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By C. P. Proctor, J. A. Younkins, J. T. Crawford

Coal-cleaning plants using the launder process generally wash the fine coal (minus ? or minus 5/16-in.) separately in a plant consisting of washing launders or troughs placed one below another and sometimes supplemented by additional washing equipment such as tables and jigs. The coal and its associated impurities enter the feed end of the top launder, with a current of push water. As the material moves along the impurities, being heavier than coal, settle toward the bottom of the launder and are drawn off, with some coal, through "free discharge" boxes to the launder below. These boxes were given their name because their discharge falls freely; that is, it does not discharge into a water seal. Thus the impurities are progressively concentrated in the lower launders until box products are sufficiently free of coal to be discharged to refuse. The overflows of the upper launders go to clean coal while the overflow of the lowest launder, and perhaps that of the one immediately above, is usually recirculated to the plant feed. Thus the bulk of the clean coal is removed rapidly and the impurities are concentrated more slowly. The chief purpose of this paper is to present the cleaning data of such a plant under different operating conditions. OpeRating Equipment The washing units considered here are part of a complete plant cleaning minus 4-in. coal. The primary cleaned product is a high-quality gas and metallurgical coal and another portion of the output may be shipped as a steam coal. The units consist of two parallel Rheolaveur free-discharge units each containing five launders, together with three 7 by 14-ft. Plato tables. The launders are designated by the letters A-B-C-D-E (Fig. I), launder A being the top and longest; E being the bottom and shortest. Launder details are given in Table 1. The launders are equipped with a series of free-discharge Rheolaveur boxes, which are integral parts of the launder (Figs. 2 and 3). Each box with-

Jan 1, 1940

By William H. Emmons

The problem of the metalliferous veins has always been an outstanding one in the science of ore deposits. In recent years interest has been stimulated by Spurr, who maintains that veins have consolidated from magmas that have densities as great as the densities of ordinary rocks. Lindgren published a noteworthy paper1 in 1926, in which he supports the theory that veins are deposited chiefly by hot waters. Lindgren's paper was discussed by Singewald, Spurr, Kemp, Anderson, Colony, Bateman, Porter and others. The discussion, in the main, was centered on the interpretation of fragments that are included in veins. This paper also treats the problems of fragments in veins and includes a reply to a review by Spurr2 of a bulletin by Larsen and myself3 published by the United States Geological Survey on the geology and ore deposits of Creede, Colorado. Mineral veins containing fragments of the wall rock are common. At many places the fragments are completely isolated, one from the other, and are entirely surrounded by vein matter. It has been stated that the vein matter around the fragments was heavier than the fragments and that the latter were floated in a magma. J. E. Spurr, who is the leading advocate of this hypothesis, 4 urges that normal mineral veins were deposited by solutions heavy enough to float fragments of the country rock, and it is mainly on this relation that he bases his theory that veins are deposited by solidification of magmas. If it can be shown that vein-forming solutions have a specific gravity greater than rock (2.77), one is justified in regarding them as true mag-matic solutions. It is shown later in this paper, however, that at Lead, S. D., water not more highly concentrated than ordinary drinking water is depositing vein matter around fragments of schist and of steel in such a manner that the fragments are completely isolated and completely surrounded by the mineral cement.

Jan 1, 1928

By William Emmons

THE problem of the metalliferous veins has always been an outstanding one in the science of ore deposits. In recent years interest has been stimulated by Spurr, who maintains that veins have consolidated from magmas that have densities as great as the densities of ordinary rocks. Lindgren published a noteworthy paper1 in 1926, in which he supports the theory that veins are deposited chiefly by hot waters. Lindgren's paper was discussed by Singewald, Spurr, Kemp, Anderson, Colony, Bateman, Porter and others. The discussion, in the main, was centered on the interpretation of fragments that are included in veins. This paper also treats the problems of fragments in veins and includes a reply to a review by Spurr2 of a bulletin by Larsen, and myself published by the United States Geological Survey on the geology and ore deposits of Creede, Colorado. Mineral veins containing fragments of the wall rock are common. At many places the fragments are completely, isolated, one from the other, and are entirely surrounded by vein matter. It has been stated that the vein matter around the fragments was heavier than the fragments and that the latter were floated in a magma. J. E. Spurr, who is the leading advocate of this hypothesis,4 urges that normal mineral veins were deposited by solutions heavy enough to float fragments of the country rock, and it is mainly on this relation that he bases his theory that veins are deposited by solidification of magmas. If it can be shown that vein-forming solutions have a specific gravity greater than rock (2.77), one is justified in regarding them as true magmatic solutions. It is shown later in this, paper,. however, that at Lead, S. D., water not more highly concentrated' than ordinary drinking water is depositing vein matter around fragments of schist and of steel in such a manner that the fragments are completely isolated and completely surrounded by the mineral cement.

Jan 1, 1928

By J. L. Brimhall, R. A. Huggins

The structure of deformed internally oxidized alloys of siluer- cotztcrining magnesium and copper-containing aluminum in was studied by thin-film transrrzissiotz electron microscopy. With low to moderate amounts of stvain, the deformation structure in t11e dispersion-hardened alloys was found to consist of a high density of dislocations arranged it a random distribution or in a very fine, but poorly defined, cell stucture, depending on the fitness of the dbsbersion and amount of deformation. 112 contrarst, both pure copper and silver show relative1y Large, distinct cell structures. The particular structures in the alloys are believed to result from particles acting as both dislocaliot~ sources and deflector-s. The Inck of a pvorzolrr~ced deformation texture tr~ regiotzs qf' seoere loctll plastic curvature after heavy deformation can also be traced to the formation of clislocntions on many slip systemes and a lack 01 local concentrations of dislocations of predominantly one sign. THE presence of fine dispersions of a second phase has long been known to have a strong influence upon the mechanical properties of solids. Until recently, the influence of particles on the deformation mechanisms has been assumed to be solely that of barriers to dislocations. This is seen in the classic models of edge dislocations being restrained by the particles.1 4 There is, however, considerable evidence that this is not their primary effect, and that the particles can have a large influence on the defect structure generated by plastic deformation. The presence of particles causes changes in the surface topography observed after deformation. In overaged precipitation-hardened materials containing hard, noncoherent precipitates, fine intersecting slip lines are found after deformation of single crystals. indicating the activation of many slip systems. This has been extensively observed in the A1-Cu systen;, both by optical microscopy and replica electron microscopy.'"13 In some of the observations. the slip lines were seen to extend between the particles. Similar observations of extremely fine slip lines or the apparent absence of normal slip lines have also been found in A~-M~."

Jan 1, 1965

By A. Hellawell

Binary alloys of compositions intermediate between solid-solubility limits and eutectic compositions have been completely separated into primary phases and eutectic by freezing unidirec-tionally at very slow rates (10-6 to 10-5 cm per sec). The alloys examined were Pb-1 wt pct Ag, Al-20 wt pct Cu, and Al-42 wt pct Cu. The compositions and proportions were close to those expected from the phase diagrams and provided information about the solid/liquid interface at certain free zing rates. DURING the directional freezing of an alloy the solute distribution is controlled by the efficiency of mixing in the liquid,'" whereas diffusion in the solid state is of negligible importance. It is known3 that mixing by convection is very efficient, but complete segregation is only achieved at very slow freezing rates4-6 or with forced stirring in the liquid. ' Yue9 and Yue and clark10 have previously illus- trated partial separation of primary phases in alloys close to eutectic compositions. In the present work, taking binary alloys of compositions intermediate between the limits of solid solubility and eutectic compositions, it has been possible to achieve complete separation of the primary phases by directional freezing at very slow rates. METHODS AND RESULTS The alloys concerned were Pb-1 wt pct Ag, A1-20 wt pct Cu, and A1-42 wt pct Cu. As may be seen from the relevant diagrams,11 these alloys should segregate into approximately equal proportions of primary solid solutions and alloy of eutectic compositions. Specimens, -12 cm long and 1 cm wide, were frozen in horizontal tubes by withdrawal from a furnace. The lead alloy, prepared from materials of 99.999 pct purity, was sealed into evacuated Pyrex tubes and the aluminum alloy of similar purity contained in graphite boats under vacuum. The molten alloys were seeded with some 3 cm of solid to prevent irregular initial freezing rates and the last portions to freeze were ignored. At the slow freezing

Jan 1, 1965

By Stuart E. Buckley

The application of hydrocarbon equilibrium data to various problems encountered in refining and in natural gasoline recovery is an old and well established practice. Both generalized data and data on specific hydrocarbon systems have been made available by a number of investigators. More recently such data have been applied to the relations governing the separation of oil and gas both in the reservoir and at the surface. Most of the applications to production problems, however, have been based upon examinations of surface samples of oil and gas. This paper describes a technique that has been used satisfactorily in a number of cases to calculate directly from the hydrocarbon analysis of and auxiliary laboratory data on a subsurface sample of the reservoir fluid the behavior of the oil and gas during the various stages of separation at the surface incident to production. Types of Information Calculated The system of calculations is not designed to supplant field data, but rather to correlate with them laboratory data obtained under controlled conditions in order to obtain a more complete and exact picture than usually is possible through the use of field data alone. The chief advantage of the calculations is the possibility of their use at a minimum of both time and expense to determine completely the effect of any possible operating technique upon each of the following: (1) The gas-oil ratio resulting from liberation of the dissolved gas; (2) the composition and gasoline content of the liberated gas; (3) the composition and gravity of the residual oil; (4) the amount and composition of the gas liberated upon flashing the oil from the separator to the stock tank; (5) the shrinkage of the oil in passing from the reservoir to the stock tank. This information is frequently essential to the correct determination of the advisability of installing a natural gasoline plant, to design such a plant to take care of seasonal production, and to determine the optimum separator pressures to carry in various parts of a field.

Jan 1, 1938

By Ray Arms

This paper includes a brief classification of dry-cleaning devices, with a theoretical discussion of the principles involved. It outlines the methods of handling dust and screening difficulties at the McComas plant, as well as other plants that are being constructed and other dry-cleaning devices being developed. It describes the American Pneumatic Separator and discusses the sizing required, the effect of moisture in the raw coal, disposition of the middlings, and other aspects of the process. It gives s results of tests on various coals, and results of operation at Raton and McComas. DRY CLEANING, or pneumatic separation, is not, strictly speaking, a recent discovery. Among the archives of the Patent Office may be found many patents dating back as far as 1850 which cover early attempts to separate materials of varying specific gravity or of different shape by means of air. Hundreds of patents covering this art have been issued, which may be roughly classified into four general groups, as follows: 1. Stationary devices with pulsating air currents. The separating surface is usually riffled and air is supplied by bellows or compressors. This group' also includes air jigs, which have been used rather extensively. 2. Stationary devices with continuous air currents. These submitted the material to a continuous current of air, either horizontal or vertical. Chaff is blown from wheat by such a device. 3. Reciprocating or vibrating devices with pulsating air. A small group in which the pulsating air is supplied by bellows and some motion provided in the separating surface to move the stratified material to various discharge points. 4. Reciprocating or vibrating devices with continuous air supply. This is by far the most important group and all recent developments have been along this line. All of the above groups involve the stratification of material by air and include none of the dry methods that use other principles, such as coefficient of friction, magnetism, etc.

Jan 3, 1924

By T. Leser, A. W. Jenike

The problems of caving and underground subsidence can be considered as the failure of a highly compacted rock and its subsequent flow in the form of broken rock. The problem is complex because the propagation of failure and flow have to be considered simultaneously; the yield strength of the virgin rock and the broken rock are different; and, while under certain conditions it is sufficient to consider the virgin rock as homogeneous, the density and the yield function of broken rock are both pressure and time dependent. A study of the failure and flow of solids with a pressure dependent yield function has been published recently by Jenike.' In this paper the density of the broken rock is assumed to be only time dependent and the consequences are examined in the case of one-dimensional vertical subsidence into an initial cavity. The following describes an attempt to develop a tool which, in combination with other tools, may lead to mathematical solutions of real problems of caving and subsidence. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM An underground cavity of horizontal cross section 4 = 1 and height 6 is assumed to exist at some depth below the surface. At the time t = 0 rock above the cavity fails and completely fills out the cavity with expanded broken material. With passing time the broken rock consolidates and subsidence proceeds continuously upuard in a vertical shaft. The phenomenon is one-dimensional (see Fig. 1). The problem consists of finding the displacement and the velocity with which the frlmt of the subsidence (wave front) moves upward as a function of the time and of the rock properties. DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS CONTROLLING THE PHENOMENON With the assumptions that the broken rock is a continuum and that the subsidence occurs continuously, we can apply the one-dimensional differential equation of contitiuity (conservation of mass) and the equation of preservation of momentum The latter equation is replaced by an assumed relation based on experience, which takes care of the

Jan 1, 1962

By P. B. Scotland

THE mines of the Arizona Copper Co. are situated in the Morenci-Metcalf copper district in southeastern Arizona. This copper-bearing district covers a triangular mountainous area of about 3 square miles, rising abruptly from the gravel plateau of the surrounding country. In this area, an immense intrusion of porphyry has displaced, shattered, and engulfed the shales, limestones, and quartzites formerly bedded on the basal granite. Outcrops of oxide ore were discovered in 1873, and these surface ores were found to connect in depth with large bodies of high-grade oxide ores in the limestones and shales. The smelting of these ores in blast furnaces continued until about 1893, when the rapid exhaustion of the high-grade ore led to the discovery and exploitation of the low-grade sulphide ores in the adjoining porphyry. Methods of concentration were then devised and the low-grade ores finally rendered profitable. The Arizona Copper Co. and the Detroit Copper Mining Co., operating in the same district, were the pioneers in the successful development of the low-grade "porphyry" properties of to-day. The largest mines of the Arizona Copper Co. are the Humboldt and Clay at Morenci, and the Coronado, Metcalf, and King at Metcalf. These mines produce about 4,000 tons daily of concentrating ore containing from 2.5 to 2.8 per cent. copper. The topography of the country is very rugged and mining operations are conducted principally through adit levels. A few of the mines are opened by shafts, the deepest being 1,100 ft., in the Coronado mine. ORE OCCURRENCE The low-grade sulphide ore occurs as: (1) disseminated deposits in the main stock of quartz porphyry; (2) lode deposits in fault fissures in granite. The high-grade oxide ores were found as tabular deposits in limestone and shale close to contacts with porphyry. Low-grade oxide ore formed the outcrop of some-' the sulphide orebodies; the majority of the outcrops, however, were barren.

Jan 2, 1915

The earliest reference to coal in Tennessee is that by Dr. Walker in 1750 (see p. 18) where he saw it near the present site of Middlesboro. The next reference found is in 1798 when Morse stated, "some of these mountains, particularly in the, Cumberland, or Great-Laurel Ridge, are the most stupendous piles in the United States. They abound in ginseng and coal."' There must have been many places where it was seen in that interval, but nearly as long a time elapsed before Morris, in 1834, said that "fine beds of stone-coal exist in both East and Middle Tennessee."2 In a description of the Dover Iron Works, on the left side of the Cumberland River, a few miles above Dover, in Stewart County, it was said that "80 hands were employed in digging and transporting stone coal" and that the "plant had been running at least since Oct. 2, 1834."3 While doubtless coal had been used locally, this is probably the first use of it commercially in the state. The consumption of stone coal was 4,000 tons per year. In this same geological report openings of coal are mentioned near Battle Creek, Marion County, and in Bledsoe and Rhea Counties, where it was being used locally by blacksmiths; some other places were being worked near the turnpike road from Kingston to the Crab-Orchard, the product being hauled three miles to the Tennessee River and loaded in barges; farther west in. White County several outcrops were found. In Fentress County, several pits had been opened, the coal being sent down the Obey and Cumberland Rivers, and openings were also seen in Morgan, Anderson, Roane, Warren, Hamilton and Franklin Counties. The writer had hoped to publish an account of the iron works in the state but was unable to obtain the necessary information. He was told by an old iron-master, Mr. E. Embree, that

Jan 1, 1942

By T. M. Chance

THE necessity of adopting improved methods of bituminous-coal cleaning at. many collieries is recognized by all familiar with the requirements of the various bituminous markets, the approaching exhaustion of the relatively small areas of inherently high-grade-coal, and the difficulties encountered in maintaining a uniform grade of shipped coal. Many coals lose much of their .market value by degradation in size, and, in any event, if the cleaning process is to contemplate wetting the coal the minimum amount of fines should be produced to prevent sludge losses and the difficulties resulting from the moisture content of the wet fines. Hence, it is desirable to by-pass the finer coal dry, if this can be done without too-great increase in impurities in the final product. This procedure has given excellent results at washeries at Steelton and in the Birmingham district. If the raw fines are too impure to permit admixture with the washed coal, it may be desirable to use dry methods, such as the pneumatic table, rather than to wet an excessive amount of such fine material. The bituminous-coal cleaning plant should therefore: (1) Treat the raw coal in as large lump as possible and without sizing; (2) eliminate degradation of pure coal -in the washing process; (3) avoid wetting the fines, if possible; (4) produce washed coal practically free from mechanically included impurities; (5) crush the refuse and retreat, if much intergrown coal, and refuse are present, rather than precrush the entire feed. Ordinary gravimetric methods of concentration, whether hydraulic or pneumatic, will not meet all of these requirements, as the large lump includes those sizes. now sent to the picking tables, if it is desired to treat material of such size. I do not know of any prior commercial method, based on the falling velocity, coefficient of friction or resistance to fracture, that permits the production of clean coal varying in size from, say, 10-in. lump to 1/16 -in. mesh.

Jan 6, 1924

By Morris Cohen

Within the past two years, a number of publications have called attention to the double peaks, or stages, that appear in the hardness and strength curves of certain aging alloys. The author has shown the existence of double hardness peaks during the aging of a high-purity silver-copper alloy;' and on the basis of electrical resistance, microscopic, dilation and lattice-parameter measurements, hc concluded that the initial hardness peak occurs prior to precipitation while the secondary hardening is due to precipitation. It was suggested that the general mechanism of age-hardening involves two consecutive processes, the first consisting of nucleus or knot2 formation, and the second consisting of actual precipitation and particle growth. It was further held that the two stages are interdependent, but because of nonuniform precipitation they may overlap each other to an extent that increases as the aging temperature is raised. At high aging temperatures, the effect of the first stage cannot be detected because of the rapid occurrernce of precipitation. The general theory of age-hardening recently presented by Dr. M. L. V. Gayler3 is in close agreement with the picture outlined above. With reference to work done on duralumin, copper-beryllium and copper-silver alloys, Dr. Gayler also concluded that age-hardening takes place in two consecutive steps: first, diffusion (in which the solute atoms migrate to certain crystallographic planes), and then precipitation. However, W. L. Fink and D. W. Smith4 have shown that the double aging peaks that appear in the strength curves of high-purity aluminum-copper alloys may be explained without recourse to pre-precipitation phenomena. By means of very careful metallographic technique, Fink and Smith demonstrated that during aging the precipitation takes place at an accelerated rate along the grain boundaries and slip planes as a result of the plastic deformation caused by the drastic quench from the solution heat-treatment temperature. The general precipitation occurs at a

Jan 1, 1939

By Morris Cohen

Within the past two years, a number of publications have called attention to the double peaks, or stages, that appear in the hardness and strength curves of certain aging alloys. The author has shown the existence of double hardness peaks during the aging of a high-purity silver-copper alloy;' and on the basis of electrical resistance, microscopic, dilation and lattice-parameter measurements, hc concluded that the initial hardness peak occurs prior to precipitation while the secondary hardening is due to precipitation. It was suggested that the general mechanism of age-hardening involves two consecutive processes, the first consisting of nucleus or knot2 formation, and the second consisting of actual precipitation and particle growth. It was further held that the two stages are interdependent, but because of nonuniform precipitation they may overlap each other to an extent that increases as the aging temperature is raised. At high aging temperatures, the effect of the first stage cannot be detected because of the rapid occurrernce of precipitation. The general theory of age-hardening recently presented by Dr. M. L. V. Gayler3 is in close agreement with the picture outlined above. With reference to work done on duralumin, copper-beryllium and copper-silver alloys, Dr. Gayler also concluded that age-hardening takes place in two consecutive steps: first, diffusion (in which the solute atoms migrate to certain crystallographic planes), and then precipitation. However, W. L. Fink and D. W. Smith4 have shown that the double aging peaks that appear in the strength curves of high-purity aluminum-copper alloys may be explained without recourse to pre-precipitation phenomena. By means of very careful metallographic technique, Fink and Smith demonstrated that during aging the precipitation takes place at an accelerated rate along the grain boundaries and slip planes as a result of the plastic deformation caused by the drastic quench from the solution heat-treatment temperature. The general precipitation occurs at a

Jan 1, 1939

By K. L. Meissner

IT is well known that the so-called pure aluminum contains noticeable amounts of impurities, chiefly iron and silicon, and many investigators have studied the forms in which these impurities exist. Hanson and Archbutt1 state that iron exists in aluminum as FeAl3 and silicon as elementary Si. The solubility of FeAl3 in solid aluminum is practically zero, or at, least so small that the smallest trace of this compound is always visible as a separate constituent. Under the microscope an untrained eye can hardly distinguish, without etching, the two constituents FeAl3 and Si, but they can be differentiated by suitable etching reagents. Anderson2 also found the same results. At the same time, Merica, Waltenberg, and Freeman3 found a constituent of unknown composition. They found a small thermal effect, at 610° C., on the cooling curves of aluminum with small amounts of iron and silicon. The intensity of this effect increased with increasing silicon content, until an effect occured at 576° C. due to the eutectic between aluminum and silicon. The authors ascribed the effect at 610° C. to a compound, which they call "X constituent." It was thought to be a ternary compound containing iron and silicon and could be observed under the microscope as dark particles. Dix4 has published unetched photomicrographs of an aluminum with 0.51 per cent. iron, 0.99 per cent. silicon, and 0.32 per cent. copper that shows three constituents: the dark Si (black in the figure), the lighter FeAl3, which appears in half tone and crystallizes in needles, and a constituent of the same color as FeAl3 but of different crystal form, often resembling Chinese script. This last constituent, Dix thought, is a compound of Fe and Si; not the compound FeSi but a compound containing a relatively small amount of silicon. Therefore an alloy of aluminum, iron, and silicon (the copper should not be regarded in the following considerations) must contain the following four constituents: Al, FeAl3,

Jan 1, 1926

By F. C. Dyer, H. E. T. Haultain

There has been much written on ball-mills, but no small amount of the literature is simply the expression of individual opinion without sufficient data. This is no doubt due to the complexity and obscurity of the phenomena involved. The outstanding paper is by E. W. Davis,I superintendent, School of Mines Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, which is based on a large amount of data from careful experiments with full-size apparatus, together with some mathematical philosophy. The entire philosophy is summed up in the equations given; but the present writers question the foundation upon which this philosophy is based. Encouraged by the work of Davis, the authors of this paper continued work they had been doing along this line. At first, photographs were taken of the ends of rods in a small laboratory rod mill. The mill was tilted slightly toward the feed end and the discharge end was removed. The rods remained in the mill long enough to permit good observation and good photography. Later, a mill 24 in. inside the stepped lining was constructed. It consisted of two sheets of plate glass, 1/2 in. apart, set in a cast-iron ring. It was driven by a variable speed motor and was connected to an accurate speedometer (magneto and voltmeter type). In place of balls or rods, cast brass disks were used. These were 3/8 in. thick and varied in diameter from 2 in. down to 3/4 in. Four small projections on each side prevented the disks sticking to the glass when water was used; sometimes steel balls % in. in diameter were added to the load of disks. There was also constructed a 6-in. mill with corrugated linoleum lining and containing a dry load of various sizes of steel balls. The mills were so connected to the motor that the small mill made two revolutions to one of the large mill. Many runs were made with a great variety of materials, including crushed marble, seeds of many kinds, and many mixtures (some wet and

Jan 1, 1923

By F. C. Dyer, H. E. T. Haultain

There has been much written on ball-mills, but no small amount of the literature is simply the expression of individual opinion without sufficient data. This is no doubt due to the complexity and obscurity of the phenomena involved. The outstanding paper is by E. W. Davis,I superintendent, School of Mines Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, which is based on a large amount of data from careful experiments with full-size apparatus, together with some mathematical philosophy. The entire philosophy is summed up in the equations given; but the present writers question the foundation upon which this philosophy is based. Encouraged by the work of Davis, the authors of this paper continued work they had been doing along this line. At first, photographs were taken of the ends of rods in a small laboratory rod mill. The mill was tilted slightly toward the feed end and the discharge end was removed. The rods remained in the mill long enough to permit good observation and good photography. Later, a mill 24 in. inside the stepped lining was constructed. It consisted of two sheets of plate glass, 1/2 in. apart, set in a cast-iron ring. It was driven by a variable speed motor and was connected to an accurate speedometer (magneto and voltmeter type). In place of balls or rods, cast brass disks were used. These were 3/8 in. thick and varied in diameter from 2 in. down to 3/4 in. Four small projections on each side prevented the disks sticking to the glass when water was used; sometimes steel balls % in. in diameter were added to the load of disks. There was also constructed a 6-in. mill with corrugated linoleum lining and containing a dry load of various sizes of steel balls. The mills were so connected to the motor that the small mill made two revolutions to one of the large mill. Many runs were made with a great variety of materials, including crushed marble, seeds of many kinds, and many mixtures (some wet and

Jan 1, 1923

By Alexander L. Holley

THE 400-ton testing machine, ordered in June, 1875, by the United States Board appointed to test "iron, steel, and other metals," has lately been completed at the Watertown Arsenal, thoroughly proved and accepted by the Board. The excellence of the machine in every respect is more than satisfactory, and its accuracy is at first sight astonishing, although an investigation of its principles must show that if the weighing apparatus will weigh at all, it must do so with perfect accuracy, because all its movements are absolutely without friction. The proof experiments were numerous, and the effects of recoil after sudden ruptures at maximum loads, were watched with great care, but without much anxiety, because the weighing parts affected are by no means delicate in structure, and their motion is almost infinitely small. Among the tests were the following : A forged link of hard, wrought iron, 5 inches in diameter between the eyes, was slowly strained in tension, and broke short off with a loud report at 722,800 pounds. The diameter before breaking at the point of fracture was 5.04 inches; after breaking, 4.98 inches. In order to see if the weighing parts had been disturbed by the recoil, which was obviously near the greatest recoil the machine will ever suffer, a horse-hair was next tested ; it was 7-1000ths of an inch in diameter; it stretched 30 per cent., and broke at 1 pound. Other horse-hairs vary in tenacity between 1 and 2 pounds. Of course, the accuracy of the machine on such delicate specimens, and indeed on specimens having some hundreds of pounds tenacity, has been checked and proved by other weighing machines. A 5-inch round bar, turned down to 3 5/8 inches diameter along the centre, was pulled apart at 430,200 pounds tension. Then some more horse-hairs were tested ; also copper wires 19 1/2-1000ths of an inch in diameter, which averaged 25 pounds tenacity..

Jan 1, 1879

By F. E. Wood

This paper is written primarily as a discussion of Dr. W. P. Hase-man's paper on "A Theory of Well Spacing"' and presents briefly the production records, and intensity and rate of development in a large portion of the two principal producing sands in the Salt Creek field, Wyoming. The study includes 1350 wells, 160,000,000 bbl. production, well spacings varying from two to seven wells per 40 acres and early and late development. The general conclusions to be derived from this study are: 1. It is impossible to formulate a mathematical rule to apply to well spacing in the Salt Creek field. 2. Each tract is a separate problem. 3. Tracts first drilled produce the most oil, with many exceptions. 4. Initial production is not a reliable index to the relationship between past, current, or future production. 5. Wells which have produced the most oil in the past are not necessarily yielding the greatest current production nor will they yield the greatest future production. In fact, wells which have yielded the greatest past production will, in at least one-half the cases, make less oil currently or in the future than wells which have produced a smaller quantity of oil in the past. 6. The following is a safe rule to apply in well spacing in the Salt Creek field: (a) If the drilling of an additional well on a tract results in a sustained increased production, with prospects of making a profit, the tract is not overdeveloped and additional wells might be drilled. (b) If the drilling of an additional well does not effect a sustained increase in the production of a tract, the tract is fully developed. Second Wall Creek Sand The Second Wall Creek sand, covering 20,000 producing acres, is the principal producing horizon in the Salt Creek field; 1610 wells are producing at this time from this sand. This paper deals with hut a portion of the entire field including 10,680 of the more productive acres,

Jan 1, 1930

While coal was undoubtedly seen by the early travellers within the state, the first mention of it was in the late 1820's when hunters put some stones from a creek bed under the logs of a large camp fire, and awoke later to find the stones on fire. The stream was later named Coal Branch; the location was at the eastern side of the present Bibbs County.1 In the Louisville Daily Journal of Feb. 11, 1831, the following short editorial note appeared: "Tuscaloosa Coal.-A small quantity of this article has reached Mobile, and has been tried in the office of the Patriot; it is said to be an excellent article. We invite such of our friends as desire economy in fuel, love a cheerful and constant fire, or would eschew a smoky room, to call and examine." On a geological map published in 1832, the "Carboniferous group" is shown and a spot near Tuscaloosa indicated as showing bituminous coal,2 and this is again alluded to in Morton's Synopsis, 1834. A brief description of the coal fields in the state in 1834 said that in winter coal was brought down the. Black Warrior River to Mobile and sold there at the same price as Liverpool coal, $1.00 to $1.50 per barrel, ($10 to $15 per ton) and that the writer was using it in his laboratory.3 At that time it was in local use by smiths and an iron foundry was using it in Shelby County.4 In 1836 some coal was mined in the Birmingham district, chiefly in the northern portion of the Coosa basin, where it was loaded on barges and taken down the Coosa Rivers.5 "William Whitman dug coal out of Wolf Creek (Walker County) in 1837," and in the same county, in 1839, the first coal shaft in the state, was sunk. This was near the mouth of Lost Creek and was known as Frierson's Shaft. It was operated by a hand windlass, using two tubs.1

Jan 1, 1942

By R. G. Baughman

With the constantly increasing sales competition, coal to be sold today must meet the test of quality in every respect. The producers must be able to make all marketable sizes that will meet such general requirements as follows: 1. Ash content must be consistently low, depending upon the use to be made of the coal. 2. Sulfur content must be controlled accurately according to requirements. 3. All sizes must be positively free from visible impurities. 4. Free moisture of washed sizes must be reduced to a minimum. 5. The freezing of wet coal in cars must be prevented. 6. The percentage of fines in small mixed sizes must be controlled to give the uniform and proper combustion when used on various types of automatic stokers. 7. The undersize particles or degradation caused by handling must be kept to an absolute minimum in all sizes loaded. Many difficulties may be met in bringing any particular coal to meet these quality requirements, because the extent to which the quality of a coal may be controlled is determined largely by its physical characteristics. Preparation of an Impure Coal Bed The application of modern and scientific methods in the controlled preparation of bituminous coal from a bed in the mid-western field will illustrate the results that can be accomplished by adequate preparation: The bed referred to contains coal inherently excellent as to low ash and other desirable characteristics; in fact, the coal itself is one of the best in the field. It is, however, divided into four layers by dirt bands of soft shale 1 to 2 in. thick. It also contains much sulfur in the form of sulfur lenses and laminated sheets. Horsebacks or rolls varying from 6 in. to 12 ft. in width are encountered in the mining of the bed and heretofore have rendered it practically unworkable. The mines operating in this

Jan 1, 1931