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By S. Terry, W. Callender, R. J. Cornelius

When a dry ball-mill grinding circuit was in- stalled at the pellet plant of Hamersley Iron Pty. Ltd., it was something of a pioneering venture, since this was one of the first instances where such a circuit had been applied to iron ore on a major scale. The Hamersley pellet plant is located in Dampier on the coast of Western Australia. The feed for it consists of -8mm fines produced as a screened product at the Mt. Tom Price mine 186 miles inland from Dampier. It was these fines that encouraged the choice of a dry grinding facility for the plant. At the outset, tests had shown that the fines could not be filtered satisfactorily with a wet grinding system. At the pelletizing plant, the fines are stockpiled, reclaimed, dry ground in ball mills, formed into pellets on balling discs, hardened on an indurating line, and stockpiled for shipment overseas. These operations are shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 7, 1969

By E. M. Wise

WHEN man became dissatisfied with the mere utilization of physical force and began to use weapons, he made a definite stride forward. At first he used sticks, animal bones and stones, often rudely shaped to some particularly lethal form. These devices, while crude, were moderately effective. How- ever, some of the brighter men of the tribe found that certain particularly heavy "stones" were somewhat ductile and could be hammered into more effective weapons than those previously known. Later, probably through the misuse of one of these weapons to stir the campfire, it was found that heating softened and perhaps actually melted the material. The process of annealing had been discovered! Smelting the more easily reducible metals was in all probability one of those fortuitous accidents which was followed up by thoughtful researchers who ultimately developed the technique of mixing various ores to produce bronze and even some of the nickel content alloys. The resulting products were at first lumps of more or less ductile material which could be hammered to shape, and were thus incidentally hardened by this process. The hardening of metals by alloying and cold working remained for many centuries the only known methods for improving their properties.

Jan 1, 1931

By C. Laird, C. E. Feltner

IN previous workif2 we have shown that the steady state cyclic stress response of pure copper tested in the low cycle fatigue range was determined only by the plastic strain amplitude and the test temperature. hus, copper, at any given temperature, has a unique cyclic stress-strain curve independent of prior history. Cu-7.5 wt pct Al, however, showed a stress response for a given plastic strain amplitude and temperature which depended sensitively on prior history. From this work we predicted that all wavy slip mode materials, typified by copper, would have a unique cyclic stress-strain curve; whereas all planar slip mode materials, typified by Cu-7.5 pct Al, would not. This prediction has now been tested for a number of materials of widely varying crystal structure and slip character. Wavy slip mode materials studied include: Fe. Al, Cd, disordered FeCo-V, and Cu-3 pct Co (quenched and aged). Planar slip mode materials investigated include: Fe-3 pct Si, ordered FeCo-V, disordered Ni3Mn, ordered Ni3Mn, and Zn. The treatment and properties of these materials are listed in Table I. Cyclic stress-strain curves were determined by controlled plastic strain tests (see Ref. 1 for details) at room temperature for all materials in both the initially annealed and cold worked conditions. The results obtained for iron and Fe-3 pct Si are typical of wavy and planar slip mode materials, respectively. The cyclic stress-strain curves for these materials are shown in Fig. 1 and it can be seen that iron has a unique cyclic stress strain curve while Fe-3 pct Si does not. Aluminum, Cu-3 pct Co, and disordered FeCo-V showed a behavior like that for iron, while Ni3Mn in both the disordered and ordered condition behaved in the same manner as Fe-3 pct Si. These results therefore support the general conclusion drawn in Refs. 1 and 2 that. for wavy slip mode materials, a cyclic mechanical equation of slate it =t.(hcp, i. T) is approximated in which the satura-

Jan 1, 1970

By W. B. Clark

IN OPERATING the Alpha mine of the Consolidated Coppermines Corp., Kimberly, Nev., it was necessary to pump out approximately 1200 gallons of waiter per minute to prevent the mine being flooded. There were three levels in the mine at which water accumulated and from which it was pumped, the 1200, 1400 and the 1800- ft. levels. At each, the pumping equipment was installed in duplicate so that if for any reason one unit was out of commission the other would be available to prevent flooding. The two centrifugal pumps at the 1200-ft. level were 600 hp. each; at the 1400-ft. level, 100 hp. each; and at the 1800-ft. level, 300 hp. each.

Jan 1, 1933

By AIME AIME

AN unusual interest in the question of orienting the young college man in the mineral industry was shown in a well-attended session* of the Engineering Education Committee on Monday afternoon. About seventy-five employers and educators of mining engineers were present and took part in the discussions.

Jan 1, 1929

THE National Coal Association held its annual meeting at Cleveland on Nov. 14-16, 1928, having changed the time from the spring to the autumn to avoid conflict with the great number of meetings ordinarily held in the spring. Institute members were \\yell to the fore in its activities, the president, E. C. Mahan (who was reelected for another term!, C. E. Bockus, treasurer, and the secretary, H. L. Gancly, being A. I. M. E. members, as are many of the directors. At the first session, our past president, S. A. Taylor, presented a 1;aper which is reprinted in part herewith. At the Thurs- day session W. D. Brennan presided, Walter Barllum led the discussion on membership, and Otis Mouser led the discussion on taxation. In the afternoon, J. P. Williams, Jr., led the discussion on research. Rembrandt Peale presided at the annual dinner in the evening. At the concluding session on Friday resolutions were adopted, among them one in which the Association "reaffirms its attitude toward proposed Federal legislation affecting the bituminous coal industry by saying that it opposes legislation which would seek to single out this industry for regulatory action. This particularly applies to such bills as S4490."

Jan 1, 1928

By Scott Turner

AS IN OTHER lines of engineering, progress in mining was influenced during 1931 by the world-wide economic depression. Low-metal prices ? resulted in active efforts to reduce production costs of base-metal mines. Probably the chief factors in reducing costs were the greater efficiency of labor, due to better relations between management and workmen, to the scarcity of jobs, reduced wages in most base-metal mines, and to lower overhead expenses secured by drastic economies. The use of mechanical equipment continued to increase, due to more efficient designs and a better practical understanding of the applicability of such equipment to requirements. With one exception, there were no startling innovations in stoping methods, but there was notable progress in the better adaptation of mining methods. In the United States, no large new base-metal or silver mines came into production during the year. At a number of mines, output was curtailed, and operations were discontinued at several important producers. On the other hand world-wide interest in gold was stimulated, as evidenced by increased output from producing mines, the reopening of some old properties, and intensive prospecting for new deposits. Mining methods at several gold mines in the United States and Canada were modified or changed to obtain a higher extraction of ore or to meet the need for additional support of the mine workings at depth. Permanent record of improvements in mining practices has been made during the year by the Federal Government; the industry thus has available for its use more detailed information than ever before. This work was done through cooperation of the mining companies and their representatives with the United States Bureau of Mines, whereby many papers descriptive of practices and costs at individual mines have been published. The Bureau's program of describing methods and costs at the more important mines (those producing in excess of $100,000 annually) is nearly completed, but papers will be issued concerning such additional mines as may possess particular interest because of novel methods, exceptional conditions or operating results, and others to supplement reports already issued. In this way, an interesting record of the results of changing conditions, or innovations in methods, will be made available.

Jan 1, 1932

By M. N. Pathasarathi, P. A. Beck, T. J. Koppenaal

EARLIER work1 indicated that in rolled and annealed copper the volume fraction of the cube-texture component may increase on continued isothermal annealing. Merlini found2 that in rolled copper the well-known increase in the amount of cube-oriented material with increasing annealing temperature3 is concurrent with grain growth, which takes place after recrystallization is complete. It was found that both in copper2 and in aluminum4 the texture resulting from primary recrystallization, even if this is followed by some grain growth, may in general comprise, in addition to the cube-texture component, four symmetrical texture components of the general type (123)[412], i.e., components not very far from the ideal orientations of the rolling texture. The volume fraction of the cube-texture component increases on further annealing at the expense of these four components.' The present work was undertaken to study quantitatively the increase in the volume fraction of the cube-texture component in the course of normal grain growth, under varying conditions. Since the grain-gr3wth behavior of A1-Mn alloys has been already investigated in some detaiL5 an A1 + 0.8 pct Mn alloy was chosen for this work, in which the extent of normal grain growth can be effectively controlled by the inhibiting effect of a dispersed second phase. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE High-purity aluminum of the following composition was used: A1 99.997 pct, Cu 0.0004 pct, Fe 0.0005 pct, and Si 0.001 pct. A high-purity A1-Mn master alloy was prepared by dehydrating manganese chloride at 500°C and reacting it with molten high-purity aluminum at 750°C in a graphite crucible.5 The Mn metal reduced from the salt by the molten aluminum goes into solution in the latter. The master alloy? containing 13 pct Mn, was solidified under conditions suitable for minimizing segregation. An ingot of the final alloy, to be used in the experiments, was per pared by melting high-purity aluminum and the necessary amount of master alloy in a graphite crucible, and by pouring the molten alloy into a graphite mold preheated to 700°C through a box containing graphite baffles designed to intercept most of the aluminum oxide films floating in the melt. The melt was then solidified by placing the mold on a water-cooled copper plate and by keeping the top of the mold hot, in order to minimize piping. The 6 1/2 in. long, 11/4-in.diam ingot consisted largely of a single crystal. Chemical analysis showed that there was little segregation from the bottom (0.83 pct Mn) to the top (0.81 pct Mn). Spectrographic analysis of the ingot showed that the impurity content remained essentially the same as that of the aluminum used. The ingot was processed so as to obtain a uniformly small grain size. without banding. The ini-tial steps of rolling in the form of a flat bar and of annealing, down through a thickness of 0.4 in., are shown in Table I. At this point the bar was cut into four sections, each approximately 3 in. long, which were processed separately as shown in Table If. The table also gives the penultimate grain sizes obtained in each section by annealing prior to the final rolling of 90 pct RA. During the final rolling the strips were reversed end to end between passes. Annealing treatments were given in a salt pot furnace, with the temperature controlled to 1°C. All annealing of section "6s" was carried out above the solvus point to avoid the formation of second-phase precipitate. The penultimate annealing was sufficiently short to give a relatively fine grain size in spite of the high temperature. Section "6L" was processed in a similar manner, except that the penultimate annealing was much longer, so as to allow considerable grain growth. Section "4" was given the two final

Jan 1, 1961

By L. A. Shipman

The combustion of coal in fuel beds has been practiced as an art for many years; during the last 2 7 years a scientific approach to this subject has contributed a small amount of fundamental data. The subject is a very controversial one. Opinions regarding the performance of the same coal used in the same equipment in different plants may vary from "the best coal ever used in the plant" to "the worst coal ever tired." These opinions can all be true, owing to the various conditions under which the coal was used. Because of these differences, an attempt will be made in this paper to discuss coal facts and coal characteristics as related to the use phenomena observed during the art of firing coal in fuel beds for many years. The work of Kreisinger1 and his associates in the 1,'. S. Bureau of Mines, reported in 1916, was the first scientific attempt I know of to obtain factual data explaining the mechanism of combustion of fuel beds. They gave a chart showing an ignited fuel bed. The air passing up through the fuel bed first combined with the fuel by a reaction resulting in the complete combustion of carbon to CO2, which combined with the carbon in higher levels of the fuel bed to form CO with the absorption of heat. The fundamental facts produced in those experiments proved of much value and checked with practical experiences with hand-fired fuel beds. Hand firing was the prevailing method of stoking coal at that time. The order in which these reactions occur, as shown by Kreisinger and his associates, has been amply confirmed by repetition of this work with different fuels both her? and abroad. These experiments also showed that under their conditions the rate of burning was proportional to the air flow. These data were of practical value to a fireman and were accepted as generally true in all fuel beds. In later years many observations by myself in fuel beds of underfeed stokers and other thick fuel beds such as gas producers, where channeling. increase of particle size, or both, occur. indicated that, instead of the horizontal layers we had thought were present, perhaps the layers were vertical or irregular. Later investigations in fuel beds made by Mayers2 and Barnes3 indicated that the burning takes place in some instances along the surfaces of vertical or irregular channels or cracks in the fuel bed and that under these conditions a reaction occurs that differs from that in the old horizontal-layered handfired fuel beds. Examining the data in Kreisinger'sl experiments, and the information in different charts with different fuels, different retort positions and air admissions of Barnes3 and the gas analysis arid isotherms of Mayers,2 one can check experience observation and come to a conclusion that as particle size of the fuel increases with other conditions the same, the maximum CO2 and temperature

Jan 1, 1947

By L. A. Shipman

The combustion of coal in fuel beds has been practiced as an art for many years; during the last 2 7 years a scientific approach to this subject has contributed a small amount of fundamental data. The subject is a very controversial one. Opinions regarding the performance of the same coal used in the same equipment in different plants may vary from "the best coal ever used in the plant" to "the worst coal ever tired." These opinions can all be true, owing to the various conditions under which the coal was used. Because of these differences, an attempt will be made in this paper to discuss coal facts and coal characteristics as related to the use phenomena observed during the art of firing coal in fuel beds for many years. The work of Kreisinger1 and his associates in the 1,'. S. Bureau of Mines, reported in 1916, was the first scientific attempt I know of to obtain factual data explaining the mechanism of combustion of fuel beds. They gave a chart showing an ignited fuel bed. The air passing up through the fuel bed first combined with the fuel by a reaction resulting in the complete combustion of carbon to CO2, which combined with the carbon in higher levels of the fuel bed to form CO with the absorption of heat. The fundamental facts produced in those experiments proved of much value and checked with practical experiences with hand-fired fuel beds. Hand firing was the prevailing method of stoking coal at that time. The order in which these reactions occur, as shown by Kreisinger and his associates, has been amply confirmed by repetition of this work with different fuels both her? and abroad. These experiments also showed that under their conditions the rate of burning was proportional to the air flow. These data were of practical value to a fireman and were accepted as generally true in all fuel beds. In later years many observations by myself in fuel beds of underfeed stokers and other thick fuel beds such as gas producers, where channeling. increase of particle size, or both, occur. indicated that, instead of the horizontal layers we had thought were present, perhaps the layers were vertical or irregular. Later investigations in fuel beds made by Mayers2 and Barnes3 indicated that the burning takes place in some instances along the surfaces of vertical or irregular channels or cracks in the fuel bed and that under these conditions a reaction occurs that differs from that in the old horizontal-layered handfired fuel beds. Examining the data in Kreisinger'sl experiments, and the information in different charts with different fuels, different retort positions and air admissions of Barnes3 and the gas analysis arid isotherms of Mayers,2 one can check experience observation and come to a conclusion that as particle size of the fuel increases with other conditions the same, the maximum CO2 and temperature

Jan 1, 1947

By C. G. Dunn

The measurement of interfacial teusions or grain boundary energies in metals is an important metallurgical problem, especially since it bears on growth and nucleation processes. Statistical methods of measuring equilibrium grain boundary angles, which relate interfacial tensions, have been used by some investigators1'2 but more direct methods would be preferred. A direct way, based on a simple extension of a successful method of growing single crystals of silicon ferrite to predetermined orientations in flat specimens,3 is to produce three-grain specimens in such a way that the equilibrium common grain boundary will be perpendicular to the surface of the specimen. The angles to be measured then appear as the grain boundary angles in the surface of the specimen. The method of producing a single crystal specimen with a predetermined orientation is basically the same as that employed by Yoshida and Fuji-wara4 in their work on aluminum wires. The specimen, prior to any single crystal transformation, must have a matrix which will support the growth of a crystal of the desired orientation. Growth may occur through exaggerated grain growth or, if the matrix is strained a critical amount. by normal recrystallization. In either case the matrix must have stability at the temperature used to effect the transformation, this stability appearing as a long induction period for exaggerated grain growth or for the formation of recrystallization nuclei. Additional control is gained by using a high temperature gradient through which the specimen is moved at a suitable rate. To obtain the desired orientation, the specimen is fed a short way into the furnace producing one or more crystals in the hot end. After the specimen is removed from the furnace, the orientation of a crystal is determined, so that this crystal may be reoriented by properly deforming a narrow piece of the matrix between the end crystal and the rest of the specimen. This part of the specimen in the case of silicon ferrite is preferably held at red heat during the reorienting process. Fig 1 shows a specimen which is ready to be transformed into a single crystal through growth of a reoriented "seed" crystal. When the method just described is applied to the production of a three-grain specimen two crystals are grown first side by side in one end, the specimen is then reversed and the third grain grown from the opposite end. A suitable group of grains each of different orientation is one where all three grains have the same crystallo-graphic plane in the plane of the specimen. Fig 2 shows a photograph of a three-grain group prepared as described. The notches are introduced in the open ends of the grain boundaries to anchor them during the final annealing operations which ultimately should bring the grain boundaries to the lowest energy configuration. Two-grain groups with different crystallographic planes in the plane of the specimen can be similarly prepared and treated. If the two grains have different surface (gas to metal) energies per unit area, the equilibrium condition leads to a curved grain boundary.* * This feature of the problem was pointed out by J. c. Fisher. References 1. Cyril Stanley Smith: Grains. Phases and Interfaces: An Interpretation of Microstructure. Trans. AIME 175, 15. Met. Tech. TP 2387, June 1948. 2. D. Harker and E. Parker: Grain Shape and Grain Growth. Trans. A.S.M. (194,5) 34, 156-195. 3. C. G. Dunn, A. Seddon, and R. Wylie: Unpublished Work, 1946-1947. 4. Takeo Fujiwara: A Method of Producing A Long Single-Crystal Wire of Aluminum with any Desired Crystallographic Axis. Jnl. of Sci. Horoshima Univ. A, (1939) 9, No. 3, 227.

Jan 1, 1950

By M. E. Nicholson

IN order to understand how alloying elements influence hardenability through their effect on the rate of pearlite nucleation, it is advantageous to use a model to describe the mechanism of pearlite nucleation. The model which currently is most widely accepted has been described, among others, by Mehl et a1.1-3 and by Hultgren.4 Pearlite nucleation involves both the nucleation of ferrite and cementite.4,5 Cementite nucleates first, followed rapidly by the formation of ferrite at the cementite-austenite interface. The conclusion that cementite is the first phase to form during the process of pearlite nucleation is based, in part, on the observation that proeutectoid cementite is continuous with pearlitic cementite and that the orientation relationship between proeutectoid ferrite and austenite is not the same as that between pearlitic: ferrite and austenite.6,7 Recently, Smith" has suggested that the dissimilarity in orientation relations, instead of indicating the pearlite nucleation sequence, may be evidence that pearlite is nucleated in a grain adjacent to the one in which it is growing. Also, Modin9 as shown that ferrite in pearlite may be continuous with proeutectoid ferrite, and he has also shown that proeutectoid cementite is not always continuous with pearlitic cementite. Thus, it appears that the conclusion that cementite always initiates the pearlite nucleation process is open to serious question. The author believes that important evidence on the question of how pearlite is nucleated exists in the rates of pearlite nucleation of different steels. The following is a review and analysis of this evidence. If the nucleation of pearlite is considered as requiring the nucleation of both cementite and ferrite, then the time to nucleate pearlite consists of the time to nucleate the first phase to form, plus the time to nucleate the second phase at the advancing interface of the first. In the absence of a visible proeutectoid constituent, the second phase must be nucleated very soon after the first. If cementite is the first phase to form, the time to nucleate pearlite will be approximately equal to the time to nucleate cementite. Since the nucleation rate of a phase precipitating from solid solution increases with the degree of supersaturation, it would be expected that the rate of pearlite nucleation should increase with increasing carbon content. Digges10 has shown that the reverse is true. He determined the quenching velocity necessary to suppress pearlite formation in plain carbon steels as a function of carbon content. His results showed that pearlite formation could be suppressed with lower quenching velocities as the carbon content of the steel increased, at least up to 1.25 pct C, the highest carbon content he studied. Thus, it would appear that in plain carbon steels, in which pearlite is formed at the nose of the C-curve, the hypothesis that cementite nucleates first does not predict the observed change in nucleation rate. The validity of the current model of pearlite nucleation may be tested also by determining whether or not it predicts the relative influence of alloying elements on the nucleation of ferrite and pearlite. This can be done best by a consideration of the changes in a TTT diagram produced by a change in alloy content. Hultgren4 suggests that the general shape of a TTT diagram, as well as what constituents will form from austenite, can be predicted from the relative nucleation rates of ferrite and cementite. This is illustrated in the schematic diagram for a hypoeutectoid low alloy or plain carbon steel shown in Fig. 1. The C-curves for ferrite nucleation and for cementite nucleation are represented by AA' and CC', respectively, and the start of ferrite formation and pearlite formation are represented by AX and BC respectively. Adopting the current theory, Hultgren suggests that between X and C pearlite forms directly from austenite, since cementite nucleates more rapidly than ferrite in this temperature range. Conversely, at temperatures above Tx, ferrite is the first to nucleate and proeutectoid ferrite is formed. As proeutectoid ferrite grows, austenite becomes enriched in carbon, so that the cementite nucleation rate is increased. As a result, pearlite nucleation above temperature Tx is accelerated, beginning along BX and not along C'X. Temperature T, represents the temperature at which the nucleation rate of ferrite equals that of cementite. By extending this type of reasoning, using the principle that the nucleation rates of ferrite and cementite increase with increasing supersaturation of austenite with respect to these phases, it should be possible to predict the influence of carbon content on the shape of the isothermal transformation diagram. For a slightly higher carbon content than that of Fig. 1, the curve A A' representing the beginning of ferrite formation should be moved to the right, whereas the curve CC' representing the beginning of cementite formation should be moved to the left. For hypoeutectoid plain carbon and low alloy steels, this prediction does not agree with existing data. Instead, as the carbon content is increased, the pearlite curve moves to the right along with the ferrite curve and always appears to join it tangen-tially. This behavior is demonstrated by the TTT-curves of a series of manganese steels" shown in Fig. 2. In this figure, TTT-curves for four alloys containing 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, and 1.20 pct C are superimposed. The curves are identified in the figure legend. The letters F, P, and C are used to indicate the start of ferrite, pearlite, and cementite formation, respectively. In these steels, it appears that the nucleation of ferrite and of pearlite are related processes. As a result of the foregoing evidence, it is proposed that the formation of pearlite be considered as follows: Either ferrite or cementite may nucleate from austenite, then grow until the remaining phase is nucleated at the interface between the growing phase and austenite. (The growth of the first phase to form is assumed to be accompanied by a composition change in the adjoining austenite.) According to this model there are two modes of nucleating pearlite: 1—where cementite initiates the succession

Jan 1, 1955

By E. H. Mohr

At the McGill concentrator of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co., all flotation operations have been carried out in Forrester cells since November, 1926. In respect to cost of operation, the new cell has proved to be superior to the Callow, which it supplanted, and its incorporation in the flow sheet has resulted in a marked improvement in the metallurgy. Before citing the advantages of the new machine over the old, it should be explained that the Forrester has not only replaced the Callow, but it has made possible the elimination of a number of tables as well. When Callow cells were in use, table concentration preceded flotation. The ball mill pulp was elevated, by means of air lifts, to roughing Wilfley tables situated two floors directly above the flotation floor. On an intermediate floor were additional tables which cleaned the concentrate from those above. The finished table concentrate constituted approximately 60 per cent. of the total mill production, and contained about 40 per cent, of the recovered copper. The table tailings were returned to the classifiers, the overflow from which went to the flotation cells and the oversize to the ball mills. As soon as the Forrester cells were installed, this tabling operation was discontinued. The ball mill pulp now discharges into the classifiers direct, without the intermediate tabling. It was impracticable to ernploy the present flow sheet when Callow cells were in use, for the reason that unless the great,er part of the heavy mineral was first removed, it accumulated on the mats and adversely affected the flotation operation. By tabling ahead of flotation, it was practicable to maintain the concentrator at 10 to 20 per cent. greater capacity (depending up on the pyrite contnt of the ore) than was possible by flotation alone. This was due to the necessity for finer grinding in the latter case. Even though the table conecntrates contained only 6 to 8 per cent'. copper content, the low smelting costs made it advantageous to operate at high mill capacity, at the cost of low grade of product. Standard Section equipment With the old flow sheet, a standard section consisted of four ball mills and classifiers, one air. lift, 20 roughing tables, 10 cleaner tables, 12 primary

Jan 1, 1928

By T. R. Wright

IN few mining regions in the world are the ores so varied and complex as in the Andes of central Peru. Consequently, in few localities is one company engaged in so many and such diverse metallurgical operations as the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corp. Concurrent with the mining of complex lead-zinc ores in Peru, and the consequent expansion of the Corporation's metallurgical activities, a department of metallurgical research was established in 1927 at La Orova. Facilities were provided for research in ore dressing, hydronivtallurgy pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy, and analytical chemistry. In addition to laboratories. various pilot plants were built, including a concentrator, leaching plant, "by-product" smelter, and electrolytic refineries. These pilot plants are not diminutive units; they are designed and equipped as semicommercial plants for operation on a continuous 24-hour basis thus assuring the duplication of pilot plant results in actual practice. In general, the sequence in the development of metallurgical operations hasbeen as follows: (1) investigations in the laboratory to determine the most effective and economical method of treatment; (2) continuation of the research project on a pilot-plant scale when the evaluation of the laboratory

Jan 1, 1945

By T. A. Rickard

Slovenliness is as reprehensible in words as in clothes. Much writing that we recognize as poor in style is merely sloppy. Just as some students postpone the necessary shave or forget to change their collars, so young engineers in writing drop their articles, definite and indefinite, or omit prepositions where they are required, possibly to compensate for these they use unnecessarily The work will begin [on] Saturday. The work will begin [on] Saturday. `Influenza seriously affected many mines [during] the last three months. Flotation in America [during] the last two years has made tremendous strides. Construction of the mill started [on] August 12, 1915, at which time 75% of the excavation was completed. The idea I wish to convey is [that] there are mineral deposits to which the present law applies badly. For this reason, if there was [for] no other, the ownership of the ore below and [of] the surface above should go together. When a unit of mapping is furnished, be the unit a claim or [a] group of claims, it is necessary .. . A fully stocked store was started in Park City and all employees [were] sold merchandise on a strictly cost basis. The word "merchandise" is left without government or agreement. I suggest: ". . . and merchandise] was sold to all the employees on a strictly cash basis.". The verb `be' is serving concurrently both as a principal and as an auxiliary in the following: At first the work was interesting and [was] liked by most of the men. The sulphide ore was more complex or [was] milled at an increased cost. The failure to repeat tie auxiliary verb in successive clauses is a common error, as in The filter is filled with liquid allowed to empty, and then ignited.

Jan 1, 1931

By Arnlf Muan, Bert Phillips

The quenching technique has been used for- a study of phase velntiorzs within the composition triangle 2CaO.Fe2O3-FeO.Fe2O3 Fe2O3 of the system Ca-Fe-O. Desired total compositions of sanzples were attained by weighing of starting materials in required proportions and keeping them in sealed 80 pct Pt 20 pct Rh tubes during equilibration .runs. The liquidus surface has been delineated. the existence of two ternary compounds has been established, and seven ternary inwariant situations have been determined. ONE unit within the research program on refractory oxides in progress in our laboratories is the study of phase relations in the system Ca-Fe-Si-O. The present paper deals with the ternary system 2CaOFe2O3-FeO.Fe2O3-Fe2O3, which is only a small part of the enormously complex quaternary system. Many of the phases occurring in iron ore sinter products have compositions which can be closely approximated within this ternary system, and a knowledge of stability relations existing among these phases may be expected to be a useful guide for improving sintering operations. Two fundamentally different experimental approach es are commonly used in studies of systems containing iron oxides, both permitting control of the oxidation state of Fe. One method consists in keeping constant the oxygen partial pressure of the gas phase in equilibrium with condensed phases (liquid and crystalline). In the other method, which is the one used in the present investigation, the total composition of condensed phases is kept essentially constant by keeping the samples in a gas-tight container. The details of this experimental procedure will be described in a later section. PREVIOUS WORK Extensive studies of phase relations in the bounding binary system FeOFe2O3-Fe2O3 have been reported by Greig, Posnjak, Merwin, and Sosman,' by Darken and Gurry,2, 3 and recently by Phillips and Muan.4 A diagram summarizing the results of these studies is shown in Fig. 1. Particular attention is

Jan 1, 1961

By R. K. Buhr, H. Thresh, M. Bergeron, F. Weinberg

The microsegregation of nickel and chromium in directionally solidified AISI 4340 steel castings has been measured using electron probe microanalysis. Minimum concentrations were observed to occur at the center of the dendrite stalks, as reported previously. However, the position of the maximum concentrations could not be determined from the dendrite configuration. An etching technique has been developed which shows the position of maximum concentration. Measurements were made of the distribution of nickel and chromium in the dendritic structure. The ratio of maximum to minimum concentration was determined as a function of primary dendrite arm spacing for both as-cast and partially homogenized materials. The results are compared with observations reported in the literatuve. A S part of an investigation of solute segregation in directionally solidified AISI 4340 steel casting, electron probe microanalysis was used to measure the distribution of nickel and chromium in the dendritically segregated material. This complemented the observations on the segregation of radioactive phosphorus obtained by autoradiographic techniques in the same castings.' Kattamis and I?lemings2 have reported similar measurements, using electron probe microanalysis, on dendritically segregated AISI 4340 steels. They found minimum solute concentrations occurred at the center of dendrites, maximum concentrations occurred in the center of interdendritic regions, for symmetrically oriented dendrites, and a regular variation of concentration within dendrite arms. The ratio of maximum to minimum concentration was found to be essentially independent of position in the castings, except near the chill surface where it was somewhat higher. Assuming complete diffusion in the liquid and no diffusion in the solid during freezing, they considered that isoconcentration curves in the steel were homothetic. As a result, isoconcentration curves of the various elements, contour surfaces of dendrites produced by isothermal-transformation studies, and the contour of the solid-liquid interface would all be similar, and could be superimposed by a uniform expansion or contraction of the contours. Preliminary results of the present investigation suggested that isoconcentration curves were not homothetic. It was also evident that points of maximum concentration could not be predicted from the dendrite configuration. Since the ratio of maximum to minimum concentration appeared to be an important parameter in defining the overall segregation in a casting, other techniques for determining the point of maximum concentration were investigated. In addition the overall solute distribution associated with the dendritic structure was examined for both nickel and chromium, and the consistency of the distribution for neighboring dendrites was determined. METHOD Fifty-pound heats of AISI 4340 steel were cast in a manner similar to that used by Flemings et al3 with a water-cooled copper base plate and exothermic sides and top. The nominal composition of the material was C, 0.41 pct; Mn, 0.66; Si, 0.35; S, 0.012; P, 0.010; Ni, 1.88; Cr, 0.95; Mo, 0.28. The steel solidified directionally from the chill surface, with a dendritic structure which increased in dendrite arm spacing with increased distance from the chill. Results of the general investigation of the cast structure and segregation of radioactive phosphorus in these castings have been reported elsewhere.' For the present measurements, sections were cut from the casting at several distances from the chill surface. The sections were subsequently heat-treated, mounted, and then polished on a plane perpendicular to the general freezing direction of the casting. Electron probe microanalysis was carried out with the JEOL-JXA3 microprobe using a voltage of 25 kev and beam current of 0.15 µa. The take-off angle is 22 deg. Quartz crystals were used in the spectrometers and measurements made for Ka radiation from both nickel and chromium simultaneously. A thin layer of carbon was deposited on all specimen surfaces prior to examination in the microprobe. Early measurements were made on polished surfaces, with indentation marks produced by a hardness tester to indicate the area of interest. It was found desirable to use etched surfaces, as opposed to polished surfaces, to reduce sample preparation time and more readily relate the microprobe scan to the structure. To determine if this could be done, without introducing significant errors, a series of measurements were made on polished and etched surfaces of the same specimen. Both polished and etched surfaces produced similar results within normal scatter as shown in the observations. Subsequent measurements were then made on etched surfaces. Measurements with the microprobe analyzer were made by point counting, for periods of 100 sec, at 10-µ intervals. Ten-second counts were made on pure nickel and chromium standards, incorporated in the specimen mount before and after each set of measurements. The results were adjusted for background, then corrected for dead time using the expression:

Jan 1, 1969

By O. E. KEOUGH

AT the Tooele custom lead-zinc ore concentrator,' two sections, each having a daily capacity of 500 to 600 tons, are operated on slightly different types of ores with but little difference in flow sheet and reagents. The ores comprising the two general classes are the coarsely crystalline type, with low pyrite and sphalerite low in iron content, from the Park City district, and the more finely disseminated higher pyrite ores from Bingham, which are more difficult to treat by flotation. Laboratory testing determines with which general class a new ore will work better. The ores are crushed to minus 1 1/4-in. size at either the Utah Ore Sampling Company's plant at Murray, Utah, the Tooele smelter sampling plant, or the crushing plant at the concentrator. The ores for each section are mixed to maintain as nearly as possible uniform lead and zinc contents.

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

THE fall meeting of the Petroleum Division, held at Tulsa, Okla., on Oct. 11 to 14, devoted two days to technical sessions and two to field excursions. A representative attendance of 250 to 300 engineers and operating officials engaged in oil production marked the sessions and paid close attention throughout to a notable series of highly technical papers. Restricted as the program was to consideration of production problems only, the time proved too short for discussion or even the presentation of the 20 papers submitted. Much informing and pertinent discussion none the less took place, and the sentiment was general to the effect that the meeting was one of the best ever held by the Division. The meetings were held in the auditorium of the Municipal building and local arrangements were well looked after by the Mid-Continent Section of the Institute and the Oil and Gas Association. The combination of the three organizations served to bring together engineers and operators most usefully. F. Julius Fohs, chairman of the Division, presided at the sessions on Monday. Tuesday morning John M. Lovejoy of the local section took over this responsibility in the absence of T. E. Swigart, who was detained in California. The afternoon session was presided over by A. G. Heggam of the Oil and Gas Association and the Tuesday evening banquet by W. C. Franklin of the same organization.

Jan 1, 1926

DAVID THOMAS 1871 R. W. RAYMOND 1872-1874 A. L. HOLLEY 1875 ABRAM S. HEWITT 1876 T. STERRY HUNT 1877 ECKLEY B. COXE 1878-1879 WILLIAM P. SHINN 1880 WILLIAM METCALF 1881 RICHARD P. ROTHWELL 1852 ROBERT W. HUNT 1883 JAMES C. BAYLES 1884-1855 ROBERT H. RICHARDS 1886 THOMAS EGLESTON 1887 WILLIAM B. POTTER 1888 RICHARD PEARCE 1889 ABRAM S. HEWITT 1890 JOHN BIRKINBINE 1891-1892 H. D4. HOWE 1893 JOHN FRITZ 1894 J. D. WEEKS 1895 E. O. SPILSBURY 1896 THOMAS M. DROWN 1897 CHARLES KIRCHHOFF 1898

Jan 1, 1942