Benoit Fourneyron (1802 - 1867)
Benoit Fourneyron was born on October 31, 1802 in Saint-Étienne, France. He was the son of a mathematician and he graduated engineering school in 1816. Benoit first got the idea of a turbine from a professor. His name was Claude Burdin and his idea for the turbine was turned down by the Academy of Science and the Society for the Encouragement of Industry. However, Benoit thought it was a great idea and he built a smaller scale of it in 1827. By 1837, he had created a larger scale turbine that actually worked.
The turbine could do 2,300 revolutions per minute and it had 60 horsepower with an 80% efficiency. Its wheel was a foot in diameter and it weighed only 40 pounds. Fourneyron’s turbine was special because it could installed vertically. His new innovation had become a huge success and it became international in industries. Benoit Fourneyron died on July 31, 1867 in Paris. After his death, the water turbine was used to turn generators for electric power in America.
The turbine could do 2,300 revolutions per minute and it had 60 horsepower with an 80% efficiency. Its wheel was a foot in diameter and it weighed only 40 pounds. Fourneyron’s turbine was special because it could installed vertically. His new innovation had become a huge success and it became international in industries. Benoit Fourneyron died on July 31, 1867 in Paris. After his death, the water turbine was used to turn generators for electric power in America.