MOTIVATION

Vision

The vision of the K-Project WoodC.A.R. (Wood – Computer Aided Research) is to introduce Engineered Wood Products (EWP), Engineered Wood Components (EWC) and wood-based materials to the mobility sector, which follows the demand for improvement of environmental and economic sustainable materials in this branch. Key for the application of EWPs and EWCs in the engineering and the development process are reliable Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) models of wooden materials exposed to dynamic and static loads. Additionally, new production technologies for shaping, joining and bonding are required. Simulation tools as well as new technologies will open new markets within and beyond the mobility sector.

Mission

The mission of the K-Project WoodC.A.R. is to make EWPs and EWCs predictable by means of computer simulation, which will enable using wood-based materials for advanced and load-bearing applications in the automotive industry and beyond.

Overall Goal

WoodC.A.R. is a strong and interdisciplinary team of selected industry and scientific partners from the mobility sector and the forest-based industry. WoodC.A.R. follows a visionary idea, which addresses future challenges of the mobility as well as of the forest-based sector in Austria and Europe. WoodC.A.R. has the following goals:

Introducing simulation tools and new manufacturing technologies to the forest-based sector,
providing knowledge based engineering for wood and wood-composites to create advanced and tailor-made components with improved added-value,
opening new market segments for wood and wood-composites for a short-term innovation strategy,
building the forefront of emerging technologies and addressing future demands in the automobile sector for long-term innovation strategy,
strengthening Austria as a major European player in wood material science and technology as well as in automotive engineering,
shortening the development time and reducing development costs in wood technology,
fostering innovation and science for the contracting industry and scientific partners, respectively,
taking responsibility in society to introduce new sustainable resources into the mobility sector in a significant amount to follow the strategic evolution of mobility to eco-mobility, improving the proportion of women in wood science, material engineering and computer techniques as well as providing cutting-edge and wood – automotive interdisciplinary education and future work areas to junior staff.