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By E. A. Gulbransen, J. W. Hickman

IN a previous paper1 the authors have investigated the structure of the oxide films formed on most of the metals that make up the alloys of this study. The metals were studied in order to provide basic information on the structures, both physical and chemical, of the oxide films and to determine how these structures are effected by the temperature, time of oxidation, and surface preparation. It was felt that an understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective quality of the film. The oxidation of the metals was studied over the temperature range 300° to 700°C. except for copper, where the range selected was 100° to 500°C. The results of these studies were presented in graphical form as existence diagram, of the oxides on a time-temperature scale. For some of the metals the existence diagrams were simple and showed few chemical transitions, but there were numerous cases where the physical state of the oxide surface was a function of time and temperature. In general the physical state of the oxide surface changed with increasing temperature so as to increase the sharpness of the diffraction patterns and to cause orientation effects to be more pronounced. Deviations in lattice parameters from X-ray values were noted. In general these deviations were of positive nature and may be due to solid solution of the metal in the oxide lattice. This effect might be expected in thin oxide films. In a study of the oxidation of alloys containing two or more metals, there may arise the complicating factor of identification of the oxides formed. A thorough understanding of the oxides formed on the pure metals, therefore, was, essential before investigation of the oxidation of alloys. In this paper it is our purpose to present a study of the following problems: I The existence diagrams of various alloys. [2.] The effect of the structure of the [ying] metal on the existence diagram of Iron. 3. The effect of the percentage of chromium on the oxides formed on Fe-Cr alloys. 4. The relationships, if any, between the oxides formed and the protective quality of the oxides. The following alloys are included in this study: alloys of iron with body- centered cubic, face-centered cubic and other metals, 13 Cr-Fe, 18-8 stainless steel, K42B1 Nichrome V, Hipernik, Inconel, Stellite " 21," Refractaloy, Kovar, mild steel, a series of Cr-Fe alloys and a series of Co-Fe alloys. Since many of the commercial alloys in this list contain more than two metals, various complicating factors in the identification of the oxides formed may arise.

Jan 1, 1946

By F. N. Pease, C. B. Dudley

Those who have worked a good deal on the chemistry of pig-irons of which the physical properties were known, cannot fail to have been struck by the remarkable want of relation between the physical properties of different samples, and the ultimate chemical composition. It is very well known among foundrymen that irons which will give say 4 inch of chill, and are, therefore, approximately the same in chemical composition, are very far apart, many times, in their physical properties. The foundryman's tests for strength are, of

Jan 1, 1886

By E. S. Leaver

THE presence of soluble base metals in precious-metal ores usually precludes cyanidation as the best method of treatment. The laboratory experiments described in this paper show the possibility of cyanidation of gold-silver ores containing less than 0.5 per cent. of cyanide-soluble copper and the effect of zinc in the cyanide solution. PART 1.-COPPER IN CYANIDATION The proposed process of cyanidation of precious-metal ores containing copper is based on the regeneration of about 80 per cent. of the cyanide used in the dissolution of the copper. The method of regeneration involves a combination of the sulfide and the acid precipitation of the copper and silver. The resultant solution is made alkaline with lime, and the gold is precipitated with zinc dust.

Jan 1, 1929

By Richard Kunter

INTRODUCTION Additional work has been done on the CIP circuit at Creede, and a brief description of this work is presented in this paper. DREDGE The original dredge for the Bulldog was built by Al Hack, Inc. of Denver. The dredge cutter head is mounted on a boom made of 6-inch diameter pipe which is raised and lowered by a cable-pulley system. Maximum cutting depth is 8 feet. Slurry from the dredge flows through a floating 6-inch diameter pipe supported on 55-gallon drums which runs from the dredge to the shore and then to a trash screen and pumping system. See Figures 1 and 2. The cutter head, suction pump, winches for dredge movement, and all other operations are controlled from a small operations house located toward the rear of the dredge. All of the basic dredge equipment is mounted on a chassis about 8 ft x 16 ft in size. Additional buoyancy was originally provided by sealed 55-gallon drums supported along the sides of the chassis by a small wooden framework. Additional framework and barrels on the front of the chassis on either side of the cutter boom provided additional stability, particularly when digging in hard material. The dredge was quite stable, but two problems were apparent. For one, it could have been sunk by someone from the shore firing a rifle into all of the barrels. In prime deer-hunting and sportsman country

Jan 1, 1983

By C. R. Knopp

Gas-oil relative permeability ratio is an important relationship in oil reservoir predictive calculations. A correlation has been developed from 107 gas-flood k/k tests on Venezuelan core samples. The correlating parameter is based on restored-state water saturation tests and' is applicable to both consolidated and poorly consolidated sandstone reservoirs. Data of the correlation show that there are no distinguishah1e differences between the mass-data groupings for the two c1assifications A procedure is recommended for running .sufficient relative. permeability analyses to compute a geometric mean of the sample group. The geometric mean is more representative of the total core, and probably the entire reservoir. For example, while only one in four of the k,,/k,., test curves agreed closely with the resultant correlation of this report, the geometric mean curves of the 16 suites (three samples or more). showed good agreetment ill three cases out of four. INTRODUCTION The gas-oil relative permeability ratio is an important, fundamental relationship in most oil reservoir predictive calculations. Predictive calculations are made to estimate future reservoir production characteristics and ultimate oil recovery. The k1,/k2, relationship is specifically needed to relate the surface gas-oil ratio to the reservoir oil and gas saturation, and to calculate the relative movement of these phases within the reservoir whenever some of the more complex driving mechanisms are present. Laboratory k1/k2, tests are not generally run as a routine analysis. Consequently, k1/k2 data often are not available when needed because the cost of laboratory work could not be justified or the need for such data had not been properly anticipated. When laboratory k1/k2, data are available, they are often very difficult to interpret. For example, wide divergence is sometimes shown in a family of k1,/k1, tests representative of the producing horizon in a single well. With these considerations in mind, a study was made to determine if a relationship might exist between the k1,/k2, curve and some other simple laboratory test criteria. The most probable k1/k2, curve correlation for Venezuela described in this paper is the result of the investigation. The presented correlation defines the most probable gas-flood k,,/k,, curve through the medium of air-water capillary displacement and centrifuge water saturation tests. The laboratory procedures of these tests are. relatively simple, and inexpensive; test data should be. widely available- from routine analysis. DATA AVAILABLE, LABORATORY METHODS The report correlation utilized 107 gas-Hood k1/k2, tests run on sandstone cores of Venezuelan reservoirs. Table 1 is a general tabulation of data pertinent to the tests, while Table 2 summarizes the data. Thetests include 96 from Western Venezuela and 11 from Eastern Venezuela. Eighty-two- of the 107 test samples were sandstones that varied from poorly consolidated to-unconsolidated; 25 were consolidated. The average sample porosity was 26.7 per cent and the average permeability was 1,121 md; these values typify the better sandstone reservoirs of' Venezuela. The Welge gas-flood technique,' based on fundamental Buckley-Leverett frontal displacement theory, was introduced in about 1952 and is widely accepted in the industry. The laboratory procedure is relatively simple, rapid, and can be performed on small core samples. While there have been some minor variations in sample preparation and laboratory procedure in the tests used for the correlation, these tests can be generally summarized as follows. The core sample was first sol vent-extracted and dried. Connate-water saturation was restored by the oil-flushing or evaporation-blow down methods. At the beginning of gas flood the hydrocarbon pore volume was completeiy saturated with the test oil phase. Unsteady-state gas-oil displacement then began with the injection of nitrogen or helium. while the displaced oil and gas phases were incrementally metered at the out-flow face. From the test data, the k,,/k,, curve was calculated by the Welge method.' The individual oil and gas relative permeabilities were also calculated." CORRELATING PROCEDURES In attempting to establish a basis of correlation, we found that broad mid-range sections of 105 of the 107 k,,/k,, test curves could be closely duplicated by a straight line. Only two curves did not show a degree of linearity in this region. Correlation-curve definition parameters were subsequently developed from this observation of consistent mid-range linearity. Possible correlating variables were limited to the physical properties measured on core samples that (1) were widely available as common test data and (2) could be easily and cheaply obtained through future laboratory work. The more obvious possibilities were porosity, permeability and

Jan 1, 1966

By F. P. Dewey

The subject of this paper does not embrace the consideration of ways and means for the increase of analytical accuracy, or the question what could or should be attained in that direction. I desire simply to call attention to the degree of accuracy exhibited in actual every-day practice. In estimating this, little weight will be given to the evidence afforded by the agreement of duplicate or multiple determinations by the same chemist; for I am convinced that such agreement is a delusion and a snare. Nor will special importance be attached to the agreement of two or even three analyses in special cases, or to the agreement between two methods practiced by the same analyst. I propose to compare the results obtained by several chemists, working upon the same sample and by various methods, in order to exhibit, as I have said, the actual condition of practice. The available material for illustrating this phase of the question is unfortunately scanty; but something has been done; and I hope, by calling attention to some of the work in this line, to stimulate further work in the same direction by inducing others to prepare suitable samples and submit them to various chemists who are competent and willing to make the necessary determinations, and fully describe the methods they employ. I draw most of my illustrations from the Transactions of the Institute, the Proceedings of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and from personal experience. Manganese in Steel.—In May, 1881, Mr. William Kent presented a paper to the Institute entitled " Manganese Deter-

Jan 1, 1897

By J. F. Wolff

During the past 4 or 5 years, much has been added to the detailed geologic knowledge of the Mesabi Range. This has not been in the direction of discovery of any new fundamental facts, but of detailed study, subdivision and correlation of different parts of the whole formation and of individual orebodies. Prior to this time, mining engineers in the district were so engaged with the commercial interests of exploring and developing orebodies that close geologic study and subdivision were done in a few instances only. The demand for refinement of work in .this direction has led 'the engineers of the Oliver Iron Mining Co. to do extensive structural subdivision and correlation in all exploration work during the past 4 years. Such work has become a commercial necessity rather than a scientific refinement, and at the present time is being extended to all parts of the Range. In the summer of 1914, the author of this paper wrote a series of articles on the orebodies and special features of the Mesabi Rangc, which was published in the Engineering and Mining Journal, issues of July 17 to Aug. 7,1915. Since that time studies of subdivision of the iron-formation have been extended considerably. The principal feature of this paper is the presentation of the subdivisions of the iron-formation. To this is added a discussion of the relations of the orebodies to the gentle folding and fracturing of the formation, and special features of the Range. The outline will be as follows : I. General geology. 11. Subdivision of Biwabik iron-formation. 111. Relation of orebodies to folding and fracturing of the iron-formation. IV. Special features. Acknowledgnlent is due to W. J. Olcott, President, and John Uno Sebenius, General Mining Engineer, of the Oliver Iron Mining Co., for permission to use the information presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 1917

By John Griffen

THE modern anthracite breaker or washery uses almost completely a wet method of preparation, which requires, roughly, 1 gal. of water per minute per ton of production per day. The entire anthracite industry uses about 320,000 gal. per min. of water for this purpose or 800,000 tons of water per day. As this water leaves the breakers, it contains fine solids-coal, slate, pyrite, and clay-and is then called silt or slush; as slush is the term most commonly used, it will be employed throughout this paper. The solid content of the slush will be referred to as solids. In the earlier days of anthracite mining, little coal was washed, less crushing was employed, and virgin coal was mined exclusively. As a result, the slush problem was not acute because of the relatively small quantity and the coarseness of the solids. Such slush as was produced could usually be easily impounded and retained or could be discharged into streams without any appreciable pollution being apparent. The character of the fine waste from the breakers, changed materially as its quantity increased until now about 40,000 tons of slush solids are produced daily. Second mining and robbing operations materially increased the quantity of fine solids delivered to the breaker in the mine car. The demand for chestnut, stove and egg sizes, to the exclusion of grate, steamboat, and lump sizes, require finer crushing of the mine-run coal with a consequent increase of fine solids in slush. The use of rice and barley sizes removed a considerable tonnage of coarser solids from the slush but left great quantities of fine solids difficult to retain completely and store and long considered of no possible fuel value. Despite the efforts of the coal operators, the slush solids have found their way into the streams causing, in some cases, serious pollution. The Water Supply Commission of Pennsylvania published, in 1916, a report on Culm in the Streams of the Anthracite Region,1 from which the following is taken: About 40,000,000,000 gal. of water carrying 10,000,000 tons of fine culm are discharged into the water-courses direct, flushed into the mines, or disposed of by various means on the surface. The extent to which the very small sizes of anthracite

Jan 9, 1921

By George Rice

THE A.I.M.E. Ground Movement and Subsidence Committee, pro-posed in 1920, held its first technical meeting in February 1923, under the able chairmanship of Mr. H. G. Moulton. The following list of papers and discussions, indicating the scope of the problems and relation to various conditions and method of mining, were given at that meeting by the distinguished mining engineers: J. Parke Channing, on Subsidence at Miami, Arizona; Howard N. Eavenson, on Mining an Upper Bitu-minous Seam after a Lower Seam Has Been Extracted; J. J. Rutledge, on Subsidence in Two Oklahoma Coal Mines; Benjamin F. Tillson, on Caving Cracks at the Franklin Mine, New Jersey; Dr. F. W. McNair, on the Dome Theory; William Kelly, on disadvantageous effects in Mining and Back-filling Working Upward a Steep-Pitching Iron-ore Bed; Eli T. Conner, on the good results of Back-Filling by Hydraulic Means in Preventing Destructive Subsidence in the Anthracite District; Thomas H. Claggett, on the merit of Systematic Pillar Drawing in Preventing Cracks in an Upper Seam; Henry H. Otto, successful results in the anthracite district in Mining Lower Seams before Upper Seams; Douglas Bunting, on Leading Factors Incident to Successful Mining of an Overlying Seam; Edwin Ludlow, on there being "less damage to buildings when there was complete removal of coal with complete packing than when room and pillar is used without extracting the pillars"; Edward O'Toole on "bumps" in eastern Kentucky mines, which he thought were the result of geologic stresses: H. A. Buehler, on Upheaval of Surface in an Illinois Case in Advance of the Face; and R. Dawson Hall, on The Mechanics of Subsidence from Mining. The author of this paper discussed various kinds of problems of ground movement and subsidence in both metal mining and coal mining; the production of great landslides by workings near an outcrop, as at Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada; and general

Jan 1, 1939

By Howard Reiss, C. S. Fuller

A theoretical and experimental study has been made of those interactions between holes and electrons which influence the solubilities of donors and acceptors in semiconductors. The major portion of the work concerns the solubility of lithium in silicon doped to varying degrees with boron. This solubility increases with increasing boron content in a manner predicted by theory and exhibits the expected temperature dependence. A qualitative experiment in germanium is described which demonstrates, in accordance with theory, that doping with a donor decreases the solubility of another donor. SEVERAL authors have discussed the possibility that holes and electrons behave like chemical entities and influence the solubilities of ionized impurities, Wagner was the first to invoke this concept in connection with his studies on nonstoichio-metric oxides. He used it again in explaining the solubility of hydrogen in molten binary alloys. In a theoretical paper,' Reiss drew attention to the fact that solutions of impurities in semiconductors

Jan 1, 1957

By Benjamin Miller

FROM earliest recorded times, limestone has been employed in the industrial life of peoples of all sections of the world where it exists. It is widely distributed and therefore has been available in almost every country and has been employed for a variety of purposes. Its earliest use was for buildings, since it is more easily quarried and dressed than most other kinds of rocks and so could be utilized by early inhabitants, poorly equipped, with tools. The next use was in the manufacture of lime, which was employed by the ancients in mortar. These two uses of limestone are still all important, but they have been overshadowed in scores of regions by literally hundreds of new applications for raw lime-stone or products made from it. Anyone familiar with modern manu-facturing processes can quickly call to mind many industries in which limestones are essential, and new uses are continually coming to notice. Any enumeration would probably be incomplete and soon out of date.

Jan 1, 1935

By J. D. Meakin, H. G. F. Wilsdorf

Using a combined decoration and etching technique the dislocation structure of annealed and deformed a brass has been studied. Annealed crystals revealed a low density forest and well-developed subboundaries; lightly deformed crystals contained discrete groups of dislocations. The dislocation density and the number of dislocations in a group were obtained from the micrographs. Using slip-line data, the mean path of a dislocation and the configuration of groups along an active slip plane have been deduced. Observations on secondary and cross-slip are reported. It has been the aim of many investigations to obtain detailed knowledge of the dislocation patterns which are present in metals before and after their deformation. The "decoration" of dislocations with impurity atoms has been considered as one of the promising experimental approaches, and much work has been done to develop this technique for revealing dislocation sites in metals. Following the early work by Castaing,' Castaing and Guinier,' and Lacombe and Berghezan~ on aluminum-rich aluminum-copper alloys, dislocations in this material have been studied extensively by others.+' In these alloys the dislocation sites act as nuclei for the precipitation of the second phase. The main results of the investigations on aluminum with copper are: i) the confirmation of the earlier contention that subboundaries consist of dislocation walls, ii) that many more dislocations are found in slip bands than in regions where less glide had taken place, iii) the observation of individual dislocations, lying nearly parallel to the surface investigated, and iv) that parts of dislocation loops, apparently emitted from a dislocation source, could be made visible. Recently, Jacquet, Weill, and Calvert have succeeded in revealing nearly concentric dislocation loops in quenched A1-4 pct Cu and thus indicated directly the existence of dislocation sources in a fcc metal specimen of normal dimensions. Another decoration method developed by Dash10'11 and applied to silicon crystals makes use of diffusing copper to the dislocations from a surface deposition. The dislocation pattern can then be observed by an infrared technique. His results include evidence for symmetrical and spiral Frank-Read sources, and for arrays of dislocation loops which follow simple crys-tallographic directions. Recently Low and Guard" have studied the dislocation structure of silicon-iron using carbon for the

Jan 1, 1961

Jan 1, 1959

By H. C. Schultz

CERTAIN local conditions were known to govern in large measure the successful adaptation of liquid-oxygen explosives to the large-scale blasting at Chuquicamata. The wide variation in hardness of the rock at this mine makes necessary the use of several types of explosives. A locally manufactured, relatively cheap black powder is used in blasting the softer waste and capping material, where a thorough displacement breaks the ground sufficiently. Before the introduction of L. 0. X., an ammonia dynamite of about 65 per cent. strength was being used exclusively in the harder underlying orebody, where a strong disruptive as well as a displacement effect is required for breaking the ore. The L. 0. X., as developed for quarry work in the United States, has a practically pure carbon cartridge material, and the explosive has an extremely high rate of detonation, which should therefore cause it to usefully develop its full disruptive effect in hard ground. The individual blasts at Chuquicamata are large, black-powder shots which dislodge masses of rock averaging 250,000 tons each, and dynamite shots which dislodge masses averaging 80,000 tons each. It was desirable, therefore, to attempt to displace with L. 0. X. the faster, higher-cost ammonia dynamite used in the smaller blasts. It was not considered practical to attempt to displace the low-cost black powder with L. 0. X., as estimated costs showed no probable saving if this were accomplished. Since it was desirable to continue shooting relatively large blasts for effective operation, it was recognized that larger storage facilities than had been in use would be needed for the liquid oxygen. Because of the difficulty of transporting and discharging large storage containers of efficient design, the better plan appeared to be storage and discharge of the liquid at the place of manufacture, and transportation of the filled soaking boxes to the blast.

Jan 1, 1928

By J. A. Woolf, E. S. Leaver

The presence of soluble base metals in precious-metal ores usually precludes cyanidation as the best method of treatment. The laboratory experiments described in this paper show the possibility of cyanidation of gold-silver ores containing less than 0.5 per cent. of cyanide-soluble copper and the effect of zinc in the cyanide solution. Part I.—Copper in Cyanidation The proposed process of cyanidation of precious-metal ores containing copper is based on the regeneration of about 80 per cent. of the cyanide used in the dissolution of the copper. The method of regeneration involves a combination of the sulfide and the acid precipitation of the copper and silver. The resultant solution is made alkaline with lime, and the gold is precipitated with zinc dust. Solubility of Copper Minerals in Cyanide Solution In order to determine the solubility of copper minerals, including metallic copper, under the usual conditions for cyanidation, experiments were conducted with synthetic ores. Each ore sample was prepared by mixing the particular pure copper mineral with barren sea sand. Both the mineral and sand were ground to pass 100 mesh before they were thoroughly mixed. The percentage of copper in each head sample was determined by direct assay, excepting the metallic copper sample, which was computed on weights before mixing. Table 1 gives the results. Azurite, bornite, chalcocite, cuprite, malachite and finely divided metallic copper are readily and completely soluble under the usual conditions for cyanidation. Enargite and tetrahedrite are sufficiently soluble to cause an excessive loss of cyanide, and they also cause fouling of solutions with arsenic and antimony. Precious-metal ores containing small percentages of chalcopyrite or chrysocolla may give satisfactory returns with the usual cyanidation.

Jan 1, 1930

By Walter Harvey Weed

The Republic of Mexico is traversed by many mountain ranges, and presents a great diversity of climates, soils and geographical features, yet its grander geographic provinces are few and peculiarly well defined. The Gulf plain, the Cen tral plateau, the Sierra Madre, and the lowland or Tierra Cali ente of the western coast are the main features of the geogra phy of the Republic, and in the northern half these provinces are particularly well defined. The Sierra Madre separates the Republic into eastern and western parts, and from the City of Mexico north to the Texas line presents an almost impassable barrier to east and west travel. On the north, the first wagon road pass from east to west is at El Paso del Norte, the site of the Texan city of El Paso. Southward for many hundreds of miles the Sierra Madre, traversed by well-worn trails, over which all travel from the west coast to the interior must pass, is a stupendous barrier to social and commercial intercourse. The Sierra Madre is commonly described as a range or con geries of mountain ranges. In fact, it is, in Chihuahua at least, a great plateau, fringed by mountains on the east, trenched by deep canons in its center, and bordered by a wild and rugged complex of mountains carved out of the plateau on the west. Professional duties took me across this region from Parral westward to the Gulf of California via Guadalupe y Calvo. As it includes some of the great ore-deposits of Mexico, and its geological features have never, so far as I am aware, been described, I have prepared a diagrammatic section made from my observations on a horseback trip across the Sierra, and added such notes as seem to be of general interest.

Jan 1, 1902

By V. G. Mooradian

THE diffusion of metal atoms into the crystal lattice of another metal and the assumption of regular positions to form a homogeneous alloy are some of the most fundamental phenomena of structural metallurgy. The mechanism of this process has been the subject of a great deal of study from many viewpoints, but the picture is still far from complete. It is generally believed that if one metal is to diffuse into another, the first must have some solubility in the second1. This means that the solvent must be able to accommodate the stranger atoms, either on points of its own lattice or in the interstices between, without losing its own crystal-lographic identity. It is also a general observation that cold-working is a distinct aid in the diffusion process, causing it to take place with greater rapidity at the same temperature or with the same speed at a lower temperature. There is considerable doubt, however, as to the real significance of the deformation in its effect on the diffusion mechanism. Several factors associated with the cold-working may be responsible for the increased diffusion rate. The plastic deformation causes a distor-tion of the solvent lattice, which may be an aid in the assimulation of atoms of another kind. There are many references2 in the literature that suggest that some distortion or "loosening" of the lattice is necessary for atomic migration and that diffusion cannot take place in the undis-

Jan 1, 1935

By W. G. Matteson

I. Introduction...................................................... 436 (a) Extent of the Gulf Coastal Plain. (b) History of Important Gulf Coast Oil Pools. 1. Corsicans, Tex. 2. Spindletop, Tex. 3. Sour Lake, Tex. 4. Jennings, La. 5. Saratoga, Tex. 6. Batson, Tex. 7. Humble, Tex. 8. Caddo, La. 9. Vinton, La. 10. Naborton, La. 11. Red River, La. 12. Edgerly, La. 13. Goose Creek, Tex. 14. Damon Mound, Tex. 15. New Iberia, La. (c) Favorable Features of the Gulf Coast Pools. 11. General Topography and Physiography of the Gulf Coastal Plain.....440 111. General Stratigraphy of the Gulf Coastal Plain West of the 90th Meridian......................................................441 IV. Structural Types and their Characteristics.........................446 (a) hnticlinal Structure. (b) Structure of Salt Domes. 1. Domes of the Coast Prairie. 2. Domes of the Wold Region. 3. Recapitulation of Dome Structural Characteristics. V. Methods of Surveying and Prospecting............................. 454 VI. The Development of Salt Domes................- .................458 VII. Origin of Salt Domes...............4.............................461 (a) The Volcanic-plug Theory of Hager. (b) The Contemporaneous Sedimentation Theory of Norton. (c) The Theory of Upward Pressure Exerted by the Force of Growing Crystals, as Developed by Harris. VIII. Source of the Oil in the Gulf Coastal Pools.........................465 IX. Petrolific Value of the Salt Domes of the Wold Region..............467 X. Future Outlook.................................................. 467

Jan 1, 1918

By Benjamin Tillson

To MOST mine operators, it seems evident that there is a drill-steel problem, although under certain conditions the amount f drill-steel breakage does not appear serious. What is at fault? It may be one or a combination of circumstances. The development of rock drills to the hammer-drill type in place of the old reciprocating piston drill, probably is one important cause for the greater steel breakage. Perhaps the manufacturers of drill steel have failed to realize what alloys are needed for this new service or have overlooked the changes in the art of rock drilling. Although suitable alloys are provided, they may not be so handled in the manufacturing process as to be in the best condition to withstand the demands of rock drilling. The mine operator may be at fault in desiring to use the smallest possible drill-steel section in order that the gage of the drill bits may be correspondingly small and the amount of footage drilled per unit of labor may be greater; or the black-smithshop practice at the mines may need improvement. The miner who uses the drill steel may also require more intensive supervision and education. Again, the manufacturer of rock drills may have failed to study the types of blows the steel alloys will withstand satisfactorily and which their tools are delivering and so he may not know whether or not a different design of rock drill would equal or excel their present drilling speeds without treating the drill steel so severely. All of these hypotheses probably have their supporters. On the other hand, perhaps we are seeking too much service from drill steel and we need a fuller realization of the fatigue strains developed and should prepare to relieve these by a periodic heat treatment of the steels. However, we do not find any proof that any of these suppositions may be held responsible for the drill-steel breakage attendant to mining. The proposed investigation of this matter by the U. S. Bureau f Mines is fully warranted in the promotion of the conservation of labor and material, and the safety of the workmen. The great range of field conditions, as well as the scope of the research, requires the energetic cooperative support of many interests. Various manufacturers of steel,

Jan 5, 1921

By G. G. Sarkar

SHARPNESS of separation and washing efficiency are often confused. The sharpness index indicates the precision of a washing unit; the washing efficiency takes into account not only the unit's precision but also the washability characteristics of raw coal and the near-gravity materials at the effective density of cut. A sound basis for evaluating the sharpness index is essential in comparing the sharpness of separation attained by different cleaning units. Sharpness Index and Related Criteria: Washing plant sharpness of separation has been well represented by Hancock's efficiency chart and Tromp's curve of migrated materials. Some useful coefficients derived from Tromp's curve—the error area, probable error, and imperfection value—have been widely used to measure sharpness of separation. These are defined in a number of papers presented at the first and second International Coal Preparation Colsference held in Paris (1950) and Essen (1954).1-5 In evaluating the performance of a dense medium separator at four different gravities, Yan-cey and Greer6 bserved that even with similar operating conditions and the same size grading of feed, the imperfection value of a washing plant varies through a greater range than the probable error. The present writer also observed the same type of anomalies in comparing the imperfection values of one plant which were determined under almost identical conditions. He therefore devised a graphical method to evaluate a washing unit's sharpness of separation and define it by a single coefficient, which is substantially independent of coal characteristics under normal operation of the unit. Unlike imperfection value, the new coefficient can be expressed on a percentage basis. Coal preparation engineers generally agree that the amount of misplaced material resulting from any separation in a washing plant is almost directly related to the amount of +0.10 sp gr (near-gravity) materials. In actual practice, however, misplacement is not restricted to the 20.10 sp gr range. It will be evident from a study of Tromp curves that this misplacement often extends over unequal specific gravity ranges on the two sides of the actual density of separation. The same condition exists for near-gravity ash distribution and the resultant misplacement of ash units during any separation. But so far as the same unit is concerned, the total misplacements bear a definite ratio to the amount of near-gravity zone materials that is affected by misplacements. This ratio should be constant not only for various densities of separation but also for different qualities of feed coal treated in the same plant. This ratio, multiplied by 100, directly represents the inefficiency of the plant. When the plant inefficiency value is subtracted from 100, the re- ' sult is designated as sharpness index. Evaluating the Sharpness Index: The method of evaluating the sharpness index is explained here with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a reproduction of the familiar diagram used by Cerchar of France to represent the inefficiency of a separation in terms of "triangle of errors," which is a measure of organic loss. It will be observed that the characteristic (yield/fractional ash) curve of the raw coal represented by GHAPR

Jan 1, 1958