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By Harry C. Gatos, Frank J. Bachner

It was shown through high-pressure experiments that tin loss by volatilizatim is necessary for the degrada-tion of the superconducting transition temperature of Nb,Sn associated with high-temperature annealing. Crystallochemical analysis of the degraded Nb3Sn showed that it constitutes a new phase with ordered niobium-site vacancies, created by the migration of niobium atoms to vaccnt tin sites. This new phase was found to form when 4 pct Nb-site vacancies were present. It has a transition temperature of 6'K and a lattice parameter of 5.283A. A similar degradation effect was observed in Nb,Al. Its superconducting transition temperature dropped from 16.5" to 8" K following a high-temperature annealing. The superconducting temperature degradation in these 0-tungsten structure compounds is attributed to the disruption of the interchain d bonding by the periodic interruption of the niobium atom chains. By annealing the degraded Nb, Sn at 1000 C in nitrogen its normal superconducting behavior is restored most likely due to the incorporation of nitrogen atoms causing the elimination of the ordered vacancies. HANAK et al.' have observed low superconducting transition-temperature values (T, - 9"K) in some NbsSn samples deposited from the vapor phase. They attributed such low T, values to disorder in the 0-tung-sten structure. Much lower T values (down to 5.6"K) were reported by Reed et al.zC for NbsSn samples annealed at high temperatures. These authors also attributed this degradation effect to disorder (random occupation of the A and B sites by niobium and tin) but pointed out that such disorder could be brought about (by high-temperature treatment) only in samples containing niobium in excess of the stoichiometric composition NbsSn. Both groups reported that the normal superconductivity behavior could be rever-sibly restored by appropriate heat treatment. Courtney et al., also found that degradation in NbsSn requires excess niobium brought about by the loss of tin during the treatment. However, these investigators proposed that the degradation is due to niobium-site vacancies resulting from the migration of the niobium atoms to the vacated tin atom sites. They did not consider the reversibility of the effect. The present study attempts to establish the nature of the above degradation phenomenon. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES All compounds prepared for this investigation were made from the powders or filings of the elements which were intimately mixed, cold-pressed into a cylindrical pellet at approximately 50,000 lb per sq in., and then submitted to the desired heat treatment. The samples annealed under high pressure were placed in a MgO sample container which was mounted in a pyrophyllite tetrahedron designed for a tetra-hedral-anvil press. Details of the experimental arrangement are given elsewhere. This setup allowed heating at 1800°C or above under pressures in excess of 30kbars for 3 hr. The samples annealed in a vacuum were prepared in a high-temperature vacuum furnace which could reach temperatures up to 2400°C under a pressure of 2 x lo-' Torr. For annealing in a reactive atmosphere, a quartz tube was placed in a clamshell furnace and the desired gas ambient passed through the tube. Lattice parameters were determined using a Debye-Scherer 114.6-mm camera. Cohen's method, programmed for the IBM 7094 computer, was used to calculate the lattice parameter from the measured d spacings. X-ray integrated intensity measurements were made on several samples. These samples were ground to -400 mesh and the powder mixed with a solution of collodion in amyl acetate. The mixture was poured into a depression milled in a bakelite disc. When the mixture dried, the surface of the disc was ground flat leaving a diffraction surface defined by the face of the disc. The disc was mounted in a Philips rotating specimen holder which allowed the rotation of the sample in the plane of the diffraction surface and the integrated intensity measured using a scintillation counter and a pulse-height analysis sys-tem. The superconducting transition temperatures were determined by means of self-inductance techniques.' EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Role of Tin Loss in the Degradation of Super-conductivity. The loss of tin during high-temperature annealing can be effectively suppressed by annealing under high hydrostatic pressures. Accordingly, a series of experiments were performed under pressures of approximately 30kbars. This pressure was the minimum under which high-temperature experiments could be safely performed in the particular pressure apparatus employed. Experiments were also designed to test high-pressure effects on the superconductivity behavior of NbJSn. The results of the high-pressure annealing experi-ments are summarized in Table I. All samples were prepared as described earlier. They were reacted and homogenized at 1000°C for 24 hr under argon at-

Jan 1, 1967

By F. L. Vogel

Densities and distributions of dislocations in plastically bent germanium crystals before and after annealing were studied. In the bent and annealed crystals, the theoretical relationship between radius of curvature and density of dislocations is confirmed. Before annealing, however, more dislocations are present than required, and these are distributed with a minimum at the neutral axis and maxima at the top and bottom surfaces. On annealing, three significant changes occur in the bent bars: 1) the average dislocation density is reduced, presumably by the annihilation of opposite signs; 2) dislocations migrate from the high density outside regions toward the low density neutral axis, thus producing the equilibrium distribution of dislocations; and 3) a polygonized structure is formed by movement of the dislocations into walls normal to the slip plane. ETCHING to reveal edge dislocations'-" offers a unique opportunity to study, in germanium single crystals, the functioning of dislocations in plastic deformation. Plastic bending is ideally suited to this purpose because it produces a static array of edge dislocations in an ideally plastic material which is predictable from the theory." " Nye" has given a rather complete treatment of the geometry of bent crystals in terms of dislocations. The density of excess dislocations is related to the radius of curvature of the slip plane of a bent crystal, as shown in Fig. 1, assuming the absence of macroscopic elastic stresses. The curvature of any plane in the zone of the bend axis is found by resolving the Burgers vector into that plane, so that for the usual case where the slip plane is inclined at some angle 0 to the neutral plane of the bar, the equation applies, with T equal to the radius of curvature of the neutral plane of the bent crystal. Two predictions which are relevant to this study may be made from Eq. 1. First, in crystals bent to various radii, the average excess dislocation density is inversely proportional to the radius and second, for a bar bent to a radius which is large compared with its thick-

Jan 1, 1957

By Ray W. Arms

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. Air Stratification In all of the above groups of air separating devices, the same phenomena are found as exist in water concentrators; that is, free settling will be found in some and hindered settling in others, with a complex action on the reciprocating tables similar to the wet tables. The experimental value of the settling ratios of particles in air has never been determined but, following the formulas given in Richards'

Jan 1, 1924

By F. H. Buttner, E. R. Funk, H. Udin

A. P. Greenough (University College, swansea, Great Britain)—I have recently made some experiments on the deformation of silver wire at high temperature in an atmosphere of oxygen-free nitrogen. The observa-tions which 1 made confirm the main conclusion of this paper, that the most satisfactory mechanism so far suggested to explain the deformation which takes place

Jan 1, 1953

By J. L. Ratliff, R. I. Jaffee, H. R. Ogden, D. J. Maykuth

An experimental program was carried out to improve the low-temperature ductjlity of tungsten through the combined use of dispersed oxides for grain-size control and Groups VII and VIII metal additions for matrix softening. Separate binary -alloy studies showed that increasing amounts of finely dispersed thoria or zirconia and critical amounts of rhenium, osmium, and iridium were effective in significantly reducing the ductile-to -brittle bend transition temperature of tungsten as well as in increasing its re crystallization temper - LIKE most of the high-melting point bcc metals, tungsten undergoes a marked transition from ductile to brittle behavior with decreasing temperatures. The material factors which influence the transition temperature include grain size, metal purity, and the presence of dispersed phases. ature and decreasing its recrystallized grain size. The beneficial effects shown by each of these additions on transition temperature and grain size in binary combinations appeared to be additive in tevnary combinations. Thus, combined additions of 2 to 8 vol pct thoria with 5 pct Re, 0.87 pct Os, or 0.30 pct Ir were effective in lowering the transition temperature of tungsten pom 2000 to 75"C, increasing its re crystallization temperature from 1600 to 1800°C, and decreasing its recrystallized gain size from 1175 to 6800 grains per sq mm. The mechanism by which these factors are operable in tungsten is not yet clearly understood. Nevertheless, it has become increasingly apparent that the interrelationship of grain size and matrix composition governs to a large extent the degree of low-temperature ductility which can be achieved. Though it is not possible to accurately assess the relative importance of these variables, the available evidence suggests that, at low temperatures, grain-size effects predominate over purity effects. This was indicated in recent studies by Allen, Maykuth, and Jaffee,' involving single crystals containing 20 to 40 ppm 0 and 1 to 30 ppm C. Thus, while each

Jan 1, 1964

By A. C. JR. Boyle

I. INTRODUCTION THE geological field work of the Bully Hill district, upon which this paper is based, was begun July 1, 1908, and covered a period of three months. The time was found too short for a complete report and the district was again visited in the early part of July, 1912,. from which time detailed study of the locality continued until September of the same year. This paper is the result of observations made in the mines in the immediate vicinity of Winthrop, Shasta county, Cal., during these two periods of study. The preparation of this report has been greatly facilitated by various courtesies rendered the writer by D. M. Riordan, President of the Bully Hill Copper Mining & Smelting Co., and by John B. Keating and Herbert R. Hanley, managing officers actively in charge at the mines. The elaboration and further study of the notes and collections were carried on in the laboratories of the Departments of Geology and Mining at Columbia University, and the writer takes pleasure also at this point in expressing his acknowledgments to Profs. James F. Kemp, A. W. Grabau, Charles P. Berkey, and William Campbell, for advice and assistance. In order that one may appreciate at first reading the significance of some of the details which follow, and for the sake of clearness, a brief outline of the geological relationships is here given, together with certain conclusions which have been reached regarding the genesis. of the ores and the gypsum masses. In the Bully Hill mining district an associated series of Triassic lavas and tuffs, chiefly andesites, is preceded as well as followed by sediments. The entire system is tilted so that the original bedding planes dip in general to the southeast. The surrounding region has been greatly disturbed, and in the immediate vicinity of the mines close folding of the later sediments and extreme shearing of the igneous rocks locally is a striking feature. Into the nearly vertical shear zones have been intruded post-Triassic dikes of various rock types in the following order: alaskite-porphyry and andesite-porphyry. Outside the area under consideration diorite dikes are known, but they will not receive attention further than to note that' they, probably, represent a differentiation product of the same magma from which the other two dikes came. In this connection all the dikes have an important bearing on the origin of the ores and of the gypsum found in the mines.

Jan 1, 1914

By Sherwin F. Kelly

THE present lull in engineering activities presents an advantageous moment for inquiring into the position now occupied by geophysics in its various fields of application. The recent over-expansion in all lines of work resulted in an uncritical employment of these methods of exploration which was bound to have its harmful reaction. The pendulum has now swung back, producing a decidedly hypercritical attitude toward the new science that had been recently welcomed so joyfully as the panacea for prospecting troubles. The severe retrenchment in exploration has forced upon us a period of waiting and, it is to be hoped, of profitable contemplation. This can well be employed in trying to pass a reasoned judgment on what position geophysics should occupy in the new geological exploration programs that will inevitably ac- company the looked-for industrial recovery.

Jan 1, 1931

THE illustration below shows the design of the face of the clock to be erected as a memorial to the American engineers who gave their lives overseas in the World War. It will be placed in the tower of the library at Louvain, which has been rebuilt through contributions from America. Large clocks seldom have figures on their faces, and each hour on this one will be marked by a gold star, the four faces containing 48 stars, one for each State of the Union. Contributions toward the memorial have been received from every one of the States, and from Alaska and Hawaii as well, but additional subscriptions are invited by the Com-mittee which is arranging for the memorial.

Jan 3, 1928

By Roy E. Dickerson

CUBA differs considerably from the other Greater Antilles in many geologic fundamentals. Cuba is geosynclinals; whereas Jamaica, Hispaniola. (Haiti), and Puerto Rico are geoanticlinal. (Scliuchert, Chas., Historical Geology of the Antillian. Caribbean Region, p. 13, 1935.) Rocks of lowermost Cretaceous age exist in large volume in Cuba, where- as they are generally absent in the other islands. Since many of the surface indications of petroleum are intimately associated with lowermost Cretaceous rocks, the Vinales limestone,, this difference is most important. The Vinales limestone in many places in Pillar del Rio and Santa Clara provinces reeks with light tars when broken with a hammer. The late David White and his associates on the U. S: Geological Survey studied

Jan 1, 1937

By R. H. Winn

In this paper a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir is considered as a succession of layers of formations of radically different porosities, permeabilities, water saturations, and rock matrix types; i.e., the heterogeneity is vertical rather than radial to the wellbore. Presumably each layer is more or less homogeneous. To determine the "net oil in place" in this reservoir it is desirable to know the porosity and water saturation of each layer. In addition, the section must be subdivided into that which will produce oil, that which will produce water, and that which will produce little or nothing. In numerous wells drilled in these reservoirs radioactivity surveys, guard electrode surveys, and caliper surveys have been made. These logs have been compared with core analysis data, when available, and the analysis of the surveys compared with production data. This study, still in progress, is intended to provide improved analytical techniques if such are possible. This paper is a progress report on the work. DETERMINATION OF POROSITY The neutron-gamma log has long been recognized as a measure of hydrogen concentration.1,2,3 In reservoirs that are free of clay, shale, or other hydrogen containing matrices, it has been accepted as a measure of porosity.4,5 Empirical methods to relate relative neu-tron-gamma intensity to porosity are often employed." To provide a more precise determination of porosity from the neutron-gamma log each instrument is calibrated immediately prior to each survey by a method which refers all tools to a hydrogenous cylinder. To insure stability a calibration check is made after each survey. These calibration records are printed as an integral part of the log that is recorded in standard counts per second. A detailed description of the calibration procedure is available in the literature.' The procedure employed insures that each Survey is numerically reproducible within the limits of statistical variation. To relate the standard neutron counts per second to porosity and hole size, records were made in test wells constructed of blocks of limestone. The porosities of the blocks were accurately measured and the blocks completely saturated with fresh water. Fig. 1 presents some of the results obtained in these test wells.' The lines shown in Fig. 1 were obtained by deriving an empirical equation relating the 11 points shown so that the relationship may be projected to larger and smaller hole sizes. A detailed description of the tool is available in the literature.' Field tests indicate that the tool is adjacent to the wall of the hole most of the time when the surveys are made in uncased holes drilled with saline muds. In this circumstance porosity may be calculated from Fig. 1 if the hole size is known. When fresh muds that form thick mud cakes are employed, the centralizing effect of the mud cake must be considered and the porosity determination is less reliable. In cased holes the combined effect of variations in hole diameter and the unknown eccentricity of the casing in the hole may make porosity determinations extremely unreliable. In any event, an accurate knowledge of hole size is essen-

Jan 1, 1958

By B. Ladanyi

The problem of rock behavior under concentrated loadings has been the subject of a number of studies in the past and has been receiving increasing attention by rock mechanics investigators in recent years. Its application covers various fields, but main interest in its solution has arisen in connection with the problems of drilling, bearing capacity, and rock testing. These widely different purposes and fields of interest probably have been one of the reasons why, in spite of the large amount of published experimental data and several theoretical studies, there are still many points which need further clarification. Another reason for this situation undoubtedly is due to the fact that the rock behavior in indentation is complicated by a great number of influencing factors. Experimental evidence shows that, depending on the rock type (mechanical properties, porosity), environment (ambient effective pressure, pore fluid, temperature), and the type of loading (indenter shape, initial embedment, load level, loading rate), the rock response to indentation may vary within very large limits. The widely different rock behavior has made it impossible up to now to treat the problem with a consistent single mathematical theory, but has required instead a series of simplified models covering only certain most important events in the failure sequence. As far as the theory of rock indentation is concerned, this chapter does not add much new information. Its main purpose is, however, to state the indentation problem in a general manner and to indicate which points need to be studied in more detail before its definite solution is attempted. Also, since excellent reviews of the state-of-art of rock indentation in drilling have recently been given,1-4 this will not be repeated here, and only references pertinent to the points of the problem under study will be quoted. The theoretical part of this study attempts to give a quantitative evalu-

Jan 1, 1972

By W. H. Andrews

THE constantly increasing consumption of Portland cement in the State makes the above subject of partlcular interest at this time. The increasing demand is due to the rapid settling of the country and the fact that new uses are being found frequently for the above named commercial article. The industry is one that is bound to grow as the population increases, and this being the case, it may be well ,it this time to consider briefly- the matter of the chemical and physical com-position of proper raw materials. A cement mixture is one that contains approximately 75 per cent. carbonate of lime, 15 per cent. Silica, and 5 to 7 per cent. alumina, and iron oxides; the other elements being magnesium carbonate and small quantities of the rarer elements general associated with limestone deposits. It call be readily seen from the above composition that it is possible to build up this mixture from a number of different materials. First.-A rock high in carbonate of lime can be mixed with clay or shale in such proportions as to bring about the desired composition ; the chief difficulty in the building up of such a mixture is that it is hard to find a clay or shale in which the silica-alumina, ratio lies .between 4 to 1 and 3 to 1 and at the same time shows physical characteristics which will make certain its adaptability to the practical manufacture of Portland cement. Very often clays or shales are found which are right chemically but contain large quantities of grit or free silica. Such clays or shale must be ground to extreme fineness in the mixture in order to make the silica and alumina combine with the lime when the mixture is burned. On the other hand, clays or shales are often found that have the proper physical characteristics but in which the amount of alumina, is too great.

Jan 9, 1913

By H. A. Schwartz

By analyzing cementite separated electrolytically from white cast iron of known composition and history, the distribution of silicon between austenite and cementite during and after freezing has been followed. The results constitute a contribution to our knowledge of equilibria in the ternary (metastable) system iron-carbon-silicon. Incidental information was obtained, also, with respect to the distribution of manganese, silicon, and phosphorus, when only relatively small amounts of each are present. The major conclusion of the paper is that during solidification, equilibrium is attained when the silicon is all rejected to the liquid phase, permitting silicon-free austenite to separate. OF THE outstanding investigators of the system iron-carbon-silicon, Gontermann,1 Charpy and Cornu-Thenard,2 and Honda,3 only the first touched on the chemical composition of the solid and liquid phases in equilibrium with one another. He concluded that his data did not permit a decision as to which of an indefinitely large number of pairs of compositions of liquid and solid would be found in any given case. If through the three dimensional equilibrium diagram of the iron-carbon-silicon system an isothermal plane is passed in the region of partial solidification, two lines of intersection with the liquidus and solidus, respectively, are obtained, also a point marking the alloys' composition. If, in this, plane, a straight line is drawn through the point, and intersecting both the liquidus and solidus isothermals, the two intersections mark a liquid and a solid alloy that may be chemically in equilibrium at the chosen temperature. From thermal data alone, Gontermann could not assign any particular direction to the line and, hence, could not determine which pair of conjugate points to choose.

Jan 7, 1924

By Herbert Hoover

YOUR committee asks that I speak today on the relations of the engineering profession to public affairs. That takes in a lot of ground. This being a cheerful occasion, I will assume that I should exclude the engineer's function as a taxpayer. This being a nonpartisan occasion, I will assume that I should not refer to his voting emotions in 1940. Perhaps what was in the minds of your committee was the application of engineering thought to the confusions of the times. That is also a lot of ground. I fear, however, its boundaries disappear in mirages and rainbows on all sides. Now any entry of the engineer into public affairs involves his breaking into the fields of the sociologists, the economists, and the politicians. However I don't know why, seeing the difficulties these professions are having, they should not welcome a little help.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. J. Jakosky

The strategic importance of the metallic minerals in our industrial economy, and the declining rates of discovery have focused attention on means of exploration for new mineral deposits. A consideration of exploration techniques leads to an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of geo- physics as a tool for mining exploration. One means of evaluation will be to compare the use of geophysics in petroleum exploration with its possible uses in mining.

Jan 1, 1949

By A. Kounosu, T. Fujita, J. Shimoiizaka, K. Nakatsuka

Stable aqueous dispersion of magnetite colloid of about 10 nm in diameter was obtained by allowing an anionic or nonionic surfactant to adsorb on the hydrophobic surface of magnetite particles prepared by monomolecular adsorption of oleate. Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, sodium oleate and poly (oxyethylene) nonyl phenyl ethers whose hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) are higher than 12 were suitable for giving a second adsorption layer to obtain a stable dispersion. Stability of the colloidal suspensions depends upon pH of the solution and is controlled by the dissociation of the adsorbed surfactant in the second layer. The addition of ethyleneglycol, which was used for lowering the freezing point of the dispersion, did not affect the stability when used in amounts smaller than 60% of water. Preparation of diester-based ferrofluids was also attempted by the same procedure using a nonionic surfactant as second layer molecule. Hydrophobic magnetite colloid, which had been preliminarily coated with mono-molecular oleate, was suspended in di(2-ethylhexyl) agipate, azerate, and sebacate respectively, and dispersion stability was investigated by adding various poly (oxyethylene) nonyl phenyl ethers of different HLB values. It was found that those with HLB values between 10.9 and 13.3 were suitable for this purpose. Stabilities of the dispersions in a magnetic field were investigated up to 1 T by applying an electromagnetic field. No separation of dispersant was observed and each magnetite dispersion displayed the characteristics of a magnetic fluid.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. S. Kirkaldy, D. G. Fedak

The extra degree of freedonz introduced by a second independetzt concentration in a tenzary system gives rise to the possibility of unstable planar phase interfaces in semi-infinite diffision layer couples. Diffusion paths which pass continuously in and out of too-phase regions of the phase diagram but which are not coincident with tie-lines give rise to super saturated zones which may be either adjacent to or isolated from planar phase interfaces, with corresponding nonisolated or isolated precipitates. Nonisolated precipitates are equivalent to morphological development of the interface. Selected couples in the ternary systems Fe-Ni-Cr and Cu-Zn-Sn have been examined nzetallographically and ifz the latter case both isolated and uo~zisolated precipitates have been observed. The diffusion path in one of the couples showing interface morphological developtnent has been examitled using electron probe microanalysis. IGNORING the spurious effects of preferential grain boundary diffusion and anisotropic crystal growth7 it can be unequivocally stated that it is impossible for a binary isothermal diffusion couple constructed of two unsaturated phases to sustain a nonplanar phase interface. Consider for demonstrative purposes the schematic phase diagram of Fig. l(a). Given an initial flat phase interface, semi-infinite boundary conditions and the internal boundary condition fixed by the constitution diagram, xB = xB(T), the unique solution of the diffusion equation requires a persistent flat interface. No other solution is possible. If, however, we anticipate the involvement of surface tension, then the internal boundary condition must be written xB = xB (T,Y) where r is the radius of curvature of a hypothetical nonplanar interface. The introduction of a new parameter such as r can be equivalent to the release of an internal constraint, so that a stable nonplanar interface may be possible after all. Consider a perturbation to the interface as indicated in Fig. 1(b). According to the Ostwald-Freundlich equation: which is applicable to a system of this constitution, the solubility of A in the matrix ß ,xB (Y), at a point of curvature r is given by where Va is the molar volume of the a-phase, R is the gas constant, and a is the interfacial tension. Since the right hand side is positive, xB(r) >xB cm, as indicated in Figs. 1(a) and 1(c). Accordingly, the perturbation will carry the interface concentration in a direction which is opposite to that which would sustain local equilibrium. Such a perturbation is necessarily moderated and the system is returned to its initial condition. This result is general for all binary couples since we can regard an interfacial perturbation as an attempt to precipitate within un-

Jan 1, 1962

By C. P. Proctor, J. T. Crawford, John Griffen

TROUGH washers were among the earliest methods used for concentrating ores; they are referred to by Agricola about the middle of the sixteenth century as already being used while the hand- operated jigging sieve had only recently come into use. For cleaning coal the trough washer apparently was first used in France and Belgium about 184.1. The early trough washers were intermittent and the refuse at least was shoveled out by hand. The invention of a continuous jig washer, by a Frenchman, Berard, in 1848, acted as a stimulus to coal washings in jigs and retarded progress in trough washing in the nineteenth century. Chapman and Mott 1 describe a number of trough washers developed in England and on the Continent from 1850 to 1900, such as the Bell and Ramsay, Ramsay, Bell and Green, Wunderlich, Scaife, McLellan, Lodge, Elliott, Blackett, and Murton. The later of these removed the refuse mechanically, either intermittently or continuously, but in ways that interfered with stratification. THE RHEOLAVEUR A Belgian engineer, Antoine France, is responsible for the development of means to remove refuse materials continuously from a trough washer, while preserving stratification and preventing the loss of coal with the refuse. The methods and equipment devised, which have become known throughout the world as rheolaveur, were initiated at the St. Nicholas mine near Liége, Belgium, about 1912. This installation consisted of two units to wash 20 to 8-mill. (3/16 to 5/16-in.) and 8-mm. to 0 (5/16-in. to 0), each having only two superimposed inclined troughs. The first few "Rheo" boxes on the top trough removed refuse directly and the remaining Rheo boxes discharged impure refuse to the lower trough for rewashing. On the lower trough the first few boxes removed refuse and the following boxes removed a middling product used for boiler fuel or other purposes. The overflow of both troughs was joined to form the washed coal product.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. L. Rodda

THE desirability of a uniformly sized abrasive for metallographic polishing has probably been recognized in a general way for a long time. Certainly all metallographers have recognized the damage that can be done to a polished surface by a piece of grit, especially if one of the softer metals, such as zinc or aluminum, is being polished. It is to be doubted, however, whether many metallographers have had any adequate idea of the particle size of the abrasives they were using or of the range of sizes encountered in any given grade of abrasive. At any rate, the descriptions of abrasives for metallographic work found in the literature are generally very meager. It was with the idea of securing an abrasive with a limited range of particle size that a study of this problem was commenced. Commercial abrasives, even when recommended for metallographic work, are made up of particles of varying sizes. One such abrasive contains some particles so fine that they remain in suspension for days and other particles so coarse that they settle at the rate of 3 in. per minute. It is evident that the coarsest particles are over 100 times the diameter of the smallest ones, or over 1,000,000 times the volume. The hopelessness of avoiding scratches under these conditions is evident. Vanderwilt1 has described a laboratory method for grading abrasives in which the elutriator is used. Le Chatelier's method, described by Goerens,2 also makes use of an elutriator. However, the elutriator is too slow for this purpose and requires too delicate a control for the range of sizes desired. The method of stirring up the abrasive in water, allowing it to settle for as given time, then drawing a measured depth off the top of the suspension, has been finally adopted as the simplest proce-dure. The largest particle in a given portion is. then determined by Stokes' law:3

Jan 1, 1931

By William Catron, Cyril U. Colledge

BECAUSE the rich La Colorada orebody of the Cananea Consolidated Copper Co. does not outcrop at surface, after its discovery (by churn drill) and before mining was begun, a large amount of development work was done to learn the shape and extent of the ore and to provide for economic and effective mining. As these openings progressed, the actual shape of the orebody became known and with this knowledge came the realization that mining this rich and unusual deposit without loss of ore or danger to workmen presented several difficult problems. This paper will describe one of these problems; namely, the handling of an inverted cone-shaped core of barren rock, on the periphery of and below which the ore occurred. It was clear that as the ore was mined out from around and under this inverted cone of rock, weighing about 3,000,000 tons, it would hang over the workings, held suspended only by its own tensile strength and threatening to crash into the stopes below with disastrous results to men and mine. The method of mining developed during the years 1928, 1929 and 1930 anticipated and provided for the eventual collapse of this core of rock. In November 1936 the core settled down gradually on the edges of the stopes descending a total of about 50 ft. vertically. The men in the stopes had ample warning and no lives were endangered. There were no air blasts in the mine. The core broke loose from its top support at the 500-ft. level along old fracture planes and evidently is crushed to the ninth level. Movement was of short duration; the following shift went to work in the stopes as usual. No ore was lost. GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE The shape of the orebody is illustrated in Fig. 1. The geology of the Colorada orebody has been described by V. D. Perry1 and by W. G.

Jan 1, 1938