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By John V. Beall

W hen the blasts went off on West 11th St., just off 5th Ave. in New York City, James Michaels, editor of Forbes magazine, was in his office a few doors away reviewing color layouts with his production manager. Having once been a reporter, he grabbed his trench coat and dashed for the street to be con- fronted by the demolished townhouse which had been turned into a bomb factory by youths. To Michaels, this shocking episode supplied the exclamation point to thoughts he was formulating that an era had ended and a new one was beginning in the economic and social climate of the U. S. "For twenty years corporate profits, the stock market, middle income pay have gone up and up. . . The illusions of twenty years are in confrontation today with changed needs," he said. "International omnipotence is economically beyond our means, . . The anti-pollution and community renewal people are not nuts in tennis shoes who will go away. . . That corporation presidents can report an increase in earnings every year is an illusion that will be dropped. . . There has been a $200 billion shrink in value of stocks and bonds since Nixon came into office" were some indicators Michaels mentioned.

Jan 1, 1970

By Jean L. Leroy

The Lead Smelting works of Metallurgie Hoboken S.A. are located on the banks of the river Scheldt a few miles South of Antwerp. Lead refining began at Hoboken in 1687, when it was restricted mainly to desilverizing lead bullion from Central America. Since then, various changes have been made to develop the works into a comprehensive and integrated custom smelter and refinery. Multiple hearth roasting furnaces, down-draft sinter machines and blast furnaces of standard design are used for the treatment of "complex" lead ores and secondary materials. A lead refinery based on the Harris process, with Parkes desilverizing followed by vacuum dezincing and Kroll Betterton debismuthizing was commissioned in 1967. Facilities for the recovery of precious metals, bismuth, antimony, arsenic and sulfuric acid are available. Special problems arise from the presence of large quantities of copper in the materials treated.

Jan 1, 1970

By M. C. Flemings, R. Mehrabian

In a recent series of papers,1-3 it was shown that a variety of apparently different types of macrosegrega-tion result from the same basic mechanism, the inter-dendritic flow of solute rich liquid to feed solidification and thermal contractions. The important parameter governing sign and extent of segregation was shown to be (v.?T)/ where v is interdendritic flow velocity, ?T is temperature gradient, and E is rate of temperature change. It was proposed in one of the previous papers that the "negative cone of segregation" often found at the base of large ingots results from the large value of (v. VT)/E expected to pertain there. The reason why this parameter is expected to be large in that location is the high flow velocity to be expected there, as discussed earlier,' and as shown schematically in Fig. 1. In this note, two experiments are summarized which are intended as laboratory simulations of the inter-dendritic flow behavior sketched in Fig. 1 and, therefore, of the "negative cone of segregation". Experimental procedures employed are as described in the the earlier work.3 Alloy cast was nominally Al-4.5 pct Cu. Fig. 2 shows one of these ingots, a "prism" ingot, 6 cm high by 12 cm wide by 10 cm long, unidirectionally solidified from a water cooled base. In this ingot, in-terdendritic flow velocity increases near the upper portion of the ingot because of the gradually decreasing ingot cross-section. Calculations were presented earlier of the negative segregation to be expected in this type of ingot,' and results presented in Figs. 2 and 3 agree closely with those of earlier calculations. A more direct (although less easily calculable) simulation of the "negative cone of segregation" is the

Jan 1, 1970

By George A. Yurko

The Cominco smelter, located at Trail, British Columbia, Canada, produces 180 000 metric tons of lead bullion annually in conventional blast furnaces. The resulting slag from these furnaces, 210 000 metric tons annually, containing 18 per cent zinc and 2.5 per cent lead, is treated directly in the slag fuming plant for the recovery of these metals and other valuable metals present in smaller quantities. Slag fuming is carried out on a 55 metric ton batch process in completely water-jacketed furnaces where the slag is blown with a mixture of powdered coal and air. The coal-to-air ratio is con- trolled to maintain strongly reducing conditions, thus, fuming the metals from the slag. The metal vapours are subsequently re-oxidized with air above the bath. The mixture of oxides is carried from the furnace by the gases through waste heat boilers and cooling flues to a baghouse where they are collected. The slag fuming plant, under normal conditions, will treat 700 metric tons of slag daily. The throughput in the plant is dependent on the fuming rate of zinc, which is a function of the composition of the slag, and on the economics, which dictate the extent to which zinc is fumed from the slag. Zinc and lead collected daily as fume average 113 metric tons and 17 metric tons, respectively, corresponding to recoveries of 89 per cent zinc and 98 per cent lead from the slag. The waste heat boilers produce 61 metric tons steam per hour, which is distributed to other processing plants.

Jan 1, 1970

By G. R. Leverant, C. P. Sullivan

Re crystallized TD-nickel mi-2Th0,) in both coated und uncoated conditions was fatigued at 1800°F at total strain ranges varying .from 0.2 to 0.75 pct. The fatigue life of uncoated inaferal, Nf, was related to the total strain range, ?eT, by (2Nf/021AeT = 0.014. A duplex Al-Cr pack coating increased the fatigue life by about a factor of two. The cracks that led to failure in both coated and uncoated material were initiated at the outer surface, indicating that the mechanical properties of the surface layers were important in determining fatigue life. Crack propagation and subsurface crack initiation in the TD-nickel occurred preferentially at grain boundaries with cavitation at thoria particle-matrix interfaces an integral part of the grain boundary fracture process. The importance of both the grain morphology developed during thermome chanical processing of TD-nickel and the distribution of thoria particle sizes to fatigue resistance are discussed. THE fatigue properties of only a few dispersion-strengthened metals have been studied at temperatures 0.5 Tm;1,2 among these have been lead and aluminum containing oxide dispersions. TD-nickel is a material of interest for application in aircraft gas turbine engines, but little fundamental information is available on its behavior under cyclic loading conditions. In this study, the low-cycle fatigue properties of TD-nickel were determined at 1800°F with emphasis on the 101-lowing; 1) the relation of the grain morphology produced during thermomechanical processing to crack initiation and propagation; 2) the role of thoria parti-cles in the fracture process; and 3) the effect of an oxidation resistant coating on fatigue life. I) MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The TD-nickel was supplied by DuPont as a 5/8-in. thick plate which had been subjected to a proprietary series of thermomechanical treatments with a final anneal at 2000°F for 1 hr in hydrogen. The composition of the material is given in Table I. At the test temperature of 1800°F, the 0.2 pct offset yield stress was 15,000 psi, and the elongation and reduction in area were 4.6 and 3.0 pct, respectively. The microstructure of this material has been previously described.&apos; Briefly, it consists of an array of lath-shaped grains, about 0.15 mm in thickness, with the long dimension of each grain parallel to the primary working direction, Fig. 1(a). The presence of very small annealing twirls, Fig. l(b ), together with the absence of extensive dislocation networks, Fig. L/C), indicated that the material was in the recrystal- Table I. Composition of TD-Nickel ThO2 2.3 vol pct C 0.0073 wt pct lex 0.01 wt pct Cr 0.01 wt pct Cu 0.004 wt pct S 0.001 wt pct Ti <0.001 wt pct Co <0.01 wt pct Ni bal lized condition. Commercial TD-nickel sheet has a similar grain size and shape, but unlike the present material is not recrystallized as evidenced by the absence of annealing twins and the presence of a well-developed dislocation substructure.4 The plate material had Young&apos;s moduli in the rolling direction of 22 x 106 psi and 13 x 106 psi at room temperature and 1800°F, respectively, indicating a texture with a strong {100}<001> component in agreement with previous observations on recrystallized TD-nickel sheet.596 The 2.3 vol pct of thoria particles were uniformly distributed although some clustering and stringering of larger particles was occasionally seen. The average diameter of the particles was 450 and the calculated mean planar center-to-center spacing was 2100Å. Two specimens were coated with a duplex A1-Cr pack coating. The coating was somewhat nonuniform from one position to another along the gage length. An area of the coating after testing is shown in Fig. 2. Electron microprobe analysis revealed the following zones in the various lettered regions indicated in Fig. 2: A) a bcc matrix of B-NiA1 with some chromium in solid solution along with a fine dispersion of a chromium-rich second phase which was probably precipitated during cooling from the test temperature to room temperature; B) fcc y&apos;-Ni,Al with some chromium in solid solution; C) porosity; D) a two-phase mixture of a chromium-rich solid solution containing nickel and aluminum and a small volume fraction of a nickel-rich solid solution having approximately the same composition as the immediately adjacent portion of region E, E) the TD-nickel substrate containing chromium in solid solution to a depth of 5 to 10 mils. As expected from the nature of the diffusion processes involved,7 the thoria particles were present only up to the layer of porosity, region C, Fig. 2. The measured thickness of the coating proper, zones A to D, after testing was 1 to 2 mils. The specimen design and testing techniques have been previously discussed.&apos; Stressing was axial and parallel to the lath-shaped grains (i.e., parallel to the rolling direction). The total strain range was controlled between zero and a maximum tensile strain varying from 0.2 to 0.75 pct. (The test at 0.2 pct total strain range was switched to load control at 1030 cycles at which point the peak tensile and compres-

Jan 1, 1970

By J. C. Williams, M. J. Blackburn

MANY aspects of the formation of the metastable w phase in titanium-transition metal alloys have been described in several recent papers.1-4 These papers have reviewed earlier work on the w phase and have further defined most of the important features related to the formation of this phase, e.g-., its crystal structure, composition, and morphology. There are, however, several important points regarding formation of the w phase in titanium alloys which have been described in less detail. Two of these are the relationship between lattice misfit and w phase morphology and the influence of lattice misfit on the mode of formation of the equilibrium a phase. In this communi- cation we will present transmission electron microscopy results relevant to these two points. The alloys used in this study were prepared by non-consumable electrode arc melting, each 30-g button being remelted a minimum of twelve times. The alloy compositions we have studied are listed in Table I. Thin foils were prepared using standard techniques described elsewhere. Two distinct c&apos; phase morphologies have been reported in earlier papers. The phase is ellipsoidal in the Ti-Mo3 and Ti-Nbl system and cubical in the Ti-V3 system. Results of the present study show that the w phase is also cubical in Ti-Mn, Ti-Fe, and Ti-Cr alloys as illustrated in Fig. l(b) to (d). Fig. l(a) shows the ellipsoidal morphology in Ti-MO3 for comparison purposes. It was suggested in an earlier paper3 that the w phase morphology may be controlled by the lat-

Jan 1, 1970

By L. C. Noakes

In 1947, only a year after its own establishment, the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics formed a Mineral Economics Section. Originally, this Section consisted of a mineral economist, four geologists and three auxiliary employees. Then, in 1954, it was reorganized into a professional body of six members, all mineral economists, one of whom was the chief mineral economist. At this time, a mining statistical officer from the Bureau of Census and Statistics was attached to the Section to bring about a closer liaison between these two agencies. The addition of another mineral economist in 1961 brought the Section&apos;s professional staff to its present strength of seven. In recent years, the Mineral Economics Section has gained considerable support by becoming part of the Mineral Resources Branch of the Bureau of Mineral Resources. This Branch, which has the general role of monitoring the performance of the mineral industry in Australia, has two other specialized sections- Mining Engineering and Petroleum Technology-which bolster and complement the Mineral Economics Section.

Jan 1, 1970

By E. T. Turkdogan, L. J. Martonik, R. J. Fruehan

Electrochemical measuretnents of the solid oxide electrolyte galvanic cells CY-Cr2O3 I ZrO2 (CaO) 1 O (in Fe alloy) CY-Cr2O3 I Tho2 (Y2O3)I O en Fe alloy) have been made at 1600°C (2912°F) in order to test the Performance of such cells at liquid steel temperatures. The oxygen pvobe (cell) consists of a disk of ZrO2 (CaO) or Tho2 (Y2O3) electrolyte fused at one end of a silica tube filled with a mixture of Cr-Cr2O3 which is the reference electrode. Upon immersion in liquid steel, the electromotive force readings achieve a steady value within a few seconds, and remain steady for 30 win or more. The perforwzance of the probes has been tested using Fe-O, Fe-Si-O, Fe-Cr-O, Fe-V-O, and Fe-Al-O alloys; the oxygen contents of liquid steel derived from the measured electromotive forces are in satisfactory agreement with those determined by arulysis. Use of the probe in the deoxi-datiorz of steel, in laboratory experiments, is discussed. The results indicate that there is insignificant electronic conductivity in ZrO2(CuO) at oxygen activities down to those corresponding to 10 ppm in steel. At lower oxygen activities, probes tipped with ThOn (Y2O3) disks perform satisfactorily at oxygen activities down to 1 ppm O or less. THE key to the control of deoxidation of steel is a sensing device to measure rapidly the concentration of oxygen in liquid steel in the furnace, ladle or tun-dish at any desired stage of deoxidation. The analysis of the cast steel by the neutron-activation or vacuum-fusion method gives total oxygen as oxide and silicate inclusions. This analysis is important for guidance to steel cleanliness; however, such a postmortem is of little value in the control of deoxidation of liquid steel. At the General Meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute in New York, 1968, Turkdogan and Fruehan&apos; presented a paper on the preliminary results of the work done in this laboratory on rapid determination of oxygen in steel by an oxygen probe. Details of the work done in this laboratory leading to the development of a galvanic cell for the determination of oxygen in liquid steel, and the results of the tests made are given in this paper. It was through Wagner&apos;s contributions, since the early Thirties, to the physical chemistry of semiconductors in general that it ultimately became possible to construct galvanic cells for application at high temperatures. In 1957, Kiukkola and wagner2 successfully demonstrated the use of several solid electrolytes in measuring the free energies of several chemical reactions, in particular, the use of lime-stabilized zir-conia in high-temperature oxidation reactions. Starting 7 years later, a number of papers appeared in the technical literature3-&apos; demonstrating possible applicability of galvanic cells for the determination of oxygen in liquid steel. In the earliest work, Japanese investigators3j4 experimented with various types of reference electrodes, e.g., graphite-saturated liquid iron at 1 atm CO or Ni-NiO mixtures; the results obtained, though promising, were not of sufficient accuracy. Except for the work of Baker and West,6 all other investigators5,7,8 showed that ZrO2(CaO) electrolyte could be used for this purpose. The main part of the galvanic cell used by Fischer and ~ckermann&apos; and by schwerdtfeger7 (the latter work was done in this laboratory), consisted of a ZrO2(CaO) tube, -1 cm ID, closed at one end, with a platinum contact wire fixed mechanically inside the closed end. The tube was flushed with a gas of known oxygen partial pressure, e.g., air, CO-CO2 or H2-CO2 mixtures; gas along with the platinum lead wire served as the reference electrode. The oxygen contents derived from measured electromotive forces agreed reasonably well with the oxygen contents determined by vacuum-fusion analysis. It is evident from recent investigations that the electromotive force technique using a solid oxide electrolyte is fundamentally well suited for the determination of oxygen in liquid steel. However, it is equally clear that the cell arrangement of the type as commonly used is in need of considerable improvement, as it exhibits several shortcomings for industrial and even laboratory use. 1) Because of its size, the zirconia tube, though stabilized, has a poor resistance to thermal shock. 2) Fine pores and microcracks, which are invariably present in zirconia tubes, are detrimental to the satisfactory operation of the cell, particularly when gas reference electrodes are used. 3) Air or carbon dioxide reference electrodes give rise to high electromotive force readings; as a result, the determination of oxygen in steel becomes less accurate. For higher accuracy, the oxygen partial pressure of the reference electrode should be in the range similar to that of oxygen in steel. 4) Even in laboratory experiments, difficulties are experienced when flushing the tube with gases and maintaining the proper gas flow rate. Fischer and Ackermann,&apos; who used air as the reference electrode, reported that when the flow rate was too low, furnace gases would leak into the electrolyte tube, therefore lowering the oxygen potential and measured electromotive force. The required flow rate in order to avoid leakage depended on the tightness of the electrolyte tube which varied with different tubes, thus making it difficult to predict in advance the required flow rate. However, if the flow rate is too high the inside wall of the electrolyte tube would be cooler than the wall

Jan 1, 1970

By E. A. Moulder

The mining industry is continually faced with problems involving dewatering, pollution, water supply, leaching and hydrochemical mining and prospecting. Greater application of the principles of ground-water hydrology to solution of these problems promises improved operating efficiency, increased safety and better public relations. Estimating the magnitude of dewatering for a proposed mine may be a major factor in determining the feasibility of proceeding with mine development. Diverting the source of ground water to an abandoned mine may save costly treatment of acid-mine drainage. Development of a large ground-water supply near an ore deposit may enhance the possibilities of a leaching operation. Detection of certain dissolved minerals in water from springs or wells may lead to hitherto unknown mineral deposits. Current efforts of industry, educational institutions and government are making these kind of events more commonplace. Dewatering of Mines The magnitude of dewatering problems was dramatized by a flooding that occurred last year in a gold mine in South Africa. During drilling operations at the West Driefortein mine, a major fracture was encountered from which large volumes of water issued necessitating evacuation of 1350 men from the mine. Dewatering required an increase in pumping of more than 80 million gpd. Models of ground-water systems are being used to test alternate plans for dewatering mines. Using the models in conjunction with computer optimization programs may lead to minimizing costs of operation. In addition to computer simulation of aquifers associated with phosphate deposits in North Carolina mentioned in last year&apos;s report, two USGS employees developed a model to estimate the amount of pumping required to dewater a mine site in Colorado.

Jan 1, 1970

By John V. Beall

Probably it won&apos;t happen to us again in a thousand years, but it was very embarassing at the time. It is only because of certain matters that have come up this month that we tell you at all about it. At the beginning of our trip to Peru and Chile last summer, we were flying with Bill Haddon from Lima to Tacna aboard Fawcett. Being an old hand at foreign travel, particularly in South America, we felt obliged to explain some of the special features of travel in Latin America and the niceties of etiquette in particular and were so engaged when the plane landed at the airport. We led the way briskly into the terminal, expecting at any moment to have a representative of Southern Peru Copper pop up and present himself. However, this didn&apos;t happen so we repaired to the baggage arrival station to wait. All the bags were quickly picked up, but ours were no where to be seen. Bill was slightly agitated because the plane was being buttoned up for take off. However, rising to the emergency with our usual aplomb, we took charge of the situation. Brandishing the claim checks under the nose of the porter who pointed to them and said, "si, Tacna," we nodded briskly and in our serviceable Spanish said "si se[n]or, vayase viejo, rapido." He was off and back with our suitcases quickly enough.

Jan 1, 1970

By Harold F. Yde

Hydraulic tailing fill in the Butte deep-level mines resulted from studies made in 1958 by The Anaconda Co. Mining Research Department. At the time of the study, dry mine tailing was hauled via rail cars from the Anaconda tailing ponds, 25 miles distant, to the tailing fill plants of the underground mines at the Leonard, Anselmo and Mt. Con mines. Presently, tailing from the Weed concentrator in Butte is delivered to the Kelley shaft via pipeline and stope filling has become automated. Tailing at 30% solids is pumped 8000 ft horizontally and upward from the concentrator to the Kelley fill plant, where it is dewatered and deslimed by three Krebs cyclones. These discharge the material into the cased and grouted mine delivery boreholes at desired densities of up to 70% solids. The vertical boreholes and 4-in. rubber-lined Victaulic pipe carry the material downward to horizontal distribution lines, which in turn tap into the 3-in. stope-filling, unlined Victaulic pipelines.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. M. Hudson, P. E. Perry

Weight-gain data obtained by nitriding low-carbon sheet steel in an amrnonia CNH,) atmosphere indicated that the process obeyed a parabolic rate law. The calculated actization energy for nitriding in the range 964" to 1268°F agreed reasonably well with published data. At 1358"F, rate data indicated that the activation energy decreased. Weight-gain data obtained by uszng mixtures of NH3 -Nz at 1268°F containzng jrom 10 to 100 zol pct NH3 also obeyed a parabolic rate law. The rate of &apos;nitriding increased with an increase in the NH3 content of the gas Mixture. It is well-known that steel heated in gas mixtures containing ammonia (NH3) takes up much larger quantities of nitrogen than steel heated in nitrogen, both gases having a total pressure of 1 atm;&apos; this phenomenon can presumably be attributed to the catalytic decomposition of NH3 on the steel surface to furnish nascent (monatomic) nitrogen. This process was studied bv Brunauer. Jefferson, Emmett, and Hend-ricks at furnace temperatures of 752" and 831°F2 using mixtures of NH3 in Hz. Englehardt and wagner3 reported that, at a furnace temperature of 914°F and under their experimental conditions, both nitriding and denitriding were controlled by the rate of gas-metal reactions at a steel surface rather than by the rate of diffusion of nitrogen in iron. The present study was undertaken to obtain information on the kinetics of nitriding low-carbon steel strip at higher temperatures so that practical rates for short-time strip-annealing treatments could be estimated. Variables studied included time: temperature, and NH, content in the annealing atmosphere. Mechanical and chemical characteristics of steel nitrided in this manner will not be considered in the present article. MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK The samples used were from a commercial low-carbon steel, 0.0244 cm thick, in the cold-reduced condition. The chemical composition of this steel is given in Table I. Panels were cut to 5.1 by 17.8 cm, degreased in toluene, and weighed just before treatment. Four specimens were nitrided under each of the experimental conditions. A study was made of the nitriding rate of steel in a 100 vol pct ammonia atmosphere, 740 mm pressure, at five specific temperatures within the range 964" to 1358°F. The nitriding rates of steel in ammonia-nitrogen gas mixtures containing 10, 18, 26, 50, and 100 vol pct ammonia, 740 mm total pressure, at 1268°F were also determined. All atmospheres used were dried by successively passing them through drying towers packed with soda lime and with Linde Molecular sieve Type 4A. Quoted gas compositions refer to those entering the furnace. Specimens were held in the constant-temperature zone of a vertical annealing tube furnace for times of 14, 3, 5, 10, or 15 min. Gas flow rates were maintained at 3.8 cu ft per hr, which was nineteen volume changes per hour for the system used. The rate of flow was selected to provide a high level of free NH3 for cracking on the steel surface where the ammonia gas is most effectively used as a nitriding agent. The vertical annealing tube furnace consisted of a Hevi-Duty tube furnace with a 2 1/2-in.-ID mullite ceramic high-temperature tube. The constant-temperature zone (controlled within 10°F) was about 10 in. long. After each specimen was degreased, a hole was punched in one end, for attaching the specimen by hook to a chain so that it could be lowered into or raised from the high-temperature portion of the tube by means of a power-driven winch. A stainless-steel access port with O-ring seals was connected by suitable glass-to-metal seals to the cool upper portion of the furnace tube. After the weighed specimen was placed in the access port, the furnace tube was evacuated to approximately 10"3 torr, and then the system was flushed thoroughly with the atmosphere under study. When the gas flow rate and constant-temperature zone of the furnace were established, the specimen was lowered into the constant-temperature zone. The atmosphere flowed from the top to the bottom of the vertical furnace tube and was then vented. For all these runs, during the first 3 min of the time the specimen was in the constant-temperature zone of the furnace the specimen was heating up to the tempera-

Jan 1, 1970

By Jean Bonnemaison

Societe Miniere & Metallurgique de Penarroya Noyelles-Godault works are located in the northern part of France. The complex includes a lead smelter, a zinc smelter, shops for production of manufactured products and all necessary general services. The zinc smelting complex described in this paper was designed in 1959 to replace an old horizontal retort distillation furnace and was first operated in May 1962. It includes: - a sinter plant producing the zinc sinter for the Imperial Smelting furnace : zinc, lead and bulk zinc-lead concentrates are sintered on a Dwight-Lloyd machine with a working area of 80 sq.m. Cadmium sludges are treated by the wet method in a separate plant for recovery of cadmium. Sulphur dioxide contained in gases goes to a gas washing tower and is subsequently made into sulphuric acid in a plant with a capacity of 550 m.t. per day. - a smelting plant where the process developed by Imperial Smelting Processes Ltd. is applied : the blast furnace which was modified in 1967 has an area of 17.5 sq.m. at the tuyeres level and a section of 24 sq.m. at the top of the shaft. It has a theoretical zinc capacity of 100,000 m.t. per annum. Air blast is heated by means of covers up to the theoretical temperature of 950ºC. Zinc produced is either directly cast into slabs for sale as standard &apos;good ordinary brand&apos; zinc, or sent to a refining plant where the New Jersey process designed to produce &apos;special high grade&apos; zinc is in application. Mixes of zinc containing various amounts of lead, cadmium or aluminum are prepared to customer specification in a mixing plant.

Jan 1, 1970

By S. G. Dixit, A. K. Biswas

The flotation and adsorption behavior of ilmenite, monazite and zircon have been studied with sodium oleate as the collector and pH as the principal variable. The maxima in the flotation and adsorption properties of any of the above minerals fall within similar pH ranges. The bell shaped pH versus adsorption magnitude (r) curve is explained on the basis of collector concentration (Co and the concentration of hydroxyl ion (COH-) acting as the depressant. An equation of the type: 1 =KiCor~K2 Coh-/Coi-is proposed to account for the experimental data. The beach sand deposits along the sea coast in Southern India contain ilmenite, monazite, zircon, rutile and sillimanite as valuable minerals while quartz, garnet, shells and traces of hornblende form the gangue. A typical composition of the deposits is reported to be as follows:&apos; Ilmenite 75%, Zircon 4-6%, Rutile 3-4%, Monazite 2 - 4%, Garnet 2 - 5% and the rest 8 -10%. Selective flotation of beach sand constituents has been reported by many workers.2-4 The fatty acid soaps have been invariably used as collectors. It is seen that all the valuable constituents of the beach sand are efficiently floated by soap collectors such as sodium oleate. In order to selectively float the beach sand constituents, it is necessary to use some depressants such as sodium silicate.3 The physicochemical parameters that govern the flotation of these minerals are yet to be studied in detail. In the present article, the findings on the parallel studies on the flotation and adsorption of the systems — ilmenite-sodium oleate, monazite-sodium oleate and zircon-sodium oleate — are being reported. In these correlative studies on adsorption and flotation of beach sand minerals, ilmenite (FeTiO3), monazite (Ce, Dy, Nd) PO4 and zircon (ZrSiO,) have been selected because they represent three important

Jan 1, 1970

By Gernot Kostorz

In a recent paper, Raffo and itcheell1 compared solid solution hardening of various bcc alloy single crystals at room temperature and concluded that the expression for localized elastic interaction between dislocations and solute atoms2 that gives the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) 7,: to = Z . µE3/2 C1/2 where c = concentration, e = misfit parameter, (µ = shear modulus, Z = numerical constant Fig. 1—The slope dT0/dc1/2 for niobium alloy single crystals deformed at 570°K plotted against the misfit parameter € = In&apos; I + 1616 I. from Ref. 6, •estimated from Ref. 7. Table I. Plateau Hardening and Alloy Parameters for Niobium Alloys dT0/dc1/2, kg/mm2 Solute Ref. 6 Tantalum 3.7 ± 0.3 1.9 0.73 + 0.06 9 0.0 ± 0.5 15 Vanadium 16.1 ±1.4 - 0.69 i 0.01 9 -7.4 ± 0.5 16 Tungsten 12.5 ? 1.5 20.9 0.92 i 0.05 10 -5.0 t 0.4 17 Rhenium - 25.9 1.24 11.12 -8.5 ± 0.4 I5 Molybdenum - 14.6 1.04 13,14 -4.6 s†±?˜µ?fF?? 0.5 17 Hafnium - 13.9 0.37 12 4.8 ± 0.5 17 Table 11. Solid Solution Hardening and Alloy Parameters for Tantalum Alloys i)&apos; dTo/dc1/2 kg/mm2, dTp/dc1/2 kg/mm2, Ref. 22 1006 Solute ˜570°K Ref. 7 See Text Ref. 25 Rhenium 44.3 32.5 0.65 -8.5 Tungsten 32.1 24.3 0.34 -4.6 Molybdenum 29.3 19.1 -0.19 -5.9 Niobium 5.8 5.5 -0.43 0.I

Jan 1, 1970

By Robley D. Evans, Gerald L. Schroeder

Advanced techniques for control of radon (Rn) daughter product concenrrations (working levels, WL) in the uranium mines are discussed. Understanding the physical laws which govern the flux of radon into a mine, the growth and decay of the radon daughters, and the particulate nature of the daughters when suspended in air allows ventilation personnel to improve the quality of mine air with no increase in ventilation rate. The task of controlling, in a mine atmosphere, the short-lived nuclides produced in the decay chain of radon is a unique problem and as such should be approached with ventilation techniques specific to the problem. For most mines this has not been the case. Rather, procedures for removing these airborne radioactive nuclides have been borrowed directly from ventilation experience in mines where dilution ventilation was the traditionally accepted approach for air purification. With radon daughter products, this has often led to frustrating difficulties and expense. Primary origin of the airborne radioactivity is the a-ray-emitting noble gas, radon (222Rn, Rn), a nuclide formed by the decay of radium (226Ra, Ra). Radon, being a gas, may escape from its parent crystal and diffuse through the parent mineral into the interstices of the rock body. In a sandstone structure, about 20% of all the radon formed may find its way into the interstices of the rock. If a cavity such as a mine is nearby, the radon may diffuse through the rock interstices into the mine. While radium is usually highly concentrated in uranium ores, it is also found in varying concentrations in all minerals. Radon is therefore present in all minerals. In normal glacial till, the equilibrium interstitial radon concentration often equals 5000 pCi (picocurie, also uuCi) Rn per liter of pore volume.&apos; In normal granitic rocks, the interstitial radon concentration often approaches 30,000 pCi per 1. Considering these typical, high-radon concentrations, radioactivity from airborne of daughter products is a potential problem unique not only to the uranium mining industry and should be considered as a potential hazard in all underground environments.

Jan 1, 1970

By Turno De Michelis

The Porto Marghera plant was erected in 1936 for the production of 10,000 tons of electrolytic zinc annually. Since then it has been continuously enlarged until annual production of the metal reached 40,000 tons in 1969. At the same time the processing cycle was modified bringing it up to date with modern techniques, and was completed by installations for the recovery of by-products in the minerals treated and subsequent processing of the base metal. 90% of the zinc produced is of 99.993% purity . At present the plant comprises, first of all, the zinc blende desulphuration department which has a single modern fluid bed furnace capable of processing 220 - 250 tons of dry crude mineral daily; it is connected to the sulphuric acid plant with its three catalysis sections each capable of producing 60-70 tons of sul9huri.c acid monohydrate daily. The roasted blende is conveyed pneumatically to plants for leaching of the zinc and purification of the resulting solution. During recent years this department has been completely transformed from the discontinuous cycle, for which it was built, to the continuous cycle, paying great attention to

Jan 1, 1970

By O. D. Gonzalez

Existing measurements for the steady-state permeation of hydrogen in a iron above 100°C have been examined for contribution of determinate errors. The analysis leads to a recommended equation for the permeability of hydrogen in a iron: o= (2.9 ±0.5) x 10-3 exp - (8400 ± 400)/RT cu cm (ntp H2) cm-1 sec-1 atm-1/2 THE permeability of a iron to hydrogen has been the subject of numerous investigations over the past 40 years, and at present there are thirteen sets of published results for the rate of steady-state permeation of hydrogen in a iron above 100°C. The numerical values in each set of results are entirely self-consis-tent, but the spread among the sets is too large to be attributed solely to experimental error, i.e., to error other than in the specimen itself. Several reasons have been advanced to explain the disparities, but to date the relative importance of experimental inaccuracy to the spread remains uncertain. The purpose of this report is to examine in detail the sources of determinate errors inherent in the experiments and to assess as far as possible the contribution of the errors to the results. The ultimate goal is the selection of values for the permeability and heat of permeation most nearly representative of hydrogen in a iron. The analysis is limited to those experiments in which the permeation rate was observed at steady state—a condition in which traps for hydrogen within the metal are filled to a fixed level15 so that the trapping mechanism is not reflected in the rate of passage of the gas. Furthermore only data are examined in which surface processes are judged to have little or no influence on the flow. It is hoped with these restrictions to obtain values of the permeability and the heat of permeation which will be as closely related as possible to the mechanism of lattice diffusion. I) DEFINITION OF TERMS; UNITS In this report the data for permeation are given in terms of a coefficient oj permeability, ?, which is defined by the equation: jt=?A/?x{p1/2-po1/2) [1] where jt is the total flow of gas normal to the surface of a membrane of planar geometry, e.g., a disc, of area A and thickness ?x; pi and po are the pressures in the input and output sides, respectively. For flow radial to the walls of a membrane of cylindrical geometry, e.g., a tube, the corresponding equation is: where 1 is the length of the cylinder, and ri and ro are the inner and outer radii, respectively. The flux normal to the surface is given by Fick&apos;s law: j= -D(dc/dx) [3] At steady state the concentration gradient will be constant, and integration of Eq. [3] gives for the total flow through a disc of area A and thickness Ax: h =-DA(co - ci) [4] where c, and ci are the concentrations of solute at the output and input surfaces, respectively. When surface control is absent, co and ci are given by Sievert&apos;s law c = Kp1/2, and substitution therewith into Eq. [4] gives directly Eq. [I] where ? = DK. Integration of Fick&apos;s Eq. [3] in cylindrical coordinates will give Eq. [2] where again ? = DK and is thus shown to be independent of geometry (provided that surface control is negligible). The coefficient of permeability, or simply the permeability,* must be expressed in proper units. In *The term permeability will refer in this report always to the coefficient defined above; permeation will be used to specify the general phenomenon of gas passage through a membrane. this report ? will be expressed in the units of cu cm (ntp H2) cm-1 sec-1 atm-1/2. The variations of D and K with temperature are given by D = Do exp(-Ea/RT) and K = KO exp(-?Hs/RT) where E, is the activation energy for diffusion and AH, the heat of solution, each usually expressed in calories per mole of solute. The variation of permeability with temperature will thus be given (for conditions where surface control is negligible) by ? = ?o exp(-?Hp/RT) where ?0 = DoKo and ?Hp = Ea + ?Hs. The units of ?0 are the same as those of 6, and??Hp will be expressed in calories per mole H. 11) SUMMARY OF PERMEABILITY RESULTS Table I gives the values reported to date for the permeability of H2 in a iron in terms of ?o and ?Hp. Except where noted the parameters listed were taken directly from the numbers reported by the various investigators with only a change in units. The temperature limits within which the listed ?o and ?Hp hold are given in column 7; the limits marked in parentheses in this column indicate the entire temperature range covered in each investigation. The listed values of ?o and ?Hp are those giving a linear plot of ln? against T-1 at the higher temperatures in each set of measurements, and thus presumably represent the case for which surface control was negligible. Column 6 gives values of 9 at a representative tem-

Jan 1, 1970

By J. P. G. Farr, R. Brownsword

THE role of solute segregation in the formation of cellular solidification substructures in tin and its dilute alloys is well-established, see, e.g., Ref. 1. Segregation has been shown to persist during cooling, enabling solidification structures to be studied from sections taken at some distance behind the interface. In the present work, a single crystal of commercial nickel, 99.965 pct, was examined in this way. The crystal was cut from the center of a rod given a single pass in an electron beam floating zone melter. Polished sections of a nickel specimen taken normal to the growth direction showed a very fine precipitate phase, the distribution of which varied over the section. The identification of the phase proved difficult because of the small amount present and the small particle size, about 1 p: but it was shown by probe microanalysis to contain only nickel and oxygen in detectable concentrations and was probably nickel oxide, NiO. Bulk analysis of the material before melting showed there to be only 3 to 4 ppm of oxygen present, thus demonstrating a very considerable segregation concentration effect. In some areas of the section the precipitate formed a discontinuous hexagonal network suggesting decoration of the cellular boundaries known to be present in the sample2 whereas in a restricted region the precipitate formed small clusters. Occasionally it could be seen that the clusters were at the intersections of an hexagonal network of cellular dimension. It was suggested3 that this was the result of enhanced segregation to the cell boundary intersections whereas general cell boundary segregation was insufficient to give a precipitate. Enhanced nodal segregation has since been demonstrated in a number of systems.1, 4-8 The development of a suitable electrolytic etching technique (perchloric acid 20 pct v/v; ethyl alcohol 70 pct; glycerol 10 pct; current below electropolishing plateau; 1 to 2 sec etching) suggested the association of the phase with regions of solute segregation (where ko < 1); in these regions anodic attack produced grooves or depressions. In a study of the variation of solidification substructures with degree of constitutional supercooling, Biloni et a1.&apos; appear to have used standard growth conditions and varied the solute concentration. They were able to produce in a series of individual tin crystals examples of substructure ranging from planar interface through various cellular structures to den- Fig. 1—Electroetched section taken normal to the rod axis; the center of the rod lies to the left and the periphery to the right of the micrograph. The variation of structure across the section is evident. Magnification 60 times. drites. It was possible in the present nickel crystal to observe a continuous range of substructures varying with degree of supercooling across a single section as shown in Fig. 1. Growth rate, 13 mm per min, and temperature gradient were essentially constant; the variation in structure is thought to be due to a radial gradient in solute concentration ahead of the solid interface. The liquid at the interface is likely to have been richer in solute toward the periphery of the zone, the result of curvature of this interface. The type of substructure was seen to vary with increasing constitutional supercooling as follows: a) region free of precipitate. top left, Fig. 1: 6) region of nodal precipitates which became arranged in hexagons on passing from the center of the rod: c) irregular hexagonal cells with incomplete boundary precipitation; d) regular hexagonal cells of decreasing size with complete boundary precipitation. Fig. 2 shows the transition from stage 6 and Fig. 3 shows the structure in stage d. Within stage 0, the range of conditions over which irregularly positioned nodes occur appears to be small and the nodes are soon recognizable as taking up positions at the intersections of an hexagonal network as the supercooling increases.

Jan 1, 1970

By E. Mcl. Tittmann

Deep-seated human instincts urge us to positively mark the passage of time. We celebrate the passage of each year. Years give way to decades, and decades to half centuries and centuries. At all these mileposts we are inclined to pause, take a look around and catch our breaths before embarking on the next leg. We are at such a point now and this meeting I am sure will give direction to the road ahead into the decade of the seventies. In looking around at this point, 1979, it is obvious to all of us that the environment in which we must mine, mill, smelt and refine lead and zinc has radically changed. These changes have, of course, occurred over a long period of time. They have, however, all been in the same general direction. They have all had the same motivation. The period of greatest contrast is probably the fifteen years just before World War II and the fifteen years following the end of that war. I thought that I might review briefly with you what seems to me to be four of the more important changes that have developed since World War II that profoundly affect our activities in the lead and zinc industry. I mentioned before that all these changes have been in the same direction; that is, they have all tended to restrict our freedom of action in pursuing our objective of producing lead and zinc on a competitive basis at a profit. Consequently, in discussing them you may think that I am merely viewing with alarm. This is not the intent. This is merely supposed to be an objective analysis. I think it appropriate before discussing these trends in detail to examine the position of lead and zinc today.

Jan 1, 1970