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By J. J. Jakosky

A REVIEW of the progress in applied geophysics during the recent depression years reveals marked advances over the methods employed several years ago. Of late, geophysical work has been curtailed to a Con-siderable extent in the fields of oil and base-metal exploration, its especial domains a few years ago. Greater attention has been directed toward the use of geophysical technique in other engineering problems. Constantly maintained research programs have developed new instruments and per-fected better field, laboratory and interpretation techniques based on experience and skill acquired from years of application in the older geophysical field. During the past two years, geophysical methods have been employed in problems that required information on thickness of fill materials and subsurface bedrock contours. Considerable success has been attained, with subsequent drilling checking the predicted depths within one to five per cent. In general, these problems were similar as far as the fundamen-tal physical and geological conditions were concerned, but they have varied widely in specific detail and in engineering aspects. Character-istic of the different problems are: (1) yardage and bedrock profile in gold-placer mining; (2) water supply, involving underground drainage and storage conditions; (3) bedrock contours in dam-site and other structural investigations; (4) gravel and fill yardage, and other structural features along rights of way and in rock and gravel quarrying. Of particular interest, perhaps, to mining men are the problems of gold placer deposits and water supply. Geophysical work on gold placers is of especial interest because of the present expanded activity in all phases of gold mining. The development of a suitable water supply at an economical cost is often of prime importance in insuring a successful mining venture. Particularly is this true in the arid Southwest. How-ever, the use of geophysical work in water supply is not confined to the needs of mining development.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. S. Keh, H. A. Wriedt

The Precipitation of nitrides in quenched Fe-N alloys, aged between 25° and 200°C, was studied by transmission electron microscopy. Different dislocation substructures were introduced into the materials by recrystallization, cold working, and by Phase transformation prior to the introduction of nitrogen. It was found that the precipitated nitrides, tentatively identified as Fe16N2, have (100) habit planes. Nucleation takes place Preferentially at dislocations and at subboundaries. It sometimes occurs in the matrix, probably on vacancy clusters, but rarely on high-angle boundaries. The process of nucleation on dislocations and subboundaries is very temperature dependent. At room temperature there is no particular orientation relationship between the dislocations involved and the (100) planes on which the nitride Particles formed. With increasing temperature, the nucleation sites tend to become restricted to those dislocation segments lying in (100) planes. The change of yield stress of the 0.022 and 0.043 pet N alloys during quench aging can be correlated semiquantitatively with the change in particle distribution. Strain aging in quenched alloys can be separated into two stages. The early stage is attributed to nitrogen segregation to dislocations and the later stage is associated with precipitation. When previously quench-aged specimens were strained and aged, no additional Precipitates could be seen, although a considerable amount of strain aging occurred. DURING the past two decades, the precipitation of nitrides from a iron has been extensively studied by various techniques. It has been established that two types of nitride exist. The stable nitride, Fe4N, forms at temperatures above 250oC and Fe16N2, the

Jan 1, 1962

Mining and Metallurgy of Lead and Zinc, AIME Vol. 121, edited by Dr. C. R. Hayward in 1936, remains a document of importance today even though 34 years have passed in the meantime. Since nothing in this world seems to be permanent, however, and progress brings new and better ways to do things, a two-volume set has just been published to bring the state of the art of 1936 up to date. This two-volume set, Mining and Concentrating of Lead and Zinc and Extractive Metallurgy of Lead and zinc, incorporates the papers to be presented during the Proceedings of the 1970 World Symposium on the Mining and Metallurgy of Lead and Zinc. The Symposium is being held October 20-24, 1970, in St. Louis, a site near to the famous Lead Belt of southeast Missouri. Some eighty papers are bound in these two volumes covering exploration, geology, mining, concentrating, roasting, smelting, electrolytic processing, residue fuming, refining, etc. All of this is laced with data on tonnages, processes, assays and efficiencies obtained, and the man-hours and equipment needed to achieve these performances.

Jan 1, 1970

By D. Malhotra, R. M. Hoover, F. N. Bender

The paper discusses the effect of aeration and agitation on grade and recovery of molybdenite. A series of factorially designed flotation tests were carried out in a "Leeds Automatic Laboratory Flotation Cell." Analysts of flotation results indicate that molybdenite has fast floating and slow floating components. The rates of fast floating components, which do not create a problem inflotation, could be varied by changing agitation or airflow rates. However, the rate of slow floating components was stable and was only a function of residence time. Aeration has a significant effect on the grade of MoS2 and only a slight effect on the recovery of MoS2. Agitation has a slight effect on the grade, but does not effect the recovery of molybdenite. The implications of the results on the design of flotation cells and control and optimization of the existing circuits are also considered.

Jan 1, 1981

By Benjamin C. Craft

A review of development in North Louisiana during 1936 centers around the Rodessa field, in Caddo Parish. Continued extension of the

Jan 1, 1937

By Robert H. Merrill, David W. Wisecarver, Raymond M. Stateham

The US. Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with US. Borax and Chemical Corp. and Kennecott Copper Corp., has investigated the use of the microseismic method to evaluate the stability of large, open-pit slope walls. The method is based on the phenomenon that stressed rock normally emits subaudible rock noises, and the number of rock noises per unit time (noise rate) and the magnitude of the rock noises (amplitude) increase as the stresses in the rock approach the failure stress of the rock. Therefore, the detection and recording of those rock noises serve as a semiquantitative method of predicting the incipient failure of rock. This report briefly describes the three different types of micro-seismic apparatus, the procedures, and the results of microseismic investigations in the slope walls of the Boron mine near Boron, CaL, and the Kimbley, Liberty, and Tripp-Veteran open-pit mines near Ely, Nev. Microseismic monitoring within a frequency band of SO to 5000 Hz indicates noise rates in stable, inactive mining areas are between 0 and 10 noises per hour; the rates in stable, active mining areas are between 10 and 50 noises per hour; and the rate in unstable areas is as high as 2500 noises per hour. High microseismic noise rates in the Liberty pit correlate with the time of nearby earthquakes, indicating that the earthquakes affected the slope wall. The results provide evidence that the microseismic technique is applicable to large pit walls, and that the wide-band, wide-range microseismic equipment appears to be suitable for open-pit investigations. The microseismic method is based on the phenomenon that stressed rock normally emits subaudible rock noises, and the number of rock noises per unit time (noise rate) and the magnitude of the rock noises (amplitude) increase as the stresses in the rock approach the failure stress of the rock. Therefore, the detection and recording of those rock noises serve as a semiquantitative method of predicting the incipient failure of rock. The method has been used for many years to detect incipient failure in roofs or pillars in underground mines. In 1963 the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) started an investigation of the microseismic method in large, open-pit slope walls. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the method in open-pit slopes where the rock may be fractured and broken and where the size of the rock mass under investigation is much larger than normally encountered underground. In addition, both the stresses in the rock and the strength of rock near pits are lower than usually found underground. Consequently, there was some doubt concerning the feasibility of the method for open pits, and the economics of such an investigation may have been prohibitive especially if large walls had to be monitored with closely spaced geophones. The successful application of the microseismic method to underground operations has improved safety at little, or no sacrifice, to production or extraction ratios. The anticipated reward in open-pit mining would be the improvement of safety with a minimum sacrifice to mining operations. There is also a possibility that the method could be used to optimize the unloading (stripping) of potential failure areas by the removal of intact rock from the slope wall rather than the cleanup of a slide from the bottom of the pit. This report contains a brief description of three types of microseismic apparatus used in four different pit walls, each of which is different in height, slope, rock types, or has different planes of weaknesses, such as faults, fractures, or joints. Because the geologic features of the pit walls are varied and complex, for brevity, this report dwells mostly on the microseismic apparatus, techniques, the rock noise rates, and the slope movements measured at the various sites. PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT The microseismic method was developed over 20 years ago; and the method and examples of investigations in underground mines are summarized by Obert and Duvall. 1 In more recent years, the method has been applied in several underground mines, and an in-situ test under controlled stress conditions is described by Morgan and Merrill. 2 Experience has shown that, on occasions, the microseismic noise rate and amplitude reach a peak value and then start to decrease before a failure occurs in an underground mine; on other occasions, the noise rate steadily increases to a maximum at failure. The method has been applied to slopes by Goodman and Blake,3 and by Paulsen. 4 Goodman and Blake found that the noises corresponded with failures in the slope

Jan 1, 1970

By Fred D. Gustafson

With the postwar emergency for new housing and for new industrial buildings, much research has been done on lightweight aggregates for use in concrete and plaster. The trend toward lighter weight aggregates to relieve the dead load on the higher, steel frame- work buildings started toward the end of the last century. Progressively the requirements be- came more stringent, crushed bank slag, weighing 80 lb per cu ft as com- pared to 100 lb for crushed rock, was supplemented in some sections by foamed slags and expanded shales weighing from 40 to 60 lb per cu ft. In other sections cinders were used weighing from 40 to 50 lb, including sand. Sections favored with more recent vulcanism turned to pumice weighing from 30 to 60 lb, whereas other localities made use of diatomite, from 28 to 40 lb. Exfoliated vermiculite weighing from only 6 to 10 lb per cu ft came into use. As the search for lighter weights in aggregates continued so did the search for other desirable properties such as nailability, ease of cutting or channeling, and good insulation to both sound and heat. This search eventually led to a widespread interest in the expansion of perlite, or similar volcanic glasses, with the result that in 1946, the Office of the Housing Expediter' listed eleven firms reporting the operation of processing plants either on pilot or commercial scale producing aggregates weighing from 2 to 16 lb per cu ft.

Jan 1, 1949

By James E. Adler, Timothy C. Richmond

The Stillwater District is located in south central Montana approximately 75 miles southwest of Billings, the state's largest city. It lies along the northeast front of the Beartooth Mountains and is within the boundaries of the Custer and Galatin National Forests. The first white visitors in the district were the early trappers, who were soon followed by the prospectors. These early prospectors were drawn to the area by gold and silver discoveries at Cooke City in 1870 as well as by the large gossan formation in Verdigris Creek near the west bank of the Stillwater River and by several scattered smaller gossan exposures throughout the area. The first patented mining claims were recorded in September, 1886.

Jan 3, 1974

By R. W. Powers, M. V. Doyle

ThE solution of a diatomic gas such as 0, or N2 in a metal usually follows Sieverts' law; i. e., Here C is the solute concentration at equilibrium and P, the gas pressure. The proportionality constant Ks is also the equilibrium constant for the reaction 1/2 02 (at pressure, P) - 0 (in solution at [21 concentration., C). to use oxygen as an illustrative gas. Sieverts' law is therefore interpreted to indicate that diatomic gases go into metallic solution atomically and that the solute "gas" atoms interact negligibly with each other. Of course, this interpretation is strictly valid only over the temperature interval in which the reaction indicated in [Z] can be investigated. At temperatures several hundreds of degrees below this interval, the possibility of interactions between solute atoms is conceivable. Indeed, from internal-friction measurements some evidence for the existence of groupings of oxygen atoms in tantalum solid solutions was presented a few years ago.1,2 Over a range of solute concentration, the experimental oxygen internal-friction peak in tantalum, measured as a function of temperature at constant frequency of vibration, can be described as the sum of two elemental peaks, each corresponding to a separate relaxation process. At 0.7 cps, the height of the elemental peak found at 137°C is proportional to the oxygen content, whereas the height of the one at 162°C varies as the square of the oxygen concentration. The 137°C peak was presumed to arise from the stress-induced ordering of oxygen atoms among various classes of octahedral sites in the manner proposed by Snoek.3 The 162°C peak was attributed to a somewhat similar stress-induced ordering process, in which each oxygen atom was interacting with a neighboring oxygen atom. Similarly, the experimental peak due to nitrogen in tantalum can also be described as the sum of two peaks. The height of one varies as the nitrogen concentration and the other as the square of this quantity. In fact, some evidence of solute interactions exist for all oxygen and nitrogen solid solutions of Group V transition metals. However, the interaction energy was not obtained previously for any alloy. The determination of this quantity, as a part of a more intensive study of the interaction between oxygen atoms in solid solution in tantalum, is reported in this paper. PRINCIPLE OF THE EXPERIMENT Consider an equilibrium in a solid solution of tantalum between oxygen atoms which are bound together pairwise and those solute oxygen atoms which are not so associated. 20 (Ta) - O2 (Ta) [3]

Jan 1, 1960

By D. S. Choi, R. Stefanko

There are a number of complex factors that influence the effectiveness of anchorage to maintain tension in rock bolts. However, a plastic analysis of the anchorage site employing certain simplifying assumptions with application of the Mohr-Coulomb criterion appears to explain the observed phenomena. Such an analysis has been made and a correlation sought with field and laboratory tests. Field tests were made in an anthracite mine in eastern Pennsylvania and included pull tests and long-term tests of a variety of anchorage devices in two basic lengths, 30 and 42 in. in two widely differing seams. Performance is reviewed for wedge, expansion shell, and resin anchorage. Laboratory tests duplicated many of the field conditions but in addition compared the performance of shells with normal and reversed serrations. This performance was compared with the predicted results from the plastic analysis. One of the major problems in conducting long-term underground tests is the selection of suitable instrumentation. All installed bolts were fitted with spherical and hardened washers to insure the best possible torque wrench readings. In addition, commercially available load cells were used. Finally, the performance of a specially developed strain-gage-equipped ring cell is viewed. Rock bolting as a method of support continues to increase with applications in many other industries in addition to mining. Nevertheless, with nearly 55,000,000 roof bolts installed in coal mines alone last year, this remains as the single greatest use. While bolts have frequently supported ground where conventional timbering could not, there are relatively few design criteria; and trial-and-error procedures prevail. Furthermore, there has been a lag in development of suitable instrumentation that is simple to install and read out, sensitive, durable, reliable, safe, and economical in evaluating the effectiveness of a bolt over long periods of time. Therefore, the pull test continues to be the most popular method of evaluating the applicability of a certain type of roof bolt under specific installation conditions. At The Pennsylvania State University in the Dept. of Mining, research has been conducted for a number of years to measure bleed off in carefully controlled laboratory experiments as well as in underground investigations."-' Unfortunately, most of the instrumentation developed has been primarily suitable only for research purposes, not possessing all of the aforementioned characteristics desirable for routine underground use. Other groups also have met with restricted success. Therefore, while relatively crude, the torque wrench continues to remain as the most widely used load measuring device. While both field and laboratory tests continue to be con- ducted, analytical analyses are attempted to discover the more important design parameters in order that more efficient anchorage might be devised. Bolts are being used for a greater variety of purposes in mining. Suspending wire sideframe belt conveyors from roof bolts is a common application. The suspension of a monorail transportation system presents yet another. One such system has just been installed in a recently reopened anthracite mine and is presently being evaluated under production conditions. Preliminary studies revealed that a considerable cost reduction was possible by suspending the monorail on bolts anchored in the top. The monorail was to be installed under two widely differing conditions—a competent sandstone above the Buck Mountain seam and a softer shale top above the Skidmore. The type of anchorage device, length of bolt, and long-term performance, consistent with economy and safety, had to be established for the installation once the decision was made to suspend the system on rock bolts. This paper describes some of the testing procedures leading to a final selection. Theoretical Analysis of Expansion Shell Anchorage A detailed look at an expansion shell assembly might shed some light on the factors involved in the design of a suitable shell, Fig. 1. When a bolt is rotated, the tapered plug is forced downward, expanding the leaves laterally to grip the sides of the hole. Two friction surfaces are present: (1) the interface of the plug and leaf and (2) the interface between leaf and rock. The relationships of these friction planes, geometry of expansion shell, and properties of the rock are important in the design of an expansion shell. Therefore, an analysis assuming the rock to behave as a rigid plastic material with its yield governed by the Mohr-Coulomb criterion was made." Furthermore, the effect of friction between the leaf and rock produced by serrations was analyzed.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. L. Craig, C. L. Edwards, M. D. Harper, J. M. Ray

The Los Alamos National Laboratory executed 19 intermediate scale cratering experiments in oil shale at the Colony Mine in Garfield County, Colorado. These experiments have led to a better under- standing of fracture characteristics and fragmentation of & - oil shale by use of a conventional high explosive. Geologic site characterization included detailed mapping, coring, and sample analyses. Site-specific geology was observed to be a major influence on the resulting crater geometry. The joint patterns at the experimental site frequently defined the final crater symmetry. Secondary influences included vugs, lithology changes, and grade fluctuations in the local stratigraphy. Most experiments, in both the rib and floor, were conducted to obtain data to investigate the fragmentation results within the craters. The rubble was screened for fragment- size distributions. Geologic features in proximity to the explosive charge had minimal effect on the rubble due to the overpowering effect of the detonation. However, these same features became more influential on the fracture and rubble characteristics with greater distances from the shothole. Postshot cores revealed a direct relationship between the grade of the oil shale and its susceptibility to fracturing. The Colony Mine experiments have demonstrated the significant role of geology in high explosive/oil shale interaction. It is probable that this role will have to be considered for larger applications to blast patterns and potential problems in retort stability in the future of oil shale development.

Jan 1, 1983

By E. W. Dewing

The nature of solid solutions of sodium in non-paphitic carbon at temperatures near 1000°C has been investigated by an electrolytic technique. The activity coefficient is found to vary strongly with the heat-treatment temperature of the carbon, and an analysis of the energy terms involved suggests that this is due to variations in the Fermi level. The diffusion coefficient for sodium is in the range implying that the sodium atoms (or ions) are not bound to specific sites on the carbon, in agreement with lack of evidence for specific compounds in the activity -composition curves. In the light of These results phenomena occurring in aluminum reduction cell linings are dis-cussed. It is concluded that sodium migrates by diffusion through the carbon lallice and not the pores, and that A14C9 is formed within the lining hy The excess of NaF invariably found in used linings is formed by this reaction and by air oxidation: There has recently been much interest in the swelling of carbon which occurs when it is made cathodic in an aluminum electrolysis cell, and there is general agreement that the phenomenon is due to the penetration of sodium atoms, derived from the reaction on the carbon lattice. (NaF and AlF3 are constituents of the fused-salt electrolyte.) The low-temperature lamellar compounds of potassium with graphite are well-known, and one compound between sodium and graphite has been reported.4 There is, however, virtually no information on the basic chemistry of the interaction of sodium with nongraphitic carbon at high temperatures, although Dell3 has made some fundamental studies of rates of penetration. At the time the present work was carried out these were not available. Rapoport and samoilenkol had measured rates of physical expansion in a dilatometer, using the fractional increase in length of a carbon specimen after electrolysis in a cryolite bath for 2 hr as an index of susceptibility to cathodic swelling. Work here with a similar apparatus showed that expansion (of a 1.5-in.-diam cylindrical specimen) ceased in less than 20 hr, and that the final expansion was much more reproducible than the value at some intermediate time. This suggested that an equilibrium was being set up, and that a thermodynamic approach was required. The results obtained are not as accurate as had been hoped, but they are the only ones of their type available and have enabled useful conclusions to be drawn. The experimental work was divided into two parts: an investigation of the activity-concentration diagram for sodium in carbon, and a rough determination of the diffusion rate. For the former, most of the experiments were made with petroleum coke even though this is not a form of carbon used in cell linings. It has the advantages, however, that it is a homogeneous material, that it is low in ash, and that its structure is reasonably well understood. Anthracites and coal cokes gave results of the same type as obtained with petroleum coke, but the reprodu-cibility from specimen to specimen was extremely poor. EXPERIMENTAL 1) The Activity-Composition Diagram for Sodium in Carbon. The petroleum coke was ground, pressed at 40,000 psi into plates 19 by 9 by 2 mm without added binder, and heat-treated. The sodium activities were established by an electrolytic technique. The carbon was made anodic in a cryolite bath with an aluminum cathode, and a controlled potential, E, applied so that the sodium activity at the anode was given by ln Na = 1n asa - EF/RT [21 where as, is the sodium activity generated by Reaction [I]. The relative activity is sufficient for many purposes and is simply given by The value of Na not at present known, but when the thermodynamics of the Na-A1 system have been worked out it can be derived from the equilibrium

Jan 1, 1963

By Walter S. Tower

IN making comparisons of steel industries, one country with another, the convenient common denominator is annual capacity to make raw steel in the form of ingots. It is always necessary, however, to remember that there are different methods of figuring such capacity. For most countries no official figures on capacity are available, and the only authentic data on production are now six or eight years old. But in spite of those limitations on the accuracy of statistical comparisons, any flaws in the figures are probably not serious enough to alter materially the larger conclusions which may be drawn from them.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. A. Grange, H. M. Stewart

Man.; steel parts may crack if quenched directly into a bath near room temperature, but not if quenched at a temperature just above the range where martensite forms and then allowed to cool slowly to room temperature. This latter procedure, which is the basis for such modern hardening techniques as "martempering" and "isothermal quenching," may entail some sacrifice in depth of hardening but very little, if any, in intensity of hardening. In planning such treatments, it is necessary to know the upper limit of the martensite range, and often desirable to know the proportion of martensite that would form on cooling to any lower temperature; furthermore, the tendency of a particular steel to crack when quenched is unquestionably associated with the temperature range of martensite formation, and consequently knowledge of this range aids in selecting the optimum composition for a given application. Certain puzzling phenomena associated with the properties of quenched and tempered steel may be at least partly clarified as the manner in which martensite forms is more fully understood. Information on the temperature range of martensite formation, particularly with respect to how much martensite results from quenching to a given temperature, is lacking for most commercial types of carbon and low-alloy steel. These considerations led us to study martensite formation in 14 carbon and low-alloy steels. The resultant data may be directly used in the following ways: (I) for selecting the lowest quenching temperature at which no martensite will form; (2) for selecting the highest quenching temperature at which virtually all marten . site will form, thereby avoiding quenching to an unnecessarily lower temperature with attendant danger of cracking; and (3) in producing a mixture of tempered martensite and bainite, which in high-carbon steels has been found to possess somewhat better ductility than tempered martensite, yet does not require the full transformation time necessary for a completely bainitic (austempered) structure. PART I. OBSERVATIONS OF MARTENSITE FORMATION IN FOURTEEN CARBON AND LOW-ALLOY STEELS Transformation of austenite to pearlite or bainite can be conveniently studied by observing the change that occurs over a period of time at constant temperature; such studies are the basis of the isothermal transformation diagram (S-curve). This isothermal technique is not applicable to martensite formation, which occurs within a time interval too small to measure, at least by any ordinary means. For all practical purposes, therefore, martensite may be regarded as forming only during cooling and not during a period of time at constant temperature. As austenite is cooled below

Jan 1, 1947

By H. M. Stewart, R. A. Grange

Man.; steel parts may crack if quenched directly into a bath near room temperature, but not if quenched at a temperature just above the range where martensite forms and then allowed to cool slowly to room temperature. This latter procedure, which is the basis for such modern hardening techniques as "martempering" and "isothermal quenching," may entail some sacrifice in depth of hardening but very little, if any, in intensity of hardening. In planning such treatments, it is necessary to know the upper limit of the martensite range, and often desirable to know the proportion of martensite that would form on cooling to any lower temperature; furthermore, the tendency of a particular steel to crack when quenched is unquestionably associated with the temperature range of martensite formation, and consequently knowledge of this range aids in selecting the optimum composition for a given application. Certain puzzling phenomena associated with the properties of quenched and tempered steel may be at least partly clarified as the manner in which martensite forms is more fully understood. Information on the temperature range of martensite formation, particularly with respect to how much martensite results from quenching to a given temperature, is lacking for most commercial types of carbon and low-alloy steel. These considerations led us to study martensite formation in 14 carbon and low-alloy steels. The resultant data may be directly used in the following ways: (I) for selecting the lowest quenching temperature at which no martensite will form; (2) for selecting the highest quenching temperature at which virtually all marten . site will form, thereby avoiding quenching to an unnecessarily lower temperature with attendant danger of cracking; and (3) in producing a mixture of tempered martensite and bainite, which in high-carbon steels has been found to possess somewhat better ductility than tempered martensite, yet does not require the full transformation time necessary for a completely bainitic (austempered) structure. PART I. OBSERVATIONS OF MARTENSITE FORMATION IN FOURTEEN CARBON AND LOW-ALLOY STEELS Transformation of austenite to pearlite or bainite can be conveniently studied by observing the change that occurs over a period of time at constant temperature; such studies are the basis of the isothermal transformation diagram (S-curve). This isothermal technique is not applicable to martensite formation, which occurs within a time interval too small to measure, at least by any ordinary means. For all practical purposes, therefore, martensite may be regarded as forming only during cooling and not during a period of time at constant temperature. As austenite is cooled below

Jan 1, 1947

Jan 1, 1965

By W. P. Haynes

ESTIMATED United States crude-oil production during 1943 established a new annual peak of 1,500,000,000 barrels, a daily average of 4,118,000 barrels. This would be an increase of 315,000 barrels per day, or 8 per cent over 1942 and 7 per cent over 1941, the previous peak. During the first ten months of the year, production jumped from 3,782,000 barrels per day in January to 4,400,000 in October. Available data for the last two months of the year indicate a leveling off of this trend, with daily rates slightly above 4,400,000 barrels.

Jan 1, 1944

By Clarence Zener

THE heat-treatment of steels will not pass from the stage of an art into that of a science until the mechanism of the phase transformations associated therewith is thoroughly understood. Such an under- standing will involve two distinct types of inquiry: (I) the direction of the trans- formation, (2) the speed of the transformation. The first type of inquiry, which involves only the equilibrium relations between the various phases in steel, is the subject of the present and of a succeeding article; the second type, which involves the kinetics of transformations, will be the subject of a later article. In order that a theory of equilibrium relations may give useful information, certain experimental data must be put into the theory. It is customary for these data to be of a thermal nature. In the system discussed here in steel such thermal data are very scarce. In medium-alloy steels another type of data might possibly be used. In these steels the concentration of solute is so low that it may be possible to use the approximation of dilute solutions, an approximation that leads to linear relationships. The unknown functions, or constants, may then be determined in some cases from the binary iron- alloy system and in other cases from the ternary iron-carbon-alloy system. From the functions, or constants, so determined may then be computed the equilibrium relations in more complex medium-alloy steels. In the present article this second approach is used, the necessary experimental data being obtained from the simple binary and ternary equilibrium diagrams. FUNDAMENTAL EQUATIONS In this article are derived the equilibrium relations between the gamma, alpha and cementite phases. In these three phases all important alloying elements except carbon form substitutional solutions, each alloying atom occupying a potential site for an iron atom. Carbon, on the other hand, forms an interstitial solution. In the face-centered cubic gamma phase, the interstitial positions are at the center of the unit cube and at the centers of the cube edges. There are therefore four interstitial positions per unit cell, or one per iron atom. In the body- centered cubic alpha phase, the interstitial positions are probably at the face centers, and also at the centers of the edges, which are crystallographically equivalent to the face centers. There are therefore six interstitial positions per unit cube, or three per iron atom. In cementite, (Fe, Alloy)3C, the carbon atoms may be regarded as filling all the lattice positions of a given type. The introduction of the fundamental equations of equilibrium has presented the author with a quandary. These equations are formally so similar to other equations that have been derived1,2 for related systems that they may appear to some readers

Jan 1, 1946

By John A. Church

Jan 1, 1903

By W. A. Forbes

OUR present-day geological surveys show that 36 of our States are underlain with bituminous coal, covering a total area of 496,709 square miles. The North American continent possesses 69 per cent of the world's coal reserves, with the United States alone having an estimated 55 per cent. The American coal reserves, in tons, are calculated to he about 3,500,000,000,000 tons, of which we have exhausted about 1 to 1 1/2 per cent. If this coal were mined at the rate of the 1918 production-a record output of 579;000,000 tons-it would not be depleted for 4,000 years. The more easily accessible and high-grade coals would obviously be consumed much before this; some estimates are 100 years. The natural progress of the nation's industries up to 1910 encouraged on every hand the development of new mines, especially where cheap and easy access to coal measures was coupled with short hauls to the consumer. Over-development resulted, which is perhaps today one of the fundamental causes for the many difficulties faced by the coal industry, which is highly competitive; about 70 per cent of the production cost is labor. Salient statistics for 1930, recently issued by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, follow:

Jan 1, 1932