Kálmán Kandó
| Kalman Kando | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 10, 1869 Pest, Austria-Hungary |
| Died |
January 13, 1931 (aged 61) Budapest, Hungary |
| Occupation | Hungarian engineer |
Kálmán Kandó de Egerfarmos et Sztregova (egerfarmosi és sztregovai Kandó Kálmán; July 10, 1869 – January 13, 1931) was a Hungarian engineer, and a pioneer in the development of electric railway traction.
He was educated at the Budapest Technical University where he gained a diploma in mechanical engineering. He worked in France as a junior engineer designing and developing Nikola Tesla's induction motor.
In 1894, Kálmán Kandó developed high-voltage three phase alternating current motors and generators for electric locomotives ; he is known as the father of the electric train. His work on railway electrification was done at the Ganz electric works in Budapest. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway in Evian-les-Bains (France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898. It was driven by 37 HP asynchronous traction system.
He was the first who recognised that an electric train system can only be successful if it can use the electricity from public networks. In 1918, Kandó invented and developed the rotary phase converter, enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high voltage national networks.
After his achievement in designing the three-phase motor and generator he moved to Italy. He would later return to Budapest to work at the Ganz factory where he became the managing director.
Under his leadership the Ganz factory began work on three-phase haulage for railways. Based on their design, the Italian Valtellina railway line was electrified in 1902 and became Europe's first electrified main railway line.
...
Wikipedia