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By Donald Cummings

CERTAIN dusts are dangerous when inhaled, but most hazardous of all dusts are quartz or other forms of pure crystalline silica. The inhalation of dusts containing silica in combination with other elements gives rise to changes in the lung which differ from those produced by pure silica. As a generality, silicates are less dangerous than pure crystalline silica and vary greatly among themselves in harmfulness. Repeated analyses have shown that approximately 70 per cent of the total number of particles involved in any dust-producing operation are below 1 to 2 microns in diameter. (A micron is. approximately 1/25,000 in.) Similar studies of dusts recovered from silicotic lungs post mortem have demonstrated essentially the same size frequency distribu-tion, except that the upper limit of size retained in the air sacs is approxi-mately 10 microns. Experiments carried on by Gardner and the author have further demonstrated that greater changes were produced by a fixed weight of very fine quartz particles (2 to 3 microns and smaller) than by the same weight of slightly larger particles (8 to 10 microns). Any attempt to control a dust hazard should therefore be directed toward the removal from the working atmosphere of particles less than 10 microns in size, and particularly those below 3 microns. All industrial hygienists agree on this matter, but there remains considerable dispute as to the lower limit of particle size capable of causing injury. It has been gen-erally conceded, however, that particles of harmful dusts smaller than ¼ to ½ micron are not essentially concerned in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. This opinion is partly substantiated by the existence of large numbers of these small particles in practically all atmospheres that are, not associated with any known hazard. Such particles are so small that they have very little mass, fail to settle even in quiet air, and probably are not easily retained in the lung. Until further research proves that they are involved in the dangers provoked by the inhalation of certain dusts, engineers will generally agree that it is better to dis-regard them.

Jan 1, 1935

By F. E. Buch

The smelter is designed for a production capacity of 10,000 short tons of blister copper per month, when operating on the present concentrate grade. The :smelter lay-out is shown in Fig I. The major units of equipment comprise two reverberatory furnaces, three 13 by 30 ft Peirce-Smith converters, two straight line casting machines, one being served by a 13 by 30 ft holding furnace and the other by a ladle tilting quadrant, two converter aisle cranes and two converter blowers. The plant is compact and the general arrangement of standard gauge railway tracks and conveyor belts provides for a smooth flow of incoming materials and metallurgical products. Concentrate is received by conveyor belts and fluxes in standard railway trucks. The local track system is covered by an electric trolley locomotive. The Smelter treats a wet (10 pet moisture) flotation concentrate containing approximately 53 pct total copper and 0.9 pet oxide copper. The predominating minerals are chalco-cite, chalcopyrite and bornite accompanied by small quantities of malachite and cuprite. The gangue is highly siliceous and requires limerock as a flux. Metallurgy would be straightforward were it not for the necessity for eliminating bismuth which occurs as an impurity in the ore along with the copper. Directly or indirectly most of the Smelter problems can be traced to the necessity for bismuth removal. Copper recovery, based on new copper treated, averages 97.5 pct. General Description Flotation concentrate, containing 10 Pet moisture, is conveyed from the filter plant to the smelter storage bins by conveyor belts, the material being weighed in transit by a revolving drum type of weigh-hopper manufactured by Samuel Denison and Son, Ltd. The weigher consists of a steel drum with dished ends carried on a horizontal shaft and rotated by an 8 hp squirrel-cage motor through a worm and Spur reduction gear. A feed mouth in the drum permits of filling and discharging. The whole unit is supported on a framework resting on weighing levers, which in turn connect to transfer levers, thence to an indicator of the steelyard type situated 16 ft from the centre line of the drum. The indicator is of the "Denison" patent equilibrium controlled ticket stamping type, insuring mistake-proof records by a combination of electrical and mechanical movements which Prevent the operator from printing until the cover enclosing the steelyard is closed and until the poise-weights have been Set correctly to the weight of the hopper and contents. The machine is capable of weighing 30 short tons at a time but the usual load is 28 tons. After obtaining the gross weight the drum is rotated and discharged into a receiving bin situated below it. The empty drum is weighed and the net weight re-

Jan 1, 1949

By H. H. Podgurski, Hsun Hu

Large cryslals of high-purily iron (99.996+ pcl) cannot be obtained by the usual strain-ameal technique. Repealed phase transformation by thermal cycling prior to crilical deformation improves the capabilily of cryslal growith but fails to yield satisfactory crystals. Imperfect columnar crystals can be produced by the phase-transition method. The addition of a small amounl (0.005 wl pet) of nilrogen IT was reported'-4 that for metals of very high purity the usual procedures of the strain-anneal technique fail to produce large crystals. This was eliminates practically all the difficulties in crystal growth by the normal strain-anneal procedures. An actual example is presented, showing that most parts of a strip have been converted into a large crystal by this method. The addition of nitrogen, which can be removed from iron with less difficulty, is believed to be more desirable than carbon additions for the same purpose. thought to be due to the strong tendency for recovery in the high-purity metals: hence the critically strained matrix undergoes polygonization instead of recrystallization upon annealing for crystal growth. Talbot1,2 succeeded in overcoming this difficulty by adding 0.03 to 0.04 pct C to high-purity iron before critical deformation. followed by annealing in hydro-

Jan 1, 1965

By T. A. Dungan

THE thermal processes for the production of metallic magnesium can be divided into two general classifications, the direct reduction of magnesia with carbon and the indirect reduction of compounds of magnesium by reducing agents that are themselves products of carbon reduction. The latter are so chosen as to cause reduction of magnesium compounds wherein only the magnesium is liberated in the vapor phase. Reducing agents used are: calcium carbide, silicon carbide, silicon, aluminum, various silicides or combinations of calcium, aluminum, silicon in iron. All of these are products of highly endothermic reactions and, with the exception of scrap aluminum, can be produced in an open, submerged arc furnace; that is, the arc is covered only by the charge itself. The more investment in energy required to prepare such a reducing agent, the less is the energy required in the subsequent step to reduce the magnesium compound to the metal. It is impossible, however, to avoid the laws of thermodynamics, no matter how much circumambulation is resorted to in the preparation of successively more powerful reducing agents. Since each such step carries forward its own inefficiencies, it appears evident that the ultimate status of such processes is dependent upon the development of by-products. EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN DIRECT REDUCTION The direct reduction of magnesium oxide by carbon has a decided appeal to both the scientist and the industrialist. The successful production of the carbothermic plant at Permanente is a significant fact in the substantiation of this concept. Like most developments, however, the history of carbon reduction of magnesia is not one of triumph after triumph, or immediate heady success to the investigators. It is understood that one of the early investigators conducted an experiment wherein he placed carbon and magnesia in one end of an evacuated tube and managed to heat this end to a temperature high enough that magnesia and carbon deposited at the other end of the tube. The charge, unreduced, appeared to have been completely transported from the hot to the cold end of the tube. This raised doubt for some time as to whether magnesia could be reduced at all with carbon. It was correctly suspected, however, that the magnesia was in fact reduced and the resultant magnesium vapor and carbon monoxide reacted upon one another upon reduction in temperature to reform the starting ingredients. Attempts were then made to dilute the two vapors by passing a considerable stream of hydrogen through an arc furnace charged with magnesia and carbon. Thus by dilution of the products it was expected to obtain metallic magnesium. The results were positive and metallic magnesium was

Jan 1, 1944

By Wayne E. Glenn, R. W. French, Lincoln F. Elkins

The Lance Creek Sundance reservoir provides a case history of ro years performance of a reservoir in which unit operation has permitted effective utilization of gravity drainage augmented by primary pressure control with injection of gas into top structural wells. Detailed performance of the reservoir is presented by means of maps of Well status, reservoir pressure, individual well recovery, etc., and by pool-performance charts. Analysis of reservoir performance indicates only minor water encroachment, so that gravity, injected gas, and expansion of gas are the main oil-expulsive agents. A simplified theory of regional drainage of oil from upstructure location to downstructure location due to gravity is presented and checked by means of comparison of "reservoir" permeability and "well" permeability from the pool performance. Good order of magnitude agreement was obtained. Individual well performance and overall reservoir performance indicate possibility that maintenance of pressure makes ineffective those parts of the reservoir in which permeability is too low to permit effective drainage of oil by action of gravity. Oil from these parts can be recovered only when pressure is reduced locally by selective withdrawal or when overall reservoir pressure is finally reduced.

Jan 1, 1949

By T. C. Russell

The Conda phosphate mine, eight miles north of Soda Springs in Caribou County, Idaho, was opened up by the Anaconda Copper Mining CO. in 1920. Except for brief periods, during the 20's and early 30's, the mine has maintained a continuous production, and 2,100,000 short tons of phosphate rock have been shipped to the company's phosphate fertilizer manufacturing plant at Anaconda, Mont., or to independent processing plants on the Pacific Coast; a small tonnage of the rock has been shipped to the Hawaiian Islands. The Phosphoria formation on the Conda property consists of two, commercial-grade phosphate beds separated by 147 ft of black to brownish colored phosphatic calcareous shales interbedded with softer mudstones, clays, and occasional narrow seams of oolitic phosphate. The main lower phosphate bed in the series averaging 7.1 ft in thickness, is called the "foot-wall bed," which lies coriformably on the Wells limestone formation, the 1atter often containing irregular bands of chert. The upper or " hanging-wall bed" of phosphate rock averaging 7.2 ft in thickness, is overlaid by thick quartzite beds, locally called the " Rex chert" member in the upper portion of the Phosphoria formation. (Fig 1.) There are two anticlines on the property with axis striking approximately parallel to the mountain range beneath which extensive development on phosphate rock has been conducted in the past, and is now in progress. The phosphate beds have been eroded to a large extent from the tops of these anticlines, leaving at least three well-pronounced outcrops of the phosphate beds exposed within the boundaries of the Anaconda Copper Mining Cornpany's properties. At present, mining operations in the Conda No. 3 mine are confined to the two phosphate beds along the east flank of the easternmost anticline, where the dips on the beds vary from 50° to 60° east, thereby affording favorable conditions for the sublevel mining system now in use. Mining operations formerly were confined to the footwall or lower oolitic phosphate bed because of its higher phosphate and vanadium contents (32 pct P²O5 and 0.29 pct V2 O 5); this bed averages 7.1 ft in thickness. The oolitic portions of the upper bed were of satisfactory grade, but the shale and clay partings (Fig 2) diluted the mined rock and could not he separated economically by selective mining or by sorting. Experiments in beneficiating this rock were carried on for a number of years. Recently, a simple washing process was adopted, which gave a satisfactory grade of concentrates and a high recovery of P² O5. In 1947 it was decided to expand Anaconda's production of treble superphosphate and phosphoric acid by approximately 90 pct. This rock will be obtained from the footwall and hanging-wall beds, and the rock from the hanging-wall bed will be benefici-ated at -Anaconda.l In order to take advantage of the previous development on the 500 secondary haulage level, short crosscuts will be driven at approximately 950 ft intervals from the existing lateral drifts through the hanging-wall shale beds. From the inner end of each crosscut, short lateral drifts will he driven in both directions, so that four working raises can he put up on the dip of the phosphate bed at proper intervals along each of the lateral drifts. The mining operation on the footwall bed at Conda

Jan 1, 1950

By Sidney Diamond, Charles Wert

The anelastic behavior of Ni-C alloys of nominal 0.5 wt pct C has been determined over a wide temperature range. The most prominent damping effect, that due to the presence of C-C pairs, was measured both above and below the Curie temperature. The effect on diffusion of the C-C pairs by magnetic spin ordering is deduced to be very small. The diffusion coefficient for C-C pairs in nickel is given by the expression ThE solid-state diffusion of both interstitial and sub-stitutional solutes in ferromagnetic solvents has been the subject of a number of investigations. Measurements of the self-diffusion of iron,"' the diffusion of nickel1,4 gold,"1 and cobalt4 into iron, the diffusion of vanadium in an Fe-V alloy,' and the diffusion of cobalt and nickel in Co-Ni alloys9 show an unusual behavior. In both the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic regions, far removed from the Curie temperature, the diffusion coefficient, D, obeys an Arrhenius relation. However, in the ferromagnetic region D is markedly lower than would be expected from an extrapolation of D from the paramagnetic region; this results in an increase in the activation energy in the ferromagnetic region. The cause of this effect for self- and substitutional diffusion is uncertain. Since substitutional diffusion is presumed to proceed by the vacancy mechanism, it has been variously suggested that the increase in activation energy below the Curie temperature is due to one of the following causes: 1) an increase in the energy of formation of a vacancy because of local demagnetization around the vacancy,2,3 2) a decrease in vacancy mobility in the ferromagnetic state,' or 3) an effect on the entropy of motion of a vacancy in the ferromagnetic state.5 Quite another explanation for the observed effect has been proposed by Borg.7 The diffusion coefficient is a function of the elastic constants of a metal. Since the temperature dependence of the elastic constants often changes at the Curie temperature, the temperature dependence of D might be expected to undergo a universal change in the vicinity of the Curie temperature. The magnitude of the change in D would, of course, depend on the magnitude of the change in the elastic constants. One might attempt to differentiate between vacancy effects and elastic effects by making measurements on interstitial alloys, in which vacancy effects play no role. Some measurements of this type have been made; this paper reports additional observations. Measurements of the diffusion of carbon in a Fe by a tracer technique8 and of the diffusion of carbon in a Co and in Co-Fe alloys by a decarburization method9 reveal a small effect, if any, on D of the magnetic change at the Curie temperature. If the effect of spin ordering is only to alter the parameters controlling formation or mobility of a vacancy, interstitial diffusion should indeed remain unchanged through the magnetic transition, as these measurements imply.

Jan 1, 1968

By B. Bernstrom

A 22-ft diam, 7-ft long, wet autogenous grinding mill was installed in the new Cretaceous plant of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. to prepare crude iron ore for concentration in spirals and flotation cells. The paper describes the flowsheet and gives a description of the operating and metallurgical results that have been obtained. These results include capacity, horsepower, operating problems and a comparison of pilot plant results with those obtained in commercial operation. The Cretaceous plant at the Hill Annex mine of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. was designed with a wet autogenous mill for grinding low grade iron ore so that it could be concentrated by spirals and flotation cells. The plant, on the west end of the Minnesota's Mesabi Range, went into operation in June 1961, and preliminary operating and metallurgical information describing the performance of this mill can now be given. The crude is lean ore from the Cretaceous iron foundation. This formation is a beach deposit of Cretaceous age that overlies the Precambrian direct shipping and concentrating ores. This rock in nature is not extremely hard but is quite resilient, resisting blasting in mining and size reduction in milling. It contains hematite as water-rounded particles and other fragments of the underlying iron formation and adjacent rocks cemented together by a high alumina-silica ferruginous matrix. It is interspersed with hard dense hematite agglomerates and also contains granite pebbles and boulders that were not cleaned off during removal of the surface. It has a 3.48 sp gr and in the stockpile the material consists of frag-

Jan 1, 1962

By D. F. Kaufman, E. D. Levine, L. R. Aronin

The deformation of' impure beryllium crystals by basal glide at room temperature invariably tevminates by basal cleavage after a few percent strain. It is generally accepted that .fracture of this type is caused by the splitting of low) -angle boundaries, or bend planes, by obstacles that restrict the motion of the bed planes in the deforming crystal. The details of such a process have been developed by Stroh, who showed that the high tensile stress norrnal to the basal plane in the region where the bend plane is split results in the propagation of a basal cleavage crack, provided there is no available dejorvrlatzon mode having a shear component normal to the basal plane It has been postulated that puvification of beryllium might lead to increased basal ductility by the vemoval of barviers to bend plane motion and possibly by the activation of nonbasal defor~rlation systems. Large increases in the amount of basal glide that can he sustained prior to fracture have been observed in crystals purified by zone refining. In each case, eventudal fracture was by sharp basal cleavage, suggesting that the split bend plane model still applies to tile fracture of beryllium of rensonably high purity. In the present work, calculations are made to show to what extent basal duetilits can be increased by purification while the split bend plane .fracture process remains applicable. Experimentally observed ductilities are generally somewhat lower than those predicted by calculation because of premature failure due to defects introd~cced during specimen preparation and testing. SEVERAL investigators1-4 have studied the deformation characteristics of beryllium single crystals of commercial purity, and have related the strong anisotropy of plastic deformation in single crystals to the problem of brittleness in polycrystalline beryllium. For most orientations, the principal deformation mode is basal slip, which, at temperatures between 300" and 900°K, begins at a critical resolved shear stress of approximately 1500 g per sq mm and terminates after 3 to 6 pet glide strain by cleavage on the basal plane in the neighborhood of (1120) bend planes that are formed during the deformation. This type of fracture, which is also observed in zinc at low temperatures, has been interpreted by stroh5 to be caused by the splitting of bend planes by obstacles to their motion. In the Stroh model, a (11.20) dislocation wall, or bend plane, moving along the slip direction under the action of the applied stress, encounters obstacles which cause part of the bend plane to be held up, the other part continuing to move. Stress concentrations are built up in the region where the bend plane is split, with a high tensile component normal to the basal plane, resulting in a microcrack at the end of the split wall. Because no deformation mode having a shear component at an angle to the basal plane is available to relieve the stress at the crack tip, the crack can propagate under a sufficiently high applied stress. The Stroh criterion for crack propagation is given by

Jan 1, 1964

By Leonard Logan

Production control in the petroleum industry may be discussed under three general heads: engineering, legal, and economic. Though the problems that fall under the respective heads of engineering, law, and economics are separate, they are dependent and interrelated. The present study will deal with the economic phases of production control and only incidentally with the legal phases as they affect the economics of the problem. No one of these forms of control is more important than the others. The engineers have performed their service well, and although there are many problems of engineering control yet to be solved, they are not pressing. Legal control is a problem for the legislatures and the courts to solve. The petroleum industry is such a comparatively young industry and the legal problems are of such recent origin that the courts have not yet been called on to settle all the issues and the legislatures still have before them bills concerned with the regulation of the industry. Economic control of production in the petroleum industry is a highly desirable goal but it has not yet been completely achieved. Since the first commercial well was drilled in 1859, there have been recurring periods of overproduction. (Over- production will be used here to describe a condition wherein so much crude oil is available that a satisfactory and reasonable price is not received for the product.) The production of oil in 1859 approximated only 2000 barrels. In the following year production jumped to 500,000 barrels, thus bringing into

Jan 1, 1932

By A. J. Shaler, J. Prieto Isaza, John Wulff

TANTALUM metal has a number of unique properties which give it widespread application in modern technology and in research. In electronic apparatus involving high temperatures in vacuo some of the refractory metals become brittle. Tantalum retains its ductility at elevated temperatures, and this property, together with its low vapor pressure and its ability to absorb gases, make it important in this field. Its chemical inertness in the presence of acids, halogens, and other corrosive media, makes it useful in chemical apparatus and in neuro and orthopedic surgical applications. As an addition to tungsten carbide in steel-cutting grades of cemented-carbide tools, the carbides of tantalum and of its sister element columbium have found considerable use. The present-day method1 of manufacturing tantalum is to sinter a powder compact of the metal in vacuo. Because tantalum- columbium alloys are difficult to work and since tantalum ores almost always contain columbium, the two metals must be separated chemically, the products of the separation being generally in the form of potassium tantalum fluoride and potassium columbium oxyfluoride. These salts are used in fused-salt electrolytic baths from which coarse metallic powder is deposited as a sponge at the cathode. Finer powder can be made from the coarse product or from tantalum scrap by first submitting it to an embrittling heat treatment in hydrogen and then crushing it. The fine hydrogen- containing powder may subsequently be degassed in vacuo at a high temperature. Prompted by the success of others2,3 in the magnesium reduction of titanium and zirconium halides, one of the authors under- took4 an investigation of the thermo- chemistry of the reaction between solid magnesium and gaseous tantalum penta-chloride, a subject which had not previously been studied. He found that the heat of formation of tantalum pentachloride is approximately 364,250 cal per mol at temperatures lower than the melting point of magnesium. A value of 83 units was found for the standard entropy at these temperatures. With these values, it was shown that magnesium and tantalum pentachloride are capable of reacting exothermically at temperatures less than the melting point of magnesium, and that no great violence is to be expected when these substances are heated together. The exothermic nature of the reaction indicated that the process should be efficient and should not require much externally applied energy. Tantalum pentachloride is not commonlv made commercially, and any process using it therefore involves the subsidiary problem of producing and handling this substance. A series of experiments was carried out in which dried chlorine saturated with carbon tetrachloride was passed over heated tantalum, either in the metallic state or combined

Jan 1, 1947

By H. M. Howe

It has seemed to the writer that one important, and indeed sufficient reason, for our slow progress in learning the relation between the chemical composition and the physical properties of cast-iron, has been that the problem has not been attacked properly. It would be well to select the most probable working hypothesis which we can find, and proceed to test that hypothesis by comparison with observed facts, and by making new observations specially designed for such a test. Our first step, then, is to select the most probable working hypothesis ; and to attempt this selection, to state the hypothesis and its immediate corollaries, and to take some first steps toward testing it, is the object of the present paper. Its chief purpose is to bring the hypothesis to the attention of those who are more familiar with the evidence than the writer can pretend to be, and in a better position both to present new evidence and to discuss it. The hypothesis here selected is, that composition governs properties in the case of cast-iron, in the same general way and for the same reasons as in the case of steel, mutatis mutandis. This hypothesis, which of course makes no claim to originality, certainly seems reasonable and probable; its exposition and discussion are made easy by our existing knowledge of the constitution of normal or " carbon " steel; it therefore seems worthy of consideration.

Jan 1, 1902

By J. N. Sicking, F. H. Brinkman

A new method for obtaining equilibrium vaporization ratios (K-values) for reservoir fluids has been developed and tested. By application of the method, complex experimental measurements of liquid and vapor phase compositions are eliminated. This simplified technique reduces the cost of experimental equilibrium-ratio data for reservoir studies of condensates and volatile crude-oil systems. The method is designed for systems of constant composition and, therefore, is best suited for depletion studies where compositional changes at high pressures are minor. The basic data required, in addition to the composition of the initial reservoir fluid, are the relative vapor-liquid volumes and densities at reservoir temperature and variom reservoir pressures. Tests demonstrated that the method predicts equilibrium ratios accurately for condensates. A single test on a crude oil was not conclusive; further testing will be necessary before the accuracy of the method can be determined for crude-oil systems. In addition to determining equilibrium ratios, the calculation method provides information on the physical properties of the "plus" component in the vapor and liquid phases. The "plus" component is that mixture of components heavier than the least volatile fraction analyzed. This information is useful in studies of both natural depletion and cycling operations for condensate reservoirs where the heptanes-plus component in the gas phase is produced from the reservoir. INTRODUCTION As more volatile oil and condensate reservoirs are found, the use of phase behavior techniques to predict their performance is increasing in importance. These techniques have long been used for condensate fields and have more recently been applied to crude-oil fields containing oils of medium-to-high volatility. In these phase behavior methods, equilibrium ratios (K-values) are used to predict compositional changes in the reservoir fluids—thereby accounting for the recoverable oil that exists in the gas phase. The reliability of the predictions depends to a large extent on the equilibrium ratios used. These values must be obtained for each component for the entire pressure range being investigated. Unfortunately, because of the complex nature of hydrocarbon mixtures, accurate K-values are hard to obtain. The equilibrium ratios for a particular component will vary not only with the temperature and pressure, but also with over-all composition of the system. The importance of composition is quite critical at elevated pressures, but becomes negligible at pressures below about 300 psia. Therefore, because most phase behavior problems involve the high-pressure region, each fluid system becomes a special case. Experimental programs to determine characteristic K-values are quite difficult and time-consuming. Thus, it is often necessary to resort to approximations of the K-value data. Charts giving K-values for various mixtures and classes of mixtures are available in the literature. However, there are two major difficulties in using them: (1) the K-values of the "plus" component (that mixture of components heavier than the last one analyzed) must be obtained by extrapolation from the K-values of the other components; and (2) the K-values obtained must finally be adjusted by trial and error to agree with observed volumetric data. To eliminate these difficulties, a new method of determining equilibrium ratios was developed. Briefly, after the composition of the system as a whole has been analyzed, the method uses empirical correlations and the gross fluid properties of the system (relative vapor-liquid volumes and densities) to calculate K-values. Because the calculative procedure is long, it is best solved on a digital computer. About one hour of machine time on an IBM 650 computer is required to develop a K-chart for the fluid being examined. DEVELOPMENT OF THE METHOD OF OBTAINING K-VALUES Equilibrium ratios are defined as the ratio of the mole fraction of a component in the vapor phase to its mole fraction in the liquid phase. This statement is expressed in Eq. 1. A typical plot of equilibrium ratios for a particular system is shown in Fig. 1. It should be noted that, at pressures near the saturation pressure, the K-values appear to converge to a common point. This apparent convergence point is called the convergence pressure and is a characteristic of the system involved. Various empirical correlations of K-values have been noted. It has been observed that an isothermal plot of

By Nicholas J. Grant, John Chipman

A FULL understanding of the behavior of sulphur in the basic open-hearth process has been delayed by lack of dependable data covering a wide range of slag conditions in the absence of other complicating factors that are likely to be present under operating conditions. It has been generally accepted that strongly basic slags will dissolve more sulphur than will those in which the acidic and basic constituents are more nearly balanced. It has been known that both slag and metal would absorb sulphur from the flame when the sulphur content of the fuel is high. It has been generally believed that manganese assists in the transfer of sulphur from metal to slag. Almost nothing has been known of the effect of temperature upon desulphurization; the data have been conflicting and there has been a tendency to depend rather heavily upon analogy with the better understood desulphurizing reaction of the blast furnace. Many attempts have been made to build up from open-hearth data a satisfactory theory of the chemical reactions involved in the process. That this has been an extremely difficult task is owing to two reasons that have been very generally recognized. The first is the parallel and simultaneous reaction of sulphur transfer between flame and bath. The second is the difficulty of distinguishing between the factors that ultimately limit the transfer from metal to slag-i.e., equilibrium conditions-and those whose influence is only upon the rate of transfer. It has been the object of the work here recounted to study the equilibrium distribution of sulphur between slag and metal in the absence of these complicating factors, with the hope that a better understanding of the equilibria involved would lead to a better control of the over-all process in the open-hearth furnace. A review of the literature on steelmaking reveals almost complete agreement with respect to the paramount importance of lime in promoting desulphurization. In expressing this effect in quantitative terms, however, and in formulating the relationships between the concentrations of other slag components and the desulphurizing power, there is little agreement. For instance, the "basicity" or basic strength of the slag is commonly measured by some kind of ratio of concentration of basic to acidic oxides. Of these, the following have been reviewed by Schenck :20 [ ] Among others there appear the following:

Jan 1, 1946

By Maurice Ewing, J. A. Peoples, J. W. Peoples, A. P. Craby

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the application of the earth-resistivity method of subsurface investigation to the problem of locating seams of anthracite coal beneath a mantle of soil and subsoil. Details are given of the successful use of this method in locating the outcrops of anthracite seams in actual prospecting. The presence of the outcrop of an anthracite seam is indicated at points where electrical resistivity tests showed relatively low readings. The reason for this is that in some localities the resistivity of anthracite was found to be about 0.0001 megohm-cm. compared to 1 to 200 megohm-cm. for shales and sandstones. For two reasons it is believed that the data summarized in this paper should be of particular interest. In the first place, most of the interpretations of the resistivity survey have been checked by subsequent drilling and some by the removal of the overburden and the exposing of the anthracite seams. It is infrequent that the opportunity for checking results so thoroughly is given. In the second place, the fact that recent commentatorsl,2,3 on the application of geophysical methods to mining have concluded that direct prospecting for anthracite and other types of coal is not promising makes the good results obtained more significant. So far as the authors can learn, the only previous experiment with electrical methods in the Pennsylvania anthracite field was one made by Sherwin F. Kelly in 1921, when he used the self-potential method at Wilkes-Barre4. The profile he made does not show a very marked correlation with the geologic cross section. Kelly points out that stray currents from electric motors in the mines undoubtedly affected 'his results, but the experience of the present authors with stray currents from mining machinery suggests the possibility that the potentials measured by Kelly were due almost entirely to this effect.

Jan 1, 1936

By Maurice Ewing, A. P. Craby, J. W. Peoples, J. A. Peoples

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the application of the earth-resistivity method of subsurface investigation to the problem of locating seams of anthracite coal beneath a mantle of soil and subsoil. Details are given of the successful use of this method in locating the outcrops of anthracite seams in actual prospecting. The presence of the outcrop of an anthracite seam is indicated at points where electrical resistivity tests showed relatively low readings. The reason for this is that in some localities the resistivity of anthracite was found to be about 0.0001 megohm-cm. compared to 1 to 200 megohm-cm. for shales and sandstones. For two reasons it is believed that the data summarized in this paper should be of particular interest. In the first place, most of the interpretations of the resistivity survey have been checked by subsequent drilling and some by the removal of the overburden and the exposing of the anthracite seams. It is infrequent that the opportunity for checking results so thoroughly is given. In the second place, the fact that recent commentatorsl,2,3 on the application of geophysical methods to mining have concluded that direct prospecting for anthracite and other types of coal is not promising makes the good results obtained more significant. So far as the authors can learn, the only previous experiment with electrical methods in the Pennsylvania anthracite field was one made by Sherwin F. Kelly in 1921, when he used the self-potential method at Wilkes-Barre4. The profile he made does not show a very marked correlation with the geologic cross section. Kelly points out that stray currents from electric motors in the mines undoubtedly affected 'his results, but the experience of the present authors with stray currents from mining machinery suggests the possibility that the potentials measured by Kelly were due almost entirely to this effect.

Jan 1, 1936

By John R. Wynnyckyj

Results of correlations between strength-development and sintering shrinkage occurring during induration are presented. A mathematical treatment of the shrinkage kinetics is, next, given and is based on the use of semi-empirical equations. The discussion stresses the significance of kinetic constants and activation energies in the assessment of iron ore concentrates for pelletizing and induration. Next, starting with the assumption that there is a need for parameters to characterize the iron-ore concentrates and relate these parameters to shrinkage-kinetic constants and balling behaviour, results of compaction measurements and pore structure characterization (mercury porosimetry) are presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By T. E. Leontis

The specific effect of various rare-earth metals on the room- and elevated-temperature properties of magnesium has been evaluated. Alloys containing didymium exhibit the highest tensile and compressive strengths at room and elevated temperatures. All the rare-earth metals increase the creep resistance of extruded magnesium at temperatures in the range of 400° to 600°F, but the degree of enhancement depends on the temperature and on the concentration of the added metal. THE effects of rare-earth metals on the properties of sand-cast magnesium were discussed in some detail in earlier paper by the author.' The present paper deals with the effect of the same alloying elements on the properties of extruded magnesium. This investigation also had as its aim the development of a wrought alloy having a better combination of room-temperature strength and ductility and elevated-temperature strength and creep resistance than is found in magnesium-Mischmetal-manganese alloys, which have been reported earlier.2-5 The only known attempt to study wrought magnesium alloys containing pure cerium instead of Mischmetal was made by Mellor and Ridley.6 They found that in the form of rolled bars there is a definite, optimum cerium content for creep resistance at 200 °C and that the creep resistance of these alloys at 200 °C is significantly Improved by heat treatment at 550" to 580"C. In the present investigation the compositional variation in mechanical properties of the following alloy systems is presented: I—magnesium-Misch-metal. 2—magnesium-cerium-free Mischmetal. 3— magnesium-didymium. 4—magnesium-cerium. 5— magnesium-lanthanum. Alloys containing predominately praseodymium are not included in this series because of the lack of this material. Experimental Procedures The alloying ingredients used in preparing the alloys described herein are the same as those reported in the earlier paper.' Cerium-free Mischmetal is the rare-earth mixture remaining when the cerium is removed from Mischmetal, which contains all the rare-earth metals as they occur naturally in mon-azite sand, the ore from which Mischmetal is produced. Removal of both cerium and lanthanum from Mischmetal leaves what is commonly called "didym-ium," consisting predominantly of neodymium and praseodymium. Although the composition of the particular batch of each metal used may differ somewhat from the analysis presented previously, these differences are not great enough to warrant repeat- ing the specific composition of each material. The electrolytic magnesium used as the starting material in these alloys has the same typical analysis as that given in the earlier paper.' The alloys were prepared in small laboratory melts applying all the necessary precautions for alloying rare-earth metals with magnesium described by Marande.' Most melts were large enough to cast one 3 in. diam billet 10 in. long. In a few cases, particularly the didymium-containing alloys, the lack of sufficient amounts of the rare-earth metal limited the size of the billet to 6 to 8 in. All billets were scalped to a diameter of 2 15/16 in. and faced to a length of 9 ¼ in. as limited by the size of the extrusion container. The alloys were extruded into ½ in. diam rod on a 500-ton direct-extrusion press using a 3 in. container. The details of the extrusion step are: billet preheat, 925°F (2 hr); container temperature, 900°F; die temperature, 900°F; extrusion speed, 10 ft per min; reduction ratio, 36:1; and percent reduction, 97.3. The lower melting point of alloys containing didymium' necessitated reduction of the extrusion speed to 5 ft per min in order to prevent hot shorting during extrusion. Adequate lengths were cropped from both ends of each extruded rod to assure that all the material used for tests was extruded under uniform conditions. Tensile and compressive properties at room temperature are reported in the several conditions of heat treatment. The ASTM designations are used to distinguish these conditions as follows: T5—Direct age at 400°F (16 hr) T4—Heat treat at 950°F (4 hr) for alloys containing didymium T4—Heat treat at 1050°F (4 hr) for all other alloys T6—T4 + age at 400 °F (16 hr) The lower heat-treating temperature for alloys containing didymium is necessitated by the lower melting point of these alloys. All heat treatments were conducted in electrically heated, circulating-air furnaces. A protective atmosphere containing 0.5 to 1.0 pct sulphur dioxide was used for the high temperature heat treatments. Tension and creep specimens 6 Yz in. long and compression specimens 1½ in. long were cut from the extruded rod. A reduced section of ? in. diam was machined on the tension specimens, whereas on the creep specimens a reduced section of 0.450 in. diam

Jan 1, 1952

By R. B. Snow

THIS paper describes a technique of polishing and etching specimens of open-hearth furnace slags or hearth aggregates for identification of the crystalline constituents-lime (CaO), tricalcium silicate (3CaO•SiO2), dicalcium silicate (2CaO-SiO2), monticellite (CaO•MgO-SiO2), or forsterite (2MgO•SiO2), with especial emphasis on the mineral merwinite (3CaO-MgO.2SiO2). With proper standardization, this identification does not require the use of the petrographic microscope. The composition of basic open-hearth slags and furnace bottoms falls, almost without exception, within systems containing CaO, MgO, "FeO," MnO and SiO2, in which the number of basic molecules so greatly exceeds the orthosilicate ratio (two molecules of base to one of silica) that free basic oxides, and combinations between them such as aluminates or ferrites, are present in cooled specimens. Orthosilicates of (CaO + MgO) are the most common in such specimens, since in nearly all cases, except premelt slags, the molecular ratio of (CaO + MgO) to SiO2 is more than 2 to r. When sufficient lime is available it combines with the silica to form dicalcium silicate (2CaO•SiO2), which contains little, if any, MgO, FeO or MnO in solid solution whereas the latter oxides combine to form the oxide solid solution known as periclase. If the lime present is insufficient to form dicalcium silicate (2CaO•SiO2) it combines with MgO to form either merwinite (3CaO•MgO.2SiO2) or monticellite (CaO-MgO•SiO2); these minerals take little if any FeO or MnO into solid solution and the remaining MgO, FeO and MnO combine as periclase. This generalization seems to be valid for basic slags and furnace bottoms, since minerals such as CaO-MnO•SiO2 and CaO-FeO-SiO2 are found only in slags in which the lime-silica ratio is less than 2 and are not observed in specimens from furnace bottoms. The identification of crystalline constituents in such materials, especially of fine crystals in the groundmass, is difficult under the petrographic microscope. They are often masked by their neighbors because of their small size in relation to the thickness of the thin section and because of the presence of opaque or colored constituents. The indices of retraction and the optical sign of the mineral are sometimes difficult to determine because of the small size or because of twinning or of inclusions within the crystal. Moreover, the positive identification of merwinite (3CaO•MgO.2SiO2) from its optical properties is usually difficult in the presence of dicalcium silicate (2CaO•SiO2). CaO, MgO, 3CaO•SiO2 and 2CaO•SiO2 in open-hearth slags have been identified for a number of years in the U.S. Steel Corporation Laboratory by the usual

Jan 1, 1947

By John H. Walthall, Raymond L. Copson, Travis P. Hignett

In October 1942, the War Production Board requested the Tennessee Valley Authority to undertake investigations to determine the feasibility of producing alumina suitable for reduction in aluminum cells, from clays and other domestic materials, by a lime-sintering, soda-ash leaching process. The work was undertaken by the chemical engineering staff of the Authority under the general direction of the War Metallurgy Committee of the National Academy of Sciences. The investigation included small-scale tests to determine the most suitable conditions for the process, and construction and operation of a pilot plant to obtain data for evaluation of the process and for design of a plant. The results of this investigation are described in the present paper. Sources of Alumina Alumina for the commercial production of aluminum is obtained from bauxite by the Bayer process. The tremendous demand for aluminum for wartime uses is causing rapid exhaustion of the high-grade bauxite deposits in the United States. On the other hand, there is an abundance of aluminous materials such as clay and lower grades of bauxite, which are not suitable for treatment by the Bayer process because of their high silica content. The Tennessee Valley Authority has conducted research and pilot-plant work for more than 5 years on methods for the production of alumina from clay and low-grade bauxite. Particular attention has been given to the high-grade white kaolin found in Carroll County, Tennessee. Exploratory drilling has demonstrated that at least 4 1/2 million tons of kaolin containing in excess of 34 per cent AlzOI is available in this area by strip-mining methods. It has been estimated that hundreds of millions of tons of clay of similar quality occur in the Tennessee Valley region. The Process The process is illustrated in the flowsheet (Fig. I), and consists essentially of the following steps: I. Heating a mixture of clay and limestone to form a sinter containing calcium aluminate and dicalcium silicate. z. Leaching this sinter with a dilute sodium carbonate solution, to form a sodium aluminate solution and a calcium carbonate, calcium silicate residue, which is discarded. 3. Treating the sodium aluminate solution with carbon dioxide to precipitate aluminum trihydrate and regenerate the sodium carbonate solution, which is recycled. 4. Heating the aluminum trihydrate to produce alumina. The process was considered promising because of the abundance and cheapness of the two raw materials, clay and limestone; and because, as compared with an acid process, smaller amounts of critical

Jan 1, 1944