Cure of GR-S in Thick Articles
Abstract Information on the relative rates of cure of GR-S stocks and similar Hevea stocks in thick sections is of interest to many rubber manufacturers. Since curing conditions for thick articles from Hevea stocks have been established, they would like to know how these conditions must be altered when GR-S stocks are used in the same applications. They could develop a GR-S stock with the same rate of cure as the Hevea stock which it replaces according to laboratory tests on comparatively thin sheets, but this agreement does not mean necessarily that thick sections cure at the same rate. The respective rates of heat flow through the rubbers must be considered. Only if the rates of heat flow as well as the curing rates of thin sections are in agreement, will the curing rates of the thick sections be equal. Juve and Garvey found that GR-S tread stocks cure faster in the center of thick sections than similar Hevea tread stocks. They were unable to explain this behavior because, according to their measurements, the thermal conductivity of the GR-S tread stock was less, and its specific heat greater than, the corresponding values for the Hevea tread stock. They concluded that the difference mav be due to an exothermic reaction.