.56° respectively ( Fig. 2(b)). The tapered die, due to its geometry, is expected to allow for radial expansion of the compact within the tapered region of the die. In this manner, the stresses in the vicinity of the die exit are ...
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... coefficient of friction were identified for microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH102) using a series of experiments based on the procedure explained in [42]. The geometries of the powder and punches were modeled after flat-faced cylindrical shaped compacts. The geometries of the straight and tapered die walls used in FEM simulation are shown in Fig. 2. Axisymmetric conditions effectively reduce the problem to 2-D. Fig. 5 shows a typical discretized geometry used in the compaction simulation at the beginning and end of compaction for the straight die compaction ...
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... focus our attention on the mechanical stresses in the compact when the compact is partially ejected to a specified distance past the die exit. For the tapered die, the die exit is defined as the point at which the die taper meets the die bore (point 2 in Fig. 20(b)) and is referred to as the start of taper. For the straight compact, the exit is considered to be the point at which the die bore meets the exit chamfer (point 1 in Fig. 20(a)). Fig. 20 shows the distribution of stresses in the y direction with an emphasis on tensile stresses for compacts partially ejected approximately 0.6 mm past the ...
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... partially ejected to a specified distance past the die exit. For the tapered die, the die exit is defined as the point at which the die taper meets the die bore (point 2 in Fig. 20(b)) and is referred to as the start of taper. For the straight compact, the exit is considered to be the point at which the die bore meets the exit chamfer (point 1 in Fig. 20(a)). Fig. 20 shows the distribution of stresses in the y direction with an emphasis on tensile stresses for compacts partially ejected approximately 0.6 mm past the die exit and start of taper for the straight and tapered compact respectively. It is important to note that the partial ejection distance of 0.6 mm was simply chosen for ...
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... to a specified distance past the die exit. For the tapered die, the die exit is defined as the point at which the die taper meets the die bore (point 2 in Fig. 20(b)) and is referred to as the start of taper. For the straight compact, the exit is considered to be the point at which the die bore meets the exit chamfer (point 1 in Fig. 20(a)). Fig. 20 shows the distribution of stresses in the y direction with an emphasis on tensile stresses for compacts partially ejected approximately 0.6 mm past the die exit and start of taper for the straight and tapered compact respectively. It is important to note that the partial ejection distance of 0.6 mm was simply chosen for comparison ...
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... comparison purposes only. Any other partial ejection distance produces a similar comparison of the results. A distinct difference between straight and tapered die compacts is observed close to the radial surface of the compacts. The simulation shows the presence of high intensity tensile stresses after the exit of the compact in the straight die (Fig. 20(a)); whereas the tensile stresses in the tapered compact occur at a location beyond the start of taper and are reduced (Fig. 20(b)). Fig. 20(c) shows that within the straight die there is an intense increase of the compressive stress close to the surface of the die, while immediately after the exit from the die there is a reversal of the ...
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... between straight and tapered die compacts is observed close to the radial surface of the compacts. The simulation shows the presence of high intensity tensile stresses after the exit of the compact in the straight die (Fig. 20(a)); whereas the tensile stresses in the tapered compact occur at a location beyond the start of taper and are reduced (Fig. 20(b)). Fig. 20(c) shows that within the straight die there is an intense increase of the compressive stress close to the surface of the die, while immediately after the exit from the die there is a reversal of the sign of the stress, becoming tensile. The tapered die compact shows a noticeable transition from the compressive regime to ...
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... and tapered die compacts is observed close to the radial surface of the compacts. The simulation shows the presence of high intensity tensile stresses after the exit of the compact in the straight die (Fig. 20(a)); whereas the tensile stresses in the tapered compact occur at a location beyond the start of taper and are reduced (Fig. 20(b)). Fig. 20(c) shows that within the straight die there is an intense increase of the compressive stress close to the surface of the die, while immediately after the exit from the die there is a reversal of the sign of the stress, becoming tensile. The tapered die compact shows a noticeable transition from the compressive regime to tensile regime ...
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... die wall past the start of the taper. Fig. 21 shows the distribution of shear stresses for compacts ejected to the same locations shown in Fig. 20(a & b). A marked difference is observed in the local shear stress close to the edge of the compacts for the two compaction types. For the straight die simulation, there is an excessive intensity in the shear stresses observed towards the radial edge of the compact (Fig. 21(a)), which is virtually non-existent in the tapered compact (Fig. ...
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... only a more gradual change in shear stresses for the tapered die around the start of the taper, where this figure shows the shear stress distribution along the radial edge of the two compaction types. It is instructive to focus on the details of the stress field around the exit point of the straight die. Before the exit from the die (point A in Fig. 22), the stress state in the material is highly compressive in the radial direction within a very narrow area from the surface. This point is surrounded by two highly shearing areas (B and C in Fig. 22). The area of the surface of the material just outside the die (marked D in Fig. 22) is under uniaxial tensile stress. Most importantly, ...
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... It is instructive to focus on the details of the stress field around the exit point of the straight die. Before the exit from the die (point A in Fig. 22), the stress state in the material is highly compressive in the radial direction within a very narrow area from the surface. This point is surrounded by two highly shearing areas (B and C in Fig. 22). The area of the surface of the material just outside the die (marked D in Fig. 22) is under uniaxial tensile stress. Most importantly, the area of the surface immediately beyond the die exit (marked E in Fig. 22) is under a state of intense shear. It is important to note that a point just below this point of intense shear, the state ...
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... of the straight die. Before the exit from the die (point A in Fig. 22), the stress state in the material is highly compressive in the radial direction within a very narrow area from the surface. This point is surrounded by two highly shearing areas (B and C in Fig. 22). The area of the surface of the material just outside the die (marked D in Fig. 22) is under uniaxial tensile stress. Most importantly, the area of the surface immediately beyond the die exit (marked E in Fig. 22) is under a state of intense shear. It is important to note that a point just below this point of intense shear, the state of stress is similar with a change of sign in the shear direction. As the material ...
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... in the radial direction within a very narrow area from the surface. This point is surrounded by two highly shearing areas (B and C in Fig. 22). The area of the surface of the material just outside the die (marked D in Fig. 22) is under uniaxial tensile stress. Most importantly, the area of the surface immediately beyond the die exit (marked E in Fig. 22) is under a state of intense shear. It is important to note that a point just below this point of intense shear, the state of stress is similar with a change of sign in the shear direction. As the material attempts to expand elastically, it is constrained by the part of the compact that is still inside the die. The stresses at points D ...
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... the material attempts to expand elastically, it is constrained by the part of the compact that is still inside the die. The stresses at points D and E are imposing a mixed mode I and II loading mode on the surface of the compact and tends to open the cracks that formed during unloading. It is important to note that the level of stresses shown in Fig. 22 is exaggerated from the fact that the DCP model used in the FEM simulation does not include the relaxation of the radial stresses due to microcracking that is experimentally observed (see Fig. 7). Nevertheless, the qualitative features of the prediction are still valid. It is also important to note that qualitative features in Fig. 22 ...
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... shown in Fig. 22 is exaggerated from the fact that the DCP model used in the FEM simulation does not include the relaxation of the radial stresses due to microcracking that is experimentally observed (see Fig. 7). Nevertheless, the qualitative features of the prediction are still valid. It is also important to note that qualitative features in Fig. 22 also hold for the tapered die that is ejected to a location partly beyond the start of the taper with the exception of shear stresses, which are significantly ...
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... stress occurs as a result of the changing stress state from the highly triaxial compression at the end of compaction to the biaxial stressing (radial pressing) at the end of unloading. During this transition, the radial stress is continuously decreasing as shown in the radial versus axial stress curve during compaction and unloading shown in Fig. 23(a). The high triaxiality of the stress field during compaction closes the pores and does not create any damage in the microstructure. During unloading, when the axial stress becomes sufficiently low, the formation of the cracks commences. It is suspected that the initiation of the microcracking is demarcated by the deviation from ...
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... does not create any damage in the microstructure. During unloading, when the axial stress becomes sufficiently low, the formation of the cracks commences. It is suspected that the initiation of the microcracking is demarcated by the deviation from linearity in the radial versus axial stress diagram and the axial stress versus relative density in Fig. 23(b). During the initial stage of unloading the compact behaves as a linear elastic material, but the initiation of the microcracks relieves the radial wall stress near the last half of unloading. This is consistent with the significant deviation between FEM predicted and experimentally measured values of radial wall stresses shown in Fig. ...
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... nonlinearity observed in both the radial versus axial stress and axial stress versus relative density graphs in Fig. 23 provides an indication of the extent of cracking during unloading. The deviation from linearity (highlighted area in Fig. 23(b)) indicates to some extent the amount of work that is spent to create the cracks. Although a detailed analysis of the phenomenon is lacking, the generation of microcracking during unloading depends on the ...
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... nonlinearity observed in both the radial versus axial stress and axial stress versus relative density graphs in Fig. 23 provides an indication of the extent of cracking during unloading. The deviation from linearity (highlighted area in Fig. 23(b)) indicates to some extent the amount of work that is spent to create the cracks. Although a detailed analysis of the phenomenon is lacking, the generation of microcracking during unloading depends on the maximum radial wall stress, the elastic properties that determine the stress history during unloading and the fracture toughness of ...
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... provides insight regarding the local conditions that cause it. As discussed previously, surface microcracks generated during unloading grow at the exit from the die due to shear stresses in a mode II or due to tensile stresses along the surface of the compact due to the elastic expansion of the compact upon exiting the die points (D & E in Fig. 22). The utilization of a tapered die significantly reduces the detrimental effect of the exit of the die by minimizing the level of shear and tensile stresses in the tapered region. Therefore optimization of the die exit can be beneficial for the mechanical properties of the compacts post ejection. An indirect indication of this ...
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... interaction of the die exit with the material can lead to even larger cracks and possibly full lamination. Therefore, the use of a tapered die, which essentially minimizes the interaction of the die edge with the expanding compact, can help to minimize damage and possibly prevent capping and lamination failures. An example of this can be seen in Fig. 24, which shows the x-ray projections of sodium chloride compacts in straight and tapered dies (Fig. 24(a) and (b) respectively). Ideally, the selection of the tapering angle in the tapered dies would be such that it matches a significant percent of the expansion of the compact from the die size. For materials with even lower fracture ...
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... Therefore, the use of a tapered die, which essentially minimizes the interaction of the die edge with the expanding compact, can help to minimize damage and possibly prevent capping and lamination failures. An example of this can be seen in Fig. 24, which shows the x-ray projections of sodium chloride compacts in straight and tapered dies (Fig. 24(a) and (b) respectively). Ideally, the selection of the tapering angle in the tapered dies would be such that it matches a significant percent of the expansion of the compact from the die size. For materials with even lower fracture toughness, it is possible that the unloading process can lead not just to diffuse microcracking as seen ...

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... Depending the kind of failure, these phenomena are called capping or lamination [1]. There is a large literature on this subject, and the mechanisms that promote the failure 15 have been proposed [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Nevertheless, these phenomena are still complicated to predict. ...
Article
Pharmaceutical tablets must meet a number of requirements and among them, the mechanical strength plays an important role. The diametral compression test is generally used to evaluate it but can generate unstable failures. Thanks to load-unload cycles applied to the tablets subjected to a DCT test, it was shown that the concept of equivalent linear elastic fracture mechanics usually, can be successfully applied to the Mode I fracture behavior. Within this framework, the equivalent elastic crack growth resistance, commonly called resistance curve (R-curve), of the studied material was obtained and revealed the development of a Fracture Process Zone (FPZ) which is symptomatic of a quasi-brittle behavior. Moreover, the cyclic loading applied during the fracture test revealed the existence of a second dissipative mechanism leading to residual crack opening which seems to be mainly caused by friction phenomenon in the FPZ.