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By W.M. Peirce

The present work has been done in an endeavor to correlate and complete the data on the constitution of alloys of zinc with other common metals, dealing exclusively, however, with the zinc-rich alloys in which the zinc content is between 90 and 100 per cent. This investigation has included the systems lead-zinc, cadmium-zinc, iron-zinc, copper-zinc, aluminum-zinc, nickel-zinc, manganese-zinc, cobalt-zinc, tin-zinc, and magnesium-zinc. The important ternary system zinc-lead-cadmium and the zinc corners of other ternary systems have been investigated in connection with this work but will not be dealt with here. Zinc does not form a single homogenous zinc-rich solid solution over any considerable range of concentration with any of the metals mentioned. A limited range of solid solubility is said, by previous investigators, to occur in several cases and certain effects on the properties of zinc are attributed (with varying degrees of consistency among different writers) to the presence of certain other metals dissolved in zinc. The increasing use of rolled zinc and the possibilities offered by zinc as a casting alloy in certain fields have made it essential to determine precisely these equilibrium relationships. In carrying out this investigation reliance was placed chiefly on two methods, conductivity measurements and microscopic analysis. The first method proved valuable in determining the existence and extent of solid solubility. The second method stands alone as a means of determining structural characteristics and supplements the first method in the measurement of solid solubility. The scleroscopic hardness of all conductivity specimens was measured partly for its value from the point of view of mechanical properties and partly as a check on the conductivity curves in indicating the limits of solid solubility. No hardness curves are included in this paper, for in no case were they important in arriving at the constitution of any system. Conductivity measurements were in all cases made on cold-rolled strips 0.020 in. thick and 0.5 in. wide, both as cold rolled and after an

Jan 1, 1923

By W. M. Peirce

The present work has been done in an endeavor to correlate and complete the data on the constitution of alloys of zinc with other common metals, dealing exclusively, however, with the zinc-rich alloys in which the zinc content is between 90 and 100 per cent. This investigation has included the systems lead-zinc, cadmium-zinc, iron-zinc, copper-zinc, aluminum-zinc, nickel-zinc, manganese-zinc, cobalt-zinc, tin-zinc, and magnesium-zinc. The important ternary system zinc-lead-cadmium and the zinc corners of other ternary systems have been investigated in connection with this work but will not be dealt with here. Zinc does not form a single homogenous zinc-rich solid solution over any considerable range of concentration with any of the metals mentioned. A limited range of solid solubility is said, by previous investigators, to occur in several cases and certain effects on the properties of zinc are attributed (with varying degrees of consistency among different writers) to the presence of certain other metals dissolved in zinc. The increasing use of rolled zinc and the possibilities offered by zinc as a casting alloy in certain fields have made it essential to determine precisely these equilibrium relationships. In carrying out this investigation reliance was placed chiefly on two methods, conductivity measurements and microscopic analysis. The first method proved valuable in determining the existence and extent of solid solubility. The second method stands alone as a means of determining structural characteristics and supplements the first method in the measurement of solid solubility. The scleroscopic hardness of all conductivity specimens was measured partly for its value from the point of view of mechanical properties and partly as a check on the conductivity curves in indicating the limits of solid solubility. No hardness curves are included in this paper, for in no case were they important in arriving at the constitution of any system. Conductivity measurements were in all cases made on cold-rolled strips 0.020 in. thick and 0.5 in. wide, both as cold rolled and after an

Jan 1, 1923

By A. C. Watts

FOR several years, a mine in Colorado experienced considerable trouble from small fires caused by the blasting of coal. Although a well-known make of permissible powder was used, it was first thought that the powder ignited gas that might be present and that this, in turn, set fire to line brattices or to the coal. Experiments were, therefore, conducted with another make of powder, but the results convinced the superintendent of the mine, Robt. Williams, Jr., that the fires were not caused by the powder but by the high-voltage electric current used for detonating the shots. The mine "makes" gas very freely, giving off from three-fourths to a million cubic feet of methane per 24 hours. The coal is a good grade bituminous of a very free burning quality. Electric shot-firing from the outside after all men and animals were outside had been practiced for a number of years. The shooting circuit was connected with the main power circuit at the mouth of each entry. Shooting circuit switches were mounted in boxes, which were kept locked with the handle of the switch, in open position, showing through the bottom of the box. The door of the box could not be shut and locked when the shooting switch was closed. At the entrance to each room, or working place, a small switch, called the miner's switch, was placed on the shooting line. It was the duty of the miner, when entering his place at the beginning of the shift, to see that this switch was open and that it was kept open until he left the place at the end of the shift to go out of the mine. Grounded return was used for main power lines. The current was 500 volts, direct current, with 100 to 300 amp. The nearest working face was 9600 ft. from the shot-firers' switch outside the mine and the most remote working face was 2 ½ miles. The various working faces were scattered over a wide area between these two points.

Jan 9, 1925

By J. J. Van Nouhuys

THE economics of aerial survey and the technical processes by the aid of which vertical and oblique aerial photographs are turned into line maps showing the most profuse topographical detail such as contours, rivers, roads, plantations, habitations and cultivated lands do not concern us here. They have been ably and exhaustively described in the publications of the British War Office, handbooks on surveying methods and on photogrammetry and in the South African mining, engineering and geological press. Suffice it to mention that for geological interpretation vertical photographs are used on such scales as 1/5000 to 1/10,000, overlapping each other by 55 to 60 per cent in the direction of flight and some 10 to 20 per cent sideways on to the next sequence or strip. Through this duplication in the overlap the stereoscopic examination becomes possible. The standards by which monochrome aerial photographs are interpreted can be grouped under the following headings: 1. Continuity.-The continuity of topographic relief not obtainable on the ground owing to the smallness of man relative to that relief. Here lies the greatest value of aerial survey with relation to geology. An immediate alignment can often be made of drainages running in different directions on each side of a hill; saddles and gorges in the mountainsides; abrupt termination of outcrop or indubitable signs of faulting. Most conclusive evidence is thus often obtained about faults which may be perfectly visible at one place on the ground but cannot elsewhere be identified because of decreased throw. Similarly, dikes can often be followed notwithstanding frequent interruption and disappearance under the soil. Scattered outcrop in scrub-covered or bush-covered country can be compared with field work. The same applies to geological contacts. Once these have been 3stablished at a few points on the ground, the intervening stretches can be drawn in.

Jan 1, 1937

By H. F. Beardmore

PETROLEUM consumption during 1946 broke all previous records and further increases are expected during 1947. U. S. consumption amounted to an average of 5,280,000 bbl a day, of which 4,745,000 bbl was domestic crude oil, with the rest from natural gasoline production and crude oil imports. World consumption during the past year, excluding Russia, is estimated at 7,200,000 bbl daily. Forecasts for 1947 indicate a U. S. consumption of 5,425,000 bbl daily of petroleum products. This is expected to be made up of 4,655,000 bbl of domestic crude oil production, 340,000 bbl of natural gasoline production, 400,000 bbl of crude oil imports, and the rest from stocks. Petroleum's principal use is still as a fuel. The field remains highly competitive, but petroleum has been continuously progressing. Less than fifty years ago, oil supplied only one twentieth as much of the nation's total energy as coal, but today it supplies over half as much.

Jan 1, 1947

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

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

By Howard Eavenson

PRIOR to 1907 nearly all coke was made in beehive ovens, and most of the gas produced was made in the old-style gas retorts, and while there were a few coke plants in southern West Virginia, southwest Virginia and Kentucky operating on high-volatile coals the proportion of the total product made by them was small and was usually used locally. The greater part of the coke made, and the coal gas produced, came from the Pittsburgh seam of western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia-which was then regarded as the standard coking and gas coal of the coun, try, and the best coal available anywhere for these purposes. With the advent of the by-product oven and the building of coke plants at the furnaces, the restriction of the use of one grade of coal for making coke was removed and the use of mixtures of low-volatile and high-volatile coals began. The change in the locations of the coke plants removed the necessity of using Connellsville coal and also made sources of gas available to the public utilities other than of their own manufacture. Most of the first oven plants were built at points distant from the Connellsville region and this afforded an opportunity for the use of coals from the southern Appalachian fields, which were at approximately equal distances from the ovens. Since that time development has been made on a number of seams of coal of great purity in southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia and eastern Kentucky, which have been largely used for cokemaking, gas and other metallurgical purposes where low amounts of ash, sulfur and phosphorus are determining factors. These coals are much lower in the objectionable elements than the best of the coal from the Pittsburgh seam, or than any northern coal, and in by-product ovens produce coke that is not excelled for any purpose by any coal mined in this country, and is equaled very seldom. Coal from several of these seams is shipped in great quantities without beneficiation and is lower in ash and sulfur than the best washed product from any seam mined in the north.

Jan 1, 1932

By Yap Chu-Phay

IN 1923, when the writer began his studies in metallurgy, he came upon an article by Professor Honda on the, Equilibrium Diagram of the Iron-carbon System, 1 which made a profound impression on him. What interested him most was this sentence: "In the recent diagram of the iron-carbon system, the solidus is usually shown as a curve bending considerably downward. But it can be shown by thermodynamics that if the liquidus is straight or slightly curved, the same must also be true for the solidus. Hence, in my constitutional diagram, the lower portion of the solidus is slightly bent upward." Ever since then the writer has been interested in thermodynamics, especially chemical thermodynamics. The applications of thermo-dynamics to the metallic systems have been, in the writer's opinion, sadly neglected, although we continually use the phase rule in our study of equilibria in the liquid and solid states of metallic alloys. Many investigators, among whom may be mentioned Heycock and Neville, and s Honda and his coworkers, have applied the simple Raoult-van't Hoff law of depression of freezing point, mainly to determine the heat of fusion, but no attempt has been made to investigate the applicability of the thermo-dynamic laws of solution (as opposed to the laws of solution derived from other sources) to metallic systems" showing either limited or complete solid solutions. Perhaps the reason for this neglect is that until recently there have been so few reliable data on the solidus, which is much more difficult to determine than the liquidus. The writer has under way at the present time an investigation of a number of systems, the solidi of which have been more or less reliably determined. Recently, the writer has not only shown the valid applicability of the thermodynamic laws of solution as applied to the system antimony-bismuth but has also suggested a method of attacking problems involving complete and incomplete equilibria.2 In the present paper, the same method of approach is employed. For convenience, we shall divide this paper into two parts:

Jan 1, 1931

By Walter V. Knopp, Laurence Delisle

INTRODUCTION THE aim of this work was the preparation of nickel-steels from elemental metal powders by powder metallurgy techniques. It was known that plain carbon steels could be made from a mixture of iron powder and graphite and that the effect of carbon on iron in powder form was of the same nature as that produced in fusion metallurgy. The problem in making nickel steels from elemental powders consisted therefore in finding out whether sufficient diffusion of the nickel and other incidental metals normally present in such steels could be induced in the solid state to modify the properties of plain carbon steels made from powders and produce the beneficial effect of alloying. The composition selected originally was that of an S.A.E. 2330 steel. Metal powders, in the proportion corresponding to that composition, were mixed with graphite, pressed, and heated at different temperatures for different periods of time, to produce bonding of the metal particles and mutual diffusion of the various elements without melting. Temperatures up to 1325°C and sintering periods as long as 6 hr were first investigated because it was expected that such conditions would produce maximum diffusion with an accompanying improvement in the properties of the alloy. It was found that, although diffusion proceeded to a large extent under the conditions investigated, it would not be complete unless sintering were carried out at a high temperature for much longer than 6 hr. Relatively high temperatures and long sintering times are objectionable from a practical point of view, particularly when a low cost material is to be produced, because they necessitate the use of special, costly equipment. Work could be done to improve the diffusion of iron and nickel by changing conditions other than the sintering temperature and time, i.e., finer primary or alloy powders could be used. However, a marked change in the properties of the steel had been observed even with only partial diffusion. It was thought, therefore, that instead of trying to improve the diffusion, advantage might be taken of its incompleteness to produce a special structure consisting, in the unquenched condition, of a hard constituent, rich in nickel, dispersed in a tough pearlitic matrix. Steels with such a structure, not readily obtainable by fusion, should have desirable mechanical properties. Besides, it should be possible to prepare them from elemental powders under economical conditions. This latter alternative was therefore adopted for the second phase of this work. This report is divided into four parts: 1. General Procedure. 2. Effect of Sintering Temperature. 3. Effect of Varying the Nickel Content. 4. Effect of Alloying Elements. GENERAL PROCEDURE The general technique of cold pressing as used in powder metallurgy was applied.

Jan 1, 1948

By M. C. Dow

INTRODUCTION BELT conveyors generally are conceded to be the most economical method yet devised for the transportation of large quantities of bulk materials within plants. Belts are coming into greater use for transportation over long distances and are replacing other forms of long-haul conveyance. It is not the intent of the writer to comment on the design of belt conveyors, but to offer some suggestions for improvement in the operation of conveying belts, based on many years experience with belts in several stonecrushing plants. It is the contention of this writer that opportunities for improvement not fully realized by most operators exist in many plants and that a study of the individual conveyors can result in lower unit belt costs. GENERAL RELIABILITY It is the fool-proof nature and general reliability of the belt conveyor that is responsible for its neglect. Even when abused, a belt will carry large tonnages and last a long time, often outlasting the personnel responsible for its care. Some operators look upon the purchase of a new belt as an expensive outlay every so many years, rather than a constant and steady cost amounting in belt wear alone to several dollars every operating day. This belt wear for all conveyors in one stone-crushing plant known by the writer costs 1 1/2 cents per ton or $12 to $15 per hour, based on the present cost of belt replacements. The fact that these replacement costs are double those of prewar quality emphasizes the necessity of improving the conditions that make belts wear out. Some of those conditions are the responsibility of the conveyor designer, and if a serious original error has been made, this handicap cannot be overcome by the operator. If the belt is too narrow, too steep, or too fast for good loading, the operator finds that he has an inherently expensive belt. The other factors that decrease the life of a belt are more or less under his control. The two factors of most importance are the loading conditions and the alignment. Most of the cover wear and carcass cutting occurs at the loading point and if the alignment is not good under all conditions, edge wear or damage may result, Fig I. LOADING THE BELT It is difficult to load a belt in an ideal manner; that is, to flow the material on the moving belt at a steady rate, without impact, without turbulence, and with a velocity equal to and in the same direction as the belt. An inclined belt is especially difficult to load and particularly when its speed is over 300 or 350 fpm. Inclined conveyors require longer skirt plates to prevent spillage until the load settles. It does not seem reasonable to expect an inclined conveyor to carry the same load as a horizontal belt of the same width and speed, because of the difficulty in loading

Jan 1, 1947

By Henry A. Wentworth

(New York Meeting, February, 1912.) ELECTROSTATIC separation of ores in its present form is generally known as the Huff' process from the name of Charley H. Huff, of Boston, Mass., through whose constant and persistent labors (with the invention of Clinton E. Dolbear as a basis) the successful commercial process embracing separative machinery and the various electrifying devices has been developed step by step, and the finances for the long period of development provided, and the method finally established and recognized throughout the world as an important and successful addition to the ore-dressing department of metallurgy. The permanent field-success of electrostatic separation began in 1908 with a 20-ton Huff experimental mill built specially for the purpose by the American Zinc, Lead.& Smelting Co., in Platteville, Wis., a plant which was a success from the start and was gradually increased in capacity as the market-conditions warranted to 100 tons of concentrates per day. Much credit is due to the above-mentioned company for its initial venture, and for its assistance in applying the process to field use. Prior to 1908 electrostatic separators had been installed and operated (but for a comparatively short time, however) in a number of places; some under the patents of Mr. Dolbear by himself and associates, and some under the patents of Lucien I. Blake and Lawrence N. Morscher, by W. G. Swart, mining engineer, of Denver, who has always been a courageous advocate of electrostatic separation. Due to the difficulties experienced in the generation of the electrical charges, the primitiveness of the separators, the wooden construction instead of iron as at present, the lack of control of the electrical fields and other difficulties overcome by the later inventions of the Huff Electrostatic Separator Co.,

Jun 1, 1912

By Simon D. Strauss

What are future prospects for U.S. mining? In many quarters the assumption is made that this country has passed its zenith as a mineral producer -- that it is in a period of decline and that it is becoming a have-not nation like Japan and much of Western Europe. These industrial rivals of ours must depend almost entirely on others for their mineral supplies. In trying to answer this question one must of course distinguish between resources and productive capacity. In today's volatile and competitive markets, the definition of what are reserves and what are merely identified resources becomes ever more difficult. Many large deposits have been found that are unlikely to be viable in the marketplace under normal conditions but that can be of significance to the nation's military and industrial security in times of emergency. I should like to draw on personal experience from World War I1 for illustration. 4fter Pearl Harbor great concern developed over the availability of a long 1ist of strategic materials for which this country was largely dependent on imports. Included were a number of minerals of which domestic deposits had been identified. Among these were chromite, manganese ore, mercury, mica and tungsten.

Jan 1, 1982

By John S. Johnson

THE purpose of this article is to describe several types of borehole lining in common use, and especially to offer a relatively new means of reducing the expense of maintaining boreholes where they are subjected to corrosive action of water flowing either inside or outside of their casing. In the Anthracite region of Pennsylvania, boreholes are used for many purposes, the principal ones being: openings between the surface and underground workings through which are passed steam, water and compressed-air lines, ropeways from surface hoists to underground rope haulages, conduits for electric power and signal lines, water-discharge lines from underground pumping stations, and inlets to mine workings for flushing material. LININGS FOR BOREHOLES The inadequacy of steel pipe for use in boreholes has long been recognized. Various substitute materials have been tried, including screw-joint cast-iron pipe (Fig. I). Cast-iron pipe, while very effective as a discharge line for acid water (mine water) being pumped to the surface, is not so effective when serving as a conduit for silt and crushed rock being flushed underground for filling mine voids. Terra cotta pipe (Fig. 2) has been used in boreholes, and lasts a long time if the glazed inner surface of the pipe remains intact. Its installation in a borehole is very difficult and is recommended only where it is certain that there will be no subsidence of the surrounding territory. Accessibility in order properly to join each section of the pipe is essential to a satisfactory job. In large water holes, where it is possible to lower a man into the hole for sealing the joints of the pipe, glazed terra cotta pipe has been used successfully for delivering mine water from pumps in the mines. For large holes used for flushing refuse into mine workings where the surface wash is shallow, standard paving brick have been used to form a tube through the wash to the bedrock. These brick are laid radially, backed by common brick and cobbles laid in cement. It is obvious that the shaft through the wash must be large enough to permit a man to work in it. The flushing material is carried through bare rock from the juncture at bedrock to the openings underground. This plan has been used, particularly where a cast-iron surface line is laid upon the surface to carry the flushing material from the breaker to the hole, and down the hole continuously, with no opening to the air at the top of the hole, thereby eliminating the necessity of an attendant at this point (Fig. 3). Another similar type of borehole lining is constructed of hexagonal pieces of vitrified brick (Fig. 4). This type requires a steel drive pipe through the surface wash large enough to provide a finished tube of the desired size surrounded by a brick wall about 4 in. thick. The special bricks are laid in cement, six to a circle, around a lubricated pipe used as a form, and lowered in sections inside the large drive pipe; the bottom section is seated in a socket drilled in the solid rock, having the same inside

Jan 1, 1941

By S. C. Lindsay, D. J. I. Evans

With each year that passes hydrometallurgical processes are being more widely used to recover base metals from ores and concentrates. Generally these processes involve liquid-solid separation of metal-bearing liquors from barren residues. This may be done by countercurrent decantation, thickening and filtration, or filtration or centrifuging only. Choice of method is governed by chemical and physical characteristics of the pulps; cost of labor, power, materials, and waste disposal; and even by the amount of capital available when building plans are under way. Since all these controlling factors change with time and location and with technological advances, the separation method must be re-evaluated when new plants or expansion programs are contemplated. At the Sherritt Gordon refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, an ammonia pressure leaching process recovers nickel, copper, and cobalt from the nickel concentrate produced at Lynn Lake, Manitoba.' Pregnant liquors are separated from the barren leach residues in a thickener-filter liquid-solids circuit. The decision to use this type of separation was based on a summation of economic factors during the pilot plant and design stages. Although countercurrent decantation was not incorporated in the refinery flowsheet, the problems solved in thickening the leach residues and the experience gained in operating the commercial plant are pertinent to countercurrent decantation, particularly where it is applied to slow-settling leach slurries or slurries having a relatively high vapor pressure of a valuable, obnoxious, or poisonous vapor. The nickel sulfide concentrate is leached under pressure with air and ammonia to dissolve the nickel, copper, and cobalt and most of the sulfur, leaving a residue of iron and siliceous material to be discarded.2,3 During a subsequent distillation stage to recirculate part of the ammonia used for leaching, copper is recovered from the solution as a high-grade sulfide. After further purification to remove traces of copper and undesirable sulfur compounds, the nickel is precipitated by hydrogen under pressure at an elevated temperature. The cobalt, together with unreduced nickel, is precipitated as a mixed metal sulfide by hydrogen sulfide for eventual cobalt recovery. The end solution is then evaporated to produce a crystalline ammonium sulfate byproduct. As shown in Fig. 1, the nickel concentrate is leached in a continuous, two-stage, countercurrent circuit. In the first stage, or adjustment leach, the fresh concentrate is partially leached (60 pct) in the liquor produced in the second stage, or final leach. This system is necessary to produce a solution suitable for treatment in the copper sulfide precipitation step. Both stages are carried out at 170" to 180°F under a total pressure, with air, of 100 to 120 psig in large, horizontal, water-cooled autoclaves. The autoclaves are divided by overflow weirs into four compartments to give a certain amount of staging during leaching. In each compartment a relatively slow-speed (100 to 150 rpm) agitator maintains the nickel concentrate in suspension. Adjustment leaching, carried out in two autoclaves in parallel, is followed by a thickener-filter liquid-solids separation. Final leaching is done in two parallel trains of three autoclaves using aqueous ammonia to extract metal values from the adjustment leach residues. This too is followed by a thickener-filter circuit. Here the residues are repulped once with aqueous ammonia and twice with process water and refiltered after each repulping stage, to insure a maximum recovery of soluble metal, before being discarded to the tailings pond. The adjustment leach is followed by a seven-disk Dorr-Oliver American filter, with an agitator in the filter boot to keep the residues in suspension. Agitators have also been installed beneath the four ten-disk filters following the final leach thickener. Slurry Characteristics: A typical analysis of the Lynn Lake nickel concentrate, produced by differential flotation,' is given in Table I. The concentrate comprises 35 to 49 pct pentlandite, (Fe, Ni)S; 3 to 6 pct chalcopyrite, CuFeS,; 1 to 4 pct pyrite, FeS2; and 24 to 42 pct pyrrhotite, Fe1-2S (where x varies between 0 and 0.2) together with various siliceous minerals such as actinolite, hornblende, and talc. During leaching, the sulfur in the pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and part of the pyrrhotite is successively oxidized through the thiosulfate and poly-thionate radicals to sulfate and sulfamate." Simultaneously the nickel, copper, and cobalt are converted to soluble ammine complexes and the iron in the pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and part of the pyrrhotite is oxidized to a spongy hydrated iron oxide. The hydrated iron oxide is readily broken down by the agitation needed to sustain the concentrate in suspension and to maintain a satisfactory mass transfer of the oxygen from the air to the slurry. Table I shows typical chemical, screen, and

Jan 1, 1961

By Noel S. Christensen

COBALT is a silvery white metal with a slight bluish cast, strongly resembling nickel in its appearance and properties, notably its resistance to corrosion, although its alloys with other metals differ quite decidedly in their properties from those of nickel. The name cobalt was derived from the German "Kobold" meaning goblin and this came to be applied to the cobalt minerals which, although they resembled ores, did not readily yield metal when smelted by the primitive processes available in the Middle Ages. Cobalt minerals were used as pigments by potters and glass workers before the Christian era. Cobalt blue glass was found in the tombs of the Egyptians and in the ruins of Troy, and many colors used by the ancient Greeks and Romans contained cobalt. The ancients were entirely unaware that the colors they used were caused by cobalt and the metal itself was only isolated about the middle of the eighteenth century by Brandt although the preparation of cobalt compounds had been carried on in a small way ever since the opening of the silver-cobalt deposits at Schneeberg, Germany, in 1470. The metal is fairly hard, with a density when pure of 8.81 in the cast state and 8.92 after working. The commercial grade of cobalt has a density of about 8.75 in the cast state. The atomic weight is 58.97. The Brinell hardness of the pure metal is 124; that of the commercial grade varies from as low as 100 to as high as 138, depend¬ing upon the impurities present. Pure cobalt has a sharp melting point at 1478°C. The tensile strength of the pure metal in the cast condition is said to be higher than that of any other pure metal. Kalmus gives it as 34,400 lb. per sq. in. for cast unannealed metal; the effect of annealing at 850 to 900°C. is to raise the strength slightly. The yield point is close to the ultimate strength and the reduction in area and elongation are both low. Mechanical working raises the tensile strength of pure cobalt rapidly and in the form of wire it will be over 100,000 lb. per sq. in. The presence of small quantities of carbon in the commercial metal raises the tensile strength to as high as 61,000 lb. per sq. in., the reduction in area and elongation being raised at the same time to approximately 20 per cent.

Jan 1, 1933

By J. H. Yang, K. E. Gray

Results of single-blow bit-tooth impact tests on saturated rocks under elevated confining pressures and zero pore pressure were reported in a previous publication.1 This paper presents an extension of the earlier work to include a study of crater formation during tooth impact on both gas- and liquid-saturated Berea and Bandera sandstones at elevated confining and pore pressures. The basic data obtained were force-time, displacement-time, velocity-time and force-displacement curves during crater formation. Crater volume was also measured and the mode of crater formation determined. Bit tooth geometry, depth of penetration and velocity of impact were held constant. Results indicate that, with pore fluid present in the rock, failure trends from brittle to ductile as pore pressure is increased at constant confining pressure (pore pressure and borehole pressure were equal) For a given rock type, the mode of crater formation was dependent not only upon the nominal effective stress, but also upon the fluid which saturated the rock pore space. When confining pressure and pore pressure were equal (zero nominal effective stress), bit-tooth impact resulted in brittle failure for nitrogen-saturated Berea, and brittle to transitional failure for nitrogen-saturated Bandera; when saturated with liquid both rocks failed in a ductile manner at zero nominal effective stress. INTRODUCTION Dynamic wedge penetration tests have been conducted by investigators in several fields, but the failure mechanism of rock under dynamic stresses is not understood completely. The complex action of drilling bits, even considering the action of a single tooth, may be considered as a combination of drag bit and rolling cutter action. Thus, as a first step in understanding rock breakage in oil well drilling, single chisel impact and rock planing are of fundamental importance. For example, Gray 2 and Crisp3 studied drag bit cutting action at brittle stress states. Simon4 and Hartman5 studied the reaction of rocks to vertical impact by means of drop tests. The depth of penetration, crater volume and force-vs-time curves during crater formation were observed. The significance of indexing single-bit impacts has been noted.4,6-8 Gamer et al,9 reported impact tests on impermeable Leuders limestone at atmospheric and elevated confining pressures. In all cases the tests were accomplished on dry rock and pore pressure was considered to be zero. The importance of both confining pressure and pore pressure on the failure characteristics of rock was described. 10-12 It was found that the yield strength and ductility of porous rock depend on the state of stress under which the sample is tested. The importance of pore pressure on drilling rate in microbit experiments was noted by Cumingham and Eenink. l3 Robinson 12 also pointed out that in drilling the most important parameter in rock failure is the effective stress, where effective suess is defined as confining pressure pc minus pore pressure pp. The effect of pore pressure and confining pressure on rock strength was also noted by Serdengecti and Boozer 14 in strain rate tests, and by Gardner, Wyllie and Droschackl5 in elastic wave studies. Until recently all reported wedge impact studies under simulated wellbore stress states have been conducted on dry rock. Maurer 16 reported impact tests on samples saturated with deaerated water. Borehole and formation fluid pressures were equal in these tests except when mud was used in the borehole. With mud in the borehole and a high borehole-to-formation fluid pressure differential. Maurer observed "pseudoplastic" crater formation. Podio and Grayl reported impact tests on Berea and Bandera sandstone saturated with pore fluids having wide ranges in viscosities. In Podio and Gray's tests, confining pressure was elevated, but pore pressure and borehole pressure were held fixed at atmospheric pressure. The presence of

By Nicholas J. Grant, William H. Ferguson, Bill C. Giessen

Ta-lr alloys have been examined over the complete range of compositions using metallographic and X-ray techniques. The terminal solid-solubility limits, solidus temperatures, and intermediate phases were determined. There are four inter-mediate phases: o, tetragonal, analogous to a (Fe-Cr); 0,. orthorhombic; az, tetragonal; and a TaZr,, cubic, AuCu, structure. Of these, o and a, melt peritecticaLly, a, decomposes peritectoidally, and a TaIrs has a congruent melting point. Three peri-tectic and one eutectic reactions occur. 1 HE Ta-Ir phase diagram has not been treated in the literature. Intermetallic phases and terminal solid solubilities have been described and estimated.'-4 The previous findings have been confirmed in this work. A complete diagram with additional phases and solidus curves is presented. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Starting materials were tantalum powder of 99.8 pct purity, supplied by the National Research Corp., Cambridge, Mass., and iridium powder of 99.9 pct purity, supplied by the Bishop Co., Malvern, Pa. Both powders were -200 mesh. Table I lists the analyses as given by the suppliers. A standard procedure was employed in making the alloy buttons, which was described in detail in Refs. 5 and 6, and which included repeated arc-melting of powder compacts and determination of the composition by the weight-balance method. This is especially justifiable due to the similar vapor pressures of tantalum and iridium. In the critical parts of the diagram, a spacing of 1/2 at. pct was used, based on premelted master alloy material. The observed structures and X-ray spectra were consistent with the composition sequence of the alloys. Table II lists the final alloy atomic percentages with the calculated percent error of composition. Cross sections representative in grain size and composition were selected for the study, as described in Ref. 5. Based on prior experience, no contamination from the tungsten electrode was considered. Temperature measurements were obtained using a Leeds and Northrup optical pyrometer and have been described extensively in Refs. 5 and 6. All heat treatments were made in the high-vacuum tantalum tube furnace mentioned in Ref. 5. Samples annealed in tantalum containers cooled from 1800" to 1000"~ in 5 sec; those annealed in ceramic crucibles cooled over the same range in 15 to 30 sec. The thermal treatments are listed in Table 111. All specimens were homogenized at 1735°C for 24 hr. Tantalum-rich compositions were treated in tantalum buckets. Iridium-rich compositions were annealed in tantalum buckets below the eutectic temperature of 1950°C; up to 2200°C, tungsten-lined tantalum baskets were used; and above 2200°C thoria crucibles were used. It was found that refractory oxides (in early stages of the investigation alumina crucibles were used up to 1800°C and thoria crucibles were used to 2400"~) give off minute amounts of oxygen and thereby influence the microstructure considerably, or react directly with the alloys.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. L. Samuels

DURING the period from 1910 to 1920, there was a lively interest in the subject of grain growth and many papers were published, followed by interesting discussions. Questions dealing with the fundamentals of grain growth-why and how it occurs-were treated in papers by Howe,1 Jeffries,2 Sauveur,3 Chappell,4 Beilby,5 Mathewson and Phillips,6 McAdam,7 Carpenter and Elam,8 Stead and Carpenter,9 Ruder,10 as well as others. Since that decade, much indeed has been done regarding the practical control of grain size, and it is now possible to order material having a size specified in the American Society for Testing Materials classification. Also, one hears the term "spliced boundaries" used in connection with certain tungsten lamp filaments" wherein it is important to prevent "sagging" between consecutive turns of the helix." This practical use of a certain knowledge as to the things that influence or even control grain growth should not be taken as an indication that the subject has been thoroughly explored and that nothing more can be learned from fundamental studies. It is with this thought in mind that a report of some observations and experiments on abnormal grain growth is believed justified. Abnormal grain growth is met with in heat-treating high-carbon steels in the austenitic range,13 in the hardening treatments of high-speed steels, 14.11 and in the low-temperature annealing of strained low-carbon steels as in sheet and wire material. Entirely aside from these instances of exaggerated grain growth, which some might consider as freakish, it is thought that abnormal growth is simply a case where the growth forces and the forces tending to prevent growth are almost, but not quite, evenly balanced. Information relative to grain-growth characteristics in general may be obtained from a study of abnormal growth conditions, which may be looked upon as vantage points. Reflection will show at once that if growth forces are great in comparison to inertia or resistance to growth, many crystals start to grow and, for that reason, none becomes very large, whereas if inertia is predominant no growth at all takes place. Under conditions in which

Jan 1, 1938

By H. L. Stone, A. O. Garder

A numerical method of solving the partial differential equations which describe the one-dimensional displacement of oil by gas has been presented. Possible extension of the method to treat multidimensional flow is discussed, and the limitations of this extension are indicated. Using this method, it is possible to allow for the existence of a gas cap, the presence of any number of gas-injection or oil-production wells and the evolution of dissolved gas from the oil. It is also possible to allow for variation in the cross-sectional area, elevation, porosity and permeability of the reservoir. The influence of relative permeability and the force of gravity in the direction of flow upon the displacement is considered. The influence of capillary pressure upon the flow and the effect of gravity in the direction perpendicular to flow are neglected. The physical properties 01 the fluids are considered to be Junctions of pressure only, and equilibrium between contiguous phases is assumed. The numerical calculations can be readily carried out by the use of a digital computer. Several example analyses have been performed using the IBM 704 computer, and about one-third of an hour of computing time was required per case. Reservoir behavior predicted by use of this numerical method was compared to data obtained by other methods for three cases — complete pressure maintenance, dissolved-gas drive and gas-cap drive. The independent solutions to these problems were obtained by analytical solution, laboratory experiment and field data, respectively. Agreement of the numerical solution with data from these sources was good; this agreement establishes the convergence and accuracy of the numerical method. INTRODUCTION Most petroleum reservoirs can be produced by any one of several alternative programs. When a reservoir is produced by primary methods, production economics can be influenced by controlling the number and location of wells and the flow rate of each well. An even greater influence may be achieved by augmenting the recovery of oil obtainable by primary methods. This can be accomplished by injection of fluids such as water, natural or enriched gas or a bank of light liquid hydrocarbons. Selection of the most desirable operation requires a means of predicting the reservoir behavior which will result from each of the several alternative programs. The purpose of this paper is to present a mathematical method for predicting the behavior of reservoirs produced by gas-cap drive, dissolved-gas drive or pressure maintenance by gas injection. The method described herein takes cognizance of phase changes caused by a decline or an increase (due to gas injection) in reservoir pressure, of the presence of a gas cap and of the effect of gravity on the flow of gas and oil. Relative permeability relationships are used to define the flow properties of the rock. Allowance is made for variation in cross-sectional area, elevation, permeability and porosity of the reservoir. Both the influence of capillary pressure upon the flow and pressure gradients in the gas cap are neglected. Whenever a liquid phase and a gas phase are in contact, they are assumed to be in equilibrium. The physical properties of the fluids are considered to be functions of pressure only. Therefore, if the method is to be used to predict the effects of a gas-injection program, mixtures of the injected gas and formation crude should-have the same physical properties as mixtures of formation gas and crude. The equations to be presented in this paper apply only to a one-dimensional case; therefore, they neglect the influence of gravity in the direction transverse to the flow. As is well known, this gravitational influence may lead to overriding of oil by gas. Consequently, this procedure as presented is most applicable to long, thin reservoirs for which gravity overriding is not important. On the other hand, the equations presented can be generalized to treat multidimensional flow and, hence, to consider gravity overriding, if desired. A word of caution on two points is advisable here, however. First, the authors have not demonstrated the accuracy of the numerical technique for multidimensional flow. Second, and more important, capillary pressure will often be of importance in multidimensional problems. Obviously, in such cases a generalization of the