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By A. S. Richardson

AIR conditioning, or air cooling, for the improvement of ventilation in the Butte mines has come into increasing use during the past 10 years. In part, the methods practiced have been described in previous publications of the Institute, but some improvements on earlier methods have been made and a number of new features have been developed. This paper is presented as a record of progress made, and for the sake of completeness describes all general features of the work. The need for air conditioning in the ventilation of mines in the district arises from the fact that the temperature of the ground and mine water has shown a very great increase with increase in mining depth, and has now reached a maximum of slightly over 130°F. The most difficult part of the ventilation problem is the maintenance of temperature and humidity of a satisfactory standard in the working places, especially on the lower levels. Although ordinary ventilation is adequate to maintain good conditions in most of the working places it is subject to a number of limitations at great depth. Most important among these limitations is that with increase in depth the air becomes heated before it reaches the working places, both by compression from increase in atmospheric Pressure and by heat transferred to it from rock at high temPerature, so that its capacity for lowering temperatures is greatly reduced before it reaches the operating zone. Increasing depth of mining also increases the distance traveled by the air in its passage through the mine, and this causes a corresponding increase in resistance to air flow, so that there is greater difficulty in maintaining even the same volume in circulation. Thus, in the face of a demand that the ventilating system have a very much greater capacity to remove heat from the mine, the tendency is for that capacity to diminish. The only evident alternatives were (I) the opening of additional air shafts to increase the volume of air in circulation, (2) an extension of the existing system that would be subject to the same limitations, or (3) the adoption of an entirely different method such as air cooling. Fortunately for an economic solution of the problem, the mean annual temperature of the surface atmosphere at Butte is about 40°F., with very low relative humidity in summer, so that there is unlimited natural cooling power at a temperature range adaptable to air-conditioning methods. Methods Two similar methods of air conditioning are used, as necessitated by service requirements and dependent upon the equipment available. In one, which is the more important and has the greater cooling capacity, water is circulated in a closed circuit, and, alternately, first absorbs heat from warm mine air and then dissipates it in the surface atmosphere by cooling at a cooling tower. The second

Jan 1, 1943

By Aug. J. Jr. Bowie

(Read at the Wilkes-Barre Meeting, May, 1877.) Brief Outline of the General Topography of the Gold Regions of California. THE topographical features of California, as demonstrated by the explorations of the State Geological Survey, are found to be exceedingly simple. Three equidistant parallel lines can be used in conveying a general idea of the physical geography of Central California. A straight or " main axial line," whose course would be north 31° west, passing through the culminating peaks of the Sierra for a distance of five hundred miles, can be assumed as the eastern boundary of the State. A second parallel drawn fifty-five miles west of the " main axial line" will skirt the western base of the Sierra Nevada, along the edge of the foot-hills. A third parallel run equidistant from the second will represent "as nearly as possible the western base of the Coast Ranges." These parallel lines divide the State into three belts, namely, the Sierra, the Great Valley of California, and the Coast Ranges. " This arrangement of the physical features holds good for a length of four hundred miles in the direction of the main axial line, comprising almost the whole of the agricultural and the greater part of the mining districts."* The section of the country which is of immediate interest to the miner is the western slope of the Sierras. These mountains, rising in a short distance from the Sacramento plains to elevations of over seven thousand feet, with occasional peaks ten and twelve thousand feet high, are cut by numerous deep and precipitous gorges or capons, through which drains the immense watershed of the Sierra, supplying the main rivers of the State and ultimately emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Between these capons, ridges or divides are formed, on top of * See vol. i, p. 5, Geological Survey of California. J. D. Whitney, State Geologist.

Jan 1, 1878

If problems are opportunities in disguise, the mining industry certainly had plenty of "opportunities" in 1975. Considering the industry's generally lackluster 1975 profit record, and in view of the slowdown in inflation, there's some hope that 1976 might be a better year in spite of the increasing risks and uncertainties that plague the mining industry.

Jan 2, 1976

By J. L. Bruce

AFTER six years of war-enforced idleness, Cyprus copper mines are operating again. This relatively long shutdown seems infinitesimal when compared with something like seventeen hundred years of inactivity that followed the important operations of the ancient Romans, and continued until the twentieth century. The historical records of the ancient operators are scarce but full of interest to those who realize that Cyprus copper production was important more than two thousand years ago. This paper, however, will give only a brief review of the ancient history and the evidence of ancient mining which have been quite fully covered in other publications.1-6 The purpose of this paper is to give a general sketch of the Cyprus Mines Corporation's enterprise in the Island of Cyprus, with special emphasis on those conditions and practices which are unusual. The picture is not intended to be complete, and many interesting details will be omitted. Some of these may be described in subsequent papers covering departmental practices. The principal operations of Cyprus Mines Corp. are in Cyprus, where it has leasehold concessions from the Cyprus Government covering about 50 square miles. It holds additional areas under "Prospecting Permits." The consideration for the concessions is a royalty on production, coupled with minimum annual rentals. Cyprus is a British Colony in the Eastern end of the Mediterranean with an area of about 3000 square miles and a population of about 400,000, of which 65 pct may be classed as Greeks on the basis of language, religious training, and traditions. About 25 pct are Moslems, principally of Turkish extraction. Prevailing languages are Greek and Turkish. A large proportion of the supervisory and administrative staff and practically all of the skilled and unskilled craftsmen and laborers are drawn from the native population. The "overseas" staff constitutes not more than 2 pct of the employees. The majority of these are from the United Kingdom, the British Dominions and Colonies. About one-third are from the United States of America. The topography of the Island is rugged, with mountains and foothills covering more than two-thirds of the area. Between the Kyrenea range rising to 3000-ft elevation, along the north coast, and the Troodos range (maximum elevation 6400 ft) occupying the southwest half of the Island, lies a cultivated rolling plain, the "Mesaoria," dry in summer and watered only by the winter rains and by scanty irrigation from small mountain streams and wells in the spring and summer. Climate and natural vegetation are characteristic of semi-arid conditions. The "urban" population, about one-fourth of the total, lives in the five port towns, Famagusta, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos and Kyrenia, and in the capitol Nicosia, near the center of the Island. The suburban population lives almost entirely in villages or small towns, with very few people residing in isolated country homes.

Jan 1, 1947

By George Bain

METHODS of mining building stone of any sort are planned to pro-duce as few fractures as possible, and present a strong contrast to methods of mining metallic ores, which must be crushed eventually and have fractures produced in as great profusion as possible. Shocks transmitted to a stone invariably make it more porous and more permeable and reduce its effective life, therefore methods of mining building stone involve as FIG. 1. THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C. This building illustrates the fine detail of workmanship, unprotected sharp corners and thin edges, and tall narrow columns characteristic of marble structures. These features require exceedingly coherent stone, and preservation of these features for decades or centuries demands many special quarrying precautions to keep absorption to 0.14 per cent or less, a detail not essential to stone for coarser architectural types. few shocks as possible. This is singularly true for marble because marble structures are intended to have long life, greater delicacy of line, more gracefulness and fineness of sculpture than those made from any other structural material (Fig. 1). So that delicate lines may remain in almost perfect preservation for decades, or even centuries, it is important

Jan 1, 1935

By S. R. Seagle, R. Schuhmann, N. A. Parlee

Rates of CO evolution and CO absorption were measured for liquid-iron alloys containing from 0.15 to 4.4 pet C, using a modified Sieverts apparatus. The alloys were held in alumina crucibles, so that both crucible-metal and gas-metal reactions occurred simultaneously. The data are interpreted on the hypothesis that the C-O reaction rate is controlled by oxygen diffusion across the boundary layers at the gas-metal and crucible-metal surfaces. CARBON-monoxide evolution from liquid Fe-C-0 alloys is a key reaction in steelmaking processes, both in the steelmaking furnace and in the ingot mold. Also, this reaction probably is an essential step in the desulfurization of iron under blast-furnace conditions, for which carbon is the principal reducing agent or deoxidizer present in the iron. The thermodynamic properties of the solutions of C and 0 in Fe and the equilibria of these solutions with gaseous CO and CO, have been investigated in some detail and are reasonably well understood. However, while these equilibrium data have accumulated in the laboratory, other data have accumulated to show that equilibrium conditions are often not achieved under plant operating conditions. Thus, an understanding of the rate and mechanism of the carbon-oxygen reaction not only has theoretical interest, but ultimately may assume considerable practical importance. Reaction Mechanisms and Rate Equations The over-all reaction under consideration is C (in liquid Fe) + 0 (in liquid Fe) + CO (gas) [I] Although this appears to be a straightforward heterogeneous reaction, involving just two phases (liquid metal and gas), a wide variety of reaction mechanisms has been proposed. Different authors have expressed divergent views as to the nature of the rate-controlling steps. Accordingly, a brief discussion of the possible reaction steps will be given. 1) Homogeneous Reaction Within Liquid Iron— Feild' and Jette2 have applied chemical reaction-rate theory as if the C-0 reaction were a homogeneous, second-order reaction occurring within the liquid-metal phase. This mechanism necessarily produces CO "molecules" dissolved in liquid iron. In order to yield CO gas, the dissolved CO must nucleate CO gas bubbles, and the dissolved CO also must be transported to the bubble surface where it enters the gas phase. However, this mechanism is inconsistent with present concepts of the structure of liquid-metal solutions. 2) Reaction at Gas-Metal Interface—At the surface of contact between gas and metal, a second-order reaction between dissolved C and 0 may occur to produce a CO molecule which enters the gas phase. This reaction presumably involves an "activated complex" structure in the interface. Some such surface mechanism appears essential because the carbon and oxygen do not occur in the same species in the two phases and therefore must react in some way at the surface. At liquid-iron temperatures, calculations based on reaction-rate theory indicate that the surface reaction must proceed extremely rapidly and thus cannot be a rate-determining step in the C-O reaction under ordinary conditions.3 ccordingly when the over-all reaction is measurably slow, the surface reaction may be considered at equilibrium; that is Cc* Co* = m'Pco [2] in which Co* and Co* are the concentrations of carbon and oxygen (weight per unit volume of metal), respectively, in the liquid-metal phase at the interface, Poo* is partial pressure of CO in the gas phase at the surface (atmospheres), and m' is the mass-action constant for Reaction [I]. Since activities of C and 0 are not strictly proportional to concentrations, m' is not a true thermodynamic equilibrium constant but varies with carbon content.' 3) Mass Transport—If the reaction is to proceed at the gas-metal surface, as described above, dissolved carbon and oxygen in the liquid iron must come to the surface and gaseous carbon monoxide must move away from the surface. Details of the mass-transport mechanisms depend on the kind of system under consideration. For a stirred metal bath in contact with a CO gas phase, the transport of C and 0 to the surface can be described by 1 Do Mols CO evolved per sec = — 1/16— Do/do Agm (CO-Co*) = 1/12 Do/do Agm *(Co-Co*) [3] In this equation, Do and D, are the diffusion constants for oxygen and carbon in liquid iron, 6, and 6,. are the boundary-layer thicknesses, A,,,, is the

Jan 1, 1959

By F. R. Hensel

Up to the present time few attempts have been made to produce hard nonmagnetic materials by heat treatment of austenitic steels. The usual result has been to cause them to pass into the martensitic stage, thus destroying to a great extent the typical austenitic properties, since this involves a transition of a portion of the iron from a face-centered to a body-centered type of atomic arrangement. High-strength nonmagnetic materials such as might be provided by properly hardening austenite are required in the electrical industry for different machine parts. In Europe nonmagnetic retainer rings for restraining the end-turns of the rotor windings in turbo-alternators have been developed as a special application of high-strength austenite. In testing1 a 28,000-kva. three-phase Siemens turbo generator running at 3000 r.p.m. at full load current, the losses in the short-circuit test were 450 kw. for the magnetic ring and 286 kw. for the nonmagnetic, and the difference should be attributable to the magnetic ring. The differences in temperatures during the same test are given in Table 1 and these show the advantage of a nonmagnetic over a magnetic retainer ring.

Jan 1, 1931

By C. S. Matthews, M. Prats, R. I. Jewett, J. D. Baker

By mathematical analysis it was found that injectivity history of a uniform five-spot pattern can be calculated by rather simple formulas. These calculated injectivities were found to agree rather well with injec-tivities measured in a potentiometric analog. With this as a basis, a simple method was finally developed which allows prediction not only of rate of injection but also of rate and kind of production at the production well, for a uniform five-spot. Using this method formulas for the eflective injectivity and production behavior of a waterflooded reservoir having a wide range in permeability can be calculated by considering that the reservoir consists of several layers, each having a uniform but different permeability. Rather good agreement is shown by a comparison of the observed production history of a field in the Illinois basin and that calculated by the methods just described. INTRODUCTION The importance of being able to predict the injection rates for a water flood is well known, for upon injection rate depends the life of the flood, the size of pumping and treating facilities, and the rate of oil recovery. One method of determining rates of injection is through a pilot flood. However, it appears that even if a pilot flood is resorted to, a theoretical method for calculating injection rate will be valuable in extending field results to times after inter- ference and to locations of other five-spots. It is also important to be able to predict the production history of a flood. Such prediction must generally be done by theoretical means, since in general a small pilot flood will not furnish much quantitative information in this regard because of the distortion after oil-bank interference. Methods for predicting the behavior of five-spot water floods have been proposed by Yuster and Cal-houn' and by Hurst.? However, these methods do not consider the effect of the mobility of the different fluids in the reservoir. Other investigators3,4,5,6 have determined the effect of the water-to-oil mobility ratio on the production history by means of different experimental techniques. Most of the published work applies to homogeneous sand bodies, does not provide information for determining the injection requirements of a flood, and seldom considers the rate of build-up of the oil bank as it fills up the partially depleted reservoir.* The present work was undertaken because of the lack of predictive method which takes into account mobility ratio and the rate of buildup of oil bank resulting from the void space in a partially depleted reservoir. As water is injected into the reservoir, which contains oil, water, and gas in macroscopically homogeneous saturation, it forms several banks ahead of the injection well. In each bank or region there is assumed to be only one mobile phase—water in the water bank, oil in the oil bank and gas in the gas region. The saturation in each region and a plan view of the banks are shown in Figs. 1 and 4, respectively. FACTORS AFFECTING INJECTION AND PRODUCTION RATES Results in this report are determined as functions of the three parameters, F, M, and M, , and of a fourth parameter, r,/L** which relates the size of the well to the flood spacing. The parameter F is the displacement factor defined by Hurst in Ref. 2. It determines the rate of build-up of oil bank as it fills up the partially depleted reservoir. When gravity effects are neglected, the four parameters just given are sufficient to describe the waterflood behavior for horizontal and homogeneous reservoirs having incompressible liquids. Definition of InjectIvity The dinlensionless injectivity (or injection rate) used in this report is defined by

THE developments in construction and operation of the basic open-hearth furnace that have taken place in recent years have placed new emphasis on the vital influence played by regulation and control of the combustion system in both furnace production and furnace life. The several factors influencing flame development, such as regulation of fuel supply, air supply, air preheat, furnace draft, and furnace reversal, must be controlled closely if successful furnace performance is to be accomplished. Rugged instrumentation of distinctive design is required to sup- ply dependable information concerning operating conditions, which is requisite to proper regulation of combustion. This chapter attempts to give a practical discussion of the various features of open-hearth practice and instrumentation related to the efficient heating of the furnace, control of temperature, and protection of the furnace structure from accidental overheating. The appended references will be helpful to readers wanting a more detailed treatment of individual topics. OPEN-HEARTH FUELS The most important open-hearth fuels are listed in Table 4-1 together with their compositions and other data useful for combustion calculations. A detailed discussion of open-hearth fuels is not attempted here, but certain factors peculiar to their application to this type of process are briefly indicated on the following pages. Very often an open-hearth shop is forced by economic factors to use a fuel to which its furnaces are not very well adapted, because the general fuel-allocation scheme for the works as a whole seems to demand it. Often a variable marginal supply of coke-oven gas or tar must be consumed by the open hearth, together with another fuel such as producer gas, natural gas, or oil, to fill out total requirements. Most furnaces employ more than one kind of fuel during their useful life; however, the partial redesign

Jan 1, 1964

By Maurice Cook

A procedure of obtaining specimens of lead, tin, and cadmium with a moderately equiaxed structure and a smooth surface suitable for etching without grinding and polishing is described; the advantages of general oblique illumination (as opposed to vertical illumination) in the photomicrography of pure metals .are stated. Using these methods, a statistical study of the changes brought about in deformed lead, on annealing, has been made. The common mode of structural change was found to be recrystallization. Cases of growth of one original grain into another were rare; but if a totally recrystallized specimen was annealed above 200° C., a few large grains appeared and spread over the whole area, except for a certain number of small grains which remain unabsorbed. The temperature needed to produce structural change in lead was found to be lower, the greater the degree of deformation. With tin, an extension of 28 per cent. caused practically no recrystallization at ordinary temperatures, but recrystallization occurred if the specimen was heated to 100° C. In cadmium at low temperatures, the grain size decreased in marked manner as the deformation increased; but at high annealing temperatures, the grain size was comparatively independent of the degree of deformation. THE structural changes in metals brought about by annealing following a deformation at a low temperature has been the subject of many investigations. No less than eleven metals and alloys have been studied in some detail; namely, aluminum,1 tungsten,2 iron,3 copper,4 gold,5

Jan 11, 1924

By John H. Hall

The Frémont test for measuring the energy consumed in breaking a notched bar of steel is not so well known in this country as it deserves to be. The test specimen used in this test is about # by 6 by about 16 in., notched with a hack saw on the lower side to cause the piece to break at a fixed point. A weight of 10 kg. falling 4 m., and provided with a knife or chisel which strikes the specimen, breaks the test piece by impact. The residual force in the falling weight after it has broken the specimen is recorded by a suitable device, and the difference between the total energy and the residual energy of the weight (in kilogrammeters) is the force consumed in breaking the specimen. An experience of several years with the Frémont testing machine has shown its great value in readily detecting brittleness not revealed by tensile testing or slow bending testing. In this paper it is proposed to discuss (1) the supersensitiveness of the test as applied to cast steel and (2) its value in revealing the effect of heat treatment under certain conditions. In testing coupons cut from castings heat treated by quenching and annealing, attention was drawn to the wide variations in the value of the Frémont test of specimens cut from different parts of the coupon. The latter was of the form and dimensions shown in Fig. 1, and Fremont test pieces were cut from two parts of this coupon, marked A and B in that figure. The results of the tests are shown below, tests A and B in each instance being from the same coupon: A. B. A. B. Coupon. Kilogram- Kilogram- Coupon. Kilogram- Kilogram- meters. meters. meters. meters. 1,........ 12.0 12.5 9,........ 27.5 32.5 2,........ 11.0 32.5 10,........17.5 31.0 3,........ 11.5 30.0 11,........ 14.5 31.0 4,........ 20.0 33.0 12,........ 15.0 27.5 5,........ 17.5 33.0 13,........ 19.0 30.0 6,........ 17.5 20.0 14,........ 17.5 25.5 7,........ 17.5 13.0 15,........15.0 30.0 8,........ 10.0 30.0

Jan 1, 1914

By Hermann Wedding

It is now fourteen years since we German ironmasters, in considerable number, visited the United States on the occasion of the Philadelphia Exposition, and found the iron metallurgy of this country, as must be frankly confessed, in an advanced stage of development not previously suspected by us. At that time the United States already occupied, as now, the second rank, with Germany in the third, the product of pig-iron for that year being, in Great Britain, 6550, in this country, 2093, and in Germany, 1850 kilotons.* This relative position has not been changed. The present annual product of the three countries is, in round numbers, Great Britain, 8380, the United States, 7790, and Germany, 4530 kilotons. But the proportion of the United States, which was, in 1876, but 15 per cent. of the world's product, has now advanced to 30 per cent. When we left America in 1876, it was not only with gratitude for cordial hospitality and for the liberality with which our professional colleagues here had opened to our inspection whatever was worthy of notice in our special field, but also with the conviction that we had collected a great treasure of new and interesting information which we could utilize for the benefit of our German Fatherland. Particularly the achievements of the never-to-be-forgotten Holley in the field of Bessemer practice, set us an inspiring example for imitation in our own country. As an expression of our thanks in more practical fashion, I attempt in this paper to sketch what we have done in Germany since

Jan 1, 1891

By George J. Clark

One of the major problems of operation in the anthracite industry is the disposal and handling of refuse—not because of its complexity but because of the quantity and type of material involved. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the kinds of refuse, methods of disposal, quantities of material to be handled and equipment used, together with present day application at specific operations in the Northern, Eastern Middle, Western Middle and Southern anthracite fields. For the purpose of this paper, refuse is considered to be any material that has no present or foreseeable future value and that must be handled and disposed of in the process of mining and preparing anthracite for market. Included in this classification are tunnel rock, mine rock, cleaner plant refuse, breaker refuse, old timber, ashes and silt. Disposal Methods Old timber is disposed of either by burning or by depositing on the refuse bank. Burning is preferred because timber on the refuse bank is a potential fire hazard. Ashes are deposited on a separate bank, mixed with other refuse, or flushed into old mine workings. In many places, the latter practice has caused considerable difficulty in preparation of coal mined from these areas. In depositing ashes on the surface, it is wise to refrain from mixing them with material containing coal as such contamination may prevent reclamation of the coal in future years. Tunnel work, mine rock, cleaner plant and breaker refuse compose the bulk of the material to be disposed of and handled, and are referred to collectively as "refuse" in this paper. Waste material in or adjacent to the coal beds may be removed at the working face wherever possible. This can be done in flat or lightly pitching beds, and in the Northern field represents a sizable percentage of this type of refuse handled. In the other three coal fields, this method of disposal cannot often be used. Refuse not removed at the working face is taken to the surface and generally is deposited on banks; occasionally it is crushed and flushed into old mine workings. Breaker refuse often is used for constructing berms for silt-retention basins. Disposal Problems The problem of handling refuse is different for each operation, owing to topographical conditions, quantity of material to be handled, anticipated requirements and types of equipment in use elsewhere at the operation. Preparation plants with limited refuse-disposal areas, excessive grades to reach the required elevation and long hauls to disposal areas not readily accessible require the selection of equipment to best meet the conditions. The quantity of refuse to be handled from a given amount of raw material varies considerably throughout the four fields. In mine coal, this varies from a low

Jan 1, 1949

By W. P. Sykes

SEVEN years ago, Dr. S. L. Hoyt1 presented a masterful discussion of the hard metal carbides and cemented tungsten carbide. His lecture summarized most of the data then available in the field; many of the details relating to the production, properties and structure of cemented tungsten carbide had never been previously published, for, in fact, this information was only then being acquired. During the intervening years, the cemented carbides have assumed a place of real importance in the commercial field, with an ever widening variety of applications due to constant improvement in the control of production technique and the unremitting search for new compositions that might better the performance of the alloys in one or another type of service. The most recent summary of production methods, properties and guides for the successful application of the cemented carbides appears in the 1936 edition of the Metals Handbook. Of necessity, much detailed information relating to structures and physical properties is not included in such a summary, and it is with such details that the present discussion is concerned.

Jan 1, 1938

By John Lohrenz

Consider an investor who, knowing future costs and revenues, can choose how rapidly to produce from a given mineral source. If the investor elects to make that choice to maximize present value of future profits, how do policies affect the choice? Various alternative policies are examined. Some, such as higher royalty rates, lead to slower production rates than would otherwise obtain. Clearly, the chosen rates of production are policy-dependent. One is wisely counseled to consider how mineral policies affect the rate of production from given sources when analyzing current and alternative policies.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. H. Nead, J. W. Halley

The new low-alloy high-strength steels are obviously here to stay. With 75 per cent higher yield strength and 50 per cent higher tensile strength than plain carbon structural steel, they permit 20 to 40 per cent weight savings and 10 per cent or more increase in pay load in the construction of railroad cars, buses, trucks, and a great variety of material-handling equipment. Their cost is low enough so that the extra cost of the new lighter construction over that with carbon steel offers an attractive self-liquidating investment; in some instances new construction with these low-alloy steels may even be as cheap as with plain carbon steel. A considerable and rapidly growing demand for the low-alloy steels has already sprung up. The many steel compositions that have appeared on the market lately18, 27, 28, 29, 30 to meet this demand would seem to indicate that no single composition is uniquely fitted for the purpose. However, no doubt some compositions are more suitable than others. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to compare the effects of the various alloying elements that might be used in the low-alloy steels in order to choose the metallurgically most logical composition, paying due regard, of course, to the economic aspects involved. Properties Desired in Low-alloy Steel A distinction between the new low-alloy steels and the common alloy steels is that the latter are generally used in the heat-treated (that is, quenched and tempered) conditions, whereas the new low-alloy steels are not only not heat-treated but are not susceptible to heat-treatment in the ordinary sense of the term. In this lies one of their chief advantages. Their properties can be obtained in the as-rolled, air-cooled, or annealed condition, just as with mild plain carbon structural steel. There is no need for heat-treating. Such steels can be readily formed hot or cold, and their properties are not appreciably changed by hot

Jan 1, 1936

By A. C. Heath, E. H. Dix

The importance of aluminum-silicon alloys in thc light alloy field is now generally recognized. Where silicon was once considered detrimental to the properties of aluminum, useful alloys now contain as much as 13 per cent. Furthermore, silicon is present as an impurity in aluminum of even the purest grades. Iron is another important impurity in aluminum and likc silicon is found in small quantities in the purest aluminum available today. The manner of occurrence of iron and silicon in commercially pure aluminum and many of its alloys exerts a very pronounced influence upon their properties. The effect of large quantities of iron in aluminum-silicon alloys is so detrimental that it has been found necessary to limit the allowable maximum percentage to as low a figure as is consistent with quantity production and satisfactory physical properties. The intimate relation existing between iron and silicon in aluminurn and alurninum alloys makes necessary a more complete knowledge of this ternary system. This paper is divided into two principal parts, dealing respectively with aluminum-silicon solubility equilibria and the constitution of aluminum-iron-silicon alloys. Part I.—Aluminum-silicon Alloys The early work on this system was largely confined to determining the general form of thc diagram and in this respect the results are in good agreement. Briefly, alulninunl and silicon form a simple eutectifcrous series without compounds. Until recently the solid solubility of silicon in aluminum had not been accurately determined. Ipraenkell (1908) stated that aluminum will retain 0.5 per cent. silicon in solid solu-t'ion. Rosenhain, Archbutt and Hanson2 gave the maximum solubility as about 1.50 per cent. and added that "this solubility docs not appear

By S. W. Miller

During the examination of welds made in steel by the oxy-acetylene and electric-arc processes, the writer has met with some unusual structures, which he has not encountered elsewhere. They seem to be quite closely associated with the welding methods used, and characteristic of them, and would seem to be worth noting, especially as the references to them in the literature are few, and their explanation not clear or complete. An introductory word or two about fusion welding may not be out of place. The oxy-acetylene process is based on the great and very local heat generated by the burning of acetylene in the presence of commercially pure oxygen, the two gases being thoroughly mixed before combustion. The theoretical temperature is somewhat under 4000" C, but on account of various losses, the actual maximum temperature is probably about 3000" C.' The electric-arc process, using a metal electrode, which is also the filling rod, generates a still higher and more local temperature. The actual temperature of the positive crater of the carbon arc is given as 3500" C.2 NO figures have been found for the temperature of the arc using a metal electrode, but it would probably not be very different from that of the carbon arc, and probably higher than that of the bxy-acetylene flame. The greater localization of the electric arc is due to the fact that it is not surrounded by a large envelope flame, as well as to its higher temperature; while the oxy-acetylene white cone, or welding flame, in which the carbon of the acetylene is burned to CO, is surrounded and preceded by a long envelope flame, itself of quite high temperature, in which the CO is burned to GO2, and the hydrogen of the acetylene to H2O. This flame spreads around and over the pieces being welded, heating them to a further distance from the weld than does the electric arc.

Jan 1, 1918

By Carl Benedicks

IT is well known by every one who has had to deal with boiler tubes that these are often seriously affected by a sort of corrosion, occurring as a local pitting, that frequently causes a perforation of the tube in a rather short time. The characteristic appearance of this corrosion is shown in Fig. 1. A very similar corrosion occurs in condenser tubes (Fig. 2).1 A study of the microstructure or local chemical composition of the metal (iron; 70 :30 brass) fails to reveal any cause for this pitting. Of course one might possibly assume the starting point-to be some oxide particle, causing an electrolytic local action, but this in no way explains the continued corrosion, progressing even when the assumed oxide particle must have disappeared. By the excellent work done by the Corrosion Research Committee of the Institute of Metals, and communicated, in October, 1923, to the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Newcastle-on-tyne, stress was laid on the fact that a content of entangled air has a very obnoxious effect. In the following correspondence, Sir George Goodwin stated that "engineers have, for a long time past, regarded air as the big enemy to be fought against in all questions of corrosion"2 and Kenneth Fraser pointed out that the most vital point is "the avoidance or removal of possibly the chief cause of present day corrosion, i. e. entrapped air and gases brought out of solution."' In their reply, however, the authors state that they had "never for a moment believed that entangled air was responsible for the beginnings of corrosion, and express the opinion that the gradual liberation of air could not account for localized corrosion."4 On consulting the many textbooks on corrosion, as that

Jan 4, 1925

By T. G. Digges, C. L. Vold, M. R. Achter

A study was made of the effect of the growth conditions on the perfection of single crystals of niobium (columbium). Dislocation densities, determined by means of double-crystal diffractometer measurements , were not greatly affected by the method of crystal preparation but could be reduced by annealing treatments. However, the size, sharpness, and tilt angles of the substructures, observed with X-ray reflection macrograph, were sensitive to variations in growth procedures as well as to subsequent thermal treatments. Although the dislocation density was the same in both types, there were more low-angle bound-aries in crystals grown by zone melting than in those prepared by strain anneal. Mechanisms to account for these observations are discussed in terms of dislocation movements. A planned study of the structure-sensitive properties of refractory metals required the use of single crystals of a high degree of structural perfection and, for ease of handling, of large cross section. It appeared that the strain-anneal technique could satisfy both of these requirements. First, crystals grown in the solid state have been reported to be more perfect than those obtained from the melt.' Second, the diameters of rods which may be produced by zone melting should have a theoretical limit determined by specific gravity, thermal conductivity, and surface tension, while the diameter of strain-annealed rods is limited only by practical considerations. Previously it was shown that niobium (columbium) single crystals of 1 in. diam2 may be grown by strain anneal, compared to the 0.5 in. maximum diameter achieved by zone melting, as reported for molybdenum by Belk.3 The current research was undertaken to investigate and optimize the effect of various process variables on the perfection of 1/4 and 1/2-in.-diam niobium single crystals grown by strain annealing and to compare their perfection to those grown by zone melting. Characterization of these crystals was more conveniently accomplished by means of X-ray than by metallo-graphic techniques. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Specimen Preparation. Zone-melted crystals of 1/4 in. diam were produced by the standard electron-beam zone-melting technique. The swaged and cleaned rods were outgassed, in the solid state at a temperature near its melting point, at a rate of 12 in. per hr, and single crystals were grown by making two molten passes at 2 in. per hr. By maintaining a zone length of 4 to % in., very uniform single crystals several inches long were obtained. For the strain-annealed crystals, an induction heater was used, in preference to other types of heating, to take advantage of the good penetration of large sections. A five-turn coil, 1 in. long, operating at 10 kc and powered by a motor generator, was contained in a vacuum chamber. The rod, suspended from the upper end, was raised through the coil for both recrystallization and crystal growth. In preliminary work single crystals of the same material were also grown with single and multiturn coils powered by a 450-kc generator. A vacuum of 2 X 10-6 Torr was maintained at temperatures up to 2400°C. Starting with electron-beam-melted ingots of 21/2 in. diam, the analysis for which is given in Table I, the material was cold-swaged to the desired cross section of 1/4 and 1/2 in. diam and then recrystallized. The rods were then strained in a tensile machine and converted to single crystals by passing through the induction coil. As with zone melting, control of orientation is possible by the use of special procedures. Other investigators, see for example Williamson and smallman,4 have reported that orientation control may be achieved by a bending technique. In the present work the strained rod is partially lowered through the coil to start the growth of the crystal. Then it is removed and bent at a point in the poly crystalline portion. Finally, it is returned to the chamber and growth is continued "around the corner". This procedure has certain limitations. If the bending operation exceeds the critical strain, recrystallization may take place. Also, the amount of bending which can be imparted to the rod is limited by coil geometry, and up to now has been 10 deg. However, by repeating the bending and growing operations it should be possible to attain any desired orientation. In preparation for X-ray examination, single crystals were sectioned and planed by means of the spark-erosion technique. To obtain the maximum reflected intensity, the (110) plane was exposed for examination. They were then etched 3 to 5 min in a mixture of con-

Jan 1, 1967