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By Joseph E. Pogue

FOR a number of years the petroleum department of The Chase National Bank has been making a continuing study of the financial aspects of thirty oil companies. (See Pogue and Coqueron, "Financial Analysis of Thirty Oil Companies," pamphlet, The Chase National Bank, November 1945, for data covering eleven years, 1934-1944, and the list of the companies making up the group. See also "Capital Employed in the Petroleum Industry," by the same authors, M&M, November 1944.1 This group represents a large sample of theAmerican petroleum industry, covering about two thirds of the business. Certain aspects of this study concern the capital employed in crude oil production, the main features of which arc presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 1946

By WALTER M. DAKE

WITH the renewal of the contract between bituminous miners and operators, whereby a period of three years is assured without the devastating effect of irregularity of operation due to general strikes; and, with the increasing comprehension on the part of the large consumers as to the stabilizing effect of adequate storage upon prices; the coal industry has reached that period of its history in which permanence of purpose towards necessary changes is being crystallized, and these changes accomplished by the industry. It is to be hoped that during this era the phrase- " Our National Coal Problem "-will be relegated to the limbo of' antiquated expressions. That this epoch is upon us is evinced by the fact that operators are turning to consolidations, whereby financially sound companies will acquire smaller production units and place themselves in position to maintain constant supervision and control of their development and output; and, as further proof of the arrival of these changes, may be cited the entrance of additional members of the engineering profession into the many phases of management and operation, where- by the cost per ton of output will be, constantly reduced through the increasing use of modern methods and equipment. As an instance, attention is specifically called to the developments in mechanical loading, proposed and actual continuous underground transportation systems and betterment in methods of preparation.

Jan 1, 1924

By Alexander Squire

One of the principal factors that have contributed to the hesitancy of design engineers to use metal-powder parts is the difficulty experienced in the determination of the mechanical properties of compacted components. Because standard test methods cannot usually be applied in the inspection of such parts, and because adequate special test methods have not been developed, it has been considered desirable to investigate the methods that are applicable. These may then be included in specifications for metal-powder materials and components in order that the design engineer may be assured that the subject parts possess the desired mechanical properties for satisfactory performance. It is known that direct relationships exist between usually nonmeasurable properties as tensile strength and elongation and shear strength and the angle through which compacts may be plastically deformed before fracturing. These correlations are valuable in the inspection of specific parts, but it is necessary to set up standards before they may be satisfactorily employed. Apart from the use of correlations, the number and character of the inspection methods that are applicable to almost all powder parts is limited to three—chemical analysis, density, and hardness. The last of these may or may not be a pertinent characteristic, since the indentation hardness of many powdeied-metal materials is so low as to have little significance. It is, however, occasionally desirable to use hardness measurements as an indication of the uniformity of the structure of pieces of a given type. Chemical analysis reveals very little about the physical properties of metal-powder compacts, since the unpressed powder is usually of a composition almost identical with that of the finished pieces. Density determinations are simple to perform and have the advantage of being nondestructive in character. If the dimensions of a machine part are known (and usually they are), the average density may be determined by weighing a given number of pieces and dividing by the calculated volume of the parts. More accurate measurements may be made by the water-displacement method. It is recognized that mechanical properties of metal-powder materials are related to their density, but usually these relations are determined for only one type of powder, processed under a given set of conditions. Comparisons of the pioperties of compacts formed from different types of powders are made on the basis of compacting pressures instead of density, and for this reason the results obtained by using powders of different types appear widely variant.

Jan 1, 1947

By Alexander Squire

One of the principal factors that have contributed to the hesitancy of design engineers to use metal-powder parts is the difficulty experienced in the determination of the mechanical properties of compacted components. Because standard test methods cannot usually be applied in the inspection of such parts, and because adequate special test methods have not been developed, it has been considered desirable to investigate the methods that are applicable. These may then be included in specifications for metal-powder materials and components in order that the design engineer may be assured that the subject parts possess the desired mechanical properties for satisfactory performance. It is known that direct relationships exist between usually nonmeasurable properties as tensile strength and elongation and shear strength and the angle through which compacts may be plastically deformed before fracturing. These correlations are valuable in the inspection of specific parts, but it is necessary to set up standards before they may be satisfactorily employed. Apart from the use of correlations, the number and character of the inspection methods that are applicable to almost all powder parts is limited to three—chemical analysis, density, and hardness. The last of these may or may not be a pertinent characteristic, since the indentation hardness of many powdeied-metal materials is so low as to have little significance. It is, however, occasionally desirable to use hardness measurements as an indication of the uniformity of the structure of pieces of a given type. Chemical analysis reveals very little about the physical properties of metal-powder compacts, since the unpressed powder is usually of a composition almost identical with that of the finished pieces. Density determinations are simple to perform and have the advantage of being nondestructive in character. If the dimensions of a machine part are known (and usually they are), the average density may be determined by weighing a given number of pieces and dividing by the calculated volume of the parts. More accurate measurements may be made by the water-displacement method. It is recognized that mechanical properties of metal-powder materials are related to their density, but usually these relations are determined for only one type of powder, processed under a given set of conditions. Comparisons of the pioperties of compacts formed from different types of powders are made on the basis of compacting pressures instead of density, and for this reason the results obtained by using powders of different types appear widely variant.

Jan 1, 1947

By E. R. MARBLE

THE introduction of a new fuel, such as natural gas, necessitates careful study where it has not been used previously. At the El Paso smelter natural gas required the installation of apparatus with which no one at the plant was familiar, either as to the type of equipment needed or as to the burning of the gas in it. Observation of existing installations of a similar character and assistance from gas engineers served as a basis to determine what was advisable to use. The gas line entering the plant goes to a metering station equipped with a duplicate system of pressure regulators, a temperature recorder and the gas company and smelter orifice meters in tandem. There are three distribution lines that can be inter-connected at a later date, if necessary, to assist in equalizing the plant load. All the larger lines are of heavy

Jan 1, 1930

By J. M. Callow

THE results obtained by pneumatic flotation throughout the country on all classes of ore, and. the tonnage now being treated by this particular method, speak for themselves. Its advantages over the so-called agitation process are now established by facts and data from practice. The comparative efficiency of a rapidly revolving paddle, as a means for aerating an ore pulp, and of a cycloidal or turbine blower for the same purpose, would seem to be so obvious as to leave no room for discussion. Practitioners in this art are to be congratulated on the acquisition of the valuable literary contributions that have recently been made on the theory of. flotation by Messrs. Ralston, Van Arsdale, Taggart and Beach, and others, and the very valuable and able articles, by Messrs. Laist and Wiggin on "Flotation Concentration at Anaconda, Mont.," by, Dr. Rudolf Gahl- on the "History of Flotation at Inspiration," and by David Cole on "The Advent of Flotation in the Morenci District." It is not within the province of this article to attempt an answer to the various issues raised in regard to the theory, or to defend the one advanced by me a year ago. But since discussion usually benefits the profession, a reply will be made to some of the statements made by the last-named writers. COMPARATIVE SENSITIVENESS AND ATTENDANCE Concerning 'the article, "Flotation Concentration at Anaconda, Mont.," by Laist and Wiggin, a little explanation is in order. It should be stated that; with the exception of about 24 days at the end of the testing 'period, the Callow experimental plant at Anaconda was not run under my direction. This perhaps accounts for some of the conclusions drawn on page 562 of the descriptive paper. The conclusion that the use of acid seems to be of considerable advantage, calls, for some comment. While the tests conducted by the Anaconda Copper Co. do show acid to be, of considerable benefit, this is a consequence of using acid sludge as a flotation agent. My belief has always been that the Anaconda

Jan 2, 1917

US 4,134,618-Method for restoring an underground reservoir subsequent to the solution mining of an ore body of uranium, copper, nickel, vanadium, molybdenum, silver, rhenium, or selenium. Clean water a cycled through the mined area, via the injection and production wells used during mining, at a flow rate sufficient to entrain residual dissolved solids. The solids are separated at the surface and disposed of, e g., in a deep disposal well, while clarified water is recycled C A. Kossack, assigned to Atlantic Richfield Co. Jan 16, 1979 4 pp. (299-5) Filed. 12-29-77 (865,646) US 4,155,982-In situ leaching of a subterranean uranium ore deposit The ore is leached with a dilute aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate containing a small amount of hydrogen peroxide in order first to convert tetravalent uranium in the ore to the hexavalent state and second to dissolve the hexavalent uranium preferentially to the other metals or elements commonly occurring In such ore The uranium- enriched leach liquor IS brought to the surface, and the uranium recovered by means of adsorption on a particulate ion exchange resin, elution with an acid, and treatment with ammonia to precipitate relatively pure ammonium diuranate. G G. Hunkin, T P. Fife, and J R Stano, assigned to Wyoming Mineral Corp. May 22, 1979. 13 pp (423-7). Filed: 10- 9-74 (51 3,445). Same: Canadian 1,027,849, dated Mar. 14, 1978. US 4,157,847-In the mining of sulfur by the Frasch process hot water accumulating above subterranean sulfur from previous mining operations is recycled downward to contact and heat additional solid subterranean sulfur. Advantageously, pressurized and superheated drive water from above ground is commingled with the underground water to raise its temperature before it is recycled downward R. L Williams, R L Latiolais, J. L Gabriel, and R. L Bouis, assigned to Freeport Minerals Co June 12, 1979. 13 pp (299- 6) Filed 7-28-77 (81 9,879). US 4,158,76%1n this method for determining the uranium content of a solution obtained in the solution mining of an underground uranium ore deposit, the intensity of gamma radiation from the Th-234 daughter of U-238 emitted by the solution is determined as it impinges on a scintillator after being passed successively through filter foils of a ytterbium- tin alloy, a lutecium-tin alloy, and a hafnium-zirconium alloy This scintillation is evaluated as a measure of the uranium content To assure that the uranium-thorium conversion has reached a stable state, the measurement should be made about three months after the uranium solution has been produced R C Smith, assigned to Westinghouse Electric Corp. June 19, 1979 11 pp. (250-255). Filed. 10-20-77 (843,770).

Jan 1, 1980

By T. M. Broderick

InveStIgations into the possibilities of economically mining and concentrating low-grade iron ores of the Lake Superior region are attracting increasing attention. Among the organizations that are carrying on the work are the United States Bureau of Mines, the State of Minnesota (which spends about $80,000 annually on problems of the iron and ferroalloy ores of Minnesota), and the State of Michigan (which spends about $10,000 annually of its iron-ore research). Several of the mining companies are also financing research. Of the states in the Lake Superior district, Minnesota has done most in iron-ore concentration. In 1930, thirty-seven concentrating plants were in operation on the Mesabi Range, beneficiating about one-third of the total ore shipped. About one-half of these plants reduced silica; the others reduced moisture or improved the structure of the ore.' Research into the possibilities of magnetic concentration of the Eastern Mesabi magnetite ores indicates that vast tonnages of that ore may be utilized at a profit in the not distant future. Magnetic concentration has also been tried at Sellwood, Ontario, on the Moose Mountain deposit, and at the Berkshire mine in Wisconsin on the magnetic ores of the Western Gogebic Range. There have been few attempts to concentrate Michigan iron ores. In order to determine the possibilities of such concentration, iron-ore research has been carried on at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology for the past few years. After a general survey of the iron ores of the state, a program of more detailed experimentation was outlined, starting with work on the Ironwood formation of the Gogebic Range. The results of this research led to the belief that gravity methods will produce fairly satisfactory concentrates from the parts of the iron formation that are made up of comparatively thick alternating beds of rather high-grade ore and lean chert. About 85 per cent of the iron and steel produced in the United States comes from ores of the Lake Superior district. The reserves of direct

Jan 1, 1935

By T. M. Broderick

InveStIgations into the possibilities of economically mining and concentrating low-grade iron ores of the Lake Superior region are attracting increasing attention. Among the organizations that are carrying on the work are the United States Bureau of Mines, the State of Minnesota (which spends about $80,000 annually on problems of the iron and ferroalloy ores of Minnesota), and the State of Michigan (which spends about $10,000 annually of its iron-ore research). Several of the mining companies are also financing research. Of the states in the Lake Superior district, Minnesota has done most in iron-ore concentration. In 1930, thirty-seven concentrating plants were in operation on the Mesabi Range, beneficiating about one-third of the total ore shipped. About one-half of these plants reduced silica; the others reduced moisture or improved the structure of the ore.' Research into the possibilities of magnetic concentration of the Eastern Mesabi magnetite ores indicates that vast tonnages of that ore may be utilized at a profit in the not distant future. Magnetic concentration has also been tried at Sellwood, Ontario, on the Moose Mountain deposit, and at the Berkshire mine in Wisconsin on the magnetic ores of the Western Gogebic Range. There have been few attempts to concentrate Michigan iron ores. In order to determine the possibilities of such concentration, iron-ore research has been carried on at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology for the past few years. After a general survey of the iron ores of the state, a program of more detailed experimentation was outlined, starting with work on the Ironwood formation of the Gogebic Range. The results of this research led to the belief that gravity methods will produce fairly satisfactory concentrates from the parts of the iron formation that are made up of comparatively thick alternating beds of rather high-grade ore and lean chert. About 85 per cent of the iron and steel produced in the United States comes from ores of the Lake Superior district. The reserves of direct

Jan 1, 1935

By J. L. Huiatt, G. M. Potter, R. B. Tippin

The US Bureau of Mines and Great Salt Lake Minerals and Chemical Corp. have developed a froth flotation process for concentrating potassium salts from Great Salt Lake solar evaporites containing about 6% K2O. The crude evaporites, which were predominately halite (NaCl) with smaller amounts of kainite (KCl.MgS0, 2.7Hp0) and schoenite KeS0,MgS04.6H,0), were conditioned in a saturated brine solution., thus converting nonfloatable kainite to the floatable mineral schoenite. Schoenite was then selectively floated with a medium-molecular-weight fatty acid. Continuous small-scale pilot-plant testing indicated that 80% of the potassium could be recovered from the crude evaporites in flotation concentrates assaying about 13% K2O.

Jan 1, 1976

By B. K. Larkin, H. R. Bailey

A model Of heat flow in an underground combustion process is studied. This model includes convection effects and thus is more general than previous studies which considered conduction as the only mechanistn for heat transfer. Both linear (tube run) and radial (field application) geometries are considered. The effects of ignition heaters, vertical losses and finite source width are considered for the linear case. The results are in the form of equations and are presented in graphical form for a number of cases. Convection effects increase frontal temperatures about 25 per cent over those computed for conductive transfer for typical field operating conditions. This increase in temperature is a result of heat being transported toward the front by the injection gas. Even greater temperature increases are realized as the per cent oxygen in the injection gas decreases. It is well known that compression costs are of considerable importance in estimating the economic feasibility of underground combustion. By assuming an ignition temperature for the combustion fuel, predictions of limiting conditions on fuel density and injection rate necessary to sustain the combustion zone are made. For typical field conditions, at least 0.75 lb/cu ft of fuel are needed with air as the injection gas. If the injection gas is 10 per cent oxygen and 90 per cent nitrogen, this figure is 0.69 lb/cu ft. INTRODUCTION The possibility of increasing oil recovery by underground combustion has been considered for many years. Recent field tests indicate that the underground combustion process is technically feasible. The economic feasibility depends to a large extent on the amount of air which must be injected to sustain combustion. Prediction of the success of employing underground combustion in a particular reservoir must be based on existing field tests, laboratory tube runs"' and solutions of mathematical or analog models. Vogel and Krueger5 devised an electrical analog of the heat transfer problem in an underground combus-ion process. They considered the problem of heat conduction from a cylindrical source with increasing radius assuming no vertical losses. Bailey and Larkin and Ramey solved the corresponding problem including vertical losses by considering a mathematical model of the conduction process. Ref. 9, 10 and 11 also present information related to the subject study. The present paper generalizes these results to include both conduction and convection mechanisms for heat flow. A model of the conduction-convection process is described. The partial differential equations governing this model are written and solved for a number of cases of interest. The formulas are evaluated and the results are presented graphically. A CONDUCTION-CONVECTION MODEL Description of the Model A number of models are employed in this paper, each of which approximate a particular physical situation depending on the geometry, i.e., linear or radial flow, the type of vertical heat losses, the nature of the source, etc. The geometry for both the linear and radial case is shown in Fig. 1. A particular linear model is described in this section, and variations from this model are described in later sections of the paper. Consider a homogeneous, semi-infinite porous prism with lateral sides insulated as shown in Fig. 1. The left end, x = 0, is heated for a time t, with a plane heater supplying a constant heat flux and during this time; gas (nitrogen) is passed through the pores of the prism at a constant mass flux. At time t, the heater is turned off and air is injected in place of the nitrogen. This causes combustion to take place, and a uniform source of width 1 is formed which moves at a constant velocity v, to the right. The frontal velocity v, is related to the gas velocity v,, through stoichiometric considerations

By Edward Hanrahan

September 1981 I'm here today to report on a revolution -- a revolution in the way the Federal Government looks at energy. I'm not talking about a simple change in the relative emphasis on sources -- such as more recognition for coal and nuclear power, with less rhetoric about "soft- technology." Nor am I describing a mere change in focus -- from the demand side to the supply side. And I am not referring exclusively to our obvious goal of budget cuts. No, I'm here to discuss a fundamental change in Federal direction -- one that started as soon as President Reagan was inaugurated, and one that is articulated in the National Energy Policy Plan he sent to Congress in July. That brief policy document was backed up by three volumes of supporting data; but I think I can catch it's flavor for you in just three phrases: * First, various energy forms complete with each other and complement one another. * Second, fair competition among them (which includes honest pricing) will give us the best "energy mix." • And, finally there may be ligitimate arguments about where Federal responsibility in regard to energy spills over into Federal interference; but it's about time we drew the distinction -- and eliminated the latter. This Administration's national energy policy is quite different from any we have had in recent years. It is tuned to human nature and changing times. We are seeking the best practical solutions in the energy -a lot better than the ones we have been offered before, but still something less than perfection. One way we do that is by counting on a fully informed public to guide it's own destiny. And, instead of treating energy as an isolated entity, we recognize it as part of the overall economy. The President's Program for Economic Recovery is as much a factor in energy policy as the specific actions of the Department of Energy. One striking difference from the past energy policy 1s that this policy plan does not say: "In 1985 we will -produce so many hundreds of millions of tons of coal: . . . or . . . "By the end of this century the Nation will be deriving X percent of it's electricity from wind generators." Unfortunately, targets like these are what many people have come to expect from the Federal Government -- and what they think of as energy policy, whether the figures hold up in the long run or not. But . . . think about it! Nether the Department of Energy nor any other part of the Federal Government produces coal, or mines uranium, or manufactures solar collectors. There are only a few sections of the country where the Federal Government generates and sells electricity. So it does not take any great insight to recognize that the amount of energy we will produce or consume as a Nation In the future depends on many factors beyond direct government action. And those future totals cannot be predicted precisely, anyway -- by the Government or by anybody else. According to our way of thinking, the choices should be up to the people. When the free market works within a healthy economy, individuals express their preferences in the marketplace -- adjusting the balance of all energy factors continually in a way that no computer could be programmed to reflect perfectly. So, instead of having the Government issue a rigid set of numerical goals, our main concern simply is that there be enough energy. We want the Nation itself to decide how much that should be, what form it should take, and how that energy should reach consumers. The marketplace decides. Considering the recent past, this is indeed a revolutionary idea. It has some pitfalls, and we won't reach this ideal of free choice overnight. But that is where we are headed. And I'll offer some evidence in a few minutes that the policy has already started working. First, let me give you some of it's highlights: 1) Nobody who appreciates the philosophical underpinnings of this Administration will be surprised that the energy policy shows faith In domestic energy production and the supply side of the economy; but it also recognizes the important role of energy conservation -- the wise and efficient use of energy resources.

Jan 1, 1982

By S. B. Christy

The fact that many millions of gold have been extracted by the cyanide process, during the last five or six years, from South African tailings which could not be profitably worked by any other method previously tried upon them, lends a peculiar practical interest to this branch' of metallurgy. Numerous writers have recently made valuable contributions on the process without exhausting the many complexities of the subject. Among the first American writers on the subject in its modern aspect were two former students of the University of California, Mr. Louis Janin, Jr., and Mr. Charles Butters. Young Janin was one of the first to enter this field, and performed much useful experimental work in the early stages of the history of the process. At about the same time, Mr. Charles Butters, who had left California to erect chlorination works for the Robinson mine at Johannesburg, became interested in the cyanide process, and, after getting the chlorination plant in working order, put up, for working the tailings from the Robinson mine, a cyanide plant which achieved the first large-scale success ever made with this process. The papers which Charles Butters, together with John E. Clennell and Edgar Smart, have contributed on the chemistry of the process, were among the first to give any adequate idea of its nature.* Another important contribution to the literature of the subject is the paper of Dr. A. Scheidell, published in 1894 as a " Bulletin of the California State Mining Bureau." This contains an admirable summary of the state of the art at the time of its publication.

Jan 1, 1897

By S. R. Gilbert, B. W. Burdett, L. B. Hales

A brief review of grinding control systems is given with a review of the most popularly reported control loops. The trend toward more sophisticated control systems in terms of control strategies and control equipment is discussed, and the reasons for the popularity of distributed control equipment are outlined. The evolution of the interface between the operator and the process and its importance in plant control is described. Finally, the authors' view is given as to the future of grinding control.

Jan 1, 1984

By Jay F. Smith

The Alan Wood BOF Shop consists of two 140 ton furnaces with a rated yearly capacity of 1-1/4 million ingot tons, he hot metal for the BOF Shop is supplied by two 18 foot blast furnaces which produce an average of 2000 tons per day, To achieve the rated ingot ton capacity with this limited supply of hot metal, the preheating of scrap is necessary. This is accomplished in the furnace by using an oxygen-natural gas burner. Piping Arrangement The natural gas and oxygen are piped into the Shop through 8-inch lines to their respective valving stations. As can be seen from Figure 1, the flow of natural gas passes through a flow control valve which is common to both furnaces, after which it divides into two 6-inch lines forming two identical and independent gas control lines, one for each furnace.

Jan 1, 1972

Discussion of the paper of M. B. YUNG, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting; October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 93, September, 1914, pp. 2451 to 2458. T. T. READ, New York, N. Y.-I might .point out that this paper of Mr. Yung's is on a field that is comparatively little known. It is not as well known as the Kochiu tin field, of Yunnan, which is probably the third . in tin output of the world. This field under discussion is considerably further west and the tin which is produced here is, according to Mr. Yung, of somewhat higher grade than the Yunnan tin, and is used by the refiners at Hong Kong to improve the grade of the Yunnan tin. Most of you know that the tin from the Yunnan is shipped to Hong Kong, where it is refined and shipped to Europe. Mr. Yung points out that the Fu Chuan deposits are entirely alluvial and not found in any veins. They .differ in that from the Kochiu deposits, which Leclere says are "nullement alluvionels; leur origéne filonienne est de plus evidentes." Granite is the country rock here; doubtless the tin occurred in veins in the granite, and the deposits have resulted from the disintegration of the granite. This is a country of strong erosive agencies. The country is semi-tropical, and the rainfall is heavy, so that one would naturally expect deep surface erosion of this kind.

Jan 4, 1915

By W. P. Saunders, W. R. Hibbard, G. H. Eichelman

Interest in the various products of the austenite eutectoid transformation in iron-carbon alloys, particularly as produced by the isothermal sub-critical techniques introduced by Davenport and Bain,' has resulted in the application of similar heat treatments to other eutectoid transformations. Studies o f the beta copper-aluminum alloy eutectoid transformation revealed microstructures very similar to those found in iron-carbon alloys. Investigations5t6 of the kappa phase in the copper-silicon alloy system have established the eutectoid type transformation of this phase into terminal alpha and intermediate gamma phases. This transformation has been reported5 as forming a eutectoid type structure in a very sluggish manner by a long time isothermal treatment. The purpose of the present investigation is to study the products of the kappa eutectoid transformation as affected by transformation temperatures by means of microscopic and hardness methods. Preparation of Alloys The copper-silicon alloy equilibrium diagram is shown in Fig 1. The kappa field converges to a minimum silicon solubility at the eutectoid composition and all other completely kappa alloys are hypereutec-toid. Thus, kappa decomposition involves first the proeutectoid precipitation of gamma, followed by the eutectoid transformation of a lower silicon content kappa (5.2 pct) Smith6 has indicated that alloys containing between 5.4 and 5.7 pct silicon could be hot rolled, but that the latter composition was desirable in order to permit a wider kappa temperature range. The alloy was prepared by adding Baker's commercially pure silicon to an ingot of copper-silicon alloy containing 2.34 pct silicon remaining from the investigation of Brick, Martin and Angier.' Following the casting techniques of Krynitsky, Saunders and Stern,s the ingot was melted under a heavy layer of dried charcoal in a clay-graphite crucible in a gas-fired pot furnace. Small lumps of silicon were held under thc melt surface with a graphite rod. After the silicon had dissolved, the alloy was chill-cast and then remelted without a cover, stirred thoroughly, skimmed and poured into a preheated cast iron mold. The cast microstructure is shown in Fig 2. The casting, 10 X 4 X K in., was annealed at 750°C for 21 hr and furnace cooled, About }{& in. was milled from all surfaces. The plate was cut in half longitudinally and the bottom half analyzed by A.S.T.M. and The composition by weight was as follows: copper 94.24 pct, silicon 5.56 pct, iron 0.11 pct.

Jan 1, 1949

By Dale A. Vaughan, Oliver M. Stewart, Charles M. Schwartz

A. U. Seybolt (General Electric Research Laboratory)—The authors should be commended for adding some important information to our knowledge of the solubility of interstitial elements in metals. It is becoming increasingly evident that the effect of even traces of such elements have very far-reaching effects upon the mechanical properties of the body centered cubic metals. Those who have worked in this area know that the accurate determination of the small solid solubility limits in systems of the type reported by the authors is a quite difficult task, and it is therefore not surprising that frequently the results of different workers are not in agreement. It is instructive, and usually helpful, to plot the solubility results on log weight or atomic percent -1/T coordinates to find out if a straight line is obtained. A straight line is expected because in systems displaying solubilities of the order of 1 to 3 at. pet or less, Henry's law is usually obeyed—or at least well enough obeyed so that the deviation from linearity is not very appreciable. If Henry's law is obeyed, one canthen use the Van't Hoff Equation in the form In N = ?H/RT + C, where N is mole fraction, at. pet, or wt pet for small values, and AH is the partial molal heat of solution of the solute. R and T have the usual significance, and C is an integration constant. If one plots the reported nitrogen solubility values as indicated above, the three points fall reasonably well on a straight line. The oxygen values for the two upper temperatures fall very closely to the nitrogen values as shown in the authors' Fig. 15. However, the value at 500°C departs widely from the straight line established by the data at 1500" and 1000°C. It is, of course, true that one cannot place too much emphasis on the significance of a line established by only three points, but in the absence of reasons for anticipating deviations, data exhibiting wide departures from linearity should at least be examined closely. Fig. 16 shows the log at. pct -1/T plots for the authors Ta-O and Ta-Ndata including a solid circle point at 500°C and 1.8 at. pet for Ta-O, which is simply extrapolated from the two higher temperature points. In addition, the data of R. P. Elliott9 for Nb-O are shown. These points were picked off his curve and are not very exact, but as can be seen they line up well on a straight line. It is interesting, and probably significant, that the slope of Elliott's results is not far from those of Vaughn, et al. This is probably to be expected because one would anticipate that the partial molal heats of solution of oxyten in these two very similar metals should be not too far apart. AH for Ta-O is about -1900 cal per mol, while for Nb-O it is near -2300 cal per mol. Hence, this lends some support to the thesis that the point at 500°C for Ta-O is much too high. The data of Gebhardt and Preisedanz10 are also plotted, and it is seen that their data while lying on a linear plot, have an appreciably steeper slope. The possible reasons for this will not be discussed here except to point out that their pressure-composition data show anomalies which suggest that they may have been dealing with a different equilibrium from that being discussed. There is another consideration which would also suggest that the solubility at 500°C is lower than shown. The solubility values were obtained by the classic method of first establishing a lattice parameter-composition curve. This the authors did, and there is probably little doubt that it is quite accurate. Such a plot is generally almost error-free because it has a self-correcting feature in that any deviation from linearity makes a data point immediately suspect, and subject to confirmation. Unfortunately, this is not true with respect to the actual solubility values. These are obtained ordinarily by taking an alloy containing more solute than is soluble at some temperature and then thermally

Jan 1, 1962

By Jei Y. Choi, Paul G. Shewmon

The surface self-diffusion coefficient of copper (D,) has been measured between 847° and 1069 "C for six different orientations. These were the(111), (110, (100, and three higher index surfaces. The activation energy for Ds (designated Q s) was found to be about 49 kcal per mol for all six surfaces, and Do about 2 x 104 sq cm per sec. At any temperature Ds varied by no more than a factor of three over these orientations. It is shown that, if the free energy of a surface atom is uniquely determined by its number of nearest neighbors, it follows from the Principle of microscopic reversibility that Qs should have the same value for all surface orientations, and Ds should vary little with orientation. This model also suggests that for clean fee metals Qs ~ 2/3 AH, (heat of vaporization). This is true for copper. ALTHOUGH it has been appreciated for several decades that atoms can diffuse more rapidly on a surface than through the bulk of a crystal, it has only been in the last few years that reliable values of the surface self-diffusion coefficient (Ds) have become available. Tracer studies of Ds had been attempted prior to this period, but when a tracer is placed on a surface, an ever increasing fraction of it is drained off into the lattice. The correction for this loss involves a very difficult, and as yet unperformed calculation. Those who have worked with tracers have not corrected for this loss.1, 2 Thus their results indicate that Ds is greater than the self-diffusion coefficient in the lattice (Dl), but it has not been established that they give quantitative data on Ds. A procedure which avoids the problem of tracer loss is to study the rate of mass-transfer under the effect of surface tension. If the surface asperity being studied is very small, the mass transfer occurs entirely by surface diffusion. The kinetics at which a grain boundary groove forms on an initially plane surface is a well-studied case of this type. The smoothing of a slight scratch in an otherwise flat surface is another procedure that has been studied. If these grooves are up to 20 to 30 µ in width, the dominant mechanism for mass transfer is surface diffusion (at least in the case of metals with low vapor pressures), and the widths can easily be measured with an interference microscope. Of these two, mass-transfer techniques only in the case of grain boundary grooving has a rigorous mathematical treatment been given. This was done by Mullins.3,4 His analysis predicted that in the case of copper in an atmosphere of an inert gas, surface diffusion should be the dominant transport mechanism. This analysis gave an equation for the groove profile and predicted that the width of the groove would increase as (time)1/4. Mullins and Shewmon showed that both of these predictions agreed with experiments.5 Thus the validity of the values of Ds given by this procedure seems to be well established. Gjostein has used copper bicrystals and the grain boundary grooving technique to determine Ds and the activation energy for surface selfdiffusion (9,) in the [001] direction on surfaces ranging between the (100) and (110) planes.= He reported that Qs = 41 kcal per mole and Do = 6.5 x 102 sq cm per sec for all orientations studied. Since the results did not change with the dew-point of the dry hydrogen atmosphere or the type of refractory tube used, he concluded that the surfaces were clean, or at least that the results were not influenced by any impurities chemisorbed from the atmosphere. The work reported here reproduces and extends Gjostein's study in that D s and Q s were determined for copper over a wider range of orientations. To study the effects of impurities, two purities of copper were used as well as cathodic etching to remove any possible electropolishing film. Gjostein postulated that the diffusing atoms on a surface near a low index plane are the few atoms which are adsorbed on the smooth region between ledges or steps in the surface. A more rigorous derivation of the equation relating Ds to the concentration and jump frequency of these adsorbed atoms is given here. Using this treatment, our empirical observation that Q s and D s are essentially the same for all surface orientations can be shown to follow from the assumption that the free energy of a surface atom is uniquely determined by its number of nearest neighbors. The studies of D s using the scratch technique have been carried out by Blakely and Mukura on nickel,' and by Geguzin and Oveharenko on copper. The latter study using copper gives values of D s roughly

Jan 1, 1962

By Victor J. Miller

The Northeast Tripp Slide is one of the larger slope failures that can be attributed to open pit mining. It is a 11.7 million cubic meter (15.3 x l0 6 yd3) wedge failure created by two thick gouge-filled fault zones whose intersection plunges into the Tripp pit at 13°. One unique aspect of this failure is that the slide is now stable despite having moved an estimated 8.5m (28 ft.) towards the pit and having reached a maximum overall velocity of 2lmmlday (0.07 ft/day). The slide started to fail in 1968, accelerated until mining in the slide's toe area was halted in April 1970, then began to decelerate. With the cessation of mining in the toe area, rubblized rock sloughed into the pit bottom which added weight to the failures toe constraints and began the stabilization process. Measurements from a network of survey stations revealed a correlation between the slide's velocity and heavy precipitation. Runoff water accumulating in the tension cracks is believed responsible for this correlation. Moreover, the survey net measurements showed that during the failure's last stage the vertical component of the slide's movement greatly increased. It is proposed that this settling was caused by plastic-like flowage of the clay gouge underlying the failure The fault zone's effective shear strength was estimated by a back- analysis on the wedge's geometry and by performing direct shear tests. The tests, performed on cores taken from samples that were collected on the failure, yielded a residual shear strength of: cohesion 0.61 kg/cm2 (8.7 lb/in2), and a friction angle of 9.6°. This residual shear strength was near1y equal to the back-calculated strength indicating that the controlling fault's effective strength was essentially the same as the residual shear strength of the gouge filling

Jan 1, 1983