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By Edward Thomas

ROCK bolting, third great change in postwar underground mining, is inseparably tied to the other two changes: better drilling and mechanized mining. Mechanized mining provided the impetus, when conventional supports restricted maneuver-ability of equipment-while carbide-tipped bits lent the means of drilling required holes cheaply. With the need and the tools at hand development snow- balled. In just six years, from January 1948 to January 1954, some 800 mines adopted bolting for systematic support, and over 100 of these mines now use rock bolts exclusively. Simultaneously, foreign mines have adopted the idea, but to a lesser extent. What held back this major change? The concept of fastening loose material to unbroken and apparently solid material is probably as old as mining itself, and sporadic use has been reported from virtually every mining region in the world. But falls of rock have always been the greatest source of both fatal and nonfatal accidents in underground mining and miners have understandable reluctance to work under roof or back material if they even suspect that it might be hanging like a "sword of Damocles" -supported only by a thin bolt.

Jan 11, 1954

By W. M. Courtis

. There seems to be a well-established belief that there is an indescribable something in the appearance of gold-quartz not to be learned from books, that enables those who are fortunate enough to have acquired the power to recognize this characteristic, to pronounce at once that a certain quartz will or will not pay. The stronger this claim is made, the more certain is the claimant to be one of the self-styled practical miners. After several years spent among the gold-mines of California with practical and professional gold-miners, I have come to the conclusion that very few care to risk an opinion on a piece of quartz until some of it has been "horned out." Nevertheless, there is what the miners call a " kindly " appearance, that is more often followed by good results than is a vitreous, water-wet-looking quartz. A dark, resinous quartz seems to be most in favor, but there are so many exceptions that even quartz as " white as a hound's tooth " produces gold in some mines.. The ribbon-quartz, a laminated variety, separated by thin talc or chlorite partings, has a well-known good name. The slides of rich quartz specimens show that this parallelism is a microscopical characteristic of the only macroscopical distinction that, as a rule, these quartzes show. This is shown by Nos. 12 and 13, photographs of the richest quartz, that averaged $65 per pound. It is noticeable, also, in Nos. 7 and 9, and others. Dr. Hensoldt, of Columbia College, who prepared, excellently, a large number of my slides, and whom I have to thank for descriptions and suggestions, says of Nos. 12 and 13: "This variety of quartz differs considerably, microscopically, from the others of your locality, and is, in more than one respect, remarkable. Like the

Jan 1, 1890

By J. T. Eash, E. M. Wise

Platinum and palladium are the most generally useful, most ductile and least rare members of the platinum family. They have many important applications in the pure state but for other applications it is frequently desirable to harden them and otherwise modify their properties by alloying small amounts of the other platinum group metals with them. These alloys are frequently required to withstand very drastic forming operations and to possess certain mechanical properties to fulfill specific requirements. For these reasons a knowledge of the tensile properties and annealing characteristics of pure platinum and palladium as well as their more useful commercial alloys is important to the user and the fabricator. The present work was undertaken to fill this need. Rather brief (5 min.) annealing treatments were employed to render the data of maximum practical value and all tests were conducted upon 0.050-in. dia. wire, initially reduced 50 per cent in area by cold drawing, for the same reason. Conclusions 1. Pure (thermocouple grade) platinum reduced 50 per. cent by cold drawing exhibits the following tensile properties: ultimate tensile strength, 36,000 lb. per sq. in.; proportional limit, 27,000 lb. per sq. in.; elongation, 2.5 per cent in 2 in.; reduction in area, 95 per cent. When fully annealed by treatment at 1100°C. its properties are: ultimate tensile strength, 20,700 lb. per sq. in.; elongation, 30 per cent in 2 in.; reduction in area, 93 per cent. 2. The addition of alloying elements in moderate amounts markedly increases the strength and annealing temperature without much detriment to the ductility. The behavior and properties of variously hardened platinum alloys are considered in some detail. The behavior of a 20 per cent iridium

Jan 1, 1935

By J. T. Eash, E. M. Wise

Platinum and palladium are the most generally useful, most ductile and least rare members of the platinum family. They have many important applications in the pure state but for other applications it is frequently desirable to harden them and otherwise modify their properties by alloying small amounts of the other platinum group metals with them. These alloys are frequently required to withstand very drastic forming operations and to possess certain mechanical properties to fulfill specific requirements. For these reasons a knowledge of the tensile properties and annealing characteristics of pure platinum and palladium as well as their more useful commercial alloys is important to the user and the fabricator. The present work was undertaken to fill this need. Rather brief (5 min.) annealing treatments were employed to render the data of maximum practical value and all tests were conducted upon 0.050-in. dia. wire, initially reduced 50 per cent in area by cold drawing, for the same reason. Conclusions 1. Pure (thermocouple grade) platinum reduced 50 per. cent by cold drawing exhibits the following tensile properties: ultimate tensile strength, 36,000 lb. per sq. in.; proportional limit, 27,000 lb. per sq. in.; elongation, 2.5 per cent in 2 in.; reduction in area, 95 per cent. When fully annealed by treatment at 1100°C. its properties are: ultimate tensile strength, 20,700 lb. per sq. in.; elongation, 30 per cent in 2 in.; reduction in area, 93 per cent. 2. The addition of alloying elements in moderate amounts markedly increases the strength and annealing temperature without much detriment to the ductility. The behavior and properties of variously hardened platinum alloys are considered in some detail. The behavior of a 20 per cent iridium

Jan 1, 1935

By Charles M. Rolker

The Allouez Mine is situated in section 31, town 57, north of range 32 west, Michigan. The mine is being worked in a conglomerate bed, which conglomerate is generally conceded to be the continuation of the Albany and Boston conglomerate of Honghton County. Besides the well-known Calumet and Hecla with the adjoining Osceola, both working on the same bed, and the new location, the Seneca, now being tried on the Kearsarge conglomerate, the Allouez Mine is the only one working on a conglomerate bed. The Albany and Boston, in Houghton County, of which, as said before, the Allouez is supposed to be the continuation, shares with all the remaining conglomerate beds, near and around Portage Lake, the property of being non-quartziferous, while the conglomerates of Keweenaw County are all highly quartziferons in character. This change takes place, according to Professor Pumpelly, about six miles northeast of Portage Lake. The Allouez conglomerate, with a dip of 38" 15' and a general course of about 36' east of north, is overlaid by a trap, and has as its footwall an amygdaloid. The trap is followed by a series of amygdaloidal melaphyres and true amygdaloids, further on by the greenstone and ashbed; towards the lake shore alternating traps and conglomerates are found. At the footwall of the Allouez conglomerate, an amygdaloid lies, the thickness of which is not known, which is also the case with the other formations, accurate surveys and geologiwl researches of this district having, as I was informed, never been made. About 198 meters (650 feet), horizontally measured, from the Allouez conglomerate another amygdaloid bed can be traced, on which the present rockhouse stands, further on a melaphyre is exposed, and then follow the diverse conglomerates, the Calumet, the Kearsarge, and Kingston, which, according to the last geological report, are at about the re-

By S. L. Hoyt

IN technological studies on steel considerable emphasis has been placed on the identification of the foreign inclusions, testimony of which is adequately given in the metallographic literature covering methods for their identification. The outstanding accomplishment in this field is the scheme devised by Campbell, Comstock and Wohrman for identi-fying various oxides, sulfides, silicates and other constituents by syste-matic etching tests and microscopic examination.1 The time involved in carrying out this procedure has led to attempts to secure quicker methods, or at least to shorten the time required to secure essential information. An example of this is the use of dark field illumination, but when this was tried out by the authors it was found that cavities and pits on the polished surface appeared bright on a dark field and could not be distinguished from small glassy inclusions. Still another means is the Leitz Ultropak, an instrument equipped with optical units for the illumination of the specimen by reflected light to secure an effect similar to dark field illumination. The structures are made visible in exceedingly sharp details by utilizing the inherent properties of the samples, such as refractive index, absorption coefficients and reflection powers. We have had no experience, with the Ultropak, but a recent paper by Benedicks and Löfquist3 describes methods for

Jan 1, 1934

By Heihachi Kamura

The reduction of iron oxide, such as Fe203, to iron in the blast furnace is performed principally by carbon monoxide, but partly by solid carbon by the two following reactions: Fe2O3 + 3CO = 2Fe 4- 3CO2 2Fe2O3 + 3C = 4Fe + 3CO2 It is known that reduction by carbon monoxide takes place at a much lower temperature than reduction by carbon and that the reducing action of earbon monoxide progresses to the inside of the ore in lump form by gaseous diffusion. In the reduction by carbon, however, the reducing action takes place only at the contact surface of the ore and carbon, so that the more complete the reduction by carbon monoxide, the more efficient is the operation. However, the reduction does not progress as shown in the foregoing equation, because carbon dioxide acts oxidizingly on the metallic iron to such a degree that when the gaseous composition reaches a certain proportion of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, the reduction practically stops, even though the gases are moving slowly through the heated ore. The proportions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the gas depend on the kind of iron oxide and the temperature of reduction, also on the duration of time in the reaction. The longer the time of the reaction, the higher the proportion of carbon dioxide obtained in the gas, but finally it will attain to a condition of equilibrium. Chemical Equilibrium of Iron, Oxygen, and Carbon Investigations concerning the equilibrium between iron, oxygen, and carbon have been carried out by E. Baur and A. Glaessner,1 who deter-

Jan 1, 1925

By B. J. Nelson, F. N. Rhines

STUDIES upon the rates of oxidation of copper alloys containing small quantities of the alloying elements1,2 have shown that steady growth of the scales at predictable rates is limited to a small concentration range and to oxidation at temperatures above 600°C., whereas unpredictable and erratic oxidation behavior is found with alloys containing larger additions and at low temperatures. The latter effect appears to be associated with modifications in the geometric disposition of the oxides. At low concentrations of the baser elements in copper, simple oxidation behavior is typified by the formation of two distinguishable zones of oxidation: (I) a subscale composed of discrete particles of the oxide of the alloying element embedded in substantially pure copper and (2) an external scale composed of cuprous oxide (with a very thin layer of cupric oxide on the outside) containing particles of the alloying element distributed throughout, but most profusely near the metal surface (see Fig. 2, top). Where this type of structure obtains, the process of oxidation is believed to be implemented, and its rate controlled, by the diffusion of the reacting elements through a continuous matrix phase; i.e., through the alpha (metallic) phase of the subscale and alloy and through the cuprous oxide of the external scale. Copper is presumed to diffuse outward through the cuprous oxide layer to the external surface, where it reacts to form more cuprous oxide.3 Oxygen is delivered at the oxide-metal interface in the form of cuprous oxide, which may either react with the alloying element to deposit its oxide at the inner limit of the external scale or dissolve in the pure copper that remains at the surface of the metal after it has become depleted in its oxidizable alloying elements. Both oxygen and the alloying element are pictured as diffusing through the metal, the oxygen inward and the alloying element outward. Where the two diffusion streams meet in sufficient concentration the oxide of the subscale is precipitated. If the oxygen pressure in the surrounding atmosphere is just below the pressure necessary to maintain cuprous oxide undecomposed, no cuprous oxide can be formed; some of the oxide of the alloying element may form upon the external surface, if its decomposition pressure is below that of cuprous oxide, and a normal subscale appears. This condition is achieved experimentally by enclosing the alloy with cuprous oxide together with an excess of copper. At temperatures from 600°C. downward, the precipitated oxides tend to accumulate at the grain boundaries of the alpha phase where a relatively small volume establishes a partial barrier to the diffusion of the reactants. Similarly, large volumes of precipitated oxides tend to deposit in various patterns that may be expected to hinder the diffusion of the reactants in the

Jan 1, 1943

By Cyril Smith

ISOLATED alloys of copper and silicon were prepared and examined by chemical methods more than one hundred years ago, but it was not until the work of Rudolfi1 that the equilibrium relations. were studied. The early history of the alloys was well described by Baraduc-Muller2 PERCENT SILICON-BY WEIGHT FIG. 1.-COPPER-SILICON EQUILIBRIUM DIAGRAM ACCORDING TO RUDOLFI (1907). and need not be further discussed here. The diagram of Rudolfi, based entirely on thermal observations, showed silicon to be soluble in copper up to 4.5 per cent. at 849° C., at which temperature there was a peritectic horizontal resulting from the formation of a 0 phase with about 7.4 per cent. silicon from a and liquid with 7.85 per cent. silicon. The ß phase was believed to form a eutectic with Cu3Si at 820° C. and 9.8 per

Jan 1, 1928

By R. B. Woodworth

INTRODUCTION IN the sinking of bore holes, there are but two fundamental operations -drilling and hoisting,-which determine in the main the character of drilling mechanism and structures. There are endless ramifications, however, in the execution of these fundamental operations, according to the purposes for which the bore holes are drilled, their maintenance after completion, the protection and convenience of workmen, etc. The three main lines of use for bore holes are in mineral exploration, the sinking of water and salt wells, and the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas. This paper has to do more especially with the last. Here again there are many divergences. Wells may be drilled by either the percussive, the hydraulic, or the abrasive method. Finally, each of these methods, as applied by drillers of diverse nationalities, has followed somewhat different lines of development. The American system of cable-tool drilling has perhaps had the widest application; the hydraulic rotary is also in extensive use; but the Canadian system, the Galician system, and the Russian free-fall system all have their points of recognized merit and are preferred by operators accustomed to their use. These differences in drilling procedure, which rest ultimately on essential variations in geological conditions, are reflected in the chilling structures as well as in the drilling mechanism. The purpose of the present paper is to record those stages in the development of the application of steel to the construction of drilling mechanism and structures with which the writer has been intimately associated, and to contribute to the history of the art of drilling other data acquired in the course of his personal investigations. It is necessarily limited by reason of space to American practice, with especial reference, therefore, to the cable-tool system and the hydraulic rotary method of drilling wells for oil and gas.

Jan 11, 1915

By Francis Lucas

A microscope objective of given numerical aperture, whew used with light of given wave length, has some fixed limit of resolution. This may be expressed as potential resolving ability-the ability to resolve is inherent in the lens but whether this limit is achieved in practice is quite another matter. Nearly 50 years ago Abbe evolved theoretical considerations which indicated that the ability of a lens to resolve detail is directly proportional to twice the numerical aperture of the objective and inversely proportional to the wave length of the light used. It is true, unquestionably, that as the numerical aperture of the objective is increased the potential resolving ability of the lens is increased and likewise whew the wave length of the light used is decreased, the degree of resolution is increased. Whether Abbe's formula expresses the exact relationship is not a matter of great concern. It suffices to know that to improve resolution, other things being equal, two avenues of approach are available. Either the numerical aperture of the objective may be increased or the wave length of the light decreased. With the apochromatic system it is possible to employ successfully wave lengths from 400 to 500, µµ and still secure reasonably short exposures. The present limit for numerical aperture is 1.40 N. A. although objectives of 1.65 N. A. are wow an experimental possibility for metallurgical work. Thus certain well defined limits are set for those who work within the range of the visible spectrum. In order to take advantage of the increase in resolving power which accompanies a decrease in the wave length of light employed, Dr. A. Köhler and Dr. M. Vow Rohr of the Zeiss Scientific Staff developed the "monochromats." These are quartz objectives corrected for the single wave length 275 µµ which lies in the ultra-violet region of the spectrum. They also developed a series of quartz oculars and a complete photo-micrographic equipment with which to use the quartz optics. Quartz must be used for the optical parts because glass absorbs ultra-violet light almost completely. Thus there was made available about 20 years

Jan 6, 1926

By T. M. Broderick

INVESTIGATIONS into the possibilities of economically mining and concentrating low-grade iron ores of the Lake Superior region are attract-ing increasing attention. Among the organizations that are carrying on the work are the United States Bureau of Mines, the State of Minne-sota (which spends about $80,000 annually on problems of the 'iron and ferroalloy ores of Minnesota), and the State of Michigan (which spends about $10,000 annually of its iron-ore research). Several of the mining companies are also financing research. Of the states in the Lake Superior district, Minnesota has done most in iron-ore concentration. In 1930, thirty-seven concentrating plants were in operation on the Mesabi Range, beneficiating about one-third of the total ore shipped. About one-half of these plants reduced silica; the others reduced moisture or improved the structure of the ore.1 Research into the possibilities of magnetic concentration of the Eastern Mesabi magnetite ores indicates that vast tonnages of that ore may be utilized at a profit in the not distant future. Magnetic concentration has also been tried at Sellwood, Ontario, on the Moose Mountain deposit, and at the Berkshire mine in Wisconsin on the magnetic ores of the Western Gogebic Range. There have been few attempts to concentrate Michigan iron ores. In order to determine the possibilities of such concentration, iron-ore research has been carried on at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology for the past few years. After a general survey of the iron ores of the state, a program of more detailed experimentation was out-lined, starting with work on the Ironwood formation of the Gogebic Range. The results of this research led to the belief that gravity methods will produce fairly satisfactory concentrates from the parts of the iron formation that are made up of comparatively thick alternating beds of rather high-grade ore and lean chert.

Jan 1, 1933

By Richard D. Call

Data obtained from development drilling provide the basic input for open pit mine planning and design. Development drilling is defined as delineation of the size, mineral content, and disposition of an ore body by drilling boreholes (Thrush, 1968). The objectives of development drilling are: ( 1 ) determining the geometry of the mineralization, ( 2 ) determining the grade and tonnage, , ( 3 ) obtaining samples for metallurgical testing, and ( 4 ) obtaining geotechnical data for mine design. To accomplish these objectives, an appropriate drilling plan must include the number of holes, the spacing and orientation of the holes, and a suitable data collection program. The data collection program covers sample collection, hole logging, and data presentation. This chapter will present some guidelines for development drilling and data collection techniques. The operational aspects of drilling will be covered in an- other chapter.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. W. Hickman, E. A. Gulbransen

One of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film. A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena. This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C. Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it was necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-rav diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy. Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry. In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both viewpoints are necessary. Much of the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained. The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner. little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective. Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique. In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective. Literature The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction. Jackson and Quarrelll found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature. The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe³O4; between 515° and 900°C. the stable film was FeO. Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe³O4. From 400' to 515°C., FeO, Fe³O4 or a mixture of the two oxides was found. Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400' and above 900°C. led to the formation of Fe3O4. In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described.

Jan 1, 1947

By E. A. Gulbransen, J. W. Hickman

One of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film. A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena. This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C. Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it was necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-rav diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy. Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry. In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both viewpoints are necessary. Much of the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained. The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner. little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective. Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique. In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective. Literature The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction. Jackson and Quarrelll found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature. The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe³O4; between 515° and 900°C. the stable film was FeO. Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe³O4. From 400' to 515°C., FeO, Fe³O4 or a mixture of the two oxides was found. Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400' and above 900°C. led to the formation of Fe3O4. In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described.

Jan 1, 1947

By Henry Ferguson

THIS paper is a preliminary statement, intended to present the more important results of the recent studies of the ore deposits of the Alleghany district in advance of the publication of the complete report, now in preparation. The Alleghany district (Fig. 1) has been a producer of gold since the early days of California gold mining. As in other California gold camps, placers yielded the bulk of the earlier production, but during the last 30 years lode deposits have been the only important source of output. The district differs from other California gold-quartz districts in that nearly all the production is from small shoots of high-grade ore. The mining camps of Alleghany and Forest are on the western flank of the Sierra Nevada range about 20 miles west of the crest. The gently sloping lava-covered plateau which controls the upland topography has been trenched by deep canyons of the westward flowing streams, which are cut to depths of as much as 2000 ft. below the crests of the ridges. The district is about 18 miles from Nevada City but the automobile road which connects the two places is 31 miles long. The senior writer first visited the district in 1913 and published a short description of the lode deposits.1 The increasing importance of the district made further study desirable. A detailed topographic map was therefore made by W. B. Upton, Jr., of the U. S. Geological Survey, in the spring of 1924, and the senior writer spent parts of the field seasons of 1924 and 1925 in the district. For the second field season the Geological Survey was fortunate in securing the services of R. W. Gannett, who had already done geologic work in the district for several of the mining companies. Owing to the death of Mr. Gannett in October, 1925, just before the close of his field work, the work of preparation of the entire report fell to Mr. Ferguson. He takes this opportunity of acknowledging how deeply he is indebted to Mr. Gannett for his excellent work in the field, and his realization of how greatly the completion of the report on the district has suffered from lack of Mr. Gannett's assistance in the office. In October, 1.928, after the completion of the first draft of the manuscript, Mr. Ferguson made a short visit to the district.

Jan 1, 1929

By Fred C. Bond

The process of comminution by grinding is properly classified as an art, rather than as a science. Like most other operations concerned in ore dressing, or in the treatment of nonmetallic minerals, the mathematical relationships of rock breaking are still obscure, and much disputed. If some basic formula exists, comparable for instance to E = RI in electricity, it has not yet been placed in common use. The absence of such a comprehensive mathematical background undoubtedly is the cause of many inefficient designs and installations, as well as of much poorly oriented experimental work. On the other hand, the mathematical immaturity of the process constitutes an opportunity for a real contribution on the part of those who enjoy mental pioneering. Some of the statements made in any such exploratory work may be little more than opinions, and it is to be expected that some will later be proved untrue; but such an evolutionary development is necessary if we are ever to arrive at the fundamental laws, the discovery of which can change the empirical art into a mathematically exact science. The most significant principle of comminution that we possess is probably Rittinger's law, which states that the work done in crushing or grinding is proportional to the area of the new surface produced. There is an alternative theory, known as Kick's law, which formerly was preferred to Rittinger's but which now is rather discredited. According to Kick, the work done in comminution is proportional to the volume, or weight, of the pieces broken, or to the cube of their diameters, while according to Rittinger it is proportional to the square of the diameters. Careful determinations of size distribution below the limit of sieve sizes1 indicate strongly that under ordinary grinding conditions the amount of new surface area produced is directly proportional to the net power input. Changes in the size ratio between the balls and the particles cause important differences in the proportion of the product that passes a given mesh size, but do not affect the total amount of new surface area; they merely change the distribution of the surface among mesh sizes. The principle of constant surface area is the logical result of Rittinger's law, and it may well have an important bearing on the comminution theories of the future. Formula for Ball Wear Grinding tests have been made in the Allis-Chalmers laboratory for more than 9 years, using a standard charge of mixed balls of different sizes; and a continuous record has been kept of the rates of wear of each size. These results have been combined and plotted in various ways in order to discover the relationship that exists

Jan 1, 1943

By R. M. Leibrock, C. W. Ziemer, R. P. Vincent

The Stanolind flowmeter, which employs a hot-wire anemometer connected in a Wheat-stone bridge circuit, has proved useful for determining the relative productive ability of individual sand members of gas wells. The operation of this instrument in measuring gas velocities in the well bore above each producing member has provided both a direct and accurate means of analyzing reservoir performance. Results of tests conducted with the well flowmeter in the Hugoton gas field of western Kansas have indicated some rather unusual production characteristics. In two cases it was found that all or the greater part of the total gas produced was coming from one section in wells where four "pay" sections had been perforated individually. These actual measurements contradict in many instances the indications of data obtained from electric logs and from core analysis; the fact that these latter sources often give incorrect results, demonstrates the necessity of a method, such as is provided by the well flowmeter, for accurately determining the amount of gas coming from each producing member. Introduction In any gas well where a number of pay sections have been perforated individually and are producing to a common outlet, the question arises as to the relative amounts of gas being passed through each set of perforations. In the past it has been the policy to depend on core analysis to estimate relative productivities, or, where the sections were not cored, to obtain some idea of production characteristics from electric-log studies. The weaknesses in these methods are readily apparent and indicate the need for more reliable means of measuring gas flow from each zone. The Stano-lind flowmeter* was developed for this purpose. Preliminary tests were made with the instrument in the Katy gas field near Houston; however, the bulk of the routine work with the well flowmeter has been confined to the Hugoton gas field in western Kansas, where results obtained have been encouraging. A description of the instrument, the field technique employed in testing, and a few of the results obtained in the Hugoton area are discussed in this paper. Description or Instrument The well flowmeter is 1¾ in. od and 7 ft long; it is entirely self-contained, can be run through tubing as small as 2 in. id in wells with high pressure (4500 psi) and temperature (210°F) and is lowered on a wire line commonly used for other instruments of the bottom-hole type at falling rates up to 500 ft per minute. It will detect gas flow as low as 10 ft per minute linear velocity, and yet withstand and record velocities of 1000 ft per minute without damage to the detecting element. Killing the well is not required nor desirable for running a production profile when using the instrument, and it is necessary to stop flow for only a short time. The detecting element of the instrument is a hot-wire anemometer connected in a

Jan 1, 1948

By E. P. Shoub, J. P. Riott, R. C. Buehl

Pilot-plant tests have demonstrated that it is possible to produce low-sulphur sponge iron (0.03 to 0.0; per cent sulphur) as a continuous process in an internally fired rotary kiln from iron ore or mill scale; a solid carbonaceous reducing agent; and dolomite to control the sulphur content. The proportion of dolomite employed is small, so that it does not add materially to the cost of the sponge iron. The entire operation is carried out at temperatures well below the melting point of iron, so that the product is discharged in granular form. Compared with other methods for the production of sponge iron, the rotary-kiln method has the advantage of simplicity and low cost of equipment and, in addition, requires little labor for the operation of the process. The pilot-plant equipment used for this work was sufficiently large to demonstrate that the production of low-sulphur sponge iron in rotary kilns is feasible and that the costs are not excessive for applications in which sponge iron has distinct advantages over competing materials. This report constitutes a part of a program by the Bureau of Mines under a special Congressional appropriation for studying gaseous and solid fuel reduction of iron ores. Numerous articles on various phases of these investigations have appeared in Bureau of Mines publications or technical journals. Other articles are being prepared and will be published in the near future. The present program, which is under the supervision of Dr. R. S. Dean, Assistant Director of the Bureau of Mines, was initiated in 1942. However, a considerable portion of the work was a continuation of previous research performed by the Bureau. Previous investigators1-4 utilizing the rotary kiln for the production of sponge iron did not develop a suitable method for controlling the sulphur content. A review of the literature shows that the sulphur content in the product usually exceeded 0.1 per cent unless reducing agents with very low sulphur contents were employed. This high sulphur value made the product generally undesirable for use as melting stock in electric or open-hearth furnaces. The production of sponge iron in an internally fired rotary kiln has been described in detail in Bureau of Mines Bullelin 2702; consequently, this article will be confined mostly to new features of the process—that is, means for controlling the sulphur content of the sponge iron. Suitable raw materials include iron ores or mill scale; coal or coke for reducing them, and sized dolomite ( — poi-100-mesh) as the sulphur-controlling agent. A mixture of the raw materials in granular form is fed into the elevated end of the kiln, which is fired axially from the lower or discharge end. In the reducing zone, which is approximately one third the length of the kiln measured from the dis-

Jan 1, 1948

By J. D. Price, W. M. Bertholf

One of the chief difficulties with which the operator of a coal washing plant has been forced to contend is the handling of the very fine coal. First he has the problem of separating the fine coal from washery water. This is usually accomplished by the use of settling cones or Dorr thickeners: in either event the separated fine coal contains a high amount (40 to 80 pct) of water and, somewhat loosely, dependent upon the size of the coal particles present, may be known as sludge or slurry. His second problem is the satisfactory further dewatering of such separated sludge and/or slurry. At the coal washing plant of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp., washed coal from the Deister Plat-O tables is sluiced to a stationary inclined de-watering screen provided with 3/16 by 1-in. slots, and the coarse coal passing over this screen is conveyed by a Baum-type elevator and a flight-type distributing conveyor to a battery of Carpenter centrifugal driers. The fine coal and water passing through the openings of the primary dewatering screens, plus the fine coal passing through the screens of the centrifugal driers (and no small portion of which is the result of the disintegrating action of these driers) is pumped to two 30-ft Link Belt settling cones. The sludge recovered as underflow from these cones was formerly dewatered on stationary screens having 1/16 by 1-in. slots and discharged on top of the coarse washed coal in the Baum drainage conveyor; but after a relatively few hours of op eration the circulating load of fine coal on this conveyor built up to a point where it became necessary to reduce the quantity of feed to the washing tables. The original arrangement of our coal washing and dewatering equipment is shown in Fig 1. In order to regain the loss in active throughput which had been caused by this circulating load, an installation of six vibrating filters was made during the year of 1936. This resulted in an increase in normal tonnage of washed coal from 1430 to 1750 tons per 8-hr shift, a gain of slightly over 22 pct. This increase in throughput has made a very substantial decrease in the " conversion cost" per ton of washed coal. Since the vibrators were installed, we have gained about 2,000,000 tons in production, compared to what would have been produced in the same number of shifts at the former rate. Putting it in slightly different form, we have saved in the past 12 yr the cost of 1400 operating shifts in the washery. Fig 2 shows the location of the vibrating filters as applied to the original flowsheet. It will be noted that the sludge from the bottom of the settling cones is passed through a distributing box and thence to the filters. The de-watered coal from the filters is de-livered to the conveyor receiving the dried coal from the Carpenter driers.

Jan 1, 1950