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By L. C. Raymond

Valuations in the mineral industry differ from those of other enterprises because mines and oil wells have a definitive life so cannot be considered a perpetuity. This requires that in any mineral-property evaluation the recovery of invested capital is necessary during the life of the property. Capital writeoffs for nonextractive industries are assumed to be continuously plowed back to sustain the operation and produce yields on the capital invested. The extractive or mineral industry, however, generally attempts to return to the investor both interest and principal during the life of a property. Normally this is done currently and the dividend includes both items. Where the mineral properly possesses large reserves and the life factor approximates a perpetuity, the return on investment is generally comparable to that of industrial stocks. The valuation of a mineral property, at best, is based on educated estimates and judgment factors. This is particularly true as it relates to estimating selling prices over a long term or assessing the quality of management. Also, it is possible to make various assumptions as to rapidity of working out the deposit, varying time for start-up of operations, varying earning rates, so as to obtain different results with the same basic facts. Thus it is not surprising that two engineers, irrespective of their abilities, may not agree exactly even when given the same facts, but their results should be close enough to be used in establishing a fair value for trading purposes. The valuation is no better than the source of basic data and the soundness of judgment factors. Fundamentally the basic principles of mineral valuation are similar for base metals, sulphur, oil, or any other mineral. Each mineral, however, requires an engineer to have a knowledge of such factors as its occurrence, distribution, mining and processing methods, and marketing problems in order to gather and analyze all the facts and data that have a bearing on the earning potential of the property. PRESENTVALUEOFAMINERALPROPERTY In essence the present value of a mineral property is a sum of money in today's dollars that future earnings from the property are worth. It differs

Jan 1, 1959

By Walter Rosenhain

In selecting solid solutions for the subject of this lecture I have been guided by several considerations. The bodies known under that somewhat paradoxical name play a most important part in all types of alloys; consequently, a deeper knowledge of their constitution must 'be of fundamental importance to both metallurgical science and practice. Further, having been asked to deal with some of the more theoretical aspects of metallurgy, I have been tempted to describe certain considerations, which I believe to be novel, in regard to the nature of solid solutions. These considerations constitute a theory that requires much experimental confirmation, but they have passed the stage of speculations, for experimental evidence has become available and one inference after another, that can be derived from the theory, is found to be in accord with well-known facts. In putting before you these ideas and inferences, it must be understood that detailed quantitative proof of every step cannot be furnished. Our conclusions must therefore be stated with the reservation that their acceptance must depend on the manner in which the discovery of fresh facts may either confirm or confound them. If we wish to understand the structure of solid solutions we nust carefully realize the manner in which these bodies are formed in alloys. The formation of solid solutions is by no means confined to alloys, but it is desirable to confin5 attention, at the outset, to intermetallic solid solutions. It is not easy to formulate a precise definition of the term "solid solution." It may be said that a solid solution is a crystalline body formed from a liquid solution or from an intimate mixture of solids, or of liquid and solid, that retains in the solid state an admixture of the two substances (solvent and solute) as intimate as that which exists in a liquid solution. The term is undoubtedly paradoxical, for one usually associates solution with a liquid, but the difficulty cannot be evaded by using such a term as solidified solution, for this might refer to a solution that has set, or congealed, without undergoing crystallization. The German term mischkry stall avoids the difficulty and appears to

Jan 1, 1923

By W. A. Anderson, R. F. Mehl

RECRYSTALLIZATION of cold-worked metals has long been known to proceed by a process of nucleation and growth.1 When a cold-worked metal is heated to a temperature at which recrystallization will ensue, nuclei of new grains, essentially strain-free, appear and grow. As the process proceeds, nuclei continue to appear and to grow, until the cold-worked matrix has been entirely consumed and recrystallization has been completed (Fig. I). Conducted isothermally, a measurement of the fraction of the matrix recrystallized plotted against time, yields an isothermal recrystallization curve, showing the time course of the recrystallization process (Fig. 2).2 Evidently, then, the rate of recrystallization is determined by the rate at which nuclei form and the rate at which they grow. The rate of nucleation N is the number of nuclei that form in unit time in unit volume of the unrecrystallized matrix, and the rate of growth G is the increase in radius of the recrystallized grain per unit time. In recent years attempts have been made to determine N and G as these vary with the well-recognized variables affecting recrystallization: time, temperature, degree of deformation, etc.' Such studies yield information that is more fundamental than that conveyed by the conventional recrystallization diagram,' since the rate of recrystallization is thus analyzed into its two component rates.2 Methods are now available by which N and G can be measured, and analytical expressions have been developed for the interrelationships among N, G, the isothermal recrystallization curve, and the final grain size, which greatly facilitate analysis.2-4 The application of these methods has been demonstrated recently for the recrystallization of silicon ferrite.2 Data on N and G in dependence upon the recognized recrystallization variables are, however, very fragmentary;* values of N and G have been determined for some metals, but the effect of temperature, which would yield the fundamentally important activation energies, has been too little studied. Thus far there has been no detailed study of the recrystallization of any one metal in terms of N and G over appreciable ranges of the variables time, temperature, degree of deformation, and original grain size. It is the purpose of the present paper to provide such a study, employing aluminum.

Jan 1, 1945

By Walter Rosenhain

In selecting solid solutions for the subject of this lecture I have been guided by several considerations. The bodies known under that somewhat paradoxical name play a most important part in all types of alloys; consequently, a deeper knowledge of their constitution must 'be of fundamental importance to both metallurgical science and practice. Further, having been asked to deal with some of the more theoretical aspects of metallurgy, I have been tempted to describe certain considerations, which I believe to be novel, in regard to the nature of solid solutions. These considerations constitute a theory that requires much experimental confirmation, but they have passed the stage of speculations, for experimental evidence has become available and one inference after another, that can be derived from the theory, is found to be in accord with well-known facts. In putting before you these ideas and inferences, it must be understood that detailed quantitative proof of every step cannot be furnished. Our conclusions must therefore be stated with the reservation that their acceptance must depend on the manner in which the discovery of fresh facts may either confirm or confound them. If we wish to understand the structure of solid solutions we nust carefully realize the manner in which these bodies are formed in alloys. The formation of solid solutions is by no means confined to alloys, but it is desirable to confin5 attention, at the outset, to intermetallic solid solutions. It is not easy to formulate a precise definition of the term "solid solution." It may be said that a solid solution is a crystalline body formed from a liquid solution or from an intimate mixture of solids, or of liquid and solid, that retains in the solid state an admixture of the two substances (solvent and solute) as intimate as that which exists in a liquid solution. The term is undoubtedly paradoxical, for one usually associates solution with a liquid, but the difficulty cannot be evaded by using such a term as solidified solution, for this might refer to a solution that has set, or congealed, without undergoing crystallization. The German term mischkry stall avoids the difficulty and appears to

Jan 1, 1923

By Heihachi Kamura

In this research, the proper temperature for the reduction of iron ores by carbon monoxide was determined. Also, the difference of the rate of reduction on the sizes of ore under four mesh per linear inch was estimated, but no evidence could be found. Rates of reduction on the seven kinds of ore were compared with the results of the experiment, showing a close relation between reducibility and density of ore. Finally, the maximum size of ore that can be reduced in applicable length of time was determined. The author thinks that the process of production of steel may be replaced by low-temperature reduction of iron ores some time in the future. THE reduction of iron oxide, such as Fe203, to iron in the blast furnace is performed principally by carbon monoxide, but partly by solid carbon by the two following reactions: Fe203 + 3CO = 2Fe + 3CO2 2Fe203 + 3C = 4Fe + 3CO2 It is known that reduction by carbon monoxide takes place at a much lower temperature than reduction by carbon and that the reducing action of carbon monoxide progresses to the inside of the ore in lump form by gaseous diffusion. In the reduction by carbon, however, the reducing action takes place only at the contact surface of the ore and carbon, so that the more complete the reduction by carbon monoxide, the more efficient is the operation. However, the reduction does not progress as shown in the foregoing formula, because carbon dioxide acts oxidizingly on the metallic iron to such a degree that when the gaseous composition reaches a certain proportion of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, the reduction practically stops, even though the gases are moving slowly through the heated ore. The proportions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the gas depend on the kind of iron oxide and the temperature of reduction, also the duration of time in the reaction. The longer the time of the reaction, the higher the proportion of carbon dioxide obtained in the gas, but finally it will attain to a condition of equilibrium.

Jan 1, 1925

By D. A. Thomas, M. F. Comerford

Poly crystalline wires of Fe-3.2 wt pct Si were cold-drawn to 31, 66, and 87 pct reductions of area. Mechanical properties and tnicrostructures were studied after recovery and re crystallization. An initial increase in strength during recovery was ascribed to strain aging, and subsequent softening was largely due to polygonization rather than re-crystallization. No unique actioation energies could be determined for the recovery process. Rather, activation energies ranged from 60,600 cal per mole at 10 pct recovery to 83,200 cal per mole when recovery was 50 pct complete. Sites for the nucleation of recrystallization were found to depend on time and temperature. In the early stages of re-crystallization, nucleation occurred in deformation hands. Later, or at high temperatures, recrystal-lized grains were nucleated primarily al grain boundaries. Polygonized structures did not seem to be preferred sites for nucleation. MUCH of the research on deformation, recovery, and recrystallization processes in bcc materials has been performed on single crystals or lightly worked polycrystals. Little study has been devoted to the relation of mechanical properties to micro-structure in polycrystals after severe deformation and subsequent annealing. This paper presents the results of a study of the tensile properties and microstructures of Fe-Si wires drawn varying amounts and annealed at a series of temperatures. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experiments were carried out on an alloy of the following composition: 3.2 wt pct Si, 0.08 Mn, 0.016 C, 0.005 0, 0.0002 N, 0.0001 H, 0.008 P, 0.034 S. The material was received as l-in.-sq bars cut longitudinally from a hot-rolled slab provided by the Armco Steel Corp. The bars were forged to 3/8-in. rounds, centerless-ground to 0.250 in., and swaged to '0.108 in. All subsequent reductions were performed by room-temperature wire drawing at the rate of 2 in. per min. Each preliminary draft gave approximately 30 pct reduction of area and was followed by a l-hr anneal at 1010°C in dry hydrogen. Three lots of wire were made with ultimate cold reductions of 31, 66, and 87 pct reduc-

Jan 1, 1965

OF THE many categories into which scientific knowledge has been arbitrarily divided, the one which has proved most applicable in our attempts to gain an insight into the details of steelmaking processes is physical chemistry. To the young metallurgist who has only recently survived a college course in this subject, the application of its principles to reactions in liquid steel should not be difficult. To one who has had no such course or whose auld acquaintance with the subject has all but been forgot, such application is all too often thwarted by the abstruse presentations of the subject found in many of the available textbooks. AS a tool for the control of a complex process involving many chemical reactions, physical chemistry can become very valuable. The specialist who is using this tool for many purposes and perhaps contributing to its development will want to know a great deal more about it than can be included in this book. He will be interested in its history, its accomplishments and limitations, and its applications to many and varied problems. To the steelmaker or metallurgist, however, it is only one of a number of tools that he must use. He is willing to forego the detailed study of its inner workings in order to concentrate upon the development of skill in its application. It is the purpose of this chapter to present a simplified view of physical chemistry as a tool of great potential usefulness. This purpose and the desire for brevity have required the elimination of many of the gadgets with which the tool is usually adorned. It is hoped that this simplification will be conducive to clear understanding. The beginner is urged not to overlook the more extended treatments of the standard textbooks.* He is assured at the same time that the basic tool is sound and serviceable and is guaranteed to give satisfaction if regularly lubricated with common sense. Certain parts of physical chemistry require rather formidable mathematics for their complete development, but in the main those applications in which we are here interested can be expressed in fairly

Jan 1, 1944

By THEODORE DWIGHT

Members of the Institute have already received a special pamphlet descriptive of the United Engineering Society building, and wilt doubtless be interested in the progress that has been made up to date-February 24th-in erecting this home for the engineering profession. The old buildings on lots Nos. 25 to 33 W. 39th St., New York, were,' removed many months ago, but final contracts for the new, building were not let until the summer of 1905. The size of the building is 115 ft. on 39th Street, and 88 ft. in, depth; the height from, the sidewalk to the top of the parapet is 220 feet. The cubic contents of the building from the. bottom of the basement floor, to the top of the roof, including the pent houses, is 2,290,000 cubic feet. The number of light's, in the building will be between 4,000 and 4,500. The air supply for Auditorium and Lecture. Halls will amount to nearly 10.0,000 cu. ft, per minute, and the exhaust. to 90,000 cu. ft. per minute. In excavating for cellar and foundations, the average depth where good rock was. found was 37 ft.-it varied, however,: from 27 to 65 ft., due to an old water-course having run through the center of the lot; this condition, and the presence of soft rock, which rapidly disintegrated when exposed to air and water, made the foundation-work very difficult. As two of the column-footings of the building have to sustain a weight of 3,000,000 11) each, the most substantial foundations are necessary; 13,000 cu. yd. of earth were excavated for the foundation and basement; and 1,600 cu. yd. of concrete were necessary, to build up the footings. In the completed building there will be about 3,500,000 bricks. Owing to the number of auditoriums, and their location, and the placing of the library on the top floor; where allowance will have to be made for the enormous weight of 300,000 books, the structural steel work has been unusually complicated in this building. For instance, over the auditorium there are two 60-ton plate-girders, made up

Mar 1, 1906

By H. J. Maguire

(Presented by invitation at a meeting of the Spokane Local Section, Feb. 17, 1912.) THOSE familiar with mill-practice understand the work required of an average bucket-elevator, but I wish to call special attention to the wear on the buckets. I have been studying in what manner the life and service of the bucket might be improved, and I feel that an adjustable lip, attachable to each bucket without the aid of rivets, will be of material advantage. For illustration, consider the feed-elevator of a typical mill in the Cur d'Alène district. The ore is carried by water in a launder from the feed-rolls and dumped in the "boot" of the elevator, directly in front of the ascending bucket. Middlings from the return-rolls are similarly handled. Under this condition the bucket not only carries the ore, but also picks it up, and this latter requirement determines the life and service of the bucket. It might be said that it would be better practice to convey the feed to the elevator and dump it directly into the bucket, but at one mill at which this plan was tried the results were disappointing and the rubber belt was badly worn. The wear of the bucket is confined to the lip and the corners which have to pick up the material. When the lip on a corner of a 7- by 12-in. malleable cast-iron bucket is worn down about 3 in., the bucket is of no further value as a carrier and has to be replaced. The worn bucket, containing about three¬quarters by weight of the metal of the original bucket, has a scrap value of about 10 per cent. of that of a new bucket. To the cost of the bucket, however, should be added the time-cost of replacing the old bucket by a new one. This time-cost is considerable when the loss per hour, to cease operating the mill, is about $200. It is out of the question to put lips on a bucket unless the latter was originally fitted with this device. For if it is attempted to fit lips upon buckets not originally provided with

Sep 1, 1912

By E. Heaton Hemingway

DURING the past year, the Watertown Arsenal has been interested in the occluded gas and oxide content of certain ordnance steels in order to determine, if possible, whether some of the peculiar failures in their physical properties might not be traced to these causes. For the purpose of best accomplishing a study of this nature, it was decided to heat the various samples of steel in a vacuum for definite periods of time at high temperatures and carefully examine the quantity and composition of the gases evolved. By the use of a fused quartz tube fitted with a water-cooled, ground-glass stopper, it was possible to maintain a vacuum at a temperature of 1000° C. for 10 hr. without perceptible leakage being evidenced as measured by a McLeod gage. The silica tube was connected with an evacuating system so constructed that the volatilized gases could be removed from time to time and a low vacuum of 0.002 to 0.0010 mm. of mercury continuously maintained. At no time during the period of heating or in the removal of the gases did the evacuated system come in contact with rubber stoppers or any rubber connections, making contamination from such a source impossible. In other words, the only volatile products that could be obtained must necessarily have come from the steel itself or from the glass and fused quartz system or from the mercury used as a sealing agent. In the earlier experiments, the steel treated was in the form of turnings, but this practice was discarded because the weights of the turnings before and after being heated were widely inconsistent, even when taken from the same piece of steel. This discrepancy developed largely through variation in the amount of metal volatilized with the gases; this metal could always be seen in the form of a ring where it condensed in the cooler portion of the tube either in the amorphous or crystalline condition. Because of the frequency in occurrence and the variation in the manner of deposition, this material was roughly analyzed and found to consist for the most part of iron. At the same time two samples of steel that had been

Jan 8, 1920

By Don Rose

In the USA the cost of steel ribs for tunnels approximates $100 million each year. European practice has long since abandoned heavy steel ribs for tunnel support, and tunnel coats in Europe (normalized for wages) are about half the costs incurred in the USA. A feeling has existed for some time that the USA practices of supporting tunnels with heavy steel ribs have been overly conservative. The USA practice is based on rock load coefficients by Karl Terzaghi. In 1946, Karl Terzaghi published a tunnel rock classification system (Terzaghi, 1946), with the rock loads on tunnels predicted for each class of rock. No data on real rock loads were presented by Terzaghi and his rock load coefficients may have been largely intuitive. His classification system and associated predicted rock loads have been widely used in the USA. Each rock class, taken from Terzaghi's classification system, is assumed to generate loads of loosened rock resting as dead load. The dimensions of the loosened rock are described by rock load coefficients multiplied by the tunnel diameter. The resulting rock loads are used by design engineers, contractors and agencies to size supporting steel ribs. Terzaghi clearly stated that he had conservatively assumed high rock loads for his classes 4, 5 and 6 to take a presumed effect of groundwater into account. If the tunnel was not affected by ground- water, Terzaghi stated those rock loads should be reduced by 50 percent. Twenty two years later Tor Brekke (1968) wrote a paper clearly showing that based on observation of more than 250 tunnels groundwater does not affect tunnel rock loads. In 1969, Deere, et al., published measurements made on a number of tunnels, and a well-known curve was drawn by Deere to illustrate Terzaghios coefficients graphically. Deere's text stated that Terzaghi's predicted rock loads were too high and should be reduced. Cording and Deere (1972) more recently published data indicating that very large real rock caverns and chambers were being successfully built using rock bolts, which can take only a very limited rock load, thus indicating that real rock load is much smaller than Terzaghi or even Deere predicted.

Jan 1, 1982

By Bryon W. Cheever

The greatest objection to be brought against the present methods for estimating phosphorus in iron and steel, is the time consumed in the operation. The following method, originated and perfected by Mr. E. D. Campbell, assistant in the chemical laboratory of the University of Michigan, will, 1 think, if carefully followed out, give results that are sufficiently accurate for technical purposes, and will give them in less time than they can be obtained by any other process. The process consists in comparing the color obtained by the action of stannous chloride upon a solution of the phospho-molybdate precipitate obtained from the solution of iron or steel, with that obtained from a standard solution of molybdie acid which represents a given amount of phosphorus. The operation is as follows : Take of ordinary steel 1 grm. and treat as in any of the wellknown processes until the phosphorus is precipitated as ammoniumphospho-molybdate. When precipitated, the phospho-molybdate precipitate is filtered out, thoroughly washed with an acid solution of ammonium nitrate, and, finally, twice with water, to remove most of the ammonium nitrate. The precipitate is then dissolved in about 1 c. c. of 10 per cent. potassium hydrate, which is let fall drop by drop on the filter till the precipitate is dissolved ; the filter is now washed with about 25 or 30 c. c. of water, and the potassium hydrate solution, which now consists of 25-32 c. c. of solution, is boiled until the peculiar frothy appearance, which first appears on boiling, is entirely gone. The solution is then cooled until perfectly cold, and about 10 or 15 c. c. of strong hydrochloric acid added ; if the solution is kept cold this will form no precipitate, but a light yellow or colorless solution. The solution is now ready for the addition of stannous chloride, and the subsequent comparison of color produced with that obtained from the standard molybdie acid. The comparison is made in tubes that are calibrated like carbon-tubes, but which are larger, about 5/8-inch bore, and graduated to 100 c. c.; this makes them about 18 inches long. To make the comparison of color, first transfer the now acid solu

Jan 1, 1886

By C. A. Edwards

Following a brief introduction, an outline is given of the four main conditions in which gases may be associated with metals; namely, (1) adsorbed gases, (2) dissolved gases, (3) gases in chemical combination, (4) gases entrapped in blowholes or cavities. Adsorption is essentially a surface phenomenon and is regarded as the attachment of outside molecules or atoms to the exposed free valencies of the atoms comprising the surface layers. In many cases where adsorbed films of gas are formed this is accompanied by a process of diffusion of the gas into the metal itself. This is particularly true in respect to iron and hydrogen, and experiments have shown that there is no difference between the rate at which hydrogen diffuses through a single crystal of iron arid through the same material after it has been recrystal-lized into a mass of small crystals. This does not prevent a somewhat greater concentration of gas at the boundaries of adjacent crystals, nor does it mean that the effect of the gas will be the same at the boundaries as it is within the body of the crystals. Indeed, under certain conditions, iron is rendered very brittle at the crystal boundaries, as shown in experiments by Pfeil with samples of almost pure iron. Much work has been done by many investigators concerning the temperature and conditions under which dissolved hydrogen, in particular, can be at least partially removed from different metals. With iron, the hydrogen that has diffused into the metal as a result of acid attack by pickling or by electrolytic deposition of the gas on the metal is partly removed by exposing the metal to the atmosphere at ordinary temperatures. Considerably more can be eliminated by raising the temperature, and even greater quantities by jointly raising the temperature and reducing the pressure. Annealing at suitable temperatures completely removes the bad effects of excessive mounts of hydrogen dissolved in or associated with iron. This is shown by the data plotted in Fig. 1, giving values for electrolytic iron sheets after annealing at temperatures between 250" and 950" C. The hydrogen brittleness is rapidly diminished at

Jan 1, 1935

By O. Nomland

The work of The Bahrein Petroleum Company, Ltd., on Bahrein Island consisted mainly in continuing development work and prospecting previously reported. The exploratory work, however, has been greatly minimized and new wells are being drilled, chiefly for the development of larger production; 20 wells had been completed by the end of 1935 and 8 were being drilled. In addition to what has been referred to as the ''main pay," two deeper productive horizons have been discovered, which apparently will greatly increase the potential of the field although the areal extent of this lower production has not yet been determined. The proven acreage of the "main pay" is more than 12,500 acres. Current production (principally from the upper horizons) is about 13,400 bbl. a day. The construction of a 10,000-bb1.-a-day refinery has begun and is to be in operation by July, 1936. It is expected that the capacity will be considerably increased at a later date. The construction of office buildings and a permanent camp has been almost completed. In Saudi Arabia the California Arabian Standard Oil Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of California, spudded in a well in April, 1935, near the village of Dammam, on the Persian Gulf coast of A1 Hasa. Although several important showings of high-gravity oil and considerable gas have been found, the well is not yet considcred a commercial producer. Dammam well No. 2 has been started farther south on the same structure. A great deal of reconnaissance and some detailed geological work has been completed during the last three field seasons. In order to overcome difficulties of transportation over the desert sand, unusual methods have been used. The parlies penctrating the interior by the use of automobiles and trucks have been supplied with gasoline and provisions by caravans of camels. Mail and supp1ies of lighter weight urgently needed have been carried to the field men by an airplane operated by the geological division of the company. Each party has been supplied with a radio receiving and transmitting set to keep in contact with the airplane as well as with geological headquarters at Jubail on the coast of A1 Hasa.

Jan 1, 1936

By B.S. Butler

If geology is to continue to serve the mineral industry with increasing effectiveness as it has done in the past, there must be a steady output of better and better trained geologists and engineers with broader geological background. It may seem that the education and technical training of geologists belong entirely to the universities and colleges and has nothing to do with either Government surveys or the mining industry, outside of these activities furnishing a field for future work for the geological student. It will take but the most casual look, however, to see the large influence of Government surveys in education. Geological Maps Geological maps are essential tools in teaching geology, without which the instructor would be lost. Maps are produced by mining and oil companies, by university workers and by other individuals and institutions, but nearly all of the comprehensive maps, and most of the maps of small areas that are available, are directly or indirectly the work of public surveys. Such surveys in the past have been the only organizations with the continuity of effort and funds necessary to carry out projects that must combine the work of many individual geologists over long periods. Have we all the maps we need and of the quality we need? I believe that all who have used general maps, like the geological maps of the world, the maps of 'North America and the United States, maps of the several states and of smaller areas, appreciate fully the value of the maps as they are but realize also the value of greater accuracy, which can come only by more detailed work; and there are many areas of which we have no adequate maps. Other Helps I have chosen to emphasize maps as a help in preparing the young geologist to go out from the schools with some background of what has been accomplished and some outlook of what is yet to be done. Maps, however, are scarcely more essential to the teacher than many allied helps. What would the teacher of economic geology do if the work by Government surveys along that line were to be blotted out? We may

Jan 1, 1935

By F. J. Longworth

For a number of years an intensive study has been made to improve the blast-furnace practice at Copperhill not only as to costs but to provide a good grade of gas for the acid plants. This study, took us back to the fundamentals of successful pyrite smelting; namely, a blast furnace working on a clean sulfide ore, free from fines, and the use of quartz high in silica as a flux. In 1919, the quality of the flux was improved and its effect on the metallurgy was very marked. To improve the practice further, it was necessary to work out some method of treatment for the sulfide fines and the siliceous and refractory ores, other than in the blast furnace. A series of milling tests indicated that these products could be successfully treated by differential flotation, and in 1922 plans were made and a flotation plant built. It was estimated that the flotation plant would deliver to the smelter 40 to 50 tons of concentrates per day; the problem was what to do with these concentrates. It was out of the question to attempt to smelt them in a blast furnace because of the dust losses and, because our practice demands a charge free from fines for satisfactory operation. There is no custom smelter in the vicinity to which concentrates may be sold, pending the time when the tonnage will be sufficient to warrant roasters and a reverbatory furnace. Sintering and nodulizing were investigated but neither method fitted into our scheme of metallurgy. A close study of the converter practice was then made to see if some method could not be evolved to smelt this tonnage of concentrates in a converter without preliminary treatment. At that time, the converter installation consisted of two 12-ft. Great Falls converters, which were handling 12 to 14 per cent. matte. The heat balance of the converters working with 12 to 14 per cent. matte was more than sufficient to smelt the contemplated tonnage of concentrates but the mechanical difficulties. of feeding fines into the Great Falls converter made the use of this type of converter impractical.

Jan 9, 1924

By Charles S. Barrett, Robert F. Mehl

It is generally understood by workers in the field of the crystal structure of metallic alloys that terminal solid solutions are of two types, the substitutional and the interstitial. In reviewing the literature, the work of Weissl on the crystal structure of the alpha copper-tin alloys was encountered, in which a new type of terminal solid solution was proposed. In brief, Weiss' findings showed that the density of the alloys calculated from the side of the unit face-centered cube on the assumption of simple substitution—that is, with four atoms to the unit face-centered cell—was much higher than the density measured directly. It was suggested that the assumption of four atoms to the unit cube is not valid for these alloys, and that each unit cube contained less than four atoms; in other words, that one tin atom replaces more than one copper atom, leaving some atomic positions unoccupied. Such a structure, if verified, would have far-reaching significance in the study of the crystal structure of metallic alloys. It would indicate a complexity in terminal solid solutions not hitherto suspected and might encourage work leading to the discovery of other alloys of the same type, and perhaps to types intermediate between it and the two recognized types. It is of importance, therefore, to reinvestigate these alloys with respect to the type of solid-solution structure obtaining therein. Materials and Experimental Method The alloys were prepared from electrolytic copper cut directly from the cathode and the high-purity tin furnished by the U. S. Bureau of Standards for the calibration of thermocouples. No analyses for impurities of these materials or of the finished alloys were made, since such impurities as might be present could have only a wholly inappreciable effect upon the data obtained and the conclusions drawn. The alloys were made by melting the weighed copper charge in a graphite crucible under a KCl-LiC1 flux with later additions of NaC1, using induction heating. When the copper was melted the weighed portions of tin were

Jan 1, 1930

By M. L. Requa

IN the fall of 1910, the Nevada Petroleum Co., operating in the Coalinga field in California, determined to drill a number of wells with rotary tools, in order to prove conclusively the relative value of the rotary as compared with the standard rig. At that time, the rotary was but little known in California and its proposed introduction met with considerable criticism on the part of the operators and quiet opposition among the standard drilling crews. There were few men available who were competent to handle a rotary outfit, and these few had had but little experience in California fields. Machines as then built were much inferior to those now used, being lighter in construction and of a poorer quality of material. The shells encountered at depths between 1,700 and 2,000 ft. seemed to be too hard to permit of successful drilling, and at these depths the rig was changed over to standard tools and by them completed. Because of the heavy depreciation, the time lost in converting from rotary to standard, and the comparatively small profit, it was concluded that unless in the future there was some material improvement in rotary rigs, nothing would be gained by drilling with rotary tools upon this property. Little or no drilling has been done upon the property since that time, but in the meantime a large number of men have been trained in the use of the rotary; in fact, many standard-tool men have abandoned standard drilling and, starting in as roustabouts, have become thoroughly competent rotary operators. The improvements in the machinery have been such as to remove many of the objections and the rotary drilling of to-day is in every way superior to that of 1910. In contrast, a well drilled recently by the Kern Trading & Oil Co., in the east side Coalinga field may be cited. The first 2,500 ft. was drilled in 24 days and it is confidently expected that the water string will be set with a rotary at 3,400 ft.-a record obviously far beyond that made in 1910 by the Nevada Petroleum Co.

Jan 2, 1915

By F. Selig, E. J. Couch

The following points serve to supplement the interesting theoretical study on forward combustion by Thomas, and may be of some general interest. The mathematical model presented by the author can be viewed as a first approximation to the problem of calculating the vertical burned height profile resulting from ignition of the interval | z |<h/2 in a very thick formation. However, the assumption of a given minimum combustion temperature T, would give a better approximation to the vertical burned profile if the burning height were not constrained to stay within the ignited layer. This follows from the fact that both fuel and oxygen are present in the adjacent region, |z|>h/2, and for certain combinations of process variables the temperature is sufficiently high for complete combustion to occur. In this case, the vertical coverage will first become greater than the ignited interval before cutting back to zero as the extinction limit is approached as shown in Fig. 1. Such growth of vertical coverage is possible if the minimum combustion temperature is less than the initial source temperature (r = rj) at the edge (z = h/2) of the ignited interval. But this latter temperature is equal to one-half the source temperature for the case of infinite burned height.&apos;,&apos; Thus growth will occur initially if The fact that the vertical burned height can be greater than the ignited interval complicates the picture considerably, as can be seen by referring to Fig. 1. Here burning occurs in Region A, whereas none was possible in the original mathematical model. At the same time, there is no combustion in Region B, contrary to the assumption of burning in the entire layer |z|<h/2. This apparent inconsistency suggests that the vertical coverage derived from this simple model does not adequately represent the vertical height of the burned zone. A more compatible model will result from the actual stepwise calculation of the burning length (as a function of time) that would give rise to the specified combustion temperature. This problem can be more conveniently attacked by using the temperature distribution, given by the author&apos;s Eq. 12, expressed in the integrated form:

By Earl Oliver

Some two years ago the Petroleum Division of the A. I. M. E. organized a special study of unit operation. That method of handling oil pools had been urged as the remedy that would save the United States petroleum industry from the crisis that even then loomed as more than a small cloud on the horizon. Today it is only one of several remedies vigorously advocated. Proration, regulation of imports, unit operation, constructive marketing and interstate compacts all have their earnest proponents, but the advocates of each have been disposed to look with indifference on the other respective proposals, with the result that none has had united support. Meanwhile the industry has drifted rapidly toward a serious crisis, the imminence of which in itself may bring the solution. The gravity of the situation tends to force study of the merits of proposals that a short time previously were brushed aside as impractical; and to the surprise of most of us we now find merit where previously we thought none existed. Irrespective of what might have been the result had any single proposal being adopted years ago, it is now apparent that under present conditions no one of the remedies—unit operation, proration, regulation of imports or constructive marketing—standing alone would be of much benefit. On the other hand, it is becoming evident that a well balanced program comprising all four of these remedies might save the United States petroleum industry; also that some such comprehensive program might be necessary to save it. It is even becoming evident that the despised interstate compact might be an appropriate type of machinery in which to group and coordinate all these remedies. We have progressed beyond the belief that either the industry or the government working alone can correct the situation, and have arrived at the more healthy realization that the task will require most sympathetic cooperation between government and industry, backed by an equally sympathetic public understanding. If we were functioning under a Mussolini or a Stalin, stabilizing the petroleum industry would be a much simpler task. However, in the

Jan 1, 1931