Junior Research Group TopComposite started

In March, the interdisciplinary junior research group "TopComposite - Topology-Optimized and Resource-Efficient Composites for Mobility and Transport" started at IVW. The group, headed by Dr.-Ing. David May, is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), after Dr. May was one of only seven young scientists in Germany to win the 2018 round of the "NanoMatFutur" competition for young scientists. Through its initiative, the BMBF supports young, excellent junior scientists in the field of materials science and materials engineering by giving them the opportunity to establish their own independent junior research group. One funding goal is to overcome the boundaries of classical disciplines. In the TopComposite project, an interdisciplinary team with members from the fields of process engineering, chemistry, materials science, design and economics will work together over a funding period of five years. The aim is to develop the new fiber-reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) "TopComposite" and to optimally coordinate construction methods, processes and materials. "TopComposite" is the result of a novel manufacturing process, specially adapted matrix systems and a construction method tailored to the process and material technology possibilities. The new manufacturing process allows the continuous conveying of fiber bundles which are impregnated with a thermosetting resin system directly during the process. This allows topology-optimized, additive deposition of continuous fiber bundles. The fibers can be deposited in both straight and curved paths. Even deposition in loops is possible with this manufacturing process. This allows a load-path-compatible fiber positioning, so that the fibers are only placed where they are really needed for reinforcement. This is intended to minimize the use of material and at the same time enable a quasi-waste-free production of FRPC components.