Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
HUMAN BODY HELD
MEASURING STICK
New Methods Used to Deter.
mine Fitness for
Autos.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


DETROIT. Mich, July A modern
idea in planning and building an auto
mobile for quantity production Is to use
the human body as o measuring stick.
The measurement Is applied to per-
Torrance, with riding comfort as the
main objective.
In this connection the engineers are
discovering new testing methods and
putting them to work.
The new ways Of determining the fit-
ness of q chassis and body for passen-
ger car service deal with factors
hitherto considered Of only secondary
importance in the general performance
ensemble.
Modern requirements, however, are
50 exacting that they force research to
weigh them for the good or bad effect
they may have on the finished car and
the service 1t Is built to give.
Recently, when the Society OF Auto
motive Engineers assembled for its
semi-annual meeting. 1t heard q report
on tests made with the "wabblemeter, "
not Of cars, but Of persons who had
ridden In them over varying distances.
Passenger fatigue is the factor that
the instrument is intended to deter
mine. An improved model, the second
strated by Prof. r. A. Moss Of George
Washington University. In appearance
1t is something like weigh scale plat
form, only 1t Is divided into two parts,
one for each Of the subjects feet.
Standing on 1t, the car passenger Is
called upon to see how steady he can
hold himself in an upright position.
AS the machine Is built to oscillate
back and forth should the weight on
either foot vary in the slightest, the
test virtually il one Of the equilibrium
that the passenger Is able to preserve
following, say. 100 miles of driving;
automatic recording registers variations
and thereby fatigue Is calculated In
engineering terms. This branch OF re-
search is one which the Society Of Auto
motive Engineers has sponsored.
It has the backing of engineering de-
partments representing the large pro-
ducers. The survey is not complete yet
and additions to it are to be made at a
later date.
Undergone Wide Changes.
During the course of the Society Of
Automotive Engineers deliberations, 1t
was brought out that in recent years
the operation requirements In the aver
age car have undergone wide changes.
It was shown that automobile engine
speed has increased approximately 81
per cent, brake pressure 10 per cent and
piston displacement, or the space In
which power Is generated, has been ex-
panded 8 per cent.
while the builders have been called
upon for higher speeds, acceleration,
power and general performance, the
public Is demanding the most In COM
fort. This Is represented in bigger,
roomier bodies, more comfortable seat
button, finer upholstery, safer glass and
better all-round coordination.
The minute angles in which research
Is seeking to check out causes of dis
comfort include even the fan as part Of
the cooling system. Fan noises are now
classified as whine, roar, fiutter, whir
and beat. To such extremes does engi-
neering 20 in tracing the causes, that
records are made of them and indexed
according to the note they may be
equivalent to In the musical scale.
1t has been found that a two-blade
fan, to cite one instance, at q speed Of
3 900 revolutions. emits the tone "B"
in the base cleft, and that 1t results
from 100 vibrations per second.
Oil consumption, likewise has been
SupJeCVcu 70 CiunCut survey. AI 6cS-
sion ON this subject 1t was shown that
the quantity Of oil used in the average
car in one year Is about 20 gallons, and
that the $4,000, 900 cars In the United
States account for 500,000,000 gallons
annually.
The total amount Of lubricating oil
for all purposes was found to be only
81 per cent Of total crude oil produc-
ton, and that part Of It used for cars
is less than II per cent. Many times
this amount Of lubricationg oil could be
produced II q market could be found
for 1t. At present most Of the oil which
could be converted into lubricants, Il
disposed Of as fuel oil or "gas OIL" be-
cause It has no other commercial use in
the vast quantities that are available.
(0opyright, 1891, By the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Incl