CCEFP 2009 REU Program

Summer Research Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

Welcome to the Center For Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program. Examples of REU Research Projects:

Vanderbilt University

• Title: Design and Fabrication Support for the Free Piston Engine Compressor
• Description: The Free Piston Engine Compressor (FPC) is a candidate energy source for the Compact Rescue Crawler Testbed, as well as a possible candidate for the Hand Tools testbed within the ERC. The FPC is a non-kinematic engine that utilizes "liquid" pistons trapped between high-temperature elastomeric diaphragms and operates as a combustion-forced resonator to pump air into a high-pressure reservoir. The REU will provide design support and assist with component design and fabrication for the second prototype of the FPC. Specific tasks will include CAD design work (using Pro-Engineer), FEA, and basic machining work.
• Advisor: Prof. Eric J. Barth, Vanderbilt

University of Minnesota

• Title: Fluid Power Ankle Orthosis Emulator
• Description: Work with a team to develop an ankle orthosis simulator to be used in gait impairment research and in clinical orthosis prescription. The emulator will have the capability, under computer control, to emulate any type of active and passive ankle orthosis, including future pneumatic and hydraulic powered orthoses. Project involves dynamic simulations, mechanical design, electronics and real-time computer control.

• Advisor: Prof. William K. Durfee, University of Minnesota
• Title: Noise and vibration cancellation in hydraulic systems
• Description: Noise and vibrations generated by oscillating components (such as pumps) are carried by fluid and structure to other part of the system. In this project, we will examine the feasibility of smart hose concept that prevents noise from propagating. The smart hose will consist of piezo-actuators and sensors for noise and vibration compensation.
• Advisor: Prof. Perry Y. Li, University of Minnesota

• Title: Hydrualic Mobile Systems
• Description: This project investigates the use of hydraulics in mobile applications, especially in hydraulic hybrid passenger vehicles. Since power can flow in a mechanical and hydraulic branch, optimization and control are two important areas in this research. The student would get hands-on experience learning and working with controlling hydraulic systems, while also getting software experience in modeling and optimizing the system. The plan is for this technology to be used in commercial passenger vehicles in the future.
• Advisor: Prof. Kim A. Stelson, University of Minnesota

• Title: Design, Modeling, and Control of an Hydrostatic Dynamometer for Hybrid Vehicle Research
• Description: Traditionally automotive powertrain research and development have been conducted with electromagnetic dynamometers. The ever increasing demand for reducing fuel consumption and emissions has driven the innovation of new technologies in engines, transmissions, and hybrid systems, which in turn requires significant flexibilities and transient capabilities of the dynamometer. Given its superior power density, hydrostatic dynamometer is an ideal candidate for the next generation dynamometers. This project consists of two research subjects. One is to design and control a hydrostatic dynamometer as a precise torque device that could supply or subtract torque in real-time under both steady state and transient operations. The other is to develop a hybrid powertrain research platform where the hydrostatic dynamometer is used to mimic the drive train, vehicle load, and the alternative power source in coordination with the engine control system. This platform will enable us to evaluate different hybrid architectures and control methodologies in terms of fuel economy and emissions without actually building the system.
• Advisor: Prof. Zongxuan Sun, University of Minnesota

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Advisor: Paul Michael, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Advisor: Vito Gervasi & Doug Cook, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Purdue University

• Title: Educational Project B3: Design and Testing of an Electrical Control Package for a Micro-Excavator using Water Hydraulics
• Description: This project involves researching low cost electronic control options and designing an optional add-on kit for the existing micro-excavator education project. The goal is to design a system that is economical and easy to use by high school students or first year college students. The student will get hands-on experience with sensors, micro-controllers, electrohydraulic actuators, and programming.
• Advisor: Prof. John Lumkes, Purdue University

• Title: Design and Simulation of a Noise Reduction Device for Use in Digital Hydraulic Systems
• Description: This project involves researching, designing, and simulating (Matlab/Simulink) several concepts to reduce noise occurring from the use of high speed on/off valves to control hydraulic systems. The student will get experience with literature and patent reviews, simulation skills using Matlab/Simulink, and depending on progress, hands-on experience testing the concept in the laboratory.
• Advisor: Prof. John Lumkes, Purdue University
• Advisor: Prof. Monika Ivantysynova, Purdue University

GeorgiaTech

• Title: Compact Rescue Crawler
• Description: The CRC rescue robot will be tested for its ability to position tools necessary for the rescue task under remote control. Modification of the robot, the tools and/or the software will be recommended and hopefully put into effect. The student most suitable for this project should be interested in robotics, system dynamics and human interfaces to computer controlled equipment, especially equipment actuated by fluid power. Comfort with using computers is important. Programming skills might be helpful, but the thrust of the effort could be adjusted to minimize this need. Similarly, an engineering background that will enable determination of an appropriate tool mockup will be helpful. Fluid power experience is not necessary, but the willingness to learn about it is important.
• Advisor: Prof. Wayne Book, GeorgiaTech

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

• Title: Fluid Power Assistive Orthosis
• Description:Assist with the development of a fluid power assistive orthosis for the lower leg (i.e., actuated ankle brace for patients with neuromuscular weakness). REU student will assist with the design, fabrication and testing of the brace, called an Ankle-Foot-Orthosis (AFO). Ideal student has interest in fluid power systems, biomechanics, design and/or controls. Assignment may involve machine shop work, CAD modeling, MATLAB programming, and/or human subject testing with motion capture technology.
• Advisor: Prof. Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

• Title: Nano-texture of suction lines to reduce pressure drop
• Description: This project will investigate spray-on coatings of nano- micro-texture composite surfaces on the interior of fluid lines in order to reduce the pressure drop. This can improve overall efficiency and help avoid cavitation conditions by raising the overall pressure. The student will experimentally investigate various coatings with hydraulic fluids to study this effect.
• Advisor: Prof. Eric Loth, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

• Title: Gear pump volumetric efficiency with carbon nano-tube additives
• Description: This project will investigate addition of micro- and nano- solution additives to improving overall fluid pump volumetric volume flow rate which can lead to savings in overall efficiency and reduce system weight. The student will experimentally investigate additives with a gear pump and determine optimum concentrations and combinations while satisfying filterability issues.
• Advisor: Prof. Eric Loth, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

• Title: Evaluation of integrated algorithms for optimal energy use
• Description: The student will analytically evaluate various algorithms in fluid power system scenarios and may also conduct experiments in the Illinois Fluid Power Laboratory. The objective is to optimize time-averaged energy use over a wide variety of power requirements.
• Advisor: Prof. Andrew Alleyne, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

North Carolina A&T State University

• Title: Rescue Robot Interface
• Description: REU student will have a chance to apply novel techniques such as persona, information forage into interface design for the compact rescue crawler. Traditional rescue robot interface is often hard to use, confusing and suffer from both information overload and poor situational awareness. REU student will have a chance to learn user centered design principles and apply them to the interface design using GUI prototyping software. Ideal student should have industrial engineering background with programming skills.
• Advisor: Prof. Steven Jiang, North Carolina A&T State University

• Title: Evaluation of Human-System Interaction Strategies
• Description: A successful human-system interface is essential for usability of any technology. Success here means creating user experiences that are intuitive and highly functional and fully utilize the product’s technical capabilities. Synthetic environments provide a platform for experimentation on rich information in a wide variety of human-system interaction strategies can be explored. Virtual environments can provide a rich environment for experimentation to determine optimal combinations of interaction modalities. Students working on this project will conduct evaluations of an existing product to determine how they meet the needs of their users and how well they comply with standard usability conventions. Using this information, a high-level product strategy including the creation of role-based navigation, workflow based on user task analysis, major content groupings, and high level layouts will be created that are implementable in a virtual/augmented environment for further experimentation to determine effectiveness of such applications in emerging fluid power systems. The ideal candidate should have industrial engineering background with programming skills and interest in cognitive engineering.
• Advisor: Prof. Silvanus Udoka, North Carolina A&T State University