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Efficient, Integrated, Freeform Flexible

Hydraulic Actuators

Jonathon E. Slightam, RA
Dr. Mark L. Nagurka (Advisor)
photo

Industry/University Engagement Summit

June 6 – 8, 2016
Marquette’s Research Team
• Dr. Mark L. Nagurka.
– Graduated from MIT, taught at CMU
and now MU for 20 years.
– Worked with Hank Paynter.
• Jonathon E. Slightam
– PhD. Student and research assistant at MU.
– Worked on CCEFP projects for B.S. and
M.Sc. at MSOE.
– Currently working on hydraulic controls for
aerial buckets in electric power industry.
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 Project Overview / Efficient, Integrated,
Freeform Flexible Hydraulic Actuators
Research Goals:
• Advance the state-of-the-art in hydraulic
actuator technology.
• Flexible Fluidic Actuators (FFAs)
• Additive Manufacturing
• Efficient control.
Major Objectives/Deliverables
Expected major objectives and deliverables:
• Benchtop Freeform FFA prototype.
• Crimping Tool Prototype.
• Optimal energy trajectory planner.
• 6 degree-of-freedom robotic arm testbed.

Role in the CCEFP’s overall research strategy:

• Increases specific power.
• Reduce energy consumption through:
• Reduced weight by additive
manufacturing. Next Steps
• Optimal trajectory plans and robust
model-based control.
Original contribution: Plan for this upcoming year:
• New hydraulic actuation technology. • Tasks and milestones.
• Broad applications. Areas for Industry help / contributions:
Prior work and research: • Collaboration.
• Project 2G. • Testing components.
• What’s been done with hydraulic FFAs? • Pumps, valves, instrumentation, etc.
• Why this work will be better & successful.

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Research Goals
• The goal of this research is to advance the
state-of-the-art in hydraulic actuator
technology using flexible fluidic actuators
and additive manufacturing.
– Increase actuation specific power.
– Decrease system weight using AM.
– Improve efficiency through optimal control.

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Research Motivation
• Decrease the overall energy consumption in the
fluid power industry.
– 2-2.9 quads consumed by fluid power in U.S [1].
• 1 Quad = 1 Quadrillion BTUs.
– Total energy consumption in U.S. is 100 Quads per
year [1].
– 310-380 MMT CO2 produced by fluid power in U.S [1].
– Fluid power is 2-3% of U.S. energy demands [1].
– System efficiencies ranging from 9% to 60% [1].
• Reducing energy consumption in fluid power is
critical to the CCEFPs strategic plan [2], [3].
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Research Objectives
• Increase power density of hydraulic
actuators to 25kW/kg or greater.
• Utilize AM technologies to reduce energy
consumption in hydraulic machinery by
30%.
• Reduce energy consumption up to 5%
using optimal control techniques.

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Research Objectives

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Flexible Fluidic Actuators
Definition: Flexible fluidic actuators are
devices that transmit mechanical power
through large deformations of elastic or
hyperelastic membranes by an energized
fluid.

Oblate (expand/push) Helical (Twist)

Prolate (contract/pull)

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Flexible Fluidic Actuators

Oblate (expand/push)

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Flexible Fluidic Actuators

Oblate (expand/push)

10
Flexible Fluidic Actuators

Helical (Twist/Rotate)

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Flexible Fluidic Actuators

Prolate (contract/pull)

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Flexible Fluidic Actuators
Flexible Fluidic Actuator Performance
(Prolate Pneumatic):
• Specific power as 1.5 – 10 kW/kg.
• Efficiency ranging from 32 to 49%.
– Efficiencies can be improved with unfolding
geometries.
• Power Transmission is unidirectional.
– Behavior of a nonlinear spring.

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Flexible Fluidic Actuators
Flexible Fluidic Actuator Performance
(Prolate Hydraulic):
• Use of hydraulic for energization is
relatively new.
• Specific power as high as 5.6 kW/kg.
• Efficiencies near 80%.
• Performance limitations unknown.
– Devices reported operate at low pressure
(<4MPa or <580psi).
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FFAs + Additive Manufacturing

Freeform fabrication allows for integrated

components, fluidic conduits, actuators, and
optimal layouts and topologies.

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FFAs + Additive Manufacturing
What are the benefits?
• Can reduce weight as high as 80% [43].
– Commercial optimization software:
– Altair Hyperworks, Peretoworks, Abequs, Comsol.
– Case studies:
– Airbus, MSOE, ORNL, Boston Dynamics, others.
• Can reduce energy consumption by as high as 42% [46].
• Can increase compactness as high as 90% [42]
• More efficient fluid flow paths in manifolds and conduits.
• Consistent trend will emerge with more case studies.

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Design for AM

Structural Topology Optimization

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Design for AM

Fluid Flow Topology Optimization (Manifold Flow Optimization)

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Additive Manufacturing
Large array of different AM technologies:
• Fused deposition modeling.
• Composites (strength-to-weight ratio similar to Aluminum
alloys).
• Big area additive manufacturing (BAAM).
• Power bed fusion.
• Stereolithography.
• Hybrid processes (additive + subtractive).
• Project will likely use multiple technologies (composite,
polymer, hybrid–metal).
• Proposed collaboration with ORNL, Milwaukee Tool,
possibly others.
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Shortcomings with AM + FFAs
• Limited knowledge on hydraulic FFAs.
– Large potential to increase the specific power.
– Little work done with hydraulic fluids.
• Hypothesize that 25kW/kg is obtainable.
– Specific power is dictated by the weight of the
actuator, the rate of fluid energy into the
actuator, and the weight of the fluid.
• Limited design for additive manufacturing
knowledge in fluid power industry.
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Improving Efficiency by Control
Optimal control: Control methods optimize
the control signal based on a cost function.
• Optimal energy control systems determine
the optimal system trajectory to minimize
the energy consumption based on kinetic
and potential energy.

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Optimal Control
Successes with energy optimal control
methods:
• Optimized trajectory planning can improve
energy efficiency in motion control applications
by 2-10%.
• Power regeneration by control can regenerate
as high as 55% of the initial power expended.
• Energy savings of 12% were reported using
optimal control methods for an industrial
manipulator.

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Major Project Outcomes
• Design and fabricate a hydraulic actuator
with a specific power of 25 kW/kg.
• System weights reduced by 30% using
optimization design tools and AM of
efficient, integrated, light-weight, compact,
freeform structures.
• Design energy optimal trajectory planners
and robust controllers that improve energy
efficiency by at least 5%.
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Milestones
• Flexible hydraulic actuating system
benchtop prototype.
• Hydraulic crimping tool prototype.
• Optimal energy controller/trajectory
planner.
• 6 degree-of-freedom robotic arm.

Many opportunities for integration into

center testbeds.
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Significant Impact
• Reductions in system weight by 30%
result in a similar reduction in energy
consumption. If adopted by entire industry,
energy consumption could be cut by 0.85
quads.
• Model-based energy optimal trajectory
planners could reduce energy
consumption by as much as 0.3 Quads
and $5.6 billion/year.

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Questions and Comments
Jonathon E. Slightam
jonathon.slightam@marquette.edu
Dr. Mark L. Nagurka
mark.nagurka@Marquette.edu

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Citations

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