Search Documents

By G. L. F. Powell

TURNBULL and Cech1 reported undercooling small droplets (approximately 50 mp in diam) of a large number of metals by approximately 0.18 TE (TEoK = the equilibrium freezing point). This was considered to be the undercooling for homogeneous nucleation in

Jan 1, 1968

COUNCIL OF SECTION DELEGATES A J Duff G H Ruggles E D Gardner E H Torgersen F W Strandberg, Chairman W I Garms H C Weed R D Chapman, Vice-Chairman H M Lavender J A Wilcox F T Moyer. Secretary W C Lawson C F Willis EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE J E Kastrop L Thiessen Past Chairmen R H Smith E H Wisser P D I Honeyman R W Hughes C H Kuzell

Jan 1, 1951

By Wallace W. Key

Chalk is a natural calcium carbonate occurring as the remains of soft, friable, minute marine organisms. Whiting can be either finely ground calcium carbonate prepared from chalk, marble, or limestone or the product obtained by chemical precipitation from a solution or suspension containing lime. Until relatively recently, whiting made from limestone was termed "whiting substitute," but it is now usually designated as limestone whiting. Precipitated calcium carbonate, sometimes called "precipitated whiting" or "precipitated chalk," is a finely divided calcium carbonate product obtained by chemical precipitation from a solution or suspension containing lime. Considerable quantities of precipitated calcium carbonates are produced from many chemical processes. Naturally occurring calcium carbonate in a variety of crystalline forms and in all degrees of chemical purity forms a substantial part of the earth's crust. Exactly where a chalk grades into a marl or calcareous shale through increase of clay or silt or into a hard limestone through consolidation and crystallization is difficult to determine because no rigid specifications have been promulgated for classifying them. Composition and Properties Once considered to be amorphous, chalk was later found to be cryptocrystalline. In the pure state it consists entirely of CaCO3, but many deposits are impure. When impurities are removed and the material is reduced to a finely divided state, it is known as chalk whiting. Much confusion attends the use of the term "chalk" as well as the classification of whiting materials. For instance, blackboard chalk is not necessarily chalk but is sometimes plaster of paris or a form of talc. Colored "chalks" may be true chalk colored and compressed with a binder but are probably such materials as hematite, clays, or carbonaceous matter. The term whiting was applied exclusively to the product derived from true chalk before World War I. Chalk imports were difficult to acquire during World War I, and whiting substitutes, a term applied to the products derived from natural rock deposits and precipitated calcium carbonate, were introduced. Substitute whitings were not acceptable at first, but it was found that blending true chalk with substitutes often created an improved product; eventually by selection of limestone and finer grinding, products not only acceptable, but for some uses superior to chalk whiting, were developed. Gradually the term "substitute" was dropped because chalk whiting had lost its importance, being largely supplanted in the United States by other whiting materials. Whiting is now made in ever-increasing quantities from limestone, marble, dolomite, marls, vein calcite, oyster-shell, as well as primary and byproduct precipitated calcium carbonates. Distribution of Chalk Europe-In England, France, Belgium, Denmark, and other European countries highpurity chalk occurs in extensive beds. The Cretaceous period, or the "age of chalk," in geologic history receives its name from the great deposits of chalk exposed on either side of the English Channel. It has been estimated that oceans in which chalk and allied deposits were formed covered more than 500,000 square

Jan 1, 1960

THE program for the 126th meeting of the Institute, to be held in San Francisco Sept. 25 to 29, 1922, is being prepared by the General Arrangements Committee of the Local Section and its details are not yet ready for announcement. The program, however, has developed to a sufficient extent to permit members to decide whether they wish to attend or not. Briefly stated, Monday, Sept. 25, will be devoted to technical sessions which will be held at the Engineers Club, and there will be as many sessions as may be required to present the papers available, some of which are listed below. Under the registration fee plan (see July magazine) entertainment expenses during the week in San Fran-cisco will be borne by those in attendance, not by local members alone. Members who expect to attend the San Francisco meeting, but who will not accompany the President's party, will please notify C. H. Fry, Secretary of the San Francisco Section, 625 Market St., San Francisco, Cal., of their intention.

Jan 8, 1922

By V. F. Swanson

A petrographic study was made of the type and sources of mineral contamination occurring in Florida phosphate rock products. Emphasis was placed on contaminants in the screened rock (+1 mm), since this portion of the product undergoes no physical beneficiation except for scrubbing to remove slimes. Since iron and aluminum contents of the finished product affect the salability, special emphasis was placed on identifying types and sources of these contaminants and relating chemical composition to visual characteristics. Wavellite derived from the overburden was the major aluminum contaminant with some aluminum being included as secondary clay balls. Iron occurred as phosphates in the overburden and as colloidal oxides included in the phosphate pebbles. Chert and limestone contamination derived from the Hawthorne formation underlying the phosphate matrix.

Jan 1, 1972

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

By K. U. Snowden, J. N. Greenwood

CRACKS which form in lead exposed to fluctuating stress frequently follow a rectangular pattern. It is well known that under ordinary atmospheric conditions these cracks are intercrystalline. On the other hand after fabrication the crystal grains in lead are in general irregular polygons. The observed facts appear to be mutually contradictory. Re-examination of some lead failures has confirmed that the rectangular cracks are intercrystal- line. It follows therefore that under fluctuating stress some of the grains lose their irregular outlines and become approximately regular polygons of cubic type. G. R. Gohn and W. C. Ellis* suggest that this is due to recrystallization during the life of the part, in such a way that the new grain boundaries are aligned at 45 deg to the longitudinal strain prior to the formation of the fatigue crack. Experiments at Baillieu Laboratory—Some recent experiments carried out in the Baillieu Laboratory in conjunction with the Broken Hill Associated Smelters have thrown some light on this transition. A test piece of pure lead was polished chemically

Jan 1, 1959

By D. J. Bourne, G. E. Atwood

The new potash refinery of Duval Sulphur & Potash Co. produced its first tonnage of muriate of potash in November 1951. Full capacity was attained in early 1952. Excellent extraction efficiency is being obtained by the process, which is basically froth flotation. System temperature control is practiced and has proved to be of great metallurgical value through high potassium recovery and. low reagent cost. WHEN Duval Sulphur and Potash Co. recently entered the established potash industry, the vast amount of pioneer work essential in an entirely new endeavor was unnecessary. Thus it was possible to screen and assemble proved techniques into a highly efficient process based on the combined knowledge of the industry. It is hoped that the refinements Duval has added to these cumulative achievements will contribute to the rapid advance of the potash industry and related enterprises. The process selected utilizes as raw material syl-vinite ore typical of the Permian Basin. This ore is principally comprised of interlocked crystals of potassium chloride, about 40 pct, and sodium chloride. Also there is as much as 1 1/2 pct of dispersed clay slime which, because of its nature, highly complicates beneficiation of these ores. The refining method is basically flotation in which the mineral sylvite is floated away from the halite-clay gangue to produce a 60 pct K,O muriate of potash product for the plant-food trade. It departs from established practice in the use of an improved reagent scheme, developed by the company's technical staff, and in

Jan 1, 1954

By Harold Rabling

The following notes are taken from results obtained on a standard 25-ft. Hancock jig1 tested during regular operation in the Bonne Terre mill of the St. Joseph Lead Co. The object of the tests was to determine the conditions for most effective work, and the nature of products that could be made. The material treated was sized between 9-mm. and 2-mm. round-hole screens, and was constant throughout the experiments. Three products were made, concentrates from the first three hutches, middlings from the fourth and fifth, and tailing from the sixth. The middlings were crushed in one pair of Allis-Chalmers Style B, 30 by 14-in. rolls, and elevated with the original ore to the 2-mm. screens, oversize of which formed the jig feed. While this arrangement was very simple, it gave rise to undesirable crowding of the circuit. Table 1 shows tonnage and assay values of the jig feed and products at the beginning of the experiments, and brings out the excessively large amount of middlings, comprising 63.3 per cent. of the total material fed to the jig. The rolls, being heavily overloaded, did very little crushing, a screen analysis of the product showing that only 27 per cent., or 128 tons, was crushed fine enough to pass to the tables. The remaining 347 tons returned to the jig with 400 tons of original ore. At .times, this overcrowding became much worse, and the tonnage in circuit grew to enormous proportions. It became imperative

Jan 1, 1918

By Earle E. Schumacher

THE elements silicon and germanium are not metals within the usual, intuitive association of the word, nor are they so within a stricter definition based on the electronic binding. Two properties associated with metals are plasticity and high electrical conductivity. These elements crystallize in the diamond cubic structure, an arrangement apparently not very favorable to slip, and are therefore brittle rather than ductile. Their electrical conductivity is not like that of metals the atoms are locked together by the covalent bond, which in pure and perfectly arranged material leaves but few electrons free to act as electrical carriers.† In further contrast to metals, their electrical conductivity can be greatly increased by raising the temperature. Yet silicon and germanium are not ideally nonmetallic. They are hard, solid, and possess a metallic luster. They exhibit that peculiar brand of electrical conductivity conveniently termed "semi- conduction," wherein, as shall be seen, lies much of their importance. Both, but silicon in particular, are important components in real metallic alloys and the methods of their reduction and preparation lie clearly in the province of the metallurgist. From their duality of physical and chemical properties, silicon and germanium, along with such elements as boron, diamond, gray tin, selenium, antimony, and arsenic, are considered semimetals or metalloids. Because of their importance to metallurgy and the im-

Jan 1, 1953

Man: A purely detached consideration of nature and the place of man in it may easily result in somewhat pessimistic conclusions as to man and his destiny. However, when we come to the evaluation of man's role in the development of natural resources and his achievements in this field, a more optimistic tone may be justified. Hence the possible contradictions between Man and Nature, Perfection, and the present chapter are more apparent than real. After all, progress must have a foundation of optimism, and we cannot challenge either the faculty or the students to better work and to a progressive and constructive outlook without an underlying tone of optimism and basic faith in the future. Geology is the basic science of Mother Earth; the science of the natural forces that have produced and modified the structure of our globe; the science of minerals and rocks; of landscapes and soils; of water supply and mineral resources, including mineral fuels; and of the history of life, both plant and animal, as revealed by fossils in rocks. It is difficult to reduce man and his historical significance to their proper relationship with regard to the earth and its history. Processes of rock formation have continued for at least two billion years; man's activities have been in evidence only a few thousand years. As a means of comparison, if the height of the Empire State building were to represent geologic time, the thickness of a nickel placed on the tower would just about repre-

Jan 1, 1950

By Leland H. Johnson

THE Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.'s ore mines began experimental tests with trackless mining units early in 1947. The units had many weaknesses to overcome, but are now well beyond the experimental stage and are becoming a necessity to ore seams that are amenable to this type of equipment. The development of this type of mining with the problems of increased underground supervision, maintenance, and training personnel, along with the benefits derived, are discussed.

Jan 12, 1950

By Arthur Zentner

The electrolytic zinc plant of today is foreshadowed in the patents issued to Léon Létrange of Paris in 1881 and 1883l. He proposed roasting zinc blende to make the zinc soluble in water or sulphuric acid, thus obtaining a sulphate solution. His purification was apparently that used in the lithopone work of the day. For electrolyzing he proposed anodes of carbon or lead, for cathodes zinc, copper or brass. Numerous patents by other workers were taken out in the first 10 years, most of which dealt with sulphate solutions. It is easy to presume that the formation of chlorine gas in zinc chloride electrolysis caused early emphasis on sulphate work. Lack of success with this invited further work with chloride solutions. Efficient and cheaper oxidizing agents for use in the chloride processes were more generally available. Carbon anodes could be used instead of lead anodes, which were blamed for much of the early electrolyzing troubles and remained in disfavor for many years. Carl Hoepfner received his first zinc patents in 18902. He was the most persistent of those who worked with chloride solutions and met with the largest measure of success. Hc built three plants, only one of which remained in operation. This was built in 1896 at the plant of Brunner, Mond & Co., Winnington, England, now part of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. It leached with by-product calcium chloride from the company's Solvay alkali plant and returned to it the chlorine formed in electrolyzing. The zinc plant had a capacity of 5 long tons of zinc, said to have been doubled later, and remained in operation until 1924. No commercial plant using chloride solutions has operated since then. E. A. Ashcroft experimented in the middle nineties with chloride, alkaline and sulphate solutions on materials from Broken Hill, Australia. He built a plant with a rated capacity of 10 long tons of zinc per day, at Cockle Creek, New South Wales, in 1898. This figure was never approached nor was cyclical operation achieved. The work in the plant appears to have been largely with sulphate solutions. The plant suffered from a multitude of troubles: poor roasting, gclatinous silica, liberal use of live steam in solutions to combat the gclatinous silica with considerable

Jan 1, 1937

A FACT not generally understood about the Engineering Societies Library on Thirty-ninth Street in New York -in particular, not realized by many of the great indus-tries of the country-is that it is a free public institution. To utilize its valuable facilities one does not have to be a member of the national engineering societies (which shoul-der its financial deficit each year). Anyone, at any place in the world, can use the library. A man in California, or in South America, or in Persia, can write or cable to the Library staff and receive information on the same basis as any engineer living in New York. For example, a few months ago an American mining en-gineer in China needed additional geological information about a district which he was about to explore. He cabled his need to the Engineering Societies Library and the next steamer brought him the data he wanted. A phosphorus company in Alabama wished to obtain a translation from the Norwegian of an article on cement which they had heard about. They wrote to the Engineer-ing Societies Library; the article was located, and a trans-lation made and sent them.

Jan 12, 1927

By Robert E. Green, Edmund G. Henneke

The velocities of the three possible modes of elastic wave propagation have been calculated for single-crystal copper at 1-deg intervals throughout the standard stereographic triangle. The results are presented as isospeed contours. The deviations between the direction of maximum energy flux and specimen axes are presented as arrows drawn on stereographic projections. The orientation factors associated with dislocation motion on the primary slip system only and also on all twelve slip systems have been calculated for all three elastic waves. The orientation factors associated with a longitudinal standing wave resonant specimen have also been calculated. The results of these calculatians are compared with earlier calculations on aluminum crystals and the relevance of these results to ultrasonic attenuation measurements is discussed. GREEN and inton' have recently outlined a procedure for determining the orientation factors for dislocation damping in single crystals. The stress field associated with a given mode of elastic wave propagation is resolved on the slip systems in which it is assumed the dislocations are vibrating due to this stress field. Since, at room temperature, slip has been observed on a limited number of systems in fcc and hcp metal crystals, it is assumed that these systems are the appropriate ones to use for the resolving process. This procedure has been applied to aluminum crystals by Hinton and hreen' and to zinc crystals by Henneke and Green.3 In the present paper the modes of elastic wave propagation have been calculated for copper crystals possessing orientations at 1-deg intervals throughout the standard stereographic triangle. The deviation of the energy flux vectors from the specimen axis have been calculated for each mode. The stress field associated with each mode has been resolved on the (111)(110) slip systems in order to determine the orientation factors for dislocation damping. MODES OF ELASTIC WAVE PROPAGATION For any direction in a linear homogeneous aniso-tropic material three elastic modes can be propagated. In general, each of these modes has both longitudinal and transverse particle displacements associated with it and thus are not "pure" modes. However, there is always one component which is greatest in either a longitudinal or transverse direction and hence the mode may be referred to as quasi-longitudinal or quasi-transverse, accordingly. For certain axes of high symmetry pure modes may be propagated. The phenomenon of refraction of the energy flux vector is also exhibited by elastic wave propagation in ani-

Jan 1, 1969

By F. A. Forward, A. H. Ross, J. Halpern

IN treating carnotite ores by carbonate leaching it is often necessary to subject the ore to a prior roast. Among the advantages that may result from roasting are: 1) improvement in settling and filtering characteristics of the ore; 2) destruction of carbonaceous impurities that would otherwise contaminate the leach solution and consume carbonate reagent; and 3) substantial increase in extraction of vanadium, which is usually low when the un- roasted ore is leached. Recovery of vanadium may be an important factor in processing carnotite ores, and the fact that vanadium is usually recovered in good yield by acid leaching has often been an economic advantage over results obtained with carbonate leaching. It has been found that response of an ore to carbonate leaching, following roasting, depends primarily on its composition and on the conditions of the prior roast treatment, particularly with regard to the roasting temperature, the atmosphere maintained above the charge during roasting and cooling, and the presence of certain reagents. These factors, especially the last, virtually determine the extractions of uranium and vanadium attainable by carbonate leaching, as well as the reagent consumption on leaching, whereas adjustment of the leaching conditions has only a limited influence.

Jan 10, 1957

By Olav Dalen

A HUNDRED years have passed since Wöhler made the first few particles of aluminum by decompos-ing aluminum chloride with potassium. In 1854 Deville used sodium to decompose the double chloride of aluminum and sodium, but even various subsequent improvements of the process, especially by Castner, did not sufficiently decrease the cost of the metal to bring it into general use. In 1862 Monckton proposed to reduce Al O? with carbon by the aid of the electric current, but the efforts of the Cowles brothers to do so were not successful and in 1884 they turned to making aluminum alloys by electrolysis. At about the same time Hall in America and Heroult in France success-fully worked out the technology of dissolving A12O3 in fused cryolite and electrolyzing the bath. It is hard to realize that forty years ago the annual production of aluminum was only 30 to 40 tons per year and the price of the metal thirty times what it is today. Great strides in decreasing the cost of production, improving the quality of the metal, and increasing the output have been made in the lifetime of middle-aged men. The large consumption of electrical energy in the form of direct current makes it necessary to locate aluminum-producing plants near waterfalls, to avoid transmission losses. Norway with its abundant water-falls is therefore a logical place for the development of aluminum production, even though it is necessary to import the bauxite, which is the raw material of the process. It was foreigners who first started the aluminum in-dustry of Norway and the first two plants were built by the British Aluminium Co. in 1906 to 1908; one at Vigeland near Kristiansand, and the other at Stavan-gerfjord in Nordfjord. These two plants are still oper-ating and producing over 3000 tons a year. When the plant at Vigeland is enlarged the production of the company will be more than 4000 tons a year.

Jan 11, 1927

By Edwin A. Sperry

In 1892 I tested an ore, which was peculiarly difficult to treat, on several concentrators then in general use, including t,he Frue-vanner, the Luhrig table and the Cornish buddle. Owing to the character of the ore it had to be crushed- to a very fine state of division, and the results obtained were far from satisfactory; a large proportion of the values was lost in the slimes, which indicated the necessity of a very careful sizing before dressing. Even after reworking some of the slime-tailings, the results, in my opinion, were not as good aa those which might be obtained on a table designed more especially for the handling of slime. Although the subject of slime-concentration has occupied the attention of many engineers who have threshed the field quite thoroughly, the results obtained in my work led to a careful

Jan 1, 1904

Papers in Classes A-Metal Mining, B-Milling and Concentration, H-Indus¬trial Minerals, and I-Mining Geology are distributed in MINING TECHNOLOGY, which is issued every other month. Papers in Classes C-Iron and Steel Division, D¬-Nonferrous Metallurgy and E-Institute of Metals Division are distributed in METALS TECHNOLOGY, which is issued twice quarterly. Papers in Class G-Pe¬troleum Division are distributed in PE¬TROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, which is issued every other month. TECHNICAL PUBLICA¬TIONS in Classes F-Coal Division, J¬-Mineral Industry Education Division, K¬-Mining Administration, and 1-Geophysics, are issued as separate pamphlets. Contributions are papers that when printed or mimeographed are available but only on request.

Jan 1, 1943

By P. H. Dudley

The present paper was suggested by the paper read by Mr. R. W. Hunt at the New York Meeting, in February last, on rail-sections (Trans., xvii., p. 778)) in the discussion of which I brought forward some of the facts and observations here stated. Professional duties having prevented me from writing out my part of that discussion in time for its publication in the volume containing Mr. Hunt's paper, I take the opportunity to present it in separate form and greater fulness. The striking features of the series of rail-sections submitted by Mr. Hunt are their shallow heads and heavy bases. In these respects they are quite similar to the section of the 80-1b. rail, which I designed in 1883 to meet the requirements of the traffic of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. Before the adoption of the 80-1b. rail, this road had modified its 65-1b. section from a shallow head with rounding sides and quite heavy base to one having a deep head and thin base. All the leading railroads had changed from the earlier sections of steel rails to those having deep heads and thin bases, conforming to the recommendations of the Committee on Rails of the American Society of Civil Engineers. It is but proper to say that the committee's investigations upon the wear of rails were made upon the rails manufactured under a practice quite different from that which obtained after the committee's recommendations were carried into effect. The results in actual service have been contrary to what was expected. Fig. 1 shows my 80-1b. section of 1883. Before designing this rail I had taken, at different times, a series of diagrams of the condition of tracks, with my car, on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, all of the New England railroads, and all but one of the trunk lines. My diagrams gave me an opportunity which could not otherwise have been obtained to see the wear of great numbers of sections of rails under widely varying conditions of traffic.

Jan 1, 1890