Press releases

The Forum Plastic Recyclates will now be operating, with immediate effect, under new management: All rights associated with the event have been transferred from Hanser Publications to the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt. Fraunhofer LBF will now be assuming responsibility for operative planning of the event and will put together the conference program along with the experienced advisory committee. The fourth Plastic Recyclates Forum will be held on March 24, 2022. As before, the functional emphasis will be on mechanical recycling.

For optimal modelling of material properties of hard foam in FEM simulations, hydrostatic tension and compression tests are of crucial importance. These tests are essential during design to ensure that the material will not fail in the application. Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF have developed innovative test procedures and improved methods for the safe design of hard foam components.

A cost-efficient lightweight battery housing for battery electric vehicles has been developed at Fraunhofer LBF. Using this, it is possible to achieve a 40 percent reduction in weight compared to an aluminum housing. Despite the application of fiber-reinforced plastic composites, component cost is low due to a specially developed, highly-efficient manufacturing process and a stress equivalent structural design. The mechanical properties were validated in the GHOST project funded by the European Commission using finite element simulations during the design phase and validated under real conditions on a test bench. Further information will be given at JEC connect, June, 1 to 2, 2021.

Increasingly stringent statutory emission limits are pushing the automotive industry toward innovative lightweight design solutions. In this context, the fatigue strength of thin sheet metal structures, especially made from multi-material, is becoming increasingly important. As part of the EU-funded research project "ALLIANCE" on the topic of lightweight design and CO2 reduction, the car manufacturer Opel Automobile GmbH, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF and the System Reliability, Adaptive Structures, and Machine Acoustics department of the Technical University of Darmstadt, has developed innovative numerical fatigue strength assessment approaches for multi-material joints based on fatigue tests of hybrid joined shear and peel specimens. The method was validated by Fraunhofer LBF scientists with fatigue tests on component-like bowl specimens with the material pairing Steel-Aluminum.

For quality control and damage assessment of injection-moulded components, simple and cost-effective tests are desired. Preparation of the standard test specimens is sometimes costly. In this case, the specimens taken from the flat areas of the component can be preferred. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF have improved known in-plane geometry for the shear test. Together with the modified loading schema, the new procedure is reliable and can be used for a wide range of materials. The new test specification is especially developed for SME's to reduce the costs of the component development and also by quality control. With this method, the data for material appropriate modelling can be obtained. The manufacture of special test specimens is obsolete.

Components are subject to multi-axial loadings. The typical design approach is based on material specific modelling and suitable tests to identify the parameters of the model. The tests are costly and time consuming. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF have suggested a basic approach to select the necessary tests for reliable modelling.

Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF have taken a closer look in an attempt to answer this question. The initial situation: larvae of the wax moth Galleria melonella are thought to eat and digest polyethylene, which is why they are considered to contribute to the CO2-neutral elimination of the mountains of plastic waste that are growing worldwide. However, whether the caterpillar can do this is still not understood and is currently the subject of controversial discussion. Within the framework of a research project on the chemical imaging analysis of plastic digestion in caterpillars (RauPE), a team from Fraunhofer LBF used high-resolution Raman microscopy and dedicated software to follow the path of the plastic through the caterpillar and made important contributions to clarifying these unanswered questions.

Plastics behave dependent on temperature and strain rate. When designing components, it is therefore important to know the behavior of the plastic used, not only under laboratory conditions, but also under the subsequent conditions of use. The entire spectrum of possible temperatures must be considered. To this end, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF have expanded the dynamic possibilities at the institute's own modified high-speed testing machine with a device that enables plastics to be examined even at low temperatures – validated down to -40 degrees Celsius – without a thermal chamber. dynamischen Testmöglichkeiten am institutseigenen Schnellzerreißer mit einer Vorrichtung erweitert, die es ermöglicht, Kunststoffe auch bei tiefen Temperaturen – validiert sind bis -40 Grad Celsius – ohne Thermokammer zu prüfen.

Since 2002, the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF has been granting the Ernst Gaßner Award for outstanding achievements in structural durability. The award honors experts for exceptional contributions in the development of safety-relevant, reliable lightweight components. This year, the seventh award ceremony saw the Darmstadt-based institute honor two winners: Dr. Yung-Li Lee, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) in Auburn Hills, MI-USA, and Bruno Seufert, Daimler AG in Sindelfingen, Germany.

“Infusion 4.0,” a project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, shows how effective fiber-optic sensors are in monitoring the vacuum infusion process during the production of large composite components. Together with its project partner, MT Aerospace AG, the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF has made the previously-hidden process steps visible and digitally controllable, thereby increasing process reliability. This new, efficient manufacturing technology supports reliable and fast development of aerospace products.