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By H. M. Hobart

This paper deals principally with investigations undertaken by the Welding Research Sub-committee of the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corporation. The general object of the investigations has been to extend the use of welding in the construction of merchant ships and, specifically, to provide a definite basis for obtaining the greatest economy and efficiency in employing welding in place of riveting in the construction of the hulls of such ships. Composition of_ Ship-plate Steel The chemical composition of the steel employed in such hull construction varies with the thickness of the plates. Through the courtesy of Mr. H. Jasper Cox, of Lloyd's Register of Shipping, the following information may be given concerning the kind of steel plate employed in American shipyards in 1918 for the hull construction of merchant ships. Lloyd's requirements do not relate to the chemical composition. They require a tensile strength of 58,000 lb. per sq. in. (40.75 kg. per sq. mm.) for their lower limit and 72,000 lb. per sq. in. (50.59 kg. per sq. mm.) for their upper limit. For the information of the Committee, Lloyd's obtained from their surveyors at various works data of the carbon content, which is as follows: Works Carbon Content for Plates 1/4 In. Thick 1 In. Thick A..................... 0.14 0.23 B..................... 0.14 0.25 C2.................. 0.19 0.25 D................. 0.20 0.30 E Upper limit..... 0.35 Lower limit..... 0 24 0.29 Upper limit,.... 0.25 0.30 Lower limit..... 0.21 0.27 Upper limit..... 0.25 0.35 Lower limit..... 0.22 0.28

Jan 1, 1920

By C. R. Ince

The term "differential flotation" is used to denote a flotation operation in which separation is effected between two or more minerals of the same class; e. g., lead sulfide from zinc sulfide, pyrite from blende, chalco-pyrite from pyrite, chalcopyrite from blende. At present, so far as published work shows, there seem to be two theories as to the mechanics of differential flotation. The earlier and more generally accepted theory is that the so-called depressing agents alter the surface of one or more of the sulfides in the ore, either by chemical action or adsorption, so that it is no longer amenable to flotation, but that these depressed sulfides can be revived, after the unaffected sulfide has been floated, by reagents which react chemically with the altered surface and make it amenable to flotation. More recently, Professor Taggartl has advanced the theory that slime adsorption is an important factor in differential flotation. He believes that, with the proper use of a class of agents, which he calls dispersion agents and which include practically all the depressing agents, one can cause the slime to adsorb differentially on sulfide surfaces. A gangue-slime coated sulfide surface will act as a gangue particle and will not float. If, subsequently, an agent that will remove the gangue-slime coating is added, the sulfide again assumes its original surface and can be floated as an ordinary sulfide. This is the basis of the slime theory of differential flotation. Timber Butte mill at Butte, Mont., is a typical lead-zinc flotation concentrator. Neihart ore, chosen for investigation in this work, is one of the custom ores treated at that mill. Practice at Timber Butte mill in February, 1928, was as follows: A combined lead-zinc concentrate was first made using 0.2 Ib. per ton on the ore of potassium xanthate and 0.03 lb. per ton of Cleveland Cliffs oil after 1.5 lb. per ton of lime and 1 lb. per ton of calcium chloride has been added just before the ball mill. The concentrate was then thickened to 70 per cent. solids. Potassium cyanide to the amount of 0.3 lb. per ton and zinc sulfate in the quantity of 0.5 Ib. per ton were added to the thickened pulp and the whole

Jan 1, 1930

By R. W. D. Clarke, J. C. Folinsbee

INTRODUCTION This paper deals with a procedure for planning the mining of an orebody for which cross-sections, plans, grade of ore, and a geological estimate of the ore reserve have been prepared. The procedure begins with the preliminary selection of a mining method or methods on which an engineering evaluation will be carried out. The engineering evaluation is described in three parts: Conceptual Studies Engineering Studies Detailed Design An overall planning model is presented, plus an expanded model for the Engineering Study Throughout the discussion of the planning procedure, reference is made to three bulk mining methods, including block caving, sublevel caving, and longhole sublevel stoping, including a summary of the main characteristics of each of these mining methods. The planning model is designed for a longhole sublevel stoping method, but with modification, will apply to other methods. PRELIMINARY SELECTION OF A MINING METHOD To experienced mining engineers, identification of the nominal mining method for a given orebody normally involves a large measure of judgement. The geological data is reviewed to determine the configuration of the orebody, including size, shape, dip, grade, and metal distribution. Geotechnical data is considered, including the competence of the ore and host rock, faults, fracture patterns, groundwater, and the potential for in situ stresses. Geographical data, including the natural and societal conditions, are evaluated for their effect upon the mining method, and finally, economic data, basically defined as the value of the ore in the ground, but more specifically, including grade of mineable ore, distribution of ore grade throughout the orebody, and metallurgical recovery, will have a bearing on the nominal method selected. Preliminary evaluation of these factors will result in the elimination of the obviously inappropriate mining methods, leaving some method or methods for further, more detailed study. Since ore does not occur in simple geometric shapes, the method selected for more detailed study will require some variation to the standard. A few key factors will bear heavily on the selection and provide a basis for the most realistic choice. Geological Data The configuration of an orebody defined by the horizontal and vertical dimensions, the dip and strike, and the possibility of repetitive occurrences will have the major influence on the selection of the mining method. For bulk mining methods, the dip of the orebody should be steep, or the orebody must be thick so that gravity can be utilized to deliver fragmented ore to a central gathering area. Geotechnical Data The geotechnical data will be studied in greater detail when the nominal mining method has been selected and the engineering evaluation is undertaken. However, some basic initial information must be available. The structural strength of the ore and host rock, including the effect on it of faulting, fracturing, and insitu stresses, must be known. Data from exploration drilling and examination of drill core will assist in the preliminary assessment of these factors. Highly fractured ground may suggest a caving method of mining for certain orebody configurations, whereas highly competent or strong ore might indicate that for a similar configuration, longhole sublevel stoping will more likely succeed. Data obtained on groundwater from exploration drilling will be considered to determine if it can be controlled, or if it will represent a long term major expense or a hazard for which no control is possible.

Jan 1, 1981

By Robert N. McIndoo, M. G. Woodle

10.5-1. Introduction. In the not-too-distant past, maintenance and the facilities for maintenance were considered a necessary evil to be given only secondary consideration in the development and planning of a surface mine operation. With the increasing sophistication of mining equipment and machinery, this concept has been replaced; and today's mine managers recognize that planning for adequate maintenance facilities is as important to a successful operation as a sound mining plan. This chapter will present the basic maintenance facilities and the fundamental considerations necessary to meet the varied requirements of surface mining. 10.5-2. Determination of Shop Facilities. The size, shape, and extent of maintenance facilities are contingent on the general mining plan, the location relative to outside facilities, and to the available capital. The type of construction employed is dependent on climatic conditions and preference. HAULAGE SYSTEMS. The type of haulage equipment used will dictate the kind of shops needed. Truck haulage requires entirely different facilities than rail haulage. Some mines will employ both systems, and can include hoists, skips, or conveyor belts in combination with locomotives or trucks. The requirements of each type will be discussed. MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION. The pre-planning decision as to centralized maintenance vs. area maintenance, or a combination of both, will greatly affect the maintenance facilities required. A single pit with relatively short travel from shops to pit will probably have a centralized maintenance system. Where more than one mine is involved, or where there are diversified sections or functions in a mine (mine equipment, mill, conveyor, or

Jan 1, 1968

By F. B. Plummer

THE physical properties of oil-producing sands, such as grain size, porosity, and permeability, are becoming more and more important in petroleum production engineering as oil fields are being repressured and rejuvenated. A number of excellent papers have been published recently on all three of these properties. Faucher, Lewis and Barnes1 give a com-plete survey of the work done through 1932 and contribute also much information on sands that they themselves have examined. Muskat and Botset,2 Wykoff, Botset, Muskat and Reed,3 Hurst,4 and Muskat5 have contributed a great deal to the theory and actual measurement of flow of liquids and gases through porous media. Muskat and Botset have measured the permeabilities of different sands with gases and liquids. They find that the radial is always slightly under the linear permeability. However, in most of the previous experiments small samples of the sand were used, and the method of production of fluid or gas through the sands has not been very close to actual oil-field conditions. In addition, so far as the authors are aware, no measurements of linear and radial permeabilities have been made simultaneously under exactly the same conditions. The multiple permeability apparatus described here is a part of the equipment being acquired by this laboratory for thorough investigation of the physical properties of producing sands. It possesses certain advantages for comparative studies of liquid flow. Additional data and descriptions of other instruments will follow in papers to be written later on. The essential features of the permeability apparatus are as follows:

Jan 1, 1934

Your esteemed favors transmitting my discharge as your representative on the War Minerals Committee have come duly to hand and the kind words of commendation contained are greatly appreciated. Like other war committees, The War Minerals Committee's business in Washington was to meet an emergency as best it could, and as soon as the emergency had passed pressure of personal responsibilities immediately scattered the individual members. A detailed report of the Committee's work is therefore impossible. But before the matter is closed I feel it incumbent on me to ask you to report to the Directors and the Council, and through them to the members of the Institute and of the Society, the inestimable value to our Committee of the unstinted support given by both your officers and members. The instant response to all requests for funds was of the greatest assistance in getting started with office force, stationery, etc., and led later to a regular organization in the Bureau of Mines, working under a special appropriation, which is still doing good work as the War Minerals Investigation under Dr. Spurr. The voluntary work of the special sulphur and manganese committees formed by the War Minerals Committee was of great value to the Government. Copies of private reports supplied were of much assistance. But the great service of engineers and geologists as a whole was rendered in connection with the passage of the War Minerals Bill by Congress. Though every assistance possible was rendered by the Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey, by the close of 1917 our Committee had about reached the limit of its usefulness in the way of stimulating the various Government executive committees, bureaus and departments to a realization of the country's need of preparation for domestic production of "war minerals" and had found that special Congressional action was imperative if the war was to continue for anything like the time then generally feared. This was necessary not only 'to insure a. supply of war minerals but to make possible the appointment of some able mining administrator of large experience in the mineral industry who, with ample authority, could sit in the councils of the Government and see to it that the ever increasing autocratic powers the war was developing were used toward the mining industry so as to foster rather than crush the latter in its effort to produce sufficient raw material for war and essential civil requirements.

Jan 7, 1919

By W. W. Anderson

WEBSTER'S dictionary gives the following definition for "efficiency": "Effective operation as measured by a comparison of actual and possible results." Engineers think of this definition in terms of the ratio of output to input, and since they learn early in their careers that output cannot be greater than input, they usually consider a machine to be 100 pct efficient if it operates perfectly, and to be 0 pct efficient if it performs no function at all. Hence, values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct reflect how well or how poorly a machine has performed; and any method of calculation for determining efficiency that does not show 0 pct when no function has been performed, and 100 pct when a perfect job has been done, is looked upon with skepticism. The literature on performance of coal cleaning equipment contains many references to efficiency of performance, but there is no unanimous agreement among the authors as to how the efficiency should be determined. Numerous methods of calculation have been proposed from time to time, most of which attempt to fulfill the definition of efficiency by comparing output to input, using float and sink data or some other characteristic, such as dry ash content, as a measure. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the methods advocated in the past meets the requirements of a practical engineer in judging cleaning plant performance, because the formulas previously advocated do not confine numerical values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct, and the literature does not contain an explanation of the meaning of the formulas under various conditions of operation. Therefore, the following formula, based on Yancey's concept of misplaced material,' is proposed as a measure of efficiency which will conform with the requirement that the values of efficiency must be confined between 0 and 100 pct: Quantitative Efficiency = 100.0 — (pct wt sink* in cleaned coal + pct wt float* in refuse)t • At gravity of separation effected by cleaning equipment. t Total product basis of the size of material under study. It will be noted from this formula that an actual separation between cleaned coal and refuse must be effected by the cleaning equipment before the formula can be used; also, that improperly distributed material in the products must be determined at the gravity of separation, rather than at some arbitrary test gravity. It will further be noted from this formula that the weight of cleaned coal recovered and the weight of refuse rejected by the equipment have their proper influence, because the sink in the cleaned coal and the float in the refuse are expressed in the equation as a per cent weight of the total products of a definite size discharged from the plant. This formula has one other important characteristic, in that it requires no knowledge of the feed to the cleaning unit. Comparison of data on the products from a cleaning unit with the feed to the unit can lead to many worthwhile conclusions. but not in regard to the efficiency of separation effected by the equipment. The reason for this is that mechanical fracture of many pieces of the feed occurs during the cleaning process; and in some processes crushers are deliberately incorporated in the flow to produce size degradation to free impurities from cleaned coal, thereby altering the washability characteristics of the material while in process. When such size degradation occurs in a cleaning process, it is quite possible that this crushing will result in a reduction in ash content in the finer sizes of cleaned coal when compared with the raw coal feed, even though no true separation has been effected. This is due to the fact that the finer sizes have been "sweetened" by the crushing of cleaned coal from some coarser size. Many formulas advocated in the past show high cleaning efficiencies

Jan 1, 1951

By W. W. Anderson

WEBSTER'S dictionary gives the following definition for "efficiency": "Effective operation as measured by a comparison of actual and possible results." Engineers think of this definition in terms of the ratio of output to input, and since they learn early in their careers that output cannot be greater than input, they usually consider a machine to be 100 pct efficient if it operates perfectly, and to be 0 pct efficient if it performs no function at all. Hence, values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct reflect how well or how poorly a machine has performed; and any method of calculation for determining efficiency that does not show 0 pct when no function has been performed, and 100 pct when a perfect job has been done, is looked upon with skepticism. The literature on performance of coal cleaning equipment contains many references to efficiency of performance, but there is no unanimous agreement among the authors as to how the efficiency should be determined. Numerous methods of calculation have been proposed from time to time, most of which attempt to fulfill the definition of efficiency by comparing output to input, using float and sink data or some other characteristic, such as dry ash content, as a measure. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the methods advocated in the past meets the requirements of a practical engineer in judging cleaning plant performance, because the formulas previously advocated do not confine numerical values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct, and the literature does not contain an explanation of the meaning of the formulas under various conditions of operation. Therefore, the following formula, based on Yancey's concept of misplaced material,' is proposed as a measure of efficiency which will conform with the requirement that the values of efficiency must be confined between 0 and 100 pct: Quantitative Efficiency = 100.0 — (pct wt sink* in cleaned coal + pct wt float* in refuse)t • At gravity of separation effected by cleaning equipment. t Total product basis of the size of material under study. It will be noted from this formula that an actual separation between cleaned coal and refuse must be effected by the cleaning equipment before the formula can be used; also, that improperly distributed material in the products must be determined at the gravity of separation, rather than at some arbitrary test gravity. It will further be noted from this formula that the weight of cleaned coal recovered and the weight of refuse rejected by the equipment have their proper influence, because the sink in the cleaned coal and the float in the refuse are expressed in the equation as a per cent weight of the total products of a definite size discharged from the plant. This formula has one other important characteristic, in that it requires no knowledge of the feed to the cleaning unit. Comparison of data on the products from a cleaning unit with the feed to the unit can lead to many worthwhile conclusions. but not in regard to the efficiency of separation effected by the equipment. The reason for this is that mechanical fracture of many pieces of the feed occurs during the cleaning process; and in some processes crushers are deliberately incorporated in the flow to produce size degradation to free impurities from cleaned coal, thereby altering the washability characteristics of the material while in process. When such size degradation occurs in a cleaning process, it is quite possible that this crushing will result in a reduction in ash content in the finer sizes of cleaned coal when compared with the raw coal feed, even though no true separation has been effected. This is due to the fact that the finer sizes have been "sweetened" by the crushing of cleaned coal from some coarser size. Many formulas advocated in the past show high cleaning efficiencies

Jan 1, 1951

By B. S. Butler

A. D. Mutch (Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd., Ona-ping, Ontario)—This contribution is prompted by the fact that the writer has recently published an article'!' which has in part the same general conclusions as B. S. Butler's, namely, the form of the standard mineral paragenesis in hypogene deposits and the parallel transition from early high temperature acid to late low temperature alkaline or neutral solutions. Since the writer also recognizes that he is not fully qualified to discuss the formation of ore deposits as a chemical problem, this discussion will be limited to summarizing other observations and will suggest how Butler's Table II might be made more effective. The form of Butler's table is not unlike that widely used by European geologists'" in which the various minerals are related to the types of ore fluids—peg-matitic, pneumatolic and hydrothermal. Thus the decrease in temperature and change in pH of the ore-bearing fluids as recognized by Butler may also be paralleled by perhaps even greater changes in composition, density, and character. W. H. Newhouse's article:" on the sequence of hypo-gene ore mineral deposition is still one of the most complete analyses of the problem. In it he makes four major observations: 1) The order of O, S, As, Sb is the same as their increasing atomic weights and the same as their melting points. 2) The order of the metallic elements is the same as the Schuermann series. 3) The general mineralogical order is paralleled by decreasing heats of formation. 4) The order is generally in decreasing hardness, higher metal content, and higher specific gravity. The order of 0, S, As, and Bi is also the same as their relative abundance. Another point worth mentioning about this series is that As, Sb, Bi, when abundant, often substitute for sulfur in the early pyrite-like minerals, whereas later in the sequence these elements appear to act more like metals. This behavior may be a further indication of the acid character of the early fluids. C. J. Sullivan"' has attempted to show that the sequence of the metallic elements is related to the order of their melting points and has discussed the interrelationship of the different types of bonding of sulfo-phile and oxiphile elements in minerals. Items 3 and 4 might best be summarized by saying that bonding of the minerals in the series appears to be from ionic to covalent to metallic, the early minerals being light in weight, hard, and near-transparent; the intermediate minerals of intermediate weight, semi-transparent, and semi-conducting; and the end minerals heavy, soft, and malleable, opaque and good conductors. A rapid fall in temperature has been assumed to be the cause of ore deposition in many deposits. Perhaps this in turn is the effect of a rapid release of energy in the form of pressure release and change of volume, the first minerals to form being those with the highest heats of formation which absorb the released energy the most rapidly. Butler's Table II could probably be streamlined and made more effective if the listed compounds were assembled as mineralogical groups as in Dana. Thus the sulfides, arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides, and sulfa salts could be arranged in AX,, AX, A2X2, etc. groups. Since these are continuous substitution series, in which the fields of stability and the heats of formation of the various individual minerals can be fairly regarded as similar, this should be accomplished with no loss of clarity. The occurrence of the individual minerals and the precise sequence of the mineral deposition in any one deposit is probably more dependent on the concentration and relative abundance of the component elements. The assembling of geological data in tabular form such as Butler's Table II will continue to be a very effective method of studying geological phenomena. The importance of this particular problem has been pointed out by C. F. Park,% who concludes that understanding of mechanisms of the standard paragenesis and interrelated problems of mineral zoning in space and time is one of the major keys to classification of ore deposits.

Jan 1, 1959

By O. E. Michaelis

The metal used at the Befors Works in gun-munufacture is unforged open-hearth steel, cast without blow-holes. It has from time to time been asserted that it is impossible to pro

Jan 1, 1888

By G. W. Jarman

The purpose of this paper is to present briefly a description of some of the special methods of separation or concentration, either singly or in combination with others, and to give certain operating data and examples. Explanation of the usual methods of large-production mill treatment, such as flotation or wet tabling, or of chemically treating industrial minerals, is not included in the scope of this paper, although one of these methods might be, in certain instances, augmented by one or more of the special methods that will be enumerated herein. Description of these special methods will be centered on magnetic separators, electrostatic separators and air flotation or air tables. Magnetic Sepaeatohs In general, separation is achieved by exerting upon a particle some kind of force opposed to gravity, either directly or at an angle. For example, in the Wetherill or cross-belt type of magnetic separator some particles are lifted vertically from the others because they have been exposed to a force to which they respond more readily than particles of lesser magnetic susceptibility. Of course, there is a limitation to this vertical rise, for the particle must be of a high enough susceptibility to receive a magnetic force greater than the 980 dynes per gram of gravitational urge. To overcome this limitation, the induction type of magnetic separator was developed, so that it is only necessary to instill, say, 30 to 60 dynes per gram instead of the 080, to cause a deflection away from the vertical in falling, and that deflection can be used advantageously when falling by inserting a dividing knife-edge. The induction magnetic separator (Fig. 1) has become a fairly well known method of concentrating and purifying. For example, abrasive grain was among the materials that did not respond to the previously best known type of magnetic separator, such as the Wetherill type, and the development of the induction magnetic separator in the plant of a

Jan 1, 1942

By G. W. Jarman

THE purpose of this paper is to present briefly a description of some of the special methods of separation or concentration, either singly or in combination with others, and to give certain operating data and examples. Explanation of the usual methods of large-production mill treatment, such as flotation or wet tabling, or of chemically treating industrial minerals, is not included in the scope of this paper, although one of these methods might be, in certain instances, augmented by one or more of the special methods that will be enumerated herein. Description of these special methods will be centered on magnetic separators, electro- static separators and air flotation or air tables. MAGNETIC SEPERATORS In general, separating is achieved by exerting upon a particle some kind of force opposed to gravity, either directly or at an angle. For example, in the Wetherill or cross-belt type of magnetic separator some particles are lifted vertically from the others because they have been exposed to a force to which they respond more readily than particles of lesser magnetic susceptibility. Of course, there is a limitation to this vertical rise, for the particle must be of a high enough susceptibility to receive a magnetic force greater than the 980 dynes per gram of gravitational urge. To overcome this limitation, the induction type of magnetic separator was developed, so that it is only necessary to instill, say, 30 to 60 dynes per gram instead of the 980, to cause a deflection away from the vertical in falling, and that deflection can be used advantageously when falling by inserting a dividing knife-edge. The induction magnetic separator (Fig. 1) has become a fairly well known method of concentrating and purifying. For example, abrasive grain was among the materials that did not respond to the previously best known type of magnetic separator, such as the Wetherill type, and the development of the induction magnetic separator in the plant of a

Jan 1, 1938

By G. W. Jarman

The purpose of this paper is to present briefly a description of some of the special methods of separation or concentration, either singly or in combination with others, and to give certain operating data and examples. Explanation of the usual methods of large-production mill treatment, such as flotation or wet tabling, or of chemically treating industrial minerals, is not included in the scope of this paper, although one of these methods might be, in certain instances, augmented by one or more of the special methods that will be enumerated herein. Description of these special methods will be centered on magnetic separators, electrostatic separators and air flotation or air tables. Magnetic Sepaeatohs In general, separation is achieved by exerting upon a particle some kind of force opposed to gravity, either directly or at an angle. For example, in the Wetherill or cross-belt type of magnetic separator some particles are lifted vertically from the others because they have been exposed to a force to which they respond more readily than particles of lesser magnetic susceptibility. Of course, there is a limitation to this vertical rise, for the particle must be of a high enough susceptibility to receive a magnetic force greater than the 980 dynes per gram of gravitational urge. To overcome this limitation, the induction type of magnetic separator was developed, so that it is only necessary to instill, say, 30 to 60 dynes per gram instead of the 080, to cause a deflection away from the vertical in falling, and that deflection can be used advantageously when falling by inserting a dividing knife-edge. The induction magnetic separator (Fig. 1) has become a fairly well known method of concentrating and purifying. For example, abrasive grain was among the materials that did not respond to the previously best known type of magnetic separator, such as the Wetherill type, and the development of the induction magnetic separator in the plant of a

Jan 1, 1942

By David B. Scott

When mining operations were first instituted in the mines of the Miami Copper Co., at Miami, Ariz., the relatively hard character of the ground in the western section of the property made it seem advisable to use a wide shrinkage stope and pillar system. The system as finally evolved was applied to the mining of 2,300,000 tons of ore by the use of stopes and pillars each 50 ft. in width. Development, mining and extraction of this reserve has been continuously in progress since 1910, and the final stages of extraction are now reached. A complete survey of all phases of this system can therefore be made. Modification in working methods was obviously necessary, and the system to be described is believed to be typical of the best features. Development The preliminary work had three main objectives: The opening of a haulage level, the construction of a drawing-off level, and the driving of sublevels for use in stoping. In addition to these, some extra sublevel drifting was necessary to determine exactly the boundaries of the orebody, the general outline having been determined by churn drilling. This development was based on the requirements of stopes 50 ft. wide, with pillars 50 ft. wide between each stope. The length of these units varied from 200 to 500 ft.. Haulage Level The tramming level was 50 ft. below the floor of the stopes, and the tramming lines were run parallel with the long axis of the stopes. These lines were also beneath the middle of the stopes and pillars. Each line therefore served one stope or one pillar, this arrangement making it possible to load along an entire stope without switching or uncoupling. This advantage is apparent principally during the process of stoping when rapid drawing of excess broken ore is desirable. Furthermore, the arrangement of the drawing-off level chutes at 25-ft. intervals, as shown

Jan 1, 1917

By J. P. Lesley

The Pittsburgh coal-region, if we regard the greatness of its extent, the picturesque beauty of its scenery, the salubrity of its climate, its relative situation on the Continent, the fertility of its soil, its unrivalled mineral wealth, and its magnificent system of natural transportation, is, perhaps, the most valuable spot on the surface of the planet. Unlike the mythical Paradise inhabited by one man and one woman, it swarms with an abounding population, not living on the free gifts of nature without care and without toil, hut expending its energies in unremitting labor, reinforced by the most elaborate machinery, in the production of everything which mankinds needs or desires; and unlilte the Paradise of story from which flowed the four great rivers of the world in opposite directions, its own four rivers How from the surrounding world into it, to constitute by their union the great highway water-course which divides the Northern from the Southern States. These rivers are the Monongahela, coming from the south, the Yonghiogheny from the southeast, the Kiskiminetas from the east, and the Allegheny from the north. Uniting at the great city of pittsburgh, they constitnte the Ohio, which flows northwest and west, and then south and southwest, toward the Mississippi. The Monongahela has been made navigable by a system of dams and pools the Allegheny was navigable in its natural condition; the KisKiminetas was made navigable by a State canal which has been vacated ; and the Youghiogheny remains unnavigable. Railroads supplement the deficiencies of the rivers, follow their hanks, and share in the transportation for which the waters are not sufficient. Railroads and rivers concentrate at Pittsburgh; other railroads cross the highlands to the east and west; and branch roads ascend the side-valleys and ravines to the mines on the uplands. The whole region is a scene of life; towns and villages dot its surface in all directions ; hundreds of gangways open upon the sides of all the valleys, and deliver coal to trains of cars which move beneath them at water-level; furnaces and rolling-mills abound; hundreds of oil-wells furnish a flood of liquid fuel to pipe-lines

Jan 1, 1886

THE translators wish to record their appreciation of the help given by many individuals with whom they have discussed various details of the work. They are particularly indebted to Mrs. Anne Noble McKeachie, who initiated their collaboration; to Miss Cora Adamson, who spent many hours in making an accurate copy of a much-mutilated &st draft of the translation; and to the Yale University Library which gave access to its excellent collection of books on all aspects of the history of the sciences. The reader will share with the translators their obvious indebtedness to Mr. Carl P. Rollins, Mr. James W. Boyden, and the staff of the Printing-Office of the Yale University Press. The publication of this translation by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers has been made possible by a grant from the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund, administered by a committee composed of Harvey S. Mudd, H. DeWitt Smith, and George Otis Smith. The translators are gratified that their work has been judged to fall within the scope of this Fund, which was established for the advancement of the sciences of mining and metallurgy by the encouragement of research and the dissemination of knowledge, and especially for the furtherance of such activities as might benefit the younger members of the profession. While Biringuccio's book would scarcely serve as a dependable text for the young mining student or metallurgist, it can give him a sense of his membership in a long-standing and honorable profession and enable him better to see his own work in true perspective. It is hoped that this English edition of a sixteenth-century Italian work will be read by the practicing metallurgist as well as by those who have already found pleasure in exploring the past of their profession. A man always feels more at home in a foreign country with men of his own craft than in his birthplace with those of different interests: As in space, so in time, and the modem metallurgist who may be unmoved by the literary and artistic Renaissance will quickly appreciate the spirit of that exciting period as he talks shop with Biringuccio on a visit to mine, smelter, forge, and foundry; as he sees in different forms the very furnaces and machines whose operation and response he knows so well; and as he discusses with this engineer of four centuries ago such topics as the best kinds of fuel or refractory for a given operation, and the importance of adequate supplies of power and material.

Jan 1, 1942

By M. J. Sinnott, H. B. Probst

AN extensive survey of the factors which affect austenite grain growth has already been made.' These factors are temperature, time at temperature, rate of heating, initial grain size, hot-working, alloy content, ofheating,initialand rate of cooling from the liquidus-solidus temperature. In the present work, a vacuum-melted temperature.electrolytic iron was used and the variables studies were temperature, time at temperature, and prior ferrite grain size. Other factors were maintained constant. The iron used in this study was vacuum-melted electrolytic iron of nominal composition of impurities of 0.07 wt pct. It was supplied as a ½ in. round cold-drawn bar. This iron was tested in three conditions: as-received, annealed 6 hr at 1200°F, and annealed 6 hr at 1600°F. Samples were ? in. disks cut from the bar. The prior anneals were carried out in vacuum and the isothermal treatments were carried out in vacuum-sealed Vycor tubing. The thermal etch technique was employed to determine the austenite grain size. Prior to sealing the test specimens, one surface of the sample was polished metallographically. This surface, after heating, was examined to determine the austenite grain size, since the austenite boundaries are revealed by thermal etching. This is essentially the only technique available for measuring the austenite grain size of low carbon steels or pure irons without altering the composition. It has been shown to yield results that are in agreement with other methods used for determining austenite grain sizes.' The specimen size was quite large compared to the grain size measured, so inhibition of growth due to size effects is probably negligible. After vacuum sealing, each sample was placed into a furnace at temperature and at the completion of the run was quenched into a mercury bath. The growth temperatures used were 1700°, 1800°, 1900°, and 2000°F controlled to -~10"F. Growth times were varied from 10 to 240 hr. The long times were used in order to eliminate the nucleation and growth effects occurring during the initial transformation. Time was measured from the introduction of the capsule into the hot furnace to the time of quench. Grain-size measurements were made with the use of a grain-size eyepiece of a microscope. By determining the number of grains per square millimeter at X100 and taking the square root of the reciprocal of this number, the average linear dimension of the grains was determined. Figs. 1 and 2 are plots of these data as a function of time and temperature for the various conditions investigated. The variation of D, the linear dimension of the grains, was assumed to follow the equation3 D = A tn. The curves of Fig. 1 were obtained from the data by the use of the least-squares method of analysis. Fig. 1 is for the growth of the as-received stock and Fig. 2 is for growth after prior treatments. Differentiating the foregoing equation gives an expression for the rate of growth dD/dt = G = nAtn-1 = nD/t. Both D and G as functions of t are given in Table I. It should be noted that G is a function of time; the growth rate is rapid at early stages and decreases with increasing time. Since increasing temperature increases the growth rate, it has been common practice to use the empirical relationship G = Go e-Q/RT to relate temperature to growth rate. The growth rate customarily has been taken at constant values of D on the basis that the rate of growth is related to the boundary surface tension and this is measured by the curvature of the boundary. At constant D values, the growth rate is a function of time and temperature. The growth rate can be related however to temperature at constant time, and this has the advantage that under these conditions the growth rate is a function only of temperature. Obviously the Q values, activation energies, obtained for each assumption will not be the same and the question of which is the more correct is a moot one, since the assumed exponential relationship in either case has no particular theoretical significance. By plotting G, at constant grain size, vs 1/T, the activation energy over the temperature range of 1800" to 2000°F is found to vary from 30,000 cal per mol at the smaller grain sizes to 50,000 cal per mol at the larger grain sizes. The 1700°F data do not correlate with the data at higher temperatures. The activation energies for the 1200" and 1600°F prior annealed materials were calculated as 50,000 and 62,000 cal per mol, respectively, using the reciprocal time to a given grain size as a measure of the growth rate. Plotting G, at constant times, vs 1/T yields an activation energy of 12,300 cal per mol for the tem-

Jan 1, 1956

Albert Sauveur, Cambridge, Mass. (written discussion).— In his introductory paragraph, the author states that he has come to bury Beilby, not to praise him. The paper, however, gives the impression that while he may have dug the grave, Beilby is still at large. I am not one of those whom the author calls enthusiastic supporters of Beilby's amorphous theory and in support of this claim quote from a book I am writing: "Attractive as the amorphous theory is, and notwithstanding the ability with which it has been presented and the renown of its sponsors and supporters, it should not be accepted without reservations as a demonstrated fact.... So long as it explains more satisfactorily than other theories a greater number of phenomena in which it may play a part, we should use it in preference to others as the best available. Let us avoid the danger, however, into which too many fall, of accepting as indisputable truths, statements and theories emanating from those whom we hold in great esteem. It is not what those men themselves would wish us to do. I am entitled, I think, to occupy a position in the middle ground. Neither should Howe be classified with the enthusiastic supporters for he has written that the theory should be classed rather among the precious working theories than among those firmly established," a very wise and prudent statement. Jeffries, on the other hand, I would not hesitate to describe as an enthusiastic supporter. The author reproaches the advocates of the amorphous theory with having taken whatever properties they needed and with having assigned them arbitrarily to the hypothetical amorphous phase. He then applics their method to small crystals. If the existence of an amorphous phase is assumed, its greater tenacity and greater hardness is satisfactorily explained in the words of Howc: '(This greater strength is natural, because the amorphous state lacks the cleavages and slip planes which weaken crystalline substances." Can the greater strength and hardness claimed for small crystals be as satisfactorily explained? Nor do I think that the cold deformation of metals through successive slips within the crystalline grains can he accounted for as acceptably by the "small crystals theory."

Jan 1, 1923

Albert Sauveur, Cambridge, Mass. (written discussion).— In his introductory paragraph, the author states that he has come to bury Beilby, not to praise him. The paper, however, gives the impression that while he may have dug the grave, Beilby is still at large. I am not one of those whom the author calls enthusiastic supporters of Beilby's amorphous theory and in support of this claim quote from a book I am writing: "Attractive as the amorphous theory is, and notwithstanding the ability with which it has been presented and the renown of its sponsors and supporters, it should not be accepted without reservations as a demonstrated fact.... So long as it explains more satisfactorily than other theories a greater number of phenomena in which it may play a part, we should use it in preference to others as the best available. Let us avoid the danger, however, into which too many fall, of accepting as indisputable truths, statements and theories emanating from those whom we hold in great esteem. It is not what those men themselves would wish us to do. I am entitled, I think, to occupy a position in the middle ground. Neither should Howe be classified with the enthusiastic supporters for he has written that the theory should be classed rather among the precious working theories than among those firmly established," a very wise and prudent statement. Jeffries, on the other hand, I would not hesitate to describe as an enthusiastic supporter. The author reproaches the advocates of the amorphous theory with having taken whatever properties they needed and with having assigned them arbitrarily to the hypothetical amorphous phase. He then applics their method to small crystals. If the existence of an amorphous phase is assumed, its greater tenacity and greater hardness is satisfactorily explained in the words of Howc: '(This greater strength is natural, because the amorphous state lacks the cleavages and slip planes which weaken crystalline substances." Can the greater strength and hardness claimed for small crystals be as satisfactorily explained? Nor do I think that the cold deformation of metals through successive slips within the crystalline grains can he accounted for as acceptably by the "small crystals theory."

Jan 1, 1923

By Walter O. Snelling

Continuation of the discussion of the paper of WaltER o. SnelLIng, presented at the New York and San Francisco meetings, February and September, 1915, respectively, and printed in Bulletin No. 100, April, 1915, pp. 695 to 704 and Trans., li, pp. 657 to 671. A. C. McLaUghlin, San Francisco, Ca1.—It seems to me that Mr. Snelling's work, if it is what it appears to be, is one of the most important contributions to petroleum technology that has been brought out in the last 25 years. If his end products are what they seem to be, he has made. a discovery, which, in my judgment, will revolutionize the petroleum industry. As to industrially carrying out these processes I do not think there is the slightest difficulty, for I have had some work recently where crude oils were handled successfully at a temperature of 750" F, and pressure of 750 lb. per square inch. William A. WillIams, San francisco, Ca1.—What metal did you use, Mr. McLaughlin? A. C. McLauGHILIN.—Ordinaly seamless tubing, extra strong. William A. Williams.—Tests were made in Dr. Rittman's experimental plant at Pittsburgh, upon samples of residuum furnished by Mr. Bell, the residuum being the remainder of the crude oil after the lighter fractions had been removed. After the material had been run through Dr. Bittman's plant, yields of from 43 to 58 per cent. of material, boiling under 150" C. were obtained. The distillate had a peculiar odor, due to the presence of benzene, toluene, and other unsaturated hydrocarbons. W. N. Best, New York, N. Y.—What is the difference between the Rittman and the Snelling process or system? William A. Williams.—he fundamental difference is that reactions take place under relatively higher temperatures and pressures and with none of the oil present in its original or liquid state, while the reactions secured by Mr. Snelling and other investigators have been from the liquids in the presence of some vapors. Under such conditions as Mr. Snelling operates, the temperatures and pressures used are limited and the flexibility in the control of these variables is extremely limited when compared with the Rittman process.

Jan 1, 1916