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By Paterson R. G, Compston W

The Mine granite at the Ardlethan tinfield is dated by Rb-Sr on a muscovite concentrate at not less than 417 ± 2.5 Ma (2s), consistent with the intrusion of this granitic body into folded Late Ordovician sediments. A combination of Rb-Sr and K-Ar evidence suggests a slightly younger age, 41O ± 2.5 Ma, both for the neighbouring Ardlethan Granite and for the hydrothermal alteration of the Mine granite, with which the tin is associated.On this basis, the somewhat high 206Pb/204Pb of two galena samples from within the hydrothermal alteration zone is best explained by an increase in U/Pb of order 10 per cent during a geochemical event in the Late Precambrian, in the rocks which eventually yielded the Pb to the mineralising fluid. This earlier event probably increased Th/U in these rocks as well, by as much as 5 per cent. If these reconstructions are valid, the lower-than-average U/Pb implied for the original Precambrian source rock bespeaks a mantle component of marginally greater proportion than for "average orogene".

Jan 1, 1982

By C. P. Davenport, Garth Duell

What are the projected electrical power needs of the nation and of the Northwest during the next 15-20 years? No one who has researched the subject has reached a substantially different result than the following simple conclusion: electrical power requirements are doubling every decade. There are some who question the necessity of a power company's need to install capacity every ten years equal to what it has done during its entire previous history; there are even those who would argue that such growth should be arbitrarily curtailed. However, a power company must, by law, meet its responsibilities of providing the energy the public expects when the switch is thrown.

Jan 10, 1972

By S. R. Goodman, Hsun Hu, R. S. Cline

The quenching technique has been used to study phase relations in the composition area 2FeO.SiO2-FeO-SiO2-MnO.Si02-ZMnO.SiO2 of the system iron oxide-manganese oxide-silica under strongly reducing conditions such as exist in a gas mixture consisting of equul parts of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Liquidus and solidus temperatures of most mixtures in the composition area studied are in the range of 1173° to 1345°C. EQUILIBRIUM relations existing among the oxides of iron, manganese, and silicon are of particular interest in two areas of steelmaking: slags and ingot inclusions. Mixtures of these oxides represent about 90 pct of the slag in the acid steelmaking process, and so dominate the chemistry of the whole refining process. These constituents also play an important role in the early slags existing at the time of the "lime boil" in the basic open hearth process. If these slags are liquid, they "wet" the lumps of lime rising from the bottom of the bath, and react with them. A liquid slag rich in CaO is then formed at the very beginning of the refining. Because the temperature is still low, all conditions for a good dephosphoriza-tion are fulfilled at this stage of the operation. Metal deoxidized with ferromanganese or silico-manganese is likely to contain, as inclusions, phases made up from among the oxides of iron, manganese, and silicon. A knowledge of stability relations existing among the phases present in this system, therefore, enables one to predict the hardness of the inclusions encountered. Moreover, because the shape of the inclusions in steel has a profound influence on the physical properties of the metal, it is important to establish whether or not the oxidic material is present as liquid or crystalline phases during heating and rolling of the steel (-1150 to 1350°C). A knowledge of melting relations in synthetic mixtures of iron oxide, manganese oxide, and silica will give a clue to these problems. Methods for determining such relations and the results obtained are described iln this paper. I) PREVIOUS WORK A number cf previous studies have dealt with the three "binary"* systems bounding the system iron oxide-mangar,.ese oxide-silica. The system iron oxide-silica was studied by Bowen and shairerl in 1932. Their data were obtained by equilibration of mixtures in contact with metallic iron. Phase relations for the system iron oxide-silica ill atmospheres of different oxygen pressures car1 be derived from data on the system FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2 as determined by Muan.2 The diagram shown iri Fig. l is a section of this system in an atmosphere of CO2 and H2 in ratio 1:l. The system manganese oxide-silica has also been the subject of several investigations. Most of the early studies suffered from a lack of proper control of the atmosphere under which the equilibrations were carried mt. Phase diagrams for the system at two well defined levels of oxygen pressures have been determined recently. Glasser3 determined stability relations in an atmosphere consisting of carbon dioxide and hydrogen in ratio 5:1, diagram Fig. 2, and Muan4 studied phase relations in the system in air.

Jan 1, 1962

By D. R. Hay, E. Scala

Electrotransport has been superimposed on the rate-limiling- step in zone refining which is the impurity diffusion through the liquid at the solid/liquid interface. The efficiency of zone refining is increased and relative resistivity ratios (P300°k/P4 2°K) he increased by 50 pel in tungsten for a given number of posses using- the electrotransport field-aided method. The effiect of zotze refining in the presence of an electric field on the relative resistivity ratio is examined as a function of its intensity and polarity. THE effect of electrodiffusion on the effective distribution coefficient of zone refining has been discussed by Pfann and Wagner.' Control of the distribution coefficient in zone refining is of twofold interest. A distribution coefficient of unity can be increased or decreased, making possible the transfer of some previously inseparable solutes. The general efficiency of zone refining can also be increased. In the conventional zone-refining process impurities are removed by their retention in the molten zone and subsequent deposition at the end of the rod after a complete passage of the zone. In higher-melting-point systems a second mechanism may also operate, the volatilization of impurities from the molten zone. It has been suggested by schadler2 that, in refractory metals, vacuum distillation plays the predominant role in purification. In Koo's results,3 the resistivity ratio decreased beyond a zone-refined length of 6 in. from the starting end, indicating that some purification does in fact occur by true zone-refining action. Hay and scala4 showed that the degree of purity as measured by the relative resistivity ratio method depends on the square root of time in the molten zone (number of passes) and thus appears to be limited by diffusion in the boundary layer at the solidifying interface assuming good mixing in the body of the molten zone where a linear rate would prevail. The final concentration of impurities in electron-beam floating-zone purification depends very much on the operating conditions and results obtained by various investigators2,3,5 are difficult to correlate. The diameter of the starting material, operating vacuum, and rate of traverse are among the factors to be considered. There are, nevertheless, some general observations to be obtained from the literature. Lawley5 reviewed the literature up to 1962 and concluded that the major contaminants generally remaining in tungsten after electron-beam zone refining are molybdenum and carbon. Molybdenum due to its high melting point and distribution coefficient of nearly unity would be expected to be difficult to remove by either volatilization or zone refining. Carbon is not only a common contaminant in vacuum systems, but is also very difficult to remove by conventional vacuum melting. even with vacuums of 10-7 mm Hg. For each of those impurities removed by zone refining the equation of Pfann and Wagner may be applied: It relates the effective distribution coefficient k to a superimposed driving force which accelerates the solute away from the interface with a terminal velocity L" and to the more conventional zone-refining parameters; v = rate of traverse, t = thickness of the diffusion layer at the solidifying interface, D = diffusivity of the solute in the molten zone, and ko = equilibrium distribution coefficient of the impurity.

Jan 1, 1965

Advanced Jig Separation of Shredded Plastics The authors have reported that the RETAC jig is very useful in separating relatively low density particles such as plastics, and demonstrated that highly efficient jig separation of plastic components in discarded office machines is possible in pilot-scale tests. To further improve the separation efficiency, a hybrid jig (RETAC jig with air bubbler under the particle bed) which can separate plastics having similar specific gravities using differences in wettability produced by a pretreatment, and a reverse jig (modified RETAC jig for plastics lighter than water) were developed. This paper reviews the separation of shredded plastics using advanced jig separation technology (RETAC, hybrid and reverse jigs). Wettability control of the plastics for the advanced jig separation is also reported.

Sep 13, 2010

Development of Underground Gold Processing Plants Underground gold processing plants have potential advantages over traditional surface installations related to a smaller environmental footprint, reduced capital and mining costs, improved security and increased value of the product delivered to surface. The concept of processing gold ores on the surface is the traditional paradigm. A process of pre-concentration of ore underground is likely to result in a major shift in operating costs. In particular, run of mine ore or a large proportion of it will not need to be transported to the surface. As a result, environmental and financial benefits are likely. Underground plants are likely to be pre-concentration systems where the process product is a high-grade concentrate and tailings for stope backfill. Units will be either static or modular. Concentration methods will be gravity and/or flotation or leach based. This paper discusses the development underground gold plants from early concept, through to the world's first operational unit, a newly commissioned unit and the technical basis of a fully modular system.

Sep 13, 2010

By F. S. Boericke

"INTRODUCTION The mineral found in natural-chromite deposits is never pure Fe0.Cr203, but rather one in which the Fe0 and Cr203 are in part replaced by Mg0 and A1203, respectively. The purest gravity concentrates from many domestic de¬posits consist of a mineral referred to as ""picotite,"" in which this isomorphous replacement is such that the ratio of chromium to iron is low. The Bureau of Nines has investigated methods of chemically beneficiating ores that contain too much iron to be classed as ""high-grade"" chromite 3/ Early investigations 4/ demonstrated that high-iron chromite or picotite ores can be roasted with carbon to obtain selective reduction of the contained iron, and that most of this reduced iron can be removed by acid-leaching the roast products to produce residues of higher chromium-to-iron ratios. tests 5/ indicated that commercially acceptable reaction rates cannot be obtained at roasting temperatures below 1,3000 C., using solid carbon as reducing agent. By this high-temperature reduction and subse¬quent acid-leaching, however, all ores investigated, regardless of the original composition, readily yielded residues considerably better than the minimum specifications for high-grade chromite.In an effort to obtain satisfactory reduction of chromite at lower temperatures, liquid and gaseous seducing agents were tested with varying success. Of the several reducing agents used, methane appeared to be the most promising and was shown to be highly effective at temperatures between 1,000º and 1,100º C., roughly 300º below the roasting temperatures necessary in solid carbon reduction. Further experiments indicated that mixtures of methate with some diluent (hydrogen or other nonoxidizing gas) gave better reduction than did methane alone."

Feb 1, 1946

In spite of the many contributions that have been made to our knowledge of the creep properties of polycrystalline lead, the precise influence of various factors on these properties is not yet fully understood. Indeed, the position is such that several important points in connection with the creep of lead are a matter of controversy. This has been brought about largely by the fact that, in the case of lead, the changes that are produced in the creep behaviour by slight variations of such factors as the purity, grain sizeand previous treatment are out of all proportion to the magnitude of these variations.In order to study the fundamental properties of lead as related to creep, and so gain a more enlightened perspective with which to consider the creep of lead in general, the work that is described in a series of papers, of which the present paper is the third part, has been carried out. It deals with lead in the form of single crystals.It has been shown (1) - (3) that the grain boundaries as well as the actual grains play a part in the creep of polycrystalline lead. The present work, by eliminating grain boundaries, enables the. contribution of the grains themselves to the process of creep, in other words, crystalline creep, to be studied effectively.This object was, possibly, the major one in this work.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. J. Opinsky

THE purpose of this note is to indicate the locations and sizes of various interstitial holes in the orthorhombic uranium lattice based on a hard-sphere model. First, plane configurations of three and four atoms will be examined, and then the true interstices surrounded by four atoms in space and by five atoms in space will be obtained. The data and notation contained in a report by Tucker' will be used. Plane Configurations Fig. 1 presents the orthorhombic uranium lattice made of spheres touching at the closest interatomic distance. The three light-colored spheres in the ab plane are illustrative of the first type of configuration to be examined. If one edge of the unit cell is taken as the origin, the three atoms can be represented by the vectors [Oi + Oj + Ok], [ai + Oj + Ok] and [(a/2)i + (b/2)j + Ok] where i, j, and k are respectively parallel to a, b, and c. In the future, this notation will be shortened to [000], [a00] and [a/2 b/2 0], respectively. A vector R = [r s t] de-scribes the position of the hole surrounded by the atoms. Since the center of the hole must be equidistant from the three atoms R2 = r2 + s2 + t2 = (r-a)2 + s2 + t2 = (r-a/2)2 + (s-b/2)2 + t2. R = [a/2 (b/4) - (a2/4b) 0] is the solution of these

Jan 1, 1955

By Steven D. Wirch

Abandoned underground coal mine areas must either be sealed or ventilated to comply with federal mine regulations. Ventilation of these abandoned areas is often impractical due to roof falls and inadequate primary mine ventilation. If the area is sealed, a very complex ventilation system is set up. In which the gob "breathes" in and out due to barometric pressure fluctuations. The Gob Assistant is a computer program (for use on IBM compatible personal computers) which allows the prediction of air flows into and out of a sealed mine area. Gas flows with applicable control techniques are also modeled. This information is presented to the user who will decide which control technique, or combination of techniques will ultimately be applied. The Gob Assistant is an intelligent gob simulator that can reduce the guesswork involved in predicting the effects of sealing and control techniques before they are applied. This paper provides the fundamental principles upon which the Gob Assistant is based, verification of these principles, and an explanation of how these principles were integrated into the Gob Assistant.

Jan 1, 1988

By S. A. Bradford

Internal-oxide precipitates in decarburized a iron alloys were studied by microscopic and X-ray methods. Diffusion of oxygen is primarily trans-granular, although large amounts of manganese or PhosPhorus cause preferred grain boundary dimsion at temperatures below 1450OF. Transgvanular internal oxidation follows the parabolic rate law with an apparent activation energy of 60 kcal per g-atom for decarburized rimmed steel and around 50 kcal per g-atom for higher alloy contents. The internal oxide is (Fe,Mn)0. Evidence was found for a miscibility gap in the FeO-MnO system. UNTIL very recently, the internal oxidation of metals was studied primarily as a scientific curiosity or, in a few cases, as a means of strengthening alloys by precipitation hardening. However, with the recent development of low-carbon enameling sheet steel, internal oxidation has become a problem of practical importance to the steel industry. For example, in 1961 it was reported1 that internal oxidation of steel can occur during decar-burization by open-coil annealing and will reduce the notch ductility of the sheet unless the process is carefully controlled. The present study was therefore undertaken to learn more about the rates and mechanism of oxygen diffusion and oxide formation in iron alloys. BACKGROUND The process of internal oxidation has been well-defined in the literature:',' oxygen dissolves in an alloy, diffuses inward from the surface of the metal, and reacts to form a precipitate with the alloying element that will provide the most stable oxide. he growth of the finely divided so-called subscale, i.e., the internal-oxidation zone, depends on the diffusion rates of both the oxygen and the reactive element.4 Investigators have generally found that increasing the temperature increases the size of the oxide particles, the rate of subscale growth, and the tendency to transgranular diffusion. With very few exceptions, the square of the thickness of the internal oxide layer is directly proportional to the reaction time. Given two conditions easily satisfied for iron systems— a) an oxygen solubility much less than the concentration of the alloying metal and b) an oxygen-diffusion rate to the oxide boundary much faster than that of the alloying element—then the general expression developed by Rhines and co-workers5 for the parabolic growth rate of the internal-oxide zone can be simplified to the following form: where Co and CM are, respectively, the solubility of oxygen and the concentration of the alloying element, DO is the diffusion coefficient of oxygen, O/M is the weight ratio of oxygen to metal in the precipitated oxide, and x is the thickness of the internal-oxide zone after an annealing time t. Both the oxygen solubility and diffusion coefficient can be approximately expressed as functions of temperature by Arrhenius-type equations: in which H and Q are, respectively, the heat of solution and the activation energy of diffusion. Consequently, the apparent activation energies calculated from Arrhenius plots are the sum of the heat of solution of oxygen in iron and the activation energy for diffusion of oxygen. The data, if not the interpretation, of Schenck et al.8 bear out the fact that oxygen diffuses in the atomic form. The general rate law for atomic diffusion is: the reaction rate being proportional to the square root of the pressure at low pressures. Benard and Moreau8 studied both the surface oxidation of Fe-Ni alloys and the gradual penetration of oxygen into the metal. They observed that oxide particles first form along grain boundaries and then grow to form continuous films that eventually envelop the grains. The parabolic rate law does not usually apply in these cases, especially at the higher temperatures. The oxide formed is wustite which gradually transforms into Fe3O4 and finally into Kennedy and coauthors8 examined Fe-Ni alloys with 26, 75, and 84 pct Ni oxidized at 800°C and

Jan 1, 1964

By Yanping Xiao, Ton van Sandwijk, Gus Van Weert, Larry McHugh, Thomas Zabev

"All attempts to remove significant amounts of arsenic from enargite via neutral or reductive pyro routes have required operating temperatures between 600 and 700 º C, too high to propose an equipment development program. Operating at reduced pressures, or using hydrogen or elemental sulphur as a sweeping gas did not help to lower these temperatures. Admixing iron powder gave excellent results, but still required 700 º C. By fortuity, in recent experiments to produce tennantite from an enargite mineral sample, it was observed that enargite was completely converted to bornite, chalcopyrite with minor residual tennantite within an hour at 400-450 ºC. This is believed to be due to the presence of pyrite in the mineral sample treated. All earlier decomposition work appears to have been done on predominantly enargite (i.e. low pyrite) samples, or at high operating temperatures, ignoring possible reactions at lower temperature. The decomposition of enargite into iron substituted tennantite plus some bornite under evolution of liquid elemental sulphur, followed by further decomposition of this tennantite into bornite and volatile arsenic sulphides, appears experimentally feasible at these low temperatures and mimics described ore genesis pathways at > 250 ºC in saline solutions. We suggest two pathways to describe the observed experimental results:20 Cu3AsS4 + 12 FeS2 ???5 Cu10Fe2As4S13 + 2 Cu5FeS4 + 31 S(l)31 S(l) ???31 S(g) (evaporation)5 Cu10Fe2As4S13 ???10 Cu5FeS4 + 10 AsS(g) + 5 As2S3(g)"

Jan 1, 2014

By Sam S. Taylor

The disposal of oil-field brines by injection into subsurface formations other than fresh-water-bearing strata is a positive method of eliminating the harmful effects of mineralized water on fresh-water supplies, vegetation, and aquatic and other animal life. The methods used most generally for the disposal of brines produced with oil are (1) impounding in evaporation ponds, (2) controlled diversion into surface streams, and (3) injection into subsurface formations. Various States recognize one or more of the methods as legally authorized procedure. As a general rule, impounding brine in ponds and solar evaporation have not been entirely successful, principally because of the large volumes handled; the porous nature of the soil, and the low rate of evaporation. Likewise, the diversion of brine into freshwater streams by controlled dilution has not proved satisfactory in some areas, especially in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma where the rainfall is relatively low, because it has been impossible to obtain enough fresh water for such dilution.

Jan 1, 1939

By H. C. H. Darley

Particles of montmorillonite-type clays consist of plate-like clay crystals stacked face to face. Under certain conditions in a suspension, these particles disperse to individual platelets with the formation of diffuse double layers round each platelet. This action has a profound influence on the rheo-logical and other properties of the suspension. This paper describes a test for degree of dispersion and uses this test to correlate changes in dispersion with changes in viscosity and gel strength. The test is of practical value in determining and controlling dispersion in drilling muds. INTRODUCTION It has long been recognized that the hydration and dispersion of clays, particularly those of the montmoril-loilite type, strongly influences the rheological and other properties of drilling muds, but little has been done to measure either of these phenomena under conditions that exist in drilling muds. The hydration of clays as such has been extensively studied by those interested in clay mineralogy, but in drilling muds it is to be expected that dispersion is at least as important a factor as hydration because of the much higher water-to-clay ratios and the very high degree of mechanical agitation. The term dispersion as generally applied to colloidal systems means the subdivision of large particles to small. Particles of montmorillonitic clays, however, consist of plate-like particles stacked face to face. Dispersion of these aggregates to individual platelets may be expected to have an unusually large influence on the properties of the suspension because of the shape factor, the enormous increase in specific surface, and the pronounced surface phenomena exhibited by the crystal surfaces. It is this form of dispersion that is particularly considered in this paper, -and the term degree of dispersion is used to imply the number of platelets per particle. The term aggregation is used to denote the opposite of dispersion, the association of individual platelets face to face to form stacks. It is important, as Garrison' has pointed out, to distinguish between the deflocculation-flocculation phenomenon and the dispersion-aggregation phenomenon. Flocculation of clay suspensions is characterized by the formation of voluminous sediments that are stable under quite high centrifugal fields. This indicates an edge to plate association of particles to form an open network type of structure, which obviously will have quite a different influence on the properties of the suspension than aggregation of the platelets face to face. The work described in this paper was primarily concerned with developing a test for degree of dispersion in clay suspensions and by means of this test to follow changes of dispersion brought about by addition of electrolytes and to show the influence of dispersion on the rheological properties. The Clay-Volume Test This test is based on the assumption that the greater the number of particles per unit weight of clay in a suspension the greater will be the volume of sediment when it is flocculated under standard conditions and centrifuged. After considerable experimentation the following procedure was established: 1 cc of the test mud vigorously shaken with 100 cc of 1-N NaCl in an ASTM oil centrifuge tube and centrifuged for five minutes in an International No. 2 centrifuge at 2,000 rpm. When drilling fluids of different solids content are being compared, the clay volume is expressed in cc per gram of clay solids, but generally changes in dispersion in a given mud are being compared and it is more convenient to report as cc of sediment. The test is strictly a comparative test, so that it is not necessary to adhere to the conditions specified above, e.g., with field muds a stronger flocculant such as Al2(SO4)3 may be preferable to NaCl.

Jan 1, 1958

By E. H. Boswell, E. M. Cushing

The Mississippi embayment east of the Mississippi River is part of a vast geologic and hydrologic province. The abundance of water available is largely responsible for the agricultural history of the area and is perhaps the key factor in the rapidly accelerating trend toward industrialization. The multiple artesian aquifer systems that underlie the region and the alluvial aquifer along the Mississippi River are virtually undeveloped sources of fresh water in that they are yielding only a fraction of the water available. The potential yield of the 12 aquifer systems is estimated to be about 25,000 mgd (million gpd) of which only about 600 mgd is presently being withdrawn. The amount of water in storage in these systems is about 1600 trillion gal. Ground water having a dissolved-solids content of less than 500 ppm is generally available at depths of less than 1000 ft, and water having a dissolved-solids content of less than 1000 ppm is available in some places to depths of more than 3000 ft. Iron is the most common troublesome chemical constituent in the ground water. Water in varying amounts is also available from streams within the region. The amount of water which originates within the region and which leaves it as streamflow during a year averages about 50 million acre-ft (about 45,000 mgd). An additional 375 million acre-ft (about 340,000 mgd), which originated outside the region, leaves the region as streamflow during an average year. Some streams have considerable flow during periods of no precipitation and the water during these periods generally has a low dissolved-solids content. Large quantities of water from streams and waterbearing sands (aquifers) are available in the Mississippi embayment east of the Mississippi River. Most of the region is underlain by aquifer systems that will yield large quantities of water to wells, making ground water the most readily available source of fresh water. About 90% of the water used in the region is obtained from wells. Streams have been used primarily to dispose of, and dilute, wastes that have been dumped into them. The Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers, and the lower parts of the Tombigee and Yazoo rivers also serve as a means of transportation. This nominally water-rich region receives from 48 to 56 in. of precipitation in average years and is crossed by several large rivers. The largest, the Mississippi River, is the western boundary of the region discussed in this paper. The economy of the region is basically agricultural, but industry has become increasingly important since World War 11. The diversification and mechanization of agriculture have resulted in a surplus of manpower, most of which is being absorbed by the expansion of industry. Further industrial expansion probably will occur because of the available manpower, natural resources and economical transportation. Increasing demands on available water supplies will be made and the future economic growth of the region will be largely dependent upon wise utilization and management of the water resources.

Jan 1, 1969

By Syd S. Peng

Is the laboratory sized coal specimen much stronger than underground coal pillars? The answer to this question has a profound implication to many coal operators. It will decide how much of the coal reserve can be recovered. Or, in many cases, it will determine whether it can be mined economically. Recent trends in several eastern states to establish regulations regarding coal pillar design to prevent surface subsidence long after mining heighten the debates. And, in some cases, these trends highlight the existing practices that seriously question the conventional wisdom. Currently, nearly all researchers and practitioners agree that as the size of rock specimens increases, its strength decreases. This concept has been universally adopted as the basic principle for coal pillar design in the United States. Several formulas have been derived to account for this effect. The reduction factor for underground coal pillars ranges from one-half to one-sixth of the strength obtained in the laboratory, depending on the formula selected. Recent case studies indicate that the reduction factor is not justifiable, at east in some cases. The use of a reduction factor is based on the assumption hat smaller rock specimens as tested in he laboratory contain none or fewer fractures or planes of weakness than larger specimens or underground coal pillars. In other words, the larger the rock materials, the more fractures it contains and subsequently weaker in strength. Do all underground coal pillars have more fractures than laboratory sized coal specimens? Not necessarily. All coal contains cleats. Some are con¬spicuous but others are not. In terms of cleat density (number of cleats per unit area), there is no difference between an underground coal pillar and a laboratory sized specimen, provided the specimen size is larger than the cleat spacing, which is mostly 25 to 75 mm (1 to 3 in.).

Jan 1, 1993

By Y. Faitakis

In the mining industry, maintenance is a key priority and a major expense. As mining equipment is large in scale, high in cost, and difficult to tow, it is key to maintain equipment on a timely basis. Breakdown in -40°C or away from a maintenance station can cause great costs in repair as well as lost production. It has often been quoted that about 5% of the North American production is lost every year due to unscheduled downtime. About one-third of the downtime is attributable to equipment failures. From this fact alone, it is evident that proper equipment maintenance can add tremendous value to the bottom line. As organizations and equipment become more sophisticated, maintenance expectations begin to evolve. This evolution can be traced through three generations: The first generation (1940?1950): A ?fix it when it broke? attitude prevailed during that time, mostly because the industry was not highly automated. The second generation (1950?1980): Automation and mechanization of the industry increased. The industry now was dependent on machines performing the majority of the work. Preventive maintenance (overhauls at fixed intervals) appeared as the first maintenance practice. Maintenance costs started to rise rapidly. The third generation (1980?): Assets become more complex. Failure modes are better understood and computerized maintenance methods are becoming mainstream. Condition-based maintenance (CBM) starts to gain ground as a cost-effective alternative, replacing the fixed interval overhauls. As corporations amalgamate and market places are becoming more complex, multi-functional teams become responsible for maintenance. At the beginning of the third generation, maintenance organizations began embracing technology to provide efficiencies in maintenance management. A strong push was made to transition from reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance. At the forefront of this push is condition-based maintenance.

Jan 1, 2004

By Y. Faitakis, G. J. Powley, C. Mackenzie

"In the mining industry, maintenance is a key priority and a major expense. As mining equipment is large in scale, high in cost, and difficult to tow, it is key to maintain equipment on a timely basis. Breakdown in -40°C or away from a maintenance station can cause great costs in repair as well as lost production.It has often been quoted that about 5% of the North American production is lost every year due to unscheduled downtime. About onethird of the downtime is attributable to equipment failures. From this fact alone, it is evident that proper equipment maintenance can add tremendous value to the bottom line. As organizations and equipment become more sophisticated, maintenance expectations begin to evolve. This evolution can be traced through three generations:The first generation (1940–1950): A “fix it when it broke” attitude prevailed during that time, mostly because the industry was not highly automated.The second generation (1950–1980): Automation and mechanization of the industry increased. The industry now was dependent on machines performing the majority of the work. Preventive maintenance (overhauls at fixed intervals) appeared as the first maintenance practice. Maintenance costs started to rise rapidly.The third generation (1980–): Assets become more complex. Failure modes are better understood and computerized maintenance methods are becoming mainstream. Condition-based maintenance (CBM) starts to gain ground as a cost-effective alternative, replacing the fixed interval overhauls. As corporations amalgamate and market places are becoming more complex multi-functional teams become responsible for maintenance.At the beginning of the third generation, maintenance organizations began embracing technology to provide efficiencies in maintenance management. A strong push was made to transition from reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance. At the forefront of this push is condition-based maintenance."

Jan 1, 2004

By George S. Ansell, John B. Hudson, Stephen A. Koffler

The permeability of hydrogen through the a phase of palladium has been measured by a low pressure permeation technique under conditions such that bulk diffusion was the rate-controlling process. The observed permeability is described by the equation: J = 1.80 x 1O-3 P½exp(-3745)/RT) cc(stp)/sec/cm2/en over a range of hydrogen pressure, P, from 2.9 x 10-5 m Hg to 5.0 x 10-3 cm Hg, and over a temperature range, T, from 300" to 709°K. The fact that the permeability shows a square root dependence on pressure and a reciprocal dependence on thickness was taken as evidence that bulk diffusion, rather than surface reactions, was the rate-controlling process. The permeability data were used in conjunction with the solubility data of Salmon et al., to determine the diffusivity of hydrogen through palludium as: D = 4.94 x 10-3 exp(-5745/RT) cm2/sec There was no influence of sub structural defects observed over the temperature range employed. From the permeability data obtained, coupled with grain size measurements, it was concluded that the ratio of grain boundary diffusivity to bulk diffusivity was less than 105 over the range of temperature investigated. THE diffusive mass transport of hydrogen in the a phase of palladium has been studied previously by numerous investigators.' In spite of the large amount of attention this system has received, there is not good agreement between the results obtained in different investigations.' This is due in part to the fact that the mass transport was surface-limited during some of these studies, rather than being diffusion-controlled3-5 The reason for the disagreement in other cases is not clear. These studies made use of such techniques as rate of absorption from solutions6 and gases,' electrochemical potential,8 time lag,' and permeation10,11 to determine the mass transport behavior. Of these, the gas permeability technique is the only method which allows an easy test to determine if diffusion is the rate-controlling mechanism, thus eliminating the uncertainty regarding the limiting transport processes inherent in the other techniques. The two most recent permeability studies are those of Toda10 and Davis." Toda determined the permeability of hydrogen in the a phase of palladium over the temperature range from 170" to 290°C, and over the pressure range from 36 to 630 mm Hg utilizing a steady-state gas-permeability technique. Toda's result was: J = 1.41 x 10-3 P½ exp(-3220/RT) where J = specific permeability in cc(stp)/sec/cm2/cm, P½ = square root of the inlet pressure in (cm Hg)½, R = Universal gas constant, and T = temperature in deg Kelvin. Davis11 also employed a steady-state gas-permeability technique over the temperature range from 200" to 700°C and over the pressure range from 0.02 to 760 mm Hg. His result for the permeability of hydrogen in the a phase of palladium was: J = 3.15 x 10-3 P½ exp(-A440/RT) In the range of overlapping temperature for these two investigations, the values of the specific permeability calculated from the above two equations differ by a factor of about 1.8. In the present investigation, the permeation of hydrogen in the a phase of palladium was determined over a wide temperature range, 27" to 436oC, and over the pressure range from 2.9 x 10-5 to 5.0 x 10-3 cm Hg. This temperature range overlaps that of the previous investigations of Toda and Davis, but also covers the lower temperature range which has never before been investigated. The lower pressure range used here avoided the interaction between the dissolved hydrogen atoms observed at higher hydrogen concentrations.' MATERIALS The as-received palladium specimens were cold rolled from a casting and were supplied as 5.08 cm discs of 0.508 and 0.762 mm thickness. According to J. Bishop and Company specifications, the composition of the discs was 99.95 pct Pd, the balance being Cu, Ag, Au, and Ir. In order to obtain samples of varying grain size, the as-received discs were then heat treated. Sample 1 was treated for eight minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere at 810°C and then air-cooled. Sample D was heated first to 550°C in helium. The helium atmosphere was then immediately replaced by hydrogen and the temperature was slowly raised to 1220°C and held for 22 hr. The sample was then cooled to 550°C where the hydrogen was replaced by helium and the disc was further furnace-cooled to room temperature. Sample H was given the same heat treatment, only with hydrogen substituted for helium below 550°C. The reason that hydrogen was not used throughout the entire annealing cycle for samples D and H was to prevent the distortion encountered by low-temperature cycling in hydrogen observed by Darling." After these heat treatments were completed, the

Jan 1, 1970

By Parke A. Dickey

Potential differences between strata of shale and sandstone have been recognized for about 15 years, and they form the basis of the electrical logging of oil wells. Hitherto these potentials have been ascribed solely to electro-¦ chemical reactions caused by the disturbing effects of the water in the drill hole through which they are generally measured. Observations by the author in wells empty of water and in a mine shaft suggest that potential differences between sandstones and shales are natural and specific properties of the rocks, although they are moditied in measurement by the disturbing effects of the water in the drill hole. The cause of these potentials probably is to be sought in the relative polar adsorptive capacities of quartz and clay particles. Introduction The existence of potential differences in the surface of the earth has been known for some time, and their measurement has facilitated the discovery of geological discontinuities such as ore bodies. The technique of measurement has been well established.1-3 In measurements in oil wells, it has been found that the potential of shales with respect to some arbitrary reference is very nearly constant in any one well, at least below the zone to which meteoric water has gained access. Sandstones and some other types of sedimentary rocks have a difference of potential with respect to shale that is negative arid may attain a value of 200 millivolts or more. The difference of potential, as usually measured commercially with water in the hole, is distributed over about one foot vertically at the top and bottom contacts of the sandstones. The sharpness of the curve at the formation contacts can be improved by using a short electrode that is close to the wall of the hole' These potentials generally have been ascribed to the disturbing effects of the water in the drill hole. Potentials have been found, however, in wells in which no water was present. In the course of experiments in electrical logging in pennsylvania, carried out by the pennsylvania Geological Survey, observations were made of several phenomena that hitherto have not been described, to the author's knowledge, ill the published literature. The potential differences across the contacts of sandstone and shale are called ill this paper "natural potentials," as distinguished from the potentials caused by electroendosmosis (electrofiltration) and concentration differences, which will be discussed subsequently. Potentials in Cored WeLl In the spring of 1942, the author measured the potentials in an exploratory well (Day 13, near Grand Valley, Pa.) which had been cored With diamond tools. The potentials were first measured with fresh water in the hole. * null balance potentiometer was used in this and all the other measurements described in this paper. One nonpolarizing porous pot electrode, containing copper sulphate solution and

Jan 1, 1946