Search Documents

By Enrique Touceda

As IN the case of steel and the non-ferrous alloys in general, the use of the microscope in connection with the manufacture of malleable cast iron has proved of inestimable value to the industry. Had its use not been invoked, many facts either would not be known at all or, if suspected, would be confined to the realms of conjecture. No fairer statement could be made than that the start of real progress in the industry was coincident with the application of metallography to the product, though the full significance of this statement can hardly be appreciated except by those who not only are conversant with conditions as they existed at the time referred to, but are familiar with the character of works' practice at the present time. A few years ago, about the only test made to ascertain the physical properties of the product, t except in the case of certain plants, was the bending of a casting to destruction, not only with the object of discovering whether or not the metal was ductile, but for the purpose of inspecting the fracture. The characteristics of the fracture, if correctly interpreted, were known to be of value in locating the trouble in, castings that were inferior. In general, it was found that if a casting of medium or heavy section would bend through a wide angle before failure took place, the fracture in the majority of cases would have a black velvety appearance; while if it was held at different angles to the direction of the rays of light, it would show a change of color and an iridescent sheen. But an inferior air-furnace heat or anneal might yield castings which, if thin and consequently largely decarburized, could be bent double on themselves and still not possess the fracture described. If, on the other hand, a casting broke short, its fracture might have one of a great many different color and structural peculiarities. Depending on the cause of the trouble, such castings might have any of the fracture characteristics, of which the following is but a partial list.

Jan 2, 1920

By A. J. Lanza

IN view of the immense amount of attention that silicosis has received in this country in the past few years, it is timely to review the status of the silicosis problem at present. Who gets silicosis? The individual exposed to the inhalation of free silica dust. The effects upon the individual depend upon the amount of silica inhaled or, in other words, the severity of exposure, rather than upon any special variation or susceptibility among those exposed. A considerable amount of study has been given to determine what may be the role of predisposing causes in the development of silicosis. To mention one instance, at the Picher Clinic careful records were kept of all previous illnesses of the men examined as well as abnormalities present at the time of examination. Examinations of over 27,000 miners were made during the years the clinic was conducted under governmental auspices-a very fair sized sample. The general conclusions from all this work were that the incidence of silicosis is not appreciably influenced by racial, structural, or other inherent qualities; it is influenced by acquired defects-particularly as these affect the lungs. That is to say, the average run of human beings respond similarly to similar exposures to silica dust and those whose lungs are already impaired by tuberculosis or other pulmonary disease acquire silicosis more readily than those with healthy lungs. It may well be, and there is some clinical evidence in support, that negroes acquire silicosis more readily than do whites, but the infection factor has not been so carefully studied among negroes exposed to silica as it has among whites. We know that tubercle infection is more prevalent among negroes than among whites. There may be other factors concerned in the development of silicosis in negroes as compared to whites, but there is not available information upon which to base positive statements. INFECTION AND COMPENSATION Our first ideas about silicosis in this country were derived from early studies in the mining industry where the silica exposure was severe and

Jan 1, 1937

By Dwight C. Roberts, Stender Sweeney

The spacing of wells in Long Beach oil field has caused much discussion from the earliest days of its development, on account of the closely drilled town-lot areas which have been as intensively developed as any productive areas in the world. The purpose of this paper is to present the results obtained from this type of development in comparison with the more widely spaced development in this field, now that a sufficient length of productive life has elapsed. The intensity of development in Long Beach is indicated by the fact that up to Sept. 1, 1929, there were 1736 wells either drilled or drilling. Of these 165 failed to get production and 121 were drilling. Thus 1450 wells have produced oil from an area of 1350 acres. Up to July 1, 1929, these wells produced a total of 35.5,047,913 barrels. Method Pursued Four groups of offset areas were chosen, in each group the wells in one area are widely spaced and in the other, closely spaced. The areas in each group are contiguous and the groups are spread over the field from the southeast end to the northwest, so that representative data are assured. The comparison has also been extended to shallow and deep zones, like zones in their respective areas being compared. Even though these productive zones are very thick, a fair picture of results is obtained, because the drilling of the wells in the two types of areas was concurrent in the different groups and, as a rule, the thickness of sand opened up at any one time was about the same. As deeper sands were found, wells in offset areas were deepened or new ones were drilled in both types of areas. The division of zones was made in the same manner in contiguous areas. The total cumulative production up to July 1, 1929, of the wells in their respective zones in each area was obtained. From these figures were computed the recovery per well, recovery per acre, acreage per well, and the ratios of these factors. Thus July 1, 1929, is the end of the period considered in all areas.

Jan 1, 1930

Discussion o f Papers. Meetings of the Institute offer opportunity for social acquaintance and exchange of ideas, for the--presentation of papers, and-for discussions. thereon ; also incidentally for viewing under especially favorable conditions mining operations and industrial establishments, and for hospitalities which demonstrate the brotherhood clue to kindred interests. Placing sociability prominent is not to be assumed as relegating other features of meetings to subordinate positions; but during about 40 years of membership in the Institute, the value of acquaintances formed (often ripening into close friendship), and the interchange of data, have frequently demonstrated that the social feature of meetings is of great and lasting value to the membership. Of a roll embracing 4,011 members, resident in all parts of our country, and scattered in various portions of the world, only a small fraction are able to attend meetings, even if the localities selected are alternately widely separated. Hence, the return which most members receive for their annual assessment of dues is limited to the publications issued, and the credit of being recognized as a. member of a great and worthy organization. The greater the value of the contents of our publication, the fuller the return which goes to members. While the Institute disavows responsibility for views or statements made ill papers which appear in its Transactions, the fact that these contributions, after passing proper censorship, are accepted by the Institute and spread before the world may properly be received by the writers as endorsements of their (the writers') ability to present a specific technical or industrial proposition worthy of being carefully read. But the mere presentation and publication of contributed papers falls short of fulfilling one important feature of our meetings. If the purpose is confined to having the writers' views, discoveries, theories, or methods published, this can be obtained through the technical or trade journals and magazines. The true value of a paper presented at a meeting of the Institute may often be gauged by the discussion which it encourages, although there are contributions of decided value which do not especially invite discussion. However, most Of the papers offered contain statements apt to encourage criticism or elaboration by others whose experience or knowledge, or both, assist in combating or endorsing statements made.

Jan 7, 1913

By Fred W. Gordon

The North Chicago Rolling-Mill Co., of Chicago, have four furnaces at South Chicago, built during 1881. Each furnace is 20 feet diameter of bosh, and 75 feet total height, the hearth being 11 feet diameter, and the top 15 feet 4 inches. They are blown through seven 7-inch tuyeres placed 5 feet 6 inches above the hearth level. Cubical contents, 15,000 cubic feet. Each furnace is supplied with 2 blowing engines, 84-inch blowing cylinder, and 36-inch steam cylinder, and 54-inch stroke. These two have one jet-condenser worked by an auxiliary pump. The blast for each furnace is heated by the aid of three Whitwell fire-brick stoves, each 21 feet diameter and 60 feet high. In the batteries of boilers furnishing steam for four furnaces there are 36 double-length boilers, 76 feet long, 48 inches diameter and 16,000 square feet heating-surface. The plant was designed to produce 3600 tons per week, or 900 tons for each furnace, and was fitted as above with such engines, boilers, and hot-blast stoves as were thought requisite for that production ; hence, calculated from the present make—not the least remarkable feature is the economy of construction—there are less engines, less boilers, and less hot-blast power for the iron made than at ally plant within my knowledge, or it could to-day be duplicated for less money per ton of iron made per week than could any plant now in existence, whether using fire-brick or cast-iron stoves for heating the blast. This is a practical demonstration of my assertion in a paper on fire-brick stoves, read before the Institute," that the application of fire-brick stoves in construction really lessens the first cost. In view of the statements just made, I must be most emphatic in assuring the members that nothing is strained or overburdened.

Jan 1, 1886

By Kendall E. Born

Production of crude oil in Tennessee during 1944 was slightly more than 9500 bbl., about 1300 bbl. more than 1943. Approximately 8000 bbl. was produced from the "Mississippi lime" in Scott and Morgan Counties. Some half dozen wells in Clay, Pickett, and Fentress Counties, pumped intermittently, produced about 1500 bbl. This production is from rocks of Ordovician age ranging in depth from less than 500 ft. to approximately 1000 ft. Natural gas was marketed from wells in Morgan and Fentress Counties for consumption in the Sunbright and Jamestown areas, respectively. The production of oil by counties is shown in Table I. Developments There were 20 completions during 1944 totaling 19,615 ft., nearly twice as much as in 1943. One well was drilling on Dec. 31, 1944. Of the 20 completions, one was a small oil well soon abandoned. Three gas wells were completed which are used locally. The completions are listed in Table 2. The distribution of tests according to physiographic divisions is given in Table 3. Cumberland Plateau There were five completions in the northern part of Cumberland Plateau. One was a small gas well in the Cooper pool 3 miles west of Oneida, but an attempt to extend the pool to the south resulted in a dry hole. The most active area in the state during 1944 was the northern Cumherland Plateau, especially in Cumberland, Morgan, and Scott Counties. Several blocks, aggregating more than 500,000 acres, were assembled and leasing was continuing in the early part of 1945. Surface work has been, or is being, carried on by at least four companies. While in an area of past oil and gas production from the "Mississippi lime," the principal interest appears to be in the essentially unexplored pre-Mississippian possibilities. The Knox dolomite group of Cambro-Ordovician age is receiving some attention as a possible reservoir. As the year closed one well was drilling on a surface structure near Lantana, 6 miles southwest of Cross-ville. This test will be drilled into the upper part of the Knox. Late in 1944, it was planned to lay a gas line from northern Morgan County to Oneida in Scott County, a distance of approximately 20 miles. Middle Tennessee Fifteen wells were drilled in Middle Tennessee. In the northeastern Highland Rim area there were 11 completions, one

Jan 1, 1945

By Joseph Jenson

Total United States production for 1928 was 900,364,000 bbl. as compared with 901,129,000 for 1927, or 2,466,000 bbl. per day versus 2,468,000. The three major producing areas were Texas, Oklahoma and California. Texas production increased from 217,389,000 bbl. in 1927 to 256,888,000 in 1928—an increase of 39,499,000 bbl. following an increase of 44,500,000 bbl. in 1927. Oklahoma production amounted to 249,558,000 bbl. in 1928 as compared with 277,775,000 bbl. in 1927 and 177,650,000 bbl. in 1926. California production for 1928 was 231,982,000 bbl. as compared with 231,196,000 in 1927. Production increased markedly in Venezuela and declined in Mexico. Elsewhere no great changes or declines in production were noted. New discoveries occurred in nearly all districts. The many excellent reviews of the various districts of the United States presented at this meeting, are each fully summarized and tell their own story so well that little would be gained by attempting to repeat their content here. There are certain impressions to be gathered from these papers and certain trends that are indicated by them which may better be pointed out. OVERPRODUCTION Overproduction is the most serious one of them. Efforts to avert it resulted in a measure of cooperation in the oil industry more widespread in character and more beneficial in results than has ever been recorded in any previous year. These efforts were undertaken in the closing months of 1927 and enthusiastically effected before the spring of 1928 had passed. Unfortunately, slight advances in prices during the summer months accompanied by the letting down of this sort, of effort resulted in a marked increase of production during the latter half of 1928. Successful delay in the drilling of new prospective areas was in effect in Oklahoma. California delayed some drilling and increased its shut-in

Jan 1, 1929

By Ralph Arnold

THOUGH production began in Canada only a short time after the discovery of oil in the United States, it has never attained large proportions, and if we were to judge entirely by the past the reserves of Canada would be put at a very low figure. There are only two areas from which oil is marketed at the present time; one, the old district around Petrolia in southern Ontario, and the other is the small Sheep Creek field near Calgary in Alberta. The former district has produced between 200,000 and 800,000 bbl. annually for the past 40 years, recent figures being near the minimum amount. Sheep Creek has produced about 12,000 bbl. annually for the past five years. The known reserves in proved territory in each of these fields are exceedingly small, when considered in terms of world reserves. The chief hope of Canada for reserves of considerable magnitude lies in the western provinces. Sedimentary rocks similar to those in the productive fields of the United States occupy thousands of square miles in the western provinces, so that it seems likely that somewhere within this great area the peculiar conditions necessary for the presence of oil pools will be found. Prospecting is being carried on energetically by several large companies, as well as by many independents. The Dominion Government, which controls most of the public lands, is pursuing a .fairly liberal policy toward the prospector, which should stimulate wildcatting; although the province of British Columbia, which controls public lands within that province, is at present unwilling to give adequate encouragement to make wildcatting attractive. As there is really no assurance that any productive pools will be found in western Canada, the estimates of reserves are subject to a wide possibility of error. In making estimates, the various areas within which geologic conditions are more or less uniform are discussed separately; the estimates given for each area are not given with the idea that there is a reasonable probability of their eventually proving to be correct. It is hoped that an average of these estimates, taken together with those made for other undeveloped countries, will give a correct total of reserves

Jan 7, 1922

By Joseph Richards

THERE are two essentially different types of case-hardening processes; that using a dry mixture in which the object to be case-hardened is packed and kept for the necessary time at the necessary temperature, and the "liquid" process, employing a bath of fused, salts into which the object- is immersed and which by immediate contact case-hardens the surface of the article. The Shimer process belongs to the second class, and was a war emergency invention. Of the liquid melts used as baths, the most effective and most fre¬quently used are melted potassium cyanide and melted sodium cyanide. These may be used either pure, or mixed with salts that reduce the melting point and the percentage of cyanide present. The use of these baths since 1914 has met many commercial difficulties because of the high price and frequent commercial scarcity of the cyanide salts; at present sodium cyanide has practically entirely displaced potassium cyanide. Another trouble is the danger to the workmen handling the cyanide salts, which are extremely poisonous, and the annoying and poisonous vapors or gases given off in the workshop, unless an effective system of hoods and ventilation is provided, so as to prevent the gases from the baths mixing with the air of the room. Porter W. Shimer, of Easton, Pa., has invented a substitute for the bath of melted cyanides which case-hardens with equal or greater facility and effectiveness, gives off no poisonous vapors, and costs for chemicals materially less than the cyanide costs in the previously used baths. The process has been in use over a year in a large American works and the following statement embodies the results of practical experience in the use and operation of the process. The Shinier liquid or melted bath consists of a mixture of easily fusible salts that do not possess case-hardening properties, into which is immersed fresh calcium cyanamide, which imparts to the bath case-hardening properties. The composition of the non-case-hardening-,salts appears rather immaterial. Good results have been obtained by using a mixture of sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and barium chloride in

Jan 2, 1919

The National Research Council was organized in 1916 at the request of the President by the National Academy of Sciences, under its congressional charter, as a measure of national preparedness. The work accomplished by the council in organizing research and in securing cooperation of military and civilian agencies in the solution of military problems demonstrates its capacity for larger service. The National Academy of Sciences is therefore requested to perpetuate the National Research Council, the duties of which shall he as follows: 1. In general, to stimulate research in the mathematical, physical, and biological sciences, and in the application of these sciences to engineering, agriculture, medicine, and other useful arts, with the object of increasing knowledge, of strengthening the national defense, and of contributing in other ways to the public welfare. 2. To survey the larger possibilities of science, to formulate comprehensive projects of research, and to develop effective means of utilizing the scientific and technical resources of the country for dealing with these projects. 3. To promote cooperation in research, at horse and abroad, in order to secure concentration of effort, minimize duplication, and stimulate progress; but in all cooperative undertakings to give encouragement to individual initiative as fundamentally important to the advancement of science. 4. To serve as a means of bringing American and foreign investigators into active cooperation with the scientific and technical services of the War and Navy Departments and with those of the civil branches of the Government. 5. To direct the attention of scientific and technical investigators to the present importance of military and industrial problems in connection with the war, and to aid in the solution of these problems by organizing specific researches. 6. To gather and collate scientific and technical information, at home and abroad, in cooperation with governmental and other agencies, and to render such information available to duly accredited persons. Effective prosecution of the council's work requires the cordial collaboration of the scientific and technical branches of the Government, both military and civil. To this end representatives of the Government, upon the nomination of the National Academy of Sciences, will he designated by the President as members of the council, as heretofore, and the heads of the departments immediately concerned will continue to cooperate in every way that may be required. THE WHITE HOUSE, WOODROW WILSON. 11 May, 1918.

Jan 7, 1918

By J. F. Myers, S. D. Michaelson, F. C. Bond

THIS work was undertaken with the object of collecting plant data on rod milling, making laboratory tests on representative samples of the various ores, and arriving at a basis for comparing the relative efficiencies of different mills operating on widely different materials and under varying conditions. These efficiencies consider only power consumption and do not include the other elements of operating costs. The over-all economic efficiency may be quite different from the consumption efficiencies with which this paper is concerned. It is hoped that these collected data will be of value in indicating the most favorable conditions of rod-mill operation. Operating-plant data on 14 different installations from 11 plants throughout the United States and Canada were collected, and laboratory tests were made on samples of these ores. The plant rod mills were all operated wet, and either in open circuit or with circulating loads so small as to be negligible. Data were obtained on one roll-crushing operation at the Utah Copper Co., for comparison. The rolls were operated wet in closed circuit with 10-mesh vibrating screens, and with a high circulating load averaging about 600 pct. This particular roll operation can be considered as a model of efficiency. The collected plant data are necessarily incomplete in some instances. Each ore was assigned a code number, and the name and location corresponding to the code number are listed in Table I when permitted. [ ] The power data in every instance refer to motor input. Net power was reported by the operator for samples I-39 and I-45, and this was increased by 20 pct to compensate for motor losses and power factor. The plant rod-mill data are listed in Tables 2 and 3. In Table 2 the speeds are calculated on the basis of partly worn rod-mill liners 2 in. thick. Where D

Jan 1, 1947

By Ellen H. Richards

It is of importance to analysts to have a ready means of detecting the presence of small quantities of titaninm in iron ores and in certain fluxes and slags. The method given in Elderhorst's Blowpipe Analysis (fusion with potassium hydrogen sulphate) requires considerable practice, in order so to regulate the heat that the titanium oxide shall become soluble. In Brash's Determinative Mineralogy is found a method which, at least in inexperienced hands, has given better results, i. e., fusion of the substance to be tested with sodium carbonate on charcoal in the reducing flame. The solution in hydrochloric acid of the bead thus obtained, boiled with tin or zinc, gives the characteristic violet color; but when the mineral contains less than four per cent. of titanium oxide, long boiling and consequent concentration is necessary. In fact the test would seem to be much less delicate than is generally supposed. In the course of some analyses I quite accidentally found that a peculiar color is given to turmeric paper by solutions of titanium chloride. This color is hard to describe, being modified by the quantity of ferric chloride present in the solution ; but it is neither the orange of zirconia nor the red of' boron. It is rather a dull shade of purple, arid is easily recognized when the paper is dried, although the color fades in a few hours. By this means a solution containing .015 per cent. of titanium oxide can easily be tested. The same solution, treated with tin, required to be concentrated to one-tenth its bulk before a decided color could be obtained. The color given to turmeric paper is intensified after the solution has been treated with tin. This and some other indications show that the best shade of color is given by the titanons chloride rather than by the titanic chloride, and no other salt of titanium than the chloride has been found to give the color. Another peculiar property of titanium salts has come tinder my observation. When titaniferous minerals are soluble in nitric acid, and the solution is subjected to the action of the battery, the soluble titanium salt is converted into the insoluble oxide and appears on the electrode, in some cases, as a white coating; this

Jan 1, 1883

By Blamey Stevens

It is now generally agreed that most metals have been brought to the surface of the earth by volcanic agencies. The question as to how these metals came from the volcanic matrix to the mineral deposit has been often discussed. It might be useful to give more serious consideration to the ultimate origin of the volcanic material. It is possible that some light might thus be shed on the persistent associations of some metals with certain particular kinds of rocks. For example, the very general association of gold with acid types of igneous rocks, of tin with granites or quartz-felsites, of certain types of deep-seated copper-deposits with magnesian eruptives, and so on. One interesting question is as to whether the metals brought near the surface by volcanic agencies appear here for the first time, or whether they came from the central core of the earth. The interior of the earth is, without doubt, much more highly metallic than the crust, and so the core is often thought to be the origin of many of the metals which are uncovered by man. The Differentiation Theory.—Although a great many theories bearing upon these matters have been discussed,' the only one now considered as worthy of much consideration among American geologists is the " Theory of Differentiation of Igneous Magmas."2 According to this theory, lakes of molten magma are supposed to exist very far down beneath the earth's surface. In these lakes a process of differentiation is supposed to be going on whereby the liquid magma is split up into two or more liquid phases. Each of these phases is supposed to take with it the metallic constituents for which it has the greatest affinity.

Jan 1, 1913

By Richard F. Down

The Tynagh mine of Irish Base Metals Ltd., a subsidiary of Northgate Exploration Ltd., of Toronto, Canada, is situated one mile from the village of Tynagh in County Galway, one of the western counties of the Republic of Ireland. Mining has been carried on in Ireland since the Bronze Ages, but, apart from a reference in the 1859 Geological Survey records to much earlier mining attempts, mining has not been a feature of the Tynagh area in recent times. The present ore body was discovered by geochemical techniques in 1961. Following a diamond drilling programme to delimit the orebody, a pilot plant was operated at the property in late 1963 and early 1964. Construction of the 2000 tons per day treatment plant began later in 1964 and production commenced in December, 1965. The orebody contains both sulphide and 'oxide' ores and these are treated to produce, by flotation, a variety of lead concentrates, a zinc concentrate, and a bulk lead-zinc concentrate, which are shipped to several European smelters. The term "oxide ores" is used here to mean all ores which contain economically important amounts of the oxidised minerals of lead, zinc or copper. THE ORE The ore body lies on the northern side of a major east west fault between sandstone and limestone; it is a boat shaped mass of residual or secondary ore lying over primary sulphide in limestone. (1) (2) The secondary ore consists of both residual sulphides and

Jan 1, 1970

NEW YORK SECTION Executive Committee, DAVID H. BROWNE, Chairman., JOHN H. JANEWAY, Vice-Chairman, F. E. PIERCE, Secretary, 35 Nassau St., New York, N. Y. P. A. MOSMAN, Treasurer, LEWIS W. FRANCIS, BENJAMIN B. LAWRENCE. At a meeting of the New York Section, held at the Machinery Club on Jan. 19, 1916, the topic, for the evening was The Problems of the Naval Consulting Board, on which board are four prominent members of the Institute. The speakers of the evening were W. L. Saunders, president of the Institute, Dr. L. H. Baekeland, and Commander A. B. Fry, chief of staff of the New York Naval Militia. After Chairman Browne had laid before the meeting certain business matters, he introduced President Saunders, who presided during the speech making and delivered the first speech. The letter from President Wilson to Mr. Saunders and the presidents of the other national engineering societies, inviting their cooperation in a scheme for mobilizing, as it were, the industrial capacity of this country, had just been made public (see a previous page of this Bulletin) and President Saunders described in considerable detail the origin, purposes, and scope, of the work to be undertaken in this direction. Each of the five national scientific societies is to select a representative from its resident members in every State of the Union, that is, the mining engineers will have 48 representatives, likewise the electrical engineers, the chemists, the civil engineers, and the mechanical engineers. Thus, there will be a representative body or board of five members in every State, one from each of the five societies or institutes. Each committee will investigate the manufacturing and producing possibilities in its own state, and will gather information as to the capacity of every industry which may be capable of supplying things that are needed for the sinews of war. Industrial preparedness means something more than mere capacity to make shells. The field covers food, clothing, hospital equipment, motors, animals, telephones, telegraph and railway accommodations, and a myriad of small details.

Jan 3, 1916

By Francis Donaldson

THE direct injection of cement grout into water-bearing fissures as a means of checking or stopping the flow of water into shafts and tunnels has been experimented with for a decade or longer and seems to have been first attempted in Europe. The earliest application of which the writer has found a record was at a shaft sunk by the Mining Society of Lens; this is described by C. Dinoire in the Transactions of the Institution of Mining Engineers.1. It is only lately, however, that the process has been entirely successful. This success has been accomplished on the Catskill Aqueduct, now under construction by the city of New York. This aqueduct includes a number of deep pressure tunnels, reached by shafts for both waterway and construction purposes. In portions of these shafts and tunnels considerable underground water was met. The contract for the first of these deep pressure tunnels was let to the T. A. Gillespie Co.; this section is known as the Rondout Siphon. It leads under the Rondout valley at a depth of from 400 to 800 ft. and is about 5 miles long. The engineers expected that considerable water would be encountered, but fortunately this was not the case except at one shaft, known as No. 4, which penetrated the rock at a junction between limestone and conglomerate. Water-bearing fissures were encountered almost immediately. At a depth of about 200 ft. a flow of 1,500 gal. per minute was struck. The shaft then contained as many pumps as could be used, and it seemed impossible to sink it further. After vain efforts had been made to proceed, John P. Hogan, a division engineer of the Board of Water Supply, suggested that cementation of the fissures be tried. The process was attempted for the first time in this country. Since the shaft was partly full of water it was necessary to drill grout holes with a diamond drill. Platforms were placed on the timbers at the water level, the diamond drill was installed and six 90-ft. holes were drilled in the bottom of the shaft. Several car loads of cement were pumped through these holes into the fissures, the drill casings being used for grout pipes. This largely cut off the flow of water from the bottom and sinking could then

Jan 1, 1914

By William Blauvelt

THE type of gas producer in which the ashes are fluxed and run off as slag was among the very earliest made. Ebelmen built the first one in 1840 at Audincourt, France, only a year after the installation of the first gas producer of which we have record. Charcoal was used as the fuel, with blast-furnace slag and clay is flux. My interest in this type of producer began when as a boy I saw the fluxing producer at Chester, N. J., which was invented by W. J.. Taylor, and described by him in 1881.1 This producer was invented independently by Mr. Taylor to meet the difficulties he experienced in making producer gas for roasting sulphurous iron ores. It will be of interest to review briefly his description of his producer. It was built like a small blast furnace, having a hearth 24 in. in diameter and 24 in. high. The bosh angle was 25° from the vertical; the diameter at the bosh 4 ft. and at the top 3 ft.; the total height 12 ft. The producer contained one water-cooled tuyere 12 in. above the bottom, with a 1.5-in. nozzle.. Depth of the coal above the tuyere; 6 ft. Mr. Taylor mixed the coal with from 30 to 40 per cent. of basic blast-furnace slag to flux the ash. Occasionally some limestone was also used, but never limestone alone, as the use of the furnace cinder gave a larger volume of slag and made it easier to maintain a proper fluidity. . The producer was blown with a small Weimer blowing engine, delivering 300 ft. of air per minute, at from 1 to 1.5 lb. pressure. The slag was tapped every 2 hr. and was black and glassy in appearance. Broken or egg size anthracite was used. The fine sizes of anthracite could not he made to work. Mr. Taylor expressed the belief that bituminous coal could be used if not too fine, but no experiments were made with this coal. Runs were made of four weeks' duration, with no stops or changes. Mr. Taylor reported the following advantages:

Jan 12, 1913

By H. M. Boylston

Metallic manganese was first produced in 1773, by Sven Rinmann, a Swedish mineralogist. In 1799, William Reynolds, of Ketley, England, obtained a patent on the use of manganese dioxide in the manufacture of steel, and in 1808 an English patent was granted to John Wilkinson covering the use of manganese ore, or manganiferous ore, as an addition to iron ore in the blast furnace for the production of a superior grade of pig iron. Karsten showed in 1816 that manganese increased the hardness of iron without decreasing its malleability or toughness, while it caused pig iron to be more white in fracture and more fusible. The first practical application of manganese to steel-making, however, is attributed to Josiah Heath who discovered in 1839 (less than 90 years ago) that manganese conferred upon steel the properties of being more easily worked and welded under the hammer. When Bessemer invented the pneumatic process of steel-making which now bears his name he was at first successful because, as it afterward developed, he was using a Swedish pig iron high in manganese. When his supply of this material ran out, he used a low-manganese pig from English sources and failed signally to produce a steel which could be rolled, while his Swedish licensees were continuing their successful application of his method. And it was not until Robert Mushet, in 1856, suggested the addition of manganese in the form of spiegeleisen to the molten product of the converter that success again came to Bessemer. In 1866, William Siemens patented the use of ferromanganese as an addition to molten steel to counteract the bad effects of sulfur. It was in 1888 that Robert Hadfield published at some length his account of the effect of manganese as an alloying element in steel and described the unique properties of the now famous Hadfield manganese steel containing about 12 to 14 per cent. manganese and 1.25 per cent. carbon. Function or Manganese in Steel-making Bessemer's failure at one period of his experimental work to make steel which could be forged successfully was due to the fact that the

Jan 1, 1927

By P. D. Merica, A. N. Finn, R. G. Waltenberg

CeRtain compositions of the light, i.e., aluminum-rich, alloys of aluminum with magnesium and copper have become quite well known within the past ten years under the name of duralumin. These alloys are used for rolling and forging and can be so treated as to develop quite remarkable mechanical properties. Thus a properly heat-treated alloy containing about 4 per cent. of copper and about 0.5 per cent. of magnesium, rolled into sheet or rod, will have a tensile strength of approximately 55,000 1b. per sq. in. (3866 kg. per sq. cm.) with an elongation in 2 in. (50.8 mm.) of about 15 per cent. This alloy, duralumin, was developed by Wilm,1 and its properties more fully described by Cohn.2, The authors considered it worth while to investigate the mechanical possibilities of the light alloys of two somewhat analogous ternary series; namely, of aluminum-magnesium-nickel and aluminum-magnesium-manganese, to study the effect of variation of composition upon mechanical properties within the alumimum-rich group of the aluminum-magne-

Jan 1, 1921

By H. P. Leighly

WORNER1 briefly studied the embrittlement of titanium by mercury. He found that mercury will wet the titanium surface at 400°C in vacuo, if the specimen had been heated previously to 700°C to dissolve the oxide coating. Subsequent exposure to the atmosphere causes the mercury film to recede rapidly. Bending of the titanium specimen even after the mercury film has receded results in a brittle fracture. For the study of the embrittling effect of mercury on titanium, specimens 2 by 12 by 0.051 in. were cut from RC-130-A sheet, an alloy having a nominal 8 pct Mn content and a mixed a-ß structure. The specimens were stressed horizontally at a predetermined value after which a plastic ring having a cavity 1/2 in. diam by 1/2 in. deep was placed on the specimen. The cavity was filled with mercury and a hole was drilled in the specimen through the pool of mercury. If the stress level was high enough, fracture occurred instantaneously with the drilling. By repeating the test at different stress levels, the threshold stress can be determined. Mercury embrittlement causes a drastic reduction in the ultimate tensile strength of this alloy from 132,000 psi to about 15,700 psi. The drilling of the hole, in the absence of mercury, does not change the tensile properties. Fig. 1 shows the typical fractures observed as a result of the embrittlement of this alloy by mercury. The central portion of the fracture was brittle represented by the jagged region which appears to have occurred on the shear planes at about 45 deg to the stress axis. Ductile fracture, which is perpendicular to the stress axis, occurred near the specimen edges accompanied by a reduction of the specimen thickness. Examination of the fracture reveals that only in the brittle region does mercury wet the

Jan 1, 1962