Coatings Systems Research Center

Economic & Environmental Impact

The application of paints and other coating is a critical step in a variety of manufacturing operations with significant economic impact. The center's emphasis is on developing optimum coating systems which will provide high-quality coating surfaces at the lowest possible cost with minor environmental impact. This is accomplished by understanding the fundamental chemical, physical and engineering phenomena.

Approach

Unless all aspects of a particular coatings system work in concert, a less than optimal coating system will result. The Purdue Coatings Research Center employs a systems approach so that the total coatings system can be optimized. More than twenty faculty from nine departments are involved in this multidisciplinary effort.

Expertise

Purdue University has developed a broad base of scientific and engineering skills that permit a systems approach: surface interactions, chemistry chemical engineering, aerosolization, droplet science, radiant heat transfer, polymer rheology, vapor-liquid equilibrium, modeling, photopolymerization, fluid flow, high temperature materials, material failure mechanisms, advanced analytical instrumentation, wood science, and much more.

Research

A major focus of the Purdue Coatings Systems Research Center is to develop a basic understanding and process models for the applications of paints and coatings. An understanding of the aerosolization of Newtonian liquids is available at least for some applications systems; however, the effects of electrostatics on the aerosolization process is only now receiving serious fundamental attention; there is little fundamental knowledge about aerosolization of non-Newtonian fluids like high solids contents coatings. Similar gaps in fundamental understanding exist in other aspects of the coating process such as drying of high solid loaded films to a high gloss finish, adhesion of coatings with porous substrates like wood, and droplet transport to the workpiece/environment. The fundamentals developed will be exploited for a broad range of coatings systems and processes from classic paints to crop spraying.

Facilities

Purdue has excellent research capabilities with the most modern analytical equipment needed to examine all aspects of coating application phenomena.

In addition, discoveries in the laboratory can be demonstrated in an industrial scale application facility at Purdue.

Complete Collaboration

Major projects can involve a consortium of industry representatives or single sponsor proprietary concerns. Since a successful program requires confirmation of lab results and eventual commercial use, it is important that industry scientists be actively involved. Industrial researchers can spend time at Purdue and take advantage of the unique instrumental and expertise that is available in the various research and applications laboratories at Purdue. Purdue researchers will spend time at industrial research and manufacturing sites in order to ensure that the research is focussing on real problems.

Contact Osman A. Basaran, Director Coating Systems Research Center Purdue University 1283 Chemical Engineering Building West Lafayette, IN 47907-1283 John A. Schnieder, Industry Relations (765) 494 - 0743 e-mail: jaschneider@sps.purdue.edu

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