Review 2016

04.08.2016

Clausthal-Zellerfeld. At the first edition of a graduate day, organized by the Clausthal Center for Materials Technology (CZM), master's and doctoral students of the TU were invited to present results of their work related to materials in front of an expert audience. Afterwards, a "Come Together" offered the opportunity to discuss issues in more detail and to establish contacts.

Whether in mechanical and plant engineering, for means of transportation such as cars or airplanes, or even in the construction sector: everywhere, knowledge of the respective state-of-the-art and especially novel materials is of outstanding importance for young scientists and engineers. It is precisely this knowledge that is imparted to graduates at Clausthal University of Technology in the best possible way during their academic or scientific training, so that they can successfully gain a foothold in the respective industries. Within the framework of this education, results from master's theses and doctoral dissertations were presented by young and prospective graduates at the 1st CZM Graduates' Day.

They reported, for example, on how it is possible to chemically modify wood so that it is permanently resistant to water and pest infestation. In contrast to conventional coatings, this can eliminate the need for re-treatment after a few years. Likewise, the chemical preservation is not only superficial, which leads to a higher tolerance to damage. Firmly adherent coatings are also produced on metallic materials by buildup welding in order to protect the substrate materials against wear and tear. The objective here is to realize at least the same resistance of the protective coatings to wear attacks as compared to the status quo while using more cost-effective and environmentally compatible alloy concepts.

In addition to the production of novel material systems themselves, the prediction of material and component behavior plays an important role in the work carried out. For example, the development of material models for calculating the mechanical properties of die-cast components made of zinc alloys or the development of analytical methods or models for characterizing raw meals for cement production.

Following the presentations, graduates and audience members had the opportunity to personally get in touch and discuss the presented topics in more depth. In the future, the CZM Graduates' Day will be held regularly every two years.

Since it was not possible to hold the event in person, all participants were sent a Clausthal "care package" in advance, as Prof. Maus-Friedrichs, CZM board spokesman, called it in his welcome address. In addition to all conference utensils, the package also contained some culinary resin specialties in order to create at least a certain genuine conference atmosphere. According to the feedback of some participants, this was also present at the latest during the evening lecture by Prof. Martin Korte from the TU Braunschweig on the topic of "Lifelong Learning".

Prizes for particularly successful presentations were awarded to 3 speakers. Mr. Benedikt Dorbath from the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg from the Chair of High Frequency Technology. He presented new wireless sensor concepts that can be used to detect the curing processes in epoxy resins and fiber composite components in-situ. Mr. Tobias Grabe from the Institute of Product Development and Device Engineering at Leibniz University Hannover was recognized for his contribution to modeling thermomechanical effects in additive manufacturing of glass waveguides. Dr. Manel Ellouz from the Laboratory for Materials Testing at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences also received an award for her paper on the computed tomographic investigation of an automotive chassis hybrid component consisting of aluminum and CFRP.

Finally, Dr.-Ing. Henning Wiche looked ahead: "At the Symposium on Materials Technology in February 2023, we expect all guests to be present again in the best winter weather in the Harz mountains. In addition, it is then at the 5th Symposium Material Technology a small premiere, to which the guests can certainly look forward to one or the other surprise. Contact: Dr.-Ing. Henning Wiche Clausthal Center for Materials Technology E-mail: sekretariat@czm.tu-clausthal.de Phone: +49 5323 72-3330 Fax: +49 5323 72-3399