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By AIME AIME

N OW THAT the war is over it is possible to release data and correct some erroneous statements and impressions relative to the use of manganese-steel armor and helmets, which heretofore have been carefully guarded. The material of the helmets furnished to the English, American, and Belgian armies was invented by Sir Robert Hadfield, Bart., F.R.S., and was described in a paper read by him at the International Engineering Congress in August, 1893. The French helmet was 2 oz. lighter than the English but had a greatly inferior resistance. Tests showed that it was perforable at as low a velocity as 350 ft.- sec. impact of the standard shrapnel bullets. Helmets made of the Hadfield "Era" manganese steel kept out standard shrapnel bullets of the same quality at no less than from 750 to 950 ft.-sec. impact velocity. The respective energies were, in the case of the French helmet, only 0.021 ft.-tons, 46 ft.-lb., and in the British 0.095 ft.-tons, 213 ft.-lb. The German helmet was made of nickel-chromium steel and, although 12 oz. heavier and 12 per cent. thicker than the Hadfield, was not only perforate

Jan 1, 1920

By R. W. Newcomb

THE constancy of calibration, and to a great extent the life, of a thermoelement is dependent on the suitability of the primary protecting tube in which the wires are mounted, particularly when used at high temperatures. An ideal thermocouple protecting tube would be com-posed of materials that would not contaminate the thermoelement wires contained in it-one that would remain absolutely gas-tight ,it all temperatures of usage, that will not be attacked by gases, or other surrounding agencies, that is not destroyed by heat, that withstands sudden and extreme temperature changes, that affords a high degree of mechanical protection and does not deform at high temperatures, that is a good heat conductor and obtainable in small diameters so as to keep down lag factors. It has not yet been possible to produce tubes of any known mate-rials that will meet all of these conditions. In selecting protecting tubes, therefore, one should be chosen the characteristics of which best fit it to the particular conditions of usage. Frequently conditions are such that two tubes have to be used, a primary gas-tight protecting tube inside of a secondary protecting tube, because certain agencies will attack the primary gas-tight tube unless it is guarded by the outside tube.

Jan 9, 1919

By Benjamin Miller

FROM earliest recorded times, limestone has been employed in the industrial life of peoples of all sections of the world where it exists. It is widely distributed and therefore has been available in almost every country and has been employed for a variety of purposes. Its earliest use was for buildings, since it is more easily quarried and dressed than most other kinds of rocks and so could be utilized by early inhabitants, poorly equipped, with tools. The next use was in the manufacture of lime, which was employed by the ancients in mortar. These two uses of limestone are still all important, but they have been overshadowed in scores of regions by literally hundreds of new applications for raw lime-stone or products made from it. Anyone familiar with modern manu-facturing processes can quickly call to mind many industries in which limestones are essential, and new uses are continually coming to notice. Any enumeration would probably be incomplete and soon out of date.

Jan 1, 1935

By Ray W. Arms

DRY cleaning, or pneumatic separation, is not, strictly speaking, a recent discovery. Among the archives of the Patent Office may be found many patents dating back as far as 1850 which cover early attempts to separate materials of varying specific gravity or of different shape by means of air. Hundreds of patents covering this art have been issued, which may be roughly classified into four general groups, as follows: 1. Stationary devices with pulsating air currents. The separating surface is usually riffled and air is supplied by bellows or compressors. This group also includes air jigs, which have been used rather extensively. 2. Stationary devices with continuous air currents. These submitted the material to a continuous current of air, either horizontal or vertical. Chaff is blown from wheat by such a device. 3. Reciprocating or vibrating devices with pulsating air. A small group in which the pulsating air is supplied by bellows and some motion provided in the separating surface to move the stratified material to various discharge points. 4. Reciprocating or vibrating devices with continuous air supply. This is by far the most important group and all recent developments have been along this line. All of the above groups involve the stratification of material by air and include none of the dry methods that use other principles, such as coefficient of friction, magnetism, etc. Air Stratification In all of the above groups of air separating devices, the same phenomena are found as exist in water concentrators; that is, free settling will be found in some and hindered settling in others, with a complex action on the reciprocating tables similar to the wet tables. The experimental value of the settling ratios of particles in air has never been determined but, following the formulas given in Richards'

Jan 1, 1924

The surface area that mining requires is a minuscule fraction of the total land mass of the United States, according to the US Bureau of Mines' latest report "Land Utilization and Reclamation in the Mining Industry, 1930-71." During the 42-year period from 1930 to 1971, the mining industry utilized 3.65 million acres-only 0.16% of a total 2.27 billion acres of land-and reclaimed 1.46 mil- lion acres, or 40% of what it used. Which leaves, as still unreclaimed, 0.096% of the nation's total land mass.

Jan 10, 1974

By Persifor Frazer

At a time when all those interested in the iron trade are carefully scanning the horizon for new sources of the raw material, a few words concerning a field, which though not new, has not been hitherto fruitful of statistical information, may be deemed appropriate at this meeting. The district alluded to is the belt of the Middle James River, or in other words, that portion of the ferriferous belts of Virginia lying between Josua Falls and the little settlement of Norwood, in the counties of Amherst and Nelson, and on the left bank of the James River. This region shows unmistakable signs of developing a very considerable market for iron ores and for iron in the future, as well as a tempting appearance of possible productiveness in the former. It, is extremely hazardous to deal in generalizations as to the productiveness or non-productiveness of these measures without a more thorough development than has yet been attained. It is true that they probably constitute an horizon whence comes a part of the marvellous mineral wealth of the northern peninsula of Michigan. But

Jan 1, 1883

By N. N. Breyer

A specially built "hard" tensile machine with characteristics permitting the precise detertnination of the drop of the load at the yield point has been used to study the magnitude of the yield-point phenotnenon in prestrained martensitic 4340 steel. A new phenonzenon, the appearance of a secondary yield point, has been observed by holding the specimen at constant strain in the plastic region. Furthermore, it has been found that a series of yield-point drops could be introduced by successive constant strain holds in the plastic region. The isothermal kinetics of the development of the secondary yielding point lave been studied at four temperatures: 24° 0° -18°, and -79°C. From the results of the kinetic investigation, equations for the In a previous investigation1 it was shown that, contrary to generally held opinion, steels of medium carbon content, such as 4340, 4140, and 86B30, in the as-quenched martensitic condition, can be cold-drawn through a die with reductions in area of up to 10 pct without cracking. Tensile specimens of 4340 machined from bars quenched and prestrained in this manner exhibited tensile strengths of about 400,000 psi coupled with 30 pct reductions in area. In addition, it was found that each sample of such steels exhibited a yield point in the quenched, cold-drawn condition. Since these studies were conducted on a commercial hydraulic testing machine of a type which is not well-suited to detailed study of yield-point behavior, it was decided to study this phenomenon more thoroughly on a rigid straining machine. In this new investigation, use of such a "hard" machine not only allowed study of the magnitude of the yield-point drop but also revealed a new phenomenon—secondary yielding of the martensite introduced by stopping crosshead motion after plastic deformation of the sample had begun. The present paper is a report of these findings. MATERIALS AND PROCESSING The material used was a commercial 4340 steel of the composition shown below: 0.41 0.80 0.013 0.019 0.31 0.85 1.76 0.28 1 0.42 0.77 0.015 0.024 0.30 0.84 1.69 0.28 0.08 2 1 = Ladle analysis. 2 = Laboratory analysis. Bars of this steel were processed in the following way: 1) machined to predetermined diameters; 2) austenitized at 870°C for 1 1/2 hr; 3) oil-quenched; 4) cooled to -115°C for 1/2 hr; onset and increase in magnitude of the secondary yielding in this temperature region have been found to fit the relationship ?Ys = Atn where ?Ys is the magnitude of the secondary yield Point in psi, t is the time in seconds, and A and n are parameter characteris-tics of the material. Although the occurrence of the primary and secondary yield points could be rationalized qualitatively on the basis of stress-induced ordering of carbon atoms in the stress fields of dislocations, as postulated in an earlier paper, the kinetics of the secondary-yield-point development were interpreted to indicate that the ordering involves more than just single jumps of carbon atoms from high-energy to neighboring low-energy sites. 5) pickled and lime-coated; 6) drawn through a carbide die. The predetermined diameters were chosen so that drawing through the same die gave the various reductions desired. Tensile specimens of 0.252 in. diam with a 1 1/4 in. gage length were then prepared from the drawn bars and tested. In order to study the stress-strain behavior at the yield point in detail, a rigid tensile machine with a high spring constant was constructed. Columns of large cross section (relative to the specimen cross section) constituted the machine frame. A dc motor was used to drive a screw via a gear reducing train and a "crane" thrust bearing. In this relatively simple device small deformations could be observed un-blurred by the slow response and lower spring constant inherent in hydraulic machines.' A strain-gage dynamometer permitted load changes as small as 8 lb to be read. RESULTS Tensile test samples machined from bars in the as-quenched condition with no subsequent drawing and samples from bars with 3.8 pct reduction after quenching gave stress-strain curves typified by those shown in Figs. I and 2. The time lapse between predrawing and tensile testing varied but usually ranged between 3 to 6 days at room temperature. The strain rate during testing was 0.003 in. per in. per min. The as-quenched curve is seen to have a broad serrated maximum whereas the stress on the specimen prestrained 3.8 pct rose linearly to point A, Fig. 2, fell abruptly to B, and then gradually to C. The abrupt drop to B was accompanied by evidence of incipient necking. The drop of the stress at the yield point in the prestrained samples (A to B in Fig. 2) changed with the percent prestrain, as illustrated on Fig. 3. Although the tensile strength increased continuously with the amount of previous cold drawing, the magnitude of the yield point drop first increased—up to about 6 pct prior reduction—and then decreased. Specimens from bars predrawn more than 8 pct broke in a brittle fashion in the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve.

Jan 1, 1967

President Howe : It is not so clear to me that the facts which Dr. Waldo brings forward really argue that the nature of the combination between copper and aluminum differs from that of the combination between copper and zinc or copper and tin. As regards electric conductivity, I suppose that the fact, which he thinks points to a special intimate kind of union between aluminum and copper, is that the line in his Fig. 1 is neither straight nor uniformly curved, but that its curvature varies rapidly, not to say abruptly. But we find just such variation in like curves for the copper-zinc and copper-tin alloys. Thus, a slight addition of zinc or tin to copper causes a change in color wholly out of proportion to the quantity added; and, as we add zinc or tin to copper, the tenacity rises very greatly, only to fall off abruptly with further additions of either of these metals. Dr. Waldo : My curve related only to electrical conductivity. The President : If irregularity in one physical property argues

Jan 1, 1895

THE Institute assembled in Packer Hall of the Lehigh University, the President, Mr. David Thomas, of Catasauqua in the chair. Professor Henry Coppée, President of the Lehigh University, made an address of welcome to the Institute, and placed at its disposal a convenient hall for purposes of meeting. Mr. Thomas tendered his resignation as President of the Institute, as advancing years prevented him from actively participating in its meetings. The Institute declined to accept the resignation, and, on the assurance that active duties would not be expected of him, Mr. Thomas was induced to withdraw it. Invitations were received from Mr. B. C. Webster, President of the Lehigh Zinc Company, to visit the mines and works of the company; from Mr. Charles Brodhead, to visit the Chapman Slate Quarries; and from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, to visit their works at Summit Hill and Mauch Chunk and the Nesquehoning Tunnel. The Council reported the names of persons already elected in the two classes of members and associates. The following resolutions were passed : Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed, who shall take into consideration the printing and publishing of papers originating with the Institute, and that a uniform system as regards size and execution be adopted. The committee appointed consisted of Messrs. R. W. Raymond, E. B. Coxe, and the Secretary. Resolved, That the Council design and prepare a seal for the Institute at the earliest practicable time. Resolved, That a committee of six, with power to add to its numbers, be appointed to examine into the question of the more economical production of iron in this country. The committee appointed consisted of Messrs. G. W. Maynard,

By W. J. Taylor, H. J. Mutz, A. F. Brock

THE International Kickel Co. of Canada Ltd. operates five underground mines and an open pit. Four of the mines, the Frood-Stobie, Creighton, Murray, and Garson, are on the south range of the Sudbury Basin, map above, within a radius of 10 miles of the city of Sudbury, Ontario. The fifth mine, the Levack, is on the north range of the Sudbury Basin, 30 miles to the northwest of the city. The open pit is operating on surface ores of the Frood-Stobie orebody. Two pits were opened at the Frood-Stobie mine; the Frood section was started in 1938 and the Stobie section in 1942. To meet the heavy demand for nickel during World War 11, open-pit production was accelerated until it constituted over 40 pct of Inco's total tonnage. As a consequence open-pit ore was depleted considerably alhead of schedule; the Stobie pit was completed in the summer of 1951, and it is expected that mining at the Frood pit will be completed in 1953. The major program launched 10 years ago to develop additional underground production as a replacement of open-pit tonnage thus had to be greatly speeded up. This conversion to all-underground mining will be completed within the next two years, and the underground mines will then have an annual hoisting capacity of 13,000,000 tons. One of the new mines in the underground expansion program, the Murray, was brought into production in 1950. Ore production from the new Stobie section of the Frood-Stobie mine was commenced on a limited scale in 1951 and will be increased as the program progresses. Delivery of ore to the new Creighton mill was started in the summer of 1951 from the caving project launched at Creighton mine. When mining was started in the Sudbury district 65 years ago the ore deposits were opened on a small scale and mining methods conformed to a general pattern of small open cast pits, followed by open stopes as mining was extended below the pits. The open stoping methods used were heading-and-bench and shrinkage. In certain cases a type of cut-and-fill mining was used with drywall tramways and dry-wall chutes in the fill. As the mines were deepened,

Jan 1, 1954

By C. W. EICHRODT

NUMEROUS requests for the suspension of publicity make difficult the preparation of the annual review of copper metallurgy for 1934. In the United States, sales allocations indirectly have set restrictions on the scope of activities of producers and refiners, and necessitated closer cooperation between secondary and primary producers. However, the feeling exists that preparations for a return of intense competition should not he neglected, and careful investigations are being conducted for ways and means of improving industrial positions and production methods. In all probability, efficiency in technique and equipment will prove of far greater importance in the near future than production capacity, and many important developments in copper metallurgy later will be found to have been born during the current year.

Jan 1, 1935

By J. D. Prater, H. R. Spedden, E. E. Malouf

With the expansion of copper leaching of the various mine wastes at the Kennecott properties, additional copper recovery facilities have been required. A research and development program has been pursued to determine a suitable economic approach to the processing of the additional leach solutions contemplated. lnvestigations on laboratory and pilot plant scales covered electrowinning, solvent extraction, launder and vat type cells, activated launders, precipitation drums, and precipitation cones. This paper contains information on the development and use of a new precipitation-cone-type copper recovery plant, which provides many advantages over older systems. The application of research findings to the old art of leaching copper from copper-bearing mine waste has resulted in a significant contribution of copper to over-all copper production. For example, at the completion of the current expansion program at the Kennecott properties in the United States, copper produced from waste dump leaching will amount to about 25% of the total production. Formerly only 2% was derived from this source. This planned expansion of copper leaching focused attention on the problem of developing more efficient methods for the recovery of copper from greatly increased volumes of copper-bearing solutions.1 The detailed investigations which have been made in laboratory pilot plant and plant tests for the recovery of copper from copper-bearing solutions have included electrowinning, solvent extraction, ion exchange and cementation with iron in launders, precipitation drums, activated launders, and precipitation cones. The results of these investigations have led to the development of a new precipitation cone-type copper recovery system providing many advantages over older methods. ELECTROWINNING OF COPPER FROM COPPER-BEARING SOLUTIONS The direct electrowinning of copper from relatively dilute solutions of copper-bearing mine water, namely solutions containing 10 to 20 lbs of copper per 1000 gal, has always been an attractive possibility.2,3 By this method, high-purity copper powder can be recovered with a power consumption of 3.5 kwh per Ib of copper. However, once the solution strength de-

Jan 1, 1967

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Apr. 10 to May 10, 1915: Members ADMAN, WILLIAM, Supt., Susquehanna Coal Co Lykens, Pa. BARTH, CARL G., JR., Min. Engr 6151 Columbia Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. BOOTH, ERIC EDWIN, Min. Engr., Mount Elliott Mine, Selwyn via Cloncurry, North Queensland, Australia. BOYDELL, HARRY CYRIL, Asst. Mgr., Randfontein Central Gold Min. Co., Box 42, Randfontein, Transvaal, South Africa. BRADY, SAMUEL HOWARD, Mine Supt Bohemian Club, .San Francisco, Cal. Buses, HARRY EDWARD, Mine Supt., Engels Copper MiningCo Keddie, Cal.

Jan 6, 1915

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the, names of those persons who became members during the period June 10 to July 10, 1914: Members ALDRICH, HAROLD W., Supt. of Leaching Plant, Washoe Red. Wks., Anaconda Copper Co., Anaconda, Mont. AYER, FRANK ASHTON, Mine Foreman.. ..Detroit Copper Co., Morenci, Ariz. BELL, ARTHUR F. L., Chief Engr., Associated Oil Co.., 817 Sharon Bldg., San Francisco, Cal. BERGMAN, JULIUS GUSTAF, Mech. Engr., Chief Draftsman, Arizona Copper Co. Morenci, Ariz. BURT, CURTIS F., Min. Engr., Pittsburg-Dolores Mining Co., Rockland, via Yerington, Nev. CALLAWAY SCOTT DAVID, Chem La Harpe Smelter Co., La Harpe, Kan. CAMPBELL, W. C., Min. Engr 4 Princess St., Roodeport, Transvaal, So. Af. CARROLL, GEORGE A., Genl. Mgr Kildare Min. Co., Manson, B. C., Canada. CARUTHERS, JOHN LYTLE, Min. Engr., Asst. Engr., St. Louis, Rocky Mountain & Pacific Co.. Raton. N. M.

Jan 8, 1914

By Harry H. Angst

The history and efficiency of 40-ton capacity dump trucks for surface waste removal at the New Cornelia opencut copper mine, at Ajo, Ariz., are summed up in this paper. Tabulations of truck performance, together with detailed cost figures, prove the value of truck transportation for certain special operations at a large mine. Emphasis is given to the fact that truck transportation not only reduces the haulage costs but also reduces the breaking ground and shovel-loading costs per ton. The New Cornelia opencut copper mine is in the desert. The climate is ideal for seven months of the year, but the five summer months are uncomfortably hot. 'She elevation is 1820 ft. above sea level and the annual rainfall is approximately 6 inches. The ore body is a monzonite-porphyry deposit. The waste-rock capping consists of hard rhyolite, conglomerate and porphyry. All the material is hard and cannot be excavated without blasting. The rhyolite and conglomerate waste is very blocky. The weight of the rock in place is 2.16 tons per cubic yard. The average mine production per day is 22,090 tons of 012 and 18,000 tons Of waste rock, the latter consisting of surface rock and material within the ore body too low in grade to send to the concentrator. The rock is loaded by electric shovels with 4½-cu. yd. dippers. The primary transportation of ore to the concentrator and waste to the dumps is by 30-yd. dump cars and oil-burning steam locomotives; therefore truck haulage of waste is a minor factor of the New Cornelia operation. However, as New Cornelia was one of the first mines to use large-capacity dump trucks for haulage, the results obtained are of interest. Equipment On the south side of the New Cornelia is a hill rising about 500 ft. above the normal surface elevation, roughly 1000 ft. in diameter at its base, called locally Arkansas Mountain peak. Exploratory drilling in this area developed additional ore that could be made accessible for open pit operation only by moving the mountain face a maximum distance of 400 ft. to the south. The slope of the mountain adjacent to the pit averaged 35°, and the small area involved precluded the use of train haulage for the removal of the 4,000,000 tons of waste estimated above the normal pit elevation. A study of dump-truck haulage at Boulder Dam and San Gabriel Dam led to the decision to use large-capacity end-diii~lp trucks rather than smaller trucks, for the following reasons: I. The truck would have to withstand the impact of hard, heavy chunks, some of them weighing as much as 10 tons, which would be dumped from the 4½-cu. yd. dipper. 2. The coarse, rocky, abrasive material would soon damage a light truck body. 3. The body of a small truck could not be efficiently loaded with coarse rock.

Jan 1, 1943

By Harry H. Angst

The history and efficiency of 40-ton capacity dump trucks for surface waste removal at the New Cornelia opencut copper mine, at Ajo, Ariz., are summed up in this paper. Tabulations of truck performance, together with detailed cost figures, prove the value of truck transportation for certain special operations at a large mine. Emphasis is given to the fact that truck transportation not only reduces the haulage costs but also reduces the breaking ground and shovel-loading costs per ton. The New Cornelia opencut copper mine is in the desert. The climate is ideal for seven months of the year, but the five summer months are uncomfortably hot. 'She elevation is 1820 ft. above sea level and the annual rainfall is approximately 6 inches. The ore body is a monzonite-porphyry deposit. The waste-rock capping consists of hard rhyolite, conglomerate and porphyry. All the material is hard and cannot be excavated without blasting. The rhyolite and conglomerate waste is very blocky. The weight of the rock in place is 2.16 tons per cubic yard. The average mine production per day is 22,090 tons of 012 and 18,000 tons Of waste rock, the latter consisting of surface rock and material within the ore body too low in grade to send to the concentrator. The rock is loaded by electric shovels with 4½-cu. yd. dippers. The primary transportation of ore to the concentrator and waste to the dumps is by 30-yd. dump cars and oil-burning steam locomotives; therefore truck haulage of waste is a minor factor of the New Cornelia operation. However, as New Cornelia was one of the first mines to use large-capacity dump trucks for haulage, the results obtained are of interest. Equipment On the south side of the New Cornelia is a hill rising about 500 ft. above the normal surface elevation, roughly 1000 ft. in diameter at its base, called locally Arkansas Mountain peak. Exploratory drilling in this area developed additional ore that could be made accessible for open pit operation only by moving the mountain face a maximum distance of 400 ft. to the south. The slope of the mountain adjacent to the pit averaged 35°, and the small area involved precluded the use of train haulage for the removal of the 4,000,000 tons of waste estimated above the normal pit elevation. A study of dump-truck haulage at Boulder Dam and San Gabriel Dam led to the decision to use large-capacity end-diii~lp trucks rather than smaller trucks, for the following reasons: I. The truck would have to withstand the impact of hard, heavy chunks, some of them weighing as much as 10 tons, which would be dumped from the 4½-cu. yd. dipper. 2. The coarse, rocky, abrasive material would soon damage a light truck body. 3. The body of a small truck could not be efficiently loaded with coarse rock.

Jan 1, 1943

• "This country eventually may have to rely on foreign sources for some metals, not because it does not have them here but because it may have difficulty getting the labor to mine them. Few people realize the extent to which the 'old timers' are still the backlog of the important districts." --Fred Searls, Jr. • A new filter has been developed by Arthur D. Little, Inc., for the ABC which will remove all dust from the air. Submicroscopic asbestos fibers are used as filter media and are claimed to stop all dust and pollen while passing suitable quantities of air. •Out in front public relationswise is the Peabody Coal Co. which has launched a 15-min television news program on WNBQ at 10:30 C.S.T., Tuesday and Thursday nights. Clifton Utley, news commentator, will tell how coal is mined today and indicate, with pictures, the improvement in efficiency and safety which has resulted from today's mechanized operations. •Two hundred coal mining companies are using roof bolts as a means of supporting about 14 million sq ft of roof surface, Edward Thomas of the Bureau of Mines reported. Various types of metal and wooden pins can be used. The method was first used by the St. Joseph Lead Co. over 20 years ago, but is now being studied and adopted widely in metal, nonmetallic, and coal mines. * The first ten technical graduates have reported at Hanford Works in the state of Washington, to begin the newly installed General Electric rotational training program, believed to be the first of its kind at any U.S. atomic energy plant. The program is to provide suitably trained personnel for the nation's atomic energy program. •The need for top-notch scientists and engineers to stimulate mining programs in British colonies is acute. About 60 American experts are being sought for the ECA sponsored program. Positions for mining engineers, geologists, assayers, topographers, and petrologists are open. •Production of primary aluminum for the first quarter of 1950 was 322,4250008 lb which is 6 1/2 million lb more than was produced in the first quarter of 1949. Shipments of aluminum sheet, plate, and strip amounted to 259.772,1571b for the first quarter. •Policy on manganese procurement for the stockpile is being studied by a House Armed Services Subcommittee with the possibility of lowering specifications. The U. S. Bureau of Mines is drafting a bill to encourage domestic production for stockpiling through producer subsidies. 'It will have to be cleared by the Bureau of the Budget and other agencies before going to Congress. •Oil men consider dry holes a necessary evil in their search for oil. Last year 34 out of every 100 wells drilled were dry holes. Yet Texas Technological College is attempting to drill a dry hole on its campus at Lubbock, taking every precaution to make sure it is a "duster" so its petroleum engineering students can play around with experiments without being bothered by any messy crude oil. --Natural Resources Notes. •A portable alertness indicator which signals lethargy in persons doing monotonous jobs has been developed for the Navy's Special Devices Center. A possible application to hoistmen is indicated but broaching the matter to them would be tricky.

Jan 6, 1950

By W. S. Ayres

I. Introduction. This cavern was discovered Oct. 32,1904, by Mr. Charles 8. Deutschman, in company with whom I made, May 29 to June 3,1905, at the request of Mr. Howard Douglas, Superintendent of the Canadian National Parks, the first exploration of it for the Canadian government. The results were stated in a paper, orally presented, with lantern-views from my photographs, at the British Columbia Meeting of the Institute, Victoria, B. C., July 5, 1905.* The present paper embodies also the results of a second examination, made Oct. 25 to 29, 1905. The accompanging map, Fig. 1, will serve as a guide to the following description. 11. Location. The cavern is situated at snow-line, at the head-waters of Cougar creek, on the west slopes of the Selkirks, about 2 miles north from Ross Peak water-tank, and 5.5 miles west from Glacier station, on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was then reached by an arduous climb from the water-tank, up the ravine of Cougar creek, for 8,000 ft. (2,000 ft. of altitude) over rock- and snow-slides, and through a thick tangle of alders. But an easy and very picturesque trail has, during the past summer, been opened by the government from Glacier station, which is also a hotel of the railway company. Figs. 3, 3 and 4 represent views, not heretofore published, of the grand scenery of this region, so rapidly becoming the object of attraction to thousands of tourists from all parts of the world. These views, as well as those shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8

Jan 1, 1908

By R. W. Raymond

The immense commercial value of the Gayley dry-blast process has been established beyond controversy. The testimony of practical blast-furnace managers, on both sides of the Atlantic, agrees that it reduces the cost of pig-iron about $1 per ton; but from the same testimony it appears that this direct economy does not by any means cover its commercial advantages—in fact, that under conditions frequently encountered in practice, it presents other benefits of even greater immediate financial importance. To this point I shall recur in a later part of the present paper. The history of the reception given to this invention, especially on the other side of the Atlantic, has repeated an experience familiar to American engineers. First, the reports of our practice were rejected as theoretically impossible, according to generally accepted notions and formulas; then the figures were reluctantly accepted; and finally the attempt has been made to explain how they could have been obtained. As to the Gayley dry blast, me Americans have been for several years in the last stage of the discussion, and the rest of the professional world is rapidly coming to it. Meanwhile, the remark has been repeatedly made that, whatever Mr. Gayley's process may turn out to be worth, it was not an invention on his part, but simply the energetic and persevering execution of a procedure already proposed by others. This question I wish to discuss first in the present paper. I. What Did Mr. Gayley Invent? Realizing that this is not the place for detailed argument on an issue of patent law, I shall not undertake to quote and criticise the publications prior to Mr. Gayley'a first patents. It may be admitted, without such critical analysis, that the possible advantages of removing moisture from the air forced into an iron blast-furnace were recognized and talked about a hun-

Jan 1, 1909

By Charles Pack

DIE castings may be defined as metal castings made by forcing molten metal, under pressure, into a metallic mold or die. It is necessary to keep this definition in mind to avoid confusing this process with other permanent-mold casting processes. The fundamental principles of the process have been known and practised many years. The simplest application is embodied in the modern linotype machine in which molten metal (usually tin-lead alloy) is forced under pressure into a metallic mold. The pressure is derived from a piston and cylinder immersed in the molten metal. Progress in the art of die casting may conveniently be divided into threee groups: Machine for imparting pressure to the metal, material for the die or mold, casting alloys. CASTING MACHINES The problem of delivering molten metal under pressure into a die is comparatively simple, when dealing with low-fusing-point alloys, as the alloys of lead and tin, but it is much more complicated when dealing with metals of higher fusing points, such as the alloys of zinc, aluminum, and copper. Although the art of die casting is comparatively new and, to a large extent, unknown, the records of the patent office are replete with patents on the subject. Fig. 1 shows the Underwood machine patented in 1902; this is probably one of the first machines designed for the production of commercial die castings. The relation of this machine to the linotype casting machine is clearly. apparent. A cylinder and piston are immersed in the molten metal, the application of power to this piston forcing the molten metal, under pressure, into the mold or die. The Doehler machine, Fig. 2, patented in 1907, is based on the same general principles. This machine is used to a large extent at the present time, throughout the United States, for the production of zinc, tin, and lead alloy die castings.

Jan 2, 1919