Technology Strategy

The CCEFP maintains a wide-ranging research strategy, based on input from multiple sources including the fluid power industry’s needs as expressed in the NFPA Technology Roadmap. In seeking to address fluid power’s key technical barriers, this research strategy calls for the CCEFP to support and coordinate pre-competitive research in three thrust areas:

  • Efficiency ‒ addressing the technical barriers associated with increasing the energy efficiency of fluid power components and systems, as well as efficient control and energy management through fluid power.
  • Compactness ‒ addressing the technical barriers associated with compacting or integrating power supplies, energy storage devices, and other components.
  • Effectiveness ‒ addressing the technical barriers associated with making fluid power safer, easier-to-use, leak-free and quiet.

In order to encourage a systems-based approach to addressing these technical barriers, the CCEFP has historically supported a number of test beds, on which the results of its individual research projects can be validated in a systems environment, and where its student researchers can develop their skills using a systems-level approach to solving technical challenges.

The CCEFP research strategy funds a series of projects and identifies each with the following scheme:

  • Mobile:  MO
  • Human Scale: HS
  • Manufacturing: MA
  • Stationary: ST
  • Fluids & Tribology:  FT