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By John W. Langley

The unsatisfactory character of most, if not all, of the processes for the direct determination of alumina in the presence of iron and phosphoric acid, and the sharpness with which both the iron and phosqhoric acid can be determined, have led chemists to rely mainly

Jan 1, 1892

By John B. Pearse

In view of the great importance of accurate knowledge respecting the chemistry of iron and steel, as related to their physical properties, I come before you with a paper showing the great mass of work which has been heretofore done on the subject. I have tabulated the more important data I bring at this time, so as to draw out the results clearly. This information is accessible to all who will seek for it. I have made it the basis of my own practice throughout, and such knowledge is undoubtedly the only foundation for the successful practice of metallurgy. As is well known the ordnance corps of our army, after 1841, made exhaustive experiments on the properties of cast-iron. The investigations were undertaken in order to obtain necessary information on the reorganization of the corps. I wish to call your attention to the results obtained by a comparison of the chemical and physical properties of cast-iron for guns, to describe certain characteristic peculiarities of steel, and to give a brief history of the chemical work relating to carbon in iron. The Reports on Experiments on the Strength and other Properties of Metals for Cannon, published by H. Carey Baird, Philadelphia,

By W. J. Keep

Manganese is a nearly white metal, having about the same appearance when fractured as white cast-iron. Its specific gravity is about 8, while that of white cast-iron, reasonably free from impurities, is but a little above 7.5. As produced commercially, it is combined with iron, and with small percentages of silicon, phosphorus, and sulphur. It is generally produced in the blast-furnace. If the silicon is under 0.50 per cent., the product will be white. If the manganese is under 40 per cent., with the remainder mostly iron, and silicon not high enough to make the product gray, the alloy is called spiegeleisen, and the fracture will show flat reflecting surfaces, from which it takes its name. With manganese above 50 per cent., the iron alloy is called ferromanganese. As manganese increases beyond 50 per cent., the mass cracks in cooling, and when it approaches 98 per cent. the mass crumbles or falls in small pieces. When the percentage of manganese is high, the planes of the fracture are not so bright as when it is lower. The ferro-manganese which we have used in the experiments reported in this paper, contains Mn, 81.62; Si, 0.256 ; and combined carbon, 6.153 per cent. We have not been able to make test-bars from this, because the alloy cracks in small pieces in cooling. Manganese combines with iron in almost any proportion, but if an iron containing manganese is remelted, more or less of the manganese will escape by volatilization, and by oxidation with other elements present in the iron. If sulphur be present, some of the manganese will be likely to unite with it and escape, thus reducing the amount of both elements in the casting. Hence, in remelting irons, some of the sulphur which has entered from the fuel with which the iron is melted will very likely unite with some of the manganese in irons which make up the mixture and escape. Remelting, therefore,' reduces the percentage of manganese in cast-iron.

Jan 1, 1892

By M. G. Corson

Information regarding the use of ixanganese alloys has hitherto been incomplete and available only from widely scattered sources. This paper attempts a systematic description of properties and uses of alloys other than manganese bronze, manganin and duralumin, which are probably the only non-ferrous alloys associated with manganese in the minds of most metallurgists. Properties of Manganese Manganese can react either acid or basic; it is hard to obtain in the pure state; it has two different crystalline lattice structures, both of the cubic system, one stable above 850" C. and the other below 650" C., both coexisting in the intermediate range. Although the commercial product is hard and brittle, the pure metal seems to be ductile. In fact Zhemchuzhny, in Russia, was able to obtain ductile manganese and draw it to fine wires by the simple expedient of adding about 3 per cent. copper to the alumino-thermic product. Copper most probably brings the sili-cides, aluminides, nitrides and carbides present in the commercial product into a much less harmful form of distribution. One industrial use that can be foreseen for wrought manganese articles is as anodes for electrolytic processes in sulfate and nitrate solutions, particularly with high voltages. A practically insoluble skin of manganese peroxide is likely to form in such cases and an insoluble and strong anode material will be available. Manganese as a Scavengek Because of its activity manganese might become the most efficient scavenger and refiner of copper, were it not for the fact that 0.01 per cent.

By Mark A. Ammon

The two most widely used methods of measuring hardness are the Brinell and the scleroscope. In the Brinell method a hardened steel ball is pressed into the steel under a definite load and the area of the resulting depression is measured. The load in kg. per sq. mm. of the area of the depression is taken as a measure of the hardness. Within certain limits the hardness number so determined is independent of the load or the size of the ball. In the scleroscope method a small weight carrying a diamond point is dropped through a glass tube upon the steel and the amount of rebound is taken as proportional to the hard-' ness. In both methods the scale of hardness is an arbitrary one; however, they agree in a comparative may, that is, a steel showing 50 per cent. increase in hardness by the Brinell test mill show approximately 50 per cent. increase in hardness by the scleroscope test. Yet upon consideration of the two methods it appears that, upon a steel which has been carbonized, this should not be the case ; for the scleroscope method gives almost exclusively the surface-hardness, and the condition of the material below the surface has but a slight bearing upon the hardness number. The results given by the Brinell method should, however, be the exact opposite; for the depth of penetration 'of a ball pressed into the steel would be dependent to a large extent upon the condition of the material below the surface. This is particularly obvious when it is considered that the size of the ball ordinarily used in the Brinell method is 1 cm. (about 8 in.) in diameter under a load of 3,000 kg., while the diamond point of the scleroscope is in the neighborhood of 0.01 in. across, fitted in a hammer of about 0.5 oz. weight and dropping from a height of 10 inches.

Jan 1, 1913

By R. Moldenke

Unlike the furnaces employed in the reduction of ores to mattes and metals, the foundry-cupola has only melting to do. This looks simple enough; and its development has progressed through centuries by cut-and-try methods; but there is still much to be learned concerning the causes which underlie the production of defective castings, even from first-rate materials. There are other differences between the smelter and the cupola. The former is usually, the latter rarely, run continuously. In the smelter there is some chance for experiment, since rich slags can be treated again; while in the cupola the metal must be good for casting from the first tap to the drop of the bottom ; otherwise, heavy damage will result. In the smelter, the object sought is the production of metal or matte with a minimum loss in the slag; whereas, in the foundry, a variety of castings of different compositions must often be run from the same heat, one after the other. Experience with the cupola has shown that the melting should take place, throughout the heat, in one zone, the zone of maximum temperature, which is clearly marked on the cupola-lining by the severe cutting action of the slag and iron oxide. The design and operation of the cupola must conform to this condition. This conformity having been secured, other considerations resolve themselves into those details of construction which will involve least trouble and cost of repairs. The very high temperatures required to melt iron and steel in the cupola, leaving the metal sufficiently superheated for casting, render the use of water-jackets inadvisable. It is always possible to patch up the lining at the melting-zone between daily heats; and the rest of the lining is seldom affected enough by abrasion and chemical action to require replacement oftener than once in nine months. The cupola is practically a shell of steel, lined with the proper refractory material, and provided with a sct of tuyeres for the admission of air to burn the fuel and melt the metallic

Jan 1, 1913

By P. Barnes

Exact accounts hare been kept of the cost of these chimneys, and it may he a matter of some possible interest. that the plans and details of cost should be laid before the Institute. The statement of cost herewith submitted does not give minute particulars of the weights or quantities of material used, although these are noted upon the company's books.

By H. F. Miller

Fox some years the prejudice against basic open-hearth steel for casting has been gradually decreasing. Yet many consumers and engineers still cling to acid steel for castings, because of their alleged greater freedom from blow-holes and sponginess. Acid steel has been used for this purpose much longer than basic steel; and the melters in acid practice had it well in hand when basic steel was first tried. Then the necessity of learning a new set of laws for the production of satisfactory basic open-hearth steel for castings became evident. The first of these laws, in my opinion, has to do with the furnace construction. The heat should be melted down as speedily as possible so as to prevent excessive oxidation. I have described in another article ' some furnaces designed by me, and having as one of their features the promotion of quick melting. Size of the Furnace. The hearth of the furnace, however, is a decisive factor in the production of solid castings. The manufacturer should know the size of the heats he intends to make constantly, and should have his furnace built for that size of heat. The hearth should differ in dimensions from that of a furnace making ingotr steel. That is, the bath should be deeper and should have less surface-area. A shallow bath permits the slag to come out soon after the steel commences to flow, and thus prevents the additions from going into the steel, or from becoming uniformly distributed in case they have been put in hurriedly. Under this head comes the very poor practice of making small heats in hearths of a much larger capacity. If into a 25-or 30-ton furnace only 12 or 15 tons of metal is charged per heat, the proportion of heats that will be wild, or show signs

Jan 1, 1913

By Guy R. Johnson

In view of the attention now directed to the development of the iron-ores of Virginia, and of the frequent reference in the Transactions of the Institute to the Longdale mines, it is presumed that a brief account of the methods of working and surveying these mines will be of interest. For a better understanding of such a description, a few words will be said concerning the geological character of the ore-deposit. Professor Rogers says in his preliminary report of 1835, that this deposit has " more of the character of a true vein than is usually

Jan 1, 1892

By J. E. Johnson

The general construction of blast-furnaces has undergone no radical change in more than a generation. When the old style of masonry construction was replaced by the steel shell, the masonry piers were simultaneously replaced by columns, never lese than 6 and frequently 12 or 16 in number, set under the mantle-ring. These columns were at first unvaryingly made of cast-iron, but in more recent years have frequently been made of structural steel. The furnace itself has recently been the subject of radical changes; in some cases the thin-lined construction has been adopted for the whole furnace, and in other cases it has been adopted for a zone immediately above the bosh, raising the mantle several feet to make this possible, but still the style of construction with columns set immediately under the mantle has been universally followed. In spite of the apparent fixity of this type of construction it is open to grave disadvantages from the operating point of view, which may be briefly outlined as follows: The slope of the bosh and size of the crucible are such as to leave scant room inside the columns for the necessary water-piping, etc. The bustle-pipe must necessarily be outside the columns and the penstocks have to pass between them, with the result that the columns are frequently much in the way when changing the tuyeres or otherwise handling the penstocks. Moreover, the hearth-jacket requires a diameter but little smaller than the circle of the inside of the columns, and as a result the cooling-water ditch for protection against breakouts is exceedingly limited in width. As a consequence of these conditions, when any work requires to be done around the furnace, such as changing a tuyere or working on the cooling-water pipes, the amount of room left between the columns, pen-

Jan 1, 1913

By G. A. Reinhardt, Albert Sauveur

Although many metallurgists know that some pearlitic special steels can be made troostitic, martensitic, and even austenitic, without quenching, and, therefore, without exposing them to the dangers of the quenching-bath, the practical significance of such possibility does not seem to have received the attention it deserves. Let us recall briefly the mechanism of the transformation alluded to. In Fig. 1 (after Guillet) is shown the constitutional diagram of nickel-steel; that is, of alloys of iron, carbon, and nickel. Any steel the composition of which falls within the area LPO is pearlitic after slow cooling; any steel the composition of which is represented by a point within the area MLO is martensitic, and any steel within the area MNO is austenitic. Starting with pearlitic steel, then by increasing the carbon-content or the nickel-content, or both, the metal becomes marten-sitic and eventually austenitic; that is, its composition crosses first the boundary-line LO and then the line MO—and it remains martensitic or austenitic after slow (air) cooling.' We have in this way imparted to the metal without quenching it the properties of hardened carbon-steel. In other words, the steel is now self-hardening; Nickel cannot be introduced into solid steel, but by the well-known process of case-hardening it

Jan 1, 1913

By A. Eilers

The use of the bag-house for filtering out fumes produced in certain metallurgical operations is not new in America. There are no patents in force at this time, to my knowledge, which might hinder such use. Up to about 25 years ago the bag-house was only employed in connection with either zinc-works, which produced the oxides, to be sold for paint, or as an auxiliary in extracting lead from high-grade oxidized ores and from galena-concentrates in the Missouri and neighboring lead-regions; this work being then done in the Scotch or American hearths and in very low slag-furnaces, in all of which was produced an excessive amount of oxides which were also finally sold as paints. The literature1 on the above is abundant in text-books and periodical publications. The first large bag-house to be used permanently in connection with lead blast-furnaces was erected, as far as I am aware, about 1887 at the Globe smelting Co.'s works at Denver, Colo., under the Lewis-Bartlett patents. The brick flue, running from the blast-furnaces to the bag-house, was only a few

Jan 1, 1913

By Henry M. Rowe

Professor Ruff's most illuminating paper' describing his extremely valuable investigation of the carbon-iron equilibrium diagram assigns definite temperatures to certain very important lines in the diagram, viz.: the eutectic temperature EB (Fig. 1) and the " near-eutectic " temperature E'B', but without indicating clearly enough the reasoning which warrants these assignments. These temperatures are of such primary importance that it is well to indicate the apparent gaps in the reasoning, in the hope that they may be filled in. In his diagram, Fig. 1, the point X and the liues B'D'lII represent the experimental results reached by Ruff and Goecke;a AB, AEB, and SE represent the liquidus, the solidus, and the solubility of the carbon in solid austenite in the absence of graphite according to Gutowsky,3 AB being also in accordance with Spiecker's data; S'E' the solubility of carbon in solid austenite in the presence of graphite according to Ruer and Iljin;5 GS the line A3 after Ooerens and Meyer; 6 and EBC the true eutectic line as inferred by Prof. Ruff from Gutowsky's data. B'D' is the carbon content found in cast-iron which had apparently saturated itself with carbon in the presence of the graphite of the enclosing graphite crucibles in which the determinations were made. From its straightiiess and its sharp inflection near 6.67 per cent. of carbon, the carbon content of

Jan 1, 1913

By H. B. C. Nitze

A description of some of the magnetic ore-deposits in this region should be of interest to the mining and metallurgical public, inasmuch as very little has been said or written concerning them. I refer to the magnetite deposits of Franklin and Henry counties, Va., and of Stokes county, N. C. These deposits remained comparatively unexplored until recently, when the construction of the Roanoke & Southern R. R. through this territory has called attention to them, by furnishing the means of transportation for the ores. It is true that the ores have long been known, at least locally, and were smelted in catalan forges and old-fashioned, cold-blast charcoal-furnaces long before and during the late war. At the present time, however, the old workings are caved in, filled up and over-grown to such an extent that, as a rule, but little can be learned from them. No prospecting of any consequence has been done, and as my time was too limited and the territory to be examined too extensive to permit additional openings of a more satisfactory nature to be made, the incormpleteness of some of the data I have to offer (notably, those referring to the absolute width of the veins) will be pardoned. It will hardly be necessary to say that this ore-bearing formation belongs to the Archaean, or Eozoic age, the usually occurring rocks being schist, shale, gneiss, granite, sandstone and quartzite. The stratigraphy is, as a rule, quite regular (excepting in the Danbury section, Stokes county, N. C.), the general strike being northeast and southwest, and the dip nearly vertical. The country is gently roll-

Jan 1, 1892

By William Campbell

In the olden days the making of alloys was an art, and the secrete of the craft were jealously guarded. To-day it has become a science, though the old ideas in regard to the secrets and formulæ are dying hard. Modern progress may be attributed to scientific research and testing of materials, and the substitution of chemical analytical control for " cook-book " methods. We know to-day a great deal about the constitution of alloys, the reasons of the change in structure and physical properties by heat and mechanical treatment; and this new knowledge is due for the most part to the physical chemist and metallographist, who have shown us that alloys are simply solutions, and as such obey definite laws. The application of the theories of solutions and of the phase rule tells us what ought to happen when our alloys are in a state of equilibrium. The working-out of the temperature-composition diagram (thermal diagram) for numerous alloys has thrown a light on the structure and constitution which has dispelled most of the darkness in which we labored before the advent of metallography. The work began with the determination of the freezing-point curves, and here the research of Le Chatelier,' Gautier,2 Roberts-Austen,3 and the other pioneers broke the ground. Next the physical chemists, Tammann,4 Rooseboom,5 Bancroft,6 and their colleagues, showed us the complete thermal diagram and its meaning. Then the researches of Heycock and Neville7 on the Cu-Sn series and of Shepherd 8 on the

Jan 1, 1913

By Bradley Stoughton

[Secretary's Note.—TO avoid repetition of foot-notes, references to authorities are made in this paper by means of figures, referring to a numbered list in the appendix.—J. S. 1 Introduction. This paper gives the results: first,, of a research into the somewhat extensive literature of titanium; and second, of a series of original tests upon the effect of titanium on iron castr ings. New investigations have also been made upon the effect of titanium on steel, but I hope to treat this subject in an independent paper at some later date, and, therefore, will not discuss the experiments in detail here. The combined results of this study, which extended over a period of more than two years, can be briefly summarized as follows : 1. Steel or cast-iron, in which the titanium is properly proportioned, and which has been properly treated, is improved in strength, toughness, and durability against wear, such 'as, for example, the wear of railroad-rails, of steel and chilled-iron rolls, car-wheels, etc. 2. These improvemerits seem to be caused, not so much by the direct effect of titanium on the metal, as by its cleansing influence in removing harmful impurities, such as oxygen and oxides, nitrogen, occluded slags, and perhaps also sulphur. It appears also to reduce segregation, which would contribute to the same end. 3. In order that its effects may be fully realized, the treatment of steel or iron with titanium must be correctly performed. There are a few simple, but essential, details to be observed; if they are neglected, the best results cannot be expected. To illustrate by an example: A series of tests on cast-iron

Jan 1, 1913

Francis Drake, Bulawayo, Rhodesia, So. Africa (communication to the Secretary *):—I should like to place on record some data in addition to those given by Mr. Canby in his paper. I regret that my notes have been destroyed so that I can give no accurate measurements of the water jacket that I am about to describe. This furnace mas erected in Cerro Gordo, Inyo county, Cal., early in 1875, and I think it quite possible that it was the first applied in lead smelting. It was made of plate iron and elliptic in shape, the inner dimensions being about 54 by 42 in. by 48 in. high. The distance between the inner and outer plates was about 6 in. Tuyere holes, one at the back and two on each side, about 12 in. in diameter, were made in this, and in these were placed cast-iron water tuyeres about 16 in. long, the diameter of the blast orifice at the point being about 3 in. The height from tuyeres to feed door was about 9 ft., but the top of the charge was kept about 5 ft. above the tuyeres. There was a space of about 12 in. between the jacket and the top brick-work. This brick-work was supported by a cast-iron plate resting on four cast-iron columns. At the beginning, the jacket was lined with air-dried radial bricks, made of crushed quartz and fire-clay, as it was thought that the jacket would not stand the heat on its bare plates. After a short time the practice was altered and no lining mas put in. The jacket was closed at the top and had a steam drum connected by two pipes at the back. This steam drum was connected to the boiler in which the steam was made for driving the Baker blower, the rock breaker and the pumps. The bottom of the jacket mas also connected to the boiler. The jacket was run under boiler pressure (80 Ib.) for some time, but eventually cracks developed in the inner plate between the tuyere holes,

Jan 1, 1913

Graham Macfarlane, Louisville, Ky. (communication to the Secretary*):—In the paper by S. Whinery under the above caption mention is made of the occurrence of Clinton iron-ore in Kentucky and Tennessee. I believe that this is really a ferruginous limestone in what the Tennessee Geological Survey calls the Fernvale formation. In Davidson and Sumner counties, Tennessee, this occurs at about the horizon stated by Mr. Whinery. The maximum thickness of the deposit is from 10 to 12 ft., but it averages between 6 and 8 ft., lying practically horizontal. The Red River Furnace Co., under my direction, opened a mine in the Fernvale " red rock" near Goodlettsville, Tenn., several years ago. When it was first found we assumed it to be Clinton ore, but the absence of the characteristic Clinton fossiliferous structure and other evidence satisfied us that it is really limestone saturated with iron oxide. I think the very low ratio of SiO2 and Al2o3 to iron content as compared with the usual ratio in the Clinton ore is also evidence in favor of its being the Fernvale. The Tennessee Geological Survey states that at outcrops where this ore has been leached it carries about 44 per cent. of iron; under cover, from 20 to 25 per cent. of iron and from 3 to 6 per cent. of silica, the remainder being chiefly calcium carbonate. Its phosphorus content is irregular and generally rather high for a foundry-iron mixture. Since it is more than self-fluxing, we have at times operated with a mixture of brown hematite and red ore with no limestone.

Jan 1, 1913

By John F. Blandy

The map on Plate I illustrates a part of the works of the Red Bank Mining Company, on the Upper Freeport seam of coal, in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. The contour lines give a careful representation of the conformation of the surface, showing also the line of outcrop of the seam, and the gangways of the mines are shown by the black lines. Upon assuming charge of the works in January last, I found that the first and greatest difficulty lay in the great uncertainty of the

By Charles F. Brush

The compression of gases to a very high degree, for purposes of scientific research, has long presented serious difficulties to the physicist. Great advances have been made of late years in the construction of ordinary air or exhaust pumps, while very little has been done towards the improvement of compression pumps. The principal difficulties encountered in the construction of such apparatus are the existence of the so-called "dead space" in the pump barrels, leakage of the piston packings under high pressure, and the trouble arising from the unequal expansion of parts caused by the development of the latent heat of the gas during compression. Of these obstacles to success, the "dead space" is far the most serious, as it fixes a limit to the performance of the pump beyond which it is impossible to carry the compression. The writer having occasion, some time since, to make a series of investigations on gases very highly compressed, and finding no apparatus, or description of apparatus, adequate to produce the required