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By Henry Hibbard

This paper aims to put into useful form the information, at hand regarding temperatures of molten steels, covering all carbon contents up to 1.5 per cent., in the hope that if the assumed ideal temperatures tabulated are incorrect the right ones may . be brought to light. THE finishing and casting temperature of steel is a subject concerning which there is so much to learn that some temerity is required to write about it. This paper is, therefore, suggestive rather than dogmatic, though the views expressed seem now to the writer to be correct; nevertheless, they may be modified by future developments or discoveries but until then may be of some utility, particularly to beginners in the making of steel. Consideration is limited to the temperatures of simple steels, also called carbon steels,, which are those in which carbon is the only element introduced for the purpose of conferring desired physical properties. Alloy steels will receive attention later. Three things largely determine what a batch of steel really will be; viz., composition, casting temperature, and rate of teeming. Each has its advocates as being the most important; but they are so interrelated that each must conform to or be right for the, other two. When one is claimed to be the most essential to have right, that, probably, was the one that it was found had to be of a certain description, within narrow limits, to suit the already adopted variations of the other two; that is, it was the last of the three to be brought into line.

Jan 12, 1924

By George Burgess

NOTE BY THE EDITOR.-This resume of a Technologic Paper which is published in full by the U. S. Bureau of Standards, is brought before the membership of the Institute with the object of affording an opportunity for the open discussion of results of an investigation by the authors named above, of some phases of the manufacture of steel rails which are of great importance to manufacturer and consumer alike. This resume will be presented at the Pittsburg Meeting of the Institute. Discussion is invited, by either members or non-members of the Institute. The discussion may be sent in writing to the Editor, in advance of the meeting, or should preferably be presented in person at the meeting. To those who desire to discuss, copy of the full Technologic Paper (No. 38), as published by the Bureau of Stanaards, will be sent upon request addressed either to the Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C., or to the Editor, American Institute of Mining Engineers, 29 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y. Summary of Researches and Conclusions The main objects of this investigation were to determine, from measurements taken at representative rail mills, the present American practice regarding the temperatures at which rails are rolled; to demonstrate the ease and accuracy with which such temperatures may be measured, without interfering in any way with the manufacture of the product; to find out what the "shrinkage clause" in rail specifications really means; and, finally, to determine some of the physical properties of rail steels, particularly those of interest in manufacture, some of which seem to be insufficiently known as yet. 1. Ingot Temperatures.-Measurements made in four mills show that ingots for rails are rolled at temperatures ranging from 1,075° to 1,150° C. (1,965° to 2,100° F.), and that, in a series of 20 to 40 ingots, the variation in temperature from one ingot to another is only 10° to 20° C. 2. Finishing Temperatures.-Rails are finished at temperatures ranging broadly from 880° to-1,050° C. (1,615 to 1,922° F.), but usually ranging within 50° C. of 935° C., and occasionally above 1,100° C.

Jan 9, 1914

By W. G. Pariseau

Recent advances in rock mass mechanics and computational technology now allow for stability analysis of excavations in "wet" mines where mining-induced changes in rock mass deformation and fluid flow are coupled and time-dependent. All the usual dry mine parameters including the premining stress state and rock mass properties are taken into account, in addition to water pressure and flow in jointed, possibly porous, rock masses. Finite element analyses of shafts and tunnels as circular, elliptical, rectangular and arched-rectangular hole shapes excavated in an initially stressed and pressurized rock mass indicate that the usual guidelines for optimum shape and orientation of single openings apply. Here, optimum means maximizing the minimum wall safety factor, or equivalently, minimizing the peak stress concentration. The results also show that failure originates in elements at the wall and that the minimum safety factor at the wall in the wet case is always less than the dry case regardless of drainage time allowed.

Jan 1, 1995

By B. Q. Li, H. C. de Groh, X. Lu

"A fully 3-D, transient finite element model is developed to represent the magnetic damping effects on complex fluid flow, heat transfer and electromagnetic field distributions in a metallic melt. The model development is based on our in-house finite element code for the fluid flow, heat transfer and electromagnetic field calculations. The numerical model is tested against numerical and experimental results for water as reported in literature. Various numerical simulations are carried out for the melt convection and temperature distribution with and without the presence of a transverse magnetic field. Numerical results show that magnetic damping can be effectively applied to stabilize melt flow, reduce turbulence and flow levels in the melt and over a certain threshold value a higher magnetic field resulted in a greater reduction in velocity. Also, for the study of melt flow instability, a long enough running time is needed to ensure the final fluid flow recirculation pattern. Moreover, numerical results suggest that there seems to exist a threshold value of applied magnetic field, above which magnetic damping becomes possible and below which the convection in the melt is actually enhanced.1. INTRODUCTIONThe imposition of a DC magnetic field on a moving, electrically conducting fluid, such as molten metal or semiconductor melt, produces an opposing Lorentz force that results in a reduction of flow velocity in the liquid. This effect has been explored in both the semiconductor and metals industries to control natural convection and/or surface tension induced Marangoni convection as well as thermally induced flow instability during solidification processing of these melts [1-6]. A mathematical model can be of great use in developing both fundamental understanding of the fluid-magnetic field interactions in these magnetically-assisted processing systems and basic guidelines for process design, control and optimization.This paper presents a 3-D mathematical model for magnetically damped fluid flow and heat transfer in a melt cavity, which is useful for interpreting results for unidirectional solidification processes at slow solidification rate, and some preliminary results concerning the magnetic damping effects on the flow instability in the melt. The model development is based on the finite element solution of the Navier-Stokes equations, energy equations and equations for induced electric field. The model is tested against reported results and is then applied to study the fluid flow and thermal distribution in the metallic melt with and without an external magnetic field."

Jan 1, 1999

By F. Fournier Dit Chabert, F. Tancret, J. François Castagné, R. Le Gall

During the repair of turbine blades by a laser cladding process, it is observed that interdendritic cracking occurs in the heat affected zone (HAZ). Auger electron spectroscopy, performed on sample broken at high temperature, reveals interfacial sulfur segregation, which is known to be one of the main causes of microcraking in the HAZ during welding processes. Moreover, thermal gradients generated by the process are responsible for important thermomechanical stresses. In the present work, the finite element code Comsol Multiphysics is used to simulate the laser cladding process in order to determine both the thermal field and, using an elastoplastic law, the stress field inside the component. The originality is that the temperature history calculated in the thermomechanical model is extracted then injected in a segregation model in order to calculate the local segregation behavior. This model can be eventually used to predict the risk of cracking as a function of process parameters and alloy chemistry.

Jan 1, 2006

By O. E. Wheeler

The term "finite element analysis" is heard and seen in print a great deal these days; a few words on what precisely it is are in order. In the broadest sense, finite element analysis is an application of an idea developed by a nineteenth century mathematician named Rayleigh. His basic idea was to decompose any problem in mathematical physics into a large number of simpler problems, solve the simpler problems, and then put those solutions together to form an approximation to the solution of the original problem. The scheme works nicely because of two features: first, much of the difficulty in solving practical problems of mathematical physics stems from irregularities in the boundaries and the simpler problems can be chosen with regular boundaries and second the smaller problems are solved for small physical areas where simple approximations of the solution do not differ much from the true solution. In the narrower sense, in which we are now interested, finite element analysis is a technique of using imaginary simple structural elements to construct analytical models of real structures. A direct parallel with the Rayleigh approach exists since the "finite elements" have simple boundaries and are restricted to simple behavior within a single element. Although the correspondence between Rayleigh's ideas and finite element analysis is now widely recognized, the computational tool, as it has developed over the last thirty years, comes not from the discipline of physics but rather from that of structural engineering. It is interesting that it came not from the traditional research community, the universities, but instead from working

Jan 1, 1974

By H. Stigzelius

FINLAND'S recent mining history is both dramatic and pitiful in its shifting fortunes, dominated as it has been, by the country's proximity to the border zone of opposing dictatorships and social traditions; Fascism to the south, Communism to the east, and Democracy to the west. After 108 years under Russia's more or less harsh rule, Finland gained its democratic independence during the 1917 revolutionary strife in Russia with the official help of Germany and spontaneous help of other neighbors. The young nation was attacked by Russia in 1939 and again in 1941. It is common knowledge how the Finns fought with everything they had and everything they could get against their overwhelming adversary, and how by force of circumstances they landed in the Axis camp in 1941. Finland has never been known as a mining country in the same way as near-by Sweden, whose abundant iron and copper smelters during long periods so greatly contributed to the nation's welfare. Its largely barren, Archaean-granite geology long seemed forbidding. Some mining was done, to be sure; copper and tin at Pitkaranta near the Russian border, and lead and copper at Orijarvi. But towards the end of the last century the absence of a single producing mine cast a pessimistic shadow of truth over the Finnish poet Runeberg's words, that

Jan 1, 1946

By C MacDonald

There are many technologies available today in terms of fire and life safety in road tunnels. So many in fact that it is becoming more and more difficult for clients and contractors alike to determine what they want and what they need. From a clientÆs perspective, fire and life safety is about protection to its infrastructure and to the public at large. Conversely, the contractor is looking to meet its æfit for purposeÆ or ædeem to complyÆ requirements in the most economic and practicable way. Practices regarding fire and life safety in road tunnels have undergone a degree of transformation during the last decade or more throughout the world. This transformation has largely been driven by a series of catastrophic accidents such as the major fires in Europe including the Mont Blanc Tunnel, Tauern Tunnel, Saint-Gothard Tunnel, and now most recently in the CityLink Tunnels in Melbourne. International guidelines produced by organisations such as the Permanent International Association of Road Congresses (PIARC), the European Union, the International Tunnelling Association (ITA) and the US National Fire Protection Authority (NFPA) now provide clients, owners and designers with the tools required to define and specify the required fire and life safety systems in road tunnels. The majority of these tools are based on risk assessment and risk management. Recent road tunnel projects within Australia, however, have not referred solely to such guidelines. Clients have opted to prescribe different or additional fire and life safety requirements within the projectÆs technical specification documentation (project requirements), leaving designers and contractors with little room to implement alternatives or substitutions. Further, these project requirements are largely dictated by practice established on previous road tunnel projects within Australia. This paper looks at the current international guidelines and practices and undertakes a comparison with the EastLink tunnels in Melbourne and other road tunnels within Australia and makes assessment on whether Australian methods are the most appropriate for clients and contractors alike. Focus is directed to the key elements of fire and life safety such as:traffic envelope, barrier arrangements and emergency walkway provisions;deluge systems;drainage systems;fire rating requirements;tunnel ventilation systems;cross passage provisions;fire safety assessment;critical intelligence systems including help phones, CCTV, incident detection, tunnel signage, etc; andexternal tunnel control systems.

Jan 1, 2008

By Louis Frost

"A FIRE which forced the sealing -of the east side of Dominion No. 16 Colliery in the Town of New Waterford, Nova Scotia, occurred on October 6th, 1952 (Figure 1).So far as can be ascertained, the fire was first noticed in the roof of No. 7 East Lateral, after a brushing shot had been fired in the pavement. There appears to .be no doubt that this shot •blew out, igniting a small feeder in the roof.Regular air measurements and air samples, taken over a long period prior to the fire, indicated that the ventilation was adequate, for at no time had the percentage of CH4 in the general air current exceeded one per cent in this location. The last regular monthly samples and air measurements, taken at the end of September, showed the condition of the ventilation to be:Return at the Top of No. 8 East WallQuantity .... 27,700 cu. ft. per min.CH4 .......................... 0.32 per centC02 ................................ 0.10 per centHowever, in the week preceding the fire the mine examiner on four occasions had reported small feeders of gas at the face of the brushing in No. 7 East Lateral.Figure 2 is a diagram of the working place where the shots were fired. The face brushing had been shot down at 3 :45 p.m. and cleaned up. Two 'hurdle screens' had also been erected, one close to the face brushing and the other fifteen feet from the face."

Jan 1, 1953

By W. Leblanc, J. Phalen

This paper tells the story of a serious mine fire on a mechanized longwall face in a submarine coal mine at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. The story gives, in chronological order, a technical account of the steps taken to investigate, fight and contain the fire. The time during which the events took place spans from June 19 to November 7, 1975.

Jan 1, 1976

By D J. Brake

The risk from fire remains one of the most serious of underground mine disaster scenarios. The impacts of mine fires on the underground ventilation system and the production of toxic gases have been difficult to model and therefore assessments have relied largely on empirical data, historical precedent and subjective opinions. Underground fire modelling software has had limited availability and been technically challenging and time consuming to use especially for routine mine investigations. There has also been no well-accepted set of assumptions for fire modelling in mines, which has resulted in a lack of confidence in adopting its use more widely. This paper describes modelling of three critical fire scenarios in underground hard rock mines: a fire (LHD) in an underground diesel refuelling facility, a fire in an underground explosives magazine and a fire on an underground ore transport conveyor. Modelling was undertaken using VentsimÆs VentFIREÖ fire simulation module. It describes the basis of design, the key assumptions, the methodology used and provides examples of the outputs, conclusions and recommendations. It reviews the impacts of these fires on egress and entrapment strategies in the mine. Some general principles regarding improvements to ventilation circuit design based on this analysis are also recommended. Whilst the fire scenarios were based on actual case studies, they have been disguised for this paper.CITATION:Brake, D J, 2013. Fire modelling in underground mines using Ventsim Visual VentFIRE software, in Proceedings The Australian Mine Ventilation Conference , pp 265-276 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 1, 2013

By L. D. Savage

Several experiments were conducted using a large crib fire adjacent to a Kennedy Metal Products steel stopping in a simulated cross cut to evaluate the proposed mechanisms by which a mine fire would breach the stopping. Temperatures in the convective air paths on both sides of the stopping, at the surface of the roof and 16mm within the roof were measured to evaluate the effects of heat transfer. The results indicate that roof failure is the prime method of breaching this design of stopping.

Jan 1, 1996

By Brian Y. Lattimer, Kray D. Luxbacher, Jonathan L. Hodges, Manuel J. Barros-Daza

The abstract discusses the importance of predicting fire response time (the time before conditions become untenable for firefighters) in underground coal mines. It introduces a data-driven approach using artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict response time and fire size based on measurable parameters like CO concentration, mine geometry, air velocity, and time since fire detection. The approach was tested using simulations from fire models (FDS and FSSIM), showing promising results for real-time predictions during mine fires.

Mar 6, 2022

By T. E. Newkirk

In the past few years there has been considerable controversy on the most suitable material to be used in ventilation doors which will have to serve also as fire doors. For this reason it was thought useful at Mclntyre to find out to what extent our zinc chloride treated spruce doors were fire resistant and what protection we could expect in case of an underground fire. The doors to be tested were constructed of the same material as that used in our regular ventilation doors underground, namely, 2-inch tongue-and-groove well seasoned spuce. It is to be noted, however, that whereas the dimensions of the ventilation doors are 5 ft. by 6 ft., those of the test doors were only 14 in. by 17½ in. The treated doors were made up from lumber that l1ad been treated with chromated zinc chloride, as described in Mr. Keeley's paper. Two kinds of tests were carried out: a heat test and a flame test. An electric muffle furnace for assaying, equipped with a pyrometer, was used for the beat test, the furnace door being replaced by the wooden door to be tested. In the flame test, the door to be tested formed one end of a rectangular steel box in which was placed a large blow-torch. Air was admitted at the rear of the box. A pyrometer recorded the temperature at the inside surface of the door where flame impinged. The results of the tests are presented in the accompanying table, in which the word 'failed' is to be interpreted as meaning that the door had been damaged to the extent that smoke, but not necessarily flame, issued from its outside surface.

Jan 1, 1949

By A. R. T. Denues

This investigation was made under a cooperative agreement between the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, and the Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory. Funds were supplied by the Chile Exploration Co., whose executive offices are in New York City. The support, cooperation, and services of these agencies made the work possible and are acknowledged gratefully. The writer wishes to express his particular indebtedness to the staff of the Explosives Division of the Bureau of Mines for services and assistance, particularly Dr. Wilbert J. Huff, consulting explosives chemist, J. C. Holtz, J. E. Tiffany, and A. B. Coates; to F. O. Gardner, treasurer of the Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory; to G. B. Holderer, consulting engineer in connection with liquid-oxygen explosives for the Chile Exploration Co.; to the Enos Coal Mining Co. of Oakland City, Ind., particularly to G. H. Utterback of the staff of the mine for providing facilities that made field tests possible; and to full-time assistants J. W. Rothhaar and J. G. P. Weinheimer and to W. S. Hiller, part-time assistant, who were employed under the cooperative agreement.

Jan 1, 1940

By T. M. Williams

DURING the year just ended we have had three great fires in the mines in the Wilkes-Barre district. One at the Empire Colliery, one at the Prospect shaft, and the other at the Baltimore old mine. It is proposed in this paper to give a brief history of the fire at the Empire Colliery, and the methods employed in extinguishing it. The fire was first discovered breaking out in the air-stack, alongside what is known as the " Kidder Plane," about one o'clock on the morning of December 31st, 1873. Subsequently it was ascertained that the fire originated in the return airway somewhere near the steam boiler, located inside the mine, near the head of No. 5 slope. The coal from this slope was hoisted to the shaft gangway, at a point nearly four thousand feet distant from the foot of the shaft. As there were from four to five hundred mine cars hoisted per day from this slope the steam boilers were located at this place. The mines being of considerable extent required a large volume of pure air for ventilation, and no fan having been erected at this slope at the time, the heat from the boiler was made use of to assist ventilation, by conveying the return air from No. 5 slope into the large airway made from these boilers to the surface through the old "Kidder slope" to the stack where the fire was first discovered. The length of this slope or airway was about one thousand feet, with a sectional area of about sixty feet. The quantity of air passing through it must have been over sixty thousand cubic feet per minute

Jan 1, 1875

By George J. Young

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) I. GENERAL. THE recurrence of mine-fires in Nevada during the past decade is not only a matter of interest, but also one of considerable concern to engineers and mine-managers. The more important fires may he enumerated as follows: Forman Shaft fire., Gold Hill, April 21, 1903 ; shaft-house, machinery, and shaft, destroyed; loss estimated at $50,000.; Cause Unknown. Union Shaft fire, Virginia City, July 14, 1904; shaft-house, machinery, and shaft in part destroyed; loss estimated it $100,000; cause of fire stated as the careless throwing of a match in the rope-house. Sutro Tunnel fire, Virginia City, Jan. 27, 1909 ; 700 ft. of tunnel-timbering destroyed, and direct damage of $10,000; cause ' probably electric wires." Belcher Shaft fire, Gold Hill, Aug. 9, 1910; shaft-house destroyed, machinery ruined, and upper part of shaft damaged; damage, $25,000; no cause given. Belmont Mine fire, Tonopah, Feb. 23, 1911; fire started in winze ; 17 men killed. Giroux Mine fire, Kimberly, Aug. 23, 1911 ; fire originated iii shaft-station from unknown cause; 7 men killed, and $34,¬521 damage caused. (NOTE 1.-On June 11, 1912, some time after the present paper was written, a fire broke out in the pump-room on the 2475 station of the Ward shaft, Virginia City. This fire was caused by the short-circuiting and exploding of the starting-switch on No. 5 pump. The oil in the switch was scattered about and set fire to the timbers and laming of the pump-room. The pump-roan in charge notified the surface, and the * Professor of Mining and Metallurgy, Mackay School of Mines.

Oct 1, 1912

By Richard P. Rothwell

FIRES in mines are so serious in their consequences and of such frequent occurrence, that their causes and the means of extinguishing them are certainly questions of the greatest interest to a large part of the engineering profession. We have already, in this country, many mines which have been burning for years, and though our hard anthracite is so difficult to ignite that for a quarter of a century after it was first discovered it was not known how to burn it except with the aid of an artificial blast, yet most of the fires which have occurred underground have been in anthracite mines, and in the coal itself. The injury which these fires have caused to properties in various parts of the anthracite regions, and the cost of extinguishing them, would amount to many millions of dollars, and they have also occasioned the loss of many valuable lives. It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject has already attracted much attention, and the exercise of great ingenuity ; and the present communication is made less with the expectation of announcing anything new, than with the object of putting upon record the present state of our knowledge on this subject, or, in other words, of indicating how defective are the present means of combating underground conflagrations. (Causes of Mine Fires.-Even upon the surface, fire is a terrible foe to contend with, and there is probably no other which inspires such thorough and well-founded alarm. With what feelings, then, must we look upon this destructive element, when its field is in the narrow galleries of a mine, where the poisonous products of combustion, spreading in every direction, protect, in the most effectual manner, the fire itself from the attacks of extinguishers, while, if the face of attack be ventilated so as to enable them to approach the seat of the fire, the air current simply increases the extent and violence of the conflagration. Fires underground originate in as various ways as those on the surface, and it is scarcely necessary to say that, except in the rare cases where they are the result of design, they are invariably classed as " accidents," and most generally as " unavoidable accidents." In reality, by an intelligent understanding of their causes and with due precautions, they can almost always be prevented. Ignorance and

Jan 1, 1876

The first metal-mine accident-prevention course was prepared and published in 1942-45 as a series of seven miners' Circular (Nos. 51-57). The scope of the course has been broadened, revised, and brought up to date and is being published as a similar series of seven miners' circular pros. 51-57, revised) on accident prevention in metal and nonmetallic mines. These circulars are: Accident Statistics (Miners' Circular 51), dealing with general statistics on accidents and injuries at metal and nonmetallic mines, including causes, costs, and the uses of investigations and reports of all accidents.

Jan 1, 1957

By Warnie Flint

According to statistics that have been compiled by the National Safety Council, U.S. Bureau of Mines, American Medical Association, and other agencies, accidental injuries cause more deaths than all the leading diseases. There isn't anyone who is immune to an accident. Probably the best way to describe an accident is to say that it is an unexpected happening. The automobile driver isn't expecting a terrifying crash, the electrician isn't expected to be electrocuted, nor is the coal miner expecting the roof to fall on him. All personal injuries will not result in death. There is a multitude of victims who are living proof of what accidents can mean to an individual. These are the victims who are blind, paralytic, missing arms, legs, etc. In most instances the earning power of these individuals is gone, and they are utterly dependent upon family or welfare. For many years there seemed to be an attitude that prevailed upon industrial America that accidents were inevitable, and that so many fatalities and injuries should be expected. This, of course, was utter nonsense. Since the birth of such organizations as The National Safety Council, American Society of Safety Engineers, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines, much progress has been made in reducing accidents. The enactment of compensation laws greatly contributed to the progress that has been made. Does this mean that all accidents can be prevented? Unfortunately, it doesn't. Human psychology indicates that men will work unsafely or perform unsafe acts for the following reasons: 1) Lack of knowledge or skill. 2) Conflicting motivations, such as: (a) to be more comfortable, (b) to save time or effort, (c) to be accepted by a group 3) Physical or mental condition.

Jan 1, 1973