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By D. J. Carney, E. C. Rudolphy

Large macroscopic nonmetallic inclusions were related to altered fireclay refractories by chemical and microscopic means. Pouring refractories are discussed as a source of these large inclusions. Nozzles and wells are major contributors. Use of alkali and titania contents as tracers is described. Recommendations are offered to minimize the sources of inclusions from pouring refractories. IN any attempt to improve the cleanliness of plain carbon and alloy steels, consideration must be given not only to the proper deoxidation practice to minimize inclusions, but also to sources of inclusions from pouring refractories. In some cases, the inclusions resulting from deoxidation may be minor in amount, yet a relatively dirty steel may be produced as a result of improper care in the pouring practices for the steel. The number of studies of inclusions resulting from pouring refractories has increased recently and some excellent reports on this subject have already been published.'4 Some of these reports were reviewed briefly in a companion paper by M. P. Fedock.5 Mr. Fedock's contribution is a fine addition to the studies necessary to improve steel cleanliness for the ultimate benefit of all steel producers and consumers. In the interest of constantly improving cleanliness, the authors have been actively engaged for the past two years in experimentation to determine more closely the sources of inclusions in steel. One phase of this work was associated with efforts to define more closely the sources of macroscopic inclusions which have been experienced on occasional heats. The term "macroscopic inclusions" is defined in general as those inclusions which are visible to the naked eye or at low magnifications of the order of less than X25. These inclusions sometimes can be seen in the macro-etch tests of billets and slabs. This report summarizes a few of the field experiments and laboratory studies conducted at the South Works of the United States Steel Corp., which were made regarding nozzles, wells, and ingot scums, as well as inclusions occurring in steel products. The data in the present study, together with the data of Mr. Fedock concerning ladle erosion, should be of value in regard to future studies of inclusions arising from pouring refractories. The knowledge gained as a result of data collected thus far at South Works has been helpful in improving the cleanliness of the products and in pointing the way toward further improvements. Similarity of Large Inclusions to Refractories and Altered Refractories In the routine inspection of billet etch tests, occasional inclusions visible to the naked eye have been observed. These large inclusions most frequently occur near the top of the ingot and near the billet surface. When such material was encountered, careful examinations were made in an attempt to determine the origin of these inclusions. In a relatively few cases, examination revealed that the material was unaltered fireclay refractory of a type similar to that used for hot-top material, with only the surface of the inclusions having an altered appearance under the microscope. However, the great majority of these inclusions were completely altered-refractory material. The term "altered refractory" is defined

Jan 1, 1955

By Chester B. White

ARGENTINA is a country that has never been properly prospected. This is my settled conclusion after reporting on mines in this country ever since 1914, crossing all the mining provinces from Chubut, in the South, to the territory of Los Andes, in the North, chiefly on muleback. It is difficult and costly to get from one district to another. Apart from petroleum, some mineral discoveries have been made but they have been the result of casual rather than systematic work. In Neuquen, Mendoza, San Juan, Cordoba, La Rioja, Catamarca, and Los Andes attempts at mine development have resulted in failures, involving in each instance several million pesos.

Jan 1, 1937

By L. A. Willey

Although the interierometric method for the determination of length changes was devised by Fizeau more than three quarters of a century ago, it has not achieved the widespread use in the metallurgical field that its precision and simplicity would seem to warrant. The interferometer and the basic principle are both very simple. When optically plane surfaces held at a very slight angle to each other are illuminated by monochromatic light, rectilinear, equally spaced interference fringes arc formed. Each fringe corresponds to a defiuitc thikness of the wedge formed by the optical flat.;. The difference in wedge thickness between two consecutive fringes is cqual to one half the wave length of the illuminating light. Instruments for vicwing the intertero~ncter have passed through a number of modifications. Outstanding among the improvements were those Abbe. in 1884. His improved instrument permitted micrometric mcasurements to the order of one-hundredth of the width of an interference fringe (i.e., lengths were measured to the order of one two-hulldredth of the mave length of light ). It also permitted the consecutive use of light of several wave lengths. which made possible the determination of the order number of any fringe and therefore the absolute thickness of the wedge at any point. The Abbe dilatometer and methods of measuretment, including corrections to he applied for the change of index of refraction with change in tempcrature and barometric pressure in an air wedge, have been thoroughly described by Pulfrich.' Pulfrich2 made further improvements in the interference measuring apparatus. His instrument embodied all the features of the Abbe dilatometer but was made more versatile by its complete mechanical separation from the interferorneter. The introduction of an Amici prism in the piece permitted the simultaneous observ tion of the whole set of fringe systems developed in the interferometer from the visible light of a geisler tulle. .Also, the introduction of a direct-vision, reflecting prism made it possible to set the fringes parallel to the two vertical fiducial line. of the instrument without the necessity of rotating the interierometcr. Interferometric methods employed ill this country have been developed and dcscribed by Priest, Pelers and Cragoe," Austin,5 Merritt,= Saunders,? and Nix and MaNair. Since none of these authors used the type of instrument that was employed in the present investigation, they Will not be discussed here. This paper will be limited to the description of the interfernmetric apparatus and method used at the Aluminum Research Laboratories and to the presentation of data so obtained. Apparatus and Procedure A general view of the dilatometer, not including equipment for controlling and

Jan 1, 1945

By M. R. Hatfield, F. J. Vosburgh

IN a recent article,† it was shown that in the blast furnaces in Germany that are lined with carbon blocks no cooling plates are used, and that shower cooling is employed on the hearth and bosh sections. While one of the authors was in Germany he was told that one furnace was being operated without even the shower cooling on the bosh section, though the hearth section was shower-cooled. In discussion of this interesting situation with a number of blast-furnace operators in this country, it was made clearly and promptly evident that shower cooling was very unpopular, probably because of its messiness and its ineffectiveness. Both of the causes for the dislike of shower coolings are reasonable ones. Shower cooling can be and frequently is messy, but the present cooling of blast furnaces leaves much to be desired on that score. Shower cooling is ineffective as compared with plate cooling, so far as its usefulness in keeping the bricks cool enough not to melt or fall to pieces is concerned. However, the introduction of carbon linings changes the situation. No one is concerned with keeping a carbon lining cool, for no temperature in the blast furnace has any effect on carbon, which is just as stable at 3000°F. as it is at 70°F. The only concern is for the shell-to keep it cool enough for safety and comfort and for that shower cooling is sufficient. Of course, with only the shell to cool, instead of the shell plus all the refractory material, much less water would be required, and the necessity for constant attention to the flow would be lessened, as the hundreds of inlets and outlets would be eliminated. Probably half of the water used in cooling a blast furnace is used for cooling the shaft and tuyeres and the remainder for the bosh and hearth sections. However, in view of the dislike of shower cooling in the United States, and particularly because at least one German blast furnace is operated with no cooling of the bosh section, thought was given to the possibility that a carbon-lined blast furnace might be operated without any cooling of the entire carbon-lined portion. For that reason a series of experiments was performed to determine what might be the temperature of the shell of a blast furnace protected by a carbon lining and operated under varying conditions up to a maximum inside temperature of 3000°F. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. I and a photograph of the entire assembly in Fig. 2. The heating element was a carbon tube nominally 2 5/8 in. o.d. by 2 in. i.d. by 30 in., used as a resistor. Power was furnished by a 15-kva. transformer operating

Jan 1, 1941

By C. F. Floe, M. Cohen, M. B. Bever, V. G. Paranjpe

NITROGEN is becoming recognized as one of the important elements in ferrous physical metallurgy. Several investigations indicate that nitrogen plays a significant part in such phenomena as strain aging and temper brittleness. Nitrogen is known to be a powerful austenite stabilizer and may be a useful alloying element in stainless steels. The hard-enability of steels has been found to be increased by nitrogen. The nitriding and carbonitriding pro- cesses are examples of successful industrial application of nitrogen in ferrous materials. For a complete understanding of the various roles played by nitrogen in ferrous metallurgy a knowledge of the phase relations in the binary iron-nitrogen system is essential. The literature contains a variety of iron-nitrogen phase diagrams. Those suggested by Fry, Sawyer,² Epstein and his coworkers,³,4 Lehrer,5 Eisenhut and Kaupp, and Hägg7,8 differ significantly from one another. Moreover, the most recent of these investigations dates back about twenty years. A re-determination of the entire diagram, therefore, appeared desirable. In addition to the published phase diagrams, investigations have been carried out on portions of the iron-nitrogen system. Bramley and Haywood determined the composition and temperature of the iron-iron nitride eutectoid. The maximum solubility of nitrogen in a iron was investigated by Portevin and Seferian10 and by Diikstra. 11 Several investigators have determined the crystal structure of the various iron-nitrogen phases. In fact, Eisenhut and Kaupp6 and Hägg7 based their entire phase diagrams on the results of such studies. Epstein' and Emmett12 reported lattice-parameter measurements on the E (hexagonal close-packed) phase. Osawa and Iwaisumi13 also studied the change in lattice parameters of the a, ? and E phases with nitrogen content. Brill" and Hägg7 showed that the y' phase has an ordered structure, and Hendricks and Kostingsl5 suggested a structural relation between the E and phases. In a recent investigation Jackl6 arefully studied the super-lattice reflections from the y' and phases. Experimental Procedure A large variety of experimental methods has been used by previous investigators in studying the iron-nitrogen system. These methods include thermal analysis, microscopic examination, X ray diffraction, magnetic measurements, dilatometric analysis and anelastic experiments. Thermal analysis is of low accuracy in determining changes in the solid state. This accuracy is further decreased for iron-nitrogen alloys since composition changes will occur during heating or cooling unless extreme care is taken to use a proper atmosphere. Metallographic methods are of small value . because homogeneous iron-nitrogen alloys of sufficient size can be produced only with great difficulty. The dilatometric method is open to the same objections as thermal analysis in that changes in composition may occur during heating and cooling. Lattice parameter measurements by X ray diffraction can be used satisfactorily for determining phase boundaries if cooling is fast enough to prevent structural changes. In view of the limitations of the various other techniques two methods only were adopted in this investigation, (1) X ray diffraction measurements, and (2) a controlled nitrogenizing method. The second method is an innovation for investigating the iron-nitrogen system, and will be described at length. Materials: All iron-nitrogen alloys were prepared from carbonyl iron powder of the analysis shown in table I. The average particle size was about 20

Jan 1, 1951

By W. Julian Parton

Treatment of the breaker wash-water discharges to remove the suspended particles of finely divided material is usually most efficiently and economically accomplished in settling or thickening tanks. The purpose of these tanks is to separate the excess water from the solids by sedimentation whereby the solid particles suspended in the water are thickened by the force of gravity. The water overflowing these tanks is either reused for coal cleaning or discharged directly to the streams. The settled solids, which are in a relatively concentrated condition, forming a sludge or thick pulp, can be disposed of by pumping to a storage dam, by slushing into mine workings, by processing for recovery of coal, or filtering by vacuum or centrifugal means and discharging with the breaker refuse. The scope of this paper will be limited to the discussion of settling and thickening equipment, the factors that influence the settlement of solids, and a brief description of tests that can be made to determine the size of settling facilities required for any particular condition. The practical application of sedimentation to the treatment of coal falls into two groups, one of classification or hydro-separation, and the other of clarification and thickening. Classification may be employed to prepare a relatively low-grade fuel, which can be used as is or can be further processed separately. Clarification and thickening is employed where the primary objective is to recover a relatively dewatered solid and return a satisfactorily clear water to breaker or streams. Operation and Types oF Settling Equipment When a stream of water flows across a tank, the time required for a particle to travel from the feed inlet to the overflow must be a little greater than that required for the finest particles or flocs in the feed to settle out of the stream. Theoretically, the liquid in a settling tank should rise at a more or less constant rate throughout the area of the tank Under these conditions the rising velocity of the water must be less than the settling rate of the finest particles if clarification is to be obtained. When classification of particles is to be made in the tank, the overflow velocity must be greater than the settling velocity of the particles that are to be removed with the tank overflow. The performance of a settling tank, then, depends on the settling rate of the solids and the current velocities in the tank. The oldest types of sedimentation employ intermittent types of settling tanks of any convenient shape. Means are provided for filling the tank with pulp and allowing it to settle until quiet, for moving the clean liquor and for removing the thickened sludge. The operation is necessarily intermittent but a sufficient number of tanks is employed so that a continuous flow of clear water is maintained. Continuous methods for the sedimentation of slurries were developed in the metallurgical industry. Cones from which settled solids were discharged by gravity

Jan 1, 1947

By W. Julian Parton

Treatment of the breaker wash-water discharges to remove the suspended particles of finely divided material is usually most efficiently and economically accomplished in settling or thickening tanks. The purpose of these tanks is to separate the excess water from the solids by sedimentation whereby the solid particles suspended in the water are thickened by the force of gravity. The water overflowing these tanks is either reused for coal cleaning or discharged directly to the streams. The settled solids, which are in a relatively concentrated condition, forming a sludge or thick pulp, can be disposed of by pumping to a storage dam, by slushing into mine workings, by processing for recovery of coal, or filtering by vacuum or centrifugal means and discharging with the breaker refuse. The scope of this paper will be limited to the discussion of settling and thickening equipment, the factors that influence the settlement of solids, and a brief description of tests that can be made to determine the size of settling facilities required for any particular condition. The practical application of sedimentation to the treatment of coal falls into two groups, one of classification or hydro-separation, and the other of clarification and thickening. Classification may be employed to prepare a relatively low-grade fuel, which can be used as is or can be further processed separately. Clarification and thickening is employed where the primary objective is to recover a relatively dewatered solid and return a satisfactorily clear water to breaker or streams. Operation and Types oF Settling Equipment When a stream of water flows across a tank, the time required for a particle to travel from the feed inlet to the overflow must be a little greater than that required for the finest particles or flocs in the feed to settle out of the stream. Theoretically, the liquid in a settling tank should rise at a more or less constant rate throughout the area of the tank Under these conditions the rising velocity of the water must be less than the settling rate of the finest particles if clarification is to be obtained. When classification of particles is to be made in the tank, the overflow velocity must be greater than the settling velocity of the particles that are to be removed with the tank overflow. The performance of a settling tank, then, depends on the settling rate of the solids and the current velocities in the tank. The oldest types of sedimentation employ intermittent types of settling tanks of any convenient shape. Means are provided for filling the tank with pulp and allowing it to settle until quiet, for moving the clean liquor and for removing the thickened sludge. The operation is necessarily intermittent but a sufficient number of tanks is employed so that a continuous flow of clear water is maintained. Continuous methods for the sedimentation of slurries were developed in the metallurgical industry. Cones from which settled solids were discharged by gravity

Jan 1, 1947

By J. C. Williams

The operations described in this paper are those of the flotation plant of the Valley Forge Cement Co. at Conshohocken, Pa., and concern the use of a particular cationic reagent—namely, DP-243. The role of this reagent in this plant may be better understood by first considering the purpose of beneficiating cement rock in general and the specific problems at the Valley Forge plant. The ultimate purpose of beneficiating cement rock is to obtain a kiln feed of the desired chemical composition in a form suitable for the most efficient kiln operation. The chemical composition is governed by the type of cement to be made. Before government restrictions (the purpose of which is to simplify operations during wartime) limited the types of portland cement a manufacturer is permitted to produce, five principal types of cement were generally recognized by the industry. They are based upon chemical and physical specifications proposed by the American Society for Testing Materials, federal and other governmental agencies, state highway departments, water boards and other users of large quantities of cement. The physical as well as chemical specifications for any particular type of cement necessitate proper proportioning of the major components—that is, the silica, alumina, iron and lime—and it is necessary to establish and maintain definite limits for each in the raw mix. The manufacturer must then prepare a kiln feed of a composition that will yield a final product that will fulfill the desired specification. This step is further complicated for kilns using coal as fuel, by the amount and analysis of the ash introduced. The amount and nature of the dust lost during burning will also affect the composition of the kiln feed. The problem of preparing a kiln feed of the desired chemical composition is not a simple one, and it is the final product that governs the methods used to obtain such a feed. For example, in starting with a material deficient in lime for the mix sought, it may not be sufficient to raise it to the required lime content. The other constituents must also be present in the proper proportions. In some cases, it may be necessary to raise the lime content to a point greatly exceeding that of the final mix, then, by addition of one or more other materials lower in lime, obtain the mix. The rock used at the Valley Forge plant is a metamorphosed argillaceous limestone of the Jacksonburg formation, the same formation as that of the Lehigh Valley cement rock (which occurs approximately 50 miles north), and its oxide composition is similar to that of the latter. The only practical differences between the two are that, as a result of metamorphosis, crystallization of the Valley Forge rock is considerably coarser and it contains less carbon than the Lehigh Valley rock as well as slightly more magnesia in the form of magnesian mica. The calcium carbonate content of the various strata in the Valley Forge quarry ranges from about 65 per cent to over 85 per cent, the average for the entire quarry being somewhat under the requirement for manufacture of cement, which usually is from 75 to 76 per

Jan 1, 1947

By J. C. Williams

The operations described in this paper are those of the flotation plant of the Valley Forge Cement Co. at Conshohocken, Pa., and concern the use of a particular cationic reagent—namely, DP-243. The role of this reagent in this plant may be better understood by first considering the purpose of beneficiating cement rock in general and the specific problems at the Valley Forge plant. The ultimate purpose of beneficiating cement rock is to obtain a kiln feed of the desired chemical composition in a form suitable for the most efficient kiln operation. The chemical composition is governed by the type of cement to be made. Before government restrictions (the purpose of which is to simplify operations during wartime) limited the types of portland cement a manufacturer is permitted to produce, five principal types of cement were generally recognized by the industry. They are based upon chemical and physical specifications proposed by the American Society for Testing Materials, federal and other governmental agencies, state highway departments, water boards and other users of large quantities of cement. The physical as well as chemical specifications for any particular type of cement necessitate proper proportioning of the major components—that is, the silica, alumina, iron and lime—and it is necessary to establish and maintain definite limits for each in the raw mix. The manufacturer must then prepare a kiln feed of a composition that will yield a final product that will fulfill the desired specification. This step is further complicated for kilns using coal as fuel, by the amount and analysis of the ash introduced. The amount and nature of the dust lost during burning will also affect the composition of the kiln feed. The problem of preparing a kiln feed of the desired chemical composition is not a simple one, and it is the final product that governs the methods used to obtain such a feed. For example, in starting with a material deficient in lime for the mix sought, it may not be sufficient to raise it to the required lime content. The other constituents must also be present in the proper proportions. In some cases, it may be necessary to raise the lime content to a point greatly exceeding that of the final mix, then, by addition of one or more other materials lower in lime, obtain the mix. The rock used at the Valley Forge plant is a metamorphosed argillaceous limestone of the Jacksonburg formation, the same formation as that of the Lehigh Valley cement rock (which occurs approximately 50 miles north), and its oxide composition is similar to that of the latter. The only practical differences between the two are that, as a result of metamorphosis, crystallization of the Valley Forge rock is considerably coarser and it contains less carbon than the Lehigh Valley rock as well as slightly more magnesia in the form of magnesian mica. The calcium carbonate content of the various strata in the Valley Forge quarry ranges from about 65 per cent to over 85 per cent, the average for the entire quarry being somewhat under the requirement for manufacture of cement, which usually is from 75 to 76 per

Jan 1, 1947

By F. W. C. Boswell, R. L. Cunningham, H. M. Weld

Chemical analysis shows the partition of the magnesium addition between the metal and the graphite is independent of whether the graphite is in the form of nodules or flakes. The bright central spot observed in nodular graphite polished sections is shown to be due to the structure of the nodules. DURING the past few years numerous papers have been published on the production1-7 and heat treatment" of nodular cast irons. However, very little information is available on the structure of the nodules and the reason for their formation. It would appear that an explanation of the phenomenon of nodulation must await a detailed knowledge of the nature of the nodule. Disagreement exists among various workers on such a fundamental point as to whether or not a nodule actually contains a microscopically visible, nongraphitic nucleus.9-11 Work was initiated with a view to obtaining definite information on this and other aspects of the problem. Chemical Separation and Analysis Microscopic appearance had indicated9-11 that a nongraphitic core might exist in nodules (Fig. 1). It appeared that a chemical comparison of separated nodules and flake graphite would be profitable, for if the core is nongraphitic a relatively large amount of certain elements would be found in the nodules as compared to the flake. This comparison could best be made by obtaining nodules and flake from the same melt of cast iron, part of which had been in-noculated with a suitable addition reagent for the formation of nodules. A 300 lb melt was produced. About half of this was innoculated in the ladle with an Fe-Si-Mg alloy to produce nodules and cast into keel blocks; the remaining half of the melt had silicon added in an effort to compensate for the silicon in the innoculant used in the other half of the melt and this was cast into similar keel blocks. The analyses of the resultant irons are given in Table I. Nodules and flake were chemically extracted from 2 kg samples of metal as described in the appendix. While this method dissolved the iron and chromium carbides, it did not dissolve the titanium, vanadium, and molybdenum carbides. These latter carbides could have been removed by nitric acid, but in other experiments it was found that it attacked pools of metallic iron entrapped in the nodules which had, until the nitric acid treatment, been protected from the attack of the sulphuric, hydrochloric, and hydrofluoric acids. It will be shown in the next section that entrapped iron exists in nodules but not in flake. On microscopic examination many tiny irregular particles were observed to accompany both the nodules and the flake. These were identified by tabling a sample of nodules from which a sufficient fraction was obtained for X-ray analysis. A good pattern of titanium carbide was obtained indicating that this was the predominant compound present. Since it was not possible to determine how completely the carbides could be removed mechanically and since their removal from flake is much more difficult, it was decided not to resort to any separation as this would render further comparisons more difficult. The samples were ashed in a combustion

Jan 1, 1953

By W. Blake McCullogh

It is often written that the purpose of any mining operation is to produce efficiently, safely, and profitably, and always to search for more efficient, safer, and more profitable methods. To provide for continual improvement, an attitude that is not only reasonable but also imperative, there is an obvious need for a high standard of competence among the ranks both of supervision and of those being supervised. It naturally follows that, to achieve this standard, planned training in every level of an organization is a definite necessity. There are many factors involved in the need for training, and the scope of a program is influenced by answers to such questions as: "What is the geographic location of the project?" "What are the duties of each job?" "What is the source of the working force and supervision?" "What are the hiring standards for various jobs?" "What is the availability of trained personnel?" "What is the availability of outside training facilities?" The approach in this chapter will be to consider a need for a maximum of training, and it may be applied by the reader to whatever extent is considered necessary in each individual situation. 14.2-1. Administration. It is a basic responsibility of every supervisor at all levels to train those who work for him. However in a very extensive training program, which involves supervisors and the working force, includes both compulsory and voluntary participation, uses outside and in-plant methods, and where the increasing complexity of jobs requires more specialization, the establishment of a training department is definitely war- ranted. This will consist mainly of instructors for related classroom training and preparation of manuals, etc., and the necessary clerical help. A training staff does not relieve the various departments of their responsibility to train, but it does have facilities, experience, and contacts that are inval-

Jan 1, 1968

By Subhash C. Malhotra

This paper discusses the historical background on major sources of obsolete electronic scrap and spent catalytic converter scrap. The paper discusses the principal changes taking place that will affect the future supply of these scraps. The author projects from this background the future opportunities for reclaimers and refiners in these two important segments of the precious metals scrap reclamation industry.

Jan 1, 1984

By Leslie C. Richards

The competitive position of producers of industrial minerals depends upon the delivered price of their product. Freight charges are a major factor in the sales to consumers. A comparison of freight rates on movements of limestone and silica rock in the Pacific North-west shows a wide variance in mills per ton mile for like hauls, thereby favoring some localities over others.

Jan 2, 1950

By Martin F. Littmann

FOR magnetic devices employing reactors with high rates of flux change very thin magnetic tapes have been employed. One of the more interesting of

Jan 1, 1957

By F. H. Buttner, H. Udin, J. Wulff

Using a modified Udin, Shaler, and Wulff technique, the surface tension of gold Udin, purified helium was found to be 1400 ± 65 dynes per cm for the temperature range 1017° to 1042°C. IN the original Udin, Shaler, and Wulff technique for measuring the surface tension of copper: variously weighted wires were allowed to extend or contract in a copper cell held at elevated temperatures in vacuum. By plotting stress vs. strain for a wire array in one test, the stress at zero strain is obtained. This is the point where the contractile forces resulting from surface tension are balanced by the applied load, according to the expression: y = e=o r [1] where y is the surface tension in dynes per cm; a,,,, the stress at zero strain in dynes per cm; and T, the radius of the wire in cm. The assumption that the wires deform viscously permits the drawing of a straight line through the points on the stress-strain plot. Justification of the assumption has received further experimental support recently.'-' The presence of grain boundaries in the wires requires a correction to the original expression used." Thus: y = d4=T [l- (dl) (ar)Y1 [2] where, n/l is the number of grain boundaries per unit length, and a, the ratio of grain boundary tension to free surface tension. Alexander, Kuczynski, and Dawson in studying the creep of gold wire in vacuum were unable to obtain reproducible values of the surface tension of gold. In plotting stress vs. strain for progressively longer times, they found that the stress at zero strain drifted with time from positive stress values to negative values. Similarly, for the surface tension of silver, reproducible values were obtained only when a purified helium atmosphere was substituted.' Evidently the evaporation rate of silver in vacuum is too high at the temperatures employed to obtain solid-gas equilibrium even in a similar metal enclosure. Thus reproducibility of results is lost. Experimental Procedure The experimental procedure was much the same as that originally developed by Udin, Shaler, and Wulff with a few modifications and improvements. For greater accuracy in strain measurements, knots gave way to cut gage marks as shown in Fig. 1. These were made with a hand-driven lathe in which razor blades serv'ed as cutting tools. Also a more precise cathetometer with a screw accurate to 0.00015 cm was used. The tests were conducted in an atmosphere of purified .helium rather than in vacuum in order to avoid possible evaporation difficulties. Five mil wire of high purity gold (99.98 pct) was used. After cutting in the gage marks, each wire of a series of about 12 was differently loaded by welding a gold ball to one end. This was done by dipping the end of the wire in a cooling gold droplet, previously melted on a charcoal block with a No. 2 acetylene torch. The other end of the wire was strung through a hole in a gold lid and twisted over the edge to hold the wires fixed and in suspension from the lid. The lid and mounted wires were then dipped in pure ethyl alcohol to dissolve any skin oils and dirt on the surface of the wires due to handling. Finally the lid was put in place on an alundum crucible lined with gold so that the wires hung freely within the gold-lined chamber. This whole assembly was next heated in a quartz nichrome wound tube furnace and heated for a few minutes at 600°C to soften the wires. After this anneal the wires were easily straightened with tweezers. The wire assembly was finally annealed 10" to 25°C above the subsequent test temperature for 2 hr. This treatment allowed the grains to grow to equilibrium size and shape. After the anneal, the lid was mounted in front of the cathetometer. The gage length was measured by sighting the 40 power microscope on the upper lip of the lower gage mark for the first reading, then traveling up to the lower lip of the upper gage mark for the final reading. This procedure was repeated four times to give an average gage length value. In this manner the annealed gage length and the final gage length could be measured to determine the strains. During all measurements, grain counts were made.

Jan 1, 1952

By Burt C. Mariacher

Two AIME sponsored symposia to be held during the year 1970 will examine copper, lead and zinc metallurgy in considerable depth. MBD and the Extractive Metallurgy Division of The Metallurgical Society will participate in both. Thus, the full field of minerals and metals processing including milling, smelting, and refining will be covered. Since these symposia hold special interest to MBD members, it was felt that a useful purpose could be served by devoting this column to a description of what has been arranged for the registrants.

Jan 1, 1970

H. M. BOYLSTON, Cambridge, Mass.-We should feel greatly indebted to Mr. Miller for collecting this admirable series of photographs, but I cannot quite agree with his conclusions as to their significance. He apparently concludes that these needle-like constituents which he has shown in a good many cases, in the welded material at least, are cementite; that is, as we understand it, a carbide of iron. Now there seem to be

Jan 4, 1918

By T. O. Olsen, R. Henriksen

Aggregated models of a bank of flotation cells have frequently been used, assuming that a single-cell model can be used for control and estimation purposes. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of this approach, and show that single-cell aggregated models may very well be used in order to estimate the aggregated net flotation rate constants of the bank. These estimates would usually be very crucial in order to control the plant.

Jan 1, 1981

By B. P. Canning

In recent years much attention has been given to comminution theory and the design of crushing and grinding installations in large plants. The day of the small plant is not over, however, and we will attempt to analyze some cost aspects of conventional plant design, particular to their smallness. Small plants generally have the same design requirements as large plants, however, certain additional restraints are imposed which generally reduce efficiency and availability. The engineer must take particular note of these restraints in order to properly design crushing and grinding installations for these plants. Whatever equipment is selected for small plant crushing and grinding circuits, it is more costly on a per-ton capacity basis than for a large plant. Circuit Design Small crushing and grinding circuits of recent design usually are of one-line concept utilizing simplified flowsheets. This is the logical outcome of a cost evaluation excluding special considerations and is the basis of the circuit design discussion and cost evaluation which follows. Objections to the one-line concept have been voiced with arguments claiming little flexibility, low availability, higher disaster risk, etc., however, experience has proven these arguments not to be convincing. Equipment of sufficient capacity is available on the market for all normal applications up to the 4000 mtpd plant size here considered and the engineer has complete freedom of choice. Where separate treatment of ores is required, the single-line plant concept requires adequate ore storage be provided with facilities for clean-out between campaigns on one or the other ores. It is very difficult to justify parallel crushing and grinding sections for small plants as material handling is more difficult with small flows involved, and equipment costs become significantly higher. Cost Evaluation Criteria In order to evaluate the small plant comminution circuit on a cost-effectiveness basis, a test model is here established for a comparison basis. Although it is recognized that the parameters chosen will fit only certain metal mining applications, the cost trends should provide useful information for other applications. The test model used is a one-line comminution circuit which considers maximum space utilization in an all-enclosed plant. Plant feed is assumed to be 90 percent passing 12 in. with nominal maximum rock size

Jan 1, 1982

By M. R. J. Wyllie, H. W. Patnode

In the quantitative interpretation of electric log data it is essential to know the formation factor, defined as the ratio of the resistivity of the formation 100 per cent saturated with brine to the resistivity of the brine.' This concept implies that the formation factor for any given rock is constant irrespective of the resistivity of the brine or solution with which it is saturated. It is apparent that this can be true only when the rock matrix is wholly non-conductive. As reservoir rocks may contain clay or shale having an appreciable conductance one may expect these constituents to influence the determination of true formation factor. The formation factor may be theoretically derived from log data by dividing the resistivity of the mud filtrate invaded formation by the resistivity of the mud filtrate. Such a method of calculntion has implicit in it the assumption that the fluids in the invaded formation are wholly replaced by mud filtrate. that the solid matrix is non-conducting, and that the formation factor of the invaded zone is identical with the formation factor of the uninvaded zone. Since the validity of the first two basic assumptions regarding the insulating character of porous matrices and the displacement of the interstitial fluids in porous media do not appear to be fully established, the formation factors of a number of cores and clay slurries have been measured under conditions suitable for verifying the assumptions and the extent of any errors inherent in them. CORE STUDIES Apparatus and Procedure Resistivity measurements were made on short cylindrical permeable cores which had been previously mounted in lucite.2 The cores were clamped by means of insulated bolts between brass plates about 5 cm square and 1 cm in thickness. The plates were provided with a ring seal to prevent leakage between them and the core mount, and had a centrally located orifice so that fluids could be flowed through the mounted core. The brass mounting plates were used as electrodes and any current flow between them necessarily passed only through the constituents of the intervening core. Fluid saturation of the core, and fluid flow through the core, were effected by a centrifugal pump connected to the outflow end of the core, thus providing a differential pressure across the core of approximately one atmosphere. The procedure used was first to evacuate each core by means of the pump and then to saturate the core with an aqueous sodium chloride solution of known resistivity. The resistance of the core was measured and flow of the solution through the core continued for sufficient time to establish a constant resistance reading. After equilibrium had been reached with one solution, another sodium chloride solution of a different resistivity was flowed through the core and the flow continued until a constant resistance reading was again obtained. This procedure was continued until resistance measurements of the core had been made with a series of solutions within a salinity range from 1.0N NaCl to distilled water. The data obtained enabled the apparent formation factor of given porous rocks when saturated with fluids of different resistivity to be computed and also provided information regarding the ability of an invading fluid to displace interstitial water from a core. Results Berea Sandstone — The first core examined was a specimen of Berea sandstone." This core had been cut essentially parallel to the bedding for permeability studies. The core was clamped in the core holder and saturated with 1.0N NaCl solution and the resistance determined. It was subsequently flushed and the resistance measured when saturated in turn with 0.1N, 0.025N, 0.01N, .005N sodium chloride solutions and finally with distilled water. In flushing the core with each

Jan 1, 1950