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By L. W. Pommier, F. B. Brien, A. K. Bhasin

The diflerential movement of solid particles through solid-liquid suspensions is very important to many branches of engineering. The flow of suspensions around immersed bodies is mainly of a turbulent nature. Problems are encountered when attempts are made, as is the general practice, to extrapolate the velocity and resistance relationships of Newton, pertaining to Newtonian systems, into non-Newtonian solid-liquid suspensions. The conventional velocity and resistance relationships for turbulent flow in fluids when applied to suspensions, do not take into consideration the two very important variables: suspension particle size and solid volume fraction. A study of the effect of suspension particle size (dgb) on the velocity of falling balls leads to the concept of a critical particle size (dgc) at which the suspensions will be Newtonian. This leads to the classification of static suspensions into two types: suspensions consisting of particle of diameter dgh > dgt, and those with dgh, < dgr. Separate velocity and resistance equations for these two types of suspensions have been proposed, taking into account both the solid particle size and solid volume fraction. The agreement between the velocities predicted from the proposed equations and the measured velocities, confirms their validity. The resistance force offered by suspensions to the movement of immersed bodies has been calculated from the proposed equations, and the effects of suspension particle size and solid volume fraction on the resistance force and velocity have been examined. The movement of immersed bodies in solid-liquid suspensions is of great importance in many areas of engineering such as minerals processing, oil well drilling, suspension flow in pipelines, and hydrometallurgy. A number of mineral dressing processes deal essentially with the movement of solids in suspensions—in particular, classification, thickening, filtration, ore washing, and gravity concentration—thus a study of the fluid characteristics of suspensions is of theoretical and practical interest.&apos; A rigorous analysis of the mechanisms of momentum transport of a solid-liquid system is complex indeed. The rheological properties of the suspensions deviate from those of liquids, varying, for example, with density, solid volume fraction, size and shape of the solid phase of the suspension, and with the density and viscosity of the liquid phase. The flow of suspensions around immersed bodies is mainly of a turbulent nature and hence studies of the turbulent flow characteristics of suspensions are of par- ticular importance. Problems are encountered when attempts are made to extrapolate the velocity and resistance relationships of Newton, pertaining to Newtonian systems, into non-Newtonian solid-liquid suspensions. Due to the numerous variables present in a suspension, certain limitations and assumptions become necessary in order to produce quantitative relationships for predicting their effects. The solid particle size and the solid volume fraction are two of the more important variables. By comparing the measured and calculated Newtonian velocities of falling balls in simple static suspensions, the existing velocity and resistance relationships have been modified to take these variables into account. In order to keep the study less complex, all other variables such as the characteristics of suspending liquid and shape of the particle are maintained constant. Objective The objective of the present investigation is to modify the Newtonian velocity and resistance equations in order to take into account the suspension particle size and solid volume fraction. Theory Liquids are classified on the basis of viscosity, which may be defined as the relationship between applied shear stress and resulting rate of shear.&apos; pure single-phase fluids composed of small light molecules behave as Newtonian liquids, having a single viscosity pa-

Jan 1, 1971

By John C. Branner

Stratigraphic Position of the Deposits.—During the progress of the geological survey of Arkansas, in the northern part of that State, it was found that the interval between recognizable Lower Silurian rocks below and recognizable Lower Carboniferous rocks above contains no representatives, or but poor representatives, of the whole Upper Silurian and Devonian series. In some places one passes in the space of a foot from Lower Silurian rocks to the Lower Carboniferous—the Boone chert of the Arkansas survey, or the " Burlington " beds; at other places this interval is 3 or 4 feet thick, but it is generally concealed by the ready decay of the black shale—the Eureka shale—which fills it, so that for a long time it was passed over undetected. It was only after considerable work in the region lying north of the Boston mountains, and by the valuable palzeontologic work of Dr. Henry S. Williams, of Yale University, who kindly accompanied me on a trip through this part of the State, that the importance of this interval came to be recognized, and the thin beds occupying it to be critically studied. It then appeared that this interval was occupied, for the most part, either by a greenish or black shale or by a sandstone; and eventually the sandstone was found to have a maximum thickness of 40 feet on South Sylamore creek in 15 N. 11 W., Section 21. It was, therefore, called Sylamore sandstone. The shale of this interval is generally from 3 to 10 feet thick; it is a constant feature of the geology through Carroll county, and is well exposed in the streets and cuts in and about Eureka Springe, and was for this reason named the Eureka shale. Its maximum thickness is 50 feet in the northwestern part of Benton county. The relations to each other of the Sylamore sandstone and the Eureka shale I have never determined satisfactorily; for

Jan 1, 1897

By I. M. Roberts

THE war emergency has affected every phase of industry. The gas and coke-oven companies have sought faithfully to discharge their responsibility in this critical period and have willingly modified their operations where possible to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. Our company made commitments for blast-furnace coke for war purposes which necessitated a reduction in coking time in order to produce the amount required to. meet the new demands. At the same time there were certain customers of long standing, who had been supplied with foundry and egg-sized coke produced on fairly long coking periods, who also were engaged in war work and whose patronage we desired to retain. Coke produced on short coking rates from the coal mixture we were then using would not have been satisfactory for these customers. The average width of our ovens is 19 ¾ in., which is a little wider than the more modern ovens of the present day. They were originally designed to give somewhat cool tops in order to produce a rich gas. This necessitates carrying the heats a little on the warm side so that the tops will be fully carbonized. A reduction in coking time, as is generally known, is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of the coke produced. This is due to the greater shrinkage that takes place at the higher temperatures required to carbonize the charges in a shorter time. The net result is that the coke is more cross fractured and longitudinally fractured and breaks up into small sizes on handling. The cokes produced from the better coking coals seem to be more susceptible to fracture at high temperatures than those from poorer coking coals. A coal mixture that produces a beautiful foundry-sized coke at 30 to 36 hr. may yield a product at 18 hr. that would be so badly fractured as to be unsatisfactory for foundry practice. COKING CHARACTERISTICS OF COALS Our problem was to find some economical innovation and develop a method that would enable us to reduce the coking time and still produce a coke satisfactory to our foundry trade. However, before discussing the results of our present operations, it might be well to present a few observations on the coking characteristics of coals in general. Most coke-oven operators carbonize a blended mixture of coals. It may consist of a single high-volatile coal with a single low-volatile coal, or of a combination of several high-volatile and low-volatile coals. Medium-volatile coals of the Eagle seam are used for the production of high-grade foundry coke. Medium and high-volatile coals are often blended with one or more low-volatile coals. The possibilities are almost infinite, but the combinations are limited by such factors as cost and facilities for handling multicoal mixtures, and by other practical considerations. Every coal has characteristics that make it blend better with a particular coal or coals in preference to others. This property has

Jan 1, 1944

TWO recent developments in open hearth steelmaking have had a substantial impact on metallurgical practices and operating procedures. These are: (1) the use of oxygen roof lances for accelerating the refining reactions, and (2) the use of a spring-arch, basic roof for prolonging the life of the furnace. Although these practices can be used separately, they are generally used to complement each other in an effort to obtain minimum heat time consistent with an acceptable rate of wear of the refractory roof, walls and port ends. DECARBONIZATION BY OXYGEN INJECTION The use of oxygen to speed carbon elimination was perceived by Sir Henry Bessmer but its practical use in steelmaking could not be realized until processes were developed for the manufacture of low cost, tonnage oxygen. However, as early as 1922 Bigge1 obtained a patent covering the use of gaseous oxygen to speed decarbonization of a molten steel bath. At that time, oxygen was available only in bottles and at a cost of $240 per net ton. At the end of World War II the price of oxygen had dropped to $80 per net ton, and as a result, metallurgical oxygen (99.5 per cent began to come into widespread experimental use for decarbonization in open hearth and electric furnace shops.2-8 Even this price prevented oxygen&apos;s routine use for other than decarbonizing the bath in shops producing substantial quantities of steels containing less than 0.40 per cent carbon. Today, tonnage metallurgical oxygen can be manufactured for less than $15 per net ton, and commercial purity oxygen (95 per cent is reported to cost less than $5 per ton. Thus, it is not at all surprising to find many open hearth shops effectively using large quantities of oxygen to accelerate decarbonization. Equipment for Oxygen Injection. The oxygen may be injected by a lance pipe inserted through the wicket hole and pushed several inches into the steel bath, or by a water-cooled jet inserted through the back- wall, endwall, or roof, and immersed in the slag or set just a few inches above the slag. Oxygen at approximately 100 psi is piped directly to control stations adjacent to each furnace. The installations should include adequate safety devices such as fire checks and emergency valves,

Jan 1, 1964

By R. Schempp

DURING the past few years, general interest in the steel-producing and steel-consuming industries has been centered on the so-called "inherent characteristics" of steels. While often vaguely described, these char-acteristics are known to influence the response to heat-treatment and the hardening characteristics of the material. Although most of the recent papers and discussions have associated the "inherent characteristics" with the austenitic grain size and empha-sized the importance of it, comparatively little is known of the variables that may affect the size of the austenite grain. The work to be described in this paper was carried out during the course of a study on the inherent characteristics of tool steel containing one per cent cart on. The discrepancies encountered in the determination and classification of the austenitic grain size led to in investigation of some of the variants influencing the austenitic grain size as determined by standard methods.

Jan 1, 1937

By Thomas Leonard Watson

In a paper read by title at the Washingtoil meeting of the Institute,&apos; May, 1905,I discussed at considerable length the geological relations, mode of occurrence, and the genesis of the lead- and zinc-ores of the VirginisTennessee region. The present paper treats of the purely ecorlomic phases of the zinc-ores of the district,—such as methods of mining the ores, their preparation and treatment. The Albemarle coullty mines and plant were discussed in the paper referred to above, and mill not be considered here. Methods of Mining. Until very recently the mining of lead- and zinc-ores in Virginia mas limited wholly to the surface-belt of weathering. The mode of occurrence and the character of the ores to be mined were such as to demand the employment of niethods used in mining secondary concentrated ores. Accordingly, a system similar to that practiced in mining brown iron-ores was employed, being modified to meet the changed conditions. Oxidized or Soft Ores.—Up to the present time practically all the ore mined in the Virginia district has been of the oxidized or soft type;—the silicate, calamine, and the carbonate, smith-sonite; largely the former, which has been localized and concentrated at only slight depths below the surface. Because of the extreme irregularity with which the limestone weathers when stripped of the overlying residual clay, it presents a roughened surface of large and small irregular " chimneys"

Jan 1, 1907

By C. Schlumberger

THE object of this paper is to describe the adaptation of electrical resistivity measurements to the particular case of exploration in which the surface is an expanse of water (river, lake, sea). Water in itself does not constitute an obstacle to electrical exploration. It is merely an overburden, which is fluid instead of being solid, and as a consequence the routine of the measurements has to be modified. Also, in many instances, the liquid under consideration is highly conductive (salt water). This introduces an additional difficulty into exploration work, and has to be overcome by the geophysicist. We do not propose to discuss here the basic principles of electrical resistivity measurements, which have been dealt with in various previous papers,1 but will simply recall the two fundamental techniques which govern its field application: 1. Horizontal exploration, or method of the resistivity map, in which a series of electrical measurements are carried out at various stations, keeping the same electrode spacing. Thus, a horizontal layer of the subsoil, of a practically constant thickness, is explored. 2. Vertical exploration, or "vertical sounding?2 method, in which a series of measurements are made with increasing electrode spacings at one or several stations. In this way, the apparent resistivity is deter-

Jan 1, 1934

By J. Ellzey Hayden

THE Cliffs Shaft mine of the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., located in the city of Ishpeming, Mich., is the largest producer of hard hematite ore on the Marquette iron range. The two shafts, A and B, lying 820 ft. (250 m.) apart on the east-west trend of the ore formation, were sunk in the early eighties, and, except for four years, have been steady producers of iron ore. Their location, on a hill overlooking the general offices of the company on the one side and the city of Ishpeming on the other, has made the shaft houses landmarks. In the spring of 1919, as the old wooden shaft houses had become shaky and out of line, and would soon be unsafe, it was necessary to replace them with the least possible delay. Three plans of construction were, therefore, considered: To replace the old shaft houses by somewhat similar structures made of wood; to use steel and radically change the design; or to build reinforced-concrete shaft houses outside of the wooden structures, completely enclosing them. The first plan was disapproved, because it is anticipated that the mine will have a long life and the proximity of other buildings makes the danger from fire rather great. Delay in receiving material, and the necessity for closing the shafts during erection, were other factors in the situation. The second plan was disapproved on account of the high cost of steel, slow delivery, and interference with hoisting during the period of erection. The presence near one of the shafts of a large bed of hard gravel suitable for concrete made, the cost of the third plan considerably less than the second, and little, if any, delay in hoisting was expected. Our expectations in this regard&apos; were fully realized. Furthermore, the work could be done by unskilled labor, which was plentiful, and the erection could be quickly started. When the proposition was submitted to Mr. W. G. Mather, president of the company, he recommended that, on account of the prominence of the buildings due to their location, an effort should be made to combine in the design as far as practicable something of architectural beauty. Following his recommendation, the original plans were submitted to the

Jan 8, 1920

By C. R. Fulton

The idea of making permanent magnets by sintering is not a new one, but until the introduction of the iron-nickel-aluminum permanent-magnet alloys there was little need for such a process. Permanent-magnet alloys in use up to the time of this development could be forged and machined to the exact size or shape required without too much difficulty. These new Fe-Ni-A1 alloys, which have become known as Alnico in this country, soon became very popular because of their superior magnetic properties, but when they were made by casting they did have some disadvantages when compared with the older type of permanent-magnet steels. Among these disadvantages were the following: 1. It was almost essential that they be cast to size, since they could not be readily forged or machined. The material could be ground but this was quite expensive, particularly for small magnets in large quantities. 2. The material had a large grain size and was mechanically weak. 3. Close tolerances could not be held and on small magnets this meant grinding almost the entire magnet. Because of the brittle nature of the material, there was considerable loss due to chipping and cracking during these grinding operations. 4. Because of its high aluminum content, the molten alloy had a high surface tension. It was difficult to prevent loss of aluminum by oxidation during the melting operation. In view of these difficulties it is not hard to understand why a process for sintering alnico was developed, or why sintered alnico has come into such widespread use in recent years. It might be well to qualify this by saying that it has come into widespread use for small magnets weighing 2 oz. and less, of the type shown on Fig. I. In this size range, sintered alnico has been able to compete in price with cast alnico. Magnets larger in size, of the type shown on Fig. 2, can be made but they do not compare favorably in price with the cast material. An idea of the range of sizes that have been produced is given by Fig. 3, which shows a small magnet weighing 0.006 oz. and a large magnet with a steel insert weighing 4 lb., both made from sintered alnico. Magnets weighing more than 2 oz., however, should not be made from sintered

Jan 1, 1945

By I. Fatt

This paper proposes the network of tubes as a model more closely representing real porous media than does the bundle of tubes. Capillary pressure curves are derived from network models and pore size distributions are calculated from these curves. In this way is shown the difference between the true and calculated pore size distributions when the capillary pressure curve is used to obtain pore size distribution for porous media. INTRODUCTION Despite the technological importance of the laws governing flow through porous media, many of these laws have not yet been clearly formulated. This is especially true of the laws governing multiphase flow. The static properties, such as the capillary pressure curve, are also not at present interpretable correctly in terms of the pore size distribution and other structural properties of porous media. In the absence of any well founded theoretical description of fluid flow through porous media, many empirical descriptions have been proposed. In addition to the strictly empirical flow equa- tions, some equations have been developed rigorously from simple geometrical models of the pore spaces. These equations are only as valid as is the model used in their development. The two models used in the past, the sphere pack and the bundle of tubes, have been too simple, and as a result, the equations derived from them have failed to predict the observed properties. Agreement between theory and observation has been achieved for these models by inserting parameters of doubtful physical significance. The work to be reported here was undertaken in the belief that the study of a model more closely resembling most real porous media than does the sphere pack or bundle of tubes would yield useful information concerning the structure of real porous media and the relation between structure and flow properties. There was no intention of developing any calculational procedures, as for example calculating relative permeability from capillary pressure data. The objective of the study was instead to develop a better qualitative understanding of the relation between the various measurable properties of porous media. The model chosen for study is the network of tubes in which each tube represents a pore space in the porous medium. Microscopic observations leave no doubt that sandstones and clastic carbonates are three-dimensional irregular networks of irregularly shaped pores. The irregularity of these structures makes any accurate theoretical study of their properties impossible. Results from an oversimplified model such as the bundle of tubes are worthless when applied to real systerns. The sphere pack model, on the other hand, not

Jan 1, 1957

By F. L. Ransome

The following paper aims to present in a much condensed form the salient results of a detailed geological study of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, carried on during the latter part of the year 1902. It is essentially an abstract of the final official report which will shortly appear in the series of professional papers of the U. S. Geological Survey, accompanied by maps, sections and illustrations. I. Geography. The Bisbee quadrangle, which includes the Warren mining district, lies in Cochise county in the southeastern part of Arizona. It is inclosed between the meridians 109" 45&apos; and 110" 00&apos; and the parallels 31" 30&apos; and 31" 201, the latter being locally the Mexican boundarg line. The area of the quadrangle is about 170 square miles, and includes the southeastern half of the Mule Mountains, one of the smaller of the isolated ranges characteristic of this part of Arizona. The Mule Mountains, while less markedly linear than the Dragoon, Huachuca, Chiricahua, and other neighboring ranges, have a general NW-SE. trend. They may be considered as extending from the old mining town of Tombstone to the Mexican border, a distance of about 30 miles. On the northwest they are separated by the broad, flat floor of Sulphur Spring Valley from the Chiricahua Range, and on the southeast by the similar broad valley of the Rio San Pedro from the Huachuca Range. The maximum width of the range is about 12 miles, and its greatest elevation attained by Mt. Ballard, west of Bisbee, is 7,400 ft. above sea-level. An index-map, showing the geographical position of the Bisbee quadrangle, is shown in Fig. 1. The town of Bisbee (Fig. 2), with an estimated population of 6,000, is crowded into a few narrow confluent ravines near the

Jan 1, 1904

By Frederick Rhines

THE investigations of Wyman1 have demonstrated that copper deoxidized with several of the commonly used agents that confer immunity to ordinary hydrogen em-brittlement can still be embrittled if it is annealed alternately under oxidizing and reducing conditions. During the oxidizing cycle, oxygen diffuses into the copper and frequently deposits a subscale composed of the oxide of the residual deoxidizing agent. Upon subsequent reduction with hot hydro-gen, the copper becomes ruptured along the grain boundaries to a depth sharply limited by the previous penetration of oxy-gen as delineated by the inner boundary of the subscale. Obviously the sensitivity to this kind of hydrogen embrittlement is engendered by the introduction of oxygen during the oxi-dizing anneal, but beyond this the mecha-nism of the process, and hence the controlling factors, remain obscure. There are several possibilities: (I) oxygen dissolved in the copper matrix of the subscale may, upon cooling prior to the hydrogen anneal, precipitate as cuprous oxide which is subse-quently reduced by hydrogen as in the familiar case of hydrogen embrittlement; (2) oxygen in solid solution in copper may itself confer susceptibility to embrittlement by hydrogen; (3) the normally refractory oxides such as those of aluminum, silicon and titanium may themselves he reduced by hydrogen when in contact with copper; or (4) the precipitated oxides of the sub-scale may be complex compounds such, perhaps, as Si02-Cu20, which are partially reduced by hydrogen. These possibilities have been examined, and it has been con-cluded that the first three and possibly the fourth are operative collectively or indi-vidually under more or less predictable conditions.

Jan 1, 1940

By Earl S. Greiner, Bradley Stoughton

As a part of the systematic study of the alloys of iron under the auspices of the Engineering Foundation, and preliminary to the commencement of comprehensive work on this larger subject, the authors have undertaken an investigation of the available literature dealing with the alloys of iron and silicon. The purpose is to collect all the data in English and foreign languages and present them in two monographs, one of a more scientific and the second of a more industrially useful nature. Of course, a great deal of information upon the constitution of the iron-silicon alloys was found specificially upon the changes of phase in the equilibrium diagram and the different phases present, such as solid solution, chemical compounds (iron silicides), etc. While no extended research was contemplated in the particular study undertaken, nevertheless the data collected proved to be so contradictory in many respects that a simple study of some of the outstanding problems involved in the constitution and equilibrium diagram was undertaken. Because research was not a primary object of the work, and also because of the extreme industrial importance of the silicon alloys between 0.80 and 14 per cent. silicon, and finally because of the unsatisfactory state of knowledge existing as to these alloys, the experimental investigation was limited entirely to alloys with less than 10 per cent. silicon. Discussion oF Continuous Series It has often been said in print that the iron-silicon alloys form a continuous series of solid solutions from 0 to 15 per cent. silicon. This claim the authors are inclined to doubt: first, because the alloys from 0 to 4.25 per cent. silicon are ductile and malleable at atmospheric temperature, while those with 5 per cent. or more of silicon are comparatively hard and brittle. Furthermore, the alloys with more than 4.25 per cent. silicon are comparatively hard and low in ductility at atmospheric temperature, but become much more ductile when heated slightly. It is well known, for example, that the alloy containing 4.75

Jan 1, 1930

By F. J. Radd, R. L. McGlasson

The mechanisms of corrosion and corrosion fatigue damages to sucker rods are examined from a fundamental electrochemical viewpoint, and the relationships of sucker rod microstructures to these damaging effects are defined. The common corrosive agents in crude oil production and storage are discussed as to types of attacks that they cause. The variations of fatigue strength with alloy content, surface preparation, and stress ranges are analyzed. Finally, conclusions are drawn as to how microstructures largely influence and control sucker rod performance. INTRODUCTION Greater than 90 per cent of the crude oil produced by artificial lift methods is produced through sucker rod pumping systems. In the USA each year more than $14 million is spent for sucker rods in new and old pumping installations. It is important to make this investment a wise one. Essentially, the sucker rod system is a long series of steel rods, operating under alternating stress loadings and under mechanical vibrations, which connect the surface power source with the subsurface pump. These rods often operate in a variety of corrosive media, including water, brines, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sul-fide, and air. Basically, this paper is concerned with the problem of the behavior of certain steels in various corrosive media under high and dynamic stress patterns. The main objective of this paper is to show how, once the stress effects and the corrosive environments are defined, one can still realize structural control and beneficial influence upon corrosion and corrosion fatigue. FUNDAMENTAL DEFINITIONS AND ANALYSIS In the corrosion and stress behavior of this solid state mixture of iron and iron carbide called steel, one must analyze upon what major factors does its service life depend and of what, exactly, is steel composed. The former question can be referred to two external factors and two internal factors. The two major external factors are: 1. the nature of the stress patterns — size and range of stresses present 2. the nature of the corrosion — erosion environment — the corrodent and/or wear involved The two fundamental internal factors that govern the strength and useful life of a steel both in normal duty and in heavy-duty corrosion service are: 1. the nature of the steel volume properties 2. the nature of the steel surface properties For the latter question normal steel is defined as a solid mixture of iron and iron carbide particles, generally with certain accidental and intentional elements present. (The amount of iron carbide present is determined by the carbon content of the steel.) These additional elements generally dissolve into either the iron (ferrite) or the iron carbide (cementite) components.

Jan 1, 1955

By Marion Rice

THE copper-mining district of Jerome, Ariz., is of such economic importance that the following brief notes may be of interest. The ore deposits are said by Ransome1 to be pre-Cambrian, and are contained in the pre-Cambrian schists of the region. In the vicinity of the mine (the United Verde) the schist stands nearly vertical .and strikes a little west of north. At least three varieties are distinguishable-(1) a green rock, schistose, on its margins but grading into massive material, which is evidently an altered dioritic intrusive; (2) a rough gray schist with abundant pheno-crysts of quartz, apparently an altered rhyolite; and (3) a satiny, greenish gray, very fissile sericitic schist that may be a metamorphosed sediment. The ore occurs in varieties (2) and (3), the main belt of dioritic rock (1) lying just west of the orebodies. The ore is said to follow as a rule the layers of fine sericitic schist. T. A. Rickard2 says that the ore at the United. Verde Extension mine is found at the contact of diorite and schist, that both diorite and ore are earlier than the regional metamorphism, and that the quartz porphyry (" rhyolite" of Ransome) is of post-Cambrian age.

Jan 9, 1918

By Y. C. Kim, C. B. Manula

This paper is concerned with the details of the derivation of an operations research model, specifically linear programming, to solve production scheduling problems. While some results are presented for an actual study, the calculation of cases of a more general nature have not yet been completed. Production managers from those segments of the mining industry that experience a seasonal or highly variable sales demand find it rather difficult to develop overall producing plans for their organizations. In an attempt to solve this technical problem, demands are usually met by keeping production corresponding exactly to sales. This results in a fluctuating production schedule which is costly to maintain because of overtime premiums in periods of high requirements and because of costs associated with an idle mine plant during slack periods. An alternate solution may be to produce part of the desired amount and make up any deficiencies by using overproduction in previous time periods. This tends to smooth the production pattern through the use of a stockpile. However, because of associated storage costs, the solution may again be undesirable if it yields comparatively large surpluses. In general, this type of scheduling problem has an infinite number of solutions which satisfy the requirements. These are largely dependent on the extent to which an operation is geared to changes in production and on the size of its stockpiling facility. The determination of an efficient schedule is implied, therefore, as one lying between two extreme solutions, i.e., one that minimizes surpluses and one that minimizes output fluctuations. These conflicting objectives result in an economic balance problem between the costs of carrying surpluses forward from slack periods versus the cost of high production levels during peak demands. Various methods of operations research have been developed to handle problems whose genesis is explained above. It is very seldom, however, that these quantitative means are used in practice by the mining industry. Those who are familiar with mining operations know that most managers have not progressed satisfactorily in this area. Production planning systems which most mines employ today are often no more than rough records of management&apos;s mental planning. For small mines these means are normally sufficient; but as operations grow larger and become more complex, this type of planning ability is no longer adequate. Managers may find themselves losing control of cost relationships, taking longer to outline production sequences, and becoming forgetful of certain resource availabilities. ORIGIN AND SCOPE OF A SCHEDULING PROBLEM The more fundamental aspects of the production scheduling problem can be brought into focus by demonstrating how it exists in a bituminous coal mine* located in southwestern Pennsylvania. This mine, operating in the Pittsburgh seam, uses a definite room-and-pillar block system of mining, which is planned and carried out with only slight variations to meet local conditions. The coal seam, which is firm and varying in thickness from 8 to 9 ft with the bottom 6% ft being extracted, is under 500 ft of cover and opened by a shaft. The bulk of the coal (60%) is obtained from the pillaring activity with the mains and sections, which are considered primarily as development activities, contributing the balance of 12% and 28%, respectively. All coal is won by a ripper-type continuous miner in conjunction with shuttle-cars directly behind a loading machine. Track haulage is employed to move coal from these machine centers to the shaft bottom. The coal, thus mined, is shipped to one destination as part of a mixture of coals to be used in the making of steel. A material flow diagram of this distribution scheme is illustrated in Fig. 1. PROBLEM STATEMENT From the above types of shipments and mining limitations, the basic problem is to determine an economic means of producing and stockpiling a single coal product produced in three different machine centers (main, section, and pillar). Fig. 2 shows total demand for coal as a function of time. Because of the extremely high peak demands, slack period production must be stored and then distributed

Jan 1, 1969

By Rudolf Gahl

THE history of flotation in America is very short, at least as far as the large-scale application of the process is concerned. It is remarkable how many important developments have taken place inn the last few years and are already being extensively utilized. What was new a year ago, seems almost commonplace now. For this reason it is with hesitation that I follow the suggestion: of Dr. Ricketts, President of the Institute, to describe the experiences of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. with the flotation process. TESTS CONDUCTED IN SMALL TEST-MILL When the Inspiration company first decided to build a concentrating plant, nothing was known about flotation, and the process was to be gravity concentration pure and simple. Demonstration Tests Conducted by Minerals Separation Co. While plans were being prepared by H. Kenyon Burch (who had been intrusted with the design and construction of the concentrator) the Minerals Separation Co., a concern at that time little known in America, asked and obtained permission to demonstrate the value of its flotation process for Inspiration ore. As. a consequence, a small 50-ton flotation machine of standard design was added to the company&apos;s test plant and started to operate in the beginning of 1913. This marks the beginning of flotation at Inspiration. The results obtained with this machine, which was operated by members of the Minerals Separation staff, so far surpassed what this company anticipated that it was decided to continue flotation tests for this purpose, and two of the flotation experts of the Minerals Separation Co., I. L. Greninger and G. A. Chapman, were retained. L. R. Wallace, now superintendent of the Miami works of the International Smelting Co., was at that time metallurgist of the Inspiration company and in that capacity took an active part&apos; in these tests. Great credit is due to him for his quick recognition of the possibilities of flotation.

Jan 9, 1916

By S. R. Zimmerley, S. F. Ravitz

High-grade cobalt concentrates were produced from the complex Blackbird ore with very good recovery in continuous pilot-plant operations in which a low-grade bulk cobaltite-pyrite flotation concentrate was roasted in a multiple-hearth furnace to oxidize the pyrite selectively. The cobaltite was floated from the resulting calcine.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. J. Jakosky

ALL electrical geophysical methods depend for their operation upon the effects produced by the flow of an electric current. By studying these effects it is possible to predict the general axis of current flow. The greater flow of current is in the path of greatest, effective conductivity; and since the effective conductivity of a mineralized zone is different from that of its surrounding envelope (usually much greater), it is possible to locate such a mineralized zone by the distribution of current. Due consideration must be given, of course, to geological structure, to type of mineralization, and to other factors. A number of methods are used to cause this flow of current, and various methods are available for detecting the presence of such current flow and for studying its effects. In a rather detailed way, this paper will discuss the theoretical and practical phases of the inductive methods of geophysical prospecting. ELECTROMAGNETIC GENERATION OF AN ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE The inductive method is so named because the current flowing in the conductor is obtained by electromagnetic induction, instead of by the use of ground electrodes through which a current is passed as in the applied potential systems, or by direct contact with the orebody. An alternating current flowing in a coil will create an electromagnetic field around the coil. This field will have the same frequency as the current and will radiate or travel outward from the coil in closed magnetic or flux circuits: These flux circuits (in air or a homogeneous medium) will be perpendicular to the plane of the coil and will extend or travel outward with uniform velocity in every direction. Maximum field exists in the plane of the coil. Such a coil used for transmitting or as the "energizer" will exhibit similar figure-eight characteristics to those exhibited by the direction-finding coil which will be described in detail later.

Jan 1, 1928

By C. P. Fiske

The pottery of the New Jersey Zinc Co. (of Pa.) is equipped to make three classes of refractories; namely, spelter vessels, spelter condensers, and high-grade fire-brick. The most important of these are the spelter vessels, on account of the extreme severity of the service which they must perform, necessitating great care in the selection of materials and in the whole process of manufacture. Next to the spelter vessels in importance come the condensers, as large numbers are used in the manufacture of spelter, and improvements in quality result in material decreases in working cost. While the fire-brick which form the laboratory, or high-temperature portion of the spelter furnaces, are placed at the foot of the list, they are nevertheless of much importance, since high quality will decrease the frequency of the always expensive shutdowns for repairs. To promote simplicity, the manufacture of these three products will be described separately in this paper, except in so far as materials and the crushing and handling system common to all are conccrned. Materials Bond Clay.—The bond clay used entirely at the Palmerton pottery is a St. Louis clay furnished by the Grand View Fire Clay Co. It is stored in a system of covered bins, and no attempt is made to weather it in the accepted sense of the term " weathering." Some years ago our clay was weathered before pugging, but we did not find the benefit sufficient to offset the additional handling and the loss of clay incurred. Furthermore, we believe that the rotting of the pugged mix (described later) accomplishes the same results to better advantage. That there is some action taking place in the clay while stored in the covered bins, however, is evidenced by an increase in volume which at times has caused damage to the retaining walls of the bins. We have at present a stock of bond clay weathering in the open, and when this is put into service an opportunity will be afforded for making comparisons with the clay as usually handled.

Jan 1, 1918