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By J. Chipman, N. J. Grant, H. L. Bishop

In a recent review1 of the iron-oxide activity of simple open-hearth type slags containing lime, magnesia, silica, and iron oxide, it was established that activity values were lacking in the range of slag composition most interesting to open-hearth operators. That is, laboratory experimental results were not available for simple slag compositions having basicity ratios ranging from about 1.5 to 4.0 and iron-oxide concentrations ranging from about 10 to 30 pct. However, in order to estimate iron-oxide activities for the range of slag compositions of interest to open-hearth operators, activity values were calculated using ionic concepts of slags by following the treatment of Flood and Grjotheim.2 A study of these data indicated that the desired slag compositions were probably not obtained due to the limited solubility of the basic constituents lime and magnesia. Thus, it was decided to make additional heats equilibrating molten carbon-free iron with slags containing MnO, P2O5, and A12O3 in percentages commonly found in open-hearth refining slags, and to examine the liquid slag field over a greater composition range than that of the simple slags studied previously. The ranges of the constituents used in the present study are summarized as follows: Metal Pct 0 0.070-0.201 PctMn 0.005-0.142 Slag Pet CaO 24.45-41.90 Pct MgO 3.23- 9.21 Pct MnO 1.13- 9.62 Pct FeO 20.08-48.7 Pet Fe2o3 2.23-10.14 Pct SiO, 3.51-28.50 Pct P2O5 0.23- 3.65 Pct A12O3 0.43- 3.38 The experimental procedure consisted of equilibrating the slag and metal in an induction furnace provided with a carbon-arc slag heater as described previously by Winkler and chipman.3 The data obtained were used to establish both the iron-oxide activity values and the activity coefficients for FeO and MnO in the open-hearth type slags. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION I) Iron-Oxide Activity of Open-Hearth Type Slags—The iron-oxide activities of various iron-oxide contents of the open-hearth type slags, as calculated from the oxygen content of the metal by the method of Taylor and Chipman, 4 are plotted against the molar ratio of bases to acids in Fig. 1. The data represent slag-metal studies carried out in the temperature range 1530" to 1700°C. For the purpose of this study, the constituents CaO, MgO, and MnO are assumed equal on a molar basis in their effect on the iron-oxide activity; and, PO2,5 is calculated as an equivalent to SiO2 and A12O3 on a molar basis. The total iron content of the slag is calculated to FeO and is represented by the symbol (FeO) The points presented in Fig. 1 represent the results of this investigation for iron-oxide slags containing between 1 and 8 mol pct MnO and less than about 2 mol pct each of A12o3 and PO2,5 The curved lines shown in Fig. 1 represent the results of the summary1 of the iron-oxide activities of simple slags of the system (CaO + MgO) - SiOz - (FeO),. The solid portions of the curved lines represent experimental data, and the broken portions represent iron-oxide activities calculated from ionic concepts of slags. The iron-oxide values of the open-hearth type slags of this study are in good agreement with the values of the simple iron-oxide slag system. Only a slight modification is indicated. The results of this study suggest that the line for 20 mol pct (FeO), should be lowered slightly in the basicity range 1.5 to about 3.

Jan 1, 1959

By J. J. Calaman, D. H. Fleming

DURING 1950 the jet-piercing process was used commercially in the piercing of primary blast-holes in magnetic taconite at the preliminary taconite plant of .the Erie Mining Co., Aurora, Minn. The Erie Mining Co. purchased a jet-piercing machine and associated equipment in 1949, and the machine has been in operation since its installation in the summer of that year. An overall view of the pit with the JPM-1 jet-piercing machine in operation is shown in Fig. 1. During three months of 1949 and continuously since February 1950, production piercing took place under all pit conditions. By the end of October 1950, a total of 15,000 linear ft of hole had been pierced in an open pit handling an average of 1200 to 1800 tons of crude a day in one 8-hr shift. While it is recognized that this output does not approach the millions of tons a year planned for the developing Minnesota taconite projects, the machine as a unit has been operating under conditions probably more adverse than those that eventually will be encountered in the large operations. This pilot operation has permitted evaluation of the piercing problem in the full-scale taconite plant. This paper describes jet-piercing process funda- mentals, important features of the latest jet-piercing burners and machine, actual piercing results obtained, and new developments that give promise of materially increasing overall process efficiency. To produce the blasthole, jet-piercing utilizes thermal energy, as contrasted with the application of mechanical energy in churn drills and jackham-mers. The heart of the process may be termed a tailored flame produced by a rocket-type burner, thermodynamically similar in every respect to that of the giant rockets being developed for military purposes. The heat release in the combustion chamber of the burner is about 50x10' Btu per cu ft per hr as compared with 5x10' for most modern steam generators.* Combustion of liquid petroleum fuels (kerosine, diesel oil, or No. 2 fuel oil) with gaseous oxygen in the burner chamber at pressures of 100 to 200 psi results in temperatures of about 4300°F. Expansion of the hot combustion gases through divergent nozzles produces high-temperature supersonic jets having measured velocities of about 6000 fps. Impinging the flame jets on rock causes a thin surface layer to expand and break away from the base as a result of the thermally induced stresses. This spalling action is aided further in chert and quartzite by the 0.82 pct volume change resulting from the 6 to p quartz inversion at 1066"F.t The dynamic action of the jets whisks the spalled rock

Jan 1, 1952

By John W. Vanderwilt

The fluorescence of scheelite has been an important aid in recent years in the discovery and development of scheelite deposits. The use of fluorescence of synthetic compounds in industry, particularly in advertising, also has expanded greatly during the past decade. As a result, a number of new and convenient units for producing ultraviolet energy have become available, which have led to a greater application of fluorescence in the study of minerals. Studies have shown that the fluorescent color of a mineral may vary: (I) with the kind and quantity of trace elements, and (2) with the particular wave length of ultraviolet energy used. The wave length is dependent first on the type of generating equipment used, and finally on the filter employed to remove the visible light that may be present. A number of so-called ultraviolet lamps are listed and described, together with suitable filters known to be available. Scheelite fluoresces brilliantly with wave lengths of 2200 to about 3000Å., but not with longer wave lengths. The most convenient and efficient sources of ultraviolet for scheelite fluorescence are portable and laboratory units designed particularly for use with scheelite. So-called ultraviolet light globes of the photo-flood type emit wave lengths too long to cause scheelite to fluoresce. Attention is called to the minerals that fluoresce in a manner similar to scheelite, which necessitates a check test by means of characteristic physical properties. Chemical tests are the final authority both for identity and content of tungsten in scheelite ore. Introduction Recent development and extensive use of fluorescent lighting make it unnecessary to explain what fluorescence looks like. The fluorescent light tube is in reality a mercury vapor arc, which generates ultraviolet energy. Coating the inside walls of the tube is a substance, called a phosphor, that converts the ultraviolet rays to visible rays of light. In a like manner, certain minerals will transform ultraviolet energy to visible rays of various colors. The phenomenon of brilliant fluorescent colors cannot be satisfactorily described or reproduced photographically; a display must be seen to be appreciated. Only a few years ago fluorescence was regarded primarily as a source of entertainment, chiefly in spectacular displays of specimens in museums. The brilliant fluorescence of willemite, a zinc ore mineral, at Franklin, New Jersey, was utilized quite early in checking the efficiency of certain milling operations. Fluorescence has been used extensively in exploring for scheelite, as well as in mining this ore, during the past 10 years. The use of fluorescence in detecting scheelite, an important tungsten ore mineral, is well established, and much success has attended this new method; scheelite is a very inconspicuous white to gray mineral in ordinary light, but it

Jan 1, 1949

By John W. Vanderwilt

The fluorescence of scheelite has been an important aid in recent years in the discovery and development of scheelite deposits. The use of fluorescence of synthetic compounds in industry, particularly in advertising, also has expanded greatly during the past decade. As a result, a number of new and convenient units for producing ultraviolet energy have become available, which have led to a greater application of fluorescence in the study of minerals. Studies have shown that the fluorescent color of a mineral may vary: (I) with the kind and quantity of trace elements, and (2) with the particular wave length of ultraviolet energy used. The wave length is dependent first on the type of generating equipment used, and finally on the filter employed to remove the visible light that may be present. A number of so-called ultraviolet lamps are listed and described, together with suitable filters known to be available. Scheelite fluoresces brilliantly with wave lengths of 2200 to about 3000Å., but not with longer wave lengths. The most convenient and efficient sources of ultraviolet for scheelite fluorescence are portable and laboratory units designed particularly for use with scheelite. So-called ultraviolet light globes of the photo-flood type emit wave lengths too long to cause scheelite to fluoresce. Attention is called to the minerals that fluoresce in a manner similar to scheelite, which necessitates a check test by means of characteristic physical properties. Chemical tests are the final authority both for identity and content of tungsten in scheelite ore. Introduction Recent development and extensive use of fluorescent lighting make it unnecessary to explain what fluorescence looks like. The fluorescent light tube is in reality a mercury vapor arc, which generates ultraviolet energy. Coating the inside walls of the tube is a substance, called a phosphor, that converts the ultraviolet rays to visible rays of light. In a like manner, certain minerals will transform ultraviolet energy to visible rays of various colors. The phenomenon of brilliant fluorescent colors cannot be satisfactorily described or reproduced photographically; a display must be seen to be appreciated. Only a few years ago fluorescence was regarded primarily as a source of entertainment, chiefly in spectacular displays of specimens in museums. The brilliant fluorescence of willemite, a zinc ore mineral, at Franklin, New Jersey, was utilized quite early in checking the efficiency of certain milling operations. Fluorescence has been used extensively in exploring for scheelite, as well as in mining this ore, during the past 10 years. The use of fluorescence in detecting scheelite, an important tungsten ore mineral, is well established, and much success has attended this new method; scheelite is a very inconspicuous white to gray mineral in ordinary light, but it

Jan 1, 1949

By P. H. Lindon, J. C. Billington

Fe-O melts containing 0.045 pct 0 were deoxidized with Mn-Si-A1 alloys. Product compositions were reluted to the melt and alloy compositions and were found to be most sensitive to the aluminum content of the alloy. Low residual oxygen contents could be obtained when aluminum oxide was present in the Products because of the reduction of silica and manganese oxide activities. Flotation of the Products from a quiescent melt was followed both by analysis of the oxygen content and metallographic measurement of inclusion concentration. MnO-SiO2-A12O3 products were found to float most rapidly when their composition was such that their viscosity may be expected to be low. Changes in the particle size distribution indicates that particle coalescence occurred and differences in the degree of coalescence are thought to be responsible for the different flotation rates observed between products 0f differing composition. Measured flotation rates were slower than those Predicted from a model based on Stoke's Law, although alumina flotation might be reasonably accounted for by this model. Interfacial effects between oxide particles and the melt are believed to be responsible for the discrepancy. It has been recognized that deoxidation products constitute a large proportion of the nonmetallic inclusions present in killed steel. The amount of oxide inclusions which originate as deoxidation products depends largely upon three factors. These may be summarized, according to P16ckinger1 as: 1) Amount of primary products remaining in the steel prior to cooling. 2) Residual dissolved oxygen content of the steel after deoxidation. 3) Amount of secondary products, formed during cooling and solidification, which remain entrapped in the solid steel. In a well-deoxidized steel containing residual aluminum and/or silicon, the equilibrium dissolved oxygen content is usually very low and so the maximum amount of oxide which may be produced as secondary deoxidation products is small in comparison with the amount of primary products. It may be seen, therefore, that the amount of indigenous nonmetallic inclusions may be minimized if a low dissolved oxygen content is achieved by deoxidation and if the primary deoxidation products are efficiently removed. Oxides which originate by reaction of the metal stream with the atmosphere during teeming are not considered in the present study. It is known that two or more deoxidizers may result in a lower equilibrium oxygen content when used in conjunction with one another than when any of the individual deoxidizers are used alone. Equilibrium studies by Hilty and crafts2 and by Bell3 have shown that manganese increases the effectiveness of silicon as a deoxidizer, and Walsh and Ramachandran4 relate this to a reduction in the activity of silica in the products as the manganese :silicon ratio in the steel increases. It was also shown by Herty's work on deoxidation of steel by silico manganese alloys,5 that there existed an optimum ratio of manganese to silicon which gave a minimum inclusion content. This ratio was in the range 4:l to 7:l and the (FeO-MnO-SiO2) products formed by such deoxidation practice were found to lie in a composition range having very low liquidus temperatures (1170 to 1250°C approx). The optimum manganese:silicon ratio was then explained by postulating that these fluid products were able to coalesce and that the larger particles formed floated out of the steel very quickly as predicted by Stoke's Law. The present work examines the effectiveness of various Mn-Si-A1 alloys as deoxidizers and their effects on the composition and removal of primary deoxidation products from a quiescent melt. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE Approximately 250 g of prepared Fe-O alloy, containing 0.045 to 0.055 pct O, were melted in an alumina crucible and deoxidized at 1550°C by plunging a thin steel cartridge containing the deoxidizer below the melt surface. A high frequency induction furnace supplying current at 8.5 kHz was used to heat a graphite susceptor, the interior of which had been machined to give a wall thickness of 0.85 in. to form a receptacle for the alumina crucible. The iron melt was essentially quiescent as the induced current was concentrated at the external surface of the graphite susceptor by the skin effect. A nonoxidizing atmosphere was maintained over the melt by passing a continuous stream of argon through the lid of the susceptor. The melt temperature was measured before deoxidation, and again at the end of an experiment by means

Jan 1, 1970

By David Kramer, Cecil G. Rhodes

Critical transport currents were measured as a function of perpendicular external magnetic field in Ti-22 at. pct Nb wire samples. These samples were heat-treated to yield w Phase precipitates at denslties ranging from 10 to 10 17cm-3. The Precipitates are ellipsoids of revolution with major axes of 50 to 1300A. Flux-Pinning by w precipitates is responsible for the high critical transport currents that were ob- ThE ability of a type II superconductor to sustain a zero-resistance transport current (Jc) in an external magnetic field (H) is due to the presence of micro-structural features which can impede the motion of magnetic flux penetrating the superconductor under the influence of a Lorentz force. Such features are referred to as pinning sites. The pinning strength is tained. A sample cooled from 800°C and annealed 1 hr at 450°C carried a critical tramport current of 10 amp per sq cm at 30 kG. Variations in the current-carrying ability of this alloy are due to changes in its pinning strength which is a function of precipitate density and composition and of the composition of the matrix. the reaction of the bulk superconductor to the Lorentz force and depends on the efficiency of the individual pinning sites and on their volume density. The super -current density increases with pinning strength, other things being equal. The above concepts are discussed in detail in a comprehensive review by Livingston and Schadler.' In Ti-Nb alloys, as in other binary titanium alloys, the metastable hexagonal w phase usually forms below the p/a + p phase boundary near the titanium side of the phase diagram. Stiegler et a1.' have summarized much of what is known about w phase in titanium and zirconium binary alloys. The present work deals with

Jan 1, 1968

By L. Kaufman

An equation is derived relating AF a", the difference in free energy between austenite and martensite, to temperature and composition in the iron-chrmnium and iron-chromium -nickel systems. This equation is used to calculate at M,for low-carbon stainless steels. A method for utilizing the energetic equations to calculate M, in stainless steels is suggested. In addition, an explanation is given for the anomalous effect of chromium in forming a y loop concurrent with the lowering of M, in iron-base alloys. It has been demonstrated that the effect of alloying elements on the Ms temperature is strongly dependent upon the influence of the alloying element on the thermodynamic properties of the y and a phases. Notwithstanding the fact that alloying elements affect the Ms temperature by changing the lattice parameters, elastic constants, and inter-facial energies of the a and y phases, their primary role is a thermodynamic one. Thermodynamic analyses have been presented for the iron-carbon'-4 and iron-nickele systems in which equations are derived for Fa and FY, the free energies of the b.c.c. (or b.c.t.) and f.c.c. phases. These equations, which can be obtained with the aid of the equilibrium diagrams, can be used to help predict the Ms vs composition curves. This paper deals with a calculation of the thermodynamic properties necessary to compute AFffLY for iron-chromium alloys. In view of the lack of direct information concerning the activity of chromium in the a and y phases of iron, the regular solution approximationa,g was utilized to bridge the gap. After the necessary equations were derived for the iron-chromium system they were used to calculate AFff— Y for stainless steels by combining them with the previous results obtained for iron-nickel alloys. The results of these calculations offer a means of rationalizing the anomalous behavior of chromium in iron-base alloys. The latter depends on the regular solution approximation in contrast to the explanation offered by zener , which is based upon the "magnetic specific heat effect." THERMODYNAMICS OF THE IRON-CHROMIUM SYSTEM If y represents the atomic fraction of chromium in an iron-chromium alloy, then the free energy of the b.c.c. phase Fa, the f.c.c. phase FY, and the difference in free energy between the f.c.c. and b.c.c. phases of the same composition are given through [3] and Fmy represent the free energies of mixing of the a and y phases; while @era -' and uFea 4Y represent the difference in free energy between f.c.c. and b.c.c. chromium and iron respectively. The values of AEFe0ff4Y in the temperature range between 0" and 900K ( .

Jan 1, 1960

By G. Krauss, W. Pitsch

The fine structure of the bcc martensite formed in an Fe-33 wt pct ATi single crystal of arrstenite is sho~on by transmission electron microscoPy to consist of combinations of transformation twins, stacking faults, deformation twins, and regular arrays of parallel screw dislocations. These structures constitute evidence for the multiple lattice-invariant deformations which operating during the formation of martensite could produce the real habit-plane scatter measured by a two-surface analysis of the plates formed in the single crystal of this investigation and reported in the literature for other Fe-Ni rnartensites. CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC theories1,2 of martensitic transformation show that the habit plane of martensite in a parent lattice is dependent in part upon an inhomogeneous distortion or lattice-invariant deformation which takes place on a fine scale within a martensite plate during its formation. Several recent theoretical papers3,4 have addressed themselves to an analysis of a wide variety of conceivable lat-tice-invarient deformations and the habit planes which they produce, while experimental investigation have been concerned with either the measurement of habit planes or the description and identification of the martensitic fine structure which reflects the nature of the lattice-invariant deformation operating during transformation. In Fe-Ni alloys with subzero Ms temperatures, the group of alloys with which this paper concerns itself, habit planes have often been found to scatter an amount greater than might be expected from possible experimental errors,5-7 and fine twinning has been identified as a major constituent of the fine structure of martensite.8-11 It has been suggested3,4 that more than one type of invariant shear occurs during martensitic transformation. This possibility has been experimentally supported12,13 by the observation of both dislocation configurations and twinning in a single martensite plate. The purpose of this paper is to report additional evidence for multiple lattice-invariant deformations in martensite and so to account for the real scatter in the habit planes of the martensite plates formed in Fe-Ni alloys. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The Fe-Ni single crystal was produced by pulling a high-purity iron and nickel charge through a single-crystal vacuum furnace in an alumina crucible. The crystal was double-melted to promote homogeneity and to increase its size by further additions on the second pass. In its final form the crystal was 4 cm in diam and 5 cm long. The nickel and carbon contents were analyzed at 32.9 and 0.006 wt pct, respectively. The austenite of this alloy first transformed to martensite by bursts at about -120°C, and, to preserve as much of the austenite as possible, all transformation was performed just below -120°C. Some observations were made on transformed samples which had been heated for 2 min at 340°C. It is assumed that the features of the martensite of these samples, Figs. 1 and 4, are the same as those of the as-quenched martensite. Orientation of the crystal by X-ray diffraction established 10.735 0.609 0.3161? as the axis of the crystal, an orientation that was checked within 2 deg by neutron diffraction. Further checks by electron diffraction of samples cut normal to the axis confirmed this orientation within the larger limits of error inherent in electron diffraction of thin foils. The X-ray orientation was the one used for the two-surface analysis of the martensite habit planes. A two-surface analysis was performed on the quadrant of the single crystal which had been oriented by both X-ray and neutron-diffraction techniques. Photomicrographs at X50 were made on two surfaces along an edge 2 cm long. Fiducial marks and the fact that many of the plates were almost completely surrounded by retained austenite made good matching of individual plates on two surfaces possible. The habit-plane trace on a surface was taken as the best line parallel to the long axis of a plate. A measure of the accuracy afforded by this criterion was provided by a family of very large plates which appeared at intervals along the entire 2 cm length of the edge. The plates all had habit-plane traces within 2 deg of one another. Many of the plates did not show midribs and, therefore, the use of midribs7 to represent habit-plane traces was not feasible in this investigation. The over-all experimental accuracy is estimated to be better than ±2 deg. Samples for transmission examination in a Siemens Elmiskop I at 100 kv were prepared by cutting 2-mm-thick discs from the single crystal, removing about 0.5 mm by chemical polishing,14 trans-

Jan 1, 1965

By B. J. Harlan

The trying times experienced by the steel industry during the past four years have emphasized the necessity of producing pig iron at the lowest possible cost. The trend in both design and operation of blast furnaces has been toward this end rather than toward securing maximum production from a unit or group of units. In the following discussion the trend in design of stacks and auxiliary equipment will be taken up before operation is considered. Although few furnaces have been constructed in the past few years, the trend is definitely toward larger furnaces with a hearth diameter of 24 or 25 ft. Such a furnace is very flexible, being able to produce efficiently any desired daily tonnage between 500 and-1000 or more. The detail of the design of furnace stacks, with the exception of the top, has changed little in recent years. To decrease the velocity of gas through the throat of the furnaces, thereby reducing flue-dust losses, the stock-line areas are constantly being made larger. The top dimensions of the larger furnaces are usually as follows: Stock-line diameter, 19 to 20 ft.; large bell diameter, 14 to 15 ft.; straight section of throat, 5 to 10 ft. high; inwall batter, 1 to 11/4 in. Pe ft. The ratio between the area of the stock line and the area of the large. bell is usually about 1.85 to 1. The stock-line diameter of some smaller furnaces has been increased to that of the hearth diameter of the stack at the expense of the stack batter. Remarkable decreases in flue-dust production are claimed for the so-called " Venturi top," which is achieved by flaring the stock line, in the form of an inverted cone, from a diameter of 17 ft. at 10 ft. below the large bell closed to a diameter of 19 ft. 6 in. at 3 ft. below the large bell closed. Time alone will tell which of the two designs is the better. Because of differences in raw materials, one top may be better for some plants and the other top for other plants. In the search for lower costs and higher efficiencies all operators are, adopting stoves that will maintain maximum hot-blast temperatures with a minimum gas consumption. To meet these requirements, stove capacity of approximately 7 sq. ft. of heating surface and 1.8 cu. ft. of brick volume is required per cubic foot of wind blown per minute.

Jan 1, 1934

By G. Wakefield, A. H. Daane, D. H. Dennison, F. H. Spedding

Preparation of pure scandium metal was accomplished by calcium reduction of the fluoride by two methods; a low-temperatzdre alloy process and direct reduction with subsequent distillation of the product. The following properties were determined: melting point: 1181OK; boiling point (calculated): 3000°K; lattice constants at 298°K (hexagonal lattice): a = 3.308 * 0.001 A, c = 5.267 * 0.003A; calculated density at 298°K, g per cm3: 2,990 + 0.007; electrical resistivity, ohm-cm: 299°K, 66.6 ± 0.2 x 10 -6; 373oK, 77.4 * 0.2 x 10 -6; thermal coefficient at 299°K, ohm-cm per deg: 5.4 X x; heat of sublimation at 298°K, kcal pel- mole: 80.79. The vapor pressure was determined as a function of temperature between 1505o and 1748°K, with the data fitted to a straight line shielding the equation: Log Pmm = -1.718 X 104/ToK + 8.298. SCANDIUM, element number 21, was first discovered by Nilson in 1879 and was recognized as the Ekaboron as predicted by Mendeleff. As it is in group III of the periodic table, the general properties are a little like aluminum and also resemble quite closely the properties of yttrium and the rare-earth metals, in both the metallic and ionic form. Although the earth's crust contains approximately 5 ppm of scandium (the element is as abundant as arsenic and twice as abundant as boron) it generally occurs so widely distributed that it has earned the reputation of being very rare. The one exception to this is the mineral thortveitite, which has been found in Madagascar (20 pct Sc2O3) and in Norway (35 pct Sc2O3). Scandium also occurs in small but distinct amounts in uranium and rare-earth ores; the recent larger scale processing of these materials has made some scandium available from these sources. As with other naturally-occurring monoisotopic elements (except Be), scandium contains an odd number of protons and an even number of neutrons. Scandium metal was first prepared by Fischer and coworkers1 in 1937 by electrolysis of scandium chloride in a molten eutectic mixture of lithium and potassium chlorides, using molten zinc as a cathode and collector of the scandium metal produced. The zinc was removed from the Zn-2 pct Sc alloy by vacuum distillation, leaving a product reported to be 94 to 98 pct Sc, with the main impurities being iron and silicon. They reported a melting point of 1400° C for this material. Scandium has also been prepared by the reduction of scandium chloride with potassium metal in a glass apparatus by Bommer and Hohmann in 1941,' resulting in a mixture of metal and potassium chloride; these workers did not isolate the metal proper, but the X-ray diffraction of the slag-metal mixture showed it to be hexagonal with a = 3.30A, c = 5.45A. petru3, 4 and coworkers have recently reported the preparation of the metal in a compact form by the reduction of either ScF3 or ScC13 with calcium metal and subsequent distillation of the product. This process probably yielded a metal of high purity, but they list no chemical analysis nor do they list any of the properties of their product. Previous related work in this Laboratory has been concerned with the production of yttrium and the rare-earth metals and the determination of their physical properties. Because of its similarity to these metals, scandium is being included in this study. PREPARATION OF SCANDIUM METAL The preparation of yttrium and the rare-earth metals may be accomplished by reduction of their fluorides with calcium metal in tantalum crucibles.5 This process leads to the introduction of tantalum (up to 0.5 pct) as an impurity in the higher melting rare earths, but since the tantalum occurs as dendrites, uncombined with the rare-earth metals, its presence is not objectionable in some cases. The preparation of scandium metal in this manner, however, was found to yield a product containing 2 to 5 pct Ta. To obtain a purer product, the following two methods were developed for the reduction of scandium fluoride with calcium metal: i) a low-temperature process utilizing zinc to form a low

Jan 1, 1961

S. F. EMMONS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP. The movement was started by a number of the friends and admirers of the late S. F. Emmons, Economic Geologist of the United States Geological Survey, to perpetuate his name through a fellowship to be known as the " S. F. Emmons Research Fellowship," and they have succeeded in raising some $13,000 for the purpose of carrying on research work in economic geology. The Committee in charge of this Memorial Fund has succeeded in obtaining the co-operation of Professors Kemp, of Columbia, Irving, of Yale, and Lindgren, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the administration of this fellowship. These three gentlemen are respectively geologists of the institutions mentioned and are exceptionally qualified to determine in what direction the fund can be best administered. It is hoped that additional contributions will be forthcoming from many who have heard of this movement. Subscriptions are invited and may be sent to any one of these gentlemen, or to Benjamin B. Lawrence, Treasurer, No. 60 Wall Street, New York City.

Jan 11, 1913

S. F. EMMONS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP. The movement was started by a number of the friends and admirers of the late S. F. Emmons, Economic Geologist of the United States Geological Survey, to perpetuate his name through a fellowship to be known as the ?S. F. Emmons Research Fellowship," and they have succeeded in raising some $13,000 for the purpose of carrying on research work in economic geology. The Committee in charge of this Memorial Fund has succeeded in obtaining the co-operation of Professors Kemp, of Columbia, Irving, of Yale, and Lindgren, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the administration of this fellowship. These three gentlemen are respectively geologists of the institutions mentioned and are exceptionally qualified to determine in what direction the fund can be best administered. It is hoped that additional contributions will be forthcoming from many who have heard of this movement. Subscriptions are invited and may be sent to any one of these gentlemen, or to Benjamin B. Lawrence, Treasurer, No. 60 Wall Street, New York City.

Jan 10, 1913

By M. C. Flemings, G. E. Nereo

General expressions are given to describe macro-segregation in castings and ingots which results from mass flow of solute-rich liquid to feed solidification and thermal contractions. Analytical solutions are given for solidification with planar isotherms (unidirectional and bidirectional heat flow). These solutions describe inverse segregation and centerline segregation. Numerical examples are given for A1-4.5 pct Cu alloy. In 1540, Vannoccio Biringuccio published one of the first references to macrosegregation, describing the problem of exudation and inverse segregation in the manufacture of bronze gun barrels.' Since then, a great many studies of macrosegregation have been reported. Recent work of particular engineering interest includes that of Marburg 2 and others:" on centerline segregation and other types of segregation in large steel ingots, and work of Adams,5 Scheil, 6 and Kirkaldy and youdelis7 on inverse segregation in nonferrous ingots. In most studies on this subject, the various types of macrosegregation have been treated as separate phenomena. For example, quite different mechanisms have been proposed for formation of centerline segregation, negative cone of segregation, inverse segregation, banding, and so forth. In this, and in several papers to follow, it is proposed that these as well as other types of macrosegregation result from the same basic mechanism and can be quantitatively described by the same basic equation. It has often been suggested that some types of segregation (such as centerline segregation and banding) occur as a result of buildup of solute at the tips of growing dendrites.2-4 ,8-10 As example, banding can be induced in centrifugal castings by mechanical vibration, and Northcott 10 suggests this might be due to the influence of the vibration on the boundary layer at the dendrite tips of the growing dendrites. However, in view of the extremely small boundary layer known to exist at the tips of the dendrites,11,12 any interpretation of macrosegregation based on this boundary layer is clearly incorrect. Note that experiment has shown that significant buildup of solute does not occur at dendrite tips in ingot solidification, but even if such buildup occurred the thickness of the enriched zone would only be the order of D/U where D is liquid diffusion coefficient and U is dendrite tip velocity. For usual casting or ingot solidification this solute-enriched layer is 10"3 cm, far too small to account, for example, for centerline segregation.11'12 It has also been suggested that convection in the bulk liquid (ahead of the advancing dendrites) might cause segregation by sweeping away the solute-rich boundary layer in front of the dendrites.3 However, since there is no significant boundary layer, this explanation must be incorrect. The convection might directly cause segregation by penetrating between the dendrite arms, and presumably in a rimming steel ingot it is sufficiently vigorous to cause some segregation in this way. Centerline segregation, however, cannot be interpreted as resulting from this convection since a sharply segregated zone is usually found near the centerline, with the bulk of the ingot being nearly of nominal composition. If convection in the bulk liquid were the direct cause, a gradual change in ingot composition over the entire cross section would be expected. It is known that sudden changes in convection of the bulk liquid during solidification can result in banding,14 but it is not clear that the banding results directly from the effect of convection on solute distribution. Changes in convection also affect thermal conditions in the liquid-solid region of a solidifying ingot. It will be seen later in this paper, and in a paper to follow, that macrosegregation is strongly influenced by these thermal changes. Recognizing that in some cases of ingot solidification (as in solidification of rimming steels) convection in the bulk liquid may have a direct effect on solute distribution, we neglect it in this paper and in the several to follow. We then derive general expressions describing macrosegregation which results from the mechanism of interdendritic flow of solute-rich liquid

Jan 1, 1968

By R. E. H. Pomeroy

EARLY in 1917, it became evident, owing to existing and pending market conditions, that a substitute for crude petroleum must be found for firing the smelter furnaces. After a review of the plants then existing, it was deemed advisable to depart from their practice and to adopt the following described system of distributing pulverized coal to the furnaces. The principal advantages of the proposed system, which influenced this decision, were: (1) Equal safety; no pulverized coal is stored at the furnaces; (2) greater ease of operation, furnace fires being controlled by regulating valves in burner branches, as in gas firing; (3) better organization; all machinery, including pulverized coal feed, is under one roof, and the organization is separate from the furnace department; (4) greater cleanliness; all machinery is under vacuum; (5) greater flexibility of application; the coal and air mixture can be piped where needed. The design of the plant is the result of the combined efforts of the local engineering staff and of the machinery manufacturers. Many new features were embodied in this design to insure greater safety, cleanliness, and efficiency of handling. After 14 months of continuous operation, the plant has proved entirely satisfactory. The building is of structural steel, covered with corrugated steel, with many windows and is painted light gray inside and out. The building floor is of concrete with ample drains to the sewer, and the building is equipped with fire and service water piping. Fig. 1 shows the east side of the building and the incline conveyor from the raw-coal bins.

Jan 2, 1920

By C. W. Vaupell

THE Huitzuco mines lie in north central Guerrero, Mexico; production has been about 90,000 flasks of quicksilver since 1873. Near-surface ores fill extinct mud geysers and the deep deposits are chambered veins, stock-works in brecciated blocks, and replacements in limestone. The epigenetic minerals livingstonite, stibnite and sulphur occur in limestone, gypsum and dolomite through a developed vertical range of 260 meters. The deepest workings expose an increased amount of stibnite, which probably indicates that the lower limit of mercury mineralization is being approached. A resurgence of heat and water formed geysers over an extended area after the period of mercury mineralization. Mud geysers, which are situated, in the outcrops, contain the secondary mercury minerals, cinnabar and barcenite in the gravel and mud filling the vents. A 150-ton flotation plant is in operation concentrating stope fills that assay 3.0 kg. of mercury per ton. In one open stope, which is more than one hectare in area and 60 m. high, 150,000 tons are available. INTRODUCTION The Huitzuco mercury mines are of interest because of the unusual occurrence of ore in extinct geyser vents and the presence of several rare mercury minerals. Some of the deposits have typical characteristics of the telethermal zone and there is a gradation towards typical epithermal mineralization in depth. Halse,1 Villarello,2 Mactear3 and Merrill4 have described the geology and the early operations in the district, and Barcena5 and Mallet6 have described the rare mercury minerals, livingstonite and barcenite, found at Huitzuco. LOCATION The village of Huitzuco lies in the north central part of the State of Guerrero, Mexico, 27 km. (16.7 miles) east of Iguala, which is the largest and most important town in the area. Iguala is served by the Mexican National Railways and also by the Mexico City-Acapulco highway. The highway is surfaced from Mexico City to Iguala, a distance of 200 km. (124 miles) by road, and there is a fairly good, level, dirt road from Iguala to Huitzuco. The elevation above sea level is about 1000 m. (3280 ft.). The climate is warm and very dry except during the rainy season, from June to

Jan 1, 1937

By D. L. Rainey, E. R. Goter, W. R. Hudspeth

THE area in which spodumene-bearing pegmatites occur extends from Gaffney, S. C., in a northerly direction to Lincolnton, N. C., a distance of about 16 miles. The zone averages 2 miles in width. Interest in this area was first aroused by the discovery of small amounts of cassiterite in the peg-matites and in greissen which occurs on the walls of some of the pegmatites. Attempts were made from 1880 into the 1920's to mine and concentrate cas-siterite, but there were no successful operations. In 1935 L. M. Williams became interested in the area and began prospecting by trenching and sinking several small shafts. He gradually gained control of a considerable acreage south of the city of Kings Mountain, N. C. Mr. Williams states that he produced some ore from a shaft which he shipped to the Maywood Chemical Co. in the late 1930's. In 1937 G. H. Chambers of the Foote Mineral Co. visited the area and examined several properties, but the lithium market was too small to support the necessary concentrating plant. Early in World War II the Solvay Process Co., encouraged by various federal agencies, acquired the Williams properties and leases and started a drilling program to develop reserves for spodumene mining. A study of this area was also made under T. L. Kesler by the U. S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey. Starting in 1942 a concentrating plant, water supply dams, and shops and other buildings were constructed. The Superior Stone Co., a neighboring crushed stone operator, was awarded a contract to mine and crush the pegmatite ore. Late in 1943 the plant started operations, which were continued until February 1946. A drop in demand for lithium chemicals forced it to close and remain closed for several years. In 1948 the Foote Mineral Co. became interested in assuring itself a source of lithium ore on the North American continent, to be used in the production of lithium ore chemicals, and inspected properties in Canada, South Dakota, and North Carolina. The North Carolina deposits were the most promising. In the fall of 1950 the company leased the Solvay interests with option to buy and acquired additional properties. Renovation of the mill and preparation of the quarry for mining was begun in earnest in January 1951. A new crushing plant was built and construction started in July 1951. The flotation process used was developed in the North Carolina State Minerals Research Laboratory located at Asheville, N. C. Foote is now in the process of expanding its production. The crushing plant is being revamped and much of the old milling equipment purchased from Solvay will be replaced by new. Mining equipment of suitable capacity has been received and is in use. The frontispiece is a general view of the mill. The orebodies consist of pegmatite dikes composed of fine-grained albite and quartz, with varying amounts of mica and spodumene. The latter may amount to as much as 50 pct of the rock, but the overall average is about 15 to 20 pct. Tin, columbite-tantalite, beryl, and other valuable minerals are present in varying small amounts. These dikes, which intruded into the Roan Gneiss underlying most of the Piedmont area, strike approximately N 30 E and dip about 85" to the west. The gneiss has the same strike but dips about 70" west. The dikes lie in a belt extending from Lin-colnton, N. C., to Gaffney, S. C., and passing through

Jan 1, 1954

By Henry Hibbard

Fox the purpose of this paper all steels will be divided into two divisions: effervescing and non-effervescing. This classification must be borne in mind as many statements true of one class are not true of the other. Effervescing steels are those that effervesce in the molds, evolving large volumes of gases, which, in escaping, throw up a spray of molten particles of steel and give the molten metal in the mold a rapid stirring or churning motion until it freezes, or, at least, becomes pasty. This effervescing is intended and proper. The non-effervescing steels, which are more or less completely killed, should not evolve any gas in the molds. Many years ago the writer proposed to call the two classes of steels evolution and solution steels, depending on whether the gases in the molds are evolved or kept in solution, but the present designations seen to be better. In America, at least, effervescing steels are in a class by themselves and include steels made for boiler, tank, and ship plates, steel pipe, soft steel wire, wire nails, soft machinery, and structural steels. These are all low-carbon steels with less than 0.40 per cent. carbon. Low-carbon steels that do not effervesce but are killed are also made; these are put into ingots and castings but they are outside the limits of this paper. Effervescing steel is cast into square or slab molds, either top or bottom poured. Most of the effervescing steel is made in the basic open-hearth furnace, though much is made by the acid Bessemer process and a little is made in the acid open-hearth. It is not made by the crucible or electric-furnace process, in which the volume of gas required cannot be produced in the steel and evolved from it in the mold to give the effervescence desired. Any steel ingot, when teeming is finished, is of a certain size or volume. Leaving out of consideration for the moment the lessening of the over-all dimensions of the ingot through contraction due to loss of heat, the ingot may be placed in one of three classes: It may settle, losing in volume; it may stand, that is, remain constant in volume; it may rise, that is, increase in volume.

Jan 9, 1919

By Gerard C. Gambs

The electric utility industry is the largest customer of the U.S. coal industry, consuming nearly 50% of present coal production. By 1980, the electric utilities are expected to burn over 500 million tpy of coal or 75% of total coal production. When coal is burned in electric utility plants, ash is produced in one of several forms. These include fly ash, bottom ash and bottom slag. At the present time, approximately 20 million tons of these ashes are produced and must be disposed of by the utilities at a cost of 50[c] to $2 per ton. In 15 years, more than double this quantity will be produced. Only a small quantity of this ash is put to any practical use. Much remains to be done about expanding uses for fly ash and bottom slag.

Jan 1, 1967

By Mark R. Lamb

THE various methods of treating pulp in air-agitation tanks offer problems for experiment and study which are fascinating as well as practical. The usual method heretofore has been to fill each tank in turn, agitate the mixture the required period and then discharge the treated pulp into a storage-tank, from which it. is drawn to the filter as required. A later method is to run the pulp from the tube-mill, classifier, thickener, or settler into the first of a set of tanks, and thence continuously or in series through the remaining tanks, finally drawing off the pulp to a continuous filter, or to a pulp-storage tank if the filter is of the intermittent type. It is this method which I propose to discuss here in a preliminary way, with the idea of going exhaustively into the examination of the results of a series of experiments in a later paper. It may be of interest to note that the design of a cyanide-plant has recently been completed in which the estimated cost of the agitation-tanks, storage-tanks, and pumps was 30 per cent higher for the charge-agitation arrangement than for the series plan. The first question in studying the series method is, "What is the actual period of treatment undergone by the pulp?? One first supposes that by chance some of the pulp may get through with little or no treatment, while other portions may stay in the tanks a needlessly long period. The former is not probable or even possible, and the latter is, practically, true to only a limited extent. The greater the number of tanks the greater is the percentage of chance that all the pulp will be treated equally. Without going into the mathematical analysis of the problem (which is of little value, since it is based on problematical premises), its important terms may be clearly grasped by thinking of, or " visualizing," the conditions when,

Jan 1, 1910

Gentlemen of the American Institute of Mining Engineers.—As you well know an application is about to be made to Congress, by the American Society of Civil Engineers, for the appointment of a cornmission composed of persons skilled in the production and use of iron, steel, and other structural materials, whose duty it shall be to test the strength, elasticity, and other quatities of such materials ; not simply the substances used as such, but the members of large structures composed of such materials, of the forms and sizes in which they are actually used. As I understand, the papers that will be read here to-night will have for their object to show the necessity for such tests, and therefore the necessity for the commission asked for. As the representative of the Society of Civil Engineers, I have to thank you, gentlemen of the Mining Engineers, for the great zeal with which yon have taken up this subject, and seconded the efforts of the Civil Engineers; or, perhaps I ought rather to say, initiated the efforts to get a suitable commission appointed to obtain most vitally important information which it is admitted on all hands we do not now possess. In drawing up the memorial to Congress, in connection with some of the ablest and best informed of our Society, and in all the discossions on the subject, I have been struck with the emphasis with which the confession is made, that so little is known of the strength of the larger-sized members constantly used in building structures of the magnitude which the present requirements of the country now demand. I presume the remarks made to-night will bring this out very prominently. This is no disgrace, for with the means here-

Jan 1, 1882