Application of the Carreau model to tape-casting fluid mechanics

Tape-casting experiments were conducted with 30 different aqueous suspensions whose viscosities were functions of strain rate. Tape thickness measurements of the resulting casts varied from 180 to 310 mu m. The three-parameter Carreau model accurately conformed to the rheological data of the suspensions between 0.46 and 581 s(-1). With this model, the zero-shear-rate viscosities of the various suspensions ranged from 20 to 2 x 10(5) mPa.s. Within the framework of the Carreau model, the equations of motion for the flow of the suspension through the doctor blade were solved numerically. Calculated thicknesses were in very good agreement with experimental measurements.