Innovation Awards 2015: AVK honours three outstanding winners

• Modular system for mixed-water sewage systems
• Shock absorption crossbeam made from plastic
• Shape-adapting CRP side impact beam

HOBAS CSO Chamber – a modular system for mixed-water sewage systems

Hobas Engineering GmbH from Klagenfurt, Austria, has created a modular system for the calculation of mixed-water sewage systems. The innovation made a good impression on the professional jury which consisted of engineers, researchers and industry journalists. The so-called HOBAS CSO Chamber is ideally suited for highly efficient mixed-water calculations while at the same time reducing environmental impact.

A mixed-water system discharges both rainwater and wastewater. When the weather is dry, the system works like a conventional sewer. However, rain causes the water volume to increase by a multiple. To prevent flooding, overflow structures are erected which divert some of the mixed water into a storage area or directly into the receiving water. The HOBAS CSO Chamber is particularly effective in separating coarse impurities from the mixed water and conveying them to the wastewater treatment plant, while any water that is free from coarse impurities is discharged into a storage area or into the receiving water.

The underlying idea for this innovation was created a few years ago, in the laboratory of Prague Technical University, together with HOBAS.  Using a numerical 3D modelling method and various physical modelling experiments, the mixed-water overflow system then underwent continuous further development. By now this mixed-water overflow is available in a design that has been geometrically and hydraulically optimised. At the moment publication is being written on the results of the physical modelling experiment, so that the hydraulic design can become known to and be recognised by the various water associations.

A modular CRP construction with integrated cleaning, storage and overflow functions has never been on the market in this form. The entire structure, which consists exclusively of CRP pipes, is delivered to the construction site in assembled form and can be connected to the existing mixed-water pipe without any major effort. When it comes to maintenance, there is no need to clean the scrapers of this CSO, as would normally be necessary in conventional mixed-water overflows, and the system is therefore almost entirely maintenance-free.
 
The increased cleaning capacity of the CSO compared with conventional systems has been proved both mathematically and in a reference project. This means that the use of a HOBAS CSO substantially improves the water quality of a mixed-water discharge facility compared with conventional solutions. At the same time it substantially reduces the environmental impact of the wastewater.

Moreover, collaboration is continuing between Prague Technical University and HOBAS, ensuring the ongoing development of the system and covering an increasing number of options. One important next step which will be required is to formulate the CSO’s hydraulic key values and its improved cleaning capacity through European regulations.

Existing mixed-water systems, including those in Germany, are currently becoming subject to stricter regulations, prompted by EU-initiated environmental projects, so that there is a rising demand for clean and efficient overflow constructions. This product innovation is well tailored to suit the latest, more stringent EU regulations. Its increased cleaning capability has been tested in a field trial. The CSO is independent of any external energy supply and has been used in projects for several years now, without the need for maintenance.

First place in the category Innovative Processes and Procedures
Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH, in partnership with Plastic Omnium, CQFD Composites, Arkema:
Front shock absorption crossbeam, made of plastic, using a reactive, thermoplastic pultrusion process with subsequent radius formation.

As many as three globally innovative technical solutions were impressively presented to AVK in this category by Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH in partnership with Plastic Omnium, CQFD Composites, Arkema. A thermoplastic pultrusion system involves a tool with reactive polymerisation and has short cycles as well as immediate process-integrated radius formation and the variable use of unidirectional glass or carbon fibres and/or glass fabric, depending on load requirements. All this significantly reduces the volume by about 40% compared with a conventional steel-frame structure. Other positive effects are the very low lightweight construction costs per saved kilogram of volume as well as the shortest possible cycles compared with conventional production processes, such as RTM.

The shock absorption crossbeam, developed by Hyundai and its partners, consists of the fibre-reinforced crossbeam itself, the two crash boxes, an upper and a lower pedestrian guard and the tow ring. The link between the crossbeam and the add-ons was achieved through overmoulding, thus creating an interlocking connection that also has adhesive bonding. The crossbeam may be made of glass fibre, glass fabric or carbon fibre.

It is manufactured in a globally unique reactive pultrusion process, using a thermoplastic matrix. The necessary radius of the crossbeam is shaped directly after pultrusion, whereupon the add-on parts are overmoulded.

First place in the category Research and Science

Chair in Carbon Composites, Munich Technical University, in partnership with Autoliv, Daimler, Virtual Vehicle, Graz Technical University, Airborne:
Shape-adapting CRP side impact beams in hybrid matrix design

In the Research and Science section the winner was the Chair in Carbon Composites at Munich Technical University in Garching together with its partners. Using geometric changes, shape-adapting crash structures deliver a significant increase in the performance of safety-related vehicle structures. Performance in a crash is boosted by an improvement of energy intake and a reduction in structural weight.

This innovation centres around a shape-adapting side impact beam made from CRP which can change its cross-section geometry and rigidity level through the application of highly dynamic internal pressure. The ability to change in a geometrically defined manner is achieved through the hybrid matrix design whereby elastomeric and duroplastic matrix materials are locally added to the composite fibre structure.

The basic idea behind a shape-adapting crash structure is to ensure a significant increase in the performance of safety-related vehicle structures through active geometric changes. Performance in the event of a crash can be enhanced by increasing the energy intake or by reducing the installation dimensions, the structural weight or the impact on passengers. For the first time this idea has now been realised with the use of fibre-reinforced plastic.

The product idea has led to the development, manufacturing and testing of fully operational prototypes. Even while the prototypes were still under development, the developers aimed to create a technically mature product, so that any potential market launch could proceed as efficiently as possible. The shape-adapting prototypes were given highly dynamic system tests, using industry-standard test rigs under real crash conditions. Shape-adapting structures in automotive applications, activated by internal pressure and functioning as crash elements, were already in existence, but only in metal designs. Realisation with composite fibre materials, however, is a revolutionary development in a number of ways.

Current and particularly also future vehicle concepts for electrically driven small and very small vehicles involve a very small amount of vehicle mass and have no deformation zones, so that their passenger safety is much lower. These new vehicle classes pose new requirements on safety structures, requiring innovative, high-performance crash structures. Shape-adapting crash structures made from composite fibre materials are an optimal solution for this purpose. However, it is now possible to design vehicles with far greater passenger safety by reducing the required space, by improving crash performance and by reducing the weight and therefore potentially adjusting structural rigidity through adaptive internal pressure to suit any prevailing load conditions.

Also, thanks to the stand-alone character of the door crossbeam, this technology can be applied to other areas, such as the B pillar, the front and rear crossbeams and any components in existing or future vehicle models with relevance to passenger protection. This makes it possible to serve not only new sales markets for electrically driven small and very small vehicles, but also existing sales markets.

Where specific weight is concerned, the replacement of metallic safety structures with CRP structures has substantial benefits in terms of energy consumption and also emission levels when the vehicles are in use. Firstly, the use of less material has a positive impact on the overall weight. But secondly, it also directly influences the use of resources in manufacturing, thanks to a substantial reduction in carbon fibre which is both costly and energy-intensive.

Moreover, the option of adaptive structural rigidity has a far-reaching effect on the potential intensity of injuries to passengers. Compared with conventional passive structures, the available deformation path can be used in full, regardless of the load, so that any acceleration that might impact passengers is sustainably minimised.

Award ceremony at the First International Composites Congress

The much coveted Innovation Awards were presented at the First International Composites Congress (ICC) in Stuttgart on the 21/22 September. The international convention was the kick-off event of COMPOSITES EUROPE, held from 22 to 24 September. During the trade fair the winners presented their innovative products to the international public. Detailed specifications of the award-winning innovations can be found in the appended product details. The winners of the second and third prizes can be found in the list of finalists.