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By E. W. Engelmann

RAPID progress has been made during the past year in the copper mills throughout the country. Particular efforts have been made to increase the fine-grinding efficiency by the installation of larger classifying units operating in closed circuit with ball mills, such as the 78-in. high-weir Akins installation at the Phelps Dodge plant at Ajo, Ariz.; also the Type "FX" Dorr classifiers of Nevada Consolidated at McGill. Nev. and the "FX" Dorr bowl classifier of the Braden Copper Co. in Chile. Some of the copper milling plants in the Southwest, such as Chino in New Mexico and Ray Con. in Arizona, have replaced rolls operating wet in their fine-grinding circuit by rod mills. At Hollinger primary rod mills were formerly used in open circuit followed by pebble mills in closed circuit with classifiers. They now have primary ball mills in closed circuit with large extra heavy classifiers and no secondary mills. This new installation is producing the same grinding on 5000 tons per day with a reduction in cost of nearly 4c. per ton. At the Braden plant, in Chile, short-head Symons crushers have replaced 54-in. rolls, thereby in- creasing crushing capacity with some saving in maintenance cost.

Jan 1, 1939

Marius R. Campbell, Washington, D. C. (Communication to the Secretary): Having spent considerable time in a systematic study of this field,'both as regards the details of its structure and stratigraphy and the broader question of its relation to the Appalachian basin, I wish to add a word concerning the correlations made by Mr. Hodge in his paper. From A commercial standpoint, the question of correlation, even along the strike, is of little or no importance, for the variability is such that each opening should be tested individually, regardless of the horizon at which it appears; but these correlations assume an entirely different aspect when their scientific bearing is considered; they then become of vital importance, and, before being accepted, should be subjected to the most rigid scrutiny and severe tests. Mr. Hedge states positively that the Imboden seam of coal is equivalent to the Elkhorn coal of Pike and Letcher counties, Kentucky. In the writer's opinion, such equivalency is, at the utmost, only a possibility. This correlation has been generally adopted by the geologists of the Kentucky Geological Survey, but the writer has been unable to find on what grounds they base the statement. The evidence of identity seems to be in the character of the coal, as both seams furnish fine coking coal; also, in the similarity of the interval between them aid the " Bee Rock," or top of the great conglomerate. It is probably an easy matter to determine the thickness of this interval on Elkhorn creek, and we will assume that the measure of 300 to 350 feet is correct. In the Big Stone Gap field, the question of measuring the interval between the Imboden and the " Bee Rock " is exceedingly difficult. The line of outcrop of this mass of strata is along the northern base of Stone mountain, and, in the uprising of the great arch, the strata on its flanks have been thrown into many minor folds, and, in places, have been broken by local faults. This complicated structure, together with the absence of ally well-marked stratum, renders it exceedingly difficult to obtain a correct measure of the intervening sandstones and shales. The interval of 300 to 350 feet, assigned by Mr. Hodge, is mani-

Jan 1, 1893

By R. W. Raymond

This name is applied to the present mining law, as enacted in 1872 and since, to indicate its leading characteristic—in which it differs from all previous mining laws of this or any other country. The earlier act, passed in 1866, was practically the first attempt of Congress to deal with the question of mining titles upon the public domain. It was framed after nearly twenty years of acquiescence on the part of the Government in the self-constituted tribunals, officials, rules, and customs of the mining districts. In its recognition of these, and in several other particulars, the act of 1866 was open to serious criticisms. It is the purpose of this paper, not to trace the history of legislation on this subject, or show in detail what were the faults of the earlier law, but rather, by a discussion of certain aspects of the present law, to point out how great a revoluition it has effected in the rights of mining locators, and to indicate some of the difficulties attending its application. In the attempt to correct the vagueness of the act of 1866 an entirely new elernent was introduced into the law, bringing with it a new set of difficulties. Under the act of 1866 and the miners' customs which it followed, the lode was the thing claimed and subsequently acquired by patent. And the claim to a given number of feet on the longitudinal course of the lode was rooted in 'a discovery of any part of the lode in any part of the claim. ("Extensions" could in many districts—perhaps universally—be located and claimed on the strength of the discovery in the principal claim to which they referred; but this is a point not essential to the present discussion.) It was not necessary to find the outcrop or the upper edge of a lode in order to lay a valid location upon it. An explorer, sinking a shaft and intersecting a lode not already discovered and claimed by another, could claim by that discovery the number of feet along that lode which the local laws might permit (not exceeding the maximum set by the United States statute) whether his sur-

Jan 1, 1884

By A. W. McReynolds

One characteristic of plastic deformation which distinguishes it from elastic strain is the essential inhomo-geneity of plastic strains. Elastic strain varies continuously through a material, and average relative displacements of initially adjacent atoms are only small fractions of their initial spacing, (strains of the order of 0.01 or less). On the other hand, plastic flow corresponds to the appearance of discontinuities in strain of the lattice, such as dislocations or slip bands, where local strain, on an atomic scale, is several orders of magnitude higher. These discontinuities are visible on a microscopic scale as the familiar slip lines (Fig 1). In spite of this obvious microscopic inhomogeneity, however, macroscopic measurements almost invariably show a smooth curve of stress vs. strain (Fig 2b) even if measurements of linear strains be made to an accuracy of one part in 107. This macroscopic homogeneity of strain indicates that the discontinuities in strain on slip planes occur in increments too small or too slow to be recorded individually, and further that they occur sufficiently independent of one another so that the small increments add at random to a smooth stress-strain curve. The present paper describes observations of plastic strain in aluminum of commercial purity and in high purity Al-Cu alloys, where there exists a strong coupling between slip in various regions of the specimen such that once initiated it spreads rapidly through a large volume. The total effect is that of relatively large, rapid, and regularly spaced steps of strain followed by periods of only elastic strain. Fig 2a illustrates the type of "stair-step" stress-strain curve which results. The properties of this cooperative slip phenomenon will be described further in the section on results: in par- ticular it will be shown that each step corresponds to the propagation of a wave of plastic deformation through the specimen. Some interpretations of the mechanism by which it occurs will be made in the following section. Although the type of plastic wave phenomena to be described has not previously been reported, there are numerous cases of related effects in the plastic yielding of metals: YIELD POINT PHENOMENA The most familiar of such effects is the "yield point" observed in low carbon steels, brass, duralurninum, and the like. It consists in the sudden termination of the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve by a large plastic strain. Since the usual tensile machine is such that yielding of the specimen relieves the load, the resulting curve is as shown in Fig 3. As the strain continues, deformation occurs at a lower stress for some time, then follows a rising curve, but with no further sudden yielding. This effect has been observed in brass by Sachs and Shojil and later by many others. Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 made extensive studies of the effect in steel, and of the role of various alloying elements. Although there seems to be fairly clear evidence that the yield point is caused by a hardening of the material by precipitation of impurities, no satisfactory explanation for the sudden yielding has been given. Winlock and Leiter3 have shown that the strain. level of the upper yield point depends strongly on the rate of loading, the yield point increasing by almost a fac- tor of two as the strain rate goes from 0.002 in. per in. per min. to 4.4 in. per in. per min. This effect would seem to imply an incubation period before yielding is initiated at a certain stress. On the other hand, by going to very slow loading rates, Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 showed that the yield point does not become lower and eventually disappear as might be expected, but, on the contrary, begins to rise at loading rates below about 25 Ib per in. per min. becoming much higher than at rapid loading rates. STRAIN AGING If, instead of continuing straining of a specimen after occurrence of a yield point, the load is removed and the specimen aged, resumption of the test results in occurrence of another yield point as shown by the dotted curve of Fig 3. The new yield stress is generally higher than the previous maximum applied stress. This hardening of the material by straining and subsequent aging is undoubtedly related to quench age-hardening resulting from the aging of a specimen quenched from high temperature. Since neither effect is observed in pure metals, it is generally accepted that quench-aging in all cases is the result of hardening by precipitation of a supersaturated alloying element, and that strain-aging is probably a similar precipitation, accelerated by disruptions of the lattice by previous strain. Pfeil4 has shown that strain-aging does not occur in iron from which all of the carbon has been removed, but that only a very small carbon content, around 0.003 pct, is necessary to cause strain-aging. In accord with this observation is recent work by Dijkstra5 in this laboratory showing that the solubility limit of carbon in iron is extremely low, less than 0.001 pct at 400°C. Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 have shown that the strain-aging effect is also removed by the addition of small quantities of elements such as Mo, Mn, Ti, and the like, which readily form carbides. Their results demonstrate the

Jan 1, 1950

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

URANINITE. Cleveite. Broggerite. Nivenite. Pitchblende. Isometric. In octahedrons (o), also with dodecahedra1 faces (d) ; less often in cubes with o and d. Crystals rare. Usually massive and botryoidal; also in grains; structure sometimes columnar, or curved lamellar. Fracture conchoidal to uneven. Brittle. H. = 5'5. G. = 9'0 to 9'7 of crystals; of massive altered forms from 6'4 upwards. Luster submetallic, to greasy or pitch-like, and dull. Color grayish, greenish, brownish, velvet- black. Streak brownish black, grayish, olive-green, a little shining. Opaque. Comp. -A uranate of uranyl, lead, usually thorium (or zirconium), often the metals of the lanthanum and yttrium groups; also containing the gases nitrogen, helium and argon, in varying amounts up to 2'6 p. c. Calcium and water (essential?) are present in small quantities; iron also, but only as an impurity. The relation between the bases varies widely and no definite for- mula can be given. Radium was first discovered in this mineral and it has been shown that it and the helium present are products of the breaking down of the uranium.

Jan 1, 1922

By Harry C. Gatos, Frank J. Bachner

It was shown through high-pressure experiments that tin loss by volatilizatim is necessary for the degrada-tion of the superconducting transition temperature of Nb,Sn associated with high-temperature annealing. Crystallochemical analysis of the degraded Nb3Sn showed that it constitutes a new phase with ordered niobium-site vacancies, created by the migration of niobium atoms to vaccnt tin sites. This new phase was found to form when 4 pct Nb-site vacancies were present. It has a transition temperature of 6'K and a lattice parameter of 5.283A. A similar degradation effect was observed in Nb,Al. Its superconducting transition temperature dropped from 16.5" to 8" K following a high-temperature annealing. The superconducting temperature degradation in these 0-tungsten structure compounds is attributed to the disruption of the interchain d bonding by the periodic interruption of the niobium atom chains. By annealing the degraded Nb, Sn at 1000 C in nitrogen its normal superconducting behavior is restored most likely due to the incorporation of nitrogen atoms causing the elimination of the ordered vacancies. HANAK et al.' have observed low superconducting transition-temperature values (T, - 9"K) in some NbsSn samples deposited from the vapor phase. They attributed such low T, values to disorder in the 0-tung-sten structure. Much lower T values (down to 5.6"K) were reported by Reed et al.zC for NbsSn samples annealed at high temperatures. These authors also attributed this degradation effect to disorder (random occupation of the A and B sites by niobium and tin) but pointed out that such disorder could be brought about (by high-temperature treatment) only in samples containing niobium in excess of the stoichiometric composition NbsSn. Both groups reported that the normal superconductivity behavior could be rever-sibly restored by appropriate heat treatment. Courtney et al., also found that degradation in NbsSn requires excess niobium brought about by the loss of tin during the treatment. However, these investigators proposed that the degradation is due to niobium-site vacancies resulting from the migration of the niobium atoms to the vacated tin atom sites. They did not consider the reversibility of the effect. The present study attempts to establish the nature of the above degradation phenomenon. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES All compounds prepared for this investigation were made from the powders or filings of the elements which were intimately mixed, cold-pressed into a cylindrical pellet at approximately 50,000 lb per sq in., and then submitted to the desired heat treatment. The samples annealed under high pressure were placed in a MgO sample container which was mounted in a pyrophyllite tetrahedron designed for a tetra-hedral-anvil press. Details of the experimental arrangement are given elsewhere. This setup allowed heating at 1800°C or above under pressures in excess of 30kbars for 3 hr. The samples annealed in a vacuum were prepared in a high-temperature vacuum furnace which could reach temperatures up to 2400°C under a pressure of 2 x lo-' Torr. For annealing in a reactive atmosphere, a quartz tube was placed in a clamshell furnace and the desired gas ambient passed through the tube. Lattice parameters were determined using a Debye-Scherer 114.6-mm camera. Cohen's method, programmed for the IBM 7094 computer, was used to calculate the lattice parameter from the measured d spacings. X-ray integrated intensity measurements were made on several samples. These samples were ground to -400 mesh and the powder mixed with a solution of collodion in amyl acetate. The mixture was poured into a depression milled in a bakelite disc. When the mixture dried, the surface of the disc was ground flat leaving a diffraction surface defined by the face of the disc. The disc was mounted in a Philips rotating specimen holder which allowed the rotation of the sample in the plane of the diffraction surface and the integrated intensity measured using a scintillation counter and a pulse-height analysis sys-tem. The superconducting transition temperatures were determined by means of self-inductance techniques.' EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Role of Tin Loss in the Degradation of Super-conductivity. The loss of tin during high-temperature annealing can be effectively suppressed by annealing under high hydrostatic pressures. Accordingly, a series of experiments were performed under pressures of approximately 30kbars. This pressure was the minimum under which high-temperature experiments could be safely performed in the particular pressure apparatus employed. Experiments were also designed to test high-pressure effects on the superconductivity behavior of NbJSn. The results of the high-pressure annealing experi-ments are summarized in Table I. All samples were prepared as described earlier. They were reacted and homogenized at 1000°C for 24 hr under argon at-

Jan 1, 1967

By Hans Lundberq

IINDUSTRY'S attention is now focused on the production of munitions thereby creating a demand for certain minerals which in prewar days were produced only in limited quantities. Now production of these minerals must he increased from the known deposits and new deposits must be found. Can geophysics help? "War minerals" such as tin, vanadium, tungsten, antimony, manganese, chromium, and cinnabar have no physical characteristics sufficiently different front the country rook to permit their direct location by ordinary geophysical methods. As already demonstrated in work on gold and oil, useful information may be obtained indirectly, however, outlining structural features or geological conditions favorable for the deposition of such ores or the accumulation of oil. Recently, more direct and truly qualitative methods have been brought into a useful and practical stage, and by the combined application of old and new methods a technique has been developed which, it is hoped, will be of importance in the search for these vital minerals.

Jan 1, 1941

By W.M. Peirce

The present work has been done in an endeavor to correlate and complete the data on the constitution of alloys of zinc with other common metals, dealing exclusively, however, with the zinc-rich alloys in which the zinc content is between 90 and 100 per cent. This investigation has included the systems lead-zinc, cadmium-zinc, iron-zinc, copper-zinc, aluminum-zinc, nickel-zinc, manganese-zinc, cobalt-zinc, tin-zinc, and magnesium-zinc. The important ternary system zinc-lead-cadmium and the zinc corners of other ternary systems have been investigated in connection with this work but will not be dealt with here. Zinc does not form a single homogenous zinc-rich solid solution over any considerable range of concentration with any of the metals mentioned. A limited range of solid solubility is said, by previous investigators, to occur in several cases and certain effects on the properties of zinc are attributed (with varying degrees of consistency among different writers) to the presence of certain other metals dissolved in zinc. The increasing use of rolled zinc and the possibilities offered by zinc as a casting alloy in certain fields have made it essential to determine precisely these equilibrium relationships. In carrying out this investigation reliance was placed chiefly on two methods, conductivity measurements and microscopic analysis. The first method proved valuable in determining the existence and extent of solid solubility. The second method stands alone as a means of determining structural characteristics and supplements the first method in the measurement of solid solubility. The scleroscopic hardness of all conductivity specimens was measured partly for its value from the point of view of mechanical properties and partly as a check on the conductivity curves in indicating the limits of solid solubility. No hardness curves are included in this paper, for in no case were they important in arriving at the constitution of any system. Conductivity measurements were in all cases made on cold-rolled strips 0.020 in. thick and 0.5 in. wide, both as cold rolled and after an

Jan 1, 1923

By W. M. Peirce

The present work has been done in an endeavor to correlate and complete the data on the constitution of alloys of zinc with other common metals, dealing exclusively, however, with the zinc-rich alloys in which the zinc content is between 90 and 100 per cent. This investigation has included the systems lead-zinc, cadmium-zinc, iron-zinc, copper-zinc, aluminum-zinc, nickel-zinc, manganese-zinc, cobalt-zinc, tin-zinc, and magnesium-zinc. The important ternary system zinc-lead-cadmium and the zinc corners of other ternary systems have been investigated in connection with this work but will not be dealt with here. Zinc does not form a single homogenous zinc-rich solid solution over any considerable range of concentration with any of the metals mentioned. A limited range of solid solubility is said, by previous investigators, to occur in several cases and certain effects on the properties of zinc are attributed (with varying degrees of consistency among different writers) to the presence of certain other metals dissolved in zinc. The increasing use of rolled zinc and the possibilities offered by zinc as a casting alloy in certain fields have made it essential to determine precisely these equilibrium relationships. In carrying out this investigation reliance was placed chiefly on two methods, conductivity measurements and microscopic analysis. The first method proved valuable in determining the existence and extent of solid solubility. The second method stands alone as a means of determining structural characteristics and supplements the first method in the measurement of solid solubility. The scleroscopic hardness of all conductivity specimens was measured partly for its value from the point of view of mechanical properties and partly as a check on the conductivity curves in indicating the limits of solid solubility. No hardness curves are included in this paper, for in no case were they important in arriving at the constitution of any system. Conductivity measurements were in all cases made on cold-rolled strips 0.020 in. thick and 0.5 in. wide, both as cold rolled and after an

Jan 1, 1923

By A. Mitchell, T. Bagshaw

A recent paper by Thomas1 has presented new data on the solubility of hydrogen in solid silver at 1 atm pressure in the temperature range 600° to 963°C. However, no data is reported in the literature on hydrogen solubility in liquid silver. The Sieverts technique which has been described previously2,3 was used in the present work. Charges of approximately 160 g were melted in Morgan "purox" recrystallized alumina crucibles and purified helium was used for the determination of the "hot volume" during each experiment. A chemical analysis of the silver indicates that the impurity content (Cu + Al) is less than 0.02 wt pct. Hydrogen solubility in the temperature range 963° to 1200°C was investigated. The results of three experiments are shown in Table I. Fig. 1 shows an Arrhenius plot of the present work together with the solid-state data of Thomas, Steacie, and johnson,4 Eichenauer et al.,5 and Siegelin et al.6 The following expression has been derived from the Arrhenius plot of the present data: log (solubility of hydrogen, cm3 per 100 g) = 2.154-3512.0/ToK The heat of solution derived from Fig. 1 is 31,150 cal per g mole H2 compared with the value of 33,020 cal per g mole H2 obtained by Thomas and 12,000 cal per g mole H2 obtained from the data of Steacie. It was observed that hydrogen evolution took place when the silver melts were solidified under 1 atm of hydrogen, which would not be expected from an extrapolation of the results of Steacie. Schenck and Lange7 have observed that, for several transition metals at their melting points, the ratio of the hydrogen solubility in the liquid to that in the solid lies in the range 2.1 to 3.1. The present results and those of Thomas are in accord in this respect having a ratio of 2.8. 'C. L. Thomas: Trans. TMS-AIME, 1967 vol. 239, pp. 485-96. 2T. Bagshaw and A. Mitchell: I. Iron Steel Inst., 1966, vol. 204, p. 87. 'M. Weinstein and J. F. Elliott: Trans. TWS-AIME, 1963, vol. 227, p. 382. 'E. W. R. Steacie and F. M. G. Johnson: Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), Ser. A, 1928, vol. 117, pp. 662-79. 'W. Eichenauer et al.: Z. Metallk., 1958, vol. 49, pp. 220-25. 6W. Siegelin et al.: Z. Elektrochem., 1957, vol. 61, pp. 359-66. 'H. Schenck and K. W. Lange: Arch Eisenhuettenw., 1966, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 739-48.

Jan 1, 1969

By R. L. Huntington, Frank P. Vance, George F. Russell, Robert Thompson

With the advent of higher pressures in the operation of natural-gas transmission lines, the removal of water vapor from the gas has become increasingly important in order to prevent condensation or formation of gas hydrate from slowing down or stopping the flow of gas. Intelligent design of these dehydration or gas-drying plants has been hampered through the Iack of experimental data on the water vapor content of natural gas at elevated pressures. In view of this need, this present investigation was sponsored by the Southern Natural Gas Co. in the Chemical Engineering laboratories at the University of Oklahoma Research Institute. Experimental results were obtained on the water-vapor content of natural gas up to 2000 lb. per sq. in. at atmospheric temperatures. The water content at 2000 lb. is approximately two thirds as much as it is at 1000 Ib. Deviations from the ideal gas laws vary directly with pressure and indirectly with temperature. Introduction The removal of water vapor from natural gas is an important operation in connection with the production and transportation of this commodity because: I. Liquid water accelerates internal corrosion of a pipe line. 2. Accumulation of water at low points in a pipe line reduces markedly its capacity. 3. Gas hydrates, icy snowlike growths, form readily under high pressure in the presence of the lower hydrocarbons and water, often plugging up the pipe line. In order to design dehydration plants for stripping the gas of its water content, it is essential that the engineer. have a knowledge of the saturated or equilibrium water-vapor content of the gas to be processed. With the gradual increase of operating pressures around gas-producing wells and pipe lines, it was observed that the quantity of water recovered from dehydration plants or condensed in colder lines was considerably greater than had been expected from calculated contents, based on vapor-pressure data taken from steam tables. This observation prompted a number of investigators, for instance, Laulhere,3 Dea-ton,l and Hammerschmidt2 to carry out experimental work at pressures up to 600 lb. per sq. in. in order to determine quantitatively the water content of various gases. Sage, Lacey, et al.4,5 have recognized more recently the need for such data at higher pressures, but their work was done at temperatures of 100ºF, and higher. Since hydrate formation usually, if not entirely, occurs at temperatures below 100ºF., the present investigation was confined to the . lower temperature range at pressures from 600 to 2000 lb. per sq. in. gauge.

Jan 1, 1945

By B. Egeberg

IN A previous paper1 the authors dealt with the physical properties of cold-rolled and heat-treated Britannia metal of the approximate composition Sn, 91 per cent., Sb, 7 per cent. and Cu, 2 per cent. It was found that cold rolling to more than 50 per cent. reduction produced a continuous softening of the metal when measured by the Brinell machine, whereas the Shore instrument indicated increased hardness; that the strength of the material followed the Brinell hardness and that the metal therefore became weaker the more it was cold-rolled; and further, it was found that hardness and strength could be largely restored to the cold-rolled metal by "baking" for about one hour at any temperature, between 200° and 450° F., the melting point. The higher the baking temperature, the more effective was the heat treatment as far as increased hardness was concerned. It seemed to be of little importance whether the metal was soaked or not at the baking temperature for a great length of time and the rate of cooling seemed to be immaterial. The present paper deals with the same alloy and more particularly with the resistance towards various forms of stress - tensile, bend and deep drawing. The metallography of Britannia metal has in part also been covered and an explanation attempted for the abnormal behavior of this alloy.

Jan 1, 1929

By Leon W. Dupuy

Many articles have been written describing peculiar and particular types of drilling. Little correlation has been made between the character of ground to be drilled and sampled and the type of drilling most desirable for procuring satisfactory samples. In development work, the engineer and metallurgist often desire the recovery of a sample in as physically natural a condition as possible, particularly when the sample must provide material for process tests as well as chemical and physical analyses. This paper describes the results of experimentation in drilling unconsolidated materials carrying titanium minerals in the Magnet Cove area, Ark. The drilling was most difficult in that the ground varied much in consistency, and it was vitally necessary to recover a physically natural sample. Ordinary churn drilling recovered a sample that could be analyzed chemically, but the sample was not in its natural state. The problem was successfully solved by utilizing and further developing methods used in the oil and clay industries.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. H. Class

The embrittling effects of oxygen, ozone, nitrogen, air, and surface residues, on NaCl has been investigated. The embrittlement by ozone and oxygen was found to be associated with the formation of a NaClO3 surface compound. In these cases the initial crack that was responsible for fracture (in a bend test) always nucleated at the corners between the tension and side faces. The behavior of air was very erratic and on certain days did not produce enzbrittlement. During these periods, crystals that had become embrittled by the ozone treatment completely recovered their ductility after a short exposure to the ambient atmosphere, It was established many years ago1 that considerable ductility could be obtained in NaCl single-crystal specimens if the crystal surfaces were dissolved in water either during or immediately prior to the test. The original interpretation of this effect by Joffe attributed the enhanced ductility to the removal of surface microcracks by dissolution. Later investigations2'3 have suggested that the exclusion of air from the specimen surface is the criterion for extensive plastic flow prior to fracture. The air em-brittlement in this later work was attributed to the diffusion of gaseous atoms into the surface layers of the crystal, thereby impeding the movement of dislocations. This model satisfactorily accounts for the reembrittlement observed after further air exposure subsequent to the water dissolution treatment. However, the situation has recently become more complex by the observations in several laboratories4-t that under certain conditions air exposure does not impair the ductility of NaC1. It has also been recognized5 that improper drying operations after water dissolution can leave surface precipitates that lead to embrittlement. Cleavage defects on as-cleaved crystals can often be another source of embrittlement. In the present work the effect of the gaseous atmospheres nitrogen, argon, air, oxygen, and ozone, on the ductility of rock salt was studied extensively. The embrittlement resulting from oxygen and ozone exposures was found to be associated with the formation of a NaC1O3 surface film. It is suggested that certain atmospheres, one of which often can be ambient air, which inhibit the formation or favor the decomposition of this compound, can promote ductility. Thus one aspect of the Joffe effect is certainly related to the removal of surface compounds or complexes by water dissolution. The effect of surface precipitates that remain after drying operations and of cleavage defects were also studied. In neither of the latter cases was the embrittlement as severe as that found with a NaClO3 surface layer. PROCEDURE AND SPECIMEN PREPARATION The nature of the embrittlement produced by the agents mentioned above was studied by means of microscopy, mechanical testing, and X-ray diffraction. Specimens were cleaved from large crystals of optical quality sodium chloride obtained from the Harshaw Chemical Co., and, except for those tested in the as-cleaved condition, were given a 15- to 20-sec immersion in distilled water followed by a rinse in absolute methyl alcohol. The specimens were then blotted on a soft, absorbent paper, and dried by a few seconds exposure to a stream of warm, dry air. Such a procedure was found to give a control surface which was microscopically free of residues. (A few crystals were intentionally painted with a concentrated NaCl solution in order to investigate the effect of surface residues). All specimens were of 0.140 sq in. cross-section. Crystals prepared in the above manner were immediately placed in a gas train where they could be exposed to the desired gases for preselected periods of time. For the oxygen and nitrogen exposures, pure reagent-grade gases were employed. The ozone was provided in the form of an ozone-oxygen mixture (approximately 10 pct ozone) prepared by passing commercial grade oxygen over a strong ultraviolet light source. All gases were dried prior to their introduction into the train. Since argon was found to be completely inert in its behavior (i.e., residue-free specimens that were exposed to argon were not embrittled), it was periodically utilized to check the control specimen surfaces as well as the condition of the gas train used for aging the specimens. After exposure to the gaseous media in question, the crystals to be used for the measurement of the strain to fracture were transferred from the gas train to a protective oil bath (without further exposure to the atmosphere) where the tests were conducted in three-point bending. The apparatus was so adjusted that the load could be applied at a constant, continuous rate. Other Snecimens from the gas train were deformed

Jan 1, 1962

By G. Pizzi, G. M. Ciucci, G. L. Chierici

The use of the material balance equation to estimate the volume of hydrocarbons originally present in a reservoir, whose producing mechanism is partly due to water drive, has been discussed in the literature by several authors. There is no general agreement upon the possibility of obtaining reliable results by this method. Gas reservoirs in contact with an active aquifer are considered in this paper. Theoretical considerations based on the cybernetic principle of uncertainty (which states that the internal structure of a system cannot be uniquely determined from its observed external behavior) lead to the conclusion that the volume of gas originally present in a reservoir of this type cannot be uniquely determined from its past history. The range of values which encompasses the actual value of the reserves varies from case to case and must be determined by either numerical or analogical methods. Results obtained for six gas fields are reported. All these fields were produced with small fluctuations in their production rates, as is common practice for gas reservoirs; no gas storage fields were considered. Results obtained show that reserves values in a range of 1 to 2, associated with appropriate aquifers, allow the matching of the reservoir past history with mean-square deviations less than the experimental errors involved in pressure and produclion measurements. Similar results have been found in several other partial water drive gas reservoirs. From these results it is concluded that gas reserves cannot be uniquely determined from the past performance of partial water drive reservoirs, at least in cases where the reservoir has been submitted to small fluctuations in the production rates, and pressure data of normal accuracy are available. INTRODUCTION A number of authors have analyzed the problem of estimating the reserves originally present in a partial water drive reservoir from its past pressure-production performance. Literature which deals with this subject can be grouped, according to their conclusions, as follows. 1. A reliable value for the reserves can be obtained even if reservoir data (pressure and cumulative production) are affected by errors within the normal range.'-' 2. A reliable value for the reserves can be obtained only if reservoir data are very accurate'- or if past production performance has been subjected to abrupt variations in the production rate."' 3. No unique value for the reserves can be obtained from reservoir past production performance. This conclusion has been based upon theoretical considerations" and verified in several field cases. The purpose of this paper, which deals only with partial water drive gas reservoirs, is to test the above conclusions against actual field cases. Some theoretical considerations on this problem are also presented. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS As the behavior of a gas reservoir communicating with an aquifer depends on both the aquifer and the reservoir characteristics, the physical system to be studied is the combined gas reservoir plus aquifer. The information which is available for studying the performance of such a system is the well production rates and bottom-hole pressures, all given as functions of time. The external behavior of the reservoir-aquifer system is therefore described by 2n input variables (Gp, Wp,) and n output variables (p,), n being the number of wells in the reservoir. In reservoir engineering it is common practice to consider the reservoir as a whole, disregarding the internal distribution of pressures and of producing wells. This practice is equivalent to substituting the above multi-variable system with a single-variable system, where the average reservoir pressure is the only output variable and the cumulative production G,(t) and W,(t) are the input variables. The internal structure of such a system, defined by initial gas reserves G, aquifer shape and dimensions, boundary conditions and petrophysical parameters distribution throughout the aquifer, is unknown. Therefore, from a cybernetic point of view the system is a "black-box It has been demonstrated" that for a blackbox the indetermination principle holds. Accordingly, the number of different internal structures (or set of parameters) which can account for the observed external behavior is infinite. As a consequence, the initial reserves cannot be uniquely determined from the reservoir past performance. When W,(t) is known, the determination of G from

By L. A. Mekler

The recirculating furnace is primarily a heating apparatus of the convection type in which the heat-absorbing surfaces are heated by a mixture of fresh products of combustion and a portion of the combustion gases that have already given off a part of their heat in their previous passage over the heat-absorbing surfaces. In its basic conception, the recirculating furnace can be considered as a closed thermal system in which the heat-absorbing surfaces are constantly swept by a fixed quantity of products of combustion at a given initial temperature with the gases being constantly returned to the furnace and reheated before they again enter the heating zone. Gases equal in amount to those produced by the fuel burned to reheat the circulating gases are constantly ejected from the system to the stack. The recirculating furnace is the most suitable apparatus for heating by convection where low furnace temperatures must be maintained and where only a small portion of the available heat is taken out of the gases, particularly where the maximum allowable furnace temperature is low and where the final temperature of the gases is only a few hundred degrees below their initial temperature. In such cases, recirculation not only provides a method of reducing the rather high combustion temperatures of the fuel when burned without a large amount of excess air, but, by returning to the furnace the heat content of the gases at their final temperature, recovers a large portion of heat that otherwise would have been lost through the stack. The convection-type oil still is particularly suitable for the application of flue-gas recirculation. In an oil still, the heating of the oil is accomplished by applying to the tube surfaces a given quantity of heat of a certain predetermined quality, usually with the initial temperature of the gases not over 1500" F. as measured by thermocouples placed above the tube bank. To obtain the full benefit of the heating surface of the coil, the final temperature of the gases, after passing over the coil, is kept 200" to 300" higher than the temperature of the incoming oil. This final temperature varies from 500" F. for a topping still with only a slight or no

Jan 1, 1928

By G. D. Cremer, J. J. Cordiano

Aluminum powder is a well-known article of commerce and in various forms has been marketed widely for use in paint, for pyrotechnic purposes and for exothermic mixtures. For a number of reasons, however, aluminum powder has not been employed extensively in powder metallurgy, although a great many proposals along this line have been offered. Aluminum and alumiuum-alloy powders oxidize readily upon exposure to air and the thin film of oxide (or hydroxide) thus formed is highly refractory, in that ordinary gaseous reducing agents such as hydrogen or carbon monoxide do not reduce the oxide to metal at temperatures below the melting point of aluminum. It has been thought that the presence of these films of oxide on aluminum particles would interfere markedly in powder metallurgical work and a number of suggestions have been made, either for preventing the formation of the film through the production of the powders in inert or reducing atmospheres, or for the removal of the oxide by means of powerful reducing agents, including "nascent" or atomic hydrogen released from metal hydrides. A second and more serious difficulty in the use of aluminum and aluminum-alloy powders in powder metallurgy resides in the fact that during compression such powders tend to adhere or cold-weld to the die walls, thus interfering with the formation and ejection of a compact. A third difficulty, which has been encountered only with aluminum-alloy powders, is their hardness when compared with elemental aluminum. Certain of these powders are susceptible to age-hardening, which further hinders the formation of strong green compacts. These conditions are particularly true of atomized aluminum-alloy powders. Even in the annealed condition, plastic deformation of alloy powders under pressure is low when compared with unalloyed powders. This fact, coupled with the lower corrosion resistance of the alloy powders. is probably the significant factor in our failure to obtain strong sintered pieces. Methods of Puoducing the Powder Many methods have been proposed for manufacture of aluminum powder, only a few of which are used commercially. Several of the more important processes include: (I) atomization of the molten metal; (2) mechanical pulverization and other types of comminution; and (3) graining, in which molten aluminum is stirred during freezing. For pigment and certain pyrotechnic uses aluminum flake powder is desirable, because of its greater proportion of surface to volume; and large quantities of such material are made by a procedure that involves stamping or ball milling. In making flake intended for use as pigment,

Jan 1, 1943

By G. D. Cremer, J. J. Cordiano

Aluminum powder is a well-known article of commerce and in various forms has been marketed widely for use in paint, for pyrotechnic purposes and for exothermic mixtures. For a number of reasons, however, aluminum powder has not been employed extensively in powder metallurgy, although a great many proposals along this line have been offered. Aluminum and alumiuum-alloy powders oxidize readily upon exposure to air and the thin film of oxide (or hydroxide) thus formed is highly refractory, in that ordinary gaseous reducing agents such as hydrogen or carbon monoxide do not reduce the oxide to metal at temperatures below the melting point of aluminum. It has been thought that the presence of these films of oxide on aluminum particles would interfere markedly in powder metallurgical work and a number of suggestions have been made, either for preventing the formation of the film through the production of the powders in inert or reducing atmospheres, or for the removal of the oxide by means of powerful reducing agents, including "nascent" or atomic hydrogen released from metal hydrides. A second and more serious difficulty in the use of aluminum and aluminum-alloy powders in powder metallurgy resides in the fact that during compression such powders tend to adhere or cold-weld to the die walls, thus interfering with the formation and ejection of a compact. A third difficulty, which has been encountered only with aluminum-alloy powders, is their hardness when compared with elemental aluminum. Certain of these powders are susceptible to age-hardening, which further hinders the formation of strong green compacts. These conditions are particularly true of atomized aluminum-alloy powders. Even in the annealed condition, plastic deformation of alloy powders under pressure is low when compared with unalloyed powders. This fact, coupled with the lower corrosion resistance of the alloy powders. is probably the significant factor in our failure to obtain strong sintered pieces. Methods of Puoducing the Powder Many methods have been proposed for manufacture of aluminum powder, only a few of which are used commercially. Several of the more important processes include: (I) atomization of the molten metal; (2) mechanical pulverization and other types of comminution; and (3) graining, in which molten aluminum is stirred during freezing. For pigment and certain pyrotechnic uses aluminum flake powder is desirable, because of its greater proportion of surface to volume; and large quantities of such material are made by a procedure that involves stamping or ball milling. In making flake intended for use as pigment,

Jan 1, 1943

By Donald B. Gillies

PROBABLY the most critical and difficult period in an engineer's career is that between the completion of his college work and his attainment of professional recognition and accepted status in the industrial world. Upon leaving school the young graduate breaks his immediate ties with his educational institution and in a sense finds himself adrift. At this time in his life a society like our Institute has both the responsibility and the privilege of meeting a vitally important need in his professional life. Some of these young men are Student Associates, in the year after graduation, and some are Junior Members, but all need advice and assistance. In some respects this situation will be accentuated by the war. Not only will thousands of young engineers be mustered out of military service but the process we describe generally as industrial reconversion will make necessary many readjustments in personnel. About two years ago the Institute recognized the opportunity of helping the younger member to help himself by appointing a new standing committee to be known as the Committee on Professional Development of Junior Engineers. Herbert Hoover is Honorary Chairman and it is my privilege to serve as Chairman. The name of the Committee is not entirely satisfactory but it expresses the general objective. The present article is in the nature of a progress report of the work of this Committee.

Jan 1, 1945

By C. C. Whittier

CIVILIZATION'S PROGRESS, which has multiplied man's comforts, conveniences, a n d happiness, is based upon the extensive employment of natural minerals and sources of energy. Mineral resources are basic factors in modern economic development, machine industry, international trade and world power. A survey of mineral consumption shows that the United States leads the world in the production and consumption of energy materials, of metals, and of the large and diverse array of earth materials that fall in the nonmetallic mineral group. The use of nonrnetallic minerals exceeded both the metals and the fuels in the long period before the industrial age, but it is only in the last two decades that consumption of non- metals has kept pace with and approximated in value the output of metals. Although the data of production in the first half of the last century are meager and fragmentary, the record of the past fifty years-the period of most rapid growth-is available, and reveals an astounding growth.

Jan 1, 1933