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By Paul F. Kerr

Uranium mineralization occurs in the footwall of the Sunshine vein from the 2900 to the 3700 level. Veinlets of uraninite associated with pyrite and jasper have been so extensively divided and recemented that units more than a few feet in length are seldom observed. The wall rock is St. Regis quartzite of the Belt series. The age of the uraninite, on the basis of isotopic analyses, is 750 t- 50, which agrees with geological data suggesting that phases of the Sunshine mineralization are pre-Cambrian.

Jan 5, 1953

By J. L. Gregg

RECENTLY there has been considerable interest in the production and use of, extra hard alloys composed primarily of tungsten and carbon. Dr. Hoyt's recent paper1 gives a good description of these alloys and describes their performance when used as tools. There are a number of these alloys on the market sold under various trade names, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of an investigation of the structure of five of these alloys by means of microscopic and X-ray methods. The samples studied were in the form of small tools or wire-drawing dies, which were either purchased or supplied as samples. They were in some cases not supplied by the original makers but were furnished by the agents in this country, and we wish to call attention to the fact that they may not be truly representative of the materials supplied under the various trade names. No performance data are given and no inference as to the inferiority of one alloy as against any other is made K Schröter2 recently described methods for polishing alloys of this type for microscopic examination and has presented photomicrographs of several alloys. However, he did not identify their constituents or describe methods for their identification.

Jan 1, 1929

By R. A. Morse, P. M. Bridges, L. E. Wilsey, Howard N. Hall, P. L. Terwilliger

Theoretical and experimental investigations of a constant pressure gravity drainage system are reported. Experimental data are presented to show that recovery to gas breakthrough by gravity drainage is inversely proportional to rate. The gravity drainage reference rate, which is numerically equal to the so-called "maximum theoretical rate of gravity drainage" is shown to have no particular significance from a recovery standpoint. Before this rate can be used as a basis of comparison for recoveries, it is necessary that the relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics and displacing fluid viscosities be identical for the systems compared. A method is presented by which accurate prediction of the performance of a gravity drainage system can be made. Close agreement between experimental and calculated drainage performance shows that steady state relative permeability and static capillary pressure data can be used to describe fluid displacement behavior. The very wide range of liquid recoveries before gas breakthrough which result from production rate variation alone demonstrates the importance of this factor in planning depletion of a gravity drainage reservoir. Calculated results are presented which show that little additional recovery can be expected from a high pressure gravity drainage system between the times of gas breakthrough and attainment of such high gas/liquid ratios as to make further pressure maintenance impractical. INTRODUCTION It bas been recognized for some time that gravity forces play an important part in the recovery of oil from some types of reservoirs. Field experience has shown that under certain conditions, gravity drainage can result in very high oil recov- eries. Qualitative reasoning has led most engineers to the general conclusions that: (1) Where gravity drainage is important, the reservoir pressure should be maintained by gas injection at the crest of the structure to prevent shrinkage of the oil in place and to keep a low viscosity so the oil can drain at the fastest possible rate. (2) Recovery by gravity drainage is rate sensitive. A survey of the literature indicates that while considerable work has been done on the effects of gravity in oil production problems, no satisfactory method of calculating the performance of gravity drainage reservoirs has been reported.1,2,3,4,5 In the absence of any proven method of calculating reservoir performance, the level at which pressure should be maintained and the rate of production for most efficient operation has been open to debate. The limits and general character of the recovery us rate relationships are apparent from the following: As rates of production approach zero, oil will drain by virtue of its own weight fast enough that the saturation distribution is always approximately the same as the original static capillary distribution. That is, at the gas-oil contact the liquid saturation goes from 100 per cent to a value of perhaps 10 to 30 per cent in a very short distance, so that as production continues. a relatively sharp gas-oil contact moves down-structure, leaving a very low residual oil saturation in the originally oil saturated zone. At very high rates of production, the oil that drains by virtue of its own weight is negligible and recovery will approach that of a horizontal gas drive, leaving a much higher residual oil saturation. At intermediate rates of production. recovery should be between these extreme*. Despite the lack of quantitative methods, tentative agreement had been reached on the question of optimum producing rate. It has been generally concluded that rather sharp decrease in recovery would occur at rates of production above the "maximum rate of gravity drainage" and hence this rate should not be exceeded. The "maximum rate of gravity drainage" is defined as the rate of production from a 100 per cent

Jan 1, 1951

By L. E. Wilsey, R. A. Morse, P. L. Terwilliger, Howard N. Hall, P. M. Bridges

Theoretical and experimental investigations of a constant pressure gravity drainage system are reported. Experimental data are presented to show that recovery to gas breakthrough by gravity drainage is inversely proportional to rate. The gravity drainage reference rate, which is numerically equal to the so-called "maximum theoretical rate of gravity drainage" is shown to have no particular significance from a recovery standpoint. Before this rate can be used as a basis of comparison for recoveries, it is necessary that the relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics and displacing fluid viscosities be identical for the systems compared. A method is presented by which accurate prediction of the performance of a gravity drainage system can be made. Close agreement between experimental and calculated drainage performance shows that steady state relative permeability and static capillary pressure data can be used to describe fluid displacement behavior. The very wide range of liquid recoveries before gas breakthrough which result from production rate variation alone demonstrates the importance of this factor in planning depletion of a gravity drainage reservoir. Calculated results are presented which show that little additional recovery can be expected from a high pressure gravity drainage system between the times of gas breakthrough and attainment of such high gas/liquid ratios as to make further pressure maintenance impractical. INTRODUCTION It bas been recognized for some time that gravity forces play an important part in the recovery of oil from some types of reservoirs. Field experience has shown that under certain conditions, gravity drainage can result in very high oil recov- eries. Qualitative reasoning has led most engineers to the general conclusions that: (1) Where gravity drainage is important, the reservoir pressure should be maintained by gas injection at the crest of the structure to prevent shrinkage of the oil in place and to keep a low viscosity so the oil can drain at the fastest possible rate. (2) Recovery by gravity drainage is rate sensitive. A survey of the literature indicates that while considerable work has been done on the effects of gravity in oil production problems, no satisfactory method of calculating the performance of gravity drainage reservoirs has been reported.1,2,3,4,5 In the absence of any proven method of calculating reservoir performance, the level at which pressure should be maintained and the rate of production for most efficient operation has been open to debate. The limits and general character of the recovery us rate relationships are apparent from the following: As rates of production approach zero, oil will drain by virtue of its own weight fast enough that the saturation distribution is always approximately the same as the original static capillary distribution. That is, at the gas-oil contact the liquid saturation goes from 100 per cent to a value of perhaps 10 to 30 per cent in a very short distance, so that as production continues. a relatively sharp gas-oil contact moves down-structure, leaving a very low residual oil saturation in the originally oil saturated zone. At very high rates of production, the oil that drains by virtue of its own weight is negligible and recovery will approach that of a horizontal gas drive, leaving a much higher residual oil saturation. At intermediate rates of production. recovery should be between these extreme*. Despite the lack of quantitative methods, tentative agreement had been reached on the question of optimum producing rate. It has been generally concluded that rather sharp decrease in recovery would occur at rates of production above the "maximum rate of gravity drainage" and hence this rate should not be exceeded. The "maximum rate of gravity drainage" is defined as the rate of production from a 100 per cent

Jan 1, 1951

By Anthony Anable

HOOVER DAM, rapidly nearing completion in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River at Boulder City, Nev., taxes the superlatives of the vocabulary to describe. For by all odds, it is the largest construction project of its type ever essayed by man and the plants providing the essential materials of construction are also in a class by themselves not only in size but in advanced design, mechanization, and accurate control. Picture, if you will, the great aggregate plant, as it is called, situated about 4 mi. upstream from the site of

Jan 1, 1934

By William Waters Van Ness

The Pierrefitte mines, situated in the South of France, in the district of the Hautes-Pyrenees, owe their name to the fact that the first mining operations of any extent, and of comparatively reccnt date, were carried out in the neighborhood of the village of Pierrefitte, which is a branch terminus of the Midi railway. The Pierrefitte mines, however, embrace a wide extent of country and several different concessions, on most of which comparatively little exploration-work has been done. The portion of the property presently to be described is a zone running roughly E—W., over a distance of about 5 miles from the valley of Cauterets to the valley of Estaing, the ridge dividing these valleys being a spur of the main chain of the Pyrenees, and running more or less at right angles to it. According to local tradition, which various indications tend to confirm, these mines are of ancient date, the first workings being attributed to the Romans, who are supposcd to have sought not only the lead but also the silver which is contained in the ore. Old slags have been found in the neighborhood which might well have been produced from the cupellation of lead-ores. These old workings, while of considerable extent at times, do not seem to have extended beyond a depth of 100 ft., even this depth being somewhat exceptional. The old notarial records of the district show that mines were known to exist, and that they were even worked, in the sixteenth century, but since the mines were abandoned (by the Romans or others) considerably prior to this period, very little

Jan 1, 1909

[NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES ALABAMA AUBURN Sturm & O'Brien, Consult. Engrs. °Sturm, Rolland G. BESSEMER Granger, W. C. BIRMINGHAM Air Reduction Sales Crockett, John M. Amer. Cast Iron Pipe Co. Carter, Sam F., Jr. Donoho, C. K. Anderson Elec. Corp. Davis, Moss V. J. B. Clow & Sons Neptune, Maurice D. Connors Steel Div. °Sandelin, Robert W. Hayes Aircraft Corp. Ricketts, W. E., Jr. Willhelm, A. Clyde, Jr. McWaine Cast Iron King, O. H. Worthington, B. W. Shook & Fletcher Sup. Co. Gearhart, Thomas A. Southern Res. Inst. Dismukes, Edward B., Wheelahan, Edmund J. Thomas Foys Miller, Ralph M. Union Carbide Metals, Co. Brandler, Edgar A. U. S. Pipe & Fdry. Co. Clay, Donald H. Unaffiliated Berg, H. A. Caldwell, H. A. Gilmer, H. U. Harris, Thomas H. Templeton, J. B.]

Jan 1, 1961

By D. Harker, M. J. Murphy

The mechanism by which age-hardening takes .place is still not completely understood. The principal theories range from the extreme of "precipitaiion-hardening" to that of "order-hardening," with many intermediate gradations. In the hope of obtaining new data on which to base a choice among the many theories, the authors have made electron micrographs of formvar replicas taken from metallic specimens at various stages of age-hardening. The results so obtained on an alloy of 2 per cent beryllium in copper and one of 20 per cent molybdenum in iron will be described in the following pages, as well as the technique used in preparing the replicas. Preparation of Formvae. Replicas of Metallic Specimens This section is concerned with the techniques that have roved successful in preparing formvar replicas for studying the microstructure of metals with the electron microscope. Because of its simplicity and accuracy, the formvar replica1 method developed in the General Electric Research Laboratory has been used exclusively, since it is much simpler than the silica replica method of Heidenreich and Peck2 and produces as good results. The formvar method to be described requires a technique acquired only by practice, and no foolproof set of rules can be given. it is a rapid method and a replica can be obtained in less than five minutes under favorable conditions. This does not mean that perfect replicas can be produced every five minutes, but rather that one can well afford to take several strippings* in order to produce a replica of high quality. The metallographic technique required for replica work—very fine polishing and etching with very dilute solutions—is described here. It can be said, in general, that almost any surface that has been carefully prepared for a photomicrograph at 1000 or more diameters can be used to obtain a replica for the electron microscope. Preparation of Metallographic Specimens The preparation of the metallographic specimens is somewhat more exacting than that usually given to samples to be used for inspection under the light microscope. After much experimentation, it was concluded that the best method consists in polishing the metal through to the coarse cloth, then etching and repolishing on final cloth until the layer of distorted metal is removed. After this procedure has been completed, a dilute etch—to approximately the depth necessary for a micrograph at 1000 diameters—usually produces a sur-

Jan 1, 1945

By D. C. McLean

This report summarizes the work that has been done during the past several years in adapting resins for use as auxiliaries in mine roof support. The resins were applied in two ways: 1) by injection into the strata, and 2) as a bonding agent for roof bolts and reinforcing bar. The Explosives and Mining Chemicals Department of the American Cyanamid Co. has worked during this period in cooperation with the Roof Control Research Group of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the Pattin Manufacturing Co., the J. H. Fletcher Co., the Homestake Mining Co., the U.S. Steel Corp., the National Mines Corp. and the Pocahontas Land Corp. in an effort to create resin formulations and methods for applying them as a practical and sate type of roof support for mining areas particularly where conventional support is inadequate, yet expensive. This, work has involved much pioneering in a field where theory, speculation, and pure mythology predominates, and little basic engineering data is available. It is strange butt true that, despite the importance of roof control both from an operational and safely standpoint, there is scarcely a mining' company in this country that has an engineer, or anyone, assigned to the study of roof support problem, except temporarily--after a bad roof fall. The responsibility for improving roof control methods seems to have been placed entirely upon the shoulder, of the USBM, various State departments of mines, and individual roof bolt manufacturing; companies. It was in cooperation with the USBM that Cyanamid first developed resins for mining use.

Jan 1, 1964

By GLENVILTE A. COLLINS

(Presented at a Meeting of the Spokane Local Section of the Institute, Feb. 17, 1912, and accepted for publication in the Bulletin. ) WHILE I am not at the present time engaged in active mine-management, my duties permit of extensive study and examination of many mines, mills, and reduction-works in various places throughout the United States. Being much interested in efficiency-work in general, and an ardent reader of writings on this subject by Frederick W. Taylor and others, as applied to manufacturing-plants, and having served my apprenticeship from mucking to the engineering design of ore-dressing and underground plants, I hope that this paper will lead others to investigate the field more fully, to the improvement of general mine- and mill-operations, as well as the advancement, intellectually, physically, and financially, of the employee and his relations with the employer. If a man who is prepared to look closely and observe broadly starts in Canada and zig-zags from camp to camp to southern Mexico, taking time casually to inspect mines, mills, and smelters, he will be pitifully impressed by the great difference in customs, and the general waste of labor, time, and money throughout the country. He will so seldom observe a dollar's worth of results given in exchange for a dollar spent that he will form a poor opinion of operating-efficiency and management. This highly-scientific department, requiring an amount of skill and executive ability equaled in few, if any, of the professions, certainly falls short of the standard established in our greater manufacturing industries. It is easily said that this is due to the diversity of conditions in mining, milling, and smelting. But on second view it must be admitted that there is room for tremendous improvements in nearly every mining-organization. The proposal of such improvements is often met by the argument that any mine

Sep 1, 1912

By Earl W. Palmer, Cyril Stanley Smith

A study of the precipitation-hardening of copper steels1 led the authors to investigate malleable iron containing copper, for the low-carbon ferritic matrix in malleable iron should lend itself admirably to precipitation-hardening. It was soon found that in addition to rendering malleable iron susceptible to improvement by precipitation-hardening treatments, copper has another potentially useful effect as an accelerator of graphitization. Brief mention of these effects was given in a general paper by Lorig and one of the present authors2; the present paper gives further details on the graphitization and precipitation-hardening effects only. After the completion of this work a paper by L. Lykkin3 appeared, confirming the authors' conclusions regarding graphitization. Material Used After some preliminary heats had been made in the laboratory to determine the effect of copper, several castings from commercial air-furnace heats were obtained, and data from these alone are given here. Part of the metal was poured directly and part was treated in the ladle with the desired amount of copper before pouring. Green-sand molds were used, each holding two tensile test pieces of the form adopted by the Malleable Iron Research Institute, or two bars for graphitization studies, 5/8 in, in diameter and 9 in. long, fed through two enlarged sections equidistant from the middle and ends of the bars. Risers of suitable size insured sound castings. Tensile tests were made on the castings after commercial mallealleizing and after special heat treatments to be described. The analyses of the white irons are given in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1935

By Cyril Stanley Smith, Earl W. Palmer

A study of the precipitation-hardening of copper steels1 led the authors to investigate malleable iron containing copper, for the low-carbon ferritic matrix in malleable iron should lend itself admirably to precipitation-hardening. It was soon found that in addition to rendering malleable iron susceptible to improvement by precipitation-hardening treatments, copper has another potentially useful effect as an accelerator of graphitization. Brief mention of these effects was given in a general paper by Lorig and one of the present authors2; the present paper gives further details on the graphitization and precipitation-hardening effects only. After the completion of this work a paper by L. Lykkin3 appeared, confirming the authors' conclusions regarding graphitization. Material Used After some preliminary heats had been made in the laboratory to determine the effect of copper, several castings from commercial air-furnace heats were obtained, and data from these alone are given here. Part of the metal was poured directly and part was treated in the ladle with the desired amount of copper before pouring. Green-sand molds were used, each holding two tensile test pieces of the form adopted by the Malleable Iron Research Institute, or two bars for graphitization studies, 5/8 in, in diameter and 9 in. long, fed through two enlarged sections equidistant from the middle and ends of the bars. Risers of suitable size insured sound castings. Tensile tests were made on the castings after commercial mallealleizing and after special heat treatments to be described. The analyses of the white irons are given in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1935

Jan 1, 1904

By W. C. Maurer

Although millions of feet of rock are drilled annually, the basic drilling mechanisms involved are not well understood. The primary reason for this lack of knowledge is because the basic principles of rock failure are not well understood and rock failure is the primary mechanism in drilling. A better understanding of the drilling mechanisms would enable a more scientific approach to the design and use of drills and bits. The paper reviews several models which have been proposed to explain various aspects of the different drilling methods. These models are described and their limitations and areas of application are discussed. Drilling rate relationships are developed and related to the basic rock failure mechanisms. TYPES OF MECHANICAL DRILLS There are three basic methods of mechanically attacking rock: 1) percussive action, 2) rotary action, and 3) combined rotary-percussive action. A percussion drill applies a force perpendicular to the rock surface and the bit moves into the rock perpendicular to the surface, forming a crater beneath it (Fig. 1). A rotary drill applies a constant thrust to the bit while a torsional force moves the bit parallel to the rock surface, breaking the rock ahead of it. A rotary-percussive drill applies both a rotary force and a percussive force to the bit which moves into the rock at an angle to the surface. The commonly used drills can be classified as: rotary-drag, diamond; percussive-hammer, piston, churn; and combination-rotary-percussive, roller.

Jan 1, 1967

By P. W. Bridgman

IT is characteristic of most scientific investigators that they are not satisfied with the discovery of new facts, no matter how curious or unexpected, but that along with the factual discovery there is a constant effort to understand It appears that. one's interest in, and satisfaction with, the discovery of an array of news experimental facts is enormously increased if one has at the same time a theory or hypothesis guiding one's expectation of what sort of new experimental discovery may lie around the corner Conversely, as a theoretical physicist one's satisfaction with his theory is greatly enhanced if along with the development of the theory can go the discovery of new experimental facts, confirming or perhaps modifying the theory as it grows Of course, there have been long and stretches in the history of physics in which new data of unquestioned ultimate importance ham e piled up, without much inspiration or illumination in the way of understanding For 50 years spectroscopy had such an and history, but how irksome this was felt to be is plainly shown by the almost audible relief that greeted the first success by Bohr in injecting understanding into the situation, and by the fresh rush of experimenters into this field when the prospect of understanding had once been offered The investigations in the field of high pressure, which have occupied me for a long time,1 until the last few years have been in very much the Same sort of situation as spectroscopy before the advent of Bohr A great many kids, of data were collected for a great many solid and liquid substances, and there could be no question of the importance of these data, because the uniform change of dimensions produced by hydrostatic pressure is perhaps the simplest conceivable type of alteration to which a body can be subjected But except for a few isolated flashes, there was no theoretical illumination, so that it had to be to a large extent the enthusiasm of the collector that kept me going However, within the last few years the wave-mechanics theory of solids has progressed so rapidly that

Jan 1, 1938

By V. Koump, R. H. Tien, W. J. Kim

This paper presents an approximate solution of the problem of freezing of a binary alloy. he alloy is in the form of a one-dimensional slab of finite thickness. The surface temperature of the slab is assumed to be constant and lower than the solidus (or eutectic) temperature. The densities of the liquid and the solid are assumed to be equal. For a given binary alloy system, initial concentration of solute and surface temperature, the solution yields a) the temperature distribution in the solid skin, b) the temperature, concentration, and solid fraction distribution within the solid-liquid region, and c) the positions of the liquidus and the solidus (or eutectic) fronts as a function of time. The results of calculation for Fe-C and Fe-P systems are presented. In this investigation we are considering the problem of solidification of a binary alloy. The alloy is in the form of a one-dimensional slab of finite thickness. The molten alloy is initially at liquidus temperature. At time zero the surface of the slab is reduced to a temperature T, < Te,, where Te, is the solidus (or eutectic) temperature and T, is a constant. The densities of solid and liquid alloys are assumed to be equal and independent of temperature and composition. A qualitative picture of solidification of an alloy, under these conditions, is illustrated in Fig. 1. During the initial stage of solidification, before liquidus front reaches the center of the slab, freezing proceeds by propagation of two isothermal fronts, the liquidus front and the solidus (or eutectic) front. The fraction of solid at the liquidus front is zero; the fraction of solid at the solidus front is unity, The solid fraction and the temperature distribution between the two fronts and the width of the solid-liquid region change with time. During the later stage of freezing, after the liquidus front reaches the center of the slab, the liquidus front disappears. The solid fraction and the temperature at the center of the slab, as well as throughout the solid-liquid region, are now changing with time. The solidification is completed when the fraction of solid at the center of the slab reaches unity. In solution of this problem we seek to determine a) the temperature distribution in the solid, b) temperature, concentration,

Jan 1, 1968

By CARL B. SNYDER

PERHAPS the most extraordinary thing about business, the trade and production of the country as a whole, is its amazing continuity and growth, its momentum and energy. It goes on year after year, growing steadily, almost without breaks, in spite of every kind of disturbance. We have been grossly deceived into the idea that business is highly variable. We have taken a few things like pig iron, and the like, constructional activity broadly, and imagined that these are a trustworthy measure of trade. Actually they are the worst that we could find. They do not apply to more than 10 per cent or, at the most, possibly 15 per cent of the total of the country&apos;s industrial activity. The other 85 or 90 per cent, or even more, goes on growing surely and steadily just like the growth of population and the steady advance in technique, invention, discovery, and improved methods of production Let me give you what seems to me one of the most remarkable examples of this amazing momentum and regularity. You know that 90 per cent or more of the business of the country is done &apos;by means of checks. About seven-eighths of the total of all checks drawn are reported regularly every week in the newspapers. Let us follow these reports from week to week, just as they come, and plot them up against the correspond- ing weeks of last year, and the year before, and the gear before that, as far back as you would like to go. Take especially the figures for 140 selected cities out- side of New York.

Jan 1, 1929

By Robert Glass Cleland

UPON the death of its founder, Phelps, Dodge & Co. entered upon a new chapter in its long and varied history. Thereafter, for nearly a decade, William E. Dodge largely determined and executed the policies of the company. The old firm, dissolved automatically by Phelps&apos;s death, was succeeded by a new partnership consisting of Anson G. Phelps, Jr., William E. Dodge, Daniel James, James Stokes, William E. Dodge, Jr., and D. Willis James, one of the three sons of Daniel James. Each of the first three partners owned a twenty-five-per-cent interest in the company, Stokes had a fifteen-per-cent interest, and the two younger partners each held five per cent. The new company bought Anson Phelps&apos;s holdings in the old firm from Olivia Phelps, his widow and executrix, for approximately seven hundred thousand dollars; but the new partnership, designed by agreement to last the usual five-year period, was brought to an end shortly before that time by the death of the younger Anson Phelps from small- pox. Perhaps because of poor health, the son had never been as deeply concerned with business as his father, but found

Jan 1, 1952

By R. J. Charles, G. Agar

Experiments on single particles show that the amount of material created during impact that is finer than any chosen size is proportional to the energy of the impact. As the underlying principle of comminution, it might be stated that each unit of energy input to a given comminution system tends to add to the system an identical assembly of new particles and subtract an equivalent volume of larger particles. Thus, two of the consequences of the fact that each unit of energy tends to add identical assemblies of new particles to the system are: 1) on continued application of energy the total charge in any batch comminution system tends to assume the characteristics of this assembly, and 2) the process of comminution may be described by a relationship such as E = Ak-a. Recently Schuhmannl presented a theory of comminution which puts rational perspective on the extensive controversy surrounding most of the existent theories of comminution. With hindsight the origin of controversy can be ascribed to a relatively simple circumstance. In general, a progressive shift of a size distribution curve towards finer sizes is observed as energy is added to a comminution system. It is also observed that, with continued grinding, the size distribution curves usually change and appear to approach some constant shape. Inves-tigators generally felt that an appropriate method of relating and generalizing such data would be to consider the hypothetical case where particles in the system were uniformly subjected to comminution such that each of these particles, receiving its proportion of input energy, was transformed into a number of smaller particles of uniform size. Since the changes in shape of the size distribution curves during size reduction were clearly associated with the coarse particles in the system, it was also assumed that these changes accounted for little of the input energy and one could deal solely with the equilibrium shape towards which the size distribution curves tended. Although the unrealistic nature of the foregoing points of view was realized some justification was felt for such treatments since, in most cases, the resulting mathematical formulae could, by the adjustment of at most two parameters, satisfactorily describe experimental observation. Difficulties arose, however, in that the formulae required a specific influence of the feed size on the comminution process. In actual fact, the application of a feed size term in fitting experimental data was often found to be unnecessary or contrary to the above formulae. Secondarily, much discussion arose concerning the appropriate energy number that would relate the size change of one particle to the amount of comminution energy it received. As has been previously shown3 all the above theories that treat comminution as a continuous process of size reduction may be related to a proposition of the following form: dE = -Cfn [1] where dE is the increment of energy, dx is the size change, x is the particle size, and C and n are constants. It is now clear, as pointed out by Schuhmann, that Eq. 1 is inapplicable to comminution processes, since comminution cannot be considered other than as a discontinuous mixing process in which the overall size distribution of the product results from mixing, in various proportions, finished material with unfinished, and sometimes untouched, material. A striking illustration of this mixing phenomena may be obtained by comparing the size distributions of grinds in a typical batch ball mill with size distributions calculated on the basis of mixing various proportions of feed material with a ground material which obeys a power law size distribution relationship. Figs. la and lb illustrate such a comparison and the similarity of these figures indicates that mixing plays an important role in determining the overall shape of the product size distributions. Figs. la and lb illustrate, additionally, the underlying basis of the comminution theory presented by Schuhmann.&apos; In the preliminary grinding of relatively close sized feed particles in a batch ball mill, one may visualize that, when a successful encounter of a ball with a feed particle occurs, then the particle undergoes severe size reduction and the size range in which the resultant particles reside is far removed from the size of the feed particles. After a number of feed particles are reduced by independent but similar impacts and one examines the size dis-

Jan 1, 1961

By E. M. Wise, T. E. Kihlgren, N. B. Pilling

SYSTEMATIC data are presented on the relation of composition of nickel silvers to color, tarnish resistance, hardness and liquidus temperatures, for alloys containing up to 30 per cent nickel and 50 per cent zinc, further modified at certain nickel and zinc contents by 0 to 8 per cent of tin and 0 to 10 per cent of lead. Attention has also been directed, using a still more limited range of alloys, toward a study of tensile properties and such casting properties and characteristics as fluidity, shrinkage and pressure tightness. In some of these, rather broad ranges of composition are dealt with; in others, it has been expedient to focus attention on the Federal Specification 20 per cent nickel silver casting alloy, WWP-541.

Jan 1, 1935