A Study on the Curing Bladder Shaping of Tire by Finite Element Method Using Contact Element

In curing process of tire, contact and slip occurs between green tire and curing bladder. The curing process is a critical step in the manufacture of tires. In this investigation, curing bladder shaping is examined using a finite element method. Specifically, a finite element model between the inner part of green tire and the outer part of curing bladder is generated using contact element and curing bladder is generated using incompressible element. Numerical analysis are performed on two different bladder types, different overall outer diameters of curing bladder and different heights of curing bladder. Numerical results show that contact pressure is increased by using toroidal type of curing bladder, increasing overall diameter and increasing height of curing bladder. To obtain natural equilibrium carcass line, there is a requirement in increasing contact pressure of the section between side and bead.