Rheology of plastisol formulations for coating applications

A plastisol is a suspension of PVC particles and mineral fillers in a liquid phase composed of plasticizer and adjuvants. Plastisol formulations are commonly used in coating processes for flooring application. In the knife‐over‐roll process, they are subjected to a wide range of shear rates (0–10⁵ s^?1). They are adjusted in order to fulfil the target end‐use properties but their processability depends on their rheology. Plastisol based on three PVC resins with or without mineral filler have been investigated using a Couette device and a capillary rheometer. Results show a high impact of PVC particle content, particle sizes and distribution on rheology: a polydisperse formulation displays a shear‐thinning behavior in the whole shear rates range and exhibits yield stress; a monodisperse formulation shows a shear thinning behavior at low shear rate, followed by a Newtonian plateau, then a more or less pronounced dilatancy peak depending on plasticizer rate and finally another shear‐thinning behavior; a bidisperse resin stands in between. Filler content also impacts the rheology: shear thickening effects at intermediate shear rates decrease or even disappear; however, the viscosity increase is important for low shear rates and depends on the filler particle size and particle size distribution. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:982–988, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers