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By Bradley Stoughton, M. Miyake

The importance of magnesium alloys as engineering materials has increased rapidly in the past few years. The most important properties of magnesium alloys are their lightness and strength, which result in their extensive use in aircraft and automobile construction. Recent progress in the metallurgy of magneaium seems to offer hope of the production of the pure metal at a reasonable cost. The use of magnesium would doubtless increase greatly if it could be produced at a cost comparable with that of aluminum. A preliminary survey of the magnesium-base alloys shows that the most promising from a practical standpoint are magnesium-aluminum and magnesium-zinc as binary alloys, and magnesium-zinc-aluminum as ternary alloys. The research reported in this paper is a preliminary study of binary magnesium-aluminum and magnesium-zinc alloys, as an introduction to a series of further investigations. Magnesium-aluminum System The magnesium-aluminum system was first studied by Boudouard,1 who merely determined the liquidus. An accepted constitutional diagram was given by Grube,2 who found a compound A13Mg4 (melting point = 462.7" C.) and two eutectics at 35 per cent. magnesium (451.6° C.) and at 68 per cent. magnesium (440" C.) Between the first eutectic and the compound a solid solution exists. This diagram was checked or supplemented by Pécheux,3 Broniewski,4 Eger,5 Schirmeister,6 Voge17

Jan 1, 1926

By R. P. McLaughlin

EXACT information as to performance of the gas lift from the mechanical engineering standpoint is hard to obtain. Several hundred wells are now producing in California fields by means of the gas lift, and a survey of results shows that the gas lift has increased production at these wells by approximately 60 percent. Similar or even larger figures describe results in Mid-Continent fields. Such an increase in output of oil is so satisfactory, to the average oil producer, that it may not encourage investigation looking to more efficient operation. The cost of lifting oil by compressed gas varies from 3 c. to 15 c. per bbl. of oil, depending upon the efficiency of the gas lift. A difference of 10 c. or 12 c. per bbl. of oil is immediately noticed by an oil operator and the cost in production is as real to him as is the price of his product. Therefore, the efficiency of gas-lift process deserves more consideration than it has been given in some quarters. It has been found that there is a wide variation between different operators and at different wells in the amount of gas used per barrel of oil lifted. Some of the most efficient operations show oil being lifted with only slightly over 400 cu. ft. of gas per bbl. of oil.1 On the other hand, wells are being flowed and using as high as 3000 cu. ft. per bbl. of oil. The cost of compressing gas to 300 or 400 lb. varies from 3 c. to 5 c. per 1000 cu. ft. of free gas. This figure has been obtained from a number of sources and as a matter of fact is the basis of actual business transactions involving gas compression. The cost of lifting oil with compressed gas is thus determined.

Jan 12, 1926

By K. Unrug, G. Herget, A. Smith

SUMMARY Statistics on roof falls indicate that the cost of just removing the unwanted waste from roof falls in US coal mines amounts to about $20 M per year. Almost 40 percent of fatal accidents occur under permanently supported roofs, indicating that the assessment of roof stability is still a very difficult task. In an effort to obtain a better understanding of roof fall occurrences, rock strength and ground stresses were determined in the roof of one mine each in Western Kentucky, northern West Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky. Triaxial ground stress determinations clearly show that horizontal stresses were higher than vertical stresses, and that maximum stresses in the horizontal plane were concentrated between the NE-SW to E-W direction, with the exception of the Eastern Kentucky site which was above the drainage. Magnitudes of stress components may vary considerably in one drlll hole. Strength tests of roof strata materials were done on core samples. Mapping of roof falls showed that the geometry of an opening or maximum span were not the overruling factor because in the same general area, a roof fall was observed in a room (entry) which connected two stable four-way intersections. It should be noted that, in very wet areas, the roof can break up to the bed where water is carried, and a very low ratio between extent of roof fall to height of roof, fall is observed. Geometry is, however, a contributing factor because nearly 70 percent of roof falls are intersection falls. The frequency of fractures parallel to bedding in failed roof strata is much higher than that observed in the original strata, indicating a significant amount of working in the roof before failure.

Jan 1, 1984

By C. H. Mathewson, Kent R. Van Horn

Copper and the copper-base solid solutions readily form twin crystals when plastically deformed at a suitably elevated temperature or annealed after cold deformation. In fact, no feature of the microstructure of these materials is more prominent or characteristic than these straight-sided bands or simple lines of division which sometimes come from groups of thin polysynthetic lamellae, penetrating part way or wholly through the parent grain substance, but often divide the grain into a few or perhaps only two crystallographically related parts. Nearly always the bands as seen in the usual microscopic examination of a specimen come into vivid contrast with the adjacent crystalline material owing to the inherent difference in orientation. Bands which under special conditions of orientation cannot be seen with vertically incident light are often visible under oblique illumination and, when this fails, contrasting effects usually may be obtained by using polarized light. There is no longer any doubt that these synthetic banded structures obtained in the ordinary course of working and annealing are due to twinning of the spinel type which was observed long ago in a number of metals crystallizing in the isometric system.' It has been customary in metallurgical literature to designate these synthetic twins, which grow into prominence during an annealing process, as "annealing twins" without regard to the actual mode of their formation, which is, indeed, obscure and with scant recognition of the fact that prior deformation is essential, no twins having been observed in metal of known unstrained history. This is questionable; especially in view of the fact that in a number of metals and minerals, reorientation into the twin configuration is known to occur as a result of a simple shearing mechanism along the recognized twinning planes and the

Jan 1, 1930

By C. H. Mathewson

COPPER and the copper-base solid solutions readily form twin crystals when plastically deformed at a suitably elevated temperature or annealed after cold deformation. In fact, no feature of the microstructure of these materials is more prominent or characteristic than these straight-sided bands or simple lines of division which sometimes come from groups of thin polysynthetic lamellae, penetrating part way or wholly through the parent grain substance, but often divide the grain into a few or perhaps only two crystallographically related parts. Nearly always the bands as seen in the usual microscopic examination of a specimen come into vivid contrast with the adjacent crystalline material owing to the inherent difference in orientation. Bands which under special conditions of orientation cannot be seen with vertically incident light are often visible under oblique illumination and, when this fails, contrasting effects usually may be obtained by using polarized light. There is no longer any doubt that these synthetic banded structures obtained in the ordinary course of working and annealing are due to twinning of the spinel type which was observed long ago in a number of metals crystallizing in the isometric system.1 It has been customary in metallurgical literature to designate these synthetic twins, which grow into prominence during an annealing process, as "annealing twins" without regard to the actual mode of their formation, which is, indeed, obscure and with scant recognition of the fact that prior deformation is essential, no twins having been observed in metal of known unstrained history. This is questionable; especially in view of. the fact that in a number of metals and minerals, reorientation into the twin configuration is known to occur as a result of a simple shearing mechanism along the recognized twinning planes and the

Jan 1, 1930

By George W. Hezzelwood

THE Balatoc mine, one of the Haussermann group,† is on the Island of Luzon, the largest of the Philippine group, about 260 km north of Manila, and 12 km from the city of Baguio The Baguio district is the most important gold-mining area of the Philippines, with 14 producing mines in 1939, milling 2,358,804 tons of ore, yielding [P]40,881,048, approximately 55 per cent of the total Philippine production of [P]74,131,216 PRODUCTION HISTORY The Balatoc mine began production In January 1929 with a 150-ton cyanide mill Increases in mill capacity have taken place as follows March, 1932, to 330 tons June, 1933, to 470 tons December, 1933, to ;15 tons July, 1934, to 700 tons December, 1934, to loon tons May, 193, to 1200 tons October, 1938, to 1300 tolls April, 1939, to 2000 tons January, 1941, to 2T50 tons Production during the period of expansion has steadily increased in total value in spite of the fact that grade of ore milled has dropped-from $31 06 in 1929 to $5 78 in1940 Annual reports give production as shown in Table I, the average value, being based on gold at the old price of $20 67 per ounce [ ] GEOLOGY The ore occurs in quartz-calcite veins that vary in width from narrow stringers to mineralized zones 40 to 30 ft wide Wall rocks consist largely of diorites, with some andesite, and a fragmental breccia called locally the "Balatoc plug " Texture of the ore varies widely in the different vents-from a soft, highly altered, gouge material filled with quartz fragments through a soft, unaltered quartz-calcite to a hard, massive quartz ore Three major vein systems have been extensively developed, and smaller amounts of work have been done on several others These veins strike east-west to N 60°, clipping south from 50° to 90°, and are essentially tension breaks between a series of faults or shears striking N 30°E to N 30°E and clipping southeast from 50° to 90° The shear veins and tension veins probably formed more or less simultaneously,

Jan 1, 1942

By George W. Hezzelwood

THE Balatoc mine, one of the Haussermann group,[t] is on the Island of Luzon, the largest of the Philippine group, about 260 km. north of Manila, and 12 km. from the city of Baguio. The Baguio district is the most important gold-mining area of the Philippines, with 14 producing mines in 1939, milling 2,3;8,894 tons of ore, yielding [P]40,881,048, approximately 55 per cent of the total Philippine production of [P]74,131,216. PRODUCTION HISTORY The Balatoc mine began production in January 1929 with a 150-ton cyanide mill. Increases in mill capacity have taken place as follows: March, 1932, to 350 tons June, 1933, to 470 tons December, 1933, to 515 tons July, 1934, to 700 tons December, 1934, to 1000 tons May, 1935, to 1200 tons October, 1938, to 1300 tons April, 1939, to 2000 tons January, 1941, to 2150 tons Production during the period of expansion has steadily increased in total value in spite of the fact that grade of ore milled has dropped-from $31.06 in 1929 to $5.78 in 1940. Annual reports give production as shown in Table 1, the average values being based on gold at the old price of $20.67 per ounce. [ ] GEOLOGY The ore occurs in quartz-calcite veins that vary in width from narrow stringers to mineralized zones 40 to 50 ft. wide. Wall rocks consist largely of diorites, with some andesite, and a fragmental breccia called locally the "Balatoc plug." Texture of the ore varies widely in the different veins-from a soft, highly altered, gouge material filled with quartz fragments through a soft, unaltered quartz-calcite to a hard, massive quartz ore. Three major vein systems have been extensively developed, and smaller amounts of work have been done on several others. These veins strike east-west to N. 60°, dipping south from 50° to 90°, and are essentially tension breaks between a series of faults or shears striking N. 30°E. to N. 50°E. and dipping southeast from 50°to 90°. The shear veins and tension veins probably formed more or less simultaneously,

Jan 1, 1942

Joseph Esrey Johnson, Jr., had already achieved rare distinction as an able metallurgist, clear thinker, brilliant author, and wise consulting engineer to bankers and operators; he had achieved the essentials of a great career when dcath cut short his activities on Apr. 4, 1919, in the forty-ninth year of his age. He belonged to a family of iron blast-furnace men and mine managers. His father, Major J. E. Johnson, after serving with distinction in the Army of the North, identified himself with the iron mines and blast furnace at Longdale, Va., with which he was connected during almost his entire business life. It is significant, that, during those troublous times of reconstruction in the South, he enjoyed always the affection and respect of his neighbors and associates alike. From him his son obtained not only a thorough training in blast-furnace practice and iron mining, but great personal courage and force of character. His mother, who survives both her husband and sons, possesses rare intellectuality, humor and a tenderness and human sympathy which those who were privileged to know well J. E. Johnson, Jr., recognized beneath his exterior of aggressiveness and will power. In a recently published analysis of the qualities which characterize the world's great men, three traits stand out preeminently; viz., independence, courage, and intellectuality. Each of these characteristics J. E. Johnson, Jr., possessed in extraordinary degree. His early education was obtained under a private tutor at Longdale, and this circumstance probably enhanced a natural tendency to independence of character and individuality which, however, under the control of his unusual power of straight thinking and clear analysis never allowed him to go far astray. It has been said of him that if once he set his mind to a problem, however knotty, he scored a bull's-eye before the subject was dropped. His manner of attacking a subject involved first mastering the details of the available knowledge; then, putting this acquired information to one side, with an untrammeled mind blazing out a path of his own, so clear, so well-defined, and expressed in such simple terms that he illuminated the whole subject without distorting the original data or discussion. His two books, "Blast-furnace Construction in America" and "The Principles, Operation, and Products of the Blast Furnace, "on the iron blast furnace together form the most comprehensive, the most enlightening, and the most useful treatise on the subject ever produced in any language. But his ability did not end with the mastery and elucidation of principles enunciated by his predecessors; his own

Jan 1, 1920

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

262. Parallel Grouping. - Connected with the subject of twin crystals is that of the parallel position of associated crystals of the same species, or of different species. Crystals of the same species occurring together are very commonly in parallel position. In this way large crystals, as of calcite, quartz, fluorite, are sometimes built up of smaller individuals grouped together with corresponding faces parallel. This parallel grouping is often seen in crystals as they lie on the supporting rock. On glancing the eye over a surface covered with crystals a reflection from one face will often be accompanied by reflections from the corresponding face in each of the other crystals, showing that the crystals are throughout similar in their positions.

Jan 1, 1922

By H. I. Aaronson, S. M. Kaufman, G. M. Pound

WHETHER the carbides associated with bainite precipitate from the ferritic component of bainite, as originally suggested by Davenport and Bain, or from the adjacent austenite at aus-tenite:ferrite boundaries, as proposed by Hultgren, 2 remains in dispute.3-5 A recent metallographic investigation in this laboratory has shown that the bainitic carbides formed in a plain carbon hypo-eutectoid steel nucleate entirely within ferrite at higher reaction temperatures3 and in both ferrite and austenite at lower temperatures." The present investigation was undertaken to ascertain the effects of alloying elements on the nucleation sites selected by bainitic carbides. The compositions of the steels studied were as shown in Table I. Specimens of these steels were

Jan 1, 1958

By Theodore H. Eyde

In the southwest porphyry copper province, the virgin prospect with good copper mineralization cropping out has disappeared. Future discoveries will require an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of exploration techniques and concepts. One of the latter, stratigraphic analysis, is a technique which is often overlooked. A surprising number of exploration geologists still think of porphyry copper deposits as occurring wholly within intrusive bodies such as quartz monzonite or granodiorite. Disseminated copper mineralization, though genetically related to intrusive rocks, can occur within both the intrusive and the intruded rocks. At present, as much as 30% of the total copper produced from disseminated copper deposits in the Southwest originate from the intruded rocks rather than the intrusive.

Jan 4, 1972

By R. G. Knickerbocker

A most important research and development item on ferroalloys in the calendar year of 1949 was the increase of interest in the recovery of secondary manganese. Owing to the importance of manganese to the nation's welfare, it is Ferroalloys most necessary that all possible avenues of research and development on the recovery of this vital metal be investigated. The principal objective of this new development is to recover manganese from steel furnace slags. Steel furnace slags contain a total of approximately 772,000 tons of metallic manganese which is compared to the 680,000 tons of metallic manganese as ferromanganese that is estimated to be used by the steel industry, annually, at this time.

Jan 6, 1950

P. Herasymenko (New York University, New York) —The authors' experiments on equilibria between water vapor and liquid synthetic slags represent a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the nature of liquid slags. They can be regarded as a proof of ionic splitting of water molecules dissolved in slags. The assumption that water dissolved in slag was com- pletely ionized was made in my report on hydrogen equilibria in steelmaking as early as 194010. In that paper, the first systematic data were given on the content of ionized hydrogen in acid and basic open-hearth slags. The paper probably escaped the notice of the authors, although they mention the articles published later by other investigators who reported erratic and

Jan 1, 1958

By A. T. Yu

From the very beginning when an ore body is blocked out, till the last ton of mineable ore is shipped to the smelter, consciously or not, a mining engineer is incessantly wrestling with the materials- handling problem. In the mine and the plants, over the haulage routes, and at the shipping terminals, his fundamental responsibility is to see that each ton of ore and/or waste is extracted, processed and moved easily and economically. Success or failure of many a mining enterprise often rests principally with the judicious and effective application of existant materials-handling technique or its innovation. Time and again, key innovations in practicing techniques have turned a losing venture into a successful and profitable one.

Jan 6, 1967

With one shaft almost completed and another shaft being sunk, the scope of the Saskatchewan potash area is beginning to come into focus. Some 18 companies have reportedly leased more than four million acres to explore potash possibilities. PCA, farthest along, is located about 15 miles southeast of Saskatoon, and IMC has its project underway near Esterhazy in the eastern edge of the province. U. S. Borax and Chemical Corp. is also reported exploring the area. The field lies in the middle Devonian geological formation which was probed by oil companies along the 200-mile area across the province. Extensive examination began after World War II and deep drilling was started a few years later.

Jan 5, 1958

By R. I. Jaffee, F. C. Holden, H. R. Ogden, A. G. Imgram

The tensile and notch tensile properties of four refractory metals (molybdenum, tungsten, niobium (columbium), and tantalum) and one alloy (Mo-0.5Ti) were investigated. All the materials were evaluated in bar form, and the molybdenum and Mo-0.5Ti also were studied in sheet form. The notch sensitivity of each material was evaluated on the basis of several criteria, including the notch-unnotch strength ratio, the ductility transition, and the fracture transitions. USE of refractory metals as structural materials in aircraft and space vehicles may subject them to low-as well as high-temperature environments. At elevated temperatures, the usefulness of a material usually is limited either by strength considerations

Jan 1, 1962

The following letter has been received from Prof. Alfred C. Lane, of Tufts College, who is now in charge of the department, of mining in the College of Engineering, American E. F. University, Beaune, France. My DEAR MR. STOUGHTON: I have had a very interesting time here. We were received fast Saturday with great courtesy by the Schneiders at the Creusot plant, and saw many interesting things, from the mammoth guns clown. In one trip I saw a coal mine, an iron mine, an oilshale mine, a gypsum mine, and a most beautiful fluorspar mine. So you see we were not badly located. A mine like Epinac, which has a washery, a briquetting plant, and great central electric plant where coal that might otherwise be waste is converted into electricity and shipped away at 30,000 volts pressure, is of interest mechanically as well as geologically. Many of the French coal seams are very thick here and have especial mining methods. The Department of Mining has been manned by men with whom it was a pleasure and an honor to be associated, as well as with Dean Reber who was in charge of the College of Engineering as a whole. Names like Captain H. C. Ray, former professor at the University of Pittsburgh, on leave in the army, Captain Archbald of the Colliery Engineer at one time, whose work in the Pennsylvania coal mines is well known, Captain Vail of the Engineering and Mining Journal staff and Captain E. C. Dietrich of the Southwest, are familiar to members of the Institute, and Are guarantees of competent instruction.

Jan 7, 1919

By George Branner

THERE is no record of the commercial production of bentonite as such in Arkansas up to the present although fuller's earth has been. mined intermittently in the state1 from 1891 to 1922. Very nearly all of this was obtained from decomposed basaltic dikes.2 Recently three bentonite deposits of close stratigraphical relationship have been identified in the Coastal Plain region of southern Arkansas, which suggests that there may be a considerable quantity of commercial material available. LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY The three deposits are located respectively in the SE. ;1/4 SE. ;1/4 sec. 13, T.- 2 S., R. 13 W., Saline County, the SE. ;1/4 SE. 1/4 sec. 18, T. 5 S., R. 16 W., Hot Spring County, and in sec. 22, T. 12 S., R. 19 W., Ouachita County. The Saline County deposit is 14 miles by state highway 167 south of the city limits of Little Rock and 1 mile west by dirt road. This deposit is 12 miles south of Ward switch on the C. R. I. P. Railroad and 11 miles east of Vimy Ridge by dirt road. Vimy Ridge is also on the C. R. I. P. Railroad. The Hot Spring County deposit located in the SE. ¼ SE. ;1/4 sec. 18, T. 5 S., R. 16 W. is about 100 yd. north of Durian switch on the C. R. I. P. Railroad and on state highway No. 9, 5 miles southeast of Malvern. The Ouachita County deposit has not been accurately located but lies in sec. 22, T. 12 S., R. 19 W. It is approximately 2 miles by road from Chidester on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Jan 1, 1929

By A. C. Heath, E. H. Dix

THE importance of aluminum-silicon alloys in the light alloy field is now generally recognized. Where silicon was once considered detrimental to the properties of aluminum, useful alloys now contain as much as 13 per cent. Furthermore, silicon is present as an impurity in aluminum of even the purest grades. Iron is another important impurity in aluminum and like silicon is found in small quantities in the purest aluminum available today. The manner of occurrence of iron and silicon in commercially pure aluminum and many of its alloys exerts a very pronounced influence upon their properties. The effect of large quantities of iron in aluminum-silicon alloys is so detrimental that it has been found necessary to limit the allowable maximum percentage to as low a figure as is consistent with quantity production and satisfactory physical properties. The intimate relation existing between iron and silicon in aluminum and aluminum alloys makes necessary a more complete knowledge of this ternary system. This paper is divided into two principal parts, dealing respectively with aluminum-silicon solubility equilibria and the constitution of aluminum-iron-silicon alloys. PART I.-ALUMINUM-SILICON ALLOYS The early work on this system was largely confined to determining the general form of the diagram and in this respect the results are in good agreement. Briefly, aluminum and silicon form a simple eutectiferous series without compounds. Until recently the solid solubility of silicon in aluminum had not been accurately determined. Fraenkel1 (1908) stated that aluminum will retain 0.5 per cent. silicon in solid solution. Rosenhain, Archbutt and Hanson2 gave the maximum solubility as about 1.50 per cent. and added that "this solubility does not appear

Jan 1, 1928

In a letter to Prof. L. P. Breckenridge, chairman, urging the continua-tion of the Fuel Conservation Committee of the Engineering Council, Edwin Ludlow calls attention to the millions of tons of culm in the an-thracite region that can be utilized in properly equipped plants and the electricity generated transmitted to. New York, Philadelphia, and other nearby cities. He says: "Experiments have shown the economic value of No. 4 Buckwheat, which passes through a 1/16-in. mesh and over a 1/32-in. mesh. Culm passing through a 1/32-in- mesh is pulverized until it passes through a 300 mesh and is then burned under boilers. Two plants of this kind are now in successful operation in the anthracite region. Another rather interesting experiment was using 30 per cent. of this pulverized coal with 70 per cent. of oil in the generation of steam in the place of pure oil. This utilization of the fine anthracite, which has always been a waste product and thrown away, is not only fuel conservation in its truest sense but in the case of a bituminous strike, when no strike is contemplated in the anthracite field, will furnish fuel to manufacturing plants that otherwise would be obliged to shut down."

Jan 12, 1919