Search Documents

By Walter C. Holmes

IN the recently published book entitled "Man in a Chemical World," by A. Cressy Morrison, the several pages discussing explosives were included in the chapter on "Serving Industry." Such a classification is entirely correct, as blasting explosives function only as a tool for accomplishing certain useful work, a tool which is completely destroyed in one use. Explosives are so important to industry and to modern society, in fact, that it seems impossible to imagine the existence of civilized nations without access to commercial explosives as ready servants. Two main types of explosives are now in use, the low-velocity or deflagrating type, such as black powder, which is adapted for use in coal mining and other applications where a slow, heaving effect is desired, and high explosives of the dynamite type,

Jan 1, 1938

By E. A. Holbrook

IN view of what has happened in - the past three years, it seems incredible that industrial corporations continue to write to engineering and mines schools for "promising members of the graduating class," or, indeed, that they even send representatives to the colleges to interview engineering graduates. Certainly, by this time, every company should be aware of the fact that recent engineering graduates are almost nonexistent and the number is not likely to increase within the next several years. At the February, 1945, annual meeting of the Local Section delegates of the A.I.M.E. in New York, W. B. Plank, professor of mining engineering at Lafayette College, summarized well the situation of the colleges by titling his talk "The Lost Generation of Engineers."

Jan 1, 1945

By Hiroshi Oikawa, A. G. Guy

Recent experimental evidence has shown that it is often incorrect to neglect the reactions occurring at an interface with respect to the diffusion reactions. By introducing reaction-rate constants and k for the transfer of components 1 and 2 between the a and b phases, a phenomenological description has been devised for the coupled processes of diffusion and in-terfacial reaction. An illustrative example has been analyzed with the aid of a suitable computer program. The results indicate that for kab values on the order of 10'1 cm per sec and Ð values of about 10¯10 sq cm per sec, the interfacial reactions are significant during the first 10 2 to l0 6 sec of a diffusion experiment. Among the observable effects of the interfacial reactions in this case appear to be the burying Kirkendall markers and an anomaly in the initial shifting of these markers. THE study of diffusion between two phases is especially important because of its direct connection to phase transformations. For example, the transformation of austenite to ferrite involves diffusion in the a and ý phases and also an interfacial reaction (trans formation) at the a/? interface. If ferrite and aus-tenite are the two members in a diffusion couple, the same two reactions occur during the diffusion process. The numerical values obtained for the diffusion coefficients and interfacial-reaction constants from diffusion experiments can then be employed to predict phase-transformation behavior. Refinement of the calculations of phase transformation is also suggested by the present method for treating two-phase diffusion. In the recent paper by Nolfi et al.' only the solute com ponent is considered in the interfacial reaction accompanying a phase transformation. The present analysis demonstrates that both components must be considered. It is generally recognized that reactions of some kind must occur at the interface in a two-phase diffusion couple, but usually it is assumed that the interface reaction occurs so rapidly that its effect on the overall process is unobservable because the slower diffusion process determines the kinetics of the process. However, Seith and Heumann 2 pointed out that effects of the interfacial reaction should always occur in the early stages of diffusion, and recently Eifert et al. 3 have shown that interfacial reactions influence the composition and motion of the interface in a/ß Al-Cu diffusion couples during the entire course of prolonged, high-temperature treatments. A general procedure for handling the combined processes of interfacial reaction and diffusion in a binary, two-phase system is to introduce kinetic coefficients for the interface reactions and to develop the system of equations governing the interlinked processes of diffusion and interface reaction. The resulting equations, although not amenable to solution in closed form, can be usefully manipulated by a digital computer. INTERFACIAL REACTIONS IN TWO-PHASE DIFFUSION Consider the general case of diffusion between two solid solutions, a and ß, which are adjacent phases in a binary system, Fig. 1. Two semiinfinite bars having compositions c1 and c0ß are jointed at x = 0. If concentrations are expressed in volume fraction,4

Jan 1, 1970

By WILFRED SYKES

IT is with particular pleasure that I welcome the members of the Open-hearth Conference of the I American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers to this meeting, as I feel this is one of the most useful activities of the Institute in the field of ferrous metallurgy. For the information of our other members I might say the Open-hearth Conference was organized by Mr. Reynders when he was president, and is made up of open-hearth superintendents and metallurgists. All the plants are invited to send representatives, and practically all do, with the exception of the U. S. Steel Corporation. It meets twice a year to discuss various problems in connection with the manufacture of steel, and its minutes are published for the benefit of those attending, the expense being defrayed by the participating companies. This conference, .1 believe, should be a model for activities in the other branches of the work covered by this Institute. It works, not by reading formal papers, which we all know is not a very satisfactory method to bring out the experience of others, but rather by a round-table method of discussion. The spirit of the meetings is such that each member feels perfectly free to state his experience, and he gets as much as he gives. A series of topics for, discussion is brought to the attention of the chairman and after one is exhausted the next point is taken up. In this way there is a real interchange of ideas and experiences which cannot fail l to be of the greatest benefit to those attending. That these meetings are beneficial is evidenced by the "continued growing attendance and lively discussions at these half-yearly meetings.

Jan 1, 1930

By W. M. Corse

AT THE TURN of the century the nonferrous alloy industry was awakening to the value of scientific metallurgy, and brass foundries and rolling mills began to establish their own research laboratories for scientific research and control. As the industry grew and its scope broadened it became apparent that an organization was needed that would stand in the same relation to the nonferrous industry as the American Foundrymen's Association did to the iron foundry business. The brass founders' group of the foundrymen's association discussed the matter and it was finally decided to appoint a com- mittee to draw up a constitution for a new organization to be known as the American Brass Founders' Association. Charles J. Caley was chairman and Dr. Richard Moldenke secretary of this committee. The object of the organization as defined by the constitution was the study of the technological development of alloying and founding non- ferrous metals, and furthering the advance of nonferrous metallurgy and the standardization of materials and operations in cooperation with the Bureau of Standards and engineering societies.

Jan 1, 1932

By B. T., Colley

AS always when metallurgical operations are conducted within or close to agricultural and stock-raising regions, the question of damage due to fume and smoke presented itself when the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation's new smelter commenced to operate in La Oroya in 1922, For more than twenty years the Corporation had operated its old plant close to Cerro de Pasco without encountering difficulties from smoke claims, owing to the fact that it was in an open plain where more or less constant air currents carried and dissipated the smoke over large areas, affording ample dilution. But Oroya is in a deep canyon formed by four contributing valleys up and down which the smoke travels for long distances in a more or less concentrated form. Though the altitude of Oroya is more than 12,000 ft., and the surrounding country rises to much greater elevations, nevertheless there exists there a large and important stock-raising industry and also a considerable development in agriculture, consisting of the cultivation of potatoes, barley, etc.

Jan 1, 1945

By E. H. Rose

IN a year of sober reflection and stocktaking after the mineral-squandering spree of World War II, the role that beneficiation of low-grade must henceforth play in American mineral industry has become unmistakable. From the volume of research and development progress in mineral engineering during 1946, mineral dressers evidently have ample resoluteness to meet the challenge. Perhaps ,the most conspicuous trend of the year was the renascence of interest in gravity concentrating methods and more serious effort than ever before to make them effective in finer size ranges down to 200 mesh. This has been forced by the problem in iron ores where the low value of the product will not support a high flotation reagent cost, however good flotation pilot plant results may have been and however well the acute problem of variable feed may be met. The race is on between rabbit flotation and tortoise gravity methods and a surprising amount of betting money is being laid on the tortoise which already is showing previously unsuspected talent for speed. Mostly, however, a wait-and-see attitude prevails during the present preliminary heats. As evidence of the latter, two magnetic plants are now on the boards for magnetic taconites on the eastern Mesabi to establish a reprieve against the time when nonmagnetic taconites must be addressed. Incidentally, these operations will force the blast-furnace issue on preparation of fine material since a minus-100-mesh grind is contemplated.

Jan 1, 1947

By Casper A. Nelson, Wendell M. Whitecotton

A WIDE variety of lead ore is treated by the Midvale Smelter, for it is a custom plant not only treating Company lead concentrate and direct-smelting ores but also custom ores and concentrates, principally from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada, with lesser amounts from Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The principal operating departments of the plant are weighing and sampling, Wedge roaster, D&L sintering, blast furnace and drossing, and baghouse. The lead bullion produced is shipped to a subsidiary, the U.S.S. Lead Refinery, Inc., at East Chicago, while the by-products, such as matte and speiss, are shipped to other smelters or re-treated at the plant.

Jan 1, 1948

By William B. Plank

A NEW record-a quarter million students in the engineering schools of the United States and Canada-has resulted from the great demand for engineers following World War II. The figures released by the American Society for Engineering Education and which appeared in detail in the Journal of Engineering Education for January 1948, show that, on Nov. 1, 1947, 252,250 students were studying engineering in 149 engineering schools of both countries. There are 244,390 in the 143 schools canvassed in the United States, and 7860 in six schools in Canada. These figures include both undergraduate and graduate students and are therefore comparable with the figures in previous presentations on this subject. This unprecedented engineering student body

Jan 1, 1948

By F. J. Plecity, J. T. Michalak, W. C. Leslie

W. M. Williams (McGill University)-The authors are to be congratulated on completing this detailed investigation of recrystallization behavior. The present writer has recently completed some research at the University of Toronto on the recrystallization and grain growth behavior of a number of "pure" irons, and he would like to take issue with the authors' contention that recrystallization cannot be followed by means of hardness measurements. Two series of specimens of Ferrovac E, a com- mercially available iron, were annealed to complete recrystallization at 525" and 620" C, measurements being made both of Rockwell hardness and of volume percent recrystallized as a function of annealing time. Good correlation was found between these two quantities and, following the earlier practice of Cook and Richards for copper, hardness measurements were used in an extensive investigation of recrystallization. No anomalous behavior was observed as a result of this practice. Specimens which showed complete softening always showed, (metallographically and by X-rays), completely re-crystallized structures. These observations do not, of course, detract in the least from the results of the work under discus-

Jan 1, 1962

By Donald McLaughlin

INCREASING variety of interests among mining geologists is becoming more and more marked, as the frontier of their science and of its applications continues to expand. Each of the traditional lines of inquiry provides its crop of new and better defined problems, and answers to them are being found in far more precise terms than in the past as older uncertainties .are swept away with the sharper techniques and the even sharper ideas of modern geology. A glance over the assemblage of projects and publications in 1939 reveals conspicuous activity in many different parts of the front, such as the attack on the controversial question of the acid or alkaline character of ore-forming solutions, the place of mineral districts in the larger structural framework of continents, and the place of ore shoots in the local patterns of districts. Instructive comparisons are being made which cut across lines of older correlations or which reinforce them by pointing out heretofore ne-

Jan 1, 1940

By Allan J. Clark

THE September issue of MINING AND METALLURGY might almost have served as a review of the advances in the metallurgy of gold during the current year. In addition to a scholarly article by F. W. Bradley, there were able descriptions by W. W. Bradley and W. F. Boericke of the methods followed in California and in Ontario. Considered together, the two last-named articles indicate the many possible combinations of flotation with one or more of the older processes. This, the prominence of flotation as an aid in the beneficiation of gold ores, is probably the most striking of the year's developments. It would perhaps be nearer the fact to say that the year has not been marked by the gold metallurgists' discovery of the flotation process, but rather by the flotation merchandizers' discovery of gold metallurgy. I say this because native gold was floated successfully more than fifteen years ago, and a reference to these results was published six years ago.

Jan 1, 1933

By Arthur A. Center

AT the beginning of 1944 it was expected that the production of metallic zinc in the United States from domestic and foreign concentrates would exceed the 1943 figure though domestic production of concentrates was expected to drop below the 1943 rate, mostly in the Tri-State area. Imports of concentrates were estimated to more than take care of such deficiency. North American concentrate production, available for import to the United States or elsewhere during the year, was estimated at over 200,000 tons recoverable zinc content; South American at about 65,000 tons; Australian at about 50,000 tons. Production of both concentrates and metal in the United States, however, did drop, attributable in considerable part to man-power shortage in the industry. However production exceeded consumption, which fell off, and stocks of metal increased. These stocks have increased since the middle of 1942 but production and consumption are coming nearer to a balance. The A, B, and C premiums, which have played an important part in keeping up domestic production of concentrates, extend only to the middle of 1945 by present legislation. Congress is being asked for their continuance during the war and

Jan 1, 1945

By F. H. Wilson

Copper base alloys containing various amounts of aluminum and silicon are of considerable commercial interest. In particular the alloy containing 7 pct aluminum and 2 pet silicon shows an attractive combination of high strength with excellent, machinability. Since there is no evidence ill the literature that this ternary system has been studied since the recognition by Smith1 and Anderson2 in 1939 of the kappa phase of the binary copper-silicon system, the determination of the equilibrium phase relationships in the copper corner of the ternary diagram has been undertaken to provide a fundamental basis for understanding the behavior of these alloys. Phase boundaries have been determined by the micrographic examination of quenched samples while points on the liquidus surface have been obtained by thermal analysis. The results, of sufficient precision to serve their major purpose of providing a guide for the control of the manufacture of alloys in the region covered, are presented in a series of both isothermal and vertical sections of the diagram. Alloys StVdied For a rough survey of the copper corner of this ternary system the compositions listed in Table I (Series A) were employed. The results of examinations of these alloys indicated that the compositions listed in Table 2 (Series B) would further clarify regions of greater complexity. All alloys were prepared as 1200 g heats, the copper being melted under charcoal, and then first silicon and then aluminum were added. An excess of 0.05 pet silicon was allowed to cover deoxidation losses. Two small bars 5/8 by 1 1/4 by 5 1/4 in. were cast using Durville type casting equipment. Ailalyses were made on all alloys using material which was hot-rolled at 800 or 850°C and annealed 17 hr at 650°C. All analyses were found to be within 0.05 pet of the nominal composition. Since the precision of analysis is not much better than this, the points of both isothermal sections and vertical sections at fixed aluminum and silicon contents have been plotted at the compositions indicated by the nominal composition.

Jan 1, 1949

By Donald E. Cummings

Certain dusts are dangerous when inhaled, but most hazardous of all dusts are quartz or other forms of pure crystalline silica. The inhalation of dusts containing silica in combination with other elements gives rise to changes in the lung which differ from those produced by pure silica. As a generality, silicates are less dangerous than pure crystalline silica and vary greatly among themselves in harmfulness. Repeated analyses have shown that approximately 70 per cent of the total number of particles involved in any dust-producing operation are below 1 to 2 microns in diameter. (A micron is approximately 1/25,000 in.) Similar studies of dusts recovered from silicotic lungs post mortem have demonstrated essentially the same size frequency distribution, except that the upper limit of size retained in the air sacs is approximately 10 microns. Experiments carried on by Gardner and the author have further demonstrated that greater changes were produced by a fixed weight of very fine quartz particles (2 to 3 microns and smaller) than by the same weight of slightly larger particles (8 to 10 microns). Any attempt to control a dust hazard should therefore be directed toward the removal from the working atmosphere of particles less than 10 microns in size, and particularly those below 3 microns. All industrial hygienists agree on this matter, but there remains considerable dispute as to the lower limit of particle size capable of causing injury. It has been generally conceded, however, that particles of harmful dusts smaller than 1/4 to 1/2, micron are not essentially concerned in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. This opinion is partly substantiated by the existence of large numbers of these small particles in practically all atmospheres that are not associated with any known hazard. Such particles are so small that they have very little mass, fail to settle even in quiet air, and probably are not easily retained in the lung. Until further research proves that they are involved in the dangers provoked by the inhalation of certain dusts, engineers will generally agree that it is better to disregard them.

Jan 1, 1937

By John Wulff, J. H. Hollomon

Service failures in brass condenser tubes are often due to corrosion. One of the commonest types of corrosion reveals a surface structure of redeposited copper.' The study of the effect of alloy addition agents in preventing this kind of corrosion has received impetus from the extensive publication of Bengough and May.2 The mechanism of such inhibition gauged from immersion corrosion,2 cell corrosion,3 and electrolytic potential4 measurements is controversial. This controversy may be attributed in part to a lack of definite knowledge5 of the actual nature of the initial films formed in corrosion experiments. In our own corrosion work on copper and 70-30 brass this lack became apparent and necessitated an examination of surface films by X-ray and electron diffraction methods. The present paper is but an introduction to the subject of inhibition and reports the structure of films formed in active corrodents. Experimental Procedure The arsenical coppers and brasses used in this investigation were made by one of the writers* in the plant of the Revere Copper and Brass Co. at Rome, N. Y. Standard commercial melting practice was followed. O.F.H.C. copper and electrolytic zinc were used and all arsenic additions were made by additions of a master copper alloy. The final analyses are given in Table I. Likewise, the extrusion, cold-rolling, and intermediate anneals employed followed standard usage. Final heat-treatments were given to all materials to produce a similar grain size (0.035 to 0.045 mm. for brass and 0.015 to 0.025 for copper) for the alloys containing various percentages of arsenic. Samples 1/2 by M by 1/4 in. were cut from sheet material resurfaced and finished with 0000 metal-lographic papers. The surfaces were all degreased in alcohol and benzine before immersion. After immersion in the corrodent, they were washed gently in tap water, dipped first in alcohol and then in pure benzine and allowed to dry in the diffraction apparatus. The reflection electron diffraction apparatus used has been described by Burwell and Wu1ff.6 Fig. I is typical of the photo-grams obtained. The X-ray apparatus was

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff, J. H. Hollomon

Service failures in brass condenser tubes are often due to corrosion. One of the commonest types of corrosion reveals a surface structure of redeposited copper.' The study of the effect of alloy addition agents in preventing this kind of corrosion has received impetus from the extensive publication of Bengough and May.2 The mechanism of such inhibition gauged from immersion corrosion,2 cell corrosion,3 and electrolytic potential4 measurements is controversial. This controversy may be attributed in part to a lack of definite knowledge5 of the actual nature of the initial films formed in corrosion experiments. In our own corrosion work on copper and 70-30 brass this lack became apparent and necessitated an examination of surface films by X-ray and electron diffraction methods. The present paper is but an introduction to the subject of inhibition and reports the structure of films formed in active corrodents. Experimental Procedure The arsenical coppers and brasses used in this investigation were made by one of the writers* in the plant of the Revere Copper and Brass Co. at Rome, N. Y. Standard commercial melting practice was followed. O.F.H.C. copper and electrolytic zinc were used and all arsenic additions were made by additions of a master copper alloy. The final analyses are given in Table I. Likewise, the extrusion, cold-rolling, and intermediate anneals employed followed standard usage. Final heat-treatments were given to all materials to produce a similar grain size (0.035 to 0.045 mm. for brass and 0.015 to 0.025 for copper) for the alloys containing various percentages of arsenic. Samples 1/2 by M by 1/4 in. were cut from sheet material resurfaced and finished with 0000 metal-lographic papers. The surfaces were all degreased in alcohol and benzine before immersion. After immersion in the corrodent, they were washed gently in tap water, dipped first in alcohol and then in pure benzine and allowed to dry in the diffraction apparatus. The reflection electron diffraction apparatus used has been described by Burwell and Wu1ff.6 Fig. I is typical of the photo-grams obtained. The X-ray apparatus was

Jan 1, 1941

By J. W. Evans

ONE possible method for the separation of hafnium from zirconium is by the vapor phase oxidation of the purified mixed chlorides. An important factor for success depends on the difference in free energies of the following reactions: ZrCl(g) + O2 = ZrO2(s) + 2C12 [1] HfCl4(g) + O2 = HfO2(s) + 2C12. [2] Prakash and Sundaram1 have calculated these values from certain data and carried out experimental work with partial success. However, their free energy values for reaction 2 diverge rather widely from other data which are presented here. The possibility of successful separation is briefly considered in the light of these alternative values. Table I shows the free energy values (?F°) for reactions 1 and 2 derived from the recent compilation of data on oxides and chlorides by Glassner.2 The corresponding values of Prakash and Sundaram for the same temperatures are also shown. The alternative values to those of Prakash and Sundaram for reaction 2 are substantially confirmed by the data of Kubaschewski and Evans" and Cough-lin' on heats of formation, entropies, and heats of vaporization. In spite of the considerable uncertainty in the hafnium data it is reasonable to suppose that the oxide-chloride free energy difference for two such chemically similar elements would not be very far apart. These figures indicate clearly that the oxidation of hafnium chloride is appreciable at all temperatures. Nevertheless, there is a significant difference between the values for reactions 1 and 2

Jan 1, 1959

By Colin G. ink

OUTSTANDI'NG in progress among the less familiar 'metals during 1936 is the electrolytic production of 99.9 per cent manganese meta1 readily and many quantity. Strictly speaking, manganese should not' be classed as 'a rare metal, since there is 800 times as much manganese in the earth's crust as there is zinc or lead. But manganese' as a metal is rare, just as titanium metal is rare though titanium is five times as abundant in the earth's crust as manganese.

Jan 1, 1937

NAME AND OBJECT. SEC. 1. This Institute is incorporated under the Membership Corporation Law of the State of New York ; its corporate name is AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS; and its objects are such as are stated in its Certificate of Incorporation. ARTICLE II. MEMBERS. SEC. 1. The membership of the Institute shall comprise four classes, namely (1) Members ; (2) Honorary Members , (3) Associates , and (4) Honorary Associates Only Members and Associates residing within the United States of America, Republic of Mexico and Dominion of Canada shall be entitled to vote at the meetings of the Institute. SEC. 2 All Members, Honorary Members, Associates and Honorary Associates of the American Institute of Mining Engineers as the same existed on the day of the incorporation of this Institute, are Members, Honorary Members, Associates and Honorary Associates, respectively, of this Corporation SEC. 3. The following classes of persons shall be eligible for membership in the Institute, namely, as Members and Honorary Members, all professional mining engineers, geologists, metallurgists or chemists, and all persons practically engaged in mining, metallurgy or metallurgical engineering ; as Associates and Honorary Associates, all persons desirous of being connected with the Institute who, in the opinion of the Council, are suitable. SEC 4. Every candidate for election as a Member or Associate of the Institute must be proposed for election by at least three Members or Associates; must be approved by the Committee on Membership, as prescribed in the By-Laws ; and .must be elected by the Council. Not less than three-fourths of the votes cast shall be necessary to an election Every person so elected shall become a Member or Associate, as the case may be, upon payment of his first dues as herein-after prescribed Each candidate for Honorary Member or Honorary Associate, must be recommended by at least ten Members or Associates ; must be approved by the Council ; and must be elected by ballot at a meeting of the Board of Directors by the unanimous vote of all the Directors present ; provided, however, that the number of Honorary Members and Honorary Associates shall not at any time exceed twenty SEC. 5. If any person elected a Member or Associate does not, within sixty days after notice of his election, accept the same and pay his initiation fee and dues for the current year, his election may be cancelled at the discretion of the Council.

Jan 1, 1910