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By Albert Sauveur

My first paper dealing with the theories of the hardening of steel by rapid cooling was published in the Transactions of this Institute in 1896— 30 years ago-under the title "The Microstructure of Steel and the Current Theories of Hardening," hence, also, the title of the present paper. It was extensively discussed and was, I believe, one of the starting points of many subsequent papers and discussions of the same subject, dis-cusssions which at times became almost violent and which led to the formation of different schools such as the "Carbonists" and the "Allo-tropists." Some of the older members of the Institute, who took part in the debate or who were interested observers, will, I am sure, have kept a vivid remembrance of it. The controversy gradually quieted down, apparently for lack of ammunition, without any side acknowledging defeat. Recently, however, interest in it ha been revived through the claims of some that these vexed questions had at last been solved. In an effort to ascertain if possible the prevailing view of those best qualified to express an opinion a questionnaire was submitted to the following gentlemen: J. 0. Arnold Sir Robert Hadfield Edgar C. Bain W. H. Hatfield Carl Benedicks Samuel L. Hoyt N. Belaiew Kotaro Honda H. M. Boylston Zay Jeffries Harry Brearley H. Le Chatelier G. K. Burgess H. H. Lester William Campbell Francis F. Lucas H. C. H. Carpenter John A. Mathews Pierre Chevenard A. McCance P. Dejean Albert Portevin C. A. Edwards Walter Rosenhain F. Giolliti Bradley Stoughton G. Grenet F. C. Thompson Leon Guillet

Jan 1, 1926

By G. A. Savanick

Borehole (slurry) mining, where a tool incorporating a water-jet cutter and a downhole slurry pump mines phosphate through a borehole, was field tested in northeastern Florida as part of a US Bureau of Mines program to increase the domestic availability of critical minerals. About 1.5 kt (1700 st) of phosphate ore were mined at 23.6 t/h (26 stph) from a depth of 76 m (250 ft). The borehole was filled with water during mining for roof support and to assist slurry pumping. Underwater cutting was enhanced with an air-shrouded water jet. Mined cavities were backfilled to prevent subsidence after abandonment. Roof subsidence during mining was avoided only when the cavity was filled with water. Environmental monitoring before, during, and after mining included hydrological studies and measurements of water quality. Significant water quality changes occurred only in the zone being mined and were confined to the immediate area of the borehole.

Jan 1, 1986

By M. E. Wadswort, A. S. Peck

Infrared data disclose that phenacite reacts with oleic acid to form a chemisorbed oleate monolayer on the mineral surface. The absorption band characteristic of the antisymmetrical C = 0 oleate structure appears at a spectral wavelength of 1623 cm-'. Chemisorption also results in the displacement of OH- and silicate from the mineral surface. Infrared absorbance at 1623 cm-1 is correlated with float-ability at different pH for -60-mesh phenacite particles. Phenacite, Be2SiO4, is an ore mineral often associated with quartz, microcline, and chrysoberyl in pegmatites and mica schist. Experimental phenacite beneficiating processes have been confined principally to the flotation of low grade ores occur-ing in several mountain ranges of Utah and Nevada. The U.S. Bureau of Mines ' has recently reported on the separation of phenacite from ore deposits of Mount Wheeler, Nev. Infrared techniques were previously applied by the authors to characterize the role of sodium oleate and oleic acid in the flotation of several non-sulfide minerals.23 A parallel study was projected to the flotation of the orthosilicate mineral phenacite with oleic acid. Infrared spectra provided a 'molecular fingerprint' of the mineral surface and permitted identification of the reaction mechanisms. Infrared data were complemented with flotation and chemical tests. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES The experimental procedures used in this investigation, for which data are presented in graphical or spectral form, are described in chronological test order. Phenacite crystals from Mt. Antero, Colo., were obtained from Ward's Co., Monterey, Calif. The crystals were fragmented in a porcelain mortar to -60 mesh and then pretreated with 0.5 molar HC1 for 15 min to remove iron. Then, the mineral particles were washed free of acid with distilled water and dried. Part of the dried material was ground to a fine powder with a Fisher Grinder using an agate mortar and pestle. Next, the powder was placed in a graduated cylinder and mixed with 500 ml of distilled water. The mineral in suspension was decanted from the settled fraction after 5 min, and the colloidal suspension was used for adsorption tests in which a high specific mineral surface area was required for adsorption and infrared analysis. Conditioning was performed in 50 ml glass centrifuge tubes for both infrared and flotation test determinations. Twenty ml of colloidal suspension was used for the infrared adsorption tests. One and a half g of deslimed -60-mesh HCl pretreated phenacite was added to 20 ml of distilled water for flotation conditioning tests. Six mg of oleic acid was used for each infrared adsorption test, and 0.2 mg of oleic acid was used for the flotation conditioning tests. HCl and NaOH were used for pH modification. The pulps were stirred at a speed of about 1500 rpm for 3 min. Then, the solids were separated out and either dried at 50°C or immediately transferred to a float cell. The pH of the residual liquid was determined with a Beckman Zeromatic pH meter. The flotation procedure is described as follows: 1) A 325-1111 glass micro-float cell was filled with distilled water. 2) Conditioned mineral was placed in the cell and the pulp was aerated through the glass fritted bottom at 7 psi pressure. 3) Floated mineral was skimmed from the cell with a glass slide until flotation ceased. (The end point was reached in all tests in less than 2 min.) 4) The flotation products were dried, weighed, and the recovery was calculated. Samples for infrared analysis were made into mulls using either oleic acid or series 13-21 Halocarbon oil obtained from Halocarbon Products Corp., Hacken-sack, N.J. The mulls were placed between two sodium chloride windows. A characteristic phenacite infrared band at 1868 cm-' was used as an internal standard for quantitative determinations in which absorbance at this position was quantified by the baseline-tangent method4 and related to absorbance at 1623 cm-'. The ratio obtained by dividing absorbance at 1623 cm-' by absorbance at 1868 cm-' was defined as an absorbance quotient for use in graphical presentation.

Jan 1, 1968

By Eugene Stephenson

IN most instances the fluids produced from underground reservoirs have been described as they appear at the surface, and usually it has not been necessary to distinguish between surface and reservoir phases. More recently it has become imperative to recognize the fact that changes in phase may occur between the reservoir and the receiving unit. The simple terminology of "wet" and "dry" gases and "crude petro-leum oil" served our needs fairly well in the shallow, low-temperature and low-pressure fields. It has been left to the legislatures, regulatory com-missions, and courts to decide whether a field is or was a gas field, an oil field, or both. This they have done by direct definition and also by implication. For example, in Texas:1 (d) The term "gas well" is any well (a) which produces natural gas not associated or blended with crude petroleum oil at the time of production, or (b) which produces more than one hundred thousand (100,000) cubic feet of natural, gas to each barrel of crude petroleum oil from the same producing horizon, or (c) which produces natural gas from a formation or producing horizon productive of gas only encountered in a well bore through which crude petroleum oil is also produced through the inside of another string of casing. (e) The term "oil well" is any well which produces one (1) barrel or more of crude petroleum oil to each one hundred thousand (100,000) cubic feet of natural gas.

Jan 1, 1938

By Thos Gibson

THE object of taxation is the raising of a revenue. Unless a tax accomplishes this, it is a failure. The right to take for public purposes a part of the moneys obtained from the carrying on of private enterprises is an attribute possessed only by a lawful government, and may indeed he called the supreme attribute of government. In free, democratic communities this power must of necessity rest upon the consent of the governed. Power implies obligation, hence it is obviously the duty of a government, in framing a system of taxation, to provide one which, while effective in producing a revenue, is also just and impartial. It will be conceded that mines and mining property ought to bear a fair share of the public expenditure. The question is, upon what basis taxation should proceed. Two separate taxing principles are usually contended for: Taxation should be proportionate to the benefits received by the person or property taxed; taxation should be based on ability to pay. A third is sometimes added, taxation should have reference to the extent and value of the natural resources enjoyed. As applied to mining taxation, it is pointed out by those who support the first mentioned basis that, mines being usually situated in rocky and hence sparsely peopled regions, mining companies are frequently obliged to construct roads, railways, telegraph and telephone lines, schools, water and sewerage systems, and many other amenities and conveniences of civilization, the cost of which in regions better suited for agriculture and consequently more thickly populated, has either been defrayed locally, or can be spread over a sufficiently large taxable group of people to materially lighten the financial burden on the mine. The mining com¬pany, it is argued, having made these outlays, should receive credit for, them and be relieved of taxation to a corresponding extent. There may be some force in this contention, but the situation is capable of relief without attempting to place taxation upon so unworkable a basis as the value of benefits received. Who is to be the judge of these benefits, and how are they to be valued? The very existence of a mining company and its ability to carry on business in peace and security, depend on the prevalence of law and order, which is a result of good government. The state provides protection against violence, and courts of law for

Jan 4, 1919

By A. N. Chirico

This paper reviews the three major distillation processes: multiple effect (LTV) evaporation, multi-stage flash distillation and vapor-compression forced circulation evaporation. Scale preventative measures are discussed for all saline water applications. Operational data is presented on the Freeport, Texas, demonstration plant, which is the first government facility to produce one million gallons per day of fresh water for a municipality. There has been much publicity concerning the water crisis that confronts many peoples today. There is little doubt that the arid regions - which include the Middle East, parts of Africa and the Caribbean — have suffered to no slight extent for the lack of this most precious commodity. But what about our own country? Government experts have extrapolated demands and flatly predict that by 1980 we will be faced with a shortage of 80 billion gal per day. The validity of this prediction has been disputed by others; however, it appears certain that there will always be a natural abundance in some areas, a shortage of supply in other areas. Distributing our total natural water resource equitably would be impossible. Transmission of water by means of aqueducts can be an expensive undertaking. The controversial Feather River Project in Calif. is an example. The estimated cost for this venture is a staggering three billion dollars. As our population continues to increase and our standard of living rises, agricultural and industrial requirements will be proportionate. What can be done to avoid a crisis? We can conserve and use our water for industrial and irrigation purposes more judiciously: we can attempt to eliminate pollution of our natural resources from sewage and industrial wastes; we can develop, while there is time, saline water conversion processes for the massive production of low cost fresh water. The scope of this paper will be limited to only the distillation type processes that are commercially feasible. The first step in making potable water is to find a source of raw material. An inexhaustible supply is provided by oceans in coastal regions, but the supply of water is more critical in the inland communities of our country. The source of raw material in these. regions is brackish well water and this must be utilized. There is a significant process difference when handling brackish water compared to seawater and this brings out an important fact: No single conversion method can be universally applied to solve all the water problems. Composition of the raw water and degree of distillate purity are factors which must be considered before a particular process is selected. Local conditions at the plant site, fuel costs, labor costs, disposal facilities, etc. are other equally important factors which must be evaluated. WATER CONVERSION PROCESSES Conversion processes commercially feasible today are: 1) multiple effect evaporation, 2) multiple flash distillation, 3) vapor compression distillation and 4) electrodialysis. The first three are distillation processes which take potable water out of the raw water, while the fourth is a membrane process which takes out the salt. In addition to the above there are a good number of other promising methods for production of potable water, many of them in the basic research stage. Freezing is another promising process with commercial potential. This process hinges upon the formation of ice crystals which are free of salt occulsions. Separation and washing of the crystals are problems that must be solved before this process can be considered commercially feasible. Freezing processes have several advantages mostly attributable to the low temperature of operation. This low temperature reduces the scaling and corrosion problems encountered in higher temperature operations. Several different freezing processes are being considered and will be tested in the pilot plant at Wrightsville Beach. One process is a flash freeze process, a second uses a secondary refrigerant such as butane for freezing, and a third process employs a secondary refrigerant particularly controlled to produce large ice crystals. Of the above processes, only the distillation processes are reliable when water of high purity is re-

Jan 1, 1963

E. A. Loria (Product Metallurgical Engineer, Crucible Steel Co. of America, Pittsburgh)—In this interesting paper, our introductory work was quoted. We would like to call attention to our sequel paper on the experimental determination of oxygen in cupola-melted cast iron,20 which was not mentioned. Vacuum-fusion oxygen values (as well as hydrogen and nitrogen) were reported for nine heats of cast iron melted in the Battelle 10-in. cupola under normal operating practice and under oxidizing conditions. The oxygen analyses ranged from 12 to 68 pprn compared to the author's computed range of 10 to 80 ppm. The average amount of oxygen found in our irons was about 20 pprn and changes in the silicon content of the iron from 1.32 to 2.35 pct had no consistent effect on the oxygen content of the iron. The gas determination specimens were poured in split steel molds that produced a clean pin, 3/8 in. diam and 2 in. long. Because freezing was almost instantaneous, the pins were entirely white iron (nongraphitic). In the early stages of the investigation, the pins were transferred to a mercury-filled trap system immediately after pouring. This was done to collect gas evolved between pouring and analysis. However, it was found that during storage for 4 weeks gas evolution was negligible. Because the vacuum-fusion analysis was usually completed within 4 days of pouring, pins from later heats were not stored in the mercury-trap system. We found some evidence that cast iron picks up oxygen during long storage, because of rusting. Earlier work by the British Cast Iron Research Association has shown that cast irons may be stored for a long time without significant change in their oxygen content. The practical significance of this study (and our own) would be in the improvement of cast-iron quality. Has the author investigated this aspect and reached any conclusions on the effect of oxygen on the mechanical properties of cast iron? The second phase of our study was to determine the properties of the test bars poured simultaneously with the gas analysis specimens. We realize that there may be complicating factors attendant in this procedure.21 Results from many test specimens measuring chill depth, transverse flexure and deflection strength, spiral fluidity, and sensitivity to hardness of gray irons ranging from 12 to 68 pprn oxygen showed that the lowering of transverse strength was the only significant undesirable effect of high oxygen content. A statistical study of the chill test results21 showed that the iron containing 22 to 46 pprn oxygen had forced chill depths that were 2/32 in. below the expected value from their composition, and irons containing less than 16 ppm oxygen had forced chill depths averaging 1/32 in. greater than the expected chill depth. Higher oxygen contents, within the range of 12 to 68 pprn did not increase forced chill depth. With the wedge tests, there was a good linear relationship between carbon equivalent of the irons and their chill depth. The results indicated that oxygen contents below 50 ppm in the iron did not affect chill depth. With 50 to 70 ppm oxygen in the iron, oxygen appeared to have a slight graphitizing tendency. These results are in disagreement with the common belief in gray iron foundries that "oxidized irons" produce high chill depths. It would be appreciated if the author would comment on this subject. Gustaf Ostberg (author's reply)—In Fig. 1 the legend of line I should read 2 pct C, 1 pct Si. The author wishes to thank Mr. Loria for calling attention to his later work, which was published after the present paper was concluded. The range of oxygen contents quoted seems to agree well with the author's values. The lack of response to variations in silicon content is probably due to the fact that the oxygen content in most cases was below the saturation level. The absence of temperature dependence, even in the case of saturation, is understandable if the difficulty in formation and escape of the deoxidation products is taken into account.

Jan 1, 1960

By Oliver Bowles

THE ADVERSE CONDITIONS that have gripped industry during recent years have to some extent submerged technical developments under the more pressing demands of economic problems. Progressive operators, nevertheless, have given attention to improvements in processes and equipment even when sales were at a low ebb. The array of facts relating to technical advancement here presented, although doubtless incomplete, is sufficient to indicate that the spirit of inquiry and research has not been quenched by adversity. During the latter part of 1933 a new element has focused interest more fully on improved methods of quarrying, mining, and preparation of nonmetallic minerals. Codes established under the NRA have fixed minimum wages, reduced working hours, and tended to establish selling prices .on a basis of reasonable profit. Labor adjustments will in many instances increase the cost of production, and stabilization of selling prices will tend to emphasize quality and service rather than price as sales arguments. These new conditions point to a growing necessity for improving technique in the interest of reducing cost of production and improving the quality of products. Thus, technology is linked with economics more firmly than ever.

Jan 1, 1934

By C. E. BOCKUSD

WHEN Mr. Bain asked me to lunch with you he requested that I say a few words as to how the Institute could be helpful to the bituminous coal industry. I feel like saying, "Thank you, what have you?" I do not want to trace in detail the story that is old already to many of you. On the other hand it does take some little stage-setting to illustrate what is the matter in the bituminous coal industry, a trouble that must some day be cured. There has been something over a century of bituminous coal production as a real business in this country. True, Joliet and Marquette discovered coal in Illinois in 1673, according to published accounts of their travels, and shortly thereafter Father Hennepin also found Illinois coal in 1689. Coal was mined near Richmond in 1750, and Richmond shipped coal to New York and Philadelphia in 1789. But it was not until 1838 that the production of bituminous coal in this country totaled a yearly output equal to the minimum for one class A mine today, for that was the first year that production exceeded 200,000 tons.

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

OUR own Institute of Metals and Iron and Steel divisions cooperated with the Iron and Steel Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Welding Society, and the American Society for Steel Treating in a busy week at Cleveland. The morning sessions were held at the Hotel Cleveland and the afternoon ones at the Auditorium, where the metallurgical exhibition under the auspices of the American Society for Steel Treating not only occupied the arena of the Auditorium but completely filled the huge adjacent Annex. In the intervals of sessions the members thronged the exhibits but in the evenings the local attendance was so great that if the crowds had been any larger it would have been difficult to see the exhibits. With so many firms, both producers of metals and of equipment accessory to their production and use, it would be impossible to mention them -all and unfair to single out a few, since no two individuals' judgment would coincide as to relative interest and importance. In any case an exhibit is a thing to be seen rather than described, and these were well worth seeing.

Jan 1, 1929

By J. S. Marsh

The student of steelmaking is all too well acquainted with the fact that in many instances he must deal with data that in graphical representation exhibit the property most desirable in bird shot. This is scarcely mystifying, since the effort to establish one variable as a function of another is usually hampered by the simultaneous operativeness of two or three other factors that may be important. A large part of arriving at relationships that have the pleasing self-consistency of, say, precise measurements of thermal expansion, consists of determining what factors must be held constant-—an even larger part usually consists of collecting data for which those factors have been so maintained. It is not intended to imply that functional relationships in the physical chemistry of steelmaking are hopelessly obscure; on the contrary, it is merely necessary to be undisturbed by marked deviation of some points from a curve that otherwise makes sense. A reaction mechanism suggested by such a curve may call attention to hitherto unsuspected factors operative in the origin of the deviating points, and thus permit another step to be taken in the direction of fuller understanding. It is proposed, therefore, to suggest several empirical relationships. Even though the approach is not always rigorous, deviations caused by simplifying assumptions appear to be too small to obscure a provisional It has been appreciated for some time that the carbon-oxygen reaction in liquid steel is highly important. For example, Körber et al.,' in introducing a summary of their extensive work on steelmaking reactions, said: "... the far-reaching and truly dominating action of carbon upon the metallurgical reactions will be especially stressed ..." In "Basic Open Hearth Steelmaking"2 (hereafter BOHS, for simplicity), it is accepted repeatedly that the various slag-metal interactions are nearly always controlled by the carbon-oxygen reaction. Before further discussion of this reaction, however, it will be worth while to consider briefly the carbon-oxygen equilibrium. In BOHS (p. 483) it is stated that: When liquid iron is brought into contact with gases containing carbon monoxide it absorhs carbon and oxygen. Conversely the carbon and oxygen in the metal unite to form carbon monoxide which is evolved from the bath during the open-hearth boil or while rimming ingots are solidifying. . . . When the equilibrium pressure is one atmosphere the equilibrium-constant equation simplifies, on the assumption that the activity of each element is equal to its percentage, to a constant which has been so much used that it has acquired a special symbol m. where m = %C X %O

Jan 1, 1945

By Richard H. Jahns

Terminology and Basic Specifications Minerals and closely allied natural substances that are used for personal adornment, as raw stock for the fashioning of ornamental objects, or for other decorative purposes can be referred to collectively as gem materials. Industrial gem materials are those employed directly in various areas of industry. Substances that are manufactured for gem or industrial uses are termed synthetic gem materials; most of these correspond in composition and crystal structure to certain minerals found in nature. Imitation materials are those whose use is based upon their resemblance to substances of different composition and greater value. Gem stone is a designation commonly restricted to those materials suitable for personal adornment, and the complementary term ornamental stone is applied to the remaining materials not used industrially. This distinction is arbitrary and somewhat inconstant, owing to numerous geographic differences and historical shifts in end uses. Further, there is a complete gradation between the category of ornamental stones and that of dimension stone. Although many building and monumental stones are undeniably ornamental in their uses, treatment of such material is beyond the scope of this chapter. Substances that lose their identity in use are excluded from the gem category. Thus a transparent crystal of beryl would not be classed as a gem stone if it were treated as a source of beryllium metal. The adjectives precious and semiprecious have been employed as a means of distinguishing different gem materials on the basis of their recognized value. Diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire consistently have been regarded as precious stones, and in cut form they commonly are referred to as the noble gems. Opal, pearl, turquois, and chrysoberyl also have been classed as precious at various times. In recent years, however, it has been increasingly recognized that no satisfactory distinction can be based upon assessed value or any group of intrinsic properties, and at the present time all gem stones normally are referred to as precious. Indeed, the tendency is to extend this term to include many of the so-called ornamental stones, and the designation semiprecious has been essentially discontinued. Unlike most mineral commodities of economic value, gem materials are little altered in processing for end uses. Some stones are used in essentially their natural form, and most are reshaped and polished without significant changes in their fundamental properties. Thus the preparation of gem and ornamental stones is intended chiefly to emphasize or enhance desirable characteristics that are present initially. The worth of most synthetic gem stones is founded upon the identity between their major properties and the natural characteristics of the corresponding minerals, just as the pleasing qualities of imitation stones depend upon how well certain of their properties simulate those of more valuable substances. The most important specifications of gem materials represent four basic factors: beauty, durability, rarity, and portability. Beauty, whether expressed as splendor, "purity," attractiveness, or in some other way, is mainly a function of personal response to optical properties such as color, transparency, indices of refraction, and dispersion. Freedom from visible imperfections is important for transparent stones. For some substances beauty depends also upon asterism, opalescence, textural and

Jan 1, 1960

INTRODUCTION The after-tax rate of return that properly discounts future cash flows is usually referred to as the "discounted cash flow-rate of return" (DCF-ROR). The method is also referred to as the internal rate of return, true rate of return, and investor's rate of return in some literature. According to Stermole (1974, p. 188) industry polls indicate that the DCF- ROR method is the number one economic evaluation decision method used by more than 90% of the industrial companies that use for- mal economic evaluation procedures. Other economic evaluation methods that have been used in the past, such as payback period, accounting ROR, etc., have largely given way to DCF-ROR analysis because they fail to account properly for the time value of money. DCF-ROR is generally defined as that rate of return that makes the present worth of future generated cash flow over the life of the project (including after tax salvage value) equal to the present worth of all after-tax investments. The "present worthing" of future cash flow involves discounting future cash flow to a present value according to the mathematics of compound interest at some interest rate. The determination of the interest rate that equates the present worth of future after-tax earnings with the present worth of all after-tax investments necessary to create such earnings is properly called the discounted cash flow rate of return analysis. Although present worth calculations are usually used for determining the DCF-ROR, the same results can be obtained by comparing income and costs of any equivalent point in time, i.e., future worth, etc.

Jan 1, 1980

By P. G. Shewmon

If interfacial equilibrium is maintained at the interface between a growing precipitate and the supersaturated matrix, so that solute diffusion alone determines the growth rate, the precipitate shape should evolve toward that characteristic of the dendrites found in solidification. However, this shape is rarely observed in precipitation reactions proceeding at high temperatures where interfacial equilibrium is usually felt to prevail. Thus some other stabilizing factor must enter, to keep the interface smooth. It is shown that a slow interfacial reaction (low interfacial mobility) will stabilize the interface, while transformation stresses have a IN studying the kinetics of phase transformations such as solidification or proeutectoid precipitation at high temperatures, it is customary to assume that equilibrium exists across the interface and that the rate of the reaction is determined by the rate at which heat and solute diffuse to and from the interface. In the case of precipitation, such an assumption predicts an almost infinite rate of initial growth. It is generally stated that the rate cannot be infinite and that during some initial period the rate must be determined not by solute diffusion but by an interfacial reaction, i.e., transferring atoms across the interface. The duration of this much weaker stabilizing eFfect and impurities tend to enhance instability. It is also concluded that a sets an upper limit on the wavelength of the perturbation that can give instability. Thus initially all flat or smoothly curved particle interfaces will be stable even if their growth is diffusion-controlled. Proeutectoid precipitation in the Fe-C system is considered in some detail and it is shown that the experimental results can only be rationalized if the growth rate of ferrite in steel transformations is determined by a slow interfacial reaction for all hut a few orientations between the two phases. initial period has never been clearly established, but it is generally assumed to be too short to affect any measurable results.' Several authors have pointed out that in the case of interfacial equilibrium any bump in the surface will grow out ahead of the planar interface due to the higher gradient in front of it.2j3 Thus the interface will be unstable with respect to an irregular interface with points (plates) propagating rapidly out ahead of the interface into the supersaturated phase. Recently, Mullins and Sekerka have given equations for the stabilizing effect of surface tenion.~ They found that for particles with a radius of curvature of 1 p or greater the stabilizing effect of surface tension will be completely overcome by a supercooling, or supersaturation, of as little as

Jan 1, 1965

I HIT the ceiling when I opened my November MINING ENGINEERING and after waiting a week to cool off I' still find it necessary to express my resentment of the gross libel embodied in the editorial introduction to Norman Stines' legitimate criticism of my paper on "Russia's Mineral Potential" (p. 949). The underlying thesis of my article, and a point that I tried to make even more clearly in my oral presentation at the St. Louis meeting last February, is that we should not over estimate the present and near-future mineral production of the USSR. The words that I resent in your boxed introduction are: "Opinions range from those presented by Paul Tyler ... to those of Norman C. Stines . . ." This is not merely an understatement that can be defended by admitting that the range goes much farther to the left, beyond me. It represents the appraisal that 90 pct of your members will carry away, namely that I am not only an incompetent observer-which may be true-but always that my bias is to applaud the efficiency of the beasts in the Kremlin-which is not true. Notwithstanding my efforts to clarify the record I now find myself branded as being at the opposite pole from 'Mr. Stines among the red-eyed worshipers of Communism or at least among the timid souls that shake in their boots in the belief that the Soviet system has created an invincible as well as an evil menace to the decent peoples of the world. My ideas are somewhere in the middle ground between Mr. Stines' complaisance or contempt and the exaggerated fears of several other observers whose views have received wide acceptance. PAUL M. TYLER MINERAL TECHNOLOGIST & ECONOMIST 5005 EDGEMOOR LANE, BETHESDA, MD. The introductory paragraph to Mr. Stines' criticism of Mr. Tyler's article (Russia's Mineral Potential, June issue MINING ENGINEERING, page 494) is erroneous as pointed out in author Tyler's letter above. In his article he objectively presented an estimate of the mineral position of the Soviet based on the statistics available to him which sources are credited in the first paragraph of his article. We happen to know that, Mr. Tyler was reluctant to prepare the article for the Mineral Economics Division sessions at the 1951 Annual Meeting and did so only because of his loyalty to AIME. It was thought that this article would be a basis for discussion of this important subject at the Annual Meeting. We apologize to Mr. Tyler for any embarrassment our introduction, may have caused him. Editor

Jan 1, 1952

By Hagh H. Bein

MOST mining engineers and geologists realize the value of photographs in their professional work. Members of each group use photographs to illustrate their reports, and articles and photographs, when available, will often save many words of written text in explaining some point or in proving some pet theory. No one hesitates to take aboveground pictures but many rarely take their cameras underground. However, underground photography, too, is really simple. I do not believe that anything new is offered here and the procedures given are merely a compilation of various methods I have tried and used, with some success, over the past six or seven years. The article will deal with photographs to be taken in metal mines, but only in those where no gas hazard exists, with resultant danger of explosions and fire. Some mining company geologists consider the camera a necessary part of their equipment and carry one on their daily trips to the various parts of the mine under their observation. I know of one company whose files of geologic sketches of heading, backs. and veins are supplemented by actual photographs so that a nice geologic picture

Jan 1, 1945

By O. E., Kiessling

THE better control of production was made the topic for a special program of the annual meeting of the Institute last February. In the discussion at that meeting it was brought out that in many branches of the mineral industry (as in other industries), there was faulty industrial coordination. Those who were best informed by reason of their intimate connection with coal, copper, oil, iron, lead and zinc, and almost all other of the essential minerals pointed to a condition of chronic over-capacity, to the dissipating use of irreplaceable minerals, to an unstabilized price structure, and to over-stimulatecl production and the destruction of some mineral resources over and above what is thought to be the needs of prudent cur- rent consumption. The discussion went far enough to point out the existence of various problems, and the question then raised was "what can be done by way of self-coordination of industry?" by "production control from within?" or in other words, "how can the mineral industry protect its resources against waste and at the same time protect both the producer and consumer against loss from prices that are too low or too high?"

Jan 1, 1928

By Robert Palmer

So MUCH has already been written on this vast subject of ground movement and subsidence, and so many data collected and commented upon, that in this paper the author proposes to confine himself to the submission of some plans showing what has actually occurred in the mining of several of the orebodies which have, come under his direction during the last 20 years or so at Rio Tinto, Spain. Some notes are added for the purpose of describing the plans. The author does not attempt to give his opinion as to the reasons why the subsidences have occurred in the manner in which they are found, but confines himself to giving as true a picture as possible of the movements that have taken place.

Jan 1, 1930

By M. J. Coolbaugh

Mining of potash more than 3000 ft beneath the water-bearing sediments in Saskatchewan presented the unique challenge of designing stable mine workings and assuring protection from overhead water in a material that was believed to flow plastically, but whose behavior as a plastic material was not sufficiently known. Under the stress conditions ordinarily encountered in mining most rocks behave as elastic materials; that is, they compress slightly under pressure, and rebound when the pressure is released. Salt and potash, however, are different. Even under the relatively low pressures encountered at shallow depths, these materials become slightly plastic and yield to stress by flowing.* The plastic properties become more pronounced at greater depth and pressure, and the question arises as to whether or not the plastic flow will be rapid enough and exert enough pressure to destroy underground structures or interrupt the mining process.

Jan 5, 1967

By G. Thodos, E. M. Phillips

A reduced density correlation for the gaseous and liquid regions of ethane has been developed from all the experimental PVT data available in the literature for this substance. Saturated vapor and liquid densities reported for methane, propane and n-butane were utilized to establish the rectilinear-diameter line for ethane. This line was then used with the saturated-vapor data for ethane to produce the saturated envelope for this substance. Most of the saturated liquid data reported for ethane were found to be inconsistent with the saturated-liquid curve resulting from this study. The correlation covers the regions 0.65 < TR <6.0 and 0 < PR < 15. For regions for which no experimental data have been reported, the isobars of the correlation were extended by the use of the theorem of corresponding states. This correlation is presented both on rectilinear and log-log coordinates. INTRODUCTION At the present time, there is considerable interest in the exact PVT behavior of pure hydrocarbons. Matschke and Thodos12 recently have developed a comprehensive compilation of experimental vapor and liquid density data for methane. Similar studies have been conducted for other pure substances.4, 7 In the present study the density data available in the literature for gaseous and liquid ethane have been critically reviewed and utilized to develop a reduced density correlation for this substance. SATURATED LIQUID AND VAPOR DENSITIES The rectilinear-diameter rule proposed by Cailletet and Mathias5 states that the sum of the saturated liquid and vapor densities of a pure substance is a linear function of temperature which passes through the critical point. This law, although empirical, has been well established by continued verification since its conception in 1886. This rule has been applied to the saturated density data of methane,6 propane 17 and n-butane8 to produce the straight lines presented in Fig. 1 which pass through the critical point TR = 1.00, Pr = 2.00. The rectilinear-diameter relationship for ethane was established from the lines for the other substances in Fig. 1 by plotting the quantity p~, + PR against zc for different reduced temperatures. A critical analysis of the saturated vapor and liquid densities reported for ethane by Kuenen,10 Maass and McIntosh,11 and Sage, Webster and Lacey18 revealed that the values of PR1 + pr resulting from these studies were inconsistent with the rectilinear-diameter line obtained from the reliable density data of the other substances, as shown in Fig. 1. In the analysis of these data, reduced quantities were calculated using the critical con-