Dr. Maximilian Salmins Opens New Research Fields at IVW with Successful Dissertation

We are pleased to announce the successful defense of Dr. Maximilian Salmins' dissertation at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau. His dissertation entitled “Development of a Hot Press Process for the Production of Integral Foams based on Amorphous High-Performance Thermoplastics,” represents a significant advancement in materials research.Under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Mitschang, Dr. Salmins has achieved an outstanding accomplishment.

Dr. Salmins' work focuses on the development of an extremely lightweight foam based on high-performance polymers for use in aircraft interiors. For the production of these materials, Mr. Salmins established an optimized processing strategy and, in addition, a model that allows to estimate the resulting bending properties. This not only leads to improved material performance, but also to shortened process chains as well as economic and ecological benefits.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Neumeyer, Research Director Manufacturing Science at IVW, emphasizes the importance of this work for the institute:
"With his outstanding research on the production of lightweight integral foam structures based on high-temperature thermoplastics, Maximilian Salmins, has opened up a new field of work for IVW. Based on this, we will expand and intensify research on processing strategies for thermoplastic foams and the resulting sandwich structures. Mr. Salmins' dissertation forms a very important foundation."

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Mitschang, under whose supervision the dissertation was completed, also highlights the significance of the results:
"Dr. Salmins' research shows that improved material performance is possible, while also shortening process chains. Additionally, the process model he developed, which is easy to use, enables targeted component design with minimal material usage and economic advantages, thus contributing to sustainable lightweight solutions."

We look forward to Dr. Salmins' future endeavors and wish him much success in his upcoming projects.