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By M. J. Marcinkowski, K. S. Sree Harsha

A detailed numerical analysis has been made of the equilibrium configuration of partial dislocations in a blocked deformation twin under an externally applied stress. Twins made up of both pure screw and pure edge partials have been considered. The components of stress in the vicinity of the twin tip associated with each of these configurations have been plotted. It has been found that at some critical degree of oblateness the shear stress fields of the blocked screw or edge twin can both sPontaneously nucleate slip, whereas only the component of stress oxx about the edge twin can nucleate and propagate cracks. TWINNING becomes a predominant mode of plastic deformation at low temperatures and/or high strain rates. Fig. l(a) shows what must be the first step in the formation of a deformation twin, namely the formation of a loop of imperfect dislocation bounding a stacking fault. In an fcc crystal the partial dislocations have Burgers vectors of the type 1/6 a,(112) and the fault is of the intrinsic type while in the bcc crystal the partials have Burgers vectors of the type ao(lll). The stacking sequence of (111) planes in a perfect fcc crystal is given by ABC ABC, and so forth, and in one which contains a twin by ABCABACBA, and so forth. It is apparent that the stacking fault and twin give rise to no mistakes associated with adjacent close-packed planes; however, with respect to second-neighbor close-packed planes the faulted crystal has twice as many mistakes as the twin. The energy of the twin boundary may thus be taken to be one-half that of the intrinsic fault boundary. In the case of the bcc crystal the stacking sequence of (112) planes is given by ABCDEFABCD, and so forth, in a perfect crystal, by ABCDCDEFA, and so forth, in a crystal which contains a fault, and by ABCDCBAF, and so forth, in one which contains a twin. An analysis similar to that applied in the fcc crystal shows that both the fault as well as the twin involve no neighbor violations across adjacent planes. However, there are twice as many violations across second-neighbor (112) planes associated with the fault as compared to that of the twin. Thus once again the energy of the twin boundary may be taken as one-half that of the fault. It is important to note that, unlike the fcc, the faults in the bcc crystal involve first nearest-neighbor violations and are thus expected to be of much higher energy than those in fcc crystals. A more detailed analysis of the material discussed above can be found in Ref. 1. To a good approximation then, the lenticular twin shown in Fig. l(b) can be generated by adding partial dislocation loops on successive (111) planes for fcc crystals or (112) planes for bcc crystals in the manner shown, with no additional expenditure of chemical energy other than that required for the fault shown in Fig. l(a). In practice, deformation twins are much more extended than that shown in Fig. l(b) and more closely resemble one shown schematically in Fig. l(c). It is readily apparent that the free energy of the twin and matrix are identical. In those cases where the partials lead to a structural change, the free energy of the material contained within the dislocation array is lower than that of the matrix and we have the so-called martensite transformation. The present investigation is the first in a series of five major theoretical-experimental efforts which will deal with the static and dynamic behavior of twin nucleation and growth. There has been a recent surge in activity pertaining to the equilibrium shapes of twin lamellae2'3 and

Jan 1, 1969

By G. R. Speich, S. A. Kulin

The isothermal formation of martensite at subzero temperatures has been studied in an austenitic stainless steel. The amount of martensite formed isothermally in a given time was found to follow a C-curve behavior with decreasing temperature. Since isothermal rnartensitic transformation occurs at temperatures above the true M. temperature of the olloy, the observed M. temperature is dependent on the cooling rate. It is believed that a general martensite theory must include the basic concepts of the strain embryo theory, and also the important role of thermal fluctuations. UNTIL recently the isothermal component of the martensitic transformation had been considered as a trivial effect in theoretical considerations of this type of transformation. One of the postulates used in defining a martensitic transformation was that the reaction was temperature dependent but not time dependent. Cohen and his associates1'2 were the first to report the isothermal formation of mar-tensite. They obsel-ved the time dependency of the martensite reaction at room temperature in plain carbon steels and certain tool steels. They found that a small amount of additional transformation occurred after the specimen reached the quenching temperature and that the rate of this isothermal transformation decreased rapidly with time. These authors considered this phenomenon to be a "tailing-off" of the main athermal reaction. Kurdjumov and MaksimovaL 5 studied the isothermal formation of martensite at subatmospheric temperatures in steels containing 0.6 pct C-6 pct Mn, 1.6 pct C, and in an iron-base alloy containing 23 pct Ni and 3.4 pct Mn. In each case it was found that both the initial rate and the total amount of isothermal transformation exhibited sharp maxima with decreasing temperature. They stated that it was possible to completely suppress the martensitic transformation in the 0.6 pct C-6 pct Mn steel by drastic quenching in liquid nitrogen. They interpreted their results in terms of a thermally activated process. The maximum in the rate of nucleation vs. temperature curve was assumed to be a result of the temperature dependence of the rate of growth of the martensite plates. It has been demonstrated," however, that martensite plates can form with great rapidity even at temperatures approaching absolute zero. In addition," attempts to confirm the reported suppression of the martensitic transformation by rapid cooling of a 0.6 pct C-6 pct Mn steel have proved unsuccessful. On this basis, and on other theoretical grounds, the validity of some of Kurd-jumov's results and conclusions is open to serious question. Cohen, Machlin, and Paranjpe' have proposed a theory of martensite formation based on the nucleation of strain embryos and a growth mechanism involving cooperative atomic displacements. According to this theory thermal fluctuations can make a strain embryo supercritical and thereby produce martensite isothermally. Das Gupta and Lement' have investigated the isothermal formation of martensite in a 17 pct Cr-0.7 pct C steel at temperatures below the ambient. They found that partial suppression of the martensitic reaction occurred on quenching into liquid nitrogen. That part of the reaction which can be suppressed is taken to correspond to the isothermal rather than the athermal part of the rnartensitic transformation. The initial rate of isothermal transformation for this steel was found to go through a maximum with decreasing temperature. This is in conformity with the findings of Kurdjumov and Maksimova for the steels used in their investigation. Das Gupta and Lement conclude that isothermal martensite formation occurs by the nucleation of new plates and is always preceded by some athermal transformation. An iron-base alloy containing 14 pct Cr-9 pct Ni was used in this investigation to study further the kinetics of the austenite to martensite transforma-

Jan 1, 1953

By N. Mungan

A study was made of the effects of wettability and interfacial tension on the immiscible displacement of a Iiquid by another Iiquid from porous media. The influence of viscosity ratio was also investigated. Porous media used were polytetrafluoroethylene (TFE) cores prepared by compressing TFE powder under different pressures. lt is shown that displacement of a wetting by a nonwetting Iiquid is always less efficient than the displacement of a nonwetting by a wetting fluid, all other things being equal. In the former case, the recovery efficiency can be increased substantially by either reducing the interfacial tension or increasing the viscosity of the displacing fluid. A qualitative discussion is given on the implications of this work to the recovery of crude oil by water flooding. INTRODUCTION The high cost of oil exploration and new recovery schemes makes it imperative that waterflooding be conducted under conditions favoring most efficient oil recovery. To improve oil recovery by waterflooding, it is essential that the role played by interfacial forces in the entrapment of residual oil be studied and understood. Interfacial phenomena in natural rock, connate water and crude oil systems are very complicated because of the complexity of the natural liquids found in petroleum reservoirs, because of our inability to adequately describe the geometrical structure of the porous media and because of a lack of understanding of physical and chemical interactions between the liquids and surface of the pores. The problem becomes further complicated when one tries to elucidate the role of interfacial phenomena in fluid flow. Numerous studies of the displacement of oil by water under different interfacial tension or wet-tability conditions have been made.lm3 These studies have been performed in silica, alundum or sandstone systems using water and paraffin oil and also some surface active material to control the interfacial tension s and the contact angle 0. Unfortunately, the high energies of various interfaces involved favor adsorption and orientation of the surface active material at the interfaces. Also the surface active material concentration at the interfaces exceeds that in the bulk of the liquid phases. Such surface excess may cause the surfactant distribution, the contact angle and the interfacial tension to differ from their measured static equilibrium values and makes interpretation of the displacement experiments difficult. Furthermore, as changes in s also lead to changes in cos 0, the role played individually by one of these parameters in the displacement becomes obscured by the effect of the other. To circumvent these difficulties, a low surface energy solid and true solutions or pure liquids should be used. Use of a low surface energy solid minimizes adsorption and orientation effects at the solid-liquid interfaces. By controlling s and cos 0 through use of selected pairs of pure liquids or true solutions rather than by surfactants, the adsorption effects at liquid-liquid interfaces are eliminated. In the present study TFE cores were used as the porous media. Liquids used were water, sucrose solutions, paraffin oils and benzyl, n-butyl and isobutyl alcohols. The interfacial tension was varied from 40 to 1.1 dynes/cm by suitably choosing the liquid pair. A surface active material was added to the water-oil system only in the case where interfacial tension of 0.5 dyne/ cm was desired. No precise changes of cos 0 were attempted. However, either the displaced or the displacing liquid could be made the one which preferentially wets the TFE surface. Using sucrose solutions and blends of paraffin oils proved to be a convenient way of changing the viscosity ratio between the displaced and displacing liquids. The present investigation examines the effect of interfacial tension, wettability and viscosity ratio on the immiscible liquid-liquid displacement from porous media. Observed data permit a

Jan 1, 1967

A. Cook K.A. Grace's article advocates usage of the terms describing resources as defined by the US Bureau of Mines (USBM) and the US Geological Survey (USGS). Originally recommended in 1943, the terms were revised in 1976 and again in 1980. Mr. Grace further recommends that the term reserves should be severely restricted and that it should encompass mining and processing factors. The list of references quoted in the article does not, however, mention the study concerning reserves that was made over a period of almost four years by a joint Committee on Definitions. This committee was sponsored by three societies - the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), and the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). Most of the detailed work was done by a working party appointed by the Society of Mining Engineers (SME) of AIME. After studying previous definitions in the US as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and other European countries, the following definitions were proposed and accepted in 1974 by the SME board of directors. (Ore reserve definitions in Rhodesia, South Africa, or New Zealand were not mentioned as having been reviewed. Table 1 lists definitions from MINING ENGINEERING, July 1975. Notice in Table 1 it was mentioned, under Resources, that the definitions of reserves were recommended for the purposes of commercial evaluation. It was further stated that the terminology adopted by the USBM and the USGS, as released to the public, covering resources, was recognized as such. Mr. Grace also recommends that reserve calculations should allow for future losses in ore tonnage, ore grade, milling, and smelting. Unfortunately, it might take years to develop a prospect after it has been discovered. Mining methods have to be tested before being finalized in order to know what tonnage of ore is going to be lost, or how much dilution is likely to occur. The same problems are present in concentrating or in smelting. Operating mines usually know how mined grade compares with ore reserve grade. They can usually predict fairly closely what their final metal recoveries are probably going to be. It is, however, expecting too much to have to delay quoting reserves from say a recently drilled prospect. Any responsible mining geologist or mining engineer (or company for that matter) should state several things about an ore reserve calculation: that it is or is not a preliminary estimate only; that estimated grades have not been diluted to allow for a future, as yet unknown, mining method; that metal recoveries are or are not only tentative, based perhaps on drill hole samples only or on no metallurgical testing at all. [ ] Reserves of a partially explored prospect are always quoted when it becomes necessary to raise capital. If they are described as preliminary only (really just tonnage and grade estimates and not true "reserves") in addition to being accompanied by some of the items just mentioned, nobody is going to be misled. If, on the other hand, a report by a member of the SME or SEG is intentionally misleading, the individual must be reported and eventually disbarred from his or her society. To summarize, let us stay with the definitions of ore, ore reserves, and related terms as recommended and accepted by SME. I might add that on occasion I have used a fourth category in my ore reserve calculations, namely Geologically Possible Ore. This category is more or less the same as Inferred ore defined by the USBM and USGS. I have never given a grade to this category, which may be based only on geological mapping, geochemical sampling, or geophysical traversing. ?

Jan 1, 1986

By John Wulff, David A. Stevenson

The solubility of iron and cobalt in liquid lead, the solubility of chromium in liquid tin, and nickel in liquid silver were determined up to 1300°C in an atmosphere of hydrogen. Liquid samples were taken at different temperatures and analyzed. The data obtained were plotted to show the relationship between log mole fraction of solute and the inverse of the absolute temperature. Resulting values for the differential heat of solution (AH) and the excesspartial molar entropy (S)are: for the iron-lead system = _24,200 cal per mole and AT = 5.0 e.u. for the a phase, and AH = 18,300 and S = -0.1 e.u. for the y phase; for the cobalt-lead system AH = 16,500 cal per mole and AS =0.7 e.u.; for the chromium-tin system AH = 15,600 cal per mole and AS = 8.5 e.u.; for the nickel-silver system AH =18,000 cal per mole and AS = 4.0 e.u. RECENT developments in coating, brazing, and heat transfer have focused attention on specific cases of solid-liquid interaction in metal systems, particularly those involving dilute liquid solutions. One fundamental quantity of interest in such systems is the equilibrium phase distribution between solid and liquid phases. In any effort to fully understand such interactions, one must be able to describe the equilibrium state precisely. Furthermore, in order to develop genera! relations for such systems, one must know the equilibrium state in a number of different cases. This investigation was devoted to a study of the equilibrium phase distribution in four binary systems: solid iron-liquid lead; solid cobalt-liquid lead; solid chromium-liquid tin; solid nickel-liquid silver. The iron-lead system was previously studied by Shepard and parkman' and later by Fleischer and Elliott2 with differing results. Both investigations were carried out by sampling the saturated liquid, and analyzing it chemically. The cobalt-lead system was previously reported by Pelzel,3 who noticed no discontinuity near the transformation. A limited investigation of the chromium-tin system was made by Wlodek and wulff4 using a weight loss method. This work was done in conjunction with the development of a process for coating molybdenum with chromium from tin solutions. To more fully under- stand the kinetics of the process, a more accurate determination of a solubility was desirable. No significant data were found in the literature on the nickel-silver system. Data on the latter system were, however, relevant to the investigation of the corrosion kinetics of copper-nickel alloys in liquid silver as carried out by Harrison and wagner,5 EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND PROCEDURE Of the techniques available for the study of such systems the most effective appears to be that of liquid sampling,2,6,7 which is the method used in the present investigation. A schematic diagram of the sampling furnace is given in Fig. 1. Large pieces of solute metal, in excess of saturation solubility, were added to 200 g of the solvent metal, and the entire charge placed in an alundum crucible. Analytical reagent or materials of chemically pure grade were used in all investigations. The crucible was contained in a zircon muffle tube positioned vertically in the uniform hot zone of a Globar resistance furnace. The tube was provided with a number of ports which permitted sampling at temperature and in controlled atmospheres or vacuum; the ports were also useful for evacuation and introduction of gases as well as for thermocouple measurements. A chromel-alumel thermocouple Sheated in a porcelain tube was used for temperature measurements. A purified hydrogen atmosphere was employed in all experiments reported in this paper. The hydrogen was purified by passing it first over hot copper gauze to remove oxygen and then through a molecular sieve immersed in

Jan 1, 1962

By Howard E. McKinney

A high-pressure wellhead lubricator has been developed to facilitate telemetering electrical measurements from subsurface reservoirs to the surface with the well under normal flowing conditions. The field unit in use at the present time employs a 5/16-in diameter, single-conductor armored cable and is to be used in wells with surface pressures up to 5,000 psi. It has a pressure sealing element that maintains a continuous and absolute seal around the cable as it enters or leaves the tubing at speeds up to 175 ft per minute. A cable injecting device is used which obviates sinker bars or weight sections on the instrument. INTRODUCTION The development of instruments for securing physical measurements in pressure wells has been confined in the past to those instrument which would operate on a wire line and record the necessary measurements in the downhole instrument itself, or those which would operate on an electric cable in a well with the surface pressure killed by the use of weighted fluids or by the use of tubing plugs. In one case the accuracy of the measurements is questionable, and in the other the range of application is very limited. Considerable work has been done by other interests to provide effective means to accomplish the necessary telemetering. The U. S. Bureau of Mines developed a wellhead lubricator prior to 1947 which permitted a 5/16-in diameter single-conductor cable to be lowered into a well with a surface pressure of approximately 500 psi. This unit was used successfully in a number of tests in Oklahoma. A company which tests wells has recently offered on a service basis a wellhead lubricator with a 3/16-in diameter cable that reportedly operates up to 2,500 psi surface pressures. Each of the above operates on a staging principle to effect a seal. In both of these units some leakage of well fluid occurs when the cable is moved. SPECIFICATIONS FOR DESIGN In order to provide the maximum flexibility in its use, the following parameters were established for the design of our high-pressure wellhead lubricator: L An absolute well fluid seal up to 5,000 psi surface pressures. 2. Means for raising and lowering the instrument at speeds of at least 100 ft per minute. 3. Provision for the instrument to enter and leave the well without disturbing the well flow or the reservoir conditions. 4. A cable large enough to provide suitable electrical characteristics and suitable mechanical properties. 5. A method of operation that will not damage the well in any way. The present high-pressure wellhead lubricator field unit fulfills the above requirements. DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT AND ITS OPERATION The cable selected for this use is the standard Amergraph 1H2 as manufactured by the American Steel and Wire Co. This particular cable is normally used by the Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. in their conventional well logging operations. Although the cable presents a noncircular cross-section (Fig. l), its diameter is very consistent; lor example, maximum diameter is 0.325 in., minimum diameter 0.314 in. This [actor permits the use of the sealing element, as later described. Early in the development of the high-pressure wellhead lubricator it was apparent that we could not effect a direct gas seal around a moving 1H2 cable. This becomes evident when an examination of the cable cross-section is made. The voids between the strands of the outer armor provide natural channels lor the flow and escape in large quantities of a low-viscosity fluid such as gas. However, it is relatively simple to

Jan 1, 1952

By A. Kenneth Schellinger

DURING the comminution of a brittle material in the presence of dry air, no known phase change or chemical reaction takes place. The energy changes associated with the comminution are those of the transformation of kinetic energy into heat energy and the energy absorption represented by the actual rupture of molecular and/or ionic bonds. The random nature of the actual grinding process in a tumbling-mill often precludes the effective application of a rupture force on each individual particle of brittle mineral present. The result must be a great deal of useless vibration on an atomic scale in both the brittle mineral and the grinding medium below the elastic limit, which vibration is eventually manifested as heat energy in the mill. The actual rupture of molecular, or ionic, bonds creates new surface on the brittle minerals; each square centimeter of this new surface then must possess a number of potential bonds, each of which could reform theoretically with the release of energy. The sum total of this potential energy of bonding per unit of new surface, minus bond satiation effects of the enclosing gas or liquid, must be the surface energy of the mineral. If the comminution of the brittle mineral were carried out within the chamber of a calorimeter, the energy released as heat could be determined rather accurately. Moreover, the total kinetic energy input to the comminuting mass (mineral and medium) conceivably could be derived by a suitable torquemeter and revolution counter if the whole calorimeter were revolved. The difference between these two energy figures should then represent the net energy (gross energy input—heat enerb output) used in creating new surface, gliding or slip on atomic planes, twinning, and possibly other lattice rearrangements within the mineral. If it be postulated further that with a hard, brittle crystalline material, such as quartz, the energy used to produce gliding, twinning, and other permanent lattice movements is a very small fraction of the total net energy absorbed, then this energy absorption within the grinding calorimeter can be ascribed to the creation of new surface energy alone. Such energy is, from the thermody-namic standpoint, the true effective work of the grinding device, in this case a tumbling-medium mill. The ratio of this effective work (in calories) to the total energy input (in calories) should express the thermodynamic efficiency of the comminution taking place under the conditions used in the grinding calorimeter. This approach to the measurement of the energetics of tumbling-mill grinding was suggested by some previous work by Fahrenwald and coworkers' with a laboratory ball mill and a thermometer. They measured the efficiency of grinding based on the formula: Pct Grinding Efficiency = Energy (calories) — Thermal Energy x 100 1npZ Output (calories) Energy input (calories) Efficiencies thus measured, while grinding quartz sand, ranged from 19.7 pct to 7.4 pct. Cook in 1915,' used this approach to the problem of grinding efficiencies in stamp batteries and obtained the energy input by stamp weights times drop distances and the energy output by means of thermometers and pulp flow rates. He calculated that 80 pct of the input energy to the stamp shoes was wasted as sensible heat in the ore pulp. No other studies of comminution by this method of energy differences came to the author's attention. Reasonable agreement as to the order-of-mag-nitude of comminution efficiencies in tumbling-media mills is lacking in the literature. There is a widespread impression among technical workers that the grinding efficiency of the industrial ball mill may be on the order of 1 pct, or even a fraction

Jan 1, 1952

By R. Lagneborg, R. Gullberg

An X-ray method for determinig volume fractions of phases in textured materials has been developed. The method involves measurements of the integrated intensities of reflections of each phase for one single orientation of the sample. The method was checked by evaluating the phase contents in samples from two stainless Cr-Ni steels containing austenite and ferrite in known amounts. In the present case measurements of about five reflections from each phase were required. The agreement between calculated and known volume fractions was found to be very close. AN X-ray diffraction method is often employed for determining the amounts of two or more phases in a material. The details of the method have been described at several instances.'" In short, the method is based upon the fact that the integrated intensity of a reflection is directly proportional to the volume fraction of the phase considered. In principle, the method only requires the measurement of the intensity of one reflection for each phase. The most severe shortcoming with this method is that it disregards influences from preferred orientation in the material. In a diffractometer, where this type of analysis is most conveniently carried out, the geometry is such that the diffracting planes for a specific Bragg peak are all parallel to the surface of the specimen. This implies that it must be required that the occurrence of the diffracting planes parallel to the specimen surface must be as frequent as for any arbitrarily oriented physical plane of the sample. This requirement will generally only be fulfilled for a material free of texture. Since all materials in reality always exhibit a preferred orientation to some extent. the deficiency of the method is quite serious. In cold-deformed material the texture is appreciable, but also annealed material will in many cases display a considerable texture. The problem of quantitative phase analysis in textured material is one of obtaining the integrated intensity averaged over all orientations of the specimen with respect to the X-ray beam. Lopata and ~ula~ have shown that this can be accomplished by integration of intensities over the whole pole figure, or by random rotation of the specimen in the X-ray beam, or by a combination of both. Hence, in this method the average integrated intensity for a specific reflection is obtained by directly determining the intensity for a sufficient number of physical orientations of the sample. However, since an excess of diffracting planes in a certain surface plane necessarily must be accompanied by a deficiency of another type of diffracting plane, it appears to be possible to obtain the correct average intensity for a specific diffracting plane by performing an appropriate averaging of intensities belonging to a large number of diffraction planes of different hkl when all intensities have been produced from one single orientation of the specimen surface. In the present work such a method has been attempted and tested experimentally for two stainless Cr-Ni steels containing austenite and ferrite. 1) THEORY The expression for the integrated intensity of a Bragg reflection diffracted from a phase in a polycrys-talline sample in a diffractometer is: where C is a constant only dependent on the incident X-ray power and the diffractometer geometry, v the volume of the unit cell, F the structure factor, m multiplicity of the diffracting plane, L Lorentz factor, P polarization factor, e-2 temperature factor, p average linear absorption coefficient of the irradiated vO1umej and V volume fraction of the phase 'Onsidered. Hence, the factor R in the abbreviated form of Eq. [I] can be calculated and depends only on 0 and the diffracting plane {hkl}. For an alloy containing two phases, a and y, we can write

Jan 1, 1967

By D. L. Martin

THAT small amounts of impurities have a harm-J- ful effect on the malleability of metals and alloys is well-known. One common type of em-brittlement involves the formation of a small quantity of eutectic at the grain boundaries, and is typified by sulfur embrittlement of nickel. Another example of eutectic embrittlement—sulfur embrittlement of cobalt—is described in this report. In the preparation of specimens for a study of Co-Pt alloys, it was observed that the hot swagabil-ity of the alloys appeared to be influenced by the grade of cobalt used as melting stock. The cause of the hot-shortness was not traced to any particular impurity, although sulfur was suspected.' The damaging action of sulfur on the malleability of cobalt has not been generally recognized,'; in spite of the fact that the Co-S phase diagram8 eveals the same basic conditions—low solubility and eutectic formation—responsible for sulfur embrittlement of iron and nickel.7, 8 Apparently sulfur embrittlement has not been a serious problem in the fabrication of cobalt alloys. One related factor is likely the limited commercial experience with high cobalt alloys, since the predominant use of cobalt has been in alloys containing less than 75 pet Co. A series of Co-S alloys was prepared and studied to establish the effect of sulfur on the hot working characteristics of cobalt. Specimens, 5/8 in. diam by 4 in. long, were prepared by vacuum melting in magnesium oxide crucibles and casting in a copper mold. Two grades of low sulfur electrolytic cobalt were used as the basic material for the study, one from Johnson, Matthey and Co. and the other from the International Nickel Co. Each contained about 99.5 pet Co and had a nominal sulfur content under 0.005 pet. The sulfur was added initially as cobalt sulfide powder. Later, some low sulfur alloys were prepared by diluting the high sulfur alloys with cobalt. Trouble was experienced in controlling the sulfur content. Apparently much of the cobalt sulfide powder was lost during melting, as most of the samples contained a lower sulfur content than was added. The alloys were evaluated for hot brittleness by heating to 1000°C in a hydrogen furnace and swaging in air. The results of these tests are summarized in Table I. All the alloys containing less than 0.008 pet S were successfully hot swaged to 1/4 in. diam. The bars containing more than 0.015 pet S could not be swaged because of the formation of intercrystal-line cracks similar to those illustrated in Fig. 1. Examination of the microstructure of the cast bars revealed cobalt sulfide eutectic at the grain boundaries, Fig. 2. The sulfide was not always continuous at grain boundaries in bars that were hot embrittled but, in general, the particles did form a network that could account for the brittleness above the eutectic temperature, 880°C. There is no question about the brittle nature of a specimen exhibiting a continuous sulfide network such as is shown in Fig. 2b, though a sulfide distribution similar to that in Fig. 2a is marginal. This particular bar cracked when hot-swaged. However, other bars with lower sulfur content but with some sulfide phase at grain boundaries were successfully worked. The reduction of area of a hot tensile test specimen was also found to be a sensitive indicator of sulfur embrittlement. The variation of reduction of area with sulfur content is shown in Fig. 3 for specimens fractured at 900°C in an evacuated capsule. The ductility of cobalt is greatly reduced when the sulfur content exceeds 0.005 pet. Similar results were obtained for alloys tested at 800°C, below the eutectic temperature. The upper sulfur embrittlement limit of 0.015 pet, Table I, agrees with the observation of Kalmus8 hat

Jan 1, 1957

By A. Kaufman

More than 3 trillion gal of water are used annually by the mineral industry. Of this, approximately 21/2 trillion gal are recirculated, the rest constituting intake water. The major users are natural gas processing plants and phosphate rock, sand and gravel, and iron ore producers. Water was used by the mineral industry for mining (6%), processing (64%), cooling and condensing (27%), and miscellaneous uses such as boiler feed and sanitary purposes (3%). Whereas total water use is dependent on the quantity of material processed and on the particular process requirements of an industry, recirculation is dependent on processing, as well as cooling and condensing requirements, quality of new water intake, and the necessity for treating new and discharged water. Consumed water, on the other hand, is dependent on the quantity of water recirculated, and temperature and humidity in the area. Based on this analysis, an increase in water use by the mineral industry of 21/2 times by 1985 is forecast. Wster intake, however, will only rise 62%, because of a substantial increase in recirculation. In one report of a special series concerning the water resources of the United States, the Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources, 87th Congress, estimated that water demand would double by 1980 and triple by 2000.' In view of the possible water deficiencies that might result from such expanded usage and the need for research guidance, the Bureau of Mines organized and carried out a statistical canvass of water use in the mineral industry for calendar year 1962. The data used in this paper, unless otherwise noted, are derived from that canvass.' The efforts in this paper are devoted toward summarization of the canvass and analysis of the data. SOME DEFINITIONS Intake: Water introduced from an external source for the first time into a given mine or plant regardless of quality. Intake water is also called new water, water withdrawn, or makeup water. Fresh Water: Water suitable for cooking and drinking. Saline Water: Water containing more than 1000 parts per million of dissolved solids. Contaminated Water: Water not suitable for domestic use, but excluding saline water. Recirculated Water: Water reused to conserve intake water. Solutions that are recycled primarily because of fixed metallurgical practices, such as copper leaching solutions containing sulfuric acid, are excluded. Gross Water Used: Recirculated water plus intake water. Also called total water used. Consumed Water: Water that is lost by evaporation, as well as water lost in product. Seepage and transferred water are not considered consumed. The use of either intake or recirculated water may result in consumption. However, because of difficulties in measuring consulmption, consumed water is defined as the residual between intake and water discharged from the mine or plant. Mineral Industry: For the purposes of this paper, mineral industry includes all metal and nonmetal surface and underground mines and their associated processing plants, as well as custom mills, coal washing plants and associated mines, petroleum and natural gas well drillers, natural gas processing plants, and secondary recovery operations. WATER USE IN THE MINERAL INDUSTRY Water used by the mineral industry constitutes a relatively minor fraction of the water withdrawn by all users. Data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1960 indicate that water withdrawals, exclusive of that used to generate hydropower, approximate 99 trillion gal annually.3 Our data indicate that water withdrawals by the mineral industry comprise only 1% of this total, or 2% of the water withdrawn by industrial users. Use by Industry: Water used by various mineral industries is shown in Table I. The table indicates that close to one-half of the gross water used by the mineral industry in 1962 was used by natural gas processing plants, followed by sand and gravel, phosphate rock, and iron ore producers. The largest aggregate users of water are also the largest users per dollar of product. For example, Fig. 1 shows that the natural gas processing and phosphate rock industries are very large users of water per dollar of product. Their recirculation per

Jan 1, 1968

By R. J. Wasilewski

Electrical resistivity variation with temperature was measured on a series of alloys containting up to 33 at. pct of oxygen over the range 77° to1500°K. The resistivity behavior is highly anomalous and itzconsistent with simple metallic conduction. Both composition and temperature-depended resistivity singularities were observed. A few experiments carried out on Ti-N and Zr-O alloys indicate the presence of similar anomalies. These observations, together with the published data on effects of substi-tutional alloying on the resistiuity of titanium, suggest that the anomalies are inhevent in the electron structure of this group oj metals. The existence of two-band conduction, and a significant shift of bands relative to each other with temperature and/or the electron concentration are suggested. CONSIDERABLE advances have been made in recent years in the alloy theory of simple metals. Very little, however, is known about the bonding in transition metals and their alloys.&apos; Titanium, with its relatively few electrons, may be expected to show simpler alloying behavior than the more complex transition elements. Its alloys with the interstitial elements appear particularly attractive in an investigation of bonding characteristics because of a) the simple nature of the solute elements, b) the remarkable similarity between the equiatomic structures Tic, TiN, and TiO, and c) the extensive solid solubility ranges of oxygen and nitrogen in a titanium reported.2,3 The Ti-O system was chosen for the most extensive investigation because of the relative ease of preparation of suitable specimens. Since the main object of the work was to obtain data on the bonding and its changes on alloying, electron-sensitive properties were primarily investigated. The present work describes the investigation on the electrical resistivity-temperature-oxygen content relationships. A few experiments were also carried out at selected compositions in the Ti-N and Zr-O systems. EXPERIMENTAL Materials and Method. Polycrystalline specimens were prepared in the form of hairpin strips some 50 by 5 by 0.15 to 0.50 mm by direct metal-gas reaction. This was carried out by controlled oxidation followed by a homogenizing anneal at a higher temperature. All the test specimens were fully homogenized as judged from the uniform microstructure and microhardness. To avoid preferred orientation, each strip specimen was annealed in the ß range prior to the oxidation, this procedure assuring random orientation in the strip;4 hence any texture resulting from the oxidation reaction itself affected all the specimens to a similar extent. Titanium used was of high purity (66 DPN, 10 Kg load; major impurities 0,-43G ppm, N,-70 ppm, C-25 ppm, Fe-14G ppm). The solute content of the alloys was determined by weighing, after the reaction with a known amount of oxygen. The specimens in which the discrepancy between the volumetric and gravimetric measurements exceeded 2 pct (or 0.2 mg for the low oxygen alloys) were rejected. The mean between the two measurements was then taken as the oxygen content of the alloy. Check analyses showed no measurable nitrogen contamination. All oxygen contents are given in atomic percent. Zr-O alloys were prepared in identical manner from hafnium-free crystal bar metal, cold-rolled to strip 0.25 mm thick. Ti-N alloys required very long reaction times at the maximum temperature available (1250°C). In order, therefore, to detect possible oxygen contamination, duplicate specimens were reacted in every experimental run, and one of these was analyzed both for oxygen (vacuum fusion) and for nitrogen (Kjeldahl). Only the specimens in which the check analysis showed < 1000 ppm O were then used for resistivity investigation. Since only relatively high nitrogen alloys (7.1 at. pct; i.e., 2 wt pct N,) were investigated, this oxygen contamination was considered permissible. Dc resistance was measured by the four-probe method as previously described.= The temperature was determined with a calibrated thermocouple placed in the center of the specimen hairpin. The errors in the specimen resistance values thus obtained were estimated at 1 pct due almost exclusively to the finite thickness of the potential wires and the consequent uncertainty as regards the true resistance length of the specimen. For the calculation of the specific resistance, however, no dimensional measurements could be carried out on most of the

Jan 1, 1962

By L. W. Pommier, F. B. Brien

In order to determine the ability of cyclones with heavy liquids to preconcentrate ores, a study of the variables which govern the behavior of the solids in the apparatus has been made. To assess the test results, the cyclone products have been examined by sink and float analysis at various specific gravities and the results examined by the Tromp type curves. This analysis has allowed the development of the SG50 unit — specific gravity of the particles, 50% of which goes to overflow and 50% to underflow — rather than the d50 (size) unit used in classification. The results of tests using the closed circuit laboratory cyclone assembly with dry feed samples show the validity of the equation: Results indicate that 83% of the feed may be rejected containing 0.1% Sn. Recoveries in excess of 80% are obtained at a grade of 1.7% Sn from feed samples assaying 0.4% Sn. As water-wetted particles may comprise the plant feed, separate tests were performed to examine the effect of water in the feed material. Results indicate that the entrained water divides into two fractions, one of which is defined as free water and is rejected to the cyclone overflow, the other fraction forms an adhering envelope of water on the ore particles, altering their effective size and density. The presence of the envelope of water on the particles increases the ease with which the heavy liquid can be recovered but decreases the concentration efficiency. It is proposed that the detrimental effect of water in the cyclone may be minimized by using a higher feed pressure cx by the use of surfactants. A higher feed pressure, by increasing shearing forces, would reduce the thickness of the water envelope on the particles. The surfactants, by adsorbing on the particles and producing hydrophobic surfaces, would displace the water envelope and allow the heavy liquids to wet the modified surfaces. In both cases a larger proportion of the entrained water would report to the cyclone overflow as free water, thus minimizing the detrimental effect of water on the concentration efficiency. Additional testing is required on the behavior of water in the system; to determine the optimum particle size for the preconcentration step; to determine final particle size for optimum liberation and subsequent treatment of the products in present plants and to determine the efficiency with which the heavy liquids may be recovered from the products. For many years tin mining in Bolivia has been very important to the economy of the country. In recent years the tin content of the ore reserves has been steadily declining. An improvement in concentration efficiency is highly desirable in order to increase productivity from the present low-grade mine ores and to allow retreatment of the many millions of tons of tailings from past operations, some of which equal the present ores in tin content. A number of investigators have been or at present are working on various phases or approaches to the problem. Gravity concentration is used in Boliva today as it has been in the past to recover tin minerals from the mine ores. An objective of the work reported in this paper was to examine the possibility of treating present low-grade ores and sink-float tailings products, at a relatively coarse grind, in order to produce a higher grade feed material to the present gravity concentration plants. The possibility of using heavy liquids in cyclones to treat large tonnages with a minimum of outlay presented itself and is of particular interest since heavy liquids are now available with physical properties which lend themselves to simple recovery methods. Tests were carried out using a closed circuit laboratory cyclone assembly. It was desirable to determine the value of using the SG50 concept and Tromp curves for analyzing the cyclone concentration test results. The effects of entrained water on the behavior of ore particles in the cyclone were examined. THEORY AND TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS Three types of heavy liquids are available: aqueous solutions of very soluble salts, salts or mixtures of

Jan 1, 1964

By Wm. R. Webster

THIS is a contribution for the proposed new discussion on the physics of steel. The former discussion on the subject started with the consideration of five papers presented at the Chicago meeting in 1893, and continued for several years. The Suggested Lines of Discussion, prepared by Doctor Howe, covered a wide field and added greatly to the success of the work. Naturally, the first step in a new discussion will be to remodel and bring up to date the old Suggested Lines of Discussion so as to embody all the important advances in the metallurgy of steel that have a bearing on the physics of steel and keep the papers and discussions within the field of work undertaken. This paper will be devoted to the practical application, in rolling steel, of the effects of carbon, phosphorus, and manganese on its tensile strength, with some suggestions on further research work. Dr. J. E. Stead, in his paper Influence of Some Elements on the Mechanical Properties of Steel,1 gave a complete review of all that had been done during the past thirty years. He gave full credit to all investigators who worked on these lines, also their results, with his views on same, and in many cases his own results. All of this data and much new valuable information were put in convenient shape for reference and study. To do this required a great deal of work, which is fully appreciated by the steel manufacturers and investigators. The variations in the values given by the different investigators for the increase of the tensile strength of steel for each 0.01 per cent. of carbon, phosphorus, and manganese were largely due to the steels they worked on, the large or small variations in the amount of the elements present, and the omission to take into consideration all the factors, from the blast furnace through to finished rolled material, that affect the character of the steel. For instance, a poorly made dirty steel requires considerably more carbon to give the same ultimate strength than a well-made clean steel with the same phosphorus and manganese content.

Jan 3, 1921

By J. T. Duce

There were no important changes in the producing situation in Colombia in 1930, because the emergency bill passed by the Colombian Congress in 1927 is still in effect, and therefore no change has taken place in the law governing petroleum. At the close of 1930 the Colombian Congress began to consider a new petroleum bill. This measure is an improvement on the preceding bills which had been the subject of so much debate in the Congress. However, it cannot by any means be regarded as perfect, and a number of criticisms may be justly leveled at it. The most substantial one probably is that the royalties on public lands, and the taxes on private lands, while apparently low, are deliverable at seaboard, or payable based on seaboard price at the option of the government. If the government exercises its option to take the oil at the mouth of the well, the cost of the transportation figured back into oil is also deliverable to the government. This phase of the law has the effect of making seemingly low royalties a burden on the operator. The fact that taxes on private properties are deliverable in kind is also an unusual provision for which there is no good precedent. The pipe line provisions are also noteworthy, and the government has authority to fix rates and also to deny permits to construct pipe lines for reasons affecting national economy. There are also clauses enforcing unit operation on both public and private lands, and collecting a tax of 1 c. per 1000 ft. of gas wasted. It remains to be seen whether this bill will be enacted, or whether it will be substantially modified. This much may be said, however, that unless it is modified, it will defeat its own purpose; i. e., promotion of petroleum development in Colombia. Company Activities The South American Gulf Oil Co. shut down its operations during the year, and now employs only watchmen at its camps, Las Monas and El Tigre. The Standard Oil Co. of California continued operations on the Coast at Repelon and Gualapa. At the close of the year Repelon

Jan 1, 1931

By Persifor Frazer

The rocks which cover the east flank of the South Mountain are chloritic schists typical in character. A specimen of this rock from near the Bechtel shaft, Hamilton Ban Township, Adams County, Pa., was selected and analyzed in my laboratory by Mr. C. Hanford Henderson, with the following results: Ignition,........2.740 CaO,..........7.040 SiO,,..........41.280 MgO,.......... 7.486 AI,O,,.........18.480 K,O,..........2.208 Fe,Os,.........9.440 Na,O,.........3.523 FeO,......... 8.200 100. As one penetrates the range by moving westvard, these schists are replaced either by epidotie quartz or by orthofelsite. In the former case, a belt of copper-bearing rock is traversed, but not in the latter case. Inasmuch as this junction of the chloritic schists on the southeast and orthofelsite on the northwest, separated by the epidotic quartz, is several times repeated, we find two or three copper belts arranged in general parallelism to the axis of the chain, because the copper horizon is generally at this junction. Thus, in going west from Fairfield, after entering the low spurs on the South Mountain, one is fairly within the chlorite measures. At the " Virginia Mills " a chlorite schist comes in with a dip of S. 1.5 E.-74 Half a mile up Middle Creek, large numbers of fragments of chlorite schist, decoruposed epidotic matter, and quartz are encountered. The former rock, where in place, dips E. 40" S.-57o. About 4000 feet west of the intersection of this road with the so-called Tape-Worm Railroad, near the house of one Singly, large masses of chloritie schist are found loose on the road. A hundred yards farther west, near a triangle in the road, the latter is less in quantity and much epidotic quartz appears, after which a very large display of orthofelsite succeeds on the left bank of Middle Creek. All these last-mentioned rocks, however, are in fragments. Crossing the stream again a few hundred yards farther On, the chlorite fragments at first preponderate, and then large numbers of both rocks

Jan 1, 1884

By J. M. McKenzie

p-n junctions to detect and measure the energy of single quanta of electromagnetic radiation are described. Useful energy range is from 1 kev to several Meu. Achieved energy resolution varies from 30 pct at 6 keu to 0.12 pct at 2 Mev. Parameters affecting the perfornzance of the present detectors and desired of a new material are discussed. DURING the last 6 years semiconductor detectors have been used extensively to detect and to measure the energy of charged particles. These detectors are made from reverse-biased p-n junctions. Electron-hole pairs are created in the depletion region of the junction, Fig. 1. The carriers are separated by the electric field and give rise to a pulse of current in the external circuit. This current pulse is proportional to the number of carriers and hence to the energy deposited in the depletion region by the ionizing event. More recently the discovery of the lithium drift process, first in silicon&apos; and then in germanium,2 has extended the use of semiconductor detectors to the detection and the energy measurement of single quanta of electromagnetic radiation. These detectors now have a useful measurement range extending from the soft X-ray region, about 6 kev, to the hard y ray region of several Mev. Surface-contoured avalanche diodes can be used to extend this range down to 1 kev. There is however a desire for other materials suited to higher operating temperatures, and particularly for those materials with high y ray stopping power. The most important advantage of the semiconductor detector over gaseous and scintillation detectors is the average energy, E, required to form an electron-hole pair. Fig. 2 shows the quantum efficiency for germanium as a function of photon energy.3 At the band-gap energy, 0.7 ev, an electron-hole pair is generated by the absorption of the photon and the quantum efficiency is unity. The quantum efficiency remains constant at unity between 0.7 and 3 ev. It then increases as additional electron-hole pairs are formed by secondary ionization of the initial photoelectron. The rate of increase is about 1 electron-hole pair per 3 ev (actually 2.9 ev for germanium and 3.6 ev for silicon). This figure is constant irrespective of the particle type (electron, proton, a particle, heavy ion) and energy. In an ionizing event an incident particle of energy E will create N = E/e ion pairs. The statistical fluctuation in this number is proportional to &. The fractional energy resolution is therefore proportional

Jan 1, 1968

By R. C. Ku, R. G. Davies

The stress-strain behavior of Fe-C and Fe-Ni solid-solution alloys has been investigated at 25°C. It is found that the rate of solid-solution strengthening is dependent upon the strain at which the yield stress is measured, the macroyield stress being much more concentration-dependent than the microyield stress. In fact the addition of nickel does not lead to any increase in the microyield stress of iron. The primary effect of increasing the carbon or nickel content is to increase the slope of the stress-strain curve in the microyield region; this effect has been correlated, by means of transmission electron microscopy, with a decreased ability of the dislocations to cross-slip. It is concluded that the Mott-Nabarro theory is a good description of true solid-solution hardening in these and other iron-base alloys. A.LL theories of the solid-solution strengthening1-4 indicate that the flow stress of an alloy increases both with solute concentration and "misfit" between the solvent and solute atoms. The functional relationship between strength, solute concentration, C, and misfit depends upon the particular theory. Mott and Nabarro1,2 and Schoeck and Seeger3 both predict a linear increase in strength with concentration, while Fleischer4 indicates that the strength should be proportional to C1/2; there are in the literature experimental observations to support both these compositional dependencies.1&apos;8 The experimental evidence used to support the theories is the change in macroscopic yield stress (strain, e, = 10-3) with composition. However, recent investigations have revealed that solid-solution strengthening in a Cu-Al single crystals7 and in Fe-V polycrystal-line" alloys depends upon the strain at which the flow stress is measured; a flow stress in the microplastic range (e = 10-6 to 10-5) is much less concentration-dependent than the macroyield stress. Since the theories of solid-solution strengthening are concerned in particular with the stress to move a dislocation in a dislocation-free matrix, they should only be compared with microyield-stress data; it will be shown that in a material deforming homogeneously the microyield stress (e = 10-6) is approximately the stress to move through the matrix those dislocations which have been nucleated by stress concentrations such as particles or grain boundary ledges.9-11 In contrast, the macro-yield stress is more complex in that it is affected by several phenomena: dislocation multiplication, dislocation interactions, and the ease of propagating slip across grain boundaries. For example, it is experimentally observed that when long-range order12&apos;13 or solute effects10 restrict cross alip the grain boundary

Jan 1, 1967

By Oscar T. Marzke

Four alloys that precipitate the alpha phase from the beta of the copper-zinc system were heat-treated in various ways to develop as many forms of the segregate as possible. It was found that the precipitate may have the form either of plates or of needles. Plates usually result when precipitation occurs at low temperatures and needles when precipitation takes place at high temperatures. The needles tend to align themselves along certain planes in the matrix and to coalesce into plnte-like structures. The two phases were found to be related so that a (111) plane and [Oil] direction of the precipitate are parallel to a 10111 plane and 11111 direction of the matrix. DISCUSSION (E. A. Anderson presiding) D. W. Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Written discussion).—Tllis report by Dr. Marzke covers completely all possible heat treatinents over a considerable range of compositiol~s in which a1pha precipitates from beta brass, and may be said to complete the Inctallographic part of this problern The lining up of ncedles of segregate to form plates, espeeially as shown in Fig. 5, appears to he regular, although the author&apos;s frequency plot in Fig. 11 makes it appear rather irregular. Has the author attempted anY correlation between some of the major dircetions and the oricntntaion of the parent grain as determined by X-ray analysis? Also, in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 the cross-sections of the needles appear to be straightsided and regular. Have these directions been correlated with the matrix latttice? Dr. Mnrzkr &apos;s method of interpretation of the orientation rclationships between the alpha. and beta phases is a bit uncertain and seems to wed more explanation. If this relationship, as staited is such that :L (1111 plane and a [I 10] direction of that plane in the precipitate is parallel to a. {110} p1ane and a [111] direction of that, plane in the matrix, there mill be a maximum of 24 possible orientations of the alpha phase within a. single grain of the beta phasc. This relationship is expressed strercographical1y in Fig. 13, ill which the locations of a11 of the alpha {111} poles for the 24 orientations of alpha me given. Fig. 12 chccks fairly closely with this thcoretical plot,. with a few exeeptions which may be due to the inaceuracy inherent in the method used by the anthor in determining the orientations of the segregates. The method might have been refined somewhat had corrections been made for the displacement of the slip p1ancs upon deformation.

Jan 1, 1933

Frontino operates three underground lode mines at Segovia in the area of northwest Antioquia, Colombia, which has been an important gold producing district since the late 1800s. Auriferous pyrite, the pre-dominent sulfide, carries very finely disseminated gold. Other minor sulfides are galena, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite in quartz gangue with the host rock being granodiorite. Silver is associated with the galena and also occurs as a sulfo-salt. In 1.973 and 1974, at an annual milling rate of 145,000 mt (160,000 st), average mill heads were 7.80 g per mt (0.23 oz per st) Au; 20.0 g per mt (0.58 oz per st) Ag; and 0.37% Pb; with a production of 1,150 kg (35,700 oz) Au and 4,500 kg (141,000 oz) Ag. Over 300 mt (330 st) of Pb concentrate were shipped. The ore is crushed to minus 16 mm (5 18 in. ) and fed to a rod mill with the discharge passing over a 1.07 m by 1.07 m (42 in. by 42 in. ) jig operating in closed circuit with the underflow from a cyclone in closed circuit with two ball mills. Cyclone overflow is bulk-floated for sulfide recovery from which the tailings are sent to the river as waste with the flotation concentrate joining the jig concentrate for cyanidation. The combined gold bearing concentrates, after cyclone classification, are reground to a very fine mesh in closed circuit with cyclone classification, with the overflow going to the primary thickener. Regrinding, classification, and thickening is done in cyanide solution, and the primary thickener produces a pregnant solution for Merrill -Crowe precipitation. The thickener underflow is the feed to the agitators, thickener, and filter from which the overflow and filtrate are sent to precipitation. The washed filter cake is repulped and floated for the recovery of a galena concentrate for shipment. About 40% of the recovered silver is in this concentrate. In the refinery the precipitate is melted into a dore bullion. This 600 mt (660 st) capacity mill employs several interesting techniques. Gold recovery of 85% to 90% from a complex sulfide denotes good practice. While total power at 42 kwh per mt (46 kwh per st) is high, it would be recognized that the grinding units are small in size and the flowsheet is complicated due to the gold occurring in the sulfide minerals. The extremely low-cost electric power is generated by

Jan 1, 1981

By C. G. Durdaller, W. H. Robinson, G. M. Pound

The nucleation rate of the a (pay) to 0 (white) tin transformation was measured as a function of temperature and a tin particle size using an X-ray diffraction technique. The powder specimens of a tin were essentially monodisperse and the small dinzension of the particles of these specimens was varied from 13 to 75 p. Several types of nucleation sites of differing potency were fbund to be operative in the nucleation process, but it could not be determined whether these sites were on the free surface of the tin particles or within the volume. Assuming that they were on the free surface, the average density of the most potent sites was calculated to be 2.5 to 5.3 x 10&apos; sites per sq cnz through the application of a Poisson distribztion finction to the isothermal data. Analysis of the temperature dependence&apos; of the rate constmts at a given fraction transformed suggests that the active sites are regions of higher free energy and not catalytic interfaces. Appreciable induction periods were observed at the lower temperatures of transformation. Experimental studies1 of solid-solid phase transformations have led to the belief that the new phase nucleates at structural imperfections. The purpose of the present work was to learn more about the mechanism of nucleation in solids and the nature of the singularities at which nucleation occurs. In this investigation nucleation rates in the isothermal transformation of gray to white tin were measured by an X-ray diffraction technique using essentially monodisperse powders of gray tin. This particular phase transformation was chosen for study because it presented fewer experimental difficulties than most others. The experimental temperature-control problems were minimal because the two phases coexist in equilibrium at 13.3"C, and measurable transformation rates occur at temperatures only slightly above room temperature. The growth rate of the P phase into the a2 is sufficiently fast to make the measured transformation rate equivalent to the nucleation rate, provided that the particle size of the samples is small enough; for the experimental temperatures used in this study, the particle diameter must be less than 100 p. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE The P tin used in this study was obtained from Capper Pass and Son Ltd., North Ferriby, Yorkshire, England, and was of 99.999 pct purity. It was transformedS to the a phase and ground into a fine powder in an agate mortar. This powder was separated by a Roller air classifier into seven fractions whose dimensions, as determined by microscopic measurement of many thousands of particles, are given in Table I and whose distribution of size within each fraction is given in Figs. 1 and 2. The shape of the particles was roughly that of an oblate spheroid,

Jan 1, 1964