Search Documents

By Bruno Nordberg

HOISTING is one of the earliest endeavors of man with machinery, for hoisting was probably used by the early Egyptians. Treadmills were used for general hoisting until early in the nineteenth century and it was a short step only to attach a Watt steam engine to the rope drum of a hoist. One of the earliest steam hoists was built for a coal mine at Frisne, near Valenciennes, France. It was a remarkable piece of engineering created by James Watt in 1811, using a wooden drum on a vertical shaft. This followed the crude hoist by Holtzhausen in 1803, which used a drum of wood on a horizontal shaft.1 In this country there were examples of crude mine hoists, which have been developed into the efficient machines in use today. African and Australian mines show examples of both extremes, and have an array of fine hoisting equipment exemplified in those built by British manufacturers. The influence of both English and American engineering in hoisting is interestingly evident in Canada. The information available to the writer does not reveal this to be true of South Africa, although American-built hoists have been furnished. Mining camps develop their own style of equipment, adapted to local conditions. For instance, the Butte mining district adheres to the straight drum with friction clutches, because of the great number of levels from which hoisting is done or to which men and material are lowered and the necessity for hoisting or lowering unbalanced. The north Michi-gan copper country uses both straight and cylindroconical drums and hoists continually in balance, so that the drums are not clutched to the main driving shaft. The Joplin mining district, Missouri, has its own peculiar small hoists. Other individual mines or localities in which a number of mines have been developed show individualisticc types of hoists, depending upon their particular problems. In each instance, however, the particular problem must be carefully analyzed, as conditions are seldom so near the same that a number of identical hoists can be used to advantage.

Jan 1, 1940

By AIME AIME

CORROSION of tanks, pipes and other equipment in the oil fields is becoming worse as the production of high- sulfur crudes in the Texas panhandle and west Texas areas increases. It has been estimated that .in certain fields of that State one tank out of every five has to be replaced every year because of the high sulfur content of the crude. One suggested method for combating tank corrosion is the use of .materials which have a high resistance to the corrosive action of hydrogen sulfide and high-sulfur crudes; aluminum is one of these materials. As a result, the United

Jan 1, 1929

By F. M. Lewis, J. E. Goodman

A larger, slow-speed, under-loaded ball mill and hydraulic classifier have almost doubled grinding efficiency at the lsabella mill. TENNESSEE Copper Co. operates two ore con-A centrators, the London and Isabella mills near Copperhill, Tenn. In 1948 and 1949 the small ball mills and rake classifiers in the London concentrator were replaced by one large ball mill and one hydraulic classifier. This new ball mill was designed oversize so that it could be operated at slower than normal speed. The proper operating conditions were established and the results published.' Later it was found that this mill operated more efficiently with a small ball charge." While this London grinding practice was being developed, the Isabella grinding circuit was not changed in any way. It remained a conventional two-stage rod mill—ball mill combination, the rod mill in open circuit and the ball mill in closed circuit with a rake classifier. Study of the data indicated that grinding cost could be lowered by converting to the London practice, but not enough would have been saved to warrant the expense of converting. No plan for improving this grinding operation could be developed. In 1953 this study was reopened when plans were made to increase the Isabella mill output from 1150 to 1500 tpd. At this time the grinding circuit consisted of a 6x12 rod mill followed by a 6x12 ball mill in closed circuit with a 6-ft rake classifier. Another 6x12 ball mill and 6-ft rake classifier would have been sufficient equipment and would have been the simplest and cheapest installation. However, this would have offered no improvement in grinding efficiency or operating cost. If, on the other hand, the grinding operation could be converted to the London practice, by installation of one large 101/2x9x9 tricone mill and a 10-ft hydroscillator,2 lower operating costs would justify the additional investment. Economics: Table I presents estimates for the two schemes for enlarging the Isabella mill. In the first scheme, column 1, one 6x12 ball mill and one 6-ft rake classifier were to be added. In the second scheme, column 2, the existing small ball mill and rake classifier were to be retired and one large mill and hydroscillator were to be installed. Estimated savings from the difference in operating costs made an attractive return on the additional investment for the large mill and hydroscillator. Actual costs of carrying out this plan are tabulated in column 3b. It will be seen that these costs follow the estimates in column 3a very Closely. The return on the additional investment is calculated from the difference in the operating cost in column 1 and the actual operating cost in column 3b. This too come very close to the estimate. Power and Steel: Power requirements and steel consumption for the rod mills and ball mills, both actual and estimated, are presented in Table 11.

Jan 1, 1958

By Henry Louis

Henry Louis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (communication to the Secretary*).—In this paper Mr. Simons derives the various forms of revolving slime tables, of which the Harz and the Linkenbach tables are typical examples, from the old rectangular or box buddle. This I believe to be an error, at any rate if Mr. Simons attaches the same meaning as I do to the ((evolution" of a dressing appliance. By the '(evolution" of such an appliance I understand the progressive development and improvement of an appliance acting on a definite principle, such improvements having usually for their object the economy of labor in working the same, or the increase of its capacity; when an entirely new principle is introduced, I no longer look upon this as evolution from the old type, but as the origination of an independent type of appliance. The box buddle was no doubt the predecessor of the old Cornish round buddle, which was evolved from it with the object of saving the labor required to work the box buddle; both machines are horizontal-current separators, in which the separation of sands of different densities is effected by their differential rates of fall in a horizontal current of water of considerable depth. These appliances, though well suited to sands, are for obvious reasons not adapted to the treatment of slimes. The revolving tables of the Harz and similar types, on the other hand, act on the principle which I have called separation in thin films of water, and which Mr. Simons calls the film sizing principle, in which the resistance of the surface over which the pulp flows plays an essential part in determining the separation of the particles, and which is well suited to the treatment of slimes. Unlike the last principle, it will not work in deep bodies of water and cannot be used where considerable depth of material accumulates in the appliance, as in the box buddle and round buddle. As I have shown in my book, The Dressing of Minerals, p. 326, these revolving tables are a development of the appliance known variously as the flat buddle, flat table, or frame, the last name, which is the old Cornish one, being the one that I personally prefer. These primitive appliances, as well as the continuous-acting round tables described by Mr. Simons (his Figs. 10 et seq.) all work on the principle of separation in thin films, and are all adapted for the treatment of slimes; his buddles and round tables (Figs. 1 to 9) do not work upon this principle, and should therefore be sharply differentiated from the former. The evolution in each case of the continuous acting, more or less automatic, circular appliance from the primitive, intermittent, hand-worked, rectangular appliance has proceeded upon strictly parallel lines. The question of the evolution of the respective types involves a point of some importance as regards the principles of ore dressing.

Jan 1, 1915

By H. A. Saller, F. A. Rough

Studies of the V-U system have been made to determine the constitutional diagram. The diagram is fairly simple, since no intermediate phases are formed. Additions of vanadium lower the uranium melting point and allotropic transformation temperatures. The maximum solid solubility of vanadium in uranium is 12 atomic pct and the maximum solid solubility of uranium in vanadium is about 4 atomic pct. WITH the advent of high purity iodide vanadium,' it became of interest to study the alloying characteristics of vanadium and uranium. Alloys were prepared covering the entire system and were studied using a combination of metallographic examination and thermal and X-ray analyses. As a consequence of this work, the V-U constitutional diagram was evolved. In order to prepare suitable alloys for equilibrium-phase studies, it is desirable to have the purest possible starting materials. For this investigation, calcium-reduced vanadium, de Boer process crystal-bar vanadium, and good Mallinkrodt Chemical Co. uranium were used. The first work was done using the best vanadium then available, that being calcium-reduced vanadium produced at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. Subsequently, the important features of the diagram were checked using alloys made with crystal-bar vanadium produced at Battelle. These checks are in agreement with the earlier work. Analyses of the starting materials are contained in Table I. Only minor amounts of any impurities were present in either the vanadium crystal bar or uranium. Nevertheless, care was exercised in selecting the uranium for the alloys. The procedure followed was to section the stock into suitable pieces for melting, and macroetch each piece. Only those pieces which appeared to be clean by macroetch examination were used for alloying. Experimental Procedure Melting: Alloys with 0 to 50 atomic pct V were induction melted in beryllia (BeO) crucibles under vacuum of 10 microns pressure or better. A number of remelts was frequently required to insure uniformity of the individual ingots. Although no visible reaction between the alloy and crucible was found in any of these operations, the alloys were checked by spectroscopic analysis. Only trace amounts of beryllium were detected in the alloys. Alloys containing 50 to 100 atomic pct V were arc melted in a water-cooled copper crucible under an atmosphere of helium. A tungsten electrode was used. Ingots of 10 to 15 g were produced readily by turning and remelting a few times. Such small ingots were necessary because high purity vanadium was not available in appreciable quantities at this time. After melting, the ingots were examined metal-lographically for segregation and were consolidated by remelting before fabrication was attempted. Spectroscopic analyses showed that only small amounts of tungsten were picked up during the arc-melting process. Fabrication of Alloys: Alloys containing up to 20 atomic pct V could be fabricated by rolling in air at 600°C with 5 min between passes. After each pass through the rolling mill the alloys were returned to

Jan 1, 1954

By H. F. Winham

The history, development, subsurface geology, production, economics and estimated reserves are discussed in this paper. The Magnolia structure is an anticline with a known maximum structural relief at 372 ft., and the areal extent of the producing acreage is 4494 acres. Production is obtained from the Smack-over oölitic lime and 116 successful wells have been drilled. The field, which was developed on 40-acre spacing, has been under strict control. It is believed to be producing with a strong water drive, To date it has produced more than eighteen million barrels and the estimate of ultimate recovery is 220 million barrels. Early History The Magnolia field is in colurnbia County, Arkansas, T. 17 s., R. 19 and 20 W. Various geologists had long been interested in this general area, and as early as 1921, John F. Magale was able to define a surface structure. The first wildcat, one of the first in Columbia County, was drilled in 1923 by Mid-States Oil Co., in sec. 10, T. 17 S., R. 20 W. This well was about 11/2 miles northwest of the Kerlyn oil Company's discovery well and was based on surface geological work done by Jewel and Dobie. Subsequently, several shallow wells that were not carried below the Upper Cretaceous beds were drilled in the immediate area of the discovery well, but none of them contained any commercial showings of oil Or gas. In the latter part of 1935, Elam and Magale (or Southwood) Garrett NO. I was located in sec. 13, T. 17 S., R. 20 W., 3/4 mile east of the discovery well. It was drilled to a total depth of 4018 ft. in the lowermost Glen Rose beds but failed to obtain any showings of oil or gas. Interest had been stimulated in this general area, however, by the discovery of several oil fields, mainly Glen Rose oil production in the Rodessa field in Louisiana in 1935, Smackover lime productioil in Snow Hill in May 1936, production from the Cotton Valley formation in Schuler in 1937, and Smackover lime production from the Buckner field in November 1937. With this background and subsequent seismic work, which was carried on partly because the old shallow wells drilled in the township had shown evidence of closure in the Upper Cretaceous beds, the discovery well, Kerlyn Oil Company's Barnett No. I, Sec. 14, T. 17 S., R. 20 W., was originally projected to a total depth of 6300 ft., to test the equivalents of the Morgan sands of the Cotton Valley series, then producing at Schuler. The well was carried to a depth of 6325 It. and tested the objective beds without finding commercial production. In the meantime, however, one well had found production in the Jones sand and another in the Smaclrover lime at Schuler. Kerlyn immediately made arrangements to deepen the Barnett well to the Smackover lime. The top of the Smackover lime was encountered at 7618 ft. and the well

Jan 1, 1943

By H. F. Winham

The history, development, subsurface geology, production, economics and estimated reserves are discussed in this paper. The Magnolia structure is an anticline with a known maximum structural relief at 372 ft., and the areal extent of the producing acreage is 4494 acres. Production is obtained from the Smack-over oölitic lime and 116 successful wells have been drilled. The field, which was developed on 40-acre spacing, has been under strict control. It is believed to be producing with a strong water drive, To date it has produced more than eighteen million barrels and the estimate of ultimate recovery is 220 million barrels. Early History The Magnolia field is in colurnbia County, Arkansas, T. 17 s., R. 19 and 20 W. Various geologists had long been interested in this general area, and as early as 1921, John F. Magale was able to define a surface structure. The first wildcat, one of the first in Columbia County, was drilled in 1923 by Mid-States Oil Co., in sec. 10, T. 17 S., R. 20 W. This well was about 11/2 miles northwest of the Kerlyn oil Company's discovery well and was based on surface geological work done by Jewel and Dobie. Subsequently, several shallow wells that were not carried below the Upper Cretaceous beds were drilled in the immediate area of the discovery well, but none of them contained any commercial showings of oil Or gas. In the latter part of 1935, Elam and Magale (or Southwood) Garrett NO. I was located in sec. 13, T. 17 S., R. 20 W., 3/4 mile east of the discovery well. It was drilled to a total depth of 4018 ft. in the lowermost Glen Rose beds but failed to obtain any showings of oil or gas. Interest had been stimulated in this general area, however, by the discovery of several oil fields, mainly Glen Rose oil production in the Rodessa field in Louisiana in 1935, Smackover lime productioil in Snow Hill in May 1936, production from the Cotton Valley formation in Schuler in 1937, and Smackover lime production from the Buckner field in November 1937. With this background and subsequent seismic work, which was carried on partly because the old shallow wells drilled in the township had shown evidence of closure in the Upper Cretaceous beds, the discovery well, Kerlyn Oil Company's Barnett No. I, Sec. 14, T. 17 S., R. 20 W., was originally projected to a total depth of 6300 ft., to test the equivalents of the Morgan sands of the Cotton Valley series, then producing at Schuler. The well was carried to a depth of 6325 It. and tested the objective beds without finding commercial production. In the meantime, however, one well had found production in the Jones sand and another in the Smaclrover lime at Schuler. Kerlyn immediately made arrangements to deepen the Barnett well to the Smackover lime. The top of the Smackover lime was encountered at 7618 ft. and the well

Jan 1, 1943

By William F. Butler, Mo-Hung Che

DEVELOPMENT OF MONEY AND MONEY STANDARDS This chapter is concerned with the rise, and then the decline and fall, of gold and silver as monetary metals. As a first step in tracing the history of this process, it is necessary to consider the nature of money, and the manner in which different forms of money have developed over the centuries. The origins of money go back into deepest antiquity. Once men ceased to be pure nomads and entered into even a rudimentary form of society such as clans or tribes, money had to be invented The first step was barter as farmers or hunters swapped their surplus products for things produced by artisans such as shoes, clothing, and simple tools. But such barter trading is inconvenient even in primative societies It is difficult to match up buyer and seller at any point in time There are problems in arriving at viable and acceptable terms of exchange. The accumulation of savings-wealth-is complicated. No one can be sure that a pile of furs, or wheat, or certainly fish or game can be used in the future to trade for other goods or services. So even prehistoric man saw the need for money. There was a need first for something to serve as a medium of exchange This was an essential first step in the process of specialization-or the division of labor. A farmer, a hunter, or a shoemaker could only devote his full efforts to his trade if he could be sure that he could exchange his surplus production for the other things he needed for existence. This required a medium of exchange-a form of money which would be broadly acceptable. Money was needed for two other reasons Some system of market prices was essential to facilitate the exchange of goods and services. This required some form of common denominator-some standard of value-to govern the exchange process. And there was also need for something to serve as a store of value, a place to put any excess production (savings) with the assurance that it can be used in the future to acquire a general range of goods and services. As a result, money, in one form or another, developed at a very early state in civilization. Yet the centuries have been marked by a search for a form of money which will possess in full measure all of the attributes in money-a reliable and universally acceptable medium of exchange, standard of value, and store of value. -A wide variety of things have been used as money at one time or another: shells, beads, stones, feather, metals, and even the teeth of sharks and dogs. Some of these things were obviously of little or no practical value. They were used because people had confidence in their continued acceptance as a medium of exchange. As the world evolved and as trading ex-

Jan 1, 1976

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

IT has long been accepted that blast-furnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirable in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blast-furnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: I. Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the production of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. FUNCTIONS OF COKE AND QUALITIES REQUIRED TO PERFORM THESE FUNCTIONS Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1941

By I. Hawke, K. Barron

I. Hawkes (Postgraduate School in Mining, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England) — The photoelastic stressmeter is proving to be a very practical tool for 'in-situ' measurements in the fields of civil and mining engineering and Barron's article has therefore come at a very opportune time, supplementing as it does, the considerable amount of laboratory and field data which is being accumulated.1,2,3 There are however several points relating the application of Barron's conclusions to the practical use of the meter which require further elucidation. EASE OF READING If the photoelastic stressmeter is to have a wide application, the fringe orders must be easily measured. The system adopted by the writer and his colleagues at Sheffield for the uniaxial stress case is to read the fringe order at the 45 point, 0.20 in. from the center (11/4 in. diam meter). This procedure has been recommended because the fringes not at this point form a very distinct 'eye' which is obvious even to those who have had little experience with photoelastic fringe patterns. Barron points out that this point can also be used up to a stress ratio of 0.33 and in practice this is normally done. In biaxial fields above a ratio of 0.33 the 'eye' is no longer apparent and the fringe order must be ascertained at some other point. The writer and his colleagues experimented at various points and finally chose a point at a distance 0.175 in. (11/4 in. diam meter) on the minor stress axis and fixed this point on the meter by inserting a collar of this diameter. This procedure enables the 'eye' technique to be used for uniaxial stresses as the 'eye' falls outside the collar; any other technique for biaxial patterns would require lines to be engraved on the meter itself and reading difficulties would be experienced by all but the most highly trained. It is interesting to point out that in a great many field applications ranging from underground pillars to building foundation piles the stresses measured have been uniaxial. In such cases, reading the fringe order has been simple even for unskilled persons. SENSITIVITY The photoelastic stressmeter acts as an inclusion, and as such its theoretical behavior is as described by Barron's mathematical analysis. When considering its practical application, however, it must be remembered that rocks and concrete are not mathematically ideal substances. The theory relates the fringe order in the meter to the stresses and the E (Young's Modulus) and the µ (Poisson's Ratio) values of the surrounding material. There is of course no unique E or µ value for rocks or concrete. These values change both with stress level and time load application sometimes to the order of 300%. We at Sheffield have very accurately calibrated the photoelastic stressmeter in a wide range of materials and have also measured the average E values for these materials. The results prove that the meter sensitivity

Jan 1, 1965

By Walter R. Hibbard, Harold Margolin

DURING preliminary tests on the aging of a Cu-plus 5 pct Ag alloy,' a specimen which had been overaged 24 hr at 550°C was annealed in a nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere first for 2 hr and then for an additional 28 hr at 600°C. After each anneal the specimen was cooled to room temperature in about ½ hr and X-ray photograms were made. The first film, Fig. la, revealed two sets of copper-base lines, one intense and corresponding to the parameter at 550°C, the other fainter and shifted away from the beam, corresponding to the larger parameter at 600°C (see arrows). The 30-hr film, Fig. lb, revealed the same two sets of copper-base lines with a reversal of intensity. In neither case do the copper lines form a broad band which would be indicative of a range of compositions. This phenomenon is thus a "discontinuous" type of solution. A similar phenomenon was observed in a Ag-rich Cu-Ag alloy.' Finlay and Hibbard9 have suggested that directional rather than random solution of precipitate occurs in some alloys. Conceivably, for Cu-Ag alloys, the matrix-transition-precipitate precipitation sequence is reversible for the re-solution of the precipitate caused by rapidly raising the annealing temperature of an overaged specimen. A copper-base transition structure supersaturated with solute might be formed around the precipitate as it dissolves, thus obviating the necessity for a gradually changing solute composition of the matrix. The solute atoms then might be transferred rapidly and locally from the transition to the matrix phase in the proper amount and at the proper location to obtain directly the new ex- panded solid solution. The theory implies a minimum of diEusion of solute in the matrix (i.e., no significant range of matrix composition) and possibly suggests that the composition of the transition structure will vary with the conditions of re-solution. A transition copper phase found in aged Cu-Ag alloys1 might fulfill this function. Evidence regarding this suggestion could be obtained in Cu-Ag alloys by overaging a specimen until no trace of the expanded copper lattice is present and then subjecting the specimen to a retrogression treatment. Re-appearance of the transition copper phase would confirm the theory. Additional details could be secured by varying both aging and retrogression temperatures. References 'H. Margolin and W. R. Hibbard, Jr.: Effect of Ternary Additions on the Age Hardening of a Copper-Silver Alloy. Trans. AIME (1951) 191, p. 174; Journal of Metals (Feb. 1951) TP 3002E. 2 W. Ageew, M. Hansen, and G. Sachs: Decomposition and Changes in Properties of Super-saturated Silver-Copper Alloys. Ztsch. Physik (1930) 66, p. 350. 3W. L. Finlay and W. R. Hibbard, Jr.: Some Effects of Applied Stresses on Precipitation Phenomena. Trans. AIME (1949) 180, p. 255; Metals Technology (Sept.

Jan 1, 1952

By P. D. S. St. Pierre

IN recent years the use of high sulphur fuels and charges in steelmaking has necessitated rapid methods of slag control in order to insure the production of high quality steel. Several systems of control have been discussed in the literature, and of these the method described by Philbrook, Jolly, and Henry' has received the most attention recently. In their process the hydrogen ion concentration of an aqueous slag suspension is determined under controlled, but arbitrary conditions. The basicity of the slag may then be derived from a previously established pH-V ratio curve. Thus, by measuring the pH, some indication of the V ratio is gained, from which significant properties of the slag may be deduced. Philbrook et al. made no claims as to the theoretical justification of their treatment, but simply offered it as a rapid means of slag control. Encouraging results caused others to study the method and publish their findings.2-5 Although there was fair agreement on the efficacy of the method, no common parameter was evolved against which pH readings could be plotted. The results of the various determinations were related to such V ratios as CaO/SiO2 and CaO/ SiO2 + P2O5 by some,'-3 while others" plotted against "excess lime." Rivet,' however, found a simple proportionality between the hydrogen ion concentration and the sulphur content of the molten steel beneath the slag. Since slag control in North American practice is largely directed toward the efficient removal of sulphur from steel, Rivet's approach to the problem had the advantage of connecting directly a property of the slag with the impurity being removed. In view of the diversity of parameters used it seemed probable that some fundamental point was being overlooked in seeking a relationship. Examination of the literature revealed that much emphasis had been laid on experimental detail but scant attention paid to the fundamental aspects of the hydrolysis of the aqueous slag suspension. Consequently the present investigation was undertaken with the object of rectifying this deficiency and deriving, if possible, a parameter of general application. Petrographic studies on several matured Canadian open-hearth steel slags have shown that their major constituents are dicalcium and tricalcium silicates set in a complex matrix of iron oxides and ferrites. These phases are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Free lime is frequently encountered in slags, but is not an equilibrium phase since on continued heating it dissolves forming silicates or ferrites. Thus, it appeared that a study of the hydrolysis of the major phases in steel slags would be profitable. The experimental technique used in the present work was a modification of that described by the other workers.'- Electrical conductivity measurements were also made on the suspensions, since Smith et al." had claimed advantages for this method in their paper on slag control. Experimental Procedure The compounds studied in this investigation were prepared in the laboratory by heating purified oxides

Jan 1, 1954

By William A. Johnson

The fundamental role of diffusion in many reactions occurring in solid metals has long been recognized, and there have been careful measurements of rates of diffusion in numerous alloy systems; but our understanding of the atomic mechanism by which diffusion occurs is scarcely in an advanced state.l-3 It is doubtful that this mechanism can ever be directly ascertained; rather, all imaginable mechanisms must be examined and the one that is in best accord with such data as can be obtained from suitably chosen experiments should be selected. Because of its relative simplicity, diffusion in a system containing only one kind of atomic species—commody called self-diffusion—is of considerable theoretical interest. It may be expected that diffusion theory will not be advanced appreciably until a wide variety of diffusion experiments—of which diffusion in a chemical concentration gradient and self-diffusion are two important types—are carefully performed and inter-compared. Aside from the purely theoretical interest in self-diffusion measurements, such studies will be of considerable engineering importance. The rate of any process in a pure metal requiring the movement of atoms, of which recrystallization and creep are two familiar examples, will be understood more readily with the aid of self-diffusion data.† Self-diffusion implies the diffusion of something into its exact counterpart; the detection of such a process is patently impossible, and it is necessary to substitute for it the diffusion of one isotope (in this case radioactive) into another isotope (in this case stable) of the same chemical element. There is, however, no reason to suppose that a radioactive atom will not diffuse at the same rate as its stable isotope, for all of the isotopes of the same element have exactly the same chemical properties; neither the difference in nuclear energy nor the difference in mass would be expected to exercise an important influence in this phenomenon. In this sense, self-diffusion may be thought of as the diffusion of radioactive atoms down a radioactivity concentration gradient, just as usual diffusion is the diffusion of one kind of atom down its chemical concentration gradient. The first measurements of self-difiusion were made by von Hevesy4-6 using the radioactive lead isotope thorium B in ordinary lead. The recent development of means for producing artificial radioactive elements has made possible similar measurements on gold,7, 8 copper,2, 9 and zinc.10, 11 Many of the data that have been obtained are rather poor, and no adequate reason has been given for their poorness; it appears, however, that the unsatisfactory results are characteristic of the particular experimental procedure employed, and not of self-diffusion measurements in themselves. The experimental technique that has yielded the poorer results is the deposition of a thin layer of radioactive atoms on the surface of a specimen and the determination of the rate of inward diffusion

Jan 1, 1941

By William H. Spice

The fault zone of south central Texas showed renewed activity during I940 along a trend roughly paralleling the old established Balcones fault-line group of producing fields. This was a result of the new discoveries in the Wilcox (Eocene) formation in southeastern Texas and Louisiana. As of the end of the year, one new field producing from the Wilcox formation had been discovered on the Washburn ranch in La Salle County, along the southwestern limits of the district, and several projected tests into that formation were under way. In the western part of the district, par-titularly in the part of the Rio Grande embayment that is in Dimmit, Webb and Zavala Counties, there has been renewed leasing activity with the shallower sands in the Navarro-Taylor formations (Upper Cretaceous) as the objective in several projected tests for the early part of 1941. Three new fields have been discovered along the old fault-line trend, but these have been comparatively small, producing either from Dale lime, Austin chalk or Buda lime. No new fields were discovered during the Year in the Edwards (Lower Cretaceous) lime horizon. Approximately 260 wells were drilled in the district during 1940, which resulted in four new oil fields. Twenty-seven new wells were completed in the Proven Edwards lime fields of Darst Creek, Luling and Salt Flat and seven were added to production in the Pearsall field. Approximately 160 wells in 18 counties were completed as failures during the year. The district produced 7,659,634 bbl. during 1940, which was a 9 per cent decrease under production for 1939. In all, 3559 wells were producing at the end of I940, compared with 3562 wells producing at the end of the previous year; 104 new producing wells were completed and 163 wells were abandoned in the producing fields of the district. During 1940 considerable exploratory work was carried on along the Wilcox trend within the district, particularly by major companies employing various types of geophysical methods, and leasing activity increased considerably. At the end of the year, the total number of acres of nonproducing leases held by major companies in the district increased about 10 per cent. It is anticipated that this activity will continue into the first part of 1941 and will be supplemented by several exploratory test wells. New Fields B,, Creek, Caldwett County.— . R. Ogden NO. 2 Talley, discovery well of the Bee Creek field, in the northeastern part of Caldwell County, was completed on March 16, I940, in Dale lime from 2091 to 2238 ft., pumping 85 bbl. per day, 39° A.P.1. gravity. The discovery of this field can be credited to a combination of subsurface geology and magnetometer work, which indicated the presence of a serpentine intrusion. At the end of the year, ,3 producing oil wells had been completed and the field has produced a total of 47,050 barrels.

Jan 1, 1941

By Benjamin L. Miller

The essential differences expressed by the different speakers participating in this symposium concern merely the relative emphasis placed on the subjects that are commonly included under the term "geophysics" and the branches of science that form the basis for investigations in this field. In order to appreciate the present situation it may be profitable to briefly refer to a few historical matters. One can find almost countless descriptions of geological phenomena long antedating the introduction of the title of "geology," which has been credited to Richard de Bury in the fourteenth century. Interpretations, when they were offered, were generally pure speculation. Only toward the close of the eighteenth century do we find theories developed as the result of observations and tested by additional observations. It is difficult to select and give proper credit to the individual who was particularly responsible for turning geology into a distinctly observational science. william Smith, who has been called the "Father of English Geology," certainly represents the period when observation was the only method used. As he traveled through the British Isles, "sometimes 10,000 miles in a year," he was continually making notes of his observations. Geikie says: "His plain, solid, matter of fact intellect never branched into theory or speculation, but occupied itself wholly in the observation of facts." William Smith, with others of his time, definitely laid firmly the foundations on which modern geology has been built. Field and laboratory observations can no longer be said to constitute the sole basis for geologic contributions but we have not laid aside the methods of Smith and his followers. It is folly to underestimate the fundamental value of the observational part of geology in the present. The objection to purely observational geology is that it is mainly qualitative and not quantitative, general and not specific. No one can deny this charge and probably there are few who do not welcome every method or process whereby we can put aside generalities for definite established values. Physics is the science that has particularly come to the aid of the geologist in this respect. Contributions of PhYsics It is not the intent of the writer to enumerate or to evaluate all of the contributions to geologic advance in the field of. physics. A few only are used for the purpose of illustration, When Clarence King, Director of the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, invited Ferdinand Zirkel to study 2500 thin sections of rocks collected from the western United States, the use of the microscope came into general use. Zirkel's report was published in 1876. He was not the first to use transmitted light for microscopic rock determination, some work having been done by Henry Clifton Sorby and others some years earlier, but he was the first to put into general use this method. We may well daim that this

Jan 1, 1946

By L. L. McMurray

ILMENITE is the most important raw material for manufacture of titanium dioxide.1 Industrially, several other products are made from ilmenite, the most important of which are: ferrotitanium, ferro carbon-titanium, copper-titanium, titanium carbide and titanium nitride. The production of titanium metal is still in the laboratory stage because of the difficulty of extraction and as yet no important application for the metal has been found. Ilmenite has received considerable attention as an industrial raw material. Imports of ilmenite concentrates for the first nine months of 1941 were 156,737 short tons, the chief source being Travancore, India.2 Domestic production of ilmenite has here-tofore been confined to Amherst and Nelson Counties, Virginia, where a complex rutile, ilmenite, and apatite ore is mined and treated to utilize all three of these minerals. A recent report3 has described development of the large titaniferous magnetite ore body at Tahawas, New York, where it is expected that 800 tons of ilmenite concentrates, containing 48 per cent Ti02 will be produced daily. Additional domestic production is expected from a large ilmenite deposit recently opened in Caldwell County, North Carolina. Flotation tests indicate that a high-grade concentrate containing 53 per cent Ti02 can be made from the North Carolina ore. Prospecting of domestic ores in other areas has been reported.4 It appears that increased domestic production of ilmenite may well save considerable shipping space so vitally needed in these times. The composition and chemical structure of pure ilmenite is given by Dana as: FeO, TiO2; Ti, 31.6 per cent, Fe, 36.8 per cent, 02, 31.6 per cent. This composition is variable in that some iron or titanium may be replaced, giving a variable iron-titanium ratio. As an example, the iron-titanium weight ratio of ilmenite in Caldwell County, North Carolina, has been determined to be 0.94 (using 97.1 per cent ilmenite concentrate obtained by heavy liquids on minus 150-mesh ore) compared with theoretical 1.16. No rutile was noted in this ore to account for the low value. This North Carolina ore is free of magnetite, which is a common associate of ilmenite ores. In view of a large potential production from North Carolina, the Tennessee Valley Authority conducted a study of methods of concentration of that ore, of which the results are reported herein. THE ORE Five samples of ore were taken from the deposit at various exposed locations and were mixed for the study and testing. An attempt was made to proportion the amount of weathered and unweathered portions in making the composite sample, so as to approximate actual operating conditions. An examination of representative specimens of the sample showed the following general facts: I. The black mineral comprising nearly 70 per cent of the ore is ilmenite.

Jan 1, 1944

The production of bituminous coal in Pennsylvania started a few years after that in Virginia. For forty-five years all the production came from the Pittsburgh bed, and since that time its total output in value has exceeded that of any other single mineral deposit in the world. It has been impossible to separate the outputs of the four counties producing it at that time, as none of it came from Greene County until many years later, and the figures in the first column of Table 49 represent all the coal coming from Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland Counties. The years prior to 1790 are grouped on account of space limitations, they were made in the same manner as the later ones. All outputs have been rounded into hundreds, or thousands of tons because their accuracy does not warrant further subdivision. All figures are net tons, and all represent production and not shipments; this distinction in the early days when transportation facilities were scarce meant a great deal. In the period 1820-1835, more coal was used in salt-making in western Pennsylvania than for any other single purpose, but not a ton of such coal was handled by any transport agency. Later the iron industry used large quantities of local coal without shipment, and other instances can be cited. Prior to 1832, the only means of shipment of coal, excepting by wagons, was by the rivers, and this tonnage was larger than is generally believed. In Table 23, all of the available data about production from the Pittsburgh bed have been shown. After 1844 the river shipments above Pittsburgh are accurately reported by the Monongahela Navigation Company, but its figures do not include tonnage loaded on the river below Dam No. 1, nor that brought down Saw Mill Run. Prior to 1844 no tonnage records were kept although the amount moved was considerable. The information about local production, not shipped, whether used domestically or for manufacturing is necessarily incomplete. Column 7, shipments by railroad, river and canal, includes the figures in column 4, and until at least 1857 are quite evidently too low. The figures in column 9 are largely estimates based on the data shown and prior to 1870, and perhaps later, are much more likely to be lower, rather than higher, than the actual ones. This table was prepared over a period of years, and as additional data were found the revisions necessary were almost always upward. Clearfield County was the next producer in the state, shipments-in small amounts going down the Susquehanna River; some were made later via the West Branch Canal. Railroad facilities became available in 1862, and the growth in production increased rapidly and steadily. All available data and the estimated totals are in Table 24. Butler County began mining a few years after Clearfield, the early output

Jan 1, 1942

By L. L. McMurray

Ilmenite is the most important raw material for manufacture of titanium dioxide.' Industrially, several other products are made from ilmenite, the most important of which are: ferro titanium, ferro carbon-titanium, copper-titanium, titanium carbide and titanium nitride. The production of titanium metal is still in the laboratory stage because of the difficulty of extraction and as yet no important application for the metal has been found. Ilmenite has received considerable attention as an industrial raw material. Imports of ilmenite concentrates for the first nine months of 1941 were 156,737 short tons, the chief source being Travancore, India.2 Domestic produttion of ilmenite has heretofore been confined to Amherst and Nelson Counties, Virginia, where a complex rutile, ilmenite, and apatite ore is mined and treated to utilize all three of these minerals. A recent report3 has described development of the large titaniferous magnetite ore body at Tahawas, New York, where it is expected that 800 tons of ilmenite concentrates, containing 48 per cent TiO2 will be produced daily. Additional domestic production is expected from a large ilmenite deposit recently opened in caldwell county, North carolina. Flotation tests indicate that a high-grade concentrate containing 53 per cent TiO2 can be made from the North Carolina ore. Prospecting of domestic ores in other areas has been reported.' It appears that increased domestic production of ilmenite may well save considerable shipping space so vitally needed in these times. The composition and chemical structure of pure ilmenite is given by Dana as: FeO, TiO2; Ti, 31.6 per cent, Fe, 36.8 per cent, O2, 31.6 per cent. This composition is variable in that some iron or titanium may be replaced, giving a variable iron-titanium ratio. As an example, the iron-titanium weight ratio of ilmenite in Caldwell County, North Carolina, has been determined to be 0.94 (using 97.1 per cent ilmenite concentrate obtained by heavy liquids on minus Iso-mesh ore) compared with theoretical 1.16. No rutile was noted in this ore to account for the low value. This North Carolina ore is free of magnetite, which is a common associate of ilmenite ores. In view of a large potential production from North Carolina, the Tennessee Valley Authority conducted a study of methods of concentration of that ore, of which the results are reported herein. The Ore Five samples of Ore were taken from the deposit at various exposed locations and were mixed for the study and testing. An attempt was made to proportion the amount of weathered and unweathered portions in making the composite sample, so as to approximate actual operating conditions. An examination of representative specimens of the sample showed the following general facts: 1. The black mineral comprising nearly 70 per cent of the ore is ilmenite.

Jan 1, 1948

By Benjamin L. Miller

The essential differences expressed by the different speakers participating in this symposium concern merely the relative emphasis placed on the subjects that are commonly included under the term "geophysics" and the branches of science that form the basis for investigations in this field. In order to appreciate the present situation it may be profitable to briefly refer to a few historical matters. One can find almost countless descriptions of geological phenomena long antedating the introduction of the title of "geology," which has been credited to Richard de Bury in the fourteenth century. Interpretations, when they were offered, were generally pure speculation. Only toward the close of the eighteenth century do we find theories developed as the result of observations and tested by additional observations. It is difficult to select and give proper credit to the individual who was particularly responsible for turning geology into a distinctly observational science. william Smith, who has been called the "Father of English Geology," certainly represents the period when observation was the only method used. As he traveled through the British Isles, "sometimes 10,000 miles in a year," he was continually making notes of his observations. Geikie says: "His plain, solid, matter of fact intellect never branched into theory or speculation, but occupied itself wholly in the observation of facts." William Smith, with others of his time, definitely laid firmly the foundations on which modern geology has been built. Field and laboratory observations can no longer be said to constitute the sole basis for geologic contributions but we have not laid aside the methods of Smith and his followers. It is folly to underestimate the fundamental value of the observational part of geology in the present. The objection to purely observational geology is that it is mainly qualitative and not quantitative, general and not specific. No one can deny this charge and probably there are few who do not welcome every method or process whereby we can put aside generalities for definite established values. Physics is the science that has particularly come to the aid of the geologist in this respect. Contributions of PhYsics It is not the intent of the writer to enumerate or to evaluate all of the contributions to geologic advance in the field of. physics. A few only are used for the purpose of illustration, When Clarence King, Director of the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, invited Ferdinand Zirkel to study 2500 thin sections of rocks collected from the western United States, the use of the microscope came into general use. Zirkel's report was published in 1876. He was not the first to use transmitted light for microscopic rock determination, some work having been done by Henry Clifton Sorby and others some years earlier, but he was the first to put into general use this method. We may well daim that this

Jan 1, 1946

By William A. Johnson

The fundamental role of diffusion in many reactions occurring in solid metals has long been recognized, and there have been careful measurements of rates of diffusion in numerous alloy systems; but our understanding of the atomic mechanism by which diffusion occurs is scarcely in an advanced state.l-3 It is doubtful that this mechanism can ever be directly ascertained; rather, all imaginable mechanisms must be examined and the one that is in best accord with such data as can be obtained from suitably chosen experiments should be selected. Because of its relative simplicity, diffusion in a system containing only one kind of atomic species—commody called self-diffusion—is of considerable theoretical interest. It may be expected that diffusion theory will not be advanced appreciably until a wide variety of diffusion experiments—of which diffusion in a chemical concentration gradient and self-diffusion are two important types—are carefully performed and inter-compared. Aside from the purely theoretical interest in self-diffusion measurements, such studies will be of considerable engineering importance. The rate of any process in a pure metal requiring the movement of atoms, of which recrystallization and creep are two familiar examples, will be understood more readily with the aid of self-diffusion data.† Self-diffusion implies the diffusion of something into its exact counterpart; the detection of such a process is patently impossible, and it is necessary to substitute for it the diffusion of one isotope (in this case radioactive) into another isotope (in this case stable) of the same chemical element. There is, however, no reason to suppose that a radioactive atom will not diffuse at the same rate as its stable isotope, for all of the isotopes of the same element have exactly the same chemical properties; neither the difference in nuclear energy nor the difference in mass would be expected to exercise an important influence in this phenomenon. In this sense, self-diffusion may be thought of as the diffusion of radioactive atoms down a radioactivity concentration gradient, just as usual diffusion is the diffusion of one kind of atom down its chemical concentration gradient. The first measurements of self-difiusion were made by von Hevesy4-6 using the radioactive lead isotope thorium B in ordinary lead. The recent development of means for producing artificial radioactive elements has made possible similar measurements on gold,7, 8 copper,2, 9 and zinc.10, 11 Many of the data that have been obtained are rather poor, and no adequate reason has been given for their poorness; it appears, however, that the unsatisfactory results are characteristic of the particular experimental procedure employed, and not of self-diffusion measurements in themselves. The experimental technique that has yielded the poorer results is the deposition of a thin layer of radioactive atoms on the surface of a specimen and the determination of the rate of inward diffusion

Jan 1, 1941