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By Rossiter W. Raymond

The manufacture of ferromanganese in the blast furnace having been the subject of considerable attention in the Institute, I beg to put on record a contribution to the discussion from a quarter hitherto not directly represented, namely, the St. Louis furnaces, near Marseilles in France, belonging to a company of which M. Jordan, a member of the Institute, is Managing Director. These furnaces commenced in 1862 to manufacture specular pig (fontes facettes) containing from three to six per cent. of manganese. In 1864 the regular production of spiegeleisen (fontes miroitantes), containing seven to ten per cent. of manganese, was inaugurated. At that time the Rhine was the only locality of this manufacture, and the Bessemer works of England and France obtained from Gernlany all their spiegel. From 1864 to the present time, the St. Louis furnaces have been advancing steadily the percentage of manganese in their product. From ferromanganese of thirty per cent. they had arrived, about two years ago, at a product containing seventy to seventy-five per cent., and for some time past they have been turning out what, as M. Jordan remarks, may fairly be Termed fonte de manganese, or manganese pig, instead of iron, since the percentage of iron it contains is not more than 8.5, while the percentage of manganese is 85, or ten times as great. This very high grade material has a peculiar appearance, entirely different from that of ordinary cast iron or spiegel. It is granular, and steely gray in color. The following analyses, communicated to the Sociètè des Ingenieurs Civils, by M. Jordan, show the composition of various products of the St. Louis furnaces:

Jan 1, 1879

By F. E. Bash

Constantan is an alloy of copper and nickel that is extensively used, under a number of trade names, as a resistance wire with a low temperature coefficient of resistance, and one of the elements of base-metal thermocouples, iron usually being the other thermoelement, although for low-temperature work copper is also used. Before the war, constantan was imported, in common with many other technical necessities. Since it required considerable time to receive the constantan after it was ordered, fairly large stocks were kept on hand; but after the beginning of the war no more was imported and the stocks of foreign material were exhausted about the same time that the steel and munition manufacturers began to need great quantities of it for thermocouples for the heat treatment of steel. To meet this demand, the International Nickel Co. began manufacturing constantan that met all the requirements of the users of resistance wire but did not give the same electromotive force against iron as the German material and consequently could not be used with instruments calibrated for a definite e.m.f.-temperature relation. It so happened that all the constantan made had an e.m.f. lower than that necessary to meet the specifications of the Leeds & Northrup Co. for whom this investigation was carried out. If some had been higher and some lower, good wire could have been obtained by a process of selection, but as it was no wire at all could be procured. To remedy this situation, a thorough investigation was started with the close cooperation of the International Nickel Co. and the Electrical Alloys Co. The specifications to which the constantan had to conform were that it should give an e.m.f. of 47.40 millivolts against pure iron at 1500" F. (816" C.) with the cold-junction temperature at 0" F., or a proportional e.m.f. at temperatures near 1500" F. The method of checking a wire was as follows: It was first welded to a piece of iron wire; Armco iron was found to be satisfactory but iron with greater than 0.1 per cent. carbon would give a lower e.m.f. against the same piece of constantan than pure iron. The couple was then insulated and the fire end was tied to the

Jan 1, 1921

By F. E. Bash

Previous to the war, this country depended on Europe for its supply of a number of alloys of great importance in the manufacture of electrical apparatus and equipment. When this source was cut off shortly after the beginning of hostilities and the small stocks in the United States were exhausted, either inferior substitutes had to be used or the manufacture of the apparatus suspended. Since electrical equipment was of primary importance in the prosecution of the war, the substitutes had to be used until the composition and processes of manufacture of the alloys could be determined. Included among these alloys was one generally known as manganin, which is composed chiefly of copper and manganese and which, beside having a low-temperature coefficient of resistance, has a low thermal electromotive force against copper. These qualities make it valuable for the manufacture of electrical instruments and machines in which it is used in the shape of wire, rod, and strip. As a result of these circumstances, an investigation was started to determine how manganin could be made on a commercial basis so that a product of uniform quality and the necessary electrical characteristics could be produced. The object was to procure an alloy with temperature coefficient of resistance not greater than 1 X 1X per " C. and a thermal e.m.f. against copper no greater than that of the imported material. It is characteristic of manganin that the temperature-resistance curve is not a straight line but has a peak, which varies in position with different samples; it is most desirable, however, to have it at a temperature of 25' C. if possible. The coefficients of manganin from all records available ranged from a large negative to a large positive value. The composition as reported by different authorities is given in Table I. Prof. Matthew A. Hunter, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, made up a number of small melts of manganin in a graphite crucible and the one that he reported as having the best cocfficient gave the following analysis: Copper, 83.6 per cent.; nickel 2.5 per cent.; manganese, 13.6 per cent.; iron, 0.3 per cent. An analysis of a sample of German manganin gave the following: Copper, 82.6 per cent.; nickel, 3.8 pcr cent.; manganese, 12.8 per cent.; iron 0.7 per cent.

Jan 1, 1921

By P. D. Merica, A. N. Finn, R. G. Waltenberg

CeRtain compositions of the light, i.e., aluminum-rich, alloys of aluminum with magnesium and copper have become quite well known within the past ten years under the name of duralumin. These alloys are used for rolling and forging and can be so treated as to develop quite remarkable mechanical properties. Thus a properly heat-treated alloy containing about 4 per cent. of copper and about 0.5 per cent. of magnesium, rolled into sheet or rod, will have a tensile strength of approximately 55,000 1b. per sq. in. (3866 kg. per sq. cm.) with an elongation in 2 in. (50.8 mm.) of about 15 per cent. This alloy, duralumin, was developed by Wilm,1 and its properties more fully described by Cohn.2, The authors considered it worth while to investigate the mechanical possibilities of the light alloys of two somewhat analogous ternary series; namely, of aluminum-magnesium-nickel and aluminum-magnesium-manganese, to study the effect of variation of composition upon mechanical properties within the alumimum-rich group of the aluminum-magne-

Jan 1, 1921

By A. W. Hale

In a work published in 1838, De Morgan, the author of the article on " Probabilities," in the Encyclopedia Metropolltimn, says: " The method of least squares is not yet introduced intb the affairs of common life,.....that many things which are denlonstrable only by the higher branches of mathematics are looked upon as useless." And he mentions an instance in which "a method was suggested for estimating the relative importance of boroughs, by considering their population and ~wntributions to the revenue con)-

Jan 1, 1881

By J. F. Lewis

Believing that one of the essential points in mining, as in all other business, is to know the expense incurred in each particular department, I have carefully kept an account with each department for the past three years; and, as it may be of interest to some of our members, I herewith present it to the Institute, reduced to per centages of the total yearly expense, showing the cost for materials, repairs, expenses, tools, team accounts, powder, oil, and fuel, also for labor under its several heads: 1875—Materials. 1875—Labor, Repairs,...040 Expenses,....016 Team,. .. .. .017 Machinery,. .. .055 Tools,..006 Repairs,. .. .027 Improvements,.....030 Washer,. .. .076 Oil ..008 Pit,.. 178 Powder,..,043 Dirt,.. 130 Fuel,. .325 Superintendence,. ..050 .485 .516 100.1 1876—-Materials. 1876-Labor. Repairs,. . • .. .043 Expenses,......012 Team,.011 Machinery,. .. .090 Tools,..005 Repairs,... 027 Improvements,.....007 Washer,. .. .085 I,. ...,015 Pit,.. 139 Powder,. .. .. .030 Dirt,.. 160 Fuel,...321 Superintendence,. ..078 .444 .559 100.3 1877—Materials. 1877—Labor. Repairs,......102 Expenses,......019 Team,..031 Machinery,. .. .050 Tools,..030 Rrpairs,. .. .046 Improvements,....,031 Washer,. .. .057 I,...009 Pit,.....179 Powder,...035 Dirt,.. 162 Fuel,...200 Superintendence,. ..054 .457 .548 100.5 Average for the three years 1875, '76, and '77. Materials. Labor. Repairs,...062 Expenses,...016 Team,..016 Machinery,. .. .065

Jan 1, 1879

By S. A. Ford

A SHORT and accurate method for the estimation of manganese in iron and steel is of great advantage to Bessemer works, and I think it may be of interest to some of the members of the Institute to give in detail the process in use in the laboratory of the Edgar Thomson steel works. The process is based on the reaction first described by Beilstein and Jawein.* The steel, spiegel, or iron is dissolved in strong nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.½. Evaporation to dryness is not necessary, unless the amount of silicon is large, as in the case of certain pig irons. Then, as a clogging of the filter in the subsequent filtration is apt to follow, dissolve first in a dish in hydochloric acid, quickly evaporate to dryness, redissolve in the strong nitric acid, boil, and while boiling throw in crystals of chlorate of potash from time to time. Violent action ensues, yellow fumes are given off, and binoxide of manganese is precipitated, since it is insoluble in strong

Jan 1, 1881

By Charles A. Ashburner

DURING the early part of August, 1880, I was directed by Prof. J. P. Lesley, State Geologist, to assume charge of the geology and mapping. of the Second Geological Survey of the anthracite codfields. I visited the region uninaumbered by any instructions other than this,—that I should submit a plan for making the sur-

Jan 1, 1881

By F. C. Blake

The best method for the estimation of copper in ores and secondary products is that proposed by Dr. Steinbeck* for the award offered by the Mansfeld'schen Ober-Berg-und Hutten-Direction. It is based upon the decolorization of the blue ammonia solution of copper by potassic cyanide.7 It is necessary for the accurate estimation of copper in arsenides that the arsenic be separated from the copper before the ammonia solution is made. The presence of a notable amount of arsenic renders the titration by potassic cyanide inaccurate, the end reaction being obscured by the appearance of a yellowish-green tint towards the end of the titration. The change of the color of the ammonia solution from blue to the tint caused by the presence of arsenic cannot be used for an end reaction, for the intensity and quick appearance of the latter color depend upon the amount of arsenic present in the solution. In the analysis of speise, the method of separating the copper by an oxidizing and reducing treatment in the muffle, to volatilize the arsenic, gives poor results, and there may easily be some loss of the weighed sample. The separation of the precipitated sulphides of arsenic and copper by treating with sodic sulphide, gives good results, but the process is tedious. I have used the two following methods, which are simpler and more expeditious than those mentioned, with good results

Jan 1, 1881

By P. Barnes

It may he of interest, and perhaps of inzportance, to the members of the Institute that specific mention should be made in detail of the great value of this method of copying or photographing all kinds of tracings." Several samples are laid upon the table which may serve as illustrations of the results obtained. Some of these show slight imperfections, depending upon the character of the tracing, and upon the length of the exposure to the light, but it may be clearly seen that even a faint copy would be quite available for actual use. The process is believed to be of French origin, and has been used for many years. Special attention seems to have been directed to it recently, and its great value to engineers appears likely to be fully recognized. The manipulations required are of the simplest possible kind, and are entirely within the skill and comprehension of any office boy who can be trusted to copy a letter in an ordinary press. These particulars may be summarized somewhat thus: 1. Provide a flat board as large as the tracing which is to be copied. 2. Lay on this hoard two or three thicknesses of common blanket, or its equivalent, to give a slightly yielding backing for the paper. 3. Lay on the blanket the prepared paper with the sensitive side uppermost. 4. Lay on this paper the tracing, smoothing it out as perfectly as possible so as to insure a perfect contact with the paper. 5. Lay on the tracing a plate of clear glass, which should be heavy enough to press the tracing close down upon the paper. Ordinary plate-glass of 3/8" thickness is quite sufficient. 6. Expose the whole to a clear sunlight, by pushing it out on a shelf from an ordinary window, or in any other convenient way, for six to ten minutes. If a clear skylight only can be had, the exposure must be continued for thirty or forty-five minutes, and under a cloudy sky, sixty to ninety minutes may be needed.

Jan 1, 1879

By P. Barnes

Some statements have already been made to the Institute in reference to the cost of other departments of the above-named works, and some details have been given in tabular form.* For the purpose of the present paper it may be sufficient to say that this converting works is made up of three buildings, a cupolahouse, an engine-house, and a converting-house. The machinery and fixtures comprise two blowing-engines, two pressure-pumps, two five-ton converters, five hydraulic cranes, three pig-iron cupolas, four spiegel cupolas, two lifts for the cupolas, together with the usual arrangements of smaller parts. Every effort was made in the construction to combine efficiency of operation with durability, and the general course of the operation of the works during two and a half years seems to warrant the belief that the large outlay has been fully justified. * In the accompanying tabular statement all items on vouchers less than ten dollars, and all freight items have been omitted.

Jan 1, 1879

By R. H. Richards

The spitzlutte, as described by Rittinger, is an instrument by which saud is sorted in a continual upward-flowing stream of water. Its usual firm is that of a pointed box, placed with the point downward, the box receiving. its feed of sand and water on one side and discharging its tailings on the other. The sorted product or concentration is discharged at the bottom, at the apex of the box, through which it falls against an upward current of water, which current serves to effect the sorting and separation. To make this exposure to the quicksand condition still more effective, an inverted dam is placed across the spitzlutte, which forces the sand in its passage from the feed side to the discharge to pass clown into the more active portion of the upward-flowing current of water. In the form adopted for small tests in the mining laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (see accompaaying sketch) the feed is'throogh a central funnel instead of being at the side, and the apex of this funnel, extending down nearly to the apex of the cone, talks the place of the inverted dam in the large spitzlutte. To keep the experiment perfectly under control a bulb or bottle is attached by a rubber connecting-tube to receive the concentrations, and between this bottle and the apex of the spitzlutte is placed a glass tube of conical form, with a side tube for' the admission of water. By regulating the admission of water through this tube the concentration may be allowed to go down into the bulb as fast or as slowly as the richness of the ore seem.; to demand. This spitzlutte may be used on products that have been previously sized to take out the heavy mineral. As an example of this a test was made upon a sample of ore where the galena, blende, and quartz were much mixed up, but separated fairly when crushed. The sample of ore was from Newburyport, and assayed 16.61) per cent. lead.. After sizing through a series of sieves the ore yielded conceutrations and tailings to the spitzlutte as follows :

Jan 1, 1881

By John Birkinbine

In a former paper* attention was directed to the various forms of pumping machines employed for permanent work in mining and metallurgical processes. The following is simply a collection of memoranda of work done of a temporary character, and is presented by way of comparison with other work of similar nature. In close proximity to the charcoal fnrnace at Pine Grove, Cumberland County, Pa., is a large deposit of superior hematite iron ore, which has been worked for a number of years, and from which many thousand tons of ore have been taken by open pit workings. In July, 1874, the furnace was blown out and operations at the bank suspended, the machinery for draining being removed except a plunger pump, 18 inches in diameter and 66 inches stroke, operated by a steam-engine by means of rods. The pit was allowed to fill with water, and no steps towards its reclamation were taken until November, 1877. At that time the pit was a pond of water at the base of the mountain, having an area of about four acres and a depth of seventy feet. As the pumps, rods, etc., had been submerged for over three years, and partially buried by the mud washed down from the banks, and as it was determined to change the location of the pump for future operations and drive it by water-power, a temporary pumping apparatus was determined upon for reclaiming the pit and keeping it drained until the permanent arrangements could be completed. By opening an old adit about 10 feet of the water was removed, and the area decreased to three acres. The inflow of springs was found to be 250 gallons per minute, and the amount of water contained in the pit was computed to be 45,000,000 gallons. As the inflow would undoubtedly increase while the water sank in the pit, provision was made for removing at least 60,000,000 gallons, at the rate of 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 gallons per day. The company determined to employ a Heald and Cisco centrifugal pump driven by an oscillatinig engine by means of a belt. Steam was supplied by four plain cylinder boilers, each 36 inches diameter

Jan 1, 1879

By Thomas M. Drown

ZING is, as is well known, very brittle at a temperature of about 210' C. (410' F.), and may then be readily pulverized in a mortar. By sifting it may be obtained of uniform grain. I have been accustomed to prepare products passing through 40, 60, and 80-mesh sieves, and also by bolting through a fine handkerchief. The principal analytical uses to which I have hitherto applied this material are to the reduction of iron directly from the ore by heating it with the pulverized zinc, and the reduction of ferric to ferrous compounds in solution. In the first case the pulverized ore, 0.5 gram or less, is intimately mixed with about ten times its weight of the pulverized zinc (the finer the zinc the better), in a porcelain crucible, and this mixture is covered with about the same amount of zinc. The crncible is then heated at the top of the flame of a Bunsen bhrner, at a dull red heat, for about ten minutes. The crucible should not be covered. When cool, the crucible, with its contents, is placed in a flask treated with hot dilute sulphuric acid, and brought quickly to a boil. The zinc and reduced iron are dissolved in a few minutes and the flask is then tightly corked and allowed to cool. When cool, the iron is directly titrated by potassium permanganate.

Jan 1, 1879

By A. L. Holley

There are regularly manufactured in the eleven Bessemer steel rail mills of the United States, 119 patterns* of steel rails, of 27 different weights per yard. This list does not include patterns which, although still largely in use, are regarded by experts as obsolete, and which would swell the number to nearly 300; nor does it include all the patterns for which rolls are kept on hand to fill a passible demand; nor does it include extra patterns rolled in one finishing groove by opening or closing the rolls so as to get different weights with the same contours. The list embraces only those separate patterns which are subject to current orders. How thoroughly modern these patterns ere, is shown by the fact that of the whole 119, there are but five patterns of conspicuously bad shape; all the rest more or less completely illustrate the standard features,—a heavy head, light web and Hanges, and a good angle to hold the fish-plate. Sixty-two per cent. of the patterns have the "Chanute" head, which was not designed until 1874.† Sixty-four per cent. of the 119 patterns are embraced under five weights per yard,; three only of these vary from standard type; there are thus 76 patterns, all of them modern and standard, to represent five different weights, for which five patterns would perfectly answer. Of the 60lb. rails, there is only one of the pear-head type, while a dozen of the bevelled head templets cannot be distinguished from each other

Jan 1, 1881

By Charles O. Thomson

When a wire rod of iron or of steel is immersed in a hot solution of common salt, allowed to remain long enough to bring the metal to the temperature of the brine, and withdrawn, the surface of the rod is irregularly covered with a deposit of crystals of salt. These crystals adhere to the cod with great firmnes, in consequence, doubtless, of a thin film of ferric hydrate, which is formed between them and the rod as the water dries off. The rod can now be reduced, by successive passes through a dic or draw-plate, without any

Jan 1, 1881

By E. F. Loiseau

Until June, 1868, it had not been attempted, either in this country or abroad, to manufacture by mechanical means, from anthracite coal-dust, artificial fuel for domestic use. Several attempts had been made to utilize coal-waste by converting it into a fuel for manufacturing purposes, but none of the processes were original, and they were merely applications of the well-known European processes and machinery, slightly modified by American ingenuity and mechanical skill. With one exception all those attempts have been failures. The great difficulty in the application of European processes and machinery has always been the limited production, and the excessive cost of the manufactured product, as compared with the cost of mining and preparing the ordinary anthracite coal for the market. The only serious and intelligent attempt to manufacture, on a large scale, artificial fuel for manufacturing purposes, has been made by the Anthracite Fuel Company, whose works are erected at Fort Ewen, near Rondout, New York. This company, organized under the auspices of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, had to go through the usual course of difficulties, breakages, and disappointments, which seems to be the lot of every new industry. Thanks, however, to the energy and perseverance of Mr. L. L. Crounsse, a gentleman of means, from Washington, D. C, the enterprise succeeded, and it is to-day established on a permanent basis. In order to increase the production, and to reduce its cost, the Anthracite Fuel Company was compelled to change most of its •plant, and to erect more powerful machinery, producing lumps of a larger size, almost twice the size of the lumps made previously by the same company. This increase in the size of the lumps has been resorted to in Europe as well as in this country, in order to increase

Jan 1, 1879

By G. A. Koenig, Moritz Stockder

Locality and Geological Occurrence.—The Atpine region of Southwest. Colorado. cort~prieiog the San Juan and Uncon~paghre Mountains, is con~posed of a deeply eroded sheet of acid eruptive rocks, overlying in part gneissic schiets, and in part limestones and sandstones, including portions of the Silurian, Devonian, arid Carboniferous systems. The section is clearly and beautifully exposed along the Uncompghre River from its headwaters to its exit from the mountains. The river's course from the town of Ouray towards the Los Pinos agency is due north, and four miles from Ouray, in this directiou, the Uocampaglire receives from the east the Red Casm Creek. Following up the narrow canon we find the section through white. sandotone in strata dipping to the north and west, and belonging either to the lower or middle Devonian system. Presently the steep cafion-like character of the ravine gives place to more gentle slopes, ad we have entered crysralline rock—porphyry. The contact is well marked, for the sandsbne, to a depth of from six to ten feet, resembles quartzite, i. e., is serui'fusd. Ascending still higher, a small

Jan 1, 1881

By William Kent

In the paper by Mr. Fernom, on Red Charcoal, read at the first session of this meeting, it was suggested that this fuel might be used in the blast furnace with greater economy than ordinary or black charcoal. In the discussion which followed the paper, it was stated that the charcoal furnaces of the Lake Superior District have used imperfectly burned charcoal with success, and that these furnaces have given the best results in fuel economy on record. On consulting some of our well-known metallurgical authorities the writer finds that the question of the use of red charcoal, or other imperfectly burned charcoal, or charred wood, is not at all new. In Percy's late work on Fuel, pages 409-414, are given a few facts, which are here condensed, as follows:

Jan 1, 1879

By Charles A. Morgan

The proms of mire drawing depends upon the property which certain metals possess, termed ductility, which is defined in Brande's Dictionary of Science as a property inconhequcnce of which metals may be drawn out at length wilhotit interrupting the continuity of their constituent parts. As ticfincd thy M. Tresca, it is the property of flowing when subjected to pressure, and ie termed by him the "flow of solids," in his paper, read before the AcaiXemy of Sciences in Paris, November, 1866 * In the simple language of the wire shop, it is that quality in certain metals that thcm to be drawn (or etretched) out througl~ a tapering hole in a metal block or die, the die being more dense and harder than the metal to be redud. It is a fact well known to tllose slrillet1 in the ai*, that to eu~xeed in drawing iron or steel wire, it is of' the utmost, importance to have tborough lubritatiun, as a lack of it woullii udu-se abrasion of the wire, or of the walls of the tapering hole in the dia or plate, and quickly put an end to the operation. In drawing coarse or large sizes of pire, say & inoh diameter, the pressure upon the sides of the tay~dng hole, where the wire comes i.u contact with the die, so great that an ordina,y labricaot is equeezed out when the nsoal rc~luctions iu size are matie, and abrasion takea place. In order to meet this diffic:ulty, and emure proper lubrication, it has been a ccmmon prtictice for yazrs to apply a paste made of rye or wheaten flour, or lime, to the surface of the wire to be drawn, and when the pnstc is dry, to smwr tl~e wire with tallow or grease; the wire is then ready to be draw, the dried pa serving fo prevent the lubricant from being presetf out in the prows. Some years since, when Bessemer metal came iargely into use material for wire, 'the writer fourid that its dmwing requid so much more power than iron wire, that he was led to institute a. series of trials to ascertain the difference in power required. It was fotind that Bessemer wire requircd from 100 to 200 per cent. more power to makc the same reduction in sizes than soft iron wire, the difference depending npou the amount of carbon and other chemical constitu-

Jan 1, 1881