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ReseaRch a n d developmenT In T h e aR m y 27
explode prematurely during firing, causing catastrophic injury to gun crews.
Joined by new wartime recruits, mostly from academia, the solid-state physics
group at Frankford Arsenal designed and built testing apparatus to measure the
internal friction of brass shell casings for the purpose of identifying cracks and
other structural imperfections. One advantage of this experimental method was
that it did not require invasive procedures. Researchers merely had to measure
how much energy was absorbed and dissipated in the brass metal—that is,
calculate the internal friction—rather than cut the shell apart, one of the standard
practices at the time, to identify potential weaknesses caused by season cracking.
Moreover, the technique was sensitive enough that cracks could be spotted early,
allowing investigators to study how they formed and grew over time. Taking
advantage of this new technique, employing other analytical methods, and
working closely with universities and several metals-producing companies, the
arsenal’s manufacturing divisions quickly adjusted their production methods to
turn out more reliable and structurally sound ordnance. 44
Studies of plastic deformation and internal friction of metals continued
at Frankford after the war. This research, like most of the other metallurgical
investigations underway in the laboratory, remained focused, however, on
the solution of problems related to ordnance production. In the early 1950s,
metallurgical studies at Frankford were grouped into three categories: “basic
metallurgical research,” “process research,” and “special problems.” Basic
metallurgical research included further work on dislocation theory and its
application to the development of new alloys. The search for alloys also drew on
advances in foundry research, another topic covered within this general category.
Begun at the arsenal in 1943, foundry work focused on the refinement of methods
to cast titanium, magnesium, and aluminum for use in the next generation of
high-performance materials. Fabrication, welding, corrosion, and heat treatment
of alloys engaged the efforts of technical staff working on process research.
Special problems covered topics found in both the basic metallurgical and process
research categories. Work ranged from ongoing studies of season cracking in
ammunition to the development of substitute alloys to offset lingering shortages
of zinc and copper used in the manufacture of brass gun cartridge cases. 45 That
studies of dislocation theory and foundry processes were grouped together under
the same category—“basic metallurgical research” suggests the extent to which
they were directed toward the same goal—the solution of ordnance problems.
44 Collaborating universities and industrial firms included the Case School of Applied Science in
Cleveland, Lehigh University, the New Jersey Zinc Company, and the Aluminum Company of America.
Greenall, “Non-Ferrous Metallurgical Research at Frankford Arsenal,” 787–89; interview with Herbert
I. Fusfeld by Thomas C. Lassman, April 2–3, 2005 (unedited transcript), Niels Bohr Library, Center for
History of Physics, American Institute of Physics, College Park, Md., 14–15, 17–19, 20. Fusfeld joined
Read’s group at the Frankford Arsenal in December 1941, shortly after receiving his B.S. degree in physics
from Brooklyn College. During the war, Fusfeld and Read collaborated on studies of internal friction in
metals to find a solution to the problem of season cracking in artillery shell casings. Fusfeld received M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees in physics from the University of Pennsylvania before resigning from the arsenal in 1953
to pursue an industrial career at the American Machine and Foundry Company.
45 D. J. Murphy, “Metallurgical Activities at Frankford Arsenal,” Metal Progress 62 (August 1952):
67–72.