The FSK Innovation Award annually acknowledges outstanding innovations in the domains of design and aesthetics, technology, as well as process and chemical engineering, emphasizing sustainable approaches. The competition is open to young talents, companies, and professionals submitting projects related to foam plastics and polyurethanes.

Eduard Kremer impressed the jury with his groundbreaking work on sensor-based process monitoring in PUR-RIM. His research allows for reducing the burden on the operator and significantly increasing the number of high-quality parts. By employing temperature, pressure, and DEA sensors, alongside considering ambient parameters such as temperature, air pressure, and humidity, process variations are detected early on. This not only leads to improved product quality but also eliminates issues like skin detachment and incomplete mold fillings. A graphical dashboard visualises all relevant data, enabling efficient monitoring and control of the process. Eduard Kremer’s achievement highlights the potential of sensor-based technologies in enhancing efficiency and quality in industrial processes.

Der FSK-Innovationspreis würdigt jährlich herausragende Innovationen in den Bereichen Design und Gestaltung, Technologie sowie Verfahrens- und Chemietechnik, und legt dabei besonderes Augenmerk auf nachhaltige Ansätze. Der Wettbewerb steht Nachwuchskräften, Unternehmen und Fachkräften offen, die Projekte mit Bezug zu Schaumkunststoffen und Polyurethanen einreichen können.

Eduard Kremer überzeugte die Jury mit seiner wegweisenden Arbeit zum Thema sensorbasierte Prozessüberwachung im PUR-RIM. Seine Forschung ermöglicht es, Lasten vom Bediener zu nehmen und die Anzahl der Gutteile signifikant zu erhöhen. Durch den Einsatz von Temperatur-, Druck- und DEA-Sensoren sowie der Berücksichtigung von Umgebungsparametern wie Temperatur, Luftdruck und -feuchtigkeit werden Prozessschwankungen frühzeitig erkannt. Dies führt nicht nur zu einer verbesserten Produktqualität, sondern eliminiert auch Probleme wie Hautablösungen und unvollständige Formfüllungen. Ein grafisches Dashboard visualisiert alle relevanten Daten, was eine effiziente Überwachung und Steuerung des Prozesses ermöglicht. Die Leistung von Eduard Kremer verdeutlicht das Potential von sensorbasierten Technologien, um die Effizienz und Qualität in industriellen Prozessen zu steigern. 

Varied lecture programme for an individual agenda:

At the heart of the Colloquium will be the 15 lecture sessions, during which the current research topics at IKV will be presented. These sessions are consistent with IKV’s objective to carry out "Research for practical use", and are intensively dedicated to the perspectives and demands of the industry.

Each of these sessions begins with a keynote speech from experienced industry representatives. This paves the way for the subsequent scientific papers, and creates the connection to industrial practice. The high-ranking moderators who will accompany these sessions include:

• Dr.-Ing. Hubert Ehbing (Covestro Deutschland AG)
• Frank Ehrhart (Altair Engineering GmbH)
• phil. Jürgen Geng (Plasma Electronic GmbH)
• Dr.-Ing. Jochen Hauck (SIMONA AG)
• Thomas Herrmann (Herrmann Ultraschall)
• Michael Johann (Porsche Engineering)
• Dr.-Ing. Jan-Martin Kaiser (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Dr.-Ing. Johannes Kilian (ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH)
• Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Kleineheismann (Forvia HELLA)
• Dr.-Ing. Christopher Neumann (Freudenberg Sealing Technologies)
• Dr.-Ing. Melanie Rohde-Tibitanzl (Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH)
• Dr.-Ing. Stefan Seibel (Brückner Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG)
• Dr.-Ing. Peter Ryzko (SÜDPACK VERPACKUNGEN GmbH & Co. KG)
• Dr.-Ing. Thomas Walter (ARBURG GmbH + Co. KG)

These experts will help to establish the link between research and industry, and thereby enable a fruitful exchange and a practice-oriented focus in the lecture sessions of the Colloquium.

The sessions are dedicated to the following topics:

• Injection moulding process technology for lightweight
• AI-based methods to boost PCR usage in plastics packaging
• Advances in ultrasonic and laser welding technology
• New control strategies for injection moulding
• Multiscale simulation of multiphase materials
• Material characterisation and process monitoring for polyurethanes
• Product specific process technology for injection moulding
• Plasma-based barrier coatings for sustainable packaging
• Structural health monitoring of hydrogen pressure tanks
• Assistance systems in injection moulding
• Resource efficiency for rubber applications
• Improved fatigue life prediction of fibre-reinforced products
• Challenges of PCR processing
• Cost-efficient lightweight design of tape reinforced mass-production parts
• Intelligent tools for improved design and processes in additive manufacturing

IKV 360° ­ Research live illustrates the topics with a practical orientation:

Visitors will be able to put together their own personal timetable of lectures by deciding at the Colloquium which sessions are of most interest to them. On the first day of the event, at the traditional IKV 360° Research live, IKV will open its doors to the visitors to make a tour of the Institute’s testing facilities and pilot plants. This is where the active connection is made between the lecture topics and practical application. At more than 80 test stations, the contextual and structural diversity of IKV’s research activities will be demonstrated live. For the first time, following the move out of the old injection moulding laboratory on Pontstraße, all test stands will be presented together on the Campus Melaten, and the Plastics Innovation Centre will be presented to the specialist public.

Industry trade show will present pioneering innovations for the industry:

The accompanying industry trade show as part of the IKV Colloquium has been serving for many years as a central meeting point for the plastics segment. Here, there are outstanding opportunities to nurture and expand professional networks, creating the ideal framework for an intensive exchange of ideas with experts, decision-makers and business partners. The trade show combines application-related research with industrial development and innovation on an exhibition area of around 400 m². The entire value chain of plastics technology will be represented here, from machinery and equipment manufacturers, converters and raw material suppliers to producers of analysing and testing technology and consulting companies for the plastics sector.

The festivities to mark the opening of the Colloquium will be held on the evening before the event, and all participants and exhibitors are warmly invited to attend the get-together. It offers the unique opportunity to strengthen business relations and to experience the latest developments in the plastics industry at close hand.

Recruiting speed-dating to combat the shortage of new recruits:

To counter the general trend involving the shortage of upcoming new recruits, IKV will, in 2024, embark on new ways to bring young talent to the plastics industry. At the proven recruiting speed-dating event (which so far has only been available to member companies of the IKV Association of Sponsors), all companies in the industry can now participate if they are searching for new staff and upcoming recruits. Speed-dating is an event at which students and university graduates have an opportunity to come into contact with potential employers in short and concise discussions. The aim is clear: To find the right candidates for internships, final dissertations and employment in the plastics industry. The event will take place on 29 February in the Eurogress on the fringe of the Colloquium, and promises to be an enriching experience for both students and companies.

Through the consistent use of recyclate as a component of plastic products, it is possible to drastically reduce emissions (such as CO₂ or the discharge of macroplastic and microplastic into waterways) and also to cut back on crude oil requirements. However, this sustainable multiple use of valuable raw materials is not yet achieved in all areas. In the packaging sector, for example, only around 11 % of the recyclate is currently being used for the renewed production of packaging. Various factors are making this difficult, for example:

• limited availability of material with high enough purity
• fluctuating properties
• limited acceptance of plastics recyclate
• inadequate economic attractiveness of using recyclate 

Without strong partners and without innovative approaches, e.g. for material and process development, players in the plastics industry can only meet these challenges with a great deal of effort and at great cost. In various research projects, IKV is examining possibilities for holistically optimising the value chain of plastics recyclate.

Holistic AI-based optimisation of plastic packaging containing recyclate

One such project is the "AI application hub, plastic packaging", within which IKV is pursuing several objectives in a sub-project entitled "KIOptiPack: Holistic AI-based optimisation of plastic packaging containing recyclate". The primary target is the provision, validation and application transfer of practically tested, AI-supported moulding tools for successful product design and the production of plastic packaging with a high recyclate content and the required quality. This is supported by an AI-application and data room and the creation of a central network platform (which integrates, for example, the consumers and their attitude) for added value engineering.

A concrete example of an AI-supported tool is compound development (Figure 1). Instead of an "iterative approach" to the desired viscosity of the compound, use is made of existing data points and – where necessary – the characterisation of extreme points, while an AI model describes the space between the data points. This produces a much better imaging quality (R² = 0.97) than, for example, a regression analysis (R² = 0.60).

This illustrates how AI can, from easily documented (or already existing) data, create added value and save plastics converters a great deal of time and expense in finding the ideal viscosity of the compound, so that they do not have to work extra shifts.

Nevertheless, with recyclate material, not only processing properties such as the viscosity have to be taken into account, but also the performance properties. For example, suitable measures have to be taken to protect goods packed in plastic from contamination through undesirable substances potentially contained in the recyclate. This is where extra shifts of a different nature are deployed:

Plasma barriers protect packaged goods

A highly promising platform for barriers is a surface coating with plasma-based chemical gas phase deposition. The deposited barriers also serve to prevent migration of harmful materials from the recycled plastics to the packaged contents (Figure 2). However, the development of such plasma barriers has so far advanced relatively slowly because of the analytical work involved in determining the barrier performance. Through a newly developed process at IKV, which is based on innovative model contaminants and a new approach to incorporating them into the plastics, the barrier effect can in future be evaluated much faster. Accordingly, the optimisation of the plasma barriers will also take less time so that, thanks to this, product safety can be achieved with minimum emissions – and without having to fall back on poorly recyclable multi-layer plastic composite films.

Circular economy at the 32^nd International Colloquium Plastics Technology

At the Colloquium, Session 2 (AI-based methods to boost PCR usage in plastics packagings), Session 8 (Plasma-based barrier coatings for sustainable packaging) and Session 13 (Challenges of PCR processing), will deal with the topic of the circular economy and the use of recyclate , each with a keynote paper from the industry, plus two scientific presentations from IKV.

At "IKV 360°  – Research live”, the research assistants will demonstrate the topic at various stations.

Development of the combination process

As a project partner, the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and Craft at RWTH Aachen University carried out extensive process development for the combined thermoforming/backmoulding process, from a simple moulding tool to an automated 4-cavity mould (Figure 1). For this, the thermoformability of the laser-microstructured thin metal sheets in the injection moulding tool first had to be ensured, and possibilities had to be found for the handling and fixing of the thin sheet in the mould. Then the combined thermoforming/backmoulding process was analysed on a single-cavity prototype mould, and the influence of the used moulding compounds and the injection moulding parameters on the composite properties was investigated.

In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ITL) in Aachen, IKV simultaneously developed suitable laser structuring parameters for the laser microstructuring, for the laser cutting process and a laser marking process. For a specific application, it is always necessary, when adjusting and arranging the microstructure geometry, to make a suitable compromise between the attainable bond strength of the plastic and metal component and the damage to the thin sheet component brought about by the structuring. The laser process was then implemented in an automatic production line. The knowledge gained was then successfully applied to a multi-cavity mould and the process was automated (Figure 2). The mould concept was selected in such a way that the number of cavities can be further increased.

Necessary requirements can be met

By systematically analysing the injection moulding process and adjusting the laser structure geometry and arrangement, it was possible, through the microform fitted plastic/metal composite to achieve strength levels that are significantly above the composite strength of 35 N required for the application. By means of laser radiation, it was also possible to create a predetermined breaking point in the sheet metal component so that the crimp caps can be reliably opened in accordance with the application.

The injection moulding parameters used have a significant influence on the attainable bond strength. In addition, a strong correlation can be observed between the bond strength and the achieved microstructure filling. The moulding compound used, the arrangement of the laser structure and the prevailing load case determine the forces required to open the crimp cap. As a supplement to the practical process investigations, the thermoforming and injection moulding processes and the microstructure filling were also simulated in collaboration with the project partner. In final tests, the flange caps were successfully steam-sterilized and crimped, thus proving their suitability for the closures of pharmaceutical vials.

By optimising the handling and the combination process, it was possible to achieve a cycle time of 45 seconds for the overall process and thus produce over 300 caps per hour. The economic efficiency of the process can be further increased in the future by raising the production speed and process reliability and also by increasing the number of cavities.

Medical technology at the 32nd International Colloquium Plastics Technology

The topics of medical technology / hybrid technology will be addressed at the Colloquium in Session 7 (Product specific process technology for injection moulding) with a keynote address and two scientific presentations from IKV.

In addition, the research assistants will demonstrate the combined manufacturing process live in the new injection moulding laboratory as part of the IKV 360° research event.

Thermoplastic composite materials such as unidirectional tapes and composite sheet are being increasingly used above all in aerospace and the automotive industry because of their high potential for the production of composite parts with increased stiffness and strength. These materials, especially UD tapes, are also being increasingly used in cost-conscious and high-volume industries to reduce material consumption, costs and CO₂ emissions.

It had already been shown that the local reinforcement of an injection-moulded component through a small quantity of UD tape can be utilised to reduce wall thicknesses and save material. In practice, however, the use of only a small quantity of thin UD tapes to increase the properties of an injection-moulded part has not yet become established. This is because, on the one hand, the potential of this process is not yet adequately known, and on the other, the practical implementation of this technology has not yet been adequately researched.

In an earlier study in cooperation with 20 industry partners, the IKV and AZL (Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Production), research institutes carried out a detailed analysis of the use of UD tapes in injection-moulded components. The aim of the study was to identify potential applications and to extend the range of use beyond the high-performance application, especially in areas in which cost reduction is of central importance.

In the consortium project "Tape Technology Transfer Hub" (T³-Hub), IKV is now investigating, together with the AZL, AZL Aachen GmbH, AVK-TV GmbH, SIMCON kunststofftechnische Software GmbH and Conbility GmbH, how the tape technology for conventional injection-moulded parts can be transferred to large-scale production in order to be able to optimally exploit the cost-saving effects. The research project has been running since December 2021 and is funded by the BMWK (German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action).

Within this project, methodologies for evaluating the potential and for the re-design of components are being developed. Apart from that, questions will be examined concerning the entire value-added chain: from tape production through insert production to back-moulding. In parallel with the practical implementation and investigation, a complete data chain will be built up in the consortium, and the process mapped at simulative level.

Simulative method for the optimisation of reinforced injection-moulded parts with thermoplastic tapes

As a project partner, IKV developed an optimisation methodology for the re-design of injection-moulded parts according to the particular load case and using local tape inserts. In injection moulding, the considerable differences in stiffness and thermal expansion coefficients between the tapes and the compound often lead to significant warpage. As part of this project, IKV therefore developed an optimisation algorithm that enables the automated design of such components without leading to warpage. At the same time, the mechanical design targets were taken into account. The key here is to utilise the induced warpage in the tape structure to balance out the warpage in the other tapes (Figure 1).

IKV’s optimisation algorithm was successfully used to redesign the side wall of a reusable folding box. These folding boxes are used worldwide in the logistics industry, and a total of over 20 million of them are in circulation. The aim of the redesign was to increase the flexural rigidity by 50 %, while minimising warpage at the same time. This target was reached for two different thermal load cases, and the warpage in both cases was within the manufacturer’s specifications. To achieve this target, 4 g of a PP-GF30 tape was sufficient, which represents around 1 % of the total weight of the component.

The next step in the project will be to validate the simulation results by integrating the optimised tape structures into the production process. Subsequently, the IKV algorithm will be used to optimise the amount of compound needed to produce the boxes. With this design method, it should be possible in future to integrate such tapes into injection-moulded parts even without extensive technical know-how.

Increasing productivity in tape production

At present, the production of UD tapes still involves high costs. So that the tape technology can become established in mass application, it is important that tape production becomes both resource-efficient and cost-effective. For this purpose, IKV has built a new facility on pilot-plant scale for the efficient production of tapes by the melt impregnation process. The aim is to be able to raise the production speed to up to 20 m/min. The impregnation tool used for this was developed and designed at IKV from scratch (Figure 2).

Besides, a wide variety of material combinations are being processed, because the choice of materials also has a direct influence on the cost and the CO₂ footprint. During the process, production data are recorded and correlated with the resultant tape quality. It is then possible to discuss, in the subsequent process chain, what tape quality is sufficient to obtain, after processing (tape-laying, heating, forming and backmoulding), the best results at the end of the process chain in the component, taking account of ecological, economic and technological requirements.

Within the overall project, processing in the injection moulding process will also be examined. This is carried out at demonstrator level at project partner AZL. At specimen level, the fixing properties and handling issues will be investigated at IKV with the help of a previously developed technology mould. IKV has since obtained the first results at component level, enabling statements to be made about the influence of injection moulding parameters and tape positions on the warpage and positioning properties of the tapes.

Tape technology at the 32^nd International Colloquium Plastics Technology

Tape technology in injection-moulded components will be a topic in the following sessions:

Session 1: Injection moulding process technology for lightweight products
Session 14: Cost-efficient lightweight design of tape reinforced mass-production parts

The research assistants will demonstrate the tape production process live as part of “IKV 360° research” in the technical laboratory for fibre-reinforced plastics.

Connecting hydrogen economy and plastics industry:

With its "Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum", which took off in March 2023, the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) in Industry and Craft at RWTH Aachen University has established a close network between the hydrogen economy and the plastics industry, where it regularly fosters the connection of requirements and application know-how with material and production know-how.

The „Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum“ originates from a study titled "Opportunities for Material Technologies in a Hydrogen Economy", in which IKV has compiled application opportunities for plastics along the entire value chain of a future hydrogen economy over the course of a year starting 2021. The study looks at markets from suppliers to end users and systematically analyses the most relevant hydrogen technologies according to the system breakdown method. From this, the need for research is derived and the development of the plastics market resulting from the emerging hydrogen economy is forecast. More than 20 industry partners were involved in the study alone.

With regular workshops and continuous market and technology monitoring, the IKV is now continuing the work in the "Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum". The kick-off for the Forum was 16 May 2023. From now on, representatives of both industries will meet every six months in Aachen to discuss challenges and trends. In addition to the professional exchange, this Forum offers an ideal platform for networking. Besides, Forum members also meet outside the regular schedule for workshops at which individual members take on the role of host. This summer, for example, Freudenberg FTI welcomed Forum members to discuss the challenges of testing and analysing plastics in hydrogen applications.

The hydrogen study and the activities of the “Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum” have already resulted in a first research project: in November 2023, the Poly-H2-Pipe research project, funded with 1.6 million EUR, will start. Together with two project partners, the Welding and Joining Institute (ISF) of RWTH Aachen University and the German Federal Institute for Materials Research (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung BAM), IKV will look into the design of continuous fibre-reinforced pipe systems for the system periphery of electrolysers or fuel cells.

Successful research for Type IV pressure vessels:

The IKV has started researching alternative materials and manufacturing processes in the production of Type IV pressure vessels for hydrogen storage in the DELFIN project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in 2018. These pressure vessels consist of an inner thermoplastic liner for sealing and a sheath wound from carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) for load bearing. As part of the research project, IKV has developed an optical measurement methodology and adapted image processing algorithms for in-line quality monitoring of the winding process in order to quantify process-related deviations of the sliver deposition, to generate a digital twin and to use this for the realistic mapping of the pressure vessels in the design.

Following the successful completion of the DELFIN research project and the follow-up project DELFIN2, research on Type IV pressure vessels made of CFRP is now being continued. The approach of IKV is to identify the influences of various boundary conditions and errors from the manufacturing process on the component quality and to evaluate the functionality of the components. In order to optimally link the data with the process and make the most use of it, the entire process is mapped via a digital twin.

In the summer of 2023, the DAVID research project (Digitale Auslegungsmethoden von inline-überwachten Druckbehältern, Digital design methods of in-line monitored pressure vessels) was launched. The consortium project, initiated by the IKV as a successor project to DELFIN, brings together a total of ten partners from industry and research (German Federal Institute for Materials Research (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung BAM, Elkamet Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Envalior GmbH, FORWARD ENGINEERING GmbH, FORM+TEST Seidner & Co. GmbH, ISATEC GmbH, NPROXX Jülich GmbH, Westlake Epoxy GmbH, Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH), with the IKV as the consortium leader. DAVID is funded with 6.3 million EUR by the German Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK) as part of the program “CO₂ savings through resource efficiency and substitution“ from the Technology Transfer Program Lightweight Construction (TTP LB).

With DAVID, a CO₂ saving of 21 % CO₂-eq per container is to be achieved through resource efficiency and substitution during production. To this end, new end-to-end digital design methods and in-line quality assurance measures will be applied and new adapted material compositions (towpregs) and processing technologies will be used. The technological objective of the current research project is to obtain a realistic description of the vessel materials and the entire system during manufacture and product lifecycle by means of integrated digitalisation and application-specific characterization and modeling. The interactions within the Machine-Process-Material-Morphology-Property relationship will be analysed experimentally and simulatively, and will be modeled with suitable methods and made usable for optimisations in the form of digital twins of the manufactured pressure vessels. The IKV wants to develop and commission a triaxial test stand with hydrogen as the pressure medium in order to be able to carry out application-oriented material tests on thermoplastics, fibre composite plastics as well as elastomers. This will open up completely new possibilities for materials testing, which can serve as a basis for the development of material models for the hydrogen industry.

Low-maintenance mobile high-pressure storage tanks:

Closely linked to the DAVID project is the HyInnoTank project (Low-maintenance mobile high-pressure storage), which runs in three phases of three years each from 2021 to 2030. The project is funded within the context of the Future Hydrogen Cluster of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with 2.2 million EUR in the first two phases. The project will develop a methodology for instrumenting Type IV pressure vessels with sensor fibres for strain field monitoring. Through the sensor system, which is permanently embedded in the tank, its structural integrity is monitored in the assembled state, which significantly reduces maintenance costs and downtimes. A knowledge of the local strains at various positions of the pressure tank within the laminate provides information on the material behaviour in different load scenarios, and is thus an important added value for the tank design. This technology will be intelligently coupled with acoustic emission analysis to provide a holistic assessment of the vessel structure and achieve Structural Health Monitoring Level five. Another aim of the project is to develop a model to estimate the residual bursting pressure and residual life expectancy of pressure tanks based on the sensor signal after their typical working life of 20 years, as a result of which options can be derived for further use of the tanks.(Second Life Approach).

Consortinal partners of the HyInnoTank project are: Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen University (ITA), NPROXX GmbH, F. A. Kümpers GmbH & Co.KG, ISATEC GmbH, Institut für Strahlantriebe und Turboarbeitsmaschinen (IST) der RWTH Aachen University and Vallen Systeme GmbH.

H₂ permeation test station at IKV:

For about a year now, the Plasma and Surface Technology working group has been working on the development of test station for determining H₂ permeation through any desired sample geometry. Here the IKV has made use of its years of experience in the field of O₂ and H₂O permeation measurement with commercially available measuring devices and has expanded this portfolio for a cooperation with an industrial partner. Since the set-up was developed entirely at the IKV, the IKV is able to respond flexibly to a wide range of measurement requirements. Currently, measurements are possible at pressures up to 16 bar and ambient temperature. With the appropriate adaptation, other conditions can also be implemented – according to the requirements of project partners and customers. The gas composition is determined by mass spectrometry, so that gas mixtures can also be tested. The measuring stand is now being used in various research projects and is also available to cooperation partners from industry upon request.

Hydrogen at the 32^nd International Colloquium Plastics Technology:

At the colloquium Session 9 (Structural health monitoring of hydrogen pressure tanks) will focus on the topic of hydrogen with a keynote speech from industry and two scientific presentations from the IKV.

As part of IKV 360° – Research live, scientific staff will explain the current research approaches on the topic of hydrogen at various stations in the IKV technical centre and will be available for discussions.

The plastics industry faces the constant challenge of having to produce ever more economically and with higher quality. Digital solutions are a valuable support on many levels for the complexity of processes and process control:

• They accelerate operational processes such as approvals or logistics.
• They make it possible to efficiently provide and pass on information such as production orders or statistical evaluations.
• They provide knowledge in the form of assistance systems.
• They help with the analysis and monitoring of complex processes.
• -They support the development of measures for process optimisation.

However, the lack of uniform standards in interfaces and data structures hinders the efficient introduction of digital methods and tools on a broad scale. This also hinders the research, development and introduction of new, trend-setting and value-added solutions. In recent years, the IKV has positioned itself broadly in the field of digitalisation in order to meet these challenges. It researches and develops key areas for digitalisation in plastics processing, which form the basis for technical, monetary and social added value now and in the future. Three major projects in which the IKV is significantly involved provide an insight into the activities.

Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 – Fully digitalised research infrastructure

With the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 (PIC 4.0), which went into operation this year, the IKV has created a new technical centre, which offers a modern research and development infrastructure for new approaches to digitalisation for the plastics industry (Picture 1). The funding of the three-year project by the state of NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia) with resources from the European Union as part of the ERDF-NRW funding permitted the expansion of the PIC 4.0 with a state-of-the art architectural infrastructure. The plant technology combines a wide range of established as well as advanced contemporary components, and thus enables application-oriented developments in a heterogeneous working environment (Picture 2). In addition, a completely new digital infrastructure was built. This makes it possible to link very diverse data sources with each other and to keep data, objects or logical connections available for a long time, especially beyond a programme termination (data persistence), in order to use them later for applications that are not even known today. For data processing, the PIC 4.0 can access the most modern methods, including AI-based methods.

This infrastructure is supplemented by contextual research on semantic data structuring as well as the implementation of key components for the development and programming of new digital tools. This structured system saves time-consuming data ground work for future projects and propels the efficient development of new functionalities. Therefore, not only current and future research projects benefit from the flexible infrastructure, but also application-oriented development.

Start-up out of the “Internet of Production” cluster of excellence

Closely linked to the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 are the activities of the IKV in the DFG-funded cluster of excellence "Internet of Production", in which a consortium of more than 35 participating institutes at RWTH Aachen University are carrying out reserach into digitalisation of production processes across disciplines. The IKV has been an active partner since 2019 and represents research for plastics processing in the sub-areas of infrastructure, materials, process technology and production planning in this cluster of excellence (Picture 3).

In the area of process technology in particular, the foundations were laid here for a new approach to systematic process set-up in injection moulding and developed to the point of application. A start-up project is currently in the founding phase at the IKV, which is based on a promising AI-based modelling approach. The start-up industrif.ai is developing an assistance system to provide basic support for process engineers and plant operators in setting up new injection moulding products. It is also intended to be able to subsequently monitor production and provide recommendations for action regarding process optimisation. This will reduce the time required to set up the process operationally and optimise it as a whole. At the same time, the set-up becomes less dependent on individual decisions and the passing on of empirical wisdom, so that a high-quality process set-up is also made possible in the long run.

AI application hub plastic packaging – KIOptiPack

How can artificial intelligence (AI) help to reduce mountains of waste? How can it contribute to keeping important resources in the cycle? These are the questions addressed by the “AI application hub Plastic Packaging – Sustainable Circular Economy through Artificial Intelligence” funding programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The AI hub for plastic packaging is made up of the two innovation labs KIOptiPack and K3I-Cycling. They are working towards the common goal of making the plastic packaging value chain more sustainable. From design and production to closing the loop, AI methods are tested in specific use cases and put into practice.

The targeted share of recycled materials in packaging is at least 30 % in the future. A first crucial step towards a successful and industrially safe use of recyclates, is the standardisation the material qualities. This is where the KIOptiPack – Design and Production innovation laboratory comes in, with IKV as consortium leader (Picture 4). The approximately 40 project partners are pursuing the goal of providing, validating and transferring ready-to-use AI-supported tools for the successful product design and quality-compliant production of plastic packaging with a high proportion of recycled material in an AI application and data room. This will be linked to the creation of a central network platform for value chain engineering. The project and the tools developed within it cover the entire value chain from secondary raw materials, material and packaging development, process design, packaging production through to waste collection and processing, as well as consumers.

Digitalisation at the 32^nd International Colloquium Plastics Technology

At the colloquium Session 2 (AI-based methods to boost PCR usage in plastics packagings), Session 5 (Multiscale simulation of multiphase materials) and Session 10 (Assistance systems in Injection Moulding) will focus on the topic of digitalisation, each with a keynote speech from industry and two scientific presentations from the IKV.

The PIC 4.0 can be experienced in action during "IKV 360° – Research live". The scientific staff will then be available on site at various stations to provide additional information.

Netzwerk zwischen Wasserstoffwirtschaft und Kunststoffindustrie geknüpft:

Mit seinem im Mai 2023 gestarteten „Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum“ hat das IKV inzwischen ein enges Netzwerk zwischen der Wasserstoffwirtschaft und der Kunststoffindustrie geknüpft und bringt dort regelmäßig Anforderungs- und Anwendungs-Know-how mit Material- und Produktions-Know-how zusammen.

Hervorgegangen ist das „Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum“ aus der vom IKV im Jahr 2021 initiierten und im November 2022 abgeschlossenen Markt- und Technologiestudie zur Potentialanalyse von Kunststoffen in der Wasserstoffwirtschaft. Die Studie betrachtet Märkte inkl. Zulieferer und Endnutzer und analysiert nach der System Breakdown-Methode systematisch die relevantesten Wasserstofftechnologien. Daraus wird der Forschungsbedarf abgeleitet und die Entwicklung des Kunststoffmarktes infolge der entstehenden Wasserstoffwirtschaft prognostiziert. Bereits an der Studie waren mehr als 20 Industriepartner beteiligt.

Mit regelmäßigen Workshops und einen kontinuierlichen Market & Technology Monitoring setzt das IKV die Arbeit nun im „Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum“ fort. Kick-off für das Forum war der 16. Mai 2023. Künftig werden sich die Vertreter beider Industrien halbjährlich in Aachen treffen, um über Herausforderungen und Trends zu referieren und zu diskutieren. Neben dem fachlichen Austausch bietet dieses Forum eine ideale Plattform für das Networking. Darüber hinaus treffen sich die Forumsmitglieder auch außerhalb der regulären Termine zu Workshops, bei denen einzelne Mitglieder die Rolle des Gastgebers übernehmen. So begrüßte Freudenberg FTI in diesem Sommer die Forumsmitglieder im eigenen Haus, um die Herausforderungen bei Prüfung und Analyse von Kunststoffen in Wasserstoffanwendungen zu diskutieren.

Aus der Wasserstoffstudie und den Aktivitäten des „Hydrogen Business and Technology Forum“ entstand bereits ein erstes Forschungsprojekt: Im November 2023 startet gemeinsam mit dem Institut für Schweißtechnik und Fügetechnik (ISF) der RWTH Aachen ISF und der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung (BAM) das mit 1,6 Mio. EUR geförderte Forschungsprojekt Poly-H2-Pipe. Erforscht werden soll die Auslegung endlosfaserverstärkter Rohrsysteme auf den spezifischen Anwendungsfall der Anlagenperipherie des Elektrolyseurs bzw. in Medienleitungen der Brennstoffzelle.

Erfolgreiche Forschung zu Typ IV-Druckbehältern:

Bereits 2018 hat das IKV im vom Bundesministerium für Verkehr und Digitale Infrastruktur (BMVI) geförderten Projekt DELFIN begonnen, alternative Materialien und Fertigungsprozesse zur Herstellung von Typ IV-Druckbehältern für die Speicherung von Wasserstoff zu erforschen. Diese bestehen aus einem innenliegenden Thermoplast-Liner zur Abdichtung und einem aus kohlenstofffaserverstärkten Kunststoffen (CFK) gewickelten Mantel zur Lastaufnahme. Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts entwickelte das IKV eine optische Messmethodik und angepasste Bildverarbeitungsalgorithmen zur in-line Qualitätsüberwachung des Wickelverfahrens, um prozessseitige Abweichungen der Faserbandablage zu quantifizieren, einen digitalen Zwilling zu erzeugen und diesen für die realitätsnahe Abbildung der Druckbehälter in der Auslegung zu nutzen.

Nach erfolgreichem Abschluss des Forschungsprojektes DELFIN und des Folgeprojektes DELFIN2 wird die Forschung an Typ IV-Druckbehältern aus CFK nun fortgesetzt. Dabei verfolgt das IKV den Ansatz, die Einflüsse von verschiedenen Randbedingungen und Fehlern aus dem Fertigungsverfahren auf die Bauteilqualität zu identifizieren und anschließend die Funktionalität der Bauteile zu bewerten. Um die Daten optimal mit dem Prozess zu verknüpfen und nutzen zu können wird der gesamte Prozess über einen Digitalen Zwilling abgebildet.

Im Sommer 2023 startete dazu das Forschungsprojekt DAVID (Digitale Auslegungsmethoden von in-line-überwachten Druckbehälten), das das IKV als Nachfolgeprojekt von DELFIN initiiert hat. In dem Konsortialprojekt mit insgesamt zehn Partnern aus der Industrie und Forschung (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Elkamet Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Envalior GmbH, FORWARD ENGINEERING GmbH, FORM+TEST Seidner & Co. GmbH, ISATEC GmbH, NPROXX Jülich GmbH, Westlake Epoxy GmbH, Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH) hat das IKV daher auch die Konsortialführerschaft. DAVID wird Rahmen des Technologietransfer-Programms Leichtbau des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK) mit 6,3 Mio. EUR gefördert.

Mit DAVID soll durch Ressourceneffizienz und -substitution bei der Herstellung eine CO2-Einsparung von 21 % CO2-eq je Behälter erreicht werden. Dazu sollen neue durchgängige digitale Auslegungsmethoden und inline-Qualitätssicherungsmaßnahmen angewendet und neue angepasste Werkstoffkompositionen (Towpregs) und Verarbeitungstechnologien eingesetzt werden. Das technologische Ziel ist eine realistische Beschreibung der Behälterwerkstoffe und des Gesamtsystems während der Herstellung und des Produktlebenszyklus. Wechselwirkungen zwischen Maschine Prozess, Material, Morphologie und Werkstoffeigenschaften werden experimentell und simulativ analysiert, mit geeigneten Methoden modelliert und für Optimierungen in der Simulation in Form eines digitalen Zwillings der gefertigten Druckbehälter nutzbar gemacht. Das IKV will einen Triaxialprüfstand mit Wasserstoff als Druckmedium entwickeln und in Betrieb nehmen, um anwendungsnahe Werkstoffprüfungen an Thermoplasten, Faserverbundkunststoffen sowie Elastomeren durchführen zu können. Dies wird völlig neue Möglichkeiten der Werkstoffprüfung eröffnen, die als Basis für die Entwicklung von Werkstoffmodellen für die Wasserstoffindustrie dienen können.

Wartungsarme mobile Hochdruckspeicher:

Inhaltlich eng mit dem Projekt DAVID verknüpft ist das Projekt HyInnoTank – Wartungsarme mobile Hochdruckspeicher, das in drei Phasen zu je drei Jahren von 2021 bis 2030 läuft. Das Projekt wird Rahmen des Zukunftsclusters Wasserstoff des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) in den ersten beiden Phasen von jeweils drei Jahren mit 2,2 Mio. EUR gefördert. Im Rahmen des Projektes wird eine Methodik zur Instrumentierung von Typ IV-Druckbehältern mit Sensorfasern zur Dehnungsfeldüberwachung entwickelt. Durch die dauerhaft im Behälter eingebettete Sensorik wird dessen strukturelle Integrität während der Einsatzdauer überprüft, was Wartungskosten und Stillstandzeit bedeutend reduziert. Die Kenntnis der lokalen Dehnungen an verschiedenen Positionen des Druckbehälters innerhalb des Laminats liefert Informationen zum Werkstoffverhalten in verschiedenen Belastungsszenarien und damit einen bedeutenden Mehrwert für die Behälterauslegung und -beurteilung. Diese Technologie soll intelligent mit der Schallemmissionsanalyse gekoppelt werden, um eine ganzheitliche Beurteilung der Behälterstruktur zu ermöglichen und Structural Health Monitoring Level fünf zu erreichen. Ein weiteres Projektziel ist die Entwicklung eines Modells zur Abschätzung des Restberstdrucks und der Restlebensdauer von Druckbehältern auf Basis des Sensorsignals nach deren typischer Einsatzzeit von 20 Jahren, woraus sich Optionen zur Nachnutzung der Behälter ableiten lassen (Second Life Ansatz).

Die Partner im Konsortialprojekt HyInnoTank sind: Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen University (ITA), NPROXX GmbH, F. A. Kümpers GmbH & Co.KG, ISATEC GmbH, Institut für Strahlantriebe und Turboarbeitsmaschinen (IST) der RWTH Aachen University, Vallen Systeme GmbH.

H2-Permeationsprüfstand am IKV:

In der Arbeitsgruppe Plasma- und Oberflächentechnik wird seit einem Jahr ein Messstand zur Bestimmung der H2-Permeation durch beliebige Probengeometrien entwickelt. Das IKV verfügt bereits über jahrelange Erfahrung auf dem Gebiet der O2- und H2O-Permeationsmessung mit kommerziell verfügbaren Messgeräten und hat dieses Portfolio nun für eine Kooperation mit einem Industriepartner erweitert. Da der Aufbau vollständig am IKV entwickelt wurde, ist das IKV in der Lage flexibel auf verschiedenste Anforderungen an die Messungen einzugehen. Zurzeit sind Messungen bei Drücken bis zu 16 bar und Umgebungstemperatur möglich. Mit der entsprechenden Anpassung lassen sich – je nach den Anforderungen von Projektpartnern und Kunden – auch andere Bedingungen umsetzen. Die Gaszusammensetzung wird mittels Massenspektrometrie ermittelt, sodass auch Gasgemische bestimmt werden können. Der Messstand wird nun in verschiedenen Forschungsprojekten eingesetzt, und steht auf Anfrage auch gerne für Kooperationspartner aus der Industrie zu Verfügung.

Wasserstoff beim 32. Internationalen Kolloquium Kunststofftechnik:

Mit dem Thema Wasserstoff befasst sich beim Kolloquium v. a. die Session 9 „Structural Health Monitoring von Wasserstoff-Druckspeichern“ mit einer Keynote aus der Industrie sowie zwei wissenschaftlichen Präsentationen aus dem IKV.

Im Rahmen von IKV 360° ‒ Forschung live erklären die wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinnen an verschiedenen Stationen im IKV-Technikum die aktuellen Forschungsansätze zum Thema Wasserstoff und stehen für Diskussionen zur Verfügung.