Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-18
ConcEETE, BE.ArGo TEoTE.D TO 17OOeF. OrsLY
s3uREAcF. DISnTTE.eEATIoN OccuRRED
INTEREST MANIFESTED IN
NEW HALL OF RECORDS
Selection of Material for Construction of Govern
n,ent Building the Question--Loca1 Ex-
pert Advocates Concrete.

of the building. the roof and the interior
framework. but the walls and floors re-
manned intact. save In one place where
an eighteen-ton tank fell through the
plank roof and cracked some of the
floor beams and in one place on the out
side of the walls. where the surface of
the concrete was slightly affected. The
fire was SO hot that brass and iron cast
ings were melted to junk
THE effect OF fire upon concrete In
various buildings located in the center
of the burned district of Baltimore is
best appreciated by an examination Of
the reports OF experts upon the fire. capt.
James s. Sewell in his report to the chief
of engineers, United States Army, in re-
ferring to the fire in one Of the build
ings built with reinforced concrete col
umns, beams and arches, writes: 1t
was surrounded by non-fireproof build
ings. and was subjected to an extreme
ly severe test. probably involving as
nigh temperature as any that existed
anywhere. The concrete was made with
broken granite as an aggregate. In the
upper stories where the heat was in
tense the concrete was calcined to
depth of one-fourth to three-fourths of an
inch. but 1t showed no tendency to spall
except at exposed corners. In the lower
stories the concrete was absolutely UNI
impaired, though the contents Of the
building were all burned out After
ward I witnessed a loading test of this
structure. One bay of the second floor.
with beam In the center. was loaded
with nearly 800 pounds per square foot.
superimposed. without a sign of dis
tress. and with a DETECTION of not ex-
ceeding one-eighth Of an inch. The
floor was designed for a total working
load Of $50 pounds per square foot
Quotation From Bulletin $40.
1.-The latest printed data upon The Fire
resistive Properties Of Various Building
Materials is bulletin 80 of the United
States geological survey. prepared by
Richard L. Humphrey. and which reads
in part: The investigations herein re-
ported are a preliminary part of a COM
prehensive series undertaken with the OBJ
ject of determining the fire-resistive prop
critics and rates Of heat conductivity OF
various building materials, and the COM
parative efficiency Of the various methods
Of fireproofing. These investigations have
the further object of greatly lessening
the liability OF loss by fire in government
buildings and greatly reducing their cost
| through more efficient methods of con-
| struction. While the tests are conducted
primarily for the purpose of obtaining in
formation OF essential value to the gov
| eminent. it is believed the results will
prove to be Of much importance to the
general public
1.-The tests were conducted in the under
writer's laboratories in Chicago" Mr.
Cowell continued. land they were elab-
crate in character. upon a1l of the most
| important materials used IN building con-
| struction. The report does not announce
any conclusion to be deduced from the
tests. but merely states the results, and
| this Is one of the most forceful state
| ments OF all: a fact brought out most
clearly by the tests is the low heat trans
mission rate of Portland cement mortars
and concretes This is one of the de-
rirable qualities in materials for fire
| proofng purposes
1.-The large fire losses in this country
six times per capita those of Germany
| and France-show that more attention
| must be given to the proper construction
of buildings. The government should
| lead in this respect. A new building is
needed here for the housing or storing Of
records. Will it be up-to-date. OF modern.
| reinforced concrete construction?
Besides advocating the use of reinforced
concrete for the Hall Of Records and for
! the construction OF business houses and
| offices, Mr.. Cowell cited a number of
unique uses to which concrete has been
| and may be put.
| One of the earliest recorded examples
of the application Of reinforced concrete
was q boat of concrete and iron, built
by L. ]. Lambot in France, and shown
| at the Paris international exhibition in
1855 This boat is still in existence.
Early last year several barges were
built in Italy for commercial purposes,
and this year hull is being construct
| ed for a government cruiser. Several
barges were also built on our Missouri
| river. The material also may be used
for telegraph poles. hitching and fence
posts water tanks and troughs, thin
garden walls. silos, chicken house. barns
| garage. boathouse. monuments. chimneys,
| grain elevators, statues, stadiums, walls
and roof of bakeovens. flower pots. sew
err pipes and drains; and In the fine arts.
the fine detail Of some work is convincing
| evidence that cement is well adapted
for use in statuary whore delicate effects
are required. In recent work done by
Brommsgrove Guild, Worcestershire,
England. figures three feet to six feet
| high were made to illustrate the econ
omy Of cement, which is less than one
half that Of lead. The work OF this guild
Is typical Of what Is transpiring In all
parts Of the world since the many ad-
| vantages Of cement have become appar.
ent One six-foot statue of Father Time,
cast In lead, cost $3.50. while the cost for
! the same figure cast in cement was but
500.
! Edward Tuck. an enterprising Ameri-