Lightweight construction and material-driven product development

Research field

Logo AG_leichtbau- & materialgetriebene Produktentwicklung

In the area of lightweight construction and material-driven product development, processes and products for the manufacture of lightweight structures are developed in particular. The focus here is on the product development of various end effectors for automated fibre reinforced plastic production.

The following topics are being researched:

  • Design and topology optimization to exploit the specific lightweight potential
  • Identification and characterization of material behaviour to optimize a product
  • Development of complex handling technologies for dimensionally unstable materials
  • Building physical prototypes and use of hardware-in-the-loop technologies

Projects

  • HIT-Rotorsysteme - Highly integrated product development of variable rotor systems for future generations of wind turbines. TP: Production processes and process simulation in the manufacture of rotor system components
  • MycelCycle - Integrated material, process and product development methodology for product lifecycle-optimized mycelium-based packaging products as part of the circular economy

Selected publications:

  • Development of complex handling technologies:
    - Ohlendorf, J.-H. ; Richrath, M. ; Franke, J. ; Brink, M. ; Thoben, K.-D.: Towards automation of wind energy rotor blade production: a review of challenges and application examples. In: Advanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science Vol. 6 (2020), No. 4, pp. 173–190. DOI:10.1080/20550340.2020.1838224
    - Ischtschuk, L. ; Ohlendorf, J.-H. ; Großpietsch, T. ; Semar, J. E. ; Brink, M. ; Hogeback, T. ; Bärtl, C.: Multi-functional Hybrid Material to Protect Rotor Blades. In: Lightweight Design worldwide Vol. 12 (2019), No. 4, pp. 18–25. DOI:10.1007/s41777-019-0033-4
    - Franke, J. ; Ohlendorf, J.-H. ; Thoben, K.-D.: Automated production processes in the rotor bladeindustry - Solutions for a continuous direct textile layup. In: Materials Science and Engineering Technology Vol. 50 (2019), No. 11, pp. 1326–1342. DOI:10.1002/mawe.201700197
  • Identification and characterization of material behavior:
    Krishnappa, L. ; Ohlendorf, J.-H. ; Brink, M. ; Thoben, K.-D.: Investigating the factors influencing the shear behaviour of 0 / 90° non-crimp fabrics to form a reference shear test. In: Composite Materials Vol. 55 (2021), No. 20, pp. 2739–2750. DOI:10.1177/0021998321991625