Abstract Twin screw granulation is becoming increasingly relevant due to its compact size, continuous and robust mode of operation, customizable design, and flexible production capacity. This work describes the experimental study undertaken to understand the dependence of granule properties on the screw element design in a twin screw granulator. A CAD geometry analysis of the free volume in the granulator revealed that there is a direct quantitative correlation between the screw geometry and the maximum size and aspect ratio of the granules obtained using conveying elements. Conveying element geometries with different pitch lengths were 3D printed to generate cost-effective prototypes of the designs. Wet granulation experiments were performed using the 3D printed designs to test the hypothesis that the correlation between the granule shape and maximum granule size and the screw element geometry is predictable a priori. The feasibility of 3D printing method for fabricating new screw element designs is examined. Quality-by-Design strategies and scale-up criteria for twin screw granulation are discussed.

中文翻译：

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在双螺杆造粒中使用 3D 打印螺杆几何形状定制颗粒特性

摘要 双螺杆造粒因其紧凑的尺寸、连续和稳健的操作模式、可定制的设计和灵活的生产能力而变得越来越重要。这项工作描述了为了解颗粒特性对双螺杆造粒机中螺杆元件设计的依赖性而进行的实验研究。对造粒机中自由体积的 CAD 几何分析表明，螺杆几何形状与使用传送元件获得的颗粒的最大尺寸和纵横比之间存在直接的定量相关性。3D 打印具有不同节距长度的输送元件几何形状，以生成具有成本效益的设计原型。使用 3D 打印设计进行湿法制粒实验，以检验颗粒形状和最大颗粒尺寸与螺杆元件几何形状之间的相关性是可先验预测的假设。研究了 3D 打印方法用于制造新的螺杆元件设计的可行性。讨论了双螺杆造粒的质量设计策略和放大标准。