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By Martin Berman

Tables of 28 positions for all the transitions for nine common analyzing crystals for first, second, and third order reflections were compiled by the Bureau of Mines to facilitate elemental X-ray fluorescence analysis on multi-element systems. The tables are based on a compatible set of wavelengths for 2,346 observed X-ray transitions of the elements lithium to americium. The results are tabulated in order of increasing wavelength as well as by increasing wavelength for each element.

Jan 1, 1969

By E. H. Burroughs

This bulletin is the sixth in the series of petroleum bibliographies published by the Bureau of Mines, Bulletins 149, 165, 180, 189, and 216 being compilations for the years 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919- 1920, respectively. In this bulletin the same general plan has been followed in arranging the references, but one or two additions have been made in the classification.

Jan 1, 1921

By Leonard P. Vitt

This report details the work done to provide the U.S. Bureau of Mines with a customized Wireless Ground Monitor Wireless Ground Monitor was modified as follows: 1. A voltage regulator was added to prevent false trips with line voltage variations. 2. A Ground Wire Trap was designed to eliminate problems with parallel paths and provide spark suppression. 3. A three phase filter was designed to reduce 60 Hz leakage current. 4. A portable tester was designed to permit complete test of installed systems. 5. The design was modified to insure trip with an open ground wire in the event of a failure of any one semi-conductor component.

Jan 1, 1976

By Zabetakis M. G.

This Bureau of Mines report presents a brief summary of the explosion trends in United States coal mines for the past 160 years. These trends show that in spite of the overall improvements in mine safety, the number of fatalities from ignitions of methane has actually increased in recent years. Suggestions are made of procedures that can be utilized to reverse this trend.

Jan 1, 1973

By W. G. Diamond

Lightweight aggregates have become increasingly important to the construction industry. From 1953 to 1960, the quantity of the aggregates used in concrete block, precast and prestressed concrete, and monolithic structures increased about 92 percent. The present study was conducted in Bureau of Mines Area IV which encompasses the South-Central States of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. This is an administrative area and does not delimit a market area or imply an economic unit. Because of the increasing importance of metropolitan areas in evaluating economic growth, significant data showing relationships between growth of the metropolitan areas and the lightweight aggregate industry are included.

Jan 1, 1964

Minerals are vital to any industrialized civilization. Annually, the United States uses more than 4 billion tons of new mineral materials, or about 40,000 pounds per person-about half being mineral fuels and the other half metals and nonmetallics. Stable and economic domestic mining, mineral, metal, and mineral reclamation industries are essential to the economy. The value of United States energy and processed materials of mineral origin exceeds $200 billion annually. Although a number of minerals are imported, especially some designated as "strategic and critical," most U.S. mineral supplies are derived from the domestic mines and processing facilities that you will be seeing, reading about, and visiting as you use this visitor guide. We hope you enjoy your experiences. This pamphlet, a guide to mining and mineral operations that may be observed or visited and some other points of interest relating to minerals, is intended to aid tourists and students who are interested in mining. Some may wish to study our Nation's romantic past; others may plan to enter the minerals industry as a career; still others may have a primary interest in conservation practices. The pamphlet is also intended to aid State and local officials, Chambers of Commerce, and mining firms in answering some of the many questions of tourists and students.

Jan 1, 1977

By D. Bienstock

Using a nitrided fused-iron catalyst, the Bureau of Mines investigated the Fischer-Tropsch reaction in the oil-circulation process. The nitrided iron was quite stable and permitted the longest run obtained thus far in the oil-circulation process without the need for reactivating the catalyst--3,700 hours of operation. The effects of several operating variables--temperature, pressure, gas-recycle ratio, space velocity, synthesis-gas composition, and synthesis with and without reflux of oil to the reactor--on the production of oxygenates were studied. The importance of removing reflux oil and of high gas recycle in increasing the oxygenate content was shown. A finished gasoline containing 28 percent by weight alcohols was produced. The research octane number (RON) was 92.9 clear, increasing to 98.5 with the addition of one milliliter of tetraethyl lead (TEL). INTRODUCTION The Federal Bureau of Mines has been engaged since 1944 in a research and development program on the synthesis of gasoline from coal. Gasification of coal with steam and oxygen to yield a "synthesis gas"--a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen--is being investigated at Morgantown, W. Va., and the synthesis of gasoline by catalytically reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen over iron by the Fischer-Tropsch reaction is being investigated at Bruceton, Pa.

Jan 1, 1960

By P. L. Woolf

Three trials with oxygen-enriched unheated blast air are described. The trials were conducted in the Bureau of Mines experimental blast furnace located in Bruceton, PA. The first trial utilized moisture addition to the oxygenated blast. The second and third trial were conducted with natural gas injection. The test was basically a feasibility study and in that regard the practice was demonstrated to be feasible and also have possible advantages over hot blast operation. The testwork was conducted in 1964 and 1965 as part of a continuing study of iron making technology in cooperation with several North American Steel Companies.

Jan 1, 1985

By Albert L. Toenges

This paper is the third of a series4/ that describes some methods and practices of mining coal mechanically where operations are conducted on more than one shift. The mining of coal by means of mechanical devices has emphasized the need for continued study of the relationship, of these devices to existing physical conditions and to planning of the operations for increased safety and economy. The purpose of this investigation is to stud the operations of different types of mechanization used in mines under various systems of mining and physical conditions to reach conclusions as to the safest and most economical methods and practices of mining. Physical conditions very in different and in the same mining districts and determine, together with economical conditions, the systems of mining and the types of mechanical loading equipment used. The information presented in this paper

Jan 1, 1941

By William W. Adams

A new record in accident prevention was made by the metal-mining a industry of the United States in 1938, as signalized by a lower fatality rate than in any previous year. The rate was less than half as high as in 1911, the earliest year for which figures are available. A good safety record was also established in the prevention of nonfatal injuries, as the injury rate was lower than in any other years except 1931 to 1935, a 5-year period notable for its unusually low injury rates. Employment was more limited in 1938 than in 1937, both in number of men employed and total number of man-hours worked. The number of workdays per man also was smaller than in 1937. Operating companies reported that 7,233 mines were active in 1938 or some part of the year and that the total number of men employed was 103,027. This figure represents the summation of the average number of men employed as reported by the companies, the average for each mine being that for the period during which the mine was active. The number of employees at all mines in 1938 was 15,402 less than in 1937. Reports covering all mines indicated a total of 188 million man-hours worked during the year, or 21 percent less than the nearly 240 million man-hours worked in 1937. In the performance of this work accidents occurred that resulted in the death of 156 employees and the injury of 1.2,722, each injured employee being disabled for more than the remainder of the clay on which he was hurt.. The fatality rate for 1938 was 0.83 per million man-hours worked, which was 9 percent more favorable than the rate of 0.91 for 1937. Nonfatal injuries occurred at the rate of 67.61 per million man-hours worked, an improvement of 10 percent compared with the injury rate of 75.37 for 1937.

Jan 1, 1941

By J. C. Gerdeen

A new analytical model for the shear stiffness at a joint of the fully-grouted resin roofbolt is developed using the Theory of Elasticity and an analogy to a beam on an elastic foundation, Gerdeen [2]. The model developed in this study treats the elastic foundation modulus of the resin as being composed of both an elastic rock and an elastic resin. All previous attempts have neglected the elasticity of the rock and treated only the resin. A three dimensional finite element model of the bolt-resin-rock system is developed also and comparisons are made between the predictions made by it and the analytical solution. It is found that the agreement between the two representations ranges between 1.2% and 10.5%, with the greater differences being observed for systems of very large or very small bolt diameters and resin annulus thicknesses. Since such configurations are not the rule in practice parameter studies are performed using the analytical solution with the finite element solution being used as a check. For a 0.75 in. bolt, a resin annulus thickness of 0.1375 in., a resin with E = 7 x 105 psi and -1) = 0.210, and a rock of modulus E = 6.8 x 106 psi and V = 0.159 the shear stiffness is found to be 1.220 x 106 lb,/in, from the analytical solution and 1.245 x 106 lb,/in, from the finite element model. Applying the finite element model to the problem of the axial stiffness of the fully-grouted resin roofbolt a value of 6.002 x 106 lb./in. is obtained which proves to be at least 50% higher than any of the now existing analytical predictions.

Jan 1, 1976

By Worthen Bradley

This paper describing the metallurgical practice and costs at the reduction plant of the. Sulphur Bank Syndicate, Clearlake, Calif., is one of a series of papers on the treatment of ores being prepared by the Bureau f Mines. The reduction plant and mine of the Sulphur Bank Syndicate are on the eastern shore of Clear Lake, in Lake County, Calif., 4 miles from the town of Clearlake and 125 miles north of San Francisco.

Jan 1, 1931

By W. B. Berwald

The United States Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Natural Gas Department of the American Gras association, has been studying actively for the past several years the problem of the flow of natural gas through high-pressure transmission lines. Numerous data on gas flow through pipe lines under many conditions of operation have been obtained by carefully conducted tests, and these data, together with all other available information, have been analyzed carefully to secure practical facts for the use of operators in designing pipe lines and determining the effects of different operating conditions on pipe-line capacities. The first procedure in initiating; this problem was to review, compile, and analyze all of the existing data on the flow of natural gas through pipe lines. Actual data applicable to pipe and operating conditions normally used in the transmission of natural gas were meager, and the several pipe line flow formulas developed by different investigators gave widely varying; results when applied to problems of pipe-line design. Therefore, further experimental work under conditions comparable to those found in transmitting natural gas was essential before any definite recommendations could be made.

Jan 1, 1931

By W. B. Berwald

The United States Bureau of lanes, in cooperation with the Natural Gas Department of the American Gas Association, has been studying actively for the past several years the problem of the flow of natural gas through high-pressure transmission lines. Numerous data on gas flow through pipe lines under many conditions of operation have been obtained by carefully conducted tests, and these data, together with all other available information, have been analyzed Carefully to secure practical facts for the use of operators in designing pipe lines and determining the effects of different operating conditions on pipe-line capacities. The first procedure in initiating this problem was to review, compile, and analyze all of the existing data on the flow of natural gas through pipe lines. Actual data applicable to pipe and operating conditions normally used in the transmission of natural gas were meager, and the several pipe line flow formulas developed by different investigators gave widely varying results when applied to problems of pipe-line design. Therefore, further experimental work under conditions comparable to those found in transmitting natural gas was essential before any definite recommendations could be made. The problem, as originally planned, included flow tests on pipe lines in operation, and in each test the measured delivery vas to be compared with the delivery calculated from several common pipe line flow formulas.

Jan 1, 1931

By W. T. Westbrook

This Bureau of Mines report contains methods for analyzing iron are for total iron, ferrous iron, metallic iron, silica, manganese, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, titanium, carbon, sulfur, moisture loss, and ignition loss by wet chemical methods. Some are modifications of standard umpire methods; others have been developed by the Bureau of Mines to provide a com-bination of speed and accuracy. They are suitable for a high volume of samples and/or control situations, and for situations in which instrumental results must be verified. These methods have been used to analyze taconites, native ores, some foreign ores, and metallurgical products.

Jan 1, 1975

A major highlight of Fiscal Year 1993 is the completion of a new research facility dedicated to the advancement of robotics research and development. This new facility brings to the U.S. Bureau of Mines one of the largest and most unique facilities of its kind in the world. Located at the Bureau's Pittsburgh Research Center, the facility consolidates under one roof, all of the resource requirements of a first class automation and robotics research program. The Mining Robotics Development Center (MRDC) is the result of a major renovation of a large under-utilized warehouse-type structure and brings together the laboratories and offices previously housed in five separate buildings scattered throughout the Pittsburgh Research Center's 238-acre site. This new facility will support the computer-assisted mining research program, a high priority, multi-million dollar program that is expected to have a high impact on the health and safety of miners and coal productivity.

Jan 1, 1993

By Robert H. Merrill

This report contains a summary of the various studies made to determine the structural design of the production mine area of the Oil-Shale mine, Rifle, Colo. Prior to this investigation, it had been determined from a study of the geology, the structure of the deposit, and mining costs that the deposit should be mined by open stoping. The problem remained to determine the maximum safe roof span, the optimum extraction ratio, and the size of the pillars. These factors were determined from a study of the geologic structure of the deposit, the physical properties of the oil shale, and the magnitude and distribution of the stress around proposed underground openings. The latter was determined from both theoretical calculations and model studies. Safe roof spans, pillar sizes, pillar contours, and optimum extraction ratios were calculated from elastic theory and the physical properties of the mine rock. Safe roof spans, pillar sizes; and time effects were determined by Wright and Bucky by testing mine models in a centrifuge. The models were made from rock specimens taken from the proposed mine roof and pillars. The results from both studies agreed.

Jan 1, 1954

By N. E. Hanna

Originally developed for use in coal mines where on-shift blasting with explosives was prohibited, compressed-air blasting has been used for the past 15 years as a substitute for fixed explosives. With the current commercially available compressed-air systems -Airdox and Armstrong -coal is dislodged by a high-pressure discharge of air from a pressurized shell placed in the coal borehole. In the original systems stationary compressors were mounted on the surface or in the underground ventilated areas. These proved so successful that a mobile compressor unit was developed for use at the working face. Because of the possibility that such a unit might operate in a gassy atmosphere, the Bureau of Mines has investigated the hazards associated with operation under conditions where firedamp could accumulate in explosive concentrations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Grateful acknowledgment is made of cooperation of C. E. Carter, H. R. Hiller, R. E. Kennedy, H. Kohn, H. D. Metzinger, J. Mahoney, J. Nickovich, G. So Scott and I. Spolan in the experimental work.

Jan 1, 1956

By Doyle A. Ellerbruch

An FM-CW microwave system was investigated for measuring coal layer thickness. Measurements were made in three different mines near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, near Fairview, West Virginia, and near Coffeen, Illinois. Microwave frequencies in the range 1-2 GHz were used to measure samples up to 55 cm thick. All samples were backed with a naturally occurring shale. Measurements were also made on coal and shale samples compounded in the laboratory at the Bureau of Mines Pittsburgh Mining and Safety Research Center near Bruceton, Pennsylvania. The results indicate that layer thickness can be determined in most cases, although large anomalies may, in some cases, produce misleading results. Many anomalies that were detected with the FM-CW system were verified visually by drilling into the coal layer. The dielectric constant of coal apparently varies significantly within a coal seam. The form of the output signals from the FM-CW system seem to simplify the data interpretation and analysis process as compared to the manually swept microwave system used previously. It appears that this technique has the potential of measuring changes in the dielectric constant of a coal seam and providing an output that can be used for real-time corrections in layer thickness; measurement.

Jan 1, 1976

By Edward A. McClatchie

A novel nondispersive electro-optical gas analyzer has been designed, fabricated and tested. The instrument is based on a pressure modulated absorption technique. Key features of this new gas analyzer technique include long-term zero and calibration stability. The technique was investigated for the gases carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The delivered analyzer was capable of measuring the three species CO, CO2 and NO2. It is a compact (300 cu in) package, is battery powered and weighs 15 lbs. Some thirty readings of each gas may be made on a single battery charge.

Jan 1, 1980