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Hannover Messe: Motorless pumps and self-regulating valves made from ultrathin film
Credit: Credit: Oliver Dietze
The valves and pumps being developed by the research group led by Professor Stefan Seelecke at Saarland University are made from electroactive silicone film and offer a lot more than just the typical 'open/close' or 'on/off' functionality. The researchers control the film electrically and can make it execute precise vibrations or pulses on demand, while also monitoring its exact position or shape. This responsiveness makes it possible to continuously vary the flow rate through a valve or continuously regulate the performance of a pump. Another feature of these film-based devices is that they can indicate if they have become blocked by a foreign body. As the researchers can shape the films to fit into almost any casing, the films can be used in a broad range of practical applications.
The team will be at this year's Hannover Messe, where they will be demonstrating their technology at the Saarland Research and Innovation Stand (Hall 2, Stand B46).
The failure of small valves or pumps in a large industrial plant can cause major problems for the maintenance and repair teams. It can take quite a time before the faulty component has been tracked down. And this can be all the more problematic if the fault took time to make itself felt; the longer it takes to find a fault, the greater the potential damage to the plant. If, for example, a foreign body becomes trapped in a valve and the valve doesn't close properly as a result, it can take time before operators are aware of the malfunction.
Thankfully, this situation does not arise with the novel pumps and valves that have been developed by Professor Stefan Seelecke and his research team at Saarland University. 'Our devices are able to communicate their status and their activity in real time. For instance, the valve can tell us not only whether it is open or closed, but exactly how far open it is. If it can't close because of the presence of a foreign body, it can also communicate this fact to us,' explains Professor Seelecke.
The valves and pumps created by the Saarbrücken research group are made from a thin silicone film that is printed on both sides with an electrically conducting material. Scientists refer to these materials as dielectric elastomers. 'If we apply a voltage to the film, it generates an electrostatic attractive force that compresses the film, causing it to expand out sideways,' says Steffen Hau, a PhD engineer working in Seelecke's team. By altering the applied electric field in a controlled manner, the engineers can make the film undergo high-frequency vibrations or continuously variable flexing motions. Effectively, the film can adopt almost any required position or orientation. 'These properties mean that the film can be used to design novel drive systems,' explains Hau.
Using intelligent algorithms to control the movement of the film, the researchers at Saarland University and at the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) in Saarbrücken are developing self-regulating valves and motorless pumps. 'We don't need any separate moving parts for our pumps. Because the pumps can run without a rotating motor, they are flat, compact and very energy efficient,' says Hau. 'We can control the volume flow rate in these pumps using the amplitude of the applied voltage rather than the frequency, which is what is normally used,' he adds. This enables very quiet pumps to be built.
'As the film itself can act as a position sensor, so too can a component made from it,' says Philipp Linnebach, a doctoral research student who is studying the new film-based drive systems. When the film distorts, an electrical capacitance value can be precisely assigned to any particular position of the film. 'If we measure a change in capacitance, we know exactly by how much the film has distorted, explains Linnebach. This allows specific motion sequences to be calculated precisely and programmed in a control unit. The film-based valve can therefore be used to deliver exactly the required amount of compressed air or liquid.
The film itself is essentially a flat structure. 'We have now developed the technology to a point where we can produce films of the required shape. So we can now adapt the films to meet the needs of specific applications,' says Steffen Hau. The technology is cost-effective to manufacture and the components are very lightweight. They also consume very little energy and are more than a hundred times more energy efficient than conventional components. Compared to a conventional solenoid valve, the film-based valve consumes up to 400 times less energy.
Press photographs are available at http://www.uni-saarland.de/pressefotos and can be used free of charge. Please read and comply with the conditions of use.
This press release is available in German at:
https://www.uni-saarland.de/nc/universitaet/aktuell/artikel/nr/20632.html
Contact for press enquiries:
Prof. Dr. Stefan Seelecke, Intelligent Material Systems Lab, Saarland University:
Tel.: +49 (0)681 302-71341; Email: [email protected]
Dr. Steffen Hau: Tel.: +49 (0)681-302-71354, E-Mail: [email protected]
Philipp Linnebach: Tel.: +49 (0)681 302-71350, Email: [email protected]
Dr. Paul Motzki, Tel.: +49 681 85787-545; Email: [email protected]
ZeMA – Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology in Saarbrücken – is a research hub for collaborative projects involving researchers from Saarland University, Saarland University of Applied Sciences (htw saar) and industrial partners. ZeMA is home to a large number of industry-specific development projects that aim to transform research findings into practical industrial applications.
http://www.zema.de/
Dr. Stefan Seelecke
Chemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesElectrical Engineering/ElectronicsMaterialsMechanical EngineeringResearch/DevelopmentTechnology TransferTechnology/Engineering/Computer Science
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Professor Justin (Gus) Hurwitz joined the College of Law faculty in 2013. His work builds on his background in law, technology, and economics to consider the interface between law and technology and the role of regulation in high-tech industries. He has a particular expertise in telecommunications law and technology, including data- and cybersecurity, and was recognized as a Cyber Security & Data Privacy Trailblazer by the National Law Journal. His work has appeared in the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, as well as the George Mason University, University of Connecticut, University of Iowa, Michigan State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, and other law review and journals.
He is the Co-Director of the Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program, focusing on the Cyber and Telecommunications components of the program. Since joining the College of Law Faculty, his work has been cited by the FCC in its 2015 Open Internet Order, Judge Williams in his dissent to the DC Circuit's affirmance of that Order, and Senator John Thune at the introduction of the MOBILE NOW Act. He has testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on video regulation, participated in roundtable discussions hosted by the FCC, presented to the United States Army's 7th Signal Command on the technological challenges of cybersecurity regulation, and presented to German and Colombian competition regulators on topics including net neutrality and telecommunications competition policy.
Professor Hurwitz previously was the inaugural Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition (CTIC), prior to which he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at George Mason University Law School. From 2007–2010 he was a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division in the Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section.
Professor Hurwitz has a background in technology having worked at Los Alamos National Lab and interned at the Naval Research Lab prior to law school. During this time his work was recognized by organizations such as the Federal Laboratory Consortium, R&D Magazine, Los Alamos National Lab, IEEE & ACM, and the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California. In addition, he held an Internet2 Land Speed World Record with the Guinness Book of World Records.
Professor Hurwitz received his JD from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an articles editor on the Chicago Journal of International Law and received Olin and MVP2 law and economics scholarships. He also holds an MA in Economics from George Mason University. He received his BA from St. John's College.
This course will explore a range of legal issues in cyber domain, including cyber security, privacy, network ownership and access, private versus public regulation of cyberspace, speech in cyberspace, content as property and intellectual property in cyberspace, jurisdiction over cyberspace activities, liability of intermediaries, state and local regulation of cyberspace, and the interrelationship between technology and law as mechanisms of regulation. The course will include two class sessions with guest lecturers from the Washington, D.C. legal and policy community. This course is available to online LL.M. students.
This course addresses the legal framework applied in the United States to telecommunications and media, including the Internet, landline telephone, broadcast radio and television, cable television, and mobile technologies. We focus somewhat on Internet regulatory issues and the Federal Communications Commission. The course explores a range of factors affecting current law, including economic, technological, and speech concerns. The course also explores a range of laws that have shaped these media, including regulatory policy, statutes, and First Amendment doctrine. We discuss very recent and evolving law, and therefore focus on principles underlying the law as much as the law itself. This course is available to online LL.M. students.
Cybersecurity is one of the most important and challenging emerging legal issues of the 21st century. Networked computer systems give bad actors access to data and information stored on those systems (e.g., consumer financial or health information; trade secrets and other sensitive commercial information), control over the systems themselves (e.g., to damage or disrupt; to use for other computer-based activities), and access to physical-world control systems (e.g., control over industrial equipment, electrical infrastructure, or driverless cars). Amazingly, there is no coherent legal framework to address these issues. There is, however, an at-times incomplete and at-times overlapping patchwork of legal authorities that applies to many of them. Moreover, many of these issues implicate technical considerations: either technology makes it more difficult for the law to address them, or they are better solved by technology than through the law. This class provides students with an interdisciplinary introduction to cybersecurity law, focusing on the legal frameworks that exist today, the challenges of developing more comprehensive legal frameworks, and the nuts-and-bolts guidance that lawyers need to be able to give their clients when it comes to good (and bad) cybersecurity practices.
We live in a regulatory state – all lawyers address regulatory issues throughout their professional and personal lives. Day-to-day personal and business activities are governed by rules created by lawyers working for local, state, and federal entities. Private-sector lawyers work with these public entities on behalf of their clients. Private parties self-regulate (e.g., ABA regulation of lawyers; corporate governance; industry self-regulation). Beyond the practice of law, modern political discourse is dominated by discussion about regulation. As members of the legal profession, lawyers play a vital role in this discourse, informing and shaping the opinions of colleagues, friends, and families – in addition to those of policymakers – about whether and how regulatory intervention is beneficial to society. This course examines the principles of regulation that run through all of these contexts, considering what it means to regulate, why we regulate, and how we regulate. It focuses on the myriad tensions and contradictions often inherent in regulation, to equip students with critical analytical tools needed in today's legal, political, and business environment.
Consumer Protection & Competition Regulation in a High Tech World: Discussing the Future of the Federal Trade Commission, Report of TechFreedom and ICLE FTC Reform Working Group (Dec 16, 2013) (principle co-author, with Berin Szoka and Geoff Manne).
Signatory on and contributor to Amici Curiae Brief Of TechFreedom, International Center For Law And Economics & Consumer Protection Scholars, filed in FTC v. Wyndham Corp. (filed May 2, 2013).


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Instead of Prohibiting Guns
Posted on July 3, 2015 by usdr in Healthy Living, Lifestyle, Opinion/Editorial, Politics // 0 Comments
By Evolve, Special to USDR
Every day, we read about another preventable gun incident; the man who unintentionally shot someone in the head at a wedding; the tragedy with the 3-year-old who found the "hidden" gun on top of the refrigerator. Most gun owners know proper safety procedures, but too often the distractions of day-to-day life or the "that-will-never-happen-to-me" mentality of some results in careless behavior, injuries, or worse.
To address our country's dumbest problem, Evolve, the organization committed to uniting Americans around personal responsibility, has launched a campaign to remind every gun owner, spouse of a gun owner, child of gun owner, friend of gun owner, and caring gun hater to "Clear It. Check it. Lock it."—three simple and memorable steps for safe gun behavior.
At the heart of the campaign from Evolve, the same organization that produced the wildly-popular "Playthings" and "Don't Be a Dumbass" PSAs, is the new video featuring actor Josh Lucas. In the spot, Lucas reminds America of what it should already know: that gun safety is everyone's issue and that all guns should be kept unloaded, locked and properly stored when not in use.
As part of the campaign, Evolve is asking every American to help make history in the next 30 days by signing a petition at www.evolveusa.com advocating for the official designation of National Gun Safety Day. Evolve hopes that this day will support more ongoing safety efforts by the gun industry, safety organizations, retailers, communities and corporations and create a groundswell of activity around the issue.
"I love that Evolve represents the group of Americans in the middle of the gun conversation: a mix of gun owners and those without who realize that the most important issue is safety," says Lucas. "For me, especially as a father, having the opportunity to work with Evolve to show America that responsible gun behavior should be everyone's priority was a no-brainer."
"We need to make safety aspirational and free of finger-wagging. We need to get to a place where we're talking about gun safety before someone gets hurt, rather than after," says Rebecca Bond, Co-Founder of Evolve. "If we're going to get America talking, we have to talk about it a way that people can hear and that's what this campaign is all about. We've created an ad that could run during the Super Bowl. It talks to America in a way that is apolitical, non-judgmental and entertaining."
Through the campaign, which was created by South Carolina-based creative agency, Erwin Penland, and directed by Simon Cole out of B-Reel Films, Evolve will continue its work with various groups, organizations and partners, including gun owners, non-gun owners, gun industry leaders, moms and dads, professionals, and to promote responsible choices about gun safety behaviors in America.
For more information about Evolve, "Clear it. Check it. Lock it." and National Gun Safety Day, please visit www.evolveusa.com. Follow Evolve online at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and join the conversation online at #gunsafetyday.
Evolve is a nonprofit organization made up of gun owners and non-gun owners that serves a unique purpose to motivate all Americans to become active gun safety advocates. The organization is consciously apolitical and works with a number of groups, including those on both sides of the gun issue, to help prevent avoidable gun incidents caused by careless gun owners. For more information on Evolve, visit http://www.evolveusa.com.
SOURCE Evolve
safety behaviors
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