University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station records,

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1 University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station records, Overview of the Collection Creator University of Washington. Engineering Experiment Station Title University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station records Dates (inclusive) (bulk) Quantity 8.2 cubic feet (7 cartons and 1 oversize box) Collection Number (Accession No ) Summary Records documenting the research and projects of the University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station Repository University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Special Collections University of Washington Libraries Box Seattle, WA Telephone: Fax: speccoll@uw.edu Access Restrictions Open to all users. Languages Sponsor English Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Historical Note The Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Washington was officially established by the Board of Regents in The express purpose of the Station was "to aid in the industrial development of the state and nation by scientific research and by furnishing information for the solution of engineering problems." The work done at the station produced many research papers and reports that were published in its Bulletin The Station was governed by a University Board that consisted of the following four authorities: the President of the University, the Dean of the College of Engineering, the Director of the Station, and a representative for each research division of the station. The Station had 3 directors during its existence- Carl Edward Magnusson from 1917 until his death in 1941, Edgar Allan Loew from 1941 to 1945, and Frederick Burt Farquharson from 1945 to In September of 1962, the Office of Engineering Research was established within the College of Engineering for the promotion and administration of sponsored research in the various engineering departments. In July of 1963, the Engineering Experiment Station was merged with the Office of Engineering Research under the latter title. 1

2 From its inception in 1917 to its end in 1963, the Station performed research in many areas of engineering and science. The Station conducted research for a wide range of civil and private organizations, both within and outside of the United States. The list of clients includes the United States Department of the Interior, Washington State, the City of Seattle, the City of Vancouver British Columbia, and a number of private companies. Perhaps the Station's most notable work was an investigation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse in Much of the research on this problem was led by Frederick Burt Farquharson. Professor Farquharson received publicity for his construction of a quonset-hut wind tunnel, which he used to test full and sectional models of the bridge, simulating the violent winds that rocked "Galloping Gertie". Content Description The records of the Engineering Experiment Station measure 8.2 cubic feet and span the years 1923 to Most of the records are from the time of Burt Farquharson's directorship and most were created by Farquharson. Administrative records include a valuable historical features file, meeting minutes, general correspondence, annual reports to the President of the University of Washington, research reports, reprints, and a scrapbook containing clippings about the school from 1929 to The bulk of the collection consists of Project Files, primarily civil engineering projects, especially bridge construction and testing. Project Files document major research projects that the Experiment Station conducted. These include: Aluminum Company of America Conductor Vibration Studies, Desalting Sea Water for United States Department of the Interior, George Washington Bridge, Kelowna Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (formerly known as Lake Washington Bridge), Mackinac Bridge, Seattle Public Safety Building Problem, Spruce Spars for Posey Manufacturing Company, and Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Washington). A large proportion of the material within the project files are correspondence, research reports, test records, and drawings (both blue prints and other). Test records are mostly subdivided into key test conditions or controlled variables, and are ordered alphabetically. The Tacoma Narrows project file contains test material on the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. The Station studied full and sectional models of the Golden Gate bridge "due to its marked similarity to the preliminary Tacoma Proposal." Major Correspondents are: Aluminum Company of America, Frederick Burt Farquharson, Lacey Van Buren Murrow, and the Washington Toll Bridge Authority. Use of the Collection Restrictions on Use Public records (Use unrestricted when access is granted). Administrative Information Arrangement Arranged into 2 series: Administrative Records, Project Files,

3 Acquisition Information Source: Robert G. Hennes, College of Engineering, Civil Engineering, 3/19/1971; College of Engineering, Office of Engineering Research, 4/7/1971 & 4/29/1971; College of Engineering, Civil Engineering, 11/23/1971 Processing Note Processed by Dan Waters; processing completed in 2007 Photographs were relocated to the University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station Collection of Tacoma Narrows Bridge Photographs and Ephemera, Ph Coll 290. Motion picture film of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge were relocated to the Moving Image Collection. 118 Bulletins, 7 Series Reports and 6 Technical Notes published by the Engineering Experiment Station were added to Special Collections' cataloged collection. Related Materials Frederick Burt Farquharson Papers; accession number: Detailed Description of the Collection Administrative Records, Container(s) Description Dates 1/1 Historical Features , General Correspondence 1/2 Amman and Whitney, Consulting Engineers (New York) /3 Boeing Airplane Company /4 Engineering News Record /5 Farquharson, Frederick B ,

4 1/6 McGraw-Hill Publishing Company /7 Tyler, Richard Gaines /8 United States Works Progress Administration (Washington) /9 Washington State Treasury Department /10 Wiley, John and Sons /11 Zioncheck, Marion A /12 Miscellaneous /13 Interdepartmental Correspondence /14 Interdepartmental Correspondence (Dean of College of Engineering) , /15 Intradepartmental Correspondence 1949, /16-19 Minutes Reports of the Engineering Experiment Station 1/20 Annual Report from the Dean /21-29 Annual Reports to the President /30 Quarterly Research Reports Research Reports 1/31 Atmospheric Pollution in Seattle /32 Concrete Tuning Fork Tests

5 1/33 Deflections of Swept Triangular Plates /34 Iron Losses in Electric Conduit /35 Phosphate Rock and Laterite for a Phosphorus-Alumina Process /1 Steam Plants and the Northwest Power Shortage /2 Steel Roof Deck Tests /3 Three Dimensional Nozzle Study /4-5 Wind and Radio Noise from Conductors for Bonneville Power 1952 Reports of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 2/6 Technical Memoranda 1929, /7 Technical Notes 1921, 1926, /8 Research Proposals 1947, /9-11 Reprints of the Engineering Experiment Station /12 Reprints-Miscellaneous /13 Publications of Others 1936, 1938 Writings 2/14 Hydro Electric Power in Washington /15 Use of Photoelastic Method in Undergraduate Education 5

6 Financial Records 2/16 Budget Allocations /17 Budget Forecasts /18 Construction Procedures /19 Departmental Requests /20 Sponsors' Expenditures /21 Fellowship and Assistantship Files Curriculum Materials 2/22 Aerodynamic Problems /23 C.E. 91 "Mechanics for Engineering" /24 C.E. 131 "Applied Mechanics" /25-26 C.E. 132 "Applied Mechanics" /27 C.E. 171A "Structural Analysis" /28 C.E. 171B "Structural Analysis" /29 C.E. 172 "Structural Analysis" /30 Resilience in Beams /31 Lab Notebook Contains data from many projects

7 2/32 Notebooks , /33-34 Notes and Calculations (Miscellaneous) , Lists 3/1 Activities in Structural Research Lab /2 Industrial and Public Contacts Drawings 3/3 Water Tower 1956, Writings of Others 3/4 Arrangements with Ray Reflection /5 Artificial Phenalformaldehyde in Photoelasticity 3/6 Beam Variations /7 Fifty Years of Boundary Layer Theory and Experiment /8 Measurement of Solid Friction of Plastics /9 A Property of Synthetic Resins /10 Stresses in Rock Surrounding Tunnels /11 Suspension Turbidimeter for Determining Surface Area of Granular Materials /12 Wind Action of Structural Members

8 3/13 Photograph Black and white portrait of unidentified man. Subject Files 3/14 Exposition Building (Century 21) Contains reprints of others /15 Patent for Triethylene Glycol Lignin /16 Schmitz Bridge 1936 Manuals 3/17 Instructions for Southwark-Emery Testing Machine /18 Steel Products 1949, /19 Engineering Index Service Card Catalog /20 Applications for Approval of Outside Work /21-24 Scrapbook Primarily concerns engineering college affairs, engineering students and faculty, as well as events related to engineering. Also includes clippings regarding university administrative activities and policies /25 Clippings /26 Miscellany , Project Files,

9 Aluminum Company of America Conductor Vibration Studies These studies concern the power input from wind to vibrating overhead electrical conductors (amplitude of vibration). General Correspondence 3/27-29 Aluminum Company of America /30 American Institute of Electrical Engineers /31 University of Washington Graduate School, Dean /32 Miscellaneous /33-40 Research Reports /41 Reports to Joel Thompkins Test Records 4/1-4 Stranded Models 4/5-9 Smooth Cylinders 4/10 Rigid Models /11 Writings of Others /12 Letters of Agreement 1953, 4/13 Invoices /14-15 Miscellany 9

10 Desalting Sea Water for United States Department of the Interior 4/16 General Correspondence /17 Research Proposals /18-20 Research Reports /21 Photographs All black and white. Four 8" x 10" and one 3" x 5" of machines and unidentified persons. George Washington Bridge (New York and New Jersey) 4/22 Model Measurements 4/23-25 Test Records , Boxfolder:Oversize 8/1 Drawings 1946 Kelowna Bridge (British Columbia, Canada) General Correspondence 4/26 Swan, Wooster and Partners, Consulting Engineers (Vancouver, British Columbia) /27 Miscellaneous /28 Legal Files

11 4/29 Research Reports , 4/30 Test Records 1956, 4/31 Budget Files /32-33 Writings of Others 1927, 1936, 4/34-35 Reports of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics /36 Writing by unidentified author Boxfolder:Oversize 4/37, 8/2 Drawings 1955, 5/1 Photographs All black and white. Five 8" x 10" of section models and machines, and eight 3" x 5" of people, horses, and encampments. 5/2 Photocopies of Section Model and Wind Tunnel 5/3 Clippings /4 Miscellany Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (Lake Washington Bridge) General Correspondence 5/5 Freeman, Miller /6 Gregory, Luther E /7-8 Murrow, L.V. (Lacey Van Buren)

12 5/9 Thomson, R. H /10 Washington Toll Bridge Authority Includes two 4" x 5" photographs, probably of Admiral Luther E. Gregory /11 Washington State Planning Council /12 Miscellaneous A-Z Reports 5/13-17 Monthly Progress Each progress report includes 8" x 10" photographs of bridge construction /18 Atmospheric and Water Temperatures /19 Bearing Test /20 Wind and Wave Action /21 Toll Schedule Study Also contains material related to Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Washington) /22 Unit Construction and Test Proposals 1938 Boxfolder:Oversize 8/3 Traffic Survey Data Sheets /23 Bids for the Construction of Bridge Units 1938 Unit Descriptions and Provisions 12

13 5/24 Unit /25 Unit /26 Unit /27 Unit 9 Revised /28 Unit /29 Unit Drawings Boxfolder:Oversize 8/4 General Plans Includes 4 black and white 3" x 5" photographs of street views /5 Unit /6 Unit /7 Unit /8 Unit /9 Unit 9 Revised /10 Unit /11 Unit /30 Map of Washington State 5/31 Legislative Proposals

14 5/32 Miscellany Mackinac Bridge (Michigan, United States) 5/33 Historical Features General Correspondence 5/34 Steinman, D. B /35-38 Research Reports 1955, Test Records 5/39 Aerodynamic Stability /40 Critical Velocity for d=0.08 5/41 No Rails or Curbs 5/42 Runs 1-20 and /43 Run /44 Run /1 Vertical and Torsional Stiffness for D 6/2 Miscellaneous 6/3-4 Curve Sheets 14

15 6/5 Blue Print /6 Photo Illustrations 6/7-8 Photographs All black and white. Twenty-one 8" x 10" of section models and bridge construction, one portrait of David B. Steinman, and six 3" x 5" of section models. 6/9 Ephemera /10 Miscellany , Ruby Dam (Skagit River, Washington) Later renamed Ross Dam in honor of Seattle City Light Superintendent James Ross 6/11 Incoming Letters /12 Test Records , 6/13 Strain Readings with Huggenberger Tensometer 6/14, 8/12 Drawings 1937 Seattle Public Safety Building Problem These files concern the study of Dantore perlite, which was used in place of plaster for the construction of the Seattle Public Safety Building, to determine if it was substandard material. General Correspondence 6/15 Dant and Russell, Inc /16 Eben and Nahstoll /17 Graf, S.H

16 6/18-21 General Correspondence of Frederick B. Farquharson /22 Minutes 1956 Research Reports 6/23 Dantore Plaster /24 Perlites /25 Lab Records /26 Data Sheets 1946, /27 Notes 6/28 Writings of Others /29 Publications /30 Financial Records /31 Clippings 1955, 6/32 Ephemera Spruce Spars for Posey Manufacturing Company 6/33 General Correspondence /34 Research Report 6/35 Test Records

17 6/36 Receipt 1939 Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Washington) 6/37 Legal Documents 1947 Reports 6/38 Bridge Failure Report /39-40 Preliminary Reports /41-60 Research Reports , Reports of Others 6/61 Richmond-San Rafael Bridge /62 Washington Toll Bridge Authority Progress Report on Tacoma Narrows and Lacey V. Murrow Bridges Includes 8" x 10" photographs of construction scenes /63 Writings 1947, 1952 Test Records of Bridge Models 6/64 Alterations of 'I' in Stiffness /65 Closed Deck/Center Free /66 Closed Deck/Center Tied

18 6/67 Dunn's Visit Calculations /68-69 Early Section Model Tests /70-7/5 Final Design , 7/6-7 Full and Section Model Data /8 Fully Faired Bridge /9 Hold Down Angles and Conditions 7/10 Lab Notebook /11 Live Load /12 Logbook on Wind Tunnel Tests /13 Mastic/No Mastic /14 Miscellaneous /15 Open Deck/Center Free /16 Open Deck/Closed Deck /18 Open Deck/Diagonal Tower Stays /19 Open Deck/Fully Faired 1942, 7/20 Open Deck/No Center Stays /21 Stiffness of Suspended Structure /22-23 Structural and Aerodynamic Damping /24 Unloaded Backstays /25 Varying Torsional Stiffness 7/26-27 Vertical Inclination of Wind

19 7/28 V/nb Reduced Velocity 7/29 Bridge Movement Data /30 Drawings of Section Model 7/31 Notes /32 Writings of Others /33-34 Bulletins /35 Engineering News Record /36 Souvenir Booklet /37 Bibliographic Material Subject File: Golden Gate Bridge Model 7/38-44 Test Records , 7/45 Essay 7/46 Notes 1951, 7/47 Clippings 1940, 1956, /48 Miscellany 1940, Names and Subjects Subject Terms : Civil engineering--research 19

20 2008 Civil engineering--study and teaching--washington (State) University Archives/Faculty Papers (University of Washington) Personal Names : Farquharson, F. B. (Frederick Burt) Murrow, L. V. (Lacey Van Buren), Corporate Names : Aluminum Company of America University of Washington. Engineering Experiment Station--Archives Washington Toll Bridge Authority (suject) Geographical Names : Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (Mercer Island and Seattle, Wash.) Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Wash. : 1940) Form or Genre Terms : Annual reports Blueprints Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) Correspondence Drawings Minutes Research (document genres) Scrapbooks Other Creators : Corporate Names : University of Washington. University Archives About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West: