Hannover Messe 2017

••• 10••• Innovationen New nano-coating for space technology Experimental physicists develop thin nanomaterial with superconducting properties A team of experimental physi- cists at Saarland University have developed something that – it has to be said – seems pretty un- remarkable at first sight. It looks like nothing more than a charred black piece of paper. But appear- ances can be deceiving. This unas- suming object is a superconductor. The term “superconductor” is given to a material that (usually at a very low temperatures) has zero electrical resistance and can therefore conduct an electric cur- rent without loss. Put simply, the electrons in the material can flow unrestricted through the cold im- mobilized atomic lattice. In the absence of electrical resist- ance, if a magnet is brought up close to a cold superconductor, the magnet effectively “sees” a mirror image of itself in the su- perconducting material. So if a superconductor and a magnet are placed in close proximity to one another and cooled with liquid ni- trogen they will repel each anoth- er and the magnet levitates above the superconductor. The term “levitation” comes from the Latin word levitas meaning lightness. It’s a bit like a low-temperature version of the hoverboard from the “Back to the Future” films. If the temperature is too high, how- ever, frictionless sliding is just not going to happen. Many of the common supercon- ducting materials available today are rigid, brittle and dense, which makes them heavy. The Saar- brücken physicists have now suc- ceeded in packing superconduct- ing properties into a thin flexible film. The material is essentially a woven fabric of plastic fibres and high-temperature superconduct- ing nanowires. “That makes the material very pliable and adaptable – like cling film (or ‘plastic wrap’ as it’s also known),” explains Uwe Hart- mann, Professor of Nanostruc- ture Research and Nanotech- nology at Saarland University. “Theoretically, the material can be made to any size. And we need fewer resources than are typically required to make superconduct- ing ceramics, so our supercon- ducting mesh is also cheaper to fabricate.” The particularly inter- esting aspect of this work is that the research team has succeeded in creating superconducting na- nowires that can be woven into an ultra-thin film that is as flex- ible as cling film. As a result, novel coatings for applications ranging from aerospace to medical tech- nology are becoming possible. The research team will be exhibit- ing their superconducting film at Hannover Messe in Hall 2, Stand B46 and are looking for commer- cial and industrial partners with whom they can develop their sys- tem for practical applications. What looks like a pretty unremarkable piece of burnt paper is in fact an ultrathin superconductor that has been developed by the team lead by Uwe Hartmann (r., with doctoral student Xian Lin Zeng). Photo: Oliver Dietze Modulare Konzepte für die flexible Chemiefabrik Eine Chemiefabrik aus einzelnen Komponenten, die schnell und flexibel immer neu kombiniert werden können, ist auf der Hannover Messe in der Sonder- schau „Modulare Produktion“ in Halle 11, Stand D44 zu sehen. Unter demMotto „Process INDUSTRIE 4.0: The Age of Modular Production“ stellen die Verbände NAMUR, ZVEI und die Industrie-Initiative ProcessNet unter anderem eine Chemieanlage im Container so- wie Software für die Automatisierung vor. In der chemischen und pharmazeutischen Industrie wachsen die Anforderungen an Flexibilität, indivi- duellere Produkte und schnellere Produkteinfüh- rungszeiten. Konventionelle Anlagen sind diesen Herausforderungen heutzutage nicht gewachsen. Immer mehr Ausrüster, aber auch die Chemie- und Pharma-Unternehmen selbst, arbeiten deshalb an der Entwicklung von modularen Konzepten für Neuanlagen sowie Anlagenerweiterungen. Aus ein- zelnen „Bausteinen“ mit unterschiedlichen Funkti- onen lassen sich die Anlagen schnell immer wieder neu zusammenstellen, um unterschiedlichste Pro- duktionsverfahren abzubilden. Grundlage dafür sind robuste und gleichzeitig intelligente Komponenten wie Pumpen, Chemiereaktoren, Destillations- oder Extraktionsmodule und andere, die über moderne Mess- und Automationstechnik verknüpft und ge- steuert werden. The COSMO CONSULT Group, one ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌůĚǭƐ ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌ ĂŶĚ DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ Dynamics Manufacturing partner ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ƐƚĂŶĚ ĚŝĨ- ĨĞƌĞŶƚ ĚŝŐŝƚĂů ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĂƌĞĂƐ ŽĨ ƐĞĐƵƌŝƚǇ͕ ƐŵĂƌƚ ĨĂĐƚŽƌŝĞƐ͕ ƐŵĂƌƚ ůŽŐŝƐƟĐƐ ĂŶĚ ƉƌĞĚŝĐƟǀĞ ŵĂŝŶƚĞŶĂŶĐĞ͘ hƐŝŶŐ ŝŶ- ƚĞůůŝŐĞŶƚ͕ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ ĞƋƵŝƉƉĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƐĞŶƐŽƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽƉƟŵŝǌĂƟŽŶ ƉŽƚĞŶ- ƟĂů ĂĐŚŝĞǀĂďůĞ ǁŝƚŚ ŵŽĚĞƌŶ DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐǇ ŝƐ ĚĞŵŽŶƐƚƌĂƚĞĚ͘ Digital Factory in Hall 7 | C 40 COSMO CONSULT takes the industrial value chain digital - /ŶƚĞŐƌĂƚĞĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌǇ ʹ ƌĞĂƟŶŐ sĂůƵĞ ^ŽůƵƟŽŶƐ ƉŽƌƞŽůŝŽ ` ZW ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌǇ ĂŶĚ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶĂů ƐŽůƵ- ƟŽŶƐ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ ϯϲϱ ĨŽƌ ` WƌŽĐĞƐƐ DĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌŝŶŐ ` WƌŽũĞĐƚ DĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌŝŶŐ ` ŝƐĐƌĞƚĞ DĂŶƵĨĂĐƚƵƌŝŶŐ ` ƵƚŽŵŽďŝůĞ ƐƵƉƉůǇ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌǇ ` DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ^ŚĂƌĞWŽŝŶƚ ` ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŝŶƚĞůůŝŐĞŶĐĞ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ YůŝŬsŝĞǁ ĂŶĚ WŽǁĞƌ / COSMO CONSULT Gruppe www.cosmoconsult.com info@cosmoconsult.com Berlin | Bielefeld | Dresden | Hamburg | Cologne | Leipzig DĂŐĚĞďƵƌŐ ͮ DƺŶƐƚĞƌ ͮ DƵŶŝĐŚ ͮ EƵƌĞŵďĞƌŐ ͮ ^ƚƵƩŐĂƌƚ Würzburg France | Austria | Sweden | Switzerland | Spain | Chile Ecuador | Colombia | Mexiko | Panama | Peru Anzeige