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By K. A. Lambert

In the Anthracite Region there are considerable areas where the original mining was done 50 or more years ago. In this original mining, the pillars that were left proved inadequate in size for the support of the roof, which has since collapsed as a result of squeezes, and completely filled the original openings. In an endeavor to recover the coal which remains in the pillars in such areas, the reopening cost for development, as well as for pillar recovery, has been excessive in many instances. Various methods have been tried out with a view to lowering the cost, in order that the greatest possible percentage of recovery of the reserve tonnage may be realized economically. Ordinary hand mining necessitates the driving of development road 10 ft. wide in the clear between timber legs, with 6 ft. of clearance over the rail to accommodate mine cars; collars or crossbars on the timber sets have been difficult to maintain in these openings in the heavily caved condition, especially in beds where the overburden is great,. Numerous failures have occurred on these development road timbers because of roof movement resulting from removal of pillars. The actual removal of pillars from this development work has been costly because full-width openings for transporting mine cars to the face have to be maintained by cleaning caved material from alongside the pillars, or skipping up along the pillars where pillars of sufficient width are found. Shaker-chute Methods A method of developing such caved conditions and recovering pillars tributary to this development, utilizing shaker chutes, is being tried out with considerable success at Loree colliery. An outline of the chute and apparatus is shown in Fig. 1, which indicates the location of pillars and caved material. The cost of both labor and material required in the recovery of such coal is considerably less than by ordinary hand methods. In order to try out this method of mining a location was chosen where a tightly caved area had been developed by ordinary hand methods to within 300 ft. of the property line. The original bed height was 12 ft., with an overburden of 325 ft., but on account of the squeezes which

Jan 1, 1931

By M. J. Greaves, Alan English

Pelletizing on a commercial scale is only 10 years old; yet in this period more than 150 million tons of pellets have been produced. Instrumentation and controls have played an important part in the development of an entirely new industry in almost unprecedented time. Initially, most control circuits used in the pelletizing industry were manually operated, since the confidence factor in instruments and controls was quite low at that time. This changed considerably in recent years and improvements in the use of instruments and controls have probably developed more rapidly in pelletizing than in any other metallurgical process. Now, within a decade of the start of commercial operations, the use of manually operated controls has changed and consideration is being given to the utilization of computers for data logging and control purposes.

Jan 7, 1965

By M. E. Wadsworth, K. C. Bowles, H. E. Flanders, R. M. Nadkarni, C. E. Jelden

The kinetics of precipitation of copper on iron of various purity were carried out under controlled conditions. The rate of reduction has been correlated with such parameters as copper and hydrogen ion concentration, geometric factors, flow rate, and temperature. The character of the precipitated copper as a function of flow conditions and rate of PreciPitation has been observed under a variety of conditions. ThE precipitation of copper in solution by cementation on a more electropositive metal has been known for many years. Basile valentine' who wrote Currus Triumphalis Antimonii about 1500, refers to this method for extraction of copper. Paracelsus the Great2 who was born about 1493 cites the use of iron to prepare Venus (copper) by the "rustics of Hungary" in the "Book Concerning the Tincture of the Philosophers". Agricola3 in his work on minerals (1546) tells of a peculiar water which is drawn from a shaft near Schmölnitz in Hungary, that erodes iron and turns it into copper. In 1670, a concession is recorded4 as having been granted for the recovery of copper from the mine waters at Rio Tinto in Spain, presumably by precipitation with iron. Much has been published in recent literature on the recovery of copper by cementation, the majority of the articles being on plant practice.5-24 The rest include articles on investigation of the variables involved25-28 and a review of hydrometallurgical copper extraction methods." This literature has established: a) The three principal reactions in the cementation of copper are Cu + Fe — Fe+4 +Cu [ 11 One pound of copper is precipitated by 0.88 lb of iron stoichiometrically. In actual practice about 1.5 to 2.5 lb of iron are consumed. 2Fe+3 + Fe — 3Fe+2 [21 Fe +2H'-Fe+2 + H2 [3] Reactions [2] and [3] are responsible for the consumption of excess iron. Wartman and Roberson'28 have established that Reactions [ I] and [2] are concurrent and much faster than Reaction [3]. b) Acidity control is important in the control of hydrolysis and the excessive consumption of iron. he commercial workable range is approximately from pH = 1.8 to 3." c) Iron consumption is closely related to the amount of ferric iron in solution. Jacobi" reports that, by leaving the pregnant mine waters in contact wi th lump pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) for 3 hr, all the iron was reduced to the bivalent condition and scrap iron consumption was cut to 1.25 lb scrap per pound of copper precipitated. He also reported that SO2 has been used successfully to reduce ferric iron to the ferrous state. d) The ideal precipitant is one that offers a large exposed area and is relatively free of rust. e) High velocities and agitation show a beneficial effect upon the rate of precipitation, as it tends to displace the layer of barren solution adjacent to the iron and also dislodges hydrogen bubbles and precipitated copper to expose new surfaces. Little work, however, has been published on the reaction kinetics of copper precipitation on iron. Cent-nerszwer and Heller20 investigated the precipitation of metallic cations in solutions on zinc plates. They found the cementation reaction to be a first-order reaction. The rate constant was independent of stirring for high stirring rates and they concluded that the rate is governed by a diffusional process at low stirring speeds and by a "chemical" process at higher stirring speeds where the rate reaches a constant value. This conclusion has been challenged by King and Burger30 who could not find any region where the rate was independent of the stirring speed, although the rate constant they had obtained for high stirring speed was greater than the maximum value of the rate constant reported by Centnerszwer and Heller (by a factor of six). King and Burger, therefore, concluded that the rate of displacement of copper was controlled only by diffusion. Cementation of various cations on zinc has been summarized by Engfelder.31 APPARATUS A three-necked distillation flask of 2 000-mm capacity was used as a reaction vessel. A pipet of 10-mm capacity was introduced through one of- the side necks, the sample of sheet iron, mounted in a rigid sample holder, through the other, the stirrer being in the middle as shown in Fig. 1. The whole assembly was immersed in a constant-temperature bath. The stirrer was always placed at the same depth in the solution. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Reagent-grade cupric sulfate (J. T. Baker Chemical Co., N.J.) was used to make up a stock solution containing 10 g of copper per liter which was then diluted to various concentrations as required. Experimental data were obtained by measuring the amount of copper and iron ions in solution at successive time intervals. The initial volume of the solution was always 2000 ml, 10-ml aliquots being removed each time for chemical analysis. Because the total volume change of the solution was less than 10 pct, no correction was used for solution volume change. Nitrogen was bubbled through the solution before and

Jan 1, 1968

By R. V. Vines, E. M. Wise

It is known qualitatively that the recrystallization behavior of platinum is dependent upon the amount and particularly the nature of impurities present, the amount of prior cold-work and the annealing time and temperature, but published data are limited. A study of the effects of cold-work and annealing temperature on the hardness of a sample of very pure platinum was undertaken to supply part of this information. Conclusions 1. The platinum used in the experiments had a probable platinum content of 99.99+ per cent, and had the following mechanical properties in the completely softened condition: Vickers hardness number, 39.4; ultimate tensile strength, 19,340 lb. per sq. in.; proportioilal limit, very low; elongation, 37.5 per cent in 2 inclles. 2. The effect of cold-rolling on the hardness is shown in Fig. 1. The hardness increases rapidly up to 10 to 15 per cent reduction and more slowly up to about 75 per cent reduction, beyond which it increases more rapidly. 3. The recrystallization temperatures for a 15-min. anneal, after cold-rolling 19, 39.5, 50.8, 66, 80.5 and 89.5 per cent reduction in thickness, are approximately 765°, 700°, 635°, 600°, 545' and 425°C., respectively. 4. The recrystallized grain size of this platinum is a function of the percentage of cold reduction, being larger the lower the percentage of cold-work. 5. Little or 110 grain grourtll resulted from subjecting recrystallized samples to higher temperatures or annealing for longer times. Prior Work As already mentioned, data on the recrystallization of platinum are scarce. Gmelin'sl handbook, which summarizes data published earlier than August 1938, lists values ranging from 400' to 810°C. for the minimum temperature of recrystallization of samples with rather indefinite

Jan 1, 1940

By E. M. Wise, R. V. Vines

It is known qualitatively that the recrystallization behavior of platinum is dependent upon the amount and particularly the nature of impurities present, the amount of prior cold-work and the annealing time and temperature, but published data are limited. A study of the effects of cold-work and annealing temperature on the hardness of a sample of very pure platinum was undertaken to supply part of this information. Conclusions 1. The platinum used in the experiments had a probable platinum content of 99.99+ per cent, and had the following mechanical properties in the completely softened condition: Vickers hardness number, 39.4; ultimate tensile strength, 19,340 lb. per sq. in.; proportioilal limit, very low; elongation, 37.5 per cent in 2 inclles. 2. The effect of cold-rolling on the hardness is shown in Fig. 1. The hardness increases rapidly up to 10 to 15 per cent reduction and more slowly up to about 75 per cent reduction, beyond which it increases more rapidly. 3. The recrystallization temperatures for a 15-min. anneal, after cold-rolling 19, 39.5, 50.8, 66, 80.5 and 89.5 per cent reduction in thickness, are approximately 765°, 700°, 635°, 600°, 545' and 425°C., respectively. 4. The recrystallized grain size of this platinum is a function of the percentage of cold reduction, being larger the lower the percentage of cold-work. 5. Little or 110 grain grourtll resulted from subjecting recrystallized samples to higher temperatures or annealing for longer times. Prior Work As already mentioned, data on the recrystallization of platinum are scarce. Gmelin'sl handbook, which summarizes data published earlier than August 1938, lists values ranging from 400' to 810°C. for the minimum temperature of recrystallization of samples with rather indefinite

Jan 1, 1940

By Charles Barrett

THE orientation of metal crystals and grains, both large and small,. can be determined conveniently and accurately without the use of X-ray apparatus. This seems to be appreciated by so few metallurgists that it may be useful to explain in detail the method we have found most satis-factory in the laboratory the reflection of light from crystallographic etch pits. This note includes a description of a suitable inexpensive instrument and instructions for etching various metals and for plotting the data. As the stereographic projection is used to facilitate handling the data, this note may be considered as an appendix to an earlier review of the metallurgical uses of the stereographic projection.1 Various methods involving etch pits have been used by other investi-gators, Bridgman's method2 consists of attaching the specimen to a sphere (a transparent sphere is convenient4), holding it at arm's length, and marking a spot on it when it has been turned so that the etch pits reflect light into the eye of the observer from a lamp standing behind him. It has an accuracy of about 2° and is extremely rapid. A greater accuracy can be obtained by having the reflected light fall on a screen, as has been done by Czoehralski, 5 Chalmers,6 and Schubnikov.7 All of these methods have been intended for undeformed single crystals. Tammann and his coworkers"' developed a method for estimating the number of grains in a polycrystalline aggregate having orientations in a given region of the stereographic triangle and thus obtained statistical information about deformation and recrystallization textures. While the method has had some use in recent years,9 it is not applicable to the majority of problems in physical metallurgy. Smith and Mehl10 determined orientations by plotting the directions of the sides of individual etch pits on a stereo-

Jan 1, 1940

By R. J. Reynik, F. R. Meeks

IN the classical paper1 of Mehl and Rhines entitled "The Rates of Diffusion in the Alpha Solid Solutions of Copper", the authors state: "It has been mathematically demonstrated that the treatment of the data as though the diffusion were taking place between two flat plates instead of radially in a cylinder has no appreciable effect upon the results. Were the bars of a much smaller diameter, a modification of the analytical treatment would have been required." Unfortunately, the errors in the reported concentrations are much too large to neglect, as shown in the results below. A planar treatment of diffusion data assumes that the reference planes separated by a nominal distance (AX) have identical areas. An adjustment must be made on the concentration data should the successive diffusion planes differ in area. The Mehl-Rhines' diffusion samples were cylindrical with copper electroplated onto copper-based alloys. Successive surface areas through which diffusion occurs are in the ratio ri/r1, where ri is the radial distance between the center of the sample and the center of the i th shell to which the host (alloy) atoms diffuse, and r1 is the radial distance between the center of the sample and the center of the innermost (i = 1) experimentally reported shell from which the alloy atoms diffuse. Hence, ri/r1 (i = 1, ..., n layers) is a dimensionless correction factor to be multiplied by the reported concentration data before planar-data analysis is attempted. In the forty-seven samples reported, the original interface between the copper alloys and the electroplated copper was located at a mean distance of 8.255 mm from the center of the samples. The successive layers, machined off the samples, were approximately 0.0762 mm thick. The distance (xi) at which concentration (ci) was reported was always a distance measured with respect to the original interface, that is, with respect to the fixed distance of 8.255 mm. Hence, the as yet undiscovered Kirkendall Effect was precompensated. The values of ri and r1 are therefore given by ri = 8.255 + xi and Y, = 8.255 + x,. The illustrative table below lists the position xi (mm), ri (mm), the value of ri/r1, the reported concentration (ci) in weight percent (only valid for radial analysis of data), and the corrected concentration [c'i = (ri/r1)ci] in weight percent (only valid for planar analysis of data). Similar tables can be constructed for the remaining forty-six samples. The corrected data can be used to re-evaluate the diffusion coefficients for the reported systems.

Jan 1, 1965

By L. Adler

A fairly complex analysis is required to select or evaluate a piece of excavating and bulk handling equipment for its performance. At present, there is little agreement as to what points should be considered, and even less on what procedure to follow. This paper provides both of these in a consistent and direct form. The analysis applies to all types and sizes of equipment. The importance of the equipment characteristics, job activities, and work conditions are stressed. Separate analytical stems are established in a flow chart for these. They are combined using suitability tests in: problem statement; natural conditions; suitability guidelines; appropriate equipment types; operational activities; encumbered space; geometric design; equipment sizing; failure and limits; performance and consumption; public policy checks; and costs and profitability. Public policy and economics receive emphasis towards the end. The procedure is iterative, containing distinct feedback loops. Specifying the steps and sequence provides a necessary structure which has long been overdue.

Jan 1, 1985

By L. B. Harris

Continuous cyclic unloading during tensile work hardening of polycrystalline zinc at room temperature enables specimens to sustain greatly increased extension. Such enhanced ductility is associated with creep-type extension, during which the cyclic component appears to promote relaxation of internal strains. It is possible to trace the transitions from tension, through enhanced cyclic extension, to fatigue and relate the observed behavior to simpler types of deformation. DISTINCTIVE deformation behavior has been shown to occur when loading includes both cyclic and unidirectional components. For aluminum and copper extended by a sequence of progressively biased strain reversals, coffin1 observed greater fracture ductility and lower flow stresses than during monotonic tension. This may be compared with the reduction in hardness obtained from conventional fatigue softening. But fatigue softening is accompanied by enhanced fatigue life,' whereas Benham3 found that fatigue life was reduced when copper continuously extended during axial load cycling. The corresponding specimen elongation, for large cyclic load amplitudes, was greater than during normal tension. Under different conditions, Bendler and wood4 found that torsional fatigue initiated extension in copper under low tensile loads previously in equilibrium with the specimen; fatigue life was again reduced. Thus there is a type of cyclic softening which is associated with reduced fatigue life and which occurs when the cyclic loading is accompanied by a unidirectional strain component. Further, the fracture ductility or extension obtained from the unidirectional component can exceed that obtained in the absence of cyclic load. Specimen extension was not initiated by axial fatigue at small load amplitudes;3 hence Benham's work distinguishes between fatigue at large and small amplitudes, the former often being linked with unidirectional deformation because of similarities in strain Structure. The initiation of tensile extension during torsional fatigue,4 however, occurred with small amplitudes. Comparable changes in behavior have been ob- served during creep. kennedy' found that combined cyclic and creep stresses on lead at 32°C increased the rate of elongation over that for simple creep, the consequence being a reduction in creep life. It was also demonstrated that small cyclic stresses applied after creep deformation initially increased recovery, but that prolonged application produced only normal fatigue hardening. It is clear that physical properties can be changed by interaction between the cyclic and unidirectional deformations, but owing to the number of different ways in which the deformations can be combined and the large number of possible variables for each combination, trends of behavior become easily obscured. One definite conclusion is that enhanced ductility or increased extension can be obtained by cyclic action, and it is this process that has been investigated for the tensile test by measurements of the extra tensile strain produced by the addition of a cyclic tensile component. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Material. Specimens were 99.99 pct Zn wire of 1.6 and 2.0 mm diam. Mean grain diameter was 0.02 mm, sufficiently small to give a ductile necked-down fracture under all loading conditions. All experiments were conducted at an average temperature of 20°C. Normal Tension. Unidirectional tensile curves at different strain rates were obtained from an In-stron testing machine, on which load-time curves were recorded autographically, using gage lengths of 5 and 10 cm. Straining was at constant cross-head velocity, and quoted strain rates are with reference to initial specimen length. Measurements of total elongation under simple tension were also made on the tensile machine that had been modified to incorporate an added fluctuating load. Combined Tension and Rapid Cyclic Load. An electromagnetic vibrator was coupled to the elastic beam of a Hounsfield ensometer- and driven sinus-oidally from a power amplifier at frequencies from 20 to 360 cps, the flexible connecting links on the tensometer being replaced by rigid fixtures to eliminate lateral vibration in the specimen. One end of the specimen was pulled by the normal extension drive of the tensometer while the other end, fixed to the elastic beam and vibrator, was subjected to rapid oscillations of load. It was thus possible to apply cyclic load to a tensile test without altering the rate of extension of the specimen

Jan 1, 1964

The fourth National Exposition of Chemical Industries will be held in the Grand Central Palace, New York, during the week of Sept. 23, 1918. Dr. Bacon, of the advisory committee, is now head of the Chemical Warfare Section of the National Army, and a member of General Pershing's staff. The coming Exposition will be the largest ever held, and it will be necessary to use four floors of the Grand Central Palace. The exposition is a war-time necessity, and regarding it as such, each exhibitor is planning his exhibit so that it will be of. the greatest benefit to the country.

Jan 8, 1918

By Ronald J. Roman

All mining and milling complexes can, within limits, operate at a variety of production rates. Factors of economic importance that are affected by production rates are costs per unit production, recovery, and product grade. Once the relationship between the production rate and cost is established, dynamic-programming techniques can define the optimum production schedule (i.e., the production schedule that maximizes the present worth of the operation) for the life of the deposit. In general, the optimum production rate is not constant for the life of the deposit, but declines gradually as the deposit is being exhausted.

Jan 1, 1972

By Gary B. Williamson, Barton K. Cross

Digital simulation is a modern analysis tool which allows the mine operator to evaluate the result of making a decision without actually changing the organization or buying the equipment. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of digital simulation in evaluating a decision of whether or not to introduce dispatching in an open pit mine. The analysis shows that appreciable savings can be realized by dispatching. In certain cases, an operator can reduce the number of trucks required to move a specified tonnage. A second analysis evaluates the alternatives of using one large shovel or two smaller units. In this case, the operating cost of the haulage equipment necessary to support the shovels turns out to be the critical factor in this decision.

Jan 1, 1969

By J. Wayne Erickson

One of the major problems facing today's mining industry is how to manage people and control costs in the underground mine. It is a problem with a solution. Because of the concerted effort to find and mine minerals near the surface, open-pit mine opportunities for certain minerals are becoming more limited; the mining industry will eventually be forced to produce more and more from underground mines in order to obtain those resources necessary to sustain our civilization. Although much technical progress has been made towards solving problems associated with the underground mine, such as - mine design, ventilation, rock support, equipment, and blasting techniques, little has been written on managing mining personnel. Much of what is being taught and practiced today about human relations, motivation, incentives, etc., applies to the underground miner, but the uniqueness of his group dictates a different treatment from that associated with the typical construction worker or factory employee. The difference lies with the kind of man attracted to underground mining and his working environment. Anyone who has had the responsibility of managing an underground mine would agree it is a unique problem.

Jan 9, 1976

By A. L. Marshall, F. J. Norton

TO determine how rigorous a treatment was necessary completely to remove sorbed gases from molybdenum electrodes in vacuum tubes, the degassing process in high vacuum was studied in the temperature range 800° to 2300°C., and the gases analyzed. Some work was also done on the degassing of tungsten, nickel, and carbon. It was shown that the amount of gas is proportional to the mass of the sample and not to the surface area, indicating that the gas is distributed through the body of the metal. A study was made of the solubility of nitrogen in tungsten and molybdenum from 1200" to 2400" C., at equilibrium pressures from 0.01 to 760 millimeters.

Jan 1, 1933

AN UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR INSTITUTE MEMBERS to increase or complete their sets of the Transactions. In order to encourage the custom of members increasing each year the number of Volumes of the Transactions in their private libraries until the sets are complete, the Board of Directors has authorized the sale of Transactions previous to the year 1913 at the following greatly reduced rates. This offer is made effective for sales made only during the year 1914, and applies only to members in good standing, and to libraries. The reduced price automatically ceases to apply to any volume when the total number of such volume left in stock is reduced to fifty (50).

Jan 12, 1913

Consolidation Coal Co. is solving the abrasion problem and cutting maintenance costs at its Georgetown preparation plant by using ceramic alumina tiles from The Carborundum Co. The Georgetown complex handles the output of four deep mines and three strip mines in the Cadiz, Ohio, area-washing about 73 000 tons (80,000 st) weekly. Plant superintendent Duke Zinko is using wear-resistant Dura-frax® tiles in several applications, replacing wear plates, profile rubber, and other materials he has tried over the years.

Jan 7, 1979

By T. Egleston

The necessity of using a refractory material capable of much greater resistance to chemical action and having a far higher melting-point than those which contain silica, which melt and sweat off in the furnace even when not exposed to bases forming with silica more or less fusible compounds, has led to a careful practical study of all those materials which contain very refractory bases. The results of these researches, extending over several years, and made on a very large scale in many of the largest works in Europe, are of the highest interest, not only considered as a step in the progress of the study of the materials themselves, but in the application of refractory materials to metallurgical uses in general. The result of the experience of the last seven years with these basic materials, as in general with all such substanccs, is that natural products cannot be used as such. They are either too uncertain in their quality, contain substances which may in certain cases be very injurious, or, when in a condition in which they might be used, are so rare as to become practically unavailable for employment on a large scale. The materials that may he used are therefore not only limited in number. but they must be prepared artificially. When the use of basic artificial material is further extended, no doubt the number of these substances will not only be greatly increased, but the methods of preparation will be both perfected and cheapened to such an extent as to permit their application in processes for which they have hitherto proved too expensive. The quantity of refractory materials required for making ingots will he from 130 to 150 Ibs. per ton, or between 6 and 8 per cent. of the metal produced. In an establishment producing 2000 to 3000 tons of steel per week, considerable space is required to handle the basic materials properly. It is proposed in this paper to briefly discuss these basic materials and their application in the only two metallurgical processes where they have as yet been applied. These are the basic Bessemer and the basic open-hearth process, known as the Thomas-Gilchrist processes.

Jan 1, 1886

By V. Lepetic, C. C. Harris

A systematic program of investigations covering all aspects of cell hydrodynamics,1-3 flotation kinetics,4,5 surface chemistry and their interactions has as a major objective the elucidation of the flotation micromechanism and the principles of cell design and scale-up.6 Purely from the scale-up point of view, a family of reactors should enable different throughputs of the same material to be similarly treated or, at least, to be treated in a manner which differs beween reactors in a predictable way. Thus, for the same material and residence time, the recovery and grade from differently sized cells of the same family should, ideally, be similar or, at least, be related to each other in a known way. It is well known, however, that different-sized cells do not always achieve similar results, and it is necessary to enquire into the reasons for these differences. For example, it may be that the relative dimensions of different-sized cells result in hydrodynamic conditions which preclude similarity; if so, different scaling may improve the situation. The major question concerns identifying the dynamic conditions and their associated geometric requirements which govern the flotation process, and the criteria which are necessary for their fulfillment. It is to answer such questions that the program referred to earlier was instituted. In connection with this program and in order to examine data concerning the physical features and operating conditions of existing flotation cells, the following survey was carried out. This work represents an approach which is complementary to experimental investigations, for it recognizes that the design of existing cells may embody several of the principles being sought. If data for enough cells, especially families of cells, are examined, some broad requirements common to all cells may emerge.

Jan 9, 1966

By John V. Beall

Homeland of the Republic of China, the island of Taiwan looks on the map like a seal, muzzle pointed south, resting complacently on the emerald waters of the China Sea. Any notion of placidness is quickly dispelled by going to that country where the visitor gains the impression of almost violent busyness in tearing up streets, pushing up buildings and tilling the fields. Driving from the airport downtown to Taipei, the capital city, one sees roads, streets and thorough-fares which seethe with bizarre traffic. From water buffaloes to buses, transportation takes every conceivable shape, size and color in between. The load being transported need not conform in any way to the capabilities of the vehicle. Twenty- foot lengths of pipe may be trans- ported on a bicycle. A family of five may go to town on a motor- cycle. Impossible? Count them. The streets and buildings of the city appear unrestrained, or without margins. Shops do not end at the doorway but overflow with a variety of goods onto the sidewalks and into the streets where the marginal traffic, on foot or on wheels, intertwines unconcernedly with the flotsam from the shops. Signs, dry goods, hardware and the continuous hubbub make the view colorful, lighthearted and fascinating. The island is 230 miles long by 75 miles wide with a central mountain spine. To the east, the mountains descend steeply to the ocean whereas to the west, beyond the foothills, there is a broad coastal plain. Only about 25% of the land is suitable for cultivation but the tropical climate permits several harvests a year. At the same time the mountains, which are high enough to sometimes have snow, offer an agreeable change of temperature. In this setting, society has created an economy that is growing at such a rate on all fronts that it would seem to be fairly bursting at the seams.

Jan 9, 1969

By K. S. Lane

The problem of stability of slopes in reservoirs is one of real interest in civil engineering. The problem is whether the valley walls will remain stable or whether they are likely to slide as conditions are changed by storage of water in the reservoir. If major slides are indicated, as on the walls of relatively steep canyons, one must estimate whether they will be so located and of sufficient size as to interfere with operation of the reservoir-as by blocking the outlets, or by displacing sufficient water to over-top the dam in a huge wave. Some cases involve problems in soil mechanics for slides in earth or weaker rock; other locations need the assistance of rock mechanics for slides in harder rock. While this is not a new problem, attention has recently been focused on its importance by the hugh landslide into the Vaiont reservoir in 1963, which claimed the lives of over 2000 people and forced abandonment of the dam and powerhouse. VAIONT RESERVOIR SLIDE Fig. 1 shows Vaiont Dam in Italy which is a double curvature arch, 875 ft high, located on a tributary of the Piave River, north and west of Venice. When completed in 1960 it was the highest arch dam in the world. In 1960 a sizable landslide (some 700,000 cu yd) occurred on the left abutment a short distance above the dam. Following this, the reservoir was held down for construction of a by-pass tunnel through the right valley wall to insure connection with the upper end of the reservoir in event of further slides. In October 1963 a giant landslide occurred on the left valley wall, over a width of some 14 miles (see Fig. 2). Over 300 million cu yd slid into the reservoir, displacing the water and forming a hige wave 700 ft above the top of the dam as it hit the opposite, or right, wall of the valley. The wave then passed some 500 ft over top of the dam, followed down the tortuous winding canyon and debouched into the

Jan 1, 1967