Optimization of Process Parameters for Rubber Curing in Relation to Vulcanization Requirements and Energy Consumption

Vulcanization is a decisive and energy consuming manufacturing step in rubber industry. Temperature and duration of the curing process are chosen to obtain a desired state of cure within the material. Optimization based approaches turned out to provide a systematic way to determine optimal curing parameters, mold temperature and heating duration, without the need of costly and time consuming experiments. Though, energy consumption is only treated marginally, when determining these process parameters. Hence, we introduce a combined model of rubber and mold not only to calculate optimal curing parameters but also to determine actual energy demand. We point out, that a better curing result is attended to increasing energy consumption. In addition, we provide an approach for balancing energy efficiency and product quality for an optimal vulcanization process.