Manufacturing support system, and manufacturing support device

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of easily selecting ingredients recipes and processing conditions necessary for preparing a polymer blend with desired material properties.SOLUTION: The manufacturing support system uses one or more calculators. The calculator includes: an input-output control unit that receives specifications of multiple types of raw polymers as the ingredients recipe; an optimal dispersion state derivation unit that derives the dispersion state of polymer bends that meet the specified required properties by using the ingredients recipe; and a proper processing conditions derivation unit that derives processing conditions that result in a certain level or more of interfacial adhesion and the ingredients recipe in the processing conditions in the dispersion state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing support system and a manufacturing support device. [Background technology]

[0002] Plastics (resin materials) are used in a wide range of applications. In recent years, in order to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment, bioplastics (a general term for plastics made from biomass and biodegradable plastics) and recycled plastics that reuse plastic waste have been developed. Bioplastics and recycled plastics often have inferior properties compared to regular plastics, and polymer blending technology is being researched as one method to compensate for this.

[0003] A polymer blend is a material that expresses properties not found in a single polymer by mixing multiple polymers. The properties of a polymer blend are affected by the compatibility and interfacial adhesion between the polymers, and the phase dispersion state and interfacial adhesion are determined by the molding conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.) and the molecular structure of the polymers, so advanced physical and chemical expertise is required to create a polymer blend with the desired properties.

[0004] A technique for predicting material properties using computer simulation is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0005] Patent Document 1 describes a fiber material model creation method for creating a full-atom molecular dynamics model of a fiber material for numerical analysis by computer simulation, the fiber material model creation method comprising the steps of: creating a monomer model of the fiber material to be analyzed; polymerizing the monomer model to create a polymer model that serves as a unit model; creating a random arrangement model in which a plurality of the polymer models are randomly arranged in a predetermined space; creating an unoriented model by structurally relaxing the random arrangement model by molecular dynamics calculation; performing a first orientation process on the unoriented model to apply shear energy in one axial direction to elongate the molecular chain in one axial direction; performing a second orientation process to select one molecular chain in a fully extended state by the first orientation process, create a molecular chain in which multiple copies of the selected molecular chain are made, and create a model in which each of the copied molecular chains is arranged at coordinates corresponding to the crystal structure of the fiber material; and relaxing the model immediately after the second orientation process by molecular dynamics calculation to create a fiber material model.

[0006] In the method described in Patent Document 1, the interfacial adhesion between the fiber material and the adhesive liquid is examined by computer simulation, and the molecular structure of the fiber material that is compatible with the adhesive liquid can be derived. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-002013 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a method for optimizing the material recipe and process conditions of the polymer blend, so it is not possible to obtain a polymer blend having desired properties. An object of the present invention is to provide a technology for easily selecting the material recipe and process conditions required for producing a polymer blend having desired material properties. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present application includes a plurality of means for solving at least a part of the above-mentioned problems, examples of which are as follows: A manufacturing support system according to one aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a manufacturing support system using one or more computers, the computer comprising: an input / output control unit that receives designations of a plurality of types of raw material polymers as a material recipe, an appropriate dispersion state derivation unit that uses the material recipe to derive a dispersion state of a polymer blend that satisfies predetermined required properties, and an appropriate process condition derivation unit that derives, among the dispersion states, process conditions under which the interfacial adhesion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the material recipe under the process conditions. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for easily selecting a material recipe and process conditions required for producing a polymer blend having desired material properties. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a manufacturing support system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of a manufacturing support process. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow for deriving an appropriate dispersion state of a raw material polymer. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of an appropriate process condition derivation process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of an ingredient recipe. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a macro characteristic. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a data structure of a process condition. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a manufacturing support device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The examples are illustrative for explaining the present invention, and are omitted and simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

[0013] In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

[0014] As examples of various information, the various information may be described using expressions such as "table", "list", and "queue", but the various information may be expressed using data structures other than these. For example, various information such as "XX table", "XX list", and "XX queue" may be expressed as "XX information". When describing identification information, expressions such as "identification information", "identifier", "name", "ID", and "number" are used, but these are mutually interchangeable. Furthermore, in the embodiments, the identification information described using these expressions is represented using symbols, numbers, natural language, or a combination thereof, but the identification information may be in a form other than these.

[0015] When there are multiple components having the same or similar functions, they may be described by using the same reference numerals with different subscripts, or when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted.

[0016] In the embodiments, a process performed by executing a program may be described. Here, a computer executes the program using a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU), and performs the process defined by the program while using a storage resource (e.g., memory) and an interface device (e.g., communication port), etc. Therefore, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of the process performed by executing the program may be a calculation unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs specific processing. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), etc.

[0017] The program may be installed in the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and a storage resource that stores the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. In addition, in the embodiment, two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0018] Furthermore, although the present invention is typically realized by an information processing device, it may also be realized as a platform having the functions of the present invention.

[0019] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a manufacturing support system. The manufacturing support system 1 includes a manufacturing support device 100, which is capable of communicating with an external device 200 that can be treated as a device group according to the usage environment, such as a display computer, which is communicably connected via a network N.

[0020] The network N is, for example, any one of a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a communication network using a general public line such as the Internet in part or in whole, a mobile phone communication network, etc., or a combination of these. The network N may be a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or 5G (Generation).

[0021] For example, the manufacturing support apparatus 100 is an information processing apparatus including a storage unit 110, a processing unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150.

[0022] The manufacturing support device 100 performs various simulation processes for various polymer blends, and outputs polymer blends and process conditions that satisfy the required characteristics. At that time, the manufacturing support device 100 performs simulations using the required characteristics (required macro characteristics) as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). In other words, since countless combinations can be narrowed down by simulation, efficient design can be easily performed. Note that various characteristics such as tensile strength, elastic modulus, breaking strain, bending strength, bending strain, deflection temperature under load, linear expansion coefficient, glass transition temperature, storage elastic modulus, and loss elastic modulus can be set as KPIs.

[0023] The input unit 130 is, for example, displayed and operated on a screen, and receives input information input by operating a keyboard or a mouse. The output unit 140 is a type of processing unit that performs presentation processing on the information to be displayed on the output screen, outputs the information to the screen, and also performs screen control for operational inputs on the screen, such as scrolling, sorting, highlighting, etc.

[0024] The communication unit 150 communicates with a group of devices, such as a display computer, connected via the network N so as to be capable of communicating with the network, according to the usage environment.

[0025] The storage unit 110 includes, as material information 111, a raw material polymer basic structure 112, a material recipe 113, macro characteristics 114, and an appropriate material recipe 115. The storage unit 110 also includes, as molding information 116, process conditions 117 and appropriate process conditions 118. The appropriate material recipe 115 has the same data structure as the material recipe 113 described later. The appropriate process conditions 118 have the same data structure as the process conditions 117 described later.

[0026] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a material recipe. In the material recipe 113, information indicating the interface adhesion (resistance to interface peeling, affinity) is associated with each recipe 113a. The material recipe includes any one or a combination of the functional group structure of the raw material polymer side chain, the substitution degree of the functional group, the molecular structure of the additive, and the mixing ratio of the additive. Furthermore, if the interface adhesion is low, crazes (precursor phenomenon to cracks) and shear yielding are likely to occur.

[0027] 6 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of macro characteristics. In the macro characteristics 114, a polymer type 114b and a polymer blend dispersion state 114c are associated with each property item 114a. In the property item 114a, various properties such as tensile strength, elastic modulus, and breaking strain are set as KPIs.

[0028] The polymer type 114b lists the types of polymers such as PLA, PBS, PBAT, TPS, etc. The polymer blend dispersion state 114c lists candidates for the dispersion state obtained from the combination of the raw material polymers. Macro characteristics are stored for each of the polymer type 114b and the polymer blend dispersion state 114c.

[0029] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the process conditions. The process conditions 117 correspond to the dispersion state and details of the conditions according to the process condition candidates 117a for each predetermined polymer blend. The process condition candidates 117a list combinations of process conditions such as temperature, pressure, flow rate, molding time, etc.

[0030] The dispersion state stores the dispersion structure of the polymer blend when the process condition candidate 117a is applied. For example, when it is desired to obtain a dispersion structure as fine as possible, it is often desirable to set the temperature condition as low as possible, and in that case, it is possible to specify how the dispersion structure will change depending on how the pressure and flow rate are set.

[0031] The dispersion state is defined by the geometric shape of the phases composed of multiple raw polymers. For example, in a polymer blend in which a minor component raw polymer is dispersed in a continuous phase of a main component raw polymer, the dispersion state can be defined by the amount of precipitated minor component polymer, the precipitate size, the shape of the precipitated phase, the distance between precipitated phases, etc. In addition, in a polymer blend in which multiple raw polymers constitute co-continuous phases, the dispersion state can be defined by the size of the co-continuous phase, the shape of the co-continuous phase, and the period of the co-continuous phase.

[0032] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 1, the processing unit 120 includes an appropriate dispersion state deriving unit 121, an appropriate process condition deriving unit 122, a correction unit 123, and an input / output control unit .

[0033] The proper dispersion state derivation unit 121 derives a dispersion state that satisfies the specified required characteristics using a material recipe. The proper dispersion state derivation unit 121 also generates a dispersion state of a polymer blend obtained by mixing specified raw material polymers, performs a continuum simulation to calculate the properties of the polymer blend in the dispersed state, and derives a dispersion state in which the properties of the polymer blend satisfy the specified required characteristics as the proper dispersion state. Note that, as a method of the continuum simulation, for example, a method such as an equivalent inclusion method, an elliptical inclusion method, or a finite element method can be adopted.

[0034] The appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 derives process conditions under which the interfacial adhesion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value among the dispersion states, and the material recipe under the process conditions. In addition, for the dispersion state that satisfies the predetermined required characteristics, a second dispersion state and the interfacial adhesion when blended under the predetermined process conditions are derived by molecular simulation. Note that, as a method of molecular simulation, a model that defines the geometric structure of atoms and the interaction between atoms in a polymer, such as an all-atom model, a united atom model, a bead spring model, etc., is used as a molecular model.

[0035] In deriving the dispersion state, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 uses a model that combines multiple molecular models of the raw polymer as a dispersion state verification model. The appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 defines predetermined process conditions (temperature, pressure) for this model and performs a structural relaxation simulation to obtain a thermodynamically stable dispersion state.

[0036] Since the structural relaxation simulation executed when verifying the dispersion state has a larger system size and requires a longer simulation time than the interface adhesion verification model described later, it is desirable to use a model with a higher degree of coarse-graining than the interface adhesion verification model described later in order to complete the calculation within a realistic time. Therefore, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 performs the molecular simulation for deriving the second dispersion state by a simulation method with a higher degree of coarse-graining than the molecular simulation for deriving the interface adhesion.

[0037] In deriving the interface adhesion, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 uses a model that simulates the state of a phase-separation interface by joining a system made of one type of raw material polymer with a system made of another type of raw material polymer as an interface adhesion verification model. The appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 defines predetermined process conditions (temperature, pressure) for this model, performs a structure relaxation simulation, and calculates the interface adhesion at the phase-separation interface by executing an interface adhesion simulation for the relaxed structure.

[0038] Methods for simulating interfacial adhesion include, for example, a method of calculating the mechanical response until the structure is destroyed by deforming the system, and a method of calculating the interfacial adhesion energy from the difference in potential energy between a system consisting of a single phase and a system consisting of multiple phases.

[0039] The correction unit 123 corrects the material recipe and process conditions so that the dispersion state derived by the appropriate dispersion state derivation unit 121 matches the second dispersion state to a specified degree or more, and the interface adhesion is a specified value or more.

[0040] The input / output control unit 124 receives the designation of multiple types of raw material polymers as a material recipe, and outputs the material recipe and process conditions corrected by the correction unit.

[0041] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow of the manufacturing support process. The manufacturing support process is started when manufacturing support apparatus 100 receives a start instruction from a designer or the like.

[0042] First, the input / output control unit 124 receives the raw polymer basic structure, material recipe, macro characteristics, and required characteristics of the polymer blend from an external device 200, etc., and stores them in the raw polymer basic structure 112, material recipe 113, macro characteristics 114, and material information 111, respectively (step S001).

[0043] In this step, the input / output control unit 124 may accept the selection of data already stored in the raw polymer basic structure 112, the material recipe 113, the macro characteristics 114, and the material information 111 regarding the raw polymer basic structure, material recipe, macro characteristics, and required characteristics of the polymer blend, if such data is stored therein, or may be configured to store only the additions as differences.

[0044] Then, the proper dispersion state deriving unit 121 executes a process of deriving a candidate proper dispersion state of the raw polymer, which will be described later (step S002). Through this process, the proper dispersion state deriving unit 121 obtains a dispersion state that satisfies predetermined required characteristics.

[0045] Then, the input / output control unit 124 receives a selection of the appropriate distribution state to be used and a user input (step S003). Specifically, the input / output control unit 124 receives a selection input from among the distribution states obtained in step S002 for the distribution state to be used in the subsequent processing, or receives an input of another distribution state from the user, if any.

[0046] Then, the input / output control unit 124 accepts the selection of the predetermined process conditions to be used and the input from the user, and stores them in the molding information 116 (step S004). Specifically, the input / output control unit 124 accepts the selection input from among the process conditions already stored in the process conditions 117 for the process conditions to be used in the subsequent processing, or the input of other process conditions from the user, if any.

[0047] Then, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 executes an appropriate process condition derivation process (step S005) to be described later. Through this process, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 obtains process conditions under which the interface adhesion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and a material recipe for the process conditions.

[0048] The above is an example of a process flow for the manufacturing support process, which allows a user to easily select the material recipe and process conditions required to create a polymer blend with desired material properties.

[0049] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow of a process for deriving candidates for an appropriate dispersion state of a raw material polymer. The process for deriving candidates for an appropriate dispersion state of a raw material polymer is started in step S002 of the manufacturing support process. The process for deriving candidates for an appropriate dispersion state of a raw material polymer is a process for deriving candidates for an appropriate dispersion state that satisfies required properties by randomly generating a dispersion state in which raw material polymers are mixed and performing a continuum simulation based on macro property data.

[0050] First, the optimal dispersion state derivation unit 121 randomly generates a dispersion state (polymer blend) in which raw material polymers are mixed, and constructs a model for a continuum simulation (step S101). As described above, the continuum simulation method may be, for example, the equivalent inclusion method, the elliptical inclusion method, or the finite element method.

[0051] Then, the appropriate dispersion state derivation unit 121 assigns the macro characteristics of the raw polymers to a model, performs a continuum simulation, and derives the characteristics of the polymer blend (step S102). Specifically, the appropriate dispersion state derivation unit 121 refers to the macro characteristics 114 for each raw polymer constituting the polymer blend, incorporates them into the model of the continuum simulation, and performs a continuum simulation to calculate the macro characteristics 114 for each dispersion state 114c of the polymer blend and store them in the macro characteristics 114.

[0052] Then, the optimal dispersion state derivation unit 121 determines whether or not the properties of the polymer blend satisfy the required properties received in step S001 of the manufacturing support process (step S103).

[0053] If the properties of the polymer blend do not satisfy the required properties ("No" in step S103), the correction unit 123 changes the dispersion state using a method such as Newton's method, the calculus of variations, or random (step S104). Then, the correction unit 123 returns control to step S102, and executes step S102 in the changed dispersion state.

[0054] If the properties of the polymer blend satisfy the required properties ("Yes" in step S103), the input / output control unit 124 stores the dispersion state that satisfies the required properties as an appropriate dispersion state in the material information 111 (step S105).

[0055] The above is an example of the process flow of the process for deriving candidates for the optimum dispersion state of the raw material polymer. According to the process for deriving candidates for the optimum dispersion state of the raw material polymer, candidates for the optimum dispersion state that satisfy the required characteristics can be derived.

[0056] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow of the appropriate process condition derivation process. The appropriate process condition derivation process is started in step S005 of the manufacturing support process. The appropriate process condition derivation process is a process in which a molecular dynamics simulation is performed based on the basic structure of the raw material polymer, the material recipe, and the process conditions, a stable dispersion state and an interface adhesion are derived, the material recipe and the process conditions are corrected until the degree of agreement between the stable dispersion state and the appropriate dispersion state and the interface adhesion reach a predetermined value or more, and the corrected information is displayed.

[0057] First, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 generates a molecular model of the raw polymer, and constructs a dispersion state verification model and an interface adhesion verification model (step S201). As described above, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 uses a model that combines multiple molecular models of the raw polymer as the dispersion state verification model. In addition, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 uses a model that simulates the state of a phase separation interface by joining a system made of one type of raw polymer and a system made of another type of raw polymer as the interface adhesion verification model.

[0058] Then, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 performs a molecular dynamics simulation using the material recipe and the process conditions to derive a stable dispersion state and interface adhesion (step S202). Note that, as a method of the molecular dynamics simulation, a model that defines the geometric structure of atoms in a polymer and the interactions between atoms, such as an all-atom model, a united atom model, a bead spring model, etc., is used as a molecular model.

[0059] As described above, in deriving the dispersion state, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 uses a model that combines multiple molecular models of the raw polymer as a dispersion state verification model. The appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 defines predetermined process conditions (temperature, pressure) for this model and performs a structural relaxation simulation to obtain a thermodynamically stable dispersion state.

[0060] Since the structural relaxation simulation executed when verifying the dispersion state has a larger system size and requires a longer simulation time than the interface adhesion verification model described later, it is desirable to use a model with a higher degree of coarse-graining than the interface adhesion verification model described later in order to complete the calculation within a realistic time. Therefore, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 performs the molecular simulation for deriving the second dispersion state by a simulation method with a higher degree of coarse-graining than the molecular simulation for deriving the interface adhesion.

[0061] Furthermore, as described above, in deriving the interfacial adhesion, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 uses, as an interfacial adhesion verification model, a model that simulates the state of a phase separation interface by joining a system consisting of one type of raw material polymer with a system consisting of another type of raw material polymer.

[0062] The optimum process condition derivation unit 122 defines predetermined process conditions (temperature, pressure) for this model, performs a structure relaxation simulation, and executes an interface adhesion simulation for the relaxed structure to calculate the interface adhesion at the phase separation interface. As a method for simulating the interface adhesion, for example, a method of calculating the mechanical response until the structure is destroyed by deforming the system, or a method of calculating the interface adhesion energy from the difference in potential energy between a system consisting of a single phase and a system consisting of multiple phases is adopted.

[0063] Then, the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 determines whether the stable dispersion state derived in step S202 matches the appropriate dispersion state received in step S003 of the manufacturing support process by a predetermined amount or more, and whether the interfacial adhesion derived in step S202 is a predetermined value or more (step S203).

[0064] If the stable dispersion state and the proper dispersion state do not match by a predetermined amount or more, or if the interface adhesion is less than a predetermined value ("No" in step S203), the correction unit 123 changes the material recipe and process conditions by a method such as Newton's method, the calculus of variations, or random (step S204). Then, the correction unit 123 returns control to step S202, and executes step S202 with the changed material recipe and process conditions.

[0065] If the stable dispersion state and the appropriate dispersion state match to a specified degree or more and the interfacial adhesion is a specified value or more (if "Yes" in step S203), the input / output control unit 124 stores the material recipe in the appropriate material recipe 115 of the material information 111 and stores the process conditions in the appropriate process conditions 118 of the molding information 116 (step S205).

[0066] Then, the input / output control unit 124 displays the optimum material recipe and the optimum process conditions on the result screen (step S206).

[0067] The above is an example of a process flow of the process for deriving appropriate process conditions. The process for deriving appropriate process conditions can derive material recipes and process conditions that make the degree of coincidence between the stable dispersion state and the appropriate dispersion state and the interface adhesion equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0068] On the result screen, the derived process conditions and material recipes are presented in order of ease of implementation (for example, lowest pressure, lowest temperature, or lowest flow rate), and the next easiest combinations of process conditions and material recipes are presented as variations. The display order is not limited to this, and the combinations may be sorted by required characteristics (mechanical properties, thermal properties, cost properties, etc.). Furthermore, material recipes are presented in molecular structure (others, such as ratios, are presented in a table).

[0069] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the manufacturing support device. The manufacturing support device 100 can be realized by a general computer 900 including a processor 901, a hardware memory 902 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a storage 903 such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), a reading device 905 for reading information from a portable storage medium 904 such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an input device 906 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a barcode reader, or a touch panel, an output device 907 such as a display, and a communication device 908 for communicating with other computers via a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet, or a network system including a plurality of such computers 900. The reading device 905 may be capable of not only reading but also writing to the portable storage medium 904.

[0070] The processor 901 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The processor 901 executes various processes by executing various predetermined programs loaded from the storage 903 to the memory 902. The programs are, for example, application programs that can be executed on an operating system (OS) program. The programs may be installed in the storage 903 from a portable storage medium 904 via a reading device 905, or may be downloaded from a network via a communication device 908 and executed by the processor 901.

[0071] For example, the processing unit 120, the optimum dispersion state derivation unit 121, the optimum process condition derivation unit 122, the correction unit 123, and the input / output control unit 124 can be realized by loading a program stored in the storage 903 into the memory 902 and executing it on the processor 901.

[0072] The input unit 130 can be realized by the processor 901 using the input device 906 and the communication device 908. The output unit 140 can be realized by the processor 901 using the output device 907 and the communication device 908. The storage unit 110 can be realized by the processor 901 using the memory 902 or the storage 903. The communication unit 150 can be realized by the processor 901 using the communication device 908.

[0073] The above is an example of the manufacturing support device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modified examples are included. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to having all of the configurations described. It is possible to replace a part of the configuration of the embodiment with another configuration, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of the embodiment. It is also possible to delete a part of the configuration of the embodiment.

[0074] For example, in the first embodiment, the molecular dynamics simulation in the optimum process condition derivation process has a high processing load, and high-performance hardware resources are required to complete the process within a specified processing time. A second embodiment for reducing the processing load will be described below. Note that the manufacturing support system according to the second embodiment is basically similar to the manufacturing support system 1 according to the first embodiment, and the differences will be mainly described.

[0075] Second Embodiment In the second embodiment, a model in which a parameter related to compatibility is added to the bead-spring model is used as a molecular model for simulating a stable dispersion state, and an all-atom model in which all atoms are explicitly treated, or a united-atom model in which hydrogen atoms in hydrocarbons are omitted, is used as a molecular model for simulating interface adhesion. In this case, when simulating interface adhesion of a raw material polymer containing a functional group (polar group) with particularly high polarity, a molecular model that takes both electrostatic interaction and van der Waals forces into account is used.

[0076] The bead-spring model is a molecular model that can reduce the calculation load compared to the all-atom model and the united atom model because it treats molecules as atomic groups within a certain range, but the accuracy is slightly inferior. Therefore, by using a compatibility parameter in the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122, it is possible to calculate the dispersion state with high accuracy. As a result, for molecular simulation of a stable dispersion state, which requires a large system size and a long calculation time, it is possible to obtain an appropriate dispersion state in a short simulation time.

[0077] Furthermore, for the molecular simulation of interface adhesion, by using a molecular model to which both electrostatic interaction parameters and van der Waals interaction parameters are assigned as described above, it is possible to obtain highly accurate results that take into account the attractive potential between atoms and the entanglement of molecular chains. Therefore, according to the manufacturing support system 1 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to derive material recipes and process conditions required to realize a desired dispersion state and interface adhesion with high accuracy and in a short simulation time.

[0078] In the first embodiment, the molecular dynamics simulation of the interface adhesion in the optimum process condition derivation process has a high processing load, and high-performance hardware resources are required to complete the simulation within a predetermined processing time. A third embodiment for reducing the processing load will be described below. The manufacturing support system according to the third embodiment is basically similar to the manufacturing support system 1 according to the first embodiment, and the differences will be mainly described.

[0079] <Third embodiment> In the third embodiment, the geometric state of the entanglement of the molecular model at the interface obtained by the simulation of the stable dispersion state is maintained, and the scale is converted to a molecular model with a higher resolution, and the converted model is used as the initial structure in the simulation of the interface adhesion. This makes it possible to shorten the time for the structural relaxation simulation when performing the simulation of the interface adhesion.

[0080] In addition, polymer blends can improve the properties of environmentally friendly plastics such as recycled plastics and bioplastics, and expand the scope of application. However, if the derived material recipe or condition process has a large environmental load, it may not meet the purpose of reducing the environmental load caused by plastic waste. In the above first embodiment, no particular attention is given to this point, so a fourth embodiment that prevents the derivation of material recipes and process conditions with high environmental load when improving the properties of recycled plastics and bioplastics will be described below. The manufacturing support system according to the fourth embodiment is basically the same as the manufacturing support system 1 according to the above first embodiment, and the differences will be mainly described.

[0081] <Fourth embodiment> In the fourth embodiment, in the judgment of step S203 of the optimum process condition derivation process, the optimum process condition derivation unit 122 uses not only the dispersion state and the interface adhesion but also the environmental load caused by the production of the polymer blend as a target variable. In this way, the optimum process condition derivation unit 122 can correct the material recipe and the process conditions until the environmental load becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0082] The environmental impact of the production of the polymer blend can be expressed as the sum of the environmental impact of the production of the raw polymer and the environmental impact of the blend. The environmental impact of the production of the raw polymer can be obtained by the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 from a predetermined database. Alternatively, it can be calculated by multiplying the environmental impact unit data (e.g., unit data of carbon dioxide emission) input by the user and the input amount of the raw polymer. The environmental impact of the production of the polymer blend is calculated by estimating the amount of power consumption from the process conditions in the appropriate process condition derivation unit 122 and multiplying it by a predetermined emission coefficient for power consumption (a coefficient that depends on the country / region where the blend is carried out).

[0083] In addition, on the results screen, the display order of the derived process conditions and material recipes can be sorted by environmental impact.

[0084] According to the manufacturing support system of the fourth embodiment, when improving the properties of recycled plastics or bioplastics, it is possible to prevent deriving material recipes or process conditions that have a high environmental impact.

[0085] The above-mentioned units, configurations, functions, processing units, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits. Also, the above-mentioned units, configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the programs, tables, files, etc. that realize each function can be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk, or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0086] The control lines and information lines in the above-described embodiment are those considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines in the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all the components are connected to each other. The present invention has been described above with a focus on the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1: manufacturing support system, 100: manufacturing support device, 110: memory unit, 111: material information, 112: basic structure of raw polymer, 113: material recipe, 114: macroscopic characteristics, 115: appropriate material recipe, 116: molding information, 117: process conditions, 118: appropriate process conditions, 120: processing unit, 121: appropriate dispersion state derivation unit, 122: appropriate process condition derivation unit, 123: correction unit, 124: input / output control unit, 130: input unit, 140: output unit, 150: communication unit, 200: external device.

Claims

1. A manufacturing support system using one or more computers, the computers comprising: an input / output control unit that receives designations of multiple types of raw material polymers as a material recipe; an appropriate dispersion state derivation unit that derives a dispersion state of a polymer blend that satisfies predetermined required properties using the material recipe; an appropriate process condition derivation unit that derives a process condition under which the interfacial adhesion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value among the dispersion conditions, and the material recipe under the process condition; A manufacturing support system comprising:

2. The manufacturing support system according to claim 1, The appropriate dispersion state derivation unit A dispersion state is generated by mixing the specified raw polymers, and a continuum simulation is performed to calculate the properties of the polymer blend in the dispersion state; The dispersion state in which the properties of the polymer blend satisfy the predetermined required properties is derived as an appropriate dispersion state. A manufacturing support system comprising:

3. The manufacturing support system according to claim 1, The appropriate process condition derivation unit deriving a second dispersion state and interface adhesion when the dispersion state that satisfies the predetermined required properties is blended under predetermined process conditions by molecular simulation; a correction unit that corrects the material recipe and the process conditions so that the dispersion state derived by the appropriate dispersion state derivation unit coincides with the second dispersion state by a predetermined amount or more and the interface adhesion is a predetermined value or more; and an input / output control unit that outputs the material recipe and the process conditions corrected by the correction unit; A manufacturing support system comprising:

4. The manufacturing support system according to claim 1, The appropriate dispersion state derivation unit A dispersion state is generated by mixing the specified raw polymers, and a continuum simulation is performed to calculate the properties of the polymer blend in the dispersion state; A dispersion state in which the properties of the polymer blend satisfy the predetermined required properties is derived as an appropriate dispersion state; The appropriate process condition derivation unit deriving a second dispersion state and interface adhesion when the dispersion state that satisfies the predetermined required properties is blended under predetermined process conditions by molecular simulation; a correction unit that corrects the material recipe and the process conditions so that the dispersion state derived by the appropriate dispersion state derivation unit coincides with the second dispersion state by a predetermined amount or more and the interface adhesion is a predetermined value or more; and an input / output control unit that outputs the material recipe and the process conditions corrected by the correction unit; A manufacturing support system comprising:

5. The manufacturing support system according to claim 3 or 4, The appropriate process condition derivation unit The molecular simulation for deriving the second dispersion state is performed by a simulation method having a higher degree of coarse graining than the molecular simulation for deriving the interface adhesion. A manufacturing support system comprising:

6. The manufacturing support system according to claim 3 or 4, The appropriate process condition derivation unit In the molecular simulation for deriving the second dispersion state, a molecular model to which a compatibility parameter is assigned is used. A manufacturing support system comprising:

7. The manufacturing support system according to claim 3 or 4, The appropriate process condition derivation unit In the molecular simulation for deriving the interface adhesion, a molecular model to which both an electrostatic interaction parameter and a van der Waals interaction parameter are assigned is used for the raw material polymer containing a polar group. A manufacturing support system comprising:

8. The manufacturing support system according to claim 3 or 4, The appropriate process condition derivation unit a molecular model having a higher resolution is converted while maintaining the geometric state of entanglement at the interface obtained from the result of the molecular simulation for deriving the second dispersion state, and the molecular model is used as an initial structure when performing a molecular simulation of the interface adhesion. A manufacturing support system comprising:

9. The manufacturing support system according to claim 1, The material recipe includes any one or a combination of a functional group structure of a side chain of a raw material polymer, a substitution degree of the functional group, a molecular structure of an additive, and a mixing ratio of the additive. A manufacturing support system comprising:

10. The manufacturing support system according to claim 1, The process conditions include any one or combination of temperature, pressure, and flow rate; A manufacturing support system comprising:

11. The manufacturing support system according to claim 3 or 4, the correction unit corrects the material recipe and the process conditions based on the material recipe and the process conditions so that an environmental load level associated with the production of the polymer blend is equal to or less than a predetermined value. A manufacturing support system comprising:

12. an input / output control unit that receives designations of multiple types of raw material polymers as a material recipe; an appropriate dispersion state derivation unit that derives a dispersion state of a polymer blend that satisfies predetermined required properties using the material recipe; an appropriate process condition derivation unit that derives a process condition under which the interfacial adhesion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value among the dispersion conditions, and the material recipe under the process condition; A manufacturing support device comprising:

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