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By D. G. Westlake, D. T. Peterson

The saturation solubility of thorium dihydride in thorium was studied by saturation of samples and subsequent analysis. The solubility increased from about 1 at. pct at 300°C to above 20 at. pct at 800 °C. Over this temperature range the log of the solubility was a linear function of the reciprocal absolute temperature for thorium of good purity. The heat of solution of thorium dihydride was found to be 7.9 kcal per atom of hydrogen in crystal bar thorium and 6.6 kcal per atom of hydrogen in Ames thorium, The important effect of hydrogen on the physical and mechanical properties of many metals is receiving increasing recognition. The basic physical and chemical data necessary to help explain the observed effects of hydrogen on the mechanical proper ties of metals are all too often not available. The solubility of hydrogen in thorium metal was determined to provide a portion of this basic data for the thorium-hydrogen system. The absorption of hydrogen by thorium metal and the formation of thorium hydrides was studied by several investigators, beginning in 1891, and their work is summarized in Gmelin's Handbuch.1 No effort was made to determine the extent of solid solubility in the metal in these early investigations and the impure metal available made interpretation of the results uncertain. Nottorf2 reported the results of a careful study of pressure-composition isotherms for the thorium-hydrogen system. The principal interest in this work was in the composition and dissociation pressures of the thorium hydrides. Mallett and campbel13 reported the pressure-composition isotherms for the thorium-hydrogen system up to the composition of thorium dihydride. The saturation solubility of thorium dihydride in thorium was reported to be 13 at. pct at 650°C and 23 at. pct at about 900° C. Mallett and Campbell used thorium metal which had been prepared by the calcium reduction of thorium tetra-fluoride or thorium oxide. The results obtained with thorium of these two types agreed within the experimental error. PROCEDURE AND MATERIALS Procedure—The method used to determine the solubility was to saturate a sample of thorium with hydrogen and analyze a portion of the saturated sample. This method was chosen rather than a determination of pressure-composition isotherms since it was much less time consuming and could be applied at temperatures at which the equilibrium hydrogen pressure was too low to measure. The

Jan 1, 1960

ASHBEL WELCH, LAMBERTVILLE, N. J.: Dr. Dudley has given the wear of steel rails under four different conditions. He arrives at the conclusion that the softer rails, or those that from their composition ought to be softer, wear better than the harder. But there is another condition which has an important bearing on the subject, and, should not be overlooked,-the weight on a wheel. With the lighter weights of the past, the softer rails may have worn best; with the heavier weights of the future, the harder may wear best. Weights will probably be increased up to the capacity of steel to bear; then doubtless the harder steel will wear best. A leaden rail with ten pounds on a wheel might carry millions of tons, but with one hundred pounds on a wheel, it would be destroyed by a few thousand tons. So in the days of iron rails, my experience was that the softer rails under light machinery stood better than some of the harder; but under heavy machinery the softer were much the most rapidly destroyed. His doubtless the same with steel. The pounding motion of the wheels loosens or spreads the particles of a thin film of steel; the pull lengthwise on the rail de- * Metallurgical Review, vol. i, page 1. † The remarks as here given, as in the previous discussion on steel rails, have all been written out or revised by the participants in the discussion, and represent, therefore, their mature views. It has been thought that this plan, when it can be carried out without doing any of the speakers injustice in debate, is much to be preferred to a strictly verbatim report. The remarks of Mr. Chanute were sent to the secretary after the. meeting, and although they did not form a part of the actual discussion, there can be no doubt of the desirability of including them in this report. The papers under discussion were “Rail Specifications and Rail Inspection in Europe,” by C. P. Sandberg ; " The Wearing Capacity of Steel Rails in Relation to the Chemical Composition and Physical Properties," by C. B. Dudley, and a Rail Patterns," by A. L. Holley. T. M. D., Secretary.

Jan 1, 1881

By G. W. P. Rengstorff, R. B. Fischer

A study was made of the effect of impurities on the bend ductility of cast molybdenum. High purity molybdenum was repared by re-melting under high vacuum. The ductility of "transverse-grain" specimens indicated that intergranular brittleness decreased with an increase in purity of the metal. THE production of as-cast molybdenum with high ductility at room temperature would make working of the metal easier and increase the usefulness of the as-cast metal. Furthermore, a .knowledge of the factors that influence the ductility of as-cast molybdenum might be applied to the problem of making fusion weldments having satisfactory room-temperature ductility. Individual grains of commercial as-cast molybdenum are slightly ductile at room temperature. However, the presence of carbides at the grain boundaries may cause the metal to fracture in a brittle manner. This behavior has been discussed.' The amount and distribution of the impurities in as-cast molybdenum would be expected, from previous research on the metal, to have considerable influence on its ductility. Some effects of oxygen and carbon on the mechanical behavior of the metal were discussed by Parke and Ham,2 Woodside,3 and Zappfe. Landgraf, and Worden.4 Parke and Ham2 found that, if a sufficient number of molybdenum oxide particles were present at the grain boundaries, the intergranular cohesion was reduced to the extent that arc-melted molybdenum would rupture intergranularly during hot forging. They also found that if the oxygen content was less than 0.003 pct, the cast molybdenum was hot forgeable. It is suspected, however, that forgeable molybdenum may contain a small amount of oxide that could reduce the ductility of the as-cast metal at room temperature. Also, there is the possibility of the unfavorable distribution of other impurities having a detrimental effect on the ductility of cast molybdenum. The results of a study of the influence of purity on the room-temperature ductility of cast molybdenum are presented here. Vacuum Arc-Melting to Produce High Purity Mo One way of determining the effect of impurities on the ductility of molybdenum is to prepare and test metal as free of all impurities as possible. Accordingly, the present investigation was undertaken with this in view. Arc melting in high vacuum (less than 0.1 micron of mercury) was chosen as the method for reducing the impurities below the concentrations occurring in commercial molybdenum. Commercial arc melting of molybdenum is carried out at about 50 microns pressure. During the arc melting, carbon and oxygen in the metal react to form carbon monoxide. By virtue of the vacuum process, the partial pressure of carbon monoxide is maintained at such a low value that the reaction greatly lowers oxygen and carbon contents. An excess of at least 0.03 pct C is used in commercial arc melting to insure that the oxygen content will be below 0.003 pct. The excess carbon remaining after the deoxidation step forms carbides on freezing. Some of the carbides precipitate at the grain boundaries and, as will be shown, have an unfavorable effect on the room-temperature ductility. In the present work, only the small amount of carbon (0.003 pct) contained in the commercial powder-metallurgy molybdenum used for melting stock was present. Partial removal of oxygen from the melt probably occurred as the result of the volatilization of molybdenum oxides, or by distillation of oxygen at the high melting tem-

Jan 1, 1953

By C. S. Barrett

W. Hofmann, J. Ziegler, and H. Hanemann—Having dealt with the same alloys in the winter 1941 to 1942, we want to give a short report on the generating of the hexagonal kappa phase by deforming the supersaturated alpha phase, which we then observed. This work was delivered as a Doctor of Engineering dissertation to the Technical University of Berlin by J. Ziegler in 1942. It still exists in two copies, somewhat damaged, a brief publication of it having been issued in Fiat-Review. Our work was started from the alloy Tombasil with 4.5 to 5 pct Si, 14.5 to 14 pct Zn, the rest Cu. Torpedo propellers were die cast from this alloy in Germany during the war. In order to improve this alloy, annealing was tried. By this treatment the alloy became at the same time harder and more brittle. A further research of this process was made in the Got-tingen University30 and the "Institut fÜr Metallkunde" of the Technical University of Berlin. It soon was apparent that the Cu-Si diagram at our disposal15,31,32 would not fit the observations. For this reason the pith of the matter became from then on the Cu-Si system. At that time we did not know of Smith's* and Andersen'sm latest diagrams. We first knew of them from Dr. Barrett's publication. Twenty-two alloys containing 2 to 11 pct Si were melted in a nitrogen atmosphere and generally homogenized for 2 to 4 hr at 800 °C. Part of the samples were then annealed at 700°, 600° and 500°. Annealing was followed by quenching in water. The phases corresponding to the various temperatures were identified by X-ray and microscopy. The Debye-Scherrer photographs generally were made of filings. The latter were produced after the last anneal of the samples, then equally annealed another 30 min in evacuated glass tubes and quenched in water. In the region of concentrations examined, the Cu-Si phases already known to us were observed: alpha, kappa (then called beta by us), gamma. By hot exposing an alloy of 7.69 pct Si at 800" and 750°,

Jan 1, 1951

By C. E. Birchenall, M. H. Davis

The rate of oxidation of titanium in the temperature range 650° to 950°C has been measured. 'The linear rate law obtained is explained by interface reaction control of the process. Tracer experiments indicate the oxygen diffuses in at least one phase of the scale. THE kinetics of oxidation of titanium, principally at low temperatures and under varying oxygen pressures, have been reported.¹,² In the present investigation the rates of oxidation of titanium have been determined by the gravimetric method in the temperature range 650" to 1000°C under 1 atm of oxygen. Some of the scales formed were powdered and an endeavor was made to identify the phases present by X-ray diffraction. Alexander and Pigeon1 ascribe a logarithmic rate law to the growth of thick films formed at temperatures up to 565"C, and Gulbransen and Andrew' suggest that the parabolic rate law holds up to 600°C. In both cases large initial deviations from those relationships are apparent and no explanation is offered. In the present experiments it is shown that a linear rate law holds in the temperature range 650" to 1000°C, and it is suggested that the initial deviations observed are due in part to a spurious surface area effect and also to the high solubility of oxygen in titanium metal. Positive information on the mechanism of oxidation is not available, but oxygen ion diffusion through the lattice is inferred from the re- sults of trace experiments. X-ray analysis of the scale confirms Gulbransen and Hickman's' observation on the presence of rutile TiO². Experimental Details The titanium used in these experiments was prepared by the reduction of titanium tetrachloride with magnesium and was used in the form of rolled sheet. Samples approximately 0.040x0.5x0.75 in. were cut and polished to a fineness of 4/0 on metal-lographic polishing papers. Individual samples, suspended on a platinum wire, were lowered into the hot zone of a furnace, in vacuo, by means of a winch, and oxygen was admitted after the desired temperature was attained. The increase of weight of single samples oxidized for fixed times at certain temperatures was determined by weighing the sample before and after oxidation on a chemical balance. In these instances the sample was used for only one time at one temperature. In some cases the course of oxidation was followed by attaching the sample to a sensitive spring balance and noting periodically the extension of the spring with time of oxidation. Kirkendall type experiments were carried out by marking the surface of the titanium prior to oxidation with a solution containing radioactive silver. After drying, the specimen was heated in vacuo to decompose the silver nitrate used, leaving a small amount of metallic radioactive silver on the surface. Following oxidation, these samples were mounted, ground, and then placed in intimate contact with

Jan 1, 1952

By Wallace W. Wilson

This DaoerAA calls to attention for the first time, to the writer's knowledge, a purported recovery of oil by substantially horizontal gas cycling that is considerably in excess of 50 per cent of the oil originally in place. The average angle of dip along the path of travel of the gas is less than one degree of arc. The best recovery by gas cycling previously brought to the writer's attention1 occurred in the case of the Mile Six Field in Peru, where about 68 per cent of the original oil in place has so far been recovered. In this case, however. the recovery was greatly aided 1)y the high dip angle of about 17.5". An approximate estimate of recovery was made by the method developed by the writer' for the case of the Cook Ranch Field, using an average relative permeability ratio function dictated by past experience with a number of good quality sandstones. A result of about 40 per cent recovery of the original oil in place wa* obtained after the 8.5 pore volumes of cumulative gas cycling undergone by the Cook Ranch Field. Tile writer desires to emphasize what appears to him as the sound engineering practiced at Cook Ranch, and also the care attending the taking of data and the high quality of the calculations made. It is impossible to take issue on factual grounds with any of the conclusions drawn in the paper. It is, however, desired to point out the difficulty of explaining the unexpectedly favorable oil recovery on ordinary theoretical grounds. It would be of interest to know whether relative permeability ratios have been measured on the Cook sand. The operator is inclined to attribute some of the excess benefit to settling of the oil across the bedding planes into the lower part of the sand. It is difficult for the writer to appreciate the importance of such an effect, inasmuch as the concomitant opening of excessive vacated pore space in the upper part of the sand would he expected to cause excessive bypassing of the gas. REFERENCE 1. Welge. H. J.: "A Simplified Method for Computing Oil Recovery by (Gas or Water Drive." Trans. AIME, (1952), 195, 91. AUTHOR'S REPLY TO MR. WELGE Welge has poined out clearly the difficulty of applying material-balance procedures in calculating the Performance of low-pressure, dispersed gas injection operations. There can be no argument that even with the most favorable assumptions of K,/K,, and with cumulative gas cycling in excess of normal expectations, the calculated oil recovery will be considerably less than the 72.5 per cent recovery realized from this project to Jan. 1, 1951. There probably are at least two reasons for the unusually high recovery from this reservoir, the effects of which would be difficult or impossible to calculate by known methods: 1. The operator did not use the same injection wells for the entire operation, and exercised considerable control over producing GOR by changing the locations of injection wells whenever well performance indicated excessive bypassing. Fifty-six wells were used for injection, not over 29 of which were in use simultaneously. This procedure resulted in frequent shifting of the fluid movement patterns in the reservoir and undoubtedly increased the ultimate recovery. The writer knows of no satisfactory procedure for calculating the effect of this practice. 2. Vertical movement of oil across the bedding planes of the reservoir rock hy gravity drainage tended to maintain a relatively high oil saturation, and hence a favorable K,/K, ratio, in the lower sections of the reservoir. As pointed out by Welge, this condition has aggravated the tendency for high producing GOR, but at the same time it has resulted in increased oil recovery. As may be seen from the performance charts for the various battery areas, operating (GOR'S have been quite high for the last several years of reported history.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. B. Campbell

One of the three power plants that will be in the Curecanti Unit of the Bureau of Reclamation's Colorado River Storage Project is the power plant at Morrow Point Dam. Presently under construction, the Morrow Point Power Plant is between Gunnison and Montrose on the Gunnison River in west-central Colorado. (Fig. 1). Morrow Point Dam will be a thin, double-curvature, concrete-arch dam, 465 ft high and will impound 120,000 acre-ft of water. Two 60,000-kw hydroelectric generators will be housed in an underground power plant in the left abutment just down- stream from the dam. The power-plant chamber will be an unlined opening 205.5 ft long, 57 ft wide and 65 to 134 ft high. The arch-type roof with a rise-to-span ratio of 1 to 4 will be supported with rock bolts and chain link fence. A description and discussion of the design considerations for the power-plant opening and rock bolt design are given by William H. Wolf, Gilbert L. Brown, and Ernest D. Morgan in "Morrow Point Under- ground Powerplant," ASCE Power Division Specialty Conference, Denver Colorado, August 18-20, 1965. The Morrow Point site is in a moderately active region of mild earth- quakes, as evidenced by recent earthquakes in 1960 and 1962. Therefore, the Bureau of Reclamation undertook an investigation of the effects on the underground power-plant chamber when subjected to an earthquake. The art of earthquake engineering has been directed primarily at developing methods of analyzing the nature of ground surface motions and designing surface structures to resist damage from vibrations impressed on the structure by the ground motions. The mechanism of straining an underground cavity by an earthquake

Jan 1, 1968

By J. L. Jones

1. Brinell tests at progressively increasing temperatures are given for a representative lead-base and a representative tin-base babbitt, showing that the former has superior resistance to deformation at the working temperatures of bearings. 2. Small squares of bearing bronze, tinned and then babbitted with a representative lead-base babbitt and a representative tin-base babbitt were subjected to compressive loading. The lead-base babbitt showed less average compression than the tin-base babbitt. Compression did not materially increase the Brinell hardness of the babbitts. 3. A process and a tool are described for giving smoother and more accurate surfaces to bearings than has heretofore been possible. The following experiments have recently been carried out in the chemical laboratory of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. While the work is incomplete, it is described at the present time because data on the comparative merits of lead-base and tin-base babbitts are of interest in connection with the present shortage of tin. BRinell Habdness of Babbitt at Increasing Temperatures Bearings fail because of wiping, or deformation. Hence tenacity is desirable in a bearing metal, especially tenacity at high temperatures. The Brinell test is commonly regarded as a measure of tenacity. In fact, it has recently been proposed to substitute for Brinell hardness number the expression " tenacity number."l It seemed, therefore, that the Brinell test was especially adapted for the tests described. Disks, 4 in. (101 mm.) in diameter and 1.5 in. (38 mm.) thick, were made of the babbitts to be studied, designated A, B, C. They were poured into metal molds, pyrometer leads being soldered in the center of each disk. The composition of the babbitts was as follows:

Jan 1, 1919

In an address delivered at Atlantic City, N. T., Dec. 5, 1918, M. L. Requa, General Director, Oil Division of the United States Fuel Administration, said: We face a new era with all its uncertainties. We have arrived at the period of reconstruction and are face to face with the problems concerning which we have so often speculated during the past four years. In all this reconstruction work the United States must bear an important part. We are looked upon to lead the way, to blaze the trail and our actions will have a profound influence upon the rest of the world. If we are to succeed, even in part, we must not be ashamed to practise economy; we must not despise the clay of small things; the little savings; we must have the closest cooperation between Government and industry. Just as truly do we need civic awakening. All that we have ever fought for, the liberty of the world, is comprehended in the ballot; and yet how lightly we have held this great privilege! We need, if we are to reap in full the benefits of the past 18 mo., an awakened civic consciousness; a jealous guarding of government; a resolution that we will, each and all, perform to the full the duties imposed upon us by Democracy; that we will perform more completely the obligations resting upon us as citizens. During the war, industry, through sane cooperation and intelligent effort, has accomplished results possible of attainment in no other way. Government and industry have worked hand in hand and pointed the way o to future activities which, if realized, can but be most highly beneficial to all. If Government and industry are to fulfill their respective duties satisfactorily, it is obvious that there should be complete mutual confidence. Industry must not attempt to "put something over"-and Government must treat with industry upon the high plane that has characterized the public utterances of the President during the war. The individual who cannot conform to these high ideals should have no place in industry, and equally no place in Government. If the dignified and broad princi-

Jan 2, 1919

By WILLIAM COUPER

THE completion of the excavation of the tunnels through Bergen Hill for the extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad into New York City, together with the fact that the excavation for the rest of the tunnel-line has been practically completed for some time past, arouses sufficient interest to justify a description of the engineering- and contracting-work, and the organization by which it has been accomplished. The finishing of the excavation is a long step towards the completion of the entire tunnel-project. It will be interesting to the members of the Institute, who last spring were taken through a great part of this work, to know that by the excavation now completed it is possible to walk by tunnel from a, point near Sunnyside yard, Long Island, east of the 34th Street ferry, to the central passenger station site in the City of New York, and thence by tunnel to the Hackensack meadows, and by an embankment constructed across these meadows to Newark, N. J. This New York tunnel extension is being constructed as a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system by the Pennsylvania Tunnel & Terminal R. R. Co., a corporation of the States of New Jersey and New York. It extends from a point near Newark, N. J., to the Sunnyside yard, Long Island, as indicated on the accompanying plan.

Jan 7, 1908

By Guy N. Bjorge, A. J. M. Ross, S. J. Staple, J. D. Johnson, J. F. Wiggert

In recent years the Homestake mine has been served by three shafts, the B. &. M., the B. & M. No. 2 and the Ellison, supplemented by an inside shaft, the Milliken, extending from the 2000-ft. level to the 3200-ft. level. In 1932, when a new operating shaft was under consideration, the bottom of the mine was at the 3200-ft. level. The B. & M. and the B. & M. No. 2 shafts were down to the 1550-ft. level and the Ellison was being deepened from the 2600 to the 3200-ft. level. All ore was hoisted at the B. & M. and Ellison shafts. Levels below the 2600 level, which were under development only, were served by the Milliken shaft. Below the 1550-ft. level, the mine was served only by the Ellison shaft from the surface. Within a few years, when ore reserves above the 1550-ft. level would be depleted, operation would be limited to the Ellison shaft and the auxiliary underground shaft. The Ellison shaft alone was not adequate for hoisting the entire output from the deeper levels and also handling all men and supplies. Furthermore, assurance of safety and uninterrupted operation required two fully equipped shafts to the deeper levels. Therefore a new operating shaft was authorized in November, 1932, and was named for A. J. M. Ross, the mine superintendent. Plans for New Shaft The B. & M. shaft, begun in 1878 before much was known of the form and extent of the orebodies, was too near the ore and was endangered by ground movement. In 1924 this shaft was seriously threatened and sinking of the B. & M. No. 2 shaft, to supplant it, was begun. The latter was completed to the 1550-ft. level in 1928. In the meantime ground movement at the B. & M. shaft had practically stopped and, though loss of the shaft constantly threatened, ore hoisting was con-

Jan 1, 1937

[Estimated Receipts Dues: Arrears $ 3,500.00 Current 108,115.00 New Members 11,937.00 In Advance 1,763.00 $125,315.00 Initiation Fees 7,250.00 Initiation Fees-Additional if increased to $20.00 7,250.00 Sale of Transactions....3,000.00 Sale of Binding 7,092.00 Sale of Magazine 2,913.00 Sale of Pamphlets 70.00 Sale of Indexes and Emmons Vols 313.00 Sale of Pyrometry 900.00 Sale of Raymond Vol 100.00 Interest received on Bank Balance 500.00 Interest received on Life Memberships 500.00 Advertising-Gross 27,000.00 Voluntary Subscriptions-Estimated 16,000.00 Income from James Douglas Fund 5,000.00 Total $203,503.00] [ ]

Jan 1, 1925

R. W. Raymond, New York City: From a study of Mr. Johnson's paper, I conclude that his apparatus is simple in construction and operation, and imitates in a revolving machine the movements of hand-shoveling. It does what a man would do in removing sand from the waste-water with a perforated shovel. I am sorry to say that I fear the present condition of the brown-ore mining industry in the East, as long as

Jan 1, 1899

By J. L. Hendrix, R. B. Dix

A study was made of the United States Bureau of Mines chlorine-oxygen leaching process for complex sulfide concentrates. The investigation sought to determine the kinetic order and mechanisms involved in the reactions between galena and sphalerite with chlorine. The influence of copper on the extraction rates was also studied. It has been shown that the rates of reaction of chlorine in aqueous solutions with sphalerite and galena are both zero order at 373 K with rate limiting step being the chemical reaction. Addition of cupric chloride increased the extractions of both lead and zinc.

Jan 1, 1981

By J. M. Steininger

The mechanism of flotation of sphalerite with sulthydryl compounds of different acidities has been interpreted in terms of chemisorption of unionized collector molecules on hydroxylated zinc surface sites. At a constant collector concentration of 1.5 x 10 -4 M, the upper pH limit of flotation has been found to be directly and closely related to the negative logarithm of the collector acidity constant, pKa The experimental results indicate that flotation is prevented when about 95% of the collector is ionized. At low pH, collector adsorption decreases because of the reduction in number of hydroxylated zinc surface sites. These two effects explain why sphalerite does not float with the more acidic sulfhydryl compounds. Typical anionic collectors for sulfide minerals are short chain xanthates or dithiophosphates which are nearly completely ionized in the generally alka- line flotation circuits.1,2 Flotation mechanisms have therefore been usually interpreted in terms of ionic collector adsorption and competition with ionic depressants of the same sign as the collector. A few attempts have been made, however, to consider adsorption of neutral collector molecules. Contact angle measurements obtained by Wark and cox3 have been interpreted by Cook and Nixon4 as representing adsorption of the free acid molecules on sulfide minerals such as pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite. Cook and Nixon tried to show that the free acid concentration of the collector was substantially constant along the curves relating collector addition and minimum pH for bubble adherence. However, in a review of the subject,5 Sutherland presented new data on the flotation of pyrite with mercaptobenzothiazole which did not support the hypothesis of constant concentration of either collector ions or collector free molecules. He further showed that, with the assumption of constant occupation of surface sites, both theories lead to relations between pH and collector addition having similar mathematical expressions. In fact, with the more likely assumption of variable occupation of surface sites which results in more complex relationships, it appears impossible to

Jan 1, 1968

By R. G. Ward, A. E. El-Mehairy

A technique was developed to calculate the density of liquid metals from the profile of a weighed levitated drop obtained by emitted light photography and calibration. The density of liquid copper was determined over the temperature range 1370" to 2100°K and expressed with the equation: The molar volumes and thermal coefficients of expansion are calculated. Copper, upon melting, was found to expand 3.34 pct. A knowledge of the density of liquid metals is essential as it is a parameter appearing in most theories of the liquid state. The liquid density is also necessary for the calculation of the commercially important contraction occurring on solidification. Unfortunately good density values are rarely available and the present work was undertaken to establish a new method of density determination free from the limitations of the existing methods. For liquid metals with high melting points, the variation and the limited number of density values reported in the literature have been caused primarily by difficulties in technique, a matter which has been adequately discussed by Urbain.' In all the methods used for measuring the density of the high-melting liquid metals there are sources of error, and corrections have to be made. For example, in the method of balanced columns, the formation of gas bubbles in one or both arms was a great source of error. In the pyknometer3 and immersed-sinker methods, corrections of certain volumes for thermal expansion to the operating temperature exceed 4 pct. In the maximum-bubble method5 a correction for the thermal expansion of the bubble-tube is used (about 1.6 pct); a second correction takes into account the change in the volume of liquid displaced by the bubble-tube (about 3.5 pct). Another method used is based on the shape of a drop of liquid, at rest on an inert refractory plaque, obtained photographically or radiographi-cally. The volume is calculated from the shape, which is sensitive to the surface tension and supporting material, by some intricate empirical relation. The drop contour changes with 90 deg rotation of the support.7 The application of all methods is limited by reaction between liquid metal and the apparatus. The successful stabilization of a mass of liquid metal during levitation melting8 afforded a technique for measuring the density of liquid metals out of contact with solid materials. The technique was developed by using copper as the density of liquid copper has already been studied extensively, thus allowing comparison with the new method. It consists of calculating the volume from the dimensioned profile of the levitated drop obtained by emitted-light photography and careful calibration. The molten egg-shaped drop spins around the magnetic axis of the coil (lined vertically) at a speed which seems to increase with increasing temperature. The method does not involve corrections and the experimental setup allows the use of vacuum or special atmospheres. The maximum operating temperature is limited by excessive evaporation of metal from the droplet. EXPERIMENTAL Levitating System. A stabilizing ring was used in conjunction with a 3-turn levitating coil energized by a 450-kc per sec, 10-kw Toccotron with a high current-low voltage output stabilized to f 1 pet.' APyrex glass tube with a Pyrex Optical flat window inserted through the coil and ring allowed the use of special atmospheres during levitation melting, as shown in Fig. 1. Optical System. Fig. 1 shows the optical arrangement used to photograph the profiles of the drop, parallel and perpendicular to the vertical spinning axis, simultaneously on the same frame of a high-speed 35-mm film. The optical system was adjusted to avoid any distortion of the profiles and to ensure that both profiles are in focus. The length of path from object to objective was about 30 cm, and a magnification factor close to 1 was obtained with the single-lens reflex-camera system. Temperature Measurement and Control. In operation, the specimen temperature was constant to 5 C for a fixed power input to the levitating coil and fixed rate of gas flow through the tube. The temperature was measured by an automatic two-color pyrometer (Coloratio) checked at the melting

Jan 1, 1963

By G. K. Manning, A. R. Elsea, C. R. Simcoe

Boron increases the hardenability of hypoeutectoid steels by decreasing the nucleation rate of ferrite and bainite. It is postulated that concentrations of lattice imperfections, such as exist at the grain boundaries, furnish the necessary energy for nucleus formation. Boron, because of its atomic diameter, will concentrate at lattice imperfections where sites of suitable size are present. Boron will decrease the energy of these local areas by occupying these sites. This mechanism accounts for the large increase in hardenability observed with small amounts of boron. The loss of the boron hardenability effect and the boron precipitate formation are explained on the basis of increased concentration of boron at the grain boundaries either with increasing boron content of the material or with increasing temperature. COMMON alloying elements affect both the nucleation and growth rates of the austenite decomposition reactions.' This effect is largely a result of the slow diffusion rates of these elements. Although a small addition of boron markedly increases the hardenability of steel, the diffusion rate of boron, which is of the same order of magnitude as that of carbon, can hardly account for this effect. An addition of boron in the range of 0.001 to 0.003 pct is about as effective as an addition of 0.30 pct Mo, 0.40 pct Cr, or 1.25 pct Ni in increasing the hardenability of a 0.40 pct C steel;' however, increasing the carbon content of the steel decreases the effectiveness of the boron addition."' The difficulty in understanding why so small an addition of boron can replace much larger quantities of the more strategic alloys, together with the erratic behavior sometimes encountered in boron-treated steels, has interfered with their general acceptance by industry. In the belief that an understanding of the mechanism by which boron increases the hardenability of steel should lead to a more general acceptance of boron-treated steels, a research investigation to determine this mechanism was undertaken at Battelle Memorial Institute under sponsorship of Wright Air Development Center. Experimental Work In order to study the effect of boron on the transformation of austenite to ferrite and bainite, a group of steels was made with a basic composition similar to that of the SAE 8600 series. This base composition was chosen because it has sufficient hardenability to permit accurate measurement of the times required for transformation to start at various temperatures. The chemical analyses of the steels used in the first part of this investigation are listed in Table I. These steels were made as 200 lb heats in an induction furnace. The furnace charge was Armco ingot iron with the alloying elements added as ferroalloys. After the alloy additions were made, the heat was deoxidized with 0.125 pct Al. A 100 lb ingot was cast and an addition of 0.003 pct B, as ferroboron, was made to the metal remaining in the furnace. This metal was cast into a second 100 lb ingot. The ingots were forged to 11/4 in. diam bar stock from which end-quench hardenability specimens were obtained. Part of this material was further reduced by hot rolling to lx¼ in. bar stock from which specimens were obtained for isothermal transformation studies. Studies of Nucleation and Growth: End-quench hardenability tests were performed on these steels, using an austenitizing temperature of 1600°F. The hardenability curves, shown in Fig. 1, indicate that boron treatment resulted in considerable increase in hardenability of the steels. Any such change in hardenability must result from a change in the transformation rate of the austenite, and these rate changes can be established readily by isothermal transformation studies. Isothermal transformation studies were conducted on these steels as follows: specimens were austeni-tized at 1600°F for 15 min, transferred to a lead bath operating at a constant subcritical or intercritical temperature, held for various lengths of time, and water quenched. The specimens were sectioned for metallographic examination to determine the amount and the type of transformation products present. In order to determine the effect of boron on the formation rate of ferrite, isothermal transformation tests were made on the 0.20 pct C steel in both the boron-treated and boron-free condition at an intercritical temperature of 1375°F where ferrite is the only decomposition product of this low carbon austenite. The results of these tests are shown in Fig. 2, where the percentage of ferrite formed is plotted as a function of time at temperature. It is apparent that boron markedly decreased the transformation rate of austenite to ferrite at this temperature.

Jan 1, 1956

By S. H. Ash

Foreman remains key man in any safety program, as men attracted to the industry must be trained in safety thinking. Diesel engines underground aid safety and widespread use of roof bolting is reflected in reduction of roof-fall fatalities.

Jan 2, 1953

A. Blainey (Ministry of Supply, Atomic Energy Research Establishment. Hnrtoell. England)—With ref- erence to the published work of Hausner et al. on the powder metallurgy of zirconium, it will be of interest to summarize briefly the results of preliminary work we have carried out on this subject at A.E.R.E., Harwell. For the early experiments we used zirconium

Jan 1, 1953

By G. R. Speich

The age-hardening of Fe-18 to 21 pct Ni marten-sites containing small amounts of titanium, aluminum, copper, or molybdenum has been studied by hardness measurements, transmission electron microscopy, extraction replicas, and X-ray and electron diffraction. Electyon-probe microanaly-sis of the extracted precipitates was also performed. The effects of temperature and composition on the aging kinetics have been studied in detail for Fe-20 pctNi-Ti martensites. All the martensites hardened on aging at 400" to 500 "C with a single aging peak. In the Fe-20 pct Ni-Ti martensites hardening was associated with the formation of a fine dispersion of NisTi. No precipitation was observed in an Fe-21 pct Ni-2.6 pct A1 alloy, although the hardness increased from 327 to 545 Dph during aging at 500°C. Copper was precgitated from an Fe-20 pct Ni-10.7pct Cu alloy, at least during the later stages of age-hardening. Hardening in an Fe-18 pctNi-5pct Mo alloy was associated with the precipitation of an intemzetallic compound tentatively identified as NisMo. The formation of austenite and the recovery of the defect structure of the martensite occur simultaneously with the normal precipitation processes &ring aging of these alloys. THE age-hardening of substitutional iron-base martensites is an important subject for study since age-hardening is one of the principal means of strengthening the substitutional iron-base martensites in precipitation-hardening stainless steels1 and maraging steels.a~4 In contrast to Fe-C martensites, these martensites are relatively soft and ductile in the as-quenched condition, due to the low solid-solution hardening effect of the substitutional elements as compared to carbon. Also, these martensites are hardened by aging at low temperatures in contrast to Fe-C martensites which generally soften on tempering. Titanium and aluminum, singly or in combination, as well as copper and molybdenum, have been the principal alloying additions to stainless steels to obtain an age-hardening reaction.' Ti-A1 or Co-Mo-Ti combinations have been used in the case of maraging steels.3"4 The present work has been confined to a study of the age-hardening characteristics of an Fe-18 to 21 pct Ni martensite to which small amounts of titanium, aluminum, copper, and molybdenum were added in order to study the effects of each alloying element separately. The age-hardening characteristics of these alloys were studied by hardness measurements, transmission electron microscopy, extraction replicas, and X-ray and electron diffraction. Electron-probe micro-analysis of the extracted precipitates was also performed. The types and dispersion of precipitates, the formation of austenite, and the recovery of the defect structure of the martensite all were studied. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Alloys. The compositions of the alloys studied are listed in Table I. The level of 18 to 21 pct Ni was chosen to assure complete transformation to martensite on quenching and is the same nickel level used in maraging steels. The concentrations of titanium, aluminum, copper, and molybdenum were chosen after a study of the and Fe-Ni-MO' ternary diagrams indicated how much of each alloying element could be dissolved in austenite. Alloys with 2 and 4 pct Cu were also studied, but these did not show precipitation hardening at the nickel levels studied and will not be discussed further. The alloys were prepared from electrolytic iron and high-purity* nickel, titanium, aluminum, copper, and molybdenum by vacuum melting of 20-lb heats. These were vacuum-cast into two 8-lb ingots. The ingots were hot-rolled at 1100°C to 1/2-in. plate and subsequently cut into 3/8-in. cubes. The cubes were sealed in evacuated quartz capsules and solution-treated for 16 hr at 1100°C, except for the Fe-20 pct Ni-10.7 pct Cu alloy and Fe-21 pct Ni-2.6 pct A1 alloys which were solution-treated for 16 hr at 1300" and at 1250"C, respectively. Metallographic examina-

Jan 1, 1963