7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

1/33

FEn. 16

1900.]

THE RA ELAGH WORK, , IP

WTCR.

(

m

rluded from page 175.)

N G I N E E R I N G.

207

IN our

las

issue

we

dealt fairly fully with

the

general arrangement of Messrs. Reavells work s a

nd

some special features in their system of workshop

management; we now propose to describe in some

detail the principal produc ions of the firm.

First

and

fo

remost of these is

the

Sc

ott

compound e

nain

e

illustrated

in

Figs. 9 to 18, on the

present

pageband

page 210 . Th e engine is of the onclosed type, and,

c ~ r d

a r ~

given in Figs. 17 and 18. The upper

d t a g r ~ m m each case has relation to

the

space above

pi

sto

n and the lower diaaram to

that

below A

l ~ t t l e c o n s ~ d e r a t i o n will that the total ~ f f e -

ttv_e work IS . the sum of these two diagrams. The

pomt

at

wluch the equ ilibrium ports are closed

ts so

f i ~ e d

that

und

er no circumstances does the

? o n n e c t ~ n

exert a pull on the crankpin, but

ts

kep

t

111

consta

nt thrust

. Thus, during the fir

st

p a r ~ of ~ r n stroke the two sides of the piston

are m eqmhbnum, but the piston being a.ccelerc1ted

Coming to details of construction, it will be ob

ser.ved that the engine is of the central valve

type

.

Thts valve works in a valve casina which is

pierced wit_ f i v ~ rows of ports, lettered, as shown.

A r o u ~ d th1s ca.smg fits th e annular piston, having

two p

1S

ton-rods, as

l ~ o w n

in Fig. 10, which pass

h r o u g ~

glands a.ccess1ble from the e

xt

e

ri

or, as indi

cated,

mt

o the crank chamber, where each is bolted

to a crosshead running in a bored guide. The

upl?er ends of these gu ides terminate in complete

cylmders, and the hack of each crosshead forms a.

p l u n ~ e r

f i t t i n ~

the

?orresponding cylinder,

thus

.

.

.

.

..

.

-r-

'

.

. ..

.:- .

.

.

.. .

...

. .

.

.. . .

.. . . .

. -1 ;

.

. \..

.

..

I

o

o

o I

o

o

I

I

I

.

. '

0

o o

0

o

I

...

I 0 I

o o

0

0

.

r

0

o

0

.

, .

.

. . .

.

I

. .

. .

.

.

'

:

.

'

: ' .

. . .

.

.

.

.

'

'

, .

.

._

.

.

.

a

_

. .

I '

,

.

. . . ' .

'

.

I '

o

.

I

. _

, . .

..

.

.

r .....

'

.

.

..

0 ' '

- .

'

F IG. 11.

Fig

11.

Stea.mJ 160 lbs . Revs . per ~ 41 2 .

M.E.P. HP. UJ

o M.E P. LP.

21.5

l .H . P. .. 6.2. Te.so

N ' II.

(S2 6 I}

Fig.18. ;

5teain 167 UJs lUJv3. per ~ 412

M. E. P . HP 80.88 M:E . P.

LP

:J4. 1,S

I .H .P

784

Tesb N 'VII.

(S

1U

)

TH

E SCOTT CENTRAL V ALVE ENGINE.

though double-acting, exerts a constant downward

pressure on

the

crank. The engine works on the

so

-c

alled Cornish cycle.

The

high-pressure steam ,

after having done its work on the

top

of the

annular piston shown, is admitted below this piston,

thus establishingequilibrium between

the

two sides.

The crank

at

this moment is

at the bottom

of

it

s

stroke,

and

as

it

moves on the piston is raised, a

portion of the passing steam doing work bel ow the

piston. The equilibrium

ports

are closed

at

a de

finite point, following which the

steam

expands

below the piston and is co

mpr

essed above it up to

the end of the stroke, when by the motion of the

valve the top of the oy linder is opened to steam

8nd

the

bottom to

ex

haust. Specimen indicater

the crank has to thru

st the

rod up. When the

piston has reached its point of maximum velocity

it wou

ld te n

d from its iner tia to cause

the

rod to

leave the cran kpin, but the equilibrium ports are

closed at this moment, and as a consequence the

pressure above t he piston becomes

greate

r

than

that below, a

nd

the rod is

thus

kept

in

constant

t

hru

st

throughout.

Th

e amo

unt

of clearance is

further adj ustP;d so that the compression raises t he

enclosed steam to

the

full boiler pressure as indi

cated by

the diagrams. n this way

the

loss from

initial condensat ion should be la rge

ly

reduced,

and the results of careful tr ials, which we

sha

ll

give below, go to show that this is the case, the

steam economy being excellent.

providing an air cushwn, which serves to maintain

the connecting-rod in constant

thru

st even wh

en

the engine is running on merely a f ~ i c t i o n load .

The connecting-rod consists of two steel castings

bolted together as shown in Fig. 12, and bushed

at

.the upper end to take the crosshead pin,

wh1lst

at

the lower they are bolted to the crank

brasses.

It

will be seen

that the

arrangement

serves to

v e ~ y e c t ~ a l l y

dis

tribu

te

th

e pressure over

the

k p ~ n ,

the

lme

of thrust not being centr al,

as wtth a smgle rod. Splash lubrication is relied

~ h r o u g h o ~ t .

T ~ e

bushing for the crosshead

pm IS acco:dingly

c e d

as shown in Fig.

13,

and

t ~ e v a l ~ e

lmkwork I

s.

itted

at

nearly every joint

w1th

01

l catchers, whtch

co

llect the spra.yed oil

c o n ~ e y it to

the

bearings.

Th

e valve gear

1s,

1t w_1ll be seen, of

the

link type. A bell

crank p1voted to the crank chamber is connected

at

t

he

one

end by

a

link

with a pin

near the

c_ntre the connecting-rods, and by a second

lmk

w1th the

valve spindle. The projectina

lugs shown on the .latter links in Fig.

9, p r e ~

sent some of. t h ~ oil-catchers already mentioned

There are, 1t w11l be seen, five series of ports in

the valve casing, thr ee sets above and two sets below

t ~ e

diaphragm shown. . The portion above this

dtapbragm forms the htgh-pressure steam chest.

The uppe r se

ri

es of ports A merely serve to

admit

the

steam, which, we may add, is a

ll

drawn through

the jacket to this steam chest, and thence passes

t ~ r o u g h

t ~ e s p ~ a l ports marked C to the top of the

ptston , dnvmg 1t down. At the proper point steam is

c ~ t

oftby t he valve

o ~ e r i n g

the ports 0 and expan

siOn commences. As

1t

proceeds on its downward

pa th the pist?n ultimately uncovers

the

ports E,

but

the latter be

tn

g closed

by

the lo

we

r valve behind

themno steam passes through until the piston reaches

the end

of

its

travel.

At th

is

point the

lower valve

opens a

p a ~ h

~ e t w e e ~ ports E and the ports G,

thus estabhshmg

eqUihbrLUm

between the two sides

of the piston, and the latter under the thrust of the

crank begins

it

s r

etur

n journey, and, later on,

covers

the

ports E,

and, ac

co

rdingly

at this point

of its pa th. expansion begins below

the

J?iston and

compression above, which is continued til l the end

of the stroke,

at

which point the lower valve un

covers the

port

G to exhaust, and the cycle just

describ

ed

recommences.

The engine is governed

by

altering the cut-off,

which is accomplished by rotating the upp

er

valve

on its spindle. Th e steam por ts being spiral, as

shown, a small rotation of this valve makes a la rge

alteration in the point of cut-off. This movement

of t

he

valve is effected

by

a fork clearly shown in

Fig. 10, which in

turn is

operated by a link from

the

vertical shaft shown to

the

righ t. This shaft

rests on a ball-b

ear

ing footstep, a

nd

is

connected

by suitable link work with the shaft governor

shown in Figs. 14 to 16. The essential feature of

this governor is a heavy

ring

pivoted

to the

gover

nor casing

at

G. When

at

rest

this ring

is forced

against a stop

.A.

by the spring shown, but its centre

of gravity being eccentric with the shaft, it

te

nds

to shift over when running towards a second stop

B. The tension of the sprin g is so adjusted that

the two extreme positions of

the

ring correspond

to a difference in speed of only lt per cent. The

point C of the ring is connected by a link with the

bell crank E pivoted on the governor casing. The

other arm of this crank, the end of which is concen

tric with the shaf t cen

tre,

is connected

by

a second

link

with an

arm

keyed to the vertical shaft,

the

arrangement being, perhaps, most clearly shown

by Fig. 16, which also gives evidence of the fact

th

at

all the

link

work is p r

ov

ided with ball-and

socket

joints

.

Any

motion of

the

shifting

rin

g is

thus

trans

lated

into

a partial rotation of the ver

tical shaft. A spring connected to a second arm

on this shaft opposes a resistance to its rotation by

the governor

as the

speed rises , and by altering the

tension of this

spr

ing, the engine can be speeded

up

or down as occasion may require, the range

usually allowed for, being about 5 per cent.

The

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

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E N G I N E E R I N G.

RECORD 01

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

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FEn. 16,

Igoo.J

E N G I N E E R I N G.

TABLE xxxnr.-OPxnATroN

R ANn LAnoun

co

sT

rN

Pnon

uc

rNG

1ooo WAT

crr DrALs.

O r E R A T I O ~ .

.Machine o.nd Appliances

Use

d .

Sex of

Worker.

T i

me

.

Rate of

Pay.

Per

r

abou r

Cost.

---- - ____,

_

-

. Making

three

dia l feet . . . . . . . . Do

nke

y

lathes

..

2. Squaring end s of

th

ree dial feet and cuttinJr

to length

..

..

..

..

.. ..

Lathe

. . . . ..

3.

Punching

d ial

from sheet co

pper . . . . Pu nching press

..

. .

4.

Filing

centre and

s

econd

s hole

jn

dials . .

Files

. . . . . .

6. S t a k i n

dial

feet to d ial . . . . . . Staking too l . . . .

6.

Preparmg

dial

f

eet

for

sold

er ing . . . .

Tweeze

rs. . . . . .

7. Soldering dial fee t to d 'al . . . . . . Blowpipe.. . . ..

8. Qleaning rlial in

acid

. . . . . . . . St one jars . . . .

9. S w o g i n ~

dial

. . . . . . . . . . Drop pr ess . . . .

10.

Enamehng back of

d

ial . .

. . . . . .

Sifting

p r

ocess machine

11.

,. face of dial . . . . . . . .

Eoamehng ma

chin e .

12. Firin g enamel on dial . . . . . . . Gas furnace . . .

.

.

13.

In

sp ec

ting

enamel on dial . . . . . . . . . .

14. Washing dial . . . . . . . . .

Automati

c was hin g

ma

c

hine

16. Dipping dial in sol

ut

o

n,

and

th

rowing off

su rplus solution, and

dr

yi ng dial . . . .

1G. Fi

xi

ng figures

on dial

. . . . . . . .

Stone

jars and

drying

mac

hine

Elect

ri

c lig

ht

and

dial ne

ga

live

..

17.

Ooating dial

with ink . . . . . . . .

Ink roll

er . . . . . .

18.

Dusting

vitrible colour on dial . . . Automatic du s

ting

machine .

19.

Washing

ink off dial .. . . . . .. ..

20. Drying dial . . . . . . . . . . Automatic dry ing ma ch ine ..

2

1. I

nspe

cting and corr ect ing

figures

on dial . . Camel'dha

ir

b rush . . . .

22. Printing company's name on dial . . . . P ress and

stee

l plate . . . .

23 . Firing paint on dial . . . . . . . . Gas furn ace . . . . . .

24.

Pu n

ching seconds bit from sheet copper . .

Pu n

ching pi ece . . . .

25. O u t t i n ~ dial for seconds bit . . . . . . L \tbe . . . . . . . .

26. Ann ea

hng

seconds bit . . . . . . . . Fu

rn

ace . . . . . . . .

27.

Ol

eaning seconds bit in acid . . . . . .

Ston

e ja rs . . . . . .

28.

SwaginJr seconds bit . . . . . . . .

Dr

op press . . . . . .

29

.

Ename

ling

ba

ck

of se

conds

bit

. . . . Sifting pro

ces

s

ma

c

hine

..

30. Enameliog fa

ce

11

. . ,

31.

Firin

g

enam

el on ,. ., . . . . Furnace . . . . . . ..

32. In

specting

enamel

., .,

. . . . . . . .

83.

Printing

seconds

., ., . . . . Pr ess and steel plate . .

34.

Firing paint on ,,

11

Gas furnace

. . . .

35. Cutting

seconds

bit to

size

. . . . L lthe ... .

36. Turning- seconds bit from plate . . ., _ . . . .

37. S;nking

seconds

bit

into

dial . . . . 11

38. Polishing edge of dial . . . . ,. .. -

39. Scldering edge in dial ..

Furnace

.. . .

40. Grinding edge of dial . . . .

Grindin

g

la the

.

41.

Drilling seconds bole in

dial

. . . Drilling

lathe

. .

42. Filing

cent

re hole in dial Fles ... . .

43.

Fi

t ting

dial

to dummy w a ~ c h p l a t e . .

44. Cl

eaning dial ..

.. ..

Cloth

..

..

111

F

M

f

F

F

M

M

F

F

F

M

1

}I'

.M

F

F

F

M

F

l t[

M

M

M

F

F

}

-

i

I

l U

J

6>

,

I

R .72C\

( ,

.....

'

'

Ft J.

7Z1

.

- [

IIH

-H- - - -fH

.,

F I

G.

723.

t r1

, t t1

bj

-

\

-

-

0

0

0

-..

-

I

I

J

Q

1\)

-

..n

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

10/33

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

11/33

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

12/33

218

E N G I N E E R I N G.

[F

EB

. I

6,

I 900.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF ENGINES AND BOILERS,

US

CRUISER DE

'' NVER.

l 9 G 8

1

Q

--

. : : ._ -

= =

t : : l ==1-._S::I=1 5= 1

-

---.

Fl[J .

.

J ig. 6 .

-

.

...

....

.

x z -

Fe

e,

I

I

. t

_ .

.. . ..

I

-

....... .. .. . ..

. . , . ' ..

I

I

I

I

.

I

~

~

I

j

:

. I

/1 1 ..:J-

,

I

\: \

\

\

'

. I '

r t

I

\

,, ,, ,,

I t l ' \\ \

I 1

1

I ..

1 1

I

I ' \ ' '

, ,, \\

I I \\ \ \

I t \ \

I , -

\

F

0

HATCR

.. I .

~

~ = ~ ~ ~ ~

~ = t ~ l ~ ~ ~ L --

i ' lQJ=t1 ~ ~ ~ M - ~ ~ ~ l t. -J -----------.---- -_

Q

F

1

FJ

i 1 r G

~ O )

\

'

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

o ~ ~ ~ J ~ ~

1

I

I

I

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..

I /

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.

~ I 1 1 I I 1 1 I ~

~ L _ ~ = = = = = = ~ = = = = = = ~

~ ~ ~ = = = = = = ~ ~ = = = = ~ ~

~

~ l ~ ~

-

S24ZG

- -

--

FRAME 4 2

- . -

L

OO,;} ,:,r.

NG F O R W 7 7 "

I N

our

issue of

Januar

y 26,

we

gave on t

he

two

-

page in

our issue of December 29 a ~ t (see page 8

19

,

plat

e

illu

s

trat

ions

of

t

he

four

-cylinder

tripl

e expan- vol. lxviii.

),

in

th

e

report

of t

he

mee

ting

of

th

e Ameri

sion engines of

th

e

United

tates protected

c

ru i

ser

ca

n Soc

iety

of

Naval

Arc

hi t

ects

and

Engineers.

"Denver"

a t:d

her

five sister-vessels, as designed by

the Engineering Bureau of the

Navy

De

par

tmen t at

Was

hingt

on, of which Rear-Admiral Melville is chief.

H .

M.

TORPEDO-BOAT

DE

STROYER

We now

pub

lish on our two-page pl

at

e and on th e

"VIPER,

WITH

PARSONS TURBINE .

pre

se

nt

page,

in

Fi

gs. 13

to

16,

further illustrations

THE

upper

illu

st

rati

on

wh

ich

we

giYe on

th

e opposite

showing the general

arrangement

of

the ma

chine

ry

page re

produ

ced

fr

om a photograph

taken

of H

.M.S

.

in the

vessel.

In

a subsequent issue

we

shall give Viper, when steaming

35

kn

ots

gives a

sp

lendid id

ea

other

illustrations

showing

certain details

of

de

sign of

the

success

attained

not only wi th

Pars

ons steam

of these engines,

a.nd

po

st

pone

our

desc

ripti

on

until turbine

s as a

prop

elling

pow

er, but in the

de

sign of

th

e

t he

seri

es is compl

ete.

Some d

etai

ls of

the

engines

bull

to secure a high efficiency, f

or

the wave line sug

were giv

en

in

our

issue of Janu

ary

12 (see page 50, gests

s.

m

inimum

of resi

stance

f

or

t he

great

speed.

ante ,

and

de t

ails of

the

Yessels

were

also .

The Viper

has

been bu

il

t for

the Briti

sh

Navy, her

..

, ,

..

--

-

s

peda

l c

hara

c

te r

is

ti

c boiug th at she is f i t t .by

thf

Parsons

Marine

Ste

am

Turbine

Company,

Ltmtted ,

0

WalJse

nd

-on-Tyne,

with the

now welJ-known

stea

m

turbine invented by the Hon. Charles Parsons.

Full

details have al ready been given in E N G I N ' E E r ~ o

vol lxviii.,

pa

ges 191, 221, and

256}

, of

the

prmCip

le

of the

sy

stem, so

that it

is

not

necessa

ry

here to enter

into

details.

Th

e vessel is 210 ft. lon

g,

21 ft.

beam,

12

ft.

9 in. dep th moulded, and displac

es 350

tons .

The

se

dim

ensions differ litt.le from

th

ose of the.d

e-

stro

ye

rs fitted

with

t

he

o

rdin

a

ry

reciprocat

in

g

e ~ g 1 D e f

- the displace

ment

is 25 tons more

than the

beav1est

0

t he30

-knot

boa

ts-and

it

becomes

inter

es ting tonote the

in

crease

in

pow

er

for each succ

e8 i

ve addition to s

peed.

The

fir

st

bo

ats

of 26

knots bad

3200 indicated horse

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

13/33

F ED . I6, 1900.]

E N G I N E E R I N G.

2 19

H.M. TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYER "V

IPER."

THE PAR ON

R I N E

T E A ~

TURBINE

COn

lPANY, L J)IlTED,

'V

ALL END ON-TYNE

-

er

at

command , t hen 27 kn ots r

eq

uired an increase

om 4000 to 4200 indicated hor

se

-power. When

-knot boats were

built

, it was found

th

at the power

to be 6000 indi

ca

ted horse-powe

r;

for 32 knot s

power was found to be close upon 9000 indi

ted horse-power,

and the turbine-prop

e

ll

ed Viper

it

is

sa

id,

atta

in

ed

her speed of 35

knots wi

t h

,000 indicated horse-power. In

oth

er words,

th

e

for 26 k

not

s was 12 indicated horse-power

er ton of m e n t ; for 27 knots, 1

5l

indicated

se

-p

ower per

ton

; for 30

knot

s, 20 indic

ated

horse

ow

er per

ton ; for 32

knots

, indic

ated hor

se

ower per ton ; and for 35

knot

s, 31 indicated horse

ow

er

per ton. I t will be

noted

that the

in

crement

n power just O

Yer

30

knot

s is not so gr

ea

t as

und

er

er th

at

speed, and that bet ween 32 and 35

ot

s it shows a quick upwa

rd

mo vement,

The oth

er

ssels make 400 revolu tions,

the

Vip er's engines nearly

times th is ; and

thus

it was necessary, instead

.

-

-

=----

......_ ._

of having only two p e l l e r ~ t o fit tight on four

shafts, so as to sec

ur

e the necessa

ry

forward thrust

and

t he

ad

van tages of high ro

tary

speed.

Th ere are two shafts on each side of the ce

ntre

line

of th e s

hip,

w

ith tw

o s

et

s of compou nd steam tur

bines.

Th

e

arrangem

e

nt on bo t

h sta rboard

and

port

si

de

s is t h

at

t he

hi

gh-

pressur

e

turbine drives

the

oute

r, and

the low-pressure turbine th e

inn

er s

haf

t .

On

th

e inner s

haft

a

rever

sing t

urbine

is also fitted ;

it runs idle when th e bo

at

is going ahead, and when

it drives th e ship

st e

rnward,

the

fo

rward

t urbines

are idle.

Th

e speed ast e

rn

is 15

knot

s.

Our

illus

tr

a

ti on of the machin

ery

sho ws one of

the

t wo duplica te

sets having high-press

ure

, low-pressure, and

rever

sing

turbines. Th

e

screw shafts are

c

arried by

br

ac

k

ets as

u

sua

l, and on each shaft two propellers

are

moun ted,

th e a fter h

aving

a sligh tly l

arge

r

pi

tch

than

t he for

ward pr

opelle

r. The

re

are th u

Re

ight

propellers.

Th

e

thru

st

from the shafts is en t

irely

balanced by th e ste.m

0

l

-

-==- '

-

I

...

.

-

-

-

-

-

act ing on t he

turbin

es, so t ha t t here is lit tle friction.

The multiple

prop

e

ller

s,

and

t he high rota

ry

speed,

wi

th th e absence of

re

c

ip rocat

ing par ts, overcomes

vib rations whi ch, apar t from their w

ea

ring e

ffe

ct on

the hull

and on the per onn

render

good gun pr

ac

ti

ce

ina

ccu

rate. Th

e weig

ht

s

are

as follow :

Boiler-room weights with water Tons

Uwb.

Qr. Lb.

in boilers ... ... ... 100 15 0 0

E ngine-room weights with auxi-

lia.ry gear and water in con-

52

6

1 5ensers

...

.

.

.. .

Weight of propellers, sha.ftin

g,

&c .

7

14 2

0

Total .

.. 1

60

15

3 5

The boilers are of th e Yarrow type, a.nd the auxiliary

ma

chinery

and

conden

se

rs

are

of the ordina

ry

ty pe.

Th

e hull

an

d all

fitting

s

are

of t he usual

de

sign.

The

official Admiralty tr ials will be looked forward to

with

great in terest.

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

14/33

220

NOTES FROM

THE

NORTH.

.

G ~ A S G O w , .

Wednesday.

Glasgow

Ptg Irm

Man-kct. A fauly active b u s i n ~ s was

in

the

warrant market

la s

t Thursday forenoon and

sympathy w i ~ h the co

urse of affairs in othe

r

u l a -

tJ

ve markets,

pr1ces

were very

firm.

About

25 000

tons

were

de

alt

i.n, a:nd

cotc

h iron was advanced

4 ~ d : per

ton,

and hemat1te

1ron 5d.

Th

e mark

et

was

easie

r

in the

afternoon on a little realising. Scotch iron gave wa.y

5 ~ d .

per

ton; Cleveland,

2d.; and hematite iro

n,

4d.

per ton. T h ~

sales

am

ounted 10,000 tons.

The

settleme

nt

pnces were : Scotch non, 68s. per

ton; C ~ e v e l a n d ,

69a. Gd.;

Cumb

e

rland

hematite

iron,

77s

.;

1'I1ddl

esbrough,

A

moderate amount of busi

was d ~ n e

on

Friday forenoon, and the tone was

easier

.

on pnva:te

cab.

le

s

fr

om

America

,

reporting another

m

the

prtce

of

1 r o ~ there, but t a ~ i n g that there was

st1ll a g ~ o d

d e m ~ n ~

for Jron. The advices were

certainly

somewhat

co

nfhctmg.

About 15,000

tons of ir

on

were

sold, and Scotch and hematite iron bo th gave way

per

to

n, a

nd Cleve

land iron

1

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

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7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

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222

E N G I N E E R I N G.

[FEB. I 6, I 900.

PARIS INTERNATIONAL

EXHIBITION;

LARGER FINE ART

BUILDING.

For Description, see Page 213.)

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7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

18/33

FEB. I6 '1900.]

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M8TA LLUROY.-Wedn

esda

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ad

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uss the following

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rs

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cc

On

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Develo

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e

nt of Silver

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melting in

M

exico,"

by Otto II. Hahn , M. In st. M.M. 2. cc Segregation of Mine

Accounts," by W. B.

Middleton,

M. Inst.. M.

M.

3.

cc Notes on

a

Novel Association of Gold," by Henry F. Collins, M.

Inst.

M.M.

R

OYA

L I NSTITUTION

OF GREAT

BRITAIN.-Friday,

Febru

o.ry 23,

at

9 o'c lock. Discourse by Professor John H. Ponting, D.S c. ,

F.R.S., on cc Re

cent

St

udies

in

Gra

vi tat i

on ." Af

te

rnoon le

cture

s

next

week, at

3 o

'c

lock. On

Tuesday, Fe bruar

y 20,

Professor

E.

Ra

y

Lankes te

r, M.A. , LL .D. , F.R.S., on

cc

The Structu re and

Cl

assification

of

Fishes"

(Le

ctur

e VI.). On Th u

rsday, February

22,

P rofessor H.

IT

.

Turner,

M.A.,

F.R.S., on

cc

Modern

Astronomy"

(Le

c

ture

Il l .).

On Sa t

urday,

r u a r

24, Mr . W. L.

Cou

r t

ney,

M.A. LL.D.,

on

cc T

he

Idea of Tr agedy in Ancient o.nd in Modern

Drama" (Le

ctu

re

Ill .)

H ULL MW DISTRICT I NS TITUTION OF ENGINEERS AXD NA\ AL

ARC

JJITBOTS

. - Monday, Febru ruy 19,

at

8

p.m ., at

t

he Pa r

ochial

Offioes,

Bond

-st r

eet. cc

A

New Method of

Improving

Cir

cul

atio

n

in

Steam Boilers," by Mr.

J.

O r e i ~ : ~ s r s . Cooper

and

Oreig),

Dundee. Illust

rated

by la

nt

e

rn shdes,

&c.

ROY

Al

METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. - Wednes

da y

,

the

21th inst.,

at

7.30 p.m

.,

at the

Institutio

n of Civil Engineers,

Great

Oeorge

st ree t, Westminst er. The following papers will be read : cc Re

port

on t

he

Phenolog ica l Ob

serva tio

ns f

or

1899," by Mr.

Edwa

rd

Mawley,

F.R.

Me t. Soc., F.R.H.S. "Results of Percolation Ex

periments at Roth

a

msted,

187090," by Mr.

Robert

H.

Scott,

D.S

c. , F .R.S.

223

of works of

many

varieties, including q

nite

a la go

chemical indust ry. The South \Vales

E ~ e c t n c a l

Power Distribution

Co

mpany propose a cap1tal of a

million

sterling with

which to equip three gene

rating stations, situated respectively at Nea th,

Pontypridd, and

Pontypool, with a n

et

work of

mains covering

the

whole of th e county of Glamor

gan, and so much of Monmouthshire as lies

to

th

e west of the River Usk. The scheme

of the Lancashire Electric P ower Cornpany is the

most extensive of the three , as powers are sought

for the supply of electricity to t

he

whole of

the

coun ty of Lancas

Ler

south of th e River Ribble.

Th

ese schemes,

if th

ey o

btain

th

e

sancti

on of

Par

liam

ent,

will be of

imm

ense importance to the

country, since th ey will bring cheap and convenient

power to the door of

ever

y manufac

tory

in the

ir

district, and to every place whore manufacture is

feasible.

At the

pr

esent time th ere

are

a large

number of provincial towns in

the

neighho

urho

od

of the moro populous cities which arc making gr

eat

effoi'

ts

to call th e attention of

manufac tur

ers to the

advantages they offer, in th e shape of cheap

land,

abundant w

ate

r , low

ra t

es, moderate house

rent,

and

t

he

like.

If

to these they could add ready-ma

de

power their positions would be imm enRely im

proved in relation,

at any ra t

e, to

th

e smaller

class of industrials, who shrink from sinking their

capital in engines, boi

le r

s, and chimneys.

We

have only to

make

a very cursory

su

rvey of the

country to recognise that

it

is cheap power and

wat

er which d

ete rmin

e the location of works

in

the

fir

st in

stance, a

nd that

where

th

ese a

re

to

be

ob

tai ned, high chimneys spril1g

up

almost spontan

eously. I t needs

no

prophet to foretell that in a

dist rict

in

which power can be ob tK \ ined at modera te

rates there will be a rapid increase of indust rial

ac tivity, with

all

the prosperity that naturally

follows such

a

change.

One

would imagine that municipalities would

eagerly welcome such an addit ion to their re

sources, especially the smaller ones which

ha

ve

everything

to gain and nothing to lose from it.

But,

unfortunately, such is not the case.

A

la r

ge

number of

th

e

repre

se

ntative

s of Lancas

hire

towns

have underta

l{

en to oppose the Bill affecting that

county,

partly

because the promoters will have the

power to break

the

streets, but more particularly,

apparently, because they resent all private enter

prise which

extends

beyond the four walls of a

factory .

The

modern

town

councillor lies dreaming

of the time when all the rates will

Le

paid

out

of

the

profits of municipal trading,

quite

oblivious of

the fact that a very small addition to the general

prosperity

of

the

town is of

far greater

importance

than a reduction of rates. While trade is good

there

is no grumbling at the public burdens ; it is

only when there is depression th

at

there is a

cry

for

retrenchment. The great business of a town council

is, therefore,

to

foster local enterprise in every way

possible. Our nat ional prosperity has been founded

on cheap power,

and

the same cause may be ex

==----==========-=

-

=--

-

-===

=-======-

pect

ed

to

bring

local prosperity. As

has

been poin ted

ENGINEERING.

FRIDAY,

FEBRUARY

16,1900.

ELECTRIC ENERGY

IN

B1

J

LIC.

Now that Pa rli a

ment

has assembled, the atten

tion of

the

profession is agail1

directed

towards t he

large number of engineering pr

oje cts

which lie

awaiting inquiry

in

the committee rooms. .A s

shown

by the

accounts we published

at the

end of

November and in the early issues of December,

there are

ve

ry

many schemes

to

be inves tigated,

although

there are none of great magnitude.

Among the most

inter

esting are those which con

cern

the

distribution

of electric

energy in

bulk "

as the phrase goes. The principal of these are

pron1oted by the Ty neside

Electr

ic Power Com

pany,

Limited, the South \Vales

Electrical

Power

Distribution Company, the Lancashi re Electric

Power

Company, the Midland Electric Corpora

tion

for Power Distribution,

the

County of Durham

Company, and a second company in Durham. The

Tyneside

Company will

hn

.

ve

a capital of 500,

OOOl.,

and propose to establish stations from which

energy will be transmit ted throughout the whole

of

the

manufacturing

districts

on both sides of

the Tyne, from Blaydon to New

burn

on the

west,

to Ty n

emouth and So

uth

Shields on the

east. In

this

area th ere are an

immense

number

out

by Mr. W. L. Madgen, in his pamphlet on

"Electrical

Pow

er Dis tribution

and

tha Commercial

Development

of Provincial Distr i

ct

s, " a great deal

of work which should r:atura.lly

and

properly be done

by

local

trades

men is now

obtained

from a

distance

,

because

even

the simplest machine-tool

ne

eds an

engine of some

kind to run

it .

Wi th

a convenient

source of

power

on the spot, a great deal of money,

which now goes elsewhere, would be kept

in

a small

town.

Like th e small tradesman,

the

small town

is getting squeezed out of existence. I t

can

buy

everything cheaper than it can mako it, and hence

all trade,

except mere di

s

tribution

languishes. ,.

Our political economists deplore t

he

growth of

large cities,

and

the depletion of

the

country, and

at

the

same time town

councils o

ppo

se

every

attemp t to bring back their wanin g prosperity for

the

sake

of

their po

ss

ible trading profit

s.

The dist ribution companies, or most of

them,

ask

for no monop oly, and expressly divest themselves

of

the power

to

compete

with municipali t ies

in

any

field that can be fairly claimed by t he la tt er. Th e

so

le

t hing they ask is permission to lay th eir mains

un der the roads and st reets to

enabl

e then1 to

reach wholesale consumers. They do not propose

to

undertake

ge

neral

lig

htin

g

unl

ess r

equest

ed

;

they will sell the municipality elect ric en

ergy

in

bulk to be distributed by it, if it chooses to buy

it, or

they

will leave

it free to

generate

it

-s own.

In regard to breaking the roads ample safeguards

are offered to th e to

wn

and district councils

to

insure

the

work of reparation bei

ng adequately

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

19/33

224

:

performed. No doubt there will be some l

ittle

~ e m p o

r a r y

inconvenience

to

t

he

inhabitants, but

1t

need

s a

very

s

light acquaintance with the

streets

of provincial towns

to understand

that this

is

a

matter of small consequence. The surfaces are

either macadam

or

pitching, and are

rapidly

made

good. When the City of London,

to

obtain a com

peting source of electric current, has deliberately

~ u b j e ~ t e d itself to having all its streets opened, the

1nhab1tants of a country town may easily bear their

much smaller

inconvenience

to obtain

the immense

benefit of cheap. and

convenient

power supply .

One of the chief causes of municipal opposition

to

th

ese

distribution

schemes is

the

fear

of lo

sing

the

chance of supplying current for motors. To learn

how

sma

ll is that chance, we have only to

study the

load diagrams of a few towns. With small exceptions

this source of demand is infinitessimal, and it

must remain so at present prices. In some few

places, notably at Manchester, energy is being

su

pp

lied

at

cheap

rate

s, but even

these are

much above those co

ntemplated

by the distribution

companies. F or instance,

the

Tyneside Co mpany

are already

quoting

3d.

per unit for the fir.

t 100

hours per

quarter,

and 0.9

penny

per unit for

subsequent hours. They realise

that

it is a busi

ness to be

nu r

sed

by the offer of

tempting

terms,

which can scarcely pay in the first instance. H erein

lies

the

difference

between privat

e

enterprise

and

municipal management. The town council

cannot

speculate with the ratepn.yers' money. I t can only

follow a

pa

t h which has been

trodden

hard by

ot

her

s, a

nd

even

then

it

mu

st

walk

w

n

rily.

In

any case, the scope of i

ts

operations is

determined

by

its

area, and

this

is far too small in most instances

for any action on a large scale. The municipality

is a

retail

t r

ade

r , and

mu

st necessarily

remain

so.

Its operations can only be

on

a mall scale, and

must

always suffer the disadvantages which attend

a r

es tricted

output.

Further, a municipality is in

the

position of

a manufacturer with insufficient capital.

I t

is

true that it can raise money readily enough

bu t

,

on the other hand, it cannot spend it with that

fr

eedom necessary

to

secure

the best

results.

Almost from the beginning it

must

show a profit,

or elso there will be a howl fr om the ratepayers.

Every

member

speaks and

ac t

s with an eye

fixed on the next election

he

will have to face,

and

therefore he can recommend no policy which is

not

certain to pay its

way.

Such

conditions fix

the

class of business to

be

sought. I t must be of

the pedd

l

ing

kind which admits of a lar

ge

margin

of profit on a small turnover. I t cannot cater for

customers who are prepared to take large quanti

ties at

a price which is the

merest

fraction over

the co

st

of productio11 when

this

is conducted on

an enormous scale and with t he most perfect ap

pliances. The

man

who wants power always wants

it cheap.

I t is

not only town

councils

that are

opposing

the

distributing

companies, but also the

rural

authori

ties. This, at first sight, seems incredible, for

t he

in

troduction of e lectric

light into

a

rural

dist

rict

is far too risky a speculation

to

be entertained by

the

Board, while the passage of the distributing

company's mains through a v i l l a ~ e ~ 1 u s t b r i ~ g

to

it enormous advantages. D1d 1t prom1se

nothing n1ore than the abolition of the paraffin

lamp, one

would imagine

the

peop

le wo

uld

wel

come it with acclamation. It not only does

this but

it offers

the

farmer and all

the

small

i n d ~ s t r i a l s release from half their troubles with

their workpeople. One has only to walk round

the

implement

s tands

at

the show of t

he

Roy al

Agricultural Society to see how much

the ne

ed

of small

motors

is felt in the country. There are

wind

engines, wate r wheels, o ~ - a i r engines, petro

leum enaines, and

stea

m engines of very small

sizes all' designed for use

in

farms and villages,

and good trade is done in them. None of them

can compare with the electric motor for the par

ticular purpose for which they are intended,

and

the use of

them

all would cease were a cheap

supply

of electricity

a.vail.

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20/33

FEB. 16 1900.]

contract that

' '

ha.rveyised , nickel - steel plates

should be substituted for

the

plain plates. Ulti

nutely

both

the

Bethlehem

and

Homestead

plat

es

were of nickel steel

and

many were

' '

ha.rveyised."

Naturally

an

addition was made

to the

price on

this account. In 1893 contracts were made for

3000 tons with

the

Oarnegie Company,

and

3500

tons with

the

Bethlehem Company.

'rhis armour

was of nickel steel harveyised,

but the

contract

price was

the

same as for plain steel armour, ex

cepting that

an

allowance was made for ha.rveyising,

and the Government supplied

the

nickel. Two

years later,

in

1895,

Mr. H.

A.

Herbert,

who had

then

become Secre tary of

the

Navy, persuaded

the

Bethlehem

and

Ca.rnegie Companies to reduce

the

price of

armour

by 59.54 dols.

per

ton on 5600

tons for two ships,

and,

later, a further

reduction

of merely 10 dols. per ton was made on

account

of

the lesser price of nickel.

So far

the

United States Navy Department ap

pear to have done

nothing

more than t hey

wer

e

justified in doing

in

a fair of bargaining as be

tween buyer and seller. It

1s

however, always an

open question how far State departmen

ts

ought to

push the exceptional powers they possess to squeeze

manufacturers. There is always temptation for

ambitious officials to make capital for themselves by

showing how much

the

Exchequer has been saved

by their cleverness, and this sometimes leads to

circumstances which are

not

to

the

public advan

tage. We have had some conspicuous instances of

this nature

in

our own service, some few of

our best

manufacturing firms abstaining from competing for

Government orders simply on account of

the

trouble

caused by the departments. Some of the naval

and

military officers who have occupied responsible posi

tions in the two great spending departments of

the

State are very unreasonable to contractors,

and

do

much harm. They seem to

think that

business is a

system of over- reaching

and

all business men are

no more honest

than the

law,

and

a fear of being

found out, compels them to be,

and they are

mightily proud if they can worst the contractor in

what they suppose to be his own game.

This attitude may

to

some extent be condoned,

or at any rate it is to be explained,

in the

case of

naval and military

officers-who

largely come from

what may be called non-business families-

but

t

is

hardly to be unde

rs t

ood

in the

Un

ited

States,

where all families have more

or

less interest

in

commercial pursuits,

and wher

e

the

whole com

munity lives

in an

atmosphere of business.

Yet,

in

1896,

the

Secretary of

the

Navy was directed

to examine into the actual cost of armour-plate and

the

price which should

be

equitably

paid,

and to

report the result of his investigation to Congress.

It was provided by the Act

containing

this

clause that

no armour should

be bought until

the report had been made.

Very

naturally the

makers refused to " expose private affairs to

business rivals,, feeling that any statements

made would be erroneously construed and dis

torted to their disadvantage." They were reluctant

to

take any steps that would seem to admit the

right of a customer to examine

the

cost of manu

facture with the view of disputing prices., Under

these circumstances the Secretary of

the

Navy got

together some naval officers, includjng two who had

been inspectors of armour at

the

Bethlehem and

Carnegie Works,

and

formed

them into

a

Board

with instructions to arrive at some conclusion in

regard to price. The secretary, however, was

by

no means satisfied with

the

conclusions of

the

Board when he received them. He accepted

the

estimates for

co

st of labour

and

material, but

differed in his views as to

the

allowance for main

tenance of plant.

He

based these views on an

estimated value of the

plant

which was less than

one-half its actual cost,

and

he calculated

the ou t

put

at about 3000 tons a year, which was nearly

50 per cent. greater

than the

actual product

had

been. On this basis

he

arrived at

the

conclusion

that

400 dols. a ton would

be

a fair price

to

be

paid for

the

ha.rveyised nickel-steel armour, in

cluding nickel ;

and

that

the

profit

to

~ h e manu

facturer would be 50 per cent.

\Ve will n

ot

give d

eta

ils of Mr. Secretary

Herbert's

estimate, as they are contradicted by

the

makers,

who would certainly

be in

the

better

position

for

knowing the truth. The

figures given

by the

makers

are

interesting, and show how great

must

be the

command of capital on the part of

those

enteri

ng into competition

wtth

established

makers of armour-plates. The average cost of plant

and

the

working capital for the :Bethlehem and

E N G I N E E R I N G.

Carnegie Company was about 4,000,000 dols., or

over 800,000l. in all. Mr. Herbert had estimated

that

the

50

per

cent. profit he allowed would be paid

by a sum of 125 dols. per ton on 3000

tons

of armour

a year, or a total of 375,000 dols. a

year;

but

then he

on

ly

allowed million dols. as

the

cost of

the plant

ins

tead

of 4 million dols., which

the

makers gave

the.actual cost. Taking such points in to con

stderatLOn,

the report

of

the

Makers' Association

brings

out the

profit at 9.37

per

ce

nt.

on t

he

lloney invested, so that

if the

legal

rate

of

interest

1s put

at 6

per cent

.,

there

only remains 3.37

per

cent.

to cover all risks

incurr

ed

in

manufact

uring.

No one, we

think, in

this country,

and

certainly

no capitali

sts in

America, would care

to in

vest

money in so

very

precarious a business as the

armour-plate trade on a

prospect bounded

by a

31 per

cent.

limit over

ordinary

interest. There is

first t he

uncertain

nature of the demand-the hot

and

cold fits of public en thusiasm, and the chance

that a Governn1ent may be returned which courts

public favour on a retrenchment policy. That

means armour-plate presses standing idle. Again,

there is the

pestilential

inventor who may

establish a ew process that will render existing

plant

obsole te. When

the

Bethlehem Armour

Plate Works were corn pleted , we had an oppor

tunity

of seeing something of them. The 125-

ton steam hammer was a most impressive object,

but commanded admiration more by its mammoth

proportions than by the wisdom of establishing

it

.

The

hydraulic press

had

at

that

time taken

a definite place

in the

production of large forg

ings, and

it

was confidently predicted

by

those

who might be supposed to know most about

the

matter, that the days of big steam hammers for

th ese purposes were numbered. I t was said at

the

time,

and

the

statement turns

out to have been

well founded,

that

this,

the

largest steam hammer

ever

built

in

the

world, was erected

by

'

the

Bethlehem Company

in

conformity with

the

wishes

of

the

United States Government authorities,

the

company's engineers

not

being favourable

to the

plan. However,

if

o

ne

has only a single customer,

and that

customer a Government with full power of

selection

and

rejection, one must give heed

to

suggestions. n

this

case

the

hammer worked for

less

than three

years,

and

was

then

discarded

in

favour of a 14, 000-ton forging press. Another in

stance of

the

unce

rtain nature

of laying down

plant

of

this character

is afforded

by the Homestead

Works, where we recently saw

the

steel cylinder

of the

big

armour pr

ess, recently purchased, cracked

through and discarded. I t was a ma.ssi ve steel

forging, a really

splendid

piece of work, and in

spite

of this

one

defect, reflected great credit on the

make rs. I t was being replaced by a

steel

casting

made by the Oarnegie Company themselves.

I t was the cost of the big hammer which largely

accounted for a very substantial difference in

the expenditure upon the Bethlehem and Carnegie

armour-plate plants respectively. The latt er is

said to have amounted to 3,376,000 dols., which

was a million dollars less

than

the Bethlehem

plant

cost. Th ese figures are given in a supplementary

report Mr. Herbert submitted to Congress.

I t is in

te

resting to learn that

the

cost of plant,

as estimated by

the

Board of Naval Officers, whose

conclusions the Secretary ignored, was 3, 537,000

dols., which was

not

far off

the actual3,376,000

dols.

of

the

Carnegie Company ; at any rate,

it

was accu

racy itse lf compared to

the

grotesquely inadequate

sum of 1,500,000 dols. put forward apparent

ly

for

political purposes.

We hllve n

ot

space to analyse

the

figures

throughout,

and

can only

state that the

result

arrived at

by

the

author

of the

report

of

the

Association is

that

at

the

price allowed

by the

Secretary of 400 dols. a ton, the profit would

be

34 dols. a ton. As, however, 2000 tons a year is

over

the

averaae

output, the

return for money

invested would be 1.7

per

cent., allowing

nothing

for

interes t

.

Ther

e are, however,

in

America, politicians, com

pared to

whom Secre

ta

ry

Herbert

is generosity

itself. He allowed,

in

estimating his price, a

sum

of 10 per cent. for maintenance of

plant

; but

Se

nator

Chandler, who

in t

e

rested

himself

in the

matter, thought

6

per

cent

. would

be

sufficient.

At

any

rate,

the

question was

brought

before Congress

on

March

3, 1897,

when

it was decided that the price

for armour

should

be 300 dols. per ton. At

this

price ' ' i f the armour should cost nothing to make,

the gross receipts would be 15 per

cent.

on the

capital invested. in a plant which might within a

5

few years

be

worthless. Foreign Governments,

we are

further

told, are

content

to pay 500 dols.

a ton

for the same quality of armour.

For a further chapter

in

this interesting history

of " How not

to

do it, " we may

turn

to

the annual

rep

ort

of

the

Engineer-in-Chief to

the United States

Navy for 1899, an official publication which we

have recently noticed. Rear-Admiral Melville,

as

we

have often pointed out, is a fearless

commentator

on

all questions that come within

the

scope of his duties,

and hi

s reports are n

ot

only interesting

but

extremely valuable from a

national

standpoint.

If

so

me

of

our

ow

n pro

fessional officials at

the

Admiralty

and in the

War

Office had

an

oppo

rtuni

ty of

putting their

views

before the public, as American officials can do,

it

might

be we should not have found ourselves in

~ h e

.u.npleasant position we now occupy. The

~ ~ b h t y on t ~ e part of the public to fix responsi

biltty

when

dtsaster occurs is the chief cause of

incompe tence in the public

departments. If

we

only knew whom to hang what a difference

it

would make.

Admiral Melville leaves no room for his own

condemnation if the United States are placed in an

unplea

sant

position for want of a fleet. We have

already, in our issue of December 29 last, referred

to his remarks on the armour question, but as our

tale would

not

be complete without reference to

what he says, we will repeat the matter to some

extent. The Admiral points

out

that Congress had

provided

for an

increase of

the Navy by

appro

priating for three battleships, three armoured

cruisers, and six protected cruisers; but what

Congress gave

the

United States Navy with one

hand it

took back with

the

other. In making the

appropriations

it

was provided :

That the total cost of the armour, according to the

plans and specifi.cationg already prepared for the three

battleships authorised

by

the Act of June 10, shall not

exceed 3,210,000 dols., exclusive of the

cos

t of transpor.

tation, ballistic test-plates, and tests.

That

limits

the co

st of armour to 400 dols. a ton ;

but in the

Act as

it

ultimately passed

both

Houses

of Congress on March 3, 1897,

it

would appear

that the

sum actually allowed was r educed

to

300

dols.

The

Bethlehem Company

and the

Oarnegie

Company offered to contract at 425 dols. a ton,

but

Congress confirmed

its

decision

not to

pay more

than

300 dols.,

and

authorised

the

Secretary of

the

Navy to

establish a

Government armour

factory, a

scheme which it was found practically impossible

to

carry

out

with advantage.

n

May, 1898, Con

gress authorised the

payment

of 400 dols. per ton,

exclusive of royalty, for

th

ree battleships, on the

Secretary

of the Navy

reporting

that

it

was impos

sible to obtain bids

at

the price formerly fixed, and

contracts were

arranged

on these terms in the fol

lowing

month.

About this time the Krupp process came to the

front, the advantage of which over the older

methods, was conclusively proved by

tests

.

The

Bethlehem

and

Carnegie firms made arrangements

with Herr Krupp to manufacture, but the cost of

manufacture of armour was largely enhanced. The

contractors offered

it

at 545 dols. p

er

ton, including

royalty, which was somewhat below

the

price paid

by our own Government for armour made on

the

same system. In spite of these facts, and in

the

face of

the

recommendations of

the Government

professional advisers, Congress refused to advance

its price beyond 400 dols. per ton, exclusive of

royalty, although demanding tests which could only

be

met by

Krupp armour.

At the

same time, for

other

armour

the

price was reduced to 300 dols.,

including royalties.

The

ultimate

result

has naturally been that in

spite of an advertisement which the

United

States

Government issued,

and

which was before

the

steel

makers of

the

country for two months,

no

one

offered

to

take on the contract, although it was

the

largest ever authorised. The ballistic require

ments

demanded w

er

e too

stringent to be met

at

the

price specified,

and

though an alternative pro

posal was

put

forward,

no

agreement was come

to, excepting

in the

case of armour for monitors,

which was of a cheaper quality,

but

was

thought

good enough for low freeboa

rd

vessels.

CONTACT ELECTRICITY.

THE con trov

ersy

about what is called electricity

of

contact

is older than a century. Our country

man, Abraham Bennet, stated, as far back as 1789,

in a manner which left no room for doubt,

that

-

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

21/33

whenever two dissimilar metals are made to touch

each other, they at once assume different electrical

states.

From this

principle, which he tested

in

a

variety of ways, he proceeded to describe the con

struction and action of

his now

famous " doubi

er,

an

in

geni ous device for

generating

and accumulating

electric charges, which is

the

prototyoe

of

all

the

influence machines of the present day.-*

Benne

t 's

discovery was undoub

tedly

known to

V olta., for we find the na me of th e Italian physicist

among the

s

ubscribers

t o

hi

s Ne w

Ex p

eriments

in Elec tricity. V olta promptly r

ea

li sed

the

im

portance of

the

new

principle and it

s wid e applica

tion. H e welcomed it

es

pecially as it afforded him

a powe

rful

weapon against his

oppon

ent, th e

phy

s ician Galvani. He wielded it with such effect

that h e

di

s

credited

all b el ief in animal ele

ctricity,

and

established the

contact theory, on

the firm

basis

of what he considered to

be unimp

eachable and

conc lus

ive

exp eri me

nt.

Wh

en he a

ppli

ed this principle to explain the

action of hi

s " pi le

,

" crown

of

cups, an d s

ub

se quent generators of electricity, ph ysicists

began

to suspect t

hat

something

more than

the mere

contact

of metals

wa

s

involv

ed in th e production of

the

current.

In d

ee

d,

wh

en it was found that the

new and subtle agent could

deflect

magne ts, de

compo

se wate

r, and

heat the wires

through

which

it passed, it b

ecame obvio

us that mere contact

could not s

upply

the energy

nece

ssary for such

mechanical, chemical, and thermal work.

What

ever part the

"

force

"

of

contact

played

in the

phenomenon, it was

clear

that

the power

of the

current was derived from the oxidation of the

metals in the

battery.

Zinc

di s

so

l

ving in

the

acidulated water, was alone competent to furnish

the energy which

ap p

e

ared in

t he

externa

l circuit.

When, in course of time,

the

heat due to

the

combination of the

various metal

s with oxygen

wa

s

determined, the

dynamical theory

of

the cell

was established. I t was L ord Kelvin himself who

had

the

merit of drawing the attention

of

the

learned

world to

this

matter

in

his epoch-making

paper

of 1854.

'fhough the source of the energy of the battery

was thus

univer

sally reco

gn

ised and quantitatively

established, there were a

few

other considerations

connected

with

it which

gave

rise to some uneasi

ness of mind and diversity of opinion. These re

ferred

to the electrical conditions of the elements

of

a

simple

cell,

and

chiefly

to

the origin and seat

of the so-called electromotive force. Some, follow

ing V

olta,

located this

force at the

junction

of

the

zinc and

copper

;

others

found

good

reasons for

locating

it in

the oxidising m e

dium

of

the

cell,

chiefly the surrounding air. Si des were taken in

England,

France,

Germany, and

Italy, and quite

an Iliad

of

battl

es

was fought in de

fence of

the re

spective views.

Many

an Ajax, a

Hect

or, and an

Achilles appeared

in the

lists, with

the

result

that

the fighting-line gradually narrowed down and t he

p oints

of

attack diminished

in

number,

accor

ding as

the belligerents condescended to expose by un

ambiguous definition

the real object of the

strife.

The leaders in

the

field to-day are Lo rd K elvin

and

Profess

or

Lodge

. The former cham

pions

the

contact theory, and the latter the

chemical.

The

N

estor

of

English

science holds to the ' ' dry volta

co

ntact-el

ec t

ricity

of

metals,

and

believe

s

it

to

be

du e to an effor t of the molecules n the thin surface

st ratum

of one

metal

to

combine

with the

ad jacent

molecules in the other. The active agent in pro

m

ot

ing this

tend

e

ncy to

unite together and form

an alloy is maintained to be that intangible some

thing

known

as ' '

chemical

affinity ;

and one

of

the

effects of these straining efforts

a t

bringing

abou t

mutual

combination, is to

beget

th at charm

in

g but rat.her

elusive

e

lf

styled e

lec

tr ical poten tial.

On

t he

othe

r hand, Professor L odge has con

vinced

him

self

that

th is

eagerness

for co

mbination

manifes ts itse

lf

be tween the s

urfac

e molecules of

the metal and

those of

th e sur ro

unding

me

dium

.

In

the

cas e

of

a m et al exposed to air, t he st ra ining

e

ffo

rts of th e

attracting

molecules t end to draw

posi tive

ch

arges towards

th

e meta l, ~ n d to repel

n ecrative ones from

it.

If th e metallic sur f

ace be

un

iform

t he s train

will

be equal all over

the

me ta

l, c

onsequently

t h

ere.

will be

no

e

xtern

al

field but

if

two plates of dtffe

rent

metal s, sa

y,

zinc 'and copper,

be

joined or soldered

togethe

r ,

the

dist ribution

of

st

rain

over s

uch

a

heterogeneo

us

conductor will

no

longer be

unif

o

rm.

The sur-

* I t is to BenoetJ that we also owe the gold-leaf electro

scope.

E N G I N E E R I N

G.

r ounding space will be a field

of

electrostatic

force

if

the medium

be

capable of insul at ing or of pre

venting a fr ee interchange

of

electric

charges,

as

air i

s ;

wh ere as i t

will

be a field of continuous

e

lectri

c displacemen t or current flow if

the

medium,

as

in

electrolytes,

facilitates

such

an

interchange.

Acc

ording to

th

is

view

there is no potential

difference between two metallic conductors in

contact,

ot

her t han

the

r e

lativ

ely small quantity

discovered by Peltier, and

known

as the P eltier

effect.

I t

is admitted to be a

true contact

force,

and is probably

independ

en t of

all surrounding

media. I t may be

measured thermo-electrically,

but

n no other

known

way. Its value

has

been

found

to he so

slight

that

Profe

sso

r

Lodge believes

himself justified in saying that two metals in con

tact ar e

practically

at the same potential.

Professor

Lodge's main contention is

that

A

metal is not at the po

tential

of the air touching

it,

but

is

always

slightly below

that

po tential

by

an

amount roug

hly

pr oport io

nal

to its h eat of combus

ti on. Tw o me

tals put in t

o

contact reduce

each

other inst antly to

practica

lly the same potential,

and

consequently

t

he

more

ox i

disable

one receives

from

th

e other a positive charge which can be

observed electrostatically.

If

two

metals

are

n

contact,

the

potential

of

the

medium

surrounding

them

is no longer

uniform; if

a

di

electric, it is

under

strain ; if an electrolyte it conveys a cu rrent.

The whole matter may

be

advantageously

re

sumed with reference to an ordinary cell, in

which plates of copper

a

nd

z

inc dip

into

water.

Acc

o

rdin

g to Lord K el

vin,

the two

plates

and

the

water

are

at th

e same potential,

and

are

electrically

neutral.

According

to Dr. Lodge , each

of the

th

ree elements of

the

cell has its own p oten

tial ; and, as each conductor

pr

esents a

homogeneous

surface to

th

e surrounding me dium,

the

st rain is

equalised, and there is

no

electric cha rge .

Thus

far the two

th

eories differ as to t

he

dis tribution

of

potential, but agree as to the absence of electro

static

charge.

L o

rd

I{elvin says that the copper, the w

at e

r , and

the

z

inc

plate

have

exactly

the

same

potential, but

if

a copper plate be joined to the zinc plate, so as

to be out of th e

water

at the junction, the

volta

effect produces

at

once potential difference and

electrostatic

charge.

Professor Lodge will have it

that

t he

joined plates

are

at

the

sam

e poten

ti al, the

valu

e of which is

in t

er

mediate b e

tween

that

of

th

e

copper

a

nd the

zinc

plate

first

spoken

of. The copper

pl

ate and the

water

have also their

own

potentials,

irrespective

of

the

neighb

o

uring

conductor formed of

the

joined copper and zinc

pla te, of which

only

the zinc is

in contact

with the

wa ter.

I t will

be notic

ed

that

the

two

contending theories

g

ive

preci

se

ly

th

e same electric

charges,

and, con

sequently the ~ a m e external field. For

this

r eason

it

is

not

easy

to

devi

se an expe1 imentum

cnteis

which will nea

tly

differentiate between th em, so

that the

adherents

of the re

s

pective theories are

likely to witness a fe w mo re

Homeric

combats

before a settl

ement

of th e volta effect is reached.

In the

meantim

e,

the

address of Dr. L o

dge

last Friday,

and its discussion at the

Ph y

sical

Society

to-day, will

have rendered important

service

to science

if

they succeed in eliciting

a

precise

s tatement acceptable to a

ll

of what

is mea

nt

by the electrical potential,

and

how

it is

to be

measured

1)

at a

point

in

a

non-con

ducting medium; (2)

at

a point n ear the surface

of a

conductor, and

(3) at a

point

within t he mass

of a

conductor. Th ese are fundamentals, and as

such

need

accurate defining.

THE

ELECTRIC LIGHTING STATIONS

AT

ST.

L U { CLEHJ

7/21/2019 Engineering Vol 69 1900-02-16

22/33

FEB.

I6, 1900.]

floor of th is room is of brick arches,

the roof is of corrugated iron. Ventilation

om

the

boiler-1oom below is provided by a

l-lined air way

at

the back of the bunkers.

e automatic weighing machine, a

lr

eady referred

is provided with a . registering

and i ~ l t e -

apparatus, ahowmg

the tota

l we1ght

th

rough the

n1ach

ine, which is done

whether

the

gr

ab

takes

up

at each turn or not. After wetglung,

he coal is distributed to the bunkers by chain

onveyors running along t he coal store from

to end. The pl

ant

in

questi

on

is capable

dealing with 30 to 40 tons of coal

per

and is worked by one crane man and two

heap together

the

coal ready for

he grab, with

the

occasional assistance of a

merely closes

the

shoot doors

to

h bunker as

it

is

fi

lled.

Th

e store is capable of

olding about 1000 tons, and lthe

en t

ire cost of

g the coal from barge to bunkers does not

about ld. per ton, exclusive of interest on

depreciation of the m ~ c h i n e r y . Between

the

o lines of bunkers there IS a tramway, between

of which are placed the shoots communi

the Vicars auto

ma