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By J. P. BONARDI, William F. Boericke

BOULDER COUNTY, Colorado, ranked during the war years and until the end of 1918 as one of the foremost tungsten-producing districts of the world. In 1919 production fell off drastically, due to heavy importations of foreign ores from China, Burma and South America. So large were the imports that even after the enactment of a protective tariff in 1922 of 45c. per lb. on tungsten metal, equivalent to $7.14 per unit (201b.) of tungstic acid? (WO,), the stocks of metal in this country were extensive enough to supply the demands of industry, and prevent general resumption of mining by domestic producers. Even today there are only two producers in the Boulder district though at one time as many as twenty separate companies were in operation. About the same ratio holds for other tungsten-producing districts in the country, including California and Nevada. Total consumption of tungsten concentrate in terms of 60 per cent WO2 in the United States amounted to approximately 3790 tons in 1928, according to Frank L. Hess.' Of this amount, domestic mines contributed 1290 tons, and the rest, 2500 tons, was imported. Yet in 1917, with tungsten concentrate selling at $20 per unit, the Boulder district alone produced 2707 tons, indicating the effect of enhanced ore price upon production. It is believed by American tungsten miners that, given a sufficiently high tariff, all the demands of industry can be met by domestic production without placing a prohibitive burden on consumers. For instance, in steel manufacturing the percentage of tungsten entering into the manufacture is so small that, ?regardless of cost, it can constitute but a small fraction of the cost of steel to the buyer.

Jan 1, 1929

By O. C. Wheeler

In order that the series of reports on oil and gas in Colombia may be complete, the report for the year 1941, which was not available for Volume 160 of the TRANSACTIONS, is given here. The report for 1945 begins on page 4o6.

Jan 1, 1946

By Beall, John V.

THIS is not simply the story of how a water filled shaft was developed into a million-ton- a-year producing mine in the space of four critical years, although it is reason enough for telling it, but it is also the saga of an engineering achievement in which knowledge nurtured by years of experience in coal and ore mines was blended together and the best from each type of mining selected. The entire system of mining was detailed on maps by the mining engineering department before the shaft was unwatered, and subsequent development followed these plans nearly to perfection. The selection of machinery was particularly critical as it was necessary to push production from only a few headings in the early stages of development and metal mine machinery was being used in a coal panel-system of mining. At the start of World War I1 the demand for iron ore to supply Woodward blast furnaces, and rapid exhaustion of the main source of Wood- ward ore, No. 3 Red Ore mine, necessitated speedy opening of the Pyne mine. The mine is three miles southwest of Bessemer and is responsible for 80 pct of Woodward ore, the rest coming from the Songo mine. The Woodward Iron Co. is one of the old producers of the Birmingham district. S. H. Woodward, an iron-master of Wheeling, overheard two Union soldiers conversing about ore and coal lands in Alabama, which lead to the acquisition of the first ore lands of the Woodward Co. in 1869. Development was not begun until after the death of S. H. Woodward; his two sons, W. H. Woodward and J. H. Woodward, formed the Woodward Iron Co. in 1881 and purchased a tract of land midway between the ore vein on the southeast and the coal field on the northeast about 12 miles southeast of Birmingham for the

Jan 1, 1950

By E. L. Anders

The Mile Six pool is located on the La Brea-Parinas Cullcession of International Petroleum Co., Ltd., in northwestern Peru on the west coast of South America. The reservoir pressure in this pool has been maintained within 200 psi of its initial value throughout its history, and gravity drainage has played an important role in the production behavior. It has now produced 95 per cent of its estimated ultimate recovery. It is estimated that this interesting oil pool will ultimately produce 67 per cent of the initial oil in place and that the resulting residual oil saturation may be as low as 19 per cent of the pore volume (29 per cent of the hydrocarbon pore volume). An evaluation of reservoir rock and fluid characteristics and ultimate oil recovery is presented. INTRODUCTION This study of Mile Six pool was made to evaluate its performance according to latest available information. The production performance of this pool has been discussed in various articles in the past. and the reported behavior has been used as an example for application of computation procedures for gravity drainage depletion' and as an illustration of field behavior under gravity drainage or expanding gas cap drive. There have been wide variations in reported values of initial oil in place, reservoir oil volume factor. connate-water sauration, volume of effective sand, and ultimate recovery because of the paucity of reliable basic data. These various factors have been determined as accurately as practicable with the latest available information, and this evaluation is presented herein. The production history of Mile Six is an excellent example of gravity drainage depleion with effective pressure maintenance by gar injection. GENERAL Mile Six pool was discovered by cable-tool drilling in November. 1927. when well 1996 was completed in the Parinas sand. After slow development with cable tools and sporadic production. the pool was opened to continuous pro(iuction in November. 1933. and develpment was completed with rotary rigs. Pressure maintenance was started in December, 1933. by returning gas to upstructure wells. Most of the development was 'completed by 1937, but some additional wells were drilled in the period 1939-1947. and several old wells were deepened. A total of 46 oil and gas wells and 4 dry holes were drilled on approximately 7-acre spacing. Of the producers. 21 are now flowing. 2 are pumping. 44 are gas input wells. 3 are abandoned. I is a gas well shut in. and 15 are shut in because of non-commercial production or high gas-oil ratio. The locations of all wells are shown on the map of Fig. I. Total oil production on Dec. 31. 1952, was 30,867,373 bbl: cumulative gas production was 22,023,777 Mcf; and 26,410,946 Mcf of gas had been returned to the reservoir. These figures do not include oil and gas lost ill a blowout in January. 1940. GEOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION Mile Six pool is located on the northern end of a structural spur projecting from the La Brea-Negritos uplift.' The spur is probably a reflection of a basement structure. It plunges gently to the north, i broken into a complex series of fault blocks. and contain.; the Verdun Alto. Section Sixteen. and Mile Six pools. The Parinas handstone (lower Eocene!. which is the producing formation in Mile Six. occurs at an average depth of 2,200 ft in the pool and dips north and east at from 15' to 20". The pool covers an area of approximately 350 acres. Mile Six is downfaulted about 600 ft from Section Sixteen pool to the soutb. and a major fault forms its western boundarv. The north and east boundaries are formed by the intersection of the sand top with the water-oil contact which occurs at approximately 2.440 ft subsea. An original gas-oil contact probably existed at about 1.875 ft subsea. Fig. 1 presents the latest structural interpretation of the pool. and Fig. 2 is an isopach map showing thickness of the total Parinas formation above the original water-oil contact. The heavy lints of Fig. 1 are contours on the sand top, and the fine lines are contours on the fault planes. This type of straight-line structural map was developed 1)) International's geologists to reflect structural conditions where the bedding planes dip and have no curvature. 'The La Brea-Parinas Concession is highly faulted by normal fault.. The beds are flat wherever exposed. The Parinas formation is approximately 635 ft thick. and it is etimated that 62 percent II the formation is effective sand. The original oil zone was about 565 ft thick. Fig. 211 presents an electric log showing typical Parinas sand development ill Mile Six pool. The Parinas band in Mile Six i. a well-sorted. medium- to-coal-se-grained. cross-bedded sand with minor lenses of shale and small lenses and pockets of pebble conglomerate. The sand grains are subangular to rounded and consist chiefly of quartz with feldspars. biotite hornblende, and augite as accessory minerals. Because of faulting of the Parinas- formation to the east and north of the pool. there is probably l possibility of a significant, natural water drive in Mile six. The faults within the pool. as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. are of smaller disI,laceInent and seem to act only , partial barriers to fluid movement within the reservoir. RESERVOIR CHARACTERISTICS Core analysis data are available from five wells. The data were obtained from three wells (Nos. 3401. 3586 and 3719) at the time of their completion and from well 1996 when the original liner was sidetracked and the well was deepened ill 1946. Data from well 2779 were obtained in 1943 from old cores taken when the well was deepened in 1934. From these core analyses. the average porosity was estimated to be 22.6 per cent. and the average permeability to dry ail. was estimated to be 780 and Measured productility indices varied from 3.1 to 71.4 B/D per psi differential. Specific productivity indices varied approximately from 0.1 to 0.3 B./D per psi per ft of sand.

Jan 1, 1953

By A. Tonejc, A. Bonefacic

As can be seen from the phase diagram A1-W1 the equilibrium solubility of tungsten in aluminum is practically nil at room temperature. By quenching from the liquid state (50,000°C per sec), Varic, Burov, and Kolesnicenko2 obtained A1-W solid solutions up to 0.15 at. pct W. The quenched alloys were in the form of foils, 0.2 to 0.3 mm thick. Considering the results of Duwez and Willens,3 it is obvious that this thickness, which makes impossible a sufficiently rapid quenching, was the main reason for the relatively low content of tungsten dissolved in aluminum found by varic.2 he present note shows that the metastable solubility of tungsten in aluminum can be appreciably extended in aluminum-rich A1-W alloys. The quenching technique and the procedure employed for the preparation of the alloys have been described previously.475 The resulting quenched flakes varied in thickness from 1 to 20 µm from experiment to experiment. However, the measurements of the lattice parameters were carried out only with flakes thinner than 5 µm. The areas of quenched flakes were between 0.1 and 15 mm2. The quenched flakes were placed into a 0.3-mm glass capillary tube which was then mounted in a 114.6-mm-diam Debye-Scherrer camera. Straumanis asymmetric film position and nickel-filtered CuKa radiation were used. The lattice spacings were computed taking X(CuKa1) = 1.54050A for resolved and ?(CuKa) = 1.54178A for unresolved doublets. All specimens were rotated at room temperature, 26o +2°C. The lattice parameters were estimated from extrapolation against the Nelson-Riley function. It was estimated that the error in the lattice parameter of the measurements on a single film lies within +0.0004A for lower and about +0.001A for higher concentrations of tungsten. The lattice parameters of the metastable solid solutions A1-W are plotted vs the concentration of tungsten in Fig. 1 together with the parameters measured by previous investigators.' Each point of the present measurements represents a determination of the lattice spacing on different quenched flakes, for a given concentration of tungsten. With experimental accuracy, the lattice parameters of the metastable solid solutions fall on the straight line passing through the already known data.' As estimated from the uncertainties in the lattice spacings of the solid solutions, the alloys were homogeneous within 0.1 at. pct W. The solubility of tungsten in aluminum-rich A1-W solid solutions obtained by a very rapid quenching technique is increased to about 0.95 at. pct W. This value is 6 times greater than the amount known up to now. -he lattice parameters of the resultant aluminum solid solutions with higher concentrations of tungsten than 0.95 at. pct W did not remain constant AUGER electron spectroscopy has been used to clarify the role of impurities in the embrittlement of AISI 3340 steel. Analysis of fracture surfaces has shown that the embrittled condition is correlated with appreciable antimony segregation at grain boundaries. The low temperature (400" to 600°C) temper embrittlement of low alloy steels containing various combinations of Cr , Ni , Sb , Mn , P , Sn , and As has been examined extensively for many years. General reviews of the area have been made by McMahon1 in 1968, LOW' in 1959, woodfine3 in 1953, and Holloman4 in 1946. Recent work by Low, Stein, Turkalo, and LaForce5 has done much in separating the alloy and

Jan 1, 1970

By Marcus Nadler

WAGES in the United States, in spite of the wage freeze, have increased materially. Overtime payments have become standard practice in almost all industries. Now efforts are being made to place wages on an annual basis, and if this is adopted, it will result in an increase in the cost of production. Organized labor today is more powerful than ever before; union membership is large and steadily increasing, and in many instances membership in the union is a prerequisite to employment. The treasuries of many unions are strong as a result of the large membership and full employment. The unions, therefore, today are in a much better position than ever before to carry on long strikes. Politically, too, the unions are more powerful today than they ever were. On the basis of their strength, one may expect that some of the demands that the labor unions will make in the not distant future will be granted. It is, therefore, quite evident that before long, particularly when the curtailment in war production reaches about 40 per cent, this country will be confronted with a serious labor problem.

Jan 1, 1945

By E. H. Rose

IN these days of the spectacular in research and technological accomplishment, it is easy and natural to overlook some of the applications to everyday life of recent developments of a more pedestrian kind, or to fail to realize that sometimes two or three of the latter may be combined to serve a novel purpose in fields other than those in which they grew. The present remarks are to point out three such developments which might be combined to apply to an everyday function of the A.I.M.E. as an organization. By its Constitution, the A.I.M.E. is organized "to promote the arts and sciences connected with . . . minerals and metals, and the welfare of those employed in these industries . . .; to hold meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate . . . among its members the information thus obtained . . .; and to . . . maintain . . . a library." By these words of Article I the profession of mining and metallurgy is recognized to involve many arts and sciences, of which the art and science of exchanging information is a leading one. As to methods of preparing or securing papers, the Constitution is silent.

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert F. Mehl

EXTENSION of physical and chemical methods of research in the study of metallic behavior continues rapidly, particularly in the correlation of behavior with crystal structure, and in the analysis of elastic and plastic properties. The growth of the science of metals during 1933 calls for special comment; the need for special reviews and for textbooks and monographs is now acute, as might he supposed from the number of references appended to this article, a list which is much abbreviated.

Jan 1, 1934

By P. R. Kalischer

IN the production of alloys by powder metallurgical processes it is often necessary or desirable to include one or more components that tend to form very stable oxides Included in this group of metals are aluminum, manganese, magnesium, silicon, and a few others In many cases it is not necessary for the sintered compact to have full density and the other physical characteristics of a cast alloy and in that event no undue precautions need be taken If, however, it s required that the sintered part be entirely homogeneous, and have maximum density and physical properties, some method must be found to reduce the surface films of oxide, which are always present on the metals, and for the metals mentioned above this is always extremely difficult, if not impossible Since the production of high-density alloys is of particular interest to powder metallurgists, some experiments were undertaken to devise methods of reducing the refractory oxides For this work, alloys of iron, nickel, and aluminum were chosen because aluminum oxide is one of the most stable oxides and because these alloys in the right compositions form excellent permanent magnets All of the pertinent properties of the magnets could be accurately and delicately measured by density measurements and magnetic tests of sufficient scope to give a complete demagnetization curve From such a curve the maximum coercive force, residual magnetism, and energy products could be obtained and compared with the same properties for a cast material Any lack of homogeneity, density, or solid diffusion would be immediately apparent as a decrease in the magnetic properties NATURE AND REMOVAL OF SURFACE BARRIERS The early work of the present investigation was based upon published processes In the published information it was claimed that by intimately mixing iron, nickel, and iron-aluminum alloy (50 per cent Fe, 50 per cent Al) powders, compressing such a mixture into the desired shape and size, and then sintering (heating to a temperature below the melting point of the component metals) in hydrogen at 1200ºC or higher, a sound, homogeneous article could be made having the desired physical size, shape, and strength, and good magnetic characteristics However, this early work showed clearly that something in the powder compress was inhibiting diffusion and the process was almost entirely unworkable In the initial phase of the investigation samples of iron powder, nickel powder, and iron-aluminum alloy powder were pressed into separate bars and sintered in hydrogen Both the iron and nickel powders sintered

Jan 1, 1941

By F. George, W. Tice, M. Salkind

It was found that Al-A13Ni could be readily cold rolled perpendicular to but not parallel to the whiskers. Reductions of more than 98 pct were achieved without cracking by rolling perpendicular to the whiskers, whereas extensive edge cracking was noted after only 15 pct reduction when rolling parallel to the whiskers. The longitudinal and transverse tensile strengths were nearly doubled, and the longitudinal yield strength more than tripled by cold rolling 50 pct in a direction perpendicular to the whiskers. The whiskers exhibited some waviness (elastic bending) as a result of cold rolling, but at very high reductions (greater than 75 pct) whisker fracture and misalignment became significant. A fine dislocation substructure in the matrix consisting of cells attached to the whiskers was pro -duced by cold rolling. Most of- the substructure was readily removed by a 1-hr anneal at 500°C. Cold rolling was found to substantially reduce the thermal stability of the microstructure at 610°C but did not affect the stability at 500°C. FIBER and whisker reinforced composite materials promise significant improvements in properties over conventional materials. Before they find wide use, however, it will be necessary to understand the response of these highly anisotropic materials to common metalworking processes. Most of the nonmetal-lic fiber reinforced materials have very low elongations (a few pct or less) in the direction of fiber alignment. Thus, metalworking techniques such as rolling and forging would not be as broadly applicable to these materials. This investigation was initiated to determine how a composite system consisting of Al3Ni whisker reinforced aluminum responded to rolling, what changes in the microstructure occurred, and the effect of deformation on the mechanical properties. The composite material studied was produced by unidirectional solidification of the A1-Al3Ni eutectic alloy'-7 and consisted of 10 pct by volume of aligned whiskers of Alai in a matrix of aluminum. It should be pointed out that this system is not representative of all composite materials, and the results will therefore not be universally applicable. The A1-Al3Ni system is characterized by: 1) A strong fiber-matrix interfacial bond 2) A ductile matrix 3) A sufficiently low fiber content to allow significant plastic flow between fibers 4) Strong, completely elastic whiskers (tensile strength 400,000 psi, elastic modulus = 20 X 106 psi.1 These factors allow the material to be readily rolled perpendicular to the fibers. If the fiber-matrix bond were not strong, such a weak interface could fail during rolling. A measure of the ability of a composite to be rolled in the transverse direction can be obtained from noting the transverse tensile behavior. In the case of Al-Al3Ni,2 there is considerable ductility (15 to 30 pct). In the case of boron filament reinforced aluminum, for example, the transverse elongation is less than 1 pct,8 and the material could probably not be cold rolled as readily in that direction. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE 3-in. diam ingots of A1-A13Ni eutectic were unidi-rectionally solidified in graphite crucibles. The starting materials consisted of 99.99+ pct pure nickel and aluminum, and the pure eutectic ingots were made with 6.2 wt pct Ni. The unidirectional solidification process (described in detail elsewhere1-3) consists of preparing a master heat of eutectic composition, remelting, and withdrawing the ingot vertically downward through the heat source at a controlled rate so that plane front solidification proceeds upward at a constant velocity. The resulting microstructure consists of 10 pct by volume of whiskers of very high aspect (length to diameter) ratio. The fiber lengths have not been measured because of the difficulty of detecting fiber ends9 but exceeds 104. There is some possibility that the fibers may be continuous within one grain. Flat sheet specimens 2¾ in. sq and approximately 0.2 in. thick containing whiskers parallel to the plane of the sheet and to one edge were used for this study. A1-A13Ni exhibits either a rod-like (high solidification rates) or a blade-like (low solidification rates) whisker morphology,1,3 and both types were studied. Rolling was accomplished using a two-high rolling mill at a speed of approximately 10 fpm. The rolling direction was either parallel to or perpendicular to the direction of growth (direction of whisker alignment). Reductions of from 0.002 to 0.03 in. per pass were used with the most common value being 0.005 in. per pass. Cold rolling of Al-Al3Ni to more than 98 pct reduction in thickness was accomplished with no intermediate anneals. In addition. a series of speci-mens was cold rolled 97 pct with a 1-hr, 500°C anneal in air after each 50 pet reduction. Tensile testing was accomplished using a Tinius-lsen four screw testing machine. Flat sheet specimens + in. wide and between 2 and 2; in. long with the thickness dependent upon rolling reduction, were used. The gage section was in. wide and 1 in. long. Strain was measured using a clip-on LVDT extensome-

Jan 1, 1970

By C. W. Spencer, J. Singer

A PARTIAL phase diagram for the As-Te system is given in Hansen.' The only compound reported is As2Te3, melting at 362°C. Stoichiometric quantities of reagent-grade elements were reacted in evacuated quartz and directionally cooled. The resulting ingot consisted of very thin threadlike crystals from which only very small single-crystal fragments were isolated. A powder diffraction diagram disclosed nonisomorphism with the analogous V-VI compounds insofar as these have been reported; Sb2S3, As2S3, Bi,S,, and Bi2Te3 data in the ASTM index of powder patterns, together with the single-crystal data on Sb2Se3,2 were used for the com- parison with the observed spacings. Single-crystal data confirmed the uniqueness of the As2Te3 structure. Single-crystal Weissenberg diagrams have so far yielded the following data: As2Te3 is monoclinic, space group C-m (OkO data still lacking), a = 14.4A, b = 4.05A, C = 9.92A, ß = 97". The cell volume is about 5802. The set of isomorphous ortho-rhombic cells of Sb2Se3, Sb2S3, and Bi2S, are apparently related to As,Te, in having one lattice constant close to 4.0 and with cell volumes as large as 540A8. Assuming Z = 4 for As2Te3 also, the density is calculated as 6.1 which agrees well with a roughly determined value of 6.0. A complete structure analysis is under way.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. H. Lightfoot, Stuart E. Buckley

DEEP drilling has led to the development of numerous pools which yield products consisting predominantly of natural gas accompanied by high-gravity water-white or slightly straw-colored liquid. Yields of this "condensate" or "distillate," as it is commonly called, vary from traces to over a hundred barrels per million cubic feet of gas. The fact that this liquid exists in the reservoir as an integral part of the gas phase and is formed by condensation attending simultaneous reduction of pressure and temperature after its entry into the well was apparently first recognized about 1932.1 The nature of the physical phenomena involved in this condensation was clarified for the petroleum industry in 1933 by a report by Sage, Schaafsma, and Lacey2 of the results of an experimental investigation of the behavior of mixtures of methane and propane. Search of the literature has revealed that the condensation of liquid from gaseous mixtures by isothermal pressure reduction is not a new discovery. Kuenen was led by theoretical considerations to expect such a phenomenon, and in 1892 reported3 the results of experimental verification of his deductions. This was followed by a considerable amount of work on the phase relations of mixtures by Kuenen4,5,6 and by others,7,8 mostly in European universities. Since 1930 investigators in this country have reported experimental data on the properties and behavior of a number of hydrocarbon systems.9-17 It is now generally known that in the presence of natural gas the solubility in the gas phase of the heavier and normally liquid hydrocarbons increases rapidly with increasing pressure above 500 to 1000 lb. per sq. in. Thus, at pressures of 2500 lb. per sq. in. or higher a gas may contain appreciable quantities of hydrocarbons with normal boiling points as high as 600°F., which in turn may be condensed from the gas phase by the reduction of their solubility therein attending pressure reduction. The combined effects of pressure and temperature on condensation and vaporization of mixtures are most readily visualized by the study of phase diagrams. Since the construction, application, and interpretation of such diagrams have been described fully in readily available literature, 18-20 this paper will not review the theoretical aspects of this subject. While the behavior of gas-distillate systems is now clearly understood, at least in a qualitative way, most of the published work deals with the results of laboratory studies of binary systems or of synthetic mixtures of hydrocarbons, and although several systematic investigations of the effects of separator pressure and temperature on the yields of liquid product from gas-distillate wells have been made21.22 it appears that in all cases the limitations have precluded the construction of even approximately complete phase diagrams for naturally occurring systems. There has

Jan 1, 1941

By E. N. Smith, J. C. Redmond

The increasing need for materials capable of withstanding higher operating temperatures for various applications such as gas turbine blading and other parts, rocket nozzles, and many industrial applications, has brought consideration of cemented carbide compositions. The well known usefulness of cemented carbides as tool materials is attributable to their ability to retain their strength and hardness at much higher temperatures than even complex alloys. However, it has been found that the temperatures encountered in cutting operations do not approach by several hundred degrees1 those involved in the applications mentioned above where the interest is in materials possessing strength and resistance to oxidation at temperatures of 1800°F and above. At these latter temperatures, the tool type compositions which are made up essentially of tungsten carbide are found to oxidize very rapidly and to produce oxidation products of a character which offer no protection to the remaining body. As a further consideration, the density of the tungsten carbide type compositions is high, from about 8.0 to 15.0. The refractory metal carbides as a class are the highest melting materials known as shown by Table 1 which summarizes the available data from the literature for the carbides of the elements which are sufficiently available for consideration for these uses. The density is also included in the table, since as mentioned above it is an important consideration in many of the applications for which the materials would be considered. It has been established that in the tool compositions the mechanism of sintering with cobalt is such as to result in a continuous carbide skeleton and that the properties of the sintered composition are thus essen- tially those of the carbide.2 On the hypothesis that this mechanism holds to a greater or less degree in cementing most of the refractory metal carbides with an auxiliary metal, it appears from Table 1 that titanium carbide compositions would offer possibilities for a high temperature material. Titanium carbide has extensive use for supplementing the properties of tungsten carbide in tool compositions. Although the literature contains several references to compositions containing only titanium carbide with an auxiliary metal,3,4,5,6 it may be inferred from the meager data that such compositions were deficient in strength and were considered to have poor oxidation resistance.7 Kieffer, for instance, reports the transverse rupture strength of a hot pressed TiC composition at 100,000 psi as compared to up to 350,000 psi for WC compositions. The work described herein was undertaken to determine the properties of compositions consisting of titanium carbide and an auxiliary metal and to improve the oxidation resistance of such compositions. It appeared possible that the inclusion of one or more other carbides with titanium carbide might improve the oxidation resistance and also that this might be more desirable than other means from the point of view of maintaining the highest possible softening point. Consideration of the available carbides in Table 1 suggests tantalum and columbium carbides because of their high melting points and general refractoriness. The work on improving oxidation resistance was concentrated on the addition of tantalum carbide or mixtures of tantalum and columbium carbide. The auxiliary metals used included cobalt, nickel and iron. It was also desired to learn the general physical properties of these compositions. Experimental Procedure The compositions used in this study were made by the usual powder metallurgy procedure applicable to cemented tungsten carbide compositions. The powdered carbide or carbides and auxiliary metal were milled together out of contact with air. In some cases cemented tungsten carbide balls and in other instances steel balls were used to eliminate any effect of tungsten carbide contamination. A temporary binder, paraffin, was then included in the mix and slugs or ingots were pressed with care to obtain as uniform pressing as possible. The ingots were presintered and the various shapes of test specimens were formed by machining, making the proper allowance for shrinkage during sintering. Thereafter the shapes were sintered in vacuum at temperatures of from 2800 to 3500°F. Final grinding to size was carried out by diamond wheels under coolant. The titanium carbide used contained a minimum of 19.50 pet total carbon and a total of 0.50 pet metallic impurities as indicated by chemical and spectrographic analysis. It was found by X ray diffraction examination with

Jan 1, 1950

Gentlemen.-It is pleasant to be able to report that the year just closed has been a prosperous and successful one for the Institute. As is shown by the reports of the Treasurer and the Finance Committee, the business affairs of this organization are in excellent condition. With property valued at more than three-quarters of a million dollars, and with considerable sums in various funds and endowments, it is possible to spend on each member of whatever class $22.65 each year, more than the maxi- mum amount of dues received from any one, and substantially twice the average amount, $10.94, received from all. To do this has required close management and a strict regard for our limitations. In 1926, when the Budget was made up, the estimated expenditures for the work which it was felt the Institute must do exceeded the estimated receipts by some $14,000. At the close of the year, despite a number of unexpected decreases in receipts, it had proved possible to accomplish substantially all the work laid out and close the books with the usual transfer of initiation fees to the General Reserve, and still only reduce the cash balance $2,074.54. This was made possible by the hearty and loyal cooperation of the whole staff of employees and the extremely large amount of gratuitous service rendered by the officers, the members of the Divisions and technical Committees, and the membership generally. Even so it was impossible, because of limitations of funds, to undertake many things it is highly desirable for the Institute to do, and it was necessary to refuse the publication of important papers and committee studies, because of the lack of funds. PUBLICATIONS In an analysis of the income and expenses of the Institute published in the February issue of our Journal, MINING AND METALLURGY, it was pointed out that the largest item of expenditure is, as it should -be, for publications. Printing, binding, and distributing the various technical papers sent to the members cost in 1926 more than all the money received from dues, including the portion allocated as subscription to the magazine. Within the. year, the following volumes were printed and, with the exception of the second volume of TRANSACTIONS, which was mailed in January, were distributed : TRANSACTIONS, Volume 73, 1241 pages, covering papers on non-ferrous metallurgy, milling and concentration, non-metallic minerals, iron and steel, and the Institute of Metals Division papers read at the

Jan 1, 1928

By T. S. Jr. Sligh

OF all the qualities that are essential in a good cigar tobacco none is quite so important as the burn. This term is general and includes many points, the most important of which are evenness of burn, color of ash, firmness and coherence of ash, and fire-holding capacity. The fire-holding capacity refers to the length of time the leaf or cigar will continue to, glow after ignition. Chlorides tend to prevent complete combustion and products are formed thereby that are injurious to the flavor and aroma. On the other hand, the carbonates of the alkalies, particularly of potassium, aid the combustion and increase the fire-holding capacity. Barth1 thought that the harmful effect of the chlorides was due to their fusing and coating the tobacco, thereby preventing complete combustion. Schlosing,2 Nessler,3 and Garner,4 suggested widely different theories to account for the favorable action of potassium salts. In order to study carefully the action of the various salts upon the course of combustion of the cigar a knowledge of the temperature of the burning cigar is necessary. Lehmann5 who seems to be the only investigator who has made any attempt to determine the temperature of a burning cigar gives 480° C. as the maximum temperature which he recorded. It is evident, however, that his measurements were in error, probably on account of the method and apparatus used, since the lowest visible red corresponds to a temperature of about 575° C.

Jan 9, 1919

By E. Martinez, M. L. Hollander

Sulfurization of copper oxides was investigated using differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). When mixtures of cuprous oxide and sulfur were heated, the surface of the cuprous oxide was converted to cupric sulfide at the melting point of sulfur (119°C); additional sulfuriza-tion took place when the sulfur vaporized above 200°C. Cupric oxide also reacted with sulfur to form cupric sulfide but the starting temperature was approximtely 225°C. When the cupric oxide and sulfur were physically separated, sulfurization still occurred indicating a reaction with the vapor phase of sulfur. Sulfurization was obtained in runs with cuprite, chrysocolla and basic copper carbonate. Further decomposition of cupric to cuprous sulfide was noted at somewhat higher temperatures. The DTA-TGA data made it possible to set up postulated reactions in each system. These techniques were found to be well suited for studies of this type. Because of the difficulty encountered in flotation of many metallic oxide minerals, efforts have been made to find suitable reagent combinations to sulfi-dize these minerals in the flotation circuit. Recently Bautista and Sollenberger,1 using a different approach, showed that the surfaces of many oxide minerals can be converted to sulfides by heating them with sulfur to temperatures between 150° and 225°C. This technique was effective even with chrysocolla, a mineral which is very difficult to sulfidize. The primary objective of the present study was to obtain information on the reactions between the oxide minerals and suIfur. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved might prove useful in pointing the way to improvements in the process. A secondary objective was to demonstrate the value of thermo-analysis in investigations of this type. Bollin and Kerr2 have reported the use of a modification of differential thermal analysis to study the thermal reactions which occur on heating elemental constituents in a closed system to synthesize copper sulfides and iron sulfides. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was used to detect enthalpic changes as mixtures of minerals and sulfur were heated. The DTA indicated the temperatures at which reactions started and whether they were exothermic or endothermic. Weight change data were obtained by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). These data could often be used to support postulated reactions and to eliminate consideration of other possible reactions. EQUlPMENT Differential thermal analysis (DTA) involves measuring the temperature difference between the sample being tested and a thermally inert reference, generally aluminum oxide, as both are heated at a uniform rate. Series connected thermocouples in the sample and reference are used to detect the temperature differences that occur as the sample undergoes enthalpic changes.3 Crystalline transitions, fusions, vaporizations, dehydrations, decompositions and many solid state reactions can be detected. A DTA unit manufactured by the Robert L. Stone Co., Austin, Tex., was used in this investigation with a temperature rate increase of 10°C per min. The samples and reference were placed in Inconel cups with wells in the bottom into which the differential thermocouples fit, and run in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) measures the changes in weight that a sample undergoes as it is heated. A Chevenard thermobalance converted electronically for graphic recording was used with a heating rate of 5°C per minute. An X-Y recorder plotted temperature on the X axis and weight changes on the Y axis. A flow of 250 ml per min of nitrogen was streamed through the furnace. Samples were placed in a porcelain crucible open at the top, unless otherwise noted. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Sulfur: Two sulfur samples from different sources were tested. The DTA of a high purity sulfur and a reagent grade sublimed sulfur are shown in Fig. 1. Nearly all the tests were run with the sublimed sulfur due to the difficulty in grinding and high electrostatic charge encountered with the high purity sample. Sulfur undergoes three endothermal reactions below 200°C. The first is a solid-solid crystalline transi-

Jan 1, 1964

By W. A., Wasley

THE EL TIGRE MINE is a highgrade silver and gold producer located in the northern part of Sonora, Mexico. It has been worked continuously since 1903, producing 50,000.000 oz. of silver and returning handsome dividends. During 1930 and 1931 falling silver prices compelled the Tigre company to make representations before the Department of Labor in Mexico City showing the necessity for drastic reductions in wages and personnel. The delays in obtaining permission from the Federal Labor Board to make these readjustments caused the company to suffer considerable financial loss during those years. After the reduction in operations was finally effected, the Sonora state government headed by Señor Francisco Elias (former Governor, now Secretary of Agriculture) and Señor Rodolfo Elias Calles (present Governor and eldest son of Señor Plutarco Elias Calles, recently Secretary of War and former President of Mexico) have cooperated with the company to make continued operation possible by revising downward certain state taxes that would have been a factor in forcing the closing of this mine. Also, permission to change our workmen over to another system of mining was essential to continued operation.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. B. Hersberger, R. S. Dean

Although it is obvious that in any flotation process we must have a froth, in recent years the development of collecting reagents has caused the possibilities of better frothing agents to be overlooked. Some investigators have even gone so far as to say that the number of satisfactory frothing agents was sufficient. A little consideration will show, however, that the reagents available in the past were far from ideal frothers. The properties of an ideal frother for flotation work may be set down as follows: 1. It must form in low concentrations a copious but not too persistent froth. 2. It must be insensitive to hydrogen-ion concentration of the pulp; that is, it must froth equally well in an acid or alkaline medium. 3. It must be insensitive to salts, even in high concentration. 4. It must be absolutely noncollecting to both sulfides and nonsulfides. 5. Its frothing properties must not be affected by collecting reagents, including soap, the most generally used nonsulfide collector. 6. It must readily emulsify and disperse any insoluble collecting agent that is likely to be used. Clearly the existing frothers do not qualify. Pine oil, for example, is an acceptable frother for many purposes but if used in soap flotation a delicate balance between pine oil and soap must be struck because, as pointed out by Coghill1, these two reagents are incompatible in certain concentrations. The objections to soap itself as a frother are obvious, and the cresols and their substitution products all have some collecting power and very little emulsifying power. The mechanism of frothing in flotation was early explained on the basis of the Harkins-Langmuir theory of oriented molecules.2 These investigators showed that if an organic compound having an unsym-metrical molecule (in which one end of the molecule contained water-

Jan 1, 1939

By R. S. Dean, A. B. Hersberger

Although it is obvious that in any flotation process we must have a froth, in recent years the development of collecting reagents has caused the possibilities of better frothing agents to be overlooked. Some investigators have even gone so far as to say that the number of satisfactory frothing agents was sufficient. A little consideration will show, however, that the reagents available in the past were far from ideal frothers. The properties of an ideal frother for flotation work may be set down as follows: 1. It must form in low concentrations a copious but not too persistent froth. 2. It must be insensitive to hydrogen-ion concentration of the pulp; that is, it must froth equally well in an acid or alkaline medium. 3. It must be insensitive to salts, even in high concentration. 4. It must be absolutely noncollecting to both sulfides and nonsulfides. 5. Its frothing properties must not be affected by collecting reagents, including soap, the most generally used nonsulfide collector. 6. It must readily emulsify and disperse any insoluble collecting agent that is likely to be used. Clearly the existing frothers do not qualify. Pine oil, for example, is an acceptable frother for many purposes but if used in soap flotation a delicate balance between pine oil and soap must be struck because, as pointed out by Coghill1, these two reagents are incompatible in certain concentrations. The objections to soap itself as a frother are obvious, and the cresols and their substitution products all have some collecting power and very little emulsifying power. The mechanism of frothing in flotation was early explained on the basis of the Harkins-Langmuir theory of oriented molecules.2 These investigators showed that if an organic compound having an unsym-metrical molecule (in which one end of the molecule contained water-

Jan 1, 1939

By W. E. D. Stokes

The faster that aircraft fly the sooner some new and stronger material must be found to take the place of the present aluminum alloy used in all-metal planes. Experts of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. in studying hi-speed aircraft, are convinced that the present all-metal plane, of semi-monocoque, aluminum alloy construction, is not the ultimate in aircraft design. Magnesium alloys and steel are under consideration.

Jan 1, 1942