Laval, Carl Gustaf Patrik de

Laval, Carl Gustaf Patrik de

(born May 9, 1845, Blasenborg, Swed.—died Feb. 2, 1913, Stockholm) Swedish scientist, engineer, and inventor. Laval built his first impulse steam turbine in 1882. Further advances followed, including a reversible turbine for marine use. A Laval reaction turbine attained a speed of 42,000 revolutions per minute. By 1896 he was operating a complete power plant using an initial steam pressure of 3,400 lbs per sq in. He invented and developed the divergent nozzle to deliver steam to the turbine blades. His flexible shaft and double-helical gear formed the foundation for most subsequent steam turbine development.

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Laval, Carl Gustaf Patrik de 

Born Sept. 5, 1845, in Orsa; died Feb. 2, 1913, in Stockholm; Swedish engineer and inventor (of French origin).

Laval graduated from a technological institute and the University of Uppsala (1872). In 1878 he designed a continuous-operation centrifugal cream separator. In 1889 he built an impulse steam turbine. Laval was the first to use a divergentnozzle, flexibler-shaft, equal-resistance turbine disk, facilitating the attainment of very high tip speeds (419 m per sec). His turbines made provisions for many new components, some of which are used in turbine-building today. Laval developed a theory of nozzles. Because of a number of design deficiencies and comparatively low output, Laval’s turbines were not widely accepted; however they played an important part in the development of turbine design.

REFERENCES

Ganitskii, I. “K. G. P. de Laval kak konstruktor i izobretatel’.” Vestnik obshchestva tekhnologov, 1913, no. 14.
Radtsig, A. A. Istoriia teplotekhniki. Moscow-Leningrad, 1936.