Abstract Authors:
| Sean Garner AbbVie R&D Principal Research Scientist | Bill Ketterhagen AbbVie R&D Principal Research Engineer |
| John Strong AbbVie R&D Senior Principal Research Scientist | Stewart Silling Sandia National Labs Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff |
In the advancement of drug product development, formulation design has evolved from more of a trial-and-error based approach to a science and physics-based approach that considers the chemical properties, the material science related properties, and mechanical properties of the powder blend. The ability to predict the manufacturability and performance of a given powder formulation greatly accelerates the development of formulation drug products. The anticipation and possible mitigation of tablet damage represents a specific area of interest in predicting formulation and tableting performance. As a result, practitioners of pharmaceutical science have turned to advanced modeling techniques. One such advanced modeling technique is the finite element-based continuum mechanics modeling approach that has been extensively used for predicting the mechanical behavior of powder material in the compaction processes. In this work, we seek to improve upon current modeling methodologies by developing a novel approach that utilizes the use of the Peridynamics, a numerical method with the ability to capture discontinuities, such as damage, in a new continuum mechanics approach. By utilizing the combination of the finite element method (FEM) and Peridynamics (PD) we aim to predict the evolution of damage and occurrences of failures in pharmaceutical tablets by linking (1) the finite element method – to elucidate the behavior of powders during compaction – with (2) the peridynamic modeling technique – to model the discontinuous nature of damage and predict compact breakage during the critical unloading/ejection stages. This work can be used to identify approaches to proactively modify material properties through formulation decisions and adjust processing conditions and/or tooling geometries to optimize compaction process efficiency and reduce compact breakage.