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By L. B. McConville

The general term "tar sand" refers to sand that contains varying amounts of dense, viscous petroleum. Tar sand deposits have been found throughout the world, often in the same geographical area as conventional petroleum. The largest one by far is known as the Athabasca Tar Sands, in the province of Alberta, Canada. Actually a group of three deposits, these particular sands underlie an aggregate area of more than 12,000 sq miles. Current estimates place the contained raw petroleum at about 700 billion bbl; and via currently available technology, the amount of recoverable synthetic oil may be as much as 300 billion bbl-which is roughly equivalent to five times the combined US and Canadian total crude oil reserves. With the ever-widening gap between energy supply and demand, mining and petroleum companies are now evaluating all possible energy resources-both developed and underdeveloped-and, certainly, the Athabasca Tar Sand deposit is one of the more important ones to merit such attention. The first section in ME deals with the geology and historical developments; the other four sections, with mining methods, extraction technology, economics, and outlook.

Jan 1, 1975

By G. R. Gohn, S. M. Arnold

The results of stress-corrosion tests upon several non-ferrous sheet metals are presented in this paper. The metals include tough pitch copper, five binary brasses, two leaded brasses, one copper-silicon alloy, two tin bronzes, and two nickel-silver alloys. The tests indicate that for most of these sheet metals, externally applied bending stresses below the yield point (0.01 per cent offset) do not result in stress-corrosion cracking as determined by the A.S.T.M. Tentative Method of Mercurous Nitrate Test for Copper and Copper Alloys (B 154-41T).~ Only in the cases of low brass, high brass and medium leaded brass, all cold-worked 4 B & S numbers hard, was any corrosion cracking observed below the yield strength, and in all cases such failures occurred at stresses above the proportional limit for these materials. However, when some of the same materials which showed no evidence of stress-corrosion cracking at stresses below the yield strength, are stressed beyond the yield point, stress- corrosion cracking is quite apt to occur. Since experience has shown that some of these materials, particularly the brasses, are susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking under service conditions, these tests would indicate that, besides externally applied stress and corrosion, plastic deformation in addition to that resulting from the original cold working of the material is also required to produce conditions conducive to stress- corrosion cracking.

Jan 1, 1945

By C. W. Davis, R. S. Dean

AMONG naturally occurring inorganic compounds, magnetite has many unusual and interesting properties, and it is the purpose of this paper to call attention to these properties and review possible uses of magnetite that might be based on them; in other words, to see what uses may be found for magnetite as a physical rather than as a chemical entity, as a mineral rather than as an iron ore. The Mineral Physics Studies initiated in the Metallurgical Division of the U. S. Bureau of Mines a few years ago gathered together much information on mineral properties, and they are therefore the principal source of material for this paper. Magnetic Properties Of Magnetite And Possible Uses As A Magnetic Material Magnetite is unique among minerals for its great magnetic susceptibility, approximately one-third that of soft iron, and some magnetites are permanent magnets, or lodestones. The literature contains many measurements of magnetic properties of individual magnetite crystals, but no systematic survey of the effect of mechanical preparation and heat-treatment was available until the recent investigations of the Bureau of which included not only susceptibility but coercive force and remanence as well. For the purpose of orientation, Table 1 gives the magnetic properties of several samples of magnetite and of a few other substances3. This table indicates that when ordinary magnetite is powdered it decreases in susceptibility and increases in coercive force and remanence, approaching the properties of lodestone. The properties of lodestone are in fact probably due to the development of very large internal surface on fine grain size4.

Jan 1, 1937

By John Birkinbine

Through the partiality of my fellow-members I have been able, during seven years' service on the Council of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, to note the development of technical societies, a subject which commends itself as an appropriate theme for me, in retiring from the office of President, at a time when we meet in convention with Canadian technical societies. Our next assembly, called at Chicago at the time fixed for an International Engineering Congress, offers additional reason for the selection of this topic. If subsequent statements appear to give to the American Institute of Mining Engineers greater prominence than to kindred organizations, they may be excused upon the ground of long association with and loyalty to its members, and to a personal knowledge of their work. Besides, data as to its growth and development are more accessible; and at a meeting of the Institute features connected with it may be considered as of greater immediate interest than those affecting other organizations. The purpose of this address is, however, to use the record of the Institute as indicating a similar development of other technical societies, rather than to claim preeminence for any organization; the work of each must speak for it. There is a general tendency to form associations at the present time. Organizations have been created and are active in every profession and in all branches of labor, trade, industry, commerce, manufactures, science and art. A record of such associations and their aggregate membership would be startling, and would show how large a percentage of the population of North America is connected with one or more of them; but the figures cannot be even approximately estimated. The class of associations representing national, state, or local trade interests, such as boards of trade, chambers of commerce, etc., may be used as an illustration. A late report shows that in the

Jan 1, 1893

The Institute is custodian of funds for support of numerous gold medals and prizes and has representatives on boards awarding still others. Details regarding the Institute Awards are given below. The Institute is represented on the boards of the John Fritz Medal, the Hoover Medal and the Washington Award, in connection with the three national societies of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineering; and, also, in the case of the Washington Award, with the Western Society of Engineers. The Institute is represented with these four societies on the committee in charge of the Alfred Noble Prize.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. O. Lewis

Oil wells usually reach their maximum daily output shortly after they are completed. From that time they decline in-production, the rapidity of decline depending on the output of the wells and on other' factors governing their productivity. The production curve of a well shows the mount of oil produced per unit of time for several consecutive periods; if the conditions affecting the rate of production are not changed by outside influences, the curve will be fairly regular, and, if projected, mill furnish useful knowledge as to the future production of the well. By the aid of this knowledge the value of a property may he judged, and proper depletion and depreciation charges may be made on the books of the

Jan 2, 1918

By Charles Goodale

THE principles and theory on which the U. S. mining law of 1872 was based are well understood, and have been discussed at great length by many writers. The papers by Dr. R. W. Raymond1 in the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers have covered the subject very fully, with explanations of practical results in many adjudicated cases. It is believed that the following instance of the application of the law in recent years will have some weight in a discussion of proposed changes in our mining laws. The litigation between the St. Louis Mining & Milling Co., and the Montana Mining Co., Ltd., a British corporation, over portions of the Drumlummon lode covered more than 20 years, and resulted in a judgment for damages in favor of the St. Louis Co. of such an amount that the Montana Co. declined to pay the judgment, and therefore lost the entire property. The Drumlummon lode claim in the Marysville district, Mont., was located in 1876 by Thomas Cruse. When he staked out his claim, he assumed that the discovery on the Drumlummon vein, and another showing of mineral about 200 ft. distant, were on the same vein, and the center line of the claim was given a course of N. 57'2'E. Development of the Drumlummon vein soon showed that its strike was about N. 15 E., and that the other outcrop was on the North Star lode; so it was inevitable that the Drumlummon vein would cross one or both side lines of the location, and the Montana Co. found it advisable to acquire adjoining claims on both sides of the Drumlummon, in order to avoid possible litigation over apex rights. They bought the Marble Heart, but would not purchase the Hopeful (see Figs. 1 and 2), at the terms proposed for the reason that exploration in the Cruse level had shown the vein to be barren in that region. The owners of the Hopeful were sinking an incline from that claim in 1889, and the Montana Co. enjoined them, contending

Jan 5, 1914

By I. N. Zavarine

AUSTENITE is often defined as a solid solution of carbon or carbide in a nonmagnetic form of iron. Conversely, magnetic measurements are often used by investigators for the purpose of detecting the degree of austenite decomposition after an iron alloy has been subjected to certain thermal or mechanical treatments. Association of the magnetic state with the gamma-phase decomposition is often extended to the alloys of iron with elements other than carbon. Definition of austenite as a nonmagnetic solid solution cannot be accepted in the light of available information without certain reservations. The relation of magnetic transformations with the gamma-phase decomposition in the complex alloys of iron has never been rigorously proved. The present investigation deals primarily with the magnetic trans-formation that occurs in carbon steels during the quenching process. The work was further limited to a study of magnetic transformation in carbon steels quenched at such rates as are necessary to retain the product of austenite decomposition in a martensitic state.

Jan 1, 1934

The members of the Institute will recall the account given in the March Bulletin of the inauguration exercises of the Engineering Foundation which was inhibited by an initial gift of $200,000 by Mr. Ambrose Swasey, to be administered by the United Engineering Society as trustees. The Engineering Foundation Board is now constituted as follows: GANG DUNN, Chairman, EDWARD D. ADAMS, Vice-Chairman FREDERICK R. HUTTON, Secretary, JOSEPH STRUTHERS, Treasurer, American Society of Civil Engineers. J. WALDO SMITH, CHARLES WARREN HUNT.

Jan 12, 1915

By C. G. Dunn

According to a recently suggested effect of silicon on the re recrystallization textures of high-purity Fe-Si alloys with (111)[112] type rolling textures, the recrystallization texture for a rolled (110)[001] oriented iron crystal probably should be entirely different from that of a (110)[001] oriented 3 pct Si-Fe crystal. Comparative studies of iron and 3 pct Si-Fe crystals, however, show that both have (110)[Ool] recrystallization textures when the rolling textures are the (111)[112] type after reductions in thickness of about 70 pct. Qualitatively the results from the iron crystal are like those of polycrystalline high-purity 3 pct Si-Fe and not like polycrys-talline high-purity iron. The large effect previously noted probably involves unknown impurities or processing variables rather than silicon itself. Some problems on experimental and analytical procedure for a spherical X-ray specimen, which was machined from a laminated composite of sheet specimens, are treated in the Appendix. A possible strong effect of silicon on the textures produced in cold-rolled high-purity Fe-Si (HPFe-Si) alloys during primary recrystallization and normal grain growth was suggested in a recent paper.' All the textures were far from the random-orientation type, but that of iron, or of Fe-Si alloys of low silicon composition, was entirely different from the texture of 3 pct Si-Fe. The same effect was noted for the textures obtained prior to normal grain growth, i.e., for primary recrystallization.2 It is the main purpose of the present paper to provide some clarification of this silicon effect. All the HPFe-Si alloys from zero to 3 pct Si, which were rolled by two or more stages separated by anneals, developed (111)[112] type rolling textures.2 Thus, there was no effect of silicon on the rolling textures. Earlier, Gensamer and Mehl3 also found no effect of silicon on the rolling textures of Fe-Si alloys; they obtained the Kurdjum.ow and Sachs (K-S) rolling texture for iron,4 which is characterized as the three ideal components: (100)[011], (112)[li0], and (111)[112]. There is a difference between the HPFe-Si multiple-stage rolling texture and the K-S single-stage rolling texture, but this is a variable processing effect. Of interest here is the fact that the recrystallization textures from (111) [llZ] type rolling textures were different depending on the amount of silicon in the alloy. There was a relatively strong (110) [001] component in the recrystallization texture of HP 3 pct Si-Fe5,8,2 but no such component in HP 0.6 pct Si-Fe, for example; the recrystallization texture for the latter was two (111) [110] type components and a (111) fiber component 1,2 Several publications have shown that a strong (110) [001] recrystallization texture is derivable from a (111) [112] type rolling texture for 3 pct Si-Fe crystals reduced in thickness by about 70 pct.7-10 Furthermore it appears that the strongest of these (110) [001] recrystallization textures occurred when the orientation of the crystal prior to rolling was (110) [001].7 Barrett and evensoon11 found that the rolling texture of a (110)[001] oriented iron crystal was (111) [llj]. Accordingly, it seemed desirable to determine whether a (110) [001] oriented iron crystal, upon rolling and annealing, would behave like the 3 pct Si-Fe crystal (or the polycrystalline HP 3 pct Si-Fe) and thus produce a (110) [001] recrystallization texture contrary to the suggested silicon effect, or would behave like the polycry stalline HP iron or HP 0.6 pct Si-Fe and thus produce (lll) [110] type components in agreement with a silicon effect. Briefly, the idea here involves the use of more precisely defined textures to obtain if possible better control of important variables that affect the recrystallization process. PROCEDURE A (110) oriented crystal of Ferrovac "E" iron (99.9 pct pure) was prepared in sheet form 0.080 in. thick with the [001] direction parallel to the long dimension of the specimen.'' This crystal was etched to 0.073 in. thickness (to remove some small included grains) and then was cold rolled in a 6-in.-diam mill to a final thickness of 0.022 in. The rolling was unidirectional except for an inadvertent reversal at 0.061 in. thickness. At this thickness, and also at 0.040 in., the rolling was interrupted for transmission Laue photographs. Molybdenum Ka-radiation filtered with zirconium was used in a transmission method1' to obtain the cold-rolled (110) pole figure. The sample was a 0.002-in.-thick section taken from the central region of the 0.022-in.-thick cold-rolled crystal. For the primary recrystallization study, cold-rolled samples were etched from 0.022 to 0.021 in. thick and annealed in hydrogen at 850°C. Primary recrystallization to a fine-grained structure, Fig. 1, was obtained in a 5-min anneal. Eleven sheets after

Jan 1, 1963

By E. R. Parker, D. L. Martin

In a previous paper one of the authors observed that the rate of cooling from the anneal prior to testing greatly influenced the life of copper under sustained load at 200°C. Furnace-cooled bars of oxygen-free copper (with and without silver) had a life four to twenty-five times that of the water-quenched specimens. The addition of 0.054 per cent silver to the oxygen-free copper increased the life at a stress of 20,000 lb. per sq. in. from about 2 hr. to 50 hr. Fractures in these bars were intercrystalline. An explanation was advanced to account for the profound influence of cooling rate on the rupture properties at 200°C. The suggestion offered was that at the high annealing temperature the minor constituents are distributed at random. By water quenching, this condition is maintained at room temperature, whereas furnace cooling permits some segregation at the grain boundaries. The higher concentration of the minor constituents in the grain boundaries results in a. strengthening, so that a longer life at a given stress and .temperature results. Small amounts of cadmium or manganese have also been found to increase the life of copper at 200°C., and to a much greater extent than silver.2 The increase in the long-time strength of copper resulting from small additions of cadmium or silver appears to be related, indirectly at least, to the higher softening temperatures of such alloys. The elements, such as silver or cadmium, which greatly increase the rupture life of copper also cause large increases in the softening temperature. As little as 0.05 per cent of cadmium or silver is sufficient to raise the softening temperature more than 100°.3,4 The effects of cooling rate and of minor constituents on the rupture properties are of considerable fundamental as well as practical interest; therefore a more detailed study of their nature was conducted and is reported in this paper. Experimental Procedure Materials The materials studied in this investigation may conveniently be classified in two groups: one consisting of a wide variety of commercial coppers, and the other composed of special high-purity, laboratory-prepared coppers. The commercial materials were tested to determine whether or not the effect of cooling rate occurred with all coppers, whereas the high-purity coppers were investigated in order to establish a basis for evaluating the effect of minor constituents on the rupture properties. In Table I are given the analyses of the coppers tested. The samples I to 6 are commercial materials and were obtained for the most part from stock supplies.*

Jan 1, 1944

THE metal iron has physical and chemical properties which are somewhat different from those of steels, but a knowledge of the pure metal is a useful starting point in studying the behavior of steels. Solid iron exists in two different crystalline forms, called alpha (a) and gamma (?) iron, the former being the ordinary form at room temperature. When heated above the "A2 point," 1400°F. (760°C.), the metal becomes non-magnetic, and at the "As point," 1670°F. (910°C.), it undergoes a change in crystalline form to become gamma iron. In the range 1400 to 1670°F., it is sometimes called beta (0) iron to distinguish it from the magnetic alpha, but the two are identical in crystal structure. When gamma iron is further heated to 2550°F. (1400°C.), it changes into delta (d) iron, which is identical with beta or non-magnetic alpha iron. Pure iron melts (in a hydrogen atmosphere) at 2795°F. (1535°C.); the melting point is generally lowered by alloys or impurities. PROPERTIES OF IRON AT HIGH TEMPERATURES Many of the properties of iron undergo abrupt changes at the transition temperatures. (1) For example, in heating through the As point a sudden shrinkage in volume occurs. Similarly, melting is attended by sharp physical changes such as an increase in volume. Table 27 contains a summary of the measured physical properties of pure iron at several temperatures. Usually the properties change smoothly within the range of stability of a given form, but this is not always the case. For example, the specific heat reaches a sharp maximum at the A2 point although no transformation occurs. Solvent Powers of Liquid Iron. Liquid iron is capable of dissolving most of the other metals and many nonmetallic elements as well. Of the metals which are liquid at the melting point of iron only lead, silver, and bismuth refuse to dissolve to an appreciable extent. The non-metals presumably dissolve by virtue of the formation of an iron compound; for example, sulphur is thought to dissolve as the compound FeS. However, there is no satisfactory method of proving that this

Jan 1, 1944

By A. L. Fentress, P. R. Bucky

The purpose of this paper is to present a scientific method for determining the proper span and shape of roof for safe and economical mining; at present, these two vital factors wherever pillars are left to support the roof are determined by local practice or general experience. To develop the method described here, experimental laboratory work was done. The arch adopted was a segment of a circle, a flat roof being considered an arch with an infinite radius. Hitherto, arches have been used underground without the background of stress analysis that generally precedes arch construction on the surface. In many cases results have not been as expected, because of the lack of knowledge of the factors affecting its strength and behavior. A theoretical and experimental study of arches should furnish information that will make it possible to design safe and economical surface structures as well as underground openings. For example, on the subject of mine drifts and tunnels, the present idea is that arching their backs increases their strength; this paper will indicate that this is not always true, and if it can be shown that under certain conditions arching becomes unnecessary an economic saving will result. In room-and-pillar work a question may arise as to whether arching the roof and gobbing the excavated material will result in timber saving, and a decrease in the dangers from falls of roof. It is to be distinctly understood that each mine must be treated as an individual problem, and that answers to these questions and many others can now be found after experimental laboratory data have been obtained. Mine-Arch Structure Fig. 1 shows the elements that affect the strength or behavior of the experimental arch. They are the span, crown thickness, radius of curvature, rise and restraint. The restraint in all cases was made sufficient to cause the arch to fail without displacing the restraining sides. Fig. 2a is a photograph of a model arch prepared for testing in the centri-

Jan 1, 1934

By Robert Forsyth

As the latest plant on a large scale, the new Bessemer works of the North Chicago Rolling Mill Company, at South Chicago, presents some features of interest to steel-makers, I have ventured to lay before the Institute a short description of that plant, and some* remarks upon the practice there. At the time the South Chicago works were designed the adoption of the basic process in this country seemed imminent. Experience in Europe had demonstrated the perfect success of the process technically, and the question of its commercial value was one which, for any particular works, would have to be settled by its special advantages for procuring the necessary ores and basic materials. Under the circumstances, it was thought best at South Chicago to so arrange the plant as to allow the introdnction of the basic whenever it became advisable, and to make such other changes from the standard type of Bessemer plant as the state of the art seemed to demand and to foreshadow. As the use of metal direct from the blast furnace, while generally condemned by experts here, was in such successful practice in Europe (particularly in connection with the basic process), there was no doubt about its feasibility, while its economy in fuel and labor made it especially attractive to the Western manufacturer. It was accordingly decided to build a direct-metal plant adapted to the basic process. The ingots made were to be rolled into rails at one heat, and were to be of such size (12 inches square and long enough for three and four rails) as to be readily and quickly handled by the rolling machinery proposed. This small size of ingots, and the large number cast from each heat of 10 tons, made it necessary to provide a good deal of room in the casting-pit—much more than in any previons plant—and to put down extra facilities for handling ingots. To meet the delays incident to the basic process—to insure that one vessel should be always blowing if necessary, and to provide opportunity for current repairs to linings, etc.—it was decided that three vessels should be used, and, to properly concentrate the work of

Jan 1, 1884

By D. L. Martin, E. R. Parker

In a previous paper one of the authors observed that the rate of cooling from the anneal prior to testing greatly influenced the life of copper under sustained load at 200°C. Furnace-cooled bars of oxygen-free copper (with and without silver) had a life four to twenty-five times that of the water-quenched specimens. The addition of 0.054 per cent silver to the oxygen-free copper increased the life at a stress of 20,000 lb. per sq. in. from about 2 hr. to 50 hr. Fractures in these bars were intercrystalline. An explanation was advanced to account for the profound influence of cooling rate on the rupture properties at 200°C. The suggestion offered was that at the high annealing temperature the minor constituents are distributed at random. By water quenching, this condition is maintained at room temperature, whereas furnace cooling permits some segregation at the grain boundaries. The higher concentration of the minor constituents in the grain boundaries results in a. strengthening, so that a longer life at a given stress and .temperature results. Small amounts of cadmium or manganese have also been found to increase the life of copper at 200°C., and to a much greater extent than silver.2 The increase in the long-time strength of copper resulting from small additions of cadmium or silver appears to be related, indirectly at least, to the higher softening temperatures of such alloys. The elements, such as silver or cadmium, which greatly increase the rupture life of copper also cause large increases in the softening temperature. As little as 0.05 per cent of cadmium or silver is sufficient to raise the softening temperature more than 100°.3,4 The effects of cooling rate and of minor constituents on the rupture properties are of considerable fundamental as well as practical interest; therefore a more detailed study of their nature was conducted and is reported in this paper. Experimental Procedure Materials The materials studied in this investigation may conveniently be classified in two groups: one consisting of a wide variety of commercial coppers, and the other composed of special high-purity, laboratory-prepared coppers. The commercial materials were tested to determine whether or not the effect of cooling rate occurred with all coppers, whereas the high-purity coppers were investigated in order to establish a basis for evaluating the effect of minor constituents on the rupture properties. In Table I are given the analyses of the coppers tested. The samples I to 6 are commercial materials and were obtained for the most part from stock supplies.*

Jan 1, 1944

By H. LeChatelier, B. Bogitch

Page Introduction........................... 134 Methods of Investigation....................... 135 The Tridymite Network...................... 137 Independent Variables....................... 146 Manufacturing Operations..................... 153 Introduction Silica brick are indispensable in the manufacture of steel because they alone are able to withstand the high temperature of regenerative furnaces. All attempts to replace silica brick by other refractory materials for this purpose have failed, but the reason for this failure has remained obscure; we shall give an explanation later in this paper. Before the war, silica brick employed in France came principally from abroad, for which reason, since the beginning of hostilities, certain French steel works have been seriously handicapped. Our attention was first directed to the question by M. Bied, Engineer of the Teil Works. With him, we began certain investigations, at first using our laboratory and the furnaces of neighboring steel works. The larger part of our experiments, however, have been made in the laboratory of the Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne. For the heating of our samples, we are deeply obliged to MM. Charpy, Yeatmann and Guerineau. In undertaking these studies, our first aim has been to render assistance to French industry, by indicating, as precisely as possible, the necessary conditions for the manufacture of high-grade brick; but at the same time me have

Jan 1, 1919

By K. Huessener

In presenting the following data on combustion in the open hearth furnace and the advisability of automatic combusion control, the author finds himself much more severely handicapped by the lack of reliable test results than he had anticipated when he first undertook to write this paper. In order thoroughly to investigate how the results of an open-hearth furnace are influenced by combustion, one would have to draw up a large number of heat-balance sheets, as Kinney and McDermottl have given for one heat in their extremely able paper on "Open Hearth Efficiency,' presented before the American Iron and Steel Institute on October 27th,1 1922. Instead of covering only one heat, however, such heat-balance sheets would have to embrace a large number of heats, and not only for one kind of fuel, but for all the various fuels in customary use. Use of Radiation-protected Pyrometer Such tests necessitate extremely careful temperature readings, and here the first serious difficulty presents itself. Nearly all the temperature readings so far published have been taken with thermocouples for the lower ranges and with optical or radiation pyrometers for the higher ranges. This method of measuring reveals the temperature of the surrounding walls, or in the case of optical or radiation measurements, the temperature of that part of the opposing walls which has been focused by the instrument. The error in ascertaining the temperature of the gases entering or the waste gases leaving the checker chambers is probably not very large, as the flowing gases impart their temperature to the walls of the flues. On the other hand, the uptakes, where the preheat temperature of gas and air are usually measured, are under the influence of radiated heat from the port ends, and correct temperature readings can here be taken only by using a radiation-protected pyrometer of the aspirating type.

Jan 1, 1926

By J. Nutting, J. W. Cahn

WITH the development of thin film techniques for the direct examination of metals in the electron microscope some new problems in quantitative metallography have become apparent. In order to obtain certain contrast effects in the electron optical image when examining thin films from alloys containing dispersed phases, it is essential to use films of a thickness at least two or three times greater than that of the mean particle diameter of the dispersed phase. From micrographs of such specimens it may be desired to obtain the volume fraction of the dispersed phase and the number of particles of the phase in a unit volume of the matrix. Under these conditions the particles sectioned by

Jan 1, 1960

By Harmel A. Dawson, Robert A. Wilson

First the basic steps to determine the values present and the minerals involved which are the basis for the metallurgical testing are presented in this paper. Next, choosing the process or processes indicated for treating an ore are discussed. This is followed by the test procedures used, the results of which will indicate amenability to treatment. These test procedures have been developed, used and proven effective in laboratory evaluations relative to plant processing. Special, uncommon processing is beyond the scope of the paper. Evalutation of test results and incorporation into the preliminary and final flow sheet for plant design are discussed. The value of a flow sheet, with material and water balances, to plant design is shown.

Jan 1, 1978

By D. W. Hutchinson, W. W. Wen, A. A. Terchick, J. C. Anderson

It is estimated that approximately 3% of the raw coal processed today in coal preparation plants throughout the nation will ultimately report to slurry-tailing disposal (Anderson, 1975). The usual disposal method is to pump refuse slurry containing - 48 mesh (300 pm) refuse into dams or impoundments constructed of coarse refuse. The failure of an impoundment at Buffalo Creek, Saunders, WV (Anon., 1972) resulted in an evaluation of refuse disposal methods by various regulatory agencies as well as coal producers. The result of this evaluation was the promulgation of federal regulations dealing with the construction, operation, and final abandonment of coal refuse disposal area. As a consequence of these regulations, the use of the landfill/impoundment method of disposal became in some cases economically unfeasible or technically impossible. US Steel has studied a number of alternative methods of refuse disposal. During an investigation of mechanical dewatering with a pressure filter, portland cement was added to the slurry to solidify the filter cake. Because of the success of the cement addition, it was decided to study the stabilization of fine coal refuse slurry through use of cement-type additives. The goal of the investigation is to develop a process that will use cement-type additives to solidify the refuse slurry into a form that can be handled and stacked with the coarse refuse, thus eliminating the need for slurry impoundments.

Jan 1, 1982