The effect of melt‐flow properties of PVC plastisols during fusion cycle on flooring wear layer surface quality

Abstract

A rheological test to characterize the melt in various vinyl coating resins in a flooring wear layer formulation shows that the surface quality (absence of orange‐peel) of the resilient foamed flooring is associated with the viscoelastic nature of the wear layer resin during the cure cycle: Resins with high molecular weight of a sufficiently high melt viscosity showed no entrapment of air bubbles or tendency to orange‐peel, while resins with low melt viscosity produced very severe orange‐peel. Orange‐peel is independent of the type of foam resin used. For a given formulation, the proper selection of wear layer resin or resin mixtures that will develop the desired hot melt strength to contain the gases given off by the decomposition of the blowing agent, will help to alleviate or minimize orange‐peel.