Part 6

Investigations are also being conducted to determine the nature and extent of materials available for use in the building-construction work of the Government, and how these materials may be used most efficiently and safely. While the act authorizing this work does not permit investigations or tests for private parties, it is believed that these tests for the Government cannot fail to be of great general value. The aggregate expenditure by the Federal Government in building and engineering construction is about $40,000,000 annually. This work is being executed under so many different conditions, at points so widely separated geographically, and requires so great a variety of materials, that the problems to be solved for the Government can hardly fail to cover a large share of the needs of the Engineering Profession, State and municipal governments, and the general public.

_Character of the Work._--The tests and analyses, of the materials of construction purchased by the various bureaus and departments for the use of the Government, are to determine the character, quality, suitability, and availability of the materials submitted, and to ascertain data leading to more accurate working values as a basis for better working specifications, so as to enable Government officials to use such materials with more economy and increased efficiency.

Investigative tests of materials entering into Government construction, relative to the larger problems involved in the use of materials purchased by the Government, include exhaustive study of the suitability for use, in concrete construction on the Isthmian Canal, of the sand and stone, and of the cementing value of pozzuolanic material, found on the Isthmus; the strength, elasticity, and chemical properties of structural steel for canal lock-gates; of wire rope and cables for use in hoisting and haulage; and the most suitable sand and stone available for concrete and reinforced concrete for under-water construction, such as the retaining walls being built by the Quartermaster’s Department of the Army, in San Francisco Harbor.

These tests also include investigations into the disintegrating effect of alkaline soil and water on the concrete and reinforced concrete structures of the Reclamation Service, with a view to preventing such disintegration; investigations into the proper proportions and dimensions of concrete and reinforced concrete structural columns, beams, and piers, and of walls of brick and of building stone, and of the various types of metal used for reinforcement by the Supervising Architect in the construction of public buildings; investigations into the sand, gravel, and broken stone available for local use in concrete construction, such as columns, piers, arches, floor slabs, etc., as a guide to the more economical design of public structures, and to determine the proper method of mixing the materials to render the concrete most impervious to water and resistant to weather and other destructive agencies.

Other lines of research may be stated briefly as follows:

The extent to which concrete made from cement and local materials can be most safely and efficiently used for different purposes under different conditions;

The best methods for mixing and utilizing the various constituent materials locally available for use in Government construction;

The materials suitable for the manufacture of cement on the public lands, or where the Government has planned extensive building or engineering construction work, where no cement plants now exist;

The kinds and forms of reinforcement for concrete, and the best methods of applying them in order to secure the greatest strength in compression, tension, shear, etc., in reinforced concrete beams, columns, floor slabs, etc.;

The influence of acids, oils, salts, and other foreign materials, long-continued strain, or electric currents, on the permanence of the steel in reinforced concrete;

The value of protective coatings as preventives of deterioration of structural materials by destructive agencies; and

The establishment of working stresses for various structural materials needed by the Government in its buildings.

Investigations are being made into the effects of fire and the rate of conductivity of heat on concrete and reinforced concrete, brick, tile, building stone, etc., as a guide to the use of the most suitable materials for fire-proof building construction and the proper dimensioning of fire-resistive coverings.

Investigations and tests are being made, with a view to the preparation of working specifications for use in Government construction, of bricks, tile, sand-lime brick, paving brick, sewer pipe, roofing slates, flooring tiles, cable conduits, electric insulators, architectural terra cotta, fire-brick, and all shapes of refractories and other clay products, regarding which no satisfactory data for the preparation of specifications of working values now exist.

Investigations of the clay deposits throughout the United States are in progress, to determine proper methods of converting them into building brick, tile, etc., at the most reasonable cost, and the suitability of the resulting material for erection in structural forms and to meet building requirements.

Investigations are being made in the field, of building stones locally available, and physical and chemical tests of these building stones to determine their bearing or crushing strength; the most suitable mortars for use with them; their resistance to weathering; their fire-resistive and fire-proof qualities, etc., regarding which practically no adequate information is available as a guide to Government engineering and building design.

_Results Accomplished._--During one period of six months alone, more than 2,500 samples, taken from Government purchases of structural materials, were examined, of which more than 300 failed to meet the specified requirements, representing many thousands of dollars worth of inferior material rejected, which otherwise would have been paid for by the Government. These tests were the means of detecting the inferior quality of large quantities of materials delivered on contracts, and the moral effect on bidders has proven as important a factor in the maintenance of a high quality of purchases, as in the saving of money.

The examination of sands, gravels, and crushed stones, as constituent materials for concrete and reinforced concrete construction, has developed data showing that certain materials, locally available near large building centers and previously regarded as inferior in quality, were, in fact, superior to other and more expensive materials which it had been proposed to use.

These investigations have represented an actual saving in the cost of construction on the work of the Isthmian Canal Commission, of the Supervising Architect, and of certain States and cities which have benefited by the information disseminated regarding these constituent materials.

Investigations of clay products, only recently inaugurated, have already resulted in the ascertainment of important facts relative to the colloid matter of clay and its measurement, and the bearing thereof on the plasticity and working values of various clays. The study of the preliminary treatment of clays difficult to handle dry, has furnished useful information regarding the drying of such clays, and concerning the fire resistance of bricks made of soft, stiff, or dried clay of various densities.

The field collection and investigation of building-stone samples have developed some important facts which had not been considered previously, relative to the effect of quarrying, in relation to the strike and dip of the bedding planes of building stone, and the strength and durability of the same material when erected in building construction. These investigations have also developed certain fundamental facts relative to the effects of blasting (as compared with channeling or cutting) on the strength and durability of quarried building stone.

_Mineral Chemistry Laboratories._--Investigations and analyses of the materials of engineering and building construction are carried on at Pittsburg in four of the larger rooms of Building No. 21. In this laboratory, are conducted research investigations into the effect of alkaline waters and soils on the constituent materials of concrete available in arid regions, as related to the life and permanency of the concrete and reinforced concrete construction of the Reclamation Service. These investigations include a study of individual salts found in particular alkalis, and a study of the results of allowing solutions of various alkalis to percolate through cylinders of cement mortar and concrete. Other research analyses have to do with the investigation of destructive and preservative agencies for concrete, reinforced concrete, and similar materials, and with the chemistry of the effects of salt water on concrete, etc. The routine chemical analyses of the constituent materials of concrete and cement-making materials, are made in this laboratory, as are also a large number of miscellaneous chemical analyses and investigations of reinforcement metal, the composition of building stones, and allied work.

A heat laboratory, in charge of Dr. J. K. Clement, occupies three rooms on the ground floor of Building No. 21, and is concerned chiefly with the measurement of temperatures in gas producers, in the furnaces of steam boilers, kilns, etc. The work includes determinations of the thermal conductivity of fire clays, concrete, and other building materials, and of their fire-resisting properties; measurements of the thermal expansion and specific heats of fire-bricks, porcelain, and glazes; and investigations of the effect of temperature variations on the various chemical processes which take place in the fuel bed of the gas producer, boiler furnace, etc.

The heat laboratory is equipped for the calibration of the thermometers and pyrometers, and electrical and other physical apparatus used by the various sections of the Technologic Branch.

For convenience in analyzing materials received from the various purchasing officers attached to the Government bureaus, this work is housed in a laboratory on the fourth floor of the Geological Survey Building in Washington.

Large quantities and many varieties of building materials for use in public buildings under contract with the Supervising Architect’s office, are submitted to the laboratory by contractors to determine whether or not they meet the specified requirements. Further examinations are made of samples submitted by superintendents of construction, representing material actually furnished by contractors. It is frequently found that the sample of material submitted by the contractor is of far better quality than that sent by the superintendent to represent deliveries. The needed constant check on deliveries is thus provided.

In addition to this work for the office of the Supervising Architect, similar work on purchases and supplies is carried on for the Isthmian Canal Commission, the Quartermaster-General’s Department of the Army, the Life Saving Service, the Reclamation Service, and other branches of the Government. About 300 samples are examined each month, requiring an average of 12 determinations per sample, or about 3,600 determinations per month.

The chemical laboratory for testing Government purchases of structural materials is equipped with the necessary apparatus for making the requisite physical and chemical tests. For the physical tests of cement, there are a tensile test machine, briquette moulds, a pat tank for boiling tests to determine soundness, water tanks for the storage of briquettes, a moist oven, apparatus to determine specific gravity, fineness of grinding, etc.

The chemical laboratory at Washington is equipped with the necessary analytical balances, steam ovens, baths, blast lamps, stills, etc., required in the routine chemical analysis of cement, plaster, clay, bricks and terra cotta, mineral paints and pigments, roofing material, tern plate and asphaltic compounds, water-proofing materials, iron and steel alloys, etc.

At present, materials which require investigative tests as a basis for the preparation of suitable specifications, tests not connected with the immediate determination as to whether or not the purchases are in accordance with the specifications, are referred to the chemical laboratories attached to the Structural Materials Division, at Pittsburg.

The inspection and tests of cement purchased in large quantities, such as the larger purchases on behalf of public-building construction under the Supervising Architect, or the great 4,500,000-bbl. contract of the Isthmian Canal Commission, are made in the cement-testing laboratory of the Survey, in the Lehigh Portland cement district, at Northampton, Pa.

_Testing Machines._--The various structural forms into which concrete and reinforced concrete may be assembled for use in public-building construction, are undergoing investigative tests as to their compressive and tensile strength, resistance to shearing, modulus of elasticity, coefficient of expansion, fire-resistive qualities, etc. Similar tests are being conducted on building stone, clay products, and the structural forms in which steel and iron are used for building construction.

The compressive, tensile, and other large testing machines, for all kinds of structural materials reaching the testing stations, are under the general supervision of Richard L. Humphrey, M. Am. Soc. C. E. The immediate direction of the physical tests on the larger testing machines is in charge of Mr. H. H. Kaplan.

Most of this testing apparatus, prior to 1909, was housed in buildings loaned by the City of St. Louis, in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo., and the arrangement of these buildings, details of equipment, organization, and methods of conducting the tests, are fully set forth in Bulletin No. 329 of the U.S. Geological Survey. In brief, this equipment included motor-driven, universal, four-screw testing machines, as follows: One 600,000-lb., vertical automatic, four-screw machine; one 200,000-lb., automatic, four-screw machine; and one 200,000-lb. and one 100,000-lb. machine of the same type, but with three screws. There are a number of smaller machines of 50,000, 40,000, 10,000, and 2,000 lb., respectively.

These machines are equipped so that all are available for making tensile and compressive tests (Fig. 1, Plate XIII). The 600,000-lb. machine is capable of testing columns up to 30-ft. lengths, and of making transverse tests of beams up to 25-ft. span, and tension tests for specimens up to 24 ft. in length. The smaller machines are capable of making tension and compressive tests up to 4 ft. in length and transverse beam tests up to 12 ft. span. In addition, there are ample subsidiary apparatus, including concrete mixers with capacities of ½ and 1 cu. yd., five hollow concrete block machines, automatic sifting machines, briquette moulds, storage tanks, etc.

At the Atlantic City sub-station, there is also a 200,000-lb., universal, four-screw testing machine, with miscellaneous equipment for testing cement and moulding concrete, etc.; and at the Northampton sub-station, there is a complete equipment of apparatus for cement testing, capable of handling 10,000 bbl. per day.

At the Pittsburg testing station, a 10,000,000-lb., vertical, compression testing machine (Plate XIV), made by Tinius Olsen and Company, is being erected for making a complete series of comparative tests of various building stones of 2, 4, and 12-in. cube, of stone prisms, 12 in. base and 24 in. high, of concrete and reinforced concrete columns up to 65 ft. in height, and of brick piers and structural-steel columns up to the the limits of the capacity and height of the machine.

This machine is a large hydraulic press, with an adjustable head, and a weighing system for recording the loading developed by a triple-plunger pump. It has a maximum clearance of 65 ft. between heads; the clearance in the machine is a trifle more than 6 ft. between screws, and the heads are 6 ft. square.

The machine consists of a base containing the main cylinder, with a sectional area of 2,000 sq. in., upon which rests the lower platform or head, which is provided with a ball-and-socket bearing. The upper head is adjustable over four vertical screws, 13½ in. in diameter and 72 ft. 2 in. long, by a system of gearing operating four nuts with ball-bearings upon which the head rests. The shafting operating this mechanism is connected with a variable-speed motor which actuates the triple-plunger pump supplying the pressure to the main cylinder (Fig. 4).

The weighing device consists of a set of standard Olsen levers for weighing one-eightieth of the total load on the main cylinder. This reduction is effected through the medium of a piston and a diaphragm. The main cylinder has a diameter of 50 in., and the smaller one, a diameter of 5-9/16 in. The weighing beam is balanced by an automatically-operated poise weight, and is provided with a device for applying successive counterweights of 1,000,000 lb. each. Each division on the dial is equivalent to a 100-lb. load, and smaller subdivisions are made possible by an additional needle-beam.

The power is applied by a 15-h.p., 220-volt, variable-speed motor operating a triple-plunger pump, the gearing operating the upper head being driven by the same motor. The extreme length of the main screws necessitates splicing, which is accomplished as follows:

In the center of the screws, at the splice, is a 3-in. threaded pin for centering the upper and lower screws; this splice is strengthened by sleeve nuts, split to facilitate their removal whenever it is necessary to lower the upper head; after the head has passed the splice, the sleeve nuts are replaced.

In order to maintain a constant load, a needle-valve has been provided, which, when the pump is operated at its lowest speed, will allow a sufficient quantity of oil to flow into the main cylinder to equalize whatever leakage there may be. The main cylinder has a vertical movement of 24 in. The speed of the machine, for the purpose of adjustment, using the gearing attached to the upper head, is 10 in. per min. The speed for applying loads, controlled by the variable-speed motor driving the pump, varies from a minimum of at least 1/60 in. per min. to a maximum of at least ½ in. per min. The machine has a guaranteed accuracy of at least one-third of 1%, for any load of more than 100,000 lb., up to its capacity.

The castings for the base and the top head weigh approximately 48,000 lb. each. Each main screw weighs more than 40,000 lb., the lower platform weighing about 25,000 lb., and the main cylinder, 16,000 lb. The top of the machine will be about 70 ft. above the top of the floor, and the concrete foundation, upon which it rests, is about 8 ft. below the floor line.

_Concrete and Cement Investigations._--The investigations relating to concrete include the examination of the deposits of sand, gravel, stone, etc., in the field, the collection of representative samples, and the shipment of these samples to the laboratory for analysis and test. These tests are conducted in connection with the investigation of cement mortars, made from a typical Portland cement prepared by thoroughly mixing a number of brands, each of which must meet the following requirements:

Specific gravity, not less than 3.10;

Fineness, residue not to exceed 8% on No. 100, nor 25% on No. 200 sieve;

Time of setting: Initial set, not less than 30 min.; hard set, not less than 1 hour, nor more than 10 hours.

Tensile strength: Requirements applying to neat cement and to 1 part cement with 3 parts standard sand:

+--------------+---------- | Neat cement. | 1:3 Mix. Time specification. | Pounds. | Pounds. -------------------------------+--------------+---------- 24 hours in moist air | 175 | ... 7 days (1 day in moist air, | 500 | 175 6 days in water) | | 28 days (1 day in moist air, | 600 | 250 27 days in water) | | -------------------------------+--------------+----------

Constancy of volume: Pats of neat cement, 3 in. in diameter, ½ in. thick at center, tapering to a thin edge, shall be kept in moist air for a period of 24 hours. A pat is kept in air at normal temperature and observed at intervals for at least 28 days. Another pat is kept in water maintained as near 70° Fahr. as practicable, and is observed at intervals for at least 28 days. A third pat is exposed in an atmosphere of steam above boiling water, in a loosely-closed vessel, for 5 hours. These pats must remain firm and hard and show no signs of distortion, checking, cracking, or disfiguration.

The cement shall not contain more than 1.75% of anhydrous sulphuric acid, nor more than 4% of magnesium oxide.

A test of the neat cement must be made with each mortar series for comparison of the quality of the typical Portland cement.

The constituent materials are subjected to the following examination and determinations, and, in addition, are analyzed to determine the composition and character of the stone, sand, etc.:

1.--Mineralogical examination,

2.--Specific gravity,

3.--Weight, per cubic foot,

4.--Sifting (granulometric composition),

5.--Percentage of silt and character of same,

6.--Percentage of voids,

7.--Character of stone as to percentage of absorption, porosity, permeability, compressive strength, and behavior under treatment.

Physical tests are made to determine the tensile, compressive, and transverse strengths of the cement and mortar test pieces, with various preparations of cement and various percentages of material. Tests are also made to determine porosity, permeability, volumetric changes in setting, absorption, coefficient of expansion, effect of oil, etc.

Investigation of concretes made from mixtures of typical Portland cement, sand, stone, and gravel, includes tests on cylinders, prisms, cubes, and other standard test pieces, with various proportions of materials and at ages ranging from 30 to 360 days. Full-sized plain concrete beams, moulded building blocks, reinforced concrete beams, columns, floor slabs, arches, etc., are tested to determine the effect, character, and amount of reinforcement, the effect of changes in volume, size, and composition, and the effect of different methods of loading and of supporting these pieces, etc.

These investigations include detailed inquiry in the field and research in the chemical and physical laboratories regarding the effects of alkaline soils and waters on structures of concrete being built by the Reclamation Service in the arid regions. It has been noted that on certain of the Reclamation projects, notably on the Sun River Project, near Great Falls, Mont., the Shoshone Project, near Cody, Wyo., and the Carlsbad and Hondo Projects in the Pecos Valley, N. Mex., structures of concrete, reinforced concrete, building stones, brick, and tile, show evidence of disintegration. This is attributed to the effects of alkaline waters or soils coming into contact with the structures, or to the constituent materials used. In co-operation with the Reclamation Service, samples of the waters, soils, and constituent materials, are collected in the field, and are subjected to careful chemical examination in the mineral laboratories at Pittsburg.