Research projects

The project is part of the examING project - Digitization of Competence-Oriented Testing for Bachelor's Degree Courses in Engineering - which is funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education (Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre) in the federal-state program "Strengthening Higher Education through Digitization".
The aim of the sub-project is:

• to develop new digital exam formats for teaching in the form of digital quizzes or interactive role-playing games, which, among other things, serve to prepare for exams

and

• to create a new quality in the field of digital intermediate examinations for the acquisition of bonus points.

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The aim of the project is the development and experimental validation of model-based synthesis methods and synthesis guidelines for compliant mechanisms in force measurement and weighing technology. For the first time, an analytical model will be formed based on fundamental research of physical effects, such as elastic aftereffects and temperature dependencies. According to current knowledge, no suitable synthesis approaches exist for deformation bodies in force measurement and weighing technology. Systems in this field have specific requirements for the design of the compliant mechanisms, which means that novel synthesis methods are needed. The project is intended to make a significant contribution to closing this gap in the state of research. By means of metrological investigations, it is to be examined whether the uncertainties of the developed models and approaches can be reduced. Since the manufacturing quality has a significant influence on the motion properties of individual solid-state joints and entire compliant mechanisms, robustness and sensitivity analysis will be performed to quantify the effects of manufacturing tolerances on the mechanisms. After the developed analytical model is verified by measurement, synthesis methods will be developed. This will be used to find novel solutions for the design of compliant mechanisms as force sensors.
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The aim of the project is the investigation of intrinsically compliant tensegrity structures based on highly elastic materials with pronounced variable stiffness and deformation capability for the application in the field of soft material robotic systems. The consideration of special compliant materials with an energy-less (passively) adaptive dynamic behavior, applied to the tensegrity structures, is an essential part of the investigations. The central hypothesis is: intrinsically compliant tensegrity structures differ significantly from other compliant systems by their pre-stress state and specific morphology. Due to these two properties, these structures are particularly predestined for future-oriented applications in soft-material robotics. The application of special smart materials in such structures for the simultaneous generation of actuator and sensory properties leads to a high degree of functional integration. Therefore, the project considers the exploration and analysis of such structures and the derivation of fundamental principles of their adaptive behavior, using a holistic approach based on structural, material and manufacturing aspects. The results of the basic research in this project form the basis for the exploration of the potential, the advantages as well as the limits of compliant tensegrity structures for the application in soft material robotics.
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The aim of the project is to develop the fundamentals for the synthesis of compliant mechanisms with optimized solid-state joints. As a focus of the 1st project phase, the effects of the joint contour on the mechanism properties were investigated in comparison to the rigid body model. The investigations show that joints with polynomial contours optimized directly in the mechanism offer an advantage over conventional contours, as they allow a simultaneous increase in range of motion and precision. Further improvement can be achieved by using different contours in a mechanism as well as a favorable design of the joint orientation and coupling geometry. Based on the 1st phase, there is an additional need for research in the geometric design of monolithic micro- and nanopositioning systems with macro dimensions. Here, the focus is on the further development of a novel synthesis method based on the joint rotation angles, which is improved compared to the idealized rigid body model. This allows the targeted geometric design of compliant mechanisms taking into account the influence of scaling.