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By T. C. Craig

For the year 1934, there were 382 oi1 wells completed for a total initial of 146,965 bbl. Fifty-three wells were deepened for a total increase of 8363 bbl., bringing the total volume of new oil to 155,328 bbl. As of Jan. 1, 1934, the daily potential of the field as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission was 159,740 bbl. Of this amount 26,429 bbl. is "marginal oil," and 2682 bbl. is exempt on account of water. In December, 1934, the daily potential was established by the Railroad Commission as being 297,501 bbl. with a daily allowable of 56,800 bbl. Of this amount 31,993 bbl. is "marginal oil," and 2183 bbl. is exempt on account of water. There has been no field-wide test made during the year, and as a result the rated potential of the field is in all probability much higher than the actual potential. As each new well comes in, a five-day test is made under the supervision of the Railroad Commission. The potential thus established is added to the field potential and shares its pro rata part of the market outlet, which is the allowable production, no allowance

Jan 1, 1935

By E. A. Anderson

In 1918 the American Society for Testing Materials held a symposium2 on what was then known as season cracking. The sessions included six papers, all on brass. During the ensuing 26 yr., many new workers have come into the field and several other metals have been found subject to failure by stress-corrosion cracking when the right combination of stress and environment is achieved. It is not surprising, therefore, that the present symposium has brought forth 29 papers covering alloys of seven important metals. The phenomenon of stress-corrosion cracking is not necessarily confined to these seven metals. Dix3 has stated, "Indeed, it is probable that ingenious investigators can find solutions which will stress-corrosion crack any known metal or alloy." Mears, Brown, and Dix4 have indicated that stress- corrosion cracking failures are not necessarily limited to metals but may include the plastics. It is to be expected that the increase in the number of metals known to crack in service and the general emphasis on such failures at a symposium such as this will alarm many to whom the subject is un- familiar. Such alarm is not justified by the record. It is true that stress-corrosion

Jan 1, 1945

Jan 1, 1965

IlAbad, Leopoldo F , Min Engr , Div of Mines, Bureau of Science, Manda, P I '23 ||Abadilla, Quince, A , Cia Minera de Petrolco El Aguila, S A Box 86, Puerto Mexico, Ver , Mexico '20 ||Abarquez, Ramon F , Met , Bureau of Science Manila, P I '24 ||Abbey, Robert Graham, Student, Case School of Applied Science Cleveland, Ohio '21 Abbott, A N , Mines Supt, Mazapil Copper Co , Ltd Concepcion del Oro, Zac , Mexico '23 Abbott, Clarence E , Gen'l Supt , Iron Mines Div , Tenn Coal, Iron & R R Co , 1405 Minnesota Ave , Bessemer, Ala '04 Abbott, Louis Benjamin, Chief Engr , Consolidation Coal Co , Elkhorn Div Jenkins, Ky '15 Abbott, Robert R , Met Engr , Peerless Motor Car Co Cle veland, Ohio '12 ||Abbott, Wells Osborn, Ray Consolidated Copper Co Hayden, Ariz '23 Abeel, George H , Jr, Cons Min Engr 4612 W 17th St, Los Angeles, Cal '18 Abel, Albert E, Asst to Pres, Valley Mould & Iron Corpn Sharpsville, Pa '19 Abernathy, George Elmer, Prof Geol & Min , Kansas State Teachers College Pittsburg, Kans '20 Abey, Hiroshi, Min & Met Engr, Takata & Co , 2 Yeirakucho, Nichome, ICojimachi-ku, - Tokyo, Japan '17 ||Aborn, Robert H 24 Groveland St , Auburndale, Mass '19 Abouchar, Sylvain Sley, Min Engr & Geol , Care of S H Sekaly, 13 Rue El Nimr, Cairo, Egypt '17 ?Abraham, Arthur W 1626 N Alexandria Ave, Los Angeles, Cal '21 Abrahams, Alexander I, Gen'l Mgr, Ricon Electrical Co Slough, London, England '13 ||Abrahamson, C Walter, Min Engr, Brule Min Co Stambaugh, Mich '21 Abrams, Charles Jackson, Mill Supt, Utah Apex Min Co Bingham Canyon, Utah '21 Abrams, David H, Cons Min Engr 182 Worth St, Johnstown, Pa '20 ?Acker, E O'C , Met 128 East Washington Lane, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa '86

Jan 1, 1923

By Neville J. Price

In order that the reader may not be misled, I feel it necessary to comment upon the title of this paper. "Laws of Rock Behavior," one may take as being part of the all-embracing "Law of Nature" and this, according to the Oxford Dictionary, relates to the principles of conduct recognized as being pleasing to God. I feel it would be presumptuous to erect a code of rock behavior on this basis, so turn to a secondary definition, namely that a "Law" is that which is intrinsically reasonable. It is extremely unlikely that any group of geologists, or workers in rock mechanics would be in complete agreement about what could be taken to be "intrinsically reasonable." Therefore, this paper does not present any deified utterances, but rather deals with a few aspects of rock behavior which I consider to be intrinsically reasonable and with which I hope the reader will concur. The mode of behavior of rocks in the Earth's crust covers the range from wholly brittle to completely ductile ; with a deformation time scale which may be measured in milliseconds, for some events such as meteoritic impact, or in millions of years for the tectonic deformation involved in mountain building. A complete survey is, of course, outside the scope of an introductory paper, so I must be both brief and selective in my treatment. Any attempt to establish the mode of rock behavior in the Earth's crust should take into account data and relationships established in laboratory experiments and correlate these with field evidence. Consequently, the first section of this paper presents a brief discussion of the experimental aspects of rock mechanics which are pertinent to the subsequent discussion.

Jan 1, 1970

Map

Jan 1, 1958

By Edward Griffith

The anthracite industry, which produces about 50 million net tons of coal annually, has been talked of as being able to last for another century; but if the water record of the past century continues into the expected century, this expectation of many years production still to come out of the remaining reserves will not be attained. The industry will be a submerged one in fact as well as in name. A recorded forecast of what has since occurred appears on page 34 of the Mine Inspectors' reports of 1897: It should also be noticed that bodies of water had accumulated in parts of abandoned mines before duplicate surveys of the same were required by law; and as a result we have today to contend with bodies of water, the exact location and position of which are not correctly known. Since that date, 47 years ago, the implications of the foregoing comment have grown enormously. This is shown in Fig. I and in the following table showing flooded and partially flooded areas that have come into existence since the early 1930's in the northern anthracite field: Number of Year Flooded Areas 1932...................... 2 1933...................... 3 1934..................... 3 1935...................... 5 1936...................... 7 1937...................... 9 1938.................... 11 1939...................... 11 1940...................... 11 1941...................... 14 1942...................... 14 1944...................... 26 Similar conditions exist in other fields in the anthracite region. In the period between 1923 and 1940, abandonment of collieries in the southern field resulted in the flooding of approximately 60 sq. miles (30 per cent) of the field. The ahandonment of collieries in this field has imposed additional expense for pumping on the collieries still operating. This condition will be aggravated by the extension of developments and cause suspension of operations if economic conditions do not justify the assumption of additional pumping costs. During the years, the region's rainfall has not altered, but the quantity going inside the mines through breakages in the surface, brought about by extraction of the coal, has increased materially, as indicated by the ratio of tons of water pumped to tons of coal produced underground for one of the large companies in the northern anthracite field: Year Ratio 1920................. 8.4:1 1925.................. 10.6:I I930.................. II.4:I 1935................. 26.2:1 1940.................. 32.7: I 1942.................. 30.3:I The data in Table I shows the total amount of water pumped and its ratio to underground production for one of the large companies in the southern anthracite field, and shows a rapidly growing serious situation. Rainfall quickly affects the workings in all the fields. In mine inspection district 7 of the southern field the rainfall in 1935 was 92,083,000,000 gal. The total water pumped was 36,274,000,000 gal. (39.4 per cent of the rainfall). The operating mines

Jan 1, 1947

By Edward Griffith

The anthracite industry, which produces about 50 million net tons of coal annually, has been talked of as being able to last for another century; but if the water record of the past century continues into the expected century, this expectation of many years production still to come out of the remaining reserves will not be attained. The industry will be a submerged one in fact as well as in name. A recorded forecast of what has since occurred appears on page 34 of the Mine Inspectors' reports of 1897: It should also be noticed that bodies of water had accumulated in parts of abandoned mines before duplicate surveys of the same were required by law; and as a result we have today to contend with bodies of water, the exact location and position of which are not correctly known. Since that date, 47 years ago, the implications of the foregoing comment have grown enormously. This is shown in Fig. I and in the following table showing flooded and partially flooded areas that have come into existence since the early 1930's in the northern anthracite field: Number of Year Flooded Areas 1932...................... 2 1933...................... 3 1934..................... 3 1935...................... 5 1936...................... 7 1937...................... 9 1938.................... 11 1939...................... 11 1940...................... 11 1941...................... 14 1942...................... 14 1944...................... 26 Similar conditions exist in other fields in the anthracite region. In the period between 1923 and 1940, abandonment of collieries in the southern field resulted in the flooding of approximately 60 sq. miles (30 per cent) of the field. The ahandonment of collieries in this field has imposed additional expense for pumping on the collieries still operating. This condition will be aggravated by the extension of developments and cause suspension of operations if economic conditions do not justify the assumption of additional pumping costs. During the years, the region's rainfall has not altered, but the quantity going inside the mines through breakages in the surface, brought about by extraction of the coal, has increased materially, as indicated by the ratio of tons of water pumped to tons of coal produced underground for one of the large companies in the northern anthracite field: Year Ratio 1920................. 8.4:1 1925.................. 10.6:I I930.................. II.4:I 1935................. 26.2:1 1940.................. 32.7: I 1942.................. 30.3:I The data in Table I shows the total amount of water pumped and its ratio to underground production for one of the large companies in the southern anthracite field, and shows a rapidly growing serious situation. Rainfall quickly affects the workings in all the fields. In mine inspection district 7 of the southern field the rainfall in 1935 was 92,083,000,000 gal. The total water pumped was 36,274,000,000 gal. (39.4 per cent of the rainfall). The operating mines

Jan 1, 1947

By J. Greenspan

The anisotropy of fracture and slip, that is, the brittleness and ductility of the beryllium single crystal, is characteristic also of po1ycrystalline beryllium in which the grains are oriented in a preferred manner. Beryllium with grain orientations resulting from hot working either unidirectionally or bidirectionally is ductile or brittle in directions given by the anisotropy and orientation of the grains. Textures developed from various hot-working sequences are given, and tensile results are correlated with textures. Not only texture, but fine grain size is necessary for obtaining high tensile elongation. Ultimate tensile strength and elongation are both correlated with grain diameter. Of particular interest is the case in which unusually high tensile elongations of 30 to 40 pct are obtained when basal planes are oriented to carry THE beryllium crystal (of nominal purity) is probably unique among metals with respect to its unusually acute anisotropy of slip and fracture. While extensive slip can occur on the system (1010) [ll20] starting at about 19,000 psi, the (0001) plane is particularly vulnerable to fracture at 4500 psi or less. Fracture occurs also on the (11zo) plane at about 26,000 psi.1"3 Further, there seems to be no other slip System which contributes significantly to

Jan 1, 1960

By Norman Weiss

THE need for more efficient utilization of labor in the metal-mining industry has been the subject of several recent editorials in the mining press, and one attractive possibility for such improvement lies in the designing of future milling plants particularly with economy of man-power in mind. We are accustomed to think of mill design as the selection and coordinated arrangement of process equipment, but if labor is to be efficiently utilized it must be given early consideration in planning the new mill. There are three good reasons for economizing in labor: (I) to reduce costs, not only in the form of wages but also in housing, hospital, welfare, and other obligations that a company accepts when a new man is added to the payroll; (2) to prepare for recurrent periods of manpower shortage, during which a well-designed plant can manage to get along with skeleton crews; (3) because a milling plant that must depend upon an inordinately large labor force for its operation and maintenance is certain to be inefficient in other respects, for many of the shortcomings in design that make necessary the excessive use of labor are generally not corrected merely by having too many men. A simple example of this is a poorly designed ore-feeding system: if this is inadequate to the extent that one man must be constantly unclogging feed chutes, it may help the situation to put two men or three at this task instead of one, but the feed rate will still be inconstant. First of the factors that affect labor saving is the location of the mill. This is often determined by transportation costs alone, and as a result the mill may be placed close to the mine regardless of the nature of the terrain. The designer must then adapt his layout to the conditions, favorable or not. This happens often at small properties, where capital investment may seem more important than operating expense. In most instances, however, a mill site carefully selected for the advantages it gives the designer in laying out the plant is the most economical in the long run, even if it involves a slight increase in cost of ore haulage. Given some freedom of choice, the design engineer may be able to find just the piece of ground that provides the proper gradient for the needs of the flowsheet, permits installation of essential yards and trackage, and perhaps supplies an excellent site for a tailing dam. Further justification for having placed the mill not too close to the mine sometimes emerges only years later as an opportunity to treat ores from other properties. When it is known from the beginning that the new mill will serve a number of scattered mines, a free choice of mill site is naturally stimulated. The most important single factor in limiting the labor requirements of a mill is its materials-handling system for bring-

Jan 1, 1946

By J. C. Kerkering, P. M. Daling

This paper discusses a study performed to evaluate the feasibility of transferring formal system safety assessment technology to the mining industry. A representative listing of formal techniques was evaluated to select the most useful methods for the mining industry to implement. Criteria for selecting methods included the interests, needs, and requirements of mine safety officials. This paper describes one of the selected methods, preliminary hazards analysis (PHA), and illustrates the analysis procedure for a mining example. This study also includes an assessment of the adaptability of selected methods to a user-interactive computer system for use by mine safety personnel. This paper includes a description of a conceptual computerized PHA-type safety program that facilitates performance of the safety analysis and can accommodate updates and revisions as necessary.

Jan 1, 1983

By F. B. Sherman, Keros Cartwright

Sanitary land filling has become one of the most widely used methods of disposing of solid refuse. A principal concern of regulatory agencies and the public itself is that landfill operations do not degrade the physical environment, including water resources, and the ground-water reservoir in particular. Knowledge of ground-water and engineering geology can guide landfill operations into suitable terranes or develop measures to compensate for natural limitations at a particular site. Experience and research in Illinois suggest four activities relating to landfill disposal that warrant attention by geologists and engineers: (1) regional delineation of favorable and unfavorable hydrogeologic conditions to facilitate planning and preliminary screening of potential landfill sites; (2) site evaluations, with considerations of geologic materials, topography, water levels, flow systems, and local occurrence and use of water resources; (3) research on aspects of the hydrogeologic environment that control effects of, or are modified by, landfills; and (4) formulation of practices in the siting, construction, and operation of landfills that prevent, mitigate, or isolate deleterious effects. The first two activities are basically in the domain of earth science, requiring the application of fundamental concepts of geology and hydrology and conventional site-exploration methods. The third activity, research, requires contributions from geology as well as other disciplines, including soil physics, sanitary engineering, and chemistry. The fourth calls for policy decisions by regulatory agencies and elected officials, using the contributions of scientists and engineers. Throughout history, man has disposed of unwanted materials by dumping. As urbanization has increased, haphazard dumping practices have given way to disposal under more controlled conditions because of increasing congestion of population and production of waste and greater concern for public health and environmental amenities. Many states and communities have already outlawed open dumping and open burning of refuse. The only practical methods of disposal of large volumes of refuse, therefore, are contained, high-temperature incineration, or burial in a sanitary landfill. In Illinois, regulation of solid waste disposal has been delegated to the Environmental Protection Agency. Each session of the legislature since 1965 has passed increasingly strict laws regulating waste diposal. As a result, the work of evaluating sanitary landfill sites has increased significantly for both the Department of Public Health, now the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Illinois State Geological Survey, which advises the Agency on matters of ground-water geology and pollution. In fact, our ground-water staff spends as much time on studies relating to waste disposal, primarily sanitary landfills, as on ground-water resource studies. Many other geological agencies are experiencing similar demands for increased assistance in solving waste-disposal problems. This paper summarizes some of the salient features of the sanitary landfill concept, describes activities of the Illinois Geological Survey in ground-water and engineering geology relating to landfills, and suggests policies that need consideration. A sanitary landfill is located and operated in such a way that vermin and pests, nuisances, and degradation of air and water are kept at acceptable levels. Some of the physical requirements of a sanitary landfill are all-weather roads for year-round access, fences to retain blowing paper, a daily cover of at least six inches of suitable earth material, and a final cover of at least 2 ft of earth material. Dumping into or adjacent to standing water generally is not allowed. Two common operating techniques are used. In the first, trenches are dug, the refuse is placed in them, and the earth removed from the trenches is used to cover the waste. In the second method, area fill, refuse is placed in low ground and covered with earth from adjacent high areas. The hydrology of the site is a prime consideration in locating sanitary landfills. Putrescible refuse, if saturated above field capacity, produces a leachate that usually has a high concentration of dissolved solids.2 As the leachate also acts as an agent for transporting bacterial pollutants, it constitutes a potential pollution hazard. To reduce the production of leachates, the topography of the landfill area should be such that surface water will not flow into or through the fill. Operations that will result in refuse disposal below or near the highest known water-table elevation may be required to take corrective or preventive measures to protect the ground water. In practice, under humid conditions such as prevail in Illinois, locations where disposal can take place above the water table are relatively few because surficial materials are commonly fine-grained, which permits slow gravity drainage and results in high degrees of saturation (100% moisture content) near the surface. At some sites, although disposal has taken place above the water table, ground-water mounds have developed, resulting in permanent saturation of the refuse. Permeability barriers usually are required to protect the ground-water reservoir from degradation by leachates. The convention in Illinois is to have a minimum of

Jan 1, 1972

By Joseph M. Locke

The discovery of this asphaltum was made by S. H. Gilson, of Salt Lake, and since then the material has borne the local name of Gilsonite. So far as I have been able to ascertain, however, the first published notice of this discovery was made by Prof. W. P. Blake in the Engineering arid Mining Journal, of December 26, 1885, where he names the new mineral Uintahite, from the place of its discovery, the Uintah Mountains in eastern Utah. The priority of publication and the geographical fitness of the name will probably secure its acceptance by mineralogists.* The following is Prof. Blake's article. In the month of September last, a sample of peculiar asphalt was received for examination, and recently when in Provo, Utah, I had the opportunity of seeing a considerable quantity brought in from the Uintah Mountains. It is obtained in masses several inches in diameter, and apparently free from mechanically disseminated impurities. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, is very brittle, and is readily reduced to powder in a mortar. Hardness, 2 to 25. Gravity, 1.065 to 1.070. Color, black, brilliant, and lustrous; streak and powder, a rich brown. It is a non-conductor of electricity, and is electrically excited by friction.

Jan 1, 1888

By Roger L. Beals, George A. Tweedy

I. INTRODUCTION. THE results of the cyanide-operations, given in detail in the following paper, show the progress that is being made at the Minas del Tajo. The old pan-amalgamation process, in operation up to and including 1905, while paying a profit on high-grade ores, was no longer able to treat profitably the ores in sight at that time, hence an alteration in the process was imperative. The success of this alteration is eloquently expressed by the following data Pan- Amalgamation. Cyanidation. 1905. 1907. 1903. Tons treated, . . 51,387 53,983 69,300 Value per ton (U. S. currency),. $10.75 $8.39 $8.28 Extraction, per cent., 65.00 88.50 S7.45 Extraction, per ton. .- $7.00 $7.4.; $7.24 Total cost, per ton treated, 6.50 4.311 4.01 Profit, per ton treated, . . 0.50 3.07 3.23.;

Feb 1, 1910

By Dever Ashmead

ANTHRACITE was first mined in the Wyoming Valley and sold as an article of commerce in 1808. As some preparation has always been necessary to make it ready to burn, the preparation of anthracite must date back over a hundred years. Two vital factors have determined to a large extent the degree and method of anthracite preparation. These are, first, the character of the beds worked and the methods by which they were mined and, second, the equipment used and practices followed in the burning of the coal. It is not the intention here to go deeply into these phases of preparation as a paper of no mean length could be prepared on the history of either. Rather, the intention here is to point out the main considerations and to show the influence they have exerted on the preparation of anthracite. MINING METHODS AND THEIR RELATION TO PREPARATION In the beginning f the nineteenth century, the coal beds were virgin with the possible exception of some outcroppings that had been worked, to a slight extent, by the Indians. It is known that the American aborigines had a knowledge of the use of this fuel, because when the Wyoming Valley was purchased from them, in 1754, they mentioned the fact that, by selling the land, they would lose their coal.

Jan 9, 1921

By M. B. Ramachandra Roa

This paper records the results of the earth resistivity surveys made in the Godavari River in connection with the Ramapadasagar project. After describing the topographical and geological features of the area, the results of the investigation at the several sites have been mentioned. Further, a detailed account has been given of the resistivity methods adopted, the apparatus used and the interpretation of the curves. The resistivity measurements carried out over the water course have been specially outlined, and a review of the verification of the electrical indications by drilling in a number of cases, has also been presented. Introduction The Government of Madras has under consideration the Ramapadasagar project which is estimated to cost some Rs.660,-000,000 (about two hundred million dollars). The most essential feature of this project is the construction of a high dam across the Godavari near Polavaram for impounding the waters of this great river of South India, whose maximum discharge is 2 million cu secs in flood time. It is estimated that when the proposed reservoir is constructed, about one million tons of rice could be produced annually under irrigation. To those who have had any acquaintance at all with the recent distressing famine conditions which India has passed through and is still undergoing, the Lounteous effects which this project will bring about to the country in the future, are obvious. In the region of the proposed reservoir, the river flows for several miles through a hilly tract, hemmed in between flanks of hard, solid rock; but the river bed is mostly sandy. A few bore holes put down in this sandy bed touched rock at a depth of 180 to 200 ft. The river bed is about jo ft above the mean sea level (m.s.l.) and the bedrock was found at —125 to —160 ft m.s.l. The crest of the dam is proposed at +162 ft m.s.l. The proposed dam mould therefore be about 120 to 130 ft above the river bed, and the foundations would have to reach down nearly zoo ft below the bed at the deepest part. A number of alternative sites were proposed for investigation, and it became necessary to quickly ascertain the bedrock topography at these sites. Dr. M. S. Krishnan,* who was consulted in the matter, furnished a detailed account of the geological features of the region and suggested a geophysical investigation which the writer carried out from February to April 1944, employing solely the electrical resistivity methods. The total length of the survey lines for the electrical measurements amounted to 62,600 ft and the number of resistivity determinations was about 2500. Altogether nine alignments for the dam were inten-

Jan 1, 1949

By D. L. McElroy

SAFETY in coal mining received especial attention by the public in general and the mining industry in particular during 1940 and early in 1941, owing primarily to the six explosion disasters which occurred last year with a total of 276 fatalities. This was the largest number of fatalities due to explosions in bituminous coal mines since 1928, when 347 lives were so lost. But facilities due to explosions have had a definite decreasing trend since 1907, in spite of bad years such as 1917, 1924, 1932, 1937, and 1940. Although the upswing in explosion fatalities in 1940 is lamented by all, none will admit it represents a trend and it will serve mainly to stimulate ways and means of further reducing these disasters.

Jan 1, 1941

By John H. Schissler

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY Complex copper-lead-zinc ore is mined from underground workings high in the Western Cordillera of the Andes mountains about 100 km in a stralght line north of the city of Arequipa in southern Peru. The Madrigal mine is situated in a steep-walled canyon into which the six operating levels "daylight". Production is from cut-and-fill stopes currently producing approximately 740 dry metric tons per day. The Santa Rosa vein, the most important producer in the district, outcrops for a distance of about 4 km, bearing N 75º W and dipping about 70º NE. In places the vein splits into two or three branches; widths of each vary between 1 and 4 m and total mineralized widths of up to over 8 m occur. Principal ore minerals are chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite. Ore reserve grades for the Madrigal mine average about 1.45% Cu, 2.6% Pb and 5.0% Zn, 2.9 ozAg per metric ton. [Compania] Minera del Madrigal is a California limited partnership; the general partner and operator is [Compania] Madrigal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Homestake Mining Company. HISTORY Shallow workings found on the Santa Rosa vein were probably made by the Spaniards during colonial times in their search for

Jan 1, 1977

By H. E. Wheeler

The work described was carried out during 1917 and 1918 at the testing laboratory of Watertown Arsenal at the instigation of the Nitrate Division and later with the concurrence of the Cannon Section of the Ordnance Department, U. 8. A. The experiments follow three principal lines of work: First, the effect of nitrogen under pressure on steel containers of various compositions at a red heat; second, the effect of decomposing ammonia on various alloy steels, iron, and non-ferrous alloys; third, a new theory of the erosion of guns in respect to the effect of nitrogen in steel. Part I In the Haber process for the manufacture of ammonia from its elcnlents, it is necessary to have nitrogen and hydrogen of 1500 lb. per sq. in. (105.5 kg. per sq. cm.) at a temperature of 500 to 600' C. The steel containers for these gases gave trouble by failing without apparent cause. When the General Chemical Co. began to develop its method for the production of ammonia, it experienced the same difficulty and, knowing that the Haber process had solved the difficulty by the use of alloy steels, it made several small steel bottles of different compositions and kept them filled with these gases at this pressure and temperature until they failed. The time of service varied from a few days, for the plain steel casting, to two years for a chrome-vanadium forging. Four of these steel bottles were sent to this laboratory for investigation; they were a plain carbon-steel forging, a nickel-stee1 forging, a chrome-vanadium steel forging, and a chrome-steel forging. The time of service was as follows: plain carbon steel, 4 mo.; nickel steel, 6 mo.; chrome-vanadium steel, over 2 yr.; chrome steel, 4 mo. When these containers were cut open and the cross-section surface polished, they showed an inside zone with a different luster from the rest of the metal. Upon etching, this zone was almost unaffected while the rest of the steel etched normally.

Jan 1, 1922

By H. E. Wheeler

The work described was carried out during 1917 and 1918 at the testing laboratory of Watertown Arsenal at the instigation of the Nitrate Division and later with the concurrence of the Cannon Section of the Ordnance Department, U. 8. A. The experiments follow three principal lines of work: First, the effect of nitrogen under pressure on steel containers of various compositions at a red heat; second, the effect of decomposing ammonia on various alloy steels, iron, and non-ferrous alloys; third, a new theory of the erosion of guns in respect to the effect of nitrogen in steel. Part I In the Haber process for the manufacture of ammonia from its elcnlents, it is necessary to have nitrogen and hydrogen of 1500 lb. per sq. in. (105.5 kg. per sq. cm.) at a temperature of 500 to 600' C. The steel containers for these gases gave trouble by failing without apparent cause. When the General Chemical Co. began to develop its method for the production of ammonia, it experienced the same difficulty and, knowing that the Haber process had solved the difficulty by the use of alloy steels, it made several small steel bottles of different compositions and kept them filled with these gases at this pressure and temperature until they failed. The time of service varied from a few days, for the plain steel casting, to two years for a chrome-vanadium forging. Four of these steel bottles were sent to this laboratory for investigation; they were a plain carbon-steel forging, a nickel-stee1 forging, a chrome-vanadium steel forging, and a chrome-steel forging. The time of service was as follows: plain carbon steel, 4 mo.; nickel steel, 6 mo.; chrome-vanadium steel, over 2 yr.; chrome steel, 4 mo. When these containers were cut open and the cross-section surface polished, they showed an inside zone with a different luster from the rest of the metal. Upon etching, this zone was almost unaffected while the rest of the steel etched normally.

Jan 1, 1922