Detection of conditions leading to breakage of pharmaceutical tablets in pneumatic transport

A detection method was developed for particle breakage in a pneumatic transport line. Parameter that influence particle breakage and chipping in pneumatic conveying include air velocity, solids loading ratio, bend configuration and particle properties. A boundary map was also developed to determine the operating conditions. External microphones were selected as the non-invasive sensors and their signals were analyzed. Kurtosis is used to describe the distribution and is a measure of the relative peakedness of the distribution.