The railroad was nationalised by the Prussian state railways in 1852 and Wöhler's growing reputation led to his appointment by the Prussian Ministry of Commerce to investigate the causes of fracture in railroad axles, work that was to occupy Wöhler over the next two decades. The recognition of his keen administration and technical leadership resulted in his appointment as director of the newly formed Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine in 1874, based at the board's headquarters in Straßburg, a post he held until his retirement in 1889.
Drawing of a fatigue failure in an axle, sketched by Joseph Glynn following the Versailles accident, 18425
S-N curve of aluminium alloy
His work on fatigue marks the first systematic investigation of S-N curves, also known as Wöhler curves, to characterise the fatigue behaviour of materials.[3] Such curves can be used to minimise the problem of fatigue by lowering the stress at critical points in a component. Wöhler showed clearly that fatigue occurs by crack growth from surface defects until the product can no longer support the applied load. The history of a fracture can be understood from a study of the fracture surface. He developed apparatus for repeated loading of railway axles, mainly because many accidents were caused by sudden fatigue fracture. The presentation of his work at the Paris Exposition in 1867 brought it to a wide international audience.[4][5]
^Smith, R. A.; Hillmansen, S. (2004). "A brief historical overview of the fatigue of railway axles". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 218 (4): 267–77. doi:10.1243/0954409043125932. S2CID 109401654.
^Wöhler, A. (1855). "Theorie rechteckiger eiserner Brückenbalken mit Gitterwänden und mit Blechwänden". Zeitschrift für Bauwesen. 5: 121–166.
^Wöhler, A. (1870). "Über die Festigkeitsversuche mit Eisen und Stahl". Zeitschrift für Bauwesen. 20: 73–106.
^"Wöhler's experiments on the strength of metals". Engineering. 4: 160–161. 1867.
Blaum, R. (1918). "August Wöhler". Beiträge zur Geschichte der Technik und Industrie (in German). 8: 33–35.
Ruske, W. (1969). "August Wöhler (1819–1914) zur 150. Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages". Materialprüfung. 11: 181–188.
Timoshenko, Stephen (1983). History of the Strength of Materials. Dover. pp. 167 ff.
Schütz, W. (1996). "A History of Fatigue". Engineering Fracture Mechanics. 54 (2): 263–300. doi:10.1016/0013-7944(95)00178-6.
External links
. Archived from the original on January 15, 2005.
January 30, 2023
august, wöhler, june, 1819, march, 1914, german, railway, engineer, best, remembered, systematic, investigations, metal, fatigue, born, 1819, june, 1819soltau, hanoverdied21, march, 1914, 1914, aged, hanover, prussianationalitygermanknown, forwöhler, curvesfat. August Wohler 22 June 1819 21 March 1914 was a German railway engineer best remembered for his systematic investigations of metal fatigue 1 August WohlerAugust WohlerBorn 1819 06 22 22 June 1819Soltau HanoverDied21 March 1914 1914 03 21 aged 94 Hanover PrussiaNationalityGermanKnown forWohler curvesFatigue limitScientific careerFieldsEngineeringAcademic advisorsKarl Karmarsch Contents 1 Life 2 Fatigue studies 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksLife EditBorn in the town of Soltau Hanover the son of local teacher Georg Heinrich Wohler he showed early mathematical ability and won a scholarship to study at the Higher Vocational College of Hannover from 1835 under the direction of Karl Karmarsch In 1840 he was recruited to the Borsig works in Berlin where he worked on the manufacture of rail tracks In 1843 after a brief stay in Hannover he started to receive instruction in locomotive driving in Belgium returning as an engineer on the Hanover Brunswick line of the Royal Hanoverian State Railways By 1847 Wohler was chief superintendent of rolling stock on the Lower Silesian Marcher railway in Frankfurt Oder The railroad was nationalised by the Prussian state railways in 1852 and Wohler s growing reputation led to his appointment by the Prussian Ministry of Commerce to investigate the causes of fracture in railroad axles work that was to occupy Wohler over the next two decades The recognition of his keen administration and technical leadership resulted in his appointment as director of the newly formed Imperial Railways in Alsace Lorraine in 1874 based at the board s headquarters in Strassburg a post he held until his retirement in 1889 Fatigue studies EditWohler started his axle investigations by research into the theory of elasticity and was led in 1855 to a method for predicting the deflection of lattice beams that anticipated the work of Emile Clapeyron 2 He also introduced the practice of supporting one end of a bridge on roller bearings to allow for thermal expansion citation needed Drawing of a fatigue failure in an axle sketched by Joseph Glynn following the Versailles accident 18425 S N curve of aluminium alloy His work on fatigue marks the first systematic investigation of S N curves also known as Wohler curves to characterise the fatigue behaviour of materials 3 Such curves can be used to minimise the problem of fatigue by lowering the stress at critical points in a component Wohler showed clearly that fatigue occurs by crack growth from surface defects until the product can no longer support the applied load The history of a fracture can be understood from a study of the fracture surface He developed apparatus for repeated loading of railway axles mainly because many accidents were caused by sudden fatigue fracture The presentation of his work at the Paris Exposition in 1867 brought it to a wide international audience 4 5 Wohler was an advocate of state standardisation testing and certification of iron and steel He died in Hannover in 1914 References Edit Smith R A Hillmansen S 2004 A brief historical overview of the fatigue of railway axles Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part F Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit 218 4 267 77 doi 10 1243 0954409043125932 S2CID 109401654 Wohler A 1855 Theorie rechteckiger eiserner Bruckenbalken mit Gitterwanden und mit Blechwanden Zeitschrift fur Bauwesen 5 121 166 Wohler A 1870 Uber die Festigkeitsversuche mit Eisen und Stahl Zeitschrift fur Bauwesen 20 73 106 Wohler s experiments on the strength of metals Engineering 4 160 161 1867 Wohler A 1871 Engl Abstr Eng Vol 2 Further reading EditBlaum R 1918 August Wohler Beitrage zur Geschichte der Technik und Industrie in German 8 33 35 Ruske W 1969 August Wohler 1819 1914 zur 150 Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages Materialprufung 11 181 188 Timoshenko Stephen 1983 History of the Strength of Materials Dover pp 167 ff Schutz W 1996 A History of Fatigue Engineering Fracture Mechanics 54 2 263 300 doi 10 1016 0013 7944 95 00178 6 External links Edit Brief description of Wohler s work Archived from the original on January 15 2005 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title August Wohler amp oldid 1071835951, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
