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By David L. Holt, Walter A. Backofen, Anwar-ul Karirn

ANNEALING the binary alloy, Mg-0.5 wt pct Zr in a hydrogen atmosphere results in extensive precipitation of zirconium hydride. The morphology of these precipitates has already been investigated.lm3 Squires, Weiner, and phillips4 found, following creep testing of the hydrided alloy at 450" and 500°C, that hydride denuded zones formed along grain boundaries that were aligned approximately normal to the tensile axis. Zone formation was attributed to diffusional creep by magnesium transport down the prevailing stress gradients.4'5 Recently, electron microprobe analysis by Karim, Holt, and Backofen6 showed the zones indeed to be zirconium-free and furthermore it was shown that in compression, zones formed along boundaries approximately parallel to the stress axis. Thus it was confirmed that the zones are formed by diffusional creep. Typical zone-formation is shown in Fig. 1. Karim, Holt, and Backofen also measured the con- tribution to the total strain, from diffusional flow, slip creep, and grain boundary shear: results showed that diffusional strain tends to saturate with increasing imposed strain, while grain boundary shear eventually becomes the dominant deformation mode. It was suggested in explanation that the precipitate-denuded zones are soft and easily sheared, such deformation contributing to the grain boundary shear measurement. A point to be emphasized is that the Mg-0.5 Zr alloy was not superplastic for the index of strain rate sensitivity of flow stress, m = a log log 6 was only 0.25. It was recognized that diffusional creep in a poly crystalline aggregate must be accompanied by boundary shearing.' The suggestion was that the non Newtonian-viscous character of diffusional creep in the Mg-0.5 wt pct Zr alloy is due to resistance to sliding of boundaries lying approximately parallel to the tensile axis.= The work described in the present note should be seen against the above background for it represents initial efforts to observe in a similar way diffusional creep in a superplastic alloy. Previous work with the ternary-alloy Mg-6 Zn-0.5 Zr, pellet extruded, showed it to be superplastic however it does not contain resolvable precipitates to act as internal markers for diffusional creep. Also the fine grain size of the alloy (0.5 p) made conventional metallography rather difficult. Solubility relationships in the Mg-Zn-Zr system are not well known, however making reasonable guesses about the probable phase diagram of the ternary, Mg-Zn-Zr, various heat treatments were attempted to produce hydride precipitation. Finally a 16-hr anneal at 495' in hydrogen was found to pro-

Jan 1, 1970

By C. M. Moncrief, B C. Craft

A bentonite-clay drilling mud when treated with tetrasodium pyroarsenate underwent substantially the same reduction in viscosity and water loss as when treated with the complex phosphates. The complex arsenate showed a slightly higher reversion after heating; the other arsenates showed poor viscosity-reducing properties. Introduction During the past 10 years the chemical control of drilling mud has become of major importance in affecting the successful drilling and working over of wells. The desired properties of drilling mud have been well established, and in obtaining these characteristics there has developed a large market for viscosity-reducing chemicals. Viscosity reduction produced by humic acid, tannic acid, sodium silicate, sodium tannate, Calgon, and the complex phosphates has been described by Loomis, Ford, and Fidiam.l The effects Of treatment with complex phosphates and ammonium PolyPhosPhates on the rheological properties of muds were investigated by Fancher2 and the alkali vanadates have been described by Williams.3 Laboratory Investigations It is the purpose of this paper to point out the effects of arsenates in controlling the viscosity and gelling characteristics of a drilling mud. Viscosities and gel strengths were measured at room temperatures with a Stormer viscosimeter calibrated in centipoises and operated at 600 r.p.m. Water loss was determined at 80°F. with the Baroid low-pressure wall-building tester at a pressure of I00 lb. per sq. in. for 30 min. The hydrogen-ion concentration was measured with a glass electrode. The bentonite-clay suspensions were prepared in the laboratory and allowed to age several days before testing. Members of the Arsenic Group in the periodic Table include arsenic, antimony and bismuth, but this investigation was limited to arsenic. Phosphorus also occurs in Group V of the Periodic system and phosphorus and arsenic form many closely related compounds such as pH3 and AsH3, P2O5 and As2O5, H3PO4 and H3AS04 Samples of tetrasodium pyroarsenate were prepared by fusing c.p. disodium arsenate (Na2HA5O4.7H2O). According to Friend,' this re-forms the ortho-arsenate on dissolution in water. Sodium trihydrodiorthoarsenate was prepared as described by Mellor,5 from arsenic pen-toxide as follows: As2O5 + 3H20 -> 2H3AsO4 2H3AS04 + 3NaOH Na3H3(AsO4)2 .3H20 Sodium dihydrogen orthoarsenateWaHz-As04) was obtained by fusing together equivalent quantities of arsenious Oxide and sodium nitrate, dissolving the residue in water and allowing it to crystallize.

Jan 1, 1946

By S. Feuerstein, J. M. Galligan

SURFACE effects in the deformation of metal single crystals have been noted by a variety of workers.&apos; A large majority of these experiments have used surface roughening or a second chemical constituent at the surface. We performed the following experiment to see how the presence of a fine polycrystalline layer influenced the stress-strain behavior of single crystals of zinc. Spherical single crystals oriented for single slip were acid-machined into cylindrical dumbbell-shape shear specimens having a gage length of 3.2 mm and a cross section of 20 sq mm. The crystals were then deformed varying amounts at the surface of the gage section with emery paper. Following this treatment, the crystals were heated for approximately 8 hr at 200°C. This resulted in a polycrystalline surface layer, with an observed grain size of approximately 1/10 mm in diameter. Deformation of these crystals was undertaken at 78°K in pure shear, the shear direction <1120> lying in the basal plane. The deformation apparatus has been described elsewhere.2 The presence of a polycrystalline layer markedly raises the first observed plastic deformation, as can be seen from Fig. 1. This yield stress is then followed by a region of low work hardening comparable to that observed in shear tests on similar untreated zinc single crystals. However, the extent of easy glide is quite seriously curtailed, and is followed by a more rapid increase in work hardening, reminiscent of Stage II observed in the deformation of fcc crystals. The higher yield can probably be attributed to the difficulty of penetrating the grain boundaries by dis locations from sources interior to the boundaries. If we associate this yield stress with this breakthrough, then we might expect that more dislocations would be trapped in the crystal than is normally the case. If there is an increased density of trapped dislocations, this could lead to an increase in the amount of trapping with increasing strain, giving a larger strain hardening in the crystal. Although other explanations can be given, it is quite tempting to characterize the region of increased work hardening as a manifestation of Stage II-type deformation. This seems reasonable if the polycrystalline layer is quite efficient in holding up a large number of dislocations. In zinc crystals, since it is well-known that the slip distance can be as large as the specimen dimensions, one would only expect to entrap a large number of dislocation with very large crystals or by applying surface layers. If this interpretation of increased strain hardening is correct, it might present a method of studying Stage II in single crystals of zinc. This research was supported, in part, by the Office of Naval Research (1959). The encouragement and stimulation given by Professor E. R. Parker is gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1965

By V 7. 0 / 300 dpi

LAST fall, having a number of ore samples from mine-development work carried on in spite of the "Revolution," I was forced to do my own assaying again, after a lapse of many years. This gave me an opportunity to build a furnace for crucible assaying, using wood for fuel, along lines which had been developing in my mind since the time 20 years ago, when as general factotum at a little mining camp in western Chihuahua, Mexico, I had converted a crucible charcoal furnace into one using the reverberatory principle. Wood-burning furnaces have been described in technical literature, but I believe the present application will prove helpful to those of the profession who are working in out-of-the-way places. The furnace is shown in detail in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Remembering the trouble caused by stoking my first charcoal furnace too heavily, I fired this one with but a few sticks of wood at a time. By this method I could run out a charge of 12 crucibles in 30 to 35 min., using 50 sticks of ordinary stove wood. Later I fill up the firebox, holding about 40 sticks, get everything ready, put the crucibles into the melting chamber and "fire up." Just as soon as the fire is well started the draft door is closed and the furnace allowed to heat up slowly for 5 min. Then the draft is opened (the door to the ash-pit) and the fire allowed to roar, which it does. In 20 min. from the time the fire is lighted the fire door is opened, the fire stirred along the grates, and 5 or 6 more sticks of wood thrown in. In 25 min. from the start, the draft is closed again, the cover of the melting chamber pushed back and the charges poured. The melts will be found to be perfect, and the crucibles to pour absolutely clean, if everything has gone right, as will usually be the case. A new charge may be put in, and fired with S to 10 sticks of wood at a tine, and be ready to pour within 20 min.; but it is just as well to leave the crucibles in the melting chamber a full 2.5 min. By using 10 sticks of wood to start the fire and adding 5 sticks as often as needed, which will be as soon as the last sticks fed in are in perfect combustion, the smelting can be completed in from 30 to 35 min., using from 35 to 40 sticks of wood. I consider this to be the best method of stoking.

Jan 10, 1914

By C. M. Moncrief

A bentonite-clay drilling mud when treated with tetrasodium pyroarsenate underwent substantially the same reduction in viscosity and water loss as when treated with the complex phosphates. The complex arsenate showed a slightly higher reversion after heating; the other arsenates showed poor viscosity-reducing properties. Introduction During the past 10 years the chemical control of drilling mud has become of major importance in affecting the successful drilling and working over of wells. The desired properties of drilling mud have been well established, and in obtaining these characteristics there has developed a large market for viscosity-reducing chemicals. Viscosity reduction produced by humic acid, tannic acid, sodium silicate, sodium tannate, Calgon, and the complex phosphates has been described by Loomis, Ford, and Fidiam.l The effects Of treatment with complex phosphates and ammonium PolyPhosPhates on the rheological properties of muds were investigated by Fancher2 and the alkali vanadates have been described by Williams.3 Laboratory Investigations It is the purpose of this paper to point out the effects of arsenates in controlling the viscosity and gelling characteristics of a drilling mud. Viscosities and gel strengths were measured at room temperatures with a Stormer viscosimeter calibrated in centipoises and operated at 600 r.p.m. Water loss was determined at 80°F. with the Baroid low-pressure wall-building tester at a pressure of I00 lb. per sq. in. for 30 min. The hydrogen-ion concentration was measured with a glass electrode. The bentonite-clay suspensions were prepared in the laboratory and allowed to age several days before testing. Members of the Arsenic Group in the periodic Table include arsenic, antimony and bismuth, but this investigation was limited to arsenic. Phosphorus also occurs in Group V of the Periodic system and phosphorus and arsenic form many closely related compounds such as pH3 and AsH3, P2O5 and As2O5, H3PO4 and H3AS04 Samples of tetrasodium pyroarsenate were prepared by fusing c.p. disodium arsenate (Na2HA5O4.7H2O). According to Friend,&apos; this re-forms the ortho-arsenate on dissolution in water. Sodium trihydrodiorthoarsenate was prepared as described by Mellor,5 from arsenic pen-toxide as follows: As2O5 + 3H20 -> 2H3AsO4 2H3AS04 + 3NaOH Na3H3(AsO4)2 .3H20 Sodium dihydrogen orthoarsenateWaHz-As04) was obtained by fusing together equivalent quantities of arsenious Oxide and sodium nitrate, dissolving the residue in water and allowing it to crystallize.

Jan 1, 1946

By T. B. Counselman

AfteR several years study, the Universal Atlas Cement Co. decided to rebuild its plant at Leeds, Alabama. The entire old plant, which was to operate during the new construction, was then to be scrapped with the exception of two kilns. The quarry was to be mechanized, new and larger kilns installed, with the most modern type of equipment all through the plant. Raw grinding operations at all of the Universal Atlas plants were dry. However, the dust hazard of this operation and the growing emphasis on occupational diseases made wet grinding attractive. Coal at Leeds is cheap, so that a slightly higher coal practice was unimportant. Power was cheap, so that waste-heat boilers were not desirable. Since new kilns were to be installed, these could be made long enough to make filters unnecessary. Wet raw grinding could be either the old practice of open-circuit compartment mills or closed-circuit grinding in accordance with metal-lurgical practice. The latter saved power and steel wear and saved initial investment. This had been demonstrated in cement plants. Also, the elimination of tramp oversize was a most important advantage. Ease of chemical control was another factor. Blending in the thickener, with elimination of slurry mixers had been found practicable. Therefore, if wet raw grinding were used at all, the advantages were clearly in favor of closed-circuit grinding. Detailed layouts of the most modern possible closed-circuit dry-grinding plant and of a closed-circuit wet-grinding plant were prepared, and careful estimates were made of initial investment and operating costs. Full consideration of all the factors involved resulted in a decision to install wet closed-circuit grinding. The capacity of the new kilns was established at 4000 bbl. per day. Two new kilns were installed, each with a capacity of 80 bbl. per hour. Since 625 lb. of raw material is required to make a barrel of finished cement, the capacity of the grinding plant for the new kilns had to average only 1250 tons per day. Sufficient additional grinding capacity had to be provided for the two remaining old kilns, or their possible replacement by a third new kiln. The grinding rate, therefore, was set at 90 tons per

Jan 1, 1939

By W. H. Blauvelt

The technical and engineering problems in the manufacture of coke are today the problems of the byproduct oven. Except in a few special localitics, practically no beehive ovens have been built in the United States for the last 5 or 6 years except as renewals of old plants, and during these years the total number of beehive ovens in existence has been steadily falling. On the other hand, the number of byproduct ovens has increased from 4624 in 1911 to a total of about 7660 in operation at the end of 1917; with 2800 building, this makes a total of about 10,460 which will be in operation in 1918, or shortly thereafter. Preliminary Government estimates place the total production of coke for 1917 at 56,600,000 tons, the largest tonnage in the history of the industry. Of this 34,000,000 tons, or 60 per cent., was beehive, and 22,-600,000 tons, or 40 per cent., was byproduct coke. Some time in 1918 the production of byproduct coke should pass the beehive output, and when the byproduct ovens now building are completed the total byproduct capacity will be about 40,000,000 tons of coke per annum, which is over 70 per cent. of the record-breaking total coke production of 1917. The reasons for these changes in the coking industry are familiar to all of us, and need not be discussed here. Improvement in Oven Design Since the byproduct oven was brought to this country from Europe, in 1892, it has been radically improved, and from the point of view of American metallurgical practice it is safe to say that the American ovens arc superior to those of Europe. The points of superiority are mainly those of larger units and larger output per unit, and the greater extent to which labor-saving machinery has been introduced. The increased output is largely due to the use of silica refractory material, which permits higher heats and shorter coking time than are employed in Europe. The modern American oven will carbonize commercially more than 20 tons of coal per day, and contrary to the European idea that slower

Jan 1, 1920

By S. Stutz

Coal, like most other minerals, only exceptionally occurs in a sufficiently pare state to he directly available for general manufacturing purposes. And even where this is the case, the small coal or slack is usually more impure than the lump coal, as the slate, clay, etc., from the roof and bottom of the vein become mixed with it in the handling it undergoes. These impurities often exceed ten or more per cent. in addition to the impurities of the coal itself. The most common impurities of the coal are slate, or shale, clay, and sulphur. The latter occurs in different forms, but moat frequently as bisulphide of iron, or iron pyrites, and as sulphate of lime, or gypum. In both cases the impnrities add greatly to the amount of ash, and where they are present in considerable quantities the raw coal, and still more the coke made from it, is unfit for the manufacture of iron. Coke will coutain on an average at least fifty per cent. more ash and sulphur than the ram coal from which it is made. To the manufacturer of iron every additional per cent. of ash which his coal or coke contains is a source of additional expense, seemingly small, and yet very important in the aggregate. In the blast-furnace, for instance, the ash must be heated up to the melting-point, and, since it is composed largely of refractory substances, the consumption of carbon in melting it will be equal to at least one-half of its weight; that is, a certain part of tile coke is consumed for the melting and fluxing of the ash and is lost. Besides this, it is well enough known to the iron-master that coke containing lees ash makes the &lag or cinder more liquid and less incliner1 to stick to the walls of the furnace. Fuel containing much sulphur produces generally a white iron, poor in carbon, while from the same ore arrd flux, with a pure fuel, a good foundry iron might be obtained. The work of separating slate, sulphur, etd, from the coal has as yet only been successfully accomplished by the washing process. This process depends for its success on the differences in the specific

Jan 1, 1881

By Frederick G. Tickell

Petroleum engineers are displaying considerable interest in those fundamental properties of matter and energy that control the phenomena of oil and gas production. The subject is a difficult one to investigate by laboratory experiments for two reasons: (1) it is impossible to reproduce in the laboratory the scale of forces and dimensions that exist in the underground reservoir; (2) if we attempt to scale down the dimensions we are unable to reduce all proportionally. It is as if we tried to construct a model blast furnace for the reduction of iron ore, and reduced all lineal dimensions. We should find that the interstices between the miniature chunks of ore would not permit rapid transfer of gases, that combustion and heat transfer would not take place as in the full size furnace and that, in short, the contraption would not work. Just so, when we attempt to make a reduced scale oil field we find we must have, not only miniature reservoir and miniature wells, but "miniature" sand, 011, gas, etc. Much valuable work, however, has been done along these experimental lines and more will no doubt follow, but investigators should bear this point in mind and strive to attain dimensional homogeneity and dynamical similarity in order that their conclusions may be translated into terms applying to the oil reservoir. As Gibson says,&apos; "These conditions are attained when all terms of the physical equation have the same dimensions, . . . when all corresponding particles of the two systems trace out similar paths and when the velocities are such as to make all corresponding forces acting on two such particles in the same ratio." It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the mechanics of fluid movement as it pertains to the oil pool and to point out the complexity of the laws of fluid delivery under the conditions often found. We have to do, fundamentally, with confined fluids, possessing potential energy whose expenditure is restricted by certain properties of the confining media and of the fluids themselves. The equation of motion and time is completely stated when we can assign values to the propulsive

Jan 1, 1929

By Cyril Stanley Smith

Although not of the same importance as electrical conductivity, the capacity for conducting heat is nevertheless a very important property of metals and alloys. A knowledge of thermal conductivity is of value in selecting alloys for many purposes and in the calculation of the efficiency of apparatus which is being designed. Unfortunately, the determination of thermal conductivity is extremely slow and tedious, consequently few data have been obtained. A further reason for the lack of information is that there has long been an impression that the thermal conductivity of an alloy is directly proportional to the electrical cónductivity and that it can therefore be calculated from the latter. The Wiedmann-Franz-Lorenz law of constant ratio of the two conductivities holds with a considerable degree of precision for all the pure metals, but appreciable deviations occur in certain alloys—particularly those containing nickel—and it seems difficult to predict exactly what the ratio will be. Therefore direct determinations of thermal conductivity should be made whenever the results are needed with any accuracy. This research is intended eventually to cover all the alloys of copper that are of commercial importance, including the binary alloys of copper with zinc, tin, aluminum, nickel, silicon, manganese, cadmium and phosphorus, and the ternary alloys copper-nickel-zinc, copper-nickel-silicon, copper-manganese-silicon, copper-zinc-tin, etc. Most of these alloys are customarily used in the wrought condition and therefore were tested in the form of annealed rods. A limited number of sand castings were also obtained and examined. This paper contains a complete review of all the previous work that has been done on copper alloys, and includes a detailed description of the apparatus and method of procedure used in the present research, together with the new results obtained on the copper-zinc series, which is the only one completed at the present time. Subsequent papers describing the other alloys will contain the experimental results and discussion only. Previous Work Copper The conductivity of copper has been studied by many observers since the pioneer work of Wiedemann in 1859. The majority of these measure-

Jan 1, 1930

By R. L. Smith, J. L. Rutherford

ZONE refining, as developed by W. G. Pfann,1 has been used extensively for the purification of semiconductors. This method has made it possible to obtain the extremely high purity material necessary for the transistor industry. It has also been utilized to some extent for the purification of relatively low-melting-point metals. However, very little attention has been given to reactive, high-melting-point materials, with the exception of silicon. For this element, it has been necessary to use the floating zone technique in order to avoid contamination from the crucible containing the melt. The method is one in which a narrow molten zone is formed in a vertical rod by induction heating. The molten zone is supported between the two solid sections of the rod by surface tension. It is then moved longitudinally along the rod in order to effect a redistribution of solute. This technique has an advantage over the horizontal boat method, since crucible contamination is avoided. It has the disadvantage of being a much more difficult technique than zone refining in a crucible. Furthermore, it is necessarily a slow process, since only one zone at a time can be formed. However, the floating zone process offers a means of obtaining high-purity metals that are either not available, or can only be obtained in powder or pellet form as the result of complex chemical or electrochemical methods. It should be emphasized that the process is not effective in removing all impurity elements. Those that cannot be redistributed in an ingot during zone melting must be removed by some other means. Very little is known of the prope~ties of very high purity reactive metals such as iron, titanium, zirconium, beryllium, etc. It is quite likely that trace elements in such metals can affect their properties drastically. Therefore, one of the primary objectives of this work is to study the properties of metals which have been obtained in the purest form available and then zone refined. Trace elements can be introduced in a variety of ways, such as by inserting wafers between solid portions of the ingot to be melted, by placing the

Jan 1, 1958

By George D. Graffin

The first use of graphite is lost in the mists of time. It was used by primitive man to make drawings on the walls of caves and by the Egyptians to decorate pottery. As early as 1400 A.D. graphite crucibles were being made in the Haffnerzell district of Bavaria. Through the Middle Ages graphite was confused with other minerals, especially galena and molybdenite. Two common names that are still used for the mineral are "Plumbago," meaning leadlike, and "Black Lead." The latter name implied that graphite is either composed of lead or at least contains a large percentage of it. Gessner is credited with having recognized it as a separate mineral in 1565, but its composition was not determined until 1779, when Scheele demonstrated that graphite oxidized to carbon dioxide, thus proving its carbon constitution. In 1789, Werner named it "graphite" from the Greek word "graphein," meaning to write. The United States has long relied on foreign countries for its graphite supplies. This reliance has been due more to the lack of suitable domestic graphites than to any particular preference for buying minerals overseas. Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) graphites were imported as early as 1820, and Madagascar graphites have been imported since the properties on that island were opened up about a hundred years later. Mexico has long supplied the United States with most of its requirements for amorphous graphite. Physical Properties and Classification Graphite is found in laminated, flaky aggregates disseminated in schistose rocks. It also occurs in veins and exhibits a foliated or fibrous structure. Graphite is a black lustrous mineral that crystallizes in the hexagonal system, with rhombohedral symmetry. The crystals have tabular form and are six-sided; the faces are commonly striated. The flakes have perfect basal cleavage and are opaque. When well crystallized, the flakes have a black metallic luster while the amorphous material is black and earthy, with a microcrystalline compactness. The flakes feel greasy. Graphite is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. It melts at approximately 3500°C and sublimes at about 4500°C. It is combustible in the presence of oxygen between 620° and 670°C, but is stable and chemically inert at ordinary temperatures.

Jan 1, 1975

By C. W. Vaupell

THE Huitzuco mines lie in north central Guerrero, Mexico; production has been about 90,000 flasks of quicksilver since 1873. Near-surface ores fill extinct mud geysers and the deep deposits are chambered veins, stock-works in brecciated blocks, and replacements in limestone. The epigenetic minerals livingstonite, stibnite and sulphur occur in limestone, gypsum and dolomite through a developed vertical range of 260 meters. The deepest workings expose an increased amount of stibnite, which probably indicates that the lower limit of mercury mineralization is being approached. A resurgence of heat and water formed geysers over an extended area after the period of mercury mineralization. Mud geysers, which are situated, in the outcrops, contain the secondary mercury minerals, cinnabar and barcenite in the gravel and mud filling the vents. A 150-ton flotation plant is in operation concentrating stope fills that assay 3.0 kg. of mercury per ton. In one open stope, which is more than one hectare in area and 60 m. high, 150,000 tons are available. INTRODUCTION The Huitzuco mercury mines are of interest because of the unusual occurrence of ore in extinct geyser vents and the presence of several rare mercury minerals. Some of the deposits have typical characteristics of the telethermal zone and there is a gradation towards typical epithermal mineralization in depth. Halse,1 Villarello,2 Mactear3 and Merrill4 have described the geology and the early operations in the district, and Barcena5 and Mallet6 have described the rare mercury minerals, livingstonite and barcenite, found at Huitzuco. LOCATION The village of Huitzuco lies in the north central part of the State of Guerrero, Mexico, 27 km. (16.7 miles) east of Iguala, which is the largest and most important town in the area. Iguala is served by the Mexican National Railways and also by the Mexico City-Acapulco highway. The highway is surfaced from Mexico City to Iguala, a distance of 200 km. (124 miles) by road, and there is a fairly good, level, dirt road from Iguala to Huitzuco. The elevation above sea level is about 1000 m. (3280 ft.). The climate is warm and very dry except during the rainy season, from June to

Jan 1, 1937

By William L. Fink, H. R. Freche

The constitution of the aluminum-cobalt alloys has been the subject of relatively few investigations. Brunckl analyzed the residue which remained after treating the 17 per cent cobalt alloy with dilute hydrochloric acid. The results of the analyses indicated the existence of a compound Co3Al13. Guillet2 published a liquidus for the aluminum-cobalt system which contained two maxima corresponding to CoA16 and CoAl2 and two eutectic points at 30 and 74 per cent Co. The most extensive investigation of the system was carried out by Gwyer13 whose results are summarized in Fig. 1. It will be noted that at the aluminum end there is a suppressed eutectic at 644&apos; C. By extrapolation of the duration of the eutectic arrest to zero, the composition of the compound was placed at Co3Al13. Another thermal arrest was noted at 550" C., which Gwyer attributed to a peritectic reaction. The present investigation of the aluminum end of the aluminum-cobalt system is the eleventh of a series dealing with the constitution of aluminum-rich alloys prepared from electrolytically refined a1uminum.l Preparation of Alloys.—The alloys used in this work were all prepared from electrolytically refined aluminum, the analysis of which is shown in Table 1. In preparing some of the alloys, metallic cobalt (98 to 99 per cent) was used either directly or in the form of an intermediate alloy, the composition of which is given in Table 1. In order to obtain alloys of higher purity, cobalt was introduced into some of the alloys by means of chemically pure cobaltous chloride which was readily reduced by the aluminum. A small electric furnace with nickel-chromium heating elements was used in the preparation of the alloys. Chemical Analysis.—An analysis sample from each melt was chill-cast in the form of a plate 3/16 in. thick. In all cases the casting temperature was well above the liquidus. Cobalt was determined electrolytically in all alloys containing more than 0.05 per cent cobalt and by the nitroso-

Jan 1, 1932

By R. E. Cech

Particles -3 to 30 µ diam of a 29.5 pet Ni, 70.5 pet Fe alloy after being melted and solidified while falling through a hydrogen atmosphere were found to contain a distortion-free body-centered-cubic phase. In most particles, the amount of body-centered-cubic phase approaches or equals 100 pet. It was shown by a series of experiments that this phase forms directly from the liquid. It is pointed out that a mechanism previously suggested in recent papers on the theory of the liquid-solid transformation can account for the solidification of body-centered-cubic phase in a temperature range where face-centered-cubic is the stable phase. IN the course of an operation to produce powders for a study of the martensitic transformation in Fe-Ni alloys, an unexpected phenomenon was observed. Powders of a 29.5 pet Ni alloy, which has a subzero M, temperature, were found to contain considerable amounts of a body-centered-cubic phase at room temperature. The experiments to be described were designed to elucidate the mode of formation of this unexpected phase. Experiments and Discussion An alloy containing 29.5 wt pet Ni, balance iron, was vacuum melted from high purity electrolytic iron and carbonyl nickel shot and solidified in the crucible. The metal was converted to oxide, ground to 100 pet <37µ, pressed to a cake, and homogenized 20 hr at 1350°C. To insure homogeneity the grinding, pressing, and homogenizing heat treatment was repeated a second time. The oxide was then ground to 100 pct <37µ and hydrogen reduced at 500°C. The reduced powder was given a spheroidizing treatment to produce spherical cast particles. The treatment consisted of dispersing the particles in hydrogen and allowing them to drop through a vertical hydrogen furnace set to a temperature higher than the liquidus of the alloy. This operation, commonly known as shotting, has been described more fully elsewhere.&apos; The powder produced by this method was found to contain approximately equal parts of body-centered-cubic and face-centered-cubic phases. A magnetic separation technique, previously described,&apos; was applied, and it was found that particles were either completely face-centered-cubic or nearly completely body-centered-cubic. The microstruc-

Jan 1, 1957

By T. B. Counselman

AfteR several years study, the Universal Atlas Cement Co. decided to rebuild its plant at Leeds, Alabama. The entire old plant, which was to operate during the new construction, was then to be scrapped with the exception of two kilns. The quarry was to be mechanized, new and larger kilns installed, with the most modern type of equipment all through the plant. Raw grinding operations at all of the Universal Atlas plants were dry. However, the dust hazard of this operation and the growing emphasis on occupational diseases made wet grinding attractive. Coal at Leeds is cheap, so that a slightly higher coal practice was unimportant. Power was cheap, so that waste-heat boilers were not desirable. Since new kilns were to be installed, these could be made long enough to make filters unnecessary. Wet raw grinding could be either the old practice of open-circuit compartment mills or closed-circuit grinding in accordance with metal-lurgical practice. The latter saved power and steel wear and saved initial investment. This had been demonstrated in cement plants. Also, the elimination of tramp oversize was a most important advantage. Ease of chemical control was another factor. Blending in the thickener, with elimination of slurry mixers had been found practicable. Therefore, if wet raw grinding were used at all, the advantages were clearly in favor of closed-circuit grinding. Detailed layouts of the most modern possible closed-circuit dry-grinding plant and of a closed-circuit wet-grinding plant were prepared, and careful estimates were made of initial investment and operating costs. Full consideration of all the factors involved resulted in a decision to install wet closed-circuit grinding. The capacity of the new kilns was established at 4000 bbl. per day. Two new kilns were installed, each with a capacity of 80 bbl. per hour. Since 625 lb. of raw material is required to make a barrel of finished cement, the capacity of the grinding plant for the new kilns had to average only 1250 tons per day. Sufficient additional grinding capacity had to be provided for the two remaining old kilns, or their possible replacement by a third new kiln. The grinding rate, therefore, was set at 90 tons per

Jan 1, 1939

By Nelson Severinghaus

Crushed stone leads all industrial mineral, except cement in annual value of production in the United States. It is also interesting to note that crushed stone value is exceeded only by that of fuels, cement, and iron ore among all mineral products of this country. An industry which started with hand-sledging to produce smaller sizes of broken stone for hard surfaced improvement of roadways as designed by McAdam in England about 1815 has grown into a complex industrial giant. Most of this growth started with the invention of a mechanical rock crusher just under one hundred years age (1858) by Eli Whitney Blake. This invention made possible the production of greater tonnages of smaller sizes of broken stone and greatly accelerated its use for Macadam road pavements and for railroad ballast. Stones Used for Crushing All three of the major geologic classifications of stone, sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic, are widely used in the production of crushed stone. Satisfactory physical and chemical properties can be found in each type so that economic availability becomes the prime determinant for development. Table 1 lists more common rocks of the three main groups with average values of specific gravity and toughness as measured by Deval test. This widely used classification was suggested by C. E. Lord, of U. S. Bureau of Public Roads. The physical properties were compiled by D. O. Woolf in "The Results of Physical Tests of Road Building Rock," U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 76. It should be noted that the figures given in Table 1 are averages. Very substantial variations in the physical properties of rocks within any one classification will occur. The solid surface of the earth was first made up of igneous rocks resulting from the solidification or crystallization of molten material upon cooling. These igneous rocks were disintegrated into sand, clay, and gravel by the weathering action of wind, water, chemicals, [ ] and temperature changes. The products of weathering were transported by wind and streams until they reached less turbulent areas such as oceans or lakes and were deposited. Chemical deposition between grains of sand or clay or the physical action of pressure and heat then solidified them into sedimentary rocks

Jan 1, 1960

By T. B. Counselman

AFTER several years study, the Universal Atlas Cement Co. decided to rebuild its plant at Leeds, Alabama. The entire old plant, which was to operate during the new construction, was then to be scrapped with the exception of two kilns. The quarry was to be mechanized, new and larger kilns installed, with the most modern type of equipment all through the plant. Raw grinding operations at all of the Universal Atlas plants were dry. However, the dust hazard of this operation and the growing emphasis on occupational diseases made wet grinding attractive. Coal at Leeds is cheap, so that a slightly higher coal practice was unimportant. Power was cheap, so that waste-heat boilers were not desirable. Since new kilns were to be installed, these could be made long enough to make filters unnecessary. Wet raw grinding could be either the old practice of open-circuit compartment mills or closed-circuit grinding in accordance with metallurgical practice. The latter saved power and steel wear and saved initial investment. This had been demonstrated in cement plants. Also, the elimination of tramp oversize was a most important advantage. Ease of chemical control was another factor. Blending in the thickener, with elimination of slurry mixers had been found practicable. Therefore, if wet raw grinding were used at all, the advantages were clearly in favor of closed-circuit grinding. Detailed layouts of the most modern possible closed-circuit dry-grinding plant and of a closed-circuit wet-grinding plant were prepared, and careful estimates were made of initial investment and operating costs. Full consideration of all the factors involved resulted in a decision to install wet closed-circuit grinding. The capacity of the new kilns was established at 4000 bbl. per day. Two new kilns were installed, each with a capacity of 80 bbl. per hour. Since 625 lb. of raw material is required to make a barrel of finished cement, the capacity of the grinding plant for the new kilns had to average only 1250 tons per day. Sufficient additional grinding capacity had to be provided for the two remaining old kilns, or their possible replacement by a third new kiln. The grinding rate, therefore, was set at 90 tons per

Jan 1, 1939

By Wilhelm Borchers

In all special branches of the chemical and metallurgical industries, in which large electric furnaces became necessary for carrying out new processes or for the improvement of old ones, the development of the electric furnaces took place on much the same lines. The endeavors to make a success of a new idea brought forth many ingenious designs, which, however, almost without exception, furnished the proof that the safest and shortest way to practical success is the utmost simplicity of construction of the necessary apparatus. Our knowledge of the qualities of materials for building electric furnaces and of the constituents of the furnace-charges, especially their electric conductivity and their chemical affinity towards one another at high temperatures, is still far from being complete, and from this fact we must conclude that the smaller the number of elements in the construction of a furnace, the fewer the number of unreliable factors both in the construction and in the operation of the electric furnace. This conclusion deserves special attention when an electric furnace for making steel has to be chosen from the constantly-growing number of inventions, inasmuch as the chief constituent of steel, the element iron, is a substance which in its liquid phase has so great an affinity for those elemen&apos;ts which are to be removed from the charge, that it is very difficult to comply with the following conditions: 1, to heat the refining-slag to the highest point of its chemical activity ; 2, to prevent the iron from entering the slag, or, where this cannot be done, to make it enter so that it finally appears in the end-product

Jan 1, 1911

By William J. McCaughey, Richard L. Barrett

For sixty years—in fact, ever since the inception of the basic steelmaking process —basic slags have been the subject of study by chemists, metallurgists and petrog-raphers! with the purpose of providing a better understanding of the reactions between the slag and the metal during the refining process. The result of this work and of the researches of mineralogists and physical chemists into the chemistry of oxide systems is a considerable body of literature dealing not only with slags themselves but with equilibrium relationships in systems synthesized from pure components. Since any actual slag is a multicom-ponent system more complex than any yet worked out in the laboratory, a complete solution to the problem is still far away. The writers have recently published a paper1 which they believe sheds light on the role of the slag in the elimination of phosphorus and it is the purpose of the present paper to discuss the metallurgical applications of that work. Since the pioneer investigations on the constitution of basic slags carried on by Stead and Risdale, Carnot and Richards, Hilgenstock and others in the I88o&apos;s, a considerable body of literature on this subject has appeared. Many of the more important of these papers were summarized in the previous paper,l therefore they will not be reviewed here. PetRographic Study The present writers have had occasion, over a period of years, to examine petro-graphically a great number of basic steel-making slags having a very wide range of chemical compositions and made under various conditions of operating practice. Although certain of these slags exhibit some unusual features, it is a remarkable fact that the great majority of mature slags show certain typical characteristics, which persist throughout the wide range of chemical compositions. The typical mature slag usually appears under the microscope to consist of two phases. The phase of primary crystallization is light colored and doubly refracting. If separated mechanically and subjected to chemical analysis, it is found to consist essentially of SiO2, CaO, and P2O6. Sometimes, although not usually, two such silicate-phosphate phases are found. The other conspicuous phase is dark in color and optically isotropic, and occurs as the interstitial material between the grains of the light colored phase. This dark colored interstitial phase when analyzed is found to consist essentially of FeO, Fe2O3, MnO, and MgO. In some &apos;lags high in iron oxide, particularly those from low-carbon heats, dicalcium ferrite is found. This phase is dark reddish brown in color and anisotropic.

Jan 1, 1944