Search Documents

By C. L. Thornburg

FLANKING the Valley of Mexico on the northeast is a mountain range known as the Sierra de Pachuca. This northwesterly-trending range is about 30 miles long and 5 miles wide, its summit attaining an elevation of more than 10,000 feet above sea level, or 2000 feet above the valley floor. Pachuca, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, lies nestled at the southwest base of the range, 60 miles northeast of Mexico City. Three miles to the east, just over the summit and on the northeasterly slope, is the mountain town of Real del Monte with a population of about 20,000. These are the two principal towns in a 40-sq mile area whose yield has brought the district to its high rank among the world's silver producers. Total production probably exceeds 1.25 billion ounces of silver and 4.5 million ounces of gold. Exploitation by the Spanish was under way by 1530. As the mines were deepened operations became handicapped by the inadequate method of handling water with horse whims and bull skins. To offset this disadvantage a two-mile drainage tunnel was started in 1749 and completed ten years later. John Taylor of London acquired the mines from the third Count of Regla in 1824 and formed the Compania de Real del Monte y Pachuca. Two years later Cornish pumps were brought from England. A Mexican company purchased the British interest in 1848 and within a few years resumed an old project of driving a second, lower three-mile drainage tunnel, completing it in 1857. After American interests acquired control of the property in 1906 operations expanded to an unprecedented scale, despite periods of political strife, unstable prices, labor problems, and a growing burden of taxation. An idea of the scale of operations may be gained from records of the last two decades prior to 1947, the last year for which production information is at hand, during which time production ranged from 1.4 million to 1.1 million tons per year, and the combined development and exploration, exclusive of diamond drilling, amounted to about 18 miles annually. Pachuca differs from Zacatecas and some other Mexican silver vein districts that flourished and declined in earlier centuries in that a substantial part of its total production was made after 1900. While the district's accelerated activity in this century was largely due to the successful application of the cyanide process to the treatment of the ores, improved pumping methods, and new mechanical equipment, it was at the same time stimulated by the opening up of important new orebodies as a result of active and extensive exploration of the vein system. Some of these orebodies were found on veins which terminate upward far below the surface, and though these particular veins do not crop out, they show relationship with a type of alteration which may be their surface expression. The district has been studied by many able geologists, and a large store of information has been accumulated, much of which is recorded in published as well as private papers. Wall Rocks Extrusive Rocks: The Sierra de Pachuca is a thick accumulation of Tertiary eruptive rocks consisting mainly of flows, breccias, and tuffs. Numerous recognizable volcanic vents within the range itself manifest that the range was built up by material ejected from these vents. The maximum thickness of the volcanic pile is not known, but from deep exploration and from relationship with Mesozoic sediments to the north and east it is inferred that the average thickness in the main part of the district may be at least 6000 ft. The extrusive rocks comprise four general types, which in ascending order of age are: andesite, rhyolite, dacite, and basalt. The veins are confined largely to the andesite, the dominant rock of the region. Characteristically this rock is augite andesite, but it includes comparatively acidic as well as basic layers, the acidic strata being

Jan 1, 1952

By Ira B. Joralemon

INDIVIDUALS and small companies have discovered and brought into production the mining districts of the United States. Hardly an exception comes to mind, save for the disseminated copper properties and the great iron mines. In spite of this fine record that has made possible the industrial greatness of the country, mining by small companies and by individuals has become a vanishing phenomenon. In Nevada, the lair of rugged individualism, there are fewer operating mines and fewer miners than at any time since the 1860's. The situation in other states is nearly as desperate.

Jan 8, 1950

By Robert Glass Cleland

WITH the acquisition of the Nichols Copper Company ' and the development of the large Copper Products manufacturing and selling organization, the Phelps Dodge Corporation had attained two of its important goals. But at that particular time both its immediate and long-range prospects were giving the company serious concern. The financial panic that began late in 1929 was growing worse instead of better. Neither raw materials nor finished products could find a market. In 1932 the price of copper fell to the almost unprecedented figure of four and eight tenths cents a pound. Domestic production of copper in the United States was further threatened by a large low-cost output from the mines of Africa and the Andes. Canadian copper mines, with their large yield of other valuable metals from the same ores, added to the difficulties of the American companies. After a hard-fought campaign, however, the producers of domestic copper finally induced Congress to levy a duty of four cents a pound on copper imported into the

Jan 1, 1952

By E. Maltby Shipp

E. MALTBY SHIPP.-It was the intention of the Committee on Safety anti Sanitation to collect information and useful data from the companies having well-organized safety departments and print this in pamphlet form for distribution among the small companies that have no way of employing safety engineers nor have at their disposal these data. Consequently, I took these rules and the general data, especially the rules, went over them a great many times and tried to cut out whatever duplications appeared.

Jan 4, 1917

(Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) No. 488.-Mining engineer, member, technical graduate, married, age 38, desires position of superintendent or assistant superintendent. Has had 15 years' practical experience as miner, millman, machinist, surveyor, engineer, foreman, and superintendent in the West, Southwest, and Mexico. Speaks Spanish. Now employed as superintendent of copper property in Southwest. Can give the best of references. Minimum salary $250. Available after Sept. 1. No. 495.-Member, age 36, married, technical, 10 years'. all round

Jan 12, 1918

By COREY C. BRAYTON

PACIFIC COAST steel and iron industries can now take care of all the western and export demands except for heavy structural shapes, thick plates, rails, alloy tool steels, and a few other items. In. 1902 all of our steel came from St. Louis and Milwaukee and points still farther east. A small quantity at that time came from foreign countries. Early mining in the West was, broadly speaking, prior to the steel age. 'Wood for structures and iron for castings were almost exclusively used. Forgings were made of rolled iron that came from the East and foreign countries. San Francisco was, from the early days of mining, the manufacturing center for mining and milling machinery of all types and held that position until the .nineties, when eastern competition began to be felt. Even today in the old mining camps of the West, and many abroad, you will find machines and equipment with familiar San Francisco manufacturers' names. ..Iron, either rolled or cast, entered into their manufacture, for steel castings did not come into general use :until the nineties.

Jan 1, 1929

By O. D. Sherby, J. E. Dorn

SEVERAL years ago Zener and Hollomon1 suggested that the flow stress of metals might be related to the temperature and strain rate in accord with the functional equation: s=s(eeh/rt) [1] at the same state. The Zener-Hollomon relation also contains the significant tacit implication that the energy for activation, AH, is substantially independent of the state of the material. The utility of this method for correlating creep data with tensile data was illustrated in a preliminary reportL on the effect of alloying additions on the secondary creep rates of binary a solid solutions in aluminum as shown for Al-Mg alloys in Fig. 1. Not only do the secondary creep and ultimate tensile properties for each alloy correlate well on this plot but in addition the activation energy, AH = 17,900 R cal per mol. is identical for the various compositions. Similar types of curves correlating the secondary creep rates at 422°K (300°F) with ultimate tensile data were also obtained for a series of dilute a solid solutions of copper, germanium, zinc, and silver in aluminum. In all cases the activation energy for creep, AH, was found to be equal to about 17,900 R cal per mol independent of the type of alloying element or its concentration. The coincidence of the activation energies for these alloys is probably due to the fact that the activation energies for creep are rather insensitive to small composition changes. Alloying additions, as shown in Fig. 1, however, increased the stress necessary to obtain equivalent values of ee?H/RT. Thus the stress level in curves of the type represented by Fig. 1 gives the relative creep strengths of the various alloys. Inasmuch as these correlations between creep and tensile data were obtained for creep tests at 422°K, it appeared advisable to ascertain the range of secondary creep rates and temperatures over which correlations between creep and tensile data could be made on the basis of the Zener-Hollomon relationship. If, for example, the activation energy changes with different ranges of creep temperatures, the utility of the proposed analysis would be severely weakened. But if AH is constant not only for all dilute alloys, but also over wide ranges of temperature and secondary creep rates, confidence will be developed not only in the broad utility of the Zener- Table I. Chemical Analysis':' and Grain Size of Alloys Mean Grain Residual Impurities. Wt Pct Diam- Alloying Atomic-eter, Element Pct Si Fe Cu Mg Mn mm Aluminum 99.987 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.001 0.25 Magnesium 1.617 0.003 0.004 0.006 0.26 Copper 0.101 0.003 0.003 0.0006 0.001 0.29 Zinc 1.616 0.003 0.005 0.007 0.001 '0.26 * The authors express their appreciation to the Aluminum Company of America for the preparation and chemical analyses of these alloys. Hollomon relationship, but also in its theoretical justification. The following investigation was instituted in order to ascertain the range of validity of the Zener-Hollomon relationship when it is applied to creep and tension data. Materials, Equipment, Technique In view of rather extensive correlatable data now available on the plastic properties of a series of binary a solid solutions of magnesium, copper, germanium, zinc, and silver in aluminum, these alloys were again selected for the present investigation. Previous reports have already covered the tensile properties of these alloys at subatmospheric temperatures," and at elevated temperature," as well as their fatigue properties at atmospheric temperatures, nd their creep properties at 422°K.' Resistivity measurementsa as well as precision lattice constant determinations? evealed that these alloys are a solid solutions. After homogenization. 0.100 in. thick sheets were rolled to 0.070 in. in thickness and recrystallized to about the same grain size. Since the details of these treatments were reported previously," they will not be repeated here. In order to appropriately reduce the scope of creep tests in this investigation only the typical alloys shown in Table I were investigated. All creep specimens were machined such that their tensile axes were in the rolling direction of the 0.070 in. sheet stock. The gage section was 2 in. long and 0.500 in. wide with a reduced section of 3.50 in. Creep strains were measured by means of rack and pinion type extensometers with a sensitivity of 0.005 in. per division. Readings were estimated to 1/10 of

Jan 1, 1953

By Walter E. Lewis

Myriad problems face all of us in the next decade. Vietnam, poverty, and pollution are perhaps the most pres- sing. A lesser one but still vital to us as a Nation is the slow hut apparently relentless extinction of the mining, metallurgical. geological and petroleum engineer. Are we doomed to take our place in the crossword puzzle with the moa. to be defined like it as an "extinct bird"? Or can we reverse the trend perhaps, in the next decade? The plain fact is we are an endangered species, and must resign ourselves to virtual extinction in the 1970's unless the trend is reversed. Probably, many of us have felt the problem will solve itself if left in the in-basket long enough, believing, that the trend will reverse solely on the basis of demand for these disciplines. This approach has not worked up to now, it gives no promise of working in the future, and furthermore, the problem has been in the in-basket much too long. The point is simply this: What can each of us do as an individual, or as part of a company, a State agency, a Federal agency, a university, or an organization such as AIME?

Jan 1, 1970

By Thomas Read

IN speaking of immaterial problems of industry I am using the word immaterial in its original sense, not consisting of matter; not in its derived sense, unimportant. There is nothing of a paradox in saying that immaterial problems are the most important in human life, for His a matter of everyday observation that much of the news in the daily papers, and most of the world's best literature and drama, deal with human conduct that has for its motive forces that are but little concerned with material things. The engineer's preoccupation with physical forces, in extending his control over them, has not blinded him to the impor-tance of forces that, for want of a better word, I call immaterial; but he has considered that dealing with the one is his job and the other is not. All the evidence of the past decade indicates that the latter are so in-extricably interwoven with the former in modern in-dustrial life that the engineer will have to concern himself with them whether he wants to or not. Some of the most important of the problems arising from the action of these forces relate to the mental hygiene of the workers in industry. Mental hygiene in industry was concisely defined, in terms of the best present knowledge, by Dr. C. Macfie Campbell, speaking last April before the executive com-mittee of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and as his statement can scarcely be bettered, I quote it below: "The term mental hygiene is apt to appear vague. The actual stuff with which mental hygiene deals may be briefly reviewed.

Jan 9, 1927

By W. P. Heineken, A. T. Child

This paper presents the results of a series of experiments made in the metallurgical laboratory of Columbia University, New Pork City. The object of the investigation was to determine, as far as possible, the changes in micro-structure and physical properties caused by short periods of heat-treatment and the longer malleable cast-iron process. It was proposed to do this by means of micro-photographs, heating- and cooling-curves, and tensile tests after the various heat-treatments. I. Micro-Constituents of Iron and Steel. The list of the micro-constituents of iron and steel has grown till now it includes seven different substances, called ferrite, cementite, pearlite,* martensite, austenite, sorbite and troosite. Only the first five of these are mentioned in this paper, to facilitate the understanding of which, the following brief definitions are given: 1. Ferrite (named by Prof. Howe) is, chemically, iron free from carbon. It is the softest of the constituents, and is not colored by etching, except when long-continued. Under the microscope it is easily determined by its regular polygonal etructure; or, if structureless, as in malleable cast-iron, by the ease with which it is scratched. Ferrite appears in mild steel in small amount, in grey cast-iron, and in malleable cast-iron. 2. Cementite (also named by Prof. Howe) is now generally conceded to have the formula Fe3C. It is the hardest of the micro-constituents, having the hardness indicated by 7 of the mineralogical scale; and hence it is always left in relief after

Jan 1, 1901

By Leonard D. Jaffe

In recent years, the advantages of tempered martensite as a microstructure for steel parts have been well established. For parts that must not fracture brittlely when loaded at high rates, at low temperatures, or under conditions of combined stress, tempered martensite is especially desirable. One of the factors that determine whether a steel part will have a martensitic structure after heat treatment is the hardenability of the steel. Despite the large amount of recent research, there are still many unsettled basic questions concerning hardenability and its relation to chemical composition, and, indeed, considerable disagreement among investigators in the field. Much of the uncertainty that beclouds the existing knowledge of hardenability arises from the fact that hardenability is still a wholly empirical concept, and has not been quantitatively related to the more fundamental knowledge of isothermal decomposition of austenite. Hardenability is, essentiaily, a measure of the time required for small percentages of austenite to decompose, during continuous cooling, to pearlite, bainite, proeutectoid ferrite, or proeutec-toid carbide. In the practical heat-treat- ment of steel, also, the decomposition of austenite is usually not isothermal but rather during cooling, or, in general, is not at a single constant temperature. Thus, both hardenability and practical heat treatment involve anisothermal decomposition of austenite. In a previous publication1 the author and his collaborators outlined the principles that govern the relations between isothermal and anisothermal decomposition of austenite, and reviewed the experimental information available in 1945. To avoid repetition, familiarity with that article (Paper I) will be assumed, and attention given primarily to work carried out or published since 1945. The method generally employed was explained in Paper I: anisothermal transformation is studied through investigation of the effect of holding austenite at one temperature upon its subsequent decomposition at another temperature. Both temperatures are below the stability range of the austenite. This paper is confined to studies in which only a small amount of transformation occurred at the first temperature. This is the only case of importance in practical heat treatment when an essentially martensitic structure is sought. Materials and Procedure It was necessary to use different steels for the studies involving proeutectoid ferrite and for those involving proeutectoid carbide, beeause the two constituents have not been found to form in the same steel. Several steels were tried and rejected

Jan 1, 1949

By Leonard D. Jaffe

In recent years, the advantages of tempered martensite as a microstructure for steel parts have been well established. For parts that must not fracture brittlely when loaded at high rates, at low temperatures, or under conditions of combined stress, tempered martensite is especially desirable. One of the factors that determine whether a steel part will have a martensitic structure after heat treatment is the hardenability of the steel. Despite the large amount of recent research, there are still many unsettled basic questions concerning hardenability and its relation to chemical composition, and, indeed, considerable disagreement among investigators in the field. Much of the uncertainty that beclouds the existing knowledge of hardenability arises from the fact that hardenability is still a wholly empirical concept, and has not been quantitatively related to the more fundamental knowledge of isothermal decomposition of austenite. Hardenability is, essentiaily, a measure of the time required for small percentages of austenite to decompose, during continuous cooling, to pearlite, bainite, proeutectoid ferrite, or proeutec-toid carbide. In the practical heat-treat- ment of steel, also, the decomposition of austenite is usually not isothermal but rather during cooling, or, in general, is not at a single constant temperature. Thus, both hardenability and practical heat treatment involve anisothermal decomposition of austenite. In a previous publication1 the author and his collaborators outlined the principles that govern the relations between isothermal and anisothermal decomposition of austenite, and reviewed the experimental information available in 1945. To avoid repetition, familiarity with that article (Paper I) will be assumed, and attention given primarily to work carried out or published since 1945. The method generally employed was explained in Paper I: anisothermal transformation is studied through investigation of the effect of holding austenite at one temperature upon its subsequent decomposition at another temperature. Both temperatures are below the stability range of the austenite. This paper is confined to studies in which only a small amount of transformation occurred at the first temperature. This is the only case of importance in practical heat treatment when an essentially martensitic structure is sought. Materials and Procedure It was necessary to use different steels for the studies involving proeutectoid ferrite and for those involving proeutectoid carbide, beeause the two constituents have not been found to form in the same steel. Several steels were tried and rejected

Jan 1, 1949

By Donald Barton

Geophysical methods of prospecting taken as a whole do not seem to offer much promise to a young man planning to enter them in the future. They have come to stay, to be sure, and they will continue in at least moderate use for a long time. Domestic use of those methods presumably is at a maximum at the present time. Geophysical pros-pecting is expensive; the effects of the law of diminishing returns in efficiency in finding prospects can already, be recognized. Small oil companies, independent oil operators, and royalty buyers have been doing much geophysical work. But in face of the increasing costs of discovery of prospects and in face of the probably decreasing favorability of the prospects discovered, I expect to see a sharp drop in their use of geo-physics within the next 10 years. The major oil companies and the larger small oil companies will continue to use geophysics indefinitely, but it seems doubtful whether the very extensive domestic campaigns of a few companies will be maintained for many years, certainly not for 10 years. The use of the geophysical methods in foreign countries has not yet reached its peak, and probaby will continue to increase for several years. That peak level of activity will probably be held for 10 years, although the site of maximum activity will shift from country to country; by the end of 25 years from now, I should expect the foreign use of the methods to have leveled off to one-fourth to one-half the peak level. Foreign service in geophysics does not seem to offer an attractive career, except for men of exceptional disposition. Young men just out of college, who are willing and who can afford to spend three or four years having a fling at adventure before settling down, will find it attractive, but when their tour of foreign service is over, they probably will have harder work finding a job than when they were seniors, and their foreign experience will count for little, except for further foreign service. A few men, mainly the higher men, will have headquarters at civilized or semi-civilized cities and towns or at permanent oil-company towns, and can

Jan 1, 1938

By George J. Clark

One of the major problems of operation in the anthracite industry is the disposal and handling of refuse—not because of its complexity but because of the quantity and type of material involved. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the kinds of refuse, methods of disposal, quantities of material to be handled and equipment used, together with present day application at specific operations in the Northern, Eastern Middle, Western Middle and Southern anthracite fields. For the purpose of this paper, refuse is considered to be any material that has no present or foreseeable future value and that must be handled and disposed of in the process of mining and preparing anthracite for market. Included in this classification are tunnel rock, mine rock, cleaner plant refuse, breaker refuse, old timber, ashes and silt. Disposal Methods Old timber is disposed of either by burning or by depositing on the refuse bank. Burning is preferred because timber on the refuse bank is a potential fire hazard. Ashes are deposited on a separate bank, mixed with other refuse, or flushed into old mine workings. In many places, the latter practice has caused considerable difficulty in preparation of coal mined from these areas. In depositing ashes on the surface, it is wise to refrain from mixing them with material containing coal as such contamination may prevent reclamation of the coal in future years. Tunnel work, mine rock, cleaner plant and breaker refuse compose the bulk of the material to be disposed of and handled, and are referred to collectively as "refuse" in this paper. Waste material in or adjacent to the coal beds may be removed at the working face wherever possible. This can be done in flat or lightly pitching beds, and in the Northern field represents a sizable percentage of this type of refuse handled. In the other three coal fields, this method of disposal cannot often be used. Refuse not removed at the working face is taken to the surface and generally is deposited on banks; occasionally it is crushed and flushed into old mine workings. Breaker refuse often is used for constructing berms for silt-retention basins. Disposal Problems The problem of handling refuse is different for each operation, owing to topographical conditions, quantity of material to be handled, anticipated requirements and types of equipment in use elsewhere at the operation. Preparation plants with limited refuse-disposal areas, excessive grades to reach the required elevation and long hauls to disposal areas not readily accessible require the selection of equipment to best meet the conditions. The quantity of refuse to be handled from a given amount of raw material varies considerably throughout the four fields. In mine coal, this varies from a low

Jan 1, 1949

By H. W. Schadler

The superplastic behavior of low carbon and manganese bearing steels has been evaluated. The results of elevated-temperature stress-strain rate and elongation tests are reported which indicate that high strain rate sensitivity (>0.5) and adequate elongations are achievable in ultrafine-grained steels 1 to 2 p, but at strain rates which are not commercially attractive. It has been demonstrated that the fine grain size is retained after long times and high strains if the temperature is kept within the range of the two-phase (a + ?) field. INTEREST in superplasticity has been stimulated by the desire to: 1) understand the origin of, and mechanisms responsible for, the large uniform elongations observed, and 2) exploit this property for commercial advantage in metal forming operations. Although the Zn-22 wt pct Al alloy presently being studied as a model material1-5 may find application in sheet forming and extrusion, the potential of super-plasticity should best be realized in large tonnage materials, such as steel and aluminum alloys. The degree of superplasticity in low-carbon and manganese-bearing steels has been evaluated. The results of elevated-temperature stress-strain rate and elongation tests on ultrafine grain size material are reported. Avery and Backofen6 and Hart7 have shown that geometrically stable flow leading to extensive uniform elongation in the tension test is associated with high values of the strain rate sensitivity, m, defined: Lozinsky had reported that titanium and zirconium experience permanent deformation if subjected to a constant load and cyclic heating through the temperature range of the phase transformation. Although strain rate sensitivities in excess of about 0.2 had not been reported previously for steel, permanent deformation had been observed11-13 in a wide variety of steels subjected to a constant load and cyclic heating through the temperature range of the a-? phase transformation. Thus by analogy, steel could be expected to exhibit high strain rate sensitivity but only in the a + ? condition. High strain rate sensitivity has been observed at 650°C (a + Fe3C), but not reported as such, by Bailey, Dickenson, and pearson14 in 1931 at a strain rate of about 10-9 per min. It then remained to determine whether high tensile elongations would be observed in a rate-controlled test at constant temperature and at what strain rate strain rate sensitivity values greater than 0.5 would be observed. Since previous experience8 had indicated the importance of fine grain size to realizing high m at reasonable strain rates, it was first necessary to produce an ultrafine grain size and then keep the grains from growing during the test. The results of this investigation show that fine grain size can be readily produced16 and maintained by restricting the temperature of testing to below the ? transus. Further, superplasticity (high m and large uniform elongation) is observed. However, the strain rate range is only marginally useful for commercial forming operations with the finest grain size produced. MATERIAL The material investigated initially was a 1.9 wt pct Mn, 0.42 wt pct C, hot-rolled bar previously used by Low and Turka1015 and available in the laboratory. The 0.500-in. round was cold-rolled to a 0.090-in. flat, annealed for 4 hr at 850°C in argon, air-cooled, and cold-finished to 0.050 in. Subsequently, four additional steels of the compositions given in Table I were investigated to explore the effects of manganese, carbon, and test temperature on the observed stress-strain rate behavior. These steels were melted under argon, cast to 0.75 by 2 by 5 in. slabs, hot-rolled at 850°C, surface-finished to 0.13 in., and cold-finished to 0.050 in. Sheet tensile specimens 0.200 in. x thickness with 1- or 2-in. gage length were cut parallel to the rolling direction. Table I also includes the nominal transformation temperatures for the AISI 1340 and the four experimental steels. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Production of Fine Grain Size. Ultrafine grain size (1 to 5 p) was considered essential for this studv. Grange16 has described two techniques for producing

Jan 1, 1969

By J. L. Schroeder, W. G. Talman

EXPERIENCE has shown that certain known natural conditions and other indefinite characteristics combine to make a mining area vulnerable to mountain bumps. Some of the known conditions are heavy overburden, an overlying stratum of strong non-elastic rock, a structurally strong coal seam that does not crush easily and yet is the weakest stratum in the series, and a floor stratum of more than ordinary firmness. The indefinite characteristics could include resistance of top or bottom of a coal seam to lateral flow, effect of immediate top and bottom strata, nature of the coal seam, and other factors about which very little is known. It is in this area that exhaustive study is needed to achieve positive control of the dreaded mountain bump hazard. In the Gary district, West Virginia, two of the five operating mines have areas known to be vulnerable to mountain bumps.These are the No. 2 and 6 mines, which are working the Pocahontas No. 4 coal seam. In this area the seam is overlain at a zero to 10-ft interval by the massive Eckman sandstone, which is about 100 ft thick in the vulnerable areas. Total overburden, consisting of shale, coal seams, and sandstones, ranges from 700 to 1400 ft where bumps have occurred (Fig. 1). The coal seam is 4 to 8 ft thick and has a weak columnar structure of very soft and spongy or woody coal. The immediate top is either the Eckman sandstone or hard shale, both of which provide generally good roof conditions for mining operations. The bottom ranges from medium to hard gray shale. The incidence of bumps in the Gary district dates from about 1930 and can be correlated to some degree with the increased rate of extraction attained with mechanical mining. During early years of operation at the No. 2 and 6 mines, most of the work was development and under comparatively light cover. As overburden became heavier, together with an increasing percentage of coal coming from pillar extraction, mountain bumps began to occur. Before 1945 they were much less severe than in later years, and because there were no injuries or fatalities, no records were kept. But by 1951 the incidence of bumps had increased to such extent that it became evident a mining system would have to be designed to eliminate or at least minimize these occurrences. Drawing on experience with modified versions of old systems and certain characteristics peculiar to the Pocahontas No. 4 coal seam, the district mining engineer, Martin Hayduk, outlined the essential factors for bump control in the Gary district. These control factors indicated: 1) The highly stressed area, which lies within the limits of convergence effects, moves at approximately the same rate as the retreating pillar line. 2) There is a decided softening of the periphery of blocks which is greatest and deepest on the gob side. 3) Blocks less than 45 ft wide never have been known to bump in the Pocahontas seams. Fig. 2 shows the mining plan based on these observations—a thin-pillar system with a minimum of secondary development. It was recognized from the start that the Hayduk system had certain limitations. When pillar work backed up to an inevitable surrounded block it was no longer applicable; also, burnt bottom and/or unknown factors reduced the system's effectiveness in certain headings. Since there was no way to eliminate the loaded block, it was decided to experiment with auger drilling to attain controlled release of this stored-up energy. The decision to auger was made after consideration of three separate plants, which were: 1) To cut the solid block into pillars of maximum size by driving away from the fracture line and at such a distance outby that development

Jan 1, 1959

By AIME AIME

ALL technical men who are planning to visit the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago this summer-and all reports indicate that it will be worth visiting-should try to be there during Engineers' Week, beginning June 26. At that time most of the national engineering societies of the country will hold important meetings in that city. Engineers will thus have an opportunity not only to see the Fair at a time when special programs have been arranged for their benefit, but will have the opportunity to meet their professional brothers and to attend technical sessions of direct interest to them. The A.I.M.E. headquarters will be at the Stevens Hotel, and it will be to the interest of every Institute member who expects to attend the Fair at that time to secure his accommodations as promptly as possible. A request to the Chairman of the Chicago Section, A.I.M.E., or to the Secretary's office in New York, will bring a copy of the program as soon as it is available, together with any in- formation desired about hotel accommodations or other matters. The Chairman of the Chicago Section is J. R. Van Pelt, and his address is Museum of Science and Industry, 1525 East 53rd St., Chicago.

Jan 1, 1933

By W. H. Bassett, C. H. Davis

The late J. P. Sparrow, chief operating engineer of the New York Edison CO., carried out a series of practical tests on condenser tubes of several copper alloys and reported on the results to the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies at its meeting in September, 1913. In the preparation of these tubes the senior author had the pleasure of cooperating. Copper-zinc alloys in the proportions of 60-40,70-30,80-20, 90-10, and Admiralty metal, which is in effect 70-30 with 1 per cent. of tin, were tried. Monel metal and several copper-nickel alloys, and 8, 5, and 3 per cent. aluminum bronze were also tried. At the time of this report, the aluminum bronze had been in service for 4 1/2 years and seemed to be giving especially good results but later it began to fail and showed no substantial improvement over Admiralty metal. Monel metal was unsatisfactory and the nickel alloys apparently did not give better service than the Admiralty alloy. Previous to the publication of the report, and after considerable discussion, it was agreed that a test where tubes of different kinds could be under laboratory observation would be advisable, so the apparatus described here was set up in The American Brass Co.'s Waterbury Laboratory. This was fitted with tubes of copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver, cupro-nickel and other alloys, and the test started on Oct. 11, 1912. Salt water from East River, New York harbor, was barrelled and transported to the laboratory for the test. A fresh supply, completely replacing the water in service, was obtained at the end of each six months period. Plan of Procedure In general, the procedure was to inspect the tubes at short intervals and to remove those that had begun to leak. The tubes removed were carefully examined and a photographic and microscopic record of the

Jan 1, 1925

By H. E. Nold

THIS paper is an effort to explain in a simple manner the fundamental principles involved in examining a clay deposit for both quantity and quality and in operating a clay mine, either open-pit or underground, so that the best quality of finished material can be made from the raw material available. The writer is aware that what is recommended in this paper is everyday practice in many refractories plants and in some other heavy-clay products plants, but observations made while visiting practically every clay mine in Ohio have convinced him that the practices herein discussed are not as widely used as their importance warrants. It is true that the problem of mining for quality is more acute in refractories plants than in most heavy-clay products plants, yet some of the latter are finding it profitable to pay more than ordinary attention to the selection and blending of their raw materials. It is hoped that this short paper may prove helpful to some who are now finding it difficult to produce a uniform product of as high quality as their clay deposit seems to warrant. The coordination of the work of the clay mine or pit with the manufacturing plant, to the end that the best product possible be made from the raw material available, presupposes a rather intimate knowledge of the clay deposit. The knowledge must include not only information of the amount of clay-available but also rather detailed information about both vertical and horizontal variations in quality of the clay. This information should cover three things: quality, quantity, and location.

Jan 1, 1929

By W. R. Kanne, P. R. Strutt, R. A. Dodd

A study has been made of the creep behavior of ß-NiAl of stoichiometric composition in the temperature range 475" to 775°C. Single crystal tensile specimens were deformed under a constant applied load. From slip line studies and tensile axis rotations it was concluded that the crystals deformed by pencil-glide on (100) and (110) planes with a (100) slip direction. Electron microscope thin-film studies showed evidence for profuse cross-slip, and the dislocation Burgers vector was determined to be (100). There was no tendency for the dislocations to lie in definite slip planes, although a strong alignment of segments of edge dislocations was frequently seen. The activation energy for creep in the temperature range 475" and 775°C was judged to be much lower than that for creep at temperatures above 775°C. It is possible that the rate-controlling process is the thermally activated cross-slip of screw dislocations. In recent years considerable interest has developed in the possible use of high-melting-point intermediate phases for high-temperature applications necessitating good creep resistance. Ordered alloys such as Ni3A1, modified by alloying additions, have received particular attention, culminating in the recent development by Pratt and Whitney of single crystal turbine blades.' The intermediate phase NiAl has considerable theoretical interest from a creep standpoint because not only is it ordered up to the melting point (-1650°C at stoichiometry) but it contains a high concentration of structural vacancies on the aluminum-rich side of stoichiometry. These vacancies are known to exert a strengthening effect under some conditions,' but in addition they might be expected to affect high-temperature creep rates through dislocation climb. The present paper deals with the slip line and dislocation structures developed during creep of stoichiometric NiAl between 475" and 775C, and with possible attendant creep mechanisms. MATERIALS AND TEST TECHNIQUES NiAl ingots of stoichiometric composition were prepared by induction melting 99.996 pct A1 and 99.98 pct Ni (kindly provided by the Kaiser Aluminum Co. and the International Nickel Co., respectively) in 100 cc pure alumina crucibles in a helium atmosphere. No chemical melting flux was used in order to avoid con- tamination of the alloy. Each ingot was slowly direc-tionally solidified to avoid porosity and to produce very large grains up to 2 in. in length. In this way, ingots were obtained which were suitable for sectioning into single crystal creep specimens. Chemical analysis indicated that all alloys were within the range 49.6 0.3 at. pct Ni. For the present investigation, identical rectangular single crystal blanks were cut vertically from one particularly large crystal in an ingot using a series of three diamond cut-off wheels with appropriate spacers. Thus, all sliced crystals had the same orientation with the tensile axis parallel to the long side of the rectangle; the initial orientation of the tensile axis is shown as S, in Fig. 1. The blanks were homogenized at 1250 to 1300°C for 48 hr and subsequently cooled slowly to room temperature. A gage length of rectangular cross section and about 0.75 in. in length was prepared on each specimen using an electrolytic lathe and a dilute nitric/phosphoric acid electrolyte. The gage length cross section was 0.250 0.0005 in. by 0.040 ± 0.0005 in. Holes to accommodate tensile grips were electrolytically machined using a rotating acid jet. After creep testing, this same technique was used to cut discs for transmission electron microscopy. Thus, all shaping was done electrolytically, the only exception being that (122) sections were spark-machined from some speci-

Jan 1, 1970