In automotive digital development, 3D prototype creation is a team effort of designers and engineers, each contributing with ideas and technical evaluations through means of computer simulations. To support the team in the 3D design ideation and exploration task, we propose an interactive design system for assisted design explorations and faster performance estimations. We utilize the advantage of deep learning-based autoencoders to create a low-dimensional latent manifold of 3D designs, which is utilized within an interactive user interface to guide and strengthen the decision-making process.

In product development, an automated generation of shape variations enables a rapid assessment of potentially appealing design directions. We present a framework for computing a product line-up of automotive body shapes based on spectral methods for mesh processing. We calculate the eigenspace projections of 3D vehicle meshes and identify the relevant style as well as content components based on the eigenvalues. The style of a model is then transferred to arbitrary prototype content car shapes, which allows for a rapid portfolio generation of various car types with minimal user interaction.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at MC 2007, 33rd DGE Conference in Saarbrücken, Germany, September 2 – September 7, 2007

Extended abstract of a paper presented at MC 2007, 33rd DGE Conference in Saarbrücken, Germany, September 2 – September 7, 2007

Due to its low digestibility in the small intestine, a major fraction of the polyol isomalt reaches the colon. However, little is known about effects on the intestinal microflora. During two 4-week periods in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, nineteen healthy volunteers consumed a controlled basal diet enriched with either 30g isomalt or 30g sucrose daily. Stools were collected at the end of each test phase and various microbiological and luminal markers were analysed. Fermentation characteristics of isomalt were also investigated in vitro. Microbiological analyses of faecal samples indicated a shift of the gut flora towards an increase of bifidobacteria following consumption of the isomalt diet compared with the sucrose diet (P<0·05). During the isomalt phase, the activity of bacterial β-glucosidase decreased (P<0·05) whereas β-glucuronidase, sulfatase, nitroreductase and urease remained unchanged. Faecal polyamines were not different between test periods with the exception of cadaverine, which showed a trend towards a lower concentration following isomalt (P=0·055). Faecal SCFA, lactate, bile acids, neutral sterols, N, NH3, phenol and p-cresol were not affected by isomalt consumption. In vitro, isomalt was metabolized in several bifidobacteria strains and yielded high butyrate concentrations. Isomalt, which is used widely as a low-glycaemic and low-energy sweetener, has to be considered a prebiotic carbohydrate that might contribute to a healthy luminal environment of the colonic mucosa.

The polyol isomalt (Palatinit®) is a well established sugar replacer. The impact of regular isomalt consumption on metabolism and parameters of gut function in nineteen healthy volunteers was examined in a randomised, double-blind, cross-over trial with two 4-week test periods. Volunteers received 30 g isomalt or 30 g sucrose daily as part of a controlled diet. In addition to clinical standard diagnostics, biomarkers and parameters currently discussed as risk factors for CHD, diabetes or obesity were analysed. Urine and stool Ca and phosphate excretions were measured. In addition, mean transit time, defecation frequency, stool consistency and weight were determined. Consumption of test products was affirmed by the urinary excretion of mannitol. Blood lipids were comparable in both phases, especially in volunteers with hyperlipidaemia, apart from lower apo A-1 (P=0·03) for all subjects. Remnant-like particles, oxidised LDL, NEFA, fructosamine and leptin were comparable and not influenced by isomalt. Ca and phosphate homeostasis was not affected. Stool frequency was moderately increased in the isomalt phase (P=0·006) without changes in stool consistency and stool water. This suggests that isomalt is well tolerated and that consumption of isomalt does not impair metabolic function or induce hypercalciuria. In addition, the study data indicate that isomalt could be useful in improving bowel function.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, August 1–5, 2004.

The damage of finger electrodes of surface acoustic wave (SAW) structures due to material transport (acoustomigration) forming voids and hillocks is strongly associated with the SAW stress field, the temperature and properties of the fingers material and their configuration. By application of Cu thin films a significant higher performance of SAW structures with respect to power durability, reliability and lifetime is obtained. In the present paper Cu finger electrodes of a special power SAW test structure were fabricated in trenches of STX quartz substrates using the copper damascene technique. In comparison with conventional finger electrodes located on the substrate surface, such an embedded structure enables some new features regarding their acoustical and acoustomigration behavior. So high power SAW load cannot cause fatal failures by shorts between adjacent fingers. This fact is specially important for SAW devices in the GHz range. The trench structuring into the substrate was carried out by reactive ion (RIE) or ion beam etching (IBE) technique using a metallic hard mask. Etched trenches were filled with a conductive Ta-Si-N / Cu-layer system by magnetron sputtering in a cluster tool, and structured by a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) process. Subsequently, after cleaning an insulating Ta-based barrier (system Ta-Si-O / Ta-Si-N) layer was deposited on the wafer surface. This covering layer also acts as a protective coating. Such a metallization system enables sufficient bonding properties using Al-wires. First results of electrical measurements show that travelling SAW could be excited in quartz substrates.

In this work the authors want to report some experiments concerning unpassivated Al interconnect lines of 8 and 1.4 microns width which have been damaged by in-situ electromigration in the SEM (temperature 230°C, current density 2 and 4×106 A/cm2, respectively). The wider line represents a polygrained structure with few blocking grains spanning the whole width, whereas the narrow line shows bamboo structure. Before electromigration, the local orientation and thus the position of all grain boundaries was mapped by EBSD technique along the entire interconnect line. During and after in-situ current loading in the SEM, the damaged sites were correlated with the grain boundary map to locate where the diffusion paths are situated most likely. It was found that not the deviation from <111> fibre texture, but the misorientation class of the grain boundaries is essential for the localization of the fatal defects.

Since the date of the 1935 Paris meeting two total eclipses have been successfully observed. Throughout the long path crossing Siberia and Japan the weather on June 19, 1936 on the whole about lived up to predictions. On account of widely scattered clouds neighbouring expeditions had quite different luck with the weather. In contrast, the June 8, 1937 eclipse was seen throughout the whole track under universally clear skies, which is all the more surprising for the reason that eclipse expeditions to the tropics usually fare badly with the weather. Stewart and Stokley in a ship at sea were able to observe the eclipse with a measured duration of 7 min. 6 sec., the longest period of totality in 1200 years.

The Commission has suffered the heavy loss of Prof. W. Bernheimer, who was co-opted on to our Commission and whose work is well known and appreciated.

The following report touches the subjects of interest to this Commission as treated by the various members and is not an account more or less complete of the work done in them in the three years.