Tech digest

New NSF fluid power research center to be based at the U

Discovering ways to reduce fuel consumption, developing devices for people with mobility impairments, and designing state-of-the-art rescue robots are just three of the goals of a new multimillion-dollar research center that will be based at the University of Minnesota.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced a $15 million, five-year grant that will support the new Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. More than 50 industry partners will augment NSF funding with $3 million, and seven universities involved in the center will contribute an additional $3 million.

“Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the United States led the world in fluid-power research, but now Europe and Asia have passed us by,” said Kim Stelson, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota and director of the new research center. “We hope that this e growing field.”

Fluid-power technology is a $33 billion industry encompassing areas such as aerospace, agriculture, construction, health care, manufacturing, mining, and transportation.

 With help from the National Fluid Power Association, more than 50 companies have agreed to provide support for the research center. Seven of those companies have annual sales of more than $500 million.

“This kind of industry support for an NSF-sponsored research center is unprecedented,” said Steven Crouch, dean of the Institute of Technology. “It clearly shows that we have the support to ensure the center’s success.”

Researchers at the center will study ways to use fluid power more efficiently in industry and will work to develop hydraulic-hybrid passenger cars that are less expensive and more efficient than current electric hybrids. A 10 percent improvement in efficiency in national passenger-car energy could potentially save about $10 billion a year.

Researchers also will work to use hydraulic technology to develop new or more efficient medical and rehabilitation devices and robots that could be used in rescue missions.

In addition to research, the center will be involved in developing youth education programs, improving efforts to increase student diversity in engineering, and offering short courses and labs for industry workers.

Other core universities involved in the center are the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, and Vanderbilt University. Outreach universities include the Milwaukee School of Engineering and North Carolina A&T State University.

Outreach institutions include the National Fluid Power Association, Project Lead the Way, and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Twin Cities-area industry partners include Caterpillar, Toro, Eaton Corp., R.T. Dygert International, Sauer-Danfoss, and Tennant Co.