The 15th Research Forum of the Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences was organized by the FH Kärnten on the Villach campus from April 20th to 21st, 2022. The forum has been divided into three tracks:
The MCI was represented with a wide variety of contributions and was thus able to contribute to the forum under the motto "Creating Impact - becoming effective together".
MCI student und project assistant Nicolas Soehlemann, together with MCI lecturer Silvia Öttl, received the 2nd place Poster Award for the poster „E-carsharing, hydropower and citizen empowerment: Tyrolean energy communities actively supporting the energy transition“. Congratulations!
Track 1 „Creating Impact“
Improved patient well-being through interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration in the development of a planning tool for nasal breathing problems
Manuel Berger (MCI), Martin Pillei (MCI), Aris Giotakis (MUI), Thomas Senfter (MCI), Andreas Mehrle (MCI), Florian Kral (MUI), Wolfgang Recheis (MUI), Herbert Riechelmann (MUI), Michael Kraxner (MCI), Wolfgang Freysinger (MUI)
Manuel Berger is developing a planning tool for nasal breathing problems in an interdisciplinary research project with Medical University Innsbruck (MUI). A flow simulation software, validated by experiments, captures critical areas and resection volume in the main nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. At the FFH 2022, the latest research results on the correction of nasal septal deviation have been presented.
Track 2 „Cross-border cooperation“
Social area-oriented & inclusive participation of people with disabilities in the border region of Bavaria-Tyrol
Lukas Kerschbaumer, Sascha Gell (all MCI)
People with disabilities (PWDs) do not benefit to the same extent from cross-border European mobility in the areas of employment, education, health or social services as people without disabilities. Lukas Kerschbaumer and Sascha Gell have therefore endeavored to identify those institutional, legal, individual and social factors that can expand the individual agency of people with disabilities in the Bavaria-Tyrol border region and enable or promote social care and inclusion.
Track 3 „Together towards Sustainability & Resilience“
This track was divided into 13 different panels. MCI contributions were presented in three of the panels. In addition, MCI researchers Lukas Möltner and Verena Schallhart acted as chairs in the panel "Energy, Environment & Mobility", as well as MCI researcher Philipp Wegerer in the panel "Strategies for sustainable tourism development".
Panel „Energy, Environment & Mobility“
Comparison of different cyclone separators in the field of air pollution control
Sandro Holzer, Tobias Kofler, Thomas Senfter, Manuel Berger, Christian Mayerl, Stephan Kahl, Martin Pillei (all MCI)
The separation of dispersed particles from different exhaust gas or exhaust air streams is an essential process in dedusting technology. At this year's research forum, Sandro Holzer presented an empirical comparison of two different types of cyclone separators. Through the comparison in terms of size, energy efficiency and separation performance, crucial factors influencing the performance characteristics of the separators could be derived.
Similarity theory and experimental investigation of the scale-up behaviour of hydrocyclones
Jonathan Sternberger, Thomas Senfter, Manuel Berger, Tobias Kofler, Christian Mayerl, Sandro Holzer, Stephan Kahl, Martin Pillei (all MCI)
The scale-up of equipment from laboratory to pilot plant scale and further to industrial application is still a major challenge in process engineering. In his work, Jonathan Sternberger focuses on the scale-up of hydrocyclones, which are used for mechanical solid-liquid separation. For this purpose, dimensionless characteristic numbers, numerical simulations and experimental investigations were carried out in order to evaluate the applicability of laboratory results to the large scale.
Membrane technology as a fourth purification step at wastewater treatment plants: development of a mobile test plant
Thomas Senfter, Lisa Götschhofer, Manuel Berger, Tobias Kofler, Christian Mayerl, Sandro Holzer, Stephan Kahl, Martin Pillei (all MCI)
The separation of micropollutants and microplastics from wastewater is a big challenge for wastewater treatment plants, as the currently installed treatment stages can only separate these substances with difficulties. The keyword "4th treatment stage" refers to a technology for the separation of ultra-fine particles at wastewater treatment plants that has not yet been implemented nationwide. In order to provide plant operators with a decision-making tool when deciding on the technology, a mobile test facility was developed to carry out on-site investigations on the operating behaviour of membranes as a possible 4th purification stage.
Panel „Strategies for sustainable tourism development”
The Tyrolian Way: A Framework For Developing A Sustainable Tourism Policy
Philipp Wegerer, Theresa Mitterer-Leitner, Hubert Siller (all MCI)
Philipp Wegerer presented his research on the strategy paper "The Tyrolean Way". The focus of his presentation was on the development of a strategy process that includes the three levels of tourism vision, guidelines and guiding measures and multidimensional performance measurement. The contribution showed how a tourism strategy can equally include economic, social and ecological goals.
Development of a big data model for destinations
Fabian Erhart, Birgit Bosio (all MCI)
Due to the explosive development of computer-based technologies, the internet and the spread of mobile devices create a huge amount of data in tourism destinations. This data amount could create a competitive advantage for all stakeholders in order to better understand customer needs and foster data-driven decisions. However, due to the fragmentation of community-based destinations and the decentralized data accumulation, the application of Big Data in tourism destinations proves to be rather challenging. Therefore, a conceptualized framework for applying Big Data on destination-level was developed.
Panel „Green Chemistry and Sustainable Methods“
Conductive Ceramic Composites – A Pathway towards a Resilient and Sustainable Process Industry
Lukas Möltner (MCI), Daniel Denifl (MCI), Verena Schallhart (MCI), Uwe Trattnig (FH Joanneum), Robert Hauser (FH Kärnten), Heinrich Berthold (Keramik Innovation Berthold)
Everyday products such as food, plastics, textiles, fuels, fertilizers are industrially manufactured with a considerable amount of energy. Both, this energy expenditure as well as the raw materials used, which are often of fossil origin, lead to high emissions of greenhouse gases, above all carbon dioxide. The research results present the development of a ceramic composite material which, due to its physical properties, is suitable for use in reaction engineering. Particularly, this material can be used to resistively heat chemical reactors using electrical energy, thus reducing production-related emissions of carbon dioxide.
MCI Lecturer Lukas Möltner acted as Chair at the 15th Research Forum of Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences. © FH Kärnten / Stefan Köchel
MCI student and project assistant Nicolas Soehlemann received the 2nd Place Poster Award. © FH Kärnten / Stefan Köchel
