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By Shiou-Chuan Sun

THE fact that coals of different ranks and even of the same rank differ greatly in their amenability to froth flotation is well known. In recognition of the need for an explanation of this phenomenon, two hypotheses have been suggested. Wilkins1 reported that the floatability of coals increased with an increase of the carbon content or rank. This postulate is handicapped by the fact that bituminous coals that possess moderate carbon contents are actually more floatable than anthracite coals that have high carbon contents, as shown in columns 6 and 9 of Table I. Taggart and his associates' implied that the difference of floatability between bituminous and anthracite coal was caused by the variation of carbon-hydrogen ratio. This is not applicable to the relative floatability of other coals and carbons. For example, column 11 of Table I shows that the carbon-hydrogen ratios of low-floating lignitic coal and non-floating animal charcoal are not only smaller than the moderate-floating anthracite coal, but are also similar to the high-floating bituminous coal. Furthermore, according to this hypothesis, high temperature coke-A (464), Ceylon graphite (1238), and lamp-black (357), all possessing extremely high carbon-hydrogen ratios, should be less floatable than other substances having much lower carbon- hydrogen ratios such as high volatile-B bituminous coal (11.9 to 22), anthracite coal (35.7 to 60.5), lignitic coal (15.6 to 33.6), and charcoal (13 to 26.2). However the former group is actually more floatable than the latter group.

Jan 1, 1954

By W. L. Remick

THE hydrotator coal-cleaning process was developed as an economic necessity to meet the ever-increasing demand for an inexpensive method of cleaning coal down to the sizes ordinarily referred to as "dust." As the most urgent demand seemed to be in the anthracite field, all experimental work has been conducted in that territory during the past 2 years, with the exception of a few months during the strike of 1925-26, when some experiments were performed in the Alabama bituminous fields. The first commercial plant was constructed at the Middle Creek Colliery of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co., Pottsville, Pa. This plant is now operating. APPLICATION The field of application of the process is: 1. Cleaning anthracite fines, ordinarily described as "slush" or "silt." Slush contains all sizes from %2 in. down to and including "dust." (Anthracite passing a 32-in. mesh is also referred to as No. 2 Barley and No. 4 Buckwheat.) 2. Cleaning sizes too fine for recovery by other methods. 3. Removal of coal from sand circulated in the Chance sand-flotation process. 4. Cleaning of bituminous sizes. from 3/8 in. down to "dust. 5. As equipment for the performance of the froth flotation process. 6. Other separating, extraction and _washing. processes which may be considered outside the realm of coal cleaning. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION Fig. 1 shows the method of classification practised under the Hydrotator patent:1 In coal cleaning the machines are operated as "hindered settling" classifiers, the flow of solids and liquids being so controlled that the units may be combined in series.

Jan 1, 1927

L50 Adirondack L1 Alaska L2 Arizona L58 Arkansas L66 Billings Petroleum L3 Black Hills L4 Boston L5 Carlsbad Potash L6 Central Appalachian L60 Central New Mexico L7 Chicago L8 Cleveland L9 Colorado L57 Colorado Plateau L10 Columbia LII Connecticut L55 Dallas L12 Delta L65 Denver Petroleum L13 Detroit L14 East Texas L15 El Paso Metals L71 Evangeline L45 Florida L54 Fort Worth L16 Gulf Coast L61 Hobbs L62 Hugoton L68 Illinois Pet Basin L17 Kansas L18 Lehigh Valley L52 Lou-Ark L47 Mexico L19 Mid-Continent L20 Minnesota L56 Mississippi L21 Montana L22 Nevada L64 Niagara Frontier L23 New York L67 New York Petroleum L25 North Pacific L24 North Texas L26 Ohio Valley L27 Oklahoma City L28 Oregon L63 Panhandle L29 Penn -Anthracite L30 Permian Basin L51 Peru L31 Philadelphia L32 Pittsburgh L33 St Louis L34 San Francisco L59 San Joaquin L35 Southeast L36 Southern Calif L69 Southern Calif Pet L53 South Plains L37 Southwest Texas L48 Southwest Alaska L38 Southwest N Mex L44 Spindletop L39 Tri-State L40 Upper Peninsula L41 Utah L70 Venezuela L42 Washington, D C L43 Wyoming L49 West Central Texas L46 Philippine

Jan 1, 1956

NEARLY one hundred members of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America and friends of Professor Peele met at dinner at the Aldine Club, New York, on the evening of April 26, to take part in the ceremonies attending the presentation of the Society's annual gold medal. This had been awarded to Professor Peele by the Society in recognition of his laborious and painstaking work as Editor-in-chief of the monu-mental "Mining Engi-neers' Handbook. Carl A. Meissner acted as toastmaster. W. Y. Westervelt, a student and lifelong asso-ciate of Professor Peele, then recounted some of his friend's early exploits, be-ginning with his mining adventures in the paternal cellar, whereby the neces-sity for adequate ventilation was indelibly impressed on his mind. Graduating from the Columbia School of Mines in 1883, Robert Peele for several years followed the typical mining career, as assayer and superinten-dentatan outlying Colorado mine; mill foreman and assistant superintendent of the Silver King, in Ari-zona; in charge of a mine at Fairplay, Colo.; and superintendent for the Ore-gon Gold Mines Co., at Cornucopia. At intervals during this experience, he spent parts of four years on two mineral investigations m in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Dutch Guiana. He i was called to Columbia as Adjunct Professor of Mining in 1892, and became Professor in 1904. During his sabattical leave in 1903 he travelled around the world, r stopping at some of the most important mining cen-ters, and in 1910 he renewed his acquaintance with South Africa and South America.

Jan 6, 1923

By R. W. Gurry, L. S. Darken

The solubility of cementite in austenite is computed by thermodynamic methods from the observed solubility of graphite. It is found that the solubility of cementite is greater than that of graphite in the entire austenite temperature range. Thus the prior discrepancy between this portion of the phase diagram and the observed metastability of cementite is partially resolved. FOR several years it has been apparent that a serious discrepancy exists in certain observations pertaining to the Fe-C system. Direct experimental data indicate: 1-That the curve representing the solubility of graphite in austenite'" crosses that for cementite4 at about 945°C as shown in Fig. 1. 2— That graphite and austenite saturated therewith are stable1 relative to cementite at all temperatures between the eutectoid, about 723°C, and the eutectic, about 1153°C. These observations are mutually incompatible in view of a well-known consequence of the second law of thermodynamics, namely, that the stable phase (presumably graphite at all temperatures) has a lower solubility than the metastable phase (presumably cementite). Hence either 1 or 2 above must be in error; either the measured solubility of graphite or of cementite, or the observation as to the stability of graphite, is in error. Our present purposes are: 1—To collate the available data on cementite and prepare a table of HO — HO° and of (Fa— HO°)/T. This tabular method seems the best and most convenient way to represent the heat and free energy of formation. 2—To determine whether the measured solubilities of cementite and graphite in austenite are in accord with the above table and the measured thermodynamic properties of austenite, in order to resolve, if possible, the existing paradox of these two solubilities. Enthalpy of Cementite The enthalpy of cementite at 273 °K, H279 — HOcem, was computed by integration of the low temperature heat capacity as measured by Seltz, McDonald, and Wells" 68" to 298 °K) and as given by the Debye functions recommended by them (0" to 68°K); the result is included in Table I. At higher temperature HCem — H,,"" is given by Kelley who used the data of Naeser7 (298" to 1037°K) and of Umino8,9 (273° to 1923°K). We have recalculated Hcem — H273 cem from the data of UminoO in the following way. In the equilibrated alloy at temperature the weight fraction of cementite Pct c -Pct cr is PctC -PctCr designated f(C), and the

Jan 1, 1952

By W. N. Carr, J. R. Biard, B. S. Reed

An analysis of the semiconductor injection laser is presented which is based on a phenomenological model using device and material parameters. The intent of the laser threshold analysis is not to predict from theory the actual threshold current density but rather to provide a logical means of interpreting experimental results. The device and material parameters have been selected such that they describe both the threshold conditions and quantum efficiency of the lasev. A technique is proposed whereby the current required to obtain a population inversion is predicted from device 1-V characteristics. Experimental data are presented which support the analysis. THIS investigation is concerned with the characteristics of GaAs lasers fabricated in this laboratory. However, the assumptions used in these calculations should not limit their application to GaAs alone. It is felt that the analysis is sufficiently general to be useful in describing the operation of other semiconductor-laser materials. ANALYSIS heavily doped semiconductors to be considered. The absorption and/or generation of optical radiation may be completely specified in terms of q(E) and the probability functions f,,(E) and f,(E) which define the occupancy of the valence-band and conduction-band levels, respectively. The symbols used in this analysis are listed at the end. Following the approach of all' it can be shown that the effective gain coefficient, g, in the plane of a forward-biased P -N junction is g(E)=-ai@)[1-fv(E)-fc(E)] [1I In particular Eq. [I] holds for the photon energy at which lasing occurs, Ep. Throughout the following discussion Eq. [I] is considered only for the lasing transition E = Ep. For simplicity the functional energy dependence of the various factors is omitted in subsequent equations. Unless otherwise stated the symbols used represent the values at Ep. If the analysis is limited to the P-type side of the laser junction, the function q(l -f,,) is recognized as the band-to-band absorption in the P-type material at thermal equilibrium. Under forward-bias conditions the function f, is determined by the electron quasi Fermi level in P-type material. For sufficiently large forward bias the second term in Eq. [3] will become dominant and net gain will result; i.e., g will become positive. In order to simplify the subsequent analysis several assumptions are in order at this point. a) No conductivity modulation occurs. /„ is independent of f, and therefore go is a constant. b) The P-type material is heavily doped such that the degeneracy of the valence band permits popu-

Jan 1, 1964

By W. L. Saunders

(Wilkes-Barre Meeting, June, 1911.) I. INTRODUCTION. IT is now generally admitted by experts that at least so far as rapid progress is concerned the Alpine system of tunnel-driving is superior to any other. This is perhaps natural in view of the record of experience in driving tunnels through the Alps. These great mountain-chains cannot be treated in the ordinary way by shaft-sinking and driving headings, thus multiplying the points of attack. The work must be done from the ends only, hence speed in driving is of the utmost importance; and, as necessity is the mother of invention, the concentration of effort to make progress has resulted in an organization and in mechanical appliances that have produced results so much in excess of the usual practice, even in America, that a discussion of the subject in detail should be of much value to the engineer and contractor. The first Alpine tunnel was the Mont Cenis, length 7.5 miles, driven with a progress that averaged about 7.75 ft. per day. Next came the Saint Gothard, 9.5 miles long, 18 ft. per day; Arlberg, 6.5 miles long, 27.25 ft. per day; Simplon, 12.25 miles long, 36 ft. per day. The figures represent progress when driving from two headings, so that by dividing them in two we get the daily single-heading progress. The latest of the Alpine tunnels is the Loetschberg, now being driven. In this work the world's record has been beaten by a single day's record in one heading of 36 ft. and by an average daily record in. one heading of 29.5 feet. The Alpine range forms a natural barrier between a large section of northern and southern Europe. This range extends from the southeast of France to the frontier of Hungary, between Italy and the plains of southern Germany. The contour

Jul 1, 1911

By Tasuku Fuwa, John Chipman

Equilibrium data on the reactions of gases with carbon and oxygen dissolved in liquid iron are reviewed and correlated. A source of error in oxygen analysis of graphitic samples is exposed. New experimental data on the oxygen content of high -carbon iron in equilibrium with carbon monoxide indicate that the activity coefficient of oxygen is decreased by additions of carbon. The carbon-oxygen product decreases slightly with increasing carbon content. In recent years a number of investigations have been reported dealing with the equilibria between carbon and oxygen in liquid iron and gases containing carbon oxides. The laboratory study of these reactions dates back to 1931 with the publication of a paper by Vacher and Hamilton' on "The Carbon-Oxygen Equilibrium in Liquid Iron". The principal object of this study was to obtain data on the reaction shown by Eq. [3] below; their data and others by vacherZ permit evaluation of the other equilibrium constants as well. Subsequent studies have been reported by Matoba, Phragmen and Kalling and by Marshall and Chipman.5 The equilibria may be expressed by the following three equations: C + CO,= 2CO;Kl = Pc° [1] 0-+CO = CO,;K2=-P co, "0.PCO c + O = CO; K3 = In the equilibrium constants, ac and a0 are taken as equal to [% C] and [% 0] respectively in the infinitely dilute solution. At finite concentrations an activity coefficient is introduced such that ac =fc [%C], and so forth. It is to be noted that these equations represent only two independent relations, the third being derivable from any two. Richardson and Dennis have determined the conditions of equilibrium in reaction [I] at temperatures of 1560" to 1760°C. Their results have been confirmed by Rist and chipman7 who have shown how the data may be extended to cover the entire range of liquid compositions at temperatures from the eutectic up to 1760°C. An approximate confirmation has been reported by Fuwa and chipman.' These investigations also established the activity coefficient of carbon which was shown to increase rather rapidly with increasing concentration. For the very dilute solutions the value of Kl is expressed in the equation: log^i = - 7280/T+ 6.65 This equation leads to a value of Kl = 430 at 1540° C in excellent agreement with the average value of Marshall and Chipman.5 It is shown as line 1 in Fig. 1 together with the experimental observations. In the case of reaction [2] the direct experimental results can be supplemented by observations on the corresponding reaction with hydrogen, namely reaction [4]:

Jan 1, 1961

By William H. Bassett

RECENTLY it has become the custom of retiring presidents to talk of the relations of the Institute to its membership and its constituency- and it seems a good precedent to follow. Past-president Smith reviewed our relations to materials and to society in general. Mr. Bradley spoke of the value and use of our publications and of our educational duties. My message will be in regard to the coordination of our various groups of member interests and of service to industry. This Institute has, within its organization, four divisions and fourteen technical committees--each interested in a separate put very definite subject, and each covering a phase of mining engineering interest. These vary from geology and the geophysical methods of prospecting, to the physics of the structure of metals, truly "from the mine to the consumer"-from the preparation for mining to the final use of that which has been mined.

Jan 1, 1931

By James B. Cathcart

The potash mine of the International Minerals and Chemical Corp. is about 18 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico, in sec 1 and 12, T 22 S, R 29 E, N.M.P.M. Potash is produced from two zones in the Salado formation of late Permian age. The lower zone, consisting of a mixture of sylvite (KCI) and halite (NaCl), lies at a depth of about 900 ft, and the upper zone, in which the principal potassium mineral is langbeinite (K2SO4 2MgSO4), lies at a depth of about 800 ft. Because of the plastic nature of the material, fractures in the Salado formation are extremely rare and have been noted only on the 800 ft level of the International mine. The open fracture described below is almost unique. Only one other open fracture has been noted, and it was on a working face in the same general area as the one described, but was destroyed before the writer had a chance to examine it. According to J. E. Tong, foreman on the 800 level, this fracture was similar to, but smaller than, the one herein described. The saline strata are nearly flat-lying and comprise interbedded layers of halite, anhydrite (CaSO4), and poly-halite (2CaSO4.MgS04.K2SO4-2H2O), with halite predominating. The halite layers contain local concentrations of sylvite, carnallite (KC1.MgCl2.6H2O), and langbeinite. The principal marker in the potash mines area is a bed of anhydrite about 8 ft thick, and 70 ft below the 800 level. This bed contains varying amounts of polyhalite, and locally a few blebs of sylvite. Two principal marker beds are present over most of the 800 level. The lower is the "Middle Salt Marker," a bed of bright-orange halite, which ranges in thickness from a knife-edge to about 0.6 ft, and is usually bounded above and below by thin seams of green or reddish-brown clay. In langbeinite-rich areas, this marker usually contains abundant blebs of langbeinite. The upper of the two principal markers is a green clay seam, containing abundant halite, which ranges in thickness from 0.1 to about 0.5 ft. It is 2 to slightly more than 5 ft above the Middle Salt Marker. No langbeinite of minable grade is found above this clay, and it

Jan 1, 1950

By Betty J. Laswell, Gerald W. Laswell

Rotary drilling in modern open-pit mining is usually considered the lead phase which not only establishes the production rates but frequently limits them. From this viewpoint alone, the drilling phase must be maximized. The drill phase is the step that permits all the other operational phases to function within their design limits. This means that, in most cases, the drill is literally run to destruction to ensure that the shovel will be able to smoothly and consistently load a manageably size muck, the haul trucks can carry a balanced load without having a boulder dropped through the bed, and the crusher can devour constant rock size.

Jan 8, 1978

By J. M. Sands

Production of oil in Oklahoma during 1927 amounted to 273,256,900 bbl. (Table l), an increase of nearly 100,000,000 bbl. over the previous year. All of the major fields declined with the exception of those of the Seminole district which produced 136,105,000 bbl., almost one-half of the total production of the state. Because of this large new production, most of the development in the state during the year took place in that district. The Seminole City pool located in T.-9-N., R.-6-E., was the first of these pools to be developed. The Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co. brought in the first well in this field in March, 1926, for 1100 bbl. This well is located in Sec. 24-T.-9-N., R-6-E., and produced from the Hunton lime reached at depth of 3900 ft. The first Wilcox production was developed by the Independent Oil & Gas Co. and R. S. Garland in Sec. 26, T.-9-N, R-6-E. This well was being drilled for production in the Hunton lime but was dry in this horizon and was deepened to the Wilcox sand in July, 1926, and at the total depth of 4069 ft. developed a maximum production of 8000 bbl. daily. It held up in wonderful manner and was the cause of not only the development of this pool but the prospecting of the whole district for the Wilcox sand. This led to the discovery of the other major pools in that district. Seminole City pool reached a peak production of 264,500 bbl. on February 22, 1927, and slowly declined so that by December it had a daily average of 56,200 bbl. from 321 wells. The second pool in this district to be discovered was the Searight pool which was discovered by F. J. Searight et al. in Sec. 33, T-10, R-6, in April, 1926. The first well was drilled to the Hunton lime encountered at 4115 ft., and came in for 1300 bbl. daily. During August, 1926, the second well was drilled on the same farm through the Hunton lime to the Wilcox sand which was encountered at 4360 ft. It came in for an initial production of 4000 bbl. daily. This started active drilling in this field for the Wilcox sand. The field had a peak production of 40,621 bbl. on June 15, 1927, and declined to a daily average of 22,300 bbl. from 73 wells during December.

Jan 1, 1928

By HILAND BATCHELLER

COMMENT on the economic significance of the special alloy steels seems inevitably to reduce itself to an attempt to peer into the future of the industry in which we are interested. We are all familiar with the historical development of iron and with the almost complete replacement of iron by steel. Those who have been connected with the industry since its .early days have had the satisfaction of witnessing the greatest industrial development the world has seen. As the cartoonists of the muck-raking decade liked to picture steel as an ogre armed with a spiked club, his hands reeking with blood and with golden coins dripping from his pocket, fiercely seeking for more widows and orphans to devour, I choose to call on my imagination to create a gigantic but beneficent robot of such marvellous mechanical skill. that it quickly transforms millions of tons of otherwise worthless material into the infinite variety of useful products which are so largely responsible for our present civilization.

Jan 1, 1931

By F. C. Bond, J. T. Wang

H. J. Kamack (E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.)—Rittinger's law usually is stated to the following effect: "The work (or energy) consumed in particle size reduction is proportional to the new surface area produced." The law has been stated substantially in this way by Taggart20 Berry21 Dalla Valle22 Coghill and DeVaney,23 Richards and Locke," Gross,25 and many others, and, according to Gaudin,26 was originally expressed by Rittinger in the same form. Consequently there can be little doubt that this is the understanding of the law among most workers in the field of particle size reduction. Bond and Wang, however, express the law in the form "the useful work accomplished . . . ." (italics theirs). The distinction is critical, for in the form used by Bond and Wang the law becomes, as they themselves remark "merely a more or less arbitrary definition of useful work," while in its usual sense the law expresses a physical hypothesis which has been verified experimentally within certain limitations. Considering the way the law has been used, it might be stated more explicitly as follows: "In a given machine operating under a given set of constant operating conditions, the work consumed in the particle size reduction of a given material is proportional to the new surface area produced." Or, as Coghill and deVaney have said,27 "the (Rittinger) law holds only when the tests being compared are made under analogous conditions." There are occasions when the law transcends these limitations; for example, the surface area produced per unit energy consumption for a given material in a ball mill does not vary much over a fairly wide range of operating conditions. But by and large, the surface area production per unit energy consumption will vary with the operating conditions, the type of machine, and the material. The essence of Rittinger's law is that the surface area production per unit energy consumption is independent of the particle size, and this has been verified experimentally by numerous workers for numerous materials, within certain limits. An important limitation is that when one grinds to very small particle sizes, agglomerative forces may tend to interfere with size reduction so that the surface area increases less rapidly than Rittinger's law would predict. Within such limitations, Rittinger's law can be regarded as empirically established. The law has, however, certain theoretical implications, and it seems to be chiefly against these that Bond and Wang direct their criticism. Solids are believed to possess surface energy which is proportional to surface area. Thus, Rittinger's law implies a proportionality between surface energy produced and mechanical energy expended (for a particular material in a particular machine). It does not imply that all or most of the mechanical energy is transformed into surface energy; in fact it is known that most of the mechanical energy is transformed into heat. Bond and Wang assert that most of this heat arises from the damping of elastic vibrations of stressed particles. This may possibly be true for crushing (with which they are chiefly concerned), although in grinding it is probable that much of the heat arises from friction between particles. However, the fact that the surface energy is small compared to the heat energy does not invalidate Rittinger's law, which implies merely that they are proportional. The authors also criticize Rittinger's law on the grounds that "this theory cannot be justified mathematically, since work is the product of force times distance, and the distance factor is ignored," and "energy input must be the product of force times distance, and the Rittinger theory completely ignores large variations in the distance (strain dimension or deformation) throughout which a force must act to produce breakage of different materials." However, the quantities force and distance as such are irrelevant to Rittinger's law, which considers energy input as an integral quantity. The fact that different materials require different forces and strains (hence, different amounts of energy) to break them is incontrovertible but again is irrelevant to Rittinger's law, which, as mentioned before, applies -only to a single material. Even in theory, it would not be expected that the surface area produced per unit energy consumption would be the same for different materials, because the surface energy per unit area is presumably specific to each material. Bond and Wang advance another argument of a

Jan 1, 1952

By W. M. Albrecht, W. D. Klopp, R. I. Jaffee, B. G. Koehl

Kinetic studies were made of the reactions of tantalum with oxygen, nitrogen, and air at 400o to 1500°C. The tantalum-oxygen reaction is linear from 500° to 1250°C. The tantalum-nitrogen reaction follows a cubic rate law at 400° to 700°C and a parabolic rate law at 800" to 1475°C. The reaction behavior in air is initially parabolic followed by a transition to linear behavior. In the search for high-temperature materials, considerable interest is being shown in the refractory metal, tantalum. It is the third highest melting metal with a melting point of 2996°C. Also, tantalum has excellent ductility, making it one of the most workable refractory metals. In considering high-temperature applications of tantalum, the oxidation kinetics of the metal must be known. Such information also serves as a basis for the development of corrosion resistant tantalum-base alloys. Therefore, this study was made to investigate the reaction of tantalum with air, nitrogen, and oxygen. LITERATURE Several oxides of tantalum have been reported. The pentoxide, Taz05, is the only oxide of tantalum whose identity has been established. A high-temperature modification, aTa2Os, has been reported by several investigators.1-4 A low-temperature phase, ßTa2O5, undergoes an allotropic transformation at 1320o to 1350oC. 5-8 Four other oxides of tantalum have been reported. The oxides TaO2, TaO, and Ta4O have been reported by schonberg.9 A suboxide Ta2O, was observed by Wasilewski 6. However, the presence of oxides lower than Ta2O5 is questioned by Lagergren and Magneli.7 In oxidation studies, vermilyeal0 and Peterson, et al.,12 reported one possible phase intermediate between Ta and Ta2O5. Only Ta2O5 was formed in the tantalum air reaction, as reported by Michae1.l3 Several studies have been made on the kinetics of the tantalum-oxygen reaction. vermilyeal4 investigated the range 50° to 300°C and found that the rate of growth of a thin adherent oxide film could be described by the Cabrera-Mott theory. Gulbransen and Andrew15,18 studied the reaction kinetics of tantalum in oxygen pressure of 1/10 atm at 250° to 450°C. At all temperatures the reaction followed the parabolic rate law for periods up to two hours. The oxidation behavior in the range 500" to 1000°C was found to be linear at oxygen pressures of 0.2 to 600 psi according to Peterson. et al.l1 At very low pressures (1 x 10-3 to 2 X lo-' mm of Hg) Gebhardt and seghezzi17 reported linear oxidation at 800° to 1500°C. The reaction of tantalum with air is similar to the reaction with oxygen. Studies have been made by Waber, et a1.,12 and Michae1.l3 Two nitrides of tantalum, TaN and Ta2N are known. Their structures have been determined by Brauer and Zapp 18,19 The tantalum-nitrogen reaction kinetics have been investigated by Gulbransen and Andrews. 15, 16 The reaction follows the parabolic rate law at 500° to 850°C at a nitrogen pressure of 1/10 ,atm. At the same temperature, the tantalum-nitrogen reaction is much slower than the tantalum-oxygen reaction. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES Material— The material used in this study was high-purity, electron-beam-melted tantalum obtained from the Temescal Metallurgical Corp. The hardness of the as received ingot was 76 Vhn. The analysis of the material is given in Table I. Methods—Cylindrical specimens of tantalum approximately 0.9 cm in diam and 0.5 cm in length

Jan 1, 1962

By Percy W. Bidwell

THE statisticians had defeated Germany months before she invaded Poland. With batteries of adding machines they had proved that she was suffering from serious deficiencies in critical food- stuffs and in practically all of the raw materials necessary for the conduct of modern warfare. Their calculations showed that with respect to fats, oils, wool, cotton, hides, petroleum, iron, copper and other metals, the Reich was bound to be at a great disadvantage vis-a-vis the French and British as long as the latter could keep open the lines of sea communication. The conclusion seemed obvious-"Germany can't win." The more cautious of the commentators introduced qualifications as to the length of the war and the tightness of the British and French blockade. They also made a third qualification as to the character of the struggle- whether it was to be a war of attrition or a war of movement. But since the invasion of Norway in April, there is no longer any doubt on this score. It is a war of movement-a war in which fuel, lubricants, and metals are being consumed on a scale never before seen.

Jan 1, 1940

By S. Saito, P. A. Beck

The crystal structure of MoNi3 was determined by means of X-ray diffraction. This structure is isotype with that of ovgered TiCu3. The lattice parameters are: a. = 5.064A, bo = 4.224A, co = 4.448A, and zf 0.157. If the orthorhombic distortion (slight relative to the corresponding orthohexagonal unit cell) is disregarded, the structure may be described in terms of a close-packed ordered atomic layer, stacked in the sequence: abab. The structztres of ordered TiCu3 and TiAl3 are homotectic. The three types of ordered hexagonal phases, iso-structural with TiNi3, MgCd3, and VCo3, are known to occur in AB3 alloys of transition elements of the first, second, ad third long periods. It was noted1 that phases with the TiNi3 structure occur selectively in alloys of Ti-group elements with Ni-group elements. In AB3 alloys of Ti-group and V-group elements with Co-group elements the AuCu3-type structure predominates.' The vCO3 structure, which was determined very recently,' has hexagonal symmetry, but the actual atomic arrangement here, too, is rather closely related to the ordered cubic structure of AuCu3-type. However, an ordered hexagonal close-packed structure of the MgCd3-type occurs in MOCO33 and WCO3.4 Consequently, the question arises as to whether or not the crystal structure of MoNi3 is also of the MgCd3-type. Grube and winkler5 found that MoNi3 has a hexagonal close-packed structure with a = 2.54A and c/a = 1.65. They pointed out that some additional weak diffraction lines could be observed in the powder pattern, which may have been due to an ordered atomic arrangement in this phase. However, no detailed information was obtained by them and the structure was apparently not further investigated by others. The present work was, therefore, undertaken in an attempt to determine in detail the structure of MoNi3, and to investigate the possibility of ordering. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Alloys used in the present work were arc-melted in a water-cooled copper crucible under helium atmosphere. Electrolytic nickel and molybdenum, both 99.9 pct pure, were used. Chemical analyses were not made, but the melting loss was not higher than 2 pct for any alloy. Ingots were first homogenized at 1200°C for 48hr, quenched, heavily cold worked, and then annealed at 820" or 860°C for 1 week, followed by quenching in cold water. Powder specimens for X-ray work were prepared by crushing the heat-treated solid specimens. In order to remove strains, the powders were reannealed in evacuated scaled fused silica capsules for 6 hr at the same temperature at which the corresponding solid specimens were annealed. X-ray photographs were taken with an asymmetric focussing camera, using unfiltered CrK or CuK radiation. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The X-ray diffraction patterns of alloys containing 20.8, 25, and 26.4 at. pct Mo, homogenized at 1200°C, showed the face-centered-cubic structure of the Ni-base a-solid solution. It was revealed, however, by micrographic examination that the 26.4 at. pct Mo alloy contained in addition very small amounts of a second phase, in accordance with the phase diagram.6 On the other hand, the 20.8 at. pct Mo alloy after annealing at 820°C gave the X-ray diffraction pattern of the ordered face-centered-tetragonal MONi4.7 In this pattern several additional weak diffraction lines were also observed, corresponding to the strongest diffraction lines of MoNi3. The alloys containing 25 and 26.4 at. pct Mo after annealing at 820" or 860°C gave X-ray diffraction patterns, as shown in Tables I and 11, corresponding to MoNi3. Each one of the reflections which could be tentatively indexed on the hexagonal close-packed cell of Grube and Winkler,5 with the exception of the basal plane reflections, was split into a doublet, as seen in Table I. Since microscopically the alloy consisted of a single phase, it seemed probable that the lattice of MoNi3 is actually slightly deformed, as compared with the tentative hexagonal unit cell. In addition to these diffraction lines, several weak lines were also present, as shown in Table 11, which could not be indexed at all on the hexagonal close-packed cell considered. Satisfactory indexing of all diffraction lines observed was found to be possible by using an orthorhombic unit cell with ao = 5.064A, ft = 4.224A, and c = 4.448A. These values, whose accuracy is estimated to approximately ± 0.008A, correspond to 95.14A3 for the volume of the unit cell, and to an X-ray density of 9.50 g per cm3. If no attention were paid to the weak reflections listed in Table II, a reduced -unit cell of half the volume (a = 2.532A, b = 4.448A, and c = 4.224A), closely related to the orthohexagonal cell, might be used. The dimensions of the orthohexagonal cell of the same volume as the reduced cell are: a = 2.562A, b = 4.437 A, and c = 4.183A. It may be seen that in the reduced cell the a axis is slightly shorter, while the b and c axes are slightly longer than those corresponding to the orthohexagonal cell of the same volume. This slight orthorhombic distortion is re-

Jan 1, 1960

Jan 1, 1888

By J. A. Burkhardt

Field measurements and theoretical studies have been made of pressure surges—momentary variations in fluid pressure—produced by movement of pipe in mud-filled boreholes. Pressure measurements were recorded by five pressure gauges located at various positions in the borehole. An important positive pressure peak was found to occur as the casing moved with maximum velocity. Important negative peaks were found as the casing was lifted from the slips and as brakes were applied to stop pipe movement. A rigorously formulated theory has successfully predicted the sequence and magnitudes of these positive and negative surges and has established a basis for understanding how they occur. Both the measurements and theory indicate that the most important pressure surge is usually due to viscous drag of the flowing mud. The theory of viscous-drag pressure surges has been approximated by simplified graphs and calculation procedures to facilitate ready use in field operations. Comparison of measured results with those predicted by the simplified theory shows that the magnitude of this surge can be predicted accurately. INTRODUCTION It is widely recognized that raising or lowering pipe in a fluid-filled borehole produces momentary variations in fluid pressure, commonly called pressure surges. Both negative (or "swabbing") surges and positive (or "fracturing") surges may occur. In 1934, Cannon1 measured the negative surges and showed that they could be large enough to cause flow of formation fluids into the well-bore and, in extreme cases, lead to blowout conditions. Later, Coins2 measured the positive surges associated with lowering pipe. His results and subsequent field operations strikingly demonstrated that pressure surges could be an important factor in some cases of lost returns. In addition, although the evidence is less clear than in the case of blowouts and lost returns, other investigators 3, 4 feel that pressure surges probably play a part in many instances of minor gas cutting, salt-water flow and other hole trouble. The importance of pressure surges in drilling operations led naturally to attempts to explain the physical causes, nature and magnitude of the surges. Cardwell5 was the first to publish a theory which allowed the quantitative prediction of momentary pressure variations. He assumed that the drilling fluid was a 300-cp Newtonian fluid in turbulent flow. Most field muds have a considerably lower viscosity and are generally believed to be Bingham plastic in nature.6 However, card-well's results were useful because they were presented in a form convenient for field use and, in some cases, gave a reasonably accurate predicted value for the maximum pressure surge. Subsequently, Ormsby7 published a more comprehensive theory of pressure surges. He discussed both laminar and turbulent flow and considered the theory of mud-bypass devices for reducing pressure surges. As a consequence of his more rigorous approach, his results were more accurate but more complex and difficult to use. Further, both Ormsby and Cardwell considered only the pressure surge arising from viscous drag of the moving mud. Clark later published idealized graphs of surges and presented equations for predicting their magnitudes. In addition to pressure variations arising from viscous drag, he considered those caused by inertial effects. His theory was in this respect more complete than those of Cardwell and Ormsby, although he did not discuss pressures due to breaking of the gel. Furthermore, his equations, while not exceptionally complicated, were too complex for ready use at a drilling location. One difficulty common to all three theories is that none was tested rigorously by direct comparison with measured pressure surges. Their accuracy, therefore, could, not be demonstrated. Further, the two theories based on most realistic assumptions (Ormsby and Clark) required the solution of one or more rather complex algebraic equations. The research described in this paper was undertaken to supplement that described and to overcome some of the difficulties noted. It seemed obvious that a fully satisfactory study of pressure surges should encompass three main phases. 1. A valid theory useful in all field situations must be developed. This theory must be based upon realistic assumptions, must be formulated rigorously and should lead to clear concepts whereby the nature of pressure surges can be easily understood. 2. The theory, however complex and involved, ultimately must be presented in simplified form for convenient field use. This may involve extensive machine computations and the use of figures and empirical equations. 3. The accuracy of the simplified equations must be established by comparing measured pressure surges with those predicted by the theory. These must agree both in their characteristic nature and in magnitude. 'This means that careful measurements of surges occurring in actual field operations must be made.

By C. H. Brehaut, W. N. Taylor, R. S. Douglas, H. A. Shannon

THE name for this new method of mining is derived from a composition of Horizontal, Radial, Diamond, and the drilling is from raises. This method, worked out at Copper Mountain, B.C., is believed to be distinct in many features from other known methods. GEOLOGY The ore deposits of Copper Mountain are related to the Copper Mountain stock, which is an ideal example of the magmatic differentiation in that it grades from a basic gabbro at the border to an almost pure orthoclase-pegmatite core. The "contact" ore bodies lie along the contact of the gabbro and an older complex of volcanics and sediment termed the "Wolfe Creek" formation. These older rocks, collectively referred to as greenstone, had been fractured prior to the intrusion of the stock and were highly metamorphosed during the intrusion. The "outlying" ore bodies are somewhat different in character, though a similar structural pattern prevails. It is believed that a deep-seated magma of which the Copper Mountain stock is a part has given off solutions that caused a partial granitization of some of the volcanics. Mining problems are caused further by the presence of a series of soft barren dikes intersecting a great many of the ore bodies, which are about 30 ft. wide, strike north-south, and dip at a high angle to the east; and are further increased by the presence of four major faults, with a great many minor faults running at acute angles from them. Fault zones average 8 ft. in width, and consist of gouge and breccia. They strike northeast and dip steeply to the northwest. The faults cut through the ore zones and the dikes, and continue on into the gabbro. The general mine structure with two types of ore bodies, bounded by weak walls and intersected by several series of soft barren dikes and major faults, indicated that a method of mining should be devised that would remove the ore at low cost with the least disturbance of the waste walls and dikes. THEORETICAL ESTIMATE OF STOPING WITH THE DIAMOND DRILL After consideration of various methods, the most suitable one appeared to be horizontal drilling to break the ore in a manner similar to shrinkage stoping. Drilling vertical holes or rings from a bench and breaking to an open slot was eliminated because the weak walls of ore, dike or waste would not permit this type of opening. It was then decided to drill either horizontal radial holes from a raise or parallel holes from a slot cut across the ore body. After discussion, the latter method was believed unsuitable, for the following reasons:

Jan 1, 1945