Who are you and what is your research topic?
My name is Daniel Stefaniak and I work in the field of composite manufacturing at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stade, Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems.
Which research question are you working on?
Within the SE²A Cluster, I work on quantifying gas permeation rates in composites bas on measurement of thermal strains which vary as a consequence of inter-fiber fractures occurring at low temperature. The development of the CFRP liquid hydrogen tank could benefit from the use of this correlation.
What inspires you about your research?
It is particularly challenging when neither all influencing parameters nor the actual evaluation method for a technology are known and one has to constantly adjust one's research strategy in order to get closer to a solution as efficiently as possible, step by step.
Why is your topic relevant for future aviation?
Liquid hydrogen will be indispensable as an energy carrier in aviation. For its efficient transport, the use of a CFRP tank will be essential. This poses various challenges at low operating temperatures, such as permeation as a result of inter-fiber fractures.
What is special about participating in the interdisciplinary research network SE²A?
The increasing number of links between the individual topics over time is certainly special. The most important links and the knowledge gained from them is hardly foreseeable at the beginning and then suddenly increases.