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By N. O. Taylor

THE failure, by swelling, of several cast aluminum-zinc, spiral, pump rods, used to circulate water in a constant-temperature bath, brought up the question as to whether the presence of tin in varying quantities would have any appreciable influence in controlling this action. Previous workers had found the same difficulty with aluminum-zinc alloys, due to their swelling in water or solutions of electrolyte^.^ It was known that pure aluminum was practically insoluble in concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids, presumably due to the formation of an oxidized film on the surface. Concentrated sulfuric acid had little or no effect on pure zinc and tin and concentrated hydrochloric acid would attack all three metals. These facts aroused curiosity as to the probable reaction of the ternary alloys of these metals, and tests were made to determine their resistivity to the action of common laboratory reagents. Samples, covering the entire range of the ternary series of aluminum, zinc and tin alloys, were made up from good grades of the commercial metals.2 The materials were melted, at as low temperatures as possible, in graphite crucibles in a gas-fired crucible furnace. Graphite crucibles were used in preference to clay, to prevent the absorption of silicon by the aluminum, as found by previous workers. The melted materials were stirred thoroughly with pine sticks in order to ensure complete mixing and the greatest possible freedom from oxidation, and were cast in sectional, iron molds giving bars % in. in diameter and 5 in. long.

Jan 1, 1927

By L. W. Rowe, S. S. Cole

A laboratory bench scale unit is described whereby finely divided chlorinatable residues are held for a short period by a restraining bed of a coarse-grained ore of comparable composition to permit 'flash' chlorination of the high surface area powder. Results on chlorinating a finely divicled titania residue using rutile sand as the restraining bed showed that 92 pct utilization of chlorine and equivalent conversion of TiO2 in the fine residue to Ticl4 were attained with a dust loss of about 3 to 4 pct and an equivalent amount of ch1om'nation of the titanium values in the restraining bed. THE chlorination of coarse grain titaniferous ores; i.e., 20 to 150 mesh sizes in fluidized beds is practiced commercially.' One effective method found for the chlorination of a very fine material in a fluidized bed is the "flash" chlorination technique.' By charging the finely divided charge material into the bottom of an established bed of optimum sized rutile, ilmenite, titanium beneficiate, or even an inert material such as sand, chlorination occurs before the dust can pass through the bed. The major requirement is that the bed be less chlorinatable than the charge. In this process, the charge consists of a finely divided (between one and 50 µ) titania residue obtained from a titaniferous ore beneficiation process. The charge is blended with a 20 pct wt basis addition of 20 to 60 .mesh size low volatile coke (to minimize hydrogen chloride formation) and fed to the bottom of the bed with the chlorine gas stream. A ball check device is used to permit entry of the charge and prevent the bed from discharging when the gas flow is cut off. The coarse pieces of coke serve to reduce compaction in the charge mixture and permit sat]sfactory feeding without plugging or jamming. Feed and gas rates are adjusted to provide for complete reaction of the charge material, with 90 to 95 pct chlorine efficiency, and maintain a gas flow in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 ft per sec. The equipment consisted of a 3-in. diam mullite tube enclosed in an electric furnace. A bow-shaped 3/4 in. Saran tube fed the charge from an air lock type of feed hopper (to prevent the escape of the chlorine gas into feed bin) to the bottom of the bed. The charge rate was set by providing a small awiliary hopper below the feed hopper where a weighed portion of the charge could be discharged in a specified time interval into the main chlorine stream. The chlorine rate was measured by a flowmeter. The reaction tube was filled with a bed of Australian rutile ore, this restraining bed serving two purposes; i.e., it rapidly heated the fresh charge to the reaction temperature and retained the particles in the bed for a sufficient time for selective chlorination to proceed. Due to the fine particle size and open, porous structure of the charge, this reaction was almost instantaneous, and, with proper adjustment of feed and gas rates, very little fine material passed through the bed without reacting and only a very small fraction of the restraining bed was chlorinated. A typical reaction procedure was to fill the bench scale fluidized bed unit with a 1 kg charge of Australian rutile ore analyzing 95.5 pct TiO2, 0.6 pct FeO, a beach sand deposit 40 to 150 mesh size. When fluidized, the bed was approximately 2 ft in depth. The ore was fluidized with a 1:l mixture of chlorine and nitrogen at a rate of 0.40 ft per sec. This gas mixture was necessitated by the comparatively short bed depth; a larger unit, with a deeper bed, could be fluidized with chlorine alone without significant free chlorine loss. Feed rate was 8.0 g per min of beneficiated ilmenite analyzing 85.0 pct TiO2, 2.6 pct FeO plus 1.6 g per min of 20 to 60 mesh petroleum coke. The

Jan 1, 1962

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

By H. Merton Ruth

THE northern anthracite fields, although facing the same economic problems as the southern fields, are confronted with the additional problem of fast dwindling reserves of anthracite which can be conventionally and economically won. The mining of coal which remains in thin beds and the recovery of pillars from areas heretofore considered unrecoverable, either by reason of cost or surface restriction, pose problems of in- creasing importance to the economic life of the northern field operations. Successful approaches have Been made to this problem and other work is being performed that holds promise. There exists in the northern anthracite field millions of tons of solid coal, the recovery of which has not been too successful due to the following inherent operating faults: inability to concentrate producing areas; the great quantities of rock to be cut and handled, lack of consideration of proper sequence and speed of second mining, and the continued use of the mine car as the basis of payment. A mining system that has successfully solved these major problems has been in operation in the Scranton area since 1944. Over 1% million tons have been produced from veins varying from 3 to 4% ft thick by this method, which is known as the multiple panel-triangular system-conveyor mining.

Jan 1, 1950

By Thomas B. Douglas

INSTRUMENTATION in the process industries can no longer be regarded as a convenience, but rather an absolute necessity. Although many chemical processes must already be conducted with instruments, every properly designed application of automatic process control will improve operation: 1) the product will be more uniform and of higher quality; 2) the manual labor saved will reduce cost; 3) uniformity of flow and uniform control of process will increase production; and 4) surges will be eliminated, making it possible to operate equipment near ultimate capacity at all times. Industrial instruments fall into two general classifications-those that measure and those that measure and control. The cement industry has been using instruments for a number of years, particularly in the burning process, primarily for indicating and recording. Automatic process control makes additional use of these instruments, and others, to control variables. Assisted by the instrument manufacturers, engineers at Ideal Cement CO. achieved considerable progress in determining how well the usual recording instruments could be made to control various phases of cement-making. The results of these experiments were used to make the new plant at Houston as wholly automatic as possible.

Jan 2, 1958

By G. E. Johnson

LEAD SMELTERS AND REFINERS in 1932 were confronted with the problem of adjusting operations and costs to curtailed production and consumption at reduced prices, a problem which has been partially solved at least by improvements in operating technique and increased efficiency. At the Mount Isa properties in Australia, a third blast furnace and additional Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines were installed during the year, designed to increase the production to 6,000 tons of bullion per month. The large proportion of lead carbonate in the ores to be treated has presented metallurgical problems. Of the total lead contained in the concentrates to be smelted, two-thirds is Dresent as carbonates and one-third as sulfides. In the iiitial operations, the resulting Dwight-Lloyd sinter was soft, contained an excessive amount of fines, and was easily fusible. When charged to the blast furnaces it developed accretions in the upper part of the furnace owing to the easily fusible lead carbonates softening and fusing at the top of the charge column. This was remedied by the addition to the sinter feed of diluents of higher melting point, granulated slag and crushed limestone. The sinter feed consists of concentrates, Cottrell dust and wind-box cleanings, totalling 57 per cent of the charge; return sinter fines 15 per cent; granulated slag 23 per cent; and crushed limestone 5 per cent. The sinter produced contains 34 per cent lead and 0.5 per cent sulfur. Experiments indicated that double sintering under these conditions was of no advantage, so the original plan of single sinter treatment was retained.

Jan 1, 1933

By Douglas J. Harvey

The surface tension of lead-tellurium alloys (in the range 0 to 6.70 at. pct Te) ad lead-arsenic alloys (in the range 0 to 10.53 at. pct As) has been examined by the maximum bubble pressure method. The surface tension of high purity lead can be expressed over a range of temperatures (M.P. to 750°C) by the relationship = 512 — 0.133t. Arsenic and lellurium were both found to be surface active in lead. The surface excess concentration at 700°C was .found to be constant at 0.74 x 10-10 moles per sq cm for tellurium. The surface excess of arsenic at 700°C varied between 0.26 x 10-10 moles per sq cm at 0.16 at. pct to 1.5 x 10-10 moles per sq cm at 8.3 at. pet. The surface tension of lead has been investigated sporadically over the last 90 years. The first recorded study was made by Quincke1 who used a rather crude application of the drop-weight method. Hogness2 obtained the first reliable value for the surface tension of lead by measuring the pressure necessary to force the liquid metal from the end of a small capillary of known radius. Hogness gives the empirical formula: ?(surface tension)= 444 - 0.077 (l-327) which describes the relationship between surface tension and temperature ("C); This work was followed by that of Bircumshaw3 who applied the two-capillar maximum bubble pressure method of Sugden.4 The values published by Bircumshaw are in good agreement with those found by Hogness. Matuyama5 examined the surface tension of lead by the drop weight method. However, the values found are somewhat higher than those previously reported. More recent investigations by Greenaway6 and by Melford and oar' have resulted in data which are not in close agreement, but which are well within the expected range at most temperature levels. The study of the surface tension of lead alloys began with Drath and sauerwald8 who examined the lead-bismuth system. They found that the surface tension values of the alloys in this system deviated only slightly from the ideal mixture rule. Matuyarna5 examined the lead-antimony system. Bircumshaw the lead-tin, and the lead-indium system was studied by Hoar and Me1ford.10 The results of these investi- gations are summarized in Fig. 1. It may be seen that the data vary only slightly from the ideal mixture rule. As none of the metals studied and reported in the literature has a very interesting effect on the surface tension of lead,*the next logical step might be to examine the effect of metals of low solubility or nonmetals having some liquid solubility. Baes, and Kellogg11 have pointed out that the elements most likely to be surface active in liquid metals are ones of limited solubility in the liquid state and possessing weak intermolecular bonding forces in the solid state. Therefore, Group V, VI and VII nonmetals are most likely to be surface active. It was decided to examine the effect of a borderline metal, arsenic, and a nonmetal tellurium. Arsenic forms a eutectic with lead having a melting point of 290°C and a composition of 6.9 at. pct As.13 Pure arsenic sublimes when heated above 610°C. Even though alloying with lead lowers the vapor pressure, fumes containing arsenic are evolved at a very noticeable rate when lead-arsenic alloys are heated above 650°C. Tellurium raises the liquidus temperature of lead sharply to 904°C,14 the melting point of PbTe (lead-telluride). The solid solubility of tellurium in lead was determined by Greenwood and worner15 to be 0.0007 at. pct at room temperature. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD Surface Tension Measurement—The two capillary maximum bubble pressure method for measuring surface tension developed by Sugden,4 and used later

Jan 1, 1962

By A. B. Parsons

AT the outset, the authors of this paper desire to file a disclaimer and an, explanation. They have no inside information from occult sources; neither of them feigns clairvoyant powers in the slightest degree. It is true that they have indicated on be graphs an approximate trend for the consumption of seven important mineral commodities up to the year 1954. At best this is a risky business; the figures do not pretend to be any- thing more than reasoned conjectures that are predicated on an attempt to evaluate some of the more obvious of the many factors that are likely to have a bearing on the future.

Jan 1, 1937

By V. E. Christensen

AT most smelting plants, forced draft, induced by high stacks or fans, is used to carry the gases away from the furnaces, roasters, or sintering plants. Gases moving under forced draft carry varying amounts of solids in the form of dust and fume. Where the weight of the solids is material, and the metal content high, it is usually profitable to treat the gases to recover these solids. Baghouses, Cottrell treaters, and settling chambers are the common forms of plants used to recover solids from gases. To check on the efficiency of these plants it is necessary to know the volume of gas leaving the plant and the amount of solids carried by the gas. As the volume of gas is equal to the product of the velocity of that gas and the cross-sectional area of the flue, the determination of the volume includes the measurement of the area of the cross section and the determination of the velocity. The velocity is generally measured by means of the Pitot tube and Ellison differential pressure gage, although low velocities are best determined by means of an anemometer. The dust concentration is determined by passing a measured volume of sample through a filter and weighing the dust caught. From this the dust concentration per unit of volume may be calculated. It is necessary to assume that the gas is homogeneous or that each cubic foot of the gas contains the same weight of dust as every other cubic foot. Having the volume of gas passing through a flue per unit of time, and the dust concentration of the gas per unit of volume, the amount of solids may easily be calculated.

Jan 1, 1935

By E. L. Tucker

PREVIOUS investigations of E. L. Tucker and R. E. Head' related in particular to the effect of cyanogen compounds on galena, sphalerite, and pyrite, and their behavior in the presence of such com- pounds. The present contribution deals with the float- ability of the copper minerals and of pyrite. All experiments were performed on minus 200-mesh material, the method of preparation being the same as that described in the previous article. Flotation tests were made in a small mechanically agitated machine of 50-g. capacity designed in this laboratory by Gates and Jacobsen." General Naval Stores pine oil No. 5 and potassium xanthate were used in constant amount in all of the experiments; these agents were selected because of their present wide use in the flotation of copper minerals. Lime additions were varied to secure four 'final hydrogen ion concentrations, namely, neutral, 0.0005 per cent CaO, 0.003 per cent CaO, and 0.02 per cent CaO. The variation in lime addition was introduced to include the range of alkalinities employed in actual flotation practice.

Jan 1, 1926

By William Gilman

IN the past five years, and without much fanfare, Turkey has emerged as a significant figure in the world mining picture. This has been accomplished by a five-year plan now in its last year. A second five-year plan is already under way, ahead of schedule. It will concentrate even more than the first in developing Turkish mines in order to increase present exports of coal, chrome ore, and copper, and to develop new mineral exports as well. To be fully understand the republicic?s mining program should be considered as something more than merely tapping rich resources in the East along the Aegean Sea, in the North among the mountains descending to the Black Sea, and in the West at the foot of the Taurus Mountains. It should also be viewed in the light of a strong nationalist policy with many aspects of state socialism. Turkey declares frankly that all mineral re- sources belong to the nation and all exploitation should be by the state for the twin purpose of modernizing the state and securing foreign exchange for the state by exports. Accordingly, the principal mines are state-operated and a few lesser enterprises, although not state-owned, have at least been put in the hands of Turkish capital.

Jan 1, 1938

Edward Dyer Peters, the only child of Henry Hunter Peters and Susan Barker Thaxter, was born in Dorchester, Mass., June 1, 1849. From his father he was a descendant of the Peters family of Ipswich and Andover, Mass., whose earliest ancestor settled in Essex County in 1659; while upon his mother's side he descended from several old Hingham families, as well as from the Quineys and from Governor Bradford. Between the ages of fourteen and sixteen he was a student at the Episcopal School for boys in Cheshire, Conn. Near the school was an old tin mine, and he used to spend his Saturday afternoons exploring it. When Edward was sixteen, his father sold his property in South-borough, and for the next three years lived in Europe. Sept. 26, 1865, Edward entered the Royal School of Mines at Freiberg, Saxony. In the summer of 1867 he joined his family on Lake Geneva, and spent a part of the season in that vicinity, going to Chamounix and taking other trips. Extract from a letter to his father: Elbingerode, Harz, Aug. 30, 1868: I left Freiberg with my friend Lilienthal, on Wednesday the 19th of August, reached Leipzig in the evening and spent the night in that city: the next morning we took the cars and in the afternoon reached Eisleben, in Prussia, which was to be our first stopping-place; there are immense copper-mines and smelting-works at this place, and the method of working the mines is very peculiar ... The next morning we got up at five and spent the whole day in the smelting-works where I obtained a number of drawings of the furnaces they use here and a good many valuable data. Saturday morning we got up at four o'clock, and descended a mine about three miles from the town; the Director of this mine was one of the most intelligent and agreeable men that I ever met; he accompanied us in the mine and explained everything that was new to us. The system of mining at Eisleben is peculiar to this town, and is not used at any other place in the world; the copper ore comes in narrow, flat veins eighteen inches high, at the utmost, consequently the men work lying flat on their left side and using the pick with both hands: the ore is carried out of the side passages into the main ones, in very low waggons about twelve inches high, and four by two feet; the boys who pull these waggons have a board buckled to their left thigh and their left arm; they pass their bare foot through a strap in the waggon and wriggle along on their side dragging the waggon after them, with their foot, almost as fast as a man can walk above ground. In the afternoon we walked over to Hittstadt, about twelve miles, and remained there Sunday and Monday. Monday night, at ten o'clock we went out to one of the smelting-works, to see the refining of the copper; this is only done at night, so we worked there from ten in the evening till eleven the next morning, and came home all blackened up and with blistered hands, for our skin was not quite so tough as that of the workmen: at noon the same day we took the stage to Ascherls-leben, and then the train to Stassfurt, where there are immense salt-mines, as well as factories for the manufacture of bromium, which latter process is, however, kept a profound secret, so we had very little hope of seeing anything but the salt mines; we were talking with our landlord about our disappointment, that evening, when he told us that the director of the Bromium works was sitting in the next room with no company but his glass of beer, so we went over to him, introduced ourselves as Americans, and actually succeeded in persuading him that it could do his business no earthly hurt if he showed us his works; at last he consented, after making us give our word of honor

Jan 1, 1919

By Francis M. Walters

IN spite of the war and the preoccupation of many physical metallurgists with work on secret or confidential problems, definite progress was made during 1944 in our understanding of the behavior of steel and of the effect of alloying elements. During the first two years of the war there was much concern over the possible unavailability of certain alloying elements; this period saw the development of the N.E. (National Emergency) steels. However, the measures taken eased the alloy situation and currently, highly practical problems under study are the graphitization of low-carbon steel and weld-cracking, while investigations of more theoretical interest have concerned hardenability, isothermal reactions, the effect of hydrogen and the interpretation of the notched-bar impact test.

Jan 1, 1945

Secretary's Note.—M. Beutter's introductory remarks, being simply a resume of Prof. Hone's paper, with a disclaimer of the intention to criticise it, have been omitted, and the remainder of this contribution lias been somewhat condensed, without omitting any essential statements. M. Beutter, St. Etienne, France* (communication to the Secretary†):—Professor Home observes in $ 47 of his paper that the fluid-compression of steel diminishes piping by forcing the liquid and viscous metal, while the pipe is forming, or after it has formed, into the space so produced, and proceeds to study the different systems of compression, alluding to the four principal ones: Whitworth, Illingmorth, Williams, and Harmet. Having now for many years had in use the last-named process, that of M. Henri Harmet, I shall attempt to explain the difference between it and the three other processes named. The Harmet process does not diminish or close the pipe after it has formed, but prevents it from forming; and I may add that it is the only one of the four which produces this result. It is true that the Whitworth process diminishes the interior hollow by localizing it around the central axis of the ingot, which is afterwards removed by trepanning the hollow forg-ings for which this process has been, I believe, always exclusively used. The Illingworth and Williams processes, which, in my opinion, are applicable only to small ingots, of necessity allow the pipe to form, or (to use the expression of Professor Howe) they allow the surface of the lake of liquid steel to sink into the interior of the ingot, since they involve waiting a certain time before compression, so that (in the case of the Williams process) the ingot-mold can be opened without danger, or (in the case of the Illingworth process) so as to avoid the risk that the steel may enter the grooves produced by the removal of the distance-bars. During the time required for

Jan 1, 1908

By Robert F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1944

By Benjamin Talbot

The problem of segregation and cavities in steel ingots is a subject which has given and is still giving metallurgists, engineers, and operators matter for serious consideration. This question has come more into prominence lately in the United States, due largely to the desire of railroad engineers to secure a better rail than they have obtained ill the past, as the service they demand is increasing in severity; and no doubt manufacturers will be able to meet what is required of them. The rails here are as good as those made in other countries, but the conditions of service and the extremes of climate are more Revere and consequently more breakages occur. Various reasons have been advanced to explain why rails may not be as good in quality to-day as in the past. Some engineers consider that modern methods of manufacturing, designed chiefly to obtain large output, tend to reduce the standard of excellence of more deliberate methods. Others think that 4-ton ingots are worse than those of 2 tons. Again, it is stated that the 100-ton heat in one ladle is too large, and is a step in the wrong direction in casting. My experience upon the question of the size of the ingot is that in rolling rails of from 85-to 100-lb. sections, the range of ingot is only practically such that the difference in the size does not help in the question of segregation, cavities, or blow-holes. I call attention to two ingots from work done at Pencoyd, Pa., 16 years ago. These ingots were bottom-poured, cast at the same time from the same center-runner, the one being 20 by 24 in. and the other 13 by 16 in. in size. The steel was acid open-hearth, and contained C, 0.43; P, 0.062; S, 0.069 per cent. At the same place in each ingot where seg-

Jan 1, 1914

By Michael J. Messel

OF the various minerals that occur in fibrous form known as asbestos, chrysotile is the variety most in demand for commercial uses, and, last year, over 683,000 tons of the various grades were produced in Canada and United States, exclusive of African and Russian production, which figures are uncertain. Production has not been able to keep up with the increased demand, and an acute shortage exists. Canada, Russia, and Africa are still the most important producers. However, Russia consumes most of its production at home and exports very little. The United States consumes over 60 pct of the total production and produces only about 4 pct of the total from deposits in Vermont and small quantities from Arizona. This paper will review mainly, some of the more recent developments concerned with the extraction and processing of this fibrous mineral for various industrial uses, such as textiles, insulation, building materials and brake linings.

Jan 1, 1949

By Jerry Tien

Mine regulators are normally used for proper air distribution in underground mines. They are deliberately introduced resistance in the regulated airway, and by altering sizes, they can distribute specific air quantities to regulated splits and free splits (4, 5). The enactment of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977, and the regulations adopted by the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (now called the Mining Safety and Health ministration) prompted greater discussions of optimal mine regulator locations because of the Act's stringent ventilation requirements (2, 3). For example, by requiring the separation of the air used in the belt haulage entries from the intake and return airways, the regulations required the creation of a third type of airway---the neutral airway, as opposed to the intake and return airways, adding to the complexity of a mine's ventilation network. It is the intent of this report to show that panel regulators should be located in intake airways at the neck of a panel for a blowing fan system and in return airways at the neck of a panel for an exhausting fan system in order to achieve optimal air control. A computer simulation model is used to determine optimal mine regulator location.

Jan 1, 1983

By George Krauss, M. Cohen

The reverse martensitic transfomzation (i.e., the conversion of martensite to austenite on heating) was investigated in Fe-Ni alloys containing 30.5 to 33.5 wt pct Ni. The reversed austenite was found to be sufficiently distorted to exhibit marked differences in mechanical properties and to undergo recovery and re crystallization on further heating. In particular, the yield strength of the reversed austenite was as much as 2.5 times higher than that of the virgin austenite: with five cycles of the direct and reverse martensitic transformation, the yield strength was 2.6 times higher. There was an accompanying decrease in strain-hardening capacity and in stable ductility or uniform elongation. The recrystallization was observed to follow sigmoidal kinetics, but was characterized by an abnormal1y large temperature dependence which was evidently due to carbon segregation at the migrating grain boundaries. Upon recrystallization, the strength Properties reverted to those of the virgin austenite, but the ductility did not fully recover until the annealing temperature was further raised to dissipate the carbon segregation at the grain boundaries. The transformation of reversed austenite to produce second-generation martensite resulted in an unusually imperfect structure, thereby leaditg to additional strengthening. Horlleuer, the martensitic phase was much less responsive in this respect than was the austenite. MOST martensitic transformations are capable of undergoing a reverse transformation back to the austenitic phase on heating.&apos; This reaction, like the direct transformation to martensite on cooling, is usually athermal. In analogy with the Ms andMf temperatures for the martensitic transformation (where M, > Mf), the reverse transformation is characterized by the As andAf temperatures (where As<Af). It is well-known that the finish (Af) of the martensite-to-austenite reaction on heating may occur at a temperature where austenite is not stable relative to other phases in the equilibrium diagram.&apos; Reverse martensitic transformations have been found to influence the properties of the parent austenitic phase in a number of ferrous alloys. The austenite thus produced after one or more reversals is significantly altered in strength, microstruc-ture, diffusivity, and annealing characteristics compared to well-annealed, virgin austenite. The first detailed observations of such phenomena were made by Wasserman3 on an Fe-30 wt pct alloy. He found that the reversed austenite (i.e., austenite formed by the reverse martensitic transformation) was much stronger than the original austenite, and the second-generation martensite (i.e., martensite produced from the reversed austenite) was somewhat stronger than the first-generation martensite. On heating the reversed austenite, recrystallization occurred in a manner similar to that of a cold-worked metal; the Laue spots sharpened and the strength decreased.4 In recent years, Russian workers have shown considerable interest in these reverse martensitic transformations. Most of such investigations5-10 have been concerned with the stabilization of reversed austenite relative to subsequent martensitic transformation, and because of its unusual nature, this phenomenon will be discussed in detail elsewhere." On the other hand, the annealing behavior of reversed austenite and the attendant variation in properties have received little attention beyond the experiments of Wasserman.3,4 Gridnev eta1.,8 in one of the few such studies. followed the hardness change of reversed austenite as a function of time at three annealing temperatures. The marked strengthening of austenite achieved by the reverse martensitic transformation has been referred to as "transformation strengthening" by Wasserman3,4 and as "phase hardening" by Malyshev et a1.7,9,10 to differentiate it from hardening produced by cold working. Both groups of investigators noted that further strengthening of the austenite could be attained by repeated or cyclic transformations, but the first cycle resulted in the most pronounced effect. Evidence of the altered microstructure of reversed austenite has been reported by Maximova and Nikonorova6 and by Edmonson and KO.12 The former found that reversed austenite was much more sensitive to etching than the original austenite, and the latter authors observed a (&apos;ghost" structure resembling martensite in certain areas of the reversed austenite. Enhancement of the self-diffusion rate in reversed

Jan 1, 1962