tappi holds fourth engineering conference

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TAPPI Holds Fourth Engineering Conference X HE fourth and largest engineering conference to date of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper In- dustries was held at the Statler Hotel in Boston, Mass., Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. The conference, which was devoted to dis- cussions of the problems of the two in- dustries, featured sessions on mill de- sign, machine design, maintenance, power, and materials handling. The integrating keynote of the con- ference was sounded in the paper by M. C. Colli of the Rust Engineering Co. who emphasized the importance of good architectural layout in the design of modern paper mill buildings. The author declared that the saying "the better they work, the better they look," could not have heen used to describe factories built in the prewar era. Production engineering, he con- tinued, determines requirements and basic form of plant layout, but scien- tifically founded architectural design can be utilized to keep all factors harmonious and expressive. Celli offered the contemporary design of the component parts of paper mill buildings as an example of what can be done to incorporate the idea of "fitness for purpose" in the layout of industrial plants. The processes of equipment operation and building design are in- separable, he said, claiming that a re- covery boiler building is an indispensable part of the boiler. The paper mills of today, Celli pointed out, are not mere enclosures of space but must provide the best physical en- vironment for each individual and ma- chine. The structural frame, the walls, the acoustics, the lighting, the use of color, and the internal atmosphere all play a major role in determining the working efficiency of a plant. Maintenance Costs This conference on practical engineer- ing problems of the pulp and paper in- dustries also included a paper on the universal problem of maintenance costs. The author, D. Ross-Ross of the Howard Smith Paper Mills, Ltd., revealed that maintenance constitutes about 5% of the sales value of products in the pulp and paper industries. This is one of the most difficult costs to control, the author stated, and many means have had to be devised to reduce these expenses. Some of the methods that have proved suc- cessful, he said, are the use of cost control systems employing tabulation cards; budgetary systems, with or with- out monetary incentive for the main- tenance staff, and actual wage incentives for all shop employees. The heating and ventilating problems attendant to the design of a modern bleach plant were discussed in the paper by J. H. Davidson of the Minnesota and Ontario Paper Co. The author de- scribed the bleach plant at the Interna- tional Falls Mills of his company, which consists of *a 100-ton six-stage kraft bleachery, and a 100-ton two-stage hard- wood sulfite bleachery. Provision has also been made for a single-stage, 75-ton, groundwood bleachery, he added. The bleach plant buildings, the author continued, are of structural steel and reinforced concrete construction with brick and tile walls and have a com- bined volume of 890,000 cubic feet. They are equipped with air filters, steam heaters, gas absorbers, and air temper- ing recirculation systems, Davidson ex- plained, and the bleach liquor making building is separate and has its own heating and ventilation system. In the main building, he said, the washer or operating room is pressurized and iso- lated from the remainder of the struc- ture to protect the personnel and equip- ment against exposure to toxic and cor- rosive gases, especially chlorine. The formal program of the confer- ence ended with a paper on the broad- est of engineering topics, the control of energy, by G. R. Harrison of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his presentation, the speaker con- tended that the prosperity of the nation depends ultimately upon the ability of its scientists and engineers to harness many forms of energy to the uses of mankind. Although our capabilities in this direction have greatly improved through the years, Harrison declared, we still have much to learn and must not delude ourselves into believing that all of this untapped knowledge lies in the development of power from the atomic nucleus. Each day 200,000 times as much power as is used for all purposes of in- dustry and transportation falls on the earth from the sun. To a great extent, he concluded, the degree to which science may learn how to harness this energy will determine the increase of wealth of the average citizen in the future. Rheologists Examine Commercial Materials A STAFF REPORT J. HE Society of Rheology held its an- nual meeting in New York on Nov. 4 and 5, and as usual drew an attendance from the many walks of science inter- ested in the study of the deformation and flow of matter. Over 100 chemists, physicists, and members of other nat- ural sciences attended to hear a pro- gram containing a considerable number of papers devoted to the consideration of the rheological properties of several commercial materials. The social program was highlighted by the award of the second annual Bing- ham Medal to Henry Eyring, dean of the graduate school of the University of Utah. The award was made in ab- sentia by H. S. Taylor of Princeton University at the traditional smoker on the second day of the meeting. A paper on the fundamentals of tack in printing inks was presented by An- dries Voet and C. F. Geffken of the J. M. Huber Corp. The authors ex- plained that "tack" in the printing process is usually visualized as the re- sistance to separation of inked form and paper joined by the printing impression. The process of film separation, they continued, must be considered as being of an "impact" nature and for this rea- son the energy, and not the force, of film separation appears to be the domi- nant factor. Commercial paints also came under the critical eyes of the rheologists in the form of a paper by Ε. Κ. Fischer, of Charlottesville, Va. The author re- ported the results of his tests of 15 paints and enamels in a rotational vis- cometer. This type of evaluation, he claimed, provides a measure of the Theo- logical properties of the products as used by the average consumer. Enamels, Fischer revealed, have Newtonian flow or very low yield values while house paints, semigloss, and matte finishes have high yield values ranging from 20 to 100 dynes/sq. cm. The meeting was also the occasion for the announcement of the election of new officers of the society for the next two years. The new president is R. N. Trax- ler of the Texas Co., and the posts of first and second vice president will be held by R. S. Spencer of the Dow Chemical Co. and A. Arnold Bondi of the Shell Development Co., respectively. Secretary-treasurer will be G. J. Dienes of North American Aviation Co. W. H. Markwood of the Hercules Powder Co., was reelected to a third term of office as editor of the society's publication. Concurrent with the New York meet- ing, the first meeting of the newly organized West Coast Section of the Society of Rheology was held at the Hotel Claremont, Berkeley, Calif. A. Arnold Bondi, Shell Development Co., is chairman bf the organizing committee. 3488 CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS

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Page 1: TAPPI Holds Fourth Engineering Conference

TAPPI Holds Fourth Engineering Conference X HE fourth and largest engineering

conference to date of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper In­dustries was held at the Statler Hotel in Boston, Mass., Oct. 30 t o Nov. 3. The conference, which was devoted to dis­cussions of the problems of the two in­dustries, featured sessions on mill de­sign, machine design, maintenance, power, and materials handling.

The integrating keynote of the con­ference was sounded in the paper by M. C. Colli of the Rust Engineering Co. who emphasized the importance of good architectural layout in the design of modern paper mill buildings. The author declared that the saying "the better they work, the better they look," could not have heen used to describe factories built in the prewar era. Production engineering, he con­tinued, determines requirements and basic form of plant layout, but scien­tifically founded architectural design can be utilized to keep all factors harmonious and expressive.

Celli offered the contemporary design of the component parts of paper mill buildings as an example of what can be done to incorporate the idea of "fitness for purpose" in the layout of industrial plants. The processes of equipment operation and building design are in­separable, he said, claiming that a re­covery boiler building is an indispensable part of the boiler.

The paper mills of today, Celli pointed out, are not mere enclosures of space but must provide the best physical en­vironment for each individual and ma­chine. The structural frame, the walls, the acoustics, the lighting, the use of color, and the internal atmosphere all play a major role in determining the working efficiency of a plant.

Maintenance Costs This conference on practical engineer­

ing problems of the pulp and paper in­dustries also included a paper on the universal problem of maintenance costs. The author, D . Ross-Ross of the Howard Smith Paper Mills, Ltd., revealed that maintenance constitutes about 5% of the sales value of products in the pulp and paper industries. This is one of the most difficult costs to control, the author stated, and many means have had to be devised to reduce these expenses. Some of the methods that have proved suc­cessful, he said, are the use of cost control systems employing tabulation cards; budgetary systems, with or with­out monetary incentive for the main­tenance staff, and actual wage incentives for all shop employees.

The heating and ventilating problems attendant to the design of a modern

bleach plant were discussed in the paper by J . H . Davidson of the Minnesota and Ontario Paper Co. The author de­scribed the bleach plant at the Interna­tional Falls Mills of his company, which consists of *a 100-ton six-stage kraft bleachery, and a 100-ton two-stage hard­wood sulfite bleachery. Provision has also been made for a single-stage, 75-ton, groundwood bleachery, he added.

The bleach plant buildings, the author continued, are of structural steel and reinforced concrete construction with brick and tile walls and have a com­bined volume of 890,000 cubic feet. They are equipped with air filters, steam heaters, gas absorbers, and air temper­ing recirculation systems, Davidson ex­plained, and the bleach liquor making building is separate and has its own heating and ventilation system. In the main building, he said, the washer or operating room is pressurized and iso­lated from the remainder of the struc­

ture to protect the personnel and equip­ment against exposure to toxic and cor­rosive gases, especially chlorine.

The formal program of the confer­ence ended with a paper on the broad­est of engineering topics, the control of energy, by G. R. Harrison of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his presentation, the speaker con­tended that the prosperity of the nation depends ultimately upon the ability of its scientists and engineers to harness many forms of energy to the uses of mankind. Although our capabilities in this direction have greatly improved through the years, Harrison declared, we still have much to learn and must not delude ourselves into believing that all of this untapped knowledge lies in the development of power from the atomic nucleus. Each day 200,000 times as much power as is used for all purposes of in­dustry and transportation falls on the earth from the sun. To a great extent, he concluded, the degree to which science may learn how to harness this energy will determine the increase of wealth of the average citizen in the future.

Rheologists Examine Commercial Materials A STAFF REPORT

J. H E Society of Rheology held its an­nual meeting in New York on N o v . 4 and 5, and as usual drew an attendance from the many walks of science inter­ested in the study of the deformation and flow of matter. Over 100 chemists, physicists, and members of other nat­ural sciences attended to hear a pro­gram containing a considerable number of papers devoted to the consideration of the rheological properties of several commercial materials.

The social program was highlighted by the award of the second annual Bing­ham Medal to Henry Eyring, dean of the graduate school of the University of Utah. The award was made in ab­sentia b y H . S. Taylor of Princeton University a t the traditional smoker on the second day of the meeting.

A paper on the fundamentals of tack in printing inks was presented by An-dries Voet and C. F. Geffken of the J. M . Huber Corp. The authors ex­plained that "tack" in the printing process i s usually visualized as the re­sistance to separation of inked form and paper joined by the printing impression. The process of film separation, they continued, must be considered as being of an "impact" nature and for this rea­son the energy, and not the force, of film separation appears to be the domi­nant factor.

Commercial paints also came under

the critical eyes of the rheologists in the form of a paper by Ε . Κ. Fischer, of Charlottesville, Va. T h e author re­ported the results of his tests of 15 paints and enamels in a rotational vis­cometer. This type of evaluation, he claimed, provides a measure of the Theo­logical properties of the products as used by the average consumer. Enamels, Fischer revealed, have Newtonian flow or very low yield values while house paints, semigloss, and matte finishes have high yield values ranging from 20 to 100 dynes/sq. cm.

The meeting was also the occasion for the announcement of the election of new officers of the society for the next two years. The new president is R. N . Trax-ler of the Texas Co., and the posts of first and second vice president will be held by R. S. Spencer of the Dow Chemical Co. and A. Arnold Bondi of the Shell Development Co., respectively. Secretary-treasurer will be G. J. Dienes of North American Aviation Co. W. H. Markwood of the Hercules Powder Co., was reelected to a third term of office as editor of the society's publication.

Concurrent with the New York meet­ing, the first meeting of the newly organized West Coast Section of the Society of Rheology was held at the Hotel Claremont, Berkeley, Calif. A. Arnold Bondi, Shell Development Co., is chairman bf the organizing committee.

3488 C H E M I C A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S