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By W. L., Yerkes

AN interesting study of the application of air-, conditioning to the problem of mine ventilation and cooling can be found on the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Here there are a large number of deep mines in a relatively small area. Due to the nature of the reef, many mines are working at a depth of 6000 ft. and some have gone down to 8000 and 9000 ft. below the surface. At such depths, even in a country geologically as old as Africa, the virgin rock temperature approaches 110°F. The flow of heat from the- rock to the ventilation air is tremendous though the shaft or drift may have been open to ventilation for some years. In addition, there is the heat produced by machinery, lights, and men at work and the heat of adiabatic compression of air introduced into the mine. The difference in atmosphere pressure between the collar of a shaft and a level 6000 ft. below is nearly 3lb. per sq. in., resulting in an increase in heat content of nearly four B.T.U. per pound of air delivered to the mine at surface. Further the exclusive use of wet mining to reduce the incidence of miner?s phthisis increases the latent- heat content of the air.

Jan 1, 1941

Jan 6, 1976

By Lloyd R. Jackson

IN the past 15 years there has been a great deal of interest in the fundamentals of plastic flow and rupture in metals and a number of papers have presented substantial advances toward a fundamental insight into the mechanism of these two processes. This paper is an appraisal of the present position with respect to the following: I. The relative importance of shear and hydrostatic stresses in controlling the plastic flow of metals. 2. The relative importance of shear and hydrostatic stresses in determining the amount of flow before rupture in metals. 3. The use of generalid strains in determining the effect of plastic flow on the work-hardening of metals. FUNDAMENTALS INVOLVED IN PLASTIC FLOW In attempting to devise a quantitative description of plastic flow in metals, it has been customary to assume that metals are homogeneous and isotropic. The fact that neither of these assumptions is correct complicates the experimental appraisal of relations developed. Never- the less, as will be shown, metals are close enough to being isotropic and homogeneous so that considerable insight into the mechanism of plastic flow can be obtained. The assumptions of .isotropy and homogeneity allow both the elastic and plastic behavior of metals to be described in terms of 12 variables-six being stress variables, and six being strain variables. ) From this viewpoint, it should be possible to represent the stress-strain relations in the plastic range for metals by a surface in 12 dimensions. One boundary of this surface would be the surface of transition from elastic to plastic behavior; the other would be the surface of rupture. These two surfaces would be joined by the surface of plastic flow. The shape of this composite surface would depend on the test temperature and speed of straining. This paper is concerned only with results obtained at constant temperature and constant speed of straining. While such a representation is conceivable, the demonstration of such a surface would present almost insurmountable obstacles. The most fruitful simplification of this concept has been the recognition that the behavior of metals in the plastic region is primarily a result of shear stresses and strains. Based on this viewpoint, it is possible to utilize stress and strain invariants that are independent of hydrostatic components to define an effective stress and strain. In effect, this amounts to reducing the task of representing stresses and strains in 12 dimensions to one of representation in two dimensions. The two invariants (one for stresses . and one for strains) that have received most attention are the following: [ ]

Jan 1, 1946

Schedule of Events

Jan 1, 1977

By Hsun Hu, R. S. Cline

A detailed studj) of texture formation in 2 pet Al-Fe single crystals with initial orientations of approximately (111) [112], (112) [111], and (112) [111] was made by examining the textures developed on the surface and at various interior sections of the crystal after rolling to various amounts. Depending' upon the initial orientation of the crystal, the surface and interior textures may differ only in sharpness, or may differ essentially in orientation. The orientation of the (111) [112] crystal does not change upon rolling up to 70 pet, but after rolling more than 90 pet a distinct component of (001) (110] orientation is developed. The texture formed in the two (112) (1111 type crystals consists of (111) (1121 and (001) (1101 components. The latter, however, is largely confined to the surface layers. The textures formed on both sides of the crystal are identical, and the texture composition profile is approximately symmetrical with respect to the central section of the strip thickness. The formation of these texture components is analyzed. DURING the past seven or eight years, deformation and recrystallization textures in rolled Si-Fe single crystals have been extensively studied by various investigators.1-7 From these studies, much knowledge on texture formation in bee crystals of various initial orientations was obtained. However, these results also raised many questions, regarding particularly the correlation between deformation and recrystallization textures, as well as the deformation texture itself of some particular crystals. To take a (111) [112] type crystal as an example, it was shown by Dunn and Koh2, 3 that this orientation does not change during deformation by rolling. This finding is consistent with the conclusion reached by Barrett and Leven-son8 with respect to iron crystals that (111) [112] is one of the stable end orientations. However, different recrystallization textures were observed by Dunn and Koh3 in (111) [112] type crystals of different initial thickness, which widened differently during rolling even though their deformation textures were identical. Another interesting example, also from the results of Dunn and Koh2'3 is that of texture formation in a (112) [111] crystal. This crystal developed a two-component deformation texture of (111) [112] plus (001) [110]. Its recrystallization texture, however, was found to be predominantly (110) [001], which is related to the (111) [112] component by a simple [110] rotation. This crystal, therefore, behaved as if the other deformation texture component, (001) [110], were not present. There are also discrepancies among the results of different investigators, as well as numerous unexplained fine features of the deformation texture of crystals of various initial orientations. In order to have a better understanding of all of these points, a detailed study of deformation textures is greatly needed. One of the obvious things that has been completely overlooked in previous texture studies is the possible effect of surface texture. All past work on the texture of Si-Fe single crystals was conducted in a rather simple manner, i.e., the rolled crystals were etched to a very thin sheet; then their textures were examined by transmission X-ray techniques. For recrystallization texture studies, unless precautions are taken by etching off a sufficient amount of the surface layer before annealing, the texture developed in the interior may be affected by the surface layer, which may well have a different initial texture and which may have undergone recrystallization earlier than the interior of the specimen. Because of this effect, it is now planned to reexamine the texture of various rolled and annealed single crystals at the surface, and at various sections below the surface by using reflection techniques. In some cases, both surfaces of the rolled crystal will be examined. In one of Dunn's early papers,9 he noted that at an early stage of rolling the crystal seems to divide roughly through the middle to become a sample which in effect consists of two layers having some what different orientations. This effect has never been further explored. The investigation described in the present paper constitutes the beginning of a series of thorough investigations of texture formation in deformed bee single crystals designed to clear up some of the uncertainties which have been discussed. We have chosen a high-purity 2 pet Al-Fe alloy for this investigation. It is known that the allotropic transformation of iron is eliminated by alloying with approximately 1petAl. Such an alloy, being very similar to silicon ferrite, can be heated to the solidus temperature without phase transformation. One reason for choosing A1-Fe instead of Si-Fe for the present investigation is that we have been able to make single crystals of a vacuum-melted high-purity A1-Fe alloy by the strain-anneal method without much difficulty, but were not successful in doing so with a vacuum-melted high-purity Si-Fe alloy. For many research purposes,

Jan 1, 1962

By C. S. Barrett, O. R. Trautz

Previous investigations have shown that lithium is body-centered cubic from near its melting point to the temperature of liquid air.1,2,3 Nevertheless there was an incentive to search again for a transformation at low temperatures: C. Zener4.5 has remarked that the low value of the elastic modulus (C11 — Cl2)/z of body-centered cubic metals and alloys implies a rapid increase in free energy with decreasing temperature, which would favor the occurrence of a transformation; also the shear movement to which this modulus applies is one that can transform a body-centered cubic structure into a slightly distorted face-centered cubic structure. It was confirmed that lithium does not transform spontaneously at liquid nitrogen temperature, but it was found that a transformation can be induced at this temperature by cold working the metal,6 and at slightly lower temperatures a different transformation occurs spontaneously. Transformations were also found in solid solutions of magnesium in lithium. The Nature of the Transformations Before presenting a detailed treatment of the technique used and the specific data obtained, it would be well to give a brief survey of the general characteristics of the transformations. A new crystal structure begins to form spontaneously in a specimen when it is cooled below a critical temperature. In lithium the structure appears to be close-packed hexagonal; in theLi-Mg alloys most of the diffraction lines (but not all) are near those for hexagonal lithium. The transformation proceeds as the temperature is lowered and soon stops if the temperature is held constant or raised. The course of the transformation on cooling is indicated by the curve at the lower left of Fig -I. This curve is drawn in stepped fashion because the transformation goes by discrete steps with audible clicks. Because of the similarity to the decomposition of austenite into martensite in steels, it seems appropriate to designate the beginning of the spontaneous transformation on cooling as the Ms point. On heating to room temperature after the low temperature treatment only the usual BCC structure is found. On heating, the low temperature modification begins to disappear at a temperature which will be designated as Ac. The transformation on heating is halted when the rise in temperature is halted. The temperature must be raised 40 to 50°C above Ac before the reversion is complete—an interval which is sensitive to the rate of heating and to the time of holding at temperatures above Ac. This behavior on heating thus has similarities also to the formation of martensite in the cooling of steels.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. Francis

OF THE methods that have been used for studying the chemical composition of coal, attack by reagents has not, in general, yielded much information. Most of the reagents used have been strong oxidants such as nitric acid or Schulze's solution. The use of a milder oxidizing agent, such as air at low temperatures, enables progressive changes in the character of the coal substance to be studied and thus helps toward an understanding of its constitution. British bituminous coals frequently have a banded structure. These bands (of four types) can be separated one from another and have been found to possess markedly different chemical characteristics, even when taken from contiguous portions of the same lump coal. It has been found convenient to give each of the ingredients of banded coal a distinctive name, more or less descriptive of its appearance, and the study of the chemistry of bituminous "coal" in England has resolved itself into a study of each ingredient separately. . The coal chosen for this work was taken from the Top Hard seam at East Kirkby colliery, Nottinghamshire, a detailed chemical analysis of which has been recorded by Baranov and Francis.1 The banded structure was well marked and the bands could readily be separated. The research was confined to the brilliant vitreous bands (vitrain), the dull hard bands (durain) and the "sooty partings" (fusain); for previous work had shown that the fourth type, to which the name clarain has been given, is intermediate in character, chemically, between vitrain and durain.

Jan 3, 1925

By B. Woyski

MANY writers, in discussing defects caused by oxidation and gassing of bronzes and red brasses advocate substantially the same cure for both. But from its nature, oxidation cannot take place if there is an excess of fuel in the furnace, while the gases absorbed by some alloys are products of incomplete combustion of the fuel. Hence the metal can be either oxidized or gassed, but it is doubtful whether these actions can take place simultaneously. Oxidation can be easily overcome by the use of deoxidizers or it may be avoided by protecting the molten metal with suitable fluxes. Absorption of gases is more difficult to overcome. The regulation of the air and fuel, so as to produce complete combustion, and the protection of the bath by mineral fluxes are the most important factors. Gas expulsion, resulting in gas holes, porosity, unsoundness, and swollen or cauliflower-headed risers, is said to have several causes. One writer' lists the most common causes in the order of their importance, as follows: Superheated metal, dirty or slaggy furnace conditions, using metals low in quality or those previously subjected to bad melting practice, poor grade of fuel, use of newly lined or damp ladles, indiscriminate mixing of scrap or illogical combinations of metal. Superheating the metal usually occurs when the heat is ready to be poured but for some reason must be held in the furnace. In this case, a careful furnace tender tries to avoid overheating the metal by keeping a mild fire; that is, a reducing fire which, unfortunately, results in gassing the metal. A dirty, slaggy furnace may result in gassing the metal by retarding the heating and prolonging the time necessary to bring the metal to the proper temperature, thereby increasing the chances of gassing in uncertain furnace atmosphere.

Jan 5, 1922

By H. D. Strain

Potash is a generic term used to describe a number of compounds containing the element potassium (K), which is one of the three major plant nutrients. Potash content of these compounds is commonly expressed as percentage potassium oxide (K20), and the market value of the products is usually dependent on contained K20. Most of the potash produced (approximately 95%) is used in agriculture as fertilizer. Potash products today are shipped by producing countries all over the world to meet the need for increased food production. WORLD POTASH RESERVES Apparent world potash reserves are shown in Table 15.2B.1 and total some 96 billion mt of recoverable potassium oxide. The Canadian reserves account for approximately one-half the known world reserves. The reserves shown represent the potassium oxide content of a variety of potash-bearing ores. The major ore is sylvinite (a mechanical mixture of KC1 and NaCl) from which KC1 or sylvite is recovered (63.2% K20 equivalent). Other ores, such as langbeinite (potassium, magnesium sulfate-22.7% K20) and carnallite (potassuim magnesuim chloride-17.0% K20) are also mined in various parts of the world, mainly for the potassium content. Theoretically, potassium is available in almost unlimited qualities from brines and saline waters. To date, the cost of recovery from salt brines has been greater than the costs by mining operations, but new technology could make brines and seawater an increasingly important source. POTASH PRODUCTION Potash production dates back to the 1860s in Germany, which was the only recorded producing country until 1912. By 1912 Germany was producing approximately 1 million tpy of K2O equivalent. Production began in France in 1913 and in the United States in 1915. World potash production and consumption are shown in Table 15.2B.2 for the years 1950-51 through 1967-68. In 1967 and 1968 the major potash-pro¬ducing countries in order of importance were those listed in Table 15.2B.3. By 1972 Canadian production had outstripped U.S. production. WORLD CONSUMPTION World consumption of potash for the years 1950-51 through 1967-68 is shown in Table 15.2B.2. Table 15.2B.4 shows total world consumption of potassium materials in 1967-68 by country. More than 70% of the world's potash is

Jan 1, 1976

By Emmanuel P. Papadakis

Ultrasonic velocity measurements have been made to study the preferred orientation in cube-textured copper. Methods applicable to thin specimens were employed since the specimens were necessarily of sheet material. The measured velocities in various directions in the sheet differed from the corresponding values in single-crystal copper by 1 to 6 pet. The distribution of the deviations indicated that the align-ment of the (001) planes with the rolling plane was better than the alignment of the [100]and [010] directions with the rolling and transverse directions. Ultrasonic pole figures (velocity us orientation) are shown to be useful in the study of preferred orientation. THIS paper describes one set of experiments in a continuing study of preferred orientation in worked metals. This study has been undertaken to investigate the fundamental properties of metals when used as propagation media for ultrasonic waves. Many such materials are of current or potential use in ultrasonic delay lines. Fundamental studies on ultrasonic propagation parameters such as velocity, attenuation, and diffraction (beam spreading) are of importance in the design of delay lines, in the development of nondestructive testing methods, and in the study of materials themselves. Preferred orientation in worked poly-crystalline metals influences all three above-mentioned parameters, and hence is of particular importance. When polycrystalline metals are subjected to mechanical working, they develop textures dependent upon their crystal structure and the symmetry of the working operation.' The texture consists in the alignment of the crystallographic axes of the grains in preferred directions with respect to the symmetry axes of the working operation. Since the grains are elastically anisotropic, the elastic moduli of worked metals are anisotropic. Hence the velocities of elastic waves in worked metals depend on the directions of propagation and polarization. The worked metal may be thought of as taking on the elastic symmetry of a single crystal: so it possesses the same number of independent elastic moduli as the crystal class it simulates. In general, a worked metal does not adopt the crystalline symmetry of its own grains. For instance, most rolled sheet becomes effectively orthorhombic while all bar stock and wire develop hexagonal symmetry. However, certain metals with cubic crystal structure develop a cube texture upon rolling and annealing.= Nearly perfect alignment of [100]-type directions with the rolling direction, transverse direction, and rolling-plane norma1 can be achieved in certain fcc metals and alloys. These cube-textured rolled metals provide an excellent opportunity to test preferred orientation by means of elastic waves, since a worked metal with 100 pct cube texture would have elastic moduli identical to the moduli of its constituent metal. It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of an investigation upon cube-textured copper. Ultrasonic waves were used. The methods of measurement and the experimental results on the effective moduli will be given. The ultrasonic measurements will be shown to complement X-ray pole figures for the determination of preferred orientation in worked metals. EXPERIMENT To study cube - textured material, it was necessary to use thin-sheet material since a severe reduction in gage (95 to 99 pct) is necessary to produce cube texture. Special ultrasonic methods were needed to investigate the thin material at megacycle frequencies. A) Materials. The cube-textured material tested was a copper alloy containing 1 pct Zn. Specimens already measured for Young's modulus4 by Alers were kindly supplied by him. The specimens were slabs 3.00 by 0.25 in. cut from sheet 0.047 in. thick. The orientations of the long axes of the specimens with respect to the rolling direction were taken in 15-deg steps from 0 to 90 deg. B) Measurements. Two distinct experiments were performed to measure the phase velocity in these specimens. One measured the shear wave velocity for propagation in the 0.25-in. direction and polarization in the 3.00-in. direction. The other measured the velocity of both shear and longitudinal waves propagating in the thickness direction in the sheet. 1) Plate-Mode Measurements. The velocity of the zeroth-order shear mode5 was measured in the 0.25-in. direction in each strip. The specimens were ground thinner over half their length to assure that the first-order shear mode would be cut off below 6 Mc per sec, leaving the zeroth-order nondispersive shear mode as the only propagating mode. Piezoelectric ceramic transducers of 5 Mc per sec resonant frequency poled in their long direction were solder-bonded to the edges of the thin part of the slabs as in Fig. 1 after these edges had been made flat and parallel by fine grinding. These transducers produced waves polarized in the 3.00-in. direction and propa-

Jan 1, 1967

A1 in carbon steel, equilibrium temperature, XLVII, 740-747. A2 and A3 in pure iron, critical ranges, XLVII, 665-739. Abbott, Ai Arthur: [biog. notice, Bulletin No. 27, Mar., 1909, xxvii]; death, XXXIX, . [xl]. Abbott, Arthur Vaughan: [biog. notice, Bulletin No. 16, July, 1907, 6581; death, XXXVII, [xxxix]. [ ]

Jan 1, 1918

By F. V. Shallcross

Physical properties of thin films of CdS and CdSe formed by vacuum deposition onto glass sibstrates have been studied as a function of deposition and processing conditions. The crystallinity and surface features of CdS films were examined using electron microscopy and electron and X-ray diffraction techniques. The films were poly crystalline; the preferred orientation and crystallite size increased with film thickness, substrate temperature, and deposition time. The CdS films consisted primarily of hexagonal-phase material, in contrast to similarly prepared CdSe films which have previously been observed to contain mixtures of cubic and hexagonal phases. As-deposited CdS films showed no major dependence of Hall mobility on crystallite size or degree of preferred orientation. Hall mobility and carrier concentration in CdS and CdSe .films were measured at various temperatures; both parameters increased with temperature and yielded activation energies which depended on fabrication conditions. Surface-desorption phenomena and overcoating of the semiconductor with SiO affected the observed electrical properties significantly. THIN films of cadmium sulfide1,2 and cadmium sele-nide3,4 have been employed by various workers as semiconductors in the insulated-gate thin-film field-effect transistor, known as the TFT. These devices are most commonly made by vacuum deposition of all materials onto an amorphous substrate such as glass. A knowledge of the microstructure and electrical properties of semiconductor layers used in the thin-film transistor is essential in order to form a realistic model for the device and to improve its performance, reproducibility, and reliability. This paper will describe studies of the physical properties of vacuum-deposited CdS and CdSe films prepared under various conditions. Structural characteristics examined in- cluded phases present, crystallite size, nature of preferred orientation of crystallites, surface roughness, and structural homogeneity throughout the film thickness. Electrical properties measured were Hall mobility and conductivity and their dependence on temperature and ambient. Thin-film properties are affected by many fabrication parameters including purity and physical form of evaporant, deposition rate, film thickness, design and temperature of the evaporation crucible, geometry of the deposition chamber, nature of the residual atmosphere, composition and temperature of the substrate, and details of postdeposition processing. PREPARATION OF FILMS In this work the semiconductor films were deposited in a conventional oil-diffusion-pumped system with pressures in the 10-8 torr range. The CdS evaporant was obtained from the Eagle-Picher Co. as a high-purity coarse-grained crystalline powder; the CdSe was a high-purity sintered powder supplied by the Harshaw Chemical Co. The evaporation crucible was a resistance-heated molybdenum-wire basket coated with aluminum oxide and filled with a quartz wool plug at the top. The source to substrate distance was usually 10 cm. This region was enclosed by a Pyrex inner cylinder. The substrate was heated with an overlying Pyrex plate coated with tin oxide. The substrate temperature was controlled using a thermocouple attached to the lower side of the heater. This thermocouple was calibrated against another thermocouple attached to a dummy substrate and by observation of melting points of various metal films deposited in the system. The substrates were polished borosilicate glass plates and conventional glass microscope slides. Substrate preparation included cleaning with an ultrasonically agitated detergent bath followed by isopropanol-vapor de-greasing. Film thickness was measured interferomet-rically during and after deposition. STRUCTURE OF CdS FILMS Structural studies were performed on CdS films using electron diffraction, electron microscopy, and

Jan 1, 1967

By Robert Linton

Tats paper deals with work that has been carried on for over three years by the management and staff of the North Butte Mining Co. in an effort to standardize mining methods, to eliminate lost motion in the operating organization, and to improve the efficiency of the individual workman. Naturally, much of this work is an adaptation of ideas suggested by other mining operations or by practice in manufacturing and other productive industries. The studies, however, have developed some features that it is believed are new. Both new and adapted features are given in detail. The normal capacity of the North Butte mines is about 2000 tons per. day. Hoisting is done principally through the Granite Mountain shaft, which is 3740 ft. (1140 m.) deep and equipped with an electric hoist capable of hoisting 200 tons per hour from a depth of 4000 ft. (1219 m.). The lowest stoping level is the 3400-ft. The Granite Mountain shaft is connected with the Speculator shaft, about 850 ft. (259 m.) south, and with the Gem, about 1150 ft. (350 m.) east, which are 3000 (914.4 m.) and 2000 ft. (609.6 m.). deep, respectively. These two shafts are equipped with reversible fans for ventilation. The Speculator has a; steam hoist with a capacity of 150 tons per hour from the 3000-ft. level. The Granite Mountain shaft is concrete lined from the 1600-ft. to below the 3000-ft. level and gunited with cement from the 1600-ft. level to the surface. Sections of the Speculator shaft with a total combined length of 500 ft. (152.4 m.) are also concreted. There are approximately 36 miles (58 km.) of drifts and crosscuts in the mine, in which there are 15.2 miles (24.5 km.) of track. At normal capacity, about 75 stoping faces, 20 raises, and 30 sill development faces are working. Stoping is usually by the standard square-set method. Where the size of the oreshoot and character of. the walls permit, the rill (or cut-and-fill) system is employed.

Jan 8, 1920

By H. G. Doll

A new logging method, called induction logging, is described; it measures the conductivity, or resistivity, of the strata traversed by a bore hole. The apparatus, which is briefly described, comprises a coil system coupled with the ground by induction, so that there is no need for direct contact with the mud, or with the formations. For that reason, the method is particularly useful in oil base mud, and it was first applied to that case. A discussion concerning the respective contribution of each region of ground in the vicinity of the coil system is given. Through the concept of a geometrical factor, it is demonstrated that the total signal, which measures the apparent conductivity, is the summation of the partial products — geometrical factor by conductivity — for the different regions of the ground under consideration. It is thus possible to establish, for each type of coil arangement, investigation characteristic as well as departure curves and correction charts for beds of various thicknesses. This should greatly facilitate the quantative interpretation of the field logs, even in cases where such interpretation would have been difficult on electric logs taken with electrodes. It is also shown that focussing combinations of coils can be used, which give, directly on the recorded log, a value close to the true conductivity, even for fairly thin beds, thus eliminating in most cases the need for corrections. These focussing systems also give a sharper definition of the boundaries between successive strain.

Jan 1, 1949

By H. G. Doll

A new logging method, called induction logging, is described; it measures the conductivity, or resistivity, of the strata traversed by a bore hole. The apparatus, which is briefly described, comprises a coil system coupled with the ground by induction, so that there is no need for direct contact with the mud, or with the formations. For that reason, the method is particularly useful in oil base mud, and it was first applied to that case. A discussion concerning the respective contribution of each region of ground in the vicinity of the coil system is given. Through the concept of a geometrical factor, it is demonstrated that the total signal, which measures the apparent conductivity, is the summation of the partial products — geometrical factor by conductivity — for the different regions of the ground under consideration. It is thus possible to establish, for each type of coil arangement, investigation characteristic as well as departure curves and correction charts for beds of various thicknesses. This should greatly facilitate the quantative interpretation of the field logs, even in cases where such interpretation would have been difficult on electric logs taken with electrodes. It is also shown that focussing combinations of coils can be used, which give, directly on the recorded log, a value close to the true conductivity, even for fairly thin beds, thus eliminating in most cases the need for corrections. These focussing systems also give a sharper definition of the boundaries between successive strain.

Jan 1, 1949

By Wilhelm Borchers

In all special branches of the chemical and metallurgical industries, in which large electric furnaces became necessary for carrying out new processes or for the improvement of old ones, the development of the electric furnaces took place on much the same lines. The endeavors to make a success of a new idea brought forth many ingenious designs, which, however, almost without exception, furnished the proof that the safest and shortest way to practical success is the utmost simplicity of construction of the necessary apparatus. Our knowledge of the qualities of materials for building electric furnaces and of the constituents of the furnace-charges, especially their electric conductivity and their chemical affinity towards one another at high temperatures, is still far from being complete, and from this fact we must conclude that the smaller the number of elements in the construction of a furnace, the fewer the number of unreliable factors both in the construction and in the operation of the electric furnace. This conclusion deserves special attention when an electric furnace for making steel has to be chosen from the constantly-growing number of inventions, inasmuch as the chief constituent of steel, the element iron, is a substance which in its liquid phase has so great an affinity for those elemen'ts which are to be removed from the charge, that it is very difficult to comply with the following conditions: 1, to heat the refining-slag to the highest point of its chemical activity ; 2, to prevent the iron from entering the slag, or, where this cannot be done, to make it enter so that it finally appears in the end-product

Jan 1, 1911

By William B. Plank

Mineral engineering student enrollment in U. S. and Canadian schools for 1955-1956 is 11,408, an increase of 11 pct more than last year. The undergraduate and graduate engineering students in both countries number 251,765, or 13 pct more than last year. These figures have been released by the American Society for Engineering Education. The largest increase in the undergraduate mineral engineering group in the U. S. is in ceramic engineering, with 676 students, or 31 pct more than last year. The next largest increase is in mining which shows a gain of 13.5 pct, compared with a gain of 13.1 pct in the total undergraduate enrollment in all engineering schools approved by the Engineers' Council for Professional Development. This figure is 190,355, which approaches the prewar figure. Metallurgical undergraduates increased 13 pct; geological, 5 pct; and petroleum, 2.5 pct. This year the figures for geophysics are combined with those for geological engineering, making a total of 1610 undergraduates, of which the geophysicists comprise about one seventh.

Apr 1, 1956

By Edward H. Robie

NEVER before have the annual company reports in the mineral industry field exhibited the typo-graphical art so abundantly as does the current crop. Time was when most company reports made a drab appearance and dry reading, mostly confined to financial data and text that gave little information to the public or technical men. Now, the dollar statistics assume less importance. Considerable information is given on what is going on at the company's plants, new equipment being installed, new methods, properties under development, ore reserves and grades, and similar information of interest to professional men working in the field. We have one suggestion for further improvement: The names of the officers and directors of the company are always given, but only a few companies give the names of the principal operating officials. We think, in the case of a mine for example, that the name of the general manager, his assistant, the mine and mill superintendents, and any other top operating officials who have been largely responsible for the success of operations, are worthy of mention. The reports are now widely read and this recognition is due them. Conspicuous among the annual reports that we happen to have seen, in point of typographical attractiveness, are that of the Texas Co., celebrating its fiftieth anniversary with a gold-plated cover and gold printing inside; and that of Noranda Mines Ltd., with a red and black cover that would attract attention anywhere. Comment on economics, taxes, and labor give an excellent picture of what our industry is facing. Consider the following, from the report of the Union Oil Co. of California:

Jan 1, 1952

By R. Schuhmann Jr., P. J. Ensio

As a first step in a study of the physical chemistry of copper-smelting slags, experimental measurements were made of the oxygen pressure of simple iron-silicate slags in equilibrium with solid iron. The experiments consisted in bubbling CO2-CO mixtures through the slags in iron crucibles and in finding the equilibrium ratios of CO2 to CO. From the data, activities and partial molal heats of solution FeO and SiO2 in the slags were calculated. THE ternary system FeO-Fe,O,-SiO, is the simplest system which can represent adequately the important chemical properties of the slags formed in matte smelting and converting. Accordingly, the experimental study of slags in this system was started as the first step in a general research program on the thermodynamics of copper smelting. A recent paper by one of the authors' outlines this general research program and shows in some detail how information on thermodynamic properties of iron-silicate slags, especially information on oxygen activities, is essential to a full understanding of the chemistry of copper smelting. The FeO-Fe,O,-SiO, system also is the basis of slags produced in other processes, such as acid steelmak-ing processes, and is important in relation to the behavior of silicious refractories. In addition, data on the physicochemical properties of iron-silicate slags should contribute to a general understanding of the nature of slags, since at present such data for all kinds of slags are relatively meager. The principal quantitative information already available on iron-silicate slags consists in Bowen and Schairer's constitution diagram for slags in equilibrium with metallic iron,' Darken and Gurry's complete and precise thermodynamic study of the Fe-0 system,",' and Darken's study of the phase equilibria in the Fe-Si-o system. From the results of this previous work, it was clear that a complete thermodynamic study of ternary iron-silicate melts was a major undertaking which would have to be broken down into parts, including the working out of the ternary equilibrium diagram as well as extensive activity measurements on slags. The experimental measurement of oxygen activity, using CO-CO, and other gas mixtures as yardsticks of oxygen activity, was the basis of Darken and Gurry's study of the Fe-0 system. From the experimental measurements of oxygen activities over a large range of temperatures and compositions, they were able to calculate the activities of other species such as Fe, FeO, Fe,O,, etc., and also the other important thermodynamic properties in the Fe-0 system. At the start of the present investigation, it appeared that the same approach would be fruitful for the study of iron-silicate melts. Also, the experimental measurement of oxygen activities seemed particularly attractive because oxygen activity itself is a quantitative measure of oxidizing or reducing power, which is an important variable in copper-smelting slags. The slag compositions in equilibrium with yFe appeared most suitable for the first investigation of this kind, for the following reasons: 1—Good constitution data2 were available. 2—An iron crucible could be used, thus affording a simple solution to the refractory problem without introducing contarnination. 3—With Fe activity fixed, at unity with respect to a standard state of solid Fe, measurements of 0 activity could be followed by simple calculations of activities of FeO and other Fe-0 complexes and of SiO,. 4—This starting point afforded several possibilities for cross-checking with previous work,

Jan 1, 1952

By J. W. Hickman, E. A. Gulbransen

One of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film. A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena. This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C. Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it was necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-rav diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy. Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry. In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both viewpoints are necessary. Much of the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained. The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner. little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective. Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique. In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective. Literature The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction. Jackson and Quarrelll found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature. The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe³O4; between 515° and 900°C. the stable film was FeO. Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe³O4. From 400' to 515°C., FeO, Fe³O4 or a mixture of the two oxides was found. Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400' and above 900°C. led to the formation of Fe3O4. In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described.

Jan 1, 1947