James Beaumont Neilson
James Beaumont Neilson ( born June 22, 1792 in Shettleston, Glasgow, † January 18, 1865 in Queenstown Hill, Kirkcudbright ) was a Scottish director of the Glasgow Gas Company and inventor of the first hot blast stoves for blast furnaces.
Education and Career
Neilson was born in 1792 as the youngest of seven children of mine machinist Walter Neilson and his wife Marion Smith in Shettleston near Glasgow. His middle name Beaumont goes back to the wife of the mine owner, in which his mother worked as a maid.
With 14 years of Neilson was also initially employed in the pit as an errand boy, but two years later began an apprenticeship with his older brother John, who owned a shop and a foundry. During his spare time, he pursued private studies to broaden his education.
1814 Neilson was plant engineer in the coal mine of Irvine and constructed for instance a horse-drawn railway, so that the mined coal could be transported directly from the mine to the port. The following year, he married his first wife Barbara Montgomerie (1795-1843) and moved in with her after his dismissal on grounds of financial difficulties of his former employer to Glasgow. Neilson hoped there to find a new job and better opportunities for education.
In 1813 the newly founded, for the gas lighting from Glasgow competent gas company Neilson finally had success in 1817 and was able to prevail when applying for a job as manager despite the lack of practical experience over twenty competitors. Within five years, he managed to compensate for his lack of experience in his new field of work and rise to the Operations Director. During his thirty-year tenure, he succeeded by numerous inventions many improvements in the gas lighting.
1821 Neilson founded a workers' training college (English: Workmen's Institution), because he knew the importance of a good education through their own experiences. After initially little interest, the establishment in the aftermath was quickly adopted. Just four years later, Neilson's Workers' Education Institute was extended and received in addition to larger working spaces and a laboratory.
Inventions for preheating the air blast of blast furnaces
Neilson came up around 1824 with the blast furnace technology for iron making contact, as a steel mill owner asked if the blower air required would not like coal gas clean. Upon verification, he noted, however, that not the assumed sulfur content, but the lower air pressure and the increased humidity is the cause of the poorer furnace operation in the summer. His suggestion to dry the air before it enters into the blower, but was ignored.
Another request by the owner of the Muirkirker Iron Works to improve the performance of a 800 meters away from the blast furnace blower Neilson brought the idea to extend the blower air by heating and thus possibly making them more effective. Then he carried out experiments in which heated air a luminous gas flame light up more and had a forge stronger. The experimental results supported his thesis. However, many people shy away hut the risk of changes in well-functioning furnaces, because it could take many weeks if it deteriorates, until a furnace "normal" left. Then there was the previous practical experience that blast furnaces in winter ran better than in summer. It was assumed that the wind must be as cold as possible, which was in stark contrast to Neilson's idea.
Only at the Clyde Iron Works in 1828 declared it to be a first attempt with preheated air wind willing, in which only a short distance wind pipe was heated to about 27 ° C with a coal fire. The test was still successful because the resulting slag was visibly thinner and poorer iron despite the small increase in temperature. Although this test, the doubting hut people still could not convince Neilson submitted his invention of the " application of heated air for combustion plants of all kinds " with the Patent Office. The patent was granted on September 11, 1828 under No. 5701. As he, however, lacked the necessary financial resources to exploit the patent, he shared it with Charles Mac Intosch and Colin Dunlop of the Clyde Iron Works, and John Wilson from Dundyvan. In an effort to make it accessible to the invention as many cabin owners, where the patent holder only a small fee of one shilling per ton of pig iron.
Neilson's next invention in 1829 foresaw a longer and arch- shaped bent piece wind line, which was heated over a fire grate and encased in a cast-iron and upwardly open box. This first real cowper had a heating area of 6.5 m², and was able to heat the air blast of about 93 ° C. The disadvantage was the low heat resistance of the box that blew Despite the still- low temperature of the wind. Neilson replaced the box by a cylindrical vault, which was not only more stable but also was able to keep the heat better and the wind temperature increased to 138 ° C. By increasing the conductor cross -section and extending the line succeeded Neilson again, increase the performance of his " tube blast stoves ". With a heating surface of 44.6 m², the wind temperature was thus increase to a maximum of 315 ° C.
A disadvantage, however, stood in the tube blast stoves out the uneven thermal expansion, which led to cracks and leaks. Neilson tried in 1832 initially to distribute the task of blast heating several smaller tube hot blast stoves, which were placed around the blast furnace that each blow was a separate blast stoves available. In order to keep the heat longer, the main supply lines and the so-called "twin tube apparatus" with a brick vaults were covered. Despite the lower heating surface of each hot blast stove of 14 m² twin tube apparatus reached a generated wind temperature of 300 ° C, the almost same performance as the simple tube hot blast stoves. However, it could not be solved so that the problem of the tightness of the system. Furthermore, the high flow resistance caused by the rough inner surfaces of cast iron tubes and pipes a high pressure loss, which reduced the blast pressure strong, and the deal at the blast furnace workers complained about the unbearable heat.
Neilson's latest development, realized in so-called " lifting tube apparatus" or " pants tube apparatus", the disadvantages due to the thermal stresses should compensate with extended wind pipes which converted the previous half-circle shape into a U -shape. Since this cowpers was first used in the smelter Calder, he is referred to in various sources as " Calder apparatus".
Conspiracy against Neilson
Despite the overall very successful improvement of metallurgy by the introduction of hot blast stoves tried many cottage owners, to oppose the distribution of royalties. They called from each other, despite the threat of fines of up to £ 1000 not to recognize the patent. Finally, the patent holders remained nothing more than enforce their rights.
Already the first lawsuit in 1841 against the Houshold Coal and Iron Co. was successful and led a year later to a claim for damages of £ 3,000. Another lawsuit against Alexander Baird, the tenant of a founded in 1830 blast furnace plant in Gartsherrie (North Lanarkshire ), caused quite a stir due to the amount of the witnesses called and the enormous legal costs, but also helped in hindsight, the resistance of the steel workers in relation to the recognition of Neilson to break benefits and entitlements. A total of 102 experts were consulted and finally had to Baird to admit that he had achieved in 10 years of operation since the introduction of blast heating a profit of £ 260,000, at a produced pig iron quantity of 96,000 tons in 1848. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court spoke in Edinburgh patent holders instead of the required only £ 20,000 £ 12,000 to as compensation. The process, however, costs amounted to an estimated £ 40,000.
Retirement and death
After the successful patent litigation Neilson guaranteed income and the rose after withdrawal of Dunlop from 3/ 10 to 6 /10 of profit, he retired in 1847 from the business back and sat down in 1853 with his second wife Jane Gemmel ( † before 1865), the he had married in 1846, on his private property in Queenstown Hill to rest. Until his death, however, Neilson tried always, even in his new adopted country to provide for increased prosperity. Besides the improvement of agricultural machinery and the expansion of the railroad, he founded in the parish of Queen Hill a similar worker education institution as in Glasgow.
When he died in 1865, he left behind a large family with 11 children from his first marriage and four previously -born grandchildren. His eldest son, Walter Montgomerie Neilson (1819-1889) took over in 1843, the factory founded by his brother William Neilson in 1836 for the manufacture of locomotives Neilson and Company in Glasgow and began in 1883 to build on the Hill Barstobrick a pyramid-shaped memorial in honor of his father.
Other inventions (excerpt)
- Replacement of cast iron Entgasungsretorten by clay pots
- Improvement of self-purification of coal gas by use of iron (II ) sulphate ( copperas ) and lime
- Use of charcoal as tar and oil separator to avoid Teernebeln in operation
- Invention of the dovetail burner (English: swallow- tail burner )
Honors
- Acceptance into the Chemical Society and other institutions
- Since May 29, 1832 Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
- Since 1846 Member of the Royal Society