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.

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