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By Karl Fetters, John Chipman

The relationship between the composition of the slag and that of the underlying metal during the refining of a heat of liquid steel may best be studied in the light of the two broad physicochemical concepts of equilibrium and reaction rate. Actual steel-making processes, typified by basic open-hearth practice, involve such complexities of operating variables that it is impossible to distinguish with any degree of certainty between the general limiting conditions imposed by chemical equilibrium and the effects associated with rates of diffusion or of chemical reaction. Further advances in the physical chemistry of steelmaking will depend upon our ability to distinguish clearly between these two kinds of effects, and the experimental work that must be done falls naturally into two classifications. The first is the study of chemical equilibrium that cannot be carried out with assurance under operating conditions but must be done in the laboratory. The second is the -subject of rates of reaction and diffusion and the mechanism of the process as a whole, which can best be studied under operating conditions. The latter is not entirely independent of the former, since its interpretation often requires a knowledge of the equilibrium state. It is the purpose of this and of several papers that will follow to present the results of labora- tory investigations of equilibria involving liquid steel and slag. Open-hearth slag is a complex mixture containing at least eight major components and perhaps twice as many whose influence may be classified as probably minor. It is not surprising that progress toward a complete understanding of such a material at high temperatures has been slow. Attempts to apply the established principles of physical chemistry to the behavior of the individual components of this mixture have been beset by an almost complete lack of data on its chemical properties in the liquid state. This has necessitated the adoption of various methods of approximation based upon such assumptions as, for example, that for a given component the ratio of its mol fraction in the slag to that in the metal is a constant, or that the molecular composition of the liquid slag is the same as its crystalline constitution after solidification. From the thermo-dynamic viewpoint, such assumptions are merely useful dodges, which enable one to hazard a guess as to the magnitude of the more fundamental quantities, the chemical potentials and activities of the components of slag. The problem of determining the activity of each substance in an eight-component svstem seems too complex to be undertaken without the aid of generalizations derived from experimental data on similar systems containing a smaller number of components. Accordingly, it was planned in the present investigation to study the equilibrium of molten iron with the simplest

Jan 1, 1941

By Donald C. Barton

Success in the use of the Eötvös torsion balance method of mapping geologic structure depends largely on the accuracy in the interpretation of the observed results. Skill in that interpretation depends (1) on the knowledge of the types of the variation of gravity, the gradient of gravity horizontally, and of the differential curvature produced by bodies of different sizes, shapes, dimensions, and densities; (2) on the knowledge of the possible types of structural bodies which might produce the observed anomalies; (3) on the empirical knowledge gained by experience not only in the geological interpretation of torsion balance surveys, hut of interpretations of inadequate geological data; and (4) on a knowledge of the possible and probable types of geologic structures in the area of the survey. The knowledge of the anomaly which a known body will produce and conversely the knowledge of the body or bodies which will produce a known anomaly may be gained by empirical experience and by mathematical study. The knowledge gained by empirical experience is fragmentary and inexact. The geology of most structures actually is known very superficially. The surface geology may be known accurately. If the structure is petroliferous, the subsurface geology of the oil field will be known down to 3000, 4000, 5000 ft. or in a few oil fields down to 7500 ft., but the deeper geology will be unknown and the metamorphic, igneous, or massive limestone basement below the reach of the drill may contrast sharply in density with the overlying sediments. Away from the oil field, the subsurface geology is known only from scattered drill holes, which do not go to the basement. A fair but not necessarily accurate knowledge of the geology of the nonproductive area can be obtained by correlation of the wells but the degree of its accuracy in general is proportional to the density of the occurrence of the wells. The geology below the bottom of the wells however is unknown. An anomaly mapped by the torsion balance is the sum of the effects of the contrasts in mass of its whole geologic surroundings. If the dimensions of a body of abnormal density are large enough, depth or distance makes no difference in the effects on the gradient and differential curvature; and as a matter of fact, in many places, the basement and irregulari-

Jan 1, 1929

By Gordon E. Agar

Several correlations have been proposed to relate energy consumption and size reduction in comminution, and although these are arrived at from different starting points, it is postulated that they are all statements of the same basic concept. To test this postulate, the dry ball mill grindability of langbeinite was determined, and the results were analyzed according to the various methods. An examination ' of the energy-particle size relationships proposed in the recent past revealed that they had much in common. In fact, the conclusion was tentatively drawn that these expressions were essentially the same, even though they were arrived at from quite different basic premises. The equations attributed to Charles2 and Holmes3 were shown to re- duce to the same single equation, W - A K-3, and the simulated continuous test used by Maxson et al.4 was shown to give the best experimental value of the required empirical parameter, ß. Furthermore, the size distribution parameter a in the Schuhmann equation, y - (x/K)2, was shown to be equal to ß in many cases. The kinetic approach used by Arbiter and Bhrany5 should give the same results as the Maxson test procedure; however, the batch operation used by Arbiter and Bhrany could not produce data that would be as precise as the simulated continuous technique. To test the validity of these conclusions, the simulated continuous method was used to obtain data on the dry grinding of langbeinite. The results are discussed in terms of the various equations and approaches. APPARATUS AND MATERIAL A ball mill with internal dimensions of 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.) in length by 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.) in diam was loaded to 50% of its volume with balls 3.2 cm in

Jan 1, 1969

By Howard Thompson, H. N. Hall, Frank Nuss

Removal of bit cuttings is an important function of drilling muds. In an effort to obtain better understanding of the factors influencing the removal of cuttings, an extensive series of laboratory tests were made in which slip velocities of various sizes and shapes of particles were measured in muds of different physical properties. Empirical equations were then derived from these experimental data. These equations show that slip velocity is dependent on cutting size and shape, mud flow constants, and flow state of the mud. Applicability of these equations for field use is demonstrated by comparing computed slip velocities with slip velocities obtained from field tests. Drilling muds have many functions, but perhaps the most important is the removal of bit cuttings from the well. In a 10,000-ft well, the weight of rock which is drilled and must be carried to the surface is over 150 tons. In addition to this, the mud must remove any sloughings from the well bore. Failure of the mud to promptly remove either bit cuttings or sloughs from the well bore causes re-drilling and excessive wear on bit teeth, slows down drilling rate thereby increasing well costs, and greatly increases possibilities for stuck drill pipe when circulation is stopped for any length of time. Drilling muds lift bit cuttings to the surface by means of the upward velocity of the drilling mud in the annulus. Because a density difference exists between the rock being drilled and the drilling mud, there is a difference between mud velocity and the rate of bit cutting travel, called the net rise velocity. To evaluate the ability of any type of drilling mud in respect to lifting cuttings, some method must be known for predicting the rate of fall of cuttings through mud traveling upwards in the annulus. Equations for the rate of fall of particles through a true fluid have been satisfactorily determined by several authors. 1-6 Since drilling muds are not true fluids, but obey the laws of Bing-ham,7 it should not be expected that equations for rate of fall of cuttings in a true fluid would be applicable to plastic fluids such as drilling muds. Several authors have attempted to compute cutting slip velocities in muds using a viscosity value obtained with a Stormer viscosimeter; however, unsatisfactory results were obtained. Pigott8 took cognizance of the phenomenon of variation of viscosity with velocity in laminar Row, and calculated laminar slip velocities using a variable viscosity with Stokes law, and turbulent slip velocities using Rittingers law. Drilling muds obey the laws of plastic flow which involve factors not affect-

Jan 1, 1950

By Karl Fetters, John Chipman

The relationship between the composition of the slag and that of the underlying metal during the refining of a heat of liquid steel may best be studied in the light of the two broad physicochemical concepts of equilibrium and reaction rate. Actual steel-making processes, typified by basic open-hearth practice, involve such complexities of operating variables that it is impossible to distinguish with any degree of certainty between the general limiting conditions imposed by chemical equilibrium and the effects associated with rates of diffusion or of chemical reaction. Further advances in the physical chemistry of steelmaking will depend upon our ability to distinguish clearly between these two kinds of effects, and the experimental work that must be done falls naturally into two classifications. The first is the study of chemical equilibrium that cannot be carried out with assurance under operating conditions but must be done in the laboratory. The second is the -subject of rates of reaction and diffusion and the mechanism of the process as a whole, which can best be studied under operating conditions. The latter is not entirely independent of the former, since its interpretation often requires a knowledge of the equilibrium state. It is the purpose of this and of several papers that will follow to present the results of labora- tory investigations of equilibria involving liquid steel and slag. Open-hearth slag is a complex mixture containing at least eight major components and perhaps twice as many whose influence may be classified as probably minor. It is not surprising that progress toward a complete understanding of such a material at high temperatures has been slow. Attempts to apply the established principles of physical chemistry to the behavior of the individual components of this mixture have been beset by an almost complete lack of data on its chemical properties in the liquid state. This has necessitated the adoption of various methods of approximation based upon such assumptions as, for example, that for a given component the ratio of its mol fraction in the slag to that in the metal is a constant, or that the molecular composition of the liquid slag is the same as its crystalline constitution after solidification. From the thermo-dynamic viewpoint, such assumptions are merely useful dodges, which enable one to hazard a guess as to the magnitude of the more fundamental quantities, the chemical potentials and activities of the components of slag. The problem of determining the activity of each substance in an eight-component svstem seems too complex to be undertaken without the aid of generalizations derived from experimental data on similar systems containing a smaller number of components. Accordingly, it was planned in the present investigation to study the equilibrium of molten iron with the simplest

Jan 1, 1941

By Franklin H. Sharp

The operation of the Magmont Concentrator located on the New Lead Belt of Southeast Missouri is described. Ore characteristics affecting lead-copper-zinc separation are enumerated, and the cur- rent methods of separation are detailed.

Jan 1, 1976

By John V. Beall

Beall: Mr. Bennett, you have had a very successful -and a very colorful-career in mining. Would you tell us about your first job in the mining industry? Bennett: I was a mine surveyor on the Mesabi and Marquette ranges, working both open pit and underground. I worked two years for the Meriden Engineering Co., formerly the Meriden Iron Co., which was founded in 1904 to operate mines and to act as a lessors' agent for inspection. At the time I was there, Meriden was operating one open pit and one underground mine, and acting as agent or inspector for some lessors, the owners of the fee interest.

Jan 1, 1968

By D. A. Crerar, R. L. P. Kleinmann, R. R. Pacelli

A bacterium, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, is of prime importance in the formation of acid drainage from pyritic material. Above pH 4.5, T. ferrooxidans increases initial acidification; below pH 4.5, it allows acidification to continue by oxidizing Fe2 +. Below a pH of approximately 2.5, the activity of F3+ is significant and results in steady-state cycling between oxidation of pyrite by Fe3 + and bacterial oxidation of Fe2 +. Laboratory and field tests demonstrate that inhibition of T. ferrooxidans by controlled release of anionic detergents can inexpensively reduce pyrite oxidation and acid formation.

Jan 1, 1982

By G. W. Brownell, H. T. F. Lundberg, R. W. Pringle, K. I. Roulston

The rapid improvement of the airborne scintillometer and the perfection of its efficiency for counting low energy gamma radiation has made it possible to work out a technique to map in great detail the radiation pattern at the earth's surface. On such maps low radiation over certain areas appears to indicate the existence of oil accumulations, forming a pattern similar to that obtained by the geochemists.

Jan 12, 1953

By D. B. McWhorter, J. D. Nelson

Conventional analyses of seepage through saturated media do not apply when tailings impoundments are located above a partially saturated zone. Three stages of seepage are identified and methods for estimating the seepage rates and duration of each stage, based upon flow in partially saturated and saturated porous media, are demonstrated. The effectiveness of earthen liners is discussed and procedures for estimating the required properties of the porous media are provided.

Jan 1, 1981

By John D. Kalasky

The success in providing adequate ventilation to the active faces of a coal mine for all methods of mining depends upon good face control and the air distribution and control system. A good system provides overcasts, air locks, regulators and bleeders so that an adequate flow of air will be confined to the working places with least opportunity for interruption, and that a flow of air is maintained, however small, across the worked out area to the bleeder and away from men and equipment at all times. In gaseous mines, it is just as important to satisfy effective bleeding as it is to satisfy the air volume requirements in the operating splits. The two requirements go hand in hand. Although not complicated, ventilation and methane drainage in longwall mining in a gaseous mine require careful forethought and adequate facilities to make them safe.

Jan 8, 1966

By S. L. Hoyt

Some of the more important properties of finished materials are strength, ductility, toughness, resistance to alternating and repeated stresses, etc. Of these, the property that appears to have received the least consideration, at least in this country, is toughness, which is due, possibly, to our regarding toughness as a qualitative property or, at any rate, as one that parallels ductility. This arises out of our greater experience with the simple carbon steels in the rolled or forged (non-heat-treated) condition which, qualitatively, are tough if ductile and are not tough if brittle. In this way we have erroneously become accustomed to judging the toughness of a material from its behavior in the tensile or similar test. The point of view presented in the present paper is that toughness, like hardness or tensile strength, should be regarded as an independent property and of sufficient importance to require, in so far as that may be possible, quantitative determinations. If such be true, it becomes at once necessary to devise experimental means for measuring or valuating toughness, and the notched-bar impact test (the Charpy test) is advanced as the most logical test that has so far been developed for this purpose. It is further advanced, with particular emphasis, that we have two kinds of toughness to deal with and, accordingly, they will be dealt with independently. Classification of Materials According to Toughness Toughness has been defined somewhat as follows: Tough materials are those that offer considerable resistance to permanent deformation but which, once such resistance has been overcome, may be deformed plastically, but only by the expenditure of considerable energy. In other words, tough materials may be deformed plastically but they absorb a considerable amount of work in the process. This kind of toughness may be called "static" toughness when the rate of loading is reasonably slow or "dynamic" toughness when the rate of loading is comparatively rapid, as in impact testing, but in all cases the stress distribution is essentially uniform. However, static toughness does not

Jan 1, 1920

By H. T. Byck

The plastering properties of six representative California drilling muds were studied over a temperature range of 70 to 175 F. at several mud weights, using a high-pressure circulating filter press with full size consolidated cores. In all tests, with untreated as well as with chemically treated muds, the filtration rates at elevated temperature were higher than at low temperatures and in nearly every case this increased filtration rate was notably larger than could be attributed alone to the decreased viscosity of water—the flowing medium—at elevated temperatures. It is concluded that no existing method will permit even an approximate determination of the filtration rate at high temperature from data at room temperature. It is necessary to measure filtration at the temperature actually anticipated in the well, or to make a sufficient number of tests at various lower temperatures so that a small extrapolation of these data to the anticipated well temperature may be applied. Such tests should be carried out on the mud as actually used in the well. The viscosity of each of the muds was determined over the same temperature range. While no relationship was observed between mud viscosity and plastering properties, it was found that chemical treatment of the muds for viscosity reduction shifted the temperature of minimum viscosity to appreciably higher values than for untreated muds. Importance of Plastering Properties A survey of the literature on rotary drilling muds clearly shows the growing realization of the importance of plastering properties,'-5 not only from the point of view of the successful completion of the mechanical operation of drilling the well but also from the point of view of minimum impairment of the natural flow possibilities of a given well. Poor plastering properties with attendant high filtration rate (large water loss to the formation) and thick mud sheath, lead to stuck drill

Jan 1, 1940

By Charles H. Jacoby

During the past three decades an ever increasing number of uses for underground storage space has been developed. In some instances, the value of the space created has been so great that the host rock has been wasted. The preferential use of salt to host underground cavities is based on numerous factors, the primary two being low extraction costs and low permeability. Both dry and solution mined cavities have been created for the storage of a variety of materials. As the demand for underground storage and disposal grows, so must our selectivity of the materials to be stored.

Jan 1, 1985

By Sidney A. Swensrud

The writer has been interested for some time in trying to appraise our industry's prospects for gasoline consumption over the next half dozen years or so. Anyone who has even approached the problem knows the intimate relationship to it of the number of automobiles in use— by automobiles I mean both passenger cars and trucks. Probably at least 90 per cent of our gasoline is used in automotive vehicles. Some recent estimates secured from the Department of Commerce show the following breakdown: Per Cent Passenger cars............................................ 60.0 Trucks................................................... 27.4 Busses................................................... 2.9 Taxicabs................................................. 2.2 Subtotal............................................... 92.5 Aviation, motor boats and railroads......................... 0.5 Agricultural: farm tractors, etc.............................. 3.3 Balance (manufacturing, government use, construction, etc.)... 3.7 100.0 Up to the beginning of the depression there was, of course, a constant annual increase in the number of automobiles in use, for each year the industry added to the total inventory or ''population" more new units than were being scrapped, as may be seen in Fig. 1. Few of us in the oil industry needed to give much attention to the detailed figures, although the automobile industry seemed to interest itself in all sorts of calculations of replacement demand vs. new car demand, the average life of the car, the number scrapped, and the like. Probably many people in the oil industry, as well as outside it, were surprised at the way in which automobile registrations and gasoline consumption held up during the early years of the depression. Nor were they greatly perturbed when, as in the last two years, both registrations and consumption began to fall somewhat. That was natural enough; it

Jan 1, 1933

By J. J. Gilman

IT is well established that dislocations exist in crystals and account for crystal plasticity.' However, the origins of the dislocations are not clear. Among the means by which dislocations might originate are: a) through crystal growth accidents, b) by the collapse of condensed sheets of vacancies, or c) by stress-induced nucleation. Theoretical calculations' have indicated that the last means should require very high stresses in order to operate. The purpose of this paper is to show that the stresses around the tips of cracks are large enough to nucleate large numbers of dislocation loops. Specifically, it will be shown that (100) cleavage cracks in LiF crystals nucleate dislocations in regions of the crystals where dislocations did not exist previously. It is believed that the use of LiF for this investigation does not restrict the significance of the 1 results. In fact, it is believed that this complements and extends previous papers by the same author which dealt with metal crystals.10,14 The dislocations were detected by means of the etching techniques that were described in a previous paper by Gilman and Johnston.3 In that paper it

Jan 1, 1958

By H. T. Byck

The plastering properties of six representative California drilling muds were studied over a temperature range of 70 to 175 F. at several mud weights, using a high-pressure circulating filter press with full size consolidated cores. In all tests, with untreated as well as with chemically treated muds, the filtration rates at elevated temperature were higher than at low temperatures and in nearly every case this increased filtration rate was notably larger than could be attributed alone to the decreased viscosity of water—the flowing medium—at elevated temperatures. It is concluded that no existing method will permit even an approximate determination of the filtration rate at high temperature from data at room temperature. It is necessary to measure filtration at the temperature actually anticipated in the well, or to make a sufficient number of tests at various lower temperatures so that a small extrapolation of these data to the anticipated well temperature may be applied. Such tests should be carried out on the mud as actually used in the well. The viscosity of each of the muds was determined over the same temperature range. While no relationship was observed between mud viscosity and plastering properties, it was found that chemical treatment of the muds for viscosity reduction shifted the temperature of minimum viscosity to appreciably higher values than for untreated muds. Importance of Plastering Properties A survey of the literature on rotary drilling muds clearly shows the growing realization of the importance of plastering properties,'-5 not only from the point of view of the successful completion of the mechanical operation of drilling the well but also from the point of view of minimum impairment of the natural flow possibilities of a given well. Poor plastering properties with attendant high filtration rate (large water loss to the formation) and thick mud sheath, lead to stuck drill

Jan 1, 1940

By P. D. Merica

IN connection with other investigations on the properties and characteristics of chilled iron car wheels, the question as to the best range of annealing temperatures was raised. Chilled-iron wheels are cast with a chill against the tread and the inside of the flange, the remainder being in sand. The composition of the metal is so chosen that under these conditions the tread and inside of the flange will show white iron to a depth of from 5/8 to 7/8 in. (15 to 22 mm.), the remainder of the wheel becoming graphitized or gray. In order to relieve the stresses set up during cooling under such drastic conditions, the wheels are stripped from the mold, while still red hot, piled in a soaking pit, and allowed to cool very slowly from their temperature at stripping. Obviously the most suitable temperature for this annealing is the highest at which no formation of graphite occurs within the white tread and at which the wheels can be stripped from the molds. Inasmuch as no direct determinations have been made of the temperatures at which the' formation, of graphite takes place in white iron of compositions used in car wheels upon annealing, it was considered worth while to determine these temperatures as a means of establishing the maximum temperatures at which the annealing of the wheels may be carried out. In the course of this work, some incidental observations were made which are of interest in connection with the theory of graphitization in white iron. The literature on the subject of the formation of graphite both during cooling at casting and upon annealing is very extensive and can be best studied by reference to a comprehensive discussion of the subject by Hatfield. 1 Perhaps the most important contributions of previous investigation are the following: 1. Whether a given mass of molten iron becomes white, mottled, or gray upon casting, depends on its composition and its rate of cooling through the temperature range of solidification and immediately below.

Jan 7, 1919

By T. E. Harper, Gustave Reinberg

Electrolytic refining of all lead bullion produced at the Oroya smelter of the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation has been adopted as standard practice. A pilot refinery with a capacity of 25 metric tons daily has been in operation since June, 1934, and a new refining unit having an initial capacity of 100 tons per day is under construction. This program has been made possible by certain modifications of the usual Betts refining process1, developed at Oroya, which have the effect of making the purity of the lead produced, and the acid loss incurred in operating the process, entirely independent of the amount of impurities in the original bullion. The modified process, as developed and at present used, treats impure bullion direct, without presoftening or other prerefining step, except that if the bullion carries tin it is desirable to detin before casting into anodes, since tin carries over to some extent to the cathodes. The refining process developed differs from usual Betts practice in two essential particulars: the anodes are cast thinner and replaced at more frequent intervals, and anode slimes are washed by a system of counter-current dipping, prior to their removal from the surface of the anode scrap. Limiting the period of anode corrosion insures a cathode of high purity, since solution of impurities at the anode can occur only if the thickness of the anode slime blanket, and hence the voltage drop across it, becomes greater than a certain critical value. The dip washing system operates to prevent acid losses, by recovering the highly concentrated, nearly neutral lead fluosilicate solution present in the pores of the slime blanket on the corroded anode, and doing this in such a way that there is no opportunity for chemical decomposition to occur. The best illustration of the efficacy of these two expedients may be secured from records of more than a year's operation of the 25-ton pilot plant, during which period the acid losses were less than 2 Ib. of 100 per cent hydrofluosilic acid (H2SiF6) per ton of lead produced, and typical assays of bullion and refined lead were as shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1937

By T. L. Joseph

IN connection with its investigations of the blast'-furnace process, the Bureau of Mines, in coöperation with the Minnesota School of Mines Experiment Station, developed a 6-ton experimental furnace. Such a furnace was needed to determine the feasibility of producing ferromanganese from Minnesota manganiferous iron ores, a problem of national importance because of the present need for manganese in the steel industry and our small reserves of ferro-grade ores. Furnace operators are reluctant to use new or untried raw materials or to make decided innovations in practice on account of the financial hazard of experimenting with full-scale equipment. A small furnace which can be operated at a relatively low cost is particularly adapted for testing new, raw materials and for determining the feasibility of decided innovations in practice. Laboratory experiments, plus whatever information may be available, are valuable but often do not indicate the net result of changes in an operation involving a large number of interrelated variables. From time to time the coöperation of the Bureau of Mines is solicited in connection with problems involving departures from normal procedure. Under these circumstances some sort of a practical demonstration is a desirable forerunner to full-scale operations which appear feasible after small-scale tests.

Jan 1, 1928