Page 7 - ILK Research Report 2020

Innovative hydrogen pressure storage systems for
optimized integration into the vehicle structure

At the start of the "Decade of Hydrogen" proclaimed by For this purpose, the ILK is developing chained tubular
the Hydrogen Council at the beginning of 2020, the Insti- storage tanks in close cooperation with LeichtbauZentrum
tute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology Sachsen GmbH and herone GmbH, which are manufac-
at the TU Dresden is making a significant input into mak- tured from semi-finished thermoplastic fibre compos-
ing road traffic emission-free in the long term through its ite products using braiding processes. The use of highly
participation in the BRYSON project (BauRaumeffiziente productive braiding technology offers the possibility of
HYdrogenSpeicher Optimierter Nutzbarkeit) funded by reducing the manufacturing costs of hydrogen tanks for
the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy. fuel cell vehicles and improving competitiveness compared
to battery electric vehicles.
The aim of the project consortium (BMW AG, ILK,
Leichtbau-Zentrum Sachsen GmbH, WELA Handels- The use of semi-finished thermoplastics also allows easy
gesellschaft mbH, Munich University of Applied Sciences) recycling of the tank structures after their use, further
is to develop new types of hydrogen pressure storage sys- improving the overall ecological balance of the Dresden
tems. These should be designed in such a way that they approach.
can be easily integrated into universal vehicle architectures.
The project therefore focuses on the development of tank
container systems in flat design.

Technological leap innovation from Dresden – Fibre compo-
sites and metal sheets joined by laser welding

Researchers at TU Dresden have succeeded for the first
time in permanently joining fibre composite structures to
metal sheets by laser welding. The scientists were able to
completely dispense with additional joining elements. With
the novel technology developed in the AiF-funded proj-
ect "Metal-FRP Joint", hybrid structures can be produced
easily and functionally in the future using this industrially
established joining process.

Hybrid structures made of metal and fibre-reinforced
plastic (FRP) composites are what make intelligent light-
weighting possible in the first place, since area-specific
material and component properties can be adjusted. An
essential prerequisite for this are economical solutions Metal
for joining the individual components that are suitable FRP
for the stresses and materials involved. To this end, the
Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technol- technology is in principle transferable to a wide variety of
ogy of the TU Dresden has developed a novel technology material combinations. The process offers the potential
based on laser welding in its joining techniques group. The to achieve increased joint strengths and benign failure
plant technology for this was provided by the Steinbeis behavior. In addition, the researchers are convinced that
Innovation Center Dresden. this innovative solution approach will enable series-pro-
duction-ready and also economical integration of FRP
The development approach is based on hybrid reinforce- components in metal bodies.
ment textiles, which were developed at the Institute of
Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technol- The IGF project (No. 18930 BR) of the research associations
ogy (ITM) of the TU Dresden. Here, the metallic elements Forschungskuratorium Textil e. V. (FKT) and Europäische
are incorporated by textile technology. These form me- Forschungsgesellschaft für Blechverarbeitung e. V. (EFB)
tallic surfaces in the FRP component, which are used for was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs
welding technology joining with metal sheets. So far, the and Energy via the AiF as part of the program to promote
feasibility has been demonstrated using steel sheet and joint industrial research and development (IGF) on the ba-
epoxy resin-based composites as examples. However, the sis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.

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