R . S. D E A N , U . S . B u r e a u o f M in e s , S a lt L ake C ity , U ta h
T
H E B ureau of M in es new E xp erim en t S ta tio n building a t S alt Lake C ity, U tah , has been constructed to furnish adequate office space for th e adm inistrative work of th e M etallurgical D iv isio n and for th e resident groups of the S afety and M ining D ivision s; sm all laboratories for chem ical, physical, and m icroscopic experim ents; and large laboratories for m etallurigical and ore-dressing experim ents.I t w as n o t possible to provide all th is in a single building of uniform construction throughout. A ccordingly, the build
ing w as designed in tw o u n its— a three-story u n it for offices and sm all laboratories and a single-story, m onitor-roof, sh op -typ e u n it for th e large laboratories.
T h e buildings are situ ated near th e center of a 4-acre tract of land deeded to th e U n ited S ta tes G overnm ent b y th e U n i
v ersity of U tah , extending directly ea st of th e un iversity cam pus and adjacent to th e grounds of F ort D ouglas.
B o th buildings are of virtu ally fireproof construction, th e m aterials used being steel, concrete, and brick. T h e design is as sim ple as possible, to give th e high est degree of flexibility.
A ll pipe lines and electrical conduits are in tunnels and shafts b eneath th e buildings, w here th e y are readily and easily accessible for changes and additions. T here are b o th under
ground and surface connecting passagew ays b etw een the building u n its. In th e underground passagew ays are the steam , w ater, gas, and electrical conduits. W ith in th e concrete floors of all laboratories is a 2.5-inch conduit w ith o u tlets on 30-inch centers for electrical service, both altern atin g and direct current. T here is, how ever, a 15-foot difference in elev a tio n b etw een th e rear of th e one-story laboratory u n it and th e ground floor of th e three-story unit, w hich places th e front of th e single-story u n it on approxim ately the second-floor level of th e three-story unit.
Ch e m i c a l a n d As s a y La b o r a t o r i e s. T here are three
chem ical laboratories— a control laboratory for th e ore-dress- in g work adjacent to th e ore-dressing laboratory in th e single
story unit, a laboratory for more precise an alytical work, and a chem ical research laboratory in th e three-story u n it. T he eq u ip m en t in all three laboratories is of sim ilar construction.
L aboratory furniture is steel w ith ball-bearing drawers in th e benches. T h e bench to p s are 1.25-inch T ransite; sinks are C arsite. H ood s are of th e open-face ty p e w ith adjustable aprons in th e rear to determ ine th e location of th e draft.
Services are provided on all benches for gas, com pressed air, steam , h o t and cold w ater, 110- and 2 20-volt alternating and 125-volt direct current. T h e w ater and air lines are copper tubing, gas and steam lin es are w rought iron, and the drains are of high-silicon acid-resisting iron. T h e services are car
ried on racks m ounted on th e w a ll to th e rear of the benches, th e o u tlets being on a shelf flush w ith th e bench top . T h e benches m ay therefore b e rearranged in u n its w ith o u t d is
turbing th e services.
T h e fire-assay laboratory is in the single-story u n it and is equipped w ith tw o gas-fired assay furnaces w ith a cap acity of 20 crucibles each. B en ch es are provided w ith all services for parting, bins for fluxes, cupel m olds, and other auxiliary equipm ent. T h e assay balances are in a separate room and are m ounted on 1-inch lead slab s over 1-inch sponge rubber.
M i c r o s c o p i c a n d X -Ray L a b o r a t o r i e s . M icroscopic laboratories a t th e sta tio n are u n u su ally com plete and include a m etallographic laboratory for th e exam ination of th e struc
ture of m etals and a lloys. T h is laboratory is equipped w ith th e latest-m od el m etallographic m icroscope.
A separate laboratory is d evoted to th e m icroscopic ex
am ination of ores and m inerals. T h is laboratory has several ty p e s of m icroscopes, b u t for photographic purposes th e L eitz P an p h ot is used.
Si d e Vi e w o f La b o r a t o r y Bu i l d i n g, Sh o w i n g T w o Un i t s
708
A NA LY T IC A L E D IT IO N 709
Upper. Ap p a r a t u s f o r Me a s u r i n g Vi b r a t i o n- Da m p i n g Ca p a c i t y. Center. Me t a l l o g r a p h i c Mi c r o s c o p e. Lower. Hi g h- Fr e q u e n c y In d u c t i o n
Fu r n a c e In s t a l l a t i o n
Ar r a n g e m e n to f Se r v i c e sa n d Be n c h e si n Ch e m i c a l Re s e a r c h La b o r a t o r y
Ge n e r a l Vi e w o f Ch e m i c a l Re s e a r c h La b o r a t o r y
T h e x-ray laboratory has th e usual diffraction apparatus w ith m etal x-ray tu b es. A ll th ese laboratories have their in d iv id u a l darkroom s for th e d evelop m en t of film s. A n additional darkroom tak es care of general photographic work and th e reproduction o f prints for th e illustration of articles.
P h y s i c a l L a b o r a t o r y . T h e physical laboratories are equipped to m easure all th e usual physical characteristics, such as electrical con d u ctivity, coefficient of expansion, and m agnetic properties.
Special atten tion , how ever, h as been given to th e deter
m in ation of vibration-dam ping capacity, w hich h as been found particularly interesting, n o t on ly on accou n t of its m an y engineering applications b u t as a useful property in determ ining structural changes in alloys. T h e physical laboratory also has m uch equipm ent for th e generation of high-frequency sound, since it has been found possible to
bring ab ou t th e coagulation of sm oke and fum e b y th e ap
p lication of sound w aves of su itab le frequency.
S i n g l e - S t o r y U n i t . M o st of th e space in th e large single
story laboratory is d evoted to m achine-shop, ore-dressing, and pyrom etallurgical laboratory work. T h e u n u su ally com plete in stallation of high-frequency in duction furnaces m a y b e of in terest to chem ists. T hree separate generating u n its for such furnaces are available— a sm all 3-kilovolt-am pere, spark gap -typ e u n it, w hich is used for sm all m elts in th e prelim inary stu d y of alloys; a 35-kilovolt-am pere u n it, also of th e spark gap-type, w hich is capable of m eltin g charges of m etal up to 15 or 20 pounds; and, finally, a 60-kilovolt-am pere, 2000- cycle, m otor generator-driven u n it. Furnaces of several sizes ranging from 30 to 150 pounds in ca p a city m a y b e heated b y th is m otor generator-driven unit.
Pu b l i s h e d b y p erm issio n of th e D ire c to r of th e B u re a u of M ines, U n ite d S ta te s D e p a r tm e n t of th e In te rio r.
IN D U S T R IA L A N D E N G IN E E R IN G C H E M ISTR Y VOL. 12, N O . 11
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