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By R. G. Stickney

INTRODUCTION The Basalt Waste Isolation Project, conducted by Rockwell Hanford Operations under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, is assessing the feasibility of the disposal of commercial radioactive spent fuel/high-level waste in deep geologic formations in basalts beneath and within the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The Basalt Waste Isolation Project mission is to identify and characterize a potential geologic repository site in basalt and to develop associated facilities and technology required for the potential permanent isolation of radioactive wastes in basalt formations. In support of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, a laboratory testing program was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's "Doorstopper" biaxial strain cell. To support site characterization studies and the design of repository openings, in situ stress measurements will be conducted within the reference repository horizon (~970 m). The Doorstopper is one of the instruments being considered for use in these measurements. It was selected because it requires only a small volume of work to achieve stress relief, which is important in a closely jointed basalt. Also, test durations are short, permitting a large number of measurements to be made within a given time to increase confidence in the results. Within the reference repository horizon, temperatures are expected in the range of 40º to 60°C with a humidity of up to 100%. For this testing program, test conditions were selected to closely resemble those expected within the repository horizon. The Doorstopper test, mainly developed by Leeman (1964), is a strain rosette relief method of measuring rock stress in situ. The Doorstopper consists of a four element, 45º strain gage rosette

Jan 1, 1984

By D. L. Martin, E. R. Parker

During the heat-treatment of silver specimens for tensile tests it was observed that the bars blistered and became brittle when heated in a hydrogen atmosphere. To check this unexpected result, a wide variety of commercial silvers were heated in hydrogen at 850°C. Only a few of the materials developed blisters, the most severe of which is the tube pictured in Fig. I. The microstructure of a cross section of the tube is shown in Fig. 2. The embrit-tlernent is extremely severe at the edge; the blisters result from the severe deformation of the surface material by large under- lying gas pockets. The effects resulting from hydrogen embrittlement of silver have been observed by numerous investigators over a long time l,2,3 although it was only recently that a clear explanation was offered.4 However, the damage resulting from hydrogen embrittlement has not been generally recognized; and it is of advantage to know more about this phe- 1 References are at the end of the paper.

Jan 1, 1943

Until the end of 1960, the small primary aluminum industry in Australia was run by the government. The entire operation was at Bell Bay on the north coast of Tasmania. It consisted of an alumina plant and smelter, owned jointly by the Commonwealth and the State of Tasmania. Apparent domestic demand that year was about 48,000 long tons; 11% thousand came from Bell Bay; the rest was imported. By March 1964, Australia had two fully integrated aluminum companies. The government has stepped out of the picture and the key word of the industry from bauxite to metal is "growth." Present annual capacity of the two companies for making aluminum metal totals 92,000 long tons a year. Australian demand is about 60,000 tons. By 1968 Australian consumption should be 90,000 tons and by 1970 it is expected to reach 107,000 long tons per year. Export markets for bauxite, alumina and metal are developing.

Jan 10, 1964

By John A. Fagnant

At Elkol, Wyo., about 80 miles northeast of Ogden, Utah, the Kemmerer Coal Co. and the Utah Power and Light Co. are involved in a joint venture that will soon see 1 million tons of coal going "out by wire" to Ogden. Kemmerer, owner of a multi-seam strip mine, and the utility, now building a steam power plant adjacent to the mine site, expect to begin initial power generation by February 1963. Although capable of producing only 150,000 kw at that time, this plant is expected to be ultimately enlarged to 500,000-kw capacity which will require about 2 million tons of coal annually. The deposit consists of more than 30 seams of coal, usually varying in thickness from 2 to 40 ft, and separated by beds of sandstones and shales. In certain areas the aggregate thickness of all the coal seams measures 300 ft. The thickest and most spectacular of these seams is the lowest one, referred to as the No. 1 seam, which is 118 ft thick in some places.

Jan 8, 1962

By Samuel D. Warriner

The dealings between concentrated capital invested in the conduct of our various industries and the combinations of labor known as "trade union organizations," have produced not only in the United States, but abroad, many novel methods of negotiation between employers and wage-workers. The size and strength of these organizations have destroyed the personal elements formerly governing the dealings between employer and employee, and have produced various forms of trade-agreements now in more or less successful operation. The difficulty, however, has been to secure consent of both parties to an equitable agreement. For this purpose there have been devised various forms of arbitration, either compulsory under the shadow of governmental legislation, or voluntary by mutual agreement. But these have not been altogether successful from a technical stand-point, for the reason that a compromise has generally been necessary, and in an effort to reach an agreement, terms have been made which have been neither fair nor satisfactory to either of the contending parties. The Anthracite Board of Conciliation represents one of the few thoroughly successful courts for the settlement of trade-disputes, if not the only one which has yet been evolved. The prestige of this board rests upon its successful treatment of the labor-troubles of the anthracite region for a period of more than eight years, and upon the fact that it has been able

Jan 1, 1912

By Charles Morgan

AN increased demand for brown iron ore in the Birmingham district during the past 18 months has caused renewed activity both in prospecting and mining these ores. In recent years the production in Alabama has ranged from 41,559 tons in 1932 to 639,351 tons in 1928. During the last 9 years about 83 per cent of the total brown ore produced in the United States has come from Alabama (Tables 1 and 2). PROSPECTING Two methods of prospecting are used in this district: (1) test pits, (2) churn-drilling. Usually there is certain quite definite information on an area to be prospected; some of the indications are float ore such as small gravel or small and large boulders known as "dornicks" scattered over the surface, and ore exposed by erosion in gulleys and ravines, which have cut or eroded through the overburden. Often these natural erosions furnish an indication of the thickness of the ore and to some extent of the area of the ore body.

Jan 1, 1937

By Ronald F. Ayers

The basic research for this study was conducted by Battelle's Columbus Laboratories in 1974. The high-sulfur content of coal threatens to erode its competitive position in the future. The impact of sulfur removal on final costs of eastern interior coal lies at the very heart of this market analysis. An extensive market survey was conducted that considered both traditional coal markets as well as anticipated future markets. Competition for coal from this province considers low-sulfur Western coal, nu- clear power, international oil and coal trade, as well as Appalachian coal producers. Based on projections of future energy consumption under several scenarios, a comprehensive market forecast for eastern interior coal was made to 2040. The study upon which this paper is based was completed by Battelle's Columbus Laboratories for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1974. It is but part of an overall effort by the Corps to evaluate the costs and benefits to the nation of waterway improvements. This study is primarily concerned with future coal markets for production from those counties near the Wabash River in the heart of the Eastern Interior Province. An objective here is to consider a most pessimistic energy (and hence, coal) demand for planning purposes.

Jan 1, 1978

By A. S. Learoyd

THE Anthracite Division, Bureau of Distribution, of the United States Fuel Administration, came into existence about Oct. 20, 1917. There had been no definite policy determined upon and the distribution had been carried out by the producers and distributors of this fuel as under normal conditions. The domestic sizes had been shipped from the beginning of the coal year on Apr. 1 in about their usual proportions to the various sections of the anthracite consuming territory of this country, which, in a general way, extended as far west as Nebraska and Montana, and in the south along the Atlantic seaboard to Florida. With the advent of cold weather, about the middle of November, acute shortages commenced to develop all over the northeastern section of the country, due to largely increased demand by the public in general, to enormously increased population in centers where industrial war activity was concentrated, and by the needs of the war industries themselves. Commencing with the early part of December, this demand was aggravated by extreme low temperatures and heavy snow; and the production decreased for the same reasons. From that date until the change in the weather, about the latter part of February, it was simply a question of getting coal into communities as emergencies occurred, to take care of individual cases. No definite plan of distribution could be followed. The coal mined between Apr. 1 and Nov. 1 had been distributed as mined and, therefore, only current production was available for distribution. The Anthracite Division, during this period, consisted of a Director, two assistants, together with an office force of seven or eight clerks and stenographers.

Jan 8, 1919

By Milnor Roberts

The Nicola Valley coal-field is small, but it seems likely to become important because of its commanding position in a rich region that is developing rapidly. Bituminous coking-coal in workable quantity has not been found at any other point between the Crow's Nest Pass region, about 400 miles to the east, and Vancouver island, 250 miles westward. The Canadian Pacific railway reached the Nicola valley two years ago ; two other lines, the Canadian Northern and the Great Northern, are building towards the valley. The vast region between the Rocky mountains and the Pacific coast, extending northward for several hundred miles from the international boundary, which has been the scene of extensive mining- and smelting-operations for many years, is filling up with settlers, who are attracted by the wealth of minerals and timber, the rich soil of the valleys, and the fine climate. The Nicola river, flowing westward through the valley of that name in the Yale district, discharges into the Thompson river, which is the eastern branch of the Fraser. The transcontinental line of the Canadian Pacific railway crosses the mouth of the Nicola river at Spence's bridge, 178 miles from Vancouver. From Spence's bridge the Nicola branch line ascends the valley for 40 miles to Merritt, the coal-center, and continues 7 miles farther to the town of Nicola. Thus the haul from the mines at an elevatioiz of 2,000 ft. to salt water is 218 miles down river-grades. The Nicola branch will be continued about 150 miles farther eastward to Penticton, where it will connect with an extension of the line through the rich Kootenay and Boundary districts. The Canadian government has granted a subsidy of $6,000 per mile, to which the provincial government is planning to add $5,000 per mile, to assist in the construction of the Nicola extension. Upon the

Jan 1, 1910

By W. N. Lacey, B. H. Sage, W. M. Morris

The volumetric behavior of isobutane at temperatures below its critical temperature has been studied by several investigators. Seibert and Burrelll measured the vapor pressure of isobutane from the ice point to the critical temperature. Dana and co-workers2 determined among other thermodynamic quantities the density of the saturated liquid and the saturated gas and the vapor pressure from approximately 0 to 130 F. Sage and Lacey3 studied a number of the thermodynamic properties of this hydrocarbon from 70" to 250" F. The specific volume in the gas and liquid region was determined at pressures up to 3000 Ib. per sq. in.? throughout this temperature interval. In addition, the vapor pressures were measured at 30" intervals. These data taken together serve to establish the thermodynamic behavior of isobutane at temperatures between 0" and 250" F. with reasonable accuracy. However, apparently there are no data available at the higher temperatures. For this reason an investigation of the volumetric behavior of isobutane at temperatures between 100" and 460" F. was carried out with apparatus that has been described in another paper (p. 136, this volume). Materials The isobutane used in this investigation was obtained from the Philgas Division of the Phillips Petroleum Co. That company's special analysis upon this sample indicated it to contain less than 0.03 mol per cent of impurities. In order to avoid traces of noncondensable gases, this hydrocarbon material was subjected to two successive fractionations at a high reflux ratio in a column approximately 4 ft. long and % in. in diameter, which was packed with small glass rings. The middle portion of distillate from the first fractionation was used in the second fraction-ation and a portion of the overhead from this second distillation process was repeatedly condensed at liquid-air temperatures at a pressure only slightly above the sublimation pressure of isobutane at this temperature.

Jan 1, 1940

SEVERAL distinctions can rightfully be accorded the Bagdad enterprise. For one thing, it has the most romantic name among the Porphyry Coppers and this is said with all due deference to Copper Queen and Inspiration! Bagdad was one of the richest and most magnificent cities of the glamorous world of the Arabian Nights. The record does not say who was responsible for applying the name Bagdad to the company that in 191 1 took over the property of the Arizona-Nevada Copper Company; but whoever it was must have had visions (or at least hopes) of a fabulously profitable mine. So far as I know, Bagdad is the only Porphyry whose owners, or officials, ran afoul of the law because of alleged sins of omission or commission in vending shares of the company's stock. E. B. Bronson, of New York, had been interested in Bagdad since 1909; and, during the lean period of the 1930's he had, as president of the corporation, endeavored to raise needed funds by the sale of 140,000 shares of treasury stock. Some legal questions arose as to the need for registration under the Securities and Exchange Act; but, when Mr. Bronson finally filed a registration statement, the New York office of the Securities and Exchange Commission found 155 "deficiencies" in the document. According to the judge who later heard the criminal case against Bronson, no evidence was introduced to show that he had personally benefited "to the extent of one dollar." However, it was charged that the setup was such that he was in position to profit if he had wanted to! A somewhat quixotic position, it would seem. In any event, he was convicted, on highly technical

Jan 1, 1957

By R. L. Tobie

The degree of automation that has evolved in the dumping and hoisting of ore at the 3A and 3B hoisting shafts of the San Manuel mine is discussed. Motormen underground now dump their own trains at shaft pockets with rotary car dumps which operate semiautomatically. The ore is then drawn out of the 1200-ton shaft pockets into measuring baskets in skip loading stations, loaded into bottom-dump skips, hoisted, and dumped into coarse ore bins on the surface, in a fully automated operation. In an underground control room on the 2075 level midway between 3A and 3B shafts, car dumping, skip loading, and hoisting systems are monitored on lighted control panels which mimic each step in the operation. Here skip loading and dumping are viewed on closed-circuit television.

Jan 1, 1972

By P. H. Royster, T. L. Joseph

In a study of the blast-furnace process, the Bureau of Mines has made many experiments for the purpose of determining the exact nature of the combustion of coke in the neighborhood of the tuyeres. Two papers1 presented at a meeting of this Institute discussed somewhat the practical aspects of coke combustibility in its relation to the operation of the blast furnace. In a later paper,2 Sherman and Kinney discussed the possible effect of variations in the combustibility of cokes on the furnace operation, and find that the "reoxidation theory" of Koppers and the "heat concentration theory" of Brassert³ are insuffcient to explain the variation in the conduct of different cokes that has been observed by furnace operators. In their report to the D-5 Committee of the American Society for Testing Materials, with which the Bureau of Mines has been cooperating, Perrott and Fieldner4 seem to agree with Sherman and Kinney that, for practical purposes, the nature of the combustion of coke at the tuyeres of any furnace is constant and is affected neither by the physical properties of the coke nor by the nature of the furnace operation. They omit as unimportant any tests on the combustibility of coke from their proposed methods for standard tests on coke. In the last two papers, it is pointed out that performance tests, in which all other factors except coke quality are kept constant, are to be desired and

Jan 1, 1924

By Eric K. Albert, J. Kiusalaas

The paper presents an overview of SPASID (Kiusalaas and Albert, 1983), a new computer program developed under U.S. Bureau of Mines funding for the prediction of surface subsidence caused by under- ground mining operations. The presentation, which is illustrated with two case studies, also re-evaluates the influence function method as a tool of subsidence prediction, arriving at some rather unconventional recommendations. SPASID consists of four modules that communicate through common data bases: (1) Preprocessor. This module prepares and maintains the database for the entire site. The database contains all the information about the site and the mine operation that is necessary for the computation of subsidence. (2) Subsidence Predictor. The influence function method is used to predict the surface displacements that occur in any portion of the site that occur between two given dates. The computations take into account the time lag between extraction and displacement, and the effects of pitching seams and incomplete compaction at the edges of panels. The program contains i not he's influence function and the Green's function of transversely isotropic elasticity theory. (3) System Identification. The purpose of System Identification is to determine the optimal values of the various parameters associated with the influence functions in the Subsidence Module. System Identification requires measurements of subsidence from a site with a sirnilar overburden structure. The values of the subsidence parameters are obtained by minimizing the discrepancy between the measured and computed surface displacements. (4) Postprocessor. The Postprocessor is a graphics facility for displaying the data generated by the other program modules.

Jan 1, 1984

By Leason Adams

THE thermocouple as a device for the measurement of temperature is rivaled only by the platinum-resistance thermometer. Both instruments are capable of the highest precision, but the thermocouple, on account of its cheapness, ease of construction, and small cross-section, is finding a continually widening field of usefulness for industrial control as well as for laboratory measurements. Formerly, the thermocouple was subject to two disadvantages: errors due to lack of homogeneity of the metal and the labor involved in the interpolation between fixed points on the temperature scale. Former publications from the Geo-physical Laboratory have described the methods' for the selection and testing of thermocouple wire and have presented standard calibration curves2 for platinum-platinrhodiun and copper-constantan couples, so that the most important objections to the thermocouple as a precision thermometer have been removed. The calibration tables published in 1914 covered the range 0-1755° for the platinum-platinrhodium couple and 0-350° for copper-constantan. It has seemed desirable to extend the table for copper-constantan to -200 and also to include a table for the Hoskins thermocouple. Accordingly, in this paper, the new tables are presented, together with a brief explanation of their use; and, finally, certain diagrams and a paragraph on "cold-junction corrections" are given. Standard Calibration Tables.-In Fig. 1, which illustrates how the electromotive force (e.m.f.) of each of the three couples varies with the temperature, the temperatures of one junction are plotted as abscissas and the corresponding thermo-e.m.f.'s as ordinates. The second junction of the couple is supposed to be at 0°; the curves, therefore, pass through

Jan 9, 1919

By Bauer. Larry G.

The vast coal reserves in the Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota region are sufficient to supply the total energy needs of the United States for several hundred years. Not only is there an abundance of this sub-bituminous and lignite coal available, but it is easily obtainable by strip-mining . The overburden varies from several feet to several hundred feet. This western coal has yet another asset, namely, a low sulfur content. Whereas eastern and midwestern coal has a sulfur content of 2.5%, the upper Great Plains coal contains sulfur in the 0.5% range. The importance of the sulfur content of the coal is a direct result of federal government emission standards for sulfur dioxide (SO2). Hand (1) points out that "sub-bituminous coals and lignites have a propensity for retaining this sulfur in the ash under certain conditions which is not evident in higher rank coals." This would tend to reduce further the SO2 concentration in the combustion gases of boilers. Western coal is no panacea, however, in that it is far removed from most population and industrial centers. Furthermore, the moisture content of the coal varies from 20 to 40%. This moisture is almost exclusively inherent, that is, it is chemically and physically bound to the organic matter of the coal. It is believed that the water forms a part of the coal structure perhaps as water of hydration of organic salts or organic acids, perhaps by hydrogen bonding, or perhaps by simple adsorption (2). The primary market for this coal is the electric power industry. Lesser markets will be as coke for the steel industry and possible as a raw material for coal gasification and coal liquefaction plants.

Jan 1, 1983

By A. W. Hesse

Twelve years ago, some coal-mine operators, mining engineers, oil and gas operators, Bureau of Mines engineers, geologists and state mine inspectors met in Pittsburgh, Pa. to discuss and solve if possible, the problems in connection with the drilling of oil and gas wells through or near coal mines and through the future coal reserves. Regulations were drafted and presented by O. P. Hood and A. G. Heggem of the Bureau of Mines.' . There was considerable discussion of the various articles, practically all of which appear in Bulletin 65, but the interest aroused at that meeting was short lived. Practically none of the important coal-producing states gave the matter the consideration it should have received. Notwithstanding the marked progress in safety work, coal mines still have an unenviable reputation for mine explosions. Our mining laws have become stricter and the enforcement, especially in Pennsylvania, more rigid, but what good will come from a rigid enforcement of the mining laws if some source of danger exists all around the mines, over which the operators have no control ? It is hardly necessary to recite all the cases of natural-gas explosions published in Bulletin 65, but with some of them I am especially familiar. In 1912, while visiting the Miners' Hospital, at Fairmont, W. Va., my attention was called to a patient swathed in in bandages so that no part of his face and hands were visible. He had not been told that his two sons, mere boys, had died of the burns they had received in the same accident—explosion due to natural gas leaking into a country mine at Peora, Harrison Co., W. Va.

Jan 1, 1925

By C. E. Agnew

THE Eastern district, composed of New Jersey and eastern Pennsyl-vania, with its native ores, was the cradle of the iron industry of the United States. The district attained and held the leadership in produc-tion of pig iron for over 100 years, from pre-Revolutionary days to approximately 1875. The first shipment of Lake hematite ore was made in 1853. It was a small shipment, transported by a sailing vessel and a canal barge, but it was the beginning of the end of the supremacy of the Eastern district, although at that time the ore was supposed to be too rich to be successfully smelted with the block coal then in use at western furnaces. The iron made from the first shipment of Lake ore was worked into nails by the Sharon Iron Co., at Sharon, Pa. The writer's great-grandfather, David Agnew, and his brother, John P., Agnew, owners and-operators of the Sharpsville furnace, Sharpsville, Pa., worked the shipment through a furnace. Because of this, the writer feels some satisfaction in having been one of a group that solved the problem of making profitable an operation using Eastern district ores exclusively. With the development of Lake mines, and the production and use of coke, the Middle West district gradually assumed the position of leader-ship in production; because, even though the ores were transported 1000 miles by water and rail, its cost figure on pig iron was better than that of the eastern producer whose furnace was next to his mine. Such a cost figure was possible because the ore was naturally rich in iron and reduced easily. It was possible to carry a heavy burden on the furnace, which resulted in large tonnage and low coke per ton of iron. This paper is in no sense a technical one. The purpose is to show that with the proper physical preparation of the Eastern magnetites they will reduce as easily as the Lake hematites, and because of the high iron concentration give the Eastern producer just as much advantage as formally he was at a disadvantage in comparison with the Middle West producer.

Jan 1, 1938

By David R. Mitchell, R. B. Hewes

MANY processes for cleaning coal that are in use depend primarily on physical properties of coal and refuse other than specific gravity and surface conditions relating to froth flotation. These properties are' shape, coefficient of sliding friction, resilience, friability, magnetic susceptibility, and electrical conductivity. In many of these processes specific gravity does have some effect and many separators are designed to utilize more than one of the physical properties cited. Although the processes described herein do not have a widespread application, yet for specific coals and specific conditions, they are economically important. A problem confronting many coal-mining districts is the marketing of the slacks or screenings and dust passing the final sizing screens. Proc¬esses in commercial use installed primarily to increase the form value, and hence the market value, of these slacks and dusts include briquetting, packaging, and low-temperature carborization. MECHANICAL PICKERS Machines utilizing shape, frictional resistance, and differences in resilience of coal and impurities are usually called mechanical pickers. They require a closely sized feed, therefore their use is confined to the pea, nut, and egg sizes. Various types of these devices are described by Berrisford, 1. 2 Taggart, and Yeele.

Jan 1, 1943

By J. E. Russell

A brief review of the role of laboratory testing for characterization of host rocks for nuclear waste repositories is presented. Micro-and macro-scopic deformation mechanisms are discussed and constitutive laws being considered are reviewed. More information is available for rocksalt under expected repository conditions and, consequently, it receives more attention in our review. A brief comparison is made between the creep and constant strain-rate tests leading to a hypothesis that there may be systematic differences between steady-state conditions developed by the two test types. This difference is explained by considering specific power dissipated and work done on the sample. The hypothesis is tested against data for wet Westerly granite. In conclusion, progress has been made during the past five years but research and development should continue.

Jan 1, 1984