Search Documents

By A. F. Gregory

"AbstractA resumé of aerial radiation survey studies performed by and for Eldorado Mining and Refining, Limited, since 1943 is presented. Flight tests were initiated in 1947 and were followed .by intensified use and study of Geiger counters and other radiation detectors. Development of an aerial scintillation counter began in 1948, but •a sensitive large crystal unit was not available for exploration purposes until 1950. Modifications of this unit have been used in all subsequent surveys.For the Eldorado detector, several limiting conditions were established for successful radioactivity detection, the most important being that natural vein exposures can only be assuredly detected .at distances less than 150 feet. Sedimentary and pegmatitic radioactive occurrences can be detected at much greater distances. A helicopter investigation technique appears to •have •a useful prospecting potential.IntroductionAerial radiation surveys were first proposed in the early 1940's. However, it was not until 1949 that airborne detectors were extensively used in the search for radioactive minerals. Eldorado has flown about 50,000 miles of exploration flights, exclusive of tests, using a variety of •detectors and aircraft. Considerable data have •been gathered for .the evaluation of the several techniques employed. Much of the early work was performed with the co-operation of the National Research Council of Canada ( 1). More recent work was done in conjunction with the Commercial Products Division of Atomic Energy of Canada, Limited. The Development Department of this latter corporation designed and built the scintillation counter used in recent Eldorado surveys."

Jan 1, 1955

By S. Gilbert, G. R. Bailey

A further evaluation of the bomb-sampling method for determining the oxygen content of liquid steel is presented. The results of this study and their close agreement with the results of an earlier evaluation confirm the conclusion that the bomb-sampling method is valid for obtaining representative samples for the determination of the oxygen content of a liquid steel bath. WHAT constitutes the most desirable procedure for obtaining a sample suitable for determining the oxygen content of a liquid steel bath has been a controversial subject for several years. In 1952 Huff, Bailey, and Richards' described a modification of the bomb-sampling technique originated by McCutcheon and Rautio.' In both the modified and original techniques, a small cast-iron or steel mold containing aluminum wire and appropriately covered is inserted into the furnace, coated with slag, and then plunged into the metal bath. Upon entering the metal, the cover melts and a sample of the steel bath enters the mold. The data presented by Huff, Bailey, and Richards' indicated that reproducible samples could be obtained by their method. Furthermore, the oxygen analyses from samples obtained by their method agreed better with those from controlled laboratory experiments than did analyses from samples obtained by methods previously suggested for sampling large liquid-metal baths. Most techniques, other than bomb-sampling, require that a sample of liquid steel be removed from the furnace in a well slagged spoon and poured into an iron mold containing aluminum or into a massive copper mold for rapid chilling. Pouring in this manner requires that the sample pass through the air. The controversy, then, is somewhat as follows: Proponents of the spoon-sampling method and similar dip-and-pour methods feel that the introduction of a cold steel mold into a molten steel bath may result in a localized boiling condition that may deplete the steel of oxygen to a significant degree in the area where the bomb is introduced. Conceivably this boil could cause results that are, on the average, too low and nonrepresentative of the bath composition. On the other hand, samples that are spooned and then poured through the air may also be nonrepresentative because of oxidation by the atmosphere. The restrictions imposed in sampling with a spoon are much more stringent than those imposed when sampling with the bomb-type mold within the furnace. The spoon sample must be taken in a well slagged spoon, a requirement that depends on the condition of the slag in the furnace. Also, the samples must be poured as quickly as possible, without shaking the spoon and without allowing slag to enter the mold. The necessity of fulfill-

Jan 1, 1955

By R. G. Nelson

This report covers investigations of the Bureau of Mines for the period of June 15, 1952, to June 15, 1953, on a research project for the Materials Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. The primary purpose of this investigation was to make high-purity chromium-base alloys having room-temperature ductility and high-temperature strength. The Nonferrous Metals Branch of the Bureau of Mines, Albany, Oreg., has, during the past 7 years, developed on a laboratory scale a hydrogen treatment method for making high-purity chromium that can be fabricated into thin sheet and wire. This material can be bent at room temperature. The object of this investigation was to use this material to develop improved chromium-rich alloys for high-temperature uses.

Jan 1, 1955

By D. T. Van Zandt

IN the late 1920's rotary drills began to replace the churn drills in the petroleum industry, but until the middle 1940's the churn drill was the only widely accepted means of drilling large-diameter blastholes for quarry operations. The Calcite plant of the Michigan Limestone Div., U. S. Steel Corp., was one of the first to experiment with rotary drills for quarry blasthole drilling, and the first to employ compressed air on a fully rotary rig to cool the bit and raise the cuttings to the collar of the blasthole. The Calcite plant operates a limestone quarry near Rogers City, Mich., in the northern part of the lower Michigan peninsula. The formation quarried, a portion of the middle Devonian series, is the Dundee limestone, which is uniform, seldom massive, and characterized by definite bedding planes. The dip is southeast, 40 ft to the mile. Quarry faces vary from 20 to 116 ft in height. Vertical blastholes are used entirely, from three to five rows of holes being drilled parallel to the working face, spaced 18 ft apart with 18-ft burden and drilled 6 to 8 ft below shovel grade. Quarry operations coincide with the navigation season on the Great Lakes, as the bulk of the stone is transported by lake carrier. The normal operating season runs from April to December, the remaining time being devoted to stripping operations and plant and equipment maintenance. In the followirig discussion drilling rates mentioned refer to overall drilling time and include all operations such as moving from hole to hole, penetration and extraction of tools, and routine maintenance. Time consumed by such factors as power delays and major machine repair is not included in drilling time unless otherwise stated. Figures cover only operations at this one plant in the formation mentioned. Needless to say, a very different set of figures could be obtained in a different formation. However, the comparison of footage obtained with churn drills and rotary rigs in this particular formation has been used as an indication of what might be the expected performance of rotary rigs in other formations. Prior to 1950 the bulk of the blasthole drilling at the Calcite plant was done by electrically powered churn drills. Both crawler and wheel-mounted rigs were used. These machines, which mounted a 22-ft drill stem of 4½ in. diam and a spudding type of bit 2 to 4 ft long, drilled a hole of 5 ?-in. diam. Average drilling rate of these rigs in the Rogers City formation was 8 % ft per hr. In 1946 one of the first rotary blasthole drills offered to the quarry industry was put into use on an experimental basis. This machine, known as the Sullivan Model 56 blasthole drill, Fig. 1, was on 16-in. crawler pads and electrically powered at 440 v. The drill bit, a Hughes Tri-Cone roller bit of 5?-in. diam, Type OSC, was threaded into the end of the 4-in. square hollow drill rod or stem. These drill rods were 20 ft long with female threads on one end and male on the other to allow for addition of the desired number of rods for drilling holes of various depth. Rods were handled by a single drum hoist geared to the main drive motor and racked by a 30-ft derrick or mast when not in use. The cable from the hoist drum fed through a crown block on the top of the derrick back to the water swivel mounted in the top end of the drill stem in use. This cable remained attached during drilling operations and was used to hoist the tool string from the hole. Down pressure was applied to the tool string by means of a pair of 4-in. diam hydraulic cylinders acting on the drill chuck holding the drill rod. The first chuck consisted of flat jaws which gripped the flat sides of the stem. These jaws were controlled by set screws forcing them into contact with the drill stem. As these set screws had to be loosened and tightened by hand with each stroke of the hydraulic feed cylinders, there was great delay. For this reason the semi-automatic chuck was developed which automatically gripped the stem on the downward stroke but released for retraction of the hydraulic feed cylinders. Rotation was imparted to the tool string by a rotary table acting on the chuck and geared to the main drive motor through a separate gear train and clutch. A positive displacement water pump, mounted on the drill, fed water through a system of pipes and hose into the water swivel mounted on the top of the drill rod and through the rod and bit, washing the drill cuttings to the collar of the hole. Where water was scarce, provision was made to settle out the cuttings coming from the collar of the hole and re-use the water. Where water was abundant the stream coming from the hole was wasted. Drilling rate with this machine was about 20 ft per hr and bit life 1600 ft of hole. While this rate was more than twice that obtained with the churn drills employed, the problem of water supply and drill cuttings disposal rendered the machine impractical from an operating standpoint. Consequently it was used only in that part of the operation for which water was easily supplied, when the character of the formation made it least difficult to wash cuttings away from the collar of the hole. In October 1949 it was suggested that drill cuttings be removed by compressed air, long used for this purpose on pneumatic drills, and collected at the collar by suction. Thereafter, the water pump on the Sullivan 56 was replaced by a 500-cfm air compressor and a trial run made. Air pressure at

Jan 1, 1955

By M. T. Simnad, G. Derge, I. George

Measurements of current efficiency on iron-silicate slags in iron crucibles showed that conduction is about 10 pct ionic in slags with less than 10 pct silica and about 90 pct ionic in slags with more than 34 pct silica, increasing linearly in the intermediate range. The balance of the conduction is electronic in character. Silicate ions are discharged at the anode with the evolution of gaseous oxygen. Transport experiments show that the ionic current is carried almost entirely by ferrous ions, which may be assigned a transport number of one. THERE has been increased evidence in recent years that the constitution of liquid-oxide systems (slags) is ionic.1-3 The principal studies designed to establish the structure of liquid slags have been by electrochemical methods', " and conductivity measurements1,6,7 which also have indicated the presence of semiconduction in several silicate systems1,4-0 and in pure iron oxide.' It is well known that many slag-forming metallic oxides have an ionic lattice type in the solid state, and their properties are determined to a large extent by the lattice defects and ion sizes. As Richardson8 as pointed out, the detailed models of liquid slags cannot be found on thermodynamic data only but "must rest on a proper foundation of compatible structural and thermodynamic knowledge, combined by statistical mechanics." A careful thermodynamic study of the iron-silicate slags has been carried out by Schuhmann with Ensio9 and with Michal.10 They obtained experimental data relating equilibrium CO2: CO ratios to slag composition and made thermodynamic calculations of the activities of FeO and SiO, and of the partial molal heats of solution of FeO and SiO2 in the slags. It was found that the activity-composition relationships deviate considerably from those to be expected from an ideal binary solution of FeO and SiO2. However, the partial molal heat of solution of FeO into the slags was estimated to be zero. Their experimental results were correlated with the constitution diagram for FeO-SiO2 of Bowen and Schairer,11 with the results of Darken and Gurry" on the Fe-O system, and with the work of Darken"' on the Fe-Si-O system. All these studies were found to be consistent with one another. The variation of the mechanism of conduction with composition in the liquid iron-oxide-silica system in the range from pure iron oxide to silica saturation (42 pct SiO2) in iron crucibles was reported in a preliminary note." The current efficiency, or conformance to Faraday's law, showed some ionic conductance at all compositions, the proportion increasing with the concentration of silica. The current-efficiency experiments since have been extended. Furthermore, transport-number measurements have been completed in silica-saturated iron silicates to determine the nature of the conducting ions. Experimental Current Efficiency in Liquid Iron Oxide and Iron Silicates using Iron Anodes: This study was carried out by passing direct current through slags in the range from pure iron oxide to iron oxide saturated with silica (42 pct silica), using pure iron rods as anodes and the iron container as the cathode. A copper coulometer was included in the circuit to indicate the quantity of current passed during electrolysis. Assuming that the cation involved is Fe-+, the theoretical quantity of iron lost from the anode according to Faraday's law may be calculated and when compared with the actual loss observed, gives an indication of the extent to which Faraday's law has been obeyed. It also gives an indication of the presence and extent of ionic conduction in the melt. Preparation of the Slags: About 100 g of chemically pure Fe,O, powder is placed in an iron pot which is heated by induction until the contents liquefy. In this way, FeO is produced according to the reaction Fe2O3 + Fe = 3 FeO. More Fe2O3 or SiO, powder is added and, when a sufficient quantity of molten slag is obtained, the induction unit is turned off, the pot withdrawn, and the molten slag poured on to an iron plate. Homogenization and Electrolysis of the Slag: Apparatus—After considerable development, the setup illustrated in Fig. 1 proved to be quite satisfactory. A is an Armco iron cylinder, 1 in. ID and 1/8 in. wall, consisting of three sections placed one on top of the other. The bottom section is a pot about 5 in. long with a small hole drilled in its bottom to allow withdrawal of gases during evacuation of the apparatus. The middle section is 6 in. long and consists of a pot which serves as the slag container, while the top section is a hollow-cylinder continuation of the slag-container pot. The height of this latter section is about 5 in., giving an overall length of approximately 16 in. The iron cylinder is constructed in this way for ease of fabrication, the individual sections becoming welded together after the

Jan 1, 1955

By R. W. Huber

Three arc-melted ingots, two of a titanium-7 percent manganese alloy and the third of unalloyed titanium, were forged and rolled into 3/4-inch plate; comparative data were obtained on these processes. The finished plate, part of which was used by the Naval Bureau of Ordnance, was tested for mechanical and other properties. These properties were correlated with sponge purity, forging technique, rolling temperature, and cooling rate from the rolling temperature. For the alloy material, transformation data were obtained, and their age-hardening characteristics were studied. The temperature-impact relationship was established for rolled sections from all three ingots. INTRODUCTION Arc-melted ingots of unalloyed titanium and a titanium-manganese alloy were fabricated into plate under closely controlled conditions by personnel of the Metals and Alloys Section, Physical Metallurgy Branch, Bureau of Mines, College Park, Md. This program was cosponsored by the Naval Bureau of Ordnance. Bureau of Mines interest lay in correlating the processing procedures with the mechanical properties of the finished plate.

Jan 1, 1955

By Benny Langston, Frank M. Stephens

Although little information is available concerning small-scale equipment for dust collection in laboratories, it is possible to adapt standard equipment for laboratory use. Dust from laboratory processes may be collected by cyclone separators, filters, electrostatic separators, scrubbers, and settling chambers. IN recent years much attention has been given to recovery, treatment, and disposal of dusts discharged into the atmosphere from operations of industry. considerable data has been accumulated on both operation and design of dust-collector equipment for commercial installations. On the other hand, there is almost no published data on design and construction of small-scale equipment to handle dust problems that arise in the ore-dressing laboratory. Dust-collection equipment such as multiclones, single-cyclones, scrubbers, chemical and mechanical filters, settling chambers, and electrostatic separators has proved its efficiency for collecting dust in industry. In the laboratory, however, the engineer is faced with the problem of collecting small quantities of dust, inexpensively, without diverting the major effort from the metallurgical problem to the problem of collecting dust produced by the process. For most applications standard dust-collection equipment is too large for use in the laboratory; however, for control of dust in large working areas it is often possible to use a standard dust collector, such as an air filter, with branch ducts to eliminate a health hazard. For example, the well-furnished sample-preparation room containing small jaw crushers, rolls, and pulverizers, in addition to the riffles and screens necessary for preparation of samples, presents a perennial source of dust. The authors' experience has shown that a combination system consisting of overhead branch ducts to the individual equipment and floor ducts with grills, where applicable, connected to a central dust collector effectively removes dust generated in preparation of samples. Fig. 1 is a sketch of a downdraft dust-collector for table installation. Similar systems can be built with floor grids. For portable equipment such as laboratory vibrating screens this type of installation with a steel grill to support the heavy load is reasonably efficient. Overhead branch ducts to individual crushing and grinding equipment, although efficient, must be carefully controlled by dampers to prevent excess loss or a change in the composition of the sample. Change in sample composition can result from excess velocity, which causes selective removal of constituents of low specific gravity. Fig. 2' shows the theoretical effect of terminal velocity on spherical particles of different specific gravities in air and water under action of gravity. Fig. 3 shows the effect of air velocity on composition of CaCO, coal mixtures. Although the entrainment of dust particles in a moving air stream is the basic mechanism by which all dust-collection equipment functions, usually intake velocity of the dust-collection system must be controlled to prevent loss of part of the sample. As an example of what may happen when excess velocities are used, a mixture of 50 pct coal and 50 pct limestone was crushed to —10 mesh and fed to a pulverizer equipped with an overhead dust-collection system. Fig. 4 shows the overhead dust-collection equipment used in this test. The pulverizer was set to give a product 95 pct —100 mesh in two stages. Velocity of air passing over the lip of the pulverizer was measured with an anemometer. After grinding, the finished product was analyzed to show the amount of calcium carbonate present. Fig. 3 shows graphically the increase in calcium carbonate as velocity through the dust-collection duct was increased. These data show that at a velocity of 1 ft per sec little if any of the coal was entrained by the overhead draft. At the maximum velocity, about 6.5 ft per sec, approximately 7 pct more coal was entrained than calcium carbonate. From an operating standpoint, this problem can be remedied easily by dampering the line to control velocity. The lowest velocity commensurate with satisfactory dust control should be used to prevent excess loss and, in some cases, selective dust loss. Collection of Dust in Laboratory Processes As in industry, the engineer desires to collect efficiently the dust produced by processes being investigated on a laboratory scale. However, in the collection of laboratory dusts he is faced with two additional problems: 1—The volumes of gas and the quantity of dust that must be recovered are small when compared with the capacity of standard dust-collector equipment, which must be scaled down in design except for collection of dust from large pilot-plant operations. 2—In addition, because of the variety of problems studied in the process laboratory, the engineer cannot design today a dust collector that will meet the conditions imposed by the processes of tomorrow. Sometimes, therefore, he must compromise collection efficiency to minimize the cost of fabrication and the amount of time diverted from the metallurgical to the dust-control problem. For collection of dust from laboratory processes a cyclone separator, filters, electrostatic separators, scrubbers, and settling chambers can usually be adapted for small-scale operations. The following

Jan 1, 1955

By B. Chalmers

THE practical importance of the phenomena of melting and freezing must have been recognized for a very long time. The difference between ice and water, for example, has had a profound influence on the history of mankind and the evolution of society. The possibility of melting a metal and allowing it to freeze in a mold of chosen shape has been an essential ingredient in our mastery of the art of shaping metals, and therefore in the evolution of the: machine age in which we find ourselves. The importance of melting and freezing, as applied to metals and alloys, has been so great, in fact, that empirical solutions have been found for the multitude of practical problems that have arisen. This approach has been so successful that relatively little attention has been directed to arriving at an understanding of the fundamentals of the processes. But metallurgy has come to a stage at which we may expect that some, at least, of the more complex problems that have not yet been solved (or perhaps even recognized) may be handled more effectively by scientific study, theoretical understanding, and logical experimentation than by trial and error. In this lecture, therefore, I propose to describe in outline what I think really happens when a metal freezes. In doing so I hope to explain many of the phenomena which have been observed, and in particular to account for the structures that are obtained in actual ingots and castings. The basic problem, to which this lecture represents a tentative partial answer, is this: a mass of metal, containing known proportions of various elements, is melted, heated to a given temperature, and then allowed to freeze under specified conditions. What will be the "structure" of the resulting metal? The term structure includes: 1—crystal size, shape, and orientations, 2—distribution of chemical elements, and 3-—shape, including cracks, cavities, pores, etc. The Solid-Liquid Interface We will first consider what takes place if a single crystal of a metal in the form of a rod is heated, not uniformly, but so that one end is hotter than the other. If this heating process is continued long enough, the hotter end will eventually melt; we will suppose that the rod is in a containing vessel so that the molten metal does not run away, Fig. 1. When some of the metal has melted, we have some solid, some liquid, and an interface or surface of contact between them. If the source of heat is now removed, the interface will move so that some of the liquid freezes, and if the supply of heat is suitably adjusted the interface will remain at rest. This very simple arrangement allows us to study the basic processes of melting and freezing, and if we fully understand this simple case, we may be able to account for what takes place under practical conditions where the heat does not all flow in the same direction, and where the heat flow is determined not by a controllable source of heat but by the heat capacity and temperature of metal and mold, and by the heat loss from the mold surface. The solid-liquid interface is evidently the region of the greatest interest to us; on one side of it there is crystalline solid, and on the other, liquid. In the solid, each atom has a well defined position, around which it vibrates as a result of thermal agitation. It only leaves this position in the relatively rare event of a "diffusion jump." The liquid is much less systematically organized. The atoms are about as far from their neighbors as in the solid, but the arrangement is much less systematic and is continuously changing. The solid and the liquid are represented diagrammatically in Fig. 2. The average energy of the atoms in the liquid is greater than in the solid by an amount that corresponds to the latent heat of fusion, i.e., the amount of heat that has to be supplied to convert unit mass of solid into liquid at the same temperature. The Two Processes As has recently been shown by Jackson and Chalmers,3 many of the features of the processes of freezing and melting can be understood if it is assumed that a continuous and rapid interchange of atoms between solid and liquid always takes place at a solid-liquid interface." It is necessary to con- sider two distinct processes, that of melting, in which atoms leave the surface of the solid and become part of the liquid, and the converse process,

Jan 1, 1955

By M. R. J. Wyllie, P. F. Southwick

The importance of the so-called "dirty sand" or "conductive solids" problem in electric log interpretation was first stressed in a paper presented in 1949. Since that time the problem has been generally recognized as a most serious one. Several research papers bearing on the theory of the effects of clay contaminants on reservoir rock resistivities have appeared. These papers, while contributing to the theory of the problem, have not offered any practical solution. In the present paper an experimental investigation has been made of the effects of ion-exchange materials on the electrical properties of natural and synthetic porous media. The method used to make synthetic dirty sands is entirely novel and has proved a valuable guide to a better understanding of the properties of dirty sands generally. The effects of ion-exchange materials on both the resistivity and self potential (S.P.) logs have been examined. From the data obtained it has been possible to formulate a simple, practical method whereby electrical logs of dirty sands can be qualitatively interpreted. The method is in all essentials identical to that presently in use for interpreting clean sands. New light has also been thrown on the significance of the term formation factor when it is applied to dirty sands. In 1949 a paper was presented1 which showed that the presence of so-called "conductive solids" introduced considerable complexities into the analysis of the resistivities of dirty sands, i.e., permeable formations containing clay. The reduction of the self potential (S.P.) resulting from the presence of interlaminated shale or interstitial clay in permeable formations has been discussed by Doll.2,3 Noteworthy papers which dilate further upon the effects of shale and clay on the resistivity of permeable formations are those of deWitte,4,5 Berg,6 Wyllie,7 and most recently, Winsauer and McCardell.8 The last authors have endeavored to elucidate the chemistry of the resistivity phenomena in dirty sands in terms of an adsorption hypothesis. Specifically, they attribute the electrolytic conductivity of shales and clays within a permeable formation to an ionic double-layer effect and, for this reason, regard the term "conductive solids" as a misleading one. Some consideration has been given to the effect of dirty sands on the S.P. by Wyllie7 and by McCardell, Winsauer and Williams." Published work to date has cast light only on certain theoretical aspects of the problems created by the presence of clays and shales within permeable formations. One object of this paper is to describe experiments which serve to elucidate further the theory of the dirty sand problem and particularly the significance of the term "formation factor" as applied to dirty

Jan 1, 1955

By Elmer R. Kaiser

COMBUSTION of coal and transfer of heat from flames and gases to boiler surfaces continue to be of great interest to engineers here and abroad. Numerous investigations have been in progress to improve furnace and boiler performance and economy. The importance of better understanding of the processes and opportunities for improvement is apparent when it is remembered that heat from at least 500 million tons of coal a year the world over is being transferred to boiler water at efficiencies ranging mostly between 50 and 90 pct. Even slight gains in efficiency, economy, and labor saving become very significant when multiplied by the enormous quantity of fuel consumed. Also the competitive position of the large coal, oil, and gas industries in satisfying the fuel consumers is greatly affected by the achievements made through technical progress with each fuel. This paper is part of a continuing activity of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., to extend the knowledge of coal utilization for steam generation and to seek promising directions for future research and development in cooperation with others. Particularly in the latter regard, numerous interviews were held during the last three years to seek the experience and advice of boiler and combustion-equipment manufacturers, electric-utility executives, and fuel engineers. A wealth of published information was also reviewed, which together with the interviews pointed to the advisability of further work on ash and sulphur control. For the present purpose a number of factors important to efficient heat liberation and recovery have been grouped as follows: 1—combustion, temperatures, and rates of heat liberation; 2—radiation, convection, and furnace and boiler configuration; 3—sponge ash, slag, and hard-bonded deposits; 4— low-temperature deposits and corrosion (cooling flue gas below dew point and air-pollution control); 5—the limitations of coal cleaning and boiler size and cost as related to fuel characteristics; 6—future possibilities and conclusions. The development of combustion apparatus for power boilers is progressing at a lively pace. There has been no letup in improvements in design of pulverized-coal-fired boilers, and there is a strong trend at present toward improving dry-bottom units. Spreader stokers with overfire jets and dust collectors as standard equipment are gaining favor. Less than 10 years in commercial use, cyclone burners are going into numerous installations here' and abroad.' Underfeed and traveling-grate stokers have long since been developed for heavy-duty operation, yet new developments in overfire jets and humidification of air blast have improved their performance. A water-cooled vibrating-grate stoker of German origin is being introduced into the United States and Canada." The primary objectives of an ideal coal combustion device are: capacity to burn the variety and sizes of coals likely to be economically available during the life of the unit; capacity to burn the coals automatically for a wide load range and rapid load fluctuations and to burn the coals completely to CO2, H2O, and SO2, which means without smoke and cinders, or carbon in the refuse; capacity to control and discharge all the ash in final granular form without ash adhesion to walls or tubes, and without flue dust; minimum furnace volume; minimum labor and maintenance; low initial and operating cost. Regardless of the method of burning, the gaseous products of coal combustion are N2, CO2, O2, H20, and SO?. By way of illustration, the coal analyses in Table I is assumed from an installation described by E. McCarthy.' When coal is burned with 20 pct excess air (theoretical air, 9.23 lb per lb of coal), the quantities of combustion gas shown in Table II are produced. In addition, the gases carry particles of fly ash, unconsumed cinders, soot particles, and small but significant amounts of vaporized oxides and sulphates of sodium, potassium, lithium, phosghorous, iron, and other metals. In recent years, germanium, one of the rare metals found in coal, has been shown to oxidize and vaporize at combustion temperatures and to be concentrated by reconden-sation at lower temperatures." Pulverized coal and cyclone flames" have peak temperatures of 3000' to 3500°F. Temperatures in fuel beds of large underfeed stokers reach maxima of 3000°F, sufficient to fuse almost any ash and to volatilize some of it. These peak temperatures are above the optimum necessary for rapid combustion, but they hasten heat transfer for ignition as well as boiler heat absorption. Furnace and gas temperatures increase with combustion air preheat. Low excess air has the same effect. Fine coal pulverization and highly turbulent combustion shorten the distance for fuel burnout, increase flame temperature, and speed up heat transfer. Rates of combustion of pulverized coal exceeding 200,000 Btu per cu ft per hr have been demonstrated in atmospheric gas-turbine combusters,

Jan 1, 1955

By B. A. Monkman

"IntroductionONE OF :THE most effective methods by which the construction industry is combatting mounting building costs is by making increased use of lightweight materials, thus reducing the dead load to be carried •by structures. This applies to non-metallic materials as well as to metallic ones, and particular attention has been given to developing lightweight aggregates for use in concrete.The use of lightweight aggregates is not new and, in fact, dates back to the Roman Empire, when pumice was used in the walls and domes of the Roman buildings. More recently, and up to a decade or so ago, the demand for these aggregates was met from deposits of volcanic cinders, pumice, scoria, etc., and from the by-products of blast furnaces and coal burning boilers. However, these sources of supply are no longer sufficient to meet the demand, for transportation costs pretty well restrict the use of the natural lightweight aggregates to the western cordillera regions where the deposits of these materials occur, and the use of expanded slag aggregates to the areas neighbouring the plants where slags are produced. As for cinders, the supply has been greatly reduced by the conversion of industry to fuel oil, natural gas, and powdered coal, and the large stockpiles which existed previously have been pretty well exhausted.Industry's approach to the problem of a decreasing supply, in the face of an increasing demand, has been characteristically direct. The solution has been to construct plants whose sole .purpose is to produce economically an acceptable light-weight aggregate from materials close at hand."

Jan 1, 1955

By J. F. Barkley

The work covered in this report was done to meet the requests from many Government agencies for information on alleviating sludge difficulties in No. 6 (Bunker C) fuel-oil storage tanks. Accumulated sludge at times caused serious loss in tank capacities; pumps became overloaded or lost suction; strainers often required very frequent cleaning; fuel-oil heaters in some instances became fouled and inefficient; and gobs of sludge that passed the strainers interfered with good combustion. The requests also included questions regarding the usefulness in general of oil "additives" for preventing sludge and the relative merits of the many trade-named additives being marketed. Realizing that preventing such difficulties would result in substantial savings to the Government, an investigation was begun with the limited funds avail-able. Although various claims are made for No. 6 fuel-oil additives other than preventing sludge, only an investigation as regards the storage tank-sludge problem has been possible.

Jan 1, 1955

By S. J. McCarroll

J. Bruce Clemmer, J. B. Rosenbaum, and C. H. Schack (U.S. Bureau of Mines, Salt Lake City)—We have watched with considerable interest Three Kids development of Manganese Inc. and have been impressed by the ingenuity with which management and staff have solved their many obstinate handling problems. Mr. McCarroll has been lenient in describing the difficulties faced by the company in developing a process for beneficiating Three Kids ore. The operation, equivalent in size to a 20,000-ton sulphide ore plant, is treating a unique ore by a flotation process pioneered by Manganese Inc. Perhaps the magnitude of the conditioning and flotation problems peculiar to Three Kids ore can be better appraised when it is pointed out that two-thirds to three-fourths of the ore is floated in the rougher step and that the four stages of cleaning which follow are equivalent to floating the whole plant feed two to three times. Our experience in both laboratory and pilot plant flotation of Three Kids and other manganese ores leads us to agree with Mr. McCarroll that suitable conditioning is a prime requisite for successful oil-emulsion flotation. The difficulties of proper conditioning were demonstrated in pilot plant processing of Artillery Peak manganese ore at our Boulder City, Nev., experiment station. Over three months of experiments and extensive plant revision were required before satisfactory conditioning was obtained in the 25-ton-per-day plant. Such factors as time, type and intensity of mixing, aeration, surface to volume relationship, and power input are still being studied by the Bureau of Mines in hopes of learning how best to condition manganese pulps for oil-emulsion flotation. Other factors affecting flotation of manganese with oil emulsion also deserve attention. A few of these are the influence of stability and proportion of ingredients in the collector emulsion, the feasibility of grinding

Jan 1, 1955

By N. P. Pinto

Compacting below the recrystallization temperature was studied. Ideal density was attained at 550° to 600°C using 25 tsi. Compacts have strength and hardness higher than cold worked beryllium. The recrystallization temperature of this highly stressed metal is that of cast, cold worked beryllium and appears independent of pressing temperature. THE process metallurgy of beryllium is beset by many difficulties that hinder the production of sound beryllium shapes of controlled properties. Most of these obstacles are traceable directly to the low density, low ductility, and high affinity for oxygen of the metal. Castings are susceptible to cracking and porosity, and controlled grain size is not easily attained, yet is critical to further working. Any process must carefully avoid oxygen pickup. Conventional metallurgical processes, including melting, casting, forging, rolling, and extruding have been treated previously,'" as have the conventional powder metallurgical methods.' More recently, a method has been advanced for producing powder compacts of high density by hot pressing at 1000" to 1100°C, using pressures of 0.25 to 0.5 tons per sq in. (tsi).3 Here, Seybolt and coworkers attained theoretical density of 1.85 grams per cc using pres-sure-temperature combinations of 500 psi-1100°C, 750 psi-1075"C, and higher. The warm pressing of beryllium is a practical method for producing bars of controlled properties and appears to have certain advantages, particularly when high strength and hardness are required. Other investigators have studied the hot pressing of various pure metals, such as copper,"-" gold," iron,10-11 and aluminum." Their results indicate that ideal densities may be attained by compacting at temperatures less than 50 pct of the absolute melt-

Jan 1, 1955

By G. K. Engelhart

A multi-stage counterflow process developed in Germany preheats dry pulverized portland cement raw materials held in suspension in rotary kiln waste gases. Capacity of the first kiln installed for this purpose in the United States has been increased from 860 to 1500 bbl per day, with fuel reductions from 1,100,000 Btu to 650,000 or 700,000 Btu per bbl. Sixty percent of total waste gas is used. As full use of the gas stream is approached, additional kiln production and fuel economy may be expected. EFFECTIVE use of rotary kiln waste gases to preheat dry pulverized materials has been demonstrated in full-scale operation at the Allentown Portland Cement Co. plant, Evansville, Pa. Pulverized raw materials are preheated in suspension in the gas stream in a multi-stage counterflow process which draws the gases through a series of cyclone collectors. Upon entering the first cyclone stage the material, continuously delivered and suspended in the gas stream, is successively collected and re-suspended until it discharges through the kiln feed pipe. Gas and material contact time is thus prolonged, providing a high degree of heat recuperation with a very low temperature differential between gas and material at the final stage. The suspension preheater, developed by Klock-ner-Humboldt-Deutz AG of Cologne, Germany, was first installed at the Norddeutsche Huette plant, Oslebshausen, Germany. Similar preheaters are now in operation at three other German cement plants. The first American installation, at the Allentown Portland Cement Co. plant, was designed and manufactured by Fuller Co. of Catasauqua, Pa., Humboldt's licensee for the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Design of this installation is essentially the same as the German original, but provision was made for varying the method to adapt the process to specific objectives of American portland cement production. Differences between German and American cement clinker production practices are directly related to differences in three primary production cost items: fuel, labor, and power. Because fuel costs are high in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, thermal efficiency has been the first objective of European cement producers and manufacturers of rotary kilns. The Germans have developed such recuperative equipment as the present suspension preheater, the Miag calcinator, and the Lepol kiln, the invention of 0. G. Lellep. In North America labor is the principal cost item, although rising fuel costs are of growing concern. High clinker production is therefore of first importance. Recent installations of longer dry process cement kilns have been disappointing, failing to make satisfactory reductions in exit gas temperatures when production is held at an acceptable level. The Humboldt suspension preheater satisfies both

Jan 1, 1955

By W. R. Bacon

"IntroductionTHIS IS a brief discussion of certain regional and economic aspects of the Coast Range of British Columbia. Between Portland canal and the 60th parallel of latitude, only the eastern margin of the Range is in Canada. The solely British Columbia interval extends from Portland canal to Burrard inlet. Personal observations in various parts of this area form the basis for much of this paper.Regional GeologyGranitic RocksSome of the best, most continuous exposures in the Coast Range are found at sea level. Reconnaissance study of the coastline has shown that the Range is predominantly granitic in character, but there simplicity ends, for the term 'granitic' as applied to the Coast Range covers a variety of mineralogical compositions. Actual granite is quite uncommon, occurring mainly in irregular or dyke-like masses that do not achieve batholithic dimensions. It is commonly pinkish, relatively homogeneous, and exhibits few of the deformational features that are obvious in much of this plutonic complex.Most of the granitic rocks of the Range fall well within the compositional limits of quartz diorite and granodiorite. The problem of resolving the great mass of these rocks into smaller coherent units is in general a difficult one. As noted above, granitic rock of uniform composition and texture is found in restricted areas and can be outlined without much difficulty. One such body occurs on the southern shore of Nelson island."

Jan 1, 1955

By John P. Walsted

Because of the absence of an iron-producing industry, the Pacific Northwest is working under an economic handicap. This is particularly apparent in the gray-iron-foundry industry because of the high price of pig iron imported from foreign sources or shipped in from producing ?areas within the United States. The high prices and sometimes short supply of ferrous metal products has put a brake on industrialization, which has been only partly compensated by the availability of cheap electric power. The economic condition of the gray-iron-foundry industry could be improved by establishing a small iron-producing industry based on the locally available ores. Moreover, establishing a local iron smelter would create a market for resources now dormant. Low-grade ores of manganese, chromium, and nickel would become usable in industry when combined with the iron ore from Scappoose. Pig iron produced in even limited quantities would level out the fluctuation in supply. The ore deposits, being small, would not supply enough pig iron to satisfy the entire demand. This condition necessitates designing special pig irons that will carry abnormally high proportions of scrap in the cupola charge.

Jan 1, 1955

By J. A. Rowland

Manganese-copper alloys containing 60 percent or more electrolytic manganese exhibit an unusual combination of high vibration damping capacity with good strength properties. Properties of the pure alloys were first studied in the laboratories of the Federal Bureau of Mines and have been described in a series of technical papers1/ published from 1941-49. The unusual characteristics of these manganese-copper alloys attracted the attention of research metallurgists and several additional investigations have also been reported in the literature.2/ The engineer, also, was attracted by the combination of high strength and high vibrational damping capacity possessed by these alloys. A wide field of application in structural and machine design was obvious. However, serious difficulties encountered in commercial fabrication of structural or machine components from the alloys retarded attempts at their practical utilization. For this reason the Federal Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the United States Navy, Bureau of Ships, undertook a program designed to develop practical methods for fabricating a selected group of the high-damping alloys. It is the purpose of this paper to summarize a part of that investigation in a form suitable for use by the metallurgist interested in commercial fabrication of the alloys.

Jan 1, 1955

By A. Matzick

In its work under the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program the Bureau of Mines has developed on a 6-ton-a-day-pilot-plant scale a continuous, gravity-feed retort far distilling oil from oil shale. The development work covered by this report was done from January 27, 1950, to January 26, 1952, at the ail-Shale Experiment Station near Rifle, Colo. Over 300 pilot-plant tests were made during the investigation. The basic retort developed has been named the Gas-Combustion retort. In this process, part of the heat for retorting of the shale is generated by burning recycled product gas in a combustion zone within the descending shale bad in the retort. Additional heat is supplied by combustion of the carbonaceous residue remaining in the spent shale after the oil has been distilled. Air for combustion is admitted through an air distributor in the center of the bed at about the mid-point of the retort. Hot gas rising from the combustion zone heats countercurrently the descending raw shale and liberated shale oil by pyrolysis of the shale. After passing through and exchanging heat with the incoming raw shale, the oil is condensed as a fog or mist in the gas, which is withdrawn at the tip of the retort. The cool gas is then piped to an oil-recovery system where the oil is separated from the gas in centrifugal separators or other types of mechanical or electrostatic separators. The hot, spent shale below the combustion zone is cooled by heat exchange with recycle gas, which is a portion of the effluent gas from the oil-recovery system.

Jan 1, 1955

By C. H. Samans, G. F. Tisinai, J. K. Stanley

The addition of nitrogen (0.10 to 0.20 pct) to Fe-Cr-Ni alloys of simulated commercial purity results in a real displacement of the u phase boundaries to higher chromium contents. The effect is small for the (Y + s)? boundary, but is pronounced for the (y + a +s)/(y + a) boundary. Although there is an indication of an exceptionally large shift of the n boundaries to higher chromium contents, especially in steels with nitrogen over 0.2 pct, the major portion of this apparent shift results from the fact that carbide and nitride precipitation cause "chromium impoverishment" of the matrices. The effect of combined additions of nitrogen and silicon to the Fe-Cr-Ni phase diagram is demonstrated also. Nitrogen can nullify the effect of about 1 pct Si in shifting the (y + o)/? phase boundary to lower values of chromium at all nickel levels from 8 to 20 pct. NItrogen can nullify this U-forming effect of about 2 pct Si at the 8 pct Ni level, but not at the 20 pct Ni level. The alloys studied were in both the cast and the wrought conditions. There are indications that the u phase forms more slowly in the cast alloys than in the wrought alloys if both are in the completely austenitic state. The presence of 6 ferrite in the cast alloys accelerates the formation of U. Cold working increases the rate of o formation in both cast and wrought alloys. THE major improvement in Fe-Cr-Ni austenitic alloys in recent years has been in the addition or removal of minor alloying elements to facilitate better control of corrosion resistance, sensitization, and heat resistance. One shortcoming of the austenitic Fe-Cr-Ni alloys, which never has been completely circumvented, is their propensity toward u formation. In the AISI-type 310 (25 pct Cr-20 pct Ni) and type 309 (25 pct Cr-12 pct Ni) steels, sufficient amounts of u phase can form, if service or treatment is in a suitable temperature range, to cause severe embrittlement. Also, there is a growing conviction that this phase may be contributory to some unexpected decreases in the corrosion resistance of certain of the 18 pct Cr-8 pct Ni-type steels. The present paper discusses the effect of nitrogen additions on the location of the (r+u)/d and the (y+a+u)/(y+a) phase boundaries in the ternary Fe-Cr-Ni system, for cast and wrought alloys of simulated commercial purity, and in similar alloys containing up to about 2.5 pct Si. The objective is to define compositional limits for alloys which will not be susceptible to u formation when used near 1200°F (650°C). An excellent review of the early studies of the u phase in the Fe-Cr-Ni system has been compiled by Foley.1 Rees, Burns, and Cook2 have determined a high purity phase diagram for the ternary system, whereas Nicholson, Samans, and Shortsleeve3 are- stricted themselves to a portion of the simulated commercial-purity phase diagram. Both groups of investigators show almost an identical position for the commercially significant (y+u)/y phase boundary. Further comparison of the work of the two groups indicates that, below the 8 pct Ni level, the commercial alloys have a decidedly greater propensity toward u formation than the high purity alloys. The two groups of workers agreed that both the AISI-type 310 (25 pct Cr-20 pct Ni) and the type 309 (25 pct Cr-12 pct Ni) steels are well within the (y+~) region and that the 18 pct Cr-8 pct Ni-type alloys straddle the U-forming phase boundaries. Nicholson et al.3 showed, in addition, that these boundaries shift toward lower chromium contents if greater than nominal amounts of silicon or molybdenum are added. The effect of nitrogen on the location of the s phase boundaries in the Fe-Cr-Ni system has not been known with any certainty. In 1942, an approach to this problem was made by Krainer and Leoville-Nowak,' but at that time they apparently were unaware of the slow rate of s formation in strain-free samples and aged their samples for insufficient times, e.g., 100 hr at 650°C (1200°F) and 800°C (1470°F). For this reason, it would be expected that their (y+ u) /y boundary would be shifted toward lower chromium contents (restricted ?-field) when equilibrium conditions were approximated more closely. Procedure for Studying the Alloys The alloys used were prepared in the following way: Heats of 200 lb each were melted in an induction furnace. A 5 lb portion of each heat was poured into a ladle containing an aluminum slug for de-

Jan 1, 1955