S/Jt WILLIAM SIEMENS, F.R,S. 



409 



In the (fiaritssion of ttie Papers 



"X THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF IRON AND 

 M 1 U ) STEEL," by D. ADAMSON, 



ox THE USE OP STEEL IN THE CONSTRUCTION 

 OF BRIDGES," by A. N. MAYNARD; and 



"ON THE USE OF STEEL IN NAVAL CONSTRUC- 

 TION," by NATHANIEL BAKNABY, C.B., 



DR. SIEMENS * said he thought he should not be entirely silent 

 when a discussion took place on steel such as they were now 

 engaged in. They had before them three papers dealing with the 

 use of steel : one by Mr. Adamson. another by Mr. Mayuard, and 

 a third by Mr. Barnaby. With regard to Mr. Adamson's paper he 

 would like to say a few words. They had had a very admirable 

 paper from Mr. Adamson at their Paris meeting, and he had added 

 some very valuable information that day. He was glad to see that 

 Mr. Adamson had arrived at a conclusion to which he (Dr. 

 Siemens) had sometimes given expression, namely, that in rivet- 

 ing steel plates together steel rivets should be used, and that those 

 rivets should be put as close together as they could be conveniently 

 placed. He was glad to see that Mr. Adamson had by his in- 

 vestigation brought this matter so clearly to light; but it was a thing 

 which had often come before him in dealing with those very subjects 

 that had been alluded to by Mr. Parker and others. Mysterious 

 failures occasionally had occurred. It so happened that the one 

 failure which Mr. Parker mentioned had been brought to his 

 (Dr. Siemens's) notice at the time ; and the very nature of 

 that failure proved, he thought, that the cause was only hidden 

 below the surface, and was not beyond their ken to unravel. It' 

 a cylindrical tube was intended to fit into a flanged neck, and the 

 tube was too small, and if, after being punched all round or 

 drilled, it was forced out mechanically to fit the larger diameter, it 

 stood to reason that the metal extending from the rivet holes to the 

 edge had to be stretched considerably. This extension of the outer 



* Excerpt Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1879, pp. 82 and 107. 



