$21 million grant to support a new Engineering Research Centre

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a $15 million, five-year grant to support the Engineering Research Centre for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. Industry partners will boost NSF funding with $3 million, and seven universities involved in the centre will contribute an additional $3 million.

The centre will be based at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

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

Fluid-power technology covers most applications that use liquids or gases to transmit power in the form of pressurised 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 NFPA, more than 50 companies have agreed to provide support for the research centre, 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 centre 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," according to Linda Western, NFPA's Executive Director.

Research conducted through the centre 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 will also 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.

Another goal of the research centre is to develop portable, wearable and autonomous fluid-power devices capable of operating for long periods of time without external energy sources. This technology could lead to new medical and rehabilitation devices and robots that could be used in rescue missions.

In addition to research, the centre will be involved in developing youth education programs, improving efforts to increase student diversity in engineering, designing internship and exchange programs for undergraduate and graduate students, and offering short courses and labs for industry workers.

"The centre'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," said Martin Berardi, Vice President and General Manager of Moog, and Chairman of NFPA's Board.

For more information about NFPA and the Engineering Research Centre for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power, please visit NFPA