Search Documents

those who are to lie in the torn fields of France. Today we read of Lieut. William Hague, whom we said good-by to hardly more than a month ago-—so clean, ao young, so strong—who, abandoning the professional career in which he had won such commendation and which held for him such promise, leaving his wife and his little boy to whom he was so dear, answered at once the call for men of his training, and is now dead "in the service of his country." There are many friends of that courtly and dignified gentleman James D. Hague who recall, both here and in Stockbridge, the parental pride in the promising lad of such a little time ago—the eager schoolboy at Milton, the rather grave youth at Harvard, his entry into new experiences in the Western mining world, and who, seeing him during his stay at Camp Upton, realized that the old Puritan stock was still sound and true—and now with him the struggle is over and the sacrifice made. Captain William Teasdale Hall Captain Hall, who was admitted to Junior Membership in the Institute in 1915, while still a student of mining at the University of Toronto, was killed in action in France on May 19, 1917. Captain Hall was born in Toronto in 1893, and received his academic training at Harbord College, from 1908 to 1911, when he entered the University of Toronto, School of Practical Science. During the three summer vacations of his university course, he was employed by the O'Brien mine at Gowganda, next by the McIntyre Mining Co., at Porcupine, and finally by the Mines Branch of the Geological Survey, which was conducting magnetic surveys to the north of Port Arthur. When war was first declared, Mr. Hall endeavored to join the artillery as an officer, and for the purpose secured a provisional lieutenancy with a Hamilton battery, but he did not receive an overseas appointment, and on being graduated as a mining engineer in 1915, he was offered a position in Chile, which he accepted. He left Toronto on May 27, 1915, and was engaged in Chile as a mining engineer for nearly a year. In the latter part of April, 1916, he decided to offer himself again for service at the front. He crossed the Andes and sailed for LiverpooI, where he landed on May 13, 1916. On May 27, 1916, Captain Hall was given a commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, 21st Squadron. He went to the front on Sept. 1, 1916, and remained there continuously. His

Jan 1, 1920

By R. S. Shoemaker, F. W. McQuiston

CAMPBELL RED LAKE MINES Balmertown, Ontario 1974 Operating Data MINE LOCATION: Balmertown, in Red Lake mining area of Ontario TYPE OF MINE: Underground mine developed by vertical shaft to 4300 feet. Mining active above 3000 ft depth. ORE DESCRIPTION: Gold and minor silver.. Sulfur content about 1.3%. Ar senopyrite , pyrite, pyrrhotite, and stibnite. CAPACITY IN TONS124 HRS: 825 ASSAY: 0.66 oz Au per ton heads MILL PROCESS: Amalgamation, flotation, roasting of concentrate and separate treatment of calcines and flotation tails by cyanide. PLANT BUILDING: Mine mill and service facilities all housed in insulated and heated buildings POWER: Total consumption, mine and mill - 100 Kwh/T WASTE DISPOSAL: Impoundment of tailings. Arsenic to sealed underground storage EMPLOYEES: Total of 300 men on payroll. Housing in Balmertown and nearby communities.

Jan 1, 1975

1 Healthy and active Local Section organizations are vital factors in promoting the vigor and growth .of the Institute 2 Activity on the part of Local Sections should be recognized and stimulated by appropriation of funds, from the Institute's treasury, and these appropriations should be as large as is consistent with the relative needs for other activities 3 As between different Sections, the amount of such appropriations should be based primarily on the extent of activities as reflected in the number and character of meetings held and the attendance of the members at such meetings 4 In making a request for funds for any year, the officers of a Local Section should submit a report on the printed form approved by the Directors at their meeting on November 19, 1937

Jan 1, 1952

According to published reports, controlled production from the Masjid-i-Sulaiman and Haft Kel fields for the year 1934 was as follows: No new development of major importance in either of these areas is reported. Owing to the increasing- demand in North Iran, particularly for gasoline and kerosene, it has been arranged that this market shall in future draw its supplies from a newly constructed refinery at Kennan-shah. This refinery is connected by a 3-in. pipe line, 145 miles long, with the Naft-i-Shah field, on the borders of Iraq and Iran. The crude oil will pass through a topping plant at the field and the products will be stored and pumped to the Kermanshah refinery in such proportions and quantities as are demanded by actual market requirements.

Jan 1, 1935

Mar. 3-7, ASTM, spring meeting and commitee week, Hotel Statler, Cleveland. Mar. 4, AIME, Morenci Sub-Section, Longfellow Inn, Morenci, Ariz. Mar. 5, AIME, Chicago Section, Ladies Night, Chicago. Mar. 10-13, National Electrical Mfrs. Assn., spring meeting, Chicago. Mar. 10-14, National Assn. of Corrosion En-Engineers, annual convention, Galveston. Mar. 11, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, 6 pm, supper, Tosca's; S pro, meeting, Socony-Vacuum Training Center, 63 Park Row, New York. Mar. 16-19, American Institute of. Chemical Engineers, Atlanta Biltmore Hotel, Atlanta. 'Mar. 17-21, ASTE, annual meeting, Chicago. Mar. 20, AIME, Philadelphia Section, Engineering Bldg., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Mar. 22-Apr. 6, Chicago International Trade Fair, Navy Pier, Chicago. Apr. 1, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, Socony-Vacuum Training Center, 63 Park Row, New York.

Jan 1, 1952

By H. E. Wheeler

THE work described was carried out during 1917 and 1918 at the testing laboratory of Watertown Arsenal at the instigation of the Nitrate Division and later with the concurrence of the Cannon Section of, the Ordnance Department, U. S. A. The experiments follow three principal lines of work: First, the effect of nitrogen under pressure on steel containers of various compositions at a red heat; second, the effect of decomposing ammonia on various alloy steels, iron, and non-ferrous alloys; third, a new theory of the erosion of guns in respect to the effect of nitrogen in steel. PART I In the Haber process for the manufacture of ammonia from its elements, it is necessary to have nitrogen and hydrogen of 1500 lb. per sq. in. (105.5 kg. per sq. cm.) at a temperature of 500 to 600° C. The steel containers for these gases gave trouble by failing without apparent cause. When the General Chemical Co. began to develop its method for the production of ammonia, it experienced the same difficulty and, knowing that the Haber process had solved the difficulty by the use of alloy steels, it made several small steel bottles of different compositions and kept them filled with these gases at this pressure and temperature until they failed. The time of service varied from a few days, for the plain steel casting, to two years for a chrome-vanadium forging. Four of these steel bottles were sent to this laboratory for investigation; they were a plain carbon-steel forging, a nickel-steel forging, a chrome-vanadium steel forging, and a chrome-steel forging. The time of service was as follows: plain carbon steel, 4 mo.; nickel steel, 6 mo.; chrome-vanadium steel, over 2 yr.; chrome steel, 4 mo. When these containers were cut open and the cross-section surface polished, they showed an inside zone with a different luster from the rest of the metal. Upon etching, this zone was almost unaffected while the rest of the steel etched normally.

Jan 4, 1920

By J. Burns Read, S. Tour

It is the purpose of this paper to summarize, as far as possible, the metallurgical information and experience gained by the Ordnancc Department, during the war, in the manufacture of artillery cartridge cases, to describe the tests to which artillery cartridge cases were put, and to summarize the knowledge and experience gained in this testing. The authors wish to acknowledge the aid given by manufacturers, army officers, and civilian employees of the Department in obtaining data. Artillery cartridge cases are cold drawn from circular disks punched from strips of rolled brass. The rnanufacture involves from 25 to 30 main operations, which are done almost entirely on a punch press. Descriptions of the operations have appeared in various periodical:: and, therefore, will not he given here. After each cupping, or drawing, operation, except the last, the cases are annealed at from 540" to 650" C. (1000" to 1200°F.), to remove all the hardening stresses set up in the metal and to allow complete recrystallization. After each annealing, the cases are pickled in niter cake or sulfuric-acid solution and then washed in water to remove all traces of acid. In some instances, the cases arc then immersed in a cyanide-salt solution, and afterwards rinsed in water, to remove the thin layer of copper that forms on the surface of the cases during the acid pickle. The last cold-drawing operation is followcd by the heading operation which, by flattening the head of the case on the outside, causes the metal to flow on the inside to approximately the proper finished dimensions. The mouth, or open end, is then annealed at 430" to 450" ('. 1800" to 900" F.) by immersion in a salt bath or by gas flames. After being washed, the eases are tapered, when they arc ready for machining, inspection, and testing. Cartridge-case Disks Good disks of proper composition and physical properties are essential to the production of good cartridge cases. The Ordnance Department

Jan 1, 1923

By J. Burns Read, S. Tour

It is the purpose of this paper to summarize, as far as possible, the metallurgical information and experience gained by the Ordnancc Department, during the war, in the manufacture of artillery cartridge cases, to describe the tests to which artillery cartridge cases were put, and to summarize the knowledge and experience gained in this testing. The authors wish to acknowledge the aid given by manufacturers, army officers, and civilian employees of the Department in obtaining data. Artillery cartridge cases are cold drawn from circular disks punched from strips of rolled brass. The rnanufacture involves from 25 to 30 main operations, which are done almost entirely on a punch press. Descriptions of the operations have appeared in various periodical:: and, therefore, will not he given here. After each cupping, or drawing, operation, except the last, the cases are annealed at from 540" to 650" C. (1000" to 1200°F.), to remove all the hardening stresses set up in the metal and to allow complete recrystallization. After each annealing, the cases are pickled in niter cake or sulfuric-acid solution and then washed in water to remove all traces of acid. In some instances, the cases arc then immersed in a cyanide-salt solution, and afterwards rinsed in water, to remove the thin layer of copper that forms on the surface of the cases during the acid pickle. The last cold-drawing operation is followcd by the heading operation which, by flattening the head of the case on the outside, causes the metal to flow on the inside to approximately the proper finished dimensions. The mouth, or open end, is then annealed at 430" to 450" ('. 1800" to 900" F.) by immersion in a salt bath or by gas flames. After being washed, the eases are tapered, when they arc ready for machining, inspection, and testing. Cartridge-case Disks Good disks of proper composition and physical properties are essential to the production of good cartridge cases. The Ordnance Department

Jan 1, 1923

BASIC open-hearth slags have no obviously unique features when compared with slags from other metallurgical operations. Open-hearth slags form and exist at temperatures ranging from 2500 to 3100 F (1370 to 1700 C). In the course of an open-hearth heat, the liquid slag changes slowly and continuously in chemical analysis-the changes reflecting changes in temperature, changes in metal analysis, solution of charged materials, solution of feed additions, and solution of refractories. Through- out the process, the slag performs specific primary functions that are responsible for a large measure of the technical and economic importance of basic open-hearth steelmaking. It is intended in this chapter to present the chemical reactions by which the primary functions of basic open-hearth slags are carried out, to describe the physical and chemical principles governing the extent to which these reactions proceed and can be regulated, and finally to indicate the limitations imposed on other features of the process by the fulfillment of the primary functions. Basic open-hearth slags perform three primary functions. First and foremost, the slag provides a means of removing phosphorus from the liquid metal. The ability to remove phosphorus is largely responsible for the widespread use of the basic open- hearth process. Second, the slag serves as a controlling factor in transferring the oxygen required for the other oxidizing reactions. Third, the slag provides a means of eliminating some sulfur from the open-hearth bath. While the extent of sulfur removal is not comparable to that of phosphorus, the ability to remove some sulfur contributes much to the value of the process. The effectiveness with which the slag fulfills its functions varies with temperature and composition. Since operating temperatures are fixed largely by the specified nature of the product and the equipment, the speed and extent to which the functions of the slag are carried out depend largely on its composition. The necessity for regulating slag composition to accomplish the re-

Jan 1, 1951

By Geoffrey Gilbert

A study of specimens shows that the key to both oxidation and enrichment at Duck-town is the behavior of pyrrhotite, which is in part dissolved and in part replaced by marcasite. Enrichment takes place chiefly at the expense of marcasite. THE material that forms the basis of this paper was collected in the spring of 1922, during a ten-day visit to Ducktown by the writer in the company of Prof. L. C. Graton. The time available for the work was far too short to allow anything like a thorough study of the deposits, and structural and stratigraphic questions, though they have an important bearing on the origin of the primary ores, were necessarily left untouched. Attention was focussed on the zone of oxidation and enrichment; and by devoting most of our time to the upper levels, open pits, and old workings, and examining the deeper levels only thoroughly enough to obtain a fair idea of the nature of the primary sulfide ore, we were able to make a reasonably complete survey of the various orebodies. With this field work for a background, the writer later made a study, in the Harvard laboratories, of the specimens obtained during the visit. As some of the facts brought to light by this study appear to be new, it seems worth while to set forth the outstanding features and a proposed explanation of them. Much of the Ducktown material that is obviously of greatest significance, as regards oxidation and enrichment, is soft and crumbly. Notwithstanding the desirability of gaining from such material all possible information as to its mineral composition and textural relationships, but little has heretofore been learned regarding it; but, by suitable preparation of this material in connection with the present study, it has been possible to examine it under the microscope without any disturbance of its texture and about as satisfactorily as if it were hard, fresh ore. The information thus gained has contributed measurably to the results set forth in this paper.

Jan 3, 1924

BASIC open-hearth slags have no obviously unique features when compared with slags from other metallurgical operations. Open-hearth slags form and exist at temperatures ranging from 2500 to 3100 F (1370 to 1700 C). In the course of an open-hearth heat, the liquid slag changes slowly and continuously in chemical analysis-the changes reflecting changes in temperature, changes in metal analysis, solution of charged materials, solution of feed additions, and solution of refractories. Throughout the process, the slag performs specific primary functions that are responsible for a large measure of the technical and economic importance of basic open-hearth steelmaking. It is intended in this chapter to present the chemical reactions by which the primary functions of basic open-hearth slags are carried out, to describe the physical and chemical principles governing the extent to which these reactions proceed and can be regulated, and finally to indicate the limitations imposed on other features of the process by the fulfillment of the primary functions. Basic open-hearth slags perform three primary functions. First and foremost, the slag provides a means of removing phosphorus from the liquid metal. The ability to remove phosphorus is largely responsible for the widespread use of the basic open-hearth process. Second, the slag serves as a controlling factor in transferring the oxygen required for the other oxidizing reactions. Third, the slag provides a means of eliminating some sulfur from the open-hearth bath. While the extent of sulfur removal is not comparable to that of phosphorus, the ability to remove some sulfur contributes much to the value of the process. The effectiveness with which the slag fulfills its functions varies with temperature and composition. Since operating temperatures are fixed largely by the specified nature of the product and the equipment, .the speed and extent to which the functions of the slag are carried out depend largely on its composition. The necessity for regulating slag composition to accomplish the re-

Jan 1, 1964

By T. D. Yensen

EFFECT OF ELEMENTS ON MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF IRON THE elements aluminum,1 arsenic,2 silicon,3 tin2 and vanadium,4,8 when used in relatively small amounts as alloying elements, seem to have a beneficial effect on the magnetic properties of iron-i. e., they increase the maximum permeability and decrease the coercive force-whereas there are definite indications that boron,5 carbon,6 nitrogen,7 oxygen,8' phosphorus,6 sulfur6 and titanium,4 as well as the metals of and adjacent to the ferro-magnetic group, nickel,9 cobalt,10 copper,11 and manganese,6 have a detrimental effect on these properties. The effects of calcium4 and magnesium4 are small, if any, while the effect of chromium 12 in small amounts is unknown and in large amounts is generally detrimental.

Jan 1, 1931

By J. L. Gregg, C. W. Kuttner

ReceNtly there has been considerable interest in the production and use of extra hard alloys composed primarily of tungsten and carbon. Dr. Hoyt's recent paper1 gives a good description of these alloys and describes their performance when used as tools. There are a number of these alloys on the market sold under various trade names, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of an investigation of the structure of five of these alloys by means of microscopic and X-ray methods. The samples studied were in the form of small tools or wiredrawing dies, which were either purchased or supplied as samples. They were in some cases not supplied by the original makers but were furnished by the agents in this country, and we wish to call attention to the fact that they may not be truly representative of the materials supplied under the various trade names No performance data are given and no inference as to the inferiority of one alloy as against any other is made. K. Schröter2 recently described methods for polishing alloys of this type for microscopic examination and has presented photomicrographs of several alloys. However, he did not identify their constituents or describe methods for their identification. Constituents and Their Identification As far back as 1915 attempts were made to utilize tungsten carbides commercially, but the great brittleness of these carbides made these first attempts unsuccessful. Later, successful dies were made by sintering the powdered carbides with small amounts of iron, nickel, or cobalt. Due to the high melting points of the tungsten carbides (2600" to 2800" C.), it is difficult to melt the carbides without volatilizing almost quantitatively the added element of the iron group. Inasmuch as the added metal does not exceed 20 per cent. and is usually present in much smaller amounts, some understanding of the tungsten-carbon equilibrium dia-

Jan 1, 1929

By C. W. Kuttner, J. L. Gregg

ReceNtly there has been considerable interest in the production and use of extra hard alloys composed primarily of tungsten and carbon. Dr. Hoyt's recent paper1 gives a good description of these alloys and describes their performance when used as tools. There are a number of these alloys on the market sold under various trade names, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the results of an investigation of the structure of five of these alloys by means of microscopic and X-ray methods. The samples studied were in the form of small tools or wiredrawing dies, which were either purchased or supplied as samples. They were in some cases not supplied by the original makers but were furnished by the agents in this country, and we wish to call attention to the fact that they may not be truly representative of the materials supplied under the various trade names No performance data are given and no inference as to the inferiority of one alloy as against any other is made. K. Schröter2 recently described methods for polishing alloys of this type for microscopic examination and has presented photomicrographs of several alloys. However, he did not identify their constituents or describe methods for their identification. Constituents and Their Identification As far back as 1915 attempts were made to utilize tungsten carbides commercially, but the great brittleness of these carbides made these first attempts unsuccessful. Later, successful dies were made by sintering the powdered carbides with small amounts of iron, nickel, or cobalt. Due to the high melting points of the tungsten carbides (2600" to 2800" C.), it is difficult to melt the carbides without volatilizing almost quantitatively the added element of the iron group. Inasmuch as the added metal does not exceed 20 per cent. and is usually present in much smaller amounts, some understanding of the tungsten-carbon equilibrium dia-

Jan 1, 1929

By G. Willard Quick

FAILURES in railroad rails have been of vital concern to engineers; railroad executives, rail manufacturers and the general public for years. Failures from transverse fissures originating from internal nuclei have received particular attention in the past 20 years. Dr. J. E. Howard first reported this type of failure in 1911, as being responsible for a wreck-on the Lehigh Valley R. R. in which several lives were lost. Since then many transverse fissures have been found. In 1919, Waring and Hofammann1 etched longitudinal sections of rails in hot acid and found cracks extending both longitudinally and transversely in certain used rails as well as in some new rails.. Since then it has been thought by many that these "shatter" cracks are the nuclei from which transverse fissures subsequently develop in service. Methods for reducing the rate of cooling rails on the hot. bed have been devised to decrease the temperature gradient and consequently the stress gradient in the rails. A study of the tensile properties of rails at elevated temperatures was made by Freeman and Quick,2 who investigated the properties at temperatures through which rails pass on the cooling bed after leaving the hot saw. In their investigation a special study was made of the ductility of the steels in the temperature range 400° to 700° C. In this temperature range it was found that certain rail and other steels showed a marked decrease in elongation and reduction of area. The phenomenon was called "secondary brittleness" and the temperature range the "secondary brittle range." A tentative explanation was presented that internal failure such as "shatter cracks" and "hair cracks" in rails are the result of thermal stresses developed in the steel structure while cooling through the secondary brittle range. The investigation showed that the magnitude of the phenomenon varies for different heats, but that it did not differ for specimens from different ingots or for different rails in a particular ingot. It was also shown that annealing rail steel at a temperature either above or below the critical

Jan 1, 1932

By C. O. Fairchild

THE meaning of temperature control can be extended to cover not only the control of temperatures' but also the control of processes through a knowledge of the temperatures involved. In this sense it has a very wide interest. A list of the industries in which temperature control is used in one way or another would cover nearly the entire industrial field. This discussion will be confined to the field of high temperatures. In practically all industries involving operations at high temperatures, pyrometers are used or men are paid for their ability either to estimate temperatures or gage an operation by some physical or chemical change or condition dependent on temperatures. As progress is made in the development of instruments and of methods for measuring temperature, some of these highly skilled artisans are learning the use of a new tool. Many processes have been, in recent years, improved by means of exact measurement thus substituted for estimation, but in a great many industries the pyrometer has had practically no opportunity to demonstrate its usefulness. The perfecting of instruments must be accompanied with a dissemination of the knowledge that new instruments are available and can be economically used. The demand at present, however, is ahead of the supply, and many industries are handicapped by the want of pyrometers. One of the highest paid skilled tradesmen of the present time is the man in the steel rolling mill who knows when proper working temperatures are attained. The metallurgist in his development of steels is continually demanding closer adherence to given temperature ranges in the processes, and the pyrometer is rapidly becoming indispensable. Properties of the finished products are being correlated with working temperatures and so closely that in some cases even the pyrometer is taxed to give the required accuracy. The greatest progress has been made in those industries in which the lower temperatures are used, particularly below 500° C. In this lower range automatic control has been highly developed.

Jan 9, 1919

By Charles Morgan

An increased demand for brown iron ore in the Birmingham district during the past 18 months has caused renewed activity both in prospecting and mining these ores. In recent years the production in Alabama has ranged from 41,559 tons in 1932 to 639,351 tons in 1928. During the last 9 years about 83 per cent of the total brown ore produced in the United States has come from Alabama (Tables 1 and 2). Prospecting Two methods of prospecting are used in this district: (1) test pits, (2) churn-drilling. Usually there is certain quite definite information on an area to be prospected; some of the indications are float ore such as small gravel or small and large boulders known as "dornicks" scattered over the surface, and ore exposed by erosion in gulleys and ravines, which have cut or eroded through the overburden. Often these natural erosions furnish an indication of the thickness of the ore and to some extent of the area of the ore body. Deposits of brown ore are very irregular both in thickness and extent. Deposits are often lens-shaped or long narrow leads, some of which may be parallel and separated from one another by sand, clay or gravel. The bottom—the footwall—is also very irregular. This footwall is usually lime clay—disintegrated limestone, locally called "white horse," which usually is found at a depth of 6 in. to 20 ft. overlying the limestone. At some places sand and gravel is found under the ore instead of clay. No ore is found under the lime clay, although often the ore has sunk or slumped and is found in the upper portion of this clay, as at some of the Sloss workings at Russellville. The origin of these ores has been discussed by Major E. C. Eckel and Dr. E. F. Burchard in U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 400, and recently the latter has done further work on ores in the Russellville district, of which reports undoubtedly will be published.

Jan 1, 1940

By Charles Morgan

An increased demand for brown iron ore in the Birmingham district during the past 18 months has caused renewed activity both in prospecting and mining these ores. In recent years the production in Alabama has ranged from 41,559 tons in 1932 to 639,351 tons in 1928. During the last 9 years about 83 per cent of the total brown ore produced in the United States has come from Alabama (Tables 1 and 2). Prospecting Two methods of prospecting are used in this district: (1) test pits, (2) churn-drilling. Usually there is certain quite definite information on an area to be prospected; some of the indications are float ore such as small gravel or small and large boulders known as "dornicks" scattered over the surface, and ore exposed by erosion in gulleys and ravines, which have cut or eroded through the overburden. Often these natural erosions furnish an indication of the thickness of the ore and to some extent of the area of the ore body. Deposits of brown ore are very irregular both in thickness and extent. Deposits are often lens-shaped or long narrow leads, some of which may be parallel and separated from one another by sand, clay or gravel. The bottom—the footwall—is also very irregular. This footwall is usually lime clay—disintegrated limestone, locally called "white horse," which usually is found at a depth of 6 in. to 20 ft. overlying the limestone. At some places sand and gravel is found under the ore instead of clay. No ore is found under the lime clay, although often the ore has sunk or slumped and is found in the upper portion of this clay, as at some of the Sloss workings at Russellville. The origin of these ores has been discussed by Major E. C. Eckel and Dr. E. F. Burchard in U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 400, and recently the latter has done further work on ores in the Russellville district, of which reports undoubtedly will be published.

Jan 1, 1940

By Henry Fay

THE erosion of guns is a complex problem which can be solved only by a detailed study of all the factors involved. In the present paper it is proposed to submit the results of observations and experiments which have extended over several years. Certain facts have been established and preliminary reports have been published.' Conclusions have been reached since then which, it is believed, are worth presenting for the purpose of promoting discussion, and with the hope that ultimately the whole truth will be known. The particular phase of the problem which will be presented here is the hardening of the inner surface of the gun tube. It has been known for a long time that after firing a large caliber gun for some time, the surface of the metal becomes hard and brittle, cracks, and wears away.2 The character of this phenomenon may be learned by an examination of some results which are typical, obtained from a detailed study of a 12-in. gun. The gun was trepanned and rings representing various sections of the gun were cut out for examination. The first ring represented the metal at the muzzle end, and the other rings were removed at approximately 120, 240, 325 and 337 in., respectively, toward the breech end. The appearance of the surface of the metal in the different sections is shown in Fig. 1. The greatest amount of wear and maximum amount of hard surface layer was found in section marked E, which is nearest the powder chamber and at the beginning of the rifling; the maximum amount of cracking in D; the maximum amount of copper deposition in C. Section B showed heat cracks on both lands and grooves, and section A showed heat cracks on the driving edge of the lands only. There was much flow of metal in both sections E and D, and there was progressively less effect noticeable toward the muzzle end. The polished cross-section of these same pieces is shown in Fig. 2. The

Jan 12, 1916

C. W. MERRILL*—Mr. Hughes' paper not only is very well presented but is most timely in that it covers a subject of vital interest to the United States. Tin is one of the strategic metals which has not been found here in appreciable quantities. The total United States tin output since the first recorded production over 100 years ago would not supply current consumption for a fortnight. On the consumption side, tin is extremely important in national defense because of its use in tin plate which, in the form of tin cans, makes it possible to feed properly the armies that the United States recruits from its civilian population in emergencies. Moreover, the internal combustion engines so important in powering tanks, planes, and other war machines, require large quantities of tin alloys for bearings and for soldering. These considerations, along with the fact that Malaya, historically, has been the leading source of tin to the United States, make the kind of information that Mr. Hughes has presented so ably. a matter of vital interest. Your Chairman, Mr. Romanowitz, in his introduction, referred to the fact that I had been a member of the United States delegations to the three meetings of the International Tin Study Group. Some comments on the Group's objectives and deliberations may be of interest. When it appeared that the International Tin Committee, the prewar producer's cartel, might soon revive its operations and extend its control agreement beyond the expiration date of Dec. 31, 1946, the United States Government became interested in some kind of an international trade organization concerned with tin which would give the consumers' interest equal representation with the producers' interests. An international meeting was called in London in October 1946 to consider this problem. I did not attend that meeting hut the result of the meeting was the organization of the International 'Tin Study Group which

Jan 1, 1950