Fig. 2.—Fire Test of Panel.
At the Atlantic City sub-station, there is also a 200,000-lb., universal, four-screw testing machine, with miscellaneous equipment for testing cement and moulding concrete, etc.; and at the Northampton sub-station, there is a complete equipment of apparatus for cement testing, capable of handling 10,000 bbl. per day.
At the Pittsburg testing station, a 10,000,000-lb., vertical, compression testing machine ([Plate XIV]), made by Tinius Olsen and Company, is being erected for making a complete series of comparative tests of various building stones of 2, 4, and 12-in. cube, of stone prisms, 12 in. base and 24 in. high, of concrete and reinforced concrete columns up to 65 ft. in height, and of brick piers and structural-steel columns up to the the limits of the capacity and height of the machine.
10,000,000-Lb. Testing Machine.
This machine is a large hydraulic press, with an adjustable head, and a weighing system for recording the loading developed by a triple-plunger pump. It has a maximum clearance of 65 ft. between heads; the clearance in the machine is a trifle more than 6 ft. between screws, and the heads are 6 ft. square.
The machine consists of a base containing the main cylinder, with a sectional area of 2,000 sq. in., upon which rests the lower platform or head, which is provided with a ball-and-socket bearing. The upper head is adjustable over four vertical screws, 13½ in. in diameter and 72 ft. 2 in. long, by a system of gearing operating four nuts with ball-bearings upon which the head rests. The shafting operating this mechanism is connected with a variable-speed motor which actuates the triple-plunger pump supplying the pressure to the main cylinder ([Fig. 4]).