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EVERY plow in use should have 10 b.-hp. available. Every tractor engine should deliver continuously at least 33 hp. If the 330-cu. in. engine mentioned were as good as a Liberty airplane engine, it could deliver 57 hp. at 1000 r.p.m. The horsepower actually obtained is as follows: 41.5 in the laboratory 33.0 at the factory 29.0 when burning gasoline 23.0 when burning kerosene 21.0 with poor piston-rings 19.0 with poor spark-plugs 9.5 available at the drawbar The great engineering problem of the future lies between the 57 and the 23 hp. From 19 to 9.5 hp. is the manufacturer's problem. The main difficulties, as outlined by the figures given, lie in the combustion chamber and its ability to dissipate the surplus heat, and in the limitations of fuel. There will be no need for refiners to continue to break up the heavier fuels by processes already so successful, if by ingenuity and good understanding of thermodynamics these can be made to burn in present-day engines.

THE author's observations cover the period immediately following the war when, as a member of a party of representative guests of the British and French governments, he toured England, meeting Government officials and talking on industrial matters; visited Scotland's shipbuilding and coal areas; viewed the battle area, aircraft, automobile and tractor factories in France; and traveled in Italy, later returning to England to inspect factories, conduct investigations and review Government activities. The enormous expansion of the automotive industry factories of the Allied nations is emphasized and their organization and methods briefly described, with running comment on comparative practice in the United States. Factory production methods in England are mentioned, as well as working conditions and welfare work there. Considerable information relating to post-war automobile designs and to motor-truck and tractor practice is given.

Naval aircraft are distinctively American types. Only one foreign seaplane was copied by the United States during the war, and when finally put into production it resembled the British prototype in externals only. While the Navy does a large part of its own designing and building through a corps of naval constructors, its theory of manufacture is to assemble parts procured from separate makers, and private design and construction are encouraged by contracting with builders. Available talent both in and out of the service and the facilities of parts makers, the new materials developed during the war and organized engineering which drove the entire process toward speedy results were appropriated by the Navy. The NC flying boat is typical of U. S. Navy practice. In the same way the dirigible C-5 is a purely American type. The development of really large flying craft before 1917 was held back because no suitable engine had been designed. When the 350-hp.

The author considers the adaptation of farming implements to the farm tractor the most important engineering problem confronting tractor manufacturers. The problems are intricate in their ramifications, all-inclusive in their scope and fundamental. They can never be solved by theoretical discussion and laboratory tests alone. Extensive field experiments are needed with the machines operated by the farmers themselves. It is the implement which does the work. The mold-board plow and the disk harrow are standard for soil preparation; the oscillating sickle, the reel and the knotter-head for harvesting; the revolving toothed cylinder and the oscillating rack for threshing. Power must be transmitted to these fundamental devices. The automotive tractor fills a place in the farm power field not successfully covered heretofore by any single prime mover.

In the past the majority of trucks have been equipped with wood wheels. These gave good service, but the results demanded under strenuous modern conditions seem, the author states, to make the substitution of steel wheels on medium and heavy-duty trucks imperative. Truck engineers and builders seem to recognize the fact, but to hesitate to make the change, chiefly because a metal wheel is somewhat higher in first cost and because some designs have not as yet rendered the service expected of them. The service return of metal wheels is given from the records and reports of the London General Omnibus Co. and the Fifth Avenue Coach Co., both of which use steel wheels exclusively. The added mileage is in excess of wood-wheel service and exceptional tire mileage is shown. The author states briefly the arguments for the hollow-spoke, hollow-rim, the hollow full-flaring spoke and the integral-hub metal wheels.

In a rapid and illuminating sketch of the early work done in electricity and magnetism the subtle and close connection between pure research and so-called industrial research is shown. Building on the work of Faraday, Maxwell and Hertz, Marconi, in our day, had the confidence to do the practical thing. From the Hertz oscillating system he passed to grounded antennas at both sending and receiving stations. From the well-understood tuning of electrical circuits and the coherer of Professor Branly he secured increased efficiency and selectivity. Mr. Edison, following the early work of J. J. Thomson at Cambridge University, England, devised the first practical application of the electron apparatus, the Edison relay. The vacuum tube became in the radio field an amplifier, an oscillator and a modulator, the audion. In addition to these interesting developments are the Poulsen arc, the Alexanderson alternator and other alternators of German design.

Iron rust is caused by electrolytic action between the various constituents of iron or steel in the presence of moisture and impurities. It is a continuous process; a coating of rust does not protect the metal underneath. The principal requirements of a rust-prevention process as applied to automobiles, aircraft and other machined and hardened parts are that it (1) Prevent rusting under normal use (2) Prevent the spreading of rust (3) Make no change in dimensions or fits (4) Make no alterations in physical properties (5) Be permanent for the life of the part (6) Be easy and quick of application (7) Be commercially practicable as to cost Of the most familiar rust-proofing processes, the cold, the hot and the high-temperature, the last is eliminated by requirements (3) and (4), while the cold processes and also japanning are eliminated by (2), (3) and (5). There remain three hot processes, the Parker, the Coslett and the Guerini.

Efficiency, appearance and comfort will be the catchwords of the car of the future. Extreme simplicity of chassis will be needed to reduce weight and permit the use of substantial sheet-metal fenders, mud-guards and bodies. The center of gravity should be as low as possible consistent with good appearance. For comfort the width and angle of seats will be studied more carefully and the doors will be wider. A new type of spring suspension is coming to the fore, known as the three-point cantilever. Cars adopting it will have a certain wheelbase and a longer spring base. A car equipped with this new mechanism has been driven at 60 m.p.h. in safety and comfort without the use of shock absorbers or snubbers. It is the opinion of the author that this new spring suspension will revolutionize passenger-car construction.

The factors included in the commercial airplane problem are the practical use that can be made of airplanes, the volume of business that can be expected, the necessary changes from present military types to make an efficient commercial airplane and what the future holds for this new means of transportation. The requirements for passenger transportation, airmail and general express service, are first discussed in detail, consideration then being given to other possibilities such as aerial photography and map-making, the aerial transportation of mineral ores, sport and miscellaneous usage. Changes in the present equipment of engines and airplanes to make them suitable for commercial use are outlined, and special features of aerial navigation, landing fields and legal questions are mentioned.

Airships were not generally considered important before the war. Many thought they would never become practical as a means of transportation. The proper conception of what an airship is having first been explained, the three principal ways in which progress has been made are specified as weight-saving, improvement of overall propulsion efficiency and decreasing resistance and increase in size. The last mentioned feature is discussed in some detail, the conclusion being that practically anything is possible, given an airship of sufficient size. The future needs of airship development are then considered, such as more suitable engines, multiple powerplants, dependability, the development of better fabric and better landing and hangar facilities.

The necessity for a powerful heavy-duty truck with power transmitted through all four wheels was apparent shortly after the United States became involved in the war. An intensive study of the four-wheel-drive situation finally resulted in the design of the Ordnance four-wheel-drive truck and the modified form known as the artillery wheeled tractor. Seven factors influencing the preparation of the specifications are stated and discussed. The determination of proper gear ratios is analyzed. The considerations leading to the adoption of the universal-joint type of driving-shaft are mentioned and its application commented upon. Ten specific points of internal interchangeability of the mechanism are enumerated.

THE author presents a brief description of the design of some of the principal vehicles used in motorizing the artillery, as developed by the Ordnance Department. A few of the vehicles are described, including gun mounts that were being developed at the time of the signing of the armistice. The relative merits of the different types of equipment are discussed.

THE track-laying type of vehicle is, of course, old. The emergency which brought the modern “tank” into existence was the menace of the machine-gun. The tank is simply a device that can approach closely and destroy the gun or its crew. It is fundamentally a man killer, and its strongest points are speed and mobility. It is now an indispensable arm of the military service. The writer gives a rapid résumé of the fantastic period in design, the early work done on heavy armored cars and the reasons for concentrating on the track-laying type of vehicle. The American type of track was adopted as a foundation and from this and around it France, England and the United States have developed the tanks known through successful use in the war. The British are to be credited with producing the first practical fighting machine of this type. France has two types of machine, one mechanically driven and the other with electric drive, both small.

THE application of the marine internal-combustion engine to the British ML class of 80-footers and to the American 110-ft. class of submarine chasers, undoubtedly constituted the most important development along this line of automotive work. With a hull form similar to that of an enlarged runabout, driven by a pair of six-cylinder Standard marine engines rated at 220 b.-hp. at 460 r.p.m., the boats of the ML class averaged about 20 knots. A total of 720 boats of this type were built and the class as a whole proved very satisfactory. In the development of the 110-ft. SC class, the requirement of seaworthiness was made of greater importance than speed. Each boat carried three six-cylinder Standard engines identical with those used in the British boats, driving them at about 17 knots. Although rather uncomfortable, as in the case of any small vessel, the 110-ft. boats proved wonderfully successful in heavy weather; about 450 of this class were built. The 220-b.

THE United States was practically unprepared in the field of military motor-transport at the beginning of the war. Due largely to the cooperation of the Society of Automotive Engineers and its members individually, this handicap was overcome and a position stronger in this respect than that of any of the other belligerents was attained. The early efforts and the cooperation between the Society and the various Government departments are described, especially with reference to the Quartermaster Corps which at that time had charge of all motor transportation. Regarding the Class B truck, it is shown that the Society acted as a point of contact between the various members of the industry and the War Department and, although not fostering any program or plan of its own, it was largely responsible for the success of the standardization program conceived and carried out by the Army.

ENGINEERS have different ideas regarding highly efficient and moderately efficient engines, but designers dare not ignore the fact that the public requires today a small very high-speed engine, with good torque at low speeds, and capable of revolving efficiently at very high speeds. These two characteristics are difficult to attain, since in practice one is really opposed to the other. To obtain high speeds with power, the valve areas, valve parts, carbureter, etc., should not be restricted in any way, while to get a good mixture at low speed with heavy torque means a different valve-setting and more or less restricted port and valve areas, etc., to secure high gas velocities. The author states that the fundamentals of high-speed engines are high volumetric efficiency; high compression, to aid in obtaining rapid combustion at high speeds, and light reciprocating and rotating parts, to secure high mechanical efficiency.

THE impression that recent aircraft experience should have taught engineers how to revolutionize automobile construction and performance, is not warranted by the facts involved. Aircraft and automobiles both embody powerplants, transmission mechanisms, running gear, bodies and controls, but their functions are entirely different. The controls of an airplane, except in work on the ground, act upon a gas, whereas with an automobile the resistant medium is a relatively solid surface. Similarly, the prime function of the fuselage is strength, weight considerations resulting in paying scant attention to comfort and convenience, which are the first requirements of an automobile body. Aircraft running-gear is designed for landing on special fields, and is not in use the major portion of the time. The running-gear is the backbone of an automobile, in use continuously for support, propulsion and steering; hence its utterly different design.