Lightweight components: Munich researchers develop guideline for energy efficiency

More Transparent Lightweight Construction Existing Lightweight Construction Methods Are Now Easier to Assess

2025-12-03 An analysis by TU Munich | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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Components should be lightweight yet stable so they can save weight and therefore drive energy in moving systems. Munich researchers now have a guideline for this...

Lightweight construction is considered a key to reducing the energy demand of moving systems—whether through a material mix, like here with metal and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic components, or with just one lightweight material. Experts reveal here how to find the ideal method faster...(Image: Carbonicus) — Lightweight construction is considered a key to reducing the energy demand of moving systems—whether through a material mix, like here with metal and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic components, or with just one lightweight material. Experts reveal here how to find the ideal method faster...
(Image: Carbonicus)

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a reference system that, as emphasized, for the first time enables numerous different lightweight construction methods to be directly compared and, not least, evaluated. Lightweight components, as reported from Munich, are usually designed computer-aided in advance and only then manufactured. There are established methods for this, but they each use different physical models and mathematical descriptions, making direct comparisons challenging, as further explained. Additionally, due to their high computational complexity, they are limited to low spatial resolutions. However, with the "Benchmark Stress Guided Lightweight 3D Designs"—"SGLDBench"—the TUM researchers have succeeded in making the various approaches more comparable and optimizing them.

How to Find the Right Lightweight Construction Strategy Faster

"SGLDBench" now makes it possible to apply six reference strategies (such as classical topology optimization, porous fill structures, or lattice-based layouts) to any component with freely selectable boundary conditions. Using 3D simulations, they can then be compared, according to the experts. Important parameters, such as stiffness-to-weight ratio, stress fields, and deformations, are taken into account. Additionally, information about how the component or structure is connected to or supported by its environment is included. This allows designers and users to create designs with different resolutions and material consumption while more reliably evaluating the mechanical and geometric properties. There are numerous typical application areas for the new benchmark. For example, it offers the opportunity to test several design variants for hip implants and produce them individually tailored. In the automotive and aerospace industries, the benchmark also contributes to further slimming down components, making them more material-efficient. Lower weight ultimately means higher energy efficiency. At the same time, the structures must securely withstand typical vibrations and shocks, which is why the benchmark allows simulation with over 100 million individual elements, something that can even be done fairly quickly on any PC.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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