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By A. M. Gaudin

A GREAT number of hypotheses has been advanced to explain the complex phenomena that are encountered in flotation. In the days of bulk-oil flotation, when a large quantity of oil was employed, it was observed that the oil-mineral aggregate floated above the ore-pulp because of its lesser density. With the advent of froth-flotation this phase of the theory had to be modified to take into-account the presence of air bubbles.. The reason why the mineral-bearing froth of today rises to the top of flotation cells is, of course, because the air-mineral aggregate, with whatever reagent may be associated with it, is lighter than the pulp. In an attempt to explain froth-flotation the fact has been emphasized that certain minerals are wetted and therefore remain in water; while others are not wetted and therefore become associated in preference with air. Such an "explanation" does not explain facts, it merely states them; for instance, it does not explain why minerals are wetted under some circumstances and not wetted under others. Going somewhat further, the wetting or nonwetting of minerals by water has been ascribed' to differences in the angles of contact between oil droplets and mineral surface at the surface of the minerals. This explanation, however, was abandoned when soluble flotation reagents came to replace the so-called "insoluble" reagents. Another theory, sponsored about 10 years ago by Ralston,2 involves the effects of electric charges at the surface of the mineral particles and air bubbles. This theory, unfortunately, was not developed as fully as it seems desirable. The belief that adsorption phenomena might play a preponderant role in flotation3 has been rather widespread for the last 10 years. Unfor-

Jan 1, 1928

By C. G. Southmayd

Anyone who has been confronted with the problem of predicting the performance of a sand-pump installation is vitally aware of the dearth of precise information that has been published on this important subject. Such data as have been collected are not readily available in a concise and readily usable form, so that many operators would find it a considerable chore to find the pertinent information required to undertake a detailed study. The purpose of this paper is to assemble such established data, correlate them with field experience and outline the factors that must be appraised in the determination of a satisfactory pump installation. The transportation of solids in solution is of vital interest to every mill superintendent and operator, and many of the factors that are involved in this hydraulic problem vary widely from installation to installation, and in some cases even from time to time on any one installation. These include: type of solids (including shape of particles), size of solids (grind), percentages of fines (slimes), dilution of pulp, contour of pipe line, type of pipe, age of pipe line, effect that diameter of pipe has on characteristic flow conditions, and other factors. Some of these have been fairly well determined by experimental work but many still must be established through interpolating or extrapolating between values that have been derived from known field conditions. Most problems primarily concern the transportation of a definite weight of dry solids from one specific location to another. The type of material, shape of particles, grind and percentages of fines are established and very often the dilution at which the solids must be handled as well. The problem then evolves into a determination of the size, type and contour of the pipe line and the net effective head against which the pump must operate. Before discussing the determination of the head, it might be well to review the interrelationship between the pump discharge (capacity), the head developed by the pump and the pump speed, which will apply to any centrifugal pump installation. Effect of Pump Speed Basically, the head developed by a centrifugal pump varies as the square of the pump speed and the discharge as the first power of the speed. However, even at constant speed a centrifugal pump will operate over a wide range of capacities, depending upon the head that must be developed to deliver the liquid or pulp to the end of the pipe line. This is shown graphically in Fig. I. If the pump in question is being driven at a constant speed of goo r.p.m. it will deliver 500 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 56 ft., 800 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 50 ft., and so on. In other words, at this speed the capacity of the pump will be determined and limited by

Jan 1, 1947

By C. G. Southmayd

Anyone who has been confronted with the problem of predicting the performance of a sand-pump installation is vitally aware of the dearth of precise information that has been published on this important subject. Such data as have been collected are not readily available in a concise and readily usable form, so that many operators would find it a considerable chore to find the pertinent information required to undertake a detailed study. The purpose of this paper is to assemble such established data, correlate them with field experience and outline the factors that must be appraised in the determination of a satisfactory pump installation. The transportation of solids in solution is of vital interest to every mill superintendent and operator, and many of the factors that are involved in this hydraulic problem vary widely from installation to installation, and in some cases even from time to time on any one installation. These include: type of solids (including shape of particles), size of solids (grind), percentages of fines (slimes), dilution of pulp, contour of pipe line, type of pipe, age of pipe line, effect that diameter of pipe has on characteristic flow conditions, and other factors. Some of these have been fairly well determined by experimental work but many still must be established through interpolating or extrapolating between values that have been derived from known field conditions. Most problems primarily concern the transportation of a definite weight of dry solids from one specific location to another. The type of material, shape of particles, grind and percentages of fines are established and very often the dilution at which the solids must be handled as well. The problem then evolves into a determination of the size, type and contour of the pipe line and the net effective head against which the pump must operate. Before discussing the determination of the head, it might be well to review the interrelationship between the pump discharge (capacity), the head developed by the pump and the pump speed, which will apply to any centrifugal pump installation. Effect of Pump Speed Basically, the head developed by a centrifugal pump varies as the square of the pump speed and the discharge as the first power of the speed. However, even at constant speed a centrifugal pump will operate over a wide range of capacities, depending upon the head that must be developed to deliver the liquid or pulp to the end of the pipe line. This is shown graphically in Fig. I. If the pump in question is being driven at a constant speed of goo r.p.m. it will deliver 500 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 56 ft., 800 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 50 ft., and so on. In other words, at this speed the capacity of the pump will be determined and limited by

Jan 1, 1947

By James H. Hance

Discussion of the paper of JAMES H. HANCE, presented at the New York meeting, .February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 299 to 326. FREDERIC P. DEWEY, Washington, D. C. (communication to the Secretary*).-I wish to congratulate Professor Hance and to thank him for his extremely valuable addition to the fund of data upon this subject. It presents clearly conclusive and incontrovertible proof of the unreliability of drill samples of this class of metal for determining the value of such bullion. I am afraid, however, that his hope that some one in the mint service might continue such an investigation upon a more elaborate and exhaustive scale is, for the present at least, doomed to disappointment. As a practical matter, the mint service is not now particularly interested in segregation in crude bullion. So much trouble and friction arose, -both in the original purchase and in the transfer from one institution to another, in handling segregated bullion, that it became necessary to adopt drastic measures and now it is seldom attempted to determine the value of such bullion in the service. When bullion known or even suspected of being segregated is presented for purchase, it is at once strongly refined in the pot and the disturbing elements so far removed that concordant assays may certainly be obtained from the dip samples and a reasonably fair agreement obtained from drill samples. The mint service prefers that the owner should refine his bullion himself, but if he does not we will do it at his expense and return the slag to him when desired. Much work has been done in the mint service trying to arrive at the value of deposits of segregated bullion without strong refining. It was no unusual thing for such deposits to be melted three times at the purchasing office and to have 30 to 40 assays on the metal made before buying it. Yet when shipped to a mint it was found necessary to melt two or three times more and to make 15 to 25 assays before the mint would accept the bar, and there were considerable differences between the valuations of the two offices. In what was undoubtedly the worst case ever investigated, the purchasing office melted the deposit, 953 oz., three times, with a loss of 105.5 oz., and made 46 assays; the mint melted three times, with a loss of 6.6 oz., and made 28 assays. The mint allowed the purchasing office 1.178 oz. of fine gold more than the purchasing office claimed, while an extensive investigation of the mint samples by the Bureau, in which over 100 independent assays were made in various service laboratories, indicated that the metal carried 0.7 to 0.9 oz. more of fine gold than the mint allowed. Preliminary assays on the original metal

Jan 5, 1916

By Karl J. Benecke

Though the first patent on a bucket wheel excavator (BWE) was granted in 1881 in the US, this technology was developed in Germany to the high standards of today. However, this development was only possible in parallel with development of shiftable belt conveyors and boom stackers. The combination of these three types of equipment in the open pits of the Federal Republic of Germany has made lignite the cheapest energy source for power generation, despite the low heating value of German lignite on the order of 8500 kJ/kg (3600 Btu/lb) only. Comparing the costs for fuels used in power generating on the basis of their heating value, the relation between lignite, high quality black coal, and imported crude oil is on the order of 1 to 1.5 to 2.5, hence highly in favour of lignite. These cost advantages for lignite in Germany are due mainly to the concentration of lignite mining in a few high-output mines. The largest one, Fortuna mine in the Cologne district, produced a total of 45 million tons of lignite in 1976. That equals the annual fuel need of a 5750 MW power plant running 7000 hours per year at full capacity. Altogether 95.2 million bank m3 equal to 200 million tons of overburden had to be removed to accomplish this lignite output. The largest BWE ever built is working in the Fortuna mine [(Fig. 1)]. At a digging height of 51 m above crawler level, the total vertical reach in relation to the face conveyor level is 98 m by means of its conveying bridge and loading unit. The hourly output is 10 400 bank m3. Its weight in operation is 13 000 tons and its wheel diameter 21.6 m, as high as a seven-story building. Major reasons for the development of BWE technology in Germany were: ? Lignite deposits with moderately consolidated, alluvial-type overburden (gravel, sand, loam, marl, clay, etc.) ? Great overall depth of the deposits, ranging far beyond 100 m, requiring a wide opening of the mine, hence not permitting direct overcasting of overburden. ? Multiple-seam deposits of poor-quality coal divided by reject partings, which demand a perfectly selective digging tool for clean separation. In general, these conditions are almost identical to those prevailing in the lignite deposits of Texas and neighbouring states: The type of overburden suitable for BWE digging, the overall deposit depth ranges down to around 100 m, and finally, the multi-seam occurrence with partings between seams, the latter ranging from just 1 m to a few meters in thickness. Technique As the Texas-type lignite deposits come into focus more and more as a possible fuel source in power plants to replace natural gas and crude oil, the following will deal with the BWE technology for mining a typical Texas lignite deposit under the aspect of producing enough fuel for a 500-MW power plant located at the mine mouth.

Jan 1, 1980

By Francis Crockard

DURING the past five years we have probably witnessed greater technological advances than in any similar period. Industry and science have steadily marched ahead. The makers of iron and steel products have watched with great interest the development of stream-lined trains, faster and safer airplanes, the entirely new science of air-conditioning and the widespread use of stainless steels. Since 1930, we have witnessed the erection of the world's largest suspension bridge, the largest and fastest ocean liner and the spectacular Boulder Dam, while even greater things are planned in these particular fields. Other indus-tries, too, have been moving ahead rapidly. This advance in a few years has been caused primarily by the fierce competition of the depression. Now, more than ever, is the emphasis placed upon quality and service. Makers of southern merchant pig iron have been no exception and have been confronted with increasingly strict chemical specifications and with much greater stress on physical characteristics than ever before. For example, sulfur in the iron must be held very low, competition demanding that it be in the 0.020's and low 0.030's; silicon content must be held within a very narrow range, and definite requirements of phos-phorus and manganese are an essential part of the specifications. Physical characteristics are becoming of increasingly greater impor-tance. The introduction of triple-skimmed, slow-cooled iron several years ago was the first step in this direction. Now there are a few customers who buy iron by chemical analysis and physical appear-ance, having found that the analysis alone is an insufficient guide to their requirements.

Jan 1, 1936

By Morris Muskat

A general theory has been developed for the effect of permeability stratification on the efficiency of the gas-injection phase of cycling operations. It has been applied to three special types of permeability variation; namely, exponential, probability, and linear. In the case of the exponential permeability distribution the effect of areal pattern sweep efficiency was also taken into account. The exponential permeability distribution can be characterized by the ratio of the maximum to minimum permeability, which has been termed the stratification constant. Curves were calculated for the variation in total wet gas recovery and total gas throughflow, to give that recovery to various abandonment limits of the wet gas content in the produced gas, as a function of the stratification constant. The cumulative wet gas recovery decreases monotonically as the stratification constant increases and is generally higher at the lower values of the wet gas content abandonment limits. The total gas throughflow first rises to a maximum as the stratification increases, and then ultimately declines. The effect of the areal sweep pattern efficiency is relatively minor as compared to that of the stratification constant, except in the region of low values of the latter where the formation is substantially uniform. The probability distribution can be characterized by a "variation" parameter varying from o to I as the formation changes from strict uniformity to extreme variability. The curves of total wet gas recovery and total gas throughflow to different abandonment limits of wet gas content versus the variation parameter have the same general characteristics as for the exponential permeability distribution. In the linear permeability distribution the ratio of maximum to minimum permeability also serves as a stratification constant index defining the distribution. The curves of total wet gas recovery and gas throughflow to fixed abandonment limits versus the stratification constant are similar to those for the exponential permeability distribution. However, for the higher values of the stratification constant the recoveries and throughflows do not asymptotically fall to o as in the latter, but approach constant values determined by the abandonment limit of wet gas content in the produced gas. Introduction It is becoming generally recognized that one of the most important factors determining the economic feasibility of cycling operations is the areal continuity and permeability distribution of the producing formation. While the effects of areal variations in permeability, porosity, thickness, and well pattern on the sweep efficiency can be evaluated by electrical model studies,' those due to permeability stratification require separate treatment. Several studies have been reported2,3 on the' influence of permeability variations on the wet gas recovery by cycling. In these, however, discontinuous permeability variations either have been assumed explicitly, or the analysis has been carried through as if they were discontinuous. While, in fact, the actual permeability profiles will undoubtedly be discontinuous, recent develop-

Jan 1, 1949

By John F. Abel

In the debate between miners and ecologists, our industry has at last begun to get some of its story told. I have been told many times that it is hopeless to even try to get our side across. Some are sure that no one will believe us even when our cause is just. My reply would be that we have to tell the truth; again, again, and again. We will never convert a fanatic, but we must try to reach the reasonable and thinking people. I am encouraged because more of us are trying. Various mining companies here in Arizona have bought newspaper space to set forth some of the facts around our local environmental problems. The Arizona Mining Association co-sponsored a symposium in March: Mining and Ecology in the Arid Environment. The symposium program included tours arranged with local mining companies. The participants saw an acid plant, an acid leaching operation, an alluvial tailings dike, a tailings pond, a smelter, and a couple of open pit mines. This wouldn't phase you until you realized that half the visitors were ecologists, watershed and wild- life managers, and other assorted conservationists. It took a lot of guts. I am proud that we had that much confidence. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and they is us!" Actually, we met the enemy and they were just like us-concerned.

Jan 1, 1970

By M. N. Dunlap

Tries article summarizes the successful incorporation of a flash-flooding stream into the tailing-disposal system at the St. Joseph Lead Company's Federal Division mill, in St. Francois County, Missouri. The mill was built in 1906, by the Federal Lead Co., as its No. 3 mill for the concentration of southeastern Missouri lead ores, and damming Davis Creek was first considered in 1908. Plans were made also in 1925 and in 1937. Dam layouts varied from a reinforced concrete structure to a barrier built of tailings alone. All were abandoned because of liability that would be incurred by flashflood rupturing of an incompleted dam. By 1942 mill capacity had reached 12,000 tons daily and increasing tailing-disposal costs again focused attention on the Davis Creek basin. This time the problem of riskless dam building was solved. Moreover, most of the items that appeared in the answer were materials that normally required wasting and the major portion of labor involved performed functions that it would normally have done, without constructive benefit, elsewhere. The new layout also made possible advantageous changes in mill-water supply pumping; static head being reduced from 514 ft to 95 ft, friction head from 4900 ft to 2860 ft, and pumping can be done now at periods of low power demand. The following facts about the Davis Creek watershed explain the 36-year reluctance to reach these, and other, benefits. Size: 3600 acres. Outline: roughly pear-shaped, 2 1/2 by 3 miles at the largest dimensions. Topography: mostly hill land with steep valleys. Relief : 760 minimum to 1153 maximum. Maximum rainfall: 3.36 in. per hour. Permanent water: none natural. Now 2200 gpm discharged through 16-in. drill hole from mine pumps underground. Geology: the 17 acres near dam centerline is Bonne Terre dolomite covered with sand and gravel eroded from Pleistocene beds that cap some of the hills. The remainder of the pond basin is on Davis shale. Soil cover: mostly second-growth timber with some abandoned fields; all subject to careless burning, which reduces water-retaining ability. Flood history: flash-flooding that had taken at least one life. Downstream values: two railroad bridges before creek intersection with Flat River. Immediately below confluence, a highway bridge, a low-water crossing, a few business establishments and several blocks of residences. In July 1942 the following segments of an ingenious plan were put into operation. A ditch 270 ft long, 16 ft wide and 5 1/2 ft deep was excavated to bedrock in the gravelly soil along the proposed dam's centerline. This excavation, which exposed many gravel-filled channels, was run full of slimes drawn from a riser set in the top of an adjacent tailings-disposal

Jan 1, 1947

By W. J. Rooney, James Fisher, W. O. Hotchkiss

During the summer of 1927, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington joined with the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in conducting a series of earth-resistivity measurements in the Michigan copper country. The geological structure in this section is quite varied and fairly well known. The purpose of the investigation was to discover the correlation between the variations in electrical resistivity of large masses of soil and rock in place and the geological structure below the surface. The work done may be roughly divided into two parts: (1) Measurement and study of the variations in resistivity with depth, or with volume, to establish such general relations as exist between the two; and (2) the determination of the specific resistivity of various formations in order to make available more fundamental data which may aid in the interpretation of the results of the former type of measurement. A report by Mr. Rooney, which gives in detail the measurements made and the results obtained, forms the basis for this article. Measurement and Study of Variations in Resistivity The possibility of applying data from measurements of the physical properties of earth material to the study of the geological structure has long been recognized, and a number of methods for determining the position and character of concealed rock strata by means of seismic, gravitation, magnetic and electrical measurements made on the surface are being used with varying degrees of success. One physical property which varies widely for different materials, and hence affords an opportunity for distinguishing between them, is their electrical resistance. Locations • were selected where the geological structures were well known and where the depths to the water level and bed rock had been determined by drilling. The problem was to determine the value of measurements of resistivity and its variations as indications of the geological structure below the surface.

Jan 1, 1929

By V. C. Allison

Large-scale testing of the explosibility of coal dust as conducted by the Bureau of Mines in its Experimental Mine involves a large initial investment, and a high charge for maintenance and conduct of the test; in addition the work is necessarily slow because of the time required for the preparntion of the tests and the cleaning and repairing of the mine after each test. These tests have been made along practical mining lines that admit of a range of mixtures of dust varying from 5 to 10 per cent. and with gas as low as 0.5 per cent. increments. Because of the time and expense involved, efforts have been made to devise a type of gallery for laboratory use in which the results obtained in the Experimental Mine may be correlated as an aid in a study of dusts, the explosibility of which might be approximately determined quickly and at a minimum of expense. The explosibility of coal dust has been studied by a number of European investors, using small laboratory devices; among these may be mentioned the experiments conducted by Galloway, Vital, Hall and Clark, Abel, Mallard and Chatelier, Thorpe, Bedson and Widdas, Engler, Holwartz and Meyer, and Taffanel, results of whose experiments have becn reviewed by the Bureau of Mines.' The Bureau has conducted many tests with the Frazer-Cle1ncnt5 apparattus, which gives the pressures set up when the dust cloud within is ignited with a platinum coil or tube, heated to different temperatures, but for these tests the sample must be especially prepared as to size (200 mesh) and must be dry. Need for a Dust-testing Apparatus An attempt has been made to design an apparatus that may be used for checking and correlating the expcrimental tests. The first design was a wooden gallery, 8 by 10 in., inside cross section, and 12 ft. long, and having a number of strips along each side for creation of turbulence. The wooden gallery did not get beyond its period of calibration; it mas difficult to make the gallery sufficiently tight, for it was necessary that the top be removable in order that the gallery could be cleaned. In the use of the wooden gallery, however, sufficient operating data were obtained to be a guide in the design of a steel gallery having a circular cross-section. One of the features was a flap valve, at the closed end of the gallery, that would open inwardly thus preventing a reduced pressure within, caused by the cooling of the gases of combustion, and the explosions propagated much better than when the valve was not used; another feature was the determining of the best method for getting a cloud of dust simultaneously in all parts of the gallery, which was accomplished by the use of the concussion wave of a small quantity of powder or by the use of compressed air.

Jan 1, 1927

By J. L. Wilson, D. L. Emmons

The Tucker Hill perlite deposit is located in the northwestern portion of the Devils Garden lava field in Lake County, south-central Oregon. The perlite occurs in the chill margin of a late Miocene composite rhyolite lava dome that exhibits distinct cooling zonation. The chill margin is composed of an outer glass envelope, which contains commercial-grade granular and vesicular perlite, and an inner glass envelope, which contains onionskin perlite of local commercial quality. Glassy rhyolite and rhyolite compose the lava dome core. The entire dome complex encompasses at least 5 km2 (2 sq miles). Expansion tests in commercial-scale furnaces indicate that the perlites are suitable for a wide range of applications and compare favorably with commercial perlite ores. The large tonnage deposit appears competitive for markets in the midwestern and upper northeastern states, and the Pacific Northwest of the US.

Jan 1, 1986

By Katherine Mather

This paper is an attempt to put together petrographic, physical, and chemical data about the large and varied group of rocks generally called limestones. Results of the properties of these rocks on their performance as concrete aggregates are discussed.

Jan 10, 1953

By D. Jeulin

For iron ore sinters to be good blast furnace burden, they need to possess certain basic properties such as cold mechanical strength, reducibility, etc. Relations between such basic parameters and sintering parameters (composition of the mix, fuel consumption, operating conditions of the sintering plant, etc.) are not always well understood. For example, one cannot explain the differences in quality noticed for sinters having the same chemical composition. In this paper a new approach is proposed for the characterization of iron ore sinters by a quantitative description of their morphology. The Texture Analyzer LEITZ T.A.S. is used for this purpose and such morphological parameters as sizes of microstructures and the size distribution of phases are measured on samples of sinters. The results indicate that these measurements can be correlated with the sinter quality.

Jan 1, 1977

Advantages to Members of Our Advertising Section.-It is our intention to make the advertising section of the Bulletin as comprehensive as possible, so that members can turn to it for complete information as to where to buy the best mining and metallurgical supplies at the lowest prices. No firms or supplies of dubious reputation are advertised in the Bulletin. If members, in buying any material, will refer to the advertisement of that material in the Bulletin, or if they do not find it advertised in the Bulletin, will, when ordering, ask the manufacturers why the goods were not advertised in the Institute publication, it will be of material benefit to all of us, because the chief reason why advertisers are unable to trace direct results is because purchasers do not mention the Bulletin when writing. Finally, if members, when in need of anything whatsoever, will write to the Institute headquarters, an effort will be made to send them a complete list of manufacturers able to supply the desired materials of good quality. The furnishing of these lists will be a benefit to our Advertising Department, as well as to the members. We need scarcely call attention to the advantages obtained by the members from the money which advertising brings in, because all this money is returned directly to the members in one form or another.

Jan 7, 1913

EDWARD HART*, Easton, Pa. (written discussion?) .-In 1895 I visited the chemical plant of the Messrs. Chance at Oldbury, England, under the guidance of Mr. France, the manager. In the stock house I saw a pile of coal brasses with adhering coal and said to Mr. France, "I should think you would get dark acid." "Yes," he replied, "our acid has always been rather black. and our customers have grown used to it. Some time ago we ran out of brasses and could get only Spanish pyrite. Our product became white and the customers began to complain, so I put a little sugar in each carboy." E. A. HOLBROOK,* Pittsburgh, Pa. (written discussion?).-Mr. Davis says, "A very large tonnage of pyrite is annually being thrown in the waste in the coal mines of this country." This quantity is much larger than is generally realized by people not intimately associated with coal mining. At the beginning of the war this country seemed threatened with a short-age of pyrite. The U. S. Bureau of Mines conducted a general investiga-tion of the pyrite resources of the country in order to ascertain what material was commercially available. The general pyrite investigation was in charge of H. A. Buehler, with the subsection on coal pyrite in charge of E. A. Holbrook.

Jan 10, 1919

By G. R. Fitterer

By means of the C-Sic thermocouple1, liquid metal temperatures have been found to vary much more than was previously supposed, and fortunately these variations can be directly associated with some of our former knowledge which combined to form the "art" of liquid-metal manipulation. Commercial Development of This Device Several types of installations are operating in different plants. There are so many variables in steel plants in regard to operation, procedure, arrangement of pouring platforms, ladles, etc., that most of the installations now in service in this country are "tailor-made"; nevertheless, it is felt that satisfactory gains have been made, inasmuch as each installation has indicated some effect of temperature upon the metallurgical operation, and has pointed the way toward technical and financial benefits. In most cases, it has been necessary to accumulate the temperature data until sufficient metallurgical information is available for the drawing of conclusions. When mechanical difficulties have been eliminated, a distinct correlation of these factors has been obtained. The installations now in service are used for the determination of temperatures in the basic open-hearth furnace prior to tapping and in ladles from both acid and basic furnaces prior to pouring. Some of the installations are in shops making the higher priced steels; others are in "tonnage shops." The errors of human element, smoke screens and emissivity corrections connected with the use of the optical pyrometer do not affect the C-SiC thermocouple readings. The accuracy of the C-Sic thermocouple and the temperatures measured are discussed later in this paper. Temperature Variations or Liquid Pig Iron One well-known discussion between the blast-furnace and open-hearth (or Bessemer) departments has occurred intermittently for more

Jan 1, 1936

By G. R. Fitterer

By means of the C-Sic thermocouple1, liquid metal temperatures have been found to vary much more than was previously supposed, and fortunately these variations can be directly associated with some of our former knowledge which combined to form the "art" of liquid-metal manipulation. Commercial Development of This Device Several types of installations are operating in different plants. There are so many variables in steel plants in regard to operation, procedure, arrangement of pouring platforms, ladles, etc., that most of the installations now in service in this country are "tailor-made"; nevertheless, it is felt that satisfactory gains have been made, inasmuch as each installation has indicated some effect of temperature upon the metallurgical operation, and has pointed the way toward technical and financial benefits. In most cases, it has been necessary to accumulate the temperature data until sufficient metallurgical information is available for the drawing of conclusions. When mechanical difficulties have been eliminated, a distinct correlation of these factors has been obtained. The installations now in service are used for the determination of temperatures in the basic open-hearth furnace prior to tapping and in ladles from both acid and basic furnaces prior to pouring. Some of the installations are in shops making the higher priced steels; others are in "tonnage shops." The errors of human element, smoke screens and emissivity corrections connected with the use of the optical pyrometer do not affect the C-SiC thermocouple readings. The accuracy of the C-Sic thermocouple and the temperatures measured are discussed later in this paper. Temperature Variations or Liquid Pig Iron One well-known discussion between the blast-furnace and open-hearth (or Bessemer) departments has occurred intermittently for more

Jan 1, 1936

By T. E. Wayland

The general geology and mineralogy of bentonite, including pertinent technological details of clay minerals in the montmorillonite group, are summarized. Worldwide occurrences of bentonite deposits are reviewed, with emphasis on geologic methods and economic principles of evaluation. Active mining districts are described and areas with potential for current and future development are assessed. The production history of bentonite, principal producers, major consumers, and indicated trends are noted; also attention is directed to the hundreds of minor industrial uses of this versatile material, ranging from the manufacture of (A)cid neutralizers to (Z)eolite water softeners. Recent significant results of both basic and applied research are reported, with suggested lines of investigation for current and near-future consideration.

Jan 1, 1972

By B. Kopelman, C. C. Gregg

THE reduction of tungstic oxide to tungsten metal powder by hydrogen is a process by which one might expect the resultant metal powder to he porous. In- deed, sponge iron, prepared by rcduction of the oxide in a reducing gas, is generally accepted as quite porous. with pores large enough to be seen readily under the optical microscope at relatively low magnifications. However, any pores that may exist in tungsten metal powder are not resolved by the optical microscope, and apparently, not even by the electron microscope. Fig r shows commercial tungsten powder magni- fied at I0,000 X by the electron microscope,' both etched and unetched. In an earlier paper by one of the authors,* the existence of ports in tungsten powder was required to explain adequately the particle size changes occurring during the reduction of tungstic oxide. The inability to detect these pores under the electron microscope at 10,000 X implies that these {pores} are of a size of 100 A units or less. (This in itself is by no means proof that pores above 100 A would not exist, since polishing effects on the specimen might smear up holes of such small magnitude). If, then, these pores are less than IOO A. and of the order of molecular size, then the density of the metal powder should be

Jan 1, 1949