Shaping the future together: Under this motto, researchers, employees and young scientists of the THÜRING Alliance from seven Thuringian universities came together at the Engineering Day in Nordhausen at the end of June to exchange ideas on topics such as energy supply, quantum research, recycling or mobility. Several researchers from TU Ilmenau presented their current research projects. Three of them were awarded poster prizes.
Among others, the co-inventor of the MP3 audio format, Prof. Karlheinz Brandenburg, gave an insight into his research area at the Electronic Media Technology Group and its spin-off Brandenburg Labs with his presentation "Plausible reproduction of sound sources via headphones". Under the motto "Nothing is too sweary for the engineer", Sabine Fincke, Jenny Gramsch and Jeremy Jay Ayawo Aholou shared their experiences in a teaching-related session on supporting the development of students' professional and interdisciplinary skills through interdisciplinary practical projects at the TU Ilmenau right from the start of their studies.
Five young scientists from the TU Ilmenau also presented their innovative research projects. Dennis Müller is conducting research at the Plastics Technology Group on the productivity and quality of plastic injection molding processes through the use of machine learning methods in conjunction with information from various sensors. Tom Duphorn at the Power Systems Group is working on modeling a hydrogen infrastructure in a sector-coupled energy system.
Sebastian Bohm from the Group of Theoretical Physics 1 presented both the IMN Research Training Group, in which doctoral students conduct research at the Institute of Micro- and Nanotechnologies, and his personal doctoral topic "E-Punch". E-PunCh refers to a novel non-mechanical micropump developed in cooperation with 5microns GmbH with the outstanding property of functioning completely without moving components. For this purpose, the wetting properties of the liquid are specifically influenced with an already patented process using the so-called electrowetting effect and the resulting volume flow is rectified with the help of passive valves, so-called Tesla diodes. Results of his research on the micropump, which has a wide range of applications in medicine, lab-on-a-chip applications or analytics, were published in Nature's Microsystems & Nanoengineering in September 2022. At the Engineering Science Day, Sebastian Bohm received the 3rd prize for his poster presentation.
"Performing Targeted Investigations."
Also awarded 3rd prize was Shiva Mohammadkarimi from the Plastics Technology Group for her study of the fiber length of recycled continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic waste. Continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics, or CFRTPs, combine exceptional mechanical properties with low density, making them ideal for lightweight construction applications in particular. However, the increasing use of CFRTP products also leads to increased production and end-of-life waste. The aim of Shiva Mohammadkarimi's work is therefore to evaluate possible recycling strategies and develop a process chain to gently process CFRTP waste into recycled, fiber-reinforced granules for injection molding, thereby obtaining maximum fiber lengths.
First prize for his presentation on the development and simulation of a MEME force sensor based on microscale spring systems was awarded to Maximilian Zier of Theoretical Physics 1.
The continuous improvement of existing systems reflects the general progress of technology and opens up the possibility of replacement for microsystems technology. However, the sizing of MEMS force sensors goes beyond analytical capabilities, requiring numerical calculations such as FEM simulations. This makes it possible to perform targeted investigations of mechanical loads and optimize system designs in a spatially resolved manner
the scientist explains the background to his work.