A new edited volume from the German Scientific Society for Product Development shows how sustainable product development can be shaped across the entire product lifecycle, featuring contributions from professors on topics such as lightweight design, life cycle assessment, circular economy, and digital twins. IKAT contributes a chapter examining material selection from a systems perspective, showing how its influence on the sustainability of complex socio-technical systems can be considered in product development. The book is aimed at students, researchers, and practitioners.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-52117-2_12

From June 23 to 24, 2026, the PA AK Plain Bearings meeting was held at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) and the Institute for Machine Elements and Systems Engineering (MSE) in Aachen.

Mr. Friedrich presented the current status of the „Kombilager II“ project (FVA 884 II). This was followed by Mr. Ebermann’s presentation on „Gleitlagersystemtoleranzen“ (FVA 803 III). The technical presentations concluded with Mr. Prase, who shared the latest findings from the DFG-funded project „Zustandscharakterisierung hydrodynamischer Gleitlager auf Basis kapazitiver Effekte.“

In addition to the presentations, participants had the opportunity to tour the ILT and MSE facilities, as well as the test facilities at the Center for Wind Turbines (CWD).

We would like to thank the organizers for the excellent arrangements and look forward to the next working group meeting.

From June 10–11, IKAT participated in the PA AK WNV working group meeting of the FVA Research Association for Drive Technology, hosted by Getriebebau NORD GmbH & Co. KG in Bargteheide.

The event opened with Prof. Hasse presenting the final report on a research project focusing on high-speed electric machines. This was followed by Tobias Hentschel (in cooperation with WHZ), who introduced new calculation methods for hypotrochoidal shaft-hub connections (WNV). In particular, the local strength verification under friction fatigue attracted significant interest and sparked lively technical discussions. The first day concluded with Benjamin Muhammedi presenting initial results of a holistic calculation concept for shafts in keyed shaft-hub connections.

The second day began with a presentation by Mr. Zylla on case-hardened shafts. Alongside the strengthening effects of component-level influences, the focus was placed on reliability assessment and its classification according to established guidelines. Jonathan Schanner then presented current experimental results from the “Coefficient of Static Friction” research project. On behalf of Vivek Niel Jason Kanaparthy, Tobias Hentschel introduced the kick-off of a new project on hypotrochoidal FKV couplings.

The meeting concluded with Prof. Frank Forbrig (WHZ) and Marvin Bellmann presenting their project idea on polygonal shaft-hub connections. It also marked a special milestone: Marvin Bellmann delivered his first presentation within the PA AK WNV working group.

Congratulations on this successful debut! We are proud of our team’s strong contribution and look forward to many more inspiring discussions, research results, and collaborative projects within the FVA network.

Growing ecological and economic pressure leads to ever higher and more complex stresses in the development of plain bearings. The research at the institute is therefore primarily concerned with the investigation and development of alternative sliding materials and the influence of geometric deviations. The main focus of the investigations is the wear behavior under the most varied operating conditions (particles, mixed friction, hydrodynamics).

The permissible loads of selected SHC (cone-shaped and cylindrical press-fit connections as well as keyed, knurled, polygonal connections, etc.) have been investigated primarily at IKAT for decades in the area of fretting fatigue and fatigue strength. The behavior under individual loads (bending, torsion) as well as combined dynamic loads is analysed.

In contact with various components, deformations in connection with the prevailing joint pressure initiate the damage process of fretting fatigue. Current research activities at the institute focus on basic research on the damage phenomenon of fretting fatigue and pursue the objective of developing an impact-compliant calculation method.

While conventional mechanisms owe their deformability to the sliding or rolling interfaces in the joints, flexible mechanisms fulfill their function through elastic stretches in places that are deliberately designed to be flexible during design. This functional principle enables novel, shape-adaptive structures, which can be used, for example, in softrobotics or in variable-shape wings. The professorship focuses its research on optimization-based synthesis methods.

The strength tests focus on the tooth root load-bearing capacity of worm gear units. The challenge to numerical imaging lies in the complex geometry and the special material bronze.

The coefficient of static friction, also known as the coefficient of friction, is a system parameter influenced by a multitude of parameters. To utilise the potential of friction-locking connections (e.g. screws, flanges and press-fit connections), experimental investigation is essential. Using standardised test methods on model samples, the research centre examines a wide variety of tribological configurations with regard to their transmission behaviour. A major area of research is the development of new design and selection tools for measures that enhance friction (e.g. micro/laser structures, hard particles and coatings) for static and dynamic load cases.