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By Peter G. Groer

Several methods1-3 are being used to determine the WL and individual Rn-daughter concentrations in uranium mine atmospheres. The best of these methods is the one given in Ref. 3. According to this method, the WL and the Rn-daughter concentrations are determined from the total a-counts observed during three consecutive time intervals. Its only disadvantage lies in the fact that rather involved calculations are necessary to convert the observed counts into WL or pCi/l (picocuries per liter). There are, however, counting intervals that give simple weighting coefficients for the observed counts. This fact makes it possible to convert from a-counts to WL or pCi/l with the aid of a graph. After some trial runs on a computer the following equations emerged as the basis for the most practical procedure: [ ] NA, N.., and & stand for the number of RaA, RaB, and RaC atoms per liter of air. C(t1,t2) denotes the counts observed from time t. to time t2 (in minutes) after the end of the 5-min sampling period. E is the detector efficiency and V is the flow rate in liters per minute. With an accuracy loss of less than -5% one finds from [Eq. 1] by adding the corresponding terms: If the WL would have been calculated according to [Eq. 2] instead of using the graph, the result would have been 0.31. Since the values used for C's under [Eq. 3] represent the exact number of counts from a Rn-daughter mixture in equilibrium with 100/3 pCi of Rn the exact WL of this mixture can be calculated easily. The exact value is: [ ] This shows that the method is quite accurate for the 0.3 WL domain. The precision of the method excluding errors made in reading the graph can be estimated with the help of the following formula: [ ]

Jan 1, 1974

By V. S. Swaminathan

This year, Great Britain is looking back over a century to August 14, 1850, the day when the first "Act for the Inspection of Coal Mines" was passed in that country, an act which signaled the end of over two hundred years of hitherto uncontrolled and dangerous mining practices. It was back in the time of Queen Elizabeth that . thousands of pounds were invested in mining, particularly coal mining in England and Scot- land. By 1640 there were collieries producing 10,000 to 25,000 tons of coal per year. In the seventeenth century the Tyne district coal industry was organized into powerful partnerships, and coal took an even larger part in industry, as a source of power and as fuel for the iron industry. In the early 19th century a "phenomenal, almost devastating expansion" characterized Britain's coal industry, and it was sparked by a 111 pct in- crease in the population of England and Wales in the first half of the century. Coal production for those 50 years increased 470 pct and pig iron production was up 946 pct for the period 1801-51.

Jan 1, 1950

By Richard A. Busch, Roy L. Soderberg

Large, high, open stopes resulting from vertical crater retreat (VCR) and similar methods are usually filled with sand tailings to support the stope walls and make it possible to mine the pillars. The hydrostatic head resulting from these high stope fills demands extremely heavy bulkheads in the crosscuts to withstand the pres- sure. Occasionally, these bulkheads fail because there are no drains or the installed drains are inadequate. Costly flooding of the mine and loss of life result from these failures. With proper design of blanket drains and filters, the fill can be made failure-proof, requiring only a minimum bulkhead, designed specifically for zero water retention. The effectiveness of the blanket drains can be increased by laying perforated pipes on the bottom of the crosscut within the blanket drain. These drains can have a safety factor of 10 with minimal expense. When the water is properly drained, the hydrostatic pressure on the bulkhead is reduced to zero, leaving only the lateral pressure of the sand. This lateral pressure is partially dissipated by arching and shear against the crosscut walls and consolidation of the tailings as the water is drained. The bulkhead should be placed at least one cross-cut diameter back from the collar of the drawpoint.

Jan 1, 1983

By Louis S. Cates

At the annual meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers in February, 1923, the Chairman of the Committee on Ground Movement and Subsidence appointed a sub-committee to work out a form of questionnaire and to collect data on subsidence and ground movement resulting from underground metal and coal-mining operations, and on ground movement and safe slopes in connection with open-cut metal-mining operations. The author was requested to take charge of the collection of data and the preparation of a questionnaire in connection with the Committee's studies of open-cut metal-mining operations. This paper is a summary of the work carried on and information received therefrom up to February, 1924. The first approach to the problem of safe slopes is to gather all information that pertains to finished slopes; in other words, the steepest economic angle from the horizontal that will stand in order to uncover the ores to be mined and be safe while the extraction of the ore at the base of these slopes is in progress. Whether or not this angle is 35" or 45" depends on many factors. The number of benches maintained to take care of falling rock and their height and width are direct functions of this overall slope. The slope is here taken to mean the angle from the top edge of the pit through the edges of the respective lower benches to the bottom of the pit. If we accept this definition of the slope, it might save some confusion as there would be a difference if one took the line from the top edge of excavation to the toe of the bottom slope. This latter slope would not be constant, but would vary with the number of benches. The depth of the various ore faces will vary, of course, depending on the deposit; Table 1 shows this to range from 50 ft. to 1100 ft. The geology is an important factor, as are the climatic conditions under which one is operating. A saturated condition in some rock structure causes rock flows; in the Panama Canal excavation, slides have run on a ratio of as low as one on ten, which is a 10 per cent. grade, or a slope of less than 6' with the horizontal. Slopes as steep as 60' have been noted in the Utah Copper operations, so that a wide divergence will possibly be met. The work of securing data that will be of value to the operator or estimating engineer will be difficult and will mean little unless a detailed

Jan 1, 1927

By A. J. Shaler, H. Udin, J. Wulff

In the study of the sintering of meta powders, we have come to the conclusion in this laboratory that further progress requires a more basic understanding of the operating mechanisms. This is emphasized in detail by Shaler. He has shown that a knowledge of the exact value of the surface tension is imperative for a solution of the kinetics of sintering. This force plays a principal role in causing the density of compacts to increase.2 Furthermore, a knowledge of the surface tension of solids is also applicable to other aspects of physical metallurgy. C. S. Smith3 points out the relation between surface and interfacial tension and their function in determining the microstructure and resulting properties of polycrystal-line and polyphase alloys. This paper describes one group of results of an experimental program designed for the study of the surface tension in solid metals. As a by-product of this work, considerable information has been obtained on the rate and nature of the flow of a metal at temperatures approaching the melting point and under extremely low stresses, a field of mechanical behavior heretofore scarcely touched by metallurgists. The importance of this additional information to students of powder metallurgy need not be stressed. Theoretical Considerations Interfacial tension arises from the condition that an excess of energy exists at the interface between two phases. Gibbs proves that this energy is a partial function of the interfacial area; thus: ?F/?s = ? where ?F/?s is the rate of change of free energy of the system with changing surface area, at constant temperature, pressure and composition, and ? is the interfacial tension, or interfacial free energy per unit area. If one of the phases is the pure liquid or solid, and the other the vapor of the substance, ? may properly be termed "surface tension," and is a characteristic of the solid or liquid. The attempt of a body to lower its free energy by decreasing its surface gives rise to a force in the surface which is numerically equal in terms of unit length to the free energy per unit area of the surface. Thus ? may be expressed either in erg-cm-² or in dyne-cm-1. Similarly, surface tension may be determined either by a thermo-dynamic measurement of the surface energy or by a mechanical measurement of the surface force. We have chosen the latter approach. Tammann and Boehme4 determined the surface tension of gold by measuring the amount of shrinkage or extension of thin weighted foil at various temperatures and interpolating to zero strain. The method is of questionable accuracy because of the tendency of foil to form minute tears when heated under tension. Their assumption of F = 2W?, where W is the width of the foil, is unsound, as the foil can decrease its surface area by transverse as well as by longitudinal shrinkage. Although their experimentation was meticulous, the paper does not include details of the sample configuration required for recalculating ? on a correct basis, even if such a calculation were possible. In the experimental procedure chosen here, a series of small weights of increasing magnitude are suspended from a series of line copper wires of uniform cross-section. This array is brought to a temperature at which creep is appreciable under extremely small stress. If the weight overbalances the contracting force of surface tension, the wire stretches; otherwise, it shrinks. The magnitude of the strain is determined by the amount of unbalance, so a plot of strain vs. load should cross the zero strain axis at w = F?. If balance is visualized as a thermodynamic equilibrium, the critical load is readily calculated. At constant temperature, an infinitesimal change in surface energy should be equal to the work done on or by the weight: ds = wdl [A] For a cylinder, s = 2pr2 + 2prl [2] If the volume remains constant, r = vV/pl [31 s = 2vpl+2V/l [4] ds = vpv/l - 2V/l²) dl [5] Substituting [5] into [I] gives for the equilibrium load, w = ?(z/rV- 2V/12) [6] and, again expressing V in terms of r and l, w = pr?(1 - 2r/l [7] Here the end-effect term, 2r/l, is neglected for thin wires in subsequent work. Eq 7 can be confirmed by means of a stress analysis. If the x-axis is chosen along the wire, then the stress is 2pr? - w pr² pr2 [8] A cylinder of diameter dis equivalent to a sphere of radius r, insofar as radial surface tension effects are concerned.³ Thus xv = 2?/d = ?/r = sz [9] For the case of zero strain in the x direction, the strain will also be zero in the y and z directions. Since the wire is under hydrostatic stress, Eq 8 and 9 are

Jan 1, 1950

By O. P. Hood

None of the methods now in use for the transportation of materials underground is entirely free from more or less serious objection.

Jan 1, 1915

By G. K. Burgess

J. W. RICHARDS, South Bethlehem, Pa.-I think my affections are still rather with the radiation pyrometer than the optical pyrometer, for practical use, and I wish that Prof. Burgess would use the two together, under the same conditions, using the optical as his standard, if he prefers. Then, assuming the optical emissivity which he feels is correct for the optical pyrometer, he could calculate the thermal emissivity for use with .the radiation pyrometer. If we could thus get reliable values for the thermal emissivity, we could then use the radiation pyrometer, and would avoid the use of the standard lamp, which has to be frequently calibrated for use in the optical pyrometer. It is very advisable to distinguish carefully between the terms optical emissivity and thermal emissivity. There -is considerable confusion caused by the bare statement that molten iron has an emissivity of so much, meaning by that its optical emissivity, for a light wave of a certain length; whereas what we want in the radiation pyrometer is its total ther-

Jan 4, 1917

By John R. Gould

A mathematical treatment of multiple-pass floating-zone refining of semiconductors, including the evaporation of solutes from the melt at reduced pressure, is presented. Vapor pressures and evaporation rate constants for phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony in germanium have been determined from floating-zone experiments conducted at 10 mm Hg. Rate sensi-tivity of arsenic in germanium has been examined over the range of 1 to 10 in. per hr growth rate. The equilibrium value of the segregation coefficient of arsenic in germanium, as determined by an extrapolation of these data, was found to be 0.09. PFANN has treated the segregation of nonvolatile solutes in the zone-melting process, Bradshaw and Mlavsky2 considered the evaporation of solutes in a vacuum during the growth of crystals by pulling from the melt, and van den Boomgaard3 has shown that it is possible to bring a volatile impurity element homogeneously into an ingot by means of zone-melting under a constant pressure of that element. This paper is concerned with the volatilization of solutes during zone - melting in a vacuum. The mathematical analysis by Lord4 of multiple-pass zone melting is extended to include evaporation of solutes. A method is presented in which evaluations of vapor pressures, evaporation rate constants, and distribution coefficients may be derived from the variation of solute concentration in the floating-zone refining of germanium at 105 mm Hg. EXPERIMENTAL Ingots of zone refined germanium, approximately 1/4 in. in diam and 10 to 12 in. in length, were subjected to several floating-zone passes at 105 mm Hg in order to provide intrinsic material for these studies. These ingots were then seeded in a [Ill] direction and solid-doped to a constant impurity concentration of approximately 1015 atoms per cmS in a forming gas ambient (10 pct H - 90 pct A) at 1/2 atm gage. The resulting crystals were subjected to repeated floating-zone passes at 105 mm Hg and a concentration profile along the length made after termination of each pass. Concentrations were determined from four-point probe resistivity measurements, and proper precautions were taken to prevent contamination during handling. A constant zone length, crystal cross section, and growth rate were maintained during zoning. A stationary coil and moving crystal system were employed for floating-zone growth with neither the section of crystal above nor below the melt rotated.

Jan 1, 1962

By G. F. Dillion, A. F. Armington

THE present method for the ultrapurification of boron involves the formation, distillation, and decomposition of boron tribromide.' However, the boron tribromide prepared contains several impurities in the ppm range, even after distillation. Some of these impurities, notably carbon, can be reduced after decomposition by zone refining. In this study, a comparison of the purity of boron tribromide at various formation temperatures is presented. The apparatus employed consisted of a bromine flask connected to a 22 mm ID horizontal quartz reaction tube packed with amorphous boron powder, which was in turn connected to a receiving flask cooled with an ice bath. Argon was used as a carrier gas. The approximate rate of passage of bromine to the reaction tube was 25 g per hr. The reaction was first investigated at several temperatures in order to determine the lowest temperature necessary to produce a colorless product which was assumed to be an indication of complete reaction of the bromine. The lowest temperature found in this study was 420oC. The amount of impurities found in the boron tribromide at various formation temperatures is shown in Table I. The data presented are emission spectroscopic results of boric oxide produced by the hydrolysis of 2 to 3 g of boron tribromide in 10 ml of distilled water. After hydrolysis, the samples were dried several hours on a hot plate. Assuming equilibrium conditions in the reactor, one can make approximate thermodynamic calculations estimatling the completeness of reaction of bromine with boron and its impurities at various temperatures. Data for these calculations were taken from Rossini,3 and must be taken as approximations since the T?S factor was not included in the calculations. The results of such calculations indicate that, with the exception of carbon bromina-tion, all impurities would react almost to completeness (> 99 pet) at all temperatures between 400" and 900oC. In the case of carbon, which cannot be accurately analyzed spectroscopically, it is estimated that only about one sixth as much carbon tetrabromide would be formed at 400" than at 900°C. Since some marked reductions in impurity content were observed at the lower reaction temperature which would not be predicted by thermo-

Jan 1, 1962

By N. E. Truitt, D. G. Russell

The transient pressure behavior of a well which produces a single compressible fluid through a singte-plane wrticat fracture has been investigated mathematically. The fracture is assumed to possess infinite flow capacity, to be of limited mdial extent, and' to penetrate the producing formation completely in the vertical direction. Previous studies of vertically fractured wells have been concerned primarily with production rate performance or semisteady-state pressure behavior. This study was undertaken to ascertain the influence of vertical fractures on transient pressure tests such as pressure build-ups and flow tests. In a vertically fractured system, flow in the region nearest the fracture is practically linear, whereas farther away from the fracture essentially radial flow prevails. Thus, transient pressure analyses based on radial flow theory are somewhat inaccurate. As fracture penetration increases radially, kh values calcutated from pressure build-up and flow test curves become increasingly larger than true values. Failure to consider the effect of fracture penetration also introduces inaccuracies into the catculation of fracture length from the apparent skin factor and into the determination of average reservoir pressure. If the total length of the fracture is 20 per cent, or greater, of the drainage radius of the well, corrections must be made to pressure build-up and flow test results. Methods for correcting such results are discussed in this paper. For wells with prefracturing pressure build-up or flow test data, it is possible to estimate fracture length by comparison with postfracturing build-up or flow test results. In new wells or wells without prefracturing build-up or flow test data, fracture length must be estimated to correct the values obtained from analysis of pressure tests after fracturing. Fracturing efficiency calculations should be made whenever possible to provide an estimate of fracture length. Tables of the dimensionless pressure drop as a function of time and fracture penetration are included in this paper. Using these values should permit analysis of other types of transient pressure behavior in vertically fractured wells. INTRODUCTION Hydraulic fracturing has been used quite successfully for over a decade as a completion and stimulation technique in oil and gas wells completed in low-permeability reservoirs During this period a considerable amount of theory has evolved on the performance of hydraulically fractured reservoirs and on more efficient means of artificial fracturing. Although theory has been developed, no rigorous investigation has been made of pressure build-up and flow test behavior in such wells. Prats et al.1 first discussed the performance of vertically fractured reservoirs for the case of a compressible fluid. Their work was primarily concerned with production performance at constant flowing pressure. These authors also considered large-time (semisteady-state) constant production rate behavior for vertically fractured wells; however, transient pressure behavior at constant rate was not investigated. McGuire and Sikora10 and Dyes, Kemp, and Caudle2 employed an electrical analog to investigate the influence of artificial vertical fractures on well productivity and pressure build-up. They found that fractures which extend beyond 15 per cent of the drainage radius away from the well alter the position and slope of the straight-line portion of the build-up curve. They concluded that these effects must be considered both in the determination of the effective permeability of the formation and in any calculations of final build-up pressure. Although these authors did not undertake an exhaustive study of the influence of vertical fractures on pressure build-up performance, their limited results were quite interesting from the standpoint of the effects they demonstrated. In a more recent paper, Scott- reported the results of an investigation of the effect of vertical fractures on pressure behavior, which was conducted with a heat flow model. Scott's results appear to be consistent with those reported in Refs. 1 and 2. However, the effects of different fracture lengths on performance were not investigated. Pressure build-ups and transient flow tests are among the most diagnostic tools available to the reservoir engineer or production engineer. Since a very high percentage of present-day well completions incorporate the hydraulic fracturing technique, a definite need exists for information on the effect of fractures on transient pressure performance. For these reasons we have undertaken a rigorous study of pressure build-up and flow test behavior in vertically fractured reservoirs. The objectives of this study were (1) to obtain synthetic pressure build-up and flow test

Jan 1, 1965

By R. P. Rothwell

THE first difficulty mentioned is that in some instances two or more beds of coal separated by sandstone or slate rocks of considerable thickness in one part of a basin, are found running together in another part. Of course, we may happen to strike first the part of the basin where there is but a single seam, and in this case the bed would appear to divide into two or more branches within a short distance. Such cases are not rare in the anthracite coal-fields. I would suggest as an explanation of this phenomenon the gradual sinking of the peat-marsh-the embryo coal-bed-on one side, and the moving forward of the marsh, so that on one part of the bed the formation of peat would still be progressing, while another part, being under water, would be covered with mud and sand. Thus we have different portions of the same bed of different ages. Now if the sinking of the marsh be stopped for a time, the bed will become thicker in the portions left exposed, and if the sinking now changes in direction, so that the part that had previously gone down com¬mences to rise, we should have the phenomenon of a bed, continuous throughout, with one portion overlying another, and separated from it by rock strata. These are exactly the conditions observed in splitting beds. While one side of the lake is sinking, and the peat-marsh moving on in that direction, the other side may be rising,

Jan 1, 1873

By R. J. Fruehan

The oxygen activity and concentration were measured in Fe-Cr-0 melts in equilibrium with an oxide phase at 1600°C (2912°F). The activity was determined by ,use of the following solid oxide -electrolyte galvanic cell CY-Cr8,(s) I ZrOz(CaO) I Fe-CY-G(saturated)(l) The oxygen concentration decreases with increasing Cr concentration to about 270 ppm 0 at about 7pct CY and then increases gradually. The activity coefficient of oxygen (fo) decreases with increasing Cr. In melts containing up to about 20 pct Cr, log f is approximately a linear function of wt pct Cr with a slope (e q 2) of —0.037. The activity of chromium was calculated and found to exhibit a small negative deviation from Raoult's law. From the activity and solubility data for low chromium melts, the free energy of formation of chromite, FeCr204, was found to be -79.8kcal per mole where pure liquid chromium and oxygen at I wt pct in Fe are the standard states. ThE effect of chromium on the chemical behavior of dissolved oxygen in liquid iron is of great importance in controlling the deoxidation of steels containing a significant amount of chromium. Chen and chipman' equilibrated Fe-Cr melts in the presence and absence of slag with hydrogen-water vapor mixtures. They concluded that at 1595°C chromite was the oxide phase in equilibrium with Fe-Cr alloys containing less than 5.5 pct Cr while at higher chromium concentration Cr,O, was the stable phase. In the composition range 0 to 10 pct Cr they found that the interaction coefficient, was equal to -0.041. Turk-dogan,' Schenck and Steinmetz,, and pargeter4 measured egr) in a similar manner and found the value to be -0.064,-0.04, and -0.052, respectively. McLean and Be11 evaluated egr) from their data on the equilibrium of Fe-Cr-Al-0 alloys with H2/H20 mixtures and found it to be -0.058. However, McLean and Bell's value should only be considered an estimate because the effect of aluminum on the activity coefficient of oxygen is about a hundred times greater than that of chromium. Consequently, an error in the value of egl) used, which at the present time is not well-known, or an error in aluminum analysis, which is present in very small quantities, will result in a significant error in egr). Fischer et a1.6 determined the interaction coefficient (eEr) in Fe-Cr-0 melts not in equilibrium with an oxide phase and containing less than 18 wt pct Cr at 1600°C electrochemically. They determined a value of -0.031 for egr). Hilty et aL7 measured the oxygen content of Fe-Cr melts in equilibrium with an oxide phase containing up to 50 pct Cr. They found that the solubility of oxygen decreased as the chromium content increased to about 6 pct Cr and then increased gradually. They concluded that the equilibrium oxide phase was chromite below 3 pct Cr, distorted spinel from 3 to 9 pct Cr, and Cr,04 above 9 pct Cr. Adachi and lwamotoa also investigated this system, but did not find Cr30,. They X-rayed the equilibrium oxide phases and did not find the presence of Cr,O,. They also X-rayed the oxide phase extracted from a 65 pct Cr melt which was heat treated and did not find metallic chromium as would be expected if Cr3O4 were the equilibrium oxide phase as indicated by the reaction : 3Cr3O4 — 4Cr2O:, + Cr [lj It was the purpose of the present investigation to determine the effect of chromium on the activity coefficient of oxygen in Fe-Cr melts by measuring the activity and solubility of oxygen equilibrated with an oxide phase in the composition range 0.18 to 50.5 wt pct Cr at 1600°C (2912°F). The activity of oxygen in the melts was determined by use of the following galvanic cell: The relationship between the partial pressure of oxygen in equilibrium with the melt and the reversible electromotive force of the cell (E) is where 11 = 4, F is the Faraday constant, pb, is the oxygen pressure in equilibrium with the meit and is the oxygen pressure in equilibrium with Cr203 as determined from the free energy data compiled by Elliott et al? The oxide phase in equilibrium with pure chromium was assumed to be Cr If Cr30, were the equilibrium phase the activities derived would be approximately the same, since the best estimated free energy of formation of Cr,O,, if it does exist, is approximately % the free energy of formation of The activity of chromium in Fe-Cr alloys at 1600° C was also determined from the measured electromotive force. The activity of chromium (aCr) is related to the electromotive force as follows: , The oxide phase in equilibrium with pure chromium and Fe-Cr melts from 10 to 52 pct is assumed to be Cr203 so that n equals three. If future work proves the existence of Crs04 in equilibrium with Fe-Cr melts and pure chromium, the experimental results can be reevaluated using a value of $ for n in Eq. 141. A value of ^ for n will make the activities about 10 pct higher. In order for Eqs. 131 and [4J to be valid the electrolyte, ZrOa(CaO), must exhibit predominantly ionic conduction at the temperature and oxygen partial pressure of its use. Previous work1' has demonstrated that ZrOz(Ca0) is predonlinantly an ionic conductor

Jan 1, 1970

By Sergio G. Jarpa

A mining project is, at one and the same time, capital intensive and highly risky. Besides, because of its usual long projected life, the operating cost is more difficult to predict and offtentimes exceed, during the life of the project, the first investment manifold. The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of cost-capacity relationships as used in the chemical industry to mining operations and, when necessary, to develop new ones. With the aid of a computer library program available at the Computation Center of the Pennsylvania State University, the total investment in mining equipment was determined to vary exponentially with production capacity, and the scaling exponents for each class of equipment, i.e., drills, shovels, trucks and earth moving equipment, as well as for the total operation were calculated. Since the scaling exponent for the whole mining operation happened to be equal to 0.94, it was concluded that more significant economies of scale are achievable in processing plants than in mining operations. From the operating cost point of view, unit material cost was found to decrease more rapidly than unit labor for the same increases in production capacity. The analysis of cost centers revealed that drilling and blasting, which are materials-intensive operational stages, were the most favorable in achieving significant economies of scale. Hauling unit cost, on the other hand, decreased only slightly when production capacity increased.

Jan 1, 1977

By F. N. Ward, E. H. Bailey

Camp and sample-site methods useful for determining about 0.5 to 16 ppm of mercury in soils and rocks have been devised to complement the analytical methods already widely used in geochemical prospecting. In the camp-site procedure the sample solution is obtained by digesting the finely powdered sample with hot nine-molar sulfuric acid and bromine, the latter generated in place. The solution is buffered at a pH of 4 and the mercury is extracted into a relatively small volume of an organic solvent. Estimations are made by comparing the color of the mercuric dithizonate extracted from the sample with that extracted from a standard. In the sample-site method the mercury is volatilized as the iodide and the latter is dissolved in a buffer solution from which the mercury dithizonate is extracted as in the camp-site method. The estimation is made by a similar comparison with standards or by comparing the color of the mercuric dithizonate with artificial standards prepared from Orange II, an azo dye. Except for the establishment of standards, the time required by an experienced analyst seldom exceeds 10 min for a camp-site determination and 5 min for a sample-site determination. Camp-site determinations are useful for commodity studies and intensive exploration programs; sample-site determinations are applicable to extensive and reconnaissance-type geochemical prospecting programs. The results obtained on samples taken along traverses above known mercury ore deposits in the California Coast Range and western Nevada demonstrate the usefulness of both methods in geochemical prospecting. The increasing use of the mercury content of soils, rocks, plants, or water in geochemical prospecting emphasizes the need for analytical methods which are sensitive and at the same time require a minimum of readily available equipment. Sensitive methods based on the absorption of ultraviolet light by mercury vapor are common in the literature31 12. Although none of these methods have been used to analyze the large number of samples required in geochemical prospecting, they could be extremely useful except for the expensive instrumentation usually required to make the methods quantitative Also, such methods are perhaps too sensitive for field use, especially around areas of possible contamination. Other methods involve the distillation of mercury from a relatively large sample and subsequent collection of the vapors in nitric acid6. The mercury is then estimated by titration with a suitable reagent such as thiocyanate. These methods are not trace methods because the actual amount of mercury measured is often as great as 50 to 100 milligrams. Also, such methods are unsuitable for geochemical prospecting because of the amount of equipment necessary and the time required. Still other methods involve colorimetry, and the sensitive reaction between dithizone and mercury (11).. is the basis for a number of reports on the determination of mercury in biological materials 5,7. Moreover, by the judicious use of solvent extraction and suitable complexing agents, the dithiaone method can be made almost specific for mercury. However, none of the dithizone methods have yet been applied to the determination of mercury in soils and rocks. In most colorimetric methods he sample solution

Jan 1, 1961

By R. I. Jaffee, R. W. Wood, H. R. Ogden, D. N. Williams

D. W. Morgan, D. H. Polonis,and R Taggart (Uuivevsity of Washington)—Dispersion hardening in titanium-copper alloys is of particular interest to us in view of our current research activities in phase transformations in this system. We should like to raise questions concerning several points in the paper. The flow sheet for fabrication and heat treatment (Authors' Fig. 2) indicates that 0.045 in sheet is treated in air for a period of 30 min at 1625' F. Were any surface coatings used to reduce oxygen contamination at this stage? One might ask the same question about the 8-hr annealing at 1400F. Contamination during fabrication and heat treatment of such thin sections could be considerable without some protection. Although the authors state that no analyses were made, they note that contamination masks the distinction between base strengths of the different alloys. In this connection, what fabrication and heat-treatment procedures were used in obtaining the comparison specimens of unalloyed titanium? It would seem that oxygen contamination must cast doubt on the reliability of the proposed strength-mean free path relationship deduced from the data (Authors' Fig. 5). It is usual to evaluate dispersion hardening on the basis of yield strength rather than ultimate tensile strength, and accordingly we have replotted the authors' Fig. 1 to include yield strength. The yield strength data do not justify a discontinuity of 3 p at either 70" or 1000 OF. Can the authors substantiate their conclusion 1) with additional evidence? Otherwise it seems that they have succeeded only in pointing out the possibility of a linear relationship between yield strength (or Uts) and the logarithm of the nleall free path, comparable with that demonstrated for iron-carbon alloys (Authors' Ref. 2). Work in our own laboratories has shown that the hardness of the phase Ti,Cu is 235 Vpn, and that of a 1.5 pct (at.) (2 pct wt) supersaturated solid solution of copper in titanium is 190 Vpn. This small difference in hardness would suggest that Ti2Cu should not be a very effective dispersion-hardening phase. D. N. Williams, R. W. Wood, H. R Ogden, RI. L Jaffee (authors' reply)— This discussion brings out some interesting points with respect to the interpretation of our results, and also raises some questions regarding the experimental technique. We shall consider the latter questions first. Contamination during heat treatment was prevented by performing all heat treatments in argon-filled Vycor capsules. Fabrication was done in air, with the usually observed scaling. Scale was removed

Jan 1, 1962

By Ernest Kirkendall

THE amount of research done in the last few years on the subject of diffusion in solid metals is significant of the importance of this problem. To review the literature dealing with diffusion is unnecessary here. Desch1 in 1912 reviewed the work that had been done on diffusion in solids and gave a bibliography of the literature published before that time. Mehl's paper in 1936 2 is an excellent review of diffusion in metals and contains a large bibliography. Of importance also for its review and bibliography is an article by A. I. Krynitsky.3 While considerable material has appeared in the literature on diffusion in brass, the amount of information is not great compared to that pertain-ing to some of the other alloys. Most of the information published is of a qualitative nature; that which is quantitative varies considerably. Thus the quantitative determination of the rates of diffusion of copper and zinc in alpha brass by a new method appeared worth while. In the present investigation the rate of diffusion of zinc in approxi-mately the same composition alpha brass has been determined at three temperatures.

Jan 1, 1938

By V 7. 0 / 300 dpi

DRILLING in the Oligocene potash basin of Alsace prior to 1927 had shown important differences of level in the salt beds thus encountered. To explain this a somewhat unsatisfactory hypothesis of faulting had been advanced. During the latter part of 1926 and the beginning of 1927- our firm was engaged by two organizations for the purpose of trying to supplement, by an electrical survey, the geological data thus far collected. As a re-sult of this exploration it was possible to affirm that salt dome structures were present in the Oligocene basin of the Upper Rhine, something heretofore absolutely unknown in that region. Two salt domes were actually outlined, one, near Meyenheim, was made the subject of a communication to the Academy of Sciences, by G. Friedel2; the other, near Hettenschlag, was briefly dis-cussed by C. and M. Schlumberger3 before the same academy. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the strati-graphic and structural conditions of the area where these salt domes were found; to discuss the results of the electrical survey which led to the location of the domes, and indicate the new geological outlook which such a discovery suggests.

Jan 9, 1928

By M. L. Samuels

DURING the period from 1910 to 1920, there was a lively interest in. the subject of grain growth and many papers were published, followed by interesting discussions. Questions dealing with the fundamentals of grain growth-why and how it occurs-were treated in papers by Howe,1 Jeffries,2 Sauveur,3 Chappell,4 Beilby,5 Mathewson -and Phillips,6 McAdam,7 Carpenter and Elam,8 Stead and Carpenter,9 Ruder,10 as well as others. Since that decade, much indeed has been done regarding the practical control of grain size, and it is now possible to order material having a size specified in the American Society for Testing Materials classification. Also, one hears the term "spliced boundaries" used in connection with certain tungsten lamp filaments" wherein it is important to prevent "sagging" between consecutive turns of the helix.12 This practical use of a certain knowledge as to the things that influ-ence or even control grain growth should not be taken as an indication that the subject has been thoroughly explored and that nothing more can be learned from fundamental studies. It is with this thought in mind that a report of some observations and experiments on abnormal grain growth is believed justified. Abnormal grain growth is met with in heat-treating high-carbon steels in the austenitic range,13 in the harden-ing treatments of high-speed steels,14,15 and in the low-temperature annealing of strained low-carbon steels as in sheet and wire material. Entirely aside from these instances of exaggerated grain growth, which some might consider as freakish, it is thought that abnormal growth is simply a case where the growth forces and the forces tending to prevent growth are almost, but not quite, evenly balanced. Information relative to grain-growth characteristics in general may be obtained from a study of abnormal growth conditions, which may be looked upon as vantage points. Reflection will show at once that if growth forces are great in comparison to inertia or resistance to growth, many crystals start to grow and, for that reason, none becomes very large, whereas if inertia is predominant no growth at all takes place. Under conditions in which

Jan 1, 1938

By H. B. Fuqua, B. E. Thompson

The area discussed herein, commonly known as the North Texas district, embraces the following 10 counties: Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Foard, Hardeman, Knox, Montague, Wichita and Wilbarger. It is underlain by two major structural features. The northernmost portion of the district, including Cooke, Montague, northern Clay, Wichita, Wilbarger, Foard and Hardeman counties, is underlain by the system of buried mountains known as the Red River uplift, which is parallel to and closely related to the Wichita-Amarillo uplift of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. While the presence of a great majority of the numerous oil fields of the area is traceable to this feature, the production in Archer, southwestern Clay and southeastern Baylor counties is due to the influence of what is known as the Cisco Arch (so called because of its influence on Cisco deposition), the axis of which extends in a northwest-southeast direction across Archer County. It has been impossible for the authors to isolate the statistics for production for each of the many small pools of this district, as such statistics are not kept by the operators except for the district as a whole, therefore Tables 1 and 2 are comparatively short. The number of wells

Jan 1, 1935

By V. J. Bishop, R. G. Beverly

Recent publicity has focused attention on the hazard of lung cancer among uranium miners. Many mining people feel the danger has been exaggerated. Whether or not this is the case, the industry must thoroughly evaluate this potential hazard and take corrective measures to minimize the threat of radiation after-effects and to maintain the level of radiation in mines within the presently-accepted limit. The measurement and control of radon gas and its solid radioactive decay products, Po-218, Pb-214, Bi- 214, and Po-214, should be the one facet of most concern to uranium miners in any radiation control program. To illustrate the radioactivity involved with small quantities of radon gas, the activity from the decay products of five milliliters of radon gas (imagine a 5-ml vial) would be adequate to raise one cubic mile of air to seven times the recommended maximum working level of 300 [ ] (micro micro curies) per liter. This would be enough radioactivity to raise to the maximum working level a 6 x 8-ft drift which extended around the world 160 times. Obviously, a little radon gas goes a long way.

Jan 8, 1961