1936-02-29 — Page 2

Page

גי

WORLD'S SHIPBUILDING AND

MARINE ENGINEERING

shipbuilding

of The

returns Lloyd's Register for the quarter ending December 31, 1935, con- tain the heartening news that the total tonnage of the rerchant vessels, of 100 tons gross and up- wards, under construction in our

743,086, shipyards, namely,

Jy greater by 212,532 tons than that for the previous quarter and is. moreover, 146,252 tons in excess of the shipping under construction on December 31, 1934. Further- more, 311,100 tons of shipping were commenced during the last three months or 1935, and 132,139 tons were launched, showing, as compared Wiell the September quarter. Increases of 192.121 tons in the tonnage commenced and of 19,299 in that launched. The total of 743,088 tons just quoted is made up of 103 vessels; 89 of those are 3.eamers, 67 are mo-.. torships and are sailing ships and barges. The position in for- eign shipouliding yards has niso Improved generally, the total ton- nage at the end of the December, 1935. quarter, excluding Russia for which no figures are available," being 800,007, representing an t- crease of 133,000 tons over the

gure for September 30, 1935.

GERMANY FIRST Germany still occupies the lead- ing position, but with the slightly reduced total of 254,121 tons, Js-

MARINE HEAVY- OIL ENGINE

Some interesting parallels can be drawn between the early deve- lopment of the marine steam aq- gine, particularly in the second quarter of the Nineteenth Cen-

nry, and the various stages in the evolution

the marine heavy-oll engine during the past twenty-five years.

From these tentative designs there were evolved. by a process

elimination extending of

over practically equal perluds of time. a small number of characteristle types which became almost stan dardised in their main features In one respect, however, history did not repeat itself, or at least, did so in a different direction: for, whereas British steam-engine practice was followed with very. little fundamental change in most of the other countries progressive enough to develop a native engin- eering industry, the British, oll en- gine industry relied for a number of years on licences to construct Continental designs, and only gradually derived distinctive type of its own)

NEW METHOD

Under the direction of the late Mr. Andrew Laing, Messrs. The Wallsend Slipway and Engineer ing Company, Limited, was one of the first" Drms of marine en- gine builders, to investigate the possibilities of the new method of propulsion, and in 1912, the year in which the Selandia Armly established deep sea motor trans- port, the Arm began the design of Its Arst Diesel engine, under ад M.A.N. licence. Fron this point, appropriately, Engineer. Commander C. J. Hawkes, R.N. (retired), Professor of Englufer- ing at Armstrong College, began the survey of "The Development of the Heavy-Oil Engine for Ship Propulsion," which he deliver- ed on November 1 as the fourth Andrew Laing Memorial Lecture of the North-East Coast Institu tion of Engineers and Shipbull- ders.

It is recorded of Mare Isambara Brunei, as of Wren and several other pioneers in the constructive arts, that he possessed an ability to recognise unsound. proportions in design that almost amounted to a sixth sense. In Laing the same invaluable faculty was well developed, and probably had some bearing upon his somewhat ub vious remark, in December. 1912, that "we have yet a lot to learn about the Diesel engine," which Professor Hawkes quoted by way of opening. It was almost in- evitable that, having decided to undertake the manufacture of marine heavy-oll engines, he should prefer the simpler type, the two-stroke; and that, tho- roughness in everything being one of his dominant characteris tics, more than two years should have elapsed before the first set of Wallsend-M.A.N. engines went to sea in the motorship Abelta, The war interfered with further

to second pracA par moves up. with the greatly increased total of 118,810 tona, her aggregate for the previous quarter having been only 61,305 tons, and Holland retuins third place with an increased to- tal of 104,325 tons, Sweden, Den- likewise and France are mark responsible for larger totals than was the case on September 30, none attained 100,000 1.hough ions. During the three months under review 276,112 tons of slip- ping were commenced abroad and 226,397 tons were launched, show- Ing increases, as compared with of 90,260 e previous quarter, tons in the shipping commerceo, and of 75,770 tons in the tonnage launched. The total horse-power under. or marine engines either construction or installed on board vessels on December 31, was 1,- 427,654 for the whole world (ex- cepting Russia, for which no re- was made up 224,560 1h.p.. Lurns have been received). totul for aeciprocating steam en- gines, 362,833 a.h.p. representing steam turbines, and 840,261 1.h.p.. the aggerate for all engines. Great Britain and Ireland oc- cupied first place with 606,260 second with h.p.. Germany was 213.730 hp, and Japan thurd with 150,882 h.p. The only two other countries to approach 100,000 h.p. were Sweden, which was respon- h.p., and Italy, sible for 91,750 with a production of 85,900 h.p.-

ed

the This

THE UNITED STATES

STEEL INDUSTRY

45

"Steel Facts," which is publ'ah- by the American Iron and Speel Institute. states that in October the number of employed persons in the United States steel industry rose to 436 554, comparcu with a revised total of 429,217 in September and 381,431 in October, 1934. Total pay-rol's of $1,456,000 dols. In October compared with 45.893.000 do's in September and $2,723.909 dols, a earler. The number of hours worked by stee:- miil wage-earners

October in

in October averaged 36.8 per week. This compard with 34 Hours in 25.4 the preceding, month and hours a year earlier. Since the low point of the depression, when the number of persons employed by the Industry dropped to up- proximately 210,000 the steel cum- panies have re-sorbed

228,000

people.

experimental work on mercantile oil engine, and it was not until 1923 that the firm resumed their construction, but of, the Sulzer type, which they have since con- tinued to build.

3

THE EARLY STAGES ..

At this point, the connection of Andrew Laing with the early stages of the marine ö engine having been indicated, Comman- der Hawkes turned to the wider Beld of motorship propulsion in general, and gave, as the major portion of his address, a survey of the course of development be- fore, during, and since the war Inevitably some of the informa tion represents fairly common knowledge, for the large marine internal-combustion engine has not wanted for chroniclers; but particular value attaches to the observations of an independ- fat witness who has yet been alosely engaged in ognate re- search throughout the period covered, and many of whose criti- cal conclusions have been con- Armed by the trend of subsequent events. Few prophecies have been so abundantly justified as PT- fessor Hawkes' prediction, in 1913. that "firms constructing Diesel engines, who are apt prepared to pend money on new machines, will find that their progress will be slow and the cost of manu facture very his They may out an engine that will eventually in, but they will not be able to compete with Arm more favourably, placed or his in the same opinion, expressed report, that "simplicity seems to Ife in the direction of the per- fection of the two-cycle engine with port scavenging and solid" fuel injection," for ordinary sea requirements, Although the four- stroke trunk piston design is even simpler, it is most suitable for

A powers per cylinder.

tar

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1936.

ENGINEERING AND BUILDING

PLANT FOR

PETROL MANUFACTURE

The

Works

of

Billingham Messrs. Imperial Chemical Indus- tries, Limited, are the second las- gest chemical works in the world, covering as they do some 800 acres. Situated on the Tees not far from Middlesbrough, the Bill- ingham works are exceptionally well provided with transport is- cilities and have ample supplies of raw materials within easy reach, coal being obtained from the Durham coalfield, about 9 miles away. The principal' pro- ducts of the works may be divided into three main headings accord- ing to the raw materials on which they are based, viz, hydrogen, anhydrite and salt. In the hydro- gen group, are included ammonia and all its derivatives, methanol, Drikold, which is solla carbon The hydro- dioxide, and petrol. "get, which is made from steam and coke, is compressed to 250 atmospheres (3,700 lb. per square Inch) for the manufacture of ammonia, methanol and petrol, a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen being used for the production of ammonia, and a mixture of hyd- carbon-monoxide for rogen and methanol, while in the production of Detrol, hydrogen is used alone. From the ammonia, ammonium sulphate. Ammonium phosphate.

tric actd, nitrate of soda, am- monlum nitrate and many other nitrogen compounds are produced, The principal nse for methanol is In the manufacture of formalde- hyde, which is one of the most important artificial resins. The enrcon dioxide used for the pro- duction of Drikold is a by-product from the purification of hydrogen.

il

of

AMMONIUM SULPHATE Anhydrite is used instend sulphuric acid for the manufac- ture of ammonium sulphate at Billingham, but it is also used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, Portland cement being a by-pro- duct of the process. This method of producing sulphuric acid, it may be mentioned, is important since it is the development of an indi genous. source of sulphur. "Plon- eer wall plaster and partition blocks are also made from anhy- drite. The products based on salt are caustic soda, chlorine, and its derivatives, metallic sodium and sodium cyanide. The priniary process is the electrolysis of brine. most of the chlorine producert he- ing condensed into the liquid form and sold in tanks and cylinders. A part, however, is burnt with hydrogen to produce pure, hydro- chloric acid and some is absurted in lime for the production of bleaching powder or chloride nf lime. Some of the caustic-soda solution is sold and the rest is evaporated to give solid caustic soda, some being sold in this fàrm and the remainder being used for the manufacture of sodium. the greater part of which, by reaction with charcoal and am- monia, is converted into Bodium cyanide for use in the goldmining industry.

J

BRIEF OUTLINE The above is a brief outline of the activities of Billingham to which the production of petrol by the hydrogenation of coal bas recently meen adden, The-pidu, at Billingham, which we under- sand is the first in the world to make petrol on a commercial scule by the hydrogenation of bitmun- ous coal, was opened on the 15th instant by The Rt. Hon. J. Ram- say MacDonald, P.C., MP. Its national" importance is obvious when it is remembered that hyd- rogenation makes it technically possible to render this country in- dependent of imported oil sup- plies, with the exception, at pre- sent, of lubricating oil.. It is true that the capacity of the plant is only sufficient to supply about-4- per cent. of the country's petrol consumption, but this, it may be pointed out, is nearly as large as that of all other, home sources of motor spirit from coal added to- gether. The only other commer- clal scale hydrogenation.plan operating are the Leuma works of

London University Buildings

Being Constructed For Long Life

LONDON-London Univerzity s new £3,000,000 headquarters, ar- slowly emerging from a maze of scaffolding, cranes and hoardinga By comparison, other great struc tures of brick and cement seem to spring up

巋 night. But

there is purpose behind the slow progress on the Bloomsbury Square site where work began in July, 1934. The great edifice is being built to endure 1.ke the beautiful 500-year-old college

are

now

of Oxford and Cambridge, which the stil reflect the glory of architecture at their period.

The walls of the new buliding which are of brick, are being made for thicker than the re inforced concrete walla which

offic used in many blocks

Mr. Farrar Brown. Assistant C'erk to the Court of the Univer sity, told a Montor correspon dent that the first portion at the huilding is expected to be ready Thia 1937. for occupaton by constitutes

one about portion third of the total bulding and is to be devoted mainly to the administrative work of the Uni versity which is at present carried out at the Imperial Institute

Buildings in South Kensington

Work will continue on the rest"

as steadily of the bulding funds permit. The first will and

на

b'ock probably ccst £1.000.000 the cast of the complete. building

abour is estimate at

pur £3,000,000. The s'te was chased for £525.000 with the at sistance of a gift of £400,000 from the Rockefaler. Foundation of America.

LARGEST UNIVERSITY University of London, the largest university in the British Empire is comprised of 40 col-

OIL-FILLED CABLES IN LIVERPOOL FACTORY

:

were

Messrs. British Insulated Ca- Lanca, bles, Limited, Prescut, bave recently completed an un- usuni installation of 33-kV ol- filled cables in the Liverpool fac- tory of Messrs. J. Bibby and Sons, Limited. A new substation of 10,- 000-kVA capacity was. constructed on the root of the factory near the centre of the load, and the supply to this was brought from an existing substation by cables laid underground to a point below the new substation and then run up inside the building and cleated vertically. The vertical rise is 140 ft., and ofl-filled cables employed as being most suitable for the high voltage under, these conditions. Two circuits of three 0.1-sq. in. single-core, 33-kV, oli- filled cables arranged in triangu- lar formation, together with a 20- core control cable, were run from the switchgear in the older sub- station to that in the new sub- atation, and from the latter the current is aken in four circuits of 0.06-8q, in single-core, solid, 33- KV cables to four 2,000-KVA trans- formers which step it down to 400 volts. From the transfomers four circuits, each composed of nine 1. 25-5q. in.lngle-core, paper-in- 600-volt sulated, lead-covered, cables, are led to the low-tension switchgear. All the cables instal- led inside the building were in- ished with non-drip servings of compounded hessian tapes.

of the hydrogenation process, it may be mentioned that petrol contains 85 per cent. of carbon and 15 per cent. of hydrogen, whereas in coal 85 parts of car- bon are associated with only 5 parts of hydrogen. By treating the coal with bydrogen under pressure and at a suitable, tem- perature, it is transformed at- most quantitatively into petrol and gaseous hydrocarbons, the yield of petrol being hetween 80 the Industries Gesellschaft in per cent, and 70 per cent. by Germany, where some 300,000 tons. weight. of petrol are made annually from brown coal or ignite, and the plants of the Standard On Com- pany in America, in which pet- roleum oil iď used as a raw ma terial. Other plants are, however, under construction in Germany for the hydrogenation of both bituminous coal and Ignite

With regard to the chemistry

Low-temperature

tar.

and creosote oil, which are also treated at Billingham, contain b tween 85 per cent. and 90 per cent. of carbon and between 7 per cent, and 8 per cent. of hydrogen,, the yield of petrol being between 80 per cent, and 90 per cent. The hydrogen, required for the process is made and compressed in the plant used for ammonia synthesis.

leges scattered all over London. and as far away

as the South Eastern Agricultural College at Wye, in the center of Kent, and the Richmond Methodist College ir northwest Surrey. All these colleges are controlled direct y or indirectly from the Imperial In- stitute which for many years has the had insuficient space for

ask.

The buildings which are being erected in Bloomsbury are to be used mainly for various institu- tions and activities for which inadequate or no accommodation exists at present. These include the University Library, the Cour- tauld Institute of Art, Institute of Historical' 'Rosearch and the Institute of Education -

The first block is to contain the offices of the administrative statt, offices Senate Rooms, Court Rooms. a refectory and a great lecture hall. At the top of the building the University Library. 13 to be housed. Although the Ubrary will have the best situa- tion in the building some regret authorities is expressed by the that the whole, bulding could not have been built higher than the 80 feet restricton imposed by law in London, since it is held destr- able to remove the library and

THE TAIKOO 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 DOCKING VERY LARGE, AS WELL AS SMALLER VESSELS.

ON ANY TIDE

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: "Taikooboce," HONG KONG," Taleraone: 30211.

CALL FLAG: "NUMERAL ONE” ÜYER" PENN LEY ANG.",

lecture halls as far away from the dust and noise of the streets below as possible. Special per- mission was obtained by the University to build u tower to the height of 210 feet.

Although it will not be possible to transfer to the new building any of the colleges of the Uni- versity, Mr. Bruwn explained. Birkbeck College and the School

Consider

this.

The real cost of any installation never lies in its original price but in its upkeep throughout its normal period of service. Daring 1985 the following major contracts were awarded to DODWELĽ & CO., LTD.

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, ABERDEEN.

ITALIAN CONVENT,

ů

in

been

of Oriental Studies have

the included provisionally in

Birkbeck Col- building scheme lege is one of the few colleges of university rank in Britain which the devoted exclusively to Institute, Mr. Brown sald, arej to, The buildings, at the Imperial ettacation of evening studente. be retained used for examins- tlon purposes.

OIL FIRED HOT WATER SYSTEM. OIL FIRED RICE & VEGETAR LE BOILERS, FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT,

OIL FIRED HOT WATER SYSTEM, OIL FIRED COOKING RANGES. FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT.

KOWLOON HOSPITAL, O. P. DEPT. OIL FIRED HOT WATER SYSTEM.

#

MAGISTRACY, KOWLOON.

SHUM CHUN HOTEL.

OIL FIRED CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM.

OIL FIRED CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM.

UIL FIRED HOT WATER SYSTEM. OIL FIRED CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM.

BRITISH CIGARETTE CO'S FACTORY. SANITARY INSTALLATION,

KNIGE HYDRO-THERAPEUTIC INST, HYDRO-THERAPEUTIC INSTALLATION.

MARINA HOUSE,

HONGKONG CLUB.

STEAM HOT WATER SYSTEM. STEAM BOXES, ETC. :: 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 fallowing 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 east.

5. We do not undersize a job, with the view of

submitting the lowest tender.

FOR YOUR NEXT JOB. ASK FOR OUR TENDER, READ OUR SPECIFICATION,

THEN DECIDE.

DODWELL & Co., Ltd.

SANITARY, HEATING & VENTILATING DEPT.

A. W. Salter, M.R.S.L, M.1.H.V.E. Supervising Engineer: H. H. Mundy, M.R.S.I.

Manager: