Collaborative Research Center Research Articles

Patents, Freedom to Operate, and Follow-on Innovation: Evidence from Post-Grant Opposition

We study the blocking effect of patents on follow-on innovation by others. We posit that follow-on innovation requires freedom to operate (FTO), which firms typically obtain through a license from the patentee holding the original innovation. Where licensing fails, follow-on innovation is blocked unless firms gain FTO through patent invalidation. Using large-scale data from post-grant oppositions at the European Patent Office, we find that patent invalidation increases follow-on innovation, measured in citations, by 16% on average. This effect exhibits a U-shape in the value of the original innovation. For patents on low-value original innovations, invalidation predominantly increases low-value follow-on innovation outside the patentee’s product market. Here, transaction costs likely exceed the joint surplus of licensing, causing licensing failure. In contrast, for patents on high-value original innovations, invalidation mainly increases high-value follow-on innovation in the patentee’s product market. We attribute this latter result to rent dissipation, which renders patentees unwilling to license out valuable technologies to (potential) competitors. This paper was accepted by Ashish Arora, entrepreneurship and innovation. Funding: This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [Collaborative Research Center TRR 190]. F. Gaessler acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación through the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D [Barcelona School of Economics CEX2019-000915-S]. Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.02294 .

The role of university–industry linkages in promoting technology transfer: implementation of triple helix model relations

AbstractThis study recognized the importance of linking higher education institutions with various industries in a given country to promote technology transfer and sustainable development. However, in one or another way, the linkage was not well-practiced in Ethiopia. The study aims to assess the role of university–industry linkages in technology transfer and identify the barriers and opportunities of the linkage. Universities have institutionalized intermediary organizations such as technology transfer offices, collaborative research centers, incubators, and science parks to enhance university–industry collaboration. The collaboration between academia and industry is understood as the transactions between universities and firms that involve the exchange of knowledge, skills, resources, and capabilities. The study uses the concept of the triple helix model and proposes the establishment of the Higher Education Institutions–Industry Resource Integration Center as a way forward to solving the problems that Ethiopian industries are facing. A triple helix of university–industry–government relations is emerging as a common format that transcends national boundaries. The integration of these functions is changing the nature of the university and its role in society. The potential for national development in Ethiopia and elsewhere resides in entrepreneurial universities taking the lead in infusing knowledge, innovation, technology, and enterprise into the entire society.

Development of a RIASEC-based model to analyse students’ perceptions of the work of nuclear- and astrophysicists

There are many stereotypical beliefs about the work of scientists among students. These can lead to a lack of interest and ill-considered career choices. This paper aims to shed more light on the everyday work of researchers in physics. To this end, an interview study (N=12) and a questionnaire study (N=66) were conducted among physicists in a Collaborative Research Centre for nuclear- and astrophysics in order to determine the physicists’ activity profiles using an adapted RIASEC+N model based on the theory of vocational choices by Holland. As a result, activities from all seven RIASEC+N dimensions were found, highlighting the broad spectrum of activities in modern physics research. However, with respect to the significance of each dimension, we found that the activity profiles of doctoral students and professors in general, as well as their profiles in theoretical and experimental groups differ particularly within the Realistic, Conventional and Investigative dimension. In the future, these results will be used to develop an outreach programme to give students an authentic insight into modern physics. Additionally, the activity profiles could serve as a reference for addressing stereotypes in school.

Preface

Welcome to the 1st Annual International Conference on Sensor Technology (INCOST) 2023. This event was taking place in Bali, Indonesia, on September 8 – 9th, 2023. INCOST aims to establish a tradition of bringing together researchers, academics, and professionals from all over the world, with a special emphasis on Indonesia, to explore the field of Sensors. The conference particularly encourages the interaction of research students and emerging academics with the well established academic community in an informal setting, providing a platform for the presentation and discussion of new and current research.We would like to acknowledge the full support from Institut Teknologi Bandung, National Research and Innovation Agency, and ITB-BRIN Collaborative Research Center for Biosensors and Biodevices. We also would like to express our gratitude to all Editors and committee members listed as follows1. Prof. Brian Yuliarto (Institut Teknologi Bandung)2. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (Institut Teknologi Bandung)3. Dr. Ni Luh Wulan Septiani (National Research and Innovation Agency)4. Dr. Siti Nurul Aisyiyah Jenie (National Research and Innovation Agency)5. Dr. Agustina Sus Andreani (National Research and Innovation Agency)6. Dr. Robeth Viktoria Manurung (National Research and Innovation Agency)7. Dr. Gilang Gumilar (National Research and Innovation Agency)8. Muhammad Fadlan Raihan (Institut Teknologi Bandung)9. Atqiya Muslihati (Institut Teknologi Bandung)10. Chandra Wulandari (Institut Teknologi Bandung)11. Neng Astri Lidiawati (Institut Teknologi Bandung)12. Adyatma Prayoga (Institut Teknologi Bandung)13. Miftahul Khoiri (Institut Teknologi Bandung)Furthermore, we wish to extend my thanks to all the plenary, keynote, fellow researchers and all participants in the field of sensors who have authored and submitted papers on a variety of topics. Their willingness to share their research knowledge and experiences with all of us at this prestigious conference is truly commendable.

An Algebraic Blueprint for Predicting Turnover Numbers and Endpoints in Photocatalysis.

The front cover artwork is provided by the Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry and the Institute of Inorganic ChemistryI at Ulm University within the Collaborative Research Center TRR 234 CataLight. The image shows an algebraic approach to generically calculate and predict the turnover number (TON) and the endpoint of photocatalytic hydrogen gas evolution experiments. Read the full text of the Research Article at 10.1002/cphc.202300767.

Conducting clinical research and embedding person‐centred care into the hospital setting during a global pandemic: Challenges and solutions

AbstractConducting scientific research in the healthcare context is an ongoing challenge. Immediate clinical care and related tasks take priority out of necessity, often in difficult circumstances including unplanned staff absenteeism and turnover, and resource limitations. These challenges are further exacerbated in times of crisis, such as the current worldwide pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). The pandemic disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, such as people living with dementia who rely on aged and healthcare services. Concurrently research studies aiming to improve health and aged care for these people are also being negatively impacted by the pandemic. There is a need for the development of guidelines that will support researchers to implement and maintain quality studies during pandemics, to prevent unnecessary delay in the dissemination of research findings, that have the potential to improve healthcare delivery quality and outcomes.This presentation first highlights the main challenges and solutions that have emerged in a study aiming to improve healthcare for people living with dementia in hospital settings, using evidence‐based person‐centred care. In addition to evaluating health outcomes for people living with dementia and cost‐effectiveness, we are using a knowledge translation framework (Goodenough et al., 2017; Damschroder et al., 2009) to evaluate the implementation of the intervention (process and outcomes) and determine nationwide scalability for hospital ward and care services. Evidence on how to adapt research processes to enable research programs to continue throughout the pandemic will be presented, followed by a set of guidelines to support researchers to engage successfully in clinical research during a pandemic. The guidelines aim to be generalisable to all clinical research projects that have been impacted by the current SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic, as well as projects that may face future similar crises.ReferencesDamschroder LJ, Aron DC, Keith RE, et al. 2009. Fostering implementation of health research findings into practice: A consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implement Sci. 4(50):15 ‐20.Goodenough B, Young M. (2017). Innovation to Implementation for Dementia (i2i4dementia): A Practical Guide to Knowledge Translation in Health Care (with examples from aged care and dementia). Dementia Collaborative Research Centres, Australia. Access: DementiaKT.com.au

Using <em>OpenBIS</em> as Virtual Research Environment: An ELN-LIMS Open-Source Database Tool as a Framework within the <em>CRC 1411 Design of Particulate Products</em>

The digital transformation and consequent use of new digital technologies not only have a substantial impact on society and companies, but also on science. Analog documentation as we have known it for centuries will eventually be replaced by intelligent and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) systems. In addition to the actual research data and results, metadata now plays an important role not only for individual, independently existing projects, but for future scientific use and interdisciplinary research groups and disciplines as well. The solution presented here, consisting of an electronic laboratory notebook and laboratory information management system (ELN-LIMS) based on the openBIS (open Biology Information System) environment, offers interesting features and advantages, especially for interdisciplinary work. The Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1411 ‘Design of Particulate Products’ of the German Research Foundation is characterized by the cooperation of different working groups of synthesis, characterization, and simulation, and therefore serves as a model environment to present the implementation of openBIS. OpenBIS, as an open source ELN-LIMS solution following FAIR principles, provides a common set of general entries with the possibility of sharing and linking (meta-)data to improve the scientific exchange between all users.

Evolution of N = 20, 28, 50 shell closures in the 20 ≤ Z ≤ 30 region in deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum* *Supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (11975041, 11961141004). Xiang-Xiang Sun is supported in part by NSFC (12205308), and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and NSFC through the funds provided to the

Magicity, or shell closure, plays an important role in our understanding of complex nuclear phenomena. In this work, we employ one of the state-of-the-art density functional theories, the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum (DRHBc) with the density functional PC-PK1, to investigate the evolution of the shell closures in the region. We show how these three conventional shell closures evolve from the proton drip line to the neutron drip line by studying the charge radii, two-neutron separation energies, two-neutron gaps, quadrupole deformations, and single-particle levels. In particular, we find that in the region, the shell closure disappears or becomes quenched, mainly due to the deformation effects. Similarly, both experimental data and theoretical predictions indicate that the shell closure disappears in the Mn isotopic chain, mainly due to the deformation effects. The DRHBc theory predicts the existence of the shell closure in the Ca, Sc, and Ti isotopic chains, but the existing data for the Ti isotopes suggest the contrary, and therefore further research is needed.

Nocebo effects in visceral pain: concept and design of the experimental randomized-controlled pain study 'NoVis'.

The role of psychological factors in the pathophysiology and treatment of chronic visceral pain in disorders of gut-brain interactions (DGBI) is increasingly appreciated. Placebo research has underscored that expectations arising from the psychosocial treatment context and from prior experiences shape treatment responses. However, effects of negative expectations, i.e., nocebo effects, as they are likely crucial elements of DGBI patients' clinical reality, have thus far only rarely been investigated in the context of visceral pain, with untapped potential for improved prevention and treatment. The experimental randomized-controlled pain study "NoVis," carried out within the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 289 ("Treatment Expectation"), aims to close gaps regarding the generation and persistence of nocebo effects in healthy volunteers. It is designed to elucidate effects of negative expectations in a multiple-threat paradigm with intensity-matched rectal distensions and cutaneous thermal stimuli, allowing to test nocebo effects in the visceral and somatic pain modalities. Negative expectations are experimentally induced by elements of doctor-patient communication (i.e., instruction) and/or by surreptitious amplification of symptom intensity (i.e., experience/learning) within a treatment context. Accordingly, the repeated measures between-subject design contains the between-group factors "treatment instruction" (negative vs. control) and "treatment experience" (negative vs. control), with volunteers randomized into four experimental groups undergoing several pain stimulation phases (repeated factor). This allows to compare the efficacy of instruction vs. experience, and more importantly, their combined effects on the magnitude of negative expectations and their impact on pain responses, which we expect will be greatest for the visceral modality. After a Baseline, short-term effects are assessed during a test phase accomplished on study day 1 (Test-1 Phase). To explore the persistence of effects, a second test phase is accomplished 1 week later (Test-2 Phase). Effects of negative expectations within and across pain modalities are assessed at the subjective and objective levels, with a focus on psychophysiological and neuroendocrine measures related to stress, fear, and anxiety. Since nocebo effects can play a considerable role in the generation, maintenance, or worsening of chronic visceral pain, and may even constitute risk factors for treatment failure, knowledge from experimental nocebo research has potential to improve treatment outcomes in DGBI and other clinical conditions associated with chronic visceral pain.

Approach for the monetary evaluation of process innovations in early innovation phases focusing on manufacturing and material costs

In early innovation phases, the monetary evaluation of process innovations is a challenge for companies due to a lack of data. However, an innovation evaluation is essential in an early innovation phase to ensure that process innovations deliver economic value added (EVA) in early innovation phases and to channel technology transfer expenditures in a goal-oriented manner. This paper presents an approach for a semi-quantitative procedure for the monetary evaluation of process innovations in the early innovation phase focusing on manufacturing and material costs. Exemplarily, the approach is applied to process innovations of the Collaborative Research Center 1368 on oxygen-free production. In order to ensure the net present value orientation within the innovation evaluation, the procedure developed is based on a driver tree of the EVA. To link value drivers of the EVA and innovation-driven factors influencing EVA, the EVA driver tree is further systematized with a focus on manufacturing and material costs using a literature-based impact model. Based on the last level of the impact model, a guideline for a semi-structured expert interview is developed. Using this interview guideline, data is collected in the form of innovation-driven influencing factors, which represent the input for the final monetary innovation evaluation. An adapted weighted scoring model is used to draw a semi-quantitative conclusion regarding the EVA achieved by the process innovation. The practical application of the approach developed to process innovations in oxygen-free production has shown that, in the context of three process innovations under consideration, their implementation with the aim of achieving an EVA through reduced manufacturing and material costs at the current innovation status is not effective. However, based on the impact model developed, corresponding levers can be identified to positively influence the EVA and thus also the industrialization of the process innovation. Finally, further necessary steps are identified to evolve the presented approach into a complete method for monetary innovation evaluation in early innovation phases.

Molecular states in systems* *Supported by the Doctoral Program of Tian Chi Foundation of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (51052300506), the NSFC and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaftn(DFG, German Research Foundation) through the funds provided to the Sino-German Collaborative Research Center TRR110 “Symmetries and the Emergence of Structure in QCD” (NSFC 12070131001, DFG Project-ID 196253076 - TRR 110), the NSFC (11835015,

The possible hadronic molecules in systems with , and are investigated with interactions described by light meson exchanges. By varying the cutoff in a phenomenologically reasonable range of GeV, we find ten near-threshold (bound or virtual) states in the single-channel case. After introducing the coupled-channel dynamics of ----- systems, these states, except those below the lowest channels in each sector, move into the complex energy plane and become resonances in the mass range GeV. Their spin-parities and nearby thresholds are , , , , , , , , , and . The impact of the -term in the one-boson-exchange model on these states is presented. Setting GeV as an illustrative value, it is found that is a stable bound state (becoming unstable if the coupling to lower channels is turned on), and are physical resonances in cases where the -term is included or excluded, and the other seven states are physical resonances or "virtual-state-like" poles near thresholds, depending on whether the -term is included. In addition, the partial decay widths of the physical resonances are provided. These double-charm hidden-strangeness pentaquark states, as the partners of the experimentally observed and states, can be searched for in the final states in the future.

Factors, Routes, and Existing Theories of Technology Commercialization in University: A Conceptual Framework

<p>Technology commercialization in universities which consists of three phases, namely basic research, commercialization feasibility, and commercialization runs non-linearly and goes through licensing and spin-off creation. To achieve commercialization success, there are eight influencing factors, namely academic entrepreneur, role of technology, availability of market, availability of finance, intermediaries' support (i.e. University Technology Transfer Office (UTTO), university's incubator, and proof of concept center), role of collaborative research center, policy support, and regional infrastructure and environment. Meanwhile, the existing management theories that discuss the commercialization of technology in universities mostly use a resource perspective such as Resource-Based View (RBV), resource orchestration theory, and dynamic capabilities with university and spin-offs as unit of analysis. This literature study provides several recommendations for future studies. First, it needs to expand the analysis not limited to licensing and spin-off, and second, it is suggested to develop a resource perspective by enriching what dimensions influence the success of a technology commercialization in universities or provide alternative new management theories in understanding technology commercialization in university.</p>

Contact Temperature Measurements on Hybrid Aluminum–Steel Workpieces in a Cross-Wedge Rolling Process

The Collaborative Research Center 1153 is investigating a novel process chain for manufacturing high-performance hybrid components. The combination of aluminum and steel can reduce the weight of components and lead to lower fuel consumption. During the welding of aluminum and steel, a brittle intermetallic phase is formed that reduces the service life of the component. After welding, the workpiece is heated inhomogeneously and hot-formed in a cross-wedge rolling process. Since the intermetallic phase grows depending on the temperature during hot forming, temperature control is of great importance. In this paper, the possibility of process-integrated contact temperature measurement with thin-film sensors is investigated. For this purpose, the initial temperature distribution after induction heating of the workpiece is determined. Subsequently, cross-wedge rolling is carried out, and the data of the thin-film sensors are compared to the temperature measurements after heating. It is shown that thin-film sensors inserted into the tool are capable of measuring surface temperatures even at a contact time of 0.041 s. The new process monitoring of the temperature makes it possible to develop a better understanding of the process as well as to further optimize the temperature distribution. In the long term, knowledge of the temperatures in the different materials also makes it possible to derive quality characteristics as well as insights into the causes of possible process errors (e.g., fracture of the joining zone).

Feasibility study for the manufacturing of hybrid pinion shafts with the cross-wedge rolling process

The Collaborative Research Center 1153 is investigating an innovative process chain for the production of hybrid components. The hybrid workpieces are first joined and then formed by cross-wedge rolling. Pinion shafts were manufactured to investigate the behavior of the joining zone under increased complexity of the forming process. For this purpose, six types of workpieces produced by three types of joining processes were formed into pinion shafts. The reference process provides a shaft with a smooth bearing seat. It was found that the increased complexity did not present any challenges compared to the reference processes. A near-net shape geometry was achieved for the pinions made of steel.

DEM/CFD Simulation in Process Engineering

Thermal and chemical treatment of bulk solids and particle systems is a basic unit operation in many industrial sectors. The purpose of the treatment can be either to achieve well-defined product properties or to use solids in gasification processes to produce syngas, synthetic fuels, or to recycle waste products. Typical examples are the calcination of minerals as dolomite or magnesite in the basic materials industry, the direct iron ore reduction with hydrogen in steel industry, coffee bean roasting in the food processing industry, or catalytic reactors and fluidized bed spray coating of tablets in the chemical and medical industries, respectively. Many of these processes are operated at high temperatures and are, therefore, energy-intensive and often associated with high CO2 emissions; a careful layout of the systems is needed. Furthermore, target properties of the solids must be achieved concerning reactivity, specific surface area, calcination or roasting degree, etc. To meet all these challenges and requirements, a detailed knowledge of the underlying physical and chemical processes is needed for predictive design. Fundamental studies are first necessary to understand the properties of particulate flows, e.g., regarding turbulence modulation, collisions between particles and/or with surfaces, and particle dispersion, before going toward practical applications. Typical systems are highly loaded with particles, often passed by a reactive gas flow, and are operated at high temperatures. Therefore, measurements are very challenging in such systems. Hence, appropriate simulation methods are needed to support system and reactor layout. Such a method combines the discrete element method (DEM) with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). DEM/CFD allows to track individual particles and their interactions with other particles, surrounding walls, and the gas phase in-between the particles. Conversion of the particles including intra-particle processes can be described as well as size change or development of adhesive forces associated with the thermal treatment. The current focus issue of Chemical Engineering & Technology entitled “DEM/CFD Simulation in Process Engineering” gives a status on the description of particulate flows with a focus on reactive particle-gas systems using DEM/CFD and presents illustrative examples of its application. A review article on DEM/CFD for reacting systems sets the frame for the further contributions that concentrate on fundamental aspects, specific examples, and important methodological developments. Examples presented are shaft kilns (production of quicklime/production of spinel), waste incineration, combustion of wood pellets, and carbonate looping processes. Novel trends as the usage of machine learning in combination with DEM/CFD, the combination of resolved and unresolved DEM/CFD in one simulation domain, and new approaches regarding the immersed boundary method to describe particle-gas systems are presented. The contributions do not claim to cover all relevant aspects needed for DEM/CFD simulations of reactive particle-gas systems but can be seen as a first overview and starting point for interested readers. This focus issue and the corresponding workshop at the Conference on Modelling Fluid Flow in Budapest 2022 have been organized by the Collaborative Research Centre BULK-REACTION financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Project-ID 422037413 – TRR 287. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Viktor Scherer Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Energy Plant Technology Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dominique Thévenin Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, The Laboratory of Fluid Dynamics and Technical Flows Viktor Scherer Dominique Thévenin

ENHANCED FINDABILITY AND REUSABILITY OF ENGINEERING DATA BY CONTEXTUAL METADATA

AbstractComplex research problems are increasingly addressed by interdisciplinary, collaborate research projects generating large amounts of heterogeneous amounts of data. The overarching processing, analysis and availability of data are critical success factors for these research efforts. Data repositories enable long term availability of such data for the scientific community. The findability and therefore reusability strongly builds on comprehensive annotations of datasets stored in repositories. Often generic metadata schema are used to annotate data. In this publication we describe the implementation of discipline specific metadata into a data repository to provide more contextual information about data. To avoid extra workload for researchers to provide such metadata a workflow with standardised data templates for automated metadata extraction during the ingest process has been developed. The enriched metadata are in the following used in the development of two repository plugins for data comparison and data visualisation. The added values of discipline-specific annotations and derived search features to support matching and reusable data is then demonstrated by use cases of two Collaborative Research Centres (CRC 1368 and CRC 1153).

Recent advances in understanding the impact of infection and inflammation on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

Just over one decade ago, it was discovered that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) could directly respond to inflammatory cytokines by mounting a proliferative response thought to mediate the emergency production of mature blood cells. In the intervening years, we have gained mechanistic insight into this so-called activation process and have started to learn such a response may come at a cost in terms of ultimately resulting in HSC exhaustion and hematologic dysfunction. In this review article, we report the progress we have made in understanding the interplay between infection, inflammation and HSCs during the funding period of the Collaborative Research Center 873 "Maintenance and Differentiation of Stem Cells in Development and Disease", and place this work within the context of recent output by others working within this field.

CataLight: The Collaborative Research Center for Light-Driven Catalysis in Soft Matter.

This invited Team Profile was created by the Collaborative Research Center for Light-Driven Catalysis in Soft Matter, CataLight, located at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Ulm University, Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research (MPI) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, University of Vienna, and the Center of Electron Microscopy, Ulm University. The authors, who include members of the Kranz and Leopold Groups, the Schacher Group, and the Streb Group, recently published an article on local measurements of light-driven activity at heterogenized water oxidation catalysts using nanoporous block copolymers: "Multimodal Analysis of Light-Driven Water Oxidation in Nanoporous Block Copolymer Membranes", J. Kund, J.-H. Kruse, A. Gruber, I. Trentin, M. Langer, C. Read, G. Neusser, D. Blaimer, U. Rupp, C. Streb, K. Leopold, F. H. Schacher, C. Kranz, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202217196.

CataLight: The Collaborative Research Center for Light‐Driven Catalysis in Soft Matter

AbstractThis invited Team Profile was created by the Collaborative Research Center for Light‐Driven Catalysis in Soft Matter, CataLight, located at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Ulm University, Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research (MPI) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, University of Vienna, and the Center of Electron Microscopy, Ulm University. The authors, who include members of the Kranz and Leopold Groups, the Schacher Group, and the Streb Group, recently published an article on local measurements of light‐driven activity at heterogenized water oxidation catalysts using nanoporous block copolymers: “Multimodal Analysis of Light‐Driven Water Oxidation in Nanoporous Block Copolymer Membranes”, J. Kund, J.‐H. Kruse, A. Gruber, I. Trentin, M. Langer, C. Read, G. Neusser, D. Blaimer, U. Rupp, C. Streb, K. Leopold, F. H. Schacher, C. Kranz, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202217196.

Oxygen‐Free Production—From Vision to Application

As oxygen negatively affects most production processes in the metalworking industry, a truly oxygen‐free production environment appears attractive in terms of the resulting material and component properties. This overview summarizes research conducted within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1368. The objectives of this CRC are twofold. First, a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that govern the interaction between a metal surface and the environment is established. Second, it is researched how this understanding can be exploited to improve current production processes and even develop completely new ones. Herein, data obtained within the first funding period, which already demonstrate that significant effects can be realized in processes such as thermal spraying, cold rolling, compound casting, laser brazing, milling or hot stamping to name just a few examples, are presented. In addition, key aspects such as initial deoxidation of the workpieces, their transport under conditions that prevent reoxidation, and the tools needed to establish and control an oxygen‐free process environment are given, and the ramifications with respect to actual applications are discussed.