Conference

Fraunhofer ITWM is organizing the second conference on Highly Flexible Slender Structures (HFSS) in September 2025. This event will focus on systems of flexible structures that are both subjected to high deformations and characterized by a slender geometry. In particular, the focus will be on nonlinear beam and shell models. 

The aim of the conference is to address researchers from different disciplines dealing with mechanical modeling, mathematical formulations and numerical methods for highly flexible, slender structures. The range of topics includes contact mechanics, non-smooth dynamics, computational geometry, geometric numerical integration as well as the development of open-source simulation software for such structures and industrial applications of corresponding simulation software. 

Main Topics

The highlights of the conference are a series of keynote speeches by internationally renowned scientists as well as ten thematically organized mini-symposia with subject-specific presentations.
 

Our researchers from the Fraunhofer ITWM are involved in the following mini-symposia:

• »Constitutive Modeling for Flexible Slender Structures« 
  – Olivier Brüls (University of Liège) and Vanessa Dörlich (Fraunhofer ITWM)
• »Textiles and Other Macroscopic Structures, Built of Flexural 1D Objects«
  – Julia Orlik (Fraunhofer ITWM) and Damien Durville (University of Paris-Saclay)
• »Industrial Application of Simulation Methods for Flexible Slender Structures and Their Challenges«
  – Joachim Linn (Fraunhofer ITWM), Fabio Schneider-Jung (Fraunhofer ITWM), Johan Ljunglinde, (Fraunhofer-Chalmers Center Gothenburg) and Christoffer Cromvik (Industrial Path Solutions Sweden)

Further details, including the remaining thematic mini-symposia and the list of keynote speakers can be found on the conference website.