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By Thomas T., Read

TWO American students entered the Ecole des Mines in 1856, Joseph Lesley of Philadelphia and Thomas Egleston of New York. Lesley remained there only one year, but Egleston completed the whole 'curriculum and received, in 1860, the certificate given to foreign students .in lieu of the official appointment and degree. awarded French students. Returning home he received, in 1861, an appointment by Secretary Henry of the Smithsonian Institution to sort, label, and arrange the collections of mineralogical and geological specimens which had been brought to Washington by the various government exploring expeditions in the West. Thomas Egleston, born in New York City on Dec. 9, 1832, was the son of Thomas Jefferson Egleston, who came to New York from Massachusetts some time before 1829. The first American ancestor of the family had settled near Dorchester. in 1630. T. J. Egleston and Joseph Battell established an iron-merchandizing business* at 166 South St., New, York, which prospered exceedingly; so much so that when Thomas J. Egleston died, July 12, 1861, his estate had a book value of over $500,000. Since an older brother was expected eventually to take over this business, Thomas, who had a liking for science, went to Yale,, where he completed the regular four-year course in 1854, and then remained another year for advanced work in chemistry under Silliman. I One biographer says he went to Europe, . early in 1-856, on account of his health. It was the custom at that time for wealthy young men to make a tour of Europe after completing their academic education. Whatever the precise reason, he began scientific work at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris but soon trans* It still operating as Egleston Bros. Inc., though no direct descendants of its founder are now living.

Jan 1, 1941

By R. I. Garrod, R. A. Coyle

The shapes and positions of X-ray reflections from specimens of copper, steel, and aluminum alloy haue been examined in the elastic and plastic ranges both while the specimen was under stress and in the unloaded condition. For the aluminum alloy the shape was unaltered by the application of stress either within the elastic limit or in the plastic range provided that no additional plastic strain was induced. In copper the broadening accompanying plastic deformation was very slightly reduced when the specimen was unloaded. A similay but more marked elastic component of broadening was also found for steel, but in this case below the yield stress. Line profiles corrected for instrumental and particle-size broadening indicate very large internal stresses in local regions of the plastically deformed metals. The results are discussed in terms of a recent suggestion that the heterogeneous dislocation distribution between the cells and their boundary walls plays a major role in the peak shifts and broadening of the X-ray reflections. STUDIES of the X-ray line profiles from strained polycrystalline aggregates concentrate usually on one or the other of two main parameters: a) the displacement of the peak of the intensity contour from its position for a strain-free aggregate, or b) the shape of the profile. From peak shifts data can be obtained either on the relation in both the elastic and plastic ranges between applied external stress and average lattice strains in a given (hkl) direction, or, alternatively, on the residual lattice strains which are present after a plastically deformed specimen is unloaded.' On the other hand, the shapes of the broadened profiles from cold-worked metals can be analyzed to separate the broadening produced by small particle size and by heterogeneous lattice strains.' In this paper the terms "size broadening" and "strain broadening'' are used in the general sense adopted by warren.' In the past, apart from two early qualitative observation, it has been customary to examine only the movements of the peaks of the profiles while the specimen is actually under load, since the line broadening induced by plastic strain remains after removal of the external stress. Consideration of the implications of existing data of this type suggests, however, that fruitful additional information on a number of fundamental aspects might be gained by careful examination of whether the X-ray line profile is in fact different in the loaded and unloaded states of the specimen. By taking advantage of the sensitivity and convenience of modern diffractometer techniques it is possible to explore with relative ease the magnitude and importance of any elastic effects which may be superimposed upon the well-known permanent changes in profile. The main aim of the work to be described was thus to investigate this point for typical metals and alloys. For this purpose annealed specimens were extended first elastically and then plastically and the positions and shapes of X-ray reflections were recorded. Initially it was anticipated that prime interest would center on observations within the plastic range; it has been found, however, that small changes in profile sometimes occur both before and after the nominal elastic limit of the material is reached. It is shown that the results obtained have important implications in relation to the structural changes and processes associated with deformation. I) EXPERIMENTAL To enable the diffraction lines to be recorded while the specimen was under uniaxial-tensile stress, a small hydraulic testing machine was designed and constructed for direct attachment to the goniometer of a Philips diffractometer. The specimens, which were machined from 1/2-in.-diam rod and had a central rectangular section 3/8 by 1/16 in. over a gage length of 1 in., were held in the machine by split collets mounted in grooves in the cylindrical ends of each specimen. No special precautions were taken to ensure precise axiality of loading. Constant oil pressure was maintained by a lever and weights system and transmitted to the loading rig by flexible pipe. The actual load on the specimen was measured by a load cell in the machine to an accuracy of * 1 pct. To enable smooth X-ray profiles to be obtained the specimen and machine were oscillated continuously during recording through *7-1/2 deg about the normal half-angle position of the goniometer. The three materials chosen for the investigations were high-purity copper as representative of a ductile fcc metal, a low-carbon steel for a bcc metal, and an aluminum alloy as a material in which the proof stress/ultimate strength ratio is high. Details are as follows. a) Copper. 99.999 pct purity. After machining the specimen surface was polished mechanically and

Jan 1, 1964

By W. D. Robertson

SINCE the comprehensive paper of Moore, Beckin-sale, and Mallinson,' little consideration has been given to the mechanism of mercury stress cracking of copper-base alloys, apart from extensive work on metallurgical and fabrication variables employing mercurous nitrate as an evaluation test. However, with the phase diagrams now available and the recent considerations of interfacial tension at grain boundaries, developed by Smith,2 it appears that the elements of a detailed solution to the problem are available. The facts that require explanation are: 1—Pure copper is not embrittled by mercury, with or without an applied or residual stress. 2—Cu-Zn and other copper-base alloys, in excess of some undefined solute concentration, are embrittled provided an external or residual stress is acting; cracking is not observed in the absence of stress. 3—The path of fracture is invariably intergranu-lar. 4—Copper and copper-base alloys do not dissolve readily in mercury at room temperature.' Consideration of the Cu-Hg phase diagram% hows that, at room temperature, solution of copper in mercury is probably limited by the formation on the surface of a microscopically thin layer of inter-metallic compound, CuHg, having a very limited range of solubility which effectively restricts diffusion of copper and mercury. But, above 150°C (the highest peritectic temperature) copper solid solution is in equilibrium with a liquid Hg-Cu solution and, consequently, copper should dissolve freely in a large volume of mercury with the formation of an equilibrium dihedral angle at grain boundaries in contact with the liquid phase. Depending on the magnitude of this angle, mercury will or will not penetrate the solid phase along grain boundaries and spread over grain faces. Thus the measurement of the dihedral angle of grain boundaries in equilibrium with the liquid phase above 150°C should indicate whether copper is intrinsically resistant to embrittlement by mercury. In view of the fact that mercury is appreciably soluble in copper, it may also be anticipated that diffusion of mercury will take place at higher temperatures in the absence of the intermetallic compound and possibly at a more rapid rate along grain boundaries than through the grains, resulting in a Cu-Hg alloy of unknown properties. In the case of brass, the ternary system Cu-Zn-Hg is involved and, from the resistance of brass to general solution in mercury at room temperature, it is probable that a compound of limited solubility range also exists, similar to the binary Cu-Hg sys- tem. Also, compared with copper, a change in the dihedral angle at grain boundaries in contact with mercury may be expected to result from the addition of zinc to copper. The preceding generalizations appear to be confirmed by the following experiments. Experimental Results Oxygen-free copper wire, annealed at 700°C for 3 hr in copper foil, was immersed in mercury at 170°C, with and without an applied stress. After 24 hr immersion, specimens which were spring loaded to a nominal stress of 10,000 psi had not failed, and there was no apparent embrittlement as indicated by a 180" bend around a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the wire (0.125 in.) : General solution of the surface had taken place, indicated by a change in diameter of the wire, and the resulting structure of the surface is shown in Fig. 1. It is apparent that angles have developed at grain boundaries and examination at a high magnification indicates that the angle is in excess of 120°, completely excluding penetration of mercury. In view of the measurements made by Smith n the

Jan 1, 1952

By C. R. Wohrman

A MELT of pure electrolytic iron with about 0.4 per cent. sulfur and 7 per cent. manganese was prepared in connection with a study of inclusions in iron. The alloy darkened rapidly when etched with a 10 per cent. alcoholic solution of nitric acid, and microscopic examination revealed the presence of a semimartensitic, semi-Widmanstättian structure (Figs. 1 and 2) closely resembling the structures found by Benedicks in his artificially prepared "meteoric iron." 1 The structures found by Benedicks were readily explained by the presence in his alloy of the two well known iron-nickel solid solutions, taenite and kamacite, and of their eutectoid (?) aggregate, plessite. By analogy, one would infer the existence of similar phases in the iron-manganese alloy just described, such as inference being strengthened by the similarity displayed in many ways by nickel and manganese in their effects on iron. IRON-MANGANESE ALLOTS ARE REGARDED AS HOMOGENEOUS Heterogeneity of iron-manganese alloys has not been recognized heretofore, judging from the data of standard metallographic books and those of original papers. In fact, iron and manganese are quite generally regarded as completely miscible in the solid state. Dr. Rosenhain,2 for example, writes: Alloys of group (a), of which those of gold-silver, iron-manganese, and copper-nickel are examples, when allowed to crystallize sufficiently slowly to attain their condition of final equilibrium, present a microstructure exactly similar to that of a pure metal-the homogeneous character of the molten solution is in that case so completely maintained that the microscope cannot detect the presence of any second constituent.

Jan 1, 1927

By George C. Heikes

ALTHOUGH the application of light metals in war materiel increased during the year, based on the number of uses, the trend in aluminum and magnesium production in 1944 was characterized by a sharp decline in the production of both metals accompanied by a further accumulation of large Government reserve stocks. Several primary reduction plants were curtailed to prevent building excessive inventories. By the end of the year, however, a lively revival of war production took place when resistance stiffened on the western front in Europe. Production of primary aluminum ingot was reduced from over 90,000 tons per month at the start of the year to 45.000 tons per month by the end of the year.

Jan 1, 1945

By S. Kobayashi, A. E. Armenákas, C. Mylonas

Earlier work1-4 has shown that commercial mild steels under static loading at the lowest natural operating temperatures fracture in a brittle manner only when damaged by a suitable history of straining. Notched and then compressed plates have fractured in subsequent tension at loads as low as 10 pct of the limit load and precompressed smooth bars at a subsequent extensional strain as low as 0.01. The comparison of the average net fracture stress with the flow limit stress was shown to be an excellent criterion of brittle or ductile behavior of mild steel structures when only loads and general stress levels are known. The present investigation shows that the deformation at fracture is a far more sensitive measure of brittleness than the fracture stress. Both criteria, deformation and stress, are used to determine the amount of uniform precompression of two mild steels, ABS-B and Project E-steel, resulting in brittle fracture under the strong constraint of a subsequently machined severe circumferential groove. The fracture stress equaled or exceeded the theoretical flow limit Ól = 2.680., ('based on the elevated yield stress at each prestrain) up to prestrains of about 0.20 and then fell off to about 1 at prestrains of 0.60. Yet a prestrain of only 0.05 reduced the elongation at the shoulders by a factor of about 4. The total plastic elongation of a region surrounding a sharp notch in prestrained steel deternines whether or not fracture will be initiated in large structures, hence is a direct and realistic measure of the remaining ductility and provides an excellent test of the material's resistance to embrittlement. ALMOST all engineering structures of mild steel which failed in service in a so-called "brittle" manner exhibited appreciable local plastic deformation (more than 1 pct) and a mixture of "cleavage" and "shear" fracture surfaces. Furthermore, the peak local stress in an advancing crack is always high. Such simple criteria as pure cleavage, absence of plasticity, or fracture stress, so useful in other fields, are insufficient to characterize brittleness in engineering structures at ordnary temperatures. The "brittle)' behavior of engineering structures is caused by the limited ductility at cracks or notch regions, as shown by recent work at Brown University summarized and extended in Refs. 1 to 4. It was also shown that the local ductility of mild steel may be catastrophically reduced by a suitable strain and temperature history similar to those which may occur in real structures. Localized yielding begins at the notch roots at low loads but is contained by surrounding elastic regions. The plastic strains are hence small. They increase slowly with the load up to the flow limit or limit load for an ideally plastic material. Unrestricted plastic flow then occurs. At such strains the real material locally st rain-hardens and fractures. With work-hardening materials no flow limit exists, and the transition from low to high plastic strains is gradual but increases more rapidly at loads close to the flow limit of an equivalent perfectly plastic material. When the available ductility is sufficient for reaching the limit load, the behavior is normal or "ductile". With insufficient ductility, fracture will occur at a low load and will be defined as "brittle". Accordingly the sufficiency or not of the ductility at a notch is reflected in the magnitude of the fracture load or average net stress as compared with the limit load or flow limit. The application of this criterion gave surprising results. Service failures under semistatic loading occurred mostly below the limit load, hence were "brittle". On the contrary all static tests with undamaged commercial mild steels reached the limit load in spite of the deepest notches and temperatures below Charpy impact transition (say about -30°F or higher). Notched bars showed no brittleness even under fully dynamic axial loading up to 1.5 x107 psi per sec at -23°F and about 2.5 x l06 psi per sec at -ll0°F, but broke in a brittle manner at -200°F and l03 psi per sec.' To propagate a fracture at low load, experimenters had to trigger it by superimposing a strong dynamic impact at a notch cooled by liquid nitrogen as in the Robertson5 or Esso tests.' Once started the cracks would run through warmer regions of smaller stress. Obviously the ductility of the apparently undamaged commercial steels was "sufficient" in the laboratory tests but not in the service fracture, where it must have been reduced by some embrittling procedure of fabrication or service. These conclusions were confirmed by the achievement of low static stress (brittle) fracture initiation in unwelded steel after a local reduction of ductility by simple prestraining. Symmetrically notched plates of undamaged mild steel cooled below the Charpy V-notch transition range were tested in central static tension: Undamaged plates withstood loads of limit intensity, but when subjected to prior in-plane com-pressive prestraining perpendicular to the notch axis and to accelerated aging, the plates fractured completely or partially at very low static loads, as low as one-tenth of the flow limit.2-4 However, damage could not be easily related to the strongly variable prestrain around a sharp notch. To obtain easier strain measurements, it was decided to use axially precom-pressed bars and bent bars. Final testing was done by

Jan 1, 1970

By Earle C. Waite

THE Industrial Minerals Division this year held no individual sessions of its own except the business meeting Tuesday afternoon. One session was held jointly with the Society of Economic Geologists, one with the Milling Methods Committee, and two with the Society of Economic Geologists and the Mining Geology Committee. At all of these meetings the attendance was better than usual and the Tuesday afternoon session, with nearly 400 present, probably set a new record for the Division. Joint sessions seem extremely popular when papers of mutual interest are presented. On Monday afternoon, mica was the predominating subject. The North Carolina mines provided most of the information presented, although the discussion brought out similarities with the New England mines. B. C. Burgess particularly stressed the fact that with the existing curtailment of mica from India it is necessary to get the most mica in the shortest time from the mines in this country. He said that the Colonial Mica Corp. hopes to have 1000 mines operating in the near future. This seems a great number, but when one considers that these mines employ from 3 to 28 men, mostly nearer the low figure, the output of each mine is relatively small. Although the price of mica is from six to ten times the prewar price, the yield of 8 to 150 lb. of mica per ton of raw ore does not provide high returns to the producer.

Jan 1, 1943

By G. Sachs, G. Espey

SIMPLE methods can be used for the determination of the residual stresses in thin-walled tubing if the stresses consist of high tensile stresses at the one surface and high compressive stresses at the other surface Such a stress distribution is approximated in sunk tubing and in deep-drawn shells It is possible to cut sections from such articles in such a manner that a major part of the residual stress is relieved by a bending of the part that is separated from the adjacent metal The circumferential stress is evaluated from the change in diameter D, occurring on splitting a length of tubing (Fig Ib),1-5 or from deflection resulting from the cutting out of a circumferential tongue (Fig Ia) G The bending moment M released by such a flexure is [ ] The release of this bending moment corresponds to the release of stresses, which, in a thin section, vary linearly from one surface to the other, and have the following value in a particular fiber a certain distance (zx from the surface [ ] where C is the section modulus and d is the thickness of the section, the ratio AI C being d 2 for a rectangular section* The maximum stress values at the surfaces are [ ] For most purposes the simpler equations [ ] will be satisfactory, where Dm is the average of the mean diameters of the tubing

Jan 1, 1941

By Paul M. Tyler

ROUGHLY one-half the value of mineral products at mines or quarries must be spent for wages. In view of the steady increase in hourly wages that continued for several decades prior to the onslaught of the recent depression, it is perhaps surprising to discover that labor's share of the gross proceeds of the mining and quarrying industries of the United States declined to 46.8 per cent in 1929, compared with 52.2 per cent in 1919 and 53.2 per cent in 1909. The actual percentages vary in different branches of the industry and in different localities but the downward trend is unmistakable. For the period 1909 to 1919 it was quite marked in every industry and from 1919 to 1929 it was apparent in all but six: namely, gold and silver lode mining, placer gold mining, crude gypsum production, marble quarrying, asbestos production, and fluorspar Tninino mining

Jan 1, 1933

Jan 1, 1957

Jan 1, 1916

By J. W. Byrkit

Design features and operating methods at the new Ajo smelter are described in detail. Successful operation of a novel method of handling and charging wet concentrates to a deep bath type reverberatory furnace contribute to the daily production of 200 tons of anodes with good results from the standpoint of both metallurgy and economy. THE New Cornelia Branch of the Phelps Dodge Corp. is located at Ajo, Ariz. Large scale mining operations were started at Ajo in 1917, when a 5000 ton leaching plant was put in service to treat the copper carbonate ore that overlaid the sulphide ore-body. In 1924 a 5000 ton flotation plant was built to treat the sulphide ore and the leaching operation was abandoned a few years later. Changes in practice and additions to plant facilities have resulted in a gradual increase in the milling rate which now approaches 30,000 tons daily. Prior to the erection of the Ajo smelter, flotation concentrate was shipped by rail to Douglas, Ariz, where it was treated in the Phelps Dodge smelter. Construction of a one reverberatory furnace smelter to produce an average of about 200 tons per day of copper anodes at Ajo was started early in 1949. Initial heating of the reverberatory furnace was begun on June 21, 1950. Charging the furnace was started on july 8, and the first anodes were cast on July 14. Neither the anode furnace nor the reverberatory furnace has cooled since the initial firing. Fig. 1 is a photograph of the new smelter. Built primarily to eliminate the '300 mile haul of concentrate to the Douglas plant, the new smelter was designed to treat the Ajo concentrate, with a minimum of capital investment. A novel, and relatively simple, method of concentrate handling and furnace charging made unnecessary the installation and operation of expensive storage facilities and reclaiming equipment, and obviated the necessity of holding in storage large quantities of copper-bearing materials. (Patents are pending in the United States and abroad on the Ajo process.) In the selection and arrangement of equipment, consideration was given to the full utilization of all smelting facilities, reducing the amount of idle equipment to a minimum. The layout of the smelter is shown in Fig. 2. The important problem of internal transportation was minimized by arranging the reverberatory furnace, converters, and anode furnace in a compact group and providing storage bins inside the smelter building, within reach of overhead cranes, for fluxing materials and other supplies needed in the daily operation. This can be seen in the sectional view of the smelter given in Fig. 3. Incorporated in the design were many innovations in smelting equipment intended to facilitate operations and effect economies in maintenance expense and manpower requirements. Table I gives operating data of the entire plant. Metallurgy The metallurgical practice at Ajo is based essentially upon the use of a single, deep bath reverberatory furnace for smelting wet concentrate, without concentrate storage facilities. The large reservoir of slag and matte maintained in the furnace serves to equalize, to some extent, the day to day variations in the nature and grade of concentrate and permits

Jan 1, 1954

By AIME AIME

THE following compilation of State bureaus and officials that deal with mineral resources is compiled in part from a new "Check List of State Agencies and Officials Concerned with the Management of Natural Re- sources," compiled for the National Resources Committee, Washington, D. C., by Clifford J. Hynning. Alabama-Geological Survey of Alabama, University. Walter B. Jones, State Geologist. Chief Mine Inspector: W. B. Hill- house, 614 Lincoln Life Bldg., Birmingham.

Jan 1, 1939

By AIME AIME

INSTITUTE members attending the Annual Meeting in New York who want to see one of the mining engineers' newest aids, photoelastic stress analysis, are due for an interesting afternoon on Thursday, Feb. 15, when open house: will be held at the Columbia University mining laboratory. Information as to the direction and distribution off stresses in mine structures, which has been developed by Professor Bucky, associate professor at the Columbia School of Mines, and David Sinclair, research assistant, is useful in the design of pillars and in the placing of openings relative to working places such as gangways and haulage levels.: This work has been sponsored during the last ten years by the Engineering Foundation.. It is fully reported in T. P. No. 1140.

Jan 1, 1940

Jan 1, 1967

By K. Sassa, I. Ito

The dynamic principal stresses induced within rock by an explosion under con fined conditions are analyzed for the case of blasting with one free face by applying the values of measured radial displacement, particle velocity and so on to equations derived from the theory of elasticity. The dynamic stresses on the free face are also calculated from the strain measured by wire strain gauges affixed on the free face. Some results obtained are briefly: 1) The maximum stress on the free face appeared at the intersection between the free face and the burden, and its magnitude was about twice as large as the magnitude of the tangential tensile stress imparted by the incident stress wave within the range related to the breakage by blasting. 2) The maximum value of the compressive stress near the free face was decreased due to the existence of the free face, while that of the tensile stress was increased. 3) At any point near the free face, the directions of the principal stresses in the r? plane using spherical coordinates with the origin at the center of the spherical charge, changed with time except in the direction of the burden. However, at another point near the explosion point where the principal stresses were mainly those stresses caused by the initial longitudinal wave, the directions of the principal stresses coincided with those of the coordinate used. 4) The maximum value of the tensile stress in the F direction was larger than those in the re plane at and near the free face. 5) The tensile stress caused by the Hopkinson effect appeared only near the burden. 6) It is presumed from the results of stress analysis that radial cracks will be produced in the rock mass near an explosion point, but with the approach of the free face, the directions of cracks curve towards a direction parallel to the free face. INTRODUCTION In order to investigate the mechanism of rock breakage by blasting, it is considered to be very im- portant to know how the stresses are generated and distributed within the rock by explosion of a confined charge. As part of a research program concerning the mechanism of rock breakage by blasting, the authors have already published papers on the detonation pressure produced at the inner surface of the charge hole1 and on the behavior of the dynamic stresses within rock caused by an explosion in the case where no free face existed.' In this study the dynamic stresses on and near the free face have been investigated for the case of blasting with one free face. The mechanism of rock breakage in blasting is discussed in the light of these studies.

Jan 1, 1967

By William G., Pariseau

There are important phenomena in rock and soil mechanics that cannot be explained in terms of theories of homogeneous, isotropic materials. Subsidence of strata about mine openings is an example. In-situ stress measurements in nonisotropic sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks is another. Patterns of joints, faults, fractures, and similar geologic features impart directional mechanical properties to rock masses that are locally isotropic or anisotropic. On the geologic scale, the non-homogeneity of composite rock masses may, in certain instances, be dealt with as homogeneous anisotropy. The mechanics of large rock masses can, therefore, be expected to involve considerations of anisotropy. The source of the anisotropy is not relevant. Once the scale of observation is selected and the material is defined accordingly, the analysis of stress and deformation proceeds without regard to the numerical values of the material constants. There are also important phenomena in rock and soil mechanics that cannot be explained in terms of linear elasticity, theory. For the mechanical description of anisotropic geologic materials capable of de- forming beyond the limit of purely elastic strains, a plasticity theory is required.

Jan 1, 1972

By R. A. Wood, R. I. Jaffee, H. R. Ogden, D. N. Williams

CERTAIN titanium alloys when quenched to retain the 0 phase at room temperature show extensive transformation of 0 to martensitic a during deformation. Alloys of this type are usually characterized by low tensile yield strength, a large spread between yield strength and ultimate strength, and high uniform elongation. A previous investigation of this phenomenon concluded that the principal contribution of the martensitic transformation was to increase the amount of deformation prior to fail-

Jan 1, 1964

By R. E. Pollard

The National Bureau of Standards received, in August 1940, a number of samples of bridge wire taken from the cables of the General U. S. Grant suspension bridge over the Ohio River at Ports- mouth, Ohio. These cables were 7% in. in diameter under the wrapping and each was made up of 1458 ungalvanized wires of No. 8 gage in 3 parallel-wire strands. The choice of ungalvanized wire was based on the previous satisfactory performance of similar wires in other bridges over periods of 20 to 50 yr. of service(1).2 After about 12 yr. of service a number of breaks were discovered in the Portsmouth bridge cables, most of them at the anchor- age shoes, and they were replaced by cables made up of galvanized wire(2).

Jan 1, 1945

By M. J. Coolbaugh

Mining of potash more than 3000 ft beneath the water-bearing sediments in Saskatchewan presented the unique challenge of designing stable mine workings and assuring protection from overhead water in a material that was believed to flow plastically, but whose behavior as a plastic material was not sufficiently known. Under the stress conditions ordinarily encountered in mining most rocks behave as elastic materials; that is, they compress slightly under pressure, and rebound when the pressure is released. Salt and potash, however, are different. Even under the relatively low pressures encountered at shallow depths, these materials become slightly plastic and yield to stress by flowing.* The plastic properties become more pronounced at greater depth and pressure, and the question arises as to whether or not the plastic flow will be rapid enough and exert enough pressure to destroy underground structures or interrupt the mining process.

Jan 5, 1967