Project Goals

The research goal of the SFB /TR39 is the development of production technologies for active structural components. These are characterized by direct material integration of sensor/actuator materials in a light weight construction materials. The process chains of the component manufacturing and the manufacturing of applicable sensory or actuators effective modules, which previously were a separate process, should merge. The material integration of the transducer material piezo ceramic takes place directly in the component manufacturing.

Conventional Process Chain

Process Chain PT-PIESA

As a crucial prerequisite for the introduction of adaptronic components for the industrial application, production technologies with mass production capacity arise.

Adaptronic components use the integrated sensors and actuators in connection with adapted control and regulatory electronics for its independently adjust of its structural characteristics to the changes of the forces acting on it. Thus, the permanent interpretative disputes in mechanical structures, on one part between geometry and stress, and on the other hand between lower weight and high structure damping, in those scales can be avoided, which cannot be reached alone with structural and lightweight materials. The problem of flat lightweight structures is nowadays particularly in the susceptibility for structural vibrations and the high sound radiation linked to the reduced surface dimensions. In the mechanical engineering the structural vibrations reduce the achievable dynamism and consequently the productivity through the decrease of the processing quality, since vibrating car components reduce comfort, passive additional measures increase the fuel consumption. High noise pollution caused by elevated sound radiation is a general environment problem with growing significance.

The benefit and the extremely high application potential of adaptronics are unquestionable. The systems approach´s technical feasibility has been proven multiple times within national, as well as international, research projects. The implementation in products has failed due particularly due to the lack of production technologies with capability of serial production. This question with high potential for innovation is the research object of the SFB/TR.