The best Bachelor's and Master's theses in the Mechanical Engineering and Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering degree programmes were awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize during the Faculty of Engineering's graduation ceremony.
During the graduation ceremony, the Faculty of Engineering honours the best Bachelor's and Master's theses as well as academic and social commitment during their studies. This year, the following graduates received the KARL KOLLE Prize on 22 April 2023 during the ceremony in Plant 2:
- Daniel Breinl | Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor's thesis
- Pauline Werner | Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor's thesis
- Anastasia Gedicke | Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering, Master's thesis
- Lorenz Ziche | Mechanical Engineering, Master's thesis
The prizes of 500 euros each for Bachelor theses and 1,000 euros each for Master theses were presented by Prof Winfried Pinninghoff, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the KARL KOLLE Foundation.
KARL KOLLE Prize 2022 | The award winners
Award-winning bachelor theses
Prize winner Daniel Breinl is currently studying for a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig. He was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize 2022 for his bachelor's thesis"Exemplary construction and design of a reused large-area fibre composite component". The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Robert Böhm, Professor of Lightweight Construction with Composite Materials at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and his research assistant M.Eng. M.A. Philipp Johst.
The starting point for Breinl's bachelor's thesis is the fact that recycling concepts for old rotor blades are increasingly becoming the focus of industry and research due to increased demands regarding sustainability, climate compatibility and resource conservation in the wind energy sector. In terms of circular economy concepts, repair and various recycling scenarios ("reuse" and "repurpose") are therefore of particular interest. Daniel Breinl described and evaluated such scenarios using specific application examples. He concentrated mainly on repurpose applications made from glass fibre-reinforced end-of-life rotor blades and determined the application profile for his use case, a "tiny house". He also carried out suitable FE simulations for rough dimensioning. The results generated by Breinl have already been incorporated profitably into the EU research project EuReComp.
Daniel Breinl's next goal is to successfully complete his master's degree in mechanical engineering. As he is particularly interested in mobility and transport, he could imagine working or researching in this field later on.
Prizewinner Pauline Werner is also studying for a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and was a research assistant in the working group of Prof. Dr Stephan Schönfelder until the end of March 2023, where she worked on research topics relating to the simulation of welded pipe connections.
She was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize 2022 for her bachelor's thesis on "Stress analysis of welded tube joints of bicycle frames using the finite element method" . The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Stephan Schönfelder Professor for Simulation of Energetic and Technical Systems and Laboratory Engineer M.Eng. Felix Kaule.
In her bachelor's thesis, Pauline Werner analysed a simplified finite element simulation model of two pipes of a welded joint using notch splitting analysis. The aim was to determine an optimal element mesh for the exact mapping of the stress concentration within the weld seams in order to subsequently derive recommendations for a necessary meshing strategy for different pipe combinations using the ANSYS software. The results of her thesis are therefore of great value for further research in the field of calculation and service life assessment of welded bicycle frames.
Pauline Werner would like to continue working in the field of simulation in the future - both during and after her studies.
Award-winning Master's theses
Anastasia Gedicke is now doing her doctorate at HTWK Leipzig and TU Bergakademie Freiberg on the topic of "Energetic and technical optimisation of an innovative gas drying process with triethylene glycol and subsequent regeneration with membrane technology using fuzzy pattern classification methods".
She received the KARL KOLLE Prize 2022 for her master's thesis"Technically economical analysis of low-emission plant concepts for gas preheating using the example of the gas pressure control and measuring systems (GDRMA) of the Berlin ring pipeline system of ONTRAS". The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Huhn, Professor of Gas and Heating Networks at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and Dr.-Ing. habil. Steffen Päßler, Head of the Central Network Division at ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH.
In her master's thesis, Anastasia Gedicke investigated various concepts for preheating natural gas at transmission network level in order to find out how fuel consumption and climate-damaging emissions from gas pressure regulating and metering stations (GDRMA) can be reduced. This is because reducing the pressure of natural gas at GDRMA results in a cooling effect that has to be compensated for by preheating due to undesirable side effects. This preheating in existing systems is currently mainly realised using low-temperature boiler systems, a technology that can now be considered outdated due to its inefficiency compared to other heat generators. Anastasia Gedicke carried out an economic-ecological comparison of various lower-emission preheating concepts (including the integration of solar thermal energy and air-to-water heat pumps or inline preheating) by performing economic efficiency calculations and estimating greenhouse gas emissions. Her results provide a valuable basis for the further planning and implementation of decarbonisation measures at GDRMA.
What Anastasia Gedicke will do after her doctorate is still up in the air. She is currently in the first year of her doctorate and is open to a professional future in research, teaching and business.
Lorenz Ziche is now working as a research assistant at the Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. with the aim of completing a doctorate. His research focuses on "Thermoplastic composites", "Rivet-free joining" and "Digitalisation of composite manufacturing processes".
He wrote his master's thesis on "Quality data-based analysis of the pultrusion process using statistical methods and machine learning", for which he was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize2022. The work was supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Robert Böhm, Professor of Lightweight Construction with Composite Materials at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and M.Sc. Christoph Heimbucher from the Fibre Institute Bremen e.V. (FIBRE) at the University of Bremen.
Ziche's master's thesis is dedicated to pultrusion technology, which has established itself as a standard process in the production of continuous fibre-reinforced plastic profiles. More specifically, Lorenz Ziche analysed quality data recorded "inline", such as ultrasound measurement data or surface roughness, as well as other process parameters using statistical methods and machine learning algorithms in order to evaluate the influence of the process parameters on component quality. Sensors specially placed on the pultrusion system were used for this purpose. The process data provided important information on how to improve production (energy efficiency, productivity, temperature profiles, etc.). The evaluation was semi-automated. Lorenz Ziche developed a design methodology that forms the basis for further data-based work and the evaluation of large amounts of data. In the future, this method can also be coupled with FEM simulations.
Lorenz Ziche is not yet entirely sure where he will go after completing his doctorate. He would like to make a contribution to sustainable lightweight construction solutions and work in industry. However, as he enjoys teaching and research just as much, this would also be conceivable for him in the future.
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates all award winners and wishes them every success for their future careers.
KARL KOLLE Foundation
The founder Karl Kolle saw it as his life's work to be involved in the social and societal environment. The declared aim of the foundation is therefore very much the "education and upbringing" of young people, both at home and abroad. The foundation was established in 1998 by Dortmund entrepreneur Karl Kolle. The foundation's assets are based on the company KODA Stanz- und Biegetechnik GmbH - a supplier to the automotive industry. In addition to education, the most important areas of support include "science and research". In this combination, the foundation awards scholarships for particularly outstanding students and prizes for excellent scientific work.
Since 2006, the KARL KOLLE Foundation has supported students at HTWK Leipzig during study visits abroad and honours students for outstanding technical and scientific theses. The Executive Board and the Board of Trustees of the KARL KOLLE Foundation jointly decide on the awarding of grants. The Board of Trustees comprises representatives from science, business and social fields of activity.