Projects

The increasing automation of maritime systems is raising the bar for securing the AI components used in these systems. In the BMWE-funded “SIMAS” project, we are collaborating with TKMS and its TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK segment, DNV, and FEV Etamax to develop a new methodology based on a risk-based approach. By integrating AI performance data into Bayesian networks, we are enabling a transparent safety assessment of autonomous maritime vessels.

The research project “Automated and Digitized Circular Economy Solutions for Electric Axle Drive Systems, ReDriveS” has been launched: The 25 partners from industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, and academia—supplemented by associated partners from research and business—are part of one of the national flagship projects in the BMWE’s “DNS of Sustainable Mobility—Digital, Sustainable, System-Capable” program. Automated disassembly processes, innovative recycling methods for rare-earth magnets, and the use of digital twins are intended to lay the cross-industry foundations for sustainable electromobility.

In the “Fatigue Strength Database for Thermoplastics,” we bring together over three decades of experience to create a unique foundation for design, material selection, and service life prediction. The database identifies relationships between material, geometry, external influences, and loading, making this information immediately usable for development and validation. The database comprises more than 11,000 tested specimens and 1,300 Wöhler curves. It covers engineering thermoplastics from various manufacturers, different additive formulations, conditioning states, varied specimen geometries, environmental influences, and mechanical loads. Standardized test documentation and evaluation ensure high comparability and direct transferability to simulation and design routines.

Offshore wind energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources in Germany. The offshore support structures of wind turbines are subjected to complex environmental stresses, the effects of which on fatigue life can only be assessed with limited reliability using current state-of-the-art methods. Against this backdrop, we have developed a practical yet precise method for predicting the service life of failure-critical welded joints. This opens up significant potential for cost savings in the manufacturing process.

Antioxidant highly effective compounds from nature tailor-made for your use in plastics.

The use of plastics from recyclates is largely determined by their quality. With the exception of production waste with little damage, a used plastic cannot be used in the form in which it is produced or collected. Usually, if necessary, it is sorted, cleaned and reprocessed, for example into granules. For a sufficient recyclate quality with adequate processing and long-term stability for the intended application, post-stabilization with suitable additives is often required. With appropriate additives such as stabilizers, compatibilizers and reactive additives, recyclates achieve comparable properties to virgin material.

Sustainable plastic recyclates and biodegradable polymers for nonwovens and roofing membranes: 1. Is it possible to recycle and additives different waste streams to produce high-quality recyclates, which in turn can be used to produce fibers and films that can be further processed into competitive nonwovens and films for roofing membranes? 2. Can fibers be produced from bio-based polymers that can not only be spun into nonwovens, but whose degradation in the environment can be adjusted and which do not pose a risk to the environment?

Vibroacoustic metamaterials as noise and vibration reduction measures enable new design freedom for the targeted vibroacoustic optimization of components while simultaneously taking lightweight construction criteria into account. passive vibration reduction measures, structural dynamics.

The FNR project “BioFlammschutz” has developed innovative, bio-based, and environmentally friendly phosphorus-containing flame retardants. These are intended to serve as an ecologically and economically advantageous alternative to the halogen-containing flame retardant additives currently in use, which are problematic from an ecotoxicological perspective. The new flame retardants were produced from cotton and wood cellulose and the inexpensive sugar alcohol erythritol using a method developed at Fraunhofer LBF. Their suitability was demonstrated in flame retardant applications for polyolefins and a partially bio-based polyamide.

Components made of zinc die-cast alloys are used in various industries due to their high surface and component quality and the efficiency of the hot-chamber die-casting process. However, they are rarely used for components subject to high cyclic loads because they lack structural durabiity characteristics. To change this, the cyclic material behavior of various zinc die-cast alloys was investigated and summarized in a design concept.