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Posted On: 06/26/2006

NSF to support fluid power research

PlantServices.com

A $15 million, five-year grant to support the new Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power was recently announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Industry partners will augment NSF funding with $3 million, and seven universities involved in the center will contribute an additional $3 million. The center will be based at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

“This center will advance fundamental knowledge, providing a platform for technology that will spawn new industries. We are impressed with the ambitious goals of the center for research and education and the strong partnership with industry,” says Lynn Preston, leader of the Engineering Research Centers Program at NSF.

Fluid-power technology encompasses most applications that use liquids or gases to transmit power as pressurized fluid. The complexity of these systems ranges from a simple automobile jack to sophisticated airplane flight control actuators that rely on high-pressure hydraulic systems. Fluid power is a $33 billion industry worldwide.

With help from the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA), more than 50 companies have agreed to provide support for the research center, a level unprecedented in ERC grant history.

“Companies of every size throughout the fluid power industry’s supply chain rallied around the concept of establishing the center from its inception, consulting with the research team members as they developed the proposal while pledging financial and in-kind support through an association-led drive. That broad base of industry support proved to be a key factor in NSF’s decision to award this grant,” says Linda Western, NFPA’s executive director.

Bosch Rexroth is among the first industry partners to announce its support. “We are excited to work with the National Fluid Power Association and their partners to develop such a major research initiative,” says Wolfgang Dangel, president and CEO of Bosch Rexroth in North America. “As one of the global leaders in hydraulics and pneumatics technology, we are committed to the next generation of fluid power engineers and the products they will develop.”

Research conducted through the Center will be multi-dimensional. Engineering faculty and their students will study ways to use fluid power more efficiently in manufacturing, agriculture, construction and mining. Each 10% improvement in efficiency of current uses of fluid power in these industries will save about $7 billion a year in U.S. energy costs. Researchers also will work to develop hydraulic-hybrid passenger cars that are less expensive and more efficient than current electric hybrids. A 10% improvement in efficiency in national passenger-car energy use will save about $10 billion a year.

“The center’s research agenda is impressive, but so are the plans for education. Taken together, these innovative new programs should be very effective in interesting young people in engineering and technical careers,” says Martin Berardi, vice president and general manager of Moog, and chairman of NFPA’s board. “This would be an achievement in itself, but we also hope that many of them will choose careers in the fluid power industry because of the ERC.”

For more information see www.nfpa.com/Education/PDF/ERC%20Press%20Release.pdf