News
NEWS ARCHIVE
CCEFP Plans for Future Self-Sustainability
January 19, 2010
Like all ERCs, a primary challenge facing the CCEFP is sustainability, or, the continuation of CCEFP research, educational and outreach efforts after NSF funding has ended. We are currently in Year 4 of CCEFP operation. Our core funding for next year and through Year 8 (May 2014) will continue at current levels. Funding will then be reduced to two thirds of this level in Year 9 and one third of this level in Year 10. In Year 11, beginning June 2016, we will no longer receive any NSF or university matching funds.
The sustainability challenge is to continue to operate while being weaned of NSF and university funds. The track record of previous ERCs proves that approximately two thirds of them have successfully made this transition. Previous transitions, however, have always been challenging, requiring difficult choices due to the changing funding picture. The key to success is to anticipate and take actions to counteract the transition early since the funding cutoff is so drastic.
The CCEFP is actively pursuing a plan for the transition to sustainability. We recently created a new part-time position, CCEFP External Funding Director, to develop research funding opportunities and have hired Brad Bohlmann to fill that role. Brad is an excellent choice given his solid track record of attracting external research funding while working in the fluid power industry.
We have also formed the CCEFP Sustainability Task Force to create a plan which will guide us through the transition. The task force will have it's first meeting in late January. Members are:
- Kim Stelson, University of Minnesota, Chair
- Andrew Alleyne, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Wayne Book, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Tom Bray, Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Mike Gust, University of Minnesota
- Ed Howe, Enfield Technologies
- Monika Ivantysynova, Purdue University
- Joe Kovach, Parker-Hannifin
- Eric Lanke, National Fluid Power Association
- Lonnie Love, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Bill Parks, Deltrol Fluid Products
With these actions it is our goal to establish a clear strategy and move forward confidently into the future of Fluid Power Research.
CCEFP Receives Renewal and Major Funding
January 8, 2010
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will award the Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) a four year, $16 million dollar grant, enabling the Center to continue its efforts in transforming fluid power—how it is researched and taught. Industry partners will augment NSF funding with cash and in-kind contributions, and the Center’s seven universities will contribute an additional $3.2 million.
This is welcome news to the more than 30 faculty, 300 undergraduate and graduate engineering students, 2500 K-12 students and the 57 industry sponsors who have been involved in the CCEFP since its founding in 2006 through an initial NSF grant. Their work on four test beds and over 25 research projects focuses primarily on increasing the efficiency of existing fluid power applications; expanding the use of fluid power in transportation; creating portable, un-tethered human-scale fluid power applications; and assuring that fluid power is clean, quiet, safe and easy to use. Results are already impressive with 14 inventions disclosed and over 100 technical papers published.
The Center’s education and outreach program is equally ambitious, with over 20 projects designed to:
- attract our nation’s pre-college students to science and engineering generally and to hydraulics and pneumatics in particular
- educate all mechanical engineering undergraduate students about fluid power, raise the general public’s awareness of the ubiquity of fluid power,
- increase the diversity of students and practitioners in fluid power research and industry,
- establish lasting forums where industry and academia can exchange ideas and strategize.
“The CCEFP has already made a major impact,” according to Dr. Kim Stelson, Center Director. “The Center has transformed hydraulic and pneumatic research in this country from isolated efforts by a few to a cohesive, strategically-directed collaborative team linking seven universities and many leaders in the fluid power industry. Recognition of these efforts continues to grow, as the Center’s work impresses academic and engineering audiences worldwide. Our efforts in education and outreach show significant results, too, as the CCEFP works with established, effective partners to maximize program impact.”
“The synergy of the CCEFP is particularly impressive,” says Dwight Stephenson, HUSCO International, Chairman of the Center’s Industry Advisory Board. The cooperation between the research teams and industry, facilitated through the Center’s network of researchers, educators and industry, is accelerating the rate of fluid power technology development. The CCEFP is a catalyst for this positive change and growth.”
The CCEFP is one of 15 NSF-funded Engineering Research Centers charged with conducting pioneering research in emerging technologies and in training the next generation of engineers to be leaders in innovation.
Center Welcomes External Funding Director
January 6, 2010
The CCEFP would like to welcome Mr. Brad Bohlmann in the newly created position of External Funding Director. Some of you may have met Brad at the 2009 ERC Annual Meeting back in December, shortly after he came on board. However, we'd like to take this opportunity to officially welcome him and tell you all a little more about his background.
Brad received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. He has over 25 years experience in a variety of engineering areas including engines, powertrains and fluid power.
As part of the Center's goal for reaching self-sustainability by 2015, Brad's primary role will be identify and secure sources of external funding that will allow the Center to continue after NSF funding ends.
It's terrific to have Brad working with us and we invite you to connect with him and welcome him aboard!
Brad can be contacted directly by email or by phone at (612) 626-1795.
Design News Examines CCEFP Testbeds
December 15, 2009
Design News takes a closer look at the CCEFP Test bed projects in their article entitled "Four Game-Changing Fluid Power Technology Initiatives". Featured in the article are the University of Minnesota's research on a Hydromechanical Transmission (HMT) for the Hydraulic Hybrid Passenger Vehicle testbed and Purdue University's work on variable displacement pumps for the Excavator testbed. Also discussed are the Center's research in the areas of chemofluidic actuation and the development of a novel Free Piston Engine.
Read the full article at the Design News website.
CCEFP Hosts NFPA Fluid Power Challenge
December 10, 2009
The CCEFP hosted the National Fluid Power Association's Fluid Power Challenge, a competition that gets middle school students excited about fluid power. A Workshop Day for the event was held at the University of Minnesota campus on November 5, followed by the Challenge Day on December 10, 2009.
During the Fluid Power Challenge, middle school students learn about fluid power technology (hydraulics and pneumatics) and gain hands-on experience while building a fluid power mechanism with real world applicability. The program is designed to introduce the students, and their teachers, to the world of engineering and fluid power careers.
On Challenge Day, 22 8th-grade teams (four students per team) designed and built fluid power mechanisms that pick an object from one platform, rotate and place it on another. In addition to the number of pick-and-place cycles a school’s machine completes, a review of each team’s design approach, teamwork and portfolio were used in the final evaluation.
A student from a past competition said “This opens up more opportunities for engineering and careers kids aren’t aware of. It’s fun...you get to work with other kids and learn more math and science.”
Through the Challenges, the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) and the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) hope to encourage students to select more mathematics and science courses in their high school curricula to keep their options open for technology-based post-secondary studies.
A video of a winning team’s fluid power mechanism in action is available at the Center's YouTube site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYCHpTo_VDs
To learn more about the NFPA Fluid Power Challenge, please contact Carrie Tatman Schwartz, NFPA Program Manager at (414) 778-3347 or ctschwartz@nfpa.com, National Fluid Power Association, 3333 N. Mayfair Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53222.
New Associated Projects Announced
December 7, 2009
Two new, large-scale CCEFP associated projects have recently been announced:
- The University of Minnesota has been awarded an $8 million wind power research center, funded by the Department of Energy (DOE). The major fluid power component of this project is the development of hydrostatic power transmission technology for wind power, a collaborative effort between the University of Minnesota and Eaton Corporation.
- Vanderbilt University has received a major contract for new research from the Martin Companies to investigate the use of miniaturized fluid power in medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) applications. This research will develop miniature MR-compatible fluid-power actuation that offers no distortion to the image. Fluid power is one of only a few forms of actuation that has the potential for 100% MR compatibility.
Current CCEFP research focuses on four test beds spanning five orders of magnitude of power and weight: an excavator, a hydraulic hybrid passenger vehicle, a rescue robot and an orthosis. The Center plans to expand into even larger and smaller applications—wind power in the 1 MW range and medical micro-robots in the micro-watt range. These two new initiatives give us the ability to expand CCEFP research into the larger and smaller regimes.
CCEFP Faculty Member Awarded NSF Major Research Instrumentation Grant
December 1, 2009
CCEFP faculty member Professor Zongxuan "Sunny" Sun (University of Minnesota) was recently awarded an $800,000 NSF MRI (Major Research Instrumentation) grant. The grant will enable CCEFP to construct a hydrostatic dynamometer. Because of the superior power to weight ratio of hydraulics, a hydrostatic dynamometer will have a much lower moment of inertia than a conventional electric dynamometer. This allows the hydrostatic dynamometer to have a higher speed-of-response allowing it to simulate realistic engine transients. Understanding how an engine behaves during these rapid transients will provide important unknown information on fuel economy and emissions. The hydrostatic dynamometer will be an essential research tool for optimizing the control approach for the Hydraulic Hybrid Passenger Vehicle (HHPV) test bed.
Paper Wins Honors in Malaysia
November 13, 2009
University of Minnesota Ph.D. candidate Lei Tian attended the 2009 Small Engine Technology Conference (SETC) in Penang, Malaysia where he received the High Quality Paper award for his paper entitled "Miniature HCCI Free-Piston Engine Compressor for Orthosis Application". Only 9 such awards were given out of 110 papers submitted at the conference.
Since the first event in 1989, the Small Engine Technology Conference (SETC) continues to be the international technology conference for small engines and related products. SETC is jointly sponsored each year by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. (JSAE) and SAE International. SETC 2009 was held on November 3-5, 2009.
Co-Authors on the paper are University of Minnesota Professors David Kittleson and William Durfee.
2009 Annual Meeting Report
November 5, 2009
The 2009 CCEFP Annual Meeting took place October 7-9 at the Alumni Foundation Center of North Carolina A&T State University. Over 130 members including 25 industry representatives were on hand to witness the presentations and participate in the poster shows and breakout sessions. This was the first year of a new format that included breakout sessions of smaller groups that enabled participants to more easily discuss the topic and ask questions.
Attendees took a tour of some of the engineering facilities on the campus, which included the labs used by CCEFP students and faculty. In the labs focusing on human machine interface, we were given a demonstration of some of the work being done on interaction with the excavator and rescue robot test beds. Students were able to demonstrate their analysis of the tasks involved in driving an excavator and showed a simulation of a virtual excavator being operated with a Phantom controller. Also on display were some of the impressive facilities used for material science and material testing, including lab space for the new Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures. Other highlights of the tour included research on driving simulations, air traffic control interfaces, augmented reality, military task allocation, and flow visualization.
Following Thursday’s dinner banquet, attendees were treated to a cultural performance of West African traditional dancing as performed by NCAT’s own E. Gwynn Dancers. The group consists of approximately 20 NCAT students studying traditional African dance under the direction of Dr. Eleanor Gwynn. While part of the group, students have the opportunity to travel to Africa to learn dance techniques first hand from traditional performers. Attendees at Thursday’s dinner witnessed three distinct dances and were even encouraged to join in on for the last dance. A fair number of CCEFP members were good sports and heeded the call of the dancers to take part.
Note: Members can login to access presentations and posters from this year's meeting under the Downloads menu.
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CCEFP Student wins Best Presentation Award
November 3, 2009
Georgia Institute of Technology graduate student Ken Marek's presentation “Numerical model for a hydraulic in-line silencer,” was selected as the best student presentation by the ASA Noise Technical Committee at the 158th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, in San Antonio, TX, which took place October 26-30, 2009. Co-authors on the paper include Nick Earnhart and Professor Ken Cunefare.
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| Ken Marek | Prof. Ken Cunefare | Nick Earnhart |
Title: Numerical Model for a Hydraulic In-line Silencer
Abstract: It is proposed that an in-line hydraulic silencer with a particular engineered lining can provide an effective alternative to other current silencing technologies. As a first step in validating this hypothesis, and to help with the design process, a numerical model is developed for a hydraulic silencer. The silencer consists of an annular dispersive medium with a rigid outer boundary, where fluid flow is directed through the annulus. Silencer characteristics, including input port impedance and acoustic transmission loss, are predicted by this model. Effects of silencer geometry and material properties, including nonlinearities, are discussed.
CCEFP Announces New Administrative Director
October 30, 2009
The CCEFP would like to welcome Lisa Wissbaum as it's new Administrative Director. Lisa is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with an MPA (Master of Public Affairs) from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute and a concentration in economic and community development.
Lisa has prior NSF experience in that she managed an NSF nanotechnology grant at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology from 2005-2008. From 2008 – fall, 2009, she coordinated industry/academic workshops, the annual meeting, and handled administrative details for UMN’s Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and Materials Engineering (IPrime).
Lisa also has extensive experience in industry account, project, personnel, and University budget management. Prior to 2005, she worked in travel management with Navigant International (recently acquired by Carlson Companies) where she focused on the overall travel needs of corporate clients, including the implementation of new technology, procurement, and travel policy management.
Lisa's combination of University and industry experience provides skills and understanding to improve the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power’s administrative efficiency and effectiveness.
Lisa can be contacted directly by email or by phone at 612-624-4993.
Welcome aboard Lisa!
Web Developer Highlights CCEFP Website Re-Design
September 29, 2009
Minneapolis web development firm August Ash, Inc, featured the CCEFP website creation project in their September newsletter. The article details the process undertaken to create a new look and better functioning website for the Center. Read about this project.
Purdue Student Receives Mentoring Award
September 15, 2009
Congratulations to Jose Garcia, who received the Purdue “2009 Graduate Mentor of the Summer” award, for his outstanding mentoring and support of the 2009 REU participants working in the ABE fluid power lab. He was nominated by Nikki Shrank and Phong Pham, two of the Purdue CCEFP REU students.
More coverage of CCEFP's Hydro-Mechanical Transmission in Diesel Progress Magazine
September 24, 2009
The October '09 issue of Diesel Progress features an article by Amanda Bothe on CCEFP's HMT research taking place at the University of Minnesota under Professor Perry Li. Professor Li is interviewed extensively for the article which can be downloaded in PDF format here.
Today's Fluid Power Magazine Features CCEFP Hydraulic Hybrid Passenger Vehicle
September 23, 2009
The CCEFP HHPV project is currently featured in the latest issue of Today's Fluid Power. Read the article online at the Today's Fluid Power website. Coverage begins on page 19.
CCEFP Hydraulic Hybrid Passenger Vehicle research featured in Hydraulics & Pneumatics Magazine
August 3, 2009
Professor Perry Li, Co-Director of the center and head researcher on test bed 3 (Hydraulic Hybrid Car) was interviewed for an article on hydraulic drivetrains by Hydraulics and Pneumatics magazine. Also featured in the article was work done in this area by CCEFP member companies Bosch Rexroth, Parker Hannifin, and Eaton Corporation.
Read the full article at the Hydraulics & Pneumatics website.
CCEFP Launches New Website!
March 12, 2009
Welcome to the new look of the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power!
Our new website is designed to make navigation much easier and intuitive for a wide variety of users. It is designed with both Center members and the general public in mind. A revised layout makes finding information about our research and initiatives even easier. We’ve also adopted a much cleaner design and added animation to the home page and testbed pages for some extra punch.
In addition to the new look and feel of the site, we are also proud to introduce some new features including a search box in the navigation bar, the Highlights media center with videos and a photo album, an active Calendar and Events section, access to Sakai, our online collaboration tool, as well as a whole new member’s section with several features of its own.
After creating a new account, current members will now enjoy access to a Discussion Forum, a Downloads section where regularly used files and templates will be available, and an archive of the very popular and informative Webcast series. There is also a Boarding Pass section to get brand new members up to speed when they first join the Center.
As with any new site, some of the features are still being refined and we plan to continuously add new content and revise older content over the next several weeks. Please bear with us as we continue to improve the site, but feel free to comment on what’s already here and let us know what you think!
Start your tour of the new site right here.
If you have comments or questions about the new site, please contact Don Haney, CCEFP Communications Director, at 612-624-4957 or hane0001@umn.edu.
2008 CCEFP Student Retreat is another great success!
Over 20 students welcomed five representatives from industry to participate in this year's retreat which was held August 7 - 9 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The theme of the retreat was Industry-Student Engagement.
The CCEFP SLC had many activities planned during the event such as a SLC overview of what has been accomplished and goals for the future. A "speed-meeting" session between industry and students which allowed for more one-to-one discussion, followed by a perfect evening for an outdoor barbecue along with fun and games! Industry's participation concluded with an open mic discussion on how students and industry can be more engaged, such as stronger collaboration with research project champions to student internships to full-time employment opportunities. Industry gave an informal presentation on hot topics within the field and welcomed student feedback and inquires. Other items on the agenda were beautiful campus tours, a formal SLC meeting and a FIRST Pneumatics Outreach activity.
A warm thank you to our industry representatives who attended the meeting, a hearty congratulations to the SLC for another fine retreat, and to UIUC for kindly hosting this event!
CCEFP 2008 Annual Meeting held at MSOE
The Center held its 2nd Annual Meeting at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, May 28 - 30, 2008. The agenda included a warm greeting from Hermann Viets, President of MSOE and Tom Bray, Dean of Applied Research. Professor Kim Stelson, Director of the CCEFP welcomed over 165 industry members, faculty, staff and students.
Throughout the two and one-half day meeting all research and education projects were presented. Project presentations were informative and clearly articulated progress to this point and anticipated future work. The audience was also given an opportunity to exchange dialogue with the presenters during the question and answer sessions.
Positive critique and inquisitive questions sparked further conversation into the Student Poster Session and Reception, where all students were invited to present their research within the CCEFP. The poster session allowed for more in-depth discussions with individuals on both sides of the show.
A highlight of this year1s meeting was the Industry and Student Dinner Dine-Around. Seven industry members sponsored a dinner for students and industry to mingle together in a light-hearted atmosphere. We would like to thank the following industry members for sponsoring that event: Evonik Rohmax USA, Inc., Eaton Corporation, Gates, HUSCO, Parker Hannifin, RT Dygert and Sauer-Danfoss.
2008 Annual Meeting 52008 Annual Meeting 6Another new program agenda item was a servo-valve coloring book exercise presented by Roz Dolid of MTS. Meeting participants woke early to enjoy bacon and eggs along with a lesson on the fluid flow in a servo-valve. Following the coloring book activity, the meeting resumed with additional research and test bed presentations. Mr. Mike Gust of the CCEFP presented valuable information on intellectual property and the roles of the Center in relationship to its industry members. Prof. Will Durfee presented the Center1s education and outreach initiatives. The Milwaukee School of Engineering kindly hosted a reception at the new Grohmann Museum where attendees were able to view the rooftop sculpture garden that rose high above the building that housed many forms of industrial artwork.
The concluding day of the meeting allowed for advisory boards to meet together in person to share thoughts and have discussions on the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. A highly anticipated panel discussion lead by industry representatives on their personal careers paths and guidance for our future fluid power academics and industrial leaders prompted much discussion between the panel and students in the audience. This year's meeting was very fruitful and sparked more enthusiasm among the CCEFP leadership, students and the Center1s industry members. The Center invited the members of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) who serves as an external committee to review and evaluate the Center in its current state. The Center continues to welcome feedback on its strategic direction through the SAB and its industrial partners.
FIRST Robotics Competition Team
The CCEFP sponsored a team of 20 high school students from the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation community in the midwest regional FIRST Robotics competition held at Williams Arena March 27-29.
FIRST stands for "For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology", and the competition was the first of its kind ever held on the University campus.
The competition started with a 15-second programmed run around the track which each robot made unassisted. Next, the robots earned points by hoisting balls over a ladder in the middle of the track and then crossing a finish line.
After the initial round of robotic competition, alliances were formed between two or three robot groups to create teams. Groups forming the team alliances exchanged and combined strategies to develop the most efficient means of competing with other teams. The team with the most points after the match ended went on to further competition with the top rated alliance traveling to Atlanta next month for the national championships.
The CCEFP sponsored and mentored the anishinaabeg ogichidaag FIRST Robotics Team formed by students from a group of schools near Cloquet, MN. As first-time competitors, they were excited to be part of the event, and they came away from the experience with a greater understanding of how to succeed in future competition.
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