Two new labs of the Faculty of Engineering's Lightweight Construction research group
At the start of 2025, the Lightweight Construction research group at HTWK will be restructured and the Composite Circularity Lab (CCL) and the Advanced Materials and Structures Lab (AMSL) will be established. From now on, the core competences of the Chair of Lightweight Construction will be bundled more closely in the two labs in order to make even better use of synergies between ongoing research projects. "The two topics 'Circular Economy with Composite Materials' and 'Advanced Materials' have proven to be extremely relevant research topics in recent years, which are anchored in the innovation strategy of the Free State of Saxony, in the FONA strategy of the Federal Government and in the Advanced Materials Initiative 2030 of the EU Commission. These topics will therefore also play an even greater role at HTWK in the future," explains Prof Robert Böhm.
The new "Composite Circularity Lab" is dedicated to the development of circular engineering solutions for the fibre composite sector in research, teaching and transfer. "We are developing circular strategies consisting of the elements of reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose and recycling for various industries such as the wind energy sector, aerospace and the automotive industry. In various research projects, we are focusing in particular on evaluating the properties of fibre composite structures and implementing repurpose demonstrator solutions, which we want to transfer into series-ready applications," says research group leader Philipp Johst, explaining the CCL's objectives.
Team des Composite Circularity Labs (v.l.n.r.): Jannick Schneider, Moritz Bühl, Marten Tschatschanidse, Dimitrij Seibert, Andrej Fehler und Philipp Johst (es fehlt Pamela Voigt) © HTWK Leipzig
Team des Advanced Materials and Structures Lab (v.l.n.r.): Dmytro Rassokhin, Livia M. Doß, Sandy Schubert, Gregor Jesse, Willi Zschiebsch, Michael Kucher, Laura Schiele, Rafael Schelkow, Antonia Kirchner & Davood Peyrow Hedayati © HTWK Leipzig
The "Advanced Materials and Structures Lab" aims to develop composite materials and material composites with improved properties, multifunctionality, innovative processability and high versatility through the application of virtual simulation processes, new design and optimisation methods and an in-depth understanding of materials. "Our research covers a broad spectrum from the fundamental development of new materials such as structure-supporting energy storage materials or nanoparticle-reinforced plastics to FEM-based design tools and application-oriented research for potential industrial sectors such as transport, aerospace, energy and the environment, construction, medical technology and electrical engineering," says Dr Michael Kucher, research group leader at AMSL.
