HighLight Heading
May 2008
Fluid Power Center’s work airs on cable television
Discovering Fluid Power, a documentary produced by the University’s Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television, aired April 6 and May 10 on cable television in Minneapolis.
The research center, led by Professor Kim Stelson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, received a five-year, $17.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation in 2006.
The goals of the center are to dramatically improve the efficiency of fluid power in current applications, migrate fluid power into the transportation sector by developing the hydraulic hybrid passenger vehicle, and develop the next generation of human-scale compact fluid power devices. In addition to research, the center has extensive education and outreach activities.
The center has seven university members, with Minnesota the lead. The other members are Illinois, Georgia Tech, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, North Carolina A&T, Purdue, and Vanderbilt. Non-university members are the National Fluid Power Association, Project Lead the Way, and the Science Museum of Minnesota. The center also has 60 industry members, which have together contributed more than $3 million to the endowment.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota include Tom Chase, Will Durfee, David Kittelson, Barney Klamecki, Perry Li, and Sue Mantell, all of Mechanical Engineering. Their activities center on the hydraulic hybrid passenger vehicle, which will have significantly higher fuel efficiency than existing passenger vehicles, Stelson says. Energy is saved by operating the engine under its most efficient conditions, turning the engine off when not needed, and capturing and reusing braking energy using hydraulics. The center is developing new technology that includes compact energy storage and high-speed digital on-off control.
For more information, visit www.ccefp.org.