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By Blamey Stevens

(San Francisco Meeting, October, 1911.) IN this paper, which is a logical extension of my paper, The Laws of Intrusion, 1 the various pressures of emanation and their mechanical causes and effects on the large scale of nature are determined, .and a classification of emanations is deduced therefrom. The Subterranean Sea. The subterranean sea is here defined as the intercommunicating water contained in the trains of pores and fissures of the rocks down to great depths. Whether the actual amount of water constituting this subterranean sea be large or small, does not enter into the present argument, since the static pressure of this water at any particular depth is not a function of the quantity : it involves only the depth and the density of the water. Densities. The total pressure at depths down to 10 or 15 miles is made up of the rock-stresses investigated in my previous papers, and the pressure of the subterranean sea. The latter component must evidently be equal to the weight of a solid column of the overlying water of unit sectional area. As water expands with heat, it should really be necessary to sum the density at every level. A knowledge of the densities of water under a variety of conditions is therefore needed, but does not seem ever to have been ascertained for such combined pressures and temperatures as we have to consider. The specific gravity of water at 28° C. for various pressures up to 400 atmospheres, has been determined by Barus,2 who

Apr 1, 1912

By S. R. Zimmerley, S. F. Ravitz

High-grade cobalt concentrates were produced from the complex Blackbird ore with very good recovery in continuous pilot-plant operations in which a low-grade bulk cobaltite-pyrite flotation concentrate was roasted in a multiple-hearth furnace to oxidize the pyrite selectively. The cobaltite was floated from the resulting calcine.

Jan 1, 1950

By Oscar Weiss

An aerial magnetometer survey was carried out by the author's geophysical organization over the Vrede-fort dome, where Witwatersrand beds are wrapped around a granite plug 25 to 30 miles in diameter. The well-known magnetic shales of the Lower Witwatersrand system (to be referred to as LWW) give strong negative anomalies over the out-cropping portion of the dome. This is unusual as these same shales cause positive anomalies over large areas near Johannesburg and along a strike of 130 miles between the East Rand and Klerksdorp. It is suggested that the negative polarization is caused by heat and stresses connected with the doming. This negative polarization of sedimentary beds, which usually cause positive anomalies, is a good example of how "magnetic lows" can be caused by "structural highs." Significant magnetic anomalies should be tested by gravity and seismic methods irrespective of the sign of the anomalies. South of the line X — Y (see Fig 2 and 5) the gravity anomalies are smaller over the LWW beds and magnetic anomalies suddenly become weaker and even change signs by becoming positive. This peculiar phe- nomenon is explained by faulting which truncated the nearly vertical LWW shales at depth. In this manner the mass of the LWW beds has been reduced together with the weakening of the negative magnetic anomalies by positive poles which occupy the truncated end. Furthermore, by uplifting the beds between f1 and f2 (Fig 2) positive polarization becomes predominant, thus causing positive magnetic anomalies. General The Vredefort dome is one of the internationally known geological structures, which, among others, has attracted the attention of numerous American geologists. It was for this latter reason that our aerial magnetic results over this structure were selected by us for publication in the United States of America. A full description of the exposed geology has been published by Nell and readers are referred to this paper, which is subject to only slight modifications inasmuch as the subdivision of the Witwatersrand system (to be referred to as WW system) is concerned. The Vredefort dome is about 60 miles southwest of Johannesburg. The WW system, after being exposed in the vicinity of Johannesburg, plunges with southerly dips beneath the Vent-ersdorp and Transvaal systems. Along a section southwest from Johannesburg, as shown diagrammatically in Fig 4, we see no outcrops of the WW system until the Vredefort dome, where the Upper and Lower WW system are wrapped around an almost circular arc of a granite mass. Here the whole WW system is overturned around the perimeter of a huge granite plug 25 to 30 miles in diameter. Less than half of the circumference of this dome is exposed; the rest is covered by Karroo dolerites and sediments. The determination of the exact shape of the concealed part of the dome has been a matter of considerable interest and obviously geophysical methods were eminently suited for obtaining this information. A good start was made with a gravimeter survey carried out by the Geological Survey of the Union of South Africa.2 Our own

Jan 1, 1950

To the Members It has been, and is the endeavor of the A. I. M. E. to serve each and every member. One of the means of letting the membership know what is going on in the mining; metallurgical and chemical fields, and by far the most important, has been our monthly Bulletin. To publish this costs money, and to partly defray the costs, it was decided to accept such advertising as could be secured. The A. I. M. E. is the only one of the American National engineering societies whose dues are as low as $10 per year, and it actually spends more upon the Bulletin and Transactions than the sun total it receives for clues. Hence the need of advertising revenues. We are planning even greater improvements for your Bulletin-improvements that will help you in your work. It will mean a better publication, with more information than ever before. To successfully carry out our plans, we must have your co-operation. We are not asking you for financial, but for your moral support. With that we shall accomplish a great deal. What we ask of you, brother member, is to give evidence to those patronizing our advertising pages, that you not only read the editorial pages, but the advertising section as well, and that you have in mind the welfare of your Institute by consulting the advertising pages when in the market for equipment. Do you realize that if you mention your Bulletin when writing advertisers or purchasing supplies, that not only would your publication secure more advertising, but better satisfy present advertisers. We have reason to know that our advertisers secure business as a result of our publication, but they demand some evidence that you see their advertisement. Unfortunately, our members do not as a rule mention where they saw the advertisement, and as a consequence advertisers have no means of knowing whether their investment in the Bulletin is paying. The A. I. M. E. Bulletin can be made the best advertising medium in the mining, metallurgical and chemical fields, simply by each member doing his bit. It is very little to ask of you, and the returns to the mining industry will be enormous.

Jan 9, 1915

By John A. THOMPSON, Pazcl D. Torrey, Frank Breayster

DISCOVERY of natural gas in the Dundee field of New York in February, 1930, and the subsequent discovery in Tioga in September of that year, focused the attention of the natural-gas industry on the enormous possibilities of production and distribution in - the most populous area of the United States-New York and New England. Prior to 1926 the natural-gas industry in New York State had settled into a definite and limited policy, with the distributing companies controlling the output from its discovery to the ultimate consumer. Production amounted to between G and 7 thousand mil- lion cubic feet a year, with another 10,000 million feet imported from Pennsylvania for distribution in New York State. This gas was primarily from the Medina sand stone in. the western part of the state.

Jan 1, 1932

By FREDERICK W. BRADLEY

MINING methods are evolved rather than devised; and the process is slow. The advance in no particular year is phenomenal, but progress is un- questionably being made constantly in several directions: (a) better adaptation to given conditions of various "systems" of mining; (b) better utilization of mechanical equipment ; (c) improvement in working conditions so as to promote the health, safety and efficiency of the workers. During the year 1930 operations were commenced at a number of important new mines. Methods adopted are not new, except in minor detail, but the fitting of methods to conditions is interesting, because, as the engineers presumably started from scratch, they have selected the methods that experience under similar conditions has indicated as being the best.

Jan 1, 1931

By Hans Lundberg

Jan 1, 1927

HENRY TRAPHAGEN, * Toledo, Ohio (written discussion t).-The occurrence of flakes in steel is a perplexing problem, if we consider this condition as a disease rather than a symptom. But if considered as an exaggerated phase of a common disease, flakes will be recognized as old and well-known enemies. I have frequently found flakes in open-hearth steel, converter steel, and even electric steel; and not only in the so-called alloy steels but in dead soft 12-point carbon castings. In fact, I have some twenty flaky test bars that came from a foundry that manufactures converter steel castings. The physical characteristics of such material are striking in their constancy, for the yield point and elastic limit are always high, the elongation is variable, and the reduction of area is nearly always negligible. Soft steels of this kind can easily be bent to an angle of 150° and the only bad symptom is the appearance of incipient cracks on the surface; when the carbon exceeds 30 points, the bending qualities are seriously affected; and when the carbon reaches the neighborhood of 50 points, the bars are generally pulled short. The elongation is peculiar in that it seems to take place along the whole length of the bar, giving a crinkly appearance such as is found in cast brass and monel metal. Of course, this elongation only takes place in the softer varieties of steel. I have stated that flakes in steel represent exaggerated symptoms of a common disease, and that disease is the presence of higher oxides of iron. In every instance that has come to my attention, this condition is coexistent with the presence of oxides in some form. In open-hearth practice when this condition occurs, almost invariably it will be found that the metal has been loaded with ore or that tons of rusty turnings were being melted. In converter practice, one of three conditions is nearly always present: bad cupola practice, the use of oxygenated pig iron, or faulty tuyeres. With the electric furnace, my experience is quite limited, but the few examples of flaky electric steel that have come to my notice were made from a charge of turnings and low-grade light scrap.

Jan 6, 1919

By Campbell M. Hunter

Petroleum is found in almost every province in Persia. On the northern frontier, along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, it is found near Enzelli and Shakhtesar and gas at Khoremabad. Oil is also found at Gumish Tepe, northwest of Astrabad, on the southeastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Further inland, to the south of Astrabad, oil is found at Dehahkuh-i-balae, also on the margin of the Khorasan desert at Semnan, 115 mi. (35 m.) east of Teheran. Along the western frontier, from northwest to southeast, oil is encountered at Ouschachi, north of Lake Urumieh; in the province of Azerbaijan, at Zohab, Khanikin, and other places in. the district of Kormanshah in the province of Ardelan. Further south, in the province of Luristan, oil is found east of Mendeli and in the Pusht-i-kuh districts. Considerable quantities of oil are also obtained from Schuster, Maidan-i-Naphtun, Ram-Hormuz, Beheban, which are almost on a straight line, running northwest and southeast along the foothills of the Bakhtiari Mountains. At Ahwaz, in the province of Arabistan, oil has been found along another range of hills whose axis also lies in a northwest-southeast direction. In the Fars province, boring for oil has taken place at Daliki, and indications of oil are found at Kheri, Fasa, Darab, and other places. A gas show is also recorded at Kuhi-Sung-Atush in this province, 30 mi. (48 km.) east of Darab. In the south of Persia, oil is encountered on Qishm Island, also at Ahmedi and other places north of Bunder Abbas. On the southeastern frontier, oil is found on the Sarhad range of hills. Thus, oil indications have been noted over a distance of approximately 1100 mi. along the western and 700 mi. along the northern frontiers of Persia. History The first working of oil in Persia of which there is any record took place at Kir-ab-US, Susiana, now known as Kiab, about 57 mi. northwest of Schuster. Herodotus (about B. C. 450) reported a well near Ardericca that produced three different substances; namely, asphalt, salt, and oil. The oil, which was black and had a strong smell, was called Rhadamance by the Persians.

Jan 1, 1921

By Ralph Wilcox

THE diamond drilling of certain characters of unstable rock forma-tion, as, for example, the copper-bearing schists of the Miami district in Arizona, is rendered most difficult by what is known as " caving" of the sides of the drill holes. As this caving is very greatly increased by the action of flowing water, it occurred to me, after experiencing a great deal of difficulty with caving in diamond-drill holes which I was drilling for the Miami Copper Co., that if I could substitute air for water, much of the caving-with resultant difficulties, such as decreased speed of sinking and increased consumption. of diamonds-would be overcome. After some experimenting, I found that it was perfectly practicable to substitute air for the water; forcing the air down the hollow rotating rods in the same manner as is done with water, the air passing out around the bit, which is thus cooled, and ascending on the outside of the rods to the collar of the hole, carrying the borings in just as satisfactory a manner as had been done by the water, but without the accompanying destruction or caving of the sides of the drill holes such as had been so generally experienced with the water. When water was encountered in the drilling this water was forced up to the collar just as it would have been had water been used in the .drilling, but with the correspondingly decreased flow there was relatively less washing or caving of the sides of the drill holes. The only change necessary in the arrangement of the drill is that a cross instead of a tee is used at the collar of the hole. A tightly woven jute bag is attached to one arm of the cross, for collecting and filtering the sample; and when drilling in dry ground a jet of water is attached to the opposite arm of the cross, to collect the dust and wash down the sample into the bag. The rods rotate through a stuffing box attached to the upper opening of the cross. The distention of the jute bag by the issuing air indicates the operating conditions as sufficiently as did the flow of water when using water in the drill hole.

Jan 10, 1913

By T. L. Joseph

THE extent to which hot metal from the blast furnace affects open-hearth practice and the quality of steel produced has been discussed widely. Open-hearth operators have attributed difficulties experienced in making satisfactory steel to characteristics of the pig iron not disclosed by ordinary analysis. The commonest criticism of the iron has been that it is "physically cold" or "dirty." Often when the blast furnaces are working irregularly the quality of the iron is questioned. A cold hearth, slipping and hanging, the use in the past of unsintered flue dust, and the use of ores difficult to smelt have been associated with the production of iron of poor quality. The difficulty of the situation is that we have no proven yardstick for quality aside from ordinary analysis. Uniformity in analysis is recognized as being important, but the difficulty of changing the open-hearth practice when the iron analysis varies widely may not always be fully appreciated. Although the problem of correlating the characteris-tics of steel with those of pig iron is admittedly obscure, the effort of producers of quality steel to investigate all factors that may have a bear-ing on the final product is justified. This report contains data on the oxides in several hundred casts of basic iron produced in a furnace during the course of normal operation on Lake ores. Incidental to the study of the oxides in the iron, it was desir-able to follow closely the temperature of the iron. The effect of tempera-ture of the iron upon the silicon and sulphur present is discussed. A general relation between the basicity of the slag and the sulphur in the metal was developed. The amount and composition of oxides in the hot metal and in the steel bath during various intervals between melt-down and tap are discussed. Heats of rimmed steel, lulled steel, and semikilled steel were investigated. The hot metal on individual heats was either all taken from a mixer or consisted partly of direct metal and partly of

Jan 1, 1937

IF you do not make the disc at the same time as the core and as part of it, it is necessary to make it by itself. This is done by spreading on a board or other flat surface a layer of clay as thick and wide as [88] the disc that you made at the feeding head of the first pattern of the gun. When it is dry, mark it exactly with compasses and then, cutting with a chisel or rasp, make it fit exactly into the empty space at the head. Likewise, make a hole just as wide as the thickness of the core exactly in the middle of this clay disc. When you have put the disc in its place in the mould and then pass the core through this hole, it passes exactly through the center of the mould in such a way that it meets the iron ring that you put at the foot of the mould for this purpose. As I said above, if' you do not make it as part of the core, it is necessary to proceed in the aforesaid way. But if' you wish to make it attached to the core (which I like better because it can be done more accurately) make a

Jan 1, 1942

By Edmund Davenport

THE specific aim of this work has been to study certain forms of internal deterioration which occur in tungsten filaments when subjected to high temperatures under various conditions, and to determine the cause of such deterioration. This would naturally lead to a consideration of methods of control or means of prevention of the phenomena. The deterioration was first noticed as a peculiar condition in the grain boundaries of certain tungsten filaments which had been burned? for long periods in lamps. In these cases it was noted that the grain boundaries contained a number of minute black dots which were at first thought to be non-metallic inclusions. It was demonstrated later that these dots or pits, as they were designated, could be readily produced by burning filaments in an atmosphere of flowing hydrogen. This method was convenient and adequate for the purpose, and was adopted for most of the work discussed in this paper. The evidence accumulated to date indicates that these pits are actually small voids between the grains. The purpose of this paper is to present- the information on this interesting subject gathered during a period of about 3 years. As applied to tungsten, the subject appears to be of considerable importance, experience having shown that this pitting ?is frequently associated with poor performance of filaments in lamps. The question has arisen as to whether these intergranular pits are peculiar to tungsten, or if they occur in all metals. If they are found iii all metals, the facts will be of considerable theoretical interest, as the material at the grain boundary plays an important part in most of the current theories of the properties of metals and alloys.

Jan 1, 1927

By Frederick Laist

ABOUT six years ago the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. decided to investigate the possibility of extracting zinc from the ores of certain mines in the Butte district. These ores are of a complex character and contain so much iron and lead that the concentrate contains only 33 to 35 per cent. zinc. Investigations showed that while a high-grade concentrate could not be obtained by ordinary methods, such as tabling and magnetic treatment, a fair grade could be made by the Horwood process. In this method, the concentrate resulting from the flotation of all of the sulfides is given a light roast and this calcine is subjected to flotation in the presence of a large amount of sulfuric acid; the resulting concentrate contains most of the zinc and a residue contains most of the iron. The fact that the lead, copper, and silver are divided approximately equally between the zinc concentrate and the iron residue and the large consumption of acid, which ranged from 50 to 100 lb. (22 to 45 kg.) per ton of concentrates, were serious objections to this plan. The zinc recovery, moreover, was low, as a considerable percentage invariably accompanied the iron. While a profit might be made on the ores by the use of this process, it was thought that other and more promising methods might be devised. After carefully studying the field and doing some laboratory work on various processes that had been suggested, it was decided that the electrolysis of sulfate solutions was the most promising. We soon found, as have other investigators, that the only way to obtain a good zinc deposit is to have the electrolyte free from all metals more electro-negative than zinc, such as copper, cadmium, lead, arsenic, antimony, etc. Arsenic and antimony are particularly injurious, causing very poor current efficiency and small yield per horsepower when present in amounts so small as almost to defy detection-1 mg. or less per liter.

Jan 10, 1920

By E. H. Bunce, H. M. Haslam

The "direct process" for the manufacture of pigment zinc oxide produces the oxide directly from ore. This is accomplished by reducing the zinc by means of carbonaceous fuels and immediately burning the evolved zinc vapor to zinc oxide. For many years this was done by smelting a loose charge of ore and fuel on perforated grates. Since this process was developed in America and was extensively used here, it has become known as the "American process." Alternative methods of producing pigment zinc oxide are the "indirect process " and the "wet process." In the indirect process the raw material is metallic zinc, which is volatilized and burned to the oxide. For a long time this has been done in externally fired horizontal refractory retorts. This process has become known as the "French process," from the country of its origin. The wet process precipitates the carbonate or hydrate from zinc-bearing liquors and then calcines the precipitate. This method has been but sparingly used for producing commercial quantities of zinc oxide. It appears to be advisable to restrict the use of the terms "American process" and "French process" to the methods of the earlier periods and to consider the terms "direct process" and "indirect process" as generic terms to designate, first, all methods of producing pigment zinc oxide directly from ores, and, second, to include all those methods of producing zinc oxide from metallic zinc and metallic zinc-bearing substances. American Process In 1796 John Atkinson was granted British Patent No. 2094/1796 entitled, "Manufacture of White Paint." This patent describes a method of producing zinc oxide in which roasted zinc blende or calcined calamine is mixed with charcoal, and the mixture heated in a muffle to liberate zinc vapor, which is then burned to obtain zinc oxide fume. About 1850 The New Jersey Zinc Co., at its plant in Newark, N. J., attempted to make zinc oxide by smelting, in a reverberatory furnace, a mixture of coal and ore from its Franklin mine. A considerable amount

Jan 1, 1937

By A. L. Holley

There are regularly manufactured in the eleven Bessemer steel rail mills of the United States, 119 patterns* of steel rails, of 27 different weights per yard. This list does not include patterns which, although still largely in use, are regarded by experts as obsolete, and which would swell the number to nearly 300; nor does it include all the patterns for which rolls are kept on hand to fill a passible demand; nor does it include extra patterns rolled in one finishing groove by opening or closing the rolls so as to get different weights with the same contours. The list embraces only those separate patterns which are subject to current orders. How thoroughly modern these patterns ere, is shown by the fact that of the whole 119, there are but five patterns of conspicuously bad shape; all the rest more or less completely illustrate the standard features,—a heavy head, light web and Hanges, and a good angle to hold the fish-plate. Sixty-two per cent. of the patterns have the "Chanute" head, which was not designed until 1874.† Sixty-four per cent. of the 119 patterns are embraced under five weights per yard,; three only of these vary from standard type; there are thus 76 patterns, all of them modern and standard, to represent five different weights, for which five patterns would perfectly answer. Of the 60lb. rails, there is only one of the pear-head type, while a dozen of the bevelled head templets cannot be distinguished from each other

Jan 1, 1881

Discussion of the paper of Reno H. Sales, presented at the Butte meeting, August, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 80, August, 1913, pp. 1524 to 1626. L. C. GRATON, Cambridge, Mass.:-It has been my privilege to read with some care Mr. Sales's paper, and I feel it a sense of duty and a pleasure to discuss it briefly. After two months spent underground in the Butte mines by my associates-Messrs. Augustus Locke, A. M. Bateman, and E. H. Perry-and myself, it seems only fair to record our appreciation of the almost baffling structural complexity of the Butte veins, of the remarkable accuracy with which their mechanical details have been worked out, and of the unusually effective and intelligent use of geologic conceptions in interpreting their subtler characters and significance. During this period, under the courteous and helpful guidance of either Mr. Sales, the members of his staff, or the geologists of other companies, we have been afforded opportunity to test many of the conclusions embodied in the present paper, and it is but just to state that as our observations have accumulated sufficiently the great majority of these conclusions have received unquestioned confirmation in our minds. The pleasure consists in realization that the science of mining geology, to which so many of us have devoted ourselves, actually embraces the possibilities that this paper exhibits. The science of geology has been favored by many brilliant contributions of general nature, and by a smaller number of studies remarkable because of their detail and precision. I know, however, of no other piece of work like this, which, including Mr. Winchell's administration, virtually represents the combined results of over 15 years of work by a staff of trained geologists in a district which measures not much more from end to end than it now does from top to bottom. That this concentration of effort and observation has been required, and that it has been repaid by the results attained, are plentifully evident in Mr. Sales's paper. If one were inclined to doubt this after perusal of the text, surely he would be convinced by the maps and sections, several of which, I venture to say, are unapproached in detail and accuracy by anything attempted before.

Jan 11, 1913

Discussion of the paper of Earl S. Bardwell, presented at the Butte meeting, August, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 79, July, 1913, pp. .1429 to 1441. H. O. HOFMAN, Boston, Mass. (communication to the Secretary*) :-It is pleasing to the originators of the planimetric determination of oxygen in refined copper to see that the method has been taken up by a large smelting plant to be used in every-day work after it has been simplified to suit the new conditions. Several years ago Huntington and Desch 1 had improved our mode of working. They projected the developed negative on to a screen, traced the outlines of the picture with a pencil, drew a border, and measured one constituent with. the planimeter. In order to give the work greater precision, they divided the area into squares of 1 cm. side, shaded the

Jan 11, 1913

By Ivor Jenkins

Processes employing 'controlled at-mospheres in the heat-treatment of metals and alloys are now well established on an industrial scale, and the general principles involved and the advantages to be gained in the use of the technique have received considerable publicity over a period of years. During this time the greatest emphasis has been on the establishment of the process in industry, the main effort being devoted to development work on various types of atmospheres, their useful fields of application and the design of suitable heat-treatment furnaces in which they are to be used. The various types of controlled atmospheres are fairly well standardized, but there still remains a considerable field for the investigation of related problems, in connection with both the gas-generating equipment and the surface chemistry of the heat-treatment of metals, especially in complex controlled atmospheres. This paper describes certain investigations of this nature that were carried out in England up to 1939. The development of processes employing controlled atmospheres has been asso-ciated to a very large extent with the heat-treatment of steels, both because of the major importance of steel in industry and the many diverse and dificult prob-lems of surface chemistry involved when steels of such a wide range of composition are heated in the presence of active gases. Controlled atmospheres such as disso-ciated and burnt ammonia or charcoal gas are used in the heat-treatment of low-carbon and high-carbon steels, but from certain points of view a suitable atmosphere generated by the partial combustion of city gas is to be preferred. Both the ammonia derivatives are comparatively expensive, and even if the burnt ammonia is regenerated, thereby reducing operating costs, the capital expenditure of the gas plant may make it prohibitive for the smaller type of furnace installation. Charcoal-gas generators are not without their operating difficulties especially those associated with the quality of the charcoal, clinker formation and the removal of carbon dust from the generated gas. City gas has the advantage of being comparatively cheap and "on tap" in most if not all industrial centers. The use of raw city gas as a protective atmosphere in the heat-treatment of steels has been described,' but it presents certain difficulties because of its complex composition and its explosive nature when mixed with air. These factors, together with the tendency toward sooting at elevated temperatures, arising mainly from the hydrocarbon gases present, all militate against its use as a protective atmosphere in industrial furnaces. The following analysis, based on the analyses of city gas in different localities in Great Britain, indicates the wide limits existing

Jan 1, 1948

By Ivor Jenkins

Processes employing 'controlled at-mospheres in the heat-treatment of metals and alloys are now well established on an industrial scale, and the general principles involved and the advantages to be gained in the use of the technique have received considerable publicity over a period of years. During this time the greatest emphasis has been on the establishment of the process in industry, the main effort being devoted to development work on various types of atmospheres, their useful fields of application and the design of suitable heat-treatment furnaces in which they are to be used. The various types of controlled atmospheres are fairly well standardized, but there still remains a considerable field for the investigation of related problems, in connection with both the gas-generating equipment and the surface chemistry of the heat-treatment of metals, especially in complex controlled atmospheres. This paper describes certain investigations of this nature that were carried out in England up to 1939. The development of processes employing controlled atmospheres has been asso-ciated to a very large extent with the heat-treatment of steels, both because of the major importance of steel in industry and the many diverse and dificult prob-lems of surface chemistry involved when steels of such a wide range of composition are heated in the presence of active gases. Controlled atmospheres such as disso-ciated and burnt ammonia or charcoal gas are used in the heat-treatment of low-carbon and high-carbon steels, but from certain points of view a suitable atmosphere generated by the partial combustion of city gas is to be preferred. Both the ammonia derivatives are comparatively expensive, and even if the burnt ammonia is regenerated, thereby reducing operating costs, the capital expenditure of the gas plant may make it prohibitive for the smaller type of furnace installation. Charcoal-gas generators are not without their operating difficulties especially those associated with the quality of the charcoal, clinker formation and the removal of carbon dust from the generated gas. City gas has the advantage of being comparatively cheap and "on tap" in most if not all industrial centers. The use of raw city gas as a protective atmosphere in the heat-treatment of steels has been described,' but it presents certain difficulties because of its complex composition and its explosive nature when mixed with air. These factors, together with the tendency toward sooting at elevated temperatures, arising mainly from the hydrocarbon gases present, all militate against its use as a protective atmosphere in industrial furnaces. The following analysis, based on the analyses of city gas in different localities in Great Britain, indicates the wide limits existing

Jan 1, 1948