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By Joseph E. Pogue

Any mechanism, either natural or artificial, for regulating the functioning of a given unit in the general economy must operate toward the maintenance of equilibrium if it is to survive. The petroleum industry, concerned as it is with the production of a natural resource of specialized character, is surrounded not only by the economic factors common to other industries but by an extra set of unique elements centering about the fugitive character of crude petroleum under conditions of competitive development. The term equilibrium, therefore, so far as the oil business is concerned, involves a combination of economic and physical factors: the first set having to do with supply, demand, costs, profit margins, purchasing power, and the like; and the second, with underground pressures in oil pools, efficient rates of extraction, and all other aspects of engineering that may be summarized by the familiar term "conservation." The two categories, in fact, are not as clearly divided as the foregoing statement would imply, for in practice it will be found that the economic and physical aspects have a pervasive interaction and interrelationship. If the development of the petroleum industry in the United States is examined from its inception in 1859 down to the present, it will be found that, beginning about 11 years ago, a new mechanism for regulating the production of crude petroleum made its appearance. Prior to this recent period, the production of this raw material was determined by competitive forces operating without outside restraints. At present the output of crude oil is subjected to supervision by regulatory bodies in most of the oil-producing states, which impose upon the operators certain conditions having to do with the manner and rates of production. Thus, in the space of a decade, the mechanism for producing crude oil has changed from an automatic to a designed procedure called proration. And in its short history this method has been marked by a rapid evolution in its nature and incidence, with progressive changes still under way.

Jan 1, 1938

By Frederick Prime

IN this second supplementary list no titles to which an * is. Pre-fixed have been seen by the compiler; and he will be most thankful to have, any omissions or inaccuracies in the list sent to him to be published as a third supplement in the next volume of- the Trans-actions. The author is indebted to Prof. J. J. Stevenson, of New York, Prof. P. R. Uhler and John W. M. Lee, Esq., of Baltimore, and Lloyd P. Smith, Esq., of Philadelphia, for valuable assistance. OFFICE, ALLENTOWN IRON COMPANY, 230 SOUTH THIRD STREET, PHILADELPHIA, September 5th, 1881. ALABAMA. Geological Survey of Alabama. Report of Progress for 1879 and 1880, by Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist. Montgomery, 1881. 8vo., 158 pp., and 2 maps. CALIFORNIA. Omit Report of Hon. T. Butler King, in Supplement 1. For Trash's Geology and Industrial Resources, etc., in Supplement I., read Tyson's, etc: Fremont's Memoir on Upper California, is also published as XXXth Congress, 1st Session. Senate Mis. Doe., No 148, and has a map. For Randall's Report in Supplement I, read Report of the Special Committee in favor of a Geological Survey, submitted by Mr. Randall, April 24th, 1851. a.d., 1851. 8vo., 1.9 pp. XXXIst Congress, 1st Session, Sea. Ex. Doc., No. 47, Part 2 [Part 1 is Tyson's Report.] Report of the Secretary of War in further compliance with the Resolution of the Senate, calling for Copies of

Jan 1, 1881

By William E. Bonini, Eugene A. Hickok

IN the course of an investigation directed toward expanding ground-water facilities in Essex and Morris counties, New Jersey, the Board of Water Commissioners of the city of East Orange authorized a seismic-refraction survey1 for the purpose of delineating bedrock topography below unconsolidated overburden. Results of the survey were highly satisfactory and led to the preparation of a comparatively detailed bedrock contour map. Knowledge of the bedrock depth and configuration was an important aid in selection of sites for test drilling. The portion of the East Orange Water Reserve under consideration is in the flood plain of the Passaic River about 10 miles west of Newark, N. J. The flood plain is about 175 ft above mean sea level and is bordered by low hills rising to elevations of approximately 250 ft. The bedrock underlying the Water Reserve consists of sandstone and shale of the Triassic Brunswick formation and is covered everywhere by deposits of unconsolidated glacial outwash sand and gravel, lacustrine clay, and recent river silt as much as 150 ft thick. Yield of wells in the sandstone and shale averages 100 to 200 gpm. Since production wells constructed in the sand and gravel aquifer in the buried river valley shown on the contour map (Fig. 1) yield 300 to 1400 gpm, it was proposed to locate additional production wells in this buried valley, where the yields per well would be maximum.

Jan 4, 1958

By Ralph Arnold

While much geological work and drilling have been done in Venezuela, the incompleteness of geological evidence obtainable and the restricted areas in which drilling has been done make any estimates of oil resources extremely speculative. Nevertheless, it is felt that the data given are justified, in the belief that the ideas of a geologist familiar with the region are better than those of a promoter. The oldest beds of interest to oil men are those of the Cretaceous, which are well developed in eastern Venezuela and about parts of Lake Mara-caibo. In both cases, a hard massive limestone is overlain by a great thickness, most of which is shale. In the west, in places this shale is more than 2000 ft. (610 m.) thick, while in the east it-mag attain 3500 ft. (1067 m.). The limestone and parts of the shale are oil producing. In the east, the Tertiary where present is almost entirely covered by the Quarternary, but in the west it is well developed. In probable unconformity over the Cretaceous shales is found a series of sandstones and shales, which may be called the lower coal series. It is well developed southwest of the lake, where it is the oil container, and is probably the lowest series exposed east of the lake. Above this is the Pauji shale, which is probably the point of origin of all the oil east of Lake Maracaibo and in the State of Falcon. It has a thickness of about 3000 ft. (914 m.) in the Mene Grande region. The upper coal series is developed as a great thickness of sands, shales, and clays, with some partly consolidated limestone. Its thickness may be as great as 10,000 ft. It is the oil container of the Falcon-El Mene region and a probable location for oil in some of the area about the lake. It may or may not include the so-called Maracaibo series in which the oil is found at Mene Grande. Over much of Venezuela, the Quarternary is present in unknown thickness, which probably is not great. It obscures oil structure in all cases and presents the greatest hazard of oil exploration for the fields which probably exist below.

Jan 1, 1923

By Ralph Arnold

While much geological work and drilling have been done in Venezuela, the incompleteness of geological evidence obtainable and the restricted areas in which drilling has been done make any estimates of oil resources extremely speculative. Nevertheless, it is felt that the data given are justified, in the belief that the ideas of a geologist familiar with the region are better than those of a promoter. The oldest beds of interest to oil men are those of the Cretaceous, which are well developed in eastern Venezuela and about parts of Lake Mara-caibo. In both cases, a hard massive limestone is overlain by a great thickness, most of which is shale. In the west, in places this shale is more than 2000 ft. (610 m.) thick, while in the east it-mag attain 3500 ft. (1067 m.). The limestone and parts of the shale are oil producing. In the east, the Tertiary where present is almost entirely covered by the Quarternary, but in the west it is well developed. In probable unconformity over the Cretaceous shales is found a series of sandstones and shales, which may be called the lower coal series. It is well developed southwest of the lake, where it is the oil container, and is probably the lowest series exposed east of the lake. Above this is the Pauji shale, which is probably the point of origin of all the oil east of Lake Maracaibo and in the State of Falcon. It has a thickness of about 3000 ft. (914 m.) in the Mene Grande region. The upper coal series is developed as a great thickness of sands, shales, and clays, with some partly consolidated limestone. Its thickness may be as great as 10,000 ft. It is the oil container of the Falcon-El Mene region and a probable location for oil in some of the area about the lake. It may or may not include the so-called Maracaibo series in which the oil is found at Mene Grande. Over much of Venezuela, the Quarternary is present in unknown thickness, which probably is not great. It obscures oil structure in all cases and presents the greatest hazard of oil exploration for the fields which probably exist below.

Jan 1, 1923

By H. T. Van Ells

The following is a brief description of the cost accounts in effect at the mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The accompanying chart, Table I., shows the distribution of labor, materials, and redistributable accounts to the various operating and repair accounts. OperatiNG. Development. Owing to the fact that every mine has its peculiarities in formation and methods, the question of arriving at what charges should be included under the head of " Development" is one that has occasioned considerable thought and comment, and in the cost sheet of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. this account has been sub-divided to show the expenses of breaking ground, tramming, timbering, shaft sinking, up-raising, and cutting stations and skip chutes. It has always been the policy of the company to charge the entire cost of this work to operations monthly, whether the mines are producing or not, also the cost of the opening up of new mines; and only surface construction and additions are charged to capital, excepting original machinery installed for operating pumping plants. Explanations of the charges to the various sub-accounts follow : Breaking Ground.—Work performed in driving cross-cuts from the station, or cross-cuts from the drifts, and diamond-drill work, for the purpose of discovering or developing ore bodies. Tramming.—Cost of tramming waste produced by cross-cuts mentioned above. When waste is hoisted to another level to be used for filling, the charge to this account stops at the station, and when hoisted to surface the charge includes tramming from the collar of the shaft to the dump. Timbering.—Cost of timbering the cross-cuts mentioned above includes the cost of handling and framing such timbers, but does not include the wages of station tenders and top carmen.

Jan 1, 1914

By D. L. Katz

In the management of oil properties, it is always desirable to know the future behavior of oil wells and oil reservoirs. Some estimation of the quantity of oil and gas that will be produced must be made as a basis for decisions on possible returns on investments in lifting equipment, drilling of additional wells, and other operating expenditures. In new or wildcat areas, operating expenditures are considered highly speculative, but in the completion of partly drilled and the operation of producing fields it is good business to remove as much speculation as possible. An accurate knowledge of oil and gas reserves in such cases would solve many management problems. The term "oil reserves" usually signifies the future ultimate recovery without specifying the method of production. Thus with changing methods and innovations in the production industry, reserves of any definite reservoir may be increased by increasing the portion of oil recovered. The usual reserve estimates are made by comparisons of well and formation characteristics, by using a percentage recovery on the oil content of the formation volume using porosity data, by extending production curves on non-prorated wells, or by extending bottom-hole pressure-production curves. The most reliable method would appear to be one that would estimate the initial quantity of oil and gas present and then obtain percentage recovery values for various productive methods and formations from experience. It is the purpose of this paper to describe a method of estimating the initial quantity of oil and gas present in a reservoir. The method is based on field operating data and the properties of crude oil-gas mixtures. The principles involved, the data required, the assumptions necessary, and an example of the method will be given. The method is entirely independent of sand volumes and formation porosities. Principles of Method The method of estimating the initial quantity of oil and gas present is based upon the premise that the volume occupied by oil and gas in the reservoir is constant and that a mixture of crude oil and gas will behave in

Jan 1, 1936

By D. L. Katz

In the management of oil properties, it is always desirable to know the future behavior of oil wells and oil reservoirs. Some estimation of the quantity of oil and gas that will be produced must be made as a basis for decisions on possible returns on investments in lifting equipment, drilling of additional wells, and other operating expenditures. In new or wildcat areas, operating expenditures are considered highly speculative, but in the completion of partly drilled and the operation of producing fields it is good business to remove as much speculation as possible. An accurate knowledge of oil and gas reserves in such cases would solve many management problems. The term "oil reserves" usually signifies the future ultimate recovery without specifying the method of production. Thus with changing methods and innovations in the production industry, reserves of any definite reservoir may be increased by increasing the portion of oil recovered. The usual reserve estimates are made by comparisons of well and formation characteristics, by using a percentage recovery on the oil content of the formation volume using porosity data, by extending production curves on non-prorated wells, or by extending bottom-hole pressure-production curves. The most reliable method would appear to be one that would estimate the initial quantity of oil and gas present and then obtain percentage recovery values for various productive methods and formations from experience. It is the purpose of this paper to describe a method of estimating the initial quantity of oil and gas present in a reservoir. The method is based on field operating data and the properties of crude oil-gas mixtures. The principles involved, the data required, the assumptions necessary, and an example of the method will be given. The method is entirely independent of sand volumes and formation porosities. Principles of Method The method of estimating the initial quantity of oil and gas present is based upon the premise that the volume occupied by oil and gas in the reservoir is constant and that a mixture of crude oil and gas will behave in

Jan 1, 1936

By Richard Moldenke

A. E. OUTERBRIDGE, JR., Philadelphia, Pa. (written discussion).¬ The fact that iron castings improve with age has long been known. Many years ago the late Sir Frederick Bramwell, a distinguished engineer, formerly in charge of the metallurgical and gun-making department of the Woolwich Arsenal, England, determined to break up a large number of cast-iron mortars of an obsolete type that had been in stock for years. It was then reported to biro that it was found to be much more difficult to break these old gun castings under the "drop" than it was to break similar gun-castings recently made, under his own supervision; he changed the.. composition of the iron and still found that whenever castings made recently were broken up (on account perhaps of superficial defects) great disparity was observed in apparent strength between the old and new castings. Sir Frederick then made many other comparative tests, such

Jan 4, 1917

By Ian M. Thomson, Robert W. Greene

Last August, American Commercial Barge Line Co. (ACBL) began moving coal from mines on the old Camp Breckinridge property in Western Kentucky to TVA's new 2600 MW steam plant at Cumberland City, Tenn. By April of 1973, this movement will reach a level of 7 million tpy. TVA bought the coal rights to this property from the General Services Administration in 1965 for approximately $7 million and is now in possession of reserves containing about 120 million tons of recoverable No. 9 coal, and about the same recoverable amount of No. 11 coal. TVA then contracted through competitive bidding with Peabody Coal Co. to mine the No. 9 seam through two slope shafts. The mines are about 300-ft deep and are separated by the one major fault on this property. The mine portals are approximately 3 ½ mi apart, with the northern portal being over nine miles distant from the Ohio River.

Jan 1, 1971

By AIME AIME

IT IS not necessary to travel hundreds of miles from New York City to see examples of modern mining methods applied in tunnel work. In the various subway jobs, for instance, underground work is done on so large a scale as to justify the oft-quoted remark that here is the world's greatest mining camp. In such cases, however, the size of the excavation makes wholly disproportionate comparison with the haulage drift or adit level of the West. But in West Orange, N. J., Antonio -DiMarco is driving a tunnel from two headings on opposite sides of First Mountain, under contract with the town of West Orange, which is similar in nearly every respect to the type of work that must be done at the mines, and merits description as an example of fast and economical tunnel driving under conditions commonly met with by the mining engineer in more inaccessible parts.

Jan 1, 1931

By E. G. Leonardon

The object of this paper is to describe briefly the practical results obtained in several problems of civil engineering by resistivity measurements of the underground. It is intended for the mining engineer, as well as for the construction engineer; the stratigraphical problems discussed are general and frequently are encountered in mining exploration. Resistivity measurements have been used in mining and oil exploration for a number of years.' Their introduction in the field of civil engineering, on the contrary, is rather recent. It was applied for the first time in the spring of 1928 near Littleton, N. H., in the survey of two dam sites for the New England Power Assn.2 Since then, the geophysical firm with which the author is connected has had an opportunity to develop this field of activity, and more than 20 investigations at dam and tunnel sites have been carried out in the United States and Canada. A part of this work has been verified by underground or drilling exploration. This paper deals with but a few of the results, which we are permitted to make public now. The theoretical and technical sides of the processes employed will not be discussed; they have already been described in various technical publications. A few general points will be mentioned, to make clear the practical examples given. Resistivities OF the Rocks The surveys are based on the measurement of the specific resistance of the rocks. This resistivity is the electrical resistance of a cylinder of

Jan 1, 1932

By H. F. Easter

The lead department of the El Paso Smelting Works at El Paso, Tex., is operated strictly on a custom basis. The ores treated are drawn from the surrounding territory, comprising New Mexico, Arizona, western Texas, and northern Mexico. Ores received from the last-named section originally amounted to a very large tonnage, but. of recent years have dwindled into comparative insignificance so far as this plant is concerned. This has been due partly to the establishment of a lead-smelting plant at Chihuahua, which is much closer than El Paso to most of the important mines, and partly to the recent revolutionary troubles in Mexico. There are no mines of either lcad or copper in the immediate vicinity of El Paso. In general, it may be said that the lead-ore supply of recent years has been uncertain and precarious, with a general tendency toward an excess of silica and a shortage of iron. This latter requirement has been met in large part by the use in El Paso lead furnaces of considerable amounts of roasted leady copper matte from the Chihuahua smeltery and of converter slag from the El Paso converters. These two materials, coupled with complex lead-copper ores from Bisbee, Ariz., have introduced into the lead-smelting operations a most unusual amount of copper, which has had an important bearing upon the smelting practice of the plant. his matter will be discussed later. The ore, loaded in either box cars or gondolas, enters the storage yard on four tracks elevated about 8 ft. above the ground. As all unloading is done by hand, unloading platforms at the height of the car floor parallel the tracks on each side to afford a runway for wheelbarrows. At frequent intervals these lengthwise platforms are joined together by others running crosswise to facilitate the distribution of the ores evenly over the beds, which are located below and between the tracks. At present much of the bedding space formerly used for lead ores is given over to the copper department, but 20 bins of various sizes are retained for the use of the lead furnaces and the Huntington & Heberlein roasting plant. The largest of these holds about 1,000 tons, while the smallest holds not over

Jan 1, 1916

By F. E. Brackett

THE simplicity of the propeller or disk fan, its small size and low cost, has, in recent years, led to an extended use of ventilators of this type at mines where only slight pressure is required. On this account the author of this paper has prepared for the new edition of Peele's Mining Engineers' Handbook a more accurate method of computing the required size, power, and so forth, than was possible for the first edition. The main object of this paper is to set forth the data collected in the course of that work, and to discuss the subject with more latitude than would have been advisable in a handbook, even if space had been available. Theory of Fans A great deal has been written about the theory of fans from Rankine's time down to the present. Nevertheless a rigid mathematical analysis of the propeller fan seems to be wanting. A general idea of the mechanics and difficulties in the way of analysis may be gathered from the following: The useful pressure and velocity effects of the oblique impact of the vanes on the axial current would evidently be nil if the blades were perpendicular to the plane of rotation, or if they were of such helicoidal form that the screw pitch multiplied by the speed represented an axial velocity agreeing with the actual velocity. Somewhere between these zero angles there is a pitch which, under given conditions of flow, would produce the maximum useful effect. A true helicoidal blade can be so arranged that it would offer no retarding effect on the air current at any part of the wheel, provided the axial velocity be assumed the same in all parts of the cross-section of the air course, but if plane surfaces are used, it is possible, under some conditions, that the air would be retarded at the middle parts of the wheel while it was accelerated at the circumference. Whatever be the form of vane, it seems evident that the tips are far more effective than the center of the wheel, because of their higher velocity. For this reason some investigators believe that a backward current forms through the middle of the wheel and that part of the air is circulated in a radial axial loop. Ignoring the possible existence of this eddy and the friction of the walls of the air course; and assuming the axial velocity of the air through all parts of the wheel, some rational analysis of the impact might be made according to the theory of deflecting surfaces, were it not

Jan 1, 1928

By O. Cuscoleca

The Austrian plants at Donawitz and Linz were the first to blow steel with high purity oxygen. The paper shows how the process was developed and gives a survey of the results achieved to date. Compared with open hearth steel of equal quality, the obvious advantages of oxygen steel are the low investment and conversion costs. The nitrogen content of oxygen steel is not higher than that of good open hearth steel. Rimmed and killed steel products made by the oxygen process are superior to rimmed and killed steel products made by the best open hearth process. TWO new steel plants using the principle of making steel with high purity oxygen went into operation in Austria, one at Linz (Vereinigte oster-reichische Stahlwerke) in November 1952 and the other at Donawitz (dsterreichisch-Alpine Montan-gesellschaft) in May 1953. An estimated 330,000 metric tons were produced by the two plants in 1953, the first year of operation. In 1954 production by Austrian plants- using the high purity oxygen approach will be raised to 450,000 metric tons. This will be in addition to facilities in Huckingen (Man-nesmann A. G., Düsseldorf, Germany), those planned and under construction at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Dominion Foundries and Steel, Ltd.), and elsewhere. It is expected that by 1955 a total capacity of one million tons of high purity oxygen steel will be available. At the close of the last century, because of increasing availability of scrap, open hearth steel production forged ahead at an ever increasing pace. This caused world steel production to rise faster than pig iron production and finally to overtake it. In 1911 65 million tons of steel were produced against 64 million tons of pig iron. World steel production was 209 million tons in 1951, while pig iron output was only 147 million tons. The 1951 breakdown for steel shows 118 million tons made from pig iron, while the balance, 91 million tons or 44 pct of the total tonnage of steel produced, was made from scrap. This increase in crude steel production on a basis of high scrap consumption led to the world market scrap shortage and soaring scrap prices. In the United States and other nations, production of converter steel has fallen far behind that of open hearth steel. The surplus of processing scrap, un-absorbable by converting mills and thus a welcome source for open hearth and electric melting shops in the past, together with regular scrap purchases, no longer can meet requirements of both open hearth and electric steel production in Europe. In addition, recent modification of the basic bessemer process, blowing with oxygenated blast, substantially raised the scrap capacity of these plants. Any further expansion of world steel production will necessitate utilization of self-containing processes in regard to scrap because of the shortage.

Jan 1, 1955

By J. E. Nesset, J. A. Finch

A model of the fully-loaded condition of particle accumulation on the matrix of a high gradient magnetic separator is developed. The model accurately predicts the build-up profiles reported recently by Friedlaender et al. A powerful development from the model is that loading (volume of accumulated material per unit volume of matrix) is uniquely defined by a dimensionless group, called the loading number, NL. From direct measurements, NL proved superior to the dimensionless group proposed by Watson as a measure of loading. The fine size limit of hematite recovery is examined using NL.

Jan 1, 1980

By M. L. Fuller

DURING the last several years many papers have appeared dealing with the structure of highly polished metal surfaces The awakening of interest in this subject is due to the applicability of the electron diffraction technique to the study of surfaces The original theory of Beilby1 considered the surface of polished metals as of the nature of a super-cooled liquid or a vitreous, amorphous solid The electron diffraction effects from polished metals have been interpreted by many to be a direct experimental proof of the correctness of the Beilby theory This interpretation has been strongly opposed by others, so that at the present time the subject is in an uncertain and controversial state In the present paper new, and hitherto unpublished, electron diffraction effects from polished zinc are described These observations indicate that the polished surface of zinc is crystalline PUBLISHED WORK Many papers2-10 have interpreted the electron diffraction evidence as proof of the Beilby amorphous theory All investigators agree that highly polished metals give rise to two diffuse diffraction haloes, similar to those obtained by the diffraction of X-rays in liquids and vitreous solids It is this similarity that leads to the amorphous-layer interpretation of polished metals Strangely, the interatomic distances calculated from these haloes are very similar for the various metals investigated, in spite of a rather wide range of such distances in the crystalline and liquid states The calculated atomic sizes are, furthermore, smaller than are experienced in the normal states of the metals In spite of these anomalies, the amorphous-layer interpretation has been adhered to by many One investigator, S Dobmski,11 differs from the others in his experimental results By polishing under benzene in order to avoid the possibility of oxidation, Dobinski obtains diffuse haloes of [radire] different from those previously obtained He thus obtains a more rational quantitative correlation of-the diffuse haloes with the amorphous-layer theory

Jan 1, 1938

EDUCATION is a business; and, if the consumer is satisfied with the product, no one has any grounds for complaint. "Pretty well satisfied" about slims up the attitude of the mining industry toward the young graduates presently entering the field. Yet, with amazing regularity the controversy over the five-year curriculum recurs in educational circles. The educational mills grind out their products, some higher grade than others, depending on individual proclivity. The cycle continues almost without interruption. Arthur Taggart, however, takes his bowie knife to some of the sturdiest limbs of the tree of knowledge in his article on engineering education on page 770 of this issue. As all who know him might suspect, the pruning is not restrained. With one swing of the knife, such practically-labeled courses as Mine Design are stricken from the tree and transplanted to the field of Graduate Education. Emphasis on the basic sciences and the study of man through courses in history, economics, and literature are recommended to constitute an undergraduate curriculum. Such courses show the least depreciation and therefore give the student the most for his money. Partial justification for this dramatic departure from tradition is explained by the increasing number of companies giving training courses. Why make the student pay for what he can get paid for learning after graduation, the author argues. Other leading educators espouse this doctrine. Dean S. C. Hollister of Cornell, for the Committee on Adequacy and Standards of Engineering Education, recommended to ECPD in 1951 that emphasis be placed on the basic sciences. "Sifting back through the curriculum, it seems clear that instruction in the basic sciences, if taught in a manner such that knowledge of them makes available working tools, contributes the most sustaining part of the curriculum", reported the committee. Note that he would utilize practical problems from the fields of engineering in teaching the sciences. In our opinion the important thing to learn in college is how to think the engineering approach. Recitation on traditional solutions of classic problems sharpens the memory, not the ingenuity of the student. The engineering schools of the nation recognize the advantage of great emphasis on fundamentals, and the inclusion of cultural courses in the curriculum. However, industry presently requires graduates to have a substantial knowledge of the tools of the trade upon graduation. This means that the colleges are forced to pare to the bone to encompass the required studies in the time allotted. In addition, there is the limitation of student money. College educators also claim that entering freshmen are often improperly prepared in such subjects as writing and mathematics. These considerations make it difficult for the critic of the engineering graduate to make any headway with the educators. Actually with the mounting problems imposed by lower grade and more complex ores, a new breed of engineers is needed. The impetus for this new product must come from industry. If there was a concerted effort from industry for an improved type of engineer, the colleges would modify their aims to meet the demand for the kind of individual desired.

Jan 1, 1952

By Walter Mathesius

The use of high blast heats on furnaces melting Mesaba ores is still the exception, the average blast temperatures carried on Mesaba stacks seldom reaching 1,100" F. Some 15 years ago, when the use of fine Mesaba ores in larger proportions to the total burden first came into practice, it was found difficult to employ even those blast heats which it had been possible ' to carry with the Old Range ores. The furnaces refused to "take" high heats, and would persistently labor with irregular stock movement, which impaired the practice and increased the coke consumption. By lowering the blast temperature, the working of the furnace became smoother, and experience taught that with the softer and more easily reduced Mesaba ores, satisfactory practice could be obtained with comparatively low blast heats. Therefore a large number of Mesaba furnaces have ever since been operated on very low blast temperatures, ranging between 800" and 1,000" F. In the face of these difficulties, furnace men were slow to recognize that furnaces could be so designed as to permit a free movement of the charges in combination with the use of higher heats. Since higher blast temperatures did not seem to offer great advantages in the smelting of Mesaba ores, investments in hot-blast stoves were not as attractive to the furnace man as labor-saving devices and means of obtaining greater tonnages. The effect of this preference is keenly felt at the present time. It has brought about the peculiar situation, that the majority of our furnace plants (among them some of the most progressive) lack modern and efficient stove equipment. The result is that, even where the proper furnace lines have been adopted and conditions are now favorable to the successful employment of higher blast temperatures, the heats required for the greatest fuel economy are not available. In an endeavor to obtain results, even with inadequate equipment, we find that, at many plants, the stoves are worked far beyond their capacity. This leads, in many instances, to a situation in which the coke saving in the

Jan 1, 1915

By F. H. Spedding

From thermal, metallographic, X-ray, dilatometric, and electrical resistance data a Phase diagram is proposed for the La-C system. TWO compounds are formed, body-centered-cubic Laz C, having a large range of solid solubility, and body -centered-tetrago-nal Lac2 . The former melts incongruently at 1415°C, and at 25OC it has an electrical resistivity about two and one-half times that of bure lanthanum. The latter melts congruently at 2356°C and at room temperature has an electrical resistivity about equal to that of bure lanthanum. The addition of carbon to La lowers the melting Point of La about 115' C, raises the higher (B-Y) transfomzation about 10" C and appears to have no effect on the lower ( a-0) transformation. The addition of carbon appears to lower the oxygen content in the metal and improve the machinability; however, the tendency to oxidize is increased. Two eutectics are formed in the system. The first occurs at 2.2 pct C and melts at 806" C, while the second occurs between Lac2 and C with a melting point of2271"C. PETTERSSON,~ in 1895, was the first to prepare lanthanum dicarbide by heating the oxide with carbon in an electric furnace. He showed that this yellow, crystalline but brittle carbide had a formula corresponding to LaCz and that it reacted with water with the evolution of hydrogen and hydrocarbons and the formation of the hydrated oxide. Von Stackelberg's investigation of the crystal structure of the MCz carbides showed that the lanthanum dicarbide is of the tetragonal calcium dicarbide-type structure. He found the lattice parameters were a = 3.92 and c = 6.56.* Bredig,' using X-ray methods, showed that the room-temperature form of lanthanum dicarbide is stable up to 1750 °C and that above this temperature it transformsoto a face-centered-cubic structure, a = 6.0 ± O.lA, probably of the pyrite, FeSzstruc- typ? The reported discovery of two new cerium carbides, suggested that a corresponding face-centered-cubic lanthanum monocarbide and a body-centered-cubic lanthanum sesquicarbide might exist. This paper describes work on the lanthanum-carbon system which is part of a study of the rare earth metals and their alloys now in progress in this laboratory. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Source of Materials—The lanthanum metal was prepared at the Ames Laboratory by metal1o;hermic reduction of the fluoride with calcium metal. The results of spectrographic and chemical analysis indicated the presence of 0.01 pct Y, Al, Cu, Fe, and Si; 0.02 pct Ca and Mg; 230 ppm C; and 115 ppm N. The carbon used was of two types: 1) "National Special Graphite Spectroscopic Electrodes," and

Jan 1, 1960