Simulation of Temperature Distributions in Pressure-Aided Microwave Rubber Vulcanization Processes

In this paper microwave heat generation in materials surrounded by dielectric molds is studied. Particularly, the pressure-aided microwave rubber vulcanization process, where the use of dielectric molds that exert the proper pressure over the rubber samples is essential for this application. Temperature distributions of rubber and mold materials have been simulated using a discretization strategy based on the FDTD and FEM techniques for one and two-dimensional cases, respectively. Simulation results show that the dielectric and thermal properties of the pressing mold are of the utmost importance in order to obtain the desired temperature profiles throughout the volume of the rubber sample and therefore to achieve a uniform degree of vulcanization in the rubber Experimental measurements in a monomode cylindrical cavity with several configurations of mold materials, pressing low thermal conductivity rubber samples have been performed and used to validate the simulation results.