Roller compaction : improving the homogeneity of ribbon properties along the roller width

A new roller with a novel surface geometry was designed and used in this study in order to improve the uniformity of the stress distribution along the roller width. This was aimed to produce homogenous properties across ribbon width. The porosity distribution resulting from the applied stress, was correlated to the temperature distribution across the ribbon width using an online thermal camera. Using the new curved roller resulted in a significant improvement in the uniformity of the temperature across ribbon width. This is resulted in significant reduction in the fines percentage in the product and produced wider ribbon. The new curved roller was also produced better ribbon quality by decreasing the difference in the porosity between the centre and the side of the ribbon. Overall, the curved roller resulted in more homogenous properties across ribbon width in comparison to the standard flat roller.