For reaction injection molding (RIM) polyurethane was mixed in the mixing head by impingement mixing, injected into the mold, and cured quickly, as soon as the mold is filled. The shape of the nozzle in the mixing head is critical to improve the quality of polyurethane. To achieve homogeneous mixing, an intensive turbulence energy in the mixing nozzle is essential. In this study, a mixing nozzle for RIM was designed, and mixing efficiency was investigated based on experiment. Experiments were conducted with different combinations of nozzle tips and exit diameter to measure the mixing efficiency by measuring jet force and investigating mixing image with high speed camera. Jet force increased gradually and reaches steady state conditions. The jet force depended on shape of nozzle tip and outlet sizes. These results suggest that optimized nozzle configurations are necessary for high efficiency mixing with RIM.
