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By J. Murray Riddell, Grover J. Holt, Arthur E. Anderson

Out of the depths of each business cycle we emerge with a stimulus for greater efficiency and a realization of progress in industrial technique. The recent years have not been an exception to this rule, and in retrospect we sense that significant advances have been made in mining practices on the Mesabi Range, with emphasis on speed of production and economy of operation. A survey of such changes does not reveal anything that is fundamentally or basically new, but it is apparent that ideas and machines that have found wide application in industry elsewhere, with necessary modifications, are being put to productive use in mining iron ore. Innovations in transporting and conveying ore from the open pits stand out with greatest prominence, so that, in the main, it will be with these features that this paper will treat, in the review of progress made to this date. The late years have witnessed the development of small deposits for open-pit operation, the cleaning up of pits nearing exhaustion, and in two large operations the approach to the limit for haulage by steam locomotives, owing to grades, making it necessary to recover the ore in slopes, track benches and below the power-shovel limit by a milling and scram operation. For several years small standard-type dump trucks have been used in clean-up or scram operations within the pits, but during the season of 1936 the first effort was made to use heavy truck haulage in the transportation of stripping and iron ore. The new units in use today vary from 15 to 20 tons in capacity, and are equipped with powerful gasoline or Diesel engines and supplemented by trailers or wagons on rubber or crawler treads. The Diesel engine finds favor with most operators because of fuel economy. These units develop upward of 125 hp. in the 15-ton trucks. The speed of these trucks varies from 2 miles per hour in Pow gear to 35 in high gear. The transmission affords 12 speeds forward and 3 speeds in reverse.

Jan 1, 1940

By J. Murray Riddell, Arthur E. Anderson, Grover J. Holt

Out of the depths of each business cycle we emerge with a stimulus for greater efficiency and a realization of progress in industrial technique. The recent years have not been an exception to this rule, and in retrospect we sense that significant advances have been made in mining practices on the Mesabi Range, with emphasis on speed of production and economy of operation. A survey of such changes does not reveal anything that is fundamentally or basically new, but it is apparent that ideas and machines that have found wide application in industry elsewhere, with necessary modifications, are being put to productive use in mining iron ore. Innovations in transporting and conveying ore from the open pits stand out with greatest prominence, so that, in the main, it will be with these features that this paper will treat, in the review of progress made to this date. The late years have witnessed the development of small deposits for open-pit operation, the cleaning up of pits nearing exhaustion, and in two large operations the approach to the limit for haulage by steam locomotives, owing to grades, making it necessary to recover the ore in slopes, track benches and below the power-shovel limit by a milling and scram operation. For several years small standard-type dump trucks have been used in clean-up or scram operations within the pits, but during the season of 1936 the first effort was made to use heavy truck haulage in the transportation of stripping and iron ore. The new units in use today vary from 15 to 20 tons in capacity, and are equipped with powerful gasoline or Diesel engines and supplemented by trailers or wagons on rubber or crawler treads. The Diesel engine finds favor with most operators because of fuel economy. These units develop upward of 125 hp. in the 15-ton trucks. The speed of these trucks varies from 2 miles per hour in Pow gear to 35 in high gear. The transmission affords 12 speeds forward and 3 speeds in reverse.

Jan 1, 1940

By Richard P. Rothwell

Fires in mines are so serious in their consequences and of such frequent occurrence, that their causes and the means of extinguishing them are certainly questions of the greatest interest to a large part of the engineering profession. We have already, in this country, many mines which have been burning for years, and though our hard anthracite is so difficult to ignite that for a quarter of a century after it was first discovered it mas not known how to burn it except with the aid of an artificial blast, yet most of the fires which have occurred underground have been in anthracite mines, and in the coal itself. The injury which these fires have caused to properties in various parts of the anthracite regions, and the cost of extinguishing them, would amount to many millions of dollars, and they have also occasioned the loss of many valuable lives. It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject has already attracted much attention, and the exercise of great ingenuity; and the present communication is made less with the expectation of announcing anything new, than with the object of putting upon record the present state of our knowledge on this subject, or, in other words, of indicating how defective are the present means of combating underground conflagrations. Causes of Mine Fires.—Even upon the surface, fire is a terrible foe to contend with, and there is probably no other which inspires such thorough and well-founded alarm. With what feelings, then, must we look upon this destructive element, when its field is in the narrow galleries of a mine, where the poisonous products of combustion, spreading in every direction, protect, in the most effectual manner, the fire itself from the attacks of extinguishers, while, if the face of attack be ventilated so as to enable then] to approach the seat of the fire, the air current simply increases the extent and violence of the conflagration. Fires underground originate in as various ways as those on the surface, and it is scarcely necessary to say that, except in the rare cases where they are the result of design, they are invariably classed as " accidents," and most generally as " unavoidable accidents." In reality, by an intelligent understanding of their causes and with due precautions, they can almost always be prevented. Ignorance and

By Hans Lundberg

IN ORDER to comprehend the help and information that may be expected from electrical prospecting, it is necessary to have at least a general knowledge of the methods and principles involved in preparing and interpreting results obtained in the field. Electrical prospecting is rather complicated, both in theory and practice, and in order to make a brief description clear to the practical mining man it has been necessary to idealize and generalize the problems, at the risk of having such simplification criticized by the theoretical man. This simplification must not be misinterpreted as showing a lack of theoretical knowledge. FIG. 1.-FLOW OF CURRENT IN AND AROUND A CONDUCTING BODY. For its operation, electrical prospecting mainly depends on-the fact that most metallic ores conduct an electric current much more readily than barren rocks. If an electric current flows through a block of ground within which a body of chalcopyrite is enclosed in country rock of schist, the current will find less resistance to its passage through the chalcopyrite than through the schist, even though the passage through the latter be much shorter. This is because the longer path through the chalcopyrite offers less resistance, owing to the superior electrical conductivity of the chalcopyrite (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1928

By Ingvar Janelid

13.7-1. General. Iron ore mining in western Europe is mostly carried out underground and only a minor part is mined by open pit methods. Actual open pits of importance in this connection are, among others, Svappavaara in Sweden, Mo i Rana and Sydvaranger in Norway, Corby Mines, Colsterworth, and Scunthorpe in Great Britain, and in western Africa, Nimba and Bong Range in Liberia, and Kedia d’Idjil in Mauritania. The open pit mines of western Africa are of great interest in this connection as they are designed according to European practice and have accepted the same techniques, methods, equipment, etc. as the European mines. In the surface mining of limestone, granite, shale, etc., the technical conditions generally are similar with those in the iron ore mines. Some information will therefore be submitted from typical quarries. The geological conditions at the various iron ore mines and limestone and other quarries vary extensively. In Scandinavia the iron ores occur exclusively in Precambrian rocks. The ore is hard, mostly magnetite or hematite, folded and steep dipping, and hence accessible to surface mining only in the shallow sections. In the mines referred to, open pit mining will last for another 10 to 30 years, whereupon mining has to be continued by underground methods. In France the Minette iron ore has previously been mined in open pits but, because of increased overburden, mining underground with room and pillar methods now dominates. The iron ores are Jurassic, flatlying strata of oolitic type, containing chamosite, siderite, and brown hematite. The British iron ores are mostly of the same origin and appearance as the French deposits, but despite heavy overburden they are preferably mined from the surface. In western Africa, the iron ores are of the same type as in Brazil, i.e., itabirites with high-grade portions resulting from silica-leaching and weathering. The ore contains mostly brown and blue hematite and magnetite. Nimba and Kedia d’Idjil are very similar regarding ore quality and geology. Bong Range is a deposit of low-grade ore which has to be concentrated.

Jan 1, 1968

By I. N. Zavarine

AUSTENITE is often defined as a solid solution of carbon or carbide in a nonmagnetic form of iron. Conversely, magnetic measurements are often used by investigators for the purpose of detecting the degree of austenite decomposition after an iron alloy has been subjected to certain thermal or mechanical treatments. Association of the magnetic state with the gamma-phase decomposition is often extended to the alloys of iron with elements other than carbon. Definition of austenite as a nonmagnetic solid solution cannot be accepted in the light of available information without certain reservations. The relation of magnetic transformations with the gamma-phase decomposition in the complex alloys of iron has never been rigorously proved. The present investigation deals primarily with the magnetic trans-formation that occurs in carbon steels during the quenching process. The work was further limited to a study of magnetic transformation in carbon steels quenched at such rates as are necessary to retain the product of austenite decomposition in a martensitic state.

Jan 1, 1934

By H. Y. Jennings

An extensive field and laboratory experimental program was carried out to compare the waterflood behavior of carefully preserved soft and unconsolidated cores with measurements on the same cores after extraction. Results obtained from using idealized consolidated and unconsolidated porous media in which wettability could be carefully controlled were contrasted with the preserved core data. The controlled tests on idealized porous media investigated the effect of wettability, flood rate, core length, core permeability and consolidation on the displacement of high viscosity oils. It was concluded from these studies that waterfloods are more favorable when carried out with crude oil in preserved soft and unconsolidated cores than with the same cores after they have been extracted and re-saturated. Waterfloods are usually more favorable when carried out with crude oil in extracted .soft and unconsolidated cores than with refined oil of the .same viscosity in the same cores. The less favorable behavior of extracted soft and unconsolidated cores compared to preserved cores is due to alteration of the core by extraction. Preserved cores saturated with native water and oil should be used for laboratory displacement experiments because they more accurately reflect true reservoir behavior INTRODUCTION The demand for low gravity crude oil created by refinery modernization has focused attention on increasing the production of this viscous crude oil. Billions of barrels are in place in fields that are depleted, or nearly depleted, by primary production mechanisms. Since low gravity reservoirs are relatively recent, geologically, the solid matrix material is usually soft and unconsolidated sand. Such formations are also characterized by a high clay content. Evaluation of sophisticated oil recovery processes with the associated high capital investments has increased the demand for special core analysis tests on material from these soft and unconsolidated sand reservoirs. Data in this paper have resulted from an extensive field and laboratory experimental program. The initial objective vras to provide soft and unconsolidated sand cores for laboratory measurements with as little alteration as possible from their reservoir condition. A secondary objective was to compare the waterflood behavior of these carefully preserved cores with measurements on the same cores after they had been extracted and resaturated. When the comparison showed markedly different behavior the final objective was to attempt to explain the difference by making measurements on idealized porous media free of clay in which initial wettability could be carefully controlled. EXPERIMENTS MATERIALS Core Material The preserved cores used in this study were obtained with as little alteration as possible from their reservoir conditions. Special techniques were developed to satisfy this objective. The cores were cut with native crude whenever the crude had the necessary properties to satisfy the minimum drilling fluid requirements. A pure hydrocarbon chromatographic tracer was added to the crude to provide a simple, safe and inexpensive method to distinguish between oil filtrate and formation oil. Details of the tracer technique used in this study and the procedures used to handle and process the soft, unconsolidated cores have been published.' The core samples were then preserved and packaged at the well site with a dip-applied strippable plastic, or by using a rubber sleeve from a rubber-sleeve core barrel. The final step was to insure that the carefully taken and preserved samples were not altered by processing in the laboratory. Some soft and poorly consolidated sands were carefully shaped in the lab and encased in a protective mounting without disturbing their three-dimensional integrity. Many samples were so poorly consolidated that they literally flowed from the package when the seal was broken. A technique was developed to obtain cylindrical plugs from these samples by using liquid nitrogen as the drilling fluid in a conventional core-drill, drill-press assembly. The idealized porous media consisted of sintered rods of Alundum RA 139, outcrop sandstone identified as Al-hambra sandstone and packs of No. 130 Nevada sand. This sand is 95 per cent 140-200 mesh. (Physical properties of these porous media with those representative of preserved cores are in Table 1.) The natural cores and most of the idealized porous media were 1 1/2-in. in diameter and 3-in. long. The samples used to study the effect of core length were 1 1/2-in. in diameter and 12-in. long. Liquids Water and oil produced from the formations being studied were protected from the atmosphere and collected in carefully cleaned glass or plastic-lined containers. The production was free of chemical additives such as emulsion breakers and corrosion inhibitors. The crude oil was

Jan 1, 1967

By Frank M. Monroe, James R. Cost

The solubility of nitrogen in vanadium is determined from 275" to 575°C by measuring the height of the nitrogen internal friction peak of equilibrated V-N alloys. The proportionality constant at 275°C between the internal friction peak height (Q- 1) and the atom percent nitrogen in solution is found to be 0.095 per at. pct for nitrogen concentrations up to 0.8 at. pct. The heat of solution of the nitride in vanadium is 5500 cal per mole. The solubility of nitrogen in the Group V metals is discussed. LITTLE work has been performed on the vanadium-nitrogen terminal solid solution. Hahn1 found the solubility for nitrogen to be very small and reported the existence of a hexagonal phase of composition near that of V2N at the solubility limit. Rostoker and Yamarnoto2 reported the solubility to be at least 3.5 at. pct at the melting point and to be less than this value at 900°C. In addition, they reported from X-ray diffraction studies that nitrogen in solution produces tetragonality in the vanadium lattice. An X-ray study by Schonberg3 has confirmed the results of Hahn but indicated that the tetragonality observed by Rostoker and Yamamoto was due to the presence of oxygen in their specimens. Beatty4 has performed lattice parameter and hardness measurements on terminal solid solutions and found the upper limit of the solubility to be at least 0.66 at. pct N. No measurements have been made of the pressure-temperature-composition relationships (P-T-X) for the terminal solid solution. As a part of a research program on gas-metal equilibrium, an attempt was made to study the P-T-X relationships in the V-N system using both the internal friction and the gas equilibration methods which have been successful with the Nb(Cb)-N and Ta-N systems (see Ref. 5 for a review of this work). Extensive investigation, using the gas equilibration methods, showed this method not to be applicable with vanadium This was presumably due to the gettering action of vanadium sublimed on the walls of the Sieverts apparatus. Thus, the nitrogen pressure relationships with temperature and composition were not obtained. The internal friction methods were, however, found to be applicable, and the temperature-composition relationships are reported in this paper and compared with similar results for the Nb-N6 and Ta-N7 systems. The existence of a Snoek internal friction peak due to nitrogen in solution in vanadium has been clearly demonstrated. 8-10 Powers and Doyle found the peak to be at approximately 275°C for frequencies near 1 cps.8 In a subsequent paper10 they reported the proportionality constant at 275°C between the internal friction peak height (Q-1) and the concentration of ni- trogen in solution (in atom percent) as 0.06 per at. pct. The studies of Stanley and wert9 indicated qualitatively that the height of the Snoek peak decreased with aging at the peak temperature and thus suggested that internal friction methods were suitable for study of the solubility. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD The vanadium for this investigation was of particularly high purity. It was obtained from the Ames Laboratory of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Ames, Iowa in the form of a 1/2-in. diam, three pass zone-refined ingot. The electrical resistivity ratio (p300ºk/p4ºk) was 160. The initial composition was determined as follows: Carbon 200 ppm Oxygen 150 ppm Chromium <50 pprn Iron 125 ppm Silicon <50 ppm Other metallic 100 pprn The initial vanadium ingot was fabricated to 30-mil wire by swaging and wire drawing without the need of intermediate annealing. Lengths of this wire were then further purified (particularly for oxygen) by outgassing at 10-6 torr at 1400°C for 4 hr. The outgassing treatment resulted in specimens with a bamboo grain structure and a lustrous appearance. Desired amounts of nitrogen were added to the outgassed wires in a Sieverts apparatus in which known amounts of nitrogen were equilibrated with the wire at 1300°C. Nitrogen concentrations were produced in the desired range from less than 1 to 10 at. pct N. Monitoring of the partial pressure of nitrogen in the Sieverts apparatus indicated that at 1300°C equilibrium between the nitrogen gas and the vanadium was obtained within 10 min. Relatively rapid cooling from the nitrogen addition temperature was obtained simply by turning off the specimen heating current and cooling to room temperature in the partial pressure of nitrogen. Internal friction measurements of wire specimens were made under forepump vacuum in a torsional pendulum at frequencies near 1 cps. The torsional pendulum was of low thermal inertia and was designed so that specimens could be heated both by a conventional tube furnace and by the joule heating of a separate current through the wire specimen." Use of a static atmosphere of helium gas as a quenching medium made it possible to cut the specimen current, rapidly cool the specimen to the measurement temperature, and make a measurement of the internal friction in less than 1 min. Because of the large solubility of vanadium for nitrogen, the internal friction peak heights were in some cases greater than Q-1 = 0.1. This high damping resulted in an estimated relative uncertainty in the damping measurements of approximately 10 pct. X-ray analyses made to identify the precipitated ni-

Jan 1, 1970

By E. DeGolyer

I. INTRODUCTION VOLCANIC origin. was among the first of the theories advanced to account for the occurrence of the salt domes of the Gulf coastal plain, northern Louisiana., and eastern Texas, and it is still being re-stated in various forms by the most recent contributors to our knowledge of the geology of such deposits. Argument has been largely by analogy and attention has repeatedly been called to the Mexican oil fields, particularly those of the Tampico-Tuxpam region, because of the occurrence of oil in close proximity to volcanic plugs in those fields, an occurrence supposed to have some resemblance to the common occurrence of oil in the salt domes of the United States. The author, having spent several months of the past year in a general study of salt domes and in a detailed study of certain domes in the United States, and having been acquainted for some time with the exploration of similar domes in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, Mexico, and with the general geology of the Tampico-Tuxpam region, Mexico, has reviewed the various theories of volcanic origin for salt domes which have been advanced to the present time. The purpose of this paper is to present such review and to discuss the supposed Mexican analogy.

Jan 5, 1918

By William G. Pariseau

Advances in numerical methods of analysis and computer technology during the past decade have brought many formerly intractable ground control problems within easy reach of present day graduate mining engineers. However, the new technology brings with it new problems. The identity of these problems are largely those arising from a lack of familiarity with the capabilities and limitations of the new technology. In this regard, the central problem in ground control planning is the calculation of ground motion associated with mining. The fundamentals of this problem leading to a form suitable for computer programming are therefore reviewed. Solution procedures in the broad sense including the gathering of input data and the interpretation of output are described. Computer program capabilities necessary for ground control analysis are discussed and the steps necessary to implement an analysis are outlined.

Jan 1, 1983

By Y. L. Yao

The solubility limit of oxygeu in a titanionn at 850°C has been determined by magnetic measurements as 12.5 + 0.5 pct (29.0—30,9 at. pct). Also in the susceptibility-co~centmtion curve, there is n distinct but not sharp maximum at 19.0 * 0.5 z~t pet (40.5--42.1 at. pct), which indicates the presence of the 6 phase. The magnetic susceptibilities of the alloys of the titanium-oxygen system were determined byEhrlich in 1939.&apos; is alloys were prepared by sintiring mixtures of titanium and its oxide at high temperatures. On the titanium-rich side, despite the fact that the alloy compositions he measured crossed two phase boundaries, the limited results obtained

Jan 1, 1960

By Arthur A. Brant

Let us start back as far as possible, to the beginnings of this universe, some 5 billion or more years ago. This is a time interval that can be crudely underestimated by the moon-earth tidal friction effects that have increased the length of the day by about 1/1000 second per century-from a 5 to 7 hour day to its present 24-and have moved the moon away at 5 inches per year to its present 240,000 miles. The oldest stony meteorites from interplanetary space give an age dating of some 4.6 billion years, approximating the time of formation of our earth. Further, certain stars pulsate, the period of pulsation being related to their absolute brightness. Measuring apparent brightness and comparing, gives the distance away. Thus Hubble and Shapley of Harvard, from 1925 on, were able to show that the universe reached as far as our telescopes could scan. The Doppler shift of the hydrogen red lines could only mean that the nebulae, or galaxies, were moving away at velocities increasing with their distances, by 180 km/ sec velocity increase for every million light year&apos;s distance. In short, the universe is expanding like an exploded bomb.

Jan 4, 1964

By C. H. Page, Brenne

Theoretical modelling of a proposed sub-level open stoping mining system was carried out to assess pillar instability and potential for hanging wall caving. This modelling was done, at first, without detailed information concerning the rock mass structure and classification. After mining commenced, the deviance in behaviour from that predicted by the modelling indicated that the structure was having an appreciable modifying effect on behaviour. Further analysis was carried out with detailed engineering geological information and a recently developed pillar design method. The outlined procedure produced results for pillar size and strength that explained the behaviour that had been recorded.

Jan 1, 1983

By L. F. Mondolfo

An investigation of the relationship between properties of the elements and type of binary diagram formed was conducted. It was found that, for each type of equilibrium diagram, the factors for the size, valence, electronegativity, period, melting point, entropies of fusion, and sublimation calculated for each pair of elements cover a range of values. However, these factors show sufficient relationship to the equilibrium diagram so that the correlation of several of them can be used to predict the type of diagram formed, or at least limit the choice to only a few types. ThE goal of the metallurgist concerned with alloy development has always been to find a method that predicts the properties that can be obtained when a certain metal is added to another one. In most cases a qualitative predictiton of properties can be made if the equilibrium diagram is known. However, this means that for new metals the alloy development has to start with the experimental determination of the equilibrium diagrams. Because this determination is at least as complicated and time-consuming as the determination of the properties themselves, most alloy development has taken place by trial and error, and the study of the equilibrium diagrams has followed rather than preceded the creation of new alloys. Alloy structures and properties depend on the interaction between electrons and a complete knowledge of these interactions would permit prediction of structure and properties of alloys. Unfortunately direct measurement of these interactions is extremely difficult and somewhat doubtful and only properties that depend on them can be measured easily and with certainty. Study of the relationship between properties of the elements and equilibrium diagrams is not new. Besides the well known Hume-Rothery rule of the necessity of an atomic diameter fit within 15 pct for extensive miscibility in the solid, and the wide knowledge of the effect of such factors as size, electronegativity, electron-atom ratio on solid state features,"&apos; work relating to liquid state and liquid-solid reactions can be found in the literature. Of particular interest is the work by Axon,3 who investigated the effect of size and melting point on a selected number of eutectic and monotectic dia-

Jan 1, 1962

Mills Day left a journal of his travel to Ohio and return by way of Pittsburgh in 1810. He left this comment about western Pennsylvania: "June 19. As I proceeded toward Pittsburg, (From Washington and Canonsburg) the country grew more populous. The hills appeared to consist of strata of freestone, iron, coal, and slate. June 20. Its (Pittsburg&apos;s) water communication with a vast extent of country and the immense beds of coal in its immediate vicinity render it a place peculiarly adapted to manufactures. Coal may be obtained of a good quality, ready delivered at 5 cents a bushel."1 Until within a year or so of this period, coal was used for domestic purposes, brick-making, by blacksmiths, etc.; now the industry entered a period of rapid growth caused by the introduction of the steam engine. As manufacturing was increasing due to the settlement of the western country, the additional facilities created by mechanical power were welcome. Apparently the first engine was installed in Pittsburgh, in a steam grist mill, in 1808; it is described in the Navigator of 1811: "The water of the boilers are heated by large fires made of stone coal, which is introduced at one end into a grated fire place as long as the cylinders themselves; the quantity of coal consumed daily by these boilers is said to be about twenty bushels, which cost one dollar." Later it mentions the effect of burning coal:

Jan 1, 1942

By David H. Browne

The use of coal-dust fired reverberatory furnaces, or indeed of rever-beratory furnaces of any description, was for the Canadian Copper Co. a matter of necessity, and not of choice. For 20 years smelting had been done in blast furnaces alone, and with the Herreshoff furnaces used prior to 1904 there was no trouble in treating fine ores. But little flue dust was produced, and this, following the time-honored custom, was wetted down and put back with the charge. Whether the flue dust really smelted, or whether it was worn out by being chased around in a circle, was a problem that troubled no one. With the installation of modern blast furnaces and high-pressure blowing engines, in 1904, flue dust commenced to assert itself. Evidently more dust was made than could be smelted, but so many vital. problems engaged our attention at that time that this minor question was pushed to one side. In 1906, the details of blast-furnace smelting and the conversion of matte had been worked out to a satisfactory conclusion, and the ever-increasing piles of flue dust and fine ore on the stock yard demanded serious consideration. Numerous experiments in sintering, briquetting, mixing with converter slag, forming blocks of flue dust with green-ore fines and cement, and so on, were undertaken. None of these showed much promise. Our problem was still further complicated by the question of treating converter slag. The ore was basic, the slag was not needed as a furnace flux, and it was felt that under these conditions the old method of pouring slag in molds and resmelting in the blast furnace was an unnecessary expense. If the converter slag could be settled in basic-lined reverberatory furnaces, in which at the same time flue dust and green-ore fines could be smelted, two problems might thus be solved. Reverberatory practice with our ores was, however, an unknown factor. As carried on in the West, on siliceous ores and concentrates, at least 25 per cent. of fuel was required, and even this ratio depended greatly

Jan 1, 1915

By R. Wachtell

IN order to study better the phenomena at work in various phases of diffusion of the Fe/Si system when compounded and alloyed by powder metallurgy methods, several attacks have been planned. Electrical, hardness and other measurements have been discussed e1sewhere.l,2 The metallographic phenomena will be considered here. Concerning the metallography of the ferrosilicon alloys, some initial discussion is in order. As this laboratory discovered to its chagrin, there are many traps that lie in wait for even the experienced metal-lographer when he deals with alloys of high silicon content. Chief of these is probably the anomalous behavior of these materials under conventional etching techniques. We have before us, for instance, Corson&apos;s paper" of 1928, wherein is mentioned and illustrated (probably for the first time) the peculiar "barley shell" structure sometimes found in these alloys. Again in 19412 he same author reports the structure in 5-14 pct silicon irons. Houghton and Becker mention its presence&apos; but make only tentative effort to explain it. In 1943, Hurst and Riley6 discussed the "barley shell" and declared it to be a false structure, resulting from the peculiar and characteristic film-forming propensities of the alloy. At about the same time, Wrazej7 proved correct the contentions of Hurst and Riley, establishing pretty well the mechanisms of formation and identifying the constituents involved. Hurst and Riley6 a1so describe in their paper (1943) a "cracked film" structure, also a pseudo-morph, the precise nature of which they do not suggest. Careful examination of such a film reveals that it not only cracks but begins to curl away from the surface of the metal and peel, much in the manner of flaking paint. The careful microscopist will be able to focus on the topmost edge of the flake, and, by optical sectioning, follow it down to the metal surface. We have been able, by oblique illumination of such specimens, to observe the raised segment of the film, the shadow that it casts, and the mating segment on the metal into which it fits. As late as 1946, Hurst and Riley8 found occasion to correct misinterpretation of this "cracked film" structure in a work by others on a 12 pct Si/Fe alloy. The "barley shell" and "cracked film" pseudo-morphs are not the only ones encountered in studies of these materials. A third pseudomorph, which may, however, have some structural significance is a fine striation of the surface. Closely spaced and parallel striae extend entirely across single grains. Each grain shows a different direction for the striae, and different closeness of the spacing. The regularity of this structure, and the fact that the striae do not cross from one grain to another, suggest that the structure is a film cracking controlled in some way by the crystal plane orientation of the surface being etched. In general it is wise for the metallographer dealing with these alloys to cultivate a feeling of uncertainty not only of the more complex questions of interpretation, but also of the basic question of whether that which he sees is indeed a true representation of the structure. We have taken, as a first test of the validity of a structure, its reproducibility "in situ" after repolishing and re-etching of the samples. Thus we knew the "barley shell" to be false (fig. 1) even before encountering the definitive works on the subject. The Metallography of Silicon Diffusion in Laminate Bars: As a first step in the study of the metallography of the diffusion process, we have pressed a series of laminate bars. These bars, or "sandwiches" as we have termed them, were pressed with covering layers of iron powder, and a "filler" of the Fe/Si master alloy under study. Bar dimensions were approximately %, x 3 x 1/4 in. The total

Jan 1, 1951

By J. J. Friel, E. S. Erickson

Dolomite-fluxed pellets of various compositions were made from magnetite concentrate, hematite concentrate and a concentrate containing a natural mixture of both. Physical properties and reduction test results were used to ascertain proper compositions and firing temperatures. These pellets were subjected to physical tests and to reduction tests. Petrographic and electron microprobe examinations were made to evaluate the effect of composition and fining on the phase assemblage. We interpreted our test results in terms of chemistry and microstructure and related these to properties. This approach enabled w to determine the composition best suited to each of the three concentrates. Compared with acid pellets, dolomite- fluxed pellets of the optimum compositions had similar physical properties but swelled less, softened at a higher temperature, and reduced faster and more completely.

Jan 1, 1983

By George J. Simchuk

Selection of an applicable stripping method and the subsequent determination of appropriate sizes of selected equipment are discussed. The case in point is Utah International, Inc.&apos;s Goonyella mine located in central Queensland, Australia. A detailed study of the various types of stripping methods now practiced throughout the world led to the conclusion that large draglines would be the logical choice for Goonyella. The optimal size of dragline was then determined by first designing a series of cut diagrams using an array of machine and pit geometries followed by a cost comparison of the various sizes of machines, in terms of their effective spoil radius. A dragline with a 51-cu-yd bucket was determined to be of optimum size. Further calculations, incorporating total overburden moved from both the highwall and spoil sides, required that four drag lines, two equipped with 40-cy-yd buckets and two with 54-cu-yd buckets, be used to satisfy the stripping requirements at Goonyella.

Jan 1, 1973