BRAND-NEW
SPECIAL ISSUE ON ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Scientists at TU Dresden Develop Self-Cleaning Aluminium Surface Scientists at TU Dresden and the Fraunhofer IWS have developed a periodic surface structure, which is water and ice repellent and also removes dirt particles.
A
fter years of developing functionalised
The method was developed in close
surfaces with laser-based manufacturing
collaboration with the Fraunhofer IWS. Together
processes, with a special focus on
with the Dresden Institute the professorship
aluminium, a team of scientist at TU Dresden,
for laser-based methods of a large area surface
in collaboration with the Fraunhofer IWS, have
structuring at the TU Dresden operates the
structured an aluminium plate with a laser
“CAMP – Center for Advanced Micro Photonics”.
process in such a way that water droplets no
The scientific evidence of the self-cleaning effect
longer adhere and dirt particles can be removed
has been published in the journal “Applied
from the surface without chemical cleaning
Surface Science”.
agents or additional effort. The newly developed periodic surface structure
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with direct laser interference patterning (DLIP)
https://rb.gy/wweb8n
removes dirt particles exclusively by rolling drops and is also water and ice repellent. “Aluminium is used in many branches of industry – whether in the automotive sector, aircraft construction or the food industry. The use of
© Fraunhofer IWS Dresden
aggressive cleaning chemicals is particularly critical in the latter, as we naturally do not want to associate these with our food,” says Stephan Milles, PhD student at TU Dresden. The Dresden scientists took a close look at the function of self-cleaning laser-structured aluminium. A special camera was used to analyse the self-cleaning effect of the aluminium surfaces and filmed the process at 12,500 frames per second. Thomas Kuntze, scientist in the Microtechnology Technology Field at the Fraunhofer IWS, explains: “This way we can see perfectly how the water drop can remove the dirt from the aluminium surface. This method is also suitable for understanding other processes, such as laser cutting and welding or additive manufacturing”.
Water drops do not adhere to the self-cleaning aluminium surface. The latter has been functionalized by a team of “CAMP” scientists using direct laser interference patterning (DLIP).