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By C. J. Ramsburg

The construction and operation of by product coke-oven plants in America are essential to strong national defense and of the greatest importance to many widely diversified undertakings as well as to safety and health. Carbonization Process Coal used under a boiler or in a locomotive is consumed by combustion. Coal used in a by-product oven is distilled or carbonized, meaning that heat is applied to the coal, out of contact with air, causing a distillation that removes the volatile matter in the coal in the form of gas and vapor, leaving coke as a final product. From the gas and vapor distilled from the coal, many valuable substances can be secured, known as by-products. Hence the name "by-product oven." The simplest example of this principle can be shown by means of an ordinary clay pipe. If powdered coal is placed in the bowl of the pipe, the opening of the bowl is plugged with clay, and the bowl placed in a flame, the bowl will become hot, transferring the heat through the wall of the bowl to the coal within. When this coal attains a temperature of about 750°F., gas will begin to pour out of the pipe stem, and this gas may be lighted. A black liquid also will exude from the stem of the pipe, This is tar mixed with certain other products. What remains in the bowl after distillation is coke. A coke oven corresponds to the bowl of the pipe. A modern oven of the latest type is a refractory brick chamber approximately 42 ft. long and 14 ft. high, averaging 18 in. in width. The oven is filled with coal through closable charging holes in the oven top. Each end of the oven consists entirely of a self-sealing door, the removal of which permits the finished coke to be discharged by means of a power-operated pusher machine. The ovens are built in batteries, and the heating is effected by gas burned in vertical flues in the oven walls, each set of flues heating the walls of two adjacent ovens. Such ovens carbonize a charge of approximately 18 tons of coal in 18 hr., or have a daily throughput of 24 tons per oven, producing about 17 tons of coke. In times of need, the output may be increased by raising the temperature of flues, thus shortening the coking time. There is one great essential difference in principle between distillation in a clay pipe and in a coke oven. In the 18-in. oven, the distillation proceeds from two parallel walls held at a high temperature (over zooo°F.) and instead of all the coal being heated at once, the distillation is a progressive one creeping inward. The average travel of this heating is 35 in. per hour from each vertical wall, and as the volatile products are formed progressively they must push away from the interior toward the wall through the previously formed hot coke, then up the walls and Over the top of the coal charge, finally escaping through the outlet pipe. This results in a cracking of the components into many different and valuable substances not formed when the carbonizing temperature is low.

Jan 1, 1942

By Norman Carmichael, John Kiddie

The problem of transportation in the Clifton-Morenci district of Arizona has been one of peculiar difficulty and consequently has been an important factor in the cost of mining and treating the ores produced. From the crude beginning made over 50 years ago, many changes have been necessary to keep pace with the increased output of copper. A heavy-duty haulage system has developed on the original 20-in. track gage to meet the existent metal-mine conditions. Topography The transportation difficulties of this district may be readily appreciated from the relief map shown in Fig. 1. The northern half of the district is high mountainous country and there is a general but irregular drop toward the southern part, where the country, although still rugged, is in reality a great sloping plain. This is cut by numerous ravines from which the waters, in the rainy season, discharge into the channel of the San Francisco River. A chasm, 1000 ft. deep, has been eroded through the center of the district by Chase Creek, which is flanked by high irregular mountain masses, notably Copper Mountain, American Mountain, Coronado Mountain, and Markeen Mountain. The latter rises 2300 ft. above the bed of the creek, The San Francisco River has also cut a deep channel, though it is somewhat broader than Chase Creek. Eagle Creek traverses the extreme southwest portion of the area, where it has carved picturesquely through vast volcanic flows. Faulting has left its mark upon the topography of the district by adding to the irregularities caused by erosion. Strong faults occur at the Coro-

Jan 1, 1924

By Persifor Frazer

INTRODUCTION For various reasons I have not specified the locality where the research indicated in the following pages was undertaken. It will suffice to say that it was on the grounds of a villa once remote from, but now completely surrounded by, its neighboring city, and in close proximity to an industrial establishment of great extent and importance manufacturing many kinds of steel articles and employing upwards of thirty chimney-stacks for power and process work. The problem was to discover the cause or causes of the mortality to trees and plants on the place, and to trace these causes to their origin. Before undertaking this experimental work, the bibliography accompanying this paper was compiled and studied. It appears from an examination of the careful scientific work performed by the ablest French, German, and English chemists during the last 25 years that they are unanimous in assigning the principal-in fact, the overwhelmingly predominant-cause of the destruction of vegetation to sulphur oxides, resulting either from direct- oxidation of sulphur in oil of vitriol works, etc., or from the oxidation of the sulphur from the minerals associated with commercial coal. Schröder and Schertel showed in 1884 that the sulphates deposited upon the leaves are not injurious to the plants; and Freytag proved that free sulphuric acid could not be found

May 1, 1907

By H. F. JR. Miller

(Butte Meeting, August, 1913.) THE major cause of the deterioration of the open-hearth furnace as its length of service increases, is the melting down, or rather the slagging, of the checker-brick, together with the deposition of dirt in the form of iron oxide, etc., which helps to close the openings, as well as to slag the brick by chemical action. Any construction that will do away with the necessity of having the waste gases come down through the checkers will eliminate the main reason for their deterioration. There are some other well-defined reasons which are subordinate to the main one given above. Some of the defects of the present type of regenerator chambers are as follows: 1. The checkers cannot be cleaned while the furnace is in operation, nor can they be cleaned at the end of the run without taking out all of the checker-brick. This causes high costs for labor and brick. The labor cost is high because all checker-brick have to be handled twice. The brick cost is high because many of the bricks are spalled in the double handling, rendering them useless because a spalled brick will not stand up. 2. The top courses of brick become coated with iron oxide, etc., melt clown, and large amounts of dirt are deposited throughout the checkers, especially at the bottom. The draft of the furnace is decreased by the closing of the top and bottom openings, especially the top ones, and the entire working of the furnace is affected. If an effort is made to clean the checkers the dirt and brick falling down into the holes still further diminish the draft. 3. The distribution of the air or waste gases through the checkers is in many cases uneven, resulting in a lower temperature of pre-heated air and therefore a slower working furnace. Also, the passage of air and waste gases is so crooked that sometimes the chimney is not powerful enough to overcome the friction.

Jan 6, 1913

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members) The following is a partial list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Mar. 10, 1917, to Apr. 10, 1917. George S. Blair, Pittsburgh, Pa. E. P. Mathewson, Toronto, Canada. H. M. Boylston, Cambridge, Mass. T. Poole Maynard, Atlanta, Ga. F. J. Brule, Toronto, Canada. . W. J. Mead, Madison, Wis. M. B. Cohen, Miami, Ariz.. D. G. Miller, Denver, Colo. W. M. Corse, Buffalo, N. Y. P. N. Moore, St. Louis, Mo. F. G. Cottrell, Washington, D. C. R. H. Morris, Ansted, W. Va. E. C. Cross, Cleveland, 0. W. J. Morrison, Toronto, Canada. Nelson Dickerman, San Francisco, Cal. M. F. Ortin, Petrograd, Russia. F. N. Flynn, Chuquicamata, Chile. G. W. Paymal, New York, N. Y. F. L. Garrison, Philadelphia, Pa. Edward H. Perry, Boston, Mass. J. S. Grasty, Charlottesville, Va. 0. G. Petersen, Somerset, Ky. H. D. Hibbard, Plainfield, N. J. H. C. Price, Bartlesville, Okla. H. L. Hollis, Chicago, 111. C. A. Richardson, Toronto, Canada. F. H. Jackson, Marysvale, Utah. Hallet R. Robbins, Vancouver, B. C., Can. W. Strickler Jones, Silver City, N. M. A. H. Rogers, Boston, Mass. E. B. Kirby, St. Louis, Mo. H. G. Smith, Princepulca, Nic. J. M. Lovejoy, Electra, Tex. Edwin G. Steele, Van Horn, Tex. A. F. Lucas, Washington, D. C. 'S. A. Taylor, Pittsburgh, Pa. Edwin Ludlow, Lansford, Pa. A. P. Thompson, Salt Lake City, Utah, E. Francis McCrossin, Birmingham, Ala. Milton A. Allen is now engaged in the New York office of Messrs. Arthur L. Pearse & Co. Percy E. Barbour, managing editor of the Engineering & Mining Journal, has been appointed, by Governor Whitman, Deputy Superintendent of Police of the State of New York.

Jan 6, 1917

By AIME AIME

IN ACCORDANCE with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the American Engineering Standards Committee, the American Society for Testing, Mate-. on Feb. 15, 1921, submitted for approval by the A. E. S. Committee certain Standard Specifications for Copper, all of which were adopted or in process prior to Jan. 1, 1920, and sent with the standards the following histories of development and statements of use. FOR SOFT OR ANNEALED COPPER WIRE (B3-15) These specifications were originaly adopted by. the American Society for Testing Materials in 1912. They were prepared by a committee of the Society designated as Committee B-1 on Copper Wire. The committee consisted of eleven members; representatives of five manufacturers of -copper wire, of four manufacturers of electrical apparatus, and of two firms of consulting and contracting engineers. The members of the committee were designated by the officials of the companies to act as their representatives in the committee.

Jan 1, 1921

By Benjamin Talbot

The problem of segregation and cavities in steel ingots is a subject which has given and is still giving metallurgists, engineers, and operators matter for serious consideration. This question has come more into prominence lately in the United States, due largely to the desire of railroad engineers to secure a better rail than they have obtained ill the past, as the service they demand is increasing in severity; and no doubt manufacturers will be able to meet what is required of them. The rails here are as good as those made in other countries, but the conditions of service and the extremes of climate are more Revere and consequently more breakages occur. Various reasons have been advanced to explain why rails may not be as good in quality to-day as in the past. Some engineers consider that modern methods of manufacturing, designed chiefly to obtain large output, tend to reduce the standard of excellence of more deliberate methods. Others think that 4-ton ingots are worse than those of 2 tons. Again, it is stated that the 100-ton heat in one ladle is too large, and is a step in the wrong direction in casting. My experience upon the question of the size of the ingot is that in rolling rails of from 85-to 100-lb. sections, the range of ingot is only practically such that the difference in the size does not help in the question of segregation, cavities, or blow-holes. I call attention to two ingots from work done at Pencoyd, Pa., 16 years ago. These ingots were bottom-poured, cast at the same time from the same center-runner, the one being 20 by 24 in. and the other 13 by 16 in. in size. The steel was acid open-hearth, and contained C, 0.43; P, 0.062; S, 0.069 per cent. At the same place in each ingot where seg-

Jan 1, 1914

By Cyril Stanley Smith

ARCHEOLOGISTS, by use of the terms Bronze Age and Iron Age, indicate that metals have in the past determined the character of civilization. The relatively simple discovery by a primitive metallurgist that the addition of tin to copper both facilitated the production of castings and increased the durability of the product enabled hunter, warrior, and housewife alike to do things never dreamed of before. Similarly, the smelting of iron and the discovery of hardening methods greatly changed the arts of peace and war. Discoveries of low-melting-point alloys for joining and for making household utensils, and perhaps the adornment of a feminine form by sparkling precious-metal jewelry, have at times changed the destiny of a country. Bronze cannon, the cast and wrought iron Watt engine, copper transmission lines, and aluminum alloy aircraft, are cases of particular metals making possible the realization of an improved engineering design. Perhaps of the greatest influence of all upon civilization was the development of type metal. The rapid increase in the rate of dissemination of knowledge dates from the day that the technique of the pewterer was utilized in making rapidly reproducible and accurately sized letters for printing. It was not movable type, but metal type that was important, for metal castings could be made of identically the same shape and size at an enormous rate, and possessed excellent inking and wearing characteristics.

Jan 1, 1946

By Charles Catlett

THE rapid development of the Portland-cement industry implies that the country is being very carefully searched for material suitable for its manufacture. Such material can be found at a great many places ; but deposits thoroughly satisfactory in chemical composition, and at the same time meeting all the other requirements connected with the economic production and profitable marketing of the product, are exceedingly few, if I may judge from the investigations which I have had to make in a number of States. The raw mixture which by its clinking and grinding forms Portland cement contains approximately 75 per cent. of carbonate of lime. This is found in nature as limestone or marl. The natural rock commonly carries either more than the required percentage of carbonate of lime (in which case it has to be reduced by suitable admixture of clayey ingredients) or less-in which case purer lime carbonate has to be added. The controlling ingredient, therefore, is carbonate of lime, or limestone of the right composition. Among the most serious difficulties is that of finding limestones low enough in magnesia to meet the exacting requirements of certain specifications. All engineers recognize that there is a limit beyond which it is not safe to let the magnesia go; but within that limit there is considerable difference of opinion. Until that difference is finally settled, no one would be willing to invest the large sum of money necessary for a Portland-cement plant, if it were not certain that the usual requirements in this particular could be satisfied. The usual limit in well-established specifications is 5 per cent. of magnesium oxide in the finished cement, but many specifications limit the amount to 3 per cent. These figures

Jan 9, 1907

By K. A. Jackson, G. A. Chadwick, A. Klugert

The diffusion field ahead of a lamellar interfnce is analyzed using an electrical analog. A self-consistent solution is obtained for the shape of the interfnce and the diffusion field by an iterative process. The solutions presented here are for a 50-50 eutectoid or eutectic, The shape of the interface is found to he independent of growth velocity and lamellar spacing, and to depend on the relative values of interfacial free energies at the phase houndaries . The mode of growth of lamellar eutectics and eutectoids has been a subject of much interest for many years.1-4 Mehl and Hagel 1 have shown photomicrographs taken by Tardif when he attempted to determine experimentally the shape of an advancing pearlite interface; the results are completely ambiguous. Brandt' and schei13 have made approximate calculations of the composition ahead of a lamellar growth front. The shape of the advancing front and the composition distribution ahead of the front are difficult to calculate because one depends on the other. It is the purpose of the present paper to describe a method by which this calculation has been done. Lamellar-eutectic growth usually occurs under conditions where the growth is fairly rapid, and the interface temperature is close to the eutectic temperature. The growth rate is usually determined by heat flow. Eutectoid growth, on the other hand, can best be studied by quenching to some temperature, and allowing growth to proceed isother-mally. In both cases the growth is believed to be controlled by diffusion* rather than by the atomic kinetics of the transformation. This being the case, a single treatment of the diffusion equation will apply to both cases, provided the region of the interface in a eutectic may be considered to be isothermal. If a part of the interface could appreciably change its thermodynamic driving force by advancing ahead of or lagging behind the mean interface, then the two cases would not be similar. Eutectics normally grow in temperature gradients of the or-der of a few degrees per centimeter. The normal eutectic spacing is the order of a few microns. Part of the interface would have to extend many lamellar spacings ahead of the mean interface before it experienced sensibly different conditions. The interface temperature is usually a few tenths of a degree below the eutectic temperature so that temperature differences of the order of one-thousandths of a degree (a displacement of one lamellar spacing) would be unimportant. Protrusions large compared to the mean spacing do occur when one phase only grows into a eutectic liquid. This is usually a dendritic type of growth, and easily distinguishable from the lamellar mode of growth. A single treatment of lamellar growth will apply equally well to both eutectic and eutectoid decomposition. At the interface, which as shown above is essentially isothermal, the difference between the equilibrium eutectic temperature Teu and the actual interface temperature Ti, can be divided into two parts: 1) the composition varies across the interface, so that the local equilibrium temperature is not Teu; and 2) the interface is curved, so that the local equilibrium temperature is depressed according to the Gibbs-Thompson relationship. This undercooling can be written as Teu-Ti =?T = mAC(x) + a/r(x) [1] where ?C(X) is the departure of the composition at a point x on the interface from the eutectic composition, see Fig. 1, r(x) is the local radius of curvature at a point x on the interface, m is the slope of the liquidus line on the phase diagram, and a is a constant given by where s is the interfacial free energy, TE is the equilibrium temperature, and L is the latent heat of fusion. The calculations in this paper will be made only for the case where the phase diagram is symmetric, that is, the eutectic occurs at 50 pct, the liquidi have the same magnitude slope m at the eutectic temperature, and C,, the amount of B rejected when unit volume of a freezes, see Fig. 2(a), is the same for both phases. As shown in Fig. 2(b), the composition ahead of the a phase will be rich in B, the composition ahead of the ß phase will be rich in A. The composition at the phase boundary is the eutectic composition. The difference between the local liquidus temperature and the actual tempera-

Jan 1, 1964

By John C. McDonald

CONTROLLED cold work is used between solution heat treatment and precipitation heat treatment for producing certain tempers of the commercial aluminum base alloy 2219 (designation of the Aluminum Association, U.S.A.) which contains 6.3 pet Cu as the major ingredient responsible for the age hardening. The complete composition limits for this alloy are listed in Table I. The alloy has been described in detail,' and the control of the heat treatment has also been published.2 Beneficial effects of such cold work in other alloys have also been pointed out.3'4 NO data have been published on the effects of varying amounts of cold work under fixed aging conditions. In connection with an investigation of the possibility of providing the desired cold work by explosively generated shock waves, it became desirable to investigate the effect of variable cold work, and to compare the re -sults with those obtained from explosives. The general principles of explosive hardening are well-described in the literature.' All material used was guaranteed by the supplier

Jan 1, 1968

By Richard Divine

IN the Parkes process of extracting precious metals from lead, zinc is added to the molten lead containing gold, silver, copper, and, some antimony. These metals, with the exception of antimony, form an alloy with the zinc by reason of their greater affinity for it than for the lead, and this alloy, being lighter than lead, rises to the top, carrying the precious metals with it, whence it can be removed by skimming. These skimmings are further treated for the separation of the zinc therefrom, and the recovery of the precious metals, the zinc being driven off by heat and again used for another operation. In addition to the zinc that combines with the silver, etc., a certain amount is necessary to saturate the lead, and it is therefore necessary to treat the desilverized lead to free it from this residual zinc. To do this it is heated again in a reverberatory furnace and air or steam is blown through it. This oxidizes the zinc together with a small amount of lead and antimony, leaving the lead free from zinc and antimony, and forming oxides of these metals, which rise to the. top and are skimmed off. This process relates to the separation of the metals in these oxides or skimmings. The skimmings are cooled, crushed, and mixed with carbonate of soda and pulverized oil coke. The mixture is heated in a reverberatory furnace on a bath of lead, to about 1,000°C. The metals are reduced by the coke, the lead and antimony go into the lead bath, while the zinc is volatilized and burned to oxide. This impure oxide is at the present time treated at Omaha by the Hall process of electrical precipitation, making a very pure metallic zinc. It can also be very easily refined by the old Schnabel process of using ammonia and carbon dioxide as a solvent. It seen-is to be in an ideal form for this purpose, and very few changes from the original method are required to obtain the zinc oxide practically C. P., leaving the lead and antimony as residues.

Jan 8, 1914

By Charles F. Park

Mining in the Pacific Coastal Region has passed through three stages of development. First came the gold rush days, a period when gold and silver were the objects of intensive search. Second was the development of the high-grade base-metal deposits and of the smaller and more refractory precious metal deposits. And third was the modern period that covers the discovery and development of the rarer metals, of large low-grade deposits, and of the industrial and nonmetallic minerals. Brief discussions of the salient geologic features of the region and of a few of the better known mineral deposits are given. The regional geology is favorable for continued exploration and discovery of new deposits and districts.

Jan 1, 1968

By Kenneth E. Gray

The turbulent flow drag coefficients, or friction factors, have been experimentally determined for the cut-tings normally encountered in drilling operations. The gas law and average drag coefficients for characteristically flat particles (limestones and Shales) and for angular to sub-rounded particles (sandstones) were used to extend Newton's equation to a more useful form. The resulting equations are expressions for the slip velocity of a particle as a function of the particle size and shape, the bottom-hole injection Pressure, and the Bottom-hole temperature. The velocities necessary to lift actual rock cuttings as observed in the laboratory were compared with velocities predicted from the derived equations. Results indicate that there is no single correct circulating velocity and that the commonly used 3,000 ft/min linear velocity may he sufficient to lift only very mall particles. The advantage, in terms of horsepower requirements, of cycling high pressure air to obtain lower compression ratios was shown. INTRODUCTION A promising departure from standard rotary hydraulic drilling is air or gas drilling. In many instances the rate of penetration and bit life increases resulting from this method have been very substantial. Further the application of air drilling in areas of lost circulation or water sensitive pay zones has been highly successful. Purpose For the drilling contractor, the practical question remains, "How much air pressure and volume should I have?' lt is necessary to have a reasonable knowledge of the air velocities and pressures required in air drilling operations for the proper design and most advantageous use of surface equipment and for adequate removal of cuttings from the borehole. Eased on experience, most operators agree that at least 3,000 ft/min linear velocity is necessary for satisfactory hole cleaning.' It was the purpose of this investigation to evaluate the drag coefficients, or friction factors, for the cuttings normally encountered in drilling operations, i.e., sandstones, limestones and shales, and to utilize the values obtained to develop an expression for the minimum velocities and pressures (hence the volumes) necessary to lift these cuttings. THEORY Several investigators have done extensive work on the ability of drilling mud to lift bit cuttings. They conclude that the ability of a drilling mud to lift cuttings is dependent on the density difference between the rock being drilled and the drilling mud, the cutting size and shape, the mud flow constants, and the flow state (laminar, transitional or turbulent) of the mud. However, drilling muds are not true fluids but have a variation of viscosity with velocity in laminar flow and a constant apparent viscosity in turbulent flow. A survey of the literature revealed that no experimental work had been done to determine the velocities necessary to lift actual rock cuttings using a compressible fluid such as air or gas. In 1953, Nicolson6 stated that in air drilling fluid mechanics the particles could be assumed spherical in shape and that ; constant drag coefficient of 0.5 could be used due to the highly turbulent flow of the circulating air. By equating the turbulent resistance on the particle to the gravitational force on the particle, he obtained the expression, ^ = 2.67^y ,.......(1) where V, is slip velocity of spherical particle, ft/sec; D is particle diameter, in.; p, is particle density, 1b/ft8; and p, is fluid density, lb/ft3. However, as stated earlier, most operators seem to agree that adequate hole cleaning can be obtained by circulating a sufficient volume of air to give a linear velocity of 3,000 ft/rnin in the annular space. Basic Equation The velocity with which a solid particle freely falls through a fluid will increase until the accelerating force, gravity, is equal to the resisting forces, buoyancy due to the fluid displaced by the particle and friction due to the relative motion of the particle through the fluid. When the accelerating and resisting forces become equal,

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

THE presence of an excessive amount of tough froth in the flotation of minerals, particularly coals, may create trouble in dewatering, filtering, and handling. Froth is also a nuisance in many chemical industries.' This paper presents a study on the destruction of extremely tough froths with intense high-frequency sound. The data indicate that sound waves can be employed for continuous atandsoundwavescan instantaneous defrothing. A powerful high-frequency siren was used in obtaining the data. Also tested was an ultrasonorator of the crystal type with a frequency range of 400, 700, 1000, and 1500 kc per sec and a maximum power output from its amplifier of 198 w. The results, not presented, indicate that as now designed this machine is not suitable for defrothing. Although the sound generators of the magnetostriction type2,3 and of the electromagnetic type'.' were not available, it is beelectromagneticlieved they are capable of producing the required sound intensity for defrothing. The use of ultrasonics for defrothing was suggested by Ross and McBain1 in 1944. Ramsey8 reported in 1948 that E. H. Rose mentioned a supersonic device that broke down flotation froth but with low capacity. The writer has not been able to find any published literature containing practical experiments. Theoretical Considerations The mechanism of defrothing by sound is attributed to the periodically collapsing force of the propagated sound waves and the induced resonant vibration of the bubbles. The collapse of froth is further facilitated by the sonic wind and the heat of the siren. Sound waves can exert a radiation pressure'," against any obstacle upon which they impinge. When a froth surface is subjected to the periodic puncturing of sound waves, the bubbles are broken. According to Rayleigh9 and Bergmann,12 the radiation pressure of sound, P, in dynes per sq cm is given as: P = 1/2 (r+1)i/v where r is the ratio of the specific heats of the medium through which sound is traveling and is equal to 1 on the basis of Boyle's law; i is the sound intensity in ergs per sec per sq cm, and v is the sound velocity in cm per sec. In this case, the accuracy of the formula is only approximate, because a perfect reflection can hardly result from a column of froth. In addition to the radiation pressure, the propagated sound waves cause the bubbles of the froth to have a resonant vibration.'" he vibratory motion of the bubbles causes collision and coalescence, thereby weakening if not breaking the bubble walls. Sonic wind and heat were also generated." The sonic wind can exert pressure on the froth surface, and the heat can evaporate the moisture content of the bubble walls as well as expand the enclosed air. Apparatus The defrothing apparatus, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, consists of a powerful high-frequency siren, a glass or stainless steel beaker of 2-liter capacity with 12.4 cm diam and 17.1 cm height, and a metal reflector. The beaker was placed 2 in. above the top point of the siren. The metal reflector was adjusted to reflect and focus the generated sound waves into the central part of the beaker. Fig. 2 shows the crystal probe microphone used to measure the acoustic intensity and the mandler bacteriological filter employed to introduce compressed air into the beaker for frothing. The apparatus was enclosed in a soundproof cabinet equipped with a glass window. The siren, shown in Fig. 3, consists of a rotor that interrupts the flow of air through the orifices in a stator. The rotor, a 6-in. diam disk with 100 equally spaced slots, is driven by a 2/3 hp, Dumore W2 motor at 133 rps. The frequency of the siren can be varied from 3 to 34 kc. The maximum chamber pressure is about 2 atm, yielding acoustic outputs of approximately 2 kw at an efficiency of about 20 pct. The siren itself is relatively small and can be operated in any orientation. A detailed description of the siren has been given by Allen and Rudnick.11 Collapse of Froth To study the sequence of the collapse of froth, the glass beaker was partially filled with 920 cc water, 100 g of —150 mesh bituminous coal, 0.3 cc petroleum light oil, 0.2 cc pine oil and 1.54 cc Pyrene foam compound. This mineral pulp was agitated for 5 min and then aerated through a mandler filter until the empty space of the beaker, approximately 9 cm high, was filled completely with min-

Jan 1, 1952

By E. C. W. Perryman

The wide grooves formed at the grain boundaries when high purity aluminum is attacked by hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide have been attributed by earlier workers to the high energy of the grain boundary material. The effect has been investigated for high-purity AI-Fe alloys with up to 0.055 pct Fe as a function of iron content and heat treatment. It is shown that the explanation given above is untenable, but that the results can be explained on the assumption that iron segregates to the grain boundary in solid solution. IN 1934, Rohrmann¹ showed that aluminum of 99.95 pct purity suffered intercrystalline corrosion when immersed in 10 to 20 pct hydrochloric acid, and that the susceptibility to intercrystalline corrosion depended upon the heat treatment given. The greatest susceptibility was found for specimens quenched from a high temperature (600°C) and the lowest susceptibility for specimens cooled slowly from that temperature. Lacombe and Yannaquis2 have shown that super-pure aluminum (99.9986 pct) annealed at 600°C suffers intercrystalline attack in 10 pct hydrochloric acid and that this attack is intensified by anodic dissolution in the same solution at a current density of 10 milliamperes per sq dm. No difference in extent of intercrystalline attack was found between the 99.993 and 99.986 pct Al, which led the authors to suggest that impurities played only a secondary role in the mechanism of intercrystalline corrosion. It was found, however, that the attack at the grain boundaries depended upon the relative orientation of the grains, large differences in orientation favoring rapid attack. Boundaries where the two neighboring grains were similarly orientated showed high resistance to attack as did boundaries between grains which were in twin relationship. These observations led Lacombe and Yannaquis to suggest that the intercrystalline attack was due to lattice discontinuities present at grain boundaries. Assuming that the grain boundary is a layer three to five atoms thick and has a crystal structure which is a compromise between the two neighboring grains it is clear that the discontinuities will increase with increasing difference in orientation between the neighboring grains and hence the increasing tendency to intercrystalline attack. Roald and Streicher³ investigated the effect of heat treatment of aluminum alloys ranging in purity from 99.2 to 99.998 pct on the corrosion resistance in 20 pct hydrochloric acid and 0.30N sodium hydroxide. They found that in hydrochloric acid the intercrystalline attack appeared to be determined by the type and quantity of impurities present and by the relative orientation of the grains. No difference in the susceptibility to intercrystalline attack was observed between specimens quenched and those furnace cooled, from 575°C. In 0.30N sodium hydroxide some materials exhibited intercrystalline attack, this taking the form of V-notches. Rohrmann¹ offered no explanation for the greater susceptibility to corrosion of material quenched from 600°C. It seems possible that this difference is connected in some way with a different distribution of impurity elements in the quenched and slowly cooled specimens. The fact that Roald and Streicher8 observed no difference between quenched and slowly cooled specimens may possibly be due to differences in either rate of cooling or silicon content or possibly both. Both these would be expected to have an effect on the distribution of impurity elements. Although the rate of cooling used by Rohrmann was slightly more rapid than that used by Roald and Streicher the position cannot be clarified because Rohrmann does not give the silicon content and Roald and Streicher give the silicon contents of only a few of their alloys. That Lacombe and Yannaquis2 found no difference in corrosion behavior attributable to impurities between the two materials they used may be because both were of high purity compared with the aluminum used by Rohrmann.¹ Although they found no difference in the corrosion behavior of their two materials it is possible that the results obtained by Lacombe and Yannaquis may, nevertheless, have been influenced by impurity distribution, since, on the transition lattice theory of grain boundary structure, it would be expected that sparingly soluble impurities would tend to segregate to boundaries where the orientation difference is such that there is a greater density of atomic sites of suitable size to contain them. It was considered worth while, therefore, to examine the corrosion properties of a series of materials of differing impurity content with the objects of confirming the experimental observations made

Jan 1, 1954

By Robert H. Merrill, Raymond M. Stateham

Recently, the Denver Mining Research Center of the U.S. Bureau of Mines began tests to detect hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions in or around mines with infrared measurement devices. Among the many potential uses of infrared detection techniques are the location of misfires, underground mine fires, combustion in waste dumps, underground water courses and loose rock. However, the primary emphasis has been placed upon the detection of loose rock in roofs, pillars and faces in underground mines. The rock along the edge of an underground opening is subject to two temperature environments: the temperature of the air in the opening, and the temperature of the rock surrounding the opening. Assuming that the rock on the edge of the opening is solid, the rock will reach an equilibrium temperature that depends upon the temperature and flow of the air, the thermal conductivity of the rock and its ambient temperature. Presume that a loose rock exists among this solid rock; because there is a temperature barrier, to some extent, between the loose and the solid, the loose rock will be affected more than the solid rock by the temperature of the air. Therefore, depending upon the temperature differences between the rock and the air, the loose will be warmer or cooler than the solid.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. T. Lundy

THE forms in which sulphur is commonly found-native sulphur, sulphides of many metals and sulphates-are widely distributed throughout the world. The two first mentioned are the principal sources of sulphur. Substantial amounts of sulphur in some form are recovered from gases from industrial plants and from gases from smelters treating other minerals. In recent years, plants have been installed in the United States to recover sulphur in elemental form from sour gases."' The amount of sulphur so produced is small at the present time but undoubtedly will increase in the future. The recovery of sulphur from gases is not covered in this chapter, which is confined to: (1) native sulphur deposits of Texas and Louisiana; (2) those of Italy; (3) other scattered deposits of native sulphur; and (4) pyrites deposits found in many countries of the world.30 Sulphur, a nonmetallic element, occurs normally in well developed bipyramidal or tabular crystals of the orthorhombic system, as well as in stalactitic and earthy masses. The mineral has a distinctive yellow color, which may be dark and discolored by impurities; the streak is white; the luster is resinous; and the fracture is conchoidal to uneven. Sulphur is translucent to opaque; has a hardness of 1.5 to 2.5, a specific gravity of 2.05, and an atomic weight of 32.06.16 The molecular weight of the solid is expressed by the symbol SS and that of the liquid and vapor ranges from S2 to S8, depending on the temperature. Sulphur melts at a temperature between 2340 and 248°F, depending on its crystalline state, to a liquid of dark amber color, the boiling point of which is 832°F. The viscosity near the melting point is about that of water and increases to 50,000 times that of water at a temperature of 380°F, subsequently falling rapidly to a low figure at the boiling point. Crystallization changes slowly from rhombic to monoclinic above 205 °F and in cooling the transformation is reversed. The mineral is a very poor conductor of heat and electricity; it is insoluble in water and nearly all acids and is soluble in cold carbon bisulphide and carbon tetrachloride. It ignites in air at a temperature of 478°F, burning with a distinctive blue flame with evolution of sulphur dioxide.47

Jan 1, 1949

By M. J. Sinnott

WITH the advent of nodular iron as an engineering material, considerable interest has been shown in developing this material for various applications. Generally the strength, hardness, or ductility are the more common properties used for design purposes but occasionally applications involving a knowledge of the thermal conductivity of the material is required. A search of the literature showed, rather surprisingly, that relatively little work has been done on this property for all types of cast iron. Insufficient data are available on thermal and electrical conductivities to develop the Weidemann-Franz ratio, or the Lorentz relationship, for estimation purposes. There are no data on nodular irons and the published data on malleable irons are quite sketchy. For these reasons the conductivity of the group of nodular irons listed in Table I were measured. Irons I to IV were made in such a fashion as to maintain the carbon and alloy content essentially the same while varying the silicon content. Test specimens were cut from the mid-section of 4-in. keel castings. Iron V is a commercial casting of nodular iron. The test specimen of this iron was cut from the center of a large cast billet 3x10x26 in. All alloys were tested in the as-cast condition. A microstructural examination showed that each iron had spheroidal graphite but the size and distribution varied with the silicon content of the iron. The spheroid size decreased while the number of graphite nodules increased as the silicon content of the iron was increased. The matrix structures of each iron consisted of pearlite and ferrite with the proportions varying from predominantly pearlite in the low-silicon iron to mostly ferrite in the high-silicon iron. The commercial heat, iron V, was predominantly pearlite probably because of its higher manganese and phosphorus content. Two methods for measuring the thermal conductivity were used. The first was a modification of the techniques described by Powell and Hickman and Van Dusen and Shelton,² the second method was a simpler technique described by Jakob and Hawkins." Since the agreement of both methods as tested on two sets of duplicate samples was excellent, the simpler experimental technique was used. The results of the measurements are given in Table II along with a summary of the microstructural constituents. These conductivity data indicate that as the percentage of silicon increases there is a corresponding decrease in the thermal conductivity even though the structure is changing from pearlitic to ferritic. Such a change in microstructure is usually accompanied by an increase in conductivity. A third factor involved in the behavior of these irons is the size and distribution of the graphite nodules. The relative amounts of graphite do not change greatly but the size and distribution do. Generally graphite improves the conductivity but in the present case such an effect is probably masked by the alloying effect from the silicon and its dispersion through the matrix. The thermal conductivity of the nodular irons studied is less than that of regular foundry irons by some 10 to 30 pct and is less than that of regular malleable irons.' The cause of the decreased conductivity is probably the more highly alloyed fer-rites obtained in these irons and the changed mode of distribution of the graphite as compared to the regular foundry irons. References R. W. Powell and M. J. Hickman: Journal Iron and Steel Inst. (1946) 154, No. 2, p. 99. 'M. S. Van Dusen and S. M. Shelton: U. S. Bur. Standards Journal of Research, RP668 (1934) 12, p. 429. ³M. Jakob and G. A. Hawkins: Elements of Heat Transfer and Insulation. 2nd Ed. (1950) New York. John Wiley and Sons. ' J. W. Donaldson: Journal Iron and Steel Inst. (1933) 128, No. 2, p. 255.

Jan 1, 1954

R. Trimble, Pittsburg, Pa (communication to the Secretary) : There are in the proposed specifications only two points on which I wish to comment at this time.

Jan 1, 1902