Search Documents

By Thomas F. Evans

This study shows that statistics on the rate of coal dumping can measure the effectiveness of freeze conditioning agents. The use of appropriately indexed dumping intervals or interval logrithms provides a more sensitive indication of unloading problems than does a simple calculation of average loading time because of the abnormal form of the distribution of dumping intervals. The paper presents information that indicates suitably applied coal freeze conditioning agents are effective in reducing coal handling problems attributable to frozen coal. Graphs and figures show that the severity of coal freezing potential due to subfreezing temperatures is proportional to the exposure time and average departure of the temperature from the freezing point.

Jan 1, 1982

By N. H. Fisher

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION THE most important known deposits in Australia of what are commonly referred to as the beach-sand minerals are along the most easterly part of the Australian coast, between Southport, 17 miles north of the Queensland-New South Wales border, and Ballina, 50 miles south of the border, and most of the production has come from this area (Fig 1). Smaller deposits are known to occur farther to the south at intervals for several hundred miles, and beaches have been worked at Yamba, 96 miles south and Woolgoolga, 150 miles south of the border and at Swansea, 60 miles north of Sydney. Important deposits have been shown to exist on north Stradbroke Island and others have been located farther to the north, as far as Tin Can Bay at the south end of Frazer Island. (Fig 2). Table I gives the list of operators with the location of their deposits and workings, their approximate maximum monthly capacity expressed in tons of heavy mineral produced by their concentrating plants before separation into individual mineral concentrates, their methods of mining and concentrating the minerals, and the products obtained. This table applies as of June 1948, but all the operators are remodeling or improving their plants and plant practices will be modified accordingly. In addition, active boring campaigns have been carried out by Alluvial Gold, Ltd., of Sydney, in the Cudgen-Cudgera area, and by Zinc Corporation. Ltd., of Melbourne, on Stradbroke Island, and in other places. PHYSIOGRAPHY Submergence of the order of 100 to 200 ft at the close of the Pleistocene period left the pre-existing hills as promontories and the valleys as deep inlets. Wave action has built bay-bars and sandspits in a northerly direction from the headlands, and lakes and marshes have formed between these bars and the initial post-submergence coast line. These lakes and swamps have been or are being filled in by river-borne sediments or wind-blown sand. Beasley1 has presented evidence that suggests a recent emergence of the coast line of about 10 ft. The evidence for this belief is the presence of a black sand seam 1/3 mile inland and 17 ft above sea level (Fig 3), and although it is not entirely certain that this seam is of beach formation and owes nothing to windblown concentration, other evidence supports the suggestion of recent emergence. Such emergence would undoubtedly aid the formation of bars and sandspits and the easterly progress of the beach front, leaving a series of parallel dunes (Fig 4). This belt of north-south coastal dunes ranges up to 1/2 mile in width and as many as 15 lines of dune have been counted (Fig 3). The foredune is generally the highest, up to 25 ft high, and there is in many places a flat platform in front of the dune known as the berm. The dunes behind the foredune are lower and less well defined

Jan 1, 1947

By D. J. Carney, R. L. Stephenson

M. O. Holowaty (Inland Steel Co., Chicago)—Messrs. Stephenson and Carney should be commended on the presentation of this very interesting paper. They have introduced new ideas on sampling of sinter and have thereby made a valuable contribution to the qualitative evaluation of sinter. The paper undoubtedly presents a novel approach to the problem of sinter sampling and this is to be regarded as its main value. Sampling of sinter from the pallets prior to the discharge is by no means new. This sampling procedure was used in the past by Philbrook; Hamilton and Ameen and others. The sampling basket used by the authors of this paper, however, permits one actually to obtain a good sample of the sintering mixture. The basket which can also be described as a removable pallet goes then through the entire process of sintering and thus offers a sample which is positively representative of the batch in question. The authors' method of evaluating physical properties of sinter seems to be not altogether clear, however. It is felt that the following points should be clarified: I—In the section describing the shatter test the authors state that a 5-lb sample was used in the actual tests. There is no mention of the initial size of sinter particles used and the method of obtaining this 5-lb sample from the sinter cake weighing about 100 to 120 lb. It is also surprising that the sample was dropped from a height of 3 ft instead of the conventionally used 6 ft. Unfortunately there is no mention of the number of drops to which the sample was subjected. 2—The tumbler test used by Messrs. Stephenson and Carney in testing the samples of iron ore sinter was performed in a standard ASTM coke tumbling drum. The drum measures 3 ft in diam and is equipped with two 3-in. lifter bars. The distance of fall in this testing drum is identical with the distance used in the previously described shatter test. The number of drops in the tumbling drum is approximately double the number of revolutions. The basic difference then between the drop-shatter test used by Stephenson and Carney and the tumbling test seems to be the number of drops to which the sample is subjected and the abrasive action to which the sinter particles are exposed in the rotating drum. In any case, the choice between the shatter test and the tumbler test seems to be only a matter of taste and convenience. 3—The authors of the paper state that "in order to insure getting results that were representative . . . the entire sample obtained by means of the sampling basket was used as the starting material for the tumbler test. If the sample broke in pieces, all the pieces were used regardless of their size." The initial size of the material is known to be a very important factor, influencing seriously the final size of the particles. This should be particularly important in case of hard sinters. It seems also very troublesome and inconvenient to charge 12-in. cubes of sinter weighing about 100 lb into the testing drum. This could be eliminated by taking a standard fraction of somewhat smaller particles.

Jan 1, 1954

By A. W. Jenike

A theory of gravity flow of bulk solids like ores, concentrates, coal is outlined and an example of design for unobstructed flow is given. Mass-flow and plug-flow patterns are defined and related to the geometry of the bin. The effect of these patterns on segregation, first in-first out flow, and caking is described. This paper is a report on the results from the AIME sponsored project "Flow of Bulk Solids" which was carried out under the author's direction at the Utah Engineering Experiment Station, University of Utah, during the period 1956-1962. The theory has been applied to the design of numerous industrial storage plants. A QUANTITATIVE METHOD OF DESIGN FOR FLOW There is hardly an industry which does not store and handle solid materials in bulk form. When the volume of the solids is large, gravity is invariably relied upon to cause the solids to flow out of storage, through channels and chemical reactors. Such materials as ore, coal, cement, flour, plastics, clay, soil, to which a general term of bulk solids is applied, flow by gravity or are expected to flow by gravity in thousands of installations and by billions of tons annually. The chemical and process industry depends on gravity flow of solids in process and out of storage. Mining relies on gravity flow in block-caving, in ore passes, as well as in storage and loading bins. Agriculture uses gravity flow in elevators, in feed plants, and in farm silos. In practice, satisfactory gravity flow is seldom attained. Such problems as doming, piping (rat-holing), lack of live capacity, segregation, deterioration in storage, harass industry. In spite of the universality of these problems, until recently, there has been no theory of solids flow, no method of predicting how a solid would behave, and how the channel, bin, or hopper should be designed. In the late nineteen forties and early fifties, the theory of plasticity came of age and simultaneously the computer became widely available. These two factors permitted the development of a theory of flow of bulk solids. The work was conducted during the years 1953-1961. In conjunction with the development of the theory a method to measure the flowability of solids was also developed1-7 and the theory was ap-plied to the design of ore pockets, storage plants,16 chemical reactors and adsorption columns. A comprehensive report of this work is given in a previous work." THEORY OF FLOW The most important question which a theory of flow has to answer is: what conditions need to be satisfied for a given solid to flow uniformly and without obstructions through a channel? First of all, the following observations are made:

Jan 1, 1967

By Charles M. Romanowitz

The motivation for the art of dredging for placer mining can be compared in a slight degree to the spread of civilization which started in the Near East and spread both east and west. Dredging started with the "bag and spoon" dredge in the lowlands of Europe reportedly about 1565, went southeast to New Zealand where designs were developed for a bucket-line mining dredge known as the New Zealand type, and westward to the eastern United States where a dredge was developed and used exclusively for excavating. Then it moved to Montana, where it was first used for mining in 1895. The New Zealand-type dredge was imported into California in 1898 (Fig. 1) and was followed shortly by the Montana design. As today, these early dredges were equipped with continuous bucket- line chains, a treatment plant, and a means of waste disposal mounted on a wooden hull. Both types of dredges are complete mining units: they dig the formation, transport the dug materials, and concentrate the valuable ore. After sizing, the fines containing the ore are passed by gravity to the treatment unit, while the barren materials are discharged overboard. By digging the materials to be treated at the bow and depositing all the waste, at the stern, the dredges automatically advance to new reserves without presenting any transportation problems. The main differences between the two types are in the method of holding the dredge in the digging position and in the disposal of the tailings to the rear. The New Zealand type (Fig. 2) uses the headline system with a bow anchor for holding the dredge in the digging position and long tailing flumes or short stackers off the stern for disposal of the barren materials. The California type (Fig. 3) uses box girder spuds projecting into the ground in a vertical position at the stern of the

Jan 1, 1969

By J. F. Myers, S. E. Sharp

THE safety data presented in this paper are based upon replies to a Questionnaire sent out to representative mining companies. The authors feel that it is a fair cross section of the milling industry, in that the 17 companies, of the United States and Canada, reporting on 22 mills, are scattered from the Hudson Bay to the Mexican border and from coast to coast. These data concern the accident records of the. various plants from 1939 to 1944, inclusive and the six years are divided into two periods. The first period (1939, 1940 and 1941) represents something of a normal operating condition. The second period (1942, 1943 and 1944) represents the period of time that was most affected by war con¬ditions. During the second period there was a high labor turnover, inexperienced workers were numerous, women replaced men in many kinds of work, a labor shortage existed more or less throughout the industry, and supervision was pushed for peak production. All of the companies reporting compiled their accident experiences for these six years in accordance with the standards set up by the American Standards Association (Engineering Societies Building, New York, N. Y.), consequently the tabulated data presented herein are comparable. The authors of this paper feel that the industry as a whole is greatly indebted to the personnel of the companies that furnished these data, which make this study possible for presentation. This survey covers a total exposure of 74,528,880 man-hours, with 105,471 man-days of lost time from 870 accidents. SAFETY RECORDS In Table I, the safety record is shown of the various mills reporting. The severity rate is usually conceded to be the most vital statistical figure in safety parlance, therefore the participating companies are listed in order of their severity rate for the combined six-year period, under size of organization. The table also shows the frequency rate as well as the frequency-severity ratio (F/S). As noted in Table 1, most of the companies suffered an increase in both severity and frequency rates during the second period; only six of the 22 enjoyed an improvement. From correspondence with the various plants, it seems that a few had very little labor shortage or turnover, and these were not greatly affected. A few plants, anticipating the situation, strengthened their training facilities and actually were able to show a better experience during the second period. This gives great credence to the value of organized training in any safety program. The frequency-severity ratio (F/S) shown in the last column of Table I offers

Jan 1, 1946

By J. P. Carson

The works of the Tula Iron Company are in the Republic of Mexico, State of Jalisco, twenty-eight leagues southwest of Guadalajara, ten leagues northwest of the town of Sayula, through which passes the projected line of the Mexican National Railroad. Its geographical position would be about: latitude, 20' 10' N., longitude, 40 35' w. of Mexico City. The surrounding country is a rolling plateau, 6000 feet above the sea, enjoying the most magnificent climate in the world, the average temperature being about '70'. The works were commenced in 1850 by a company with very small capital, having not the least idea of the undertaking. They soon fell into the hands of the money-lenders, and after changing

Jan 1, 1879

By J. F. Myers, S. E. Sharp

The safety data presented in this paper are based upon replies to a Questionnaire sent out to representative mining companics. The authors feel that it is a fair cross section of the milling industry, in that the 17 companies, of the United States and Canada, reporting on 22 mills, are scattered from the Hudson Bay to the Mexican border and from coast to coast. These data concern the accident records of the various plants from 1939 to 1944, inclusive and the six years are divided into two periods. The first period (1939, 1940 and 1941) represents something of a normal operating condition. The second period (1942, 1943 and 1944) represents the period of time that was most affected by war conditions. During the second period there was a high labor turnover, inexperienced workers were numerous, women replaced men in many kinds of work, a labor shortage existed more or less throughout the industry, and supervision was pushed for peak production. All of the companies reporting compiled their accident experiences for these six years in accordance with the standards set up by the American Standards Association (New York, N. Y.), consequently the tabu lated data presented herein are comparable. The authors of this paper feel that the industry as a whole is greatly indebted to the personnel of the companies that furnished these data, which make this study possible for presentation. This survey covers a total exposure of 74,528,880 man-hours, with 105,471 man-days of lost time from 870 accidents. Safety Records In Table I, the safety record is shown of the various mills reporting. The severity rate is usually conceded to be the most vital statistical figure in safety parlance, therefore the participating companies are listed in order of their severity rate for the combined six-year period, under size of organizatiori. The table also shows the frequency rate as well as the frequency-severity ratio (F/S). As noted in Table I, most of the companies suffered an increase in both severity and frequency rates during the second period; only six of the 22 enjoyed an improvement. From correspondence with the various plants, it seems that a few had very little labor shortage or turnover, and these were not greatly affected. A few plants, anticipating the situation, strengthened their training facilities and actually were able to show a better experience during the second period. This gives great credence to the value of organized training in any safety program. The frequency-severity ratio (F/S) shown in the last column of Table I offers

Jan 1, 1947

By S. E. Sharp, J. F. Myers

The safety data presented in this paper are based upon replies to a Questionnaire sent out to representative mining companics. The authors feel that it is a fair cross section of the milling industry, in that the 17 companies, of the United States and Canada, reporting on 22 mills, are scattered from the Hudson Bay to the Mexican border and from coast to coast. These data concern the accident records of the various plants from 1939 to 1944, inclusive and the six years are divided into two periods. The first period (1939, 1940 and 1941) represents something of a normal operating condition. The second period (1942, 1943 and 1944) represents the period of time that was most affected by war conditions. During the second period there was a high labor turnover, inexperienced workers were numerous, women replaced men in many kinds of work, a labor shortage existed more or less throughout the industry, and supervision was pushed for peak production. All of the companies reporting compiled their accident experiences for these six years in accordance with the standards set up by the American Standards Association (New York, N. Y.), consequently the tabu lated data presented herein are comparable. The authors of this paper feel that the industry as a whole is greatly indebted to the personnel of the companies that furnished these data, which make this study possible for presentation. This survey covers a total exposure of 74,528,880 man-hours, with 105,471 man-days of lost time from 870 accidents. Safety Records In Table I, the safety record is shown of the various mills reporting. The severity rate is usually conceded to be the most vital statistical figure in safety parlance, therefore the participating companies are listed in order of their severity rate for the combined six-year period, under size of organizatiori. The table also shows the frequency rate as well as the frequency-severity ratio (F/S). As noted in Table I, most of the companies suffered an increase in both severity and frequency rates during the second period; only six of the 22 enjoyed an improvement. From correspondence with the various plants, it seems that a few had very little labor shortage or turnover, and these were not greatly affected. A few plants, anticipating the situation, strengthened their training facilities and actually were able to show a better experience during the second period. This gives great credence to the value of organized training in any safety program. The frequency-severity ratio (F/S) shown in the last column of Table I offers

Jan 1, 1947

By Oliver B. Hopkins

Peru produced approximately 17,466,620 bbl., of oil during 1937, or slightly less than the record high of 17,593,700 bbl. established during 1936. As in 1936, the entire output of the country was derived from the La Brea-Parinas, Lobitos-Restin and Zorritos fields in the northwestern part of the country. Outside of the proven areas, drilling was 'continued by the Peruvian Government in the northern province of Tumbes on the reserved zone at Zorritos. Drilling was carried out on three locations, two of which are understood to have been abandoned during the year. In southern Peru, further attention was given by Government engineers to the Pusi and Saman districts and plans are being worked out for the commencement of drilling operations in the near future in the vicinity of Pirin. Activities in the montaiia region in eastern Peru were continued by the Compafiia Petrolera El Ganso Azul. This company acquired the interest of the Selden Breck Co., and holds some 90,000 acres along the Pachitea River a few miles above its confluence with the Ucayali. During the year, the preparation of a landing place, the cutting of a 12-km. (71/2-mile) road from the river to the drill site, and the construction of a camp were undertaken. Equipment for drilling on this company's concessions has already arrived in South America. La Brea-Parinas Estate.—Production of crude oil on the La Brea-Parinas Estate of the International Petroleum Company Limited amounted to 14,722,754 bbl. during 1937, a decrease of 403,736 bbl. from the all-time high reached during 1936. The total production from 1890 to Dec. 31,1937, was 178,390,767 bbl. During 1937, a total of 141,653 ft. was drilled, 129,516 ft. in new wells and 12,137 in deepening existing wells. In all, 57 wells were completed, 47 of which produced oil, 2 were gas wells and 8 dry. holes. Twenty-nine wells were cleaned out or deepened during the year. The average depth of new wells completed during 1937 was 2367 ft. compared with 1984 ft. for the new wells completed during 1936. There was an increased use of rotary tools during the year and this method is now used to a greater extent than the cable-tool method, which formerly predominated. Of the 57 wells completed during the year, 31 were

Jan 1, 1938

By ir. H. Eraly

The allocation of miners to teams, and of teams to production faces, is complicated by the high degree of absenteism of miners in Belgium. Therefore, the exact knowledge of who is actually present at the beginning of a shift and of the exact skills of those present, enables the foremen and mine captains to constitute their teams before all men go down into the mine in the most effective way possible. This paper describes the system of attendance recording and of displays which the foremen use to constitute their teams and/or to interrogate the personnel data base in order to do so. It shows how the foremen dialogue with the computer, to change the function of a miner within a team, to another team, or the function of a team as a whole. The implementation of the system, data bases, and data communication equipment and procedures, is described. The benefits obtained are presented for each level of the company: foremen and team supervisors, engineers, mine management.

Jan 1, 1977

By P. B. Crawford, W. L. Huskey

A study has been made to determine the effects of random vertical fractures existing in a reservoir matrix on the effective matrix properties and producing characteristics of a well. The study indicated that short vertical fractures may distort the isopotentials by 1 percent in the vicinity of the fracture. A correlation was developed which showed the effect of fracture density on the producing capacity of a well. The correlation indicated that fracture shape had little effect on producing capacity, but that total fracture length was closely correlated with the producing capacity. Effective values of reservoir permeability were found to correlate closely with fracture density when measured parallel to the direction of flow. INTRODUCTION In reviewing the petroleum literature, it is found that in most analytical solutions of hydrocarbon reservoir behavior the assumption is made that the rock is uniform throughout although core analysis and well logging surveys indicate that substantially all reservoirs are heterogeneous and some are fractured. Only in recent years have investigators studied the effects of reservoir hetrogeneity. Russell1 discussed the effect of fractures in reservoirs. The literature indicates that fractures greatly affect the exploitation of man reservoirs. This is described by Elkins and Skov2 and Little-field et al. 3 Several types of reservoir heterogeneity have been studied by unsteady-state methods. In 1959, Landrum et al. 4 showed that transient phenomena in hydrocarbon reservoirs could be studied by thermal models. pickering5 studied the flow of heat in stratified linear reservoirs consisting of plates of different metals separated by sheets of rubber which were suddenly exposed to a low-temperature source at one end. Cotman6 studied both laterally and vertically heterogeneous thermal model reservoirs with special reference to cross flow. Another type of reservoir heterogeneity involves the presence of highly permeable, circular lenses around or near the wellbore which was studied by Miesch7 using a thermal and a steady-state model. Many studies have been made of the effects of induced hydraulic fractures on well performance. 8-10 Work regarding vertical fractures that exist initially in the reservoir was reported by Givens, et al.11 Since there appears to be little published work on the importance and influence on reservoir performance of fractures that exist out in the rock matrix, this study was conducted to determine the effects of vertical fractures on pressure distribution, producing capacity and the effective permeability of the reservoir rock. The analogy between the flow of electrical current through a conducting body and the flow of fluid in a porous medium provides a convenient method of studying various aspects of petroleum reservoirs. For electrical radial steady-state flow,12 For steady-state fluid flow, With the above analogy, it is only necessary to establish the ratio of the values of the electrical units in terms of the corresponding flow units to make the analogy quantitative. The ratios are shown below.

By M. G. Corson

THE iron-silicon alloy series has always been one of the most puzzling among the binary alloys. Examining the well known mechanical properties of the iron-rich alloys only we meet the following situation: The ultimate strength and yield point of alloys worked and annealed under the usual conditions represent nearly a straight line function of the silicon content up to 4.5 per cent. silicon (Fig. 1). Starting at the ultimate strength of 35,000 lb. and at a yield-point of 16,000 lb. for pure electrolytic iron, one reaches a -maximum strength of 93,000 lb. and a maximum yield point of 74,000 lb. at 4.5 per cent. silicon. This corresponds to an increase in ultimate strength by 13,000 lb. per each per cent. of silicon added and nearly the same rate applies to the yield point. The data mentioned are taken from the investigation by T. D. Yensen,1 and while they do not exactly corroborate the results obtained by earlier investigators, they seem to be the most correct. Plastic properties of the alloys are controlled by a much more complicated relationship. Up to 2.5 per cent. Si, the elongation stays close to 50 per cent. (in 2 in.) and the area reduction amounts to 85 per cent., a situation that forms the usual feature of all alloys representing strictly solid solutions. The plasticity of the latter is always nearly equal to that of their base metal. Beyond 2.5 per cent. silicon, the situation becomes much more complicated Yensen observed an enormous drop in elongation and area reduction at about 2.65 per. cent. silicon, where the first hardly reaches 10 per cent. and the second is still lower; he found, however, a considerable recovery in plasticity at about 2.8 per cent. Si and up to. 4.5 per cent. Si it is represented by 20 per cent. for the elongation and 30 per cent. for area reduction.

Jan 1, 1928

By R. E. Lamborn

A summary of oil and gas development in Ohio for 1935 must necessarily be brief. As attention of the state government to the oil and gas industry has never included the collection and compilation of statistics on production, either by producing sands, by counties, by fields, or for the state as a whole, such information as requested in Table 1 of this symposium is impossible to secure for this state. In the absence of production data chief attention must be directed to drilling activity for the year. Information such as can be compiled from various sources, including weekly drilling reports to operating companies and trade journals, is given in the following paragraphs with the realization that the data may not be complete in all its details. Drilling Activity by Fields Drilling activity during 1935 was similar to the preceding year in , that the major operating companies were generally content to drill lease-requirement and offset wells and in that comparatively little effort was made to discover new pools. A compilation of completions recorded in weekly reports to drilling companies and in trade journals show 1022 tests completed for the year in 53 counties of the state. Of this total number, 653 wells were commercial producers and 369 were classed as dry holes. Production was secured in 40 counties from formations ranging in depth to 5700 ft. and ranging in age from Middle Ordovician to upper Pennsyl-vanian. From the standpoint of new production for the year, the most important sands are the Clinton of Silurian age, the Berea of Mississippian age and the Shallow sands of Mississippian above the Berea and of Pennsylvanian age. Trenton Sand Field Production in the field of Trenton sand, which originally included parts of 15 counties in northwestern Ohio, is now on the decline. Seventy-three completions were reported in this field during 1935, of which 33.8 per cent were dry holes. Activity centered in Allen County with 12 completions, two of which were dry holes; in Hardin County with 11 producers; and in Wyandot County with 12 producers and 2 dry holes.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. E. Lamborn

A summary of oil and gas development in Ohio for 1935 must necessarily be brief. As attention of the state government to the oil and gas industry has never included the collection and compilation of statistics on production, either by producing sands, by counties, by fields, or for the state as a whole, such information as requested in Table 1 of this symposium is impossible to secure for this state. In the absence of production data chief attention must be directed to drilling activity for the year. Information such as can be compiled from various sources, including weekly drilling reports to operating companies and trade journals, is given in the following paragraphs with the realization that the data may not be complete in all its details. Drilling Activity by Fields Drilling activity during 1935 was similar to the preceding year in , that the major operating companies were generally content to drill lease-requirement and offset wells and in that comparatively little effort was made to discover new pools. A compilation of completions recorded in weekly reports to drilling companies and in trade journals show 1022 tests completed for the year in 53 counties of the state. Of this total number, 653 wells were commercial producers and 369 were classed as dry holes. Production was secured in 40 counties from formations ranging in depth to 5700 ft. and ranging in age from Middle Ordovician to upper Pennsyl-vanian. From the standpoint of new production for the year, the most important sands are the Clinton of Silurian age, the Berea of Mississippian age and the Shallow sands of Mississippian above the Berea and of Pennsylvanian age. Trenton Sand Field Production in the field of Trenton sand, which originally included parts of 15 counties in northwestern Ohio, is now on the decline. Seventy-three completions were reported in this field during 1935, of which 33.8 per cent were dry holes. Activity centered in Allen County with 12 completions, two of which were dry holes; in Hardin County with 11 producers; and in Wyandot County with 12 producers and 2 dry holes.

Jan 1, 1936

Officials of the State Department have expressed their hope that a considerable number of technical men will take the examination for consular service. The Department recognizes that the interest of the United States will be served best if technical men are made available through these examinations for vacancies at points where their training will be of special value. Industrial engineers who have passed the con-sular examination will be assigned to industrial centers of Europe or South America. Mining engineers, chemists, electrical engineers, etc., will be assigned to industrial centers requiring special training.

Jan 11, 1919

By N. J. Grant, F. B. Cuff

DURING a recent investigation of high-purity aluminum,' evidence was found for grain-boundary sliding and migration at room temperature. The investigation was concerned primarily with an electron-microscopic study of a fine (approximately 1 micron) network that appeared on the surface of chemically polished aluminum. The nature of the network will not be discussed since it serves only as markers showing relative displacements in this instance. The pertinent observation, shown in Fig. 1, was made on a flat tensile specimen which had been strained about 8 pct at room temperature. As can be seen in this electron micrograph, a grain boundary has undergone a certain amount of sliding. The reason for the existence of the two differently appearing networks is given in the foregoing reference. For present purposes, however, the transition region can be disregarded. A close study of this picture reveals that in addi- tion to sliding there is a narrow band adjacent to and above the grain boundary. Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing showing the essential features of this band.

Jan 1, 1959

By Ednlund D. North

Discussion of the paper of Edmund D. North, presented at the Spokane meeting, September, 1909, and published in Bulletin No. 37, January, 1910, pp. 21 to 25. A. SCOTT REID, London, Eng. (communication to the Secretary*) :-As a constructor of several glass mine-models, I have read with much interest the description of the model of the Montana-Tonopah mine-workings by Edmund D. North. As an interchange of ideas and experience is always an advantage, and in view of the fact that such models are coming more and more into vogue, perhaps the following remarks on this subject may prove of interest to mining engineers generally and to Mr. North particularly. In the model of the Waihi gold-mine, New Zealand, which I constructed, a dust-proof case is used. The top, bottom, front, and two ends are of glass; the back only is of wood, painted a dull white, against which the mine-workings show very distinctly. Each mine-level is represented by a horizontal sheet of glass, supported on metal runners fixed to the uprights at each end of the case, in a manner similar to that described by Mr. North. The corner uprights are strengthened by having a metal band screwed to the inside face of each, to which the metal runners or supports for the sheets of glass are screwed in turn. The reason for having this additional strength is that as the mine is developed in depth, and fresh levels are opened, the increasing weight of the glass sheets, added to the model, caused the unsupported wooden uprights to bend slightly, so that the glass sheets-did not fit in with the desired nicety, and co-ordination was, to a considerable extent, lost. Strengthening the uprights in this manner is not important in models of mines in which only a few levels have been opened, or when the sheets of glass are small, but in the Waihi model there are 15 sheets of glass to be supported, and more to be added as development proceeds, and the weight is considerable.

May 1, 1910

By W. L. Zeigler

THE gravity concentrator of the Hecla Mining Co. was originally constructed in 1888 by the Milwaukee Mining Co., which was operating the Gem of the Mountains mine. It was purchased by the Hecla Mining Co. in 1900, and placed in operation 2 years later. At that time [ ] the capacity was only about 200 tons a day, but many additions and changes in equipment have been made so that the present capacity is about 800 tons. One of the outstanding improvements made was the substitution of Callow flotation cells for vanners, which occurred in 1915. The recent building of a flotation plant for treating jig tailings, and the construction of a modern surface plant at the mine, following the

Jan 1, 1928

By S. Lipson, H. W. Antes, H. Rosenthal

A study was made of the effect of ingot structure on the strength and ductility of high-strength wrought-aluminum alloys. It was found that a fine-cast structure facilitated complete homogenization which, in turn, resulted in significant increases in ductility and strength. A completely homogenized 7075-T6 alloy developed tensile properties of 85,000 psi UTS, 75,000 psi YS, with 40 pct RA. Completely homogenized 7001-T6 alloy tensile properties were 102,000 psi UTS, 99,000 psi YS, with 19 pct Ra. A method was devised for making small ingots having secondary dendrite arm spacing of less than 10 u. This method involved multiple-pass arc melting of commercial rolled plate with a tungsten electvode. This material could be completely homogenized after 3 hr at 900°F; homogenization of the original plate material was not complete after 120 hv at 900°F. Degree of homogeneity was determined by use of metallographic and electron-microprobe analyses. The electron-micro-probe study also showed the preferential segregation of solutes in the microstructure. HIGH-strength aluminum alloys, such as those of the 7000 series, usually freeze by the formation and growth of dendrites. The dendrite arm spacing (DAS) depends on the rate of solidification.' Commercial ingots are usually direct chill-cast to promote more rapid solidification, but, due to the large mass of the ingot, localized solidification times are long and a large DAS results. During solidification, solute elements are rejected by the solid as it forms, causing enrichment of the liquid and ultimately solute-rich interdendritic regions. In order to attain a homogeneous ingot, the segregated solutes must diffuse across the dendrite arms. The larger the DM, the longer the time for complete homogenization. In the case of commercial ingots, the DAS is so large that the time for complete homogenization is prohibitively long and, therefore, second phases or compounds are always present. These un-dissolved phases are carried over to the wrought material during processing, resulting in an impairment of strength and ductility. In addition, the mechanical fibering of the undissolved second phases or compounds during working results in mechanical property anisotropy. If complete homogenization could be attained, higher ductility could be expected. The realization of higher ductility at current strength levels is a desirable objective; however, if higher-strength alloys were wanted, it might be possible to sacrifice some of this ductility by adding more solute elements and produce even higher-strength alloys than are currently available. Further, if complete homogenization leads to more efficient utilization of solute elements, then more dilute alloys should have relatively high strengths with very high ductility. In all instances, it would be expected that the degree of mechanical property anisotropy due to mechanical fibering would be reduced. Therefore, it was the purpose of this investigation to produce cast structures that would facilitate homogenization and to determine the effect of homogenization on the properties of high-strength, wrought-aluminum alloys. MATERIAL CLASSIFICATION Commercial Alloys. In order to illustrate the non-homogeneous condition that exists in commercial high-strength, wrought-aluminum alloys, typical micro-structures of 7001, 7075, and 7178 are shown in Fig. 1. The chemical compositional specifications of these alloys are given in Table I. It can be seen in Fig. 1 that a considerable amount of undissolved second-phase material is present in each of these alloys. The solute elements associated with the undissolved phases were identified by electron microanalyses. Back-scattered electron images and characteristic X-ray images of the three commercial alloys are shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. These data indicate that the second phases are regions of high copper and high iron-copper concentrations. The second-phase material also was analyzed for magnesium, zinc, manganese, chromium, and silicon, but no significant enrichment above that of the matrix was found. Therefore, the problem of homogenization resolved itself into one of dissolving the copper-rich and the iron-copper-rich second phases. In order to accomplish this objective, two approaches were made. The first was to reduce the iron as low as possible since this element has a maximum solid solubility of 0.03 pct in aluminum. The second was to produce cast structures with finer DAS to facilitate dissolving the second phases. Commercially Produced High-Purity Alloys. A special high-purity, 2000-lb ingot of 7075 alloy was made by a commercial producer. This alloy contained the following weight percentages of solutes: 5.63 Zn, 2.48 Mg, 1.49 Cu, and 0.21 Cr. All other elements combined were less than 0.02 pct by wt including iron and silicon at less than 0.01 pct each. The ingot was cast and processed into rolled plate using standard commercial techniques. Microstructures of standard commercial 7075 and the special high-purity 7075 are shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen from this figure that the high-purity alloy has less undissolved second-phase material, but a significant amount was still present. The second phase in the high-purity material did not contain iron but it was found to be enriched with copper. The slight effects of the increased purity and de-

Jan 1, 1968