OPTIMIZATION OF THE VULCANIZATION PROCESS OF A THICK RUBBER ARTICLE USING AN ADVANCED COMPUTER SIMULATION TECHNIQUE

Abstract

ABSTRACT A previously developed computer simulation technique was extended for the optimization of the molding time of a thick rubber article in which a commercial finite element code was employed in conjunction with an in-house developed subroutine. The kinetics of the rubber-curing reaction and the physical and thermal properties of the materials were determined using appropriate methods. The accuracy of the method was examined by comparison of the measured temperature profile with calculated data. Two cure simulations were carried out. First, the molding time was set to the actual time used in the manufacturing specification. Having checked the distribution of the state of the cure at the center of the rubber, the molding time was reduced to save time, reduce energy, and avoid the risk of overcure at the rubber surfaces. Based on the proposed molding time, a second simulation was performed. A comparison between the hardness of the rubber article made by the reduced molding time and the measured hardness on the article manufactured by the previous molding time showed that there was 5 shore A increase in the hardness, which confirmed the applicability of procedures used in this work.