Review 2018

CZM graduate day: high-profile research presented

24.08.2018

Clausthal-Zellerfeld. For the second time, master's and doctoral students at the Clausthal Center for Materials Technology (CZM) had the opportunity to present the results of their scientific and engineering work related to materials to a broad audience. In addition to listeners from the scientific community, guests from industry and school students were also present. After the presentations, the more than 90 participants exchanged ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.

The objective at the CZM is the generation of novel material systems - starting from the targeted modification of existing materials to the coupling of contrasting materials such as glass, ceramics, plastics or metal. Without the dedicated students and doctoral candidates at Clausthal University of Technology who are active in the center's numerous projects, achieving this goal would be impossible. Accordingly, their work was appropriately presented and appreciated at the CZM Graduate Day.

The topics covered were very broad: In analytics, for example, reports were given on the potential uses of neural networks for the automated evaluation of microscopic material images. In contrast to neural networks used in the environment recognition of autonomous vehicles, these networks do not detect pedestrians or other cars, but different groups of material inhomogeneities, which are of decisive importance for the resulting properties of the materials.

Bench tests are suitable for determining component properties. A new test rig experiment was presented in another paper. This was used in the development and testing of dry-running plain bearings with a compound sliding layer. The main focus was on the realistic reproduction of different load scenarios and the investigation of tribological friction and wear behavior. On this basis, the positive performance of developed prototypes under material-specific thermal limit loads was successfully demonstrated.

Contact surfaces also play an important role in the adhesive strength of cylinder liners pressed into the inner cylinder surfaces of aluminum engine blocks. To achieve a high level of frictional contact, the inner surface of the cylinder must be roughened in a targeted manner. A new laser-based surface structuring process was developed and presented for this purpose. The process has already proven itself in practice. It is characterized by its high cost-effectiveness compared with known structuring processes. The latter was a contribution of the Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH), which is also actively involved in the CZM. Furthermore, the ZIM network "Microsystems based on multifunctional material systems", which is located at the CZM, presented itself with an exhibitor booth.

The strong increase in interest in the event on the part of industry was gratifying. It is a proof for the high attractiveness of the topics and the qualification of the Clausthal graduates. The opening of the event for pupils on the other hand had the background to advertise for a study at the TU Clausthal, so that also in the future the number of graduates in the shown fields will remain on a high level. Contact: Dr.-Ing. Henning Wiche Clausthal Center for Materials Engineering E-mail: sekretariat@czm.tu-clausthal.de Phone: +49 5323 72-3330 Fax: +49 5323 72-3399