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By D. W. Park

Longwall mining is considered the most efficient underground coal mining technique in terms of coal extraction ratio, production rate, and safety standards. Due to the increasing demand for higher coal production, wider panel and faster face movement have become the recent trends. Thus, longwall mining can create unexpected threats such as roof falls, excessive face convergence, shield damage and numerous maintenance problems causing sudden interruption of coal production and serious safety hazards. A recent study at the University of Alabama is dedicated to develop LoSCoMS (Longwall Strata Control and Maintenance System) which integrates real-time shield monitoring, data presentation, analysis, forecasting, and warning modules. The main objectives of this system is to provide the stability and maintenance information, at every minute, such as high load, low setting pressure, leg leakage, etc., analysis of various mining and geological parameters to determine past and present roof characteristics and forecasting of loading patterns for the following mining cycles, next periodic weighting, etc. Using this unique system, mine operating personnel are well aware of past, present and future roof loading patterns at the longwall face, and thus, proper safety measures can be taken ahead of time.

Jan 1, 1997

By Frank Firmstone

WE found it necessary, in December, 1874, to repair the upper part of the lining in No. 5 furnace at Glendon, and, as we succeeded in doing it with comparatively little trouble, a description of the plan followed may be of service to those having a similar operation to perform. On two opposite sides, as shown by the sketch, the lining was completely gone for a height of about four feet, below which it increased gradually in thickness, being nine inches thick about three feet lower down. On a plane at right angles to the section drawn, the brick were nowhere entirely gone, but were in some places not more than two or three inches thick, being still sufficient to sustain the upper part, where the brick, being above the level of the stock, were not at all worn. The furnace was blown down, so that when we cast and closed the tuyeres, about 7 A.M., on December 8th, the top of the stock was about twenty-four feet below the filling-plates. The walls were quite hot, and a good deal of gas was given off for several hours after the tuyeres were closed. The hopper and bell were thrown into the furnace, and were covered by filling several charges of cold stock over them, which at once greatly cooled off the top of the furnace. A wrought-iron pipe, thirty inches in diameter, in five sections, each six feet long, was then put down, and made to stand upright, as nearly as possible in the centre of the furnace. Around this we filled a double charge of coal, taking care to heap it up next the pipe, and let it get thinner as it got to the walls. This was covered with about two feet of fine ore, leaving the lowest joint in the pipe entirely uncovered. We were now ready to put in our scaffold to get at the

Jan 1, 1876

By FJ. Johnson

Polymer utilization has increased steadily over the past several decades; however, their usefulness is sometimes limited by natural forces. For example, polymers tend to degrade when subjected to elevated temperatures. This degradation can release toxic fumes, create excess smoke, and aid in the spread of fire. For these reasons, many polymers are filled with various compounds which impart flame retardancy (FR) properties. These fillers do not make polymers non-combustible; rather, they increase resistance to ignition and reduce bum rate. Also, they suppress smoke generation, which is important as up to 80% of fire-related deaths are due to smoke inhalation [1]. Therefore, methods to impart flame retardancy in polymers are industrially important. The early flame retardants used in polymers were halogen-based, working on the principle of inhibiting free radical formation in the vapour phase thus impeding combustion propagation [2]. Usually these were combined with antimony compounds such as Sb203 to decrease loading, yet provide the same FR qualities. However, questions have arisen recently concerning toxicity of halogenated flame retardants. Possible release of toxic compounds (such as dioxins) upon combustion has been reported [3]. Fear of future regulations concerning halogen addition has led to the search for different FR fillers. Two of the more common replacements for halogen-based systems are alumina trihydrate (Al(OH)3 or ATH), and magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2)' These systems impart flame retardancy through heat absorption and by release of water of hydration upon their decomposition. ATH has a low decomposition temperature (230°C), limiting its use to unsaturated polymers, epoxies, urethanes, and some wire and cable formulations. However, some advantages of ATH over halogenated FR are that it is relatively cheap, doesn't generate toxic gases, is non-volatile, and is impervious to moisture [2].

Jan 1, 1997

Direct reduced iron (DRI), produced by the reaction between iron ore and reducing gasses, is used as a source of low-residual iron, in addition to ferrous scrap and pig iron, in the production of steel mainly through the electric arc furnace (EAF) route of steelmaking. The main DRI technologies in use are those of Midrex and Hyl, but in recent years a myriad of newer processes emerged based on variations in feedstock, reducing agent and fuel sources. Since the beginning of the nineties, DRI has increasingly emerged as a cheaper, low-residual iron feedstock for EAFs, which have traditionally relied almost entirely on ferrous scrap feed. The main stimulus behind the interest in DRI has been the increasing popularity of the EAF and the ?mini-mill? set-up as the favoured steelmaking option compared to the traditional and much less flexible blast furnace/ basic oxygen converter. This, however, has been creating a problem with regard to availability of low-residual scrap, resulting in upward pressure on high quality scrap prices and leaving DRI, traditionally the ?expensive alternative?, as a much more competitive consideration. The second main determinant has been the increasing production efficiency of existing steel plants which, in the light of improvements such as continuous casting and near net shape casting, has been constraining the supply of low-residual domestic scrap, traditionally the prime source of EAF feed. The explosion of current and proposed DRI projects has been accentuating the mounting interest of global role-players in assuring the availability of reliable sources of low-residual iron units for the future, especially in cases where definitive competitive advantages exist with regard to proximity to primary sources of iron ore and fuel (gas or coal).

Jan 1, 1999

By D. B. Dow

The study of oil production methods with reference to the amount of oil originally pressent in the oil-bearing, formations has developed the fact that-ordinary methods-of production remove only a part of the oil actually present. In fact, it is generally realized that when a field is abandoned more oil remains in the sand than has ever been removed. As a consequence of this realization, the petroleum engineer has devoted considerable tine in recent years in devising methods for increasing the percentage of recovery. His studies have indicated that in most cases the total production of a field is dependent upon the available gas rather than upon the available oil. Mien the gas in the sand is exhausted, oil production ceases even though there may be enormous quantities of oil remaining unrecovered. Consequently, any method of conserving the gas or increasing the supply of gas will increase the ultimate recovery from a field. The practice of producing oil under vacuum increases the effectiveness of the gas remaining in the sand, as well as furnishing more gas by evaporating the light fractions of the crude. Pumping ' compressed gas or air down selected wells of a lease has been found to increase the production of oil from the surrounding wells. Studies of oil and gas ratios have indicated that much of the available gas has been wasted as far as its effectiveness on oil production is concerned. his has led to the development of "stop cocking"3 and the practice of producing under back pressure3, which methods aim, to obtain more effective work from the gas with reference to the amount of oil delivered to the well.

Jan 1, 1926

An important problem in mine operations is the classification of material as waste, low-grade stockpile, and ore. This classification must often be made with blasthole data that are widely spaced and that have sampling errors. Geo-statistical simulation techniques combined with basic economic principles allows a procedure for classification that maximizes expected profit. Geostatistical simulation methods (Gaussian, indicator, or annealing-based) allow the integration of hard and soft data in the creation of alternative, equally-probable, realizations of the mineral grade(s). At each location, for each realization, we calculate the "profit" if the block were to be classified as ore or waste The optimal classification is the one that maximizes expected profit (a Maximum Profit Se-lection (MPS) procedure). We discuss the theoretical justification of the method and implementation details. The use of blasthole data from different types of mineral deposits, that is, different levels of continuity, is considered. We also show the efficacy of the procedure with different levels of sampling error. The increased revenue due to the MPS procedure and improved sampling is shown. We show the geostatistical simulation procedure and the uncertainty in block grades that result from incomplete and imperfect sampling. The optimal classification is presented. Optimal block classifications are transferred to realizable dig-limits by hand-drawing polygonal boundaries. We compare the results of the proposed method to classification based on kriging. Limitations and areas of future work are identified.

Jan 1, 1999

By Ruirui Wei, Mingrui Yang, Xuewei Lv

Copper slag is a by-product obtained during smelting of copper from copper ores. In China, for one ton of metal production about 2.2 tons of copper slag was generated, and approximately 15 million tons slag is produced in 2013. Dumping and disposal of such huge quantities of slag will cause environmental and space problems. Most importantly, copper slag cannot be made full use of to maximize its value. In this study, copper slag was used to take the place of scrap iron and part of silica in traditional process and to produce FeSi alloy as the main material. Utilizing silica and copper slag as the raw materials and coke as the reducing agent, FeSi45 was produced in the induction furnace. In addition, the effect of different n(C)/n(O) on FeSi45 has been investigated.Increasing n(C)/n(O) is beneficial to form the stable phase of FeSi. Meanwhile, n(C)/n(O) greatly affects the reduction and recovery of silicon than iron. When n(C)/n(O) equals 1.10, the recovery of silicon and iron is about 77 and 95%, respectively.

Mar 1, 2017

By B. Li

"Sepiolite is a magnesium-rich, porous, and fibrous clay mineral with broad applications. These applications take advantage of sepiolite’s high specific surface area and unique nano-sized channel structure. Over the past years, numerous materials and techniques based on the structure and property of sepiolite have been developed. This article reviewed the recent achievements in developments and applications of sepiolite in environmental protection, catalysis area, and nanocomposites. The prospectives of sepiolite applications is also discussed. INTRODUCTION Sepiolite is a magnesium-rich, porous, and fibrous clay mineral. The typical chemical formula of sepiolite is Si12Mg8O30[OH]4[OH2]4·8H2O [1]. Sepiolite has a high specific surface area and nano-sized channels because of its special structure [2]. This unusual crystal structure projected onto the [001] plane is shown in Fig.1 [3]. As it can be seen, silicon and oxygen atoms make up for the tetrahedral structure and magnesium and oxygen atoms form octahedral structure, respectively. Those tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral ribbons expand boundlessly in one direction, leading to the special fibrous structure of the sepiolite. Every tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral ribbon is combined to the next by an inverted Si–O–Si bond, which causes an interlaced layer with a continuous tetrahedral sheet and a discontinuous octahedral sheet. Terminal MgO at the edges of the ribbons is coordinated with two structural water molecules, which can form hydrogen bonds with zeolitic water molecules that are located in the channels running parallel to the fiber axis [3,4]. The Mg2+ ions inside the channels can be exchanged with other cations in solution. Therefore, sepiolite can be used to remove metal cations from aqueous solutions [5,6].It can be seen from Figure. 1 and Table 1 [7], the unique structure endows sepiolite with a substantial surface area and nanoscale channels. Its specific surface area reaches 320 m2/g and channel dimensions up to 3.7×10.6 Å. There are three active adsorption sites on the surface of sepiolite: one is oxygen atoms of the Si-O tetrahedron. The second is the structural water molecules paired with magnesium ions at the edges of the ribbons, which can form hydrogen bond with adsorbent. The last one is the Si-OH groups due to the breaks of the Si-O-Si bonds on the surface of Si-O tetrahedron. Thus, sepiolite has strong adsorption ability which has been widely used in environmental protection. Moreover, sepiolite has many significant features such as good mechanical and thermal stability, rheological property, porous, and easily modification, making it be a hotspot in chemical and biological researches. However, with the development of technology, broader and more advanced applications of sepiolite have been carried out in recent years. In this study, the recent achievement in sepiolite applications is summarized, the further tendency is also discussed."

Jan 1, 2018

By Michael J. Friedel

The integrity of mine structures, such as the roofs, ribs, face and supporting pillars, is difficult to assess beyond the exposed surface. To mitigate potential rockfall hazards, the U.S. Bureau of Mines is assessing the usefulness of Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis to detect damage and stress-relieved zones in mine structures. Classical surface wave dispersion modeling is utilized at both laboratory and field scales in damaged and undamaged material to assess the integrity of a mine pillar and roof. To more fully exploit Rayleigh wave propagation characteristics, derivation of a novel dispersion parameter was conducted using a convolutional model. The development of a suitable Rayleigh wave dispersion system based on insight derived from forward modeling is presented. The application of inverse modeling for damage and stress assessment in the mine environment is also discussed.

Jan 1, 2010

By Josefin Lannefors, Anders Klingberg, Natalija Gorochovceva

"Development of new anionic collectors becomes more and more important. This can be explained, on the one hand, by the fact that over the years phosphate ores have become more fine grained and complex (example weathered). On the other hand, a development with a focus on sustainability (sustainable development) of new anionic surfactants is required by authorities and society. Within the sustainable development several characteristics of a collector have to be taken into an account: efficiency, selectivity, froth characteristics, environmental profile, raw materials used for the synthesis, manufacturing complexity, stability upon storage, etc.Several anionic surfactants based on ester and amide chemistry were synthesized, characterized and used as flotation agents for calcium phosphate containing ore. The surfactants were used in a formulation together with other anionics, since in a pure form, during the flotation, they did not provide right froth characteristics.A new anionic collector/formulation was developed, that fulfills all above listed requirements."

Jan 1, 2014

By Irving Hartmann

The fire end explosion hazard of excessive coal-dust deposits in mines has been recognized for many years, and important measures have been developed for reducing dust formation and to alley loose dust near its source. Nevertheless, in the course of normal mining it has been estimated that 1 to 3 percent (in some thin, friable seams up to 10 percent) of the total coal mined is reduced to dust of through-20-mesh fineness. In highly mechanized, continuous mining operations the production of fines is even greater. Most dust is trapped near its point of origin and removed from the mine, but large quantities are transported by the air current and by haulage into entries, where the greatest proportion settles on the floor and the balance on the rib and roof surfaces. The latter is generally finer in particle size than the floor dust; this, coupled with its more advantageous position for dispersion, makes the rib-roof dust (also to be referred to as overhead dust) a greater potential explosion hazard.

Jan 1, 1954

By Brad H. A Brown, J Paul Tidman

To design a blast, one must give consideration to safety, economics, geometry, geology, production needs, and a variety of other requirements. To compare designs requires the time to develop alternatives, analyze, and then improve on them. A number of tools are available to assist with the first set of requirements, however they are poorly integrated. SHOTPlus is a program to improve the efficiency of blasting operations, by combining measurement and blast design tools, and offers the user the time and means to modify designs and explore alternatives.

Jan 1, 1997

By E. S. Anolick, Joseph Singer

The magnetic after-effect, in the form of time decay of permeability (l/µ), has been used to obtain independent data on the solubility of' carbon in pure iron. The results differ slightly from the solubilities obtained through internal -friction experiments. The mechanism of the time decay being the magnetic analogue of internal friction, it appears necessary to explain the observed discrepancies, and some suggestions are made. THE purpose of this work was to establish the reliability of the time decay of permeability as a measure of dissolved interstitial in the body-centered-cubic lattice, and further, to establish techniques suitable for such measurements with samples of a form convenient for various other measurements. This particular sample form was the "epstein" strip, i.e., 25 cm by 3 cm by 0.035 cms. While the general conclusions are not limited by this geometry, there are two aspects of the samples that may be relevant: a) texture, and b) grain size, which ranged generally from 1 to 10 mm. Effects due to these two possible parameters were thought to be small and were not investigated. Calibrating the time decay technique and the other experimental procedures by measuring the solubility of carbon in pure iron suggested itself because of the accumulation of data on this subject through the related technique of the internal friction'; The essentials of this report have been published in a somewhat condensed form.5 Since then some additional data have been taken. It is the purpose of this paper to add these data and to provide more complete description of the experimental techniques than was possible then. The time decay of permeability is a form of the magnetic after-effect.6,7 Permeability is measured immediately after demagnetization (µº) and also long after (µ8). The time decay, ?(l/µ), is the difference 1/µ8 - 1/µ0 and has been considered to be proportional to the concentration of a dissolved interstitial6,8,9,12 The relaxation time! 7, is characteristic of a particular diffusion, and affects the permeability as follows: where he being the activation energy for diffusion of the interstitial. Reference is made to the works of snoek6 and Neel7 for a complete discussion. A brief exposition of the principal ideas may be in order here, as follows. On the basis of the simplest model, resistance against domain wall motion increases with time after demagnetization due to the diffusion of interstitials to preferred sites created by the magnetostrictive tetragonolization under the strong magnetic field. Thus permeability, measured with a small field after the abrupt removal of the large field, will continuously fall with the process of diffusion of the interstitials, and the total "time decay" (or "time decrease") should be proportional to the amount of interstitial in solid solution. In the present report, use is made only of the total time decay rather than of the nature of the progress of the decay; the only problem involved in this approach is the need for assurance that only one interstitial is contributing to the effect as used. It is felt that the special use made here of the total time decay warrants the conclusions. Other work has been going on elsewhere on the detailed study of the nature of the time decay.8'9 EXPERIMENTAL A) Materials—12-lb ingots were made in a vacuum furnace from high-purity iron and by a series of hot and warm reductions were brought down to 14-mil strip. This was cut into 25-cm epsteins. The pure iron was decarburized at 750 °C by hydrogen. The time decay measurement for the decarburized iron (see below) indicated a satisfactorily low starting level of interstitials. Grain growth to grain sizes of 1 to 10 mm was produced in the pure iron by a 700" anneal in hydrogen after a critical reduction of about 7 pct as suggested by previous trials. No measurement of texture in the pure iron was made. The grain size was taken to be large enough to be beyond any sharply critical size regarding solubility. B) Infusion of Carbon—Since the permeability measurement required about two dozen epsteins, a special method of carbon infusion had to be developed to ensure homogeneity of infused carbon. This was accomplished by setting the samples edgewise in a

Jan 1, 1961

By Robert Hopler

In use, blasting powder is exploded by a spark from fuse, electric squib or miner’s squib, or by a primer of some high explosive, the last being employed only in heavy charges on open work. In mining, and sometimes in light charges on open work, blasting powder is made into cartridges by means of a paper tube or cylinder sealed at one end, which is known as the Du Pont tamping bag. Sometimes the paper cylinder is made by the miner by coiling a section of heavy paper, known as blasting paper, around a wooden pin, called a cartridge pin, and securing it with what is called blasting soap. The removal of the pin leaves a cylindrical cartridge open at one end, into which the powder is poured and the top folded and sealed with blasting soap.

Jan 1, 2014

Nominating Committee.-On the recommendation of the President, the Board of Directors, at their meeting on Apr. 25,1913, appointed the following Nominating, Committee to nominate officers and directors for next year: John Hays Hammond (Ex-President), Chairman. Robert H. Richards Chairman of Boston Local Section. Richard S. McCaffery, . . . . Chairman of Spokane Local Section. Chester F. Lee Chairman of Puget Sound Local Section. Frederick G. Cottrell, . . . . San Francisco, Cal. Charles W. Goodale Butte, Mont. James W. Maleolmson, . . . . Kansas City, Mo.

Jan 5, 1913

By T. R. Ingraham

The thermal decomposition of Nickel (II) sulfate was examined by determining the total pressure of SO3, SO2, and O2 developed over a sample when it was heated in an evacuated system fitted with a Pyrex-bellows mercury manometer. The equilibrium pressures were combined with previously published data on the oxide and sulfide systems to establish a predominance volume diagranz for the Ni-S-O system over the normal range of roasting temperature and gas composition used in the treatment of nickel minerals. The protective coating of NiSO4 which forms on the oxide during roasting, and which causes the sulfation reaction to almost cease, may be disengaged readily by temperature cycling. When nickel sulfide is roasted in air, either nickel sulfate or nickel oxide may be formed by altering the experimental conditions. Because of the differing stabilities of various metal sulfates and oxides, possibilities exist for separating some of the constituents of mineral mixtures by the technique of selective sulfation and oxidation roasting. The experimental information required to make reasonable predictions of the possibilities of this technique is incomplete and, in some cases, in conflict. As part of a general program of providing some of the required information, a study EXPERIMENTAL Materials, Apparatus, and Procedure. Fisher certified reagent-grade nickel sulfate hexahydrate was used in the source material for both nickel sulfate and nickel oxide. The manufacturer's analysis indicated: 0.001 pct Fe, 0.005 pct Cu, 0.003 pct Co, 0.001 pct C1, other 0.15 pct. The material was dehydrated, before use, by heating at 420°C for 5 hr. The oxide was prepared by roasting the sulfate in an open tray in a muffle furnace for 10 hr at950°C. Preliminary experiments which were made by thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis established that only one crystal form of nickel oxide and one of nickel sulfate were involved in the equilibrium shown in Eq. [I]. The apparatus used in the experiments was described previously.1,3 The main feature is a corrosion-resistant, flexible Pyrex bellows which is used to protect the mercury in a u-tube manometer. Before a run was begun, the apparatus was washed thoroughly with hot hydrochloric acid and water and dried by heating under vacuum. The mixed sulfate -oxide sample was contained in a platinum bat rest-

Jan 1, 1967

By M. Wu, A. Kharicha, A. Ludwig

"The droplet formation during melting of a 400 mm diameter electrode is simulated with a multiphase-MHD approach. The computational model includes a layer of slag and a layer of liquid steel. A VOF approach is used for the interface tracking and a potential formulation is used for the electric and the magnetic field. The Lorentz force and the Joule heating are recalculated at each time step in function of the phase distribution. The first results provided by this model are presented.IntroductionThe Electro-Slag-Remelting (ESR) process is an advanced technology for the production of components of e.g. high quality steels [ 1-9]. An alternating current (Figure 1) is passed from a conventionally melted and cast solid electrode through a layer of molten slag to the baseplate. Because of the electrical resistivity of the slag, Joule heating is generated and the slag transfers this energy to ingot and mould surfaces and to the melting electrode tip. The molten metal produced in the form of droplets passes through the slag and feeds a liquid pool from where directional solidification takes place. The slag and the ingot are contained in a water cooled copper mould. As also the baseplate is water cooled, a heat flow regime is imposed that gives controlled solidification, and this results in improved structure characteristics of ESR ingots.This process involves two liquids, a liquid metal and a liquid slag. Each liquid is subject to a phase change due to melting and/or solidification. From a fluid dynamic point of view, the ESR process is clearly a multiphase process, with free interfaces (slag/pool, gas/slag), and with a mixed area (slag and falling steel droplets) [ 10-15].Physically, the development of the heat and mass transfer at the slag/droplet interface is important for the final ingot quality, composition and cleanliness. Visual observations of the droplet formation just under the electrode being melted is almost impossible. Due to the presence of high temperatures, opacity of the materials, and the presence of the mould it is not possible to directly observe the behaviour the slag/pool interface. Although usually assumed flat [1-9], a previous work [10] using a Volume of fluid (VOF) model has shown that the interface shape between a layer of slag and steel layer in a cylindrical cavity is highly coupled with the distribution of the electric current. A full scale simulation of the ESR process using a VOF model has shown that the shape of the pool interface is likely to be non flat."

Jan 1, 2011

By Jas. E. Thomson

PUBLIC attention was first attracted to the Crow River area of north-western Ontario by the discovery of gold in 1928. The first three discoveries were eventually developed into Central Patricia, Pickle Crow, and Albany River mines. In 1929, preliminary developments were carried out at the Howell vein on N.A.M.E. (later Pickle Crow) claims, and in 1929 and 1930 surface and underground work indicated an ore-body at Central Patricia mine. However, due to the financial depression and the distance of these properties from the railway, it was not until 1934 and 1935 that, benefitted by the revaluation of gold, the real potentialities of these two properties began to be realized. Their immediate success led to a resumption of activity on neighbouring properties throughout the area in 1936 and 1937. Preliminary prospecting in the earlier period had been limited by the scarcity of rock exposures in the country. The procedure in the recent programme of intensive exploration has been along similar lines at most properties and has consisted lf detailed geological mapping accompanied by geophysical surveys and followed by systematic drilling of favourable zones. The present importance of the camp may be judged by the fact that, in 1937, Central Patricia and Pickle Crow mines together produced bullion valued at $3,662,953, and paid $1,450,000 in dividends. In addition, there were pro-mising gold developments at Albany River mine. During the past two seasons, the Geological Branch of the Ontario Department of Mines has been making a fairly detailed study of the geology and mineral deposits in the Crow River area. It is the purpose of this paper to present a brief statement of some of the structural features of these deposits; a summary of other geological information essential for the understanding of the main topic is included. A more detailed report on the area will be published shortly by the Ontario Department of Mines. It is impossible to make full acknowledgment here for all help received, for the writer is in-debted to the management, staff, and consultants of every Company in the camp for generous co-operation in the field and for information, plans, maps, and records placed at his disposal. Reports and articles on properties in the area have been written by Hurst (1), Cormie (2), Reid (3), and the staff of Pickle Crow Gold Mines ( 4).

Jan 1, 1938

By J. E. Neal, C. T. Naber, O&apos

Silicon thin films were deposited by electron beam evaporation in an ultrahigh vacuum onto (0001) and (1102) sapphire substrates. Attempts were made to correlate the structural properties of the deposited silicon films with the following: 1) substrate orientation, 2) substrate surface condition, 3) substrate temperature, and 4) deposition rate. The substrate temperatures were varied between 500° and 1000°C and the deposition rates were varied between approximately 50 and 700A per min. The following sapphire surface treatments were investigated: 1) annealing in the ultrahigh vacuum at 1200° C; 2) heating in a hydrogen atmosphere at about 1350°C; and 3) etching with silicon by evaporating silicon onto sapphire substrates heated to 1200° or 1300°C. Twinned silicon films were occasionally formed at substrate temperatures between the 800° and 1000°C on unprocessed mechanically polished substrates; however, the reproducibility and crystallinity of these films were generally poor. Single-crystal and twinned silicon films were formed at substrate temperatures between 700° and 1000°C on substrates which were silicon-etched at 1300°C prior to deposition. Fiber texture films were formed at substrate temperatures between 500° and 700°C. The (111) lattice plane of the silicon single-crystal films was parallel to the (0001) sapphire plane and the (100) silicon plane was parallel to the (1102) sapphire plane. TECHNIQUES are well-established for growing single-crystal silicon thin films on sapphire by chemical methods.'-* Vacuum epitaxial techniques have a number of advantages over chemical epitaxial techniques in the fabrication of thin film microcircuits.5 One of the most significant is that vacuum techniques are compatible with well-established procedures for forming vacuum-deposited thin-film resistors, capacitors, and interconnections. Salatna, Tucker, and young6 recently reported the formation of relatively poor crystalline-quality silicon films on sapphire by electron beam evaporation in a vacuum of about 7 x 10-7 Torr. The purpose of the investigation described here is to determine the relationships between the structural properties of silicon thin films deposited on sapphire substrates by electron beam evaporation in an ultra-high vacuum and the following: 1) substrate orientation; 2) substrate surface condition; 3) substrate temperature; and 4) deposition rate. The substrate temperatures were varied between 500° and 1000° C and the deposition rates were varied between approximately 50 and 700A per min. Two orientations of sapphire were used: (0001) and (1102). The thick-nesses of the films were between 8000 and 16,000A. The morphology and crystallinity of the deposited films and substrate surfaces were investigated by optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and electron diffraction. APPARATUS AND PROCEDURE A cross section of the ultrahigh-vacuum thin-film evaporator is shown in Fig. 1. The bell jar is stainless steel and copper gaskets are utilized at all seals. High vacuum is attained by a 6001iter per sec ion pump and a titanium sublimation pump. Sorption pumps are used to rough the system to a pressure of about 10 µ prior to starting the ion pump. Vacuums in the 10- 10 Torr range were attained after baking the system at about 250°C for 8 hr. Vacuums in the 10-8 to 10-9 Torr range were maintained during silicon evaporation. The silicon charges, which were cut from p-type single-crystal boules which had resistivities between 2000 and 4500 ohm-cm, were placed in the water-cooled copper crucible of a 180 deg bent-beam 5-kw electron beam evaporator. During evaporation, a molten zone was formed in the top center of the silicon charge, and the portion of the silicon charge in contact with the water-cooled crucible remained solid. The substrate heater, which has been described

Jan 1, 1969

By W. G. Willson

Low-rank coal (LRC) drying processes are generally categorized by operating temperature, drying environment and type of feed (either sized or ground coal). Within these broad categories, drying processes differ according to the type of drying equipment and methods of quenching and stabilizing the dried products. This paper focuses on the produce quality of various LRC drying processes including conventional low and high temperature evaporative drying and non-evaporative, hydrothermal drying. The former may be preferred if the dried product can be utilized immediately, but moisture re-absorption, spontaneous heating and fines production during handling are problems associated with longer term storage, transportation and utilization. Methods for reducing these problems are discussed. Hydrothermal processing is an advanced technology featuring high pressure, non-evaporative drying, which solves stability problems by producing a liquid fuel.

Jan 1, 1997