Search Documents

By H. P. Wheeler

WHEN Germany invaded Poland in September, 1939, the only operating helium plant in the United States was that near Amarillo. Texas, supplied with helium-bearing natural gas from the near-by Cliffside gas field. Today the Bureau of Mines has five plants capable of producing more than 25 times the prewar helium output of the Amarillo plant. Two of the plants have received Army-Navy "E" flags for their part in the faraway "Battle of the Atlantic," where heliumfilled Navy blimps chased Adolf Hitler's submarines away from American shores. Meteorologists, watching balloons carried high into the stratosphere by helium, determined weather conditions that influenced the selection of D-day and dates for other military operation. Demand for helium doubled overnight when the Navy decided to expand its lighter-than-air activities; and as the blimp patrol proved effective, the helium demand became ever greater. A tribute to the success of the Bureau of Mines in meeting the demand for helium was paid by the late Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, in a letter to the Secretary of the Interior on April 10, 1944. Secretary Knox wrote, in part,

Jan 1, 1945

Open pits and quarries are the major sources of all hard rock tonnages mined today. Normally, ore is fractured from the pit bench face by blasting and then truck-hauled to a primary crusher on the pit rim for conveying to the concentrator; overburden (or waste) is generally truck- hauled from the pit to dump areas. This system of truck haulage of blasted ore and waste accounts for some 25 to 50% of total mining costs in a typical open pit operation and commonly is the largest single cost factor. In an effort to reduce these costs mining companies are continually replacing their older and smaller trucks with larger ones and at the same time are studying conversions to conveyor haulage, since this method of transport seems to offer possibilities of lower costs per ton of material handled. In these studies it seems logical to consider installing these conveyors as close as possible to the mining face for maximum use of conveyors and minimum use of trucks, since a conveyor is much less labor intensive than a trucking system. However, direct loading onto a conveyor near the retreating bench face is impractical because of excessive lump size. Consequently, it is conventional practice to load the blasted rock into trucks at the face for haulage to the crusher. After crushing, the rock is fed onto a conveyor. The closer the crusher is to the mine, or if it is in the mine, the shorter the truck haul and the greater the potential for cost saving. At first appearance, in-pit conveying might seem to be an obvious solution, yet many mining companies have considered such a move while few have implemented it. To determine why, it is necessary to consider the factors influencing such a decision. A conveyor system tends to be capital intensive but can have a lower operating cost per ton than trucks. Trucks, on the other hand, tend to cost less to buy but more to operate; thus, economics tend to favor the conveyor if it can be operated close to capacity and if a sufficiently large tonnage can be passed over the system to mitigate the effect of its high capital cost. In a typical hard-rock, open-pit mine it is necessary for a variety of reasons to mine several faces of both ore and waste at the same time; and any mining system must have sufficient flexibility to permit loading from one face or another at short notice. This makes it impractical to place small mobile crushers and their consequent network of conveyors at each working face. To date no alternative has been found to using trucks for bringing all rock of the same class to some convenient marshalling point from which it may be crushed and conveyed from the pit. Another advantage of trucking when compared to conveying is flexibility. Many mines wish to deliver their shot-rock to different locations, depending on the mineral content. For instance, a typical copper mine may have to simultaneously mine milling ore, leach ore,

Jan 1, 1978

By A. B. Kinzel

SILICON, unfortunately, is not in the same category as some other metals with respect to the absolute value of the highest purity material prepared. Tucker, in England, and Becket, in this country have devel-oped procedures for the purification of silicon, and Becket's process has made industrially available silicon of a purity of 99.8 per cent or better. However, even the term "silicon metal" may be a paradox to some people, although not more so than the term "amorphous" as applied to silicon. These terms come from commerce, and "metal" is used to distinguish industrially high-purity silicon from ferrosilicon, silicon-aluminum, and other high-silicon alloys. Alloys of iron and silicon with 95 per cent Si or less are known as ferrosilicon, with a designation of silicon content where necessary, and the terns "silicon metal" is invariably applied to the grades containing 96 per cent Si and higher. The Becket method of purification was referred to in a monograph on the Alloys of Iron and Silicon, and the Tucker procedure was described in some detail in that publication.1 In order to get silicon of still higher purity, a sample, prepared by the Becket method, analyzing 99.84 per cent Si, 0.020 Fe, 0.016 Al, 0.005 Ca, 0.025 C, 0.033 per cent 02, 0.006 H2, 0.006 N2, and 0.001 per cent Mn, was crushed to pass a 100-mesh sieve said further purified by a modification of Tucker's procedure. This modification differs from Tucker's method in that after treatment the 100-mesh alloy was centrifuged to remove the last traces of acid. Our directly determined analysis of this purified sample shows: Si, 99.952 per cent; Fe, 0.009; Al, 0.012; Ca, 0.003; C, 0.006; or 99.982 per cent. Silicon by difference equals 99.97 per cent. The variation between silicon by difference and silicon as directly determined is important. Although Tucker mentions the amount of insoluble matter in commercial silicon both before and after his treat-ment, he does not mention the existence of carbon in the alloy; neverthe-less, lie reports silicon by difference. Any final figure as to purity obviously results from agreement between direct determination and

Jan 1, 1939

Aase, Glenn D., (J'40) Jr. Met.. American Smelt. k Refin. Co., Selby, Calif. Abadie, Henry G., (J'43) Petr. Engr., Avenal, Calif. Abbott, Clarence E., (M'04) Civil Engr., V.P.. Tennessee Coal, Iron & R.R. Co., 1542 Brown Marx Bldg., Birmingham, Ala. Abel, Raymond L., (M'28) Chem. Engr., C.O., Pitts¬burgh Chem. Warfare Procurement Dist., American Bank Bldg., Pittsburgh. Pa. Abel, Walter D.. (M'32) Min. Engr., Supvr. Engr., R.F.C.Lee Angeles, Calif. Abele, Louis T., (M'31) Route No. 1, Adameville, Tenn. Abell, Leo M., (M'31) Mill Supt. & Met., Emperor Gold Min. Co. Ltd., Vatukoula, Fiji Is. Abernathy, G. E., (M'38) Geol., Kansas State Geol. Survey, Pittsburg, Kans. Abernathy, Jack H,, (M'40) Asst. Cenl. Supt. of Prod., Sunray Oil Co., 11th Floor, Philtower Bldg.. Tulsa 3. Okla. Abernethy, D. Carl, (M'44) Min. Engr. Rm. 3217, N. Int. Bldg., Washington, D. C.

Jan 1, 1944

By E. W. Pehrson, J. W. Furness

THE method of presentation in the accompanying charts is based upon the well-known formula: production plus imports minus exports equals apparent consumption. Thus for each area for which data are shown there are two columns of equal height, one representing production plus imports, the other apparent consumption plus exports. Usually no account has been taken of increases or decreases in stocks. All columns and flow lines are drawn to a linear scale which is supplemented by figures showing the actual quantities represented. Owing to the small area occupied by the European countries on the world map it was impossible to show the details of the trade of the individual countries. All of Europe (except Russia), therefore, is shown as a single unit. However, statistics of production and consumption indicated elsewhere on the charts show the degree of self-sufficiency enjoyed by the major European powers.

Jan 1, 1936

By J. C. Jaeger

It frequently happens in engineering and mining situations that "bad" rock is encountered which consists of rock broken up into blocks a few inches or less in diameter by a network of intersecting joints. These joints may be open, or filled by veins of solid material, or covered with weathering products. Essentially, the material consists of an aggregate of small interlocking blocks. In such circumstances, major joint systems usually can be recognised and studied, but there are probably many minor planes of weakness which may cause the blocks to be of almost random shape. It is extremely difficult to determine the properties of such materials. Measurements on small specimens give the properties of the constituent rock and not the jointed material. At the other extreme, the material has occasionally been tested as loose aggregate in large triaxial pots, but this gives no information about the strengthening effect of the interlocking of the small blocks of rock. One simple approach, which has been much used, is to regard the rock as randomly jointed on a small scale and to apply soil mechanics theory to it. In this case, the normal and shear stress at failure are related by [ ] where the coefficient of friction p and the cohesion c will be those of the individual joints. Even in very bad rock, it is usually possible to drill core in small diameters of 1 to 2 in. which will contain a number of joints, both open and filled. The testing of such joints provides one simple method of determining some of the properties of closely jointed rock and will be discussed in detail in the next section. Calculations based on Eg. 1 with values of c and µ obtained in this way may be expected to give a lower limit for the strength of structures in rock.

Jan 1, 1970

By Richard W. Lodge

Mr. H. R. Batcheller, of the class of 1894, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while experimenting with chlorine gas on a certain lot of roasted concentrates, met with the following difficulties: 1. A poor extraction of the gold. 2. A very large consumption of chlorine gas. 3. Inability to precipitate all of the gold from the solutioil containing the AuC1,. 4. The bullion obtained was very base. These difficulties were the same whether the chlorine was generated from H2SO47 MnO29 and salt, or whether H2SO, and bleaching powder were used. They may be accounted for partly by the presence of some arsenic left in the roasted ore, and partly by the presence of copper in the solution containing the AuCI3. It was therefore suggested to try the effect of bromine on a similar lot of ore. The use of this element is, of course, nothing new, but in the following experiments it seemed to present many advantages over chlorine. The material worked upon consisted of some concentrates containing 2.31 ounces of gold per ton, and 34.26 per cent. of arsenic, which would correspoild to about 74.4 per cent. Of

Jan 1, 1896

By Earl S. Greiner, Eric R. Jette

ALTHOUGH the mechanical and chemical characteristics of certain iron-nickel-silicon alloys have been investigated,1 the available literature shows no results of a systematic investigation of the constitution of this system. This paper describes the results of an X-ray investigation of the constitution of the iron-rich iron-nickel-silicon alloys at 600°C. Data on the constitution of the included binary systems obtained in other investigations have been correlated with the structure of the ternary alloys. Jette and Foote2 have presented a tentative constitutional diagram of the iron-nickel system following X-ray studies on quenched specimens. This diagram shows that the alloys at 600°C. containing from zero to approximately 4 atomic per cent nickel consist of a body-centered cubic (alpha) phase, the alloys containing 4 to 24 atomic per cent nickel consist of body-centered cubic (alpha) and face- centered cubic (gamma) phases, and the alloys containing from 24 to 100 atomic per cent nickel consist of a face-centered cubic (gamma) phase. These investigators recognized that it was not possible to retain the gamma phase in equilibrium by quenching alloys containing less than approximately 25 atomic per cent nickel and that high-temperature X-ray methods were desirable to determine the gamma-phase solubility limit. In a later investigation of the iron-nickel alloys, Owen and Sulley3 determined the alpha-phase solid solubility limit to be 3.5 atomic per cent nickel at 600°C. High-temperature X-ray methods showed the solid solubility limit of the gamma phase to be 14 atomic per cent nickel at 600°C. Since the high-temperature X-ray method should reveal equilibrium conditions in these alloys better than the quench method of other investigators, the results of Owen and Sulley pertaining to the gamma-phase boundary are to be preferred. As the result of an X-ray investigation of quenched iron-silicon alloys, Greiner and Jette4 have shown these materials to consist of a body-centered cubic (alpha) phase containing from o to 26.4 atomic per cent silicon at 600°C. The alloys containing from 26.4 to approximately 50 atomic per cent silicon consist of two phases at 600°C.; namely, alpha and eta. The eta phase corresponds to the stoichiometrical formula FeSi (33.4 wt. per cent Si).* The literature pertaining to the constitution of the nickel-silicon alloys has been reviewed by Ackerman,5 who found disagreements in the results of various investigators on several parts of the system. Subsequent data on the constitution of the nickel-silicon alloys were reported by Osawa and Okamoto.6

Jan 1, 1943

Jan 1, 1959

By Frances H. Clark

IN wartime, the fabrication and use of metals assumes increased importance, for a modern war of sizable proportions cannot be undertaken with- out a vast supply of this material. Light alloys of aluminum and magnesium, which were comparatively unknown in the last war, will play an important role in this one. Due to research on a vast scale in the interim of years, industry is today well equipped to fabricate metals on an enormous scale. Research for the past year has been most productive and a comprehensive survey in the space of this article would be impossible. It is hoped that the stressing of a few items here and there out of a great quantity of able work will indicate in a small way the advances made within recent times. Specific references to the literature will be omitted at the Editor's re- quest but some authors of papers that I have found of special interest are mentioned.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. Philip Hammond

Monazite has had a Cinderella-like history. Although nearly go per cent pure rare-earth compound (rare-earth phosphate) it was sought at first not for the rare earths but for the sake of a minor constituent—thorium. The thorium, essential for the Welsbach gaslight mantle, was present in only small quantities and the principal constituents, the rare earths, were largely discarded. Gradually, however, the rare earths have developed uses of their own and today have left the thorium far behind in value. Occurrence Monazite was first produced commercially about 1886, in North Carolina, where it was collected in small sluices by farmers who found it in stream beds on their land. The deposits were later exploited on a larger scale, but were mostly abandoned in a few years, when monazite from Brazil came upon the market in far larger quantities. Domestic production ceased entirely in 1906. The Brazilian source is still active, together with Indian, Dutch East Indies, and Australian deposits. Several other localities in the United States have yielded monazite, but none of these has produced commercially as yet. Monazite occurs originally in pegmatite~ and gneisses, through which, unfortunately, it is scattered in highly dispersed form. All commercially useful deposits consist of transported monazite sands liberated by erosion and concentrated by the action of water, which has sluiced away lighter materials and concentrated the heavy (D = 5.0 to 5.2) grains of monazite, together with ilmenite, zircon, garnet, and other dense minerals. The Carolina deposits were in stream beds; most of the other deposits mentioned are on or near the seashore, where the action of the waves has served to concentrate the monazite. In most cases today, the sands are worked to obtain the ilmenite and zircon, as well as monazite. The minerals are separated by means of sluices, dry tables, and magnetic separators, and each is finally obtained nearly pure. No crushing or grinding is necessary. The concentrates are shipped in fiber bags. Composition of Monazite As Table I illustrates, monazite is the anhydrous orthophosphate of the cerium Table i.—Typical Analysis of a Monazite Sand (India). Per Cent Thorium oxide............................. 8.1 Cerium oxide.............................. 30.6 Lanthanum oxide........................... 15. 7 Neodymium oxide.......................... 10.5 Praseodymium oxide........................ 2. 9 Samarium oxide............................ 1.0 Europium. gadolinium, and terbium oxides.... 0.7 Yttrium oxide.............................. 0.4 Dysprosium, holmium, erbium. thulium, ytterbium. and lutecium oxides................. 0. 1 Silicon oxide............t................... 2.4 Calcium, aluminum, and iron oxides.......... 1.0 Uranium oxide............................. 0.3 Phosphorus pentoxide....................... 26. 2 a The values given for the rare earths following samarium are approximate. being based upon analyses of concentrated fractions derived from monazite. The composition given represents Travancore monazite carefully freed from other minerals. goup of rare-earth elements. A small amount of yttrium and terbium group phosphate is also present.* All the rare-

Jan 1, 1948

By R. Philip Hammond

Monazite has had a Cinderella-like history. Although nearly go per cent pure rare-earth compound (rare-earth phosphate) it was sought at first not for the rare earths but for the sake of a minor constituent—thorium. The thorium, essential for the Welsbach gaslight mantle, was present in only small quantities and the principal constituents, the rare earths, were largely discarded. Gradually, however, the rare earths have developed uses of their own and today have left the thorium far behind in value. Occurrence Monazite was first produced commercially about 1886, in North Carolina, where it was collected in small sluices by farmers who found it in stream beds on their land. The deposits were later exploited on a larger scale, but were mostly abandoned in a few years, when monazite from Brazil came upon the market in far larger quantities. Domestic production ceased entirely in 1906. The Brazilian source is still active, together with Indian, Dutch East Indies, and Australian deposits. Several other localities in the United States have yielded monazite, but none of these has produced commercially as yet. Monazite occurs originally in pegmatite~ and gneisses, through which, unfortunately, it is scattered in highly dispersed form. All commercially useful deposits consist of transported monazite sands liberated by erosion and concentrated by the action of water, which has sluiced away lighter materials and concentrated the heavy (D = 5.0 to 5.2) grains of monazite, together with ilmenite, zircon, garnet, and other dense minerals. The Carolina deposits were in stream beds; most of the other deposits mentioned are on or near the seashore, where the action of the waves has served to concentrate the monazite. In most cases today, the sands are worked to obtain the ilmenite and zircon, as well as monazite. The minerals are separated by means of sluices, dry tables, and magnetic separators, and each is finally obtained nearly pure. No crushing or grinding is necessary. The concentrates are shipped in fiber bags. Composition of Monazite As Table I illustrates, monazite is the anhydrous orthophosphate of the cerium Table i.—Typical Analysis of a Monazite Sand (India). Per Cent Thorium oxide............................. 8.1 Cerium oxide.............................. 30.6 Lanthanum oxide........................... 15. 7 Neodymium oxide.......................... 10.5 Praseodymium oxide........................ 2. 9 Samarium oxide............................ 1.0 Europium. gadolinium, and terbium oxides.... 0.7 Yttrium oxide.............................. 0.4 Dysprosium, holmium, erbium. thulium, ytterbium. and lutecium oxides................. 0. 1 Silicon oxide............t................... 2.4 Calcium, aluminum, and iron oxides.......... 1.0 Uranium oxide............................. 0.3 Phosphorus pentoxide....................... 26. 2 a The values given for the rare earths following samarium are approximate. being based upon analyses of concentrated fractions derived from monazite. The composition given represents Travancore monazite carefully freed from other minerals. goup of rare-earth elements. A small amount of yttrium and terbium group phosphate is also present.* All the rare-

Jan 1, 1948

By W. L. Fink, M. S. Hunter, R. H. Brown

Early workers attempted to study the structure of alloys by measurement of equilibrium electrode potentials in aqueous solutions containing ions of the metals from which the alloy was made.' The method was subject to such limitations (e.g., the difficulty in attaining electrochemical equilibrium at low temperatures) that it has not been widely used by metallurgists. Recently, Seltz and co-workers have introduced a greatly improved method for studying alloys by measurement of equilibrium electrode potentials in molten salts.2"4 The mathematical treatment is the same, of course, as for equilibrium potentials of amalgams in aqueous solutions.5 This method will probably find extensive use, since it makes possible not only the determination of phase fields of equilibrium diagrams but also the determination of certain thermodynamic quantities which can be used advantageously in metallurgical calculations. However, the method presents difficulties. With many metallic and alloy electrodes, reversibility is not readily obtainable. Also, the difficulty of obtaining suitable material from which to make the cells is increased as the temperature is increased. Moreover, the necessity of carrying out measurements in a vacuum requires additional apparatus and introduces considerable difficulty, especially at the higher temperatures. Apparently, no consideration has been given heretofore to the metallurgical use of irreversible electrode potentials that exist when a specimen is immersed in a suitable aqueous solution at room temperature. The apparatus and the method required for such measurements are very simple, and if the results of such measurements could be demonstrated to be reproducible they might be very valuable in studying the structure of alloys. The method would not have the scope of that developed by Seltz and his co-workers because no thermodynamic quantities could be calculated from the data. However, the utility and the simplicity of the method might warrant extensive use for the determination of phase fields and similar applications. Theory of Irreversible Potentials A brief review of the theory of irreversible potentials will be given before showing how to interpret the potential readings in terms of alloy structure. It is known that heterogeneity of a metal surface in an electrolyte will produce points of different potentials, with the result that current flows between these points and electrochemical reactions occur. The points at which oxidation reactions are localized are known as anodes, and those at which reduction reactions are localized are known as cathodes.6, 7, 8 For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the terms anode and cathode as applied to a primary cell, the potential difference between anode and cathode of such a cell can be measured when

Jan 1, 1941

By M. S. Hunter, W. L. Fink, R. H. Brown

Early workers attempted to study the structure of alloys by measurement of equilibrium electrode potentials in aqueous solutions containing ions of the metals from which the alloy was made.' The method was subject to such limitations (e.g., the difficulty in attaining electrochemical equilibrium at low temperatures) that it has not been widely used by metallurgists. Recently, Seltz and co-workers have introduced a greatly improved method for studying alloys by measurement of equilibrium electrode potentials in molten salts.2"4 The mathematical treatment is the same, of course, as for equilibrium potentials of amalgams in aqueous solutions.5 This method will probably find extensive use, since it makes possible not only the determination of phase fields of equilibrium diagrams but also the determination of certain thermodynamic quantities which can be used advantageously in metallurgical calculations. However, the method presents difficulties. With many metallic and alloy electrodes, reversibility is not readily obtainable. Also, the difficulty of obtaining suitable material from which to make the cells is increased as the temperature is increased. Moreover, the necessity of carrying out measurements in a vacuum requires additional apparatus and introduces considerable difficulty, especially at the higher temperatures. Apparently, no consideration has been given heretofore to the metallurgical use of irreversible electrode potentials that exist when a specimen is immersed in a suitable aqueous solution at room temperature. The apparatus and the method required for such measurements are very simple, and if the results of such measurements could be demonstrated to be reproducible they might be very valuable in studying the structure of alloys. The method would not have the scope of that developed by Seltz and his co-workers because no thermodynamic quantities could be calculated from the data. However, the utility and the simplicity of the method might warrant extensive use for the determination of phase fields and similar applications. Theory of Irreversible Potentials A brief review of the theory of irreversible potentials will be given before showing how to interpret the potential readings in terms of alloy structure. It is known that heterogeneity of a metal surface in an electrolyte will produce points of different potentials, with the result that current flows between these points and electrochemical reactions occur. The points at which oxidation reactions are localized are known as anodes, and those at which reduction reactions are localized are known as cathodes.6, 7, 8 For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the terms anode and cathode as applied to a primary cell, the potential difference between anode and cathode of such a cell can be measured when

Jan 1, 1941

By Eric R. Jette, Earl S. Greiner

Although the mechanical and chemical characteristics of certain iron-nickel-silicon alloys have been investigated,1 the available literature shows no results of a systematic investigation of the constitution of this system. 'This paper describes the results of an X-ray investigation of the constitution of the iron-rich iron-nickel-silicon alloys at 600°C. Data 011 the constitution of the included binary systems obtained in other investigations have been correlated with the structure of the ternary alloys. Jette and Foote2 have presented a tentative constitutional diagram of the iron-nickel system. following X-ray studies on quenched specimens. This diagram shows that the alloys at 600°C. containing from zero to approximately 4 atomic per cent nickel consist of a body-centered cubic (alpha) phase, the alloys containing 4 to 24 atomic per cent nickel consist of body-centered cubic (alpha) and face-centered cubic (gamma) phases, and the alloys containing from 24 to Ioo atomic per cent nickel consist of a face-centered cubic (gamma) phase. These investigators recognized that it was not possible to retain the gamma phase in equilibrium by quenching alloys containing less than approximately 25 atomic per cent nickel and that high-temperature X-ray methods were desirable to determine the gamma-phase solubility limit. In a later investigation of the iron-nickel alloys, Owen and Sulley3 determined the alpha-phase solid solubility limit to be 3.5 atomic per cent nickel at 600°C. High-temperature X-ray methods showed the solid solubility limit of the gamma phase to be 14 atomic per cent nickel at 600°C. Since the high-temperature X-ray method should reveal equilibrium conditions in these alloys better than the quench method of other investigators, the results of Owen and Sulley pertaining to the gamma-phase boundary are to be preferred. As the result of an X-ray investigation of quenched iron-silicon alloys, Greiner and Jette4 have shown these materials to consist of a body-centered cubic (alpha) phase containing from o to 26.4 atomic per cent silicon at 600°C. The alloys containing from 26.4 to approximately 50 atomic per cent silicon consist of two phases at 600°C.; namely, alpha and eta. The eta phase corresponds to the stoichiometrical formula FeSi (33.4 wt per cent Si)." The literature pertaining to the constitution of the nickel-silicon alloys has been reviewed by Ackerman,' who found disagreements in the results of various investigators on several parts of the system. Subsequent data on the constitution of the nickel-silicon alloys were reported by oSawa and okamoto.6

Jan 1, 1943

By Earl S. Greiner, Eric R. Jette

Although the mechanical and chemical characteristics of certain iron-nickel-silicon alloys have been investigated,1 the available literature shows no results of a systematic investigation of the constitution of this system. 'This paper describes the results of an X-ray investigation of the constitution of the iron-rich iron-nickel-silicon alloys at 600°C. Data 011 the constitution of the included binary systems obtained in other investigations have been correlated with the structure of the ternary alloys. Jette and Foote2 have presented a tentative constitutional diagram of the iron-nickel system. following X-ray studies on quenched specimens. This diagram shows that the alloys at 600°C. containing from zero to approximately 4 atomic per cent nickel consist of a body-centered cubic (alpha) phase, the alloys containing 4 to 24 atomic per cent nickel consist of body-centered cubic (alpha) and face-centered cubic (gamma) phases, and the alloys containing from 24 to Ioo atomic per cent nickel consist of a face-centered cubic (gamma) phase. These investigators recognized that it was not possible to retain the gamma phase in equilibrium by quenching alloys containing less than approximately 25 atomic per cent nickel and that high-temperature X-ray methods were desirable to determine the gamma-phase solubility limit. In a later investigation of the iron-nickel alloys, Owen and Sulley3 determined the alpha-phase solid solubility limit to be 3.5 atomic per cent nickel at 600°C. High-temperature X-ray methods showed the solid solubility limit of the gamma phase to be 14 atomic per cent nickel at 600°C. Since the high-temperature X-ray method should reveal equilibrium conditions in these alloys better than the quench method of other investigators, the results of Owen and Sulley pertaining to the gamma-phase boundary are to be preferred. As the result of an X-ray investigation of quenched iron-silicon alloys, Greiner and Jette4 have shown these materials to consist of a body-centered cubic (alpha) phase containing from o to 26.4 atomic per cent silicon at 600°C. The alloys containing from 26.4 to approximately 50 atomic per cent silicon consist of two phases at 600°C.; namely, alpha and eta. The eta phase corresponds to the stoichiometrical formula FeSi (33.4 wt per cent Si)." The literature pertaining to the constitution of the nickel-silicon alloys has been reviewed by Ackerman,' who found disagreements in the results of various investigators on several parts of the system. Subsequent data on the constitution of the nickel-silicon alloys were reported by oSawa and okamoto.6

Jan 1, 1943

By D. L. Sikarskie, B. Paul

A theory is presented for the static penetration of a single rigid wedge into brittle material. The material considered is one which exhibits both crushing and chipping phases in the penetration process. If the wedge angle and three parameters are specified, the theory predicts forces and associated penetrations during both the crushing and chipping phases. For certain ranges of the parameters agreement with the limited experimental data available is promising, except for the initial phase of the penetration process where refinements on the proposed theory are required. The theory also predicts that for certain values of the wedge angle and other known parameters, the chipping process does not occur and penetration is due entirely to crushing. When viewed in detail, the drilling of rock by percussive means involves, among other things, system dynamics, actuating forces, dynamic stress levels and the actual penetration mechanism of the bit into rock. If rock drills are to be significantly improved, a thorough understanding of the entire system would be highly desirable. In this paper, one aspect of the system, namely the mechanism of penetration of the bit, will be studied in detail. It has been found1 that for the velocities encountered in percussive drilling (of the order of 20 fps) a static analysis adequately describes the penetration process, at least for some rocks. Hence, we will only be concerned with describing analytically the static penetration of a single wedge shaped tool. It will further be assumed that the wedge is long enough to permit a two-dimensional analysis. Numerous authors have studied the static penetration of a wedge into rock. The following papers give some of this work and provide additional references to other work. Cheatham2,3 has assumed the rock to behave plastically and has obtained force-penetration equations for both Coulomb-Mohr and parabolic yield criteria. Evans and Murrell4 have studied the penetration of two types of coal and have found equations relating the penetration characteristic (P/dSc) to wedge angle for the various strength coals tested. race' attempted to find a correlation between hardness as determined by indenting the material and other mechanical properties and concluded that the results of such a test are generally inconclusive. His paper however contains a very extensive bibliography on the indenting of many different materials. Gnirk6 also has a fairly complete literature review on the static penetration of rock, of which he makes use in his indexing studies. A wide range of behavior is found in the wedge penetration of different rocks under different external conditions. For example, a rock that is essentially elastic-brittle at standard pressure may become elastic-plastic at a high confining pressure.7 It has also been observed4. " that some rocks will merely be crushed and indented by a wedge, whereas others will crack and form chips, furthermore the existence or non-existence of chips depends in great measure on the geometry of the indentor, type of rock and the depth of penetration. Hence, to attempt a theory which embraces all possible behavior is not practical at present. We, therefore, confine our attention to predicting the force-penetration characteristic and volume removal behavior for a type of rock which exhibits both crushing and chipping phases in the penetration process. Such behavior is characteristic of the harder rocks such as granites and represents a more difficult problem than the behavior of softer rocks such as coal and certain sandstones. In this preliminary study an attempt will be made to describe only the essential features of this complex penetration process. A qualitative description of these essential features is obtained with the aid of Fig. 1.1, where a wedge of vertex angle 28 is shown at some intermediate stage of the penetration process. As the wedge advances, the rock is fragmented (i.e. crushed) in some local region surrounding the wedge, the shape of this region being unknown. Simultaneous with the fragmentation in this local region, essentially elastic stresses are assumed to be building up in the surrounding rock. When a certain penetration level, di+1, is reached, the stresses along some surface are sufficient to cause failure and a chip is thus formed. The process now repeats, i.e., a crushing phase followed by the formation of a chip.

Jan 1, 1965

By Richard Hamburger

Calculating machines permit the use of the more rapid cotangent and semigraphic solutions of plane triangulation. The results of these methods are as accurate as those of other methods. Simple adjustment of the net, and ease of calculation encourage more complete field work. Errors in field work or in computation are easily localized.

Jan 2, 1950

By J. H. Jensen

Bromine is the intermediate member of the halogen family of elements between iodine, a solid: and chlorine, a gas. The name is derived from the Greek "bromos," meaning stench. Bromine is the only nonmetallic element that is liquid at room temperatures with a melting point of -7.2" C and a boiling point of 58.78" C. Reddish brown in color, it dissolves easily in water to yield a red solution. Bromine volatilizes at ordinary temperatures to a red vapor that is very irritating to the eyes, nose, and throat. Density of the liquid is 3.12 and gas weighs 7.59 gpl at standard conditions. As the element is highly active, it exists in nature only as bromide compounds. Bromine was discovered by Antoine Jerome Balard in seawater bitterns in 1826 and first prepared in quantity in 1860. Distribution Bromine is widely distributed in nature and compounds occur in solution in natural brines, in seawater, saline lakes, oil and gas well brines, and in evaporite chloride minerals. The concentration of bromine salts ranges from 60- 65 ppm in seawater to several thousand ppm in oil well brines and saline lakes. The distribution of bromine in marine evaporite minerals and in the solutions from which they crystallized was determined many years ago by H. E. Boeke (1 908). Theoretical aspects regarding the geochemistry of bromine have been published in numerous papers (Raup and Mite, 1969). Bromine occurs in solid solution in carnallite and sylvite associated in potash de- posits; in halite in salt beds; salt in oil shales; and in trona deposits. Its presence is useful as a guide in geochemical exploration. The analysis of small amounts of bromides in the presence of large amounts of chlorides is discussed by W. Schwerdtner (1963). Manganese, iron, and iodine may interfere with the determination. Other analytical methods are discussed at length in the literature (Stenger and Atchison, 1964). Sources and Reserves The sources and reserves of bromine, given in [Table 1], appear ample to meet present and foreseeable requirements in all producing countries. With the occurrence of bromine salts in sea-water and other brines, the potential for bromine production is worldwide. It has been estimated that 99% of all commercially recoverable bromine is in the ocean. However, actual subterranean brines having a higher bromine content than seawater will continue to be the preferred sources of bromine for the foreseeable future. Markets and Prices About 17% (1968) of bromine produced is used in its elemental form, with the balance consumed as bromides and bromates. The largest use for bromine is ethylene dibromide which, together with tetraethyl lead, are used as an antiknock additive in gasoline. Tetra-ethyl lead is the antiknock agent. Ethylene dibromide combines with the lead after combustion in the engine to form a volatile com- pound that escapes from the engine with the exhaust gases.

Jan 1, 1975

By V. B. Tare, H. Schmalzried

The use of solid electrolytes for determining kinetic paraneters at elevated tevnperatures is pointed out. The reaction rate constant k1 of the phase-boundary reaction during oxidution of iron to wiistite by CO2-CO gas mixtures has been deternined between 850 nnd 975C, using ZrOz(+CaO) as an electrolyte. Values are between 1.4 x 10-a and 5.2 x 10 ole per sq ctn atm. The tzain difficulty is due to mixed potentials arising from side reactions at the electrolyte inteyface. In a number of papers the calcium-doped zirconia electrolyte has been used for the determination of thermodynamic data from measured differences in oxygen activities (or potentials) between two electrodes. The purpose of this note is to suggest the use of this solid electrolyte for kinetic measurements as well. The principle can be seen from Fig. 1. A thin and compact phase II (electron conductor) is fixed on a plate of gas-tight, polished ZrO2(+CaO) (I), which separates two compartments with different oxygen potential. p, is a constant reference pressure of oxygen (1 atm). The electromotive force of this galvanic cell is given by E = RT5 In pep, and pe is the oxygen partial pressure at the interface electrolytephase 11. If phase I1 is in equilibrium with the surrounding gas phase, p, = DR. If pg changes sud- denly to a value pi, p, and therefore the electromotive force, E, change as a function of time according to the phase-boundary reaction rate at the gas phase I1 interface and the transport processes inside phase 11. It is assumed that local equilibrium is established at the boundary electrolytephase 11, that the gas phase shows no concentration gradients, and that the con-

Jan 1, 1967