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By T. H. Alden, H. W. Schadler

The strain rate dependence of the flow stress of the eutectoid Zn-Al alloy has been determined as a function of mechanical processing, microstructure, and temperature. The best superplastic properties result from the ultrafine, equiaxed structure produced by solution treatment and isothermal transformation at 0°C. Lamellar structures produced by isothermal transformation and coarse equiaxed structures produced by annealing also exhibit strain rate sensitivity in excess of 0.5, but at higher stresses and lower strain rates than the finest structure. Solution treatment and isothermal transformation eliminate the effect of prior processing history. Small composition variations in the binary alloy do not influence the mechanical properties. Below the eutectoid transformation temperature (.275C) increasing temperature lowers the flow stress at all strain rates. The data do not favor any of the present proposals for the mechanism of superplastic flow. ALLOYS of zinc and aluminum, near the eutectoid composition, have been investigated for: 1) the flow stress-strain rate and elongation behavior,1, 2) the transformation kinetics,3 and 3) structure,3"5 but the structure sensitivity of the mechanical properties is poorly understood. Using a near eutectoid alloy water-quenched from 380°C, Backofen et aL2 estab- high and increases with increasing strain rate. They found a correlation between strain rate sensitivity and tensile elongation as expected from the increased resistance to necking that a high strain rate sensitivity provides.296 The large elongation at high strain rates is attractive for metal forming. Since most other superplastic alloys7-l3 do not show high strain rate sensitivity at such a high strain rate (for the exception see Ref. 12) there is the possibility of a unique deformation mechanism for this alloy. The sensitivity of the mechanical properties of the eutectoid alloy to thermal history1 suggests a structure sensitivity that has not been demonstrated. Gar-wood and Hopkins3 identified a lamellar product for material transformed between 200" and 260°C. The size of the lamellae decreased with decreasing temperature. They also demonstrated that an unresolved transformation product formed below 200°C. A granular two-phase material was resolved for specimens quenched to below 150°C by Mitbauer and sauerwald4 who observed coarsening of the structure after annealing. The role of grain boundaries in superplastic deformation is suggested by the strong effect of grain refinement in encouraging this phenomenon at high strain rateS7-11, 13 and is emphasized in several proposals about rnechanism7, 8, 12 and in a theory14 of high-temperature deformation. Alden8 showed metallographic evidence that grain boundary sliding is occurring extensively at strain rates where m is large but less at high strain rates where normal plasticity is observed. Holt and Backofen10 have shown that sliding also oc-

Jan 1, 1969

By H. Udin

G. KUCZYNSKI* and B. H. ALEXANDER*—This paper represents a most noteworthy attempt to evaluate experimentally the surface tension of a solid metal. Because of the great importance of such measurements, any proposed method should receive the closest scrutiny before the results can be considered reliable. In regard to the experimental method, we think that the marking of the gauge length by means of tieing knots in the wire may be the cause of some of the spread in the results. Such a knot may be expected to tighten slightly, and thus increase the gauge length, when placed under stress at high temperature. Although this effect would be very small, amounting at most to only a few times the wire diameter. A fairly tight knot in a wire will decrease the wire length by about ten times the wire diameter, thus only a slight tightening of the knot would cause considerable spread in the results. Upon plotting the stress strain curves from the authors' data, the writers found that there was a fairly consistent tendency towards an S-shaped curve, instead of a straight line. Such an effect could be caused by the tightening of the knots. The writers think, however, that the experimental results are fairly reliable, but that there may be other methods of interpreting them depending upon what mechanism is assumed to be responsible for the shrinkage of the wires. The authors have assumed that the stress due to surface tension results in viscous flow. It should be made clear that it has never been demonstrated that viscous flow can occur in metal crystals even at very high temperatures. The experiments of Chalmers13 on tin, which are so frequently quoted as giving evidence of viscous flow at low stresses are by no means satisfactory. In his experiments, Chalmers found that only the initial rate of flow was approximately proportional to stress. He also found that the rate of flow varied markedly with time which, in his experiments, was less than 2 hr. Inasmuch as there is no proof of viscous flow in metals, and the authors have brought forth no conclusive evidence on this point, it may be worth while to investigate other possible mechanisms of material transport which would account for the shrinkage of the wires. The writers wish to point out that in these experiments the shrinkage of the wires can be adequately explained, according to a self diffusion mechanism. Thus, if we assume a concentration gradient for self diffusion which is a function of the radius of curvature of the wires, and assume that diffusion will occur so that the total surface area is decreased, we find the following expression for the self diffusion coefficient: where k = Boltzmann constant r0 = initial radius of the wire T = absolute temperature ? = surface energy 8 = interatomic spacing t = time e = strain at zero applied stress Eq 19 may be used to evaluate the self diffusion coefficient of copper, using the strain measurements obtained by the authors for zero stress as obtained by extrapolating their curves for 5 rail wires. By inserting a reasonable value for the surface energy (1500 ergs per cm2) we find: -66,000 D = 5 X 10e RT [20] The activation energy is of the correct order of magnitude, but the frequency coefficient is much too high, indicating that surface diffusion may be playing an important role. This discrepancy in the action constant is much smaller than the corresponding discrepancy obtained by the authors for the viscosity coefficient. The writers by no means propose that this proves that the shrinkage of the wires is due to self diffusion but we merely wish to point out that there are explanations other than that given by the authors. In this, as in any kinetic phenomena, it is necessary to study the rate of the process before anything can be said about the mechanism. The determination of surface tension given by the authors is based upon an interpretation of the data which embody the concept of viscous flow. The final proof of this concept will be obtained only after the time relationships confirming the authors' Eq 15 have been conclusively established. The rough linearity of the stress strain curves obtained by the authors for experiments run the same length of time should not be considered as proving that viscous flow is occurring. H. UDIN (authors' reply)—All of the test specimens were annealed at 1000°C for an hour or more before preliminary measurements were made. During this anneal the wires recrystallize, and the greatest part of grain growth takes place. Also, the knots sinter at the cross-over points. This does not in itself eliminate the possibility of end errors, although it greatly decreases their probable magnitude. It is still possible that some extension occurs due to creep in shear at the sintered points. If so, this effect would be quite independent of and superimposed on the normal shrinkage or extension of the wire itself. Within the precision of the experimental results, straight lines satisfy the data as well as do any other simple curves. Until data of greater precision are obtained, it is futile to discuss any possible trends away from linearity. The disagreement between Kuczynski and Alexander's Eq 19 and our Eq 18 is one of semantics and mathematics, not mechanism of flow, since Eq 18 is based on the self-diffusion concept of viscous flow. It would be interesting to learn how the mathematics leading to Eq 19 deviates from that of Eyring and of

Jan 1, 1950

By Adelaide Ross Smith

Both history and physical examination are unreliable in the diagnosis of silicosis. In some studies 25 per cent of individuals with silicosis have been found to have no symptoms whatever. The positive physical findings that may be produced by this disease include diminished chest expansion, diminished lung resonance, distant and harsh breath sounds. However, many workmen of a short stocky type have diminished chest expansion without any lung disease. In a study of rockdrillers made by the author more than half of the men without silicosis were limited in chest expansion to 2 in. or less instead of the "normal" 6. In a study of stonecutters the average chest expansion in the negative group was found to be only 2.4 inches. Changes found upon physical examination of the lungs themselves are so inconstant as to be of little diagnostic value. In the studies of rockdrillers and stonecutters already referred to, approximately 25 per cent of those with advanced silicosis apparently had normal lungs. The usual functional tests of lung performance are likewise of little value because of marked individual variation. Average vital capacity will be reduced in a group of silicotics below what might be expected in a group of normals, but certain individuals of the former group may have an entirely vital capacity, giving no indication of the underlying presence of silicosis. It follows that the X-ray examination is absolutely indispensable in the diagnosis of this disease. X-ray findings characteristic of silicosis have been described innumerable times. They consist essentially of a mottling of the lung fields due to the presence of fibrous nodules which develop as a reaction to the presence of the irritant silica.

Jan 1, 1934

By B. W. Frazer

In the numbers of the Engineering and Mining Journal of June 27th and July llth, 1874, there appeared some very complete statistics of the working of some anthracite blast-furnaces belonging to a large establishment in this country, followed by calculations of the heat requirements of the furnaces, similar to those which have been made for European furnaces by Mr. I. Lowthian Bell, Prof. Gruner, Prof. Akerman and others. To the author of these valuable papers, Mr. John A. Church, of New York, the thanks of American iron metallurgists are due for this attempt (the first, to my knowledge at least), to attack systematically and scientifically the problem of economy of fuel in our anthracite blast-furnaces, by applying the formulas obtained from European practice and from the experiments of European metallurgists, to the determination of the amounts and the modes of distribution of the heat production and absorption in our furnaces. In order to facilitate a comparison of the results thus obtained for the anthracite furnaces in question with those obtained for the best types of European coke furnaces, I have reduced 60 the same standad of heat units (the product of the ton and the degree Centigrade), and placed side by side, the calculations of the heat requirements of one of the furnaces of the Clarence works, as given by Mr. Bell, of a furnace at Pouzin, on the banks of the Rhone, given by Prof. Gruner, and of the anthracite furnaces for 1869-73, as given by Mr. Church. Table I shows the different conditions of working of the three furnaces, of which Table II gives the respective heat requirements. I have made this latter table in such a manner as to give for each furnace its heat requirements, both according to the views of Mr. Bell and those of Prof. Gruner. Mr. Bell assumes that all the carbonic acid produced by the decomposition of the carbonate of lime of the charge, is reduced to carbonic oxide by contact with solid carbon ; also, that the carbon of t,he pig iron is a portion of that deposited in the ore in the upper part of the furnace, by the dissociation of carbonic oxide. Prof. Gruner, on the other hand, assumes that all the carbonic acid of the carbonates of the charge escapes unreduced, and that the carbon deposited in the upper part. of the furnace, by the dissociation of carbonic oxide, is again converted into carbonic oxide or

By G. Sachs

According to Tammann,' the explanation of the effect of mechanical deformation in producing changes in the properties of metals is one of the most important problems of physical metallurgy, taking rank with the study of the constitution of alloy systems; and this problem has long attracted the attention of practitioner and scientist alike. Its solution was not advanced materially until Tammann2 set up his translation hypothesis with its crystallographic basis, while other hypotheses, such as the amorphous metal hypothesis of Beilby3 and Rosenhain,4 have been shown by more intensive studies to be less and less satisfactory. The principles of the Tammann translation hypothesis have proved to be useful even up to today and in spite of all of the recent accumulation of experimental data, while the differences of opinion which have arisen relate to the extent to which the hypothesis accounts for the observed changes Ïn properties and to what extent further assumptions are necessary. Stimulated by the proposals of Tammann, there soon developed a lively experimental activity which aimed at the elucidation of the structural or crystallographic changes produced by the mechanical deformation of metals. Parallel movements of crystal "blocks" along definite crystal slip planes had already been observed by Ewing and Rosenhain5 in 1900, in metals which had been moderately deformed but without shedding light on the crystallographic nature of the processes accompanying more severe deformation. The solution of this important problem was not advanced until a much later date, or until the methods of X-ray crystal analysis had become available. Shortly after the discovery of the diffraction of X-ray by crystals, symmetrical diffraction effects were

Jan 1, 1931

By J. J. Pelley

NOT being a scientist, an engineer or a metallurgist, I consider it a very great honor indeed to be asked to address the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. Your program indicates that any lack of intricate and technical knowledge on my part in the field of metals will be well taken care of by others. Therefore, I believe any remarks that I have to make might well be devoted to the practical side of metals in railroad service and to the general railroad situation as I view it today. The experiments now being conducted on the railroads with so-called streamlined, light-weight trains and cars would not have been possible had it not been for scientific and engineering research in the past that made these lighter weight metals available. The railroads now have approximately forty units of these new trains in operation. Experi-ence with them will no doubt be a guidepost for future construction in that direction. While the best known experiments are in the passenger service, they are being extended into the freight service. Within the past three years there was constructed for the Association of American Railroads a new standard box car of ordinary carbon steel, in which, by reason of superior design, weight was reduced by 3500 to 4500 lb. under that of existing cars of like capacity. The Association is now testing a box car that weighs approximately six or seven tons less than practically all of the box cars of like capacity in service today. If these tests are successful a very large field for the use of lighter weight metals will immediately be opened, provided the costs of such metals are not too high. The fact that various experiments are being carried on with other classes of equipment constructed with so-called light-weight and non-corrosive metals no doubt will have a considerable effect upon the rebuild-ing of old equipment. The question then will be: How much can we afford to spend on the rebuilding of an old car weighing six to seven tons more than a new car constructed with the latest available materials?

Jan 1, 1936

By ALEC CROWELL

This brief summary of oil and gas developments in Alabama, Florida and Georgia has been made possible through the courtesy of Stewart J. Lloyd, Assistant State Geologist of Alabama; Herman Gunter, Director, Florida Geological Survey, and Garland Peyton, Director, Georgia Department of Mines, Mining and Geology.

Jan 1, 1946

By A. W. Allen

The technological study of the treatment of gold and silver ores has been largely responsible for the phenomenal strides which have marked the progress in this branch of metallurgy during recent years. In no other application of science to industry is system more imperative at every stage; correct formulation of result is only second in importance to efficiency of operation. Progress in method, on the other hand, is mainly due to individua1 initiative aided by the work of technical journals and metallurgical societies. There still remains a field for profitable discussion, and it is my intention to deal with some inconsistencies of expression common to a number of writers on the subject; and also to draw attention to the false impressions created by a statement which may, possibly, be only unintentionally misleading. I also take the opportunity of tracing the source of both metallurgical and economic result; and would question the desirability of the methods usually employed in arriving at a final statement. In the first place, I wish to deal with the question of extraction. This term may mean anything or nothing, and it is often used to mislead. In a report of a mining engineer as to the result of operations subsequent to the remodeling of a treatment plant prominence was given to the statement that the extraction had amounted to 91 per cent. On examination it was found that only a small percentage of the so-called extraction was calculated on actual bullion return, a proportion being figured from the gold left in the zinc boxes, and not recovered. In addition to this, a proportion of the extraction was said to be due to gold in concentrate. As there was no conrcentrating apparatus on the property and as concentration did not form a part of the scheme of treatment the matter was investigated, with the result that the concentrate, of lower gold content that the original ore, was found to be the result of an inegcient pumping system which failed to provide for the whole of the battery product delivered to it. The balance was stacked and, although itself of no marketable value, the gold content was allowed to form a basis of extraction figures. The illustration may be extreme, but it will serve to show to what lengths an engineer may go in the mutilation of the most vital term in metallurgical technology.

Jan 1, 1915

By W. J. Millard

VAGUE rumors and stories have been heard, from time to time, about the diamond and gold deposits of southern Venezuela. It is perhaps appropriate, at this time of revived interest in gold mining, to publish a few facts in regard to this country, which has been undergoing exploration since the fifteenth century. Gold and diamonds are found principally in the State of Bolivar which lies in southeastern Venezuela and is bounded by British Guiana on the east and Brazil on the south (see Fig. 1). The famous Mt. Roraima is situated at a point where these three countries meet in a common point (see Fig. 2). Some gold is also found in the southern part of the territory of Amacuro. Good oil prospects exist in the northern part of this same territory. Diamonds are found on the Caroni river from Rio Paragua to the village of Guri. Another small district is on the headwaters of the Cuyuni river. Quartz veins containing gold are chiefly exploited in

Jan 1, 1931

By George F. Becker

Complexity of Rock-Fractures.—The strains to which rocks have been subjected are manifestly very complex, and it is entirely safe to presume that every possible mode of deformation and rupture is exemplified. The most superficial inspection of any ordinary mountain region is sufficient to assure the observer that the rocks have been pressed, stretched, bent, buckled, twisted, and shorn. The study of torsional rupture cannot fail, therefore, to throw light on geological phenomena. The question is how areas which have been broken in this manner are to be distinguished from those which have yielded to other systems of forces. Phenomena of Joints.—It is well known that a large part of the more homogeneous rocks and some very heterogeneous rocks are intersected by partings often ailed joints. These partings are frequently flat surfaces even when seen in very large exposures, but are sometimes surfaces of moderate, single, or double curvature. Joint, usually occur in groups, in each of which the several partings are parallel to one another, and several such groups often intersect the same rock-mass. In such cases the different systems make large angles with one another. Nearly all students of the subject of jointing have reached the conclusion that joints are faulted surfaces, the dislocations usually being of small amplitude; and this conclusion receives abundant support from the study of thin sections under the microscope. It has thus been shown that much even of what would be regarded in hand specimens as mere slaty cleavage

Jan 1, 1895

By C. W. Gennet

Announcement was made in the spring of 1926 that the Boston & Maine R. R. Co. had contracted with the well-known German steelmakers, Messrs. Fried Krupp, for the manufacture of 15,000 tons of basic open-hearth steel rails at the Rheinhausen Works, for delivery to Boston, Mass. The manufacture of rails in the United States has for many years been almost a national pride, and as this feeling is chiefly the result of a long-time liberal and consistent patronage of American rails by American railroads, it is not strange that this somewhat unusual announcement should arouse more than ordinary interest. Since the end of the World War, the importation of foreign rail has been fairly large, principally because the newly created economic conditions have rendered some American competition more difficult, but the tonnage imported, for the most part, has been made up of small orders for miscellaneous use; and the contract referred to constitutes the largest single importation of foreign rail in over ten years. In 1915, the Algoma Steel Co. of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, supplied the Illinois Central R. R. with 30,000 tons of rails,' and various other American roads with smaller amounts. In 1902, 1903 and 1904, large tonnages of rail from abroad were purchased, the Louisville & Nashville R. R. alone obtaining 30,000 tons from German mills. It is the object of this paper to present, in what is believed to be a new and concise form, figures showing the production and consumption of rails in the United States, and to record some of the testing and inspection results of the recent Krupp rails; also, to direct attention to two quite unique departures from American practice that were regular features of the Krupp process and which are worthy, it is thought, of careful study. Production and Consumption of Rails in the United States Table 1 shows the tonnage of rail produced in the United States and the amount imported, exported, and consumed by years since 1849. That, evidently, was the first year of record, for the statistics of the American Iron and Steel Institute and its predecessor, the American Iron and

By R. W. Raymond

[NoTE.—-This paper was presented at the Pittsburgh meeting in a partially completed form, and I fully expected to obtain, before the period of its publication, both the data and the leisure required for its completion. The hygiene of collieries was to have been separately considered, and the sanitary conditions of various metallurgical industries connected with mining were to receive an extended discussion, while at the same time the points treated in the paper as prosented at Pittsburgh were to have more ample illustration from American and European sources. Delay in obtaining expected information, and the continuous pressure of professional work, have prevented hitherto the execution of this plan ; and I can now publish only a portion of what I had designed to contribute to the subject. In the meantime this portion, but slightly changed, has been included as a chapter on the Hygiene of Metal Mines in a work entitled Hygiene and Public Health,, edited by Dr. A. H. Buck, of New York. An excellent chapter on the Hygiene of Coal Mines, contributed to the same work by Mr. Henry C. Sheafer, of Pottsville, affords me an opportunity to supply one of the deficiencies above alluded to. Mr. Shearer's chapter contains much material in the way of explanations not required by professional readers; And be moreover devotes a considerable space to the explosive gases, falls of roof, and other causes of accidents to life or limb—a branch of the subject not belonging strictly to bygiene. I therefore make extracts only from his treatise.—R. W. R ] It is convenient to divide mines, with reference to this subject, into two classes, collieries and metal-mines. Subterranean quarries, rock-salt mines, etc., present no conditions requiring them to be separated from the latter class.

Jan 1, 1880

EVERY dry thing that burns easily and multiplies or maintains fire by its own intrinsic nature can be put into an incendiary composition and various effects are produced. Some of these things are mineral combinations, like sulphur or its oil; some others, [163v] hot, dry, and subtle substances, like saltpeter; and some are. unctuous things, like fats and oils of any kind; while some serve because of dryness, like pith and wood. Some of these things are natural and some artificial But now I set aside the search for these differences in their composition. This is what I have found among all the ancient and modern things that I have been able to seek, and first, back in the time of Alexander the Great. Marcus Graecus, who was perhaps the inventor or a great experimenter and practicer of such things, writes of many of them. I have chosen some among these, and one* is this: In order to make it, he took Grecian pitch, alchitran, live sulphur, tartar, sarcocolla, niter, and petroleum oil, one part of each, and, in addition, a double amount of quicklime. He mixed it all with oil of egg yolks. Having put it in a well-covered and closed vessel of glass or glazed earthenware under warm manure, he left it for a month. Then, having liquefied it over a slow fire, always keeping the vessel well closed, he finally put this liquor in hollow sticks, in little pots, or in vessels expressly made, all with a little fuse fitted in the middle. If I should have to do this, I would say that a little gunpowder should be put in, which should give beginning to the fire so that it would ignite more easily. I have also found that another fire is made. For this sulphur is taken, or oil of sulphur if it is possible to obtain, petroleum oil or some rock oil, juniper oil, very well-refined saltpeter, and for one part of each of these five parts of asphalt; in addition, take goose or duck fat, pure black pitch, varnish, pulverized dove's dung, and enough aqua vitae to cover all the aforesaid things.. Then it is put in a glass vessel under warm manure for

Jan 1, 1942

By W. M. Small

From the one producing well in Austria, 7000 bbl. of heavy oil was produced and sold in 1933. This well, owned by the Raky-Danubia, was completed late in 1932 in the formation called Flysch (Upper Cretaceous or lower Eocene) near Zistersdorf north of Vienna. Two wildcats drilling in the vicinity have not yet reached the producing beds. Near Vienna, the European Gas and Electric Co. drilled five shallow wells for gas, three of which were failures. One gas well was completed for 8 million cu. ft. capacity at 260 meters depth and with a pressure of 570 lb. Another is being tested following blowouts. One gas well and one dry hole were completed in the pool in 1932. In Upper Austria, the same company abandoned one wildcat at 679 m. and is drilling at 280 m. on a second. No gas was sold during the year, but a line is being completed to supply fuel to boilers of the Vienna Electric Works. Hungary No deep drilling was done in 1933. Oil and gas concession was granted by Parliament to the European Gas and Electric Co. on Trans-danubia. Active geological and geophysical investigation is in progress. Czechoslovakia In the Gbely and Hodonin shallow fields, some 26 wells were drilled of which three were reported as failures. The total production of the fields was 111,736 bbl. of oil and 40 million cu. ft. of gas used as fuel in the field. At Vacenovice, where there were already two small gas wells, a third producer was completed at 420 m. This pool markets a small amount of gas, which is compressed and used to light railway carriages. Wildcat wells were reported drilling at about 300 m. depth at both Jasina and Telnice. One 700-ni. wildcat near the Hodonin field was abandoned. Another failure was reported completed and abandoned at 820 m. near Holic.

Jan 1, 1934

By W. M. Aubrey, P. L. Steffensen

AUTOMATIC grinding control for ball mills in closed circuit with cyclones was developed for the concentrator of the Marmoraton Mining Co., a subsidiary company of Bethlehem Steel Corp. The concentrator, located at Marmora, Ont., Canada, treats an ore that analyzes 35 to 40 pct magnetic iron. Magnetite, the recoverable iron mineral, is concentrated by fine grinding and magnetic separation. The mesh of grind obtained in the plant is not determined by the point at which liberation is sufficient to yield a satisfactory grade of concentrate, but by the physical requirements of the downstream pelletizing operation. This is considerably finer than is metallurgically necessary. The concentrator has two identical units, each consisting of a rod mill in open circuit, followed by a ball mill in closed circuit with a cyclone and two rougher magnetic separators. The cyclone was chosen as a classifier because of its high efficiency on heavy gravity, magnetically flocculated material.

Jan 1, 1957

By D. W. Rudd, D. W. Vose, S. Johnson

The permeability of Mo-0.5 pel Ti to hydrogen was investigated over a limited range of temperature and pressuire (709° to 1100°C, 1.i and 2.0 atm). The resulting permeability, p, is found to obey the The experimental data justifies the permeation mechanism as a diffusion contl-olled pnssage of Ilvdrogen atoms through the metal barrier. 1 HE permeability of metals to hydrogen has been investigated by a number of workers and their published results have been tabulated by Barrer' up to 1951. Since most of the work on the permeability has been accomplished prior to this date, the compilation is fairly complete. Mathematical discussion of the permeability process has been reported by Barrer, smithells, and more recently by zener. From these efforts several facts are observed. First, the permeability of metals to diatomic gases involves the passage through the metal of individual atoms of the permeating gas. This is evidenced by the fact that the rate of permeation is directly proportional to the square root of the gas pressure. Second, the gas permeates the lattice of the metal and not along grain boundaries. It was shown by Smithells and Ransley that the rate of permeation through single-crystal iron was the same after the iron had been recrystallized into several smaller crystals. Third, it has been observed that the rate of permeation is inversely proportional to the thickness of the metal membrane. Johnson and Larose5 verified these phenomena by measurirlg the permeation of oxygen through silver foils of various thicknesses. Similar findings were noted by Lombard6 for the system H-Ni and by Lewkonja and Baukloh7 for H-Fe. Finally, it has been determined that for a gas to permeate a metal, activated adsorption of the gas on the metal must take place. Rare gases are not adsorbed by metals, and attempts to measure permeabilities of these gases have proved futile. ~~der' found negative results on the permeability of iron to argon. Also, Baukloh and Kayser found nickel impervious to helium, neon, argon, and krypton. From what was stated above concerning the dependence of the rate on the reciprocal thickness of the metal barrier, it is seen that although adsorption is a very important process, at least in determining whether permeation will or will not ensue, it is not the rate determining process for the common metals. A case in which adsorption is of sufficient inlportance to cause abnormal behavior has been noted in the case of Inconel-hydrogen and various stainless steels.'' APPARATUS The apparatus used in this study is shown in Fig. 1. The membrane is a thin disc (A), but is an integral part of an entire membrane assembly. The entire unit is one piece, being machined from a solid ingot of metal stock. When finished, the membrane assembly is about 5 in. long. Two membrane assemblies were made; the dimensions of the membranes are given in Table I. The wall thickness is large compared to the thickness of the membrane, being on the average in the ratio of 13 to 1. There exists in this design the possibility that some gas may diffuse around the corner section of the membrane where it joins the walls of the membrane assembly, If such an effect is present, it is of a small order of magnitude, as evidenced by the agreement of the values of permeability between the two membranes under the same temperature and pressure. A thermocouple well (B) is drilled to the vicinity of the membrane. The entire membrane assembly is then encased in an Inconel jacket and mounted in a resistance furnace. The interior of the jacket is connected to an auxiliary vacuum pump and is always kept evacuated so that the membrane assembly will suffer no oxidation at the temperatures at which measurements are taken. The advantages of this configuration are: 1) there are no welds about the membrane itself, so that the chance of welding material diffusing into the membrane at elevated temperatures is remote. 2) It is possible to maintain the membrane at a constant temperature. Since the resulting permeation rate is very dependent upon temperature, it is advisable to be as free as possible from all temperature gradients. 3) It is possible to obtain reproducible results using different specimens. The only disadvantage to this configuration is the welds (at C) in the hot zone. The welding of molybdenum to the degree of per-

Jan 1, 1962

By Arthur Green

A GROUP of 13 cities situated in Los Angeles and Orange counties in Southern California is engaged in constructing an aqueduct to carry water from the Colorado River at a point near Parker, Arizona, to a distribution point sear Riverside, California. The aqueduct will have a total length of approximately 241 miles, and is designed to deliver 1605 cu. ft. of water per second, or a little more than one billion gallons per day. The aqueduct crosses a barren, desert waste and the project includes approximately 91 miles of 16-ft. tunnel. The large amount of tunnel driving that has been done in this country in the past few years has resulted in some remarkable developments in equipment and methods. The building of the Colorado River Aqueduct, with its 91 miles of tunnels, has called on the best engineering knowledge in the country. New and better equipment has been designed for all phases of the work, and this equipment has been coordinated and adapted to the various conditions with a high degree of efficiency. The result has been that records for tunnel driving have been set under adverse natural conditions that exceed the estimates for progress under good conditions. All of the tunnels in the main aqueduct, except the Valverde and Bernasconi at the western end, have a finished diameter, inside the concrete lining, of 16 ft. Fig. 4 shows a section of the tunnel with the concrete lining in place. Fig. 5 illustrates the finished tunnel in three typical sections. The standard tunnel grade is 3.432 ft. per mile in the 16-ft. tunnels, but the Valverde and Bernasconi tunnels have a steeper grade and a finished diameter of 15 ft. 3 in. The rough bore of the large main aqueduct tunnels averages 12.95 solid cubic yards of material per foot of advance in timbered sections and 10.76 solid cubic yards per foot in unsupported sections.

Jan 1, 1936

By John T. Norton

FoR many years the copper-bearing steels have been of considerable interest to the metallurgist because of their corrosion-resistant properties. More recently the discovery of their definite age-hardening characteristics has focused attention on them again. In a recent paper, Smith and Palmer(l)† have given an admirable description of the behavior of a considerable number of steels of this type and a study of their results suggests two questions of a more or less fundamental sort. In the first place, it has been plainly shown that the hardening effect of added copper does not increase up to the maximum solubility of copper in iron as given by earlier investigators, but reaches its greatest value considerably below this point. This fact suggests that either the solubility is not so great as previous investigators have stated, or that the age-hardening mechanism is not the simple precipitation phenomenon that has been postulated. In the second place, the nature of the aging mechanism in this particular system should be determined. Recent developments in the study of age-hardening processes have shown that the increase of hardness is often, but not always, accompanied by precipitation and the action of a particular system is not predictable on the basis of its components or type of phase diagram. It would be of considerable interest to study the aging of the iron-rich iron-copper alloys in detail. One would like to know whether the aging mechanism is different at high and low aging temperatures, and whether the extreme sluggishness of the system may perhaps represent some new type of aging process. The experiments to be described were carried out in an endeavor to answer these questions. Obviously, in such experiments it is important to confine the hardening effect to the single element, copper, so that iron and copper of high purity must be used in the preparation of specimens. An observation of lattice changes during the aging process, correlated with the hardness changes, seems to be the best available method of

Jan 1, 1935

By John T. Norton

FoR many years the copper-bearing steels have been of considerable interest to the metallurgist because of their corrosion-resistant properties. More recently the discovery of their definite age-hardening characteristics has focused attention on them again. In a recent paper, Smith and Palmer(l)† have given an admirable description of the behavior of a considerable number of steels of this type and a study of their results suggests two questions of a more or less fundamental sort. In the first place, it has been plainly shown that the hardening effect of added copper does not increase up to the maximum solubility of copper in iron as given by earlier investigators, but reaches its greatest value considerably below this point. This fact suggests that either the solubility is not so great as previous investigators have stated, or that the age-hardening mechanism is not the simple precipitation phenomenon that has been postulated. In the second place, the nature of the aging mechanism in this particular system should be determined. Recent developments in the study of age-hardening processes have shown that the increase of hardness is often, but not always, accompanied by precipitation and the action of a particular system is not predictable on the basis of its components or type of phase diagram. It would be of considerable interest to study the aging of the iron-rich iron-copper alloys in detail. One would like to know whether the aging mechanism is different at high and low aging temperatures, and whether the extreme sluggishness of the system may perhaps represent some new type of aging process. The experiments to be described were carried out in an endeavor to answer these questions. Obviously, in such experiments it is important to confine the hardening effect to the single element, copper, so that iron and copper of high purity must be used in the preparation of specimens. An observation of lattice changes during the aging process, correlated with the hardness changes, seems to be the best available method of

Jan 1, 1935

By Joseph B. Umpleby

WHEN the Cushing field flooded the oil market in 1914 and 1915 with a daily output equal to nearly one-third of the world's production, the situation was soon corrected by increased consumption, and the price of crude oil rose from 45 c. per barrel in, February 1915 to $1.10 in December of the same year-the highest price paid in the Mid-Continent field up to that time. The intensive search for oil during the following seven years failed to disclose a single new ,field equal to Cushing, and many observers concluded that the rapidly increasing number of wells contributing to the world's output, each declining roughly 20 per cent. a year, combined with the rapidly increasing con¬sumption of petroleum, made it highly improbable that any field would; be found again sufficiently large to seri¬ously affect the oil market. That seven exceptional fields should then be discovered simultaneously is a remarkable coincidence. Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs, and Powell, each exceeded Cushing in daily output and reached the apex of their production during a year when Burbank, Tonkawa, - Smackover and Huntington Beach each contributed several times the daily output of the average new pool. This unexpected and tremendous flood of flush production could only have the effect of depressing price and greatly adding to stocks throughout the country. It was particularly depressing in the Mid-Continent as the new oil from California proved of attractive refining grade and because of cheap transportation by water easily undersold Oklahoma crude in the eastern markets.

Jan 1, 1924