Milestone-Proposal:Long distance transmission of electrical power using three-phase alternating current, 1891-1912
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Docket #:2021-20
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To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation? No
Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes
Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes
Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes
Was it of at least regional importance? Yes
Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes
Has the IEEE Section(s) in which the plaque(s) will be located agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes
Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes
Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes
Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:
1891
Title of the proposed milestone:
Long Distance Electric Power Transmission Using Three-Phase Alternating Current, 1891
Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance; if personal name(s) are included, such name(s) must follow the achievement itself in the citation wording: Text absolutely limited by plaque dimensions to 70 words; 60 is preferable for aesthetic reasons.
The world’s first long distance (175km), high voltage (15kV), highly efficient (75%) electric power transmission of 300 horsepower using three-phase alternating current (AC) was demonstrated at the 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition by Oskar von Miller, German-Bavarian consultant; Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky, Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), Germany; and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown, Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO), Switzerland. This Lauffen-to-Frankfurt demonstration directly influenced the eventual worldwide dominance of electric power transmission using three-phase AC systems.
200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.
At the 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition, Oskar von Miller, Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky from Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), Germany and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown from Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO), Switzerland, demonstrated the world’s first long distance (175km), high voltage (15kV), highly efficient (75%) Lauffen-Frankfurt electrical energy transmission of 300 HP, using the three-phase alternating current. At that time (i.e., in the late 1880s and in the 1890s) the quite well developed and widely used direct current (DC) electricity production and distribution technology limited the transmission distances to single kilometers and required the construction of many local low-power plants, supplying consumers divided into separate networks, forming isolated islands. This practically excluded the use of the hydroelectric power, which needed to be transmitted over long distances. On the other hand, the new alternating current (AC) technology, which due to a possibility of transformation the energy to high voltages for the long-distance transmission, was not yet accepted and met with strong resistance. The 1891 Lauffen-Frankfurt electrical energy transmission provided convincing and necessary evidence of the economic and technical feasibility of supplying power generated at remote locations to industrial and residential centers. This demonstration directly influenced the establishment of the dominant worldwide role of electric power transmission using three-phase alternating current systems.
IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.
IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES)
In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?
Germany Section
IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:
IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):
Unit: Germany Section
Senior Officer Name: Professor Jan Haase
IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:
Unit: Germany Section
Senior Officer Name: Professor Jan Haase
IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):
IEEE Section: Germany Section
IEEE Section Chair name: Professor Jan Haase
Milestone proposer(s):
Proposer name: Professor Adam Dabrowski
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Proposer name: Professor Mariusz Malinowski
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Proposer name: Professor Krzysztof Sozański
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Proposer name: Professor Jan Haase
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Proposer name: Dr. Frank Dittmann
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Proposer name: Dr.-Ing. Joachim Wiest
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public
Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.
Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):
The planned milestone site is at TU Berlin, Ackerstrasse 76, Germany, GPS (latitude, longitude): 52.538750, 13.38497235. However, it is intended to move the milestone plaque site to Frankfurt (where the exhibition took place).
Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.
Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need. It is the former Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) building which is a historic building. No other historical markers are already installed.
Are the original buildings extant?
Yes
Details of the plaque mounting:
In Germany, the plaque will be placed at the TU Berlin, Ackerstrasse 76, Berlin in the courtyard of the building, i.e., in the previous Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) laboratory area, where Michał Doliwo-Dobrowolski worked on the three-phase alternating current technology.
How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?
The plaque site at the TU Berlin (previously AEG area) is publicly accessible (there is open access for the public free entrance).
Who is the present owner of the site(s)?
Germany: HIH Property Management GmbH, Gertrudenstraße 9, 20095 Hamburg / Germany
What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include detailed support at the end of this section preceded by "Justification for Inclusion of Name(s)". (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)
In 1889, a discussion arose over the choice of the proper electrification system for Frankfurt am Main in Germany. Therefore, in 1891, the worldwide electrical exhibition was organized there and various systems of production, transmission, and distribution of electricity were presented. The right decision was, however, very difficult to make, because, on one side, at that time (i.e., in the late 1880s and 1890s), the quite well developed and widely used direct current (DC) electricity production and distribution technology limited the transmission distances to single kilometers. This required the construction of many local low-power plants, which supplied consumers who were divided into many separate and isolated networks. However, as hydroelectric power needed to be transmitted over long distances, its use was thus impractical.
While the new alternating current (AC) technology held the possibility of transforming energy transmission of high voltages over long distances, it was not yet accepted, and was met with strong resistance in both the USA and Europe. The question of whether to use DC or AC was called “the battle for the current” or “the transformer-battery war” [2].
The greatest supporters of further development of DC-based electrical energy were Thomas Alva Edison in the USA and Rookes Evelyn B. Crompton with Ernst Werner von Siemens in Europe. The methods they applied were sometimes quite brutal, including attempts to legally ban further development of the AC technology [1, 2, 4].
A breakthrough event in this "war" was on August 25, 1891, at the Frankfurt exhibition, with the world’s first transmission of three-phase electric energy of 300 HP from the hydroelectric power plant in Lauffen am Neckar to Frankfurt am Main at a the impressively long distance of 175 km. With the used high voltage of 15 kV and at the frequency of 25 Hz, the overall efficiency of this line exceeded 75%, which was an almost unbelievable success at that time. [2,10] “ ... the IEEE Board of Directors voted to designate 1991 as the centennial year for the industrial use of alternating current power. Among the reasons for selecting 1991 was the successful and well-publicized transmission of polyphase power beginning August 24, 1891 from Lauffen, Germany, to the site of an international electrical exhibition in Frankfurt, a distance of about 175 km. This demonstration provided convincing evidence of the economic and technical feasibility of supplying power generated at remote locations to industrial centers.” [9] The main organizers of this project were Oskar von Miller and Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky from from Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), Germany, and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown from Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO), Switzerland [4 pp 131-133].
Justification for the inclusion of names:
Regarding the exhibition in Frankfurt, Neidhöfer states “Most equipment was manufactured in joint cooperation of the Oerlikon Company MFO, Switzerland, and AEG, Berlin. Their respective engineers were Charles E.L. Brown, expert in high-voltage technology and large machinery construction, and Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky, expert in three-phase machinery and transformers.” [2].
Furthermore, Hughes states “The Frankfurt exhibition was a skirmish in “the battle of the systems ... Leopold Sonnenmann, a banker, politician and founder of the Frankfurter Zeitung, then suggested that the controversy be resolved by holding an electrotechnical exhibition in which the advocates of alternating current could demonstrate the most recent advances in their systems. A younger generation of engineers and designers contributed substantially to this exhibition. Prominent among them were Oskar von Miller, Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown, and Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky.
A persistent vision of harnessing the water power of the Alpine region of his Bavarian homeland stimulated von Miller. Brown brought to the exhibition the mechanical genius of the Swiss, with whom his father, an English engineer, had settled, and with whom he himself worked; and Dolivo-Dobrowolsky was intensely involved in developing polyphase machinery.
"Behind Brown was the Swiss mechanical-engineering manufacturing firm of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, and supporting Dolivo-Dobrowolski was the Berlin electrical manufacturer AEG.” [4, page 131]
Also, Thompson states “For many months the only example of a general distribution of polyphase currents from a central station was that of the town of Heilbronn, which derives its 3-phase supply from the generating station at Lauffen, on the river Neckar, about 9 miles distant. The engineer who laid out the system is Mr. Oskar von Miller, of Munich, by whose courtesy the following information is supplied. The generators at Lauffen, the same that were used in the famous Frankfort transmission (Fig. 30) ...“ [5, page 217]
Based on the outstanding contribution of the engineers Oskar von Miller, Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolski and Charles E.L. Brown to the first long distance transmission of electrical power using three-phase alternating current, their names should be included.
What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?
To our knowledge, the main obstacles to overcome where of financial and logistic nature. They needed to be solved to provide the first long distance transmission of electrical power using three-phase alternating current in time for the exhibition in Frankfurt.
What features set this work apart from similar achievements?
Polyphase power systems were independently invented by Galileo Ferraris, Michał Doliwo-Dobrovolski, Jonas Wenström, John Hopkinson, and Nikola Tesla in the late 1880s [1]. The first AC motor in the world invented by Italian physicist Galileo Ferraris was a two-phase machine and required 4 wires, which is evidently less efficient then the three-phase motors and generators developed by Michał Doliwo-Dobrovolski who used additional coils and new ways of connecting them (in a triangle or a star) [7]. For the 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition, for the first time in the world a complete three-phase AC system was implemented and led to the transmission of electricity over a distance of 175 km with at that time very high efficiency of 75 %.
Why was the achievement successful and impactful?
Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.
[1] B. Lawson, Woodbank Communications Ltd.’s Electropaedia: “History of Batteries (and other things)”, https://www.mpoweruk.com/history.htm
[2] G. Neidhöfer, “Early three-phase power. Winner in the development of polyphase AC”, IEEE Power and Energy, Vol. 5, No. 5, 2007, pp. 88-100
[3] G. Neidhöfer, “Michael von Dolivo-Dobrowolsky und der Drehstrom, Anfänge der modernen Antriebstechnik und Stromversorgung”, VDE Verlag, Berlin 2004
[4] T. P. Hughes, “Networks of power. Electrification in Western Society 1880-1930”. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore/London 1993
[5] P. S. Thompson, “Polyphase Electric Currents and Alternate-Current Motors”. E. & F. Spon Eds., London 1895
[6] F. Hillebrand, “Zur Geschichte des Drehstroms”, Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift-Ausgabe A, 1959, Vol. 80, pp. 457-458
[7] Chronik der Elektrotechnik, https://www2.vde.com/wiki/chronik_2016/Wiki-Seiten/GesamtChronik.aspx
[8] M. Doliwo-Dobrowolski, “Aus der Geschichte des Drehstromes”, Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift 1917, (part 1) Vol. 26, pp. 341-344, (part 2) Vol. 27, pp. 354-357, (part 3) Vol. 28, pp. 366-369, (part 4) Vol. 29, pp. 374-377
[9] https://web.archive.org/web/20120205124103/http://ieee.cincinnati.fuse.net/reiman/05_2001.html
[10] https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8944322
Supporting materials (supported formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC): All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. For documents that are copyright-encumbered, or which you do not have rights to post, email the documents themselves to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please see the Milestone Program Guidelines for more information.
Please email a jpeg or PDF a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner(s) giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property, and a letter (or forwarded email) from the appropriate Section Chair supporting the Milestone application to ieee-history@ieee.org with the subject line "Attention: Milestone Administrator." Note that there are multiple texts of the letter depending on whether an IEEE organizational unit other than the section will be paying for the plaque(s).
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