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By V. D. Perry

Carlisle: Reno, let's start off by asking "When was the first day that you began working in your profession?" Sales: I began in Butte, Montana, on August 22, 1900 as an assistant engineer for the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Co., and continued at that job for about a year. The general manager was C. S. Batterman, and the mines- Mountain View, Pennsylvania, Leonard, East Colusa, and one or two others-were part of Boston & Montana.

Jan 5, 1966

By George H. Deike

UNDERGRADUATE interest in coal mining engineering has dropped to an alarmingly low level. Most companies having co-operative scholarship programs have been forced to abandon them for the duration.

Jan 1, 1944

By Donald M. Liddell, G. C. RIDDELL

THE cosmic ray continues to engage the attention of the physicists, and according to Millikan and Compton, experiments of the past summer indicate that these rays must come from interstellar space, but not from the stars themselves. According to press reports of the International Congress of Physicists at Rome, the view was given there that these rays have an initiating potential of over 750,000.000 volts. In the field of spectrographic investigation great strides have been made. The U. S. Naval Research Laboratories (R. F. Mehl and G. E. Doan of Lehigh) have just finished a year's work with a "radium torch" or "shadowgraphic apparatus" in the field of the X-ray, that bids fair to displace the latter to a great extent. The torch is more powerful., easier to operate and cheaper. Penetration of 10 in. of steel has been accomplished, which. is much -beyond the- -scope-, of the X-ray..

Jan 1, 1932

By Julian E. Tobey

A MEMORABLE year has just passed in the field of coal utilization. Because of the war, oil conversions in industrial, commercial, and domestic installations have been made to the equivalent of 20,000,000 tons of coal. The war emergency has resulted in a great shifting of various types of coals to various markets. Huge tonnages of metallurgical-quality coals have been withdrawn from steam and domestic business and sent into the iron and steel industries. Marginal coals have replaced these coals in the steam and domestic field.

Jan 1, 1944

By H. Biloni, H. R. Bertorello

GruZLESKI and winegard1 have recently reported on the origin and development of the cellular substructure in Sn-Cd eutectic unidirectionally grown with different amounts of constitutional supercooling (CS). This communication deals with the results obtained in a parallel study on the instability of a plane interface in Al-Cu eutectic unidirectionally grown. Similarities as well as differences with the results of these authors1 will be presented. A1-Cu eutectic alloy ingots of 99.999 pct purity were grown unidirectionally under different G/R ratios where G = thermal gradient in the liquid, R = solidification rate. The ingots were cut in slices perpendicular to the solidification axes and the substructure studied on parallel sections following the sense of growth. It was generally found that the last part of the ingot to solidify presented a well developed colony substructure as a result of impurity build up and constitutional supercooling. The results obtained were: 1) When the structure was observed with low niagnification (of the order of 150 to 300 times) the first instabilities were observed at the grain boundaries and node-like structures formed at the junctions of the growth-induced boundaries, as reported by Gruz-leski and Winegard.1 Inside the grains the first signs of instability appear later and correspond to the type shown in Fig. 1; this is a two dimensional cell substructure. ' 2) Figs. 2 and 3 correspond to the evolution from a two dimensional substructure to a cellular type. In the A1-Cu eutectic the boundaries of the two dimensional cell are always perpendicular to the laniellaes instead of parallel as in the Sn-Cd eutectic. 1

Jan 1, 1970

By John K. Kennedy

ThE basic equations describing continuous zone-melting via the zone-void method were reported by Pfann. Using these equations, a theoretical study was undertaken in this laboratory on the effect of the variation of the significant parameters of the zone-void system. These parameters are the zone length, 1, the heater length, h, and the effective distribution coefficient, k. The object of this study was to determine the effect of these parameters on and (where a = Cp/Cf and ß = Cw/Cf, Cp, C,, and Cf being, respectively, the solute concentration in product, waste, and feed) so that, in future application of this technique to the ultrapurification of materials, the effect of 1 and h would be predictable regardless of the value of k. The basic assumptions made by pfannl were, for the purposes of this study, assumed to hold. For k < 1, the steady-state solute distribution in the stripping section and the shift in this distribution brought about by passage of a void is shown in Fig. 7 of Ref. 1. In this section the definition of k and ß precludes the possibility of ß assuming values less than unity when k < 1. In the course of this investigation it was found that computations based on Pfann&apos;s equations gave values of ß less than unity in the region 1 > k > l/h for almost all values of Ls, where Further computations showed that 6 assumes negative values when k > 1 for many values of L,, 1, and h. A check of the derivation of the stripping-section equations showed that an error had been

Jan 1, 1964

By OTTO HERRES

TO operate the bituminous coal industry in the United States in 1929 cost $770,237,000, of which $30,739,000 was paid for purchased power and $34,947,000 for new machinery and equipment. Equipment aggregated 3,124,000 hp. A mining industry that spends $65,000,000 a year for power and machinery is likely to be fairly well mechanized, and when the machinery in use takes three million horsepower to drive it, the probabilities are that mechanization has been in progress in at least some of the mines for quite a few years. Mechanization in its broadest sense implies machine cutting, power drilling, mechanical loading, electric haulage, mechanical sizing and cleaning, and lesser applications of machinery to mining operations. But the introduction and development of mechanical loading has been the feature of coal mining recently and its extraordinary progress is causing great changes within the industry. First, let us look at the records. The quantity of coal loaded mechanically in bituminous mines was:

Jan 1, 1933

By H. R. Hanley

IN AS MUCH as the interesting changes in the economics of the zinc industry are covered nowhere else in this issue, and they are related to technological progress in the metallurgy of zinc, some reference to prices and production will first be made. The latter part of 1939 is outstanding in the large war demand for metals including zinc, whereas in the first eight months the demand for zinc was subnormal. The cause of the rapid in- crease in demand was the European war and hence the future is problematical. When the year began zinc was in the doldrums, with low prices, and continued thus until August when an advance in price started, reaching 6.5. per pound early in October. (Prime Western, St. Louis.) Rapid changes in the price of any metal are viewed adversely by the metal industry. The persistent low price for zinc of 4 to 49512 for about two years curtailed production and in one instance closed one large plant for a brief period.

Jan 1, 1940

By I. Javandel, P. A. Witherspoon

The finite element method was originally developed in the aircraft industry to handle problems of stress distribution in complex airframe configurations. This paper describes how the method can be extended to problems of transient flow in porous media. In this approach, the continuum is replaced by a system of finite elements. By employing the variational principle, one can obtain time dependent solutions for the potential at every point in the system by minimizing a potential energy functional. The theory of the method is reviewed. To demonstrate its validity, nonsteady-state results obtained by the finite clement method are compared with those of typical boundary value problems for which rigorous analytical solutions are available. To demonstrate the power of this approach, solutions for the more complex problem of transient flow in layered systems with crossflow are also presented. The generality of this approach with respect to arbitrary boundary conditions and changes in rock properties provides a new method of handling problems of fluid flow in complex systems. INTRODUCTION Problems of transient flow in porous media often can be handled by the methods of analytical mathematics as long as the geometry or properties of the flow system do not become too complex. When the analytical approach becomes intractable, it is customary to resort to numerical methods, and a great variety of problems have been handled in this manner. One such method relies on the finite difference approach wherein the system is divided into a network of elements, and a finite difference equation for the flow into and out of each element is developed. The solution of the resulting set of equations usually requires a high speed computer. When heterogeneous systems of arbitrary geometry must be considered, however, this approach is sometimes difficult to apply and may require large amounts of computer time. The finite element method is a new approach that avoids these difficulties. It was developed originally in the aircraft industry to provide a refined solution for stress distributions in extremely complex airframe configurations. 27 Clough has recently reviewed the application of the finite element method in the field of structural mechanics.6 The technique has been applied successfully in the stress analysis of many complex structures.l, 27, 28 Recognition that this procedure can be interpreted in terms of variational procedures involving minimizing a potential energy functional7 leads naturally to its extension to other boundary value problems. In the field of heat flow, there recently have been introduced several approximate methods of solution that are based on variational principles.2-4, 17 By employing the variational principle in conjunction with the finite element idealization, a powerful solution technique is now available for determining the potential distribution within complex bodies of arbitrary geometry. In the finite element approximation of solids, the continuum is replaced by a system of elements. An approximate solution for the potential field within each element is assumed, and flux equilibrium equations are developed at a discrete number of points within the network of finite elements. For the case of steady-state heat flow, the technique is completely described by Zienkiewicz and Cheung.33 Since the flow of fluids in porous media is analogous to the flow of heat, Zienkiewicz et al. have employed the finite element method in obtaining steady-state solutions to heterogeneous and anisotropic seepage problems. 34 Taylor and Brown have used this method to investigate steady-state flow problems involving a free surface.25 The work of Gurtin has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for the application of finite element methods to linear initial-value problems.12 As a result, Wilson and Nickell have recently

Jan 1, 1969

By Chester O. Ensign

Many publications to date have advocated under- seas mining operations, optimistically overlooking the paucity of information on mineral distribution and the ocean environments in which minerals occur. Such articles (smattered with opinion, as is this article) are herein tempered by my more conservative views on the economics of mining under the seas. For purposes of this paper, underseas mining refers only to the deeper surficial deposits of the continental shelf and the deep sea floor, i.e., the deposits of phosphorite and manganese nodules.

Jan 9, 1966

John J. Porter, Cincinnati, Ohio (communication to the Secretary *):—The remarks of Mr. Firmstone concerning the presence of nickel in Oriskany ores, call to my mind some additional evidence on this point. In 1903, while engaged in the determination of zinc in a number of samples of ore from the Oriskany mine of the Alleghany Ore & Iron Co., I was surprised to discover the presence of nickel and cobalt. As far as I was then able to discover, their present;! had up to this time remained unnoticed. The amounts ranged from 0.05 up to 0.10 per cent. of the combined oxides, and while no attempt was made to separate the metals, the presence of both nickel and cobalt was conclusively proven. Since that time I have learned that traces of these metals are of quite general occurrence in Virginia iron-ores, and more especially in the ores of the Potsdam formation from the western slopes of the Blue Ridge. In certain manganese-ores from this formation, I have found as high as 0.50 per cent. of nickel and cobalt oxides. Any one interested in this subject will find further information in a volume l written by Andrew 8. McCreath, and printed in 1884 for distribution by the Norfolk & Western railway. A number of complete and accurate analyses of Virginia iron-and manganese-ores are given, and practically all show nickel and cobalt in appreciable quantity. Still another source of information on the occurrence of nickel in iron-ores in the United States, for which I am indebted to Charles Catlett, is found in the Tenth Census. Several analyses of Oriskany ores are given: all of which show the presence of nickel, with less cobalt, while the single representative from the Potsdam formation shows nickel, with no cobalt.

Jan 1, 1909

By R. T. Pepper

DURING an investigation into the effect of heat-treatment on the creep properties of the magnesium alloy ZW1, (1 pct Zn, 0.6 pct Zr), the previously published methods of final polishing were found to be unsatisfactory. A new diamond-polishing technique has been developed to facilitate the study of fine precipitates in this and other magnesium alloys, and is described in this note. The sectioning and coarse grinding techniques are those of Fox and Hall,&apos; and Hess and Cieorge.&apos; Pre- liminary mechanical polishing is done with 6-µ, and 1-µ( grades of diamond compound on &apos;Microcloth&apos; using a lubricant of &apos;Hyprez&apos; oil. When the conventional technique is used with a 1/4- µ diamond wheel for the final polishing of magnesium alloys, scratching is likely to result from the abrasive action of the &apos;Microcloth&apos; nap on the soft metal surface. This problem has been overcome by the use of a cream on the wheel in order to separate the specimen surface from the polishing cloth. To prepare this cream, a solution of 6-ml tri-ethanolamine in 75-ml water is stirred into 12.5 g stearic acid at a constant temperature of 80° to 90°C. The cream is allowed to cool, and is then &apos;whipped&apos; to a smooth consistency with 100-ml &apos;Hyprez&apos; oil. Before polishing, the diamond loaded &apos;Microcloth&apos; is moistened with a few drops of &apos;Hyprez&apos; oil, then a small amount of cream is worked into the nap. For the best results a wheel speed of 500 rpm should be used for polishing, and the specimen should be held by hand with a light pressure while being rotated in the opposite direction to the wheel. After polishing it is necessary to swab the specimen thoroughly in methylated spirits to remove residual cream and oil from the surface in order to avoid uneven etching and drying stains. Fig. 1 shows the surface finish obtained on a specimen by polishing on a 1/4- ° diamond wheel using the cream, and Figs. 2 and 3 the precipitate observed in ZW1 after polishing, and etching for two seconds in nitric acid 15 pct in ethylene glycol. This new diamond-polishing technique has made a valuable contribution to the programme of metal-lographic research on ZW1 and has become a routine laboratory practice for other low alloy content magnesium alloys.

Jan 1, 1961

By J. M. Lommel

DURING an investigation into the effect of heat-treatment on the creep properties of the magnesium alloy ZW1, (1 pct Zn, 0.6 pct Zr), the previously published methods of final polishing were found to be unsatisfactory. A new diamond-polishing technique has been developed to facilitate the study of fine precipitates in this and other magnesium alloys, and is described in this note. The sectioning and coarse grinding techniques are those of Fox and Hall,&apos; and Hess and Cieorge.&apos; Pre- liminary mechanical polishing is done with 6-µ, and 1-µ( grades of diamond compound on &apos;Microcloth&apos; using a lubricant of &apos;Hyprez&apos; oil. When the conventional technique is used with a 1/4- µ diamond wheel for the final polishing of magnesium alloys, scratching is likely to result from the abrasive action of the &apos;Microcloth&apos; nap on the soft metal surface. This problem has been overcome by the use of a cream on the wheel in order to separate the specimen surface from the polishing cloth. To prepare this cream, a solution of 6-ml tri-ethanolamine in 75-ml water is stirred into 12.5 g stearic acid at a constant temperature of 80o to 90°C. The cream is allowed to cool, and is then &apos;whipped&apos; to a smooth consistency with 100-ml &apos;Hyprez&apos; oil. Before polishing, the diamond loaded &apos;Microcloth&apos; is moistened with a few drops of &apos;Hyprez&apos; oil, then a small amount of cream is worked into the nap. For the best results a wheel speed of 500 rpm should be used for polishing, and the specimen should be held by hand with a light pressure while being rotated in the opposite direction to the wheel. After polishing it is necessary to swab the specimen thoroughly in methylated spirits to remove residual cream and oil from the surface in order to avoid uneven etching and drying stains. Fig. 1 shows the surface finish obtained on a specimen by polishing on a 1/4- µ diamond wheel using the cream, and Figs. 2 and 3 the precipitate observed in ZW1 after polishing, and etching for two seconds in nitric acid 15 pct in ethylene glycol. This new diamond-polishing technique has made a valuable contribution to the programme of metal-lographic research on ZW1 and has become a routine laboratory practice for other low alloy content magnesium alloys.

Jan 1, 1961

By Walter Miller

PETROLEUM refining, like other industries in the United States in 1940, focused much attention on its duties and opportunities in the field of national defense. In counter-distinction to the situation during the World War; the industry is well constituted as LO existing equipment, processes, and capacity together with planned additions to handle any demands that may be made upon it by the defense program needs. Evident throughout was the growing sense of ability to manipulate oil molecules for the production of materials not hitherto considered as being available commercially from petroleum The development and application of catalytically-induced reactions on a broad front is one of the distinguishing characteristics of refining progress during the year.

Jan 1, 1941

A. M. Strong, Bishop, Cal. (communication to the Secretary*) :—The paper of Mr. Eeyes gives us the most complete account of the geology of the borax-deposits in the Death Valley region that has yet been published, and is a valuable addition to the geological literature of a very interesting though little-known territory. During the past ten years I have been over much of the northern part of the country described by Mr. Eeyes and the region immediately north of it.

Jan 1, 1910

By E. J. McCaustland

The behavior of steel after overstrain and at moderate temperatures is fairly well known. It has been made the subject of much investigation, and our knowledge is clear and definite on many points. The ultimate raising of the elastic limit, after moderate overstrain, and the consequent lowering of the ductility, seem to be well established. It is also well understood that the immediate effect of overstrain is to lower the elastic limit, possibly to zero, but that if not interfered with, this limit will subsequently rise higher than before. The " tests after moderate temperature," reported in this paper, were undertaken to verify the above statements for the particular steel under investigation, and also to determine, if possible, the total time required for complete recovery from this state of overstrain. The behavior of overstrained steel at temperatures at or below 32" F. is not so well known. Tests made by Prof. E. G. Coker, at McGill University,&apos; show that steel, overstrained and subjected to cold, will remain in a state of overstrain for an indefinite period. I am not aware of any other published results of tests along this particular line. The effect of time and temperature on the recovery of steel from overstrain was made in 1902-3 the subject of some investigation in the laboratories of the College of Civil Engineering of Cornell University. A general plan was outlined in connection with the regular courses of instruction in testing of materials; but the press of routine work and the demands of the schedules on the time of the students were so great as to presage long delay in the completion of the work. Not much had been accomplished up to 1904-05, when Messrs. E. C.

Jan 1, 1907

By R. M. Daelen

In recent years many new appliances have been introduced into German steel-works and rolling-mills for the purpose of improving working-methods, and of creating and maintaining increased production, and satisfying the ever-growing demand for metal of closely specified hardness, strength and form. One result of the improvements has been to aid very effectively in demonstrating the real superiority of ingot- over wrought-iron for almost every possible purpose, and in dispelling the last vestiges of prejudice unfavorable to the new metal. If, nevertheless, no marked decrease in the number of puddlingfurnaces has yet been noticed, the cause of their survival must be attributed to the greatly increased consumption of all kinds of ironmanufactures. Several large new works for the production of ingotiron are now, however, in course of erection in the Rhenish-Westphalian district, and upon their completion a rapidly diminishing output of wrought-iron may be anticipated. The present aim of all large works manufacturing ingot-iron is to work the molten blast-furnace pig into a finished product without any further fuel-consumption than is required to furnish steam for the rolling-mill. Though practice has established the feasibility of this principle, no works can yet point to its complete adoption, partly because of the limitations imposed by existing conditions and plant, and partly, also, on account of the highly-diversified character of the finished products. The Bessemer-works were the first to feel the influence of the basic process; but of recent years a similar influence has affected the open-hearth, and the owners of works possessing both a converterand an open-hearth plant are now seeking to arrange them for combined working, in charging as well as in casting. In small works the basic-lined reverberatory furnace is constantly gaining ground over the old puddling-furnace. The small basic converter, on the

Jan 1, 1891

By Alex McCoy

SAMPLING of the fluid from oil wells for percentages of oil, emulsified oil, and water during the last two years has brought out some interesting facts concerning oil-water emulsion. This result led to a laboratory investigation of emulsion, which substantiated the conclusions made from the field observations. The purpose of this paper is to present the information collected, the laboratory experiments, and our interpretation of the same. In order to define emulsified oil exactly, give its synthesis and origin, and to show how and when it is formed in the wells, the work was necessarily divided into two separate lines-laboratory work and field observations. It is hoped that this study may lead to a discussion of such points so that the petroleum engineer, geologist, or technologist may be benefited by its practical bearing on oil-field management. Special credit is due Mr. Everett Carpenter, chief geologist of the Empire Gas & Fuel Co., for his assistance and cooperation in this work. LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS ON EMULSIFIED OIL Laboratory investigations were conducted in an attempt to learn the composition and some of the properties of emulsified oil, or B. S., as it is more commonly called, also to demonstrate, by laboratory methods, how B. S. may be formed under conditions similar to those existing at the time a well is being pumped, and how it may be broken down. Literature bearing on this subject is widely scattered and very limited in scope. Bacon and Hamor define B. S., or bottom settlings, as "earthy matter, inert organic matter, or, in the case of Pennsylvanian petroleum, an emulsion of paraffin wax and water, which accompanies crude oil." In this discussion we will limit the term B. S. to that heavy,

Jan 8, 1919

By R. W. Raymond

[NOTE.-This paper was presented at the Pittsburgh meeting in a partially completed form, and I fully expected to obtain, before the period of its publication, both the data and the leisure required for its completion. The hygiene of collieries was to have been separately considered, and the sanitary conditions of various metallurgical industries connected with mining were to receive an extended discussion, while at the same time the points treated in the paper as presented at Pittsburgh were to have more ample illustration from American and European sources. Delay in obtaining expected information, and the continuous pressure of professional work, have prevented hitherto the execution of this plan ; and I can now publish only a portion of what I had designed to contribute to the subject. In the meantime this portion, but slightly changed, has been included as a chapter on the Hygiene of Metal Mines in a work entitled Hygiene and Public Health, edited by Dr. A. H. Buck, of New York. An excellent chapter on the Hygiene of Coal Mines, contributed to the same work by Mr. Henry C. Sheafer, of Pottsville, affords me an opportunity to supply one of the deficiencies above alluded to. Mr. Sheafer&apos;s chapter contains much material in the way of explanations not required by professional readers; and he moreover devotes a considerable space to the explosive gases, falls of roof, and other causes of accidents to life or limb-a branch of the subject not belonging strictly to hygiene. I therefore make extracts only from his treatise.-R. W. R] IT is convenient to divide mines, with reference to this subject, into two classes, collieries and metal-mines. Subterranean quarries, rock-salt mines, etc., present no conditions requiring them to be separated from the latter class.

Jan 1, 1880

By H. J. Wasson

DEVELOPMENTS in Venezuela during the past few months have been obscured by the hap-penings in Seminole and, more recently, those in southwest Texas. The question has been asked whether or not the opening of these vast new, prolific areas in the United States may not have depressed prices to a point so low as to give the developments in the Caribbean countries a serious setback. Nothing of the kind, however, has taken place, and on the contrary, there has been demonstrated the fact that Venezuela can profitably produce great quantities of oil under existing market conditions, and at the same time finance the foundation for further large expan-sion in the future. The three big factors which contribute to place Venezuela in a unique position and tend to insure the steady expansion of its oil industry are, in the order of their importance: I. Reasonable oil laws backed by a sound govern-ment, which comprehends the all-important fact that the country&apos;s prosperity depends on the prosperity of its industries, in a word, perceiving that the goose which lays the golden egg merits considerate treatment. II. The low cost of placing Venezuela oil on our At-lantic seaboard; not over $0.60 per barrel. III. The uniformly high average production per well and the large area of some of the individual pools. Under these conditions Venezuelan producers may be expected to continue steady and profitable ex-pansion even in the face of further market slumps. Their position is analogous to that of the low-cost copper producers, and unless artificial barriers, such as tariffs, come into play, Venezuela will steadily grow in importance. Within less than five years it should be second only to the United States among the oil-producing countries of the world.

Jan 10, 1927