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By C. H. Mathewson, P. W. Bakararian

The greatcr part of the literature on the plastic behavior of magnesium dates back to that active period of research in crystal mechanics immediately following the widespread preparation of isolated metallic crystals large enough for the application of conventional methods of mechanical testing. These investigations, performed on single crystals, revealed an analogy between zinc and magnesium with respect to their fundamental mode of deformation. in the operation of glide and twinning, respectively, on crystallographically similar planes. Mathewson and Phillips (1928)' by geometrical analysis identified the plane in magnesium as the twinning plane. Schiebold and Siebel (1931) confirmed this twinning planc, established the basal plane as the plane of slip, and a digonal axis I as the slip direction. They also rcported twin formation in a secondary role on the {IOI} plane. Schmid (1931)³ summarized and discussed the earlier evidence and presented the results of his own experiments on the effect of temperature and small amounts of soluble elements. From X-ray studies on extended wire single crystals, he concluded that slip along the basal plane in the direction of the digonal axis I closest to the stress direction was the sole slip system operating at atmospheric temperature. This conclusion was based on experiments with crystals of many different orientations relative to the stress axis. Special attention was directed to the basal plane and the digonal axis I, as the plane and direction of greatest atomic density. Determinations of resolved shear stress at the onset of plastic yielding-—i.e., the critical resolved shear stress—were also made; the average of these calculations showing 82.9 grams per sq. mm. This value varied only slightly up to 300°C. at which temperature it was found to decrease to 70.5 grams per sq. mm. The extension of his crystals at temperatures above 225°C. further disclosed the presence of new slip systems. After the origince specimens of circular section had been

Jan 1, 1943

By M. B. Ramachandra Roa

This paper records the results of the earth resistivity surveys made in the Godavari River in connection with the Ramapadasagar project. After describing the topographical and geological features of the area, the results of the investigation at the several sites have been mentioned. Further, a detailed account has been given of the resistivity methods adopted, the apparatus used and the interpretation of the curves. The resistivity measurements carried out over the water course have been specially outlined, and a review of the verification of the electrical indications by drilling in a number of cases, has also been presented. Introduction The Government of Madras has under consideration the Ramapadasagar project which is estimated to cost some Rs.660,-000,000 (about two hundred million dollars). The most essential feature of this project is the construction of a high dam across the Godavari near Polavaram for impounding the waters of this great river of South India, whose maximum discharge is 2 million cu secs in flood time. It is estimated that when the proposed reservoir is constructed, about one million tons of rice could be produced annually under irrigation. To those who have had any acquaintance at all with the recent distressing famine conditions which India has passed through and is still undergoing, the Lounteous effects which this project will bring about to the country in the future, are obvious. In the region of the proposed reservoir, the river flows for several miles through a hilly tract, hemmed in between flanks of hard, solid rock; but the river bed is mostly sandy. A few bore holes put down in this sandy bed touched rock at a depth of 180 to 200 ft. The river bed is about jo ft above the mean sea level (m.s.l.) and the bedrock was found at —125 to —160 ft m.s.l. The crest of the dam is proposed at +162 ft m.s.l. The proposed dam mould therefore be about 120 to 130 ft above the river bed, and the foundations would have to reach down nearly zoo ft below the bed at the deepest part. A number of alternative sites were proposed for investigation, and it became necessary to quickly ascertain the bedrock topography at these sites. Dr. M. S. Krishnan,* who was consulted in the matter, furnished a detailed account of the geological features of the region and suggested a geophysical investigation which the writer carried out from February to April 1944, employing solely the electrical resistivity methods. The total length of the survey lines for the electrical measurements amounted to 62,600 ft and the number of resistivity determinations was about 2500. Altogether nine alignments for the dam were inten-

Jan 1, 1949

By M. H. Caron

THE most outstanding property of ammonia liquors, used in the ammonia leaching process is their very limited ability to dissolve all compounds present in reduced ore except nickel and cobalt. Although they do have such a high degree of purity, even the smallest amounts of impurities contaminate the precipitate of basic nickel carbonate that may be obtained from pregnant liquors by straight distillation. Figures have been given in a separate paper regarding the extent of such contamination. The product of straight distillation is likely to contain small amounts of Fe, Mn, MgO and SiO2 as well as some sulphate and sulphide. The sulphur can be readily eliminated by calcination of the product at the proper temperature and MgO and SiO2 by reduction and melting of the metal with a suitable flux. After such treatment the metal is relatively pure, and the iron and manganese content will be very small. The cobalt content, however, may vary considerably, depending upon the ore treated. The metal obtained from pure true garni-erite ores usually has only a small cobalt content of less than 1 pct. Metal obtained from medium grade iron-rich nickel ores may show cobalt values from 2 to 3 pct, and the alloy obtained from laterite is likely to contain as much as 10 pct cobalt. By proper treatment a good deal of cobalt may be recovered from lateritic nickeliferous iron ores, and cobalt will become the major constituent of the pregnant liquor if asbolan ores or similar products are treated. The pregnant liquor of "run of mine" nickel ores may have a pinkish shade, indicating the presence of cobalt. It is evident that from such liquors the metals should be recovered separately. Even if cobalt is present in only very small amounts, it would probably be economically justifiable to recover both metals as pure as possible if a suitable process could be devised. The author has made investigations along this line and has patented some processes adapted to the treatment of this type of solutions. Selective Dissolution of Nickel from Basic Nickel Carbonate Containing Some Cobalt: Basic nickel carbonate obtained from true garnierite ores by straight distillation of the pregnant liquors, always contains some cobalt as well as the normal impurities. In. order to improve the quality of the nickel product and to recover most of the cobalt, the following process has been devised. By using liquors with a low CO2 to NH3 ratio, nickel can be redis-solved preferentially to cobalt. It is not a sharp and clean separation but a selective one, for the bulk of the nickel may be redissolved with a small amount of cobalt, and a small residue may hold the bulk of the cobalt. The greatly increased cobalt content of the residue is indicated by a pronounced olive green color, in contrast with the light green color of pure basic nickel carbonate. The following example is given from Dutch patent No. 52788, Klasse 40a. 43 granted June 17, 1942: The original precipitate contained about 0.55 pct cobalt calculated on total nickel + cobalt. Eight hundred and fifty grams of the basic nickel carbonate were redissolved in leach liquor containing 7.12 pct NH3 and 2.12 pct CO2. The weight of the dry residue was about 3.5 pct of the original weight. By analysis it was found that the residue contained: Fe 1.93 pct, Co 6.01 pct, Ni 34.87 pct and also a certain amount of silica. The clear filtered blue liquor was distilled and the precipitate of basic nickel carbonate from this analyzed: Fe 0.008 pct, Co 0.0146 pct, Ni 42.37 pct. It is obvious that this product is considerably more pure, since calculation shows that about 94 pct of the original cobalt remained in the residue. Cobalt and nickel can be recovered by further

Jan 1, 1951

By H. S. Thomsen, W. C. Duesterhoeft, R. E. Hartline

The attenuation and phase shift which formations produce in the electromagnetic field of an induction-type electrical well-logging instrument are great enough to substantially affect the response of the tool to formation conductivity under normal logging conditions. The application of the general equations for the propagation of an electromagnetic field in a conductive medium to the transmitter-receiver coil pair of an induction-logging-tool coil system gives an expression for the response which properly takes the propagation effects into account. A comparison of a calculation of this type with the response computed from the commonly used geometric factor concept, which does not include the propagation effect, leads to a factor Go representing the ratio of the responses computed by the two methods. The value of Go decreases not only with increasing formation conductivity, but also with increasing transmitter-to-detector coil spacing. For a single coil pair with a 40-in. spacing, the value of Go is 0.972 in a 20-millimho/m formation. The value is reduced to 0.915 and 0.812 for conductivities of 200 and 1,000 millimhos/m. As a result, the basic signal generated by the induction-logging coil system is not linearly related to formation conductivity as expected from the geometric factor concept. A uniform conductivity scale can be obtained only by adding a suitable nonlinear element to the recording system. The addition of auxiliary coils, having spacings less than the main-coil span, to achieve focusing results in an even greater departure of the basic signal from linearity with conductivity. The solution of the field equations near the interface between two formations of different conductivity gives the curve shape on an induction logging tool in crossing the interface. The addition of auxiliary coils to achieve focusing can add anomalous character to the curve shape in crossing the interface, which might be mistaken for lithological detail. Preliminary calculations which include the propagation effects in the determination of the conductivity correction for thin beds lead to correction factors which are substantially smaller than those obtained from geometric factor considerations. It is apparent that thin-bed corrections derived from geometric factor calculations are of doubtful validity. INTRODUCTION Although the electromagnetic induction type of electrical well log has been used for a number of years and has gained general acceptance in quantitative well-log interpretation, no technically complete investigation of the mechanism and of its operation has been published. The studies which have been presented are based upon the premise that neither the shape nor the intensity of the induction field of the logging tool is in any way affected by the electrical characteristics of the formation. From the inception of induction logging it has been recognized that under some formation conditions the performance of the instrument could be expected to be substantially different from that predicted by the simplified analysis. This anomalous performance has been called "skin effect" since it is the result of the same phenomenon which causes high-frequency alternating currents to flow only near the surface of metallic conductors. In the range of conductivities encountered in the sediments, the formation actually does not exhibit the sharply defined conducting "skin" shown by metals. The gradual modification of the distribution of the currents in the formation, produced by the induction field of the logging tool, is the direct result of phenomena associated with the propagation of the electromagnetic field through the formation. Therefore, it can be much more appropriately described as the "propagation effect". One purpose of this paper is to review the results of a solution of the equations for the performance of a single transmitter-receiver coil pair induction-logging system which takes into account the propagation effect, showing the manner in which the tool performance established by this analysis differs from that derived from the less comprehensive analyses currently in use. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION OF THE INDUCTION LOGGING INSTRUMENT The high-frequency alternating current which is maintained at a constant value in the transmitter coil

By H. H. Uhlig

Soon after general use of stainless steels began, it was observed in practice that certain combinations of factors tended to induce corrosion by pitting. For most applications this was a serious drawback, not so much because the structural properties of the metal were impaired but because of the rapidity with which heavy sections of the alloys were penetrated by small elongated pits. These pits seemed to initiate readily in oxidizing metal salt solutions like ferric chloride and in chloride solu-tions like sea water. It was observed that in sea water pitting was more frequent in stagnant or polluted waters than in highly aerated, moving waters. The steels in these chloride solutions were observed to be sensi-tive to long contact with material such as sand grains or attached bar-nacles. At points of attachment or contact it was not uncommon to discover initiation of corrosion. Pits once begun at contact faces were observed to grow rapidly, usually elongating phenomenally in the direc-tion of gravity until the metal was perforated. Hydrochloric acid and other nonoxidizing acids, on the other hand, were observed to corrode stainless steels generally; the weight losses often were higher, but the penetration less than for the pitting type of corrosion. The causes of pitting, a type of corrosion recognized as character-istic not only of stainless steels but of many additional metals and alloys, are important in corrosion studies. A possible explanation bears prac-tical significance, for once it is known why pits begin where they do and continue to grow after initiation, intelligent direction can be given to diminishing corrosion. This can be done either by some alteration in the composition and treatment of the alloy or by some alteration in the environment. It appears foremost in importance to discover the nature of pit foci, for if initiation of pits can be discouraged their growth will be no longer a factor to be considered. In a multi-component alloy containing many impurities normal to production of such an alloy, each of which may play a part in pitting, and whose corrosion resistance is sensitive to heat-

Jan 1, 1940

By Roy A. Lindgren

SINCE the year 1643, when the first blast furnace in America for treating iron ore was built at Saugus, Mass., out of mica schist quarried in the neighboring district, the procurement of a suitable refractory for furnace lining has been a problem of concern to the operators of furnaces. The stacks built of mica schist continued to smelt iron ore until about 1836, when, according to F. H. Norton, the first firebrick were produced', at Queens Run, Pa. Other writers speak of brick having been molded and burned in Massachusetts about the year 1834. In 1841, Andrew Russell began to produce medium refractory plastic clay brick near East Liverpool, Ohio, that were used for lining blast furnaces'. The well-known Kentucky clay-producing district was not opened up until the year 1871, but since then it has produced a large percentage of the linings for iron blast furnaces. While some strides have been made by the refractories industry during the 100 years that have passed since the first firebrick were produced, it has been only during the last two decades that any real progress has been made towards bettering the product, even though the method of production had improved. Perhaps the fault lies with the user of the brick rather than with the producer, for not sooner demanding a supe¬rior product. During the past 15 years the tonnage produced per lining has increased from 500,000 gross tons to 1,000,000 gross tons, and now some furnaces are producing 1,600,000 gross tons and better on a single lining. It is true that enlarged capacity of furnaces and improved practice have accounted for some of this increase in tonnage, nevertheless better quality in firebrick must be given credit for its share. However, we are not yet ready to say that we have reached a maximum life of furnace lining. We believe that a better product can be produced and that the refractories industries of America will, through their extensive research depart-

Jan 1, 1937

By K. G. Wikle, W. W. Beaver

A general survey of the mechanical properties of commercially pure beryllium fabricated from powder by vacuum hot pressing and other consolidation methods is presented. The effect of fabrication method, grain size, strain rate, and directionality upon both room and elevated temperature tensile properties is reported. BERYLLIUM metal, in spite of its rather restricted use, has been the object of attention for many researchers in the past half century. However, such work was performed on special experimental lots of metal made in small quantities by a variety of reduction methods. Not until 1946 was there a substantial production of beryllium metal, and not until 1950 was there a steady production of a commercially standard beryllium in the United States. This output was both the result of a requirement of the Atomic Energy Commission for a high grade beryllium of consistent quality and the development of a powder metallurgy process, by the Brush Beryllium Co., known originally as Process Q, which yielded a fine grained beryllium suitable for fabrication. Because this powder metallurgy product, known as QMV, superceded other types of metal made previously and represents the great majority of beryllium in use today, it seems worthwhile to present the results of studies on the mechanical properties of this metal as currently made. To the design engineer and the metallurgist, beryllium has extremely interesting properties. It is as light as magnesium alloys while having a stiffness modulus 40 pct greater than steel and a strength-weight ratio superior to titanium and aluminum alloys and aircraft steels. The melting point is high, 1287°C (2348°F), and it has good corrosion resistance both in air and water. Also, it is highly transparent to X-rays and has good heat and electrical conductivity (electric conductivity is greater than 40 pct of Cu). To the atomic energy program beryllium is considered a valuable material because of its low neutron-capture cross section and high neutron-scattering cross section which make it a good moderator and reflector for the lower velocity neutrons. A major technical difficulty limiting the use of beryllium, especially in structural applications, has been its notch sensitivity and consequent room temperature brittleness. Kaufmann, Gordon, and Lillie1 have reported their work on the mechanical properties of beryllium performed from 1946 to 1950. They studied the room and elevated temperature properties of cast and extruded beryllium and extruded electrolytic flake, Table I. Cast and extruded alloys of 85 to 99 pct Be were tested also. They found that extruded metal developed good strength and appreciable ductility in the extrusion direction and that thermal treatment and alloying provided little improvement in mechanical properties. They concluded that preferred orientation and fine grain size were the means of obtaining optimum tensile properties in beryllium. Other investigators have measured and commented on one of the most striking mechanical properties of beryllium, namely, its abnormally low Poisson's ratio.2 Udy, Shaw, and Boulger3 presented the latest published survey on properties of beryllium but their information is based only on published data available before April 1949 and cites little information on metal fabricated by powder metallurgy

Jan 1, 1955

OF the many categories into which scientific knowledge has been arbitrarily 'divided, the one that has proved most. applicable in our attempts to gain an insight into the details of steelmaking processes is physical chemistry. To the young metallurgist who has only recently survived a college course in this subject, the application of its principles to reactions in liquid steel should not be difficult. The many excellent textbooks of physical chemistry provide ample material on the principles of this subject for the student of steelmaking processes. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a concise review of the principles of physical chemistry that have proved useful in studies of steelmaking and at the same time to present some of the data that are essential to the application of physical chemistry to reactions at high temperatures. Certain parts of physical chemistry require rather formidable mathematics for their complete development, but in the main those applications in which we are here interested can be expressed in fairly simple terms. Many of the equations are logarithmic, and we shall use the symbols In X and log X to represent, respectively the natural and the common logarithm of X. The two are related-by In X = 2.303 log X. Logarithms may, be read from a good slide rule with sufficient accuracy for our purposes. In a few spots a knowledge of the calculus will be helpful. MATTER Innumerable forms of matter may, be recognized, and these may be converted by chemical processes into others, as ore, coke, and air are converted into iron, slag, and gas.. Whenever such a change occurs there is a corresponding change in the amount of energy associated with the matter. The process may require an input of energy, as in the electrolytic production of aluminum, or it may result in an output of energy, as in the combustion of fuel. The basic laws of the conservation of matter and of energy tell us that we cannot change the total amount of matter or the total amour t of energy.. When the fuel pile is used up, we realize that it has simply been converted into other forms of matter; .i.e., ash

Jan 1, 1964

By W. Bradley, R. G. Hall

This paper will attempt to show how a metallurgical problem at one California quicksilver mine was solved, and how the solution was applied successfully at another mine. The pronouns "we" and "our," as used below, refer '0 the Bradley 'lining Co. of San Francisco. The term "concurrent firing" for the purpose of this paper can be defined as feeding and firing a a kiln at the same end—that is, of course, the upper end' This is as opposed to "countercurrent firing," the orthodox method, in which a kiln is fed at the upper and fired at the lower end. The terms "quicksilver" and "mercury" are used interchangeably. Early References The earliest work on nonferrous metallurgy, we believe, was The Pirotechnia of Vannocio Biringuccio,l its first edition having been printed in Italy in 1540. Quoting from its chapter entitled "Concerning Quicksilver and Its Ore": Quicksilver ... is one of the gods and has divine strength in itself, and also, to the annoyance of the alchemists, it is winged. Hence, when it sees that it is in gravest danger, it loosens itself from . . . every bond . . . and fies away into the heavens, escaping from the hands of those who crucify it. Almost laughing, it leaves all its adversaries mocked and scorned, with their phials and filters empty . . . How thorough a job, under certain conditions, it can do of mocking its adversaries and leaving their phials and filters empty, was found out four centuries later at the Sulphur Bank mine, on the east shore of Clear Lake, in Lake county, California, The other mine mentioned in the title is the Reed, in Yolo County, California, 35 miles by road southeast of Sulphur Bank, Reed and Sulphur Bank ranked respectively Nth and seventh in U. S. production in 1943. The earliest direct reference we can find to furnacing troubles at these mines was by Thomas Egleston in 1890.2 Speaking of Sulphur Bank, Egleston says: of there is more sulphur than cinnabar in the ore, which is a detriment to both . . . making the sulphur impure, and rendering the cinnabar difficult to work on account of the soot. In some of the early . . . furnaces the accumulation of soot from the excess of sulphur has been known to penetrate as far as the fan blower at the end of the . . . condensers, and completely prevent its revolution. In order to get rid of the inconvenience of this accumulation . . . , as well as to get a commercial value from the sulphur, it (the sulphur) is now separated by steam and sold. It is claimed that the sulphur alone pays all the expenses of ... the mine. The mine was first worked for sulphur, and the cinnabar it contained was considered to be an inconvenience, and was carefully picked out and thrown away, as its richness and value were not

Jan 1, 1949

By E. A. Gulbransen, J. W. Hickman

ONE of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it «as necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-ray diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both view-points are necessary Much of, the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner, little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective LITERATURE The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction Jackson and Quarrell1 found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe304, between 515° and 900°C the stable film was FeO Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe304 prom 400° to 515°C , FeO, Fe304 or a mixture of the two oxides was found Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400° and above 900°C led to the formation of Fe304 In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described

Jan 1, 1946

By C. M. Loeb, T. E. Norman

The use of ball, rod and tube mills for grinding ore, cement and other materials has grown so rapidly during the past forty years that the world's annual consumption of ferrous grinding media for these mills is now estimated to be between one half million and one million tons per year. Ferrous grinding balls constitute the major portion of this tonnage. Obviously they represent suficient value to justify thorough studies of the factors governing their performance. The selection of grinding balls is governed principally by: I. Quality (wear resistance, impact resistance, soundness, and the like). 2. Sources of supply and delivered cost. 3. Grinding characteristics or efficiency in the ball mill. This paper deals principally with the quality of ferrous grinding balls. In the study of these factors certain data relative to the fundamental nature of ball wear in ball mills have been obtained. These data are also presented and discussed briefly. The Development of a Suitable Wear Test A study of the fundamental factors governing the quality of grinding balls has been hampered seriously by the fact that a competent test has, in the past, involvetd the purchase of several hundred tons of halls of a specific type which were then run in one or more ball mills for a period ranging from several months' to several years' duration. Often, during the period of test, it became necessary to change operating conditions or the character of the ore fed to the test mill with the result that the rate of ball consumption changed and the test figures became of little value. Under such circumstances, progress in the development of better grinding balls, has been necessarily slow. Economic factors and variations in the quality of balls produced by different sources of supply generally make it necessary for each mill operator to determine for himself the most suitable type of balls for his mills. In our own ball mill grinding operations at Climax, Colo., we were faced with this problem. After we had run a few large scale wear tests at considerable expense we decided to investigate the possibilities of a small scale wear test which would be capable of testing numerous types of balls within a relatively short time. The most important requirement of any test is, of course, that it give results which can be used to predict accurately the wear in full scale operations. It was known that Ellis and his associates1'2 had developed a method of testing grinding balls by small scale tests run at the Ontario Research Foundation. Ellis' method of testing was used as a starting point in our investigations. In the course of our tests a number of modifications of the original method were found to be desirable so that, by an evolutionary procedure, a method of small scale

Jan 1, 1949

By C. S. Smith, E. W. Palmer

IN 1934, when Gregg and Daniloffl wrote their excellent monograph on the alloys of iron and copper, the most recent literature on the constitution of the alloys indicated a narrow single-liquid area for 20" above the liquidus with a closed liquid mis-cibility gap above this. Since that time, however, a number of investigators have confirmed the much earlier studies of Mushet2 and Stead3 who, among others in the nineteenth century, had described the true state of affairs. Liquid copper and iron are completely miscible in the absence of carbon, but small amounts of carbon cause liquid segregation. In 1934, one of the writers' mentioned evidence for the absence of liquid separation in carbon-free alloys at temperatures up to 1700°C. Two years later, Mad-docks and Claussen5 unequivocally established the absence of liquid segregation and published a revised diagram, reproduced in fig. 1. They also studied the limits of the two-liquid area in ternary alloys of iron, copper, and carbon as a function of carbon and iron content. In the same year Simpson and Bannister" and Schumacher and Souden7 described in some detail the properties of alloys containing 50 to 75 pct Cu. More recently Hodges et al.16 have developed the copper-rich alloys for use as high-strength conductors. In 1937, Iwase, Okamoto, and Ameniya8 published data on the miscibility gap in ternary alloys of iron, copper, and carbon that supported the conclusions of Maddocks and Claussen, and definitely located the two-liquid area at temperatures of 1450" and 1540°C. They also reported that additions of 1 pct Al, Ni, Pb, Sn, or Zn caused no segregation in 50 pct Cu alloys at 1540°C. The use of copper in amounts approximating 1 pct has found industrial employment to an increasing degree in both wrought and cast steels, for such steels are capable of being precipitation-hardened following normalizing, and have high yield strengths. This is summarized by Gregg and Daniloff,1 Sallitt,9 and Lorig and Adams,10 while Alexander" gives additional information on the heat treatment of copper-steel castings. Lippert12 has described Digby's two-phase steels containing copper and chromium. The work described in the present paper was done in the years 1932 to 1934, at which time much of the information was new. The excellent work subsequently done in other laboratories but more promptly published makes the present paper in part only a confirmation of what is now well known. There has not, however, been published any unified study of

Jan 1, 1951

By B. R. Hollebone

The chemical action of molten anhydrous pyridinium chloride (pyridine hydrochloride) on oxy salts and ores of some Group IV and V metals are discussed-in particular zirconium, hafnium, niobium (columbium) , and tantalum. Laboratory-scale experiments are described whose results suggest that this reaction might provide a practicable means of converting ores of these metals to the anhydrous metal chlorides. Experimental results are given which provide some insight into the nature of the reactions and some of the compounds which could be present at intermediate stages. The treatment of ores of the more refractory metals is difficult and expensive and often demands the use of gaseous chlorine, hydrogen fluoride, or other reagents which are, if nothing else, expensive and dangerous to use. This situation is, of course, due to the strong metal-oxygen affinity resulting from the high charge and the small size of the metal ion which combine to produce such high lattice energy in the metal oxide as to defeat standard reduction methods. Thus, the characteristic of these metals which leads to one of their most important properties—corrosion resistance—is the main hurdle in obtaining the metal. Many common methods' for treating ores of zirconium and niobium (columbium), for example, proceed as directly as possible to the preparation of anhydrous halides. These halides are purified by now standard processes of solvent extraction, fractional distillation, and so on. This paper reports on preliminary stages in the development of a method of treating these ores—particularly of niobium—so as to prepare the anhydrous, volatile halides by the use of chemical reagents which are much more easily handled than those used at present. CHEMICAL PRINCIPLES The solvent action of aminium halides has been referred to periodically in the literature over several decades. The chemistry of pyridinium chloride has been discussed particularly by Audreith2 and Starke.3 However, since this is not familiar chemistry in its nonaqueous setting, it is perhaps well to point out some general metallurgical principles and applications. One can use, as point of departure, the fact that HC1 dissolved in pyridine is an acid very much the same as aqueous HC1. It thus gives essentially all the reactions of the HC1 with which we are familiar. However, when the ratio of HC1:pyridine reaches 1:l (a ratio far higher than is possible with H2O) the solution becomes solid C5F5NHC1, pyridinium chloride.* Inter- estingly, the acidic properties of HC1 persist in this medium, although they are manifest only in the molten state of the compound. Some typical reactions of divalent metal compounds which we have carried out in our laboratories are the following: 2PyHCl + Zn — (ZnCl2) + H2 + 2Py 2PyHCl + MnO — (MnCl2) + H2O + 2Py 2PyHCl + CuS — (CuCl2) + H2S + 2Py 2PyHCl + CaCO3 — (CaCl2) + H2O + CO2 + 2Py In these equations, the parentheses indicate a solvated compound which in water would be predominantly a hydra ted cation but which in molten PyHCl will more likely be a complex chloro-anion of the type MC14-. Some important physical properties of pyridinium chloride (PyHCl) are given in Table I. One sees from the data in Table I that at the temperature of molten pyridinium chloride both water and pyridine will boil away. Thus the system will be kept anhydrous. For this reason the reaction 2NbCl5 + 5H2O— Nb2O5 + 10HC1 has no counterpart in molten PyHCl. Instead, the chloride is made even more stable by the formation of a hexachloro complex: Nb2O5 + 12PyHC1 — 2PyHNbC16 + 5H2O + 10Py One interesting property of these complexes is their thermal instability which for the case of niobium can be illustrated as PyHNbCl6 — PyHCl + NbCl5 With a view to possible use of this chemistry in ore treatment, we have attempted to dissolve Pyrochlore (essentially FeO - Nb2O5) and recover the NbC15 from it.

Jan 1, 1968

By M. H. Loveman

The orebody described below has been rediscovered and developed within the last 3 years. It has, however, been known and worked by the Chinese for hundreds of years. When assay values and size are considered, it contains what is probably one of the largest single bodies of zinc and lead sulphides yet found. The tonnages developed at other places, as at Broken Hill, are much greater but the average zinc and lead sulphide contents are considerably lower than at Bawdwin. Bawdwin is situated in the semi-independent State of Tawng Peng, one of the numerous units which make up the Northern Shan States. These States are under British rule and are generally considered as a portion of Burma. They are governed as a separate administrative unit, however, under the Lieutenant Governor of Burma. Each State is under its own chief, or Sawbwa, who has considerable power over his own subjects. Bawdwin is approximately in latitude N 23°6', longitude E 97°201, about 50 miles south of the nearest point on the Chinese border and 450 miles north of Rangoon (Fig. 1). The period at which mining was first begun at Bawdwin is unknown. The most reliable records have been obtained by deciphering local Chinese inscriptions and from these it is concluded that the work dates back to at least the beginning of the 15th century. The first undoubted reference to the mines by a European is by Syrnes in 1795. Crawford in 1827 estimated the output of silver from the mines at $600,000 anually. At about the middle of the 19th century the rebellion of the Chinese Mohammedans in the neighboring Chinese province of Yunnan so weakened the power of the Chinese that the incursions of hostile tribes (Kachins) made work extremely dangerous. The mines were finally abandoned by the Chinese about 1868. The . closing down of the mines was probably not entirely due to outside causes but may have been influenced somewhat by the increasing difficulty of handling the water, as the workings gradually descended below the water level of the district. Several attempts were made by the Burmese kings, Mindon Min and Thebaw, to resume operations, but because of a

Jan 1, 1917

By I. M. Roberts

The war emergency has affected every phase of industry. The gas and coke-oven companies have sought faithfully to discharge their responsibility in this critical period and have willingly modified their operations where possible to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. Our company made commitments for blast-%urnace coke for war purposes which necessitated a reduction in coking time in order to produce the amount required to meet the new demands. At the same time there were certain customers of long standing, who had been supplied with foundry and egg-sized coke produced on fairly long coking periods, who also were engaged in war work and whose patronage we desired to retain. Coke produced on short coking rates from the coal mixture we were then using would not have been satisfactory for these customers. The average width of our ovens is 19¾ in., which is a little wider than the more modern ovens of the present day. They were originally designed to give somewhat cool tops in order to produce a rich gas. This necessitates carrying the heats a little on the warm side so that the tops will be fully carbonized. A reduction in coking time, as is generally known, is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of the coke produced. This is due to the greater shrinkage that takes place at the higher temperatures required to carbonize the charges in a shorter time. The net result is that the coke is more cross fractured and longitudinally fractured and breaks up into small sizes on handling. The cokes produced from the better coking coals seem to be more susceptible to fracture at high temperatures than those from poorer coking coals. A coal mixture that produces a beautiful foundry-sized coke at 30 to 36 hr. may yield a product at 18 hr. that would be so badly fractured as to be unsatisfactory for foundry practice. Coking Characteristics OF Coals Our problem was to find some economical innovation and develop a method that would enable us to reduce the coking time and still produce a coke satisfactory to our foundry trade. However, before discussing the results of our present operations, it might be well to present a few observations on the coking characteristics of coals in general. Most coke-oven operators carbonize a blended mixture of coals. It may consist of a single high-volatile coal with a single low-volatile coal, or of a combination of several high-volatile and low-volatile coals. Medium-volatile coals of the Eagle seam are used for the production of high-grade foundry coke. Medium and high-volatile coals are often blended with one or more low-volatile coals. The possibilities are almost infinite, but the combinations are limited by such factors as cost and facilities for handling multicoal mixtures, and by other practical considerations. Every coal has characteristics that make it blend better with a particular coal or coals in preference to others. This property has

Jan 1, 1944

CHARLES CATLETT, Staunton, Va.-A great many important things have been said in an interesting way but the most startling, to me, is that for 25 years, the price has been in the neighborhood of $1.00, with a minimum of 86 cents and a maximum of about $1.25. It is evident that during all that time the price was inadequate. The amount paid to be divided between the land owner, the capitalist, and the laborer was too limited or too irregular to permit of a healthy condition; yet it is evident that the enormous industrial development of this country was fostered by this very cheap coal, probably the cheapest that has been provided in quantity in any country. I entered the coal business when the price was lowest and my interest and sympathy went out to the man who spent his days in the dirt and foul air of a mine and I was filled with schemes for helping. But at the end of the year, after exercising every economy and in blissful ignorance of proper depreciation and obsolescence, there was still only a profit of 1 cent per long ton for what I think is one of the best coals in the world, the best grade of New River coal. We are now paying a great deal more than we did a few years ago and probably will continue to pay more for some time; but any one who thinks we will not have low prices again is very young or very forgetful. Yet we must have larger profits if the industry is to be healthy, if the three parties to the production are to get adequate returns and be in shape to provide the improvements which will be needed to take the place of and supplement the man-power. This will come when the men are making so much money that the operator wants to replace the man by a machine, and when the operator is making so much money as to be in a shape to make the improvements. He will not put in machinery unless the machinery will save money. We have got to pay a higher prime cost for coal, but engineering skill will teach us how to handle it better and use it more economically, and the ultimate result ought to be of advantage to the public.

Jan 3, 1920

By D. E. Marks, Arnold, C. W, R. J. Robinson, A. E. Hoffmann

The efficiency of operation of a fixed-bed adsorption unit is infEuenced both by the absolute adsorption capacity of the bed and by the rate of adsorption. This paper describer studies of adsorption rate which were conducted in an experimental unit designed such that conditions existing in the treatment of high-pressure natural-gas mixtures could be duplicated. Variables investigated included pressure, temperature, gas composition, adsorbent particle size, depth of packed bed and gas velocity. The adequacy of a simplified mathematical model for predicting the observed phenomena was tested. A correlation is preserited which relates adsorption rate to the process variables stlldied. This correlation is useful in combination with the matheinatical model. INTRODUCTION Of the techniques available for contacting adsorbent particles with fluid streams to be treated, fixed-bed adsorption columns offer definite advantages in simplicity and ease of operation. As a result, they are often used in preference to others for such petroleum industry applications as dehydration and purification of natural gas and hydrocarbon recovery. Fixed-bed adsorption units usually consist of two or more towers filled with a desired adsorbent and operated in a cyclic manner. While one is being used to process the main flow stream, the others are undergoing regeneration to remove the adsorbed phase. When the tower on stream becomes saturated with the preferentially adsorbed material, the roles of the towers are switched, and the freshly regenerated tower is placed on stream. Cacle duration is determined by the bed capacity under the process conditions and by the flow rate through the bed. The sharpness of separation which can be effected is a function of both the absolute capacity of the bed and the rate of adsorption in the bed. The effect of rate for a particular set of conditions is evidenced by the sharpness or diffuse-ness of the adsorption front as it advances through the bed. Since data needed for design of adsorption units to treat high-pressure natural-gas systems were not available, an experimental program was designed to investigate the effects of different variables upon adsorption rate in fixed beds. In the present paper, effects of gas composition, column length, temperature, pressure, adsorbent particle size and flow rate (actual linear flow rate of the gas) are shown, and utility of a simplified mathematical model for describing the process is discussed. As gas enters the top of a cool, clean bed of adsorbent, preferentially adsorbed materials are stripped from the main flow stream by the uppermost particle layers. As these layers become saturated with a particular component, new supplies of this component are carried further down the column until fresh adsorbent is encountered. An adsorption wave thus moves through the column as material is supplied to saturate succeeding elements of the bed. Adsorption from a Multicomponent gas stream occurs as a succession of such moving waves corresponding to the different components in the gas. The leading edge of an adsorption wave for a component of a natural-gas stream moving through a bed of a common commercial adsorbent such as silica gel would be sharp but for the influence of certain broadening fac tors. These factors include a nonuniform velocity profile in the bed, longitudinal dispersion or mixing in the main gas stream, and the time required for a molecule to migrate from the main gas stream and be adsorbed at a site within the body of an adsorbent particle. If packing is uniform and the ratio of column to particle diameter is greater than approximately 15:1, the first factor is relatively unimportant' Longitudinal mixing is of importance only for the case of moderately high mass transfer with extremely slow flow rates.' The sharpness of an adsorption front, therefore, is, primarily a function of the rate of adsorption or the time required to saturate a particle of zdsorbent. Two methods for defining adsorption rate are used in this work. The first is a normalized or relative rate which describes the rate of saturation of a differential element of the packed bed. This can be measured by observing the time required for the concentration of the preferentially adsorbed material in the effluent gas from the bed to rise from zero to a value equal to that in the inlet gas stream. The second definition describes the absolute rate of mass transfer from the gaseous to the adsorbed phase. This definition is used in a mathematical description of the adsorption process. If the concentration of a component in the gas strcam leaving an adsorption column is measured and plotted as a function of time, a curve such as that shown in Fig. I results. It is seen that for a period of time the effluent gas is devoid of the component under consideration. As the bed approaches saturation, a small percentage of this material will appear in the effluent gas. The concentration will then rise with time, or increasing cumulative gas flow, until it is equal to that in the inlet gas stream. If adsorp-

By Claude P. Heiner

W-hile the litle of this paper embraces the entire West Coast, the author, in the interest of simplification, has confined the discussion to California—particularly the central section. California's population has risen 45 pct since 1940. Its electric requirements have also increased, not only because of the growth in industry and population but also because of the widespread tendency of all types of electric consumers to use more electricity than ever before. The growth of California's electric utilities is shown by published data covering operations of three of its large systems and is given in Table 1. New Capacity Steam Driven In meeting these additional electric loads there has been a substantial increase in generation from fuel burning plants as shown by the published energy statistics given in Table 2. Increased Fuel Oil Consumption A study of construction plans of the three electric utility systems named in Table 2 clearly shows that expected new electric loads are to be met, to a large extent, by new steam generating capacity as shown by Table 3. D. D. Smalley, Vice President of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., in an address before the Pacific Coast Electrical Association in June 1948, stated that California utilities plan to meet new electric loads through greater use of steal11 plank and that in 1951 approximately 45 pct of the area's electric production would be by steam as compared to 33.6 pct in 1946. He stated that if load growth develops as expected and if the year 1952 is dry, thereby requiring high load factor steam operation, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. would need the equivalent of nearly 25 million barrels of fuel oil. Federal Power Commission reports show that the energy input to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. system was approximately one billion kilowatt-hours greater in 1947 than in 1946. They also show that the steam plant operating capacity factor in 1946 was approximately 35 pct; in 1947 it, was 72 pct due, probably, to the extreme drought. able 3 shows that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. now has under construction 327,000 kw of hydro capacity which, by 1950, will bring its total hydro generating capacity to 1,313,899 kw. In addition to hydro capacity under construction that company also has 975,000 kw of steam generating capacity under construction, which by 1951 will bring its total steam capacity to 1,560,834 kw. If it is assumed that this total steam electric capacity is operated at a capacity factor of 45 pct, in 1951, over 6 billion kilowatt-hours would be generated. If the load growth on the Pacific Gas and Electric system continues at the current rate of approximately one billion kilowatt-hours per year and if it is assumed that 70 pct of this increase would be generated by steam (30 pct assumed to be generated by hydro facilities with average water conditions), the steam electric production in 1960 would amount to 12 billion kilowatt-hours, which would require fuel the equivalent of 24 million barrels of oil or 6 million tons of coal. Government Projects Inadequate Much has been written with respecl to the plans of the Department of Interior in regard to the installation of hydroelectric plants as a part of multipurpose dams relating to reclamation. flood control, and power generation. An examination of the effect of such plans on the power supply for central and northern California is of interest. The Depart,ment of Interior now has five 73,000 kw units at its Shasta hydro plant on the Sacramento River. It now appears that its three 25,000 kw unit Keswick hydro plant on the same river will be available during the winter of 1949 to 1950. Its estimates show that in a dry year there is sufficient water for operation of Shasta units at an average load factor of 36 pct and Keswick units at a load factor of 41 pct. It is also giving consideration to the development of the Pine Flat and Haas hydroelectric plants on Kings River for generating capacities of 45,000 kw each. The total installation of Government, units in Central Valley and Kings River in California is relat.ively small when compared with t.he

Jan 1, 1950

By C. W. Nicolson

THE Tri-State zinc and lead-mining district is in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, the southeast corner of Kansas and the southwest corner of Missouri. The area throughout which active mining has been conducted is about 45 miles long and about 5 miles wide, extending northeasterly from Commerce, Okla., to Alba, Missouri. Although the lead ores were mined on a very small scale in the vicinity of Joplin, Mo., as early as 1848, nothing of any importance was done in the district until 1870, since when both mining and smelting have been prosecuted with considerable vigor. In the beginning the lead ores only were exploited, but within a few years extensive deposits of zinc ores were found and since that time the production of zinc ore has far exceeded that of lead. Both the surface and mineral rights in Missouri and Kansas were under individual ownership by the time ore was discovered. Although some of these rights were purchased by mining companies, most of the mining has been done under leases covering small areas, usually 40 acres, although in the past many leases were given on much smaller tracts. In Oklahoma most of the mineral land had been alloted by the Government to various Indian tribes and although the title to some of these lands had been acquired by various white men before the discovery of the rich Picher field, the title to most of the land has remained with the Indian tribes and the leasing of the mineral rights has been done by the Federal Government for the benefit of the Indians. The Indian allotments were of 200 acres each and some of the mining leases covered entire allotments, although many leases were granted for only 40 acres or even less. Practically all of the leases granted in the past required the erection of a concentrating plant on each lease, a condition that has had a pronounced effect upon the mining and milling methods of the district, since the apparent ore reserves on each tract were too small to justify large

Jan 1, 1938

By Granville S. Borden, Frank H. Madison

The fruits of industry are divided between capital, labor, and governments. Capital takes its redemption and remuneration through profits or dividends; labor takes its share through wages; governments take their share through taxes. Each must have a just share, and the question of what is a just share and the question of who shall make the allocation are vital current political and economic issues. Certain political philosophies con- tend that government should take all the fruits and that some dictator or politician should have irrevocable discretion and power to distribute the fruits. Believers in democracy and free enterprise adhere to the view that capital is entitled to redemption and fair remuneration; that labor shall have a fair wage; and that governments shall make equitable levies. But since all human beings, both individually and in groups, are inherently selfish, there are many variable views in regard to the question of what ratios shall be applied in a division of the fruits and who shall have the power to fix these ratios. Perhaps all parties should devote more energy to means of increasing the crop, and not so much time to quarreling over a division of the existing crop. Moreover, all three parties must guard against killing the goose that lays the mineral eggs. For example, if the tax burden becomes oppressive and the taxpayer refuses to carry it, then business stagnates, with consequent unemployment, reduction of profits, and curtailment of government revenue. If a producer assumes the increased tax burden, marginal operations must be closed down, and, again the consequences are increased unemployment and diminished government revenue. Quite often an increase in a rate of tax results in a reduction of government revenue. Perhaps the worst detrimental feature of selfishness and greed on the part of any one of the three distributees of the fruits of industry is the retardation of expansion of the enterprise. Growth means new jobs, more government revenue, better trade, and better standards of living. Explorations and discoveries have resulted in tremendous contributions

Jan 1, 1964