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By William P. Mason

FoR reasons unnecessary to enter into here, I was called upon to contradict the statement that " closed metallic vessels, partly filled with water and heated, do not become shattered by violent explosion, but simply rupture by over-pressure;" and the following experimental results were obtained in support of my position : A piece of drawn brass tubing (telescope-tubing) 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 15 inches long was closed at both ends by screwing on heavy caps of bronze. Before closing the second end the vessel was half filled with river water, the cap was then screwed on, and the closed vessel was supported upon two iron anvils, and heated in the interval between the supports by a large Bunsen lamp. The resulting explosion (which was doe to over-pressure only and not to any more occult cause) was exceedingly violent. No small damage was done to the room in which the experiment was undertaken; and the noise was like that of a cannon. Those of the pieces which could be recovered are shown in Fig. 1. Upon examining the wreck, it was noticed that one of the heavy bronze end-caps had preserved its circular section and still contained that portion of the barrel of the tube which had been screwed into it, while the other end-cap contained no portion of the tube, and was moreover sprung into a shape more or less elliptical, as if from excessive lateral strain. It was also observed that the large pieces of the shattered boiler predominated towards the end which had been closed by the un-sprung end-cap. The reasonable explanation, in view of the facts, was, that over-pressure had caused the boiler to yield through the screw-threads at A B, Fig. 2, and the righthand end-cap had blown off, thus leaving the boiler half filled with water, greatly super-heated for the new (atmospheric) pressure to which it was suddenly reduced; that this water had consequently sprung instantly into steam with dynamite effect, shattering the tube and springing the remaining end-cap. The large pieces would be expected at the open end of the boiler, as at that point the "tamping "would have been that of the atmosphere only. This explanation assumes a rupture to have been caused by gradually increased pres-

Jan 1, 1893

By William P. Blake

In my short " Contribution to the Early History of the Industry of Phosphate of Lime in the United States,"* mention is made of the erection by Dr. Emmons and myself of a magnetic machine for the removal of iron-ore from the so-called "red sand," a granular form of apatite. At the time of writing, it was not possible to refer to my diary and notes, and the general statements were made from recollection. The subject seems to have special interest at this time, by reason of the many forms of machines now being introduced and patented for similar purposes; and, having received letters of in quiry for further details, I have availed myself of the opportunity, when recently at home for a few days, to refer to the original notes and records made by me in 1852, when living at Crown Point and Moriah, on Lake Champlain. The machine mentioned in my former communication mas pur chased of Ransom Cook, of Vermont. It arrived, and was un loaded from the boat and taken part way up to the nine, on October 18,1852. The weight was 1400 pounds and the cost $1200. It was constructed, not with permanent magnets but with electro-mag nets. It was set up and first turned by hand on October 28th, using twelve battery-cups or cells, the connections being made with wires in small cups of quicksilver. The magnets were not sufficiently strong, and the machine did not work well. More batteries were sent for, arid the machine was started with steam-power on Novem ber 6th. The ore was dried in kilns, then put through a coffee-mill crusher or grinder, and then fed upon the leather belt which carried it under the magnets. Many experimental runs were made, and some diffi culties were overcome, before December 21st, when the record states that the machine was working pretty well, using 24 cells and giving a product of from 3 to 5 tons a day of granular phosphate. The ori-

Jan 1, 1893

By Edward K. Landis

Our Transactions contain so many suggestions of apparently trivial, yet really important, contrivances for the saving of time and

Jan 1, 1893

By Otto F. Pfordte

In my paper on " The Refilling of Sulphides Obtaihed in the Lixiviation-Process with Hyposulphite Solutions " (Trans., xx., 37), I gave the outlines of a process for refining sulphides. In a subse-

Jan 1, 1893

By Bailey Willis

It is proposed to present some of the results of observation of the geologists of the Appalachian division during the past seven years, and of experimental study during the past three years, on the subject of structural geology in the Appalachian Province. The article must be brief, even at the risk of obscurity; but a more complete and fully illustrated paper will appear in the Thirteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. Certain Facts. The following facts are first to be taken account of: From the Cambrian age to the Carboniferous there existed a conti nent stretching southeast from the present range of the Blue Ridge, covering what is now eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, eastern Vir ginia, North and South Carolina and eastern Georgia, with some un known part of the present Atlantic ocean-bed. Northwest from this continent lay a sea, reaching to the west and north of the Mississippi. Sedimentary deposits derived from the land accumulated with or ganic remains, in the sea; the greater part fell in a narrow zone along the shore, the remainder spread in a comparatively thin sheet over the bottom of the Mediterranean of North America. The resulting strata measure, near Mauch Chunk, Pa., 30,000 feet; over much of Pennsylvania, 20,000 to 25,000 feet; over eastern Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, but 10,000 to 15,000 feet. The stratified mass, considered with reference to its broad physical char acters, consists of three members: A base of shale and sandstone ; a middle of limestone, 2500 to 6000 feet thick—a stratum probably not equalled in the world for uniformity of character and massive ness; and a top of shale and sandstone, 5000 to 23,000 feet thick. This mass has been folded. In a zone 900 miles long and 50 to 125 miles wide, the strata exhibit such attitudes and relations as could result only from a force of compression acting from north west or from southeast, or from both directions. Our problem is :

Jan 1, 1893

By N. M. Langdon

The calculation of slags may be considered under three cases: I. A certain percentage of silica is required, it being known, in a

Jan 1, 1893

By Harvey S

After considerable experience in connection with the magnetic iron-ores at the South, especially in the Cranberry district of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, the writer was led into a thorough investigation of the magnetic separation of iron-ores, and, from this investigation, has gradually been developed a separating machine which it is the purpose of this paper to explain. Numerous United States patents have been issued upon machines for magnetic separation. Since the original patents date back to 1849, it is not possible to-day to establish broad claims upon the principles of electro-magnets as applied in such machines. Among these inventions there are certain types of separators which have very marked practical advantages over the others; and these successful machines, while varying radically from each other in their proportions and arrangements, are all based upon a principle originally explained in a patent which was granted in 1870, and which has now expired by limitation. The problem of practically separating iron-ores, as found in the mines, is very different from the separation of a purely magnetic substance from a purely non-magnetic one, since the crystals of magnetite, scattered through the ore-bearing rock, and sometimes collected in masses, are of very different sizes. The average size of the particles may be definitely ascertained for each mine, and the crushing- and screening-machinery may be adapted thereto, but there will still be a large percentage of very fine crystals which, in the crushing for the average, will not be broken apart from the gangue. If these mixed particles are thrown into the heads they carry gangue with them, and if thrown into the tails they occasion a loss of ironore. There are two methods for preventing such loss. One is, to crush all the material to the size of the finest particles, which means, of course, a large crushing-plant, heavy wear and tear, and excessive cost for repairs, and the production of only a very fine-grained concentrate which our blast-furnace managers, to say the least, do not

Jan 1, 1893

By C. M. Ball

The very considerable progress made during the past three years in the crushing and concentration of ores, lends special interest at the present time to any means of a more efficient character than such as are already generally known and in use, for the rapid and regular reduction of large quantities of the harder and heavier grades of mineral-bearing rock. Such means are of exceptional importance in connection with the preparation of iron-ore for separation by the magnetic process, since in this operation the capability of dealing with large volumes of material and of securing by ready means of adjustment, a granulation of the material under treatment to any required mesh or fineness, is of the greatest possible value. With these, however, must be coupled the further considerations of the amount of power expended for the work done, and the wear and tear, represented in the cost for renewal of parts of the crushing machinery, per ton of material reduced to a given degree of fineness. In general terms it may be stated that the operation of a crushing train, capable of reducing an ore-rock of average density and hardness, from the condition of mine lumps to pass 1/16-inch screenopenings at the rate of 20 tons per hour, should not call for an expenditure of more than 125 horse-power, and that the wear and tear of the crushing machinery, all told, should not exceed 2 cents per ton. In the design of a crushing-train for an ore-dressing plant, there are, moreover, considerations of great importance which relate to the simplicity or complexity of construction and arrangement, the wear and tear of few or many elements, the easy ability or difficulty of maintaining the working adjustment of the various elements of the train, and the number of hands required for the operation of the system. With these points in view, it is thought that the Cummings ore-

Jan 1, 1893

By T. A. Rickard

The province of Otago consists, roughly speaking, of the southern half of the South Island* of New Zealand. On three sides it is washed by the Pacific Ocean and on the north it abuts against Westland and Canterbury. It covers an area of over 20,000 square miles, and for the most part has an extremely broken surface; the narrow plains of the sea-board are bounded by the rounded foothills which in turn are overlooked by range after range of the snowy summits whose varied beauty has made the island known as the Switzerland of the southern hemisphere. The gold-fields are confined to the quartzose schists which, in a broad band, 70 to 75 miles wide, cross the district, extending in a northwesterly direction from the shore of the western ocean into the northern provinces. These quartzose schists are the characteristic rocks of Otago, and to their curious structure are due the interesting differences exhibited by the mining districts in the modes of occurrence of the gold. These rocks, which are almost unbroken over their full extent, have been divided by the Provincial Geologist, F. W. Hutton, into two series of beds, named respectively the Wanaka and Kakanui formations. The only reason given for this division is the desire " to divide such an enormous thickness of rocks in order that the map might display somewhat of the geological structure of the district." As Hutton and others have pointed out, there is in fact no dividing line. The changes noticeable in the ascending series of schists are very gradual, and are due to the slowly decreasing effects of metamorphism. Hutton estimates the thickness of the Wanaka series at as much as 50,000 feet, and the

Jan 1, 1893

By Axel Sahlin

Having no business interest in any of the various machines used for granulating ores, my remarks on the subject are prompted solely by my desire to contribute towards the determination of the best apparatus such information, as I have been able to gather,

Jan 1, 1893

By John Birkinbine

The press, trade publications, and special circulars, some elaborately illustrated, have been liberally employed within recent years in this country, to set forth the advantages of various locations as industrial centers, having as a basis the possibility of profitably producing pig-iron at these proposed centers: and special stress has been placed upon opportunities believed to exist at certain points for making iron of a quality suitable for the manufacture of Bessemer steel. The remarkable statements and prophecies made in some of these publications, have suggested the present paper, treating of the influence which location exerts upon the special industries named.

Jan 1, 1893

By W. H. Hoffman

During the autumn of 1891, several heavy blasts (each throwing down some 3000 tons of ore) were made on what is known as the Theall side of these mines. Immediately after one of these blasts, the writer found that at least one-third of the ore was largely impregnated with pyrites, and besides this, fully 15 per cent. of the entire blast was composed of irregular lumps of magnetic pyrites. This was a revelation wholly unexpected, as previous examinations by many experts had failed to disclose any such quantity of sulphury ore. Over the center of the Theall tunnel there suddenly appeared a perfect keystone, as it were, of pyrites, 3 feet wide at the arch of the tunnel, 13 feet ride at the top, and 20 feet high. This keystone pinched out in February, 1892; but in that month large blocks of pyrites were more plentiful on or near the western wall, and these deposits extended the entire height of the workings, some 43 feet. The second blast in November, in the face and over, and on each side of the tunnel, was far more surprising. The whole cross-section it exposed was thickly interspersed with layers of magnetic pyrites, ranging in thickness from 10 to 24 inches, and quite irregular in form, while all of the ore carried much more than the usual amount of sulphur in the non-magnetic pyrite. One hundred and fifty-five tons from a portion of this breast (western side), showed the following composition upon sampling and analysis: Per cent. Metallic iron,...45.080 Phosphorus,..........304 Sulphur,...........23.510 And the balance of the blast showed: Per cent. Metallic iron,.....• 33.210 Phosphorus,...........349 Sulphur,.......... 6.680 vol. xxI.-33

Jan 1, 1893

By Charles B. Dudley

In view of various papers and discussion.;, at recent meetings of the Institute, upon testing, methods of testing, inspectors, inspection and specifications, it has occurred to me that my experience of some fifteen years, in the making and enforcement of specifications, in connection with the Motive Power Department of the Pennsylvania Railroad, might give some value to the few suggestions offered in this paper. There is friction, not to say antagonism, between the producers and the consumers of structural materials. On the one hand, the producers complain of the severity of inspection, or the lack of knowledge and want of good judgment on the part of inspectors, and, indeed, have gone so far as to suggest the abolition of the whole scheme of inspecting and testing materials. On the other hand, the consumers are, apparently, more and more relying on specifications

Jan 1, 1893

By C. A. Stetefeldt

The iron-ore deposits worked by this Company occur in lenses 200 to 1000 feet long and 5 to 80 feet wide, and stand at an angle of from 65' to 75, with a vertical height of 250 to 500 feet, other lenses occurring below. A number of the deposits were first worked as open pits, which in some cases were carried to the depth of 150 feet, when, owing to the weakness of the walls, underground mining was adopted. While the ore was being removed from the open pit, shafts mere in several instances sunk into the foot-wall, the intention being to mine the ore with breast-stopes of an approximate height of 20 feet, followed by underhand-stopes of the same height, leaving floors between of the necessary thickness to support the walls, or to effect the removal of the ore by means of what is known as the stall system. As the work progressed, however, it was found that the walls (which are of chlorite) were too weak to permit the working of breast-stopes 20 feet high, there being frequent heavy falls of ground from the hanging and, in some instances, from the foot. The plan of following breast-stopes with underhand-stopes was, therefore, abandoned. By working breast-stopes only, but little more than one-half of the ore could be removed, and that only at an excessive cost, the ore being so hard that power-drills with 3 1/8-inch pistons . and 6-inch stroke, working under 60 pounds of compressed air, are able to drill but 8 feet in ten hours as a yearly average, while from 6 inches to 2 feet is a common result of ten hours' drilling. It was plain that some other system of mining must be adopted, and it was proposed to sink by levels of 75 feet, carrying in the cross-cuts from the shafts and working out the ore each way from the shaft from foot to hanging, and from 15 to 20 feet in height. When this has been done, drift-sets consisting of caps and legs are set up the whole length of the opening and connected with the cross-cut; the necessary openings for ladder-ways and chutes or mills are timbered from

Jan 1, 1893

By D. H. Bacon

Our Transactions contain so many suggestions of apparently trivial, yet really important, contrivances for the saving of time and

Jan 1, 1893

THE members arrived at Ticonderoga, N. Y., at noon, Tuesday, October 15th, and were received by Mr. Cyrus Butler, Chairman of the Local Committee of Arrangements. During the afternoon the works of the American Graphite Company and the Horicon Iron Company were visited under the guidance of Mr. Butler, President of both companies, and of Mr. William Hooper, Superintendent. An excursion was then made, in carriages, to old Fort Ticonderoga, on Lake Champlain, after which the party were driven to the Rogers Rock Hotel, on Lake George. The first session of the Institute was held in the parlor of time hotel on Tuesday evening. Mr. Eckley B. Coxe, President of the Institute, opened the proceedings with the following address: I shall ask your attention, this evening, to a few reflections upon the subject of mining engineering as a profession in the United States, its past, its present, and its future, and its duties and oppor¬tunities with reference to the proper development of our great min¬eral resources. Thirty years ago, there were scarcely any mining engineers in this country, and but few in England, and there were no institutions where young men could be educated for the profession in the Eng¬lish language. France and Germany have been able for about a century to boast of mining schools of a high character, that number among their graduates such men as Humboldt, Weisbach, Rittinger, Combes, and Gruner. Of the few we then had worthy of the name of "mining engi¬neer," some had studied in the continental academies, and others were graduates in the school of practical experience, and had learned their profession in mines and smelting-works. Their work con¬sisted principally in making surveys and maps of mines and mining properties, geological reports, and analyses of ores ; but the mining engineer whom we often meet with now, who has studied chemistry, physics, mineralogy, geology, mechanics, and drawing; who is more or less familiar with machinery and its construction, and with the practical management of mines or smelting-works, and who is an expert in some one branch of his profession, would have been very difficult if not impossible to find in the United States. The induce¬ments held out to ambitious and talented young men to enter the

Jan 1, 1879

Jan 1, 1879

By Charles B. Dudley

While working, during the summer of 1877, upon the "Chemical composition and Physical Properties of Steel Rails," the results of which are given in my report with this title, I was struck with the surprising wear which some of the rails, which would ordinarily be called soft rails, had endured. At that time I knew of no chemical measure of softness except low carbon, and I found that a numher of rails with low carbon had endured as high or higher tonnage, with apparently as little loss of metal by wear, as those with higher carbon. My own work on steel rails that summer did not embrace any definite experiments as to the amount of metal worn off the rail per million tons which had passed aver it; and so I could get no more definite answer from that work, to the question at the head of this paper, than was given by comparing the appearance of the worn section of the rail with its tonnage. This comparison, however, served to arouse in my mind the query, whether the commonly received opinion as to the relation between the hardness and wearing power of steel is correct, as applied to steel rails. This opinion, if I am right, is: the harder the steel, the better will be the wear, and the limit of hardness is simply one of safety; hard, brittle steel being, of course, more liable to break than soft, tough steel. The query, although aroused, did not bear any immediate fruit, and, as will be evident to any one reading it, the report above referred to was written with the commonly received opinion in mind. Since that time I hare collected a little information upon this subject, which I should be glad to submit to the Institute, if for no other purpose, for the sake of arousing attention, and directing study to the question of hardness versus wear in steel rails. Before making known this information, howevcr, permit me a few words in reference to hardness. How shall we measure the hardness of steel ? Of the various ways of getting indications as to the hardness of steel, which are known, three mill serve our present purpose. These are: 1st. High carbon. It is generally agreed, I think, that at least within proper limits, the greater the amount of combined carbon in a piece of steel, the harder the steel, and I need not do

Jan 1, 1879

By Thomas M. Drown

In the course of some experiments on the analysis of pig iron, I heated, in a platinum crucible, some borings of a graphitic pig iron with sodium carbonate. When the crucible was at a full red heat and the carbonate was thoroughly fused, I noticed a lively ebullition of the mass, and an escape of gas, which burned on the surface. On investigation this gas proved to be carbonic oxide, and on examining the borings in the bottom of the crucible after an hour or two, they were found to be perfectly malleable, although unchanged in general form and appearance. Analysis showed that the carbon was completely removed. I then repeated the experiment, to ascertain whether the silicon and phosphorus were affected, and found that these elements too were largely removed, and could be .found in the fused mass as alkaline silicates and phosphates. In order to ascertain whether the removal of the silicon and phosphorus was merely a surface action or whether the reaction really extended into the mass of the iron, I tried the following experiments : A number of bars of pig iron were cast about one foot long and planed down 'accurately to one inch section. These were immersed in a large wrought-iron pot full of molteu sodium carbonate made by fusiug the commercial bicarbonate of soda. Through the kindness of Mr. Frank Firmstone, Superintendent of the Glendon Iron Works, Easton, I was enabled to keep this pot at a reasonably constant high temperature for a long time in one of the hot-blast ovens. One of the bars was removed from the pot every twenty-four or forty-eight hours, according to the rapidity of the action, and after cooling mas broken and the fracture examined. The change from pig iron to malleable iron was progressively inwards and always sharp and easily recognized, the rate of progression being in a decreasing ratio with the time. The temperature of the oven had evidently

Jan 1, 1879

By John M. Hartman

The high temperature of the blast of modern furnaces renders it desirable that the pipe conveying the blast into the furnace crucible shall transmit and radiate as little heat as possible. To accomplish this, the pipe shown in the accompanying sketch was devised and patented. It consists of a slide-valve, leg-pipe, and belly-pipe, which are held together and to the tuyere by a system of levers and links. The slide-valve is superior to the old throttle-valve. The legpipe is formed of two thicknesses of wrought-iron pipe, with a space of half an inch filled in with clay and brick. The belly-pipe is made in the same way as the leg-pipe, and terminates in a globe face to suit the tuyere. The quarter turn is made extra thick, of cast iron, and the cap on the end is lined with clay also. The catches, A, B, C, are merely for convenience in putting the pipe together. The joints D and E are globe faces, and allow the pipe to adjust itself to any angle. The eye-piece is made of violet glass, which cuts off the glare from the bright coals in the furnace and allows a close examination of the interior, so that any water dropping or vapor can be detected. The glass does not become coated with dirt, like mica. Since good running of furnaces is shown by a bright tuyere, it is necessary to have a good eye-piece to examine them. To detach the pipe, a man lifts the weights, the side rods are then slipped off the bell crank under the quarter turn, the link under the belly-pipe is unhooked, and the pipe carried away. The same process is reversed to put the pipe together. The nozzle is changed by taking off the cap, G, drawing the nozzle through the belly-pipe, and inserting another. In this way the change can be made quickly, without taking down the pipe. On the old tuyere pipe bolts with brass nuts were used, which burned up and gave trouble. In other cases key-bolts were used, making it difficult to adjust the pipe. Bolts make too rigid a joint, and there is no provision for movement from contraction or expansion. As the temperature of the blast increases there is more expansion, and where rigid joints are

Jan 1, 1879