A Numerical Modeling of Dynamic Curing Process of Tire by Finite Element

In this paper, a simulator for the tire curing processes is developed based on the finite element method of an axisymmetric heat transfer problem for composite materials. The anisotropy of heat transfer properties of composite materials, the dependence of properties of rubber compounds on the temperature and/or the extent of cure, the time-varying boundary conditions which include the cooldown of the tire out of the press and the rigorous cure kinetic models are taken into account. The numerical simulation results of a truck tire curing process show that the simulator successfully describes the variation trends in temperature and in state of cure with the tire curing process. It also serves as the core module of an optimization algorithm, which is being developed for the tire curing and rubber formulation designs.