Hermann Rietschel

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Hermann Rietschel

Hermann Immanuel Rietschel (born April 19, 1847 in Dresden ; † February 18, 1914 in Berlin ) is considered the founder of heating and air conditioning technology . He was a son of the sculptor Ernst Rietschel and brother of the theologian Georg Rietschel .

Life

Rietschel was born as the fourth child of the sculptor Ernst Rietschel and his third wife, Marie Hand. His mother died just a few months after he was born.

Due to his inclination towards science and technology, Rietschel switched from the humanistic Ernestinum in Dresden to the Polytechnic there at the age of 14 and became a member of the Corps Altsachsen . At the same time he worked in a large locksmith's shop in Dresden and later also in the Egestorf machine factory (Hanomag) in Hanover-Linden.

In 1867, Rietschel went to Berlin to complete his studies in mechanical engineering at what was then the Royal Trade Academy .

In 1870, after completing his studies, the company Rietschel & Henneberg (special pipes for heating construction) was founded in 1871 by Rietschel and his friend Rudolf Henneberg , which also celebrated national successes and recorded rapid growth in the following years. The fittings, boilers, radiators, pumps and fans required for the installation were designed and manufactured by Rietschel itself. Thanks to the creativity of the two founders, the company, which started out as a craft business, quickly developed into an industrial company.

In 1880, in addition to his practical tasks, Rietschel also devoted himself to literary activities for the first time, as the activities in the growing company did not fill him alone. At that time he first worked on the section on heating and ventilation in the German construction book. In that year, Rietschel also founded the Association of German Engineers for Heating and Healthcare Systems , of which he remained deputy chairman until 1883.

Rietschel was increasingly used by clients from the public administration as a consultant in questions of health technology. During this time, the first contacts with the Technical University of Charlottenburg , which was just about to be founded , were made to set up a chair for heating and ventilation. Rietschel then resigned from his flourishing company and continued to work as a practical, scientific civil engineer. In this function, he was also involved in the jury as an appraiser and consultant to assess the drafts for the heating and ventilation systems of the new Reichstag building.

With his association, Rietschel organized and designed the first German hygiene exhibition in Berlin. One day before the exhibition was to be officially opened on April 30, 1882, a large fire destroyed the work, to which he had devoted all his energy for two years. It speaks for his drive and for his tenacity that he started the work all over again and that the exhibition was finally able to open on May 1st, 1883. Hermann Rietschel took on this task because he saw the close connection between scientific hygiene and the technology of heating and ventilation.

As a result, Rietschel was commissioned by the Royal Ministerial Building Commission of Berlin and the Royal Provincial School College of the Province of Brandenburg to carry out a scientific study on the ventilation and heating of schools.

Royal Technical University of Charlottenburg, 1895

At the end of 1883, Rietschel was awarded the title of professor in recognition of his scientific merits . On July 13, 1885 , he was appointed to the world's first chair for ventilation and heating at the Royal Technical University of Berlin , which still exists today under the name of the Hermann Rietschel Institute as a department of the TU Berlin .

There, from 1885 to 1887, Rietschel set up a test facility for building technical examinations and justified their necessity in a detailed report, referring to the insufficient level of development of heating and ventilation technology at that time. In the following years, all of the investigations that Rietschel and his colleagues reported in numerous publications were carried out in this building.

In 1893 his scientific guide for calculating and designing heating and ventilation systems was published , the calculation methods of which are still used today and have been expanded and updated in numerous editions. With this publication, which caused a serious stir in specialist circles, a new era dawned for the heating and ventilation technology sector.

Rietschel became rector of the Technical University of Berlin in 1893 and its prorector in 1894. In 1904 the application for a new building for the examination institute was granted, which was built in 1907 under the name of the examination institute for heating and ventilation equipment .

Since 1894, Rietschel lived in a villa built by Otto March in Berlin-Grunewald , which is now a listed building.

In 1908 Hermann Rietschel fell seriously ill for the first time and had to be taken off work for two years. In October 1910 he had to retire early. In 1913, his health once again allowed him to give the opening lecture at the "Cölner" Congress for Heating and Ventilation, which, as reported, was enthusiastically received by his colleagues.

plant

Rietschel is considered to be the founder of modern heating, air conditioning and ventilation technology, which was recognized as a new discipline in mechanical engineering through his work. His four-volume guide to calculating and designing heating and ventilation systems is still considered a standard work in building technology today . He also recognized the interaction between hygiene and technology for heating and ventilation and advocated a comprehensive approach to these issues.

Rietschel developed the idea of ​​using the heat ( waste heat ) generated during the generation of energy as district heating for heating buildings and districts.

He also developed the well-known ribbed radiator and provided the basis for its calculation. He designed the heating and ventilation systems for the Reichstag building in Berlin, the theaters in Berlin , Münster , Ulm and Strasbourg , for the Hamburg City Hall , the Ministry of Justice in Tokyo and the Bundeshaus in Bern . Rietschel is considered one of the pioneers of modern mechanical engineering .

His other research interests include a .:

  • Pipe network calculations
  • Radiator examinations
  • Installation rules for gas stoves
  • Steam heating
  • Water heating
  • District heating and district heating
  • Church heaters
  • Economy of heating systems
  • Ventilation systems
  • Indoor climate
  • Testing of heating fittings
  • Testing of filter materials
  • Hygienic requirements for heating systems
  • Investigations of thermal insulation materials

Awards during his lifetime

Honors

Today the following institutions and awards bear his name:

Memberships and committee activities

  • Member of the Corps Altsachsen
  • Founding member and temporarily board member of the Association of German Engineers for Heating and Healthcare Systems, since 1880
  • Member of the academic hut association since 1867
  • Member of the Reich Health Council , 1899–1910
  • Chairman of the Berlin VDI , 1896
  • Head (Dean) of Department I for Architecture, 1889–1890 and 1899–1900
  • Rector of the Royal Technical University of Berlin, 1893–1894
  • Vice-Rector of the Royal Technical University of Berlin, 1894–1895
  • Member of the board of the Deutsches Museum Munich, 1903
  • Honorary member of the Austrian Association of Architects, 1912
  • Corresponding member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences , 1914
  • Honorary member of the Royal Sanitary Institute, London 1912

Publications (excerpt)

  • Ventilation and heating of schools , 1886
  • Theory and practice of determining the pipe widths of hot water heating systems , 1897
  • Lectures on heating and ventilation , 1890/91
  • Guide to Calculating and Designing Heating and Ventilation Systems , 1893
  • Safety rules for heating systems , in: Gesundheits-Ing. 26, 1903, pp. 422-27
  • Determination of the limits of air exchange , in: German quarterly publication for public health care, 1913

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Knabl, Heinrich., Rheinländer, Jürgen., Esdorn, Horst.,: 100 years: Hermann Rietschel Institute for Heating and Air Conditioning . University library of the Technical University of Berlin, 1986, ISBN 3-7983-1070-X .
  2. ^ Catalogus Professorum - TU Berlin. Retrieved June 1, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c Pioneer of science: Hermann Rietschel (1847–1914) . In: “The shoulders on which we stand” -paving the way for science . Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2004, ISBN 978-3-642-62353-0 , p. 138–141 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-642-18916-6_35 ( springer.com [accessed June 1, 2017]).
  4. ^ Vierhaus, Rudolf: Poethen - Schlüter. In: Rudolf Vierhaus (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia (DBE) . tape 8 . Walter de Gruyter, 2007, ISBN 3-598-25038-X .
  5. ^ Hermann Rietschel Institute: Building Energy Systems, Hermann Rietschel Institute. Retrieved June 1, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Usemann, Klaus W .:  Rietschel, Hermann Immanuel. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 614 f. ( Digitized version ).
  7. ^ List, map, database / Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment - Berlin. Retrieved June 1, 2017 .
  8. ↑ BTGA honors Josef Oswald with the Rietschel diploma . May 17, 2017 ( recknagel-online.de [accessed June 27, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Rietschel, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rietschel, Hermann Immanuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Founder of heating and air conditioning technology
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1914
Place of death Berlin