HyFiVE – researching new joining technologies for maritime lightweight design

The task

Light­weight design is a key element for sustain­able trans­port but is expe­ri­encing massive resis­tance in ship­building due to inad­e­quate joining tech­nolo­gies for fibre-rein­forced compos­ites and steel. The research project Hybride Fügetech­nologie für Verbindungen im maritimen Einsatz (or Hy-FiVE) – (trans­lated as Hybrid Joining Tech­nology for Joints in Maritime Appli­ca­tions), is devel­oping new tech­nolo­gies and eval­u­ating them for maritime appli­ca­tions. Adhe­sive bonding, as the stan­dard method for joining light­weight struc­tures made of fibre-rein­forced plas­tics (FRP) and metal struc­tures, often does not meet the time and cost require­ments of ship­building in terms of design, certi­fi­ca­tion and produc­tion. The aim is there­fore to develop new and effi­cient adhe­sive-free joining tech­nolo­gies for FRP and metal appli­ca­tions.

The project part­ners

The eight part­ners (five indus­trial compa­nies and three scien­tific insti­tu­tions) in the project repre­sent the entire spec­trum along the value chain, from textile and mate­rial manu­fac­turers, engi­neering offices such as ar engi­neers to manu­fac­turing compa­nies. They are supported by three scien­tific insti­tu­tions with their exper­tise in the field of fibre and FRP tech­nology, as well as in the field of welding. They are supported by three scien­tific insti­tu­tions with their exper­tise in the field of fibre and FRP tech­nology, as well as in the field of welding.

The approach

The appli­ca­tion in ship­building is the focus of the HyFiVE research project. Thus, an essen­tial aspect of the project is the devel­op­ment of the tech­nolo­gies in line with the require­ments in ship­building. This includes, among other things, inte­gra­tion into FRP compo­nents using different manu­fac­turing methods, scal­a­bility, non-destruc­tive testing, as well as fire protec­tion. To this end, the consor­tium works closely with ship­yards and clas­si­fi­ca­tion soci­eties.

Dealing with the following topics, ar engi­neers is making an impor­tant contri­bu­tion to the success of the HyFiVE project:

• Struc­tural eval­u­a­tion of novel joining concepts for steel-GFRP hybrids.
• Devel­op­ment of design and calcu­la­tion methods for the hybrid connector FAUSST
• Carrying out exten­sive numer­ical simu­la­tions for the mechan­ical char­ac­ter­i­sa­tion of the complex 3D-struc­ture of FAUSST
• Compar­ison of the mechan­ical perfor­mance with conven­tional joining methods (adhe­sive bonding, rivets, screws)

Devel­op­ment of stan­dard­is­able design and veri­fi­ca­tion processes of steel-GFRP hybrid struc­tures with FAUSST connec­tors for use in ship­building assem­blies. Opti­mi­sa­tion of the joining tech­nology from a struc­tural point of view in order to improve the mechan­ical perfor­mance in the context of the global assembly.

Our know-how

The following compe­tences at ar engi­neers are being used and further devel­oped in this research project:

• Exten­sive expe­ri­ence in concep­tual design and coor­di­na­tion of complex projects
• Many years of exper­tise in light­weight design – also in ship­building appli­ca­tions
• Best possible repre­sen­ta­tion of complex boundary condi­tions through numer­ical simu­la­tion
• Compo­nent opti­mi­sa­tion in the context of inno­v­a­tive mate­rial compo­si­tions, such as the FAUSST hybrid connector
• Expe­ri­ence in coop­er­a­tion and project manage­ment with certi­fi­ca­tion bodies

Our way

With open minds, we will map and opti­mise disrup­tive tech­niques such as hybrid mate­rial combi­na­tions through the use of high-end simu­la­tion tools; our in-depth under­standing of ship­building appli­ca­tions makes possible an early proof of concept based on the theo­ret­ical find­ings. This will enable us to provide impor­tant impulses for opti­mising this inno­v­a­tive joining tech­nology.