Andrea Vacca, the Maha Fluid Power Faculty Chair and professor of agriculture and biological engineering and mechanical engineering, moved from Italy to Indiana to optimize fluid power systems for vehicles in agriculture, aerospace and construction. For his 25 years of innovation, teaching and training and seven years of leading the Maha Fluid Power Research Center, he was recently nominated by leading fluid power industry representatives and inducted into the Fluid Power Hall of Fame of the International Fluid Power Society.
“Since I was a student, I was interested in machines,” Vacca said. “Cars and motorcycles put me in mechanical engineering.”
Vacca later specialized in fluid mechanics and energy systems during his PhD studies and then switched his focus to fluid power systems as a professor. Essentially, fluid power uses pressurized fluid to move things in vehicles, aircrafts, industrial presses and many other machines. Some common examples of it are braking and steering systems in heavy duty vehicles, or all the functions of large agricultural vehicles such as harvesters.
“Fluid power systems are used in almost all vehicles, and are the ‘muscle’ of agricultural tractors, construction and many other vehicles,” Vacca said.
The domestic industry in fluid power is strong; there are original equipment manufacturers leading agriculture, construction and aerospace in the U.S. However, academia must properly prepare enough engineering students to make any impact with new fluid power systems or components. The Maha Fluid Power Research Center, the largest academic fluid power center in the nation, is Purdue’s answer to meeting this need.
“Purdue started this lab in 2004 with Monika Ivantysynova. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2018 and that is when I took over the lab,” Vacca said. “But she recruited me from Italy in 2010, and she was my greatest mentor. I always give her credit for everything that is going on here, and I try to shape this to what her vision was.”
Vacca has spent his time at Purdue innovating fluid power systems—making them more energy efficient or working on human aspects, such as reducing acoustic noise and vibrations. He also helps industries try new prototypes and approaches that they may not be able to afford internally, including fluid power components for the next generation of electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles. The Maha lab team is even experimenting with an energy-reuse method to capture energy that is otherwise lost by the system, like the energy released by a loader when lowering its heavy bucket. Vacca holds 24 patents and patent applications and is author of over 200 technical papers and the “Hydraulic Fluid Power” textbook.
Beyond his innovation, industries value the graduate students who have been trained by Vacca and his colleagues. Many students build connections with leading brands and tier 1 suppliers as they conduct their research, making it easy for them to find jobs after graduation, and their network with Vacca and other engineers at Purdue remains intact.
Vacca is also recognized as the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Fluid Power, a director of the Global Fluid Power Society and was formerly chair of fluid power divisions of the Society of Automotive Engineers and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was also awarded the 2019 Joseph Bramah Medal from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for his contributions to global fluid power research.
The International Fluid Power Society established the Fluid Power Hall of Fame in 2019 to “recognize individuals who have made significant, lifetime contributions to the fluid power industry,” and every year they select one living and one posthumous individual for this recognition.
Vacca thanks his current and past graduate students and staff, “Without them, nothing could happen at the lab.” He also thanks his family for this achievement, “Without my wife and my kid, this would not be possible. They always give me the support and the energy I need to keep my motivations high!"
