TOKYO—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has released new tire design and development technology for rubber materials in relation to materials informatics.
The new development technology combines the simulation technology that emerged from the company's research aimed at fostering innovative thinking about rubber material design with data generated by its research on the design, processing, analysis and measurement of existing rubber materials. It also incorporates information and knowledge exploration using AI or machine learning. Yokohama expects the new development technology to raise the accuracy and speed of the development of rubber materials, it said in a company release.
In 2005, Yokohama developed a multi-scale simulation technology and a multi-performance map that displays numerous optimum designs in a map-like configuration. In 2015, Yokohama developed a simulation technology for multi-objective design exploration of rubber materials that enabled it to run predictive simulations of the mechanical properties of models of virtual rubber materials.
The new technology's use of AI to search through simulation results makes it possible to derive the morphological design factors critical to achieving desired performance, and reduces the amount of time required in material development, said Yokohama. A new coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation technique makes it possible to analyze how design factors impact mechanical properties.
Yokohama also unveiled a new tire design technology which uses AI to conduct information and knowledge searches, which increases the speed and precision of development of high-performance tires, it said.
The new tire design technology is an advanced version of the previously named 2005 and 2015 technologies, and uses AI to conduct information and knowledge searches previously performed by technicians. The technology shortens the time required to run searches, and leads to a more objective and quantitative analysis of factors contributing to a tire design with a balanced array of performance attributes, said Yokohama.
Yokohama will make extensive use of these technologies to develop products to meet user needs and promote innovative products, it said.