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By T. B. Counselman

PRobably the earliest concentration of iron ore in this country was carried on in the northeastern magnetite areas. Magnetic concentration was relatively simple and gave a concentrate that, after agglomeration, and in spite of beillg high in phosphorus hecause of the dry concentrating methods then in use, was satisfactory blast-furnace feed. Production from the northeastern magnetitc area languished after the discovery and development of the Lake Superior ores, where there was seemingly an unlimited tonnage of high-grade ore, first the Michigan ores, and subsequently the still larger deposits of Minnesota. For years only the higher grade, direct shipping ores of the Lake superior district were mined. Those of Michigan, and of the Vermilion Range in Minnesota, were hard ores and came principally from underground mines. The softer ores of the Mesabi came partly from underground mincs, but mostly from the enormous deposits that could be worked by open-pit methods. The costs of ore from these open-pit deposits, even with the high initial cost of stripping, were so low that the underground mines of the Mesabi could hardly compete. The so-called Old Range ores, of Michigan and of the Vermilion Range of Minnesota, were hard and lumpy, and opened UP the burden in the blast furnace, therefore making possible harder driving with greater output. Also, some of these Ores were of such grade and physical characteristics that they were suitable for charge ore in the open hearth. These ores, therefore, commanded a price premium. and could compete with the softer, finer, but cheaper, Mesabi ores. The big tonnage reserves, however, are on the Mesabi. and it is these big open-pit deposits that contitue- our stock pile of iron ore, from which we are drawing so heavily during this war period. On the western end of the Mesabi the ore was found to be high in silica, and not suitable as furnace feed. As early as 1902, attempts were made to concentrate this so-called wash ore and by 1910 the first washing plant was put into operation. The Process was very simple, consisting essentially of a sizing and washing operation, with scalping screens, logwashers and tables, which later were replaced by classificrs. Ore particles finer than I00 mesh were deliberately wasted, because these fines were undesirable in the furnace. Fortunately, these tailings were impounded, and already are being reworked. Before long some of the low-grade ores began to require more elaborate treatment than the simple washing operation and, tables having been discarded because of their low capacity, in favor of classifiers, jigs were next introduced. These were able to discard coarser pieces of tailing than classifiers. Jigs are in active use today, various improvements having been made in their design and application. Various other machines and methods of concentration have been tried from time to time, and have in turn been discarded for more improved processes., The latest and most important process that has been 38

Jan 1, 1944

By C. C. Furnas, T. L. Joseph

It is well known that particles of different sizes are not distributed evenly throughout the average charge in an iron blast furnace. Just how great the disparity in particle size in different parts of a single plane in a furnace may be is indicated by the results of some recent investiga-tion1,2 conducted by the Bureau of Mines on a furnace operating on Lake ores. The wide variations found in gas velocity, gas composition, and temperature from the periphery to the center of the upper charge column were caused by the great variation in particle size of the raw materials used and were also greatly influenced by the methods of charging. This paper summarizes the results of an investigation of the influence of different methods of charging and of the treatment of raw materials upon the size distribution of the solid particles in the blast furnace. A more complete report will appear later as a Bureau of Mines technical paper. Importance of Gas-solid Contact One of the authors has pointed out in a previous report? that the operation of the blast-furnace process is entirely dependent on contact between the gas stream and the solid particles in the stock. The gas stream carries the necessary heat as well as the carbon monoxide molecules that do the work of rednction. In the parts of the furnace in which there is little or no contact between the gas stream and the solids there can be little work of reduction. Obviously, the part of the apparatus that is not doing the work for which it is intended is inefficient; the ideal condition is one in which all portions of the stock column are

Jan 1, 1929

By Robert M. Grogan, Gill Montgomery

Fluorspar, the commercial name for fluorite, is a mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF,. Its valuable properties are due to its content of fluorine, and it is the principal commercial source of that element. The name is derived from the Latin word "fluere," to flow, because the mineral has a low melting point and is used in metallurgy as a flux. Cryolite is a sodium aluminum fluoride, Na,AlF,. It is a rare mineral which has been found in commercial quantities in only one place in the world, Greenland. Small amounts of it are shipped from stock in that country, and its place in industry has been taken over almost completely by synthetic cryolite. Because of the relative unimportance of cryolite, discussion of it has been relegated to a short section at the end of this chapter, which is principally concerned with fluorspar. History Fluorspar was used for ornamental purposes by the Greeks and Romans, who fashioned such things as vases, drinking cups, and table tops from it. Various peoples including the Chinese and the American Indians carved ornaments and figurines from large crystals. Its usefulness as a flux was known to Agricola (1564), who wrote about it in 1546. Mining began in England about 1775 and at various places in the United States during the period 1820 to 1840. Production became substantial following the development and widespread adoption of the basic open hearth method of making steel, in which fluorspar is used as a flux. After that, production and usage were stimulated by growth in the steel, aluminum, chemical, and ceramic industries and were accelerated by World Wars I and II. Fluorocarbons entered the picture in 193 1 and the use of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a catalyst in the manufacture of alkylate for high octane fuel blends began in 1942. The development of the froth flotation process in the late 1920s, a differential flotation scheme for separating fluorspar from galena, sphalerite, and common gangue minerals in the 1930s, and the application of heavy-media concentrating methods to the treatment of low grade ores in the 1940s were outstanding technological contributions that enabled increased production of fluorspar concentrates. In recent years the development of pelletizing and briquetting processes for making flotation concentrates into gravel-size particles for use in steel furnaces and the development of more efficient and selective flotation schemes for treating crude ores containing abundant dolomite and barite have been major improvements in the industry.

Jan 1, 1975

By B. G. Klugh

The present paper represents a preliminary investigation of the ultimate structure of iron-bearing materials which have been subjected to heat treatment for the purpose of agglomerating the fines, or for chemical changes, or for both. Primarily, the object of this inquiry was to determine the relation of the microstructure of each of these materials to its specific susceptibility to the action in the blast-furnace. It is hoped that this small contribution will serve as a nucleus to a line of research that will throw some light upon the debated questions involved in blast-roasting. Thus far the investigation has been conducted along lines of analogy of known principles, rather than through the application of any well-defined system of microscopic petrography. This is obviously due to the fact that we are dealing with ma-terials which are the artificial products of a new art, rather than with the natural materials from which the essence of the pure science has been evolved. In the limited time allowed for this research, it has been conducted upon those materials the chemical content of which allows of their use commercially in the blast-furnace. The following microphotographs are arranged in the order of the degree of complete fusion to which the mass in question has been subjected, in effectively binding the particles together. A very notable fact here clearly demonstrated is that the degree of fusion to which the material has been subjected is inversely proportional to the reducibility of the product. The characteristic of the material under consideration to which reducibility is almost universally attributed call be progressively traced in the following arrangement, through the identity of the obvious microscopic constituent. Furthermore, the degree of fusion to which a bod? has been subjected is recorded in the presence of resultant products of fusion in that body. Such readjustment is generally apparent

Jan 1, 1914

By J. A. Hren, G. Thomas

A high-temperature stage has been used to study precipitation and dissolution in thin foils of Al-20pct Ag alloy directly in the electron microscope. The results show that the aging characteristics are similar to those observed for bulk materials, and in addition, direct evidence is presented for clustering at the solid solution temperature. The limit of solubility of G. P. zones is-350°C. The heterogeneous precipitation, the growth and dissolution of ?&apos;have been studied in detail. Growth of ?&apos; parallel to the basal planes, occurs by continuous motion of inter -facial partial dislocations. Growth stops at intersecting particles due to formation of sessile a/6 <110> interfacial dislocations. Growth normal to the habit plane occurs by the spontaneous nucleation of partial dislocations on alternate (111) planes and the thickening rate is --10-3= times the lengthening rate. The precipitates dissolve in layers and the final product is a whole a/2 <110> dislocation . The nucleation -growth -dissolution processes are thus completely reversible. Kinetic data obtained from the dissolution rates of ?&apos;particles enable the diffusion coefficient to be determined and the activation energy is found to be 37.5(±4) kcal mol-1, which is that expected for dzffusion of silver in aluminum. The velocity of the interfacial dislocations is thus dependent solely on the rate of diffusion of silver atoms. RECENTLY it was demonstrated that a high-temperature stage could be effectively used in the electron microscope to follow directly the processes of precipitation and dissolution in thin foils of A1-4 pct Cu alloy.&apos; These experiments also provided kinetic data which enabled the diffusion coefficient to be estimated. This new development of electron metallography opens up many fruitful areas of research and it was decided to investigate the aging behavior in thin foils of A1-20 pct Ag alloy, particularly the mechanism of heterogeneous precipitation (i.e., precipitation on lattice defects). This system was chosen because the aging characteristics of bulk specimens are now well known,2"7 and because we wished to obtain more details of the role played by partial dislocations and stacking faults in the nucleation growth and dissolution of the hcp ?&apos; phase. This is of interest for the general case of fcc-- hcp transformations. Part of the A1-Ag phase diagram is shown in Fig. 1. The use of a high-temperature stage also enables a study to be made of the clustering process (formation of G. P. zones) and to determine the structure of the solid solution prior to the usual quenching and aging procedures. It is also possible to obtain kinetic data from measurements of the rates of dissolution of precipitate particles. Unlike the results of previous experiments on A1-4 pct CU 1 where much of the initial precipitation occurred on the foil surfaces, the results on the A1-20 pct A1 alloy were identical to those reported for bulk specimens6,7 and no surface precipitation was ever observed. Thus, it was possible to follow the aging sequence: G.P. zones — ?&apos; — ? directly in the thin foils. This paper is concerned with the formation and dissolution of zones and the ?&apos; phase, and no attempt has been made so far to follow the mode of discontinuous precipitation of ?. I) EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS The high-purity A1-20 pct Ag alloy was prepared by the Aluminum Co. of America in the form of 0.001-in.-thick sheets. These were cold rolled with intermediate anneals to a thickness of 0.0004 in.,

Jan 1, 1963

By D. A. Thomas, M. F. Comerford

Poly crystalline wires of Fe-3.2 wt pct Si were cold-drawn to 31, 66, and 87 pct reductions of area. Mechanical properties and tnicrostructures were studied after recovery and re crystallization. An initial increase in strength during recovery was ascribed to strain aging, and subsequent softening was largely due to polygonization rather than re-crystallization. No unique actioation energies could be determined for the recovery process. Rather, activation energies ranged from 60,600 cal per mole at 10 pct recovery to 83,200 cal per mole when recovery was 50 pct complete. Sites for the nucleation of recrystallization were found to depend on time and temperature. In the early stages of re-crystallization, nucleation occurred in deformation hands. Later, or at high temperatures, recrystal-lized grains were nucleated primarily al grain boundaries. Polygonized structures did not seem to be preferred sites for nucleation. MUCH of the research on deformation, recovery, and recrystallization processes in bcc materials has been performed on single crystals or lightly worked polycrystals. Little study has been devoted to the relation of mechanical properties to micro-structure in polycrystals after severe deformation and subsequent annealing. This paper presents the results of a study of the tensile properties and microstructures of Fe-Si wires drawn varying amounts and annealed at a series of temperatures. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experiments were carried out on an alloy of the following composition: 3.2 wt pct Si, 0.08 Mn, 0.016 C, 0.005 0, 0.0002 N, 0.0001 H, 0.008 P, 0.034 S. The material was received as l-in.-sq bars cut longitudinally from a hot-rolled slab provided by the Armco Steel Corp. The bars were forged to 3/8-in. rounds, centerless-ground to 0.250 in., and swaged to &apos;0.108 in. All subsequent reductions were performed by room-temperature wire drawing at the rate of 2 in. per min. Each preliminary draft gave approximately 30 pct reduction of area and was followed by a l-hr anneal at 1010°C in dry hydrogen. Three lots of wire were made with ultimate cold reductions of 31, 66, and 87 pct reduc-

Jan 1, 1965

By G. Austin Schroter, Ian Campbell

Although there is now an extensive literature on the bleaching clays, not a great deal of material is to be found concerning the geological features of these deposits and their bearing on problems of exploration and development. At the same time, chemical and crystallographic research on the clay minerals during the past few years has laid a suitable foundation upon which to base conclusions of economic value drawn from field observations. All of the criteria and deductions herein presented are based upon extensive field work by the senior author, both in the United States and Canada, and when .subjected to the ultimate tests of development and exploitation they have held up remarkably well, despite the fact that many of these conclusions apparently have not been reviewed in the literature heretofore. The nomencelature of the bleaching clays is rather confusing in the light of present-day commercial standards and has even led to litigation.&apos;" The old term "fuller&apos;s earth" is largely based upon trade usage and the definition of the term therefor? is dependent upon the changing standards of commerce. For statistical purposes the Bureau of Mines8&apos; classes as "fuller&apos;s earth" all natural bleaching or filtering claylike materials that possess high adsorptive capacity without previous chemical treatment or activation. Conversely, the so-called activated or acid activated clays are now generally recognized as any clay mineral or mixture of the clay minerals whose adsorptive capacity has been developed to commercial standards by chemical or physical treatment. Therefore, without attempting to propose any additions to the nomenclaturc: of bleaching clays, this paper will refer to naturally adsorptive clays and activable clays, respecbively, for the two types indicated.

Jan 1, 1942

By Gerhard Derge

The rapidity of oxygen steelmaking has created renewed interesl in the mechanisms and kinetics of the various processes involved. These studies can now be approached with increased confidence because of the more adequate thermodynamics, physical chernislry, and relevant engineering infornzation available. These combine to offer promise of useful control and automation if the details of each specific problem can be sufficiently well-defined. The hot filament microscope provides new insig-hi into many of these problems by direct observation at temperature, allowing the appraisal of the relative importance of thermal gradients, convection, and intermediate phases. All of these have a direct bearing on the overall rates and control of most pyrometallurgical processes. It is one of the special privileges of the Howe Lecturer to become better acquainted with this distinguished man. All of us interested in the metallurgy of iron and steel have developed some sense of his widespread influence by the annual reference to his work in these Memorial Lectures. Each lecturer since 1923 has been able to identify his personal specialty with the broad interests of Professor Howe. This has become even more rewarding with the background information from Professor Gensamer&apos;s monograph, "Henry Marion Howe&apos;s Contributions to Metallurgy, which brings out his happy combination of intellectual and professional activities. Beyond this, I found my personal bond with Professor Howe in his book on The Metallurgy of Sleel first published in 1891.&apos; After a detailed discussion of the dephosphorizing action of slags, he relates the mineral species identified in the frozen sample to the chemistry of the fused slag with the question, "Is it not most philosophic to hold that these independent entities were wholly integrated in the initial magma; that their presence in it was wholly

Jan 1, 1968

By David R. Mitchell, E. C. Carris

THE particular field of application of machines utilizing air currents as the primary separating medium is in the cleaning of fine sizes of bituminous coal. Approximately 18,000,000 tons of bituminous coal was cleaned by air machines in 1947, but such machines have not yet been applied in the cleaning of anthracite. This chapter is limited to a description of the processes in which the separation between coal and refuse depends mainly on a difference in specific gravity. Dry processes depending on differences in coefficient of friction, shape, or other property, are described in chapter 17. The possibility of using air for the separation of coal from refuse was recognized early by mining men and many attempts were made to develop commercial machines. Some of these early machines are described by Berrisford,1 Chapman and Mott,2 and Mitchell.3 Only two machines are extensively used today in the United States, the Stump air-flow jig and the American oscillating table. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AIR CLEANING MACHINES The principles of gravity concentration and the properties of air as a medium for separation were explained in chapter 9. It was pointed out that because of the low density of air a medium of sufficient density has to be built with the material itself. Hence there must be some device to impart to the bed the necessary mobility for proper classification. It was also noted that the compressibility of the air may cause "geysering" of the bed and disturbance of the hindered-settling classification if the correct balance of conditions is not maintained. Most devices use a vertical upward current of air through the bed of material. They differ by the method of imparting mobility to the bed and the method of removing the refuse. In general terms, the air machines can be divided into three types: 1. Pneumatic jigs where the air current is pulsated. 2. Pneumatic tables where the refuse is diverted from the direction of flow of the clean coal by a system of riffles fixed to the deck.

Jan 1, 1950

By R. W. Hyde, B. S. Old, S. E. Eaton

INTRODUCTION ONE of the most important problems facing the steel industry at the present time is that of maintaining at a minimum the sulphur content of many grades of steel where sulphur is known to have harmful effects on both quality and yield. The present outlook in this struggle to reduce the amount of sulphur in steel is rather gloomy since the sulphur content of the raw materials available in the United States is gradually rising, with little relief in sight. A flow sheet of sulphur in the steel process is shown in Fig I. The values used here were obtained by averaging coke oven and blast furnace data at No. 5 furnace in Cleveland and are considered typical for high top pressure practice. The sulphur evolved in the blast furnace top gas was obtained by difference and since the amount is relatively small, little significance should be attached to this particular value. From Fig I it is apparent, however, that coals used in the production of metallurgical coke represent by far the largest single source of sulphur in steelmaking. As an indication of the decrease in quality of these coals as regards sulphur content the weighed average annual sulphur analysis of the coals supplied to two different steel plants, since 1925, is plotted in Fig 2.1 The sharp rise since 1940 is strikingly apparent. Another indication of this trend is found in estimates of coking coal reserves. Thus in the case of Pittsburgh seam coals available in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pa. as of Jan. 1937 only 25 pct of the coal reserves would contain less than 1.50 pct sulphur after washing.2,3 Many of these lower sulphur reserves have been seriously depleted in recent years because of accelerated war demands. Still another demonstration of the increasing sulphur content of coals on a country-wide basis is found in a report by the Bureau of Mines4 which shows a steady increase in the sulphur content of coke made in the United States, It should be noted that this increase continues in spite of the wider use of coal washing in recent years. Sulphur occurs in coal in three forms, pyritic (FeS2), organic sulphur, and a small amount of sulphate sulphur (CaSO4), The sulphur is subsequently found in the coke in combination with carbonaceous material of unknown composition and as calcium and iron sulphides: In considering the general problem of sulphur elimination, the Republic Steel Corp. was interested in determining which, if either, of the two major forms of sulphur in coal contributes the greater portion of sulphur to the coke, Since the ratio of pyritic to organic sulphur varies widely in different coals, it was thought that if it could be shown definitely that the major part of the sulphur occurring in coke originates from one of the two major forms of sulphur in the coal, it would then be possible to select with confidence coal which, although high in total sulphur, would yield coke of fairly low sulphur content, Using the new

Jan 1, 1948

By George M. Enos, Robert J. Anderson

This paper gives a summary of tests made on the accelerated electrolytic corrosion of the tin brass, 70:29:1 copper-zinc-tin (admiralty metal), of different grain sixes in various electrolytes. There has been great difference of opinion as to the effect of grain size on the corrosion rate of brass, particularly in condenser-tube practice, but so far as is known no information has been published on the subject. It has been assumed, on the basis of the amorphous-cement theory, that fine-grained brass would corrode more rapidly than coarse-grained because the amorphous phase is more soluble than the crystalline and there is more cement per unit area exposed in the fine-grained material. In previous work on the corrosion of metals and alloys in acid mine waters from coal mines,1,2 it was found that the grain size, within a restricted range, had practically no effect on the corrosion of the brass 70:29:1 copper-zinc-tin: In the tests made, samples of three grain sizes were included; viz., 0.025, 0.035, and 0.075 mm. diameter (1600, 817, and 177 gr. per sq. mm., respectively), and the average losses on exposure to the most acid of three waters were 7.07, 6.80, and 6.72 mg. per sq. cm. per day (24 hr.), respectively. No distinguishing features were observed on microscopic examination of the corroded samples. In two other mine waters, the corrosion losses were substantially the same for the respective samples. These tests were -incidental to other tests and were not sufficiently comprehensive to warrant drawing definite conclusions. In further work with the accelerated electrolytic corrosion test, as developed recently in the Bureau of Mines, tests were made

Jan 1, 1924

By Allen F. Agnew

Detailed stratigraphic studies in the Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa district have made it possible to map the folds and faults that controlled the deposition of the zinc-lead ore. Prospecting on the basis of this mapping and prospecting in lower zones that are potentially ore-bearing have led to discoveries of ore. GEOLOGIC studies for the Federal and State governments in the Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa zinc-lead district were begun in 1835, and subsequent surveys were made in the three states at intervals until 1916, see Table I. The current study of the district, Fig. 1, by the U. S. Geological Survey was begun in 1942 in the hope that a systematic investigation would help increase production of zinc and lead, then in extremely short supply. Major emphasis of the USGS program was on detailed mapping of the geologic structure and ore deposits. Preliminary maps and reports covering localities of intensive mining activity have been published during the course of this study, Fig. 2. By 1950 the objectives of the study by the USGS were revised; 71/2-min quadrangles of relatively unprospected localities as well as intensively mined localities are now being mapped in Wisconsin. Since 1945 the investigation in Wisconsin has been made in cooperation with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, and since 1951 the geologic mapping of areas of particular interest in Iowa has been performed in cooperation with the Iowa Geological Survey. At intervals since 1943 the Illinois State Geological Survey has mapped the geologic structure and ore deposits of localities in the Illinois part of the mining district, see Fig. 2. Geology was applied by mining company personnel as early as 1853, but only sporadically, with periods of greater application between 1890 and 1925. Much of the so-called geologic work was in reality mining engineering. Since 1946 the major mining companies in the district have employed geologists who have successfully applied geologic techniques in the search for ore. History of Mining Occurrence of galena in the district was known as early as 1658 or 1659, when French explorers heard of lead mines that were apparently in the vicinity of Dubuque, Iowa. In 1690 a trading post was established near Dubuque to obtain galena. The first significant attempt at mining by white men took place in 1788 when the Indians granted to Julien Dubuque mining rights for 20 miles along the west side of the Mississippi River, including the vicinity of Dubuque, Iowa. By 1805 lead was being mined near Galena, Ill. In 1819 permanent settlement of the region was begun, and most of the important lead-producing areas had been found by 1830, see Fig. 3. Lead production in the Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa district between 1830 and 1871 far exceeded that of any other district in the U. S.&apos; Smithsonite was first mined in 1859, and sphalerite was mined as early as 1867. After 1873 the production of sphalerite exceeded that of smithsonite. In 1873 annual zinc production from the district first equaled lead production, and from then until 1893 production of zinc and lead was roughly the same. Since 1893 the ratio of zinc to lead mined has generally ranged between 5:l and 20:l. In 1942 the Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa zinc-lead district ranked 14th among zinc-producing districts of the U. S. From 1946 until February 1953 the dis-

Jan 1, 1956

By T. Prof. Ph. D. Egleston

(Read at the Amenia Meeting, October, 1877.) THE copper-bearing rocks of Lake Superior are composed of a series of metamorphic rocks, comprised under the names of amygdaloid and conglomerate, in which the copper and silver found with them are pseudomorphs. These rocks, generally, have well-defined walls which cause them to separate easily. Generally, the country rock is sterile, but it occasionally rises into the copper-bearing rock, and then carries copper. Usually, the amygdaloids carry copper, and the greenstones or melaphyres which encase them do not. There is a very generally received opinion that the copper in these beds occurs in shoots. This does not appear to be proved, though the opinion seems to have some foundation from the experience of the Calumet & Hecla Mine, where a body of poor rock has been left, which, on the mine map, shows a general direction. The theory may be true of that individual mine, but too little work has been done in the other mines to draw any decided conclusion. The copper is very unequally disseminated in the rock, if any given piece be taken as an example, but, if the whole copper-bearing series be considered, its distribution is uniform. It may prove that there are certain directions in which the copper has been deposited more abundantly than in others, and these may be found to correspond with certain geological causes, but up to the present time the knowledge gained is not sufficient to warrant any general conclusion. These rocks are supplemented by a series of true fissure veins, of which there are several systems, making the amount of native copper very large. Unfortunately, except in the fissure veins, known as "mass-mines," the copper is so scattered through the rock, and is in such a fine state of division, that, although it is not always difficult to mine, it is always difficult to dress it sufficiently too make it pay. The metal is so uniformly distributed through these copper-bearing rocks that detached pieces, called " float," are found in digging on almost any land in the country. These pieces vary from very small fragments, weighing not more than a few ounces,, up to many pounds. III one instance, in making an excavation for a cellar of a

Jan 1, 1878

By O. D. Sherby

In 1938, Kanter&apos; revealed that the steady-state creep rate of low-carbon iron alloys could be correlated by an activation energy expression, where the activation energy for creep, Qc, was found equal to about 90.0 kcal per mole for most of the alloys investigated. He suggested that creep at high temperatures might be controlled by some sort of solid self-diffusion process since the value of Qc was about equal to the known value for self-diffusion, Qd. Correlations were not further attempted along these lines until many years later, when new evidence2-8 was presented suggesting that Qc = Qd for many metals. This equality now appears to be established for ten metals (Al, Pb, Ni, Mg, Cd, In, a Fe, y Fe, Cu, and Au). This experimental fact prompted several investigators to postulate various mechanisms of dislocation motion which would yield an activation energy for creep equal to that for self-diffusion.7-9 Possibly the most accepted theory is that based on dislocation climb7 where a dislocation is envisioned to surmount a barrier by an atom-vacancy exchange process, thereby "climbing" from one slip plane to another. Such a model would suggest that the steady-state creep rate, i, should be directly proportional to the rate of self-diffusion, D, for a given creep stress. In order to more clearly reveal the relationship between creep and diffusion, and to eventually determine the correct model, it would be desirable to obtain data showing correlations between i and D, rather than with a comparison of the temperature coefficients, Q. It has been known for some time that the self-diffusivity of iron atoms is greatly decreased when body-centered-cubic (a) iron transforms to face-centered-cubic (y) iron. This has been ascribed to the more close-packed structure of y iron. The diffusivity ratio at the transition temperature is Da/Dy =350. Correlations of creep data for a and y iron5 reveal that the creep rates under a given stress at the transition temperature differ by about the same ratio (ea/ey 2 200). It would be difficult to reconcile these results on any other basis than that the diffusivity of atoms probably controls creep of iron in some very direct way. No other published data on other allotropic metals appear currently available for further checking such a possible correlation between i and D. Thallium transforms from a hexagonal close-packed (a) structure to a body-centered-cubic (ß) structure at 230°C (503°K) and the self-diffusivities of the two structures have been determined by shirn.10 His results are plotted in Fig. 1 where it will be noted that Dß/Da = 25 at the transition temperature. It would appear desirable, therefore, to determine the creep rates of polycrystalline a and ß thallium at the transition temperature, as well as determine

Jan 1, 1959

By E. B. Hughes, F. G. Norris

Oxidation is characteristic of all processes for making steel from pig iron. This thought has been aptly expressed by H. W. Graham13 in the recent Howe Memorial Lecture, "The process of steel-making consists of using iron oxide to reduce the carbon content of the pig iron to the desired level." Direct oxidation refers to the reaction that results from introducing oxygen either alone or mixed with other gases directly into the steel bath. In working a heat, oxygen in some form is added to the steel to remove the undesirable constituents as oxides. There are two general methods of supplying this oxygen to the open hearth bath. The method in which the oxygen is added as a compound such as Con or iron ore is designated an indirect method because the steel bath must first decompose the compound to attain oxygen in a usable form. The other method in which oxygen is added to the bath in the elemental or gaseous form, more or less diluted by other gases such as nitrogen, is a direct method because no decomposition is necessary before the oxygen reacts with iron to form FeO which is dissolved in the bath in a usable form. Bubble formation (at least of a macroscopic size) presents no problem in case of direct oxidation because the reacting agent (oxygen) is in the form of bubbles when entering the metal. Regardless of whether oxygen is intro- duced into the bath directly or indirectly, several reactions proceed concurrently. In the presence of the bath of molten iron, FeO is formed either by oxidation of iron by oxygen or reduction of oxides by iron. This FeO dissolved in the molten iron is the source of oxygen for the oxidation of manganese, carbon, silicon, and phosphorus if these are present. The oxidation of carbon from steel is the controlling steelmaking reaction. The introduction of oxygen into the bath, its reaction in the elimination of impurities, and its control by the use of de-oxidizing additions have been subjects of importance since steel was first made by the bessemer process. Direct oxidation is, in a sense, an application of the bessemer principle to the open hearth process. Graham13 states: "The use of oxygen or air jets introduced into the metal bath is essentially an effort to approach in the open hearth the turbulence, rapid interface reaction, and high production rate per hour that exists in the bessemer process." The general subject, "Oxygen in Steel-making," was given new life by the studies of Herty and associates starting about1925. The current interest in elemental oxygen is intimately related to the large scale production of oxygen developed during the war period. Some of the first applications were made during the early summer of 1946 at the Steel Co. of Canada using oxygen with the fuel. Such a use is of considerable interest and importance in contributing to faster heats but is not the subject of the present discussion which deals entirely with the introduction of elemental oxygen directly into the open hearth bath.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. N. Lacey, R. H. Olds, B. H. Sage

Samules of liquid and gas were obtained from the primary separator of a well in the Paloma field. The volumetric properties of the samples and of six systematically chosen mixtures of the samples were experimentally determined at 100°, 190°, and 250°F. at pressures up to 5000 lb. per sq. inch. From these data the influence ,of pressure and temperature upon the composition and specific volume of the bubble-point liquid and of the retrograde dew-point gas was established, The formation volumes and gas-oil ratios of the rnixtures investigated were calculated on the basis of the plant-product oil, which is defined as the isobutane and less volatile portion of each mixture. The results are presented in graphical and tabular form. The volumetric behavior of the mixture corresponding to that produced by the well at the time of sampling was determined for 235ºF., the reported reservoir temperature, by graphical interpolation of the experimental data with respect to composition and temperature. The results indicate that the well-production mixture probably existed as a gas at its retrograde dew point under the conditions of temperature and pressure believed to prevail in the producing zone at the time of sampling. The effect upon the phase behavim occasioned by the omission from the well-production mixture of certain components of intermediate molecular weight was investigated. In the first case, all of the isobutane and 11-butane, and substantially all of the iso-pentane, were removed from the mixture of trap samples corresponding to the well production. In the second case, all the propane, isobutane and n-butane, and substantially all of the isopentane, were removed. Both modifications led to considerable increases in the retrograde dew-point Pressure at 235ºF.; an increase of 558 lb. Per sq. in. above that of the unmodified well-production mixture in the first case, and an increase of 1208 lb. Per sq. in. in the second. It was concluded that the material? remaining after the removal of certain components of intermediate molecular weight could not be injected back into the reservoir in the saqe proportion in which they were produced without entailing appreciable loss of liquid material through condensation within the formation. Introduction Under the usual conditions of production practice, petroleum arrives at the surface of the earth in a physical state considerably different from that in which it existed in the underground reservoir. The relative rates of production and the properties of oil and gas measured at surface conditions do not constitute, in general, even a qualitative description of the fluids existing in the reservoir. The estimation of reserves and the attainment of optimum efficiency with regard to rate, quantity, and cost of production require accurate data concerning the physical properties of petroleum throughout large changes in pressure and temperature. Many schemes have been devised for predicting the behavior of propane, as it is encountered in nature? but the experimental work upon which these predictions are based has not, for the most part, been extended to the higher pressures that occur in practice, nor do these methods permit, as yet, the estima-

Jan 1, 1945

By Robert Lewis

THE Utah coal field to which the name Book Cliffs is applied runs in a northeast direction from Mt. Hilgarde, in Sevier county, along the escarpment of the Wasatch Plateau to the vicinity of Castle Gate, thence southeast along the Book cliffs, which lie to the north of and generally within sight of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad,. to the Colorado line. The Book cliffs form the southern escarpment of the West and East Travaputs Plateaus, and vary in height from 2,000 to 6,000 ft. At the base of the Wasatch and Book Cliffs escarpments is a broad plain known as Castle valley. The coal beds outcropping in the escarpments along this valley are worked on the largest scale of any in the State, and this particular area is known locally as the Castle Valley coal field. Geology The Book cliffs are capped by the Tertiary-Eocene-formation, consisting of varicolored shales; buff sandstone, conglomerate, and subordinate thin beds of limestone. Different sections show diverse stratigraphy. This is mainly the Wasatch formation, and lies unconformably upon the rocks of the Upper Cretaceous. Fig. 1 is a generalized section of the rocks of the. Book Cliffs field. The Mesaverde formation contains the cliff-making rocks of the Book cliffs, and is composed of massive sandstone interbedded with sandy shales and beds of coal and carbonaceous shale. The sandstone has greater resistance to erosion and the formation is characterized by escarpment ledges and cliffs. The shale is commonly sandy and is drab in color, but where it is associated with the coal it is usually carbonaceous. The sandstone is generally buff, though occasionally it is white, and in places red. The bedding ranges from thin to massive. In the lower part. of the formation the sandstone is red in

Jan 7, 1914

By Walter Kauzmann

All viscous or plastic flow of incompressible matter is the result of shear strain; the changing shape of any body that is being plastically deformed can be completely described in terms of the shear strain occurring at each point in the body.† Furthermore, the relative amounts of shear strain occurring in different parts of a body under stress depend upon the relative rates of shear strain at those different points, so that if the dependence of the shear rate of any material on the temperature, shear stress, previous history, etc., were understood, the principles of plastic deformation would be known, and we could calculate how a body made of a given material, having a given shape, and subject to a specified system of forces, would change its shape with time. It may be said, then, that the problem of plasticity resolves itself into, first, the problem of the rates of pure shear processes, and second, the application of what is known about pure shear to actual cases. It is the purpose of this work to investigate the former problem —i.e., the dependence of shear rates on temperature, stress, etc.—from the standpoint of .recent developments in the field of chemical-rate theory and with particular reference to the phenomena occurring in the creep of metals and in the plastic flow of crystalline solids in general. It is left for the mechanical engineer, and perhaps the expert in hydrodynamics, to deal with the problem of app1ications.l Resolution of Macroscopic Shear into Microscopic Movements; Resemblance to Chemical Reactions Just as any large body is made up of many small units, or atoms, so macro-scopically observable shear is the result of many microscopic unit shear processes; just as the understanding of the behavior of large bodies demands the understanding of the atoms of which it is made, so the understanding of macroscopic shear demands the understanding of these fundamental unit processes. The study of shear from this "atomistic" point of view has made considerable progress. There has been fairly complete understanding of shear processes in gases for a long time, at least for non-turbulent flow, as a chapter on gaseous viscosity in any text on the kinetic theory of gases will prove&apos; In recent years Andrade2 and Eyring3 have presented important theories for the flow of liquids and amorphous solids. Becker14 Orowan,5 Taylor,6 Burgers,7 and Kanter8 have considered the plastic flow of crystalline solids from this

Jan 1, 1941

By V. A. Josendal, J. W. Wilson, B. B. Sandiford

Two radioactive tracers have been tested as a means of determining core saturation in multiphase flow studies. Cesium chloride was tried as a water-phase tracer, but complications in its use in low permeability cores resulted from sorption of cesium by the core or water-wet pads. IodoI3&apos;ben-zene proved very satisfactory as an oil-phase tracer. The synthesis of iodobenzene from the sodium iodide as received from Oak Ridge is simple and direct. The tracer is insoluble in water and there was no evidence of sorption by any of the core materials used. use of the method to determine saturation profiles during capillary and dynamic desaturations and relative permeability measurements on oil-water and oil-gas systems is described. Comparisons of the dynamic and capillary methods of relative permeability determination were made using the tracer to check core saturation and saturation distribution. Other experiments are also described in which mobility of the oil phase at various saturations was measured by displacing labeled oil by flowing inactive oil. Similar experiments were made using water labeled with cesium 134. INTRODUCTION To be fundamentally sound. any laboratory method of determining relative permeability must meet, among others, the following requirements: (1) the core saturation between the pressure taps must be uniform, and (2) there must be uniform pressure difference between the phases in the region between the pressure taps. In practice it may eventually be shown that appreciable departure from either or both of these conditions may be permitted without introducing sensible error. but the magnitude of such error remains to be established. There is need then for methods of saturation determina- tion which will determine the saturation profile in a core as well as the overall average saturation given by the gravimetric or material balance methods usually employed. Methods which have received consideration include resistivity, X-ray absorption, gamma ray absorption, neutron diffraction, and radioactive tracers. The resistivity method has use in the determination of profile, but needs checking by independent means.&apos; The X-ray method has been used successfully, but requires elaborate equipment and calibration.23 4 At present gamma ray absorption is practical only for very large cores. The neutron methodo does not appear adaptable to measurement of saturation variations in short cores since it is a scattering method. Russell, Morgan and Muskat&apos; employed radiovanadium in a study of the mobility of interstitial water. Coomber and Tiratsook used radioiodine as an oil-phase tracer and measured profiles in unconsolidated sand packs. ADVANTAGES OF RADIOACTIVITY METHOD A thorough discussion of the theory of radioactive tracers and the technique of using them to study the movement of fluids in sands is given by Coomber and Tiratsoos and need not be detailed here. The method requires less equipment than the X-ray method; the counting problem is similar, but the generation and regulation of the radiation, which is a major problem in the X-ray method, is not required in the radioactivity method. In the X-ray method it is customary to add up to 20 per cent of absorber, usually an iodine compound, to the phase to be labeled. while in the radioactivity method a mere trace is sufficient. A possible disadvantage of the radioactivity method is that a disproportionate amount of the activity comes from the portion of the core nearest the counter, whereas the X-ray gives a true average saturation in the region traversed by the beam. 011 the other hand, this characteristic of the radioactivity method renders it peculiarly adaptable to study of certain types of radial variations in saturation. As with the X-ray method, a tracer may be added to either the oil or water-phase. An oil-phase tracer is more generally useful. however. since it permits work on oil and gas in the

Jan 1, 1952

By Shiro Ban-ya, John F. Elliott, John Chipman

The activity of carbon in Fe-C austenite at 1150°C has been determined for concentrations up to about 2.1 pct C using the equilibrium: C + COz = 2CO; equations have been derived expessing the activity as a function of carbon content on the basis of twelve mathematical models. Several of these represent the data satisfactorily. ACCURATE information on the thermodynamic properties of austenite in the binary system Fe-C is needed as a basis for studies of transformation and precipitation in steels of all sorts, alloy as well as plain carbon. The many attempts to approach this problem through statistical thermodynamics require sound and dependable experimental data in order to evaluate the several models which have been suggested. In this paper we are concerned with the experimental determination of the activity-composition relation in austenite at the temperature of its widest range of stability, approximately the eutectic temperature (1153°C). Accurate investigation of the activity of carbon in austenite may be said to have begun with the work of Dunwald and wagner.&apos; A more detailed study was carried out by R. P. smith2 on the two equilibria: More recent work on these two equilibria has been reviewed by Chipman,3 who pointed out the experimental hazards associated with studies of Eq. [I]. Studies of this reaction involve rather small values of the ratio these are susceptible to errors due to traces of moisture in the apparatus according to the reaction: Ellis, Davidson, and Bodsworth4 evaluated K, for their experimental temperatures and used desiccants to control water vapor pressure. While they were able in this way to obtain consistent values for K1 it cannot be said that all of the uncertainties of the method have been overcome. Results by both methods reported by Schurmann, Schmidt, and wagener5 appear to be consistent except at very low carbon content. Reaction [2] was employed in the experimental work reported here. It is to be recognized, however, that it is not applicable to projected studies of certain alloy steel compositions involving stable oxide-formers.

Jan 1, 1970