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By W. L. Saunders

This paper deals specifically with heading-driving as distinguished from the broader term tunnel-driving. A heading is a pilot or path-finder for the main tunnel. Some headings are complete tunnels in themselves; that is, conditions at times warrant driving a heading the full diameter of the proposed tunnel. A tunnel 10 ft. in diameter might be driven to advantage through a single heading, provided the nature of the material admits, but it usually pays to drive rock tunnels of large diameter through the heading-and-bench system. Much depends upon the material, as in soft ground tunnels of much larger diameter are driven in a single heading. In mines, the tunnels, drifts, cross-cuts, adits, etc., are usually of small diameter, hence the driving of headings applies to completed tunnels in mining-work, except, of course, in cases like drainage-tunnels and main entries leading into coal-mines, where conditions call for tunnels of large diameter, approximating those driven for railway-service. In building aqueducts the tunnels are driven from 6 to 8 ft. in diameter up to 15 or 20 ft., while in railway-service the dimensions vary from 18 to 30 ft. in diameter. There is no department of rock-excavation so difficult as that of heading-driving. This work also belongs to the most expensive class in rock-excavation. A heading is driven directly in the solid. There are no lines of lesser resistance towards which to direct the energy of the blast, but the material must be blown out by main force. The completion of the heading simplifies all the rest of the work of excavation. It is easy, for instance, to enlarge a heading either from above, below or on the sides, by breaking towards the open face through holes approximately at right angles to the axis of the heading; or the enlargement sometimes takes place by holes driven outside of the heading running approximately parallel with it, the rock

Jan 1, 1910

By David P. Hale

The Cartersville barite district is near Cartersville, Ga., in the southeastern part of Bartow County, about 43 miles northeast of Atlanta. The area over which active mining is being done extends about six miles in a northeasterly direction and is about three miles wide. Barite production in Georgia began about 1907,' but the existence of the mineral was known much earlier. At present four companies are operating washing plants and three other plants are operating on leases from those companies. The chief impurities in the ores are silica and iron oxide. The silica is easily washed and jigged out and gives little trouble. Any gravity separation between the iron and the barite is generally poor, owing to the slight difference in specific gravity. Two operators have turned to magnetic separation as the solution to the problem and have made remarkable improvements in the finished product. By very close sizing prior to jigging, the separation between iron and barite has been greatly improved. In some localities manganese occasionally appears as an impurity, but is fairly easy to eliminate by gravity methods. A considerable percentage of iron and silica is eliminated by being broken free in crushing. Until methods for the recovery of fine ore were introduced a minimum of crushing was done, but modern methods allow more than formerly. The depression years brought about the need for increased recovery of ore handled on the part of the producers and a demand for a higher grade of product on the part of the buyers. Improvements in milling and mining practice have had a far greater effect, however, than merely the production of a better grade of ore with greater recovery. They have opened for mining large areas that a few years ago were considered noncommercial deposits because of their inaccessibility and their high iron content. It is no exaggeration to say that the new methods have more than doubled present known reserves of barite ore of economic value.

Jan 1, 1942

By W. S. CAYPLESS, H. O. Hofman, E. E. HARRINGTON

1. INTRODUCTION. AT the Lake Superior meeting, September, 1904, Messrs. A. Gibb and R. C. Philp presented a paper entitled " The Constitution of Mattes Produced in Copper Smelting,)' in which they concluded that ferrous and cuprous sulphides formed the chemical compound, 5 Cu2S, fee. They arrived at this inference from the observed fact that a matte containing Cu2S, 90.4, and Fee, 9.6 per cent (or, in round figures, Cu2S, 90, and Fee, 10 per cent.), did not contain any metallic copper, while one with more than 10 per cent of FeS readily dissolved copper, and with less than this amount retained copper in mechanical suspension. Although they determined the melting-points of five mattes containing from 32.6 to 80.1 per cent of copper, they did not draw a freezing-point curve, as the necessary apparatus was not available. A microscopical examination of 11 polished samples, gave them a grayish-black field of very uniform appearance, except that 5 of the specimens showed the presence of metallic copper. The object of the present investigation was to supplement the above paper by drawing the freezing-point curve of the series ferrous sulphide cuprous sulphide, and to see how the constitution could be further, revealed by microscopical work. The results obtained lead to conclusions very different from those of Gibb and Philp. While their paper bears the date 1904, it was published only in 1906.2 In the meantime, Bolles3 had presented his paper, "The Concentration of Gold and Silver in Iron Bottoms." The raw material which formed the basis of the research was a matte containing Fe, 61.68, and Cu, 11.20

Jan 1, 1907

By O. C. Wheeler

In order that the series of reports on oil and gas in Colombia may be complete, the report for the year 1941, which was not available for Volume 160 of the TRANSACTIONS, is given here. The report for 1945 begins on page 4o6.

Jan 1, 1946

By N. A. MacLeod

Ball wear in wet grinding mills has been the subject of considerable discussion in the last few years. Its importance to millmen is obvious in view of the fact that ball wear may cost from 2 to 4 per ton of ore for the more fortunate operators and many times this cost when a refractory ore must be reduced to a fine state of comminution. Consequently, any factual information that may be obtained on the nature of ball wear may be applied to introduce changes leading to lower ball consumption and therefore also to lower costs. In 1940, while employed with the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Britannia Beach, B.C., I had occasion to investigate factors that might affect ball consumption. We performed a number of tests, which will be briefly described. These tests originated as a result of changing from a 3½-in. ball to a 2-in. ball of different type of manufacture and were motivated by the desire to obtain the best possible type of 2-in. ball. Our testing was helped by the fact that the company operated a one-ton electric furnace, so that it was quite easy to make steel changes. It should be emphasized at the beginning that these tests produced results that in their general application to milling should be interpreted qualitatively rather than quantitatively. As will be evident in the description of the method used in testing, the balls were subjected to an intermittent batch grinding treatment, which may have produced results in rate of steel wear that may not have an accurate correlation with steel consumption in full scale mill operation. However, with this bed and rather arbitrary method of testing, results were obtained that may be of some interest and may stimulate further work on this subject. Unfortunately, owing to pressure of war work, our tests, which we had intended to repeat on a continuous grinding operation, had to be discontinued. Method of Testing Tests Were made in a Small cylindrical mill, rotating at 72 r.P.m. Internal dimensions of the mill were 10½-in. dia. by 9 in. The cylindrical inner surface was lined with rubber and the two ends were formed by steel plates. A charge of 2000 grams dry feed and 2000 C.C. of water was added evev 2 hr., the mill being drained of pulp before the addition of each charge, by tilting and sluicing with water. The mill was run On afternoon and night shift for daily periods of about 15 hr. total grinding time, and each test lasted from 60 to 150 hr. This batch method of testing involved a higher average pulp temperature in the mill, which undoubtedly affected comparative results in Some of the tests. Hardness oF Ball vs. Wear In these tests, special "eutectoid" steel balls were used, some of which were chill-Cut and quenched, some sand-cast and quenched, and some sand-cast and annealed to a dead soft condition. The results obtained, using as mill feed an ore containing considerable free quartz and

Jan 1, 1947

By N. A. MacLeod

Ball wear in wet grinding mills has been the subject of considerable discussion in the last few years. Its importance to millmen is obvious in view of the fact that ball wear may cost from 2 to 4 per ton of ore for the more fortunate operators and many times this cost when a refractory ore must be reduced to a fine state of comminution. Consequently, any factual information that may be obtained on the nature of ball wear may be applied to introduce changes leading to lower ball consumption and therefore also to lower costs. In 1940, while employed with the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Britannia Beach, B.C., I had occasion to investigate factors that might affect ball consumption. We performed a number of tests, which will be briefly described. These tests originated as a result of changing from a 3½-in. ball to a 2-in. ball of different type of manufacture and were motivated by the desire to obtain the best possible type of 2-in. ball. Our testing was helped by the fact that the company operated a one-ton electric furnace, so that it was quite easy to make steel changes. It should be emphasized at the beginning that these tests produced results that in their general application to milling should be interpreted qualitatively rather than quantitatively. As will be evident in the description of the method used in testing, the balls were subjected to an intermittent batch grinding treatment, which may have produced results in rate of steel wear that may not have an accurate correlation with steel consumption in full scale mill operation. However, with this bed and rather arbitrary method of testing, results were obtained that may be of some interest and may stimulate further work on this subject. Unfortunately, owing to pressure of war work, our tests, which we had intended to repeat on a continuous grinding operation, had to be discontinued. Method of Testing Tests Were made in a Small cylindrical mill, rotating at 72 r.P.m. Internal dimensions of the mill were 10½-in. dia. by 9 in. The cylindrical inner surface was lined with rubber and the two ends were formed by steel plates. A charge of 2000 grams dry feed and 2000 C.C. of water was added evev 2 hr., the mill being drained of pulp before the addition of each charge, by tilting and sluicing with water. The mill was run On afternoon and night shift for daily periods of about 15 hr. total grinding time, and each test lasted from 60 to 150 hr. This batch method of testing involved a higher average pulp temperature in the mill, which undoubtedly affected comparative results in Some of the tests. Hardness oF Ball vs. Wear In these tests, special "eutectoid" steel balls were used, some of which were chill-Cut and quenched, some sand-cast and quenched, and some sand-cast and annealed to a dead soft condition. The results obtained, using as mill feed an ore containing considerable free quartz and

Jan 1, 1947

By J. S. Bryner

In the study of metallographic specimens in the electron microscope, there is need for a method of locating the same field in both the light microscope and the electron microscope. This need arises chiefly from the fact that in the electron microscope the magnification and degree of resolution are so much higher, and the field so much smaller than in the light rnicroscope that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to identify positively what is being observed. The difficulty is increased by the fact that, because a transparent film replica of the metal surface must be used in the electron microscope, micro-constituents can be identified not by their color but only by their texture and contours. For these reasons it is desirable to obtain a series of photographs showing the same field in both microscopes in order that the appearance of common microstructures and micro-constituents in the electron microscope may be identified and catalogued for future reference. The need for a method of locating the same field in both microscopes arises also when it becomes desirable to enlarge in the electron microscope for more detailed study a particular interesting structure observed in the light microscope. Using the standard polystyrene-silicalJ replica technique, in which the silica film replica is fished from the ethyl bromide on a 1/8 in. diam zoo-mesh specimen screen, the possibilities of locating a particular area on the film in the electron microscope are rather remote. The desired structure may be obscured by the wires of the specimen screen or unrecognizable at the high magnification. A solution to the problem would be provided if a specially designed specimen screen, containing an opening which could be absolutely identified and quickly located in the electron microscope, could be fastened to the silica film replica in such a position that the desired field on the specimen would be located at the identifiable opening in the specimen screen. The design for such a specimen screen, a method for producing it, and a technique for fastening it to the silica film replica are described below. Description OF Method The Specimen Screen A simple design for a specimen screen containing an opening easy to identify and locate in the electron microscope is one with two lines of openings at right angles in the form of a cross. Such a screen is shown in Fig I. The opening at the center of the cross is identified easily and can be located quickly in the light microscope and in the objective image of the electron microscope. The specially designed specimen screens for this work were produced in quantity by electroforming. On both sides of a polished strip of copper I X 3 X 1/8 in., twenty patterns of the cross of openings were punched with a diamond point micro-hardness tester, using a load of magnitude

Jan 1, 1949

By Lawrence B. Wright, Lester G. Morrell

On the steep slopes of the Kootenays, 15 to 20 miles south of Nelson, B. C., are a number of ore occurrences (Fig. 1). One that has many features of mining and geological interest is the Ymir Yankee Girl Gold Mines Limited. Discovery of this property was made in 1899 at an outcrop on the hillside, some 2500 ft. above the village of Ymir. This proved to be a branch vein 20 ft. long leading to two main veins, the Yankee Girl and the Spur (Fig. 5). The ore pattern as now delimited shows a remarkable increase in ore area with depth below the outcrop. This recent development is of interest particularly in view of the fact that the property was nearly condemned, professionally. Another interesting feature, which has a bearing upon its history, is the persistent excess of tonnage produced from period to period over visible reserves. This is not ascribed to lagging mine development, but to detailed vein characteristics, which we will endeavor to make clear by giving a description of the veins and their surroundings. HISTORY AND PRODUCTION Little interest_was_evidenced-in this-distriet until the building of the railway in 1893 provided easy access and the discovery of the Ymir mine in 1896 attracted attention. As a result, the Ymir Yankee Girl group of claims was staked in October 1899. In 1907, an American syndicate took over the property and subsequently extended the 50-ft. drift and opened the present 400 and 540-ft. levels. In 1908, the Syndicate, without recording any shipments in the meantime, dropped its lease, which was taken up by H. L. Rogers, who bonded the Yankee Girl group. Rogers shipped 2622 tons of ore, mainly from the uppermost stope in the mine, which is reported to have yielded

Jan 1, 1940

By Lawrence B. Wright, Lester G. Morrell

On the steep slopes of the Kootenays, 15 to 20 miles south of Nelson, B. C., are a number of ore occurrences (Fig. 1). One that has many features of mining and geological interest is the Ymir Yankee Girl Gold Mines Limited. Discovery of this property was made in 1899 at an outcrop on the hillside, some 2500 ft. above the village of Ymir. This proved to be a branch vein 20 ft. long leading to two main veins, the Yankee Girl and the Spur (Fig. 5). The ore pattern as now delimited shows a remarkable increase in ore area with depth below the outcrop. This recent development is of interest particularly in view of the fact that the property was nearly condemned, professionally. Another interesting feature, which has a bearing upon its history, is the persistent excess of tonnage produced from period to period over visible reserves. This is not ascribed to lagging mine development, but to detailed vein characteristics, which we will endeavor to make clear by giving a description of the veins and their surroundings. HISTORY AND PRODUCTION Little interest_was_evidenced-in this-distriet until the building of the railway in 1893 provided easy access and the discovery of the Ymir mine in 1896 attracted attention. As a result, the Ymir Yankee Girl group of claims was staked in October 1899. In 1907, an American syndicate took over the property and subsequently extended the 50-ft. drift and opened the present 400 and 540-ft. levels. In 1908, the Syndicate, without recording any shipments in the meantime, dropped its lease, which was taken up by H. L. Rogers, who bonded the Yankee Girl group. Rogers shipped 2622 tons of ore, mainly from the uppermost stope in the mine, which is reported to have yielded

Jan 1, 1940

By Marius R. Campbell

VARIOUS classes of coals are recognized in this country at the present time. These classes depend largely upon physical characteristics rather than upon chemical composition, and consequently they cannot be accurately defined. The divisions into anthracite, semi-anthracite and semi-bituminous are fairly satisfactory; but the term bituminous embraces so large a variety of coal that it is of little value, and the term lignite is so loosely applied that it has little or no place in a scientific classification. At present there is no way of accurately defining the vari¬ous classes of coal, because no adequate scheme of classification, which applies to lignites as well as bituminous coal and anthracite bas been proposed. The object of this paper is to present such a scheme, which is based upon data obtained dur¬ing the past year by Prof. N. W. Lord,1 in charge of the chemical laboratory of the United States Geological Survey coal-testing plant at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis. All the classifications of coals proposed prior to 1877 were based either on physical characteristics or on proximate analyses, including all of the impurities. These schemes were illogical and highly unsatisfactory, for the physical properties of a coal give little indication of its true composition; and impurities, such as ash and sulphur, are largely the results of acci-

Sep 1, 1905

Discussion of the paper of John H. Hall, presented at the New York. Meeting, October, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 79, July, 1913, pp. 1247 to 1256. WILLIAM 'R. WEBSTER, Philadelphia, Pa.:-I would like to call ,attention to the fact that the results of the ordinary tension and bend tests do not always give us the information we want even if we figure out the amount of work done. You want a bending test of sufficient width and full thickness. In the case of eyebars, for instance, I have had experience with a 10- by 1-in. eyebar which gave perfectly good results in a full-size test of the finished bar. The 10- by 1.5-in. and 10- by 1.75-in. eyebars from the same heats-of steel were absolutely worthless in full-size tests. The narrow bending tests from all these bars gave good results. Bat after going into the matter fully, we found that if pieces about 3 in. wide and full thickness were used for the. cold bending tests, the heavier material would not stand this test, but failed. That is, in order to check the quality of the rolled bar you should have a wide piece of full thickness for cold bending, as the narrow pieces give misleading results. J. E. JOHNSON, JR., New York, N. Y. :-I would like to ask if there have been any tests made to compare the results of Charpy tests with the true dynamic test similar .to the Wohler test, except that the piece is subjected to a tensile or compressive stress and to alternating stresses in addition, at the same time. This seems to me to approach more nearly than any other test to the conditions of actual service. where the piece is under a fixed initial stress plus a highly variable and often alternating stress. Some tests were made on this plan in England within a year or two. The test piece was Subjected to either a tensile or compressive stress of known amount and simultaneously to alternating stresses in addition. Such a. test as this gives information which we cannot get by a tensile test or even from the tensile strength multiplied by an. elongation. Such tests, however, are exceedingly tedious and require long periods of time in order to obtain valuable results. If material could be subjected to these dynamic tests and the same material to the. Charpy shock test, and if some reasonable qualitative relation could be established between the results of the two tests, then we could assume that the shock test, which is so simple and easy to make, was a measurably accurate test of the dynamic qualities of the material. At present it does not seem

Jan 12, 1913

By M. Cohen, P. E. Beaubien, D. Caplan

Addition of 1 pct Mn to Fe-26 CY ca/(ses a12 increase in scaling rate at 870° and 1090°C. Whereas only the rhombohedral oxide, formrs on tire manganese-free alloy, with manganese present major amounts of the spinel .Mn0 . Pro-duced through which diffusion is more rapid. At 1090°C the scale formed OH Mn is highly, irregular due to blistering and sintering, This is a second cause of faster oxidation Since much of the blistered oxide does not participate as part of the protective layer. The oxide phases that form at different times depend on the degree to which the surface metal has become depleted, in manganese by preferential oxidation. PREVIOUS work has demonstrated that the oxide scales formed on chromium steels at high temperature consist of both spinel and rhombohedra1 phases and may contain considerably more manganese, especially in the spinel phase, than is present initially in the alloy.' It has further been observed that a binary Fe-26 Cr alloy scaled less rapidly than an equivalent commercial steel and formed no spinel.' However, it is not established if manganese in chromium alloys actually promotes formation of spinel nor if it affects oxidation resistance. It seemed expedient to try to evaluate the specific effect of manganese by oxidizing an Fe-26 Cr alloy containing a small manganese addition under the same experimental conditions as used for the manganese-free alloy.' EXPERIMENTAL Table I shows the composition in weight percent of the Fe-26 Cr-1 Mn alloy and of the Fe-26 Cr alloy used as reference. The alloy with manganese was prepared from the vacuum-melted Fe-26 Cr alloy by remelting in vacuum with the proper manganese addition. The ingot was rolled to strip and specimens 1.1 by 0.035 by 5 cm and 1.1 by 0.5 by 4 cm cut out or machined. As previously described2 the specimens were smoothed by abrading through 600-grit Sic paper, electropolished in acetic-perchloric acid (20 to 1) to remove 10 p of metal, annealed at 1100°C in 20 torr of purified argon, and electropolished to remove a further 10 p of metal. They were then either rinsed in water and methanol and blotted dry or immediately etched for 45 sec in deoxy-genated 4 N HC1 under cathodic polarization at 10 pa per sq cm. Oxidation runs were carried out in a vertical tube furnace in a flow of purified oxygen at 1 atm while the weight increase was recorded continuously on a* automatic balance.3 Alter 98 hr at 870.C or 20 hr at 1090"C the specimens were removed to flowing argon and observed microscopically for evidence of spalling as they cooled. Subsequently they were examined by X-ray diffraction, the oxides analyzed chemically, and metallographic cross settions prepared. RESULTS Figs. 1 and 2 show the oxidation curves of Fe-26 Cr-1 Mn at 870' and 1090C. The Fe-26 Cr reference runs are shown as dashed curves. Experimental details of the six runs are included in Table 11. The first 20 hr of run 1 is repeated in Fig. 2 to show the effect of temperature. At 8'70°C the weight gain for Fe-Cr-Mn is about twice that of Fe-Cr (curve 1 vs curve 2, Fig. 1). Both alloys show regular oxidation curves. On parabolic coordinates (right-hand scale of Fig. 1) the

Jan 1, 1965

By Howard Eavenson

EARLY in 1917, the United States Coal & Coke Co. secured options on several tracts in Harlan County, Ky., aggregating about 1.9,000 acres in area, and after careful prospecting by outcrop openings and diamond drilling, completed the purchase late in July of that year. This property is situated in the eastern end of Harlan County, south of the Poor Fork f Cumberland River, and extending across Big Black Mountain to the Clover Fork of Cumberland River, a distance of about 7 mi. (11.3 kg.). It extends from the Kentucky-Virginia line westward for about 6 mi. Looney Creek, which empties into Poor Fork, crosses the property for about 4 mi. (6.4 kg.), and as several of the seams within the property outcrop along this stream, it afforded an easy, and the logical, place for development. The property is on the northern side of the geological trough formed by the uplifting of Stone Mountain, on the southern, and Pine Mountain, on the northern side; the northern boundary along Poor Fork is practically at the base of Pine Mountain. This, area has been described in various geological reports.1 The main seam on this property is the one known variously as the "C," Benham, Keokee, Taggart, and Roda; it is, also called, by the Kentucky Geological Survey, the Kellioka seam of the western portion of Harlan County. This seam averages, in this property, about 5 ft. (1.5 m.) in thickness, although local rolls reduce this thickness considerably over small areas; and at the extreme western end of the property the seam splits. It is usually clean, although occasionally a small parting occurs within a few inches f the bottom f the seam; it is one f the best

Jan 9, 1921

By A. P., Svenningsen

ECONOMICAL handling of a minimum of 25,000 tons of minus 3/4-in. ore per day, grinding it to 2 per cent on 65 mesh, and effecting a high recovery of the copper at the lowest possible cost were the principal aims in the design of the new Morenci concentrating plant. Dealing with a tonnage of this magnitude, it is obvious that lost motion cannot be tolerated. When ore is carried on a conveyor an unnecessarily long distance or elevated to a greater height than necessary, or when pulp flows in a launder by a circuitous route thereby losing elevation and distance, we have lost motion which is always costly both from the standpoint of construction and operation. In addition to the 25,000 tons of ore which must be handled, 100,000 tons of water per day has to be carried through the plant in the treatment of the ore. Though water is not so difficult to handle as the ore, the combined tonnage represents a figure which could easily run into a considerable monetary loss per day if all phases of the design were not carefully followed with the idea of eliminating any unnessary handing of materials.

Jan 1, 1942

By H. R. Stahl

FIVE mills are operated in Southeast Missouri by the St. Joseph Lead Co.; these have a total rated capacity of 24,300 tons per day divided as follows: Federal, 12,000 tons; Leadwood, 4800 tons; Desloge, 3600 tons; Bonne Terre, 2400 tons; and Mine La Motte, 1500 tons. These concentrators are similar in a general way, differing mainly in size and type of equipment and in minor variations in flow sheet. No attempt is made rigidly to standardize procedure in the various mills in spite of a general similarity in the ores. Each mill may be regarded as a separate laboratory in which new ideas and changes may be tried. A generalized description of the process is given, noting important differences in procedure at the various plants. The concentration process may be divided into five main stages: dry crushing, wet grinding, desliming and classification, tabling, and flotation.

Jan 1, 1947

By J. R. Cahoon, H. W. Paxton

The possibility of using unidirectionally solidified, two-phase alloys as an approximation to fiber composite materials is investigated. The short-term me.chanical properties and failure modes of unidirectionully solidified A1 (rich)-Cu alloys containing ap -Proximately 0, 17.5, and 27.7 vol pct of 0 phase 'fibers" are determined at temperatures from 25" to 500" and compared with those obtained for conventionul SAP alloys. In a previous publication,' hereafter referred to as I, the possibility of understanding some of the room-temperature mechanical properties of unidirectionally solidified castings was explored. For Al(rich)-Cu and Al(rich)-Mg two-phase alloys over a substantial range of compositions, the yield and ultimate strengths and common ductility measures were very adequately predicted from the principles of fiber strengthening4 and the analysis of ductility outlined by Gurland and Plateau." The results obtained in I suggest the possibility of using unidirectionally solidified, two-phase alloys to simulate fiber composite materials where the inter-dendritic second phase or constituent acts as the reinforcing material. Recent attempts concerning the fabrication of fiber conlposites have concentrated on producing composites with a good bond between fiber and matrix and with very long fibers so that their maximum contribution to the strength of the composite may be realized. However, these objectives are difficult to attain in practice and present fabrication processes are either extremely laborious or costly.13 The slow, unidirectional solidification of eutectics has received considerable attention as a method for producing composite materials. 5,6 This method can fulfill both of the above objectives but it is currently laborious, expensive, and has the additional disadvantage that the volume fraction of reinforcing phase cannot be easily varied. On the other hand, unidirectionally solidified, two-phase alloys, also with a good bond between the phases, are relatively easy to make and the volume fraction of reinforcing "fibers" can be easily varied by changing the average composition of the alloy. The disadvantage of the cast alloys is that the mechanical effectiveness of the "elongated interdendritic reinforcements" (EIR)* may be reduced due to their rela- tively short lengths, the w factor in Eq. [2] of I. However, if the EIR have a high strength their contribution can be considerable. For composite materials containing discontinuous cylindrical fibers of various lengths the ultimate strength is given by1 where it is assumed that the composite fractures when the fibers fail. In Eq. [I], a, is the stress in the matrix just prior to failure of the composite, Vf is the total volume fraction of fiber reinforcing constituent, Vf(l+) is the volume fraction of fibers whose lengths exceed the critical length, I,, which is defined as the shortest length of fiber in which the stress can build up sufficiently to break the fiber. af is the fracture strength of the fiber material, w is a factor accounting for the discontinuity of those fibers whose lengths exceed I,, 1-/d is the average aspect ratio of those fibers whose lengths are shorter than I,, and t is the shear stress in the matrix at the fiber-matrix interface. The factor w is dependent on the length of the fibers and also on whether deformation of the matrix occurs plastically or elastically. However, for a given length of fiber, w is smaller when elastic deformation of the matrix is assumed.' It is of interest to consider the properties of simple unidirectionally solidified, two-phase alloys at elevated temperatures in view of the possibility of using suitable modifications for high temperature service. Knowledge of the creep behavior of these materials is still rudimentary (although under active investigation) and the present paper concerns itself with short time tensile properties of some alloys similar to those investigated in I (i.e., unidirectionally solidified Al(rich)-Cu alloys). Unidirectionally solidified alloys containing 5.6, 17, and 23 wt pct Cu were tested parallel to the direction of solidification at temperatures from 25" to 500°C. In the present investigation, the alloys were homogenized for 2 days at 535°C giving a matrix of homogeneous a phase (5.2 wt pct Cu) and an interdendritic constituent (EIR) which was completely Q phase (53 wt pct Cu). EXPERIMENTAL Alloys of nominal composition 5.6, 17, and 23 wt pct Cu (containing approximately 0, 17.5, and 27.7 vol pct 8 phase, respectively, after homogenization at 535°C) were prepared by melting 1200 g of A1 (99.99 pct) in a high purity graphite crucible and adding the appropriate amount of freshly cleaned copper chips (99.9 pct). The molten alloy (at 700°C) was poured into a preheated graphite mold (also at 700°C) and the ingot unidirectionally solidified by impinging water on the steel baseplate of the mold. The alloy was degassed immediately

Jan 1, 1970

By D. L. Creighton, S. A. Hoenig

The field-emission microscope has been adapted for the study of microcrack growth during the early stages of fracture in metal wires. Cracks as small as 6 1 in length can be detected and their growth can be followed to specimen failure. The system is quite useful in searching for microcracks since only sharp-edged surface defects will emit electrons under the experimental conditions. THE conditions leading to brittle fracture were discussed a number of years ago by Griffith1 and the term Griffith Cracks is often used for the small surface cracks which are responsible for brittle fracture. Griffith's theory has been modified by stroh2 and more recent results on metals are discussed by Allen,3 pp. 123-40. At present the phenomenon is not completely understood but there is general agreement that at least in certain materials the sequence leading to brittle fracture involves several stages. The initial microcracks are present because of cooling or working stresses, Hahn et al.,3 p. 95. When a stress is applied to the specimen the cracks grow slowly until the release of stored elastic energy is large enough to accelerate the crack and provide the necessary surface energy for crack growth. At this point the growth rate appears to increase rapidly to some new equilibrium velocity, and failure occurs. Since the microcracks are usually about the size of a single metallic grain (Ref. 3, p. 99) it is not easy to find them and it is very difficult to follow their growth under stress. This paper will report on the use of a cylindrical field-emission microscope for observation of the formation and growth of microcracks. I) THE FIELD-EMISSION MICROSCOPE The field-emission microscope (FEM) has a high magnification and resolution and is almost uniquely suited for observations of microcracks. Since the FEM is relatively new as a metallurgical instrument, a short description will be given here. Normally metals at room temperature do not emit electrons; however in the presence of a strong electric-field gradient, electrons can tunnel out through the reduced potential barrier. Since this tunneling is a function of the local field gradient and the local work function, the emitted electrons can be used to produce a highly magnified image of the surface by allowing them to strike a phosphor screen. Because the electron emission is dependent upon the local field gradient, smooth surfaces emit few electrons except at very high fields. On the other hand cracks, extrusions, or other surface defects, having sharp edges, emit strongly since the field gradient is very high in the vicinity of these defects. This indicates that the FEM should be most useful for detection of microcracks on otherwise smooth surfaces. A field-emission microscope was first used by Muller4 in 1936 for observation of metal surfaces, and recent reviews have been given by Muller5 and Gomer.6 The instrument has been used for metallurgical studies in the area of surface diffusion,= recrystallization,7 and grain growth 8 (Ref. 8 is directed specifically at metallurgists). In the work of Muller4,5 and Gomer 6 the specimen was in the form of a sharp metal point at the center of a phosphor-coated glais sphere. The impact of the emitted electrons on the phosphor produced a highly magnified image of the specimens. Such a system is not practical for applying a controlled stress to the specimen and a cylindrical geometry has been used in this investigation. This allowed the application of a controlled tensile stress to the wire specimen. Normally a cylindrical FEM geometry produces magnification only in the radial direction. This is the case because a smooth wire at the center of a cylinder produces a purely radial electrical field. However, if there is a break in the smooth surface of the inner cylinder, the field near the break becomes three-dimensional and the area of the break is highly magnified. The reason for this is clear if it is recalled that the field gradient depends on the relative radii of the inner and outer cylinders; if a crack forms, its edge radii are of atomic dimensions and a very high field gradient is formed near these crack edges. Since the electrons receive most of their acceleration near the crack edge and are always traveling perpendicular to the field lines, they tend to spread out and produce the magnified image observed in the cylindrical field-emission microscope. 11) BRITTLE-FRACTURE STUDIES A) Experimental Apparatus. The geometrical arrangement chosen was that used earlier by Gifford

Jan 1, 1965

By Ben-Zion Weiss, Melvin R. Meyerson

Chromium diffusion coatings on commercial Armco iron lead to carbide precipitation at the grain boundaries in and below the coatings. High compressive stresses are introduced into the coating and, as a result, tensile stresses are introduced into the base material below the coating. In coated samples, fatigue cracks form at the grain boundaries below the coating after only a limited portion of the total lifetime (5 to 10 pct). Residual tensile stresses and a stress concentration caused by precipitated carbides seems to be responsible for early crack nucleation. Stage I of Propagation may be divided into two substages: I-a in which the crack Propagates along grain boundaries, and I-b in which the crack propagates along slip boundaries according to a shear mode. In uncoated samples, the cracks form at slip bands after 40 to 50 pct of the total lifetime. In coated samples the Propagation process takes longer than in uncoated samples because of the moderate rate of crack extension until the crack breaks through the coating. The chromium-diffusion coating causes little if any increase in fatigue life. CHROMIUM diffusion is one of the most popular processes used to apply coatings to iron alloys. This popularity stems from the fact that the diffusion treatment is comparatively easy to carry out, and it improves certain surface properties such as corrosion and wear resistance as well as some other properties. Very little effort has been devoted to the investigation of the effect of chromium-diffusion coatings on mechanical properties and particularly on fatigue properties. Since the chromium coating usually represents a small fraction of the total volume of the base material it is generally assumed that the macro properties are dependent principally on the base material rather than the coating. Insofar as fatigue is concerned, there are indications that the fatigue life of the chromium coating is not less than that of the basic material and the fatigue properties are generally not reduced by it.' But chromium diffusion causes drastic structural and chemical changes in the region of the material surface2-4 which introduce additional residual stresses. Such changes must affect fatigue crack nucleation and may sometimes affect the initial stages of propagation. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the secondary stages of the crack propagation could be influenced by some irreversible structural changes in the core of the material, which stem from the long-time heat treatment at high temperatures required to apply the coating. This paper analyses the structural and compositional changes produced in commercial Armco iron by a chromium-diffusion coating and the effect of the coating on fatigue crack initiation and propagation. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES The investigations were carried out with commercial Armco iron. The chemical composition of the iron, the number of specimens tested, the grain size produced during chromizing and heat treating, and the thickness and microhardness of the chromized layers are shown in Table I. Samples were chromized by a gas diffusion process. The temperature and time of the diffusion coating process were chosen according to a previous grain growth study. It had been found that at a temperature of 970°C and a holding time of between 3 and 9 hr there are practically no changes in grain size. To describe the grain size more accurately the ASTM method5 was supplemented by a statistical analysis of the mean volume diameter as outlined by Fullman6 and The The mean volume diameter was deter- mined from D = p/2m where D is the mean volume diameter, and m is the mean reciprocal value of grain diameters as seen on the micrograph. The shape and the size of the asymmetrical sample, see Fig. 1, were chosen so as to facilitate the study of fatigue crack initiation. Before coating, the samples were machined and the surface of the groove was polished. After chromizing, the two side surfaces were machined and polished so as to retain the coating only on the top surface of the groove. Residual stress in the chromized layer was measured on the top of the grooved section of the specimen after the diffusion process. The inclined incident X-ray beam procedure was used.9'10 The computations were performed with the initial assumption of a zero surface normal stress component. An electron microprobe analyzer was used to obtain the relative amounts of chromium and iron con-

Jan 1, 1970

By C. W. Davis, L. R. Messer

THE name fuller's earth, which was derived from its early use in "fulling" or removing grease from woolen goods, is a term that is generally considered to designate mineral matter, containing hydrous aluminum silicates of the clay group, which has a high capacity for removing colors from oils, whether of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin. Fuller's earths are usually dried and may be "tempered" by heating or may be treated with water or reagents to improve their efficiency. For our purpose the term "acid-treated earths" will include those products from the partial decomposition of mineral water by acid which are equal to or more efficient than an untreated fuller's earth from Quincy, Fla., when used in bleaching mineral oil by the "contact" process. In general, the contact process for treating oils consists of heating and agitating a mixture of oil and finely divided adsorbent, the latter being subsequently removed by filtration. The term "adsorbent" is used because, although there has been a great deal of controversy over the mechanism of removal of impurities from oils by mineral matter, there is no doubt that adsorption, which involves the surface of the solid, plays a major part.' The properties that make fuller's earth useful in the treatment of petroleum products by "percolation1' and in the purification of edible oils by the contact process have long been studied, but the comparatively recent adaptation of the contact process to the bleaching of petroleum products has made desirable the further investigation of fuller's earth and other adsorbent earths.

Jan 1, 1929