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By R. E. Mussler, F. E. Block, T. T. Campbell

An exploratovy study was made to deternzine the feasibility of preparing beryllium by the metallother-. mic reduction of beryllium oxide. The procedure involved heating a relatively nonvolatile metal reductant in contact with beryllium oxide in a vacuum. Beryllium vapors formed in the reaction were condensed as a coherent deposit on a heated surface. Reductants tested included tanthanun, yttrium, thorium, Th-Mg, and Zr- Ti alloys, and the hydrides of lanthaniir~z, yttriunz, and zirconiur?7,. Test ten7pevatures ranged from 1350'to 175O' C, and reaction times ranged frot 30 to 100 lzr. In most cases metal recoveries were lola, although yields close to 90 pct of theoretical were obtained with latzthanum, yttrium, and zirconium reductants. In most cases metal deposits were contanzinated by beryllides, /ls/cally of the Beln M or Bel3 M type. BERYLLIUM has a variety of unique properties including light weight (sp gr 1.85), low thermal neutron absorption cross section, high scattering cross section, excellent dimensional stability, high strength to weight ratio, high melting point (1285"C), high specific heat, and high thermal conductivity. Interest in beryllium as a structural material in aerospace and nuclear-reactor applications is based on these properties. In general, the potential of beryllium has been only partially realized, largely because of the brittleness of poly crystalline forms of beryllium, difficulties associated in its fabrication, and joining problems encountered in its use in structural applications. Several excellent books and monographs are available to those interested in the occurrence, extractive metallurgy, and utilization of beryllium.1"* Although an extensive amount of research on beryllium has been in progress during the past 10 years, much of the work has been concerned either with the so-called "ductility problem" or with the development of methods of fabrication and evaluation of properties of various commercial or purified grades of metal. A recent survey of the literature indicates that only limited efforts are presently being directed toward developing new methods for reducing beryllium compounds to metal. Two major commercial methods now used to produce beryllium are the magnesium reduction of beryllium fluoride and e lec trow inn ing of beryllium from fused sodium chloride-beryllium chloride salt baths. Only a limited amount of work has been done on the direct reduction of beryllium oxide. Major factors which complicate this method are the great stability of beryllium oxide and the reactive nature of beryllium metal. The stability of the oxide necessitates extremely high reduction temperatures and vacuum operation to liberate beryllium metal vapor and cause reactions of the following type to proceed: XBeO(s) +YM(s)-MYOX(s) + XBe(& As early as 1939, roll' used this reaction for the direct reduction of beryllia by zirconium and titanium, and later in 1952 ~a~el~ studied the reduction of beryl-

Jan 1, 1967

By M. H. Childs, K. E. Merklin

Blast furnace feed specifications are being revolutionized because of the large increase in iron pellet production from low-grade ores of the Lake Superior region. Recent laboratory findings aimed at a better understanding of factors influencing the physical quality of pellets produced from taconite concentrates are reviewed. Tests for determining better product quality, the effects of additives, and production factors are discussed. The current revolution in specifications for blast furnace feed is typified to a great extent by the recent tremendous growth in iron ore pellet production from low grade ores of the Lake Superior region. Indeed, pellets are responsible, at least in part, for many of the stringent new requirements that are being placed on the suppliers of furnace raw materials. As the tonnage of pellets going to the steel mills increases, more and more attention is being turned to the detailed characteristics that make this product an ideal blast furnace feed. Control of quality in pellets is similar to that of any other product. A basic understanding of the factors that are encountered in their production, from the crude ore through to the finished product, is required, along with careful process supervision and frequent quality checks. Normally, chemical grade is not a problem. This usually can be controlled within the desired specifications by minor operating variations in the con- centrator. While future changes in requirements may result in the need for self-fluxing pellets1 or other chemical changes, today's quality demands center primarily around the physical characteristics of the pellets. It is in this area that many of the recent laboratory studies have proven helpful to the operating plants. A better understanding of the physical factors involved in pelletizing has provided the basis for a continuing program of quality improvement. Tigerschiold and Ilmoni2 and Cooke with various associates are responsible for the development of much of the basic understanding of the pelletiz-ing process. These earlier findings have served as a most useful background for this work. LABORATORY PROCEDURES Magnetite concentrates produced from eastern Mesabi Range magnetic taconites were used for all of the work reported herein. The sizing and chemical analysis of a random sample are shown in Table t Additives usually are mixed with the concentrates in taconite plants before pelletizing to improve the strength characteristics of the unfired balls. Ben-tonite, soda ash, and coal are in common use. The bentonite used in these studies was of the Wyoming sodium type; the soda ash was a standard commercia1 brand. Anthrafines were used where coal was called for. The procedure for making batches of balls at the Hibbing Laboratory is as follows: In an especially designed mulling equipment 2800 g of dry ore are mixed for 10 min with the desired additives. Water is added and mixing continued for 1 1/2 min. The charge is removed from the muller and put through a mechanical shredder to break down any lumps that may have formed. sixty previously formed seed balls are placed in the balling drum, which is in fact a 6 x 16-in. diam airplane tire turning at 53 Wm. Two thousand grams of the shredded concentrate and additive mix are fed by hand into the tire at a con-

Jan 1, 1961

By Nicholas J. Grant, H. C. Chang

EMPHASIS on the importance of grain boundary sliding as a mode of deformation at elevated temperatures has been presented elsewhere.' The extent to which boundary sliding occurs under certain creep conditions has been determined for high purity aluminum2,3 and aluminum alloys.' In general, boundary deformation extends quite far into the adjoining grains, resulting in a rather wide band of deformation along the grain boundaries. This has led some investigators to doubt that grain boundary sliding consists of shearing along the boundary surface; it has been contended instead that boundary sliding is a result of concentrated slip in the neighborhood of the deformed grain boundaries."' The purpose of this note is to present evidence that grain boundary sliding takes place by a bulk shear process. gh purity polycrystalline aluminum, wherever and whenever there is grain boundary sliding, boundary migration and concentrated deformation along both sides of the deformed boundary are associated with it. Therefore, it has been rather difficult to obtain unambiguous evidence of boundary sliding. On the other hand, it would be expected in certain alloys of aluminum, when tested under particular conditions. that the severity of the interfering effects of boundary migration and concentrated deformation along the deformed boundary might be reduced. Current research in this laboratory' shows that a 20 pct Zn-A1 solid solution alloy fractures in an intercrystalline manner during creep at 500°F with a small total elongation of not more than about 14 pct, and that it does so with extremely limited grain boundary migration. Accordingly, this alloy was chosen for the present study. The experimental procedure was similar to that used in previous work and has been presented elsewhere.' Two parallel flat surfaces were milled from a round specimen. The gage portion of the specimen was 1 in. x .09 in. x .17 in. The specimens, which were annealed at 1030°F for 24 hr, showed two to four grains across the width of the test bar. The specimens were subjected to creep at 500°F at stresses of 2000 to 5000 psi. The rupture times were from 10 sec to 3 hr. Appreciable boundary sliding occurred in all the tests. A typical example of boundary sliding is shown in Fig. 1. (The tension axis is vertical in the micrographs.) Sliding has taken place along the boundary between grains A and B unaccompanied by important boundary migration. The sharpness of the offset at the triple point can be clearly seen in grain C. As a result of sliding along the boundary between grains A and B, a new boundary surface between grains A and C was created. The offset at the triple point is about 0.07 mm. This boundary sliding is accompanied by the formation of rather sharp kinking bands and, of course, slip on several slip systems in grain C. This type of deformation has been referred to as fold formation' in previous work with high purity aluminum.

Jan 1, 1957

During the past 60 or 90 days, the metropolitan newspapers have published much concerning unemployment throughout the nation and the efforts of the Army and various other bureaus for finding work for the returning soldiers. The United States Employment Service has 2000 bureaus throughout the country, which Nathan A. Smyth, Assistant Federal Director, states have placed more than 2,400,000 persons in employment. The Engineering Societies Employment Bureau, which, since December, 1918, has been endeavoring to put all returning engineers in touch with employers who need efficient men, has produced results that are very gratifying to the Secretaries of the four Founder Societies under whose direct management the Bureau operates. During this period, 1615 men have registered at the Bureau's office in the Engineering Societies Building; not all of these, however, are unemployed. Many are ex-army and navy men, who in passing through New York on their way home, look over the field in the hope of making a change for their own benefit before returning to their former positions. During this period, 427 positions vacant have been filed, 2300 of which positions have been filled from the men registered. The letters mailed by this Bureau amount to about 1000 a month and the number of personal calls at the office, 1600. The lowest number of positions filled has been in mining, but the lowest number of registrations is also from mining men. While in February idleness throughout the nation was increasing at the rate of 35,000 a week, under date of Mar. 7, Arthur Woods, a special assistant to Secretary of War Baker, states that there is a material improvement in the unemployment situation and that the problem is no longer a serious one. It is recognized that' the improvement wrought in each individual by his military training and experience has so increased his value that it is 'not only unfair, to ask these men to accept their old jobs at the old wages, but it is probably very unlikely that they will be willing to do so. This plain statement of improvement may not carry conviction to everyone but a concrete example will show its validity. Take the example of a young man under 21, bright and intelligent, with only a high-school education who was employed, before being drafted, on purely manual labor. He shows up well under military training and is made a corporal; he makes good and is appointed a sergeant; and finally becomes top sergeant, which requires him in many ways to handle the entire company of 250 men. The result is; even if he has not been tried by the fire of battle, he comes out of the army with a feeling of self-confidence and capacity that was entirely lacking when he went in and he has had actual experience in handling a larger body of men than the average mine foreman at twice his age, and he has had twice the average amount of detail work to take care of.

Jan 4, 1919

By W. L. Fink, L. A. Willey

During the war there was introduced a new higher strength aircraft alloy designated 75S.1,2,3 The properties of this alloy assure extensive applications in both military and commercial aircraft. It is therefore important to understand its limitations as well as advantages. The properties of 75.5 alloy in the heat-treated tempers, like those of many other aluminum alloys, are affected by the rate of quenching. In general, low quenching rates tend to cause low strengths and to adversely affect the resistance to corrosion. Commercial quenching procedures are usually sufficiently rapid to permit the development of maximum properties. However, in the center of heavy sections, such as large rolled and extruded shapes, the quenching rates may not be rapid enough to develop maximum strength or resistance to corrosion. The investigations of 75s alloy described herein reveal the most critical range of temperature and the effects of quenching sheet and extrusions at different rates through that temperature range, on the tensile properties and resistance to corrosion. Procedure Preparation of Specimens Sheet specimens (3 in. by 9 in.) were prepared from a commercial lot of 75s "as rolled" sheet (0.064 in. thick). The composition4 was as follows: Weight Percentage Cu Mn Mg Zn Cr A1 with Normal Impurities 1.64 0.16 2.58 5.66 0.27 Remainder The specimens employed for the determination of the time-temperature relations during quenching of sheet were prepared by the following procedure: the hot junction of a 28-ga. iron-constantan thermoelement (asbestos insulated) was brazed to a thin strip of aluminum which was in turn brazed into the end of a 3/16-in. id by %-in. od by 30 in. long aluminum protection tube. Before brazing, the tube was flattened to 0.064-in. thickness over the junction and adjacent lead wires for a distance of I 1/2 in. The flattened end of the tube was fitted into a slot cut from one edge to the center of the 3-in. by 9-in. by 0.064-in. sheet and brazed into place. The brazed joint was dressed to the thickness of the sheet and the entire specimen buffed to approximately the brightness of "as rolled" material. Because of the brazing operations required, these specimens were prepared using 3S alloy. For the investigation of quenching rates in heavy sections, there were used 75s extrusions which had compositions similar to that of the sheet. The specimens consisted of 14 in. lengths of 3i-in., 2-in., 3-in, and 4-in. diam cylindrical rods and a roughly rectangular extruded section which was approximately 4 in. by 7 1/2 in. Thcrmocouple~ were peened into the bottoms Of .1/8-in. diam wells drilled into one end and parallel to the axis to a depth of

Jan 1, 1949

New York Meets first Wednesday after first Tuesday of each month. Chairman. PERCY E. BARBOUR, Vice-Chairman. A. D. BEERS, Secretary, 55 Wall St., New York, N. Y. C. A. BOHN,.Treasurer. JOHN V. N. DORR, LEWIS W. FRANCIS. Boston Meets first Monday of each winter month. W.. E. C. EUSTIS. Chairman. R. L. AGASSIZ. Vice-Chairman. E. E. BUGBEE, Secretary-Treasurer, Mass. Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. ALBERT SAUVEUR, H. L. SMYTH. Columbia Holds four sessions during year. Annual meeting n September or October. W. H. LINNEY, Chairman. OSCAR LACHMUND, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. STANLY A. EASTON. S. SHEDD. Puget Sound Meets second Saturday of each month SIMON H. ASH, Chairman. I. F. LAUCKS, Vice-Chairman. CHARLES SIMENSTAD, Secretary-Treasurer, 425 Lyon Bldg., Seattle, Wash. GLENVILLE A. COLLINS, JOHN N. POTT

Jan 5, 1917

New York Meets first Wednesday after first Tuesday of each month. Chairman. PERCY E. BARBOUR, Vice-Chairman. A. D. BEERS, Secretary, 55 Wall St., New York, N. Y. C. A. BOHN, Treasurer. JOHN V. N. DORR, LEWIS W. FRANCIS. Boston Meets first Monday of each winter month. R. L. AGASSIZ, Chairman. JAMES G. CARLETON, Vice-Chairman. E. E. BUGBEE, Secretary-Treasurer, Mass. Inst. of Technology. Cambridge, Mass. W. E. C. EUSTIS, G. A. PACKARD. Columbia Holds four sessions during year. Annual meeting in September or October. W. H. LINNEY, Chairman. OSCAR LACHMUND, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. STANLY A. EASTON, S. SHEDD. Puget Sound Meets second Saturday of each month SIMON H. ASH, Chairman. I. F. LAUCKS, Vice-Chairman. CHARLES SIMENSTAD, Secretary-Treasurer, 425 Lyon Bldg., Seattle, Wash. GLENVILLE A. COLLINS, JOHN N. POTT

Jan 6, 1917

By N. E. Garner

Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the cutting of a single diamond on limestone and shale under simulated down-hole conditions. A high-pressure chamber was modified by adding a rock-rotating device so that planing tests could be run. Weight on the diamond, diamond geometry and differential pressure across the face of the rock were varied. It was found that (I) high differential pressure reduced the volume of rock cut by the diamond at a given bit weight by strengthening the rock and changing the mode of failure; (2) a finely powdered rock left in the bottom of the grooves reduced the volume cut by as much as 50 percent; and (3) orientation of a single diamond about the axis of a drill point had considerable influence on diamond cutting efficiency. INTRODUCTION Diamond bits consist of many diamonds held in a matrix provided with water courses for fluid passage to clean, cool and lubricate the diamonds as they drill formation. Each diamond contributes its share to the overall effectiveness of a bit, but a lack of understanding of the performance of a single diamond has hampered efforts to engineer improvements in diamond bits. The need for those improvements prompted this study. This paper describes the findings of a laboratory investigation of the outting action of a single diamond where the differential pressure between the wdlbore and formation, diamond geometry and vertical force on the diamond were independently varied. The tests were conducted in a pressure chamber that provided relative horizontal motion (planing) between a rock and diamond under simulated down-hole pressure conditions. EQUIPMENT HIGH-PRESSURE CHAMBER WITH ROTATING DEVICE The high-pressure chamber used in previous rock mechanics studies' was modified for this study by addition of a rock-rotating device. The modified chamber (Fig. 1) differs from the old chamber in that the rock can be rotated to provide relative horizontal movement between the rock and the penetrator which may be a small element of a diamond or a drag bit. In this study the penetrator was a single diamond. The rock sample holder inside the chamber is mounted on a thrust bearing and is connected to the external drive mechanism by a stem that passes through two seal elements. The seal elements are needed to allow formation pressure to enter the bottom of the rock sample through a small hole in the stem. The Kapseal seal elements (Tefion boots backed by O-rings) provide low friction (hand free) even at differentials of 5,000 psi. The drive mechanism is a variable-speed transmission with a speed range from 0 to 30 rpm and an output torque of 2,800 in.-lb. A right-angle-drive gear box couples the drive to the stem. The new design has two independent pressure systems (formation and borehole) to simulate down-hole rock stress environment. Formation pressure enters from the bottom of the rock through a 6-in. diameter area, and borehole pressure acts over the remaining surface. A 14-in. layer of zero fluid loss oil-base mud poured over the top of the rock and an O-ring seal on bottom allow a differential between the borehole and formation pressures. Bayol 50 was used as the hydraulic fluid in the chamber. The differentials reported here were obtained by elevating the borehole pressure while keeping the formation pressure at zero.

By John Wulff

In a previous paper Burwell and Wulff1 have shown by electron diffraction studies that allotropic transformations can be induced in 18-8 stainless steel by polishing to a depth of about 5 X 10-5 cm. The development of a successful etching technique, which removes accountable amounts of metal from the surface without pitting and without changing the root-mean-square profile as measured with an Abbot pro-filometer, led to the application of the whole technique and material to an investigation of various mechanical methods of surface preparation, such as grinding, lapping, superfinishing and cold-rolling. Ideally suited to such a study is 18-8 of low carbon and nitrogen content. The material can be heat-treated to produce a coarse-grained single-phase structure. On cold deformation there occurs not only a reduction in grain size but, at regions of maximum stress, a change of face-centered material to body-centered material, provided the metal is worked below about 200°C. When worked between 200"about and 415°C., diffraction studies evidence a reduction in grain size without the appearance of any new body-centered ferrite. Ferrite, which can be referred also to strains induced by carbide precipitation, is evident when the material is worked at temperatures between 4150 and 800°C. Stainless steel is advantageous because the usual surface-finishing operations do not readily oxidize it to any appreciable depth. In order to produce detectable oxide films on the surface of austenitic 18-8 in a time equivalent to that required to produce, for example, a fine ground finish on 1/2 sq. in., the sample must be held in a furnace or oxygen stream above 600°C. By using longer heating times, it is possible to achieve measurable oxide films on samples , whose surface temperatures exceed only about 250°C. Experimental Procedure The apparatus, material, and technique described in the previous paper1 were employed in this investigation. Samples of 18-8, I by I cm. by 4 mm., were carefully annealed in the austenitic range to produce a coarse-grained structure. They were then quenched and pickled to remove scale, On a lapping machine of the Graton2 type, both sides of each sample were polished to a a of 1/6 a wave length of sodium D light. Thereafter they were electrolytically etched to remove at least 1 X 10-3 cm. of the surface, a depth that is well below that of any defermations induced by surface preparation. samples of this material, carefully mounted in steel holders, were then sent to various industrial organizations known for special finishing techniques. In the instrue ment shops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology check samples were finished by the same methods, as far as they were available. Abbot profilometer3 readings Were made on all the samples, which were then carefully degreased in double distilled benzine and alcohol, dried in a hot-filtered air blast, and kept in a desiccator. SUC-

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff

In a previous paper Burwell and Wulff1 have shown by electron diffraction studies that allotropic transformations can be induced in 18-8 stainless steel by polishing to a depth of about 5 X 10-5 cm. The development of a successful etching technique, which removes accountable amounts of metal from the surface without pitting and without changing the root-mean-square profile as measured with an Abbot pro-filometer, led to the application of the whole technique and material to an investigation of various mechanical methods of surface preparation, such as grinding, lapping, superfinishing and cold-rolling. Ideally suited to such a study is 18-8 of low carbon and nitrogen content. The material can be heat-treated to produce a coarse-grained single-phase structure. On cold deformation there occurs not only a reduction in grain size but, at regions of maximum stress, a change of face-centered material to body-centered material, provided the metal is worked below about 200°C. When worked between 200"about and 415°C., diffraction studies evidence a reduction in grain size without the appearance of any new body-centered ferrite. Ferrite, which can be referred also to strains induced by carbide precipitation, is evident when the material is worked at temperatures between 4150 and 800°C. Stainless steel is advantageous because the usual surface-finishing operations do not readily oxidize it to any appreciable depth. In order to produce detectable oxide films on the surface of austenitic 18-8 in a time equivalent to that required to produce, for example, a fine ground finish on 1/2 sq. in., the sample must be held in a furnace or oxygen stream above 600°C. By using longer heating times, it is possible to achieve measurable oxide films on samples , whose surface temperatures exceed only about 250°C. Experimental Procedure The apparatus, material, and technique described in the previous paper1 were employed in this investigation. Samples of 18-8, I by I cm. by 4 mm., were carefully annealed in the austenitic range to produce a coarse-grained structure. They were then quenched and pickled to remove scale, On a lapping machine of the Graton2 type, both sides of each sample were polished to a a of 1/6 a wave length of sodium D light. Thereafter they were electrolytically etched to remove at least 1 X 10-3 cm. of the surface, a depth that is well below that of any defermations induced by surface preparation. samples of this material, carefully mounted in steel holders, were then sent to various industrial organizations known for special finishing techniques. In the instrue ment shops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology check samples were finished by the same methods, as far as they were available. Abbot profilometer3 readings Were made on all the samples, which were then carefully degreased in double distilled benzine and alcohol, dried in a hot-filtered air blast, and kept in a desiccator. SUC-

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff

IN a previous paper Burwell and Wulff1 have shown by electron diffraction studies that allotropic transformations can be induced in 18-8 stainless steel by polishing to a depth of about 5 X 10-5 cm. The development of a successful etching technique, which removes accountable amounts of metal from the surface without pitting and without changing the root-mean-square profile as measured with an Abbot profilometer, led to the application of the whole technique and material to an investigation of various mechanical methods of surface preparation, such as grinding, lapping, superfinishing and cold-rolling. Ideally suited to such a study is 18-8 of low carbon and nitrogen content. The material can be heat-treated to produce a coarse-grained single-phase structure. On cold deformation there occurs not only a reduction in grain size but, at regions of maximum stress, a change of face-centered material to body-centered material, provided the metal is worked below about 200°C. When worked between 200° and 415°C., diffraction studies evidence a reduction in grain size without the appearance of any new body-centered ferrite. Ferrite, which can be referred also to strains induced by carbide precipitation, is evident when the material is worked at temperatures between 415° and 800°C. Stainless steel is advantageous because the usual surface-finishing operations do not readily oxidize it to any appreciable depth. In order to produce detectable oxide films on the surface of austenitic 18-8 in a time equivalent to that required to produce, for example, a fine ground finish on ½ sq. in., the sample must be held in a furnace or oxygen stream above 600°C. By using longer heating times, it is possible to achieve measurable oxide films on samples whose surface temperatures exceed only about 250°C. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The apparatus, material, and technique described in the previous paper1 were employed in this investigation. Samples of 18-8, 1 by 1 cm. by 4 mm., were carefully annealed in the austenitic range to produce a coarse-grained structure. They were then quenched and pickled to remove scale. On a lapping machine of the Graton2 type, both sides of each sample were polished to a flatness of 1/6 a wave length of sodium D light. Thereafter they were electrolytically etched to remove at least 1 X 10-3 cm. of the surface, a depth that is well below that of any deformations induced by surface preparation. Samples of this material, carefully mounted in steel holders, were then sent to various industrial organizations known for special finishing techniques. In the instrument shops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology check samples were finished by the same methods, as far as they were available. Abbot profilometer3 readings were made on all the samples, which were then carefully degreased in double distilled benzine and alcohol, dried in a hot-filtered air blast, and kept in a desiccator. Suc-

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff, Robert Kamm, M. A. Steinberg

IN a previous paper1 from this laboratory, the development of a lead grid method for exploring the distribution of strain and density within metal powder compacts was described, In that work thin lead foil with rectangular holes cut at regular intervals was inserted with the powder fill, the arrangement pressed and then radiographed to permit measurement of the deformation of the lead grid. Densities at each grid element obtained in this manner were plotted as a function of the die dimensions. From such plots it was, found that the densest part of a compact pressed from one side (the top) is at the top outer region and the least dense at the bottom outer region -of the specimen. The axial density maximum occurs more often nearer the bottom than at the top. As a result of such exploratory measurements, it appeared reasonable to conclude that variations in density could be attributed in the main to die wall friction. Thus compacts of large diameter appeared relatively uniform in density except where the die fill had been uneven. Finally it was found that lubrication of the finely finished die cavity contributed more to magnitude and uniformity of density within the compact than interparticle lubrication. Since publication of the above results, it was found that circular-hole grids could be more accurately made and, when deformed within the powder, more readily measured and analyzed. Much of the former work was repeated and new results which include the effect of lubrication, compact height, pressure, speed of pressing and vacuum pressing are reported in the present paper. CIRCULAR-HOLE GRIDS AND ANALYSES OF RADIOGRAPHS Commercial lead sheet 0.008 in. in thickness was used in all the work reported. The 0.0938-in. diam holes were punched in the sheet on 1/8-in, centers to an accuracy of 0.001 in. The finished grid used contained eight or more holes in a row and from I to 24 rows. The lead sheet was clamped between two pairs of brass strips bolted to a small milling machine table which was itself bolted to a bench in correct position near a vise which held the punch. Travel of the lead grid in two dimensions was controlled by two steel lead screws calibrated in 0.001-in. divisions. A stripper plate was used on the punch to avoid distortion of the lead foil. A high carbon-high chromium (chrocar) one-piece steel die was used throughout the work. The die cavity was 1,125 in. in diam and the clearance between plungers and die wall was 0.001 in, The die was also used for pressing from both ends with two long plungers. Finally, lapping of die and plungers gave a surface whose rms value on an Abbot profilometer was 5 micro-in. The die walls and plungers were, except where otherwise noted, lubricated with a stearic acid suspension in benzene. This was put on in multiple layers and allowed to dry before filling the die.

Jan 1, 1948

By M. A. Steinberg, J. Wulff, R. Kamm

In a previous paper1 from this laboratory, the development of a lead grid method for exploring the distribution of strain and density within metal powder compacts was described. In that work thin lead foil with rectangular holes cut at regular intervals was inserted with the powder fill, the arrangement pressed and then radiographed to permit measurement of the deformation of the lead grid. Densities at each grid element obtained in this manner were plotted as a function of the die dimensions. From such plots it was found that the densest part of a compact pressed from one side (the top) is at the top outer region and the least dense at the bottom outer region of the specimen. The axial density maximum occurs more often nearer the bottom than at the top. As a result of such exploratory measurements, it appeared reasonable to conclude that variations in density could be attributed in the main to die wall friction. Thus compacts of large diameter appeared relatively uniform in density except where the die fill had been uneven. Finally it was found that lubrication of the finely finished die cavity contributed more to magnitude and uniformity of density within the compact than interparticle lubrication. Since publication of the above results, it was found that circular-hole grids could be more accurately made and, when deformed within the powder, more readily measured and analyzed. Much of the former work was repeated and new results which include the effect of lubrication, compact height, pressure, speed of pressing and vacuum pressing are reported in the present paper. Circular-hole Grids and Analyses OF Radiographs Commercial lead sheet 0.008 in. in thickness was used in all the work reported. The 0.0938-in. diam holes were punched in the sheet on 1/8-in. centers to an accuracy of 0.001 in. The finished grid used contained eight or more holes in a row and from I to 24 rows. The lead sheet was clamped between two pairs of brass strips bolted to a small milling machine table which was itself bolted to a bench in correct position near a vise which held the punch. Travel of the lead grid in two dimensions was controlled by two steel lead screws calibrated in 0.001-in. divisions. A stripper plate was used on the punch to avoid distortion of the lead foil. A high carbon-high chromium (chrocar) one-piece steel die was used throughout the work. The die cavity was 1.125 in. in diam and the clearance between plungers and die wall was 0.001 in. The die was also used for pressing from both ends with two long plungers. Finally, lapping of die and plungers gave a surface whose rms value On an Abbot profilometer was 5 micro-in. The die walls and plungers were, except where otherwise noted, lubricated with a stearic acid suspension in benzene. This was put on in multiple layers and allowed to dry before filling the die.

Jan 1, 1949

By T. A. Read, M. S. Wechsler, D. S. Lieberman

A theoretical analysis of the austenite-martensite transformation is presented which predicts the habit plane, orientation relationships, and macroscopic distortions from a knowledge only of the crystal structures of the initial and final phases. THIS paper presents a new theory of the formation of martensite. This theory makes possible the calculation of the austenite planes on which the martensite plates form, the orientation relationship between the austenite and martensite crystal axes, and the macroscopic distortions which are observed. The only input data needed are the crystal structures and lattice parameters of the austenite and martensite. Considerable effort has been devoted over the past thirty years to the development of an understanding of the crystallographic features of martensite reactions. Much of this work has been done on steels and iron-nickel alloys, for which a great deal of data has been accumulated concerning the shape and orientation of the martensite plates, the relative orientations of the austenite and martensite crystal axes, and the observable distortions which result from transformation. These observations are reviewed in refs. 1, 2, and 3. The first major step toward an understanding of these phenomena was made in 1924 by Bain,' who showed that the a body-centered cubic structure can be produced from the 7 face-centered cubic structure by a contraction of about 17 pct in the direction of one of the austenite cube axes and an expansion of 12 pct in all directions perpendicular to it. Since that time, most of the efforts at further interpretation have been made by investigators who have worked from the phenomenological data, incorporating some of the information from the lattice properties, and have sought an analysis into likely deformations which would produce the observed results."- "11 but the three most recent papers on the subject have already been reviewed in some detail." Machlin and Cohenl0 measured the components of the distortion matrix and verified that the habit plane is a plane of zero distortion and rotation for the (259) case. They showed that the measured distortion matrix, when applied to the parent lattice, does not yield the product lattice and hence some inhomogeneous distortion must occur. Frank,u working from the lattice properties and taking some clues from the observations, considered the correspondence of close-packed rows and planes in the austenite and martensite. He predicted substantially the observed lattice relationship and habit plane for certain steels which have a (225) habit. Geisler12 suggested that there is a natural tendency for the habit plane to be a (111) and postulated certain slip processes to account for the fact that the experimentally observed habit plane is irrational and deviates from the assumed one. The present work differs from previous treatments of martensite formation in that it permits calculation of all the major manifestations of the process. Habit plane indices, orientation relationships, and observable distortions are all calculated from a knowledge of the crystal structures of the initial and final phases alone. The calculations contain no adjustable parameters. The agreement found between calculated results and the observations reported in the literature constitutes powerful evidence in favor of the mechanism of martensite formation proposed. The theory is applicable to systems other than steel (as is discussed later in this paper) which exhibit a diffusionless phase change but because of the wide-spread interest in the austenite-martensite transformation, particular attention will be given to the iron-base alloys. For other systems which undergo a similar face-centered cubic to face-centered tetragonal transformation, the mathematical treatment is identical with that presented here. Hence the theory successfully describes the transformation in the indium-thallium alloy.'" Homogeneous Transformation to Martensite The distortion which any homogeneously transforming volume of austenite undergoes in order to become martensite is shown in Fig. 1, as was first suggested by Bain.' (This distortion will hereafter be referred to as the "Bain distortion.") This specification of a contraction along one cube axis ;ombined with an expansion in all directions perpendicular to this axis describes what is properly called the "pure" distortion associated with this transformation. The distinction between a "pure" and an "impure" distortion plays an important part in the discussion which follows. A "pure" distortion is characterized by the existence of at least one set of orthogonal axes fixed in the body which are not rotated by the distortion. (These are called the "principal axes" of the distortion.) No such set of axes exists in the case of an "impure" distortion. On the other hand, an impure distortion can always be represented as the result of a pure distortion combined with the rotation of the specimen as a rigid body. For a given impure distortion the corresponding pure distortion

Jan 1, 1954

By A. McLean, D. W. Gomersall, R. G. Ward

An experimental study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron and liquid Fe-C alloys using levitation melting and a rapid quenching device. Iron alloy droplets were equilibrated with nitrogen gas at 1 atm pressure, quenched, and analyzed. Previous techniques for studying the Fe-C-N system have produced data which me in marked disagreement. This disagreement is due largely to errors caused by reaction between the molten alloy and the crucible material. With the levitation procedure, errors from this source have been eliminated and precise solubility data obtained for temperatures between 1450° and 1750°C. C-N interactions in molten iron have been expressed in terms of first- and second-order free energy, enthalpy, and entropy parameters. ALTHOUGH the solubility of nitrogen in iron base alloys is in general small, the effects of nitrogen on the properties of steel may be quite profound. For most purposes nitrogen in finished steels is undesirable, particularly in the low-carbon grades, since on cooling to room temperature the solubility limit of nitrogen in the steel may be exceeded and this can lead to embrittlement and loss of ductility on aging. On the other hand, nitrogen can improve the work-hardening properties and machinability of steels while in certain stainless grades nitrogen is important in order to stabilize the austenite phase. It is, therefore, desirable that one should be able to predict the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron alloys. To do this, information is required concerning the interactions between nitrogen and the various alloying elements which may be present in liquid iron. There have been several investigations of these effects in recent years1"7 and the interactions between nitrogen and many elements dissolved in liquid iron are now known to a high degree of precision at steel-making temperatures. Unfortunately, a number of iron alloy systems which are of interest in steelmaking have been difficult to deal with by the experimental techniques generally used for this type of investigation. Among the most important of these are the Fe-C alloys. In the past, two methods have been widely used for determining nitrogen solubilities: the Sieverts' technique, in which the amount of nitrogen required to saturate a given mass of liquid metal at a particular temperature and pressure is measured volumetrically, and the sampled-bath technique in which liquid metal held in a crucible is equilibrated with a gas phase containing a known partial pressure of nitrogen, and samples drawn from the melt are quenched and analyzed. These two methods have been discussed in detail elsewhere.5,8 With the Sieverts' technique, errors may be introduced from the following sources: i) Gas adsorption on metal films which have condensed on the cooler parts of the reaction chamber. ii) Uncertainty in the determination of "hot volume" calibrations. iii) Crucible-melt interaction, particularly if a gaseous reaction product is formed or if the melt becomes contaminated with material from the crucible walls. The sampled-bath method may also suffer from errors due to reaction between the melt and the crucible material. In addition, there is the possibility that gas may be lost from the sample during solidification and cooling. In the present investigation, the solubility of nitrogen in liquid iron alloys has been studied by means of a new technique based on the use of levitation melting equipment and a rapid quenching device. In addition to the fact that problems of the type outlined above are avoided, this particular approach has the following advantages: i) The high-frequency current induces vigorous stirring within the levitated droplet so that gas-metal equilibration is rapidly attained. ii) The gas phase surrounding the melt can be changed very quickly and is easily controlled. For example, a droplet may be levitated in helium, deoxidized in hydrogen, equilibrated with nitrogen, and quenched, within a period of 15 min. ii) Melts can be readily under cooled or superheated, thus extending the effective temperature range of an investigation and allowing temperature-dependent data to be determined with a high degree of precision. Excellent reviews of levitation melting techniques and their application to physical-chemistry studies at high temperature have been published recently by Jenkins et al.,9 Peifer,10 and Rostron.11 In the present investigation a levitation melting technique has been used to obtain data for the solubility of nitrogen in pure liquid iron and liquid Fe-C alloys at temperatures between 1450° and 1750°C. The solution of nitrogen in liquid iron can be described by the reaction:

Jan 1, 1969

By Robert T. Hill

The successful completion, January 10,1901, by Capt. A. F. Lucas, of a well, near Beaumont, Texas, whereby an enormous flow, estimated at '75,000 barrels a day, was obtained, opened a new oil-field in the United States, kindled a frenzy of exploitation and speculation, revolutionized the fuel industry of a large region, and brought gain to thousands of people. Even to-day, it is impossible to cast up the present results or to prognosticate the future influence of this event. It has caused the revival of attention in other localities where oil had been suspected, and exploration for oil throughout the Texas region. It has attracted notice to the mineral resources of the Texas region, and created an interest in the geological conditions of that great State. This State, which has increased in population and wealth, as recorded by every succeeding census, with leaps and bounds such as are exhibited by no other part of the Union, now stands fifth in population and first in productive wealth per capita. Its fields, pastures, forests and mines teem with raw material. The whole economic evolution of the State has gravitated toward a focal point where these products were available for the coming of the kiln, the machine and the factory. The only drawback to the prosperity of the State was the lack of an economic fuel, inferior coal costing an average of $5.00 per ton at the time of the Beaumont discovery. This

Jan 1, 1903

By C. E. Shoenfelt, D. E. Winchester

NO important discoveries of petroleum during 1933 were reported from New Mexico. Lea and Eddy counties were the centers of activity during the drilling season and each had a number of interesting completions. The Hobbs pool, in Lea County, was definitely outlined on the east, north and northwest. Under an agreement reached last summer by state officials and operators, the Hobbs pool was continued under proration throughout the year. One hundred eighty-four units of 40 acres each were being produced at the end of 1933. The allowable was 21,306 bbl. daily at the beginning of 1933, but when the agreement was revised in the spring the minimum was raised to 30,000 bbl., and by the end of the year had been raised to 33,473 bbl. At present the field is being prorated on the basis of 25 per cent on acreage and 75 per cent on potentials except in the southwestern edge of the field, where water encroachment is a problem. In this area the basis of proration is 40 per cent on acreage and 60 per cent on potentials. A corrective method employed in this part of the field has been partly successful. The water is advancing in the upper part of the pay, a dolomitic limestone, and in a number of instances packers have been set in the pay below the water and above the oil. The locating of a satisfactory seat for a packer is difficult and in some instances has not been a complete success. Pipe line runs from the field during the year aggregated 11,413,218 bbl., bringing the total gross production up to 41,093,681 bbl., of which 39,000,-000 bbl. has been produced under proration, which went into effect on July 10, 1930. On Nov. 30, potentials were determined on the assigned pressure basis and the total was reduced 71,165 bbl. daily, to 1,265,-332 barrels. The outstanding completions in the Hobbs pool were three in number, of which the best was the Humble Oil & Refining Company's No. 3B Bowers in sec. 20, 18S., 38E., with an initial production of 11,664 bbl. of oil and 10,000,000 cu. ft. of gas. The Shell Petroleum Company's No. 4B McKinley, in the same section, produced at the rate of 22,940 bbl. of oil while flowing open, but when tubed, flowed at the rate of 6610 bbl. The third outstanding well, No. 4 Hardin of the Tidal Oil Co., and located in

Jan 1, 1934

By T. D. Mueller

Many investigators have used the response of the "dimensionless aquifer" to a unit pressure drop or a unit fluid-withdrawal volume to calculate the performance of an aquifer in supplying water influx to an oil reservoir. In the past, these response functions have been calculated with the aid of the Laplace transform. With the advent of ultra highspeed digital computers, it becomes practical to solve for the response functions with finite-difference techniques. The computer method also permits extension of the dimensionless-aquifer concept to include the nonhomogeneous aquifer wherein the permeability and other properties vary as a function of the space co-ordinates. This paper gives results of calculating the response functions for a series of nonhomogeneous aquifers. Response functions are presented for both linear and radial aquifers whose thickness, permeability-viscosity ratio and porosity-compressibility vary. These functions are new and should prove useful to the petroleum engineer in analyzing the behavior of nonbomogeneous aquifers. Results are presented in the form of charts that can be easily used by the field engineer. INTRODUCTION Aquifers which surround many oil and gas reservoirs have the ability to supply water influx to such reservoirs as oil and gas are withdrawn. This water influx, called natural water drive, provides one of the most effective driving mechanisms for the production of oil and gas. In producing a reservoir, therefore, it behooves one to make the maximum use of natural water drive. To achieve the maximum use, the reservoir engineer must be able to predict the performance of an aquifer under a variety of production schemes that may be proposed for the reservoir. Unfortunately, the physical properties which dictate aquifer behavior often are known only within limits. Seldom do wells penetrate the porous strata of the aquifer. Even when they do, quantitative information regarding porosity, permeability and water compressibility is seldom available. It is known, however, that the water efflux from most aquifer systems is governed by a single, relatively simple, linear, partial differential equation. Also, the general physical location of the aquifer boundaries often are known. A technique originall proposed by Hurst1 and van Everdingen and Hurst2 has been found useful in analyzing reservoirs in this situation. The idea was later expanded by van Everdingen, Timmerman and McMahan3 to include the mathematical technique of least-squares fitting. This latter method will be referred to as the VTM method. The basic assumptions of the VTM method include the following. 1. The location of the physical boundaries of the aquifer are known. 2. The flow conditions at these physical bound-daries are also known. 3. The aquifer is homogeneous; e.g., thickness, permeability, water compressibility and porosity are constant throughout. In the VTM method, a material balance is made on the fluids entering and leaving the reservoir. In the balance equations, the water-influx term is represented as the product of the water influx from an arbitrarily-selected, dimensionless aquifer system times an unknown conversion number. This balance can be formed as many times as there are data points in the history of the reservoir. Each time, the conversion number can be evaluated. If the reservoir engineer has picked the correct dimensionless aquifer to represent the real aquifer, the conversion number remains constant for all balances that have been made over the history period. If such a situation occurs, the reservoir engineer can then predict the performance of the reservoir for any type of production scheme by using the function associated with that particular dimensionless system and the derived conversion number. These functions will be referred to as the response function of the aquifer. If the aquifer is nonhomogeneous (e.g., if the porosity, permeability, thickness, porosity, or

By Carl Zapffe

A Rise in less than ten years from obscurity into great prominence economically, tersely summarizes the history and status of the Cuyuna manganiferous iron ores. The Cuyuna district produces and ships mostly high-phosphorus iron ore, but the annual production of manganiferous iron ore is increasing rapidly and productions from individual mines are becoming more regular and more dependable as to grades and tonnages. This ore bids fair to become, shortly, the principal product of the district and is responsible for its present economic prominence. The iron ores of the district have been described, by the author and others, in many publications and will not be discussed here. Lately the manganiferous iron ores have been given some attention, but the range and variations of chemical composition of the ores, the principal physical characteristics of the ores and their deposits, the relative importance of the different ores and their possibilities in future developments, and the life of the respective reserves have not been discussed. It is impossible to give all of this information with the positiveness necessary for it to constitute a reliable guide for investment or even for future mine development. Each property and each party presents a special case and deserves critical consideration. We are dealing with special ores and always with a set of new conditions. Sufficient information of a general nature can be given, however, to indicate the reason for and the trend of the presently augmented developments in the district. In a great thickness of a big variety of sedimentary rocks, probably of Upper Huronion age, prevailingly of green, schistose phases of slaty and volcanic material intricately intermixed, lies a thin bed containing lenses of iron-bear ing formation. These lenses occur singly or in groups, thus causing the variation in the thickness of the formation; or they are separated at their ends and give rise to discontinuity or they overlap and display continuity with lateral offsets. Intense folding has added to the complications.

Jan 1, 1925

By John H. Hollomon

In a recent paper,' a very early suggestion by Ludwik2 concerning the nature of the mechanical behavior of metals has becn reexamined and extended. In essence it was suggested that there exists, at least under certain conditions, a mechanical equation of state; that the stress required for flow depends upon the instantaneous values of the strain, strain rate, and temperature, and not upon their past values. It is proposed that under these circumstances thc stress does not depend upon past history of these variables, but is like the temperature of a gas that depends only upon the instantaneous values of the pressure and volume. This notion has not been applied to present-day studies of metals, though it is especially applicable to the study of creep. It is the purpose of this paper to analyze the significance and possible range of applicability of this idea and to determine how it influences the accepted ideas concerning creep. Stress-strain Relations It is wcll known that the stress-strain curves of metals are influenced by both train rate and temperature. For a fixed strain rate and temperature there is associated with each metal a stress-strain curve. If either the strain rate or temperature is changed a new stress-strain curve will be characteristic (Fig. I). A much more genera1 relation between the effects of these variables is possible, however. Consider the stress-strain curves of Fig. I determined at

Jan 1, 1947