The Lab of the Fluid Power Research Group of the University of Naples “Federico II” is located in Via Claudio, 21 (Building 2, ground floor) – 80125, Naples, Italy.

The Lab has been built up thanks to founded of Industrial Partners and of the Italian Government. The Full Professor Adolfo Senatore led the team composed by the Dr. Dario Buono, Dr. Emma Frosina, Dr. Francesco Paolo Bove, Dr. Fulvio Domenico Schiano di Cola and undergraduate and master students. Theoretical research activities developed by the team of the FPRG are validated with experimentation done in the Lab.

The Laboratory is equipped with tools and instruments listed by follows:

  • Four personal computers;
  • Thermostatic oil tank of 13-lt capacity;
  • Hydraulic Power Unit of 18-kW power;
  • Mass flow meter with measurement range of 0 to 6500 kg/h;
  • Test bench on which allocate hydraulics pumps and motors;
  • Several pressure transducers working on different measuring ranges;
  • Data acquisition board NI PCI 16-E1-MIO.
  • Three bench are installed in the lab, two are dedicate to the experimentation on pumps and one for valves.

 

  

 

Benches have the capability to test all the small size pumps. Tests have been made for several industrial partners like Ferrari, Bosch VHIT, Lombardini Kohler Group, FCA, Magna, Aprilia Reaching and others. The hydraulic scheme and the real configuration of one of these benches is shown in the following figure. Pumps can run in real operating conditions, monitoring the operating parameters and acquiring the output signals. In this way pumps can be characterized obtaining the flow rate, the volumetric efficiency and the absorbed power.

The pump is motored by an axial piston hydraulic motor powered by a hydraulic power unit. Set in rotation, the pump draws oil from a thermostatic oil bath and, after working it, sends oil in a circuit in which are present a throttle valve and a flow meter. To acquire the pressure levels, four pressure sensors have been installed: two of them arranged immediately upstream and downstream of the pump, while the other two have been arranged to acquire the pressure signal directly from the pump displacement chambers at the suction and delivery zones. Finally, the test bench has been linked to an acquisition system through which it has been ensured the monitoring and the acquisition of the main operating parameters. Varying rotational speed, oil temperature, suction and delivery pressure, the parameters of interest, such as torque, mean suction and delivery pressure, instantaneous suction and delivery pressure and delivery oil flow rate, have been measured and acquired.

Follows a summary of the main hydraulic circuit components shown in the previous figure:

  • T = Torque Meter;
  • P1 = Mean Delivery Pressure Transducer;
  • P2 = Mean Suction Pressure Transducer;
  • P3 = Instantaneous Delivery Chamber Pressure Transducer;
  • P4 = Instantaneous Suction Chamber Pressure Transducer;
  • Q = Flow Meter;
  • R1 = Suction Throttle Valve;
  • R2 = Suction Calibrated Orifice;
  • R3 = Delivery Calibrated Orifice;
  • R4 = Delivery Throttle Valve.

    

A National Instruments hardware/software system is implemented in the test bench. The hardware system is based on a data acquisition board NI PCI16-E1-MIO (12-bit ADC converter resolution, 16 single-ended or 8 differential input channel, 1.25 MS/s maximum sampling rate), a 68-pin shielded desktop connector block (NI SCB-68).

Thanks to research collaborations with Duplomatic Oleodinamica S.p.A. (http://www.duplomatic.com/) and Tecno Fluid Service s.r.l. (http://www.tfsoleodinamica.it/) the FPRG can perform tests on big size valves and pumps.

 

Research Activities

The main research activities conducted at the laboratory include:

  • Characterization of internal gear pumps;
  • 1D and 3D simulations of hydraulic pumps and valves;
  • Validation of numerical models;
  • Data acquisition and post-processing;
  • Optimization and design of new hydraulic components.
People

Prof. Adolfo Senatore
Full professor at the University of Naples Federico II
Department of Industrial Engineering
www.docenti.unina.it/adolfo.senatore
Email: adolfo.senatore@unina.it
Phone: +39 081.7683276

Dr. Dario Buono
Post Doc at the University of Naples Federico II
Department of Industrial Engineering
Email: darbuono@unina.it
Phone: +39 081.7683511

Dr. Emma Frosina
Post Doc at the University of Naples Federico II
Department of Industrial Engineering
Email: emma.frosina@unina.it
Phone: +39 081.7683285

Dr. Francesco Paolo Bove
Research at the University of Naples Federico II
Department of Industrial Engineering
Email: francescopaolobove@gmail.com
Phone: +39 081 768 3285

Dr. Fulvio Domenico Schiano di Cola
Student at the University of Naples Federico II
Department of Industrial Engineering
Email: fulschianodicola@gmail.com
Phone: +39 081 768 3285