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By Theodore B. Winkler, John Chipman

In order to understand more fully the complexities of the reactions occurring between the liquid steel and the slag in the basic open-hearth steelmaking furnace, investigations in this country and. abroad have turned to laboratory equilibrium studies. This paper is one of a series of reports on investigations being conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The experimental work was completed early in 1942. The slag systems found in the basic open hearth are very complex, being made up of at least eight major components and as many others whose effect might be classified as minor. The first two papers of the series, by Fetters and Chipman,l,2 as well as the paper by Taylor and Chip-man,3 dealt with the simplest possible slag system that would resemble those found in the basic ope), hearth—the slag system consisting of CaO-MgO2-SiOz-FeO. (Taylor's rotating induction furnace eliminated the necessity of contamination of the slag by MgO.) Having arrived at some reasonable conclusions regarding the physical chemis- try of the reactions between molten iron and the simple slags at equilibrium, the next step was to investigate more complex slag systems. The major purpose of the present investigation was to determine what factors control the distribution of phosphorus between molten iron and the more complex basic slags at equilibrium, and to what extent these factors are influential. The slags used contained CaO, MgO, SiO2, FeO, Fe2O3, P2O6, MnO, Al2O3 and CaF2, but not all of the slag samples contained all of these components at one time. Review of Literature Although a number of interesting papers have been published on the subject of dephosphorization of an iron bath, there are as yet no results from laboratory studies that give thoroughly reliable information on the dephosphorization reaction. Even for the supposedly simple Fe-O-P system involving iron-phosphorus melts and iron oxide-iron phosphate slags, the experimental results are contradictory and no formulas have been established that adequately fit the equilibrium conditions. The Fe-O-P system has been studied by Schackmann and Krings,4 von Samson-Himmelstjerna,6 Oelsen and Maetz,6 Bischof and Maurer,7 Diepschlag and Schürmann,8 and Herty,9 and the results of their investigations appear in Table I. A number of different equilibrium constants and distribution . Ratios

Jan 1, 1947

By Tracy Jarrett

IN making gold alloys possessing certain physical properties, such important factors as corrosion resistance, color, hardness and melting points must be considered. All of these requirements depend directly upon the composition. It is possible to obtain the same colored gold alloy by using different compositions, but in doing so one may bring in some undesirable property. Other investigations have been carried on in this field by F. E. Carter,1 E. M. Wise,2 and L. Sterner-Rainer.3 To make a complete study of the effect of composition upon these properties, a systematic investigation was carried on involving a range of copper content from 85 to 65 per cent. Elements such as zinc, silver and nickel were used to replace in part the copper content. The gold content in all the alloys remained constant. Only 10-karat gold alloys of those containing 41.6 per cent gold will be considered. All of the alloys were made in an induction furnace. Each alloy was cast in a 3 by ¼ by ¾ -in. ingot. The method of obtaining the melting points and making color determinations was described in a previous paper.4 The Rockwell B scale with the ball and 100-kg. weight was used for all hardness determinations. The submersion of test pieces in concentrated nitric acid is one of the standard corrosion tests used in the optical trade. A test piece in the 50 per cent cold-worked condition, ½ by 2 by 0.043 in., is blanked from a strip using a. die, and the weight, loss per square inch of surface is taken as a means of comparison. The time for this test is 2 ½ hr. of actual sub-mersion of the test piece in the acid. This standard test was applied to all of the 10-karat gold alloys discussed in this paper. The tensile tests were made upon strips of the dimensions shown in Fig. 1. The test pieces after blanking were annealed at 1300° F. for 20 min. and cooled in air. The "drop of the beam" method was used in determining the yield point, as there was a very marked "drop" when the yield point was reached.

Jan 1, 1939

By Robert M. Jimeson, James M. Grout

The competitive market potential for solvent-refined coal is estimated and the market advantages are enumerated. Markets are possible in combustion, railroad locomotion, and carbon electrodes. The combustion characteristics are consistent with expected air pollution restrictions on the emission of sulfur and particulate matter. A market potential of sufficient size exists to support the initiation of solvent refining in the United States. The market analysis should help fuel producers determine the advisability of their undertaking solvent refining of coal.

Jan 1, 1972

By Thorp D. Sawyer

In June 1914, one week before I was to be awarded my sheepskin in upper New York State, I received a telegram from New York City which read "Can offer you position as engineer in Chile at $115 a month contract for one year. (signed) Chile Copper Co." That night, Friday, I took a sleeper to New York and arrived at the Guggenheim Brothers' company office at 165 Broadway, just as it was opening up on Saturday morning. Saturday was no holiday in that era. Presenting the telegram at the office, I was ushered into a sub-executive's office and shown a mimeographed contract which 1) agreed to pay me $115 per month from the date of leaving New York until I returned, and with travelling expenses both ways, 2) fixed a charge of $46 per month for board and lodging in company quarters, and 3) stipulated a contract term of one year with the right to retain my services for another year if the company so elected. While a bit huffed at the year's "kicker" I nevertheless accepted. I was then told to prepare to leave the following Wednesday (June 17) on a United Fruit Co. steamer for Panama. Objecting that I still had to receive my degree on the 17th and had planned a vacation in Ohio for a week or so…

Jan 12, 1960

By G. W. Josephson

VIRTUALLY every year inventors find one or more startling new uses for one of the varied products of the nonmetallic mineral industries. For example, in November a major step toward positive control of rainfall was made when an experimenter converted a cloud to snow by dropping a few pounds of solid carbon dioxide into it. Other examples of ingenuity in the development of markets and production methods are noted in the following pages. For most of the industrial mineral products one of the outstanding features of 1946 has been the high level of production. There are exceptions, such as quartz crystal and lithium, whose production capacity during the war outgrew current peacetime needs, but they are few. Some technical men point out that this prosperity is not an unmixed blessing to technologic progress, because so much effort must go into day-to-day production problems that relatively little opportunity is left for the pursuit of new developments.

Jan 1, 1947

By G. H. BUCHANAN

ALTHOUGH the nomenclature of the chemical tools of flotation is probably familiar to you, it will do no harm to review it; . In order to make the terms more real I have employed an illustration which likens flotation to an old-fashioned balloon ascension, such as we witnessed in boyhood at the county fair. The mineral to be floated is the aeronaut, conspicuous in his gilt-spangled tights, who is to be separated from you and me and the other small boys who are standing about, said boys being the g-a-n-g-u-e, or g-a-n-g, as we would have spelled it. The oil film surrounding the bubble is the counterpart of the silken fabric of the balloon, and bubble and balloon will rise for. the same reason, namely. that the fluid outside it is heavier than the fluid within. In flotation reagent nomenclature the material of which the bubble is made is called the "frother.",

Jan 1, 1930

By R. E. Cuthbertson

AN early appreciation by the management that Climax ore presented a challenging problem of economic concentration was responsible for the establishment, in June 1926, of an ore-testing department at the experimental plant of the Colorado School of Mines at Golden, some ninety miles from Climax. An engineering office was later organized in the same community for the design of all ore-treatment units erected at Climax during the period of rapid growth. Work of the ore-testing and design staffs was effectively co-ordinated under a common head. The primary reason for having the ore-testing and plant design departments in Golden, was to place these activities under the able supervision of A. J. Weinig, consultant for the Climax Molybdenum Co., and director of the experimental plant. A secondary consideration was the availability of excellent facilities for research in ore dressing in a highly favorable environment. Concentration of molybdenite by flotation from an ore of simple mineral composition does not appear, superficially, to present a serious problem in ore dressing but experience belies this apparent simplicity. The molybdenite content of average Climax ore is low and it is finely

Jan 1, 1946

By Persifor Frazer

TILE ore property of Mr. Augustus Roop is situated about one and a half miles south of the New Windsor Station of the Western Maryland Railroad and is connected with the town of New Windsor by the Liberty and New Windsor Turnpike. It is about forty miles distant from Baltimore, and about seven miles west from the county town of Westminster, and a little more northeast from the celebrated Liberty Copper Mines. (See accompanying Maps 1 and 2.) The property comprises about 140 acres, lying principally

Jan 1, 1881

By R. S. Newlin

IN reality, the Butte district is the birthplace of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., for it was here that strength was gathered and means provided for later expansions of the Company. The Butte district was organized at a miners' meeting on Aug. 20, 1866, primarily for gold placer-mining operations. Substantial amounts of placer gold were recovered from gulch gravels during the period 1862 to 1868. The earliest lode claim locations in the district were recorded in July and August 1864. Copper ore was first shipped, to Swansea, Wales, in 1866. In November 1866, according to the Montana Post, construction of a smelter was started to treat the silver

Jan 1, 1948

By Persifor Frazer

The ore property of Mr. Augustus bop is situated about one and a half miles south of the New Windsor Station of the Western Maryland Railroad and is connected with the town of New Windsor by the Liberty and New Windsor Turnpike. It is about forty miles distant from Baltimore, and about seven miles west from the county town of Westminster, and a little more northeast from the celebrated Liberty Copper Mines. (See accompanying Map I and 2.) The property comprises about 140 acres, lying principally

Jan 1, 1881

By B. T., Colley

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

Jan 1, 1945

By Clyde E. Williams, V. N. Krivobok, C. H. Herty

THE extreme effect of the depression on the steel industry is well illustrated by the fact that the amount of iron ore shipped from the Lake Superior district was the lowest in 47 years. Something over 3 1/2 million tons of ore was shipped in 1932, compared with over 65 million tons in 1929. It is not surprising then that practically no advancement in iron ore beneficiation has been made. Improved research and development work, however, was continued at the Michigan College of Mines in the survey of the lean iron ores of Michigan with reference to the possibility of their concentration; at the University of Minnesota in its large-scale jigging studies of Lake :Superior ores; and at Battelle Memorial Institute in the development of improved jigging of iron ores. The successful operation of the new Hadsel mill at a gold property in California gave such low grinding costs on a quartz ore as to give much encouragement in the iron ore industry for a cheapening of the cost of grinding lean ores for concentration.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. T. Morris

ONE of the chief concerns of the Bethlehem Steel Co. naturally is the proper functioning of its organization. This involves the training of a continuous supply of younger men to fill the vacancies caused not only by the inevitable departure of older men, but also by the growth of existing establishment, and by expansion in new directions. It does not oper-ate a student training course with a fixed time schedule or with definite periods of rotation through the differ-ent divisions. To state the case positively, the gradu-ate's training course must operate continuously from the beginning of his employment through a long term of years. No period of weeks or months nor pair of years suffice to bring him into contact with all the com-binations needed to qualify him for the larger destiny toward which we hope he is headed. Our first step in selecting a college man is to require that he have a degree. We thus approximate the assur-ance that at least four annual siftings have reduced the chance that a non-worker may find himself in a job where work is necessary. The next step is to try to ascertain facts, from the graduate and from others who have known him at his home and in 'his college, to indi-cate whether our opportunities offer him a career that will challenge his continuing interest, and hold him to tenacious effort against all happenings. We aim to avoid knowingly bringing into our organization a man who will not develop in it enough enthusiasm to keep him happily striving. Having made our selections, we assemble the gradu-ates into a probationary observation circuit. We-put ourselves under their observation by taking them in small groups, usually of two to four men, on a circuit of every part of the Bethlehem plant, in which every manufacturing principle of our steel business is ex-emplified. The probationers work at something from day to day, with their hands if it can be arranged; otherwise in questioning, examining, and note-taking. Their observations include talks with superintendents, foremen, and workmen, the conditions under which workmen labor, apparatus, machinery, methods, design and operation of plant.

Jan 7, 1928

By Georges Fleming

The new burden preparation plant of ARBED Luxembourg, Belval- Works, which comprises 2 large sinter strands, is equipped with a process computer connected to a comprehensive process control system. The main jobs done by the computer are the control of the raw mix composition, and thus the monitoring of the stacking of the piles at the bed-blending plant, and the optimization of the sintering process. Among the optimization criteria, quality is considered as the most important. The sinter quality, characterized by the mechanical strength and the state of oxidation, is controlled automatically. The control system which we have dev loped is highly reliable; as a result, the standard deviation of Fe++, for the control of bivalent iron, has been narrowed to 0,5 % and the standard deviation of the IS0 + 6, 3 mm index, for the control of the mechanical strength, has been kept within 1 %. Thanks to these results, the combined savings in fuel consumption at the sinter plant and at the blast furnaces have covered the total costs of the optimization project in 2 years. By applying automatic control, the optimum driving range of the sinter plant has been defined and these new guidelines are used for monitoring the sinter production.

Jan 1, 1977

By Paul M. Tyler

THE farmer pays the phosphate miner! Phosphorus is used in fireworks; goes to battle in military smoke screens, incendiary shells, and tracer bullets; and, in vermin destroying pastes, does its part in the war against insects. A lemon phosphate can be had for a nickel at most soda fountains, and tens of thousands of tons of phosphate rock are mined annually for use in the food industries, chiefly for making monocaleium phosphate baking powder. Sodium phosphate cleaning, washing, and scouring compounds consume substantial quantities: the iron and steel industries buy a few thousand tons yearly to make ferrophosphorus and to balance foundry-iron furnace charges; and even nonferrous metallurgists use a little for phosphor bronze and other alloys. Phosphoric acid, its salts, and diverse other derivatives of this versatile element have countless applications, and industrial outlets are increasing rapidly, especially in the United States. Nevertheless, in this country nearly 90 per cent and in the whole world fully 95 per cent of the phosphate rock consumed is absorbed ultimately in agriculture.

Jan 1, 1938

By Oliver Bowles

THE most important non-metallic mineral industries from a tonnage standpoint are those that are allied with the construction industries and are engaged in handling sand and gravel, crushed stone, building stone, cement, lime and gypsum. The greatest problem facing a number of these industries at this time is over-production. They have experienced un- usual, and in some instances phenomenal, growth during recent years, stinlulated by extensive highway and building construction, but in some localities expansion of producing plants has far outstripped industrial needs. The cement industry is operating at about two- thirds capacity. Over-production tends toward price- cutting and unprofitable and interrupted operation, involving maintenance expenses for idle plants and disorganization of working forces. This condition has encouraged active efforts toward reducing production costs by the introduction of labor-saving equipment. Also, there is a tendency toward the location of manufacturing plants, wherever possible, near the centers of consumption rather than at points of production of raw materials. In order to reduce overhead expense, or for other reasons, many consolidations of companies into larger units have taken place. An economic study of conditions in these industries is highly desirable. The U. S. Bureau of Mines has taken one step forward in this direction in the issuance of Economic Paper 7, entitled "Economics of New Sand and Gravel Developments." Briefly, this report emphasizes the importance of making a thorough study of all the economic factors involved before undertaking new .enterprises.

Jan 1, 1930

By T. S. Lundy, R. E. Pawel, F. R. Winslow, C. J. McHargue

The volume-diffusion coefficients of Nb-95 and Ta-182 in niobium have been measured over the temperature range 878° to 2400°C. High-temperature specimens (T 21500°C) were sectioned by conventional lathe and grinding techniques while low-temperature specimens were sectioned by an anodizing and stripping technique previously described. Over a range of more than ten orders of magnitude in diffusivity, the self-diffusion data is well-represented by the equation: D = (1.1+ 0.2) exp [- (96,000 * 900)/RT ] cm2/sec Upward deviations from this line are explained by short-circuit diffusion in combination with the loss of resolution of the sectioning techniques. Oxygen contamination within the range 100 to 450 ppm was found to have little or no effect on the self-diffusivitj 01 niobium. In a limited number of measurements, the diffusivity of Ta-182 in niobium was found to be about half that of Nb-95 in niobium. These data may be described by D = (I.0+0.90.5)exp [- (99,300 * 2400) /RT ] PREVIOUSLY reported studies of self-diffusion in niobium were by Resnick and Castleman1 and Peart, Graham, and Tomlin.2 The data of Resnick and Castleman over a temperature range 1585" to 2120°C show considerable scatter but. can be represented by D = (12.4 *0.8) exp [-(105,000+3OOO)/RT] cm2/sec The limited data of Peart, Graham, and Tomlin follow the equation D = 1.3 exp (-95,00O/RT) cm2/sec In view of recent diffusion data for ß zirconium3 and 0 titanium4 in which Arrhenius-type plots do not yield straight lines and of the potential high- temperature uses of niobium and its alloys, we thought it important to investigate the diffusion behavior of this bcc refractory metal over a large temperature range. This has recently been done for molybdenum,5 chromium,6 vanadium,"" and tantalum.9 Niobium was a particularly suitable material for this study largely because of the development of an anodizing and stripping sectioning technique which enables diffusivities as small as l0-19' sq cm per sec to be determined accurately.10 In addition to self-diffusion data, data were obtained for the diffusion of Ta-182 in niobium and for the effect of varying oxygen content on self-diffusion. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Materials. The niobium was obtained from three sources: 1) melting stock from Shieldalloy Corp., 2) electron-beam melted single crystals, 1/2 in. diameter, from Semi-Elements, Inc., and 3) oxygen-doped, electron-beam melted single crystals from Materials Research Corp. The melting stock was electron-beam melted and specimens 5/8 in. diameter by 1/2 in. long were machined from the center of the bar. The analysis supplied by the vendor and an interstitial analysis of one of the specimens are given in Table I. The single crystals (type 2 above) were cut with a jeweler's saw to specimens about 3/8 in. long. The interstitial analysis of this material is given in Table 11. This material was used

Jan 1, 1965

This investigation was supported by a grant from the American Iron and Steel Institute and a fellowship given by the Armco Steel Corp. We are indebted to J. F. Butler of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. for a portion of the alloys used in this investigation and to R. L. LeRoy of the Armco Steel Corp. for chemical analyses.

Jan 1, 1962

By Dozier Fircley

SOME nonmetallic minerals and their products, such as portland cement, common brick and hollow tile, sand, gravel, crushed rock, vitrified salt-glaze clay pipe, and the like, are a necessity in every community. They are mineral in nature but the establishment of plants for their production is usually a local and elementary problem. Yet it is probable that an economic study of the problem in every locality will show that such nonmetallic mineral commodities are not always obtained in the most economical way, or in the best quality. Other nonmetallic minerals are of such value that they may be shipped for long distances and sold in sufficient quantities to establish prosperous commercial ventures. Among these are phosphates, barium compounds, borates, nitrogen compounds, magnesium compounds, sulfur, asbestos, and potash. Success in marketing such products depends on quality, production cost, transportation, and similar conditions.

Jan 1, 1932

By Ralph H. Sweetser

BENEFICIATION of iron ores from the blast-furnace point of view means more than the usual enrichment of the iron contents by the removal of a large part of the clay, carbonic acid gas, silica, or moisture of the natural ore; it includes all these, but it also embraces several other mechanical .processes made , necessary by the exacting requirements of present-day blast-furnace practice. The increasing use of iron- bearing by-products, to as much as a third or more of the total ore burden, has introduced still another series of processes for improving the blast-furnace ore burden. As we look back over the past three decades of blast- furnace practice 'in. this country, we see that many of the blast-furnace troubles were directly due to lack of proper preparation of the iron ore burden,, and we realize that beneficiation in one form or another would have remedied the trouble. This was particularly true in the smelting of magnetic iron ores, where run-of- mine ore included such big lumps of 'magnetite along with rich fines that the furnace operations were greatly retarded and control of the furnace such as is usual today, was completely unknown.

Jan 1, 1930