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Additive manufacturing of tools using a laser powder bed fusion process offers a great number of advantages: It is economical, precise and allows for customized solutions. That said, it can be difficult to determine the optimal process parameters, such as the scan speed or power of the laser. For the first time, researchers at Fraunhofer are now simulating the process at the microstructure level in order to identify direct correlations between the workpiece properties and the selected process parameters. To do this, they are combining a number of different simulation methods.

Oil is a well-known and widely used lubricant — less commonplace, however, is the solid lubricant graphite. Although graphite is used at low-contact pressure, the effects that occur here had previously only been understood to a limited extent. It was particularly unclear whether this lubricant could also be used at high-contact pressure, such as it occurs in rolling bearings. Researchers were now able to expand the current friction model to explain these effects. In a recently published article in the journal Nature Communications, they specify how their findings pave the way for the future use of graphite lubrication in high-pressure applications.

Practical and environmentally friendly, e-scooters offer great flexibility. It is no wonder that more and more people are using this form of transport. However, this rise in popularity has been accompanied by an increase in accidents resulting in severe injuries. The risk associated with these speedy runabouts is widely underestimated. In response to this, Fraunhofer researchers studied a typical accident scenario and the associated injuries as part of the HUMAD project. The experts also tested novel materials for helmets and protective gear. These could provide much better protection than conventional products.

Global challenges such as climate change, renewable energy and individual mobility increase the necessity for a more efficient and sustainable use of our resources. Programmable materials have the potential to initiate a paradigm shift in the design and use of materials by replacing technical systems of many components and materials with a single, locally configured one. The first international conference on programmable materials aims to facilitate this paradigm shift for materials science. It creates the interdisciplinary scientific platform to accelerate the development, production and application of programmable materials. For more info, registration and for detailed program information visit www.progmatcon.com. #ProgMatCon22

Ensuring that power plants operate without breaking down and that vehicles run energy-efficiently ultimately depends on just a few atoms. A virtual material probe makes it possible to see, and therefore control, tribological processes at the atomic level. A team of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM is being awarded the Stifterverband Science Prize 2022 for this development.

To ensure that steel delivers what it promises, its microstructure is analyzed in detail to detect weak points during early stages. Today, this is largely done via visual inspection. Component manufacturers have long desired an automated image analysis method. In a cooperative project, the Fraunhofer IWM has now developed such a method based on neural networks. It delivers reliable and reproducible results and is a fundamental building block for the end-to-end digitalization of steel processing within Industry 4.0. The results have now been published in the scientific journals “Nature Communications” and “npj – computational materials”.

In materials and component research, artificial intelligence methodologies will lead to massive upheavals in the coming years. The processes of material development, material processing, lifetime prediction and material characterization will change significantly. By combining AI methods and new forms of knowledge representation, the data-based management of product life cycles will take on new qualities. To address this emerging field of research Fraunhofer IWM set up the online workshop »AI Methods for Fatigue Behavior Assessment and Component Lifetime Prediction« on November 24 and 25, 2021.

Four scientists from Freiburg have succeeded for the first time to simulate the localized growth of silicon crystals using shear-induced amorphization and recrystallization. In the future, experts could use this concept to tailor crystalline silicon structures for nanotechnology applications, such as nanoelectronics. “Triboepitaxy”, the fundamental idea that could make this possible, is presented by the team in the journal “Physical Review Letters”.

Hydrogen has an important role to play in the energy transition. Science and industry are currently working on storage and transport systems for hydrogen. The basis for this is to precisely describe and assess the behavior of metallic materials, especially steels, when they are in contact with hydrogen. As part of the BMBF lead project H₂Mare, the Fraunhofer IWM will develop and evaluate criteria for assessing materials and components for so-called tubular storage systems in the joint project H₂Wind. The findings will contribute to the accident-proof and durable operation of a real storage infrastructure for hydrogen.

In combustion engines, in plain bearings and in aerospace: diamond-like carbon coatings (DLC) reduce friction and wear in frictional contacts. In most cases, the lubricants used in bearings and engines contain the additive zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP), which in turn protects steel surfaces against wear. Unfortunately, it can attack the DLC layer, leading to premature failure. Researchers at the Fraunhofer IWM have discovered how the antagonistic interaction between the two substances occurs. In the journal Nature Communications, they explain why DLC layers can also be too hard in combination with ZDDP.