Search Documents

By J. B. Austin, R. L. Rickett

MEASUREMENTS Of the rate of decomposition of austenite at constant temperature are commonly represented by plotting the percentage transformed on linear coordinates against time on either a linear or a logarithmic scale, a method that yields a curve that in shape resembles an integral sign (Fig. 1). A graph of this kind is not always convenient because extrapolation to the beginning or end of the transformation, or even interpolation, may be uncertain unless there are a large number of observations, which seldom happens; furthermore, the degree of consistency of a set of measurements is difficult to judge from such a curve. It is desirable therefore to find some mode of plotting, or even better to find a standard variety of graph paper, that gives a straight line instead of the integral shape. The straight line has many advantages; the number of readings required to fix the position of the curve is greatly reduced, interpolation is easy and rapid, extrapolation can be carried out with greater confidence and, finally, the consistency of the measurements is readily estimated from the scatter of the points. The last advantage is particularly valuable when the data are obtained by direct microscopic examination alone, because they are influenced by the skill of the observer in estimating the relative size of areas, possibly also by undetected inhomogeneity of the specimen. A search for ways of representing the observations as a straight line yielded two methods which are described in this paper. The paper also includes an account of some interesting relations brought to light in applying these methods to the available experimental data. Usually the best way to derive such a method of plotting is to base it on established principles of chemistry and physics, as has been done, for example, for the temperature variation of the equilibrium constant of a chemical reaction. But so little is known of the mechanism of the decomposition of austenite, and so little is available in the way of well established background for changes of this kind, that it is simpler to rely upon purely empirical means. The general plan therefore is to study existing data with a view to finding some function of the direct observations that will

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Austin

MEASUREMENTS of the rate of decomposition of austenite at constant temperature are commonly represented by plotting the percentage trans-formed on linear coordinates against time on either a linear or a logarith-mic scale, a method that yields a curve that in shape resembles an integral sign (Fig. 1). A graph of this kind is not always convenient because extrapolation to the beginning or end of the transformation, or even inter-polation, may be uncertain unless there are a large number of observations, which seldom happens; furthermore, the degree of consistency of a set of measurements is difficult to judge from such a curve. It is desirable therefore to find some mode of plotting, or even better to find a standard variety of graph paper, that gives a straight line instead of the integral shape. The straight line has many advantages; the number of readings required to fix the position of the curve is greatly reduced, interpolation is easy and rapid, extrapolation can be carried out with greater confidence and, finally, the consistency of the measurements is readily estimated from the scatter of the points. The last advantage is particularly valu-able when the data are obtained by direct microscopic examination alone, because they are influenced by the skill of the observer in estimating the relative size of areas, possibly also by undetected inhomogeneity of the specimen. A search for ways of representing the observations as a straight line yielded two methods which are described in this paper. The paper also includes an account of some interesting relations brought to light in applying these methods to the available experimental data. Usually the best way to derive such a method of plotting is to base it on established principles of chemistry and physics, as has been done, for example, for the temperature variation of the equilibrium constant of a chemical reaction. But so little is known of the mechanism of the decom-position of austenite, and so little is available in the way of well established background for changes of this kind, that it is simpler to rely upon purely empirical means. The general plan therefore is to study existing data with a view to finding some function of the direct observations that will

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

N OW THAT the war is over it is possible to release data and correct some erroneous statements and impressions relative to the use of manganese-steel armor and helmets, which heretofore have been carefully guarded. The material of the helmets furnished to the English, American, and Belgian armies was invented by Sir Robert Hadfield, Bart., F.R.S., and was described in a paper read by him at the International Engineering Congress in August, 1893. The French helmet was 2 oz. lighter than the English but had a greatly inferior resistance. Tests showed that it was perforable at as low a velocity as 350 ft.- sec. impact of the standard shrapnel bullets. Helmets made of the Hadfield "Era" manganese steel kept out standard shrapnel bullets of the same quality at no less than from 750 to 950 ft.-sec. impact velocity. The respective energies were, in the case of the French helmet, only 0.021 ft.-tons, 46 ft.-lb., and in the British 0.095 ft.-tons, 213 ft.-lb. The German helmet was made of nickel-chromium steel and, although 12 oz. heavier and 12 per cent. thicker than the Hadfield, was not only perforate

Jan 1, 1920

By Howard M. Graff, Sidney C. Bouwer

The economics of mining has traditionally been viewed quite apart from the economics of blast furnace operations. It was realized, of course, that blast furnaces would operate best with good raw materials, but the shipping grade of ore, for example, was decided by a sort of collective bargaining process between the ore producers and the blast furnace operators. The mine operators had to keep their costs down, and were usually successful in convincing management that the ore in any particular deposit was endowed by nature with a certain iron content and that the mine grade could not be raised beyond a certain economic limit. The blast furnace operators would have liked a better grade, but as long as they were able to make a fairly good showing it was more or less accepted that they had to take the ore as it came. The mine operators were able to ship to the nation's blast furnaces thousands of tons of iron ore that would be completely unacceptable by present-day standards. As late as the early 1950's, the major steel companies were witnessing an actual decline in the iron content of their incoming ore supply as the mining companies mined progressively leaner material and upgraded it only enough to pass competitive market requirements

Jan 8, 1965

By E. G. SINCLAIR

DRILLING wildcat wells in Wyoming differs a little from methods used in any other field. Here it is always advisable to start the hole as large as is convenient in order to carry each string of pipe as far as possible, so that drilling can be continued a thousand feet deeper if necessary, as there is always sand a few hundred feet ahead that really ought to be tested. This plan may seem ambitious, but if it is adhered to, it will save a great deal of trouble before the well is completed. In making the location, one representative from the operating department and one from the geological department should work together, so that the well may be in the best possible place for obtaining oil and the most feasible place to drill for the operating department. In Wyoming nearly all wells are drilled with standard tools, as with them a better log can be kept and better time made in completing the hole. The shales of Wyoming are very hard and do not mix well in a wet hole. The shale cuts into large pieces, too large to be circulated out of the hole, and forms a mat on the rotary which soon cuts off circulation. Then if this mat cannot be jarred from the bit, the drilling string has to be pulled and the mat cut off from the bit with a pick or an axe. I have seen standard tools come out of a wet hole with 10 to 16 in. of mat on the bottom of the bit. Rotary tools have drilled wells satisfactorily in the Big Muddy field and at Billy Creek, but in the other fields the wells have been drilled much more economically with cable tools.

Jan 1, 1926

By George C. Bateman

WE in Canada want to see industry get back to a normal economic basis as soon as possible but wartime controls cannot be dispensed with immediately the war is over. Perhaps never again will we be entirely free from some of the types of controls such as those set up during the war. Certainly the taking over and disposal of surplus materials contemplates the continuation of some form of control for many years to come. However, to the extent that it is possible, the Allied nations are exponents of free enterprise.

Jan 1, 1944

By G. B. Walker

THE sink-float methods designated by heavy-media separation processes were pioneered by C. Erb Weunsch for the treatment of base metal ores as an improvement over jigs. The work of Weunsch was further developed by Victor Rakowsky and The American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Co. Early in the development of the processes, the inherent unsuitability of galena as the solid constituent of the medium was recognized and ferrous media amenable to magnetic recovery and control were developed. The high efficiency and low cost of magnetic recovery and cleaning of ferrous media regardless of particle size, slime contamination, or surfacial oxidation had led to the adoption of ferrous media by all of the sink-float plants operating under the heavy-media separation processes patents controlled by American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Co. Approximately 2,000,000 tons of base metal and nonmetallic minerals are treated each month by these methods.

Jan 1, 1949

By M. S. Azun

I do not at all agree with the basic points of the author's conclusion. The use of lognormal or normal model to respond to the attribute distribution function should be carefully questioned. If fitting a distribution function of regionalized variables is the main purpose, one may employ one of certain well-known families of distributions, such as Tukey's lambda functions. For instance, the distribution function of gold assay values studied by Krige (Krige, 1978) may fit the lognormal model well, but one should not exclude that the basic idea of using the distribution function of observed data is to have insight of the physical mechanism that gives rise to the regionalized variables. In Applied Geostatistics, there are many examples considering only lognormal or normal model for the distribution function of geostatistical data even if the observed distribution function has more than one mode. Of course, using lognormal or normal model always brings easy computation for the statistical properties of attribute under investigation. Still, I object to adopting any of those models without having any "statistical inference." As seen from the author's paper, lognormal and normal model produce the same average grade (0.746% copper) and almost the same sample variance. Therefore, which model explains the probabilistic behavior of ore deposit is always an important question that should be replied by the geostatistician using not the common sense but the statistical and probabilistic methods. For kriging procedures, such as linear kriging, one should describe either second order stationary properties or bivariate properties of regionalized variables. Second order properties, such as correlogram function or semivariogram function, are the inputs of the so-called kriging equations. Selecting one of any useable models for the observed second order properties, such as spherical model, is not easy since the models are not based on the correlations structure of the regionalized variables. How those models being used in Applied Geostatistics can be distinguished is another important problem. One may develop many fitting models to respond to the observed second order properties of regionalized variables. However, I suggest that the model should be based on the probabilistic behavior of geologic process. The author used spherical model for copper, wolfram, and silver grades from isotropic sector (Fig. 2, 4, 3b) and exponential model for silver grades obtained along raises in isotropic sector (Fig. 3a). It seems that those semivariograms given in Fig. 3b for isotropic sector and Fig. 4 may be described by the random model implying that regionalized variables do belong to renewal process (Azun, 1983). If I knew the total number of data points used in estimation, may prove that my conclusion is correct. Recalling the test for the first order sample correlogram value, the test procedure is introduced such that the independence is rejected if [Ir(1) I > Za/2 N1/2] where Za/2 is the a/2 percentile of standard normal random variable and N is the total number of samples used in estimation (Azun, 1983). For the other observed semivariogram functions I suggest the author might try to use the so-called "Markovian model" describing not only the correlation structure of regionalized variables, but also the physical mechanism that produces the regionalized variables. The Markovian model for correlogram function is, [p (h) = T 1ih , h>1 ,] The Markovian model for the other second order properties of ReV are also derived. [T veß], in the above equation, show, for example, structural change and mineralizational variation in a considered deposit, respectively (Azun, 1983). In selecting any model, it is not easy to search for the "best" response to the observed second order properties of ReV's. The Markovian model, based on a theoretical understanding of underlying mechanism, gives more information about the occurrence of regionalized variables and respond to all properties. Random model and the so-called hole effect structure can be easily defined as a special form of the Markovian model (Azun, 1983). An estimation of any second order properties of regionalized variables may be computed through (N-1) lag. However, the dependency between the regionalized variables may be deemed to have "died out" after the so-called stationarity width (range). In practice, the estimation is carried out through 25% of the total number samples available. Therefore, the large fluctuations around the zero level and variance for correlogram or covariogram function and semivariogram function, respectively, cannot be observed. Since the number of pairs involved in the estimation of higher second order properties is small, the estimation variance at those lags is large. There is no need to show higher order estimated second order properties. After using one of any kriging procedure for block estimation, the distribution function of average grades has the same mean as the drilling sample grades but

Jan 1, 1986

By Kenneth J. Kurry

12.2-1. Introduction. Successful management constantly strives to improve its methods and equipment in order to produce a better product at reduced cost. It is not enough that managers be cost conscious and industrious in these days of rapid, dramatic technological development. They must keep abreast of these developments-new or improved methods, machines, and equipment. Most of the machines and equipment have been carefully designed and perfected by reliable companies. However, improvements and progress often evolve from a definite need and are most successful in a particular operation. What may be the "answer" to the requirements of one company may be totally useless or inefficient to those of another. The manager of today must continuously evaluate the myriad proposals for change that result from modern technology-in terms of the particular needs and objectives of his company-to determine correctly which will best satisfy those needs and reach those objectives. Each new method or piece of equipment must receive careful study to make certain it is compatible with the entire operation. It may solve a problem in one department only to create a new problem in another. There are many pitfalls to be avoided in obtaining the necessary facts, and often these problems are unrelated to the actual use of the equipment or method being studied. All facets of the operation being considered must be thoroughly studied to determine if the method is compatible to the entire operation. For example, in considering a possible recommendation that a certain method and type of equipment be used to transport ore, some of the factors that should receive close scrutiny are: blasting procedure, maintenance, turning radius, percent grades, weather extremes, dumping problems, tire problems, length of haul, operator acceptance, or mismatched equipment. Failure to consider every factor-large and small, present and future-in evaluating a proposed change can mean a large investment in a new method or machine that will have to be continued for years at higher-than-antici-

Jan 1, 1968

By B. R. Coil, C. A. Ross

NEW demands for underground power in the Miami mine of the Miami Copper Co., Miami, Ariz. has brought about expansion of the distribution system for both ac and dc power. Progress in mining equipment and the normal changes in the mine were responsible for this increased demand. Early power requirements were for pumping and haulage. A 440 v ac power line down No. 5 shaft took care of a small pumping load and shaft station lighting, 275 v dc power was generated by motor generator sets on the surface, with a churn drill hole from surface to the 570 haulage level serving as a cableway. Electric lights were installed where power was available, and thus were confined to the haulage level and shaft stations. All industrial power in the Miami area is 25-cycle, which dates back to the hydroelectric generator installation at Roosevelt Dam in 1908-10. The Problem The main haulage level was moved to the 720 level and later, to the 1000 level, requiring a longer feeder line with the resultant voltage drop. Also, as mining progressed to the east, the churn drill hole for the power cable would have been subjected to subsidence cracks. The first extension in the use of electricity was in electric blasting. About 1935 the mine went to electric blasting, using the dc haulage current. Bringing electric current to the working levels of the mine for blasting greatly expanded the use of electric lights. Lights were used in tool rooms, powder and cap magazines, stairways, and other semi-permanent installations. Like all mines, Miami Copper began to study and experiment with mechanical mucking and transportation of ore by slushers, shakers, and belts during the late 1930's and early 1940's. At the beginning of the program, power was supplied from the haulage level 275 v dc system. Later it became necessary to run a cable, carrying 440 v ac power, down the No. 7 ventilation shaft. The increased use of power came about gradually, and many new problems were added, not the least being the introduction of switch boards and power cables into the working areas of the mine, where drifts and crosscuts take weight, and require repairs. The 25-cycle current presented special problems, in that 25-cycle transformers are twice as large and about 2V2 times as heavy as 60-cycle transformers of the same power output. The 25-cycle transformers were considered too large for installation in the mining areas. In 1947 the distribution system was revised and standards were adopted, governed by the following

Jan 1, 1952

By FLOYD T. TAYLOR

IN 1833, less than one hundred years ago, Michael Faraday discovered and stated the laws of electrolysis. His discovery formed the foundation of a new use of metals which has now reached a variety of application not ordinarily appreciated. Furthermore, things can be done with electro-deposited coatings which have thus far defied other methods. Some of the uses of electro-deposited coatings are interesting. The tonnage of metals already finding an outlet through such a channel is considerable. In general electro-deposits have two characteristics: ornament plus utility; utility plus ornament. Both these factors are usually found associated in electro- deposits. Ornament plus utility was probably the first use. For example, the silver-plating of tableware, having its real birth in Birmingham, England, about 1844. However, this same ornament plus utility retarded the development of electro-plating, because in the beginning, electro-plated articles were branded with the odium of imitation and shunned accordingly. The gold brick of the swindler may be an exception to this statement.

Jan 1, 1929

By P. B. Bucky

IN this day of steady progress in the mining industry, especially along mechanical lines, the question of whether to discard present equipment for that of a new type often engages the minds of many officials of mining companies. The rapid strides made from year to year sometimes cause this question to be brought up within a year after new equipment has been purchased and installed. It is a moot question whether a machine that has been purchased last year should be replaced by a new one put on the market this year. As I see it, the reasons for the replacement of present equipment may be summed up as follows: (1) because of increased safety; (2) because of legal regulations; (3) because of increased profits. I think all of us, as engineers, will endeavor to put in as safe equipment as it is possible to devise. The tendency of mining companies in that direction is very gratifying.

Jan 1, 1930

Edward Eeller, Baltimore, Md. (communication to the Secretary): Mr. Miller's improved method of the cyanide-assay for copper will, without doubt, be much appreciated by assayers and chemists who are engaged at copper mines and works. The writer, as one who, at one time, had much work of that kind to do, entertains no doubt of its practical value. In enumerating the factors which affect the accuracy of cyanide-titration, Mr. Miller omits to mention time. This I have always considered an essential one; i.e., in order to secure accuracy, I have believed it to be necessary to run the cyanidesolution at the same rate of speed in standardizing as in the titration of the samples. I have accomplished this, without the use of a time-keeper and without noticing the volume of the solution, in the following simple manner: In running the cyanide-solution from the burette, the stream was so regulated, by manipulation of the cock, that it retained its continuity for a distance of about one inch below the orifice, and, below that, broke into individual drops. This means that a constant pressure is maintained at the orifice of the burette, so that, during equal intervals of time, equal volumes of the solution pass through. The stream of cyanide-solution was left to flow in the manner indicated until the blue ammoniacal copper-solution began to show a distinct change in color, after which the cyanide was added by drops at regular intervals until the desired end-reaction. When several burettes are used they should have orifices of equal diameter; otherwise, the timefactor must be considered separately for each. In accordance with Mr. Miller's views, I have always considered the cyanide-method as of very satisfactory accuracy for all copper-assaying in which I did not employ the electrolytic method. It may interest some of my colleagues to know the modified method which I employed some fifteen years ago in making great numbers of copper-estimations on ores and

Jan 1, 1902

By T. A. Rickard

Do not write until you have something to say. Think first; then write. In order to be understood, you must know what you wish to say. Clear writing is the consequence of clear thinking. Therefore consider your subject well before you begin to write; ruminate on it; marshal the salient facts in your mind; saturate yourself with the ideas you wish to express and with cognate ideas; then express yourself deliberately. If you are bubbling over with your subject the words will come, but you might as well expect to sail without a breeze as hope to give life to words without the living thought. Here I may advert to the fact that among the uneducated it is a common expectation to acquire the knack of writing without taking the trouble to study the art of literature. I overheard a woman in a suburban train remark to her neighbor: "I'd like to be able to write well without stopping to think about it". She was one of many that would like to do a thing well without the trouble of thinking; but it cannot be done in respect of anything to which thought is essential. The possession of a good voice does not justify a person in expecting to sing successfully to a large audience; before singing in public one has to master the technique of singing; one has to learn first how to breathe properly, how to enunciate, and many other things. The successful singer is an artist, not a megaphone. Most of us would regard a man or a woman without any training in the art of singing as a fool or an impostor if he or she were to give a public concert, yet we do not recognize the equal foolishness and imposture of persons that write books before they have studied the technique of writing. That is why so many books are unreadable, and why many books by clever men are difficult to read. They start to write books before

Jan 1, 1931

By John W. Buch

IN my review a year ago I pointed out that a small coal-mining companies as well as large had decided that the so called ?central shop? was a benefit. These central shops replaced in a large measure the commercial shops operated by those who have no direct connection with production of cod. Central shops in this time of salvage and major repairs have proved their worth. In addition, many of the larger companies had in their central shops equipment available for the production of many thousands of parts for our vast war machine and, as subcontractors, are doing this type of work. This is a real contribution to the war endeavor. Lack of new supplies has resulted in exhaustion of those stocks formerly stored or hidden in underground shanties. This means that the small stock of repair parts likely LO be available to any mine

Jan 1, 1943

I. MCLAUGHLIN, R. P.-Protecting California Oil Fields from Damage by Infiltrating Water. Discussed by M. E. Lombardi, A. F. L. Bell, A. C. McLaughlin, R. P. McLaughlin, William A. Williams, Mark L. Requa, C. D. Keen 2413 BEST, W. N.-Petroleum as Fuel Under Boilers and in Furnaces. Discussed by William A. Williams, Hennen Jennings, David T. Day, Mark L. Requa, A. F. L. Bell, W. N. Best 2420 JOHNSON, ROSWELL H.-Sliding Royalties for Oil and Gas Wells. Discussed by William A. Williams, A. C. McLaughlin, A. F. L. Bell, Roswell H. Johnson 2423 BELL, ARTHUR F. L.-Important Topping Plants of California. Discussed by William A. Williams, David T. Day, A. F. L. Bell 2426 LOMBARDI, M. E.-The Cost of Maintaining Production in California Oil Fields. Discussed by C. D. Keen, Mark L. Requa, H. M. Bacon, M. E. Lombardi 2427 HUNTLEY, L. G.-Oil, Gas, and Water Contents of Dakota Sand in Canada and United States, Discussed by E. W. Shaw 2428

Jan 12, 1915

By James T. Waber, Allen C. Larson, Karl Gschneidner, Margaret Y. Prince

The original graphical method proposed by Darken and Gurry for predicting which elements are soluble in a given element was slightly modified and was used to predict terminal solubilities in 1455 known binary combinations. it was found that the modified Darken and Gurry method had a reliability of 61.7 pct in predicting extensive solid solubility (greater than 5 at. pct) and of 84.8pct in predicting limited solid solubility (less than 5 at. pct), an over-all reliability percentage of 76.6. Using the same experimental data, it was found that using only the simple Hume-Rothery size-effect criterion was 50.1 pct reliable in predicting extensive solid solubility, only slightly better than a purely random choice. and 90.3 pct reliable for predicting limited solid solubility, an over-all reliability percentage of 67.6. THE first rational rules for determining a priori whether two metals are not freely soluble in the solid state were announced by Hume-Rothery and coworkers.1,2 These well-known rules have been accorded a special place in metallurgical literature. Since the "electronegative" and "relative valence effect" rules of Hume-Rothery were only qualitative in nature it was difficult to use them in a quantitative analysis. The next major step was made by Darken and gurry3 and apparently went unexplored for a number of years. They prepared graphs illustrating the influence of both electronegativity and size difference on the solubility of elements in silver, magnesium, and aluminum, and they drew elliptical figures, whose maximum width was ±15 pct of the solvent radius and the maximum height was ±0.4 electronegativity units. The purpose of the present paper is to assess and compare the effectiveness of using the simple size-factor and the Darken-Gurry criteria to predict which elements will be soluble and insoluble in a given solute. In 1957, waber4 prepared Darken-Gurry plots for determining the solutes that were likely to be soluble in 6 and plutonium and introduced an inner ellipse as an aid to determining which elements should be soluble to a considerable extent. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the major axis of the outer ellipse corresponded to ±0.4 electronegativity units (OD) while the minor axis corresponded to ±15 pct of the radius of the solvent phase (OB). This simultaneous "action" of the two Hume-Rothery criteria was used to indicate which elements would have little or no solubility in the host lattice, namely those elements whose points lay outside this ellipse. An inner ellipse, "centered" over the same point of the solvent was drawn with ±0.2 electronegativity units (OC) and ±8 pct (OA) as the major and minor axes. Solutes with points lying within the inner ellipse were expected to be capable of forming extensive solid solutions with the host element. Use of this method of applying the earlier Hume-Rothery criteria was moderately successful for plutonium. For 6-phase plutonium, only one element out of the eight predicted to be extensively soluble was known to be almost insoluble, and of the sixteen elements predicted to have more restricted solubility, five were known to be essentially insoluble. The success of discerning solubility in the E phase by this method was comparable. One prediction made on the basis of this analysis was that the heavier rare earth metals, such as holmium, erbium, and thulium, should be soluble in the 6 phase, whereas the lighter rare earth elements, such as lanthanum or

Jan 1, 1963

By C. S. Samis, D. P. Seraphim

In the presence of oxygen, galena is oxidized in an aqueous medium containing ammonium acetate in accordance with the following reaction: PbS + 1/2 0, + 2 NH~Ac -» PbAc, + So + 2 NH: + H2O. This reaction was studied in an autoclave under oxygen pressure by polarographic measurement of the concentration of lead ion in solution. Oxidation rate is parabolic. The reaction products are lead acetote and elemental sulfur, the latter forming a film on the galena crystal. Reaction kinetics appear to be determined by the diffusion of lead from the galena phase to the solution interface through the film of sulfur. RECENT applications of pressure leaching on a commercial scale have emphasized the metallurgical importance of the oxidation of sulfide minerals in aqueous media by oxygen under pressure. Research experience has shown that sulfates, thio-nates, and metal oxides are the products of humid oxidation of sulfide minerals in basic solutions. The metal oxides may be solubilized in the presence of a complexing ion.' Certain oxide minerals are also amenable to treatment by this type of oxidation.' Several kinetic studies have been made of reactions of this type. Stenhouse' found that pyrite (FeS?) oxidized in a sodium hydroxide solution to produce a soluble sulfate and an insoluble layer of iron oxide and that the kinetics of the reaction were controlled by oxygen diffusion through the oxide layer. Andersen' studied the oxidation of galena (PbS) in a sodium hydroxide solution under oxygen pressure. He found the lead and sulfur to be simultaneously oxidized to produce plum bite ions and sulfate ions, and that the reaction rate was proportional to the surface area of the galena. The kinetics appeared to be determined by the reaction of oxygen and water with the galena surface. In each of the above reactions the metal and sulfur components of the mineral were oxidized simultaneously and at equal rates. In the present study the alkaline medium has been replaced by an approximately neutral solution of ammonium acetate in which lead sulfate is soluble. Under the conditions no sulfate was produced and no sulfur could be detected in the solution. The metal component of the mineral was solubilized and the liberated sulfur remained as a film of elemental sulfur on the surface of the galena crystal. A kinetic study of this reaction was undertaken to establish the kinetic mechanism and to determine the rate controlling step. Specific reaction rates were determined by oxidizing crystals of galena of measured surface areas in an autoclave maintained at the desired temperature and oxygen pressure. The rate of reaction was followed by measuring the concentration of lead in the ammonium acetate solution with a cathode ray polarograph, employing stationary platinum electrodes incorporated in the autoclave. Experimental Materials and Equipment Crystals of galena obtained from Violamac Mines, Retallack, B. C., were selected for oxidation because

Jan 1, 1957

By L. J. Dijkstra

During the past several years an extensive study has been made of the internal friction of iron containing carbon or nitrogen in solid solution.1,2,3,4,5 It has been found that a sharp peak is observed in a plot of the internal friction vs. temperature of measurement. With a frequency of about one cycle per second, this peak occurs at 20°C for N and 36°C for C. The physical origin of this anomalous internal friction was traced by Snoekl to the local tetragonal symmetry of the interstitial positions in body centered cubic (bcc) iron. A change in stress induces a change in the equilibrium distribution of the interstitial atoms among the three types of interstitial positions, the three types corresponding to the three directions along which the tetragonal axis may lie. It is the continual striving of the interstitial atoms to maintain an equilibrium distribution that gives rise to a phase lag between strain and stress during oscillation, and hence, to internal friction. A similar type of internal friction has been observed in the bcc lattice of tantalum containing in interstitial solid solution C, N or 06. The theory of this anomalous internal friction leads to the prediction that its magnitude is strictly proportional to the concentration of either the carbon or the nitrogen in solid solution, provided the concentrations are small. This prediction has been verified3 for the range of solubilities ohtainable in alpha iron. This proportionality provides us with a new tool for the study of nitrogen and carbon in alpha iron. It thus enables one directly to follow the precipitation of either of these solute atoms from solid solution and also directly to measure their solubility as a function of temperature. A preliminary study of precipitation using this method has already been presented by the author.3 The purpose of this paper is to present more extensive observations upon the precipitation of N and C in alpha iron, as well as to present observations upon the solubility of N and C in alpha iron which, at least in the lower tempera- ture range, are believed more accurate than those previously obtained by other methods. The interpretation of the observations upon precipitation involves the use of the appropriate equilibrium diagrams. For ease of future reference in this paper the equilibriunl diagrams for the Fe-N and Fe-C systems are accordingly reproduced as Fig 1 and 2, respective]y. Experimental Procedure The specimens were made of West-inghouse Puron iron and consisted of wires 0.025 in. in diam and about 1 ft long. By a wet hydrogen treatment the specimens were purified of C and N. In

Jan 1, 1950

By Wolfram Ruff, H. A. Schwartz

THE spheroidal form of the temper carbon nodules in malleable cast iron and of the graphite mottles of "mottled" cast iron suggests that in both all the graphite in a given mottle or nodule grew from a single center of crystallization or nucleus. ‡ There is, however, a distinct metallographic difference between the mottle and the nodule; the area of mother metal impoverished in combined carbon by the crystallization of graphite in a mottle is practically coextensive with the ramifications of the graphite, while the impoverished zone of metal corresponding to a given nodule is always larger, and usually much larger, than the approximately spherical mass of graphite crystals forming the nodules. Furthermore, the mottle probably is formed during freezing and the nodule almost always at a considerably lower temperature. Assuming that the nodules or mottles can be used as a measure of the existing nuclei (capable of germination) we propose to record certain observations as to the graphitizing reaction in the light of the number and habits of growth of these nuclei. The present authors, in cooperation with others 1-7, have reported upon various cognate aspects of the problem. The fact that temper carbon is a mass of flakes and not a solid granule has become well recognized since the introduction of an improved polishing technique8,9,10 for cast iron. The problem of deriving from the circular planar intercepts

Jan 1, 1935