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By Raymond D. Sloan

Dropping from third position among the oil-producing states of the nation in 1942, Oklahoma ranked fourth in 1943 with a total output of 121,431,ooo bbl., a decline of 11.9 per cent from the previous year's total of 137,792,000 bbl. Production ranged from a maximum of 346,900 bbl. daily in February to a low of 322,800 bbl. daily in October, and at the close of the year was averaging 330,000 bbl. daily from 52,096 wells, or an average of 6.3 bbl. per well. The state's well, average at the close of 1942 amounted to 6.7 bbl. At the turn of the year, it appeared reasonable to assume that Oklahoma's producing rate would continue its downward trend during 1944 unless reversed by greater than normal discoveries. To Jan. I, 1944, Oklahoma has produced 5,188,466,-ooo bbl. of crude oil. Development and Exploration A total of 1287 wells was drilled in 1943, representing an increase of 77 wells, or 6.4 per cent over the preceding year's total of 1210. Of the wells completed, 587 (45.6 per cent) were oil wells with an average initial production of 319 bbl.; 127 (9.9 per cent) were gas wells with an average initial of 8,639,000 cu. ft.; and 573 (44.5 per cent) were dry. A total of 333 wildcats was drilled (25.9 per cent of all wells), an increase of 13 (4.1 per cent) over the 1942 total of 320. Of the*wildcats drilled, 46 (13.8 per cent) were oil wells with an average initial production of 235 bbl.; 27 (8.1 per cent) were gas wells with an average initial of 8,249,-ooo cu. ft.; and 260 (78.1 per cent) were recorded as failures. Reconditioning of wells throughout the state led to a total recompletion of 230 wells. Of these, 131 were oil wells with a combined initial production of 8360 bbl., 31 were gas wells with a total initial of 211,950,000 cu. ft., and 68 were abandoned. The 46 successful wildcats opened 33 new producing areas, one of which produced from three separate horizons, and led to the development of production in new horizons in 11 old pools. While none of the 1943 discoveries have as yet developed into what might be termed major pools, the West Moore pool, in Cleveland County, and the West Edmond pool, in Oklahoma County, are the two outstanding new areas opened to production. The West Moore pool, sec. 29, 10 N., 3 W., discovered in December 1943, was completed for an initial production of 248 bbl. of oil in 3 hr. through small tubing chokes in the second Wilcox sand from 8787 to 8800 ft. One well was drilling in this area at the close of the year. The West Edmond pool, an April discovery in sec. 32, 14 N 4 W., is producing from the Hunton lime at a depth of approximately 6950 ft., the world's deepest Hunton lime pool. To the end of the year, 15 oil wells had been completed, with no gas wells and no failures. Accumulated production to Jan. I, 1944, amounted to 474,300 bbl. of 41" gravity oil. There were 29 active operations in the field at the end of the year. The West Edmond and West Moore pool discoveries established the first commercial production west of the Granite Ridge,

Jan 1, 1944

By A. Hultgren

PAGE Outline of Progress of Knowledge and Theories about Gas Evolution in Steel Ingots, and Its Influence on Crystallization and Segregation 2 Object of Present Investigation 16 theoretical Discussion of Process of Solidification 17 Gas Given Off from Rimming Steel during Solidification 17 Equilibrium Diagram of the Iron-carbon-oxygen Alloys 19 Solidification of Pure Iron-carbon-oxygen Alloys 25 Solidification When Carbon Monoxide Is Given Off at Constant Pressure... 25 Solidification When Gas Evolution Is Suppressed 26 Schematic Application on Solidification of Rimming-steel Ingots 27 Influence of Manganese, Sulphur and Phosphorus 28 Experimental Work 30 Liquid Steel and the Mold Gas 30 Ingots Investigated and Methods Used 33 Ingot Structure 42 Structure of Rim Zone 42 Structure of Core 49 Structures Obtained under Special Conditions of Freezing 50 Distribution of Metalloids 55 Other Observations Made 60 General Discussion of Solidification Process 63 Condition of Liquid Steel before Casting 63 Rimming Period 70 Composition of Rim Zone 93 Freezing after Top Is Closed 96 Slag Inclusions and Ingot Scum 102 Reaction between Gas in Blowholes and Surrounding Solid Steel during Cooling 103 Summary 105 Appendix-Preparation and Etching of Ingot Sections 106 References 107 IN 1934, Jernkontoret (The Swedish Ironmasters' Association) appointed a committee for the study of the structure of rimming-steel ingots and the various phenomena associated with their solidification. The members of the committee, including those who have joined it later, have been: I. Bohm, B. D. Enlund, B. Kalling, M. Tigerschiöld, 1. Wohlfahrt and the authors. The present paper? is a somewhat

Jan 1, 1939

By W. Armstrong Price

INVESTIGATION by German chemists during the World War showed that particles of iron oxide form rapidly in iron pipes carrying hydrogen gas under pressure when the gas contains small amounts of water. Under these conditions, the gas frequently exploded when expanding into a dirigible. The explanation of the explosions lies in the building up of a charge of static electricity in the flow just beyond the orifice and the ignition of the gas by a spark accompanying discharge of the electricity. Friction between the moving particles and the pipe generated the electric charge, which was manifested by a pale blue glow formed in the flow at pressures above two atmospheres. In one experiment, this glow, at eighty atmospheres, extended for a distance of forty to fifty centimetres, but did not ignite hydrogen and air mixtures until the charge was col-lected by a conductor and discharged across a gap between electrodes placed at the side of the column of gas. Autoignition did not occur when this discharge was effected at a distance from the gas column, nor if the gas used was thoroughly dried and free from impurities. The electric charge has been studied by placing various wire and screen conductors in the outcoming stream of gas, Guest having summarized these experiments. The application of these conclusions to fires in petroleum and natural gas issuing uncontrolled from wells is made in the following paper, citing the ignition of a wild gas well in Texas.

Jan 1, 1936

By H. O. Hofman

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 19]0.) THE sudden decease, April 1, 1910, in Chicago, of Dr. Franklin R. Carpenter was a shock to his- many friends. He died in his sixty-second year, of heart paralysis. To most fellow-members of the Institute who have followed the progress of the. last twenty-five years in the mining and treatment of non-ferrous ores, the work of Dr. Carpenter in that line is familiar ; but very few, even of those who knew him well in the later years, are acquainted with his earlier struggles to satisfy an inborn hunger for knowledge. The story of his life resembles that of the pioneer who opens up new country; overcoming hardships with indomitable courage, meeting doubts and difficulties with an alert and open mind, and exercising in the face of reverses an unconquerable perseverance. It seems appropriate to place on record in the Transactions a brief outline of the life and work of this eminent engineer. During the past 15 years of his life Dr. Carpenter was much interested in genealogy. In the pursuit of this study as an avocation, he traced his own ancestry to the time when ?Hugh," called "le Charpentier" on account of the dexterity with which he had swung his battle-axe as a crusader, settled in Sussex on lands received from William the Conqueror. The Carpenters came to this country with William Penn. A prominent member of the family was Joshua Carpenter, the founder of Christ Church, Philadelphia. Dr. Carpenter's branch of -the family moved from Pennsylvania into that part of Virginia which is now West Virginia, where his grandfather settled in Harrison county, while the grand-uncle went further west, and built the first iron-furnace at Hanging Rock, Lawrence county, Ohio. In fact, since early times, the Carpenters appear to have been iron-masters. Franklin R.. Carpenter was born, Nov. 5, 1848, in Parkers-

Aug 1, 1910

By Gilbert Soler

PRODUCERS of alloy steels recognize the importance of chemical composition in rela-tion to the hot-working properties and the typical surface defects found in their prod-uct. Each analysis of steel has its own peculiar characteristics. Under conditions of standard mill practice each analysis is susceptible to certain types of defects. Mill practice must be varied to obtain the best combination of surface and internal quality in the product. Chemical composition influences the cast structure and crystallization character-istics of the ingot. It also determines the rate of heating and cooling, the plastic hot-working range, and the phase structure of the steel at various temperatures as well as the tendency toward scale formation and decarburization, This paper endeavors to emphasize the manner in which chemical composition affects the various properties of steel, and to indicate the relative impor-tance of these factors in relation to the hot-working properties and surface charac-teristics of killed steel. The influence of chemical composition may be outlined as follows: I. Effect on the cast structure of steel, including: A. State of deoxidation, and type of inclusions. B. Gas content of steel. C. Freezing point and melting point of steel.

Jan 1, 1940

By AIME AIME

MOST of us are far .from home, and yet our Japanese hosts- have made us feel very much at home. Here in the Orient we engineers are .learning a new meaning for the word "orientation"- hereafter that engineering term will be a synonym for gracious hospitality, and "to orient" will mean to turn a whole country over to the World Engineering Congress. Mere geographic distance is no longer able to separate nations, for the conquest of distance is one of the triumphs of 'modern engineering. We of the Americas are fortunate in the position of our continents: with their shores lapped by the waves of two oceans, we face' two great civilizations, the' Occidental and the Oriental, and thus we can share the intellectual resources of these two older cultures.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. O. Hofman

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) I. INTRODUCTION. IN a previous paper,1 The Behavior of Calcium Sulphate at Elevated Temperatures with Some Fluxes, we published the results of our investigation, into the behavior of calcium sul-phate in air; that, is, under oxidizing conditions. The results as a whole hold good for a neutral atmosphere, or one which has no chemical effect upon calcium sulphate. The present paper deals with the behavior of calcium sulphate under reducing conditions, the reducing-agents employed being carbon monoxide and carbon, and the changes the calcium sulphide formed undergoes when it is subjected to an oxidizing-roast. Technical literature deals very sparingly with the subject. The information furnished by the recent leading chemical manuals is general. Thus Dammer,2 Moissan,3 and Abbegg,4 quote Berthier as having reduced, in 1823, calcium sulphate with carbon, and Stammer as having done the same in 1851 with carbon monoxide; Gmelin Kraut 5 add Leplay and Laurent (1848) as third investigators. Metallurgical authorities confine their statements to the known fact of reduction by carbon. II. PREPARATION OF RAW MATERIALS. 1. Calcium Sulphate.-This salt was prepared in the same manner as described in our previous paper,6 and was found to be chemically pure. * Professor of Metallurgy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. + Metallurgical Instructor, Imperial Technological Institute. 1 Trans, xxxix., 628 to 653 (1909). 2 Handbuch der anorganischen. Chemie, vol. ii., part 2, p. 309 (1894). 3 Traité de Chimic Minérale, 1904, vol. iii., p. 543. 4 Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie, vol. ii., part ii., p. 116 (1905). 5 Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie, vol. ii., part 2, p. 233 (1909). 6 Trans., xxxix., 630 (1909).

Nov 1, 1910

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS For the year ending February, 1935 PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR HOWARD N. EAVENSON PITTSBURGH, PA. PAST PRESIDENTS AND DIRECTORS SCOTT TURNER WASHINGTON, D. C. FREDERICK M. BECKET NEW YORK, N. Y. VICE-PRESIDENT, TREASURER AND DIRECTOR KARL EILERS NEW YORK, N. Y. VICE-PRESIDENTS AND DIRECTORS EUGENE MCAULIFFE OMAHA, NEB. PAUL D. MERICA NEW YORK, N. Y. HENRY KRUMB SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH EDGAR RICKARD NEW YORK, N. Y. LOUIS S. CATES NEW YORK, N. Y.

Jan 1, 1934

By AIME AIME

T HE Mining Methods Committee held its initial meeting* on Tuesday afternoon, with F. W. Bradley in the chair and W. Y. Westervelt as vice- chairman. The first paper to be presented was "A Plea for a U. S. Court of Patent Appeals," for which Kenneth W. Greenawalt ably pleaded. The paper (which was published in full in last month's issue) is so carefully prepared that no synopsis can do it justice. It discusses the opposed views of some patent lawyers and other lawyers and members of the judiciary as, for example, Chief Justice Taft who is quoted as saying in 1921: "I think it is a great deal better to take a first class lawyer and a first-class judge and make him a good patent expert than it is to take a patent expert and try to make him a first-class lawyer and a good judge." Mr. Greenawalt argued the need for specialized scientific and engineering interest and understanding to enable a lawyer or judge to prepare or interpret patent specifications and decide the originality necessary for a valid invention. He proposed the special U. S. Court of Patent Appeals to also counteract the costly confusion and injustice now ruling where a patent may be declared valid in the courts of certain States and invalid by the courts of other States.

Jan 1, 1930

By D. K. Deardorff, Haruo Kato

D. K. Deardorff and Haruo Kato (U. S. Bureau of Mines)—We wish to refute the 1875" 20°C value that Giessen, et al., report as the transformation temperature of hafnium. Although these authors state that their work along this line will be reported later, we can't leave their value undiscussed, for we believe it to be 125°C too high. Our value of 1750° 20°C, which the authors mention, has been substantiated in our laboratories by the use of three other methods. The first method of substantiation was by heating and cooling curves using a hafnium/tungsten thermocouple, the couple having first been calibrated against a t/Pt-10 pct Rh couple. The second method was by quenching and metallography of dilute Hf-Ta alloys. The third cussion, it may be pointed out that the observations of Rogers referred to large unidirectional strains where the internal cracks or voids appeared only after a strain of 32 pct or more. On the contrary the internal fissures observed, as a result of fatigue cycling, occurred for a total extension of some 5 pct and furthermore followed the directions of the slip zones. Finally, it is not our contention, as implied in Dr. Alden's last paragraph, that the tensile stress is an important factor in crack propagation. Indeed, in connection with the reference to the companion report, special note is made of the fact that "Deformation was apparently concentrated in grains which have a slip plane nearly perpendicular to the specimen axis and thus near the plane of maximum applied shear." This dependence of the growth of fissures on the orientation of the slip planes with respect to the direction of maximum applied shear is clearly shown in work on the torsional cycling of single crystals which has been submitted for publication. method was by heating and cooling curves with W/W-26 pct Re thermocouple. Counting the original resistometric method, four different methods have yielded 1750" 20°C as the transformation temperature of hafnium. All our work on determination of the hafnium transformation temperature has shown that the specimen under test must be quickly heated to and through the transformation temperature if the lowest possible transformation value is to be determined; otherwise a higher value not representative of pure hafnium will result. Speed was emphasized in all methods. In our resistometric work the corresponding voltage, amperage, and temperature readings were taken quickly and the transformation temperature was usually reached within 5 min total heating time. In the thermal analysis work involving Hf/W or W/W-26 pct Re thermocouples the transformation temperature was attained within three minutes total heating time, this time being less because the two variables were

Jan 1, 1963

By T. S. Lundy, J. I. Federer

Chemically purified Zr95and Cb95 have been used in determining self-diffusion coefficients in the bcc phase of iodide zirconium over the temperature range of 900o to 1750°C. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients could not be described by the usual Arrhenius-type equation over the entire temperature range. Values of the apparent frequency factors (D0)a and activation energies (Q)A for ZR95 varied from 4.8 x 10-6 to 2.5 x 10-2 sq cm per sec and 20,700 to 46,900 cal per mole, respectively, between 900°and 1750°C. Similarly, for Cb95, values of (Do) a and (Q)A varied from about 2.4 x 10'5 to 0.25 sq cm per sec and 26,500 to 56,800 cal per mole, respectively. The data may be described in terms of the a to ß transition temperature of 1136 °K and the absolute temperature of the diffusion anneals by the following eauations: SEVERAL studies on the diffusion of Zr95 in zirconium have been reported.1"5 The values of the constants contained in the usual Arrhenius-type equation for describing the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient, D = Do exp [- Q/(RT)], are summarized in Table I. The reported values of Do, the frequency factor, and Q, the activation energy, are seen to vary by factors of about 60 and 1.6, respectively. Examination of the data from any one study indicated reasonable consistency of measurements. The large discrepancies of over-all results, therefore, cannot be explained on the basis of experimental scatter. One possible explanation for the differences in results could be a varying impurity content of the zirconium. Another possibility is that the radioactive daughter, Cb95, influenced the values of some of the determined diffusion coefficients. Therefore, the first of the three purposes of this study was to reconcile the large differences in diffusion results that have been obtained. Several empirical relations have been proposed to relate the diffusion coefficients in solids with physical properties, such as the absolute melting point, the heat of fusion, and the heat of sublimation.

Jan 1, 1963

By John A. Gann

WITHIN a very few years magnesium has sprung from oblivion, from classification as a technically unknown, little appreciated, and expensive material to front-page importance in many fields of engineering. Bunsen may be considered the real founder of our present magnesium industry. In 1852; he prepared this metal by the electrolysis of fused magnesium chloride in a porcelain crucible. In the following years the electro¬lytic process became recognized as superior to chemical reduction methods and Germany became the world's chief producer, installing the first electrolytic magnesium plant in 1886. ' Thirty years later, national defense requirements, occasioned by the outbreak of the World War and the cutting off of imports, caused France, England, and the United States to begin production. Most of this magnesium was used for military purposes so the close of the war resulted in a large curtailment in production. A few companies, however, encouraged by the early success of the Germans and by the rapid developments taking place in aeronautics, and confident in the certain future and ultimate value of this metal, undertook extensive re¬searches in its production and utilization. A variety of production methods, both chemical and electrochemical, were investigated and some of them operated on a commercial scale. Reduction of the oxide with carbon at high temperatures and the electrolysis of the oxide in a fluoride

Jan 1, 1932

By I. W. L. Finlay, H. R. Ogden, R. Jaffee, D. J. Maykuth

Aluminum has been found to be soluble in a titanium to about 26 pct, and to raise the temperature range of transformation from a to 8. Two intermediate phoses exist in the system, a new face-centered tetragonal phase, designated as 7, which occurs between 34 and 46 pct Al, and TiAI Metallographic and X-ray diffraction data were used to determine the diagram. ALUMINUM is one of the useful alloying additions for titanium-base alloys. It is an important constituent in two commercial alloys released in 1950, one containing 4 pct A1 and 4 pct Mn, and the other containing 3 pct A1 and 5 pct Cr as the metallic alloy content. It is probable that, in the future, other titanium alloys containing aluminum will be released. In the course of alloy development work, some of the features of the constitution of titanium-rich Ti-A1 alloys have been developed. These are described in the present paper. The only available information on the Ti-A1 system concerns the aluminum-rich end of the diagram. In summarizing the early work, Hansen' indicated that there is little solubility of titanium in aluminum, and that a two-phase region exists up to the intermediate compound, TiA1a (37.2 wt pct Ti), which has a congruent melting point at 1355°C. Fink' has reported that a peritectic reaction occurs at 665°C between the melt and TiA1³ to form the terminal solid solution of titanium in aluminum. The solubility of titanium in aluminum has been established at 0.24 pct at 510°C and is estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 pct at the peritectic temperature. No information has been published on the diagram above TiAl,, other than a statement- hat aluminum raises the a to ß transformation temperature of titanium. Materials and Preparation of Alloys Iodide-type titanium and high-purity aluminum were used in this investigation. Typical analyses of these materials are given in Table 1. Alloys were prepared by arc melting on a water-cooled copper hearth, using the techniques described previously for contamination-free melting.' Weight losses during melting were very low, ranging from 0 to 0.02 g in a 10 to 15 g charge, indicating that little or no loss of aluminum occurred during melting. This permitted the use of nominal compositions for these alloys. Alloy ingots containing from 0 to 7.5 pct A1 were rolled in air at 850°C to 0.040 in. sheet. Alloys containing from 7.5 to 16 pct A1 could only be rolled about 25 pct reduction at temperatures up to and including 1200°C. Alloys containing above 16 pct A1

Jan 1, 1952

THE third annual Joint Western Mining Convention, held at Los Angeles, Sept. 10 to 13 inclusive, was a notable success both as to attendance and interest. Registration the first day amounted to 201, and the total crept up to 347 before the close. The American Institute of Mining Engineers was well represented, approximately 80% of those registered and most of the speakers being members. This illustrates largely the amount of interlocking membership and the reason for holding at one time and place meetings of the several related organizations. The plan has proved so successful that it is probable that Spokane will extend an invitation for next year that seems likely to be accepted. It is proposed that the convention be timed so as to permit visitors from the East to stop there Oct. 3 to 5, en route to the American Institute of Mining Engineers meeting at San Francisco, Oct. 7 to 9. Simultaneously, it is expected that the Petroleum Division will hold its fall session at Los Angeles, the two streams of travel meeting in San Francisco, just before departure of the party of engineers traveling to Japan to attend the World's Engineering Congress. The Los Angeles meeting opened Monday morning with a general session under the auspices of the Western Division of the American Mining Congress with Philip Wiseman in the chair. After a series of short responses to the welcome extended, Charles W. Merrill discussed the needs of the western mining industry. A complimentary luncheon to members and delegates followed.

Jan 1, 1928

By ROBERT H. BOOTH

THE happy intra-plant relationships of the Bridgeport Brass Co. are largely attributable to the interest of the management in this important business factor. In furtherance of this development Carl F. Dietz, President of the Company and a member of the Institute, has contributed the novel plan for the objective presentation of business economics, described herein. All of the officers of the corporation are active in its management and they together with many other workers filling both executive and subordinate positions have a substantial financial interest in the enterprise. The viewpoint of this organization is fairly reflected by the following quotation from Roosevelt's "The Foes of Our Own Household."

Jan 1, 1924

By Maurice L. Pinel, Thomas Wright, Thomas T. Read

The erroneous, but until recently widely prevalent, belief that iron castings were first made in Europe in the fourteenth century has been adequately refuted in a number of earlier papers;1, ll, l² but except for an unpublished metallographic study by the late William Campbell, and a phosphorus analysis by T. A. Wright of the metal of the Han dynasty cast-iron stove described by Laufer,2 nothing was known of either the chemical composition or the metallographic structure of the metal of any ancient iron casting, although data on castings of recent manufacture are abundantly available. The metal of the stove, which had been buried in a grave for at least 15 centuries, was so corroded that it seemed inadvisable to publish the results on it until morc and better specimens from other ancient castings could be obtained. During a journey through China, extending from Peking in the north to Canton in the south and Cheng-tu, Ssu-chuan, in the west, in the late summer and autumn of 1936, one of us (T. T. Read) was fortunate enough to obtain, and bring home for study, nine castings, all more than 1000 years old, of which the date of manufacture is precisely known because of inscriptions cast in them, another that lacks a dated inscription, but of which the date, as explained below, can be otherwise established, and a specimen from the largest iron casting ever made," which is also dated. The period covered by this suite of specimens extends from 502 to 1093 A.D. In addition, a sample was obtained from a casting of date unknown, but which was certainly cast before 1000 A.D. and possibly as early as the third century A.D. A detailed description of these specimens is as follows: I. 502 A.D. A pair [right and left) of recumbent lions (Fig. 1). Base 7¼ by 113/8 in., height over-all 5½in, weight 26 Ib. each. The tranblation of the inscription on the base is: "Made on the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month of the third pear of Ching Ming of Great Wei" (Sept. 11, 502 A.D.).

Jan 1, 1938

By Maurice L. Pinel, Thomas Wright, Thomas T. Read

The erroneous, but until recently widely prevalent, belief that iron castings were first made in Europe in the fourteenth century has been adequately refuted in a number of earlier papers;1, ll, l² but except for an unpublished metallographic study by the late William Campbell, and a phosphorus analysis by T. A. Wright of the metal of the Han dynasty cast-iron stove described by Laufer,2 nothing was known of either the chemical composition or the metallographic structure of the metal of any ancient iron casting, although data on castings of recent manufacture are abundantly available. The metal of the stove, which had been buried in a grave for at least 15 centuries, was so corroded that it seemed inadvisable to publish the results on it until morc and better specimens from other ancient castings could be obtained. During a journey through China, extending from Peking in the north to Canton in the south and Cheng-tu, Ssu-chuan, in the west, in the late summer and autumn of 1936, one of us (T. T. Read) was fortunate enough to obtain, and bring home for study, nine castings, all more than 1000 years old, of which the date of manufacture is precisely known because of inscriptions cast in them, another that lacks a dated inscription, but of which the date, as explained below, can be otherwise established, and a specimen from the largest iron casting ever made," which is also dated. The period covered by this suite of specimens extends from 502 to 1093 A.D. In addition, a sample was obtained from a casting of date unknown, but which was certainly cast before 1000 A.D. and possibly as early as the third century A.D. A detailed description of these specimens is as follows: I. 502 A.D. A pair [right and left) of recumbent lions (Fig. 1). Base 7¼ by 113/8 in., height over-all 5½in, weight 26 Ib. each. The tranblation of the inscription on the base is: "Made on the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month of the third pear of Ching Ming of Great Wei" (Sept. 11, 502 A.D.).

Jan 1, 1938

By A. T. Yu

Over the last 80 years the conveyor belt has advanced from the troughed rubber belt to those with standard steel cable cores and those which can navigate curves or climb steep inclines. Now the latest generation of belt conveyors can claim hitherto unheard of capacities of 20,000 tph and single flight lengths well exceeding 16,000 feet. The stranded steel cable core belt is principally responsible for the spectacular improvement in load carrying ability of belt conveyors. The allowable working tension of these belts ranges from 2,500 lb per in. of belt width for 1/4 in. diam cable to 4,000 lb per in, for 3/8 in. diam cable. These ratings far exceed the 240 lb per in. per ply for rayon or nylon construction, and 30 lb per in. per ply for a lowcost cotton fabric.

Jan 1, 1970

By E. D. Gardner

IN 1947 the metal-mining industry . passed through a year of readjustment; catching up on development work has caused production to suffer. Skilled labor has been short in most mining districts, notwithstanding the highest wage rate paid in the history of the industry. The trend has continued toward increased mechanization and refinements in practices and methods to increase the tons produced per man-shift. Improvements in procedures, however, have not kept pace with rising labor rates; and, in general, labor costs per ton mined have steadily increased since the war years. Prices of base metals have been the highest in a generation, but most producing companies can afford to pay the high wages. Capital expenditures have been approved for improvements to increase the output per man, both to reduce unit labor costs and to increase output. Surveys indicate a continuing

Jan 1, 1948

By James R. Cudworth

OUR colleges and universities have met many difficulties during the past year. From a period of small enrollments and depleted faculties, the educational institutions have passed quickly to a period of the largest enrollments in their history with inadequate facilities and staffs. The results of the shortsighted policy of the Selective Service system which drained the technical schools and universities of many of the students who were potential teachers are now being felt. The movement of faculty members into positions in industry during the war years has resulted in many of them forsaking permanently the educational field for the higher salaried positions they now occupy. Competition is keen between the educational institutions, and between the institutions and industry, for technically trained men. Dean Holbrook's statement in last year's annual review that he thought it would take three or four years to restore our engineering departments to their former level in quality of instructors is even more convincing today. Somehow, the institutions must not only reach their former level in quality of instruction but they must also increase the quantity of their staffs to meet the demands of the ex-service men and the high school graduates for engineering education. The enrollments in the mineral industry fields of mining, metallurgical, geological, petroleum, and ceramic engineering, although greatly increased, are not expanding as much as in the more widely known fields of electrical, mechanical, aeronautical, and civil engineering. In fact, many educators are tremendously worried about the segregation of so many young men in a relatively few fields while the needs of others will remain unanswered.

Jan 1, 1947