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By Adrian C. Dorenfeld, Theodore Balberyszski, Strathmore R. B. Cooke

This paper reports results of studies of sulfidiza-tion of base-metal oxides and silicates with gaseous sulfur, hydrogen sulfide gas and pyrite and of their subsequent flotation with xanthate collectors. It has been established that a 100% conversion of the oxides of lead, zinc, copper and manganese into their respective sulfides is possible and is a function of reaction time and temperature. Sulfidization of chrysocolla (with malachite and azurite inclusions) resulted in a product containing covellite, chalcocite and digenite in proportions depending on conditions of sulfidization. Reacting cassiterite with gaseous sulfur, H2S or pyrite at various reaction temperatures resulted in its partial conversion to a tin sulfide. Flotation of the products of sulfidization indicated that their behavior is similar to that of natural sulfide minerals, the recovery being a function of the con-version of the oxides to their respective sulfides. The gradual depletion of high-grade sulfide mineral deposits has turned the attention of the mineral industry to the recovery of metals from the oxides and silicates. Anionic (fatty acid) and cationic collectors have in some cases made flotation of nonsulfides possible, although, in general, flotation of oxide ores is not as yet an economic process. Consequently, many attempts have been made to sulfidize the surface of the relevant oxide mineral and thus make it amenable to to In recent years, Bautista and sollenberger4 have investigated the conversion of a number of oxides to sulfides by reacting them with molten sulfur. This paper presents the results of .investigations carried out at the School of Mineral and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Minnesota to study the flotation characteristics of some sulfidized minerals. It is divided into two parts: The first describes the sulfidization of a number of oxides and a silicate, and the second presents the flotation behavior of the products of sulfidization. SULFIDIZATION OF METAL OXIDES AND SILICATES Experimental Procedure: SULFIDIZATION WITH HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS — Sulfidization with H2S gas was carried out in a horizontal tube furnace (Fig. 1). The temperature of the furnace was regulated by means of a Variac and determined with a chromel-alumel thermocouple. The constant temperature zone in the furnace was about 6 in. in length, and it was within this zone that the experiments were carried out. The gases employed were supplied from standard compressed gas cylinders, and passed through a glass-wool filtering tower before entering the Pyrex reaction tube. Gaseous products were bubbled through a water tower (used as a flow indicator) and excess H2S was burned off at the end of the outlet tube. Samples of reagents or minerals were placed in a 3-in. Alundum boat and inserted within the constant temperature zone of the furnace. Nitrogen gas (6 ppm O2 content) was passed through the tubes at room temperature to remove air in the tube, and continued to pass while the furnace was heating up. When the required temperature was reached, H2S was allowed to enter the tube and the supply of nitrogen was shut off. At the end of the reaction period, the reverse procedure was carried out, the samples being cooled to room temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere. The flow rate of H2S gas was maintained fairly constant in all experiments, although the rate was not determined. SULFIDIZATION WITH SULFUR POWDER - To study the sulfidization of minerals with sulfur (liquid or gaseous), samples of the mineral, together with a measured quantity of sulfur powder, were placed in a stainless steel (SS316) reaction vessel (Fig. 2). The reaction vessel was heated in a vertical resistance coil furnace, the temperature being regulated through a Variac. At the end of the experiment the vessel was cooled to room temperature before the sample was removed. Cooled products were leached with CS2 to remove any free sulfur. SULFIDIZATION OF TIN CONCENTRATES - Fifty gram samples of sulfidized tin ore were prepared by mixing -48 mesh Bolivian tin concentrate with -48 mesh Ottawa sand in various proportions and sulfi-dizing these samples with H2S in the horizontal tube

Jan 1, 1969

By Tedsen L. F., Dorn J. E., A. E. Flanigan

since aluminum-alloy sheet may be used occasionally at moderately elevated ternperatures, the effects of temperature on the mechanical properties are of interest. Recently the short-time tensile properties of several high-strength materials have been studied at temperatures up to 3750°F.l This paper deals with stress-rupture and creep properties at the same temperatures. The work was done at the University of California as a portion of the project NRC-548. It was financed by the War Production Board and was supervised by the Office of Production Research and Development. This paper has been released for publication by the latter agency. The following materials were studied, all in the form of 0.040-in. sheet: Alclad 24s-T Alclad 24s-T8I Alclad 24s-T86 Alclad 75s-T R3oI-T (clad) Specimens were loaded in tension in the cross-grain direction. Testing temperatures included 94°F., 2II°F., 300°F., and 375°F. Stress levels were selected to cause rupture in times ranging from several minutes to 1000 hr. In each test the following data were obtained: (I) fracture time, (2) elongation at fracture, (3) the complete strain-versus-time curve (creep curve), (4) creep rate (defined in a later section). Materials Materials for specimens were obtained from the manufacturers' commercial

Jan 1, 1947

By Tedsen L. F., Dorn J. E., A. E. Flanigan

since aluminum-alloy sheet may be used occasionally at moderately elevated ternperatures, the effects of temperature on the mechanical properties are of interest. Recently the short-time tensile properties of several high-strength materials have been studied at temperatures up to 3750°F.l This paper deals with stress-rupture and creep properties at the same temperatures. The work was done at the University of California as a portion of the project NRC-548. It was financed by the War Production Board and was supervised by the Office of Production Research and Development. This paper has been released for publication by the latter agency. The following materials were studied, all in the form of 0.040-in. sheet: Alclad 24s-T Alclad 24s-T8I Alclad 24s-T86 Alclad 75s-T R3oI-T (clad) Specimens were loaded in tension in the cross-grain direction. Testing temperatures included 94°F., 2II°F., 300°F., and 375°F. Stress levels were selected to cause rupture in times ranging from several minutes to 1000 hr. In each test the following data were obtained: (I) fracture time, (2) elongation at fracture, (3) the complete strain-versus-time curve (creep curve), (4) creep rate (defined in a later section). Materials Materials for specimens were obtained from the manufacturers' commercial

Jan 1, 1947

By Charles Legrand

The power plant of the Burro Mountain Copper Co. is located near Tyrone, N. M., at 5,950 ft, elevation. It is interesting because it uses the largest stationary Diesel engines in the United States. The general layout of the plant is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The building is of steel-frame construction with hollow-tile walls and corrugated-iron roof; the floor is concrete and all windows have steel frames, making a fireproof building. The building is made to accommodate one more electric generator unit, which is being installed; also two 4,000-cu. ft. air compressors direct-connected to three-cylinder engines with the same size cylinders as the electric units. The power plant consists of two 815-kva., 60-cycle, three-phase, 6,600-volt, 180-r.p.m. generators, direct-connected to five-cylinder, two-cycle Diesel engines; the necessary circulating pumps for cooling water, cooling towers and oil storage tanks. A portion of the power is used in the same building as the generating units to run one of two 200-kw. rotary converters delivering 260-volt direct current, and a 2,500-cu. ft. air compressor, delivering air at 95 1b.-pressure, direct-connected to a 400-hp., 6,600-volt, three-phase synchronous motor. The remainder of the power is used to run a 1,500-ton concentrating mill 3 1/2 miles from the power house, various hoists, pumps and motors about the mines and the lighting and water-works of the town of Tyrone. The direct current is used for electric traction in the mine, also to run hoists and motors that were installed before the new power plant was built. Due to the large hoists that take starting peaks of 250 kw. and the 10-ton electric locomotive that takes at times 150 kw., the load is extremely variable, as shown in Fig. 3. The two five-cylinder vertical Diesel engines, which are rated at 1,250 b.hp. at sea level, have cylinders of 525-mm. diameter (20.6 in.) and

Jan 1, 1917

(Butte Meeting, August, 1913.) IN metallurgical circle it is. known widely, but somewhat vaguely, that the ease of reduction of metallic .oxides. depends largely on the way they have been prepared. It is likewise known that. different forms of carbon have different and greatly varying reducing powers. It is the purpose of, this paper to show somewhat more definitely and scientifically these facts. Sonic years ago the writer published an account of pyrometric determinations of the reduction temperature of zinc oxides variously prepared and of several kinds.1 In said paper it was shown that the temperature at which zinc oxide evolves zinc according to the equation, ZnO+C? Zn+CO depends upon the nature of -the two reacting bodies. The determinations bad a range of accuracy of from 2°to 6°C.,whereas differences were found to, amount to an extreme of 90° C. So the differences are real ones and must have a definite cause. The equation of boiling water, (H2 O)4 = 4 (H20) has a fixed temperature for? equilibrium of 100° C. at 760 mm. pressure. In general, all equations reacting in the liquid or the gaseous phase have well-defined constant physical conditions which govern the equilibrium point and reaction velocities.

Jan 7, 1913

By D.E. Norquist, J. E. Moeller

The results of wear on marked balls, 4, 31/2, 3, and 2 in. diam are given. All balls were forged steel of practically the same chemical analysis and hardness. The results indicate that balls in a given mill for a given length of time will have equal diameter losses, regardless of size. IN order to determine the relative wear rates of several sizes of grinding balls, groups of 4, 31/2, 3, and 2 in. balls were marked individually and were charged, all at the same time, into each of two production mills grinding copper ore. The remainder, and vast majority, of the ball charge consisted of 2 in. diam, and smaller, white, cast iron balls. The original weight of each test ball was determined and recorded. Some of each group of test balls were recovered from the mills periodically, individually reidentified, and reweighed. The test balls were recovered during regular maintenance shutdowns, at approximately thirty-day intervals, so as to avoid disrupting operations. As soon as the weights had been recorded, each marked ball was recharged into the mill from which it had been taken. The test units were mechanically the same and theoretically received equal tonnages of feed. All of the test balls were of forged, alloy steel composition with only slight variations in chemistry that would not be expected to affect the physical properties. All were heat treated in the same manner to produce a high hardness, as equal as possible for all sizes and as uniform as possible from surface to center. Generally speaking, the hardness of the portion worn from the balls during the test ranged from 62 to 65 Rockwell C. The microstructure was, therefore, predominately martensitic. The method of marking the test balls consisted of forming a small, round hole, 3/16 or 1/4 in. diam, into the center of each test ball with a Thomas Metal Master disintegrator, which produces a hole in fully hardened steel without affecting the hardness of the surrounding metal. After the hole was formed, each test ball was individually weighed to the nearest gram and the weight was recorded. The balls were grouped as to size and each group assigned a code letter. The individual balls within the various groups were then assigned a number. A small copper disc was stenciled on one side with the group letter and on the other side with the individual ball number and dropped into the hole in the corresponding test ball. The hole was then plugged with a low-melting-point metal alloy, which could be melted out in boiling water. Half of the test balls in each group were charged into one mill and the other half into another mill, so that all test balls in each mill would be subject to, as nearly as possible, identical conditions for an equal length of time. Previous testing had indicated that the wear rates on balls of different sizes could not be accurately compared if weight loss, or percentage weight loss, were used as a basis for comparison. Fig. 1 is a graphic record of the average weight loss for each size group in mill No. 1, and it becomes readily apparent that the larger balls lose substantially more weight in a given length of time. Fig. 2 is a graphic record of the average percentage weight loss for each size group in mill No. 1, illustrating that the smaller balls definitely lose a greater percentage of their original weight in a given length of time. It was, therefore, decided to convert the actual weights of the test balls to diameter and follow the diameter losses periodically to see if the wear rates

Jan 1, 1951

By D. E. Norquist, J. E. Moeller

The results of wear on marked balls, 4, 31/2, 3, and 2 in. diam are given. All balls were forged steel of practically the same chemical analysis and hardness. The results indicate that balls in a given mill for a given length of time will have equal diameter losses, regardless of size. IN order to determine the relative wear rates of several sizes of grinding balls, groups of 4, 31/2, 3, and 2 in. balls were marked individually and were charged, all at the same time, into each of two production mills grinding copper ore. The remainder, and vast majority, of the ball charge consisted of 2 in. diam, and smaller, white, cast iron balls. The original weight of each test ball was determined and recorded. Some of each group of test balls were recovered from the mills periodically, individually reidentified, and reweighed. The test balls were recovered during regular maintenance shutdowns, at approximately thirty-day intervals, so as to avoid disrupting operations. As soon as the weights had been recorded, each marked ball was recharged into the mill from which it had been taken. The test units were mechanically the same and theoretically received equal tonnages of feed. All of the test balls were of forged, alloy steel composition with only slight variations in chemistry that would not be expected to affect the physical properties. All were heat treated in the same manner to produce a high hardness, as equal as possible for all sizes and as uniform as possible from surface to center. Generally speaking, the hardness of the portion worn from the balls during the test ranged from 62 to 65 Rockwell C. The microstructure was, therefore, predominately martensitic. The method of marking the test balls consisted of forming a small, round hole, 3/16 or 1/4 in. diam, into the center of each test ball with a Thomas Metal Master disintegrator, which produces a hole in fully hardened steel without affecting the hardness of the surrounding metal. After the hole was formed, each test ball was individually weighed to the nearest gram and the weight was recorded. The balls were grouped as to size and each group assigned a code letter. The individual balls within the various groups were then assigned a number. A small copper disc was stenciled on one side with the group letter and on the other side with the individual ball number and dropped into the hole in the corresponding test ball. The hole was then plugged with a low-melting-point metal alloy, which could be melted out in boiling water. Half of the test balls in each group were charged into one mill and the other half into another mill, so that all test balls in each mill would be subject to, as nearly as possible, identical conditions for an equal length of time. Previous testing had indicated that the wear rates on balls of different sizes could not be accurately compared if weight loss, or percentage weight loss, were used as a basis for comparison. Fig. 1 is a graphic record of the average weight loss for each size group in mill No. 1, and it becomes readily apparent that the larger balls lose substantially more weight in a given length of time. Fig. 2 is a graphic record of the average percentage weight loss for each size group in mill No. 1, illustrating that the smaller balls definitely lose a greater percentage of their original weight in a given length of time. It was, therefore, decided to convert the actual weights of the test balls to diameter and follow the diameter losses periodically to see if the wear rates

Jan 1, 1951

By A. G. McGregor

DURING the past 5 years, five new copper-smelting plants have been built and put into operation in the State of Arizona. The monthly copper output from these plants averages from 5,000,000 to 18,000,000 lb. Previously, there never was as much activity in copper-smelting plant construction in the same length of time in all the rest of the world. Naturally, in this amount of work, some new problems were met and new features in plant design and. equipment developed. Some of these features are described in this paper. CONCENTRATE HAULING, UNLOADING AND SAMPLING SYSTEM (a) Concentrate Car The International Smelting Co. has provided at its plant at Miami specially designed cars for hauling the concentrates from the mills of the Inspiration Copper Co. and the Miami Copper Co.. The car has a bottom that is readily made tight to hold flotation concentrates and is quickly and cheaply unloaded. Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show views and details of the car. The main feature of this car is the slot in the bottom throughout its length, which is closed by means of short planks that overlap like ship-lap as shown by Fig. 1. At one end of the car an iron gate operated by a screw and hand wheel is provided, which clamps or presses the planks together, making the bottom tight. A removable tapered plug rests vertically over this gate when the loading of the concentrates at the mill commences.

Jan 8, 1916

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

1. Normal Class (6) Zircon Type 2. Hemimorphic Class (7) Iodusuccinimide Type 3. Pyramidal Class (8) Scheelite Type 4. Pyramidal- Hemimorphic Class (9) Wulfenite Type 5. Sphenoidal Class (10) Chalcopyrite Type 6. Trapezohedral Class (11) Nickel Sulphate Type 7. Tetartohedral Class (12) Mathematical Relations to the Tetragonal System THE TETRAGONAL SYSTEM includes all the forms which are referred to three axes at right angles to each other of which the two horizontal axes are equal to each other in length and interchangeable and the third, the vertical axis, is either shorter or longer. The horizontal axes are designated by the letter a; the vertical axis by c (see Fig. 166). The length of the vertical axis expresses properly the axial ratio of a : c, a being uniformly taken as equal to unity. The axes are orientated and their opposite ends designated by plus and minus signs exactly as in the case of the Isometric System. Seven classes are embraced in this system. Of these the normal class is common and important among minerals; two others have several representatives, and another a single one only. It may be noted that in four of the classes the vertical axis is an axis of tetragonal symmetry; in the remaining three it is an axis of binary symmetry only.

Jan 1, 1922

By J. T. Duce

In viewing the petroleum world as a whole certain tendencies arc to he noted. The first of these is of a legal and political nature. It involves the nationalization of the oil industry; in some instances going into all its phases and in others with reference simply to production.

Jan 1, 1928

By H. C. Vacher

THE limiting concentrations of carbon and oxygen which may co-exist at equilibrium in liquid iron are important in determining the degree to which liquid steel may be refined before it is deoxidized. Most refining processes depend upon the oxidation of a highly carburized iron which invariably results in contaminating the steel with oxygen. The oxygen .thus introduced presents many problems to the refiner, who in turn has attempted to rid the steel of this impurity by deoxidation with elements such as manganese, silicon and aluminum. The importance of the limiting concentrations of carbon and oxygen is accentuated in view of a number of recent researches which have indicated in many instances the existence of relations between oxide inclusions and dissolved oxygen and physical properties and chemical behavior of steel. The determination of the equilibrium concentrations of carbon and oxygen existing in iron under steelmaking conditions is obviously of fundamental importance. It has been generally assumed that the product of the equilibrium concentrations of carbon and oxygen in liquid iron is a constant and that this product is directly proportional to the carbon monoxide pressure in equilibrium with the liquid iron. Herty1,2 has computed values for this product based on open-hearth data which are all in the neighborhood of 0.01 to 0.03 (per cent. FeO X per cent. C) for temperatures in the vicinity of 1550° to 1600 C. and one atmosphere pressure. Kinzel and Egan3 have attempted to determine the value of this product by exposing liquid iron to carbon monoxide at one atmosphere pressure. The value reported by them was 0.0005 at 1550°. C. In. order to apply certain equations to the rate of carbon elimination in the open-hearth process, Feild4 found it necessary to assume. a value of 0.0102 at 1580° C. for this

Jan 1, 1931

By John C. McDonald

CONTROLLED cold work is used between solution heat treatment and precipitation heat treatment for producing certain tempers of the commercial aluminum base alloy 2219 (designation of the Aluminum Association, U.S.A.) which contains 6.3 pet Cu as the major ingredient responsible for the age hardening. The complete composition limits for this alloy are listed in Table I. The alloy has been described in detail,' and the control of the heat treatment has also been published.2 Beneficial effects of such cold work in other alloys have also been pointed out.3'4 NO data have been published on the effects of varying amounts of cold work under fixed aging conditions. In connection with an investigation of the possibility of providing the desired cold work by explosively generated shock waves, it became desirable to investigate the effect of variable cold work, and to compare the re -sults with those obtained from explosives. The general principles of explosive hardening are well-described in the literature.' All material used was guaranteed by the supplier

Jan 1, 1968

By R. M. Brick

The etched mierostructures of cold-worked alpha brasses, after reductions in excess of about 20 per cent, exhibit dark lines or markings, which have been termed "deformation bands," "etch bands," and "strain markings." The terms will be used synonymously in this report. The markings are similar in their general appearance to etch figures found in cold-worked iron, aluminum and other cubic metals but in certain respects may differ noticeably. At reductions of from about 20 to 50 per cent in brass, they appear as straight dark lines of irregular spacing and at random directions in different grains, but apparently intimately associated with definite crystallographic planes, usually {ill), in each crystal. At higher reductions, the markings on the rolling plane tend to appear in a direction transverse to the rolling direction in all crystals but may bend away at considerable angles, particularly near grain boundaries. Samans,1 on the basis of X-ray and micrographic studies of two single crystals of brass, rolled to a 50 per cent reduction, showed that the lines of deformation were the edges of thin mechanical twins parallel to octahedral planes. Barrett and Levenson2-4 have made comprehensive studies of the deformation of iron and of aluminum. They show that in these two metals the deformation markings originate by division of the original homogeneous crystal into banded areas differing in orientation by an amount that increases with the degree of deformation. The markings thus cannot be twin bands, and Barrett, in a review of this subject,2 attributed Samans' results on brass to an accidental choice of deformation that left the bands in approximately a twinned relationship. On the other hand, Mathewson6 has suggested that in some cases mechanical twinning offers a better rationalization of the coverage of some (111) pole figures of worked brass than the assumption of band rotation into symmetry positions. Considering next a deformed and annealed alpha brass, the most striking aspect of its microstructure is the multiplicity of twin bands.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. M. Brick

The etched mierostructures of cold-worked alpha brasses, after reductions in excess of about 20 per cent, exhibit dark lines or markings, which have been termed "deformation bands," "etch bands," and "strain markings." The terms will be used synonymously in this report. The markings are similar in their general appearance to etch figures found in cold-worked iron, aluminum and other cubic metals but in certain respects may differ noticeably. At reductions of from about 20 to 50 per cent in brass, they appear as straight dark lines of irregular spacing and at random directions in different grains, but apparently intimately associated with definite crystallographic planes, usually {ill), in each crystal. At higher reductions, the markings on the rolling plane tend to appear in a direction transverse to the rolling direction in all crystals but may bend away at considerable angles, particularly near grain boundaries. Samans,1 on the basis of X-ray and micrographic studies of two single crystals of brass, rolled to a 50 per cent reduction, showed that the lines of deformation were the edges of thin mechanical twins parallel to octahedral planes. Barrett and Levenson2-4 have made comprehensive studies of the deformation of iron and of aluminum. They show that in these two metals the deformation markings originate by division of the original homogeneous crystal into banded areas differing in orientation by an amount that increases with the degree of deformation. The markings thus cannot be twin bands, and Barrett, in a review of this subject,2 attributed Samans' results on brass to an accidental choice of deformation that left the bands in approximately a twinned relationship. On the other hand, Mathewson6 has suggested that in some cases mechanical twinning offers a better rationalization of the coverage of some (111) pole figures of worked brass than the assumption of band rotation into symmetry positions. Considering next a deformed and annealed alpha brass, the most striking aspect of its microstructure is the multiplicity of twin bands.

Jan 1, 1940

By Che, C. W. Spencer, C. A. Steidel, Yu Li

Grain boundary grooving as it occurs in a 5.5-deg simple-tilt nickel bicrystal immersed in a saturated Ni-S liquid has been studied. A 1/3 (t= time) dependence for the depth of the groove indicates that the rate -controlling meckanism for groove developvnent is volume diffusion in the liquid. The activation energy for the diffusive process is estimated at 15 kcal per mole. Using an extended form of W. W. Mullins&apos; analysis for grooving reactions, a computer is employed to fit the appropriate diffusion equation by a numerical method. From the analysis a possible method of measuring L.S. the solid-liquid interfacial tension is demonstrated. WHEN a polycrystalline solid is heated in equilibrium with a saturated fluid phase, grooves will form at the intersections of the grain boundaries and surface. The equilibrium root angle of these grooves is determined by the balance between the grain boundary and solid-fluid interfacial tensions. The grooves deepen and widen with time due to a difference in chemical potential between the flat interface and the curved interface of the groove. In this investigation solid-liquid interaction at a grain boundary is studied, with the object to determine the mechanism of grain boundary grooving in the presence of a saturated liquid. Extension of Mullin analysis then permits the estimation of the solid-liquid interfacial tension. Herring has demonstrated by dimensional analysis that the quasi-steady state change of the dimensions of a small particle during sintering is proportional flow, evaporation-condensation, volume-diffusion, and surface-diffusion mechanisms, respectively, if geometric similarity of consecutive configurations of the particles holds. Mullins has extended this analysis to grain boundary grooving. In the case of shallow grooves he solves the diffusion equations for evaporation-condensation, volume-diffusion, and surface-diffusion mechanisms, and obtains the same time dependence for any linear dimension of a groove as Herring found for the change in dimension of small particles. In Mullins&apos; analysis2&apos;3 grain boundary grooving of a bicrystal by volume diffusion in the presence of a saturated fluid phase was considered. Several assumptions were made prior to the analysis: 1) the solid-fluid interfacial tension is independent of crystallographic orientation; 2) the Gibbs-Thompson equation relating curvature and chemical potential is applicable at the solid-fluid interface; 3) the relaxation time of the diffusion field is small compared with the time for appreciable changes in the curvature of the groove, so that the diffusion is divergence-less; and 4) the groove has a small slope relative to the initial flat interface. Usually this last condition is fulfilled only for solid-gas systems. The solution of the diffusion equation under the above conditions produces a t1/3 dependence for any linear dimension of the groove in the case where volume diffusion is rate-controlling. The t1/3 dependence is valid because geometric similarity of the grooves exists for all time. EXPERIMENT In the experiment a 5.5-deg nickel bicrystal of <100> simple-tilt orientation was used.4 Grooving was studied in the presence of a saturated Ni-S liquid alloy as a function of time at 750°, 800°, 850°, and 900°C. A low-angle bicrystal was chosen for study to insure that 2L.S. > .b., where l.s.

Jan 1, 1964

By Merrill Horine

IT has been stated and accepted for many years that the automotive industry was the instigator, the principal sponsor for and the largest user of alloy steel and nonferrous alloys. The only universally recognized standard specifications and heat-treatments for these materials are those adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers. It is this same auto-motive industry that has been the chief inspiration for and consumer of modern production machine tools. The production curve of steel ingots is more sensitive to fluctuations in automotive production than any other influence or group of influences. In every other important steel-con-suming industry, automotive materials and automotive processes are the outstanding features of modern progress. In this connection I need only mention the prefabrication of buildings, following the automotive system of straight-line, interchangeable mass production; the motorization of ships and railroads, employing automotive types of prime movers; the production of pressed-steel stoves, plumbing and furniture by methods originated in the automobile-body industry and the extensive use of rubber for the cushioning of all manner of machinery as pioneered by the automotive and tire industries. Dr. Jeffries has brought out this point in his address (p. 21), assuring us that the transportation industry is the largest user of these materials. In the transportation industry, or as we might more accurately express it, the transportation group of industries, the. automotive industry pre-dominates as a user of light alloys. One out of every four tons of aluminum produced is consumed by the automotive industry. Similarly, the automotive industry ranks first in the consumption of the following metallurgical materials: steel, 24.04 per cent; malleable iron, .57; alloy steels, 72.2; nickel, 30; lead, 39 per cent.

Jan 1, 1936

By C. A. Stetefeldt

Metallurgical processes cannot be conducted successfully With out the aid of analytical chemistry. The great perfection of Iead smelting in the West, for instance, has only been accomplished by the analysis of ores, fluxes, slags and all products of the furnace. Ores are mixed and fluxed to obtain a slag of desired composition. Account is even taken of the composition of the ashes obtained from the coke. The " muscular " smelter has left the field forever! This state of affairs has been induced by sharp competition, i.e., by a com plete separation of the industries of mining and reducing ores, not by the liberality and wisdom of directors and stockholders to pro vide laboratories and engage chemists, or by their love for scientific investigation. It would be considered absurd, at present, to run a lead-smelter, a blast-furnace for pig-iron, or a Bessemer plant without the assist ance of a well-equipped laboratory and a chemist; but it is con sidered quite sufficient to provide amalgamation- or lixiviation works merely with a crude assay-office, and an assayer who is paid less than a laborer in the mill. In my opinion, this will change in the near future. By the ex clusion of Mexican lead-ores, and their growiring scarcity in the West, smelters have been forced to raise their charges on so-called dry silver-ores, and cannot handle the latter now in such unlimited quantities as formerly. The inevitable result must be that the sur plus of these dry silver-ores, especially those of low grade, will be reduced by processes cheaper than smelbing; and here the introduc tion of lixiviation has an excellent field, provided the muscular lixiviator has an able chemist for an assistant. It is to be regretted that so little analytical work has been done in lixiviation. We know almost nothing of the composition of roasted ores before and after lixiviation; of the constitution of the first wash water and of lixiviation-solutions after prolonged use; of the chemistry of sodium and calcium sulphides; of the col-hposition

Jan 1, 1892

By M. R. Hatfield, F. J. Vosburgh

IN a recent article,† it was shown that in the blast furnaces in Germany that are lined with carbon blocks no cooling plates are used, and that shower cooling is employed on the hearth and bosh sections. While one of the authors was in Germany he was told that one furnace was being operated without even the shower cooling on the bosh section, though the hearth section was shower-cooled. In discussion of this interesting situation with a number of blast-furnace operators in this country, it was made clearly and promptly evident that shower cooling was very unpopular, probably because of its messiness and its ineffectiveness. Both of the causes for the dislike of shower coolings are reasonable ones. Shower cooling can be and frequently is messy, but the present cooling of blast furnaces leaves much to be desired on that score. Shower cooling is ineffective as compared with plate cooling, so far as its usefulness in keeping the bricks cool enough not to melt or fall to pieces is concerned. However, the introduction of carbon linings changes the situation. No one is concerned with keeping a carbon lining cool, for no temperature in the blast furnace has any effect on carbon, which is just as stable at 3000°F. as it is at 70°F. The only concern is for the shell-to keep it cool enough for safety and comfort and for that shower cooling is sufficient. Of course, with only the shell to cool, instead of the shell plus all the refractory material, much less water would be required, and the necessity for constant attention to the flow would be lessened, as the hundreds of inlets and outlets would be eliminated. Probably half of the water used in cooling a blast furnace is used for cooling the shaft and tuyeres and the remainder for the bosh and hearth sections. However, in view of the dislike of shower cooling in the United States, and particularly because at least one German blast furnace is operated with no cooling of the bosh section, thought was given to the possibility that a carbon-lined blast furnace might be operated without any cooling of the entire carbon-lined portion. For that reason a series of experiments was performed to determine what might be the temperature of the shell of a blast furnace protected by a carbon lining and operated under varying conditions up to a maximum inside temperature of 3000°F. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. I and a photograph of the entire assembly in Fig. 2. The heating element was a carbon tube nominally 2 5/8 in. o.d. by 2 in. i.d. by 30 in., used as a resistor. Power was furnished by a 15-kva. transformer operating

Jan 1, 1941

By E. G. De Coriolis

THE development of huge production facilities and of new or improved processes for manufacturing magnesium from its raw sources has been an outstanding achievement of this war. Furthermore, at least one new method has reached a stage of pilot production that offers promise. Its potentialities seem to indicate that a reduction in cost and simplification or elimination of problems incident to the use of at least one of the present processes are quite within the realm of possibility. Although magnesium of very high purity (99.9 per cent and higher) is obtained, and the rate of recovery reasonable (60 to 70 per cent), the ferrosilicon reduction process is open to a serious objection, which at the time its use was proposed was thought to be sufficient to raise some doubts as to its success, at least on a high production basis. The temperature range at which the reaction is carried out-namely, 2100° to 2150°F.-is very close to the failure temperature of the material of which the retort is made. It is so close that for a time it was assumed it might make commercial use of the process an impossibility. However, at the time under discussion, the demand for magnesium was so great that it was felt by those who had to go ahead and produce this essential metal that the emergency warranted their taking a chance on this process. Subsequent developments have fully justified the soundness of their decision. Fortunately for the war effort, when the plants were put into operation it was discovered that although the retorts did collapse in rather short periods of time, as predicted, they could be blown back into operable shape by application of high-pressure air. This practical method of operation so relieved the situation that the problem disappeared. Nevertheless, if the process had not been successful, or the production of magnesium by the electrolytic process had not been able to keep pace with demands, our war program would have been seriously impaired. "FIRELESS COOKER" PROCESS For this reason a program was set up and assigned for the development of a new method that had been suggested to the War Production Board in 1941. It is believed justifiable in terming the method "new" for several reasons: (1) while utilizing the same (ferrosilicon) process as the Pidgeon, hence involving similar reactions, the type of retort or furnace is essentially different, (2) the method of operation, reaction temperatures, etc., differ materially, and, most important of all, (3) the problems to be overcome in making the process successful were not and could not have been anticipated by anything previously known about the Pidgeon process. As will be shown later, the briquetting process, the condenser, the furnace lining

Jan 1, 1945

By George C. Lipsey

FOR many years the mining of coal and other minerals occurring in sedimentary formation has been planned according to information obtained by diamond drilling. Placer mines have used churn drills for sampling and estimating deposits, and some metal mines have used the method either wholly or in part. The diamond drill method, therefore, although not entirely new, has come into more prominence in the last few years. Several large-scale developments now being planned or in the production stage have used this method in varying degree. This paper will describe the operations of the Howe Sound Exploration Co., Ltd. at Snow Lake, Manitoba, where a gold mine was developed and equipped for mining and milling wholly on the basis of diamond drilling results. The property has been in operation nearly 3 years, so that results can be compared with the estimates and assumptions made from the diamond drilling. In developing the subject it is necessary to outline as briefly as possible the normal method of mining, from discovery to production stage. Table I sets forth these various stages, the methods of financing, the percentage of total cost, and the relative time interval required for each section of the work. The plan presented in this table cannot be applied to all mining developments, but it gives a basis on which to work. In Stages 2 and 3 the investment is moderate, and if the property does not respond favorably the options or interests can be terminated. Stage 4 represents a sizeable investment, and it is more difficult to drop the property after this part of the operation is completed. Stages 2, 3, and 4 may be repeated several times by different groups or companies before Stage 5 is reached, but when Stage 5 has been started the total capital investment must be provided and there can be no turning back. It will be noted that there is a total of 116 units of investment in the overall cost if one company proceeds with Stages 2, 3, 4, and 5 in order. Stage 4, however, consumes time which is important when markets are being considered. Bringing a property into production when metal prices are low is much more difficult than when the prices are high, and if this stage can be set aside production is attained more quickly. When Stage 4 is eliminated the total becomes 86 units of cost for Stages 2, 3, and 5, but an adjustment of 14 units must be added to Stage 5. These 14 units represent the useable value of Stage 4. Thus Stage 4 represents an investment of 30 units if carried on before Stage 5, but 14 units if included with Stage 5. This is accounted for by the fact that development work can be accomplished more cheaply under Stage 5, since everything that is done is planned on a production basis with permanent services. Stage 4 must of necessity be governed by expenditures, and a great many temporary services, including housing and power plants, must be provided. The prospect shaft is a small one, and drifts,

Jan 1, 1952