Hollow Glass Block research for Owens-Illinois

[Trade Journal]

Publication: Engineering Bulletin Purdue University

Lafayette, IN, United States
vol. 24, no. 5a, p. 5,19-20,48-49, col. 1


RESEARCH SERIES NO. 77

ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION

 

 

REPORT

OF THE

RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

ACTIVITIES

 

OF THE

 

ENGINEERING SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS

FOR THE SESSIONS OF

1939-1940

 

 

A A. POTTER

Director

Engineering Experiment Station

Engineering Extension Department

 

 

W. A. KNAPP

Secretary

Engineering Experiment Station

Engineering Extension Department

 

 

PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Lafayette. Indiana

OCTOBER. 1940

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RESEARCHES CARRIED ON BY THE ENGINEERING

EXPERIMENT STATION AND THE ENGINEERING

SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS

 

July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1940

 

Engineering researches of value to industry are carried on by the Engineering Experiment Station, by the several schools and departments, and by engineering undergraduate and graduate students.

 

I. Researches of the Engineering Experiment Station include:

 

(a) Station researches

(b) Co-operative researches — direct with the industry

(c) Co-operative researches — through the Purdue Research Foundation.

 

II. Researches of the schools and departments include:

 

(a) Staff researches

(b) Graduate researches

(c) Undergraduate researches.

 

The report that follows includes brief reports on all active research investigations carried on by the Engineering Experi­ment Station and by the several engineering schools and de­partments of Purdue University for the period of July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1940. The reports are grouped under the several divisions of the Engineering Experiment Station, which correspond to the teaching divisions of the schools and departments of engineering.

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Hollow Glass-Block Research (Project C-29). Co-operative research for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, started inJuly, 1935. Investigators, R. B. Crepps and R. E. Mills.

Purpose. To study the physical and mechanical proper­ties of hollow glass blocks as individual units and also when used for masonry.

Progress Report. 1. Permeability test of wall panel. Tests completed on panel made July 25, 1938, and report sub­mitted January 20, 1940. The results show value in surface coating the mortar joints in glass-block construction with a special membrane material.

2. Tests on specimens made for studies of masonry mortar have been completed — a report is in progress.

3. A 20-page report of tests employing three types of wall ties for panels of glass blocks was submitted on January 20, 1940. Another report on two additional types of wall ties was submitted in June, 1940.

4. Compressive strength tests have been reported on blocks which had the face edges tapered inwards. These blocks gave slightly higher strengths than did the blocks formerly designed.

5. Flexure and shear tests on two block assemblies have been reported from time to time during this period.

6. Compressive strength tests were reported for ten glass blocks with and without fibreglas interior partitions.

7. Load-deformation tests of four expansion joint mate­rials were reported in a 15-page report in February, 1940.

8. Metal expansion joints were studied for small panel construction. The 15-page report in June, 1940, showed the special joint to have merit for residence use.

9. A special asphaltic glass-block-joint material was used in a two-block specimen. The load-deformation-recovery tests were reported in May, 1940.

10. Preliminary tests have been made on the torsional shear of blocks to develop the shearing resistance of the seal. This test is of primary interest to the producer.

11. Tests have been started for resilience of fiberglas and cork as filled and expansion strips used around glass-block panels during the construction. Some samples have been submitted to 20 cycles of freezing and thawing.

12. Studies of the slippage of glass-block panels on sills with ten different sill coverings is being made, This work is in progress.

13. Loading tests on five roof-light, or sky-light, panels were reported in a 27-page report in April, 1940. Monolithic panels on a span of 6'-3" carried loads from 300 to 500 pounds per square foot of surface, which are considerably greater than loads normally used in design.

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Commercial and Service Tests

 

The following commercial and service tests were carried on by the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Engineering Experiment Station:

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Thermal conductivity tests on panels constructed of vari­ous types of glass blocks, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Com­pany.

Conductance test of double-glazed windows with various thicknesses of air space between panes, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.

Study of effect of temperatures and humidity changes on glass block panels, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.

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Keywords:Hemingray
Researcher notes: 
Supplemental information: 
Researcher:Bob Stahr
Date completed:March 11, 2026 by: Bob Stahr;