A VISCOSITY CONSTITUTIVE EQUATION FOR PMMA—MMA SOLUTIONS

Abstract

A viscosity constitutive equation has been developed to describe PMMA—MMA solutions over a wide range of concentration and temperature. The approach used here combines both free-volume and coil-coil interaction considerations. The final expression successfully correlates not only our experimental data on several solutions but also literature melt data. This equation provides an essential step in modeling tubular polymerization reactors, where the residence time distribution depends strongly on the velocity profile development in the tube, and thus the rheological properties of the reacting PMMA — MMA mixture at different conversion levels and temperatures.