Search Documents

By Norman L. Newbern, Robert E. Green

An investigation of the effect of size on the deformation properties of metal single crystals made it desirable to grow from the melt cylindrical aluminum single crystals possessing exactly the same crystallographic orientation but varying in diameter. Methods for the growth of rather large (up to 3 in. diam) aluminum single crystals in molds of the desired shape are well known. However, when one applies the same techniques to the growth of smaller (less than 1/8-in. diam) specimens many additional problems arise. Two of the major problems are the construction of the molds to be used and the removal of the thin specimens from these molds without deformation after growth has been completed. Also the problem of the constraint forces exerted by the mold on the specimen is much more pronounced for the smaller specimens. The technique described herein is a zone-melting method in which no mold is used since the surface tension of the molten metal and its oxide is sufficient to retain the melt. The specimen is suspended vertically in a manner similar to that of Keck and Golay.2 However, while Keck and Golay supported the specimen from both ends, the method used here supports the specimen only at the upper end. The surface tension of the molten aluminum and aluminum oxide contains the melt and suspends a length of newly grown crystal that has already passed through the molten zone until the weight of the newly grown crystal is equal to the component of surface tension holding the specimen together in the molten region. When the weight of the newly grown crystal is equal to the component of surface tension holding the specimen together the specimen pulls in two in the molten zone. The length of crystal which can be grown before this separation occurs varies with the diameter of the specimen and the size of the molten zone. In order to prevent the specimen from pulling in two a tube of glycerine is placed beneath the furnace in such a manner that the newly grown crystal passes into the glycerine which provides sufficient buoyancy to allow aluminum single crystals in wire form to be grown to lengths determined only by the length of the tube containing the glycerine. A schematic diagram of the experimental arrangement is shown in Fig. 1. The furnace used is constructed as follows. High-resistance nichrome wire is coiled on a 3/8-in. diam fused quartz tube. The distance between the windings is much less over a length of about 3/8 in. at the center so as to develop a hot spot. This core is located in the center of a 4-in. diam steel cylinder 5 in. in height and insulated from it by Kayolite. The temperature of the furnace is controlled by means of a thermocouple located near the central hot spot and a Minneapolis-Honeywell temperature controller. Temperature ins,ide the furnace is measured with a thermocouple and a standard potentiometer in the usual manner. By the above method it is possible to grow high-purity (99.99 pct Al) aluminum single-crystal wires over a range of sizes. Crystals varying from 1/8 to 1/64-in. diam were grown by the authors. Since the tube containing the glycerine cannot contain a crystal longer than approximately 3 ft, the growth of crystals longer than this presents another problem. It was found that one could cut the newly grown crystal without deformation in the region between furnace and glycerine tube try means of a cutting torch and then by moving the glycerine tube slightly aside continue

Jan 1, 1962

By H. H. Hasler

THE mining and removal of coal from two or more beds, either simultaneously or consecutively, in vertically adjacent areas have always been matters of concern to mine operators from both operating and recovery points of view. However, with the progressive introduction and use of electrical and mechanical facilities, such problems assume even greater proportions. In this paper typical cases occuring in Cambia County, Pa., are given and procedures whereby such problems may be .greatly reduced, if not entirely eliminated, are suggested. Throughout a considerable portion of the Central Pennsylvania bituminous coal region, particularly in Cambria County (Fig. I), the portion of the region to which references in this paper are made, large areas are encountered where two or more beds of coal occur and have been mined extensively since the earliest days of mining in the county. Generally, operations were commenced in one bed of coal on a property, following which, as conditions appeared to warrant, operations were commenced in another bed or beds on the same property, in some instances by the same operator. Operating results by no means have been uniformly successful, as the following review of some typical cases indicates, partly because of lack of experience in earlier cases and in certain later cases to disregard for the experiences of earlier operators. It is suggested that repetitions of such failures may be reduced largely, if not eliminated entirely, by adherence to a few basic principles founded upon past experiences. Geology and Stratigraphy The geology, stratigraphy, and relief of almost all of Cambria County have been studied and reported at length by the U. S. Geological Survey in its Johnstown, Ebensburg and Barnesboro-Patton Folios and other publications, by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey and by various individuals. All exposed rocks occurring within the boundaries of the county are of sedimentary origin, consisting of alternate beds of sandstone, slate, shale, fireclay, coal, limestone, etc., and all have been classified by the U. S. Geological Survey as extending from the upper strata of the Catskill formation, Devonian system, to and including, in a few hilltop areas, the lower strata of the Monongahela formation, Carboniferous system. Included within that range is the Allegheny formation, Pennsylvania series, which embraces all of the commercially important beds of coal that occur in the county, viz., the A, or Brookville, to the E, or Upper Freeport, both inclusive, shown in Fig. 2. The measures are traversed by a series of anticlines and synclines, extending in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, which form broad, gently sloping basins (flat to 15 pct pitch, exceptionally to 25 pct). However, the topography of the surface is such that long lines of outcrops of all beds of coal overlying bed B, and to a limited extent bed B also, occur over large areas, a factor which contributed to the early and extensive development of mining activities in the county. Earliest mining developments of commercial importance were made in B, C', D, and E beds of coal, and it is in these beds that the principal mining operations are being conducted. To a limited extent, mining operations also have been conducted in local areas in the A, B rider and C beds. Coal beds being mined today range in thickness from approximately 28 to 60 in. Intervals between the respective beds of coal are variable but conform somewhat to the following general averages: A to B, 60 to 100 ft.; B to C, 50 ft.; C to C', 70 ft.; C' to D, 45 ft.; and D to E, 45 ft. The following are typical mining cases obserced over a period of years in various parts of the county.

Jan 1, 1952

By M. J. Marcinkowski, K. S. Sree Harsha

A detailed numerical analysis has been made of the equilibrium configuration of partial dislocations in a blocked deformation twin under an externally applied stress. Twins made up of both pure screw and pure edge partials have been considered. The components of stress in the vicinity of the twin tip associated with each of these configurations have been plotted. It has been found that at some critical degree of oblateness the shear stress fields of the blocked screw or edge twin can both sPontaneously nucleate slip, whereas only the component of stress oxx about the edge twin can nucleate and propagate cracks. TWINNING becomes a predominant mode of plastic deformation at low temperatures and/or high strain rates. Fig. l(a) shows what must be the first step in the formation of a deformation twin, namely the formation of a loop of imperfect dislocation bounding a stacking fault. In an fcc crystal the partial dislocations have Burgers vectors of the type 1/6 a,(112) and the fault is of the intrinsic type while in the bcc crystal the partials have Burgers vectors of the type ao(lll). The stacking sequence of (111) planes in a perfect fcc crystal is given by ABC ABC, and so forth, and in one which contains a twin by ABCABACBA, and so forth. It is apparent that the stacking fault and twin give rise to no mistakes associated with adjacent close-packed planes; however, with respect to second-neighbor close-packed planes the faulted crystal has twice as many mistakes as the twin. The energy of the twin boundary may thus be taken to be one-half that of the intrinsic fault boundary. In the case of the bcc crystal the stacking sequence of (112) planes is given by ABCDEFABCD, and so forth, in a perfect crystal, by ABCDCDEFA, and so forth, in a crystal which contains a fault, and by ABCDCBAF, and so forth, in one which contains a twin. An analysis similar to that applied in the fcc crystal shows that both the fault as well as the twin involve no neighbor violations across adjacent planes. However, there are twice as many violations across second-neighbor (112) planes associated with the fault as compared to that of the twin. Thus once again the energy of the twin boundary may be taken as one-half that of the fault. It is important to note that, unlike the fcc, the faults in the bcc crystal involve first nearest-neighbor violations and are thus expected to be of much higher energy than those in fcc crystals. A more detailed analysis of the material discussed above can be found in Ref. 1. To a good approximation then, the lenticular twin shown in Fig. l(b) can be generated by adding partial dislocation loops on successive (111) planes for fcc crystals or (112) planes for bcc crystals in the manner shown, with no additional expenditure of chemical energy other than that required for the fault shown in Fig. l(a). In practice, deformation twins are much more extended than that shown in Fig. l(b) and more closely resemble one shown schematically in Fig. l(c). It is readily apparent that the free energy of the twin and matrix are identical. In those cases where the partials lead to a structural change, the free energy of the material contained within the dislocation array is lower than that of the matrix and we have the so-called martensite transformation. The present investigation is the first in a series of five major theoretical-experimental efforts which will deal with the static and dynamic behavior of twin nucleation and growth. There has been a recent surge in activity pertaining to the equilibrium shapes of twin lamellae2'3 and

Jan 1, 1969

By Charles C. Towle, Irving Rapaport

URANIUM mineralization along the north flank of the Zuni Uplift, in the vicinity of Haystack Butte, was discovered by Paddy Martinez, a Navajo Indian, in the spring of 1950. The find was reported to the Santa Fe Railway Co., which initiated a program of exploration upon its holdings in the district in December of 1950. The Anaconda Copper Mining Co. secured numerous leases in January and February, 1951, and began an intensive exploration and development program in March 1951. The district was extended into the Lucero Uplift in August of 1951 by the discovery of uranium mineralization in Todilto limestone by Joy Sinyella, a Supai Indian living on the Laguna Reservation. Initial reconnaissance was performed in the district by the Atomic Energy Commission in November 1950. A field office under the direction of the Denver Exploration Branch of the AEC was established at Prewitt, N. Mex. in January 1951 to study regional and detailed guides to ore, to evaluate the ore deposits, and to promote the development of the district by providing geologic services for the companies and individuals engaged in exploration. With the development of sufficient ore to warrant construction of a mill, the Grants area of New Mexico has come of age as a full fledged uranium mining district. The carnotite-type deposits of Grants, the first of major economic importance found in limestone, have extended the Colorado Plateau carnotite field into the more complex structure of the Basin and Range Province. General Geology The Grants uranium district is in northwestern New Mexico, along the southern flank of the San Juan Basin, between the cities of Gallup and Albuquerque. The region is at a mean altitude of about 6800 ft, vegetation is sparse, and outcrops are excellent. Mt. Taylor volcanic peak, at an elevation of 11,400 ft dominates the surrounding area. The overlying cliff-forming Dakota sandstone is the most resistant formation in the Grants District and characteristically erodes into dissected mesas as much as five miles wide. The principle uranium ore-bearing horizons are found in the underlying Morrison formation, and the Todilto limestone of the San Rafael group. The Morrison weathers into. a series of steep slopes and precipitous cliffs near the lower part of the Dakota-capped rims, while in contrast, the relatively resistant underlying. Todilto [ ] limestone forms broad benches extending out from the base of these Dakota rims as much as five miles wide. The Todilto benches are covered with overburden to an average depth of about 5 ft in the first thousand ft away from the Dakota rim, but increases to about 200 ft at the base of the rim. In many places however, a thick mantle of upper Cretaceous sediments and Tertiary volcanics "obscures the ore-bearing Jurassic, and precludes exploration. . The known uranium deposits of the Grants District are distributed throughout a zone 85 miles long and about 10 miles wide. Stratigraphy Rocks from pre-Cambrian through Tertiary are exposed in the uplifted areas, but uranium appears to be restricted chiefly to two zones in Jurassic sediments. The Jurassic sediments of the Colorado Plateau have been subdivided into three units, in ascending order: (1) Glen Canyon group, (2) San Rafael group, (3) Morrison formation. The Todilto limestone zone within the San Rafael group has produced the bulk of ore to date, but the promise of the Morrison zone is rapidly increasing. The Todilto formation extends about 300 miles east-west and about 100 miles in a north-south direction. It is composed of a lower, extensive, limestone member and a central, more restricted, thick, pure gypsum member. The Todilto is believed to be of lacustrine origin. The Morrison formation in this area is subdivided, rather arbitrarily, into three members: Recapture Creek, Westwater Canyon, and Brushy Basin. Ore

Jan 1, 1952

By W. O. Philbrook, K. M. Goldman, G. Derge

THIS is the third in a series of papers from the Metals Research Laboratory dealing with the transfer of sulphur across the iron-slag interface in a carbon-saturated system. The first paper' showed that the transfer obeyed first-order kinetics. The second' presented detailed evidence in support of the three-stage mechanism: FeS(Fe) FeS(slag) FeS(slag) + CaO(sing) ? CaS(slag) + FeO(slag) FeO(slag) + C ? Fe + CO. This emphasized the role of an iron-sulphur complex as the transfer agent across the interface and as an essential intermediate in the overall process. The present paper shows the influence on the process of the individual elements, carbon, silicon, manganese, and phosphorus, the alloying elements normally present and of interest in commercial blast furnace operations, aluminum, which has a pronounced accelerating influence, and nickel and copper, which are common minor impurities in the raw materials. The experimental methods and procedures for interpretation of data are the same as described earlier.1,2 Induction heated, graphite crucibles were used, and sulphur-free slag was added to the molten iron containing sulphur and the selected alloy. Slag samples were taken at regular time intervals and analyzed for sulphur and other components of interest. The authors wish to state specifically that these experiments were not intended to simulate industrial blast furnace operations. However, they do represent a study of the kinetics and mechanism of sulphur transfer at the slag-metal interface under specified laboratory control of the major variables in the system. It is believed that the results can be usefully applied to the blast furnace if consideration is given to the differences which are known to exist between the two conditions. A rigorous evaluation of the accuracy of rate studies is difficult. Recognized sources of error include sampling and analysis of both slag and metal, temperature measurement and control, selection of zero time, composition of the gaseous atmosphere over the reaction system, and extraneous sources of sulphur from the graphite crucible and reagent materials. In this study carefully standardized procedures were followed consistently in order to minimize the errors. It is believed that the reproducibil-ity of duplicate runs indicates that errors have been rendered negligible relative to the observed effects from intentional variables. For example, original experimental points for duplicate runs are shown in Figs. 1, 2, 7, etc. In most cases in this paper the drawn curves represent an average of at least two heats. The spread in sulphur values at a given time ranges from 0.02 to 0.08 pct, which is a small frac-tioi of the total values ranging up to 2 pct S in slag. In the systematic study of the influence of alloy additions, each element was added over a range of concentrations. The two slags used in this study were designated as "acid" or 1530 and "basic" or 1545. They had the nominal compositions given in Table I. Rates were measured in the temperature range 1500" to 1650°C. Data will now be presented to illustrate the various features of the study. Silicon The first alloying element examined was silicon, because its presence is unavoidable in any silicate slag system through the reaction y/2SiO2(slag) + xM?y/2Si(liq.Fe) + MxOy where M is any reducing agent such as iron or carbon. It is known that the attainment of equilibrium by this reaction is extremely slow and probably not reached in the blast furnace." The influence of silicon on the final stages of the sulphur reaction has also been studied.' It has been shown5 hat silicon increases the activity of sulphur in iron. For such reasons silicon may also be expected to influence the kinetics of the reaction. The observed effects will now be described. The general procedure was to melt 530 grams of ingot iron in a graphite crucible, 3 in. OD, 2 1/4 in.

Jan 1, 1955

By J. L. Giove, J. M. Hodge, R. G. Storm

The hardenability effect of molybdenum has been evaluated by a number of investigators, including one of the present authors.1,2,3,4,6 Considerable discreMncy exists, however, among the results of these various investigators, and two of them, Brophy3 and Kramer,4 have indicated that the apparent hardenability effect of molybdenun would vary, depending upon the other alloying elements in the steels being considered. The results of previous, unpublished work conducted at the Duquesne Works Laboratory of the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation also have indicated significant differences in the hardenability effect of molybdenu~n in nickel and in chromium steels. The present investigation was undertaken in an effort to establish the mechanism governing this difference in the hardenability effect of molybdenum. This work involved both end-quench hardenability and isothermal transformation tests on two series of steels of varying molybdenum content. One steel contained 3 pct nickel and the other 1 pct chromium. It was hoped that such studies would shed further light on the mechanism of this behavior. Materials and Experimental Work MATERIALS The chemical compositions of the steels used in this investigation arc shown in Table 1. These steels were furnished by Battelle Memorial Institutc in the form of 100-lb induction furnace ingots. The top half of each ingot was forged to 1 3/8-in. square billets and then rolled to I-in. round bar stock for isothermal transforma- tion studies. The bottom half of each ingot was forged into approximately 1 1/4-in. rounds for end quench tests. All of the steels were normalized from 1650°F and tempered at 1100°F before nlachming to end quench or isothermal samples. END-QUENCH TESTS standard l-in. diam end-quench tests were made on each of the steels. The test bars were austenitized at 1600°F for 30 min,, quenched in a standard Jominy jig, and hardness surveys were made in all tests. The 95 pct martensite point was deterInined from hardness values5 and cheeked by metallographic examination. The jominy distance values for 95 pct martensite were converted to hardellability values in terms of ideal diameter (Dl), using a revised carve for the relationship between Jominy distance and ideal diameter. This curve was based on the cooling time from the A1 to the bainite nose temperatures rather than on the usual criterion of half-temperature time. The cooling rates as determined by Russell and Williamson9 were used as a basis for this relationship. The derivation of this curve is described in detail in the appendix. ISOTHERMAL TRANSFORMATION STUDIES Samples for the isothermal transformation studies were quarter sectors of 1/16.is-in. thick slices from the 1-in. round bars. All samples were austenitized for a total the of 15 min., transferred rapidly to a lead bath for isothermal transformation, and brine quenched from the lead bath. A time of 3 see was allowed for the sample to come to the temperature of the lead bath, and this time was not included in the isothermal transformation times. Each sample was examined metallo-graphically at a magnification of 100 diam. The per cent transformation was estimated by comparison with standard micrographs, and the values were plotted against the on log/log coordinate paper. At least 4 and as Inany as 10. points were plotted for each steel. A line was drawn through the points for each steel, and the times for 5 pct transformation were obtained from the plot for each steel. Isothermal transformation diagrams in terms of 5 pet total transformation, covering the temperature range of 800 to 1200°F, were determined in this manner for an austenitizing temperature of 1600°F. The times for 5 pct transformation at the bainite nose for austenitizing temperatures of 1800 and 2000°F were also determined in the same manner. These times for 5 pct total transfor-

Jan 1, 1950

By Gilbert Santoro

In this study tantalum carbide filaments of various compositions in the fcc region were prepared by heating a tantalum wire in a measured amount of hydrocarbon vapor. Such properties as tensile strength, transverse-rupture strength, microhard-ness, lattice parameter, electrical resistivity, and magnetic susceptibility were measured as a function of carbon content. Some of these properties showed a maximum or a minimum between a carbon-to-tantalum molar ratio of 0.80 and 0.85, the composition range at which the color changes from metallic gray to gold. The recent literature has shown that in the large homogeneity range for the fcc phase of the Ta-C system there is a marked variation for such properties as microhardness,' electrical resistivity, ' thermodynamic properties,z'3 lattice parameter and superconductivity. In addition to the technological interest of these variations within a single phase, important theoretical benefits may ensue from a continuous investigation of properties vs stoichiometry in tantalum carbide and other refractory defect compounds, for example the effect of the metal-metal distance and crystal structure upon bond formation and electronic structure. Whether there is a similar variation of the tensile strength is of practical importance. Of theoretical interest would be the knowledge of how the magnetic susceptibility varies with carbon composition. Both of these properties, as well as the transverse-rupture strength, were determined for tantalum carbide filaments in the fcc phase region. The lattice parameter, the electrical resistivity, and the microhardness were also investigated and compared with values appearing in the literature. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Material Preparation. Tantalum carbide specimens of various carbon content were prepared by statically carburizing high-purity tantalum filaments in measured quantities of pure hydrocarbon gas. The filaments, which were 10 mil in diameter and 20 or 40 cm long, were heated by their own resistance at temperatures from 1800" to 2200°C using alternating current in some cases and direct current in others. Tantalum wire from two sources was used. One had a reported purity of 99.96 wt pct Ta. The ingot from which this wire was drawn had been electron beam-melted as the final step in its purification. The reported purity of the other wire, which was prepared by a powder metallurgical process, was 99.88 wt pct Ta. The impurities of both tantalum sources are listed in Table I. Spec-trographic-grade toluene or research-grade propane was used as the source of carbon. The apparatus for the carburization of the filaments is shown schematically in Fig. 1. The system was evacuated to 1 x l0-' mm of Hg when using the electron beam-melted tantalum and to less than 1 p when using the less-pure tantalum. Neither the difference in the base vacuum, nor in the hydrocarbon gas, nor in the tantalum filaments resulted in any detectable difference in the properties studied in this work. However, only the carbides prepared from the higher-purity tantalum were used in the magnetic-susceptibility determinations. Once the base vacuum had been reached, the system was flushed with the hydrocarbon and re-evacuated. For any desired composition of the carbide, hydrocarbon gas was allowed to leak into a constant-volume flask to a predetermined pressure. These pressures were measured by a Cartesian diver-type mercury gage with a range from 0 to 20 mm and with a scale expanded to nine times. The hydrocarbon gas was allowed into the reaction tube and the filament was quickly raised to the reaction temperature. The slack in the filament due to thermal expansion was taken up by drawing out the movable electrode with a screw mechanism. The filaments were kept at temperature from a few minutes to 200 hr. In the majority of cases the heating time was 6 hr. The reaction tube was cooled by cascading water on its outer surface. By means of an ammeter and a voltmeter the electrical resistance at the reaction

Jan 1, 1963

By I. R. Kramer, H. Shen, S. E. Podlaseck

The tensile and creep properties of aluminum in vacuum have been investigated. It was found that the general effect of a vacuum environment was to reduce the rate of work hardening. Results obtained from creep tests showed that lowering the test pressure from 2 x 10-4 to 10-7 torr produced a decrease in the activation energy as much as 500 cal per mole. An attempt is made to explain these effects in terms of how the surface-stress field of a specimen may be affected by a vacuum environment during plastic deformation. In a previous paper,' the results were reported of some of our early work on the effect of vacuum environment on the stress-strain curve of aluminum single crystals. This effort has been extended to the studies of the tensile and creep properties in vacuum as a function of various metallurgical parameters. Some of the recent surface-effect studies2'3 have revealed that a region of high dislocation density, the so-called "debris" layer, is formed near the surface of the specimen as a result of plastic deformation. This layer acts as a surface barrier to oppose dislocation movement. The strength of this barrier depends on the surface condition such as oxidation or surface removal. Experimental results obtained from surface-removal work2, 3 indicate that such a surface barrier, which may be characterized by a stress field, affects the applied stress and the rate of work hardening. In the case of aluminum, this stress field was found to be directly proportional to the strain and the strain rate; however, the slope of this curve is independent of orientation of the crystal and may be altered by using different surface treatment. Since the escape of dislocations may be retarded by the presence of an oxide on the surface of a specimen, it is expected that a change in the rate of oxidation in vacuum will affect the process of dislocation accumulation in the debris layer. Consequently, it also affects the plastic behavior of a metal. This paper reports the changes in some of the creep and tensile properties of aluminum in vacuum and discussions of the observed effects in terms of the concept of the "debris" layer. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Tensile Tests. A sketch of the tensile apparatus is given in Fig. 1. This apparatus was contained in a bell jar (14 in. diam by 24 in. high) connected to a 10-in. vacuum system. The load was applied to the specimen by means of a gear train which was driven by a magnetic clutch located outside the vacuum chamber. The specimen, held by a pair of square shoulder grips, was attached to the load cell at the top and the drive gear at the bottom. A displacement transducer was placed between the two grips as shown in the figure to measure the elongation. Signals of elongation and load were amplified and recorded on an X-Y recorder. The system was capable of detecting loads as small as 0.025 lb and displacements of 0.0002 in. Shoulder-grip specimens of aluminum single crystals, having a nominal square cross section of 1/8 by 1/8 in. and a 3-1/2-in, gage length, were grown by the Bridgeman techniques. The original purity was 99.997 pet. The orientations of the crystals investigated are shown in Fig. 4(a). The crystals were annealed at 600°C for 2-1/2 hr, electropolished, and placed in the vacuum test chamber without any delay. All the crystals were deformed at a strain rate of 4 x 10-5 sec-1 at 24o ± 3°C. A study was made to find whether a chemically passive surface film would give the same effect as a vacuum environment. Specimens of aluminum 1100 (0.187 in. diam with a grain size of 0.1 mm)

Jan 1, 1965

APRIL 10-Officially, spring comes to the Great Lakes on March 21 as it does elsewhere in the country but in the Superior district continued snow and freezing until late in March have caused citizens in Duluth to place their bets on April 15 for the first ore vessels if the ice breakup is left to Mother Nature. North and west of Duluth and near the eastern end of the Mesabilies the little town of Aurora, population 1100. As the little v-nosed snowplow, pride of the community, shuttled back and forth clearing Aurora's few sidewalks, the crowd in Bradich's Cafe were more interested in the impending high school state championship basketball tournament in Minneapolis than in the outcome of Erie Mining Company's petition for water rights for their proposed 10 million ton taconite concentrating plant. Such a plant would employ 4500 workmen, and at the prevailing ratio of 10 people for every mine worker in Minnesota, this would mean a 45,000 increase in population for Aurora and the vicinity in the next few years. Downstate fishermen are alarmed at the flurry of activity by the mining companies in pushing plans for large scale recovery of iron from taconite. Inconvenience to these gentlemen will be inconsequential when compared with the vast increase in payrolls for range communities. Oliver is pushing the construction of a fine ore agglomeration plant at Virginia which will give them valuable experience for projected taconite processing. Oglebay, Norton & Co. is ready to go at Beaver Bay, north of Duluth, as the right of way for a railroad from Babitt to Beaver Bay is secured as well as permission to dispose of tailing into Lake Superior at the site of the proposed concentrating plant. This company is also doing research in agglomeration at Ashland, Ky., in cooperation with other interests. The financing is yet to be worked out. Of the four possibilities for agglomerating taconite concentrate-sintering, pellitizing, nodulizing and briquetting-the prospects for pelletizing appear the most favorable., It seems likely that 60 cents per ton can be saved by this process over sintering because only 1 to 2 pct of coal is required as compared with 7 pct for sintering. One reason for the lower coal consumption is that the chemical transition of magnetite to hematite which transpires in the pelletizing process is exothermic.

Jan 5, 1950

By F. J. Martin, W. G. Hubler

The Beattie mine is at about the center of Duparquet township in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It is 22 miles northwest of the town of Noranda. The elevation is approximately 1200 ft. above sea level. This locality, long considered a favorable one from the geological point of view, has been prospected for over 20 years, but no discoveries of economic importance were made until the present orebody was found by John Beattie in 1930. The specific gravity of the ore is 2.77. The gold occurs in intimate association with the sulfides, pyrite and arsenopyrite, which in turn are very finely disseminated in a silicified porphyry. The bulk of the gold is associated with the pyrite, only a small proportion being with the arsenopyrite. There are small amounts of magnetite, ilmenite and chalcopyrite present in the ore. There is also some hematite in the ore that is mined from near the surface in the open pit. Metallurgical Problems and Methods or Attack 1. The ore is extremely hard and resistant to grinding. 2. The sulfide minerals are finely disseminated in the gangue. 3. The gold, in turn, is so intimately associated with the sulfides that grinding to even 5 microns will not release all of the values for cyanidation. 4. It is necessary to make a high ratio of concentration in order to obtain a product sufficiently high in gold to meet high shipping and treatment charges. Hardness of the Ore.—Owing to the extreme resistance of the ore to grinding, it was recognized that grinding costs would be high. Microscopic tests showed that grinding to 95 per cent minus 325 mesh would be necessary to liberate a sufficient amount of the values in order to obtain a tailing assaying 0.02 oz. gold per ton, which is considered to have the economical minimum gold content that can be obtained. It is not feasible to grind this hard low-grade ore (0.18 to 0.20 oz.) to 95 per cent minus 325 mesh, so it was necessary to overcome the problem in another way. The following method was decided upon: (1) Fine crushing to minus 1/4 in.; (2) relatively coarse primary grinding; flotation of low-grade concentrates in the primary and rougher circuits and discarding the

Jan 1, 1935

By W. M. Weigel

Salt production in Louisiana and Texas at the present time is entirely from salt domes of the interior and coastal groups. Before and during the Civil War salt was recovered from numerous salines and salt springs by evaporation in open kettles. The location of these in nearly every instance was near what is now known to be a salt dome, and the source of the salt in the salines and spring waters was that in the salt core. The tops of many of the shallower domes have been subjected to erosion1. The discovery that the salt occurred as large masses of rock salt in the form of domes was made in May, 1802, at Avery Island, La., by John Marsh Avery, grandson of the original owner, John C. Marsh, who built the old salt works in 18122. The first shaft for mining was sunk on the Avery dome in 1867 by Chouteau and Price. It was 90 ft. deep, about 58 ft. being in solid salt. It was abandoned in 1870. There are three general groups or fields of salt domes; interior Louisiana in northern Louisiana, interior Texas in northeastern Texas, and the coastal domes nearer the Gulf Coast and extending from the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande. This last group contains by far the greatest number of domes. As many of the coastal domes especially are prolific producers of petroleum and a few of sulfur, their geology has been intensively studied and fully covered in the literature. The depth to the top of the salt varies from near the surface, where shallow ground waters have dissolved the salt to just below recent deposits, to several thousand feet, where the depth has been cstimated only by geophysical methods. The diameter of the salt core varies from less than 1/2 mile to over 2 miles. Only domes where the salt is comparatively near the surface have been developed for commercial salt. Three deeper domes, which will be described later, have recently been developed or are in process of development, as a source of brine for chemical use. Fig. 1 shows the location of the domes so far developed for commercial salt and brine. Nos. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are in the Gulf Coastal field,

Jan 1, 1938

By W. M. Weigel

Salt production in Louisiana and Texas at the present time is entirely from salt domes of the interior and coastal groups. Before and during the Civil War salt was recovered from numerous salines and salt springs by evaporation in open kettles. The location of these in nearly every instance was near what is now known to be a salt dome, and the source of the salt in the salines and spring waters was that in the salt core. The tops of many of the shallower domes have been subjected to erosion1. The discovery that the salt occurred as large masses of rock salt in the form of domes was made in May, 1802, at Avery Island, La., by John Marsh Avery, grandson of the original owner, John C. Marsh, who built the old salt works in 18122. The first shaft for mining was sunk on the Avery dome in 1867 by Chouteau and Price. It was 90 ft. deep, about 58 ft. being in solid salt. It was abandoned in 1870. There are three general groups or fields of salt domes; interior Louisiana in northern Louisiana, interior Texas in northeastern Texas, and the coastal domes nearer the Gulf Coast and extending from the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande. This last group contains by far the greatest number of domes. As many of the coastal domes especially are prolific producers of petroleum and a few of sulfur, their geology has been intensively studied and fully covered in the literature. The depth to the top of the salt varies from near the surface, where shallow ground waters have dissolved the salt to just below recent deposits, to several thousand feet, where the depth has been cstimated only by geophysical methods. The diameter of the salt core varies from less than 1/2 mile to over 2 miles. Only domes where the salt is comparatively near the surface have been developed for commercial salt. Three deeper domes, which will be described later, have recently been developed or are in process of development, as a source of brine for chemical use. Fig. 1 shows the location of the domes so far developed for commercial salt and brine. Nos. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are in the Gulf Coastal field,

Jan 1, 1938

By R. C. Craze

This paper discusses the characteristics of the velocity logs now available to the petroleum industry, and some of their advantages and limitations. The velocity log was designed as an aid to the geophysicist to determine velocity layering in the earth and to provide fast, accurate and economical vertical travel time data. After a number of logs had been made, studies were carried out on their use ia correlating strata in adjacent wells. It was found that adjacent strata usually show sufficient velocity contrast to make it possible to correlate these from well to well, even in areas where electric or radioactive logs fail.' In addition, velocity logs have been useful in the determination of porosity and thickness of reservoir rock.' These uses for velocity logs require an understanding of the characteristics of the log in response to the changes in velocity and in borehole conditions encountered normally in logging. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF INSTRUMENTATION The measurement made in velocity logging is more accurately described as a measurement of time rather than velocity. Ideally the log is obtained by measuring the length of time required for compressional sound waves to travel through a fixed distance in the formation. In practice, the time measurement may be made accurately but the distance through which the waves have traveled may vary slightly. Changes in borehole diameter are responsible largely for the difficulty in maintaining a fixed distance, especially if the diameter variations are so abrupt and frequent that the borehole instrument cannot follow contours of the hole. Several service companies have velocity logging equipment available or under development which have different transmitters, receivers, and measuring systems. While these differences are important, there are actually only two systems in use at the present time (Fig. I)."' The first system initiates a pulse at a trans-mitter and detects it at a single receiver. The transmitter and receiver are separated by a fixed distance, called the spacing. The time measured is that between the initiation of the pulse and the first arrival of acoustical energy at the receiver. The second system uses two receivers and a transmitter. The receivers are separated by a fixed distance and the time between arrivals of energy at the two receivers is measured. Here, the spacing is the distance between receivers. The two systems have much in common for it is possible to record both logs simultaneously. Usually the transmitter is an electro-mechanical transducer which produces discrete

By K. Leutwyler

The authors present an interesting review of various applications of rather well known theories. Their rearrangement of the original working equations is strictly computer oriented and serves well to that effect; however, the new appearance will be confusing to the slide rule-wielding members of the profession. In reviewing discrepancies existing between calculations made by Baker Oil Tools, Inc. field engineering staff members and computer output submitted based on the authors' program, the following error in concept was discovered in Eq. 4. The authors quote the length change due to helical buckling in the following form We appreciate Kurt Leutwyler's awareness of Archimedes' principle, and concur that the final term in the denominator of Eq. 4 results in a small error. Examples checked revealed less than I ft error, and corrective expressions for the four possibilities of displacement follow. The portion of the denominator within extra large brackets represents the original term W,, = weight of outside fluid displaced per unit length. The authors interpreted the expression "displaced" in general oilfield terminology as a fluid displacement, such as "mud displaced with water, etc." A review of the theory forming the basis for these helical buckling calculations discloses that this displacement is meant to be interpreted in the Archimedean sense, i.e., fluid displaced by the solid body. here the tubing and the seal nipple. Lubinski* illustrated the point by summing moments due to mechanical and hydraulic forces acting on a free body immersed in fluid. This moment summation, always in the Archi,medean sense, yields effects of the real forces, including W,, and the fictitious force on the bending mechanism. I would be interested to hear the authors' comments regarding this theoretical point, which nevertheless is not mute since its lack of recognition seems to result in erroneous calculations. We must not remain mute to Leutwyler's suggestion that these equations, although computer oriented, are confusing to the slide rule engineers. Such input information as density in pounds per gallon, pipe diameters in inches, pumping rate in barrels per minute and pipe length in feet is not confusing to most of us. Yet there may be some rugged individuals in field positions who carry tables of conversion constants and have committed to memory such items as coefficients of thermal expansion and Poisson's ratio; however, even this type of individual would welcome a simplified equation occasionally. M

JOHN ALEXANDER MATHEWS, who has been awarded the Hunt Gold Medal for his paper "Austenite and Austenitic Steels," which was pre-sented before the Institute as the Howe Memorial Lec-ture for 1925, was born at Washington, Pa., on May 20, 1872. His interest in metallurgy may be said to be hereditary, as three generations of his Colonial forbears were gold and silversmiths. After graduating from Washington and Jefferson College in 1893, he entered Columbia University where he was successively assistant in assaying and tutor in chemistry and at the same time continued his work for the Ph. D. degree, which he received in 1898. He was at one time awarded a fellowship in chemistry, and for 1900, 1901 and 1902 re- ceived the award of the Ear- nard Fellowship for the En- couragement of Scientific Re- search, spending one year at the Royal School of Mines, in London, studying alloys un- der Sir William Roberts- Austen, another at Columbia under Henry M. Howe, and the third at Sanderson Bros. works, Syracuse. While in England, he was one of the first three, recipients of an Andrew Carnegie Scholarship of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, which later awarded him the first Car- negie Gold Medal for Re-search. He entered the employ of the Crucible Steel Company of America, at its Sanderson works, in 1902, as metal- lurgist and soon became as- sistant manager. In 1908 he ent to the Halcomb Steel JOHN A. Co., Syracuse, N. Y., as superintendent, later becoming general manager and president in 1915. In 1920 he returned to Crucible Steel Co. of America, first as vice-president and later became president from 1921 to 1924. He retired from the presidency in 1924, made a metal-lurgical trip to Europe, and returned as vice-president to resume his "favorite pastime" of directing research and development work in the production of special tool and alloy steels. He has taken a particular interest in the development of austenitic steels which, in addition to an extraordinary resistance to corrosive attack, show under fatigue, torsion, and tension tests superior qualities as compared with the ordinary engineering steels, and at elevated temperatures show remarkable resistance to oxidation and scaling and several times the strength of many of the complex alloys that are not of the natural austenitic variety.

Jan 2, 1928

GENTLEMAN: The year 1928 was another in the history of the Institute which was marked by quiet growth and steady progress. The total membership as of December 31, 1928, was 8703 as compared with 8438 on December 31, in 1927. Again the main increase has been in Members and the number of Junior Associates is less. As will be seen also by the Treasurer's report, the increase is reflected in larger receipts for dues indicating that fewer have had to be dropped for non-payment. There has been a gratifying increase in the number applying for reinstatement and it seems clear that interest in and attachment to the Institute has notably increased. The year was signalized by the merging of the Rocky Mountain Club with the Institute which brought to our roll one hundred and forty who were not previously members from among the men who have made the West. It also brought to the Institute a strong tradition of good fellowship and a fund of over $100,000, the interest from which is to be expended so far as may be, for purposes beneficial to the Western states. The Endowment Committee expects to see other and similar funds entrusted to the Institute and the Board has already appointed a special committee to consider all projects for expenditure of the revenue from them. It is felt that with the organization and personnel available in the Institute even modest revenues can be made to yield large returns in the way of scientific and technical knowledge. Within the year also, a third great Division has been organized within the Institute, building on the foundation of the old Iron and Steel Committee. The new Division signalized its independence by joining the Lake Superior Mining Institute in a visit to the Menominee Range in September and by furnishing material for a special volume of 353 pages, "Iron and Steel" Technology in 1928," printed and distributed in December. The Institute of Metals Division held its fall meeting with good attendance as one feature of National Metal Week at Philadelphia in October, and published its volume of Proceedings, running to 836 pages, in August. "Petroleum Development and Technology in 1927," 844 pages, came out in June and recorded the work of the Petroleum Division. A most interesting Fall meeting was also held by the Division at Tulsa,

Jan 1, 1929

By R. H. Wightman, G. H. Adams

In order to secure good results in the prevention of accidents, it is generally recognized that the desire for such accomplishment, as well as the aggressive and constructive action to achieve it, must emanate from the Top Management and permeate successively down through the "Chart of Authority" to the workmen. Several years ago, with the above as a basis and with full support of the Top Management, the Mining Department started a program of selling the foremen and bosses the idea that safety could be achieved and that it was desired and required. Using psychology, persistence and numerous other methods, the foremen and bosses were finally impressed with the idea that "It can be done" and "It will be done." With this in mind, new ideas were brought forth by the foremen and bosses regarding the caving operation and the specific jobs in the operation. These new ideas were taken up in round-table discussions and resulted in certain changes in the undercutting method and the actual drawing of the blocks. These changes resulted in increasing fragmentation of the blocks which prevented the usual hang-up areas in the blocks. With the rock smaller in size and within reasonable reach from the tapping drifts, accidents were prevented in the tapping section. At the same time, an enforced campaign of housekeeping throughout the mine was undertaken with very beneficial results. The foremen and bosses then, in turn, educated and trained the workers themselves to become safety conscious. In so doing, a constant reminder was given on all jobs assigned that the job was to be done safely as well as efficiently. No man is assigned a job who is not qualified for the type of work required. Efficiency and safety go hand in hand. Safety Rules To supplement and aid this safety conscious attitude, certain safety rules applicable to our operation, a modified block caving system of mining limestone, in addition to the established state regulations, were put into effect and enforced. The specific rules referred to above and which will be mentioned below are in most cases simply a means of applying and complying with the very adequate "Mine Safety Orders" issued by the Industrial Accident Commission of the State of California. Some of the safety rules and policies are as follows: All men are required to wear safety

Jan 1, 1950

By S. R. Elliott

The Spies mine is located in the eastern half of the northwest quarter of section 2443-35, near the village of Iron River, Mich., and is operated by The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. Speaking generally, the jasper hanging walls of most of the deposits in the Iron River district dip at a steep angle and are exceedingly strong, standing without caving, even after mining has been continued for years and after large excavations have been made. The ore is fairly hard and tough and contains no slippage faces. It occurs in large masses, which are often egg shape, with the smaller end down, and can be mined in open stopes without the use of timber. The common system employed in the district is the shrinkage stope, or some modification of it. The Spies system was developed to utilize the advantages of the open-stope method and to avoid the disadvantages of the shrinkage stope. The Spies shaft was sunk to such a depth that the bottom, or third level, was in rock at a short distance below the bottom of the orebody, the shape and extent of which had been previously determined by diamond drilling. This is shown in plan and by the ore contours at the first, second, and third levels in Fig. 1, and in section in Figs. 2 to 7. In order to provide the necessary mills and raises, three parallel crosscuts were driven on 25 ft. centers on the bottom level. Drifts on the second and first levels were driven to the orebody and followed the foot wall in a southerly direction to the end of the ore. In crosscut 3, Fig. 1, raises 30, 40, 50, and 60 were carried up on the foot wall and holed into the second level, and were ultimately carried up and holed into the first level. These foot-wall raises carry the pipes and ladders, provide a means of ventilation, and furnish safe communication to all working places in the stope. From crosscuts 1, 2, and 3, raises were completed to a height of 32 ft., or the elevation of the first sublevel. They were then connected by east and west crosscuts to the main foot-wall raises 30, 40, 50, and 60, shown in Fig. 4. The crosscuts in raises 1 to 5 were then driven west and the

Jan 1, 1923

By Lucien Eaton

VENTILATION in the iron mines of the Lake Superior region in nearly all cases is natural; that is, it is induced by the difference in elevation between different outlets in the mine and by the difference in temperature of the air in the mine and that outside. This difference in temperature is frequently augmented by placing a steampipe in the upcast shaft; but aside from this, artificial aids to ventilation have been rare until - recent years. In some of the older mines, as at the Cliffs Shaft mine at Ishpeming, Mich., in the 80's, fans have been used when there was only one opening to surface, but their use was abandoned as soon as a natural circulation of air started. In recent years, the Newport mine at Ironwood, Mich., was the first to use positive mechanical ventilation. The installation was not large enough, however, to give definite results, reliance being placed largely on natural ventilation. With the coming of warm weather in the spring of 1914, the necessity of positive mechanical ventilation at the Lake mine of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. at Ishpeming, Mich., became evident. The workings of the Lake mine are under the bed of old Lake Angeline, which was pumped out in 1894, and the mine had been in operation for 6 years prior to that date making a total of 26 years of continuous operation. The total production, up to 1914, amounted to over 8,000,000 tons. The ore was first mined by square-set rooms and pillars, but this was later changed to top slicing and caving. Both methods required the use of large amounts of timber, probably 80,000,000 board feet in all, practically all of which remained in the timber mat. The slow oxidation of this timber was one of the principal causes leading to the installation of mechanical ventilation. The mine was served by only one working shaft, called No. 4, a second outlet being provided by a raise to the surface from the old workings on the south side of the mine. This raise was the "down cast;" but it was very small and the drifts and raises leading to it were too small and crooked to permit an adequate amount of air to enter the mine, especially during the warmer weather. Measure-

Jan 8, 1920

AT the Wednesday morning session on Mine Ven-tilation, D. Harrington's report of the committee on metal mine ventilation was presented. He said the only paper which had been received was one from Nevada, although a number had been promised. Mr. Harrington gave instances from his experience where it had cost less to operate ventilating fans during idle periods in mines than the expense of replacing timber, which was destroyed by fungus during the period when the mines were not ventilated. He referred particu-larly to a metal mine in Michigan and a copper mine in the Southwest where this condition had been found in parallel tunnels, one of which had been ventilated after work had ceased and the other had not been. Mr. Harrington also referred to the fumes after blasting operations in mines operating in large bodies of sul-fide ores. By installing mechanical ventilating devices, these conditions had been greatly improved. He re-ferred also to a recent instance where an ignition of sulfide ore-dust had resulted in an explosion which killed three men and burned a fourth severely. Methane had been found in some gold mines and also in tunnels for city water-supply, and as a result coal-mine inspec-tion methods had been adopted. In one instance the contractor had changed from 40 per cent gelatine ex-plosive to a permissible explosive. A daily gas sample was taken. Nitrogen had been found in some of the mines, and CO, gas had been found in some of the Cripple Creek mines where a fan had been installed to maintain pres-sure on the working faces. It was found by experiment that the oxygen was absorbed by the rock particles, which led to a relatively greater percentage of CO. Coal-mine splitting ventilating methods had been used in some places. Miners' consumption had been made compensable in Ontario, and there is a large threat-ened charge now standing against metal mine oper-ators in the Province of Ontario. Mr. Harrington re-ferred to some of the literature, especially the recent book on ventilation by W. S. Weeks of the University of California. He suggested, however, that a better title for the book would have been "The Physics and Mechanics of Metal Mine Ventilation," since it was especially valuable in this field.

Jan 3, 1927