Search Documents

By John B. Pearse

IN order to get an idea as to the strength of steel rails, it will be well to review the tests to which iron rails have been subjected. In England, Mr. Ashcroft found that the best 80 pound rails broke under a 300 pound weight, falling 15 feet. In Germany the Society of Railway tyfanage1-s determined 011 and have long applied a test of 1000 pounds falling 101/2 feet, as the standard which all first-class iron rails must reach. In this country no inspection nor test is applied, but tests made show that iron rails fro; our most reliable makers, break under a G foot fall of a 1500 pound drop as an extreme test, most of those tested breaking under a far less test; some breaking with less than a 3 foot fall of the same weight. Everywhere where steel has been used, engineers have come to the conclusion that some test is required to show the regularity and strength of the product. As compared with iron, the tests which steel will stand are wonderful. After numerous experiments partially based on the experience of the rail-mill at Graz, belonging to the Southern Railway of Austria, the Society of German Railway Managers fixed upon a test of 2000 pounds falling 138 feet. They found that this test represented the steel which suited their necessities, and also found that with steel of otherwise average purity, this test represented about one-half per cent. of carbon, and made it a rule to take no steel containing under three-tenths of a per cent. of carbon, because it was too soft. They expressed a hope that a harder steel could soon be made tough enough to stand the same test. I n England, a test was adopted of 2240 pounds, falling 15 to 17 feet on the rail on heavy bearings. This test has been found satisfactory under heavy traffic on average road-beds, and has been invariably

By Orson Shepard

TEXTBOOKS on fire assaying list the following standard methods of assaying sulphide ores: (1) scorification, (2) litharge-niter, (3) soda-iron, (4) roasting, (5) combination wet and fire. The litharge-niter method has proved the most satisfactory, and is the usual method for assaying sulphide ores and concentrates. It gives good results when suitably conducted and when lead buttons of uniform size are produced so that the cupellation temperature can be properly controlled. The main objection to the method is the inconvenience of determining the amount of niter to add to each assay charge to produce lead buttons of suitable size from a set of fusions. For the assay of different materials, the niter requirement varies with the particular sulphide minerals present, the amount of sulphide minerals present, the slag composition, and the rate of heating the charge in the furnace. Except for some materials, so uniform in composition that the same amount of niter can be used in assaying all samples, the amount of niter must be determined for each sample to be assayed. This is done by either: (1) calculation from an estimate of the kind and amount of sul-phide minerals present in the sample, or (2) a preliminary fusion. Some assayers use one method and some the other. The estimation method takes the least time; but much experience is required to obtain close estimates on a wide variety of materials. At best, the sizes of the lead buttons obtained vary considerably. The preliminary fusion method usually gives lead buttons of fairly uniform size, although sometimes there is a variation because the oxidizing power of niter varies a little with the charge. This variation can be eliminated by two preliminary fusions: one to determine the reducing power of the ore, and the other to determine the oxidizing power of niter in the charge. The objection to the prelimi-nary fusion is the extra time and expense involved.

Jan 1, 1939

By F. E. Bash

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

Jan 1, 1921

By F. K. OVITZ

In its endeavor to promote a more efficient use of coal the Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Illinois State geological survey and the University of Illinois, has undertaken an investigation of the coking of Illinois coals. The investigation was started by collecting from various sources the data regarding experiments already made by others; these data have been compiled and are presented herein. The present methods of using coal seem wasteful. When coal is burned in furnaces for the generation of steam, only the heat gener- ated by the fuel is utilized; possible by-products are not only lost but frequently are the source of the smoke nuisance. The volatile matter containing the tar and heavy hydrocarbon gases is difficult to burn completely in many furnaces, and its decomposition produces black smoke. When coal is coked in a by-product oven, the volatile matter is no longer a nuisance but, on the contrary, is the source of many by-products, including benzol, toluol, gas, tar, ammonia, and cyano- gen, all of which increase the value that may be obtained from coal. The coke that remains after the volatile matter has been driven off is a valuable fuel that can be used for almost all purposes for which bituminous coal can be used, and it is necessary for some metallurgical work. It has about the same heating value as anthracite coal. Because of its cleanness and its burning without smoke, it is well suited for domestic heating and the generation of steam in plants where smokelessness is demanded. The use of coke for these pur- poses would do much to eliminate smoke in cities. The best grades are regarded as essential in many metallurgical processes for reduc- ing ores to their metals. By-product coking in the United States during the past three years has increased greatly. When the ovens now in course of construction are completed, the total capacity of by-product ovens will be more than double what it was in 1913. This increase has led to a search for coals other than those now known to be available for use in by- product ovens. Tests with coals from the southern part of Illinois have indicated that coke from Illinois coal unmixed with other coals can be used for fuel purposes and that coke from mixtures of Illinois coal with low-volatile coking coal might be suitable for some metal- lurgical work. In the tests the yield of ammonia was larger than is obtained from Eastern coal. Evidently the development of methods by which good coke can be made from Illinois coals and the by-products recovered is a matter of high importance. Any investigation that will indicate how, by proper treatment, these coals can be made available to supply the market for coke and gas in the Middle West will increase efficiency in their use, and will aid in conserving the country's supply of high-grade coking coal.

Jan 1, 1917

By C. E. Berry

Natural stone or manufactured porcelain pebbles are used as the grinding elements in pebble mills and the mills are lined with stone or porcelain blocks. Steel balls usually form the grinding medium in ball mills, and the mills may be lined with steel. Pebble mills are used to avoid contamination by metal of the material being ground, to avoid rapid wear due to corrosion, and for other specialized reasons. Belgian silex (silica) blocks formerly were used widely for lining pebble mills, because of their good resistance to wear, light color, and low cost, but the importation of these blocks was suspended early in the war. The stocks of Belgian silex diminished so rapidly that it was found desirable to compare the properties of a number of domestic substitutes for use in critical operations. Accordingly, a study was made to determine the best substitutes for fine grinding of white pigment and for certain heavy-chemical process work such as the disintegration of phosphate rock in weak phosphoric acid solution. A comprehensive survey of substitute lining materials was not contemplated. It was stipulated at the beginning of the investigation that only materials on the market, available in large quantities, would be tested and that these should be reasonable substitutes from a a ance viewpoint as determined from known physical characteristics. Marble and limestone, for example, could be eliminated immediately. Quartzite, granite and porcelain were selected as likely substitutes for Belgian silex and were subjected to quality tests. Materials Tested 1. Belgian Si1ex.—Sample blocks of a standard grade were taken from crates in which they had been imported. The stone was light gray in color and contained inclusions of small clusters of quartz crystals as well as light colored portions that might be calcite. This was a siliceous rock which appeared to be of igneous origin. 2. Quartzite.—Samples of quartzite were obtained from a quarry in Minnesota. The blocks exhibited a crystalline fracture. The stone was pink in color and composed of fine quartz crystals bound together with a siliceous cement. 3. Granite A was a fine-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 4. Granite B was coarse-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 5. Granite C was a coarse-grained granite quarried in North Carolina. 6. Porcelain A.—Sample blocks of the pebble-mill lining material were obtained direct from the manufacturer. It was white in color and of lower specific gravity than the natural materials. It did not have a crystalline structure. 7. Porcelain B.—Sample pebble-mill lining blocks of the porcelain were received direct from the manufacturer. It was white

Jan 1, 1948

By C. E. Berry

Natural stone or manufactured porcelain pebbles are used as the grinding elements in pebble mills and the mills are lined with stone or porcelain blocks. Steel balls usually form the grinding medium in ball mills, and the mills may be lined with steel. Pebble mills are used to avoid contamination by metal of the material being ground, to avoid rapid wear due to corrosion, and for other specialized reasons. Belgian silex (silica) blocks formerly were used widely for lining pebble mills, because of their good resistance to wear, light color, and low cost, but the importation of these blocks was suspended early in the war. The stocks of Belgian silex diminished so rapidly that it was found desirable to compare the properties of a number of domestic substitutes for use in critical operations. Accordingly, a study was made to determine the best substitutes for fine grinding of white pigment and for certain heavy-chemical process work such as the disintegration of phosphate rock in weak phosphoric acid solution. A comprehensive survey of substitute lining materials was not contemplated. It was stipulated at the beginning of the investigation that only materials on the market, available in large quantities, would be tested and that these should be reasonable substitutes from a wear-resistance viewpoint as determined from known physical characteristics. Marble and limestone, for example, could be eliminated immediately. Quartzite, granite and porcelain were selected as likely substitutes for Belgian silex and were subjected to quality tests. Materials Tested 1. Belgian Si1ex.—Sample blocks of a standard grade were taken from crates in which they had been imported. The stone was light gray in color and contained inclusions of small clusters of quartz crystals as well as light colored portions that might be calcite. This was a siliceous rock which appeared to be of igneous origin. 2. Quartzite.—Samples of quartzite were obtained from a quarry in Minnesota. The blocks exhibited a crystalline fracture. The stone was pink in color and composed of fine quartz crystals bound together with a siliceous cement. 3. Granite A was a fine-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 4. Granite B was coarse-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 5. Granite C was a coarse-grained granite quarried in North Carolina. 6. Porcelain A.—Sample blocks of the pebble-mill lining material were obtained direct from the manufacturer. It was white in color and of lower specific gravity than the natural materials. It did not have a crystalline structure. 7. Porcelain B.—Sample pebble-mill lining blocks of the porcelain were received direct from the manufacturer. It was white

Jan 1, 1947

By C. E. Berry

NATURAL stone or manufactured porcelain pebbles are used as the grinding elements in pebble mills and the mills are lined with stone or porcelain blocks. Steel balls usually form the grinding medium in ball mills, and the mills may he lined with steel. Pebble mills are used to avoid contamination by metal of the material being ground, to avoid rapid wear due to corrosion, and for other specialized reasons. Belgian silex (silica) blocks formerly were used widely for lining pebble mills, because of their good resistance to wear, light color, and low cost, but the importation of these blocks was suspended early in the war. The stocks of Belgian silex diminished so rapidly that it was found desirable to compare the properties of a number of domestic substitutes for use in critical operations. Accordingly, a study was made to determine the best substitutes for fine grinding of white pigment and for certain heavy-chemical process work such as the disintegration of phosphate rock in weak phosphoric acid solution. A comprehensive survey of substitute lining materials was not contemplated. It was stipulated at the beginning of the investigation that only materials on the market, available in large quantities, would be tested and that these should be reasonable substitutes from a wear-resistance viewpoint as determined from known physical characteristics. Marble and limestone, for example, could be eliminated immediately. Quartzite, granite and porcelain were selected as likely substitutes for Belgian silex and were subjected to quality tests. MATERIALS TESTED I. Belgian Silex.-Sample blocks of a standard grade were taken from crates in which they had been imported. The stone was light gray in color and contained inclusions of small clusters of quartz crystals as well as light colored portions that might be calcite. This was a siliceous rock which appeared to be of igneous origin. 2. Quartzite.-Samples of quartzite were obtained from a quarry in Minnesota. The blocks exhibited a crystalline fracture. The stone was pink in color and composed of fine quartz crystals bound together with a siliceous cement. 3. Granite A was a fine-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 4. Granite B was coarse-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 5. Granite C was a coarse-grained granite quarried in North Carolina. 6. Porcelain A.-Sample blocks of the pebble-mill lining material were obtained direct from the manufacturer. It was white in color and of lower specific gravity than the natural materials. It did not have a crystalline structure. 7. Porcelain B.-Sample pebble-mill lining blocks of the porcelain were received direct from the manufacturer. It was white

Jan 1, 1946

By C. E. Berry

Natural stone or manufactured porcelain pebbles are used as the grinding elements in pebble mills and the mills are lined with stone or porcelain blocks. Steel balls usually form the grinding medium in ball mills, and the mills may be lined with steel. Pebble mills are used to avoid contamination by metal of the material being ground, to avoid rapid wear due to corrosion, and for other specialized reasons. Belgian silex (silica) blocks formerly were used widely for lining pebble mills, because of their good resistance to wear, light color, and low cost, but the importation of these blocks was suspended early in the war. The stocks of Belgian silex diminished so rapidly that it was found desirable to compare the properties of a number of domestic substitutes for use in critical operations. Accordingly, a study was made to determine the best substitutes for fine grinding of white pigment and for certain heavy-chemical process work such as the disintegration of phosphate rock in weak phosphoric acid solution. A comprehensive survey of substitute lining materials was not contemplated. It was stipulated at the beginning of the investigation that only materials on the market, available in large quantities, would be tested and that these should be reasonable substitutes from a wear-resistance viewpoint as determined from known physical characteristics. Marble and limestone, for example, could be eliminated immediately. Quartzite, granite and porcelain were selected as likely substitutes for Belgian silex and were subjected to quality tests. Materials Tested 1. Belgian Si1ex.—Sample blocks of a standard grade were taken from crates in which they had been imported. The stone was light gray in color and contained inclusions of small clusters of quartz crystals as well as light colored portions that might be calcite. This was a siliceous rock which appeared to be of igneous origin. 2. Quartzite.—Samples of quartzite were obtained from a quarry in Minnesota. The blocks exhibited a crystalline fracture. The stone was pink in color and composed of fine quartz crystals bound together with a siliceous cement. 3. Granite A was a fine-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 4. Granite B was coarse-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 5. Granite C was a coarse-grained granite quarried in North Carolina. 6. Porcelain A.—Sample blocks of the pebble-mill lining material were obtained direct from the manufacturer. It was white in color and of lower specific gravity than the natural materials. It did not have a crystalline structure. 7. Porcelain B.—Sample pebble-mill lining blocks of the porcelain were received direct from the manufacturer. It was white

Jan 1, 1947

JESSE L. JONES,* Pittsburgh, Pa. (written discussion?).-The most important criterion on which judgment of the quality of manganese bronze can be based is its freedom from lead. Not over 0.03 per cent. of lead should be present in a good grade of manganese bronze. While it is not questioned that manganese bronze with a high tensile strength and considerable ductility can be made .from materials that will give a lead content of possibly 2 to 3 per cent., there is no doubt that such material, while it may machine readily, will be found to withstand the impact test very poorly, and hence be unsuited for high-grade engineering work. When lead is present in considerable amounts, it forms in small pools in the alloy and the material has little strength at these points; in fact, such spots in the metal are equivalent to nicks in a test bar as far as their effect on tensile strength is concerned. A further objection to a high lead content is the ease with which it oxidizes and its consequent tendency to produce dross. A second characteristic of a high-grade manganese bronze is a low content of manganese. This should not exceed 0.05 per cent.; in fact, very many of the best grades of manganese bronze show, on analysis, only a trace of manganese or no manganese whatever. Manganese is a deoxidizer and its ready oxidation protects the other metals of the alloy; but if it is present in large amounts it will produce considerable manganese dioxide, which does not separate readily from the molten alloy and may produce black specks or drossy spots and render the obtaining of clean castings difficult. Aluminum should be present in a good grade of manganese bronze in only very small amounts. A content of 0.10 per cent. aluminum is ample. Larger amounts have a tendency to increase the shrinkage of the alloy, to give the ingots and castings a white, scruffy appearance, and to prevent the beautiful, golden, oxidization color characteristic of high-grade manganese bronze and a most excellent indication of quality. The work that the author of the paper has done is valuable from a con- servation standpoint, and it will supplement, in a marked degree, the advances that have been made by a number of manufacturers of manganese bronze in utilizing the turnings from this material. A number of firms have succeeded in making a very good grade of ingot metal from turnings and other light scrap, obtaining a tensile strength and elongation

Jan 4, 1919

By E. F. Raffo

THE design of the Chuquicamata concentrator offered an unusual combination of problems, all of which had, in one way or another, a definite effect upon the final arrangement of all the equipment and necessary facilities. First of all, a remotely located project of this magnitude required careful selection of equipment with an adequate supply of replacement parts and in some cases necessitated stand-by spare equipment ready for immediate use. Fortunately, in the course of determining the proper flowsheet, in itself a prime factor in the concentrator design, it was possible to conduct numerous grinding and flotation tests at the Anaconda and Andes concentrators. As a result of these tests made under actual operating conditions, most of the major equipment best suited for treating the Chuquicamata ore efficiently was decided upon while preliminary design layouts were still being made. The design has been based primarily on the treatment of sulphide ore crushed to about 3/4 or 1 in. However, until the new sulphide crushing plant is completed it will be necessary to handle ore crushed to 3/8 in. in the existing oxide crushing plants and to some extent a mixed ore which has had its oxide copper content removed by leaching. This mixed ore, known as leached residue, will contain a certain amount of sulphuric acid from the leaching process which necessarily requires special protective measures. Several factors influenced the final location of the Concentrator. The only established fact known during preliminary design layout was the elevation of the dumping floor over the fine ore bin. This was predetermined by the desired level railroad grade across part of the existing tailing and leached residue dumps from the oxide plant to the bin. Next it was necessary that a site be chosen that would not require an excessively long haul from either the present oxide plant or the mine and in addition provide a fairly constant natural ground slope sufficiently wide to accommodate the length of the ultimate concentrator. The site as finally chosen to meet the foregoing restrictions provided a natural ground slope of 6 to 7 pct. This was excellent, especially in a region subject to earthquakes, as it assured that foundations of heavy equipment and footings for building and crane columns would rest on cut or undisturbed ground. However, this shallow slope, although having some definite advantages in the overall consideration of plant layout, resulted in the need for extensive studies in the general arrangement of equipment. Wasteful and excessive vertical drops had to be eliminated in the

Jan 1, 1952

By C. E. Berry

Natural stone or manufactured porcelain pebbles are used as the grinding elements in pebble mills and the mills are lined with stone or porcelain blocks. Steel balls usually form the grinding medium in ball mills, and the mills may be lined with steel. Pebble mills are used to avoid contamination by metal of the material being ground, to avoid rapid wear due to corrosion, and for other specialized reasons. Belgian silex (silica) blocks formerly were used widely for lining pebble mills, because of their good resistance to wear, light color, and low cost, but the importation of these blocks was suspended early in the war. The stocks of Belgian silex diminished so rapidly that it was found desirable to compare the properties of a number of domestic substitutes for use in critical operations. Accordingly, a study was made to determine the best substitutes for fine grinding of white pigment and for certain heavy-chemical process work such as the disintegration of phosphate rock in weak phosphoric acid solution. A comprehensive survey of substitute lining materials was not contemplated. It was stipulated at the beginning of the investigation that only materials on the market, available in large quantities, would be tested and that these should be reasonable substitutes from a a ance viewpoint as determined from known physical characteristics. Marble and limestone, for example, could be eliminated immediately. Quartzite, granite and porcelain were selected as likely substitutes for Belgian silex and were subjected to quality tests. Materials Tested 1. Belgian Si1ex.—Sample blocks of a standard grade were taken from crates in which they had been imported. The stone was light gray in color and contained inclusions of small clusters of quartz crystals as well as light colored portions that might be calcite. This was a siliceous rock which appeared to be of igneous origin. 2. Quartzite.—Samples of quartzite were obtained from a quarry in Minnesota. The blocks exhibited a crystalline fracture. The stone was pink in color and composed of fine quartz crystals bound together with a siliceous cement. 3. Granite A was a fine-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 4. Granite B was coarse-grained granite quarried in South Carolina. 5. Granite C was a coarse-grained granite quarried in North Carolina. 6. Porcelain A.—Sample blocks of the pebble-mill lining material were obtained direct from the manufacturer. It was white in color and of lower specific gravity than the natural materials. It did not have a crystalline structure. 7. Porcelain B.—Sample pebble-mill lining blocks of the porcelain were received direct from the manufacturer. It was white

Jan 1, 1948

By James C. Bayles

The ideal pressure-tube is obviously the one which combines the greatest strength with the least weight of material consistent with the uses for which it is designed or employed. The inside of the pipe is the first concern of the engineer. It should be cylindrical, smooth, and of the requisite capacity for the purpose in view. It should be in lengths as great as can be oonveniently handled, so that the couplings may be as few as possible. With the walls of the tube the engineer has no further occasion to concern himself than to make sure they are adequate to carry the internal and external pressures to which they will be subjected. It is as true of a pipe as of a truss, that when it is strong enough to give the requisite factor of safety, nothing is gained by having it stronger. Anything more than this means dead weight, which has to be paid for many times, first as material, and again and again in the costs of transportation and handling, until it reaches its place in the trench or on supports. In use it must be and remain tight against all leakage, and must sustain whatever is placed over or upon it, or suspended from it, without deformation or injury. Finally, in addition to meeting all the immediate requirements of service, it must possess qualities of durability which warrant a reasonable expectation of a long life of usefulness. The wise engineer no longer regards it as reasonable to depend upon mere bulk of its own material for the protection of a metal as readily impaired or destroyed by oxidation as iron or steel. The metal must have a coating which will be and remain impervious and indestructible. When all these conditions are met, we have as near an approach to the ideal tube as can be attained with the materials now available for their manufacture. Steel wed constructively, to the best advantage, meets these requirements most perfectly. Gold alone would do it better. If we search through the whole list of metals and alloys we find nothing available which so perfectly meets the requirements as a pipe material as steel. Mr. Hamilton Smith, Jr., in a paper on the expedients adopted on

Jan 1, 1891

W. R. Ingalls, since 1905 editor of the Engineering and Mining Journal, retires from that position with the issue of Mar. 22, to open offices in New York City as a consulting engineer. The severing of this connection .will not be complete, however, as Mr. Ingalls will continue as consulting editor, and will handle the metal-market quotations in the Journal which are now the accepted authority for the government settlements of ore importations and the basis of practically all the ore settlements between miners and smelters throughout' the country. No greater compliment can be paid to Mr. Ingalls than this, unless it is the recognized fact that these quotations have been made what they are by his ability and his integrity, which secured for him channels of information vital to the accurate estimating of the market, but denied to anyone else. The Journal, under the. strong hand of Mr. Ingalls, has always been the acme of ethics in technical journalism, and the best wish that can he given to his successor, not yet announced, is that the Journal may long continue to live up to the standards not originated, but so consistently maintained and strengthened by Mr. Ingalls. His spelter statistics are accepted as authoritative wherever the English language is read and zinc ore is mined. He has found time during his very arduous years on the Journal to he the author of several works on the resources and metallurgy of zinc, lead, cadmium, etc.; for 5 years was the editor of Mineral Industry; and was consulting engineer for the Bureau of Mines and joint author of their voluminous and authoritative work on mine safety rules. His retirement from the Journal is a distinct loss to every one of the Journal's readers individually and to the profession as a whole. Universal good wishes go with Mr. Ingalls to his new field, which has for a long time been offering him professional attractions that his confining editorial work has not permitted him to accept.

Jan 4, 1919

By D A. Collins

The floatability methodology developed by the AMIRA P9 project through research contributions by the Julius Kruttschnitt Minerals Research Centre (JKMRC, Brisbane, Australia), University of Cape Town (UCT, Cape Town, South Africa) and McGill University (Montreal, Canada) has been successfully commercialised through JKTech. The methodology involves detailed flotation plant campaigns which require large quantities of data to fit models that can be used in JKSimFloat (a steady state simulator for the flotation process). The methodology to date, although widely accepted as the best flotation optimisation technology available, is limited to existing circuit optimisation and requires full plant or pilot plant data to calibrate new models. The floatability of new ore types cannot be characterised using this method unless a pilot campaign is undertaken. After reviewing a large database of existing industrial floatability data, a new methodology is proposed that involves a laboratory based flotation test procedure and review of the floatability database to characterise the floatability of new ores. The full methodology is labelled the floatability index test procedure (JKFIT). This paper outlines the JKFIT procedure and the results of applying this methodology to pilot plant data from a copper ore. JKFIT was applied to two different feed sizes (namely a P80 of 180 microns and 212 microns) of this copper ore. The results of applying JKFIT to this case showed that the metallurgical response (in terms of grade and recovery) from the full pilot plant survey data could be predicted well. Further validation of this methodology was conducted on a separate copper ore. The results from this validation also showed that the JKFIT test was able to be used to predict the full plant performance. The JKFIT test has the potential to become the 'drop weight' test of flotation which will improve the confidence in plant design flow sheet layouts, allow full orebody characterisation and prediction of key grades and recoveries before the ore enters the plant, and will provide an improved methodology for chemistry impact analysis on different ores.

Jan 1, 2008

By Richard W. Smith

KYANITE, long known to occur in Georgia, did not excite commercial interest until about 1930. Investigations revealed two main types of deposits: (1) separate kyanite crystals embedded in mica schist; and (2) crystal aggregates of kyanite associated with quartz in small and very irregular veins. The second kind at first sight appeared to be the best source of supply. Large boulders or dornicks of kyanite with more or less quartz were found on the surface at many places throughout the Piedmont and Highland sections of the state, but prospecting failed to disclose a sizable vein. These dornicks seem to be a surface accumula-tion from small veins or lens-shaped masses not more than one or two feet thick, and with a horizontal extent of not' more than a few feet. The larger surface accumulation of kyanite dornicks, where not too badly stained by iron oxide, may prove to be marketable, but it is extremely doubtful whether a vein large enough to mine will ever be found. In 1932 deposits of the kyanite-mica schist were known to occur in two places northwest of Clarkesville, in Habersham County. In 1934, at the request of and in cooperation with the Georgia Geological Survey, the United States Geological Survey made a thorough investigation2 of the deposits and found that the two known areas of kyanite-mica schist in Habersham County were but a part of an unsymmetrical, U-shaped belt (Fig. 1) with a western limb extending into Rabun County and somewhat longer than the eastern limb. The total length of the belt is about 30 miles. The width of outcrop ranges from 100 ft. to 1/4 mile or more. Deposits of kyanite-mica schist of very doubtful commercial importance were found in several other counties. Only the deposits of this kyanite-mica schist belt in Habersham and Rabun counties will be discussed in this paper.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. A. Meussner, C. T. Fujii

Chromium solution in wustite depresses the oxygen activity in a nonideal manner and expands the lattice slightly. Gravimetric measurements of the equilibrium compositions of wustite containing 0.00 to 1.38 wt pct Cr define the oxygen potential (CO2-CO atm) and the limits of the phase field at 1000°C. These data extrapolate to a maximum solubility of 2 wt pct Cr. The lattice parameter data, room-temperature measurements of quenched samples, differ significantly from those in the literature. Both pure and chromium wus-tites contract at uniform and equal rates as the oxygen content (metal deficit) increases. The a. US metal deficit relationships are straight lines showing none of the curvature previously reported. At constant metal deficit, the a. expands by 0.002? on alloying with 0.4 to 0.5 wt pct Cr but is insensitive to further chromium additions: a small expansion rather than a marked contraction. These results require a modification of the accepted alloying mechanism. IN the high-temperature oxidation of Fe-Cr alloys in Ha-H,and CO2-CO atmospheres the vapor transfer of oxygen from the continuous wustite outer scale to the porous inner scale/alloy interface sustains the high oxidation rates.1"3 The driving force for this transport is the difference in the oxygen activity of the outer wustite and that at the inner scale/alloy interface. In pure CO2, as well as in CO2-CO atmospheres, carburization of the alloy accompanies this oxidation. Current efforts to evaluate the parameters controlling this carburization have shown that the process is not simple; i.e., the carbon concentration in the alloy initially increases rapidly, reaches a maximum, and then decreases slowly as the oxidation time is extended. This is the same pattern reported by McCoy for the more complex oxidation-carburization of stainless steels and an Fe-Cr alloy in CO2 at lower temperatures.4 These changes in the carburization process occur while the overall oxidation rate and the lattice parameters of the scale layers remain constant. If this invariance of the lattice parameter is assumed to indicate a constant scale composition and thus a constant oxygen potential, the carburization results are not easily explained. Electron microprobe traces across the thickness of these outer scales, however, have revealed distinct chromium gradients penetrating 10 to 50 µ from the inner surface where the chromium concentrations were estimated at a few tenths percent. The variation of the chromium cmcentration on the inner surface of the scale, and the resulting change of the oxygen activity, during the oxidation process is considered to be important in defining the carburization process. Thus, to gain an understanding of the complex oxidation-carburization proc- ess, it was necessary to measure the properties of wustite containing known amounts of chromium (chromium wustite). Although the general features of the Fe-Cr-0 equilibrium diagram between 900° and 1300°C have been fairly well established by Richards and white: Wood-house and White,6 Seybolt,7 and Katsura and Muan,8 there have been no detailed studies of the limits of the chromium wustite phase field or the properties of these alloyed wustites. The recent results of a limited study of chromium wustite by Levin and wagner9 indicate that more than 0.67 wt pct Cr is soluble in wustite above 850°C and that this alloying is accompanied by a substantial lattice contraction. This change in the lattice parameter was not evident in the X-ray diffraction patterns of wustite layers from the oxidation experiments;1,3 the lines were sharp even though a chromium gradient existed in the scale. The present paper describes gravimetric equilibrium experiments which delineate the boundaries of the chromium wustite single-phase field at 1000°C and define the changes in the oxygen activity and the lattice parameter of wustite as functions of chromium and oxygen contents. The lattice parameter data of chromium wustite obtained from these equilibrium and special quenching experiments differ considerably from those reported.9 Those for pure wustite show significant differences from the widely accepted data of Jette and Foote.10 Since the causes of these differences are not easily assignable, and since the literature contains many sets of data on wustite which if not in conflict are at best not in harmony, the experimental procedures are discussed in the present paper. EXPERIMENTAL Oxide Preparation. The specimens used in these studies were porous pellets compacted from high-purity (Fe,Cr)2O3 or Fe2O3 powders. These powders were prepared from electrolytic chromium (99.8 pct purity) and electrolytic iron purified by consumable-electrode, vacuum arc-melting processing (299.9 pct purity).11 The oxides were produced by standard analytical procedures: solution of the metals in acids (HC1, then HNO3 added), coprecipitation of the hydroxides (NHaOH), and filtering and washing these precipitates. Initial dehydration of the coprecipitated hydroxides was done in a porcelain evaporating dish heated by a Meker-type burner, final dehydration by firing in a recrystallized alumina crucible at 1000" to 1050°C for 20 hr in an electrically heated furnace. Spectrographic analysis detected the following impurities: silicon, 0.01 pct or less; aluminum, 0.001 pct to trace; manganese and copper, 0.0001 pct to none. Each of these levels is at least one order of magnitude lower than in commercially available CP grade ferric and chromic oxides. Fluorescence analy-

Jan 1, 1969

By James Ferguson

THE fact that little if anything has appeared in the technical press or in the Transactions of the Institute on the subject of roll shells proper, used in various grinding appliances such as Cornish rolls or Chilean mills, may be taken as an incentive, if not an excuse, for the present article. No attempt is made to enter into a. discussion as to the theory or mathematics of crushing as performed by rolls, the subject being treated in a general way with respect to the manufacture of roll shells 'and some salient points touching on their adaptability and wear in service. While it stands to reason that skill coupled with judgment in the mechanical design of rolls, Chilean mills or other types of grinding machinery, with special reference to strength of parts, nicety of adjustment and other mechanical features, stand for efficiency in their operation .and satisfaction in service, the exceedingly important item. of roll shells or other wearing parts entering into their construction should not be lost sight of. In other words, a well-designed piece of grinding machinery is just as inefficient in service, when equipped with poor roll shells or shells made of the wrong or an inferior grade of metal, as good roll shells made according to the best practice the steel maker knows, working on an old or antiquated set of rolls. Unfortunately there is a tendency occasionally for the machinery builder to blame the steel maker or vice versa if roll shells do not wear well or evenly, or if they break before being worn down to their ultimate thin point. There is no occasion for this attitude, as the product, of each must stand on its own merits. But it is essential that the two work in harmony since the machinery builder usually does not furnish the shells for his rolls or grinding mills, but depends on the steel maker, who makes a specialty of this rolled product, to give the particular needed element of efficiency to his machine.

Jan 9, 1914

The Institute is custodian of funds for support of numerous gold medals and prizes and has representatives on boards awarding still others. Details regarding the Institute Awards are given below. The Institute is represented on the boards of the John Fritz Medal, the Hoover Medal and the Washington Award, in connection with the three national societies of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineering; and, also, in the case of the Washington Award, with the Western Society of Engineers. Robert W. Hunt Medal and Prize THE partners of Robert W. Hunt established a fund which was presented to the Institute at a fitting ceremony on May 27, 1920, to establish an annual medal and a sum of money to be awarded under the following rules: 1. The award shall consist of two prizes: first of a gold medal, second of a sum of money; a certificate to accompany each prize. The money prize shall not be awarded to a member over 40 years of age, but under unusual circumstances, both prizes may be allotted to one person provided that he is not over 40 years of age. In general it will be understood that the Committee shall award the money prize to the younger men, rather than the medal. 2. The awards shall be made not oftener than once a year to that person or persons contributing to the Institute the best original paper or papers on iron and steel. The scope of the term "iron and steel" shall be determined by the subcommittee considering the awards. In general, papers dealing with the practical side of the subject have preference over those dealing with the theoretical side in recognition of the fact that Captain Hunt's main contributions to the industry have been in the improvement of production and quality of material. 3. A subcommittee of three to five, including the Chairman of the Iron and Steel Division, shall be appointed by the Iron and Steel Division annually to adjudge the award subject to approval. 4. The awarding committee shall submit its report to the Iron and Steel Committee at its October meeting, and the award shall be certified to the Secretary of the Institute in time to permit the presentation to be made at the Annual Meeting of .the Institute. 5. The recipient of the award shall be designated "The Hunt Medalist." Awards of the medal have been made as follows: 1920—-Robert Woolston Hunt. 192G—John A. Mathews. 1926—Charles Lewis Kinney, Jr. 1929—Edgar Collins Bain. 193G—James Aston. Awards of the prize have been made as follows: 1928—C. H. Herty, Jr. 1929—William E. Griffiths.

Jan 1, 1930

By J. B. Newsom

During July and August, 1931, the Bloomington Limestone Co., at Bloomington, Ind., ran a single wire saw on ledge No. 2 at Maple Hill quarry. The ledge was hard rock, much harder than the average Indiana limestone. It was opened at two ends for a depth of about 20 ft., leaving a 130-ft. section between. During the tests 21 cuts were made in this ledge, to an average depth of 10.42 ft., for a total effective cutting area of 28,445 sq. ft. The actual area sawed was about 20 per cent higher, as we did not level down in the center, preferring to cut deeper on the ends. The various cuts were carefully logged, and the results plotted. A study of these results is interesting, as it enables a forecast of probable future costs to be made, and also because it points out the limitations of wire saws, and the lines development should logically take. Some of the inferences to be drawn are discussed below. Best Length of Cut.—No trouble was due to length of cut, except that we could not easily level down a long cut, and it is probable that longer cuts, say up to 200 ft., can be made. Obviously, longer cuts will result in a higher sawing rate in square feet per hour if they do not cause stoppages. Working Higher Ledges.—The cuts averaged 10.42 ft. high by 130 ft. long. A study of several logs indicated that during only about 15 per cent of the cutting time was the saw cutting to its full efficiency; that is, during about 85 per cent of the time the saw was bedding in at the ends and not cutting well in the center, or the ends were below the floor line and only part of the wire was doing effective cutting. This does not mean that the wire was cutting to only 15 per cent of its capacity, but it means that during about 85 per cent of the time part of the cutting was being wasted. If higher ledges had been worked, the wire would have cut to its full efficiency a large part of the time, as it would have had a greater distance to saw after it had bedded in to the ledge before the ends went down below the floor level. The exact saving to be expected cannot be calculated, but it would be large if really high cuts were made.

Jan 1, 1932

By D. E. Thomas, C. E. Birchenall

ALTHOUGH Eoltzmann gave a mathematical solution for the diffusion equation (for planar diffusion in infinite 01. semi-infinite systems only) in 1894 allowing for variation of the diffusion coefficient with a change in concentration, it was not until 1933 that this solution was applied to an experimentally investigated metallic system. The calculation was carried out by Matano' on the data obtained by Grube and Jedele3 for the Cu-Ni system. Since that time concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient has been demonstrated for many pairs of metals. However, the nature of this dependence has never been fully elucidated. Many investigators have suspected that these variations could be related to the thermodynamic properties of the solutions, one of the earliest explicit statements being contained in a discussion of irreversible transport processes by Onsager' in 1931. Development along these lines has been greatly retarded by the lack of reliable data on the variation of tliffusivity with concentration, the paucity of the thermodynamic data for the same systems at the same temperatures and compositions, and an incomplete understanding of the relation of the thermodynamic properties of the activated state for diffusion to the bulk thermodynamic properties. The last factor has been discussed by Fisher, Hollomon, and Turnbull.5 In many instances where data exist, it is difficult to know which are acceptable. This problem probably applies more strongly to diffusion data than to activity measurements. For instance, four sets of observers"-" have reported self-diffusion coefficients for copper. The average spread between extreme results is a factor of about four, though the individual sets of data are self-consistent to about 20 pct. Thus one or more factors are out of control, at least in these experiments, making estimates of internal error unreliable. The most reliable diffusion data in most systems have resulted from the use of welded couples with a plane interface from which layers for analysis are machined parallel to the interface after diffusion. The layers are analyzed, and the result is a graphical relation between distance and concentration, usually called the penetration curve. Given the same set of analytical data and distances and following the same procedure in computation, different observers will generally produce diffusion coefficients which vary appreciably, especially at the extremes of the concentration range. Experiments must be carefully designed so that the precision is good enough to answer a particular question unequivocally. In the first calculation of the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on concentration in the metallic solid solution Cu-Ni, Matano found that the coefficient was insensitive to concentration from 0 to 70 pct Cu, after which it rose more and more steeply to some undetermined value as pure copper was approached.' The same behavior was reported for Au-Ni, Au-Pd, and Au-Pt.* The data used were those of Grube and Jedele which were very good at the time, but are not considered particularly good by present standards. Furthermore, the method of calculation makes the ends of the diffusion coefficient-concentration curve unreliable. For better reliability, the high copper end of the curve has been checked by incremental couples, where the concentration spread is 67.7 to 100 atomic pct Cu. The implication of the curves calculated by Matano was that diffusion is very concentration sensitive in one dilute range of this completely isomorphous system and hardly at all in the other. Matano's result is confirmed. Later Wells and Mehll0 published data on diffusion in Fe-Ni at 1300°C, which represent a thorough test of the shape of the concentration dependence curve. They ran couples with the following ranges of nickel concentration: 0-25 pct, 1.9-20.1 pct, 0-20.1 pct, 20.1-41.8 pct, 0-99.4 pct, and 79.3-99.4 pct. Although the trend of the data indicates an S-shaped concentration dependence, their curve was drawn to the pattern set by Matano. Their original data have been recalculated for the 0-99.4 and 79.3-99.4 pct couples. Wells and Mehl's points and two independent recalculations from the raw data are plotted in Fig. 1. What appears to be the best curve is drawn through them. This curve shows little sensitivity to composition in both dilute ranges with a strong dependence at intermediate composi-tions.? Similar experiments on the Cu-Pd system are reported here at temperatures where solubility is unlimited. These lead to the same type of concentration dependence for the diffusion coefficients as was found upon recalculation of the data for the Fe-Ni system. Experimental Procedure Cu-Pd: The concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient may be determined by the use of

Jan 1, 1953