Abstract: Uniformity of surface temperature of slideshaped moulds inside cylindrical ovens for rotational molding was studied theoretically by numerical simulation with the aid of a Fluent software. The energy conservation principle was adopted to obtain the analytical solution of average air temperature inside the oven. By comparing the numerical solution with the analytical one, the theoretical model of heat transfer and method of numerical computation were proved to be correct. The effects of the temperature and velocity of incoming air flow and the circumferential locations of inlets and outlets at the oven on the uniformity of surface temperature of slideshaped mould were also investigated. The results indicated that the uniformity of surface temperature became worse with an increase of the temperature of incoming air flow, and however it could be improved by increasing the speed of incoming air flow. Furthermore, the uniformity of surface temperature could also be improved by making the circumferential locations of inlets and outlets more close to the horizontal boundary lines between the upper and lower half of the cylindrical oven wall.

Key words: rotational molding, mould, uniformity of surface temperature, numerical computation, Fluent software