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Jan 1, 1924

By W. C. Kerr

WHEN Agassiz and his party of geologists commenced their exploration of the interior of Brazil and the Amazon region, one of the first and, to the last, one of the most novel and striking phenomena which met them everywhere was the great depth of decomposed or partially decayed rock in situ, which mantles, and for the most part conceals, the underlying strata. The same facts strike all geological observers from the North who happen to penetrate the middle and southern latitudes of the Atlantic States. In North Carolina, e. g., the entire middle and western regions, outside of the Quaternary clays, sands, and gravels of the East,-that is, all that portion of the State occupied by the Arch can and Mesozoic rocks,-show everywhere this peculiarity, so new to those accustomed to glaciated surfaces. Not only do the hills and slopes, the mountain chains and

Jan 1, 1880

By L. L. French

Jan 1, 1977

By J. B. Mackintosh

The general method which has been followed since the time of Heinrich Rose, and perhaps before, for the determination of phosphorus in iron and steel, is to dissolve the sample either in nitric acid, aqua regia, or some other oxidizing agent, in order to convert the phosphorus into phosphoric acid. In 1832 Rose* recommends HNO3, or aqua regia, preferably the former. Wohler, in 1854,† directs that the iron should be oxidized by burning in a stream of oxygen for the determination of carbon, and the resulting oxide of iron containing all the phosphorus as phosphoric acid be treated as an ore. In the fourth English edition of Fresenius' Quantitative Analysis,† pp. 666-667, we find directions to dissolve the iron in aqua regia or bromine; and, coming down to more recent times, we find F. A. Cairns § directing the employment of a boiling solution of potassium chlorate and hydrochloric acid for the oxidation and solution of the sample to be analyzed. It is unnecessary to multiply quotations from the literature of the subject, though they might be extended almost inclefinitely, since it would only be a repetition of the above mentioned series of methods in one form or another; and the references given have been selected to show how little essential variation there is in the type-methods of solution used. In fact it seems to be universally accepted as a necessary first step in the determination that some such method of solution should be followed. One chemist, however, struck out on a different line of thought, and to the Lest of my knowledge only one, M. V. Tantin, who, in

Jan 1, 1886

By Merle L. Bowser, Lawrence W. Scott, John N. Murphy

The environmental status of underground mining operations is critical to the health and safety of the miners; particularly in a large mine, the multitude of interacting parameters that can favorably or adversely affect the environmental status makes the manpower requirement of the routine checking of specific areas and conditions a formidable one. While the concept of environmental monitoring for miners has been considered for some time, until recently the availability of sensors to reliably measure the parameters of interest severely limited the utility of such systems. The status of sensors for mine use and the evaluation of environmental monitoring systems is reviewed.

Jan 9, 1979

By Joseph C. Platt

IT is not the object of the present paper to give a description of the minerals found on Mine Hill, in Sussex County, N. J., nor even to touch upon all the forms of the ores named, but to place upon record and call to the attention of the Institute some interesting facts concerning them. In May, 1875, after the Dover meeting, some of the members visited this locality, and, no doubt, it is fresh in their memories, being one of the best known mineralogical points in our country. It will be only necessary to describe it very briefly. Mine Hill and Stirling Hill, in Sussex County, N. J., the former being at the village of Franklin Furnace, and the latter near Ogdensburg,-are the only localities in the State where zinc ores are found in workable quantities.* Mine Hill is the more northerly, and mineralogically differs from its neighbor, chiefly in having no hydrated ores to speak of, while at Stirling this deposit is considerable. At both points Franklinite, red oxide, and silicate of zinc occur in large quantities. Mine Hill lies on the east side of the Wallkill River, above which it rises to an extreme elevation of about 150 feet. On the summit the outcrop of the Franklinite vein appears, while the lowest worked points are perhaps 10 or 15 feet above the level of the stream. Corn¬mencing at the northern end, where the Hamburg Road crosses it, this outcrop runs along the northwestern brow of the hill a distance of about 2000 feet, in a general southwest direction, to a point where is a large, cavern-like opening, called the "Southwest Opening." " Double Rock," about the highest point on the hill, lies near the middle of this 2000 feet of outcrop, and over or near it passes a property line, to which allusion will hereafter be made. At the Southwest Opening the vein bends abruptly towards the east,-the angle between the two parts being perhaps 45°,-and this easterly branch continues some 700 feet. From the northern part of the Stirling Hill deposit to the southern part of the Mine Hill deposit is about two miles, and in this interval the vein carrying Franklinite * See New Jersey State Geology, 1868, p. 669.

Jan 1, 1877

By W. E. C. Coxe

MANY of you who are interested in the manufacture of iron and steel, have no doubt heard of the "Wheeler process for combining iron and steel." Mr. Wheeler has formed a company, styled the "Combination Trust Company," whose business is to grant licenses for the use of this patent process in producing what he calls "iron-clad steel." It has been proposed to apply it in the manufacture of car or wagon axles, also to shafting, having steel cores or centres covered with iron; to tubes of steel with an inner and outer skin of iron ; to structural purposes, such as girders and beams; bridge and tie-bolts, where the strength of the iron and the rigidity of the steel would be desirable. In answer to a request from Mr. Wheeler, permission was accorded him to make some experiments at the rolling mill of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, at Reading, Pennsylvania, with a view to manufacturing some steel-headed rails. In making this kind of a rail two difficulties are encountered. If the iron is brought to the requisite heat to weld properly, the steel is likely to be burned ; if the steel is cared for, to prevent burning, the several layers of iron are not brought up to the proper welding heat. Mr. Wheeler claimed that the steel slab covered with iron which be furnished for the head of the rail could not be injured by any heat to which it might be subjected in the ordinary course of heating the rail-pile. He claimed, also, that by this method the porosity, which he thought was characteristic of all solid rails of Bessemer steel, would be overcome. Four steel slabs were furnished for this experiment, being Bessemer steel of .61 carbon, made at the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, and covered with iron in one of the Pittsburgh mills. The slabs were in section seven inches wide by three inches thick, and the iron covering was one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch thick. Each slab was placed on a pile of iron made up in the ordinary way for a rail fifty-six pounds per yard and thirty feet long. The heating was under the personal direction of Mr. Wheeler, and

Jan 1, 1879

By John V. Beall

One Sunday night last month the phone rang and it was George Schenck from Penn State. How would we like to see a big scrap operation, he wanted to know. A few days later we were on the Connecticut turnpike headed for New Haven to visit a large scrap operation, M. Schiavone and Sons. George had a large clam basket in the back which he explained was for collecting trophies. The car shredder, he said, turns out some fancy metal shapes. In fact, they have gained a certain acceptance as objets d’art among George's friends and relatives. He thinks there may be a small, but possibly lucrative secondary market for shredded cars in the art world if the idea is imaginatively promoted. On the way to New Haven we received a briefing on the scrap industry. The scrap business grew from humble beginnings. Mostly it was started by a few immigrant Jews who collected junk in hand- or horse-drawn carts. The fortunate one might even have had a truck. Before proceeding further, we hasten to point out that the word "junk" is strictly taboo among scrap people, who prefer to refer to their industry as the "secondary metals industry."

Jan 1, 1970

VITRIOL is likewise a mineral substance from whose exhalation, according to the opinion of some, are generated and produced the elemental materials or substances which produce metals, particularly gold. It is not a fumosity from metal nor is it a thing from which metal is extracted in any manner, although it shows in certain ways that it is not entirely without metal since it produces a certain trace of it. It is a thing that has a great resemblance to alum; it has a biting substance, is sharp to the taste and pungent to the tongue, and has an astringent nature. It dissolves in water and every damp place in a short time. They say that the reason for this lies, as with every other mineral, in its poorly joined watery substances. Nor does this mean that it does not contain much earthiness; on the contrary it seems to me that there are in it five. [2.9v] different participating qualities, that is, the property of sulphur, the action of alum, the corrosion of niter or of salt, and from the metals, the properties of copper and of iron. Its ore is mined in the valleys of mountains in wild but not too rugged places. It is more a gray earth or soft dead rock than a hard stone. It always has in it some yellow and green spots or near it is some sulphur mineral, either large or small.. When it is beneath the earth it exhales a sharp and very strong foul odor of scorching similar to that of sulphur. And the waters that rise where it is are all foul, earthy, and thick, some boiling with great fumes and others without great fumes, so that they surely appear to be infernal products in many places where there is a large quantity of it. After you have excavated and sorted well the quantity you wish, the ore must be put in a heap in open airy places before the vitriol can be extracted from this soil or ore, however you wish to call it. And it is left thus exposed to the weathering of the rains, the cold, and the sun for five or six months. It must be turned several times in order to bring to the surface that which was underneath; and always when this is done it is broken small with the eye of a mattock so that it is better heated and baked throughout. When it has been brought to this point it is covered over by a shed built above it or it is carried under a hut that has already been made. Here it is left to stand for another six or eight months before it is worked.

Jan 1, 1942

JAMES E. HOWARD,* Washington, D. C. (written discussion?). -Mr. Comstock, in his classification of the possible causes of transverse fissures, has not quite caught the point of view of the writer. It appears, following the trend of thought in Mr. Comstock's paper, that three groups instead of two might bee enumerated, namely: Fatigue of the steel, quality or, preferably, grade of steel, and mill practice. All steels are liable to failure by fatigue. Stresses that are capable of causing fatigue fractures are modified in their magnitude by the grade of steel acted upon. Mill practice is a term having a very wide meaning and in its relations to the development of transverse fissures has been used with such vagueness as to include many known factors and some that are unknown in the arts. According to the grade of steel employed, fatigue fractures may be accomplished by loads of greater or less magnitude, hence there is a relation between quality, or grade, of steel and the display of fatigue fractures. Mill practice of such an order as to affect the formation of transverse fissures must be shown to exert an influence on the ability of the steel to endure repeated stresses. Different grades of steel are selected for different purposes. Steel employed for fire-box purposes is of different grade from that used for cutting tools; although each grade is suitable for its purpose, and therefore of good quality. It is conceivable that a demand might be made for steel of physical properties in excess of those of any known grade. Under such a demand, impossible of' fulfillment, it would not be proper to refer to the steels as being deficient in quality; to do so would be a failure to recognize that all steels have their limitations in strength. Service conditions peculiar to rails admit of successive advance until the conditions can no longer-be met. The failure of a large number of rails from one type of failure, when all known means of averting the failure have been employed without success, is sufficient evidence that the end is close at hand. Iron rails, for a time, successfully met the requirements of railway service but weight of equipment, motive power, and rolling stock were increased, necessitating the use of steel. The early steel rails enjoyed the reputation of being of excellent quality, although: neither chemically nor structurally would they be so regarded ,lit the present time. They did good service in their day and under the conditions then prevailing were good rails. To meet the increased weight of rolling stock there has been

Jan 3, 1919

By S. Gilbert, G. R. Bailey

A further evaluation of the bomb-sampling method for determining the oxygen content of liquid steel is presented. The results of this study and their close agreement with the results of an earlier evaluation confirm the conclusion that the bomb-sampling method is valid for obtaining representative samples for the determination of the oxygen content of a liquid steel bath. WHAT constitutes the most desirable procedure for obtaining a sample suitable for determining the oxygen content of a liquid steel bath has been a controversial subject for several years. In 1952 Huff, Bailey, and Richards' described a modification of the bomb-sampling technique originated by McCutcheon and Rautio.' In both the modified and original techniques, a small cast-iron or steel mold containing aluminum wire and appropriately covered is inserted into the furnace, coated with slag, and then plunged into the metal bath. Upon entering the metal, the cover melts and a sample of the steel bath enters the mold. The data presented by Huff, Bailey, and Richards' indicated that reproducible samples could be obtained by their method. Furthermore, the oxygen analyses from samples obtained by their method agreed better with those from controlled laboratory experiments than did analyses from samples obtained by methods previously suggested for sampling large liquid-metal baths. Most techniques, other than bomb-sampling, require that a sample of liquid steel be removed from the furnace in a well slagged spoon and poured into an iron mold containing aluminum or into a massive copper mold for rapid chilling. Pouring in this manner requires that the sample pass through the air. The controversy, then, is somewhat as follows: Proponents of the spoon-sampling method and similar dip-and-pour methods feel that the introduction of a cold steel mold into a molten steel bath may result in a localized boiling condition that may deplete the steel of oxygen to a significant degree in the area where the bomb is introduced. Conceivably this boil could cause results that are, on the average, too low and nonrepresentative of the bath composition. On the other hand, samples that are spooned and then poured through the air may also be nonrepresentative because of oxidation by the atmosphere. The restrictions imposed in sampling with a spoon are much more stringent than those imposed when sampling with the bomb-type mold within the furnace. The spoon sample must be taken in a well slagged spoon, a requirement that depends on the condition of the slag in the furnace. Also, the samples must be poured as quickly as possible, without shaking the spoon and without allowing slag to enter the mold. The necessity of fulfill-

Jan 1, 1955

By A. A. Terchick, J. C. Anderson, D. T. King

During 1972-1973, U.S. Steel acquired an existing southern West Virginia high volatile coal mine property including a 150 tph heavy media feldspar jig preparation plant. Expansion of production from the property required an increase in plant capacity to 300 tph, replacement of the feldspar jig with a hydrocyclone circuit, and inclusion of a water clarification thickener system. The rugged and restrictive nature of the terrain adjacent to the plant facility indicated prohibitive construction costs and severe site congestion would be encountered if a conventional water clarification thickener were installed. A high-loading, small-volume thickener, developed initially for the sugar beet industry by the Enviro-Clear Co. of New York, was investigated by U.S. Steel Research for possible coal preparation application, utilizing bench scale and small scale pilot plant evaluation methods. Results of testing at existing U.S. Steel preparation plants indicated predictable successful application of the Enviro-Clear thickener, so a 35-ft-diam unit was installed. The two-phase thickener system, utilizing presettled bottom sludge as a filter-clarification media, has successfully performed since commissioning in April 1973, producing clarified water competitive with conventional thickener systems with freedom from usual thickener operational problems.

Jan 1, 1976

By John Hays Hammoud

At the Annual Business Meeting of the Institute, held February 19, 1907, the following persons were elected Council. President of the Council, John Hays Hammond, New York, N. Y. Vice-Presidents (for two years), Samuel B. Christy, Berkeley, Cal. ; John A. Church, New York, N. Y.; Persifor Frazer, Philadelphia, Pa. Councilors (for three years), B. F. Fackenthal, Jr., Easton, Pa.; H. 0. Hofman, Boston, Mass.; Walter Renton Ingalls, New York, N. Y. Secretary. of the Council (for one year), Rossiter W. Raymond, New York, N.Y.

Mar 1, 1907

By AIME AIME

The Following List Comprises The Names Of Those Persons Elected As Members Or Associates, Who Accepted Election During May And June, 1908 MEMBERS. William H. Bainbridge Searchlight, Nev. William N. Brown, . Gainesville, Va. Willis S. Caypless, .. . . . . Denver, Colo. William B. Clark, Baltimore, Md.

Jan 7, 1908

By J. M. Gaines, C. H. Herty

It is a matter of frequent record in the literature that manganese will desulfurize molten iron under proper conditions. Particularly has much been written with regard to this action in the mixer, and numerous reports have been published describing experiments in which advantage was taken of this phenomenon in order to obtain a purer iron for the open hearth. The question of sulfur elimination in the ladle has, however, received comparatively little attention. The reaction by which sulfur is removed is considered to be: FeS + Mn = MnS + Fe. The manganese sulfide, being but sparingly soluble in the iron, and of a lower density, will rise from the body of the metal and collect as a slag on the surface. It is therefore an action taking place solely in the metal, and independent of interaction between slag and metal. As will be shown later the presence of slag on the metal tends to offset the effect of manganese elimination. It is this fact which distinguishes desulfuriza-tion in the ladle from desulfurization in the mixer, for it has been shown1 that the amount of sulfur eliminated in the mixer is closely tied up with the composition of the slag. Experimental Procedure In order to ascertain the extent of and the factors controlling this elimination in the ladle, several casts were sampled carefully at the blast furnace and again when the ladles were being emptied, either at the mixer, open hearth, or foundry. If the sulfur content varied from ladle to ladle at the blast furnace the average sulfur content of each ladle was obtained by integrating the curve "sulfur vs. time " for the cast under

Jan 1, 1927

By R. S. Dean

JUST as the mineralogical name bauxite has come to include several minerals not known at the time the name was first applied, so the concept of bauxite as the one source of alumina must be enlarged during the war period to include the production of alumina from other, low-grade sources. Speaking in a narrow mineral logical sense, there is no such thing as bauxite, and similarly there is now no one source of alumina, and no one process for its extraction.

Jan 1, 1943

By Howard R. Hughes

In drilling for water and oil to reasonable depths through the generally soft yielding clay and sand formation of the Coastal Plain of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the rotating method of drilling was adopted, principally on account of the easy and quick penetration, and the low cost of the drilling plant. In favorable ground, free of heavy gravel and rock strata, as much as 1,600 ft. has been drilled in less than 36 hr., although such performances were of course rare. Hydraulic rotary drilling, or, as it is now called, rotary drilling, was used in the above States as early as 1880. The plant consisted of an ordinary derrick, a 25-h.p. boiler, a small hoist, a steam pump, and a water swivel with hose attachment, and an ordinary flat diamond-pointed bit. The successful drilling in of a phenomenal oil well by this process on Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1901, and the ascertained impracticability of drilling subsequent wells in the same locality by other methods (owing principally to heavy quicksand under pressure from below), brought rotary drilling into great prominence, practically to the exclusion of any other process throughout the Coastal Plain, and later on elsewhere. The method, as its name implies, involves the rotation of a pipe by means of machinery placed on the derrick floor. A drill bit attached to the lower end cuts a clearance for the drill pipe, with much the same motion and effect as an auger. Water forced through the drill pipe by means of a pump, and escaping through the bit, removes the cuttings and returns to the surface outside the drill pipe. In this manner the hole is kept open, permitting the drill stem to rotate freely. The pressure of the column of muddy water holds up the walls of the hole until it has been cased. Practically all the wells of the Gulf coast region, numbering nearly 10,000, have been drilled with this system. During the last five years its use has been extended to many other States and countries.

Jan 1, 1915

By M.A. Hunter

This paper gives the results of an investigation of the specific resistance and temperature coefficient of the electrical resistance of nickel and its important alloy, monel metal. For most of the pure metals, the temperature coefficient of resistance is approximately 0.004 per degree centigrade at 20" C. Nickel and iron, however, are exceptions. This property is important as it gives us good material for the construction of thermometers and other instruments involving electrical control. A summary of information on this subject has been publishcd by the Bureau of Standards.l The present experiments antedate this publication by several years and as the information obtained is not contained in it, the results of the experiments arc published as additional information. Electrical Properties of Pure Nickel It is generally conceded that the lowest values for electrical resistance are obtained in the purest metal. In the case of nickel, the best material obtainable is electrolytic nickel, which contains approximately 99.80 per cent. nickel, 0.15 per cent. iron, and 0.05 per cent. copper. Any cobalt that may be present is included in the nickel figure. If the elcctrolStic sheet has been deposited without intermission, it is possible to cut a section from the sheet and roll it into wire without melting. By this means a nickel wire may be obtained that is uncontaminated by any of the impurities always taken up by nickel during melting. Two samples of nickel wire obtained from different electrolytic nickels had the follolving electrical resistance and temperature coefficient of electrical resistance: Specific Temp. CofEE. Sample MateRial ReSISTance peR Deg. C. NO. 1 Electrolytic nickel.................... 7.55 0.00550 NO. 2 Electrolytic nickcl ................... 7.60 0.00553 * Rensselacr Polytechnic Institute. Director of Research, Driver-Harris Co. Russell Sage Laboratory, Rensselaer Polyt,ecllnic Institute. 1 U. S. Bureau of Standards, Circular 100 (March, 1921).

Jan 1, 1923

By M. A. Hunter

This paper gives the results of an investigation of the specific resistance and temperature coefficient of the electrical resistance of nickel and its important alloy, monel metal. For most of the pure metals, the temperature coefficient of resistance is approximately 0.004 per degree centigrade at 20" C. Nickel and iron, however, are exceptions. This property is important as it gives us good material for the construction of thermometers and other instruments involving electrical control. A summary of information on this subject has been publishcd by the Bureau of Standards.l The present experiments antedate this publication by several years and as the information obtained is not contained in it, the results of the experiments arc published as additional information. Electrical Properties of Pure Nickel It is generally conceded that the lowest values for electrical resistance are obtained in the purest metal. In the case of nickel, the best material obtainable is electrolytic nickel, which contains approximately 99.80 per cent. nickel, 0.15 per cent. iron, and 0.05 per cent. copper. Any cobalt that may be present is included in the nickel figure. If the elcctrolStic sheet has been deposited without intermission, it is possible to cut a section from the sheet and roll it into wire without melting. By this means a nickel wire may be obtained that is uncontaminated by any of the impurities always taken up by nickel during melting. Two samples of nickel wire obtained from different electrolytic nickels had the follolving electrical resistance and temperature coefficient of electrical resistance: Specific Temp. CofEE. Sample MateRial ReSISTance peR Deg. C. NO. 1 Electrolytic nickel.................... 7.55 0.00550 NO. 2 Electrolytic nickcl ................... 7.60 0.00553 * Rensselacr Polytechnic Institute. Director of Research, Driver-Harris Co. Russell Sage Laboratory, Rensselaer Polyt,ecllnic Institute. 1 U. S. Bureau of Standards, Circular 100 (March, 1921).

Jan 1, 1923

THE strike of the coal miners began on April 1, as had been expected, the entire force of unionized miners-both anthracite and bituminous-going out and making this the most widespread strike of record. Up to the present writing there has been no serious inconvenience to industry in general, the accu-mulated stocks of coal being large and the non-union mines having continued to make a substantial production. However, the union labor leaders, having concentrated their efforts toward inducing the non-union miners to go out also, met with some measure of success in certain fields and created a shortage of coking coal, which caused iron makers to bank a few furnaces. The strike of textile workers in New England spread further. Here and there, throughout the country there were sporadic troubles with the builders. Rail-way labor was the subject of continued palavers, which did not get anywhere. On the whole the events of April were in line with the forecast that this would be a year of labor troubles. In domestic politics, the soldier bonus bill, having been passed by the House, went to committee consider-ation in the Senate. Public opposition to it manifestly waxed. On the floor of the Senate the tariff bill was under consideration and is drawing nigh to passage, without there being much consideration of its probable economic consequences. It is going to be a very high tariff and there is much in it that is equivalent to subsidizing small and normally unprofitable industries at the expense of the people as a whole. Abroad affairs were more quiet, superficially at least; than they were in March. In Egypt, India and South Africa things calmed, down, so far as we know, but in Ireland there was continued turmoil. The Irish, having won their freedom to the same degree as the Canadians, have entered upon violent quarrels among themselves, more over phrases than anything .else, so far as we can see. Lloyd George obtained a spectacular vote of confidence from Parliament and thus postponed, the exigency of a general election.

Jan 5, 1922