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By D. Kunstelj, M. Stubicar, A. Tonejc, A. Bonefacic

A. Bonefafcic, D. Kunsfeli, M. Stubicar, and A. Tonejc The present communication is concerned with the variation of the texture in aluminum wires with die angle and temperature, at constant speed of extrusion. Experiments were carried out concurrently on refined samples, with a stated purity of 99.997 pct pure A1 and commercial samples of 99.5 pct Al. Ingots of refined aluminum samples were machined to 30-mm-diam by 150-mm-long billets. These billets were transformed to 5-mm-diam wires by drawing. The final form, suitable for examination, was obtained by extrusion through conical-face dies with a 1-mm hole diam and extrusion ratio 5:l in diam. The initial form of the commercial aluminum samples was drawn wire 5 mm in diam. These samples showed a poorly defined texture with (111) as a major and (001) as a minor component. A similar defined texture appeared in the refined aluminum samples after drawing to 5 mm diam. Conical-face dies with different angles (defined by the axis and the generating line of the cone) were used in our experiments. The values of the angles were 27, 35, 45, 57, 63, and 90 deg. The extrusion container was fitted with a heating element and controller permitting temperatures up to 600°C to be maintained within i5"C. Extrusion was performed at 250°, 300°, 350°, 400°, and 500°C at constant speed (approximately 1 mm per sec) and constant die reduction. The extrusion product was a wire 1 mm in diam and approximately 20 cm long. In order to remove the surface layer with the "conical" texture and to reduce the absorption by the X-ray examination of the samples, the extruded wire was etched to 0.22 mm in diam. Experiments were performed in the middle sections of the 20-cm-long wires. In addition to the die of l-mm hole diam, dies with a 1.5-, 0.7-, 0.6-, 0.5-, and 0.4-mm hole diam and 63-deg die angle were constructed. In our experiments we did not find in these ranges any important difference concerning the texture of the extruded wires and we continued our work solely on the 1.0-mm die. The diffracted X-rays (Cu K radiation) were recorded photographically. Diffracted intensities were measured on the (111) reflection with a microphotometer. The relative amounts of texture components were determined from the areas under the diffracted maxima. We found the texture of extruded aluminum wires to be strongly influenced not only by the temperature of extrusion and the purity of the sample but also by the form of the die. It is generally admitted that cold-drawn aluminum wires have mainly a (111) texture with a small amount of (001) component, Table I of Ref. 1. In our experiments with wires extruded in conditions represented by Fig. 1, in some cases a single (001) texture was obtained. If these wires were drawn repeatedly at room temperature, X-ray measurements revealed a duplex (001)-(111) fiber texture. Further drawings increased the (111) and decreased the (001) texture component. In Fig. 1 the percentage of material oriented with (001) parallel to the extrusion direction is represented as a function of the temperature and the die angle (a), for commercial and refined aluminum samples, respectively. From these diagrams we may draw the following conclusions. The slope of the die (a) influenced more strongly the texture at the lower rather than the higher temperatures. Again, a stronger influence was found in the case of the commercial in comparison with refined aluminum samples. In the case of the commercial aluminum samples the amount of material with (001) texture increases with increasing wire temperature in an approximately linear manner. This effect is less pronounced in the pure aluminum samples, with the exception of the die with a = 45 deg. In this case the (001) texture decreases with increasing temperature, as shown in Fig. 1. Component (001) is more pronounced in higher-purity aluminum samples. Our experiments led to the conclusion that both (001) and (111) components are essentially stable in extruded aluminum wires. As we obtained a single (001) texture starting with a sample of drawn wire in which the (001) component was very weak, our experiments revealed that the (001) component is not a remnant of the initial texture; this is in disagreement with the findings of Vandermeer and McHargue.1 We gratefully acknowledge discussions with Professor M. Paic. 1 R. A. Vandermeer and C. J. McHargue: Trans. 7MS-AME, 1964, vol. 230, p. 667.

Jan 1, 1969

By Frank Rieber

EVERYONE is familiar with the story of the poor Indian and his leaking tepee. He couldn't repair the leak while it was raining, naturally. And when it wasn't raining, where was the incentive? Even if this traditional Indian was apochryphal, his counterparts are certainly alive today, and operating on a world-wide scale. - A recent issue of the Wall Street Journal, for example, carried an impassioned letter from an old cocoa planter, who wants the world to know why the price of cocoa has gone skyrocketing. For years, he says, British and American interests have bought cocoa at the cheapest possible price and, incidentally, from growers willing to sell at that price. Between them, they didn't put enough money back into the business, either to fight disease in the cocoa groves or to plant new cocoa trees. Until new trees are planted and come into bearing, we will be paying exorbitant prices for our cocoa, and getting less of it.

Jan 1, 1948

By H. C. Chao, W. F. Hosford, L. H. Van Vlack

The negative "plastic Poisson's ratio" suggested in earlier studies of Mus deformation is analyzed, and the results are verified experimentally with NaCl crystals. In the early stages of deformation where the primary {110}(110) slip predominates, compression along. the [001] direction produces contraction along the lateral [011] direction plus a compensating expansion along. the [100] direction. With additional strain, the primary slip is supplemented by secondary {111}(110) slip so that the above contraction diminishes and a more typical deformation appears. THE shape change of bee and fee crystals deformed by compression or tension along [011] has been analyzed in some detail and shown to be responsible for the development of peculiar microstructures in [011] fiber textured polycrystals of these metals.1'3 This paper concerns the unusual shape change accompanying [011] compression of NaCl crystals. It is the direct outgrowth of an earlier investigation of the deformation of manganese sulfide inclusions in steel.3,4 In that investigation, cylindrical specimens of steel containing small oriented crystals of MnS were prepared by powder metallurgy and plastically compressed. The flow of the inclusions was determined relative to that of the steel by sectioning the composite and measuring the length-to-width ratio L/W of the inclusion and diameter-to-height D/H ratio of the steel cylinder on the plane of section. These L/W ratios, normalized by dividing by the initial LO/WO ratio of the inclusion, were compared with the normalized D/H ratio of the steel cylinder. Of particular interest here are the deformation characteristics of an inclusion oriented with [Oil] parallel to the compression axis. When measurements were made on sections parallel to the (100) plane of the inclusion, the L/IV ratios were only slightly in excess of unity, indicating a high apparent hardness of the [011] criented inclusion. However, measurements on a (011) plane of section resulted in L/W ratios which were much larger, Fig. 1. These observations prompted an analysis of the strains resulting from slip in an MnS crystal compressed along [011.]. CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS Manganese sulfide has the NaCl crystal structure, and the predominant slip system is {110}(110). A secondary system, {111}(110), has also been reported.= {110}(110) Slip. When a crystal is subject to a uni-axial compressive stress 011 along [011], four slip systems, (101)[101.], (101)[101.], (110)[i10], and (110) [ 110], will be equally stressed with a shear stress t = 0.2 011 while the other two {110}( 110) systems will be unstressed. The normal strain En along any reference axis n resulting from slip is given by Schmid's law: en = S COS ?in COS in ?i 111 where ?in and +in are the angles between n and the i slip direction and n and the i slip plane normal, respectively, and where ?i is the shear strain on the i slip system, For the four active slip systems above, the cos ?in cos +in terms are all equal when the reference axes are the [011] compressive axis, [011] and [ 100]. Eq. [I.] therefore reduces to en - cos ?n cos +ny [2] where y =S?i for all slip systems. Substituting the appropriate angles, Eon = 0.25? 110 eon - 0.25y110 [3] €100 = -0.50y 110 The interesting feature of Eqs. [3] is that they predict that the strains in the [011] and [011] directions, resulting from {110}(110) slip, are equal and of the same sign. Thus when a crystal is compressed along [011], it will contract along the lateral [oil] direction

Jan 1, 1967

By Lyall Zickrick

NUMEROUS brands of virgin pig lead are used in the manufacture of lead and lead-alloy cable sheath for commercial cables. In changing from one brand of pig lead to another a readjustment of press operating conditions is nearly always necessary. This is due largely to different flow characteristics, and some brands extrude at a much lower pressure than others; for example, copper-bearing lead requires much more pressure than a low-bismuth lead under the same operating conditions. With the modern type of lead press the extrusion practice in general differs very little. Molten lead at a temperature of 375° to 400° C. (710° to 750° F.) is cast in a water-cooled cylinder and allowed to cool or solidify into a slug for six to nine minutes. . This slug is forced into the die block and around the core tube through which the cable runs. The die block is held at an optimum temperature by means of gas flames, usually 175° to 225° C. (350° to 4.35° F.). Measurements of the tem¬perature of the cable sheath taken at the time of extrusion have covered a range of 190° to 225° C. (375° to 435° F.). According to Tammann, the rate of extrusion for a metal under constant pressure through a simple orifice is almost doubled for each 10° C. rise in temperature. Because of the irregularity of die-block construction, such a great increase is not obtained in lead-cable extrusion practice. To obtain more" definite information about the effect of small per¬centages of metals usually present as impurities in virgin pig lead, a series of compression tests were made covering several different brands of lead and various alloys. Since the usual temperature of the sheath is approxi¬mately 200.° C. as it emerges from the die block, these compression tests were all performed at 200° C. Five different brands of virgin pig lead were selected, as follows: Brand A: A desilverized western lead of very high purity. This lead contains neither copper nor bismuth. Brand B: A bismuth-free southeastern Missouri lead, usually con¬taining 0.05 to 0.08 per cent copper. Brand C: A copper-free mid-western desilverized lead of very good grade, usually containing around 0.06 to 0.10 per cent bismuth.

Jan 1, 1932

By John W. Weeton, Donald W. Petrasek

Relatively few metal-metal systems exist that would permit the creation of fiber-metal composites consisting of mutually insoluble constituents. It is anticipated that most high strength-to-weight ratio and high -temperature fiber composites ultimately to be produced will utilize high-strength fibers embedded in a highly alloyed matrix. An investigation was conducted to determine the effect of alloying on the tensile Properties and micro-structure of tungsten-fibey-reinforced composites. Composites were made of tungsten fibers infiltrated with copper binary alloys that contain elements of varying solubility in tungsten. Room-temperature tensile tests were made on the composites, and a metallographic study of the microstructure of the fiber-metal-matrix interfaces was conducted. It was shown that, as the depth of penetration of some alloying elements into the fiber increased, a decrease in both tensile strength and ductility of the composite results. A notch effect, due to the formation of a brittle alloy zone with the tungsten fiber, was observed and gave rise to greater reductions in tensile properties and ductility behavior than would be Predicted by a law-of-mixture relation alone. In recent years, investigators have considered combining fibrous materials with relatively weak binder materials. The interest in fiber-reinforced composites results from the fact that fibers or wires may be exceedingly strong and exhibit mechanical properties superior to those of the bulk materials from which they are derived. For example, tungsten wires drawn to less than 1 mil in diameter may have strengths of over 600,000 psi,' while steel wires ranging from 10 to 3 mils in diameter may have strengths of the order of 300,000 to over 600,000 psi.2 Both metallic and ceramic whiskers are known to have very high strengths. For example, iron whiskers have been shown to have strengths of 1.9 million psi3 and sapphire whiskers have been reported to have strengths of the order of 1.7 million psi.4 If all or part of the strengths of such fibers could be retained, subsequent to the incorporation of the fibers in an engineering material, a superior material could result. In previous work done at the Lewis Research Center, McDanels, Jech, and weeton5 demonstrated the feasibility of fabricating metal-fiber—metal-matrix composites that utilized the full strengths of the fiber and matrix materials. Tungsten fibers were combined with a copper matrix by a liquid-infiltration method such that the tungsten fibers were uniaxially oriented parallel to the tensile axis of the composite. A linear relation was established that related the tensile strength of the composite with the volume percent of the fibers. Mutually insoluble constituents were selected for the study so that the strength of the composite could be quantitatively related to the strength of the individual constituents. The fact that there are only a few metals that are mutually insoluble with tungsten, e.g., copper, silver, gold, and zinc, and that these either have low melting points, high vapor pressures, or poor oxidation resistance, makes it necessary to utilize other metals that are soluble in tungsten, where high-temperature applications are ultimately contemplated. It was anticipated that, for most practical fiber-reinforced composite materials, it would be necessary to use a fiber and metallic matrix that would have varying degrees of solubility for each other. A logical extension of the earlier work was thus felt to be a study that would determine the effects of elements that had mutual solubility with the tungsten. Numerous investigators have found that tungsten fibers may be damaged by thermal treatments or contamination of the surface of the fiber by alloying elements.6-10 On the other hand, surface treatments may improve the strength of such fibers."-" Relatively little work with composites containing tungsten fibers have been reported. The work of parikh14 has shown that kinked, short-length tungsten, steel, and molybdenum fibers could str'engthen such matrices as silver, gold, and copper. Some of the combinations of fibers and matrices studied by

Jan 1, 1964

By Walter W. R. May

FOR more than 25 years a few business men who represent virile private enterprise in the Pacific Northwest have been trying to awaken the community to the potential benefits of an open Columbia River. No threat of government com- petition then hung over the industry, which was adjusted to state regulation. Numerous sites were engineered and the findings were laid before the operators of heavy industry in the East, Middle West, and South -even of Europe. These engineering data became, if not the basis, the inspiration upon which the U. S. Army Engineers eventually were to "build the Columbia River Bible" - their great document known as House Document 103, the report on the Columbia River and minor tributaries.

Jan 1, 1940

By Arthur C. Green

A group of 13 cities situated in Los Angeles and Orange counties in Southern California is engaged in constructing an aqueduct to carry water from the Colorado River at a point near Parker, Arizona, to a distribution point near Riverside, California. The aqueduct will have a total length of approximately 241 miles, and is designed to deliver 1605 cu. ft. of water per second, or a little more than one billion gallons per day. The aqueduct crosses a barren, desert waste and the project includes approximately 91 miles of 16-ft. tunnel. The large amount of tunnel driving that has been done in this country in the past few years has resulted in some remarkable developments in equipment and methods. The building of the Colorado River Aqueduct,, with its 91 miles of tunnels, has called on the best engineering knowledge in the country. New and better equipment has been designed for all phases of the work, and this equipment has been coordinated and adapted to the various conditions with a high degree of efficiency. The result has been that records for tunnel driving have been set under adverse natural conditions that exceed the estimates for progress under good conditions. All of the tunnels in the main aqueduct, except the Valverde and Bernasconi at the western end, have a finished diameter, inside the concrete lining, of 16 ft. Fig. 4 shows a section of the tunnel with the concrete lining in place. Fig. 5 illustrates the finished tunnel in three typical sections. The standard tunnel grade is 3.432 ft. per mile in the 16-ft. tunnels, but the Valverde and Bernasconi tunnels have a steeper grade and a finished diameter of 15 ft. 3 in. The rough bore of the large main aqueduct tunnels averages 12.95 solid cubic yards of material per foot of advance in timbered sections and 10.76 solid cubic yards per foot in unsupported sections. Tunnel Driving While the Conway mucker has been used on tunnel work for years, a larger and more powerful Conway was designed to meet the require-

Jan 1, 1937

By Arnold K. Reese

It is not the purpose of the writer to set forth in these notes anything new or surprising in blast-furnace practice, but simply to lay before the Institute the somewhat unusual results obtained during a period of six consecutive months, ending April 30, 1896, at the Dover furnace of the Penn Iron and Coal Co., and to give, with these results, the conditions under which they were obtained, and all figures pertaining to that period. This plant was entirely rebuilt, on thoroughly modern and improved plans, in the spring of 1895, by Frank C. Roberts & Co., of Philadelphia.

Jan 1, 1898

(Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of, the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) Development and production. Member open for engagement. Past year in war mineral field work, operation and production. Ten years' thorough experience in both subordinate and executive positions, gold, silver and copper in the United States, Mexico, and South America. Age 37, married. Minimum salary $3600. Interview. South or East. A-577. Engineer and executive. Captain U. S. Army, age 36, expects discharge before July 1. Seven years' mining and metallurgical experience. Six years with large technical college as assistant professor of mining and directing extensive experimental work. Desires position as executive or research engineer with reliable company or as professor of mining with first-class college. A-909. Mining engineer. Twenty-five years' experience including mine and works operation, construction, plant installation, and mine examination. Speaks Spanish. A-1173. Metallurgical engineer. Twelve years' laboratory and operating experience, covering copper blast furnace, roasting, reverberatory smelting and latest Cottrell treater practice on copper dust and zinc dust. Technical graduate. 36 years of age, married. Highest recommendations. Open for immediate engagement. A-2354. Mining engineer. Junior Associate. At liberty about July 1. Captain Heavy Artillery. Single, age 24. Go anywhere. Best refer-ences. A-2843. Engineer. Age 26, single, graduate Missouri School of Mines, B. S. in Mis. Met. E. Desires position with oil or metal company in any capacity. Location immaterial. At present engaged, desires change. A-2844.

Jan 7, 1919

By D. Hanson

Fox most of their practical applications metals are required to with-stand stresses of appreciable magnitude: indeed, it is because they possess the quality of resisting stress without becoming permanently deformed that they find such extensive use in the service of man. Metals and alloys must, in service, usually behave as elastic substances-or nearly so. It is not difficult to satisfy this condition at ordinary temperatures. Iron and its alloys, especially the steels, are at normal temperatures excellent elastic bodies, capable of satisfying most of the mechanical requirements of the engineer: where electrical, chemical or other properties are impor-tant, which cannot be met by steels, it is usually possible to find a non-ferrous alloy such as nickel, copper or aluminum, which will prove satisfactory. When the metals or alloys are not inherently sufficiently elastic, cold-working or heat-treatment may develop elastic properties to a sufficient extent for practical needs. By means of relatively simple, rapid tests we can measure such properties as elastic modulus, limit of proportionality and proof stress, upon which design can be based with confidence. The case of the soft metals, such as lead and tin, is well known to be exceptional. They possess no definite limit of elasticity, and the value of proof stress or tensile strength depends to a great extent on the speed with which the test is carried out. Design here must be based on other considerations than a well-established theory of the proportionality of stress and strain. It is now generally recognized that steels and non-ferrous alloys possess at temperatures not greatly exceeding that of the atmosphere, characteristics quite different from those existing at ordinary temperatures, and that they assume qualities similar to those of the soft metals. Not only have they no limit of elasticity, but the proof stress and the ultimate stress depend on the time of application of the load. Flow under load may persist for long periods of time, possibly indefinitely, and the determination of a true maximum stress becomes a matter of great difficulty.

Jan 1, 1939

By Donald H. McLaughlin

PRICES paid for goods and services in paper currencies are undoubtedly determined by many interrelated factors, but among them none is more specific in pushing prices toward higher and higher levels than the vast increase in debts and monetary obligations of our own and practically all major governments. There is nothing unorthodox in the situation in which the gold miners find themselves today. With wages and the prices of all materials required in the production of gold at the high levels characteristic of a period of prosperity, phony or otherwise, and with shortages of both men and machinery to contend with as well, the spread between the returns in paper dollars that must be accepted for gold in the United States and the cost of producing it is rather painfully small for most producers. Technical

Jan 1, 1948

By H. l. Burghoff, J. S. Porter

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the effect of cold-working and annealing treatments upon the occurrence of preferred orientation in annealed brass wire. The subject has received less consideration than has the same phenomenon in annealed brass sheet or strip, and perhaps very properly so in view of the obvious and undesired results obtained in the forming or drawing of strip having preferred orientation, which results are in contrast with the lack of any spectacular visual evidence in wire. The factors of cold-working and annealing that control preferredness in strip are naturally expected to function similarly in wire. Indeed, one might expect the condition to be commoner in annealed wire, because the severity of the cold-working between anneals in commercial Practice is usually much greater for wire than for strip. For example, a wire that is to be finished in the annealed condition on a diameter of 0.040 in. is commonly subjected to a final reduction of 90 per cent between the last two anneals, the large reduction being accomplished in the successive drafts of a multiple-die machine. Wire for rivets, for instance, on 0.125-in. diameter, although given a slight reduction of about Io per cent after the final anneal, may have been given a prior reduction of 75 to 80 per cent. Barrettl states the fiber axis of annealed 70-30 brass wire to be [111], with some indication of [IOO] as a secondary fiber axis. Croft and Sachs2 have reported briefly on some differences in brass wire with random and with preferred orientations. They showed statistical plots of the twin-band angles with respect to the wire axis or direction of drawing as observed on an axial plane. They also pointed out that the resistance of the wire to corrosion-cracking when externally stressed and exposed to a mercurous nitrate solution decreased as the degree of the preferred orientation increased. Material and PRocedure All the wire for the investigation was processed from one portion as cut for extrusion from a cast billet of the following analysis: 70.13 per cent copper; 0.01 lead; 0.01 iron; 0.02, nickel; 29.83 zinc (by difference). The billet section, 8 in, in diameter, was extruded hot to 3/4-in. diameter, after which it was processed by alternate cold-drawing and annealing treatments as indicated in Fig. I. The earliest anneals in process were at about 1100°F. and the next to the last reductions by drawing were 58 per cent. The diameter of the finally annealed wire was 0.132 in. Semifinal anneals were at 800°F., 950°F. and 1100°F. and reductions of 47.5, 74, 83.5 and 89.5 per cent were employed in drawing to 0.132 in. The final anneals were at 87s°F., 1050°F. and 1250°F. and were

Jan 1, 1944

By H. l. Burghoff, J. S. Porter

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the effect of cold-working and annealing treatments upon the occurrence of preferred orientation in annealed brass wire. The subject has received less consideration than has the same phenomenon in annealed brass sheet or strip, and perhaps very properly so in view of the obvious and undesired results obtained in the forming or drawing of strip having preferred orientation, which results are in contrast with the lack of any spectacular visual evidence in wire. The factors of cold-working and annealing that control preferredness in strip are naturally expected to function similarly in wire. Indeed, one might expect the condition to be commoner in annealed wire, because the severity of the cold-working between anneals in commercial Practice is usually much greater for wire than for strip. For example, a wire that is to be finished in the annealed condition on a diameter of 0.040 in. is commonly subjected to a final reduction of 90 per cent between the last two anneals, the large reduction being accomplished in the successive drafts of a multiple-die machine. Wire for rivets, for instance, on 0.125-in. diameter, although given a slight reduction of about Io per cent after the final anneal, may have been given a prior reduction of 75 to 80 per cent. Barrettl states the fiber axis of annealed 70-30 brass wire to be [111], with some indication of [IOO] as a secondary fiber axis. Croft and Sachs2 have reported briefly on some differences in brass wire with random and with preferred orientations. They showed statistical plots of the twin-band angles with respect to the wire axis or direction of drawing as observed on an axial plane. They also pointed out that the resistance of the wire to corrosion-cracking when externally stressed and exposed to a mercurous nitrate solution decreased as the degree of the preferred orientation increased. Material and PRocedure All the wire for the investigation was processed from one portion as cut for extrusion from a cast billet of the following analysis: 70.13 per cent copper; 0.01 lead; 0.01 iron; 0.02, nickel; 29.83 zinc (by difference). The billet section, 8 in, in diameter, was extruded hot to 3/4-in. diameter, after which it was processed by alternate cold-drawing and annealing treatments as indicated in Fig. I. The earliest anneals in process were at about 1100°F. and the next to the last reductions by drawing were 58 per cent. The diameter of the finally annealed wire was 0.132 in. Semifinal anneals were at 800°F., 950°F. and 1100°F. and reductions of 47.5, 74, 83.5 and 89.5 per cent were employed in drawing to 0.132 in. The final anneals were at 87s°F., 1050°F. and 1250°F. and were

Jan 1, 1944

[JOSEPHSON, W. G.: The Argonaut Mine of Today, M88, 475 JOUET, C. H., biography, M29, 258 Joule-Thompson effect, 98, 381 JOWETT, J. H., biography, M83, 276 JUDSON, S. A.: Operations in the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana for 1926, G26, 659 JUDSON, S. A., EASTON, H. D. JR. AND SCHAEFFER. W. A. JR.: Estimation of Petroleum Reserves in Prorated Fields 114, 11. Abs., YB35, 50 JULIHN, C. E.: Copper---An Example of Advancing Technology and the Utilization of Low-grade Ores. Brookings Lecture, in Mineral Economics (1931 volume, B. W. Mudd Fund)]

Jan 1, 1936

By John D. Ridge

For mining geologists, the most important trends during 1962 have been the increased concentration of the exploratory activities of American mining companies in the United States and Canada and the greater use of the combined techniques of geology, geophysics and geochemistry in searches over larger areas for wider varieties of metals and minerals. The principal reasons for these changes in approach have been the deterioration of the political-economic climate in many areas of the globe of equal or greater geologic promise and the realization that modern exploration is most efficiently and economically conducted through the use of all available means of detecting ores in areas sufficiently large to raise to a maximum the chances of success. The attitude of certain major U.S. metal-producing companies can be shown by the officially ex- pressed positions of their principal officers. Early in 1962, Clyde E. Weed, Chairman of the Board of Anaconda, remarked that "because of unsettled conditions and disruptive influences in many of the copper-producing areas of the world, it is imperative that domestic copper-producing capacity be improved and made as efficient as possible in order to meet consumer demands at reasonably stable prices." In November, Robert G. Page, President of Phelps Dodge, pointed out that his company is not only concentrating most of its exploratory effort on this continent but is also increasing the number of metals for which it is searching. Frank R. Milliken, President of Kennecott, recently said that "most of our exploration money is going into the northern part of the Western Hemisphere."

Jan 2, 1963

By JOHN A. FULTON

THE Comstock Lode is in Storey County, Nevada, and extends in a north and south direction through the towns of Virginia City and Gold Hill, with a total length of 4.27 miles. Its mines have produced silver and gold to a known value exceeding $400,- 000,000 since 1859, when the work first began. More than $126.000,000 was paid in dividends by the mining companies, although much more than this was probably realized from the ore, because many milling companies were independent companies owned by the directors and superintendents of the mines. The milling companies' contracts called for an extraction of only 65 per cent and, as much of the ore was worth $100 a ton and up- ward, they must have recovered substantial amounts for their own accounts over and above this guarantee. Gold was discovered in the spring of 1850 by a party of Normons bound for California. The discovery was made at the mouth of Gold canyon near Dayton, on the Carson River, about 10 miles south of Virginia City.

Jan 1, 1929

By James H. Bechtold

The yield strength of annealed tungsten was found to have a strain rate exponent 12 times as great as that of low carbon steel. The effects of temperature and strain rate could be correlated through the Zener-Hollomon parameter with a heat of activation associated with yielding of 32,000 cal per g-atom. This heat of activation is independent of strain although both the temperature and strain rate dependence of the yield strength vary with strain. MOST metals have mechanical properties that are relatively insensitive to strain rate, especially at temperatures below that at which creep is important. In iron and molybdenum," however, relatively large strain rate effects are observed in the temperature range where the rapid increase in yield strength occurs which leads to the ductile to brittle transition. In this temperature range Zener and Hollomon' have suggested that the effects of strain rate and temperature T on the yield strength could be correlated through a single parameter, P, in the following manner where Q is a heat of activation characteristic of the metal and associated with some unspecified relaxation process. They also observed that if the temperature is restricted to a relatively narrow range— below room temperature for steel—that the logarithm of the yield strength could be expressed as a linear function of the logarithm of P. From this relation the logarithm of stress should be a linear function of the logarithm of the strain rate at constant temperature: where r will be referred to herein as the strain rate exponent. At a constant strain rate the logarithm of stress should be a linear function of l/T, ay(e = C) ~ eT [4] where q = Qr [5] and is referred to herein as the temperature exponent. These equations have been found to relate the effects of temperature and strain rate on the yield strength of molybdenum in the temperature range wherein the ductile to brittle transition occurs, —75° to +150°C.2 Bechtold and Shewmon3 have shown recently that the ductile to brittle transition in annealed tungsten occurs in the temperature range +150° to +350°C. In this temperature range the yield strength in-

Jan 1, 1957

By Harold Vance

The Lafitte field, the largest oil reserve in South Louisiana, is in Jefferson Parish, some 25 miles due south of the City of New Orleans. The discovery well, The Texas Company's No. I, Louisiana Land and Exploration Co., in the southeast corner of sec. 19, T. 17 S., R. 24 E., was completed on May 15, 1935. The initial production of this well was 960 bbl. of 34.9º A.P.I, gravity oil per day, through 1/4-in. choke, with a tubing pressure of 1600 lb. per sq. in. Producing depth was 9558 to 9572 ft., the total depth being 9572 feet. The development of the field has been at the rate of three to eight new producing wells per year. Up to Jan. I, 1944, 60 producing wells and three dry holes had been drilled, while two of the original producing wells had been abandoned, Although the field is not unitized, The Texas Company was the sole operator in the field until the Lafitte Oil Co. completed its NO. I Jefferson Parish, near the center of the west line of the NW/4 sec. 20, T. I7 S., R. 24 E., on July 27, 1941. No additional wells have been drilled by the Lafitte Oil Company. Drilling and WeLl-completion Practices All drilling operations have been conducted with the steam-driven rotary equipment mounted on submersible barges. A canal is dug to the well location and the drilling unit is floated into position. The seacocks are then opened and the barge settles to the bottom. After the well is completed, seacocks are closed and water is pumped out of the barge. This procedure permits the barge, with drilling equipment still in place, to be floated and moved off the location. The conventional open-hole and the gun-perforation method of completing wells has been used in this field. Where possible, the initial completion is from the deepest 'sand and recompletions are made progressively up the hole, by plugging back with cement to the upper sand and gun-perforating opposite the new sand. The oil string usually is 7 5/8 in., 26 to 34-lb. casing. Three wells have been completed using 9 5/8-in. 44-lb casing set below 10.000 feet. Fig. I shows the completion and recom-pletion practices on one well in the field. This figure also shows the relative locations of the different producing sands as shown on the electric well log. Structure The structure is an elongated dome, cut by two north-south faults, which divides the field into three segments. The west segment is the highest structurally and contains most of the recoverable oil and gas. The center segment is less important and the east segment is of little value. Figs. 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are depth contour maps on top of the five main producing sands in the field. These maps show the relative size of the five reservoirs and the

Jan 1, 1945

By Oliver Bowles

THE most important non-metallic mineral industries from a tonnage standpoint are those that are allied with the construction industries and are engaged in handling sand and gravel, crushed stone, building stone, cement, lime and gypsum. The greatest problem facing a number of these industries at this time is over-production. They have experienced un- usual, and in some instances phenomenal, growth during recent years, stinlulated by extensive highway and building construction, but in some localities expansion of producing plants has far outstripped industrial needs. The cement industry is operating at about two- thirds capacity. Over-production tends toward price- cutting and unprofitable and interrupted operation, involving maintenance expenses for idle plants and disorganization of working forces. This condition has encouraged active efforts toward reducing production costs by the introduction of labor-saving equipment. Also, there is a tendency toward the location of manufacturing plants, wherever possible, near the centers of consumption rather than at points of production of raw materials. In order to reduce overhead expense, or for other reasons, many consolidations of companies into larger units have taken place. An economic study of conditions in these industries is highly desirable. The U. S. Bureau of Mines has taken one step forward in this direction in the issuance of Economic Paper 7, entitled "Economics of New Sand and Gravel Developments." Briefly, this report emphasizes the importance of making a thorough study of all the economic factors involved before undertaking new .enterprises.

Jan 1, 1930

By ERJIINICI FERRARIS

1. HISTORICAL REVIEW AND INTRODUCTION. THE development of the mining industry in Sardinia dates from the application of the minim law of 1859, which, following the example of the French mining law of 1810, declared prospecting to be free, and suppressed the liens which had previously attached the mine to surface ownership. The first ore-dressing plants were installed by German engineers upon the classic models of the Harz and of Freiberg; but in 1880 Sardinia commenced to open a new path in that industry, utilizing the refuse from the mining of rich, selected minerals, of poor deposits, and of mixed ores. The first experiments were attempts to adapt the existing apparatus to local conditions, but progress was rapid, as was demonstrated already in 1887 by the calamine-dressing-mill of Monteponi, which exhibited a large plant designed in accordance with the experience gained, and constructed entirely in the machine-shops of the country, after new models and designs.1 This example was followed two years later by the Société Malfidano, with a large plant of the same sort, and with the reconstruction of the old-fashioned-dressing-mill, built in 1880 by the Austro-Belgian Company. In 1900, almost all the mines of Sardinia had adopted the new designs, and the island contained 32 concentrating-works, employing 2,000 h.p. and 1,924 workmen. Since that time, there have been added a large dressing-mill for blende at Gennamari, and two for calamine, at San Giovanni and at Masua, while the establishments at other mines have been enlarged and perfected. For the treatment of intimately mixed ores, a large establishment has been built upon the new

Jan 5, 1908