Abstract
Butyl rubber is an isobutylene/isoprene copolymer and is provided with good properties including low permeability to gases, good thermal stability and high resistance to oxygen and ozone action, among others. It is well known that the end-use rubber properties depend on the state of cure distribution in the rubber products. This work aimed to predict the state of cure in vulcanization process of butyl rubber by the finite element simulation based on a new characterization model. For describing the cure state, the new characterization model of curing degree was developed, which was implemented in finite element simulation model by the secondary development of ABAQUS software subroutine UVARM. To improve the accuracy, the vulcanization reaction heat was also considered, which was implemented by the subroutine HETVAL. Results indicated that the predicated results of curing degree based on the simulation model are according to the experiments. The model can be well distinguished the curing stages and its degree, such as under curing, positive curing, over curing. It would give a valuable guide for optimizing the vulcanization processing of butyl rubber or other vulcanized rubbers.
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