Research activities

In the course of the mobility transition, the demands on the resilience of components in drive technology are increasing. At the same time, the switch from combustion engines to electric motors is changing the components required. The additive manufacturing of steel components offers a high degree of freedom with regard to the geometry of new types of machine elements. In addition, the characteristic temperature profiles that the steel undergoes during the manufacturing process lead to unique material states with outstanding properties.

Under the Management of Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hoja, the IMPAKT 3D scheme, aims to investigate fundamental relationships between the process parameters and the structure of additively manufactured heat-treatable steels. The processing of such steels requires special manufacturing strategies due to their poor weldability. The reason for the poor weldability is the high carbon content, which at the same time opens up the possibility of using the temperature profiles during component production to set high-strength responsibilities by in-process heat treatment and thus possibly save subsequent heat treatments.

Blood donations are a critical resource in our healthcare system that we cannot do without. It is therefore all the more important to ensure that the donated blood does not suffer any loss of quality during transportation and storage. The "Blutsens" project is working on monitoring and quality assurance. With the help of a lacquer-based sensor element, quality control should be able to take place before use, ensuring that the blood is in the best possible condition. The innovative core of the project is the development of a UV- and heat-sensitive lacquer whose electrical conductivity changes in response to temperature and solar radiation. Embedded in responsible readout electronics, it will ultimately be possible to retroactively confirm the necessary storage and transport requirements from the condition of the paint.

The realization of the sensor represents a major challenge that requires extensive expertise and cooperation, cooperative venture, partnership, collaboration. For this reason, a competent project consortium has been formed, consisting of SMEs and two institutions of higher education. The institution of higher education in Deggendorf, represented by the working group of Prof. Dr. Robert Boesnecker, and FINO are contributing their academic expertise. On the industrial side, Tagitron GmbH and Semasystems GmbH are combining their skills to contribute to the success of the project.

All participants contribute their specific skills to the realization of the project. The institution of higher education in Deggendorf is responsible for... the development of the readout electronics. FINO focuses on the production of the required, necessary paint. Tagitron GmbH is responsible for the Development and Production of the BLUTSENS RFID tags. In addition, Semasystems is responsible for the firmware of the RFID controllers, including their connection to the overall data storage (such as cloud solutions) and AI-supported evaluation.

After a project duration of 2.5 years, all those involved intend to bring a reliable, cost-effective solution to market maturity that can guarantee the required high quality standard of blood products.

Earmoulds are plastic moulded parts that allow hearing aids to be individually fitted into the human ear. Complicated ear geometries and the presence of body fluids make fitting difficult. The aim of the "Skinjob" project, which was funded as part of the "KMU-innovativ" call for proposals, is to develop and manufacture new types of earmolds with increased wearing comfort and a better central administration; main campus. This is made possible by the use of xolography, an innovative additive manufacturing method that enables the volumetric hardening of a liquid resin through the use of multiple laser beams with different wavelengths, in combination with functional microstructuring of the surface of the earmold.

In addition to the Audiology Competence Centre (Prof. Dr. Steffen Kreikemeier) and the FINO at Aalen University of Applied Sciences, the project consortium also includes pro3dure GmbH from Iserlohn, a manufacturer of basic plastics for additive manufacturing, xolo GmbH from Berlin, a developer and leading, sole provider of xolography, and Laborservice Eck from Paderborn, which specializes in the individual adaptation of earmoulds to the human ear. The generation of suitable surface structures, selection of suitable materials and implementation using xolography are the core tasks involved in the production of innovative earmolds. This is immediately followed by the characterization of the wearing properties and the optimization of the acoustic quality. The end result will be earmolds with increased wearing comfort and optimum acoustic properties. The results obtained at the end of the funding period from 2025 to 2027 will hopefully allow the findings to be transferred to other types of wearables.

A textile monitoring sensor for leaking hydrocarbons such as petrol or oil is to be developed as part of the "Petrol Sensor" project, which is being funded as part of the "Central Innovation Program for SMEs" student organization. The sensor technology is based on an organic conductive salt inserted into a fabric, which forms an electrically conductive solution on contact with a non-polar solvent such as petrol or oil. This makes it possible to electrically read the conductivity of the textile sensor and thus detect leaking hydrocarbons. The implementation of the idea requires detailed skills in the yarns used and their bonding or weaving.

The project consortium includes the industrial partners J. K. Effektzwirnerei GmbH, Oelsnitz, and AMOHR technische Textilien, Wuppertal, who contribute precisely the required expertise. On the academic side, the cooperation, cooperative venture, partnership, collaboration is complemented by the group of Prof. Dr. R. Boesnecker at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology and FINO. A key issue that needs to be resolved is the selectivity of the textile sensor to be developed in relation to petrol or oil, as contact with moisture or water must not cause the sensor to respond under any circumstances. This problem needs to be solved during the funding period from 2025 to 2027.

Together with partners from the worlds of sport, politics and the economy, Aalen University of Applied Sciences and the institutions of higher education in Furtwangen and Pforzheim are pursuing a new research project that aims to reintegrate highly weathered used plastics into the circular economy, or "RewitAl" for short. Environmentally friendly processes, procedures are to be developed for artificial turf surfaces, which are widely used in Germany, that ensure complete recycling of the various plastics while minimizing the discharge of microplastics. In addition, holistic strategies for a sustainable circular economy will be assessed, taking ecological and economic aspects into account.

The focus of the new project is on the previously neglected but quantitatively significant plastics used in urban sports facilities. Artificial turf can be found in place of natural turf at a wide variety of sports venues, such as soccer and rugby pitches as well as field hockey and tennis courts. Due to its robustness, it can be played on intensively and is easy to maintain. After 12 to 15 years at the latest, however, artificial turf pitches are largely worn out. In addition to playing conditions, weather influences such as sunlight, precipitation and temperature changes are the main contributing factors. The materials used change their properties, which has a negative impact on playability. In addition, the older the artificial turf gets, the more microplastics form.

This wear needs to be analyzed, especially as the ageing of the plastic affects its recyclability. Various recycling methods are therefore being investigated and industrially feasible processes, procedures are being developed. To this end, not only the visible turf fibers are being examined, but also the plastic granules in between and the elastic layers underneath, which ensure a playing experience similar to that of natural turf. The aim is to find bio-based or recycled alternatives to replace the materials used to date. The working group at the Research Institute for Innovative Surfaces (FINO) led by Professor Dr. Katharina Weber is focusing on chemical recycling in the project, in particular the pyrolysis of elastomer components. The team is also analyzing the chemical properties of recyclates, pyrolysis oils and alternative plastics.

New technologies are needed to implement the transformation in mobility and energy supply. So far, lithium-ion batteries (LIB) have been used as storage media. Taking into account the limited availability of resources for the production of LIBs and the associated dependencies on the global market, intensive research is currently being conducted into other options for energy storage. Sodium-ion batteries (NIB) are proving to be a promising and cost-effective alternative due to the high availability of sodium. So-called hard carbons are needed to produce NIBs. They can be obtained, for example, from natural materials or biowaste through pyrolysis - the thermal splitting of chemical Fraternities and sororities/clubs - and are therefore considered an environmentally friendly and sustainable resource. The problem here is the fluctuating composition of the starting materials, which can lead to considerable limitations in subsequent performance.

The HANa research project is tackling this challenge by extracting the wood components lignin and hemicellulose with defined properties from wood and bark waste through gentle pulping and subsequently pyrolyzing them into hard carbons of consistently high quality. In addition to the development of suitable anode materials, the HANa project aims to map the entire process chain for the production of NIBs: from the digestion of natural substances to pyrolysis, electrode development and assembly as well as functional testing of the finished battery cells. The breadth of this subject area requires an interdisciplinary team consisting of the project manager, project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Volker Knoblauch (IMFAA), Prof. Dr. Katharina Weber (FINO) and Prof. Dr. Willi Kantlehner, thus forming a team of experts from the fields of chemistry, materials science and battery research. The aim is also a knowledge and technology transfer with innovative companies along the value chain in order to identify market requirements at an early stage and thus achieve efficient market exploitation.

Sustainability, biodegradable and toxicologically harmless lubricants - especially in combination with an additional primary cooling function - are currently none commercially available. The overarching goal of the "ElAnOil" research project is the development, testing and assessment, rating of sustainable and technologically high-quality lubricants for electromechanical drives. In order to achieve this goal, the working group of project leader Prof. Dr. Katharina Weber at the Research Institute for Innovative Surfaces (FINO) will contribute its chemical expertise to the project. The tribological contact will be examined by Prof. Dr. Joachim Albrecht's working group, which is also based at FINO. Finally, Prof. Dr. Markus Kley and his team from the Department, Institute of Drive Technology Aalen (IAA) are looking at the mechanical engineering aspect of the project. Data analysis methods based on machine learning (ML) and virtual models, so-called digital twins, are also being used in the working groups.

The externally-funded project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is anchored in the "Research at Universities of Applied Sciences" funding programme with funding code 13FH566KX1 and has a term, period of validity, duration of four years. Four companies are participating in the project by contributing technological skills as well as technical and financial resources. Clariant Produkte Deutschland GmbH is one of the world market leaders in the development and production of specialty chemicals, including biodegradable base oils. Zeller + Gmelin GmbH & Co KG is a lubricant manufacturer with a high level of development expertise. An important focus is on the field (of) biolubricants. J. M. Voith SE & Co KG is a highly-respected, prestigious, well-known manufacturer of innovative, electromechanical drive technology. Schwaben Präzision Fritz Hopf GmbH produces technically high-quality gearboxes for production plants and mobile applications.

The production of environmentally friendly lubricants for electromechanical drive systems is of crucial importance in order to meet the increasing demands for Sustainability and Environmental protection in the industry.

On the student organization of Dr. Jochen Schanz from the LaserApplikationsZentrum (LAZ), a consortium from the fields (of) surface technology, materials engineering and laser material processing has been formed to develop an intelligent sensor concept for monitoring bonded joints. Under the controller of professors Dr. Joachim Albrecht, Dr. Harald Riegel and Dr. Volker Knoblauch, the "SmartConn" project is developing intelligent bonded joints that can indicate imminent failure and thus mandatory maintenance in advance. Invest BW Innovativ has now granted funding for the SmartConn project.

Adhesive joining using different adhesives plays a major role in many technical applications, particularly in lightweight construction, as it enables considerable weight savings compared to conventional joining techniques. This makes adhesive joining technology extremely interesting for a wide range of technical applications. However, a significant disadvantage of adhesive joining technology is the inability to check the intact condition of the bonded joint.

In the "SmartConn" approach, complex-shaped metallic thin-film structures are inserted inside the bonded joint. Such structures can be realized by a combination of vacuum coating and laser structuring. If a joint starts to fatigue and exhibit initial damage, this leads to damage to the metallic layer. This can be read out in a simple way via electrical contacting. This provides a signal from inside the joint, which then indicates when maintenance is required.

This approach enables intelligent monitoring of joints, renewing upcoming maintenance intervals and minimizing the probability of failure. A "smart" joint for a "smart" future.

The AViS project is concerned with the development of wear-protected surfaces through the use of additive manufacturing processes. In particular, the aim is to transform highly resistant materials such as cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide (hard metal) into a customized component surface with maximum wear resistance through a 3D dry process using selective laser melting. Within the institution of higher education, the processing takes place within the framework of a cooperation, cooperative venture, partnership, collaboration with Prof. Dr. M. Merkel from the Centre for Virtual Product Development. The funding period extends from 2019-2021.

With the founding of FINO in 2014, a start was made on profitably combining the research focuses of thin-film technology and electroplating. The joint project proposal by Prof. Sörgel and Prof. Albrecht with the title "Amphiforce - Superamphiphobic surfaces by electrophoresis" is the first funded project in which FINO has been given the opportunity to intensify these activities.

The Vector Foundation received 142 applications, as part of the 2017 call for proposals for STEM innovations. The fact that FINO's "Amphiforce" project is one of only 12 projects selected for funding makes everyone involved all the more delighted.

The aim of the project is to produce a new, superamphiphobic surface. Superamphiphobic surfaces are those that succeed in almost completely preventing aqueous and oily liquids from wetting the surface. This makes it possible to achieve maximum resistance to soiling, which is extremely interesting for a wide range of applications. The phenomenon of the lotus effect is well known. In this project, however, the innovative surfaces should also be oil-repellent - a much more complex scientific question.

To ensure such properties, it is necessary to equip the surface with specific structures on a micro- and sub-micrometer scale, which are no longer visible to the naked eye. By combining micro-embossed substrates - the focus of thin-film technology - with an electrophoretic coating process driven by self-organization - the task of the electroplating working group - the highly innovative surfaces with unique structuring are to be created.

At the milestone meeting in December 2018, the two professors received a lot of praise from the funding bodies for the project's successes to date - it will be interesting to see what happens in the second half of the project.