Rheology of UV curable colloidal silica dispersions for rapid prototyping applications

Silica is a very promising material for micro-devices produced by rapid prototyping techniques due to its high transparency, thermal and chemical resistance. UV curable dispersions for rapid prototyping methods such as stereolithography should posses specific rheological properties which are crucial for such applications. We developed highly filled, low viscosity silica dispersions (up to 60 vol%) in UV curable, acrylate based systems. The influence of silica particle size, solid loading, temperature and shear rate on the viscosity of dispersions was investigated. The dispersions exhibited different types of shear thickening depending mainly on the size of particles. The critical shear rate defined as the onset of shear thickening, was found to be dependent on temperature, particle size, solid loading of the dispersions. The understanding of these rheological properties enables the design of new dispersions that meet rapid prototyping process requirements.