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By J. W. Furness

THE utilization and collection of waste materials have gone on for centuries, and have become a habit of the human race. The degree to which the salvaging of waste plays a part in a nation's industry depends largely on the availability of raw materials within the political confines of the country itself, or its ability to purchase such material from outside. When purchase is necessary careful economical use of the raw materials results. These economies, as a rule, are represented by lengthening the life of the given article as well as much re-use. For many years the steel industry of Italy and Japan has depended largely on importations of scrap, yet both are important. As long as the expenses incident to the conditioning and marketing of materials manufactured from salvaged waste are less than the cost of virgin material, the salvaged material will be re-fabricated and in many cases will compete with primary materials. One of the most obvious methods for furthering the efficient utilization of our limited mineral resources is the salvaging of mineral wastes. This method, moreover, in¬creases the available supply of a given material. If the price depends on a balance of supply and demand and the recovery from wastes enlarges. the supply, there can be no question but that it influences the sales price of primary.

Jan 1, 1931

By C. M. Young

Bituminous coal piled in heaps or bins frequently undergoes a process of spontaneous heating as the result of the absorption of oxygen. It seems probable that the first absorption of oxygen by coal which has not previously been exposed to the air may occur as a condensation or a combination of oxygen in some form which does not result in the production of carbon dioxide, but slow combustion soon begins. The absorption of oxygen is accompanied by an increase of temperature, and this by an increased rapidity of absorption; hence the dangerous condition proceeds from bad to worse, until the kindling point is reached, unless the process is interrupted. A dangerous rise of temperature can be prevented by excluding oxygen, by increasing the bulk of coal in proportion to its surface exposed, or by circulating enough air to dissipate the heat produced. The storage of coal, in practice, varies from almost complete exclusion of oxygen, by storing under water, to such freedom of access as exists when the coal is stored in open piles. Oxygen available for absorption by coal is supplied by the air in the interstices between lumps and by additional air which may enter the pile through circulation. The size of the coal largely affects both of these supplies; for if the fragments are small the spaces between them constitute a small percentage of the total volume, and little oxygen will be available unless the circulation of air brings in a fresh supply, while with large fragments the percentage is relatively large; circulation also is much easier through a pile of coarse lumps. In the case of lump coal, although a large amount of air may be present, the exposed surface is comparatively small and there is little opportunity for the absorption of oxygen to be so rapid as to cause dangerous heating. Attempts have been made to prevent heating by allowing a sufficient circulation of air to carry off the heat generated; obviously this method cannot be applied to fine sizes nor mixed sizes. When storing coal at the University of Illinois, an attempt has been made to use so much fine coal and to pack it so thoroughly as to prevent circulation of air, while also reducing the original air in the pile so as to prevent heating. This method has been fairly successful, but in some

Jan 1, 1918

By Paul M. Tyler

MARKETWISE the year 1935 was rather a good one for most of the rare and minor metals; as a class they climbed out of the depression much faster than the common metals. The diamond market, too, was better than it had been for years, attributable only in part to investment buying, as there was a genuine pick-up in consumer demand. Wars and rumors of war tended to speed up purchases of certain metals, but consumption for peaceful purposes was the principal factor. Significant was the important role played by new industrial uses. New discoveries during the year were disappointingly few, considering the broad extent of this research frontier. Scientific developments were far from being at a stand-still, of course, but the dominant note was the cashing in on research consummated in former years. With even a moderate upturn in general business a surprising number of laboratory ideas donned overalls and found jobs in industry.

Jan 1, 1936

By Kenneth A. Moon

An exact statistical treatment of a one-dimensional model is used as a basis for evoluating the reliability of certain simplified expressions for the activity of the solute in interstitial solutions, including one obtained from the exact expression by setting the repulsive interaction equal to infinity. The latter approximation is found to be satisfactory at low and moderate concentration if the repulsive interaction is large, even though not infinite. A similar expression (identical if the co-odination number is two) is derived from the quasichemical expression of Lacher, and is recommended as the best available expression for the excess configurational entropy of interstitial solutions with excluded sites. Some reasonable models are discussed, and the nature of the saturated solutions is determined by inspection. Some of the models reduce to the one -dimensional case. An analysis is given of the excess partial entropy of hydrogen in V-H; Nb-H; and To-H solutions. MOST treatments of the statistical thermodynamics of interstitial solid solutions have followed the classic paper1 of Lacher in making the simplifying assumption that the configurational entropy of the solution is ideal. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there are many interstitial solutions with very large so lute-solute repulsions, and for these the assumption of ideal entropy is not valid or useful. It is important to realize that with substitutional solutions large repulsions between the component atoms must lead to phase separation, whereas in interstitial solutions the free energy of the solution is not drastically increased by large solute-solute repulsions until intrinsic saturation is reached at the concentration where further solute would be forced to enter a site in which it would experience the repulsive effect of one or more solute atoms already present. In the limiting case of an infinitely large repulsive interaction, the excess free energy would be attributable entirely to excess entropy, the enthalpy of mixing being zero. AS will be shown below, even if the repulsions are less than infinite, a treatment based on an assumption of infinite repulsions may be very satisfactory up to moderately high concentrations of the interstitial component. Often in solutions where large repulsive interactions exist, there are also small interactions — often attractive—between solute atoms in configurations other than that corresponding to the large repulsion. In such cases the excess free energy will consist of an excess entropy term attributable to the large repulsive interactions, and an enthalpy term corresponding to the other small interactions. Nomenclature to differentiate succinctly between important cases would be a convenience. In this paper the nomenclature shown in Table I will be used. In Table I, and in the preceeding discussion, excess quantities are defined in terms of standard states which are pure solid solvent and pure (possibly hypothetical) solid saturated phase of the structure in question. In practice, it is more convenient to choose the interstitial element as a component, and its conventional standard state. This will add a composition-independent term to the excess entropy and the enthalpy. The earliest paper known to the present author which treats the thermodynamics of athermal interstitial solutions was given by schei12 in 1951, but the statistical derivations in that paper are open to criticism. Speiser and Spretnak were the first to give a correct statistical treatment,3 limited, however, to concentrations sufficiently low that the number of empty sites excluded from occupancy by more than one filled site is negligible. The purpose of the present paper is to extend the statistical treatment to more concentrated solutions, and to examine the magnitude of the errors introduced by assuming that the repulsive interactions are infinite when in fact they must be finite. THE QUASICHEMICAL APPROXIMATION Fortunately, a standard method already exists for taking into account the effect of large interactions upon the entropy of mixing. This is the quasi-chemical method, in which the probability of existence of a given pair of solute atoms in a certain proximate configuration is assumed to be proportional to exp(-w/kT), where w is the energy increase of the solution when the two atoms are moved from isolated locations in the solution to the configuration in question. A quasichemical treatment of interstitial solutions was given in 1937 in a widely neglected paper by Lacher.4 The result comes out

Jan 1, 1963

By Paul A. Farrar, Sanford Adler

The Tz-Zr system was reinvestigated using both metallographic and X-ray diffraction techniques. It mas found that titanium and zirconium are soluble in all proportions in both the a and 0 phases. The minimum in the transformation was found at 50 at. pct and 535°C. THE Ti-Zr system has previously been the subject of several investigations.1-6 A study by Hayes et al.5 using magnesium-reduced titanium and zirconium melted in graphite crucibles indicated that the system was a continuous series of solid solutions in both a and 0 phases with a minimum at approximately 545°C and 65 pct* Zr. These conclusions were substantiated by the work of Duwez4 as well as by the limited data of Craighead et al.,3 Fast,2 and deBoer.1 However, a more recent investigation of the titanium-rich region by Ence and Margolin6 indicated that the solubility of zirconium in a, titanium at 500°C is approximately 22 pct with the a + 0 field extending to approximately 47 pct Zr. Therefore in order to resolve this discrepancy the following investigation was initiated. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES The alloys used in this investigation were prepared as 20- to 30-g buttons by nonconsumable electrode melting in a helium atmosphere. The starting materials were Bureau of Mines titanium BHN 71 and Foot Mineral iodide crystal bar zirconium. The titanium was premelted before the alloys were prepared to avoid excessive weight losses in the final melting. The compositions of the alloys prepared were as follows: Ti-12.0, 22.2, 29.0, 39.6, 50.0, 58.0, 72.4, 83.5. and 90.8 pct Zr. Prior to heat treatment the alloys were cold-worked 10 to 20 pct, stopping at the first signs of cracking. Specimens for heat treatment were wrapped in molybdenum sheet and annealed in argon-filled quartz capsules for the following times and temperatures: 750°C-40 days, 675°C-61 days, 600°C—109 days, 575°C-112 days, 550°C-112 days, 525°C—127 days, and 450°C —153 days. Quenching was accomplished by breaking the capsules in an iced-brine solution. The standard techniques used for polishing the specimens involved belt grinding, grinding on emery paper, polishing electrolytically, and etching with Remington "A" etch7 or "R" etch 8 Debye-Scherrer X-ray powder photograms were obtained for a number of samples using a 114.6-mm camera and CuK, radiation. Exposure times were from 19 to 23 hr. The powder samples were obtained by filing to 270 mesh size. After filing the samples were wrapped in molybdenum foil capsuled in quartz and reannealed at the temperature of original heat treatments; following the heat treatment the samples were quenched into iced brine without breaking the capsules. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS On the basis of the microstructural examinations of the heat-treated samples and of the X-ray diffraction data, the Ti-Zr system shown in Fig. 1 was constructed. The data indicate that a, and 0 titanium form a complete series of solid solutions with a, and ß zirconium. The minimum was found to occur at 65 pct (50 at. pct) Zr and 535°C, in excellent agreement with the earlier investigations,1-5 see Fig. 2. Typical microstructures are shown in Figs. 3 to 7. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show the 22.2, 39.6, and 50.0 pct Zr alloys after heat treatment at 675°C for 61 days with the 22.2 pct Zr showing equiaxed a, and the 39.6 pct Zr alloy a + transformed ß, while the 50 pct Zr alloy shows only transformed B. Figs. 6 and 7 show the 29.0 and 39.6 pct Zr alloys after heat treatment for 109 days at 600°C. The 29 pct Zr alloy has an equiaxed a structure while the 39.6 pct alloy has a partially recrystallized a+ß structure. X-ray diffraction data obtained from the 50 pct Zr alloys after heat treatment at 525° and 450°C as well as from the as-cold-rolled material showed only those lineos which couid be indexed a: a titanium, good agreement with the previously published values. 2,4,5,9 Chemical analysis* of the 50 pct Zr alloy

Jan 1, 1967

By Allen D. Gorrison

EFFORT to develop fundamental quantitative information and improved technique in the production of petroleum has long been faced with difficulties of a particularly evasive nature, owing to a combination of circumstances. In the first place, petroleum comes from far below the ground, out of sight, so that information derived from indirect observations must be extrapolated to reservoir conditions. If one does not force the analogy too far, the petroleum engineer may be said to be somewhat in the position of the astronomer. The actual phenomena which he wishes to observe in detail appear at a place so deep in the earth?s crust that personal observations and direct experiments are impossible.

Jan 1, 1942

By James Barr

The process of manufacturing ferrophosphorus lies not alone in smelting a mixture of phosphates, silica, iron ore, with coke as fuel, but upon smelting this mixture with coke and air as chemical agents as well as heat producers and in conjunction with extraordinary procedures and manipulations making the process continuous and profitable. For best results there must be cool top, limited fusion zone, hot bottom, good mechanical condition of stock and perfect distribution of gases; also minimum air supply, high heats and excess of coke or carbon. FERROPHOSPHORUS, an alloy of phosphorus and iron or perhaps a physical mixture of definite compounds of iron and phosphorus, has become of increasing importance as the use of the basic open hearth has extended. Commercial ferrophosphorus is a porous, brittle metal of crystalline structure and often with a bluish metallic luster. A typical analysis is as follows: PER CENT. Phosphorus 18.0 to 22.0 Iron 80.0 76.0 Oxygen 0.2 Sulfur : 0.3 Silicon 0.1 Carbon : 0.1 Manganese 0.2 This alloy was first made in an electric furnace, as it was thought that the high heat of the electric arc together with the reductive effect of carbon was necessary. About 1898, J. J. Gray, Jr., was producing a high-phosphorus pig iron in his furnace at Rockdale, Tenn., by using high-phosphorus, local iron ores. As these high-phosphorus ores were difficult to obtain, he conceived the idea of increasing the phosphorus content of the pig iron by the addition of phosphate rock to the furnace burden. When the phosphorus content of the pig was kept low and only small amounts of phosphate rock were added to the burden, no particular troubles were encountered, but when he increased the amount of phosphate rock to produce an 18 per cent. alloy, his furnace troubles rapidly multiplied.

Jan 10, 1924

By J. E. Tiffany, S. S. Lubelsky

For blasting in coal mines the U. S. Bureau of Mines recommends that permissible explosives be used exclusively, that these shall be fired electrically, and that where feasible the working place shall be cut or sheared. These recommendations are made to promote safety and prevent mine explosions. Although permissible explosives are not flameless, their lower flame temperature and shorter duration of flanie make their use safer than that of nonpermissible explosives. Mixtures of air with both methane and bituminous coal dust, which are liable to occur in coal mines, may be ignited by coming in contact with any type of flame or spark of sufficient temperature and duration or by the firing of a blast. In a working place where a blast is to be fired, in addition to the use of permissible explosives, adequate ventilation for the dilution and removal of accumulations or outbursts of flammable gas should be provided. Bituminous coal mines should be rock-dusted as a means of rendering the coal dust harmless The efficient use of permissible explosives depends upon the proper preparation of the working place, standardized drilling, the strength characteristics of the explosive, and the use of a proper weight of charge. Experienced shotfirers should load, tamp and fire all holes. The major part of the information and data here presented is based on the results of efficiency tests made in large producing mines of Pennsylvania and Illinois. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations, Serial No. 2697, describes how a standard method of blasting was worked out and put into operation in a mine in southern Illinois.' This paper contains a description of the methods worked out subsequently in another mine in that district. Descriptions of tests in two Pennsylvania mines are given in Bulletins 11 and 19 of the Carnegie Institute of Technology.2 These tests

Jan 1, 1928

By W. R. Ingalls

WHAT proportion of the national wealth is represented by' the producing mines of the country?' Or by the- mining and metallurgical industry-as a whole, for it is impossible to make-an economic distinction between the mines that produce the ore and the plant that is used to get the metals from it. The total national wealth in fixed property is about $270,000,000,000. How much for the mines? I do not know that any one 'else has ever tried to furnish answers to these questions. In making such an attempt I am conscious that the result can be nothing more than a rough approximation. Yet even that will give an idea of relative values. No separate valuation for the mines of the country has appeared in any inventory of the national wealth previous to that which I compiled and published for 1916. -In earlier census estimates mines were supposed to be included under the head of real estate. However, an examination of the laws and practices of the several states with respect to mine taxation will make it evident that no good idea of the value of the mines of the coun¬try is obtainable from the assessment rolls. In my previous estimate for 1916, I computed the value of the mines at $8,000,000,000, which was approxi¬mately 10 times their net income as reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In making that estimate I fell grossly into error, for several reasons that it is unnecessary to explain, but chiefly because the net income of the mines of the country in that year was exceptionally large. The whole subject of valuing the mines of the country en bloc is extraordinarily difficult At the best, no one can hope to arrive at, anything more than a rough idea about it. However, elements of reason may be introduced and may be made to serve as chief bases.

Jan 1, 1921

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Oct. 10, 1918, to Nov. 9, 1918. ALLER, FRANK D., Copper Met., Ore Purchaser, American Smelt. & Refin. Co., 120 Broadway, New York, N. Y. AVÈRY, PAUL W., Met. Engr., Esperanza Min. Co., Apt. 8, El Oro, Mex., Mexico. BAKER, CHARLES A., Leaching Foreman, Copper Leaching Plant, Anaconda Copper Min. Co., Anaconda, Mont: BREED, CHARLES H Met., Crown Cork & Seal Co., Baltimore, Md. CHASE, R. L., Min. Engr 102S First National Bank Bldg., Denver, Colo. EICHELBERGER, FRANK, Vice-pres. and Engr., New York-Montana Testing & Engrg. Co., Helena, Mont. GESTER, G. C., Geol., Standard Oil Co. of Cal., 616 Standard Oil Bldg., San Francisco, Cal. GRIFFIN, JOHN, Mgr., Anthracite Territory, The Dorr Co., Board of Trade Bldg., Scranton, Pa. HAYNES, ELWOOD Pres., The Haynes Stellite Co., Kokomo, Indiana. Hsi, T. C:.. Sec'y, Tayeh Iron & Steel Works, Tayeh, China. HYDE, AUSTIN T., Mgr., Keokuk Plant, River Smelt. & Refin. Co., 607 Franklin St., Keokuk, Iowa.

Jan 12, 1918

By J. E. Tiffany

FOR blasting in coal mines the U. S. Bureau of Mines recommends that permissible explosives be used exclusively, that these shall be fired electrically, and that where feasible the working place shall be cut or sheared. These recommendations are made to promote safety and prevent mine explosions. Although permissible explosives are not flameless, their lower flame temperature and shorter duration of flame make their use safer than that of non-permissible explosives. Mixtures of air with both methane and bituminous coal dust, which are liable to occur in coal mines, may be ignited by coming in contact with any type of flame or spark of sufficient temperature and duration or by the firing of a blast. In a working place where a blast is to be fired, in addition to the use of permissible explosives, adequate ventilation for the dilution and removal of accumulations or outbursts of flammable gas should be provided. Bituminous coal mines should be rock-dusted as a means of rendering the coal dust harmless. The efficient use of permissible explosives depends upon the proper preparation of the working place, standardized drilling, the strength characteristics of the explosive, and the use of a proper weight of charge. Experienced shotfirers should load, tamp and fire all holes. The major part of the information and data here presented is based on the results of efficiency tests made in large producing mines of Pennsylvania and Illinois. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations, Serial No. 2697, describes how a standard method of blasting was worked out and put into operation in a mine in southern Illinois.1 This paper contains a description of the methods worked out subsequently in another mine in that district.

Jan 1, 1928

By W. E. Wrather

SERIOUS consideration was given by the Petroleum Division to a wide variety of subjects, during six busy sessions at the Annual Meeting. Beginning with a joint session on engineering research and production engineering, Tuesday afternoon, conducted by E. A. Stephenson and H. C. Fowler, problems of petroleum technology, domestic and foreign production, proved oil re- serves, economics, and stabilization were mooied almost without interruption until nearly everyone was "talked out,' and the meeting was adjourned at the end of the annual Petroleum Division dinner, late Thursday night.

Jan 1, 1933

By AIME AIME

EVER since Henry Bessemer, nearly 100 years ago, developed the steelmaking process that bears his name, occasional variation has been noted in the quality of steel made in the acid converter, owing largely to the difficulty of stopping the ? refining-which takes only ten to twelve minutes -at precisely the right moment. Principally as the result of this, the amount of Bessemer steel made in the United States gradually declined over the years until it is now about 7 per cent of the total.

Jan 1, 1943

By Leo J. Miller

It is both an honor and a pleasure for me to be the keynote speaker for the Paul F. Kerr's Symposium on Applied Mineralogy. Professor Kerr was a man for all seasons to his students, and he treated all students as distinct individuals. Philip Bethke in his memorial to Dr. Kerr summed up our remembrance best by stating that "We have lost our most successful educator-administrator-scholar, who was our steadfast teacher-counselor-mentor-friend." His unique trait was the ability to bring out the best in a variety of individuals In order that their performance was at the peak of quality.

Jan 1, 1985

By E. F. Reed

CONSIDERABLE deep hole prospect drilling has been done in the last few years in the Globe-Miami mining district about 70 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona, and in the San Manuel-Tiger area about 50 miles south of the Globe-Miami region. More than 205,000 ft of churn drilling have been completed by the San Manuel Copper Corp. at their property in the Old Hat Mining District in southern Pinal County. The deepest hole on this property is 2850 ft; there are 49 holes deeper than 2000 ft. At the adjoining Houghton property of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., where only one hole reached 2000-ft depth, there were 27,472 ft of churn drilling and 3436 ft of diamond drilling. Three churn drill holes were deepened by diamond drilling methods. Near Miami in the Globe-Miami district the Amico Mining Corp. drilled four holes by combined churn and rotary drilling methods, the total amounting to 13,879 ft, of which 2256 ft were drilled with a portable rotary rig. In the same district, besides doing a large amount of shallow prospect drilling, the Miami Copper Co. drilled two holes of 2560 and 3787 ft, respectively, which were completed by churn drilling methods. The rocks encountered in drilling at San Manuel and Tiger are described by Steele and Rubly in their paper on the San Manuel Prospect' and by Chapman in a report on the San Manuel Copper Deposit? The rocks are well-consolidated Gila conglomerate, quartz , monzonite, and monzonite porphyry. In some places these formations stand very well while being drilled, and three holes were drilled without casing, the deepest of which was 2200 ft. In other holes faulted and fractured ground made drilling difficult. In the Globe-Miami district the deep drilling was done in the down-faulted block of Gila conglomerate east of the Miami fault and in the underlying Pinal schist. The geology of this area is described by Ransome.3 In the Amico holes the conglomerate varied from material consisting entirely of granite boulders and fragments to a rock made up of schist fragments in a sandy matrix; in the Miami Copper Co. holes there were more granite boulders and the material was poorly consolidated. Drilling was much more difficult and expensive in the Miami area than in the San Manuel district, mainly because of the depth of the holes and the formations drilled. All the deep hole prospecting described in this paper was done with portable rigs. The churn drill rigs were of several types, of which the Bucyrus-Erie were the most popular. Bucyrus-Erie 28L, 29W, and 36L rigs were used on some of the deeper holes on the San Manuel property. A few Fort Worth spudder types were tried, and the deepest hole at San Manuel was drilled with a Fort Worth Jumbo H. The spudder type is considerably larger than most other rigs used on this work and required a larger location site. The spudders were belt-driven machines with separate power units, and time required for setting up and moving was much longer than with the more portable drills. All the churn drilling was done by contractors or with machinery leased from them. A few of the contractors had complete equipment, including most of the necessary fishing tools. Unusual and special, fishing tools were obtainable from the supply companies in the oil fields of New Mexico or in the Los Angeles area. Most of the contractors used equipment with standard API tool joints, so that much of it was interchangeable. Failure of tool joints is one of the principal causes of fishing jobs. It can be minimized if the joints are kept to the API specifications and the proper sized joints are used in the various holes. The minimum sizes that should be used with various bits are as follows: 12-in. and larger bits, 4x5-in. tool joints; 10-in. bits, 3 1/4x4 1/4-in. tool joints; 8-in. bits, 2 3/4x 3 3/4-in. tool joints; 6-in. bits, 2 1/4 x3 l/4 -in. tool joints; 4-in. bits, 1 5/8 x2 5/8-in. tool joints. Two rotary drill rigs were tried at San Manuel on the same hole, and a portable rotary drill rig was used on the Amico drilling for test coring the formation and for drilling in holes 3 and 4. Rotary drilling differs from churn drilling or cable tool drilling in that the bit is revolved by a string of drill pipe and the cuttings are removed from the hole by a thin solution of mud pumped through the drill pipe. The principal parts of a rotary rig are the power unit, a rotating table to revolve the drill pipe, hoists to raise and lower the pipe and to handle casing, and a pumping system to circulate the drilling liquid. The rig used on the Amico property at Miami was mounted on a truck. The larger rig used on the San Manuel property was hauled by several trucks and had separate turntable and pumping units. Diamond drill coring equipment was used successfully with the rotary rig in the holes on the Amico property, To allow for 2 3/8-in. drill pipe with tool joints, 3 1/2-in. core barrels and bits were used. With the standard 3 1/2-in. core barrel there was considerable difficulty in maintaining circulation with mud, so a barrel was designed with a smaller inner tube and a broad-faced bit. This allowed coarser material to circulate between the barrels. Rock bits of 5 5/8 to 3 7/8 in. were used with the rotary rig for drilling between core runs. Diamond drill equipment is much lighter than churn drill tools, so that fishing tools can usually be obtained from supply houses by air express when needed. Three churn drill holes on the Houghton property at Tiger were deepened by diamond drilling with Longyear UG Straitline gasoline-driven-machines. The open churn drill hole was cased with 2 1/2-in. black pipe. In deep hole churn drilling, casing is one of the most important items, especially in drilling in unconsolidated material like the formations drilled by

Jan 1, 1952

By R. E. Mussler, F. E. Block, T. T. Campbell

An exploratovy study was made to deternzine the feasibility of preparing beryllium by the metallother-. mic reduction of beryllium oxide. The procedure involved heating a relatively nonvolatile metal reductant in contact with beryllium oxide in a vacuum. Beryllium vapors formed in the reaction were condensed as a coherent deposit on a heated surface. Reductants tested included tanthanun, yttrium, thorium, Th-Mg, and Zr- Ti alloys, and the hydrides of lanthaniir~z, yttriunz, and zirconiur?7,. Test ten7pevatures ranged from 1350'to 175O' C, and reaction times ranged frot 30 to 100 lzr. In most cases metal recoveries were lola, although yields close to 90 pct of theoretical were obtained with latzthanum, yttrium, and zirconium reductants. In most cases metal deposits were contanzinated by beryllides, /ls/cally of the Beln M or Bel3 M type. BERYLLIUM has a variety of unique properties including light weight (sp gr 1.85), low thermal neutron absorption cross section, high scattering cross section, excellent dimensional stability, high strength to weight ratio, high melting point (1285"C), high specific heat, and high thermal conductivity. Interest in beryllium as a structural material in aerospace and nuclear-reactor applications is based on these properties. In general, the potential of beryllium has been only partially realized, largely because of the brittleness of poly crystalline forms of beryllium, difficulties associated in its fabrication, and joining problems encountered in its use in structural applications. Several excellent books and monographs are available to those interested in the occurrence, extractive metallurgy, and utilization of beryllium.1"* Although an extensive amount of research on beryllium has been in progress during the past 10 years, much of the work has been concerned either with the so-called "ductility problem" or with the development of methods of fabrication and evaluation of properties of various commercial or purified grades of metal. A recent survey of the literature indicates that only limited efforts are presently being directed toward developing new methods for reducing beryllium compounds to metal. Two major commercial methods now used to produce beryllium are the magnesium reduction of beryllium fluoride and e lec trow inn ing of beryllium from fused sodium chloride-beryllium chloride salt baths. Only a limited amount of work has been done on the direct reduction of beryllium oxide. Major factors which complicate this method are the great stability of beryllium oxide and the reactive nature of beryllium metal. The stability of the oxide necessitates extremely high reduction temperatures and vacuum operation to liberate beryllium metal vapor and cause reactions of the following type to proceed: XBeO(s) +YM(s)-MYOX(s) + XBe(& As early as 1939, roll' used this reaction for the direct reduction of beryllia by zirconium and titanium, and later in 1952 ~a~el~ studied the reduction of beryl-

Jan 1, 1967

By D. K. MACKAY

The production of oil and gas in Arkansas is confined to two distinct and widely separated regions of the state; namely: (1) South Arkansas in the Gulf coastal plain, where 49 fields-many containing two or more reservoirs or pools-yield oil, condensate and gas from beds in the Cretaceous and Jurassic, and (2) Northwest Arkansas, a part of the Arkansas Valley, where only dry gas is produced in 21 fields from sandstones of Pennsylvanian age. Exploration during the year 1945 centered largely in these two producing regions, but some of the geophysical surveys were made and wildcat drilling was done a considerable distance outside these regions.

Jan 1, 1946

By Arthur T. Ward

WHEN the Board of Directors of the Institute in June 1931 approved the formation of the Committee on Eastern Magnetite and its then membership of eleven, little did any of those concerned envision that twelve years later the annual Committee luncheon would attract 34, and the technical session, jointly with the Iron and Steel Division, more than 70. Yet that was exactly what happened during the February meeting just passed. And what is more important, some members of the Committee are now predicting that by 1944 over 10 per cent of the iron ore produced in the United States will come from these Eastern Magnetite properties. Chairman Crockett, in opening the meeting, advised that due to the serious illness of Meredith E. Johnson, State Geologist of New Jersey, Mr. Johnson would be unable to brief his scheduled paper, which would therefore be reserved for a later date.

Jan 1, 1943

By AIME AIME

MONDAY, Feb. 21, evokes memories of the Silver Corridor at the Waldorf to be recalled and reflected upon for time to come when thoughts drift to the Annual Meeting of 1944. Crowded though it was, on occasion there lurked in the mind's eye a vision of what might have been had the 2886 persons who put in an appearance at one time or another milled around in the lobby of 29 West 39th Street. Some confusion resulted from difficulty in locating meeting rooms, but for the most part everyone found what he wanted. The usual bulletin board of members registered was missing this year and rumor has it that tile Waldorf didn't approve. Registration broke all previous records with many a busy engineer realizing that the program had something to offer that would be of use in his particular job. It might be noted here that "Arpad" co-operated nicely, previewing spring days on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; Tuesday was a bit damp.

Jan 1, 1944

At the meeting of the Board of Directors, and of the Council of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, February 21, 1911, Dr. R. W. Raymond asked for the appointment of a joint commit¬tee to receive and consider a communication (which was duly sent by him under date of March 16) tendering his resignation as Member and Secretary of each body. On March 31, the Board of Directors and the Council accepted the resignation of Dr. Raymond, and on the recommendation of the Council, the Board authorized and directed his appointment as Secretary Emeritus, upon whom the Council may call for special editorial and other services in connection with the publications of the Institute.

Jan 1, 1917