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The authors enumerate some of the questions that are involved and, after outlining a previous paper on the subject of plows, analyze these questions in part by the aid of diagrams and applied mathematics. Comparative draft data are presented in tabular form and commented upon, as well as comparative hitch-length data. Tractor reactions are explained and discussed in some detail in a similar manner, special attention being given to the reactions on a slope and up-hill. The reactions on cross-furrow slopes are considered, comparisons being made between two tractors that were reported upon in the University of Nebraska tests. The factors involving tractor stability and resistance against overturn are analyzed. The authors state that the analysis presents a definite method of attack for the more correct solution of the proper hitching-point, as well as being a study relating to lug design.

The author states that motor transport today is threatened with arrested progress due to the lack of economic coordination between motor-vehicle operation, highway construction and legislative regulation. Highways constructed at considerable cost to the public have gone to pieces in many places, sometimes years before their bond issues have matured. Efforts to preserve these roads have been confined principally to heavy taxation and restriction of motor transport; they have not been made upon a sound economic basis, largely because principles of highway-transport economics are not only imperfectly understood, but have hardly been studied sufficiently to provide any definite basis of understanding.

Dr. Dickinson outlines the history of the Research Department since its organization, indicates why the universities are the principal bases of operation for pure research, describes how the department functions as a clearing-house with regard to research data and comments upon the bright prospects for the future. He enumerates also the facilities the Research Department has for the coordination of research problems. The practical achievements of the Department have resulted from its recent concentration upon the three major projects of study with regard to the tractive resistance of roads, with reference to fuel and to testing programs, and of an effort to render financial assistance to the Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Mines that would enable these Bureaus to continue their elaborate research programs, details of all of this work being included.

Stating that the means and methods of transporting freight over the highways are governed by six factors, the author enumerates them as being the number of ton-miles of goods to be shipped, the shipping points and destinations, the kinds of highway available, the types of vehicle most suitable, the cost of operation per ton-mile and the rates that should be charged for the service. The purpose of the paper is not to answer these questions but to determine whether present practice is headed in the right direction. The conditions the highway must meet, in addition to the gross load of the vehicles, are the maximum tire load, the pressure per square inch exerted by the tire upon the pavement and the value of any impact blow upon the pavement. The impact blows of pneumatic tires are practically negligible, while solid tires build up the impact to many times the weight of the wheel load; this is proved by impact tests of tires which are described in some detail and illustrated.

The author describes the research work on the internal-combustion engine done recently in his laboratory in England, and presents his deductions therefrom, based upon an analysis of the evidence he has obtained to date. Fuels are discussed at length under three specific headings, many tabular data being included and commented upon, and the calculation of thermal efficiency described. Mean volatility and detonation are discussed and the author's present views regarding turbulence are stated, this being followed by a brief summary of the conclusions reached by Mr. Tizard, a colleague of the author, following recent investigations. The influence of the nature of the fuel upon detonation is presented, a lengthy discussion of the subject of stratification being given under three specific divisions, inclusive of comment upon the benefits derived from using weak fuel-mixtures.

Believing that it is one of the functions of the purely scientific man to direct engineering attention to practical possibilities that will be of use in solving important problems, the author outlines the history of the photographic recording apparatus he describes later in detail and comments upon its general features that are of advantage in engineering practice, with illustrations, inclusive of the use that is made of the string galvanometer. The subject of indicators for high-speed engines is discussed in general terms introductory to a full and detailed description of how this automatic photographic recording apparatus can be used to overcome difficulties that pertain to ordinary indicator-diagrams taken on the internal-combustion engine by former methods. A further use of this apparatus is in anti-knock research and its recent usage for this purpose is described and illustrated.

The paper is an exposition of the theoretical analysis made by the author of the experimental work of Woodbury, Canby and Lewis, on the Nature of Flame Movement in a Closed Cylinder, the results of which were published in THE TRANSACTIONS for the first half of 1921. No experimental evidence is presented by the author that has not been derived previously by other investigators. The relation of pressure to flame travel is derived first, the relation of mass burned is considered and a displacement diagram constructed, described and analyzed. The break of the flame-front curve, called the “point of arrest,” enters prominently into the discussion and computations; the pressure in the flame-front is studied; the reaction-velocities are calculated; and general comments are made.

That all of the variable factors of automobile friction-losses such as the quantity and viscosity of lubricants, the efficiency of worm-gearing and part-load Modifications are not appreciated, is indicated by an examination of the literature on this subject which reveals a lack of necessary data. Experiments to determine the mechanical losses, including all friction losses between the working gases in the engine and the driving-wheels of the vehicle, are described and supplementary data are included from Professor Lockwood's experiments at Yale. Three distinct possibilities for increasing the fuel economy of a motor vehicle are specified and enlarged upon, gearset experiments to secure and develop data for a four-speed gearset being then described and commented upon at length; photographs and charts illustrative of the equipment used and the resultant data are included.

The development of air-cooled engines for aircraft never made much progress until the war, when the British attempted to improve the performance of existing engines by a series of experiments leading eventually to the development of aluminum cylinders with steel liners and aluminum cylinder-heads with a steel cylinder screwed into the head. The advantages of these constructions and the disadvantages of other types are discussed. Results are reported of tests at McCook Field on a modern cylinder-design of this type showing good results, that lead to the belief that large air-cooled engines will be produced in the near future, equal in performance to water-cooled engines of the same power.

The author outlines the history of the Air-Mail Service and states that the recent policy has been to carry out the intent of the Congress, to align the service with the desire of the administration for economy and to discontinue too rapid expansion. After a description of the routes and divisions and a listing of the present landing-fields and radio stations, the present equipment is outlined and commented upon, tabular and statistical data being presented. The discussion covers the organization and performance of the service, the casualties, the cost of operation and the policy governing future plans.

The author outlines recent progress by the Engineering Division in the diversified problem of the development of all heavier-than-air equipment, including the 15 types of airplane at present believed necessary to fill Army-Air-Service requirements. The subject is discussed under the headings of the airplane proper, the powerplant, the armament and the equipment, inclusive of illustrations. The development of existing engines, especially the Liberty 12-cylinder type and the Wright 180 and 300-hp. units, is outlined and engine tests conducted with a view to improving engine performance are commented upon. The problems of armament development are stated and the work of equipment development is reported as having been confined largely to crash and leakproof tanks, parachutes, hangars, take-off mats and cameras. Work has been done also on navigation instruments and the use of radio fox navigation.

The time has come when greater attention must be given to the smaller parts and the various appliances found on automotive machinery. Previously, investigations have been made by the research laboratories of a few companies manufacturing engines, carbureters and some other parts, but chiefly engines; by the laboratories of research corporations, including the Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Mines; and by the engineering laboratories of colleges and technical schools. The number and value of the researches that can be conducted and reported on from time to time by these agencies depend entirely upon the appropriations that they can obtain by act of legislation and upon the personnel of the staff that can be attracted by the opportunity to do this class of work.

This paper is illuminative and affords an opportunity for better comprehension of the remarkable progress and accomplishment made in Europe along the lines of commercial aviation. Reviewing the present European routes now in regular or partial operation, the author stresses the essentialness of the attitude of the press in general being favorable if commercial aviation is to become wholly successful. The airship appears most practical for long-distance service, to the author, and he mentions the possibility of towns and cities growing up around “air ports.” The cost of airship travel is specified, although it is difficult to figure costs and necessary charges because so few data on the depreciation of equipment are available. Regarding successful operation, much depends upon the efficiency of the ground personnel and organization.

Two distinct problems are involved in fuel research work, multi-cylinder distribution and the chemical constitution of the fuel mixture after it enters an engine cylinder. In discussing elementary combustion, the author refers to the components of the energy of combustion as gravitational, kinetic and barometric, and elaborates his theme with the aid of diagrams and charts showing normal and abnormal combustion. After emphasizing the necessity of theorizing at some length, anti-knock substances are discussed, inclusive of substances apparently dissimilar that have the same chemical constituents. The ignition point and fuel utilization are treated, followed by comments upon fuel studies that have been made, with accompanying indicator-cards. The future objectives of fuel research are outlined as being along lines of physical and of thermo-chemistry, the simple laws of elementary physics, and cooperation with the producers and refiners of the fuel.

The field of body engineering is broader than it is ordinarily considered to be; the author's intention is to bring to the attention of the automotive industry the breadth and scope of body engineering and outline the way this side of the industry can be considered and developed. After describing the body engineer's position, the author then discusses at some length the conflict between art and economy in this connection. He classifies a body-engineering department under the six main divisions of body construction, open and closed; sheet metal, body metal, fenders, hood, radiators and the like; trimming; top building; general hardware; painting and enameling, and comments upon each. Following this he elaborates the reasons for need of attention to details in body designing and mentions the opportunity there is at present for bringing the materials used in body construction to definite standards.

The aim of this paper is to stimulate thought on how to accomplish the greatest possible economy in transportation over highways. The fundamental thought is that the expense of highway transportation involves a large number of items that can be grouped into those directly concerned with motor-truck operation and those involving the highway, and that highways and motor vehicles should be adapted mutually so that the greatest economy of transportation will result. Urging that the automotive and the road engineer cooperate in gathering information that will give them a more definite basis upon which to design the truck and the road, the present rapid destruction of roads is discussed and remedial measures suggested. The designing of motor trucks to conserve the roads is treated at some length and a plea for cooperation between the Society and the highway officials is made.

Emphasis is placed upon the propriety of applying the term “research” only to such lines of investigation as are capable of yielding general results that can be utilized by other than the original observers. The distinction between research thus defined and much else that can be classed correctly as research according to its dictionary definition is explained. In stating the purpose and aim of the Research Department of the Society, the divisions of the thought include research personnel requirements, the support of research, the importance of research, problems suitable for research in the industrial, educational and independent laboratories, the general research program and the avoidance of duplication of research work.

Statistics taken from a report made by the Department of Agriculture regarding the number and size of farms in the United States indicate that approximately 2,580,000 farms are available as a market for the isolated gas-electric lighting plant. The common types of lighting plant are classified in three groups, each of which is subdivided into three classes, and these are illustrated, described and discussed. The characteristics of the ideal farm lighting-plant are enumerated and discussed as a preface to a somewhat lengthy consideration of the factors that influence the design of the component parts, which are grouped as pertaining to the engine, the generator, the switchboard and the battery. Storage batteries are still considered the weakest part of the isolated plant and they are specially commented upon. The author emphasizes that much still remains to be accomplished as regards the stability of design, reliability and economy of the isolated plant.

Aviation has no perfect analogy, for it has no precedent. Two classifications are made. Scheduled service includes the carrying of mail, express or passengers on a definite and regularly maintained schedule, independent of, or supplementary to, other forms of transportation. Special service includes pleasure flights, oil-field survey, selecting industrial land-sites, planning cities, aerial photography, forest-fire patrol, visiting remote points, exploration, aerial advertising, delivery of perishable products, real-estate survey and industrial purposes. Each of these classifications requires different equipment, organization and operating personnel. The equipment requirements and the reliability of aerial transportation are discussed, the necessity for suitable terminals and federal flying regulations are emphasized, the subject of insurance is commented upon and the development of aerial commercial transportation is outlined.

The five fundamental criteria of the performance of a motor vehicle as a whole are stated. Riding comfort is investigated at length with a view to determining methods of measurement of the two classes of vehicle vibrations that affect the riding qualities of a car, so that suitable springs can be designed to overcome them. The underlying principles of the seismograph are utilized in designing a specialized form of this instrument for measuring vehicle vibrations, the general design considerations are stated and a detailed description is given. This is followed by an explanation of the methods used in analyzing the curves obtained, thus making possible a standardized measurement of riding comfort. The factors determining riding comfort are then analyzed in connection with spring-development work, the most important are summarized and the preliminary experimental results of those directly determined by the seismograph are outlined.