BUP34/BUP51 - NaturStoff I/II

Lightweight construction is a very important component for the sustainable mobility of the future. This approach enables a decrease in the energy demands of vehicles. However, conventional lightweight materials such as glass fiber and carbon fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP and CFRP) as well as aluminum emit significant amounts of CO₂ during their production. In addition, their recycling is technically possible but economically challenging.

To enable sustainable lightweight construction, natural fiber-reinforced composites (NFC) are currently in focus in fiber composite research.
The production of NFRP still presents some challenges in terms of the quality of the composite. The Institute of Aircraft Design at the University of Stuttgart has developed a new manufacturing technology to produce NFRP with high quality. A new NFRP production technology is being further developed as part of the ICM-project “NaturStoff”.

Aim

The aim of the project is to set up and expand a laboratory system for the production of NFRP components. For this purpose, the existing manually operated system will be expanded with servomotors, spindle drives and a corresponding control system. These modifications will enable a reproducible process with controllable parameters. This enables research on the influence of the production conditions on the quality of the NFRP.

Approach

• Revision of the design of the NFK laboratory production equipment

• Development of control and regulation elements for process control and partial automation

• Production of NFRP samples with different process parameters

• Evaluation of the NFRP quality and the influence of the process parameters

Benefits

The innovation consists of a new process for the controlled and automated production of natural fiber-reinforced components (NFRP). This allows a deeper understanding of the effect of the properties of the starting materials (fiber reinforcements made from flax or hemp fibers as well as different bio-based resin systems) and the process parameters on the FRP quality. This is the prerequisite for being able to produce NFRP components in series with consistently high quality. The expanded NFRP laboratory production equipment enables the development of research results that can offer the industry sustainable alternatives to the conventional lightweight construction materials aluminum and glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP).

Further information

• Article on velobiz.de (March 18, 2024, in German): Stuttgarter Leichtbau am Lastenrad
• News (January 19, 2024): Sustainable lightweight construction from Stuttgart
• Website of the Start-up BEHtec