Search Documents

By Keith T. Griffiths

INTRODUCTION The Empress Nickel Mine is situated forty-eight kilometres west of Kadoma in the Zhombe Communal Land of Zimbabwe. The mine came into operation in late 1968 based on a proved and probable ore reserve of twenty million tonnes. The initial production rate was 55 000 tonnes per month from underground. This was boosted to 85 000 tonnes per month in mid 1970 when the opencast operation came into production. The mining method at Empress is sub-level open stoping with main haulages mined at ninety metre intervals and sub-levels at eighteen metres. The extremely wide ore body of up to one hundred metres in width has necessitated leaving extremely large rib pillars and sill pillars in position to maintain mine stability and to act as regional support of the hanging wall. In early 1976 the opencast operation had reached its final economic depth and it was then necessary to increase underground production to 85 000 tonnes per month. Since a large portion of the ore reserve remained in both rib and sill pillars, it was necessary to embark on a positive pillar recovery programme. For this reason it was decided to introduce a sandfilling programme for the mined-out stopes and a modified system of sub-level open stoping with post filling of the lower stopes. ORE BODY GEOLOGY AND GEOMETRY The Empress orebody outcrop has a strike length of nine hundred and fifty metres on a north west - south east axis. It is a steeply dipping (65' - 75') tabular orebody of gabbroic rock which has been extensively altered. The north west - south east strike length of nine hundred and fifty metres on surface reduces to some two hundred

Jan 1, 1983

By M. W. Strong

The technique of handling drilling muds varies somewhat, partly because of personal factors but mainly because of differences in formation, the type of problems, and the general drilling conditions in different localities. The much greater depths to which bore holes are now carried have made necessary closer attention to and great modifications of all aspects of drilling-mud technique. Increased depth means smaller hole, smaller drill pipe, smaller clearances, higher pumping pressures, higher differential pressures between shows and the mud column, less accurate control of the weight of the mud column, delayed receipt of formation data, and poorer samples. It means longer delays and greater hazards in rectifying mistakes or dealing with accidental occurrences. Equipment on a larger scale is necessary and more pains must be taken with layout. Lastly, the budget costs of raw materials have risen to high figures and economy of time and of direct monetary expenditure have come to mean much more than formerly. A mud laboratory is now part of the essential establishment of a modern oil field and to it current problems can be submitted for the most thorough investigation. The detailed chemical properties of all materials purchased or quarried have to be investigated. Detailed data on the physical properties have to be ascertained and research on improvement of material and its most efficient use has to be carried out. In this paper will be discussed the main mud problems of Iran, some of which are peculiar to local conditions while others are of the general type common to all workers in this subject. Underground Conditions In deep wells in Iran the normal overburden may consist of: (1) up to several thousand feet of marls with interbedded sandstones and limestones of varying porosity and permeability; (2) beneath this a chemical series of rock salt and anhydrites, containing various marls and thin limestones,

Jan 1, 1939

By C. S. Barrett

WhEN a collimated beam of protons or other energetic particles is scattered by a single crystal, the emerging particles produce patterns that contain much crystallographic information. Calculations of the trajectories of individual particles can predict with reasonable accuracy the complete pattern (which is related reciprocally to channeling, now studied in detail6) but the task is a lengthy one which has been completed for very few cases. A many-beam dynamic diffraction calculation of the patterns would be even more difficult and in some cases may be invalid. Because of these complexities, simple methods that will predict to a rough approximation the relative intensities of the lines in films of the back-scattering patterns of a given crystal are wanted. I have found a method which, although it is not a valid computation of intensities or of film darkening by either dynamic or kinematic diffraction principles or by trajectory calculations, nevertheless is found to be useful in practice. It has been tested on several crystal types,7 and is here tested on additional ones. The method consists in first calculating the structure factor F(hk1) for the (hkl) plane, of spacing d, by the familiar equation: where the summation extends over the atoms in the unit cell and fj is the atom scattering factor of the jth atom (using tables computed for electron diffraction, preferably those computed without exchange). Then the F values are squared and summed over all the orders, n, for which F2 has an appreciable value, giving a quantity: Finally, I, is expressed as a percentage of Ic for the

Jan 1, 1970

By V. E. McKelvey

The Phosphoria formation of the northwestern states presents a stimulating challenge to workers in every field of mineral technology. In addition to its large reserves of phosphate, the formation has been found to contain important amounts of fluorine and several metals, such as vanadium, nickel, and molybdenum. Because these minor metals in the Phosphoria do not have their usual glitter, concentrations of them are not easily discovered nor appraised. Like the phosphate itself, production of these metals very likely can be achieved only through use of costly chemical methods, for their mineralogy precludes treatment by the usual methods. In addition, in much of the area the containing rocks lie in complexly folded and faulted structures, which complicate mining and increase its cost. Yet the chain of research necessary to establish what elements are present; their geographic and stratigraphic distribution and reserves; the most suitable methods for recovering them; the combination of beds which, when ruined and processed, will yield the greatest recovery of the most valuable elements; and the methods most adaptable to their profitable extraction may well lead to the development of an important mineral industry and may make possible a significaut reduction in the cost of fertilizer this in itself would be an achievement of momentous importance—and at the same time make the nation more self-sustaining in critical materials. Although this research has great

Jan 1, 1950

By R. A. Pasternak, B. Evans

A dynamic technique for the determination of solubilities of gases in metals has been explored, using the N-Nb system as a test case. An initially clean sample, maintained at constant high temperature, is exposed to the gas at low pressure: the rate of sorp-tion and the corresponding change in sample resistance are measured continuously. A pronounced decrease in the slope of the resistance concentration curve is observed at the terminal solubility. The rate of gas uptake by the sample was determined in an ultrahigh-vacuum flow system equipped with a servo-control which maintains constant pressure in the sample chamber; the system and the technique have been described in detail elsewhere. 1,2 The sample was held at constant temperature during sorption by maintaining approximately constant power input into it; this results in constant temperature, since the emissivity of a metal is independent of moderate concentrations of dissolved gas. The simple electrical circuit used both for heating and for resistance measurement is shown in Fig. 1. The power input into the filament is where R is the filament resistance, RL is an adjustable resistance in series with the filament, and VT is the constant dc potential of the power source. If RL is set equal to R at the beginning of an absorption run, the power input becomes insensitive to subsequent resistance changes; for example, an increase of 20 pct in sample resistance is accompanied by a decrease in power input of less than 0.8 pct; i.e., the

Jan 1, 1967

By George W. Maynard

At the Pittsburg meeting of the Institute, May, 1879, I made the first announcement in America of the results obtained by Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy C. Gilchrist, in their efforts to eliminate phosphorus in the manufacture of steel in the Bessemer converter and the open-hearth furnace.' The first published statement in an American newspaper was a reprint of the first Thomas-Gilchrist paper,which I sent to J. C. Bayles, at that time the editor. At the suggestion of many friends who were present at the Pittsburg meeting, and others who are cognizant of the beginnings of the process in the United States, and for the information of the younger generation of the iron and steel fraternity, I have thought it eminently proper that the history of the process in detail should be given where I made the first announcement and where the process has had its largest development. During my residence in England, from April, 1873, to February, 1879, and as a member of the Iron and Steel Institute since 1874, I was present at many of its meetings during those years. At nearly every meeting the burden of discussion was the question of the use of pig-iron containing phosphorus in the manufacture of steel by the Bessemer or the open-hearth process. In my biographical notice of Thomas: read at the New york meeting of the Institute, February, 1885, I show. that the working-out of the process was not a hap-hazard or accidental inspiration, but the culmination of many years of investigation of experiments and theories which had been carried on aid advanced by chemists and metallurgists at home and abroad.

Jan 1, 1911

By M. A. Cook

Sutherland used an ion-pair adsorption model to derive the author's hy-drolytic pee-acid) adsorption equation for the contact bubble curves of Wark and Cox. To do so it was necessary to postulate that the sum of coverages of surface anion sites by the collector and depressant anions is practically unity. It is here shown that the free energy of Sutherland's postulated collector ion (x-)-depressant ion (OH-) exchange reaction (for no other than the OH- to compete with X-), namely EX + (OH-) Z SOH- + X-, is in some cases positive and X- should not even adsorb. Also, in many cases the (OH-) adsorption must be quite negligible even though the collector covers only about a sixth of the mineral surface at the threshold of air bubble contact. This, however, contradicts the postulate that permits one to derive the correct bubble contact eqwztion for the ion-pair model. Furthermore, the requirement for charge neutrality leads in the ion-pair model to the (impossible) constancy of the ratio @+)/(OH-) along a contact bubble curve in which pH may change by more than seven units. HYDROLYTIC ADSORPTION EQUATION Hydrolytic (free-acid or free-base) and ion-pair (H', X-, or R', OH-) adsorption models of the collector in metal sulfide and similar flotation systems are superficially alike and somewhat difficult to differentiate. This is because they yield, under seemingly valid assumptions, equivalent forms of the equations describing the distribution of the collector between the aqueous solution and the mineral surface. This has been discussed by the author and associates1-4 and more recently by Sutherland,' both for simple collector-mineral and for more complicated collector-depressant-mineral systems. In the hydrolytic adsorption model the equations describing the contact bubble curves of Wark and coxeJ7 are as follows :2 Here X is the collector anion, D- the depressant anion, 9, and On are the fractions of the free-acid sites S on the surface of the mineral covered by collector and depressant free acids, respectively, and @ is the fraction of uncovered sites. Kx is the free-acid collector dissociation equilibrium con- stant, K1 that for the free-acid collector adsorption, KD that for the free-acid depressant dissociation, and K2 the equilibrium constant for the free-acid depressant adsorption. Eqs. 1 to 5 yield upon simultaneous solution the result is the critical free-acid concentration for bubble contact in the absence of depressant-free acid. Eq. 8 expresses the conditions along a simple collector-mineral contact bubble curve for the case HD = 0, or V = 0. Last and Cook showed that Eq. 6 applies generally and with good accuracy in the collector-depressant-metal sulfide mineral systems. Inci-dentally, it has been shown by infrared absorption studies that in some cases the free-acid adsorption process splits out water.' In this case, Eq. 2 might be written SHOH + HX Z SHX + H20, with a similar equation replacing Eq. 4 for depressant-free acid-water exchange. This possibility does not change, however, the basic equations or considerations of the hydrolytic adsorption model. Indeed, this type of free acid-water exchange reaction was predicted for fluorite and iron ore flotation by oleic acid in the dry grinding and boiling processes.410

Jan 1, 1961

By Lewis Delano

IT HAS been generally recognized that, owing to the extreme friability of, galena, fine grinding has a tendency to cause excessive sliming of the mineral, so operators of lead mills have attempted to avoid this condition by commencing concentration at as coarse sizes as any mineral is freed. Jigging has been the basis of the milling process, making a clean coarse concentrate and a large amount of tailing, which was considered sufficiently low-grade to be rejected. However, developments and improvements in concentration processes are everywhere changing the low-grade tailing of yesterday into material worth retreating today. Investigations of the work of the Hancock jig on the Bonne Terre ore- have shown that the best results to be expected will give a tailing assaying 0.75 per cent. lead; the average over all conditions and grades of ore will be between .0.80 and 0.90 per cent. By crushing the jig tailings in ball-mills and retreating by tables and flotation, a tailing of considerably lower grade can be made; the problem then becomes an economic one of increased crushing costs versus higher recovery. In considering the entire elimination of jigging, the increased smelting charges; due to a greater amount of slime galena will be counterbalanced by the lower operating cost, in-creased recovery, and the many advantages of a simpler flow sheet. In developing these problems in the Bonne Terre mill of the' St. Joseph Lead Co., a long series of tests has been carried out covering every stage of crushing and concentration, and a large number of possible flow sheets were considered and tried. Only the final results and a few comparisons will be given here. At the same time, a careful and detailed cost-keeping system has enabled us to compare milling costs with the various flow sheets, and to calculate the economics of the problem' with great accuracy. .

Jan 8, 1920

By W. Shockley

THIS lecture can best begin with a statement of the chief conclusion: The metallurgical industry will find profit in supporting fundamental research on dislocations. This support should be done both in their own laboratories and in universities. My lecture consists of an exposition of the basis for this conclusion. The experience on which I base it is drawn largely from two fields in solid state physics—one field is transistor electronics and the other is dislocation theory. At present the relationship of solid state physics to technology is different in these two fields. In electronics without question, the physics has led the technology. In metallurgy, on the other hand, the technology in the form of metallurgical art is far ahead of the fundamental science. In transistor electronics, physics has suggested and can still suggest previously unachieved combinations of matter that will have new and useful properties; that is, the physicist can make specific predictions. The physicist can also have some confidence that the predicted devices will actually come into existence in a matter of months or years and that they will live up to the predictions. In metallurgy, the physicist cannot to a comparable degree make predictions and have the same hope that they will lead to something new and valuable. There are a number of reasons for this difference. The first is simply historical. Transistor physics is young. It may be regarded as dating from the announcement of the transistor, in which case it is about four years old, or from the first real control of semiconductors as materials (this was accomplished largely by metallurgists, by the way) in which case it is about ten years old. Metallurgical art, on the other hand, is thousands of years old. There is no doubt that the advance of this art has been and will be hastened by a good fundamental understanding of the quantum theory of atomic phenomena. It, is too much to expect, however, that theory will soon catch up with the lead that practice has gained in a thousand years, and that theory will then point out specific pathways to better materials. It seems more probable that modern atomic theory will serve to interpret and organize information much as thermodynamics has done through phase diagrams. In this lecture, I shall emphasize an important feature common to both solid state electronics and to metallurgy. This common feature is the harmonizing principle that justifies discussing electronics and metallurgy as related topics in solid state physics. In both cases the important properties of the materials arise from imperfections. By imper- fections I mean deviations of the materials from perfect single crystals. The imperfections may be of many forms. From the point of view of utility they may be either good or bad, and a given type may be good or bad depending on circumstances. The technical material of my lecture will be divided into two parts. The first will be chiefly concerned with four types of imperfections in germanium crystals. The control of these imperfections makes possible the fabrication of useful electronic devices. A good example of such control is the junction transistor, which I shall discuss from this viewpoint later. The junction transistor, as some of you may have heard, can be used as an amplifier of electrical signals and in a number of respects surpasses what has hitherto been achieved with vacuum tubes. The second part of my technical material will be concerned with dislocations. For about fifteen years the theoretical physicist has had dislocations in mind as the most important kind of imperfection in metals. He has, however, until recently had experimental material of a highly speculative nature to back up his assertions. I am fortunate in the timing of this lecture to be able to describe some recent results that put dislocations on a far more definite basis than has been the case in the past. In fact there are now some experiments which reveal the characteristic properties of dislocations almost as clearly as experiments in transistor physics reveal the properties of holes and electrons, properties that I shall soon describe. It is this advance in the status of dislocations that emboldened me to make my initial assertion that the metallurgical industry will profit from supporting fundamental research on dislocations. Transistor Electronics In order to discuss imperfections in semiconductors, it is necessary to visualize a reference condition that may be regarded as perfect. In the cases of silicon and germanium, which find application in transistor electronics,' the perfect structure is the diamond structure shown in Fig. I. In this structure, each atom is surrounded by four neighbors with which it forms four covalent or electron-pair bonds. These bonds use all of the four valence electrons possessed by each of the silicon or germanium atoms. The electronic structure of the crystal is thus complete and perfect. A crystal of silicon or germanium with a perfect electron-pair bond structure would be an insulator, In order for electrical conduction to occur, it is necessary for imperfections to arise in the electronic structure. In this lecture, I shall discuss four possible imperfections whose symbols and relationships are indicated in Table I. We shall consider first, as an example, a crystal of silicon containing an arsenic atom as an impurity.

Jan 1, 1953

By T. H. Alden

Using alternating tension-compression straining, the hardening of magnesium oxide single crystals was studied up to large stresses and strains. At 0.25 pct plastic strain amplitude, the hardening curve is approximately linear with slope 25,000 psi from the shear yield stress, 7 to 8000 psi, to 35,000psi. Above this stress, the slope decreases. The strain hardening behavior of MgO is considered qualitatively similar to that of metal single crystals. The relatively high stress attainable by strain hardening is associated apparently with the high yield stress on the cross-slip system, (001) <110>. Cleavage fracture during testing is uncommon. It is argued that the centers of high internal stress at glide band intersections, at which cracks tend to nucleate, are dispersed by cyclic strain. Special features of the glide band structure produced by cyclic strain and revealed by dislocation etch pits, support this view. Strain hardened MgO has mechanical properties greatly superior to the as-received material: yield stress, greater than 100,000 psi; elongation to fracture about 1 pct. A material is said to strain harden if the yield stress increases with an increment of plastic strain. This definition is usually applied for straining done in one direction, but is also applicable when the strain direction is periodically reversed, Fig. 1. For certain metal single crystals, data are available which permit a comparison of the hardening behavior for cyclic straining and for tension straining.&apos;-4 With certain qualifications, these data show that the same processes of hardening are operative in each type of test.5 Despite this fact, the importance of the technique is not immediately evident, although tension-compression studies of the common metals appear to suggest some deficiencies in theories of strain hardening developed exclusively on the basis of tensile tests. However, a recent observation suggests that the cyclic straining method may be very useful for studying semibrittle crystals in which large plastic strains are not accessible in unidirectional testing. The observation is that zinc crystals, when strained in tension-compression at -52°C, do not fail by cleavage at low stress (-500 psi)6 as they do in tension, but harden to a limiting stress of more than 5000 psi over a total plastic strain of about 600 pct.2 An important characteristic of the behavior of zinc crystals is the high stress, relative to the yield stress, attainable by strain hardening. By comparison, the hardening of aluminum single crystals tested by an identical technique saturates at 1100 psi. This difference is best explained by the cross-slip hypothesis of dynamic recovery.7,8 In zinc, cross slip is difficult because of the high yield stress for glide on planes other than the basal plane in the < 1120 > zone. The present work was undertaken in order to test whether these methods and ideas are applicable to other materials. Magnesium oxide single crystals, in common with most crystals of the rock-salt structure, deform plastically but fail by cleavage after a small strain when tested in tension. It was hoped that larger strains would be attained using tension-compression. There is, in addition, evidence 8a which shows that slip on the probable cross system, (001) < 110>, is difficult in magnesium oxide; it may therefore be possible to attain high stresses by strain hardening. 1) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Experimental methods used in this study were based in part on techniques reported in papers of Stokes, Johnston, and Li.&apos; MgO blocks, purchased from Norton Co., were used without further annealing. Specimens were cleaved to dimensions approximately 0.125 in. sq and 1 in. in length. The gage section, formed by chemical polishing, was sprinkled with 280 mesh silicon carbide particles in order to introduce fresh dislocations. The crystals were then cemented into cylindrical aluminum adapters and clamped in an Instron testing machine. One of two alternating straining programs was used. In the first, total cross-head travel was established and increased in steps after various numbers of cycles. In the second, a capacitance gage was used to directly measure the elongation of the specimen and the crosshead was controlled so as to keep the plastic strain amplitude constant. The straining was always symmetrical with respect to the initial, zero strain condition. While both procedures produce strain hardening, only the latter permits a measure of the total plastic strain so that hardening curves may be drawn. Constant plastic strain amplitude tests were done

Jan 1, 1963

By Martin A. Mayers

Five-sixths of all the coal that is mined in the United States is burned, without previous treatment other than screening, for the production of heat and power, so that its value is fixed by its suitability for this purpose. Nevertheless, the characteristics of individual coals that determine their fitness for use in particular pieces of combustion equipment are not yet well known. This condition is due not only to the small extent of our knowledge concerning coal itself, but also to our comparative ignorance of the nature of the combustion process. The following paper is an analysis of the combustion process as it occurs in industrial furnaces, based largely on the results of laboratory research on combustion rates. From this analysis it is possible to determine the characteristics of the fuel that limit the capacity of a given piece of combustion equipment. Limitations imposed by other factors than the attainable speed of combustion will not be considered, since they are subject to a different type of analysis involving the balancing of maintenance costs against fixed charges. In order to observe the relations among the various factors that affect the speed of combustion, representative particles of fuel will be followed through two types of furnaces. A pulverized-coal furnace will be considered first, because the independence of the individual particles facilitates the analysis of the effect of furnace conditions. The second example will be a grate-fired furnace in which ignition of the fuel takes place on the underfeed principle. This includes both underfeed and chain grate stokers, (8)† but does not include hand-fired furnaces and some overfeed stokers. The furnace will be considered to be large enough, the temperature high enough, and enough air provided, to burn the fuel completely, without, for the moment, specifying these quantities more completely. Furnaces Burning Pulverized Coal In a pulverized-coal furnace, the fuel particle is carried, in a stream of air, into the furnace, where it is subjected to radiation from the flame and from the hot walls of the furnace. The increase of particle tempera-

Jan 1, 1936

By John P. Bryant

Plant nutrients are obtained by plants from both the air and the soil. Carbon dioxide, a gaseous form of carbon and oxygen, supplies the carbon which usually makes up 50% or more of plant structure. Plants are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide directly from the air. Most of this nutrient comes from the air, although some carbon dioxide is absorbed by soil water and taken into the plant as liquid. Growing plants use more water than any other substance. Plant nutrients in the soil dissolve in soil water; soil water entering the plant carries nutrients into the plant structure. Water is then given off into the air as the plant breathes or transpires. The inorganic or mineral portion of the nutrients which plants require comes from the soil. Inorganic or mineral composition of plants is usually less than 5% of their weight, and this mineral requirement, usually lacking in the soil, must be provided by fertilizers. Proper fertilization of a soil to improve its mineral level and productivity is the basis for the fertilizer industry (Thomas, 1960). There are 13 essential plant nutrients which often must be added to soils or plants and are generally considered as fertilizer minerals. These nutrients are divided into the categories: primary minerals (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium); secondary minerals (calcium, magnesium, sulfur); and micro or trace minerals (boron, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum, chlorine). Further, cobalt is often added to fertilizers. Although it is not considered to be an essential plant nutrient, it is essential to animal health and is often applied to forages as a fertilizer constituent. One point of major significance to the fertilizer industry is that not all nutrient carriers supply that nutrient in a chemical form which will be available to the plant. Thus, a product which may be considered a fertilizer mineral may require substantial processing or treatment before it becomes useful as a nutrient carrier. Fertilizer Industry Scope Until about 1900 demands for higher crop yields were met simply by bringing new agricultural lands into cultivation. Since that time great progress has been made in increasing yields through fertilization and improved varieties and cultural practices. The importance of the fertilizer industry to the economy and welfare of the U.S. is widely recognized. [Fig. 1] illustrates the relationship of lime and fertilizers to crop yields. In terms of tons of fertilizer products, the growth of the industry has been phenomenal, particularly between 1950 and 1970. Table 1 shows the increase in fertilizer usage. Primary Plant Nutrients in Fertilizers Primary minerals (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) are designated as such because of their significance to plant growth. Practically all soils are deficient in both nitrogen and phosphorus, and most of them are also deficient in potassium. Consequently, these nutrients

Jan 1, 1975

By C. S. Simons

The conversion of a successful research and development effort into a money-making business venture requires careful attention. Problems of a business nature, such as market size, product selling price, raw materials and fuel availability and cost, financing factors, local and national taxes, licensing arrangements, etc. must, of course, be considered and resolved. In addition, the technical questions involving the scale-up of pilot plant or laboratory results to the full-scale plant must be resolved in order to avoid the financial disaster that attends a major delay in the startup of a commercial facility. The very difficult and demanding task of providing the interface between the research laboratory and the profitable metals processing plant will be discussed with examples from the author&apos;s extensive experience. After I had accepted the invitation to present a paper on the above subject of the interface between R & D and production operations, I began to give some serious thought to the subject. The program chairman had told me, in conveying the invitation, that what the committee had in mind was a discussion of positive and negative, forces in that interface, based on "gray-hair" experience. I am, therefore, at least physically qualified! My first reaction was one of mild shock; after over twenty years in the direct pursuit of the conversion of research and development findings into plant operations, I had never tried to sort out my , experience into a formal system of DO&apos;S and DON&apos;TS for the edification of posterity. However, after a little further reflection, I realized that this carries no stigma. No one has been able to formulate such a set of rules, and it is not really very likely to be done. Particularly if they are to be practical. I shall therefore settle for a more modest goal; I will simply discuss the factors that I have come to believe are the most critical in insuring that re- search and development results are converted into successful operation.

Jan 1, 1973

General discussion on the above subject, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914. GEORGE S. Rice, Pittsburgh,. Pa.-Undoubtedly there is a serious problem through the juxtaposition of gas and oil wells and coal mines, not only at the present time, but possibly of far more serious import for the future. If one examines a map of the coal fields on which is superposed the oil and gas fields of the country, one finds that they overlap to a very great extent. I may say at the beginning that we have not, so far as I know, had any very large number, of accidents growing out of this situation causing loss of life. Such accidents, or rather incidents, that have occurred have all been rather potential possibilities for disasters due to the leakage of gas from wells into the adjacent coal mines. The condition has been most acute in the Fairmont district of West Virginia, and in the general coal fields southwest of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. The accidents which have actually occurred were summarized in Bulletin No. 65 (Oil and Gas Wells through Workable Coal Beds) issued by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, reporting the transactions of several meetings in Pittsburgh, February, 1913, of oil and gas well representives, State geologists, State mine inspectors, coal-mine operators, and representatives of the U. S. Bureau of Mines. This conference was partly brought about through a case in which the Pennsylvania State inspection department had brought suit to restrain a gas company from completing a well through a certain mine. The office of the Attorney General of Pennsylvania asked the opinion of the Bureau of Mines upon the matter; about the same time the Association of State Geologists, at its New Haven meeting, asked the Bureau to take up the problem. Accordingly, it was thought advisable to bring together the several, interests. For the most part the danger is, I think, greater in the future, than at the present time Many parts of the coal fields of Pennsylvania, in Greene County particularly, have been penetrated by numerous wells very close together, and with the present practice of having a large coal pillar around each well, has made or will make the mining of many areas difficult or pro-

Jan 4, 1915

By J. P. Witherow

MR. BIRKINBINE&apos;S description of the bad working and sudden chilling of the Warwick Furnace last summer, seems to me quite phenomenal in blast-furnace practice. During my connection with the management of blast furnaces for many years, in the anthracite, coke, and raw-bituminous coal districts, such a case has never come under my notice. It seems to me that the scaffold in the zone of fusion could not have established itself (so that the whole power of the engines, with a blast pressure ranging from 12 to 18 pounds per square inch, could not penetrate), unless the furnace was previously badly scaffolded and bridged in some of its upper sections, from 15 to 30 feet above the hearth level, either in the zone of chemical action or the beginning of the zone of fusion. Such a "barrier to the upward gaseous currents would cause a suspension of combustion which may have superinducedd the scaffold that is assumed to have existed in the zone of fusion. It is Difficult to conceive&apos; that an agglomerated mass almost across the section of the lower bosh should have formed all at once, if the furnace was free and porous for the reaction of the gaseous currents above. Therefore, I think, the Warwick furnace was by no means in as free, open, and fine internal condition at the time the trouble commenced as the description of its regular working would lead us to suppose. I do not question the accuracy of the statements relative to the output of iron, etc. I merely claim that the phenomena., as described, could not have been almost instantaneously developed, unless there had been an incipient seaffold and lodgment above the zone of fusion. I would state my hypothesis to be that the stock lodged or collected in some of its upper sections during the process of blowing-in, on which, as a basis, more or less accumulations may .have lodged, and thus, indirectly, caused the formation of the suc- * This paper was not presented to the Institute in its present form, but is based on remarks, in discussion, by the author on Mr. Birkinbine&apos;s paper on, a Short Blast at the Warwick Furnace, and Mr. Witherbee&apos;s paper on Two Scaffolds at the Cedar Point Furnace.

Jan 1, 1881

By Martin A. Mayers

Five-sixths of all the coal that is mined in the United States is burned, without previous treatment other than screening, for the production of heat and power, so that its value is fixed by its suitability for this purpose. Nevertheless, the characteristics of individual coals that determine their fitness for use in particular pieces of combustion equipment are not yet well known. This condition is due not only to the small extent of our knowledge concerning coal itself, but also to our comparative ignorance of the nature of the combustion process. The following paper is an analysis of the combustion process as it occurs in industrial furnaces, based largely on the results of laboratory research on combustion rates. From this analysis it is possible to determine the characteristics of the fuel that limit the capacity of a given piece of combustion equipment. Limitations imposed by other factors than the attainable speed of combustion will not be considered, since they are subject to a different type of analysis involving the balancing of maintenance costs against fixed charges. In order to observe the relations among the various factors that affect the speed of combustion, representative particles of fuel will be followed through two types of furnaces. A pulverized-coal furnace will be considered first, because the independence of the individual particles facilitates the analysis of the effect of furnace conditions. The second example will be a grate-fired furnace in which ignition of the fuel takes place on the underfeed principle. This includes both underfeed and chain grate stokers, (8)† but does not include hand-fired furnaces and some overfeed stokers. The furnace will be considered to be large enough, the temperature high enough, and enough air provided, to burn the fuel completely, without, for the moment, specifying these quantities more completely. Furnaces Burning Pulverized Coal In a pulverized-coal furnace, the fuel particle is carried, in a stream of air, into the furnace, where it is subjected to radiation from the flame and from the hot walls of the furnace. The increase of particle tempera-

Jan 1, 1936

By J. P. Witherow

Mr. BIRKINBINE&apos;s description of the bad working and sudden chilling of the Warwick Furnace last summer, seems to me quite phenomenal in blast-furnace practice. During my connection with the management of blast furnaces for many years, in the anthracite, cake, and raw-bituminous coal districts, such a me has never come under my notice. It seems to me that the scaffold in the zone of fusion could not have established itself (so that the whole power of the engines, with a blast pressure ranging from 12 to 18 pounds per square inch, could not penetrate), unless the furnace was previously badly scaffolded and bridged in some of its upper sections, from 15 to 30 feet above the hearth level, either in the zone of chemical action or the beginning of the zone of fusion. Such a &apos;barrier to the upward gaseous currents would cause a suspension of combustion which may have superinduced the scaffold that is assumed to have existed in the zone of fusion. It is difficult to conceive that an agglomerated mass almost across the section of the lower bosh should have formed all at once, if the furnace was free and porous for the reaction of the gaseous currents, above. Therefore, I think, the Warwick furnace was by no means in as free, open, and fine internal condition at the time the trouble commenced as the description of its regular working would lead us to suppose. I do not question the accuracy of the statements relative to the output of iron, etc I merely claim that the phenomenta, as described, could not have been almost instantaneously developed, unless there had been an incipient scaffold and lodgment above the zone of fusion. I would state my hypothesis to be that the stock lodged or collected in some of its upper sections during fie process of blowing-in, on which, as a basis, more or less accumulations may .have lodged, and thus, indirectly, caused the formation of the suc-

Jan 1, 1881

The first mention of the occurrence of native copper near Lake Superior is found in a book by Lagarde, published in 1636. The letters of the Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century refer to the use of this copper by the Indians. Francesco Bressani, an Italian friar, says, in 1653: "There is a copper ore, which is very pure, and which has no need of passing through the fire; but it is in places far distant and hard to reach. We have seen it in the hands of the barbarians".* Father Jerome Lalemant, writing in 1659, says that the coast of Lake Superior is "enriched with copper of such excellence that pieces as large as one&apos;s fist are found, all refined.† These pieces of copper were hoarded by the Indians as mascots. The mention of the metal as having been already refined by nature recalls the fact that the old Greek historians spoke of gold-dust as being apuron, or not needing the fire. Father Claude Allouez,‡ writing in 1666, says: "One often finds at the bottom of the water [of Lake Superior] pieces of pure copper, of ten and twenty livres [pounds] weight. I have several times seen such pieces in the savages&apos; hands; and since they are superstitious [as if the padres themselves were not!], they- keep them as so many divinities, or as presents which the gods dwelling beneath the water have given them, and on which their welfare is to depend. For this reason they preserve these pieces of copper, wrapped up, among their most precious possessions".

Jan 1, 1932

By W. N. Best

Crude oil attracted attention because of its excellence as a fuel for openhearth furnaoes; for making crucible steel and brass; for melting copper, lead, tin, zinc, nickel, silver, malleable iron, gray iron; and for the production of steam in all sizes and types of boilers. For heating furnaces, mold-drying ovens, core ovens, ore roasters, calciners, hotair furnaces, sand drying, asphalt road work, etc., its superiority over other fuels is due to the fact that the heat is at all times under perfect control, so that a constant temperature may be attained and maintained at the will of the operator. This mcans a maximum amount and uniform quality of work. Crude oil is of two kinds, paraffine base and asphaltum base, and varies from 11 to 46 gravity BaumB. The light-gravity oil does not require heating before use; but oil of less than 20 gravity Baumé should be heated to just below its vaporizing point, in order to reduce its viscosity and to obtain the highest efficiency of combustion. Heavy California oil vaporizes at 230". F., Mexican crude oil at from 175" to 210" F., and Beaumont, Texas, oil at 142" F. Fuel oil vaporizes at 130" F. Scientific Installation Essential The burning of oil is an art based on science, and the "rule of thumb" should never be employed, especially in heating heavy crude oil. Thermometers should be used on both suction and supply pipes so that the fireman or smith will at all times know the temperature of the fuel. The indicators on such thermometers should be large enough to be readily seen by the operator, night or day. It is necessary to have an unvarying pressure of steam or air through the burner, to atomize the fuel. Also, the air used to support combustion should be delivered through a nozzle under the burner at a constant pressure. The oil pressure must not fluctuate; under no eircumstances should it vary more than 1 1b. The oil pump, which should be brass-lined, with the aid of the pulsometer and superheater, will insure a constant

Jan 1, 1916

By K. T. Aust

The relative interfacial energies of symmetrical tilt boundaries in silver of greater than 99.999 pct purity were measured as a function of orientation difference 0 between 9° and 36° about <001>. The results are in good agreement with the dislocation model of the grain boundary. The energy vs H curve may be represented by the Shockley and Read equation in the form Eoe (0.55—In 8). READ&apos; has indicated that an ideal experimental method of testing the predictions of the dislocation theory of the grain boundary would be to measure the interfacial energies of symmetrical tilt boundaries between face-centered-cubic grains that have a common <001> axis, as a function of orientation difference 0. The misfit H should be defined by a rotation of each grain through an angle of H/2 away from the boundary. Such boundaries might be expected, from geometrical considerations, to be made up of a series of edge dislocations, at least for small values of 0. Energy vs H relationships for tin&apos; and lead:&apos; were previously obtained for an asymmetrical tilt boundary separating two grains in which generally only one grain was rotated about a <001> specimen axis through an angle of H away from the boundary, the other grain remaining fixed. It is possible, however, that the boundary atoms in tin and lead may have attained a symmetrical position, in relation to the orientations of the grains on either side of the boundary, during equilibrium annealing. The two sets of measurements on silicon ferrite&apos; were somewhat better suited for comparison with theory, since the boundaries were symmetrical tilt boundaries in which the axis of relative rotation was <110> in the first series and <l00> in the second; but this alloy has a body-centered-cubic structure. Although the grain boundaries in silver" were symmetrically tilted, the axis of relative rotation was not a simple crystallographic direction, and it varied from boundary to boundary. Although the above measurements were in good agreement with the Shockley and Read equation,"&apos;: it appeared desirable to carry out experiments under the ideal conditions specified by Read.&apos; Consequently, the relative energies of symmetrical tilt boundaries in silver between grains that have a common <001> axis were measured. The technique of equilibrating grain boundaries in oriented tricrystals was used rather than the less satisfactory thermal groove method previously employed for silver bicrystals." Experimental Details and Observations The solidification and seeding techniques, described previouslyh for growing tricrystals of controlled orientations, were used to prepare tricrystal specimens from silver of greater than 99.999 pct purity. The silver was obtained from American Platinum Works, Newark, N. J., in the form of poly crystalline rods 10 cm long and 7 mm in diam. These rods were then cold worked by rolling or drawing them into suitably shaped blanks. Single crystal seeds and tricrystals were grown in a high purity graphite boat by means of a movable furnace with globar heating elements. The graphite boat was enclosed in a Vycor tube, which was first evacuated to about l00/u Hg and then filled with a static argon atmosphere. The maximum temperature outside the Vycor tube was 1250°C. A typical tricrystal specimen of silver is shown in Fig. 1. Grains B and C were grown from seed crystals with a <001> specimen axis or longitudinal direction parallel to the direction of growth and with another <001> direction perpendicular to the surface. Each of the two seed crystals was rotated 18" about the <001> specimen axis but in opposite directions away from the boundary. A symmetrical tilt boundary, therefore, separated grains B and C with an orientation difference 8 of 36" about <001>. Grain A in Fig. 1 was grown from the middle seed with a <110> direction parallel to the specimen axis and with a <001> direction inclined at 45&apos; to the surface of the specimen. The interfaces sepa-

Jan 1, 1957