Experimental study of temperature distribution in rubber material during microwave heating and vulcanization process

Abstract

Microwave technology has been employed to heat sheet rubber, the optical fiber temperature online monitor and optical fiber temperature sensor have been employed to measure the temperature in sheet rubber. The temperature of sheet rubber increased with increase of heating time during microwave heating process in which the maximum of temperature was <100 °C and microwave vulcanization process in which the maximum of temperature was <150 °C, the curves of temperature–time presented nonlinearity. The rate of temperature rising in central zone of sheet rubber was higher than the rate of temperature rising in marginal zone of sheet rubber, and the final temperature in central zone of sheet rubber was also higher than the final temperature in marginal zone of sheet rubber. In the microwave heating and vulcanization process of sheet rubber, the maximum of rate of temperature rising and the maximum of temperature belong to the central zone of sheet rubber, so the distribution of electric field was uneven in heating chamber, which led to the uneven temperature distribution of sheet rubber. The higher electric field intensity value converges on the central zone of sheet rubber.