Profile

At the Institut für Leichtbau und Kunststofftechnik (ILK) of the Technische Universität Dresden, comprehensive research is performed in the field of load-adapted lightweight structures. For this, a comprehensive approach is pursued with respect to both materials and products throughout the total engineering chain - material, design, simulation, manufacturing, component, quality assurance. Consequently, the annual conference Dresdner Leichtbausymposium, which is hosted by the ILK in June every year, has become established as a well-known meeting point all over the lightweight structures engineering industry.

Beyond this, the ILK aims at developing design rules and optimization criteria for lightweight components, especially for high-performance purposes. Here, a special focus is set on multi-material design. For the calculation and simulation of lightweight structures under static and dynamic (crash) loads, specially developed software tools based on analytical methods are applied as well as commercially available FEA software systems.

Another major research area of the ILK is the development of innovative material concepts with high lightweight potential (e. g. textile-reinforced composites, hybrid composites, metal matrix composites) substantiated with appropriate strategies for design and engineering.

The ILK is officially recognized as an institution for testing, monitoring and certifying by the Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt), Berlin, in the field of plastic components.

The ILK is a member of the two faculties Maschinenwesen and Verkehrswissenschaften "Friedrich List" of the TU Dresden.

Education at the ILK addresses students of mechanical engineering, transport sciences and engineering economics. For students of mechanical engineering after the Vorexamen, a special course of studies "lightweight structures engineering" is on offer.