The first goal of the research group Material Informatics is to use (i) Machine Learning approaches exploratively for optimization of active materials (informatics for materials).

  • We identify and classify active (smart/intelligent) materials and structures based on their stimulus sensitivity: An input non-mechanical environmental value leads to a mechanical output; the normalized stimulus-strain-curve can be linearized at the working point to extract this sensitivity parameter. The influences from multi-sensitivity in the material can be used to tune this sensitivity in the unified response.
  • We find and visualize data for various active materials like Hydrogels, Dielectric Elastomer Actuators, Conductive Polymers, Shape Memory Alloys, Shape Memory Polymers, Piezo-ceramics, Ionic Polymer Metal Composites. The data is applied for the training of different deep learning model classes to mirror their physically described behavior. For data visualization, we experiment with state-of-the-art augmented reality devices.

As a second goal, we focus on the logical behavior of multisensitive active materials by the (ii) Modelling of information transfer between physical fields (informatics by materials):

  • We use the continuum methods and modelling scale transition to investigate the transfer of information between physical fields. Therefore, we apply multi-field models that can accurately describe the interactions, e.g., between the thermal and chemical field.
  • We identify and model multisensitive materials that can act as neurons in non-electrical deep learning networks due to their active behavior.

The third goal is the transfer to engineering praxis by the (iii) Design of soft-hard active-passive structures in bio-physical and technical environments. Examples are:

  • Active membranes that are active-passive composite structures made of active hydrogels and passive polymers can be used for cell sorting.
  • Thin structures that comprise active materials can form shell-like structures. This can be used to stabilize flexible displays.
  • Passive meshes can be coated with active hydrogels to form an automatically rain-proofing bike-helmet.

If you are interested in our group's activities, please contact us!

Researcher

Dr.-Ing. Adrian Ehrenhofer graduated from Technische Universität Dresden in 2014 and started his PhD thesis with the main focus on modeling and simulation of smart materials. He worked on the description of Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) and permeation through biological membranes using the Poisson-Nernst-Planck multi-field approach. In his PhD thesis, he developed an analogy description for the swelling behavior of active hydrogels. The model was applied for active hydrogel-layered polymeric membranes which are used for microfluidic cell-sorting. He defended his PhD thesis in 2018 and worked as a Post-Doc in the field of smart material modeling for chemo-physical intelligence at Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. Since 2021, he is the Research Group Leader of the Materials Informatics Group at the Dresden Center for Intelligent Materials (DCIM). He also works as a freelance media creator for tutorial videos in Engineering Mechanics.

Name Description
ORCID iD: ORCID logo0000-0002-2370-8381
Publons: 4202905
Scopus ID: 57188759919
Google Scholar ID: Adrian Ehrenhofer
ResearchGate: Adrian Ehrenhofer
LinkedIn: 3703421a4
Tel.: +49 351 463-39659
Fax: +49 351 463-32450
E-mail: adrian.ehrenhofer@tu-dresden.de
Room: ZEU/343

I believe that science should be free and accessible for everyone. Therefore, all my publications are Open Access, either by the publication in Open Access journals or by officially publishing them as Green Open Access articles through the University Library SLUB. The publications are stored in the correct version on the QUCOSA server.. I also provide research software, whenever possible, such as the Normalization_Monosensitive Tool . If you want to replicate my research work and require any data/software, please don't hesitate to contact me!

If you find any of my publications that aren't publicly available yet, please contact me!