Press Archive 2019

The heavier a motor vehicle, the higher its exhaust emissions. For years, the automotive industry has been trying to counteract this trend by increasing the use of lightweight components. As a rule, these consist of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM supports the development of novel CFRP fibers in the ProStAir project with its simulation expertise.

The China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC), with around 4,700 employees, is China's largest research, testing and certification center for the automotive industry. In September 2019, Fraunhofer ITWM and CATARC have signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

Fiber-reinforced plastics are the basis for many applications in state-of-the-art lightweight design, and they offer numerous advantages. One major obstacle for smaller companies, however, is the requisite know-how concerning the ideal fiber and textile arrangement. In collaboration with the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) and the Assoc. Institute for Management Cybernetics (IfU) in Aachen, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM has now developed a mathematical simulation method for optimizing the drapability (deformability) of textiles.

Whether in agriculture, industry or private households, chemicals are needed everywhere. However, their production requires a very large amount of energy. With a new type of hybrid access, energy can be saved in the double-digit per-centage range depending on the plant and process. The development took place in the team of PD Dr. Michael Bortz and Prof. Karl-Heinz Küfer at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM, for which they will be awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize.

Spinning polymer filaments, for example for personal care articles, is highly complex: simulating the processes involved is too much for currently available computing power to handle. Fraunhofer researchers have successfully applied new approaches to simplify the calculations necessary for simulation. Now for the first time complete spinning processes can be simulated, providing a better understanding of the processes and greatly simplifying their optimization.

Under the theme »Life as we know it« this year’s STEM Games take place in Porec, Croatia from 7 to 12 May 2019. The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM is not only partner but also functioning in the jury and with mentors. In this international competition the students of different STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) team up to master complex tasks in four arenas. Aside from the scientific contest they also get to compete in nine different sport disciplines.

Suitable measurement and inspection techniques for process monitoring and quality control are still lacking in some areas of industrial manufacturing. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics in Kaiserslautern have found a promising solution to this challenging problem based on mobile terahertz technology.