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By Eugene McAuliffe

IT is not possible to include in this paper, limited as it is in scope, the many diverse steps toward the reduction of mine accidents that are taken in the mines that produce the nation's coal. Every coal-producing state has enacted laws covering proper mining practices, and the major portion of these are directly related to the safety of the mine employees. The United States Bureau of Mines, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, The American Mining Congress, a number of national, regional and state organizations, as well as the coal technical press, have covered time and time again all of the "do" and "don't" phases of mine operation that bear on the important question of mine and employee safety. Within the past 15 years The Union Pacific Coal Co. has attempted to put into practice in its mines in southern Wyoming these many good recommendations, finding some value in all, and yet, to secure substantial results, the management found it necessary to resort in the end to what might be referred to as "extra-territorial" methods. It is the writer's purpose to show in this paper that marked and even extraordinary betterment can be brought about when employer and employee work together with due sincerity. In presenting our own experi-ence, one that has been duplicated in so far as results are concerned on numerous other properties, no theory of perfection of management exists; on the other hand, our organization feels that as long as our record of accidents remains as shown by even our latest and best performance we still have far to go. Safety work in some form has been carried on in and about the mining properties of The Union Pacific Coal Co. since the first mine was opened at the now long-abandoned town of Carbon, Wyo., in 1868. On June 30, 1903, an explosion and subsequent mine fire occurred in mine No. 1 at Hanna, taking 169 lives, and a second explosion occurred in tile same mine on March 28, 1908, in which 59 additional lives were lost. Looking back with impartiality on the causes leading up to these two unfortunate disasters, we can only conclude that shooting from the solid, the absence of adequate ventilation, rock dusting, the use of water at the face to allay

Jan 1, 1938

By R. A. Esmonde

This paper describes the building and testing of a prototype welded aluminum truck body to a new design concept. The results of these tests are given along with an outline of further developments in the design and field application of aluminum bodies. The results of field service history are recorded with special reference to types of mining operations, service performance, wear, maintenance and economics of operation. Mention is made of current U.S. usage and predictions given as to future development of aluminum bodies in the mining industry. The use of aluminum for off-highway truck bodies in hauling rock for the mining and construction industries is by no means the novelty that it may seem. In 1932 an aluminum unit proved very satisfactory in service on the Hoover Dam project but at that time the only high strength aluminum alloys available were not weldable and with the high cost of construction, a sound economic case for an aluminum body could not be made. After World War I1 great advances in aluminum welding techniques, using the inert gas shield, combined with the development of high strength alloys with good welded properties and welding characteristics changed the whole picture. Welded aluminum bodies were rapidly developed and by 1958 attention was again focused on the use of aluminum for off-highway truck bodies. EARLY DEVELOPMENT WORK In 1959 Alcan, the Aluminum Co. of Canada, embarked on an extensive development program to prove the durability and economics of aluminum truck bodies for the mining and construction industries. The first step was to design a prototype aluminum body which took particular advantage of the fact that the modulus of aluminum is only one third that of steel. This means that within the elastic range, aluminum moves three times as much as steel which makes it more flexible and capable of absorbing much greater impact shocks. A body was built and mounted on a 22-ton truck and taken to the Jeffery Mine of Canadian Johns Manville Company at Asbestos, P.Q., Canada. Very little information was available as to the order of stresses that were set up in off-highway truck bodies and so it was therefore decided to carry out a test program to find out this information.

Jan 1, 1969

By Richard E. Chism

I have thought it well to lay before the Institute some account of the Vallecillo Mines, now, I believe, the only paying ones in American hands in northeastern Mexico, including the States of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas. The authentic history of these mines dates from their ownership by an American Company in the year 1851, when they were bought by the Vallecillo Silver Mining Company of New York. They had been worked before by the Spaniards, but had been abandoned for many years, on account of the heavy expense of drainage and the constant incursions of the Indians. The company commenced work with several well-known New York capitalists among its stockholders, and had a large fund of both money and enthusiasm. The first point of attack was at a shaft on a mine known as the Jesus Maria, which had the most favorable traditions. Extensive buildings were put up, and two sets of pumps were successively tried. After the second pump, with a steam-cylinder 5 feet in diameter and 10 feet stroke and a plunger 20 inches in diameter, had failed to do more than hold the water, with infinite labor, at the 250 feet level, and after a thorough exploitation of the whole mine above that level had failed to yield more than some $30,000 worth of ore, it was resolved to abandon the effort. Operations were accordingly transferred to the old Dolores shaft, at a point about 21/2 miles to the

Jan 1, 1885

By L. E. Welch, C. W. MacGregor

THE past 20 years has seen a revolutionary change in the testing of materials at elevated temperatures. This has largely been brought about by the practical importance of the creep problem in the design of equipment for operation at high temperatures. The short-time tension test carried out at elevated temperatures has consequently assumed in many cases only a secondary role compared to the long-time creep test. In many problems, however, a knowledge of the short-time high-temperature properties of a metal is essential. To mention a few cases in which this is so, we might include all hot-forming operations such as rolling, forging, etc., the welding problem if residual stresses are to be computed, the development of new alloys for high-temperature service where, in the initial stages, time does not permit of long duration creep tests, and others. Usually a knowledge of the short-time properties is desired, if only to serve as a background against which to compare creep behavior. In conducting short-time high-temperature tests, it has been almost the universal practice to determine stresses based on the original area and strains referred to the original gauge length which is usually chosen as 2 in. It has been pointed out 1,2 that one of the reasons that the true significance of certain tensile properties is not understood, which perhaps curtails their usefulness, especially when the material is applied [ ] under conditions differing considerably from the test conditions, is that true physical stresses and strains are not determined. It is essential to have a knowledge of true stresses and strains in order to correlate the values present in the tension test with those existing, for example, in hot metal-forming operations and in the general problem of the yielding and failure of metals under combined stress conditions. Stress and strain values based on the original dimensions of the test piece do not exist physically except in the early stages of the test. Since at the present time there is very little information in the literature on true stress-strain relations in the short-time high-temperature tension test it is proposed in the following pages to describe a

Jan 1, 1942

By F. Julius Fohs

As an industry approaches stabilization, greater and greater stress must be laid on its technologic progress, which becomes a prime aid in improving its condition. The oil industry is tending toward this stage and hence its engineers must be pressed into greater service to prevent stabilization and stagnation from becoming synonymous, and to supply, either by improvements in processes or by new machinery, a means of obtaining savings in raw and finished products. Thus profits can be assured warranting continued investment. It may be repeated, technology must apply a slight improvement here, a change there, or a complete renovation, to eliminate inefficiencies and make each dollar invested yield greater results. The profits of ycstcrday were made of rich strikes, of monopolized patents or processes, of control of prices and of markets. Sixty-five years of growth, of large investment, of healthful competition, and of expanding markets, have put the oil industry in the foremost rank of world industries. .Just as the railroads passed a similar period of expansion and growth, and arc being stabilized with reasonable profits, so the oil industry must take advantage of the efforts of its engineers and experts to promote its healthful growth and a better service to the people. Herein is attempted a review of recent progress in which is presented the advances in exploration, production engineering, transportation, refining and greater efficiency in uses of petroleum, with a view not only to stressing important new processes and methods, but also the problems that press for solution. This review can only touch outstanding developments of recent years, but the several Petroleum Division symposiums of our program will present details worthy of attention. Exploration Geology offers directly little new in the technique of oil-finding— major stress being laid on improvement in subsurface correlation by means of foraminifera1 studies, additions to the knowledge of which are being made, slowly but surely, and by means of mineral, and especially heavy mineral, determinations in well samples. The general application

Jan 1, 1927

By Fred Allison

THE magneto-optic method of analysis had its origin in experiments1 which were designed to detect and measure a time lag in the Faraday effect and later to study this time lag as a function of the wave length of the light.2 Faraday discovered in 1845 that a beam of plane polarized light, when passed through a transparent, isotropic medium traversed by a magnetic field of force parallel to the direction of the light, suffers a rotation. The direction of rotation is reversed with the reversal of the magnetic field and its magnitude depends upon the strength of the field, the length of the path of light in the substance and the nature of the substance. This phenomenon of magnetic rotation is known as the Faraday effect. A question which had been of some interest for years was whether this power of a liquid to rotate polarized light is acquired instantly with the application of the magnetic field, that is, whether it is a case of instantaneity or whether there is a very small interval of time which intervenes between the application of the magnetic field and the consequent rotation of the light by the liquid; in other words, whether there is a time lag in the Faraday effect. Efforts to measure such a lag previously had met with failure. It was recognized at the outset' that since a time lag had escaped detection it must be extremely small, if to a measurable extent it exists at all. It became necessary therefore to adopt a timing device capable of making measures of almost infinitesimally small intervals. The velocity of light served as this timing device, a modification of a method originally employed by Abraham and Lemoine3 being adapted to the requirements of the problem. Since light travels about 30 cm. in a billionth of a second and since settings in our observations may be repeated with deviations not exceeding 3 mm.,

Jan 1, 1932

Joseph William Richards, was born in Oldbury, Worcestershire, England, on July 28, 1864, of English-Scotch parents, Joseph and Bridget (Harvey) Richards. In 1871, he came to this country with his parents. He attended the public schools of Philadelphia, Pa., where his father was a manufacturing metallurgist, and in 1882, graduated from the Central High School with the degree of A. B. The same year he entered Lehigh University, from which he received the degree of A. C. (Analytical Chemist) in 1886; M. S. in 1891, and Ph. D. in 1893. His connection with the university was continuous from 1887 until his death, and he therefore adds another to the list of names of men Prominent in the A. I. 11. E. who have helped to develop Lehigh University to the important position which it now occupies in mining and metallurgical education in respect of world-wide fame. It is fitting to recall in this connection that, Eckley B. Coxe, a fonnder of the A. I. M. E., four times its vice-president,, and president in 1878-79, was literally a pillar of the university for several years prior to his death; Thomas M. Drown, founder, vice-presi(lent, secretary for 11 years, honorary member, and president in 1897, was president of Lehigh University from 1895 to 1904; and Henry S. Drinker, founder, manager, vice-president, and honorary member, was president of the university from 1905 to 1920. Doctor Richards was no less active in both institutions. With the exception of the years 1886 to 1887, when he was superintendent of the Delaware Metal Refinery of Philadelphia, his professional life was devoted to the upbuilding of the metallurgical department of the university, in part through his continuous services as a member of the teaching staff, and in part through the international renown won for the department by his achievevements as author, investigator, expert and rerognizcd authority in metallurgy, especially the metallurgy of aluminum, metallurgical-chemical calculations, and electrometallurgy. He was assistant instructor in metallurgy and blowpiping in 1887; instructor, 1888-90; instructor in metallurgy, mineralogy and blowpiping, 1890-97; assistant professor, 1897--1903; professor of metallurgy, 1903-1921. He died at his home in Bethlehem, Pa., on Oct. 12, 1921, of heart failure. To the A. I. M. E., for a continuous period of a dozen years, his services were equally loyal and effective. He was vice-president, 1910-11, and 1916-17; councilor, 1912; dirctor, 1913-15; chairman of the Iron and Steel Clommittee, 191-1-21; he was one of the framers of the Insti-

Jan 1, 1922

By Nicholas J. Grant, Henry Epstein, John Chipman

FOR many years steel producers have been concerned with the presence of hydrogen in steel. Hydrogen dissolved in excess of its solid solubility at the melting point may cause bleeding and gross unsoundness in ingots and castings. In fully-killed steels the hydrogen content which results in these difficulties varies with the alloy content1 and may range from 6 to 12 ppm.* It is also recognized that of heat treatment diminishes rapidly as the size of the part to be treated increases. The time required to remove a specified fraction of the hydrogen present increases as the square of the diameter of the section, making the treatment of large- sizes impractical. In order to prevent bleeding and gross unsound-ness due to hydrogen, and in view of the inadequacy of corrective heat treatment alone to provide optimum properties when hydrogen is present in large sections, efforts to limit the hydrogen content must be taken while the steel is still liquid. The main subject of this paper is a discussion of the factors affecting the hydrogen content of liquid steel in acid and basic open hearth, and basic electric two-slag furnace processing. Literature Survey Because many of the results and observations reported in the literature have a direct bearing on the results obtained in the present research and form part of the basis for conclusions reached, a brief summary of the findings is necessary. Methods for experimental investigation of hydrogen in liquid steel are comparatively new. The first attempts to estimate the hydrogen content of the open hearth bath were by Kalling and Rudberg,6 who devised a method for collecting gases evolved from the boiling bath of a basic open hearth furnace. They found that the gas during the boil generally contained 2 to 3 pct H2. From this and Sieverts'

Jan 1, 1958

By John Gross

The group of claims, comprising over 1,100 acres, located at Maitland (formerly known as Garden City), in the Ida Gray mining district, Lawrence county, South Dakota, are now being developed and operated by Alexander Maitland, the owner. Prior to the acquisition of this property two years ago by Mr. Maitland, but little work had been done in this district, and little was known of the extent of the ore-deposits. Recent development, however, has opened up some very promising ore-shoots. The ores so far encountered are the so-called " Potsdam siliceous ores," occurring in the flat formation lying immediately above the Cambrian quartzite, which dips at this locality about 12º. Both oxidized and blue ores are found, and the latter have proven particularly refractory to treat. No prospecting in the underlying slates of the Archean period has so far been attempted; but this work is one of the future considerations in the development of the property. Small quantities of blue ores are unavoidably sent to the mill, but special care is taken to send only the oxidized ores for the cyanide treatment. The ores, being close-grained and hard, have given considerable trouble in their treatment. Pyrrhotite arid pyrite exist in about equal proportions; arsenic, copper, and traces of antimony and tellurium are encountered, and considerable quantities of bismuth have been found in the zinc-box precipitates. The silver in the low-grade ores is slightly greater than the gold, while in the high-grade ores the reverse is generally true. Table I., showing the variations in the analyses of these ores, gives a fair idea of their general character. Early in 1902, the building of a 40-stamp wet-crushing cyanide-mill was begun, and it was finally placed in commission

Jan 1, 1905

By Edmund Newton

The steel industry of the United States has depended in the past almost wholly upon imports for its supplies of manganese. Many of the important domestic sources yield ores leaner in their natural condition than the foreign ores the steel industry. has been accustomed to use. To make them available, therefore, either the ores must be concentrated or the practice of the steel industry modified. Roughly 25,000 T. annually of high-grade manganese ores are used for dry batteries for chemical purpose, and in other ways; while approximately 750,000 T. are required for making steel. , By present practice, every ton of steel takes an average of about 14 lb. (1.8 kg.) of metallic manganese. This is generally added to the steel in the form of an alloy, the standard alloys being the 80-per cent. ferro-manganese and the 20-per cent. spiegeleisen, During the year 1917, 286,000 T. of ferromanganese and 193,291 T. of spiegeleisen were made in this country, the former largely from imported ores; and 45,381 T. of ferromanganese. was imported. The metallic manganese represented by these alloys was 304,000 T., the product of roughly 800,000 T. of high-grade ore and 345,000 T. of low-grade ore. Manganese Deposits in the United States Before the war manganese ore was mined in relatively small quantities in the Appalachian region, including Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia, and in Arkansas, but owing to the increase in prices during the past three years manganese mining has been undertaken also in Montana, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Minnesota. From data now available it appears that in this country deposits of high-grade manganese ores are usually small, while materials lower in manganese and higher in iron occur in appreciable quantities. Our total quantity of manganese-bearing material is relatively large, but on

Jan 1, 1920

By Robert H. Richards

The object of this paper is to enlarge the field of settling velocities treated by me in my former papers, Close Sizing Before Jigging, and Sorting Before Sizing.' There seemed need of work both on coarser and on finer sizes. Messrs. A. Sidney Warren and M. L. Nagel undertook the investigation for the coarser sizes, from 12.85 mm. down to 2.05 mm. diameter. Their work, because of the closer spacing and because of the increased number of observations and consequent stronger averages, called for a revision of the former work. Messrs. G. A. Barnaby and Ralph Hayden undertook this part of the work, from 2.49 mm. down to 0.28 mm., which is near the limit of sifting. Their work covers the ground much more minutely and comprehensively than the former papers. There remained to be covered the portion of the field too fine for investigation with the sieves. This part, covering the range of grains from 0.48 to 0.03 mm., was undertaken by Mr. E. S. Bardwell. For it he used the elutriation method. 11. The First, or Coarsest, Section of the Field. The first desideratum in this investigation was a series of sieves for sizing the sands preparatory to making the tests. It became necessary, therefore, to decide on a sieve-scale for this purpose. A sieve-scale is a series of sieves in which the dimensions of the holes of the successive members form a series increasing by a definite ratio. There are three natural sieve-scales: 1, progressing by doubling the width of the hole for each suc-

Jan 1, 1908

By H. S. Munroe

To those familiar with ore-dressing practice, it is hardly necessary to dwell upon the importance of the jig. Within its proper sphere no substitute has been found that does the work as well or as cheaply. Its capacity is large, it requires but little attention, and the losses are small. In one form or another, it is the principal machine used in the concentration of low-grade ores, and for the separation of one metallic mineral from another; and it is almost the only machine used for the purification of coal. The present paper is a study of the action of the jig in the light of results obtained in the Lake Superior copper mills, ad at the St. Joseph Lead Co.'s dressing-works, in Missouri; and a description of experiments undertaken with the view of reproducing and isolating the conditions of jigging, in order to develop the laws which underlie the process. There are two recognized systems of jigging, the English and the Continental or German. The English system is a development of the hand-jigging formerly employed in Cornwall and other metalliferous districts of England, and introduced by English miners to this country. In this method the crushed ore, coarse and fine together, is first jigged oh a

Jan 1, 1889

By H. H. Power, C. H. Pishny

When an oil operator becomes a party to a proration agreement he may wonder, with good cause, whether production prorated .today is merely deferred until tomorrow or whether oil might be lost. Various types of evidence obtained from production records when studied quantitatively are of great assistance in arriving at definite conclusions. A study of individual examples cited in this paper leads towards some solution of the problem, particularly when they are considered in the aggregate. Many production curves on various pay horizons were studied. A disappointingly large number of these were of contributory value, but inconclusive. However, there were enough curves of similar type from the Wilcox sand at Earlsboro, Bowlegs, Seminole City, the Cromwell horizon at Little River, and the Simpson dolomite at Valley Center, Kansas, from which reasonably definite conclusions were drawn. Assuming that deferred production is later made up with no increase in ultimate recovery, a curve (Fig. 1) shows the normal flowing and pumping life of a composite well, contructed by the family curve method. The initial production of the well shown is 1700 bbl. daily and the allowed production is 25 per cent. On this basis the average daily allowed rate for the first month is 425 bb1., or the area BCDE, which is equivalent to the area AFDG under the normal decline curve. The potential production for the second month is 1500 bbl. and the allowed production 375 bbl. daily. By this procedure a potential curve for each succeeding month is obtained (points A, H, I, J and K). If the well is opened it should produce somewhere near its potential curve for a short period and then decline at a more rapid rate than the potential curve. This theoretical analysis is basic. Actual examples exhibiting all points raised by the ideal curve are rare. Proration in the Mid-Continent area has been effected mostly by leases rather than by individual wells; hence a well may produce any

Jan 1, 1931

By T. A. Klinefelter, Glenn C. Truesdell, Richard W. Smith, R. G. Meara, O&apos

The investigation of domestic talcs was undertaken by the Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of Alabama, at the request of the U. S. Army, on Dec. 1, 1941: "Considerable concern has been expressed by the Supply Arms and Service over maintaining continued availability of supplies of the necessary raw materials. These ceramic products are used by the Signal Corps in all army radio equipment, and to a greater degree in the new ultra-high-frequency equipment. The Air Corps has become a user of large amounts of radio-grade ceramics for' aircraft spark-plug covers required for high-altitude operations. In addition, the use of this material is essential to the proper functioning of the radio air-navigation aids of the Civil Aeronautics Board." History The use of steatite and talc in ceramic bodies goes back a great many years. If pure, talcs shrink little under heat-treatment and are very resistant to heat shock. The massive form, commonly called "steatite" by the trade, cuts and works easily, and this was naturally the first method used in obtaining articles of talc. When gas was in general use for illuminating purposes, a. large business was carried on in the manufacture of tips for gas burners.' With the development of uses for electricity, low-tension insulators were made in a similar manner; and, in fact, the forming of shapes from massive talc continues. However, as the business increased, cuttings and waste became more and more of a problem. In the twenties, one of the larger producing firms had a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Mines at its Columbus station to work out a body using the finely powdered material. Somewhat earlier, manufacturers of spark plugs used the finely ground talc as part of the body and to some extent in wall-tile bodies. Somewhat later it came into use for kiln furniture and similar products and still more recently it has been used in some dinnerwares. With the development of the radio and the high-frequency fields generated, it was found that a dense steatite porcelain was far better than even high-tension electrical porcelain, which is a clay-flint-feldspathic type of body. Until the war increased the demand, the several pioneer steatite-porcelain manufacturers were able to furnish adequate supplies. When war began in Europe and Asia, three important foreign sources of raw material were cut off; i.e., the French, Italian, and Man-churian talcs. Domestic producers of high-grade porcelain are few, and the trade

Jan 1, 1948

By F. Lynwood Garrison

The future of the Witwatersrand depends upon the possibility of mining and milling profitably the large tonnage of relatively low-grade gold ores known to exist in that area. The problem must be solved if the existence of the gold-mining industry in South Africa is to be saved and continue. To show that this disaster may be avoided, or at least postponed for another decade or longer, the following official statement is of interest: "There is a fairly large area of possible orebody on the East Rand of whose value and depth from the surface we have some though not very accurate knowledge. There is a far larger area south of the Central Rand which probably carries much payable ore, but at depths that at present appear too great to mine. Finally, there is a narrow strip of country over 100 miles in length stretching south from the Rand to Klerksdorp and beyond, which may contain large ore-bodies. The Witwatersrand rocks outcrop over portions of this ground and in places conglomerates occur in it that carry small bodies of payable ore. There is reason to believe that conglomerates of the Witwatersrand system exist over all this strip, though they are for the most part covered by later sediments. It seems probable also that there are large blocks of payable reef in this belt, at any rate in the area that lies close to the present western limit of the developed mines. The structure in this neighborhood is however very complicated and to prove the orebodies will be both difficult and costly." Ores in the Witwatersrand It should be explained in this connection that the conglomerates mentioned here were originally old gravel beds now consolidated into bedded sedimentary rocks, very hard because strongly cemented with secondary silica. The gold exists in this cement and is rarely found in the pebbles composing the rock or bed called locally reef. It is important to realize that these gold deposits are beds; not veins as generally understood by mining engineers and geologists. In addition to these low-grade ore reserves we have also to consider the ore left behind in the old stopes of the upper levels near the surface,

Jan 1, 1931

By W. H. Kantner

IN this paper, no attempt will be made to theorize on subsidence. Only known data and actual facts will be given, with a few exceptions noted where other factors and outside influences tend to change sub-sidence directly resulting from porphyry caving. The area under observation is known as the Southeast Extension of the East orebody. The orebody is irregular in outline and dips to the south and the east, extending in depth from about 425 ft. below the sur-face to 1050 ft. below the surface. In the upper horizon, the orebody is about 400 ft. long and 150 ft. wide. At 720 ft. below the surface, the ore outline is approximately 450 by 170 ft.; 70 ft. below this, it is 500 by 110 ft., with an extension at the north end to the east 270 by 120 ft. From this elevation to about 900 ft. below the surface, the ore spreads out to the east and south, being about 700 by 500 ft. between these vertical limits. Below this it pinches out and at 1060 ft. below the surface is only 100 by 100 ft. The nearest point of the orebody-which is on the northwest side-is 600 ft. southeast of the Sacramento shaft. The country rock is all porphyry. Fig. 1 is a vertical east-west section showing orebody and original surface. The surface over the orebody was fairly regular and in this area and adjacent to it were portions of the surface plant, roads, and the main plant railroad to the concentrator. Fig. 2 is a map of the surface over the porphyry area. Caving operations started in April, 1925, at the approximate top of the orebody. The first lift was on the 600-ft. level; the ore was extracted by means of the Morenci timbered slide method and was from 425 to 455 ft. below the surface over an area of about 22,000 sq. ft. This lift was finished in May, 1926. The second lift, on the 650-ft. level, was already in production by May, 1926, so extraction of ore was continuous. This lift was 48 ft. high and covered an area of about 30,000 sq. ft. The ore from this lift was extracted by means of a modified Morenci timbered slide method. This lift was finished in March, 1927. The direction

Jan 1, 1934

By John J. Porter

The requirements of the standard specifications under which Portland cement is sold have materially increased within the past 10 years, but practically all companies are now furnishing cement better than these requirements; in some cases exceeding them by nearly 100 per cent. From a sales standpoint, it is desirable to have a product that is uniform to a high degree and free from occasional quality troubles. A failure in quality, even if it affects only a few hundred barrels out of a yearly output of a million or more, is apt to be talked about in the trade and to affect the salability of the entire output. For these reasons, there has recently been great activity along the lines of quality control and improvement; and some of the most interesting problems of the industry are in this field. From the manufacturing standpoint, the quality of cement is chiefly a matter of uniform and proper chemical composition of the raw mix fed to the kilns plus proper burning in the kilns; the fineness to which the cement is ground, the proportions of gypsum, the method of seasoning, and the like are contributory factors. Uniform chemical composition of the raw mix has been one of the most difficult problems to solve. Most plants will use from 1000 to 3000 tons of rock per day and in but few cases is this material as it lies in the quarry even approximately uniform in composition. The problem, then, is to quarry and mix this raw material in such a manner that every handful passing through the kilns will have practically the same analysis as every other handful. To accomplish this purpose there are two methods of preparation: the wet and the dry. In each process, a stone storage is the first requisite of a successful plant. This storage place may handle the stone before or after crushing; its capacity may vary from two to three days' up to several months' supply, but it should be so designed that it can be filled as desired by the chemist and drawn at such points as will give a mixture of the various kinds of stone coming from the quarry and a reasonably uniform material going to the mill. The size of the storage place and the method of handling should be varied according to the nature of the material.

Jan 1, 1925

By G. R. Mansfield

THE third year of Government exploration f or potash by the U. S. Geological Survey and-the U. S. Bureau of Mines under the authorization of the act approved June 25, 1926 (Public 424-69th Cong.) is drawing to a close. The results thus far obtained are thought to be sufficiently interesting and satisfactory to justify the presentation of a brief preliminary account of the work. REVIEW OF EARLIER EXPLORATION The general geologic similarity of the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico to the potash field of Germany had long ago suggested the possibility of the presence of potash salts somewhere in that basin, but petroleum exploration was then making little headway there and the necessary data could not be obtained. The discovery by Udden in 1912 of potash in brine from the Spur well in Dickens County, Texas, was the first direct evidence of its presence. In 1915-17 the U. S. Geological Survey drilled a test well with standard tools at Cliff side near Amarillo, but failed to find potash. Nevertheless, an observer has been kept in the field, at first in cooperation with the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology but since 1922 by the Survey alone, to `secure data and samples from oil and gas tests. Since the discovery of oil in Reagan County in 1923 exploration by drilling has been rapidly extended to many parts of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The identification of the potash-bearing mineral polyhalite was first announced by the Geological Survey in June, 1921, the material having come from cuttings from the Bryant well in Midland County and the Burns well in Dawson County, Texas. Successive discoveries and announcements of similar purport aroused widespread interest in potash exploration, which culminated in the action by Congress already noted.

Jan 1, 1929

By P. Duwez, H. Martens

Dimensional changes generally occur during the sintering of metal powder compacts. These changes may have several causes and their magnitude depends upon the numerous variables involved in the process, such as the nature of the powder, size and shape of the grains, compacting pressure, rate of heating, maximum temperature, length of time at temperature, and furnace atmosphere. Among all the variables, time, temperature, and compacting pressure are probably the most important ones, and the effect of each one of the other variables can be studied separately once the effect of these is well understood. The most precise method of studying the phenomenon of dimensional changes in a compact consists of heat treating the compacts at various temperatures for different lengths of time. In this method, only very small specimens can be used, in order to achieve rapid rates of heating and cooling. The technique involved in these measurements is very simple, but is time consuming. Another experimental approach to the problem consists of measuring the change in length of a compact as it is being heated at a constant rate. Although the two variables, time and temperature, are combined into a single one (rate of heating), the results obtained by this technique may be of great interest from both practical and theoretical points of view. The purpose of this paper is to describe a systematic investigation of the change in length during sintering of compacts made of one or several metal powders. Experimental Procedure The change in lenght of compacts during sintering was measured with an automatic recording dilatometer. In this instrument the change in length and the temperature are recorded as functions of time on two separate charts and the rates of heating and cooling may be varied from 1 to 20°F per min. The temperature may be kept constant at any value up to 2200°F during any predetermined length of time and the change in length recorded as a function of time. Provision is made for atmosphere control inside the fused silica tube containing the specimen. Three different magnifications are provided, so that 1 in. on the chart corresponds to 0.002, 0.005, or 0.010 in. change in length. The mechanism following the change

Jan 1, 1950

By L. D. Jaffe, D. C. Buffum

The importance of temper brittleness in alloy steels has long been realized in Europe. In the United States recognition of its importance has developed within the last several years. Many brittle failures encountered in parts made of alloy steel are undoubtedly attributable, wholly or in part, to temper brittleness. These failures have occurred particularly at low temperatures, under shock loading, and in the presence of notches, restraints and combined stresses. It has been almost universally accepted that plain carbon steels are not susceptible to temper brittleness. As a result, considerable effort has been expended in attempts to discover the manner in which alloying elements introduce temper brittleness. It is desired to raise the possibility that plain carbon steels are not only susceptible to temper brittleness, but are much more susceptible than alloy steels, in the sense that they embrittle much more rapidly. It is suggested that previous views, (that plain carbon steels are not susceptible), are based upon an erroneous interpretation of the experimental results. Interpretation of Previous Data For many years the standard criterion for susceptibility of a steel to temper brittleness consisted of comparison of the energy absorption, in a notched-bar impact test at room temperature, of specimens that had received two heat treatments.' One specimen (or group of specimens) was quenched, tempered, and quenched from the temper. The other specimen (or group) differed only in having received an embrittlement treatment, which might consist of a slow cool from the tempering temperature, or of an isothermal hold in the range 45w550°C subsequent to quenching from the temper. If the energy absorption of the specimen receiving the embrittlement treatment was lower than that of the specimen not given this treatment, it was said that the steel was susceptible to temper brittleness. If the energy absorptions were the same, it was said that the steel was not susceptible. Several investigators2J found that plain carbon steels showed negligible difference in energy absorption in such tests (at least when their manganese content was below 0.60 pct), and concluded that plain carbon steels are not susceptible to temper brittleness. Recently the deficiencies of the criterion mentioned above have been pointed out.'-= The criterion now generally used for susceptibility to temper brittleness retains the heat treatments used in the earlier scheme, but instead of the notched-bar impact tests being made only at room temperature, they are made over a range of temperatures, covering the transition from ductile to brittle fracture. If the transition temperature of the specimens receiving the embrittlement treatment is higher than those

Jan 1, 1949