Three Dimensional Finite Element Modelling of Truck Tyre Curing Process in Mould

摘要

Owing to the significant changes in tyre geometry especially for truck tyres with complex patterns and high thickness at tread area, the effect of heat transfer in circumferential direction on temperature field development during tyre curing should be taken into account. This work is based on the development of a three dimensional nonlinear finite element model for simulating of tyre curing process of in mould. The heat conduction equation was solved by the use of a standard Galerkin technique in a Cartesian coordinate system. Transient temperature field was modelled using the implicit-θ method. The Kamal and Sourour empirical cure reaction kinetic equation was also used to calculate the state and rate of cure as a functions of time. Based on the developed model, an interactive computer program was written in Visual Basic. This program was used to simulate the curing process of a 12-24 truck tyre in mould. Results of our simulations showed that distributions of both temperature and state of cure in circum ferential direction cannot be ignored. The applicability of the model was also verified by comparison between the temperature profiles at two points inside the tyre with experimental data. It has been shown that there is a very good agreement between the model predictions and actual data.