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Already in the early stages of component development, standardized characteristic values are indispensable for the selection of materials. However, as development advances, focus shifts to application-oriented load scenarios. At Fraunhofer IWS, these scenarios can be transformed into individual test procedures by directly linking process knowledge and material understanding.

The new material class of high-entropy alloys (HEA) promises many innovations in aviation, turbine and tool construction as well as other industries. Testing the countless variations in the chemical composition of this material class would require research and development lasting thousands of years. Researchers at Fraunhofer IWS have further enhanced methods for material design that will enormously accelerate this work.

The electrification of municipal vehicles is increasing the demand for ultra-light truck bodies to compensate additional battery weight. An adapted multi-material lightweight construction based on fiber-reinforced semi-finished plastic products and aluminum structures facilitates the cost-effective production of lightweight containers in small series. In this context, the type of joining technology plays a particularly important role.

The increasing electrification of mobility also affects aviation. The battery is both a key technology and a bottleneck for all electrical flight applications. Its own weight significantly limits the range and payload of the aircraft.

In the "ESDBond" project, the Kunststoff-Zentrum (SKZ) and Fraunhofer IWS successfully modified flexible electrically conductive adhesives and potting compounds to dissipate electrostatic charges. In this process, they achieved significant reductions in electrical volume resistance by adding smallest amounts of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Based on these results, the follow-up project "carBONDshield" is investigating possibilities for using such modified systems for electromagnetic shielding.

In recent years, extensive development work has revealed the potential of thermal spraying with fine powder suspensions with particle sizes in the sub-micrometer and nanometer range. Suspension spraying enables the fabrication of tailored coatings in which layer thicknesses, morphology and properties can be varied over an extremely extensive application range.

Today, new coatings on brake discs meet increasingly complex requirements. Conventionally, a destructive metallographic cross-section is used to check their quality. This method is expensive, slow and resource-intensive. Fraunhofer IWS researchers have now demonstrated that a fast and non-destructive evaluation can also be achieved using the LAwave^® method.

Hybrid manufacturing describes the combination of different manufacturing processes in order to implement targeted use of their advantages. Therefore, Fraunhofer IWS particularly focuses on combinations with additive manufacturing processes. Hybridization is used wherever – locally and geometrically limited – materials with optimized properties are required: for example, medical technology, automotive and plant engineering, and aerospace.

Fraunhofer IWS and Papiertechnische Stiftung PTS are jointly creating the basis for a binder-free paper joining process. They previously generated meltable reaction products by irradiating papers with a carbon monoxide laser (CO laser). The research team subsequently “bonded“ two papers in a heat-sealing process.

Brake discs are moving into focus as part of the current green-energy discussion. Fraunhofer IWS scientists have developed the HICLAD process concept to allow a maximization of corrosion and wear protection by tailored surface functionalization. A further focus includes the reduction of particulate emissions. An additional advantage of this technology is the cost-effective series production.