It is anticipated that the progress of the tests may suggest changes in the construction or operation of this chamber. It is especially contemplated that the section of the chamber may be narrowed down by laying sand in the bottom and fire-brick thereon; also that baffle walls may be built into various portions of it, and that cooling surfaces with baffling may be introduced. In addition to variations in the tests, due to changes in construction in the combustion chamber, there will be variations in the fuels tested. Especial effort will be made to procure fuels ranging in volatile content from 15 to 27 and to 40%, and those high in tar and heavy hydro-carbons. It is also proposed to vary the conditions of testing by burning at high rates, such as at 15, 20, and 30 lb. per ft. of grate surface, and even higher. Records will be kept of the weight of coal fired and of each firing, of the weight of ash, etc.; samples of coal and of ash will be taken for chemical and physical analysis, as well as samples of the gas, and other essential data. These records will be studied in detail.



A series of heat-transmission tests undertaken two years ago, is being continued on the ground floor of Building No. 21, on modified apparatus reconstructed in the light of the earlier experiments by Mr. W. T. Ray. The purpose of the tests on this apparatus has been to determine some of the laws controlling the rate of transmission of heat from a hot gas to a liquid and vice versa, the two being on the opposite sides of a metal tube.

It appears that four factors determine the rate of heat impartation from the gas to any small area of the metal[17]:

[Footnote 17: The assumption is made that a metal tube free from scale will remain almost as cool as the water; actual measurements with thermo-couples have indicated the correctness of this assumption in the majority of cases.]

(1).—The temperature difference between the body of the gas and the metal;

(2).—The weight of the gas per cubic foot, which is proportional to the number of molecules in any unit of volume;

(3).—The bodily velocity of the motion of the gas parallel to any small area under consideration; and (probably),

(4).—The specific heat of the gas at constant pressure.

The apparatus consists of an electric resistance furnace containing coils of nickel wire, a small (interchangeable) multi-tubular boiler, and a steam-jet apparatus for reducing the air pressure at the exit end, so as to cause a flow of air through the boiler. A surface condenser was attached to the boiler's steam outlet, the condensed steam being weighed as a check on the feed-water measurements. A number of thermometers and thermo-couples were used to obtain atmospheric-air temperature, temperatures of the air entering and leaving the boilers, and feed-water temperature.

The apparatus is now being reconstructed with appliances for measuring the quantity of air entering the furnace, and an automatic electric-furnace temperature regulator.



Three sizes of boiler have been tested thus far, the dimensions being as given in Table 4.

Each of the three boilers was tested at several temperatures of entering air, up to 1,500 Fahr., about ten tests being made at each temperature. It is also the intention to run, on these three boilers, about eight tests at temperatures of 1,800, 2,100 and 2,400 Fahr., respectively. A bulletin on the work already done, together with much incidental matter, is in course of preparation.[18]

TABLE 4.—Dimensions of Boilers Nos. 1, 2, and 3.

+ + + Items. Boiler Boiler Boiler No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. + + + Distance, outside to outside of boiler heads, in inches 8.28 8.28 16.125 Actual outside diameter of flues, 0.252 0.313 0.252 in inches Actual inside diameter of flues, 0.175 0.230 0.175 in inches Number of flues (tubes) 10 10 10 + + +

The work on the first three boilers is only a beginning; preparations are being made to test eight more multi-tubular boilers of various lengths and tube diameters, under similar conditions. Because of the experience already obtained, it will be necessary to make only eight tests at each initial air temperature.

When the work on multi-tubular boilers is completed, water-tube boilers will be taken up, for which a fairly complete outline has been prepared. This second or water-tube portion of the investigation is really of the greater scientific and commercial interest, but the multi-tubular boilers were investigated first because the mathematical treatment is much simpler.

Producer-Gas Tests.—The producer-gas plant at the Pittsburg testing station is in charge of Mr. Carl D. Smith, and has been installed for the purpose of testing low-grade fuel, bone coal, roof coal, mine refuse, and such material as is usually considered of little value, or even worthless for power purposes. The gas engine, gas producer, economizer, wet scrubber (Fig. 1, Plate XIX), and accessories, are in Building No. 13, and the dry scrubber, gas-holder, and water-cooling apparatus are immediately outside that building (Fig. 2, Plate XIX).

At present immense quantities of fuel are left at the mines, in the form of culm and slack, which, in quality, are much below the average output. Such fuel is considered of little or no value, chiefly because there is no apparatus in general use which can burn it to good advantage. The heat value of this fuel is often from 50 to 75% of that of the fuel marketed, and if not utilized, represents an immense waste of natural resources. Large quantities of low-grade fuel are also left in the mines, simply because present conditions do not warrant its extraction, and it is left in such a way that it will be very difficult, if not practically impossible, for future generations to take out such fuel when it will be at a premium. Again, there are large deposits of low-grade coal in regions far remote from the sources of the present fuel supply, but where its successful and economic utilization would be a boon to the community and a material advantage to the country at large. The great importance of the successful utilization of low-grade fuel is obvious. Until within very recent years little had been accomplished along these lines, and there was little hope of ever being able to use these fuels successfully.

The development of the gas producer for the utilization of ordinary fuels,[19] however, indicates that the successful utilization of practically all low-grade fuel is well within the range of possibility. It is notable that, although all producer-gas tests at the Government testing stations, at St. Louis and Norfolk, were made in a type of producer[20] designed primarily for a good grade of anthracite coal, the fuels tested included a wide range of bituminous coals and lignites, and even peat and bone coal, and that, in nearly every test, little serious difficulty was encountered in maintaining satisfactory operating conditions.[21] It is interesting to note that in one test, a bone coal containing more than 45% of ash was easily handled in the producer, and that practically full load was maintained for the regulation test period of 50 hours.[22]

It is not expected that all the fuels tested will prove to be of immediate commercial value, but it is hoped that much light will be thrown on this important problem.



The equipment for this work consists of a single gas generator, rated at 150 h.p., and a three-cylinder, vertical gas engine of the same capacity. The producer is a Loomis-Pettibone, down-draft, made by the Power and Mining Machinery Company, of Cudahy, Wis., and is known as its "Type C" plant. The gas generator consists of a cylindrical shell, 6 ft. in diameter, carefully lined with fire-brick, and having an internal diameter of approximately 4 ft. Near the bottom of the generator there is a fire-brick grate, on which the fuel bed rests. The fuel is charged at the top of the producer through a door (Fig. 1, Plate XX), which may be left open a considerable time without affecting the operation of the producer, thus enabling the operator to watch and control the fuel bed with little inconvenience. As the gas is generated, it passes downward through the hot fuel bed and through the fire-brick grate. This down-draft feature "fixes," or makes into permanent gases, the tarry vapors which are distilled from bituminous coal when it is first charged into the producer. A motor-driven exhauster with a capacity of 375 cu. ft. per min., draws the hot gas from the base of the producer through an economizer, where the sensible heat of the gas is used to pre-heat the air and to form the water vapor necessary for the operation of the producer. The pre-heated air and vapor leave the economizer and enter the producer through a passageway near the top and above the fuel bed. From the economizer the gas is drawn through a wet scrubber where it undergoes a further cooling and is cleansed of dirt and dust. After passing the wet scrubber, the gas, under a light pressure, is forced, by the exhauster, through a dry scrubber to a gas-holder with a capacity of about 1,000 cu. ft.

All the fuel used is carefully weighed on scales which are checked from time to time by standard weights; and, as the fuel is charged into the producer, a sample is taken for chemical analysis and for the determination of its calorific power. The water required for the generation of the vapor is supplied from a small tank carefully graduated to pounds; this observation is made and recorded every hour. All the water used in the wet scrubber is measured by passing it through a piston-type water meter, which is calibrated from time to time to insure a fair degree of accuracy in the measurement. Provision is made for observing the pressure and temperature of the gas at various points; these are observed and recorded every hour.

From the holder the gas passes through a large meter to the vertical three-cylinder Westinghouse engine, which is connected by a belt to a 175-kw., direct-current generator. The load on the generator is measured by carefully calibrated switch-board instruments, and is regulated by a specially constructed water rheostat which stands in front of the building.

Careful notes are kept of the engine operation; the gas consumption and the load on the engine are observed and recorded every 20 min.; the quantity of jacket water used on the gas engine, and also its temperature entering and leaving the engine jackets, are recorded every hour. Indicator cards are taken every 2 hours. The work is continuous, and each day is divided into three shifts of 8 hours each; the length of a test, however, is determined very largely by the character and behavior of the fuel used.

A preliminary study of the relative efficiency of the coals found in different portions of the United States, as producers of illuminating gas, has been nearly completed under the direction of Mr. Alfred H. White, and a bulletin setting forth the results is in press.[23]

Tests of Liquid Fuels.—Tests of liquid fuels in internal-combustion engines, in charge of Mr. R. M. Strong, are conducted in the engine-room of Building No. 13.

The various liquid hydro-carbon fuels used in internal-combustion engines for producing power, range from the light refined oils, such as naphtha, to the crude petroleums, and have a correspondingly wide variation of physical and chemical properties.

The most satisfactory of the liquid fuels for use in internal-combustion engines, are alcohol and the light refined hydro-carbon oils, such as gasoline. These fuels, however, are the most expensive in commercial use, even when consumed with the highest practical efficiency, which, it is thought, has already been attained, as far as present types of engines are concerned.

At present little is known as to how far many of the very cheap distillates and crude petroleums can be used as fuel for internal-combustion engines. It is difficult to use them at all, regardless of efficiency.

Gasoline is comparatively constant in quality, and can be used with equal efficiency in any gasoline engine of the better grade. There are many makes of high-grade gasoline engines, tests on any of which may be taken as representative of the performance and action of gasoline in an internal-combustion engine, if the conditions under which the tests were made are clearly stated and are similar.

Kerosene varies widely in quality, and requires special devices for its use, but is a little cheaper than gasoline. It is possible that the kerosene engine may be developed so as to permit it to take the place of the smaller stationary and marine gasoline engines. This would mean considerable saving in fuel cost to the small power user, who now finds the liquid-fuel internal-combustion engine of commercial advantage. A number of engines at present on the market use kerosene; some use only the lighter grades and are at best comparatively less efficient than gasoline engines. All these engines have to be adjusted to the grade of oil to be used in order to get the best results.

Kerosene engines are of two general types: the external-vaporizer type, in which the fuel is vaporized and mixed with air before or as it is taken into the cylinder; and the internal-vaporizer type, in which the liquid fuel is forced into the cylinder and vaporized by contact with the hot gases or heated walls of a combustion chamber at the head of the cylinder. A number of special devices for vaporizing kerosene and the lighter distillates have been tried and used with some success. Heat is necessary to vaporize the kerosene as quickly as it is required, and the degree of heat must be held between the temperature of vaporization and that at which the oil will be carbonized. The vapor must also be thoroughly and uniformly mixed with air in order to obtain complete combustion. As yet, no reliable data on these limiting temperatures for kerosene and similar oils have been obtained. No investigation has ever been made of possible methods for preventing the oils from carbonizing at the higher temperatures, and the properties of explosive mixtures of oil vapors and air have not been studied. This field of engineering laboratory research is of vital importance to the solution of the kerosene-engine problem.

Distillates or fuel oils and the crude oils are much the cheapest of the liquid fuels, and if used efficiently in internal-combustion engines would be by far the cheapest fuels available in many large districts.

Several engine builders are developing kerosene vaporizers, which are built as a part of the engine, or are adapted to each different engine, as required to obtain the best results. Most of these vaporizers use the heat and the exhaust gases to vaporize the fuel, but they differ greatly in construction; some are of the retort type, and others are of the float-feed carburetter type. To what extent the lower-grade fuel oils can be used with these vaporizers is yet to be determined.

There are only a few successful oil engines on the American market. The most prominent of these represent specific applications of the principal methods of internal vaporization, and all except one are of the hot-bulb ignition type. It will probably be found that no one of the 4-stroke cycle, or 2-stroke cycle, engines is best for all grades of oil, but rather that each is best for some one grade. The Diesel engine is in a class by itself, its cycle and method of control being somewhat different from the others.

An investigation of the comparative adaptability of gasoline and alcohol to use in internal-combustion engines, consisting of more than 2,000 tests, was made at the temporary fuel-testing plant of the Geological Survey, at Norfolk, Va., in 1907. A detailed report of these tests is in preparation.[24] A similar investigation of the comparative adaptability of kerosenes has been commenced, with a view to obtaining data on their economical use, leading up to the investigation of the comparative fuel values of the cheaper distillates and crude petroleum, as before discussed.

Washing and Coking Tests.—The investigations relating to the preparation of low-grade coals, such as those high in ash or sulphur, by processes that will give them a higher market value or increase their efficiency in use, are in charge of Mr. A. W. Belden. They include the washing and coking tests of coals, and the briquetting of slack and low-grade coal and culm-bank refuse so as to adapt these fuels for combustion in furnaces, etc.

This work has been conducted in the washery and coking plant temporarily located at Denver, Colo., and in Building No. 32 at the Pittsburg testing station, where briquetting is in progress. The details of these tests are set forth in the various bulletins issued by the Geological Survey.[25]

The washing tests are carried out in the following manner: As the raw coal is received at the plant, it is shoveled from the railroad cars to the hopper scale, and weighed. It then passes through the tooth-roll crusher, where the lumps are broken down to a maximum size of 2 in. An apron conveyor delivers the coal to an elevator which raises it to one of the storage bins. As the coal is being elevated, an average sample representing the whole shipment is taken. An analysis is made of this sample of raw coal and float-and-sink tests are run to determine the size to which it is necessary to crush before washing, and the percentage of refuse with the best separation. From the data thus obtained, the washing machines are adjusted so that the washing test is made with full knowledge of the separations possible under varying percentages of refuse. The raw coal is drawn from the bin and delivered to a corrugated-roll disintegrator, where it is crushed to the size found most suitable, and is then delivered by the raw-coal elevator to another storage bin. The arrangement of the plant is such that the coal may be first washed on a Stewart jig, and the refuse then delivered to and re-washed on a special jig, or the refuse may be re-crushed and then re-washed.

When the coal is to be washed, it drops to the sluice box, where it is mixed with the water and sluiced to the jigs. In drawing off the washed coal, or when the uncrushed raw coal is to be drawn from a bin and crushed for the washing tests, however, a gate just below the coal-flow regulating gate is thrown in, and the coal falls into a central hopper instead of into the sluice box. Ordinarily, this gate forms one side of the vertical chute. The coal in this central hopper is carried by a chute to the apron conveyor, and thence to the roll disintegrator, or, in case it is washed coal, to a swing-hammer crusher. It will be noted that coal, in this manner, can be drawn from a bin at the same time that coal is being taken from another bin, and sluiced to the jigs for washing, the two operations not interfering in the least.

The washed coal, after being crushed and elevated to the top of the building, is conveyed by a chute to the coke-oven larry, and is weighed on the track scale, after which it is charged to the oven. The refuse is sampled and weighed as it is wheeled to the dump pile, and from this sample the analysis is made and a float-and-sink test run to determine the "loss of good coal" in the refuse and to show the efficiency of the washing test.

The coking tests have been conducted in a battery of two beehive ovens, one 7 ft. high and 12 ft. in diameter, the other, 6 ft. high and 12 ft. in diameter. A standard larry with a capacity of 8 tons, and the necessary scales for weighing accurately the coal charged and coke produced, complete the equipment. The coal is usually run through a roll crusher which breaks it to about -in. size, or through a Pennsylvania hammer crusher. The fineness of the coals put through the hammer crusher varies somewhat, but the average, taken from a large number of samples, is as follows: Through 1/8-in. mesh, 100%; over 10-mesh, 31.43%; over 20-mesh, 24.29%; over 40-mesh, 22.86%; over 60-mesh, 10 per cent. The results of the coking tests are set forth in detail in the various publications issued on this subject.[26]

Tests of coke produced in the illuminating-gas investigations before referred to, and a study of commercial coking and by-product plants, are included in these investigations.

Briquetting Investigations.—These investigations are in charge of Mr. C. L. Wright, and are conducted in Building No. 32, which is of fire-proof construction, having a steel-skeleton frame work, reinforced-concrete floors, and 2-in. cement curtain walls, plastered on expanded-metal laths. In this building two briquetting machines are installed, one an English machine of the Johnson type, and the other a German lignite machine of very powerful construction.

The investigations include the possibility of making satisfactory commercial fuels from lignite or low-grade coals which do not stand shipment well, the benefiting of culm or slack coals which are wasted or sold at unremunerative prices, and the possibility of improving the efficiency of good coals. Some of the various forms of commercial briquettes, American and foreign, are shown in Fig. 2, Plate XX. After undergoing chemical analysis, the coal is elevated and fed to a storage bin, whence it is drawn through a chute to a hopper on the weighing scales. There it is mixed with varying percentages of different kinds of binding material, and the tests are conducted so as to ascertain the most suitable binder for each kind of fuel, which will produce the most durable and weather-proof briquette at least cost, and the minimum quantity necessary to produce a good, firm briquette. After weighing, the materials to be tested are run through the necessary grinding and pulverizing machines and are fed into the briquetting machines, whence the manufactured briquettes are delivered for loading or storage. The materials to be used in the German machine are also dried and cooled again.



The briquettes made at this plant are then subjected to physical tests in order to determine their weathering qualities and their resistance to abrasion; extraction tests and chemical analyses are also made. Meanwhile other briquettes from the same lots are subjected to combustion tests for comparison with the same coal not briquetted. These tests are made in stationary boilers, in house-heating boilers, on locomotives, naval vessels, etc., and the results, both of the processes of manufacture, and of the tests, are published in various bulletins issued by the Geological Survey.[27]

The equipment includes storage bins for the raw coal, scales for weighing, machines for crushing or cracking the pitch, grinders, crushers, and disintegrators for reducing the coal to the desired fineness, heating and mixing apparatus, presses and moulds for forming the briquettes, a Schulz drier, and a cooling apparatus.

There is a small experimental hand-briquetting press (Fig. 1, Plate XXI) for making preliminary tests of the briquetting qualities of the various coals and lignites. With this it is easily possible to vary the pressure, heat, percentage and kind of binder, so as to determine the best briquetting conditions for each fuel before subjecting it to large-scale commercial tests in the big briquetting machines.

This hand press will exert pressures up to 50 tons or 100,000 lb. per sq. in., on a plunger 3 in. in diameter. This plunger enters a mould, which can be heated by a steam jacket supplied with ordinary saturated steam at a pressure of 125 lb., and compresses the fuel into a briquette, 8 in. long, under the conditions of temperature and pressure desired.

The Johnson briquetting machine, which requires 25 h.p. for its operation, exerts a pressure of about 2,500 lb. per sq. in., and makes briquettes of rectangular form, 6 by 4 by 2 in., and having an average weight of about 3 lb. The capacity of the machine (Fig. 2, Plate XXI) is about 3.8 tons of briquettes per 8-hour day.

Under the hopper on the scales for the raw material is a square wooden reciprocal plunger which pushes the fuel into a hole in the floor at a uniform rate. The pitch is added as uniformly as possible by hand, as the coal passes this hole. Under this hole a horizontal screw conveyor carries the fuel and pitch to the disintegrator, in front of which, in the feeding chute, there is a powerful magnet for picking out any pieces of iron which might enter the machine and cause trouble.

The ground mixture is elevated from the disintegrator to a point above the top of the upper mixer of the machine. At the base of this cylinder, steam can be admitted by several openings to heat the material to any desired temperature, usually from 180 to 205 Fahr. There, a plunger, making 17 strokes per min., compresses two briquettes at each stroke.

The German lignite-briquetting machine (Figs. 18 and 19) was made by the Maschinenfabrik Buckau Actien-Gesellschaft, Magdeburg, Germany. Lignite from the storage room on the third floor of the building is fed into one end of a Schulz tubular drier (Fig. 1, Plate XXII), which is similar to a multi-tubular boiler set at a slight angle from the horizontal, and slowly revolved by worm and wheel gearing, the lignite passing through the tubes and the steam being within the boiler. From this drier the lignite passes through a sorting sieve and crushing rolls to a cooling apparatus, which consists of four horizontal circular plates, about 13 ft. in diameter, over which the dried material is moved by rakes. After cooling, the material is carried by a long, worm conveyor to a large hopper over the briquette press, and by a feeding box to the press (Fig. 2, Plate XXII).

The press, which is of the open-mould type, consists of a ram and die plates, the latter being set so as to make a tube which gradually tapers toward the delivery end of the machine. The briquettes have a cross-section similar to an ellipse with the ends slightly cut off; they are about 1 in. thick and average about 1 lb. in weight (Fig. 2, Plate XX). The press is operated by a direct connection with a steam engine of 150 h.p., the base of which is continuous with that of the press. The exhaust steam from the engine is used to heat the driver.

The plunger makes from 80 to 100 strokes per min., the pressure exerted ranging from 14,000 to 28,000 lb. per sq. in., the capacity of the machine being 1 briquette per stroke, or from 2 to 3 tons of completed briquettes per hour. It is expected that no binder will be needed for practically all the brown lignite briquetted by this machine, thus reducing the cost as compared with the briquetting of coals, which require from 5 to 7% of water-gas, pitch binder costing more than 50 cents per ton of manufactured briquettes.





Peat Investigations.—Investigations into the distribution, production, origin, nature, and uses of peat are being conducted by Mr. C. A. Davis, and include co-operative arrangements with State Geological Surveys and the Geologic Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey. These organizations conduct surveys which include the mapping of the peat deposits in the field, the determination of their extent and limitations, the sampling of peat from various depths, and the transmittal of samples to the Pittsburg laboratories for analysis and test.[28]

This work is co-ordinated in such a manner as to result in uniform methods of procedure in studying the peat deposits of the United States. The samples of peat are subjected to microscopic examination, in order to determine their origin and age, and to chemical and physical tests at the laboratories in Pittsburg, so as to ascertain the chemical composition and calorific value, the resistance to compressive strains, the ash and moisture content, drying properties, resistance to abrasion, etc. Occasionally, large quantities of peat are disintegrated and machined, and portions, after drying for different periods, are subjected to combustion tests in steam boilers and to tests in the gas producer, to ascertain their efficiency as power producers.

Results.—The full value of such investigations as have been described in the preceding pages cannot be realized for many years; but, even within the four years during which this work has been under way, certain investigations have led to important results, some of which may be briefly mentioned:

The chemical and calorific determinations of coals purchased for the use of the Government have resulted in the delivery of a better grade of fuel without corresponding increase in cost, and, consequently, in saving to the Government. Under this system, of purchasing its coal under specifications and testing, the Government is getting more nearly what it pays for and is paying for what it gets. These investigations, by suggesting changes in equipment and methods, are also indicating the practicability of the purchase of cheaper fuels, such as bituminous coal and the smaller sizes of pea, buckwheat, etc., instead of the more expensive sizes of anthracite, with a corresponding saving in cost. The Government's fuel bill now aggregates about $10,000,000 yearly.



The making and assembling of chemical analyses and calorific determinations (checked by other tests) of carefully selected samples of coals from nearly 1,000 different localities, in the different coal fields of the United States, with the additions, from time to time, of samples representing parts of coal fields or newly opened beds of coal in the same field, furnish invaluable sources of accurate information, not only for use of the Government, but also for the general public. Of the above-mentioned localities, 501 were in the public-land States and 427 in the Central, Eastern, and Southern States.

The chemical analyses of the coals found throughout the United States have been made with such uniformity of method, both as to collection of samples and analytical procedure, as to yield results strictly comparable for coals from all parts of the country, and furnish complete information, as a basis for future purchases and use by the Government and by the general public, of all types of American coals.

Other researches have resulted in the acquirement of valuable information regarding the distribution of temperature in the fuel bed of gas producers and furnaces, showing a range of from 400 to 1,300 cent., and have thus furnished data indicating specific difficulties to be overcome in gas-producer improvements for greater fuel efficiency.

The recent studies of the volatile matter in coal, and its relation to the operation of coke ovens and other forms of combustion, have demonstrated that as much as one-third of this matter is inert and non-combustible, a fact which may have a direct bearing on smoke prevention by explaining its cause and indicating means for its abatement.

Experiments in the storage of coal have proven that oxygen is absorbed during exposure to air, thereby causing, in some cases, a deterioration in heating value, and indicating that, for certain coals, in case they are to be stored a long time for naval and other purposes, storage under water is advisable.

The tests of different coals under steam boilers have shown the possibility of increasing the general efficiency of hand-fired steam boilers from 10 to 15% over ordinary results. If this saving could be made in the great number of hand-fired boilers now being operated in all parts of the United States, it would result in large saving in the fuel bill of the country. Experiments which have been made with residence-heating boilers justify the belief that it will be possible to perfect such types of boilers as may economically give a smokeless operation. The tests under steam boilers furnish specific information as to the most efficient method of utilizing each of a number of different types of coal in Government buildings and power plants in different parts of the country.

The tests in the gas producer have shown that many fuels of such low grade as to be practically valueless for steam-furnace purposes, including slack coal, bone coal, and lignite, may be economically converted into producer gas, and may thus generate sufficient power to render them of high commercial value.

Practically every shipment out of several hundred tested in the gas producers, including coals as high in ash content as 45%, and lignites and peats high in moisture, has been successfully converted into producer gas which has been used in operating gas engines. It has been estimated that on an average there was developed from each coal tested in the gas-producer plant two and one-half times the power developed when used in the ordinary steam-boiler plant, and that such relative efficiencies will probably hold good for the average plant of moderate power capacity, though this ratio may be greatly reduced in large steam plants of the most modern type. It was found that the low-grade lignites of North Dakota developed as much power, when converted into producer gas, as did the best West Virginia bituminous coals when utilized under the steam boiler; and, in this way, lignite beds underlying from 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 acres of public lands, supposed to have little or no commercial value, are shown to have a large value for power development.

The tests made with reference to the manufacture and combustion of briquetted coal have demonstrated conclusively that by this means many low-grade bituminous coals and lignites may have their commercial value increased to an extent which more than covers the increased cost of making; and these tests have also shown that bituminous coals of the higher grades may be burned in locomotives with greatly increased efficiency and capacity and with less smoke than the same coal not briquetted. These tests have shown that, with the same fuel consumption of briquettes as of raw coal, the same locomotive can very materially increase its hauling capacity and thus reduce the cost of transportation.

The investigations into smoke abatement have indicated clearly that each type of coal may be burned practically without smoke in some type of furnace or with some arrangement of mechanical stoker, draft, etc. The elimination of smoke means more complete combustion of the fuel, and consequently less waste and higher efficiency.

The investigations into the waste of coal in mining have shown the enormous extent of this waste, aggregating probably from 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 tons yearly, of which at least one-half might be saved. It is being demonstrated that the low-grade coals, high in sulphur and ash, now left underground, can be used economically in the gas producer for power and light, and, therefore, should be mined at the same time that the high-grade coal is being removed. Moreover, attention is now being called to the practicability of a further large reduction of waste through more efficient mining methods.

The washing tests have demonstrated the fact that many coals, too high in ash and sulphur for economic use under the steam boiler or for coking, may be rendered of commercial value by proper treatment in the washery. The coking tests have also demonstrated that, by proper methods of preparation for and manipulation in the beehive oven, many coals which were not supposed to be of economic value for coking purposes, may be rendered so by prior washing and proper treatment. Of more than 100 coals tested during 1906 from the Mississippi Valley and the Eastern States, most of which coals were regarded as non-coking, all except 6 were found, by careful manipulation, to make fairly good coke for foundry and other metallurgical purposes. Of 52 coals from the Rocky Mountain region, all but 3 produced good coke under proper treatment, though a number of these had been considered non-coking coals.

Investigations into the relative efficiency of gasoline and denatured alcohol as power producers, undertaken in connection with work for the Navy Department, have demonstrated that with proper manipulation of the carburetters, igniters, degree of compression, etc., denatured alcohol has the same power-producing value, gallon for gallon, as gasoline. This is a most interesting development, in view of the fact that the heat value of a gallon of alcohol is only a little more than 0.6 that of a gallon of gasoline. To secure these results, compressions of from 150 to 180 lb. per sq. in. were used, these pressures involving an increase in weight of engine. Although the engine especially designed for alcohol will be heavier than a gasoline engine of the same size, it will have a sufficiently greater power capacity so that the weight per horse-power need not be greater.

Several hundred tons of peat have been tested to determine methods of drying, compressing into briquettes, and utilization for power production in the gas producer. In connection with these peat investigations, a reconnoissance survey has been made of the peat deposits of the Atlantic Coast. Samples have been obtained by boring to different depths in many widely distributed peat-bogs, and these samples have been analyzed and tested in order to determine their origin, nature, and fuel value.

The extent and number of tests from which these results have been derived will be appreciated from the fact that, in three years, nearly 15,000 tests were made, in each of which large quantities of fuel were consumed. These tests involved nearly 1,250,000 physical observations and 67,080 chemical determinations, made with a view to analyze the results of the tests and to indicate any necessary changes in the methods as they progressed. For coking, cupola, and washing, 596 tests, of which nearly 300 involved the use of nearly 1,000 tons of coal, have been made at Denver. For briquetting, 312 tests have been made. Briquettes have been used in combustion tests in which 250 tons of briquetted coal were consumed in battleship tests, 210 tons in torpedo-boat tests, 320 tons in locomotive tests on three railway systems, and 70 tons were consumed under stationary steam boilers. Of producer gas tests, 175 have been made, of which 7 were long-time runs of a week or more in duration, consuming in all 105 tons of coal. There have been 300 house-heating boiler tests and 575 steam-boiler tests; also, 83 railway-locomotive and 23 naval-vessel tests have been made on run-of-mine coal in comparison with briquetted coal; also, 125 tests have been made in connection with heat-transmission experiments, and 2,254 gasoline- and alcohol-engine tests. Nearly 10,000 samples of coal were taken for analysis, of which 3,000 were from public-land States. Nearly 5,000 inspection samples, of coal purchased by the Government for its use, have been taken and tested.

The results of the tests made in the course of these investigations, as summarized, have been published in twelve separate Bulletins, three of which, Nos. 261, 290, and 332, set forth in detail the operations of the fuel-testing plant for 1904, 1905, and 1906. Professional Paper No. 48, in three volumes, describes in greater detail each stage of the operations for 1904 and 1905.

Separate Bulletins, descriptive of the methods and results of the work in detail, have been published, as follows: No. 323, Experimental work conducted in the chemical laboratory; No. 325, A study of four hundred steaming tests; No. 334, Burning of coal without smoke in boiler plants; No. 336, Washing and coking tests of coal, and cupola tests of coke; No. 339, Purchase of coal under specifications on basis of heating value; No. 343, Binders for coal briquettes; No. 362, Mine sampling and chemical analyses of coals in 1907; No. 363, Comparative tests of run-of-mine and briquetted coal on locomotives, including torpedo-boat tests, and some foreign specifications for briquetted fuel; No. 366, Tests of coal and briquettes as fuel for house-heating boilers; No. 367, Significance of drafts in steam-boiler practice; No. 368, Coking and washing tests of coal at Denver; No. 373, Smokeless combustion of coal in boiler plants, with a chapter on central heating plants; No. 378, Results of purchasing coal under Government specifications; No. 382, The effect of oxygen in coal; and, No. 385, Briquetting tests at Norfolk, Va.



DISCUSSION

KENNETH ALLEN, M. Am. Soc. C. E.—The speaker would like to know whether anything has been done in the United States toward utilizing marsh mud for fuel.

In an address by Mr. Edward Atkinson, before the New England Water Works Association, in 1904, on the subject of "Bog Fuel," he referred to its extensive use in Sweden and elsewhere, and intimated that there was a wide field for its use in America.

The percentage of combustible material in the mud of ordinary marsh lands is very considerable, and there are enormous deposits readily available; but it is hardly probable that its calorific value is sufficiently high to render its general use at this time profitable.

As an example of the amount of organic matter which may remain stored in these muds for many years, the speaker would mention a sample taken from the bottom of a trench, which he had analyzed a few years ago. Although taken from a depth of about 15 ft., much of the vegetable fiber remained intact. The material proved to be 70% volatile.

Possibly before the existing available coal deposits are exhausted, the exploitation of meadow muds for fuel may become profitable.

HENRY KREISINGER, Esq.[29] (by letter).—Mr. Wilson gives a brief description of a long furnace and an outline of the research work which is being done in it. It may be well to discuss somewhat more fully the proposed investigations and point out the practical value of the findings to which they may lead.

In general, the object is to study the process of combustion of coal. When soft coal is burned in any furnace, part of the combustible is driven off shortly after charging, and has to be burned in the space between the fuel bed and the exit of the gases, which is called the combustion space. There is enough evidence to show that, with a constant air supply, the completeness of the combustion of the volatile combustible depends on the length of time the latter stays within the combustion space; but, with a constant rate of charging the coal, this length of time depends directly on the extent of the combustion space. Thus, if the volume of the volatile combustible evolved per second and the admixed air is 40 cu. ft., and the extent of the combustion space is 80 cu. ft., the average time the gas will stay within the latter is 2 sec.; if the combustion space is 20 cu. ft., the average time the mixture can stay in this space is only sec., and its combustion will be less complete than in the first case. Thus it is seen that the extent of the combustion space of a furnace is an important factor in the economic combustion of volatile coals. The specific object of the investigations, thus far planned, is to determine the extent of the combustion space required to attain practically complete combustion when a given quantity of a given coal is burned under definite conditions. With this object in view, the furnace has been provided with a combustion space large enough for the highest volatile coals and for the highest customary rate of combustion. To illustrate the application of the data which will be obtained by these experiments, the following queries are given:

Suppose it is required to design a furnace which will burn coal from a certain Illinois mine at the rate of 1,000 lb. per hour, with a resulting temperature of not less than 2,800 Fahr. How large a combustion space is required to burn, with practical completeness, the volatile combustible? What completeness of combustion can be attained, if the combustion space is only three-fourths of the required extent? In the present state of the knowledge of the process of combustion of coal, these queries cannot be answered definitely. In the literature on combustion one may find statements that the gases must be completely burned before leaving the furnace or before they strike the cooling surfaces of the boiler; but there is no definite information available as to how long the gases must be kept in the furnace or how large the combustion space must be in order to obtain practically complete combustion. It is strange that so little is known of such an old art as the combustion of coal.

The research work under consideration is fundamentally a problem in physical chemistry, and, for that reason, has been assigned to a committee consisting of the writer as Engineer, Dr. J. C. W. Frazer, Chemist, and Dr. J. K. Clement, Physicist. The outcome of the investigation may prove of extreme interest to mechanical and fuel engineers, and to all who have anything to do with the burning of coal or the construction of furnaces. In the experiments thus far planned the following factors will be considered:

Effect of the Nature of Coal on the Extent of Combustion Space Required.—The steaming coals mined in different localities evolve different volumes of volatile combustible, even when burned at the same rate. The coal which analyzes 45% of volatile matter evolves a much greater volume of gases and tar vapors than that analyzing only 15 per cent. These evolved gases and tar vapors must be burned in the space. Consequently, a furnace burning high volatile coal must have a much larger combustion space than that burning coal low in volatile combustible.

There is enough evidence to show that the extent of combustion space required to burn the volatile combustible depends, not only on the volume of the combustible mixture, but also on the chemical composition of the volatile combustible. Thus the volatile combustible of low volatile coal, when mixed with an equal volume of air, may require 1 sec. in the combustion space to burn practically to completeness, while it may require 2 sec. to burn the same volume of the volatile combustible of high volatile coal with the same completeness; so that the extent of the combustion space required to burn various kinds of coal may not be directly proportional to the volatile matter of the coal.

Effect of the Rate of Combustion on the Extent of Combustion Space Required.—With the same coal, the volume of the volatile combustible distilled from the fuel bed per unit of time varies as the rate of combustion. Thus, when this rate is double that of the standard, the volume of gases and tar vapors driven from the fuel is about doubled. To this increased volume of volatile combustible, about double the volume of air must be added, and, if the mixture is to be kept the same length of time within the combustion space, the latter should be about twice as large as for the standard rate of combustion. Thus the combustion space required for complete combustion varies, not only with the nature of the coal, but also with the rate of firing the fuel, which, of course, is self-evident.

Effect of Air Supply on the Extent of Combustion Space Required.—Another factor which influences the extent of the combustion space is the quantity of air mixed with the volatile combustible. Perhaps, within certain limits, the combustion space may be decreased when the supply of air is increased. However, any statement at present is only speculation; the facts must be determined experimentally. One fact is known, namely, that, in order to obtain higher temperatures of the products of combustion, the air supply must be decreased.

Effect of Rate of Heating of Coal on the Extent of Combustion Space Required.—There is still another factor, a very important one, which, with a given coal and any given air supply, will influence the extent of the combustion space. This factor is the rate of heating of the coal when feeding it into the furnace. The so-called "proximate" analysis of coal is indeed only very approximate. When the analysis shows, say, 40% of volatile matter and 45% of fixed carbon, it does not mean that the coal is actually composed of so much volatile matter and so much fixed carbon; it simply means that, under a certain rate of heating attained by certain standard laboratory conditions, 40% of the coal has been driven off as "volatile matter." If the rate or method of heating were different, the amount of volatile matter driven off would also be different. Chemists state that it is difficult to obtain accurate checks on "proximate" analysis. To illustrate this factor, further reference may be made to the operation of the up-draft bituminous gas producers. In the generator of such producers the tar vapors leave the freshly fired fuel, pass through the wet scrubber, and are finally separated by the tar extractor as a black, pasty substance in a semi-liquid state. If this tar is subjected to the standard proximate analysis, it will be shown that from 40 to 50% of it is fixed carbon, although it left the gas generator as volatile matter. It is desired to emphasize the fact that different rates of heating of high volatile coals will not only drive off different percentages of volatile matter, but that the latter itself varies greatly in chemical composition and physical properties as regards inflammability and rapidity of combustion. Thus it may be said that the extent of the combustion space required for the complete oxidation of the volatile combustible depends on the method of charging the fuel, that is, on how rapidly the fresh fuel is heated. If this factor is given proper consideration, it may be possible to reduce very materially the necessary space required for complete combustion.

The Effect of the Rate of Mixing the Volatile Combustible and Air on the Extent of the Combustion Space.—When studying the effects discussed in the preceding paragraphs, the rate of mixing the volatile combustible with the supply of air must be as constant as practicable. At first, tests will be made with no special mixing devices, the mixing will be accomplished entirely by the streams of air entering the furnace at the stoker, and by natural diffusion. Although there appears to be violent stirring of the gases above the fuel bed, the mixture of the gases does not become homogeneous until they are about 10 or 15 ft. from the stoker. The mixing caused by the air currents forced into the furnace at the stoker is very distinct, and can be readily observed through the peep-hole in the side wall of the Heine boiler, opposite the long combustion chamber. This mixing is shown in Fig. 20. A is a current of air forced from the ash-pit directly upward through the fuel bed; B and B are streams of air forced above the fuel bed through numerous small openings at the furnace side of each hopper. Those currents cause the gases to flow out of the furnace in two spirals, as shown in Fig. 20. The velocity of rotation on the outside of the two spirals appears to be about 10 ft. per sec., when the rate of combustion is about 750 lb. of coal per hour. It is reasonable to expect that when the rate of mixing is increased by building piers and other mixing structures immediately back of the grate, the completeness of the combustion will be effected in less time, and a smaller combustion space will be required. Thus, the mixing structures may be an important factor in the extent of the required combustion space.

To sum up, it can be said that the extent of the space required to obtain a combustion which can be considered complete for all practical purposes, depends on the following factors:

(a).—Nature of coal,

(b).—Rate of combustion,

(c).—Supply of air,

(d).—Rate of heating fuel,

(e).—Rate of mixing volatile combustible and air.

Just how much the extent of the combustion space required will be influenced by these factors is the object of the experiments under discussion.

The Scope of the Experiments.—With this object in view, as explained in the preceding paragraphs, the following series of experiments are planned:



Six or eight typical coals are to be selected, each representing a certain group of nearly the same chemical composition. Each series will consist of several sets of tests, each set being run with all the conditions constant except the one, the effect of which on the size of the combustion space is to be investigated. Thus a set of four or five tests will be made, varying in rate of combustion from 20 to 80 lb. of coal per square foot of grate per hour, keeping the supply of air per pound of combustible and the rate of heating constant. This set will show the effect of the rate of combustion of the coal on the extent of space required to obtain combustion which is practically complete. Other variables, such as composition of coal, supply of air, and rate of heating, remain constant.

Another set of four or five tests will be made with the same coal and at the same rate of combustion, but the air supply will be different for each test. This set of tests will be repeated for two or three different rates of combustion. Thus each of these sets will give the effect of the air supply on the extent of combustion space when the coal and rate of combustion remain constant.

Still another set of tests should be made in which the time of heating the coal when feeding it into the furnace will vary from 3 to 30 min. In each of the tests of this set, the rate of combustion and the air supply will be kept constant, and the set will be repeated for two or three rates of combustion and two or three supplies of air. Each of these sets of tests will give the effect of the rate of heating of fresh fuel on the extent of combustion space required to burn the distilled volatile combustible. These sets of experiments will require a modification in the stoker mechanism, and, on that account, may be put off until all the other tests on the other selected typical coals are completed. As the investigation proceeds, enough may be learned so that the number of tests in each series may be gradually reduced. After all the desirable tests are made with the furnace as it stands, several kinds of mixing structures will be built successively back of the stoker and tried, one kind at a time, with a set of representative tests. Thus the effectiveness of such mixing structures will be determined.

Determining the Completeness of Combustion.—The completeness of combustion in the successive cross-sections of the stream of gases is determined mainly by the chemical analysis of samples of gases collected through the openings at these respective cross-sections. The first of these cross-sections at which gas samples are collected, passes through the middle of the bridge wall; the others are placed at intervals of 5 ft. through the entire length of the furnace. Measurements of the temperature of the gases, and direct observations of the length and color of the flames and of any visible smoke will be also made through the side peep-holes. These direct observations, together with the gas analysis, will furnish enough data to determine the length of travel of the combustible mixture to reach practically complete combustion.

In other words, these observations will determine the extent of the combustion space for various kinds of coal when burned under certain given conditions. Direct observations and the analysis of gases at sections nearer the stoker than that at which the combustion is practically complete, will show how the process of combustion approaches its completion. This information will be of extreme value in determining the effect of shortening the combustion space on the loss of heat due to incomplete combustion.

Method of Collecting Gas Samples.—The collection of gas samples is a difficult problem in itself, when one considers that the temperature of the gases, as they are in the furnace, ranges from 2,400 to 3,200 Fahr.; consequently, the samples must be collected with water-cooled tubes. Thus far, about 25 preliminary tests have been made. These tests show that the composition of the gases at the cross-sections near the stoker is not uniform, and that more than one sample must be taken from each cross-section. It was decided to take 9 samples from the cross-section immediately back of the stoker, and reduce the number in the sections following, according to the uniformity of the gas composition. Thus, about 35 simultaneous gas samples must be taken for each test. The samples will be subjected, not only to the usual determination of CO{2}, O{2} and CO, but to a complete analysis. It is also realized that some of the carbon-hydrogen compounds which, at the furnace temperature, exist as heavy gases, are condensed to liquids and solids when cooled in the sampling tubes, where they settle and tend to clog it. To neglect the presence of this form of the combustible would introduce considerable error in the determination of the completeness of combustion at any of the cross-sections. Therefore, special water-cooled sampling tubes are constructed and equipped with filters which separate the liquid and solid combustible from the gases. The contents of these filters are then also subjected to complete analysis. To obtain quantitative data, a measured quantity of gases must be drawn through these filtering sampling tubes.

The Measuring of Temperatures.—At present the only possible known method of measuring the temperature of the furnace gases is by optical and radiation pyrometers. Platinum thermo-couples are soon destroyed by the corrosive action of the hot gases. The pyrometers used at present are the Wanner optical pyrometer and the Fery radiation pyrometer.

The Flow of Heat Through Furnace Walls.—An interesting side investigation has developed, in the study of the loss of heat through the furnace walls. In the description of this experimental furnace it has been said that the side walls contained a 2-in. air space, which, in the roof, was replaced with a 1-in. layer of asbestos. To determine the relative resistance to heat flow of the air space and the asbestos layer, 20 thermo-couples were embedded, in groups of four, to different depths at three places in the side wall and at two places in the roof. In the side wall, one of the thermo-couples of each group was placed in the inner wall near the furnace surface; the second thermo-couple was placed in the same wall, but near the surface facing the air space; the third thermo-couple was placed in the outer wall near the inner surface; and the fourth was placed near the outer surface in the outer wall. In the roof the second and third thermo-couples were placed in the brick near the surface on each side of the asbestos layer. These thermo-couples have shown that the temperature drop across the 2-in. air space was much less than that across the 1-in. layer of asbestos; in fact, that it was considerably less than the temperature drop through the same thickness of the brick wall.

The results obtained prove that, as far as heat insulation is concerned, air spaces in furnace walls are undesirable. The heat is not conducted through the air, but leaps across the space by radiation. In furnace construction a solid wall is a better heat insulator than one of the same total thickness containing an air space. If it is necessary to build a furnace wall in two parts on account of unequal expansion, the space between the two walls should be filled with some solid, cheap, non-conducting materials, such as ash, sand, or crushed brick. A more detailed account of these experiments may be found in a Bulletin of the U.S. Geological Survey entitled "The Flow of Heat Through Furnace Walls."

WALTER O. SNELLING, Esq.[30] (by letter).—The work of the United States Testing Station at Pittsburg has been set forth so fully by Mr. Wilson that a further statement as to the results achieved may seem like repetition. It would be most unlikely, however, that studies of such variety should possess no other value than along the direct lines being investigated. In the case of the Mine Accidents Division, at least, it is certain that the indirect benefits of some of the studies have been far-reaching, and are now proving of value in lines far removed from those which were the primary object of the investigation. They are developing facts which will be of great value to all engineers or contractors engaged in tunneling or quarrying. As the writer's experience has been solely in connection with the chemical examination of explosives, he will confine his discussion to this phase.

In studying the properties of various explosives, and in testing work to separate those in which the danger of igniting explosive mixtures of coal dust and air, or of fire-damp and air, is greatest, from those in which this danger is least, much information has been collected. Mr. Wilson has described many of the tests, and it can be readily seen that in carrying out these and other tests on each of the explosives submitted, a great many facts relating to the properties of explosive compounds have been obtained, which were soon found to be of decided value in directions other than the simple differentiation of explosives which are safe from those which are unsafe in the presence of explosive mixtures of fire-damp or coal dust.

The factors which determine the suitability of an explosive for work in material of any particular physical characteristics depend on the relationship of such properties as percussive force (or the initial blow produced by the products of the decomposition of the explosive at the moment of explosion), and the heaving force (or the continued pressure produced by the products of the decomposition, after the initial blow at the instant of detonation). Where an explosive has been used in coal or rock of a certain degree of brittleness, and where the work of the explosive with that particular coal is not thoroughly satisfactory, it becomes evident that through the systematic use of the information available at the Testing Station (and now in course of publication in the form of bulletins), in regard to the relationship between percussive and heaving forces in different explosives, as shown by the tests with small lead blocks, the Trauzl test, and the ballistic pendulum, that explosives can be selected which, possessing in modified form the properties of the explosive not entirely satisfactory in that type of coal or rock, would combine all the favorable properties of the first explosive, together with such additional advantages as would come from its added adaptation to the material in which it is to be used.

For example, if the explosive in use were found to have too great a shattering effect on the coal, an examination of the small lead-block test of this explosive, and a comparison of this with lead-block tests of other explosives having practically the same strength, as shown by the ballistic pendulum, will enable the mine manager to select from those already on the Permissible List (and therefore vouched for in regard to safety in the presence of gas and coal dust, when used in a proper way), some explosive which will have the same strength, and yet which, because of lessened percussive force or shattering effect, will produce coal in the manner desired. If one takes the other extreme, and considers a mine in which the product is used exclusively for the preparation of coke (and therefore where shattering of the coal is in no way a disadvantage), the mine superintendent's interest will be primarily to select an explosive which, as indicated by suitable lead-block, Trauzl, and ballistic pendulum tests, will produce the greatest amount of coal at the least cost.

As the cost of the explosive does not form any part of the tables prepared by the Testing Station, the relative cost must be computed from the manufacturer's prices, but the results tabulated by the Station will contain all the other data necessary to give the mine superintendent (who cares to take the small amount of trouble necessary to familiarize himself with the tables) all the information which is required to compare the action of one explosive with that of any other explosive tested.

In this way it is seen that, aside from the primary consideration of safety in the presence of explosive mixtures of fire-damp and coal dust (a condition alike fulfilled by all explosives admitted to the Permissible List), the data prepared by the Testing Station also give the information necessary to enable the discriminating mine manager to select an explosive adapted to the particular physical qualities of the coal at his mine, or to decide intelligently between two explosives of the same cost on the basis of their actual energy content in the particular form of the heaving or percussive force required in his work.

Up to the present time the investigations have been confined to explosives used in coal mining, because the Act of Congress establishing the Testing Station has thus limited its work. Accordingly, it is not possible to compare, on the systematic basis just mentioned, the explosives generally used in rock work. It is probable that, if the Bill now before Congress in regard to the establishment of a Bureau of Mines is passed, work of this character will be undertaken, and the tables of explosives now prepared will be extended to cover all those intended for general mining and quarrying use. Data of such character are unobtainable to-day, and, as a result, a considerable percentage of explosives now used in all mining operations is wasted, because of their lack of adaptation to the materials being blasted. It is well known, for example, that when an explosive of high percussive force is used in excavating in a soft or easily compressed medium, a considerable percentage of its force is wasted as heat energy, performing no other function than the distortion and compression of the material in which it is fired, without exerting either an appreciable cracking or fissuring effect, or a heaving or throwing of the material.

Owing to lack of information in regard to the exact relationship between the percussive and the heaving force in particular explosives, this waste, as compared with the quantity required for the work with a properly balanced material, will continue; but it is to be hoped that it will soon be possible to give the mining and quarrying industries suitable information in regard to the properties of the various explosives, so that the railroad contractor and the metal miner may have the same simple and exact means of discrimination between suitable and unsuitable explosives that is now being provided for the benefit of the coal miner.

Another of the important but indirect benefits of this work has been the production of uniformity of strength and composition in explosives. An example of this helpful influence is the standardization of detonating caps and electric detonators. In the early days of the explosive industry, it was apparently advantageous for each manufacturer to have a separate system of trade nomenclature by which to designate the strengths of the different detonators manufactured by him. The necessity and even the advantage of such methods have long been outgrown, and yet, until the past year, the explosive industry has had to labor under conditions which made it almost impossible for the user of explosives to compare, in cost or strength, detonators of different manufacturers; or to select intelligently the detonator best suited to the explosive to be used. After conference with the manufacturers of detonating caps and electric detonators, a standard system of naming the strengths of these products has been selected by the Testing Station, and has met with a most hearty response. It is encouraging to note that, in recent trade catalogues, detonators are named in such a way as to enable the user to determine directly the strength of the contained charge, which is a decided advantage to every user of explosives and also to manufacturers.

The uniformity of composition of explosives (and many difficulties in mining work and many accidents have been rightly or wrongly attributed to lack of uniformity) may be considered as settled in regard to all those on the Permissible List. One of the conditions required of every explosive on that list is that its composition must continue substantially the same as the samples submitted originally for official test. Up to the present, all explosives admitted to the Permissible List have maintained their original composition, as determined by subsequent analyses of samples selected from mines in which the explosive was in use, and comparison with the original samples.

The data assembled by the Testing Station in regard to particular explosives have also been of great benefit to the manufacturers. When the explosives tests were commenced, comparatively few explosives were being made in the United States for which it was even claimed by the manufacturers that they were at all safe in the presence of explosive mixtures of gas or coal dust. It was evident that, without systematic tests, very little knowledge of the safety or lack of safety of any particular explosive could ever be gained, and, consequently, the user of explosives was apt to regard with incredulity any claim by the manufacturer in regard to the qualities of safety. Owing to lack of proof, this was most natural; and it was also evident that the very slow process of testing, which was offered by a study of mine explosions during past years, was sufficient only to prove the danger of black powder, and not in any way to indicate the safety of any of the brands of mining powder for which this property was claimed. Indeed, one of the few explosives to which the name, "safety," was attached, at the time the Government experiments were first undertaken, was found to be anything but safe when tested in the gallery, although there is no reason to believe that the makers of this and other explosives claiming "safety" for their product, did not have the fullest confidence in their safety.

The Testing Station offered the first opportunity in the United States to obtain facts in regard to the danger of any particular explosive in the presence of explosive mixtures of gas or coal dust. With most commendable energy, the manufacturers of explosives, noting the early failures of their powders in the testing gallery, began at once to modify them in such ways as suggested by the behavior of the explosives when under test, and, in a short time, returned to the Testing Station with improved products, able to stand the severe tests required. In this way the Testing Station has been a most active agent in increasing the general safety of explosives, and the manufacturers have shown clearly that it never was their desire to offer inferior explosives to the public, but that their failures in the past were due solely to lack of information in regard to the action of explosives under the conditions which exist before a mine disaster. The chance being offered to duplicate, at the Testing Station, the conditions represented in a mine in the presence of gas, they showed an eagerness to modify and improve their explosives so as to enable them to answer severe mining conditions, which is most commendable to American industry.

In regard to the unfavorable conditions existing in mines in the past, the same arguments may be used. In spite of the frequency of mine accidents in the United States, and in spite of the high death rate in coal mining as compared with that in other countries, it must be said in fairness that this has been the result of ignorance of the actual conditions which produce mine explosions, rather than any willful disregard of the known laws of safety by mine owners. Conditions in American mines are far different from those obtaining in mines abroad, and, as a result, the rules which years of experience had taught to foreign colliery managers were not quickly applied to conditions existing in American mines; but, as soon as the work at the Pittsburg Station had demonstrated the explosibility of the coal dust from adjoining mines, and had shown the very great safety of some explosives as compared with others, there was at once a readiness on the part of mine owners throughout the country to improve conditions in their mines, and to take advantage of all the studies made by the Government, thus showing clearly that the disasters of the past had been due to lack of sufficient information rather that to any willful disregard of the value of human lives.

Another of the indirect benefits of the work of the Station has resulted from its examination of explosives for the Panama Canal. For several years the Isthmian Canal Commission has been one of the largest users of explosives in the world, and, in the purchase of the enormous quantities required, it was found necessary to establish a system of careful examination and inspection. This was done in order to insure the safety of the explosives delivered on the Isthmus, and also to make certain that the standards named in the contract were being maintained at all times. With its established corps of chemists and engineers, it was natural that this important work should be taken up by the Technologic Branch of the United States Geological Survey, and, during the past three years, many millions of pounds of dynamite have been inspected and samples analyzed by the chemists connected with the Pittsburg Testing Station, thus insuring the high standard of these materials.

One of the many ways in which this work for the Canal Commission has proved of advantage is shown by the fact that, as a result of studies at the Testing Station, electric detonators are being made to-day which, in water-proof qualities, are greatly superior to any similar product. As the improvements of these detonators were made by a member of the testing staff, all the pecuniary advantages arising from them have gone directly to the Government, which to-day is obtaining superior electric detonators, and at a cost of about one-third of the price of the former materials.

All the work of the Technologic Branch is being carried out along eminently practical lines, and is far removed from such work as can be taken up advantageously by private or by State agencies. The work of the Mine Accidents Division was taken up primarily to reduce the number of mine accidents, and to increase the general conditions of safety in mining. As the work of this Division has progressed, it has been found to be of great advantage to the miner and the mine owner, while the ultimate results of the studies will be of still greater value to every consumer of coal, as they will insure a continued supply of this valuable product, and at a lower cost than if the present methods, wasteful alike in lives and in coal, had been allowed to continue for another decade.

A. BARTOCCINI, Assoc. M. Am. Soc. C. E. (by letter).—The writer made a personal investigation of the mine disaster of Cherry, Ill. He interviewed the men who escaped on the day of the accident, and also several of those who were rescued one week later. He also interrogated the superintendent and the engineer of the mine, and obtained all the information asked for and also the plans of the mine showing the progress of the work.

After a careful investigation the writer found that the following conditions existed at the mine at the time of the disaster:

First.—There were no means for extinguishing fires in the mine.

Second.—There were no signal systems of any kind. Had the mine been provided with electric signals and telephones, like some of the most modern mines in the United States, the majority of the men could have been saved, by getting into communication with the outside and working in conjunction with the rescuers.

Third.—The miners had never received instructions of how to behave in case of fire.

Fourth.—The main entries and stables were lighted with open torches.

Fifth.—The organization of the mine was defective in some way, for at the time of the disaster orders came from every direction.

Sixth.—The air shaft was used also as a hoisting shaft.

Seventh.—The main shaft practically reached only to the second vein; its extension to the third and deepest vein was not used.

Eighth.—Plans of the workings of the second and third veins were not up to date. The last survey recorded on them was that of June, 1909. This would have made rescue work almost impossible to men not familiar with the mine.

Ninth.—The inside survey of the mine was not connected with the outside survey.

Would it not be possible for the United States Geological Survey to enforce rules which would prevent the existence of conditions such as those mentioned? The Survey is doing wonderful work, as shown by the rescue of twenty miners at Cherry one week after the conflagration; but there is no doubt that perhaps all the men could have been saved if telephone communications with the outside had been established. Telephone lines to resist any kind of a fire, can easily be installed, and the expense is small, almost negligible when one considers the enormous losses suffered by the mine owners and by the families of the victims.

H. G. STOTT, M. Am. Soc. C. E.—The curves shown by Mr. Wilson give a clear general idea of the relative efficiencies of steam and gas engines when treated from a purely theoretical thermodynamic point of view. This point of view, however, is only justified when small units having a maximum brake horse-power not exceeding 1,000 are considered.

The steam engine or turbine operating under a gauge pressure of 200 lb. per sq. in., and with 150 superheat, has a maximum temperature of 538 Fahr. in its cylinder, while that of the gas engine varies between 2,000 and 3,000 Fahr.

The lubrication of a surface continually subjected to the latter temperature would be impossible, so that water jackets on the cylinders and, in the larger units, in the pistons become absolutely necessary. As the cylinders increase in diameter, it is necessary, of course, to increase their strength in proportion to their area, which, in turn, is proportional to the square of the diameter. The cooling surface, however, is only proportional to the circumference, or a single function of the diameter. Increasing the strength in proportion to the square of the diameter soon leads to difficulties, because of the fact that the flow of heat through a metal is a comparatively slow process; the thick walls of the cylinders on large engines cannot conduct the heat away fast enough, and all sorts of strains are set up in the metal, due to the enormous difference in temperature between the inside and the jacket lining of the cylinder.

These conditions produce cut and cracked cylinders, with a natural resultant of high maintenance and depreciation costs. These costs, in some cases, have been so great, not only in the United States, but in Europe and Africa, as to cause the complete abandonment of large gas engine plants after a few years of attempted operation.

The first consideration in any power plant is that it shall be thoroughly reliable in operation, and the second is that it shall be economical, not only in operation, but in maintenance and depreciation. Therefore, in using the comparative efficiency curves shown in Mr. Wilson's paper it should be kept in mind that the cost of power is not only the fuel cost, but the fuel plus the maintenance and depreciation charges, and that the latter items should not be taken from the first year's account, but as an average of at least five years.

The small gas engine is a very satisfactory apparatus when supplied with good, clean gas, and when given proper attention, but great caution should be used before investing in large units, until further developments in the art take place, as conservation of capital is just as important as conservation of coal.

B. W. DUNN, Esq.[31] (by letter.)—The growing importance of investigations of explosives, with a view to increasing the consumer's knowledge of proper methods for handling and using them, is evident when it is noted that the total production of explosives in the United States has grown from less than 9,000,000 lb. in 1840 to about 215,000,000 lb. in 1905. Table 5 has been compiled by the Bureau of Explosives of the American Railway Association.

TABLE 5.—Manufacture of Explosives in the United States, 1909.

- - Kind of explosives. Number of Maximum Capacity, in Pounds. factories. - Daily. Annual. - - - Black powder 49 1,220,150 366,135,000 High explosives 37 1,203,935 361,180,500 Smokeless powders 5 75,686 22,705,800 - - -

The first problem presented by this phenomenal increase relates to the safe transportation of this material from the factories to points of consumption. A package of explosives may make many journeys through densely populated centers, and rest temporarily in many widely separated storehouses before it reaches its final destination. A comprehensive view of the entire railway mileage of the United States would show at any instant about 5,000 cars partially or completely loaded with explosives. More than 1,200 storage magazines are listed by the Bureau of Explosives as sources of shipments of explosives by rail.

The increase in the demand for explosives has not been due entirely to the increase in mining operations. The civil engineer has been expanding his use of them until now carloads of dynamite, used on the Isthmus of Panama in a single blast, bring to the steam shovels as much as 75,000 cu. yd. of material, the dislodgment of which by manual labor would have required days of time and hundreds of men. Without the assistance of explosives, the construction of subways and the driving of tunnels would be impracticable. Even the farmer has awakened to the value of this concentrated source of power, and he uses it for the cheap and effective uprooting of large stumps over extended areas in Oregon, while an entire acre of subsoil in South Carolina, too refractory for the plow, is broken up and made available for successful cultivation by one explosion of a series of well-placed charges of dynamite. It has also been found by experience that a few cents' worth of explosive will be as effective as a dollar's worth of manual labor in preparing holes for transplanting trees.

The use of explosives in war and in preparation for war is now almost a negligible quantity when compared with the general demand from peaceful industries. With the completion of the Panama Canal, it is estimated that the Government will have used in that work alone more explosives than have been expended in all the battles of history.

Until a few years ago little interest was manifested by the public in safeguarding the manufacture, transportation, storage, and use of explosives. Anyone possessing the necessary degree of ignorance, or rashness, was free to engage in their manufacture with incomplete equipment; they were transported by many railroads without any special precautions; the location of magazines in the immediate vicinity of dwellings, railways, and public highways, was criticized only after some disastrous explosion; and the often inexperienced consumer was without access to a competent and disinterested source of information such as he now has in the testing plant at Pittsburg so well described by Mr. Wilson.

The first general move to improve these conditions is believed to have been made by the American Railway Association in April, 1905. It resulted in the organization of a Bureau of Explosives which, through its inspectors, now exercises supervision over the transportation of all kinds of dangerous articles on 223,630 of the 245,000 miles of railways in the United States and Canada. A general idea of the kind and volume of inspection work is shown by the following extracts from the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector, dated February, 1910:

1909. 1908. "Total number of railway lines members of Bureau December 31st 172 158 Total mileage of Bureau lines December 31st 209,984 202,186 Total number of inspections of stations for explosives 6,953 5,603 Number of stations receiving two or more inspections for explosives 1,839 1,309 Total number of inspections of stations for inflammables 6,950 1,098 Number of stations receiving two or more inspections for inflammables 1,886 .... Total number of inspections of factories 278 270 Number of factories receiving two or more inspections 75 69 Total number of inspections of magazines 1,293 1,540 Number of magazines receiving two or more inspections 349 361 Total number of boxes of high explosives condemned as unsafe for transportation 10,029 4,852 Total number of kegs of black powder condemned as unsafe for transportation 1,468 531 Total number of cars in transit containing explosives inspected 475 448 Total number of cars in transit showing serious violations of the regulations 168 197 Total number of inspections of steamship companies' piers (inflammable, 75; explosive, 63) 138 .... Total number of inspections made by Bureau 16,087 8,959 Total number of lectures to railway officials and employes and meetings addressed on the subject of safe transportation of explosives and other dangerous articles 215 171

1909. 1908. 1907. "Total number of accidents resulting in explosions or fires in transportation of explosives by rail 12 22 79 Total known property loss account explosions or accidents in transporting explosives by rail $2,673 $114,629 $496,820 Total number of persons injured by explosions in transit 7 53 80 Total number of persons killed by explosions in transit 6 26 52

"During the same period reports have been rendered to the Chief Inspector by the Chemical Laboratory of the Bureau on 734 samples, as follows:

Explosives 211 Fireworks 186 Inflammables 304 Paper for lining high explosive boxes 31 Ammunition 2 —— Total 734

"As a means of ensuring the uniform enforcement of the regulations, by a well grounded appreciation of their significance and application, the lectures delivered by representatives of the Bureau have proved most successful. The promulgation of the regulations is not of itself sufficient to ensure uniformity or efficiency in their observance, and so these lectures form a valuable supplement to the inspection service. They have been successfully continued throughout the year, and the requests for the delivery of them by the managements of so many of the membership lines, is a convincing testimonial of the high esteem in which they are held.