Bachelor’s thesis or master’s thesis
© IKVTopic of the work:
Haptically appealing soft-touch surfaces determine the perception of quality, particularly in car interiors. However, conventional soft-touch components are made of non-recyclable material composites, such as PVC, PUR and PP. With the Foam2Cycle project, IKV presented an alternative for the production of sustainable soft-touch composites based on foamed thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) at the K trade fair. The combination of a TPE processed by thermoplastic foam injection molding (TSG) with a polypropylene (PP) enables mechanical recycling without material separation of the composite components and the return of old components to the composite.
The work is written in this working group:
In the thermoplastic foam injection molding working group, we deal with various aspects of the innovative lightweight construction technology of foam injection molding. The main areas of research include design guidelines for lightweight structural construction, process optimization for foamed moulded parts to be welded and the improvement of surface qualities for use in automobiles or white goods.
Objective:
The aim of your work is to evaluate the recycling potential of the soft-touch composite. In particular, the feasible recyclate usage rates and their influence on the mechanical properties and the manufacturing process are to be analyzed. Another important aspect is the investigation of the influence of foaming agent residues from the foaming process on recyclability.
Your tasks:
| For a Bachelor's thesis, you will work on the following tasks | For a Master's thesis, you will work on the following tasks |
| Familiarization with thermoplastic foam injection moulding and research into the recycling of 2K components | Familiarization with thermoplastic foam injection moulding and research into the recycling of 2K components |
| Production of foamed test specimens made of TPE and PP with varying proportions of recycled composite components | Production of foamed test specimens made of TPE and PP with varying proportions of recycled composite components |
| Evaluation of the foamability of the TPE component, taking into account the recycled content and blowing agent residues | Evaluation of the foamability of the TPE component, taking into account the recycled content and blowing agent residues |
| Mechanical characterization of the test specimens | Mechanical characterization of the test specimens |
| Production and mechanical characterization of composite components made of foamed TPE and PP |
Your profile:
- Technical or scientific studies (general mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, applied polymer science…)
- Enthusiasm for practical work on the machine
- Communicative and a team player
- Motivation and commitment
These are your benefits:
- Co-design of current research projects
- Individual coordination of tasks and time frame
- Experimental work on modern industrial plants
- Fast processing, direct contact for questions during processing
- Varied mix of research, experimental work and analytics
- Immediate start possible
If you are interested in writing your thesis at IKV and in this task, please get in touch with me. We agree on the exact scope of content and schedule individually. I and my assistants look forward to welcoming you to our working group and to shaping the future of foam injection molding together with you