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By William N. Wallinger

The mine and concentrator of Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation are located in the south central section of Canada's Yukon Territory. The Yukon is sparsely settled, with a total population of less than 23 000. Wide seasonal temperature variations are experienced with extremes of 35º C and -57º C being recorded at Faro. The concentrator treats 9000 tons per day of a complex lead-zinc sulphide ore, employing conventional crushing, grinding and differential flotation to produce selective lead and zinc concentrates as well as a mixed lead/zinc (bulk) concentrate. The current operating practice and highlights of the eight years the concentrator has been in operation are reviewed. In addition, certain of the unique features and problems connected with plant operation in a remote northern location are discussed in some detail.

Jan 1, 1977

By Young C. Kim

The use of computer models to design the ultimate open pit limits during feasibility studies as well as during long-range mine planning is becoming an enforced practice in all types of mining, e.g., ferrous, non-ferrous, and coal. As a result, the state of the art in computerized ultimate pit limit design methodologies and associated computing and optimizing techniques has advanced considerably in recent years. Unfortunately, very little has been published to date regarding the preferred ultimate pit limit design philosophy, i.e., optimizing us satisfying, or regarding the modeling approaches being used for different types of orebodies. This paper reviews the current state of the art in various modeling approaches and optimizing techniques that are in use for different types of deposits, through available literatures and personal communications.

Jan 1, 1979

By Young C. Kim

Abstract-The use of computer models to design the ultimate open pit limits during feasibility studies as well as during long-range mine planning is becoming an enforced Practice in all types of mining, e.g., ferrous, non-ferrous, and coal. As a result, the state of the art in computerized ultimate pit limit design methodologies and associated computing and optimizing techniques has advanced considerably in recent years. Unfortunately, very little has been published to date regarding the preferred ultimate pit limit design philosophy, i.e., optimizing m satisfying, or regarding the modeling approaches being used for different types of orebodies. This paper reviews the current state of the art in various modeling approaches and optimizing techniques that are in use for different types of deposits, through available literatures and personal communications.

Jan 10, 1978

By Charles George, Ronald Faul

The cementing process has been used in approximately 2.5 million oil and gas wells to seal, protect and isolate various downhole formations against communication. It has been adapted to other more specialized situations such as solution mining and sealing salt storage reservoirs. The technical literature contains very few papers specifically dealing with the cementing process for these applications, yet there have been many special projects in various parts of the world that are novel. These will be highlighted in this review. This paper also presents a comprehensive review of the various techniques used in cementing wells drilled for the recovery of soluble salts and brines. It also covers the application of cementing techniques to a large number of wells drilled for the storage of hydrocarbons in South Louisiana.

Jan 1, 1985

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

276. Cohesion, Elasticity. - The name cohesion is given to the force of attraction existing between the molecules of one and the same body, in con- sequence of which they offer resistance to any influence tending to separate them, as in the breaking of a solid body or the scratching of its surface. Elasticity is the force which tends to restore the molecules of a body back into their original position, from which they have been disturbed, as when a body has suffered change of shape or of volume under pressure. The varying degrees of cohesion and elasticity for crystals of different minerals, or for different directions in the same crystal, are shown in the prominent characters: cleavage, fracture, tenacity, hardness; also in the gliding-planes, percussion-figures or pressure-figures, and the etching-figures.

Jan 1, 1922

By J. W. Harden

APART from the merits of the respective systems of mining under conditions alike, there is much in the nature of the coal and the measures with which it is associated, to make that system which is successfully practiced in one locality ill adapted to that of another ; the structure of the coal itself, the roof, the floor, the depth and character of the overlying strata, each exercising more or less controlling influence. Again, in the highly bituminous districts, and with such as have caking coals, where the size of the coal as it comes off the face does not affect its value, as the very smallest of it may be utilized, and in the hard, the open and free-burning coals, in some of which the round only (large coal) is merchantable,

By T. W. Healy, M. S. Moignard

The use of electrokinetic or zeta-potential phenomena in studies of the properties of mineral sulphides has increased greatly over recent years. This review aims to examine and discuss the body of literature on the subject of electrokinetic properties of sulphides in a comprehensive and critical manner. Although the review covers the period from 1925 to 1975, it is only in the past ten years that researchers have been fully aware of the implications and problems of chemical reactions, notably oxidation and precipitation reactions, on the surface properties of sulphide minerals. These papers are discussed in more detail than the earlier publications. A table containing a list of determinations of iso-electric- points and points-of-zero-charge of mineral sulphides, and the methods employed in obtaining these results, is presented.

Jan 1, 1976

By N. Lilienberg

The success of European experiments in melting iron and steel with gases resulting from the decomposition of steam by incandescent coal, has encouraged me to design, with the valuable assistance of Mr. George S. Dwight, a plan for producing and burning these gases in a manner economical and efficient for metallurgical purposes. That this direction is the right one, is demonstrated by the repeated efforts made in practice, to introduce as much steam as possible with the blast in ordinary producers, thus displacing a certain amount of nitrogen. Such attempts, however, must always be limited by the cooling influence of the steam. The accompanying drawings represent the producers and the steel-melting furnace, arranged according to our first ideas which may be susceptible of improvement in details when put into practical

Jan 1, 1885

By J. T. Price

The study was undertaken to investigate the effect in the charge to a blast furnace of zinc and alkali contents, which tend to form accretions and scaffolds in the upper sections of the furnace. Commercial iron oxide pellets were reduced in a CO:N2, 40:60 gas mixture in a 5-cm by 5-m counter-current reactor (Rist-type apparatus) designed to simulate blast-furnace conditions. Pellets from a commercial magnetite concentrate were prepared in the laboratory with zinc (1% ZnO) and alkali (1% KOH) additions to the concentrate. Reducibility, crushing strength and swelling tests were carried out and the results compared with test data from pellets prepared without additions. The results indicated normal behaviour for those pellets containing zinc, whereas those containing alkali swelled catastrophically under the same reducing conditions.

Jan 1, 1977

By Stuart McGill

This case-study of the financing of the Ok Tedi project illustrates the nature of project financing and outlines the arrangements made in the case of this project; it also demonstrates that the limitation of financial exposure is an important goal for Governments involved in developing the resources sector. The account includes a chronological description of the process by which the sponsors prepared for the financing of the project and the lenders became involved in it. The type of security arid loan documentation required for such financing is described, together with a broad analysis of their content and the manner in which the various risks involved in development are apportioned among the sponsors and lenders. The ability to apportion and limit financial liability is an important development for the owners of capital and resources.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. L. Tobie

The degree of automation that has evolved in the dumping and hoisting of ore at the 3A and 3B hoisting shafts of the San Manuel mine is discussed. Motormen underground now dump their own trains at shaft pockets with rotary car dumps which operate semiautomatically. The ore is then drawn out of the 1200-ton shaft pockets into measuring baskets in skip loading stations, loaded into bottom-dump skips, hoisted, and dumped into coarse ore bins on the surface, in a fully automated operation. In an underground control room on the 2075 level midway between 3A and 3B shafts, car dumping, skip loading, and hoisting systems are monitored on lighted control panels which mimic each step in the operation. Here skip loading and dumping are viewed on closed-circuit television.

Jan 1, 1972

By Frank Doxey

AT Dominion Steel & Coal Corp. it has long been recognized that continued mechanization of mine operations is necessary in the Pictou, Cumberland, and Sidney coal fields of Nova Scotia. The varied physical conditions in these fields call for special consideration of individual cases before planning is finalized. Because standard equipment cannot be procured which would operate successfully, many experiments have been necessary over the years to keep pace with the progress made in other countries. There are two mines, producing 2000 tpd, located in the Pictou coal field. The field is badly distorted and crossed by many faults. Seams are highly inclined and irregular and vary in thickness from 5 to 40 ft. Entries are difficult to maintain because of squeezing of the coal ribs and movement of the roof and pavement.

Jan 7, 1954

By James H. Courtright, Kenyon Richard

TOQUEPALA is a porphyry copper deposit in which mineralization is localized by a large breccia pipe formed in close genetic relation to intrusive rocks. The deposit is in southern Peru, 55 airline miles north of the small city of Tacna and the same distance inland from the port of 110. Quellaveco and Cuajone, geologically similar deposits, lie 12 and 19 miles north of Toquepala. Chuquicamata is 400 miles to the south. The deposit is high on the southwestern slope about 20 miles from the crest of the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes Chain. It lies in a mountainous desert where the steep southwesterly slope of the Andes is dissected by a succession of rapidly downcutting, deep canyons. Local topography is moderately rugged with a dendritic drainage pattern and an elevation of 8000 to 14,000 ft. Volcanic peaks along the crest of the Cordillera rise over 19,000 ft. Local precipitation, including a little snow, amounts to about 10 in. during January and February, but general runoff in the region is slight. Throughout southern Peru the springs and streams are widely separated. Crude canals irrigate small farms on terraced slopes along the streams and provide sparse subsistence to the semi-nomadic inhabitants. During the past decade, engineering and geological explorations of the region, as well as the mineral deposits themselves, have required construction of a network of several hundred miles of roads. Before this, roads extended only a few miles inland. Many areas still can be reached only by trail. Toquepala was briefly described in 19th century geographical literature as a copper deposit, and it received desultory attention from Chilean prospectors early in the present century. It was first recognized as a mineralized zone of possible real importance by geologist O.C. Schmedeman during an exploration trip for Cerro de Paso Copper Corp. in 1937. The discovery was late as compared to earlier recognition of Chuquicamata, Potrerillos, and Braden of Chile and Cerro Verde of southern Peru. This was due partly to the region's difficult accessibility but principally to the obscure character of the outcrop evidence of copper. From 1938 until 1942 Cerro de Pasco Copper Corp. partially explored the deposit by adits and diamond drillholes. This campaign was supplied by a 60-mule pack train continuously shuttling over a 30-mile trail. Northern Peru Mining & Smelting Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of American Smelting & Refining Co., undertook regional engineering stud- ies in 1945 and drill exploration in 1949. According to published data1 the deposit contains 400 million tons of open pit ore averaging a little over 1 pct Cu. It is currently undergoing large-scale development by Southern Peru Copper Corp., which is owned by American Smelting & Refining, Phelps Dodge, Cerro de Pasco, and Newmont Mining. Summary of Geology: The deposit is situated in a terrane composed of Mesozoic(?) and Tertiary volcanic rocks intruded by dioritic apophyses of the Andean Batholith. These formations are exposed in a northwesterly trending belt about 15 miles wide. Along the northeast they are unconformably overlain by Plio-Pleistocene pyroclastic rocks, which occupy much of the crest of the Andes, and along the southwest they are covered by the Moquegua formation of Pliocene(?) age. The mineralized area, oblong in shape and about 2 miles long, has been a locus of intense igneous activity. Several small intrusive bodies having irregular forms occur within and adjacent to a centrally located, large breccia pipe. The mushroom-shaped orebody consists of a flat-lying enriched zone of predominant chalcocite with a stem-like extension of hypogene chalcopyrite ore in depth within and around the pipe. This breccia pipe is relatively large and has been formed by repeated episodes of brecciation. Small satellitic pipes occur at random within a 2-mile radius of this central pipe. These too were individual sourceways of mineralization, although not always of ore grade. Within and around the zone of breccia pipes and mineralization there are a few faults and veins, but these are discontinuous random structures of minor significance. There are no regional or local systems of faults or other planar structures recognized which could account either for the mechanical development of the breccia pipes or for their localization as a group or as individuals. Hydrothermal alteration is pervasive in the zone of mineralization. Clay minerals appear to be abundant in places, but their percentages are undetermined. Quartz and sericite are the principal alteration products, and in many instances original rock textures are obliterated. The principal sulfides, hypogene pyrite and chalcopyrite and supergene chalcocite, occur mainly as vug fillings in the breccia and as small discrete grains scattered through all the altered rocks. Sulfide veinlets are relatively scarce. Sulfides are more abundant and alteration is more intense in certain rock units, such as the diorite and most of the breccias. Although the Toquepala mineral deposit is similar in most respects to the porphyry copper deposits of southwestern U. S., it most closely resembles the Braden deposit of Chile, as described by Lindgren

Jan 1, 1959

By M. M. Fine

Normally the U. S. produces less than 10 pct of its annual manganese requirement. About 95 pct of domestic consumption is used by the steel industry.' The strategic and critical nature of manganese has been recognized by its inclusion in the national stockpile and by intensified research directed toward cataloging and evaluating domestic manganiferous deposits. The USBM has participated in these activities for many years with field and laboratory studies to assess the extent and potential utilization of domestic manganese ores. One area of particular interest is in the vinicity of Batesville, Ark., where deposits have been mined since 1849 for both manganese and ferruginous manganese ores. Production is centered in Independence County, but deposits are also found in Sharp, Izard, and Stone counties in north-central Arkansas. Miser has described the geology and manganese mineralization in some detail.'. * "he rocks of the area are sedimentary, consisting of sandstone, limestone, shale, and chert. The two formations of greatest importance,' Fernvale limestone and Cason shale, are host rocks of the primary manganese mineralization. Through 1955 the district produced some 230,000 long tons of manganese ore (35 pct Mn or more) and 236,000 tons of ferruginous manganese (10 to 35 pct Mn).5 Most of the ore has been mined from deposits of manganese oxides in residual clays resulting from weathering of the two formations noted above. Concentration methods have been primitive, consisting for the most part of washing. hand picking, and jigging. A significant accomplishment in the district in recent years was the USBM recognition and investigation of the huge manganese potential represented by unaltered Fernvale limestone. systematic reconnaissance of manganiferous limestone and other occurrences has been in progress since 1953 to delineate the extent and tonnage of manganiferous materials. Results of that survey have appeared in two recent publications,1-5 which ascribe to the district an inferred reserve of 166 million long dry tons at a grade of 5 to 6 pct Mn. Most of this was mancaniferous limestone with an estimated content of 5 pct Mn. Specifications: Beneficiation was carried out on a group of manganiferous limestones to develop a way to recover commercial-grade concentrate from this extensive resource. The following chemical specifications were established by the GSA for metallurgical manganese ore acceptable for delivery to the national stockpile: Size specifications were not considered, as it was assumed that the concentrates could be pelletized or sintered. Manganiferous Limestones: Of the 11 samples tested to date, six were taken by cutting vertical channels across beds of limestone outcrops. Diamond drilling through overlying barren chert into unex-posed limestone provided four samples, and the last was a churn drill sample. In general, the samples were dlrk, fossiliferous limestone containing small amounts of braunite, hausmannite, rhodochrosite, massive and micaceous iron and manganese silicates, quartz, barite, and glauconite. The braunite and other manganese oxides partly to completely replaced some of the calcite and fossil material. The calcite was generously stained with mangenese and iron oxides. Phosphorus was present in all samples as collophanite grains, calcium phosphate fossil replacements. or an unidentified manganese-bearing carbonate. The difficulty in separating this complex array of minerals was further complicated by a very intimate association. Although some manganese grains as large as Ik in. were noted, grinding to subsieve sizes would have been necessary to liberate the components. Figs. 1 and 2 are micrographs, at X100, of typical polished sections in which white areas are manganese. gray is gangue, and black areas are surface depressions. By comparison with the 100 mesh opening, it is seen that some of the grains are coarse enough to respond, perhaps to tabling or flotation, but many are obviously beyond the scope of ohysical processing. Partial chemical analyses of the eight samples that were ultimately amenable to concentration are presented in Table 1. BENEFlClATlON RESEARCH Tabling: To take advantage of the presence of sand-size grains, both jigging and tabling were considered at the outset. Jigging was largely ineffective, but tabling achieved a partial recovery from most samples. As an example, the surface material from Baxter Hill was crushed to —28 mesh, hydraulically classified, and the coarsest spigot fraction was tabled to yield a concentrate, middling. and tailing. The latter two were reground to pass 48 mesh, combined with the primary fines, re-classified, and retabled. The middling and tailing were again ground, this time to pass 150 mesh, and deslimed at 20µ in a 3-in. hydraulic cyclone. The cyclone underflow was returned to the table to reclaim a small amount of high-grade manganese. An interesting facet of the gravity concentration developed on certain samples in which braunite was the principal manganese constituent. Since braunite has a Mohs hardness of 6 to 6.5, while the host rock, limestone. is only 3, a differential size reduction took place during crushing, and the

Jan 1, 1960

By Hugh H. Waesche

Of all the military services, the Signal Corps is the most concerned with piezoelectric minerals because of its function as a supply service to the strategic and tactical military forces. Consequently this paper is written from the point of view of one associated with that organization. The Signal Corps is responsible for the research, development, and supply of communications, radar, and components to the using services of the Department of the Army and to some extent the Other branches of the National Defense Department. Their work therefore includes the study of the sources* characteristics, and application of quartz and other piezoelectric materials. These materials have become a vital consideration in strategic planning and are essential for efficient tactical operation by all the Armed Forces. The Signal Corps at the beginning of world War 11 Was respon-sible for both Army Ground and Air Force electronic equipment. Since that time this Army service organization has probably done more in the development of frequency control devices using piezoelectric materials than any other group. The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Minerals yearbook of 1945, shows that during the four war years, 1942 through 1945, 9,598,-410 Ib of quartz crystal were imported for all uses and of this total, 5,168,000 lb were consumed to produce 78,320,-000 crystal units for electronic application. Other government records confirm these data which conclusively show that approximately 53 pct of the crystalline quartz imported was consumed in the production of electronically applied quartz crystal units. It may be assumed that some effort was made to maintain a stockpile over demands for all purposes. and this would mean that the actual percentage of quartz used electronically was considerably over the 53 pct figure. These data only emphasize that electronic application of crystalline quartz was the greatest requirement, and per- haps the actual value in this application to national defense is many times greater in importance than is apparent on first inspection. Current electronic research and development programs of the Armed Forces are planned around the fundamental use of piezoelectric minerals for frequency control and this at present, at least, means quartz. Definition and Early Development The word piezoelectricity is formed from combination of the Greek word "piezein". meaning "to press," and "electricity." It is that property shown by numerous crystalline substances whereby electrical charges of equal and opposite value are produced on certain surfaces when the crystal is subjected to mechanical stress. It appears to be intimately associated with the better known property, pyro-electricity and in fact, the two may be manifestations of the same phenomeuon. This property was discovered by Pierre and Jacques Curie in quartz, tourmaline, and other minerals in 1880 while studying the symmetry of crystals. The converse effect, that is, mechanical strain in the crystal when placed in an electrical field, was predicted by the French physicist, G. Lippman, in 1881, and verified by the Curies almost immediately. As has been the case with many discoveries of similar character in the basic sciences, not much attention was paid to this property for man)- years except as an entertaining curiosity. Between 1890 and 1892 a series of papers was published by W. voigt in which the theoretical physical properties were put into mathematical form. The first practical application of piezoelectricity occurred during World War I when professor P. Langevin of France used quartz mosaics to produce underwater sound waves. The same mosaics were used to pick up the sound reflections from submerged objects which were in turn, amplified by electronic means and used to determine the distances to such objects. This device was intended for use as a submarine detector but development was not completed in time for war service although it was used later for determining ocean depths. About the same time, A. M. Nicholson, of Bell Telephone Laboratories, developed microphones and phonograph pickups using Rochelle salt crystals. A major step in the application of piezoelectric quartz came in 1921, when professor W. G. Cady, of wesleyan university, showed that a radio oscillator could be controlled by a quartz crystal; from that date, this use of quartz has increased steadily, reaching its peak in world war 11 as is shown by the figures previously given. Essentially all American electronic equipment for communication, navigation, and radar, utilized quartz crystals for the exacting frequency control required. Crystalline Minerals with piezoelectric Properties QUARTZ Hundreds of piezoelectric crystalline materials are known, most of which are water soluble. Of these, quartz appears to be without a peer for electronic frequency control. Unfortunately, the quartz must be of superior quality. It must be free of mechanical flaws, essen-tially optically clear, free of both Brazil and Dauphiné twinning and must be, for average uses, over 100 g in weight. Because of these stringent requirements, raw quartz of the quality desired is of rare occurrence. In addition to quartz, several other naturally occurring crystalline materials are known to have the piezoelectric property and could perhaps be substituted for quartz in some applications. These

Jan 1, 1950

By M. J. Spendlove, H. W. St. Clair

The problem frequently arises, particularly in refining metals or smelting scrap metals, of separating metals in the metallie state. Many metals may be separated by taking advantage of their difference in vapor pressure. Such separations can be made at atmospheric pressure, but the separations are much more selective and can be carried out at considerably lower temperatures if the distillation is done at pressures of a few millimeters or less in an evacuated enclosure. Until recently, this has not been considered feasible as a metallurgical operation, but the recent improvemcnts that have been made in vacuum technology have broadened the applicability of vacuum processes and have prompted re-examination of low-pressurc distillation of metals as a practicable process. The distillation of zinc from lead is one separation that has already been reduced to practice.l This paper is the first of a series of studies being made on separation of nonferrous metals by distillation at low pressures. Although these experiments were confined to the separation of zinc from aluminum, the significance of the results is by no means confined to these two metals. The purpose has been to investigate a metallurgical technique rather than merely to devise a means of separating specific metals. The experimental work on distillation of zinc from zine-aluminum alloys at reduced pressure grew out of earlier work on distillation at atmospheric pressure.2 The earlier work indicated that it would not be practicable to decrease the zinc in the alloy much below 10 pct owing to the high temperature required. Therefore attention was turned to distillation ah low pressures, at which lower temperatures are required. After preliminary tests were made in a small, evacuated tube furnace, a larger furnace having a capacity of 100 to 150 Ib of metal per charge was constructed. Distillation tests were first made on pure zinc and then on aluminum-zinc alloys of various composition. Particular attention was given to the limit to which zinc could be reduced in the residual metal. Data were also taken on the rate of evaporation, and heat balances were made for both the crucible and the condenser. Distillation Furnace The vacuum-distillation unit is illustrated schematically in Fig 1. The major components are the induction furnace, the condenser, the vacuum system, and the power-conversion unit. Power is supplied to the induction furnace from a 50-kw 3000-cycle motor-driven alternator. The pressure in the furnace is reduced by a vacuum pump having a nominal pumping speed of 10 liters per sec. When in operation, the metal vapors travel upward from the furnace to the water-cooled condenser where they are collected in amounts of 50 to 100 lb. The condenser is removed with aid of an electric hoist. When the system is under vacuum, the condenser is made self-sealing by a rubber gasket between the smooth-faced, water-cooled flanges at the top of the furnace and the bottom of the condenser. The pressure of the atmosphere is more than sufficient to insure sealing. At the conclusion of an experiment, the residual metal can be removed from the furnace by removing the condenser and tilting the furnace with the electric hoist. The metal was cast into the molds carried on a mold truck. A photograph of the furnace and auxiliary equipment is shown in Fig 2. The details of the vacuum furnace are illustrated in Fig 3. The furnace proper is made vacuum-tight with rubber gaskets placed at each end of a fused quartz cylinder. A clamping plate at the bottom and a ring at the top are made to squeeze the rubber between the metal and the end of the quartz tube. A large graphite crucible placed inside the quartz cylinder is thermally insulated and physically supported by refractory insulating bricks. A thermocouple in a quartz protection tube is located at the bottom of the crucible: the leads pass through a rubber seal in the bottom plate. The supporting structure for the furnace is an angle iron frame with transite board sides. The condenser is made in the form of a water jacketed cylinder with an opening to the vacuum line at the top. The bottom has a projecting skirt inside the machined flange to provide additional cooling for the rubber gasket. Condenser sleeves are made in the form of two semicylindrical pieces of sheet metal that fit snugly inside the cooling jacket. The split sleeve facilitates removal of the condensate. Measurement of Temperatare and Pressure The metal temperature was measured by a platinum-platinilm rhodium thermocouple inserted in a well extending up into the bottom of the graphite crucible. During rapid evaporation there is a wide difference in temperature between the surface and the main body of metal in the crucible because of the large amount of heat that must be conducted to the surface to supply the heat of evaporation. The heat of

Jan 1, 1950

By I. R. Kramer

I. R. Kramer (Martin Co.)—In a recent paper Nakada and Chalmers24 reported some observations of effects of surface conditions on the stress-strain curves of aluminum and gold single crystals. It is of interest to compare these observations with the results published previously in this journal and to comment on their general conclusions. In brief, Nakada and Chalmers concluded that the removal of the surface layer of a prestrained specimen lowered the stress-strain curve for aluminum but not that for gold. Further, they concluded that the surface work hardening of aluminum is confined to a depth not more than l0-3 cm. In our results25 published previously, it was pointed out that when prestrained specimens of aluminum and gold were polished to reduce the thickness upon reloading the initial flow stress decreased markedly. Further if a sufficient amount of metal was removed, the yield point failed to appear. With continued application of the load the stress-strain curve became coincident with that of the virgin crystal. We have found this behavior in some 100 determinations to hold consistently for gold, aluminum, and copper in both single and poly-crystalline specimens. The amount of strain required before the curves coincided depends upon the amount of metal removed but it is usually less than 0.01. This type of behavior is the same as that reported for metarecovery by other investigators.29 For aluminum specimens which have been prestrained and then heated to temperatures above 50°C we have consistently found that the stress-strain curve was typical of the orthorecovery28 type. In this case the stress-strain curve always lies below that of the virgin specimen. With respect to Ref. 24 the curves for aluminum are always below that of the virgin curves, while those for gold become coincident. This observation indicates at least for aluminum that the specimens must have been heated to a temperature high enough to cause recovery by an alteration of the internal dislocations. In addition, a recovery would be expected because of the removal of the surface work-hardened layer. Nakada27 had reported that, with his particular apparatus in which a perchloric acid polishing solution was used, the temperature of the specimen increased 65°C. The curves presented in Ref. 24 for gold do not permit one to detect the initial flow stress upon reloading after the surface-removal treatment. In fact, contrary to the method used by Nakada and Chalmers, the change in the stress-strain curve produced by a surface-removal treatment cannot be described in terms of a decrease in stress at strains much higher than that at the initial flow stress because of the coincidence of the curves at the higher strain values. With regard to the depth of the work-hardened surface layer, our data show for aluminum single crystals (7.5 by 0.3 by 0.3 cm) that the initial flow stress remained constant after 12 x 10-3 cm had been removed from the thickness. This depth was independent of the prior strain. For gold crystals this depth is somewhere between 10 x 10-3 and 20 x 10-3 cm. Y. Nakada (author's reply)— Kramer states,28 "for aluminum specimens which have been prestrained and then heated to temperatures above 50°C, we have consistently found that the stress-strain curve was typical of the orthorecovery28 type. In this case the stress-strain curve always lies below that of the virgin specimen." However, Cherian et a1.26 discovered that aluminum polycrystals annealed at 32" and 100°C showed the metarecovery behavior. They showed that the orthorecovery behavior did not appear until the crystals were annealed at 150°C. Kramer suggests28 that the drop in the flow stress of aluminum crystals after the surface removal by electropolishing24 may be due to the recovery caused by the temperature rise which may occur during the electropolishing.27 However, as indirectly stated in Ref. 24, the current density used in these electro -polishing experiments was 0.15 amp per sq cm. According to ref. 27, this current density should cause a temperature rise of only 40°C. This may cause the metarecovery but not the orthorecovery. Furthermore, as stated explicitly in Ref. 24, the surface removal was accomplished by chemical etching as well as by electropolishing. The results were the same for both electropolishing and etching. During the etching, the specimen temperature did not rise above 35°C. Some aluminum crystals were placed in water at 35° C for 30 min. These crystals did not show the decrease in flow stress. Therefore, it is quite clear that the flow-stress drop after the surface removal is not caused by a high-temperature recovery. However, as Kramer points out,28 it is quite possible that the internal dislocation structure may have been altered because of the removal of the highly work-hardened surface layer. However, how much this rearrangement contributes toward the flow-stress decrease is not known at present.

Jan 1, 1965

By Ross C. Anderson, William I. Weisman

THE manufacture of anhydrous sodium sulphate or salt cake from natural deposits in the United States has been in general somewhat of a marginal undertaking. Competition from foreign sources and from large quantities of byproduct sodium sulphate produced domestically in the manufacture of hydrochloric acid and other chemicals has existed and continues. For example, most of the sodium sulphate produced is a byproduct or co-product in the manufacture of hydrochloric acid through the reaction of sodium chloride with sulphuric acid. In recent years, many manufacturers of rayon have installed equipment to recover sodium sulphate from waste spin bath liquors; today this is an important source. Before World War II large quantities of sodium sulphate were imported from Germany. In 1949 imported material from Europe again appeared on the domestic market. Natural sodium sulphate from Canada in substantial quantities also enters the United States markets. Despite this kind of competition, numerous attempts have been made to exploit various natural deposits of sodium sulphate in this country, but only a very few of these have survived economically over a period of years. One of these few operations is the plant of the Ozark-Mahoning Co. located 13 miles south of Monahans in West Texas. Several factors contributing to the successful life of this plant may be summarized as follows: 1—Geographical location. Monahans is reasonably close, freightwise, to the Kraft paper mills in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana; the Kraft paper industry is the greatest consumer of sodium sulphate in the United States. 2—Availability of natural gas as low cost fuel. Proximity of the natural gas fields of West Texas has been a tremendous asset, as the availability of low-cost natural gas is to all industry throughout the Southwest. 3—The nature of the deposit. The occurrence of sodium sulphate brines in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas has been very well described by Lang,' who writes that the brines are found in the Castile formation of the Delaware basin. Here weathering has altered the anhydrite so that a relatively porous gypsiferous zone overlies a dense impervious mass of anhydrite. This porous zone provides traps where percolating ground waters that have picked up soluble salts may lodge. These traps or pockets are the natural brine reservoirs exploited at Monahans. Although several hundred wells have been drilled, currently some 25 wells serve to supply brine to the plant. All are within 1 1/2 miles of the plant and are conveniently tied together by an electric power system serving electric motors driving the pumps. Having the raw material in the form of a brine which can be pumped from shallow wells makes possible much simpler and more efficient handling than if it were in form of solids. By contrast, other deposits of sodium sulphate, such as those in Arizona, Nevada, and North Dakota, are in the form of the solid minerals, thenardite and mirabilite, which present somewhat more of a mining and mineral dressing problem.' The largest producer of sodium sulphate from natural sources in the United States is at Searles Lake, Cal., and there a brine also is utilized. 4—Water. Substantial quantities are needed for cooling towers and for operation of gas engines. An area underlain with brine is not a promising source of fresh water, but fortunately, after a long search, an adequate supply was found nearly two miles from the plant. It may be appropriate to discuss briefly the grades of sodium sulphate offered on the market. Salt cake is the name usually applied to the grade of sodium sulphate used by the Kraft paper industry. It may be a low analysis byproduct, 95 to 97 pct sodium sulphate, with as much as l 1/2 to 2 pct residual acid, or it may be a natural product. Usually salt cake is considered a low grade product, but a great deal of a higher grade of material is marketed under this name. The specifications for glassmakers' salt cake are somewhat higher than those of the paper industry, usually requiring 98 pct sodium sulphate. Technical anhydrous sodium sulphate is a high grade material and usually exceeds 99 pct sodium sulphate. It finds the biggest market in the textile industry and is used as a builder in some synthetic detergents. Glauber's salt, Na2SO4. 10H20, is usually of high purity. Preferred for some uses, it normally has been recrystallized from an anhydrous salt. A unique manufacturing process has been developed at Monahans. This process results in the production of an exceptionally high grade of salt cake, and qualifies for nearly all uses, including many which specify the technical anhydrous grade. All of the finished product, which is very white, passes a 10-mesh U. S. Standard screen, and is retained on a 200-mesh U. S. Standard screen. It is over 99 pct Na2SO4 with main impurities being sodium chloride and magnesium sulphate. Iron content is less than 0.01 pct. As mentioned, the raw material at Monahans is a brine drawn from wells. Attention was first attracted to this location because a so-called alkali

Jan 1, 1954

By B. J. Shaw, R. Kossowsky, W. C. Johnston

High purity (99,95) Ni-51 wt pct cr eutectic alloy was unidirectionalty solidified at rates of 0.1 to 8 in. per hr. The resulting material was characterized by large grains, approximately 0.5 mm in cross section and extending through almost the entire length of the specimen, parallel to the growth axis. The eutectic structure of specimens the growth at -1/3 The per hr consisted of a continuous nickel-rich phase and chrome -rich lamellae approximately 2 thick, spaced about apart. Specimens were tested in compression at temperatures ranging from —196 to 850"C over which range the 0.2 pet yield strength dp -creased from 160,000 p si to 35,000psi, respectively. Swaging to 40 pet reduction in area, followed by a 30-min anneal at 1000c to remove residual cold work, increased the 0.2 pet yield to 260,000 psi at -196°C, dropping to 35,000 psi at 850°C. The increase in strength was attributed to a residual cell structure. The strength of the alloy could be rationalized by the simple rule of mixtures if one assumed that additional strength is derived front a size effect characterized by is petch equation IN recent years there has been increasing interest in dispersion and second phase strengthening in materials needed for high-temperature applications. inm role of structure on the mechanical The of such alloys has been well established of such some extent accounted for theoretically. and to of how the strengthening mechanisms due to fibers and lamellae operate has been reduced to its fibers form by the fabrication of composites of strong rods unidirectionally aligned in a From work on tungsten-fiber-reinforced copper, for example, it was established that the "Rule of Mixtures" could explain the strengthening.12 " some what more sophisticated technique for introducing strong fibers into copper matrix was used by Hertzberg strong Kraft3 who unidirectionally solidified the copper-chromium eutectic. The use of unidirectionally fied eutectics has advantages in that there are no matrix-fiber wetting problems and fine fibers are automatically aligned and uniformly fiber However, one Is restricted to a specific volume fraction of the second phase. Nevertheless, even though the volume fraction is fixed, the rod or lamella thickness, , can be varied by controlling the freezing interface velocity. Alternatively, the grown material may be worked down by swaging or rolling. Embury and Fisher, " using this approach, drew down pear lite in iron and studied the mechanical properties iron and that the yield strength, oy, was properties.proportional They that d was the wire diameter. It could be inferred that was also proportional to but the work hardening had to be taken into consideration at the same time. By varying the growth rate of the cadmium-zinc lamellar eutectic, Shaw'1 showed that was proportional to without the introduction of work hardening and suggested that the lamellar interface itself contributed to the strengthening of the composite. In this investigation we have evaluated the mechanical properties of the unidirectionally solidified fec-bec eutectic Ni-Cr. This eutectic was selected because it presented the possibility was selected beca temperature, and high corrosion resistant alloy, and also represented a hard-soft phase combination with two completely different slip systems. Specimens were tested in compression and tension up to 850°C and a detailed study of the micro structure as a function of plastic strain and temperature was carried out by light and electron microscopy. It was shown that the composite strength tested in compression can be accounted for by the simple rule of mixtures if one allows for an additional term representing the effect of Intereprese EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE 1) Unidirectional Solidification. Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing of the apparatus used to produce 0.2 in. diam by 12 in. long alloy ingots. The crucible tube is alumina, containing the charge which has been is swaged, or machined to 0.195 in. diam. The lower end of the tube is immersed to 0 .195in in.d iam. The upper end is supported by a 10 mil nichrome wire which lowers the crucible mil nic hr the] wire at a prescribed rate. Surrounding the furnace is a graphite susceptor into which a control thermocouple is inserted. The furnace is insulated with fiberfrax and enclosed in a quartz tube. There is a sliding seal at the bottom around the crucible and one on the top so that an atmosphere may be used for the sample and suscep tor. The power for the furnace is supplied from a 10-kw, 450 kc generator. The skin depth (the skin depth at which the field falls to l/e of its value at the outer surface) for graphite (p = 10 (j-ohm-cm) is 0.1 in. at this fre-

Jan 1, 1970

By E. S. Bumps, M. Baeyert, W. F. Craig

SOME time ago during a study of impact properties of tempered martensite,1 it was postulated that the consistently good ductility of tempered martensite might be caused by its relatively small and peculiarly shaped ferrite grains. The fer-rite grains of tempered martensite have approximately the same size and shape as the martensite "needles." Thus they form an interlocking mass of needle-shaped grains quite different from equiaxed or lamellar ferrite grain structures. When the common mechanical test methods are applied to steel, variations are often observed in the ductility of specimens that have closely similar hardness and tensile strength values. The ductility so measured appears to be structure dependent. When steel from the same heat has been heat treated to produce different structures with the same hardness, the elongation and reduction of area values from the tensile test and the transition temperature determined by the notched-bar impact test vary according to whether pearlite, tempered martensite, or other structural constituents were produced by the heat treatment. It has been widely recognized that tempered martensite gives a consistently good performance, when tempered to the same hardness as many other structures with which it has been compared. In recent years the isothermal transformation of austenite to specific structural products and the quantitative evaluation of the character of these products with respect to their nature and response to deformation has received considerable attention. The objective of the present study was to pursue somewhat further the dependence of ductility upon structure; specifically, it was desired to ascertain whether ferrite grain structure, including both shape and size of the grains, can account for the consistently good performance of tempered martensite in the notched-bar impact test. It was thought that a simple experiment would indicate whether the ferrite grain structure plays any part in the good ductility exhibited by tempered martensite in contrast to other steel structures with different types of ferrite grains. By determining the impact transition temperature, it was proposed to compare spheroidites having similar carbide particle size and spacing but obtained in such a manner that their ferrite grain structures would be very different. Spheroidite obtained by tempering martensite, with its small, needle-shaped grains, was to be compared with spheroidite from pearlite. If the latter is produced by sub-critical annealing, the ferrite grains correspond to the pearlite colonies. Thus, if the pearlite was not too coarse, the ferrite grains of spheroidite from pearlite are equiaxed in contrast to the needle-shaped grains of spheroidite from martensite. It was thought that the ferrite grain structure of spheroidite from martensite might depend to some extent upon the grain size of the prior austenite. The austenite grain boundaries limit the maximum attainable size of the martensite needles and thus of the ferrite grains in the derived spheroidite. In order to evaluate any possible influence of prior austehite grain size, spheroidites were to be prepared from martensites that had been formed from fine-grain austenite and also from coarsened austenite. As the carbide particle size and distribution were to be essentially alike in the various spheroidites, the difference would be in the ferrite grain size and shape. Thus any marked difference in transition temperature could be attributable to the character of the ferrite grain structure. There are certain considerations in assuming that these spheroidites would be equivalent in all respects except ferrite grain structure, and an attempt was made to take them into account. One of the considerations was the choice of the carbon content of the steel. An approximately eutectoid steel was selected for two reasons. First, the pearlitic structure would contain no proeutectoid ferrite which might complicate the picture by producing a non-uniform ferrite grain structure in the resulting spheroidite. Then, too, the high-carbon content would inhibit ferrite grain growth during the sub-critical treatment. Another factor to be taken into account was the choice of an alloying element to assure a martensitic structure throughout on quenching the impact specimens. Nickel was chosen, because it is a common alloying element and resides in the ferrite both upon its formation from austenite and throughout tempering. The formation of alloy carbides, or even a large solubility of the alloying element in cementite, would have complicated the interpretation by changing the composition of the ferrite .during spheroid-ization. The possibility of temper brittleness was minimized insofar as possible by using a tempering temperature as high as consistent with the 1 pct of nickel in the steel, namely, 1150°F. While it certainly is not claimed that no difference other than ferrite grain structure could exist between the spheroidites, nevertheless, reasonable precaution has been exercised within the limits of steel metallurgy. It is believed that any large difference in transition temperatures would reflect the difference in ferrite grain structure and that relatively good ductility in the spheroidites from mar-

Jan 1, 1951