NEULAND Idea Award for intelligent reactor design optimization

Process engineering reactors are an important basis for the chemical industry. Developing and producing complex reactor geometries usually takes several months and requires in-depth expertise. The software ReacTUNE - Intelligent Reactor Design Optimization, developed by Mertcan Kaya and YIN member Christoph Klahn, now reduces the design effort to 45 minutes. "Even with little design knowledge, complex devices can be developed quickly and efficiently," says Klahn.

"Users simply define their requirements and ReacTUNE calculates the optimum reactor geometry on this basis. The result is an industry-standard 3D print file that only needs to be executed using the appropriate production machines," Klahn continues. This is made possible by linking computer-aided design and numerical simulation. The researchers have already successfully implemented the software in methanol synthesis and validated it on a laboratory scale under real process conditions. They are currently expanding the software for broader application and are planning a spin-off.

The CeraMMAM project - short for Ceramic Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing - by YIN alumnus Prof. Frederik Zanger and his team from the wbk Institute of Production Engineering at KIT also received an award. They have developed a binder system for the additive manufacturing of multi-material ceramics. The system enables maximum precision and could, therefore, soon open up new fields of application for ceramic materials in medicine, mechanical engineering and aerospace.

About the NEULAND innovation competition
Every year, KIT invites its researchers and doctoral students to submit their application-oriented projects to the NEULAND innovation competition. In addition to cash prizes totaling 19,000 euros, the winning teams receive targeted support from KIT's innovation management team in transferring their ideas to industry and society.