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By Ernest Klepetko

A notable amount of fossil resin exists in many of the bituminous coal beds of Utah, The upper part of these show a marked concentration of resin, which occurs primarily in the fracture seams. In general, these seams are less than 1/8 in. thick, but it is not uncommon to find coal with areas as thick as 3/8 in. The resin is of the hard kauri variety, with coloration varying from deep blood red to lemon yellow and almost colorless. There is also an almost black variety, which is not readily soluble in the same solvents as the lighter colored resins. These resins are valuable for many industrial purposes. When refined, they are suitable for uses similar to those for which lac resins are usually employed. They are particularly desirable for preparing dielectric varnishes. They are also desirable in preparing printing inks, waterproofing agents, special synthetic rubbers and rubber cements, They are especially suitable as an admixture in synthetic rubbers and cements, as they supply the essential tackiness the synthetics lack. The following chemical trade characteristics' have been found by Inter-Chemical Co. research chemists in the refined resins: Specific gravity (melted)....... I. 03 -1.06 Acid number.................. 6-8 Softening point, mercury method 160°-165°C Iodine valus (Wijs)............ 140-150 Refractive index............... 1.544 Color (Hellige, 25 pct toluol)... 14 Molecular weight, average...... 732 purity, 99 + pct pure hydrocarbon "Unaffected by alkalies and resistant to one hour fusion with solid potassium hydroxide. Completely soluble in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Insoluble in alcohols, ethyl acetate and other commonly used alcohols and esters. Compatible with natural and synthetic rubbers, chlorinated and cyclized rubbers, waxes, vegetable oils, mineral oils, rosin, ester gum, phenolic and modified phenolic resins and other natural and synthetic resins of like solvent solubility."* The recovery and refining of these fossil resins has been the subject of much research work and has intrigued many investigators. Broadly speaking, the problem involves separation of the resin from the coal into a very high-grade concentrate, and subsequent treatment of this concentrate to produce an acceptable refined resin for its various usages. Obviously it is also desirable to recover the residua] coal without excessive size degradation. The late W. D. Green, concentration engineer for Combined Metals Reduction CO., obtained U. S. Patent No. 1773997 for the recovery of resin from coal through

Jan 1, 1949

By L. C. Graton

Although marked by numerous well-known attributes of its own, gold does not possess a kind and range of physical, chemical and geological characteristics wholly different and apart from those of other metals. Instead, it is merely one of the family of metals, with its individual and distinctive traits subordinate to the underlying family relationships and resemblances. The geologist concerned with pure science will pursue, therefore, the same general course and will examine the same broad kinds of facts and interrelations when studying the occurrence of gold as when studying that of copper or cadmium, or any other metal. But when we come to consider the use and economics of the metals, we discover that gold differs strikingly from all the others. Gold, in short, is unique, not by virtue of its inherent characteristics, but because of a peculiar and concerted psychological regard in which it is held. It will be evident, therefore, that the geologist who would deal with gold supply must give far greater weight to economic considerations than is required in his contacts with any other metal. If the geologist be called the scientist of occurrence, and the economist the scientist of use, the economic geologist stands as the necessary link between them. Perhaps it is in part because the economic geologist has made himself more familiar with the science of occurrence than with the science of use and has thus in some degree failed to bridge effectively the gap between the two fields, especially with regard to gold, that the usen1 of gold now appear to be in a state of general concern and even of alarm for the security and adequacy of future supplies. In the case of no other mineral commodity do the users, as a rule, trouble themselves greatly about the adequacy of supply except in so far as that may affect the price which they shall have to pay for the commodity. Oversupply, with resulting low price, they regard as a gift of good fortune. As to long-term undersupply, they are generally content to go ahead on faith, leaving the producer to discover as best he may the means for meeting their requirements or the inventor to find a substitute. But history has shown that for gold a different situation exists. While

Jan 1, 1931

By C. D. Dolman

Since the outbreak of the war we have discovered in the united States minerals of which there was no general knowledge, and which compared very favorably with anything that could be found in any foreign country. One of these was magnesite, or the carbonate of magnesium as it occurs in nature. This mineral crystallizes in the rhombohedra1 form, has a specific gravity of 3.00, molecular weight of 84.4, molecular volume of 28.1, and a hardness of 3.5 to 4.5.1 Had it not been for the development of the California deposits of this mineral and the discovery of immense new deposits in Stevens County, Wash., the production of steel during the war would have been more seriously handicapped than it was. Now that the war is over, we face the possibility of competition with the cheap Austro-Hungarian magnesite; and while that may not be so cheap as it was before the war, adequate protection should be given the producers in this country to insure the full development of our own resources. The consumption of magnesite in the United States in 1913, the year preceding the war, was 172,591 tons of calcined and 22,872 tons of crude magnesite. Less than 3 per cent. of this amount was produced at home. At the present time, practically all of the magnesite used in the United States is produced at home. Expensive plants have been constructed, extensive exploration work done, and production pushed to the utmost to supply the necessary requirements of the war. Thus a considerable industry has been built up within our borders. Some magnesite has been imported from Canada and Mexico, but the Canadian ore was of an inferior grade and could not be used satisfactorily. During the year 1918, production decreased in both the United States and Canada; the production in the United States was 225,000 tons in 1918 as against 315,000 in 1917, and in Canada 39,365 tons in 1918 as against 58,090 in 1917. This decrease was mainly due to over-production during 1917, the domestic demand being only 300,000 tons. The material produced and sold in the United States must contain, in the crude form, not more than 3.5 per cent. silica and 2 per cent. lime;

Jan 1, 1920

By G. W. Maynard

In this paper I desire to embody the results of some personal observations of the working of the Siemens direct process as I witnessed it for a part of three days at the works of the Siemens-Anderson Company, in Pittsburgh. This preliminary investigation was to have been followed up by one extending over a considerable period of time, and would have embraced analytical and physical tests. Circumstances over which I had no control, resulting in the temporay suspension of work, have postponed the presentation of a complete paper. If the opportunity is afforded me, I purpose doing this at a future meeting of the Institute. To those interested in the development of the process, reference is made to the papers of Dr. Siemens in the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute for the years 1873 and 1877, and to the paper of our late lamented brother, Holley, in the 8th volume of the Transactions of our owu Institute. Dr. Siemens, in the introduction to his paper "On the Manufacture of Iron and Steel by Direct Process," read before the Iron and Steel Institute in september, 1877, says: " In mixing comparatively rich iron ore in powder with about 25 per cent. of its weight of pounded coal, and in exposing this mixture for some hours to the heat of a common stove or of a smith's fire, metallic iron is formed, which, on being heated to the welding-point on the same smith's hearth, may be forged into a horseshoe of excellent quality. The admixture with the ore of some fluxiug materials, such as lime or clay, will, in most cases, be of advantage to rid the iron of adherent slog." This is the keynote of the Siemens direct process. Dr. Siemens says further: " If we regard the production of wrought iron from an abstract point of view, we perceive that we have to accomplish two things, viz., the deoxidation of the ore, arid the fusion of the earthy matter mixed with it; and if we calculate the amount of carbon necessary to accomplish this end, weshall rind that in using, say, hematite ore, consisting of peroxide of iron with from 10 to 15 per cent. of silica, we shall require barely 40 per cent. of carbonsceous matter per ton of iron contained in the ore to effect its reduction, and also the fusion of the slag."

Jan 1, 1882

THE CHAIRMAN (A. F. Lucas, Washington, D. C.).-Mr. Matteson has stated that the drilling of certain deep wells has proved a failure because they were abandoned too soon. He advises drilling more wells around salt domes, in the hope of finding additional oil sands. I have had some experience on the domes and believe that by drilling shallow wells, one loses time and money. I have advanced the opinion -that by drilling central wells in the -most likely location of a dome, showing is certain weakness, a better result could be obtained. I have in mind one locality where Mr. Knapp drilled a well through the salt¬the only location that I know of on the Gulf Coast where oil was found underneath the salt. Mr. Knapp found a great deal of gas in it. The salt itself was impregnated with oil and gas; and my opinion is that in such instances, instead of drilling so many wells around a dome, if you will attack at a weak point to as great a depth as a drill will go, the results will he much better. At present we have instances where drills have penetrated to 7300 or 7400 ft. in depth. Why couldn't the rich companies that are operating around the Gulf Coast arrange to get some special drilling apparatus and drill with the rotary first for, say, 3000 to 4000 ft., always in the likely location, and then proceed with the cable? I think we need just such work. In Mr. Matteson's paper lie quotes from an author whose writings in the Federal Bulletin and in the Louisiana Bulletins have been quite extensive. He states that oil and asphalt have originally been found on the surface of those domes. I have been over and examined nearly all of those domes (not all of them, because many have been developed in the last few years) and found no such occurrence at the time; and in the old well-known humps or big hills, as they generally called them; I have never found either salines or asphalt or petroleum. In only' one instance it looked as though asphalt night have exuded out of the ground, and that was in the Sour Lake, but right in that neighborhood years previous to that a company had operated commercially-they had a little refinery there-and had found it so unprofitable that they pulled up stakes and quit.

Jan 4, 1918

By Ernest Klepetko

A notable amount of fossil resin exists in many of the bituminous coal beds of Utah. The upper part of these show a marked concentration of resin, which occurs primarily in the fracture seams. In general, these seams are less than 1/8 in. thick, but it is not uncommon to find coal with areas as thick as 3/8 inches. The resin is of the hard kauri variety, with coloration varying from deep blood red to lemon yellow and almost colorless. There is also an almost black variety, which is not readily soluble in the same solvents as the lighter colored resins. These resins are valuable for many industrial purposes. When refined, they are suitable for uses similar to those for which lac resins are usually employed. They are particularly desirable for preparing dielectric varnishes. They are also desirable in preparing printing inks, waterproofing agents, special synthetic rubbers and rubber cements. They are especially suitable as an admixture in synthetic rubbers and cements, as they supply the essential tackiness the synthetics lack. The following chemical trade characteristics have been found by Inter-Chemical Co. research chemists in the refined resins: Specific gravity (melted)....... I .03 -I.06 Acid number.................. 6-8 Softening point, mercury method 160º-165ºC Iodine value (Wijs)............ 140-150 Refractive index............... 1.544 Color (Hellige, 25 pct toluol)... 14 Molecular weight, average...... 732 Purity, 99 + pct pure hydrocarbon "Unaffected by alkalies and resistant to one hour fusion with solid potassium hydroxide. Completely soluble in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Insoluble in alcohols, ethyl acetate and other commonly used alcohols and esters. Compatible with natural and synthetic rubbers, chlorinated and cyclized rubbers, waxes, vegetable oils, mineral oils, rosin, ester gum, phenolic and modified phenolic resins and other natural and synthetic resins of like solvent solubility."* The recovery and refining of these fossil resins has been the subject of much research work and has intrigued many investigators. Broadly speaking, the problem involves separation of the resin from the coal into a very high-grade concentrate, and subsequent treatment of this concentrate to produce an acceptable refined resin for its various usages. Obviously it is also desirable to recover the residual coal without excessive size degradation. The late W. D. Green, concentration ennineeru for Combined Metals Reduction CO., obtained U, S. Patent No. 1773997 for the recovery of resin from coal through

Jan 1, 1948

By Homer F. Staley, C. P. Karr

The casting alloy 88 copper, 10 tin, 2 zinc, commonly known in England as Admiralty metal and in this country as Government bronze, gun metal, or Naval Department composition G, has, at its best, many valuable properties. However, its physical properties are known to vary widely with slight changes in method of manufacture of the castings, such as slight variations in composition, variation in pouring temperature, kind of mold used, method of pouring and gating of molds, size and shape of castings, amount and kind of heat treatment, and so forth.' The microstructure of castings made from this alloy is influenced by slight variations of composition, rate of cooling, and kind and length of heat treatment. This is best understood by reference to the equilibrium diagram. The part of the diagram in which we are interested and the effect of the thermal equilibrium relations on the physical properties of the alloy 88 copper, 10 tin, 2 zinc, have been discussed by Hoyt, Campbell, Primrose, and Rawdon.2 In Fig. 1 is given the equilibrium diagram of the copper-tin alloys. Briefly stated, the relations of composition and temperature changes are as follows. Compositions between A and a consist of but one constit ent—the a bronze, which is a solid solution of copper and tin, rich in copper. On cooling from the molten state these compositions gradually crystallize, at temperatures above 790°, into a mass of interwoven treelike crystals or dendrites. The cores of the dendrites are rich in copper and the percentage of tin gradually increases as the surfaces are approached. AS cooling progresses, after a11 the metal has crystallized, no further changes occur in the crystals other than diffusion within the crystals, which tends to erase the dendritic pattern and to render the structure more homogeneous. * Metallurgical Ceramist, U. S. Bureau of Standards, Associate Physicist, U. 8. Bureau of Standards. A. D. Flinn: Iron. Age (1915) 96, 1292-3. C. P. Karr: U. S. Bureau of Standards Tech. Paper 59, Pt. 1. S. L. Hoyt: Enging. (1913) 96, 667-7, 704-5. William Campbell: Trans. Am. Inst. Met. (1912) 6, 158-172. H. S. Primrose: Metal Ind. (1916) 14, 202-4. H. S. Rawdon: U. S. Bureau of Standards Tech. Paper 59, Pt. 11.

Jan 1, 1921

By D. L. McElroy

It is too broad a statement to say that the mine car is the most important unit in a haulage system, but almost every mining man will admit that it is one of the most important. The mine car is to the mine haulage system what the railroad car is to the railroads; the main purpose in each instance is to move the greatest number of ton-miles of material at the least cost. The data presented in this paper are taken from a study of mine haulage conducted by the School of Mines of West Virginia University at 42 mines in 8 coal fields of Wrest Virginia. The study was made possible by a graduate fellowship of the School of Mines and the cooperation of the mining companies of the state. Three important factors in the use of mine cars in West Virginia are: (I) the number of mine cars in use per loader; (2) the capacity of mine cars; (3) the distribution of mine cars. ("Loaders" in this paper refers to all men loading coal, whether manually or mechanically.) During the World War many mine managers were annoyed by the reduction of efficiency and production caused by railroad-car shortages. Today relatively little complaint is heard about a shortage of mine cars, yet possibly 50 to 75 per cent. of the mines in West Virginia are suffering from this cause of reduced production and increased costs. The railroads have solved their car shortage by placing in service more cars of larger capacity and better design. Many coal mines in West Virginia should solve a part of their cost problems by the same simple procedure. Such a procedure requires an initial outlay of capital, but there is little doubt that this will be repaid, with a good return on the investment. Determining Number of Cars Needed There can be no mathematical rule to determine the number of cars which should be in use per loader in a coal mine, because numerous factors such as concentration of mining, system of haulage, car capacity, speed of haulage, distance of working places from tipple, and so forth, affect materially the number of cars in use. These factors in turn are more or less determined by height of bed, character of roof and coal,

Jan 1, 1931

By L. C. Snider

All important industries have certain basic principles in common which govern them and give them a family resemblance. In addition, each industry has a certain individuality due to some principle or principles which govern, or are accepted as governing, that industry and which is not effective in others. The customs and practices of an industry depend on these basic principles much as the corollaries follow a proposition in geometry. After the proposition is proved or is accepted as proved, the corollaries are seen to be true almost without additional evidence or proof. In many cases, the corollaries are more important in practical affairs than the proposition on which they depend. By continued application the corollaries may come to be accepted as law and the fact that their truth depends on the correctness of the fundamental proposition is forgotten or ignored. If it is discovered that an error was made in demonstrating the proposition and that the proposition is untrue, the corollaries are, in most cases at least, equally untrue. Considerable time may be required, however, to realize the fact that the corollaries have failed, particularly if they have been embodied in custom and law. For example, in the business of government the proposition that women are intellectually inferior to men was formerly considered, by most men at least, to be duly proved if not axiomatic. This propositiot was never embodied in law, but its corollaries—that the rights of the wife in property and even in her own children were inferior to the rights of the husband, and that women had no place in governmental affairs—were duly incorporated in law or so completely approved by custom that they had the effect of law. Developments of the past few decades have proved, to the satisfaction of the majority, that woman's intellectual inferiority to man had not been satisfactorily demonstrated, and that the proposition that she was inferior, although accepted for many generations, was untrue. It was not so great a shock to men to discover that this proposition was wrong as it was to find out that its corollaries were also untrue and that the laws embodying them were not good laws and were subject to repeal. The adjustments which give women equal rights with men

Jan 1, 1932

By Thomas. B. D.

GRAVITY concentration is a general term designating processes for separating and sorting granular material by means of forces that depend on the density, size and shape of the particles. When these forces are applied to the particles the latter are caused to move, those of a given density along one path and those of a different density along another, until ultimately they are sufficiently separated to be removed from the operation of the process. The forces producing this separation are in general complex and, unfortunately, no completely rigorous analysis of them has as yet been devised. The science of the hydrodynamics of viscous fluids deals with , the little that is known about the problem. Every observer of nature is familiar with the fact that an object moving in a fluid encounters a force of resistance. We have only to walk against a brisk wind or stir a cup of coffee, or observe the slow fall of a grain of sand in water, to experience directly the fact that such forces exist. The exchange of force between an object and a fluid in which it is moving operates on the fluid as well as on the object. Thus a sailboat may be set in motion by the force exerted by the wind on the sail; but the sail also deflects the wind-furthermore, the water in which the boat floats is set in motion by the force exerted by the boat as it cleaves through the water, The wind is thus enabled to do work on the water through the intermediary of the boat. In general, an object moving through a fluid encounters a force that opposes the motion and also acts to change the motion of the fluid. In gravity concentration we are dealing with this force of resistance acting on the granular particles that are to be separated. Furthermore, the motion induced in the fluid by a particle will in turn affect the motion of a neighboring particle. This effect will be reciprocated and in consequence there will be an exchange of forces between all the particles in the material. These effects are complex and the most that can be expected is that we may be able to determine in a qualitative way how they operate. In gravity concentration, then, the following types of forces may be distinguished as acting on the particles:

Jan 1, 1943

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

By C. H. Herty

Almost every metallurgist who has given the Howe Memorial Lecture has had a personal contact with the distinguished gentleman to whose honor this hour is devoted. Unfortunately for me, such personal contacts were not possible. However, in the preparation of a thesis on the open-hearth process, one of my earliest tasks was to make a survey of the literature, and it was from Professor Howe's Metallurgy of Iron and Steel that I drew a number of references to previous work which formed the foundation for my reading. In his volume there is such a complete exposition of the then current thought on the subject of slags and on their role in the elimination of phosphorus from steel that I feel no hesitation in discussing in this Howe Lecture the subject of "Slag Control." In the present era of close specification, the drive for uniformity of product, and the close inspection of the product and of the cost sheet, the utmost efforts must be made to control the steelmaking variables to the best advantage of the steel producer. One of the major variables is the slag in the furnace and its effect upon the composition and quality of the metal. What advantages are to be gained from slag control? In the broad sense the advantages must be tremendous, because the very foundations of good steel melting are based on "shaping up" the slag to a point where, with proper temperature, the heat is ready for the final additions. Every melter works toward these ends through his experience with innumerable heats of steel. The elimination of undesirable constituents such as phosphorus and sulphur is entirely a matter of slag composition and physical nature, a point well known for over half a century. The role played by the slag in assisting in proper heat transfer from roof and flame to the steel has been equally well known. In more recent years there has come the problem of oxygen control in the more accurate gauging of additions for making high-grade rimmed steel for the new strip mills, and in the deoxidizing additions for grain-size control and cleanliness of forging steels, both carbon and alloy. In this problem the oxidizing characteristics of the slag are of prime importance.

Jan 1, 1940

By F. J. Martin, W. G. Hubler

The Beattie mine is at about the center of Duparquet township in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It is 22 miles northwest of the town of Noranda. The elevation is approximately 1200 ft. above sea level. This locality, long considered a favorable one from the geological point of view, has been prospected for over 20 years, but no discoveries of economic importance were made until the present orebody was found by John Beattie in 1930. The specific gravity of the ore is 2.77. The gold occurs in intimate association with the sulfides, pyrite and arsenopyrite, which in turn are very finely disseminated in a silicified porphyry. The bulk of the gold is associated with the pyrite, only a small proportion being with the arsenopyrite. There are small amounts of magnetite, ilmenite and chalcopyrite present in the ore. There is also some hematite in the ore that is mined from near the surface in the open pit. Metallurgical Problems and Methods or Attack 1. The ore is extremely hard and resistant to grinding. 2. The sulfide minerals are finely disseminated in the gangue. 3. The gold, in turn, is so intimately associated with the sulfides that grinding to even 5 microns will not release all of the values for cyanidation. 4. It is necessary to make a high ratio of concentration in order to obtain a product sufficiently high in gold to meet high shipping and treatment charges. Hardness of the Ore.—Owing to the extreme resistance of the ore to grinding, it was recognized that grinding costs would be high. Microscopic tests showed that grinding to 95 per cent minus 325 mesh would be necessary to liberate a sufficient amount of the values in order to obtain a tailing assaying 0.02 oz. gold per ton, which is considered to have the economical minimum gold content that can be obtained. It is not feasible to grind this hard low-grade ore (0.18 to 0.20 oz.) to 95 per cent minus 325 mesh, so it was necessary to overcome the problem in another way. The following method was decided upon: (1) Fine crushing to minus 1/4 in.; (2) relatively coarse primary grinding; flotation of low-grade concentrates in the primary and rougher circuits and discarding the

Jan 1, 1935

By A. M. Kivari

OPERATIONS at the cement plant of the Permanente Corporation, in the hills about 45 miles south of San Francisco and 12 miles west of San Jose, are interesting to the members because of the adoption of modern hydrometallurgical methods for handling and beneficiating raw materials. Closed-circuit grinding, classification, hydro-separation, flotation, agitation, and thickening are familiar terms at this cement plant. These methods make it possible to process refractory limestone into suitable materials for the manufacture of modern cements. Construction of the plant, having originally a design capacity of 7000 bbl. of cement per day, was started in June 1939, and the first clinker was ground on the following Christmas Day. At present the capacity is about 12,000 bbl. of finished cement per 24 hr., most of the production being low-heat cement.† About 3130 tons of limestone, 620 tons 0f clay and 100 tons of gypsum are required daily for this output. Occasionally iron oxide is added to the clay to obtain the desired composition. This, together with the gypsum, is purchased from outside sources. Up to the present time, the corporation has produced low-heat, normal, moderate heat, moderate-sulphate-resisting, high-early-strength, oil-well, modified-oil-well, and plastic cements. Most of the present production is for Shasta Dam, near Redding, Calif., the total demand being 5,800,000 bbl, of cement. Following are some of the cement requirements of the Shasta Dam specifications: [PERCENT Chemical composition: Loss in ignition2.25 Insoluble residue0.75 SO32.25 MgO5.00 Uncombined lime in clinker (CaO)1 .25 Percentage of iron oxide to alumina ratio1.5 Compound composition: Tricalcium silicate (3CaO.Si02)Not more than 3,5 Dicalcium silicate (2CaO.Si02)Not less than 40 and not more than 65 Tricalcium aluminate (3CaO.Al2O7)Not more than 7 Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (4CaO.A12O3.Fe203) Not more than 0 Fineness:] The average specific surface in the bin sampled shall be not less than 1800 sq. cm. per gram and no individual sample less than 1600 sq. centimeters. Compressive strength: The average compressive strength-in pounds per square inch of three mortar cubes composed of one part cement and 2.75 parts fine testing sand, by weight, shall be equal to or greater than the following:

Jan 1, 1941

By Donald C. Barton

Success in the use of the Eötvös torsion balance method of mapping geologic structure depends largely on the accuracy in the interpretation of the observed results. Skill in that interpretation depends (1) on the knowledge of the types of the variation of gravity, the gradient of gravity horizontally, and of the differential curvature produced by bodies of different sizes, shapes, dimensions, and densities; (2) on the knowledge of the possible types of structural bodies which might produce the observed anomalies; (3) on the empirical knowledge gained by experience not only in the geological interpretation of torsion balance surveys, hut of interpretations of inadequate geological data; and (4) on a knowledge of the possible and probable types of geologic structures in the area of the survey. The knowledge of the anomaly which a known body will produce and conversely the knowledge of the body or bodies which will produce a known anomaly may be gained by empirical experience and by mathematical study. The knowledge gained by empirical experience is fragmentary and inexact. The geology of most structures actually is known very superficially. The surface geology may be known accurately. If the structure is petroliferous, the subsurface geology of the oil field will be known down to 3000, 4000, 5000 ft. or in a few oil fields down to 7500 ft., but the deeper geology will be unknown and the metamorphic, igneous, or massive limestone basement below the reach of the drill may contrast sharply in density with the overlying sediments. Away from the oil field, the subsurface geology is known only from scattered drill holes, which do not go to the basement. A fair but not necessarily accurate knowledge of the geology of the nonproductive area can be obtained by correlation of the wells but the degree of its accuracy in general is proportional to the density of the occurrence of the wells. The geology below the bottom of the wells however is unknown. An anomaly mapped by the torsion balance is the sum of the effects of the contrasts in mass of its whole geologic surroundings. If the dimensions of a body of abnormal density are large enough, depth or distance makes no difference in the effects on the gradient and differential curvature; and as a matter of fact, in many places, the basement and irregulari-

Jan 1, 1929

By Albert Sauveur

Some writers believe that when austenite transforms completely into pearlite on slow cooling through the thermal critical range, such transformation does not imply the formation of any of the so-called transition constituents: martensite, troostite and sorbite. Might it not be claimed with as much justification that when water freezes it does so suddenly, solid ice being obtained without passing through the intermediate stages of ice and water? Obviously, regardless of the speed of solidification, this would be erroneous. Before reaching the completed solid condition, this must of necessity pass through an unbroken series of stages when the system consists of mixtures of water and of ice, the former decreasing and the latter increasing in amount. Are not these "transitionV stages in the freezing of water similar to the transition stages occurring in the transformation of austenite into pearlite? To clarify, let us consider in Fig. 1 the mechanism of the transformation of eutectoid steel from its austenitic to its pearlitic condition as it cools slowly through its thermal critical range. It is generally admitted that this transformation is the result of two distinct phenomena: (1) the allotropic change of gamma iron into alpha iron and (2) the crystallizing out of solution of the carbide Fe3C. Whether this crystallizing of Fe3C implies also its formation is immaterial for our purpose. In other words, whether it is the carbon in atomic dispersion which is present in gamma iron or molecules of Fe3C has no bearing upon the matter to be discussed. The transformation of gamma iron into alpha iron cannot take place suddenly. It must of necessity be progressive, regardless of the speed with which it may take place. At A, for instance, there would be present AB gamma iron and BC alpha iron. The distance MN does not refer to falling temperature, but to the passage of time. It may be assumed that the transformation takes place at a constant temperature (the Ar321 point). In a similar way, the crystallization of Fe3C out of the austenite solid solution must be progressive as depicted between M and N. At A there would be present AB gamma iron, BC alpha iron, CD carbon dissolved in gamma and in alpha iron and DE Fe3C. This condition may be described according to individual preference as martensite or troostite. To sum up, can the metal pass from condition

Jan 1, 1931

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

INTRODUCTION The maximum yield of washed coal and the required ash and sulfur contents are the only performance factors of direct, immediate interest to any operator. Yet since the turn of the century coal preparation engineers have repeatedly sought more sophisticated performance criteria that could be used to draw comparisons between different cleaning operations and to permit generalizations about types of cleaning equipment or kinds of coal. Proliferation of efficiency formulas resulted. Hardly a year goes by, and certainly not an International Coal Preparation Congress, without the introduction of some new formula or some new concept of an existing criterion. This is merely the usual quest for improvement, because the performance criteria available today, although highly useful, are imperfect. Moreover, they are not as widely understood as they might be. The First International Coal Preparation Conference, which was held in Paris in 1950, accomplished a great deal toward establishing uniformity in terminology and methods of expressing cleaning results; the proceedings of that conference provide a wealth of detailed information on the various performance criteria, their uses and their limitations. For ease of discussion, the various performance criteria can conveniently be classed according to the degree to which they are dependent on the density composition of the raw coal treated. Some are directly dependent, some are only indirectly dependent, and some are, under certain circum- stances, essentially independent. DEPENDENT CRITERIA The yield and ash content of a washed coal are directly dependent on the washability characteristics of the raw coal from which it is derived. Thus, they are manifestly unsuited to comparing the performance of different plants, because no two plant feeds are the same. In fact, yield and ash content, by themselves, are inadequate for even routine day-to-day control. The continuous variation that occurs in the amount of impurity in raw coal, and sometimes in the float ash, make it impossible to tell whether a reduction in yield or an increase in the ash content of the washed coal results from any malfunction or misadjustment of the cleaning equipment. Recovery Efficiency For many years the most popular performance criteria that are only indirectly dependent on the washability characteristics of the raw coal have been efficiency formulas. Of the many that have been proposed, the one advanced by Fraser and Yancey in 1923 has had the widest accept-

Jan 1, 1968

By A. M. Kivari

OPERATIONS at the cement plant of the Permanente Corporation, in the hills about 45 miles south of San Francisco and 12 miles west of San Jose, are interesting to the members because of the adoption of modern hydrometallurgical methods for handling and beneficiating raw materials. Closed-circuit grinding, classification, hydroseparation, flotation, agitation, and thickening are familiar terms at this cement plant. These methods make it possible to process refractory limestone into suitable materials for the manufacture of modern cements. Construction of the plant, having originally a design capacity of 7000 bbl. of cement per day, was started in June 1939, and the first clinker was ground on the following Christmas Day. At present the capacity is about 12,000 bbl. of finished cement per 24 hr., most of the production being low-heat cement. [t] About 3130 tons of limestone, 620 tons of clay and 100 tons of gypsum are required daily for this output. Occasionally iron oxide is added to the clay to obtain the desired composition. This, together with the gypsum, is purchased from outside sources. Up to the present time, the corporation has produced low-heat, normal, moderate-heat, moderate-sulphate-resisting, high-early-strength, oil-well, modified-oil-well, and plastic cements. Most of the present production is for Shasta Dam, near Redding, Calif., the total demand being 5.800,000 bbl. of cement. Following are some of the cement require¬ments of the Shasta Dam specifications: [PER CEN'I Chemical composition: Loss in ignition2.25 Insoluble residue0.75 S032.25 M905.00 Uncombined lime in clinker (CaO)T.25 Percentage of iron oxide to alumina ratio1.5 Compound composition: Tricalcium silicate (3CaO.Si02)Not more than 35 Dicalcium silicate (2CaO.Si02)Not less than 40 and not more than 6,5 Tricalcium aluminate (3CaO.Al203)Not more than 7 Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (4CaO.A1203.Fe203) Not more than 20 Fineness:] The average specific surface in the bin sampled shall be not less than 1800 sq. cm. per gram and no individual sample less than 1600 sq. centimeters. Compressive strength: The average compressive strength in pounds per square inch of three mortar cubes composed of one part cement and 2.75 parts fine testing sand, by weight, shall be equal to or greater than the following: [ ]

Jan 1, 1941

By Richard P. Rothwell

FIRES in mines are so serious in their consequences and of such frequent occurrence, that their causes and the means of extinguishing them are certainly questions of the greatest interest to a large part of the engineering profession. We have already, in this country, many mines which have been burning for years, and though our hard anthracite is so difficult to ignite that for a quarter of a century after it was first discovered it was not known how to burn it except with the aid of an artificial blast, yet most of the fires which have occurred underground have been in anthracite mines, and in the coal itself. The injury which these fires have caused to properties in various parts of the anthracite regions, and the cost of extinguishing them, would amount to many millions of dollars, and they have also occasioned the loss of many valuable lives. It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject has already attracted much attention, and the exercise of great ingenuity ; and the present communication is made less with the expectation of announcing anything new, than with the object of putting upon record the present state of our knowledge on this subject, or, in other words, of indicating how defective are the present means of combating underground conflagrations. (Causes of Mine Fires.-Even upon the surface, fire is a terrible foe to contend with, and there is probably no other which inspires such thorough and well-founded alarm. With what feelings, then, must we look upon this destructive element, when its field is in the narrow galleries of a mine, where the poisonous products of combustion, spreading in every direction, protect, in the most effectual manner, the fire itself from the attacks of extinguishers, while, if the face of attack be ventilated so as to enable them to approach the seat of the fire, the air current simply increases the extent and violence of the conflagration. Fires underground originate in as various ways as those on the surface, and it is scarcely necessary to say that, except in the rare cases where they are the result of design, they are invariably classed as " accidents," and most generally as " unavoidable accidents." In reality, by an intelligent understanding of their causes and with due precautions, they can almost always be prevented. Ignorance and

Jan 1, 1876

By W. A. Ver Wiebe

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the State of Kansas contains one of the largest reserve areas for oil exploration in the United States. During the year 1936 no less than 54 new oil pools were discovered by drilling. In addition, seven gas pools were found, which may develop into oil pools when deeper horizons are tested. Several old pools increased their reserves when production was found in lower strata. The data presented in Table 2 indicate that nearly 2000 wells were drilled in the state during 1936. Of these more than 1214 found commercial quantities of oil and at least 61 found marketable quantities of gas. The data are conservative because complete results on drilling are not available for the eastern part of the state. Ellis, Rice and Russell Counties share honors with a total of 10 new pools in each. Barton County is prominent with six pools; while those counties claiming fewer new pools are Clark, Ellsworth, Harvey, McPherson, Ness, Pawnee, Rooks, Stafford and Trego. Important additions to our gas reserves were found in Finney and Haskell Counties, which are north of the extensive Hugoton gas area and may some day be part of it. At the close of the year there were 17,317 wells in the state rating as producers. By far the larger share (14,000) were classed as strippers and allowed to flow 100 per cent of their potential capacity, thus accounting for 33,500 bbl. a day. The remaining wells, capable of producing from 15 up to over 6000 bbl. per day, were limited in output according to these amounts. The largest wells having a potential of from 3000 to 7000 were allowed to flow from 2 to 3½ per cent of their official potential capacity. The percentage rises until wells of 15 to 20-bbl. capacity have a rating of slightly over 83. On the basis of these calculations the total potential capacity of all wells was 1,667,814 bbl., and the daily amount allowed was 175,851. Nine of the pools most recently opened were still unable to market their oil and were classified as "shut-in" pools. Total production for the state for 1936 was somewhat over 58 million barrels. Striking Geological Data Some interesting geological data were uncovered by deep drilling during the year. The most remarkable bit of information is the discovery

Jan 1, 1937