From Research to Application
German Research Foundation and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to support trilateral project with participation from RWTH
The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are funding six new trilateral collaborative projects to transfer research findings gained in DFG-funded projects to business and industry.
Universities, Fraunhofer Institutes and companies are collaborating in these projects with the aim of making innovations from research available to industry at an early stage. The six projects will be funded for three years, receiving a total of around five million euros in funding.
Among the initiatives to receive funding is the project “Technology Development for the Efficient Production of Glass Components for the Interior and Exterior of the Cars of the Future,” jointly led by RWTH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen. The project’s industrial partner is J. Hauser GmbH & Co. KG, Solms.
Development of a Simulation Tool
The aim is to develop a simulation tool for predicting the non-isothermal forming process of thin glass components. Such processes are used, for example, in the automotive, consumer electronics, and medical engineering sectors. A new process, so-called non-isothermal glass forming, allows the cost-efficient production of voluminous glass components with high geometric complexity and precision.
When transferring this technology to thin glass forming, the challenge is to ensure process stability. Based on the University’s research on modelling complex materials and processes as well as heat conduction at interfaces, a computer-aided model for the entire process-relevant temperature range is to be developed. On the basis of these simulations, recommendations for the forming process to ensure high process stability and glass component quality can be developed in the future.
The project is led by RWTH professors Stefanie Reese and Jaan Simon, Institute of Applied Mechanics; Professor Reinhold Kneer, Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer; and Professor Thomas Bergs and Tim Grunwald, Fraunhofer IPT.