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By P. L. Rittenhouse, M. L. Picklesimer

A rapid and seniquantitative method of determining prefered orientation on large numbers of. Zircaloy-2 specimens was desired. knoop microhardness measurerrzetzls were irvestigated as a solldtion to this pro6lem. The variation of Knoop microhardness measurerlerzts on selected planes as a function of 'irzdenle axis relutilje lo cryslallograplzic or fabrication divectals were used to corzstrrcl a polar coordinate hardness contour map. With use of an empirical relationslip between the single-crystal hardnesses and those of the polycrystalline material conentional pole figures could be constructed which compare favorably also obtained. To determine preferred oriention qualitatively from hardness data requires a minimum of twelve measurements per plane on three, preferattention to grain size, specimen prepartion, and in-rreinetzt, and analjlsis is of the order of- 45 to 60 rrin. THE design of structures from Zr alloys requires consideration of preferred orientation and the resulting anisotropy of mechanical properties. Rapid and semi-quantitative methods of evaluating anisotropy and of determining preferred orientation are needed for quality control and for examining the large number of test specimens required in development programs. The variation of Knoop microhardness with indenter orientation has been studied in single crystals of several hcp metals including titanium.' beryllium,' magneium, and zinc.4 The maximum hardness observed on any crystallographic plane other than the basal plane invariably occurred when the long axis of the Knoop indenter was either parallel or perpendicular to the projection of the [ OOOI.] direction on the plane of examination. When the major slip mode was (0001)(i2i0j the maximum hardness occurred at the parallel positio! but when the operating slip system was {10i0) (i210) the hardness was a maximum perpendicular to the [0001] projection. A minimum hardness was always observed at a rotation of 90 deg from the maximum. It follows that the orientation of the projection of the [0001] can be determined on any non-basal plane by making hardness measurements at a number of indenter orientations. The determination of the orientation of the [0001] projection on two non-parallel, preferably orthogonal, surfaces of the specimen will allow location of the [0001] direction in the specimen. It seems possible that such measurements could be used to examine, at least qualitatively, the preferred orientation existing in polycrystalline hcp materials. An investigation of the microhardness anisotropy in Zircaloy-2 was undertaken to ascertain whether these measurements could be used for this task. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Single crystals of Zircaloy-2 were grown by an a-8-a annealing sequence using electron-beam heating.= The orientation of the crystals was determined by a conventional back-reflection Laue technique. The crystals were then mounted on a goniometer head and the desired crystallographic faces were milled and chemically polished. Polycrystalline Zircaloy-2 specimens were prepared from fabricated sheets or plates. Inverse pole figures for these materials were obtained using the X-ray diffraction techniaue described by Jetter, McHargue, and illiams.' A Wolpert-Greis Micro-Reflex hardness-testing machine was used to make the Knoop microhardness measurements. The single-crystal and polycrystalline specimens were loaded to 0.5 and 2.0 kg, respectively. Determination of the scatter of hardness numbers as a function of applied load for several indenter orientations on several specimen surfaces showed that the loads selected were the lightest consistent with minimum scatter. Heavier loads did not appreciably decrease the scatter and produced hardness impressions too large to be conveniently measured with the equipment used. Seven crystallographic planes of the single crystals were examined, while six planes of examination were used in studying Zircaloy-2 polycrystals. The specimens were rotated 10 to 15 deg after each measurement and from four to eight impressions were made at each angle of rotation. RESULTS The two angles which were used to relate crystallographic directions and planes in the hcp cell to the planes of examination of the single crystals are shown in Fig. 1. 8 is the angle between the c axis. [0001]. and the normal, N, to the plane of examination. a is the angle between the long diagonal of the Knoop indenter and the projection of the c axis on the plane of examination. For exampIe, if P = 90 deg and a = 0 deg, the plane of examination is of the family

Jan 1, 1967

By W. W. Schmittroth, A. Y. Bethune

The commercial analysis of Special High-Grade zinc usually involves the determination of lead, iron, copper and cadmium as impurities in the base metal. Over the past 20 years, as the result of metallurgical improvements in the art of producing Special High-Grade zinc metal there has taken place a gradual exclusion of almost all extraneous elements, and the few that do remain in the final product have been virtually reduced to the vanishing point. Thousands of tons of zinc are now commercially produced annually and made available to the trade, in which impurities are present only in the order of 0.0010 per cent or less and the sum total of all impurities does not exceed 0.0025 per cent. To such zinc the term "super-purity" might well be applied without undue exaggeration. The techniques used for production control and final analysis of Special High-Grade zinc by means of emission spectra in the laboratories of the electrolytic zinc plant of the Sullivan Mining Co. are based on the premise that self-electrodes are to be preferred over all other forms for the examination of the zinc in question. Furthermore, after a survey of the literature and considerable experimental work,' it was decided that the spectrographic method of internal control, the principle of which was first announced by Gerlach,2 using a modification of the high-voltage alternating-current arc source introduced by Duffendack and Thompson,3 with the calibration of each photographic plate as recommended by Wolfe,4 would yield the most accurate and reproducible results. Self-electrodes were chosen in order to make use of one of the unique advantages inherent in spectrographic analysis; namely, the rapid and almost effortless detection of elements other than those being quantified by the analyst; or conversely, the proof that the zinc is free from such impurities if no spectral line of the suspected element appears. This fact was verified for certain elements, and will be discussed later. Carbon electrodes impregnated or packed with zinc salts chemically prepared from the zinc to be assayed were avoided for a number of reasons. First, the chemical manipulation was another time-consuming step, which increased the chances for contamination. Second, none of the common zinc salts, such as the chloride, nitrate or sulphate, yielded reproducible results under our conditions, nor did the spectral line of the impurity appear as readily in the low concentrations as when using zinc metal. Third, no commercial carbon, except the very expensive, was pure enough to use with this grade of zinc and the continued time, effort and expense incurred in the purification of carbon were not desirable. The use of special High-Grade zinc self-electrodes introduces certain complications with regard to obtaining satisfactory excitation conditions, because it seems necessary to raise the temperature

Jan 1, 1949

By J. E. Spurr

The region here discussed is that part of Western Nevada in which. during the last few years. discoveries of rich gold- and

Jan 1, 1906

By A. M. Talbot

THERE is still considerable controversy as to the exact nature of the mechanism of the age-hardening process, in spite of the many experi-ments already performed. For this reason, a considerable number of typical systems should be examined in detail and their results correlated. Furthermore, the methods of studying the changes that take place during the progress of this phenomenon should be carefully scrutinized and the different methods applied to the same samples, preferably at the same time. The experiments described in this paper are presented to supply information on one age-hardening system and to show how the various methods of investigation compare in their indication of what has hap-pened. In brief, the progress of aging in magnesium alloys containing about 10 per cent by weight of aluminum at different temperatures was followed by measurements of hardness, electrical resistivity, dilation and lattice parameter, and by microscopic observation.

Jan 1, 1936

By Albert E. Reed

The development of the modern highspeed vibrating screen, together with the increasing availability of long-lasting stainless-steel screen cloth for relatively fine-mesh separations, means that more screen circuits will be used in the future. It seems pertinent therefore to examine a few characteristics of screen-circuit products, and especially the points of difference as compared with products of classifier circuits. The most noticeable change that takes place when substituting screening for classification in a grinding circuit is a substantial drop in the circulating load, owing to the greater ease with which the "fines" leave the circuit. Where circulating loads of 500 to 600 per cent are considered fairly normal in classifier grinding circuits, the grinding circuit equipped with screens for equivalent work will have a circulating load of only 20 to 75 per cent. As a result, the products of screen circuits will show a minimum of overgrinding or sliming as compared with a classifier circuit. The desirability of this characteristic will naturally vary according to the metallurgical requirement in each case. Because screen separations make a sharper division according to particle size, the products of screen circuits can be expected to show greater crowding of particles near the point of separation. These changes in product characteristics are so important that other factors, both in the grinding and concentration processes must be adjusted if the operator is to take full advantage of the increased tonnages and higher efficiencies available to him through the use of the screen circuit. One factor that too often is overlooked when changing to screen circuits is the importance of adjusting the ball-mill or rod-mill charge, to compensate for: (I) increased tonnage of new feed, (2) decreased circulating load, or (3) more granular character of feed. These same factors should also be taken into consideration for their effect on the various types of concentration or flotation equipment that may follow the screen circuit. Over a period of years, this equipment has generally been designed and adjusted to the product of the classifier, therefore it seems obvious that some research on the adjustment and adaptation of concentrating and flotation equipment to screen-circuit products will be most profitable to the operators. To illustrate the points mentioned above, the results from three recent installations follow, with data on the comparative characteristics of screen and classifier circuits. A range of separation from 10 to 48 mesh has been chosen, using two general types of screening equipment and two types of classifiers. The first of the installations of which the results are to be examined is that of an iron-ore installation where eastern magnetite was being concentrated prior to sintering. Fig. I shows the original grinding circuit, using classification, while Fig. 2 shows the same circuit equipped with a

Jan 1, 1947

By Albert E. Reed

The development of the modern highspeed vibrating screen, together with the increasing availability of long-lasting stainless-steel screen cloth for relatively fine-mesh separations, means that more screen circuits will be used in the future. It seems pertinent therefore to examine a few characteristics of screen-circuit products, and especially the points of difference as compared with products of classifier circuits. The most noticeable change that takes place when substituting screening for classification in a grinding circuit is a substantial drop in the circulating load, owing to the greater ease with which the "fines" leave the circuit. Where circulating loads of 500 to 600 per cent are considered fairly normal in classifier grinding circuits, the grinding circuit equipped with screens for equivalent work will have a circulating load of only 20 to 75 per cent. As a result, the products of screen circuits will show a minimum of overgrinding or sliming as compared with a classifier circuit. The desirability of this characteristic will naturally vary according to the metallurgical requirement in each case. Because screen separations make a sharper division according to particle size, the products of screen circuits can be expected to show greater crowding of particles near the point of separation. These changes in product characteristics are so important that other factors, both in the grinding and concentration processes must be adjusted if the operator is to take full advantage of the increased tonnages and higher efficiencies available to him through the use of the screen circuit. One factor that too often is overlooked when changing to screen circuits is the importance of adjusting the ball-mill or rod-mill charge, to compensate for: (I) increased tonnage of new feed, (2) decreased circulating load, or (3) more granular character of feed. These same factors should also be taken into consideration for their effect on the various types of concentration or flotation equipment that may follow the screen circuit. Over a period of years, this equipment has generally been designed and adjusted to the product of the classifier, therefore it seems obvious that some research on the adjustment and adaptation of concentrating and flotation equipment to screen-circuit products will be most profitable to the operators. To illustrate the points mentioned above, the results from three recent installations follow, with data on the comparative characteristics of screen and classifier circuits. A range of separation from 10 to 48 mesh has been chosen, using two general types of screening equipment and two types of classifiers. The first of the installations of which the results are to be examined is that of an iron-ore installation where eastern magnetite was being concentrated prior to sintering. Fig. I shows the original grinding circuit, using classification, while Fig. 2 shows the same circuit equipped with a

Jan 1, 1947

By James Magee

THERE is nothing new about drag-line dredging for placer gold. The use of the separate unit for excavating preceded the large barge with excavator mounted upon it, which has reached a high state of perfection through use in every part of the world. But at present there is a vogue for a small, inexpensive plant combining a drag-line excavator on cater-pillar mounting and a gravel-washing plant on a floating barge. The most efficient ones use a bucket of 1 to 2 yd. capacity with boom from 40 to 70 ft. long. The barge varies from 20 by 30 ft. to 36 by 48, and carries the trommel screen, pump, riffle sluices and power engine.

Jan 1, 1936

By Richard W. Smith

There are three distinct varieties of phosphate rock, in Tennessee, known commercially as: (a) the "brown" rock, which is the residual product of the weathering and natural concentration of certain phosphatic Ordovician limestones; (b) the "blue" rock, which is an unaltered phosphatic stratum of Mississippian or Devonian age; and (c) the "white" rock, which is the result of chemical replacement and deposition. Before 1894, South Carolina and Florida had supplied most of the phosphate of the United States, South Carolina leading until that date and Florida from then until the present time. In December, 1893, the blue phosphate of Tennessee was discovered almost simultaneously on Swan Creek, in Lewis County, by two independent parties—by one as the result of a careful and systematic search for a workable deposit of the long known kidney phosphate, and by the other through mistaking it for a "bloom" of coal. Leases were taken and, with further prospecting disclosing other deposits in the region, the development progressed as rapidly as could be expected without railroad transportation. In January, 1896, Judge S. Q. Weatherly, who was interested in the development of the blue phosphate, while riding along the road south of Mt. Pleasant, noticed some slabs of a brown rock in place above the limestone. He took samples, and had them analyzed, thus discovering the high-grade brown phosphate of this district. This discovery was kept a secret until July, 1896, when mining was started at the village of Mt. Pleasant. Development proceeded rapidly, many owners obtaining their capital by the sale of their rock fences, which were largely composed of slabs of high-grade brown phosphate. The development of the brown rock, which is richer and more easily mined than the blue, caused Tennessee to advance from a poor third in production to second, surpassing the output of South Carolina, and being excelled only by Florida.

Jan 1, 1927

By Charles H. Snow

The engineer has often to penetrate difficult or unknown regions. Mineral, irrigation, boundary and railway problems frequently necessitate journeys through, or long residence in, localities whence sustenance cannot be drawn. The selection and conveyance of provisions, outfit and implements thus become a matter of the first importance. Scientific skill, even of the highest order, is powerless unless supported by the proper appliances and foods. The advance of civilization favors the engineer, in that it is constantly enlarging his facilities and thus reducing his difficulties. Notwithstanding this fact, many are yet brought face to face with the problems considered in this paper. Distinction must be made between parties which are to be in constant or even occasional touch with a base of supplies, and those which will be for a long time dependent on their original outfit. Again, the requirements of a party on the march are different from those of a fixed camp. The district, season, cliinate, size and personnel of party also influence the character of the outfit. A party that is to be detached from its base of supplies for some time requires a greater variety of food than if it is to be gone for a short time. Much less in proportion need be taken where the journey is not long, so that privation is confined to a limited period. The ability to establish a fixed camp permits a larger outfit than would be possible if the camp mere to be moved from day to day. Transportation, climatic and other conditions are thus so varied that lists prepared for one work could hardly be applied to any other without some modification. Lists that have proved successful in some instances may, however, serve as bases to be added to, or otherwise altered, for the case in hand. The mistake usually made is in providing too large an outfit. Every emergency cannot be provided for; so that it is well to take, not what may be needed, but what cannot be spared.

Jan 1, 1900

By John M. Kelly

This report covers the development, exploratory drilling, and production of oil and gas in New Mexico during 1945. The statistical information was gathered from state regulatory agencies and other sources believed to be reliable; it is presented here in combined form for general information only, and the author assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.

Jan 1, 1946

Jan 1, 1957

By Donald L. Ball

The equilibrium of boron nitride, gaseous nitrogen, and solute boron was investigated in Fe, Fe-C, and Fe-Si rnelts by the Sieverts technique. The free ellergy of dissociation of boron nitride, involving -the implied standard states, was evaluated in the range 1400" to 1600°C as: ?Fo = 38,000 - 23.5T, cal ber mole The solute-solute interaction coefficients eBB, ecB , and eg were determined as 0.058, 0.22, and 0.078, respectively. BORON is an important ingredient in some types of steel and cast iron. It was employed at a particularly high level, 0.01 wt pet, in the as-cast malleable iron "CentraSteel".1 In this material, the boron concentration was critical in order to assure graphite, and avoid primary cementite, in the as-cast structure. One possible function of the boron in this alloy was the nucleation of graphite through the agency of boron nitride, which, conceivably, precipitated from the melt during cooling. A research program was instituted to assess the validity of this proposed mechanism. The first undertaking, reported here, was a determination of the thermodynamic possibility of boron nitride precipitation. Data available in the literature on the activity coefficient of solute boron in iron-base melts are inadequate for the present purpose. They will be reviewed briefly, however, so that comparison can be made, when

Jan 1, 1968

By B., Hoyaux

A first requirement for assessing the safety of a rock slope, either artificial or natural, particularly if the rock behaves in an elastic-brittle manner, is a proper knowledge of the distribution of stresses within the slope and their development with time and advancement of workings.

Jan 1, 1972

By T. E. Leontis

The importance of magnesium alloys in the manufacture of aircraft engines has been realized for many years. A concentrated effort has been exerted in the laboratories of the Dow Chemical Co. to develop magnesium-base alloys with improved properties at elevated temperatures whereby greater advantage can be taken of the inherent lightness of these materials. In an earlier publication, attention was called to the superior tensile properties and resistance to creep of cerium-containing magnesium alloys at temperatures up to 700°F. More recently, additional data on magnesium-cerium alloys have been furnished by Murphy and Payne. The present paper deals with the mechanical properties of sand-cast magnesium alloys containing zinc, at temperatures up to 500°F. The study includes binary Mg-Znt alloys containing up to 10 pct zinc and several ternary and some polynary alloys based on the Mg-~Zn,f Mg-jZn, Mg-4.4211, Mg-6Zn, and Mg-roZn binaries. The compositional variation in the tensile properties, hardness, and creep at room and elevated temperatures, and in the electrical conductivity at room temperature has been determined. The results of these tests show that many zinc-containing magnesium alloys exhibit resistance to creep at elevated temperatures significantly higher than that of present commercial magnesium alloys, but lower than that of alloys of the magnesium-cerium type. In addition, they have high tensile properties at room and elevated temperatures and high conductivity. This combination of mechanical properties and conductivity indicates that these alloys should be given serious consideration for commercial applications involving exposure to temperatures higher than those to which present commercial magnesium alloys can be taken safely. Literature The properties of sand-cast magnesium alloys containing zinc as a principal alloying element have not been investigated very extensively, especially at elevated temperatures. The following remarks, which are confined to sand-cast alloys, will serve as a summary of the most important references on this phase of magnesium metallurgy. The first recorded determination of the tensile strength of binary Mg-Zn alloys as a function of zinc content was reported by Aitchison. Similar studies, including the measurement of elongation and hardness, have been performed by Gann and Winston,' Dumas and Rockaert, Haugh-ton and Prytherch,6 and by Spitaler, the last being reported by Beck.' A slight superiority in the tensile strength of chill-cent Mg + 8 es alloy Over the sand-cast alloy was noted by Maybrey.8 That alloys of magnesium containing 5 to 12 pct zinc

Jan 1, 1949

By A. S. Richardson

THE recent installation of a high-pressure propeller type fan at the Moose shaft of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. at Butte, Mont., is of interest on account of novelty of design and also because an appreciable saving was made over the cost of a reversible centrifugal fan such as is ordinarily used where a high pressure is required. The lower cost is due solely to the fact that by means of controls on the power supplied to the three-phase, alternating-current, induction motor, directly connected to the propeller it is possible to reverse the direction of rotation of the propeller and thus reverse the direction of air flow. The extra air ducts and reversing doors required for this purpose with centrifugal fans are not necessary, and their elimination greatly reduces these construction charges, which form a great part of the total expense. The Badger State mine for which the Moose shaft is used as the main outlet air course is now being developed to the 4100-ft. level. The old centrifugal fan, formerly used at the collar of the shaft, was installed 15 years ago at a time when most of the stoping was being done above the 2400-ft. level, and when the temperature of the rock was much lower than it is now on the bottom levels recently opened. The old fan, therefore, became inadequate to maintain desirable ventilation conditions, on account of the increase in resistance to air flow incident to the greater depth of the mine workings and because a much larger volume of air is required to offset the higher rock temperatures. Propeller, or disk, fans commonly used in the ventilation of mines are not suited to high-pressure work, but economies in the cost of their installation have long been recognized. In South Africa use has been made of a number of propellers placed in series along a common shaft, the number of propellers used being varied with requirements for meeting different conditions of mine resistance, but the mechanical efficiency is described as being low. In Butte, experimental work was done by the writer along similar lines under somewhat different conditions, but with poor results as to both pressure capacity and mechanical efficiency. Tests were also made of two different types of propeller fans of moderate size, which were said by the manufacturers to be suited to high-pressure mine ventilation.

Jan 1, 1932

After the close of the Revolution, settlers began to pour over the mountains, to settle in the western parts of Pennsylvania, of Virginia, to move down the Ohio into Kentucky, and in the late seventeen-eighties to settle on "the Indian side" of the river, now Ohio. With the growth of population the interest in coal increased and it was not long before the production of coal west of the mountains was larger than that east of them. Foreign nations, too, became interested in the young republic and in 1783, at the instance of the Swedish government S. A. Hermelin, an engineer, visited this country to investigate its iron industry. He made a very interesting report, not published until 1931, in which he gave many details of the iron plants in the eastern United States; apparently he was not west of the mountains, but was well informed about conditions there. He says, "that some coal near the first branches of the Schuylkill River has been mined and utilized by the blacksmiths," referring, of course, to anthracite; again that "coal mines have also been worked for several years near Pittsburg," and that "great supplies of iron ore are available at the Ohio Falls and further to the west, at Coney Creek, a part of the Green River, where there is also coal."' In 1788, Dr. Johann David Schoepf, who came to this country with the Hessian troops, visited Pittsburgh. He was an intelligent man and acquainted to some extent with minerals and methods of working them. In speaking of Coal Hill on the south side of the Monongahela he mentioned several strata of marble in the lower part and that

Jan 1, 1942

By A. W. McReynolds

One characteristic of plastic deformation which distinguishes it from elastic strain is the essential inhomo-geneity of plastic strains. Elastic strain varies continuously through a material, and average relative displacements of initially adjacent atoms are only small fractions of their initial spacing, (strains of the order of 0.01 or less). On the other hand, plastic flow corresponds to the appearance of discontinuities in strain of the lattice, such as dislocations or slip bands, where local strain, on an atomic scale, is several orders of magnitude higher. These discontinuities are visible on a microscopic scale as the familiar slip lines (Fig 1). In spite of this obvious microscopic inhomogeneity, however, macroscopic measurements almost invariably show a smooth curve of stress vs. strain (Fig 2b) even if measurements of linear strains be made to an accuracy of one part in 107. This macroscopic homogeneity of strain indicates that the discontinuities in strain on slip planes occur in increments too small or too slow to be recorded individually, and further that they occur sufficiently independent of one another so that the small increments add at random to a smooth stress-strain curve. The present paper describes observations of plastic strain in aluminum of commercial purity and in high purity Al-Cu alloys, where there exists a strong coupling between slip in various regions of the specimen such that once initiated it spreads rapidly through a large volume. The total effect is that of relatively large, rapid, and regularly spaced steps of strain followed by periods of only elastic strain. Fig 2a illustrates the type of "stair-step" stress-strain curve which results. The properties of this cooperative slip phenomenon will be described further in the section on results: in par- ticular it will be shown that each step corresponds to the propagation of a wave of plastic deformation through the specimen. Some interpretations of the mechanism by which it occurs will be made in the following section. Although the type of plastic wave phenomena to be described has not previously been reported, there are numerous cases of related effects in the plastic yielding of metals: YIELD POINT PHENOMENA The most familiar of such effects is the "yield point" observed in low carbon steels, brass, duralurninum, and the like. It consists in the sudden termination of the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve by a large plastic strain. Since the usual tensile machine is such that yielding of the specimen relieves the load, the resulting curve is as shown in Fig 3. As the strain continues, deformation occurs at a lower stress for some time, then follows a rising curve, but with no further sudden yielding. This effect has been observed in brass by Sachs and Shojil and later by many others. Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 made extensive studies of the effect in steel, and of the role of various alloying elements. Although there seems to be fairly clear evidence that the yield point is caused by a hardening of the material by precipitation of impurities, no satisfactory explanation for the sudden yielding has been given. Winlock and Leiter3 have shown that the strain. level of the upper yield point depends strongly on the rate of loading, the yield point increasing by almost a fac- tor of two as the strain rate goes from 0.002 in. per in. per min. to 4.4 in. per in. per min. This effect would seem to imply an incubation period before yielding is initiated at a certain stress. On the other hand, by going to very slow loading rates, Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 showed that the yield point does not become lower and eventually disappear as might be expected, but, on the contrary, begins to rise at loading rates below about 25 Ib per in. per min. becoming much higher than at rapid loading rates. STRAIN AGING If, instead of continuing straining of a specimen after occurrence of a yield point, the load is removed and the specimen aged, resumption of the test results in occurrence of another yield point as shown by the dotted curve of Fig 3. The new yield stress is generally higher than the previous maximum applied stress. This hardening of the material by straining and subsequent aging is undoubtedly related to quench age-hardening resulting from the aging of a specimen quenched from high temperature. Since neither effect is observed in pure metals, it is generally accepted that quench-aging in all cases is the result of hardening by precipitation of a supersaturated alloying element, and that strain-aging is probably a similar precipitation, accelerated by disruptions of the lattice by previous strain. Pfeil4 has shown that strain-aging does not occur in iron from which all of the carbon has been removed, but that only a very small carbon content, around 0.003 pct, is necessary to cause strain-aging. In accord with this observation is recent work by Dijkstra5 in this laboratory showing that the solubility limit of carbon in iron is extremely low, less than 0.001 pct at 400°C. Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 have shown that the strain-aging effect is also removed by the addition of small quantities of elements such as Mo, Mn, Ti, and the like, which readily form carbides. Their results demonstrate the

Jan 1, 1950

By Harry Power

THE relative merits of air and natural gas as propulsive agents in pressure drive operations have been discussed for a number of years. When air or gas is introduced into the sand, various factors lead the operator to the selection of what he believes to be the proper propelling medium; but when the question of relative drive effect is raised, several physical and chemical premises must be taken into consideration in arriving at a conclusion as to the superiority of one medium over the other. Dow and Calkins1 and Beecher and Parkhurst2 have contributed fundamental experimental work on the effect of dissolved gas in lowering the viscosity and surface tension of crude oil. Herold3 and Tickell4 have indicated that whatever type of reservoir control obtains, gas plays other important parts in the movement of oil towards the well, namely: 1. The propulsive and expansive force of the gas. 2. The "Jamin effect," or resistance to the movement of oil in a porous media due to the formation of gas bubbles. When quantitative studies are made, parallel conditions must be selected whereby we may say definitely whether air is superior to gas as a driving medium, or vice versa. Examples of similar conditions are not easy to find in the field. However, in the laboratory we can make determinations which may lead to general conclusions when applied to the field. The- experimental and research work described here was started at the laboratories of the University of California in January, 1927, and completed in private laboratories at Tulsa, Okla., in February, 1928. The apparatus used was designed especially for the work.

Jan 1, 1928

By Franklin Allison

THE influence of cobalt and nickel on the properties of steel might be readily expected to be very similar. The two elements occupy close and somewhat unusual positions in the periodic table, their chemical behavior and compounds are so completely analogous and their various physical properties, including the ferro-magnetic characteristic, show such a remarkable correspondence, that there is no doubt of a strong resemblance existing between these two metals. However, the variety of, properties that are obtained from steel is due, largely to the fact that the element iron possesses allotropic forms. Alloying elements that affect these allotropic forms, or alter the nature of the allotropic changes, exert a profound influence on the resulting steel. In the case of nickel and cobalt, although these elements are very similar chemically and physically, it is found that they differ distinctly in their individual effects on the critical points of iron. Both nickel and cobalt form a series of homogeneous solid solutions with iron at temperatures above 1800° F. The difference in their behavior does not occur until changes begin to take place in the solid state below this temperature. An inspection of the respective thermal equilibrium diagrams at the lower temperatures makes the opposite effects of nickel and cobalt clearly evident.

Jan 3, 1927

THAT the march of civilization has synchronized with progress in the art of utilizing minerals is a proposition that needs no proof. It is a truism. Historians conveniently divide the time that the earth has been inhabited into the Stone Age, the Bronze (more accurately the Copper) Age, and the Iron Age. As archeologists are not entirely in accord as to dates, and as a few centuries make no difference whatever to this particular story, it may be approximated that the Age of Copper began about 8000 years B.C. and that it gave place to the Age of Iron about 1000 years B.C. The logic of this succession-stone, copper, iron-lies in the fact that copper first displaced stone, then iron displaced copper as the standard material out of which the utensils, implements, and weapons, the utilitarian articles of antiquity, were made. After the advent of iron, the mining and smelting of copper continued. Copper and bronze found use particularly in objects of artistic and ornamental nature; but the superior qualities of iron for many purposes were recognized. Useful manufactures of those days consisted principally of knives, hammers, chisels, spear-heads, arrow-heads, and battle-axes. First these were made of stone, then of copper and bronze, then of iron-particularly as there was plenty of iron ore, and the metallurgy was comparatively easy of accomplishment. Of course, the periods of transition dragged slowly. Definite as were the three Ages dominated by the mineral substance from which they get their names, ten or fifteen centuries probably elapsed from the time the first iron was smelted in a small charcoal furnace until it became the accepted material from which to shape a battle-axe. Contrast this with the pace of modern progress. In a brief span, half a dozen more or less deserving candidates for the distinction of having their name

Jan 1, 1933