Analysis and Optimization of Viscosity of Concentrated Polyurethane Suspensions by Using Response Surface Methodology

Highly filled polyurethane suspensions with 89 wt% solid are highly viscous slurries. Modality control of particles is a good strategy in order to decrease the viscosity of these suspensions. In the present work, analysis of viscosity response was carried out as a function of particle size and modality by design of experiments with response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that the viscosity is affected by the amount of coarse solid particles and the optimum value of viscosity is obtained in coarse to fine particle ratio of 5.65.