Bureau Of Engineering Research Articles

A Study of Factors Affecting Infiltration

Soil Science Society of America JournalVolume 3, Issue C p. 334-339 Article A Study of Factors Affecting Infiltration† M. R. Lewis, M. R. LewisSearch for more papers by this authorW. L. Powers, W. L. Powers Senior Agricultural Engineer and Soil Scientist, respectively.Search for more papers by this author M. R. Lewis, M. R. LewisSearch for more papers by this authorW. L. Powers, W. L. Powers Senior Agricultural Engineer and Soil Scientist, respectively.Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 January 1939 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1939.036159950003000C0065xCitations: 13 ‡ Contribution from the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, and the Department of Soils, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Corvallis, Ore. Published as Technical Paper No. 302, with the approval of the Director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume3, IssueC1939Pages 334-339 RelatedInformation

Appendix A—Ground‐water investigations in California

As a part of the preliminary flood‐control surveys which the United States Department of Agriculture is making, the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering is investigating ground‐water conditions in California. Information has been collected on variations in water‐table level, ground‐water replenishment, overdraft of underground water‐supply, etc, in the Merced Group, Kings River, and Ventura River areas. More detailed surveys are contemplated in the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana River watersheds.In the Kings River Area in central California, high ground‐water resulting from the floods of 1937 and 1938 has seriously damaged agricultural crops such as deciduous fruits. Water in excess of irrigation‐requirements is permitted, as far as possible, to seep underground to replenish ground‐water supplies. Such practice, however, while providing for low pumping lifts, is likely, in periods of excess flow, to be detrimental to both soil and crops. Water‐levels allowed to invade the root‐zones of crops not only damage the roots by submergence, but often cause concentration of alkali salts in toxic quantities. Thus observation of water as now practiced may, and sometimes does, result in destruction of crops. Where these crops are fruit trees requiring years to bring to maturity, the situation becomes serious.

U. S. Navy Correlation of Laboratory Tests on Diesel Fuels With Service-Engine Operation

Abstract The Diesel-fuel investigation at the U. S. Naval Engineering Experiment Station, authorized by the Bureau of Engineering in 1934, has included long-time storage tests, injection-pump tests at low temperatures, cold-starting tests, physical-chemical analyses, ignition-quality tests on the Cooperative Fuel Research engine, and combustion-shock, power and economy, carbonization, exhaust-smoke, and miscellaneous fuel-performance tests on several service Diesel engines. This paper presents a brief review of some of the work done in correlating the results of the physical-chemical analyses and ignition-quality tests on the Cooperative Fuel Research engine with fuel performance in service engines.

Snow-cover conditions for winter sports in the western states

For several years the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering has been engaged in wide-spread studies of the snow-cover for the purpose of forecasting spring and summer runoff. This service has been primarily beneficial to farmers. Now it has been found that the snow-surveys can readily be extended to benefit the snow-sportsmen, whose numbers and enthusiasm are increasing so remarkably throughout the West. (W. W. McLaughlin says: “it is estimated that about 2,000,000 people take advantage of this sport in this country. With these broadcast efforts of ours we are probably reaching every interested person in the Western part of the United States—the Western one-third.”)

A METHOD FOR DETERMINING PROPER PITCH FOR THE INBOARD AND OUTBOARD PROPELLERS ON A FOUR SCREW SHIP

While it has been known for many years that with identical propellers, the outboard screws of a four screw ship turn faster than the inboard screws, and that there is in consequence an unbalance on the power demand for the different shafts, it is only recently that the question of balancing the power demand on the four shafts has become interesting to marine designers. The desirability of doing this must be carefully weighed against the obvious advantage of having all propellers to the same diameter and pitch because of the expense of spares, but if after such consideration, a balance is still desired, the author deduces a method for modifying the pitch ratios.Those who are familiar with Mr. Labberton's contributions to gear and propeller design will be interested to know that he has recently severed his connection with the Design Division of the Bureau of Engineering to assume the duties of Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at New York University.

The present status of snow‐surveying and irrigation water‐supply forecasting in the west

“Picture”: Years ago the foundation of a structure was solidly built, starting from a firm base and thence laid flawlessly to the level where the superstructure could be started. The skeleton of the edifice to be has since sprung into view. It consists of a great framework of innumerable members dovetailed and secured one to the other through eleven stories and finally topped off by a roof‐structure designed to hold the assemblage together and to protect it. The base for this building is the need throughout the West to know what the water‐potentialities of the mountain snow‐cover are. The foundation is the weight‐method of determining the density of snow and the “course‐method” of snow‐surveying for forecasting stream‐flow and soil‐moisture conditions. The eleven stories are conceived to be the eleven western states where this work is in progress; the braces and supports in each the numerous organizations and individuals who cooperate in the endeavor. The roof‐structure is the Federal coordinating agency, the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, United States Department of Agriculture. The structure is dedicated to “Irrigation water‐supply forecasting,” but in reality it is predestined to accommodate the many and variable needs for predicting the effects of accumulated snowfall. The newer and less well‐tested parts of this work—the superstructure of cooperative effort and provisions for rendering service—should, perhaps, be sounded and checked over to ascertain if they are sufficiently strong and ample enough to meet requirements.

A METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE CORRECT BURNING TEMPERATURE FOR FUEL OILS.

Some years ago, before excessive refining dropped the commercial supply of the straight run crudes to its present low level, Commander G. B. Vroom, U. S. N., discovered the peculiar relationship between the fuel oils which caused their temperature‐viscosity curves, when plotted on logarithmic paper, to all pass through a single point. He utilized this datum point in an ingenious way to produce what was known as the Vroom Diagram, which provided an easy method by which a determination of the burning temperature for any fuel oil commercially available at that time could be made. With the prevalent and increasing use and availability of fuel oils largely made up of cracked residua, the common point in the logarithmic curves has disappeared, and the Vroom Diagram has become practically obsolete. The author of this article believes that he has discovered a substitute for Vroom's datum point which bids fair to be as useful for the cracked oils, as was Vroom's for the straight run crudes. While sixty determinations cannot be said to establish a law, it will be interesting and valuable to all operating engineers if wider experience and test demonstrates the correctness of the author's observation. Lieutenant Murdaugh, recently attached to the Bureau of Engineering, believes that his use of the temperature‐viscosity diagram in this manner and for this purpose is an original contribution, and the Editor of the Journal will be pleased to receive any data or comment which tends to support or discredit the accuracy of the author's observation.

Tensiometers for Measuring the Capillary Tension of Soil Water1

Agronomy JournalVolume 28, Issue 5 p. 352-358 Article Tensiometers for Measuring the Capillary Tension of Soil Water1 L. A. Richards, L. A. RichardsSearch for more papers by this authorWillard Gardner, Willard Gardner Research Assistant Professor of Soils, Iowa AgricuItural Experiment Station, and Physicist, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, respectively.Search for more papers by this author L. A. Richards, L. A. RichardsSearch for more papers by this authorWillard Gardner, Willard Gardner Research Assistant Professor of Soils, Iowa AgricuItural Experiment Station, and Physicist, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, respectively.Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 May 1936 https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1936.00021962002800050002xCitations: 35 1 Contribution from the Soils Subsection, Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Journal Paper No. J329, Project No. 487, Ames, Iowa, and the Physics Department, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah. Experimental work in connection with the apparatus here described was undertaken by the authors at the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station as part of Utah Station Project 17, in cooperation with the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. The work was continued at Cornell University where the senior author was Instructor in Physics. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume28, Issue5May 1936Pages 352-358 RelatedInformation

Proper Water Supply and Drainage Piping for Hotels

The problem of proper water supply and drainage piping in a hotel is of vital interest to every water works official and those charged with the responsibility for safeguarding the public health. If the full truth were known, this problem would also be of vital interest to every person who has occasion to stop at a hotel. In recent years this problem has forced itself upon the attention of public officials and the general public by reason of occurrences of water borne epidemics traceable to faulty water supply and drainage piping in so-called first class hotels. In August, 1927, Mr. William C. Groeniger, consulting sanitary engineer of Columbus and former chief of the Bureau of Plumbing Inspection, Ohio Department of Health, read a paper before the annual meeting of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering in which were cited the results of the work of a research committee of that Society and pointing out the possibilities of outbreak of water borne diseases through faulty plumbing fixtures (1). The prediction was made by Mr. Groeniger that unless those officials charged with the responsibility for manufacture, installation and maintenance of water supply and drainage piping in modern public buildings should give more attention to the proper arrangement of such piping, serious outbreaks of water borne diseases would result. His predictions have been borne out by experiences, notably in Chicago. In a discussion before the American Society of Sanitary Engineering in August, 1928, at Milwaukee, Mr. Joel I. Connolly, Chief of the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, Chicago Board of Health, brought out forcibly the evil results arising from the carelessness in water supply and drainage piping arrangements in hospitals (2). In 1930 a paper was read before this Association by Mr. Connolly upon the subject of crossconnections in buildings. In June, 1934, Dr. Herman N. Bundesen, President of the Chicago Board of Health, read a paper before the Annual Conference of the State and Provincial Health Authorities

STEAM IN RELATION TO MARINE ENGINEERING.

Journal of the American Society for Naval EngineersVolume 48, Issue 1 p. 49-58 STEAM IN RELATION TO MARINE ENGINEERING. Rear Admiral H. G. Bowen, Rear Admiral H. G. Bowen U. S.NSearch for more papers by this author Rear Admiral H. G. Bowen, Rear Admiral H. G. Bowen U. S.NSearch for more papers by this author First published: February 1936 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1936.tb05632.x Chief of the Bureau of Engineering. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume48, Issue1February 1936Pages 49-58 RelatedInformation

Appendix B—Active Ground‐Water Projects in California, Oregon, and Washington

General Pumping from wells for irrigation—The Division of Irrigation, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, United States Department of Agriculture, is investigating the economics and practice of pumping from wells for irrigation in the western United States. The study is under the charge of Carl Rohwer. Its aims are (1) to gather data pertinent to the practical and economical phases of pumping for irrigation, including mechanical units, wells, methods of pump‐installation, the assembled plant, and the efficiency of the various units, and (2) to compile all available information on methods and cost of well‐drilling and the numerous factors influencing them, such as various types of casing and relation of diameter of casing to yield. The field‐work on both phases of the study is about complete. The manuscript on the first phase of the project is in process of preliminary editing. It is intended to publish the results of the study in two bulletins, probably as Department circulars.

High precipitation for short periods in the United States

The frequencies at which excessive precipitations of short duration have occurred in different sections of the United States have been determined by the Division of Drainage and Soil Erosion Control, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, United States Department of Agriculture. The study was financed as a project of the Civil Works Administration.An intimate knowledge of the rates of excessive precipitation is essential to the successful planning of terracing systems, farm drainage‐systems carrying surface‐water and culvert waterway‐openings for small watersheds. The data are also useful In the design of municipal storm‐sewer systems. The amount of storm‐water reaching a terrace, a tile surface‐inlet, or a culvert, depends upon the rate of rainfall, the period during which this intensity prevails, the percentage of rainfall that flows off, and the time of concentration of the watershed. The frequency with which certain rates of precipitation recur should be the foundation of intelligent design.

Controlling Corrosion of Distribution Systems

Within recent years more and more effort has been devoted to reducing the destructive action of some waters on the pipes which carry them to the consumer. These efforts are based upon fairly simple chemical concepts and in many instances are not costly. The Bureau of Sanitary Engineering of the State Department of Health of Maryland has been called upon in the last few years to recommend procedures for the elimination of the corrosiveness of several public water supplies. Data have been accumulated as to the causes of such corrosion and as to processes which materially reduce or eliminate these disabilities. The practical results obtained in full scale operation in some of these cases are here reported. Measures for the reduction or elimination of corrosion of the distribution system have been introduced for the treatment of the water supplies of a number of small communities in Maryland, covering a total population of between 25,000 and 30,000. They are referred to here in individual examples with sufficient analytical data to make clear the principles of treatment.

Runoff‐investigations from small agricultural areas

The Bureau of Agricultural Engineering has, since 1910, been studying the problem of runoff from small areas of land. Early studies would be considered crude today but the technique has been gradually improved until now we feel that the studies cover fairly adequately the purposes for which they are made.The first studies undertaken were made for the purpose of determining the amount of runoff that should be provided for drainage‐ditches that were to provide artificial drainage for cultivated land. When I joined the staff of Drainage Investigations, Office of Experiment Stations, in 1907, one of the moot points in the design of drainage‐ditches was the amount of runoff it was necessary to provide for in order to secure adequate drainage ditches was the amount of runoff it was necessary to provide for in order to secure adequate drainage. About the only data available were the records of the United States Geological Survey in regard to the discharge of streams and every engineer engaged in this work—and there were not so many of us in those days—had his opinion as to the proper amount of runoff to provide for, but very little information with which to back his judgment. Consequently, the arguments were numerous and at times heated.

Appendix B—investigations of underground‐water problems in California, New Mexico, and Oregon

Investigations by the California Department of Public Works, Division of Water Resources (based on written communication from Harold Conkling, Deputy State Engineer)—the Division of Water Resources, California Department of Public Works, has in the past year conducted investigations of ground‐water problems in the great central valley of the State (California Trough); in the Salinas and Santa Clara Valleys of the central part of the State; also in the South Coastal Basin and in Ventura County, in southern California. In these investigations the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Geological Survey of the United States Department of the Interior, and many local agencies have cooperated. In large part, the activities of the past year are continuations of investigations summarized in an earlier statement (A. M. Piper, Investigations of underground‐water problems in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Oregon, National Research Council, Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union, 13th annual meeting, 308–309, 1932). Progress in 1932–35 is summarized in the following paragraphs.

BASIS AND METHOD OF DETERMINING A. C. CABLE SIZES.*

Journal of the American Society for Naval EngineersVolume 45, Issue 2 p. 165-172 BASIS AND METHOD OF DETERMINING A. C. CABLE SIZES.* LIEUTENANT COMMANDER LOUIS DRELLER, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER LOUIS DRELLER U.S.N., MEMBERSearch for more papers by this author LIEUTENANT COMMANDER LOUIS DRELLER, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER LOUIS DRELLER U.S.N., MEMBERSearch for more papers by this author First published: May 1933 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1933.tb02696.x * The writer wishes to thank Mr. E. C. Alger. Chief Electrical Draftsman, Fore River Plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, and Mr. W. B. Armstrong, Engineer (Electrical), of the Bureau of Engineering, Navy Department, for their recommendations and aid. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume45, Issue2May 1933Pages 165-172 RelatedInformation

Further Observations on the Use of Activated Carbon in Removing Objectionable Taste and Odors from Water

Journal AWWAVolume 22, Issue 11 p. 1438-1461 Article Further Observations on the Use of Activated Carbon in Removing Objectionable Taste and Odors from Water† John R. Baylis, John R. BaylisPhysical Chemist, Bureau of Engineering, Chicago, Ill.Search for more papers by this author John R. Baylis, John R. BaylisPhysical Chemist, Bureau of Engineering, Chicago, Ill.Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 November 1930 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1930.tb20921.xCitations: 4 †Presented before the Water Purification Division, the St. Louis Convention, June 4, 1930. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume22, Issue11November 1930Pages 1438-1461 RelatedInformation

MARINE ENGINEERING

Journal of the American Society for Naval EngineersVolume 42, Issue 2 p. 334-342 MARINE ENGINEERING Rear Admiral R. S. Griffin, Rear Admiral R. S. Griffin U.S.N. Retired. Hon. Mem. A.S.M.E. Admiral Griffin graduated from the U.S.Naval Academy in 1878, and served both at sea and on shore in various engineering capacities, His shore duty included the inspection of machinery in the Bureau of Engineering in connection with the design, construction, and repair of naval machinery. He retired in 1981 from the office of Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. His honors comprise: Doctor of Engineering, Stevens Institute; Doctor of Science, Columbia University; Distinguished Service Medal, U. S.; and Commander of the Legion of Honor of France.Search for more papers by this author Rear Admiral R. S. Griffin, Rear Admiral R. S. Griffin U.S.N. Retired. Hon. Mem. A.S.M.E. Admiral Griffin graduated from the U.S.Naval Academy in 1878, and served both at sea and on shore in various engineering capacities, His shore duty included the inspection of machinery in the Bureau of Engineering in connection with the design, construction, and repair of naval machinery. He retired in 1981 from the office of Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. His honors comprise: Doctor of Engineering, Stevens Institute; Doctor of Science, Columbia University; Distinguished Service Medal, U. S.; and Commander of the Legion of Honor of France.Search for more papers by this author First published: May 1930 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1930.tb05041.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume42, Issue2May 1930Pages 334-342 RelatedInformation

State Sanitation in California

The dictionary defines sanitation as the practical application of sanitary science through the removal or neutralization of elements injurious to health. Strictly speaking, the sanitary engineer is concerned with construction of works for promoting the health of the community. However, his field has been widening to include the abatement of nuisances as well as dangers to health. Community attractiveness from the standpoint of comfort and enjoyment is intermingled with community safety from the standpoint of health. The efforts of the sanitarian have been chiefly directed toward the keeping of man's environment in a condition so that a minimum of disease would result from it. The main problem has been to keep man's food and drink from becoming contaminated, and thus frequently infected, by direct or indirect contact with his individual or community wastes. The responsibility of the State of California toward its citizens, not only those grouped into cities, but all within its borders, was recognized by the passage in 1907 of the Sanitary Water Systems Act and the Public Health Act. The former was intended to promote the supply of pure, healthful water, and the latter was intended to promote the sanitary disposal of sewage. In 1915 the Legislature established the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering under the State Board of Health.

Effect of Air and Turbulence on Condenser-Tube Deterioration: Progress Report No. 3 of the A.S.M.E. Special Research Committee on Condenser Tubes, Comprising the 1929 Report of Its Sub-Committee on Questionnaire

Effect of Air and Turbulence on Condenser-Tube Deterioration: Progress Report No. 3 of the A.S.M.E. Special Research Committee on Condenser Tubes, Comprising the 1929 Report of Its Sub-Committee on Questionnaire