Formulation development computer-assisted

Computer-Assisted Correlation Analysis in the Development of Pesticide Formulations... 

The objective of this report is to discuss with the help of an illustrative example, the applicability of computer-assisted methods to the development of pesticide formulations. The example describes the process of planning and conducting a study to obtain an empirical equation which correlates the suspensibility of a wettable powder with its composition. 

While correlation analysis is clearly a powerful technique for studying formulations, the limitations of this and other computer-assisted methods should be recognized. There are many situations where computer methods do not offer any particular benefits, and existing methods are quite adequate. Also, some aspects of formulations development will continue to be more art than science. However, there seems to be little doubt that many of the major advances in the technology of pesticide formulations will be associated with the judicious use of computer-assisted methods. 

Nonequilibrium, or film, methods provide physically realistic formulations of the problem that yield more accurate local coefficients at the expense of complexity. Colburn and Hougen [77] developed a trial-and-error solution procedure for condensation of a single vapor mixed with a noncondensable gas. Colburn and Drew [203] extended the method to include condensation of binary vapor mixtures (with no noncondensables). Price and Bell [204] showed how to use the Colburn and Drew [203] method in computer-assisted design. 

For example, there are numerous military and defense-related systems, including administrative systems which assist in formulation of acquisition strategies and the development of relevant documents, battle strategy systems, and hardware maintenance advisors. Other successful administrative applications include a system used by the IRS for selection of audit candidate tax returns, and a credit evaluation system used by American Express. Successful systems in engineering areas include the XCON system which assists in configuration design of DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) computer... 

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