Page 29 - Best of 2019 English

At the Duisburg and Salzgitter sites, Salzgitter Mannesmann For- schung GmbH (SZMF) carries out investigations into the secrets of
steel as a material. With the help of computer simulations, for example, they look into how a workpiece produced in certain conditions de- forms under certain loads. With a workforce of nearly 300, SZMF is one of Europe’s leading steel research institutes, serving clients within the Group as well as external customers.
SZMF has been in existence since 2004 and is headed by Dr. Benedikt Ritterbach, who believes that numerical simulations on com- puters have a crucial role to play: “The trend is moving increasingly towards using computer simulations not as a substitute for experimen- tal research but to supplement it.”
This also applies to the Materials Engi- neering Unit, headed by Dr. Juliane Mentz
in Duisburg. “We’re able to simulate process chains almost entirely in the laboratory, both numerically and experimentally by way of lab- oratory melts and various testing techniques, etc.”, she says.
Close contact with practical applications
is important here: after all, a research assign- ment for SZMF will often typically arise from a customer project. If a large-diameter pipe order involves specific product demands, for instance, a request will come in from EURO- PIPE in Duisburg: “We need to meet such
and such product requirements, how do we go about it?” One recommendation made by Dr. Mentz and her team was that EUROPIPE should vary the composition of the base mate- rial for large-diameter pipes, for example. “We know that for certain property requirements,
image corresponds precisely to the calculations of the simulation
Dr. Benedikt Ritterbach studied metallurgy in Aachen before pursuing a career in industry, including a peri- od as Operations Director Cold Flat-Rolled (SZFG). He has been Managing Director of Salzgitter Mannes- mann Forschung GmbH since 2009 and describes
the company’s primary goal as follows: “Our aim is to secure innovation capability and performance. So it's crucial for us to ensure our research and develop- ment processes are effective and efficient.”
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Photos: Carsten Brand, Peter Lenke