JOURNAL OF POLYMER ENGINEERING

 Vol. 23, No. 6, 2003, page 399

VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF SILICA COMPOUNDS DURING CURING PROCESS

D. Nichetti

CHIORINO LAB

Via S. Agata 9, 13900 Biella, Italy

E-mail: nichetti@chiorino.com

ABSTRACT

             Curing is the final step in rubber goods manufacturing, built from rubber layers, and formed to the desired profile shape in a heated press. The curing process has a strong effect on the final product quality and therefore the curing cycle should be determined to obtain the required material properties. A model was developed to predict the mechanical properties of a typical silica compound vulcanized in non-isothermal curing conditions. Model parameters were determined by isothermal experiments. A non-isothermal curing process was used to validate the model proposed. Results show that the model is able to accurately predict the evolution of material properties, such as modules, tensile stress and abrasion, during non-isothermal vulcanization. The simplicity of the model allows one to implement it in simulation software to optimize the curing cycle in rubber manufacturing.

P.O. Box 35010, Tel Aviv, Israel, 61350. Tel: 972-3- 562-8540; Fax: 972-3-562-8538

E-mail: h_freund@netvision.net.il; website: https://www.freundpublishing.com