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By William G. Pariseau, H. Douglas Dahl

Recent subsidence legislation indicates that mining engineers would be welt advised to be able to predict and control surface damage caused by mine subsidence. To date, such an ability is practically nonexistent. Model analysis is suggested as one of the alternative paths available which might yield fruitful results. Similitude requirements developed for a self-loaded body in static or quasi-static equilibrium indicate that complete similitude without centrifuging is an impracticability. However, a pilot experimental study which used a simplifying assumption to correctly model mine subsidence has produced results in qualitative agreement with field observations. The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion of the various approaches that can be taken in the study of mine subsidence phenomena. Particular attention is focused upon the rational selection and use of laboratory models. Broadly interpreted, mine subsidence is the deformation of the rock mass enclosing a mine. Depending upon a number of factors, the movement of the subsiding rock mass may disrupt gas and water lines or other buried utilities, damage surface structures such as buildings and bridges, dislocate streams, roads, and rail lines, aggravate acid mine drainage and fire problems, and generally mar the landscape. It is clearly a problem that no mine manager can safely ignore. It is also a problem that will grow with the general population increase. In the following discussion, a summary review of past and present approaches to subsidence studies is given. The possibilities of duplicating subsidence phenomena in laboratory models are examined, and an analysis of a particular type of model is presented. Some preliminary results obtained from a model of the particular type analyzed are then discussed. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS WORK Historically, subsidence investigations have been empirical studies in the field and laboratory or theoretical analyses of mathematically idealized media. Empirical and theoretical work in the United States has generally lagged behind investigations abroad. In the United States, field studies are mostly pre-World War 11. These are summarized in the Mining Engineer's Handbook. ' Field studies in Europe are more recent and more extensive. Those made in Great Britain are summarized in the Subsidence Engineers Handbook2 and represent observations made at 157 different collieries. Such studies by themselves are of limited usefulness as are all empirical studies. One can never be certain that conditions at one mine will be similar enough to those at another to warrant the drawing of like conclusions. European subsidence formulas rely heavily upon the "angle of draw" and "critical area" concepts. The angle of draw is defined as the angle between a vertical line through the face, and another line extending from the face to the surface at the point where movement is zero. The critical area is defined in relation to the least extraction necessary to produce maximum subsidence. Fig. 1 illustrates the angle of draw and critical area concepts. First and second "limits of influence" are also shown. The angle of draw and associated critical area concept are obviously not well defined, being dependent upon the accuracy of the surface survey. In Great Britain, the angle of draw has increased through the years from about 26 to 35°. In the United States, zero and negative angles of draw have been reported. In the authors' opinion, these purely geometrical concepts represent an oversimplification of subsidence phenomena and their use, in the United States at least, should be discouraged. Empirical observations of laboratory models containing layers of earth, sand, clay, and plaster were made by Fayol (cited by Peele) as early as 1885. An outgrowth of his work was the "dome theory," a verbal description of what is assumed to occur in subsiding rock masses. The dome theory has since fallen into disrepute. Theoretical analyses worthy of the name treat a subsiding rock mass as a deformable body. In these analyses, the actual rock mass is replaced by an idealized material that deforms according to a simple stress-strain relationship. The stress equations of equilibrium expressing the Newtonian laws of mechanical action and the geometry of strain furnish additional equations that must be satisfied. A loading criterion-generally understood, and in some cases stated explicitly-completes the theory.

Jan 1, 1969

Edward Dyer Peters, the only child of Henry Hunter Peters and Susan Barker Thaxter, was born in Dorchester, Mass., June 1, 1849. From his father he was a descendant of the Peters family of Ipswich and Andover, Mass., whose earliest ancestor settled in Essex County in 1659; while upon his mother's side he descended from several old Hingham families, as well as from the Quineys and from Governor Bradford. Between the ages of fourteen and sixteen he was a student at the Episcopal School for boys in Cheshire, Conn. Near the school was an old tin mine, and he used to spend his Saturday afternoons exploring it. When Edward was sixteen, his father sold his property in South-borough, and for the next three years lived in Europe. Sept. 26, 1865, Edward entered the Royal School of Mines at Freiberg, Saxony. In the summer of 1867 he joined his family on Lake Geneva, and spent a part of the season in that vicinity, going to Chamounix and taking other trips. Extract from a letter to his father: Elbingerode, Harz, Aug. 30, 1868: I left Freiberg with my friend Lilienthal, on Wednesday the 19th of August, reached Leipzig in the evening and spent the night in that city: the next morning we took the cars and in the afternoon reached Eisleben, in Prussia, which was to be our first stopping-place; there are immense copper-mines and smelting-works at this place, and the method of working the mines is very peculiar ... The next morning we got up at five and spent the whole day in the smelting-works where I obtained a number of drawings of the furnaces they use here and a good many valuable data. Saturday morning we got up at four o'clock, and descended a mine about three miles from the town; the Director of this mine was one of the most intelligent and agreeable men that I ever met; he accompanied us in the mine and explained everything that was new to us. The system of mining at Eisleben is peculiar to this town, and is not used at any other place in the world; the copper ore comes in narrow, flat veins eighteen inches high, at the utmost, consequently the men work lying flat on their left side and using the pick with both hands: the ore is carried out of the side passages into the main ones, in very low waggons about twelve inches high, and four by two feet; the boys who pull these waggons have a board buckled to their left thigh and their left arm; they pass their bare foot through a strap in the waggon and wriggle along on their side dragging the waggon after them, with their foot, almost as fast as a man can walk above ground. In the afternoon we walked over to Hittstadt, about twelve miles, and remained there Sunday and Monday. Monday night, at ten o'clock we went out to one of the smelting-works, to see the refining of the copper; this is only done at night, so we worked there from ten in the evening till eleven the next morning, and came home all blackened up and with blistered hands, for our skin was not quite so tough as that of the workmen: at noon the same day we took the stage to Ascherls-leben, and then the train to Stassfurt, where there are immense salt-mines, as well as factories for the manufacture of bromium, which latter process is, however, kept a profound secret, so we had very little hope of seeing anything but the salt mines; we were talking with our landlord about our disappointment, that evening, when he told us that the director of the Bromium works was sitting in the next room with no company but his glass of beer, so we went over to him, introduced ourselves as Americans, and actually succeeded in persuading him that it could do his business no earthly hurt if he showed us his works; at last he consented, after making us give our word of honor

Jan 1, 1919

By Charles Barrett

SINCE 1925, when the preferred orientations in compressed aluminum were first determined1, 2 the orientations have been described as a fiber texture in which a face diagonal, [110], of the face-centered cubic lattice is parallel to the compression axis. Subsequent experiments have seemed to confirm this texture,3-5 and a number of theories (recently summarized in references 6 and 7) have been proposed to explain it and to relate it to the behavior of single crystals during compression. 3,8-11 The experiments reported in this paper prove that the orientations are not adequately described as quoted above-i.e., as a [110] fiber texture-although this is a first approximation to the actual texture. They also show that the texture cannot be thought of as a stable orienta-tion that is reached and maintained after a sufficient amount of deforma-tion. The actual texture, when studied in detail at successive stages of compression, indicates that a hitherto unsuspected range of orientations is present, both in the polycrystalline metal as a whole and in various individual grains in its interior, and that a state of dynamic equilibrium exists within this range. The reasons for the failure of previous theories to predict the actual texture become obvious when the heterogeneous nature of the flow is considered. In addition to the deformation texture, the manner of its develop-ment, and its theory, this paper presents data on the following related subjects: the identity of strain markings in aluminum; the orientation changes in aluminum single crystals during compression and a com-parison of these with the conditions in individual grains of a polycrystal-line specimen; the origin of asterism in deformed single crystals, which heretofore has been regarded as a distortion localized at the surfaces of slip planes; and the relation of plastic strain in individual grains in an aggregate to the strain of the whole.

Jan 1, 1939

By C. A. Pierce

STUDIES of roof and floor movement are of interest to those actively engaged in mining. This is especially true in the case of an entirely new area where there is no precedent for guidance. The potash deposit being mined is in the southeast corner of New Mexico, about 20 miles east of Carlsbad. The deposit was formed by the land-locked, shallow, Permian Sea that extended through parts of western Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, southeastern Colorado, and eastern New Mexico. The saline deposits vary from 500 to 4000 ft. thick. Neither of the companies operating in this area has delimited its com-mercial ore bodies. As all production so far has been from Federal and State leases, the Department of the Interior and the State of New Mexico have a direct interest in the development and extraction of these ore horizons. The ore is composed of an intimate mechanical mixture of sylvite (potassium chloride) and halite (sodium chloride). It lies generally in a horizontal bed varying from 5 to 12 ft. in thickness, and has a cover of approximately 1000 ft., consisting of about 500 ft. of salt beds and 500 ft, of sediments. The immediate mine roof for several feet is principally salt with some potash and clayey material. The next 500 ft. above, from the standpoint of structure, may be considered rock salt with a few inter-bedded potash members. The upper 500 ft. is of sedimentary (Permian and Triassic) origin and contains several water-bearing formations with flows varying from 10 to 500 gal. per minute. This water intensifies the interest in convergence problems as the ore and surrounding for-mations are water soluble. Potash salt (sylvite) and rock salt (halite) are plastic minerals. Plasticity is defined as a "property of solids by virtue of which they hold their shape permanently under the action of small shearing stresses but are readily deformed, worked, or molded under larger stresses."1

Jan 1, 1938

By W. H. Andrews

THE constantly increasing consumption of Portland cement in the State makes the above subject of partlcular interest at this time. The increasing demand is due to the rapid settling of the country and the fact that new uses are being found frequently for the above named commercial article. The industry is one that is bound to grow as the population increases, and this being the case, it may be well ,it this time to consider briefly- the matter of the chemical and physical com-position of proper raw materials. A cement mixture is one that contains approximately 75 per cent. carbonate of lime, 15 per cent. Silica, and 5 to 7 per cent. alumina, and iron oxides; the other elements being magnesium carbonate and small quantities of the rarer elements general associated with limestone deposits. It call be readily seen from the above composition that it is possible to build up this mixture from a number of different materials. First.-A rock high in carbonate of lime can be mixed with clay or shale in such proportions as to bring about the desired composition ; the chief difficulty in the building up of such a mixture is that it is hard to find a clay or shale in which the silica-alumina, ratio lies .between 4 to 1 and 3 to 1 and at the same time shows physical characteristics which will make certain its adaptability to the practical manufacture of Portland cement. Very often clays or shales are found which are right chemically but contain large quantities of grit or free silica. Such clays or shale must be ground to extreme fineness in the mixture in order to make the silica and alumina combine with the lime when the mixture is burned. On the other hand, clays or shales are often found that have the proper physical characteristics but in which the amount of alumina, is too great.

Jan 9, 1913

By Anthony Anable

THE definite trend to stricter specifications with respect to hydraulic concrete has become increasingly manifest in the last six years or so; but it remained for the vast reclamation projects of the Bureau of Recla-mation of the Department of the Interior of the last few years to focus attention on this trend, and to demonstrate how thousands of tons of concrete-making aggregates can be produced continuously and auto-matically with a control of fineness comparable with that obtained with small samples in well equipped private and governmental laboratories. Pioneer work in this direction was done, to be sure, by private com-panies, notably the Kaiser Paving Co. of San Francisco, prior to the present vast public works program. Then in 1931 came the first great aggregates-preparation plant of the Six Companies, Inc. to supply. construction materials for Boulder Dam' in Nevada, and now, in 1936, the aggregates plant of the Mason-Walsh-Atkinson-Kier Co., general con¬tractors on the Grand Coulee dam in Washington. At Boulder dam and to an even greater degree at Grand Coulee dam, sand production is recognized as probably the most important single element affecting the physical characteristics of the concrete. For in the construction of dams accurate grading of the fine aggregate has consider-able bearing on the attainment of a uniform and homogeneous concrete of a high degree of workability and placeability and, at the same time, combining high density and low cement content. Low cement content is of value not only from the standpoint of economy but also because the use of an unnecessarily rich concrete causes certain undesirable characteristics to develop. This paper will relate how at Grand Coulee dam methods that are more advanced than ever before are producing four sizes of gravel and a sand having a fineness modulus of 2.5-3.0. The design capacity is 1000 tons an hour. Significantly, the methods and equipment employed are broadly those that have been used for a generation in metallurgical mills for accurately sizing and grading both precious

Jan 1, 1936

By Herbert Hoover

This paper is in the nature of a rough preliminary report on the progress that has been made in the application of the mass spectrometer to various problems arising in the petroleum industry. A few years ago the authors considered a number of the problems that were arising in the qualitative and quantitative measurement of small amounts of hydrocarbons. The methods available of making analyses by chemical techniques appeared to leave much room for improvement. Without going into the reasons at this point, attention was turned to the possibility of employing physical instead of chemical methods of accomplish-ing the desired results. A preliminary investigation disclosed that the mass spectrometer presented a possibility of solving many problems which could not easily be accomplished by other methods. Work was begun in developing the necessary apparatus and technique. A great deal of encouragement and many valuable suggestions were received from Dr. Robert A. Millikan, Dr. W. R. Smythe, and Dr. W. N. Lacey, of the California Institute of Technology, and from Dr. E. 0. Lawrence, who recently received the Nobel Prize, of the University of California. The authors particularly wish to acknowl-edge the very great willingness of these out-standing scientists to be helpful in solving many of the problems that were involved. So far as the authors are aware, this was the first application of the mass spectrometer to commercial work. The results were considerably better than had at first been anticipated. Briefly, it is pos-sible to run a qualitative and quantitative analysis of an unknown mixture of hydro-carbon gases, with an accuracy of better than plus or minus 5 per cent of each of the various constituents. An exceedingly high degree of sensitivity has been obtained, and a relatively short time is required to com-plete an analysis. Furthermore, it is un-necessary to separate a mixture of gases into its various components in order to complete the analysis.

Jan 1, 1940

By D. Geiselman, A. G. Guy

Single cvystals were grown from high-purity magnesium containing known amounts of nitvogen in the range 0.0008 to 0.0048 wt pet. Crystals of known ovientation were tested in tension in an Instron ma chine to determine the yield strength and to obsevue wheather a yield point occurred. Slowly cooled crystals or those given a solution heat treatment did not show a yield point. However, crystals that were aged following a solution treatment showed a yield point for all of the nitrogen contents studied. It was concluded that nitrogen caused the yield point by the Cottrell mechanism. NITROGEN has been shown to produce sharp yield points in single crystals of cadmium, zinc,2'3 ß-brass,4 and iron,5,6 as well as in polycrystalline iron7 and molybdenum.8,9 Since magnesium has a structure similar to zinc and cadmium, it seemed reasonable that magnesium should also exhibit a sharp yield point provided it contained sufficient nitrogen. Bobalek and Shrader10 reported a total nitrogen content of 0.002 to 0.0065 wt pct in com- mercial magnesium alloys, an amount well in excess of that required by theory. However. magnesium differs from cadmium and zinc in that it forms a stable nitride, Mg3N2, which has a standard free energy of formation of -95,480 cal per mole at 25" c." If rather than being in solid solution, the nitrogen were predominantly combined as the nitride, it could not act to produce a yield point. This type of behavior is the basis for the elimination of strain aging and a yield point in steel by the addition of strong nitride formers such as titanium,12 columbium,13 aluminum,14 vanadium,15 and boron.16,17 Thus, there appeared to be factors both favorable and unfavorable to the production by nitrogen of a sharp yield point in magnesium, and the purpose of this investigation was to determine the actual behavior of magnesium crystals containing known amounts of nitrogen.

Jan 1, 1960

V. H. GOTTSCHALK, Rolla, Mo. (written discussion*).-In connection with Mr. Waring's quotation of Urbain's work, attention may be drawn to a remark found in the report of the session of the Société de Chimie Physique,1 held in December, 1909, that, while all blendes contain gallium in larger or smaller quantities, those blendes carrying indium are generally free from germanium, and vice versa. Urbain, furthermore, . expresses his conviction that this behavior, being related to the condi-tions of deposition of the ore, should be an important factor in determining the origin and mode of formation of zinc blende deposits., In. searching the literature for the naturally expected sequel to these remarks, there is found a report on the extraction of germanium from blende, after many months' work, on a commercial scale;2 then a paper3 on some Spanish blendes, all containing cadmium, examined by Urbain's 'method (this paper contains, also, very important work on the com-position and color of blendes, as well as on the occurrence of organic .matter and of inclusions in such blendes), and a second paper on Spanish blendes in general, in which this original point of Urbain's concerning the relative quantities of the three rare elements is taken up.4 Angel del Campo finds that of 68 specimens examined, four only were entirely free of germanium, gallium, and indium;. 38 had small proportions, while 19 were notably, and seven relatively rich in the three rare metals. He found the relative frequency to be: gallium in 60, germanium in, 50, and indium in 38; all three occurred in 29 cases; germanium and gallium together in 18; gallium and indium together in four; germanium and indium together without gallium, in none; four had gallium only, three had germanium only, and one had indium only; in 23 it appeared feasible to extract these elements. Finally, it may be worth mentioning that the discovery of gallium in commercial aluminum5 brought forth two

Jan 1, 1918

By Harrison R. Cooper

With problems of diminishing ore grades and increasing cost of facilities, the mineral industry is acutely aware of the needs for improving beneficiation processes. Industry and universities are directing intensive technical effort to develop- ment of techniques with potential for using digital computers in automation and process analysis. The main problem of early attempts at on-line computer process control methods was that of economics. Now, with new advances in analysis and modeling making practical application economically important, it appears that minerals beneficiation is on the threshold of a significant jump in operating technology. In reviewing this work, particular note was taken of research and development applied to fundamental processes and the significant areas of effort where operations research techniques are used for process applications leading to the current state-of-the-art. Development of data automation and on-line control methods for process industries is deferred to the next section of this volume. This section deals with computer-facilitated mathematical-modeling development and reviews this work in conjunction with associated prior fundamental research leading to development of the methods. Flotation The 1960 state-of -the -art in flotation modeling was com- piled by Arbiter and Harris in the volume, 50th Anniversary of Froth Flotation, edited by Fuerstenau1. Many workers in the field of flotation initiated their research through flotation models, and this effort has led to use of simulation and operations re search methods employing computer techniques to facilitate advance of this work. The flotation model of Imaizumi and Inoue, published with supporting data in 1962, was expanded in 1968 with the objective of developing a basis for process automation.2,3 The fundamental work of Woodburn and Loveday in 1965 has led to techniques applicable to flotation circuit design optimization.4 This analysis is described in this volume by Woodburn in conjunction with King, Buchalter, and Piper. Niemi5,6 derived models for dynamics of a flotation circuit which were employed in developing a model describing

Jan 1, 1969

By Y. C. Liu, R. H. Richman

The effects of gel,manium and tin on the deformation and 9-e-crystallization textures of copper have been explored in detail with in the copper-rich terminal solid solutions. Addition of solute to copper produces a change in deformation texture from the copper type to the 70 :30 brass type. This transition has been measured quantitatively The types mid proportions of recrystal-lization components have been determined as a function of com-position, and correlation of recrystallization components with specific deformation components is discussed. On the basis of information available in the literature, it has been suggested that the effect of solute elements on the recrystallization texture of copper

Jan 1, 1961

There were two official representatives of Foreign Governments as guests at the Chicago Meeting. One was Frederick Goransson, managing director of the Saudvikens Steel Works, who represented the Jernkonteret, the Iron and Steel In-stitute of Sweden, and who came to this country especially for our meeting. The other distinguished guest was Commander Toublet, who repre-sented the French Embassy. Commander Toublet delivered a most polished address at the Banquet, dealing with the felicitous relations existing between this country and France for the last 150 years. Com-mander Toublet was accompanied by Mrs. Toublet, who won the hearts of all the ladies present, whose guest she was.

Jan 11, 1919

By Robert M. Dreyer

AGGREGATE With an annual domestic production of over 1.6 billion tons at a value of over $2 billion (see Table 15.1.1), the production of aggregate (crushed rock, sand, and gravel) is a basic industry of utmost economic importance. Because of the role of aggregate materials as essential ingredients of concrete, asphalt surfacing, and plaster, their delivered prices are major factors in determining the cost of construction. The annual domestic production comes from nearly 10,000 plants. About 15% of these plants account for over one-half the production. In a rapidly inflating economy, the average mine sales price of aggregate has remained relatively stable. The actual mine sales prices, however, vary greatly depending on quarrying costs in various parts of the country. Of much more importance in construction costs, however, is the delivered price of aggregate. This varies for each job, depending on the distance from the quarry and resulting transportation costs, as well as the initial cost at the mine. Because of a proliferation of regulations limiting new quarries in the vicinity of the encroaching urban sprawl, the average distance which aggregate must be transported has been increasing rapidly. Although it is impossible to derive an average delivered cost for aggregate, it should be noted that even an increase of only $1 per ton in average delivered cost over the last decade (probably a minimal assumption) would mean an annual cost $1.5 billion higher than ten years ago. In recent years, structural engineering considerations, as well as an increasing use of lightweight concrete blocks, have resulted in a rapidly increasing demand for lightweight concrete and plaster, the essential ingredient of which is lightweight aggregate. Principal lightweight aggregates are: pumice, slag, perlite (thermally expanded hydrous volcanic glass), vermiculite, and expanded shale, formed by the thermal expansion of shale and slate. The United States now has the capacity to expand, annually, over 13 million tons of shale and slate and to expand over 600,000 tons of perlite. In locating a site for aggregate production. the following factors must be considered: (1) tonnage available; (2) quality of aggregate (including local variations); (3) distance from major use areas; (4) transportation costs, including those resulting from present and possible future haulage restrictions; (5) zoning regulations; (6) operating costs, including the cost effects of compliance with local regulations governing blasting, air pollution, water pollution and drainage, noise levels, and operating periods. At one time, locating a suitable site for the production of crushed rock, sand, or gravel, in most areas, was regarded as an extremely simple task. In the past few years, however, finding a site for profitable production of aggregate has assumed ever-increasing com-

Jan 1, 1976

By Keats, J. L.

IN THE literature on the elimination of metalloids in basic open-hearth practice, there are a great many heats recorded in which excellent data on changes in slag and metal composition during refining are given, but in almost all of these heats either temperature data or weights and analysis of charge are unrecorded and observations on the physical charac- teristics of the slag are almost always lacking. With these points in mind, a test heat was made in which as complete as data possible on all the factors that affect the elimination of metalloids were obtained.

Jan 1, 1957

By J. F. Smith, J. R. Ogren, N. J. Magnani

The uapor pressrcres of magnesium over binary alloys of magnesium with twelve of the yare-earth eletnetzts have been measured by the Knudsen effuion method in the temperature range 675° to 910°K. These vapor-pressure measurments were combined with data concerning the tevtrlitzul magnesium solubility and the vapor pressure of pure magnesinm to evaluale the standuvd free energies of pluase jormation. These free-etzergy values indicate that the CsCl structures of the heacy rave earths tend to be somewhat less stable than those of the light rare earths. This dif-]eying- behaviov covrelates with differences which have been obsevz~ed in other alloy systetns wherein a phuse appeurs, disappeavs, or changes crystal stvucture as the atomic number of the rare-earth com-ponent is changed. This behauior also appears to correlate with the struclurul rariations within the rare-earth elements themselves, and it is speculated that cariations in the spatial extent of the 4f orbitals are responsihle. STUDIES of the phase relationships and crystal structures in the binary systems between rare-earth metals (lanthanons) and magnesium are extensive but far from complete. However, the currently available information1-10 does produce a rather interesting pattern. This is illustrated in Table I. If one excludes europium and ytterbium from consideration because of their generally atypical behavior, it can be seen from the table that the phase relationships in the magnesium-rich regions show a distinctly different pattern for the lighter lanthanons as compared to the heavier lanthanons. For the lighter lanthanons, LnMg2 phases occur from lanthanum to gadolinium with the cubic MgCu2 structure, LnMg3 phases occur from lanthanum to terbium with the BiLi3 structure, and magnesium-rich phases occur from lanthanum to gadolinium with stoi-chiometries between Ln5Mg42 and LnMg12. In contrast, for the heavier lanthanons, those LnMg2 structures which have been examined have the hexagonal MgZn2 structure, LnMg3 phases have not been observed beyond terbium, and the magnesium-rich phases occur with the a manganese structure near a stoichiometry of Ln5MgZ4. The heavy lanthanon-magnesium systems thus appear to be analogous to the Y-Mg system""2 wherein YMg has the CsCl structure, YMg2 has the MgZn2 structure, and the region Y4Mgz5-Y5Mg24 has the a manganese structure, and no other intermediate phases are observed. Similarity in alloying behavior between yttrium and the heavy lanthanons occurs commonly, and on this basis it seems likely that LnMg2 phases will be found with the MgZn2 structure in the binary systems of dysprosium, thulium, and lutetium with magnesium when the appropriate investigations are made. In the case of the magnesium-rich phases of the lighter lanthanons, only the Ce-Mg phase relationships have been investigated thoroughly and in detail, and until similar investigations are made for the other systems there will remain questions as to which magnesium-rich stoichiometries represent equilibrium phases and what systematic variations occur in the sequence from lanthanum to gadolinium. Thus the data in Table I show that only the LnMg phases occur with the same crystallographic structure throughout the sequence from lanthanum to lutetium. It was speculated that the relative stability of these LnMg phases might vary from one lanthanon to the next in such a way as to presage the differences which occur among the more magnesium-rich lanthanon-magnesium phases. On this basis the present investigation of the thermodynamics of phase formation was Gndertaken for the LnMg phases. PROCEDURE AND RESULTS A generalized phase diagram for the lanthanon-rich portion of a lanthanon-magnesium alloy system is shown in Fig. 1 where ß represents a high-temperature bcc

Jan 1, 1968

By H. O. Hofman

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, In deternlining experimentally the fusibility of clays, two kinds of methods may be distinguished—the direct and the indirect. Of the direct methods, that of Seger has found

Jan 1, 1899

By J. F. Smith

ELASTIC constants of yttrium and eleven of the rare earth elements have been measured. This has been accomplished by measuring the propagation velocities of ultrasonic pulses. The velocity measurements were made by noting the elapsed time between an applied pulse and the appearance of successive echoes. The pulse-echo technique has become relatively common, and the basis of the measurement is outlined in several standard tests, e.g., Heuter and Bolt.1 Two important assumptions are made when using this method for the determination of elastic moduli. First, the pulse is assumed to propagate as a plane wave. To justify this assumption, the cross section of the test specimen should be large compared to the wave length of the transmitted pulse. For these measurements on the rare earth elements the minimum cross section wave length ratio was about 20. A second assumption which must be made when using polycrystalline specimens is that the grains are sufficiently numerous and randomly oriented so that the specimen may be approximated as elasti-cally isotopic. The grain size in the as-cast specimens which were used is believed to be sufficiently fine for this approximation, and the degree of preferred orientation is believed to be small. Supporting this viewpoint is the fact that elasticity measurements by the pulse-echo technique on as-cast specimens of other metals give results which are in satisfactory agreement with values obtained by other techniques. Hence, it is believed that the measured elasticity values for the rare earth elements are not apt to be seriously in error due to the assumption of elastic isotopy. The apparatus used in this determination was a modified Sperry Reflectoscope with a precisely calibrated time base circuit. Piezoelectric transducers were used both to generate the pulse and to detect the echoes. X-cut quartz crystals were used for the longitudinal modes, and Y-cut quartz crystals were used for the shear modes. Frequencies of 2.25 and 5 megacycles per sec were employed. Most of the specimens were 2.5 to 5.0 cm in length. Results Table I is a tabulation of the measured propagation velocities of longitudinal waves and of shear waves, together with densities obtained by Sped- ding, Daane, and Herrmann2 from lattice parameter measurements. The shear modulus, Poisson's ratio, and Young's modulus were calculated from the data in Table I through use of the following relationships: µ = pv32 [1] s=2-(vb/vs)2/2[1-(vb/vs)2] [2] and Y= 2µ(l+s) [3] where s is the shear modulus, Y is the Young's modulus, s is Poisson's ratio, p is the density, V0 is the longitudinal wave velocity, and v, is the shear wave velocity. The calculated quantities are shown in Table 11. Compressibility values can be computed from the relationship and the computed values may be compared with measured values obtained by Bridgman.8 Table III lists the data for such a comparison. The agreement is satisfactory, being particularly good for neodymi- um and gadolinium, poor for samarium, and intermediate for the other elements. Some variation is expected since Bridgman's measurements are isothermal, whereas the present measurements are adiabatic. In addition there may be some effect due to small variations in purity. Though most of the rare earth metals measured by Bridgman and all of the metals used in the present measurements were prepared at this laboratory, minor purity variations might exist since the samples came from different lots. Also, any imperfections such as dislocations, vacancies, voids, grain boundaries, microcracks, etc., should contribute to the volume change of a com-

Jan 1, 1958

By John J. Cioston

THE steadily rising flood of gold production from all parts of the world has created an avalanche of rumors regarding the stability of the present price of this metal. Markets have been unsettled from Johannesburg to London from New York and Toronto to Melbourne, despite repeated denials from, American and British authorities of any immediate intention to alter the price. Various economists and financial writers have blossomed forth with predictions that the price would be set at the old level of $20.67 per oz.; some have even been so brash as to state That a price of $15 would be necessary to bring production within control. These effusions, based entirely upon monetary theories and with no regard to production costs, serve to confuse rather than clarify the situation.

Jan 1, 1937

The United States has never been a large coal exporting nation, and normally such shipments, aside from those to Canada, have been relatively small. Since the first railroad was built across the Allegheny Mountains, the imports have been quite small also, although fairly large tonnages of Canadian coal have moved into the extreme northeastern and northwestern states at times. In Table 21 are shown all data available about these shipments from 1790 to 1939, inclusive.

Jan 1, 1942

P. Herasymenko (New York University, New York) —The authors' experiments on equilibria between water vapor and liquid synthetic slags represent a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the nature of liquid slags. They can be regarded as a proof of ionic splitting of water molecules dissolved in slags. The assumption that water dissolved in slag was com- pletely ionized was made in my report on hydrogen equilibria in steelmaking as early as 194010. In that paper, the first systematic data were given on the content of ionized hydrogen in acid and basic open-hearth slags. The paper probably escaped the notice of the authors, although they mention the articles published later by other investigators who reported erratic and

Jan 1, 1958