THE APPLICATION OF STANDARDIZATION AND GRAPHICAL 

 METHODS TO THE DESIGN OF CYLINDRICAL RETURN TUBULAR 

 BOILERS. 



By Henry C. E. Meyer, Esq., Member. 



[Read at the twenty-seventh general meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, held 



in New York, November 13 and 14, 1919.] 



The advantages of standardization of design in quantity production are so 

 obvious that during the recent emergency the principle of standard designs was 

 appHed with more or less success to all the many implements of war manufactured 

 here or in the alHed countries. 



We have long been familiar with standard types of locomotives and automo- 

 biles, but the war was the direct cause of the development of standard ships, ma- 

 rine engines, liberty motors and many of the mechanical accessories of modern 

 warfare. 



In Great Britain a committee was appointed by the Institution of Naval Archi- 

 tects, North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Institution of 

 Shipbuilders and Engineers in Scotland, Liverpool Engineering Society and Insti- 

 tute of Marine Engineers to investigate the extent to which the principle of stand- 

 ardization could be applied to the propelling machinery of vessels, and this com- 

 mittee issued a report the details of which may be found in The Engineer of March 



21, 1919. 



The most important feature of the work carried out by tnis committee was the 

 development of a standard set of requirements, in so far as the structural strength 

 of the boilers was concerned, which were recommended for adoption by the vari- 

 ous authorities which have to do with the inspection and classification of marine 

 boilers. 



This parallels the work done in this country by the American Society of Me- 

 chanical Engineers for stationery boilers when they formulated their "Boiler Code," 

 and is a decided step in the right direction since the existence of different rules for 

 the same purpose evidently tends to annoyance and confusion and in many cases im- 

 poses a handicap on the builders. 



Quoting from the report referred to : — "The committee thinks, however, that 

 at present it would serve no useful end to attempt a standardization of boiler de- 

 sign." From this it would appear that the British committee evidently was of the 

 opinion that the advantages to be gained, by standardizing the designs of boilers, 

 would not justify the trouble entailed. 



When it is considered that at the present time the so-called Scotch boiler still 

 holds first place for the generation of steam on purely merchant vessels, and that 



