Repeated success at the 80th HärtereiKongress: the Paul Riebensahm Prize will once again go to the Leibniz-IWT in 2024. The prize for the best scientific presentation is awarded annually at the HK, the largest European specialist congress for materials technology and heat treatment, manufacturing and process engineering. The HärtereiKongress (HK), which is organized annually by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wärmebehandlung und Werkstofftechnik e. V., took place for the 80th time as a combined trade fair and congress. Over 180 exhibitors and several thousand guests were welcomed to this event at Koelnmesse. On the last day, the jury announcement of the best scientific presentation was the fitting conclusion to the three-day event. 

This year, Gabriel Ebner, research associate in the Heat Treatment department within the Materials Technology program area at Leibniz-IWT in Bremen, was delighted to receive the award. Mr. Ebner spoke directly on the first day of the congress on shaft distortion during oil quenching in an industrial quenching bath. Here he reported on his current research project, in which the exact correlations between local flow inhomogeneities and the distortion of gear shafts as well as the attainment of a deeper understanding of the associated processes are being worked out. The presentation was supplemented by the results of the laboratory tests, which specifically highlighted the role of rewetting in the development of distortion. 

The prestigious Paul Riebensahm Prize is endowed with 2,000 euros and will be presented at the Hardening Congress the following year. The Leibniz-IWT has already received an award for its employees in this competition in 2023 and 2022.