In 2016, the EU launched a Horizon 2020 project called BIO4SELF with the aim of developing self-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composites able to offer superior mechanical performance compared to current self-reinforced poly propylene (PP). Steinbeis Advanced Risk Technologies (R-Tech) contributes to environmental footprint (life cycle assessment), life cycle costs, safety standards, and risk analysis. BIO4SELF (short for “biobased, self-functionalized, self-reinforced composite materials based on high performance nanofibrillar PLA fibers”) is receiving € 7 million of backing and involves 16 partners from science, applied research, and industry.
The aim of BIO4SELF is to identify fully biobased, self-reinforced polymer composites (SRPC). Two types of PLAs are needed to make SRPCs: ones with a low melting temperature to provide a basic scaffold and ones with an ultra-high stiffness and high melting temperature to form fiber composites. The task of producing PLA fiber materials with self-functionalization involves several stages, making odor-reduced PLA, hydrolytically stable PLA, self-healing PLA, and self-sensing PLA.
Aside from the technical tasks of working on these developments, Steinbeis R-Tech has been laying down initial safety guidelines to establish safety requirements and the terms of use for the new kind of nanomaterials. The aim with the first draft of the document will be to heighten awareness among the project partners for so-called safety-by-design methods. This approach is also important for the ongoing development of existing guidelines and how they are applied in practice, subsequent to the European CWA 16649:2013 standards documentation on the management of new technology risks (the document convened by Steinbeis R-Tech). The second edition will focus on a variety of industrial applications involving the outlined methodologies with the aim of helping end-users.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Aleksandar Jovanovic, Flor Angela Quintero, Gözde Kara
Steinbeis Advanced Risk Technologies GmbH (Stuttgart)
su1190@stw.de
Wetting and fluid spread on structured surfaces and in cellular porous media play a central role in a wide spectrum of applications used for a variety of different materials. A new software package developed at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences called Pace3D makes it possible to simulate the angle of contact of liquid droplets on complex surfaces. Computer simulations using Pace3D are now available though the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Material Simulation and Process Optimization.
There are numerous areas where fluid spread is encountered, ranging from the lotus effect on surfaces with rough nanostructures or microstructures to fluids penetrating construction materials as a precursor of corrosion and condensation, or evaporation on textile fibers when extracting water.
The models used at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences for Pace3D are based on the principles of energy minimization and they are powerful enough to capture the 3D topology and spreading properties of several immiscible fluids, even taking the properties of specific substances into account. The physical properties of fluids and supporting structures form part of the modeling and make it possible to analyze the processes behind the angle of contact on a variety of treated surfaces.
The simulations allow researchers to investigate how wetting is influenced by surface properties, the geometric alignment of structures, and components. They can also systematically examine capillary forces. As part of the funding project with the partners in industry, the experts from Karlsruhe have successfully used Pace3D to predict condensation and evaporation rates, to determine anisotropic permeability properties, to ascertain volumes of liquid, and to determine liquid advance in channels, cracks, and structures with pores.
Smart industrial components refer to elements, modules, and tools that enable the digitalization of manufacturing processes, as captured by the term used frequently in Germany: Industry 4.0. Key features of such components include their connectivity and communication, the ability to autonomously adjust their actions by analyzing and monitoring data, optimization, and independent learning. Such components are currently being researched with intensity and developed both nationally and internationally. What’s still missing at the moment is a proper overview. The stage of development varies massively, as does the extent to which products are ready to use. There’s also no proper network out there for key players involved in this area. To take on these challenges, Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ) set up a European communications platform in 2015 to specifically address the topic of smart components.
With the aim of promoting technical exchange throughout the network and to accelerate the use of research results throughout the manufacturing sector, SEZ is networking a core group of six live EU research projects (I-Ramp3, ReBorn, SelSus, T-Rex, INTEFIX, and Power- OM). The projects fall under the framework of an EU project called Co-FACTOR. In the spirit of the Industry 4.0 movement, the six projects focus on the area of progressive, intelligent manufacturing and on technologies that open the door to this: smart components. The project partners come from Germany, the UK, Spain, and Portugal.
As the coordinator of the EU Co-FACTOR project, SEZ held a roadmapping workshop in Brussels in October 2016. At the workshop, experts looked at R&D priorities and the benchmarking of smart industrial components. The workshop was an opportunity for specialists from the processing and manufacturing sectors to meet up with IT and digital technology experts, researchers, engineering and business consultants, plus a variety of European experts from trade associations and politics. Together, they identified priorities and key topics for research and were able to provide feedback on this to the European commission, especially with respect to research trends and funding priorities. What’s more, the workshop looked at and discussed the most prevalent non-technological and socio-economic factors that are currently influencing the further development of smart components. The results of the workshop will be published in two green papers, which will be available on the website.
Franziska Bergmann
Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (Stuttgart)
Franziska.Bergmann@stw.de