Rudolf Plank

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Rudolf Plank

(Aloys Valerian) Rudolf Plank (born June 22, 1886 in Kiev , Russian Empire , † June 16, 1973 in Ettlingen ) was a Russian-born German engineer , refrigeration researcher and university rector. Plank is considered the founder of scientific refrigeration technology and is often referred to as the "cold pope".

Life

In 1903 Rudolf Plank studied mathematics and physics in Kiev , in 1904 at the Polytechnic Institute of Mechanical Engineering in Saint Petersburg . He was involved in the revolution of 1905 and studied mechanical engineering at the Dresden University of Technology between 1905 and 1909 . In 1909 he did his doctorate under Richard Mollier and was from 1909 to 1911 assistant at the chair for mechanics at the Technical University in Danzig . In 1911 Rudolf Plank completed his habilitation in the field of heat theory and elasticity theory. He then worked as an engineer for refrigeration machines at the Borsig company in Berlin until 1913 . In 1913 he was appointed professor of thermodynamics in Gdansk, where he was also in charge of the university's machine laboratory. There he remained active as a full professor until 1914. For the Central Sales Company in Berlin, he carried out extensive experiments in the long-term freshness of food from 1914–1916, before he worked as an engineer at Luftschiffbau Schütte-Lanz until 1918 . In 1918 he returned to the Technical University of Danzig as a professor, where he stayed until 1925.

From 1925 to 1954 he then held a professorship for technical thermodynamics and refrigeration technology at the Technical University of Karlsruhe . There he headed the refrigeration institute he founded from 1926 and founded the “Reichsinstitut für Lebensmittelfrischhaltung” in 1936 (later “Federal Research Institute for Nutrition”, today part of the Federal Research Institute for Nutrition and Food ). 1930/1931 he was rector of the university. In 1939 he resigned from civil service at his own request. In his second term in office, he was the first rector after the end of World War II . In this function he was a representative of the universities in 1946 and was a member of the provisional parliament in the newly founded state of Württemberg-Baden , which was appointed by the American military administration . During this time, the Karlsruhe scheme , an evaluation scheme proposed by Rudolf Plank for the quality of food, was created. From 1948 to 1951, Plank was a board member of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) as a curator .

He had good contacts in the USA, which at the time was a leader in the field of refrigeration technology. He reports on this under the title "American Refrigeration Technology" in his manual.

He used his language skills to translate poems and dramas by important Russian poets ( Boris Pasternak and others).

Awards and honors

Rudolf Plank has received several awards, including an honorary doctorate from the TU Dresden in 1967 and the DECHEMA medal . Since 1942 he was a full member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences .

Fonts

  • Handbook of refrigeration technology , publisher: Springer
    • Vol. 1: Development, economic importance, materials (1954)
    • Vol. 2: Thermodynamic Basics (1953)
    • Vol. 3: Process of cold generation and principles of heat transfer (1959)
    • Vol. 4: The refrigerants (1956)
    • Vol. 5: Refrigeration machines: cold gas machines and cold steam machines (1966)
    • Vol. 6A: Automation, accessories, commissioning, noise control, refrigeration systems, heat pumps (1969)
    • Vol. 6B: Heat exchanger (1988)
    • Vol. 7: Sorption chillers (1959)
    • Vol. 8: Generation of very low temperatures: gas liquefaction and the decomposition of gas mixtures (1957)
    • Vol. 9: Biochemical basics of keeping food fresh (1952)
    • Vol. 10: The application of cold in the food industry (1960)
    • Vol. 11: The refrigerated room, the transport of refrigerated food and ice making (1962)
    • Vol. 12: The application of cold in process and air conditioning technology, biology and medicine. Safety Regulations (1967)
  • The small refrigeration machine , Publisher: Springer (1948)
  • Keeping fish fresh through the cold , Publisher: Keune (1947)
  • Process of cold generation and basics of heat transfer (Hans Dieter Baehr, Ernst Hofmann, Rudolf Plank), Publisher: Springer (1959)
  • American refrigeration technology , publisher: CF Müller (1957)
  • Thermodynamic Basics , Publisher: Springer (1953)
  • Cold store construction , Dt. Ingenieur-Verlag (1950)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marie-Luise Heuser , Wolfgang König : Tabular compilations on the history of the VDI . In: Karl-Heinz Ludwig (Ed.): Technology, Engineers and Society - History of the Association of German Engineers 1856–1981 . VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1981, ISBN 3-18-400510-0 , p. 590-591 .
  2. ^ Members of the HAdW since it was founded in 1909. Rudolf Plank. Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, accessed on June 17, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Plank, Rudolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Plank, Aloys Valerian Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian-born German engineer, refrigeration researcher and university rector
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Kiev , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1973
Place of death Ettlingen