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By J. L. Byers

THE metals of the platinum group, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum, have certain characteristic effects on the structure and appearance of the cupellation bead. These effects are dependent not only on the particular member of the group present, but also on its concentration. The extent and quality of these effects, however, have not received investigation worthy of their importance. Bannister and Patching investigated the qualitative effects of some of these metals in 1913. This paper deals with a possible rapid qualitative and quantitative delineation of the effects exerted on the cupellation bead by the various metals in the platinum group. More particularly, the paper correlates quantitatively the presence of such metals with their characteristic structural and surface effects. Inasmuch as the various members of the group are more frequently associated with gold than with silver, the gold button will receive the greater consideration. The past two decades have seen a much greater interest manifested in this particular group of metals, because of the increased industrial demand for them. There has been a constantly growing need for assays that will not only express the silver and gold values but also indicate the presence of the other metals. If these indications could be used as quantitative criteria, their value would be greatly increased, because the methods of chemical analysis for the elements of the platinum group are lengthy, involved and unreliable except when the analysis is made by an expert and experienced rare-metal analyst. The materials for the X-ray diffraction examination of the different beads were prepared by filing and screening to -200 mesh, and were then rayed in a General Electric X-ray diffraction unit. The filed samples were treated magnetically in order to eliminate any possible steel particles. Sodium chloride and C.P. gold and silver were used as standard comparators.2 (See Table 1.)

Jan 1, 1932

By L. L. Foley, C. V. Millikan

The discovery of Bromide production in the Fitts field, shallow production in Jackson County of Southwestern Oklahoma, abundant production in the Edmond field, and discovery of many small pools in all parts of the state, were the events that made petroleum history in Oklahoma in 1934. Wildcatting was much more active, as evidenced by a number of new discoveries. There was no important development in the older fields. The rapid decline of the potential of the Oklahoma City field was an important feature of the history of the year. The accompanying tabulation of oil fields (Table 1) is not complete. Many of the early records of operators and pipe line companies are lost and it will be impossible to work up complete statistics for a number of the older fields. The table includes most of the important fields of the state and includes fields of a number of different types. It is hoped that a great many additional fields may be worked up for next year's report. Fitts Pool.—The Fitts pool, in Pontotoc County, was discovered in 1933. Before the middle of 1934, the Pennsylvanian sands yielded -some oil at depths ranging from 1400 to 2800 ft. The Hunton series (Siluro-Devonian) produced most of the oil with considerable gas. In July, 1934, a well in sec. 25, T.2N., R.6E. was completed in the Bromide (Ordovician " Wilcox ") with an initial production of about 300 bbl. a day. Less than a month later a second Bromide sand well was completed in sec. 30, T.2N., R.7E., which made over 200 bbl. an hour. This started an active drilling campaign, which was accelerated when some of the major companies paid good prices for adjacent acreage. At the end of the year, 23 wells had been completed and the rate of development was increasing rapidly. It is a major oil field. The Fitts pool opened a new geological province for oil production. The structure is a faulted anticline in a graben. The producing formation (Bromide) and the Arbuckle lime below it crop out about 2 miles south of present production. The Hunton lime crops out about 2½ miles north. The field is in a sharply folded and faulted area on the northeast side of the Arbuckle uplift. Heretofore, it was generally considered not favorable for oil production, although some gas had been found in various places. The play has extended east into the McAlester coal basin, and southeast toward the

Jan 1, 1935

By B. B. Zavoico

After showing continued and very satisfactory progress until the close of 1931, the oil industry of the Soviet, Union experienced very great difficulties, and since 1932 has not only failed to complete its assigned quotas but has fallen farther and farther behind them, and in fact during 1932 and 1933 Russian production has been below production in 1931. In 1934 the total crude oil production of 169,200,000 bbl. exceeded that of the former peak year, 1931, when 156,100,000 bbl. were produced. The production during 1934 amounted to 78.65 per cent of the plan. The failure to complete the plan has been due to the inability of the oil trusts to develop new fields; the fields that have been producing since 1917 still account for between 75 to 80 per cent of total production. The failure of the Soviet Government to develop new fields has been due to unsatisfactory organization of the geological work, to the extremely slow drilling of wells and their exploitation, and to the very much delayed development of the few areas that have been discovered. The official overestimation of the proven reserves of the country has undoubtedly been an important factor in giving the Soviet industry too much confidence when actually such reserves have been small. The official Soviet estimate of proven reserves of Russia is now placed at 21,000,000,000, bbl., while in fact such reserves, if estimated on a conservative basis, do not exceed 4,200,000,000 bbl., as will be shown later in this review. The refinery branch of the industry also showed unsatisfactory results with a recovery of gasoline, both straight-run and cracked, of only some 16 per cent of the total runs to stills. In fact, the showing of the refineries has been so unsatisfactory that the exports of gasoline have been greatly curtailed from 1933 to 1934, dropping to 10,000,000 bbl. in 1934 from 12,230,000 bbl. in 1933. With the indicated increase in domestic demand, together with but slightly increased refining capacity, the volume of available gasoline for export probably will be reduced to about 6,000,000 bbl. during 1935. The geographic distribution of constructed refineries has been unsatisfactory and the crude oils from Baku had to be transported by tankers

Jan 1, 1935

By Evan Just

Attempting to analyze a 25-year forecast after less than a third of the time has elapsed may seem premature. The President's Materials Policy Com- mission's report necessarily painted with a broad brush and made no claim for pinpoint accuracy in its predictions. More importantly for present purposes, it made no attempt to predict the detailed courses of production and consumption during the period forecasted. Several statistical highs and lows may very well lie between now and 1957, so comparing recent figures with points taken from the report on a straight-line basis would be illogical. Moreover, the report assumed that the general trend of consumption-domestic and foreign-would be upward. Contrarily, domestic figures were lower in 1957 than in 1950. Therefore, to project curves from 1950 through 1957 leads to conclusions that are probably false. Many in the industry would feel more uncertain about forecasting 1975 domestic conditions now than they would have been in 1950, even though nearly a third of the 25 years has elapsed. In making comparisons, several statistical problems are encountered. The Paley report figures for 1950 were estimated in several cases and corrected figures vary as much as 10 pct. For example, the report placed 1950 lead consumption at 800,000 tons, whereas actual consumption was 885,000 tons. Obviously, in comparing more recent figures with the report's projections, adjustments must be made for positions taken in error from the start. Over the long pull, such discrepancies will probably be insignificant, but they must be noted in comparing short-term changes.

Jan 10, 1959

By S. S. Arentz

An organized safety program has reduced accidents at Pioche because effort is first devoted to arousing and maintaining interest in safety, followed by training in accident prevention, assigning responsibility for the detection and removal of safety hazards, and finally, by keeping score through an adequate system of records. A health program is intergrated with the safety program.

Jan 1, 1950

By M. H. Caron

D. C. Ralston—The fact that none of the organizations that have worked on these ammoniacal leaching processes have contributed discussion of Mr. Caron's papers today is a matter of some disappointment. Adaptations, modifications and improvements have been made by several organizations or individuals and to complete the record I want to document a number of them. The Nicaro Nickel Co. operated a Government owned plant at Nicaro, Oriente, Cuba, during the past war. A report on the project was written for Reconstruction Finance Corp. and is in the document file collected by the Office of Technical Services, Commerce Department and filed with the Library of Congress, where it can be consulted or bibliofilm or photostat copies obtained by asking for copies of PB 97271. Nicaro Nickel Co. has obtained a series of U.S. Patents, my list (probably incomplete) of which bears the following numbers: 2,400,098; 2,400,114; 2,400,115; 2,400,461; 2,400,612; 2,458,902 and 2,473,795. International Nickel Co. has also studied the problem and U.S. Patent 2,478,942 shows that some of the complications involving occasional low extractions have been unraveled. Forward, Samis, and Kudryk, of the University of British Columbia, have also published a study of copper-nickel sulphide concentrate.' Others are interested and it is evident that this type of hydrometallurgy is likely to find a happy application in the not-too-far distant future. Caron's two papers practically amount to a summation of his life's work on the important subject of nickeliferous iron ores and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers is fortunate to have been chosen the medium of publication. M. Rey—The ammonia leaching process has been the subject of certain studies in New Caledonia, but at the present time, the conditions are not very favorable to its adoption. The process is a combination of a thermal and a hydrometallurgical process. As a result, the first costs and the operative costs are rather high. To counteract this unfavorable situation, it would be necessary to make a very high extraction. But unfortunately, the process is delicate and in spite of all of Caron's valuable work, there are still many unknown factors. It is difficult to obtain regularly a high extraction, exceeding 75 to 80 pct. It would be interesting to have the opinion of Inter-national Nickel on the process and to know what the Dutch are doing in Celebes. M. H. Caron (author's reply)—I am quite familiar with the different types of nickel and cobalt ores as found on New Caledonia, and it may be pointed out that the Celebes ores are quite the same in their properties. Their behavior when treating the ores by the ammonia-leaching process is also alike and in my opinion, there is no reason why a high extraction of the New Caledonian ores could not be obtained if the process is properly applied. For the sake of completeness I may add that one of my patents has not been discussed in the papers. This patent deals particularly with the treatment of serpentine nickel ores. (Netherlands No. 62693 40a, French No. 965.786 April 21. 1948. and Cuban No. 13.625 Jan. 1950.)

Jan 1, 1951

By H. H. Kellogg

0. C. Ralston—The fact that none of the organizations that have worked on these ammoniacal leaching processes have contributed discussion of Mr. Caron's papers today is a matter of some disappointment. Adaptations, modifications and improvements have been made by several organizations or individuals and to complete the record I want to document a number of them. The Nicaro Nickel Co. operated a Government owned plant at Nicaro, Oriente, Cuba, during the past war. A report on the project was written for Reconstruction Finance Corp. and is in the document file collected by the Office of Technical Services, Commerce Department and filed with the Library of Congress, where it can be consulted or bibliofilm or photostat copies obtained by asking for copies of PB 97271. Nicaro Nickel Co. has obtained a series of U.S. Patents, my list (probably incomplete) of which bears the following numbers: 2,400,098; 2,400,114; 2,400,115; 2,400,461; 2,400,612; 2,458,902 and 2,473,795. International Nickel Co. has also studied the problem and U.S. Patent 2,478,942 shows that some of the complications involving occasional low extractions have been unraveled. Forward, Samis, and Kudryk, of the University of British Columbia, have also published a study of copper-nickel sulphide concentrate.' Others are interested and it is evident that this type of hydrometallurgy is likely to find a happy application in the not-too-far distant future. Caron's two papers practically amount to a summation of his life's work on the important subject of nickeliferous iron ores and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers is fortunate to have been chosen the medium of publication. M. Rey—The ammonia leaching process has been the subject of certain studies in New Caledonia, but at the present time, the conditions are not very favorable to its adoption. The process is a combination of a thermal and a hydrometallurgical process. As a result, the first costs and the operative costs are rather high. To counteract this unfavorable situation, it would be necessary to make a very high extraction. But unfortunately, the process is delicate and in spite of all of Caron's valuable work, there are still many unknown factors. It is difficult to obtain regularly a high extraction, exceeding 75 to 80 pct. It would be interesting to have the opinion of Inter-national Nickel on the process and to know what the Dutch are doing in Celebes. M. H. Caron (author's reply)—I am quite familiar with the different types of nickel and cobalt ores as found on New Caledonia, and it may be pointed out that the Celebes ores are quite the same in their properties. Their behavior when treating the ores by the ammonia-leaching process is also alike and in my opinion, there is no reason why a high extraction of the New Caledonian ores could not be obtained if the process is properly applied. For the sake of completeness I may add that one of my patents has not been discussed in the papers. This patent deals particularly with the treatment of serpentine nickel ores. (Netherlands No. 62693 40a, French No. 965.786 April 21. 1948. and Cuban No. 13.625 Jan. 1950.)

Jan 1, 1951

By M. H. Caron

D. C. Ralston—The fact that none of the organizations that have worked on these ammoniacal leaching processes have contributed discussion of Mr. Caron's papers today is a matter of some disappointment. Adaptations, modifications and improvements have been made by several organizations or individuals and to complete the record I want to document a number of them. The Nicaro Nickel Co. operated a Government owned plant at Nicaro, Oriente, Cuba, during the past war. A report on the project was written for Reconstruction Finance Corp. and is in the document file collected by the Office of Technical Services, Commerce Department and filed with the Library of Congress, where it can be consulted or bibliofilm or photostat copies obtained by asking for copies of PB 97271. Nicaro Nickel Co. has obtained a series of U.S. Patents, my list (probably incomplete) of which bears the following numbers: 2,400,098; 2,400,114; 2,400,115; 2,400,461; 2,400,612; 2,458,902 and 2,473,795. International Nickel Co. has also studied the problem and U.S. Patent 2,478,942 shows that some of the complications involving occasional low extractions have been unraveled. Forward, Samis, and Kudryk, of the University of British Columbia, have also published a study of copper-nickel sulphide concentrate.' Others are interested and it is evident that this type of hydrometallurgy is likely to find a happy application in the not-too-far distant future. Caron's two papers practically amount to a summation of his life's work on the important subject of nickeliferous iron ores and the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers is fortunate to have been chosen the medium of publication. M. Rey—The ammonia leaching process has been the subject of certain studies in New Caledonia, but at the present time, the conditions are not very favorable to its adoption. The process is a combination of a thermal and a hydrometallurgical process. As a result, the first costs and the operative costs are rather high. To counteract this unfavorable situation, it would be necessary to make a very high extraction. But unfortunately, the process is delicate and in spite of all of Caron's valuable work, there are still many unknown factors. It is difficult to obtain regularly a high extraction, exceeding 75 to 80 pct. It would be interesting to have the opinion of Inter-national Nickel on the process and to know what the Dutch are doing in Celebes. M. H. Caron (author's reply)—I am quite familiar with the different types of nickel and cobalt ores as found on New Caledonia, and it may be pointed out that the Celebes ores are quite the same in their properties. Their behavior when treating the ores by the ammonia-leaching process is also alike and in my opinion, there is no reason why a high extraction of the New Caledonian ores could not be obtained if the process is properly applied. For the sake of completeness I may add that one of my patents has not been discussed in the papers. This patent deals particularly with the treatment of serpentine nickel ores. (Netherlands No. 62693 40a, French No. 965.786 April 21. 1948. and Cuban No. 13.625 Jan. 1950.) O F. A. Forward, C. S. Samis, and V. Kudryk: Trans. Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. (1948) 151 (Bull. 434) 350-355.

Jan 1, 1951

By Robert Laurich

Chuquicamata pit was opened in 1915 with steam shovels and steam locomotives brought down from the Panama Canal excavation project. With expansions in the early years, more steam locomo¬tives were brought into the mine. IMPROVED LOCOMOTIVES During the period 1927 to 1937, electric locomo¬tives were purchased and main line and bench tracks were electrified. Third rail was installed up to the working areas. At first, the locomotives were equipped with batteries for service at the shovels, but charge life was too short and they were con¬verted to use the third rail and a reel with 3000 ft of trailing cable for service in the loading area.

Jan 11, 1959

By Frederick M. Becket

SHORTLY after the Armistice there appeared a few references to numerous attempts that had been made to produce steel without the aid of manganese, or at least with manganese in abnormally low percentage. Some years later, during two consecutive days of train travel, I had excellent opportunity to read Sir Robert Hadfield's book, entitled "Metallurgy-Its Influence on Modern Progress," and also his paper, "The Metal Manganese and Its Properties : Also the Production of Ferro-Manganese and Its History," presented at the spring meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1927. Both the book and the paper are most interesting historically to makers of alloy steels and

Jan 1, 1931

By William Klement

THIS note reports the results of some attempts to metastably extend the primary solid solubilities of tin, antimony, and silicon in silver by rapidly quenching these binary alloys from the melt. The procedures employed for alloy preparation, quenching, and Debye-Scherrer X-ray diffraction measurements have been described elsewhere. The lattice parameters obtained for the fcc structures in Ag-Sn and Ag-Sb alloys are presented in Fig. 1, together with the results of Owen and Roberts.4 Alloy compositions are believed to be within ± 0.2 at. pct on the basis of negligible weight losses during preparation and reproducibility of the lattice spacings. Diffraction lines from hcp phases were also detected: the relative visual intensities of the fcc (200) and hcp (10.2) lines were estimated as shown in Table I. The intensities were m for the (200) and w for the (10.2) in a quenched 13.6 at. pct Sn alloy: a lattice spacing for the fcc structure could not be reliably obtained, however. As seen from Fig. 1, the lattice parameters vary linearly with composition up to 8., at. pct Sb and 13." at. pct Sn, respectively, which may be compared with the maximum equilibrium solid solubilities5 of 7.2 at. pct Sb and 11.5 at. pct Sn, respectively. The presence of the hcp phases, which were found together with the fcc phases, is a consequence of the competition1,3 in the nucleation and growth processes during solidification. Both the fcc and hcp phases must be of the same composition for those alloys in the range where lattice parameters increase linearly with solute concentration. Despite much effort with quenched alloys of several silicon concentrations, it has not been possible to obtain lattice spacings of sufficient precision to establish the variation of lattice parameter with composition or the maximum metastable solid solubility: the equilibrium data5 suggest little primary solid solubility of silicon in silver. For alloys containing less than 16 at. pct Si, the Si (111) diffraction line was not observed. For alloys containing 10 to 25 at. pct Si, faint low-angle lines were detected and these could be indexed as the (10.0), (00.2). and (10.1) reflections of an hcp structure with a = 2.87 + 3A. c = 4.52 ± 3A, and c/a = 1.57 ± 2. The 16 at. pct Si alloy was quenched to, and examined at. liquid nitrogen temperatures without any change observed in the proportion of the hcp phase. These experiments were jointly supported by the Atomic Energy Commission and Office of Naval Research under a program directed by Professor P. Duwez. The assistance of H.-L. Luo and A. Abu-Shumays is acknowledged. as is the support afforded

Jan 1, 1965

By Carl F. Dietz

(New York Meeting, February, 1912.) THE problem of drying ores is one that most mill-engineers are sooner or later called upon to meet, and it may be timely to point out sortie of the difficulties resulting from such operations from purely a metallurgical and economic stand-point. We mean, in the following pages, to discuss primarily the effect of such operations on. the ore itself, without particular reference to the mechanical or cost features of the subject; That an appreciable tonnage of the ore fed to the usual form of drier, either rotary or stack, is lost, is fairly well appreciated, but we believe that only a few mill-managers know just. what their drier-losses amount to, and we have found that in most cases they console themselves with the fact that the drier-smoke is not very much discolored, and it is generally believed that the draft is not sufficient to carry away more than a. negligible percentage of the values. The drying of ores is becoming an important factor. since the more general application of magnetic, static, and dry-table treatment. Its importance in the field of metallurgical operations warrants a close examination into its effects. This subject has been repeatedly brought hone to us, and while the drier-losses, in every case examined, have considerably exceeded even the most generous estimate, an attempt at a recovery of these values is rarely made. We have found that the losses resulting from drying-operations can be effectively recovered, at a low cost, and believe that the publication of the results of a number of investigations along these lines will be of interest and benefit to the profession at large. To dry an ore quickly and effectively, it must be brought into actual contact with hot gases or air. The rapid drying is effected by the fact that the hotter the gas the hungrier it is

Jul 1, 1912

By C. H. Mathewson

CONSIDERABLE progress has been made during the last few years in analyzing the action of plastic deformation in metallic crystals. This is due largely to the development of X-ray spectrographic methods for studying changes in the orientation of single crystals, or of conglomerates, as they occur during the process of plastic deformation, but partly to the widespread knowledge of suitable technique for preparing large (single or variously combined) crystals for direct crystallographic observation under stress or in various conditions of strain. These two methods of studying changes in the crystalline structure of metals may of course be used in conjunction with features of mutual support, but unfortunately the advantage of direct crystallographic observation is lost when we proceed to the study of severely cold-worked structures, owing to the occurrence of real or apparent crystalline discontinuities which become more and more complicated as the amount of plastic action increases. Furthermore, the X-ray methods do not appear to be adequate, at least in their present stage of development, to fix definitely the character of structural alteration in the parent crystal lattice by plastic deformation. The principal question at issue concerns the nature of the crystalline particles that remain after plastic deformation. These are generally known in our American metallurgical literature as crystalline fragments,1 and they seem, indeed, to diffract as individuals causing the Hull pattern of a, severely cold-worked metal to resemble the pattern of a fine powder,2 with certain features of preferred orientation among the particles determined by the manner and intensity of cold working.

Jan 1, 1927

By AIME AIME

MINERALS and mineral resources are recognized as one of the things that nations are prone to quarrel about. The territory that was arbitrarily incorporated into the Polish Republic after the World War produces a variety of essential minerals on a substantial scale. The accompanying table has been compiled to give some idea of the relative importance of this production. Poland, before the recent war started, had an area of 150,000 sq.mi., just a little larger than the State of Montana. Its population was 32,000,000, equal to that of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Though not a highly industrialized country it nevertheless has important mines, steel plants, petroleum refineries, and sundry metal-fabricating manufactories. Coal, petroleum, iron and steel, zinc, lead, pyrite, potash, and salt are produced in excess of the country's domestic consumption. It has no appreciable production of copper, chromium, tungsten, nickel, tin, mercury, manganese, aluminum, magnesite, fluorspar, or graphite.

Jan 1, 1939

The income of the Institute is derived mainly from dues, advertising in MINING AND METALLURGY and sale of publications. These sources fortunately are supplemented by the interest from invested funds now amounting to over $500,000, a considerable portion constituting endowments for special purposes. Aside from the medal funds the principal endowments are the James Douglas Fund for support of the Library, the Charles Hayden Memorial Fund, designated to further the education of Student Associates, the Rocky Mountain Fund, and the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund. The income from the two last named is available for the support of research and a variety of other purposes. It is allocated by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of standing committees in each case. An active effort is being made to increase the endowment funds of the Institute through a standing, committee, of which H. T. Hamilton is chairman, and of which the other members are: W. H. Aldridge, George D. Barron, Cleveland E. Dodge, Henry Krumb and J. V. W. Reynders. This committee feels that there exists a tremendous opportunity for the Institute to be of ever-growing service to the public, to the mineral industries, and to the profession. It welcomes suggestions as to names of men of means who are vitally interested in the mineral industries, and to whom the opportunity to make a contribution or bequest might appeal favorably if presented in the proper light by the committee.

Jan 1, 1940

By John Campbell

An approximate theoretical model is proposed to quantitatively predict freezing ranges Tf and hydrostatic tensions P developed within solidifying binary alloys, allowing for a certain amount of diffusion of solute in the solid during solidification. The maxima in ATf and AP as functions of composition are shorn to occur at smaller solute concentrations than would be expected from the equilibrium diagram, and are found to correspond closely to experimentally observed maxima in microporosity. THE freezing range of simple binary alloys appears to have been little studied, except for certain indirect observations on the defects, particularly microporosity and hot tearing, arising in long freezing range materials. Two theories relating to the freezing range of alloys and its effect upon porosity are reasonably well established, and appear to have been held in isolation from each other: a) From purely equilibrium considerations early researchers expected that an increase in solute content of an alloy should increase the freezing range (defined here as the equilibrium freezing range ?Tf = Tl-Ts where TL and Ts are the liquidus and solidus temperatures, respectively) and thereby increase the width of the pasty zone for a given set of conditions. This in turn should increase the difficulty of feeding the residual liquid through the dendrite mesh to compensate for the contraction on solidification, and consequently tend to increase the observed amount of porosity. From qualitative observations on steels Czikel1 reports an increase in porosity with increasing carbon content up to 0.46 pct C. More careful measurements by Whittenberger and Rhines2 on fourteen different alloy systems showed an approximately linear relation between ?Tf and pct porosity (although unfortunately the precise experimental data is not given). b) Conversely however, other authors3"5 propose that porosity is reduced by the presence of increased amounts of eutectic present at the final solidification temperature. Lees7 and Bochvar6 claim that the hot tearing of alloys is similarly reduced. Scheuer8 has put forward a theory to explain this effect, Fig. 1. The argument is basically that solidification progresses on a plane front through a relatively open dendrite network and is thus (the argument is not developed more explicitly) easier to feed. One would expect effect a) to operate at low solute contents, and b) to be important at higher solute contents, so that at some critical composition a max-

Jan 1, 1970

By O. B. Ellis

Although thousands of tons of stainless steel have been used successfully for many types of equipment, there have been few cases of failures due to the phenomenon described as stress corrosion cracking. During the past seven years only six cases of such failures have been drawn to our attention and investigated in the Research Laboratories with which the author is associated. These failures oc¬curred in two coffee urns, two wool con¬ditioning units, one dyeing machine, and another in a part of a steam-jacketed stock pot. In each case the equipment failed in a comparatively short time after exposure to conditions of high humidity at tempera¬tures in the range of 100 to 200 F. The failures in all cases were characterized by general embrittlement and cracking of the stainless steel, with only slight indications of general corrosion except at the cracks. The first failure of this type was a coffee urn returned for investigation in 1937. The top and bottom sections showed a general corrosive attack and embrittlement and cracking of the stainless steel. The chemical analyses of these sections were as follows:

Jan 1, 1945

By A. B. Kinzel

PRECISE knowledge regarding the effect of heat treatment on the properties of steel has made possible the detailed specifications and instructions covering optimum heat-treating temperatures and practices that are in current use. A distinct contrast is presented by the metal-lurgical treatment of steel adjacent to a fusion weld, as such steel is subjected to each, temperature from room temperature to fusion tempera-ture, and cooled at a rate that is not generally controllable but is pre-determined by the nature of the assembly to be welded, the kind of welding used, and the surrounding conditions. This is true regardless of the type of fusion welding: oxyacetylene, electric arc, thermit or flash resistance. Therefore it seemed desirable to investigate the effect of this metallurgical treatment on the characteristics of carbon steels commonly used for welding, by a detailed study of metal subjected to each temperature range; i.e., each heat-affected zone. Oxyacetylene welding was chosen for the investigation because of the experimental facility of accurately segregating and studying each tem-perature zone. The nature of the zones produced by other types of welding is the same. The difference is primarily a matter of dimensions of each of the temperature zones involved. The advantages and dis-advantages of the extent of the zone are of prime moment, and are dis-cussed after the presentation of the detailed zone study. No mention is made of the fused metal proper, as this has been the subject of much published research and the nature of the solidified metal is fairly well known.

Jan 1, 1935

By John R. Lotz

DEVELOPMENTS in Iran currently arousing interest in a considerable portion of the world, particularly on the part. of that country's immediate neighbor on the North and in our own country, an inseparably related to and largely dependent upon the government's attempts to strengthen its economy and improve the standard of living of its people. These efforts are encompassed by provisions of the Seven-Year Development Plan recently enacted and not, in the process of implementation. It is a fine example of what one financially sound but extremely backward and poorly equipped country has undertaken to do on its own account and with its own resources. This Seven-Year Plnil was formally authoriztld by an act of the Iranian Parliament in February 1948. Its stated objects are to carry out such plans for the development of the country and its economy as ail1 raise the standard of livinc: and standard of education of the people, and re- duce the cost of living. A seven-yrar program for carrying out the work within the limits of appropriations was assigned under the law. The total amount to be expended during the seven- year period was fixed at the equivalent of $670 millioil at current rates of exchange.

Jan 1, 1950

By Alden B. Greninger, Alexander R. Troiano

Metallurgists have long believed that martensite in steel forms as plates along the octahedral {111} planes of austenite. Much has been written about mechanisms whereby units of the austenite lattice are pictured as transforming to martensite by shearing movements initiated along the octahedral planes of austenite, supposedly resulting in plates of martensite lying parallel to these planes of shear. A critical inspection of two or three photomicrographs of quenched hypereutectoid steel led us to the conclusion that the orientation habit of martensite, at least in hypereutectoid austenite, could not possibly be octahedral. Inasmuch as recent studies,30,31 of the martensite-type reaction in nonferrous alloy systems have established the irrational orientation habit as characteristic of this type of lattice transformation, the need for a thorough restudy of the crystallography of martensite formation in steel was evident. The present paper reports the results of such a study, extended to include both cementite and some of the products of constant-temperature decomposition of austenite. Also reported are a few of the results obtained from a microscopic and X-ray study of the austempering process in very high-carbon steel. I. The Martensite Transformation Previous Work Microstructure and Crystal Structure of Martensite.—Among the best series of published photomicrographs of quenched steels are those of Whitely,1 Robertson,2 Hanemann and Schrader,3 and Lucas.4 The crystal structure of martensite is body-centered tetragonal, with axial ratio varying from 1 near 0.0 per cent carbon to 1.08 for 1.75 per cent

Jan 1, 1940