When you are getting tires for your car, they aren't just plain rubber. They have to go through a process in order for them to be ready for you to put them on your car so that you can get out on the road. One of the things that needs to be done to the rubber is for it to go through vulcanization process.
Vulcanization
Vulcanization is the process in which rubber is strengthened and made more durable. Without the vulcanization process, the rubber in your tires would break down very quickly when you were trying to drive down the road and they wouldn't be as strong as you would need them to be. So, what is the vulcanization process?
Vulcanization History
Vulcanization has been used since the mid-1800s. Charles Goodyear, of Goodyear Tires fame, came up with the modern process of vulcanization. On a side note, the process is named after the Roman god Vulcan. He was the god of fire, so his name was appropriate for the process. There had been various methods of curing rubber over the centuries, but none of them produced results as good as the vulcanization process did. While the process has been refined some, in general, the process is the same today as when Goodyear developed it.
Vulcanization Process
Vulcanization is primarily a chemical process. Certain chemicals are introduced to the rubber. Those chemicals cure the rubber as well as making changes to the actual structure of the rubber. They cause bridges to form in between the various molecules of the rubber and the various chains of the polymers in the rubber. There are a number of substances that are used in the vulcanization process. One of the most common is sulfur. Sulfur generally vulcanizes rubber very slowly, but the speed can be increased by raising the temperatures at which everything is done. There are different chemicals that can be added to the curing process along with the sulfur curing package which will speed up the process, ensure a better outcome, and make for stronger rubber.
Making sure that your tires last for a long time, are durable, and can stand up to all the wear and tear that they are likely to get when they are on the road is an important process. Natural rubber just isn't up to the process on its own. That's what vulcanization is for. That way the rubber is stronger and more useful.
Share12 January 2018
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