Researchers from Boeing and IBM Quantum have developed new quantum computing methods to study corrosion, a multibillion-dollar problem for the aerospace industry. The team developed two techniques to simulate a key step in the corrosion process known as water reduction. They also created a method for the exact and automated simplification of quantum circuits, reducing the quantum resources required for their simulations. The researchers believe their circuit simplification method could have a wide range of applications beyond their specific experiments. The collaboration between Boeing and IBM Quantum will continue, focusing on how quantum computing can illuminate chemical reactions involved in material degradation.
Quantum Computing and Corrosion Control
Corrosion, a chemical process that results in the deterioration of materials, is a significant issue for industries such as aerospace manufacturing. It causes billions of dollars worth of damage each year to metals used across public infrastructure and nearly every sector of industry. Researchers from an aerospace manufacturer and a technology company have developed new quantum computing methods to study these chemical reactions, potentially paving the way for the creation of new, corrosion-resistant materials.
The researchers have developed two new techniques to perform quantum simulations of a key step in the corrosion process known as water reduction. Quantum computation is particularly well-suited to modelling quantum-scale systems, allowing the researchers to compute the energies involved in the water reduction reaction more accurately than traditional methods.
In addition, the researchers have devised a new method for the exact and automated simplification of quantum circuits. This reduces the quantum resources required to run their simulations and could have a wide array of applications beyond their specific simulation experiments.
The Role of Quantum Computing in Aerospace Industry
Corrosion is a significant problem in the aerospace industry. It occurs in the presence of a corrosive electrolyte, predominantly thin films that form on the surface of vehicles when they operate in a humid environment. High humidity or instances of humidity cycling between dry and wet conditions can form these films on the surfaces, leading to corrosion if the surface is unprotected.
The goal of the researchers is to do calculations to characterise corrosion in existing materials, and eventually propose a new material that is more resilient to corrosion. The first step is to understand what is happening in the existing materials. The researchers aim to develop a precise description and understanding of the kinetic rates of the reactions that drive corrosion, focusing on how these water films react on the metal surface after they form.
Quantum Computing: A Tool for Accurate Energy Computation
Quantum devices were used in the research to compute energy at a very fundamental level. Traditional methods, such as density functional theory (DFT), require a lot of approximation so they can run on classical computing hardware. DFT is widely used in the field, including in industry, but it is known to be deficient in some areas, including accuracy in predicting chemical kinetics.
The researchers showed that by recomputing the energies with quantum hardware, they could achieve more accurate results than DFT. This is significant as it shows that a quantum description is needed to study this reaction very precisely.
The Importance of Exploring Quantum Computing Today
Despite the fact that we have not yet achieved fault-tolerance in quantum computing, researchers argue that it is important to start exploring quantum computing today. Quantum computation research provides opportunities to reconsider and further develop important ideas and methodologies. It forces researchers to think about their problems in new ways that may lead to new directions, new tools, and new ideas to import into their research.
The potential benefit of quantum computing is very big. It allows for the measurement of energies very accurately, which can help make very accurate predictions and resolve many real-world problems that classical computation can’t with current methods.
Future Research in Quantum Computing and Materials
The researchers plan to continue their collaboration with further explorations of how quantum computing may shed light on chemical reactions involved in the degradation of materials by their interaction with different kinds of environments. This ongoing research could potentially lead to the development of new, corrosion-resistant materials, providing a significant benefit to industries such as aerospace manufacturing.
“Corrosion is a very important problem in the aerospace industry that impacts our business heavily.” – Nam Nguyen, Boeing Research & Technology
“Corrosion happens in the presence of a corrosive electrolyte. And for the aerospace industry, that is predominantly thin films that form on the surface of vehicles whenever they are operating in a humid environment. Anywhere you have high humidity, or instances of the humidity cycling between dry and wet conditions, you can form those films on the surfaces. And if the surface is unprotected, that can kick off corrosion.” – Kristen Williams, Boeing
“Whether you’re talking about an aircraft, the hull of a ship or something else — sooner or later it’s going to be degraded by the interaction with the environment, and you won’t be able to use it anymore. So, the goal is for scientists to do calculations to characterize corrosion in existing materials, and eventually to propose a new material that is more resilient to corrosion than what we have today. But the first step is to understand what is happening in the existing materials.” – Mario Motta, IBM Research
“We were using the quantum devices to compute energy at a very fundamental level. For the most part, when chemists do these types of calculations today, they use tools like density functional theory (DFT), which require a lot of approximation so they can run on classical computing hardware. DFT is really a workhorse of the field, including in industry, but we’ve known for a long time that it is deficient in some areas — including accuracy in predicting chemical kinetics.” – Kristen Williams, Boeing
“The potential upside or benefit of quantum computing is very big. It allows you to measure these energies very accurately, and then helps us to make very accurate predictions and resolve many real world problems that classical computation can’t with current methods. At the same time, you don’t really know the challenge until you do it. You could say, “okay, let’s just wait until there are fault-tolerant quantum computers and use them,” but then by the time we have one, I would argue that you won’t know how to utilize it best. If you start now, you will learn how to optimize the system, how to develop methods for the problems you want to solve, and how to get the most out of the hardware.” – Nam Nguyen, Boeing Research & Technology
Summary
Researchers from Boeing and IBM Quantum have developed new quantum computing methods to study the chemical reactions involved in corrosion, a process that causes significant damage to metals across various industries. The team’s techniques, which simulate a key step in the corrosion process known as water reduction, could potentially lead to the creation of new, corrosion-resistant materials.
- Researchers from Boeing and IBM Quantum have collaborated to develop new quantum computing methods to study corrosion. This chemical process causes billions of dollars worth of damage each year to metals used across public infrastructure and nearly every sector of industry.
- The team developed two new techniques to perform quantum simulations of a key step in the corrosion process known as water reduction. They also devised a new method for the exact and automated simplification of quantum circuits, reducing the quantum resources required to run their simulations.
- The researchers, including Nam Nguyen, an applied mathematician at Boeing Research & Technology; Kristen Williams, associate technical fellow and manager of the applied math computational methods research group at Boeing; and Mario Motta, IBM Research senior research scientist, believe their circuit simplification method may have a wide array of applications beyond their specific simulation experiments.
- The team used IBM Quantum hardware and software capabilities to compute the energies involved in the water reduction reaction more accurately than a leading classical method.
- The researchers plan to continue their collaboration, exploring how quantum computing may shed light on chemical reactions involved in the degradation of materials by their interaction with different kinds of environments.