For the determination of the refractive index of the lubricant used in the sheet-bulk metal forming process, a lubricant thin-film thickness standard was developed which represents a continuous measuring range from 6 to 100 μm. To determine the refractive index, the thin-film thickness standard was measured with a coaxial interferometric measurement system in various thickness ranges. The results show changing optical properties with increasing layer thickness.

Detecting faults in bearings is indispensable for the maintenance of many industrial machines or components. The faults are detected by recognizing patterns in vibration data that are measured at the bearing housing. The method can be trained with data of variable revolution speeds, therefore reducing the effort for the acquisition of training data. Moreover, incipient faults can be detected before they cause severe damage to the equipment.

In order to differentiate between a wet and a dry road surface, the water film height should be measured by using an infrared-based sensor system. By means of different wavelengths, it is also possible to distinguish between ice and water. In this article, a sensor system for the determination of the physical state of water on different surfaces using infrared LEDs and one photodiode is presented. This shall serve as a basis for the calculation of the road condition.

Air-coupled ultrasound is a non-contact non-destructive testing method. In many cases air-coupled ultrasound is used in a transmission mode requiring access from both sides of the specimen. Air-coupled ultrasound can be used in a re-emission mode enabling single-sided testing. In this work a sensor head with automatically adjustable ultrasound probes was developed to make one-sided air-coupled ultrasound easier. With this integrated sensor head it is possible to detect defects in thin walls.

Electromagnetic coils are ubiquitously used in the modern world in motors, antennas, etc. In numerous applications, like nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging (known as MRI), there is a strong need for a homogeneous magnetic field. In this paper, we take advantage of an analytic method to propose a new design of MRI coils with enhanced sensitivity and homogeneity.