Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner – Kaedyn Peterson-Rucker

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation has awarded 20 $2,000 scholarships to students pursuing fluid power related fields of study.

One of the winners, Kaedyn Peterson-Rucker, is attending the University of Wisconsin. We asked Kaedyn a few questions about winning the scholarship.

What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?

Winning this award is a great help to me, allowing me to focus on furthering my education. It also means a lot to know that people from the fluid power industry are so generous and foresighted enough to invest in the upcoming generation of workers. These reasons really make me appreciate the impact that the fluid power industry has on the world. 

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power? What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?

During the past semester, I have taken thermodynamics to help build my fluid power education. Thermodynamics has helped me understand the impact that thermal properties have on fluid power. Through thermodynamics, I have learned about the impacts of pressure drop and how heat is generated and dissipated in a fluid power system. These concepts will help me to design more efficient systems and avoid unnecessary heat generation. I also have a better understanding of how to better design reservoir systems to dissipate the heat that has been generated in the system. During the fall semester, I was on a co-op working experience, so I did not take any classes. However, I learned a great deal through industry experience. Through my co-op I was very exposed to fluid power. I was on the powertrain team. One of my big projects was to put a new engine into a machine and validate that the current hydraulic system would still work. If the hydraulic system did not work, I was to redesign it to make sure that it was compatible with the new engine. After selecting the new engine, the old system would not work so I had to look into that and select new components. I had to calculate out the corner power that we would need as well as the corner power of the new motor options. After comparing this with the tractive effort required, I was able to select a hydraulic motor and work backwards to appropriately size the drive pumps that would provide the right amount of flow and pressure. To select the load sensing pump, I had to work with one of the hydraulic experts. We looked at all of the components that would be run by this pump. These components included the engine fan, the hydraulic steering, the baling chamber, and the hay pick up. After calculating the maximum flow and pressure that could be demanded at one time, we were able to size the pump accordingly so that it could provide those values but also limit the outputs so that it was not wasting power. After the system was fully designed, I worked with the expert to calculate the heat that would be generated by the system. We looked at all of the efficiencies of each component, the pressure drops associated with all of the hoses, and how much fluid would be blowing over reliefs. With this information we could get an estimate of how hot the fluid would get. I then took this information and, after referencing the current oil cooler air speed and geometry, I also resized the cooler to keep the oil at a temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Through this experience, I really got a sense of what it takes to be a fluid power application engineer in the industry. Because of this experience, I am hoping to continue my education in fluid power and eventually get a career in the powertrain sector.

A minimum GPA of 2.5 out of 4.0, 500-word essay, and letter of recommendation were required from each applicant. The NFPA Foundation’s goal is to help graduating high school students, and individuals enrolled in community colleges, technical schools and universities pursue their academic interests in fluid power.

One way NFPA members can get involved with scholarship programs is to volunteer as a judge to serve on the application review committee. This year 27 judges from 19 NFPA member companies reviewed 122 eligible student applications to the Fluid Power Scholarship program. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Haley Nemeth at hnemeth@nfpa.com.