Lester Pelton
Lester Allan Pelton (born September 5, 1829 in Vermilion Township, Erie County , Ohio , † March 14, 1908, buried in Vermilion , Ohio) was an American inventor .
Life
During the gold rush in California , he worked as a carpenter , mechanic and plumber .
By chance he came across the idea for the Pelton turbine . While working in California, Lester Pelton had built a waterwheel with strongly curved blades, by chance the water jet only hit the outermost part of the blade ring when it was started up. The speed of the wheel increased suddenly and increased so much that the water wheel was destroyed by the centrifugal force . A systematic investigation of the phenomenon has shown that the impulse of the water jet in the turbine is best used when the blades are shaped like two flat shells . The water jet is thereby directed back into the original direction, the kinetic energy of the beam is utilized optimally by this arrangement. Lester Pelton was able to use his invention on an industrial scale from 1880 .
Web links
- Lester Allan Pelton: father of hydroelectric power ( Memento from September 7, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pelton, Lester |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pelton, Lester Allan (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 5, 1829 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vermilion Township, Erie County , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 14, 1908 |
| Place of death | Vermilion , Ohio |