The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-03-10
POWER
PLANT
DESIGN
Gallup Says Tendency in
Modelling Is Toward Pow
er-Plant Development
HORSEPOWER IS SOUGHT
Past Attempts Were to Dis
cover Proper Size, Shape
and Quality

+ polytechnic institute and chairman or
the research division of the Society of
Automobile Engineers. in an article
in The New York Times. says that
future development in motorcar con-
struction will be along power-plant
lines.
He says:
Prophecies In the automobile field
as q general thing, are as precarious
as questions Of fashion. Many an
engineer has obliterated his reputa-
ton, and the moneyed man his for
tune, by pinning his faith to something
no more substantial than this form of
Illusion.
Consequently, q discussion such as
IL implied by the subject under con-
sideration Is prolific in possibilities of
pitfalls or other things Of a similar
nature. Nevertheless. due possibly to
an accumulation of courage based up
on previous good luck in this regard.
certain statements are going to be
made and certain lines pointed out,
which IL 10 believed indicate in a fair
~ definite way the trend of power
plant development which will be
exemplifled in the coming few years
81 On the other hand. this Is not as
susceptible Of criticism as would have
been the case two or three years ago,
for then development was moro or less
now 1t has become much more eStab-
nshed and there already appears a
definite capitalization OF certain ideas
representative Of future progress.
In this discussion attention will be
given only to the pleaSure-car field,
and still further to the straight gaso-
line car solely.
Merely as a means Of exciting the
interest the statement may well be
L. bot to all Ho1Nt
shall always have our Fights and
twelves. but along with the passing of
the years will be found remarkable
advance in the four and six, and to
such an extent that it can never be
assumed that the latter classes are
anything but OF increasing import
ance.
Since the early days Of industry
there has never been such a scramble
for big results from little things, and
this is by no means confined to auto
mobiles. Up to within q few years the
question OF horse power, even though
important, had to a certain extent
been overshadowed by the attempt to
discover the proper size, shape, qualit-
ty and durability Of the ensemble"
rather than organized attempts to in
crease the output Of the power plant.
Whenever in the past 1t was found
that the power plant was insufficient
why more cylinders. or larger ones
there was the answer. In few cases
was the attempt made to analyze the
why's and wherefores which would
provide the solution in the form of
more from the same thing" Now,
however, we have a totally different
situation. From a surprise to belief,
from q belief to a realization, is the
fact that this Is not development. This
comes as q result Of a number of
things. Now that the body and chassis
details have become more or less
standardized, designers have had more
time to look into engine possibilities.
Manufacturers are now turning
their attention to refinement in engine
design and construction to the end
that more power will be obtained from
the same displacement. Engines of
the past have been very ineffective in
this regard. The horse power per
cubic inch has been way below the
known to exist in certain specialized
forms Of racing cars.
The only problem unsolved was |
durability. Durability is function Of
speed and size Of parts. Horse power |
in general is @ function Of speed. |
Consequently, any move which per-
nnits OF increased speed (within ltmtts) |
without sacrificing durability Is an
advance. This leads to the introduc-
tion of the double-valve engine.
To make this plain, suppose we as
sumo a definite case:
Case /. An engine Of relatively
large bore and stroke, ur-cylinder
Cor six), Of fifty horse power output,
the latter delivered at 1900 revolu-
tions per minute. This latter limit is
determined by two things-one is the
weight Of parts necessary for strength
in such an engine land which is limit
ed to certain values the exceeding of
which will cause excessive friction,
wear, and ultimate breakdown) and
the other Is the ability of the mixture
to I'LL the cylinder. This is deter
mined, generally speaking. by valve
size, this in turn by weight, and this
in. turn by the degree Of durability
desired.
Case 2. An engine of the same num-
Der of cylinders and horse power
capacity but delivered at say $500 or
!, 900 revolutions per minute. This is
made possible by the use Of double
valves 1.-TWO inlet and two exhaust)
which permit of the filing and
of the cylinder much bet
ter and at more frequent intervals per
minute than in case !.
The increased number Of actions Of
mental is more than Offset by the fact
that each Individual moving part is
smaller and hence the stresses are
less. The same argument holds re-
garding the piston and connecting
rod.
Continued experiment and tests
along these lines have demonstrated
the value Of these
principles. Everything points to in
creased advantages.
Smaller cylinders, higher maximum
speed, greater range, light parts, lower
gear ratio. higher rate of unprevent-
able vibrations Of less intensity, Civ
ing resulting smoother action, higher
piston speeds, giving less heat loss,
higher compression to offset the in
creased ratio of wall surface to volume
Of combustible giving a higher
thermal efficiency. smaller distortion
due to influence of high temperature
{such as valves), smaller space oc-
cupied, giving more passenger COM
fort, and other smaller items Of an al
most innumerable amount, give the
decision in an overwhelming way to
the small bore, high-speed engine.
There is another situation closely
aflied with the above and one which
has been given a great deal of pub
gscity In the last year. Laying aside
certain extraordinary claims as to in
creased horse power, economy, fexi-
hiIitv. efficiency. and with which the
slem under discussion has practically
thing 70 do. and which II Is said