Christian Doppler Laboratory

Following ICAA 20, an international After-ICAA Workshop was held at the Chair of Nonferrous Metallurgy at Montanuniversität Leoben. The event was organised and hosted by Sebastian Samberger and Irmgard Weißensteiner.

The workshop brought together researchers and industry partners from different institutions and countries and provided a platform for in-depth discussion of current topics in aluminium research. High-quality scientific contributions, open discussions, and direct exchange helped place recent findings into a broader context, generate new perspectives, and identify opportunities for future collaboration.

The Christian Doppler Laboratory for Deformation-Precipitation Interactions in Aluminium Alloys was also strongly represented both at ICAA 20 and during the workshop. Thomas Kremmer, Philipp Aster, Robert Kahlenberg, Sebastian Samberger, and Irmgard Weißensteiner presented current research from the CD Laboratory and discussed their work with the international scientific community.

ICAA and the After-ICAA Workshop therefore provided not only a platform for disseminating recent research results, but also a valuable opportunity to strengthen the scientific visibility of the CD Laboratory, expand international networks, and generate new impulses for future research.

We gratefully acknowledge all speakers and participants, as well as ZwickRoell, Struers, 4a engineering, the Recycling Cluster at Montanuniversität Leoben, and the City of Leoben for supporting the event.

The 20th International Conference on Aluminium Alloys (ICAA 20) was not only an excellent scientific meeting for us, but also a valuable opportunity to see how strongly the topics of our CD Laboratory are currently represented across the international research community. Bending and formability, recycling, corrosion, and advanced characterization were among the major themes of the conference and featured prominently in many sessions and discussions.

Our team contributed several oral presentations and posters, covering topics ranging from the bendability of recycling-relevant aluminium sheet and the effect of increased secondary aluminium content to high-Mg 5xxx alloys and new approaches for the characterization of complex intermetallic phases.

A particular highlight was ORIENTA, presented by Sebastian Samberger both in an oral contribution and as a poster. ORIENTA is an open-source framework for GPU-accelerated EBSD indexing of complex low-symmetry and pseudosymmetric intermetallic phases. The poster was also recognized with a poster award.

Another highlight was Robert Kahlenberg, who was selected as one of the Early Career Research Awardees at ICAA 20. In his award talk, he presented his work on the role of defects in precipitation in AlMgSiCu alloys.

We were especially pleased by the strong interest in our contributions. The talks and posters led to many stimulating scientific conversations and follow-up discussions, underlining how closely the research questions addressed in our CD Laboratory are connected to current challenges in aluminium research.

We return to Leoben with many new impressions, contacts, and ideas for our ongoing work.

Two days of exchange, expert input and fresh perspectives: At the joint CMI workshop hosted by AMAG Rolling, AMAG Rolling’s early-career academic partners came together with industrial experts to discuss current questions around aluminium alloys, process understanding, data analysis and modelling.

A particular highlight was the visit to Hot Rolling Mill 2. Seeing industrial practice up close was not only exciting, but also highly instructive. Insights like these help us to think even more precisely about the underlying processes and to align our research more closely with real industrial challenges.

Beyond the technical sessions, there was ample space for conversations, networking and the exchange of expertise. This is often where the best ideas emerge: from different perspectives, shared curiosity and the direct connection between laboratory, model and production.

The CD laboratory was ceremoniously inaugurated in the afternoon. As part of the event, three scientific lectures were held, each offering different perspectives on materials research. Dr. mont. Werner Fragner from AMAG rolling GmbH, Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. Verena Maier-Kiener, head of "Materials Testing under Extreme Conditions" at Montanuniversität Leoben, and Dr. Ghadir Razaz, a cooperation partner of the CD laboratory and an expert in Al-batteries from Mid Sweden University, shared their expertise with the attendees.

Univ.-Prof. Dr. mont. Helmut Antrekowitsch, Vice-Rector for Research and Sustainability at Montanuniversität Leoben, ao. Univ.-Prof. DI Dr. Klaus Reichmann, member of the Senate of the Christian Doppler Research Association, and Dr. mont. Werner Fragner, Head of Corporate Technology at AMAG rolling GmbH, addressed the audience before Dr. mont. Irmgard Weißensteiner, Head of the CD Laboratory, briefly presented the laboratory’s core research areas.

It was a wonderful celebration that truly honored the occasion. A heartfelt thank you to all visitors and interested guests for their participation!