On the occasion of his 95th birthday on 15 September 2023, Prof. Dr. Ing. habil. habil. Gerd Grabow has made an extraordinary donation to the University Library: a part of his artistic drawings.
Dive into the multifaceted world of Professor Gerd Grabow!
Our new virtual exhibition presents a combination of his artistic creativity and engineering skills.
Ink and Pencil Drawings (1946 - 1985)
Biography
Gerd Grabow was born in Weißenfels on 15 September 1928, attended primary and secondary school there and trained as a lathe operator in Halle from 1946. After graduating from high school in 1949, he enrolled at the Technical University of Dresden, specialising in mechanical engineering / power and working machines. He graduated in 1953 with a degree in engineering and began working at the "Zentrales Entwicklungs- und Konstruktionsbüro Halle" in the same year. In the 20 years that followed, Gerd Grabow worked at the "Kombinat Pumpen und Verdichter Halle" on scientific, technical and economic issues relating to the development and use of pumps and compressors.
From 1958 to 1972, he was a lecturer and held lectures and specialised seminars on fluid machine construction at the Diesel Engines, Pumps and Compressors section of Magdeburg Technical University. In 1972, he was appointed full professor in the field of "Energy Conversion Machines" at the Bergakademie Freiberg. Here he continued to work on issues relating to the optimisation of pumps and compressors for a wide range of applications in the individual branches of industry, particularly in the coal and steel industry and the energy sector. In 1975, his area of responsibility was reorganised. Prof Grabow then worked on extensive theoretical and experimental investigations into hydraulic and hydropneumatic conveying systems for transporting solids in a wide variety of pipework systems. In 1977, he also took over the specialist area of "Technical Thermodynamics". From then on, his new chair was called "Fundamentals of Energy Conversion Processes and Technical Thermodynamics".
In order to enable a higher quality of knowledge transfer, Prof Grabow developed new teaching concepts based on the old Leibniz principle of theoria cum praxi and combined didactic methods of audiovisual teaching aids with the use of functional models of various operating principles of pumps and compressors.
Prof. Grabow played a key role in the reconstruction of the model collection for mining and metallurgy, restored 12 of the models himself and built detailed models of the Schwarzenberg blower and the box blower.
He looked after the Weisbach collection for many years. He authored more than 250 publications, including 18 books, and held three industrial patents. Prof Grabow received several awards during his tenure.
The Weisbach Collection
The fact that the Weisbach Collection with its models still exists today is largely thanks to Prof. Dr Ing. habil. Gerd Grabow, who campaigned for its preservation over many years, especially during the years when the building at Lampadiusstraße 4 was being renovated.
The collection honours the achievements of Julius Weisbach (1806-1871) as a mechanical engineer. Models and equipment for fluid mechanics investigations, e.g. various water wheels, discharge constructions and hydraulic and hydrometric apparatus, are on display and explained. The collection itself goes back to Julius Weisbach, Professor of Applied Mathematics, Mining Engineering and Mine Surveying at the Bergakademie.
Today, the collection is part of the 33 collections of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and comprises more than 300 objects. The head of the collection is Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Schwarze.
Julius Ludwig Weisbach was the son of a shift foreman at the Niederschmiedeberg hammer mill near Annaberg.
After completing his school education in Annaberg, he enrolled at the Bergakademie Freiberg in 1822, where he stood out for his extraordinary talent and diligence. In 1927, he continued his education in Göttingen, where he was a student of the mathematician Bernhard Friedrich Thibaut. He studied physics with Tobias Meyer, chemistry with Friedrich Stromeyer and natural history with Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.
He returned to Freiberg in 1830. From 1831 to 1835, he taught maths at Freiberg grammar school. In 1836, he was appointed to the chair of applied mathematics, mining engineering and general mine surveying. His work in the field of practical hydraulics was groundbreaking.
Weisbach is, however, regarded as the founder of the new or visor levelling, in which measurement with and replaced the measuring techniques of the time with the hanging instrument. In 1840 he developed orthogonal regression. From 1844, he was involved in the excavation of the Rothschönberger Stolln (Wasserlösestolln, total length 50.9 km, 8 light holes).
The Schwarzenberg blower
The Schwarzenberg blower is an important piece of 19th century mechanical engineering. It was built between 1830 and 1831 as a blast furnace blower with a waterwheel drive in the "Morgenröthe" ironworks. It was designed by Freiberg machine director Christian Friedrich Brendel (1776 - 1861). In 1831 it was transferred to the Antons Hütte near Schwarzenberg and was in operation there until 1860. From 1862 to 1925, it was used in the Halsbrücker Hütte near Freiberg.
Today, it stands as a historical cultural monument on the "" in Freiberg.
A model of the Schwarzenberg blower and the box blower were newly built by Prof. Grabow and set up in the "Traditionskabinett" of the Bergakademie Freiberg. A further model was built to create a scientific and technical lead in the field of mining marine technology for the extraction of iron-manganese concretions from great depths in the sea.
Prof. Grabow produced a detailed model of this impressive facility and handed it over to the in 2023.
(Text: Angela Kugler-Kießling, Images: Prof Gerd Heinz Grabow, TU BAF)