Material and component development

For developing new materials and components and adapting established ones to customers' requirements, the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability is equipped with synthesis laboratories that can be used in a flexible way and applies a number of different processing techniques.

Polymer synthesis and development of additives:

  • Synthesis in solution, solid-phase synthesis and heterogeneous synthesis methods
  • Synthesis under inert conditions
  • High-temperature synthesis
  • Synthesis under pressure
  • UV radiation
  • Dispersing and mixing
  • Surface treatment
  • Material separation and preparation

Plastics processing:

  • Laboratory kneader
  • Twin-screw extruder
  • Single-screw extruder
  • Flat film extrusion
  • Injection moulding machines
  • Plastic press
  • Foil coating in a roll-to-roll process
  • In-line process control of various plastic processing techniques

Fiber composites laboratory:

  • Mould making, using, e. g. rapid prototyping
  • Prototype manufacturing
  • Manufacturing of fiber composite specimens by means of prepreg technology, vacuum infusion, VAP, RTM

Polymer analytics:

  • Molecular weight determination of polymers
  • Chemical composition and functional analysis of polymers

Material properties / materialography:

  • Light, transmission electron and scanning electron microscopy with EDX analysis
  • Morphology determination of plastics by means of scattering methods