Final Post

My project this summer was "Investigation of a mass flow rate method to evaluate the filterability of hydraulic fluid". It was truly an amazing learning experience for me. Filterability is an important characteristics of hydraulic fluids. However, the current method ISO 13357 to determine the filterability of hydraulic fluids uses the volume method which is time consuming and subject to human error. I worked towards developing a method for measuring the filterability of hydraulic fluids using mass flow measurements, determining the correlation between the volume and mass flow measurements and drafting an ASTM standard test method using mass flow rate.

The REU program itself gave me an opportunity to learn more about fluid power and its application. It has also motivated me to pursue further studies in fluid power and hydraulics engineering. Also getting the opportunity to work alongside with two graduate students have definitely broadened my outlook. My advice for future REU students would be to learn as much as possible about fluid power and ask questions. It definitely helps improving research experience overall.