Investigation of the Effect of Compression Molding Operating Parameters on the Kinetics of the Vulcanization Reaction

The object of the study is the kinetics of the vulcanization process in various rubber products. The influence of the temperature field of the heating plates of a hydraulic press and the holding time of the rubber compound in the mold on the final state of cure in the finished product is considered. Numerical simulation of the vulcanization process is performed in the ANSYS 2019 R2 finite element analysis system. The kinetic parameters required for numerical simulation of the kinetics of the vulcanization process are calculated in the MATLAB R2013b system. The study is conducted for a rubber compound based on natural rubber, which has a pronounced reversion period. Vulcanization of real rubber products is simulated: thick-walled (cork) and thin-walled (membrane). The calculation is carried out for the full vulcanization cycle, taking into account the heating of the mold, the loading of the rubber compound and the extraction of the finished product with its subsequent cooling in the air. It has been found that the uniformity of heating has a negligible effect on the final state of cure while providing a certain average heating temperature. The exposure time of the rubber compound in the mold has the greatest effect on the final state of cure. The results obtained in this work will be used in the future to develop a methodology for calculating optimal operating parameters of vulcanization.