1936-02-15 — Page 2

Page

2

The Failure And Breakdown

of

Of Machinery

Perutal of the annual

reports insurance engineering the companies conveys the impresion that the engineer, like bla medi- cal colleague, has, something to learn from the records of "post mortems, provided that due no- count is taken of the fact that an error of judgment on the part of an engineer does not "always meet with the sympathy accord- ed to an unfortunate surgeon, as was expressed long ago in Greek by Nicarchus,, who observed that "The patient sure'y had been lame for life,

So Scalpel pitying, killed him with his knife:"

work The investigators whose forms the basis of such reperts play the role of the anatomist, compared with whom the prar- tising engineer is the physiolo- gist; the former tends to conduct his invsetigations under statical conditions, while the latter must consider a machine as a complete system in motion. The difference involved in the two standpoints "Is of osme practical "importance.

as not infrequently the object of Investigation in a laboratory is, quite contrary to general bellef, not the cause itself, but an effect of that cause. The point may be elucidated by taking a broad view of the matter.

TIME REQUIRED

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1936.

ENGINEERING AND BUILDING

the comparative WORLD TRADE &

ex-

In view of ly long time required to com- plete a fallure due to fatigue, stresses on machinery. It is hot. inconceivable that subsequent ie · search would reveal what may be called, for warit of a better term. which a factor of "capacity."

of the quantity would connote

the Waves energy involved in

elastic propagated through system before rupture took place..

the That factor would include vartables defining the crystalline structure of the metal, the lay of variation of, the alternating or form or periodic load, and the configuration of the systeroas a whole. Questions concerning

for would connguration ample. enter into the considera- tion of the two cases of failure of bollers having drums of non- circular form, which are referred to in the recently issued Techni- cal, Report of the British Engine, Boller and Eletrical Insurance Company. Limited. The bollers were respectively fourteen years and eight years old and in both Instances the material proved to be of good quality. The investi- gators arrived at the conclusion that failure was due to the faulty pre- design arising from

tube- sence of "steps" on p'ates, in the first case, and in "the second case to the effect of corroded cracks that numerous were found on the water-side of the internal rib formed by the deviation from the usual circular cross-section.

-

the the

In

ADVANCE OF SCIENCE With advance of engineering

subject

the of the Lcience, strength of materials gradually merges into problems relating to the phenomena of fatigue and their indience on the strength

AS A WHOLE "of a metal at a given period of

boller is since

In operation a in its history.

service.

general subject to the effect of a there cannot be many practical Instances of statical loading.

fluctuating steam demand and this implies that a stress of corres- This way of approach leads to

on the ponding, variation acts the consideration of the propaga-

boller as a whole. Thus it is pos- tion of the stress-wave implied in

the corroded cracks the action of an alternating or "sible that

machine or, were

the partly the effect of periodic load on a

actual cause of breakdown, which structure. In these circumstances

doubtless W25

the

of Want the chief aim is to trace. from

symmetry in this case, Bence in the source to the boundary of the

order to examine the problem the material under stress,

of the transmission

stress as- with respect to maintenance, as sociated with a specified type of design and construction, experi- When account is taken of ments with models of complete

would probably afford a the fact the system exemplified by the complete mechanism of an engine, say, consists of a number of parts each of which, la com- posed of materials having diffe- rent elastic properties with respect to the wave-motion, it is seer that in the course of transmis- alon a stress wave is subject to the effects of reflection and distor- tion generally.

wave.

QUESTOX FLUX FOR NON-

FERROUS METALS

After a period of extended re- search, Messrs. Quest Products, Limited, Wharton, Winsford, One- shire, have produced a flux far use in melung non-ferrous me tals, which, they claim, not only removes impurities from the malt

oxidisation in and prevents most efficient manner, but is ex- tremely fuld, even at a tempera-

A

'means

of obtaining information supple- mentary to that contained in this most Instructive publication. In proceeding along these lines

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attempt might be made to answer the question whether the effective ute, of a given boller could be expressed in terms of the above-mentioned factor capacity.

BRITISH CHEMICAL PLANT EXHIBITION.

1936

of

Arrangements are "now being made for the organisation of an ezhibition of British chemical plant, to take place during the meeting of the International Che- mical Congress of the World Po- wer Conference. Both Congress and

cure as low as 850 deg. C. More exhibition will be held at the

over, this fluidity is not appre clably reduced even after the oxides and other impurifies are dissolved out of the melt, and the flux prevents oxidation while the metal is in the ladle and further protects it during pouring. Ques- tox, as the new Bux is called, is stated to be a eutectic mixture of halides and other chemicals chosen to have à maximum sol- metallic oxides. vent power on while being free from borax and from all substances harmful to crucible and ladle and ladle in- ings. We understand that the "flux actually prolongs the useful life of crucible and ladle lininga. Questox is marketed in two forms, namely, the Standard for general use, and, the Anhydrous for use. in connection with magneɛlura and high-class aluminium alloya,

200-TON, INGOT MOULD

The Brightside Foundry and Engineering Company, Limited, Sheffield, 1, have recently deliver- ed to Messrs. English Steel Cor poration, Limited, Vickers Works, Shemeid, an ingot mould of out- standing dimensions. It is to be used for the casting of steel ingots well over 200 tons in weight and is over 13 ft. in length. The mould

ls of the octagonal type and the

outside width, across the Hats,

is nearly 12 ft. From 185 to 170

Central Hall, Westminster, Lon- don, B.W.1, from June 22 to 27. 1936, and both will cover the num- erous ramifications of engineer- ing, though raw materials will be excluded: The total exhibiting area available will be about 13,000 sq. ft. and full particulars as to charges for space can be obtain- ed from the Secretary. the Bri- tish Chemical Plant Manufac- turers Association, 166, Piccadilly. London," W.1.

PYLUMIN PROCESS FOR THE PROTECTION

OF ALUMINIUM

Some years ago we described the Parkerizing and Bonderizing steel-zus proofing processes, which are operated in this country by Mesars. The Pyrene- Company, Limited Great West- road, Brentford Middlesex. Recently the Company has deve loped a process for treating alum inlum in a similar manner. The parts to be treated are immersed in a boiling solution of certain chemicals and water. This, it is stated, converts the surface of the aluminium into complex basic oxides, which are highly resistant to corrosion, and also serve as a baile for paint, incquer or enamel finishes, The Flyumin process, as

fong af molten metal were requirit la termed, is described in a bro-

ed for casting the mould and the total time occupied In pouring

was about 61 minutes.

chure, which may be obtained from Melsis. The Pyrene Com- pany at the above address,

SHIPBUILDING

||

The Problems Involved

NEW TRAINS

Victoria Speeds Up Service

Melbourne, Vic-At an estimat- 'ed cost of £180,000, the Victorian Railways Commissioners are blan- ning the construction of a new all-steel, air-conditioned train for use on the Melbourne-Albury sec- tion of the Sydney expresa 'ser- více.

· The comïmissioners are infiuen- ced by the increasing encroach-, ment of road transport on railway trafic. Latest Ideas on modern trains were brought back to Aus~;. tralia by the chief railways com- missioner, H. W, Clapp, from his trip to the United States and Eu- rope

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The economic problems affect- ing shipbuilding, more especially on yutside, formed the principal theme of the address with which, Dr. Johri T. Batey, inaugurated his second year or office as pre- eldent of the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and

Atter Shipbuilders.

referring briefly to the successful celebra- tion, during the past year, of the jubilee of the institution, and the manner in which the depressed area of the North-East Coast was adjusting itself to changing con- ditions by developing the manu- facture of coal cleaning plant, machine tools, and similar auxi- Hary equipments. Dr. Batey pass ed to a consideration of world trade and its reaction on the in- dustry of shipbuilding. He at- tributed much of the depression-necessary in the interests of com- in shipping to the artificial re- striction of trade between nations, and particularly to the narrow nationalism which imposed cessive tariff barriers against the free interchange of goods. If this condition could be ameliorated, he felt that trade would certainly improve, more ships would be re- quired and both shipping and shipbuilding

the would reap benefit.

ex-

SUBSIDISED SHIPPING

While other nations continued to subsidise their shipping, how- ever, Britain should follow suit.

the even though in his opinion,

principle of subsidising by gov. ernments was basically unsound; otherwise, as the Hon. Alexander his Shaw had pointed out in chairman's address to the share- holders of the P. and D. Com-

pany, there was grave danger that British ships might be able no longer to maintain their place on important routes which Bri- Lish enterprise had initiated. Such unfair competition must either be eliminated, or the Bri- tish shipowner must be compen- sated against its effects. Recent 15.

too, the difficulties of the shipbuilder had been, augmented by the tendency of Germany and Italy to resort to trade by barter. In particular, the German' gov- ernment restrictions on the ex- port of funds had forced British and other creditors to accept payment indirectly by ordering. ships in German yards. As a rɛ- sult, the German shipbulid- ing industry was reported to have doubled its working capa- city from the 25 per cent, level of a year ago, whereas new tonn- age exported from British yards had shrunk considerably.

FFECTIVE RESPONSE

The effective response to the British "Scrap and Bulld" scheme had

been rather disappointing. Whe latest return, published at th end of July, showed that 28 applications had been made, pro- posing the building of 43 ships. but of these only 10 had been approved: covering the construc- tion of 13 vessels. He thought it surprising that no applications for reconditioning had received official approval, in view of the fact that Bome foreign

Owners

had bought second-hand British ships and had them reconditioned. even, in some cases, to the extent of fitting. "'new propelling ла chinery; but he still boned that some British owners would take advantage of the reconditioning proposals, and thus bring some work to the ship repairers. The question of employment was still a serious one. The older genera- tion of skilled artisans was dying out and the `younger men were not coming forward to take their places, preferring to seek a more Immediate return for their work, rather than serve an apprentice- sh'p to a craft trade and train themselves for a better future which, their experience suggested, might never come.

GENERATION OF ELEC- TRICITY IN GREAT BRITAIN

During the first 11 months of 1935, the total amount of elect- ricity generated by authorised m- dertakers in Great Britain was

COMFORT AND SAFETY

The commissioners contend that construction of the new train is

fort, safety and the progress of the railways service.

If the Victorian Railways are to hold their own against other forms of transport, they state, the standard of the passenger service must be substantially improved. Country passenger traffic has fal- len seriously in the last 10 year. It is reported. In 1924-25, the peak year of passenger traffic, revenue from country service was €2,764,000. Last year it had fal ten to £1,367,000, a decrezne o" more than 50 per cent

MORE CHANGES NEEDED "Unquestionably the serious drift can be checked only by con- siderable improvements," state the commissioners. "Much has already been achieved. The speeas" of country trains have been in- creased, and throughout the state the overall times of passstiger trains have been substantially re- duced through improvemente to locomotives and tracks. But much more remains to be done in im- proving carriages as well as the tracks if the railways are to re- gain traffic that has been lost.".

To cover the cost of a new train,

It is estimated" that an average of only 17 more passengers a day in each direction between Mel- bourne and Albury would be need- ed. The commissioners are con fident that the results would far exceed the cost involved

SCOTTISH

SHIPBUILDING

1

Messrs. A. and J. Inglis, Limit- ed. Pointhouse, Glasgow. have.... received an order for a motor vessel of 1,000 tons from Messrs. William Robertson, Glasgow. She will be fitted with Plar Diesel engines of the Atlas Diesel Com- pany's standard design-Messra Wm. Denny and Brothers. Limit ed. Dumbarton, have contracted to build a small motor passenger vessel for the LMS. Railway Company, for service" in Loch

Awe

While employment In the Scot tish shipbuilding industry is very much better now and orders on hand more numerous, the year just passed has been a very poor one from an

output point of view. New contracts were very scarce until the autumn, but since the month of August the tonnage ordered has been most satisfactory and Chase ensured steady work at mary yards for good part of the year 1936. The total output for the past year was less than during the preceding year, but each of the. Scottish shipbuilding centres showed an increase except the Clyde. The following are the totals of the output for 1935 and the comparative figures for 1934

1935 1934

No. Tons. No. Tons, The Clyde... 74 172 930 67 268,121||

9,325 The Forth 14:29,884 16′ The Tay 4 4861 11,381 The Dee ... 12 6,570 11. 8, 3,382.

Total 104 312.054 95:282,389

15,635 million units, against 13,804 million unite in the corresponding period of 1934, The difference of 1,731 million units represents an Increase of 124 per cent.

BRITISH RAIL-

WAYS

Automatic Train Control

London-Extension of automa tle train control and improved methods of communication“ be- tween signal boxes form a large part in improvement schemes planned by the Great Western Railway here.

K

Other works contemplated, the G. W. R. announces, are the building of new lines in Cornwall' and Devon, the erection of new stations, speeding up of branch 'services in the weat of England

and the doubling of many lines.

As many of these works as pos- sible will be started within the next six months, although the ̈ finance arrangements must Erst be approved by Parliament,

SAFETY ARRANGEMENTS Automatic train control, which automatically stops a train if the driver passes a "stop" signal and rings a bell as he approaches an all-clear sign, is to be extended to cover the whole of the chief main line. Additional track' eir- cuits are to be provided, together with other safety arrangements.

Between signal boxes new tele- phone and telegraph facilities are planned.

In Cornwall a new seven-mile Mine is planned from St. Germans to Love, with three intermediate stations. The local service be-

FI

THE TAIKOD DOCKYARD & ENGINEERING

COMPANY OF HONGKONG, LIMITED.

BUILDERS OF ALL CLASSES OF SHIPS.

BUILDERS OF RECIPROCATING STEAM ENGINES. BUILDERS OF MARINE AND LAND BOILERS. BUILDERS OF TURBINE MACHINERY

Under License From Messrs Parsons, BUILDERS OF DIESEL ENGINES

Under Special License

From Messrs. Sulzer Bros.,. Winterthur. Licensed To Manufacture Lanz Perlit iron, Specially Suitable For Internal Combustion Engine Working Parts. DOCK & SLIPWAYS.

FOR-DOOKING VERY LARGE, AS WELL AS SMALLER VESSELS,

ON ANY TIDE

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"ALL CLASSES OF SHIP, ENGINE AND BOILER

REPAIRS AND EXTENSIVE

WELDING, BOTH ELECTRICAL AND.OXY- ACETYLENE SKILFULLY AND PROMPTLY CARRIED OUT.

BUTTERFIELD & SWIRE. Agents,

HONG KONG, CHINA & JAPAN,

TEL_ Address: “Taizondock," Hong Kong.” TELEPHONE: 30211..

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altered, to take traina traveling at 40 miles an hour where they at present can only, travel at 15 miles an hour.

Many other sections of line are to be reconstructed if the scheme is approved by Parliament, and, the G. W. R. declares, special consideration is to be given to de- pressed South Wales areas when orders are placed for steel rails and other materiais.

Consider this.

The rent cost of any installation never lies in its original price

but in its upkeep throughout its normal period of service,

During 1885 the following major contracts were awarded to DODWELL & CO, LTD.

INDUSTRIAL School, ABERDEEN,

ITALIAN CONVENT.

·

tween Looe and Plymouth will be operated by Diesel-engined rail cars, speeding the, service up by half an hour each way.

BRANCH SERVICE SPEEDED Services over. the Barnstaple, Minehead, Newquay and Porth- cawl branches are to be speeded up. Several sections of the track are to be doubled, station piat- forms are to be lengthened and many junction points are to be

OIL FIRED HOT WATER SYSTEM.

OIL FIRED RICE & VEGETABLE BOILERS... FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT.

OIL FIRED HOT WATER SYSTEM. . OIL FIRED COOKING RANGES.

FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT.

"KOWLOON HOSPITAL O. P. DEPT, OIL FIXED HOT WATER SYSTEM,

MAGISTRACY, KOWLOON.

SHUM CHUN HOTEL.

OIL FIRED" CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM.

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·OIL FIRED 'CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM,

BRITISH CIGARETTE CO'S FACTORY, SANITARY INSTALLATION.

KNIGE HYDRO-THERAPEUTIC INST. HYDRO-THERAPEUTIO INSTALLATION,

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SANITARY INSTALLATION, FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT

OIL FIRED COOKING RANGES & HEATING SYSTEM.

There are sound reasons for the widespread acceptance that has been accorded" Dodwell Installations" by Architects, Engineers and Building Owners. Among these reasons the following are noteworthy

1. On definite specifications our prices are competitive... 2. We do not sublet work or pay our staff piece-work rates. The danger of seamped work is therefore eliminated.

3. All jobs are supervised by European Craftsmen

4. In the absence of a specification, all systems are designed with a view to giving trouble free service and low upkeep cost.

We do not undersize a job, with the view of submitting the lowest tender.

FOR YOUR NEXT JOB ASK FOR OUR TENDER. BEAD OUR SPECIFICATION. THEN DECIDE.

DODWELL & Co., Ltd.

SANITARY HEATING & VENTILATING DEPT

W Salter MRSL MLAVE,