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Jan 1, 1942

There are references to the early and continuous production of coal since 1851, but few definite figures. Some data were obtained from Bancroft, but nearly all the tonnages in Table 80, prior to 1869, are estimated. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By F. A. Jones

Increased mechanization .of coal mines has emphasized the need for study of actual power requirements of the various machines employed in the production of coal and losses in the distribution of power to these machines. These studies are being made in order that hazards, excessive use of power, and high maintenance cost of equipment resulting from these losses may be analyzed and eliminated where possible. Research on the use of electric power in-coal mines was suggested by the Advisory Committee of the Bureau of Mines in 1937, and it was decided to begin with a study of individual machines of various types under operating conditions in modern coal mines. The transmission of power, particularly line losses and inadequate return circuits, should be a part of the investigation. This report presents some of the data of an initial study in commercial mines. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The superintendents, engineers, and other officials of the two mines studied cooperated fully and aided in setting up and transporting the test equipment, giving such information as was requested.

Jan 1, 1942

By John D. Sullivan, Edwin J. Rogers, Chester R. Austin

THE problem of making a building unit combining the necessary physical and mechanical properties and good thermal insulation has been foremost in the minds of architects and ceramic and construction engineers for many years. This paper presents the results of studies on thermally expanding shales or clays to produce light-weight cellular products suitable for making building units. An expanded clay block suitable for building purposes should be large enough so that substantial savings may be effected in labor costs in laying the wall. The permeability should be low and it should have sufficiently good "dry-wall" characteristics to permit exposing the exterior surface to the elements, and to permit plastering directly the inside wall surface. The thermal conductivity should be low and the mechanical properties should be adequate. Obviously, a unit possessing satisfactory qualities for constructing an outside wall would be satisfactory for interior walls and for back-up purposes. The results of studies on bloating various shales or clays† and the properties of the expanded products are reported. In another paper1 basic factors involved in bloating of clays are discussed. Manufacturers of ceramic products, particularly structural clay, may encounter bloating of the ware during burning, and precautions must be followed to avoid this phenomenon. About 1927 the C. F. Burgess Laboratories, Madison, Wis., while carrying on an investigation for the American Face Brick Research Corporation, conceived the idea of intentionally bloating clay while holding it in a restrained condition, with the hope of producing a unitary cellular mass. Work was carried on until about 1931, when studies were terminated because of business conditions. These studies were continued later by The Western Brick Co., Danville, Ill., which developed a process of "inwardly expansive bloating." The major purpose of the latter investigation was to produce back-up tile to compete with concrete blocks made from Haydite or cinder aggregate. Haydite is a light-weight aggregate formed by heating certain clays or shales rapidly in a rotary kiln. While the investigations at the C. F. Burgess Laboratories or at Western Brick Co. were not carried far enough to lead to the commercial production of material for the construction of walls, particularly outside walls, they showed that certain clays could be thermally expanded and that it was possible to produce a material of low permeability with a large percentage of the total voids or cells closed. Commencing in 1939, the Ozark Chemical Co. sponsored a research program at Battelle Memorial Institute for the purpose of determining whether it is technically feasible to make thermally expanded building units, and specifically to get answers to the following questions:

Jan 1, 1942

The Howe Memorial Lecture, in memory of Henry Marion Howe, Past President of the Institute, was authorized in April, 1923, as an annual address to be delivered by invitation under the auspices of the Institute by an individual of recognized and outstanding attainment in the science and practice of iron and steel metallurgy or metallography, chosen by the Board of Directors

Jan 1, 1942

By C. J. Ramsburg

The construction and operation of by product coke-oven plants in America are essential to strong national defense and of the greatest importance to many widely diversified undertakings as well as to safety and health. Carbonization Process Coal used under a boiler or in a locomotive is consumed by combustion. Coal used in a by-product oven is distilled or carbonized, meaning that heat is applied to the coal, out of contact with air, causing a distillation that removes the volatile matter in the coal in the form of gas and vapor, leaving coke as a final product. From the gas and vapor distilled from the coal, many valuable substances can be secured, known as by-products. Hence the name "by-product oven." The simplest example of this principle can be shown by means of an ordinary clay pipe. If powdered coal is placed in the bowl of the pipe, the opening of the bowl is plugged with clay, and the bowl placed in a flame, the bowl will become hot, transferring the heat through the wall of the bowl to the coal within. When this coal attains a temperature of about 750°F., gas will begin to pour out of the pipe stem, and this gas may be lighted. A black liquid also will exude from the stem of the pipe, This is tar mixed with certain other products. What remains in the bowl after distillation is coke. A coke oven corresponds to the bowl of the pipe. A modern oven of the latest type is a refractory brick chamber approximately 42 ft. long and 14 ft. high, averaging 18 in. in width. The oven is filled with coal through closable charging holes in the oven top. Each end of the oven consists entirely of a self-sealing door, the removal of which permits the finished coke to be discharged by means of a power-operated pusher machine. The ovens are built in batteries, and the heating is effected by gas burned in vertical flues in the oven walls, each set of flues heating the walls of two adjacent ovens. Such ovens carbonize a charge of approximately 18 tons of coal in 18 hr., or have a daily throughput of 24 tons per oven, producing about 17 tons of coke. In times of need, the output may be increased by raising the temperature of flues, thus shortening the coking time. There is one great essential difference in principle between distillation in a clay pipe and in a coke oven. In the 18-in. oven, the distillation proceeds from two parallel walls held at a high temperature (over zooo°F.) and instead of all the coal being heated at once, the distillation is a progressive one creeping inward. The average travel of this heating is 35 in. per hour from each vertical wall, and as the volatile products are formed progressively they must push away from the interior toward the wall through the previously formed hot coke, then up the walls and Over the top of the coal charge, finally escaping through the outlet pipe. This results in a cracking of the components into many different and valuable substances not formed when the carbonizing temperature is low.

Jan 1, 1942

By D. J. Coolidge, H. L. Sheakley

THIS paper does not deal with all sands used in the glass industry in Missouri; it covers only that used in the plate-glass factory at Crystal City. However, it is probably safe to say that other sands, pro- [ ] duced throughout the state for this purpose, are of identical nature. The glass sand used in Missouri is commonly called the St. Peter deposit, which is ascribed to the Ordovician Rock series in the form of sandstone. This St. Peter deposit, aside from a few small outliers, covers a large area of eastern Missouri. It forms, through a broad curve, the northeast margin of the typical Ozark region between Cape Girardeau on the southeast and Mineola, Montgomery County, on the northwest. The belt is extremely irregular, varying from one to ten miles in width; its length is 150 miles in a straight line. [ ] The outcrop near the entrance to the Crystal City mine appears in the form of a sandstone bluff approximately 30 ft. high, running along Plattin Creek (Fig. , I). Above the sand rock an overburden of Joachim limestone appears, which, thickens to nearly 300 ft. and forms the hill commonly called Buck Knob. Test holes, where drilled at various points and the drillers' log indicate that the St. Peter deposit ranges in thickness from 63 to 71 feet. PROPERTIES OT THE ST. PETER SAND From an analysis of the glass sands of the St. Peter formation in Missouri, the follow-

Jan 1, 1942

Iowa State College Ames, Iowa Iowa State Mining Society CARL S. NELSON, President NORMAN S. GEIST, Secretary K. A. PHILLIPS, Faculty Sponsor C. G. DRESSER, Counselor University Of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas University of Kansas Student Chapter of A.I.M.E. WALTER CROOK, President EDWARD C. MISHOU, Secretary E. A. STEPHENSON, Faculty Sponsor GEORGE M. FOWLER, Counselor K. A. SPENCER, Counselor .

Jan 1, 1942

By C. A. Zapffe

BOTH the foundryman and the theoretical metallurgist are now generally agreed that the anomalous "rising" or "bleeding" of certain ferrous castings of killed metal is primarily attributable to hydrogen. How and why the phenomenon occurs, however, have not been made clear. The following discussion is intended to harmonize foundry experience with metallurgical theory so that the foundryman may possibly improve his ability to prognosticate whether a certain casting may bleed or not. BLEEDING, RISING, AND PIPING The "rising" to be discussed here is not to be confused with the action in rimming ingots as a result of the carbon-oxygen reaction, although a conclusion will be drawn that may apply to the art of controlling the rimming action. Only killed metal is considered, which includes both steels and irons. In Fig. I, three killed, chill-cast ingots are shown: a porous ingot whose evolution of gas during late stages of solidification has ejected metal through the top; an ingot in which moderate gas evolution during solidification has lifted the mushy central metal, i.e., it has "risen"; and, third, a sound ingot with good piping characteristics. The first type is referred to as "bleeding," and generally infers that a solid skin had first formed through which the liquid metal later erupted. There is no fundamental distinction between bleeding and rising in reference to killed metal.* POROSITY Hydrogen appears as a cause of bleeding because the gas evolution simultaneously leaves a porosity of a type traceable to hydrogen. Twenty years ago, Melmoth1 noted that killed steel that rose unexpectedly in the mold, if returned while liquid to the furnace and heated further under a reducing lime slag, would again rise in the mold; but that if the ingot were allowed to solidify and was then remelted no rising occurred. A critical quantity of the responsible gas is therefore removed by the rising action. Melmoth associated rising with high silicon (0.7 to 0.9 per cent) and concluded that silicon increased gas absorption. Because silicon is a strong deoxidizer, oxygen must, therefore, be eliminated from consideration of the three common gases in steel-oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Butterworth2 later decided that pinhole porosity was caused by gases dissolved in the metal and that hydrogen was obtained from steam in the mold. Allen's classical work on copper castings,3 soon followed by

Jan 1, 1942

By J. T. Eash, N. B. Pilling

As a group, the alloys of iron, nickel and carbon are, in application, one of the most versatile of the ferrous alloy family, and while many investigations have been made of their properties and structure only a few attempts have been made to show the microstructural relation over a wide range of composition. It is neccssary at once to be clear about the kind of structural relation with which we are concerned. The equilibrium diagram provides quantitative data regarding structural make-up and its variation with temperature, but equilibrium structures often are far different from the technologically significant ones. This is particularly true of steels and cast irons, and some of the most important cornponents of their structure may have no place in the diagram of equilibrium. The fugitive phases that result from transFormation are dealt with in a highly detailed and descriptive manner in. the S-curves originated by Bain. The present effort lies in a still different field, which is to portray the relation between sweeping changes in composition and in resultant structure, under controlled but nonequilib-rium conditions of thermal treatment. The Guilletl diagram presented in 1903 was the initial attempt at such a correlation and frequent references to this diagram can be found in the literature even though later work has shown it to require considerable modification. Kase2 published in 1925 a diagram that was based upon observations of furnace-cooled melts: At low carbon contents this diagram agreed fairly well with experience in showing pearlite to exist in alloys containing up to 6 per cent nickel, and completely austenitic steels at 24 to 28 per cent nickel. At high carbon contents, however, irons were indicated as being martensitic at around 2 per cent nickel and austenitic at 12 per cent nickel; these interpretations are open to serious question. Based upon experience with steels and cast iron, Wickenden3 suggested a diagram that agreed fairly well with Kase's in the steel range but which presented a wide departure from it in the higher-carbon, high-nickel regions. In its broad picture, the Wickenden diagram is an approach to "practical" structures. Reference may be made at this point to the efforts of Marsh5 to construct an iron-nickel-carbon equilibrium diagram by the coordination of scattered data, which are described at length in the monograph cited. None of these preceding attempts has appeared to meet the need for an exposition of the structural sequence that is encountered in traversing the nickel-steel nickel-cast-iron range under what might be called ordinary departures from equilibrium. ExperimentaT. Conditions Since the intent has been to establish structures developed under arbitrary conditions, experimental details have perhaps more than usual importance. Three of these conditions should particularly be noticed: (I) the material was cast and not subjected

Jan 1, 1942

By G. R. Gardner, D. H. Davis

INCREASING realization of the importance of dust control, and the recommendations of various agencies, have led the mining industry to become actively concerned with this problem. The background and necessity for adequate dust-suppression measures have been discussed in a number of publications, including those of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and the use of spray water to reduce dust at the face and on roadways has been recommended. The problem resolves itself into obtaining adequate dust reduction at a reasonable cost. Inasmuch as the term "adequate dust suppression" has never been clearly defined, nor have permissible limits of dustiness (in terms of dust count) been established, it is apparent that any method selected may be required to meet additional demands. Until the industry has been given some indication of permissible limits of dustiness, no permanent solution is possible. Progress will be somewhat handicapped until such information is available. In addition, dust reduction must be obtained without the addition of any excessive moisture to the coal, since consideration must often be given to: I. Quality standards, particularly reduction in heat value. 2. Handling characteristics, particularly in regard to unloading from railroad cars and bins. 3. Application of dry methods of coal cleaning. 4. Necessity for fine screening within specified limits of oversize and undersize. Little detailed information is available as to the advantages and disadvantages of the several methods of water distribution, the location and protection of sprays, operating data on pressure, quantity of water, and so forth, and results obtained. In 1940 an investigation was undertaken to determine and evaluate the principal factors involved. This paper constitutes a progress report on this work and cannot in any way be regarded as complete on any one of the several phases. CLASSIFICATION OF DUST SOURCES The various sources of underground dust may be classified as primary or secondary. A primary source is one associated with appreciable degradation of size, that is, where the greater part of the actual fines capable of becoming air-borne dust are produced. A secondary source may be considered as one in which the greater part of the fines have been produced at some previous operation and are in such condition that they can be dispersed as air-borne dust. These conceptions appear to be of practical significance, as experience indicates that when dust is controlled at the primary sources the importance of secondary sources is minimized. For these reasons, investigations to date have been concerned principally with the primary sources of dust, and this paper is concerned particularly with one of these-namely, undercutting. In accord with the foregoing definitions, the sources to which the following opera-

Jan 1, 1942

By E. O. Kirkendall

THE investigation reported herein was undertaken to obtain data to supplement those presented in an earlier paper,' particularly for longer times at a higher temperature. This information may further develop our knowledge of the mechanism of diffusion in substitutional solid solutions. Diffusion of solute atoms interstitially dissolved is not difficult to visualize; it can take place without much disturbance of the solvent atoms. The mechanism of diffusion of solute atoms substitutionally dissolved is not so easily understood. Many theories have been advanced. Rosenhain,2.3 Frenkel,4 Smekal,5 Langmuir,3,6 Steigman, Shockley and Nix,7 and Johnson8 all proposed theories to explain diffusion. Langmuir's proposed mechanism consisted of a simple cyclic interchange of atoms involving an interchange in lattice positions of four or more atoms. This mechanism, accepted by the author at the time of his previous publication,' and apparently quite generally accepted, required a net exchange in positions of both solute and solvent atoms in equal numbers. In other words, the rate of diffusion of the solvent and solute atoms would be the same. That this cyclic interchange in lattice positions of solute and solvent atoms in equal numbers is the only true mechanism of diffusion is denied by the evidence presented in this paper. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE This modification of similar procedure1 will be outlined briefly. The method consisted of the following steps: I. A pure Muntz metal (60.6 per cent Cu, 0.1 per cent total impurities) that was almost all beta brass at 780°C. was chosen. 2. The brass was turned between centers in a lathe to a diameter of 0.5965 inches. 3. After the brass was cleaned, it was electroplated with pure copper to a diameter of about one inch. 4. The sample was heated slowly to 400°C. under reduced pressure and held at that temperature for 4 hr. to remove occluded gases. It was then cooled to room temperature. 5. The sample was heated to 780°C. ±3°C. and held at that temperature for different lengths of time; then quenched. Samples were cut off each time after quenching. Metallographic samples 34 in. thick were removed at I hr., 6 hr., 24 hr., 96 hr. and 701 hr. After 96 and 701 hr. samples of about I in. were removed for X-ray analysis. 6. The metallographic samples were polished on the cross section and photo-micrographs were taken. 7. The I-in. samples were polished and etched on both ends. With the aid of a microscope each was carefully mounted in a four-jaw chuck in a lathe, so that they could be accurately bored for an arbor. 8. Turnings were taken for each X-ray sample. After each set of turnings, the sample was heated in an oil bath for about 3a hr. at 300°C. It was then etched in 25

Jan 1, 1942

By E. C. Bohlen, H. l. Burghoff

The work reported in this paper was carried out to supplement the existing information concerning directional properties and recrystallization textures of annealed brass sheet and strip. These characteristics are of direct interest when the forming and drawing properties of such material are being considered. Among those who have made contributions in this field are Bass and G1ocker;l Bauer, Göler and Sachs;2 Phillips and Samans;3 Pratt;4 Price;5 Cook;6 Richards;7 Brick;8 and Brick and Williamson.9 These investigators have found, in general, that in brass strip that shows directional variations in properties, tensile strength has a minimum value and elongation has a maximum value at 45' to the rolling direction. The most pronounced directional properties have been found in material given the greatest reductions in rolling followed by high annealing temperatures. Recrystallization texture of brass has been variously reported as (II3)[II2], (ooi)[ioo], and a combination of (II0)[II5] and traces of the primary rolling texture, (110)[112]. The directional studies have been very informative, but actual tests appear to have been confined to material in its final condition. Tests at intermediate stages have received little attention although previous history of some materials has been partly considered. Perhaps the most comprehensive investigation was made by Cook,' who studied the directional properties of 70-30 brass strip for which the final and penultimate, or next to the last, anneals and the final reductions were varied. He found that, for any given combination of penultimate anneal and final reduction, the tendency toward the development of directional properties was reduced as the temperature of the final anneal was decreased. In addition to drawing cups and making tensile tests of the finished material at various angles to the rolling direction, he measured the frequency and the angles of twins in grains for several specimens. Plots of his twin counts showed directionality for the materials that produced eared cups. Test Materials and Equipment For this investigation, one commercial heat of 68-32 brass was cast in the form of bars for cold-rolling, I31/2 in wide and I1/2 in. thick. The analysis was as follows: 68.83 per cent copper, 0.04 per cent lead, 0.01 per cent iron, 31.12 per cent zinc (by difference). The bars were so processed to the final thickness, 0.020 in., as to obtain on this thickness all possible combinations of the variables listed below except those involving the sequence of 84 per cent penultimate reduction and 84 per cent final reduction: I. Penultimate reductions of 37 per cent, 50 per cent and 84 per cent; 2. Penultimate anneals at 800°, 900°, 1050° and 1200°F.; 3. Final reductions of 37 per cent, 50 per cent, 69 per cent and 84 per cent;

Jan 1, 1942

By Alfonso Rizo-Patrón, A. M. Gaudin

PREVIOUS studies of activation in flotation have directed attention to the action of the activator on the mineral to be floated rather than to the relationship of the activator to the collector. The latter phase of the problem, however, seems to have definite scientific, if not also practical, interest. In the investigation reported in this paper, experiments were carried out, largely with quartz as subject, barium as activator, and oleate as collector. The results obtained indicate that a I : I ratio of collector ion to activator ion gives optimum results, and that a 2:I ratio almost fails to achieve activation and flotation. Yet, a 2:I ratio would have been expected on stoichiometric grounds, had the coating been a normal salt of the activator ion with the collector ion, since barium is a divalent cation and oleate a monovalent anion. To interpret and rationalize the observations, considerations of the crystal chemistry of quartz are helpful. The point of view to which these considerations lead may be of general applicability to systems involving suspensions of solids in liquids; they confirm that an adsorbed coating is inescapable. APPARATUS AND SUPPLIES The experimental work consisted in barium-ion abstraction tests, hydrogen-ion and hydroxyl-ion abstraction tests, flotation tests, and determinations of the surface of the crushed quartz. The flotation machine was built according to the design of D. W. McGlashan.* It consists of a drill press in which the bit has been replaced by a stainless-steel impellor surrounding a stainless-steel stator, as in the Fagergren laboratory machine. The air intake is controlled by a valve, and the cell consists of a beaker. The quartz was obtained from vein quartz stored in large chunks. It was first crushed to 20 mesh, then sized on a 28-mesh screen. The 20 to 28-mesh size alone was retained for use. This size was freed of coarse iron by passage through a Ball Norton magnetic separator, bleached with boiling hydrochloric acid to remove residual abraded iron, washed with distilled water until the washings were thoroughly free of ferrous, ferric, and excess hydrogen ion, and stored in covered Pyrex beakers under water until used. The barium was used as barium chloride, Baker's analyzed C. P. The oleate was used as sodium oleate. It was prepared from sodium hydroxide, Baker's analyzed C. P., and oleic acid purified by R. R. de Arellano3 in the laboratories at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The purification procedure was elaborated from the recent researches of Brown and Shinowara.2 It consisted in: (I) saponification of olive oil with potassium

Jan 1, 1942

By G. S. Scott, G. W. Jones

Economic waste caused by mine fires may become considerable,l5 especially if a fire is allowed to spread or temporarily to get beyond control. It is important, therefore, to act promptly whenever a fire is suspected and to make every action count. To contribute toward its extinction effectively it is necessary to know at the earliest possible moment, and continuously thereafter, what is happening at the seat of the fire, which may be in a remote or inaccessible area, and also to recognize what may be expected as a result of any proposed combative measure. In combatting a fire the mining engineer and the chemist should cooperate, first deciding upon the course of action to be taken and then drawing upon the mining engineer's intimate knowledge of the physical structure of the fire area, the cost and time required to carry out proposed operations, and the probable efficiency with which these operations could be performed, and upon the chemist's knowledge for the results to be expected therefrom. After the initial steps to be taken have been decided, it devolves upon the mining engineer to see that they are carried out and upon the chemist to evaluate the results and to keep the mining engineer continuously informed in regard to a variety of matters—such as the composition and toxic or asphyxiating properties of the atmosphere in which the men may be working, whether the fire is increasing or decreasing in intensity and its probable temperature, the quantity of air leakage and the explosion hazards of the fire area. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the chemist can and cannot contribute as a member of the fire-fighting personnel. The technical literature contains several hundred papers relating directly and indirectly to mine fires, and this fact alone is testimony to the complex nature of the phenomena involved in the birth, life, and final demise of a fire. A fire may be stopped (I) by preventing oxygen from reaching the coal or (2) by removing the conditions necessary for the rapid reaction of coal with oxygen; i.e., decreasing the temperature. All methods of prevention or control necessarily must be based upon one or the other, or both, of these two principles. The chemistry of a fire may be understood readily if the low-temperature oxidation of coal is considered as a starting point; then oxidation at higher temperatures (or combustion); and with these, the composition of the solid and gaseous products resulting from the oxidation or from the effects of the heat liberated. This discussion refers particularly to Pennsylvania anthracite, although much of the material applies equally well to coals of lower rank. Oxidation of Coal Oxidation of coal fundamentally is confined to the surface; that is, the rate at which oxygen penetrates into the interior of a solid block of coal is so slow that it may be ignored."16 Oxidation starts when a fresh surface is exposed, and the rate is

Jan 1, 1942

By John T. Galey

The outstanding developments of the year in southwestern Pennsylvania were the establishment of the Summit Fayette County gas pool and the gas pool in Nicholson township, Fayette County, and Monongahela township, Greene County, as major producing areas, and the indication of four new shallow gas pools. Curtailment of drilling for shallow gas is expected to follow order M68 of the Office of Production Management. Gas completions were approximately 70 per cent higher, oil completions nearly 25 per cent lower, dry holes were unchanged and drilling wells as of Dec. 31, 1941, nearly loo per cent higher than last year. Shallow Development Oil.—Outside Butler County, only 11 producers were drilled, with a total initial of 221 bbl. The best of these was in a portion of Gilmore township, Greene County, which ordinarily produces gas. This well flowed 77 bbl. in 11 hr., along with about one million cubic feet of gas from the Fourth (U.Dev.) sand. Washington County had a 10.20 and a 25-bbl. well in Morris township and a 20-bbl. well in South Franklin township. These were all in the Fifth Sand. The price of oil to Jan. 27 was $1.80 per barrel, when a 15¢ increase was made. This was followed by a raise of 20¢ on Apr. 23, 15¢ on May 21, 20¢ on June 18 and 25¢ on Aug. 14. The last increase was canceled on Aug. 23 by the Office of Price Administration, which pegged southwestern Pennsylvania crude at $2.40 per barrel. Gas.—An almost doubled initial production of natural gas is the result of the large increase in number of wells drilled. The outstanding discovery of the year was in the vicinity of Armbrust, Hempfield township, Westmoreland County, where a well drilled to what at first was considered the Bayard sand, but what is now known to be the Fifth (U.Dev.) sand, at 2100 ft. found nearly 5 million cu. ft. of gas. Since this completion 14 wells have been finished, only one of which was dry, giving a combined total open flow of approximately 15 million cu. ft. The sand is 35 to 40 ft. thick and the saturation extends through most of that thickness. Rock pressure, which is 1040 lb. per sq. in., is abnormally high. An area of only about one square mile has been proven but some of the 24 new wells drilling as of Dec. 31 will no doubt extend it considerably. This development has taken place in an area heretofore considered to have had little prospect. There were three good wells in other parts of Westmoreland County. One well in Franklin township, which had 12 million cu. ft, of gas in the Fifth sand, was entirely surrounded by dry holes but is still pro- . ducing at a high rate. In Bell township a 1.6 million cu. ft. well was found in the Speechley (U.Dev.) sand and in Washington township the same sand produced 2.7 million cu. ft. with shut-in pressure of 970 Ib. at 2820 ft. This well is offset by two dry holes and one well with a capacity of only 10 M cubic feet.

Jan 1, 1942

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

It has long been accepted that blastfurnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirablc in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blastfurnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: . Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the pro duction of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. Functions of Coke and Qualities Required to Perform These Functions Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1942

By R. F. Mehl, G. V. Smith

THE decomposition of austenite in steels, because of its immense practical importance, has been subjected to extensive study in recent years from the point of view of the mechanism of the process.1-3 Although much information has been acquired a number of questions, principally of theoretical interest, remain. One is that of the atomic-crystallographic mechanism by which each of the various reaction products forms. The isothermal reaction products of the eutectoid decomposition in plain carbon steels (to which this study is restricted) have conveniently been classified in three general groupings-pearlite, bainite, and martensite. Of these several products, pearlite and martensite have been studied extensively, but bainite has received only scant attention. As a result, the mechanism of the formation of pearlite and that of martensite are now fairly well understood while a great deal of uncertainty exists regarding bainite. PEARLITE Pearlite forms from austenite by the precipitation of alternate platelets of cementite and ferrite, which grow into the austenite matrix.2-5 The rate of reaction may be described in terms of a rate of nucleation and a rate of growth 2 3 Mehl and Smiths have attempted to determine the lattice relationships existing between the ferrite in pearlite and the parent austenite. Using a pole-figure method of analysis, it was found that a limited number of ferrite orientations resulted from the decomposition of a single grain of austenite; it was not possible,[ ]decide between two assumed ideal relationships, both of which appeared to account for the experimentally determined pole figure. It was definitely shown, however, that the relationship obtaining was quite different from that determined for the proeutectoid separation of ferrite.7 No attempt was made to determine the habit plane (matrix plane to which the precipitate lies parallel) of the pearlite lamellae. Belaiew8 earlier had stated that the number of directions assumed by the pearlite lamellae in a single grain of austenite was 12 (no details were given) and concluded wrongly, as Mehl and Smith' have pointed out, that the lamellae delineate the {210} planes of ferrite.* MARTENSITE It is known that martensite is a transitional constituent of body-centered tetrag-

Jan 1, 1942

By Harvey S. Mudd

AMONG the highly skilled craftsmen of the Renaissance were those who worked with ores and metals. The author of this book, Vannoccio Biringuccio, was a master craftsman in the practices of smelting and of metalworking. Contrary to the customs of a trade, Biringuccio was moved to impart his knowledge to all and thus he has given us the earliest hand- book on metallurgy-in fact, the first printed book dealing with the applied metal arts and the processes of ore reduction. We should remind ourselves that metallurgy is an ancient art and then it fair1y may be said that Biringuccio sought to describe the techniques that had been in course of development since the Bronze Age of western civilization. Whether Biringuccio was a man of learning or a scholar according to the standards of his time we do not know, but today we recognize him as a man of science who gave his wisdom to succeeding generations. It was not until the coming of the Power Age at the end of the eighteenth century that progress was resumed in the science of which he wrote more than two hundred years before. Little is known of Biringuccio's training in his native Siena. It can be surmised that there, as in Florence, where his contemporary Benvenuto Cellini lived, he received his training in the craftsman shops where the industrial arts were taught and flourished alongside the fine arts. Perhaps he and Cellini were acquainted, although there is no mention of Biringuccio in Cellini's autobiography-an omission that Cellini's vast egotism makes understandable. He was the great artist, and Biringuccio was a practical, studious, unromantic figure with no favors to dispense. In the April 1940 issue of Mining and Metallurgy Dr. Smith describes Biringuccio's book under the title of "A Neglected Italian Metallurgical Classic." The article, revised and extended, forms the basis of the introduction to the present volume, and I urge all who take up Pirotechnia to read what Dr. Smith has written in the Introduction. Biringuccio's work is a classic and in its translation Dr. Smith and Dr. Gnudi have brought to bear the high degree of scholarship that it deserves. Dr. Gnudi made the translation at Dr. Smith's request and it was then refined "in the fire" of his scientific knowledge of the subject. The result is a book which the Institute is proud to place before its members and which the Memorial Fund Committee considers it a privilege to publish.

Jan 1, 1942

By Irving M. Symonds

COMPAÑIA Minera de Peñoles, S. A., at its Avalos unit operates a lead-zinc concentrator having a capacity of about 600 short tons per day. Lead and zinc concentrates are made by flotation methods. The concentrator is at Terminal de Providencia, in the state of Zacatecas, some 70 miles south of Saltillo, Coahuila. The Peñoles-Avalos railroad operating between the plant and Estacion Avalos, a distance of 6 miles, makes connections with the Coahuila and Zacatecas railroad, which in turn connects with the Nacionales de Mexico at Saltillo. The three railroads are each of different gauge, requiring the transfer of all supplies and concentrates at each junction. The mill operates on company ores, on ores from leased mines, and as a custom mill. The custom business is very small. The lead concentrates are shipped to company smelters at Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and Torreón, Coahuila. Since the European war, all zinc concentrates have been shipped to the United States. ORE TREATED The major source of ore supply is a group of four mines owned or leased by the company, some three miles south of the mill in the mountains, from which the ore is delivered to the mill by a gravity aerial tramway. Custom ore comes in by rail. The ores occur in chimneys. The upper levels contained oxidized siliceous ores of lead, copper, silver and gold, with varying amounts of zinc. These ores were direct-smelted. In the first two years of operation a good deal of the tailing loss was caused by the oxidized content of the ores milled. Much of the ore in the transition zones between the oxides and sulphides was not mined. The ores now being milled are clean, hard sulphides in a limestone gangue, with only occasional contamination of oxides. The lead and zinc sulphides are of coarse structure and are freed even above flotation sizes. The galena is usually "steel" colored, easily and quickly floated. When there is any oxidation, it is usually on the coarsest crystals. The zinc minerals vary a good deal in color; a resin sphalerite predominates but there are varying shades of brown marmatites. On an average, the zinc sulphides contain 64 per cent zinc. The only common copper mineral is chalcopyrite. Little is known of the occurrence of gold and silver. Waste minerals are mainly limestone and pyrite, both of which are barren. The ores vary from 20 to 35 per cent pyrite. Mill heads for the year 1940 and the first eight months of 1941 are given in Table I. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942