Pressure, Resistance, and Stability of Earth - American Society of Civil Engineers: Transactions, Paper No. 1174, - Volume LXX, December 1910 by J. C. Meem
page 86 of 92 (93%)
page 86 of 92 (93%)
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The writer is indebted to Mr. Goodrich for pointing out some errors in omission and in typography (now corrected), and for his hearty concurrence in some of the assumptions which the writer believed would meet with greatest disapproval. In reply to Mr. Pruyn and Mr. Gregory, the writer assumed that the piston area in Experiment No. 6 should be reduced only by the actual contact of material with it. If this material in contact should be composed of theoretical spheres, resulting in a contact with points only, then the theoretical area reduced should be in proportion to this amount only. The writer does not believe, however, that this condition exists in practice, but thinks that the area is reduced very much more than by the actual theoretical contact of the material. He sees no reason, as far as he has gone, to doubt the accuracy of the deductions from this experiment. Regarding the question of the length of time required to raise the piston, he does not believe that the position of his critics is entirely correct in this matter; that is, it must either be conceded that the piston area is cut off from the source of pressure, or that it is in contact with it through more or less minute channels of water. If it is cut off, then the writer's contention is proved without the need of the experiment, and it is therefore conclusive that a submerged tunnel is not under aqueous pressure or the buoyant action of water. If, on the other hand, the water is in contact through channels bearing directly upon the piston and leading to the clear water chamber, any increase in pressure in the water chamber must necessarily result in a virtually instantaneous increase of the pressure against the piston, and therefore the action on the latter should follow almost immediately. In all cases |
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