Operation of a tire vulcanization system

A method of operating a tire vulcanization system during a curing cycle in which a tire is vulcanized in a mold for a predetermined duration under pressure, the tire vulcanization system including an axially movable plate and a stationary plate connected by a bladder disposed inside a tire to be vulcanized and at least partially delineating a cavity in which a heating medium circulates, with a fan and a heater being immersed in the heating medium and the heater having one or more heating elements that provide energy to the heating medium traversing thereover, the method comprising:

• providing data, for a current curing cycle, that includes at least a bladder exchange surface area S for a tire being vulcanized, a temperature differential ΔT between the bladder and the heating medium, and a coefficient of exchange by forced convection h;
• detecting a heating medium temperature in the cavity during the current curing cycle;
• on the basis of the detected heating medium temperature, calculating a thermal flux ϕ that traverses the bladder during a subsequent curing cycle as a function of at least the bladder exchange surface area S and the temperature differential;
• comparing the calculated thermal flux with a required thermal flux to be realized upon commencement of the subsequent curing cycle;
• and
• adjusting the heating medium temperature in the cavity when a comparison between the calculated thermal flux and the required thermal flux indicates a non-equivalence therebetween.