Blog: Training at Fraunhofer IFAM

Lena Bothur studied Bionics and Applied Materials Science and has been working at the Fraunhofer IFAM in the Advanced Training Center for Fiber Composite Materials since 2022. She is responsible for managing the online learning platform as well as the repair and manufacturer courses at the training center. This year, she is co-organizing the English-language course "Fiber Reinforced Plastic Specialist Online" in a blended learning format, together with Milan Kelch.

This year's "Bremer Klebtage" celebrates the anniversary "30 Years of Adhesive Bonding in Bremen." To mark the occasion, we invited Dr. Holger Fricke, Head of Adhesive Bonding Technology at Fraunhofer IFAM, for an interview. In our format "3 Questions for...", Dr. Fricke provides an exciting insight into his lecture on "Digitalization in Adhesive Technology."

As part of the 22nd "Bremer Klebtage," we asked Dr. Matthias Popp to answer a few questions about his presentation titled "Debonding On Demand – Many Methods, One Goal." In our conversation, he explains the concepts and challenges behind the topic, discusses the technological and environmental aspects of debonding, and provides insights into future developments in this field.

General de Adhesivos is the latest example of the growing cooperation partner network of the advanced training centres for adhesve bonding and fiber composite technology at the Fraunhofer IFAM. The national and international cooperation partners work in close cooperation with the department of further education and technology transfer according to their quality standards. This includes the use of the latest course materials, regular methodological-didactical training and a regular exchange of expertise between the lecturers. The quality management and the documentation of further education are carried out by the Fraunhofer IFAM.

A misunderstanding is a communicative disturbance resulting from the difference between what is meant by a sender and what is understood by the recipient. It often occurs due to a lack of knowledge. We want to counteract this with this blog article, which deals with the misunderstood role of adhesive bonding technology in discussions about the circular economy.

Fibre-reinforced plastics usually have high specific stiffness and strength. This makes them suitable materials for lightweight construction. They are used in aviation, marine, wind energy, rail vehicle construction and many other industries. However, in their application they are exposed to enormous environmental influences which can have a detrimental effect on their service life: Temperature fluctuations, humidity, UV radiation, mechanical stress, salts or other chemical compounds. The consequential damage is often not visible and is not noticed, but this can have fatal consequences. Therefore, comprehensive knowledge of the properties of fibre-reinforced plastics is necessary as well as the possibility of professional repair.

In 2020 the Bremer FaserverbundPRAXIStage will take place for the third time. As a practice-oriented counterpart to the "Bremen Composite Days", participants will have the opportunity to train and expand their practical skills in handling composites. The special feature of this course is that the graduates take home a self-manufactured longboard made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic. For this purpose, there is a short refresher of the relevant knowledge about the production and processing of FVK components. The focus, however, is on manufacturing the component using the vacuum infusion process. We talked to course instructor Claas Hoffmann about this very special composites training course at the Fraunhofer IFAM.

Like so many new materials and processes, natural fiber reinforced plastics were first developed out of necessity, when there was a steel shortage in the former DDR. Cotton from Central Asia was in contrast plentiful. This is the reason why it came to be that all the bodywork of Trabant cars was made from cotton fiber reinforced plastic, at the time a most novel material. Almost 100,000 tonnes of natural fiber reinforced plastics are processed today in Europe. Some 95% of this is in the automotive industry. Milan Kelch, now a Fraunhofer IFAM employee but an erstwhile member of the Biological Materials work group of Professor Müssig at Bremen University of Applied Sciences, developed cotton fiber reinforced plastics working with an international research team. The potential of these fascinating materials will be presented during the 3rd Bremen Fiber Composite Days on 27 and 28 March 2019.

From fall 2024, Fraunhofer IFAM will be offering the English-language training course " Fiber Reinforced Plastic Specialist", which covers the entire range of materials, manufacturing and repair methods of the material FRP in theoretical and practical learning units.

Many components in trains that were previously screwed or welded together are nowadays held together with adhesives. To ensure that the trains always arrive safely at their destination, Uwe Berger supervises each step of adhesive bonding work at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung GmbH in Werk Krefeld. He is the supervisor in charge (SIC) of adhesive bonding work at the company.