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Modeling Drying of Aqueous Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Coatings

Venkata R. Gundabala
Amitkumar C. Jain
Richard Allan Cairncross

Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Water-based pressure sensitive adhesives are typically latex suspensions and are often coated onto silicone-coated paper prior to being contacted with the face stock. It is necessary to control drying conditions to achieve low residual moisture in the PSA without formation of defects, and mathematical models can be effective tools to determine appropriate drying conditions. We will present two mathematical models of drying PSA coatings. The first model is a three-layer model of moisture transport in a PSA coating on silicone-coated paper. Moisture transport in each of the three layers is predicted by diffusive transport models. Moisture transport through the silicone layer into the paper leads to faster initial drying. The paper acts as a reservoir for moisture, and at long times moisture can transport back from the paper into the coating. The second model is a particle dynamics model of latex aggregation during the initial water evaporation stage. The model predicts particle arrangement as a function of rate of evaporation and predicts conditions under which long range ordering occurs.