Title: New method for estimating additive blooming on the surface of vulcanised rubbers

Authors: José de Jesús Cabrera-Castro; Roberto Zitzumbo-Guzmán; María Blanca Becerra-Rodríguez; Anayansi Estrada-Monje

Addresses: Departament Posgrado Interinstitucional en Ciencia y Tecnología, Centro de Innovación Aplicada en Tecnologías Competitivas. CIATEC, Omega 201, Industrial Delta, León, Gto 37545, México; Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Instituto Tecnológico de Querétaro, Av. Santiago Zacatlán S/N., Col. Jardines de Santiago, Querétaro, Qro., México ' Departament Posgrado Interinstitucional en Ciencia y Tecnología, Centro de Innovación Aplicada en Tecnologías Competitivas. CIATEC, Omega 201, Industrial Delta, León, Gto 37545, México; Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Instituto Tecnológico de Querétaro, Av. Santiago Zacatlán S/N., Col. Jardines de Santiago, Querétaro, Qro., México ' Departament Posgrado Interinstitucional en Ciencia y Tecnología, Centro de Innovación Aplicada en Tecnologías Competitivas. CIATEC, Omega 201, Industrial Delta, León, Gto 37545, México; Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Instituto Tecnológico de Querétaro, Av. Santiago Zacatlán S/N., Col. Jardines de Santiago, Querétaro, Qro., México ' Departament Posgrado Interinstitucional en Ciencia y Tecnología, Centro de Innovación Aplicada en Tecnologías Competitivas. CIATEC, Omega 201, Industrial Delta, León, Gto 37545, México; Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Instituto Tecnológico de Querétaro, Av. Santiago Zacatlán S/N., Col. Jardines de Santiago, Querétaro, Qro., México

Abstract: The blooming phenomenon in vulcanised rubber samples characterised by the migration of additives to the surface, as whitish stains was evaluated using two methods: a traditional gravimetric method and a newly developed Euclidean distance method. The latter integrates artificial vision, image processing, and a mathematical model. While statistical analysis showed no significant difference between both methods, the Euclidean distance method offers notable advantages. It enables temporal monitoring of surface changes on the same sample by comparing images taken at various time intervals. Moreover, it distinguishes between initial surface defects and components that emerge from vulcanisation over time. R² values confirmed that a Fick-type diffusion model (linear with t^1/2) suitably describes the blooming process. Both Spearman (ρ = 1.0, p = 0.000) and Pearson (r > 0.91) correlations were strong, validating the method has ability to accurately capture the temporal dynamics of blooming. [Submitted 14 October 2024; Accepted 15 July 2025]

Keywords: t-test statistics; blooming; vulcanised rubber; image processing; Euclidean distance; ED; aesthetic quality of rubber; mechanical properties.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2025.150041

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2025 Vol.20 No.1, pp.40 - 65

Received: 14 Oct 2024
Accepted: 15 Jul 2025
Published online: 23 Nov 2025 *

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