The final test of the canister is always carried out by means of the so-called “man test.” Special man-test laboratories were built at Washington, Philadelphia and Long Island. These are so constructed that, if necessary, a man may enter the chamber containing the gas and thus test the efficiency of the completed gas mask. In most cases, however, the canister is placed inside or outside the gas-chamber and the men breathe through the canister, detecting the break point by throat and lung irritation.
The following brief description of the man test laboratory at the American University will give a good idea of the plan and procedure.[32]
The man test laboratory is a one-story building, 56 ft. in length and 25 ft. in width. The main part is occupied by three gas chambers, laboratory tables, and various devices for putting up and controlling gas concentrations in the chambers. A small part at one end is used as an office and storeroom.
Good ventilation is of great importance in a laboratory of this nature. This is secured by means of a 6 ft. fan connected to suitable ducts. The fan is mounted on a heavy framework outside and at one end of the building. The fan is driven at a speed of about 250 r.p.m. by a 10 h.p. motor. The main duct is 33 in. square, extending to all parts of the building. A connection is also made to a small hood used when making chemical analyses.
The gases, fumes, etc., drawn out by the fan, are forced up and out of a stack 30 in. in diameter, extending upward 55 ft. above the ground level.
The main features of each of the three gas chambers are identical. Auxiliary pieces of apparatus are used with each chamber, the type of apparatus being determined by the characteristics of the gas employed.
Fig. 76.—Man Test Laboratory,
American University.
Each chamber is 10 ft. long, 8 ft. wide and 8½ ft. high, having, therefore, a capacity of 680 cu. ft. or 19,257 liters. The floor is concrete, and the walls and ceiling are constructed on a framework of 2 × 4 in. scantling, finished on the outside with wainscoting and on the inside with two layers of Upson board (laid with the joints lapped) covered with a ½ in. layer of special cement plaster laid upon expanded metal lath. The interior finish is completed by two coats of acid-proof white paint. The single entrance to the chamber is from outside the laboratory, and is closed by two doors, with a 36 × 40 in. lock between them. These doors are solid, of 3-ply construction, 2½ in. thick, with refrigerator handles, which may be operated from either inside or outside the chamber. The door jambs are lined with ³/₁₆ in. heavy rubber tubing to secure a tight seal.
At the end of the chamber opposite the doors, a pane of ¼ in. wire plate glass, 36 × 48 in., is set into the wall, and additional illumination may be secured by 2 headlights, 12 in. square, set into the ceiling of the chamber and of the air-lock, respectively, and provided with 200 watt Mazda lamps and Holophane reflectors. Openings into the chamber, five in number, are spaced across this end beneath the window and 9 in. above the table top.