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By Henry Hebley

IN preparing this paper it has been the aim of the writer to keep the problems of both producers and consumers in mind. Until now, no attempt has been made to familiarize each group with the other's practice and limitations. This paper is an effort to acquaint the readers with some of the factors pertaining to the problem and cost of mining and preparing steam coal, and also to the economics of producing steam with such coal. In recent years all lines of endeavor have turned to intensive mechani-zation in order to lower the unit cost of production. The average fuel consumption in steam electric generating stations has dropped in 20 years from 4.0 lb. to 1.4.1b. per kilowatt-hour; while the modern power station can generate 1 kw-hr. on a fraction under 1 lb., or 13,000 B.t.u. coal. Also, the amount produced per man has in that same period risen from 3.8 to 8.2 tons, owing to the use of modernized equipment below ground for coal cutting, drilling, shooting, loading, hauling and hoisting. Unfortunately, the rapid speed of 5 tons per minute of operation at which the coal is loaded mechanically precludes any appreciable removal of impurities at the coal face, so that the raw coal is hoisted containing a markedly higher percentage of impurities than the hand-loaded coal, which was subjected to the scrutiny of the miner during loading. Also, during the past 20 years, certain seams of coal lying close to the surface have been made economically available by the improved design of electrically operated shovels and draglines for the removal of overbur-den running as high as 56 ft. This strip coal frequently contains so much ash in the raw state (Table 1) that it would have no sales value. There-fore, coal preparation must be adopted to beneficiate the raw product. Some seams in the United States have a decreasing ash content with decreasing size, owing, in all probability, to the fact that the coal is friable while the impurities are hard, causing a concentration of the low-ash material in the fine sizes. Illinois No. 6 coal being rather hard, naturally the reverse is true.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. A. Czako

INTRODUCTION In recent decades sintering and pelletizing of finely divided materials have become the primary tonnage producing modes of agglomeration. This statement is especially true in the iron and steel industry and, to a lesser degree, in the nonferrous, chemical and non-metallic minerals processing industries. In every industry the main objectives in agglomerating fines are essentially the same, namely to convert ores, minerals and chemicals of undesirable fineness into agglomerates characterized by a size consistency desirable for subsequent use or processing. Depending on the type of agglomeration process selected and the conditions maintained during agglomeration, the physical process of increasing size is complemented by a number of other unit processes. These processes can occur simultaneously, consecutively or in an overlapping manner. Some of these additional unit processes are incidental to the agglomeration operation, but at the same time can be critical, depending upon the subsequent use of the product. Accordingly, during processing, conditions have to be controlled to either suppress or enhance the extent of completion of these unit processes. The purpose of this report is to review laboratory testing as the basis for engineering modern sintering and pelletizing plants. Considering that most typical applications are for the iron and steel industry, agglomeration of ferrous materials is reviewed and discussed. When these total processes are adapted to suit non- ferrous materials, chemicals, or non-metallic substances, the over- all approach remains the same; only the processing parameters are affected as necessitated by the different nature of the materials.

Jan 1, 1977

By AIME

AS the Petroleum Division rounds off the first quarter century since its evolution from technical committee status, there steps to the long line of notable men who have presided over its activities a young man, currently of Tulsa, one Herbert F. Beardmore by name. For one year, as Chairman for 1946, the Division will be his oyster. hi; baby, his responsibility. "Herb" Beardmore was born at Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 6, 1904, and lived there until he was thirteen. Then his family moved to Oklahoma City, and later sent him to the University of Oklahoma, where he graduated in 1925 with a B.S. in engineering geology. His final year in college was the first year in which a petroleum engineering course was taught at the school. Since his course of study so closely paralleled that of a petroleum engineer, he has frequently been spoken of as the first petroleum engineering graduate from the University of Oklahoma. Out of college he went to work as an oil-field roustabout in the Ranger, Texas, field for Jake L. Hamon. This work consisted of all manual labor phases of cable-tool operation and beam-pumping of oil wells. He moved in 1926 to Bartlesville, to become a gas engineer for the Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co., where he was employed in gas-well drilling, gas production, and transportation, mostly in Osage County, Oklahoma.

Jan 1, 1946

By William Barrett

IN order properly to evaluate the data related to geomagnetic surveys, it is highly desirable to have all the available information concerning the magnetic properties of the, involved media. This is true of surface as well as subsurface formations and becomes of increasing importance as advancement in instrumental and interpretative technique permits the analysis of relatively slight magnetic reflections of buried masses. Since the magnitude and areal distribution of the usually complex resultant magnetic field at the surface of the earth is a function of the susceptibility1 of the involved matter, it necessarily follows that susceptibility determinations will afford valuable data for geophysical correlation. The present method was developed to meet the need for routine analysis of specimens in the geomagnetic laboratory where it was felt that general utility, ruggedness, ease of manipulation and reproducibility of results was of greater importance than extreme sensitivity.

Jan 1, 1931

By C. K. Donoho

SILICON is used in almost all commercial steels; up to about 0.20 pct in killed wrought steels and 0.50 pct in steel castings. Above about 0.50 pct in wrought steels and 0.70 pct in cast steels, silicon is considered an alloy. As an alloy, silicon is useful for several purposes: (I) for its effect on magnetic properties of parts for electrical apparatus; (2) for increasing the yield strength of carbon and low-alloy steels without too much sacrifice of ductility and weldability; (3) for adding hardness and toughness to spring and chisel steels; (4) for adding resistance to scaling and carburization to heat-resistant steels; and (5) for its graphitizing effect in graphitic steels. In acid electric steels for casting we are principally interested in the effect listed second; i.e., increase of strength with minimum sacrifice of ductility.

Jan 1, 1947

By Thomas Harris

This paper. was written in conjunction with the work being undertaken by the Technical Committees on Classification of Coal, and an effort has been made to compile information relative to the use of coal for stationary steam generation in order to use this information to assist the Committee on Classification of Coal for the ultimate purpose of elimination of losses both by the' reduction of indivi-dual effort and waste in the consumption of material. Under the auspices of the National Association of Purchasing Agents, a questionnaire was drawn up to develop this information from stationary steam plants throughout the United States. in order to consolidate the information de-veloped from the many hundreds of boiler tests on coals consumed by various coal¬burning equipment. These questionnaires covered: 1. The company reporting, location and method of delivery to the plant. 2. Complete coal date, including description of coals used (with. sufficient space to- include first, second and third, preference) on--source of coal used,- complete-analysis and factors affecting choice of, coal used. 3. Plant data, divided into - A. Hand fired, B. Overfeed stokers,. . C. Underfeed stokers, D. Traveling grate stokers, E. Pulverized coal, and included complete description of furnace data, draft data, coal-burning rate, type of stoker, type of pulverizer, efficiency date and remarks.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. M. Day, C. H. Mathewson

THE constitution of the system silver-mercury has attracted the attention of many investigators during the last two decades, but since their results are for the most part in poor agreement, there is little need for a review of their individual contributions. It remained for the very careful thermal and microscopic investigation of Murphy' in 1931 to give the constitutional diagram in its present and unquestioned form, which is shown in Fig. 1. He devised methods for taking cooling curves on alloys under high pressures and for the microscopic observation of alloys which contained liquid mercury as a structural constituent at ordinary temperatures. The compositions of the intermediate phases were confirmed and supplemented through X-ray analyses by Preston2 and Stenbeck.3 According to Murphy, at 276° C. silver is able to dissolve 44 to 45 weight per cent of mercury, which may increase at lower temperatures to about 50 per cent. Preston concluded that the saturation boundary occurred at 46 ± 2 per cent at 100° C. From the values reported in the literature, these are the only ones that may be accepted as lying even in. the right region. PREPARATION OF ALLOYS The silver used in the present investigation was supplied by the United States Metals Refining Co. through the courtesy of the Committee on Industrial Uses of Silver and, since a complete spectrographic and chemical analysis was furnished, no attempt was made to purify it or to further establish the impurities present. The analyses reported by the company are shown in Table 1. Milligan4 has found that the magnesium content is probably less than 0.0005 per cent.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. Stansfield Hitchen

THE introduction of the logarithmic sector method of quantitative spectrography by Scheibe and Neuhäusser in 1928, and the subsequent .modification and improvement of the method by Twyman and Simeon, would seem to have marked yet a further advance in quantitative spec-trum analysis and its industrial application, inasmuch as it offers a simple means of eliminating some of the uncertainties inherent in the older methods based upon mere visual comparison of line intensities. In their recent admirable review of the position and capabilities of industrial spectroscopy, Brownsdon and van Someren1 say: Ways and means of facilitating the comparison of line-intensities so as to give them numerical values are helpful, and of these a logarithmic sector rotating in front of the slit appears to he one of the most promising; . . . the success recently experienced by the author in using this method for the examination of steels and solutions of metallic salts prompted him ,to investigate its possible use in estimating the impurities commonly present in crude and refined tin. The results of this investigation are submitted in the present paper. Details of a number of spectrographic analyses of tin for various impurities have already been published. Thus, Schweitzer2 describes the spectrographic examination of tin for lead, bismuth and cadmium, and was able to distinguish between such atomic percentages as 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.30, 0.60, 1.20, 3.00 and 10.00. Negresco3 investigated the bismuth content of tin over a range of from 0.0005 to 35 per cent. Meggers, Kiess and Stimson4 compare spectrographic and chemical analyses of tin metal for copper, lead, iron, zinc, silver, nickel and bismuth. They stress also the value of spectrum analysis in the examination of tin used for boiler plugs, where the requirements that only minute quantities of impurities shall be present render the chemical analysis both tedious and difficult.

Jan 1, 1933

By O. L. Kowalke

THE measurement and control of temperatures have assumed positions of great importance in many industries. The manufacturers of byproduct coke and carbureted water gas find that proper temperature control helps to produce a better product and economizes in the use of raw materials. In the manufacture of glass, enameled ware, brass, and high-temperature refractories, temperature control is now regarded as being coordinate in importance with the control of materials used. To control such processes as malleablizing cast iron, and hardening, tempering, and annealing of steel in a manner to meet exacting market requirements has, within recent years, involved the installation of large and expensive pyrometer equipments. In many of these installations, it was necessary not merely to measure but also to record the temperatures over a period of time and thus obtain a record of the entire heat treatment and an effective check on the workmen in charge. In view of the importance of temperature measurement and control in such a wide variety of industries and the necessity for proper supervision of the installation and operation of the outfits, the following questions may be pertinent: What instruction is offered by the engineering colleges and what departments in the colleges are responsible therefor? The latest available catalogs of ten prominent engineering colleges east of the Mississippi River showed courses in high-temperature measurements given by the departments of physics. These courses, in general, were described as comprising classroom and laboratory instruction in the theory of high-temperature measurements, together with exercises in the calibration of the various devices used. In some cases it was stated that consideration would be given, in the courses, to the practical applications in the industries. In only one. college was the course required of all engineering students; in most colleges it was optional; in a few colleges, it was required only of certain groups. In colleges offering a course in metallurgical engineering, instruction in pyrometry was always given in connection with metallurgical laboratory work. The students in ceramic,

Jan 8, 1919

By Robert L. Akre

When Marco Polo visited China in the 13th century, no one knew what black powder was except the Chinese: they knew enough to make dazzling fireworks with it. But the realization that black powder could also do useful work came much later and, like all important discoveries, it altered the course of history. It was in the 14th century that black powder was first used to break rock in a very crude way: there were no drills and the powder was simply poured into cracks and exploded by setting it afire. Because its energy value was pretty low, the need for something more powerful was felt when the industrial revolution arrived.

Jan 6, 1976

By G. F. Comstock

A serious disagreement as to the effect of titanium on the hardenability of steel exists in published references to this subject. Kramer, Hafner and Toleman reported1 that acid-soluble titanium decreased the hardenability, with multiplying factors less than unity according to Grossmann's system for calculating hardenability from the composition. Crafts and Lamont, on the other hand, showed2 how titanium increased the hardenability, with multiplying fdctors up to nearly I.; for about 0.1 per cent titanium, though reducing the hardenability with higher titanium. Their data, however, were obtained almost exclusively from steels containing more than 1.4 per cent manganese, and thus should be considered as applying mainly to manganese steels. Likewise, the results of Kramer, Hafner and Toleman regarding titanium are subject to the limitation that although they eliminated the effect of the insoluble titanium compounds from their calculations, they did not make a similar correc- tion for the carbon that was combined with titanium and therefore occurred in a similarly ineffective form. It is suggested by the literature referred to that titanium may have different effects on hardenability, depending on the mode of its occurrence in the steel. The different effects on strength, ductility, etc., have already been discussed by the author.3 In the present discussion some comparisons, on the basis of hardenability as revealed by the Jominy end-quench test, are given between three titanium and two non-titanium steels heat-treated in the same ways, and between other titanium steels heat-treated in several different ways. Comparison of Plain-carbon, Vanadium and Titanium Steels The five steels used for these experiments were cominercially melted and rolled products received in the form of 1.5-in. rounds from three different mills. Their analyses are given in Table I. Steels 2, 3, and 4 are from the same basic electric heat1 containing 0.009 per cent of phosphorus and the same amount of sulphur. They were made by adding aluminum and low-carbon ferrotitanium to different ingots. No. I is a plain carbon

Jan 1, 1947

By G. F. Comstock

A serious disagreement as to the effect of titanium on the hardenability of steel exists in published references to this subject. Kramer, Hafner and Toleman reported1 that acid-soluble titanium decreased the hardenability, with multiplying factors less than unity according to Grossmann's system for calculating hardenability from the composition. Crafts and Lamont, on the other hand, showed2 how titanium increased the hardenability, with multiplying fdctors up to nearly I.; for about 0.1 per cent titanium, though reducing the hardenability with higher titanium. Their data, however, were obtained almost exclusively from steels containing more than 1.4 per cent manganese, and thus should be considered as applying mainly to manganese steels. Likewise, the results of Kramer, Hafner and Toleman regarding titanium are subject to the limitation that although they eliminated the effect of the insoluble titanium compounds from their calculations, they did not make a similar correc- tion for the carbon that was combined with titanium and therefore occurred in a similarly ineffective form. It is suggested by the literature referred to that titanium may have different effects on hardenability, depending on the mode of its occurrence in the steel. The different effects on strength, ductility, etc., have already been discussed by the author.3 In the present discussion some comparisons, on the basis of hardenability as revealed by the Jominy end-quench test, are given between three titanium and two non-titanium steels heat-treated in the same ways, and between other titanium steels heat-treated in several different ways. Comparison of Plain-carbon, Vanadium and Titanium Steels The five steels used for these experiments were cominercially melted and rolled products received in the form of 1.5-in. rounds from three different mills. Their analyses are given in Table I. Steels 2, 3, and 4 are from the same basic electric heat1 containing 0.009 per cent of phosphorus and the same amount of sulphur. They were made by adding aluminum and low-carbon ferrotitanium to different ingots. No. I is a plain carbon

Jan 1, 1947

By E. M. Wise

THe properties required of gold alloys for jewelry are not well standardized, due in part to problems peculiar to certain branches of the jewelry industry, in part to the individual preference of the fabricator and to his willingness to cope with certain difficulties in manufacture, which arise with the use of certain alloys. General Requirements In general, the properties desired may be classed as follows: 1. Color should conform to the dictates of good taste and smart style. 2. Corrosion resistance and tarnish resistance should he good. This is to a considerable extent determined by the carat. Resistance to such corrosive agents as mercuric chloride as well as certain depi1atories is unreasonable to expect and difficult to meet. 3. Strength and hardness must be adequate to maintain the delicate contours of finely modeled jewelry. 4. Wear resistance must be great enough to resist abnormal wear, such as is encountered by a wedding ring in a lifetime of wear. 5. Ductility must be sufficient to permit the fabrication of drawn shells, tubes and difficult shapes. Material having a yield point of not less than 60,000 lb. per sq. in., an ultimate strength of 100,000 Ib. per sq. in., and an elongation of 40 per cent. is desirable. 6. Melting point should be between 800" and 1200" C. Colored Golds The popular green and yellow golds are based on the gold-silver-copper alloys; in some cases modified by the introduction of zinc to improve the casting properties and to alter the color, and nickel to increase the strength. The properties of the Au-Ag-Cu system have been the subject of a very thorough investigation by Jänecke,l Sterner-Rainer12 and Carter."

Jan 1, 1929

By E. M. Wise

THe properties required of gold alloys for jewelry are not well standardized, due in part to problems peculiar to certain branches of the jewelry industry, in part to the individual preference of the fabricator and to his willingness to cope with certain difficulties in manufacture, which arise with the use of certain alloys. General Requirements In general, the properties desired may be classed as follows: 1. Color should conform to the dictates of good taste and smart style. 2. Corrosion resistance and tarnish resistance should he good. This is to a considerable extent determined by the carat. Resistance to such corrosive agents as mercuric chloride as well as certain depi1atories is unreasonable to expect and difficult to meet. 3. Strength and hardness must be adequate to maintain the delicate contours of finely modeled jewelry. 4. Wear resistance must be great enough to resist abnormal wear, such as is encountered by a wedding ring in a lifetime of wear. 5. Ductility must be sufficient to permit the fabrication of drawn shells, tubes and difficult shapes. Material having a yield point of not less than 60,000 lb. per sq. in., an ultimate strength of 100,000 Ib. per sq. in., and an elongation of 40 per cent. is desirable. 6. Melting point should be between 800" and 1200" C. Colored Golds The popular green and yellow golds are based on the gold-silver-copper alloys; in some cases modified by the introduction of zinc to improve the casting properties and to alter the color, and nickel to increase the strength. The properties of the Au-Ag-Cu system have been the subject of a very thorough investigation by Jänecke,l Sterner-Rainer12 and Carter."

Jan 1, 1929

By George R. Mansfield

INTEREST in the reserves of phosphate rock in the United States and their proper conservation has recently been aroused by hearings held in different parts of the country by the "Joint Committee to investigate the adequacy and use of phosphate resources of the United States." This committee was appointed within a few days after a Presidential message to Congress on the same subject, dated May 20, 1938, and began to function almost immediately. Hearings were held in Washington, D. C., Pocatello, Ida., Wilson Dam, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., and Lakeland, Fla. The resulting testimony, when published, comprised a volume of 1182 pages.1 At the earlier hearings held in Washington and Idaho the seeming disparity between the great reserves of the West and the smaller reserves in the East led to some suggestions as to the desirability of curtailing or even prohibiting the exportation of phosphate rock so that eastern producers, becoming alarmed, cooperated in making available for the use of the committee information hitherto closely guarded. This information has provided an opportunity for new studies by official agencies, for a restatement of the reserves of Florida and Tennessee, and for some modification of figures for the Western States. The writer, representing the Federal Geological Survey, was given free access to the Florida material and has prepared for publication a report,2 some features of which are summarized in this paper. The Tennessee material was studied by Dr. G. I. Whitlatch,3 of the Tennessee Division of Geology. Prof. J. Stewart Williams,4 of the Utah State Agricultural College at Logan, has published a recent study of the phosphate resources of Utah and the writer has given some further study to reserves of western phosphate from the viewpoint of including material of lower grade than that hitherto considered. Technologic advances in the phosphate industry must be credited with a large share in the expansion of reserves by making available for

Jan 1, 1940

By K. BRUCE DAVIDSON

-The North Central Texas area includes the following counties in Railroad Commission of Texas District 7-B: Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Coryell, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Hamilton, Haskell, Hood, Jones, Lampasas, Mills, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Parker, S

Jan 1, 1946

By J. L. Lamont, W. Crafts

Studies of the effect of composition of steel on hardenability by Grossmann,' and as-quenched hardness by Field2 and by the authors, have made it possible to predict the results of quenching when the composition and cooling rate are known In order to extend the application of the hardenability calculation to the quenched and tempered condition in which steel is finally used, a survey has been made of the hardness changes caused by tempering. From this study a method has been developed for the prediction of hardness and tensile strength of steel in the tempered condition. The method of calculation was developed from Rockwell C hardness tests on quenched and tempered Jominy specimens and is expressed in Rockwell C hardness units. It is of an additive type in which the degree of softening from as-quenched hardness is estimated. Tem-pred properties may be calculated within about plus or minus 5 Rockwell C hardness or plus or minus 15,000 lb. per sq, in. tensile strength. This degree of accuracy is less than that necessary for the control of heat-treatment, but is adequate for the comparative evaluation and selection of alloy steels. The formula indicates that tempered hardness is primarily dependent on as-quenched hardness and, as in the hardening reaction, the progress of tempering is controlled mainly by the carbon content. Alloys tend to retard softening by a secondary hardening mechanism in which the alloy appears to migrate from ferrite to the carbide phase. The factors for the effects of alloys in tempering vary so much from the effects of alloys in hardening that different steels of equivalent hardenability may, after like heat-treatment, differ considerably in tensile strength. Procedure In developing the method for calculating tempered Rockwell C hardness, simple and complex steels were tested over a range from 0.08 to 0'65 per cent carbon and up to 2.68 per cent manganese, 2.18 silicon, 3.50 chromium, 4.94 nickel, and 1.06 molybdenum. The steels were made as small induction-furnace heats at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, Inc' The accuracy of the method was finally checked on a variety of carbon, low-alloy and high-alloy types of heat-treating steels produced under commercial conditions. The method was based on a study of tempered Jominy bars, and its validity was tested by correlation with the center hardness and tensile strength of oil-quenched and tempered bars from 1/2 to 4 in. in diameter. The method of calculation was derived from the differences in Rockwell C hardness between as-quenched and quenched and tempered Jominy specimens. Prenormalized Jominy hardenability speci-menS quenched from a normal temperature for austenitizatios were used to obtain a range of as-quenched Rockwell C

Jan 1, 1948

By W. Crafts, J. L. Lamont

Studies of the effect of composition of steel on hardenability by Grossmann,' and as-quenched hardness by Field2 and by the authors, have made it possible to predict the results of quenching when the composition and cooling rate are known In order to extend the application of the hardenability calculation to the quenched and tempered condition in which steel is finally used, a survey has been made of the hardness changes caused by tempering. From this study a method has been developed for the prediction of hardness and tensile strength of steel in the tempered condition. The method of calculation was developed from Rockwell C hardness tests on quenched and tempered Jominy specimens and is expressed in Rockwell C hardness units. It is of an additive type in which the degree of softening from as-quenched hardness is estimated. Tem-pred properties may be calculated within about plus or minus 5 Rockwell C hardness or plus or minus 15,000 lb. per sq, in. tensile strength. This degree of accuracy is less than that necessary for the control of heat-treatment, but is adequate for the comparative evaluation and selection of alloy steels. The formula indicates that tempered hardness is primarily dependent on as-quenched hardness and, as in the hardening reaction, the progress of tempering is controlled mainly by the carbon content. Alloys tend to retard softening by a secondary hardening mechanism in which the alloy appears to migrate from ferrite to the carbide phase. The factors for the effects of alloys in tempering vary so much from the effects of alloys in hardening that different steels of equivalent hardenability may, after like heat-treatment, differ considerably in tensile strength. Procedure In developing the method for calculating tempered Rockwell C hardness, simple and complex steels were tested over a range from 0.08 to 0'65 per cent carbon and up to 2.68 per cent manganese, 2.18 silicon, 3.50 chromium, 4.94 nickel, and 1.06 molybdenum. The steels were made as small induction-furnace heats at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, Inc' The accuracy of the method was finally checked on a variety of carbon, low-alloy and high-alloy types of heat-treating steels produced under commercial conditions. The method was based on a study of tempered Jominy bars, and its validity was tested by correlation with the center hardness and tensile strength of oil-quenched and tempered bars from 1/2 to 4 in. in diameter. The method of calculation was derived from the differences in Rockwell C hardness between as-quenched and quenched and tempered Jominy specimens. Prenormalized Jominy hardenability speci-menS quenched from a normal temperature for austenitizatios were used to obtain a range of as-quenched Rockwell C

Jan 1, 1948

By P. Marier, T. R. Ingraham

When cylindrical powder compacts of nickelous oxide (NiO) are heated in an equilibrated stream of SO3, SO,, and 02, in the temperature range 500°to 800°c, tlickelous suljate (NiSO4) is formed as an adherent layer on the oxide. The reaction is diffusion-controlled, with an activation energy of 13 ± 3 kcal per mole. When cylindrical powder compacts of NiSO4 are heated in a stream of dry nitrogen in the temperature range 1000 0to 11500C, NiO is formed at a well-defined interface between the sulfate and oxide. The interjhce migrates into the sulfate at a constant rate at a constant temperature and gas flow. The reaction rate increases with increasing gas flow and decreases with increasing partial pressure of SO3 in the gas stream. Resolution of the partial-pressure data with a Lang-itzliir Adsorption Isothern suggests that about 80 pct of the NiO interface is covered with SO3. The heat of adsovption is about 68 kcal per mole. The activation energy of the decomposition process is 61 ± 3 kcal per mole. MOST of the work reported on the formation and decomposition of nickel sulfate is related to thermodynamics.1-3 No quantitative work has been reported on the decomposition process. The only kinetic work reported on the formation is that by Fletcher and shelef.4-6 whose main purpose was to study the effects of alkali metal sulfate additions on increasing the rate of nickel sulfate formation. They found that, in the absence of an additive, only small amounts of sulfate were formed and the kinetic data were difficult to interpret. However, they suggested that the sulfa-tion of nickel oxide is a diffusion-controlled process for which the activation energy is approximately 17 kcal per mole.6 In this paper, both the formation and decomposition reactions will be examined; and based on the effects of temperature, flow rate, interfacial area, and partial-pressure of sulfur trioxide, mechanisms and activation energies will be suggested for both processes. EXPERIMENTAL Material. The nickel source material used in all experiments was Baker and Adamson Reagent Grade NiSO4. 6H2O, for which the following analysis was supplied by the manufacturer: C1, 0.001 pct; NO3, 0.005 pct; Co, 0.02 pct; Cu, 0.005 pct; Pb, 0.002 pct; Fe, 0.001 pct: insol, 0.005 pct. The anhydrous sulfate was prepared by heating the hydrate at 420°C in a muffle furnace for 5 hr. Nickel oxide was prepared by decomposing the sulfate at 950°C over a period of 10 hr. Method. The technique used for measuring the rates of formation and decomposition was developed earlier in these laboratories.7-8 The method is based on the observation that the kinetic parameters of a reaction can be established in a flow system, with specimens prepared by compacting powder to a uniform pellet shape. The results are identical with those established with solid polycrystalline specimens or single

Jan 1, 1967

By Albert A. Smith

The creep properties of metals have assumed increasing importance in recent years and many investigations have been made on various phases of the problem. In the past year the annual lectures of the Institute of Metals Division1 and the Iron and Steel Division2 were concerned with this subject, and are excellent reviews. For many years the creep properties of lead and lead alloys have been investigated at the Central Research Laboratories of the American Smelting and Refining Co., and it is hoped that the present paper will contribute knowledge of some of the factors that influence creep. Lead, being a metal that recrys-tallizes readily at room temperature, is an excellent material upon which to investigate creep phenomena because of the simplicity of the apparatus needed, and it might be expected that results would apply to some extent to elevated-temperature tests of other metals. Material The creep tests of this investigation were all made on high-purity lead (99.9998+ Pb) in which the only impurity that could be detected by spectrographic and chemical means was approximately 0.0001 per cent Fe. Flat strips, 0.750 in. wide by 0. 100 in. thick, were prepared by extruding 2-in. dia. cast billets at a temperature of 250°C. This gave a material of 2 to 3 mm. average grain size with a tensile strength of j.400 lb. per sq. in. when tested at a straining rate of 5 per cent per minute. With this extremely soft material, great care was necessary in handling the specimens, to avoid distortion and subsequent recrystallization. The creep tests at 30°C. were conducted in a constant-temperature room, specially built for the purpose in the basement of an office building in which there was no moving machinery, and no vibration was detectable under the most severe conditions of shock in the adjacent surroundings. The room was well insulated and heated electrically, control being by means of a de Khotinsky regulator operating a relay. Maximum temperature variation over a period of several years has been ± 1/2°C. Specimens of the extruded strip, 16 in. long, were used for test purposes with no reduced gauge section, thus eliminating any distortion due to machining. The method of clamping and supporting the specimens is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1. The gauge marker for the measurement of extension consisted of an aluminum strip, 0.050 in. thick by 0.75 in. wide, one end of which was ground and sanded to a precise knife-edge and fastened to the specimen by suitable pins. After the strip was fastened in place a fine scratch was inscribed just below the knife-edge by means of a sharp teasing needle. Just below this gauge scratch a short vertical mark was made so that the same point could be located and read each time. Several hundred specimens have been prepared by this method, and it was found that with experi-

Jan 1, 1941