Partners unveil Composite-Sandwich Conference 2020

Besides the presentations and the opportunity to network, new fields of application of sandwich materials will be highlighted and discussed. The city of Halle and the region are particularly well suited as locations especially for this event: Engineer Hugo Junkers had already worked on sandwich structures with honeycomb cores in Dessau in 1915, and the Hallesche Papierwarenfabrik Heilbrun & Pinner made major contributions to the development of honeycomb cores with the invention of the expanded honeycomb for decorative applications (1901).

Sandwich construction based on fibre-reinforced plastics enables highly efficient lightweight structures and thus already makes an enormous contribution to resource conservation in a large number of applications. While the topic of lightweight construction is widely discussed in many congresses and conferences, there are only a few conferences worldwide focusing on sandwich construction and sandwich core materials. Fraunhofer IMWS and ThermHex Waben are organising the Composite-Sandwich Conference in Halle (Saale) to exchange knowledge on current trends in material and technology development in the field of composite sandwich construction.

The event is supported by the SKZ Kunststoff-Zentrum Halle, the Kunststoff-Zentrum Leipzig and the Composites United network. On the first day of the conference, participants can visit the production site of ThermHex Waben as well as the Fraunhofer pilot plant centre for polymer synthesis and processing PAZ. In the evening, the official opening event will be held with first lectures, a get-together and a dinner at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The second day will feature presentations by top speakers in sandwich structures.

In the following interview, ThermHex CEO Dr Jochen Pflug explains the motivation for the Composite Sandwich Conference. He also points out the reasons why an extended use of sandwich technology is of advantage not only for the aerospace industry, but also for the automotive industry and many others.

Q: What do fibre-reinforced sandwich structures enable that other approaches for lightweight construction do not?

“Lightweight construction with fibre-reinforced plastics is an established technique to reduce weight and thus fuel consumption. Sandwich construction enables additional to the weight saving potential also lower material costs and production costs since the expensive fibre composite materials are only used for the thin top layers of the parts. Furthermore, advanced production techniques make it possible to produce fibre composite sandwich structures in high volume at low cost.”

Q: What markets can benefit from a wider use of sandwich technology?

“These are the markets that mostly have not yet relied on fibre composite sandwich construction due to high costs. Awareness of the cost efficiency that can be achieved with sandwich materials is not yet widespread. I see great potential here, since lightweight design is becoming more important altogether. This is the case not only in the automotive industry with components like the trunk floor, underbody panels and battery housings, but also in the construction industry with new solutions for scaffolds, sheetings for concrete casting and facing elements. Even the aviation and aerospace industries, pioneers in the use of fibre composite structures, can find additional potential for sandwich constructions thanks to new materials and production techniques.”

Q: What are the current challenges for sandwich technology?

“In many businesses that have made use of fibre composite sandwich panels, we have already reached quantities in which efficient, automated production principles are becoming more and more important. In the aviation and aerospace sectors alone, the traditional production methods are currently being reviewed in order to produce larger quantities at lower costs. Another key issue – in the industry and during our conference in Halle as well – is that of thermoplastic fibre composite sandwich structures. It is a real challenge to reach the weight-specific properties of the thermoset solutions by means of thermoplastic materials, but there exist exciting approaches both in research and development.

“I hope our conference can contribute to highlight solutions for this challenge, since our two most important target groups may enormously benefit from interactions in this mutual ex-change. The aviation and aerospace industries are rich in experience of the lightweight potential and material characteristics of fibre composite sandwich constructions, whereas the automotive industry has huge expertise in efficient production techniques. This is an ideal combination.”

Q: There is no lack of workshops and business meetings on lightweight design. Where do you see the additional value of the new conference?

“The focus on sandwich construction in which we bring together internationally leading experts is our unique selling point. And for a conference like this, Halle in Saxony-Anhalt is also the best location, because the first expanded honeycomb cores and the first sandwich structures for aerospace were produced here. Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS, the co-organizer of the conference to be held on February 5 and 6, 2020, and the plastics centre SKZ, we provide comprehensive know-how on this subject in the region. Its focus on application makes the event very special. Unlike scientific conferences, such as the International Conference on Sandwich Structures ICSS, we unambiguously focus on the needs of industry and future-oriented solutions for companies.”

www.faserverbund-sandwich.de