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By Willard P. Ward

Having been engaged during the past year in the manufacture of ferro-manganese in a blast furnace, I have imagined that some further information on this subject might be of interest to that large number of members of the Institute who are engaged in the iron and steel industries. The great question of the economical production of good steel, ingot metal, or homogeneous iron (we scarcely know now what to call it) from good materials, and at reasonable prices, has, thanks to the intelligence and energy of a few American engineers, been successfully solved in this country. Nearly all first-class railroads, and many that would not rank so high, have adopted the Bessemer rail. Martin boiler-plates are rapidly gaining ground, in competition with

By A. L. Pranatis, G. M. Pound

Changes in length of copper foils of varying thickness and grain size were measured under such conditions of low stress and high temperature that it is believed that creep was predominately the result of interboundary diffusion of the type recently discussed by Conyers Herring. The surface tension of copper was calculated and results confirmed previous work within the limits of experimental error. Under the assumption of viscous flow, viscosities were calculated as a function of temperature and grain size. Predictions of the Nabarro Herring theory of surface grain boundary flow were borne out fully and the Herring theory of diffusional viscosity is strongly supported. ONLY a relatively few techniques for obtaining the surface tension of solids are presently available. Of these, the simplest and most straight forward is the direct measurement of surface tension by the application of a balancing counterforce. Thin wires or foils are lightly loaded and strain rates (either positive due to the downward force of the applied load or negative if the contracting tendency of surface tension is sufficiently greater than the applied stress) are observed. By plotting strain rates against stress, the load which exactly balances the upward pull is found and a simple calculation yields a value for the surface tension. The technique is of comparative antiquity, and solid surface tension values were reported by Chapman and Porter,' Schottky; and Berggren" in the early part of the century. Later, the filament technique became fairly well established as a method for determining the surface tension of viscous liquids, and Tammann and coworkers,'. " Sawai and co-worker and Mackh howed good agreement between the values of surface tension for glasses and tars obtained by the filament technique and by more conventional methods. With the increased confidence in the technique gained in these experiments, the method was applied to solid metals and the first reliable values of surface tension of solid metals were reported by Sawai and coworkers10' " and by Tammann and Boehme." More recently, Udin and coworkersu-'" have reported the results of experiments with gold, silver, and copper wires. Similar experiments with gold wires were carried out by Alexander, Dawson, and Kling.'" The excellent review articles of Fisher and Dunn" and of Udinl@ should be referred to for detailed criticism of the foregoing work and for discussion of underlying theory. In all the foregoing calculations, it is assumed implicitly that the material contracts or extends uni- formly along the length of the specimen and also that it flows in a viscous fashion, i.e., that strain rates are proportional to stress. For an amorphous material, such as glass, tar, or pitch, the assumptions are quite valid and good agreement is obtained with values of surface tension measured by other techniques. The values reported for metals, however, are occasionally regarded with misgiving, since it can be argued that, because of their crystalline nature, true solids can not deform in a viscous fashion. If this is true, then the results reported for solid metals over a long period of years are of only doubtful value. Thus it is clearly necessary that a mechanism be established that would explain both the viscous flow and the uniform deformation that has been assumed. Such a mechanism has been proposed by Herring."' Briefly, he suggests that, under the conditions of the experiment, deformation takes place by means of a flow of vacancies between grain boundaries and surfaces. This is a direct but independent extension of the theory proposed by Nabarro" in an attempt to explain the microcreep observed by Chalmer~.In a condensed form the Herring viscosity equation is TRL there 7 is the viscosity, T the absolute temperature, R and L grain dimensions, and D the self-diffusion coefficient. In its complete form, all constants are calculable and it includes such factors as grain shape, specimen shape, and degree of grain boundary flow. When applied to existing data, good agreement was obtained between predicted and observed flow rates. The theory received provisional confirmation from the work of Buttner, Funk, and Udin" who observed viscosities in 5 mil Au wire much higher than those in the 1 mil wire used by Alexander, Dawson, and Kling.'" More significant were the completely negligible strain rates found by Greenough" in silver single crystals. Opposed to these observations were those of Udin, Shaler, and Wulff'" who found indications of viscosity decreasing as grain size increased. Thus, complete confirmation of the theory was lacking in that the data to which it could be applied contained only a limited number of grain sizes. Hence, it was proposed that a series of experiments be carried out with thin foils of varying grain size up to and including single crystals, where, according to the Herring theory, deformation would occur only at almost infinitely slow rates.

Jan 1, 1956

By Paul A. Taylor

MUCH information concerning pegmatites which was thought to be true a few years ago has been proved false, and what is now actually known about some pegmatites is not true of many others. The erratic and seemingly unpredictable structure and variable composition of this class of mineral deposits has been widely emphasized. Even parts of the same pegmatite body exhibit marked differences in texture, mineral composition, width, and attitude. Constructive geological thinking in respect to pegmatites now aims to establish general laws rather than to stress the confusing diversity of features having no special economic significance. Substantial progress has been made in classifying different types of these deposits according to general features, internal structure, mineralogy, and origin. In some cases it has even been possible to block out tonnage reserves in advance of mining. It is still easy, however, to make highly erroneous predictions after a preliminary examination of a pegmatite prospect. Pegmatites are important to the economic well being of the country and to its military security. They furnish virtually all the feldspar, strategic mica, beryl, columbium, tantalum, and caesium utilized in the United States, as well as sundry other minerals and significant amounts of lithium and rare earth minerals and gems. With the exception of vermiculite, occasional ilmenite-rutile, and perhaps soda-lime feldspar and garnet deposits, basic pegmatites are of little economic importance. Consequently in this paper, as in common parlance, the term pegmatite generally relates to coarsegrained acidic rocks or what is aptly called giant granite. Available data indicating the size and importance of the production and trade in specified pegmatite minerals are summarized in Table I. Geological Features Much of the latest thinking on the economic geology of pegmatites is now available in a 115-page monograph' by a group of experts who participated with geologists of the Federal Geological Survey in the widespread wartime investigations. Doubtless the most significant feature of the monograph is indicated by the title, The Internal Structure of Pegmatites, but it also contains a vast amount of other new information and includes the assimilated concepts of many earlier writers, whose works are given in a comprehensive list of references. The shape, size, attitude, and continuity of many pegmatite bodies is controlled by the structure of the older rocks in which they occur. If the older rocks are easily penetrated, e.g., biotite schist, most of the pegmatites in a given district will be found outside the parent granite mass as exterior pegmatites. Marginal pegmatites are more prevalent if the older rocks are massive, unsheared, and sparingly jointed. Networks of pegmatites are abundant in highly-jointed rocks. In strongly foliated schists the bodies are usually lenticular, whereas in highly-folded areas they assume tear drop, pipe or pod-like, bow-shaped, or sinuous forms. Jahns2 recognizes five major shape classes: l—dikes, sills, pipes, and elongate pods; 2— dikes, sills, pipes, and pods with bends, protuberances, or other irregularities; 3-—trough-or scoop-shaped bodies with or without complicating branches; 4—bodies with the form of an inverted trough or scoop; and 5—other bodies, including combinations of the above and miscellaneous shapes. Many pegmatite deposits are scarcely big enough to be recognizable as such. Most of them, in fact, are small tabular deposits less than 4 in. wide and usually without economic concentrations of minerals. On the other hand, some pegmatites are more than a mile long and over 500 ft wide. The ratios of length to breadth range from 1 : 1 to 1 : 100. Although the vertical dimension bears no invariable relationship to strike length, tabular deposits or large lenses are often symmetrical enough to show nearly as much continuity down dip as in their horizontal extension, and some pipes or pods are amazingly persistent in the vertical plane. Small pegmatites often string along a fairly definite trend line; in a given district major bodies may lie roughly parallel, and where only a few of them do not, the erratically disposed bodies generally differ in composition from those conforming to the regular pattern. This does not apply, however, in all districts. Characteristically, pegmatite veins pinch and swell or split into branches. When they pinch out entirely it is often possible to find a new body by prospecting the extension of the strike or dip, but the chances of finding a hidden deposit are ordinarily too uncertain to justify much subsurface prospecting. Diamond drilling may yield valuable information as to the continuity of known deposits whose upper portions are well-exposed. Some deposits, in fact, can be proved up for hundreds of feet by surface trenching and then intersected by drill holes at various depths like any other vein-like deposit. Others twist and branch, apparently defying all efforts to explore them short of actual mining.

Jan 1, 1954

By R. E. Zinkham, R. J. Goodwin

A mathematical study has been made of the amount of support a cement sheath could provide to casing cemented into the earth. Several assumptions were required to make the analysis, but only two of them are limiting: (I) the pipe must be completely surrounded with cement, and (2) any mud filter cake between the cement and formation has the same physical properties as either the cement or formation. The calculations showed that little support would be provided to the pipe before an unsupported cement sheath failed in tension; however, when the cement is confined between the pipe and wellbore and is loaded in compression, the pipe could receive a considerable amount of support. In fact, the theoretical results indicate the lower grades and larger sizes of pipe could have their working pressures doubled when reasonable compressive loads were applied to a surrounding cement sheath. These data are shown in six charts. Other down-hole conditions such as setting the cement under pressure, increased temperature and cement confinement all tend to increase the potential usefulness of the sheath. Because of size limitations, a laboratory program to verify the most important results of this mathematical study would be very difficult. However, small-scale field tests would be practicable. This paper shows that, if a solid cement sheath can be obtained in the field by either primary cementing or by repair after detection of flaws by surveys such as the new cement-bond logs, the use of this approach to reducing pipe costs merits further consideration. INTRODUCTION A modification in casing design practices is proposed which may either reduce the amount and grade of steel required to contain a specified internal pressure or permit the working pressure to be increased for a specified weight and grade of pipe. One of the more important considerations in casing design is its resistance to collapse; however, Bowers' and, more recently, O'Brien and Goins' have shown many casing programs are unnecessarily conservative in this respect, and they have indicated how savings can be made by designing for more realistic down-hole conditions. Earlier, Saye and Richardson howed that pipe costs could be reduced by considering the cement sheath as a part of the casing string when collapse resistance was being calculated. More recently, Rogers4 has raised the question as to whether a cement sheath might be considered in the design for burst resistance of the cemented casing. Calculations have been made for the increased burst resistance a cement sheath would provide for casing in a wellbore, and the results show that a sizable amount of support could be obtained in some instances. These data are presented in addition to a discussion of several other factors that are considered to affect the burst strength of pipe supported by cement. Two types of support are treated: Case I for tensile loading of the unconfined cement sheath, and Case for compressive loading of the confined cement sheath. ANALYTICAL TREATMENT AND RESULTS CASE I—TENSILE STRESSES IN AN UNCONFINED CEMENT SHEATH Conditions like this would most likely occur in a greatly enlarged portion of the hole where the cement was not in immediate contact with either the formation or a thin and hard mud cake. The mathematical analysis for this condition, as shown in the Appendix, rests on the following concepts. Pressure inside a unit length of pipe causes: (1) a tensile or tangential stress to be exerted over the longitudinal cross-sectional areas of the pipe and cement; and (2) an equal amount of strain in both the pipe and cement that is uniformly distributed over the wall thickness of each. This analysis was then used to make several calculations for a cement sheath around 51/2-in. OD pipe. The results are illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows that a tensile stress of 500 psi is imposed on a 5-in. thick sheath when the casing contains a pressure of only 1,450 psi. It also shows that a 10-in. thick sheath would be stressed to 500 psi in tension when the pipe contained a pressure of only 2,350 psi. Alternatively, if the stress analysis is made by means of the Lame thick-wall cylinder theory, the inner fibers of the 10-in. thick sheath will be stressed to 500 psi in tension when the pressure in the pipe is only 990 psi. This, of course, reveals that an unconfined sheath is of little support to the pipe in burst; however, an entirely different result is obtained when the cement is confined between the pipe and formation.

By David C. Russell

The Department of the Interior used to be a quiet, noncontroversial, almost boring agency. It, after all is the fifth oldest of the Departments, and as an old line Federal agency it has studiously performed its preservation and resource management functions in a caretaker mode--though some would say more "undertaker" than "caretaker"--locking up the body and soul of America piece-by-piece. Yes, quiet, serene. That is until Jim Watt showed up. And we have all seen that version of Mt. Vesuvius which resulted--only it was the environmentalists who blew their tops. Ronald Reagan chose Jim Watt as Secretary of this fine old agency to prove that one-third of our Nation's land and over a billion acres on the Outer Continental Shelf can work for this Nation. At the foundation of President Reagan's charge to Secretary Watt is a belief in the tenets of the free enterprise system, and in the individual freedoms upon which this country was founded. There are those who don't share this belief in democracy and free enterprise, and those who believe this 205 year experiment called the United States of America will fail. Nikita Krushchev said "we will bury you"--obviously he didn't agree with our system. An Italian sociologist, Franco Ferrorotti, said bureaucratic stagnation will kill capitalism. Certainly we have all felt the ravages of bloated bureaucracies. Perhaps one indicator in the United States is the Federal Register, that daily compilation of Government's largesse. In 1970, 20,000 pages of the Federal Register were published. A decade later, in 1980, that volume had quadrupled to 80,000 pages. The Federal bureaucracy can stagnate from excessive budgets as well. The Interior Department spent $60 million on administering Federal coal leasing in 1981. That's nearly two bits a ton for every ton of coal leased in 1981. You wouldn't stay in business very long if your administrative overhead on inventory was that outrageous. But the pessimism of our critics is apparent from more than red tape and bloated budgets. For decades America has been fasting--consuming too little of America's wealth of minerals, subsisting instead on a diet heavily reliant upon mid-east oil, with little emphasis or concern for inventorying and developing domestic energy and mineral resources. Economics--yes. But short-term, short-sighted economics. Excessively dependent upon foreign imports, of oil, cobalt, chrome and other strategic minerals, the U.S. measures its time before another embargo--or fallen Shah, or Soviet manipulation, or Saudi shift, or, as we witnessed in Egypt, assassination--an untimely loss to mankind and efforts to bring peace to the troubled mid-east. These disruptions, in addition to their tragic human tolls, impair the free world's security. Huge chunks of the United States have been locked away in dozens of single land use categories in the name of conservation, with only the foggiest idea of what resources might be denied the American people-and this at a time of unacceptable levels of energy and strategic mineral imports. More than half and perhaps two-thirds of all Government-owned lands are totally withdrawn from or severely restricted to development under the mining and leasing laws. We must continue to rid Government of the overly zealous restraints which have been keeping us from drawing upon that which can help restore our economy and national security. When we assumed responsibility, the United States was dependent on foreign sources for about 40 percent of its oil. In 1981, our oil import bill was approximately $83 billion--nearly 17 times what it was in 1972. Our reliance on foreign sources for essential minerals is even more disturbing. We must look to other countries--some unfriendly, some unstable--for 22 of 36 strategically critical minerals. Yet the energy resources on federal lands which are owned by the American people could meet our needs for centuries if properly managed. Eighty-five percent of the crude oil yet to be discovered in America is likely to come from public lands, as will 40 percent of the natural gas, 35 percent of the coal, 80 percent of the oil shale, nearly all of the tar sands, and substantial portions of uranium and geothermal energy. Our vast hardrock-mineral wealth includes untapped deposits of essential elements we now import, such as chromium, copper, platinum, and cobalt. The obvious question is, if these abundant resources can help to revitalize our economic strength and to preserve our national security, why aren't we using them to better advantage? To a large extent, the answer can be found in past decisions to restrict public access to the federal estate, thus deferring to us or our successors the tough decisions that flow from Congress' mandate to provide for environmentally responsible development of America's energy and mineral treasures. Here is the legacy this Administration inherited: In January 1981, 7 years after the onset of the Mideast oil embargo: ---Less than 15 percent of federal onshore lands were under lease for oil and gas development; ---No oil and gas leases had been issued in Alaska for 15 years;

Jan 1, 1982

By A. J. Williams

THE province of Saskatchewan, situated in the center of the Great Plains region of Canada, has, like most prairie areas, an essentially agricultural economy. Most of its population of about 860,000 is located in the southern half of the province in the farming and ranching areas. To the north of the prairie is a broad forested belt supporting a considerable timbering industry, and the northern one third of the province is glaciated pre-Cambrian rock formation. This latter area is relatively barren of vegetation, but the presence within it of a considerable variety of radioactive, noble and base metals, and industrial minerals has been shown by prospecting in recent years.' Glacial Geology The Keewatin ice sheet, considered to have accumulated in the country to the west of Hudson Bay in Pleistocene time, covered at its maximum advancement almost all of Saskatchewan and extended south of the international boundary. Only in the Cypress Hills in the southwest and around Wood Mountain in the south central portion of the province did the preglacial formations escape the action for this glacial period. The bedrock of the plains and forest areas therefore is overlain by moraines and modified glacial drift, which vary in thickness from a few feet to 400 or 500 ft.' Glacial action in the pre-Cambrian area of the province was largely erosional, most of the more recent formations and some of the pre-Cambrian rock being transported out of the area to the south and west. It has been estimated that about 13 pct of this area is composed of lakes and rivers not too adaptable to rail or water transportation, so that until the use of aviation for exploration purposes became general, development of the area was slow. To the south, the heavy mantle of glacial drift has to some extent deterred the discovery of industrial minerals in the bedrock underlying the forest and prairie regions3 At the same time, this drift contains numerous deposits of those most elementary and necessary industrial minerals, sand and gravel. Sedimentary Basin The major feature of the sedimentary deposits underlying the plains regions is the basinal structure known as the Moose Jaw syncline, which runs from the southeast corner of the province in a northwesterly direction. To the west of this syncline the formations curve upward, then have been faulted and further upthrust to appear at the surface in the foothills of the Rockies in Alberta; to the east and north they curve upward into Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan, but the surface contacts are covered mostly with glacial drift.238 The axis of the syncline dips to the southeast, so that there is also an upward trend of the formations along the axis to the northwest. In illustration of the regional structure underlying the province, the pre-Cambrian basement has been logged in drillholes at the following depths in several locations: Ogema (south central), 9390 ft; Gronlid (northeast), 2599 ft; Vera (northwest), 4422 ft; Big River (north northwest), 2348 ft. Fig. 1 indicates the general surface geology of the province, ignoring such glacial overburden as may overlie many of the bedrock formations. Also indicated is the approximate location of the axis of the Moose Jaw syncline.' Industrial Minerals Clays: The province is fortunate in possessing a widespread distribution of clays of ceramic value, ranging from those used for heavy structural products to the high grade pottery and china clays. Shales suitable for brick and tile production are found in the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary formations across the south of the province where the glacial drift is thin or nonexistent. Many deposits of glacial lake clays suitable for such wares are found scattered over the rest of the province south of the pre-Cambrian area. The Whitemud formation of the Upper Cretaceous is a narrow sedimentary band of secondary clays found intermittently at points across the south of the province where glacial action did not disturb or remove them.' In the southwest corner of the province, around Eastend in the Frenchman River valley, the refractory clays of this formation are contaminated somewhat with iron compounds or other alteration products of basaltic rocks. This eliminates the use of those clays in true whitewares, as they fire to creamy buff shades at the lower temperatures and to a blue-specked grey at cone 8 to 12, (2280°F to 2390°F), the range commonly used in firing whiteware. However, for use in the production of colored artware, caneware, stoneware or crockery, and sewerpipe, this type of clay makes an excellent body that requires little or no addition of flint, feldspar, or other fluxing materials such as are required in the higher class of ware.' It is not a grade of clay that can be shipped great distances to the manufacturing centers, but a market for considerable tonnages has developed at nearby Medicine Hat, where cheap natural gas is available for the firing of the ware. Farther east in the south central portion of the province, the clays of the Whitemud formation are generally more refractory and white burning. The formation is divided into three zones, consisting of white clays, brown shale, and white sandy clays.

Jan 1, 1953

By Rudolph G. Wuerker

The progress made in testing the strength of rocks and minerals as they are encountered in mine operation is reviewed. An attempt is made to correlate these physical measurements with abrasive hardness, grindability, and behavior in comminution on one hand and fracture of rocks in pillars and roof control on the other. THIS paper reviews the progress made in testing the strength of rocks, ores, coal, salts, and other minerals as they are encountered in mine operations. It attempts to correlate the results of these physical measurements with technological properties more useful to the mining engineer: abrasive hardness, grindability, and behavior in comminution on one hand, and roof control, fracture of rocks in pillars, and mining methods with controlled caving on the other. In the following pages, the materials discussed will be referred to as rocks. Basic to rock mechanics and comminution are the problems of strength, elastic behavior, and failure, common to all brittle materials. A distinction will be drawn as to theoretical and applied research, and discussion of the progress made in each field will include test data obtained by the U.S. Bureau of Standards,1-1 the U.S. Bureau of Mines," the Iowa Engineering Experiment Station,"." the Committee on Geophysical Research at Harvard University,'" Basic Industries Research of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co.,11,12 by Philipps,13 and by Mueller," to name only a few. With refinements of testing methods and increased standardization. more useful and more comparable results have been achieved. This is especially important in testing a material like rock, as the inherent heterogeneity demands careful and exacting procedures. New measuring procedures that appear to supersede well known standard methods have contributed to faster and less costly testing yet have introduced new concepts, with implications as to comparability of results which must be watched. Reference is made to the sonic method for determining elastic properties," to be discussed in detail below. Basic Investigations Historically, all work in the field has started with the simplest determinations such as those for crushing strength, abrasive hardness, and grindability. These serve the limited objectives in the researcher's field of specialization: building construction, road ballast, roof control in mines, comminution, and seismic prospecting. Occasionally, fundamental properties like the modulus of elasticity E and Poisson's ratio v have been determined with the idea that they might have some bearing on the technological properties of the material under investigation. But it was not until the work of Philipps,13 of Harvard University,'" and of the U.S. Bureau of Mines"' that sufficient basic data were collected to allow researchers to go beyond the technological test and find the fundamental laws behind the behavior of rocks in mine and mill operations. The properties to be looked for are those that describe the elastic behavior of any material, the modulus of elasticity E and Poisson's ratio v being the ones determinable with least difficulties. Only two such properties are required to compute any other property such as the shear modulus, the modulus of rigidity, and the bulk modulus, all of which are related to each other according to well known equations of the theory of elasticity." In spite of their heterogeneous character, all rocks tested have possessed elastic properties. This does not mean that rocks of the same type always have the same modulus of elasticity, which varies exactly as the crushing strength or any other physical property of a rock can spread over a wide range. This has been explained by imperfections of the material always found in rocks, but to some extent this scattering of data is caused by inaccuracies inherent in the testing methods. Modulus of Resilience, a Criterion of Failure Increased availability of E values should allow us to test the validity of the quantity of strain energy theory which has been used in the solution of roof control problems by Philipps13 and by Holland.'" Recently Bond and Wang12 have applied this theory to explain the failure of an elastic material in comminution. Actually it is a very old theory, proposed as far back as 1885 by Beltrami.16 By its assumption the condition of yielding is determined by the term S2 M, = — x volume. Here M, is the modulus of 2E resilience, and its dimension is inch-pounds per cubic inch, that is, work per unit volume. Its numerical value is equal to the area under the stress-strain diagram. In the foregoing equation S is the yield stress (in psi) in tension or compression, whatever the case may be. E, the modulus of elasticity, is in psi. The great appeal of Beltrami's concept of stored energy lies in the fact that the two properties which seem to influence failure most, strength and elasticity, occur in the formula for the modulus of resilience. As an illustration of this, the moduli of resilience in compression of some typical materials tested by the U.S. Bureau of Mines" have been plotted in Fig. 1. The sample of concrete of conventional mix is shown only for the sake of comparison. Its determination was made in the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Illinois. The values of the moduli of resilience of the various specimens in the plot are:

Jan 1, 1954

By L. L. Handy

Solvent floods using slugs of solvent have been found to show continuity in behavior from the vapor pressure of the solvent to the critical pressure for the two-component driving gas-solvent system. In the pressure region between the solvent vapor pressure and the critical pressure for the gas-solvent system, the gar and solvent are only partially miscible. Although complete miscibility cannot be obtained at these pressures, complete oil recovery is possible in principle. In two-phase solvent floods the solvent is propagated tllrough the reservoir, primarily, in the vapor phase. The carrier gas requirements constitute a significant factor in the economics of the process. A qualitative theory is proposed for estimating the amount of dry gas required to move the solvent through the reservoir. The theory shows that for two-phase solvent floods the total gas needed is a minimum at the vapor pressure of the solvent and at the critical pressure for the gas-solvent system, and is a maximum at some intermediate pressure. The predictions of the theory are supported by experimental studies using methane, butane and decane or methane, propane and decane in a natural sandstone core. INTRODUCTION Previously, solvent slug processes have been found effective for oil recovery in two pressure ranges. First, conventional miscible displacements are possible at pressures greater than the critical pressure for the gas-solvent system. Second, Jenks, et al,' have shown that, at pressures slightly in excess of the vapor pressure of the solvent, a solvent slug can be propagated through a reservoir by a gas essentially insoluble in the liquid solvent. The solvent bank displaces the oil ahead of it. Both of these processes, at least ideally, are capable of recovering all of the oil in the swept regions. Slug processes for which the gas and solvent are partially miscible have not been considered; that is, those systems for which the solvent and driving gas form two equilibrium phases in which the vapor phase contains a significant amount of solvent and the liquid phase an appreciable amount of the driving gas. Welge and Johnson' have shown that the gas needed to movc a solvent slug through the reservoir increases with increasing pressure above the vapor pressure of the solvent. It will be shown that solvent slug processes can, theoretically, recover all of the oil at any pressure greater than the vapor pressure of the solvent. But the amount of gas required to move the solvent through the reservoir depends very much on the pressure and temperature. In the present study a maximum in the gas requirements was both predicted theoretically and observed experimentally. This result has not been reported previously, and would not have been predicted from the Welge and Johnson model. The gas requirements are a minimum at the pressures corresponding to the vapor pressure of the solvent and again at the critical pressure for the gas-solvent system, and are a maximum at some intermediate pressure. AN APPROXIMATE THEORY FOR TWO-PHASE SOLVENT FLOODING The differences and similarities between conventional solvent floods and two-phase solvent floods are best understood by referring to concepts developed for miscible displacement in which miscibility is generated in the reservoir. In Fig. 1(A), a ternary diagram is shown for a hypothetical gas-solvent-oil system. To be rigorous the three components should each consist of a single molecular species. The pressure for Fig. 1(A) is greater than the critical pressure for the binary gas-solvent system at the specified temperature. Diagrams of this type are the ones most frequently referred to in discussions of enriched-gas drive and miscible displacement. A limiting tie line is shown tangent to the two-phase envelope and intersecting the gas-solvent line at Point A. To obtain generated miscibility with this type system, others have shown that, for an oil of Composition D, a mixture of gas and solvent must be injected which is richer in solvent than that composition indicated by A. An oil repeatedly contacted with a gas phase richer than A changes toward a composition which would be at equilibrium with the injected mixture, that is, a composition lying on a tie line which passes through the injected-gas composition. Since no such tie line exists, the oil is enriched to the point at which it becomes directly miscible with the injected mixture. At pressures lower than the critical pressure for the gas-solvent system, other types of phase diagrams are observed. The ones of interest in this paper are for pressures greater than the vapor pressure of the solvent, but less than the critical pressure of the gas-solvent system. Such a ternary diagram is shown on Fig. 1(B). In this case, two-phase behavior is observed not only for gas-oil mixtures, but also for certain compositions in the gas-solvent system. If a gas of Composition A (a dew-point vapor) is injected, once again the original oil is enriched by successive

By Hugh H. Waesche

Of all the military services, the Signal Corps is the most concerned with piezoelectric minerals because of its function as a supply service to the strategic and tactical military forces. Consequently this paper is written from the point of view of one associated with that organization. The Signal Corps is responsible for the research, development, and supply of communications, radar, and components to the using services of the Department of the Army and to some extent the Other branches of the National Defense Department. Their work therefore includes the study of the sources* characteristics, and application of quartz and other piezoelectric materials. These materials have become a vital consideration in strategic planning and are essential for efficient tactical operation by all the Armed Forces. The Signal Corps at the beginning of world War 11 Was respon-sible for both Army Ground and Air Force electronic equipment. Since that time this Army service organization has probably done more in the development of frequency control devices using piezoelectric materials than any other group. The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Minerals yearbook of 1945, shows that during the four war years, 1942 through 1945, 9,598,-410 Ib of quartz crystal were imported for all uses and of this total, 5,168,000 lb were consumed to produce 78,320,-000 crystal units for electronic application. Other government records confirm these data which conclusively show that approximately 53 pct of the crystalline quartz imported was consumed in the production of electronically applied quartz crystal units. It may be assumed that some effort was made to maintain a stockpile over demands for all purposes. and this would mean that the actual percentage of quartz used electronically was considerably over the 53 pct figure. These data only emphasize that electronic application of crystalline quartz was the greatest requirement, and per- haps the actual value in this application to national defense is many times greater in importance than is apparent on first inspection. Current electronic research and development programs of the Armed Forces are planned around the fundamental use of piezoelectric minerals for frequency control and this at present, at least, means quartz. Definition and Early Development The word piezoelectricity is formed from combination of the Greek word "piezein". meaning "to press," and "electricity." It is that property shown by numerous crystalline substances whereby electrical charges of equal and opposite value are produced on certain surfaces when the crystal is subjected to mechanical stress. It appears to be intimately associated with the better known property, pyro-electricity and in fact, the two may be manifestations of the same phenomeuon. This property was discovered by Pierre and Jacques Curie in quartz, tourmaline, and other minerals in 1880 while studying the symmetry of crystals. The converse effect, that is, mechanical strain in the crystal when placed in an electrical field, was predicted by the French physicist, G. Lippman, in 1881, and verified by the Curies almost immediately. As has been the case with many discoveries of similar character in the basic sciences, not much attention was paid to this property for man)- years except as an entertaining curiosity. Between 1890 and 1892 a series of papers was published by W. voigt in which the theoretical physical properties were put into mathematical form. The first practical application of piezoelectricity occurred during World War I when professor P. Langevin of France used quartz mosaics to produce underwater sound waves. The same mosaics were used to pick up the sound reflections from submerged objects which were in turn, amplified by electronic means and used to determine the distances to such objects. This device was intended for use as a submarine detector but development was not completed in time for war service although it was used later for determining ocean depths. About the same time, A. M. Nicholson, of Bell Telephone Laboratories, developed microphones and phonograph pickups using Rochelle salt crystals. A major step in the application of piezoelectric quartz came in 1921, when professor W. G. Cady, of wesleyan university, showed that a radio oscillator could be controlled by a quartz crystal; from that date, this use of quartz has increased steadily, reaching its peak in world war 11 as is shown by the figures previously given. Essentially all American electronic equipment for communication, navigation, and radar, utilized quartz crystals for the exacting frequency control required. Crystalline Minerals with piezoelectric Properties QUARTZ Hundreds of piezoelectric crystalline materials are known, most of which are water soluble. Of these, quartz appears to be without a peer for electronic frequency control. Unfortunately, the quartz must be of superior quality. It must be free of mechanical flaws, essen-tially optically clear, free of both Brazil and Dauphiné twinning and must be, for average uses, over 100 g in weight. Because of these stringent requirements, raw quartz of the quality desired is of rare occurrence. In addition to quartz, several other naturally occurring crystalline materials are known to have the piezoelectric property and could perhaps be substituted for quartz in some applications. These

Jan 1, 1950

By Ernest O. Kartinen

This report is the accumulation of eight years of experience on only one small phase in the business of oil production. It is not intended as a final report but rather as a progress report dealing with the internal corrosion of oil field dehydrating tanks. The corrosion of dehydrating tanks continues to be a problem in the production of crude oil. The deterioration hy corrosion of these tanks falls into three general classifications: (1) Atmospheric corrosion of exterior areas, (2) corrosion of the underside of deck and the rafters and top area of the upper row of staves in that part of the tank which is known as the vapor space, and (3) corrosion of the bottom and shell areas, and the steam coils which are normally immersed in water and thus exposed to the corrosive action of the water. Atmospheric corrosion is primarily a paint problem, and has been omitted in this discussion. The corrosion in the vapor space, in this company's experience, which has been of great concern only in one area. has also been omitted in this discussion. The third, and most troublesome type of corrosion, and the one with which this report deals, is that which occurs in the water-exposed areas of dehydrating tanks, and, to a lesser degree. in some stock tanks. The operating temperature of these waters varies from 80°F to 160°F and the salt counts run from a few thousand to as high as 25.000 parts per million. Corrosion in these tanks occurs in three forms: (1) pits, (2) ringworm type of attack along the vertical and horizontal bolt seams, and (3) as a general attack, spread over a wide area. Steam Coils In dehydrating tanks, our experience has been that the steam coils are the first to show signs of corrosion, and then the shell and bottom areas. This action is not uniform throughout this company's operations. Some installations have coil troubles with very little tank trouble, and some show just the opposite. But in the majority of cases the coils are the more seriously corroded areas. This may be partly due to the fact that we have tried by periodic application to keep a protective coating on the interior areas of the tanks, and some protection has been afforded by these coatings. Through the years several types of hot and cold coatings have been tried with many various methods of cleaning the steel, ranging from use of cleaning solvents to hot and cold Oakite washes, as well as sandblasting. Although experience has shown that a longer life expectancy of a coating is possible after a very thorough steel cleaning job, it has still been necessary to recoat these tanks at least every two or three years. Until a few years ago, vertical spiral steam coil bundles were installed when the tanks were originally erected. When these coils needed replacement, in some cases within 18 months, it was necessary to remove a couple of shell staves to accomplish this task. This required a down time period of several days and was often very inconvenient to the production operations of the leases. This problem was considered on the basis that the coils were expendable, and thus. to eliminate any unnecessary down time when changing coils, the vertical spiral coils were discarded in favor of horizontal flat coils which could be taken in and out of the tanks by way of the cleanout openings, and put together with unions. This made a fairly easily replaceable and repairable coil. But it was still very much of a nuisance when repairs were necessary. Efforts to increase the useful life of the dehydrating tanks led to the adoption of galvanized tanks at an increased initial cost. The zinc coating was depended upon for protection and no other protective coatings were applied. In July, 1944. during the development of a new lease, a 3-ring 1,500 bbl, black iron water tank was converted into a dehydrating tank with steam coils to handle the new production. This tank was coated inside with a cold, brushed-on coating, for protection against corrosion. After approximately 18 months of service, holes developed in the tank and the steam coils. The tank was emptied and cleaned for repairs. The coils were so badly pitted that it was felt advisable to replace them. Coating Becomes Loose Inspection of the tank showed the protective coating to be still in place but loose, and numerous blisters were in evidence. A closer inspection showed that the interior of this tank was so badly pitted under the coating that any further attempt to use the tank was inadvisable. This tank was therefore discarded and a new galvanized tank ordered and set up at considerable expense and inconvenience. In April, 1946, another dehydrating tank installation was made on an adjoining lease. This installation consisted of a 1,500 bbl. 3-ring galvanized tank with two sets of flat steam coils 12 in. and 24 in. up from the bottom. In September, 1947. seventeen months after installation. salt showed up in the boiler feed water. When the dehydrating tank was opened and cleaned, the steam coils were found to be badly pitted — several holes having penetrated through the wall of the pipe. New coils were installed.

Jan 1, 1950

By George W. Mitchell

THE property of Eureka Corp. Ltd. is located in the approximate geographic center of Nevada, 2 miles from Eureka, the county seat. The great sources of power, the Colorado, Snake, and Salmon Rivers and the rivers of northern California, are 300 to 500 miles distant, and no lines serve areas closer than 150 miles. Fuel for diesel and steam generation is available in Utah, 300 to 400 miles to the east. Eureka's railhead is 80 miles north where two trunk lines cross the county. A spur line serves Ely, 77 miles east. Good highways connect Eureka to the railheads. Activity in the Eureka mining district began in the early 1870's. The oxidized high grade lead-sil-ver-gold ore terminated against the footwall of the Ruby Hill fault, and in 1890 the main operations ceased. In 1938 Eureka Corp. Ltd. discovered ore in the hanging wall of the fault by diamond drilling. The history of Eureka in the late 1800's indicates that there was some water at 600 to 800 ft in the old workings, probably accumulations above the water table which did not seriously interfere with mining operations. Both the Locan and Richmond shafts were sunk to a level below the table, but apparently the only serious difficulty with water occurred in the Locan. The steam pump used when the last work was done on the 1200 level in 1923, many years after exhaustion of the main orebodies, is still installed on the Locan 900 level. The capacity was about 500 gpm, lifting 750 ft to the 100 level, which connected with the surface. In addition to this. bailers were used to keep the 1200 level free of water. It is said that pumping in 1923 lowered the water in the Holly shaft, about a mile and a half away, but this seems doubtful. The pumping was of short duration because no ore was found. When work at the new Fad shaft was started in 1941 Eureka Corp. Ltd. engineers were fully aware of the probability of encountering water in large volume. Their primary exploration and development had to be carried on at the 2250 level. The first water was encountered at 300 ft. This was undoubtedly surface drainage in the bedding of the Pogonip limestone and was less than 100 gpm. The fractured, loose Hamburg dolomite at the water table was not well cemented, and relatively little water, 300 gpm, percolated through it with difficulty. At 1350 ft well-cemented dolomite containing some open fractures was encountered. These fractures produced the first water of consequence, 750 gpm. At 1700 ft the volume was 1000 gpm increasing to the maximum during shaft sinking, 1600 gpm, at the 2000 level. Secret Canyon shale, a dry formation, was entered at 2100 ft, where a concrete water ring was placed to catch all of the water. The volume decreased rapidly to a constant flow of 1200 gpm. Below 2100 ft the shaft and stations remained in the shale and water was not a problem. Several faults of moderate displacement, including the reverse Martin fault, had been intersected during the traversing of 1000 ft of wet Hamburg, but no undue quantities of water were encountered. Observations in the diamond drill holes in the ore zone area showed a rapid lowering of the water table. The shaft was flooded when it left the dry shale and entered the water-bearing Eldorado dolomite on the 2250 level, crossing a fissure which paralleled the Martin fault. High pressure water doubled the volume then being pumped. Pipe failure through a water door bulkhead was a contributing factor. Immediately following this flooding in March 1948 preparations were made to recover the shaft as rapidly as possible by increasing power and pump capacities as needed. Measurements before flooding indicated the water could be lowered at a fast rate. However, the water table did not recede as rapidly as expected and volumes required to lower the water in the shaft were higher. Obviously the size of the main water channel on the 2250 level was increasing because of erosion, allowing greater volumes to enter the workings and draining beyond the cone originally being drained during shaft sinking. Eroded material was being deposited in the shaft below the 2250 level in serious proportions. In December 1948 a second flooding of the Fad shaft was allowed for the purpose of reassessing existing conditions and studying alternate methods of attack. The detailed geology of the Eureka mining district, see Fig. 1, has been described during the past 75 years by many geologists.' Only the general features and those which seem to affect the drainage problem will be discussed. The old ore zone, mined between 1870 and 1890, is located in a wedge-shaped block of Eldorado dolomite between the footwall of the Ruby Hill fault and the underlying Prospect Mountain quartzite, see Fig. 2. Production of high grade oxidized lead ore containing high values in gold and silver has been variously estimated at $50 to $90 million. The tonnage mined was probably close to 1,500,000, nearly all of which was found above the water table. The new ore, discovered by diamond drilling in the hanging wall of the Ruby Hill fault, is a flat-

Jan 1, 1954

By AIME AIME

ORGANIZATION of The Federated American Engineering Societies was effected at the organizing conference of national, local, state and regional engineering and allied technical organizations at the Cosmos Club, Washington, D. C., June 3 and 4. Thus is brought into being the greatest national engineering society in the world. The object of the organization is to further the interests of the public through the use of technical knowledge and engineering experience, and to consider and act upon matters common to engineering and allied technical professions. Prominent engineers from all parts of the country, representing more than 75 engineering societies, with an aggregate membership of more than 125,000, participated in the organization. The constitution as adopted by the conference, calls for the creation of s managing body to be known as the American Engineering Council, and its executive board. The belief was expressed that the entire organization would come to be spoken of as the American Engineering Council. The council is to coordinate the activities of state councils and of local affiliations whenever these activities are of national or general importance or may affect the general interests of engineers. Representation in the council is to be according to membership of the component societies.

Jan 1, 1920

By Felix A. Vogel

I (New York Meeting, February, 1912.) FLUE-DUST, to most blast-furnace operators, means a troublesome by-product, the formation of which should be curtailed, if not prevented entirely. However, with the increasing use of fine ores, larger furnaces, and high-pressure blast, the production of flue-dust is constantly increasing, and amounts annually in the United States to from 3,000,000 to 3,500,000 tons, An exceedingly high tonnage, of which a large part has been discarded as valueless. As a result of greater economy in the iron industry, the attention of our furnace-men has been directed towards the utilization of this enormous amount of waste material, a problem which had also been given due consideration by metallurgists abroad. Flue-dust is generally a fine material containing considerable coke and iron-ore, with a small admixture of lime and silica, depending upon the burden. The iron-ore is partly reduced, which shows that the dust originates largely in the reducing-zone of the blast-furnace. In the United States this dust usually contains 20 per cent. of coke and more than 40 per cent. of iron. Estimating coke to be worth $3.25 per ton, and iron-ore 7 cents per unit, a ton of flue-dust, unless made available, represents a loss to the furnace-man of $3.50. This accounts for the first efforts to recharge the flue-dust into the furnace, either by moistening it clown with an excess of water, or mixing it with clay to form balls of pulp, or treating it with lime-water. These methods, however, have been practically discarded, as they failed to produce the desired economies. To recover, in the blast-furnace, all the values represented by the material contained in the flue-dust, the following con¬ditions should be complied with

May 1, 1912

By D. C. Hilty, W. Crafts

L. S. Darken—Laboratory investigation of deoxidizing and other steelmaking reactions is usually centered, at least first, on the determination of the equilibrium or equilibria involved. This seems a reasonable procedure since equilibrium, if attained, depends only on composition, temperature, and pressure; hence conclusions derived from data on small experimental quantities are applicable to a heat of steel providing eauilibrium is attained in both cases. A knowledge of equilibrium serves as a useful framework even though we may know that practical conditions do not correspond to complete equilibrium. On the other hand, nonequilibrium or rate phenomena depend on a wider variety of conditions and are more difficult to interpret; conclusions applicable to laboratory conditions may or may not apply to larger scale phenomena. Hence the attainment or nonattainment of true equilibrium in the experiments here reported is of critical importance in evaluating their significance. Since some of the statements in this paper and in the closely related preceding one (on aluminum deoxidation) imply some doubt on this matter, I should first like to ask the authors whether their conditions are intended and believed to represent equilibrium. I should like to point out three considerations which seem to cast considerable doubt on the achievement of equilibrium, at least of the particular equilibrium under consideration. 1. In the experiments on manganese deoxidation the authors point out that they could not maintain the manganese-oxide slag on top of the metal in their rotating crucible, and hence they substantially dispensed with this slag. This leads to serious trouble in the interpretation of the results, for any equilibrium is, of course, a particular specific equilibrium—in this case Mn + O = MnO The experimental deletion of the upper layer of manganese oxide means that if equilibrium is attained at all it is attained between the metal and the MnO which has soaked into or adhered to the crucible (under the metal) and has dissolved substantial amounts of the crucible material including impurities. These impurities may constitute a significant portion of the slag by virtue of the small total amount of slag, even though the crucible is relatively pure. Hence there would seem to be a strong presumption that the equilibrium (if attained) involves not a pure MnO (or MnO — FeO) slag but one saturated with alumina and containing perhaps considerable impurities which substantially lower the concentration and activity of MnO, causing the above reaction to proceed to the right further than it would in the absence of alumina and impurities. Hence it is not surprising that manganese here appears as a better deoxidizer than found by other investigators. The present results may represent equilibrium with a slag of unknown composition which seems unlikely to be particularly related to plant experience. 2. The curves representing the observed silicon deoxidation (figs. 3, 4, and 5) are all drawn with a discontinuity in slope at about 0.02 pct oxygen. This point is interpreted as corresponding to the three-phase equilibrium, metal, slag, solid silica. The type of construction shown in these figures (though apparently fitting the data) is contrary to a fundamental principle of heterogeneous equilibrium as pertains to the construction of phase diagrams. According to this principle, the two solubility curves (each of the two portions of the curves in figs. 3, 4, and 5) must intersect in such manner that their (metastable) extensions must lie outside the homogeneous field rather than inside as in these figures. In other words, the "point" in these curves should be aimed in the opposite direction, if it is to be interpreted as corresponding to the three-phase equilibrium. The construction adopted is in violation of the second law of thermodynamics. This matter is discussed in detail in several texts and also by Lipson and Wilson.&apos;" The same criticism applies to the later figures representing conditions for manganese additions. The occurrence of this discontinuity or break at 0.02 pct oxygen casts further doubt on its interpretation. The earlier investigation of this system by Korber and Oelsen is in substantial agreement with the several recent findings of Chipman and coworkers that the oxygen content of iron in equilibrium with silica and silica-saturated iron oxide slag is about one third to one half that (0.24 pct at 1600") of iron saturated with pure iron oxide; thus there seems reliable evidence that iron saturated with silica and iron silicate slag at 1600" contains about 0.1 pct oxygen, or certainly much more than the 0.02 pct proposed in this paper. 3. In the quarternary system iron-silicon-manganese-oxygen one of the equilibria involved may be written 2 Mn + SiO2 (solid) = 2 MnO <slag> + Si The activity of SiO, is constant (if equilibrium is attained) by virtue of its presence as a substantially pure solid. At not too low metallic manganese content, the activity of MnO in the slag is constant by virtue of the fact that the slag is substantially pure manganese silicate saturated with silica and hence of constant composition. Thus the equilibrium constant for the above reaction is asi/a2Mn. Barring unanticipated large changes in the activity coefficients, the equilibrium constant may be adequately approximated for the composition range covered as [% Si]/[% Mn]2. Thus a plot of log [% Mn] against log [% Si] would be expected to be linear with a slope of one half as found by Kijrber and Oelsen. In the present investigation the slope (shown in fig. 15) is found to be one. It is difficult to believe that this finding represents a correct equilibrium determination, since it is at odds both with prior experimental investigation and with. theory. In view of the above points it seems that, although this paper reports many interesting findings, there is room for considerable skepticism as to the attainment of equilibrium and as to the conclusions drawn. N. A. Gokcen—The authors consider that Si% x O2% product is constant. This product is a function of the asi X a0 activity of Si02. The true constant is -------------. If the asio2 slags of this investigation were always saturated with SiO2 then Si% X O2% product would be constant,

Jan 1, 1951

By R. W. Raymond

PROF. HENRY Louis, of Armstrong College, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, a distinguished member of this Institute and other technical societies, has recently sent to the Institution of Mining Engineers, and to the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, in Great Britain, a communication, the substance of which is as follows Prof. Louis calls attention to the absence of any recognized English term for the definite description of a frequent phenomenon-namely, the oblique position of an ore-body in the plane in which it. lies. In this connection, Prof. Louis says that in America the term " pitch " has been occasionally applied to this relation, and proposes that, in the literature of ore-deposits, it shall be hereafter restricted to this particular meaning, the angle of the pitch, like that of the dip, being always measured from the horizontal, and the dip being always taken at right angles to the strike, while the pitch is taken on the plane of the dip, in the direction of the strike. Thus, for example, in a vein or bed striking N-S., and dipping, say, 45° E., there might be an ore-body, the axis of which pitched northward, at an angle of 45° below the horizontal line, as measured on the plane of the inclosing vein or bed. If the term " pitch " had this universally recognized meaning, the situation could be simply and perfectly expressed by its use, in connection with the general data of strike and clip. As Prof. Louis says ?This suggestion has a certain practical value, and is not merely academic. Every mining engineer of practical experience in such types of ore-deposit will have met with cases, in which a vertical shaft has been sunk with the object of cutting the deposit, but has missed it, because the dip alone has been taken into account, while the pitch has been overlooked." He adds the acute observation that such an oversight is much likelier to occur with regard to a condition not definitely desig-

Mar 1, 1908

By L. T. Hiaains

EVEN before the surrender of Germany, a gradual reduction in output of many of the small mining iseswises in the different countries of South America had occurred. Part of this was due to restricted purchases of strategic mineral supplies, and part to economic conditions. Inflationary tendencies have keen increasing since the war started; out in the past three years they have become serious. The difficulty in obtaining supplies, and labor troubles, has also combined to reduce production in many circumstances. British Guiana The Cuyuni Goldfields, Ltd., operating he Aleck Hill mine, is increasing their yanked mill to 500 tons. This appears be one of the few important new developments in South America during recent years. Brazil The big Volta Redonda steel plant was sported as being ready to start operations. Argentina Political troubles have restricted activities during the past year, and fuel short. ges have been so acute that surplus corn as burned in some instances. Practically all the tungsten producers ther closed down entirely or reduced

Jan 1, 1946

By Luther W. Bahney

(San Francisco Meeting, October, 1911.) LIME is the alkali that is almost universally added to the solutions in the cyanide process of gold- and silver-extraction for maintaining the so-called, protective" alkalinity. It is produced by the burning of limestone. The value of lime for this purpose depends upon the percentage of calcium oxide contained, which is determined by three factors : 1, purity of the limestone used; 2, degree of the burning-temperature and the period of burning; and 3, length of time of storage of burned material and the condition stored, and whether it has been damp or wet during the storage. These three factors render uncertain the quality of lime bought in the open market. In the United States, lime bought from reliable manufacturers, who thoroughly burn a pure limestone and deliver at once to the consumer from the kilns, may be of a fairly-high and uniform composition ; but in Mexico and Central America, where it is purchased from many small producers, who often start with a poor grade of limestone and burn it in small crude kilns with as little fuel as possible, the quality of the product is quite variable. In consideration of the foregoing, it is apparent at once that there is a great need for a rapid technical method for the valuation of the lime to be used in a cyanide-plant. The determination of calcium by the gravimetric method, with the necessity of determining also the proportion of carbon dioxide, silica, and iron, requires too much time, and is usually out of the question for an isolated plant unequipped with a skilled chemist and, the necessary apparatus. The calculating of all the calcium so found to calcium oxide, although sometimes done, is manifestly very inaccurate.

Nov 1, 1911

By AIME AIME

THE Institute of Metals Division of this Institute held a joint meeting with the American Foundry- men&apos;s Association on Oct. 5-9, at Syracuse, N. Y. The registration at this meeting was about 150. There were four meetings in all, three of which were in con- junction with the American Foundrymen&apos;s Association. This combination works out very nicely and gives the I Division a number of practical foundry papers that it would not get otherwise. The sessions were well attended and the discussion was active. The session on Monday morning was of a general nature and consisted of the following subjects : " Refractory Problems in the Non-ferrous Electric Furnace Casting Shop, " "Temperature Control of Non-ferrous Alloys," "Atomized Coal System of Non-ferrous Melting," "Material Handling in a Brass Foundry." On Tuesday morning, the session was on "Aluminum and Its Alloys." The paper on permanent mold castings created a large amount of discussion, in fact so much that it had to be renewed after the close of the regular program. Aluminum is assuming a more important place every year and adds greatly to the program as a whole. One of the most remarkable meetings that this Division has ever had was held on Tuesday at noon in the form of a Round Table discussion, headed by G. K. Elliott, chairman of the Division, Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Elliott divided the members present, numbering about 80, into groups as they were seated at the tables. Each of these groups suggested a topic for discussion. They were as follows : "Fluxes on Market ;" "Simplification of Alloys;" "Pyrometric Control;" "Effect of Gas- sing Metal and Control;" "Barium Sulfate Added to Electric Furnace to Create Slight Oxidation to Remove Aluminum and Silicon;" and" Nickel in Brass."

Jan 1, 1925

By R. H. Lee

WITHOUT doubt, one of the most frequent and serious annoyances connected with the practical running of a blast-furnace, especially in single-furnace plants, is caused by low steam, in spite of the fact that all boilers at blast-furnaces have grates for burning coal, and that coal is more or less continuously burned upon them, from three to a dozen men being pretty constantly engaged around the boilers as firemen or coal- and ash-handlers. At times, when the furnace is ? tight," all available men are put on to assist the regular firemen; yet sufficient steam cannot be got to keep the engines up to their regular number of revolutions, while the stoves, deprived of the gas which has been sent to the boilers, run cold, so that, when the furnace loosens-up and resumes the regular rate of driving, the blast is very considerably below normal temperature, and a.&apos; cold," or at best a " high-sulphur," east is the result. Again, it often happens that a furnace, running at its best, becomes temporarily a little too hot; the pressure rises; the amount of gas made&apos; is diminished; the steam soon commences to go down; and a small scaffold is likely to form before the furnace has been brought back to the proper rate of driving, and thus enabled to take its regular amount of blast. The usual remedy is either to "jerk" the furnace by a sudden, brief intermission in blowing, or to cool the furnace by lowering the heat of the blast; but if the lower blast-temperature be maintained too long, the hearth and descending stock may be cooled below the " critical temperature " mentioned by Mr. .Johnson, and the furnace may go to the other extreme, and become cold. This is especially the case when coal or coke, high in sulphur, is used:

Jul 1, 1906

By Arthur Notman

THE year 1937 started off most hopefully for the metal industry but the prices for nonferrous metals declined after reaching a peak in the first quarter. E. & M. J. average prices for March were: -electrolytic copper f.o.b. refinery for domestic delivery 15.775c., lead 7.19c., and zinc 7.38c. There was the usual talk of shortages and the accompanying peak in the market prices of securities of producing companies. In retrospect it now appears that this was the peak of general security prices as well and of most commodity prices. On Dec. 1 copper was back to 11c., lead to 5c., and zinc to 5.5c. At the same time metal security prices had fallen to less than 40 per cent of their March highs. This has not been a purely domestic phenomenon. Metal prices have followed a similar course in London, in spite of the fact that in all three metals a tariff wall separates the domestic market from the foreign. There is nothing in the record to suggest that planning has so far had any stabilizing effect on prices. It is doubtful whether anybody will he found to claim credit for the planning. Strong evidence supports the conclusion that domestic demand for these and the other metals has been dammed back by the uncertainties confronting those who are considering long term construction commitments. This is particularly true with the public utilities, who are the largest consumers of copper and lead. If the plans were designed to maintain employment rather than to maintain political control of the Government, it would appear that they should be discarded. The course of the steel industry has been followed so closely in the press that no comment is necessary to indicate its similarity.

Jan 1, 1938