Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-01

Does your car Suddenly develop
piston sla and lose power almost
overnight?
DO your tires suddenly go bad with
no visible cause In sight?
What difference in starting do the
various straight" gasoline and the
blends make?
Does o. warm radiator have q great
effect on quick Winter starting. or has
a warm intake manifold the greatest
effect, far great than that OF the
warm water which circulates in the
water jacket?
and many more OF the same liz, scores
of them II the most Involved technical
nature, may he supplied on request
ny the Bureau Of Standards, Uncle
Sans great house OF wonders" out
on Connecticut avenue, where, ny way
of cont st, one scientist is To-Day
measuring the weight Of the earth by
the most delicate instruments Enovn
tn man. while another swings the
machinery which measures accurately
the thermal eXpa nsion Of brittle
steel rod. Little is left to tine jnlagina-
ton in this modern storehouse Of
magic comprised in the group of build
ings which dominate the heights i'm
mediatel. south Of old Fort Reno, be-
tween Wisconsin and Connecticut ave
nups. and the aufOmOtiVe industry,
puzzled at the behavior Of some vital
piece of steel or the reason for the
peculiar actions of automobile on
gines. has often turned. and il still
turning, To the disinterested. dispas-
sionate scientists in the houses on the
hill for the answers to their many
problems.
Bring Many improvements.
For out of their research. their long
days spent in intricate laboratory
tests under trying conditions. have
come countless numbers Of the i'm
provements which go to make the
modern automobile the marvellous ma
chine ii is. Brake Innings, gasolines,
piston rings, pins. rods. the steels
which go into automobile manufac-
ture. headlights. fabrics for seat COW
erings, devices for cooling internal
combustion motors. tire care-yirtu-
ally every phase of the automobile as
1t is today and az the e., of the fu-
ture will be have been thoroughly ex-
amined by the patient. watchful work
ers at the Government big workshop
in Washington. From this group Of
buildings have come specifications for
brake linin, which have saved many
lives. for IL is automatic in the auto
mobile world that stopping is as in
portant as starting. From them also
have come standard specifications for
tires, anti-freeze compounds to save
engines. pockctbookS and tempers in
subzero temper atures. In short.
everything that enters into the con-
struction Of the automobile of today
has received the most minute scrutiny
in the big house on the hill overlook
ing Rock Greek Park.
Is your car equipped with an air
cleaning device? IL not. the scientists
of the bureau can tell YOU just how
far set Of piston rings should last
and how far your car should go be-
fore IL develops piston slaps. For
nothing 40 contributes to piston and
cylinder wall wear. together with
heavy and unusual wear on bearings.
both connecting rod and main as road
dust mixed with the oil and gasoline.
Road dust. hy the way. is one Of the
most efficient abrasives ever discoV-
cred. made up of fine particles Of
stone which man could hardly dupli-
cate az cutting mixture from Mag
ara Falls hest earborundum.
Abrasive Tests Made
dertook a study of the effect of road
dust on bearings and on cylinder walls
mixing with the oil in the Crankcass
a fine abrasive. Under severe opersf.
ing conditions. road dust in the luhri-
cant was found tn considerably in
crease Fiction losses while at very
light loads hut little difference was
noted. the inquiry showed. The jour
nal bearing friction machine used in
tn. tests provided method OF meas
uring the FRACTIONAL loss in bearing
when operating under different condi-
tons of load, speed NJ shaft. viscuSity
OF oil. and by correlating these facts
in suitable manner n comparison of
the performance Of different iuhri,
cants with given bearing was Oh
tanned.
At sev ~ operating conditions the
friction when operas with an ahra.
sive in the oil was found In hs far
greater than when operating with
straight oil. the difference in friction
increasing "a the severity ut ol~srat.
ing conditions Increased. These tests
the bureau holds. indicate that There
is n promising field FOR further re-
search with f. ference to the factors
affecting the wear NJ journal hearings.
The bureau has gone at great length
into the factors which cause compress
sion spark knocks in automobile
= ssires, an inquiry which hiss great
possibilities I'm connection with the
hiSh.corNprrSsian engines nut Un the
',-k.t TFS>TntlN by >rveTSll n3nufaC-
turcrs. especially adapted for hixh.
test =tsclns, h survey showed the
need for some standard methods nj
measuring the auti~fuo<,k valus nj
( els. \saIlr a. the tests inVeSxl,
gated rnnsiSs af enSina tests ar rely
an engine tests for THAR intsrpreIa-
ton, and some of them Involve Il
standard ut &nQck Intensity, Aavans,
nS the spark until knok Of a
specified intensity ,sNcUrss WAS one al
the methods used The henxal equiv
alent nv the toiuens value Ut a tuel
Indicates the peFVentaSe af hsnxol az
taluens which must he blended with