Advancing fluid power education and innovation at Iowa State

Fluid power has long been a cornerstone of the agricultural and biosystems engineering department, equipping students with hydraulic and mechanical skills. When Professor Brian Steward joined the faculty in the 1999 to lead the engineering students in fluid power, the department was still housed in Davidson Hall. Since then, support for fluid power has grown alongside the department, expanding further after the move to Sukup and Elings Hall.

Steward partnered with engineering company Danfoss to build a fully customized lab outfitted with hydraulic trainers, giving students a controlled space to practice hands-on skills. Alongside graduate students and campus collaborators, Steward has published numerous papers and innovations in fluid power processes and systems. He now leads, with ABE collaborators Professor Stuart Birrell and engineer Ario Kordestani, the Off-Highway Vehicle Chassis Dynamometer Lab, a state-of-the-art facility at Iowa State’s BioCentury Research Farm.

The dynamometer enables controlled, dynamic testing of complete off-highway vehicles. It can test vehicles up to 450 kW (600 hp) per corner at speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph), with independent monitoring and loading of the traction system at each corner. It is one of the few public facilities capable of testing large off-highway vehicles, including agricultural and construction platforms.

“From my time teaching to leading the Dyno lab, it has been such a rewarding journey with collaboration at its core,” Steward says. “Our work with students, industry partners, and other Iowa State research groups has increased the speed and accuracy of troubleshooting challenges and removed barriers to developing new technology.”

One recent innovation, developed with industry partners, is a sensor system that detects and measures entrained air in hydraulics using SONAR technology.

“It is uncommon for a four-year university program to include fluid power within its core curriculum,” Steward says. “With the addition of the Sukup lab and the Dyno lab, we have what we need to be a leader in this space while preparing students with differentiable skills as they enter industry.”

Associate Teaching Professor Saxon Ryan (pictured above left) teaches the fluid power course for students majoring in Industrial Technology and Agricultural Systems Technology, giving them a foundation in hydraulics and fluid power systems. For those interested in going deeper, Ryan also advises the fluid power club, where students test their skills in the annual NFPA Fluid Power Vehicle competition and network with fluid power industry professionals. Ryan began in fluid power the same way current students do, as an undergraduate in the introductory fluid power course, giving him a unique perspective to evolve the program.

In recent years, the course has been updated to include simulated real-world problems with circuits, electrohydraulics, transmissions and enhanced learning tools that provide instant feedback to solidify learning. “We are creating an introductory experience, and students will leave with enough of a foundation in fluid power principles, actuators, transmissions and circuits to solve modern problems with fluid power,” Ryan says.

Ryan also teaches advanced automated manufacturing systems where he draws the connection with fluid power to modern manufacturing processes and tools. “I enjoy connecting the two fields whether it is with manufacturing tools or research projects to give students real world examples of how to solve problems with fluid power,” Ryan says.

A recent research project Ryan shared with students was the development of a flow cell for a portable fluorescence and chemiluminescence detector in high performance liquid chromatography.

“Projects, like the flow cell, serve as an example to students on how problems are solved and innovations are made by drawing on knowledge from fluid power, manufacturing, chemistry, and the other disciplines they study,” Ryan says.

For Stuart Satterwhite (pictured above right), a junior in industrial technology, faculty support, coursework and team competition opened the door to an independent project: designing and fabricating a custom pneumatic clutch system.

“Through lots of trial and error, meetings with Saxon, and learning how to use the tools and machinery available to me, I finally narrowed down the design of my clutch system,” Satterwhite says. “I’m happy with the result and have new skills and a working clutch for the fluid power club competition this April.”