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By A. J. Shaler

The subject of the mechanism of sintering has received much attention in the past few years, particularly since the beginning of the series of AIME seminars in powder metallurgy of which this paper introduces the fourth. In the first of these, F. N. Rhines1 brought together and discussed the available experimental data on the sintering of pure metallic powder, and succeeded in bringing to a sharp focus the attention of workers in this field on the established observations which a satisfactory theory must explain. Several other authors3,5,6 have, in the last few years, studied the phenomena that occur when cold metallic powders, loose or in the form of compacts, are first brought to elevated temperatures. Some workers' in the field of friction have recently studied the adhesion of solid metal surfaces when they are brought into close contact. These researches have indicated that several separate mechanisms operate simultaneously, at least during the first part of the sintering process. Some of them have been called transient mechanisms4 because they are in general not absolutely necessary to sintering. Powders may be so prepared and so treated that these transient phenomena do not take place during subsequent sintering. This does not mean, of course, that their industrial and scientific importance is any less than that of the steady-state phenomena. The latter are changes that go on during sintering no matter how the powders are made or treated; they cannot be divorced from sintering. One way to analyze the process of sintering into its component parts is perhaps to distinguish between these transient and steady-state phenomena. Some of the transient phenomena have been studied in the past few years. Huttig3 has shown that, when the temperature of metallic powder is slowly raised, the following events generally occur in order: (1) physically adsorbed gases are desorbed; (2) there is an atomic rearrangement of the surface, a sort of two-dimensional "surface-reciystallization"; (3) there is a breakdown of chemically adsorbed surface compounds; (4) there is a recrystalliza-tion in the volume of the metal. All these changes are shown by Huttig and his coworkers to be completed fairly rapidly at lower temperatures than those generally used in sintering and are therefore not a part of the mechanism whereby the density of a mass of powder continues to change after long heating at an elevated temperature. But the first and third of these changes release gases in quantities which may or may not help to control the steady-state mechanisms, depending on when the voids become isolated from the outside of the compact. Among the phenomena studied by Steinberg and Wulff,8 there is the effect on sintering of residual stresses arising from the pressing operation. They found that the lateral surfaces of a green compact of iron are under a longitudinal residual tension-stress of the order of magnitude of half the yield-point for solid iron. If the outside surface is in tension, the core must be under longitudinal compression. When the compact is heated, the surface residual stress is thermally relieved first, and the compact therefore initially expands in the direction of its axis. This is a transient phenomenon, if for no other reason than the possibility of sintering unpressed powders, as demonstrated by Delisle,9 Libsch, Volterra and Wulff10 and others.1 The subject of recrystallization is dealt with further in a separate section, in view of its prominent place in sintering literature. It, too. is one of these transient phenomena. Among the steady-state parts there may be distinguished the attraction between particles and its consequences, the spheroidization of voids in the compacts, and the densification or swelling of the compact. There is considerable evidence4,7 showing that cold metallic surfaces, when brought to within a few interatomic distances of one another, are attracted to each other by forces of the order of many thousands of pounds per square inch. A calculation, discussed in greater detail in another section, shows that this force changes but slightly when the temperature of the surfaces approaches the melting point. Actual measurements of forces of adhesion of this magnitude have been made by Bradley12 on some nonmetals, but none has yet been made on cold or hot metals. This force is of sufficient magnitude to cause some plastic deformation in powder compacts, as will be shown below. A second force of steady-state nature is due to the surface tension, which probably has the same origin as the force of attraction between surfaces.164 A paper by Udin, Shaler, and Wulff1,3 gives the results of precise direct measurements of its value for solid copper. The demonstration of the tendency for the surface tension to shrink a pore was long ago given by Gibbs.17 He showed that its effect on a curved surface between two phases is equivalent to a pressure perpendicular to that

Jan 1, 1950

By J. T. Norton, N. J. Grant, A. R. Chaudhuri

MOST of the recent work to establish the mech-anism of creep in metals at high temperatures has utilized aluminum as the experimental material. It was thought desirable to initiate an investigation of a hexagonal close-packed metal, because of the relatively simple slip system, and compare the observed deformation characteristics with those that have been observed for the face-centerd cubic metals. High-purity magnesium was chosen for this purpose, first, because its strength and other mechanical properties are similar to those of aluminum in the same temperature range, and second, because the existing equipment was ideally suited to observe magnesium during creep. It is proposed in this paper to present a pictorial and qualitative account of the changes that high-purity magnesium undergoes during creep at 500°F. The characteristics of deformation of aluminum described below have been observed by various workers and accounts of these may be obtained from the papers of Chang and Grant.'- These characteristics are: slip, subgrain formation, grain boundary sliding and migration, fold formation, deformation bands, and kink bands. It is well known that in a flat magnesium specimen, slip on the basal plane (0001) in the [1120] direction results in the formation of straight bands on the surface of the specimen. Schmid and co-workers' have shown that this system is operative in the temperature range of -185" to 300°C (-300° to 572°F). They have also shown that a second system, slip on the pyramidal planes {1071} or {1012} in the [1120] direction, is operative at temperatures higher than 225°C (437°F). Between 225° and 300°C (437" to 572°F), therefore, deformation by both these systems is expected. Bakarian and Mathewson5 confirmed the occurrence of pyramidal slip on the {1011} plane and found that it resulted in irregular markings on the surfaces of their specimens. Burke and Hibbard6 obtained evidence of pyramidal slip in single crystals of magnesium deformed at room temperature. Bakarian and Mathewson5 suggested that the irregular appearance of these bands was due to slip on both of the pyramidal planes occurring simultaneously but in the same direction, the close angular relationship between the planes making this process possible. Furthermore, since neither of these planes is close enough to the basal plane, slip on the latter does not exhibit the irregular appearance of slip bands resulting from pyramidal slip. Experimental Procedure High-purity magnesium, supplied by the Dow Chemical Co., was used in these experiments. The analysis was as follows: Al, 0.0002 pct; Mn, 0.0018; Fe, 0.0024; Cu, 0.0002; Sn, 0.001; Ca, 0.01; Ni, 0.0003; Zn, 0.01; Pb, 0.0005; Si, 0.001; and Mg, 99.972. The magnesium was supplied in the form of 1/2 in. diam rods. The specimens had an overall length of 21/4 in., the round ends being threaded to fit the specimen holders. The previously round 3/16 in. diam gage section of the specimen had two parallel flats machined on opposite sides for microscopic observation, yielding a test zone having the dimensions of lx3/16x7/64 in. The specimens were electrolytically polished (without prior mechanical polishing of the machined flats), in a solution composed of 375 ml of ortho-phosphoric acid and 625 ml of ethyl alcohol.' The cathode was a stainless steel sheet bent so that the specimen was completely surrounded. The voltage for successful polishing was 1.5 v at 100 to 300 milli-amp current. Electropolishing for about 45 min sufficed to obtain a good metallographic surface on the specimens after they had been machined. The creep tests were performed under constant load, and two types of equipment were used. In the first, designed by Servi and Grant,V he specimens were beam-loaded, and a furnace could be lowered to surround the specimen. As the microstructural changes could not be observed during the course of the test, the tests had to be interrupted periodically by removing the specimen for microscopic examination. The second unit was a high temperature microscopy furnace designed by Chang and Grant.' The furnace was fitted with an optically flat quartz window having area dimensions 1.25x0.5 in., so that the whole test portion could be viewed through it at magnifications up to x240. The metallurgical microscope had three mutually perpendicular axes of motion, and, in addition, it was possible to measure angular displacements by rotation of the eyepiece. It was thus possible to make precise observations of the specimen during creep, and micrographs could be taken by attaching a camera to the eyepiece of the microscope. The average grain size of the specimens that were tested was about 1 to 3 mm. This grain size could

Jan 1, 1954

By M. Safiuddin

Within the mining industry, open-pit mining has progressed to a point where a 200-yard walking dragline is as conceivable today as a 35-yard dragline was just a few years ago. This is possible due to the technological advances and efforts of the excavator manufacturers, and the manufacturers of electrical equipment have always stayed abreast with them in meeting their requirements and in making available their experience with the latest control techniques and hardware from various fields for application in the mining industry. An electrician in the coal mines of Pennsylvania who had not heard the word "thyristor" a few years ago now wonders how the old excavators with Rototrols® and magamps could ever work. The thyristors, transistors and operational amplifiers which were considered too fragile and delicate for a rugged and severe application like the mining industry, today constitute the brain of an excavator control taking commands from the operator and giving signals to the muscles of the excavator to move the bucket within a few seconds. A giant 200-yd bucket filled with overburden moves within seconds of the operator's command. Digging cycles for these excavators range from 40 to 60 sec depending on the swing angle. With these tremendous production capabilities of the excavators, the equipment failures and downtime become very expensive, and the loss of return on large capital investment for such machines becomes intolerable. Even though these failures and downtimes cannot be avoided completely, a good preventive maintenance program can help reduce them, thus increasing the machine availability. As we shall see below, the causes for breakdowns and failures of electrical equipment can be analyzed and a good preventive maintenance program can be drawn up to eliminate most of these failures.

Jan 9, 1967

By Edmund J. Pryor

DURING the war years restrictions on travel, pressure of work, and the irregular arrival of technical literature from abroad combined to severely isolate Great Britain in a period of intense war expansion of the art and practice of mineral dressing. Many British technicians were fully occupied with the day-to-day problems of improvising substitutes as regular sources of supply failed. and with mastering the strange demands and working conditions of wartime. After a long day spent between ones laboratory and production work, the rest of the waking hours were often filled with fire watching or home guard patrol activities, substituting for a night-shift manager, or "resting" in a dugout while the bombs came down. There was no time for serious study of such technical literature as survived the Atlantic crossing.

Jan 1, 1947

By I. J. Corrans

Wet high-intensity magnetic separation (WHIMS) has been successfully applied to the recovery of gold and uranium from the residues of Witwatersrand ores. Good overall recoveries have been achieved for particles as small as 12µ, and finer particles of uranium minerals are recovered when present as inclusions. The best results were obtained with a matrix of soft-iron balls 6 mm in diameter. However, pilot-plant tests drew attention to a major defect of the machine: the matrix could be blocked by wood chips and ferromagnetic particles. This problem was overcome by the incorporation of a modification that allows the balls to be discharged from the rotating annulus. Two full-scale units that incorporate the modification have been installed.

Jan 1, 1980

By AIME AIME

HENRY YONGE WALKER is one of Canada's numerous gifts to the American mining and metallurgical industry, having been born it1 New Brunswick 59 years ago. At eighteen he came to the United States and has since been continuously identified with what are known as the Guggenheim interests. His first position was in the capacity of clerk at the Philadelphia Smelting & Refining Co. plant of M. Guggenheim Sons at Pueblo, Colo. In 1905 he was transferred to the plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co. at Everett, Wash., as assistant manager, two years later going to the Tacoma plant in the same capacity though with added

Jan 1, 1938

By Leo F. Reinartz

The history of steelmaking in the United States is a fascinating story of determination, sudden tragedy, exploitation, and inventive genius rolled into one gigantic plot. Mr. Reinartz' flowing interpretation of the progress made in the last one hundred years is being presented in a series of four articles. THIS is the Age of Steel. We live in a mechanized era. Our everyday lives--everything we see or do-are organized and influenced by this versatile metal. Our industries, our farms, our homes, and our transportation-yes, our vocations and avocations, or luxuries and necessities-all are dependent upon smelting iron and making steel. Take away iron and steel and soon our vaunted civilization would revert to a primitive existence. These metals, often in crude forms, have been known for thousands of years. Down through the ages, until about one hundred years ago, steel was made laboriously, and at high est, in small batches. During those years, methods of manufacture did not change very much. Over long periods of time only warriors, royalty, and wealthy people could afford to use articles made of iron or steel. History has recorded that the nations which were expert in iron and steel manufacture, and had access to rich iron-ore deposits, were the leaders in war or in peaceful pursuits. At the end of the 18th century, thirteen struggling American colonies had broken not only the political shackles that bound them to Great Britain, but also many of the economic bonds. They had showed their skill, Yankee ingenuity, and energy by making iron and steel articles for their own use. After the Revolutionary War, more and more hardy American pioneers pushed westward through the Allegheny Mountain passes and down the rivers into the fertile Ohio River and Kentucky country. Demands for articles made of iron increased. The iron industry on the east coast grew and prospered. As this trend continued, iron industrialists moved their plants westward to be near the large deposits of high-grade coal in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and nothern West Virginia. They also desired to use the local iron ores and water resources of those areas. Blast furnaces and ironworks were built in the Pittsburgh, Youngstown, southern Ohio, and northern West Virginia districts. In 1810, the United States produced 53,908 gross tons of cast iron and 917 tons of steel. Iron ore discovery A white man first discovered large deposits of iron ore in the northern Michigan and Lake Superior country in 1844. One year later, the Sault

Jan 1, 1961

By AIME AIME

ACCORDING to M. Perogordo y Lasso, professor in the School of Mines, College of Engineering, National University of Mexico, what is known a. the "co- operative system" was started there on Feb. 1, 1929. On Jan. 1, 1792, the Real Seminario de Mineria was opened in Mexico City and had much success. Later, the name was changed to Colegio de Mineria. When other branches of engineering were introduced it was known as the Escuela Nacional de Ingenieros, and finally, with the reorganization of the University the

Jan 1, 1929

Jan 1, 1902

Jan 1, 1902

By Hugh Tiemann

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) THE desirability of employing the centigrade scale for the measurement of temperatures is becoming more and more recognized in this country, particularly in view of the fact that this scale is used almost exclusively in technical papers and publications-exclusively in those published in French or German. There are, however, a large number of factories and laboratories which still employ the Fahrenheit scale. It therefore frequently becomes necessary to convert one into the other and the accompanying chart (Fig. 1) has been found very convenient for this purpose.

Jan 6, 1915

By AIME AIME

FOR the purpose of subsequent discussion let me reiterate certain points in my paper. The things we are certain of are that individuals differ in their accident liability, and that the bulk of accidents in any industrial group is sustained by comparatively few individuals; further, that this difference in liability cannot be wholly accounted for by differences of exposure, since some of the personal factors involving a high accident rate have already been measured in certain industrial groups.

Jan 1, 1929

The primary purpose of the Institute is to advance the technologic and engineering arts embraced by it through interchange of knowledge This can best be done by the presentation and discussion of technical papers by its members Short practical papers are especially welcome An author should always satisfy himself that his material is of a quality that will be a credit to him and to the Institute The preparation of a good paper frequently leads to a reorientation of the author's thoughts, and publication contributes much to the professional standing of the author Members are urged to submit papers presenting the results of their work Attention to the following suggestions will greatly further the prompt and efficient handling of manuscripts

Jan 1, 1952

By ALBERT C. RUBEL

RECENT developments in the use of the core barrel in rotary drilling have led to its wide application in all types of development. Its use is essential to the wild-catter and a valuable guide and check even in the most closely developed areas. A perfect core would be an unbroken sample of formation whose length is equal to the amount of hole made by the core barrel, whose diameter is great enough to show the lithologic character, texture and attitude of the material encountered, whose formation is so unaltered in character and so free of contamination from outside sources that it represents a true and complete sample of the formation penetrated. From such a core it would be possible to determine the lithologic character and economic importance of the formation, whether it is oil bearing or barren, the nature and attitude of the sands and shale bodies, valuable fossil evidence and other points which would assist in the correlation or in the selection of suitable points for water shut off or production.

Jan 1, 1924

By AIME AIME

THOUGH born in England-on Nov. 23, 1372 William Wraith was brought to this country at the age of ten. Eight years later he entered the University of Illinois, transferring to the Michigan College of Mines where he got his E.M. in 1894. For the next three years he was a mine surveyor for the fuel department of the Santa Fe Railroad. Then he got into the copper-mining industry, which has occupied his attention for the last forty years. First he was engineer, at Butte, for the Boston & Montana company, and then helped to build the Washoe smelter at Anaconda, of which he was assistant superintendent from 1906 to 1913. The Anaconda company then sent him to Salt Lake City as manager of its subsidiary.

Jan 1, 1938

By D. W. Fuerstenau

The United States is rapidly approaching an acute shortage of minerals. According to some observers, this situation may even be more severe than the energy crisis because the US consumes nearly 30% of the world's mineral production. With the mounting competition for world mineral supplies, we can no longer take for granted that foreign mineral products will be available to the US as abundantly as in the past. In 1973, US consumption of mineral raw materials was $35 billion. Of this, $7 billion consisted of imports. Without a drastic reorientation towards the mining of domestic mineral resources, the 1973 $7 billion deficit might mushroom to $100 billion by the year 2000. Thus, a return to domestic sources of raw materials will become absolutely necessary-and will be bucking the trend of the past 25 years, characterized by capital investment for growth in multinational overseas mining operations.

Jan 11, 1975

By J. K. Lovrien

A Link-Belt roller-bearing conveyor system was in- stalled recently at the Gross-Marble mine of the Oliver Iron Mining Co. at Marble, Minn., for removal of overburden and lean ore. The material, consisting of clay, sand, gravel, and glacial boulders. is excavated by an electrically operated walking dragline equipped with a 10 cu yd bucket working from a boom approximately 150 ft long. This machine loads into a receiving hopper of a rail-mounted screening plant in 45 second cycles. A manganese steel apron feeder under the receiving hopper delivers to an elliptical grizzly, from which the oversize boulders and extraneous material, by way of an apron conveyor, arc loaded into refuse haulage trucks.

Jan 12, 1951

By James E. Hoffmann, John A. Bonucci, Peter D. Parker

A hydrometallurgical process has been developed for the recovery of high-purity silver from sulfated residues. The process eliminates the high temperature operations ordinarily associated with silver recovery and refining. The crux of the process is a metathetical leach which maintains the sulfate ion concentration at a level which both allows silver nitrate to be freely soluble and simultaneously depresses the solubility of lead nitrate. The subsequent hydrolytic purification of the silver nitrate solution, the recovery of high-purity silver by electrowinning in a diaphragm cell, and the final product purity are discussed.

Jan 1, 1981

By Frank Ittner

In this section it is proposed to discuss operating methods considered good practice under the various field conditions commonly encountered. Efficient field direction and types of equipment needed to meet transportation problems are considered only to the extent that the desire to produce the best possible records must sometimes give way to the factor of cost. As in all engineering projects, alternative possible methods of operation must be considered in the light of relative costs as well as of the quality of results obtained, Cost may be in the background of much that is done in the field operations, but only the effect on record quality will be considered here. Record quality at a particular shot point may vary with the various factors of spread character (relative positions of geophones and shot point), shot-hole depth, formations opposite position of shot, size of charge, the effect of repeat shots, surface geology and culture in the immediate vicinity of the geophones, recorder instrument characteristics, particularly filter.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. H. Barham, G. W. Nabor

Linear aquifers, either limited or essentially infinite, may be encountered in reservoir engineering practice. In areas where faulting fixes reservoir boundaries, the fault block reservoir may have an aquifer of limited extent whose geometry is best approximated as linear. An infinite linear aquifer can occur as a regional feature whenever water movement through the aquifer member is constrained to one direction. Such constraints can arise from major faults, facies changes or pinchout of the member. Miller* pointed out that linear aquifers have received only meager attention in the past. He analyzed the performance of finite and infinite aquifers, developed working equations and curves, and presented examples. While Miller's curves may be used fairly easily, a separate one is required for each size of aquifer. In this paper, Miller's equations have been used as a starting point. By modifying them slightly, they can be reduced to a form which yields a single working curve, applicable to any size of aquifer. Thus. interpolation between curves is eliminated and accuracy is improved. Miller's results for finite aquifers covered only the boundary condition of no flow across the outer aquifer boundary. This paper also includes the case of constant pressure at the outer aquifer boundary.

Jan 1, 1965