L. Zweifel (Lucian)

Biography

I am originally from Basel Switzerland and started my career with an apprenticeship as a design engineer at Swiss Federal Railways. Afterwards I started my bachelor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) with a focus on composite materials. My bachelor thesis was about the development of a resistance welding process for carbon fiber-reinforced thermosets with a thermoplastic boundary layer.

During my bachelor, I got fascinated by the interesting and versatile behavior of composite materials and their use in industrial applications. This encouraged me to continue my master studies in the field of composite joining technologies with a focus on material science. Simultaneously, I started as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Polymer Engineering (FHNW), whereby I focus on the interaction between experimental and numerical methods towards a better understanding of the structural limits and applications of composite materials.

Master Thesis Project

Thanks to Prof. Clemens Dransfeld I got the opportunity to collaborate with the TU Delft towards my master’s degree. Therefore, my master thesis deals with the development of compliant self-aligning sonotrode designs towards full consolidation of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes via continuous ultrasonic assisted tape laying on a robotic system. The thesis will focus on modifications of sonotrode designs by implementing acoustic metamaterial structures or changing the resonance mode.

Supervised by: Prof. Clemens Dransfeld

Dr. Anastasiia Krushynska (University of Groningen)

Prof. Dr. Christian Brauner (FHNW)