Titanium materials are used particularly in the aerospace industry due to their low weight and good corrosion resistance. However, the production of titanium requires large amounts of energy. At the same time, the machining of aerospace components generates considerable quantities of titanium swarf, which, until now, has often not been reusable for equivalent applications. Mr Kettelmann therefore investigated an approach in which the swarf is first cleaned, compacted and processed into electrodes. These are then melted down and atomised into powder. The investigations show that the recycled titanium powder possesses properties comparable to those of commercially available powder and can be used for additive manufacturing. With single-grade recycling, energy savings of up to 72 per cent are possible compared with the production of primary powder.
In addition to the technical implementation of the manufacturing process, Simon Kettelmann focused on the planning and optimisation of the cross-organisational recycling process chain. To this end, he developed a decentralised planning method that enables the participating companies to jointly optimise their processes at the detailed planning level without having to share sensitive process knowledge with one another. The method also takes into account the quality of the process models used throughout the planning process. In this way, technological dependencies and differing target parameters can be taken into account across company boundaries. The work thus lays an important foundation for the resource-efficient planning of industrial recycling process chains.
During his time at the IFW, Mr Kettelmann initially worked on the Powertrain 2025 research project. He subsequently worked on the Return II project, which involved developing and investigating the process chain for recycling titanium swarf into powder. In the BaSys4iPPS research project, he also focused on integrated maintenance and production planning using multi-agent systems and management shells. In addition, Mr Kettelmann served as an AI trainer at the Mittelstand-Digital Centre in Hanover and at DAISEC. There, he provided small and medium-sized enterprises in particular with practical knowledge on the use of artificial intelligence in production.
The IFW would like to thank Mr Kettelmann warmly for his outstanding work, congratulate him on the successful completion of his PhD, and wish him continued success and all the best for his personal and professional future.
