Associate Professor, Purdue University
In 1999 Andrea Vacca earned his Master's degree - with honors - in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Parma (Italy) and his doctorate in Energy Systems from the University of Florence (Italy) in 2005. For both degrees he presented theses in the field of Heat Transfer and Gas Turbine Blade Cooling Technology. Before joining Purdue University as Assistant Professor in 2010, Prof. Vacca was Assistant Professor of Fluid Machinery at the University of Parma (Italy).
In 2014, he was promoted to the role of Associate Professor, with joint appointment between Purdue Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Purdue Mechanical Engineering.
Prior to his arrival to Purdue, Prof. Vacca participated in various research activities related to the fields of internal combustion engines, food technology and hydraulic systems.
Fluid power technology has been Prof. Vacca's major research interest since 2002. Particular goals of his research are the improvement of energy efficiency and controllability of fluid power systems and the reduction of noise emissions of fluid power components. To accomplish the goals of his research, his research team has developed original numerical and experimental techniques to simulate fluid power systems and components, especially for gear machines and hydraulic control valves. Prof. Vacca's interests also include the modeling of the properties of hydraulic fluids, with particular focus to the effects of aeration and cavitation, as well as the use of low viscous fluids (such as water) in fluid power systems.
Prof. Vacca is the author of more than 80 papers, most of them published in international journals or conferences. He is also active in the fluid power research community. He is a faculty member of the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), and he is currently chair of the SAE Fluid Power division. Prof. Vacca is also Treasurer and Secretary of the Board of the Fluid Power Net International (FPNI). Furthermore, he is an Executive member of the Fluid Power Systems and Technology Division (FPST) of ASME. He is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of Fluid Power.
Speeches
This presentation focuses on the approach formulated by the Maha Fluid Power Research Center of Purdue University for simulating and optimizing the design of positive displacement machines for Fluid Power Applications. The Maha Fluid Power Research Center is the biggest academic lab fully dedicated to fluid power research in US.
This presentation will cover the details of the modeling approach formulated by Purdue researchers for modeling and optimizing the design of hydrostatic units. The approach involves the modeling of different domains, from the kinematic operation of the unit and the main fluid dynamics aspects of the displacing action, to the micro level simulation of the micro-motions of the parts in relative motions and the internal lubricating gaps that characterize the main sources of power loss in the unit.
With particular reference to gear pumps, the presentation will details the research approach including the strategies used to achieve optimal designs through modeFrontier optimization workflows.