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By Robert Laurich

Chuquicamata pit was opened in 1915 with steam shovels and steam locomotives brought down from the Panama Canal excavation project. With expansions in the early years, more steam locomo¬tives were brought into the mine. IMPROVED LOCOMOTIVES During the period 1927 to 1937, electric locomo¬tives were purchased and main line and bench tracks were electrified. Third rail was installed up to the working areas. At first, the locomotives were equipped with batteries for service at the shovels, but charge life was too short and they were con¬verted to use the third rail and a reel with 3000 ft of trailing cable for service in the loading area.

Jan 11, 1959

By Blandford C. Burgess

Mica is an orchid among minerals. It is formed in pegmatites, one of the most bizarre of igneous formations, and is exceeded by few other minerals in the perfection it may attain as to size, color, and cleavage. First used for window glazing, as an ornament and article of trade, it has become one of the most essential insulators of electricity, heat, and shock. Most internal combustion engines use mica condensers or capacitors and such machines of war as planes, tanks, and submarines are immobile without it. The original manuscript of this guide was written in April 1943 at the peak of war emergency. It was not used be- cause shortly thereafter a decision was made to buy on a one price basis eliminating differentials for both quality and size. This is now presented with the thought that from the standpoint of preparedness we can only consider an- other war imminent and every effort should he made to set up in usable form the experience gained during the Second World War. Colonial Mica Corp. was set up by Metals Reserve Co. as a wholly owned government agency to encourage production of domestic mica and to purchase it. It soon became the exclusive buying agency for such mica. The writer as Southern Manager called on all the private agencies buying mica to assist in formulating buying policies, methods, and prices.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. C. Elli, M. E. Fine

YOUNG'S modulus of elasticity in metals ordinarily decreases with rising temperature. The range of the thermoelastic coefficient at room tem- 1/E dE/dT perature (temperature coefficient of modulus, is illustrated1 by the values for tungsten and hard-drawn aluminum, —95 and —1220x10-6 eg C-1. However, a nearly zero thermoelastic coefficient is observed in some ferromagnetic alloys over a limited temperature range. In these alloys, as the temperature is raised, an increase in modulus arising from loss of ferromagnetism compensates the normal decrease. Iron-nickel alloys containing 36 to 52 pct Ni behave in this manner. In the present investiga- tion, the dependence of the modulus and thermo-elastic coefficient on cold working and annealing were studied in iron-nickel alloys in this range of nickel. Although these alloys, when fully annealed, have a coefficient near zero over a very small temperature interval, the temperature range of low coefficient can be extended greatly by straining and then stress-relief annealing. The modulus of face-centered cubic iron-nickel alloys annealed at 1000°C does not vary linearly with composition at room temperature but, as shown by the solid line of fig. 1, from Koster,' is minimum at 40 pct Ni and maximum at 87 pct Ni. The modulus increases with applied magnetic field but retains the minimum near 40 pct Ni. Schematic change of modulus with temperature for three compositions is shown in fig. 2.'. ' With increasing temperature, the slope becomes less negative, goes through zero (temperature of minimum modulus for the alloy), becomes positive, and resumes its normal negative value above the Curie

Jan 1, 1951

By S. D. Strauss

The marketing of nonferrous metals and of the ores and concentrates from which these metals are recovered is a fascinating trade, international in character, sensitive to every change in the economic tide, and complex in its organization. Each individual metal has its own marketing mechanism; no two are exactly alike. The differences sometimes are a matter of tradition rather than of necessity, but usually they have developed because of the very nature of the problems of producing or consuming the individual metal. This description, because of limitations of space, can do no more than indicate the major aspects of the trade and touch lightly on the marketing structure of each metal. The dictionary states that a market is a "meeting of people for selling and buying." In the case of nonferrous metals this meeting may occur on a half-dozen different occasions between the time the ore has been first mined and the time the refined metal is available for use by industry; or it may not occur at all until after the metal itself has been rolled, drawn, stamped, cast, or forged into a useful semifabricated shape. To illustrate: A Chilean miner may sell his small ore production to a custom mill, which produces concentrates that are sold to an ore dealer, who finances the shipments of the concentrates to a United States custom smelter, which buys these' concentrates for conversion into blister, which is subsequently refined into electrolytic copper and sold. Conversely, much of the production of aluminum is in the hands of integrated concerns that mine bauxite, convert bauxite to alumina, smelt the alumina to produce aluminum, and then fabricate the aluminum into semifinished or even finished products before title to the material changes hands for the first time. Some nonferrous ores are not converted into metal at all but are sold by the miners or dealers directly b the ultimate consumers. A good example would be chrome ores used by the chemical industry. And of course a substantial part of the commerce in nonferrous metals is in scrap, which is the reconversion into useful form of metals that have long since been mined and smelted. Thus, one-third of all the lead used in the United

Jan 1, 1959

ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH MEETING OF THE INSTITUTE, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, TO THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, INCLUSIVE, 1917 Committee on Arrangements DAVID H. BROWNE, Chairman LAWRENCE ADDICKS Louts D. HUNTOON E. MALTBY SHIPP PERCY E. BARBOUR H.A. MEGRAW BRADLEY STOUGHTON GEORGE D. BARROW _ THOMAS T. READ EDWARD B. STURGIS KARL EILERS BURR A. ROBINSON ARTHUR L. WALKER F. T. RUBIDGE Summarized Program MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19 9:00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Registration at Institute Headquarters. , 10.00 a.m. Simultaneous Sessions on Geology and on Metallography.

Jan 2, 1917

By Bradley Stoughton

A LL over our great country I have been privileged to see, during the last six weeks, the manifestation of a new spirit among engineers. Partly under the inspiration of leaders whose influence has been felt not only nationally, but internationally, - partly through the recognition of the service that engineers have been able to render to the nation during the recent crisis, a new self-consciousness has been acquired by the individuals, and now this self-consciousness seeks expression in opportunities for service and participation in public affairs. The engineer . no longer sees himself a mere reservoir of information to be tapped when some one is in need of cold facts, no. more an administrator of mere material things, but a potential administrator of- public affairs, a citizen and a human being, with the responsibilities, as well as the privileges of citizenship.

Jan 1, 1920

By Ivor Jenkins

Processes employing 'controlled at-mospheres in the heat-treatment of metals and alloys are now well established on an industrial scale, and the general principles involved and the advantages to be gained in the use of the technique have received considerable publicity over a period of years. During this time the greatest emphasis has been on the establishment of the process in industry, the main effort being devoted to development work on various types of atmospheres, their useful fields of application and the design of suitable heat-treatment furnaces in which they are to be used. The various types of controlled atmospheres are fairly well standardized, but there still remains a considerable field for the investigation of related problems, in connection with both the gas-generating equipment and the surface chemistry of the heat-treatment of metals, especially in complex controlled atmospheres. This paper describes certain investigations of this nature that were carried out in England up to 1939. The development of processes employing controlled atmospheres has been asso-ciated to a very large extent with the heat-treatment of steels, both because of the major importance of steel in industry and the many diverse and dificult prob-lems of surface chemistry involved when steels of such a wide range of composition are heated in the presence of active gases. Controlled atmospheres such as disso-ciated and burnt ammonia or charcoal gas are used in the heat-treatment of low-carbon and high-carbon steels, but from certain points of view a suitable atmosphere generated by the partial combustion of city gas is to be preferred. Both the ammonia derivatives are comparatively expensive, and even if the burnt ammonia is regenerated, thereby reducing operating costs, the capital expenditure of the gas plant may make it prohibitive for the smaller type of furnace installation. Charcoal-gas generators are not without their operating difficulties especially those associated with the quality of the charcoal, clinker formation and the removal of carbon dust from the generated gas. City gas has the advantage of being comparatively cheap and "on tap" in most if not all industrial centers. The use of raw city gas as a protective atmosphere in the heat-treatment of steels has been described,' but it presents certain difficulties because of its complex composition and its explosive nature when mixed with air. These factors, together with the tendency toward sooting at elevated temperatures, arising mainly from the hydrocarbon gases present, all militate against its use as a protective atmosphere in industrial furnaces. The following analysis, based on the analyses of city gas in different localities in Great Britain, indicates the wide limits existing

Jan 1, 1948

By Ivor Jenkins

Processes employing 'controlled at-mospheres in the heat-treatment of metals and alloys are now well established on an industrial scale, and the general principles involved and the advantages to be gained in the use of the technique have received considerable publicity over a period of years. During this time the greatest emphasis has been on the establishment of the process in industry, the main effort being devoted to development work on various types of atmospheres, their useful fields of application and the design of suitable heat-treatment furnaces in which they are to be used. The various types of controlled atmospheres are fairly well standardized, but there still remains a considerable field for the investigation of related problems, in connection with both the gas-generating equipment and the surface chemistry of the heat-treatment of metals, especially in complex controlled atmospheres. This paper describes certain investigations of this nature that were carried out in England up to 1939. The development of processes employing controlled atmospheres has been asso-ciated to a very large extent with the heat-treatment of steels, both because of the major importance of steel in industry and the many diverse and dificult prob-lems of surface chemistry involved when steels of such a wide range of composition are heated in the presence of active gases. Controlled atmospheres such as disso-ciated and burnt ammonia or charcoal gas are used in the heat-treatment of low-carbon and high-carbon steels, but from certain points of view a suitable atmosphere generated by the partial combustion of city gas is to be preferred. Both the ammonia derivatives are comparatively expensive, and even if the burnt ammonia is regenerated, thereby reducing operating costs, the capital expenditure of the gas plant may make it prohibitive for the smaller type of furnace installation. Charcoal-gas generators are not without their operating difficulties especially those associated with the quality of the charcoal, clinker formation and the removal of carbon dust from the generated gas. City gas has the advantage of being comparatively cheap and "on tap" in most if not all industrial centers. The use of raw city gas as a protective atmosphere in the heat-treatment of steels has been described,' but it presents certain difficulties because of its complex composition and its explosive nature when mixed with air. These factors, together with the tendency toward sooting at elevated temperatures, arising mainly from the hydrocarbon gases present, all militate against its use as a protective atmosphere in industrial furnaces. The following analysis, based on the analyses of city gas in different localities in Great Britain, indicates the wide limits existing

Jan 1, 1948

By E. V. Murphree

CREATION of atomic energy, aside from its influence on war or peace, has posed these basic questions for the world: How soon can energy from atoms be harnessed to do man's daily work? How much of this power will there be, to what degree will it supplant present fuels, and what does it imply for the future of civilization? Answers to these questions may be found in part in analysis of just what atomic energy is and how far its development has come. The answers are encouraging. One of the first questions encountered in considering the application of atomic reactions is whether such reactions can be controlled. Fortunately, this has been adequately demonstrated by the operation of the Government plutonium plants at Hanford, Wash. Here nuclear reactions are carried out on a large scale involving liberation of about a billion B.t.u. per hour. This hourly heat liberation is equivalent to that obtained from about 7100 gallons of fuel oil. It has been possible to operate these plants day in and day out with the reaction controlled at the intensity desired. There should therefore be no question that, under proper conditions, reactions involving nuclear fission can be controlled.

Jan 1, 1946

By Richard H. Hopkins, R. W. Kraft

A new technique facilitating the rapid determination of the three-dimensional morphology of phases suspended in an opaque matrix is described. The vapidity of the technique is based upon continuous cinephotomicrographic recording of specimen microstructure as the specimen surface is removed under controlled conditions in an electrolytic cell. The advantages of the technique for determining spatial morphologies in opaque materials are illustrated by application of this method to the study of the configuration of faults in a specimen of directionally solidified CuAl2-Al eutectic alloy. A spatial model of the eutectic fault network deduced in this manner has substantiated the facts that faults in this alloy tend to lie parallel to one another in a direction close to that of the specimen growth axis and that the majority of faults tend to bridge lamellae rather than run parallel to them as growth proceeds. For the specimen studied fault density decreased as growth proceeded. ALTHOUGH metallographic observation is a powerful tool for investigating the correlation between structure and properties in metallic alloys, ordinary metallographic methods suffer the fundamental limitation that any conclusions concerning the three-dimensional structure of these opaque materials must rely upon inference from two-dimensional microsections. For this reason it is frequently impossible to make valid judgments regarding the true spatial distribution of the micro-constituents in specimens under investigation. Several techniques have been devised to circumvent the basic limitation of planar microsec-tioning and employed with varying success. These include construction of three-dimensional models of alloy microstructure from sequences of photomicrographs,1-3 quantitative deduction of spatial features based upon statistical studies of data from random and/or selected plane microsections,4-6 and selective dissolution of one phase in a two-phase alloy to reveal the topography of the phase remaining.' However these techniques also have certain obvious disadvantages. Construction of three-dimensional models is a very time-con- suming procedure due to the tedious polish-etch-photograph cycle needed to obtain the necessary photomicrographs to portray the spatial microstructure. Statistical methods by their very nature give only average values of the quantities being studied and cannot therefore give a detailed physical picture of the microstructure to be observed. Finally, the technique of selective dissolution is only applicable in systems where the phases are of vastly different chemical reactivity; it is of little use in the study of single-phase alloys. Since the determination of the three-dimensional structure of opaque materials is hindered by two facts—the materials are opaque to radiation in the visible spectrum and construction of spatial models of microstructure is quite laborious—two solutions to the problem suggest themselves: 1) use radiation of energy great enough to render the alloy transparent, i.e., some microradio-graphic method, or, 2) devise a rapid means to section and record alloy microstructure. Stereomicroradiography has indeed been used to study internal arrangements of phases in several materials8,9 but the method, in general, is limited to very thin specimens (due to X-ray absorption) and simple microstructures. It would seem then that development of a rapid, simple, and generally applicable technique for studying the details of alloy microstructures in three dimensions can best be undertaken by following the second approach above. Using this idea a new technique for rapid evaluation of spatial microstructures was developed based upon cinephotomicrographic recording of the micro-structure of a specimen undergoing controlled electrolytic dissolution. It was further felt that application of this technique to the careful study of the spatial configuration of faults in a CuAl2-Al eutectic alloy would yield information that could be correlated with the extensive data3,6,10-12 already compiled concerning the solidification and crystallography of this eutectic. The practicality and usefulness of similar methods for studying three-dimensional features in alloys has recently been illustrated by the study of dislocation loops in zinc13 and spheroidized structure in steel.14

Jan 1, 1965

By Frank G. Breyer

C ONDITIONS have not been favorable for new developments in any line. It has been a period, how- ever in which recent developments have been subjected to the severest tests. Those which have been able to hold their own in the severe competition of 1932 must be considered fully proved commercial processes. The continuous vertical-muffle retort plant at Palmer- ton is reported to have been in operation at practically full capacity throughout the year. The high quality of metal produced and the low operating costs are factors which have kept this plant running when many of the older furnaces were shut down. The plant at Meadow- brook, W. Va., is also reported to have been in steady operation throughout the year. Average retort life is said to be better than two years with about three-quarters of the original retorts still in operation after 2 ½ years.

Jan 1, 1933

By Anthony Folger, Howard R. Lowe, J. F. Dougherty, E. G. Trostel, Joffre Meyer

The status of the natural gas industry in Alberta, Canada, is described with particular reference to the current extent of natural gas reserves and possibilities for additional development. Certain major fields are discussed as representative of the types of gas accumulations within various broad geographical divisions of the provinces. The estimation of the future performance of a gas reservoir is discussed as the basis for an estimate of the future availability of natural gas from presently known reserves. The future availability of the provincial reserves and the estimated future demand for gas within the province are described. INTRODUCTION This paper is a condensation of a detailed study of the natural gas reserves and the future availability of pipeline gas in the province of Alberta as prepared for Trans-Canada Pipe Lines Limited and presented in public hearings at Edmonton and Calgary before the Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board of the Province of Alberta. The study began in October, 1950, and resulted in the preparation of five volumes of data at the expenditure of more than 20,000 man-hours. This paper is designed to afford a broad picture with detail limited to a type example of both natural ga-accumulation and future availability of gas supply. The province of Alberta has an area of 255.285 square miles which, for sake of comparison. is 8,359 square miles smaller than the state of Texas. Natural gas was first discovered in 1883 at the now abandoned Alderson well located some 20 miles southeast of the town of Princess. The first gas in commercial quantities was found at Medicine Hat in 1890. During the last 68 years. 187 localities have been discovered which are capable of gas production, and 73 per cent of these have been found since 1945. Sixty fields currently are producing gas, including 22 non-associated gas accumulations. Location of the oil and gas fields and prospects in the province of Alberta is shown in Fig. 1, together with a list of the localities of measurable gas, Fig. 1A. The estimated total provincial gas reserve as of Jan. 1, 1952, for the 104 fields estimated, is 11.7 trillion cu ft proved and probable, and for the 187 known areas capable of production is in excess of 16 trillion cu ft on a total proved, probable, and possible basis. Five fields (Pincher Creek, Leduc-Woodbend, Viking-Kinsella, Cessford and Medicine Hat) are estimated to have recoverable reserves of more than one trillion cu ft each. A sixth field, Turner Valley, was initially in this group, but its reserves have been depleted substantially. Twenty-four fields, of which the above mentioned six fields are a part, have estimated gas reserves (including the possible category) in excess of 100 billion cu ft. These 24 fields account for 79 per cent of the total provincial reserves. Comparative systemic analyses reflect that 56 per cant of Alberta's gas reserves are contained in sediments of Cretaceous age; 30 per cent in sediments of Mississippian age; 10 per cent in sediments of Devonian age; three per cent in sediments of Triassic age; and the remaining one per cent in Jurassic and Permo-Pennsylvanian sediments. It is expected that the relative importance of the Mississippian, Devonian, and Triassic sediments will be increased as exploration progresses. GENERAL GEOLOGY The western Canada basin comprises the sedimentary area between the Canadian Shield and the Rocky Mountain Front Range, the Arctic Ocean, and the International Boundary. The basin has an approximate area of 765,000 square miles and embraces parts of the provinces of Manitoba. Saskatchewan. Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Generalized columnar sections for the Province of Alberta are shown in Fig. 2. Substantially all of Alberta, except its northeast corner, has sedimentary cover. Sediments of all the geologic systems are represented. except those of Silurian age.

Jan 1, 1952

By AUGUSTUS J. MONKS, Norman L. Weiss

THE Santa Barbara Unit of the Compania Minera Asarco, of which the San Diego mill is a part, is in the Parral District of southern Chihuahua. Although the concentration of sulfide ores has been practised in Santa Barbara since 1900, the San Diego mill, completed in 1921, was the first plant in northern Mexico to attempt the treatment of oxidized lead ores. From the milling point of view the many ores that have been treated at San Diego are very similar, the differences among them being rather of degree than type. Since 1921 the number of ores from different sources treated simultaneously has varied from four to eleven; in no case have any distinctive characteristics warranted the separate treatment of any of these. The zone of oxidation, source of the ores milled at San Diego, extends to a depth of 300 to 400 ft. below the surface. These ores carry more gold and less silver, lead, copper, and zinc than the underlying sulfide ores; the gangue minerals appear comparatively unchanged by oxidation and leaching. Lead occurs in diverse minerals, chiefly in cerussite, galena, and angle-site, the proportion of the lead in galena varying considerably in the different mines. An average of the feed to the mill would show the following approximate distribution of the lead content:

Jan 1, 1930

By Philip D. Wilson

AS thin most important and vital component of an airplane aluminum hay rapidly become the heart and tome- of the war program. Its production ham increased amt will continue to increase, in comparison with its pre-war position further than that of any of lie other important critical metals except magnesium. Compared with the 1939 production of tons of primary ingot coming from four plants, all owned by the Aluminum Company of America the 1942 figures are more than three timer as large. Including, recoverable scrap and contracted ingot from Canada the 191,, supply of aluminum for the United States will be over siren times dial of 1939- A substantial part of this increase has been achieved during the past year as total production in 1941 was only some 307,500 tons. During 1942 six great new ingot plants sponsored and owned by the Government have come into production and three others are nearing completion.

Jan 1, 1943

By Arthur S. Dwight

THE professional career of Thomas Septimus Austin, who died at El Paso, Tex., August 23, 1906, was contemporaneous with the growth of the silver-lead smelting-industry of the Far West, to which his talents and zeal contributed in no small degree. Born at Stratford, Conn., December 7, 1853, he was the seventh son in a family of thirteen. His parents were well-to-do; and he received a thorough preliminary training at the Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, Conn., passing thence to the Columbia School of Mines, in New York, where he was graduated in 1876. His first professional work was that of analytical chemist with a Cuban sugar company. In this position he spent a year, and, whatever else of benefit he may have acquired during that year in Cuba, he gained a facility of speech in the Spanish language which was of inestimable value in his subsequent work in Mexico and the southwestern United States. In 1877, he went to the Rocky Mountains, and, under the firm name of Murphy & Austin, opened an assay-office in Leadville, Colo., which was just then coming into public notice as a rich silver-lead camp. The next year, however, he entered the service of the Germania Smelting & Refining Co. at Salt Lake City, Utah, where he remained until 1882, first as assayer and chemist, and later as Assistant Superintendent. The Germanic bears the honorable distinction of being one of the first of the large " custom " lead-smelters erected in the West. Its founders may be called the pioneers of the modern lead-smelting practice, and the Germania served, to a large extent, as a model for the many plants that sprang into existence during the next few years in Utah, southern Idaho, Colorado and other lead-producing districts. The formulation, for the first

Jan 1, 1908

By John H. Harden

In the valuable paper of Mr. Dunbar D. Scott and its varied discussion, on the evolution of mine-surveying instruments, the tripod-head has not received the attention it merits. During the last 50 years this very necessary adjunct to the surveyor's instrument has been much improved. The legs are of better construction; and the devices for laterally moving the instrument over the station-point and for quick leveling, without the use of the screws, have given to the instrument fitted with the modern tripod-head the same facilities possessed by the oldfashioned ball-and-socket, with more perfect accuracy, not attainable in the latter, while saving from 30 to 50 per cent. of the time required for setting the instrument over a station. For the purpose of extending the discussion to this import-

Jan 1, 1902

By A. W. WALKER

All branches of production engineering showed steady and definite progress during 1941. Most of it has been of the slower and more conservative type rather than the sensational. To a large degree the changes have been influenced by the expanding war economy, and this tendency will probably be even more marked during the coming year. The stress of the times is placing more emphasis on the principles of engineering and conservation, with the object of obtaining the greatest possible recovery with a minimum waste or expenditure of equipment. Also available material supplies are often being turned to new uses.

Jan 1, 1942

By J. R. Guard

Development of electrical power in coal mining has been an outstanding example of adaptability. It has accommodated itself to new inventions, changing mining methods, increasing demands, increasing safety requirements and many other new conditions. With the appearance of the continuous miner in the mining machinery picture, those engineers interested in the application of electricity to mining have been thinking about what new combination of electrical apparatus will best suit this newcomer. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the relative costs of supplying d-c versus a-c power to mining equipment with particular reference to continuous miner setups. Assume that a-c power will be delivered to the mine at some high voltage suitable for transmission to the various substation locations. Typical voltage for this purpose is 4000 volts. The problem then is to change the power to some kind of power suitable for driving the motors of mining equipment. For safety and other reasons the voltage to be delivered to the motor terminals must be under 600 volts.

Jan 1, 1950

By A. L. Mular

Two equations express the integral rate at which fines are produced from a homogeneous material: It has been demonstrated that the Gaudin-Meloy distribution for single fracture is equally applicable to multiple fracture and is related to the Gaudin-Schuhmann distribution at least when the distribution modulus a is close to unity. A, xoY was found to be independent of starting mass over the range studied when particle size was held constant. The equations are related to the input energy to the mill. In an earlier paper,' it was shown that when Mo g of uniformly sized homogeneous material is ground dry in a batch rod mill, the energy-size reduction equation is expressed at any time by the mass of unbroken starting material left at time t, ku is the size modulus of the portion Mo - Mt, and P is a constant that is generally equal to the distribution modulus a. If the power to the mill is constant, Et is proportional to time and Eq. 1 is rewritten where (Mo -Mt)/t is actually the integral rate at which fines are produced from a parent material, and A, is another constant. The size modulus, k,, is determined from the Gaudin-Schuhmann equation:2 where y is the cumulative fraction finer than any size x. Recently, Gaudin and Meloy derived a distribution equation for single fracture on the assumption that the random fracture of a homogeneous material produces daughter particles of similar shape. Their equation is given by where y is the cumulative fraction finer than size X, x, is the size of the unfractured parent, and r is designated the size ratio. Although Eq. 4 is derived for a single event, it should also approximately hold for a series of com-

Jan 1, 1962

By S. J. Matas, R. F. Hehemann, R. H. Goodenow

The hot-stage metallographic method has been employed to determine radial growth rates of upper and lower bainite. Lower bainite appears to grow as individual plates that increase in both length and thickness while upper bainite grows as sheaves of closely spaced plates or needles. A discontinuity in the temperature dependence of the growth rate appears to be associated with the transition from upper to lower bainite and stepped quenching experiments suggest that lower bainite will not continue to grow when the temperature is raised to the upper range. Thus, a single process does not appear to control the growth of both upper and lower bainite. A tentative model based on the forces acting on a dislocation interface is proposed to account for the slow growth of bainite. It has been recognized since the early studies of Davenport and Bain that a close relationship exists between the martensite and bainite transformations in steels. However, diffusion of carbon during the transformation has lead to considerable controversy concerning the reaction mechanism.1-7 Many studies4,5,7-9 have emphasized the structura and kinetic aspects of the bainite reaction and, in particular, the difference observed between the two forms of bainite—frequently termed upper and lower bainite. A kinetic difference between the two types of bainite has been revealed in the activation energy determined from the overall reaction;4,5 however, many difficulties arise in an interpretation of these activation energies since a number of temperature dependent factors contribute to the kinetics of the overall reaction. The displacive surface relief10 accompanying the bainite reaction permits a separation of the nuclea-tion and growth contributions to the reaction and allows the kinetics of the growth process to be examined. Several investigations of this type have been conducted; however, they have been restricted to the low temperature range.3'6'11 Here, bainite plates are observed to grow slowly in both length and width. The present investigation extends such studies to include the upper bainite range. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE Materials. The composition of the steels studied in this investigation are presented in Table I. The range of composition permitted a study of the effect of carbon content on the growth rate of upper bainite in the 9 pct Ni steels and consideration of both upper and lower bainite in the higher carbon steels. These steels were received as hot-rolled rounds and were forged to approximately 1/2 in. thick plates for preparation of metallographic specimens. In order to produce an essentially zero carbon steel, Steel A was decarburized in wet hydrogen at 1550°F for 15 days with the result tabulated as Steel AD. Experimental Procedure. In order to study the slow growth of the displacive transformation product, a commercially available Leitz hot stage was modified to permit heating of the specimen by its own resistance in a manner similar to that employed by other investigators.6 The furnace chamber was maintained at a pressure of 2 to 3 X 10-5 mm Hg prior to austenitizing at 2000° ± 12° F for 5 min. Samples could be cooled from the austenitizing to the transformation temperature in approximately 15 sec and the progress of transformation was recorded with a 9 cm by 12 cm single frame camera or a 16 mm movie camera. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Growth Characteristics. The general growth characteristics observed in this investigation were analogous to those reported previously.3,6,11 Typical growth sequences for the high temperature and low temperature forms are illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5. In both temperature ranges, bainite plates increase in length at slow, temperature dependent rates until interrupted by a grain boundary, another plate, or

Jan 1, 1963