OPUS Publikationsserver der Hochschule Rhein-Waal
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14/2025 Vierte Änderungssatzung zur Prüfungsordnung für den Masterstudiengang Economics and Finance der Fakultät Gesellschaft und Ökonomie vom 24.03.2025
No full textAnalyzing individual chickens' life data to predict egg and growth performance
No full textThe 2022 ban on killing male chicks, implemented in Germany and France, tackled ethical problems within egg-laying hen farming. Because of this policy, alternative poultry production methods were created to better meet animal welfare guidelines. To meet this challenge, the University of Bonn launched research into dual-purpose chickens, specifically the British Ixworth breed. Integrating male and female chicken farming offers a new, innovative solution to ethical and sustainability issues in traditional farming by combining egg and meat production. The importance of this research for revolutionizing poultry farming cannot be overstated (Becker et al., 2023).
A University of Bonn research team is studying this alternative farming method to determine its productivity and viability. To meet industry needs while prioritizing animal welfare, they evaluate dual-purpose chicken potential by analysing egg (number and weight) and meat (weight) yields.
This thesis has four sections, exploring different facets of dual-purpose chickens across four generations via diverse statistical and machine learning methods.
First, it examines existing research on various facets of analysing and forecasting individual chicken egg and growth data. It further explores Becker et al.’s 2023 study, “The British Ixworth: individual growth and egg production of a purebred dual-purpose chicken.” Moreover, the linear regression, SVR, KNN, and decision tree models were applied to this data for advanced analysis and prediction.
The thesis’s second part details the methodology, including requirements analysis and dataset preparation. This thesis's third section details how data from four generations of chicken life were analysed to predict future egg production and individual chicken growth. Across generations, individual chickens' average body weight and egg weight all showed an increase in the results. Predictions from linear regression and decision tree models show an increase in individual chickens' growth across generations to come. Egg production forecasts were better with the KNN model.
This research will use advanced statistical methods and machine learning to model and assess the generational performance of dual-purpose chickens. These tools will forecast future egg and meat production, thus giving key insights to enhance breeding programs.
This research aims to optimize dual-purpose chicken production for growth and egg-laying performance. The researchers eagerly anticipate the results, which will help to shape their future poultry farming projects
Assessing National Resilience to Hybrid Threats: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of European Countries
No full textHybrid threats pose a growing challenge to European security, targeting state vulnerabilities through combined military and non-military means. Resilience has become the key strategy to counter these threats, yet little empirical research explains why some countries are more resilient than others. This thesis uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis on 36 European countries to identify which conditions lead to national resilience. Findings show that resilience results from specific combinations of factors: strategic prioritization of hybrid threats, prior exposure to attacks, EU and NATO membership, and the absence of Soviet-era legacies. The study recommends states develop clear strategies, institutionalize learning from past incidents, and strengthen multilateral cooperation
17/2025 Erste Änderungssatzung zur Fakultätsordnung der Fakultät Technologie und Bionik der Hochschule Rhein-Waal vom 16.06.2025
No full text22/2025 Zehnte Änderungssatzung zur Satzung über die Ausgestaltung des Auswahl- und Zulassungsverfahrens in zulassungsbeschränkten Studiengängen der Hochschule Rhein-Waal vom 28.10.2025
No full textDesign and Validation of a Bio-Inspired Tendon-Driven Continuum Manipulator
No full textThis thesis develops bio-inspired, multi-segment tendon-driven continuum manipulator through a structured, iterative design process. Combining piecewise constant-curvature modeling, for design validation, with hybrid soft-rigid joint fabrication, three prototypes explore trade-offs among anatomical scale, actuation efficiency, and structural compliance. Novel, internal, soft-rigid components, buckling-mitigation features and internally routed tendons are integrated and evaluated under a common experimental frame work. Demonstrations include single-finger grasps and coordinated bimanual object handling, confirming the manipulator’s viability for humanoid end-effector tasks. The final design produced a tip-load of ≈ 17N for a pinching grasp and ≈ 12N in a power grasp, with 4 degrees of freedom and a maximum bending angle of 209°. Future work will focus on closed-loop control, dynamic interaction testing, and scaling to multi-digit hands
Design and Implementation of a Virtual Gearbox
No full textThis thesis represents the design and implementation of a virtual gearbox functionality as a system with an end goal to be used on the Electric Gokart platform.
The design includes a 3-part solution consisting of:
- Human-machine interface (HMI) – that is a physical hardware as a separate unit with its own housing
- Intermediary software for transfer of input information and output feedback of the user – as software code
- Control Model – MATLAB Simulink model to be run on the main computer of the platform to facilitate the motion control
Due to the system complexity and multidomain solution the work has been broken down and documented to focus on a specific aspect for each deliverable. The human machine interface focuses on the hardware aspect of the functionality – research on and evaluation of different components for the input, feedback and communication and the impact of each component to the further development of the intermediary software. The software part is focused on choosing and implementing an efficient and logical handling
of the sampling and relay of information to prevent the potential problem of
communication network overload. And finally, the Simulink Control Model will focus on investigating input information, processing and motion control realised via torque control. The information is to be used used in developing a system response model evaluating it on the prototype and allowing tuning via system identification in the MATLAB Simulink development environment
The effect of shearing in a twin-screw extruder on the mechanical properties of biopolymers (PLA+PBAT) using varied screw designs
No full textThe primary aim of this research project was to determine the effects of shearing on the structure of a blend of biopolymers (PLA+PBAT) through tailored screw designs in a twin-screw extruder. To achieve this, 3 different twin intermeshing co-rotating screw designs of an extruder were used. The designs were mainly focused on the kneading and mixing part of the screw which has a shearing effect on the biopolymer. The experiments were carried out by keeping the temperature, screw speed and feed rate constant. To carry out the experiment, a 60:40 blend of PBAT and PLA was utilized.
The compounded pellets produced from the 3 screw designs were then used in a Blown Film machine. Furthermore, tensile test was conducted on the resulting samples. The shear strength and strain of the films were calculated. Tear test of the films were additionally carried out to validate the findings. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) test was conducted to study the functional groups, identifying the chemical interactions and phase compatibility of the of PLA&PBAT blend.
The results showed that the screw with 3 kneading blocks (HS) and 2 kneading blocks (MS) exhibited almost similar ultimate strength and ultimate strain. The screw design with only conveying elements had lower ultimate strength and strain. The kneading blocks played a role on the mixing and shearing of the biopolymer structure in the blend
Strategic Obsolescence Management: Developing a Process-Oriented and Financially Viable Concept
No full textIndustrial machinery is designed for long operating periods, but many electronic and mechatronic components used in these systems are discontinued after a short product lifecycle.
This situation causes challenges for Strama-MPS, especially in the Global Service division, where long-term spare-parts availability and reliable customer support are required. When components are no longer available, urgent procurement, redesigns under time pressure, longer downtimes and higher service costs put additional load on internal departments and can negatively affect customer relationships.
This thesis develops a structured and financially viable approach to obsolescence management for Strama-MPS. The current situation was analysed using expert interviews and SAP and PRO.FILE data for the period 2018 to September 2025. The evaluation of more than 13,000 obsolete materials showed fragmented communication, insufficient lifecycle documentation and that only a few large suppliers systematically send PCN notifications, while many others do not. To summarise the results, a Power BI dashboard was created that shows portfolio age, part criticality, successor availability and supplier concentration. The analysis identified an average part age of 6.75 years, a cost-at-risk of around €1 million and a high-risk group mainly consisting of electrical and control components.
In a second step, the active parts portfolio was evaluated to identify future risks. Using manually cleansed Excel files and Power BI models, a lifecycle forecast was developed for the period 2026–2029. It highlights early-warning patterns in connectors, sensors, I/O modules and control units with short technology cycles and high dependency. These results enable earlier evaluation of alternatives, more controlled last-time-buy decisions and more proactive customer communication.
Based on these findings, the thesis proposes a target framework in line with DIN EN IEC 62402:2025-05. It defines responsibilities, decision and communication paths, and workflows between the relevant departments. A dedicated Obsolescence Manager is assigned as the central process owner and is supported by SmartPCN-compatible input formats, lifecycle dashboards and an implementation plan that starts with an internal pilot and later includes the roll-out of PCN Global as the OM software.
The strategic options were assessed using an MCDA, comparing reactive, proactive and strategic approaches. The results show that a dedicated role combined with suitable software offers a good balance between cost control, early-warning capability and acceptance. The financial analysis indicates that the concept can pay back within the first year by reducing emergency sourcing, redesign work and service delays, while also improving collaboration,
decision quality and long-term service performance. Overall, the proposed structure provides a clear basis for more consistent and reliable lifecycle handling across the organisation
Implementation of Bayesian Optimisation for FEM Simulation
No full textOptimisation of engineering problem involving FEM simulations is time consuming especially when dealing with high-fidelity structures. The conventional methods of searching and exploring the design space such as grid search or golden section search require a lot of evaluations before converging on an optimal solution. When there is a time constraint, the final solution found could be suboptimal due to the vast amount of FEM simulation necessary to converge. Therefore, with the utilisation of probabilistic surrogate models such as Gaussian process regression to reduce the amount of computation necessary. Surrogate models approximate unobserved areas in the design space based on the observed data. Together with the use of acquisition function to select the next observation point, it forms this optimisation method known as Bayesian optimisation. This research aims to implement Bayesian optimisation method in a few test cases involving FEM simulation to compare its performance against conventional methods. The results from the test cases showed that Bayesian optimisation converged up to 12 iterations faster compared to convention-al optimisation methods. It also provided a better optimised solution in a multiparameter optimi-sation problem with constraints