Search Documents

By W. Mostowitsch, H. O. Hofman

In our investigation of the Behavior of Calcium Sulphate at Elevated Temperatures with Some Fluxes,' we incidentally studied the decomposition of ferric oxide when heated in a current of dry air. We found that at 1,500° C., with 15-min. periods of heating, Fe²,O³, hardly changed in weight, the greatest loss being 0.23 per cent., and we therefore concluded that the compound remained unchanged at 1,500° C. in a current of dry air. In a more recent experiment we heated Fe²,O³, in a current of dry air and found that there was a decided loss in weight. A new investigation upon the behavior of Fe², O³, using a larger amount of substance and heating for a longer period of time, revealed the fact that a measurable dissocia-

Jan 1, 1910

By C. M. Weld

In the course of my professional work in China during the fall of 1907, I had an opportunity to visit the iron-ore mines at Ta-yeh in Hu-pei province (long. 114O 50t E., lat. 30' 20t N.). It occurs to me that a rescript and discussion of my notes taken at that time should be of interest, particularly as supplementing the exceedingly interesting recent paper of Thomas T. Read on The Mineral Production and Resources of China.' Ta-yeh is situated near the right bank of the Yangtze river. The mines are at an average distance of about 16 miles from the river-port Shi-hui-yao, which in turn is some 70 miles SE. of Hankom. The ores are shipped to the works of the Han-Yeh-P'ing Iron & Coal Co. at Hanyang, as also very largely to the Japanese government iron- and steel-works at Wakamatsu, Japan. Smaller qnantities have been exported to the Pacific coast of the United States. These ore-deposits have been briefly noticed in a number of publications, but, so far as I know, Mr. Read's description, in his chapter or1 the iron-ores of the Chinese Empire,2 contains the first attempt to define their geological character. In his more recent paper Mr. Read follows very closely the text of his earlier description. To quote briefly from the recent paper, he says : " The iron-ores at Ta-yeh .... lie along the contact between a marble and an intrusive body of a dark-gray syenitic rock." He refers to a figure which exhibits in plan, but not in section, the relative positions of the syenite, ore-bodies, and limestone. The contact is seen to trend approximately E-W., with the syenite on the north and the limestone on the south. " The syenite lies to the north of the marble, and a few miles farther north the marble again appears, iron-ore again being present along the contact." No litho-

Jan 1, 1913

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 Harry A. Lipsitt, Douglas Y. Wang

A fatigue study in completely reversed axial tension-compression has been perforried on high-purity titanium and on three high-purity alloys of titanium. The alloys each contain approxi7nately 0.75 at. pct of a single interstitial element; carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, respectivley. The results corroborate a previously published theory which proposed that strain aging under alternating stress was responsible for the fatigue limit behavior of certain alloys. The present data indicate that in these alloys an increasing strain-talline aging effect under alternating stress is provided by oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, respectively. CURRENT research on the nature of the fatigue limit in metals suggests that the presence of a fatigue limit in metallic materials is a manifestation of strain aging that occurs under alternating stress.lm5 A comprehensive theoretical model based on the above hypothesis has been developed to explain the existence of a fatigue limit.' This model also provides increased insight into several other fatigue phenomena as under stressing, overstressing, and coaxing effects. The theory, as well, provides equal understanding for those cases where no real fatigue limit is observed. Briefly, this theory assumes that the S-N curve for a pure metal is a smooth function of the applied stress, and the effect of adding an element that is soluble (or forms a precipitate) in the pure metal is simply to shift the S-N curve to the right. If the added element confers the power to strain age, the result is a further shift of the S-N curve, this time upward and to the right. Since strain aging is not expected to be a strong function of stress, and since damage per cycle is known to be quite stress dependent, it is to be expected that there will be some limiting lower stress at which the strengthening due to strain aging will balance the damage due to crack propagation. This stress is the fatigue limit. The position of the fatigue-limit knee was thought to be a function of the magnitude of the strain-aging effect on both the finite and infinite life portions of the S-N curve. Although the strain aging hypothesis seems to be reasonably valid for bcc materials,2'6 it needed to be tested for both fcc and cph metals. This report is the first of a series concerning the fatigue-limit behavior of titanium with varying amounts of the interstitial solutes (C, N,, and 4) that are known to cause static strain aging in titanium. Yield-point effects have been reported for polycrys-talline high-purity titanium alloys containing either carbon, nitrogen, or oxygen.7'9 These effects were observed at testing temperatures in the range 100 to 300'. In addition yield-point and strain-aging effects have been reported for single crystals of titanium containing 0.1 wt pct C plus N.' These yield points were observed over a wide temperature range, but no room-temperature aging occurred. Aging at 180' was required to cause the return of the yield point. The magnitude of the yield phenomena in titanium containing interstitials is not expected to be as large as is observed in bcc metals because of several factors. Titanium has a very high chemical affinity for oxygen and nitrogen. The thermodynamic stability of solutions of oxygen or nitrogen in titanium is recognized. Lattice parameter measurements of titanium containing arbon, oxygen,1° or nitrogen" show that the "c" parameter is expanded more than the "a" parameter, but that up to about 2 wt pct this results in an insignificant change of the axial ratio 'c/a." Ehrlich" has shown that the sites occupied by interstitial atoms in titanium are spherically symmetrical and therefore a lattice expansion, at a constant c/a ratio, results in a simple dilation of the interstitial site. Such a dilation involving no shear has been shown to react only with edge components of dislocations.13 This causes only a weak pinning action. Shear stresses would be anticipated locally when only one of the two interstitial positions was occupied. The carbon atom will cause a symmetrical distortion of the lattice whereas the oxygen and nitrogen atoms have, in addition, the previously mentioned chemical affinity of titanium for these elements. These factors will result in a considerably smaller reduction of free energy upon the association of interstitial atoms with dislocations, and therefore a much weaker pinning than has been observed for the bcc metals. These considerations would lead to the hypothesis that of the interstitial elements considered here carbon would cause the strongest pinning effect in titanium where the amount of interstitial in solution is constant. This hypothesis will be borne out in the analysis of the present results.

Jan 1, 1962

By George S. Rice

Instantaneous outbursts of gas in underground workings are similar in effect to great blasts of explosives, but without heat effects. Fortunately they occur only in a few localities in exceptional coal fields of the world and under exceptional geologic conditions. Such violent outbursts should not be compared with the ordinary outflows of gas into coal mines or with explosions of gas and dust. The phenomenon is essentially one of gas held in circumscribed areas under very high pressure and as a mining face or heading approaches such a place and the mining excavation sufficiently weakens the natural surrounding dam or shell, this is burst by the pressure just as by the discharge of a mass of explosives. The outbursts, so far as known to the writer, have been confined to coal beds and have not occurred in other mineral deposits. Hence, as discussed later, he believes that it is the relation of the gases to the coal material that is a factor in conjunction with others in producing conditions which permit the phenomena to occur when mining is done. The gases in most instantaneous outbursts have been hydrocarbon gases but in two coal fields they have been definitely found to be chiefly or wholly carbon dioxide. One of these localities in which CO2 outbursts have been frequent and have caused loss of life is in the southern part of the Gard basin, near Alais, in southern France. In 1919, the writer visited the Fontaine mine in this field the day following the occurrence of an outburst by which two men were smothered by carbon dioxide and fine dust. After 24 hr. the CO2 had not been entirely removed by the ventilating current. Occasional outbursts of CO2 have also occurred in other small basins in France, causing accidents, as in Puy-de-Dome. However, mines in the Gard basin, north of those in which CO2 outbursts have occurred, have experienced hydrocarbon gas outbursts. In the Lower Silesian coal field, Germany, there is a group of mines which have been subject to many instantaneous CO2 outbursts, some causing serious accidents, but the greatest disaster occurred recently

Jan 1, 1931

By G. Sachs, S. I. Liu

Introduction In a previous investigation on the effects of repeated strains of large magnitude on the aluminum alloy 24 ST, it was found that the reduction in ductility by straining in tension was partially restored by a subsequent compression.&apos; As illustrated by the dashed line in Fig I,$ the ductility (e~) retained after prestraining in tension by a certain amount (el) and measured in a subsequent tension test is represented by a straight line sloping down under 4s°. If a compression of the same magnitude as the first tension is inserted (€2 = — €1) between prestraining and final testing in tension, such a "balanced" tension-compression cycle yields a ductility considerably higher than that present after prestraining in tension only. The results of these tests can be correlated with those of an investigation on the effects of prestraining in compression.~ As also shown in Fig I, the ductility in subsequent tensile tests decreased with com- pression, at a rate considerably slower than that after prestraining in tension. The above discussed testing conditions can be considered as special cases of a general straining cycle, consisting of first, straining in tension by an amount el, subsequently straining in compression by an amount e2, and finally determining the retained &apos;ductility, e,, in a tensile test. Prestraining in tension is then represented by el > o and e2 = o. Prestraining in compression is given by e~ = o and e~ < o. Balanced cyclic straining is defined by the condition el > o and cz = — 61. In order to obtain further information on the effects of straining cycles consisting of tension and subsequent compression, further tests were made, varying both the tension strain, el, and the compression strain, e2, within extreme limits; el varied between 0.06 and 0.28 and e2 between — 0.008 and —0.h approximately. Apparently, such tests have not been previously performed. They revealed phenomena which have not been recognized to date, The results of the investigation are herewith reported, without attempting to correlate them with internal processes within the metal structure. However, in order to assist in an analysis of this type, the results have been represented in various manners. In addition, further test data on the effects of prestraining by compression were provided by using specimens of various contours (notched specimens) in the sub-

Jan 1, 1949

By W. A. Hustrulid, N. A. Ross

An analysis of the design of medium to hard rock tunneling machines is presented. The developed equations are used to compare performances and machine requirements using kerf and fixed pick cutters to bore a given rock. With the use of pick cutters, required thrusts can be greatly reduced and still achieve the same boring rate as with present day tooth or kerf cutters. It appears that the cutting coefficient, which for most boring machines is of the order of 0.1, should be increased to one or larger to facilitate rock removal by cutting rather than grinding. The depth of cut and the indexing distance should be greatly increased to make use of inherent rock weakness.

Jan 1, 1971

By Gopalan Ramadorai

Tailings water from primary flotation concentrators usually contains minor amounts of pollutants such as heavy metals, cyanide and solubilized molybdenum, which are solubilized in the flotation process. A review of various techniques to reduce pollutants to acceptable levels is presented. Generally, molybdenite ores are processed by conventional size-reduction techniques, followed by flotation to produce a metallurgical-grade concentrate of 88% to 92% MoS2. Reagents commonly used in the milling process include: vapor oil (collector); pine oil, MIBC (frother); Dowfroth 250 (water-soluble frother); lime (rougher pH control); and sodium cyanide (Fe and Cu depressor). For lead depression, Nokes reagent is stage-added to the regrind mills and cleaners. Flocculant is added to obtain clear overflows in the intermediate thickeners.

Jan 9, 1978

By Petri Bryk, John Ryselin, Rolf Malmstrom, Jorma Honkasalo

THE theoretical possibilities for the realization of flash smelting have been known for a long time. Calculations concerning the same can be found in previously published literature,1 and suggestions for its accomplishment in practice are described in patents on the subject. Likewise a smaller number of practical test results are known. Autogenous smelting is closely connected with flash smelting, since in flash smelting techniques it is possible to use the heat evolved by oxidation of the sulfides for the smelting process to such an extent that under certain conditions smelting can proceed without additional fuel. However, in the event that insufficient heat is available from the oxidation of the sulfide concentrates, then additional heat may be supplied by preheating the air, using oxygen enriched air, on burning additional fuel with the concentrate.

Jan 6, 1958

By F. O. Willhofft

The symposium on mine safety held in connection with the annual meeting of the Institute three years ago, it. was pointed out that "at present no convenient, reliable, accurate means for determining the gas content of mine air is available, for use by the ordinary mine man." In a letter addressed to Coal Age and published on Feb. 25, 1925, Thomas T. Read, then Director of the Safety Service of the Bureau of Mines, stated: "It is to be hoped that sometime in the near future some-one will invent a reliable methane indicator that is con-venient to, use and will permit the keeping of all flames of every character out of bituminous mines, through doing away with the safety lamp." The Martienssen methane detector, which has re-cently received the official approval of the Bureau of Mines, is intended to. meet the demand for such an in-strument as expressed at that meeting and on many other occasions. The characteristics which qualify it for the task are the following: (1) simplicity; (2) small bulk and light weight; (3) ruggedness; (4) accuracy sufficient for the requirements; (5) safety; and (6) dependability. The principle on which the working of the instrument is based may best be explained by giving a brief out-line of the various stages of development through which the inventor, Professor Martienssen of the University of Kiel, Germany, advanced to the final solution of the problem which he had undertaken to solve.

Jan 2, 1928

By B. D. Cullity, S. S. Hsu

The stress distribution at the surface of a twisted cylinder is analyzed along the boundary of a slip plane of arbitrary orientation and this analysis is applied to the torsion of cylindrical crystals of magnesium. A criterion for slip is developed and the critical resolved shear stress of magnesium in torsion is found to be 0.038 kg per sq mm. The mechanism of torsional deformation in magnesium and aluminum is described, as well as the relaxation of a twisted crystal at elevated temperatures. THERE has been considerable fundamental study A of the mechanism of slip occurring during deformation in tension and compression but comparatively little attention has been paid to the mechanism of torsional deformation. This paper is concerned with the way in which a single crystal deforms in static torsion and with the phenomenon of untwisting which a twisted crystal undergoes during annealing. Particular attention is paid to the application of the critical resolved shear stress law to torsional deformation. Probably the most likely mode of torsional deformation that can be imagined consists of rotation of one part of the crystal relative to another on the active slip plane. Here the most interesting feature is the slip direction. If a cylindrical single crystal is twisted about its axis and if, to consider the simplest case, the active slip plane is normal to the specimen axis, then the direction of gross slip at any point must always be at right angles to the radius drawn to that point. It follows that the crystallographic direction of slip must be continually changing, in sharp contrast to slip in tension which occurs in a crystallographically constant direction. Extensive investigations of slip in torsion have been made by Gough and his associates.&apos; They made torsional fatigue tests on metal single crystals belonging to a number of different crystal systems and observed, with a microscope, the appearance of slip lines on the surface and of strain markings on the transverse cross section of cylindrical specimens. They concluded that the critical resolved shear stress law was just as valid in torsion as in tension, in the sense that slip occurred on that plane and in that direction in which the resolved shear stress was a maximum. They also established that the operative slip planes and directions were the same as in tension. They did not, however, measure the critical resolved shear stress in torsion nor, in fact, did they establish that a critical value of the resolved shear stress was necessary for the initiation of slip. Their investigations were, moreover, restricted to torsional fatigue tests which necessarily involve small strain amplitudes. Wilman,&apos; studying crystal growth and the abraded surfaces of crystals, observed crystal fragments

Jan 1, 1955

By John V. Beall

THIS is not simply the story of how a water filled shaft was developed into a million-ton- a-year producing mine in the space of four critical years, although it is reason enough for telling it, but it is also the saga of an engineering achievement in which knowledge nurtured by years of experience in coal and ore mines was blended together and the best from each type of mining selected. The entire system of mining was detailed on maps by the mining engineering department before the shaft was unwatered, and subsequent development followed these plans nearly to perfection. The selection of machinery was particularly critical as it was necessary to push production from only a few headings in the early stages of development and metal mine machinery was being used in a coal panel-system of mining.

Jan 12, 1950

By John Wulff, J. H. Hollomon

Service failures in brass condenser tubes are often due to corrosion. One of the commonest types of corrosion reveals a surface structure of redeposited copper.&apos; The study of the effect of alloy addition agents in preventing this kind of corrosion has received impetus from the extensive publication of Bengough and May.2 The mechanism of such inhibition gauged from immersion corrosion,2 cell corrosion,3 and electrolytic potential4 measurements is controversial. This controversy may be attributed in part to a lack of definite knowledge5 of the actual nature of the initial films formed in corrosion experiments. In our own corrosion work on copper and 70-30 brass this lack became apparent and necessitated an examination of surface films by X-ray and electron diffraction methods. The present paper is but an introduction to the subject of inhibition and reports the structure of films formed in active corrodents. Experimental Procedure The arsenical coppers and brasses used in this investigation were made by one of the writers* in the plant of the Revere Copper and Brass Co. at Rome, N. Y. Standard commercial melting practice was followed. O.F.H.C. copper and electrolytic zinc were used and all arsenic additions were made by additions of a master copper alloy. The final analyses are given in Table I. Likewise, the extrusion, cold-rolling, and intermediate anneals employed followed standard usage. Final heat-treatments were given to all materials to produce a similar grain size (0.035 to 0.045 mm. for brass and 0.015 to 0.025 for copper) for the alloys containing various percentages of arsenic. Samples 1/2 by M by 1/4 in. were cut from sheet material resurfaced and finished with 0000 metal-lographic papers. The surfaces were all degreased in alcohol and benzine before immersion. After immersion in the corrodent, they were washed gently in tap water, dipped first in alcohol and then in pure benzine and allowed to dry in the diffraction apparatus. The reflection electron diffraction apparatus used has been described by Burwell and Wu1ff.6 Fig. I is typical of the photo-grams obtained. The X-ray apparatus was

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff, J. H. Hollomon

Service failures in brass condenser tubes are often due to corrosion. One of the commonest types of corrosion reveals a surface structure of redeposited copper.&apos; The study of the effect of alloy addition agents in preventing this kind of corrosion has received impetus from the extensive publication of Bengough and May.2 The mechanism of such inhibition gauged from immersion corrosion,2 cell corrosion,3 and electrolytic potential4 measurements is controversial. This controversy may be attributed in part to a lack of definite knowledge5 of the actual nature of the initial films formed in corrosion experiments. In our own corrosion work on copper and 70-30 brass this lack became apparent and necessitated an examination of surface films by X-ray and electron diffraction methods. The present paper is but an introduction to the subject of inhibition and reports the structure of films formed in active corrodents. Experimental Procedure The arsenical coppers and brasses used in this investigation were made by one of the writers* in the plant of the Revere Copper and Brass Co. at Rome, N. Y. Standard commercial melting practice was followed. O.F.H.C. copper and electrolytic zinc were used and all arsenic additions were made by additions of a master copper alloy. The final analyses are given in Table I. Likewise, the extrusion, cold-rolling, and intermediate anneals employed followed standard usage. Final heat-treatments were given to all materials to produce a similar grain size (0.035 to 0.045 mm. for brass and 0.015 to 0.025 for copper) for the alloys containing various percentages of arsenic. Samples 1/2 by M by 1/4 in. were cut from sheet material resurfaced and finished with 0000 metal-lographic papers. The surfaces were all degreased in alcohol and benzine before immersion. After immersion in the corrodent, they were washed gently in tap water, dipped first in alcohol and then in pure benzine and allowed to dry in the diffraction apparatus. The reflection electron diffraction apparatus used has been described by Burwell and Wu1ff.6 Fig. I is typical of the photo-grams obtained. The X-ray apparatus was

Jan 1, 1941

E L. DEGOLYER, our new president, though a petroleum geologist by profession, has always s been associated with mining, for soon after his birth at Greensburg, Kan., on Oct. 9, 1886, his parents moved to Joplin, and when he went, in the course of time, to the University of Oklahoma, he intended to follow his course there with another at a mining school. He became a field assistant in the U. S. Geo-logical Survey, however, while still an undergradu-ate, and after field experi- ence in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado and Oklahoma, he went to Mexico as geologist for the Mexican Eagle Oil Co. This was in 1909, and as a result he was unable to complete his work for his degree until 1911. In Mexico, he located the Potrero de Llaño No. 4, one of the world&apos;s largest oil wells, and also the dis- covery well in the Naran- jos pool; and the Colorado School of Mines conferred the honorary degree of : Doctor of Science on him in 1925. On his return from Mexico, he engaged in the consulting business, specializing in financial ap- praisement, the Union and Marland companies being among his clients. In 1919, he organized the Amerada Petroleum Co., with the backing of Lord Cowdray. Last year, control of the company was purchased by an American group, headed by Dillon, Read and Co. Mr. DeGolyer is n o w president of the company. He is also vice-president and general manager of the Rycade Corp, the Rycade Oil Corp., and president of the Geophysical Re-search search Corp. The l a t t e r represents the practical appli-cation of his inter-est in the use of the torsion balance in the locating of salt domes, in which he has pioneered, the Nash dome being the first oil field in America actually brought into production by these methods.

Jan 3, 1927

By Michael Tenenbaum, T. L. Joseph

Recent researches on the reduction of iron ores have stimulated interest in the effect of increased pressures within the iron blast furnace. From a physicochemical viewpoint, it seems logical to suppose that the increased pressure would increase the rate of reduction of the iron ore within the furnace. This increased reaction velocity would in turn be reflected in an increase in the output of the blast furnace. Any substantial effect of elevated blast-furnace pressures should accordingly be of both technical and economic interest to the operator. It is doubtful whether it is possible to increase the pressure in the stack of the blast furnace beyond two or three atmospheres without incurring severe mechanical difficulties. The benefits to be procured by elevations in pressure must therefore be restricted to pressures below two, or at the most, three atmospheres. Within this range it would seem both economically and mechanically feasible to modify the present design of the upper portion of the blast furnace to accommodate these more stringent operating conditions. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of moderate pressures on the rate of reduction of iron ore with hydrogen. The use of carbon monoxide is contemplated for later work. Although any results that are obtained in the laboratory cannot be interpreted directly in terms of large-scale commercial operations, it is possible, through such an investigation, to ascertain the order of magnitude of the effects of higher pressure. A more quantitative conception of the effects that would result from the use of increased pressures in the modern blast furnace is needed. In some recent work, Diepschlagl found that, all other factors remaining constant, the degree of reduction of iron ores was much greater when carried out under pressure. Pressures as high as seven atmospheres were used. The degree of reduction was determined from the ferrous and ferric iron in the sponge iron. Results were obtained using both carbon monoxide and hydrogen at temperatures of 400°, 600° and

Jan 1, 1939

By Michael Tenenbaum, T. L. Joseph

Recent researches on the reduction of iron ores have stimulated interest in the effect of increased pressures within the iron blast furnace. From a physicochemical viewpoint, it seems logical to suppose that the increased pressure would increase the rate of reduction of the iron ore within the furnace. This increased reaction velocity would in turn be reflected in an increase in the output of the blast furnace. Any substantial effect of elevated blast-furnace pressures should accordingly be of both technical and economic interest to the operator. It is doubtful whether it is possible to increase the pressure in the stack of the blast furnace beyond two or three atmospheres without incurring severe mechanical difficulties. The benefits to be procured by elevations in pressure must therefore be restricted to pressures below two, or at the most, three atmospheres. Within this range it would seem both economically and mechanically feasible to modify the present design of the upper portion of the blast furnace to accommodate these more stringent operating conditions. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of moderate pressures on the rate of reduction of iron ore with hydrogen. The use of carbon monoxide is contemplated for later work. Although any results that are obtained in the laboratory cannot be interpreted directly in terms of large-scale commercial operations, it is possible, through such an investigation, to ascertain the order of magnitude of the effects of higher pressure. A more quantitative conception of the effects that would result from the use of increased pressures in the modern blast furnace is needed. In some recent work, Diepschlagl found that, all other factors remaining constant, the degree of reduction of iron ores was much greater when carried out under pressure. Pressures as high as seven atmospheres were used. The degree of reduction was determined from the ferrous and ferric iron in the sponge iron. Results were obtained using both carbon monoxide and hydrogen at temperatures of 400°, 600° and

Jan 1, 1939

Jan 1, 1925

By Francis B. Foley

Fundamentally, slag control in acid open-hearth steelmaking cannot be considered from any different viewpoint than can that in basic open-hearth melting. The same laws of mass action and distribution apply in both cases, so that while most, if not all, of the recent intensive study of slag-metal reactions have been carried on in basic furnaces the principles evolved are nevertheless applicable to acid open-hearth steelmaking and it is therefore not our intention to discuss the various possible chemical reactions in the slag and between slag and metal. The points we have to carry in mind, in considering acid melting practice, are the differences in the type of steels produced and the difference in the chemistry of both the steel and the slag. The acid furnace is used to produce, let us not say "quality" steel, for, after all, a "quality" steel for one purpose is not a "quality" steel for another, but steels that require acid melting practice to be of proper "quality." Steels that are required to have high physical properties in tests taken transversely from forgings are peculiarly the product of acid furnaces. In this class may be placed various ordnance materials, notably gun forgings and projectiles and large commercial forgings requiring high transverse ductility. Forgings requiring an extremely hard surface, polished and free from imperfections, are also typical acid-steel products. Of course, such forgings can be made of basic open-hearth steel, but not with the same assurance of success. At the start, the preparation of the slag in the acid and basic furnaces differs. Lime is charged in the beginning of a basic heat to form a slag, but in the acid furnace nothing is added for the special purpose of producing a slag when the heat is melted down. The result is that the acid furnace has much less volume of slag than the basic. The slag formed upon melting down is made up almost entirely of the oxides of elements contained in the metallic charge, notably oxides of iron, manganese and silicon, the amount of silica being augmented somewhat by erosion of the furnace lining. A typical acid open-hearth slag, when the bath is completely melted, will have an analysis about as follows: CaO, 3.40 per cent; SiO2, 51.9; Fe2O3, 1.25 ; FeO, 28.86; Al2o3, 1.82; MnO, 12.22. The high iron oxide content of the slag gives it a black appearance. The metal is high in carbon and some manganese and silicon will be present, depending on the amount in the original charge, the amount of

Jan 1, 1935

By Francis B. Foley

Fundamentally, slag control in acid open-hearth steelmaking cannot be considered from any different viewpoint than can that in basic open-hearth melting. The same laws of mass action and distribution apply in both cases, so that while most, if not all, of the recent intensive study of slag-metal reactions have been carried on in basic furnaces the principles evolved are nevertheless applicable to acid open-hearth steelmaking and it is therefore not our intention to discuss the various possible chemical reactions in the slag and between slag and metal. The points we have to carry in mind, in considering acid melting practice, are the differences in the type of steels produced and the difference in the chemistry of both the steel and the slag. The acid furnace is used to produce, let us not say "quality" steel, for, after all, a "quality" steel for one purpose is not a "quality" steel for another, but steels that require acid melting practice to be of proper "quality." Steels that are required to have high physical properties in tests taken transversely from forgings are peculiarly the product of acid furnaces. In this class may be placed various ordnance materials, notably gun forgings and projectiles and large commercial forgings requiring high transverse ductility. Forgings requiring an extremely hard surface, polished and free from imperfections, are also typical acid-steel products. Of course, such forgings can be made of basic open-hearth steel, but not with the same assurance of success. At the start, the preparation of the slag in the acid and basic furnaces differs. Lime is charged in the beginning of a basic heat to form a slag, but in the acid furnace nothing is added for the special purpose of producing a slag when the heat is melted down. The result is that the acid furnace has much less volume of slag than the basic. The slag formed upon melting down is made up almost entirely of the oxides of elements contained in the metallic charge, notably oxides of iron, manganese and silicon, the amount of silica being augmented somewhat by erosion of the furnace lining. A typical acid open-hearth slag, when the bath is completely melted, will have an analysis about as follows: CaO, 3.40 per cent; SiO2, 51.9; Fe2O3, 1.25 ; FeO, 28.86; Al2o3, 1.82; MnO, 12.22. The high iron oxide content of the slag gives it a black appearance. The metal is high in carbon and some manganese and silicon will be present, depending on the amount in the original charge, the amount of

Jan 1, 1935