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By R. D. Nelson, F. E. Bowman

Assumptions are made of ideal mixing and that the density of silver can be obtained by extrapolating reported liquid density-temperature data through the freezing point back to the temperature range of interest. The results of this procedure using liquid silver density data of Kirshenbaum et al.5 are presented in Table I1 where it is observed that agreement is everywhere within <0.1 pct and generally is within 0.05 pct. Because the Sn-Ag alloys are dilute, the assumption of ideal behavior is, therefore, probably justified. In conclusion, the densities of dilute liquid solutions of silver in tin have been determined. Even for concentrations as low as 0.1 pct, the effect of silver on the density of liquid tin is clearly measurable. This work also suggests that for dilute alloys at temperatures far below the freezing point of the solute metal, densities may be accurately calculated by extrapolation of the pure metal data without having recourse to physical measurement on the alloy itself. plutonium having a grain size of about 100 µ. This paper presents data showing that large elongations of fine-grained a Pu can be obtained by using slow deformation rates. Large plasticity, however, of a Pu in compression has been observed.4 Reductions in thickness of 90 pct have been observed with no edge cracking. These large reductions are accompanied by concurrent re-crystallization. The deformation modes, which are quite complex, have been studied extensively by observing the deformation microstructures of polished surfaces that had been deformed in compression.5-7 Although slip apparently is a predominant mode of deformation at room temperature, grain boundary sliding and concurrent recrystallization become more predominant at high a temperatures.4&apos;7 Although recovery occurs,8,9 no grain growth has been reported in a Pu even at temperatures near the a =ß equilibrium temperature (-115oC), which is 0.7 of the calculated melting temperature of a Pu.10 From studies on other materials, it appears that high elongations can be obtained in alloys when the THE purpose of this technical note is to present briefly some data revealing high ductility of a Pu, which is normally considered brittle. The very low ductility of a Pu in tension has been reported by many investigators.&apos;-3 Gardner,1 for example, reported that the total elongation of a Pu at a testing speed of 0.015 ipm is less than 0.1 pct at room temperature and only about 1 pct at 100°C. The only tensile creep studies that have been reported&apos; indicate no large ductility, but they were performed on relatively low purity

Jan 1, 1970

By M. I. Sherman, J. D. H. Strickland

USE of a hydrometallurgical approach to the oxidation of sulfide ores and extraction of metals therefrom may have advantages over the more common smelting techniques when a low grade deposit is difficult to concentrate or the subsequent separation of metals, coexisting in the ore, is laborious by any known smelting operation. For economic reasons, the most promising oxidants are either atmospheric oxygen or electric power. The use of oxygen, or air under pressure, has recently been revised. Pyrrhotite has been converted to iron oxide and elementary sulfur&apos; and a variety of sulfides have been treated by Forward and co-workers.2-4 Generally sulfate is the end form of the sulfur but with galena in an acid medium, elementary sulfur can be formed." For economic reasons chlorine and ferric iron salts are about the only possible alternatives to the atmosphere as oxidizing agents for base metal sulfides. If aqueous solutions of chlorine or ferric iron are employed, the reduction products can be oxidized electrolytically in situ and used again, thus acting as catalysts for electric power as oxidant. The use of ferric salts for this purpose is established hydrometallurgical practicea but, although chlorine gas has been employed in the dry state at an elevated temperature, its use in aqueous solution at or near room temperature has not found favor. The reaction of chlorine water with the soluble sulfide ion has been studied by several workers,7-9 and both sulfate and elemental sulfur are found as end products, the latter being favored by the presence of a low concentration of oxidant relative to that of sulfide in solutions of about pH 9 to 10. Of direct bearing on the work in hand are an early American patent" and a recent Austrian patent." The former advocates stirring powdered ore with an aqueous solution of ferric chloride chlorine oxides and chlorine. In the latter it is claimed that both metal and sulfur can be obtained by electrolysis, in a diaphragm cell, of a metal ore slurry in brine. Details in these patents are scant and no data or explanation is given for the mechanism of the reaction which, in the Austrian work, is attributed to the (unlikely) action of nascent chlorine at the anode surface. No mention is made of possible differences in behaviour between various ores. Apparatus A complication encountered when working with chlorine water is that a serious loss of chlorine occurs by gas partitioning unless an enclosed system is used and any air space in the apparatus is kept very small and constant. Arrangements were made, therefore, to take out samples for analysis without letting air into the system to replace the liquid removed. For convenience in studying a heterogeneous reaction the apparatus was so designed that a reproducible controlled stirring rate could be maintained and the ratio of surface area of ore to volume of solution was approximately constant throughout any experiment. The apparatus used is shown in Fig. 1. The ground ore was placed in the horizontal cylindrical vessel, A, of about 1 liter capacity, heated by a constant temperature circulating bath pumping water through the concentric jacket, B. By adding chro-mate to this water, an ultraviolet radiation filter effectively surrounded the reaction vessel, greatly reducing any possible photochemical decomposition of chlorine solutions. Stirring was effected by glass paddles, C, attached by an axle to a magnet which was rotated by another powerful Alnico magnet, D, outside the glass end, this magnet being itself rotated by an electric motor electronically controlled to constant speed. Speed could be varied from about 150 to 900 rpm and was measured and held to within 1 pct of a given value. The end of the reaction vessel remote from the stirring magnet was closed by another one-ended glass cylinder, E, connected by thin polyethylene bellows, F, clamped by screw clamps and watertight rubber gaskets to the main vessel. Through E, a glass electrode and calomel electrode projected into the solution and a hypodermic syringe pierced a small bung and allowed acid or alkaline to be added to maintain a constant pH. By pushing the fully extended bellows until the two cylinders touched, from 50 to 100 ml of solution could be forced out through a sintered disk into the three-way tap system, G, either to waste (for flushing purposes) or up into a 10 ml burette where the solution could subsequently be measured out for analysis. The ore samples were introduced at H, the tube being stoppered by a thermometer of —1 to +52ºC range, graduated to 0.1°C intervals. To prevent ore from being ground in the end bearings of the stirrer these bearings were pro-

Jan 1, 1958

By H. Rush Spedden, Arvid Thunaes

R. R. Knobler and F. E. Albertson—Following the testwork done by Thunaes and Spedden, a Sullivan deck plant was built for the Colquiri mill. This plant started to operate in April 1945 and continues in successful operation. Since May 1950 the Colquiri mill has operated with a completely revamped flowsheet at a rate of 1000 tons per day. The old Sullivan deck section was retained with this new flowsheet. The "slime plant" in Colquiri consists of one 12-cell Denver No. 18-Sp. Sub-A flotation machine, one 16-ft and one 12-ft hydroseparator, six five-deck Sullivan-frames and six shaking tables for cleaning up the Sullivan deck concentrates, as well as 12 Deister plus three Plat-O tables on which the fine sands, which are not treated on the S-decks, are concentrated. Only —325-mesh fines are treated on the Sullivan decks. The combined hydroseparator overflows are fed to the S-decks. From 1946 to 1949, i.e. with the "old" flowsheet and an average mill feed of 800 tons per day an average of 45 tons per day was treated on four Sullivan rougher frames. The two additional frames were used as cleaners. At times, up to 90 and 120 tons of slimes were treated successfully on this Sullivan deck installation. The average operating data for the S-deck section in Colquiri for the year 1949 were as follows: The tests reported in this paper indicated a tin recovery of 42 pct. The actual plant results for 1949 show a 54 pct tin recovery from the Sullivan decks. The total average quantity of tin produced from the S-deck section in 1949 was 15 tons of tin per month. This corresponds to 3 pct of the total mill recovery. The difference between the 6 pct overall recovery-increase expected after the tests in 1943 and the actual plant results given for 1949 is explained as follows. According to the tests, a total of 170 tons was expected to be routed to the Sullivan decks, but because of certain changes in the flowsheet and mill amplifications,

Jan 1, 1951

By H. Rush Spedden, Arvid Thunaes

R. R. Knobler and F. E. Albertson—Following the testwork done by Thunaes and Spedden, a Sullivan deck plant was built for the Colquiri mill. This plant started to operate in April 1945 and continues in successful operation. Since May 1950 the Colquiri mill has operated with a completely revamped flowsheet at a rate of 1000 tons per day. The old Sullivan deck section was retained with this new flowsheet. The "slime plant" in Colquiri consists of one 12-cell Denver No. 18-Sp. Sub-A flotation machine, one 16-ft and one 12-ft hydroseparator, six five-deck Sullivan-frames and six shaking tables for cleaning up the Sullivan deck concentrates, as well as 12 Deister plus three Plat-O tables on which the fine sands, which are not treated on the S-decks, are concentrated. Only —325-mesh fines are treated on the Sullivan decks. The combined hydroseparator overflows are fed to the S-decks. From 1946 to 1949, i.e. with the "old" flowsheet and an average mill feed of 800 tons per day an average of 45 tons per day was treated on four Sullivan rougher frames. The two additional frames were used as cleaners. At times, up to 90 and 120 tons of slimes were treated successfully on this Sullivan deck installation. The average operating data for the S-deck section in Colquiri for the year 1949 were as follows: The tests reported in this paper indicated a tin recovery of 42 pct. The actual plant results for 1949 show a 54 pct tin recovery from the Sullivan decks. The total average quantity of tin produced from the S-deck section in 1949 was 15 tons of tin per month. This corresponds to 3 pct of the total mill recovery. The difference between the 6 pct overall recovery-increase expected after the tests in 1943 and the actual plant results given for 1949 is explained as follows. According to the tests, a total of 170 tons was expected to be routed to the Sullivan decks, but because of certain changes in the flowsheet and mill amplifications,

Jan 1, 1951

By P. F. Gnirk, J. B. Cheatham

Single bit-tooth penetration experiments under static load were conducted on six rocks at confining pressures of O to 5,000 psi using sharp wedge-shaped teeth with included angles ranging from 30 to 120° In general, the force-displacement curves for all rocks exhibit an increasingly nonlinear and discontinuous behavior with decreasing confining pressure. The confining pressure at which a rock exhibits a macroscopic transition from predominantly ductile to predominantly brittle behavior during penetration vmies from about 500 to 1,000 psi for the limestones to greater than 5,000 psi for dolomite. The correlation between calculated values of force per unit penetration based on plasticity theory and experimental values is quite encouraging, even at confining pressures as low as 1,000 psi A qualitative correlation between volume of fragmented rock per unit energy input for a single bit-tooth and drilling rate for microbits appears to exist over a confining pressure range of 0 to 5,000 psi. INTRODUCTION Laboratory experiments utilizing a small-scale drilling apparatus have demonstrated that penetration rates are reduced considerably as a result of increasing the confining pressure from atmospheric to a few thousand psi?-3 This undesirable situation can, in general, be attributed to a combination of decreased efficiency of chip removal at the bottom of the borehole, increased rock-failure strength, and a possible change in the mechanism of chip generation and rock fragmentation with increasing confining pressure. To more fully understand the principles underlying the last circumstance, it is the purpose of this investigation to experimentally study the mechanism of single bit-tooth penetration into dry rock at low confining pressures and, in particular, to establish the confining pressure at which the penetration mechanism may undergo a brittle to ductile transition for various rock types commonly encountered in drilling. Confining pressure as used here refers to the differential pressure between the borehole fluid pressure and the formation-pore fluid pressure. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Using an experimental apparatus previously described: a single, sharp wedge-shaped tool was forced under a "statically" applied load into an effectively semi-in finite dry rock sample subjected to a prescribed confining pressure. To prevent the invasion of the con fining-pressure fluid into the pores of the rock sample during penetration, the exposed surface of the rock was jacketed with a layer of silicon putty.* Electrical instrumentation incorporated into the apparatus yielded a graphical plot of force on the tool as a function of penetration or displacement of the tool into the rock during an experiment. During the course of the experimentation the following conditions were maintained constant: (1) pore pressure — atmospheric (i.e., the rock was dry); (2) temperature — 75F; (3) rate of loading — essentially static (approximately 0.002 in./sec); (4) bit tooth — a sharp wedge-shaped tool loaded normal to the rock surface; (5) rock surface — smooth and flat; (6) drilling fluid — hydraulic oil; and (7) maximum depth of penetration — approximateiy 0.1 in. In addition, each experiment was performed on a different rock sample so the rock surface is free of a layer of cuttings and of any previous indentation craters. The influence of the corners of a borehole was neglected, since each rock sample was cemented inta a section of aLuminum tubing to simulate a semi-infinite body. Indentation experiments were made on a sandstone, two limestones, a marble, a dolomite and a schist with a 60&apos; bit-tooth over a range of confining pressures from atmospheric to 5,000 psi and at a constant confining pressure of 1,000 psi for a variety of bit-teeth with angles ranging from 30 to

Jan 1, 1966

By G. T. Hahn, C. N. Reid, A. Gilbert

An evaluation is made of the possible cautsal relationship between twinning and fracture in molybdenum. For both single and poly crystalline material no instance of twin-induced fracture was observed. Instead brittle fracture was found to be slip-induced at heterogeneities. For single-crystal material, the yield stvess in compression and the fracture stvess in tensiow obey a similar angular- relationship which follows approximately a 1/cos2 ? law. where 0 is the angle between the specimen axis and the nearest (100) plane. This sittlilarity between yield and fracture behavior casts doubt on the interpretations made previoltsly that a 1/cos2? relationship supports a critical normal fracture stress criterion. SINCE fracture in brittle materials takes place at stresses an order of magnitude lower than the theoretical strength of the lattice, it must be postulated that some stress-concentrating effect is operative during the fracture-initiation process. Several mechanisms have been proposed whereby the necessary stress concentrations could be produced. The well-known Cottrell mechanism1 describes a dislocation interaction which can lead to the formation of an incipient cleavage crack on a cleavage plane, and both zener2 and stroh3 have discussed models which predict the stress concentration at the intersection of a slip band with a grain boundary. When twinning occurs twin/twin intersections and twin/grain boundary intersections represent another possible means of fracture initiation. Although still controversial, the concept of twin-induced fracture is supported by a weighty mass of evidence, which has been reviewed in a recent paper.4 This investigation was conducted in order to assess the extent to which the brittleness of molybdenum can be ascribed to this cause. Emphasis was placed on seeking direct metallographic evidence for twin-induced fracture such as arrangements of twins located at the fracture origin. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM Materials. The experimental materials are described inTable I. From the chemical analyses and estimates of the amounts of interstitials likely to be retained in solution,5 it is concluded that all were mul-tiphased systems. X-ray diffraction experiments6 showed no evidence of preferred orientation in the polycrystalline materials. Single crystals were grown from Molybdenum X and Y using the floating-zone technique,&apos; in a vacuum of better than 3 x 10-5 Torr. However difficulties were experienced with Molybdenum X due to violent gas evolution from the molten zone, and additional crystals (Crystals 3 to 6) were produced by annealing for 5 1/2 hr at 2300°C under a vacuum of 10-4 Torr. Techniques. A series of tension, compression, and bend tests was conducted. Tension tests were used to demonstrate brittle behavior, to measure brittle-fracture stresses, and to provide fractured specimens for metallographic inspection. Compression tests were employed in order to obtain some ductility and a measure of the yield stress. Furthermore, it was considered that compression loading would permit the study of crack nucleation in the absence of propagation. The bend tests were conducted to facilitate identification of the fracture origin, which would be expected to be at, or near, the tensile surface of the sample. Tests were carried out at temperatures between 78" and 298°K attained by means of a liquid-nitrogen evaporator of modified Wessel design.&apos; Specimens were fashioned by mechanical grinding, and, prior to heat treatment, were electropolished at 10 v in a 3:l mixture of ethyl alcohol and sulfuric acid, using a stainless-steel cathode. Except where noted, a strain rate of 4 pct per min was used. All specimens had a gage section 0.75 in. long; diameters of 0.10 and 0.20 in. were adopted for the tension and compression specimens, respectively, the former of single shoulder design, the ends being gripped in split collets with a conical bearing surface. In the bend test, electropolished specimens measuring 0.080 by 0.25 by 1.25 in. were deformed at 78°K by four-point loading. The bending device had spans of 1 in. between the outer and 4 in between the inner fulcra; it was stressed between the compression anvils of the Instron machine at a constant deflection rate. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Polycrystals. Tension and Compression Tcsls. It is apparent from Fig. 1(a) that above 170°K fracture of Molybdenum X takes place at stresses equal to or greater than the compressive yield stress whereas

Jan 1, 1967

By H. F. Yancey, M. R. Geer, Franklin T. Davis

Coke with low phosphorus content is required by some of the electrometallurgical and chemical plants recently attracted to the Pacific Northwest by the hydroelectric power available from Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams. Shipping such coke into the area from eastern points involves a high freight charge, and during wartime consumes precious rail and ship-bottom space, so it is highly desirable to produce coke from the coking coals of Washington to meet the requirements of these industries. Although coke has been made from Washington coals since 1884, little has been known about their phosphorus contents or about the extent to which phosphorus could be reduced by cleaning, An investigation was undertaken, therefore, to determine the manner in which phosphorus occurs in the coking coals of Washington and its amenability to removal by ordinary coal-washing methods. Previous Work Phosphorus is a deleterious element in coke used for numerous metallurgical processes, including the production of pig iron, yet comparatively little published information is available on the occurrence and elimination of phosphorus in any of the coals of this country. A variation from 0.009 to 0.062 per cent phosphorus in various horizons of the Pittsburgh bed in the Connellsville region of Pennsylania has been reported,&apos; and a reduction in phosphorus content from 0.020 per cent in the raw coal to 0.018 per cent in the washed coal was obtained in washing coal from the same bed in the Pittsburgh area;2 the latter figures represent average analyses for a year&apos;s operation of the washery on about 800,000 tons of coal. A reduction in phosphorus content from 0.018 to 0.011 per cent in washing coal from the Pittsburgh bed at another washery was observed, and the same report provides data on the phosphorus reduction obtained by separating 10 other coals on a bath of 1.35 specific gravity.3 European investigators have been especially active in correlating phosphorus content with petrographic analysis; fusain and durain generally contain the highest percentage of phosphorus, but this relationship is not universal.4 Some of these investigators have found that phosphorus is removed in the coal-washing process,5 but others have observed that the clean coal contained as much or even more phosphorus than the raw coal.&apos;

Jan 1, 1944

By M. R. Geer, Franklin T. Davis, H. F. Yancey

Coke with low phosphorus content is required by some of the electrometallurgical and chemical plants recently attracted to the Pacific Northwest by the hydroelectric power available from Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams. Shipping such coke into the area from eastern points involves a high freight charge, and during wartime consumes precious rail and ship-bottom space, so it is highly desirable to produce coke from the coking coals of Washington to meet the requirements of these industries. Although coke has been made from Washington coals since 1884, little has been known about their phosphorus contents or about the extent to which phosphorus could be reduced by cleaning, An investigation was undertaken, therefore, to determine the manner in which phosphorus occurs in the coking coals of Washington and its amenability to removal by ordinary coal-washing methods. Previous Work Phosphorus is a deleterious element in coke used for numerous metallurgical processes, including the production of pig iron, yet comparatively little published information is available on the occurrence and elimination of phosphorus in any of the coals of this country. A variation from 0.009 to 0.062 per cent phosphorus in various horizons of the Pittsburgh bed in the Connellsville region of Pennsylania has been reported,&apos; and a reduction in phosphorus content from 0.020 per cent in the raw coal to 0.018 per cent in the washed coal was obtained in washing coal from the same bed in the Pittsburgh area;2 the latter figures represent average analyses for a year&apos;s operation of the washery on about 800,000 tons of coal. A reduction in phosphorus content from 0.018 to 0.011 per cent in washing coal from the Pittsburgh bed at another washery was observed, and the same report provides data on the phosphorus reduction obtained by separating 10 other coals on a bath of 1.35 specific gravity.3 European investigators have been especially active in correlating phosphorus content with petrographic analysis; fusain and durain generally contain the highest percentage of phosphorus, but this relationship is not universal.4 Some of these investigators have found that phosphorus is removed in the coal-washing process,5 but others have observed that the clean coal contained as much or even more phosphorus than the raw coal.&apos;

Jan 1, 1944

By M. R. Geer, Franklin T. Davis, H. F. Yancey

COKE with low phosphorus content is required by some of the electrometallurgical and chemical plants recently attracted to the Pacific Northwest by the hydroelectric power available from Bonneville and Grand Coulee dams. Shipping such coke into the area from eastern points involves a high freight charge, and during wartime consumes precious rail and ship-bottom space, so it is highly desirable to produce coke from the coking coals of Washington to meet the requirements of these industries. Although coke has been made from Washington coals since 1884, little has been known about their phosphorus contents or about the extent to which phosphorus could be reduced by cleaning. An investigation was undertaken, therefore, to determine the manner in which phosphorus occurs in the coking coals of Washington and its amenability to removal by ordinary coal-washing methods. PREVIOUS WORK Phosphorus is a deleterious element in coke used for numerous metallurgical processes, including the production of pig iron, yet comparatively little published information is available on the occurrence and elimination of phosphorus in any of the coals of this country. A variation from 0.009 to 0.062 per cent phosphorus in various horizons of the Pittsburgh bed in the Connellsville region of Pennsylania has been reported,1 and a reduction in phosphorus content from 0.020 per cent in the raw coal to 0.018 per cent in the washed coal was obtained in washing coal from the same bed in the Pittsburgh area;2 the latter figures represent average analyses for a year&apos;s operation of the washery on about 800,000 tons of coal. A reduction in phosphorus content from 0.018 to 0.011 per cent in washing coal from the Pittsburgh bed at another washery was observed, and the same report provides data on the phosphorus reduction obtained by separating 10 other coals on a bath of 1.35 specific gravity.3 European investigators have been especially active in correlating phosphorus content with petrographic analysis; fusain and durain generally contain the highest percentage of phosphorus, but this relationship is not universal.4 Some of these investigators have found that phosphorus is removed in the coal-washing process,5 but others have observed that the clean coal contained as much or even more phosphorus than the raw coal.6

Jan 1, 1944

By Aloys H. Wohlrab

[THE conditions that govern the selection of a suitable type of detachable bit for the small isolated mine, for rock work and tunnel contracting and for the large mine are quite dissimilar, therefore intelligent recommendation of a particular make of detachable bit must involve consideration of many factors. Small, isolated mines may find advantageous a detachable bit that a larger mine cannot afford to use, because of more efficient conventional steel sharpening and steel-distribution practice, but a small mine may of be able to adopt the practice of larger mines because of necessary capital expendites for equipment for detachable-bit sharpening and shanking. The perfect detachable bit, suitable for all conditions, has n yet been developed. CONVENTIONAL DRILL BIT IN USE That drilling speed increases as the hit gauge decreases is well known, but since small-hole drilling is the exception rather than the rule the rate of such increase is probably not so generally recognized. Tests married out by Holman Brothers Limited1 with 7/8-in. show that when bit sizes are reduced from. 1 ½ in. 1 3/8 in., and 1 3/16 in., to 1 3/8 in., 1¼ in., and it&apos; in., respectively, the volume of the hole is15 per cent less and the drilling speed 4q per cent higher. Recent tests by the United States Bureau of Mines2,3in hard, uniform basalt showed that a reduction in average gauge from 2.077 to 1.826 in., a difference of 0.251 in., gave an increased drilling speed of 65 per cent. The limits to which a drill hole may be extended depend upon the loss in gauge. Since the conventional bit with 5° and 14° clearances did not possess sufficient reaming edge to permit the smaller gauge changes that were required for small-hole drilling, experiments were made in bit construction with a view to correcting this deficiency. This resulted in the adoption of the full reaming cross bit (having full Carr characteristics) by some mines.4 In order to drill holes having a minimum taper from the collar to the bottom of the hole, full reaming center-hole cross bits with 90° cutting angles, 5° and I4° wing tapers, forged on 7/8-in. quarter-octagon drill rods, are used in the conventional drill-steel practice at Hollinger. In the steel shop close attention is given to the condition of the dies and dollies, which, combined with a rigid inspection of the finished bit, ensures as nearly a perfect bit as can be forged economically. Shop practices and costs have been discussed in earlier papers.5,6 The method by which the radii for the special dies used for forging bits of different gauge diameter are obtained so that the points and reaming edges cut circles of the same diameter has been discussed by Hibbert.7 REQUIREMENTS FOR DETACHABLE BIT FOR HOLLINGER Under these circumstances, it was apparent that it would be difficult to introduce a detachable bit that could successfully compete with the conventional bit already in]

Jan 1, 1942

By G. P. Walters, W. C. Fuller

THE production of thin films of beryllium became essential early in the irradiation program at Harwell in order to study the fundamentals of irradiation damage in this metal. In common with other metals, electron-microacope specimens of beryllium can be produced by different techniques. The techniques used to produce thin-film specimens varied according to the starting material. Most of the starting material was -0.060 in. thick. Large-area specimens (1 in. long by 0.5 in. wide) were chemically thinned to -0.005 in. thick in a solution containing 85 pct orthophosphoric acid, 10 pct chromium trioxide, and 5 pct sulfuric acid at 70°C prior to electropolishing. Small-area specimens, Fig. 1, had to be mechanically thinned prior to electropolishing because chemical thinning considerably reduces the area as well as the thickness. Mechanical thinning tends to produce a worked layer about 0.002 in. deep and hence this method cannot be used to thin bulk specimens below about 0.005 in. thick. Mechanical thinning is carried out by mounting the specimen on perspex then carefully polishing on wet grinding papers. Polishing is continued until about half the initial thickness is removed; the reverse side is then polished in a similar manner. After the bulk specimens have been mechanically or chemically thinned to -0.005 in. they are elec-tropolished in the solution shown in able I at 50" to 80°C. This solution should be prepared by adding the chromium trioxide to the orthophosphoric acid and then the glycerol last. The glycerol should be added slowly because a vigorous effervescence can occur. Electropolishing is carried out by holding the specimen in stainless-steel tweezers and gently agitating in the solution. Masking or "window" techniques are not required for beryllium, good microscope specimens being obtained from the edges of elec-tropolished foils. A stainless-steel beaker should be used, acting as the cathode and solution container. A closed circuit voltage of 30 v is used for polishing. Too low a voltage produces a matt surface and pitting occurs when it is too high. The solution temperature is important. If it is too low, the solution is viscous and bad polishing results and, if too high, etching of the specimen occurs. After electropolishing, the foils are thoroughly

Jan 1, 1963

By Orson Shepard

TEXTBOOKS on fire assaying list the following standard methods of assaying sulphide ores: (1) scorification, (2) litharge-niter, (3) soda-iron, (4) roasting, (5) combination wet and fire. The litharge-niter method has proved the most satisfactory, and is the usual method for assaying sulphide ores and concentrates. It gives good results when suitably conducted and when lead buttons of uniform size are produced so that the cupellation temperature can be properly controlled. The main objection to the method is the inconvenience of determining the amount of niter to add to each assay charge to produce lead buttons of suitable size from a set of fusions. For the assay of different materials, the niter requirement varies with the particular sulphide minerals present, the amount of sulphide minerals present, the slag composition, and the rate of heating the charge in the furnace. Except for some materials, so uniform in composition that the same amount of niter can be used in assaying all samples, the amount of niter must be determined for each sample to be assayed. This is done by either: (1) calculation from an estimate of the kind and amount of sul-phide minerals present in the sample, or (2) a preliminary fusion. Some assayers use one method and some the other. The estimation method takes the least time; but much experience is required to obtain close estimates on a wide variety of materials. At best, the sizes of the lead buttons obtained vary considerably. The preliminary fusion method usually gives lead buttons of fairly uniform size, although sometimes there is a variation because the oxidizing power of niter varies a little with the charge. This variation can be eliminated by two preliminary fusions: one to determine the reducing power of the ore, and the other to determine the oxidizing power of niter in the charge. The objection to the prelimi-nary fusion is the extra time and expense involved.

Jan 1, 1939

By M. M. Austin

Pure metallic tantalum, from a practical standpoint, is one of the newer developments in the metal field. Although it was used as filament in incandescent lamps in 1906, only within the last, five years has the metal been available in sufficient quantity and suitable form for more general application. In addition to corrosion-resisting properties and high melting point, the metal has an ability to withstand unusual amounts of cold working. It affords some striking demonstrations of block movement during plastic flow. Strength and Ductility of Tantalum Since there is no good way of defining working properties numerically, illustrations will be used. It is possible to roll a bar of pure tantalum 0.4 in. thick to sheet 0.001 in. thick, without heating or annealing. The sheet produced will be sound and may be bent upon itself at right angles to the direction of rolling. Longitudinally the sheet will be somewhat brittle. A disk of annealed metal may be cupped and drawn to the form of a capsule 3/16 in. dia. by 146 1? in. long. If carefully handled this capsule can be further deformed by drawing to a tube having an outside diameter of 0.050 in. Disks of tantalum may be spun into tubes of 39 in. dia. and 1½ in. long. In the form of rod, reductions may be made from 0.4 in. to 0.001 dia. In the latter process, it is necessary to heat the wire four or five times to 500" C., at intervals between 0.040 and 0.001 in. Although the melting point of tantalum is 2850" C., these heatings at 500" C. are sufficient to distinctly anneal it. Published figures on the strength and ductility of tantalum are not particularly accurate. This is due to the fact that these properties vary widely, depending on the extent to which the metal is contaminated by gas. There are no sharp critical points in these changes with gas content; samples of metal will vary from a springy or actually brittle condition to one of leadlike softness. Samples that have had a prolonged heating at high temperatures in a good vacuum, under conditions such as would be provided in vacuum-tube experimentation, will yield a product of about the hardness of annealed copper. The usual commercial metal will have the hardness of annealed mild steel.

Jan 1, 1930

By Stanley Herold

Considerable interest has been shown, during recent years, in the possibilities of developing oil fields in the South American Republics, now that the exhaustion of our present fields can be seen in the not very distant future. The demand for fuel oil and its products has been increasing far more rapidly than our increment of production during the last few years. Increase of consumption has been largely curtailed by the lack of sufficient supply. The main factors that have contributed to our previous neglect of the southern fields have been as follows:, (a) Lack of sufficient demand for the product. (b) Competition with producing fields, having large production, low cost, and better geographical position, such as Tampico, Mexico. (c) Greater interest in home fields with ready market at hand. (d) Our ignorance of southern economic and geologic conditions, clue to the distance between those areas and our financial centers. (e) Economic conditions in the southern countries, necessitating high costs of exploration and exploitation of the fields.

Jan 9, 1918

By C. K. Leith

THE outstanding fact of the mineral world today, at home and abroad, is the surplus of current production, and particularly of capacity for production, over current requirements. This is not by Any means a new condition, but never before has it loomed up in such&apos; menacing form. - Those of us who have devoted most of our professional efforts to the discovery and development of &apos;new mineral supplies now suddenly find ourselves with the job apparently accomplished, waiting for some one else to find an outlet for excess mineral production before we can further. The management of the industry is in much the same boat. The psjrcho16gy of the industry has been so grooved in the direction of acquisition of, minerals that at the present moment the mineral industry confronts the new problem of surplus in more or less of a daze.

Jan 1, 1931

By H. B. Kinnear

THE first copper stool used under an ingot mold to receive molten steel has recently been taken out of service after it had received ingots amounting to 6012 gross tons. This stool, weighing 8330 lb. had been in continuous service for 1822 heats since its installation. From this modest beginning the use of copper for ingot-mold stools grew to 425,000 lb. in 1934, with an additional 50,000 lb. of copper used in the form of inserts in cast-iron stools. During 1935 the quantity of copper used for stools increased by about 350,000 lb., making a total of 775,000 lb. now in use for that purpose. Copper used for inserts has increased during this time 180,000 lb., or over 350 per cent, to a total of 230,000 lb. The total of copper, therefore, in use at present under ingot molds is slightly over 1.000,000 lb.

Jan 1, 1936

By I. Cornet

With the greatly expanding use of magnesium during the war, it appeared necessary to the War Metallurgy Committee that the notch sensitivity of magnesium alloy extrusions be further investigated and the influence of various factors upon notch sensitivity be noted. Accordingly, the National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development placed a research contract with the University of California, supervised by the War Metallurgy Committee. The work discussed herein was done under "Restricted" Project NRC-21, reported in Dec. 1943~; it has been released for publica-tion by the O.S.R.D. Scope of the Investigation The notch sensitivity of various magnesium alloy extrusions was determined under axial tension, and also under several conditions of nonaxial tension. Hardness, grain size and other metallographic features were observed; stress-strain data were obtained, and the chemical compositions of the alloys were determined, in order to correlate these quantities with thc notch sensitivity. Notch sensitivity under axial tensile load was determined for a few specimens which had been cold worked to various degrees by tensile prestraining. Magnesium alloy extrusions studied included Dowmetal 0, X, J, and A(. For comparison, extrusions of aluminum alloy 24s-T, cast bars of aluminum alloy 122-T2, and cast bars of magnesium alloy C were also tested. The specified chemical composition of these alloys is given in Table I. All bars tested were within specification limits of composition. Investigation of thc tensile notch sensitivity of various magnesium alloy extrusions, under conditions of axial and eccentric load, showed little or no correlation with stress-strain or other conventional data. Since the many uncontrolled variables present might mask significant relationships, one alloy was selected for intensive study. Magnesium 0 alloy extrusions were subjected to experimental heat treatments, and the ,Changing hardness, tensile strength, microstructure, and notch sensitivity observed. Experimental Techniques and Procedures Tensile Testing Bars used for axial loading were machined with % in.- and with 34-in. minimum diam1 and included specimens with 60" V notches (Fig I and 2). Each V-notched specimen was roughed out carefully and then finished with a honed tool. These Y-notched bars were sampled frequently, sectioned, polished, and examined at 500 X magnification to control

Jan 1, 1949

By Louis Ware

BEFORE the war we often heard the term "Big Business." And there were complaints of the ills and abuses attributed to bigness in business. Although there were examples where the small businessmen spoke for their rights and sought protection from the bigger ones, it has only been in recent war years that a tendency has developed definitely to divide the business of our nation into the big and the small. In some cases, those with an eye to the political value of the vastly greater number of small businessmen of the country have fomented this division by hurrying to the protection of these more numerous voters, and intentionally or not have emphasized in their writings and verbal attacks any and all differences of these interests that could either be found or fabricated to, suit the occasion. It has become another example of breaking the people into classes and thus setting up the basis for the claims of one class against another, and the subsequent demand for legislation and Governmental aid. The terms "big" and "small" are purely relative. One businessman, employing a hundred men, told me recently he did not know which adjective would be more appropriately applied to his operation. He did not know whether he should join the small operators&apos; group that had been organized, or should consider himself big. He said that his present plant seemed big to him when he looked back to its humble beginning many years ago with a couple of men in two rooms. Yet, when compared with many of his competitors who employ thousands, his was small. He did add, however, that he probably became big one day a few years ago when the union moved in and organized his employees.

Jan 1, 1945

By F. E. Bash

CONSTANTAN is an alloy of copper and nickel that is extensively used, under a number of trade names, as a resistance wire with a low temperature coefficient of resistance, and one of the elements of base-metal thermocouples, iron usually being the other thermoelement, although for low-temperature work copper is also used. Before the war, constantan was imported, in common with many other technical necessities. Since it required considerable time to receive the constantan after it was ordered, fairly large stocks were kept on hand; but after the beginning of the war no more was imported acid the stocks of foreign material were exhausted about the same time that the steel and munition manufacturers began to need great quantities of it for thermocouples for the heat treatment of steel. To meet this demand, the International Nickel Co. began manufacturing constantan that met all the requirements of the users of resistance wire but did not give the same electromotive force against iron as the German material and consequently could not be used with instruments calibrated for a definite e.m.f.-temperature relation. It so happened that all the constantan made had an e.m.f. lower than that necessary to meet the specifications of the Leeds & Northrup Co. for whom this investigation was carried out. If some had been higher and some lower, good wire could have been obtained by a, process of selection, but as it was no wire at all could be procured. To remedy this situation, a thorough investigation was started with the close cooperation of the International Nickel Co. and the Electrical Alloys Co. The specifications to which the constantan had to conform were that it should give an e.m.f. of 47.40 millivolts. against pure iron at 1500° F. (816° C.) with the cold-junction temperature at 0° F., or a proportional e.m.f. at temperatures near 1500° F. The method of checking a wire was as follows: It was first welded to a piece of iron wire; Armco iron was found to be satisfactory but iron with greater than 0.1 per cent. carbon would give a lower e.m.f. against the same piece of constantan than pure

Jan 9, 1919

By Roger L. Brockenbrough

Steels available for mine-shaft applications are discussed, and the use of steel linings for round and rectangular shafts is reviewed. For rectangular shafts, frameworks constructed of square or rectangular steel tubes offer advantages. Also, corrugated steel sheeting provides a suitable alternative to timber lagging for spanning between the main shaft supports. For round shafts, self-supporting cylindrical steel liners, with circumferential stiffeners to prevent collapse, have been used to depths up to 6000 ft. Several large-diameter round shafts have been constructed with a concrete lining and an internal framework: of high-strength low-alloy steel tubes. It is concluded that in any new shaft construction steel designs should be investigated as economical alternatives to designs using other materials.

Jan 1, 1976