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By F. Louis Grammer

The iron industry has been so markedly the cynosure of all eyes, that a sense of weariness has overtaken many on-lookers, and a new wonder is desired. While the commercial phase of the iron industry has necessarily engrossed the public attention and probably is the more worthy of record, still the mechanical and metallurgical phases have recorded conspicuous advances and merit attention. In order to appreciate the present condition of blast-furnace practice, it is necessary before enumerating the advances made during the past decade to give a brief discussion of the tendencies in the methods of administration as well as the conditions governing supremacy, for these factors have modified the aims of the manager. It might also be well to apologize for a record of the advances made during such a short period as a decade, were it not that, for the individual, time is marked as much by the impressions recorded on the brain as by the jumps of the second hand of a watch. Furthermore, this article is written in order to carry out a project of the late Dr. Egleston, to have a record made each decade. I regret that the data collected by him, and forwarded to me, end with 1896, and therefore do not include the interesting results which followed the introduction of Mesabi ores. The perusal of the notes is melancholy reading, somewhat like the feelings we experience in going through a graveyard. It is a record made up of so many plants, which have ceased to be factors in the iron world, if they are not entirely moribund. Historically, they would be interesting, emphasizing as they do the abnormal and somewhat overestimated importance of furnace lines, taken without proper reference to volume of blast and nature of stock used. I regret, however, that the time at my disposal does not permit of this presentation.

Jan 1, 1905

By Kenneth H. Johnston

For the past several years, Bureau of Mines petroleum engineers have arranged tours of selected waterflooding projects for the spring meetings of the Kansas-Oklahoma Waterflood Association. These tours are conducted to demonstrate unique operating methods and new field equipment and to provide additional opportunities for exchanging information. Each of these tours has been supplemented by a published report describing in detail the projects visited. This report has been prepared for distribution during the 1960 spring tour of four waterflooding projects in Greenwood County, Kans. (fig. 1). Three of the projects produce oil from the Bartlesville sand, and one produces from the Cattleman sand. The Bartlesville-sand floods have been in operation from 4 to 12 years and have produced about 3,910,000 barrels of waterflood oil from the injection of approximately 64,715,000 barrels of water, a cumulative water-injected to oil-produced ratio of 17 to 1. The Cattleman- sand flood, which has been operating for 3-1/2 years, has produced about 842,000 barrels of waterflood oil from the injection of approximately 9,305,000 barrels of water, a cumulative water-injected to oil-produced ratio of 11 to 1.

Jan 1, 1960

By M. A. Scheil, S. L. Hoyt

About three years ago eight standard steels were prepared for the cooperative investigation of methods for oxygen analysis, sponsored by the Iron and Steel Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and by the National Bureau of Standards. A preliminary report of the results was made at the annual meeting of the A.I.M.E. in February, 1936. † This report showed the reliability of vacuum-fusion methods and further brought out certain advantages of the fractional vacuum-fusion method. The results obtained by the authors with the latter method will be discussed here, with some comments on the procedure for those who are interested in determinations of gases in steel. Some additional comments are offered on the use of the polarizing microscope for identifying the inclusions in the steel to check and amplify the findings of the fractional vacuum-fusion analysis. For details of the fractional method, see the paper by L. Reeve1. Degassing the Crucible One of the sources of error in vacuum-fusion methods has been the blank gases evolved from the graphite crucible after preliminary out-gassing. We have used 1750" C. as the outgassing temperature. This gives a base pressure at that temperature of less than 0.030 mm. after one hour and of 0.004 mm. on dropping the temperature to 1575" C. At lower extraction temperatures the base pressure is 0.001 mm. at 1050" C., 0.002 mm. at 1170" and 0.003 mm. at 1320' C. Because of the size of our induction coil we are limited to this temperature, although it 'would be advantageous to use 1950" to 2000" C. Hamilton2, after outgassing at 1850" C. for 100 min., was able to reach a base pressure of 0.001 mm. for a temperature of 1700' to 1725" C. This would give a blank corresponding to less than 0.00015 per cent 02 and 0.00005 per cent H2. Chipman and Marshall outgas at 2000" C. for one hour by using a special construction

Jan 1, 1937

By I. I. Bethcherman

Introduction 1.-lmportance of Physical Nature of Condensates The metals of commercial interest which have reasonably high vapour pressures below 1,200° C. are mercury, cadmium, sodium, zinc, magnesium, lithium, and calcium. With the exception of mercury, these metals occupy high positions on the electrochemical series and form compounds with very high negative free-energies of formation. It is highly desirable that such metals should not be produced in a form which is finely divided, on account of their reactivity with atmospheric gases. Powders of magnesium, calcium, and even zinc (blue powder) are dangerous to handle and cannot be coalesced by simple melting techniques. Vaporization in vacuo forms a convenient method of handling and purifying the alkaline earth metals in particular and a previous paper by the authors dealt with some of the factors controlling the separation of metals by this technique (12). An essential part of the operation is the condensation of the vapour to produce a massive deposit which may be conveniently melted and handled by established metallurgical techniques. This investigation sought to determine the conditions affecting the nature of solid condensates.

Jan 1, 1951

By H Kim, J Park, J Lee

Silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminium (SFCA) is a bonding phase in the iron ore sinter. The phase transition upon melting of SFCA was investigated with Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope. The initial melting of SFCA occurred at 1183.2°C and a massive melting was found at around 1351.1–1358.2°C. A phase transition-melting was investigated at 1476.5–1478.7°C. The liquid phase was composed of immiscible phases. The present results would be utilised to design a new iron ore sinter for better processing performance in a hydrogenenriched ironmaking process.

Jun 19, 2024

By M. J. U. T. Van Wijngaarden, A. T. Pieterse

An account is given of the performance of a 37 MVA electric-arc .furnace in which bottom stirring with inert gas by an indirect-contact stirring-plug system was applied. The system, which was developed and patented by Thyssen-Stahl AG, and which is the first inert gas stirring system to be installed in South Africa, was commissioned in January 1992. Initial problems were experienced due to the blockage of stirring plugs by molten steel. The causes of these malfunctions are examined, and an account is given of how they were overcome. The system is described and evaluated. A comparison with direct-contact stirring systems shows why Iscor Vereeniging Works considered it to be more suitable for their Vaal Melt Shop. The results show that, through the successful application qf this technology, Iscor Vereeniging Works has achieved an annual cost saving of more than R2,5 million.

Jan 1, 1994

By John F. Abel

"The most conservative persons I ever met are college undergraduates." Woodrow Wilson said that in 1905. No one is saying anything like it today. Chaos on the campus was a cliche of the sixties. Since 1905, education has expanded in every direction. Many more people are being educated for much longer periods of time. The school-leaving age has risen from 14 years to 20 years, on an average. Many are in school until after their 25th birthday. On the surface this situation appears all to the good. Our technical society needs a massive yearly infusion of semitrained (or educated, if you prefer) new blood. The efficiency of our economy and our standard of living are tied to high individual productivity which can be achieved only with an educated work force. Our democratic institutions are said to be founded on an educated electorate.

Jan 1, 1970

By Frank Firmstone

In the Kaernthner Zeitschrift, No. 2, 1881, p. 53, et seq., Prof. Ledebur details some experiments on the power of various silicates of lime and alumina, magnesia and alumina, and lime, magnesia and alumina, to remove sulphur from pig-iron, from which it appears (as has long been recognized in practice) that the more basic the silicate the greater the quantity of sulphur it will take up; but also that for the same grade of silicate, this quantity is greatest for the lime-alumina silicate and least for the magnesia-alumina silicate, the lime-magnesia-alumina silicate occupying an intermediate position, and he concluded therefrom (p. 59) that, for the production of pig-iron low in sulphur, pure limestones are to be preferred to those containing magnesia. Much the same opinion has been published elsewhere on high authority, and lately (not to multiply references) by Sir Lowthian

Jan 1, 1895

By J. D. Miller, A. Cortez, J. Hupka

The separation efficiency of the hot water digestion-flotation technique used for bitumen recovery from various domestic tar sands was evaluated. Bitumen viscosity was found to be the most important tar sand property in determining the success of the bitumen separation. Bitumen viscosity of the tar sand war controlled by changes in digestion temperature and/or changes in diluent (kerosene) addition. Complete and uniform dilution of the bitumen phase was achieved by providing a sufficient presoaking, or penetration time, for a given tar sand type. For all the tar sand samples tested, an excellent correlation was obtained between the coefficient of separation and the bitumen viscosity. To achieve a satisfactory coefficient of separation, it was found that the bitumen viscosity must be reduced below 1.5 Pa.s (16 P) at the temperature of digestion. This was the case regardless of the tar sand type, grade, or origin.

Jan 1, 1984

By Ezzeddin Bakhtavar

There are several geotechnical challenges and risks inherent in the interaction between the open-pit and block cave mining environments. This is especially true when they have to work simultaneously for a short time, as well as when only the caving operation is continued. Some of these challenges and risks include the induced zones of stress due to the large and deep open-pit, instability of the slope, instability of the crown pillar and water inflows, subsidence, and sometimes instability of the main accesses to the block cave portion of the mine. These challenges usually occur due to cave propagation. In this paper, these geotechnical challenges and associated risks have been studied and discussed. It was concluded that the majority of the mentioned geotechnical risks could be decreased, and often eliminated, by considering the appropriate dimensions of a stable crown pillar, especially in simultaneously working open-pit and block caving operations.

Jan 1, 2011

By Z. T. Bieniawski, D. A. Newman

The Geomechanics Classijication (RMR System) (Bieniawski, 1979) was modified for entry and roof support design in underground coal mines. Adjustment multipliers were introduced to incorporate the influence of high horizontal stresses and the roof support reinforcement into the existing classification system. Sixty- two case histories of standing and fallen mine roof were collected from two mines in the northern Appalachian coalfield. Twenty-seven engineering and geologic parameters were recorded for each case. A partial correlation analysis was carried out on the cases to establish which parameters have a significant im- pact on the stand-up time of supported coal mine roof. Survival analysis, a statistical technique used in medical research to assess the effect of a drug or treatment on a patient's life expectancy, was conducted together with stepwise multiple regression to derive values for the adjustment multipliers. A practical example is included to illustrate the application of the modified Geomechanics Classification to underground coal mine design.

Jan 1, 1987

By Charles Reed

WITH the increasing importance of clay in drilling operations which demand more precise and exacting control over its behavior, there has come the realization that most of our present methods of control over many of its important properties still represent more of an art than a science. Such a situation with respect to a material of such industrial significance is unfortunate, and naturally many investigations have been conducted to improve our knowledge. In general, these investigations have revealed the complex nature of clay behavior and while sometimes they may not have seemed to contribute directly to a solution of the field operator's problems they have been of inestimable importance in bringing to light the broad fundamental scientific principles upon which must be based any effective working theory correlating the known facts of clay behavior and predicting profitable new lines of attack for its improvement.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. Gatlin, N. E. Garner

Results of impulsive wedge penetration tests on two synthetic, plastically deforming rocks are presented. Basic data obtained were force-time, displacement-time, and force-displacement curves for the impacts, plus the crater geometry. Wedge geometry and blow frequency were varied over a considerable range. The synthetic rocks consisted of wax-sand mixtures; two waxes of diflerent ductilities were used to provide variable "rock" characteristics. Conventional triaxial tests showed that these synthetic rocks exhibited force-deformation curves and Mohr envelopes quite similar to real rocks, except that strengths were much lower. Measured forces from static penetration tests agreed closely with theoretical values; however, dynamic force values were much higher than the static. These latter disparities are attributed to the viscous nature of the waxes. Thus the utility of these or similar rock models must depend on the scaling of rock viscosity, which is as yet unknown for impulsive loadings at elevated stress states. It appears, however, that some macroscopic, static phenomena may be studied with wax-sand rock models. INTRODUCTION The resistance of solid materials to indentation or perforation by projectiles or other penetrators has been studied by workers in many areas. Despite these efforts no universally accepted laws or formulas are available for describing experimental observations. In the metals field the force-deformation behavior of impacting bodies is often analyzed by the Hertz law for elastic collisions, the Meyer law if plastic deformations occur, or some combination of both.' The similarities of these expressions to empirical drilling formulas of the oil industry are apparent. Beginning with the basic contributions of Simon and co-workers at Battelle,' a number of experimental papers concerning the reaction of rocks to vertical impact have appeared in the U. S. mining and petroleum literature.'-' Most published data have, to date, been obtained at atmospheric pressure, although some early high pressure information was reported by Payne and Chippendale.8 Maurer" has recently utilized available brittle impact data to develop a drilling rate equation based on the experimentally observed proportionality between crater volume and blow energy. His result agreed with earlier efforts by both Somerton, who used dimensional analysis, and Outmans, who used plasticity theory. It has long been known that rocks exhibit different modes of failure depending on the state of stress. The literature in this area is considerable; however, papers by Bredthauer, Handin and Hager,13 nd Robinson", are adequate to illustrate the point. Since rocks flow plastically at certain triaxial stress conditions, the mathematical theory of plasticity has been used to analyze the rock drilling problem. Cheatham'" has altered the wedge identation solution of Randtl to rocks, and has developed useful equations for penetrator forces under a variety of conditions. Outmans" has utilized Hill's solution in a similar manner to develop a drilling rate equation. Both Cheatham and Outmans used the linear Mohr-Coulomb rule to relate rock strength and confining pressure. The actual stress at the hole bottom is not easily ascertained, although photoelastic studies by Galle and Wil-hoit," plus the analytical treatment of Cheatham and wilhoiti8 provide some insight. Consequently it is not clear to what extent the highly idealized rheological model of a perfectly plastic solid can be realistically applied to the rock drilling problem. This paper is the first report on a long range experimental study of crater formation in rocks at elevated stress states. The data presented here are from the first phase of the project. Data obtained from impulsive wedge impacts on two synthetic, plastically deforming rocks are presented. MODEL ROCKS Geologists have long been faced with modelling the behavior of the earth and, as a consequence, have studied scaling problems in some detail.' In general, their main problem is handling the wide disparity between laboratory and geologic time. In our studies the time effects (blow velocity or rate of loading, blow duration, etc.) were essentiafly the same for both. model and prototype, as were were geometry and tooth penetration. Thus application of available scaling laws suggests that Similarity is obtained if the stress-strain curves of model and prototype are similar." For this reason Hubbert and Willis''

By Martin Walker, Joseph Ang, Jongwon Lee, Alvin Bayudanto, Lilian Lorincz, Morteza Khorshidi, Wenyong Rong

This paper presents a case history of liquefaction susceptibility evaluation study for a major infrastructure project in the San José area. The subsurface material of the study area consists of Holocene alluvial deposits composed of interbedded and crosscut clays and silts, sands and gravels. The simplified approach for liquefaction triggering evaluation was carried out using both CPT data and SPT data representing site’s seismic capacity and the peak ground acceleration associated with a return period of 975 years at ground surface representing seismic demands. Site-specific cyclic stress ratio (CSR) profiles as seismic demand are also estimated from one-dimensional site response analysis. The simplified approach uses empirical depth stress reduction factors (rd) based on generic shear wave velocity profiles to account for the non-rigid response of the soil profile in estimating CSR. The CSR profiles of the simplified procedure were examined by completing site response analyses using site-specific soil profiles to represent site-specific seismic demands in the liquefaction triggering evaluation. The paper concludes with a comparison and discussion of the liquefaction evaluation examining results from CPT versus SPT data, and the comparison of CSR profiles from the simplified procedure versus site-specific response analysis.

Sep 8, 2021

By Gregory Molinda

Groundfalls are much more likely to occur in coal mine intersections than in entries. NIOSH is using the experience of U.S. coal mines to determine the factors which influence intersection instability and provide guidelines for the safe excavation and support of intersections. Detailed field investigations have resulted in a database of U.S. coal mines containing 12 mines and 639 roof falls so far. By using the roof fall rate as the outcome variable, correlations between roof geology (CMRR), intersection span, and roof support have been established. Case studies have indicated that replacing 3 way intersections with 4-way intersections may not reduce the total number of roof falls. Additionally, the size of intersection spans tend to decrease with lower (weaker) CMRR. Protocols have been established for the collections of roof bolt parameters. The performance of individual roof bolts can now be tracked with roof fall rate.

Jan 1, 1998

By J. Gurland

The wmk is concerned with the estimate of the degee of continuity of a particulate phase dispersed in a matrix. The first section is a verieu: of the parameters nzeasurable by quantitative rnetallogvaphy, namely the contact area and, under certain conditions, the number of contacts between particles of one phase. In the second section, the frequency of particle contacts is related to the degee of continuity of a randomly embedded phase orz the basis of the lattice-percolation model of Hamrnersley and others. THE extent of continuity of the constituent phases may greatly influence the structure-sensitive properties of phase mixtures, particularly if the phase properties differ significantly. An example from the literature1 is shown in Fig. 1. The marked decrease of the electrical resistivity of sintered silver-alumina bodies near 25 pct by volume of silver presumably occurs because the more conductive phase changes from a discontinuous to a continuous structure. Other example of electrical- and thermal-conductivity transitions are cited by kingery In view of these observations, a knowledge and understanding of the connectivity of the microstructure may be of considerable practical importance. This study is concerned with one aspect of the genera1 problem, namely the estimate of the degree of continuity of a particulate phase dispersed in an opaque matrix. The first section reviews the parameters measurable on a polished cross section by auantitative metallography, such as the contact area and under certain conditions, the number of contacts between particles of one phase. In the second section, an attempt is made to relate the frequency of particle contacts to the degree of continuity of a randomly embedded phase. For the purpose of this discussion, the aggregate has two constituents: the particulate phase and the matrix. The latter is considered to be homogeneous. The term "particle" is used with the meaning of "grain", i.e., a minute unit of matter which is usually a single crystal of a readily distinguishable substance within the confines of a simply connected boundary. While many of the concepts which are used here to describe the structural variables characterizing the microstructure of phase mixtures are qualitative and ill-defined, they are presented with the intent of stimulating further work of a more general and rigorous nature. I) PARTICLE CONTACT, CONTIGUITY, AND MEAN FREE PATH 1) Measurement of Contiguity. The fraction of the total internal surface of a phase a shared with particles of that same phase in a two-phase mixture of and $ is indicated by the contiguity ratio:3 whereis the area of the interface between o particles, and Sap is the area of the interface between a particles and matrix P, per unit volume of mixture. The contiguity ratio ranges from 0 to 1 as the distribution of the a phase changes from a completely dispersed to a completely agglomerated structure. The interfacial areas may be obtained from simple intercept measurements on a random plane, after Smith and Guttman where and N are the numbers of intercepts between a random line of unit length on a plane of polish and the interparticle and interphase interfaces, respectively. The equations are valid for any distribution of particle sizes and shapes.

Jan 1, 1967

By Frank J. Purcell

“Down The Hole” (DTH) hammer drilling is often necessary to advance the casing during pile construction where the test bores have determined difficult drilling conditions with obstructions such as boulders, cobble and glacial till. The use of compressed air to operate DTH hammers in foundation drilling has been a contentious point in many regions of the world due to its potential to disturb the ground around the pile being constructed. There are many examples of damage to adjacent building foundations where compressed air exiting the pile being drilled disturbed the subsurface around the building’s existing piles. This paper looks at the use of compressed air in DTH hammer foundation drilling and the move towards controlling the exhausted air to avoid over drilling the pile, causing potential damage to nearby piles. Simulated models of air flow penetration into the soil of different configurations of drill bits are discussed to highlight design changes employed to better control the air during the drilling process. A case study of the construction of a water-tight pipe pile wall for a building’s underground parking structure is studied to demonstrate the potential of DTH hammer foundation drilling where the air is fully controlled.

Nov 1, 2022

By S. E. Restrepo

In recent years, mining operations have experienced the impacts of climate variability, increasing costs, and changes in the socioenvironmental dynamics of the territories. For this reason, the aggregates industry needs to design and define concrete and immediate actions to address climate change. An appropriate way to achieve this is as follows: • Calculate greenhouse gas emissions, sources, and relevance factor. • Make projections of future scenarios. • Design and implement action plans The proposed climate change mitigation and adaptation projects are logistical optimizations of mining equipment (mitigation). Second is the design of an early warning system to predict possible flooding (adaptation).

Mar 2, 2022

DECEMBER, 1971 The Wanders Club, Johannesburg Sunday, 9th April, to Friday, 14th April, 1972 The Tenth Symposium which is the first ever held outside the North American continent is being organised by the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (with the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the South African Council for Automation and Computation), in collaboration with the previous co-sponsors. '" The programme includes over 60 papers from thirteen different countries. Attendance promises to be good and interested parties who have not yet registered are earnestly requested to do so without delay. The closure date for registration application is 31st January, 1972. The objective of this symposium is to pool experience and knowledge and to discuss new and potential developments for the planning and control of mineral projects. The papers which are to be presented will indicate the progress which has been made in this direction through the successful application of operations research, mathematical, statistical and computer methods. The intention is to bring together those persons responsible for managing various operations in the mineral industry with those engaged in the development of such mathematical and computer techniques as could assist this management. All interested parties are welcome. PRE-REGISTRATION (please return enclosed form as soon as possible). Applications for registration close on January 31, 1972. The fee payable on application will be R70. Late applications may, subject to vacancies being available,

By W. F. Tanner

A river delivers a given load of sand, and hence heavy materials, into the sea. The load is fixed by drainage basin characteristics and processes. Wave energy available for redistributing that load is fixed in an entirely different way. An equilibrium diagram of these two parameters (load vs energy) pennits a tentative prediction of what will happen to the heavy minerals. Alluvial rivers transport a mechanical load which consists essentially of wash load (finer than about 0.05 mm in particle diam), bed load (coarser than about 0.10 mm) and the transition sizes in between. A few rivers carry no appreciable mechanical load, and are excluded from this discussion. An example of the latter is the Suwannee River of Florida, which empties across an oyster bar into the Gulf of Mexico and does not build a delta despite the absence of significant waves or currents in that part of the Gulf. An alluvial river may deliver its load into a protected sediment trap (such as an estuary, sound or lagoon), onto a low-energy coast (where it builds a delta) or onto a high-energy coast (from which spot the river load is swept away). The nature and disposition of the load depends, obviously, on three sets of factors: 1) drainage basin characteristics and processes, which determine quantity and make-up of the load; 2) coastal structure and geomorphology, which determine the kind of river-sea coupling which

Jan 1, 1962