Abstract
Real-time determination of the optimum curing time for molded rubber parts is a challenge in the rubber industry. This research focused on the development of an in-situ rubber cure monitoring system (RCMS) capable of real-time monitoring of the natural rubber vulcanization process in a compression molding machine. The influence of vulcanization temperature (150 °C, 160 °C and 170 °C) on the cure characteristic properties, degree of cure and cure rate of a natural rubber compound in a conventional vulcanization system were compared when monitored with both a moving die rheometer (MDR) and the RCMS testing system. The degree of correlation between the measurements of the cure characteristics at the various vulcanization temperatures obtained from MDR and RCMS was established. The study found that RCMS can be used to determine the scorch time and the optimum cure time in a compression mold in real time.
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