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By F. R. Milliken

EXPERIMENTS, in what has come to be known as flash roasting began some ten years ago. The principle underlying the operation was not a new one, but the experimental work started at that time was the first that was carried through to a logical conclusion, followed by construction and operation of a pilot plant, and then full-scale production. For a short working definition, flash roasting may he considered the instantaneous and complete oxidation of finely ground sulphide particles, partially suspended in air or gas, the oxidation reaction evolving enough heat to make the reaction self-sustaining, or nearly so.

Jan 1, 1937

By GUY C. RIDDELL

THE recent purchase by an American investment trust of a substantial block of shares in a British owned Venezuelan copper operation directs attention to mining activities that have been quietly gaining momentum in that country for a number of years. We hear so much of oil work in Venezuela that attention to its metal-mining activities is in most quarters casual. In gold and copper the country has made some interesting mining records, and two of the old districts are ,digging in for a come-back. Copper Copper production centers in the state of Yaracuy. The Aroa-Cumaragua mining region has had a long and eventful history. The Aroa mine itself, 50 miles from the coast in West-Central Venezuela, was discovered in 1605. First mined in 1632, owned at one time by Simon Bolivar, it has been reopened many times and is now , the basis of substantial operations by the South American Copper Syndicate, Ltd. of London. The latter has operated the property profitably, off and on, for a number of years, paying heavy dividends on a small investment-at times over 300 per cent annually.

Jan 1, 1929

BUMPS in No. 2 Mine, Springhill, N. S., furnished the main feature for discussion at the morning meeting* on Ground Movement and Subsidence on Feb. 18. Walter Herd, the author of the paper by which the discussion was introduced, not being well, was unable to be present. The paper was presented by T. L. McCall, who laid stress on the presence of sand- stone as the cause of bumps, on the value of retreating longwall in eliminating such phenomena at the coal face and on the advantage of wide headings with packs on either side, leaving space behind them for any coal that bumps might dislodge. George S. Rice, who presided, referred to his visits to the Nova Scotia mines and said that bumps usually occurred only where the coal was thick and strong and the roof and floor both more than usually hard. If any of the three were weak, bumps were not likely to occur. In the Nova Scotia mine, to which Mr. Herd referred, there was no material for packwalls and for this reason as well as for safety he had been convinced that long- wall retreating with a small percentage of pack walling was the most feasible plan.

Jan 1, 1929

By Frederick G. Tickell

GEOLOGISTS have been quick to adopt new methods in locating new oil fields and in finding the extensions, laterally or at depth, of the old fields. For most of these new methods he is indebted to the physicist, the engineer, and the chemist, although he has also drawn from such ordinarily unrelated sciences as bacteriology and protozoölogy. These last-named sciences have been of help in problems dealing with the origin of petroleum and, although not of direct application to oil finding, have furnished evidence of value in learning what oil is made from and what are the natural agencies involved in its formation.

Jan 1, 1932

By B. L. Averbach, M. F. Comerford, M. B. Rough

The volume fraction of ß phase was determined in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy by measurements of integrated diffraction intensities. The (0002), and (100)ß diffraction lines were chosen because this combination minimizes the errors resulting from preferred orientation. The difficulties arising from fluorescence radiation were eliminated by use of a diffracted beam monochromator. A specimen quenched from 1475OF (800°C) contained approximately 5 pct ß, but in specimens quenched from higher temperatures no ß was found. The ß phase formed during aging, and in specimens solution treated at 1570oF (855oC) approximately 10 pct ß was present after aging at 1000°F (540°C) for 24 hr. This ß appears to form by decomposition of martensitic a'. ThE kinetics of the reactions which occur during the heat treatment of titanium alloys are complex ' and not completely understood. It has been proposed that hardening occurs in some alloys' on aging by the precipitation of a transition phase w followed by the formation of the stable a and ß phases. It has been proposed for other alloys2 that the a' marten-site decomposes by precipitating finely dispersed a particles. Most investigations have been hampered by the difficulties of determining quantitatively the amounts of the various phases present. This paper is concerned with the measurement of the amount of ß phase by an X-ray method, similar to one developed for the determination of retained austenite. The principal new feature was the use of a mono-chromator in the diffracted beam in order to reduce the fluorescence arising from the sample. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experiments were carried out on an alloy of nominal composition Ti-6Al-4V (actual weight percentages: 6.2 Al, 4.1 V, 0.02 Mn, 0.17 Fe, 0.005 H, 0.03 C, and 0.02 N). The material was received as 5/8-in.-diam centerless ground rods in the annealed condition. The heat treatments were carried out in a vacuum of approximately 0.03µHg. The X-ray intensity measurements were made on 3/8-in. thick discs. The surface was prepared by grinding off about 0.060 in. and electropolishing in a solution af 60 ml (70 to 72 pct) perchloric acid in 1000 ml glacial acetic acid with a current density of 0.5 amp per sq cm.q The X-ray determination is based on the proportionality of the diffracted intensity of each line to the volume fraction of the corresponding phase. In calculating the intensities for a powder sample it is assumed that a large number of grains con- tributes to the diffracted intensity and that the grains are oriented at random. The presence of preferred orientation introduces serious errors in the relative intensities. The material used in this investigation exhibited a strong preferred orientation, which could not be removed by heat treatment. Other investigators have also found that preferred orientation may be retained after phase transformations. Glen and pugh5 performed a detailed analysis of the randomness expected after several allotropic transformations, but stated that this is not observed. Burgers,6 and Burgers and Ploos van Amstel,7 found that, in zirconium, the original orientation is retained after two phase transformations. Newkirk and Geisler8 observed similar behavior in titanium. On the basis of this evidence, it appears that, in the absence of plastic deformation, textures present in annealed titanium alloys are retained. Heating an a-ß alloy to the all-ß region and subsequent cooling to room temperature do not make the orientation of the mar-tensite different from that of the original a phase. In the present investigation it was possible to take advantage of the crystallographic relationships involved in the martensitic transformation to minimize the errors associated with preferred orientation. The relative orientation for titaniu-m marten-site9 takes the form (0001), 11 (110)ß; [1120], 11 [lll]ß. The same relationship has been proposed for zirconium' and certain titanium-base alloys.10-12 Additional sets of approximately parallel planes have been determined for titanium-nickel alloys." The influence of preferred orientation can be minimized by comparing intensities from parallel planes in the two related phases. If it is assumed that each family of planes in a given phase is equally well populated, the effect of preferred orientation can be eliminated by using the normal multiplicity for the family of planes since each set of parallel planes is equally preferred for any orientation of the sample relative to the X-ray beam. The most suitable combination of reflections in the Ti-6A1-4V alloy appeared to be (0002), and (110)ß It must be recognized that the ß formed during aging of the Ti-6A1-4V alloy is a precipitate rather

Jan 1, 1960

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

NOT only is your toastmaster silver-tongued in his references 'to myself, but he is also quite in the habit of "saying it in silver." I have analyzed with some care his statistics of the world's silver production, which have been distributed here along with the menu, although frankly from the point of view of most of us, the distribution rather than the production of silver is of immediate concern. Unlike the performers by whom we have been entertained between courses, the rest of us on the program will have to do without costume or musical accompaniment, which as my friend Rains can testify puts an artist under severe strain. I am entitled by right of office and of precedent to receive your attention for ten minutes. The Governor, who appears on the program as a speaker; however, has asked me for five minutes of my time, and Senator Thomas has insinuated that he would appreciate one-half of the remainder, wherefore, I must ask your close attention to the very brief remarks that I am able to make under such restricted circumstances. To begin with, I want you to believe that I am approaching the task set by your toastmaster with misgivings. In looking over the Institute records relating to the Salt Lake City meeting of 1914 for some precedent as to what I ought to say, I found but one reference-and that of the following indefinite char¬acter-" and Friday night there was a hilarious banquet to 350 members and guests."

Jan 1, 1925

Gus C. Henning, New York City: In taking up the discussion of these specifications it is necessary that I give definitions of what I understand under the term " Specifications." There may be three kinds, viz.: (1) Specifications in general; (2) Standard Specifications; (3) Standard International Specifications. 1. A Specification is a document used in commerce which should clearly define the qualities of material to be supplied by the producer, the tests which shall be applied for their determination, and the methods which shall be applied for the purpose of determining that the entire product shall possess such qualities, properties and finish as are desired. The terms used in such document must be applied in accordance with their strict technical definitions as used by those most conversant with them, and the language should be of such accuracy that there can be but a single interpretation of each and every clause. A specification is a part of a contract, and should be legally perfect and accurate. Inaccuracy of definition and dic-

Jan 1, 1903

By AIME AIME

MEXICO embraces one of the great metal and petroleum producing provinces of the world. In this respect its history dates back to the overthrow of the Aztec empire by a Spanish force under Hernando Cortes between 1519 and 1.521. Even before then, its richness in silver and other minerals was not unknown. But it was a treasure house for the Spanish conquerors until the country became independent in 1821. It has been computed that in the 400 years following 1521, Mexico yielded 1.55,000 metric tons of silver, worth $3,000,000,000, two-thirds of the entire world production. In 1935 the country accounted for 36 per cent of the world's silver output, 14 per cent of its antimony (in 1934), 13 per cent of its lead, 3 per cent of its zinc and copper, and 21/2 per cent of its petroleum. Contrary to the impression of some, its gold output is now comparatively small, though important in the past. Its oil, as well, formerly hulked much larger than now, in 1921 being one-fourth of the world output.

Jan 1, 1936

By H. Hubert

THE first attempts at direct utilization of blast-furnace gas in engines were made in 1895. For a considerable time the gas had been burnt in Cowper stoves for heating the blast for the furnace, and under the boilers which supplied steam to the blowing-engines, and others serving the furnaces. It was natural, therefore, that the idea of directly employing it in gas-engines should have occurred simultaneously to several engineers, notably to Lürmann and to Lencauchez, who had pointed out the blast-furnace as a powerful -gas-producer. Nevertheless, nowhere had any attempt been made to apply it to this purpose up to the end of 1894, when Thwaite proposed it to Mr. James Riley, of the Glasgow Iron & Steel Company. About the same time investigations were being made in Belgium and in Germany, independently of Thwaite's experiments, which were not generally known on the Continent. The industrial world, which up to that time had hardly favored the idea, had thus been gradually prepared to receive it. The gas-engine, long restricted to small sizes and dependent upon the use of an expensive fuel obtainable only in large centers, now began to make headway. At the Paris Exhibition of 1889 two engines of 100 h.p. were shown and excited much interest among engineers. One had four cylinders, and was made at the celebrated works of the Deutz Company, and the other was a single-cylinder engine, exhibited by two French designers, Messrs. Delamare-Deboutteville and Malandin. In the meanwhile the design of gas-producers had made important progress, completely freeing the new engine from its

Nov 1, 1906

By Gerald Edmunds

THE liquidus line on the phase diagram for temperature versus composition of a binary alloy system, representing the boundary between the homogeneous melt and the heterogeneous melt plus solid, besides showing the minimum casting temperature, is useful in determining eutectic compositions and the presence of phase changes such as peritectic transformations and intermetallic compound formation. The liquidus often is determined by the cooling curves of thermal analysis, but supercooling frequently occurs, so that the temperature values are low. An alternative method, the one employed here, consists of determining the com- position of samples of the melts from heterogeneous alloys that are at equilibrium. With meticulous attention to fundamentals, this method is capable of yielding values limited in precision only by the temperature control and measurement and analyses. APPARATUS By starting, on the one hand, with a supersaturated solution and allowing the excess solute to precipitate, and on the other hand with an undersaturated solution and allowing more of the solute to be dissolved, both processes being carried out at the same temperature, equilibrium may be said to have been approached from both directions; that is, from above and from below. If the analyses show the solutions to contain the same fraction of solute when equilibrium has been approached from above and from below, one is assured that equilibrium has been reached in both determinations. In order to carry out such determinations, it is necessary to have equipment for obtaining and maintaining the proper temperatures; for holding the melt, measuring its temperature, and stirring, sampling and analyzing it. The present work required temperatures from 420° to 900°C. The equipment consisted of: A furnace, which was a vertical alundum tube, 1 ¾ in. diameter inside and 18 in. long, wound with Nichrome resistance wire, surrounded by a 3-in. i.d. alundum tube wound for 5 in. of length near each end, for compensation of end losses. This muffle was contained in an iron shell with Transite end plates, the intervening space being packed with Sil-O-Cel. The outside dimensions of the furnace were 12 in. in diameter by 18 ½ in. in height. Heating current was supplied by three independent variable-voltage transformers (Variac), one connected to each end compensator winding and manually controlled, and one connected to the main winding through a series resistance of 5 ohms. This resistance was short-circuited for

Jan 1, 1944

By V. Niemitz

Approximately 30 miles east of Chicago on the southern shores of Lake Michigan stands Bethlehem Steels newest fully integrated steelmaking facility-the billion dollar Burns Harbor plant. The first phase of what will ultimately be the most completely integrated and flexible materials handling system for a steel mill in the western hemisphere is now complete.

Jan 1, 1970

By D. R. Hay, E. Scala

Electrotransport has been superimposed on the rate-limiling- step in zone refining which is the impurity diffusion through the liquid at the solid/liquid interface. The efficiency of zone refining is increased and relative resistivity ratios (P300°k/P4 2°K) he increased by 50 pel in tungsten for a given number of posses using- the electrotransport field-aided method. The effiect of zotze refining in the presence of an electric field on the relative resistivity ratio is examined as a function of its intensity and polarity. THE effect of electrodiffusion on the effective distribution coefficient of zone refining has been discussed by Pfann and Wagner.' Control of the distribution coefficient in zone refining is of twofold interest. A distribution coefficient of unity can be increased or decreased, making possible the transfer of some previously inseparable solutes. The general efficiency of zone refining can also be increased. In the conventional zone-refining process impurities are removed by their retention in the molten zone and subsequent deposition at the end of the rod after a complete passage of the zone. In higher-melting-point systems a second mechanism may also operate, the volatilization of impurities from the molten zone. It has been suggested by schadler2 that, in refractory metals, vacuum distillation plays the predominant role in purification. In Koo's results,3 the resistivity ratio decreased beyond a zone-refined length of 6 in. from the starting end, indicating that some purification does in fact occur by true zone-refining action. Hay and scala4 showed that the degree of purity as measured by the relative resistivity ratio method depends on the square root of time in the molten zone (number of passes) and thus appears to be limited by diffusion in the boundary layer at the solidifying interface assuming good mixing in the body of the molten zone where a linear rate would prevail. The final concentration of impurities in electron-beam floating-zone purification depends very much on the operating conditions and results obtained by various investigators2,3,5 are difficult to correlate. The diameter of the starting material, operating vacuum, and rate of traverse are among the factors to be considered. There are, nevertheless, some general observations to be obtained from the literature. Lawley5 reviewed the literature up to 1962 and concluded that the major contaminants generally remaining in tungsten after electron-beam zone refining are molybdenum and carbon. Molybdenum due to its high melting point and distribution coefficient of nearly unity would be expected to be difficult to remove by either volatilization or zone refining. Carbon is not only a common contaminant in vacuum systems, but is also very difficult to remove by conventional vacuum melting. even with vacuums of 10-7 mm Hg. For each of those impurities removed by zone refining the equation of Pfann and Wagner may be applied: It relates the effective distribution coefficient k to a superimposed driving force which accelerates the solute away from the interface with a terminal velocity L" and to the more conventional zone-refining parameters; v = rate of traverse, t = thickness of the diffusion layer at the solidifying interface, D = diffusivity of the solute in the molten zone, and ko = equilibrium distribution coefficient of the impurity.

Jan 1, 1965

By John J. Cioston

THE steadily rising flood of gold production from all parts of the world has created an avalanche of rumors regarding the stability of the present price of this metal. Markets have been unsettled from Johannesburg to London from New York and Toronto to Melbourne, despite repeated denials from, American and British authorities of any immediate intention to alter the price. Various economists and financial writers have blossomed forth with predictions that the price would be set at the old level of $20.67 per oz.; some have even been so brash as to state That a price of $15 would be necessary to bring production within control. These effusions, based entirely upon monetary theories and with no regard to production costs, serve to confuse rather than clarify the situation.

Jan 1, 1937

By Clyde E. Williams

THROUGHOUT its history the American iron and steel industry has constantly striven to improve the quality and reduce the cost of its products. No one needs to be told how well it has succeeded. Its success in making steel products at such a low cost has been achieved mainly through large-scale production. While costs have gone down as the rate of production and the degree of mechanization increased, quality of product has been actually improved. Thus high-tonnage records are important only in the light of high quality of the steel. Quality is the watchword! Continual improvement in quality has come as a result of research, not only in the laboratory but in the large commercial units in the plant. In fact, so many operations of the industry are on such a huge scale that experimental work must be done under commercial operating conditions so every progressive steel plant is a research laboratory.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. I. NORTON, H. O. Hofman

ZINC smelters in the central western. States have established a very high standard of purity for blende-concentrates, viz., zinc 60, iron less than 3, and lead less than 1 per cent. The very low percentage of iron is made possible by the blende containing less than 0.5 percent of isomorphous iron sulphide and by the sparing occurrence of pyritic material in the large blende-deposits of southwestern Missouri and southeastern Kansas. The blende in these districts occurs in sub-Carboniferous limestone, and is associated with chert, residual clay, calcite, pyrite or rnarcasite and bitumen. The different minerals are coarse and therefore readily separated by mechanical washing from the blende, with the exception of pyrite and marcasite, as blende has a specific gravity of from 3.9 to 4.1, marcasite, from 4.85 to 4.90, and pyrite, from 4.95 to 5.10. The common procedure of dressing the ores is to crush in a breaker, size in a trommel with 0.5-in. holes, pass the over-size through roughing-rolls and then jig the ore, now reduced to 0.5 in. maximum size, in roughing multiple-sieve jigs. The products of these are waste-tailings, sine-discharge coarse concentrates, side-discharge coarse middlings and bottom-discharge fine middlings. The coarse concentrates are sent to the market. The coarse middlings are crushed in middlings-rolls and brought back into the system by feeding into the main trommel. The fine middlings are cleaned upon finishing-jigs. Any pyrite or marcasite present follows the blende and increases the percent-

Mar 1, 1905

By A. W. Hale

IN a work published in 1838, De Morgan, the author of the article on "Probabilities,' in the Encyclopedia Metropolitana, says " The method of least squares is not yet introduced into the affairs of common life,….that many things which are demonstrable only by the higher branches of mathematics are looked upon as useless." And he mentions an instance in which "a method was suggested for estimating the relative importance of boroughs, by considering their population and contributions to the revenue com-

Jan 1, 1881

By AIME AIME

A discussion of the Papers by Prof. H. Hubert, Liege, Belgium ; Mr. Tom Westgarth, Middlesbrough, England ; and Mr. K. Reinhardt, Dortmund, Germany, presented at the London Meeting, July, 1906, and printed in Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 12, November, 1906; pp. 910 to 930, 971 to 987, 1037 to 1163. MR. ADOLPH GREINER, Seraing, Belgium :-I have nothing special to add to Professor Hubert's paper except to say that there are some little things that it would be well to have cor-rected when the paper comes to be published. In dealing with the thermal efficiency of the engine, you will find that the 29.84 per cent was a very high one. Professor Hubert has forgotten those engines built under the Cockerill type, but he has referred to them in Appendix II. At our works at Cockerill we have built 63 engines, giving 63,000 h.p., and the other companies who have received licenses have built 113 engines, making 103,000 h.p., and aggregating 176 engines and 166,000 h.p. Eight years ago I had the pleasure of giving to the Institute the results obtained up to that time. Since then a good many engines have been constructed. In 1898 I thought a blast-furnace producing 100 tons of pig iron would allow 3,000 h.p. Professor Witz and Professor Hubert show that with the same production of pig the new engines take 3,800 h.p. out of the gas. At present at Cockerill we make 700 to 800 tons of pig iron per day, and we hope to have 26,000 h.p; in a few years. At present we have only half of that in gas-engines, but we hope to have in five or six years all the gas out of these furnaces to the number of 25,000 or 26,000 h.p. MR. Tom WESTGARTH, Middlesbrough, England:-My contribution is not a paper in the ordinary sense of the word, because I am sure you will agree with me that what I have written is only supplementary to the other two papers. The notes are schedules of the larger-size gas-engines built by the engine-makers, of 500 h.p. and upwards. If you look at the schedules you will find that in England gas-engines have be-

Jan 1, 1907

By G. E. Johnson

LEAD SMELTERS AND REFINERS in 1932 were confronted with the problem of adjusting operations and costs to curtailed production and consumption at reduced prices, a problem which has been partially solved at least by improvements in operating technique and increased efficiency. At the Mount Isa properties in Australia, a third blast furnace and additional Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines were installed during the year, designed to increase the production to 6,000 tons of bullion per month. The large proportion of lead carbonate in the ores to be treated has presented metallurgical problems. Of the total lead contained in the concentrates to be smelted, two-thirds is Dresent as carbonates and one-third as sulfides. In the iiitial operations, the resulting Dwight-Lloyd sinter was soft, contained an excessive amount of fines, and was easily fusible. When charged to the blast furnaces it developed accretions in the upper part of the furnace owing to the easily fusible lead carbonates softening and fusing at the top of the charge column. This was remedied by the addition to the sinter feed of diluents of higher melting point, granulated slag and crushed limestone. The sinter feed consists of concentrates, Cottrell dust and wind-box cleanings, totalling 57 per cent of the charge; return sinter fines 15 per cent; granulated slag 23 per cent; and crushed limestone 5 per cent. The sinter produced contains 34 per cent lead and 0.5 per cent sulfur. Experiments indicated that double sintering under these conditions was of no advantage, so the original plan of single sinter treatment was retained.

Jan 1, 1933

CONTENTS PAGE East Texas, except the Gulf Coast-H. Vance 3 Gulf Coast-L. P. Teas 8 Texas Panhandle-C. C. Rae 16 North Central Texas-H. F. Smiley 23 North Louisiana, South Arkansas and Mississippi-B. C. Craft 25 Oklahoma-C. H. Pishny, Raymond M. Carr and E. J. Dickinson 31 Kansas-E. A. Koester 35 Rocky Mountain District-C. D. Johnson 46 Illinois and Indiana-T. Wasson 49 Michigan-T. Wasson 52 Eastern States-P. D. Torrey and W. H. Young, Jr 58 West Texas and New Mexico-W. V. Vietti. Published as a Supplement.

Jan 1, 1933

By Phillip Philbin, Frank E. Senftle

A field neutron activation analysis technique suitable for determining uranium in ores has been tested. The method is based on the measurement of the 74.7 keV gamma ray from 'U. When the thorium/uranium ratio is greater than one or the vanadium is greater than 1%, a low uranium analysis is obtained. No satisfactory correction for thorium has been found, but a correction for vanadium can be deter¬mined. For ore containing greater than 0.01% uranium, the uranium can be deter¬mined with an accuracy of about 10% which is quite adequate for a field exploration technique.

Jan 1, 1972