Friedrich August Haselwander

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Friedrich August Haselwander, around 1920

Friedrich August Haselwander (born October 18, 1859 in Offenburg ; † March 14, 1932 there ) was a German engineer , an inventor of the three-phase synchronous machine and the compressorless oil motor .

Life

Friedrich August Haselwander was born on October 18, 1859 in Offenburg as the only child of the Hausach- born engineer Johann Haselwander and his wife Augusta. As a participant in the March Revolution, his father had to flee to America like numerous Offenburgers and after his return from exile he married Augusta Josepha Burg, daughter of the merchant and councilor Karl Friedrich Burg. The former Auxiliary Bishop Vitus Burg came from the same family of craftsmen . Haselwander grew up in a respected, middle-class milieu, was raised Catholic and liberal. After the early death of his parents, Haselwander lived with his uncle, a master locksmith, who sent him to the humanistic grammar school in Offenburg (today's Grimmelshausen grammar school ). However, the student developed little interest in ancient languages, but showed a preference for science from an early age. At that time, Offenburg was a city fascinated by modern technology, since it had had a Rhine Valley Railway station since August 1, 1845 . The junction to Constance using the bold construction of Robert Gerwig , the Baden Black Forest Railway , was currently under construction.

After leaving school, he began his natural science studies in 1878, which included the subjects of mathematics, physics and electricity, chemistry and mineralogy. The Polytechnic Karlsruhe , as well as the universities of Munich and Strasbourg can be proven as training stations. He left the Polytechnic School in Karlsruhe in 1883 without an exam, which was not unusual at the time, since only someone who wanted to enter civil service had to prove a qualification. In Strasbourg he studied with August Kundt and also heard lectures by Nikola Tesla .

After his military service as a one-year volunteer , Haselwander returned to Offenburg at the age of 27 and set up as a self-employed electrical engineer. In 1885 Haselwander married Emilie Tomen from Mahlberg and thus gained contact with industrial circles in Lahr. The marriage remained childless and suffered from the tragedy that his wife Emilie had to be treated in a mental hospital for years. In 1886 he began building dynamo machines in Offenburg . In the mechanical workshop of the Bilfinger company he developed the world's first three-phase generator, which was put into operation in the Adrion hat factory in 1887 for lighting purposes.

Inventions

Haselwander registered his first patent as a student, and there were around 20 in total.

Electric lamp

Haselwander received his first patent as a student on July 12, 1880 for an "electric lamp with continuous arc control".

Three-phase synchronous machine

Haselwanders three-phase machine

Haselwander's most important invention was the three-phase synchronous machine. In order for the electrical current to prevail, it was necessary to have a way of transmitting the energy with as little loss as possible. This low-loss transmission is directly related to the level of voltage: the higher the voltage, the lower the losses. Haselwander addressed this problem early on. His first generator of this type went into operation in October 1887. He integrated his invention seamlessly into existing DC and AC systems. The patent application submitted in July 1887 was initially rejected because the person in charge of the application was of the opinion that it was about two different inventions. In 1889 the patent was granted. However, the large electrical companies who became aware of the importance of the invention and filed an objection to the patent application. He could not afford a legal dispute against it, the amount in dispute was estimated at 30 million marks. Haselwander worked as a senior engineer at Wilhelm Lahmeyer & Co. in Frankfurt am Main, where he assigned his patent. When AEG Lahmeyer took over in 1892 , Haselwander lost any influence on the use of his patent.

The model system he built in the Adrion hat factory was banned by the Imperial Post Office in 1890 because it allegedly disrupted the telegraph line; stationary systems were also not permitted. In 1891, Haselwander was able to show his generator with a three-phase standing ring armature and a four-pole rotor, as shown in the adjacent illustration, at the International Electrotechnical Exhibition in Frankfurt in 1891 . But the prototype remained, which he then handed over to the Deutsches Museum in Munich during his lifetime , where the system is still located today.

Process for direct injection in internal combustion engines

Annex to the patent specification, 1903

As early as 1898, Haselwander carried out studies on the direct injection of fuel in combustion engines. Haselwander relied on a displacer instead of the compressor with an injection nozzle used by Rudolf Diesel .

Honors

literature

  • Jörg Baldenhofer: Friedrich August Haselwander (1859–1932). It is about three-phase current. In: Jörg Baldenhofer (Ed.): Baden tinkerers and inventors. DRW-Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, pp. 60-65.
  • Nicolas Caspar et al. (Research and editing), Kathrin-Sarah Amend et al. (Conception and realization), Roland Riempp (supervision): Friedrich August Haselwander. The Edison from Offenburg. (CD-ROM) Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, 2004.
  • Elektrizitätswerk Mittelbaden AG (Ed.), Emil Ell: Friedrich August Haselwander. Memories of a great inventor and strange people. (on the occasion of an exhibition on the 125th birthday of Haselwanders) Lahr 1984.
  • Franz Huber: Haselwanders three-phase current. The invention of the world in a small town. (Festschrift) Huber, Offenburg 1987.
  • Bernhard Wagner: Friedrich August Haselwander. A Baden pioneer of three-phase AC technology. In: Electrical engineering for a better quality of life. (Festschrift on the occasion of the VDE Congress on October 10, 1990 in Essen) (= History of Electrical Engineering , Volume 10.) VDE-Verlag, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-8007-1713-1 , pp. 105–123.
  • Adolf Wißner:  Haselwander, Friedrich August. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 24 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Huber: Haselwanders three-phase current. Huber, Offenburg 1987.
  2. ↑ Illustration from: D'r alt Offenburger , No. 1100 from June 13, 1920
  3. ↑ Baden tinkerers and inventors.
  4. ^ New Badische Landes-Zeitung from June 1, 1927
  5. ↑ D'r alt Offenburger , No. 1370 of October 25, 1925
  6. ↑ http://www.offenburg.de/html/historisch_bedeutsame_haben_ereignisse_und_bauwerke_in_off.html
personal data
SURNAME Haselwander, Friedrich August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German engineer, inventor of the three-phase generator
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Offenburg
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1932
Place of death Offenburg