[cdn-nucl-l] Bringing nuclear simulation to tire design

["Adam McLean" <adam.mclean@utoronto.ca>]

Posted on the Sandia National Laboratory e-newsletter on January 29,
2002.
More than anything, I'd bet Sandia simply has the computing power to
simulate to the level that Goodyear wants.  Here's an idea for the
nuclear industry (AECL???) here - set up a national computing facility
with computing facilities and programming personnel to contract out for
Canadian high-tech companies (not only nuclear, but examples like
below).  According to the Top 500 Supercomputer list
http://www.top500.org/list/2001/11/
only 11 of the top 500 are in Canada, the highest #123 being a weather
computer, #144 Sobeys (512 processors!  How much power does it take to
sell groceries?!), and nearly all the rest are at universities.
Definitely something to consider, I think.

Adam

-----------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2002
Sandia and Goodyear sign new umbrella CRADA

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Most consumers couldn't imagine how the management
of nuclear stockpiles could bring them better tires faster, but a unique
partnership between Goodyear and the Department of Energy's Sandia
National Laboratories is doing just that. A common bond in computational
mechanics has created a teaming effort between Goodyear and Sandia to
replace the tire company's traditional build-and-test design method with
reliable computational mechanics simulation tools. This collaboration,
accomplished under a cooperative research and development agreement
(CRADA) has provided Goodyear with modeling tools that are shortening
production time and reducing costs. 
"Our development of significant computational analysis tools in tire
mechanics, materials and manufacturing, and advanced process
technologies is significantly shortening product development time," says
Joe Gingo, Goodyear's senior vice president for technology and global
products planning. "It is allowing us to bring new products to market
faster and employ new manufacturing techniques at several plants
worldwide." "The nonlinear mechanics code that we developed for Goodyear
allows their designers to run simulations in place of the costly
build-and-test method of tire design," says Al Romig, Sandia vice
president for science-technology partnerships. 
A complex simulation of tire performance produces a "footprint" of
information similar to results from an actual prototype test. 
"The tire designers have models that are as reliable as the prototype
tests," Romig adds. 
Thomas Bickel, Sandia director of engineering sciences, says the
partnership with Goodyear benefits both Sandia and the National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA). "It allows us to use our computational
models over a broad set of engineering conditions, helping us gain
confidence in their robustness and accuracy and improving our code
verification and model validation metrics over a broad range of physics,
including use in nuclear weapons. We are using Goodyear as one of our
'test tracks.' This saves the taxpayers money in validation and allows
us to evaluate different ways of achieving the next generation of
computational engineering design in the industrial arena and within
Sandia," Bickel says. Sandia's DOE defense programs is using the tools
to do simulations in the production of neutron generators and in other
nuclear weapons applications, reducing portions of a neutron generator
encapsulation schedule by a factor of two. Neutron generators are
critical components of nuclear weapons. "Our partnership is producing
such good results that we have just signed a new, five-year 'umbrella'
CRADA to streamline our joint research and development work," Gingo
said. 
The new CRADA, the seventh the two have signed since 1992, will
facilitate changes and additions to work in progress and enable Goodyear
and Sandia to easily establish new projects. 
Two initial tasks are defined in the new CRADA - information management
and an extension of work in the current chemical research CRADA,
announced in October.  Negotiated between Sandia and Goodyear's chemical
business, the "chemical CRADA" is exploring new and more energy
efficient processes that could dramatically reduce U.S. petrochemical
industry dependence on foreign oil. They are sharing expertise to
analyze chemical process technologies that may reduce energy
consumption, waste generation and environmental emissions. "The new
'umbrella CRADA' will allow us to take on new joint ventures without
having to establish a new CRADA every time; it should greatly speed up
the process," Romig said.  CRADAs are not designed to develop new
products. Like most CRADAs, details of the projects are proprietary and
protected by the 1989 National Competitiveness Technology Transfer Act.
Sandia is a multi-program national Department of Energy laboratory
operated by a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation. With about
7,500 employees and facilities in Albuquerque, N.M. and Livermore,
Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security,
energy, environmental technologies and economic competitiveness. Sandia
is one of 20 U.S. Department of Energy research labs throughout the
nation. Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear is the world's largest tire
company, employing about 100,000 people worldwide. It manufactures
tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 90
facilities in 28 countries and has marketing operations in almost every
country in the world. The company's website is www.goodyear.com. # # #
Story and images available at
www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR2002/goodye.htm
Sandia Media Relations Contact:  	   Chris Burroughs, (505)
844-0948,
coburro@sandia.gov <mailto:coburro@sandia.gov>
Goodyear Media Relations Contact:  Dave Russ, (330) 796-2572,
dwruss@goodyear.com <mailto:dwruss@goodyear.com>
 

Sandia National Laboratories' World Wide Web home page is located at
http://www.sandia.gov. Sandia news releases, news tips, science photo
gallery, and periodicals can be found at the News and Events button.