Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-06-09

1mDeudeQ In a walls from which by
menans Of In electric switch board con-
Meeting with a gaIvanometer, tempera-
ture readings were taken every few min
utes. BY an ingenious arrangement of
rods. working between overhead beams
and the roof itself, the sag of the roof
was shown directly on Gials so that It
could be recorded at frequent intervals.
In preparation for the test several
cords OF wood were arranged upon the
crate thoroughly saturated with
kerosene. When the fire was lighted
black smoke poured from the twin
chimneys and hes temperature of the
interior OF the building very soon be-
came intense, reaching a point some
what above 1000 degrees Fahrenheit
during the progress of the experiment.
The interior concrete walls of the struc-
ture showed first red then yellow as
the heat increased and when the doors
were opened so that the ready workmen
could throw in more of the oil-soaked
fuel. the entire building was seen to be
thoroughly filled with flames which also
showed above the level of the chimneys.
After a tremendous fire had been
burning for two hours, the iron doors
were thrown open and a stream of water
at 80 pounds pressure from the city
hydrant was turned upon the fire. The
shock caused by the impact Of the wat
er under such conditions Is likely to
prove very disastrous to stone or iron.
but IN spite Of the great load upon
the concrete roof, this sudden cooling
OF the glowing interior produced no ma
terial effect. lite often happens in the
case of a burning building that firemen
after practically subduing a fire in one
room are obliged to direct their efforts
elsewhere. so that the fire has a chance
to spring up again and must be again
e~xtinguished. AS this second shock
is likely etc prove more disastrous than
the first, similar conditions were repro
duced in the recent test. "A second fire
was built upon the embers of the first
and allowed to burn for half an hour
before the water was again turned into
the building and the fire was complete
ly e~Xtinguished. The roof, although 1t
sagged a little when the fire was hot
test, remained intact in spite OF the Sc
verify OF the tests. Afterward more pig
iron was piled upon thereof until it
was finally broken by the weight of the
load.
Practical results of the test were.
of course, apparent, but its scientific
value depended very largely upon the
e%Xactness of the temperature records.
To insure greater accuracy in this par
ticular, the decline instruments used in
the measurement of the heat were, after
the completion of the test, taken at
once to the physical laboratory of the
Institute of Technology, and Celebrated
by the standard of the melting point of
gold. LAS a result of this celebration,
corrected records were obtained which
will be definite value of engineers in
compiling tables of comparison.
While heat tests of this sort are par
ticularly interesting to architects, insur-
ance men, and capitalists, the load tests
have, perhaps, the broader significance,
since the lightness and c%heapness of
reinforced concrete construction have
caused engineers to consider its suitabi-
lily for the floors of bridges, providing
only that it is found to possess the nee
essary tensile strength. For example,
the Massachusetts Highway Commits
sion is making a thorough invest1ga-
ton of all tests of this character with
a view to the adoption of a standard
construction for bridges OF the COM
monwealth, while railroad managers
and the owners of extensive manufac-
turing plants are seeking in all such
experiments some fact which will be OF
assistance to them in the solution of
the particular problems which their
business undertakings furnish.