Analytical Methods for Calculating Temperatures inside Rubber Articles during Vulcanization

Abstract

Abstract Heating conditions for the vulcanization of rubber articles have been chosen in a purely experimental way up to the present time. Thus, in one tire plant, research on the question of the most efficient heating conditions for tire vulcanization has consisted of making dozens of experiments on the several variables of heat conductors, and then using the experimental temperature curves for further development. However, such experiments under industrial conditions not only require considerable time and material, but yield results which inevitably deviate from the true heating conditions in many cases. These deviations are due to fluctuations in the steam pressure and water temperature in the course of vulcanization, nonhomogeneity of material in the group of rubber articles being tested, etc. All these sources of error confuse the results of comparative experiments to a large extent, often making it impossible to reach any general conclusions. Undoubtedly the most accurate method of determining the ideal heating conditions for vulcanization is a combination of the calculation and experimental methods. In the vulcanization of rubber articles, as in some other branches of industry, heating conditions can be chosen satisfactorily through a preliminary calculation of the temperatures inside the articles, i.e., by a theoretical projection of the heating conditions, followed by a final experimental verification of the calculated results.