Search Documents

By R. H. Richman

Coarse-grained Fe-Ni-C martensites formed at subzero temperatures were strained in compression at room temperature and the plastic deformation modes examined as a funclion of carbon content. At very low carbon levels, defovmation occurs hy wavy slip; commencing at about 0.05 pct C, mechanical twinning accounts for an increasing proportion of the plastic flow. Beyond approximately 0.4 pct C the deformation appears to be entirely by mechanical twinning. The habit planes of the operative twin modes were determined to be (113), (0131, and "(089)" in decreasing frequency of occurrence. Some of the implicaticms of Ihe o6served deformation modes upon the structure and properties of ferrous martensites are discussed. METALLURGISTS have long sought to explain the mechanical properties of ferrous martensites, particularly the extraordinary hardness and strength of the high-carbon varieties. Until recently the lack of precise knowledge of the structure of martensite crystals was the most serious barrier to understanding; however, the advent of thin-foil techniques for transmission electron microscopy has removed much of the mystery from martensite structure. Observations by Kelly and Nutting,"' and many others since, indicate that Fe-C based martensite crystals are internally twinned to a degree dependent upon the carbon content, and that a martensite plate containing 0.8 wt pct C or more consists of a stack of twin-related lamellae with each lamella on the order of l00A thick. Such a structure would be expected to influence greatly all aspects of metallurgical behavior, and many of the properties of Fe-C based martensites have been rationalized accordingly. Recent independent experiments led Winchell and cohen3 to conclude that the strength of ferrous martensite is derived primarily from solid solution hardening of the iron lattice by interstitial carbon atoms. Strength contributions from precipitation, dislocation-atmosphere interactions, clustering, short-range order, crystallite size, and so forth, were considered to be of secondary importance. In the view of Winchell and Cohen, the twinned structure of martensite serves mainly to limit the effective length of dislocation lines in the lattice, and thereby confers an added measure of hardening. Few properties of metallic crystals are as sensitive to metallurgical structure as are deformation mechanisms. It is somewhat surprising therefore, that, except for metallographic evidence of mechanical twins in strained martensite,4 no systematic examination of plastic deformation

Jan 1, 1963

By Evert Hoek

An empirical criterion is presented for use in estimating the strength of heavily jointed or weathered rock masses. This criterion incorporates the intact strength of the rock material and introduces two dimensionless parameters m and s which characterize the behaviour of the interlocking particles in a jointed rock mass. The use of rock mass classification systems for estimating the values of these parameters is discussed. The application of this non-linear failure criterion to the analysis of slopes is illustrated by means of a worked example.

Jan 1, 1983

By H. S. Fleming

My original intention was to give a full account of Southern furnaces, ores and cokes; but, owing to the difficulty of getting reliable information, I confine this paper to a general description of the ores used in, and immediately around, Chattanooga. Mr. L. S. Colyar, Manager of the Rising Fawn furnace, wrote me in answer to an inquiry as to what ores they were using, " Below I give you analyses of the mixture of ore we have been using for the past seven or eight years. We haven't a complete analysis of any ores, but I will give them to you as I have them. Attalla Soft Rising Fawn Hard Rising Fawn Red Ore. Red Ore. Soft Ore. Iron,.... 50.60 38.48 46.82 Silica,. .. 11.69 7.32 22.69 Phosphorus,. .. 1.06 .319 .350 This is a fair average of all the ores we get in this section." The following analyses of Birmingham soft ore were received from the Morris Mining Co., of that place. No. 1. NO. 2. No. 3. No. 4. Iron.....51.60 54.88 51.04 51.20 Silica,. .. 19.32 10.60 17.32 17.08 Alumina,....19 .88 1.18 Phosphorus,. ..129 .287 .116 .464 Mine No. 1, second vein, shows: iron, 46.40; alumina, 4.92; phosphorus,.212; silica, 19.60. Mine No. 1, by analyses obtained from the Mary Pratt Furnace CO., shows: Iron. Silica. Fine red ore,.49.00 18.38 Lump red ore,...54.42 17.10 Bottom vein,.50.00 21.38 Bottom vein,.41.24 13.52 A lot of this ore delivered in Chattanooga gave : iron, 53.32; alumina, 2.10; phosphorus,.529; silica, 18.03.

Jan 1, 1887

By R. G. Treuting, W. C. Ellis

D. Whitwham, M. Mouflard, and P. Lacombe (British Council Research Fellow, Labratoire du Professor Chaudron, Vitry-sur-Seine; Inqenieur de Recherches, Labratoire de Vitry; and Maitre de Recherches, Labratoire de Vitry, Professeur Adjoint de Metallurgie, Ecole des Mines, Paris)—The authors' work is of great interest in bringing out the geometrical relations existing between twinned lattices, and for the notion of a coincidence super lattice developed from this. We should like to point out that a similar idea was put forward by Friedel8 in his book on the subject of lattice merohedrism "merihedrie réticulaire:"—When two crystals A and B are twinned with respect to a mirror plane, there exists a common superlattice, "réseau periode," which is independent of the contact surface between the two crystals. The volume V of this superlattice is a simple multiple of the volume v of the lattice of crystals A, or B, (Fig. 5). This "multiple cell" is defined by the twin plane (p q r) and a row of atoms [h k l] normal to this plane, the base being taken as the smallest unit (two-dimensional) of this plane. Two cases must be considered. First when the multiple cell, as defined, has no atom site at its center nor at the center of its faces other than (p q r), v the twinning index is defined by —. In the second v case, when one of the two above conditions does not v apply, then the twinning index is V 2v A more intuitive definition of the twinning index would be the proportion of atoms of C, which would coincide with those of C1 when the C, lattice is imagined to extend on the other side of the contact surface. In the case of cubic crystals, the twinning index

Jan 1, 1952

By H. L. Hopkins, OHIO, L. W. Kemph, CLEVEL AND, E. V. Ivanso

A balanced system of internal stress is set up in any metallic structure by plastic deformation below the annealing temperature. The internaI stress induced by cold rolling or other fabricating processes is generally recognized and its magnitude is known to be, within certain limits, a function of the degree of cold deformation. The plastic deformation that may accompany rapid cooling from elevated temperatures may not materially change the form of the product. The internal stresses so induced are not, therefore, so evident and nonrecognition of their presence has at times led to engineering failures. The heat treatment of aluminum alloys is a relatively new art and little information is available regarding the magnitude of stresses induced during the commercial heat treatment of aluminum alloy products. As the industrial use of aluminum increases, it is inevitable that products of increasingly large volume will be required. It has become necessary in the present commercial utilization of aluminum to heat-treat castings and forgings weighing hundreds of pounds. One of the factors governing the magnitude of internal stresses arising from rapid cooling from elevated temperatures is that of the size of the structure being treated. Some of the other factors are: cooling rate, elastic properties of the alloy, thermal expansivity, thermal conductivity, and the presence or absence of phase changes. Practically all aluminum alloys have a high coefficient of thermal expansion and some are capable of developing relatively high elastic limits. On the other hand, all commercial aluminum alloys have relatively high thermal conductivities, no invariant phase changes, and the quenching temperatures are comparatively low. In the absence of invariant phase changes involving change in the type of crystallographic lattice, the fundamental basis for the development of internal stress

Jan 1, 1934

By A. J. Erickson, W. W. Atkinson

Concepts developed in a geologic data recording system at the Victoria, Nevada breccia pipe-skarn copper mine, are not fundamentally new, but represents expansion of earlier ideas. The basic philosophy is that a high quality geologic data base is necessary and should be complete, clear, standardized, neat, quantitative, and readily useable. It may be multi-colored or simply black and white. Graphic, descriptive and quantitative recording of data is essential. A format for core logging is presented and discussed, as well as a mu1tiple overlay system for recording data gathered in surface mapping.

Jan 1, 1984

By P. E. Phillips

INTRODUCTION Rocky Mountain Energy is the mining subsidiary of the Union Pacific Corporation, and has been active m uranium exploration since 1966. Since 1970, RME's uranium activities have been funded 50% by Mono Power, the fuels supply division of Southern California Edision. RME and Mono recognized the need for development of new methods for recovering low grade uranium deposits, and contacted Halliburton Services in regard to in situ leaching, because of Halliburton oil industry experience. As a result, a joint venture between the three parties was formed in 1974. BEAR CREEK The first ISL test was at the Bear Creek deposit in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, about 60 miles north of Douglas. The mineralized sand is the tertiary Wasatch formation, which is an arkosic sandstone. The sand typically contains about 10% clay. The predominant clay being montmorillonite with some kaolin and illite. The roll front type trends occur along the flanks of old stream channels. This deposit was being considered for exploitation as an open pit mine. Routine amenability testing indicated it was quite amenable to a conventional acid leach, consuming about 50 lbs. of sulfuric acid per ton of ore in an agitation leach, while recovering more than 95% of the uranium. Hydrology testing indicated a permeability of about 1 darcy. The groundwater has a pH of about 8. 0 and TDS of about 1200. Test Facility The Bear Creek test was a summer-only operation, with no effort towards weather-proofing. Uranium was removed from the recovered leach solution by fixed bed ion-exchange columns. Loaded resin was eluted with strong sulfuric acid. The recovery plant was designed for simplicity of operation, with little concern for the grade or form of the yellowcake product. The plant was constructed of PVC piping and valves, fiberglass reinforced tanks, and stainless steel pumps. All waste streams were directed toward a lined evaporation pond. Wellfield The test pattern was a 30 foot radius 5 spot, with wells fully penetrating the 30 foot ore sand to a total depth of about 165 feet. The injection wells were three-inch PVC with slotted casing, while the producer was eight-inch I. D. , with a stainless steel screen. The eight-inch well was necessary in order to accommodate a six-inch stainless steel pump. Wells were cemented using cement baskets, at the top of the sand, to contain a latex acid resistant cement. Leach Conditions The lixiviant generally contained from five to seven gpl sulfuric acid, and about 0. 5 gpl hydrogen peroxide. The pH was generally 1.4 and EMF was usually -550 millivolts. Injection rates were rather variable from well to well, with a total injection rate between 12 and 25 GPM. Production rate was set at 25 GPM, since the production pump could not be throttled more than that. Approximately two pore volumes of solution were injected during the three-month test. Leach Results Injectivity was quite variable, but was generally rather poor, because of poor completion techniques. The problem stemmed from injecting before the injection wells had been completely cleaned of drilling mud. Pregnant solutions averaged about 50 ppm U308, with groundwater dilution varying from 10 to 50%, depending on the injection rate. Injectivity did decline with time, probably as a result of contamination of the well faces. A total of 1000 lbs U308 had been recovered when the test was shut down. This probably represented about 10% of the mineral under leach.

Jan 1, 1979

By Joseph Pogue

THE prices of crude petroleum and its derivatives have shown an upward trend from 1915 to 1920, and a downward trend from 1920 to 1923, see Table 1. Over the former period, oil prices were dominated by the rapidly increasing demands and inflation incident to the war and its aftermath, while over the latter period oil prices were influenced at the outset by deflation and then by the conditions of overproduction that have characterized the past three years. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the broader features of the more recent price movements in the petroleum industry and to relate these features to basic economic conditions in the industry.

Jan 3, 1924

By H. H. Pentz

THIS paper gives the derivation of a practical formula for the calcu-lation of slopes in seismic reflection prospecting. The derived formula is an approximation and can be used where the slope of the reflecting horizon is less than 250 ft. per 1000 and the depth to the reflecting horizon is greater than 2500 ft. The slope of sediments in oil regions is generally considerably less than 250 ft. per 1000. This is particularly true of the Gulf Coast, with the exception of the salt domes, which usually have the sediments at a greater slope than 250 ft. per 1000.

Jan 1, 1937

By L. R. Testardi, J. R. Wiese

OBSERVATIONS have been made that the substitution of antimony for bismuth in Bi2Te3 leads to anomalies in some of the electrical and magnetic properties of the Bi2Te3-5S2TeS alloy system at the composition ratios 2 Bi2Te3 : 1 Sb2Tes and 1 Bi2Te3 : 2 Sb2Te3. Airapetiants and Efimova1 have reported the peaking of the nondegenerate hole mobilities, at these compositions for sintered materials and ascribe the peaking to the formation of ordered alloys. From a study of these materials produced by the Bridgeman

Jan 1, 1962

By L. D. Jaffe

THE data recently published1-" on heat treatment of titanium alloys have not been readily systematized into an overall picture. When the ß titanium phase transforms isothermally at low temperatures, the hardness follows a typical age-hardening pattern, going through a peak as schematized by the "hardness" vs "time of isothermal transformation" coordinates of Fig. 1. As the temperature is raised, the peak will decrease in height and occur at shorter times; slowing must however take place as the /3 transus is approached. The brittle microconstituent in the region of peak hardness has been termed /3'. Its structure is still undetermined but it is clearly a transition stage from soft /3 to the £ + a that is found at the right of the peak. On continuous cooling, high cooling rates correspond to short times on Fig. 1; abscissa labeling has been added accordingly. Extremely rapid cooling will retain soft /3; very slow cooling will precipitate soft a; intermediate rates give hard 8'. Increasing distance from the water-quenched end of a Jominy hardenability bar corresponds to slower cooling (right on Fig. I), but the range of cooling rates covered by a Jominy bar is only a small portion of that shown in the figure. The p-stabilizing alloying elements retard the transformation process, moving the material to the left on Fig. 1. A lean alloy is harder water-quenched (P') than air-cooled (/3 +a); a rich alloy is harder air-cooled (/3') than water-quenched (/3). Examples of the position of various compositions with respect to the curve, based on limited data in the literature, are given at the top of the figure. Oxygen and carbon accelerate the transformation process, moving the material to the right on Fig. 1. If an alloy quenched quickly enough to retain soft /3 is reheated below the £ transus (tempered), it ages, going through a hardness maximum as time increases (moving right on Fig. 1). Material which after cooling from the /3 range lies on or right of the hardness peak, will move still further right on tempering, and so soften. Since the rate of the tempering (aging) reaction increases with temperature, the figure also may be used to represent the variation in properties with tempering temperature, at short tempering times. The simple picture given here neglects martensite transformation, as well as differences between decomposition products of /3 formed by direct isothermal transformation and those formed by quenching and tempering. It may nevertheless be of use as a guide for practical heat treatment and for further research.

Jan 1, 1955

By Robert W. Hendricks, John B. Newkirk

A simple method is described for determining the orientation of a single crystal by means of a cylindr cal X-ray camera. Orientation setting to within ±1 deg is attainable by a stereographic analysis of a single cylindrical Laue pattern produced by the originally randomly mounted crystal. Final precision adjustments which permit orientation of the crystal to within ±5 min of arc from the desired position can be made by the method of Weisz and Cole. A chart, originally Presented by Schiebold and schneider7 and which allows a direct reading of the two stereographic polar coordinates of the corresponding pole of a given Laue spot, has been recomputed to aid in the stereographic interpretation of the cylindrical Laue X-ray photograph. Detailed instructions for the use of the chart, a simple example, and a comparison with the conventional flat-film Laue Methods, are presented. 1 HE problem of determining the orientation of the unit cell of a single crystal relative to a set of fixed external reference coordinates is fundamental to most problems of X-ray crystallography and to many experimental studies of the structure-sensitive physical properties of crystalline materials. Several techniques for measuring these orientation relations have been developed which correlate optically observable, orientation-dependent physical properties to the unit cell. Examples of such procedures include the observation of cleavage faces or birefringence, as discussed by bunn,1 or the examination of preferentially formed etch-pits, as discussed by barrett.2 Each of these methods is limited, for various reasons, to an orientation accuracy of approximately ±1 deg—a serious limitation in some experimental studies. Several other limitations decrease the generality of these methods. Of these, perhaps most notable is the absence in many crystals of the physical property necessary for the orientation technique. The most widely used methods for determining crystal orientation are variations of the Laue X-ray diffraction method. Because of the indeterminacy of the X-ray wavelength diffracted to a given spot, the interpretation of Laue photographs is now limited almost exclusively to the procedure of using a chart to determine the angular coordinates of the corresponding pole for each spot. For the flat-film geometries, either a leonhardt3 or a Dunn-Martin4 chart is used in interpreting transmission patterns, whereas a greninger5 chart is used for interpreting back-reflection patterns. A less common method of interpreting flat-film transmission Laue photographs is by comparing the Laue pattern with the Majima and Togino standards,6 or with the revised standards prepared by Dunn and Martin.4 Although this last method is applicable only to crystals with cubic symmetry, it can be very rapid and just as accurate as the graphical methods. The primary limitation of all the X-ray methods mentioned is the relatively small number of Laue spots and zones which are recorded on the flat film. Often, few, if any, major poles appear, thus making interpretation tedious and sometimes uncertain. The use of a cylindrical film eliminates this problem. Schiebold and schneider7 prepared a chart by which the orientation of the specimen crystal could be determined from a cylindrical Laue photograph. However, it was only drawn in 5-deg intervals of each of the two angular variables used to identify the Laue spots, thus limiting the accuracy of orientation to about ±3 deg. An examination of this chart indicated that if it were drawn in 2-deg intervals, crystal orientations to ±1 deg would be attainable. Subsequent use of the replotted chart has confirmed this accuracy. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the redevelopment and use of this chart, and to point out its advantages and limitations. I) CAMERA GEOMETRY AND CHART CALCULATIONS The geometry of the cylindrical camera with a related reference sphere is shown in Fig. 1. The X-ray beam BB&apos; pierces the film at the back-reflection hole B, strikes the crystal at 0, and the transmitted beam leaves the camera at the transmission hole T. One of the diffracted X-rays intersects the film at a Laue spot L. The normal OP to the diffracting plane bisects the angle BOL between the incident and diffracted X-ray beams. The point P on the reference sphere can be located uniquely by the two orthogonal motions 6 and 8 on the two great circles ENWS and BPQT respectively. Because the Bragg angle 8 (= 90 - < BOP) is always less than 90 deg, P always remains in the hemisphere BENWS. Therefore, if every possible pole P is to be recorded on the same stereographic projection, it is necessary that the projection reference point be at T with the projection plane tangent to the sphere at B.* The great

Jan 1, 1963

By Tadeusz Cyrul

Results of a large scale compression test in situ are the subject of discussion. A cube of coal having an edge length of 1.5 meters was subjected to uniaxial compression tests in situ. At the same time both load and deformation were controlled. Deformations were measured on 60 short measurement bases, each 23 cm in length. The bases were uniformly distributed on the side surface of the cube, forming five horizontal rows and twelve columns on the development of the surface. Readings were taken from each gauge for each level of loading which was increased step by step. Due to heterogeneity of the rock, readings showed scatter. Scattered data were approximated by a plane, using the least squares method for each row separately and for the entire population of bases. Orientation of the planes are analyzed. The geometrical measure of the bending moment is introduced. It shows that the magnitude of the bending moment and the bending plane differed from row to row, thus implying that the cube was not only bent but twisted as well. This complex behaviour of the coal cube is apparently caused by its heterogeneity and vertical anisotropy. The results constitute a contribution to the verification of existing design criteria on the stability of mining pillars.

Jan 1, 1984

By W. R. Hibbard

T has been proposed1 on the basis of slip and flow I- that the ideal deformation texture of cold rolled face-centered cubic metals is (110) [112]. As pointed out recently by Brick,&apos; this theory does not account for the difference between the pole figures for cold rolled copper and 70-30 alpha brass, which develop strikingly different spreads from the ideal orientations. It does suggest that the pole figures might be similar for these two metals if they are rolled sufficiently. This has been found to be the case for cold drawn wire.&apos; Experimental Procedure: Four inch sections of cast cakes of copper and 70-30 alpha brass were obtained through the courtesy of the Bridgeport Brass Co. Pieces from these cakes were cold straight rolled 99.993 pct reduction in thickness with the assistance of the Remington Arms Co., Bridgeport, Conn., and by the use of pack rolling. Pole figures were made using the X ray camera and techniques described by Brick.&apos; These pole figures were not significantly different from those previously published for the same materials rolled 98 pct. Eight thicknesses of this strip were then pack rolled. This material failed completely and extensively in tension as shown in fig. 1, developing wavy transverse fractures and bulges. No further work could be done on these samples. Summary: Within the range of this experiment, no attainable amount of cold rolling would cause the pole figures of cold rolled copper and 70-30 brass to become similar, in spite of the fact that such a similarity is predicted by theory.&apos; References W. R. Hibbard. Jr. and M. K. Yen: Trans. AIME (1948) 175, 126. Met. Tech. Feb. 1948. TP 2334. ²R. M. Brick: Trans. ASM (1949) 41A, 99. 3W. R. Hibbard, Jr.: Trans. AIME (1949) 185, 598, Jnl. of Metals, Sept. 1949. "R. M. Brick: Trans. AIME (1940) 137, 193. &apos;R. M. Brick, D. L. Martin and R. P. Angier: Trans. ASM (1943) 31, 675.

Jan 1, 1951

By George L. Heath

This paper is devoted chiefly to the coal-fields of the western part of the province of Chili and the eastern part of the province of Shansi; but the outline of this belt will give some idea of the extension of the coal-fields over northeastern China. This part of China is topographically divided into: (1) the mountainous peninsula of eastern Shantung; (2) the coastal plains, extending W. and SW. from the gulf of Pechili; and (3) the mountains and table-lands N. and W. of the coastal plains. The plains extend N. and W. from the gulf to within from 10 to 25 miles of the Great Wall, while their SW. extension covers western Shantung and reaches W. along the Yellow river almost to the southern boundary of Shansi. A line joining the mapped coal-fields, shown in Fig. 1, almost gives the western boundary of the plains; since these areas lie on the border of the plains—except the Tsê Chou field, which is on the table-land, 20 to 25 miles from that border. The coal-fields which have been mapped and investigated by the author are shown in Fig. 1. The one at and around Tongshan is known as the K&apos;ai-p&apos;ing coal-field; the one W. of Peking has been called the Wang-p&apos;ing coal-basin; the one SW. of Pao-ting and N. of Chêng-ting may be called the Lingshan coal-field; and the one at and around Tsê Chou is known as the Tsê Chou coal-field. I. The K&apos;ai-p&apos;ing Coal-Field. As is shown in Fig. 2, most of this field lies in the coastal plains, and is therefore covered by alluvium and loess, which have buried the older rock-beds, and the more gentle and older topographic outlines, to such an extent that most of the re-

Jan 1, 1902

By Jerome S. Nelson, William S. Johnson

Seismic investigations at pre-construction sites commonly are limited to obtaining velocities and thicknesses of subsurface intervals which are useful in estimating construction costs, but are sometimes difficult to apply to project designing. This paper shows through a case history of the San Bernardino Tunnel Intake Tower, a part of the California State Water Project, that dynamic rock properties and dynamic resonant frequencies can be determined and velocity models constructed from in situ field studies and that these are theoretically correct after simplifying assumptions are made. These data can be used to confirm and extend information obtained by conventional methods such as drilling and laboratory static testing.

Jan 1, 1971

By David G. Chedgy, Wen L. Chen, Bill S. Taylor

Theoretically the heavy medium cyclone is capable of cleaning raw coal from a top size of about 38 mm (1 1/2 in.) to a bottom size of about 200 mesh. With this idea, plants have been built recently using the heavy medium cyclone without desliming. The full size range down to zero is fed into the cyclone. Products + 28 mesh are removed in the normal manner on drain and rinse screens. The 28 x 200 mesh products are recovered separately from the magnetic separator tailings. Simplicity of flowsheet and plant operation coupled with the high efficiency of the heavy medium cyclone makes this a very attractive approach.

Jan 1, 1980

By K. C. Mills, E. T. Turkdogan

A number of investigators1 6 have noted the presence of a liquid miscibility gap in the Fe-Sn binary system. However, the first attempt to measure the

Jan 1, 1964

By Max W. Bowen, A. J. Weinig

The important part that dissolved oxygen plays in the cyanide treatment of gold and silver ores is commonly recognized by most metallurgists and mill men. But heretofore there has been no simple method on which the mill man could rely for determining the amount of oxygen in the various mill solutions. A few methods are adaptable to the laboratory, such as the gasometric1 determination by actually measuring the oxygen, Winkler&apos;s2 iodometric method, and Schutzenberger&apos;s3 method, which depends on the reducing action of sodium hyposulfite on a blue solution of indigo carmine; but these are not readily adaptable to the needs of the mill man and cannot be applied to cyanide solutions without modification. The gasometric method is the most accurate but it takes too long to complete a determination. White&apos;s4 method (a colorimetric method that depends on the degree of coloration imparted to a solution of pyro-gallic acid in the presence of caustic soda) although much more rapid than any of the methods named, often gives misleading results on account of grading of colors of different solutions, which nearly always contain various kinds of salts. The method herein described was devised for the use of the mill man, the aim being to develop a simple, practical, accurate method. It is a modification of the Schutzenberger method and depends on the reducing

Jan 1, 1925

By Newell Hamilton

SOME years ago, in the manufacture of seamless tubing from an alloy steel containing 0.07 per cent maximum carbon, 18 per cent chromium and 8 per cent nickel, at the plant of The Babcock & Wilcox Tube Co., a peculiar type of piercing defect was noticed. This defect was definitely associated with certain heats of the alloy and was independent of any of the variables of mill operation and billet-heating condition. A thorough analysis of the defective material yielded but one clue to the reason for its abnormal behavior in piercing and that was its oxygen content as determined by the vacuum fusion method. The oxygen content of the defective 18-8 alloy was found to be from two to three times that of the material that had pierced satisfactorily, and this incited an active interest in the vacuum fusion method for the analysis of alloy steels. After a critical survey of the literature on this subject, and considerable experimentation, an apparatus and technique were evolved that gave a fairly rapid, simple and reliable method of analysis. Samples selected from six years of tube production of 18-8 and other corrosion-resistant alloys were analyzed by this method. This paper describes the procedure and gives a correlation of the oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen contents of a number of alloy steel samples repre-sentative of good and bad tube-piercing quality.

Jan 1, 1934