Successful diputation of Wilken Franke at PtU

Dr.-Ing. Wilken Franke successfully defended his doctoral thesis on “Forming of nature-based fiber materials under the influence of water vapor” on February 02, 2021.

In the course of the doctoral examination, Dr.-Ing. Franke demonstrated the versatility of paper as a material in forming technology during deep drawing. Due to the increasingly important role that sustainability plays in our society, deep-drawn papers are to replace plastics in the packaging industry in as many places as possible. His presentation clearly showed the advantages of introducing water vapor during the thermoforming process and how these can be used. At the same time, Dr. Franke examined various quality characteristics and ways of influencing them. Through his research work, Dr.-Ing. Franke has laid the foundation for future research projects that will further optimize the thermoforming of paper and the influence of steam and enable increasing process flexibility.

Dr.-Ing. Franke's work remains an asset to PtU, not only because of his technical knowledge, but also because of his commitment in the day-to-day work of the institute. We wish him all the best and much success for his professional and private future.