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By Royal Preston Jarvis

minerals of different specific gravities. It is simple in construction, easily operated, capable of treating large quantities in a short time, and highly efficient under various conditions. The question, whether the material to be jigged has first been sized, determines the two principal methods of jigging. Jigging preceded by close sizing, generally known as the Continental or German system, involves a more or less elaborate series of screens or trommels, with attendant cost for installation, operation, and repairs. Jigging without sizing, known as the English system, is, according to Munroe,1 a development of the hand-jigging formerly employed in Cornwall . and introduced by English miners to this country." In its simplest form, the method consists in jigging an ore-mixture previously crushed to some maximum size (although, in some cases, even this preliminary is omitted) oil a relatively coarse sieve, and then jigging again on a filler sieve, the material passing through the first sieve and bedding. While many modifications have been necessary to adapt it for use in mills of large capacity, where hand-work was necessarily, replaced by machines, the principle remains the same; the fact that the English system has been successfully employed, both in this country and abroad, is well known; and arguments have been made for its efficiency and applicability in a wider sphere than it has occupied hitherto. II. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS. The fact that treating a mixture of minerals under jigging conditions increased the amount of mineral saved, or, as Professor Richards aptly terms it, 1 ?the extra jig-catch," has long been known. To account for this fact a number of theories have been proposed. The work of Rittinger2 in this field has, for many years, been a classic in the literature of ore-dressing. For the purposes of my present paper, however, the work of two American investigators, Prof. H. S. Munroe and Prof. R. H. Richards, is chiefly concerned. Professor Munroe has given the results of an elaborate series of experiments,3 and his deductions, based largely oil theoretical grounds, of this work. After reviewing briefly the two systems of jigging, followed by a discussion of Rittinger's formulas and

Sep 1, 1908

By A. W. Fahrenwald

Flotation practice in Idaho is now about 13 years old. The advance has been steady during these 113 years. The operators have been alert to take advantage of the newest developments and they have themselves made a constant effort to improve their work. The metallurgical improvements are due to the development of (1) better equipment, (2) better reagents, and (3) better understanding and control of the process. During the eight years the writer has been in this district, there has been continuous experimentation by several companies to improve the ore dressing by flotation methods. Gravity concentration has fought hard to hold its place, and although it is true that gravity processes have been improved during this period, nevertheless, in several of the important mills of the district the few tables that managed to hang on have finally given way. On the straight-lead ores, tables and jigs are still used; and, due to better classification, their hold on this job has been strengthened. Ores of the District The ores of the district are of two general classes: (1) clean lead ores, such as those from the Bunker Hill and Hecla mines, and (2) complex lead-zinc ores. The general impression prevails that the clean lead ores, class 1, are simple and that it is easy to obtain high recoveries and good grade products. This, in a way, is a false impression; there is quite a high percentage of locked middling in these ores at 100 and' 150-mesh sizes. Improved classification preparatory to table treatment of this type of ore has made it possible to segregate effectively a high-grade middling which is further comminuted and floated. The complex lead-zinc ores of the district, of which the ore from the Morning mine of the Federal Mining & Smelting Co. is a typical example, always have presented a difficult problem. It always has been comparatively easy to make a clean lead concentrate, but it never has been possible to concentrate sphalerite with a specific gravity of 4.10 from siderite of gravity 3.88. Also, a large percentage of the galena and sphalerite of this class of ore refuses to separate out until the crushing has been carried

Jan 1, 1928

Jan 1, 1886

By M. W. BERNEWITZ

IT is 27 years since I last visited Broken Hill, New South Wales, one of the world's greatest lead-silver-zinc districts. Then, the flota¬tion of ores was in its infancy. The Minerals Separation process had its birth as a practicability in the Central Mill, which is still operating and yielding high recoveries. The average Australian knows that Broken Hill is an important mining center in a "corner" of New South Wales, but he does not know what a factor it is in the lead, silver, and zinc production of the world. Nor does he realize that among the ramifications arising from metal production at Broken Hill are the great lead smelter at Port Pirie, South Australia, 254 miles southeast; the electrolytic zinc works at Risdon, and the limestone mine at Davenport, Tasmania; the acid works at Cockle Creek, New

Jan 1, 1935

By E. P. Sadowski, R. J. Raudebaugh

A study of micro structural characteristics of a 30 pct Cr, 42 pct Ni, 26 pct Fe alloy has been correlated with its behavior in creep and rupture tests at 1400°, 1600°, and 1800°F. Nitrogen pickup observed at 1600" and 1800°F was associated withfissur-ing of specimens prior to fracture. IN studying the high-temperature characteristics of a nominally 30 pct Cr, 42 pct Ni, 26 pct Fe alloy certain anomalies were observed, namely: The alloy had greater stress rupture and creep strength at 1800" than at 1600° F for time periods beyond 550 hr. As placed in test, this alloy was nonmagnetic. After test, some specimens were found to be fairly magnetic. The gain observed in magnetic response was not solely a function of time and temperature of testing. This is a report of the observations and a recounting of the results of studies made in an attempt to explain the behavior of the material under investigation. MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE All test material was taken from a production size heat of an experimental alloy melted and processed using commercial practice and having the following percentage composition: C Fe Cr Ni Ti 0.05 25.83 30.13 41.59 0.41 Al Mn Si S Cu 0.42 0.75 0.45 0.011 0.34 The material was tested in two conditions, namely mill-annealed and grain-coarsened. Mill annealing, which consisted of heating to about 1900° F in a continuous furnace for about 30 min and air cooling, gave a grain size of ASTM 8 and finer. To produce the grain-coarsened condition, mill-annealed material was soaked for 2 hr at 2050°F in a laboratory furnace and air cooled. This resulted in an ASTM grain size of 4 to 5. Rupture tests were carried out at 1400, 1600, and 1800° F in accordance with ASTM procedures. In tests where only rupture life and elongation at fracture were determined, specimens of 0.252 in. diam and 1 in. gage length were used. In tests where creep curves were obtained, specimens were of 0.375 in. diam and 4 in. gage length. Several of the tests under relatively low stress were discontinued short of rupture. Three low-stress tests are still in progress at this writing. Structural changes which occurred during testing were determined from examination of the tested specimens by light microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Diffraction pattern recordings were made with a diffractometer using copper radiation on samples heavily etched in a picric-hydrochloric

Jan 1, 1960

By AIME AIME

THE second meeting of 'the Open-Hearth Committee, 'sub-division of the Iron and Steel Committee of this Institute, was held at the Hotel Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio; on Oct. 13-15. On Oct: 12, the Open-Hearth Superintendents visited the plants of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. and. the Republic Iron and Steel Co. These men were courteously entertailled by the two companies and every facility for a thorough inspection was furnished. Luncheon was severed at the plant bf the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. The meeting was opened Tuesday morning with addresses by J. V. W. Reynders, President of the Institute, and Herbert M. Boylston, Chairman of the Ohio Section of the Institute. E. A. Whitworth, of the Gathmann Engineering Co., presided at the meeting and L. B. Lindeinuth was secretary.

Jan 1, 1925

By E. R. Johnson

The copper concentrator of the Braden Copper Co. is at Sewell, Chile, on the westem flank of the main Cordillera of the Andes, at an air distance of approximately 50 miles southeast of Santiago, the capital of Chile. The region is mountainous and space is at a premium because of the rough terrain and the danger of snowslides. The ore, a porphyry copper, is mined by a block-caving method in the El Teniente mine. It is hauled to the crushing plant, a distance of 2.6 miles, through a tunnel because of the severe climatic conditions. The usual large, coarsely set, primary reduction machines found in many ore-treating plants are not required because of the mining method employed and the limiting 12-in. spacing of the grizzlies at the head of each ore pass in the mine. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the numerous improvements made in the crushing section of this large flotation concentrator during the past I5 years to increase the efficiency of the plant and to raise the daily output from around 20,000 to 30,000 tons. The reader should keep in mind that all changes were made within the existing building because of the limited space and the high cost of the heavy mill construction required to withstand the snow loads. The present plant, as well as the former, operates on a 24-hr, 7 days a week basis. The crushing plant commenced operations at its present site in 1921, the main equipment being No. 7½ gyratories, followed by 48-in. horizontal Symons disk crushers. Fines were removed by I-in. stationary grizzlies ahead of each unit. In 1924 a third stage of crushing was provided by the addition of 55½-in. rolls in open circuit. During 1925, the Symons disks were replaced by 73½-in. rolls. All the rolls were changed to closed circuit, with elevators and screens to give a final product of 9 pct plus 3-mesh. The flowsheet of a typical crushing section of this period is shown in Fig I. The ore was withdrawn from a common bill serving the five crushing sections in the plant by means of any number up to six 36-in. wide-apron feeders, which discharged onto a common conveyor belt. This conveyor was equipped with a magnetic head pulley and the crusher attendant was stationed near the discharge end to pick out pieces of mine timber that might be in the ore. The ore was discharged over a 13/4-in. spaced bar grizzly and the oversize of this grizzly was crushed by a No. 7½ McCully gyratory crusher set at 13/4-in. opening on the closed side. The grizzly undersize joined the gyratory discharge and was conveyed to a set of 73½ by 20-in. Garfield rolls set at I in. These rolls operated in closed circuit with a bucket elevator and two vibrating screens placed in parallel.

Jan 1, 1949

By K. Reinhardt

The idea of burning blast-furnace gases directly in gas-engines, instead of under steam-boilers, as had previously been done, was first put into practice barely ten years ago, almost simultaneously in Great Britain, Germany and Belgium. The pioneers of this movement made their first experiments with small engines. After these experiments had given satisfactory results, and it had been shown that the thermal value of the poor blast-furnace gases, in spite of defective scrubbing, could with safety be directly transformed into mechanical work in the gas-engine, there very soon arose a considerable demand for gas-engines of large power, similar to the large steam-engines employed in metallurgical works. In face of these sudden requirements, the gas-engine builders were placed in a difficult position; for up to that time the gas-motor was considered as suitable for small engines only, and it was generally believed that the limit of size had been attained with 100 to 150 effective h.p. in a single cylinder. Manufacturers of gas-motors, however, did not underrate the advantages offered by this new field for their manufactures, and it so happened that in Germany the Berlin-Anhaltische Masch-inenbau-Gesellschaft, of Dessau, was the first to undertake the construction of a 600-h.p. two-cycle gas-engine, with two cylinders of the Oechelhauser-Junkers type, for the Hoerder Mining & Smelting Company. The engine was started in 1898, and, with a few improvements and alterations, is still working satisfactorily. This engine worked with astonishingly high effciency, considering the period. The builders were therefore

Jan 1, 1907

By M. Smutz, C. J. Baroch, E. H. Olson

IN 1949 an orebody containing some 10 billion lb of recoverable rare earth metals was discovered in the Mountain Pass district of San Bernardino County, California.' The following year Molybdenum Corp. of America purchased a number of claims at the deposit and a mill on the property which had been constructed to process the district's gold ores. Average composition of ore from the San Bernardino deposit is less than 0.1 pct Tho2, 25 to 35 pct calcite, 10 pct rare earth oxides, 15 to 20 pct silica, and 30 to 40 pct barite.' Rare earth content of the ore analyzes 50.7 pct CeO2, 4.2 pct Pr6O11, 11.7 pct Nd2O3;, 1.3 pct Sm2O3,, and 34.3 pct La2O3 and others.' By floating the barite and depressing the bastna-site, Molybdenum Corp. of America produced a concentrate that contained 60 to 70 pct rare earth oxides. More than 25 pct of the rare earths, however, was lost in flotation. It seemed likely that a more economical method could be found. At the present time most of the rare earths in the concentrates are converted to rare earth chlorides, which are either fed to ion exchange columns for separation of the individual rare earths or reduced to misch metal. Current investigation shows that solvent extraction may achieve this separation more economically than ion exchange. The study reported here was undertaken to develop an economical method of preparing a pure rare earth nitrate mixture from California bastnasite ore. Results indicated that more than 98 pct of the rare earths could be recovered. Several possibilities were considered for processing bastnasite ore, but only the method outlined in Fig. 1 was investigated. This involved leaching the calcined ore with nitric acid. The nitric acid process is discussed under the following headings: 1) calcination of the ore, 2) leaching of calcine, 3) filtration studies, 4) solvent extraction, and 5) nitric acid recovery. Calcination: Since California bastnasite ore contains 25 to 35 pct calcite and about 10 pct bastnasite, calcination was needed to reduce the violence of reaction with nitric acid. Weight losses of 26 to 30 pct were obtained by calcining the ore at 900°C for I hr or at 800°C for 4 hr. Longer periods resulted in no further weight loss. Leaching the Calcine: When the bastnasite calcine was leached with 30 pct nitric acid for 8 to 10 days, rare earth recoveries of only 45 to 50 pct were

Jan 1, 1960

By F. G. Clapp

IT is to be hoped that no casual reader will erroneously refer to the latest publication' of the Division of Public Relations of the American Petroleum Institute, as being "Petroleum Facts and Fancies." The facts are so faithfully derived and the figures are so authentically sponsored by the highest sources that no person can read this valuable volume (287 pages and numerous tables) without being convinced that every- thing therein set forth is "the truth and nothing but the truth." Yet, having read the volume from the perspective of the world's petroleum industry and with a critical attitude that comes from years of study of the subjects discussed, I find myself tempted to cogitate and to envisage a few of the fancies that come to mind as a fitting sequel.

Jan 1, 1929

By HERBERT G. MOULTON

FROM prehistoric times to our own day man has struggled against extremes of climate. Human life, originating in semi-tropical or temperate areas, was unable to progress into the northern latitudes until fire was discovered and some form of clothing provided. It was found possible to maintain life even in the hottest parts of the tropics, but only at a great sacrifice of comfort and efficiency compared with the more temperate zones, or in cooler areas with the protection of clothing and artificial heat. It was no accident, but the natural result of climatic conditions, that efficiency became the greatest and civilization the most advanced in areas where the natural climate was favorable, or in cooler zones where protection against severe cold could be se-cured by relatively simple methods of conserving or producing heat.

Jan 1, 1933

By D. B. Williams

The end of the war in Europe and the Pacific failed to curb the upward trend of production in Venezuela,- which easily surpassed that of any previous year. The total production for 1945 amounted- to 323,369, 430 bbl., which was 26 per cent over the total for 1944, the previous peak in the history of the oil industry of the country. This increase was caused mainly by the greater demand for petroleum in the last stages of the war; the fact that the danger from enemy submarines had been overcome, which allowed all oil companies to use increased shipping facilities, and the fact that more materials were available for drilling operations. However, the materials supplied were by no means adequate and considerable credit is reflected on the Venezuelan petroleum industry for the increased production obtained by utilizing all available equipment to its fullest extent.

Jan 1, 1946

By C. E. Abbott

THE Birmingham district, Alabama, is distinctive in the proximity to one another of its deposits of iron ore, coal and flux. These three basic requisites for the making of iron and steel are found within a radius of 10 miles. Both dolomite and limestone are produced, the former for blast-furnace flux and the latter for basic open-hearth operations. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Co., a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, operates a limestone mine at Muscoda, near Bessemer, 12 miles southwest of Birmingham, served by its own railroad transportation system. The mine has a capacity of 130 tons per hour. Average analyses of a recent month's production are as follows: Fe2O3 Si02 A12O3 CAC03 MGCO Lump, per cent 0.51 0.22 98.63 0.14 Crushed and washed, percent 0.70 0.26 98.36 0.18 Lump stone, 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 in., is used in open-hearth operations at Fairfield Steel Works. Fine crushed and washed stone, 1 ¼ to 0.063 in., is calcined at the, lime-burning plant and used for lime charges at the Ensley open hearths.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. E. Heithecker

Almost every oil well drilled into limestone formations in Kansas is treated with hydrochloric (muriatic) acid upon completion: to increase potential capacity of well and thereby increase its "daily allowable" production; to shorten time required to produce recoverable oil; and to increase quantity of oil recovered ultimately from reservoir. Acid treating marked a forward step in the producing fields of Kansas; in fact, many old limestone fields that almost had reached their economic producing limit were "rejuvenated" with acid and their capacities to produce increased several times. It also caused a marked increase in the ultimate oil recovery of some old and nearly depleted fields of Kansas. The effect of the acid was due to the cleaning-out action by the acid at the face of the limestone, the enlargement of the small drainage channels, and the apparent penetration of the acid to previously undrained porous and saturated strata. Studies of the effects of acid were made in the Fairport field, three groups of wells in the El Dorado field and the Shutts field. Estimation of increased recoveries resulting from acid in these fields and groups of wells ranged from 1000 to 2400 bbI. per acre. Limestone structures that had been tested by drilling and found noncommercial were later completed as commerical oil-producing formations through the use of acid. The Kansas City formation, Valley Center field of Kansas, is an example. Increased oil production and revenue from the old fields justified the reconditioning of equipment, which in most cases had become in poor mechanical condition. The first treatment with hydrochloric acid of an oil well in Kansas was in October 1932, and by the end of 1937 almost 6000 wells had been treated. Many wells were treated more than once and the total number of treatments exceeded 8000 by the end of 1937. Approximately 12 3/4 million gallons of acid was required for these treatments. The report includes 15 illustrations and 16 tables.

Jan 1, 1939

By R. E. Heithecker

Almost every oil well drilled into limestone formations in Kansas is treated with hydrochloric (muriatic) acid upon completion: to increase potential capacity of well and thereby increase its "daily allowable" production; to shorten time required to produce recoverable oil; and to increase quantity of oil recovered ultimately from reservoir. Acid treating marked a forward step in the producing fields of Kansas; in fact, many old limestone fields that almost had reached their economic producing limit were "rejuvenated" with acid and their capacities to produce increased several times. It also caused a marked increase in the ultimate oil recovery of some old and nearly depleted fields of Kansas. The effect of the acid was due to the cleaning-out action by the acid at the face of the limestone, the enlargement of the small drainage channels, and the apparent penetration of the acid to previously undrained porous and saturated strata. Studies of the effects of acid were made in the Fairport field, three groups of wells in the El Dorado field and the Shutts field. Estimation of increased recoveries resulting from acid in these fields and groups of wells ranged from 1000 to 2400 bbI. per acre. Limestone structures that had been tested by drilling and found noncommercial were later completed as commerical oil-producing formations through the use of acid. The Kansas City formation, Valley Center field of Kansas, is an example. Increased oil production and revenue from the old fields justified the reconditioning of equipment, which in most cases had become in poor mechanical condition. The first treatment with hydrochloric acid of an oil well in Kansas was in October 1932, and by the end of 1937 almost 6000 wells had been treated. Many wells were treated more than once and the total number of treatments exceeded 8000 by the end of 1937. Approximately 12 3/4 million gallons of acid was required for these treatments. The report includes 15 illustrations and 16 tables.

Jan 1, 1939

By L.L. Wyman

The exact nature of the changes that take place in the iron-nickel alloys, giving rise to the interesting and useful expansion alloys in the Invar range, has yet to be fully understood. Similarly, the ternary iron-nickel-cobalt alloys, which also possess such commercially useful expansion characteristics,1,2 are concerned with transformations that appear to be identical with those found in the parent iron-nickel alloys. The investigations on iron-nickel alloys in the range 26 to 29 per cent Ni have been reported by several authors3-9 wherein it is shown that there are factors other than temperature, such as stress and grain size, which play an important part in determining the temperature at which the low-temperature transformation takes place. It will be shown in this paper that the ternary iron-nickcl-cobalt alloys having nickel contents comparable to the alloys mentioned above behave in a parallel manner. The alloys in the range of 26 to 31 per cent Ni and 16 to 21 per cent Co have a coefficient of expansion of about 4.0 X 10-6 per degree Centigrade, and the alloys in this range of composition find considerable application in making glass-to-metal seals, because these expansion properties so well match commercial glasses. The behavior of these alloys is not a simple matter, for it has been observed in alloys of 28.5 per cent Ni and 18.5 Co that severe working ran cause the appearance of a second phase having a needlelike structure similar to the martensite structure in carhon steels. Fig. 1 shows the change brought about in an alloy of this composition when a strip of this material was cut with tin shears. This second phase has been identified as the body-centered cubic alpha phase, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of some of the preliminary investigations in the study of the changes involved in these alloys. Materials The past work on these alloys has concerned itself primarily with materials made by the usual casting procedure and involving the use

Jan 1, 1939

By L. L. Wyman

The exact nature of the changes that take place in the iron-nickel alloys, giving rise to the interesting and useful expansion alloys in the Invar range, has yet to be fully understood. Similarly, the ternary iron-nickel-cobalt alloys, which also possess such commercially useful expansion characteristics,1,2 are concerned with transformations that appear to be identical with those found in the parent iron-nickel alloys. The investigations on iron-nickel alloys in the range 26 to 29 per cent Ni have been reported by several authors3-9 wherein it is shown that there are factors other than temperature, such as stress and grain size, which play an important part in determining the temperature at which the low-temperature transformation takes place. It will be shown in this paper that the ternary iron-nickcl-cobalt alloys having nickel contents comparable to the alloys mentioned above behave in a parallel manner. The alloys in the range of 26 to 31 per cent Ni and 16 to 21 per cent Co have a coefficient of expansion of about 4.0 X 10-6 per degree Centigrade, and the alloys in this range of composition find considerable application in making glass-to-metal seals, because these expansion properties so well match commercial glasses. The behavior of these alloys is not a simple matter, for it has been observed in alloys of 28.5 per cent Ni and 18.5 Co that severe working ran cause the appearance of a second phase having a needlelike structure similar to the martensite structure in carhon steels. Fig. 1 shows the change brought about in an alloy of this composition when a strip of this material was cut with tin shears. This second phase has been identified as the body-centered cubic alpha phase, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of some of the preliminary investigations in the study of the changes involved in these alloys. Materials The past work on these alloys has concerned itself primarily with materials made by the usual casting procedure and involving the use

Jan 1, 1939

By G. V. Smith, C. O. Tarr, R. F. Miller

Metallurgists have long recognized that the Fe3C type of carbide is not a stable phase in steel and that, given sufficient time, it will decompose with formation of graphite, at least at temperatures below about 205o°F.l This slow graphitization has never been of much concern to users of hypoeutectoid steels, for in such steels it occurs only during prolonged exposure at elevated temperature. In I935, Kinzel and Moore2 reported complete graphitization of the carbide of a 0. I5 per cent carbon steel that had been in service for about 26,000 hr. at a temperature of about IIOO° to 12oo°F. In discussing this paper, both Mathews and Sauveur reported graphitization of slightly hypereutectoid steels. In an extensive investigation of graphitization of high-purity iron-carbon alloys, Wells1 produced graphite at 7oo°C. (I29o°F.) in an alloy containing as little as 0.13 per cent carbon, and showed that graphite may precipitate either directly from austenite or from decomposition of Fe3C, also that the rate of graphitization tends to increase with increase of temperature, at least up to a certain point, and with the presence of graphite nuclei. Jenkins, Mellor and Jenkinson,3 studying the structural changes in carbon steels ranging from 0.17 to 1.14 per cent carbon during stress-rupture tests at elevated temperature, observed graphite in an aluminum-killed 0.40 per cent carbon steel after fracture in 4340 hr. under a stress of 17,900 lb. per sq. in. at 840°F. and in many of the steels after stress-rupture test at 12oo°F. Unstressed samples of 0.60, 0.86 and I.I4 per cent carbon steels graphitized almost completely in 360 hr. at I200°F., while samples of 0.90 and 1.10 per cent carbon steels were somewhat graphitized, and steels containing 0.24, 0.40 and 0.57 per cent carbon showed no sign of graphite. Their results indicate that graphite precipitates the more readily the higher the carbon content, though this tendency is influenced to some extent by deoxidation practice, and that graphitization is accelerated by plastic deformation. In a recent study of the graphitization of 0.4 and 0.6 per cent carbon steel strip, made by M. A. Hughes,4 it was found that at I2oo°F. graphite appeared after 72 hr. in aluminum-killed but not in silicon-killed steel, and that the rate of graphitization was increased by slow cooling from I6oo°F. and by cold-working prior to annealing. In creep tests of normalized 0.15 per cent carbon steel killed with 2.5 Ib. of aluminum per ton, at the U. S. Steel Corporation laboratory at Kearny, spheroidization and some graphitization were found after 3000 hr. at Iooo°F. under a stress as low as 1500 lb. per sq. inch. .

Jan 1, 1944

By C. O. Tarr, G. V. Smith, R. F. Miller

Metallurgists have long recognized that the Fe3C type of carbide is not a stable phase in steel and that, given sufficient time, it will decompose with formation of graphite, at least at temperatures below about 205o°F.l This slow graphitization has never been of much concern to users of hypoeutectoid steels, for in such steels it occurs only during prolonged exposure at elevated temperature. In I935, Kinzel and Moore2 reported complete graphitization of the carbide of a 0. I5 per cent carbon steel that had been in service for about 26,000 hr. at a temperature of about IIOO° to 12oo°F. In discussing this paper, both Mathews and Sauveur reported graphitization of slightly hypereutectoid steels. In an extensive investigation of graphitization of high-purity iron-carbon alloys, Wells1 produced graphite at 7oo°C. (I29o°F.) in an alloy containing as little as 0.13 per cent carbon, and showed that graphite may precipitate either directly from austenite or from decomposition of Fe3C, also that the rate of graphitization tends to increase with increase of temperature, at least up to a certain point, and with the presence of graphite nuclei. Jenkins, Mellor and Jenkinson,3 studying the structural changes in carbon steels ranging from 0.17 to 1.14 per cent carbon during stress-rupture tests at elevated temperature, observed graphite in an aluminum-killed 0.40 per cent carbon steel after fracture in 4340 hr. under a stress of 17,900 lb. per sq. in. at 840°F. and in many of the steels after stress-rupture test at 12oo°F. Unstressed samples of 0.60, 0.86 and I.I4 per cent carbon steels graphitized almost completely in 360 hr. at I200°F., while samples of 0.90 and 1.10 per cent carbon steels were somewhat graphitized, and steels containing 0.24, 0.40 and 0.57 per cent carbon showed no sign of graphite. Their results indicate that graphite precipitates the more readily the higher the carbon content, though this tendency is influenced to some extent by deoxidation practice, and that graphitization is accelerated by plastic deformation. In a recent study of the graphitization of 0.4 and 0.6 per cent carbon steel strip, made by M. A. Hughes,4 it was found that at I2oo°F. graphite appeared after 72 hr. in aluminum-killed but not in silicon-killed steel, and that the rate of graphitization was increased by slow cooling from I6oo°F. and by cold-working prior to annealing. In creep tests of normalized 0.15 per cent carbon steel killed with 2.5 Ib. of aluminum per ton, at the U. S. Steel Corporation laboratory at Kearny, spheroidization and some graphitization were found after 3000 hr. at Iooo°F. under a stress as low as 1500 lb. per sq. inch. .

Jan 1, 1944

By MAURICE ALTMAYER

M Y DUTIES, as a member of the Department of Franco-American War Cooperation of the French High Commission were to study the copper and brass industries of America from the mining of the various non-ferrous metals to the semi-finished, or finished materials. In the pursuit of these studies, it was my privilege to visit a number of industries and organizations in different parts of the country. I first visited most of the Eastern copper refineries that were supplying the Allies with vast amounts of metal. These works are producing their material by the multiple or the series process, although the first method predominates. But, regardless of the process employed all the plants attain an exceptionally high standard of quality in their production. One of the points that particularly attracted attention was the manner in which improvements could be traced from the older worlds to the more recent ones. The impression was that, thanks to a spirit of broad-minded cooperation between the principals of the companies and frequent exchanges of views between members of the staffs, all persons interested benefitted by the experience thus gained, to the advantage of the community at large.

Jan 1, 1920