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By Sérgio de Azevedo Penchel Júnior

A Votorantim Metais possui dois Smelters de Zn situados no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil, um na cidade de Três Marias e outro na cidade de Juiz de Fora. A unidade de Juiz de Fora tem se caracterizado ao longo dos anos pela mudança de estratégia no que diz respeito a obtenção de matérias-primas, buscando oportunidades em materiais secundários ricos em Zn, em substituição ao concentrado de Zn, tornando-se ao longo do tempo cada vez mais uma unidade recicladora. O cemento é um material gerado na Hidrometalurgia do Zn, mais precisamente na etapa de purificação, e é composto basicamente por Zn, Cu, Cd, Co, Pb e Tl. A solução purificada, produzida após esta etapa é direcionada a eletrólise para produção de zinco eletrolítico. Atualmente em Juiz de Fora, todo cemento gerado é destinado a uma área específica da hidrometalurgia para seu tratamento e recuperação de Zn e Cd. Os demais metais são perdidos e dispostos na barragem de rejeitos. Na planta de Três Marias não existe área específica para tratamento desse material, e dessa forma, todo ele é estocado em depósito especial. O objetivo desse estudo é avaliar e propor uma rota alternativa de processo que permita uma maior recuperação de metais dos cementos de TM e JF, utilizando os ativos da planta de tratamento de cementos de JF levando dessa forma a redução da geração de resíduos enviados para as barragens de uma forma economicamente viável.

Aug 17, 2017

By Clifford B. Farris

The natural cementation strength of retorted oil shale is the focus of this investigation. The optimum retorting temperature and residence time to obtain natural cementation strength in retorted Green River oil shale from western Colorado were determined as follows: [Optimum Conditions for Natural Cementation Maximum Residence Obtained Retorting Time at Compressive Mode of Temperature Temperature Strength' Retorting °F °C hr psikg/cm-2 Direct 1,520 822 2.0 270 19.0 Indirect 1,530 832 2.9 325 22.8] 1 Scattered samples were tested at strengths as high as 463 psi (32.6 k /cm 2) (Run 8, indirect mode) and 406 psi (28.5 kg/cm2) (Run 48, direct mode), but these high strengths were not confirmed by nearby tests. Minus 0.5-inch (1.3-cm) Green River oil shale was heated in a differential retort under conditions simulating potential full-scale retorting processes. The variables investigated were retorting temperature, residence time, retorting mode, and shale grade. Samples of the retorted Green River oil shale were moistened to optimum plus 2% (25%) moisture, compacted to 95% Proctor density, sealed and cured at 100°F (38° C) for up to 40 days. Lower curing temperatures, which are likely in the field, would probably result in significantly slower development of cementation strength, and might lower the ultimate strength developed. However, these effects were not studied in this project. The cured samples were tested for compressive strength, and correlative equations were developed for the increase of compressive strength with curing time as a function of retorting temperatures and residence time. Petrographic analysis indicated that the cementing mechanisms may be the interlocking growth of acicular hydrated calcium aluminum sulfate crystals between the contacts of retorted shale fragments. Samples of the retorted shale were also tested for optimum Proctor density and moisture. Permeability and quality of the leachate of shale from typical runs were determined. The effect of use of retort rather than tap water on compressive strength and leachate after curing was determined. The retorted shale effectively filtered several mineral constituents from the retort water.

Jan 1, 1979

By M. King Hubbert

"The present large-scale use of energy and power by the human species represents a unique event in the billions of years of geologic history. Furthermore, in magnitude, most of the development has occurred during the present century. In the United States, the peak in the rate of petroleum production occurred in 1970 and that for natural gas is imminent. The peak in the world production of crude oil is expected to occur at about the year 2000 and that for coal production at about 2150 or 2200. For other sources of energy and power, water power, geothermal power and tidal power are inadequate to replace power from fossil fuels. Nuclear power, based on the breeder reactor and utilizing lowgrade deposits of uranium and thorium, has a larger potential than the fossil fuels, but it also constitutes a large perpetual hazard. The largest source of energy available to the earth is solar radiation. This source has a life-expectancy of a geologic time scale, is nonpolluting and is larger in magnitude than any likely requirements by the human s pecies. In consequence of the large supplies of available energy, the period since 1800 has been one of an unprecedented exponential industrial growth. This also has been accompanied by a world-wide ecological disturbance, including that of the human population. It can easily be seen that such a period of growth must be ephemeral in character and, in fact, is now almost over. One aspect of this transition from a state of exponential growth to a state of nongrowth is the present alarm over an ""energy crisis."" Actually, the world's present problems are by no means unmanageable in terms of present biological and technological knowledge. The real crisis confronting us is, therefore, not an energy crisis but a cultural crisis. During the last two centuries, we have evalved what amounts to an exponential- growth culture, with institutions based on the premise of an indefinite continuation of exponential growth. One of the principal consequences of the cessation of exponential growth will be an inevitable revision of some of the tenets of that culture."

Jan 1, 1973

By K. S. Olson

My reaction when first asked to present this paper was; "What could I possibly say that would hold the audience?s attention for 15 minutes? What could I offer that anyone familiar with the Nevada Barite Industry wouldn't already know?" Well, quite frankly I can't. The industry has certainly been anything but exciting for the past 10 years and, in fact, quite depressing. The challenge, for those few of us left in it, has been to keep it alive. At times it has felt like a doctor must feel with a terminally ill patient. All I can do is recap the past ten years, review the present state of the industry, and offer a few personal opinions and observations as to where I think we are headed.

Jan 1, 1993

By S. J. Aresco

The Bureau of Mines has been active in promoting the purchase of coal for Government use under specifications that define the requirements in terms of heating value of the coal, expressed in British thermal units, and the composition as shown by proximate analyses. To these, when required, are added the ash-softening temperature, the free-swelling index, and the Hardgrove grindability index. Under most of these specification contracts the bidders guarantee the quality of the coal, and that guaranteed by the successful bidder becomes the standard of his contract. The deliveries are sampled in accordance with instructions 5/ issued by the Bureau of Mines; the samples are analyzed in the Bureau laboratory to determine whether the coal is of the quality guaranteed by the contractor and, if it is not, a price adjustment is made. Analyses of the delivered coal and tipple samples (samples collected at mine tipples as coal is being loaded into railroad cars or trucks) provide valuable data for use in evaluating future bids. In addition, the continuous sampling of coal as delivered is a check on the practical results obtained in burning the coal.

Jan 1, 1962

By N. J. Grant, B. C. Giessen, M. Morris

The slvuclures of alloys in the system In-Bi have been investigated after (levy vapid queuching from the mell (splat cooling) to -190°C. Tuo-phase fields could be suppressed over most of the tota1 concentvalion range; five melastable phases a1, a2, ?, ?1. and ß exisl, of which four have simple elementtike structures. For example, ß has the A5 struclure of white till. Crystal-tographic data and coordination numbers for these phases aye given, as well as addilional information on the equilibrium diagram, where a new phase In5Bi3 teas found. THE phase diagrams of binary combinations of B elements from the groups B2, B3, B4, and B5 are usually of a simple type and show considerably fewer intermediate phases than combinations of these elements with A metals, transition metals, or the B1 noble metals. Aside from phases such as the typical B3-B5 compounds with the ZnS-B3 structure type, few stoichiometric phases are known; among them are In2Bi and 1nBi.l Nonstoichiometric phases include ß (In-Sn), a1, (In-Pb), and the tin-rich ? phases in the In-Sn, Cd-Sn, and Hg-Sn systems.' The first two phases have a close relationship to indium, while the latter group are known to be structurally related to a Sn. Thus, there are generally no immediate experimental data for the correlation of the crystal structures of B metals and B metal combinations with certain monotonously varying parameters, such as the valence electron concentration (VEC), or the average atomic size. Such parameters have been recognized as structure determining, e.g., for the transition 4 Sn — y phase,2,3 where nonintegral valence electron concentrations are encountered. It should be possible to extend such correlations to other binary systems, if nonequilibrium single-phase alloys could be produced over broad valence electron concentration ranges, and if their crystal structures could be regarded as being imposed by their electronic states. It has been shown in the case of the tin-rich 7 phases3 that alloy phases with typical crystal structures can be produced in B metal alloys rapidly quenched from the liquid to -190°C by the splat cooling technique due to Duwez,3-8 and reviewed in Refs. 5 and 6. The In-Bi system was selected because it extends over a valence electron concentration range in which several metastable, nonstoichiometrir phases could be expected to occur. Further, the low melting points of the known intermediate phases, In2Bi and InBi, Fig. 1(a), indicated low binding energies and thus possibly low driving forces for the formation Of the equilibrium structures. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES AND RESULTS The preparation of the quenched foils followed the practice described in Ref. 3. Master alloys were produced by melting of indium (99.97+) and bismuth (99.99+) in evacuated Vycor capsules or in an inert gas arc furnace; quantities of 20 mg were splat-cooled onto copper and silver substrates held at - 190°C; and crystal structures and lattice parameters were determined on a GE XRD-5 diffractometer using Cu Ka, radiation at -190°C and at room temperature. The duplication of each run with both substrates permitted the elimination of overlap of the substrate diffraction pattern and that of the investigated substance. The XRD patterns were usually taken from sin2 " = 0.03 to 0.35; the substrate was used as a means of internal calibration. The fractional accuracy of the lattice parameters of metastable phases is approximately 10-3 In the following, all percentages are in atomic percent. The stable and metastable phases found after rapid quenching to -190°C are listed in Table I, together with estimated concentration ranges and crystallographic data. The investigated alloys and phases present in them are given in Table 11. Except for the region between indium with 33 and 50 pct Bi, where a revision of the equilibrium phase diagram became necessary to include a new stoichiometric phase In5Bi3, the diffraction patterns taken after heating to room temperature agreed with those expected from the phase diagram, Fig. l(a). This suggests that the new nonstoichiometric phases are not stable at room temperature, thus following the observations made for the y phases based on tin.3 Results concerning the equilibrium phases In2Bi and In5Bi3 and the revision of the equilibrium phase diagram which is made necessary by the inclusion of In5Bi3 will be treated first. The Crystal Structure of In2Bi. Makarov7 had identified In2Bi as belonging to the AlB2-C32 type ; however, in a later paper the structure was revised.8 In2Bio was found to be of the Ni21n-B8ß type,21 with a = 5.496A, c = 6.57.9A, and N = 6 atoms per unit cell.9 This crystal structure was confirmed in the present work; definite evidence for the doubling of the c axis, as compared to the A1B2-C32 type, and for the proposed order structure, was found in the powder pattern. The observed lattice parameters agree well with those of Ref. 8; those measured at -190°C are given- in Table I. The Crystal Structure of In5Bi3. A new, equilibrium, intermediate phase was identified in slow-cooled, as-cast alloys; it was identified as In5Bi3. The structure has been worked out by Giessen and Grant;" lattice parameters at -190°C are given in Table I. This phase is probably identical with "In3Bi2", produced by vapor deposition techniques, but not recognized as an equilibrium phase by Palatnik et a1.11 After completion of the present work, the existence of In5Bi3 has also been demonstrated by superconductivity measurements on In-Bi alloys.20

Jan 1, 1968

The lignite deposits of the United States represent a huge potential source of fuel for power generation. It has been estimated that lignite constitutes about 24 percent of the remaining National reserves of solid fuel on a tonnage basis and about 15 percent of the reserves on a B.t.u. basis. (See sec. 3, part 1.) The major portion of these reserves is in North Dakota. Lignite has been used locally for domestic heating since the first settlers burned it at forts and fur-trading posts as early as 1855. Some of the first studies of the use of lignite in steam boilers were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Mines from 1910 to 1920 (15, 19) 1/ However, the commercial utilization of lignite as fuel for producing power developed slowly. Not until about 1925 was any really successful lignite industrial fuel-blaming equipment developed. Since then the commercial use of lignite as a fuel for producing power has been increasing steadily.

Jan 1, 1954

By Zach Ahinga, Mike McRae, Dave Hopkins, Steve Klein

The San Vicente Pipeline project involves the construction of an 8-1/2 foot diameter water pipeline in an 11 mile long tunnel in San Diego, California. The tunnel will be excavated in extremely variable geologic conditions consisting of strong granitic and metamorphic rocks, weak sedimentary rocks, abrasive conglomerates, and mixed face conditions. This paper discusses the challenging geologic conditions and some of the key design evaluations for the project. Currently design work for the project has been completed and construction will be underway by mid-2005.

Jan 1, 2005

By Thamiris Auxiliadora Gonçalves Martins, Karen Espina Gomes, Amilton Barbosa Botelho Junior

The present work aims at the synthesis of nanoparticles of copper by chemical reduction in microwave oven. The solution used comes from the selective copper precipitation of the lateritic nickel leachate. The copper solution (20mL) was placed in a beaker, and 2mL of 100g/L ascorbic acid and 20mL of 20g/L sodium citrate were added in that order and at room temperature. The pH of the mixture was corrected with 1M sulfuric acid or 2M sodium hydroxide. Then the mixture was placed in a microwave oven. The effect of pH, time and microwave power were evaluated. The morphology, composition and size of the particles were verified in Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Results showed that the particles formed had no nanometric size. This may have occurred because the reducing action of ascorbic acid together with sodium citrate generates a very rapid reduction rate, which makes it impossible to form particles on a gauge scale. Particles synthesized at pH 4, after 4 minutes of reaction with 1000W of power presented particles with spherical morphology and only copper in the composition.

Oct 3, 2019

By Francisco Sotillo

El artículo da cuenta de una investigación orientada a demostrar los beneficios del mecanismo de conminución en una cama de partículas, como ocurre en los rodillos de molienda de alta presión (HPGR) o molinos de rodillos de alta presión (HPRM). Se ha investigado el uso de los HPGR de laboratorio para mejorar la eficiencia de separación de los minerales con alto contenido de dolomita, ultra alto contenido de arcilla y alto contenido de arcilla (kaolinita) presentes en una mena de apatita en operaciones subsiguientes «aguas abajo» de beneficio de diferentes minerales de fosfato de origen sedimentario. La investigación incluye estudios de caracterización de minerales de fosfato dolomítico, datos del modelo físico aplicado por PerUsa EnviroMet, Inc. de HPGR para desarrollar información preliminar de conminución; y evaluaciones de HPGR de laboratorio para determinar los parámetros de chancado (velocidades de alimentación; velocidad y separación de los rodillos; torque, presión y energía aplicables).

Sep 30, 2020

By Apostolos Vrakas, Georgios Anagnostou

"INTRODUCTION The small strain assumption routinely made in tunnel analyses remains sufficient from an engineering point of view as long as convergences do not exceed 10%. More specifically, small strain theory assumes that deformations are so small (in relation to the size of the underground opening) that any geometric change in the continuum can be disregarded (Fig. 1a). In fact, however, the geometry is updated during loading (or unloading) according to large strain theory and thus equilibrium and stiffness are evaluated on the deformed configuration of the continuum (Fig. 1b).In problems involving large deformations, where the undeformed and the deformed tunnel geometry differ significantly, small strain theory leads to erroneous and sometimes even nonsensical results (i.e. it can predict wall displacements even greater than the excavated radius under conditions of very low stiffness and strength, high in situ stress and low support pressure). This can easily be verified from the widely applied relationships for the ground response curve. For example, in the ideal case of linearly elastic behaviour, the convergence of an unsupported opening equals (1+?) s0 / E (where E, ? and s0 denote the Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and initial isotropic stress, respectively) and is greater than 100% for E < (1+?) s0. Although convergences are less than 10% in the great majority of tunnelling projects, very large deformations may take place when tunnelling through weak rocks under a high overburden (Fig. 2). This paper will first present a very simple and practicable way to account for large strains, based entirely on the results of routine small strain analyses, and will subsequently show the importance of addressing large strains in tunnel analysis and design with reference to three typical case studies of tunnelling in squeezing ground."

Jan 1, 2016

By W Skinner, C G. Kelsey, J R. Kelly

The iron ore industry has reached the end of an unprecedented period of expansion triggered by China’s demand for iron ore. Lower ore prices have led producers to focus on optimising mining operations while extracting the maximum tonnage from the infrastructure presently in place or from projects already underway. A rising global surplus is expected to further force ore prices down and lead to output curtailments, which in turn will help to restore market balance. However, investment in the development of new resources and the development of new infrastructure will inevitably become necessary. Making the right decisions in relation to future processing infrastructure in a climate of uncertain demand and price volatility will not be as straightforward as in the past, where expanding the scale of a proposed operation has been the answer to ensuring economic viability. Overall cost and environmental pressures particularly in relation to wet processing will dominate the decision-making process. IMP Technologies (IMPTEC) has anticipated the need for a dry low cost processing alternative, which can open the way for the development of lower grade magnetite deposits and ensure the sustainability of processing in Australia. The lower grade magnetite deposits are generally fine grained and require grinding to p80 of 30 to 40 microns. Historically, the cost of grinding to these sizes has been and remains a key factor determining the economic viability of a magnetite processing operation. The IMPTEC Super-fine Crusher and Cyclomag Separator are the key components of a proposed radically simplified dry processing alternative, which addresses both cost and environmental issues. This paper reports on the results of pilot super-fine crushing and cyclomag separation test work, focused on supporting the feasibility of the proposed dry processing route for the production of high-grade pellet plant feed from fine grained low-grade magnetic ores.CITATION:Kelsey, C G, Kelly, J R and Skinner, W, 2017. Dry processing of magnetic iron ores – addressing cost and environmental issues, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2017, pp 215–220 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 24, 2017

By K. I. Savage, S. C. Sun

This paper describes a process developed to recover coal, clays and pyrite from coal wastes. The process consists of fine grinding followed by coal and pyrite flotation which leaves the clays in the flotation pulp. A bituminous coal refuse containing 10% sulfur and 30% carbonaceous material was treated by this method to yield a coal product containing 4% sulfur, 10% ash; a pyrite product containing 45% sulfur (84% FeS2), 1% carbonaceous material; and a clay product containing 2% sulfur (3.5% FeS2). The coal yield was about 89%. The pyrite yield was about 77%. The process steps may be entirely flotation, or gravity separation (hydrocycloning) may be used to increase the pyrite : coal ratio in the flotation feed. Cost estimates for the process show a profit of $2.28 per ton of low pyrite grade refuse, but these do not include labor, maintenance, overhead and plant depreciation. The development of this process consisted of three parts: (1) exploratory tests, (2) op-timazation tests and (3) confirmatory tests. The objectionable qualities that sulfur imparts to coal have been commented upon from early times, and they have become more objectionable as the uses of coal have grown. In whatever form coal takes — raw, carbonized or gasified —the sulfur content remains objectionable, and therefore its compounds are removed as completely as possible. It has long been known that sulfur occurs in coal in different forms. In 1861, sulfur was said to exist in the state of sulfuric acid in combination with a base; in combination with iron as iron pyrites; as bisulfides of iron; and in combination with the organic elements of coal.&apos; Pyritic sulfur is a term loosely used to cover the sulfur associated with iron in its various forms. The mineralogically recognized forms are pyrite (FeS2), pyrrhotite (Fe 1-x S) and marcasite (FeS2). The particle sizes of pyrites vary widely. Isolated grains of marcasite smaller than 15 microns have been found disseminated through coal.2 Hair-like "veins" of pyrite filling cracks in vitrain have been found. At the other extreme, lumps or nodules of pyrites large enough for removal by hand picking have been encountered. Organic sulfur, unlike pyritic sulfur, does not exist as discrete particles, but is instead intimately associated with the coal structure and thus it is impossible to remove it or reduce its concentration by physical or mechanical means.2 In the preparation of coal for its various markets, the pyrite minerals (pyrites) are separated from the raw coal feed. This separation process concentrates the pyrites in the tailings or other waste products. It would be desirable to recover these pyrites for three reasons: (1) Pyrites are potential sources of sulfur and iron. In 1967, for the fifth consecutive year, Free World consumption of sulfur exceeded production.3 Propelled by the shortage, the domestic price of sulfur has risen from $24 to $38 per long ton (bright). (2) The refuse, when placed in piles, becomes ignited. The pyrites (FeS2) bum, giving off SO,. Thus, the pyrites are a cause of air pollution. (3) Also, the pyrites undergo chemical reaction when exposed to air. The refuse is leached by waters which result in stream pollution due to the water-soluble iron and acidic reaction products. Coal refuse also contains coal minerals and clay minerals. Therefore, any process for recovering the pyrites must successfully separate them from the coal and clay minerals. In the study discussed here, ten different bituminous coal refuse samples were successfully upgraded in pyrite content. These samples represented a wide variety of coal waste materials from Pennsylvania and other states. The variabilities of the sulfur and coal contents are shown in Table I. The extremes are Sample J, a high sulfur-low coal, and Sample B, a low sulfur-high coal. Definitions of some of the symbols or terms used in this report are given below: Mesh size—Tyler standard mesh screen sieves with an opening based on the square root of two. Fe —Indicates iron, as determined by a stannous reduction-dichromatic oxidation method. S—Indicates sulfur, as determined by the ASTM "Eschka" method for sulfur in coal.

Jan 1, 1969

By A. J. Kraemer

This report on research and experimentation by the Federal Bureau of Mines on technologic and scientific problems of the petroleum and natural gas industries presents a resume of work from July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1956. The preceding report, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953,3/ indicated continuation of the Bureau&apos;s program of petroleum and natural gas research of world-wide significance, which began in 1910. The petroleum and natural gas research of the Bureau of Mines is divided into five main categories: (1) Production of petroleum and natural gas, (2) transportation and storage, (3) petroleum chemistry and refining, (4) thermodynamics, and (5) economics.

Jan 1, 1959

By H. F. Niemand, C. J. Postma, P. L. Crouse

"SynopsisThe separation of zirconium and hafnium is essential in the nuclear industry, since zirconium alloys for this application require hafnium concentrations of less than 100 ppm. The separation is, however, very difficult due to the numerous similarities in the chemical and physical properties of these two elements.Traditional methods for separation of zirconium and hafnium rely predominantly on wet chemical techniques, e.g. solvent extraction. In contrast to the traditional aqueous chloride systems, the AMI zirconium metal process developed by Necsa focuses on dry fluoride-based processes. Dry processes have the advantage of producing much less hazardous chemical waste.In the proposed AMI process, separation is effected by selective sublimation of the two tetrafluorides in an inert atmosphere under controlled conditions, and subsequent selective desublimation. Estimates are made for the sublimation rates of the two tetrafluorides based on the equilibrium vapour pressures. A sublimation model, based on the sublimation rates, was developed to determine if the concept of separation by sublimation and subsequent desublimation is theoretically possible.IntroductionZirconium requires several purification steps to conform to nuclear-grade specifications. Little information is available on the sublimation separation of Zr and Hf compounds, especially in the fluoride form, the majority of which deals with sublimation under vacuum conditions. On the industrial scale, only vacuum sublimation of ZrF4 has been reported. No records were found for the sublimation of ZrF4 in an inert atmosphere. Information on the sublimation rate of ZrF4 or HfF4 in an inert atmosphere is also limited. The rate is assumed to be dependent on several factors, of which temperature, area, and composition are considered the most important."

Jan 1, 2015

By F. Block, K. Kohli

Outcrop barrier pillars serve to keep mine personnel and the public safe from sudden uncontrolled flows of water accumulated in active and abandoned underground mine workings. When an outcrop barrier fails, the result is an outbreak of water to the surface and is termed as blowout. Mine blowouts are associated with above-drainage mines and can occur through the coal outcrop and sealed portals. A blowout is often catastrophic, a threat to the people on the surface living or working in the path of a potentially large flood. In addition, blowouts can destroy homes, cause landslides and severe erosion and release pollution and acid mine drainage. This paper provides guidance on the planning, design, evaluation and inspection of barriers to address the problem of mine blowouts associated with above-drainage coal mines.

Jan 1, 2007

By Bill Linville

Producing oil, gas, and coal in sufficient amounts to satisfy U.S. demands for fuels, electrical power, and chemicals promises to be one of the country&apos;s major challenges during the 1970&apos;s. Adding significantly to this challenge is the urgent task of satisfying soaring fuel and power demands without destroying the natural environment or jeopardizing long-range requirements for resources. The Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, is engaged in a comprehensive program of research to help industry meet this challenge. This report reviews the aims of the research program and accomplishments in 1970; the first 11 sections cover coal programs, nine sect ions are then devoted to petroleum, and the concluding five sections deal with oil shale research. Figure 1 shows the nationwide distribution of Bureau of Mines energy research installations; Full addresses are given in appendix A. Many of the publications resulting from the Bureau?s energy research efforts are discussed throughout the report; others are listed in appendix B.

Jan 1, 1971

By I. A. Mwamba

Titanium sponge, which is almost pure titanium, is extremely ductile and not easily processed into titanium powder. One method of producing powder is the hydride-dehydride (HDH) process, where titanium sponge is hydrided to form brittle titanium hydride (TiH2). Titanium hydride is easily milled to produce powder and is then dehydrided to form Ti powder. In this work, titanium hydride powder obtained from titanium sponge was used as a starting material for blending and mechanical alloying with elemental powders. Firstly, titanium hydride powder was blended with aluminium elemental powder to produce a homogenized powder, which was then compacted and sintered to produce powder metallurgy compacts. Secondly, titanium hydride powder was mechanically alloyed with aluminium elemental powder and then compacted. The mechanically alloyed powder was characterized in terms of particle size distribution, morphology and microstructure. In both blending and mechanical alloying, the green compacts were characterized by assessing the green density, while the sintered compacts were characterized by their sintered density, microstructure, and hardness. The two processes have resulted in the formation of TiA13 intermetallic compound. It was established that by simple mixing and homogenizing, titanium hydride can be used as a starting material to produce powder metallurgy components in which porosity is a benefit rather than a problem, much akin to metallic foams. From the products obtained in the TiHz-Al system, it appears that titanium hydride can be used as a precursor in mechanical alloying. However, the possible formation of complex hydrides may introduce detrimental properties, and needs to be further investigated. For the production of non-porous components, it would be advisable to dehydrogenate the TiH2 powder before milling i.e. producing titanium powder by the hydride-dehydride (HDH) method. Keywords Mechanical alloying, titanium hydride, titanium aluminide and blending

Jan 1, 2011

By Robert A. Bradburn

The Bureau of Mines has developed a miniature, portable two-level oxygen-deficiency alarm and produced three prototype models. Each operates from a 4.2-v dc power source, and the highest current drain of any model is 80 ma. An electrochemical cell, which produces an electrical output in proportion to the partial pressure of oxygen to which it is exposed, is used as an oxygen detector. The output of the cell is applied to an electronic circuit that detects two different levels of oxygen percentage below that of normal air, and produces distinct audible signals at these levels. The hazard alarm mode is activated when the oxygen percentage first drops below normal and produces a 500-cps "beep" tone with an intermittency of 1 cps. The danger mode produces a continuous 500-cps audible signal when the oxygen percentage drops still lower.

Jan 1, 1968

By R. E. Grace

WHEN an Fe-C alloy, partially reacted to pearl-ite, is quenched rapidly enough to suddenly stop the growth process, it may be expected that any carbon concentration gradients will freeze in situ in the newly formed martensite. A short tempering treatment should precipitate finely dispersed iron carbide particles in approximately the same distribution in which carbon existed during the growth process. Examination with the electron microscope of areas of tempered martensite adjacent to the pearlite-martensite interface should reveal the existence of preferred areas of precipitation. Fig. 1 is an example of an electron micrograph used in this study. Small sections of a commercial steel (0.9 pct C, 1.6 pct Mn, 0.25 pct Si) were austenitized at 945°C in air for 45 min, furnace-cooled to 697°C, iso-thermally reacted to pearlite for 30 min, and quenched into iced brine. Two samples were tempered 5 and 20 min, respectively, in air at 498°C and were subsequently quenched in water. The samples were mechanically polished and etched in 1 pct picral. Collodion replicas were made by the conventional technique; these were shadowed with chromium at about 650&apos; from the horizontal, and electron micrographs were taken at a linear magnification of 14,200X. Prints were made at a magnification of 44,100X. Lineal analysis of the prints was made as a function of the interlamellar spacing and volume percent of iron carbide. Straight lines were drawn into tempered martensite between adjacent lamellae at a distance S/4 or S/6 apart, where S is defined as the interlamellar spacing measured at the pearlite-martensite interface. The volume percent of iron carbide was measured along each of these traces with a "gage length" of S/10. The results of analyses of two samples are shown in Table I. The area included between the S/2 and S distance from the interface could be considered homogeneous within the sensitivity of the measuring technique. This value was used as a proportionality factor to evaluate an arbitrary carbon content of homogeneous austenite, and also as a parameter by which error in measurements could be evaluated. Results of the lineal analysis are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 4 shows the statistical nature of the interlamellar spacing for all lamellae measured in this

Jan 1, 1954