Polymer and composite manufacturers, due to the complexity of the processes, face an increasing need for sensor technologies to monitor material behavior and then control manufacturing in real time.

In this webinar, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology and NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing will discuss how they have been investigating sensitive in-situ polymerization to create structural thermoplastic composite parts in order to overcome some of the problems of using sensor systems. They will show new methods and sensor systems that are capable of investigating this sensitive material transition and will show a dielectric system that is more sensitive than a typical state-of-the-art lab setup in monitoring in-situ polymerization.

In this webinar you will:

  • learn the principles of dielectric measurements and learn how dielectric sensors can be used to investigate and control manufacturing processes in real time
  • see re-developed dielectric analysis and new in-mold sensors for ultra-fast and high-quality measurements of the material behavior inside the invisible closed-mold environment.

Speakers:

Dr. Alexander Chaloupka - Manager Business Field Process Analytics / NETZSCH Analyzing & Testing

Alexander has more than 6 years of experience in various production processes and the characterization of polymer materials and composites. He worked at the Application Center for Materials and Environmental Research (AMU) at the University of Augsburg and the Department of Functional Lightweight Construction at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT before being recruited by NETZSCH Analyzing&Testing. At NETZSCH Analyzing&Testing he was one of the drivers behind the founding of the Business Field Process Analytics and became its Manager. Process Analytics focuses on real-time sensors and model-based algorithms for intelligent manufacturing of polymers and composites, automated and robust production to contribute to the factory of the future.

Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Wendel - Polymer Engineering Institute at Fraunhofer Insitute for Chemical Technology.

To find out more about the correlation between dielectric and rheology, please see this previously published work:

Chaloupka, A. , Pflock, T. , Horny, R. , Rudolph, N. and Horn, S. R. (2018), Dielectric and rheological study of the molecular dynamics during the cure of an epoxy resin. J. Polym. Sci. Part B: Polym. Phys., 56: 907-913. doi:10.1002/polb.24604