Industrial Research 



341 



ccrns, oil rofiiiers, photograpliic-siip])!}' iiiak(M-s, and a 

 host of others. Fluid flow is a fundamental problem for 

 makers of air brakes, chemicals and fans, oil-well and 

 pipe-line operators, and makers of soap, cotton-spiniiiii<j 

 macliiuery, shoe machinery, piuups, turbines, and nuiiiy 

 other products. Different aspects of the general prob- 

 lem of combustion affect boiler makers, Diesel-engine 

 buOders, gasoline-engine builders, oil refiners, coal 

 miners, and a variety of accessory manufacturers. 

 Lubrication and corrosion touch nearly every manu- 

 facturer. Thert! are also many examples of narrower 

 interests such as the effect of moisture on leather in 

 shoe factories, and the creep problem in solder in tin- 

 can factories. And all manufacturers of raw materials 

 do extensive research to provide prospective users with 

 fundamental data on the various properties of their 

 materials. 



A few letters report specific projects in vivid enough 

 detail to be worth quoting. A manufacturer of textile 

 machinery writes: "We have a group of ten men study- 

 ing better means and methods for improving the draft- 

 ing operation of fibers which means studies of speed, 

 sm'face characteristics, densities, and other factors that 

 affect the attenuation of fibers from the bulk form to 

 the finished yarn." A manufacturer of cotton textiles 

 reports comprehensive research programs to secure 

 fundamental data showing the effect on various fabrics 

 of teinperaturcs from room to 600° F., of pressures from 

 zero to 60,000 pounds per square inch, and of various 

 amounts of moisture. A maker of household appliances 

 writes that an "acoustical laboratory devotes itself to 

 the measurement and analysis of noise and the develop- 

 ment of means of suppression." A manufacturer of 

 machine tools reports investigations to "cover such 

 matters as fundamental studies of metal-cutting 

 processes — to determine the action of metal-cutting 

 tools in the removal of chips; the study of cutting forces, 

 tool life, finish, etc. Also the study of stresses and de- 

 flections in machine-tool structures and component 

 parts, and the development of new mechanisms and 

 hydraulic and electric devices and circuits." 



Many other specific examples of fundamental indus- 

 trial research are to be found in the literatiu-e or are 

 matters of common knowledge. Among them are 

 many systematic studies of the thermal properties of a 

 variety of woriving substances suitable for use in prime 

 movers or refrigerating machines, particularly mercury, 

 ammonia, ethyl-chloride, and a variety of special re- 

 frigerants known mostly by trade names. Many 

 examples of fundamental research in industrial labora- 

 tories are to be found in the field of applied mechanics, 

 ranging from studies of balancing and other vibration 

 problems and of transients such as water hammer and 

 phenomena in surge-tanks, to studies of the mechanics 

 of transmitting, recording, and reproducing speech and 



of the very complicated phenomena of architectural 

 acoustics. Much fundanuMital researcli has lately been 

 concentrated on surface finishes, ranging from molecular 

 theoiy of surfaces, to studies of metliods of producing 

 super-finishes, and studies of their effects ou machine 

 performance. 



A very considerable amount of fundamental research 

 is going on in universities and engineering schools that 

 is inspired by and partly or whoUy paid for by industry. 

 Usually this begins as private research by some mem- 

 ber of the teaching staff, to whom industry turns as his 

 reputation becomes established, or for whom support is 

 secured from industry through private approaches or 

 through such intermediaries as the Engineering Founda- 

 tion. Wind tunnels and towing tanks all over the 

 country are notable examples of this sort of industrially 

 supported research. So also are a number of well- 

 known hydraulic laboratories. At one college, one 

 finds a nationally known specialist on grinding, at an- 

 other, one on lubrication, at another, one on the design 

 and performance of gears, at another, one on surface 

 finishes, and so on through a long list of widely varying 

 specialties. If it were possible to assemble a complete 

 account of all the industrially supported fundamental 

 research that is gomg on in universities and engineer- 

 ing schools in this country, either under contracts en- 

 tered into by the institution itself, or in connection 

 with the private consulting practice of individual mem- 

 bers of teaching staffs, the unportance of this sort of 

 activity in any survey of mechanical engineering re- 

 search would be even more universally recognized tiian 

 it is. 



Any program of fundamental research should have as 

 one of its most important functions a policy of dissemi- 

 nation and publication of the residts obtained. It is, 

 of course, of prime importance that the organization 

 itself should understand and use the fundamental data 

 and theory developed by research. One organization 

 "coordinates its studies through committees so that 

 findmgs in fundamental research are quickly brought 

 to the attention of those who will ultimately use the 

 new knowledge, at the same time providing a seminar 

 in which theory can be tempered with practice." Pub- 

 lication of fundamental research results to the engineer- 

 ing profession is increasingly regarded as a responsibil- 

 ity of industry and time and effort are spent to make 

 the results usable by the general pubHc. Thus in a 

 memorandum on mechanical research prepared by an 

 electrical company there appears the following state- 

 ment. This company "has made it a policy to pubhsh 

 new findings as soon as reasonable protection has been 

 secured under the patent laws. A major part of our 

 findings are not patentable, particularly in the field of 

 pure research. This practice is beneficial to industry at 

 large and is particularly helpful to those in educational 



