Universität Stuttgart
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Item Open Access Depth from axial differential perspective(2022) Faulhaber, Andreas; Krächan, Clara; Haist, TobiasWe introduce an imaging-based passive on-axis technique for measuring the distance of individual objects in complex scenes. Two axially separated pupil positions acquire images (can be realized simultaneously or sequentially). Based on the difference in magnification for objects within the images, the distance to the objects can be inferred. The method avoids some of the disadvantages of passive triangulation sensors (e.g., correspondence, shadowing), is easy to implement and offers high lateral resolution. Due to the principle of operation it is especially suited for applications requiring only low to medium axial resolution. Theoretical findings, as well as follow-up experimental measurements, show obtainable resolutions in the range of few centimeters for distances of up to several meters.Item Open Access Ablenk-Systeme für die Multi-Elektronenstrahllithografie auf Basis CMOS-kompatibler Fertigungsprozesse(2017) Jurisch, Michael; Burghartz, Joachim N. (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Item Open Access The effect of rod orientation on electrical anisotropy in silver nanowire networks for ultra-transparent electrodes(2016) Ackermann, Thomas; Neuhaus, Raphael; Roth, SiegmarTwo-dimensional networks made of metal nanowires are excellent paradigms for the experimental observation of electrical percolation caused by continuous jackstraw-like physical pathways. Such systems became very interesting as alternative material in transparent electrodes, which are fundamental components in display devices. This work presents the experimental characterization of low-haze and ultra-transparent electrodes based on silver nanowires. The films are created by dip-coating, a feasible and scalable liquid film coating technique. We have found dominant alignment of the silver nanowires in withdrawal direction. The impact of this structural anisotropy on electrical anisotropy becomes more pronounced for low area coverage. The rod alignment does not influence the technical usability of the films as significant electrical anisotropy occurs only at optical transmission higher than 99 %. For films with lower transmission, electrical anisotropy becomes negligible. In addition to the experimental work, we have carried out computational studies in order to explain our findings further and compare them to our experiments and previous literature. This paper presents the first experimental observation of electrical anisotropy in two-dimensional silver nanowire networks close at the percolation threshold.Item Open Access Präzise Fahrzeugpositionierung durch Entzerrung der gepulsten magnetischen Flussdichteverteilung einer Ladespule(2017) Martinovic, Dean; Reuss, Hans-Christian (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Elektrofahrzeuge werden in Zukunft nicht mehr per Kabel, sondern mittels induktiver Ladesysteme mit Strom versorgt. Um eine hohe Ladeleistung sicher übertragen zu können, müssen die Spulen hinreichend genau übereinander positioniert werden, was für den Fahrer eine kaum lösbare Aufgabe darstellt. Das allgemeine Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es daher, eine neue Methode zu untersuchen, die ein gepulstes Magnetfeld der Ladespule zu dessen Ortung nutzt. Hierbei wird das magnetische Pulssignal durch den ferromagnetischen Unterboden des Elektrofahrzeugs verzerrt. Dieser verändert die Pulsamplitude entsprechend einer unbekannten Abbildung, ohne deren Kenntnis eine präzise und eindeutige Positionierung nicht möglich ist. Die Herausforderung der vorliegenden Arbeit ist daher die Bestimmung dieser Abbildung samt ihrer Eigenschaften und Abhängigkeiten. Theoretische Untersuchungen zeigen, dass die Abbildung allgemein vom nicht-deterministischen magnetischen Zustand des Unterbodenmaterials abhängt und dessen messtechnische Erfassung kaum möglich ist. Im weiteren Verlauf der Untersuchungen wird jedoch hergeleitet, dass die Ladespule, das Elektrofahrzeug und die umgebende Atmosphäre zusammen einen magnetischen Kreis bilden, der aufgrund der sehr hohen Reluktanz der Atmosphäre linear ist. Änderungen des magnetischen Zustands haben folglich keinen Einfluss auf die Abbildung. Diese ist somit reproduzierbar und kann messtechnisch einfach erfasst werden. Die These wird für unterschiedliche magnetische Zustände experimentell nachgewiesen. Basierend auf den Forschungsergebnissen wird ein vollständiger Prototyp entwickelt und in ein Versuchsfahrzeug integriert. Das Gesamtsystem wird anschließend erfolgreich getestet. Die gefundenen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass mittels gepulster magnetischer Felder eine universelle, kostengünstige, sichere und präzise Positionierung von Elektrofahrzeugen möglich ist. Dies unterstreicht das Potential des neuen, komfortablen Positionierungsverfahrens eine Schlüsseltechnologie für die Elektromobilität zu werden.Item Open Access Entwicklung eines Echtzeit-Triggersystems für Strahl- und Trajektoriensensoren zur Messung von geladenen Mikropartikeln(2018) Strack, Heiko; Srama, Ralf (PD Dr.-Ing.)Item Open Access Ressourceneffiziente Erzeugung ultra-transparenter Elektroden durch perkolierende Nanostrukturen(2016) Ackermann, Thomas; Westkämper, Engelbert (Prof. a. D. Dr.-Ing. Prof. E. h. Dr.-Ing. E. h. Dr. h. c. mult.)Transparente leitfähige Schichten (transparente Elektroden) sind elementare Bauteile in Touch-Modulen, Displays und Solarzellen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Erzeugung transparenter Elektroden auf Basis alternativer Materialien, um die Defizite - insbesondere die Brüchigkeit und die relativ hohen Herstellungskosten - des konventionellen Materials Indiumzinnoxid zu umgehen. Zweidimensionale Netzwerke aus stäbchenförmigen elektrischen Leitern werden ausgehend von einer Dispersion durch Nassfilmbeschichtung hergestellt und hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung als transparente Elektroden untersucht. Dabei handelt es sich Netzwerke aus Silbernanodrähten und um Hybrid-Schichten aus Silbernanodrähten und Kohlenstoffnanoröhren (Co-Perkolation). Neben der Ableitung und Umsetzung Produkt- und Prozess-orientierter Ziele liefert die Arbeit einen Beitrag zum Verständnis der zweidimensionalen elektrischen Perkolation in Netzwerken aus stäbchenförmigen elektrischen Leitern, insbesondere nahe an der Perkolationsschwelle, bei der die Netzwerke eine sehr hohe Transparenz aufweisen, weshalb derartige Schichten als ultra-transparent bezeichnet werden. Diese Arbeit entstand an der Graduate School of Excellence advanced Manufacturing Engineering (GSaME) der Universität Stuttgart in Kooperation mit dem Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung (IPA) in Stuttgart.Item Open Access Investigations and technical development of adsorption thermal energy storage systems with simulation and different control strategies(2021) Abou Elfadil, Mazen; Hirth, Thomas (Prof. Dr.)Thermal energy storage (TES) has been receiving an increasing worldwide attention, especially with the growing concerns about environmental problems caused by an inefficient utilization of energy. A major part of the energy consumption is considered as low temperature thermal energy. Thus, a better management of this energy by using thermal energy storage could provide a significant contribution to improve the overall efficiency of energy utilization in industrial processes and economies. The thermal energy can be stored in different forms e.g. sensible heat, latent heat or thermo-chemical, allowing variety of choices depending on the application. While the sensible and latent heat storage technologies are standard products, the thermo-chemical energy storage is still under development. Based on the method used, thermo-chemical energy storage can be divided into absorptive and adsorptive thermal energy storage systems. The adsorptive thermal energy storage systems have a great potential in both daily (short term) and seasonal (long term) applications. However, their implementation is still limited due to their low degree of applicability caused by lack of scientific knowledge on the thermal analysis level, as well as the absence of knowledge on the level of system integration, which has prevented the heat storage systems from reaching their maximum potential and from being fully commercialized. Consequently, there is still a big necessity for research and development in this field [Salvatore Vasta, 2018]. The principle of the adsorption storage system is based on a gaseous working fluid (e.g. water resp. vapor) which gets adsorbed by a highly porous material (e.g. zeolite). This adsorption process is an exothermal one, thus heat is being released and can be transferred and used. In order to recharge the heat storage system, desorption of the working fluid is done by heating the porous material. The heat storage system consists mainly of a reactor (where the porous material is located), a condenser/evaporator and other auxiliary components (e.g. water tank, pumps, sensors…). Efforts of development of the adsorptive TES were concentrated mainly on developing the adsorptive material, as the performance of the storage material has been the priority so far [Salvatore Vasta, 2018]. Little focus was put on heat power analysis and temperature behavior in the different system components, which have an impact on the overall system efficiency. Thus, system approach is still needed in order to combine and integrate this technology into industrial applications and products [Hauer, Andreas 2020] [Michelangelo Di Palo 2020]. With the aim of improving the heat storage efficiency (recovered heat to stored heat ratio), both numerical (simulations) and experimental (technical modifications) approaches were applied, which have enabled the system to achieve an optimal operational status in terms of energy utilization and efficiency. These approaches were later on used to define a fully automated control system assisting the adsorption TES to instantly react with the continuously varying parameters in such a way to assure an optimal performance. Hence, in the first stage of this investigation, process-modeling and simulation of the whole heat storage system were carried out, so that the total performance of the heat storage system can be predicted and evaluated for any future applications, including the possibility of combining different reactors or heat storage units. In the second stage, different experiments and technical modifications of the system were conducted. This includes testing various possibilities of TES setups (e.g. storage cascades), where the different pressure and temperature behavior in the reactor were evaluated. With the help of experiments, a detailed numerical 3D-model of the packed bed was created, giving an insight into the heat and mass transfer in the reactor during both adsorption and desorption. As a result, a new heat exchanger design was developed, which has improved the temperature distribution and the heating/cooling power. Additionally, the simulation’s results suggested the separation between the evaporator and the condenser to achieve an enhanced water vapor transfer between the reactor and condenser. On a parallel stage of this investigation, comprehensive heat power analysis during both adsorption and desorption processes was carried out, which has showed that the sensible heat left in the reactor, contributes to ca. 50% of the total stored heat. Consequently, multiple reactor concept was introduced, in order to enable the sensible heat recovery. As a conclusion, process simulation enabled tests with different parameters to be performed within much shorter time than the real experimental time. Thus, it was possible to cover numerous application-scenarios and help improving the system overall efficiency. The experimental results have shown that the developed heat exchanger design has increased the maximum power of the heat exchanger about 74%. Moreover, by improving the fluid dynamics between the reactor and condenser, the efficiency of desorption ηd and overall efficiency ηo were increased by 32% and 9% respectively. Furthermore, about 36% of the sensible heat left in the reactor after desorption was recovered by using multiple reactors with sequential configuration, which has led to a reduction in the total invested heat by ca. 9%. For future work it’s recommended to investigate the possibility of controlling the amount of discharged heat from the system by regulating the water uptake during adsorption. In addition, trying a different approach to the reactor’s design (e.g. moving bed reactor) could bring significant improvements to the system.Item Open Access Bending setups for reliability investigation of flexible electronics(2021) Saleh, Rafat; Barth, Maximilian; Eberhardt, Wolfgang; Zimmermann, AndréItem Open Access The benefit of muscle-actuated systems : internal mechanics, optimization and learning(Stuttgart : Institut für Modellierung und Simulation Biomechanischer Systeme, Computational Biophysics and Biorobotics, 2023) Wochner, Isabell; Schmitt, Syn (Prof. Dr.)We are facing the challenge of an over-aging and overweight society. This leads to an increasing number of movement disorders and causes the loss of mobility and independence. To address this pressing issue, we need to develop new rehabilitation techniques and design innovative assistive devices. Achieving this goal requires a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanics that control muscle-actuated motion. However, despite extensive studies, the neural control of muscle-actuated motion remains poorly understood. While experiments are valuable and necessary tools to further our understanding, they are often limited by ethical and practical constraints. Therefore, simulating muscle-actuated motion has become increasingly important for testing hypotheses and bridge this knowledge gap. In silico, we can establish cause-effect relationships that are experimentally difficult or even impossible to measure. By changing morphological aspects of the underlying musculoskeletal structure or the neural control strategy itself, simulations are crucial in the quest for a deeper understanding of muscle-actuated motion. The insights gained from these simulations paves the way to develop new rehabilitation techniques, enhance pre-surgical planning, design better assistive devices and improve the performance of current robots. The primary objective of this dissertation is to study the intricate interplay between musculoskeletal dynamics, neural controller and the environment. To achieve this goal, a simulation framework has been developed as part of this thesis, enabling the modeling and control of muscle-actuated motion using both model-based and learning-based methods. By utilizing this framework, musculoskeletal models of the arm, head-neck complex and a simplified whole-body model are investigated in conjunction with various concepts of motor control. The main research questions of this thesis are therefore: 1. How does the neural control strategy select muscle activation patterns to generate the desired movement, and can we use this knowledge to design better assistive devices? 2. How does the musculoskeletal dynamics facilitate the neural control strategy in accomplishing this task of generating desired movements? To address these research questions, this thesis comprises a total of five journal and conference articles. More specifically, contributions I-III of this thesis focus on addressing the first research question which aims to understand how voluntary and reflexive movements can be predicted. First, we investigate various optimality principles using a musculoskeletal arm model to predict point-to-manifold reaching tasks. By using predictive simulations, we demonstrate how the arm would move towards a goal if, for example, our neural control strategy would minimize energy consumption. The main finding of this contribution shows that it is essential to include muscle dynamics and consider tasks with more openly defined targets to draw accurate conclusions about motor control. Through our analysis, we show that a combination of mechanical work, jerk and neuronal stimulation effort best predicts point-reaching when compared to human experiments. Second, we propose a novel method to optimize the design of exoskeleton power units taking into account the load cycle of predicted human movements. To achieve this goal, we employ a forward dynamic simulation of a generic musculoskeletal arm model, which is first scaled to represent different individuals. Next, we predict individual human motions and employ the predicted human torques to scale the electrical power units employing a novel scalability model. By considering the individual user needs and task demands, our approach achieves a lighter and more efficient design. In conclusion, our framework demonstrates the potential to improve the design of individual assistive devices. The third contribution focuses on predicting reflexive movements in response to sudden perturbations of the head-neck complex. To achieve this, we conducted experiments in which volunteers were placed on a table while supporting their heads with a trapdoor. This trapdoor was then suddenly released leading to a downward movement of the head until the reflexive reaction of the muscles stops the head from falling. We analyzed the results of these experiments, presenting characteristic parameters and highlighting differences between separate age and gender groups. Using this data, we also set up benchmark validations for a musculoskeletal head-neck model, including reflex control strategies. Our main findings are that there are large individual differences in reflexive responses between participants and that the perturbation direction significantly affects the reflexive response. Furthermore, we show that this data can be used as a benchmark test to validate musculoskeletal models and different muscle control strategies. While the first three contributions focus on the research question (1), contributions IV-V focus on (2) whether and how the musculoskeletal dynamics facilitate the learning and control task of various movements. We utilize a recently introduced information-theoretic approach called control effort to quantify the minimally required information to perform specific movements. By applying this concept, we can for example quantify how much biological muscles reduce the neuronal information load compared to technical DC-motors. We present a novel optimization algorithm to find this control effort and apply it to point-reaching and walking tasks. The main finding of this contribution is that the musculoskeletal dynamics reduce the control effort required for these movements compared to torque-driven systems. Finally, we hypothesize that the highly nonlinear muscle dynamics not only facilitate the control task but also provide inherent stability that is beneficial for learning from scratch. To test this, we employed various learning strategies for multiple anthropomorphic tasks, including point-reaching, ball-hitting, hopping, and squatting. The results of this investigation demonstrate that using muscle-like actuators improves the data-efficiency of the learning tasks. Additionally, including the muscle dynamics improves the robustness towards hyperparameters and allows for a better generalization towards unknown and unlearned perturbations. In summary, this thesis enhances existing methods to control and learn muscle-actuated motion, quantifies the control effort needed to perform certain movements and demonstrates that the inherent stability of the muscle dynamics facilitates the learning task. The models, control strategies, and experimental data presented in this work aid researchers in science and industry to improve their predictions in various fields such as neuroscience, ergonomics, rehabilitation, passive safety systems, and robotics. This allows us to reverse-engineer how we as humans control movement, uncovering the complex relationship between musculoskeletal dynamics and neural controller.Item Open Access Computational studies of massively separated wake flows of transport aircraft(2021) Waldmann, Andreas; Krämer, Ewald (Prof. Dr.)This work focuses on the investigation of flow phenomena associated with low speed stall using a representative commercial transport aircraft configuration. Subsonic stall at high Reynolds number involves a highly complex turbulent flow field, which is difficult to analyze in ist entirety via experimental methods. Various computational approaches based on URANS and hybrid RANS/LES were evaluated, utilizing validation data from the European Transonic Windtunnel. Scale-resolving computational approaches were leveraged to gain deeper insight into the processes occurring in such a wake. DDES-based methods were found to be able to resolve the flow features occurring at the separation location and in the wake. An extensive study on the impact of solver settings, computational grids, model geometry and inflow Reynolds number was carried out in order to permit a validation of the chosen approach. Using these findings, the massively separated wake flow was studied at three angles of attack in post stall conditions. Three different regimes of formation of the separated wake were identified via the main locations where turbulence kinetic energy is produced. Analysis of anisotropy, turbulence length scales and signal characteristics provided insight into the propagation of the wake and the mixing processes. Modal analysis of the wake dynamics enabled the detection of a near-wing recirculation area and a von Kármán vortex street in the wake. Flow structures associated with both phenomena result in tailplane load fluctuations at their respective characteristic frequencies.