PDF (1941) - CaltechCampusPubs

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CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Advanced work in Mechanical Engineering is offered in the following
fields: machine design, involving the properties of materials and
the processes of production; metallography, the structure of metallic
alloys and effects of heat treatment; thermodynamics and power
plant design and analysis; internal combustion engines; refrigeration;
heating and ventilating; air conditioning; hydrodynamics; and
hydraulic machinery.
HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
Due to the recent establishment of research laboratories at the Institute
covering several of the broader fields of hydraulic engineering,
the opportunities for advanced study and research in such fields
are exceptionally good. Researches are now being carried on
or are just being completed in these laboratories in cooperation with
the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Bureau of
Reclamation of the United States Department of the Interior, the
Los Angeles County Flood Control District, and the Soil Conservation
Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.
HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES LABORATORY. The hydraulic structures
laboratory is located out of doors adjoining the undergraduate
hydraulic laboratory. At present the equipment includes:
(a) A model basin of about 2000 square feet in which river, harbor,
and beach problems can be studied. It is provided with a wave
machine and an automatic tide machine which together make it
possible to superimpose waves of various magnitudes, frequencies,
and directions upon any desired tide cycle. This was constructed in
cooperation with the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corporation and
the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. (b) A channel
platform for studying high velocity flow. This platform can be
adjusted to any gradient up to 12 per cent. It has been installed in
cooperation with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District to
study the phenomena encountered in flood control channels in foothill
regions where the flow velocity is above the critical. (c) A con-