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By Stefan Boshkov, Malcolm T. Wane

THE validity and accuracy of velocity measurements underground have been questioned repeatedly by those in mine ventilation work. The general disagreement on the subject is well illustrated in an AIME publication.' Although the presence of errors is readily admitted, their magnitudes are not known and often are described by practical operators merely as "great," "small," or "of no importance." The belief that errors are of academic interest only prevails because of a justifiable claim that actual volumes of air circulated are well in excess of those required by law and safe mining practices. Poor understanding of the source and nature of errors inherent in velocity measurements, coupled with questionable determination of cross-sectional area, result in faulty techniques for the purpose of expediting ventilation surveys and render doubtful the calculated volume. Often consistency of readings is confused with accuracy. A succession of check readings showing a maximum deviation of 5 pct in the measured value of velocity usually signifies nothing more than diligent application of technique in a stable ventilating current. This article discusses the errors involved in air measurements underground. Where instrument errors are presented, the treatment is confined solely to the rotating-vane anemometer, recognized as a most useful ventilation measurement tool because of its simple design and easy operation. In the following pages a positive deviation is defined as one which has to be added to the registered air velocity to obtain the true air velocity.

Jan 1, 1956

By Carl Thieme

INDUSTRIAL specialization has rapidly created a demand for new and better alloys. A more thorough understanding of the requirements of specific industries and the discovery of processes by which it has been made possible to utilize certain metallic elements in larger quantities, together with greater purity in most virgin metals, has resulted in a great increase in the number and variety of alloys. This increase in the number of elements entering into non-ferrous alloy manufacture has increased the contamination in secondary metals, as received by the smelter. In order to successfully refine scrap of a much more complex nature it has been necessary for the smelter to install new equipment and to constantly search for new methods of refining as well as to improve the methods already in use. In some instances it is largely responsible for specialization in the secondary metal industry. It is usually necessary to remove the contaminating impurities in scrap or eliminate to a degree not objectionable, no matter how introduced. In order to know what metals or elements are of an objectionable nature, the smelter must make a study of the effect of single elements and combinations of elements on many of the physical and mechanical properties, such as strength, ductility, color, hardness, casting soundness, etc. The smelter of secondary metals must be able to utilize scrap materials of all kinds, for, sooner or later, most fabricated metal parts and the waste products formed during the process of manufacture find their way to the smelter. In addition, the smelter, in contracting for salvaged material from the producer, gets some undesirable and unusual materials. The value of secondary metals and the importance of their recovery has increased in recent years and it is no longer sufficient to recover the base metal only, such as copper from copper-bearing material, but it is essential that other elements present be recovered and converted into useful form.

Jan 1, 1928

By T. E. Scott, O. G. Koepke

DURING research currently in progress the need arose for interplanar angles and planar spacings to analyze crystallographic data obtained from hcp yttrium. In the absence of such existing information, a program was written in Fortran-11 language and processed on an IBM 7074 computer. The program and results have been assembled in report form to make them generally available.' Of the possible combinations of, only those most frequently encountered were employed. The ranges of h, k, and 1 involved were: However, not all combinations and permutations of the above appear in the tabulation because redundancies occur in several cases. Nevertheless, fifteen types of planes and all their equivalent planes have been included, giving a total of 109 sets of Miller-Bravais indices.

Jan 1, 1967

By T. A. Dungan

THE thermal processes for the production of metallic magnesium can be divided into two general classifications, the direct reduction of magnesia with carbon and the indirect reduction of compounds of magnesium by reducing agents that are themselves products of carbon reduction. The latter are so chosen as to cause reduction of magnesium compounds wherein only the magnesium is liberated in the vapor phase. Reducing agents used are: calcium carbide, silicon carbide, silicon, aluminum, various silicides or combinations of calcium, aluminum, silicon in iron. All of these are products of highly endothermic reactions and, with the exception of scrap aluminum, can be produced in an open, submerged arc furnace; that is, the arc is covered only by the charge itself. The more investment in energy required to prepare such a reducing agent, the less is the energy required in the subsequent step to reduce the magnesium compound to the metal. It is impossible, however, to avoid the laws of thermodynamics, no matter how much circumambulation is resorted to in the preparation of successively more powerful reducing agents. Since each such step carries forward its own inefficiencies, it appears evident that the ultimate status of such processes is dependent upon the development of by-products. EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN DIRECT REDUCTION The direct reduction of magnesium oxide by carbon has a decided appeal to both the scientist and the industrialist. The successful production of the carbothermic plant at Permanente is a significant fact in the substantiation of this concept. Like most developments, however, the history of carbon reduction of magnesia is not one of triumph after triumph, or immediate heady success to the investigators. It is understood that one of the early investigators conducted an experiment wherein he placed carbon and magnesia in one end of an evacuated tube and managed to heat this end to a temperature high enough that magnesia and carbon deposited at the other end of the tube. The charge, unreduced, appeared to have been completely transported from the hot to the cold end of the tube. This raised doubt for some time as to whether magnesia could be reduced at all with carbon. It was correctly suspected, however, that the magnesia was in fact reduced and the resultant magnesium vapor and carbon monoxide reacted upon one another upon reduction in temperature to reform the starting ingredients. Attempts were then made to dilute the two vapors by passing a considerable stream of hydrogen through an arc furnace charged with magnesia and carbon. Thus by dilution of the products it was expected to obtain metallic magnesium. The results were positive and metallic magnesium was

Jan 1, 1944

By R. C. Kadyk, C. J. Bise

High-voltage cable couplers are convenient and widely used accessories in modern coal-mine power distribution systems to help extend and retract power-feeder cables throughout a mine. Coupler design has tried to keep pace with the industry's desire to move to higher distribution levels, but the increase in recorded failures of 15-kV class couplers, which serve the 12.47-kV and above distribution levels, has inhibited this transition. Problems associated with the effects of partial discharge on high-voltage cable couplers are analyzed. The phenomenon of partial discharge is discussed, a testing standard is developed, and various coupler designs are subjected to its requirements. An analysis of test results and results based on field applications are provided.

Jan 1, 1985

Jan 1, 1910

Jan 1, 1947

By John Norton

FOR many years the copper-bearing steels have been of considerable interest to the metallurgist because of their corrosion-resistant properties. More recently the discovery of their definite age-hardening characteristics has focused attention on them again. In a recent paper, Smith and Palmer(1)? have given an admirable description of the behavior of a considerable number of steels of this type and a study of their results suggests two questions, of a more or less fundamental sort. In the first place, it has been plainly shown that the hardening effect of added copper does not increase up to the maximum solubility of copper in iron as given by earlier investigators, but reaches its greatest value considerably below this point. This fact suggests that either the solubil-ity is not, so great as previous investigators have stated, or that the age-hardening mechanism is not the simple precipitation phenomenon that has been postulated. In the second place, the nature of the aging mechanism in this partic-ular system should be determined. Recent developments in the study of age-hardening processes have shown that the increase of hardness is often, but not always, accompanied by precipitation and the action of a particular system is not predictable on the basis of its components or type of phase diagram. It would be of considerable interest to study the aging of the iron-rich iron-copper alloys in detail. One would like to know whether the aging mechanism is different at high and low aging tempera-tures, and whether the extreme sluggishness of the system may perhaps represent some new type of aging process.

Jan 1, 1934

Jan 1, 1970

By S. R. Krom

IN Mr. Hoffman's papers, and in the discussions attending them, the claim is apparently made for the Sturtevant mill that it produces

Jan 1, 1893

By W. E. Dunn

CHLORINATION of titanium ores and slags is the source of TiCl,4 intermediate between ore and metal. A number of chlorinators are operating in the United States using a wide diversity of ores. These chlorinators vary in design to accommodate the ore source, but all use chlorine and carbon.

Jan 1, 1961

By K. D. Weverstad, J. E. Cleveland, J. C. Franklin, J. W. Black

A mined-out stope being backfilled with classified mill tailings was continuously monitored, both upstream and downstream, to determine the radon concentration associated with the mill tailings. The radon monitoring was done before, during, and after the backfill operation. Data taken during weekends when no mining activities were influencing the radon concentration showed a 90 percent reduction in radon discharge from the stope after being backfilled. Water used to mix with the classified sands showed an increase in the heavy metals concentration immediately after seeping from the inplace sand. However, the water used in backfilling is less than ½ of 1 percent of total mine water discharged. The change in contamination is not measurable at the pumping station.

Jan 1, 1982

By James K. Grunig

As the real price of uranium increases, deposits of lower and lower grade will be treated. The various occurrences of uranium ore are described and the chemical aspects of extraction are detailed.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. N. Hoffman

A new technique for determining capillary pressure curves has been developed and tested. The technique differs from previously reported centrifuge techniques in that the centrifuge is slowly accelerated from zero to the maximum desired speed rather than being held constant at particular, progressively higher speeds. An important advantage of this technique over other methods of determining capillary pressure curves is the short time required to obtain the desired amount of data over the chosen pressure range. For example, to obtain 30 data points between 1.2 and 104 psig with a 1.55-in. long, 3/4-in. diameter core using a brine-air system, 6.6 hours were required with this technique. An equally important development of this paper is an analytic method for the conversion of the data from the centrifuge experiment to capillary pressure curve data. Previously there has been only an approximate conversion available. Although the capillary pressure curves determined by this technique appear to be as accurate as those determined by other techniques, the accuracy could be improved if certain variables, not treated in this experiment, were investigated. Among these are the dynamic distortion of the centrifuge equipment and imperfect initial saturation of the cores. INTRODUCTION Pirson 1 defines capillary pressure in a porous medium as "the differential pressure that exists between two fluid phases at their interfaces when they are distributed under static equilibrium within a porous material". Capillary pressure in rocks is known to be a function of fluid saturation, among other things, and a capillary pressure curve is defined for the purposes of this paper as a plot of the capillary pressure-wetting phase saturation relationship for a particular rock sample. Several methods are used for determining capillary pressure curves for small rock cores. Prominent among these are the semi-permeable barrier, mercury injection, and, to a lesser extent, centrifuge methods. The semi-permeable barrier method is currently the most popular. It features simplicity in both execution and the mathematical conversion of the experimental data into a capillary pressure curve. The main disadvantages of the semi-permeable barrier method are the time required — as long as two months — to obtain several points for the curve, and a fairly low maximum pressure before breakthrough of the non-wetting phase into the barrier occurs, for example, about 32 psig for a brine-air system. It is for these reasons that other methods such as the centrifuge method have been introduced. High accelerations and the absence of a barrier result in quicker attainment of saturation equilibrium at a given pressure. However, the centrifuge method involves much more expensive equipment and more difficult procedures and calculations than does the barrier method. The purpose of this investigation has been to improve the equipment and procedures of the centrifuge method and to develop an analytic method for the conversion of the experimental data into a capillary pressure curve. Hassler and Brunner did the original work in the determination of capillary pressure using a centrifuge. In their work the centrifuge speed was increased in a step-wise manner, each speed being held constant until saturation equilibrium was reached in each core. Saturation equilibrium was indicated when the volume of liquid collected in the graduated pipette of the core holder remained constant. According to Hassler and Brunner, equilibrium was reached in "a few minutes to one-half hour or more". In the centrifuge method, as opposed to the barrier method, the fluid saturation of the core is not a constant throughout the length of the core, but varies with the radius of centrifugation. Also, the capillary pressure cannot be read directly but must be calculated from a knowledge of the centrifuge speed and other parameters. For these calculations, Hassler and Brunner derived the following equations:

By Manfred Schmellenkamp

During the lust half-dozen years, longwall mining has taken on a new look, much of which is due to the introduction of self-advancing roof supports from Europe. Here is a report on two longwall operations, one which started up in 1956, the other in 1962. It is a story of manually set, friction- type props us, the new European type; the story of an 18-ton per man-shift operation us one of 50 tons per man-shift.

Jan 6, 1963

By H. H. West

Modern mining is vitally concerned with the prompt, efficient movement of great quantities of bulk materials. It is not surprising, therefore, that intensive efforts are being directed toward improving effectiveness and reducing costs of materials handling systems. Historically, the operation of removing bulk material from a moving conveyor and depositing it in utilization or storage areas has been a high cost segment of the materials handling system. Since this operation is often performed by belt trippers, considerable attention has been focused on improvement of these devices. Frequently, the greatest opportunity for improving performance of these devices is the incorporation of remote or automatic control systems. This article describes tripper control systems developed by Kennecott Copper Corp. and explains the control philosophies used in designing these systems.

Jan 3, 1963

By Douglas M. Smith

Silver-gold ratios were studied at the Tayoltita epithermal vein deposit using channel sample, channel sample line, stope, ore body, and vein sample populations. The ratios are highly variable among individual channel samples (25:1 to greater than 500: 1) with both high and low values randomly distributed within ore bodies and veins. Whole vein ratios for the 14 most important ore producing structures range from 44: 1 to 105:1, and show zonal distribution relative to two small granitic stocks, low values closest to the intrusives. The zoned nature of the deposit suggests that the stocks, apophyses of an underlying batholith of late Eocene age, were the heat engines which powered the hydrothermal system responsible for ore deposition.

Jan 1, 1980

By P. H. Dudley

In giving a brief account of the experiments in progress to inquire into some of the facts in regard to "railway resistances," recently commenced upon the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, with the dynagraph (which is essentially an instrument recording upon paper the force required to draw a train, at all speeds, marking the time in short intervals, so that the force absorbed due to any

By Carl A. Zapffee

FOR a number of years a puzzling phenomenon of brittleness in Class II ferritic stainless steels, developing in the temperature range near 475C, has received increasing attention, but its nature remains essentially unknown. During an investigation of the fractographic structures in stainless steels, conducted in the author's laboratory the past several years, principally under sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research, some observations of a new kind were found for "475 °C embrittlement." While the details of the study cannot be given here,' three fractographs will suffice to carry the

Jan 1, 1952

By Klaus Schoenert

In the analysis of comminution processes, it is necessary to have a detailed knowledge of such subprocesses as: transportation of the particles to the zone where they are stressed; the stressing of particles to a level high enough for breakage; removal of the fragments that are smaller than the limit size from the grinding zone; and prevention of agglomeration of the fine fragments. Breakage phenomena of particles is the most difficult subprocess to understand. It can be understood only by applying the principles of fracture physics to obtain information about the stress-strain field in particles which are loaded either by compression or by impact, and by using this theoretical knowledge to interpret experimental results obtained from single particle crushing studies. Two important features of the "Science of Communition" are discussed: the fracture physics and crushing under controlled conditions with special reference to single particle crushing, packed bed crushing, measurement of energy needed for fracture, fragment size distribution, and new surface area produced. The important features of these aspects are detailed, namely, energy balance of a crack, influence of environment, specimen size problems, and energy utilization in single particle crushing.

Jan 1, 1973