TESTS OF WOODEN BARRELS. , O 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS OF NATURE OF FAILURES. 
In each kind of test the first water to appear on the outside of the 
barrel was usually from the seepage through the pores of the wood 
at the chime. The first leak usually occurred either between the 
staves and the head or between the staves at the chime. In all the 
tests except the internal pressure the first leak was usually coincident 
with the slipping of the staves. 
In the internal-pressure test there were two general classes of 
failures: (1) By springing and breaking of the head; and (2) by 
leaking between the staves at the bilge. 
In the diagonal-compression test the failure was a general failure 
of the head combined with the slipping of the staves. In the com 
pression-perpendicular test the failure was a general leaking at the 
heads and slipping of the staves followed by the breaking of the 
staves at the bilge. 
In the side-drop test the slipping of the staves caused loosening of 
the hoops and leakage at the heads. This was followed by breaking 
of the staves at the bilge. In three of the six tests the failure of the 
barrels was due to the heads being broken or forced out by the 
internal pressure produced by the impact. 
The lower heads of all barrels tested by dropping on the chime were 
broken or forced out by the pressure due to the impact. 
CHANGES IN DESIGN AS INDICATED BY THE CHARACTER OF THE 
FAILURES. 
A slight increase in the length of the chime from croze to the end of 
the stave would lessen the amount of seepage without any marked 
increase of liability to breakage at the croze by dropping the barrel 
on the chime. The chimes of the test barrels were made exceptionally 
short (three-fourths of an inch from outer side of croze to end of stave) 
to reduce the danger of breakage when dropped on the chime. Chimes 
1 inch long would probably have given better results. 
The internal-pressure test and the side-drop test indicated that the 
bilge hoops were too wide apart. A spacing of not more than 8 inches 
between the bilge hoops would have materially strengthened the bar- 
rels for the internal pressure without any weakening for the other tests. 
The weakest parts of the barrels were the heads. The first leak in 
most of the tests was due either to the springing of the head or to the 
slipping of the staves at the head, or to both these causes. 
The ultimate failure of a large per cent of the barrels was at the head. 
It appears that a head much thicker than the staves would give mate- 
rially better results. Heads should probably be made about one and 
one-half times as thick as the staves. 
The heads appeared to be materially weakened by the dowel holes 
and not infrequently the flagging was forced out. It would seem that 
these head joints could be improved. 
