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Annual Meeting Paper - The heat-dissipating properties of three types of radiator core have been investigated at the Mason Laboratory, Yale University. These include the fin-and-tube, the ribbon and the air-tube groups, so classified according to the flow of the water and the air. The ratio of the cooling surface to the volume is shown to be nearly the same in the fin-and-tube and the air-tube cores, while that of the ribbon core is somewhat greater. A formula is derived for computing the heat-transfer coefficient, which is defined as the number of heat units per hour that will pass from one square foot of surface per degree of temperature-difference between the air and the water and is the key to radiator performance, as by it almost any desired information can be obtained. When the heat-transfer coefficients have been found for a sufficiently wide range of water and air-flows the cooling capacity of a radiator can be computed for any desired condition.

Stating that most of the copying of aircraft practice in post-war car-design has proved a failure because the fundamental difference in duty has not been realized, the author proposes to show wherein the automobile designer and the engine builder can profit by the use of practice developed for air-cooled aircraft engines and, after generalizing on the main considerations involved, discourses on the simplicity of layout of the efficient air-cooled cylinder as a preface to a somewhat detailed discussion regarding cylinder design and performance, inclusive of valve location, type of finning and form of cylinder-head.

This Annual Meeting paper is a report of a series of tests conducted during the summer of 1922 by the authors at the Engineering Experiment Station of Purdue University. The work consisted of research into the operation of internal-combustion engines under comparatively high compression on ordinary gasoline without detonation. The compression-ratio of the engine was 6.75 and the compression pressure was 122 lb. per sq. in., gage. The ingoing charge was passed through a hot-spot vaporizer and thence through a cooler between the carbureter and the valves. Jacket-water temperatures between 150 and 170 deg. fahr. were carried at the outlet port of the jacket. The theory held by the authors as to the causes of detonation of the combustible charge is presented briefly. The source of the two phases of detonation encountered in this work is believed to be overheated areas in the combustion-chamber.

In the case of the internal-combustion engine, where virtually every separate portion of explosive mixture behaves differently, the usual thermodynamic interpretations of the pressure-volume indicator-card, as applied to steam engineering, have little value. In internal combustion, the pressure-volume diagram is of value only as an expression for the product of the force exerted upon the piston-top times the distance through which the piston moves. The paper (Indiana Section) begins with the fundamental phenomena and develops from them a diagram such that each fuel-mixture particle can be properly exposed for analysis during the process of combustion. This is termed the pressure-volume-quantity card, and it is described in detail and illustrated. An extended consideration of its surfaces follows, inclusive of mathematical analysis.

The authors present in this paper an explanation of gaseous detonation based upon what are considered incontrovertible laws, and show by the functioning of these well understood natural laws that gaseous detonation is a phenomenon that does not require any hypothetical assumptions to account for its existence. The physical conditions that must exist within an enclosed container when it is filled with an explosive mixture of gases and these gases are ignited are stated and analyzed mathematically, and an application of this analysis is made to the internal-combustion engine. The apparatus and the procedure are described inclusive of photographs and charts, and it is shown how the formulas can be applied (a) for constant throttle, by varying the temperature of the entering charge and (b) for constant temperature, by varying the throttle opening and the compression-ratio. The results are illustrated and discussed in some detail.

The author enumerates the distinctive features of buses designed for city, for inter-city and for country service and comments upon them, presenting illustrations of these types of bus. Steam and electric motive power are discussed and the chassis components for bus service are considered in some detail. The general types of bus body are treated, together with the influences of climatic conditions and local preferences. Comfort and convenience factors are discussed at some length and the problems of heating, lighting and ventilation are given constructive attention. Fare-collection devices and methods are commented upon, and the State and local legal regulations are referred to in connection with their effect upon bus operation. Illustrations are included and a table showing condensed specifications for city buses is presented.

In the paper an attempt is made to answer the broader phases of the questions: What constitutes a bus? and In what respects does a bus differ from other classes of automotive equipment? by establishing the principles on which the design and operation of motorbuses should be based. The treatment of the subject is in the main impersonal, although specific references to the practice of the Fifth Avenue Coach Co. and illustrations of its equipment are made to emphasize the points brought out. The questions of the unwisdom of overloading, rates of fare and the service requirements are discussed briefly as a preface to the paper proper. The factors controlling bus design are stated to be (a) safety, (b) comfort and convenience of the public and (c) minimum operating cost. The various subdivisions of each are commented on in some detail, and numerous illustrations and tabular data supplement the text.

After pointing out that the publication of articles in the trade and technical journals, to the effect that very considerable weight-reductions in motor-truck construction with consequent savings in gasoline and tires are possible, works an injustice to the motor-truck industry and is misleading, the author outlines some of the reasons why such weight-reductions are very difficult to effect, as well as the possibilities of standardizing axle details. The use of aluminum to effect weight-reduction is commented upon and the various advantages claimed for metal wheels are mentioned. In the latter connection the author points out that, while these claims may be true, they are unsupported by reliable data. The greater part of the paper is devoted to an account of a series of tests conducted by a large coal company to determine the relative merits of wood and metal wheels on its trucks.

The many improvements effected in gasoline-engine construction during the war for airplane, heavy truck, tractor and tank usage have done much toward making the gasoline-driven rail motor-car a practical possibility today. The gasoline-electric cars built by the General Electric Co. are mentioned and light rail motor-car construction is discussed in general terms. Reliability and low maintenance cost are commented upon briefly, and the requirements of service for rail motor-cars are outlined.

The authors state the principles governing intensive quantity-production and describe the sources and methods of handling the basic materials that compose the Ford engine-cylinder. The fundamental plan of the River Rouge plant is outlined, illustrations being used to supplement the text that explains the reasons governing the location of the various units of the plant. Details are given of the use made of conveyors with the idea of keeping everything moving. The relation of the blast furnace and coke ovens to the engine cylinder are commented upon, the powerhouse and foundry are described, and the production of the cylinder is set forth step by step.

Aerodynamic analysis relates mainly to questions of performance and stability, the latter including both maneuverability and control, but the designer's problems concern chiefly the prediction of the best possible performance. Accurate analysis, which would include a summation of the elemental resistances of an aircraft part by part and the making of many corrections, supplemented by tests of models in a wind-tunnel, involves much labor and expense. When a preliminary choice of dimensions and specifications for a new type of an airplane is to be made or there is a question of the performance attainable with a given load and power, a shorter method becomes necessary. This is to be found in the derivation of simplified formulas and graphs.

The author gives a short history and general description of duralumin and quotes the Navy specification of its physical properties as drawn by the Naval Aircraft Factory. The manufacture of duralumin is described and commented upon, inclusive of an enumeration of the improvement in physical properties produced at each stage. The physical properties are stated for annealed, heat-treated and hard-rolled duralumin, and some of the possible automotive applications are suggested, inclusive of wormwheels, hearings, gears, connecting-rods, rims and wheel parts and chassis and body trimming. A report by the research department of the Fifth Avenue Coach Co. on the results of a test it made on duralumin wormwheels is included and the author details the advantages he claims as being attendant upon the use of duralumin.

The general method of procedure taken by the Air Service before beginning the actual design and construction of the necessary types of aircraft engine is outlined and the four steps of the development subsequent to a very complete study of existing domestic and foreign engines are stated. After checking over the layouts, if all the details are agreed upon by both the designer and the Engineering Division, the contract is placed, usually for two experimental engines, and the construction work is begun. Acceptance tests are made to demonstrate that the engine is capable of running at normal speed and firing on all cylinders. These are followed by the standard performance test made on the dynamometer at McCook Field. The results of the latter test determine whether the engine can enter the 50-hr. endurance test. The engine is then torn-down and inspected for wear. Suggested modifications are embodied in reconstructed engines which eventually fulfill the requirements.

The development of intake-manifolds in the past has been confined mainly to modifications of constructional details. Believing that the increased use of automotive equipment will lead to a demand for fuel that will result in the higher cost and lower quality of the fuel, and being convinced that the sole requirement of satisfactory operation with kerosene and mixtures of the heavier oils with alcohol and benzol is the proper preparation of the fuel in the manifold, the authors have investigated the various methods of heat application in the endeavor to produce the minimum temperature necessary for a dry mixture. Finding that this minimum temperature varied with the method of application of the heat, an analysis was made of the available methods on a functional rather than a structural basis.

The author gives a brief and purely qualitative treatment of what a vapor is, where it comes from and how it appears; the necessity of vaporizing a liquid fuel before attempting to burn it; the separate effects of the conditions that control vaporization; and the heat-balance of vaporization. This is done to summarize the conditions surrounding and controlling fuel vaporization in the cycle of operation of a throttle-controlled internal-combustion engine, fitted with an intake-manifold and a carbureter. Charts and photographs are included and commented upon, descriptions being given of actual demonstrations that were made at the time the paper was presented. The conclusion is reached that it is well to depend as little as possible upon the cylinder heat and temperature to complete the vaporization of the fuel.

The object of the paper is to consider some of the fundamental factors that affect oil consumption; it does not dwell upon the differences between lubricating systems. Beyond the fact that different oils apparently affect the oil consumption and that there is a definite relation between viscosity and oil consumption, the effect of the physical characteristics, or the quality of the oil, does not receive particular attention. The methods of testing are described and the subject is divided into (a) the controlling influence of the pistons, rings and cylinders; (b) the controlling influence of the source from which the oil is delivered to the cylinder wall.

Oil-pumping is defined and its results are mentioned. The influence of various operating conditions is brought out, particular reference being made to passenger-car service. The factors that control the rate of oil consumption are described in detail and some unusual conditions are reported. Various features of piston grooving and piston-ring design are mentioned and the effect of changes illustrated. The relative advantages of the splash and the force-feed systems as affecting the development of oil-pumping troubles are set forth and improvements suggested. A new device for reducing oil-pumping dilution troubles is described and illustrated.

The gradual trend toward overhead valves in automobile engines, as indicated by an increase in their use on American cars from 6 per cent in 1914 to 31 per cent in 1922, has been accelerated, in the opinion of the author, by their successful application to aircraft engines and by the publicity given them by their almost universal adoption on racing machines. Tractor engines recently brought out show the advantage of this construction.

The lightness and high thermal conductivity of aluminum pistons are conceded and the paper deals principally with their thermal properties, inclusive of the actual operating temperature of the pistons, the temperature distributions in the piston and the effects of the cooling-water temperature and the piston material on the piston temperature. The apparatus is illustrated and described, and charts are presented and commented upon in connection with a discussion of the results obtained. Theories affecting piston design are presented and discussed, reference being made to diagrams relating to design procedure: The work is supplementary to that done in 1921 by the authors, which they presented in a similar paper to which they refer.

The authors present and discuss the results obtained from combined road and laboratory tests made to determine the amount of power required to maintain a given car speed. The specifications of the car and its engine are stated and the variable-ratio rocker-arm of the engine is illustrated and its advantages explained, together with those of the valve-timing. The subject of manifold gas-velocity is treated in some detail, inclusive of a diagram showing the hot-spot or vaporizing device that was used. The test data are reduced to curve form, eight charts being shown. The curves include those for brake horsepower, indicated horsepower, comparative performance, performance at different throttle-openings and at different loads, fuel consumption and indicated thermal efficiencies.