THE NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY CHEMICAL LABORATORIES ARTHUR A. VERNON AND SAVER10 ZUFFANTI, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass.
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vents transmission of vibration from the fan, The dampers on the hoods are adjusted so that there is an intake of 40 feet per minute per square foot of hood opening. Louvers in the doors allow intake of air from the halls, so that no fumes escape from the laboratories. In the organic and inorganic chemistry and qualitative analysis laboratories unit heaters supply hot air removed by the hoods. These are automatically operated by thermostats for winter use; when heat is not on in the radiators, they can be operated manually for circulation of cold air. Each lecture room is on a separate ventilating system so adjusted that there is an exhaust of 15 cubic feet per minute per person if all seats are occupied. I n addition, unit ventilators, which can be operated manually or by thermostat, recirculate room air over steam radiators until the thermostat temperature is reached, after which they draw fresh air from outside. They can also be adjusted to draw in outside air unheated when the outside temperature approaches room temperature.
N OCTOBER 3, 1938, the Cheniical Laboratories of Northeastern University, located on the fourth floor of the new engineering building, were dedicated as the Hayden Memorial Laboratories, having been made possible by a gift from the Hayden Foundation. Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott of Boston designed the building, which was constructed by the Sawyer Construction Company of the same city; the Kimball Company built and installed the laboratory furniture under the direction of Arthur B. Stanley. The floor plan shows the interior arrangement of the laboratories. I n addition, there are two storage vaults in the basement and a large lecture hall on the second floor which is shared with the physics department. The walls, constructed of cinder block painted with buff casein paint, provide ample light reflection with no glare. The ceilings, which are pan type finished concrete painted the same color as the walls, have proved very effective in diffusing light and reducing reflected noise. The concrete floors are covered with asphalt tile in squares of dark red and black. This material resists common acids and alkalies in moderate concentration and the squares can be easily replaced if damaged. All laboratories and service rooms have steam, gas, electricity, and compressed air available, with outlets of a gun-metal oxidized copper finish. This finish gives a pleasing appearance and has been easy to keep clean. Every laboratory has a coat room and a conference room adjacent. The coat room has proved to be an excellent method of keeping the laboratory and halls neat, and the conference rooms are used continually. Carl Muckenhoupt of the physics department designed the flexible electrical distribution panel. Varying direct current voltages from batteries can be distributed to circuits, as well as 115- to 1.20-volt direct current, supplied by the Boston Edison Company. Extra jacks are provided for future increase in the battery voltage and the layout is such that the batteries can be charged b y e i t h e r a LECTURL ROOM Tungar or a generator. The distilled water tank is aluminum with a capacity of 100 gallons. The piping system is also aluminum, but the outlets in the laboratories are tin-lined self-closing bibcocks. Fourteen exhaust fans for removal of fumes discharge into louvers in the roof. All fume ducts and piping are of noncorrosive Type S Transite pipe. The fan capacities vary between 300 and 2000 cubic feet per minute. No more than three ducts lead to one fan, and the fans are connected t o the inlet pipe by asbestos acidproof cloth, which pre-
TRAXSITE DUCTS
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MARCH 15, 1939
ANALYTICAL EDITION
Top Left. LABORATORY TABLES, SHOWING CERAMICDRIPCUPS
Top Right. ORGANIC LABORATORY, SHOWING
SHOWER AISLELAYOUTAND EMERGENCY
Center. ORGANIC LABORATORY Bottom. INORGANIC LABORATORY
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INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Description of Laboratories The general chemistry and qualitative analysis laboratory is 36 feet wide and 65 feet long and will accommodate 75 students a t one time. It contains seven hoods, each 6 feet long, and seven laboratory tables, each 25 feet in length. The tables, placed 4 feet apart, contain three ceramic sinks each, and provide 756 locker spaces. A balance room opens off this laboratory and is equipped with triple-beam balances. A ventilated hydrogen sulfide room contains tank hydrogen sulfide and a gasometer. This gas is distributed through aluminum piping and hard-rubber cocks to the hoods. The organic chemistry laboratory, 34 X 68.5 feet, contains fourteen laboratory tables each 12 feet in length; 56 students can comfortably.work in the laboratory a t one time. This room is also equipped with 112 sets of lockers, a wall type of glass-blowing table, seven hoods each 6 feet long, and a combination fume-hood and evaporator unit. The, quantitative analysis and physical chemistry laboratory is 34 feet long and 58 feet wide. There are six laboratory tables, 16.5 feet long; two tables, 11 feet long; one table, 6 feet long; and a physical chemistry table, 10.5 feet long, containing a constant-temperature bath with the accessories. There are 120 lockers available and 50 students can work in the laboratory a t one time. The hood system consists of three 4-foot hoods, two hoods 6 feet long, and a combination hood and evaporator unit 6 feet long. One hood contains an electrically heated sand bath. Connected with the laboratory is an insulated, well-lighted balance room, 9 x 27.5 feet, which mill comfortably house 22 balances, An adjacent room 13 X 17 feet is equipped for technical analysis of industrial products. It contains four wall tables each 6 feet in length, a fume hood 6 feet long, and a large ceramic sink. Plenty of storage and drawer space is provided in the wall tables. The electrolytic room is used for such operations as electrometric titration and electrolytic analysis, Three research laboratories are available; all are equipped with wall tables, fume hoods with outlets for gas, water, steam, and electricity, and accessories, such as constant-temperature baths, glass-blowing tables, and sinks. A dark room, 14 X 17 feet, is equipped with working tables which are 3 feet 4 inches high and have a ceramic sink a t each end. Ventilation is supplied by a lightproof fan. All the equipment necessary for copying work and for the preparation of lantern slides is available and there is space to set up optical apparatus. The service rooms are designed to make a complete unit as far as possible. All the undergraduate laboratories are con-. nected with the dispensing stock room, which adjoins the storage rooms for alcohol, chemicals, and glass apparatus. The solution room also connects with the main stock room and is a fully equipped laboratory, containing ample, shelf room for maintaining a complete supply of chemicals and stock solutions. Rolling tables are used to transport sohr tions and chemicals from the solution room to the laboratory shelves. Two large and well-ventilated storage rooms in the basement contain the bulk of chemicals and other supplies, and a freight elevator is adjacent to these rooms and the main stock room. An internal telephone system and buzzers provide communication between the basement room, the main stock room, and the chemistrydepartment office. The lecture rooms on the fourth and second floors are each equipped with a preparation room containing wall tables, hoods, and steel storage cabinets. All materials necessary for lecture demonstrations are stored in these rooms, and demonstrations may be moved on rolling tables or passed into the room by raising the center blackboard section. The lecture room on the fourth floor is 34 feet wide and 44 feet lone: and contains 150 seats in a sloDine: floor. The cen-
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ter blackboard is one side of an illuminated hood in the preparation room and demonstrations requiring a hood may be set up and operated in this space. The lecture room table also contains a down-draft exhaust over which may be placed a fume hood of shatterproof glass, so that demonstrations performed in this hood are visible from all parts of the room.
Laboratory Furniture The fume hoods are of the open-front construction type, 33 inches wide. The working surface is Alberene stone and contains a ceramic waste drain with gooseneck faucets, steam, and gas. The electrical outlets are installed on the apron of the hood and there are two vaporproof lights in each hood operated by a switch located in the jamb. The hoods and adjustable baffles are made of Sheldine stone stained a light gray-green. The area under the Alberene stone working surface is entirely enclosed with lead-clad steel and serves as a drying cabinet. This is well insulated to make working conditions a t the hoods more comfortable; its two doors are made of two sheets of lead-clad steel with insulating material between them, The cabinet is vented into the ventilating system and the air is drawn in through screened holes located a t the 4-inch toespace of the hood. The source of heat is a closed steam radiator located a t the floor and covered with a perforated Shelstone slab that forms the bottom of the cabinet. Two copper screens of different mesh support the apparatus to be dried. The laboratory tables are 54 inches wide and vary in length from 12 to 25 feet. All are 37.5 inches high with Alberene stone working surface. Each table in the quantitative analysis, physical chemistry, and organic chemistry laboratories has one ceramic sink in the center into which ceramic troughs empty. The troughs are covered with removable stone covers pierced to take removable ceramic drip cups. There are gooseneck faucets a t the sinks and stainless-steel steam cones on the organic chemistry desks. A false end is provided a t the aisle end of each table to enclose the service pipes, so that the visible piping is kept to a minimum and a t the same time shut-off valves are readily available. The cabinet work is of selected Appalachian plain sawed white oak and the interior construction is of No. 1 common birch. The exterior panels are two-face plywood material matched for uniform figure and color. The locks for the student lockers are combination padlocks with stainless-steel shell and electrochemically colored dial. The units, which contain two drawers and a cupboard, are arranged SO that the drawers are fastened by a special catch operated from the cupboard, which allows one padlock to control the whole unit. A large number of wall tables are used in the service rooms and the research laboratories. These tables are 33 inches wide and 37 inches high, and are equipped with the same s e n ices as the larger tables. The units consist of one locker and nine drawers of three different sizes. The lecture tables are 12 feet long and 3 feet wide. In addition to the down draft previously mentioned they have all service connections similar to the laboratory tables. The evaporator units are made of Alberene stone with three ceramic troughs, which have Monel metal covers and are supported on Alberene stone slabs. Each trough is 68 inches long, 7.5 inches wide, and 6 inches deep with a 4-inch standing removable waste and overflow, and has openings 3 inches square over each nest of rings, so that vapors can be drawn into the vent chamber. A slanted overhead glass plate with a gutter is located over each bath to lead away the condensate, while the bottom of the vent chamber is drained by a heavily leaded drip pan.
