Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS
The Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle (Saale), together with partners in the “KupferDigital” project, has made a significant contribution to the development of a data platform for copper alloy materials that considers the entire life cycle. The data, linked with the help of ontologies, integrates material characterization, alloy development, performance review and lifespan, right up to recycling. This now enables faster material development and the analysis of complete product cycles, in order to make them more sustainable as well as more productive.
With an annual consumption of around 28 million tons, copper is one of the most important materials worldwide and is characterized by its ease of processing and its excellent conductivity of heat and electricity. Current industry requirements include both the development of new copper alloys to open up new applications and solutions for more efficient use and better recycling options. To provide support here, the Fraunhofer IMWS and the following partners have joined forces: the Research Institute for Precious Metals and Metal Chemistry (FEM), the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, the Institute for Applied Informatics e.V. (InfAI), the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), which is part of the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and the German Copper Institute (DKI) have joined forces and developed an online platform in the now completed “KupferDigital” project that provides important contributions for a digital material twin.
The researchers at the Fraunhofer IMWS worked on the sub-project “Microstructure and Property Correlation” within “KupferDigital” and contributed their expertise in microstructure diagnostics and analysis for the characterization of various copper alloys to the digital data space.
The focus was on in-depth physical analysis of the structure-property relationships of the alloys developed in the project and a digital description of the investigation processes with the aim of providing the essential data for a cross-scale workflow to map the ontologies in the semantic data space. High-resolution methods such as electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which allow imaging down to the nm range, were used. The results are freely accessible and stored in the data space developed for this purpose.
The project has contributed significant advances to digital materials research, with a focus on data completeness, quality and sovereignty, in order to dispel concerns about industrial espionage. The approach developed can also be applied to other materials such as steel or aluminum. Dipl.-Ing. Sandy Klengel, project manager at the Fraunhofer IMWS, explains: “The project has shown how important the digital representation of materials is for modern materials research. The developed ontologies and data structures will significantly advance research and development of new copper alloys. The results of the project can also be incorporated into future research work and further support the development of innovative materials.”
The project also involved close collaboration with the Material Digital platform.