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By L. D. Jaffe, J. H. Hollomon

The hardenability concept has become widely used during the last few years for the choice and substitution of steels. Before the work of Grossmann,1 the systems for predicting hardenability from chemical composition could be used only over a narrow range of composition. Grossmann introduced a comprehensive system, which has been effective in calculating the hardenability of most types of moderate or low-alloy steels. However, occasions often arise that require the calculation of the hardenability of high-alloy steels from their chemical compositions. Experimental determinations of the hardenabilities of such steels indicate that the Grossmann system predicts much greater hardenabilities than are realized. The fact that cases do arise in which the Grossmann method does not apply indicates that the fundamental hypothesis of the system may not be generally applicable. It seems advisable to re-examine not only Grossmann's system but also the concept of hardenability itself. Hardenability If steel parts are to possess a martensitic structure after quenching, they must first be austenitized and then cooled through the pearlite and bainite transformation ranges sufficiently rapidly to avoid the formation of pearlite, bainite, and pro-eutectoid products.* If, on cooling, these transformations are avoided, the resulting structure can consist only of martensite (and retained austenite). The hardenability of a steel is measured in terms of the severity of the cooling conditions necessary to avoid the pearlite and bainite transformations. The less rapid is the cooling necessary to prevent the formation of bainite and pearlite, the higher is the hardenability. The pearlite and bainite reactions appear to be differently affected by the alloying elements. Not only is this indicated by the published isothermal transformation data, but recent work by Zener2 affords a rational interpretation of the differing effects of the alloying elements. Manganese,3 for example, appears to decrease the rates of the pearlite and bainite transformations by equal percentages, while molybdenum45 is approximately 10,000 times more effective in retarding the pearlite than in retarding the bainite transformation, on the basis of isothermal measurements. In some steels, the formation of bainite restricts the formation of martensite while

Jan 1, 1947

By J. E. Ryan

TRONA, Calif., is a miniature urban community of some 3500 people, located on the northwest shore of dry Searles Lake in the extreme northwest corner of San Bernardino County, approximately 186 miles north and east of Los Angeles. Since it is situated on the Mojave Desert, a typically desert climate prevails with wide variations in temperature between day and night, extreme daytime summer heat, and cool to cold winters. Rainfall averages somewhat less than 4 in. per year, and dust storms are common. The rate of evaporation, .however, is great, amounting to 6 to 9 ft of water per year. The extremely low humidity makes the summer heat of 110°F tolerable with only a mild, temporary discomfort. Nature of Deposit During the periods when Searles Basin was flooded, the waters that passed through Indian Wells Valley spread out to form a broad, shallow lake providing, in effect, a settling basin for suspended sediment. The drainage into the deeper and more isolated Searles Basin thus was clarified to a great degree before concentration began. Today, the elevation of the dry surface of Searles Lake is 1618 ft, and the salt deposit measures 5x7 miles. At the eastern and northeastern margins of the main playa zone and just at the foot of the alluvial slope of sand and coarser wash from the Slate Range mountains, a rim of crusted salts rises a few feet above the level of the flat. The deposit is a saline efflorescence composed of salts that were presumably brought up with rising ground waters to be deposited at the surface by solar evaporation. This deposit consists chiefly of trona, and it is after this Trona Reef that the town Trona was named. Strip mining operations have been conducted in the past at infrequent intervals for the recovery of crude trona salts. The main focal point of interest in Searles Lake from a commercial standpoint is the main salt body located almost centrally in the basin. The exposed portion of this porous saline deposit covers approximately 12 sq miles and averages 71 ft deep. Its interstitial voids, which constitute 50 pct of the total volume, are permeated with a brine, which is in equilibrium with the soluble salt deposits. The brine is the raw material for the operations of the American Potash and Chemical Corp. plant at Trona, shown in Fig. 1. The soluble salt deposits are of interest for their potential values in future technologic development. The brine, which is stratified according to slight differences in density, stands usually within 6 in. of the surface of this exposed, firm, salt body. The surface is usually dry and will support the weight of heavy mobile units and drilling equipment. Occasionally, however, surface waters from the higher watersheds encroach upon the main salt body during infrequent periods of precipitation on the surrounding mountains. This water dissolves surface salt, becomes a dilute brine, and has been observed to stand as high as 18 in. above the salt surface when undisturbed. Windstorms will shift the water back and forth across the lake surface. The exposed salt body is surrounded by additional submerged areas of commercial soluble salt deposits covering some 20 sq miles, hidden from view by marginal playa mud. These vary in depth up to as much as 30 ft. Thus, the outline of exposed and submerged salt deposits of commercial value is estimated to cover a total area of 32 sq miles, which is roughly circular but slightly elongated from northwest to southeast. It has been estimated that each square mile contains about 100 million tons% f alkali salts. The results of drill borings in the past 15 years have brought to light the interesting fact that the main salt body lies superimposed on an impervious mud deposit from 10 to 15 ft thick containing relatively little soluble salt. Under this deposit lies a second soluble salt body 35 ft deep. The lower salt body is interspersed with numerous insoluble mud lenses and its composition is considerably different from that of the primary, or main salt deposit. Recent drill borings have not penetrated beyond 300 ft. They have, however, revealed that underlying the lower salt body, the mud sediments carry deposited minerals of trona, nahcolite, mirabilite and much less soluble carbonates or sulphates of calcium and/ or magnesium. This structure is shown in Fig. 2. Current Lake Survey Program Several hundred holes have been drilled in the deposit. However, to carry out a thorough and carefully correlated study of the composition of the soluble salts and other minerals in the dry lake basin, a drilling program was inaugurated recently and is now nearing completion. In this survey, pattern drill holes are sunk at regular lh-mile intervals to a depth of approximately 150 ft. Drilling equipment consists of a No. 51 C. P.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. J. Teitel

The Pb-U system has been investigated by X-ray, thermal, and microscopic analyses. Two pyrophoric intermetallic compounds were found; UPb3 and UPb. The crystallographic structure of UPb3 is reported. A phase diagram was drawn for the system showing three eutectic and one syntectic reaction. AS a result of the interest in uranium metallurgy, the Pb-U system has been investigated. Practically no quantitative data appears in the literature concerning this system. Chips were machined from bars of high-purity uranium obtained from Ames Laboratory and the lead was 99.9 pct high-purity grade from Bel-mont Smelting & Refining Co. The chips were pickled in a dilute solution of nitric acid, washed in water and then alcohol, and dried prior to use for alloy preparation. The lead was simply sheared from the pig with no chemical treatment. Lead and uranium were placed in graphite crucibles and loaded into an induction furnace. In order to insure good alloy formation, the lead was loaded above the uranium to wash the uranium chips into the melt. After the charge was held at the desired preparation temperature for 15 to 30 min, it was allowed to cool in the crucible. The entire melting operation was accomplished in an atmosphere of helium (double charcoal refined grade with no further treatment). The procedure was to outgas the furnace by first evacuating it to 10-% m Hg, admitting helium to 8 psi gage and sealing the furnace off. An optical pyrometer focused on the charge through a hole in the crucible cover was employed for thermal measurements. Usually a 50° to 70°C correction had to be added to the instrument value. The most suitable alloy preparation temperature range was found between 1220° and 1280°C. The reason for this is explained by the phase diagram, Fig. 7. Above this temperature range two liquids separate preventing alloy formation upon cooling at a reasonable rate. On the other hand, below this range the uranium was coated with a layer of both compounds and the rate of reaction was diminished by diffusion processes. The fastest reaction rate occurred in this narrow range of temperature because only UPb coats the uranium and it evidently does not protect the uranium as well as UPb,. Apparatus and Procedures The development of apparatus and techniques was determined by the peculiar properties of the alloys. All the alloys were pyrophoric, and, consequently, the alloys had to be protected from oxidation by handling them in a dry box or inert atmosphere furnaces. Other operations performed outside of this equipment had to be done as quickly as possible. Thermal analyses were conducted in a furnace and arrangement similar to that described by the author.' Graphite crucibles having a thermocouple well in the bottom were used to contain the prepared alloy, while a helium atmosphere protected the melt from oxidation. The furnace was outgassed by pumping a 10-3 mm Hg vacuum until the furnace had been heated to 400°C. Then helium was admitted and the furnace sealed under 8 psi gage pressure. Chromel-alumel thermocouples were used for thermal analysis and the accuracy of thermal measurements was judged to be k 5°C. At first, an attempt was made to use platinum-platinum-rhodium thermocouples, but evidently lead vapors attack it at high temperatures forming low melting alloys. These lead vapors had direct access to the thermocouple because the graphite crucible was porous. A differential temperature control was used to regulate thermal analyses. The thermal gradient across an alundum tube placed between the windings and the crucible was maintained constant by a controller.

Jan 1, 1953

By S. S. Clarke

THE opening of zinc-lead ore bodies in the lower chert beds of the Tri-State district, locally called sheet-ground deposits, [ ] presented several new economic operating problems to be solved before the low-grade deposits could be mined profitably. Drilling was the first high-cost problem and loading and haulage difficulties followed. At this time, the sheet-ground mines are producing about 2000 tons per day. GEOLOGY The geology and ore deposits of the Tri-State district have been covered in detail by [ ] Fowler and Lyden.* Briefly, the sheet-

Jan 1, 1942

By M. C. LYNN

RECENT completion of a $40,000 lubricating oil plant will make it possible for students in the School of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Oklahoma to carry out on a large scale the entire process of refining crude oil, from the time it is received in tank cars and pumped through the 1/4-mile University pipe line to storage tanks on the campus until the various products appear in finished form. This plant is part of a $100,000 expansion program which this school has been carrying out during the past year. Two years ago the Oklahoma State Legislature appropriated $50,000 for the School to use in improving its laboratory facilities. A few months later a $30,000 PWA grant was ob-

Jan 1, 1937

By Byron B. Morton

NICKEL-BEARING alloys are associated with petroleum in the fields of exploration, production, and refining. In the first- named field the geologist of today makes use of such instruments as the seismograph, torsion balance, and magnetometer, the selection of proper alloys and metals for the manufacture of which is an important matter. Nickel-bearing alloys are useful for parts that require resistance to corrosion or that must have non-magnetic properties. Where special co- efficient of thermal expansion are de- sired, they are obtained by using alloys high in nickel (20 to 60 per cent), since, by varying the nickel contents, alloys can be obtained ranging fro111 "Invar", with a low expansion between -40 and 175 cleg. F., to those with coefficients of expansion exceeding that of steels. The latter are obtained by additions of chromiurn to the alloys. Alloys containing 50 to 80 per cent of nickel, which possess high magnetic permeability, find application in certain instruments where this property is important.

Jan 1, 1935

By George S. Lockwood

Plans are moving ahead toward the July 1965 start-up date for Kaiser Steel Corp.’s new pelletizing plant at its Eagle Mountain, Calif., iron mine. Capacity will be 2 million long tons of pellets containing 65% Fe. A major portion of the output is scheduled for charging into Japanese blast furnaces as the result of a contract to supply Mitsubishi interests with 10.8 million tons of pellets over a six-year period. Kaiser's concentrating plant at Eagle Mountain plus sintering facilities at Fontana are adequate to meet the requirements of its blast furnaces, which, as a consequence, are not expected to take any substantial quantity of pellets during this period. However, some 200,000 tons of pellets per year is scheduled to be used for the production of special steels and in the open hearths as a substitute for the high-cost ores now being used.

Jan 8, 1964

By R. G. Weavind, R. S. Young, I. Wolf

ONE of the most important fields of investigation at the Diamond Research Laboratory in Johannesburg is concerned with improvements in metallurgical practices for the diamond mining companies, with particular reference to increased recoveries of the smaller industrial stones. Considerable work has been done on the possible application of flotation processes to the diamond industry. From the viewpoint of recovery processes, diamonds in their natural state may be grouped into two classes, the water-repellent diamonds, which adhere to a grease surface, and the water-avid diamonds, which, because of their wettability, will not adhere to a grease surface and must be recovered by means other than the grease tables used for water-repellent diamonds. Experiments in the flotation of small diamonds from both kimberlite and alluvial deposits indicate the following conclusions: Water-repellent diamonds: Satisfactory flotation of —16 mesh diamonds, which are naturally water-repellent, may be accomplished using either Aero-float 25 together with cresylic acid, or Du Pont B23 as frother together with kerosine as auxiliary oily conditioner or froth stiffener. The quantities of reagents required are of the order of 0.15 lb per ton Aerofloat and 0.18 lb per ton cresylic acid. The use of acid circuits is detrimental, and for best results a pH between 7 and 9 should be maintained. R. G. WEAVIND and I. WOLF are with the Diamond Research Laboratory, Johannesburg, South Africa, and R. S. YOUNG, Member AIME, is Director of Research, Diamond Research Laboratory. TN 76B. Manuscript, March 23, 1951. A flotation period of 5 to 10 min is necessary to insure that all floatable diamonds are removed. Diamonds larger than 16 mesh cannot be recovered satisfactorily by flotation. Xanthates do not act as collectors for diamonds, and this is probably associated with their inability to impart a water-repellent surface to this mineral. Water-repellent diamonds smaller than 28 mesh can be floated quite well by the addition of a frother alone, such as pine oil or Du Pont B23. Water-avid diamonds: Partial flotation of the smaller sizes of wettable diamonds can be achieved by preconditioning with fatty acid soaps, cationic amines, and similar reagents, which will impart a water-repellent film to diamonds. Washing to remove excess reagent, followed by flotation, will result in a fair recovery, but the latter is much lower than for water-repellent diamonds. Crushed boart: Recovery of crushed boart from the waste products of industrial uses is best accomplished by first conditioning the diamonds present in the mixture with fatty acids, cationic amines, etc., removing the conditioning agent by washing, and floating in a cell of the pneumatic type. Flotation reagents found to be most suitable are Du Pont B23, and Aerofloat 25 together with cresylic acid. The optimum quantities are 1.2 g Du Pont B23, and 0.55 g Aerofloat plus 1.4 g cresylic acid, per liter of pulp in the cell. A solids-to-water ratio of 1 to 4 is found to be the most suitable, and alkaline circuits are necessary for best results. Diamonds larger than 28 mesh are not recovered satisfactorily by this procedure, but for finer sizes flotation offers an excellent procedure for the reclamation of this strategic industrial material.

Jan 1, 1952

Elected Died 1882 *ABBOTT, ARTHUR V 1906 1903 * ADAMS, CHARLES C. 1905 1884 *ADDY, MATTHEW 1896 1894 *ALLFN R B 1896 1874 *AMIOT, H 1892 1886 *AMSLER, CARL 1894 1895 *ÅNGSTROM, CARL 1901 1895 *ARMSTRONG, JOHN F 1898 1882 *ARNOLDS, HUGO 1886 1875 *ASHBURNER, CHARLES A 1889 1872 *ASIIBURNER, WILLIAM 1887 1883 *ATKINS, C M , JR 1885 1897 *AYERS, WILLIAM 1898 1885 *BABCOCK, GEO H 1893 1884 *BAILEY, EDWARD 1889 1880 *BAILEY, JACKSON 1887 1900 *BALLOU, FRANKLIN 1903 1886 *BARNES, F W 1892

Jan 1, 1910

By Joseph E. Pogue, F. G. Coqueron

Prior to 1934, published information covering expenditures by oil companies for properties, plant, and equipment and the residual investments in the various segments of the petroleum industry was not readily available. This paper presents an analysis of the funds invested by a selected group of oil companies during the years 1934 through 1942, based on an extensive study of the individual records of 30 oil companies. The sources, disposition, and characteristics of the capital employed by this group of companies are traced through a series of combined statements and appropriate charts, covering financial and operating data. The analysis of these statements not only constitutes a record useful for comparative purposes but also serves as a basis for a number of broad conclusions, as follows: 1. The petroleum industry generates the capital needed for its expansion almost entirely from its own operations and is therefore a singularly self-contained economic unit. 2. The long-term debt contained in the financial structure of the industry is small relative to the total capital employed, is less than the net working capital, and has increased but slightly during the period under review. 3. The capital expenditures of the group of 30 oil companies for 9 years amounted to 6.1 billion dollars, 58.3 per cent of which went into crude-oil producing facilities. The trend of this segment of expenditures has been downward since 1937. In 1942, expenditures for refining facilities increased sharply and for marketing facilities declined drastically. 4. The net working capital of the group increased 380 million dollars over the period, and the industry is in a favorable position of liquidity. The ratio of combined current assets to current liabilities was 3.21 at the close of the period. 5. The net income of the group displayed an upward trend for the period but with rather sharp cyclical fluctuations. 6. In 1942, Government funds entered the industry for the first time in substantial amounts and were utilized for the provision of war facilities needed for emergency use. 7. The group has paid out a relatively low percentage of net income in the form of dividends. For the period the average was 55 per cent of net income. 8. The rate of return on invested capital for the group averaged 6.4 per cent for the

Jan 1, 1944

By Joseph E. Pogue, F. G. Coqueron

Prior to 1934, published information covering expenditures by oil companies for properties, plant, and equipment and the residual investments in the various segments of the petroleum industry was not readily available. This paper presents an analysis of the funds invested by a selected group of oil companies during the years 1934 through 1942, based on an extensive study of the individual records of 30 oil companies. The sources, disposition, and characteristics of the capital employed by this group of companies are traced through a series of combined statements and appropriate charts, covering financial and operating data. The analysis of these statements not only constitutes a record useful for comparative purposes but also serves as a basis for a number of broad conclusions, as follows: 1. The petroleum industry generates the capital needed for its expansion almost entirely from its own operations and is therefore a singularly self-contained economic unit. 2. The long-term debt contained in the financial structure of the industry is small relative to the total capital employed, is less than the net working capital, and has increased but slightly during the period under review. 3. The capital expenditures of the group of 30 oil companies for 9 years amounted to 6.1 billion dollars, 58.3 per cent of which went into crude-oil producing facilities. The trend of this segment of expenditures has been downward since 1937. In 1942, expenditures for refining facilities increased sharply and for marketing facilities declined drastically. 4. The net working capital of the group increased 380 million dollars over the period, and the industry is in a favorable position of liquidity. The ratio of combined current assets to current liabilities was 3.21 at the close of the period. 5. The net income of the group displayed an upward trend for the period but with rather sharp cyclical fluctuations. 6. In 1942, Government funds entered the industry for the first time in substantial amounts and were utilized for the provision of war facilities needed for emergency use. 7. The group has paid out a relatively low percentage of net income in the form of dividends. For the period the average was 55 per cent of net income. 8. The rate of return on invested capital for the group averaged 6.4 per cent for the

Jan 1, 1944

By William M. Sheehan

TRANSPORTATION is one of the most important problems of the mine operator and the possibilities of cost reduction in this field should not be overlooked. In the railroad industry, cars and locomotives have been improved greatly, and the progress there made is well worthy of study by the mine operator looking for maximum efficiency in every branch of his activities. One of the outstanding developments in the construction of railroad equipment in recent years has been the wide-spread adoption of large one-piece steel castings for the framework of locomotives, passenger and freight cars. Some of the advantages and applications of this type of construction will be outlined in this paper, with particular thought of the needs of the mining industry. The inherent qualities of cast steel: homogeneity, unrestricted size and shape, high tensile strength, flexibility of metal distribution, resistance to corrosion, and gracefulness of outline, make it the most versatile member of the ferrous group. Not only is it a strength-giving element, but it is corrosion resistant, a combination that makes for large economies in equipment maintenance. Flexibility of metal distribution allows the integral foundation to be in the shape best suited for the purpose. These cast structures are really assembled in the mold in liquid form and the metal can be placed in the right pro¬portion exactly where it is needed, thus securing weight economy and uniformity of fibre stress. Such a process permits the incorporation, with ease, of necessary brackets, utilizing them to provide not only greater strength for the derail part itself, but often to add to the value of the entire unit. Laps, seams, and joints, which are necessary in all fabricated forms, are eliminated.

Jan 1, 1933

Jan 1, 1900

By V. A. Josendal, J. W. Wilson, B. B. Sandiford

Two radioactive tracers have been tested as a means of determining core saturation in multiphase flow studies. Cesium chloride was tried as a water-phase tracer, but complications in its use in low permeability cores resulted from sorption of cesium by the core or water-wet pads. IodoI3'ben-zene proved very satisfactory as an oil-phase tracer. The synthesis of iodobenzene from the sodium iodide as received from Oak Ridge is simple and direct. The tracer is insoluble in water and there was no evidence of sorption by any of the core materials used. use of the method to determine saturation profiles during capillary and dynamic desaturations and relative permeability measurements on oil-water and oil-gas systems is described. Comparisons of the dynamic and capillary methods of relative permeability determination were made using the tracer to check core saturation and saturation distribution. Other experiments are also described in which mobility of the oil phase at various saturations was measured by displacing labeled oil by flowing inactive oil. Similar experiments were made using water labeled with cesium 134. INTRODUCTION To be fundamentally sound. any laboratory method of determining relative permeability must meet, among others, the following requirements: (1) the core saturation between the pressure taps must be uniform, and (2) there must be uniform pressure difference between the phases in the region between the pressure taps. In practice it may eventually be shown that appreciable departure from either or both of these conditions may be permitted without introducing sensible error. but the magnitude of such error remains to be established. There is need then for methods of saturation determina- tion which will determine the saturation profile in a core as well as the overall average saturation given by the gravimetric or material balance methods usually employed. Methods which have received consideration include resistivity, X-ray absorption, gamma ray absorption, neutron diffraction, and radioactive tracers. The resistivity method has use in the determination of profile, but needs checking by independent means.' The X-ray method has been used successfully, but requires elaborate equipment and calibration.23 4 At present gamma ray absorption is practical only for very large cores. The neutron methodo does not appear adaptable to measurement of saturation variations in short cores since it is a scattering method. Russell, Morgan and Muskat' employed radiovanadium in a study of the mobility of interstitial water. Coomber and Tiratsook used radioiodine as an oil-phase tracer and measured profiles in unconsolidated sand packs. ADVANTAGES OF RADIOACTIVITY METHOD A thorough discussion of the theory of radioactive tracers and the technique of using them to study the movement of fluids in sands is given by Coomber and Tiratsoos and need not be detailed here. The method requires less equipment than the X-ray method; the counting problem is similar, but the generation and regulation of the radiation, which is a major problem in the X-ray method, is not required in the radioactivity method. In the X-ray method it is customary to add up to 20 per cent of absorber, usually an iodine compound, to the phase to be labeled. while in the radioactivity method a mere trace is sufficient. A possible disadvantage of the radioactivity method is that a disproportionate amount of the activity comes from the portion of the core nearest the counter, whereas the X-ray gives a true average saturation in the region traversed by the beam. 011 the other hand, this characteristic of the radioactivity method renders it peculiarly adaptable to study of certain types of radial variations in saturation. As with the X-ray method, a tracer may be added to either the oil or water-phase. An oil-phase tracer is more generally useful. however. since it permits work on oil and gas in the

Jan 1, 1952

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period May 10 to June 10, 1915: Members ANDREEN, HARRY MAYO, Millman: and Assayer Thane, Alaska. BANKS, HUBERT RAYMOND, Min. Engr., Mill Staff, Consolidated Arizona Smelting Co., Humboldt, Ariz. BASSETT, ARTHUR F., Min. Engr., Care Consolidated Arizona Smelting Co., Humboldt, Ariz. BLACKNER, LESTER A., Slope Engr.... Care Ray Consolidated Copper Co., Ray, Ariz. BUSHNELL, C. E., Draftsman Butte & Superior Copper Co., Butte, Mont. CAVAGNARO, DAVID AMILE, Min. Engr., Genl. Supt., Wisconsin North Fork GravelMines, Forest, Sierra Co.; Cal. COGHILL, WILLIAM HAKES, Met., Ore Testing Laboratory, 3705 Hueco St., - - El Paso, Tex.

Jan 7, 1915

Unlike the bituminous part of the coal industry, the production of anthracite has been fairly well publicized; in fact until about 1845 whenever the coal industry of Pennsylvania was mentioned in papers, magazines or books, anthracite only was meant. Beginning with shipments by river in 1820 fairly complete records of shipments were published each year, and as this variety of coal was the only one used for domestic purposes east of the mountains and north of the Potomac, there was considerable interest in the producing fields on the part of the public. Transportation of anthracite was the cause of the building of the early canals in the state, and later, of some of the earliest railroads. In most publications it has been assumed that commencement of shipments in 1820 was the beginning of the industry; this is far from being so, and it is with the earlier developments this chapter will deal, leaving the later and better known records to existing publications. (See Table No. 53.) The first reference to coal in Pennsylvania by Gabriel Thomas in 1698 has already been mentioned,1 it could only have been anthracite in that section; although of course, he never saw any coal there. Little coal was used excepting by smiths for many years after that. In 1728 the Coventry Forge paid the expenses of a man "to town for Sea Coall and Steell for ye hammer;”2 in 1729 New Castle coal was sold in Philadelphia;3 in 1740 an advertisement mentioned, "very good Pitt and Sea Coal at 18 pence a bushel; at which price 'tis allowed to be cheaper Fewel for Hearth Fireing than Wood at the present Rates,"4 a view not shared by most of the people there for about eighty years; in 1752 Newcastle coal was again mentioned.5 There are no references to coal in the writings of any of the Moravian missionaries, although some who settled near Mauch Chunk in 1746 said that the Indians there made their pipe heads of a soft black stone, which was much more apt to have been slate than anthracite." Several stream

Jan 1, 1942

Jan 1, 1898

By R. J. Keene

The South Works high-tonnage billet caster was started in late March 1971, with the first heat being successfully cast to completion. Currently, over 31,500 tons per month are being produced. U. S. Steel designed and built this caster with the objective of producing quality-steel billets for critical bar, rod, and wire applications. The essential design parameters were based on studies conducted on the Research Laboratory's pilot caster, also located at South works. 1,2,3)* The caster is a four-strand, straight-mold machine that produces 7.5-inch- square billets at rates exceeding 300 tons per hour. An in-line-reduction mill reduces each strand to either 6-inch-, 5-inch-, or 4-inch-square billets.

Jan 1, 1972

By H. H. Uhlig

SINCE its first mention in the literature in the eighteenth century1,2 the phenomenon of passivity in metals has stimulated much speculation and attendant controversy as to its nature and cause. No one of the numerous theories so far proposed has been generally accepted. ? Faraday,7 in 1836, associated the passivity of iron with a protective film over the surface of the metal, which materially prevents or slows down reaction with corrosive environments. His theory was that oxidizing acids like nitric acid form an unstable oxygen or oxide layer over the iron surface, which protects the underlying metal from further attack. This concept was simple yet plausible, and without alteration has frequently been assigned in present-day discussions as explanation of the passivity of many metals. With the advent in recent times of stainless steels, it is not surprising that this oxide film theory of passivity proposed by Faraday has been used to explain the phenomenal corrosion resistance of stainless steels and other passive alloys. The passive alloys, such as the chrome-iron alloys, are supposedly covered with a protective oxide film, which forms on exposure of the alloy to air, is extremely stable and self-healing, and accounts for the remarkable resistance of these alloys to corrosion. Within the past few years, several investigators, following the theory of film protection, have attempted to gauge the resistance of the supposed film on steels. Brennert8 and Donker and Dengg9 determined the poten-tial at which a negative ion (e.g., Cl-) moving in an electric field reacted with the metal anode, as detected by increased current flow or change in potential of the steel electrode in an electrolytic cell. The potential corresponding to reaction Brennert called the film break-through potential.

Jan 1, 1939

By Ernest R. Lilley

THOSE acquainted with the fundamental differences between the, educational .systems of Great Britain and. the United States would hardly expect .the training of men for the petroleum industry to proceed along the same lines- in the two countries. The youth entering an English university is, except in the case of-the student from some of the British colonies or from foreign countries, almost invariably a product of the English "public school." This is in no sense comparable .with the American public school. It is a private institution, frequently of considerable age and heavily endowed. In many aspects it seems to be comparable with the American preparatory school. Yet to some extent its activities remind one of the first years of the undergraduate: course in the American college. Certainly it takes to-itself many of the social, functions of the American college.

Jan 1, 1931