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By George J. Young

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) I. GENERAL. THE recurrence of mine-fires in Nevada during the past decade is not only a matter of interest, but also one of considerable concern to engineers and mine-managers. The more important fires may he enumerated as follows: Forman Shaft fire., Gold Hill, April 21, 1903 ; shaft-house, machinery, and shaft, destroyed; loss estimated at $50,000.; Cause Unknown. Union Shaft fire, Virginia City, July 14, 1904; shaft-house, machinery, and shaft in part destroyed; loss estimated it $100,000; cause of fire stated as the careless throwing of a match in the rope-house. Sutro Tunnel fire, Virginia City, Jan. 27, 1909 ; 700 ft. of tunnel-timbering destroyed, and direct damage of $10,000; cause ' probably electric wires." Belcher Shaft fire, Gold Hill, Aug. 9, 1910; shaft-house destroyed, machinery ruined, and upper part of shaft damaged; damage, $25,000; no cause given. Belmont Mine fire, Tonopah, Feb. 23, 1911; fire started in winze ; 17 men killed. Giroux Mine fire, Kimberly, Aug. 23, 1911 ; fire originated iii shaft-station from unknown cause; 7 men killed, and $34,¬521 damage caused. (NOTE 1.-On June 11, 1912, some time after the present paper was written, a fire broke out in the pump-room on the 2475 station of the Ward shaft, Virginia City. This fire was caused by the short-circuiting and exploding of the starting-switch on No. 5 pump. The oil in the switch was scattered about and set fire to the timbers and laming of the pump-room. The pump-roan in charge notified the surface, and the * Professor of Mining and Metallurgy, Mackay School of Mines.

Oct 1, 1912

By Rclssell Gibson, F. S. Turneaure

The tin deposit of Monserrat; Bolivia, consists of one major vein 1600 m in length. The ore is unusual because of the notable quantity of teallite, even though cassiterite is the principal tin mineral. The deposit, formed at shallow depth under a wide range in temperature, may be classed as xenothermal. Polished sections reveal a complex history of replacement, with low-temperature minerals deposited before high-temperature minerals.

Jan 1, 1950

By S. C. Lindsay, D. J. I. Evans

With each year that passes hydrometallurgical processes are being more widely used to recover base metals from ores and concentrates. Generally these processes involve liquid-solid separation of metal-bearing liquors from barren residues. This may be done by countercurrent decantation, thickening and filtration, or filtration or centrifuging only. Choice of method is governed by chemical and physical characteristics of the pulps; cost of labor, power, materials, and waste disposal; and even by the amount of capital available when building plans are under way. Since all these controlling factors change with time and location and with technological advances, the separation method must be re-evaluated when new plants or expansion programs are contemplated. At the Sherritt Gordon refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, an ammonia pressure leaching process recovers nickel, copper, and cobalt from the nickel concentrate produced at Lynn Lake, Manitoba.' Pregnant liquors are separated from the barren leach residues in a thickener-filter liquid-solids circuit. The decision to use this type of separation was based on a summation of economic factors during the pilot plant and design stages. Although countercurrent decantation was not incorporated in the refinery flowsheet, the problems solved in thickening the leach residues and the experience gained in operating the commercial plant are pertinent to countercurrent decantation, particularly where it is applied to slow-settling leach slurries or slurries having a relatively high vapor pressure of a valuable, obnoxious, or poisonous vapor. The nickel sulfide concentrate is leached under pressure with air and ammonia to dissolve the nickel, copper, and cobalt and most of the sulfur, leaving a residue of iron and siliceous material to be discarded.2,3 During a subsequent distillation stage to recirculate part of the ammonia used for leaching, copper is recovered from the solution as a high-grade sulfide. After further purification to remove traces of copper and undesirable sulfur compounds, the nickel is precipitated by hydrogen under pressure at an elevated temperature. The cobalt, together with unreduced nickel, is precipitated as a mixed metal sulfide by hydrogen sulfide for eventual cobalt recovery. The end solution is then evaporated to produce a crystalline ammonium sulfate byproduct. As shown in Fig. 1, the nickel concentrate is leached in a continuous, two-stage, countercurrent circuit. In the first stage, or adjustment leach, the fresh concentrate is partially leached (60 pct) in the liquor produced in the second stage, or final leach. This system is necessary to produce a solution suitable for treatment in the copper sulfide precipitation step. Both stages are carried out at 170" to 180°F under a total pressure, with air, of 100 to 120 psig in large, horizontal, water-cooled autoclaves. The autoclaves are divided by overflow weirs into four compartments to give a certain amount of staging during leaching. In each compartment a relatively slow-speed (100 to 150 rpm) agitator maintains the nickel concentrate in suspension. Adjustment leaching, carried out in two autoclaves in parallel, is followed by a thickener-filter liquid-solids separation. Final leaching is done in two parallel trains of three autoclaves using aqueous ammonia to extract metal values from the adjustment leach residues. This too is followed by a thickener-filter circuit. Here the residues are repulped once with aqueous ammonia and twice with process water and refiltered after each repulping stage, to insure a maximum recovery of soluble metal, before being discarded to the tailings pond. The adjustment leach is followed by a seven-disk Dorr-Oliver American filter, with an agitator in the filter boot to keep the residues in suspension. Agitators have also been installed beneath the four ten-disk filters following the final leach thickener. Slurry Characteristics: A typical analysis of the Lynn Lake nickel concentrate, produced by differential flotation,' is given in Table I. The concentrate comprises 35 to 49 pct pentlandite, (Fe, Ni)S; 3 to 6 pct chalcopyrite, CuFeS,; 1 to 4 pct pyrite, FeS2; and 24 to 42 pct pyrrhotite, Fe1-2S (where x varies between 0 and 0.2) together with various siliceous minerals such as actinolite, hornblende, and talc. During leaching, the sulfur in the pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and part of the pyrrhotite is successively oxidized through the thiosulfate and poly-thionate radicals to sulfate and sulfamate." Simultaneously the nickel, copper, and cobalt are converted to soluble ammine complexes and the iron in the pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and part of the pyrrhotite is oxidized to a spongy hydrated iron oxide. The hydrated iron oxide is readily broken down by the agitation needed to sustain the concentrate in suspension and to maintain a satisfactory mass transfer of the oxygen from the air to the slurry. Table I shows typical chemical, screen, and

Jan 1, 1961

By Walter C. Holmes

IN the recently published book entitled "Man in a Chemical World," by A. Cressy Morrison, the several pages discussing explosives were included in the chapter on "Serving Industry." Such a classification is entirely correct, as blasting explosives function only as a tool for accomplishing certain useful work, a tool which is completely destroyed in one use. Explosives are so important to industry and to modern society, in fact, that it seems impossible to imagine the existence of civilized nations without access to commercial explosives as ready servants. Two main types of explosives are now in use, the low-velocity or deflagrating type, such as black powder, which is adapted for use in coal mining and other applications where a slow, heaving effect is desired, and high explosives of the dynamite type,

Jan 1, 1938

J. E. Stead, Middlesborough, England (communication to the author): Prof. Howe's valuable paper on cast-iron brings forward most prominently the correct explanation of the part played by combined carbon in pearlite and cementite, in determining the strength and hardness of cast-iron. On a previous occasioil I have shown that castings made by melting a white Cleveland iron and glazed iron, one containing 1.5 and the other from 4 to 5 per cent. of silicon, and each about 3 per cent. of carbon, were stronger than those made of ordinary foundry-iron; the difference in the final castings being a differ-

Jan 1, 1902

By J. A. Wilcox

A NEW LINE of specialists has arisen as a result of the trend toward labor socialization and collectivism in all branches of industry. These men are the ones who will govern the destiny of many companies and the labor policy of our government in coming years. They must be men of integrity and of rather exceptional qualifications; men who can foresee the trend of labor relations with business, and who are willing to sacrifice the immediate fruits of technical training for manual labor and study. They must take their place in industry, not with the idea of following the orthodox line of advancement, but knowing that they must stay at the bottom until they have learned to understand the viewpoints, the work, the advantages and the disadvantages of each classification of labor. They must not be of a radical nature or become easily biased, and they must study. You will say I am looking for a superman and in one sense that is true, but the business man and our government are both in the market even now for this type of man, and with the proper training and background, many of our young technicians can readily enter this field of work.

Jan 1, 1942

By Pei-Yung Huang, Carle R. Hayward

IN order to understand more fully the actual state of copper lost in copper reverberatory slags, a systematic study on the various reactions between certain metallurgically important copper compounds and synthetic copper reverberatory slags was undertaken by the authors in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1942 to 1945.1 This paper, being only a part of the work completed, is published first because it furnishes the first experimental evidence of the formation of copper ferrite from reactions between cuprous oxide and copper reverberatory slags. CHOICE OF SLAG COMPOSITION The choice of the composition of the synthetic reverberatory slags to be used was much deliberated. Commercial copper reverberatory slags, neglecting minor constituents, average:2.3 45 to 47 pct FeO; 38 to 42 pct Si02; 5 to 6 pct CaO; 5 to 6 pct A1203. Since the ternary system CaO-FeO-SiO2 has been much more thoroughly studied4 and is much simpler than the quaternary system CaO-FeO-Si02-A1203, it was decided to use calcium oxide only instead of calcium oxide and alumina in the synthesis of the slags. Fortunately the composition of the average copper reverberatory slag with calcium oxide substituted for alumina lies in the region of the phase diagram clarified by the investigators. A survey of the phase diagram (Fig I) suggested two compositions: (I) the com¬position near the invariant point S, which is made up of 46 pct ferrous oxide, 37 pct silica and 17 pct calcium oxide; (2) the composition near the invariant point K with 45.5 pct ferrous oxide, 43 pct silica and 11.5 pct calcium oxide. Composition S has the advantage that the percentages of ferrous oxide and of silica almost exactly coincide with those of the average reverberatory slags, and that of the lowest melting point (1093° ± 3°C) in the whole ternary system. The calcium oxide content, however, obviously is high. Since we have already substituted calcium oxide for alumina, and since calcium oxide is more basic than alumina, the resulting slag is decidedly too basic. Composition K has a slightly higher melting point (1105° ± 3°C) and a higher silica content, but this is preferred because the slag is saturated with respect to tridymite and thus should not corrode siliceous refractories. Besides, it is less basic than composition S. The final slag composition, therefore, was chosen to

Jan 1, 1947

By D. J. McAdam, G. W. Geil, R. W. Mebs

As shown in previous papers by the authorsg-17t the resistance of a metal to fracture, like its resistance to plastic deformation, is a function of all three principal stresses. A technical cohesion limit is the technically determined resistance to fracture under a specific stress system. The technical cohesive strength thus comprises an infinite number of technical cohesion limits corresponding to the infinite number Of possible com-binations of the principal stresses. The technical cohesive strength, therefore, may be represented by a surface in a diagram with the three principal stresses as coordinates. As shown in previous papers,'-'' the technical cohesive strength increases with plastic deformation, with decrease in temperature, and with increase in the strain rate. The technical cohesion limit, therefore, is affected by the same factors that affect the flow stress,$ namely, the stress system, plastic deformation, temperature, and the strain rate. More- over, the influence of each of these factors on the technical cohesion limit has been shown to be qualitatively similar to the three of the same factor on the flow stress.9-18 Advance of knowledge about the conditions determining fracture of metals has been retarded by the reluctance of some investigators to abandon preconceived ideas about how metals ''should,, behave. The incorrect idea is still prevalent that the conditions determining resistance to fracture are very different from those determining the flow stress. Attempts are still being made to express resistance to fracture in terms of a single parameter, such as a limiting value of the greatest principal stress, the maximum shearing stress, or the volume stress (one-third the algebraic sum of the three principal stresses). In these attempts, a sharp distinction is sometimes made between a ductile or ,plasticdeformation, fracture,, and a "brittle frat-ture.H In making this distinction, however, the meaning attached to the term "brittle fracture" sometimes is not made clear. The term could mean fracture after very little plastic deformation or it could be used to designate the type of fracture. An ordinary fracture of a ductile metal at room temperature starts as a cleavage, generally transverse to the direction of the greatest principal stress, but eventually changes to a shearing fracture' In some conditions, however, the metal fractures entirely by cleavage, with no evidence of plastic deformation during the fracture; the surface of such a fracture may have a

Jan 1, 1948

By R. W. Mebs, G. W. Geil, D. J. McAdam

As shown in previous papers by the authorsg-17t the resistance of a metal to fracture, like its resistance to plastic deformation, is a function of all three principal stresses. A technical cohesion limit is the technically determined resistance to fracture under a specific stress system. The technical cohesive strength thus comprises an infinite number of technical cohesion limits corresponding to the infinite number Of possible com-binations of the principal stresses. The technical cohesive strength, therefore, may be represented by a surface in a diagram with the three principal stresses as coordinates. As shown in previous papers,'-'' the technical cohesive strength increases with plastic deformation, with decrease in temperature, and with increase in the strain rate. The technical cohesion limit, therefore, is affected by the same factors that affect the flow stress,$ namely, the stress system, plastic deformation, temperature, and the strain rate. More- over, the influence of each of these factors on the technical cohesion limit has been shown to be qualitatively similar to the three of the same factor on the flow stress.9-18 Advance of knowledge about the conditions determining fracture of metals has been retarded by the reluctance of some investigators to abandon preconceived ideas about how metals ''should,, behave. The incorrect idea is still prevalent that the conditions determining resistance to fracture are very different from those determining the flow stress. Attempts are still being made to express resistance to fracture in terms of a single parameter, such as a limiting value of the greatest principal stress, the maximum shearing stress, or the volume stress (one-third the algebraic sum of the three principal stresses). In these attempts, a sharp distinction is sometimes made between a ductile or ,plasticdeformation, fracture,, and a "brittle frat-ture.H In making this distinction, however, the meaning attached to the term "brittle fracture" sometimes is not made clear. The term could mean fracture after very little plastic deformation or it could be used to designate the type of fracture. An ordinary fracture of a ductile metal at room temperature starts as a cleavage, generally transverse to the direction of the greatest principal stress, but eventually changes to a shearing fracture' In some conditions, however, the metal fractures entirely by cleavage, with no evidence of plastic deformation during the fracture; the surface of such a fracture may have a

Jan 1, 1948

By Gerald Edmunds

THE liquidus line on the phase diagram for temperature versus composition of a binary alloy system, representing the boundary between the homogeneous melt and the heterogeneous melt plus solid, besides showing the minimum casting temperature, is useful in determining eutectic compositions and the presence of phase changes such as peritectic transformations and intermetallic compound formation. The liquidus often is determined by the cooling curves of thermal analysis, but supercooling frequently occurs, so that the temperature values are low. An alternative method, the one employed here, consists of determining the com- position of samples of the melts from heterogeneous alloys that are at equilibrium. With meticulous attention to fundamentals, this method is capable of yielding values limited in precision only by the temperature control and measurement and analyses. APPARATUS By starting, on the one hand, with a supersaturated solution and allowing the excess solute to precipitate, and on the other hand with an undersaturated solution and allowing more of the solute to be dissolved, both processes being carried out at the same temperature, equilibrium may be said to have been approached from both directions; that is, from above and from below. If the analyses show the solutions to contain the same fraction of solute when equilibrium has been approached from above and from below, one is assured that equilibrium has been reached in both determinations. In order to carry out such determinations, it is necessary to have equipment for obtaining and maintaining the proper temperatures; for holding the melt, measuring its temperature, and stirring, sampling and analyzing it. The present work required temperatures from 420° to 900°C. The equipment consisted of: A furnace, which was a vertical alundum tube, 1 ¾ in. diameter inside and 18 in. long, wound with Nichrome resistance wire, surrounded by a 3-in. i.d. alundum tube wound for 5 in. of length near each end, for compensation of end losses. This muffle was contained in an iron shell with Transite end plates, the intervening space being packed with Sil-O-Cel. The outside dimensions of the furnace were 12 in. in diameter by 18 ½ in. in height. Heating current was supplied by three independent variable-voltage transformers (Variac), one connected to each end compensator winding and manually controlled, and one connected to the main winding through a series resistance of 5 ohms. This resistance was short-circuited for

Jan 1, 1944

By AIME AIME

THE organization of the Board of Directors was effected Tuesday afternoon in ' executive session. Messrs. Bassett,. Buehler, Cates, Daveler, Eavenson, Eilers, Elliott, Evans, Guess, Lovejoy, Moulton, Rickard, Tally, Turner,, Wraith and Wright being pres¬ent. Messrs. Tally, Bassett, Rickard, Mathews and Cates were chosen to form the Executive Committe with Mr. Tally as Chairman, and Messrs. Krumb, Guess and Moulton for the Finance Committee with Mr. Krumb as chairman. Karl Eilers was reelected as Treasurer and H. Foster Bain as Secretary, after which the Directors adjourned for the usual dinner reported elsewhere. At the open session of the Board, at which in addition Messrs. Allen and McAuliffe were present, the work of organization was continued with appointments to committees as listed herewith. Various actions of the Executive and Finance Committees were confirmed, the budget for 1931 formally approved, the meeting dates for the year adopted, 34 new Members and Associates, 13 Junior Members and 31 Student Associates admitted by election and transfer and 29 resignations accepted.

Jan 1, 1931

By G. Derge, Lo Ching Chang

The chemical and physical propertties of slag systems are of special interest to metallurgists, for nearly all metals are in contact with molten slags during the primary reduction from their ores and then during the subsequent refining and alloying processes that determine their ultimate use. These processes are carried out at high temperatures and involve such complex chemical systems that funda-mental scientific knowledge of the Properties and behavior of these slags is inadequate. Various hypotheses have been Proposed to explain known slag characteristics. The commonest of these regard the molten slag as constituted of compounds that are dissociated in varying degrees into their constituent oxides, as illustrated by Schenckl and the recent Papers of Chipman and co-authors. Another proposal is that these compounds dissociate by com-plete6 or partial ionization, the evidence for which has been reviewed by Martin and Derge.? whatever hypothesis is favored, the exact formulation of these compounds is incomplete. It is based on three principal types of information: 1. Studies of solidified 51% samples by X ray diffraction, petrography, and similar methods that can be used at room temperature. The correlation of this information with the high-temperature properties of the molten slag is uncertain. 2. Studies of slag-metal equilibria, which have the advantage of providing observations on the molten slag at high temperature. However, even these data present problems of interpretation because they require a complete knowledge of the metal phase. 3. Direct measurements of properties of molten slag at the temperature of greatest metallurgical interest. Viscosity, electrical conductivity, specific heats, and similar properties have been measured, but the data of this type are widely scattered and frequently difficult to interpret. Additional direct measurements of properties of molten slag that can be interpreted in terms of chemical behavior are required, and this paper shows that the standard physical-chemical measurement of reversible electrode potentials, which measure the activity of specific constituents, is a fruitful source of such information. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to find an electrode combination that would yield reversible electromotive force measurements when dipped into the molten slag to be studied. Slags of the systems cao-sio2 and cao-120,-SiO2 were chosen for study because graphite containers could be used and the data could be correlated with those for viscosity, conductivity, and other proper-

Jan 1, 1948

By G. Derge

The chemical and physical propertties of slag systems are of special interest to metallurgists, for nearly all metals are in contact with molten slags during the primary reduction from their ores and then during the subsequent refining and alloying processes that determine their ultimate use. These processes are carried out at high temperatures and involve such complex chemical systems that funda-mental scientific knowledge of the Properties and behavior of these slags is inadequate. Various hypotheses have been Proposed to explain known slag characteristics. The commonest of these regard the molten slag as constituted of compounds that are dissociated in varying degrees into their constituent oxides, as illustrated by Schenckl and the recent Papers of Chipman and co-authors. Another proposal is that these compounds dissociate by com-plete6 or partial ionization, the evidence for which has been reviewed by Martin and Derge.? whatever hypothesis is favored, the exact formulation of these compounds is incomplete. It is based on three principal types of information: 1. Studies of solidified 51% samples by X ray diffraction, petrography, and similar methods that can be used at room temperature. The correlation of this information with the high-temperature properties of the molten slag is uncertain. 2. Studies of slag-metal equilibria, which have the advantage of providing observations on the molten slag at high temperature. However, even these data present problems of interpretation because they require a complete knowledge of the metal phase. 3. Direct measurements of properties of molten slag at the temperature of greatest metallurgical interest. Viscosity, electrical conductivity, specific heats, and similar properties have been measured, but the data of this type are widely scattered and frequently difficult to interpret. Additional direct measurements of properties of molten slag that can be interpreted in terms of chemical behavior are required, and this paper shows that the standard physical-chemical measurement of reversible electrode potentials, which measure the activity of specific constituents, is a fruitful source of such information. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to find an electrode combination that would yield reversible electromotive force measurements when dipped into the molten slag to be studied. Slags of the systems cao-sio2 and cao-120,-SiO2 were chosen for study because graphite containers could be used and the data could be correlated with those for viscosity, conductivity, and other proper-

Jan 1, 1948

By Jacques B. Wertz

Detailed structural studies in southeast Arizona have successively revealed (1) the local attitudes of individual fractures (with lateral and/or vertical displacements), (2) the patterns exhibited by groups of fractures, and (3) the trends and directions shown by fracture groups or zones on a regional scale. The results of the studies have been twofold: First, domes were locally determined from these fracture arrangements, even where other criteria failed; and, second, fundamental breaks brought out the breadth of the Texas lineament in southeast Arizona as well as major northwest- and northeast-trending fracture zones. Coincidence of one or several domes with the major intersections of fundamental breaks can be centers of important mineralization, as in the instances of Bisbee, Ajo and Morenci. THE OVER-ALL STRUCTURE OF ARIZONA A northwest-southeast trending anticlinorium has been suggested as the structural setting of Arizona. Starting in Triassic and culminating in late Cretaceous times, this deformation resulted from stresses of considerable magnitude with varying ratios of com pres sional and uplifting forces. However, the series of parallel flexures could just as well have been caused by isostatic movements involving dilation under tension with only incidental compression, as later emphasized by dike filling and block faulting (Fig. 1). The anticlinorial deformation, which is also suggested by the fact that the Pre-cambrian rocks to the southwest are all concealed by sediments, could be somewhat reminiscent of the conditions that affected the classical swarm of parallel dikes of wager.' ANALYSlS OF DATA As a first step in this analysis, all structural information obtained on such features as fractures and their relative displacements, faults, dikes, anticlines, synclines, and Precambrian and Laramide-Tertiary intrusives were plotted on maps along with structural trends inferred from aerial photographic mosaics. Next, the faults in southwest Arizona were classified according to time of occurrence and relative importance. The fault assemblages were then examined as to geometric or spatial arrangement and correlated with the occurrences of domes and existing Finally, the conjunction of fracture intersections and domes was analyzed and compared with locations of known ore deposits. Differentiation of Faults According to Time and Relative Importance: The faults encountered were grouped as follows: (1) Basin and Range faults, latest in time; (2) secondary faults; (3) primary faults; and (4) lineaments, earliest in time by inference. BASIN AND RANGE FAULTS- Generally concealed by alluvium, the Basin and Range faults are normal

Jan 1, 1969

By M. B. Standing, D. L. Katz

Equilibrium data are reported on the composition and densities of coexisting vapor and liquid phases as a function of Pressure and temperature for four hydrocarbon systems prepared from crude oil and natural gas. The data were observed over a range of pressures from 1000 to 8220 Ib. per sq. in. and at temperatures ranging from 35' to 250°F. The compositions of the hydrocarbon systems were such that the critical temperatures of the mixtures were lower than the range of the investigation. Under these conditions, it is shown that the composition of the systems has a marked effect upon both the absolute value of the equilibrium constants and the change of the constants with pressure for the several components comprising the system. From weight-balance considerations, it has been possible to construct the partial phase diagram of a mixture of a 49.9" A.P.I. crude oil and natural gas having a gas-oil ratio of 3660 cu. ft. per barrel. Descriptions of the apparatus used, the analytical procedure, the material used, and the equilibrium measurements are included. A knowledge of the physical behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures is fundamental to the treatment of many problems in the production, transportation and rehing of petroleum. The recent discoveries of pools having formation pressures up to 7500 lb. per sq. in. and higher, and the development of full-scale equipment to operate at pressures of 5000 lb. per sq. in. or more have greatly increased the need for knowledge of the composition, temperature, pressure and density relationships of coexisting vapor and liquid hydrocarbon phases. The following paper presents the results of investigations upon 22 mixtures of natural gas and crude oil of known com~o~itio~ that had been brought to equilibrium under controlled conditions of temperature and pressure. Data are presented upon the densities and compositions of the coexisting vapor and liquid phases for four different systems containing hydrocarbon material having boiling points from minus 2 5S°F. to well over I000 F. The data were observed Over a pressure range from Iooo Ib. per Sq. in to 8220 lb. Per sq. in. and a temperature range from 35' to 2 50°F. The accepted method of computing the physical relationship between two coexisting phases of a hydrocarbon mixture is by use of the "equilibrium constant" K as proposed by Souders, Selheimer, and Brown. definition,

Jan 1, 1944

By M. B. Standing, D. L. Katz

Equilibrium data are reported on the composition and densities of coexisting vapor and liquid phases as a function of Pressure and temperature for four hydrocarbon systems prepared from crude oil and natural gas. The data were observed over a range of pressures from 1000 to 8220 Ib. per sq. in. and at temperatures ranging from 35' to 250°F. The compositions of the hydrocarbon systems were such that the critical temperatures of the mixtures were lower than the range of the investigation. Under these conditions, it is shown that the composition of the systems has a marked effect upon both the absolute value of the equilibrium constants and the change of the constants with pressure for the several components comprising the system. From weight-balance considerations, it has been possible to construct the partial phase diagram of a mixture of a 49.9" A.P.I. crude oil and natural gas having a gas-oil ratio of 3660 cu. ft. per barrel. Descriptions of the apparatus used, the analytical procedure, the material used, and the equilibrium measurements are included. A knowledge of the physical behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures is fundamental to the treatment of many problems in the production, transportation and rehing of petroleum. The recent discoveries of pools having formation pressures up to 7500 lb. per sq. in. and higher, and the development of full-scale equipment to operate at pressures of 5000 lb. per sq. in. or more have greatly increased the need for knowledge of the composition, temperature, pressure and density relationships of coexisting vapor and liquid hydrocarbon phases. The following paper presents the results of investigations upon 22 mixtures of natural gas and crude oil of known com~o~itio~ that had been brought to equilibrium under controlled conditions of temperature and pressure. Data are presented upon the densities and compositions of the coexisting vapor and liquid phases for four different systems containing hydrocarbon material having boiling points from minus 2 5S°F. to well over I000 F. The data were observed Over a pressure range from Iooo Ib. per Sq. in to 8220 lb. Per sq. in. and a temperature range from 35' to 2 50°F. The accepted method of computing the physical relationship between two coexisting phases of a hydrocarbon mixture is by use of the "equilibrium constant" K as proposed by Souders, Selheimer, and Brown. definition,

Jan 1, 1944

By A. R. Jr. Amos

LOG washers have been used for many years in the washing of clay iron ores, phosphate rock and manganese ores, but not until the past 15 years have they been employed to any extent in the preparation of aggregate materials and fluxing stone. For a machine of such importance where tenacious clay or soft rock must be eliminated, there are few data generally available. The purpose of this paper is to set forth the results obtained from several operations, together with a few suggestions for planning a specific installation. Where the material to be washed out consists of loose surface soil, silt, or small amounts of quickly soluble clay, there is little competition with other forms of washers, because greater power and maintenance are required for the operation of log washers, but where the foreign matter is a stiff clay, such as occurs with high-calcium limestones and in marginal gravel deposits, the ability of other kinds of washers to eliminate com-pletely the hard clay balls is at least uncertain. Then the log washer comes into its own field, for with the breaking and churning action of the logs it will clean out the toughest clay. Even with material from the hydraulic dredge, if it contains tough clay, the log washer is desirable unless the gravel is subjected to a costly soaking and rehandling process. Recently there has been a considerable development in other types of machines to accomplish these results but it is not within the scope of this paper to make comparisons between competitive types, but to present the best obtainable data on log washers only. From the primitive design that gave it its name, a long log hewn from a tree, with paddles forged to shape from strap iron and attached by lag screws, the log washer has gradually been developed to the present all-steel type. As now manufactured, the log washer consists essentially of two built-up logs on which are mounted a series of paddles, carried by shafts fitted at the ends of the logs on bearings fastened outside the enclosing steel box, or trough, which is set at an angle of about 5° to 10° and into which the material is fed. Stuffing boxes at the places where the shafts pass through the box at the lower end are equipped with water-

Jan 1, 1936

By J. F. Tavernelli, L. F. Coffin

The deformation and fracture characteristics of eight metals subjected to fully reversed cyclic strain ranging from 0.2 to 50 pct were investigated at room temperature. Strain-hardening characteristics unique to the interna1 structure of a particular metal were found. Complete removal of the strain-hardening effects resulting from prior deformation was brought about by subsequent cyclic strain. Further support for the validity of the inverse relationship between the plastic strain range and the square root of the number of cycles for failure is given. THE resistance of materials to cyclic plastic strain is of interest both from a fundamental and practical point of view. It is now a well-accepted fact that fatigue failure in metals is a consequence of the localized slip deformation which occurs within the individual crystals of metal.'-' Hence the failure process should be strongly dependent upon the magnitude of the gross cyclic plastic deformation of the metal under conditions where this is a measurable quantity. Therefore, an experimental investigation of metals in which the cyclic plastic strain is the independent variable should shed new light on some of the basic aspects of the problem. From the practical point of view, there are many uses for information relating to the cyclic strain resistance of metals. One is the case of thermal stress fatigue where fatigue failure can occur as a consequence of a com- paratively few cycles of thermally induced mechanical deformation. Another is the mechanical working of metals where large cyclic strains are employed. In recent years several publications have appeared relating to the cyclic-strain resistance of metals,8-11 dealing mostly with the fracture aspects where the temperature is cycled simultaneously with the mechanical strain. Some work has been reported on the cyclic-strain resistance of metals at constant temperature, again oriented more toward the fracture aspects of the problem than the deformation aspects. 12-16 The present research investigation was undertaken to obtain information regarding the deformation characteristics of several metals whose structure-property relationships were simple and straightforward under conditions of both cyclic and monotonic strain. It has been shown for example that under cyclic-strain conditions some materials will strain harden, while other materials, particularly cold-worked structures, strain soften and these effects required further clarification.8,17-19 It was also de-

Jan 1, 1960

By George W. Riter

OUR mineral-land laws need revising so as to provide definite title at the outset to the mineral deposits within any definite piece of land. The laws as they now stand, especially those applicable to lodes, breed uncertainty as to rights of possession prior to patent; and to my mind this is the worst feature of all, worse even than the apex bugbear. It is now almost impossible for anybody to tell-with certainty what mineral rights exist within any area that is not covered by patent, or whether any valid rights exist at all. Our system is unique in permitting individuals to appropriate and exploit mineral lands of the public domain without notice of any kind to the Federal government, and to relinquish them without any ceremony at all. The result is a clouded record that cannot be cleared up until each claimant is put to some sort of final proof. In order to accomplish this, new Federal legislation will be required. The requirements for a mineral survey and the proceedings for patent have always been cumbersome and expensive; and perhaps out of regard for the poor claim owner, who can ill afford the outlay for that sort of thing, the law does not require him to go. through it unless he chooses to do so. Consequently, every active mining district has become encumbered with tangled groups of doubtful or conflicting locations, whose rights and boundaries, when any valuable ore is found, must usually be determined by lawsuits that are as expensive and as distressing as the stakes are high. So deeply has litigation entered into our mining system that a claim whose rights have never been disputed would probably be set down offhand, by $miner of the old school, as of no value. Think of the litigation over rights of possession on the Com-stock lode—12 leading companies involved 'in an aggregate of 245 suits within a period of less than eight years! Ambiguous local records; the chance of erroneously placed or obliterated monuments; doubt as to the sufficient performance of the statutory annual labor; uncertainty as to prior conflicting or overlapping locations; anxiety as to the changing attitude of the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service—such considerations as these make an unpatented mining claim an unclean thing in the eyes of possible investors. Is it any wonder that they keep themselvesand their money at a safe distance,

Jan 1, 1915

By Donald Barton

THIS paper outlines a time-saving graphical method of calculation for application to the interpretation of observations with the Eötvös torsion balance. Preliminary to the treatment of this short cut method which has been found practicable, the principal formu-las by which the student of interpretation can calculate the gradient and differential curvature produced by different types of bodies in different types of situa-tions are presented and discussed. It is necessary to split most geologic bodies into a series of simpler ones for which not too complicated formulas are avail-able. The gradient and differential curvature effects are calculated for each of the simple bodies and then summed to the total effect for the whole body. The calculations are considerable in number and, though more tedious than difficult, should be' entrusted to an experienced calculator. Considerable facility in qualitative interpretation can be acquired by the geophysicist from experience and from a thorough study of the types of gradient and differential curvature anomalies produced by the dif-ferent types of possible structural situations. How-ever, semi-quantitative calculations' of the probable structure bring out many relations that are not evident in a simple inspection of torsion balance results ; it throws out as impossible or improbable certain of the alternative structural possibilities that may seem equally probable under simple inspection of the results; it will determine more accurately the position of the crest of the structure; and reduce considerably the un-certainty in the interpretation and it is necessary to intelligent interpretations. The calculation of such cross-sections consists of a trial-and-error calculation of a body that will give gradient and differential curvature effects as closely as possible the same as those observed. From his knowledge of the gradient and differential curvature produced by different types of bodies, the geophysicist sketches a tentative cross-section of the structure as indicated-to him-by the observed results of the torsion balance survey, and the calculator then splits the struc-ture into blocks, and calculates the gradient and differ-ential curvature block by block. If, as rather usual, the calculated .gradient and differential curvature pro-files diverge considerably from, the respective observed ones, it is necessary to add and subtract blocks from the cross-section until a close agreement is obtained .between the calculated and observed profiles. The com-plete calculations have to be gone through for each block that is added or subtracted.

Jan 9, 1928