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By Jr. Joyce

This report describes sulfatization of nickeliferous laterites from Puerto Rico and the Philippines for recovery of water-soluble nickel and cobalt sulfates. Temperatures ranging from 665 C to 710 C and a 10-percent sulfur dioxide-air reaction gas were employed during batch-roasting tests and during continuous countercurrent treatment in a 2-inch-diameter shaft furnace. A maximum of 69 percent of the nickel and 76 percent of the cobalt were recovered from one sample of Puerto Rican laterite, and a maximum of 96 percent of the nickel and 91 percent of the cobalt were recovered from the Philippine laterite.

Jan 1, 1965

By Harold N. Miller

Lost time and services caused by electrical equipment breakdown or cable faults can often be substantially reduced by the use of direct-current high-voltage testing as a maintenance tool. This paper discusses the relative merits of alternating-current versus direct-current testing, pointing out the advantages in size and cost of equipment and more definitive results achieved through the use of D.C. General principles of direct-current high-volt-age testing, types of testing, methods of performing the actual test and interpreting the results are explained. ?The value of insulation resistance measurements and their relationship to high-voltage testing is discussed. Pinpointing the physical location of a cable defect using a fault locator or thumper is described. Reference is made to several organizations that have effected considerable savings with high-voltage test programs. Introduction T HE past decades have seen great advances in the field of electrical power distribution and application. Motor generators, power-operated equipment, cables, etc., have all gone through various stages of improvement both in efficiency and reliability. Un-fortunately, however, power failures and equipment breakdown still occur -frequently with disastrous effects in loss of time,

Jan 1, 1965

By A. J. Jacobs

THE purpose of this note is to draw attention to a set of tables, recently compiled in Rocketdyne Research Report No. 64-19, under the title "Crystal-lographic Data for Indexing Cubic Twin Reflections and Cementite (Fe3C) Reflections in Electron Diffraction Patterns."' These tables were an outgrowth of electron-diffraction work conducted over the past several years on steels, precipitation-hardening aluminum- and nickel-base alloys, molybdenum, tantalum, and tantalum-base alloys. The first table lists the indices of possible twin reflections for all the possible twinning planes in bcc and fcc lattices. The twin reflections correspond

Jan 1, 1965

By I. M. Gordon, J. Blackshaw

"Run-of-mine ore is reduced to 4 per cent on 4 mesh (3/ 16 inch), using four stages of dry crushing. The mill feed is then reduced to 2 per cent on 48 mesh and 60 per cent through 200 mesh, using one stage of ball milling in cyanide solution. During the subsequent treatment about one-tenth of the tonnage is removed as a table concentrate and ground to 77 per cent through 325 mesh. The size of the mill tailing is 66 per cent through 200 mesh.Four stages of ore reduction began when the dry crushing plant at No. 26 Shaft came into operation at a maximum rate of 440 tons an hour on July 31, 1941. A detailed description of the crushing plant was published in C .I .M. Trans., Vol. LVI, 1953.One-stage ball milling in cyanide solution came into full operation on January 11, 1938. The ball milling plant had a capacity of 4800 tons daily when reducing mill feed at 2. 7 per cent on 1/ 4 inch to 54. 3 per cent through 200 mesh. Primary grinding to 60 per cent through 200 mesh commenced May 22, 1945, when the feed was 3 per cent on 4 mesh. Under these conditions the capacity of the ball milling plant is estimated at 4300 tons daily. A description of the 11 Hollinger Crushing and Grinding Plant"" by D. C. McLaren was published in the Canadian Mining Journal, June 1944.The concentrate grinding circuit using a 7 x 15 low discharge ball mill and a 19-foot diameter bowl classifier with a 6-inch centrifugal pump to close the circuit began operating in the ball milling plant on October 24, 1939."

Jan 1, 1965

By Walter Kahn

Increasing consideration is being given to simplifying traditional methods of tracing pipelines and maintaining required temperatures of stored fluids. Because of their reduction in capital costs, virtual elimination of maintenance. ease of control and "cleanliness"; interest in electrical techniques has accelerated. 1,2 Resistance cable and other heaters have been given some attention. but less well known in the recent introduction of thermal conductive coatings. This paper is addressed to the use of thermal conductive coatings for heating fluid-transport piping and storage tanks. Emphasis will be given to the simplicity, efficiency, and versatility of design and application which their unique properties further contribute to the general economics of electrical heating.

Jan 1, 1965

By W. I. Duvall, D. E. Stephenson

A theoretical solution is given for the energy that is radiated outward when either a cylindrical or spherical cavity located underground in a uniform stress field is suddenly created or enlarged. The method of derivation shows that the stress field in the solid rock surrounding the opening does work on the rock because of elastic displacements that result when the size of the cavity is increased. The amount of this work is sufficient to account for both the increase in the strain energy in the rock surrounding the opening and the seismic energy that radiates outward. Thus, the source of the radiant seismic energy is mainly the gravitational potential energy and not the strain energy stored in the rock. The amount of the radiant seismic energy is directly proportional to the volume of the rock removed from the opening or relieved of stress. Seismic energies from rockbursts are compared with earthquake energies. Also, the amount of gravitational potential energy released by underground explosions is calculated and found to be small compared to the seismic energy generated by the detonation of the explosive. A review of the early literature on rockbursts shows that a number of investigators calculated the amount of energy released by rockbursts. 1-5 However, none of these papers give the formula used to make these calculations or a reference to the derivation of any formulas. The general impression that one obtains from these early papers is that the main source of the seismic energy released by rock-burst is the strain energy stored in the rock before it is fractured. However, a few of the early papers appear to have considered the solid rock at a distance from the mine opening as a possible source of the seismic energy. Recently Black and starfield7 gave a theoretical solution for the strain energy in a stressed plate with and without a circular hole. Also, Press and Archambeau8 gave the theoretical solution for the seismic energy released when a spherical cavity is created in rock subjected to a three-dimensional stress field. Both of the above theoretical papers start with the condition of no opening and calculate the strain energy before and after the opening is suddenly formed. Neither of these papers appear to have calculated the work done by the applied stress field as the cavity is enlarged. The rockburst problem associated with deep mining is concerned with the failure of the solid rock surrounding an underground opening. Therefore, it seems appropriate to consider theoretically the problem of suddenly enlarging the size of an existing opening. The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical solution for the energy that is available for release as seismic energy when an underground circular tunnel or spherical cavity is suddenly enlarged in diameter. To keep the mathematics as simple as possible, a uniform radial applied stress field is assumed and the rock is assumed to be isotropic, homogeneous and perfectly elastic.

Jan 1, 1965

By R. D. Pehlke, J. V. Gluck

The effect of small additions of silver on the actiziity of zinc in dilute solution with molten bismuth has been determined ill the range 450° to 650°C. Experimental measurements were made in a multi-electrode galvanic cell. All zinc activities showed large positive deviations from Raoult's Law. The results are expressed in terms of the interaction parameter EJ, as defined by Wagner. In the binary Zn-Bi system, Henry's Law was followed at zinc concentrations below 5 mol pct, thus indicating that the binary or self-interaction parameter of zinc in bismuth is essentially zero. The Henry's Law con- THE determination of thermodynamic interaction parameters requires accurate knowledge of solute activities in the dilute-solution region. Dealy and Pehlke1 have summarized the basis for interaction relations, discussed some theoretical implications, and presented a compilation of interaction parameters calculated for molten nonferrous alloys from stant ranged from 2.43 at 650°C to 3.96 at 450°C. The binary zinc activities were consistent with published data for higher zinc concentrations . The ternary interaction parameter ranged from -1.90 at 650°C to -3.30 at 450° C, varying linearly with the reciprocal of the absolute temperature. The negative value for the parameter reflects the fact that addition of silver decreases the activity of zinc in solution with bismuth. data available in the literature. Most of the data were for two-component systems from which only the self-interactions, Ei, could be calculated. Concentration ranges were often such that a considerable extrapolation was required for calculations at lnfinite dilution. The data for ternary systems were quite limited and often unavailable in suitable systematic fashion—thus few values of the parameter e| could be obtained. Knowledge of both the binary and ternary interaction parameters is necessary for the estimation of the activity coefficient of a given dilute solute in

Jan 1, 1965

By Hsun Hu

Based on Kurdjumoiv-Sachs orientation relationship for the fee bee transformation in metals, the jirzal crystal orientation resulting from successive transformations of bee-fee-bee has been analyzed mathematically. There are 528 different variants; many of ther are crystallograpyically equirvalent. Specific examples show that, for equal probability of all the variants, the principal crystallographic axes [100 ], [110], and [111] of the initial bcc crystal can be transformed into vairous axes in the fina1 crystal However, fur each of these principal crystallographic axes, a continuous range of orientation within certain regions of the unit triangle is completely avoided by the finctl Crystals. For uses of higher indices, the final orientations are more uniformly distributed throughout the unit triangle. Results from the PI-esent analysis are in good agreement with preferred Oientations Observed in a zone-meltecl iron bar. THE allotropic forms of iron are characterized by the unusual fact that at both high and low temperatures a bcc structure is stable, whereas at intermediate temperatures (1400" to 910°C) the metal is fcc. Hence, during cooling from its melting temperature, iron undergoes successive phase transformations ofd—? —a with corresponding changes in the crystal structure of bcc — fcc -bcc. while numerous studies have been made in the past of the 1 — a transformation in iron and in various iron-base alloys, no information is available in the literature as to the mechanism of 6 — l transformation and the lattice orientation relationship between these two phases. Experimental difficulties have apparently prevented researchers from undertaking these studies. The laltice orientation relationship between the parent and the new phases of iron resulting from

Jan 1, 1965

By Ralph Hultgren, Prodyot Roy

Manganese vapor pressures from 1250° to 1500°K were measured by conventional Knudsen and torsion-effusion methods in twelve Fe-Mn alloys with compositions from 9 to 80 at. pct Mn. The Knudsen re-sults agveed approximately with previous measurements found in the literature which indicated the solutions were nearly ideal. However, except for the higher manganese compositions, the initial torsion readings indicated much (up to 50 pct) higher vapor presszcres than the Knudsen method. These high readings decreased steadily with time. The results are interpreted as due to depletion of surface concentration of manganese during evaporation. Thus the initial torsion readings are the most nearly correct and Knudsen methods on alloys are to be regarded with suspicion unless it can be demonstrated that diffusion rates are rapid enough to replenish surface concentrations depleted by evaporation. For the lowest manganese contents and highest temperatures, depletion causes initial torsion readings to be too low. FEW thermodynamic data are available for alloys of the high-melting transition metals due primarily to experimental difficulties at the high temperatures involved. Measurement of vapor pressure is one of the most promising techniques to be applied to this problem. From the vapor pressure of a component of an alloy phase, its activity or its partial molar Gibbs energy can be directly calculated. From measurements over a sufficient range of temperatures and compositions the partial and integral Gibbs energies, enthalpies, and entropies may be determined through Gibbs-Duhem integration. For solid phases of variable composition, which commonly are found in alloys, measured vapor pressures are low because of depletion of the surface concentration of the more volatile component as it is selectively vaporized. Diffusion from the interior tends to restore the depleted concentration. The seriousness of the effect depends on the relative rates of diffusion and vaporization. Although depletion has been recognized as a factor,' direct measurements of its rate are lacking and quantitative estimates of its effect on measurements are uncertain. In the present work the vapor pressures above a series of Fe-Mn alloys have been measured by the torsion-effusion method. This method permits a measurement of the vapor pressure of manganese as soon as the sample comes to temperature and continuously throughout the run. The rate of decline of the apparent vapor pressure measures the rate of depletion and the torsion reading at zero time should be correct. At high manganese concentrations (70 and 80 at. pct Mn), the torsion reading remained nearly constant; surface depletion was negligible. There was a slow drop in measured pressure due to bulk loss of manganese from the sample. However, for lower manganese contents, especially at high temperatures, the depletion effect was considerable and the apparent vapor pressure decreased steadily with time. For these alloys the Knudsen method should give pressures which are too low. The measurement of pressure in the Knudsen method cannot be made until enough manganese has been vaporized to be weighable. The Knudsen result is therefore an integrated average between the initial and final vapor pressures. To verify this, conventional Knudsen measurements were also made with results in approximate agreement with previously published Knudsen measurements for these alloys. As expected, for the lower manganese contents the initial torsion readings of pressure were as much as 50 pct higher than the Knudsen. THE APPARATUS The apparatus, shown in Fig. 1, is capable of operating to temperatures up to 2000°K. A vacuum of 5 x 10"6 mm Hg can be maintained. Temperatures were measured to +3° by a W-Re thermocouple placed in the dummy cell, N. The torsion cell consisted of two alumina crucibles with holes in their covers. They were placed in the molybdenum holder shown suspended from the torsion wire. Rectangular torsion wires (1 by 4 mm) were found to have superior sensitivity and less residual distortion than circular (2-mm-diameter) wires. The precision of angular measurement was found to be *0.025 deg; the variation is no doubt due to temperature fluctuation and vibration. For the Knudsen experiments the alumina cell was set on the support, N. SAMPLE PREPARATION 800-g samples were prepared by melting together electrolytic iron and electrolytic manganese and pouring the melt into a water-cooled copper mold. Melting and pouring were done under a helium at-

Jan 1, 1965

By K. Barron

The glass insert stressmeter, or photoelastic stressmeter, is an instrument designed to determine stress changes occurring in rocks. It has several potential advantages over other such devices in that it is a biaxial device, it is simple and it is cheap to make. The object of this study was to assess the behaviour of the meter under biaxial loads and to examine some of the problems associated with measurement and interpretation of the fringe pattern. This assessment has been carried out by comparing theoretical and laboratory behaviour of the meter. It has been shown that: a) There are certain optimum measuring points in the meter at which measurements should be made for best accuracy. The position of the points depends on the ratio, n, of the biaxial stresses. b) The meter&apos;s sensitivity can be assumed to be independent of the rock modulus E provided that the rock modulus is < 2.5 x 106 psi and not, as previous workers have assumed, if E < 5 x 106 psi. c) There are several methods of separating the principal stresses; some of these are unsatisfactory. A new method is proposed and discussed. d) The meter sensitivity decreases as the ratio of the biaxial stresses approaches unity; the accuracy thus also decreases. e) The axes of symmetry of the fringe pattern give an excellent indication of applied stress direction. f) Laboratory calibrations are in good agreement with theory. The glass insert or photoelastic stressmeter is an instrument designed to determine stress changes occurring in rocks. It has several potential advantages over other such devices in that it is a biaxial device, it is simple and it is cheap to make. This stressmeter has been described in detail.l,2 Basically it is a hollow glass cylinder that has at one end a light source and filters producing circularly polarized light. The glass cylinder and source are grouted into a borehole in rock and the face of the cylinder is viewed through a quarter wave plate and an analyser. If, after installation, a stress change occurs in the rock, then a distinct colored isochro-matic fringe pattern is seen in the meter. The fringe order at any point in the meter can be determined by counting the fringes and measuring the fractional fringe orders by the Tardy compensation method. The relation between the fringe order at any point and the applied stress change can be determined either by calculation or by calibration. The object of this study was to assess the behavior of this stressmeter under biaxial loading conditions and to examine some of the problems of interpretation of the fringe pattern. THEORY Hiramatsu et a14 have determined the stress distribution in a hollow cylindrical inclusion in an elastic host material when subject to uniaxial stress. Using this solution, the biaxial case of stress p in the x direction and stress q in the y direction (Fig. 1) can be solved by superposition. This has been done in Appendix 1. It is shown that the principal stress difference (s1 -s2) at any point (r,?) in the cylinder is given by:

Jan 1, 1965

By John W. Thatcher

A demountable X-ray tube vacuum spectrograph was designed by the Bureau of Mines for the determination of long-wavelength X-ray spectra from the light elements. This instrument was operated for both secondary and combined primary-secondary excitation of the aluminum K-series. There was an increased analytical sensitivity for elements in period 3, and an indication that with improved X-ray tubes or direct election excitation of the sample, X-ray determination of elements in period 2 is also possible.

Jan 1, 1965

By M. N. Shetty

LARGE copper whiskers (-100 p) of 11111 orientation were tested in a floor-model Instron testing machine, at liquid nitrogen temperature. (Testing methods will appear elsewhere.) Whiskers deformed by twinning after some initial deformation. A load-elongation curve at the onset of twinning is reproduced in Fig. 1. Twinning was confirmed by taking a back-reflection Laue picture, using a slit colli-mator, which showed distinct splitting of reflections. The tensile stress reached just before twinning is about 1.4 x 107 g per sq cm (-7.0 x106 g per sq cm—resolved shear stress) which drops to 1.2 x107 g per sq cm (-6 x 106 g per sq cm—resolved). This twinning stress is about five to ten times larger than the value for bulk single crystals of copper deformed at 77°K (-106 g per sq cm—resolved). Twinning models based on Cottrell-Bilby&apos;s pole mechanism are discussed in detail by Venables.&apos; In the present work a mechanism based on the idea of failure of a Lomer-Cottrell barrier by recombination will be proposed. An L-C barrier may fail either by recombination or by dissociation.3 Fig. 2 provides the necessary information. It shows that the stress necessary to break such a barrier is about 1.8 x 107 g per sq cm by recombination and 4 x 107 g per sq cm by dissociation at 77°K. The twinning stress reached by whiskers is comparable to the stress level required for failure of an L-C barrier by recombination. (Stroh himself points out that his calculations should not be taken too literally.) We consider a segment of the L-C dislocation which has recombined (AB in Fig. 3) over a length to form the total dislocation which then glides in the

Jan 1, 1965

By T. K. McMahon

Formally, a mathematical model could be defined as: A set of equations whose solution will approximate the response of a physical process or system to a set of stimuli which appear as parameters in the equations. The purpose of a mathematical model is to permit the rationalization of experience to proceed by simulation rather than by physical experimentation. In the application of digital computer control to an industrial process, the mathematical model of the process (subsequently called the process model) is needed to calculate the present process performance from the measured variables and to predict the response of the process to a control change. Functionally, the cardinal element in process model development is a concise set of control objectives. These, besides implicitly defining the boundaries of the system to be modeled, will determine the accuracy demanded of the model its nature: dynamic or steady-state, and so forth, The objectives should explicitly define what process efficiencies, production rates, qualities are to lie within the scope of the computer control project, thereby providing a basis for simplifying assumptions in the development of the model. This requirement, a limited set of control objectives, is so often disregarded in formulating industrial control problems that its repetition can scarcely be avoided.

Jan 1, 1965

By James F. Neill, O&apos

Brown iron ore resources in Barbour, Butler, Crenshaw, and Pike Counties were investigated in a drilling program and geological study by the Federal Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Alabama Geological Survey and the University of Alabama. The aggregate footage drilled was 18,010 linear feet. When developed, reserves of 12,664,000 long tons of crude ore were indicated, containing from 26.9 to 29.0 percent iron and 0.2 to 1.6 percent manganese under a maximum overburden of 40 feet. Total inferred crude ore for the four counties was calculated to be 827,700,000 long tons. Beneficiation of samples by simulated log washing and use of a 1/8-inch screen yielded from 46.8 to 51.7 percent iron and 0.2 to 2.6 percent manganese. Screen-test studies indicated no appreciable interlocking between the iron and manganese minerals and the waste particles of materials retained on a 200-mesh screen. Clay was prominent in micron-size slimes. Silica was deleterious in the minus 20-mesh size. While an indicated 2,198,000 dry long tons of usable iron ore can be recovered, sink-and-float tests show that it may be possible for 4,654,000 dry long tons to be recovered by other than log washing. However, applicable commercial processes have not been demonstrated.

Jan 1, 1965

By Don M. Jackson

The techniques for the growth and controlled, graded doping of silicon epitaxial overgrowth layers were established. Grading of- impurities such as arsenic or boron in arbitrarily chosen profiles oiler four orders of magnitude (from I X 10Lg to 1 X 10L5 cm) was accomplished. The graded structures were grown in a stepwise manner where in the profiles were approximated by growing many separate layers with small doping-level changes between layers. Masked-area growth of silicon through windows in a SiO2 masking film was acconiplished through the simultaneous injection of HCl gas 102th Sic14 in the epitaxial reactor. The HCl served to inhihit the growth of silicon on the Sz02 surface, and also to control the cross-sectional profile of the silicon mesas. silicon from the substrate was etched out through the windows, and then epitaxial material was used to fill the holes hack in to form planar diodes. Simullaneous HCl injection was adapted to control the cross-section profile of the hack-filled regions. Arsenic-huried regions beneath in te- In recent months, the epitaxial growth process in semiconductor materials technology has evolved into a complex system directed at both material improvement for better monolithic integrated-circuit characteristics and the development of new silicon structures for future integrated-circuit needs. The advent of high-temperature HC1 gas etching1 grated-circuit transistors reduced V(SAT) by slightly more than one third, bringing this parame-ter to that of an isolated component transistor. When arsenic was diffused into the starting sub-stvate, it was necessary to remove any excess arsenic in order to avoid excessive audodoping of the subsequent epitaxial layer. Oxide isolation of single-crystal regions in a substrate provided complete electrical isolation of integrated-circuit components, thereby eliminating parasitic capacitance which is inherent in standard integrated-circuit processing. The process involved the etching of deep mesas on silicon Wafers, the formation of an oxide over the mesa surface, and then the deposition of several mils of polycrystalline silicon over the oxide. The original substrate was lapped and polished allay until the mesas were left isolated in the polycrys-talline matrix. The Final components were fabri-cated in the single-crystal islands. Speed and power-handling capabilities of standard circuits were improved through the process. wherein work-damaged material is removed from the surface of the silicon wafer just prior to the silicon deposition step has made it possible to grow silicon films with structural quality that approaches that of the substrate. HBr used in the same volume ratio as HC1 etches silicon at the same rate and with the same results as HC1. Recent developments in epitaxial materials technology have occurred in the areas of precise doping control, buried prediffused regions between over-

Jan 1, 1965

By Stephen Utter

Stresses induced by block-caving mining were estimated from in-place measurements of strain or deformation in rock and concrete around mine openings. The four types of gages used for measurements in the Climax Molybdenum mine during 1959-61 were Whittemore gage, Carlson strain meter,2 Valore strain cell, and Climax extensometer. Gage performance in the laboratory was evaluated by stressing instrumented rock and concrete specimens in a universal testing machine and by comparing measurements taken by the gages and a standard gage. Gage performance in the mine was evaluated by comparing measurements taken during an 18-month test. The Whittemore gage, Carlson strain meter, and the Climax extensometer proved suitable for the investigation; the Valore strain cell, effective in the laboratory tests, gave erratic measurements in the mine.

Jan 1, 1965

By Huey-Lin Luo, T. R. Anantharaman, William Klement

Two new metastable phases have been obtained in Au-Ge alloys by rapid cooling from the melt. One is of the hep structure with near-ideal axial ratio and may be considered a Hume-Rothery phase. The other has a complex tetragonal structure (a = 11.627Å and c = 22.191Å for the Au60Ge40 alloy) and may be looked upon as a superlattice made up of forty-four fee unit cells. Alloys with the tetragonal phase are charactevized by marked preferred orientation. The metastable constitution of the Au-Ge alloys is discussed with reference to the rate of cooling from the melt. THE Au-Ge equilibrium diagram features a rather deep eutectic near 27 at. pet Ge with a maximum solid solubility of 3.2 at. pet Ge in gold and is similar to the Ag-Ge, Ag-Si, and Au-Si diagrams.&apos; The present study of the effects of rapid cooling from the melt on the structure of Au-Ge alloys constitutes an extension of similar investigations2-8 in this laboratory on alloys of noble metals with germanium and silicon. Nonequilibrium hep structures have so far been obtained by quenching Ag-Ge2, 3 and Ag-Si4, 5 alloys from the melt; an Au-Si alloy of approximately eutectic composition has been found6 to solidify in a noncrystalline state. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Twenty-nine alloys prepared from gold of 99.9+ pet and germaium of 99.999 + pet purity were investigated. The method of alloy preparation, the technique of rapid quenching from the melt, and the X-ray diffraction procedures were similar to those described previously.3, 4 Essentially, small sections (-20 mg) of thin alloy rods (-1 mm diam) were rapidly heated up to 1200°C in a graphite crucible under argon and the liquid alloy ejected by a helium blast onto a polished copper strip held on the inner periphery of a rotating wheel. The resulting thin foils were examined with or without the copper substrate in a G.E. X-ray Diffractometer or in a 114.6-cm-diam Debye-Scherrer camera. RESULTS Table I gives the constitution of liquid-quenched Au-Ge alloys, as estimated from intensities of X-ray reflections from the corresponding phases, viz., a (fee solid solution), ß (hep phase), ? (tetragonal phase), and diamond-cubic (dc) germanium. Despite unavoidable variations in the quenching rates, the proportions of the phases in different alloys were generally reproducible and stable at room temperature. There was no evidence of quenching strain, since the a doublets were well-resolved in high-angle Debye-Scherrer reflections in all cases except where stacking faults in the a fee and ß hep structures contributed to X-ray line broadening. The ß and ? metastable phases showed signs of decomposition to the equilibrium a phase and germanium only after a few hours annealing above 100°C. A few alloys around the eutectic composi-

Jan 1, 1965

By Luis F. Morán

El presente texto señala algunos aspectos que comprende el proyecto de San Nicolás desarrollado por Marcona Mining Company. El proyecto señala las facilidades de la mina, transporte, almacenamiento del mineral, plantas chancadoras, lavado y concentración por medio denso, concentración magnética, instalaciones para almacenar productos comerciales, formación de pellets verdes, endurecimiento, terminado y control del proceso.

Jan 1, 1965

By Arnulf Muan, D. P. Masse

PHASE relations in the system CoO-SiO2 have been determined as a basis for further investigations of thermodynamic properties of olivine solid solutions involving Co2SiO4 as a component. Previous data on the system CoO-SiO2 are incomplete or uncertain. Biltz and Lemke1 determined the melting point of cobalt orthosilicate as 1345°C , but Asanti and Kohlmeyer2 have later found a considerably higher temperature, 1420°C. The latter authors also studied melting relations of one mixture on the CO side and two mixtures on the SiO2 side of the orthosilicate composition and sketched a tentative phase diagram for a limited composition range of the system. However, no phase identification was carried out, and the authors left unanswered the question of the possible existence of a stable meta-silicate phase. Greig3 showed that a 90 wt pct SiO2-10 wt pct Co mixture at 1725°C consists of two immiscible liquid phases. The quenching technique was used in the present investigation. Mixtures of high-purity cobalt oxide ("Fisher Certified") and dehydrated silicic acid ("Baker Analyzed") were equilibrated in air atmosphere. The samples were then quenched to room temperature and the phases present were identified by microscopic and X-ray examination. The samples were kept in small envelopes made from thin (0.0004 in.) platinum foil. Thermodynamic data which have become available recently for Pt-Co alloys4 were used to check that the losses of COO from the oxide samples by alloying of cobalt with platinum in the present investigation were too small to change significantly the compositions of the oxide material during the equilibration. A vertical tube furnace with an 80 pct Pt 20 pct Rh resistance winding was used in runs up to 1510°C. Temperatures in these runs were measured with a Pt vs 90 pct Pt 10 pct Rh thermocouple calibrated against the melting point of diopside (CaMgSi2O6, 1391.5?C). The given temperatures as measured by this technique are estimated to be accurate to *5°C. Quench runs at temperatures above 1650°C were made with a modified Roberts and Morey5 strip furnace, using strip resistors composed of a 60 pct Pt-40 pct Rh alloy. Temperatures were measured with an optical pyrometer which was calibrated against the liquidus temperature of a mixture composed of 10 wt pct CaO, 90 wt pct SiO2 (1707°C). The temperatures measured with this technique have an estimated accuracy of +15°C. The results are shown graphically in Fig. 1. Only one intermediate phase, the orthosilicate Co2SiO4 with olivine-type structure, is stable in addition to the end members cobalt oxide and silica. The melting point of the orthosilicate was found to be 1415" ± 5°C. The metastilicate CoSiO3 is not stable at the temperatures of the present investigation. The two eutectic points in the system CoO-SiO2 where COO plus olivine, and olivine plus silica, coexist with liquid were found to be 72 wt pct COO and 1407°C and 63 wt pct COO and 1381°C, respectively. The melting point of cobalt oxide in air was taken as 1745?C, based on the previous data of Aukrust and Muan.6 Within limits of error (+ 5?C), identical eutectic temperatures to those determined in air were found when two representative mixtures were equilibrated at 1 atm O2 pressure and in an atmosphere of 84 vol pct CO2, 16 vol pct H2. This suggests that changes in oxidation state of cobalt in the condensed phases are not significant as far as their effect on the phase relations are concerned. This inference was substantiated by failure to detect7 any "excess oxygen" (i.e., oxygen in excess of that contained in Co2SiO4) in a sample of orthosilicate composition equilibrated in air 10°C above the liquidus temperature and subsequently quenched to room temperature. This work was carried out as part of a research program sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under Contract No. AT(30-1)-2781.

Jan 1, 1965

By I. R. Kramer, H. Shen, S. E. Podlaseck

The tensile and creep properties of aluminum in vacuum have been investigated. It was found that the general effect of a vacuum environment was to reduce the rate of work hardening. Results obtained from creep tests showed that lowering the test pressure from 2 x 10-4 to 10-7 torr produced a decrease in the activation energy as much as 500 cal per mole. An attempt is made to explain these effects in terms of how the surface-stress field of a specimen may be affected by a vacuum environment during plastic deformation. In a previous paper,&apos; the results were reported of some of our early work on the effect of vacuum environment on the stress-strain curve of aluminum single crystals. This effort has been extended to the studies of the tensile and creep properties in vacuum as a function of various metallurgical parameters. Some of the recent surface-effect studies2&apos;3 have revealed that a region of high dislocation density, the so-called "debris" layer, is formed near the surface of the specimen as a result of plastic deformation. This layer acts as a surface barrier to oppose dislocation movement. The strength of this barrier depends on the surface condition such as oxidation or surface removal. Experimental results obtained from surface-removal work2, 3 indicate that such a surface barrier, which may be characterized by a stress field, affects the applied stress and the rate of work hardening. In the case of aluminum, this stress field was found to be directly proportional to the strain and the strain rate; however, the slope of this curve is independent of orientation of the crystal and may be altered by using different surface treatment. Since the escape of dislocations may be retarded by the presence of an oxide on the surface of a specimen, it is expected that a change in the rate of oxidation in vacuum will affect the process of dislocation accumulation in the debris layer. Consequently, it also affects the plastic behavior of a metal. This paper reports the changes in some of the creep and tensile properties of aluminum in vacuum and discussions of the observed effects in terms of the concept of the "debris" layer. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Tensile Tests. A sketch of the tensile apparatus is given in Fig. 1. This apparatus was contained in a bell jar (14 in. diam by 24 in. high) connected to a 10-in. vacuum system. The load was applied to the specimen by means of a gear train which was driven by a magnetic clutch located outside the vacuum chamber. The specimen, held by a pair of square shoulder grips, was attached to the load cell at the top and the drive gear at the bottom. A displacement transducer was placed between the two grips as shown in the figure to measure the elongation. Signals of elongation and load were amplified and recorded on an X-Y recorder. The system was capable of detecting loads as small as 0.025 lb and displacements of 0.0002 in. Shoulder-grip specimens of aluminum single crystals, having a nominal square cross section of 1/8 by 1/8 in. and a 3-1/2-in, gage length, were grown by the Bridgeman techniques. The original purity was 99.997 pet. The orientations of the crystals investigated are shown in Fig. 4(a). The crystals were annealed at 600°C for 2-1/2 hr, electropolished, and placed in the vacuum test chamber without any delay. All the crystals were deformed at a strain rate of 4 x 10-5 sec-1 at 24o ± 3°C. A study was made to find whether a chemically passive surface film would give the same effect as a vacuum environment. Specimens of aluminum 1100 (0.187 in. diam with a grain size of 0.1 mm)

Jan 1, 1965