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Jan 1, 1933

By M. M. Rao, P. G. Winchell

The growth rates of bainitic plates were measured at 400°C in Fe-Ni-C alloys containing 0.10 atom-fract~on nickel and 0.0012 to 0.0075 atonz-fraction carbon. The growth rates are adequately represented by where xc is nearly the atom fraction carbon of the bulk austenite and PXCy is nearly the carbon atom fractlon in the ferrlte of radiids p In equilibrium with austetzite. The form of the equation is that predicted by a model in which carbon diffusion in austernite controls the gvowth, but the numerical constatnt is two orders of magnitude below that suggested by the model. THE growth of bainitic plates in steel is often assumed to be controlled by the diffusion of carbon away from the advancing plate tip. This hypothesis predicts that the growth rate will increase as the carbon content of the austenite, xCz, is reduced toward the carbon content of the saturated ferrite comprising the plate tip, PxCY The growth rate should vary approximately as (xCg- pxCy)-1. Experimental observation of the growth behavior at low carbon levels should provide a significant test of this model. An alloying element in addition to carbon is required so that low-carbon austenite can be experimentally observed while undergoing bainitic transformation. Nickel was selected. The presence of nickel complicates the interpretation of the data in two ways: First, diffusion of nickel during the transformation would make analysis very difficult. Nickel is assumed immobile during the transformation. Second, nickel affects the solubility of carbon in ferrite and austenite in equilibrium. This effect has been evaluated.' At the completion of our experimental work Goode-now et al.2 published data in essential agreement with the observations to be reported here. Since their discussion is abbreviated and their data are scanty in the region of interest, we believe the present work is of significance. I) THE MODEL OF BAINITIC PLATE GROWTH The rate of lengthening of a plate is assumed to be controlled by the diffusion of carbon from the advancing ferrite-austenite interface into the surrounding austenite. The precipitation of carbides is assumed to be a secondary process. For ease of analysis the carbon-atom ratio,* pxCy, of austenite in equilibrium with ferrite which is convex with minimum curvature radius p, and the carbon-atom ratio, PxCY, of that ferrite in equilibrium with austenite are assumed independent of location on the ferrite-austenite interface. Since these carbon contents vary with the radius of curvature of the ferrite, p, their assumed positional independence must be held as an approximation. The consequences of these assumptions have been developed approximately by zener3 and Hillert,4 and the resulting equation for a platelet has been applied to bainite by Speich and cohen5 and Kaufman, Radcliffe, and Cohen.8 The Zener-Hillert equation* for plates is: The analysis of Hillert is supported by that of Hor-vay and cahn7 which involves no mathematical approximations but does include the assumption that the a/y interface coincides with an isoconcentration line. The solutions of Horvay and Cahn for elliptic paraboloids are replotted in Fig. 1. The shape of the paraboloid is expressed in terms of the ratio of the principal radii of curvature at its tip, A =p1/p2, which is also the ratio of the minor to the major axis of the elliptic cross section. The Zener-Hillert equation for plates is also plotted. The agreement is within a factor of two for (pxyaCr - xyC )/(xyC - PxCaY) between 0.5 and 100. This is the range of interest here and in most other work on bainite. The original form of the Zener-Hillert equation was the form given above with the right-hand side replaced by (pxCya -xCy)/(PxCya). This replacement is not appropriate here. 11) THE EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Alloys were prepared and three kinds of experiments carried out. Continuous-cooling-transformation experiments were carried out on wires by measuring temperature and resistance during continuous cooling. Isothermal-transformation experiments were carried out on wires by measuring electrical resistance as a

Jan 1, 1968

By L. VOGELSTEIN

OUTSTANDING among the year's events in copper has been the reimposition of an import duty of 4r. per pound in this country which became effective June 21. In consequence of this action by Congress, the Ottawa Empire conference recommended a duty of 2d. per pound equivalent at normal rate of exchange to our 4c. duty, on all copper originating outside of the Empire. Lip to the middle of this year only Russia and Japan had a closed market; the import duty on copper in Russia is 30 per cent ad valoremm and in Japan about 2c. Russia's consumption has always been in excess of production and she has imported from 2(1,000 to 40,000 ton, of copper per annum. Japan, with a production of 6,000 to 7,000 tons per month, has absorbed, in normal times, its production, but during recent: sears has exported varyiug quantities in 1929. 2,200 ton-: in 1930, 2,700 tons, and in 1931. 3,600 ton-. Aside from the-e two countries, the international market has heretofore been free. It and when the British Empire duty become, effective the world's markets will be divided into four unit: 1. Russia and Japan, 2. United States. 3. British Empire. 4. Rest of the world. The world's production at present is rennin it the rate of 930.000 tons per annum. This year's production will be over 1,000,000 tons because the several curtailment did not become effective until the second quarter. consumption will be slightly in excess. Deducting from 30,000 tons Russia's and Japan's production of 121.000 tons, 806,000 tons is left divided a, follows:

Jan 1, 1932

By AIME AIME

THE Fall Meetings of the Institute of Metals Division and of the Iron and Steel Division were held in Cleveland from Tuesday, Oct. 20, to Thursday, Oct. 22, as a part of the National Metal Congress. The registration at the technical sessions was something over 450 and the attendance at the joint dinner of the two Divisions on Wednesday evening taxed the capacity of the dining room. The president of the British Institute of Metals, W. R. Barclay, consulting metallurgist to the Mond Nickel Co., Ltd.; of London, was in attendance at several of the technical sessions and was one of the after-dinner speakers at the banquet. He commented on the desirability of greater international amity and cooperation in these troubled times and of the role that technical societies, such as the A. I. M. E. and his own British Institute of Metals, can and indeed are playing in bringing this to pass, with their membership and contacts reaching to all parts of the world. He also referred to the new reciprocal membership arrangements in effect between the A.I.M.E. and the British Institute of Metals.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. W. Diamond

Low-grade ores can be designated by two main classifications: (1) simple low-grade ores, and (2) complex low-grade ores. As a rule the first type has a relatively small metal content, although low- grade iron ores contain a rather high percentage of metal. As the simple type is the one that is ordinarily in mind when the term "low-grade ore" is used, the paper will be devoted mainly to ores in this general category. Cheap treatment is the prime requirement in utilizing low-grade ores of the simple type, although in some cases the value of nonmetallic by-products, such as limestone for fer- tilizer and silica for flux, allows a little more lati- tude than in the usual situation. When the costs are divided under the three headings-mining, milling, and smelting-it is apparent that the last group will not constitute an important factor as a rule because the high concentrating ratio makes the smelting cost per ton of ore fairly low.

Jan 1, 1949

Downtime cannot be tolerated on electric shovels whose cost may approach or exceed $400,000 each. The same may be said for larger-variety off-highway trucks which require an operational expenditure upwards of $50 per hour. One company, for instance, in order to ensure a more continuous operation, has specified centralized lubrication for all of its new equipment. In wet or dry weather, the mining of asbestos can place undue strains on machinery and other equipment. When the mineral is dry, its dusty, loose fibers work their way into crevices, and when wet, the glutinous asbestos may adhere to axles, gears and other wear components. Such conditions are multiplied during the extreme cold winters of eastern Canada. It is more difficult to lubricate and maintain equipment, and erosiveness becomes more punishing to wear parts. Resultant breakdowns rapidly drain off profits.

Jan 1, 1971

By Eugene H. Cowles

Now that a determined public effort is being made on this side of the Atlantic to create a steel ship-building industry, the materials that are demanded for this purpose assume a new interest to the American metallurgist. In the past, the uses of metals in this country have been almost exclusively connected with the land, while in England their application to marine purposes has been equal in importance to that on shore. In the future the same should be the case here. This is the reason for bringing a somewhat nautical or rather naval topic before a body the chief interests of which are supposed to lie in the mines and mountains of the interior of the country. A modern war-ship or " ocean-grayhound" (like the City of Paris) is an epitome of philosophy and human skill. In her graceful lines we have, as Ruskin might quaintly say, a " builded geometry ;" while in her wonderful machinery for motion, offensive and defensive, we have the summation of the ideas of a host of students who have, at one time or another, during the course of a hundred years of her evolution, contributed their intellectual mites to render her a thing of beauty and of power. Notwithstanding her present perfection, the modern ship contains room for further improvement. One of the most important things about her is the propeller. This active member is of more impor-

Jan 1, 1890

By L. L. Wyman

THE exact nature of the changes that take place in the iron-nickel alloys, giving rise to the interesting and useful expansion alloys in the Invar range, has yet to be fully understood. Similarly, the ternary iron-nickel-cobalt alloys, which also possess such commercially useful expansion characteristics, 1,2 are concerned with transformations that appear to be identical with those found in the parent iron-nickel alloys. The investigations on iron-nickel alloys in the range 26 to 29 per cent Ni have been reported by several authors" wherein it is shown that there are factors other than temperature, such as stress and grain size, which play an important part in determining the temperature at which the low-temperature transformation takes place. It will be shown in this paper that the ternary iron-nickel-cobalt alloys having nickel contents comparable to the alloys mentioned above behave in a parallel manner. The alloys in the range of 26 to 31 per cent Ni and 16 to 21 per cent Co have a coefficient of expansion of about 4.0 X 10-1 per degree Centi-grade, and the alloys in this range of composition find considerable application in making glass-to-metal seals, because these expansion properties so well match commercial glasses. The behavior of these alloys is not a simple matter, for it has been observed in alloys of 28.5 per cent Ni and 18.5 Co that severe working can cause the appearance of a second phase having a needlelike structure similar to the martensite structure in carbon steels. Fig. 1 shows the change brought about in an alloy of this composition when a strip of this material was cut with tin shears. This second phase has been identified as the body-centered cubic alpha phase, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of some of the preliminary investigations in the study of the changes involved in these alloys.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. Sachs, E. J. Ripling, J. J. Lynch

INTRODUCTION General IT is general practice to evaluate the strength properties of a particular metal from its stress-strain [(S1 - E1]) curve obtained by means of a conventional tension test. Such a stress-strain curve, Fig I, illustrates two important properties of a metal, its ability to strain harden, and its ability to withstand a certain limiting stress, the "fracture stress,"[ (s'r)], and a certain limiting strain, the "ductility" [(e1)], before it fails by separation. These two fracturing characteristics are the coordinates of the point of fracture in Fig I. In the case of a metal which necks in a tension test, both the fracture stress and the ductility (measured in a tension test) are dependent upon (a) the shape of the neck and (b) average values of the stresses and strains over the cross section at the moment of fracture. However, for the purpose of this investigation, these average quantities, rather than the actual values, may be considered for reasons of simplicity. It appears that the conclusions also hold true if the analysis were carried out for actual values of fracture stress and ductility at the locus of failure. In this paper, the effects of straining (at room temperature) by various methods on [ ] the above metal characteristics, which were determined by subsequent tension tests will be discussed. According to our present knowledge, any such prestraining results in a stress-strain curve (in subsequent testing by tension), Fig 2, the general shape, or flow characteristics, of which can be derived from the original stress-strain curve of the unstrained metal minus a certain portion exhausted by the initial straining. This phenomenon is called strain hardening, and may be measured by the magnitude of the cut-off, or the "effective strain," from which the new curve must start in order to coincide in its plastic branch with the original stress-strain curve.

Jan 1, 1948

By R. H. Wightman, G. H. ADAM

In order to secure good results in the prevention of accidents, it is generally recognized that the desire for such accomplishment, as well as the aggressive and constructive action to achieve it, must emanate from the Top Management and permeate successively down through the "Chart of Authority" to the workmen. Several years ago, with the above as a basis and with full support of the Top Management, the Mining Department started a program of selling the foremen and bosses the idea that safety could be achieved and that it was desired and required. Using psychology, persistence and numerous other methods, the foremen and bosses were finally impressed with the idea that "It can be done" and "It will be done." With this in mind, new ideas were brought forth by the foremen and bosses regarding the caving operation and the specific jobs in the operation. These new ideas were taken up in round-table discussions and resulted in certain changes in the undercutting method and the actual drawing of the blocks. These changes resulted in increasing fragmentation of the blocks which prevented the usual hang-up areas in the blocks. With the rock smaller in size and within reasonable reach from the tapping drifts, accidents were prevented in the tapping section. At the same time, an enforced campaign of housekeeping throughout the mine was undertaken with very beneficial results. The foremen and bosses then, in turn, educated and trained the workers themselves to become safely conscious. In so doing, a constant re- minder was given on all jobs assigned that the job was to be done safely as well as efficiently. No man is assigned a job who is not qualified for the type of work required. Efficiency and safety go hand in hand.

Jan 1, 1949

By H. W. Highriter

THE method developed and used in this laboratory for the production of metallic uranium of such purity that it is ductile and can be cold-worked to fine wire or thin sheet by rolling has already been described1. It consists, briefly, in the electrolysis of potassium uranous fluoride (KUF5) in a molten bath composed of equal parts of sodium and calcium chlorides. The bath is contained in a graphite crucible, electrically heated to about 775° C., the crucible serving as the anode for electrolysis. The uranium deposits in finely divided form mixed with salts upon a molybdenum cathode suspended axially in the crucible. Upon com-pletion of the electrolysis the cathode is removed and cooled, the deposit broken and leached to remove salts. The metal powder is washed with water and dilute acetic acid and dried in vacuo to reduce oxidation. Suitable amounts are then pressed into pellets and heated in vacuo by high-frequency induction, using a thoria crucible. The uranium melts and flows away from the pellet, leaving a shell, which is largely oxide. In general, this method produced a satisfactory metal, although at times the uranium was not ductile. The investigations recorded here were made to find the cause of this embrittlement. It was known that the metal generally contained carbon, derived from disintegration of the graphite crucible in which electrolysis is conducted, in amounts dependent upon the thoroughness of washing the metal powder. Accordingly, analyses of several samples, both ductile and brittle, were made by combustion and absorption of C02 in Ascarite, using air instead of oxygen to reduce the temperature and rate of oxida-tion. Several of these metals were made with special precautions to reduce carbon content. The results show no relationship between ductility and carbon content in the range investigated (Table 1).

Jan 1, 1935

By Arthur Notman

SacRamento Hill is a mass of granite porphyry intruded along a fault between Paleozoic sediments and pre-Cambrian schists in the Bisbee district, Cochise County, Arizona. The intrusion invaded both walls of the fault to a large extent, and the accompanying extensive mineralization of the Paleozoic limestones is the locus of the great high-grade copper orebodies of the Bisbee mines. Prior to 1909, although the presence of ore in the masa of the hill itself had long been suspected, systematic exploration had not been attempted. A few shallow pits on the surface here and there had disclosed some chal-cocite with associated carbonates as stringers in a mass of strongly brccciated, silicified, and iron-stained porphyry. The workings in the surrounding limestones had penetrated the porphyry in a dozen or SO places for some distance from the contact but had disclosed no ore. However, the rock had been largely altered to quartz and sericite and very thoroughly impregnated with pyrite and traces of the copper sulphides. A close geological study of the conditions, both surface and underground, strengthened these suspicions, and plans for prospecting the hill were made in 1909. Reference to the accompanying illustrations, Figs. 1 and 2, will give an idea of the general appearance of the surface. The mineralization is more intense in two main zones, one at the west end and the other at the east end of the hill. The outcrop of the hill is elliptical and approximately 3,000 ft. long by 1,400 ft. wide. The Sacramento shaft, which is the main hoisting shaft of the mine and situated at the east end of the hill, as shown by the accompanying map (Fig. 3), offered a convenient base for prospecting that end of the hill, while the workings from the Holbrook shaft offered a similar opportunity at the west end. The choice of level for the first work was determined by analogy with the most favorable depth for enrichment below surface obscrved in the other disseminated deposits of the Southwest.

Jan 1, 1916

By Morris A. Steinberg

Because of the broad scope of my topic I will discuss my subject from the point of view of a present status of the metallic materials that are used in structures and will dwell primarily on those structures related to high- performance aerospace systems. Thus, I can best portray the status of these structural materials as related to existing transportation systems, delineating some of the highlights of alloy development, fabrication, and properties obtained. I shall point out what are, in my opinion, the needed solutions to pressing unsolved metallurgical problems connected with certain selected metals: aluminum alloys, beryllium, titanium, steels, superalloys, refractory metals and some metal-matrix composites. Aluminum Alloys For a number of years a series of strong aluminum alloys used for airframes has had an important bearing on the development of minimum- weight, highly efficient structures. Among these alloys are such familiar ones as 2024-T3, 2014-T6, 7075-T6, 7079-T6 and 7178-T6. A review of the development and use of strong aluminum alloys in aircraft structures indicates that before about 25 years ago there was very little application of products other than forgings in the high-strength tempers produced by precipitation heat treating to T6- or T8-type tempers. 1 As stated by Dix in 1944, "There has been a gradual evolution in engineering viewpoint regarding the mechanical characteristics which are required in a structural material suitable for aircraft. Formerly, emphasis was placed on a generous spread between yield and tensile strengths, on elongation, on impact strength and on resistance to corrosion. Aircraft structural engineers still differ widely as to the importance which they attach to these proper tie.” 2 It is fair to say that this evolution is still taking place, that the problem is much the same in 1970 as in 1944 - except that strength levels have advanced some - and the question remains as to how far we can go in that direction. In the meantime, a new group of alloys has received acceptance and widespread use. The first alloy of this group, 7075-T6, was formally introduced by Dix's 1944 paper. The drastic changes that have taken place in the size and configuration of components employed in air-

Jan 1, 1971

By John B. Hastings

TEN miles from Hartsel, near Antelope springs, in Park county, Colorado, there is a large area of unconsolidated lake beds, which are interesting because at least a part of the lacustrine sands contains in the aggregate an immense amount of gold. During 1906, one of the arms of this dessicated lake was fairly well prospected with shafts and cuts by an Eastern company to test its value, as favorable amounts of gold had in some instances been found upon it. The claims of the company contain about 5,000 acres of the beds; but this is only a small portion of them, a south branch from a main body, which is at least 7 miles in diameter, with other and very wide lateral gulches, paralleling the one herein described on the east and west. A certain amount of digging and sampling was done in the outside areas; but the result was evidently unsatisfactory, since the work was discontinued. his section of Colorado has not been studied geologically, and the age of the ancient lake is unknown. It is probably Quaternary. I spent two weeks on the ground, in September and October, 1906, but was quite absorbed in the sampling. I looked, however, for terraces on the rim-rock and other evidences of movement and erosion, but did not find anything to denote an earlier age than the Quaternary. The granite rim-rock may be Archean; S. F. Emmons says that some of the granites in central Colorado are as old as that. The rim-rock as observed is a gray quartzose biotite-granite, except a small area in Sections 3 and 34, where it is a felsitic (?) breccia. The breccia is silicified by solfataric action at the corner near Shaft No. 7, in Section 34; but this action is older than the sands and does not extend to them. The shaft averaged 50c. per ton, more than twice as much as the rest.

Jan 5, 1908

By Y. C. Liu, R. H. Richman

The effects of gel,manium and tin on the deformation and 9-e-crystallization textures of copper have been explored in detail with in the copper-rich terminal solid solutions. Addition of solute to copper produces a change in deformation texture from the copper type to the 70 :30 brass type. This transition has been measured quantitatively The types mid proportions of recrystal-lization components have been determined as a function of com-position, and correlation of recrystallization components with specific deformation components is discussed. On the basis of information available in the literature, it has been suggested that the effect of solute elements on the recrystallization texture of copper

Jan 1, 1961

By W. G. Oldham

By monitoring the capacitance of abrupt p-n junctions it is possible to follow the motion of substitu-tional impurities. A p-n junction is formed by growth of silicon from an Al-Si alloy on an n-type silicon sutstrate at a temperature in the range 650" to 750°C. The diodes are etched and sorted for consistent V-I and capacitance behavior and separated into groups. After irradiation, each set with an unirradiated control set is annealed to various temperatltres for 10 mm and the capacitance remeasnred. For very heavily doped diodes (-1019 per cm3) observable capacitance changes occur at neutron fluences of >1015 per cm 3. The results may be interpreted in seceral ways, the simplest of which is to assume simple vacancy diffiision with small impurity -racancy interaction (at the diffiision, i.e. annealing temperature of 700°C). In this interpretation it is found that a typical vacancy makes about 1024 jumps and travels about 10-5 cm before disappearing. The required effective annihilation center density is about 1016per cm3 . Estimates of the vacancy-impurity interaction can be made and the above numbers correctecl, but for arty reasonable assumptions the number of vacancy sinks connot be much reduced. ThE complete annealing of radiation induced defects requires that the vacancies and interstitials either recombine, travel to the surface of the crystal, or travel to an annihilation center, e.g., a dislocation or a precipitate. If the interstitial is ignored except as a possible vacancy annihilation center at low temperatures,* the motion of vacancies may be followed by monitoring the corresponding motion of substitutional impurities. pfister2 has measured the enhanced diffusion of impurities in an asymmetric shallow diffused silicon structure by optically monitoring the junction movement. In these experiments we monitor instead the capacitance of a heavily-doped deep symmetric p-n junction. The sensitivity for this method is several orders of magnitude higher than in Pfister's technique, mainly for two reasons: 1) the junction capacitance of a heavily-doped junction is sensitive to impurity movements in the Angstrom range* com- and 2) the junction may be far from the surface which is a major annihilation center for vacancies. THE EXPERIMENT A p-n junction is formed by the epitaxial growth of silicon from an A1-Si alloy on a silicon substrate at a temperature in the range 650° to 750°C. The technique used is the transport of an aluminum melt through a temperature gradient.4 A 10-mil thick aluminum disc is sandwiched between two silicon wafers and the assembly raised to about 650° C with a temperature gradient normal to the sandwich. After about 8 hr the upper (hotter) wafer has been entirely transported and deposited epitaxially on the substrate wafer. The substrate and overgrowth resistivity are measured with a 4-point probe. The as-grown structure is lapped until the wafer is about 1/2 mm thick with the junction in the center. Contacts consisting of electroless nickel covered by electroplated rhodium are applied to both the p and n sides. The wafer is diced into square dice 1/2 to 1 mm on a side and the dice are etched sufficiently to remove approximately 1 mil of silicon. The following results are all for aluminum (p-side) and antimony (n-side) doped specimens with NA =3x 1018 per cm3, ND = 2-8 x 101A per cm3. The diodes are sorted for consistent V-I and capacitance behavior and separated into groups. After irradiation, each set with an unirradiated control set is annealed and the capacitance remeasured. A special capacitance measurement method is used to insure a low sensitivity to shunt resistance. The diode is voltage driven and the current monitored by a phase lock amplifier. It is possible to adjust the detector phase to a point where shunt resistances as low as 100 O have no effect on the reading. The diodes in this study have a capacitance in the range 1000 to 5000 picofarads and a shunt resistance in the range 100 to l06 O depending on the stage of the anneal. THEORY The theoretical problem is twofold: 1) The computation of the amount of impurity diffusion and hence the impurity profile resulting from a given amount of vacancy motion, and 2) the computation of the capacitance from the impurity profile. A comparison of the theoretical and experimental capacitance (in particular the changes) yields the amount of vacancy motion. Vacancy Motion. A convenient parameter to measure the total amount of vacancy motion is Jv the total number of vacancy jumps per unit volume. Although this parameter varies with position in the crystal, owing to vacancy annihilation at the surfaces, it is approximately independent of position far from the surfaces, i.e. in the junction region. In terms of the number of vacancies per unit volume Nv and the vacancy diffusivity given by

Jan 1, 1970

By Ralph Arnold

THE American oil 'industry has reached the critical stage where the demand exceeds the supply with no hope of permanently bettering the situation through the development of new fields in the United States. Remedies may be sought along three lines: 1. Securing a foreign source of supply. 2. Curtailment of the use of oil and its derivatives. 3. Improvement in methods of recovery (including the recovery of shale oil), refining, and utilization. The oil companies with proper government support will push the acquiring of foreign territory; the price of oil and oil products will enforce a curtailment in use; it remains for the producers and refiners to brings about improvements and economy in recovery, transportation and refining; the general public must be instructed in utilization. The solution of the problem, therefore, rests largely in the hands of the technologists of the industry -the drillers, engineers, geologists, chemists, etc. Only through an exchange of the ideas of the individuals who are conducting the industry will its technology be advanced. , Among the agencies at work to bring about this result are the United States Bureau of Mines, the American Petroleum Institute, and the A. I. M. E. The Bureau of Mines has a trained staff of experts, maintains experiment stations and a field force of technologists, and issues many technical papers helpful to the industry. The Petroleum Institute is a clearing house for useful statistics and is now. organizing a research division under the able direction of Doctor Manning, but its principal field of activities is in the realm of co¬ordinating ?the financial and commercial activities of the` oil' companies.' It remains for the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers to organize the individual technologists of the industry and provide them with means of exchanging and disseminating ideas through meetings and publications. It is the aim of the Petroleum Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers to foster this exchange of ideas among oil men by enlarging the membership of the Institute among the field and office technical forces of the oil companies and thus arouse their interest in the vital problems of the oil business.

Jan 1, 1920

By W. A. Alexander, L. M. Pidgeon

Metallic magnesium and similar meta!s near the top of the electromotive series have been commercially produced by the electrolysis of a suitable molten salt. Despite the success of electrolysis, sufficient inherent objections exist to justify the search for a direct reduction method. Such a method would widen the choice of raw materials, relax the rigid electrolytic requirements of raw-material purity, and, by obviating direct current, over simplicity of plant equipment. This paper describes the pilot-plant development of one such method, which has subsequently formed the basis of operation of six commercial plants-—one in Canada and five in the United States. Unlike aluminum, magnesium is volatile at relatively low temperatures. This physical property, which produces its greater inflammability, also offers possibilities of direct reduction that are not available with aluminum. In the basic reaction MgO + X = XO + Mg if X is nonvolatile, the reaction may be forced to the right at high temperatures by the evolution of magnesium vapor, despite the large negative value of the heat of reaction which is almost bound to follow the use of any available commercial reducing agent. The cheapest X, of course, is carbon, but this notable advantage is modified by the production of a volatile oxide CO, so that both Mg and CO are evolved simultaneously. Elaborate devices are required to shock-cool the equilibrium mixture in order to prevent back reaction. At best, a pyrophoric powder is produced, requiring redistillation to provide marketable metal. The practical development of this process, is due to F. Hansgirg, and his methods have recently been given a trial on a grand scale in the plant at Permanente, California, and smaller plants were previously built in Austria, England and Japan. A second class of reducing agents is available, those which produce nonvolatile oxides. When XO and X are relatively nonvolatile, magnesium is the only volatile member of the system. It may be evolved in a simple distillation step and condensed without the formation of powder. Two basic requirements must bc fulfilled in order that such a reaction may proceed: I. The reducing agent when heated to a reasonable temperature in presence of MgO must cause the production of an appreciable equilibrium vapor pressure of magnesium. This magnesium must be removed continuously. z. A supply of heat must be maintained. In order to fulfill the first requirement, operations must be conducted in vacuo or in a stream of Hz. Owing to its greater efficacy and relative safety, vacuum has been employed in the work to be described. The choice of a suitable reducing agent formed the subject of an extensive series

Jan 1, 1944

By K. J. Powers

The Mine Accident, Injury, Illness and Employment Database at the Mine Safety and Health Administration's Health and Safety Analysis Center is a computerized system that stores accident, injury, illness and employment data about all coal and metal/nonmetal mines in the United States. The paper discusses the system for collecting, storing, analyzing, and reporting this information and how these data are used in the ongoing effort to increase the health and safety in this nation's mines.

Jan 1, 1983

By P. D. I. Honeyman, P. A. Faust

At the Miami plant of the International Smelting Co., Inspiration, Ariz., there are four reverberatory furnaces, all 120 ft. long. At present only one of these furnaces is in operation. It is operated as a wet-charge furnace, the charge being distributed for about 65 ft. down the furnace length. Usually this charge contains about 12 per cent moisture and runs 25 per cent sulfur, of which there is eliminated in the furnace from 25 to 30 per cent. The furnace is oil-fired, the fuel being burned in a battery of Cananea-type, low-pressure burners. The flame is kept short and conditions so adjusted as to obtain complete combustion within the furnace. The average furnace draft, taken through the verb arch, amounts to only 0.02 in. of H2O. Draft is purposely kept low to cut down infiltration through the flues and boiler settings, and control dampers are regulated to maintain this uniform condition throughout the charging as well as the smelting period. Hot gases discharge from the furnace uptake through a common header flue to the waste-heat boilers. The general layout and dimensions of the plant are shown in Fig. 1. Four Stirling boilers, two of class M-26 (713 hp.) and two class M-31 (850 hp.), serve the furnace. Three usually are sufficient to take care of normal operation, the fourth boiler being used as a spare when necessary. The distribution of hot gases to the various boilers is regulated by the dampers in the boiler exit flues. Normally the boilers closest to the furnace uptake would evaporate more water than do those farther away, but dampers are regulated so as to distribute fairly well the load between the several boilers. Steam from the waste-heat plant is delivered to the adjoining power house of the Inspiration company, where it is used both in the Nordberg blowing engines and for electrical generation. Steam pressures and temperatures recorded are those in the main power-plant header and are thus inclusive of all losses in about 500 ft. of 10-in. line. Steam for smelter heating and auxiliary use is taken from the main waste-heat header, is reduced to 125 lb. and distributed through separate lines. Boiler feed water is supplied by the power plant and consists of returned condensate, augmented to a large extent by make-up water

Jan 1, 1934