Kinetic and Rheological Characterization of New, Very Soft Polyurethane Elastomers for Comfort Applications

摘要

Soft, gel-like polyurethane elastomers have seen an increased use in many applications where comfort is a key performancerequirement. Huntsman Polyurethanes has developed a number of products to fulfill the diverse needs of the market. All ofthe new materials are completely plasticizer free. In order to understand how these materials can be designed for differentapplications it is important to relate their network properties to final performance. In this paper we will discuss somerheological techniques that are used to characterize both the curing behavior and end viscoelastic and mechanical response ofthese systems. A unique, two stage curing behavior will be demonstrated for some model systems. Using dynamicmechanical analysis, the response of systems with different network properties will be compared. Final properties of severalsystems will be discussed. This work has enabled us to develop systems that are already being considered for novel comfortapplications. The properties of these developmental systems will also be discussed.