The annual technology open-air provides a platform for dialogue between scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians and the interested public, including pupils and students. It is organised on the park-like grounds of AiF Projekt GmbH in Berlin. Among the innovations presented this year were, for example, a portable lung for the chronically ill, an e-scooter for urban electromobility and a mini-test bench for component-specific design of high-performance rotors in turbomachinery.

Modern high-performance rotors in turbomachinery

The requirements for modern high-performance rotors in turbomachinery - eg compressor blades in gas and steam turbines or fan blades in aircraft engines - are steadily increasing. The enhanced performance and strength of those components will lead in the future to much higher dynamic requirements which include a reduction of the vibration susceptibility. The decisive benefit of the presented FVV research project "3D-DynRoCo" lies in the joint development of a practice-oriented, numerical and experimental approach for the 3D-dynamic analysis of rotating components. The project funded by the CORNET programme includes an experimental system for excitation and 3-dimensional (3D) determination of the vibration behaviour of rotating components as well as highly improved methods for characterising the real deformation and vibration behaviour of complex rotors including effects caused by centrifugal forces such as pre-stress, untwisting, large displacements and friction in the clamping area as well as the interaction between different rotor components.

·      3D-DynRoCo: Development of a combined numerical and experimental approach for the 3D dynamic analysis of rotating components(FVV project number 1220) | Turbomachinery

·      Funding organisations: AiF (18983 N) and CORNET (151 EBR / 1)

·      Research and technology (RTD) performers: 1 | Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK) – Technische Universtät Dresden (TUD), Chair of Function-integrative Lightweight Engineering and Chair of Lightweight Design and Structural Assessment   2 | Imperial College London, Mechanical Engineering Department

·      Project coordinators:
Tino Wollmann (ILK – TU Dresden)
Dr Loic Salles (Imperial College London)
Thorsten Lang (Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG)

Stefanie Jost-Köstering, project manager of the FVV in the field of turbomachinery, and Tino Wollmann, project coordinator at the ILK of the TU Dresden, were able to welcome Dr Ole Janssen, Head of the Innovation and Technology Policy Division of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), at their booth (see image above). Dr Janssen had spoken on the eve of the innovation day at the general meeting of the AiF on both the importance of the cross-industry approach and the immanent transfer of knowledge of industrial collective research for the innovative power of German SMEs. What a perfect match: The FVV representatives could brief him on the grounds of the knowledge transfer between the nearly 30 companies involved in the project. The final report on "3D-DynRoCo" will be presented to the public at the FVV 2018 Autumn Conference which will take place in Würzburg on 27 September.

AiF President pleads for increasing IGF research funding

AiF President Professor Sebastian Bauer was able to welcome more than 1,800 guests on the grounds of the AiF in Pankow. He emphasized that SMEs benefit from application-oriented research and development as exhibited during the Innovation Day. Those who strengthen Industrial Collective Research (IGF) strengthen the middle class. That is why the AiF is deeply committed to lobby the increase of the annual funding of both the IGF programme to 300 million euros and the ZIM programme to 700 million euros by 2021. "This is not a thin piece of advice for us, but certainly not utopian due to the importance of small and medium-sized companies for Germany as a business location and the momemtum that we experience through expert recommendations and politicians across all parties", explained Bauer.

Strengthening the innovative power of companies

The event was opened by Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Federal Government Commissioner for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and for the New Federal States.

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier visited the exhibition on a tour and honoured the creative and innovative entrepreneurship in his speech. "Small and medium-sized businesses are the heart of our economy, and the support provided by the BMWi helps make it powerful. The innovations that we admire here today are a symbol of the enormous vitality, creativity and motivation of the German SMEs. And these innovations show that we (...) do succeed in strengthening the innovative power of companies and putting ideas into action. Our wealth is largely based on entrepreneurial creativity. In order to secure our competitiveness in the future, we have to rely on medium-sized companies. The funding programmes of the BMWi will continue to be a solid pillar on which our entrepreneurs can build."