Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge (2024-2025) - Zotdraulics

Background:

The National Fluid Power Association is a trade association with the goal of furthering fluid power technology and the accompanying industry. As part of their mission, the NFPA hosts an annual competition called the "Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge." The purpose of this competition is to design and construct a vehicle that runs on hydraulic and pneumatic power via human input. To facilitate this, teams of engineering students are partnered with industry professionals with years of experience in the field of hydraulics, machining, and engineering practices to learn about fluid power. The teams are encouraged to be as creative as they can be whilst also following a comprehensive list of safety standards put forth by the NFPA. This year marks UCI's first-ever entry into the competition under the name Zotdraulics.

Goal and Objectives:

Goal: This project aims to design and manufacture a human-input vehicle powered by hydraulics, while also following the competition guidelines outlined by the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA). Of the four events of the competition, we intend on optimizing our design to perform well in the sprint and endurance events specifically.

Objectives:

Custom parts of the vehicle should be easy to manufacture.
Vehicle should be able to travel at least 2000 feet in 15 minutes.
Vehicle should provide comfort and ease of use.
Vehicle should be able to traverse up and down hills.
Vehicle should be able to switch between the direct drive, the regenerative braking, and the charging circuits.
Gauge displays should be easily visible to judges.

Competition Events:

Sprint Race: The vehicle must traverse a 400-600 ft course as fast as possible from a standing start using Stored Hydraulic Energy and/or Rider Power.
Efficiency Race: The vehicle needs to demonstrate the ability to effectively store and most efficiently use the smallest amount of stored energy to propel the unassisted vehicle the greatest distance proportional to the vehicle’s weight.
Endurance Race: The vehicle has 15 minutes to travel the furthest distance possible. The vehicle must travel a minimum of 2000 feet, demonstrating the reliability, safety, and durability of the fluid power system.
Regenerative Braking Demonstration: The vehicle must demonstrate the potential of stored energy and the regenerative braking capabilities of the fluid power system design. A demonstrated regenerative braking circuit is defined as the vehicle slowing down due to pressure being forced into the accumulator using the inertia of the bike as the power source to produce that pressure (or energy). This can come from either a motor being used as a pump or a separate pump.

Our Design

Click the following link for a visual schematic of our hydraulic circuit:

UCI Zotdraulics Hydraulic Circuit Schematic

This schematic represents the way hydraulic fluid travels through our circuit. By pedaling the trike, the pump pushes fluid, the path of which is controlled by cartridge, check, and relief valves. These valves ensure that fluid is routed to specific hydraulic components such as the motor and accumulator, which enables our vehicle to move. Our three cartridge valves in particular are wired to solenoid switches, which the rider will manipulate to achieve different transmission states. This is reflected visually using color in the above schematic. By default, fluid is routed through the motor and back to the reservoir, which is our primary state that allows our trike to drive. By switching the solenoids, we can achieve a regenerative braking state where fluid is routed into the accumulator instead of the reservoir. Switching a different combination of the three solenoid switches will vent pressure from the accumulator back through the motor for an extra boost in speed. This is basis for the controls of our trike.

Timeline:

Phase 1
October: Research past competition winners and brainstorm concepts
October: Register and complete FPVC checklist

Phase 2
November 15: Select concepts for the design of the vehicle
November 22: Complete CAD designs, regenerative braking concept, wiring diagram for electronics
November 29 - December 1: Order parts

Phase 3
December 12: Assemble and test proof of concept for the hydraulic circuit and electronics
Jan 6: FPVC Midway Review
Feb 14: Fully assembled vehicle
Feb 28: Begin performance testing for vehicle's ability to compete in all four events

Phase 4
March 21: Submit video proof of operational vehicle to competition's Program Manager and Technical Liaison
April 2: Submit Final Presentation of the design project and vehicle operation

Phase 5
April 9: Compete in Rockford, Illionois

Project Documentation / Group Photo:

Attached below is our Preliminary Design Review presentation. This file gives a more detailed overview of the project definition, what we are expected to create, and our initial designs for our fluid powered vehicle. Feel free to explore this presentation, and contact any of our team members if you have any questions!

Also included in the attached file is our group photo of all the team members working on the project.

From Left to Right: Adrian Jimenez, Ian Lin, Ben Trejo, Vincent Gutierrez, Karen Gines, Claire Elaine Kwok, Steven Tsui

More Information:

Home - NFPA Foundation

Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge - NFPA Foundation

Team Contacts:

Ian Lin: izlin@uci.edu

Vincent Gutierrez: vincenmg@uci.edu

Steven Tsui: tsuis3@uci.edu

Karen Yvonne Gines: kgines@uci.edu

Claire Elaine Kwok: cekwok@uci.edu

Ben Trejo: btrejo2@uci.edu