Design for X

Resource efficiency is a key requirement in the development, use and recycling of products. Our research work in the Design for X focus area addresses this challenge from the perspective of product development. The aim is to plan the life cycle of products in advance and to support developers methodically in the product design and creation process.

  • Closing product, material and substance cycles, the circular economy, is an essential prerequisite for conserving resources and increasing resource efficiency. The prerequisite for this is that products can be efficiently dismantled, reused and recycled during and after the use phase. Design for Circular Economy is intended to provide the necessary (decision-making) support for the design of products. The aim of our research is to develop criteria and design principles for Design for Circular Economy and to integrate them into the product development process. To this end, we are researching the following topics:

    • Investigating and evaluating the recyclability of various materials and material combinations and deriving requirements for recycling-friendly product design
    • Integration of instructions and guidelines for life cycle-compatible product design into the development process and development tools
    • Consistent information management between the various stakeholders in the product life cycle to improve the identification, return and reuse of products and components

  • Modern systems often consist of subsystems with very different lifetimes. The actual service life is increasingly determined by technological influences and the attractiveness of use - in many cases, systems are no longer used even though the physical end of their service life has not been reached. The aim of our research is to plan life cycles of systems and subsystems on the basis of service life heterogeneity and to derive suitable product architectures from this. Approaches for the modeling and simulation of service life heterogeneity are researched and strategies for the realization of different life cycle options at the level of components and subsystems are investigated. Current research topics at the IMW are

    • Investigation of essential service life properties of subsystems with special consideration of technological changes
    • Modeling and simulation of the lifetime heterogeneity of systems, taking into account different lifetime perspectives (value, context, physical lifetime)
    • Evaluation of life cycle options such as reuse, repair, maintenance or upgrade for subsystems and development of suitable product architectures

Contact person

Prof. Dr.-Ing. David Inkermann

Phone: +49 5323 / 72 - 2271
E-Mail: inkermann@imw.tu-clausthal.de

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Armin Lohrengel

Phone: +49 5323 / 72 - 2270
E-Mail: lohrengel@imw.tu-clausthal.de