DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

George K. Burgess, Director

ANNUAL REPORT OF DIRECTOR

OF THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS

FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1927

MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS, BUREAU OF STANDARDS, No. 81

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS

TO THE

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

FOR THE

FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1927

( Miscellaneous Publication No. 81

)

PRICE 10 CENTS

Sold only by the Superintendent of Documents, TJ. S. Government Printing Office Washington, D. C. UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON

1927
Persons on a regular mailing list of the Department of Commerce should give

prompt notice to the " Division of Publications, Department of Commerce,

Washington, D. C," of any change of address, stating specifically the form of address in which the publication has previously been received, as well as the new address. The department should also be advised promptly when a publi- cation is no longer desired.
CONTENTS

Page

General activities 1 Salaries 5 Equipment H

General expenses H

Improvement and care of grounds 12 Testing structural materials 12 Testing machines 16

Investigation of fire-resisting properties 17

Investigation of public utility standards 18 Testing miscellaneous materials 19 Radio research 19 Color standardization 20

Investigation of clay products 21 Standardizing mechanical appliances 22

Investigation of optical glass 23

Investigation of textiles, etc 23 Sugar standardization 25 Gauge standardization 26

Investigation of mine scales and cars 26

Metallurgical research 27 High-temperature investigations 28 Sound investigation 28

Industrial research 29

Testing railroad-track and other scales 34 Master track scale and test-car depot 35 Standardization of equipment 35 Standard materials 37

Investigation of radioactive substances 38

Investigation of automotive engines 38 Transferred funds 39 General recommendations 42 Appendix . 45

in
IV
BUREAU OF STANDARDS

Department of Commerce,

Bureau of Standards,

WasMn^tton, July 2, 1927.

Hon. Herbert Hoover,

.Secretary of Commerce.

Dear Mr. Secretary : I submit herewith a brief report upon the

work of the Bureau of Standards during the fiscal year ended June

30. 1927. The various outstanding accomplishments are grouped

according to the subjects for which Congress had made specific

appropriations.

GENERAL ACTIVITIES

Organization.—During the past year the assistant director has

acted as liaison officer on matters of aviation between the Aeronautics

Branch of the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Standards. Work formerly conducted by the Bureau of Mines transferred

to the Bureau of Standards on July 1, 1926, and some of the work on

iubricants formerly carried on by the automotive power plants staff have been consolidated to form a new section on friction and lubrication in the heat and power division. Several resignations caused by

the bureau's inability to meet the salaries offered by industry made

necessary reallocation of the work in several sections.

Cooperation.—Most of the bureau's work is made effective through

voluntary cooperation of the State and municipal governments,

scientific and professional societies, trade associations, manufacturers,

and individuals who accept the findings of the bureau and incorporate them into a State law, a municipal ordinance, a dimensional

standard, or a standard of quality, performance, or practice.

All such cooperation is encouraged to promote a better understanding between producer and consumer and between industries, to the

end that industries shall be. so far as practicable, self-regulatory.

Many national organizations assist the bureau directly in research,

standardization, and simplification, and in turn the bureau cooperates

with numerous national organizations engaged in similar effort,

frequently designating members of the staff to serve on committees.

The extent of these relationships is shown by the fact that at the

present time the bureau is cooperating with over 200 scientific, technical, and industrial organizations. In many cases the work with

any one group covers a single project, while in other cases 25 projects or more are being handled by practically every division of the bureau.

One of the most effective ways in which the bureau cooperates with

American industries is through its research associate plan, referred

to in past annual reports. At the close of the fiscal year there were

63 of these associates stationed at the bureau, representing 38 industries and associations.

l
2 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Personnel matters.—The regular staff at the close of the fiscal year numbered 850 employees. In addition there were 63 employees

assigned to the bureau under the research associate plan and 11 miscellaneous assignments, including guests and details from other

branches of the Government, making a grand total of 924 persons. The turnover was 24.2 per cent, and although there were 449 promotions the average salary ($2,210) decreased by $22.

The status of the personnel shows an increase of 87 employees as compared with last year. However, 52 of these were added as the

result of reallocation of work within the Government service. The

employees engaged in operating the mechanical plant were trans* ferred back to the bureau's rolls, and the ceramic laboratory at Columbus, Ohio, and the oil-testing work were transferred from the

Bureau of Mines.

Visiting committee.—This committee, established by law " to visit the bureau at least once a year and report to the Secretary of Commerce upon the efficiency of its scientific work and the condition of

its equipment," met at the bureau twice during the past year and has

given particular attention to the financial needs of the bureau to meet the ever-increasing demands from the public and Government

for testing and research, as embraced in two reports to the Secretary

of Commerce. The present personnel of the committee is S. W.

Stratton, Gano Dunn, William F. Durand, W. R. Whitney, and

John R. Freeman.

International relations.—The usual close cooperation between the

national standardizing laboratories of other countries and the Bureau

of Standards has been maintained. Negotiations have been carried on for the improvement of standards on which electrical, photometric,

and radio measurements depend. The International Committee on Weights and Measures has proposed a chain of comparative measurements, including the national laboratories of Germany, France,

Great Britain, Japan, and the United States, and the bureau has pre- pared standards of voltage and resistance for shipment to Japan and

Great Britain. Standards of candlepower representing the newer

types of lamps have also been prepared for exchange with the national laboratories in Europe. Comparisons of radio-frequency have

been made with several of these and other laboratories b}7 means of

quartz piezooscillators which have been shaped from one laboratory

to another.

In September the International Conference on Weights and Measures will meet in Paris. This conference meets at least once in six years, and outstanding problems in metrology are discussed. The

bureau expects to present several important questions for consideration in the fields of metrology, optics, and electricity.

The second Pan American standardization conference was held

in Washington on May 9 to 11. The last day's session took place

at the Bureau of Standards, and a beginning w

T as made in the

grading of commodities of Latin-American origin.

Weights and measures conference.—The Twentieth National Conference on Weights and Measures was held on May 24 to 27 and was attended by 225 persons, of whom 102 were official representatives'from 22 States, Porto Rico, and the District of Columbia.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 3

Among the important constructive actions taken by the confer- ence may be mentioned the adoption of a code of specifications and

tolerances for bottles for the sale of lubricating oil, modification

of specifications for liquid measuring devices, completion of important preliminary work on specifications and tolerances for grease- dispensing devices, adoption of recommendation for sale of ice cream on volume basis with regulation of " overrun," and adoption

of amendments to model State weights and measures laws establishing ton of 2,000 pounds for all commodities and cord of 128 cubic

feet for measurement of firewood.

State utility commission engineers'' conference.—The fifth annual

conference of State utility commission engineers was held at the

bureau June 2 and 3 and was attended by representatives of 16

State commissions and one Province of Canada. The program

included discussion of street railway, electric, and gas service, as well as problems in the determination of depreciation and the

theory of rate schedules.

American Engineering Standards Committee.—Cooperation has

been continued with the American Engineering Standards Committee. The bureau is sponsor for 13 standardization projects and

is represented on 73 committees having for their object the formulation of "American standards."

National Screw Thread Commission.—The standards established

by the National Screw Thread Commission provide for twO series

of threads, a coarse and a fine, and for four classes of fit, ranging

from the loose fit for very rough work to the close fit for work of

the highest precision. Dimensions and tolerances for each thread

series and class of fit are included in a report issued in 1924. Specifications and tolerances for pipe threads, fire-hose threads, and

small-hose threads are also included.

Certain details of the 1924 report have been perfected, and several new sections on special threads have been added. The commission

has also cooperated with the standardization committee of the American Petroleum Institute in the standardization of drilling-tool

joints, pumping equipment and gauges, and with the Federal Specifications Board in the standardization of machine screws, bolts, and

nuts to be purchased by the Federal Government.

Much time and attention are now being given to the important

task of specifying dimensions of threading tools and limit gauges

which will insure that a product within these limits will result when

the tools are properly used under normal working conditions. This

work is in cooperation with large manufacturers and users of

threading tools. Federal Specifications Board.—The board has been in existence

for nearly six years and has just promulgated the five hundredth

purchase specification. The use of these specifications is mandatory

on all Government activities by Executive order. These specifications are being used more and more by State and municipal governments, institutional bodies, and by industry. Much of the research

and experimental work necessary in connection with the formulation

of the Federal Specifications Board specifications is done by the

Bureau of Standards.
4 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Facilitating the use of specifications.—The inability of most purchasers to test goods which they buy has prevented a more widespread

use of specifications. The " certification plan " has been introduced

to eliminate this disadvantage.

Lists have been compiled of manufacturers who will certify to purchasers that goods delivered comply with certain specifications.

These lists will be forwarded upon request; 75 commodities have been

covered to date. A list of commercial and college laboratories which will make

tests to determine whether deliveries comply with specifications has

been published.

Relations to Government departments.—The bureau is authorized

to receive funds for specific research projects from other departments, and in pursuance of this policy in the past year the bureau

has received $295,000 for the support of 44 projects representing work

for nine Government establishments. In addition, the bureau does a

great deal of consulting, specification, and testing work for various

branches of the Government.

Publicity.—In addition to its regular official publications, of which

118 were issued during 1927, the monthly Technical Xews Bulletin

has been mailed as heretofore. The number of pages has been in- creased, and this bulletin is on a self-supporting basis. More than

200 papers have been published in outside technical journals. There

have also been released to the press about 250 short accounts of interesting achievements, together with many photographs illustrating

the bureau's work. These news items serve as nontechnical progress

reports on the activities of the bureau to the taxpayers of the

country.

There was also issued the first annual number of the Standards

Yearbook, giving a summary of standardization activities in the

United States for the past year. Tests completed.—An itemized statement of tests completed is given in the following table

Numbers of test items, determinations, and fee value for tests completed during

the fiscal year ended June 30, 1927

Kind of instrument or material, class of

test, or nature of service rendered

Number of test items for—

Total number

of test items

Number

of determinations Fee value Public

Govern- ment

depart- ments and State

institu- tions

Bureau

of Standards

Electrical standards, instruments, and

materials

Electric batteries 1,247 497 1,537

2, 691

168 479

1,361

1,143 979

10

22k, 1,964

1, 537

i 3,343

342 3,074

3,566

7, 618

979 455

3,927

2,944

3, 541

2,113 11,854 14,052

16,201

25, 352

5,871

$13, 732. 89

9, 76?. 50

* 17, 564. 12

2, 063.90

2, 478. 00

6. 411. 90

4, 893. 40

42, 990.00

912,00

Electric lamps and lighting equipment..

Length-measuring devices Gauges and gauge steels... . . .

201

172 1,540 2,118

5,942

451

2 1,055

87 533

Miscellaneous dimensional determinations Weights and balances

Scales . Timepieces 427 18

i In addition the bureau inspected 1,216,751 incandescent lamps at various factories for other branches

of the Government.

i Includes fee value of $3,196.12 for lamps inspected at factories.
BUREAU OP STANDARDS

lumbers of test items, determinations, and fee value for tests completed during

the fiscal year ended June 30, 1921—Continued

Number of test items for—

Govern- Total Number

Jxinu oi instrument or innteriai, ciass oi ment number of Fee value

test, or nature of service rendered depart- Bureau of test determi- Public ments of Stand- items nations and State ards

institu- tions

Volumetric apparatus. 6,932 4, 949 154 12, 035 23, 046 $7, 657. 00 Hydrometers 627 128 5 760 2, 327 1, 149. 45 Densitv determinations, etc 59 7 294 360 560 536. 00

2, 161 825 235 3, 221 17, 447 /» OAA

6, 309. 55 Clinical thermometers 34, 950 28, 819 63, 769 255, 076 5, 043. 41 Pyrometers, calorimeters, etc 167 60 124 351 3, 289 3, 703. 74

32 37 16 85 141 COA AA

1760

44 61 145 4, 863. 00

1,693 160 1, 913 12, 295 ID COA AAlo, DoU. UU

175 67 24 266 903 1, 136. 50 Optical instruments and materials 319 506 195 1.020 2, 542 5, 095. 60 Carbohydrates . - 17 1,897 1, 914 2, 906 3, 194. 50 Kadioactive materials 523 31 640

554 564 3, 493. 00 Engineering instruments and appliances 128 54 822 956 10, 758. 50

21 229 14 264 750 3, 686. 00 Aerodynamic tests of models 12 5 10 27 96 1, 452. 00 Physical properties of engineering materials 373 2, 292 144 2, 809 5, 103 15, 517. 17 Sound producing and measuring instru15 51 27 93 117 1, 398. 50 Making of special castings 58

366

262 320 989 2, 613. 68 Fusible boiler plugs . 366 731 1, 827. 50

381 99 480 682 2, 373. 36 Miscellaneous metallurgical tests 377 615 992 2, 823 6, 460. 82 Pottery and chinaware 5 212 10 227 780 1, 523. 00 Glass 22 18 40 120 455.00

Refractories and heavy clay products 4 62 81 147 1,076 2, 860. 00 Cement, concreting materials, lime, etc. 36 8,394 125 8, 555 28, 435 112, 838. 33 Stone and sand-lime brick 48 4 52 732 369. 25 Miscellaneous ceramic materials 3 1, 634 87 1,724 2, 159 8, 254. 50

1, 521 376 1,897 12, 160 28, 218. 26

6, 298 211 6, 509 14, 182 24, 362. 00

47 2,036 160 2 243 6 565 Ifi 008 00 Leather 13 218 1 '232 1, 028 1,627.00 Paint, varnish, and bituminous materials 1, 170 19 1, 189 9, 687 21, 020. 79 Chemical analysis of metals 1 465 354 820 3, 526 11, 982. 80 Chemical tests of miscellaneous materials.. — 999 108 1, 107 3,909 9, 965. 60 Distribution of standard samples 5, 830 630 20 6, 480 24 13, 545. 50 Total.. — 64, 174 76, 036 6, 372 146, 582 3 503, 726 3 461, 265. 02

s Of these totals, 214,826 determinations were for the public, fee value, $60,228.73; 269,367 determinations were for the Government departments and State institutions, fee value, $357,874.64; 19,533 determinations were for the bureau, fee value, $43,161.65. The number of test items and determinations necessary in connection with the bureau's own work of research and standardization, with the resulting fee values,

are not included in these totals. SALARIES ($567,320)

This fund provides for personal services of administration and

operation; the establishment, upkeep, and comparison of standards;

the development of methods of test, as well as most of the testing;

and for the determination of fundamental constants of importance in

physics, chemistry, engineering, and technology not otherwise provided for. Basic electrical units and standards.—Progress has been made in

checking the commonly used values of the electrical units by refer- ence to the fundamental definitions. The need for this work has

become more urgent because the International Committee on Weights

and Measures is now taking up the problem of establishing and

62505—27 2
6 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

maintaining authoritative international values for the units. Coils

and related apparatus must be constructed with a very high degree of

mechanical precision in such form that their electrical properties can

be calculated and these calculated values compared with those found

by electrical measurements. One part of this work on the induction

of a helix made with wire of any section has been published, and

another paper on absolute measurements of capacitance by Maxwell's

method is in press. Constant of gravitation.—After four years of work with improved

apparatus the first results of the redetermination of the Newtonian

constant of gravitation were obtained during the past year. Five

values have been obtained—6.661, 6.661, 6.667,' 6.667, and' 6.664—giving as a mean 6.664 by 10~8 cm. 3/gm. sec.

2

, a result ten times more

accurate than hitherto obtained.

Standard of planeness.—Three standards of planeness have been

made of clear fused quartz, a material chosen because its distortion

arising from temperature irregularities is about one-fifteenth that of

glass. They are in the form of disks about 10 inches in diameter and

iy2 inches thick, being rigid enough to rest on three points without appreciable distortion. The workmanship on these flats is of

such a high grade that all three surfaces depart from planeness by

less than one-hundredth of a light wave length—less than two

ten-millionths of an inch.

Airplane lenses.—In order to select the best lenses to be used in

aerial mapping complete tests were made on 74 lenses for the Army

Air Service. Special attention was paid to the determination of the

amount of distortion present in the photograph.

High precision method of lens testing.—The well-known Hartmann test has been modified to permit the interpretation of the aberrations of the lens, in terms of wave length, by means of the diffraction effects of the apertures of the Hartmann diaphragm. This

method, which readily determines quantitatively even the effect of

striae, differs from other interferometric methods in that it can be

applied to large telescopes without the necessity of having large

auxiliary optical flats. Filters for photographic sensitometry'-, eolorimetry. and photometry.—A series of liquid filters, reproducible from specification,

has been developed for converting to average noon sunlight the energy

distribution of incandescent lamps having any "color temperature"

between 2,300° and 4,000° absolute. Important by-products of

this investigation are (a) the application of these same filters to the

measurement of color temperature and intensity of incandescent

lamps and (b) the development of a similar group of filters for con- verting the color of a lamp operated at 2,848° (the bureau's standard)

to any color temperature between 3,000° and 10,000° absolute.

Therapeutic light sources.—An investigation of the radiation from

the carbon arc under different conditions of operation was conducted

in cooperation with the National Carbon Co. Data were obtained on

the ultra-violet component of the radiation using different kinds and

sizes of carbon electrodes, different kinds of cores for these, large and

small electric currents; also with direct current and alternating current potentials.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 7

Windows for transmitting the " vitalizing-^ rays of sunlight.—

After investigating the ultra-violet transmission characteristics of numerous substitutes for window glass it was found that the most

widely known of the new glasses transmits about 50 per cent of the

vitalizing rays of sunlight which are excluded by ordinary window

glass, and a more recent production shows about 92 per cent trans- mission. Glass substitutes, consisting of a cellulose product on wire

mesh, fall somewhat, below 50 per cent. Revision of solar spectrum wave lengths.—In cooperation with the

Allegheny Observatory wave lengths of 400 lines in the yellow,

orange, and red portions of the spectrum have been measured and

published. Comparison of these solar values with laboratory values

shows a red displacement of the solar lines as a function of their

intensity but in which the displacement appears to be somewhat

smaller for the longer than for the shorter wave lengths. If it is assumed that the intensity scale for the longer waves is the same as

for the shorter, these results continue in contradiction to the explanation given by the Einstein gravitation theory.

Density of pure iron and carbon steels.—The densities of pure iron

and of various carbon steels have been determined. The average

density of pure iron is 7.864 grams per cubic centimeter. Carbon

steels as hot-rolled show a gradual decrease in density with increasing

carbon content up to about 1.3 per cent and lie on or close to the

straight line

Density = 7.855 -.032 C

where C is the percentage of carbon.

Carbon steels as annealed show a gradual decrease in density with

increasing carbon content up to about 1.4 per cent, and the values

lie on or close to the straight line

Density =7.860 -.04 C

where O is the percentage of carbon.

The density of carbon steels containing up to about 1.3 per cent carbon decreases upon quenching, due to the formation of martensite.

The magnitude of this decrease rises with increasing carbon content,

reaching a maximum at about 1 per cent carbon and then falls off slightly. Upon tempering the quenched steels they gradually increase

in density. A decrease in density was noted in the hypereutectoid

steels, when tempered at 225° C, due to the tempering of retained

austenite. Upon tempering about 225° C. the density of all samples

increased, ultimately approaching the density of the annealed material when tempered at 600° C. The greatest rate of increase of

density was noted upon tempering at 300° C, the rate then gradually

falling off practically to zero at 600° C. Properties of pure metals.—The fundamental properties of pure

thorium and pure nickel have been investigated, so that the bureau

is prepared to give information on the constants of these important

metals. The melting of nickel of purity hitherto unreached, by

methods which avoid contamination, and the working of it into form

suitable for determining its constants have been successfully accomplished. Special refractories have been prepared for melting the

pure metals. Methods for obtaining precision measurements of the
8 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

lattice constants of thorium by the X-ray spectrograph have also been developed. The metallographic properties of pure iron have

been studied in cooperation with a research fellow of the SwvdishAmerican Foundation.

Metallurgical testing, research, and service for the Government.—

Testing of metals and allied materials for other branches of the Government included routine tests of 341 fusible plugs for the Steamboat

Inspection Service and research on factors affecting their possible

failure to function in service; examination of failed propellers for

the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy; tests of iron pipe for the

repair of the White House ; study of air-hardening rivets for armored

tanks, at the request of the Ordnance Department of the Army 3 testing of foundry sands for the Panama Canal and the Washington

Navy Yard; and a wide range of miscellaneous tests. Advice has

been given the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission on metallic products. Work on tarnish-resisting silver alloys

for the Bureau of Mines has been completed and published. Metallurgical work has been done on storage-battery alloys for the Navy.

Wear of metals.—The fundamental properties of metals used for

gauges affect their resistance to wear. Special apparatus has been

constructed to study the wear resistance of gauges in the laboratory.

Chromium-plated gauges and special steel gauges given a nitride

coating by treatment in ammonia have been found markedly superior

to ordinary gauges in resisting wear. This phase of the wear problem is completed, one report has been issued, and a second is ready

for publication.

Elastic hysteresis research.—A technologic paper on the statical hysteresis in the flexure of bars was issued, in which a new fundamental constant has been shown to exist, called the statical hysteresis

modulus. Experiments on the statical hysteresis in cycles of equal

load range have greatly widened the applicability of the law given

in the above paper. A theoretical relation has been deduced between

the damping of a tuning fork in air and the statical hysteresis

modulus of the material of which the tuning fork is made.

Magnetic testing methods.—A new edition of the circular on magnetic testing has been issued and special studies of commercial testing

methods have been reported in a paper on determination of the magnetic induction in sheet steel. The applicability of magnetic meas- urements as an indication of mechanical prqperties of materials has

been treated in papers on nondestructive testing of wire hoisting rope

by magnetic analysis and on the magnetic reluctivity relationship.

Standards of candlepower.—The bureau several years ago established provisional standard values for the newer types of electric lamps, but no international agreement has yet been reached on candlepower standards of these types or on a general method of making

photometric measurements when the lights to be measured differ in

color. Comparisons have been made both with laboratories in this

country and with national laboratories abroad. When completed,

these comparisons will serve to determine the constancy with which

the basic carbon standards have been maintained in the different

countries and will indicate the degree of agreement attainable in the

establishment of the newer standards by the various methods

available.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 9

Lamp-testing methods.—The general introduction of the new types

of inside-frosted electric lamps has required changes in testing procedure. The specifications for lamps have been revised and the

testing methods used have been published.

Time of breakdown of paint.—Progress was made on a quantitative

method of determining the time of breakdown of paint and similar

coatings, as well as a study of accelerated tests to simulate weather

decay.

Changes in rubber compounds.—An investigation of the effect of

added fatty acids upon the tensile properties of rubber compounds

was completed, and progress was made on a study of the changes

caused in rubber by heat, light, and oxidation, and the effect of adding

antioxidants.

Impurities in reagents.—The bureau's critical study of methods

for detecting and determining small amounts of impurities in reagent

chemicals was continued. This work formed an important contribution to the specifications for a number of chemicals prepared by the

American Chemical Society.

Increasing speed of zinc plating.—A study of acid zinc-plating

baths showed that by appropriate additions the conductivity and

permissible rate of deposition can be greatly increased.

Apparatus for analyzing breath.—A thermal conductivity apparatus for determining both carbon dioxide and oxygen in respired

air has been developed. Because of the rapidity with which determinations can be made, physicians are very enthusiastic about the

method and anticipate its extensive adoption in hospital practice.

Weights and measures.—This work included investigations of steel tapes to determine thermal expansion and of Young's modulus and

sag correction; a study of watches equipped with invar balances

and elinvar hairsprings; the effect of humidity changes on the con- stancy of lacquered analytical weights; density changes in glass and

in steel caused by changes in heat treatment; the application of the

photo-electric cell to the measurement of short-time intervals; the

thermal expansion of creosote oils; the density of copper; and the

density and weight per gallon of denatured alcohol. Variability in weights caused by changes in atmospheric humidity.—A study of variations in gold-plated and lacquered screw-knob

weights under relative humidities of 30 and 70 per cent shows that

(1) changes in the weights are sometimes of great importance—

occasionally as large as 2 or 3 mg. on the sum of the weights in sets from 1 to 50 or 100 g. ; (2) in general, gold-plated weights showed

greater variability than lacquered weights, apparently because the

plating salts from the electroplating solution had not been wholly

removed from the cavity under the knob. These weights can be

improved b}^ thoroughly washing out these salts, and manufacturers

who have adopted this precaution are now furnishing much more

stable weights.

Orifice-meter investigation.—The particular object of this year's

cooperative work with the Natural Gas Association has been a study

of the effects of various combinations of bends, regulators, valves,

and straightening veins upon the indications of orifice meters. Very

consistent and instructive results were obtained, which showed some

previous ideas on orifice-meter behavior to be erroneous.
10 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Viscosity and consistency measurement.—A diagram has been

devised for estimating the viscosity of petroleum oils at one temperature when known at another. For some materials, such as oils con- taining soap, the usual methods of measuring viscosity do not apply.

A new type of apparatus suited for this purpose, known as the

" burette consistometer," has been investigated and found to be both

accurate and rapid in operation.

Thermal properties of petroleum products.—A thorough review of

the literature and of data obtained at the bureau indicates that cer- tain properties of petroleum products—namely, coefficient of expansion, heat of combustion, specific heat, latent heat of vaporization,

and perhaps thermal conductivity—can be calculated within close limits if the density of the oil is known, as set forth in a paper before

the American Chemical Society.

Platinum* resistance thermometry.—An investigation of platinumresistance thermometers has been undertaken to aid in the standardization of a low-temperature platinum resistance scale of temperatures to —183° C. as a part of a cooperative program between the

bureau and the national laboratories of England, France, Germany,

and the Netherlands for uniformity in temperature measurements.

Specification for automobile tires.—The Government purchases of

tire equipment amount to approximately $1,500,000 a year, with a rapidly increasing proportion of balloon and truck tires. As a result of tire tests during the past three years the bureau, with the cooperation of the Rubber Association of America, has obtained sufficient data to revise the Federal specification for automobile tires, so as to include balloon tires and truck tires. In this specification an endurance test simulating road service has been provided for each size and

type of tire. Construction of apparatus for laboratory and other purposes.—

The instrument shops, machine shops, pattern and woodworking

shops, glass-blowing shop, tool room, and construction storeroom took

care of all demands made upon them for the construction of instruments, apparatus, and their installation in the laboratories, as well as the preparation of all routine samples submitted for tests and the

preparation of the standard steel, cast iron, and various alloy steels used as standard samples.

Some of the more important instruments and apparatus constructed during the year are : Diffuse reflectometer, optical lens cen- tering apparatus, 10 small laboratory telescopes, interferometer, pendulum apparatus, furnace for expansivity testing, sand-blasting machine for the numbering of clinical thermometers, proving pngs for

calibration of testing machine, ionization chamber, graduated track

for Weber photometer, three radiobeacon goniometers, magnetic comparator for fatigue machine, spherometer, vibration galvanometer,

commutator and switch for platinum-resistance thermometer bridge, camera for spherical aberration tests, radiobeacon interlocking

switch, installation of grating mounting in constant-temperature room of spectroscopic laboratory, electric furnace, wear-test machine,

alpha ray counting apparatus for exhibit at New York Industrial

Museum, galvanometer for Maxwell bridge, variable mutual induc- tance apparatus, two 500-microhenry self-inductances, one telescope

for absolute electrometer, one 10 and one 20 inch strain gauge, one
BUKEAU OF STANDARDS 11

resistance box (0.01 ohm and 10,000 ohms), one resistance box (100

to 10,000 ohms), one rotating sample holder, X-ray tube holder, and

hardness testing apparatus.

Operation and maintenance of buildings.—The employees engaged

in plant operation and maintenance are divided into three principal

groups—namely, power plant, guard, and janitorial groups. The

first group operates and maintains the power plant which supplies

heat, light, power, and other miscellaneous service; the second group

polices the bureau's property; and the third group does the routine

cleaning work within the buildings. The functions were performed

as usual.

EQUIPMENT ($88,000)

General equipment.—The usual purchases of apparatus and supplies necessary to maintain the bureau's laboratories in up-to-date

and efficient condition have been made. A considerable amount -of

special equipment for the radio section has been purchased for use

in connection with experiments on radiobeacons and radio transmission between planes and the ground.

Supercalender stack.—A new supercalender stack was purchased

for the experimental paper mill. This machine is fitted for five

rolls, 27 inches wide, and is driven by a variable-speed electric motor,

giving roll speeds of 40 to 300 feet per minute.

Dead weight testing machine.—A dead weight vertical testing machine of 100,000 pounds capacity, built by A. H. Emery, jr., in

accordance with suggestions made by the bureau, has been secured.

It will be used primarily in the accurate calibration of proving

rings, which in turn will be used for the calibration of service testing

machines in the field. The 10,000-pound weights are applied to the

ring with the aid of a hydraulic press so that the load may be applied

either in tension or in compression in 10,000-pound increments up to

a maximum of 100,000 pounds.

New constant-temperature room.—The new equipment for graduating and testing circles and for comparing linear scales will be

installed in a new basement room which has just been completed.

GENERAL EXPENSES ($68,355)

Upkeep of mechanical plant.—The usual maintenance work and re- pairs have been carried on. A 25-ton refrigerating plant was in- stalled in the industrial building. New commutators were mounted

on fan motors for the bureau's heating system.

Electrical construction and repairs.—The work included the usual

maintenance and construction, as well as some extensions to the elec- trical service carrying various voltages. Several large pieces of

equipment were connected up, such as the new supercalender in the

paper section, large electromagnet in the new spectroscopic laboratory, 100-horsepower rotary exhausters in the altitude laboratory,

and a 200-horsepower motor for a large air compressor.

Plumbing and steam-fitting.—Work required by several extensions

of gas, air, vacuum, water, steam, and refrigeration lines was per- formed. Special installations included a large air compressor, ex- haust pumps, and equipment in the semicommercial sugar plant.
12 EBPOET TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Miscellaneous repairs and alterations.—This work included building foundations for a variety of equipment, relining boiler settings,

and several alterations to buildings such as the excavation for the new spectroscopic laboratory and the new room for precision length

measurements.

Library boohs.—The number of volumes accessioned this year was

1,552, making the total number of accessioned volumes 30,818, as compared with 29,362 last year; 730 scientific and technical periodicals are received by the bureau's library.

Travel.—Provision was made for necessary travel to consult with

experts at meetings of scientific and technical societies, travel of

members of the bureau's visiting committee, and travel in foreign

countries on cooperative work of the bureau with other national

standardizing institutions.

Contingent expenses.—Part of the contingent expenses of the

bureau and of the Department of Commerce as a whole have also been

provided for. IMPROVEMENT AND CARE OF GROUNDS ($12,000)

Improvement of grounds.—Considerable progress has been made

in the improvement of the grounds, particularly in the plot lying

along Connecticut Avenue. This part of the property has been

graded and planted and is now in a fairly satisfactory condition. A

new entrance walk has been completed which adds greatly to the

comfort and convenience of the employees.

TESTING STRUCTURAL MATERIALS ($230,000)

Building codes.—The building code committee published its Recommended Building Code Requirements for Unit Working

Stresses in Building Materials and has made substantial progress on its report on fire-resistive construction. At least 85 municipalities throughout the country have used recommendations of the committee in code revisions. The committee suffered a heavy loss in the

death of its chairman, Ira H. Woolson, on May 8. City planning and zoning.—The Standard State City Planning

Enabling Act was completed in February by the Advisory Committee on City Planning and Zoning and within three months was

utilized in laws enacted in three States. New editions of the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (which has now been utilized in the

laws of at least 28 States), a Zoning Primer, and a City Planning

Primer were issued and reports on zoning progress have been issued

from time to time.

Standard State Mechanics' Lien Act Committee.—The voluntary

committee, which is drafting a recommended standard State mechanics' lien act, circulated a preliminary tentative draft and is now perfecting it with the aid of the comments and criticisms.

Statistical work.—Monthly prices for 24 building material items

as paid by contractors in about 50 cities have been obtained, issued

regularly, and republished in a number of trade papers. They are

also used in compiling index numbers of the price of materials for

small frame and brick houses. Current statistics on building activity, building costs, production, consumption, and stocks on hand of
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 13

the principal building materials were printed regularly in the Surveyor* Current Business and its advance releases. Cooperation with Government and private agencies on building

and housing problems.—Cooperation was continued with Federal,

State, and local governmental agencies, and with private organizations concerned in building and housing. Material relating to construction was furnished for several publications of the Bureau of

Foreign and Domestic Commerce, a number of drafts of building

codes were reviewed, and problems relating to city planning and zoning, building costs, and home ownership were taken up in conjunction with such groups as Better Homes in America, the American

Construction Council, the American Civic Association, and bodies

representing architects, engineers, and business and labor groups

connected with construction.

Structural steels high in silicon.—A technologic paper has been

issued describing the properties of structural steel high in silicon

which has an exceptionally high yield point.

Standard finishes for builders'1 hardware.—In cooperation with

manufacturers the bureau established in 1924 a simplified and standardized line of 25 hardware finishes. Sixteen of these are fixed as regards color by the composition of the metal. The remaining nine,

so-called " oxidized " finishes, are dependent upon the process employed in the finishing room. Unfortunately they also tend to change

color slowly with time, particularly when exposed to strong light and

humidity. Twenty-five new sets of these nine finishes were distributed to interested manufacturers for use as reference standards. At

the same time a spectrophotometry study was made of each finish,

including the determination of the dominant wave length, purity, and

reflective value. The color characteristics of these standard finishes

have thus been established independently of any material standard.

Vitreous china plumbing fixtures.—Through the hearty cooperation of the manufacturers the standardization of vitreous china

plumbing fixtures has made steady progress. This has included

simplification, the development of a standard nomenclature, grading

rules, and dimensional standards. Forty thousand copies of the

pamphlet embodying the above standards are being distributed by

the manufacturers to architects and plumbers.

Refractory bricks and clays.—Tests of 17 brands of clay refractories and of each individual material used in their manufacture

show a wide range in thermal expansion, elasticity, and mechanical

strength values, although the pliability, or maximum elongation at rupture, did not vary greatly from an average of about 0.04 per cent. The relative qualities of the various materials in any one mixture

may have an important bearing on the properties of the product

irrespective of the method of manufacture. A method has been

developed by which it may be possible to estimate quite closely the

relative resistance of sagger clays to spalling in service. At the

Columbus station cooperative work with the American Society of

Mechanical Engineers has been continued in a study of the cause and

control of brick failure in boiler settings.

Cast iron for enameling purposes.—A new method of distinguishing between irons, with respect to their tendency to produce blistered

62505—27 3
14 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

ware when enameled, has been developed. The range of conditions

under which an iron can be enameled without blisters determines

whether it is good or poor. This method of " range finding," besides

being an important step in the solution of the problem of differentiating between enameling irons, helps to eliminate blisters in the

manufacturer's output. Preheating the iron before coating it with

enamel helps to eliminate blisters, since the gas has a chance to evolve

at a temperature below the fusion point of the enamel.

Maintenance of interior marble.—This cooperative investigation

with the National Association of Marble Dealers has been completed. A paper now being printed relates to methods and preparations for cleaning interior marble, means of treating stains, and

preservation of the natural appearance.

Methods of cleaning limestone masonry.—An apparatus which employs high-pressure steam and water has been given several practical

trials and appears to meet the requirement of cleaning without injury

to the stone. Stone preservatives.—Exposure tests in progress for six years indi- cate that the only type of treatment which will endure for this

period is the paraffin type.

Frost action.—Frost tests indicate that in severe climates poor

grades of limestone and sandstone will probably show extensive

decay in 25 years, while other grades might last three or four centuries. Efflorescence may produce more rapid deterioration than

frost, and decay of stonework within two or three years after a building is erected can usually be attributed to this cause. Sound-absorbing gypsum plaster.—Ninety per cent of the acoustical defects of auditoriums, theaters, and churches may be remedied

by a sound-absorbing plaster. A gypsum plaster composed of 2

parts of volcanic tufa, 1 part sand, and 1 part of calcined gypsum

and containing 2 per cent by weight of the calcined gypsum of a mixture of calcium carbonate and potassium alum in molecular proportions with retarder has been found to have the sound-absorbing

properties desired.

Method of analysis of hydrated lime.—There is no chemical method

of analysis of hydrated lime which gives information relative to the

CaO, MgO, Ca(OH) 2 , Mg(OH) 2 , and CaC03 contents when all are

present. A thermochemical method of analysis has been developed.

The sample is heated at succeeding temperatures for definite periods

of time, and the loss in weight is plotted against temperature.

Breaks occur in the curve indicating the dissociation of the

Mg(OH) 2 , Ca(OH) 2 , and CaC03 , and the loss in weight due to the

decomposition of each constituent may be obtained. From these data

the percentages of the compounds may be calculated.

Adhesion of mortar to sand-lime brick.—Tests on adhesion of

mortar to sand-lime brick show that, so far as adhesion is concerned, a brick which absorbs some water from the mortar is more desirable

than a nonabsorptive brick. Brick which absorb water quite rapidly

should have their rate of absorption reduced by wetting. Wetting

brick having a low rate of absorption decreases the adhesion. Bricks

of one make may vary so much in rate of absorption that the adhesion of the mortar is affected more by this than by changes in mortar

composition.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 15

Strength of hollow-tile and concrete slabs.—Tests of 102 beams

representing different types of hollow-tile and joist-floor construction

show that the value of the tile in resisting shearing stresses is a function of their compressive strength.

Strength of brickwork.—One hundred and fifty-nine walls, 9 feet high and 6 feet long, and 130 smaller masonry specimens have been

tested. Data have been secured on the factors which affect the

strength of both solid and hollow walls of brick.

Strength of hollow-tile walls.—An investigation of the compressive

and transverse strength of walls built of a specially designed hollow

tile indicated that mortar and workmanship are the most important

factors affecting the strength of these walls. Concrete mine stoppings.—Tests of 12 slabs show approximately

equal stresses under static pressures and under pressures produced

by explosions.

Stevenson Creek experimental dam.—The Stevenson Creek experimental dam, erected solely for test purposes under the supervision

of a national committee, has been built to a height of 60 feet, and the

tests at this height have been completed. During the studies of the

data progress reports have been issued which indicate that a reduction in the cost of arch dams may be effected by applying the results of this work.

Durability of aggregate.—The necessary apparatus has been as- sembled and 36 samples of aggregate collected from all parts of the

United States, representing granites, trap rocks, sandstones, limestones, slags, and miscellaneous varieties of gravels. All samples

have been carefully graded, and durability tests are now in progress

involving several different treatments. It has been noted that the

boiling and drying treatment and Na2 S(\ treatment are the most

severe and are apparently equally effective. Limestones are apparently disintegrating more rapidly than other

aggregates. The gravels contain so many varieties of stone that

disintegrated particles are found in almost all of them, but by far

the greater number are sound. Granites have not been affected and

only occasional pieces of trap. Sandstone and slags have shown signs

of breaking up. Methods of testing cement.—In cooperation with the American

Society for Testing Materials, comparison tests were made on 32

brands of cement, trying a proposed method of pouring a neat cement

briquet, to replace the mortar briquet as a test specimen for cement. The new type of specimen has advantages over the old, but the

preparation must be adjusted to allow for variations in the normal

consistency requirements. A study of the linear changes of neat cement specimens—one with normal consistency, the other with 42

per cent excess water—showed various contractions in volume during

setting, ranging from no change to 0.09 per cent, the values for the

individual cements scattering between these limits. Inspection of cement.—During the year there have been tested

and shipped under bureau supervision 683,362 barrels of cement. Because of the increased shipments of small quantities of cement at widely separated points, especially in the Northampton district, the

testing and shipping of a slightly smaller amount of cement than

last year has required a greater number of inspector hours.
16 EEPOET TO THE SECEETAEY OF COMMERCE

Comparison tests on samples of three identical cements have been

made each month at the Washington and the three branch laboratories. This has resulted in a considerable improvement in the uniformity of results obtained at the four laboratories. A device to measure the pressure applied in making mortar briquets has been

installed and has helped to secure uniform results. Fifty Xo. 200

sieves were tested, and 427 standard fineness samples of cement were

distributed.

Branch Taborato-ries.—The bureau maintains three branch laboratories. The Northampton (Pa.) laboratory is used exclusively for the

inspection and testing of cement and being advantageously situated in

the Lehigh Valley cement-producing district, supervises the major

portion of the Government purchases for tested cement. The Denver

laboratory tests cement in the territory west of the Mississippi River

and is engaged in the study of available concrete aggregates used by

the Reclamation Service. The San Francisco laboratory tests cement

and miscellaneous materials purchased by the Government on the

western coast. TESTING MACHINES ($38,000)

Calibration of testing machines.—The proving ring for calibrating

testing machines in industrial plants has been further developed, so as to provide a reliable instrument for transferring loads applied by

the dead weight testing machine (see "Equipment") to the machine

under calibration. Proving rings having capacities of 10,000 and

100,000 pounds are now nearing completion.

Compressive strength of brickie ark.—This investigation, in co- operation with the Common Brick Manufacturers' Association, has

included the construction and testing of 168 brick walls. 6 feet wide, 9

feet high, and 8 or 12 inches thick. In addition, similar tests have

been made on approximate^ 100 wallettes. The variable factors

include brick, mortar, type of construction, effect of wetting, and

workmanship. The laboratory work is nearing completion, and the

results are being prepared for publication.

Welded rails.—A series of repeated impact tests on welded rail joints in cooperation with the American Electric Railwa}7 Association and the American Bureau of Welding has been completed. The

failure of street railway rail joints in service is a source of great

expense from the standpoint of maintenance, reduces the speed and

effectiveness of the service, and greatly increases the noise of operation. Work on the development of a welded joint which will have a longer life is in progress. Welded structural members.—In cooperation with the American

Bridge Co. and the American Bureau of Welding a compression test was conducted on a steel column in which welded joints replaced the

customary riveting. The results showed the column to be even

stronger than expected, and this method of construction seems likely to come into more extensive use, particularly where noise is objectionable.

Interlocking rib tile walls.—There is much interest at present in

buildings which will show greater resistance to earthquakes and

hurricanes, and for this purpose walls with greater transverse strength are necessary. The strength of walls constructed of tile
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 17

with vertical ribs which interlock in the center of the wall has been

investigated. The horizontal joints between the tile on the outside

surface of the wall were also staggered with respect to corresponding

joints on the inside surface. Tests of these walls showed a greater

transverse strength than is obtained in tile walls of the usual construction. The compressive strength of the two types is about the same. Copper roofing.—In cooperation with the Copper and Brass Research Association the conditions affecting the life of copper when

used for roofing and for valleys and flashings have been investigated.

The properties of sheet copper and of different methods of joining

the sheets were also studied. Results have already been obtained

indicating that the construction of copper roofs can be greatly

improved.

INVESTIGATION OF FIRE-RESISTING PROPERTIES ($28,100)

Fire-loss statistics and fire prevention.-—Data for a paper on the

seasonal variation in the fire loss obtained from State and press

reports have been tabulated and charted.

Experimental methods have been developed for gauging the fire hazard of discarded matches, cigars, and cigarettes, and a number of

tests were made to ascertain the relative hazard of several kinds of

interior floors and wall coverings. Cigarettes are more likely to cause fires than cigars, because, in general, they burn longer after

being thrown away.

Insulated safes.—Five fire tests of insulated record containers were made for Government departments and two for manufacturers.

Fire intensity and duration.—The larger structure, 30 by 60 feet

in floor area, was burned out once with record-room occupancy and

once with desks and filing cabinets. Four tests with metal furniture were made in the smaller structure, which, supplemented by a test with records on metal shelving due to be made in July of the present

year, will complete the tests with office occupancy.

The severity of the fires with wood furniture was equivalent to approximately the first hour of the standard furnace test when wood

flooring, furniture, and contents weighed 10 pounds per square foot,

iy2 hours with 15, 2 hours with 20, and between 5 and 8 hours with

the record rooms having 50 to 60 pounds per square foot of shelving

and records.

Strength of materials at high temperatures.—The work on compressive strength of steel and cast iron was completed, 65 tests at temperatures of 750° C. being made on rounds and rolled shapes

having slenderness ratios (1/r) from 22 to 144. Fire tests of roofing materials.—Brand, flame, and spread tests were made on 126 decks of painted or chemically treated wood shingles, both new and weathered. Approximately the same number of

tests were made on decks of weathered wood shingles and asphalt

prepared roll roofing and shingles removed from building roofs 12

to 30 years old. Tests were also made of copper shingles, zinc standing seam roofing and shingles, copper-clad asphalt shingles, and

asphalt saturated and coated asbestos felt roll roofings.
18 EEPOET TO THE SECKETAEY OF COMMEECE

Fire resistance of heavy walls.—The fire tests of hollow tile walls were completed, 45 tests made during the year being of plastered,

brick-faced, or furred walls, 12 or 16 inches in thickness, and of

8-inch walls made of tile for which the clay had been especially pre- pared by varying amounts of grinding, pugging, and admixture of

combustible filler. A supplementary series, consisting of fire-endurance tests of four

brick walls and four hollow-tile walls that had been seasoned by

accelerated methods to constant weight before testing, was added to obtain information on what effect the free water present in masonry

walls for a considerable period after building has on the temperature

transmission through the wall.

INVESTIGATION OF PUBLIC-UTILITY STANDARDS ($100,000)

Measurement of high voltages and large currents.—Work has con- tinued on the absolute electrometer designed to give a fundamental

basis for measurements of voltages up to at least 250,000 volts. The

year has been devoted largely to perfection of the actual measuring

and weighing devices—gauge rods, balances, weights, and controls. In order to correlate electrometer measurements of effective voltage

with crest or maximum voltages as measured by the sphere-gap or

the corona voltmeter, an electrostatic curve-tracing apparatus has

been developed. A study of humidity effects in the corona volt- meter has been made, showing that humidity has an appreciable

effect under some conditions. A tubular noninductive oil-cooled

shunt for 1,000 amperes has been completed, and studies of its per- formance have been made as a basis for the design of similar shunts

for larger currents. Electrolysis and soil corrosion.—Papers on methods of electrolysis

testing and on applications of the earth current meter are in press. One on methods of electrolysis mitigation has been prepared and

submitted to the American Committee on Electrolysis for discussion. Since many different interests are affected and there are wide

differences of opinion regarding the choice of methods for preventing damage by stray currents, publication of this paper is likely to be delayed. Some 2,000 specimens of metals and protective coatings

buried in various soils have been examined during the year. These

constitute the second lot of specimens in this investigation which is planned to run for a total period of 10 years, and the preliminary

nature of the present results is emphasized. Nevertheless, there is very widespread interest, and reports have been presented at four

meetings of technical organizations.

National Electrical Safety Code.—All five parts of the new

(fourth) edition of the National Electrical Safety Code have now

been published as handbooks of the bureau.

Government telephone surveys and patent suits.—The numerous

changes which have been made in location of bureaus in Washington, as well as changes in character and amount of business handled,

have made necessary the continuation of telephone service studies

under the auspices of the chief coordinator's office. Detailed studies are also being made to determine the best and most economical

arrangement of telephone service for the group of new buildings

recently authorized by Congress. These surveys, with a few others
BTJKEAU OF STANDARDS 19

outside the District of Columbia, the arrangement of general tele- phone service contracts, and the assistance given the Departments

of Justice and War in defending suits for infringement of patents

have occupied the full time of the bureau's telephone section.

Gas mater heaters.—An investigation of the behavior of water

heaters was carried out in cooperation with the testing laboratory

of the American Gas Association in order to establish specifications

for these appliances. The various factors relative to burner design

and service conditions at the burner when using different fuel gases

are being investigated. A theoretical study of the characteristics of

flames for the purpose of adapting the results to the investigation

of gas burners and appliances has been in progress. Production of water gas.—A review of the entire literature relat- ing to the economic factors involved in the production of water gas

from both coke and coal has been made and should be of considerable

value to public utility commissions.

Gas analysis apparatus.—A thermal conductivity apparatus was

constructed for the Bureau of Mines for use in gas analysis in the

investigation of mine explosions.

TESTING MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS ($44,090)

Variety of materials tested.—A great variety of chemical and

physical tests were made for Government departments on paints,

varnishes, roofing, and Avaterproofing materials; rubber; writing

materials; boiler waters and compounds; technical chemicals; and

detergents. A large number of miscellaneous materials were tested

to determine their fire hazard in order to furnish data to guide the

Steamboat Inspection Service in making rulings on the transportation

of commodities on passenger vessels. RADIO RESEARCH ($49,800)

Radio-frequency measurements and standards.—The radio work

was largely concentrated on two main problems—the improvement

of frequency measurements and the development of radio aids to air

navigation. The latter work was largely supported by funds trans- ferred from the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce

and will be described under " Transferred funds." The development

of broadcasting and increased uses of radio generally rendered imperative greater accuracy in the measurement of frequency or wave

length. Experiments to improve radio-frequency standards were

conducted, apparatus was tested, and standards were disseminated

in such a way as to make them of most value in maintaining broadcasting and other stations on the correct frequencies. The piezooscillator received much attention. With the cooperation of other

Government departments and large electrical companies a program

of research was begun looking to the development of this apparatus

and its standardization to the highest possible accuracy, the aim

being to secure a very considerable improvement over the present

attainable accuracy of about 0.01 per cent. Comparisons with all important radio laboratories abroad showed that most of them were

in agreement to the order of 0.01 per cent, but it is highly desirable
20 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OE COMMERCE

to establish absolute frequency values with a certainty of 0.001 per

cent, and to do so will require much more research and development.

Radio wave phenomena.—The work on radio wave phenomena has

included studies of fading and its correlation with other natural

phenomena, such as terrestrial magnetism and electrical conditions on the sun. A definite connection appears to exist between solar

phenomena, such as the rotation of the sun and the sun-spot cycle

and radio conditions on the earth. Methods of measuring radio field intensity have been developed, as well as means for calibrating apparatus for these measurements. This work is increasingly important

in view of the close control exercised by the Federal Radio Commission over the power and interference production of broadcasting

stations.

COLOR STANDARDIZATION- ($9,000)

Color standards in industry.—Color plays a much more important

part in industry and commerce than is generally realized. Requests

are received in large numbers for advice on the standardization of

colors for railway signals, highway signals and signs, building materials, paints, dyes, food products, and many other commodities.

In no field probably is it more difficult to set up a satisfactory standard because the science of colorimetry lies in that borderland between

physics and psychology where so much depends on the human observer. Nevertheless, progress is being made. A standard for artifi- cial sunlight has been established for colorimetric purposes, many

light sources have been graded, and numerous phases of the psychophysical aspects of the problem have been studied.

Visual color responses and their physical stimuli.—While color- imetry is preeminently a psychophysical subject, the basis of color

specification lies in physical measurements of emission characteristics

of light scources, transmissive characteristics of transparent materials, and reflective characteristics of more or less opaque materials.

In cooperation with the Munsell Research Laboratory, progress has

been made in the study of colorimetric sensibility, the elementary

color excitation functions, and the analysis of color in terms of

dominant wave length and purity, all of which serve for the colori- metric interpretation of these physical characteristics.

Standard Lovibond color scale.—For several years a research program has been under way with the object of finding an adequate

basis for measuring and specifying color in trade. An important

part of this program has been completed in the establishment of

standards for Lovibond red and }

T ellow glasses used in the vegetable

oil and other industries. Having such standards, the next step is the calibration of perhaps several hundreds of these glasses for the

trade, very slight differences in which often lead to disputes involving

thousands of dollars. Apparatus for measuring the reflective characteristics of materials.—For specifying the color of opaque diffusely reflecting materials a means of measuring reflectance under various conditions of

illumination and as a function of both wave length and angle of view

is necessary. A satisfactory experimental solution requires very

complicated apparatus. During the past year this was designed,

constructed, and placed in successful operation.
BUKEAU OF STANDARDS 21

INVESTIGATION OF CLAY PRODUCTS ($47,000)

Use of feldspar in wfaitetvure.—This investigation has been con- tinued by further tests of grain fineness, mineral constituents, thermal dilatation, relative translucency of vitreous bodies in which the

feldspar is the only variable component, and resistance of glazed ware to thermal shock. Specimens for the thermal shock test repre- sented various combinations of feldspars in the glaze with the same

and other feldspars in the bodies on which the glazes were applied.

The data indicate that (1) screen analyses by various laboratories

may differ sufficiently to make specifications to closer than ±0.5 per

cent of little significance, (2) differences in chemical analyses are

sufficient to justify further investigation to determine the cause and

control of present variations, (3) refractoriness of feldspar increases

and the softening range decreases with increase in K2 0) (4) softening points range from that of cone 4 for soda felspar to that of cones

9 to 10 for potash feldspar, (5) translucency for vitreous bodies con- taining potash feldspars increases with increase in the K2 content

of the feldspar, (6) mechanical strength is affected more by the

method of firing than by the feldspar, (7) thermal expansion of

vitreous bodies is increased by rapid firing and by increasing the

Na2 content of the feldspar.

The work on whiteware also includes a comparison of English and

American china clays. All of the usual standard tests for both

unfired and fired clays are to be covered, and a study of 17 English

clays is now in progress. Drying of clay bodies.—Preliminary drying studies of 12 typical

clays have been completed, a method of routine testing developed,

and a report correlating the drying results with previous investigations of the same clays with respect to water smoking and oxidation

is in course of preparation. At the Columbus branch 19 clays have

been selected for the purpose of studying the qualities characterizing

clays used in the manufacture of heavy clay products.

Workability of clays.—The power efficiency of extrusion machines

as affected by various combinations of dies, spacers, and type of auger

has been studied, using a clay which did not change in workability

after repeated extrusions. The data indicate that the single wing

auger (6-inch), 1° taper die and 6-inch spacer is the most efficient combination for the clay used.

t Vitreous enamel ground coats.—The effects of different proportions of flint and feldspar and various combinations of fluxes have

been studied. In general, flint in the refractory portion and sgdium

oxide in the flux portion were most resistant. Boric oxide increased

resistance to mechanical shock in the series of ground coats containing flint and feldspar in approximately equal proportions. Variations in expansivity influenced resistance to mechanical and thermal

shock less than is the case in cover coats. A light-colored ground coat of sufficient adhesiveness is hard to obtain without the use of cobalt,

which produces a dark color. A new test for measuring adhesiveness has been devised. Opacifying materials have also been studied

to determine which can be used in the mill batch of a ground coat without danger of reaction with the metal base and evolution of gas. Zirconium oxide and sodium antimonate have appeared satisfactory.

62505—27 4
22 KEPOKT TO THE SECEETABY OF COMMERCE

Methods of treating the metal to increase the adhesiveness of the

enamel have been tried with promising results. Consistency of enamel suspensions.—This investigation has beeL

completed. A new component of consistency which is called " set

(of which the draining period is a measure) has been discovered, and

a new method worked out for computing and expressing " relative

mobility." Correlation of data obtained in two factories led to the

-conclusions that (1) the weight of enamel slip retained on a unit area of the iron base is a function primarily of yield value and secondarily

of " set," (2) mobility can be completely controlled in practice by

varying the water content of the slip, and (3) the measure of " set

known as draining period is roughly a hyperbolic function of

mobility.

Study of glazes—-The properties of tensile strength and elasticity

of about 85 glazes have been determined and data correlated to develop laws regarding the effect of various components of the glazes on these properties.

As a correlary to this work, some study has been made on the type

of strain present in a glaze fired to a body. The evidence so far- shows glazes which have crazed to be in tension and those of good fit to be in compression, as a general rule. STANDARDIZING MECHANICAL APPLIANCES ($27,800)

Elevator safety interlocks.—Work on elevator interlocking devices

has been extended to include numerous reliability tests of commercial

interlocks requested by regulating bodies. The results are used as the basis for approval by several of the Government departments,

by the District of Columbia, by various municipal and State governments, and by a group of casualty insurance companies.

Elevator research,.—An investigation of the performance of eleva- tor safety equipment, particularly oil buffers, undercar safeties, governors, and their associated mechanisms, is being conducted under a fellowship established by the American Engineering Standards Committee. The ultimate purpose of the work is the preparation of

specifications for performance tests of elevator safety equipment.

An elevator machine has been installed, and special instruments

are being developed to measure the deceleration, which takes place in a relatively short time and may attain a value three times that of

gravity.

Altitude chainber for testing instruments.—This is a steel tank,

large enough to accommodate two observers, in which the pressure can be lowered to correspond to an altitude of 30,000 feet. It has

been useful in adjusting and testing instruments for aircraft and in

calibrating mercurial barometers by comparison with a standard

instrument. Temperature control within the chamber is now being

installed.

Testing of engineering instilments and mechanical appliances.—

There has been an increase of approximately 20 per cent in the test- ing of engineering instruments and mechanical appliances, including

the calibration of stream flow meters, the testing and investigation

of new fire extinguishing devices, and the testing of devices and

equipment purchased by the Government departments under per- formance specifications.
BUREAU OP STANDAKDS 23

Radiator air valves.—The investigation of radiator air valves has

been continued at the request of the Supervising Architect's Office. Definite performance specifications have been in use during the past

six months.

INVESTIGATION 01" OPTICAL GLASS ($20,520)

Production of optical glass.—In studying the factors affecting the

quality of optical glass during melting, molding, and annealing, a

total of approximately 21,000 pounds of glass of four different kinds were made in 18 pots, one of which contained about 4,000 pounds.

Most of the perfect glass obtained was molded into prisms and lens

blanks of various sizes from which the naval optical shop received

21,441 blanks.

Viscosity.—The friction of the rotating parts of the viscosity machine has been reduced to such an extent that the friction correction

for any load is now definitely known, and errors in viscosity determinations caused by uncertain or variable friction correction are

entirely eliminated. This will increase the accuracy of measurements

and permit a more thorough study of other variable conditions affect- ing viscosity determinations.

Annealing or the reduction of strain in glass.—Recently it has been

shown that the temperature at which glass is annealed has a decided

effect on the index of refraction (and also density) of the glass.

Glass from the same melt may have different indices of refraction if annealed at different times. These differences are great enough to explain differences in focal lengths of similar optical systems and

variations from computed focal lengths which previously were

thought to be caused by lack of homogeneity in the original glass or

faulty surfaces. Critical studies on this phase of the work are being

continued.

Large glass dish.—A large glass disk for a reflecting telescope was

satisfactorily cast by pouring the molten glass into a mold, which

is at the same time an electrically heated annealing furnace. The

disk, made of borosilicate crown glass,' is approximately 70 inches in

diameter, 12.5 inches thick, and weighs about 4,000 pounds. The

cast-iron furnace (or mold) weighs 5 tons and the insulation

(sil-o-cel) about 2 tons. The glass is allowed to cool about 2° C. per day, and the annealing will require a constant temperature for

about six weeks, after which slow cooling will again be started. The initial cooling, annealing, and final cooling of this disk will take

about 10 months, and since it was cast in May it will not be cold

until about February.

INVESTIGATION OP TEXTILES, ETC. ($35,000)

Physical characteristics of mohair fiber.—Data regarding the physical characteristics of mohair fiber were obtained to supplement the

technical and economic information on the mohair industry now

being collated by the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture.

Strength and diameter measurements were made. A photomicroscopic study of the mohair fiber and mohair kemp was prepared.

Cross sections were prepared thin enough to show the cellular struc- ture of the kemp as compared with the almost solid structure of the

mohair fiber.
24 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

A resilience test for fabrics.—A method of measuring the resil- ience of a textile fabric has been developed in connection with a determination of the characteristic properties of silk as contrasted

with mercerized and doped cotton fabrics. The apparatus employs

a balance acting as a loading device and a movable platform on

which a test specimen is placed. Measurements are made by placing

a fold of the fabric on the platform, then applying compression by means of the balance, then noting the amount of compression of the

fold of the fabric under gradual loading and its return when the

load is removed.

A stress-strain test for rayon yarns.—An investigation of the effect of moisture on the properties of rayon required a more accurate test method than was available. The method developed differs from the

lea test on which it is based, in the control of the tension of the

individual strands which make up the test specimen.

The apparatus consists of a U-shaped rod on which the yarn is wound by means of a yarn winder (ordinarily used for evenness

inspection), a tension device consisting of three highly polished

metal disks, and a transfer clamp for taking the specimen from the

U rod to the jaws of the testing machine.

The results obtained on rayon yarns using this M equitension lea method " have shown that further elaboration of technique of multiple yarn test methods would not be warranted unless more sensitive

strength machines are used; that is, the variations are within the

limits of the machine.

Standardization of paper-testing methods.—In cooperation with

the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry numerous

official paper-testing methods were developed. A member of the

bureau's staff acted as chairman of the association's paper-testing

committee which conducts the development work. Twenty-one

methods have been completed and officially adopted by the association.

Paper fibrous raw materials.—Successful results were obtained in

paper-making tests of various fibrous raw materials. It was found

by semicommercial experiments that paper equal to that made from

high-grade rags could be produced from the Caroa plant, native of

Brazil. Tests of waste mail pouches made for the General Supply

Committee demonstrated their excellent paper-making value and

resulted in disposal of them to paper makers at an increased annual

profit of $17,000. A good grade of wrapping paper was produced

from waste fibrous material, which is a by-product of the manufacture

of manila rope, at the Boston Navy Yard. This opens up the possibility of profitable disposal of it to paper makers.

Paper currency.—Treasury Department statistics show that the

cooperative research with the Bureau of Efficiency and the Bureau

of Engraving and Printing on improving the quality of United States

paper currency has increased its average life to 10 months as compared

with the former figure of 7 months. The importance of this work

is evident when it is remembered that the cost of producing a year's

supply of paper currency is around $10,000,000. One of the chief

contributing factors to the greater wearing quality of the present

paper currency is the development in the experimental paper mill

of a distinctly new type of paper characterized by great fiber strength.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 25

SUGAR STANDARDIZATION ($38,160)

Production of hard refined levulose.—The production of levulose

has resulted in great interest throughout the country in the possibility of a new American industry. Approximately 100 pounds of

this sugar was manufactured and distributed to various parties for

experimental purposes. A part was used with diabetics, of whom

there are about 2,000,000 in the country. Having satisfactorily

demonstrated that it is a physical possibility to produce granulated

levulose in quantity, a semifactory scale experimental plant has

been designed and is now being installed. This is intended to supply

the engineering information necessary for designing a commercial

factory.

Production, of dextrose.—The utilization of corn by the dextrose

industry, an outcome of the bureau's activities, has apparently gone

far to solve the surplus corn problem. During 1926 the production

of crystalline dextrose amounted to over 200,000,000 pounds, and the

demand now exceeds the capacity of the producing plants. Production has doubled each year for the past three years. Carbohydrate investigations.—One new sugar compound, the exist- ence of which was predicted by theory, has been made in the laboratory, and improved methods for preparing various sugar compounds

have also been developed. Published researches bearing on the rela- tions between rotatory power and structure in the sugar group as carried on at the bureau are extensive and scattered over a number

of years in various scientific magazines. A 142-page report has been

published in which the essential discoveries have been collected and

correlated. The need for this has been amply proven by the requests

for the publication. It covers a number of important new sugar com- pounds which have been prepared and gives data relating to the

structure of the compound sugars which have been obtained by the

preparation of compounds of six sugars—lactose, cellobiose, maltose,

glucose, mannose, and xylose.

Import sugar and molasses.—The sucrose in imported raw sugars

and molasses is the largest single producer of revenue from the

tariff. The supervision of the testing of these materials in the cus- toms laboratories was carried on with such success that the Government was involved in practically no expense for litigation during

the current year. The increase in the importation of molasses necessitated further studies with the object of increasing the precision with

which the duty could be determined. The methods developed have

been adopted throughout practically the entire molasses industry.

Duty on Cuban granulated sugar.—The Treasury Department was

confronted with a new problem in collecting revenue on granulated

sugar grown and refined in Cuba. The problem was solved at the

bureau's suggestion by stationing a Federal inspector at the plant

to supervise the testing and packaging of the sugar. His expenses

are paid by the manufacturer, and duty on 100 per cent sugar is paid on each shipment. This avoids the necessity for any inspection

when the sugar reaches the United States. The Government is, therefore, receiving a large increase in revenue at no additional expense.
26 EEPOET TO THE SECEETARY OF COMMEECE

GAUGE STANDARDIZATION ($38,320)

Gauges for oil industry.—About 65 per cent of the limit gauges

tested have been for use in the petroleum oil industry. Marked

progress has been made in the standardization of oil-well casing,

drill pipe, cable drilling tool joints, and pumping equipment.

Imyroverwent of gauges and gauge steels.—The design of threads

and the heat treatment and accelerated aging of gauge steels to secure dimensional stability have been studied.

It has been found in practice that the percentage of full thread

depth in nuts specified by the National Screw Thread Commission

is in some cases unnecessarily high, and that it results in excessive

power requirements for tapping and in excessive tap breakage, especially in the smaller sizes. Experiments to determine the maximum

size hole that can be permitted in a nut and still develop the full strength of the mating screw show that the minimum depth of

engagement may safely be reduced somewhat below the 75 per cent

specified by the commission, probably as low as 65, and possibly to 60 per cent, or even less on the smaller sizes. A ball-race steel and a straight carbon steel have been given accel- erated aging tests. The steels are immersed in boiling water for 24

hours and then for successive periods of 100 hours each, the change

in length of each specimen being determined after each period of

boiling. One group of specimens of ball-race steel was practically

stable after 24 hours boiling. Another group was stabilized after 124

hours boiling. These specimens have been measured at frequent and

regular intervals during the past eight months, and no change greater

than 0.00001 inch in a 4-inch specimen has been found. Other speci- mens of ball-race steel and all of the straight carbon steel specimens were given a different heat treatment and were not stabilized after

1,400 hours of boiling.

Improved equipment and testing methods.—An improved method

of measuring the thread angle of ring gauges has been developed, and

plaster of Paris has replaced sulphur and graphite as the most suitable

material for making casts of threads in ring gauges.

Two projection lanterns of an improved design have been constructed—one for the Ordnance Department of the Army and one for

the Naval Gun Factory, Washington, D. C.

Cooperation.—Under this fund cooperative work has been carried on with the National Screw Thread Commission, the Federal Specifications Board, the Gauge Design Committee, and the American

Petroleum Institute in the field of design and test of screw threads

and limit gauges.

INVESTIGATION OF MINE SCALES AND CARS ($12,800) Tests of tipple scales.—The mine-scale testing unit operated in the

States of West Virginia and Ohio, making tests of 186 tipple scales at coal mines. Of these 79, or 42.5 per cent, were found correct within the prescribed tolerance. Incidental tests of 9 motor truck

and wagon scales were also made by this unit.

This figure for accuracy is somewhat lower than last year, but it

is subject to considerable fluctuation from year to year because of
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 27

the fact that the figure for a single year is not, and can not be, representative of the coal-producing regions as a whole. The scale- testing equipment works in different regions each year to meet special demands, and it takes two or three years to cover the whole terri- tory. General experience over a period of years shows a gradual

improvement in this type of scale. METALLURGICAL RESEARCH ($43,140)

High-speed tool steel amd the machindbility of steel.—The study

of the effect of impurities and of added elements on the performance

of high-speed tool steel has proceeded as usual. A report was issued on machinability of alloy steels under roughing cuts, and experimental study of finishing cuts was begun, following the suggestions

of the metallurgical advisory committee.

Steel for carbwrizing.—In cooperation with the Bureau of Mines,

the study of " abnormality " in steel for carburizing is nearly completed, and a progress report has been published. A final report is in preparation. This peculiarity in some steels has been shown to

exist, although heretofore it has been doubted by some metallurgists.

Corrosion of metals.—Besides cooperation with the Navy, Army,

and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics on the corrosion

of duralumin, cooperative work with the American Society for Test- ing Materials on accelerated corrosion testing of zinc-coated materials

has been carried on. Work on electrolytic methods for corrosion

testing has been completed and a report published. All corrosion

appears to be electrolytic in nature. A report on comparative tests of nonferrous materials is nearly ready for the press. Work on the

effect of aeration in corrosion testing is under way. Cooperative

work with the American Society for Testing Materials in laboratory

and exposure tests of nonferrous screen wire cloth continues.

Molding sands.—Cooperation with the joint molding sand committee of the American Foundrymen's Association and with the Washington Navy Yard has continued. Methods for avoiding the burning-on of sand have been studied and a letter circular issued.

Progress has been made in the development of apparatus and methods for determining the sintering point of sand and of rapid methods

for moisture determination.

Substitutes for platinum.—The working of pure rhodium as a

substitute for platinum, though difficult, seems on the way to solution. Successful accomplishment of this would mean a saving to the

bureau on account of the amount of platinum now required in

scientific apparatus.

Alloy steel.—A special iron-carbon-vanadium alloy of great hardness was prepared, and its applicability to balls for Brinell hardness

testing was studied and a report published.

Bearings.—In cooperation with a research associate from a manufacturer, bearing metals such as are used on railroads have been

studied as to wear resistance and impact strength at ordinary and at service temperatures.

Rails.—In cooperation with a research associate from an engineering firm, a study has been made of the properties of rails made

from ingots cast with hot tops. In cooperation with the American
28 EEPOKT TO THE SECRETAEY OF COMMERCE

Kailway Engineering Association, the Manufacturer's Rail Steel

Committee, and the American Society of Civil Engineers' Committee on Stresses in Track, work has been done on the endurance limit of

rail steel under repeated stress. Work is under way on axial loading

endurance testing to study some factors that are essential in further

work on the endurance limit of rail steel. The properties of rail steel at high temperatures are also being studied. These problems are attacked because of their bearing on the question of rail breakage,

especially through transverse fissures. HIGH-TEMPERATURE INVESTIGATIONS ($9,740)

Pyrometry of molten brass.—A study was made of the methods used

in some 20 of the leading brass foundries to measure and control their

pouring temperatures. The methods were analyzed and discussed

in a paper presented before the American Foundrymen's Association

and published as a part of their symposium on pyrometry. There

appears to be a lack of knowledge of pyrometry in some foundries.

Since most of the pyrometers on the market are satisfactory for measuring brass-furnace temperatures, there should be no difficulty in

securing proper equipment, and undoubtedly the careful control of

pouring temperature would result in a better product.

Thermoelectric properties of metals.—The thermoelectric properties of aluminum and thorium of high purity were determined as part of a program which is to include a study of all the metals which

can be obtained in pure form. It is important to have on hand data

of this kind to supply needed information when these metals are used

industrially.

Heat losses from a hot-metal car.—The heat losses from a 75-ton

hot-metal car were determined by the bureau at a plant of one of the

large steel corporations. It was found that they were much less than

from an open ladle. Steel could still be poured after remaining in

the car for 40 hours. A paper on the subject was presented at a convention of the American Foundrymen's Association.

Pyrometry of ferrous materials.—A study has been made of the

methods of observing the temperature in ladles and streams of molten

cast iron. Observations made with a portable disappearing type

optical pyrometer were compared with the true temperatures as found by the use of rare-metal thermocouples immersed in the metal

and protected by graphite tubes. Work was carried out on a considerable variety of cast irons. Melting point of palladium.—Using a value for c2 of 1.4325 cm.deg.

and taking the melting point of gold as 1,063° C, the melting point

of palladium was found to be 1,553.5° C. If the new value of c2 (1.433 cm.deg.) is adopted for the international temperature scale, this value for the melting point will be

lowered about 0.2°. Melting point of platinum.—Work is in progress on the melting

point of platinum, but the bureau is not yet prepared to announce

the result. SOUND INVESTIGATION ($10,580)

Acoustic properties of building materials.—Sound transmission

measurements were made on 24 panels, mostly of masonry construction, and including 4 floor panels. A dead air space was found to be
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 29

the best sound insulator. No filling material can approach air in

this respect. Measurements of sound absorption were also made on

20 substances commonly occurring in construction. These values of

sound absorption are of importance in predetermining the acoustic

qualities of a proposed auditorium. An accoustical plaster is also being developed which it is believed will remedy acoustical defects

in about 90 per cent of the auditoriums, churches, etc., now having

objectionable echoes.

Rating of tuning forks.—Requests are often received to measure

the frequency of vibration of tuning forks submitted by makers of

musical instruments. The bureau keeps no standard forks but compares every fork submitted with a primary standard of time in the

shape of a freely swinging pendulum in a vacuum. The comparison

of two vibrations as different in frequency as a tuning fork with a period of perhaps a thousandth of a second and a half-second pendulum presents considerable difficulty. During the past year a photographic method for accomplishing this has been developed by which

the desired comparison can be made to 1 part in 25,000 in a period of

2 or 3 seconds.

INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ($174,120)

Properties of rubber-sulphur compounds.—Samples ranging from

2 to 32 per cent of sulphur have been made, the density, dielectric

constant, power factor, and resistivity measured, and the results give

evidence of definite chemical compounds not previously known to be

formed and dispel the mystery heretofore associated with vulcanization.

Storage-battery investigations.—A small-scale manufacturing plant

has been assembled to make battery plates for experimental purposes

in order to find out the effects of various materials and different

methods of preparing grids and pastes. Several special investigations have been made to determine the conditions under which batteries should be shipped or stored in order to avoid deterioration.

Effects of temperature during discharge have been studied with ref- erence, first, to the design of batteries for use at low temperatures, as

in airplanes, and, second, to the specification of conditions under

which ratings of batteries should be determined. Other conditions

affecting rating and performance of batteries have also been studied,

and the results have been used in preliminary work on battery specifications for the Federal Specifications Board and in an American

Institute of Electrical Engineers' report on standards for storage

batteries. Gases in metals.—Progress was made in the study of vacuum-fusion

methods for gases in metals, especially for nitrogen, and representatives of manufacturers have studied the apparatus with a view to using it in commercial laboratories. Specimens of iron, the oxygen,

hydrogen, and nitrogen content of which had been determined have

been sent to scientists in England, Sweden, and Germany, who are

also working on methods for analyses and intercomparison of the

methods in use. Metal spray.—The study of sprayed metallic coatings has been con- tinued and the military aspects investigated in cooperation with the
30 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Army and Navy. A coating of pure aluminum was found very

effective in preventing intercrystalline embrittlement of duralumin.

Heat-resisting alloys.—Attention has been paid to the relation between behavior of heat-resisting alloys in long-continued loading

tests at high temperatures and short-time tests made with especially

sensitive equipment in order to secure more quickly and cheaply the

data required by the engineer in designing high-pressure power plant

equipment, oil-cracking stills, nitrogen-fixation apparatus, etc. Quenching media.—Study of quenching in and quenching media

for the heat-treatment of steel has continued. Methods for treatment

of low carbon steel developed by industry with the aid of information

contained in bureau publications on this project, are finding rapidly

increasing commercial application.

Journal hearings.—The design of journal bearings is still almost

wholly a matter of trial and error. As a part of a program, which

is expected to put this entire subject on a rational basis, probably in

chart of tabular form an investigation of the effect of running in

before newly manufactured bearings are put in service has shown

that subsequent friction losses can be considerably reduced and the

load-carrying capacity increased.

Thermal expansion.—A research on the expansion of beryllium and

its alloys has been completed; 11 tests have been made on nickel

steels of compositions near but not at the invar composition, and 12

tests of stainless iron and other iron alloys have been made. This

work is done in continuation of a policy adopted several years ago

of working up complete data on groups of related alloys as early as possible after their appearance in commercial use. New expansion apparatus.—A new and simple type of thermal ex- pansion apparatus has been constructed and thoroughly tried out and

found to be highly satisfactory for obtaining results of moderate

precision (better than 2 per cent). It has already been used by two

commercial laboratories and found to be well suited to their needs.

Dental materials.—Attention has been directed to studies of the

shrinkage of dental castings, length changes in inlay wax when

manipulated as in dental practice, porosity of castings, making inlays

to exact dimensions, and the elimination of finlike defects and rough

surfaces on castings. The results obtained have been of value to the Veterans' Bureau and to the office of the Surgeon General in the

preparation of tentative purchase specifications for dental materials.

Optical design.—Optical calipers (which are free from the errors of contact methods) for measuring the wall thickness of compressedgas containers, and an internal-inspection device for these containers, a new magnifying stereoscope for the United States Geological Survey, and a large-aperture four-component telescope objective for

special work have been designed.

Investigations in atomic structure.—Progress in the development

of artificial illuminants and of many important devices involving

electron emission is dependent upon knowledge of the nature of colli- sions between atoms and electrons. Any contribution to our knowledge of the mechanism of radiation and of the structure of atoms

is certain to result in new applications of value from the utilitarian

standpoint. Notable examples of such development are the Coolidge

X-ray tube and the entire field of radio tube design. In its studies
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 31

in the field of atomic physics the bureau has investigated the energy

changes following resonance excitation of mercury vapor as well as problems relating to molecule formation in hydrogen and metal

vapors.

With the mercury vapor exposed to A253T radiation, the intensity

of the radiation thereby excited is more or less reduced by the addition of foreign gases. The detailed processes by which the energy

of excitation is passed on to the foreign molecules are consistently

explained.

In cooperation with the National Kesearch Council an investigation of hyperfine structure has been carried on, especially the study

of that of the A2537 line of mercury in the magnetic field. The

magnetic anomaly observed in this line was traced to a single one

of the five components.

X-ray investigations.—The ordinary plane diffraction grating

ruled on glass, receiving the radiation at nearly grazing incidence,

has been successfully applied for measuring the wave length of the

Ka radiations of aluminum and carbon; La radiations of copper,

iron, and chromium; and the Ma radiations of platinum. X-ray

protective plasters consisting of various mixtures of materials con- taining the heavy atoms of lead and barium were investigated and

the results published.

Photographic emulsions.—The performance of emulsions prepared

with different bromides has been studied. Satisfactory explanation

of these results by well-known chemical and physical principles fortifies the hope that eventually the whole subject will be reduced to a

logical basis. One phase of the fundamental problem of photographic sensitivity has been dealt with by experiments on the sensitization by colloidal particles. These have definitely confirmed the

possibility of sensitization by photochemically inert nuclei and indicated the mechanism by which this occurs. Determination of sulphur trioxide in sulphur dioxide.—The re- frigeration industry and the manufacturers of liquid sulphur dioxide

have been unable to determine the amount of sulphur trioxide in

sulphur dioxide, owing to the nonexistence of a satisfactory analytical method. An accurate method for this purpose has been

worked out. Light fading and washing of fabrics.—Investigation on light fading and washing tests has been made in cooperation with the research

committee of the American Association of Textile Chemists and

Colorists. A by-product of the work was a proposed classification

of dyed fabrics according to their fastness of color. This was pre- pared to aid the Converters' Association and related organizations

in their plan to label fabrics sold to retailers for the benefit of the

ultimate consumer.

Fractional distillation of gases.—Studies of the separation of gas

mixtures by fractional distillation at low temperatures and pressures

have been productive of several new methods for the separation of

natural gases with especial reference to the determination of natural

gasoline fractions. A commercial apparatus was designed and has

been used successfully in an industrial laboratory.

Sole leather.—Data on the comparative durability of chrome and

vegetable tanned sole leathers, published some time ago, created
32 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

a demand for information as to the comparative durability of vegetable and chrome retanned sole leathers. Several series of tests have

been in progress, using material supplied by five tanners. Retanned

leathers used have varied from a light retannage with vegetable

materials just sufficient to color the leather throughout its thickness

to a heavy retannage which caused the leather to resemble vegetable

leather in appearance. The results indicate that the light retanned

leathers will wear about 75 per cent longer than vegetable and that

the heavy retanned leathers will wear about 25 per cent longer than

vegetable leather. Acid in leather.—Work has been started to determine the effects of sulphuric acid on the life and properties of vegetable-tanned

leather. Tanning of hides was carried out so as to produce standard

leather samples tanned with ordinary quebracho, chestnut wood, and

sulphited quebracho extracts. The last represents both the catechol

and pyragallol types of tanning materials used by the industry.

Samples of each of the standard leathers were treated with sulphuric

acid varying in amount from to 4 per cent. Each sample was then

tested for original strength and stretch, and the remaining portion was placed in storage for the particular aging period involved.

The aging periods to be used are 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months. No

results of aging tests are yet available. Considerable information was secured relath'e to the acid content of the leather by the use of

the modified Proctor & Searle, total sulphur, and potentiometer

methods. This research has been actively supported by the industry

through an advisory committee.

Guayule rubber.—An investigation of guayule rubber, in cooperation with the Continental Rubber Co., has shown that by proper

treatment during its preparation for market this rubber compares

favorably with plantation Hevea rubber, the latter now comprising

about 95 per cent of the world's supply. The commercial production

of good quality guayule rubber will not only tend to stabilize the

crude rubber market, but will also provide a cheaper native product

which can be used as a substitute for the more expensive imported

Hevea rubber.

Aging of soft rubber.—The first phase of the work on the aging

of soft rubber compounds under different conditions of storage and

exposure has been completed. The results show that heat, light, and

ox}r gen contribute independently to the deterioration of rubber compounds, but that their effect is not the same on all compounds.

Antifreezing solutions for automobiles.—Further studies of glycerine-water radiator solutions, suggested by criticisms of their per- formance in service, have been undertaken as a preliminary to recommending Federal specifications for radiator solutions. A number of commercial antifreeze preparations have been examined, but no new materials of such merits as to warrant mention have been

found.

Lubrication of aircraft engines und&r starting conditions.—Measurements of the rate of flow of some 35 commercial lubricating oils through the oil passages of a Wright J-4 engine, mounted in a cold

chamber and slowly motored over, have been completed. The conclusion, earlier indicated, that neither the pour point of an oil nor its viscosity at 99° C. (210° F.) is sufficient to determine its performance
BUEEAU OF STANDARDS 33

in the engine at temperatures below 0° C. has been confirmed. It is of interest to note that an oil reported to have been used on the Byrd

polar flight in an engine of this type failed to flow to the pump at both test temperatures (-6° C. and —3° C.).

Properties of steam.—The equipment has been set up in the new

quarters. The calorimeter was assembled, tested, auxiliary equipment consisting of thermocouples, resistance thermometers, thermostatically controlled baths, vacuum pumps, apparatus for electric

measurements, and apparatus for purifying water, and for controlling

and measuring the water was installed and the whole put into operation. Preliminary observations of the heat content of water up to 130° were made, and the technique of operation and measurement was

developed. This work, which is in cooperation with the American

Society of Mechanical Engineers, will yield data now badly needed on

the properties of saturated steam at pressures up to 1,240 pounds per

square inch, corresponding to a temperature of 300° C. Heat transfer through air spaces and from surfaces in free air.—

critical review and correlation of the available data on these allied

subjects was largely completed. This work is in cooperation with the

heat transfer committee of the National Research Council in the

effort to obtain practical working data of reasonable accuracy from

the mass of rather discordant results to be found in the literature.

Heat transfer through building construction.—A large number of

tests have been made on hollow frame wall construction under various

conditions with various types of radiation shields within the air space. Tests were also made on panels of solid and of hollow brick construction. The results of these tests will permit calculation of the heat

transfer through various types of walls without requiring a test on

the completed wall.

Wind pressure on structures.—Because of large scale effects windtunnel measurements on models of tall chimneys can not be safely

applied to full-scale structures. The bureau has decided to supplement wind-tunnel investigations by measurements on large cylinders

in a natural wind. A cylindrical stack 10 feet in diameter and 30

feet high has been erected in an exposed position on the roof of one

of the bureau's buildings. Measurements on the pressure distribution over this cylinder will be made during the coming year. Superheatmeter.—This instrument, developed in cooperation with

the Naval Bureau of Aeronautics, is used to measure directly the difference in temperature between the lifting gas in the cell of an air- ship and the outside air. The apparatus consists of a number of

thermal elements in series, one set of junctions being in the gas cell and the other set exposed to air temperatures. A galvanometer, in- cluded directly in the circuit, is graduated to show directly the difference in temperature between the two sets of junctions.

Sphygmomanometers.—These instruments are used by physicians

for the measurement of blood pressure. Two types are employed, in one of which an aneroid capsule is used and in the other some form of

a mercury manometer. At the joint request of physicians and manufacturers an investigation of these instruments has been carried out

in the course of which methods of testing were developed and toler- ances established which appear to meet with general approval.
34 REPOBT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

TESTING RAILROAD-TRACK AND OTHER SCALES ($39,000)

Railroad-track scales.—During the year tests were made of 840

railroad-track scales located in 35 States and the District of Columbia. The tests were conducted by three testing units operating over

73 railroad systems. Of the scales tested 465 were owned by railways,

364 by industries, 5 by States or municipalities, and 6 by departments

of the Federal Government. Seventy-three scales were adjusted to

correct excessive weighing errors. An analysis of the test results shows that of all track scales tested

70.1 per cent were correct within the allowed tolerance. This represents an increase of approximately 5 per cent over the corresponding item for the preceding year and indicates a notable improvement

in the accuracy of carload freight-weighing equipment. The average

error for all scales tested was 0.21 per cent, a value which exceeds

the tolerance limit by only 0.01 per cent. Evidence of improved weighing conditions is most marked in

the eastern district, where 75 per cent of the scales tested were within

the tolerance, and the average error for all tested scales was only 0.16 per cent. In the western district the beneficial effects of applying systematic

maintenance measures to railroad-track scales are reflected in the fig- ure of 77.8, representing the percentage of railroad-track scales found

within tolerance.

Results for the southern district do not differ appreciably from

those for last year, but advanced accuracy is expected to follow recent concentration of testing activity in that section.

Master track scales.—Fifteen master track scales were calibrated

and found to be correct within the established tolerance. At the

close of the year five master scales remain uncalibrated because of a shortage of operating funds. At this time cognizance should be

taken of the fact that several master scales are now regularly called

upon to standardize test cars weighing 100,000 pounds. The bureau

is now without sufficient equipment to calibrate master scales to these

capacities.

Railroad-track scales in grain-iceighing service.—Of the 364

industry-owned track scales already discussed, 67 were used for

weighing grain at mills and elevators. Of these, 26 scales, or 38.2 per cent, were found to be weighing within the special tolerance provided for this class of weighing service. Twenty-two scales found

incorrect were adjusted to secure performances within the special

tolerance. There is apparently no pronounced change in the general

accuracy characteristic of grain scales during recent years. It is rather generally accepted that the current tolerances for this class of track scale are too stringent to be met by many scales used at mills

and elevators. Specifications.—Through representation on a subcommittee of the

American Railway Engineering Association's yards and terminals

committee the bureau during the past year cooperated actively in the preparation and promulgation of a code of specifications* for

two section track scales. These specifications have been formally

approved and accepted by the American Railway Engineering Association and are shortly to be published by the bureau.
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 35

Test-car calibrations.—In connection with the field schedules of the

track-scale testing units 32 track-scale test cars were calibrated for

railroads and industries that were without master-scale facilities. Several new test cars of the type recommended by this bureau were

placed in service the past year, of which approximately half were

of 100,000 pounds standard weight. Casual survey of the calibration records finds the situation improved with respect to accuracy of

test-car maintenance.

MASTER TRACK SCALE AND TEST CAR DEPOT ($50,000)

Donation of site for master track scale depot.—A site in clearing

yard of the Belt Railway Co., of Chicago, just outside the city limits

of Chicago, for the location of the master track scale depot, was

donated in fee simple to the Government by the Chicago & Western

Indiana Railroad Co., through arrangement with the General Managers' Association of Chicago. This splendid cooperation is very

much appreciated. Plans for the building were completed and contracts were awarded for its construction and equipment. Excavation

has commenced, and during the coming year the station should be

put in operation. This station will calibrate the bureau's track scale testing equipments as well as those owned by railroads and operated

throughout a very large region about Chicago, heavy weights, etc. It should be of tremendous help to the railroads and industries as well as to the bureau.

STANDARDIZATION OF EQUIPMENT ($115,000)

Adherence to simplified practice recommendations.—The outstanding development of the past year is the strengthening of support for

and adherence to the simplified practice recommendations developed

by various industries.

Recognizing that a relatively high degree of adherence makes any

simplification program effective, cooperation has been extended to industries in perfecting a procedure, providing, among other things,

for the appointment of a representative standing committee as a

liaison service between the Department of Commerce and the industry concerned. This committee is charged with the duty of promoting, encouraging, and supporting the findings of the conferees, as well as conducting annual resurveys to ascertain the degree of

adherence and to effect reaffirmations or any necessary revisions.

Annual audits or resurveys, conducted by the standing committees

in 18 different fields, revealed that there is an average degree of adherence of 79.5 per cent. This indicates that the sizes, etc., adopted

and published as simplified practice recommendations are being

applied in the products themselves.

In many instances the data collected through the resurveys served

not only to demonstrate the degree of adherence but also provided a

basis for further eliminations or substitutions, thereby making it possible to keep the simplified practice recommendations up to date

and in line with the best current practice of the industry concerned.
36 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Individual commodities and the degree of adherence in percentage

are detailed below.

(a) Degree of adherence obtained by actual survey

S.P.R. No. Title of recommendation Adherence S.P.R. No. Title of recommendation Adherence

12

34

8

9

1216

19

Paving brick Per cent 79

5199

747499

97

84

20

24

2528

303236

46

Steel barrels and drums

Per cent 84

69

82

5395

98

62

70

Bedsteads, springs, and mattresses Hospital beds Hot water storage tanks Metal lath.. Sheet steel Asphalt Terne plate.. Face and common brick Concrete building units Range boilers Sand lime brick Woven-wire fencing Tissue paper Hollow building tile Lumber 80 Average

82

79. Asbestos paper and millboard-

(b) Degree of adherence estimated by industrial leaders

S.P.R. No. Title of recommendation Adherence S.P.R. No. Title of recommendation Adherence

1026

29 Milk bottles and bottle caps...

Steel reinforcing bars..

Per cent

7585

97

31 Loaded paper shot shells Average

Per cent 81 Eaves trough and conductor

pipe - 845

Simplified practice recommendations accepted.—Up to the present

time simplified practice recommendations have been accepted by

manufacturers, distributers, and users of 62 commodities.

Recommendations in process of acceptance.—Simplified practicerecommendations for 14 items have been proposed and approved at a general conference of manufacturers, distributers, and users and are now in process of acceptance by the various groups interested.

Field surveys in progress.—Surveys of existing varieties are in

process for 37 industries.

General.—Seventeen general conferences of manufacturers, distributers, and users, resulting in the development and promulgation

of IT simplified practice recommendations, 48 preliminary conferences, and 29 revision conferences, resulting in the reaffirmation of IT

existing schedules and the revision of 12 recommendations, were held.

Forty-four new fields requested cooperation in simplification

programs.

A total of 898 acceptances of recommendations have been received

from trade associations and other organized groups, as well as individual acceptances from 6.6T6 manufacturers, distributers, and users. Approximately 350,000 copies of simplified practice recommendations

have been sold through the Government Printing Office. Judging

from the number of foreign visitors and by the numerous requests

received, there is a growing interest abroad in the simplification

movement.

American Marine Standards Committee.—This committee is now

composed of 324 member bodies, among which practically all phases
BUEEAU OF STANDARDS 37

of the marine industry are represented. Technical activities are car- ried on by special committees, subject committees, and technical committees, comprising an aggregate personnel of about 270 members.

The finished work so far accomplished consists of 47 standards which

are being published as a series of the Department of Commerce.

Automobile headlight standards.—In addition to the testing of

devices to determine whether they comply with the requirements of some of the States, the bureau has been called on to advise a number

of State officials regarding the application of the uniform vehicle

acts drawn up by the National Conference on Street and Highway

Safety. It has also assisted in removing technical difficulties which

have hindered the general use of the new types of headlights having

controllable beams.

Safety standards.—Reports of the underwriters' laboratories on

electrical devices were examined and advice given to State industrial

commissions and local authorities on safety requirements. The

bureau has assisted in revising the national electrical code of the

National Fire Protection Association and in the preparation of final drafts of the lightning-protection code which, has been under discussion for several years. Efforts have been continued to secure the

general acceptance of a uniform code of colors for traffic signals.

Dry-cell standardization.—A complete new dry-cell testing equipment has been installed with a capacity of 4,000 batteries per year. Approximately 1,286 batteries from 20 manufacturers were included

in the 1926 qualification tests made for the information of manufacturers and Government purchasing officers, and 1,240 batteries

from 21 manufacturers have been started in the 1927 tests. New

specifications for dry cells have been prepared and are now before

the Federal Specifications Board and a sectional committee of the

American Engineering Standards Committee for approval.

Radio standardization.—The bureau's representatives were active

in the work of the American Engineering Standards Committee and

the Institute of Kadio Engineers in the standardization of radioreceiving sets and electron tubes. Special attention has been given

to specific tube bases and tube terminology. The work on radioreceiving sets has led to the formulation of technical methods of

measuring the most important characteristics of receiving sets. Handbook on optical design.—The first of three parts of a handbook on optical design, intended to lead to standardized methods in

the design of optical parts, has been published. This gives a complete treatment of the third order aberration equations, their method

of application, and the general deductions regarding lens design

which may be drawn from them. Detailed numerical examples are introduced in order to show clearly the method of using the equations

and the great value of the results which may be obtained.

Facilitating the use of specifications.—Reference to work in con- nection with the " certification plan " and to the general work on

specifications will be found under " General activities." STANDARD MATERIALS ($10,000)

Distribution of standard samples.—Standard samples comprising

ores, ceramic materials, metallurgical products, and pure chemicals
38 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

were distributed. They are used to check chemicals and methods

of analysis that control the manufacture and sale of metallurgical

and agricultural products, to calibrate instruments, such as pyrometers and combustion bombs, and to further research. A direct

result of their use is a saving of thousands of dollars a year through

improved manufacturing operations and the avoidance of litigations

based on faulty analysis.

INVESTIGATION OF RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES ($9,540)

Investigation of RaE.—The correct value of the half period of RaE,

one of the products in the radium disintegration series, has recently

been the subject of some dispute in scientific circles. Therefore

observations have been made on the rate of decay of several differ- ent preparations of RaE. The result of this investigation favors

the earlier value of the half period; namely, 5 days, as contrasted

with the currently accepted value of 4.85 days. The figures obtained

for the different preparations range from 4.96 to 5.07. Tests of radium preparations.—Over $500,000 worth of radium

preparations were tested. These tests determine the sale price of the

preparations and prevent disputes.

INVESTIGATION OE AUTOMOTIVE ENGINES ($25,000)

Survey of methods of measuring antiknock characteristics of

fuels.—This project, which forms part of the cooperative fuel re- search program, is extremely important because of the present general interest in antiknock motor fuels and the lack of any accepted

standard method of rating fuels on the basis of their antiknock

characteristics. The recent action of the State of North Dakota,

where a law was passed requiring that red antiknock gasolines must

show " antiknock characteristics equal to a blend of 25 per cent benzol and 75 per cent straight-run gasoline from typical midcontinent crude oil or its equivalent," and stating that w, the method

used to determine whether a gasoline meets this requirement shall be the one adopted by the United States Bureau of Standards or recognized by said bureau as being the most satisfactory," has called

attention to the fact that no entirely satisfactory method of rating

antiknock motor fuels is yet available.

Starting of internal-combustion engines.—The engine-starting

tests previously made on a four-cylinder truck engine were supplemented by tests on a six-cylinder passenger-car engine, and it was

found that the starting performance of both engines on a given fuel was practically identical. A careful analysis of the engine tests on various fuels and of the volatility data on the same fuels led

to the conclusion that the fuel requirements for engine starting

could be specified in terms of the usual distillation curve of the

American Society for Testing Materials.

Phenomena of combustion.—During the year further data were

obtained on the velocities of explosive reactions at pressures less than atmospheric.

That reaction velocity is proportional to the molecular concentrations of the reacting gases has been verified for known mixtures of

(1) carbon monoxide and methane with oxygen and (2) carbon
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 39

monoxide and hydrogen with oxygen. The effect of inert gases

(nitrogen, helium, or carbon dioxide) on the carbon monoxideoxygen reaction and on the methane-oxygen reaction has also been

studied. These results are of great interest and importance to the

mining and other industries.

Economic volatility of motor fuels.—The investigation of motor

fuels with particular reference to their performance in automobile

engines has been carried on for fiye years in cooperation with the

American Petroleum Institute, the National Automobile Chamber

of Commerce, and the Society of Automotive Engineers. During

the past year the conclusions already reached have been published.

Recommendations in regard to the purchasing of oils by the Fed

eral Government.—Evidence has been collected showing that in

many instances unsatisfactory performance of oils has resulted simply from the selection of an oil of too high or too low viscosity. To

remedy this, a " recommendation chart " has been prepared for Federal purchasing agents, indicating what grade (that is, viscosity)

of motor oil is most suitable for use in the numerous different makes

of passenger cars, trucks, and tractors. Cooperative investigation of lubricants for artillery automotive

equipment.—The bureau has cooperated with the Quartermaster Department of the Army in the examination of both new and used oils and in preparing a critical analysis of service tests of lubricants in

artillery tractors at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Automobile brakes and brake testing.—The safety code for brakes

and brake testing for which the bureau and the American Automobile Association were joint sponsors was approved in May by the

American Engineering Standards Committee.

Automotive headlighting.—The bureau is cooperating with the

Society of Automotive Engineers and the Illuminating Engineering

Society in research work on the headlighting problem. Two test cars have been provided with sets of special equipment designed for

testing on the road various headlighting combinations from the

automobile driver's point of view, with the object of increasing the

safety of night driving.

TRANSFERRED FUNDS ($295,000)

Organization and projects—During the year funds were trans- ferred from the following branches of the Government covering the

projects listed

Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce: Radio research, with special reference to radio in aeronautics. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Increasing durability of paper currency. Chromium plating of printing plates. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce : Directory of commodity specifications. Bureau of Mines : Petroleum research and testing. Coast and Geodetic Survey : Special castings.

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Aerodynamical research. Substitute for parachute silk. Fatigue and embrittlement of duralumin.
40 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Navy Department:

Rope and cordage.

Storage batteries. General aeronautic power-plant problems.

Gas-cell fabrics for dirigibles. Substitute for parachute silk. Corrosion of duralumin.

Automatic mixture control for aircraft engines.

Radiobeacons.

Airship girders.

Airplane carburetors. Making of optical glass.

Shipping Board : Miscellaneous problems in physics, chemistry, metallurgy, and

engineering.

War Department:

Bomb ballistics. Genera] automotive problems.

Rope and cordage.

Embrittlement of duralumin.

Machine guns. Tests of aircraft engines in altitude laboratory.

Sound tracking.

Helium indicators. Precision gauges. Many of these projects were supported partly by bureau and partly

by transferred funds. The more important of these have already

been described under the appropriate bureau fund.

Important accomplishments supported wmolly by transferred funds

include the following

Aircraft in commerce.—The aeronautics branch of the Department

of Commerce designated the Bureau of Standards as its research

unit and gave special emphasis to research on the use of radio. Progress has been made in developing practical devices to serve as radio

aids to air traffic. These devices include the directive radiobeacon,

a system of marker beacons, and radiotelephony from ground stations

to aircraft. The directive beacon was originally developed by this

bureau in 1921 for the War Department, was further improved in

subsequent years by that department, and has now undergone some

additional development. This beacon sends out a directive type of

radiation by means of which the aviator can follow a set course. The marker beacons are low-power radio transmitting outfits which

are to be placed on the emergency landing fields and serve as milestones to indicate how far flight has progressed along the course marked out by the directive radiobeacon. The most immediately

needed of these radio aids to air navigation is radiotelephony. By

means of fixed ground stations it is expected that the Department

of Commerce will be able to broadcast important weather information to airplanes in flight, and thus facilitate landing and navigation.

The experimental work on radiotelephone included the connection of

two-w^ay conversations between airplane and ground to the regular

telephone exchange, permitting conversations between persons at the

ordinary desk telephones and other persons on airplanes in flight.

Aerodynamical characteristics of airfoils at high speeds.—A study

of the aerodynamical characteristics of 21 airfoil sections at speeds

up to and slightly above the speed of sound, made in cooperation

with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, indicates

that the efficiency of any particular section is dependent upon the
BUKEAU OF STANDARDS 41

speed employed. In order to secure maximum efficiencies in propellers, for example, the section should be modified near the tips of

the blades by moving the maximum thickness of the section back

toward the trailing edge. All sections which have been tested show

decreased efficiency at the higher speeds which is associated with

the change in the character of the flow around the airfoil. Airship girders.—In cooperation with the Bureau of Aeronautics,

Navy Department, investigation has been made of the deformation of

the longitudinal elements of triangular and square girders. In the

case of a girder 5 feet long, with longitudinal members of sheet

duralumin formed into a channel section, it was found that the ulti- mate strength of the material could not be developed because the

longitudinal members deformed by twisting about their longitudinal

axes. By restraining this twist the strength of the girder was con- siderably increased. Probably girders with tubular longitudinals can

be designed which will not fail before the compressive yield point of

the material is reached. The strength of the girder would be in- creased about 50 per cent without increasing the weight, an important

consideration in designing the structural framework of rigid

dirigibles.

Strength of tubes.—In cooperation with the Bureau of Aeronautics,

Navy Department, the strength of tubes of duralumin and alloy steel when used as columns or beams has been investigated. The work

included determination of the strength of the tubes under axial

compressive loads, transverse loads applied at the third points, and

combinations of axial and transverse loading. An investigation of

duralumin tubes 1.5 inches in diameter has been completed, and work

is in progress on the remainder of the program.

Prevention of embrittlement of duralumin.—Duralumin is subject

to intercrystalline corrosion resulting in embrittlement. The bureau

has found that this corrosion is markedly reduced by rapid quenching

in cold water during heat treatment, instead of in hot water or oil. Pure aluminum is not susceptible to this type of corrosion, and

laboratory tests, supported by a year's exposure tests, indicate that a

coating of pure aluminum effectively protects duralumin from intercrystalline attack. The method is now being used commercially.

This work was supported by the War and Navy Departments and by

the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

Substitute for goldbeaters skin.—An important investigation on

substitutes for goldbeater's skin for gas bags of dirigibles for the

Navy Department was carried to the point at which experimental

fabrics were made in a commercial coating plant instead of in pieces

a yard square in the laboratory. Fabrics so made will be tried under

service conditions. Many tests of permeability of airship fabrics to hydrogen were made.

Helium purity indicators.—Three helium purity indicators for air- ships were constructed, in addition to a special indicator capable of

determining the purity of helium at four different points in the

ship.

Supercharging of aircraft engines.—Tests have been made on a Curtiss D-12 engine and a Liberty 12 engine under ideal supercharging conditions; that is, with air supplied to the carburetor at sea-
42 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

level pressure while the pressure at the exhaust ports is reduced to the

standard pressure corresponding to any desired altitude.

At the request of the Army Air Corps tests have been made of a

Curtiss D-12 engine equipped with a gear-driven centrifugal supercharger installed between the carburetor and the intake manifold.

This supercharger is designed for low altitude work and, for an

engine speed of 2,000 r. p. m., its critical altitude is about 7,500 feet. Chromium plating.—As a result of further studies of chromium

plating the process at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has

been improved, and its use there has been extended to include both

currency and stamp plates, with increased savings. The process is about to be installed at the Philadelphia Mint for plating dies, collars, and placques. Tests indicate that this will improve the quality

and decrease the cost of coinage. Experiments have also been made

with promising results on specific applications of chromium plating

for the War Department, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and National

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

Motor vehicle rating.—This investigation, undertaken several years

ago at the request of the State of Connecticut, had as its object the

development of an equitable basis of rating motor vehicles for purposes of taxation. The particular problem has been solved in a manner simple enough to allow of economical administration, and a

final report has been made.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Research on standards.—A substantial increase in the salaries fund

is urgently needed. This appropriation is used in the administrative and operative work of the bureau and also in carrying out cer- tain of the functions enumerated in the organic act which are not

otherwise provided for by Congress. These include the custody,

comparison, and construction of standards used in scientific investigations, the determination of constants in physics, chemistry, technology and engineering, and the testing of standard measuring apparatus—all necessitating fundamental research. The importance of

this work can not be too strongly emphasized. Additional assistance

is needed to bring it more nearly current, as some of the basic standards have not been adequately checked for years. The visiting committee is strongly in favor of making more adequate provision for

these fundamental functions to meet the ever-growing demands of

the country for these services. Development of commercial' standards.—It is highly desirable to increase and consolidate our activities relating to standards used in commerce and industry by the formation of a division of commercial

standards, extension to the commercial specification field of the cooperative methods of the division of simplified practice, and making

more readily available to industry the results of the work of the

Federal Specifications Board. A second assistant director should be

placed in charge of this work, which is of the greatest economic

importance to the country.

Consolidation of funds.—The 28 appropriations under which the

bureau' now operate necessitate the maintaining of records by the
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 43

accounting, auditing, and disbursing officials that could in part be

dispensed with if the funds were consolidated. It is believed the

appropriations of the bureau could be grouped into three or four

classes, carrying the present items as subappropriations, ^without

loss of administrative control of the various activities. This would

permit the simplification of office procedure and eliminate technicalities that are occasioned by a multiplicity of funds.

New heating and power plant.—This summer actual construction

work on the building will be started which it is expected will be completed next spring. Funds should be provided to cover the purchase

and installation of the necessary operating equipment, amounting to $300,000, of which one-third will be needed in each of the fiscal years

1928, 1929, and 1930. Hydraulic laboratory.—I urgently recommend that authorization

from Congress be obtained and funds be granted for the building and

equipping of an hydraulic laboratory at the bureau. The functions

of this laboratory would be to test hydraulic instruments and accessories, to study the behavior of moving water and the design of

hydraulic structures, and to determine the fundamental data useful

in hydraulic research and engineering, including* problems relating

to river and tide Aoav in various types of channels.

This is a most important field, and there are awaiting solution

many fundamental problems which can only be attacked in a laboratory specially equipped for hydraulic research. At present there is no laboratory of this type in the country, while there are some 8 or

10 in Europe, where they have been found of the greatest use in the

economical solution of complicated engineering problems involving

flow of masses of water. In one European laboratory it is reported

that the construction savings effected by each major problem there

solved have paid the cost of the laboratory.

Such a laboratory would cost $200,000, with $50,000 a year for

upkeep, and the several field services of the Government dealing with

problems of water flow would benefit greatly.

Need for increased facilities at branch laboratories.—In order to take care of the many requests from governmental agencies for the

testing of structural materials the bureau maintains three branch

laboratories, located at Northampton, Pa.; Denver, Colo.; and San

Francisco, Calif.

The work of the Northampton laboratory is exclusively cement

testing, and as it is situated in the Lehigh Valley cement-producing

district it supervises the major portion of Government orders for

Bureau of Standards tested cement. The Denver laboratory cares for the cement testing of the territory between the Mississippi River

and the Rocky Mountains. Besides its cement-testing work, many

studies are made of the suitabilit}T of local aggregates for use in concrete structures for the Reclamation Service. The San Francisco

laboratory cares for the cement testing on the west coast, which in- cludes many shipments to the Hawaiian Islands, and also cares for

many tests of miscellaneous materials used in construction work.

At the present time, with the large amount of work undertaken by

the Government in various parts of the country, these branch laboratories are caring for a volume of work which prohibits further demands unless the personnel and equipment can be increased. With
44 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

the demand of purchasing agents that materials meet the requirements of the specifications of the Federal Specifications Board this

commodity testing work will continue to increase, and it is in the

interest :,ot economy to make adequate provision for it. Medical aid.—I again recommend that provision be made for the

establishment at the bureau of a first-aid station in care of a competent physician preferably detailed from the Public Health Service.

Such a station is an imperative need at an institution of the type of

the bureau, where there are so many accident hazards. Also, there

are several lines of work, including radium, X-ray and furnace operations, requiring medical oversight of the physical condition of

the operating personnel.

Very truly yours, George K. Burgess,

, Director, Bureau of Standard*.
APPENDIX

GENERAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT

During the fiscal year 1927 the bureau expended and accounted for funds

aggregating $2,475,280.48, including $311,290.48 received by transfer and reim- bursement from other departments for special researches. The amounts and objects of each appropriation for the past fiscal year and two previous fiscal years, together with disbursements, unpaid orders outstanding, and unexpended balances for each appropriation, are shown in the follow- ing tables

Disbursements, liabilities, etc., 1927, 1926, and 1925 appropriations

. . A

Appropriation Total appropriation Disburse- ments -Liauiiities .balance

1927

Salaries . $567, 620. 00 $515, 903. 87 $40, 642. 80 $10, 773. 33 Equipment . - 88, 000. 00 75, 024. 45 11, 309. 99 1, 665. 56 General expenses 1 "1, 968. 31 55, 851. 33 16, 079. 26 37. 72 Improvement and care of grounds 12, 000. 00 10, 532. 36 1, 280. 35 187. 29 Testing structural materials ..

2 233, 186. 12 200, 437. 09 28, 817. 58 3, 931. 45 Testing machines 38, 000. 00 32, 270. 06 5, 520. 91 209. 03 Metallurgical research 43, 140.00 38, 386. 32 4, 254. 04 499. 64 Investigation of optical glass 20, 520. 00 17, 269. 11 2 519. 24 731. 65 Standard materials 10, 000. 00 9, 607. 36 ' 564. 72 127. 92 Investigation of textiles 3 36, 000. 00 32) 976. 98 2, 290. 28 732. 74

4 40, 960. 00 00, ZOO. 0/ 7 211 31 AQZ. no Gauge standardization 38, 610. 00 34, 775. 94 2, 867. 83 676. 23 High-temperature investigation 9, 740.00 7 369. 69 2 077. 38 292. 93 Testing railroad scales 39, 000.00 34' 69L 19 A, 199. 56 109. 25 Investigation of fire-resisting properties 28, 100.00 23, 872. 64 3 442! 84 784! 52 Testing miscellaneous materials..- 44, 090. 00 37^ 468! 47 4,' 842^ 99 1, 778! 54 Investigation of public utility standards. 100, 000.00 87, 549. 30 11, 642. 89 807. 81 Radio research . 49, 800.00 43, 941. 55 4, 377. 36 1, 481. 09 Industrial research » 179, 820.00 158, 367. 48 17, 654. 98 3, 797. 54 Sound investigation 10, 580.00 9, 588. 71 490. 33 500. 96 Investigation of clay products 47, 000. 00 39, 621. 40 5, 328. 97 2, 049. 63 Color standardization 9, 000.00 7, 729. 59 718. 93 551. 48 Investigation of radioactive substances 9, 540. 00 8,374.79 905. 83 259. 38 Standardizing mechanical appliances »28, 215. 00 24, 219. 36 2, 588. 59 1,407. 05 Investigation of mine scales and cars . . 12, 800.00 11, 143. 74 1, 342. 00 314. 26 Standardization of equipment 7 116, 000.86 93, 037. 63 16, 959. 63 6, C03. 60 Investigation of automotive engines. 25, 000. 00 22, 179. 82 2, 323. 34 496. 84 Sugar standardization (1926-27) 25, 000. 00 22, 775. 84 1, 577. 56 646.60 Master track scale and test-car depot 50, 000. 00 135. 53 49, 777. 44 87.03 Building for power plant . 200, 000.00 2, 116. 00 9, 000. 00 188, 884. 00 Appropriations transferred from other departments which are available for the current year: Compensation of employees, Bureau of Engraving and Printing . ... 14, 000.00 12, 413. 27 1,560.82 25. 91 Export industries, Department of Commerce... 4, 500.00 4, 355. 60 144.40 Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 34, 000. 00 30, 549. 73 3, 382. 37 67. 90 Engineering, Bureau of Engineering 2, 500.00 1, 895. 76 526. 99 77.25 Automatic rifles (1927-28) 2, 000.00 1, 066. 01 445. 56 488. 43 Signal Service of the Army 1, 800. 00 1, 407. 94 388. 33 3.73

Aircraft in commerce . 94, 500. 00 56, 702. 57 37, 244. 03 553.40

Oil, gas, and oil shale investigation, Bureau of Mines. »5, 410. 00 4, 825. 00 550. 00 35.00 Aviation, Navy 81, 900. 00 65, 016. 30 16, 254. 01 629. 69 Air Service of the Army _ 7, 425.00 4, 903. 27 2, 417,85 103. 88 General expenses, Coast and Geodetic Survey- 400.00 184. 53 207. 20 8. 27 Incidental expenses of the Army 11, 750.00 10, 017. 95 1, 472. 93 259. 12 Ordnance stores ammunition (1927-28) 1, 000.00 1, 000. 00 Construction and repair, Bureau of Construction and Repair... 1, 750.00 1, 557. 25 186.34 6.41 Conference on oil pollution of navigable waters

(1925-1927) » 2, 482. 19 1, 911. 75 364. 83 205. 61 Field Artillery armament 5, 000.00 3, 444. 76 1, 084. 87 470. 37 (Footnotes at end of table) 45
46 REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

Disbursements, liabilities, etc., 1927, 1926, and 1925 appropriations—Continued

Appropriation Total appropriation Disburse- ments Liabilities Balance

1927 Air navigation facilities - Appropriations transferred from other departments which are available for a period of two years: Ordnance and ordnance stores Gauges, dies, and jigs, for manufacture

Air Service of the Army

Total.

1926

Salaries Equipment

General expenses Improvement and care of grounds

Testing structural materials Testing machines

Metallurgical research... Investigation of optical glass Standard materials Investigation of textiles Sugar standardization Gauge standardization High temperature investigation Testing railroad scales. Investigation of fire-resisting properties — Testing miscellaneous materials...

Investigation of public-utility standards... — Radio research

Industrial research Sound investigation Investigation of clay products

Color standardization

Investigation of radioactive substances Standardizing mechanical appliances

Investigation of mine scales and cars Standardization of equipment

Investigation of automotive engines Appropriations transferred from other departments which are available for the current year: Compensation of employees, Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Signal Service of the Army

Automatic rifles (1926-27) Construction and repair, Bureau of Construction and Repair

General expenses, Bureau of Entomology

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

Aviation, Navy

Export industries, Department of CommerceAir Service of the Army

Incidental expenses of the Army

General expenses, Lighthouse Service Engineering, Bureau of Engineering

Appropriations transferred from other departments which are available for a period of 2 years: Ordnance and ordnance stores General expenses, Coast and Geodetic SurveyGauges, dies, and jigs, for manufacture

Air Service of the Army

Signal Service of the Army...

Total.

1925

Salaries Equipment

General expenses Improvement and care of grounds- Testing structural materials Testing machines

Metallurgical research Investigation of optical glass Standard materials

Investigation of textiles Sugar standardization. _ Gauge standardization High-temperature investigation. ..

$1, 613. 00

13, 400. 00

5, 750. 00

1, 000. 00

$1, 613. 00

9, 199. 76

2, 541. 63

$1, 665. 97

733. 32

2, 475, 280. 48 1, 903, 777. 35 331, 094. 35 240, 408. 78

i« 516,

70, » 45,

11,

12 232,

38, » 43,

20,

10, h 27

is 40,

38,

9, 39, 28, » 49, 100,

44, " 174,

is 5, 27,

9, 10, 27,

14,

i» 111,

2 « 30,

760.00 000.00

568. 74

000. 00

175. 27 000.00

220.00

520. 00 000.00

560. 00 960.00

320.00

740.00 000.00

100.00 090.00

000.00

800. 00

8S6. 62 655.00 000.00

000.00

680.00

800.00

540.00

634.00

280.00

6, 000. 00

1, 800. 00

2, 000. 00

5, 750. 00 3,000.00

32, 600. 00

54, 000.00

4, 500. 00

9, 100. 00

11, 750. 00

10, 000. 00

2, 500. 00

12, 000. 00

1, 000. 00

2, 750. 00

1, 000. 00

7, 500. 00

516, 487. 24

54, 143. 98

41, 693. 76

10, 929. 55

230, 437. 70

37, 748. 13

42, 598. 11

20. 149. 85

9, 999. 85

26, 986. 13

40, 741. 73

37, 536. 41

9, 665. 28

38, 664. 51

27, 907. 86

48, 933. 71

99, 282. 82

44, 750. 36

173, 591. 61

5, 606. 52

26, 212. 88

8, 773. 48

10, 389. 09

27, 699. 95

14, 322. 54

110, 423. 15

29, 904. 51

5, 970. 58

1, 775. 82

1, 970. 23

5, 487. 75

2, 895. 23

31, 835. 84

53, 594. 10

4, 336. 08

8, 933. 09

11,375. 35

9, 970. 67

2, 424. 55

11, 911.29

"l"866.~54~

15, 212. 23

859. 14

638. 85 60.80

22.00

215.00

18.98

330. 16 20.63 73.06

12. 16

82. 47

115.60 . 8.26

13. 15

41. 71' 220.29

110. 50

95. 06

453. 52

16. 69

5, 112. 42

1,943, 539. 63 1. 905, 034. 25

2.20

166. 66

416. 66 160.00

133. 92

19, 788. 34

500,

71,

21 45,

11,

22 252,

39,

23 44,

25,

10, 27,

24 41, 40,

10,

000. 00 000.00

659. 12

460. 00

317. 22

460. 00

513. 18

000. 00

000. 00

000. 00

800. 00

000. 00

000. 00

496, 986. 80

70, 605. 98

39. 823. 69 11,297.00

247, 330. 23

39, 359. 82

44, 313. 71

24, 923. 52

9, 974. 13

26, 837. 82

41, 525. 52

39, 146. 77

9, 987. 64

40.00

5. 30

1, 049. 80

163. 86

"33^20"

(Footnotes at end of table)
BUREAU OF STANDARDS 47

Disbursements, liabilities, etc., 1927, 1926, and 1925 appropriations—Continued

Appropriation Total appropriation Disburse- ments Liabilities

Testing railroad scales Investigation of fire-resisting properties Testing miscellaneous materials

Investigation of public-utility standards Radio research.. Industrial research . . . Sound investigation Investigation of clay products. . Color standardization

Investigation of radioactive substances Standardizing mechanical appliances

Investigation of mine scales and cars. Rope investigation... Standardization of equipment

Investigation of automotive engines Land - Appropriations transferred from other departments which were available during the fiscal year: Export industries, Department of CommerceAviation, Navy

Signal Service of the Army

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics General expenses, Bureau of Entomology.

Construction and repair, Bureau of Construction and Repair Mineral mining, Bureau of Mines

Manufacture of arms (1924-25) Field artillery armament Armament of fortification Air Service of the Army

Incidental expenses General expenses, Lighthouse Service — Conference on oil pollution of navigable waters

(1925-26) .—

Ordnance stores ammunition (1925-26) Washington-Alaska military cable and tele- graph system (1925-26) . Appropriations transferred from other departments which were available for a period of 2 years: Ordnance and ordnance stores Construction and repair, Bureau of Construc-

' tion and Repair... Automatic rifles (1924-25) Aviation, Navy

Air Service of the Army

Coast Guard

General expenses, Coast and Geodetic Survey. Proving grounds, Army

Engineering, Bureau of Engineering

Total

$40,

29, 2*47,

105,

2« 46,

'' 177, « 30[

10, lit 30,

15,

8, 110, » 36, 173,

000.00

000. 00

760. 00

000. 00

320. 16 013.58

580. 00

200.00 000.00

000. 00

000. 00 000.00

000. 00

000. 00 325.00

117.00

4. 850. 00

34, 000. 00

3, 800. 00

32, 000. 00

5, 000. 00

10, 500. 00

5. 000.00 950.00

950.00 950.00

6. 300. 00

14, 000. 00

5, 000.00

30 8, 000. 00

3, 300. 00

2, 000. 00

12, 000. 00

3, 000.00

2, 000.00

2. 750. 00

1, 750.00

2, 000. 00

2, 000. 00 500.00

2, 000. 00

$39, 764. 17

28, 796. 63

46, 753. 82

103, 556. 94

46, 240. 50

174, 765. 55

5, 542. 97

29, 984. 57

9, 799. 14

10, 932. 12

29, 935. 60

14, 633. 54

7, 883. 68

109, 764. 26

35, 836. 21

173, 117. 00

4, 733. 83

33, 271. 89

3, 646. 17

31, 056. 42

4, 927. 57

10, 437. 57

4, 666. 22

943. 12

947. 84

865. 18

5, 976. 10

13, 837. 53

4, 853. 28

5, 517. 81

3, 195. 43

11, 986. 67

2, 908. 25

1, 991. 26

2, 090. 77

1, 746. 28

1, 992. 00

1, 756. 67 390.00

1, 898. 75

2, 157, 125. 26 2, 126, 992. 60

$5. 85

773. 50

19.80

55. 56

10.00

640. 43

2, 797. 30

Includes reimbursements and transfers received from other departments and from the States of Oregon and Connecticut, as follows:

i $3,613.31.

* $3,186.12.

3 $1,000.

* $2,800.

« $5,700.

« $415.

i $1,000.86.

« $1,395.

9 This fund was reappropriated from the unin- cumbered balance of the 1926 appropriation.

10 Includes supplemental appropriation of $5,000. " $2,068.74. " $2,175.27. " $80. " $1,000. » $2,800.

is $5,000.

1 7 $766.62.

is $75.

19 $1,634.

20 $5,280.

21 $1,159.12.

22 $17,257.22.

23 $513.18.

21 $1,800.

25 $2,500.

26 $640.16.

27 $2,593.58.

28 $200.

29 $11,325.

30 Unincumbered balance made available for 1927 by reappropriation. O
V