Estimate of quantities and cost for constructing national hydraulic laboratory at Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C.-Continued

The above estimate of $289,480 covers everything in the line of building and foundations and fixed equipment needed for greatly expanding the scale of experimentation as to discharges of from 500 to 600 cubic feet per second as proposed in the hearings before Congress; also, for researches on scale effect, etc., and fundamental research to meet practical requirements for many years to come.

It includes a large supply basin, a large forebay, a large experiment flume, and a large measuring basin sufficient for all future needs of this laboratory, which for economy and efficiency must be incorporated in the foundations of the original structure

In addition, it provides abundant clear floor space for research work by means of a wide variety of temporary set-ups, using volumes of water seldom exceeding 5 to 10 cubic feet per second, but permitting the use of quantities up to or greater than 100 cubic feet per second, for this purpose, if desired.

Provision is made for installation now, or at any future time, of a large propellertype pump, so arranged as to permit fundamental research on cavitation and turbulence, in the pump itself, as well as supplying the need of a large quantity (250 to 300 cubic feet per second) of water for miscellaneous research work in the large flume, or in the return flume, or in apparatus temporarily set up in either of said flumes, the floors of which provide a substantial support for very heavy floor loads.

Estimate of cost of semifixed equipment and apparatus necessary to make the national hydraulic laboratory operative upon completion of the building. None of the following items have been included in the above estimate, which purports to cover only the building, foundations, and fixed equipment. 1. Skimmer weir for 40-foot diameter steel forebay. The final design should preferably be based on experiments made on a small scale model of one-eighth to one-fourth full-size linear dimensions. Present designs (Dec. 30, 1930) show that this skimmer weir and down spout, with necessary counterbalancing water tanks for compensating excesssive buoyancy, will weigh approximately 20.5 tons. A small, local structural steel company has submitted a bid of $5,500 for supplying this skimmer weir, complete; to this should be added, say, $500 for installation, making its total cost, in place--

2. Hoisting tackle for skimmer weir; 30-ton capacity, endless, screwdrum winch, with 6-part wire-rope hoist..

$6,000

1,000

3. Glass panels in main flume and return flume.
4. Stilling plates (included in cost of steel forebay).
5. Pivot-knife gate at discharge end of main flume--hand operated at
first for small quantities of water; equipment for compressed-air
operation for large quantities can be installed at any desired future
time at a cost probably not exceeding $1,500.

6. Venturi meter 6 by 3 feet throat Defer installation. The intake and
outlet sections should be installed now. These consist of steel
plate sections embedded in concrete and flanged to permit future
attachment of the Venturi meter-3 tons, at $120__-

7. Tilting river flume. Make flanged connection to steel forebay at this time and defer piping. One 4-foot diameter saddle and flange with cover plate is included in cost of piping.

8. Miscellaneous small flumes:

One glass-walled flume about 3 feet deep and 1.5 feet wide by
about 50 feet long (demountable) -

Constant-head tank and weir box for above flume (portable) -
9. Miscellaneous small apparatus, gages, etc., over and above that
already possessed by the Bureau of Standards...

10. Electrical equipment, transformers, etc., sufficient to provide lighting and furnish power to all small pumps.

11. Piping, valves, etc., necessary to make laboratory operative for fully 90 per cent of all contemplated work for the next two years..

$2,000

1, 500

360

2, 000 1,000

2,000

5, 000

10, 000

12. Centrifugal pumps (motors and complete equipment): One 25 cubic foot per second, capacity.

One 20 cubic foot per second (for measuring basin)

$3,000
2, 500

One 10 cubic foot per second

1, 600

Two 5 cubic foot per second

2, 600

One 3 cubic foot per second.

900

One 2 cubic foot per second

700

Plus installation and connection (25 per cent).

2, 800

14, 100

13. One 250 cubic foot per second adjustable-blade propeller pump (could be deferred a year or more) complete with motor thrust bearing, etc...

16. Two portable constant-head tanks and weir boxes for miscellaneous research set-ups handling not more than 5 cubic footseconds....

2,000

Total...

59, 810

SUMMARY OF TOTAL ESTIMATE OF COST OF BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT

If necessary some savings could be made by deferring a part of the above equipment for a year as follows:

Bringing total necessary cost of entire laboratory buildings and equipment ready for service to $233,290; thus leaving $16,710 to take care of any possible contingencies.

40-foot diameter; steel; 44 feet high above flume 26 by 27 feet square; concrete; 25 feet high above floor.

Usable length..

None-

Concrete

3 timber gates 12_ Single unit 14.

2,200 linear feet..

30-inch diameter 16. None in beginning 18.

18 feet clear height 19. 3,940 square feet. 2,800 square feet.

1 Measuring basin of Bureau design is entirely outside the building proper. It must therefore be covered with a roof (or floor) which will serve no other useful purpose. No
Useful clear area.
portion of the north, south, or west walls of the Bureau design for measuring basin is so located as to serve as foundation walls of the proposed future extension of the laboratory in
that direction. The proposed future enlarging of the Bureau measuring basin is not a feasible thing to do, because of extreme difficulty of making new concrete joints water-tight
where new walls and floor join the old structure.

2 Bureau's concrete forebay is subject to serious cracking and consequent leakage. It is more expensive to construct than the steel cylinder. It also is not as adaptable as the
circular steel forebay to the many demands for attaching pipes for supplying water to experimental set-ups or for attaching pump discharge pipes.
3 The purpose of the large cross-section of the Freeman flume is to give convenient space and "elbow room" for fundamental research on large depths on many forms of weirs,
dams, baffle piers, and Venturi meters, under both normal and disturbed or turbulent flow.

The greater depth of the Bureau return flume makes the use of this flume for experimental purposes more difficult and inaccessible.
It's primary purpose is to return water to the supply basin from small experiments using not over 40 or 50 cubic
feet per second. A pipe line 36 inches in diameter would serve equally well. The inclusion of this high-level return flume in the Bureau design requires that this portion of the
The Bureau's high-level return flume is a needless expense.
laboratory building be about 8 feet wider than would otherwise be necessary. The space thus involved above the first floor (8 feet wide by 31 feet high by 203 feet long) (50,400
cubic feet and costing probably upward of $5,000) is of little, if any, practical use.

6 For water measurement purposes this is less accurate and precise over a wider range than the measuring basin or special forms of weir.

7 The second floor in J. R. Freeman's study No. 4 for the entire length of the narrow portion of the building and north of the central building columns, can be inexpensively
extended to the south edge of the main flume wherever desired, for increased width (as for a crooked river flume) supported on steel columns 20 feet apart, so arranged as not to
interfere materially with the operation of the main flume. Bracket supports can be provided on the columns along the north side of the building so that, to any extent desired,
second floor area over the main flume can be extended by removable flooring.

12 Timber gates are much more practical, durable, and cheap; more convenient for attachments. Similar timber gates are in almost universal use for 50 years past in the large water-power developments in New England. Mr. Freeman has designed many, such timber gates which have been long in successful use.

18 Space is provided for adding these tanks in future if desired,

19 Great height desirable for photographic records.