Influence of temperature on the compaction of an organic powder and the mechanical strength of tablets

The purpose of this work consists in following the dependence of physical properties on the temperature during the compaction of an organic component. A special thermo-regulated die has been developed to realize uniaxial compression at different constant temperatures. This study has shown that a temperature change modifies the microstructures and the mechanical behaviour of the tablets. The measurement of the tablet porosity during the compression cycle allows us to conclude that temperature influences mainly the phenomena occurring during the isobaric stage of the compression cycle and not the ones during the pressure increase. On the other hand, during the pressure increase, the acoustical activity of the powder is reduced when temperature increases. The tensile strength of tablets realized at different temperatures was also studied and shows a maximum around 60 °C that can be explained by the SEM analysis of the microstructure of the tablets.