Suction excavators are mainly used in areas where smaller building structures need to be exposed very precisely. For example, a defective gate valve of a water supply pipe that runs under a sidewalk needs to be replaced. Here, it is important to ensure that gas, telephone or power lines are not damaged by the suction process and that people in the vicinity of the suction vehicle are not harmed. In order to automate such a digging process, it is essential to recognize the situation in addition to precisely controlling the vacuum cleaner and planning and executing certain paths. As part of the doctoral project, innovative AI methods are to be investigated and applied to the suction excavator task on a test basis. The aim is to show whether it is possible to train a neural network based on image and distance data in such a way that the suction process is controlled directly by the network. Such a concept could be transferred to a large number of similar applications and would increase process quality while reducing costs at the same time.
Climate change brings with it many challenges, and wine and sparkling wine production is not unaffected. Extreme weather conditions affect the composition of the grapes and therefore also the fermentation process during wine and sparkling wine production. Small, family-run wineries in Rhineland-Palatinate, the backbone of the regional wine industry, face major challenges. In contrast to larger wineries, they often lack the technical and financial resources to adapt to the new conditions. The aim of this research project is to investigate how climate change affects the composition of grapes and how winegrowers can adapt their fermentation processes in order to continue producing high-quality wines and sparkling wines. This project not only secures the future of small wineries, but also contributes to the preservation of the cultural landscape and regional diversity in Rhineland-Palatinate. At the same time, it raises public awareness of the effects of climate change on viticulture.
Total final energy consumption in Germany is significantly influenced by heating and water heating in buildings. In 2022, the final energy consumption of private households amounted to 28.6 % of total energy consumption and is therefore higher than the consumption of the entire industrial sector. In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2045 as demanded by the German government, the energy consumption of buildings must be significantly reduced. This requires advanced energy supply systems that use renewable energies. As part of this research project, innovative thermo-electrical and electromechanical processes are being researched in order to supply buildings with energy in a highly efficient manner. In addition to researching the various energy supply methods, AI-supported computer systems are being used to investigate the optimization of overall building energy systems. The aim is to achieve a high level of energy efficiency and climate neutrality through a sensible combination of the respective thermoelectric and electromechanical systems
The aim of the research project is to find out how fasteners in timber-concrete composite construction behave when there is a fire. Wood-concrete composite construction is an innovative construction method that combines the advantages of wood and concrete to create load-bearing and sustainable buildings. In the event of a fire, the concrete is designed to prevent the wood from being exposed to the fire without protection. The fasteners are used to connect the two materials, concrete and wood.
The project aims to gather theoretical and practical information to improve the safety and performance of fasteners in timber-concrete construction in the event of fire. The results should contribute to the development of new and safer fastening options to enable a wider range of applications. The project will also contribute to the development of rules and standards for fire safety in timber construction.
The overarching aim of this project is to develop an ultra-slim concrete component. This can save resources and weight and thus protect the environment. As the most widely used building material in the world, concrete is indispensable, but causes high greenhouse gas emissions. Elsewhere, work is being carried out explicitly on the substitution of emission-causing substances. The approach of this project is to reduce the amount of concrete generally required by using effective methods. For example, high-strength concretes are selected that also require smaller quantities of material due to prestressing.
To transfer tensile forces in the concrete, it is necessary to incorporate steel, which requires minimum cover dimensions and thus "dead" material to protect against corrosion. In this project, the tensile forces are transferred via carbon tapes, which replace the integrated reinforcement in the concrete. This is the only way to achieve a significant reduction in material. Nevertheless, the findings from the development of the carbon tapes can also be applied elsewhere, for example in existing buildings.
The materials are analyzed and developed using computed tomography methods and photogrammetry. This allows the bonding behavior of the carbon tapes in particular to be precisely recorded.
Additively manufactured components often have surfaces after production that are not yet sufficient for industrial use. The HybridAM project is developing processes that improve the quality and service life of components while at the same time conserving energy and resources. The focus is on components that are manufactured using high-speed laser deposition welding (HS DED-LB), a flexible and highly efficient process. For the post-processing of the components, various methods are combined into so-called hybrid process chains in order to make optimum use of their advantages. It is essential that the approaches can be implemented on conventional machine tools, which are already available in many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on the project results, a digital model will be created that enables the selection of the optimal process chain for different applications and can advance additive manufacturing in a technically, economically and ecologically sustainable manner.
Climate change brings with it many challenges, and wine and sparkling wine production is not unaffected. Extreme weather conditions affect the composition of the grapes and therefore also the fermentation process during wine and sparkling wine production. Small, family-run wineries in Rhineland-Palatinate, the backbone of the regional wine industry, face major challenges. In contrast to larger wineries, they often lack the technical and financial resources to adapt to the new conditions. The aim of this research project is to investigate how climate change affects the composition of grapes and how winegrowers can adapt their fermentation processes in order to continue producing high-quality wines and sparkling wines. This project not only secures the future of small wineries, but also contributes to the preservation of the cultural landscape and regional diversity in Rhineland-Palatinate. At the same time, it raises public awareness of the effects of climate change on viticulture.