Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) expects to complete by the end of 2015 the next evolution of its new materials development technology, which it is badging Advanced 4D Nano Design. This technology will utilize the K supercomputer (pictured) and other cutting-edge equipment to perform highly advanced material simulation and analysis. This will enable SRI to achieve enormous improvements in the three major conflicting tire performance traits: grip performance, fuel efficiency and wear performance.
Advanced 4D Nano Design will utilize the SPring-8 and J-PARC research facilities to analyze and better understand the chemical structure of rubber and the behavior of the atoms and molecules that make up rubber materials.
Next, using the K computer to build highly realistic models for more accurate simulations of rubber, Advanced 4D Nano Design will enable engineers at SRI to see and understand the actual phenomena behind the atomic and molecular behavior of rubber materials through large-scale modeling and simulation, which SRI’s current generation 4D Nano Design cannot achieve.
This new technology will also enable total visualization of various molecular-level phenomena occurring within rubber, from chemical breakdown at the micro level to abrasion at the macro level phenomena that it has not been possible to see with any previous technology. Engineers will therefore be able to make an enormous leap forward in terms of analyzing and understanding the phenomena that cause rubber to deteriorate.
SRI will incorporate the technology in product development starting in 2016.
July 23, 2015
