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By J. E. Crawshaw, Francis B. Foley

In the first report1 disks of steel of known composition and history were exposed, under carefully prescribed conditions, to impacts of explosion products resulting from the explosion of 50-gm. charges of explosives having well-determined rates of detonation, or to impacts of a weight of known mass, falling through measured distances. There were available at the Bureau of Mines Experiment Station five explosives, having rates of detonation of 5716, 4470, 3190, 2296, and 1523 meters per second. It being desired to continue this exposure downward, and no explosives with a lesser rate of detonation being at hand, resort was had to the impact of a falling weight, the differences in the velocity of impact being attained by varying the height from which the weight was allowed to fall. It was expected by this means to demonstrate experimentally that the development of Neumann bands was determined by the suddenness of the deformation of the metal in which they were produced. But while progressive deformations were obtained with the explosive charges, the falling-weight method failed because the tup was progressively deformed, also the disks were so flattened as to be unfit for metallographic examination. A return, therefore, has been made to the use of explosives as the source of energy, an air-gap being interposed between the charge of explosive and the disk, as the effect diminishes as the function of the distance between the charge and the object on which the products of its explosion, or the shock wave from its detonation, impinge. The details of the arrangement of the tests by the air-gap method were the same as those described by Foley and Howell,2 except that after the system had been set up and the desired apparent specific gravity for the explosive attained by tamping it, the small lead block, with the steel disk adhering

Jan 1, 1926

By L. C. Graton

THE Federal taxes on incomes and excess profits are of course heavy. In 1917, the value of the mineral production of the United States was a little in excess of $5,000,000,000. The total of Federal taxes for that year, for the mineral producing companies, as computed by themselves, amounts, according to tentative compilations, to about $207,000,000, and the total for the comprehensive group of mineral and metal indus-tries to about $766,000,000, which figures represent respectively 9.5 per cent. and 35.1 per cent. of the total tax paid by all corporations. Be-cause of greater complexities in applying the revenue laws to mineral properties than to most other industries, opportunity is afforded for wide differences of view. The taxes indicated above, therefore, are not final

Jan 11, 1919

By Walter Herd

FoR the past eight years No. 2 mine of the Cumberland Railway & Coal CO., Springhill, Nova Scotia—a subsidiary of the Dominion Coal Co., Ltd.—has had an unenviable reputation for bumps. As the workings extended in certain directions under a greater cover, these bumps increased in severity and it became apparent that some change in the system of extraction was necessary if the mine was to continue to operate. In September, 1924, following several fatalities resulting from bumps, the Mines Department of Nova Scotia requested from the U. S. Bureau of Mines the services of George S. Rice, Chief Mining Engineer of the Bureau, to report on the conditions then prevalent in No. 2 mine, Springhill. This request was promptly and courteously granted. Mr. Rice made a full investigation and a comprehensive and helpful report, which is embodied in the 1924 Annual Report of the Department of Public Works and Mines, Nova Scotia. Prior to 1925, the room and pillar method was employed and in January of that year (there being a cessation of work from March to August due to labor troubles) longwall retreating on the west side, on a limited scale, and in a small section on the east side of the mine was started. The major portion of the east side was not operated on this system till August, 1926, as there was developed a considerable area ready for pillar extraction between an arbitrary boundary and a point up to which bumps of any consequence had not been experienced. In the interval development work for longwall retreating below the 5900-ft. level was vigorously pushed. This longwall retreating system was suggested by Mr. Rice as a possible remedy and was heartily endorsed by the company officials. This paper describes the conditions and happenings subsequent to Mr. Rice's report and more especially the results with the longwall retreating system of mining under the peculiar circumstances pertaining to mining No. 2 Seam, Springhill, at depth, and records the conclusions which experience with several severe bumps under this mode of extraction would suggest. Except where necessary to make the paper intelligible as an entity any duplication of Mr. Rice's report will be avoided.

Jan 1, 1930

By H. Buttner, F. H. Udin, J. Wulff

GRAIN boundaries, the interface between adjacent crystals differing only in respective orientation, have been the object of much experimental and moderate theoretical attention for many years. The earlier experimental work was primarily concerned with the effect that grain boundaries have on the physical behavior of metals, while the basic nature of the boundaries themselves drew only secondary attention. A complete turnabout has been witnessed in more recent years, however, as researchers are now undertaking investigations bearing as directly as possible on the character and physical properties of the grain boundary. Quite comprehensive reviews of the past literature on the subject of grain boundaries have been reported on numerous occasions by various authors, and together these references represent a thorough coverage.'-? It becomes evident in these reviews and other papers"" that the properties of grain boundaries can be explained by regarding a grain boundary as a crystalline region of transition between two unmatched grains. Studies show that grain boundaries have a definite interfacial energy. By measuring the geometry about a point where three interfaces meet in equilibrium, the energy of any two boundaries can be measured with respect to the third. If the absolute interfacial energy of one boundary is known, the absolute energy of the other two boundaries can be calculated. This apparently holds true for any system of phases and interfaces.""25 Most studies have been carried out on solid-solid or liquid-solid systems, or systems of both. However, if about the point of intersection one phase is vapor and the other two are disoriented grains, then two interfaces are surfaces, and one is a grain boundary. Investigations leading to relative grain boundary energy for this particular system have been made by Fullman,23 Greenough and King," and Bailey and Watkins." Herring" treats the system mathematically and arrives at an equation, which appears as Eq. 1, in a form consistent with the reference angles indicated in Fig. 1, ( d?1 ?n = x sina + cosa ( ------- 2 ?2 Sinß da + C0Sß (d?2/d As the system of interfaces comes to equilibrium, a groove of angle appears at the intersection of the grain boundary with the surface, an effect first observed by Rosenhain and Humfrey." Eq. 1 is essentially a summation of the vertical components in Fig. 1 set equal to zero, where ?1 and ?2 are surface tension vectors lying along the side of the groove at point 0 in the groove root. The differential vectors represent the forces tending to rotate the surface into a position that will expose a crystal cleavage surface of lowest energy. Chalmers, King, and Shuttleworth- simplify Eq. 1 by assuming the differential vectors equal to zero, ?1 = ?2= ?Surface and arrive at the following equation: ?B = 2?s cos [2] Greenough and King24 use Eq. 2 for determining the grain boundary energy of silver using prepared bi-crystals of known orientation. Bailey and Watkins25 have done the same for copper, as did Chalmers and others on lead. These authors report the grain boundary values as ratios relative to the surface energy. In the above work, the orientation of grains forming the grain boundary in all cases was controlled so

Jan 1, 1954

By Waynw P. Myers

Electricity, as normally thought of by a layman's definition, is a man- made force that has no color, no odor, is not visible, cannot be heard, yet man can control it and make it perform his work for him. A person dare not cheat on it, for it then will master him. It has laws, rules, and regulations that must be strictly adhered to if it is to perform in the safest, most reliable, and economical manner. In the early days of coal mining the power source was man himself. Later man employed steam and compressed air to reduce his muscle power requirements needed in the extraction of coal. By the turn of the 20th century, electricity had become the most common source of power for the coal industry. Steam and compressed air are still found in use in isolated cases today for specific applications; however, they are rapidly being replaced by electricity. Electrical laws and regulations are quite extensive and somewhat complex for the proper generation and use of electricity. Man-made laws, rules, and regulations for the care and handling of electricity, designed for man's safety, are rigidly enforced by Mine Safety and Health Ad- ministration (MSHA), as well as the various state departments of mines. BACKGROUND Until recent years most underground coal mines used direct current exclusively for all movable and for some stationary equipment. Exceptions were for permanent pumps, tipple, fan, and outside buildings where alternating current was normally employed. However, over 60 years ago there were mines with dual systems. Alternating current was used for cutting machines, drills, and pumps ; direct current for locomotives. There were no other machines as these were hand-loading mines. Later, during early mechanization in the 1920s, alternating current was also applied to loading machines at some mines. Use of dual electric systems then declined until fairly recently when

Jan 1, 1981

By Thomas Lane Carter

The history of mining in South Africa differs somewhat from that of other countries in the part taken by the aborigines in the development of the mineral deposits. The Spaniards in America, and the fortune-seekers of Australia and New Zealand, found large numbers of natives in these new countries, but the inhabitants did not become willing or efficient workers in the mines which the white men started. The Kaffirs of South Africa have not shown the same antipathy to labor, nor do they show any signs of dying out in the presence of the white man's civilization. They are a virile race, and so far the vices of civilization have not killed them. While it is true that the brain and skill necessary for the exploitation of the mineral resources of this sub-continent have been supplied by the white race, it is also a fact that most of the rough labor in the development of the mining industry of South Africa has been done by the Kaffirs. The Kaffir tribes differ greatly in their mental and physical capabilities. Compare, for instance, a Zulu of Natal with a Bechuana, or a Xosa of Cape Colony with some of the degenerate tribes of Central or East Africa, and you will find that they have little in common, save that their skin is black and that they do not believe in clothes. As a general rule, the tribes in the milder, healthier climates are far superior, both in mind and body, to the Kaffirs brought up in the hot malarial sections of Central Africa; and it naturally follows that the black men from the temperate zones of the country are much finer workmen than the degenerates from less favorable sections. It is universal in South Africa to speak of the Kaffirs as " boys." No matter if he is 90 years old, the Kaffir is always a a boy," and in this paper the word " boy " is synonymous with Kaffir.

Jan 1, 1909

By John M. Kelly

This report covers the development, exploratory drilling, and production of oil and gas in New Mexico during 1945. The statistical information was gathered from state regulatory agencies and other sources believed to be reliable; it is presented here in combined form for general information only, and the author assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.

Jan 1, 1946

By C. Baldwin Sawyer

During the last half century, much time has been devoted to investigations of the effect of nitrogen on the physical properties of steel, but in all discussions of results there is considerable doubt as to the accuracy and interpretation of analyses. No conclusions concerning the effects of nitrogen on the physical properties of steel can be more reliable than the methods used for determining the quantities of nitrogen present. The work described in this paper endeavors to establish some additional conditions required by the customary distillation method for reliable and nccurate determinations. Results by a combustion method of analysis for total nitrogen content are presented; these indicate that all of the nitrogen in steel, exclusive of that contained in blowholes, may be determined by the distillation method. Based on these more sound and more reliable analyses, results havc been obtained that bear on the following divisions of the general subject, nitrogen in steel: Nitrification of steel by melting in nitrogen, nitrification of steel by heating in ammonia, decomposition of nitrified steel by heating, and thermal analysis of nitrified steel. Consideration of Two Methods of Analysis and Some Results The details of the distillation and combustion methods are chemical in character and of little interest to most readers. They are therefore described in an appendix. The distillation method is essentially that described by Hurum and Fay1 and was generally used throughout this work. It is capable of the greatest accuracy and all results given are significant to the last, figure. Where analyses do not check, the samples

Jan 1, 1923

By C. Baldwin Sawyer

During the last half century, much time has been devoted to investigations of the effect of nitrogen on the physical properties of steel, but in all discussions of results there is considerable doubt as to the accuracy and interpretation of analyses. No conclusions concerning the effects of nitrogen on the physical properties of steel can be more reliable than the methods used for determining the quantities of nitrogen present. The work described in this paper endeavors to establish some additional conditions required by the customary distillation method for reliable and nccurate determinations. Results by a combustion method of analysis for total nitrogen content are presented; these indicate that all of the nitrogen in steel, exclusive of that contained in blowholes, may be determined by the distillation method. Based on these more sound and more reliable analyses, results havc been obtained that bear on the following divisions of the general subject, nitrogen in steel: Nitrification of steel by melting in nitrogen, nitrification of steel by heating in ammonia, decomposition of nitrified steel by heating, and thermal analysis of nitrified steel. Consideration of Two Methods of Analysis and Some Results The details of the distillation and combustion methods are chemical in character and of little interest to most readers. They are therefore described in an appendix. The distillation method is essentially that described by Hurum and Fay1 and was generally used throughout this work. It is capable of the greatest accuracy and all results given are significant to the last, figure. Where analyses do not check, the samples

Jan 1, 1923

By John S. Johnson, Thomas Fraser

SIZING is the process of separating mixed particles into groups of particles all of the same size, or into groups in which all particles range between certain definite maximum and minimum sizes. In coal preparation, sizing is generally accomplished by passing the coal over screens. Separation by differential settling in air or water currents has been adapted to the special field of separating very fine sizes, and these processes are in commercial use to a relatively small extent in the coal industry. Separation with screens is a very old industrial practice. Agricola described the use of screens for ore treatment in the middle ages. In the literature of the British coal industry references were made to the screening of coal as early as 1589, but the practice of extensive sizing for the market did not become general until the last half of the nineteenth century. In America, the practice of sizing developed first in the Pennsylvania anthracite region, beginning with the use of rakes in the mine working places to recover coarse coal. This mining procedure left the fines in the mine. Preparation outside the mine started with the installation of stationary cast-iron plates with 4 to 6-in. square holes. The run-of-mine coal was dumped upon the platforms, the large pieces of rock were picked out by hand, and the large lumps of coal were broken with hammers. The term "breaker," which still applies to the anthracite-preparation plant, originated with this practice, but the term is no longer descriptive of the entire function of the plant. In 1884, the first power-operated anthracite coal breaker was erected by Gideon Bart at his colliery at Wolf Creek near Minersville, Pa. This plant utilized a system of rolls for breaking the coal and revolving screens for sizing. The plant was driven by a steam engine. It could handle coal at the rate of 200 tons a day. By 1860, revolving screens were in wide use in the Pennsylvania anthracite field. Shaking screens were introduced in the Pennsylvania anthracite region in the 90's and they rapidly displaced the lower-capacity revolving screens.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. B. Warriner

Stripping is the name given to the process of removing clay, rock, or other cover from deposits of coal or ore. In this paper it is intended to cover the methods used in carrying on this operation in the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania. In doing this, attention will be chiefly devoted to those methods wherein practice in different sections of the region differs, or is susceptible to change or improvement, though it is intended to give as complete data as possible concerning all stages of the operation. The data from which this paper has been prepared have been collected and submitted by a committee† representing the larger users of stripping methods, of which committee the writer has acted as chairman. Data and assistance have also been obtained from various mining men, engineers, contractors and manufacturers of stripping equipment, to all of whom our appreciation is due. Early History and Statistics The earliest mining operation on a commercial scale in the anthracite region was a stripping operation. This was the famous Quarry mine at Summit Hill, where this method was used only because no other method of mining a deposit of the nature found there seemed feasible to the early operators. A description of this stripping from a report published in 1821 is as follows: "The coal mine at present worked by the company lies on the top of a mountain, and appears to extend over some hundred acres of land covered by about 12 ft,. of loose black dirt resembling moist gunpowder, which can be removed by cattle with scrapers, and thrown into the valley below so as never to impede the work. The thickness of the coal is not known, but a shaft has been sunk in it 35 ft. without penetrating through. More than an acre of mine has been uncovered and presents a huge rock of coal, which is easily quarried without blasting."

Jan 1, 1918

By T. E. Wayland

The general geology and mineralogy of bentonite, including pertinent technological details of clay minerals in the montmorillonite group, are summarized. Worldwide occurrences of bentonite deposits are reviewed, with emphasis on geologic methods and economic principles of evaluation. Active mining districts are described and areas with potential for current and future development are assessed. The production history of bentonite, principal producers, major consumers, and indicated trends are noted; also attention is directed to the hundreds of minor industrial uses of this versatile material, ranging from the manufacture of (A)cid neutralizers to (Z)eolite water softeners. Recent significant results of both basic and applied research are reported, with suggested lines of investigation for current and near-future consideration.

Jan 1, 1972

By Carl Benedicks

IT is well known by every one who has had to deal with boiler tubes that these are often seriously affected by a sort of corrosion, occurring as a local pitting, that frequently causes a perforation of the tube in a rather short time. The characteristic appearance of this corrosion is shown in Fig. 1. A very similar corrosion occurs in condenser tubes (Fig. 2).1 A study of the microstructure or local chemical composition of the metal (iron; 70 :30 brass) fails to reveal any cause for this pitting. Of course one might possibly assume the starting point-to be some oxide particle, causing an electrolytic local action, but this in no way explains the continued corrosion, progressing even when the assumed oxide particle must have disappeared. By the excellent work done by the Corrosion Research Committee of the Institute of Metals, and communicated, in October, 1923, to the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Newcastle-on-tyne, stress was laid on the fact that a content of entangled air has a very obnoxious effect. In the following correspondence, Sir George Goodwin stated that "engineers have, for a long time past, regarded air as the big enemy to be fought against in all questions of corrosion"2 and Kenneth Fraser pointed out that the most vital point is "the avoidance or removal of possibly the chief cause of present day corrosion, i. e. entrapped air and gases brought out of solution."' In their reply, however, the authors state that they had "never for a moment believed that entangled air was responsible for the beginnings of corrosion, and express the opinion that the gradual liberation of air could not account for localized corrosion."4 On consulting the many textbooks on corrosion, as that

Jan 4, 1925

By S. B. Twiss, P. R. Basford

The relationship between areas of iron powders, briquettes, and sintered compacts and tensile strength has been determined. It has been found necessary to distinguish between two types of areas which exist in such powders—a macroscopic area due to the shape and size of particles and a microscopic area due to pores and cracks in the surface. Only the macroscopic area, specifically the area due to particle irregularity, contributes to tensile strength; the microscopic area cannot be forced into contact with adjacent particles ond does not participate in bond formation. Of the two methods of area measurement employed in this study—permeability to liquids and gas-phase adsorption—only the former is useful for determining the roughness factor. A measure of this roughness, (area measured by permeability to liquid) -f- (orea of powder with the same size distribution, but made up of spherical particles), is shown to be uniquely related to tensile strength at constant density. The other important factors in determining the strength of sintered-metal compacts are the density and presence or absence of surface oxide. THE manufacture of metal parts by the process of powder metallurgy is an important and rapidly growing industry. Progress has been rapid and continuous, largely because of the excellent research in the field. Nevertheless, the process remains inherently complex and empirical. Several investigators have shown that the properties of the final compact must depend on many variables; namely, shape,' size distribution,"-" nd compositiona of the original particles, the pressure necessary to compress to the desired density, the density of the compact, the time and temperature of sintering, and so on. Through the application of some new techniques to the study of powders and compacts, and the correlation of a number of observations of known variables, the present paper attempts to clarify and simplify the underlying theory of the powder-metallurgy process. Any theory must start with the obvious fact that the strength of a compact, its most useful property, is due to the formation of welded areas between adjacent particles, and attempt to deduce what effect other variables will have on (a) the area and (b) the intrinsic strength of these welds. Such welded areas can be demonstrated by electron micrographs, as in Fig. 1. It was believed that (a) could be most directly studied by means of surface-area measurements on the original powders and on the compacts made from them; the area decrease should be related closely to the welded area. A representative group of eleven iron powders from commercial sources, and made by a variety of processes, was chosen for this study. In addition to the surface-area measurements, correlations were established between the tensile strength and all the known variables which might possibly affect it. The results are quite unexpected. They indicate that the situation is much simpler than the authors had anticipated. The strength of the sintered compact is determined, indeed, by no more than three variables; viz., the irregularity of the original particles, the density of the compact and, in exceptional cases, the amount of surface oxide. All three had been recognized previously as having some effect on the tensile strength, but in the absence of the special techniques and interpretations to be developed here, there could be no suspicion that they were the only relevant variables. Materials and Methods Material—All the iron powders were commercial products obtained from the Amplex Division of Chrysler Corporation. Powders A, B, C, and J were very pure electrolytic iron. Powder D was made from oxidized scrap reduced by heating with an excess of cast iron. Powder E was a high-grade iron ore reduced by hydrogen. Powder I was prepared by atomizing molten cast iron in an air blast, quenching the droplets in cold water, and crushing the coarse powder. Mill scale (oxide) is added and the mixture heated to reduce the high carbon content. The other powders were all prepared by reduction of iron oxides, such as mill scale. They

Jan 1, 1959

By W. C. T. Yeh, T. G. Oakwood, A. A. Hendrickson, R. H. Hammar

The objective of the research is to determine whether solid-solution strengthening effects observed in dilute solutions of silver can be accounted for by the influence of the solute addition on the dislocation structure oj- the crystals. The additions of both tin and indium produced only small changes in the dislocation densities and arrangements in silver crystals. However, as found previously, small solute additions have large effects on the tensile properties; the inj-luence of the tin and indium additions on the temperature dependence of the flow stress and the easy-glide range is especially strong; It is concluded that the indirect strengthening effect of the solute due to variations in the dislocation density as proposed by Seeger is of minor importance and that solute atom-dislocation interactions are responsible for the observed strengthenirzg effects. The experimental results were combined with those of Rogausch to test the concenlvatiorz dependence of solute strengthening. Both the first and one-half power dependences of the critical resoleed shear stress on concentratiorz fail in very dilute solutions. THE objective of the research is to determine whether solid-solution strengthening effects observed in dilute solutions of silver can be accounted for, at least in part, by the influence of the solute addition on the dislocation structure of the crystals. It is recognized that the addition of solute atoms may influence the strength properties of a metal through both "direct" and "indirect" effects. The former refer to the strengthening mechanisms that result from the interaction of solute atoms with dislocations; in the latter case, the strengthening effects arise as a result of solute's influence on quantities such as dislocation density, dislocation arrangement, stacking-fault energy, diffusivities, the elastic constants, and so forth. It is clear that the correct interpretation of solid-solution strengthening phenomena cannot be given until the importance of indirect strengthening effects is properly evaluated. In the particular case of close-packed metal crystals, Seeger showed that solute strengthening effects in dilute solutions of copper and silver might be accounted for by an increase in dislocation density due to the addition of the solute. Seeger's argument was that the strengthening effects extrapolated from more concentrated solutions indicate that small concentrations of impurities raise the critical resolved shear stress much more than is predicted by a concentration-independent dislocation density. The above idea was a very reasonable one. The dislocation theories of work hardening of Taylor,2 Cot-trell, 3 Mott, 4 and seeger5 had already associated the increased flow stresses with increased dislocation densities in deformed metals; investigations of the dislocation structure of metal crystals had provided a logical basis for expecting an increased dislocation density in crystals containing impurities (see for example, Ref. 6). The numbers involved seem reasonable, too. It can be expected that the flow stress of the crystal would increase as the one-half power of the dislocation density.' Solute additions of 1 at. pct to metal crystals result in strength increases by factors in the range of three to ten. If one assumes that the strengths of the pure metal crystals are determined by their dislocation densities, then dislocation-density increases of one to two orders of magnitude as a result of solute addition would be required to account for the observed strengthening—not an unreasonable expectation. In addition to the effect of the solute addition on dislocation density, one might also anticipate important strengthening contributions to result from the solute's influence on the dislocation arrangement. Parker and washburns have reviewed a number of experimental evidences which show important strengthening effects due to the presence of subboundaries. Further, lattice strains due to impurity segregation would be expected to influence the distribution as well as the dislocation density of the as-grown crystal. As pointed out in the reviews of Chalmers,6 Elbaum,9 and winegard,lo micro segregation of impurities occurs at all interfaces of crystals in cellular growth; the impurity gradient results in lattice strains which can be reduced with the presence of dislocation arrays in the region of the impurity gradient. Hence, one would expect the presence of a solute to favor the formation of dislocation subgrain structures and that the subgrains would have an important influence on the strength of the crystal. The experimental observations that concern the possibility of an important strengthening contribution through the influence of the solute on the dislocation density or arrangement are not in agreement. Haasen has reviewed the observations of Meakin and Wils-dorf,12 Howie,13 and Bocek 36 and concluded that the solute's influence on dislocation density is not sufficient to account for strengthening effects in concentrated solutions but might, as seegerl suggested, make an important contribution in very dilute solutions. On the other hand, Hendrickson and Fine 14 concluded that changes in the dislocation density and dislocation width accounted for the solid-solution strengthening effects observed in silver-based aluminum solid solutions. Goss et a 1.I5 observed dislocation arrays in Ge-6 at. pct Si, Ge-0.2 at. pct Sn, and Ge-0.2 at. pct B crystals that were not observed in germanium crystals of

Jan 1, 1968

By Cyril Smith

A STUDY of the mechanical properties of the alloys of copper and silver led to the discovery that the solubility of silver in copper was greatly different from that generally supposed, therefore some work was done to determine the solubility with greater accuracy than had previously been achieved. After the work had been completed, two papers were published1 giving solubility figures which agreed closely with one another and with the work described herein. A detailed comparison of that work with the present will be given later. PREPARATION OF ALLOYS The copper used in making the alloys was electrolytic ingot of high purity. The silver was prepared by precipitation as chloride from nitric acid solution, followed by fusion of the washed precipitate with sodium carbonate and potassium nitrate. This method gives metal containing at least 99.99 per cent silver. The copper was first melted under charcoal in a small electric resistance furnace and the silver added as pure silver, it being unnecessary to make any intermediate alloys. After thorough stirring the metal was poured into a mold of suitable form. The alloys contained between 0.008 and 0.015 percent of oxygen. Small amounts of oxide were visible under the microscope, but it is not believed this would have much effect on the results. Copper-silver alloys are notorious for segregation, consequently a few experiments were carried out to find a form of casting with as little segregation as possible. A mold 6 in. long and 1/2-in. dia. was first used, and an alloy nominally containing 5 per cent silver was cast in it, while some of the same alloy was poured directly into water to obtain the maximum rate of cooling possible. Analyses were made both on this sample and on turnings from the top and bottom of the 1/2-in. dia. casting, the turnings being separated into three parts according to the position

Jan 1, 1931

By C. E. Sims, H. M. Banta, S. L. Hoyt

OVER the past few years, metallic arc welding has been extended to steels of the hardenable type. As compared with other methods of fabrication, production has been facilitated, service performance frequently has been improved, and the overall results have been so favorable that engineers and production men have placed great emphasis on this application of welding. The metallurgist and welding engineer, however, have been confronted with new problems, since, for one reason, the harder steels are more apt to crack and special precautions must be taken if sound joints are to be procured. Some of the factors that are pertinent to this problem are metallurgical, and it is an object of this contribution to discuss steel manufacture and processing methods and to show how their control assists in reducing the hazard of cracking. By this time, the problem of cracking specifically underbead cracking, or "hard cracks," or parent-metal cracks-is well known, and a large amount of work has been published, both here and abroad, dealing with this subject.1 The tests described are made under restraint to facilitate cracking and, are so designed that a semiquantitative, or at least a relative, value of the cracking tendency is obtained. As one would expect, it has been reported that the incidence of cracking increases with the carbon and alloy content of the steel. More specifically, the cracking tendency is said to increase with the hardenability of the steel, though it is now recognized that the situation is not so simple. The phenomenon itself, on the other hand, has been but loosely described, and it is in only broad generalizations that this cracking has been related to steel metallurgy. Thus, while it has been abundantly demonstrated that the hardenable aircraft steel, S.A.E. 4130, must tend to crack when arc-welded, the problem still remains of why two lots of the same composition and the same hardenability can vary so greatly in cracking tendency, or what it is about the prior metallurgical history that so strongly affects the results. Further, while the efficacy of preheating and postheating in preventing cracking is recognized and utilized in production, the mechanism by which they function seems not to have been described. These points are thought to be significant in the production of steel for fabrication by metallic arc welding and, hence, of interest to mill and process metallurgists and welding engineers. Consequently, it is another object of this paper to discuss the mechanism of parent-metal cracking, including the influence of the condition of the steel and the control of cracking by manipulation of the time-temperature conditions during and after welding. A new method of rating the cracking. tendency is also discussed, and the results of the test are related to steel composition and structure or prior history. The work to be described was the outgrowth of work in 1940-41 at Battelle Memorial Institute 0n two projects, one

Jan 1, 1945

Jan 1, 1889

By Milton Fies

ALTHOUGH pig iron from iron ore and red cedar charcoal preceded the mining of coal by many years, for tradition says that Alabama iron was used to shoe the horses of Andrew Jackson's soldiers, coal was not produced until 1830. In that year, coal was mined in Tuscaloosa County, in the vicinity of what is now the University of Alabama, and shipped on flat boats (obviously during the wet season, for there were many shoals) down the Warrior River to Mobile. About that time, the first railroad, the Decatur & Tecumseh, was being constructed in northern Alabama to overcome the obstructions to freight traffic caused by the now well-known Muscle Shoals in the Tennessee River. This railroad was patterned after a railroad at Mauch Chunk, Pa., which was used for hauling anthracite from the Panther Creek valley. The Alabama railroad, which required about four years to complete, was 46 miles long and was used solely for the transportation of cotton. Although it was a failure, it demonstrated the practicability of the undertaking, and the succeeding railroads, which were begun in 1834, 1848, 1852, and 1853, added immeasurably to the development of the coal resources of the state. Between the years 1830 and 1860, practically all the coal mined in the state was dug from the outcrop near the river or from the river beds, and shipped by boat to Mobile. Transporting coal down the Warrior River was one of great risk, required much skill, and frequently had heavy losses. It is recorded that this coal was sold to the gas company in Mobile in 1844; it was most likely mined from the Black Creek Seam. In 1914, on the completion of Lock 17, the Warrior River became a navigable stream from 9 miles above Cordova, Ala., to Mobile and offers a great opportunity for the future development of the coal resources of the state.

Jan 9, 1924

By Theo B. Comstock

Since 1892 the writer has published several articles in the Engineering and Mining Journal concerning the relations of the

Jan 1, 1901