University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station records

University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station records, 1923-1965

Overview of the Collection

Creator

University of Washington. Engineering Experiment Station

Title

University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station records

Dates

1923-1965 (inclusive)
1937-1956 (bulk)

Quantity

8.2 cubic feet (7 cartons and 1 oversize box)

Collection Number

(Accession No. 06-034)

Summary

Records documenting the research and projects of the University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station

Repository

University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu

Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages

English

Sponsor

Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Washington was officially established by the Board of Regents in 1917. The express purpose of the Station was "to aid in the industrial development of the state and nation by scientific research and by furnishing information for the solution of engineering problems." The work done at the station produced many research papers and reports that were published in its Bulletin The Station was governed by a University Board that consisted of the following four authorities: the President of the University, the Dean of the College of Engineering, the Director of the Station, and a representative for each research division of the station. The Station had 3 directors during its existence- Carl Edward Magnusson from 1917 until his death in 1941, Edgar Allan Loew from 1941 to 1945, and Frederick Burt Farquharson from 1945 to 1963. In September of 1962, the Office of Engineering Research was established within the College of Engineering for the promotion and administration of sponsored research in the various engineering departments. In July of 1963, the Engineering Experiment Station was merged with the Office of Engineering Research under the latter title.

From its inception in 1917 to its end in 1963, the Station performed research in many areas of engineering and science. The Station conducted research for a wide range of civil and private organizations, both within and outside of the United States. The list of clients includes the United States Department of the Interior, Washington State, the City of Seattle, the City of Vancouver British Columbia, and a number of private companies. Perhaps the Station's most notable work was an investigation of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse in 1940. Much of the research on this problem was led by Frederick Burt Farquharson. Professor Farquharson received publicity for his construction of a quonset-hut wind tunnel, which he used to test full and sectional models of the bridge, simulating the violent winds that rocked "Galloping Gertie".

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The records of the Engineering Experiment Station measure 8.2 cubic feet and span the years 1923 to 1965. Most of the records are from the time of Burt Farquharson's directorship and most were created by Farquharson. Administrative records include a valuable historical features file, meeting minutes, general correspondence, annual reports to the President of the University of Washington, research reports, reprints, and a scrapbook containing clippings about the school from 1929 to 1937.

The bulk of the collection consists of Project Files, primarily civil engineering projects, especially bridge construction and testing. Project Files document major research projects that the Experiment Station conducted. These include: Aluminum Company of America Conductor Vibration Studies, Desalting Sea Water for United States Department of the Interior, George Washington Bridge, Kelowna Bridge, Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (formerly known as Lake Washington Bridge), Mackinac Bridge, Seattle Public Safety Building Problem, Spruce Spars for Posey Manufacturing Company, and Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Washington). A large proportion of the material within the project files are correspondence, research reports, test records, and drawings (both blue prints and other). Test records are mostly subdivided into key test conditions or controlled variables, and are ordered alphabetically. The Tacoma Narrows project file contains test material on the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. The Station studied full and sectional models of the Golden Gate bridge "due to its marked similarity to the preliminary Tacoma Proposal."

Major Correspondents are: Aluminum Company of America, Frederick Burt Farquharson, Lacey Van Buren Murrow, and the Washington Toll Bridge Authority.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Public records (Use unrestricted when access is granted).

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged into 2 series:

Administrative Records, 1923-1965
Project Files, 1927-1958

Acquisition Information

Source: Robert G. Hennes, College of Engineering, Civil Engineering, 3/19/1971; College of Engineering, Office of Engineering Research, 4/7/1971 & 4/29/1971; College of Engineering, Civil Engineering, 11/23/1971

Processing Note

Processed by Dan Waters; processing completed in 2007

Photographs were relocated to the University of Washington Engineering Experiment Station Collection of Tacoma Narrows Bridge Photographs and Ephemera, Ph Coll 290.

Motion picture film of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge were relocated to the Moving Image Collection.

118 Bulletins, 7 Series Reports and 6 Technical Notes published by the Engineering Experiment Station were added to Special Collections' cataloged collection.

Related Materials

Frederick Burt Farquharson Papers; accession number: 3395-002.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Administrative Records, 1923-1965Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Historical Features	1934-1937, 1947-1965
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
1/2	Amman and Whitney, Consulting Engineers (New York)	1956
1/3	Boeing Airplane Company	1928
1/4	Engineering News Record	1934-1937
1/5	Farquharson, Frederick B.	1933-1938, 1946-1958
1/6	McGraw-Hill Publishing Company	1934-1936
1/7	Tyler, Richard Gaines	1934-1935
1/8	United States Works Progress Administration (Washington)	1935
1/9	Washington State Treasury Department	1934-1936
1/10	Wiley, John and Sons	1935-1936
1/11	Zioncheck, Marion A.	1933-1936
1/12	Miscellaneous	1923-1965
Box/Folder
1/13	Interdepartmental Correspondence	1933-1959
1/14	Interdepartmental Correspondence (Dean of College of Engineering)	1934-1935, 1952-1963
1/15	Intradepartmental Correspondence	1949, 1959-1963
1/16-19	Minutes	1945-1963
	Reports of the Engineering Experiment Station
Box/Folder
1/20	Annual Report from the Dean	1958-1959
1/21-29	Annual Reports to the President	1947-1963
1/30	Quarterly Research Reports	1925-1949
	Research Reports
Box/Folder
1/31	Atmospheric Pollution in Seattle	1950
1/32	Concrete Tuning Fork Tests	1946
1/33	Deflections of Swept Triangular Plates	1950
1/34	Iron Losses in Electric Conduit	1950
1/35	Phosphate Rock and Laterite for a Phosphorus-Alumina Process	1950
2/1	Steam Plants and the Northwest Power Shortage	1951
2/2	Steel Roof Deck Tests	1955
2/3	Three Dimensional Nozzle Study	1949
2/4-5	Wind and Radio Noise from Conductors for Bonneville Power	1952
	Reports of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
Box/Folder
2/6	Technical Memoranda	1929, 1951
2/7	Technical Notes	1921, 1926, 1939
Box/Folder
2/8	Research Proposals	1947, 1963
2/9-11	Reprints of the Engineering Experiment Station	1947-1959
2/12	Reprints-Miscellaneous	1934-1938
2/13	Publications of Others	1936, 1938
	Writings
Box/Folder
2/14	Hydro Electric Power in Washington	1950
2/15	Use of Photoelastic Method in Undergraduate Education	undated
	Financial Records
Box/Folder
2/16	Budget Allocations	1958-1963
2/17	Budget Forecasts	1961-1963
2/18	Construction Procedures	1961-1963
2/19	Departmental Requests	1963
2/20	Sponsors' Expenditures	1938-1939
Box/Folder
2/21	Fellowship and Assistantship Files	1945-1964
	Curriculum Materials
Box/Folder
2/22	Aerodynamic Problems	1928
2/23	C.E. 91 "Mechanics for Engineering"	1935-1940
2/24	C.E. 131 "Applied Mechanics"	1929-1931
2/25-26	C.E. 132 "Applied Mechanics"	1926-1933
2/27	C.E. 171A "Structural Analysis"	1937
2/28	C.E. 171B "Structural Analysis"	1940
2/29	C.E. 172 "Structural Analysis"	1938
2/30	Resilience in Beams	1930-1939
Box/Folder
2/31	Lab Notebook Contains data from many projects.	1946-1950
2/32	Notebooks	1924-1925, 1940
2/33-34	Notes and Calculations (Miscellaneous)	1932-1957, undated
	Lists
Box/Folder
3/1	Activities in Structural Research Lab	1956-1957
3/2	Industrial and Public Contacts	1939-1940
	Drawings
Box/Folder
3/3	Water Tower	1956, undated
	Writings of Others
Box/Folder
3/4	Arrangements with Ray Reflection	1940
3/5	Artificial Phenalformaldehyde in Photoelasticity	undated
3/6	Beam Variations	1960
3/7	Fifty Years of Boundary Layer Theory and Experiment	1954
3/8	Measurement of Solid Friction of Plastics	1940
3/9	A Property of Synthetic Resins	1936
3/10	Stresses in Rock Surrounding Tunnels	1931
3/11	Suspension Turbidimeter for Determining Surface Area of Granular Materials	1934
3/12	Wind Action of Structural Members	1934
Box/Folder
3/13	Photograph Black and white portrait of unidentified man.	undated
	Subject Files
Box/Folder
3/14	Exposition Building (Century 21) Contains reprints of others.	1958-1959
3/15	Patent for Triethylene Glycol Lignin	1952
3/16	Schmitz Bridge	1936
	Manuals
Box/Folder
3/17	Instructions for Southwark-Emery Testing Machine	1932-1935
3/18	Steel Products	1949, 1952
Box/Folder
3/19	Engineering Index Service Card Catalog	1941
3/20	Applications for Approval of Outside Work	1934
3/21-24	Scrapbook Primarily concerns engineering college affairs, engineering students and faculty, as well as events related to engineering. Also includes clippings regarding university administrative activities and policies.	1929-1937
3/25	Clippings	1952-1963
3/26	Miscellany	1932-1938, undated

Project Files, 1927-1958Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	Aluminum Company of America Conductor Vibration Studies These studies concern the power input from wind to vibrating overhead electrical conductors (amplitude of vibration).
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
3/27-29	Aluminum Company of America	1952-1956
3/30	American Institute of Electrical Engineers	1955-1956
3/31	University of Washington Graduate School, Dean	1953
3/32	Miscellaneous	1955-1956
Box/Folder
3/33-40	Research Reports	1953-1954
3/41	Reports to Joel Thompkins	1953-1955
	Test Records
Box/Folder
4/1-4	Stranded Models	undated
4/5-9	Smooth Cylinders	undated
4/10	Rigid Models	1956
Box/Folder
4/11	Writings of Others	1936
4/12	Letters of Agreement	1953, undated
4/13	Invoices	1953
4/14-15	Miscellany	undated
	Desalting Sea Water for United States Department of the Interior
Box/Folder
4/16	General Correspondence	1956-1958
4/17	Research Proposals	1954
4/18-20	Research Reports	1956
4/21	Photographs All black and white. Four 8" x 10" and one 3" x 5" of machines and unidentified persons.	undated
	George Washington Bridge (New York and New Jersey)
Box/Folder
4/22	Model Measurements	undated
4/23-25	Test Records	1950-1951, undated
box-folder:oversize
8/1	Drawings	1946
	Kelowna Bridge (British Columbia, Canada)
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
4/26	Swan, Wooster and Partners, Consulting Engineers (Vancouver, British Columbia)	1955-1956
4/27	Miscellaneous	1955
Box/Folder
4/28	Legal Files	1955
4/29	Research Reports	1952-1956, undated
4/30	Test Records	1956, undated
4/31	Budget Files	1955
4/32-33	Writings of Others	1927, 1936, undated
4/34-35	Reports of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics	1926-1949
4/36	Writing by unidentified author	undated
box-folder:oversize
4/37, 8/2	Drawings	1955, undated
Box/Folder
5/1	Photographs All black and white. Five 8" x 10" of section models and machines, and eight 3" x 5" of people, horses, and encampments.	undated
5/2	Photocopies of Section Model and Wind Tunnel	undated
5/3	Clippings	1955
5/4	Miscellany	undated
	Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (Lake Washington Bridge)
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
5/5	Freeman, Miller	1937-1940
5/6	Gregory, Luther E.	1937-1940
5/7-8	Murrow, L.V. (Lacey Van Buren)	1937-1938
5/9	Thomson, R. H.	1937-1939
5/10	Washington Toll Bridge Authority Includes two 4" x 5" photographs, probably of Admiral Luther E. Gregory	1938-1945
5/11	Washington State Planning Council	1935-1938
5/12	Miscellaneous A-Z	1937-1941
	Reports
Box/Folder
5/13-17	Monthly Progress Each progress report includes 8" x 10" photographs of bridge construction	1939-1940
5/18	Atmospheric and Water Temperatures	1937
5/19	Bearing Test	1938
5/20	Wind and Wave Action	1938-1939
Box/Folder
5/21	Toll Schedule Study Also contains material related to Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Washington).	1940-1941
5/22	Unit Construction and Test Proposals	1938
box-folder:oversize
8/3	Traffic Survey Data Sheets	1938
Box/Folder
5/23	Bids for the Construction of Bridge Units	1938
	Unit Descriptions and Provisions
Box/Folder
5/24	Unit 7	1938
5/25	Unit 8	1938
5/26	Unit 9	1938
5/27	Unit 9 Revised	1938
5/28	Unit 10	1938
5/29	Unit 11	1938
	Drawings
box-folder:oversize
8/4	General Plans Includes 4 black and white 3" x 5" photographs of street views	1938-1940
8/5	Unit 2	1940
8/6	Unit 7	1938
8/7	Unit 8	1938
8/8	Unit 9	1938
8/9	Unit 9 Revised	1938
8/10	Unit 10	1938
8/11	Unit 11	1938
Box/Folder
5/30	Map of Washington State	undated
5/31	Legislative Proposals	1937-1938
5/32	Miscellany	undated
	Mackinac Bridge (Michigan, United States)
Box/Folder
5/33	Historical Features	undated
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
5/34	Steinman, D. B.	1954-1955
Box/Folder
5/35-38	Research Reports	1955, undated
	Test Records
Box/Folder
5/39	Aerodynamic Stability	1955
5/40	Critical Velocity for d=0.08	undated
5/41	No Rails or Curbs	undated
5/42	Runs 1-20 and 23-26	1954-1955
5/43	Run 21	1955
5/44	Run 22	1955
6/1	Vertical and Torsional Stiffness for D	undated
6/2	Miscellaneous	undated
Box/Folder
6/3-4	Curve Sheets	undated
6/5	Blue Print	1953
6/6	Photo Illustrations	undated
6/7-8	Photographs All black and white. Twenty-one 8" x 10" of section models and bridge construction, one portrait of David B. Steinman, and six 3" x 5" of section models.	undated
6/9	Ephemera	1954-1957
6/10	Miscellany	1954-1955, undated
	Ruby Dam (Skagit River, Washington) Later renamed Ross Dam in honor of Seattle City Light Superintendent James Ross
Box/Folder
6/11	Incoming Letters	1937
6/12	Test Records	1937-1938, undated
6/13	Strain Readings with Huggenberger Tensometer	undated
6/14, 8/12	Drawings	1937
	Seattle Public Safety Building Problem These files concern the study of Dantore perlite, which was used in place of plaster for the construction of the Seattle Public Safety Building, to determine if it was substandard material.
	General Correspondence
Box/Folder
6/15	Dant and Russell, Inc.	1955-1956
6/16	Eben and Nahstoll	1956
6/17	Graf, S.H.	1954-1958
Box/Folder
6/18-21	General Correspondence of Frederick B. Farquharson	1954-1956
6/22	Minutes	1956
	Research Reports
Box/Folder
6/23	Dantore Plaster	1955-1957
6/24	Perlites	1955-1956
Box/Folder
6/25	Lab Records	1949-1951
6/26	Data Sheets	1946, 1952-1956
6/27	Notes	undated
6/28	Writings of Others	1950
6/29	Publications	1953-1956
6/30	Financial Records	1956-1958
6/31	Clippings	1955, undated
6/32	Ephemera	undated
	Spruce Spars for Posey Manufacturing Company
Box/Folder
6/33	General Correspondence	1929-1931
6/34	Research Report	undated
6/35	Test Records	1929
6/36	Receipt	1939
	Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Washington)
Box/Folder
6/37	Legal Documents	1947
	Reports
Box/Folder
6/38	Bridge Failure Report	1942
6/39-40	Preliminary Reports	1941-1942
6/41-60	Research Reports	1940-1953, undated
	Reports of Others
Box/Folder
6/61	Richmond-San Rafael Bridge	1955
6/62	Washington Toll Bridge Authority Progress Report on Tacoma Narrows and Lacey V. Murrow Bridges Includes 8" x 10" photographs of construction scenes	1939-1940
Box/Folder
6/63	Writings	1947, 1952
	Test Records of Bridge Models
Box/Folder
6/64	Alterations of 'I' in Stiffness	1939-1941
6/65	Closed Deck/Center Free	1942-1943
6/66	Closed Deck/Center Tied	1943
6/67	Dunn's Visit Calculations	1942
6/68-69	Early Section Model Tests	1944
6/70-7/5	Final Design	1947-1949, undated
7/6-7	Full and Section Model Data	1944-1947
7/8	Fully Faired Bridge	1945
7/9	Hold Down Angles and Conditions	undated
7/10	Lab Notebook	1944-1946
7/11	Live Load	1939
7/12	Logbook on Wind Tunnel Tests	1940-1942
7/13	Mastic/No Mastic	1950
7/14	Miscellaneous	1943-1944
7/15	Open Deck/Center Free	1943
7/16	Open Deck/Closed Deck	1942
7/18	Open Deck/Diagonal Tower Stays	1943
7/19	Open Deck/Fully Faired	1942, undated
7/20	Open Deck/No Center Stays	1943
7/21	Stiffness of Suspended Structure	1942-1943
7/22-23	Structural and Aerodynamic Damping	1947
7/24	Unloaded Backstays	1943
7/25	Varying Torsional Stiffness	undated
7/26-27	Vertical Inclination of Wind	1943
7/28	V/nb Reduced Velocity	undated
Box/Folder
7/29	Bridge Movement Data	1940
7/30	Drawings of Section Model	undated
7/31	Notes	1939-1943
7/32	Writings of Others	1942-1943
7/33-34	Bulletins	1949-1952
7/35	Engineering News Record	1935-1946
7/36	Souvenir Booklet	1950
7/37	Bibliographic Material	undated
	Subject File: Golden Gate Bridge Model
Box/Folder
7/38-44	Test Records	1946-1952, undated
7/45	Essay	undated
7/46	Notes	1951, undated
Box/Folder
7/47	Clippings	1940, 1956, 1970
7/48	Miscellany	1940, undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Civil engineering--Research
Civil engineering--Study and teaching--Washington (State)
University Archives/Faculty Papers (University of Washington)

Personal Names

Farquharson, F. B. (Frederick Burt)
Murrow, L. V. (Lacey Van Buren), 1904-1966

Corporate Names

Aluminum Company of America
University of Washington. Engineering Experiment Station--Archives
Washington Toll Bridge Authority (suject)

Geographical Names

Lacey V. Murrow Bridge (Mercer Island and Seattle, Wash.)
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Tacoma, Wash. : 1940)

Form or Genre Terms

Annual reports
Blueprints
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Drawings
Minutes
Research (document genres)
Scrapbooks

Other Creators

Corporate Names
- University of Washington. University Archives

Archives West Finding Aid

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