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By Edwin F. Brush, John Chipman

Published data on the activity of carbon in binary and ternary austenite at 1000°C are reviewed. The composition variables are . The coefficient, Vj, has the value for substitutional elements but may be assigned a ualue -1 for silicon to effect a simplification on the mathematical treatment. The activity coefficient PC = is obtained from gas equilibrium data. For the ternary systems studied the Henrian activity coefficient is given by the expression: The principle advantage in cornparison with the analogous expression in terms of atom fractions is found in the fact that for most systems the final term and in many the last two terms are zero. Values of the interaction parameters are tabulated and the graphical comparison of the equation with experirt~ental data is sho,wn in several figures. The thermodynamic properties of the solid solution, austenite, are of considerable importance in the heat-treatment of alloy steels and in other aspects of ferrous metallurgy. Early studies embodied in the Fe-C diagram have been extended to include other binary and some ternary diagrams. Our best hope of obtaining a useful thermodynamic treatment of reactions in complex alloy steels will not be found in quaternary and quinternary phase diagrams but in determinations of activities and interaction relations among the several solute elements. The foundation for such a development was laid by smith' in his early studies of the activity of carbon in Fe-C alloys and his subsequent work on Fe-C-Si, Fe-C-Mn, Fe-C-Ni, and Fe-C-Co solid solutions.2"4 Other observers have also made noteworthy contributions and these will be discussed and correlated here in the light of a somewhat simplified mathematical treatment of solute interactions. Fe-C AT 1000°C In a recent review of the thermodynamic properties of binary Fe-C austenite it was shown that the simple mathematical treatment employed by smith' was capable of describing all the published results on this solution. The treatment utilizes the atom ratio, yc = nC/nF,, rather than the atom fraction. The activity of carbon is proportional to the equilibrium gas ratio, either measured on a scalk in which the activity of graphite is taken as unity or, alternatively, aC may be set equal to yc at infinite dilution. In either case the ratio aC/y = (PC, the activity coefficient. It was found that the experimental data of smith1 and those of Diin-wald and wagner; Bungardt, Preisendanz, and Lehn-ert,' and Scheil, Schmidt, and Wiinnings at temperatures of 800" to 1200° C as well as reliable data on the solubilities of graphite and cementite could be represented by the equation for which graphite is the standard state: The data on alloyed austenite have been obtained at 1000°C. For this temperature, the "Henrian" activity coefficient (which is unity at infinite dilution) is: FOr an interstitial solute such as carbon in austenite it has been shown by statistical mechanicsg that the activity in the infinitely dilute solution is proportional to the ratio of the number of lattice sites occupied by carbon to the number of yet unfilled lattice sites. A variable zz proportional to this ratio serves as a useful measure of concentration:" in which b is the number of lattice sites provided by each atom of solvent; in austenite b = 1. The Henrian activity approaches zz at infinite dilution and the ratio a is the activity coefficient. The effect of a change in concentration is then given by: It has been shown further that in some systems the derivative in Eq. [4] remains constant over a wide range of concentrations. In such a case second-order terms become negligible and the Henrian activity coefficients is:

Jan 1, 1969

By Max Heberlein, R. P. E. Hermsdorf

The electrolytic refining of metals for the removal of undesirable impurities has become a recognized necessity in the nonferrous field. Copper, lead, zinc, nickel, silver and gold have been produced in this manner for years. The United States Metals Refining Co., realizing that considerable quantities of lead and tin could be made available to the trade if a satisfactory method of purification of these metals could be established, decided to investigate the possibilities of electrolytic solder. In cooperation with Dr. Edward F. Kern, of the School of Mines at Columbia University, the company developed a process of electrolytic refining of lead-tin alloys using a tin-lead fluosilicate electrolyte. A pilot plant was installed in November 1927, and the commercial unit was put in October 1929. Since that time thousands of tons of electrolytic solder have been produced in this plant and consumed by all branches of industry that use solder. Older Methods of Producing Solder In the early days practically all solder was made by melting together virgin lead and tin in the proper proportions to meet specifications; then the solder was cast into the commercial shapes required. Today the base of most solders comes from scrap or secondary materials. Ordinarily solder is produced from secondary materials either by sweating solder-bearing scrap or by smelting lead and tin-bearing drosses, residues and similar materials. When solder is produced from scrap by sweating, clear solder is collected directly. It is then given some kind of kettle refining and usually blended to specification with virgin metals before it is cast into finished shapes. In producing solder from drosses and residues, the materials are usually first given a reducing smelting treatment from which a crude solder is obtained. This crude solder may be refined in several ways, but usually the first step is a furnace liquation to remove the bulk of the copper, which is followed by one of the more or less complicated methods for the removal of antimony and other impurities.

Jan 1, 1937

By G. K. Manning, C. H. Lorig

Two metallurgical tools have acquired wide use within the past several years as a means of studying the transformation characteristics of steel. One is a technique used first by Bain and Davenport for determining the transformation characteristics of a steel at constant temperature; the second is the end-quench hardenability test. Constant-temperature transformation curves like those of Bain and Davenport have done much to rationalize the metal¬lography of steel; however, in commercial practices, constant-temperature transformation is seldom encountered, therefore only rarely can such curves be directly applied. The real reason for the determination of such curves lies, in the fact that they provide a way of thinking about transformation that is both convenient and productive. The end-quench hardenability test is a more practical means of studying transformation, for, by correlating positions on the hardenability bar with shapes of different masses, an almost direct application of the results can be made. Unfortunately, the end-quench test, though practical, can do very little toward improving the metallurgists' way of thinking about transformation. These two metallurgical tools, dealing with precisely the same phenomenon, should be very closely associated in metallurgists' minds. Actually, they are frequently pushed into separate mental corners and considered as being more or less distinct and unrelated. The reason for this is that no strong connecting link between them has been developed. An attempt is sometimes made to relate these two tools by projecting the critical cooling rate on the isothermal transformation plot as illustrated in Fig. I. The critical cooling rate is considered as a constant rate-though in practical applications, cooling rates are never constant-and this constant cooling rate is given uniform significance from the Ae temperature down to the temperature of initial transformation. A little thought indicates the errors of such a procedure. Certainly the time interval spent just below point A of Fig. I cannot be as effective in promoting nucleation as is the time interval spent just above point B. Yet the procedure represented in Fig. I considers all the time spent between temperatures A and B to be just as effective in promoting nucleation as though all the time were spent at temperature B. Furthermore, change the shape of the isothermal curve between points B and C in any way desired, and the required critical cooling rate is not changed one iota. This cannot possibly be true. Such a way of thinking about critical cooling rates not only is incapable of giving any results that are quantitatively satisfactory but is likely to give very misleading qualitative results.

Jan 1, 1946

By M. Mills, M. W. Clegg

This Paper Presents an approximate analytical solution to the problem of the pressure distributions arising from the production of a compressible liquid in a partially penetrating well. The limits of validity of the approximation are discussed and it is shown that the basic approximation is the same as that used in previous numerical of the problem. The variation in pressure at the production well with time for different penetration ratios is investigated and is shown to agree with previous work. The solutiOns are used to assess the effects of partial penetration at large distances from the well and at the wellbore itself. In the latter case the effects of anisotropy are also studied for constant, but unequal, horizontal and vertical permeabilities. It is 'uggested that measurements of the Pressure drawdown below the producing interval in a well should give some indication of a thickness-vertical permeability product for the formation; this would chmacterize the effectiveness of the formation below the producing interval. INTRODUCTION In many oil and gas reservoirs the producing wells are completed as partially penetrating wells; that is, only a portion of the pay zone is perforated. This may be done for a variety of reasons, but the most common one is to prevent or delay the intrusion of unwanted fluids into the wellbore. This paper studies the effects of partial penetration on the pressure distribution resulting from the production of a compressible liquid at a constant rate. To simplify the mathematical analysis the case of a single well located in an infinite reservoir of constant thickness is considered, and it is assumed that this well is perforated over an interval adjacent to the upper (or lower) impermeable boundary of the formation. A well producing from an arbitrary interval within the bulk of the formation could be treated in a similar way, but this action would merely add to the complexities of the solution and contribute little to the appreciation of the over-all effects of partial penetration. In a recently published paper by Odeh,10 the more general problem of producing from an arbitrary interval within the pay zone was studied for the quasi-steady state flow of a compressible liquid, This is the case in which there is a a potential at the outer boundary and a constant flux across the same boundary. This contrasts with the problem studied here, which is concerned with the nonsteady-state behavior in an infinite reservoir. The exact solution of the partial penetration problem presents great analytical problems because the boundary conditions that solutions of the partial differential equations must satisfy are mixed; i.e., on one of the boundaries the pressure is specified on one portion and the flux on the other. This difficulty occurs at the wellbore, for the flux over the nonproductive section of the well is zero, and the potential over the perforated interval must be constant. In the case of constant rate production from the well, this uniform potential is time dependent and unknown, and the additional condition that where hl is the thickness of the perforated interval, must also b'e satisfied. This problem may be overcome in the case of constant rate production by making the assumption that the flux into the well is uniform over the entire perforated interval, so that on the wellbore the flux is specified over the total formation thickness. This approximation naturally leads to an error in the solution since the potential (pressure) will not

Jan 1, 1970

By Irving Hale

The superiority of electric power for mining purposes was recognized in a general way as soon as the electric motor be-

Jan 1, 1897

By Nicholas J. Grant, Raymond E. Cairns

A high-purity chromium, made by solid-state extrusion, and a series of molten, extruded, dilute alloys containing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur were studied to establish the effects of composition, cooling rate, grain size, strain rate, and prior strain on the transition temperature for brittle THE transition from ductile to brittle fracture with decreasing temperature remains of extreme interest especially among the refractory metals, such as tungsten, molybdenum, and chromium, which have relatively high transition temperatures. Fracture, yield stress, and hardness. Tension tests at a strain rate of 0.015 per min were generally utilized. Results are interpreted in terms of the quantity of each element retained in solid solution. Of these elements, chromium has been studied the least, but deserves additional attention because of its superior oxidation resistance for high-temperature use. In the past, impurity elements which have received attention are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur;'-' of these, nitrogen has usually been considered to be the most detrimental. Unfortunately, because of different levels of both specific and total impurity content, and because of the many different test and evaluation techniques used, a clear, definitive picture of brittle fracture in chromium has not been forthcoming. However, many

Jan 1, 1964

By Stanley Arnot

THE Mother Lode district in California is probably better known as the land of Bret Harte and Mark Twain than as a gold-producing district, although in this respect it holds an important place. The history of . quartz mining on the Mother Lode dates back to the '50s, when, after the first fever of the gold rush, men began to look for something more permanent, if not more lucrative, than the placers. Since that time,: the discoveries, shutdowns, and reopenings of the many mines, together, with the varying fortunes of their numerous operators, constitute an: interesting chapter in California history, but one too long to include in a description of mining methods. The district is well situated, so far as physical conditions are concerned. The Mother Lode extends along the western slope of the Sierra . Nevada Mountains, about half way between the crest and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, the country traversed consisting of low rolling hills-typical foot-hills. The elevation varies from 1000 to 1800 ft. and the climate is most desirable. There is an abundance of water, timber is easily obtained from the higher foot-hills a few miles east, and: cheap hydro-electric power is generated practically on the Lode. These natural conditions are conducive to low costs in mining and have been the deciding factor in allowing profitable exploitation of the comparatively low-grade orebodies. Transportation facilities are, not bad. Five branch railroads, from the main trunk lines in the valley, tap the district at intervals of from 10 to 30 miles, the roads connecting these are fairly good for trucking purposes. Labor is made up of several nationalities, the principal ones being American, Spanish, Jugo-Slav, Italian, and Mexican. There were few Mexicans on the Lode prior to 1919, but the shortage of labor, experienced generally by the mining camps of the country in the years following the war, made necessary the hiring of some. The percentage of Mexican labor rapidly increased in 1920 and for a year or so thereafter, but it has now diminished until at most of the mines only a few Mexicans are working. Of the different nationalities, Americans are the most efficient and Mexicans the least.

Jan 9, 1925

By S. F. Emmons

In the yew 1879, Congress, acting tinder the advice of tile National Acdemy of Sciences, discontinued the temporary surveys or explorations under Hayden, powell, and Wheeler, and established as a permanent organization the United States Geological Survey, making it a Bureau of the Interior Department. A great step was thus taken toward obtaining the greatest practical results from the expenditure of the public money for geological purposes. The recommendations of the National Academy also contemplated the consolidation of all the various organizations for the mensuration and mapping of the country—-such as the Coast, Engineer, and Land Office Surveys—under one single head; which, also, should assume the duty of providing the mays necessary as a basis fir the work of the Geological Survey. But this useful measure did not meet the approval of Congress, and the various mensuration surveys were left in statu quo. With the final establishment of a permanent Geological Survey of the United States, it became necessary to adopt a plan of work which would enable it in time to take the prominent rank among the older surveys of other civilized nations of the world, which is justified by the great, wealth and mineral resources of the country it is destintd to study. The somewhat vague wording of the organic law under which it was created, directing an examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the public domain, left the details of the policy to he pursued very largely a matter of discretion with its director. That adopted by Mr. Clarence King, the first director, as foreshadowed in his Annual Report to the Secretary of the Interior for 1880, was one whose distinguishing feature was the prominence that should be given to economical geology, or the practical application of geological investigations to the development of the mineral resources of the country. In earlier Government Surveys, which were topographical reconnoissances in a practically unknown region, geology occupied a secondary and unimportant position. With the Fortieth Parallel Survey, inaugurated in 1867, and its successors, the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler Surveys, geology became an essential object of the work, but owing to the want of already existing maps topography

Jan 1, 1882

By C. R. McClure

The objective of this papef is to summarize briefly the practical use of rock mechanics in design and construction of various types of structures. These range from foundation for industrial facilities, nuclear power plants, bridges and dams to tunnels and underground caverns. The use of rock mechanics has varied from performing a few laboratory unconfined compressive tests on core samples to complete field and laboratory tests for underground power caverns. The primary difference between the rock mechanics studies we hare for construction projects and those most commonly found in the literature is that our tests must provide immediate answers to specific questions facing a design or construction engineer. For example, when we make a plate-bearing test we arrive at a load-deformation relationship. We realize that this is not a true modulus of elasticity. Yet, when considering the resistance the rock will provide against forces occurring in a pressure tunnel it is a far more useful value than the true modulus of elasticity of the rock. Another example of this difference in interest is in the use of flat jacks. Many people criticize the use of flat jacks because they measure the stresses in the disturbed zone very near the surface and do not represent the undisturbed stress condition in the rock. However, in actual construction it is frequently those near-surface stresses with which we must cope. We are interested in both the stress conditions present prior to excavation and those as modified by construction of an exploratory adit or drift. Fundamentally, we are interested in the practical application of rock mechanics in the solution of problems of design and construction of civil engineering works.

Jan 1, 1968

By H. F. Webster, C. G. Dunn

Rolling md annealing procedures are described for developing the (110) preferred orientation in tantalum for use as a thermionic-emission materinl where electrodes of a uniform high work function are needed. The development of a (110) [001] annealing texture is also reported. A preferential growth process due to low (110) gas-metal surface energy is considered in explanation of the observed growth of (110) grains. ThE growth of (110)-oriented grains in thin strips of rolled zone-refined tantalum, previously discussed briefly,' is reported together with more recent information on the formation of a (110)[001.] annealing texture, i.e., one where the [001] direction of each grain lies close to the rolling direction. The development of tantalum sheet with a (110) preferred orientation (position of [001 ] directions unspecified) is of importance as a thermionic-emission material in thermionic-energy converters. Since therm ionic-emission properties of cesium-coated crystals vary over a wide range depending on (hkl) a2-7 a single (hkl) preferred orientation is more useful than either several preferred orientations or none. Furthermore, the (110) preferred orientation yields the highest thermionic-emission density for a cesium coverage of less than a monolayer.5-7 A consideration of the stability of the grain structure needed at high operating temperatures suggests that the preferred orientation itself should be produced by annealing processes. Information on annealing textures in tantalum, however, is rather limited. Pugh and Hibbard 8 obtained (111)[112] and (lll)[112] components in a 1400°C recrystallization texture in 95 pct cold-rolled foil; these components were enhanced on annealing at 2500°C. Muller9 rolled 99.97 Ta to 90 pct reduction in thickness in the final stage and noted only a slight sharpening of the rolling texture, with some intensification of the (111)[112] component upon annealing at 1200°C. The experimental procedure followed in the present work stemmed from the idea of using possible differences in (hkl) surface energies to provide a small driving force for growth of grains having the lowest (hkl) surface energy.l0* This would mean using high-purity tantalum processed into thin sheet form and annealed at high temperatures either in a noncontaminating atmosphere or in one producing additional sample purification. EXPERIMENTAL Zone-Refined Tantalum. National Research Corp. tantalum in the form of 1/8-in.-diam rod and of 99.98 purity (53 ppm 0, 15 ppm N, and 8 ppm C) was zone-melted four times. The traversing speed was 4 mm per min. Such treatment increased the resistance ratio, R293k/R20K , where R293K is the resistance of the specimen at 20°C and R20K the re-resistance at liquid-hydrogen temperature, from a value of 25 for the initial rod to 175 for the zone-refined rod (the increase in the resistance ratio provides a measure of purification11,12). Part of a zone-refined rod was rolled unidirec-tionally to a strip 0.003 in. thick and 0.28 in. wide. Samples were given anneals in the range 1300" to 2100°C using ac conduction heating in an oil-free vacuum system. Recrystallization to small grains appeared to be complete at 1300°C. Large grains were formed at higher temperatures, but these were not entirely strain-free, some grains showing asterism in Laue X-ray patterns and some displaying a range in orientation. Part of the difficulty was caused by thermal expansion of the tantalum strip as it was held between fixed supports. However, in a different arrangement with the tantalum freely suspended in a tantalum can, high-frequency induction heating in vacuo at about l0-6 Torr produced

Jan 1, 1964

By W. L. III McMorris, R. E. Zimmerman, Michael Sokaski, E. R. Palowitch, M. R. Geer, C. E. Capes, A. W. Deurbrouck, S. C. Sun

PART 1: DENSE MEDIUM SEPARATION by M. SOKASKI, M. R. GEER, and W. L. MCMORRIS III INTRODUCTION In the early days of coarse-coal treatment by the dense-medium process in Europe, loess was one of the materials used for medium solids. Newly developed cyclones were used to reclaim and thicken the loess suspension. On occasion, when the cyclone thickener at the Maurits mine in the Nether- lands plugged, the overflow was found to be filled with clean coal free of impurity. From this observation stemmed the concept of the cyclone as a cleaning device. Development took place during World War I1 in the lab- oratory of the Dutch State Mines under the direction of M. G. Driessen. A 15 tph (13.6 mt) pilot plant was in operation in the laboratory by 1945, when, in September, Driessen made the first public disclosure of the process in a paper presented to the Institute of fie1 in London. In April 1945 operation of this pilot plant was observed by H. F. Yancey, who was so

Jan 1, 1979

By Z. T. Bieniawski

The importance of understanding the phenomena associated with rock fracture has long been fully appreciated in rock mechanics. This is clearly apparent from the special attention paid to rock fracture in the comprehensive papers published within the past four years.l-5 These papers present a picture of how the knowledge of brittle fracture of rock was gradually enriched and also show that what was often taken for granted three or four years ago is no longer considered as valid today. The Griffith hypothesis,6 thought in the past to predict the strength of rock, is now known to be applicable to fracture initiation only. The knowledge of a failure criterion for fracture initiation is not sufficient, however, as after fracture initiation the rock is still a useful material even possessing increasing load-bearing ability. The importance of the fracture propagation process, subsequent to fracture initiation, is thus obvious. Yet, relatively little attention has so far been paid to brittle fracture propagation in rock. As it is now realized that understanding of this process is a prerequisite for practical rock mechanics applications, studies of propagation of brittle fracture in rock constitute an important aspect of rock mechanics research. It has been pointed out 4 that it is essential that the failure mechanism is fully understood before a failure criterion is postulated. Many failure criteria have been propounded in the past on the basis of theoretical reasoning alone and could not be verified by experimental evidence. Recently, a hypothesis for the mechanism of brittle fracture of rock was propounded, 4 describing the events taking place in the rock from the initial application of gradually increased load to complete disintegration of the material.

Jan 1, 1972

By William E. Newman

When Hugh Lee Pattinson discovered, in 1829, that the crystals formed during the slow cooling of molten lead were poorer, and the remaining liquid richer in silver, than the original lead, an important step was made in the metallurgy of this metal. Being the first process applicable to the desilverization of low-grade lead bullion, it soon found its way into all European countries having such a product to treat, thereby effecting the saving of many ounces of silver annually which previously had been thrown away. The old hand process was expensive, as viewed from the standpoint of more modern methods; the labor was great and the tonnage was small, but on the other hand the results were fairly satisfactory. This process flourished for some time after the introduction of the cheaper Parkes process in 1852 and it is still in use in a few European smelteries. Only one notable improvement was made on the original process, that of Luce and Rozan at Marseilles, France. It consisted in the application of steam for stirring and the tapping of one-third of the liquid lead, through perforated plates covering the tap holes flush with the bottom of the kettle, thus leaving two-thirds in the form of crystals in the original kettle. This modification considerably lowered the operating costs as it permitted of much larger kettles, an increased tonnage and eliminated much of the slow, hard labor of the hand process. The Luce and Rozan process has persisted in its original form to the present day. Stephen Tredinnick, English born, spent most of his years around the Luce and Rozan plants at Marseilles and elsewhere in Europe, coming later to Eureka, Nev., in 1878, to operate the Luce and Rozan plant at that point. Mr. Tredinnick was a competent Luce and Rozan operator and being devoted to the process he firmly believed that with modifications the costs could be so lowered as eventually to supplant the Parkes process. Out of many schemes he decided that this could be accomplished by placing the Luce and Rozan kettles upon hydraulic rams so that each

Jan 1, 1918

By L. L. Wyman

Previous studies1 by the writer dealing with the embrittlement of copper have been concerned with the behavior of various pure and deoxidized coppers when exposed to an oxidation-reduction cycle, and the consequent evaluation of these materials on the basis of their resistance to this action. No attention was devoted to the variations in penetration of embrittlement with time, when these copper materials are exposed to a strong reducing gas, such as hydrogen, nor to the variations in oxygen penetration, with time and temperature, into the "pure" coppers. The cause of the embrittlement is the reduction of the oxygen in the copper by the hot reducing gas, so that a consideration of time, temperature, the occurrence of hydrogen and oxygen must be given. For the purpose of differentiating some of the involved factors, the present work may be divided into two separate series of experiments. The first of these deals with the oxidation of purified coppers under various conditions and then the subjection of these to a standard hydrogen treatment. The second series concerns the reduction, under different conditions, of tough-pitch coppers of several oxygen contents. The resulting data will give the rates of oxidation, and of reduction, for the materials involved. The first series of experiments will reveal how rapidly copper may become oxidized, while the second series will indicate how rapidly embrittlement will penetrate into an oxygen-containing copper when it is exposed to hydrogen at different temperatures. Materials For the purpose of determining these variables, three types of material were selected, to cover the extremes in the ranges of materials commercially obtainable. The first class of materials is represented by an oxygen-free copper, as well as the high-purity vacuum-melted copper2 used in previous work. These materials were selected to determine the variation of oxidation with time and temperature, by oxidizing these coppers under various combinations of these factors, and noting the effect as indicated by a

Jan 1, 1934

By Sydney H. Loram

The following notes have been compiled more for the reason that the district is little known to the outside world for its gold production, than for the hope of giving valuable information. The district of Canutillo lies about 15 miles south of the city of Freirina (1at. 28' 50' S. long. 70" 75' W.), and contains nine principal veins, all within a radius of a mile; 50 or more claims have been located on these veins, and this paper refers chiefly to those belonging to the Anglo-Chilean Exploration Go., Ltd., on which the greater part of the development work has been done. In all probability the mines were first worked by the Incas, who, under Tupac Yupangui, captured the country as far south as the Mauli river, between the years 1430 and 1470, and imposed a yearly tribut,e of gold and copper, which was forwarded by carriers on foot to Cuzco, the Inca capital in Peru. In the year 1535, soon after the time of the Spanish conquest, the stories of these consignments, together with those of supposed precious stones, led Diego de Almargro with a band of 400 soldiers to explore as far south as the Incas had gone, in the hope of finding the source of the precious metal, which he believed to have come from some definite point instead of being, as was afterwards proved, the collection of innumerable districts scattered over the entire length of the country. The method of winning the gold used by the Incas or by the natives whom they forced to work seems to have consisted in removing the ore by hard-wood wedges driven by stone-hammers, while a human shoulder-blade worn along its rounded edge, found in one of the mines, had evidently done duty to its second owner as a scraper or shovel. The mining was done by steep inclined workings sunk on the lodes at about 40" from the horizontal, the direction being reversed every 10 or

Jan 1, 1905

By W. T. Stuart

THE increased demand for iron ore has necessitated a re-examination of ore-bearing lands on which the presence of water previously has indicated hazardous and expensive operating conditions. In view of the importance of iron ore production to the national economy and defense, the Ground Water Branch of the U. S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the state of Michigan, began a study of mine drainage in the Iron River district in 1945, and later extended the work to the Marquette district. The purpose of these studies was to define the principles involved in the movement of surface and ground water toward the mined areas, with the hope that the information obtained in the research would lead to the development of methods of water control and to a reduction in the total mining costs. Not only are the direct costs of drainage increasing, but also the indirect operational costs of working a wet mine are becoming a larger proportion of the total mining costs. For some wet mines the direct costs of pumping and drainage may range from 35 to 40Ø per ton of ore produced, but the indirect costs due to handling wet ore and controlling the water may be five to ten times this amount. The methods of study were formulated as the work progressed, and inasmuch as they were the first large-scale studies of their kind, they should serve as a guide for the solution of similar problems in other mining areas. The Iron River district was chosen for a pilot study because in this district the longest records of mine pumpage and water-level observations were available, including, as they do, the records for the Homer mine of the M. A. Hanna Co., where pumping from surface wells began in 1930. The results of the first investigation by the Michigan Department of Conservation have already appeared." The first section of the report on a similar study of the Marquette district, which was started in 1948, will be published this year. Methods of Study In an effort to reduce the flow of water into the mine workings in the Iron River district, about 4500 gpm was pumped from the bedrock being mined and about 9000 gpm from the glacial overburden. In the Marquette district in the vicinity of Ishpeming and Negaunee, about 5000 gprn was pumped from the bedrock and about 4000 gpm was pumped from the glacial overburden. Where the water was pumped only from the bedrock, the rate of pumping ranged from a few hundred gallons per minute in the dry mines to many hundred gallons per minute in the wet mines. In each district, pumping from the overburden was localized on a few properties where costly pumping installations had been made and the expenditures for power had been large. In each district a comprehensive ground-water investigation was made of the whole area, involving the collection and interpretation of all the available data bearing on the source and quantity of water to be controlled. Although it is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the methods of making a ground-water investigation, it should be pointed out that a drainage study follows a pattern of engineering analysis that determines the occurrence, source, movement, disposal, and quantities of water involved. The investigation in the iron-mining districts of Michigan began with the construction of a map of the buried bedrock topography. Because the ground-water reservoirs occupy the low points in the bedrock basins, this map gives information concerning their areal extent, depth, shape, and degree of interconnection. The depth to water in the drillholes and wells indicates the altitude to which the ground-water reservoirs are filled, and the logs of the material penetrated in the drillholes and wells indicate the general character of the materials filling the reservoir. The slope of the ground-water surface indicates the direction of flow through the reservoir, the water movement being from the points of higher altitude to points of lower altitude. By analysis of the rise and fall of the ground-water levels in response to additions of water through recharge and to changes in the rate of discharge through pumped wells, estimates of the total quantity of water in storage and of the rate of flow through the reservoir

Jan 1, 1952

By N. M. Langdon

In considering the magnificent success of Mr. Gayley's bold experiment of applying dry blast to the blast-furnace, whereby a saving of 20 per cent. of fuel per ton of iron is effected, the question arises whether still further economy in fuel is possible, and, if so, how it is to be attained. The manner in which the heat generated in the furnace is utilized in the production of pig-iron may be determined, by the method of Bell and Gruner, for any furnace for which the necessary data are obtainable ; and the study of the operation, under various conditions, of a number of furnaces, for which such information has been worked out, should enable us to form some conclusion on the subject. The tables and calculations here given cover the operations of several furnaces reported in our Transactions ; also the two furnaces using natural and dry blast ill Mr. Gayley's experiment, for which the heat-equation has been worked out by Prof. Joseph W. Richards in his admirable discussion ' of Mr. Gayley's paper, The Application of Dry Air Blast to the Manufacture of Iron, and, finally, various hypothetical furnaces. The full list is as follows : A. Isabella furnace, with natural blast. B. Isabella furnace, with dry blast. The data stated for A and B in Table 111. are those given by Professor Richards, except that the heat-units are given for one unit of iron instead of 100 units, and some items of heat supplied, as stated by Richards, have been subdivided, the total being the same as given by Richards. (Columns A and B are introduced in Table 111. for comparison with C and D.)

Jan 1, 1910

By Howard Eavenson

IN a discussion in the Transactions of the Institute (vol. xl, page 835 et seq.) the writer gave some data about explosions of gas and dust in the coal mines of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, among which was a table showing all explosions in the countries mentioned, in which five or more fatalities occurred, which had been reported from Oct. 2, 1871, to Mar. 28, 1908. Since the elate of publication of this discussion, as opportunity has presented, this table has been extended by the addition of explosions occurring since that time, by including several explosions which occurred prior to 1871, and by adding to the list all explosions of gas or dust in which less than five fatalities occurred, this having been clone by a search through the various mine reports, partly by the author and partly by the Librarian of the United Engineering Societies, and by correspondence with mine inspection officials of the various States, to all of whom acknowledgment of assistance is made: The accompanying list, Table I, is believed to be as nearly correct as such a statement can be made, and, while only extending to Dec. 20, 1912, contains all of the data now available in reports. An analysis of Table I, showing the occurrence by months of all explosions of gas or dust, including those in which less as well as those in which more than five fatalities occurred, is given in Table II. The statements are frequently made, in technical papers, that the number of explosions, particularly the larger ones, is increasing more rapidly than the number of mines, and that the number of fatalities caused by mine explosions, particularly the more disastrous ones, is increasing faster, proportionally, than the production of coal. To investigate the correctness of these statements Table III was prepared, in which the number of accidents and fatalities is taken from Table I, using those in the United States only, on account of lack of other data for Canada and Mexico; the production is from the records of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the number of mines, from 1909, from the same source; previous to 1909, the number of mines, for the decennial periods, was furnished by the U. S. Census records.

Jan 10, 1914

By P. H. Brace

THE study of the relations between gases and metals is one of perennial interest to all who are connected with the production of high-grade metallurgical products. The data reported here are the outcome of work of which the object is to determine the effects of dissolved gases upon the properties of metals and to gain a more detailed knowledge of the reactions between gases and molten metals, particularly; iron, under definitely controlled conditions. We have attempted to reduce our margin of error by dealing with relatively large quantities of metal, from 4 to 13 lb. (2 to 6 kg.), and keeping the ratio of refractories to metal as small as practicable. The ingots produced are large enough to provide adequate material for making determinations of magnetic and other physical properties. In choosing the bell-jar type of furnace we were influenced by the results of considerable experimentation along the same general line which indicated that, for the scale or which we were to work, it was important to have the furnace structure independent of the vacuum enclosure. The use of a bell-jar surrounding the entire furnace accomplishes this and also gives great freedom of observation during operation and ready accessibility for the replacements which are necessary after each run. Our choice of analytical method was made in the light of the results secured by H. M. Ryder, who used a method similar in principle for the analysis of very small quantities of gas extracted from strips of metal heated electrically in high vacuum. We have presented some selected preliminary experimental data as being illustrative of the quantity and nature of the gases which occur in iron of different origins, but do not urge any hypothesis at this time.

Jan 1, 1928

By Mark N. Alling

A few years ago, gravel mining in the ancient river beds of Sierra county was the principal industry of the county. Operating drift mines were very numerous and many large hydraulic mines were in action. Eventually the State laws put an end to hydraulic mining, it being claimed that the silt carried down the streams to the valleys filled the rivers and caused winter floods, which were damaging to the surrounding farms. The ancient river deposits which could easily be found were, in the course of 40 years, worked out or practically so. The prohibition of hydraulic mining was a severe blow to the industry in general. The deposits were not developed and the gravel-mining industry practically stood still for many years. In Sierra county, nearly all the hydraulic mines were at the points where the ancient channels were exposed to view by reason of the modern stream erosion, or, in the miner's language, where the channels "enter" or "break out of" the ridges. The claims covering them also covered large areas in which were long segments of lava-capped channels, suitable for drift mines, and the points being hydraulicked were usually the controlling points of attack. Men who have followed hydraulic mining for any length of time seldom are content to work a drift mine. Knowing the great value of their deposits and feeling that they had been robbed by the State, these men have stubbornly held to their claims. The gold that is carried in these gravel channel deposits is more or less scattered throughout the depth and width of the deposit; the percentage that can be recovered by the process of drifting ranges from 50 to 75 per cent. of the total. In hydraulicking, practically all of the deposit is put through the sluices, and as the cost per cubic yard is only about 10 per cent. of the cost of drifting, the deposits, if classed as hydraulic mines, are much more valuable than if classed as drift mines; hence the old timers have held their claims (now worthless as hydraulic mines) at prices which the drift-mining industry could not stand; and such mines

Jan 1, 1915