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By A. L. Holley

There are regularly manufactured in the eleven Bessemer steel rail mills of the United States, 119 patterns* of steel rails, of 27 different weights per yard. This list does not include patterns which, although still largely in use, are regarded by experts as obsolete, and which would swell the number to nearly 300; nor does it include all the patterns for which rolls are kept on hand to fill a passible demand; nor does it include extra patterns rolled in one finishing groove by opening or closing the rolls so as to get different weights with the same contours. The list embraces only those separate patterns which are subject to current orders. How thoroughly modern these patterns ere, is shown by the fact that of the whole 119, there are but five patterns of conspicuously bad shape; all the rest more or less completely illustrate the standard features,—a heavy head, light web and Hanges, and a good angle to hold the fish-plate. Sixty-two per cent. of the patterns have the "Chanute" head, which was not designed until 1874.† Sixty-four per cent. of the 119 patterns are embraced under five weights per yard,; three only of these vary from standard type; there are thus 76 patterns, all of them modern and standard, to represent five different weights, for which five patterns would perfectly answer. Of the 60lb. rails, there is only one of the pear-head type, while a dozen of the bevelled head templets cannot be distinguished from each other

Jan 1, 1881

By C. R. Holmgren

A large consolidated sand core was used in this investigation. Four groups of experiments including gas drives, water drives, and water drives combined with gas injection, were made. The results of the gas-drive experiments indicate that greater ultimate recovery may be obtained by higher pressure gradients. However, other considerations challenge the absolute veracity of this conclusion. Results indicate that with connate water present and a low pressure gradient during a gas drive, less gas is required to produce a given amount of oil. The saturation gradient determined during a gas drive is presented. Results of the water-drive experiments indicate that the recovery of oil is not a function of either gradient Or input rate. The presence of initial gas saturation resulted in a slightly lower final oil saturation. Injection of sufficient gas to maintain the initial gas saturation during a water drive resulted in lower final oil saturation. Introduction With the demand for petroleum products reaching an all-time record high and the location and exploitation of new reserves becoming more difficult and expensive, the oil industry must look to more thorough and efficient methods of producing the petroleum already located. Much of the previous work along these lines is exploratory and suggests a more complete investigation. For example, a great amount of laboratory work has been done on flooding sands initially saturated roo pct with oil. Since sands saturated roo pct with oil rarely, if ever, exist in nature, and because the water content is a vital factor in the ultimate recovery from the sand, laboratory investigations on cores without water must be supplemented by comparable work on cores with water present.1'2 Other investigators have done a considerable amount of laboratory work using gas and water drives.3 Krutter and Day4 have reported results of investigations using cores saturated IOO pct with oil and have concluded that " the ultimate recovery obtained, using air drive, from a completely oil-saturated core depends on the pressure gradients used. The higher the pressure gradient, the greater will be the recovery until a certain Pressure range is reached above which the reward of increased recovery is much smaller for similar increments in pressure." Yuster and Day6 conclude that less gas and less time are required to produce a given quantity of oil at high pressure gradients than at low pressure gradients; they also conclude that an increase in the viscosity of the oil requires a proportionate increase in the gas needed for recovery. Their results indicate that the gas required to produce a given quantity of oil is greatly reduced by the presence of connate water. R. C. Earlougher2 concluded, based on results of water-flooding a large number of

Jan 1, 1949

By H. J. Struth

The benefits of proration of oil production were perhaps more concretely realized in 1932 than at any time since the oil industry adopted nation-wide production control. Reduced output of crude petroleum, which brought the daily average of the United States down to approximately 2,000,000 bbl. from a peak in 1931 of more than 2,600,000, had a telling effect on the trend of oil prices. Mid-Continent crude was advanced in price from 776, for 36-gravity oil, to $1.04 a barrel. California crude, of 26-gravity at Signal Hill, moved forward from 736 to 976 a barrel. Pennsylvania crude, the only exception to the upward trend, rose in price from $1.82 per barrel to $2.02, only to react to $1.72. This was due to local conditions which necessitated an adjustment to overcome competition from other areas of the United States. East Texas continued to exert a far-reaching influence on the crude and gasoline market during 1932. Despite the fact that oil prices were advanced in most fields, large quantities of oil were produced in East Texas in violation of state proration orders, and sold in the market at prices considerably below official postings. This created competitive conditions in the gasoline market that were felt by all refining centers of the United States. The quantity of gasoline produced from cheap East Texas crude was not large, but the volume was sufficient to influence prices in practically all sections of the country. Thus, while the industry's' economic situation showed visible improvement statistically, the unreported and unseen statistics originating in East Texas proved to be an insurmountable obstacle to the economic betterment that was otherwise apparently justified. Somewhat surprising to many was the fact that gasoline consumption was maintained within 10 per cent of the preceding year. Domestic consumption showed only a net decline under 1931 of about 8.5 per cent; exports dropped in volume to the extent of about 23 per cent. As a matter of fact, domestic gasoline consumption was only about 1.4 per cent less than it was in the predepression year of 1929. Exports, however,

Jan 1, 1933

By L. C. De Jong, J. F. Shirley, M. L. Campbell

At the Southern Peru Copper operation in Toque-pala, Peru, a new process flowsheet for the recovery of byproduct molybdenite has proved successful in dealing with complex and highly variable ores. This paper describes the process and the functions of each of the chemicals used. The Toquepala concentrator of the Southern Peru Copper Corp., located approximately 720 miles southeast of Lima near the Chilean border, processes a daily 36,500 tons of ore containing between 0.50 and 3.00% copper. The molybdenite content in the ore also varies greatly ranging from essentially nothing to as high as 0.15%. The 1966 yearly averages were approximately 1.20% copper and 0.03% molybdenite. The Toquepala porphyry deposit is a mushroom-shaped ore body consisting of a flat-lying enriched zone of predominant chalcocite with a stem-like extension of hypogene chalcopyrite ore in depth within and around a large breccia pipe.1 The underlying chalcopyrite ore has not been reached; however, due to the presence of a major post orebody fault, predominantly chalcopyrite ore is present in the north side of the pit. Most of the molybdenite occurs either as small, fine granular, pulverulent masses in vugs or empty voids of breccia, or as thin foliated masses and narrow thread-like filling in rock joints and fractures. The normal occurrence of quartz gangue with the molybdenite gives some basis for correlating the molybdenite mineralization to some later periods of silicification. On April 18, 1962, the molybdenite recovery plant at Toquepala went on stream, approximately 27 months after the copper concentrator had been in production. The plant was designed and built by Southern Peru Copper Corp.'s engineering and mechanical departments. The basic method chosen for separating the molybdenite from the copper concentrate was the sodium hypochlorite-sodium ferrocyan-ide process. The selection of this process was based on the results of an extensive testing program performed by the Colorado School of Mines Research Foundation, Inc. and the economic conditions of the area. The originally designed process could never be fully implemented due to a lack of sodium hypo-chlorite and has had to be continually modified to satisfy the requirements of the kaleidoscope of ores from the mine. The three basic problems that plague the operation of any molybdenite recovery plant are all present at Toquepala in large measure. Both the quantity of plant feed and the quantity of molybdenite contained in the plant feed are continuously changing. Even more detrimental to an efficient operation is the fact that the copper mineralization in the feed frequently changes once in every 24 hours and occasionally once a shift. From the point of view of the molyb-

Jan 1, 1968

By H. W. Reid

One of the outstanding features of the year was a further marked decline in the footage drilled. This is estimated at 169,000 ft., as against 218,000 ft. for the previous year, and 372,500 ft. in 1930. Owing to repair work and improved production methods, there was an increase of about 4.25 per cent in the amount of oil won, the production being estimated at 10,160,000 bbl., or an increase of 400,000 bbl. over 1931 and nearly 750,000 bbl. more than in 1930. (See Table 1.) At the end of November there were 28 rigs in operation. During the first 11 months of the year 54 new wells were started; the average depth of those completed was 2476 feet. Owing to the continued restriction of drilling programs there has been little of outstanding interest in the way of new plant or technique. The use of the acid bottle, for testing the verticality of wells while drilling, has increased considerably, and this is now in use in practically every well except the very shallowest. During the last six months of the year fairly extensive use has been made of electrical coring. The number of wells started in the Colony up to the end of November, 1932, was 1894. The average number of producing wells during the year was 789, or 41.7 per cent of the total. Of these, 214 were flowing wells, 473 pumping, 80 bailing or swabbing, and 22 were produced by air or gas-lift. Although the last category represents less than 3 per cent of the total, there has been a marked increase in the use of air or gas-lift as compared with 1931. During the year there were 16 companies engaged in producing oil, as compared with 14 in the two previous years. In addition to one small refinery which started to operate at the beginning of the year, the five existing refineries worked continuously. At the latter very little has taken place in the way of extensions, except at one in the Parry Lands—Pitch Lake—Point Fortin area, where extensive alterations and additions are in progress, including the building of a deep-water pipe-line pier. When this is completed there will be five loading terminals, all situated in the sheltered Gulf of Paria, or west, coast, capable of accommodating ocean-going tank steamers. There

Jan 1, 1933

By J. L. Jernegan

In this paper I propose to give a short and, I must confess, a rather incomplete description, as regards many details, of the process used in Chicago, Ill., for smelting the argentiferous ores of the far West, and shall confine myself in this description, principally, to the process used at the Chicago Silver Smelting and Refining Company's Works, known as the Balbach process, as all the other smelting works in that city follow the same method, with the exception of one, which has the Cordurié process for the desilverization of argentiferous lead. In all, there are five silver smelting and refining works in and near the city of Chicago. The Chicago Silver Smelting and Refining Company's Works are situated at the little station of South Lynne, about seven miles south from Chicago. The plant at these works consists of one horizontal steam-engine, principally used for running the ore pulverizer, four reverberatory smelting-furnaces, connected by horizontal flues with a common chimney 85 feet high, three lead-softening furnaces, one so-called zinc or mixing furnace, one separating furnace or liquation hearth, one lead-refining furnace, three zinc distillation retorts, one English cupellation furnace, supplied with blast by a No. 3 Sturtevant blower, which is run by a small steam-engine having a vertical tubular boiler, and an assay office, in which there are two windfurnaces of the ordinary construction, and also a small muffle furnace. The assay office is supplied with all the necessary apparatus and reagents for fire assaying. There are also a superintendent's office, various store-rooms for coke and charcoal, and for the preparation of fire-clay, etc. Recently a small slag hearth (Krummofen) with one tuyere, has been put up for the purpose of working over such slags as assay too high in silver and lead to be thrown away, of which there are large amounts. The principal ore worked while I was in the employ of the company was that of the well known Emma mine in Utah, and also small quantities of Colorado ore. The character of the Emma ore is well known to most members of the Institute. In consists principally of ferruginous mixtures of carbonate and oxide of lead, oxide

By J. L. Jernegan

IN this paper I propose to give a short and, I must confess, a rather incomplete description, as regards many details, of the process used in Chicago, Ill., for smelting the argentiferous ores of the far West, and shall confine myself in this description, principally, to the process used at the Chicago Silver Smelting and Refining Company's Works, known as the Balbach process, as all the other smelting works in that city follow the same method, with the exception of one, which has the Cordurié, process for the desilverization of argentiferous lead. In all, there are five silver smelting and refining works in and near the city of Chicago. The Chicago Silver Smelting and Refining Company's Works are situated at the little station of South Lynne, about seven miles south from Chicago. The plant at these works consists of one horizontal steam-engine, principally used for running the ore pulverizer, four reverberatory smelting-furnaces, connected by horizontal flues with a common chimney 85 feet high, three lead-softening furnaces, one so-called zinc or mixing furnace, one separating furnace or liquation hearth, one lead-refining furnace, three zinc distillation retorts, one English cupellation furnace, supplied with blast by a No. 3 Sturtevant blower, which is run by a small steam-engine having a vertical tubular boiler, and an assay office, in which there are two wind-furnaces of the ordinary construction, and also a small muffle furnace. The assay office is supplied with all the necessary apparatus and reagents for fire assaying. There are also a superintendent's office, various store-rooms for coke and charcoal, and for the preparation of fire-clay, etc. Recently a small slag hearth (Krummofen) with one tuyere, has been put up for the purpose of working over such slags as assay too high in silver and lead to be thrown away, of which there are large amounts. The principal ore worked while I was in the employ of the company was that of the well known Emma mine in Utah, and also small quantities of Colorado ore. The character of the Emma ore is well known to most members of the Institute. In consists principally of ferruginous mixtures of carbonate and oxide of lead, oxide

Jan 1, 1874

By H. G. Schneider

The Smackover oil and gas field lies in Ouachita and Union Counties, Ark., in the south-central part of the state, in T.15 and 16S., R.15, 16, and 17W. It is 10 miles north of El Dorado, the principal business and railroad center in the south-central part of the state, and extends from the town of Smackover in all directions. Productive territory having an aggregate area of nearly 55 sq. mi. has been developed. It extends 6 miles from north to south and 12 miles from east to west. The field may be divided into two parts: the east district, which includes the area east of the town of Smackover, and the west district, which includes the area west of the town of Smackover. In relation to the neighboring productive fields of Arkansas, the Smackover field is 9 miles north of the El Dorado oil and gas field, 8 miles slightly west of north of the East El Dorado oil and gas field, and 16 miles east of the Stephens oil field. Smackover was discovered in May, 1922, when the Oil Operators Tnist drilled well No. 1 on the J. T. Murphy farm, in the southeast quarter of sec. 8, T.16S., R.15W. This well is located almost on the top of the Norphlet dome and was drilled to the Nacatoch sand. It had an initial open flow volume of 30,000,000 cu. ft. of dry gas per day, and a rock pressure of 950 lb. per sq. in. In July, 1922, the V. K. F. Co. completed the first oil well in sec. 29, T.l5S., R.l5W., on the north side of the Norphlet dome, and 3 miles north of the first gas well. This well started the active development of the north and northwest sides of the dome.] The field was extended westwards, when oil was discovered in the Nacatoch sand, during October, 1922, in sec. 4, T.l6S., R.l6W., 51/2 miles west of the original gas well. This opened up the so-called "light oil district," which is located on a structural terrace, for which the name

Jan 1, 1924

By G. Thodos, R. B. Grieves

A method has been developed for the accurate calculation of the cricondentberm and cricondenbar temperatures of multicomponent hydrocarbon mixtures of known composition. The mixtures may contain any number of components including paraffins and isoparaffins, olefins, acetylenes, naphthenes and aromatics. This approach is based upon the mole fraction of the low-boiling component in the mixture and graphically presents the ratios of the cricondentherm and cricondenbar temperatures to the pseudocritical temperature as {unctions of a boiling-point parameter. The only requirements are the critical temperature, normal boiling point and the approximate vapor pressure behavior of each component. For mixtures of more than two constituents a stepwise calculation procedure is necessary where the pseudocritical temperature is based upon the critical temperature of the pure low-boiling component and upon the actual cricondentherm or cricondenbar temperature of the mixture of all the remaining higher-boiling components. From an analysis of 22 binary systems (123 compositionsl, the average deviation of calculated cricondentherm temperatures from reported values is 0.87 per cent, based on degrees Rankine; and for 10 multicomponent mixtures containing from three to six components, the average deviation is 0.98 per cent. From an analysis of 18 binary systems (104 compositions) the average deviation of calculated cricondenbar temperatures from reported values is 0. 79 per cent; and for 15 multicomponent mixtures, 1.47 per cent. Equations, derived from the graphical relationships, are presented which enable rapid calculations for both binary and multicomponent systems. INTRODUCTION With the increasing tendency towards the use of high pressure processes, the need for an accurate method of calculation of the properties of a multicomponent hydrocarbon mixture in the critical region is becoming more essential. Critical region phase relations are also significant in gas condensate reservoirs, for which a knowledge of the fluid phase boundaries and regions of retrograde condensation make it possible to evaluate optimum operating conditions. The possibility of liquefaction in the underground structure may be established, and information on the feasibility of the use of repressurizing may be determined. A typical phase diagram for a multicomponent hydrocarbon mixture is presented as Fig. 1. This figure also shows the regions of retrograde behavior encountered by following lines AB and AC. If accurate methods of calculating the temperatures and pressures at the critical, cricondentherm (maximum temperature) and cricondenbar (maximum pressure) points of multicomponent hydrocarbon mixtures of known composition were available, it would be possible to estimate closely the entire phase diagram of any mixture. Several methods have been presented in the literature for the estimation of the critical temperatures and pressures of multicomponent mixtures containing all types of hydrocarbons and including the fixed gases.4-8,21 Considering the cricondentherm and cricondenbar points, the work is more limited. Etter and Kay5 have developed rather complex equations for

By James R. Garvey

Coal reserves of the United States are enormous. Considered on the basis of proven reserves, and compared with reserves of other fuels, coal constitutes 88% of the proven recoverable energy resources of the nation. That includes oil, natural gas, oil shale and uranium used in burner reactors. Considered on the basis of "ultimate recoverable reserves", that is, those resources which can be extracted with improved technology and at somewhat higher costs and including those resources of all fuels not yet found but believed to be waiting discovery, coal still accounts for 75 % of the national total. In the U.S. hydrocarbon economy about 76% of the total energy needs are supplied by petroleum and natural gas and about 20% by coal. Domestic resources of oil and gas are running dangerously low, and assuming a continued hydrocarbon economy, the 20% supplied by coal may increase dramatically. Nearly a quarter of the petroleum consumed in the U.S. is imported. Natural gas is in shorter supply than petroleum and the problems of its importation seem at least as difficult as those of oil.

Jan 6, 1972

While coal has been found in numerous counties in this state, it has only been produced commercially in a few of them. Production data are more than usually meager, and little data could be derived from the railroad reports of tonnages carried. All data is given in Table 65.

Jan 1, 1942

By Haydn H. Murray, Sam H. Patterson

The term "clay" is somewhat ambiguous un¬less specifically defined, because it is used in three ways: (1) as a diverse group of fine-¬grained minerals, (2) as a rock term, and (3) as a particle-size term. Actually, most persons using the term "clay" realize that it has several meanings, and in most instances they define it. As a rock term, clay is difficult to define be¬cause of the wide variety of materials that com¬pose it; therefore, the definition must be gen¬eral. Clay is a natural earthy, fine-grained ma¬terial composed largely of a group of crystalline minerals known as the clay minerals. These minerals are hydrous silicates composed mainly of silica, alumina, and water. Several of these minerals also contain appreciable quantities of iron, alkalies, and alkaline earths. Many defini¬tions state that a clay is plastic when wet. Most clay materials do have this property, but some clays are not plastic; for example, halloysite and flint clay. As a particle-size term, clay is used for the category that includes the smallest particles. The maximum-size particles in the clay-size grade are defined differently on various grade scales, Soil investigators and mineralogists gen¬erally use 2 micrometers as the maximum size, whereas the widely used scale by Wentworth (1922) defines clay as material finer than ap¬proximately 4 micrometers. Some authorities find it convenient to use the term "clay" for any fine-grained, natural, earthy, argillaceous material (Grim, 1968). When used this way, the term includes clay, shale, or ar¬gillite, and some argillaceous soils. Even though no standard definition of the term clay is accepted by geologists, agronomists, engineers, and others, the term is generally un¬derstood by those who use it. Clay is an abun¬dant natural raw material, and it has an amaz¬ing variety of uses and properties which will be discussed in this chapter. Clays rank among the leading industrial min¬erals in both tonnages produced and total value. Their importance is indicated in Table 1, which lists the 1970, 1971, and 1972 production and values according to the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Ampian, 1972). Adequate reliable statistical data on which to summarize world production of clay are un¬available; this paragraph outlines the world re¬quirements for clay only in a very general way. According to one estimate, the world bentonite production in 1972 was 3.5 million tons (Anon., 1973a), but in the authors' opinion it was prob¬ably at least 5 million tons. The total fuller's earth produced was at least 1.5 million tons and may have been as much as 2 million tons. The total world kaolin production in 1972 was more than 10 million tons. Approximately 7 million tons of this total was produced in only two regions-the Georgia-South Carolina kaolin belt in the United States and the Cornwall re¬gion, United Kingdom. The world's 1972 out¬put of ball clay, which is also produced pri¬marily in the United States and the United Kingdom, was approximately 1.5 million tons or perhaps a little more. The total world fire clay production in 1972 was probably about one and one-half to two times and the miscellaneous clay production three times the United States production. As industrial minerals, clays are a complex group that consists of several mineral commodi¬ties, each having somewhat different mineral¬ogy, geologic occurrence, technology, and uses. In this chapter these commodities are organized

Jan 1, 1975

By K. Thirumalai

Rock response to heating depends on properties of rock material and varies widely between different rock types. By dissipating energy, surface melting limits rapid heating and fragmentation of rocks achieved by surface heating methods. This study advances a concept of rock fragmentation by rapid internal heating of a localized inner volume of rock. The working of the method to achieve fragmentation of rocks (Charcoal granite and Dresser basalt) having poor response to surface heating is analyzed. Experimental data on elevated temperature rock properties required for the study are presented. Based on the properties of test rocks, a high frequency (50 MHz) dielectric heating method of generating localized internal heating was selected for experimental study. The test rocks were fragmented without melting under localized heating below 600ºC. The heated volume required for fragmentation was observed to be less than 2 percent of the test block volume. A practical application of the method for in situ fragmentation of rocks is suggested.

Jan 1, 1971

By Peter Greenfield, Paul A. Beck

Thirty binary systems of vanadium and chromium group transition elements with second and third long period transition elements were explored in regard to the intermediate phases formed. It was found that the phases predominating in these systems are s, AB type with ordered a-tungsten or C8 structure, close-packed-hexagonal with small unit cell dimensions and, finally, phases isomorphous with 1-manganese. IN recent years, considerable information has become available concerning the intermediate phases in binary systems of the transition elements. Thus, the s phase has been found to occur in most of the binary systems of vanadium, chromium, and molybdenum with the group of elements manganese, iron, cobalt, and nickel.' It was observed that, while the rr phases formed by chromium with manganese, iron, or cobalt possess a considerable temperature range of stability, particularly in the Cr-Co system, the corresponding s phases with molybdenum are limited to a temperature range of less than 400" above about 1200°C. Goldschmidt' reported v phases of tungsten with iron and cobalt, and these are apparently stable only at (and above?) 1400°C." Exploratory work in this laboratory with Fe-W and Co-W alloys of approximately 60 atomic pct W annealed at 1300°C did not produce X-ray patterns suggesting the presence of a phase. It appears then that the phases of iron and cobalt with the chromium group elements decrease in stability as the two components are chosen from long periods further removed from each other. From the available information, it might be concluded that the controlling factor is the increasing difference in atomic radii between the components. In contrast to the a phase, the phases formed by iron and cobalt with chromium group elements' are stable only when the latter have large atomic radii (molybdenum and tungsten); the corresponding phases with chromium do not occur. When the difference in atomic size becomes still larger (r,/r,, approaching the ideal value of 1.225), the u and p phases are replaced by Laves phases (AB,), as in the alloys of iron and cobalt with columbium," tantalum." and titanium."-" However, atomic size certainly cannot be the sole determining factor, since, for instance, in contrast to the very stable (Mo, Co)p phase, no such phase occurs in the Mo-Ni system even though the atomic diameters of cobalt and nickel are nearly the same. Similarly, chromium and cobalt form a a phase in a wide temperature range," but the corresponding s phase in the Cr-Ni system is missing. It has been shown that the composition of the u phase in various binary and ternary systems of transition elements in the first long period may be correlated in a fairly quantitative manner with the number of electron vacancies. The influence of electronic structure is probably present also in binary and ternary phases' and to some extent, apparently, even in Laves phases." " Although the absence of phases in the Cr-Ni and Mo-Ni systems has not as yet been explained on the basis of electronic structure, it appears reasonable to suspect a connection. One of the great difficulties in arriving at well founded rules in regard to the alloying behavior of transition elements lies in the lack of reliable information concerning the details of their electronic structure in the metallic and alloy form. The theoretical penetration of this field appears to be beset by very considerable difficulties, even when the complications due to alloy formation are disregarded. Another great source of uncertainty is the scarcity of phase diagram information even for binary systems of the transition elements so that only a very limited basis is provided for generalizations as to the occurrence of intermediate phases. For instance, very few binary phase diagrams of second and third long period transition element systems have so far been published. The present work was undertaken in order to survey the various types of intermediate phases occurring in 30 binary systems of elements of the group vanadium, columbium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten with the elements rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, and platinum. For most of these binary systems phase diagrams are very incompletely or not at all known, as will be further reviewed.*

Jan 1, 1957

By Edel Moldenke

BURMA has long been known for its ruby, tungsten, and tin deposits, and, lately, for having the largest lead-zinc mine in the world, the Bawdwin Mine of the Burma Corpn. All the coal used, however, is imported from Calcutta; this is a bituminous coal of about 11,000 B.t.u., 24 per FIG. 1.-MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF COAL FIELDS AND TRANSPORTATION ROUTES. cent. ash, and costs about $8 per ton. Bituminous coal has not, thus far, been found, but many lignite deposits are known. The most promising lignite deposits are in the Namma field, Fig. 1, situated in the Northern Shan States of Upper Burma, about 30 mi. south of Lashio, the terminus of the Burma Railway, 750 mi. north of Rangoon. The

Jan 7, 1921

By Marlin J. Veesaert

Urban quarries offer one of the greatest opportunities for profit in nonmetallic mining with limited financial risk-if properly evaluated, planned and developed to meet market needs. Location, with respect to market, is the prime consideration. Geologic considerations and quality of rock are nearly as important. Cost factors and return on investment (ROI) are the principal financial considerations. Risk of capital is determined by weighing all factors that should be considered and how well judgments are based on information acquired. It is a simple, true axiom of business that an investment must be founded on amount of capital required with its expected return plus profit, expertise required to operate, and time involved. Urban quarries generally offer excellent stone product market opportunities. Costs of land with mineral containment and processing operations are much greater than in rural areas. Environmental problems have become increasingly severe. Competition from other quarries in the market area is usually directly proportional to the profit attractiveness. Risk of capital (initial, developmental and operational) can be evaluated and reduced only by thorough analysis of the entire situation. Time and money expended on planning and preliminary investigations probably represent the most productive investment of available company resources. Basic Reasons to Establish a Limestone Quarry Profit Motive: Certainly the dominant and overriding motive must be that of attaining a reasonable profit. In certain situations a quarry firm may acquire land, necessary rezoning (if required), and satisfy all of the other prerequisites preparatory to beginning operations but delaying the actual development.

Jan 1, 1980

By C. Altstetter, Y. Huang, E. de Lamotte

Nitrogen was introduced into pure niobium (colutn-bium) and dilute Nb- Zr alloy wires by equilibration with pure nitrogen gas at high temperatures. Room-temperature hardness was correlated with the alloy composition, heat treatment, and microstructure. Hardness was found to be most sensitive to the amount of nitrogen in solution; however, a significant hardening up to 500 Dph look place upon aging of quenched alloys. A coarse dispersion of nitride did not significantly increase the hardness of the material though the nitride was found to have a hardness of 1400 Khn. BY now the marked effect of nitrogen on the properties of bcc refractorv metals is we ll-documented. There are few studies, however, in which the state of the solute has been carefully controlled. Indeed, the composition-temperature-pressure relationships in nitrogen-refractory metal systems have been determined precisely for only niobium and tantalum.'-4 Most investigations on niobium have dealt with alloys High-nitrogen alloys cleaved on (100) planes and had negligible ductility. Precipitation was found to occur in either a discontinuous or a continuous fashion, depending on the composition and cooling rates. Upon cooling, the precipitation first proceeded discontinu-ously by the nucleation of nilride needles at subbound-aries and subsequent growth of a two-phase microcon-stituent. At lower temperatures continuous precipitation occurred in the subgrain interior ahead of the discontinuous precipitation interface. containing nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen in significant but uncontrolled and, in several instances, undetermined amounts. Thus, there has been some uncertainty regarding the presence and the distribution of precipitates. This paper presents results which relate the hardness and microstructure to the heat treatment and nitrogen content of niobium and Nb-Zr alloys. Niobium rod* produced by the Wah Chang Corp.

Jan 1, 1968

By A. D. Hughes

A relatively small area in Malaya, about 200 miles long by 40 miles wide, is the most important source of tin in the world. Some tin is recovered in other parts of the peninsula. Of the tin mined, 98 pct is recovered from alluvial deposits. From 1935 to 1941 the average annual world production of tin was 190,000 tons. The average annual production from Malaya during the same period was 62,000 tons or about one third of the total. Other producing countries, in order of importance, were the Netherlands East Indies 34,000 tons, Bolivia 30,000, Belgian Congo, Nigeria, Siam, Burma, China, and a few others with smaller amounts. The serious shortage of tin during the war period was due to the fact that the Japanese were occupying Malaya, Netherlands East Indies, Siam, Burma, and China which, together, formerly were producing 65 pct of the world supply. Because of the importance of tin in the world economy, and because of the fact that little is generally known in this country regarding the methods of recovering the tin in Malaya, it is believed that a short description of the industry, as carried on there, may be of interest to many of the readers. In addition you may be interested in the effect of the Japanese occupation, subsequent recovery of the properties and conditions existing at that time. The Malay Peninsula lies at the southeast tip of Asia. Singapore, a British colony, is situated on a small island at the southern end of the peninsula. It is a city of nearly a million population, an important world port, the site of a large British naval base and of one of the tin smelters. The Federation of Malaya consists of nine states, plus Penang, Malacca, and other small areas formerly part of the Straits Settlements, and it now covers the entire peninsula. The civil administration is controlled by the British. A constitution was adopted recently after reaching agreement with the Malay Sultans of the various states, who retain control of religious matters. The Capital is at Kuala Lumpur, a city of about 200,000 population, 250 miles north of Singapore and about half way to Penang. The country covers an area of 51,000 square miles, an area about equal to that of Florida and about one third that of California. It has a population of about seven million consisting of Malays, Chinese, East Indians, and a relatively small number of Europeans. The principal products are tin and rubber. There are over three million acres of planted rubber. The country is not self-supporting agriculturally as about one third of the necessary food supplies is imported. Rice is the principal food of the Asiatic population and some of the recent unrest is caused by a shortage of rice and the consequent high price. Good highways have been built through the settled part of the country. A railway, Government owned, extends from Singapore northward through the entire peninsula. The climate is tropical but health conditions are good for a tropical country. I was in Malaya from 1939 until January 1942, during the time of the simultaneous air attacks on Pearl Harbor, Manila, Hongkong, and Singa-

Jan 1, 1950

By Earl S. Greiner, Bradley Stoughton

As a part of the systematic study of the alloys of iron under the auspices of the Engineering Foundation, and preliminary to the commencement of comprehensive work on this larger subject, the authors have undertaken an investigation of the available literature dealing with the alloys of iron and silicon. The purpose is to collect all the data in English and foreign languages and present them in two monographs, one of a more scientific and the second of a more industrially useful nature. Of course, a great deal of information upon the constitution of the iron-silicon alloys was found specificially upon the changes of phase in the equilibrium diagram and the different phases present, such as solid solution, chemical compounds (iron silicides), etc. While no extended research was contemplated in the particular study undertaken, nevertheless the data collected proved to be so contradictory in many respects that a simple study of some of the outstanding problems involved in the constitution and equilibrium diagram was undertaken. Because research was not a primary object of the work, and also because of the extreme industrial importance of the silicon alloys between 0.80 and 14 per cent. silicon, and finally because of the unsatisfactory state of knowledge existing as to these alloys, the experimental investigation was limited entirely to alloys with less than 10 per cent. silicon. Discussion oF Continuous Series It has often been said in print that the iron-silicon alloys form a continuous series of solid solutions from 0 to 15 per cent. silicon. This claim the authors are inclined to doubt: first, because the alloys from 0 to 4.25 per cent. silicon are ductile and malleable at atmospheric temperature, while those with 5 per cent. or more of silicon are comparatively hard and brittle. Furthermore, the alloys with more than 4.25 per cent. silicon are comparatively hard and low in ductility at atmospheric temperature, but become much more ductile when heated slightly. It is well known, for example, that the alloy containing 4.75

Jan 1, 1930

By Cyril Wells, Robert F. Mehl

The two earlier papers in this series1,2 presented data on the rate of diffusion of carbon and of manganese in gamma iron. Apart from their scientific interest, these data are needed chiefly in order to treat data on carburization, on rate of formation of pearlite, and on rate of austenit-izing in a quantitative way.1'2'9'10 In the present investigation rates of diffusion of nickel in ?-Fe over wide temperature and concentration ranges have been determined, and the effects of carbon, of im- purities, and of grain size on these rates have been studied. Claussen,3 using the data of Fry,4 has calculated the diffusion coefficient of nickel in y-Fe as 9.2 X 10-11 sq. cm. per sec. at 1200ºC., but had no data from which to calculate the variation of D with concentration, temperature, and percentage of carbon. Method and Materials Method.—Nickel was diffused along the axis of a cylindrical specimen across a concentration gradient, concentration-penetration curves were determined and D values calculated from Grube or Matano solutions.5 Details of the method are given

Jan 1, 1941