The Röder Turbine

In 1914, August Thyssen invited Karl Röder to work for him in Mülheim/Ruhr. There, the first 3000-rpm large turbine of the Thyssen-Röder type was built without the use of licenses. After SSW took over the Maschinenfabrik Thyssen, Röder's turbine design became a sought-after export item under the name SSW-Röder. In 1928, its axial counter-rotating turbine became the first usable, highly economical steam turbine with an axial design. In 1938, the high-speed axial overpressure turbine with "breathing internals" was built, which can be regarded as the solution to the long-discussed problem.

Röder's experimental turbine, which was formerly installed in the university's combined heat and power plant, has been renovated and is on display in theexhibition area at TFD. It does not yet contain the Röder-attributed construction of the guide blade carrier ("breathing internals"), which provides high thermal elasticity forfast start-up and steep load gradients.