Japan’s Toyo Tire Corporation says it has adopted a seventh generation High-Performance Computing system (HPC) for its proprietary high-precision tyre design platform T-Mode, establishing a product development platform for the speedy development of higher performance tyres.
Toyo Tires has positioned supercomputers as a core resource for tyre manufacturing, and has been constantly upgrading its specifications since their introduction 40 years ago. Toyo Tires also independently develop the software used for tyre structure analysis, simulating both tyre structure and vehicle behaviour to more scientifically optimise products to meet market demand. In 2019, Toyo Tires incorporated design support technology using AI technology into conventional tyre design base technology using CAE, evolving it into the new T-Mode.
Currently, technological innovations related to next-generation mobility, such as the widespread use of EVs, autonomous driving technology, and SDV strategies, are progressing one after another toward the social implementation phase. Tyres for each vehicle are required to quickly realise the performance and functions that support this evolution, and in the future, even higher precision and speed in design will be key.
Taking advantage of the introduction of the latest HPC system, Toyo Tires has further optimised the current T-Mode software, reducing the calculation time required by designers to less than half of what it previously took. Additionally, the accelerated accumulation of simulation data is expected to improve the predictive accuracy of the “inverse problem” of the deep learning model, which derives design specifications such as tyre structure, shape, and pattern from performance values. This has further enhanced and advanced the company’s response system for realising next-generation technologies.
By dramatically increasing the number of large-scale simulations performed, such as aerodynamic predictions and material property predictions, it is expected that products with excellent rolling resistance and wear resistance, which are essential performance requirements for EV tyres, will be realised soon.
In the development of the large-diameter tyre Open Country A/T III EV for EV pickup trucks and SUVs, which has already been on sale in the North American market since February this year, T-Mode has strongly promoted the evolution of each performance required to achieve this.
In line with the rapid evolution of digital technology being incorporated into the automotive development process, Toyo Tires will continue to work to improve the precision of tyre design and development, shortening development times, and advancing simulation technology, leading to the creation of an advanced CAE ecosystem.