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By AIME AIME

PRACTICALLY all the Section delegates as well as a sprinkling of Institute officers and mere members were on hand for the annual business meeting of the Institute on Monday afternoon of the Annual Meeting. President McAuliffe presided, with C. H. Mathewson as associate chairman. Americo Albala was first called on to discuss the work of the Pan American Institute of Mining Engineering and Geology. C. Will Wright said that the need for such an organization was evident, and a resolution was passed asking the incoming President to appoint a committee to investigate cooperation with that body, of which Mr. Albala is executive secretary.

Jan 1, 1943

By D. L., Hayes

THE concentration of zinc ore in Wisconsin is a comparatively simple process, although it presents problems that must be overcome in an efficient manner in such a way that installation and operating costs are low. As the ore deposits are small, the first cost of the concentrating plant must be low; while the low margin of profit makes it necessary to have the minimum operating costs. The original mills were copied from those of the Joplin district, as most of them were built and operated by Joplin millmen. These served the purpose well; they made a clean concentrate, which was the chief requirement at that time, as most 'of the mines were' considerably 'richer than the average at the present time, and wages and supplies were also considerably lower. ' The apparatus used at present has changed very little in principle. . The grizzly opening has gradually been increased to 12 in. and sometimes no grizzly 'is used. The crusher, gradually grew in size, the largest crusher has -an opening of about 24 by 13 in. and a 7/8-in. throw on the. eccentric shaft.

Jan 1, 1921

By Russell G. Haworth

Three companies, United States Potash Company, Potash Company of America, and International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, are now operating potash mines and refineries in the Carlsbad, New Mexico, area. The three mines are located approximately twenty miles east of Carlsbad. The deposits have been found ideal for mechanized mining methods. This summary has been compiled from information made available by the three operating companies.

Jan 1, 1949

By Sherwin F. Kelly

THE present lull in engineering activities presents an advantageous moment for inquiring into the position now occupied by geophysics in its various fields of application. The recent over-expansion in all lines of work resulted in an uncritical employment of these methods of exploration which was bound to have its harmful reaction. The pendulum has now swung back, producing a decidedly hypercritical attitude toward the new science that had been recently welcomed so joyfully as the panacea for prospecting troubles. The severe retrenchment in exploration has forced upon us a period of waiting and, it is to be hoped, of profitable contemplation. This can well be employed in trying to pass a reasoned judgment on what position geophysics should occupy in the new geological exploration programs that will inevitably ac- company the looked-for industrial recovery.

Jan 1, 1931

"WELFARE…Welfare endeavor in connection with both the metal and the coal mines of Utah has shown gratifying progress during recent years and both the operators and their employees are deserving of much credit for the efforts put forth to better living, working, educational and receational conditions in most of the mining camps of the state.In the older metal mining camps of Utah, where the towns are incorporated and independent of the mining properties operating in the vicinity, less opportunity is pre¬sented for the companies to exercise efforts looking towards improved welfare conditions than is the case of camps located on company ground and under the full control of operators.Even in such camps, however, as illustrated in Bingham, the companies can do much to better welfare conditions. In this camp the Utah Copper Company has spent $800,000 since 1 920 in the erection of modern brick cottages, apartment houses and the Gemmell Memorial Club. The cottages and apartments have every convenience to be found in up-to-date city homes. The Gemmell Memorial Club, erected and equipped at a cost of $1 75,000, was provided by the company for the benefit of the Utah Copper Company employees living in the canyon and has been made the recreational center for the camp."

Jan 1, 1925

By Sidney Snook

FLUORSPAR production is the most important industry in a compact area in southern Illinois and western Kentucky bordering the Ohio River. Producers' activities do not usually figure much in the mining news of the country, so that few know that the last year or so has been an unusually active one. Mine shipments more than doubled in 1939 compared with the poor year 1938. The average price changed but little, though it is now about one-sixth higher than at the beginning of last year. The outbreak of war in Europe a year ago lent an immediate stimulus to the industry, though only about 15 per cent of the domestic consumption is normally imported, thanks to a tariff of $8.40 per ton, equivalent to about 30 per cent ad valorem. Be- cause of the increased production and many expansions and improvements in the mines and plants, the period since the beginning of 1939 has been the most important one for the industry in the last 15 years.

Jan 1, 1940

By Burk, Hugh A.

AT THE inception of the cyanide process and its adaptation to the practice of gold and silver metallurgy much difficulty was experienced in applying it to auro-cupriferous ores, both in economy of treatment and recovery of the gold from solution. The presence of copper in the ore effected a high chemical consumption of cyanide during treatment, and in the solvent solution, it retarded the precipitation of the gold on zinc shavings. The coating of the copper on the zinc shavings presented even worse difficulties than the increased cyanide consumption as most ores contain a small amount of copper. This interference of copper led to the use of other precipitating methods and attempts to recover the cyanide which was consumed during ore treatment. Of the other methods used, electrolytic precipitation was the most practical until a better understanding of the application of zinc shavings and zinc dust developed. In September, 1905, a patent entitled, "Method for Recovering Precious Metals from Solution," was granted to Isaac Anderson and Michael Scanton. This method is adaptable to precious metal ores containing a small percentage of copper but has never been extensively used or perfected. The process has

Jan 1, 1925

By K. H. Heino

Two 200 T/da Lurgi Turbulent Layer fluid-bed roasters have been in operation at Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited since 1966. Zinc concentrate containing 52-54% Zn, 9-11% Fe,31-33% S is treated to produce calcine containing 60-62% Zn,10-12% Fe, .l-.3% S as sulphide and .8-1.2% S as sulphate. Each roaster train comprises a waste heat boiler, two cyclones in parallel and a two-field electrostatic precipitator. Distribution of calcine collected is 10-15 percent from bed overflow, 55-65 percent from boilers, 20-25 percent from cyclones and 2-6 percent from precipitators. A Monsanto designed contact plant produces acid at a rated capacity of 365 T/da (100% H2304 basis) from roaster gases diluted to 7.0-7.5% S02. The process steps are gas cleaning and cooling by weak acid scrubbing, acid mist removal in electrostatic precipitators, gas drying in 93.5-96.5% H2304, conversion of sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide in a four-pass converter containing vanadium pentoxide catalyst, and absorption of the sulphur trioxide in 98.1-98.3% H2S04. Product acid is 93.2% H2S04. Conversion efficiency is 97-98 percent and overall sulphur recovery from concentrate is 87-90 percent. The adjacent fertilizer plant has a capacity of 135 T/da of P205. The products are 54 percent phosphoric acid, run-of-pile triple superphosphate, and diammonium phosphate. The plant is of Ugine-Kuhlman design and consists of an air-cooled multiple tank reactor, a tilting pan filter, and a forced circultation vacuum evaporator. Triple superphosphate is made on a continuous belt and partially cured in a rotary dryer. Diammonium phosphate is produced by ammoniating phosphoric acid in a single stage reactor. The slurry of ammonium phosphate is granulated in a blunger and dried.

Jan 1, 1970

By Alfred V. de Forest

We are now assembled in this hall for the eighteenth lecture in honor of the memory of our greatest American metallurgist, Henry Marion Howe. Many of his most intimate contemporaries, led, as was fitting, by Professor Sauveur, have described his vital accomplishments in three fields: as a leader in technical industrial development; in theoretical research; and finally as a teacher and source of inspiration for nearly two generations of students. In 1914 Professor Howe had retired from active teaching, but maintained his laboratory at Columbia University under the care of Arthur G. Levy, with whom he published many of the papers that later were incorporated into his last book, " The Metallography of Steel and Cast Iron." My position at the time was that of personal assistant to Professor Campbell—no pay, no duties, but the great privilege of preparing specimens, taking pictures and attending to some of the current consulting work. Whenever possible, I visited Howe's laboratory to chat with Levy and gather ideas about the wonderful field of metallography—in which I was a rank amateur, rescued by the quiet enthusiasm of Donald Smith of Princeton from an instructorship in civil engineering. Levy let me act as a fly on the wall during the Professor's occasional visits. Busy as he was, Professor Howe took the time and trouble to encourage my interest, as he had done for hun- dreds of others. He told me how he went about gathering his own information speculating as to causes, considering experiments, and verifying his conclusions. I ventured to mention some tests I had run on the irregular stretching of wires of different metals. He read the small volume I had prepared of ill-assorted facts and fancies and remarked: "Nobody cares for your theories or the history of your tests. Describe what you found as briefly as possible and perhaps I can help you to publish." Curiously enough, among my discards were some autographically recorded load-versus-electrical-resistance measurements. Taken with inadequate knowledge and equipment, these curves did not reproduce consistently, but if the relationship between strain and resistance had then been explored, the latest type of strain gauge might have been in useful service for the past 25 years. Professor Howe was a gifted teacher, perhaps because he was primarily an ardent and assiduous student. His own eagerness to learn and his willingness to revise and extend his opinions constantly encouraged those of his environment to be diligent and painstaking in the pursuit of knowledge. In honoring his memory, I also wish to bring to mind the kindly, humorous and quiet Levy, and join his name again, as it was for too brief a space in the past, with that of many-sided Henry Marion Howe. Factors oF Impact Strength The subject chosen for the Howe Memorial Lecture by Dr. Gillett last year

Jan 1, 1941

By Alfred V. de Forest

We are now assembled in this hall for the eighteenth lecture in honor of the memory of our greatest American metallurgist, Henry Marion Howe. Many of his most intimate contemporaries, led, as was fitting, by Professor Sauveur, have described his vital accomplishments in three fields: as a leader in technical industrial development; in theoretical research; and finally as a teacher and source of inspiration for nearly two generations of students. In 1914 Professor Howe had retired from active teaching, but maintained his laboratory at Columbia University under the care of Arthur G. Levy, with whom he published many of the papers that later were incorporated into his last book, " The Metallography of Steel and Cast Iron." My position at the time was that of personal assistant to Professor Campbell—no pay, no duties, but the great privilege of preparing specimens, taking pictures and attending to some of the current consulting work. Whenever possible, I visited Howe's laboratory to chat with Levy and gather ideas about the wonderful field of metallography—in which I was a rank amateur, rescued by the quiet enthusiasm of Donald Smith of Princeton from an instructorship in civil engineering. Levy let me act as a fly on the wall during the Professor's occasional visits. Busy as he was, Professor Howe took the time and trouble to encourage my interest, as he had done for hun- dreds of others. He told me how he went about gathering his own information speculating as to causes, considering experiments, and verifying his conclusions. I ventured to mention some tests I had run on the irregular stretching of wires of different metals. He read the small volume I had prepared of ill-assorted facts and fancies and remarked: "Nobody cares for your theories or the history of your tests. Describe what you found as briefly as possible and perhaps I can help you to publish." Curiously enough, among my discards were some autographically recorded load-versus-electrical-resistance measurements. Taken with inadequate knowledge and equipment, these curves did not reproduce consistently, but if the relationship between strain and resistance had then been explored, the latest type of strain gauge might have been in useful service for the past 25 years. Professor Howe was a gifted teacher, perhaps because he was primarily an ardent and assiduous student. His own eagerness to learn and his willingness to revise and extend his opinions constantly encouraged those of his environment to be diligent and painstaking in the pursuit of knowledge. In honoring his memory, I also wish to bring to mind the kindly, humorous and quiet Levy, and join his name again, as it was for too brief a space in the past, with that of many-sided Henry Marion Howe. Factors oF Impact Strength The subject chosen for the Howe Memorial Lecture by Dr. Gillett last year

Jan 1, 1941

By Sadao Maruyama

INTRODUCTION Since the big discovery of Kuroko deposits in Kosaka mine, Akita Pref., northeastern Japan in 1959, major Japanese mining companies have been engaged in extensive exploration for the deposits expending large amounts of money. Above all their exploration activities have been particularly fruitful in discovering new deposits in northern Akita Pref. It is estimated that the total ore reserves newly found in the area are at least 50 million tons. Kuroko deposits are the most important ore source of copper, lead and zinc in Japan and have been mined since last century in the said area. Kuroko (black ore) is fine, compact aggregates with sphalerite , glena and barite as principal constituents and chalco- pyrite, pyrite and tetrahedrite as subsequent constituents. The name Kuroko comes from its appearance. It is not rare that total grade of copper, lead and zinc reaches 20 - 30% and the gold and silver content is also fairly good. Accordingly the unit value of the ore is much higher than the ore from other types of deposits. Besides the Kuroko ore, the Kuroko deposits consists of Ohko (yellow ore, massive cupriferous pyritic ore), Keikoh (silicious ore, cupriferous network ore) and gypsum ore. This type of deposit is considered to be not only an important source of base metal but also a source of gypsum and barite. Although the importance of this type of deposit had been commonly recognized, sub-surface nature of the occurrence hampered exploration work. In recent years the improved exploration techniques and increased knowledge of the Kuroko deposits have met with remarkable success in the location of new deposits. This outburst of exploration and dis-

Jan 1, 1970

By C. F. Jenkins, G. V. Smith

Serrated plastic flow in stable austenitic alloys based on Fe/Ni has been shown to be related to the presence of carbon and/or chromium in the systems. Strength peaks and plateaus in the serrated-flow temperature region for a commercial alloy correlate with an increased dislocation content, arising, presumably, from enhanced multiplication as a result of a strong interaction between dislocations and solute atoms. The data generally support a mechanism controlled by migration of vacancies, with the energy for vacancy motion being modified by the presence of chromium. Chromium atom -dislocation interaction is responsible for effects above 500°C, whereas the defect interacting with dislocations between 200" and 500°C is suggested to be a carbon-vacancy Pair. ThE phenomenon of jerky flow, serrated flow, or the Portevin-le Chatelier (P-C) effect in austenitic stainless steels is usually attributed to substitutional at1,2 mospheres1,2 or to precipitates&apos;-4 which form at dislocations during plastic deformation. On the other hand, evidence exists which supports a direct inter-stitial-dislocation interaction mechanism for serrated flow in fcc Ni-C,5,6 Ni-H7-9 and in nickel-austenites containing carbon." The present work consists in a study of serrated plastic flow in stable austenitic al-loys. The effects of carbon and of chromium were investigated separately, and a commercial stainless steel with different levels of interstitial impurity concentration was studied in an attempt to delineate the combined effects of the alloying elements. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES a) Materials and Fabrication. A commercial AISI 330 stainless steel and several specially prepared aus-tenitic alloys have been studied. The experimental alloys were prepared by arc melting the constituents under purified argon. Analyses of the materials are given in Table I. The commercial alloy was obtained as 5/8 in. bar stock and rolled to 0.092 in. sq, with several intermediate anneals. At this stage some of the material was annealed in Pd-purified hydrogen at 1100°C to establish different levels of interstitial content. All other heat treatments were in vacuum (10-5 torr). The "pure" alloy ingots were swaged to 0.120-in. rod and annealed in Pd-purified hydrogen at 1100°C. The analyses for these conditions are also contained in Table I. Following the above treatment, the final wire sizes Table I. Chemical Analyses of Test Materials Hrin Hydrogen at Cr, Ni, Alloy 1lOO°C wt pct wt pct C, ppm* N, ppm* Type 330 As-received 14.78 33.25 430 300 Type 330 64 14.78 33.25 40 50 Type 330 200 14.78 33.25 27 21 Fe/35 Ni 72 - 35.10 <10 62 Fe/35 Ni 200 35.10 <I0 44 Fe/35 Nil15 Cr 72 14.95 34.94 <I0 61 Fe/35 Ni/15Cr 200 14.95 34.94 <10 45 Fe/35 Ni/C $ 35.OM 380 *Sensitivity: N t 5 ppm Ct10ppm. f Nominal Ni content. % A master NiC alloy was used in preparation of this material; courtesy of D.E. Sonon. were obtained by either swaging or cold drawing. The test results did not vary with these techniques. b) Specimen Preparation. Two sizes of specimen and two gripping systems were used. i) 0.070-in. wire with a chemically milled gage section: 0.75 in. long, 0.060 in. in diam. These were fastened into grips containing tapped grooves. ii) 0.050 in. wire, gage length 1.5 in. Ball bearings were welded to the ends of the wires and the gage length was taken to include all material between the welds. Socket-type grips were used with these specimens. With specimens of type ii), joining was performed in a specially constructed brass jig, under argon, and automatic timing was utilized in the procedure. No adverse effects of welding were noted. Specimens were encapsulated and solution treated for 1 hr at temperatures selected to produce the same average grain size, -50 µ. Annealing twin boundaries as well as normal crystal boundaries were counted. The temperatures used are listed in Table 11. Table 11. Specimen Size. Temperature of Heat Treatment and Resulting Grain Diameters for Test Materials Recrystallization Resulting Material Condition Temperature Grain Sue AISI 330 Not H purified 0.070 120O°C 45 to 55µ in, wire AlSl 330 H , pure, 0.070 in. 1150°C 45to55µ wire Fc/35Nil15Cr Pure, 0.070 in. wire 1000°C 45tossp Fe/Ni Pure. 0.070 in. wire 775°C 45 to 55µ Fe/Ni/C Pure, 0.050 in. wire 850°C 10 to 20p AlSl 330 Not purified, 0.050 1150CC 45to55p in. wire AlSl 330 ti, pure, 0.050 in. 1150°C 45to55p wire

Jan 1, 1970

By Robert M. Grogan, James C. Bradbury

The Illinois-Kentucky mining district has, since 1880, accounted for 80 per cent of all U.S. production of fluorspar. The ore deposits are of two types: vein deposits formed by fissure fillings along faults and bedding-replacement deposits formed by the replacement of strata at certain favored stratigraphic positions along minor faults and fractures. Fluorite is the chief valuable mineral in the deposits. Sphalerite and galena commonly are present in small amounts but, in some ore bodies, may form a substantial part of the valuable constituents of the ore. Calcite is the chief gangue mineral; quartz and barite Exposed strata range from Devonian are present in various amounts. through Pennsylvanian in age. Igneous intrusive rocks occur as mafic dikes and sills and intrusive breccia dikes and plugs. Structurally, the district is situated on a generally northwest- trending arch that has been sliced into a series of long, narrow blocks by normal faults that trend northeastward. The structural The localization of the ore deposits by faults and fractures, the association of fluorite mineralization with intrusive breccias, and various lines of petrographic and geochemical evidence indicate that the fluorite-zinc-lead deposits were epigenetic and deposited by solutions emanating from a deep alkalic magma.

Jan 1, 1968

By AIME AIME

Award of a Gold Medal : to the Institute. The Jury of Awards of the Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition has conferred a gold medal, the highest distinction within its power,. on the American Institute of Mining Engineers for the excellence of its publications during the past decade. ; A half-tone photographic reproduction of both sides of the medal is given in the accompanying illustration.

Jan 7, 1908

By J. Charles Miller

NATURAL carbon dioxide has recently been exploited in the United States in consequence of oil and gas developments in the Western States and the growing demand by transcontinental and transoceanic shippers for solid carbon dioxide. The discovery by drilling of commercial deposits resulted in consideration of its geographic and geologic distribution and occurrence. Its wide distribution in nature is evidenced by its occurrence in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. The question of origin of carbon dioxide involves consideration of theories similar to those concerning natural hydrocarbons, although available evidence favors an inor-ganic rather than an organic source. Areas favorable to development of commercial production appear to be those in proximity to igneous rocks or in the vicinity of decadent volcanic activity, where, it has long been known, the gas is evolved either free or dissolved in the waters of furnaroles, geysers or mud pots. Structure contour maps are presented showing the Wagon Mound anticline in New Mexico and the Farnham anticline, Utah. A well drilled on the latter supplies gas to a 20-ton plant manufacturing solid carbon dioxide at Wellington, Utah, on the Denver and Rio Grande R.R., whence it is shipped to surrounding territory and to the West Coast. Before funds are invested in a plant for the manufacture of liquid or solid carbon dioxide, whether supplied by wells or springs, an effort to ascertain the volume of gas available is advisable. The use of present methods of estimation of gas reserves with modifications to account for the quantity absorbed by any water present in the produc-ing formation is recommended. The Farnham anticline is used as an example and computations are made of the probable volume of gas originally present in the struc-ture. No attempt was made to compute reserves in the Niland area, California, for the reason that in such areas it is believed the volume is indeterminate.

Jan 1, 1937

By D. M. Clippinger, J. J. Eidel, J. E. Frost

At Ithaca Peak, one of three peaks situated on Duval Corporation's Mineral Park property, a 'Single pulse of quartz monzonite magma intruded the isoclinally folded Precambrian Cerbat complex consisting of schist, quartzfeldspar gneiss, and amphibolite. The magma reacted with the Precambrian rocks, yielding a quartz-diorite rim. As the magma crystallized within the rim, it produced, progressing in'ward, annular bodies of quartz monzonite porphyry, quartz porphyry, and a distinctive quartz porphyry containing abundant podiform, tabular, and irregular quartz masses. These quartz masses are spatially associated with discontinuous crenulate and tabular quartz veinlets. Following crystallization, the Ithaca Peak stock and part of the surrounding Cerbat complex were fractured, producing a stockwork of predominantly northwest and northeast-trending fractures. The stockwork was then mineralized during a period of decreasing temperature by: ( 1) quartz-pyritechalcopyrite veinlets without distinct selvages and with distinct alteration envelopes in which orthoclase was altered to quartz and sericite; (2) quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins and veinlets with distinct selvages and without distinct alteration envelopes; and (3) pyrite-chalcopyrite- galena-sphalerite veins. The Ithaca Peak stock was pervasively sericitized or argillized. The Mineral Park property is surrounded by a zone of propylitization Alteration and mineralization are coextensive in space and were, at least in part, coincident in time. The Mineral Park property possibly was elevated and exposed twice prior to its present exposure. The protore has been enriched by a factor of three. The Ithaca Peak supergene ore body is conformable with present topography and lies above the present water table. The shape of the ore body was controlled by erosion and oxidation of the previously enriched mineralization. Hematite, goethite, and jarosite present at the surface indicate a high primary pyrite environment, but it is possible to recognize that a small proportion of veins and veinlets contained greater amounts of chalcocite and chalcopyrite than pyrite. The igneous facies on Ithaca Peak are the products of differentiation within a solidifying rim according to Bowen's Reaction series. The innermost facies contain more quartz and orthoclase than the outer facies. Late magmatic quartz in the case of Ithaca Peak contains small amounts of pyrite and molybdenite. It is suggested that this quartz-sulfide mineralization, may also have been the product of differentiation the product of differentiation, may indicate that the later hydrothermal mineralization may also have been the product of differentiation.

Jan 1, 1968

By Yeatman, Pope

FOR many years geologists have felt that mining companies should adopt a more liberal policy in the publication of their reports. The increasing usefulness of the geologist to the mining profession in recent years demands that consideration be given to this question. Prior to 1900, the call for geologists of high reputation by mining companies was probably mainly in connection with lawsuits arising from the interpretation of rights or ownership as defined by the "Law of the Apex," and from problems such as finding the continuation of the vein or whether the vein followed was the main one or a branch. Later, outside of legal questions, the most intensive and general use of their services arose from the search for oil. Geologists to determine the position of the formations

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

MODERN metallurgy is an art and a science. The art is process metallurgy-extracting metals from their ores, refining them, and alloying them with one another and with certain nonmetals to produce thereby a variety of metallic materials which, owing to a wide range of useful properties, are for many purposes more valuable to man than the individual metals themselves; process metallurgy also includes shaping or otherwise treating metals and alloys to form objects useful to a complex industrial world. The science is physical metallurgy-organized knowledge of the constitution and internal structure of metals and alloys, of the relation of their composition and structure to properties, and of the laws, theories, and hypotheses that purport to explain this relation.

Jan 1, 1942

By Arthur Notman

THE COMMITTEE on Production Control of the Institute has accomplished little or nothing tangible during the last year. For this the chairman must accept responsibility and whatever praise or blame goes with it. However, we have all had plenty of opportunity to observe the results obtained by various producing groups in their attempts to regulate production to meet demand dur¬ing the last few years. It would be putting it mildly to say that these have not been such as to inspire confidence in the methods pursued. The present plight of the wheat, cotton, coffee and sugar growers; the oil, copper, lead, zinc and tin producers, to name a few of the unfortunates, suggests a common cause perhaps beyond their control. There is a growing tendency to question as outmoded the theories of laissez faire economics, with its laws of competition, supply and demand, with price as the automatic regulator. The position is maintained that something new should be substituted because these laws no longer work. Many solutions are offered, ranging in the world at large from the planned economy of Russia, with the profit element removed, to the military controlled economy of Fascism, and in our own country from voluntary curtailment to martial law. But one hardly feels driven by any irresistible logic to put his finger on any one of these proposals, and to say this is the one in which I believe. On turning to one&apos;s neighbors, one is still more confused by the realization that this intellectual uncertainty is wide-spread. Isolation or cooperation, protection or free trade, the gold standard, bimetallism or managed currencies, de¬flation or inflation, all have their proponents in whose eyes one or the other of these slogans will afford the panacea for all our ills.

Jan 1, 1933

By L. Thomassen, N. Spooner, J. M. Thomas

NI-CR and some Ni-Cr-Fc alloys, when used as electrical resistance heating elements in reducing atmospheres, at times suffer rapid breakdowns due to so-called "green rot." These reducing atmospheres are most frequently used in bright annealing and heat-treating furnaces which are kept for long periods of time at 1500&apos; to 1800°F. The green rot is a preferential oxidation of the chromium in the alloy to such an extent that the remaining metal frequently becomes ferromagnetic. The Curie point (magnetic transition point) at room temperature for a pure Ni-Cr alloy is known to be at about 7 pct Cr.¹ This represents a severe loss in chromium for one popular grade of resistance alloy, which is nominally 80 pct Ni-20 pct Cr. The formation of oxides along the grain boundaries makes the ribbon brittle and gives the fracture a green, earthy appearance—hence the name. The authors have studied this phenomenon, simulating the industrial conditions by heating resistance ribbons in various reducing atmospheres, such as moist hydrogen or the atmosphere specified in the ASTM test.² This atmosphere contains 16 pct H2, 10 pct CO, 4 pct C02, 1 pct CH1, 1.5 to 2.5 pct H2O, balance N2. Little success was had in producing severe corrosion with the commercial 80 pct Ni-20 pct Cr alloys. It had been noticed, however, that 90 pct Ni-10 pct Cr alloy wires deteriorated very rapidly when placed in the bottom of narrow thermocouple protection tubes. The bottoms of the tubes with the wires were heated in air. This took place both in porcelain tubes and in Inconel* tubes either with the cold end open or loosely stoppered with asbestos. On examination the wires showed microstructures which would be classified as green-rot corrosion. Subsequent investigations with various alloy wires confirmed the observation that corrosion occurred in some wires, including 80 pct Ni-20 pct Cr alloys, much more rapidly in such tubes than had occurred previously in test atmospheres mentioned above. When 90 pct Ni-10 pct Cr alloys are oxidized with an abundant air supply, the oxide coat consists of both nickel and chromium oxides. In this case thermodynamic equilibrium between the oxides is not established. However, when oxidized 90 pct Ni-10 pct Cr alloy specimens were heated to 1500" to 1800°F inside small diameter tubes, the oxide coat transformed to a bright metallic outer layer of nickel or nickel-rich alloy, beneath which appeared a green oxide, followed by intergranularly attacked metal. The obvious explanation is that in the narrow tubes, thermodynamic equilibrium is being established according to the equation NiO + Cr (in alloy) ? Ni + Cr2O3 This reaction is favored due to the fact that the oxygen pressure over nickel oxide is more than 10"&apos; times the oxygen pressure over the green chromium oxide. The initial oxygen in the tubes is depleted very rapidly by oxidation of the wire and of the tube, if it is metallic. A confirmation of the occurrence of the reaction, reduction of NiO by the chromium in the alloy, was obtained by putting oxidized nickel foil into an evacuated quartz tube along with a piece of bright 90 pct Ni-10 pct Cr alloy ribbon, and heating the tube at 1820°F for a number of hours. The nickel oxide on the foil was completely reduced to pure nickel, leaving a bright foil. The 90 pct Ni-10 pct Cr alloy became strongly magnetic and showed the typical green-rot structure. Weights of the samples before and after testing showed the weight loss of the foil to approximately equal the weight gain of the ribbon. Evidently the bottom of long, narrow protection tubes, stoppered or not, may under certain conditions act just as the sealed quartz tubes in respect to being a confined space in which oxygen is not freely replenished. This condition of oxygen depletion can be prevented by introducing a small amount of air into the bottom of the tube. Many conditions becloud the green-rot phenomenon, such as carburization, sulphidization, and the presence of other corrosive agents. However, these experiments have shown that the basic reaction is a case of internal oxidation which can occur simply by adjusting the oxygen pressure to a low enough level so that the atmosphere will leave the nickel intact and oxidize the chromium. The action of the other agents in commercial atmospheres can then be taken up as individual cases. From these and numerous other tests completed to date or still in progress, it is believed that a more critical evaluation of electrical resistance alloys for their resistance to green-rot corrosion can be made. A much better understanding of the mechanism for this type of corrosion should also result. A more complete report on these experiments will be published later. In the May 1953 issue: TP 35213 Discussion: Solubility of Carbon and Oxygen in Molybdenum by W. E. Few and G. K. Manning, discussion by N. A. Gokcen: p. 747, first column, the fifth, sixth, and seventh lines should be the first, second, and third lines, followed by the present first, second, third, fourth, eighth, ninth, and tenth lines.

Jan 1, 1954