Each year, the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge tasks university students with creating new vehicle concepts based on bicycles which incorporate hydraulics and pneumatics technology. The goal is to provide students with an opportunity to learn about fluid power technologies while utilizing the engineering skills they've developed during their coursework.
Per the NFPA, the teams of students are typically required to include the following design elements:
- an accumulator for storing energy
- an electronic control system for the vehicle
- regenerative technology.
For the 2023 Vehicle Challenge, NFPA added a race focused on regenerative braking capabilities to the sprint, efficiency and endurance races which are held as part of the final competition. This is an important capability within the fluid power industry, especially as electrification becomes more prominent and brings with it a need for efficiency gains which regenerative technology can aid.
Students spend the school year developing their vehicles which are then raced against other teams as part of the Vehicle Challenge's final competition. Throughout the process, they receive technology support from members of the fluid power industry as well as mentorship. Industry volunteers are also invited to be judges for the final competition.
Two final competitions were held again this year for the Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge — one hosted by Norgren in Littleton, CO, and the other by Danfoss Power Solutions in Ames, IA — which allows for more teams to participate.
Texas A&M Takes Top Honors at Norgren Event
Norgren hosted the first final competition at its facility April 12-14. Eleven schools competed; in addition to the teams putting their vehicle designs through four races, they also gave presentations highlighting the construction of their vehicles, testing conducted and lessons learned throughout the process.
Each team met individually with industry judges who assessed the vehicle designs, as well.
The team from Texas A&M was named Grand Champion. Purdue University took second place and the University of Alabama at Birmingham third place.
Additional awards were also given out to recognize teams who used pneumatics and electronics in their designs. Recipient of the Best Use of Pneumatics award, sponsored by Norgren, was California Polytechnic State University. IFP Motions Solutions Inc. sponsors the Innovative Use of Electronics award which was given to Texas A&M.
Other awards given out during the final competition include various Judge's Choice awards as well as winners of the four races held during the event.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Wins Danfoss Event
Danfoss hosted nine competing teams April 26-28. Like the Norgren event, each team competed in four races as well as provided presentations on their designs.
Students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette were named Grand Champion at this year's Danfoss event. South Dakota State University took second place and Cleveland State University came in third.
Winners of the Best Use of Pneumatics award were Murray State University while Purdue University Northwest was awarded the prize for Best Use of Electronics.
The full list of winners for each of the prizes awarded at each event can be found on NFPA's website.
Industry Involvement Benefits All Parties
The NFPA Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge is made possible through involvement from the fluid power industry which takes many forms — volunteering of time, sponsorships and donations of supplies, among others. By helping with the challenge, hydraulics and pneumatics manufacturers have the chance to help educate future members of the fluid power industry as well as network with potential future employees.
READ MORE: Hunting Heads... at the NFPA’s Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge
In addition to hosting the final competitions, Danfoss and Norgren were among the companies who supplied products for use by the teams and sponsored the overall program.
Additional program sponsors include:
- HYDAC
- IFP Motion Solutions Inc.
- SunSource
Product suppliers include:
- Lubrizol
- Source Fluid Power
- VEST Inc.
Parker Hannifin Corp. is the founding sponsor of the program, and a long list of other fluid power companies provided their support for the 2023 Vehicle Challenge.
The NFPA is always appreciative of the support provided by the industry, and welcomes others from the hydraulics and pneumatics field to reach out if ever interested in taking part in future Fluid Power Vehicle Challenges.
