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By R. G. Hudson, L. Yang

In electrochemical separation of metals, it is necessary to control the potential applied between the electrodes so that only the desired electrode reactions can occur. A knowledge of the minimum potential needed for a given electrode reaction to take place continuously is therefore pertinent to the success of the process. In molten chloride systems at high temperatures, activation polarization is believed to be small,1,2 so the minimum potential needed for the electrolytic decomposition of a molten metal chloride MC1n (n = valence of the metal ion) is therefore essentially the equilibrium electrode potential E of the metal-chlorine galvanic cell in the solution. If the decomposition products are pure M and chlorine at a pressure of p atm, E*Eo-rt/nf in [i] Since EO (the standard electrode potential of MCln) is a constant at a given temperature and R (the gas constant), and F (the Faraday's constant) are all constants, the variation of E with the electrolytic bath conditions is largely determined by the effect of the latter on the activity of the metal chloride amcln (standard state = pure MC1,). Measurement of E and study of how amCin varies with temperature and concentration, the nature of the solvent, and that of the coexisting solutes are therefore pertinent in the selection of optimum operating conditions for the electrochemical separation of metals. Because of its low melting point, high decomposition potentials of its components, and the low solubility of heavier metals in it, the LiC1-KC1 eutectic melt is a useful solvent and has been used in the electrodeposition of Mo,3Ce,4 and u5 metals. Senderoff and Brenner3 measured the potentials of Zn/Zn++, Fe/Fe++, Cu/Cu+, Mo/Mo+++, and Ag/Ag+ against an Ag/AgCl (pure) reference electrode at 600°C and a concentration of 4.1 mole pct of each chloride and came to the conclusion that complex ion formation occurred in some of the melts. Laitinen and LiUe gave an electromotive force series at 450°C for a number of {Metal/Metal ions (unit activity)) electrodes in LiC1-KC1 eutectic melt, the {pt/pt++ (unit activity)) electrode being chosen as the reference. Walker and Danly7 studied the ther-modynamic properties of NiC12 in LiC1-KC1 eutectic melt over a wide range of temperatures and concentrations by measuring the electrode potential between a nickel electrode and a chlorine electrode in the melt. Since potential measurements made by using the chlorine reference electrode are of more direct significance both in the study of electrochemical separation and in the evaluation of the thermodynamic properties of the melt, it is therefore decided to measure the electrode potentials of cells of the type {M/MCin (mole fraction = N) in LiC1-KC1 eutectic melt/Cl2 over a range of N values and temperature for a number of metal chlorides. The results should indicate the order by which the various metals plate out on the cathode and how this order is affected by temperature and the concentration of the metal chloride in the solu-

Jan 1, 1960

By W. L. Saunders

It is now generally admitted by experts that at least so far as rapid progress is concerned the Alpine system of tunnel-driving is superior to any other. This is perhaps natural in view of the record of experience in driving tunnels through the Alps. These great mountain-chains cannot be treated in the ordinary way by shaft-sinking and driving headings, thus multiplying the points of attack. The work must be done from the ends only, hence speed in driving is of the utmost importance ; and, as necessity is the mother of invention, the concentration of effort to make progress has resulted in an organization and in mechanical appliances that have produced results so much in excess of the usual practice, even in America, that a discussion of the subject in detail should be of much value to the engineer and contractor. The first Alpine tunnel mas the Mont Cenis, length 7.5 miles, driven with a progress that averaged about 7.75 ft. per day. Next came the Saint Gothard, 9.5 niiles long, 18 ft. per day; Arlberg, 6.5 miles long, 27.25 ft. per day; Simplon, 12.25 miles long, 36 ft. per day. The figures represent progress when driving from two headings, so that by dividing them in two we get the daily single-heading progress. The latest of the Alpine tunnels is the Loetschberg, now being driven. In this work the world's record has been beaten by a single day's record in one heading of 36 ft. and by an average daily record in one heading of 29.5 feet. The Alpine range forms a natural barrier between a large section of northern and southern Europe. This range extends from the southeast of Prance to the frontier of Hungary, betveen Italy and the plains of sonthern Germany. The contour

Jan 1, 1912

By W. H. Class

The embrittling effects of oxygen, ozone, nitrogen, air, and surface residues, on NaCl has been investigated. The embrittlement by ozone and oxygen was found to be associated with the formation of a NaClO3 surface compound. In these cases the initial crack that was responsible for fracture (in a bend test) always nucleated at the corners between the tension and side faces. The behavior of air was very erratic and on certain days did not produce enzbrittlement. During these periods, crystals that had become embrittled by the ozone treatment completely recovered their ductility after a short exposure to the ambient atmosphere, It was established many years ago1 that considerable ductility could be obtained in NaCl single-crystal specimens if the crystal surfaces were dissolved in water either during or immediately prior to the test. The original interpretation of this effect by Joffe attributed the enhanced ductility to the removal of surface microcracks by dissolution. Later investigations2'3 have suggested that the exclusion of air from the specimen surface is the criterion for extensive plastic flow prior to fracture. The air em-brittlement in this later work was attributed to the diffusion of gaseous atoms into the surface layers of the crystal, thereby impeding the movement of dislocations. This model satisfactorily accounts for the reembrittlement observed after further air exposure subsequent to the water dissolution treatment. However, the situation has recently become more complex by the observations in several laboratories4-t that under certain conditions air exposure does not impair the ductility of NaC1. It has also been recognized5 that improper drying operations after water dissolution can leave surface precipitates that lead to embrittlement. Cleavage defects on as-cleaved crystals can often be another source of embrittlement. In the present work the effect of the gaseous atmospheres nitrogen, argon, air, oxygen, and ozone, on the ductility of rock salt was studied extensively. The embrittlement resulting from oxygen and ozone exposures was found to be associated with the formation of a NaC1O3 surface film. It is suggested that certain atmospheres, one of which often can be ambient air, which inhibit the formation or favor the decomposition of this compound, can promote ductility. Thus one aspect of the Joffe effect is certainly related to the removal of surface compounds or complexes by water dissolution. The effect of surface precipitates that remain after drying operations and of cleavage defects were also studied. In neither of the latter cases was the embrittlement as severe as that found with a NaClO3 surface layer. PROCEDURE AND SPECIMEN PREPARATION The nature of the embrittlement produced by the agents mentioned above was studied by means of microscopy, mechanical testing, and X-ray diffraction. Specimens were cleaved from large crystals of optical quality sodium chloride obtained from the Harshaw Chemical Co., and, except for those tested in the as-cleaved condition, were given a 15- to 20-sec immersion in distilled water followed by a rinse in absolute methyl alcohol. The specimens were then blotted on a soft, absorbent paper, and dried by a few seconds exposure to a stream of warm, dry air. Such a procedure was found to give a control surface which was microscopically free of residues. (A few crystals were intentionally painted with a concentrated NaCl solution in order to investigate the effect of surface residues). All specimens were of 0.140 sq in. cross-section. Crystals prepared in the above manner were immediately placed in a gas train where they could be exposed to the desired gases for preselected periods of time. For the oxygen and nitrogen exposures, pure reagent-grade gases were employed. The ozone was provided in the form of an ozone-oxygen mixture (approximately 10 pct ozone) prepared by passing commercial grade oxygen over a strong ultraviolet light source. All gases were dried prior to their introduction into the train. Since argon was found to be completely inert in its behavior (i.e., residue-free specimens that were exposed to argon were not embrittled), it was periodically utilized to check the control specimen surfaces as well as the condition of the gas train used for aging the specimens. After exposure to the gaseous media in question, the crystals to be used for the measurement of the strain to fracture were transferred from the gas train to a protective oil bath (without further exposure to the atmosphere) where the tests were conducted in three-point bending. The apparatus was so adjusted that the load could be applied at a constant, continuous rate. Other Snecimens from the gas train were deformed

Jan 1, 1962

By Bernhard Blumenthal

A melting process was developed by which high purity electrolytic uranium crystals can be converted into sound ingots without serious contamination. Careful preparation of the crystals, melting in a high vacuum, and directional solidification led to a metal of better than 99.993 wt pct purity. The metallographic examination showed a substantially clean metal with only residual amounts of a second phase which responded to heat treatment. The density of high purity uranium is 19.05 g per cu cm. FOR the study of the fundamental properties of uranium and its alloys, a base metal of high purity is needed, and an investigation was started at Argonne several years ago to examine various methods of preparing high purity uranium. Early success was achieved by the fused salt electrolysis process in preparing high purity metal in crystal form,' and the problem became that of melting the crystals into ingots without contamination. The electrolytic crystals contained a few ppm of heavy metals, less than 15 ppm C, and large quantities of potassium and lithium in the form of trapped fused salt electrolyte. On melting in vacuo in magnesia or urania crucibles, the metal picked up considerable quantities of carbon and some iron, copper, and silicon but lost most of the potassium and lithium. It was not metallographically clean, and much research work was necessary to determine the optimum melting conditions for minimum contamination. This work has resulted in the development of a melting procedure by which sound ingots can be prepared with only a limited contamination by carbon. In the section entitled "Melting of the Electrolytic Metal," the equipment and processes that have been developed for melting the electrolytic crystals are described in detail. The "Metallography" section is devoted to the metallography of high purity uranium, and the section "Density of High Purity Uranium" contains the first property measurement on high purity uranium—a density determination. Melting of the Electrolytic Metal Apparatus—Melting and Vacuum Equipment: Uranium may be melted in either resistance or induction-type electric furnaces. Resistance heating was found to be preferable to induction heating for melting down the electrolytic crystals, for several reasons: Although induction heating permits fast heating, this advantage cannot be utilized when crucibles with limited thermal shock resistance are used. Temperature control of induction-heated melts is poor, and the stirring effect increases the rate of contamination of the melt from the crucible, slag, or the furnace atmosphere; liquation and controlled solidification are difficult to carry out. Because of these objections, resistance heating was chosen. A 10 kw Globar resistance furnace of low heat capacity permitted uniform heating of a uranium charge to its melting point in 45 min. The furnace was insulated with a removable aluminum shield so that, after melting and removal of the shield, the furnace could be quickly cooled to room temperature. The furnace was equipped with an apparatus for directional solidification; see Fig. la. The crucible was suspended in the center of the furnace; and when the melting was complete, the crucible was slowly lowered into the cold end of the furnace tube. Solidification took place upward from the bottom; and when the rate of lowering was small, a sound ingot free from sink holes and shrinkage cavities was produced. To remove the large quantities of gas contained in the electrolytic crystals, melting in a high vacuum is mandatory. While, from the standpoint of contamination, melting in a highly purified argon atmosphere appeared feasible, lithium and potassium removal proved less efficient under such conditions. Also, a vacuum-melted ingot has a cleaner surface than one melted in an inert atmosphere. The vacuum system must be of very high pumping speed and leak tight so that a vacuum of less than 2x10-7 mm Hg is attainable when the system is pumped down cold. The system must have a high pumping speed, so that the pressure maximum which may rise to 1x10-4 mm during heating can be quickly reduced

Jan 1, 1956

By AIME AIME

FEATURES of the second fall meeting of the Petroleum Division for 1941, held at the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, Oct. 29-30, were the forum on the Paloma Plan on Thursday after- noon, the large attendance from east of the Rockies, and the dinner on Wednesday evening sponsored by the Southern California Section and at which President Suman spoke on the strategic minerals and metals situation. The attendance was large and the technical fare uniformly good ; the presiding officers had the proceedings well in hand at all times and kept things humming. Some- times it was necessary to taper off the discussion because of pressure on time. All this was due to careful groundwork before the respective sessions. These presiding officers deserve citation: L. W. Huebel, Howard Pyle, E. K. Parks, Carlton Beal, E. G. Trostel. R. W. French, Jr., John Dodge, and H. N. Marsh. The Los Angeles local commit- tees and the Southern California Section deserve much credit for the arrangements, which were recognized by suitable resolutions at the end of the meeting.

Jan 1, 1941

By E. W. Engelmann

RAPID progress has been made during the past year in the copper mills throughout the country. Particular efforts have been made to increase the fine-grinding efficiency by the installation of larger classifying units operating in closed circuit with ball mills, such as the 78-in. high-weir Akins installation at the Phelps Dodge plant at Ajo, Ariz.; also the Type "FX" Dorr classifiers of Nevada Consolidated at McGill. Nev. and the "FX" Dorr bowl classifier of the Braden Copper Co. in Chile. Some of the copper milling plants in the Southwest, such as Chino in New Mexico and Ray Con. in Arizona, have replaced rolls operating wet in their fine-grinding circuit by rod mills. At Hollinger primary rod mills were formerly used in open circuit followed by pebble mills in closed circuit with classifiers. They now have primary ball mills in closed circuit with large extra heavy classifiers and no secondary mills. This new installation is producing the same grinding on 5000 tons per day with a reduction in cost of nearly 4c. per ton. At the Braden plant, in Chile, short-head Symons crushers have replaced 54-in. rolls, thereby in- creasing crushing capacity with some saving in maintenance cost.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. W. Josephson

VIRTUALLY every year inventors find one or more startling new uses for one of the varied products of the nonmetallic mineral industries. For example, in November a major step toward positive control of rainfall was made when an experimenter converted a cloud to snow by dropping a few pounds of solid carbon dioxide into it. Other examples of ingenuity in the development of markets and production methods are noted in the following pages. For most of the industrial mineral products one of the outstanding features of 1946 has been the high level of production. There are exceptions, such as quartz crystal and lithium, whose production capacity during the war outgrew current peacetime needs, but they are few. Some technical men point out that this prosperity is not an unmixed blessing to technologic progress, because so much effort must go into day-to-day production problems that relatively little opportunity is left for the pursuit of new developments.

Jan 1, 1947

By Robert L. Clayton, Arthur Baker

Two massive sulfide zinc-copper ore bodies are in quartz-sericite schist (probably formed by regional metamorphism of sediments) and andesite of the Precambrian Yavapai Series, on opposite sides of a large rhyolite mass. The Copper Queen ore body is conformable with bedding of its schist host rock, but the Old Dick ore body probably crosscuts the strata. A lens of low-grade mineralization in chlorite schist, associated with the Old Dick ore body, crosscuts through 150 feet of strata. The ore bodies are almost entirely enclosed by premineral faults with less than 150 feet of displacement. The minerals of the ores are pyrite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, with minor arsenopyrite and galena and small amounts of intimately associated chlorite, sericite, and calcite. Old Dick sphalerite-chalcopyrite intergrowths have mutual boundaries, and sphalerite grains contain abundant exsolved chalcopyrite. Copper Queen sphalerite-chalcopyrite intergrowths have extremely ragged boundaries, the sphalerite contains no exsolved chalcopyrite, and the ore overall has a schistose texture. The pre-mineral fault on the hanging wall of the Copper Queen ore body has had 100 feet of post-mineral displacement. Wall rocks of the Old Dick ore body locally have been sericitized. Andesite and quartz-sericite schists for at least several hundred feet around both ore bodies have been chloritized erratically and contain traces of copper.

Jan 1, 1968

By Zay Jeffries

TUNGSTEN has the highest melting point of all the known metals, namely 3350° C.; it is one of the hardest of the metals; it has the highest equiaxing or recrystallization temperature after strain hardening, of any pure metal known. It is particularly distinguished because, when composed of small equiaxed grains, it is extremely. brittle and fragile at room temperature, and when possessing a fibrous structure it maybe ductile and pliable at room temperature. The common ductile metals act in exactly the opposite manner in this respect. The present paper will include a brief note regarding the manufacture of wrought and. ductile tungsten. The metallography of wrought and ductile tungsten in the various stages of manufacture will be considered more or less in detail. The general relationships between the properties of tungsten and other metals will also be considered. A discussion will be given explaining why fibrous tungsten is ductile at room temperature, even though past experience with other metals would indicate that it should be brittle. Finally, a brief note regarding some new fundamental metallographic propositions relating to all metals will be given.

Jan 6, 1918

By Harry C. Gatos, Frank J. Bachner

It was shown through high-pressure experiments that tin loss by volatilizatim is necessary for the degrada-tion of the superconducting transition temperature of Nb,Sn associated with high-temperature annealing. Crystallochemical analysis of the degraded Nb3Sn showed that it constitutes a new phase with ordered niobium-site vacancies, created by the migration of niobium atoms to vaccnt tin sites. This new phase was found to form when 4 pct Nb-site vacancies were present. It has a transition temperature of 6'K and a lattice parameter of 5.283A. A similar degradation effect was observed in Nb,Al. Its superconducting transition temperature dropped from 16.5" to 8" K following a high-temperature annealing. The superconducting temperature degradation in these 0-tungsten structure compounds is attributed to the disruption of the interchain d bonding by the periodic interruption of the niobium atom chains. By annealing the degraded Nb, Sn at 1000 C in nitrogen its normal superconducting behavior is restored most likely due to the incorporation of nitrogen atoms causing the elimination of the ordered vacancies. HANAK et al.' have observed low superconducting transition-temperature values (T, - 9"K) in some NbsSn samples deposited from the vapor phase. They attributed such low T, values to disorder in the 0-tung-sten structure. Much lower T values (down to 5.6"K) were reported by Reed et al.zC for NbsSn samples annealed at high temperatures. These authors also attributed this degradation effect to disorder (random occupation of the A and B sites by niobium and tin) but pointed out that such disorder could be brought about (by high-temperature treatment) only in samples containing niobium in excess of the stoichiometric composition NbsSn. Both groups reported that the normal superconductivity behavior could be rever-sibly restored by appropriate heat treatment. Courtney et al., also found that degradation in NbsSn requires excess niobium brought about by the loss of tin during the treatment. However, these investigators proposed that the degradation is due to niobium-site vacancies resulting from the migration of the niobium atoms to the vacated tin atom sites. They did not consider the reversibility of the effect. The present study attempts to establish the nature of the above degradation phenomenon. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES All compounds prepared for this investigation were made from the powders or filings of the elements which were intimately mixed, cold-pressed into a cylindrical pellet at approximately 50,000 lb per sq in., and then submitted to the desired heat treatment. The samples annealed under high pressure were placed in a MgO sample container which was mounted in a pyrophyllite tetrahedron designed for a tetra-hedral-anvil press. Details of the experimental arrangement are given elsewhere. This setup allowed heating at 1800°C or above under pressures in excess of 30kbars for 3 hr. The samples annealed in a vacuum were prepared in a high-temperature vacuum furnace which could reach temperatures up to 2400°C under a pressure of 2 x lo-' Torr. For annealing in a reactive atmosphere, a quartz tube was placed in a clamshell furnace and the desired gas ambient passed through the tube. Lattice parameters were determined using a Debye-Scherer 114.6-mm camera. Cohen's method, programmed for the IBM 7094 computer, was used to calculate the lattice parameter from the measured d spacings. X-ray integrated intensity measurements were made on several samples. These samples were ground to -400 mesh and the powder mixed with a solution of collodion in amyl acetate. The mixture was poured into a depression milled in a bakelite disc. When the mixture dried, the surface of the disc was ground flat leaving a diffraction surface defined by the face of the disc. The disc was mounted in a Philips rotating specimen holder which allowed the rotation of the sample in the plane of the diffraction surface and the integrated intensity measured using a scintillation counter and a pulse-height analysis sys-tem. The superconducting transition temperatures were determined by means of self-inductance techniques.' EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Role of Tin Loss in the Degradation of Super-conductivity. The loss of tin during high-temperature annealing can be effectively suppressed by annealing under high hydrostatic pressures. Accordingly, a series of experiments were performed under pressures of approximately 30kbars. This pressure was the minimum under which high-temperature experiments could be safely performed in the particular pressure apparatus employed. Experiments were also designed to test high-pressure effects on the superconductivity behavior of NbJSn. The results of the high-pressure annealing experi-ments are summarized in Table I. All samples were prepared as described earlier. They were reacted and homogenized at 1000°C for 24 hr under argon at-

Jan 1, 1967

By J. S., Douglas

IN 1880, the late James Douglas, LL.D., was superintendent of the Chemical Copper Co., operating the Hunt & Douglas process for the treatment of the siliceous copper ores of the Jones mine at Phoenixville, Pa. In conjunction with this a refining furnace was operated. After correspondence with Ben Williams, of Bisbee Ariz., who was commencing the mining and smelting of the Copper Queen ore. Dr. Douglas decided-to make his first journey to Arizona. While making plans for the trip lie visited a friend in Philadelphia, a .Mr. Logan, a prominent lawyer. He, through Professor Treadwell, brother of the discoverer of the great Treadwell gold mine of Douglas Island, Alaska, had an option with his min¬ing partner, Mr. Lenig, on the Eureka and Wade Hampton claims near the headwaters of the Verde River in Yavapai County, Arizona. These two claims, later the source of practically all of the wealth of the Jerome district, were then owned by C. P. Head and Co. Prescott merchants. Hugo Richards, banker, and formerly sutler at Camp Apache; Rod and John McKinnon prospectors and Nova Scotians; and perhaps one or two 'other owners of minor interests. Mr. Logan, hearing of Dr. Douglas intended trip to Bisbee, asked him to go first to see the two mining prospects, and this, Douglas, in need of the $500 fee, agreed to do as the time on the option on the claims was running short.

Jan 1, 1935

The General Committee met in the Treasury Building at Washington on Oct. 6 and 7. At the first meeting, Cornelius P. Kelley was appointed chairman, and Paul Armitage, secretary. Sub-committees were ap-pointed on Invested Capital, Mine Valuation, and Depletion and De-preciation. On Oct. 7, the reports of these committees were submitted to the General Committee and were referred to the Executive Committee. A motion was carried that the Executive Committee he constituted a permanent committee to continue the work of the Committee, with full power to acid to and increase its membership, that. as thus increased, it should constitute a permanent organization to act- and cooperate with the Treasury Department in matters of mining taxation under the Federal Income and Excess Profits Tax Laws. Thereafter the Executive Com-mittee met and formed a permanent committee as follows: Cornelius F. Kelley, chairman, 42 Broadway, New York City. J. L. Darnell, office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Wash-ington, D. C. J. Parke Channing, 61 Broadway, New York City. Walter Douglas, 99 John St., New York City. R. V. Norris, 542 Second National Bank Bldg., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. J. E. Spurr, Engineering and Mining Journal, 10th Ave., and 36th St., New York City. W. G. Swart, 808 Selwood Bldg., Duluth, Minn. J. P. Finley, 45 Cedar St., New York City. W. A. Williams, Bartlesville, Okla. F. S. Peabody, Peabody Coal Co., McCormick Bldg., Chicago, Ill. Matthew C. Fleming, 71 Broadway, New York City. H. B. Fernald, 54 Wall St., New York City. William G. Mather, Cleveland, Ohio. Walter Fitch, Eureka, Utah. Arthur Thacher, 900 Security Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. John P. Gray, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Paul Armitage, secretary, 233 Broadway, New York City.

Jan 12, 1919

By Henry D. Hibbard

I. INTRODUCTION. THESE impurities are perhaps the most important things in steel-especially steel made by the oxidation processes-the effect of which has not been at least approximately determined. By oxidation processes I mean the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin, during which the metalloids in the charge are removed by oxidation. It has been truly said that it is a clear advantage to have a new name for a new thing. To secure this and to economize space, let us adopt the name sonim (plural sonims) to designate the solid non-metallic impurities existing in steel or other metal. I would define a sonim as a solid non-metallic portion of matter existing as an impurity in metal. A piece of sand, brick, clay, or such material, imbedded in metal, would be considered as a foreign body, not as an impurity, and therefore not a sonim. The studies of sonims of which the results have been published hitherto, have been made chiefly or wholly on finished or at least on cold steel, without much, if any, regard to the specific methods by which the steel was made. While many of the results so obtained are valuable, they give little help in determining the cause, effect, or cure of the disease. It is not enough, in such a study, to know merely the commercial name of the process; for within the field of each process lies a great number of possible variations, each of which will yield a result differing in some respect from all others; and the control of sonims is particularly dependent. on the metallurgical treatment of the metal, because of the inability of analytical chemistry to throw much light on their presence, condition, and effect, as they usually occur in commercial steels. The microscope aids more, perhaps, than chemistry in their study.

Apr 1, 1911

By J. E. Ryan

TRONA, Calif., is a miniature urban community of some 3500 people, located on the northwest shore of dry Searles Lake in the extreme northwest corner of San Bernardino County, approximately 186 miles north and east of Los Angeles. Since it is situated on the Mojave Desert, a typically desert climate prevails with wide variations in temperature between day and night, extreme daytime summer heat, and cool to cold winters. Rainfall averages somewhat less than 4 in. per year, and dust storms are common. The rate of evaporation, .however, is great, amounting to 6 to 9 ft of water per year. The extremely low humidity makes the summer heat of 110°F tolerable with only a mild, temporary discomfort. Nature of Deposit During the periods when Searles Basin was flooded, the waters that passed through Indian Wells Valley spread out to form a broad, shallow lake providing, in effect, a settling basin for suspended sediment. The drainage into the deeper and more isolated Searles Basin thus was clarified to a great degree before concentration began. Today, the elevation of the dry surface of Searles Lake is 1618 ft, and the salt deposit measures 5x7 miles. At the eastern and northeastern margins of the main playa zone and just at the foot of the alluvial slope of sand and coarser wash from the Slate Range mountains, a rim of crusted salts rises a few feet above the level of the flat. The deposit is a saline efflorescence composed of salts that were presumably brought up with rising ground waters to be deposited at the surface by solar evaporation. This deposit consists chiefly of trona, and it is after this Trona Reef that the town Trona was named. Strip mining operations have been conducted in the past at infrequent intervals for the recovery of crude trona salts. The main focal point of interest in Searles Lake from a commercial standpoint is the main salt body located almost centrally in the basin. The exposed portion of this porous saline deposit covers approximately 12 sq miles and averages 71 ft deep. Its interstitial voids, which constitute 50 pct of the total volume, are permeated with a brine, which is in equilibrium with the soluble salt deposits. The brine is the raw material for the operations of the American Potash and Chemical Corp. plant at Trona, shown in Fig. 1. The soluble salt deposits are of interest for their potential values in future technologic development. The brine, which is stratified according to slight differences in density, stands usually within 6 in. of the surface of this exposed, firm, salt body. The surface is usually dry and will support the weight of heavy mobile units and drilling equipment. Occasionally, however, surface waters from the higher watersheds encroach upon the main salt body during infrequent periods of precipitation on the surrounding mountains. This water dissolves surface salt, becomes a dilute brine, and has been observed to stand as high as 18 in. above the salt surface when undisturbed. Windstorms will shift the water back and forth across the lake surface. The exposed salt body is surrounded by additional submerged areas of commercial soluble salt deposits covering some 20 sq miles, hidden from view by marginal playa mud. These vary in depth up to as much as 30 ft. Thus, the outline of exposed and submerged salt deposits of commercial value is estimated to cover a total area of 32 sq miles, which is roughly circular but slightly elongated from northwest to southeast. It has been estimated that each square mile contains about 100 million tons% f alkali salts. The results of drill borings in the past 15 years have brought to light the interesting fact that the main salt body lies superimposed on an impervious mud deposit from 10 to 15 ft thick containing relatively little soluble salt. Under this deposit lies a second soluble salt body 35 ft deep. The lower salt body is interspersed with numerous insoluble mud lenses and its composition is considerably different from that of the primary, or main salt deposit. Recent drill borings have not penetrated beyond 300 ft. They have, however, revealed that underlying the lower salt body, the mud sediments carry deposited minerals of trona, nahcolite, mirabilite and much less soluble carbonates or sulphates of calcium and/ or magnesium. This structure is shown in Fig. 2. Current Lake Survey Program Several hundred holes have been drilled in the deposit. However, to carry out a thorough and carefully correlated study of the composition of the soluble salts and other minerals in the dry lake basin, a drilling program was inaugurated recently and is now nearing completion. In this survey, pattern drill holes are sunk at regular lh-mile intervals to a depth of approximately 150 ft. Drilling equipment consists of a No. 51 C. P.

Jan 1, 1952

By E. S. Greiner

STUDY of the plasticity of germanium or other semiconductor crystals affords unusual opportunities to extend our knowledge of deformation mechanisms. Crystals are available having extraordinary perfection and very high purity. They deform by slip on the systems {111} <110>,1-3 as do crystals of the simple face-centered-cubic structure. Dislocations generated in them during slip are easily revealed in the form of etch pits on either (111) or (100) surfaces.4,5 This fact alone makes possible more detailed studies of mechanisms than is usually the case with metals but, even further, the effect of deformation on their electrical conductivity is very large compared with metals. This comes about not only because the mobility of the charge carriers is reduced, as in deformed metals, but also because the number of these carriers is greatly altered. This latter effect seems closely related to the formation of both line and point imperfections during deformation and thus provides a needed tool for the study of the kinds and distributions of these imperfections. Other investigators have deformed germanium at elevated temperatures by bending,1, 6-8 compres-sion,6, 0,10 tension,2,3,6,11,12 torsion,23 and indentation." Wang and Alexander" have also reported successful indentation at room temperature. Dislocation etch pits consequent to deformation have been observed and studied.7,8,10,18,14,20 The experiments to be de- scribed here include principally the compression and the subsequent annealing of germanium with concomitant studies of etch pits, microstructures, and electrical properties. Both single crystals and heavily twinned specimens were used. Some indentation studies are included. Experimental Methods Plastic compression was effected in the apparatus shown schematically in Fig. 1. It consists of two tantalum platens contained in a helium atmosphere and so arranged that pressure can be applied by a hydraulic press. The specimen between the platens is heated by the surrounding furnace. The specimen is usually a small crystal cube about 0.30 in. on an edge. A control specimen is always inserted so, that it is subject to the same thermal cycle as the one being deformed. This serves to detect any impurity contamination that might accompany the thermal treatment. For high temperature work, where such impurity contamination often occurs, the specimens were first plated with gold whenever subsequent electrical properties were to be determined. This method" is effective in preventing significant contamination of germanium up to temperatures at least as high as 750°C, as evidenced by the constancy of the electrical conductivities of control specimens subjected to the same heat treatments. The total range of temperature used for deformation was from 375°C, the lowest at which significant flow was observed, up to 900°C. Microscopic examination was made after mechanical and chemical polishing and etching. Dislocation pits were revealed with CP-4 etchant by the tech-

Jan 1, 1958

By George Newton

When Mr. Bailey asked us to present a paper describing our new BOF shop, he requested that we avoid a presentation heavily laden with detail and statistics. Not only have we attempted to do this, but also we have prepared a number of colour slides which, hopefully, will provide you with a graphic conception of the facility. The installation of the BOF facility at the Steel Co. of Canada&apos;s Hilton Works was delayed many years because of the remarkable production growth of the oxygen open hearth furnaces in No. 3 shop. However, in mid-1960 it became strongly evident that not only would increased ingot capacity be required, but also that N0.2 shop - with vintage non-oxygen open hearth furnaces - would have to clean its stacks in the near future, or be closed down. A decision to embark on the BOF facility was made in 1967 after an extended period of in-depth planning and assessment of industry trends.

Jan 1, 1972

By Charles S. Barrett

This paper is a progress report covering metallographic applications of the electron microscope that have been made during the past year at Carnegie Institute of Technology. An account is presented of the techniques that have been most satisfactory, the difficulties encountered, the resolution obtained, and the peculiarities that have been noted in the microstruc-tures. About 1200 exposures have been made during the year on the instrument, which is an RCA type B2 transmission microscope,&apos; and a number of these have been selected to illustrate the results obtained. prints are also included showing the common types of falsities—to borrow a term from the biological field, the "artifacts." ln brief, the paper is a record of our attempt to determine the value of the electron microscope in the study of the structure of metals and alloys. In addition to comments on techniques and the quality of photomicrographs obtainable with them, the paper discusses the nature of the etch attack on a few metals, and the possible relation between the fine structure revealed by etching and the mosaic block structure of the grains, since numerous papers and reviews are available on the subject of imperfection in crystals, the comments here may be very brief; in fact, are restricted almost entirely to points having to do with recent theories relating the strength of metals to imperfections and to spacings of slip lines. Specimen Preparation and Photographs Mechanical polishing by hand was used throughout this work. Precautions that must be taken in microscopy at high magnification, which have been well explained by Vilella in his book on Metallographic Technique for Steel, are likewise important with the electron microscope. This applies particularly to the need for these polishing and etching (each successive polish becoming less severe and each etch lighter), since the fina1 etch should in general be no heavier than is used for oil-immersion optical microscopy and in many instances should be much lighter (compare Figs. 6a and 7a, 6d and 7b). An extremely light etch, of course, is incapable of cutting through a flowed layer of appreciable thickness. Unquestionably it would be very advantageous in each instance to compare the structures obtained by electrolytic polishing with those obtained by mechanical polishing, but difficulties with the electrolytic method have prevented this in the following collection of prints. The choice of etchant is important, of course; for example, picral proved superior to nital for tempered martensite. With the exception of Figs. Ib and 16, the replicas used were of silica, deposited upon polystyrene and floated from the polystyrene in ethyl bromide according to the method of Heidenreich and Peck.2 The samples were mounted in Bakelite, polished and etched, then the polished Bakelite

Jan 1, 1944

By Charles S. Barrett

This paper is a progress report covering metallographic applications of the electron microscope that have been made during the past year at Carnegie Institute of Technology. An account is presented of the techniques that have been most satisfactory, the difficulties encountered, the resolution obtained, and the peculiarities that have been noted in the microstruc-tures. About 1200 exposures have been made during the year on the instrument, which is an RCA type B2 transmission microscope,&apos; and a number of these have been selected to illustrate the results obtained. prints are also included showing the common types of falsities—to borrow a term from the biological field, the "artifacts." ln brief, the paper is a record of our attempt to determine the value of the electron microscope in the study of the structure of metals and alloys. In addition to comments on techniques and the quality of photomicrographs obtainable with them, the paper discusses the nature of the etch attack on a few metals, and the possible relation between the fine structure revealed by etching and the mosaic block structure of the grains, since numerous papers and reviews are available on the subject of imperfection in crystals, the comments here may be very brief; in fact, are restricted almost entirely to points having to do with recent theories relating the strength of metals to imperfections and to spacings of slip lines. Specimen Preparation and Photographs Mechanical polishing by hand was used throughout this work. Precautions that must be taken in microscopy at high magnification, which have been well explained by Vilella in his book on Metallographic Technique for Steel, are likewise important with the electron microscope. This applies particularly to the need for these polishing and etching (each successive polish becoming less severe and each etch lighter), since the fina1 etch should in general be no heavier than is used for oil-immersion optical microscopy and in many instances should be much lighter (compare Figs. 6a and 7a, 6d and 7b). An extremely light etch, of course, is incapable of cutting through a flowed layer of appreciable thickness. Unquestionably it would be very advantageous in each instance to compare the structures obtained by electrolytic polishing with those obtained by mechanical polishing, but difficulties with the electrolytic method have prevented this in the following collection of prints. The choice of etchant is important, of course; for example, picral proved superior to nital for tempered martensite. With the exception of Figs. Ib and 16, the replicas used were of silica, deposited upon polystyrene and floated from the polystyrene in ethyl bromide according to the method of Heidenreich and Peck.2 The samples were mounted in Bakelite, polished and etched, then the polished Bakelite

Jan 1, 1944

By R. H. Winn

In this paper a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir is considered as a succession of layers of formations of radically different porosities, permeabilities, water saturations, and rock matrix types; i.e., the heterogeneity is vertical rather than radial to the wellbore. Presumably each layer is more or less homogeneous. To determine the "net oil in place" in this reservoir it is desirable to know the porosity and water saturation of each layer. In addition, the section must be subdivided into that which will produce oil, that which will produce water, and that which will produce little or nothing. In numerous wells drilled in these reservoirs radioactivity surveys, guard electrode surveys, and caliper surveys have been made. These logs have been compared with core analysis data, when available, and the analysis of the surveys compared with production data. This study, still in progress, is intended to provide improved analytical techniques if such are possible. This paper is a progress report on the work. DETERMINATION OF POROSITY The neutron-gamma log has long been recognized as a measure of hydrogen concentration.1,2,3 In reservoirs that are free of clay, shale, or other hydrogen containing matrices, it has been accepted as a measure of porosity.4,5 Empirical methods to relate relative neu-tron-gamma intensity to porosity are often employed." To provide a more precise determination of porosity from the neutron-gamma log each instrument is calibrated immediately prior to each survey by a method which refers all tools to a hydrogenous cylinder. To insure stability a calibration check is made after each survey. These calibration records are printed as an integral part of the log that is recorded in standard counts per second. A detailed description of the calibration procedure is available in the literature.&apos; The procedure employed insures that each Survey is numerically reproducible within the limits of statistical variation. To relate the standard neutron counts per second to porosity and hole size, records were made in test wells constructed of blocks of limestone. The porosities of the blocks were accurately measured and the blocks completely saturated with fresh water. Fig. 1 presents some of the results obtained in these test wells.&apos; The lines shown in Fig. 1 were obtained by deriving an empirical equation relating the 11 points shown so that the relationship may be projected to larger and smaller hole sizes. A detailed description of the tool is available in the literature.&apos; Field tests indicate that the tool is adjacent to the wall of the hole most of the time when the surveys are made in uncased holes drilled with saline muds. In this circumstance porosity may be calculated from Fig. 1 if the hole size is known. When fresh muds that form thick mud cakes are employed, the centralizing effect of the mud cake must be considered and the porosity determination is less reliable. In cased holes the combined effect of variations in hole diameter and the unknown eccentricity of the casing in the hole may make porosity determinations extremely unreliable. In any event, an accurate knowledge of hole size is essen-

Jan 1, 1958

By W. L. Saunders

THE world&apos;s greatest producing area is, geographically, in the midland region of North America about the Great Lakes. This area, with but one- third of the nation&apos;s population, produces, with the exception of tobacco and cotton, three-quarters of the principal staples. It provides the surplus or export grain, meats, dairy products, steel and leading minerals. The social and political condition of a nation is determined by its industrial efficiency, and the share of the commerce of the world obtained by a nation is fixed more by the economy of its transportation than by any other factor. It is an economic maxim that: The total cost is the cost of production plus transportation cost. The cost of carrying 1000 tons by water or 100 tons by rail is equal, over the same distance

Jan 1, 1921