The Effect of Thermal Boundary Condition on the Crosslink Density Distribution and the Curing Time of the Thick Cylindrical Dampers

Abstract

Abstract Optimization of curing process conditions of elastomers so as to achieve a part with homogeneous network is of crucial importance. One of the indicative parameters in the curing process is state of cure (SOC) that is investigated in this study in order to verify the influence of thermal boundary conditions on the curing of a cylindrical damper based on NR.. Furthermore, the newly introduced parameter of state of reversion (SOR) is defined, and this parameter will be set as a controlling parameter in the curing time; in order to avoid the unfavorable phenomenon of thermal decomposition. In this work, the curing process is numerically modeled using a finite element code which is developed by authors and results are compared with experimental results, as a verification step for validity of the code. Employing this code, the curing process is subjected to various molding temperatures, and it is demonstrated that a constant temperature of mold for elastomeric parts of high thickness will not result in a homogeneous crosslink network, unless the curing time is very long. Therefore, a varying with time temperature profile for mold is proposed that leads to a decreased curing cycle time, while giving complete SOC at a lower SOR value, simultaneously.