(Ended Dec. 2016)

About the Research Program

A sustainable treatment natural resources and energy together with the necessary economic efficiency require an increasing automation and control in order to minimize discard and poor production. As recycled materials increase to be used in paper production, the number of impurities and foreign objects in the materials increases. To meet the customer’s quality standards efficient quality inspection tools for inline measurements are needed.

Electromagnetic radiation in the Terahertz (THz) region is an alternative to inspection techniques using x-rays or visible light. By development of appropriate optics, the method enables parallel inline measurements over the whole width of a production line (100% check), and can be used to inspect every ribbon-like non-conducting material. The project partners develop the necessary hardware and software components and realize a measurement and automation solution in a real production line. Typical fields of application are production of fiber-compounds such as cardboard fiber slabs. This way, a completely new field of nondestructive testing for quality inspection opens up.

Cooperation with: TEM Messtechnik GmbH, Philipps Universität Marburg, Papiertechnische Stiftung (PTS)

This project is funded by Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie: Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand (BMWi - ZIM)

Goal

• Development of an innovative, robust measurement device for industrial applications to allow in-line inspection during the manufacturing process