The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-17
.C[LLULOSE AND WOODITE|
Novelties in the Specifications Of
the New War Ships Recent
" Contracted.
Elastic Materials That viii Auto
matically Close Openings
Made by Missiles.
Cellulose Already Employed In the Navies
Of Europe-Advantages OF Woodite,
the Alternative.

the Alternative. 8
WAsHNdToN, Oct. 16.-There is novelty
for our navy in the specifications Of the
the Cramps, the 8, 5OO-ton contracted for BY
the Union Iron Works, and the three TO-
| 600 ton battle ships and z, 800 ton protected
cruiser about to be assigned to the same
firms. These six vessels are to be supplied
with Woodite or cellulose or some equiva-
lent water-excluding material. This is to
be packed along the sides, on the slopes of
abaft the coal bunkers, which themselves
furnish protection with their coal belt.
The French pointed out few years ago
| the uses which might be made Of cellulose
on shipboard for counteractinR the danger
Gus effects ct PP1ro pro- especially when
material, which is made of tho ground fibre
| of the cocoanut. with a small percentage.
perhaps, of ungfound fibres. has the prop
erty of swelling when wet. The result is
that it closes together after the pass
ing OF q projectile through it, as the
water PUSHES in, and ends by becoming
water tight. The French made experiments
with it by firing ten-inch shot through
| cellulose mattress. The fbres came to-
Rether 20 rapidly that only about three and
through the aperture, and it soon closed
| entirely. 1t was therefore evident that one
of the most serious dangers relating to the
penetration of ships side at or below the
water line might in large part be averted by
the use Of this material.
An additional advantage Of cellulose is
that it is exceedingly light. A cubic foot
| OF it, az prepared in the ordinary wav, like
"a brownish meal of small grains" weighs
but seven and half pounds; while in the
EENWun ~ v%RS< AkAA -
in which the exterior, to the depth of about
half an inch, is closely compressed and the
interior filed with looser cellulose, the
weight of q cubic foot would be q little
over eight pounds. On the other
iulose. Although in preparing It great care
is used to extract the glutinous elements,
yet it is said that this can never be COM
pletely done, and that consequently it may
deteriorate. breed vermin, give out foul
avoid this trouble is made BY thickly paint
+ ing the metal of the ship in the compart-
ments where it is placed and with
which it would come in contact, 50 that
it will be less liable to become damp
through leakage OF other cause. The cost
$3.50 per ton, or nearly 81 per cubic foot.
. According to Lieut.. Sutherland. during the
past six years it has been put into forty
vessels Of the French navy and into num-
DoI VI Cno nussiah, Outcn, Japanese ana
Greek navies. It is practically free from
dangers of fire, burning very slowly in its
ordinary form and with great difficulty
when compressed.
Woodite, the alternative material which
seems to be contemplated in our new YES
sells, claims some advantages over cellulose,
while perhaps lacking others. Accord
ing to the naval officer Just referred to. Fl
has base of indiarubber, specially
prepared to keep it's elasticity while
two kinds, the buoyant and the elastic,
The former, which has the appear
ance of cork chips held together by India
rubber, is used only for supplying buoyant
properties, and weighs about fourteen
much as cellulose. It costs about $225 per
ton, or about one-third less than the latter. |
Its manufacturers assert that six-inch
cube, which weighs before immersion in
water 2!N ounces, will weigh 321 after an
Switzerland gives this account Of an alb
'orption trial made by former chief con-
.tructor OF the British navy, Mr.. F. K.
Barnes:
The material used for the absorption trial
measured exactly one cubic foot. It was
,ncased on five sides in tin case, the sixth
ide or cover being left off for the purposes
II the trial. The weight of the block, with ,
ts case complete, was twenty-one pounds
pne and one-half ounces. After taking the
,o1eA. c"lciuAy tAfuSt long PROBE into
he material all over the uncased side.
iearly to the bottom, 90 that the material
vas damaged all through, and houeycombed
Q such an extent as might perhaps occur
very extreme case when the material
fred at.
The block thus damaged was placed in an
ron tank filled with water. The material !
9as kept we'll under water and secured
here by struts placed against a projecting
i'm OF the tank. It remained there for J
wenty' four hours, AT the end of the
were removed and the block Aoated. It
yas at once placed with the uncased side
ppermost, 30 that all the water which the ,
amaged material had taken up should re- /
1ain in it. The block, on being weighed,
called exactly thirty seven pounds.
On the superstition. therefore, that some
the material could be AZ seriously dam
ged. when the ship containing it was un-
or ire. as the sample operated upon, every /
oot Of 1t SO damaged would take up one
onrth OF the weight of the same bulk in
'ater.
Elastic woodite, which looks much like
ndia rubber and is made up in rectangular
locks, weighs about sixty-four pounds per I
abic foot, or over eight times az much as ;
stopping up holes made by shot. While
Or government had never made any tests
this material up to recent date. vet IL
INST have great value if the following
aims for it, as described by Lieut.. South.
land, are not exaggerated:
A thickness of one inch is said to be suf-
oient to stop the in6owing of water from
le penetration of six-pound projectiles. In
,me experiments several years ago, blocks :
ght inches in thickness were vulcanixed
a three-eighth-inch iron plate backed By
second plate of the same thickness, and
red at from distance of fifty yards by
ordenfeldt three FOUNDER and six FOUNDER /.
lpid-ire guns. Six shots were fired in ALL
Id it 10 stated that the holes closed up go
pmpletely that water with head of forty
ct failed to find its way through. Very
nall marks were visible on the woodite d
here the shots had entered, while large :
Dles had been made in the backing. Four
the shots were fred to strike the target
right angles and two at an angle Of forty
re degrees.
It would accordingly appear that good 4
suits may be expected from the use of
Their of these comparatively new appli-
bees IN our vessels for the purpose of pro-
citing them near the water line. Indeed, =
cir good qualities may not be wholly Z
Pnfned to uses in battle, since Il spilled '
the required parts of vessels they might
nder the dangers from leaks that
ilow collisions or running upon rocks, =,
was. in fact, suggested By the ship .
pildng company on the Loire that made G
Q earlier experiments with celluloee But 6