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By A. J. Kraemer

This report is one of a series dealing with oil-shale-operations in foreign countries visited and studied by Bureau of Mines oil-shale technologists within the past 4 years. Many oil-shale deposits have been discovered in Brazil and studied with various degrees of thoroughness. In this report the major emphasis is upon the oil-shale concessions of Companhia Nacional de Oleos Mineraes, in the River Valley of the State of Sao Paulo, because this oil-shale deposit is one of the most promising in Brazil for large-scale utilization for the manufacture of liquid fuels and other products of oil-shale processing, and because the opportunity was afforded to examine the concession area and to study mining, retorting, and. refining operations on these shales. Results of detailed analyses at the Oil Shale Research and Development Laboratories of the United States Bureau of Mines, Laramie, Wyo., are reported, Analyses and other date dealing with other oil-shale deposits in Brazil have been compiled from many sources. As many data have been reported as could be correlated to indicate the range of variation of the several types of shale end similar material. The oil-shale deposits in Brazil differ widely in size, richness of the shale, and of the oil. Some deposits are situate& more favorably for exploitation than others.

Jan 1, 1950

By M. E. Shank, J. Wulff

At the present time, the designer of dies for metal powder pressing is handicapped by relative ignorance of stress distribution and frictional effects at the interior surface of the die. Unckell was the first to develop a method for the study of wall friction. He used three Brinell balls on which the die rested during pressing. The total frictional wall force was determined by the size of impression these balls left on a soft metal plate. Since the method does not give radial pressures, or distribution of such pressures, coefficients of friction could not be determined. Although Unckel measured density distribution, he was not able to determine radial or shear stresses. Shaler2 has proposed theoretical expressions for the stress and density distribution within cylindrical compacts during pressing, in accordance with the experimental results of Kamm, Steinberg, and Wulff.3 By application of Siebel's method,4 Kamm et a13 plotted stress trajectories for two compacts. From the stress trajectories they calculated coefficients of friction from point to point along the die wall. As pointed out by Shaler in the discussion of Ref. 3, these values are based on progressive point-to-point calculations on finite size grid squares across the compact. In the region of the die wall such calculated values may therefore have considerable cumulative error. The purpose of the present paper is to develop an experimental method by which the nonhydrostatic pressures and shears acting on the interior wall of a cylindrical die can be measured. Such measurements can then he correlated with existing data to aid in the explanation of the pressing process. The method used is based on the elastic: properties of the thick-walled tube used as the die. The principle of super-position of force systems on an elastic body is assumed to hold. Electric strain gauges were mounted in adjacent positions on the exterior die wall in order to get an exact measurement of the variation of tangential strain over the length of the die during pressing. While in this paper, measurements in terms of only tangential strains are considered, it is well to note that similar calculations may be set up for axial strains. The latter are not preferred, since they tend to be smaller than the tangential strains and therefore permit less sensitive measurements. Discussion in this work is restricted to compacts pressed from both ends, since the elastic deformation of the die is then more amenable to analysis. Before choosing the electric strain gauge method, a more direct line of attack was considered and discarded. The discarded idea was the insertion of a pressure gauge through a hole in the die wall.* The gauge would have been in the form of a small piston. If pressure were exerted against such a gauge, it would move outward along a radius of the die. One disadvantage of the scheme is its inability to measure shears along the die wall. Another more serious disadvantage is the disturbance caused by the device itself. It would serve to change the forces it was designed to measure. No matter how small the movement of the gauge, when pressure is applied a discontinuity would exist in the wall surface at that point. Due to the stress concentration caused by the hole, abnormal deflections of the die wall would occur around the gauge. During pressing, powder would be forced into the resulting depression. The depression would then become larger with increasing compacting pressure. Powder, not being a fluid, is capable of supporting shear. The ease with which it would flow into the die wall depression to further move the piston is an indication, not of the radial pressure at that point, but of the state of shear retarding the movement. Thus the "pressure" gauge is really a criterion of flowability, and of the capability of the powder to support shear. For these reasons, it was decided that the electric strain method, herein employed, was more reliable, if more indirect. The gauges and lead wires, mounted on the external die wall do not in any way affect the behavior of the metal powder or the die during pressing. Theory of the Method THE EFFECT OF RADIAL PRESSURE ON THE DIE WALL Effect of a Single Small Band of Hydrostatic Pressure Consider a die which is a thick-walled cylinder of outer radius R. and inner radius Ri. If over a small finite length L there is a normal pressure P, a tangential strain distribution at the outer wall results. This is shown schematically in Fig 1. The exact shape of the curve may he predicted by an extension of the theory of a semi-infinite beam on an elastic foundation.6 This

Jan 1, 1950

By H. T. Clark

Within the last twenty years at least three sets of lattice constants for the room temperature (alpha, hexagonal close packed) phase of titanium have been reported in the literature. These values, summarized in Table 1, differ one from another by amounts far greater than can be explained on the basis of inaccuracies in parameter measurements. This paper presents new values determined for high purity titanium. It also details the effect of two elements, oxygen and nitrogen, on these parameters and shows that two of the previously reported values are probably in error because of the presence of one or both of these elements in the material used for examination. Preparation of Samples The titanium+ used for this study was prepared by the thermal decomposition of titanium tetraiodide7 on a hot titanium filament. This titanium rod was prepared for X ray examination by melting about 10 g in purified argon in an electric arc furnace on a cold hearth. This cast button was cold rolled to 0.040 in. thick sheet, cleaned, annealed in vacuum at 1000°C and cold rolled to 0.020 in. thickness. About 0.003 in. of surface material was then removed by hand grinding on papers to remove any contamination caused by the rolls and the sample was bent to the radius of the focusing camera. The sample was then vacuum annealed at 600°C, a temperature just high enough to cause recrystallization, producing a fine grained structure. Such a structure is essential in sheet specimens prepared for focusing cameras in order to have a sufficient quantity of grains to develop continuous diffraction lines. The use of sheet specimens rather than powder samples appears to be essential for the X ray examination of titanium. This is because of titanium's exceptionally high gettering power and its rapid absorption of adsorbed gases, water -vapor, and the like at annealing temperatures. While the effect of this contamination may be neglected for sheet specimens, its effect on 200-300 mesh powder is appreciable. Titanium alloys of oxygen and nitrogen were prepared by a technique simi- lar to that described above except that the required amount of the highest purity titanium oxide or nitride available was added prior to melting in the arc furnace. These materials were added by placing them in holes drilled in the titanium. A small weight loss invariably occurs during the melting of these oxygen and nitrogen alloys. This is believed to be due entirely to the loss of some of the powdered compound in the blast of the electric arc, an assumption which is justified on the basis that there is no weight loss during the melting of titanium metal and that wet analyses for nitrogen on representative samples have checked with the calculated analyses when it was assumed that the entire loss during melting was due to the loss of titanium nitride powder. These alloy buttons were reduced to sheet in the same manner as used for the unalloyed titanium. Experimental Procedure A North American Phillips 12 cm diam symmetrical precision focusing vacuum camera and copper radiation

Jan 1, 1950

By J. H. Scaff, W. G. Pfann

The effects of impurities on the electrical properties of silicon are discussed in a companion paper by Messrs. Scaff, Theuerer, and Schumacher.' It was shown that an ingot of silicon which contained boron and phosphorus in certain concentrations consisted partly of p-silicon and partly of n-silicon2 and that the common boundary between these regions was the source of a photo-voltage. These features were ascribed to the segregation of boron and phosphorus during solidification of the ingot. Because of different rates of segregation the first portion of the ingot to freeze contained a molar excess of boron over phosphorus and hence was p-silicon. The last-solidified region contained a molar excess of phosphorus and was n-silicon. This paper is concerned with the microscopic examination of such ingots. The microstructures are rather unusual in certain respects and their study has helped to show how the segregation of minor elements modifies the electrical properties of silicon. The microstructures of ingots prepared from two lots of silicon, designated 1 and 2, will be described. These lots were obtained from the Electro Metallurgical Co. Both contain 99.8+ pct silicon, but they differ in impurity analysis. For each lot will be shown the microstruc-ture of a slowly cooled ingot, for which the time of solidification is 6 min., and that of a rapidly cooled ingot, for which the time of solidification is 2 min. The ingots were prepared from 45 g charges of silicon. When an alloy freezes a cored structure is generally produced because of insufficient diffusion to remove concentration differences established during freezing. As a result of coring the first portion of a crystal to freeze is usually poorer in solute than equilibrium requires, while the last material to solidify is richer. In a columnar grain, growth is principally unidirectional and coring can produce a concentration gradient along the entire grain. By carrying the picture of the coring process from a single grain to an entire ingot in which columnar grains are aligned more or less radially, one can easily see that a composition gradient could be established between the outside and center of the ingot. This, to a considerable extent, occurs during the solidification of a slowly cooled ingot of silicon. Slowly Cooled Ingot In slowly cooled ingots of both lots of silicon, columnar grains which are approximately radial in direction and longest at the top of the ingot enclose a region in which the shapes and align- ment of the grains are considerably less regular. The central region is last to solidify and contains cavities and inclusions. The sketch of Fig 1 illustrates some of these features, as well as others which will be described below. If a polished section of an ingot is etched in a mixture of 2 parts of 20 pct HF and 98 parts of HNO3 the p-n barrier becomes visible. The overall shape of the barrier in a slowly-cooled ingot is roughly oval, as may be seen in Fig 1. The proportion of n-silicon, that is, the region enclosed by the barrier, is considerably greater in ingots of lot 1 than in those of lot 2. A sample about 34 x 1/8 X 1/8 in. was cut from a slowly cooled ingot of lot 1 with its long direction extending from the top of the ingot to the porous region. Thus its upper half was psilicon, its lower half n-silicon. A longitudinal face was polished and etched in the acid mixture. The areas of interest are identified in Fig 2. A band of parallel markings extends across the sample in the columnar region. These striae are roughly parallel to the upper surface of the ingot and cross grain boundaries with only slight deviations. They are quite distinct in the n-silicon,

Jan 1, 1950

By A. W. McReynolds

One characteristic of plastic deformation which distinguishes it from elastic strain is the essential inhomo-geneity of plastic strains. Elastic strain varies continuously through a material, and average relative displacements of initially adjacent atoms are only small fractions of their initial spacing, (strains of the order of 0.01 or less). On the other hand, plastic flow corresponds to the appearance of discontinuities in strain of the lattice, such as dislocations or slip bands, where local strain, on an atomic scale, is several orders of magnitude higher. These discontinuities are visible on a microscopic scale as the familiar slip lines (Fig 1). In spite of this obvious microscopic inhomogeneity, however, macroscopic measurements almost invariably show a smooth curve of stress vs. strain (Fig 2b) even if measurements of linear strains be made to an accuracy of one part in 107. This macroscopic homogeneity of strain indicates that the discontinuities in strain on slip planes occur in increments too small or too slow to be recorded individually, and further that they occur sufficiently independent of one another so that the small increments add at random to a smooth stress-strain curve. The present paper describes observations of plastic strain in aluminum of commercial purity and in high purity Al-Cu alloys, where there exists a strong coupling between slip in various regions of the specimen such that once initiated it spreads rapidly through a large volume. The total effect is that of relatively large, rapid, and regularly spaced steps of strain followed by periods of only elastic strain. Fig 2a illustrates the type of "stair-step" stress-strain curve which results. The properties of this cooperative slip phenomenon will be described further in the section on results: in par- ticular it will be shown that each step corresponds to the propagation of a wave of plastic deformation through the specimen. Some interpretations of the mechanism by which it occurs will be made in the following section. Although the type of plastic wave phenomena to be described has not previously been reported, there are numerous cases of related effects in the plastic yielding of metals: YIELD POINT PHENOMENA The most familiar of such effects is the "yield point" observed in low carbon steels, brass, duralurninum, and the like. It consists in the sudden termination of the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve by a large plastic strain. Since the usual tensile machine is such that yielding of the specimen relieves the load, the resulting curve is as shown in Fig 3. As the strain continues, deformation occurs at a lower stress for some time, then follows a rising curve, but with no further sudden yielding. This effect has been observed in brass by Sachs and Shojil and later by many others. Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 made extensive studies of the effect in steel, and of the role of various alloying elements. Although there seems to be fairly clear evidence that the yield point is caused by a hardening of the material by precipitation of impurities, no satisfactory explanation for the sudden yielding has been given. Winlock and Leiter3 have shown that the strain. level of the upper yield point depends strongly on the rate of loading, the yield point increasing by almost a fac- tor of two as the strain rate goes from 0.002 in. per in. per min. to 4.4 in. per in. per min. This effect would seem to imply an incubation period before yielding is initiated at a certain stress. On the other hand, by going to very slow loading rates, Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 showed that the yield point does not become lower and eventually disappear as might be expected, but, on the contrary, begins to rise at loading rates below about 25 Ib per in. per min. becoming much higher than at rapid loading rates. STRAIN AGING If, instead of continuing straining of a specimen after occurrence of a yield point, the load is removed and the specimen aged, resumption of the test results in occurrence of another yield point as shown by the dotted curve of Fig 3. The new yield stress is generally higher than the previous maximum applied stress. This hardening of the material by straining and subsequent aging is undoubtedly related to quench age-hardening resulting from the aging of a specimen quenched from high temperature. Since neither effect is observed in pure metals, it is generally accepted that quench-aging in all cases is the result of hardening by precipitation of a supersaturated alloying element, and that strain-aging is probably a similar precipitation, accelerated by disruptions of the lattice by previous strain. Pfeil4 has shown that strain-aging does not occur in iron from which all of the carbon has been removed, but that only a very small carbon content, around 0.003 pct, is necessary to cause strain-aging. In accord with this observation is recent work by Dijkstra5 in this laboratory showing that the solubility limit of carbon in iron is extremely low, less than 0.001 pct at 400°C. Edwards, Phillips and Jones2 have shown that the strain-aging effect is also removed by the addition of small quantities of elements such as Mo, Mn, Ti, and the like, which readily form carbides. Their results demonstrate the

Jan 1, 1950

By George W. Heim

Before and during World War II, the Bureau of Mines investigated a large number of ore deposits in the United States and Alaska in a search for domestic sources of strategic minerals. Deposits chosen for development included those expected to contain metals of importance in the successful prosecution of the war. This report describes the work performed and results obtained in developing the Daggett Chief manganese deposit near Manila, Daggett County, Utah (fig. 1), during 1941. The work comprised mapping and a study of the geology by the Federal Geological Survey, and bulldozer and hand trenching, sinking of two shafts, and sampling by the Bureau of Mines. Work was started April 17, 1941, and was completed June 28, 1941. Two bulk samples for metallurgical testing were taken.

Jan 1, 1950

Today there is unparalleled opportunity for constructive effort in the national mineral economy on the part of the Land-Grant colleges and universities. The matter is too important to be pushed aside. It is inevitable that in the aftermath of World War II, conscientious Americans the country over should want to take stock of national resources. Attention is now centered, as never before, on our mineral potentialities. Opportunities and responsibilities are unparalleled and a condition exists which will not occur for another generation. Mineral industries educators cannot pro- vide the answer without taking stock of its component parts, organizing, planning, and taking action in a real dynamic sense. The services encompassed by the various fields of mineral industries must be utilized to help in the solution of problems provided by the international emergency, the country's needs, the people's needs. Mineral industries colleges have a vital role in technical aid to backward countries through foreign student programs, especially in the Latin Americas.1 By helping them to help themselves develop and utilize their resources to the fullest, we will be helping ourselves. One day they may be a Godsend in a solution of the American demographic problem. They may be prepared to

Jan 1, 1950

By C. R. Fast, George C. Howard

Laboratory and field testing of various squeeze cementing techniques and materials revealed that many improvements could be made in squeeze cementing operations. The use of a slow-pumping squeeze cementing procedure permitted the control of the quantity of cement displaced into a formation and aided in obtaining a high final squeeze pressure. Field testing indicated the desirability of obtaining high final squeeze pressures, the need for improved formation breakdown fluids, and the necessity of controlling the pressure differential during testing after a squeeze job. INTRODUCTION During the past few years, squeeze cementing operations have been investigated, both from the theoretical as well as the practical point of view, in an effort to arrive at some solution to the many and varied problems that arise with this type of operation. A review of well files indicated that in many instances, wells were being squeeze cemented four and five times before a satisfactory pressure buildup was obtained. There seemed to be considerable variation in opinion as to the proper method of squeeze cementing, as well as disagreement as to the proper breakdown agent, the quantity of cement that should be used, type retainer and length of WOC* time that was necessary. Consequently, it was deemed advisable to approach this problem theoretically, field testing each idea developed in hopes of eventually arriving at a squeeze cementing procedure that would give reasonable assurance of a successful job after one squeeze cementing operation. This investigation was. therefore, divided into two broad headings: (1) Preliminary studies, which include both theoretical and laboratory studies, and (2) Field investigations to determine the proper squeeze cementing methods. PRELIMINARY STUDIES Overburden Pressure Studies Squeeze cementing problems are so intimately related to the earth's overburden pressure that solutions to them are very difficult, if not impossible, without an understanding of the nature and magnitude of the overburden pressures encountered at the depths of producing wells. It was thus felt that the first approach to research on squeeze cementing should be made through a study of these pressures. Since there has been rather loose usage of a number of the terms related to overburden preasure by different writers, the terms to be subsequently used are defined here. Theoretical overburden pressure is the calculated pressure at any given depth exerted by the theoretical weight of overlying formations as calculated from the average rock density. Fluid displacement pressure is that pressure at which fluid can be injected into a formation after it has been broken down. It may be more or less than the theoretical overburden pressure. Formation breakdown pressure is that pressure at which a formation parts or breaks and is usually thought of as fluid displacement pressure plus rock strength. Breakdown agent is that fluid with which the formation is fractured. The first step in the study of the earth's overburden pressures involved a review of pertinent technical literature. The general opinion expressed was that the overburden pressure gradient of the earth's formations is roughly 1.0 psi per foot of depth, and that application of sufficient pressure to stratified formations. will cause them to part at or parallel to the bedding planes. The second step in the study of overburden pressures involved a study of available well data in an effort to obtain some definite information as to the actual values experienced in the field for the above mentioned terms. Data from 115 cement squeeze jobs in the Gulf Coast area and 46 cement squeeze jobs and acid jobs in the West Texas-New Mexico area were closely analyzed. The analysis of these data showed that the average formation breakdown

Jan 1, 1950

By L. A. Kaufman

"AbstractThe Bureau of Mines, Ottawa, in conjunction with Eldorado Mining and Refining (1944), Limited, has developed an automatic concentrator for uranium ores.A brief review of radioactivity is given which shows the present limitations for obtaining •good results by electronic concentration. The ores after being mined, or at any other stage of a concentrating process, can be analysed for the uranium dissemination and from these results the possibility of an economical concentration can be estimated.The electronic and mechanical parts of the equipment are described. Difficulties in the operation's, and means by which they have •been and are •being overcome, are discussed. The capacity of the units, the results obtained, the man-power required, and other pertinent data are presented. Simple control analysis on the percent U3O8 has been developed.Research is continuing along lines to develop a more completely automatic unit using a scintillation detector, and applying a few new ideas and some devices that have been developed in colour sorting.IntroductionIt is well known how important the Geiger counter is in the field of exploration for uranium. It was in late 1946 that Dr. C. Lapointe, of the Bureau of Mines, Ottawa, first started work on an automatic picking unit to concentrate uranium ores. He used the principle that if a number of pieces of unknown ore, some of which contained uranium, were individually brought up close to a Geiger-Müller tube, then the pieces containing uranium could •be easily picked out due to their activity. Since then a good deal of work has been done by the Bureau of Mines in conjunction with Eldorado Mining and • Refining (1944), Limited, to develop an electronic concentrator."

Jan 1, 1950

By Charles B. Newmarch

Abstract In the course of coal studies undertaken by the B.C. Department of Mines in southeastern British Columbia, special attention was directed to problems of coal seam correlation. Methods that had been used successfully in other coalfields were found, in the Crowsnest area, to have a restricted use or furnished only additional evidence that might prove helpful when used in conjunction with other criteria. A correlation technique involving semi-quantitative spectrographic analyses of coal ashes was developed. Elements detected in the ash include Si, B, P, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Ti, Cr, Ga, Ca, Al, Ge, Ba, Mo, V, Ag, ?y;b, Na, Zn, Zr, Ni, Sr, Cu, K. Of these, the elements found to be most useful in correlation were Na, Ba, Si, V, and Mg. The element Na was invariably detected in the ash from one of the seams but was not found in samples taken from any of the others. In all of the four seams sampled statistically, significant differences in the amount of certain trace elements were noted. When the values obtained for these trace elements were portrayed in the form of histograms, the resulting diagrams had a characteristic shape for each seam. The diagrams provided a basis for seam identification within the limited area (8,000 feet by 4,000 feet) that was investigated. Introduction During the field seasons of 1946, 1947, and 1948 the British Columbia Department of Mines undertook a geological investigation of the coal measures of southeastern B.C. As field work progressed in the Crowsnest area it was found that, within the Kootenay formation, which contains all the commercial seams of the region, the coal beds are the most persistent stratigraphic units. Because of relatively rapid changes in ?both the thickness of the seams and the interval between seams, difficulty has invariably been experienced in attempts at correlation. Even short-range correlati0ns by able geologists who have worked in the Crowsnest coal basin have been questioned by the operating companies. It was apparent, therefore, that a more dependable correlation technique was needed so that stratigraphic and structural studies could be of greatest value. This paper presents, firstly, a summary of the results obtained in attempted correlations using methods that have been found effective in other coalfields. Secondly, a method based on semi-quantitative spectrographic analysis of coal ash is described and the apparently promising results are discussed.

Jan 1, 1950

By Roscoe C. Clark

A study of the effect of various corrosive waters on five different types of cements indicated that those cements containing less than 5 per cent tricalcium aluminate were the most resistant to corrosion. INTRODUCTION Oil field experience indicates that some formation waters are excessively corrosive to some cements. A study has been made to determine the most corrosive waters and the relative resistance of various types of cement to these corrosive waters. PROCEDURE This study of the corrosion of cement was limited to an evaluation of the effect of various corrosive waters on five different types of cements. A determination was made of the types of cements which offer the greatest resistance to corrosion and of the chemical contents of waters found to be the most destructive to cements. The laboratory tests were conducted by immersing small cylinders of 20 samples of set cement in various corrosive waters. The initial mixing of most of the cement slurries was done using Tulsa tap water as the mixing water; however, a few of the slurries were mixed using a sulfate water as the mixing water. When the 20 samples had been immersed for a period of nine months, they were removed from their corrosive baths, inspected and photographed. The field tests were conducted by placing ten cement specimens, each contained in a screen wire thimble, in the gas anchors of insert pumps in wells in six different fields. The specimens were observed whenever it was necessary to pull the pumps and were returned to the 1aboratory when deterioration had reached a serious state. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS In both the field and laboratory tests the resistance of the different cements to corrosion was determined by the condition of the samples and the number of samples of each that were in good condition at the end of the immersion period. Table I lists the various cements tested in the order of their resistance to corrosion with the most resistant at the top and the least resistance at the bottom. An analysis of Table I reveals that the upper half of the table predominates in slow set and sulphate resisting cement.: (low 3CAO.A12O3 content) while in the lower half the port-land and high early strength cements are in the majority. Of the last two the high early strength cements appear to offer less resistance to sulfate water corrosion. An investigation of the composition of the cements listed in Table I indicated that as a general rule the cements containing less than five per cent tricalcium aluminate will exhibit the greatest resistance to corrosion. The destructive action of various corrosive waters was compared by listing the waters in the order of those containing the largest number of samples that failed completely. These ratings are presented in Table II with the most corrosive waters listed first and the least corrosive last. Figs. 1 and 2 show the end views of cement samples which had been immersed in the baths of five per cent MgSO, water and the five per cent Na2SO4 water respectively in the laboratory. These .pictures are representative of the results obtained and present a pictorial evaluation of the corrosive resistance of various types of cements.

Jan 1, 1950

A school grows big only as its usefulness increases and it will shrink rapidly if inefficient. Usefulness must be recorded in terms of service within the economic structure of the Commonwealth. Under this premise, modern mineral industries colleges must recognize and give equal significance to three interrelated, interdependent functions of service: namely, (1) resident instruction, on both the undergraduate and graduate levels; (2) research under an experiment station plan; and (3) extension training under three classifications, class instruction, correspondence instruction, and informal instruction. To train potential leaders for the mineral kingdom, to discover and teach new truths is only half of the job. Through extension training, equal attention must be given to the on-job, vocational-technical, upgrading of skilled workers on the production line. Similar to the School of Agriculture, the School of Mineral Industries is the only one in the Commonwealth offering the three functions of service in each of the subject-matter fields in mineral arts and sciences. The functions of service must be based on the modern conception of mineral conservation (Fig. 12). Conservation of minerals differs from conservation of natural resources in general because man must find new mineral deposits and excel the geologic forces of nature in processes of concentration. True mineral conservation, therefore, may be defined as energetic discovery,

Jan 1, 1950

By F. A. Hames, D. S. Eppelsheimer

The ferromagnetic copper-manganese-aluminum and copper-manganese-tin alloys (Heusler alloys) owe their ferromagnetism to the beta phases (body-centered cubic structure) in their respective systems.l,2,3 The ternary beta phase regions in these systems are extensions of the beta fields of the binary copper-aluminum and copper-tin systems into the ternary models of the copper-manganese-aluminum and copper-manganese-tin systems respectively. X ray analysis has indicated the presence of long-range order in the more strongly magnetic alloys.3,4,5 The ideal ordered structure is obtained in alloys of compositions Cu2MnAl and Cu2MnSn; the copper atoms occupy positions at cube centers while the aluminum (tin) and manganese atoms alternate at cube corners. This atomic arrangement is illustrated in Fig 1. The compositions Cu2MnAl and Cu2MnSn are also those that show maximum magnetic saturation moment. 3,4,6,7 Departures from these compositions result in a decrease in the degree of order attainable and a decrease in magnetic saturation moment. In view of the chemical similarities of aluminum, tin, indium, and gallium, and the existence of beta phases in the binary systems copper-indium and copper-gallium, it may be suspected that ternary beta phases exist in the systems copper-manganese-indium and copper-manganese-gallium, and that these are ferromagnetic. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether ferromagnetic beta phases exist in the systems copper-manganese-indium and copper-manganese-gallium analogous to the ferromagnetic beta phases in the systems copper-manganese-aluminum and copper-manganese-tin. Previous Work At the time this investigation was started no information could be found regarding the constitution of copper-manganese-indium and copper-manganese-gallium alloys, nor of the binary manganese-indium and man-

Jan 1, 1950

By Roy J. Helfinstine, Gilbert H. Cady

One of the most urgent needs in the field of coal combustion is the ability to predict the performance of a coal from knowledge gained from small-scale tests. Numerous types of analyses and tests are conducted on coal, including the proximate and ultimate analyses, heating value, varieties of sulphur, ash analysis, ash fusion temperatures, free swelling index, petrographic analysis, and Gieseler. plasticity. The Illinois Geological Survey has made an intensive study of the value of these tests for judging the performance characteristics of the coal as actually utilized. To date, three reports1,2,3 have been issued, and another is being prepared. The present paper briefly summarizes some of the results found in the studies. Equipment The equipment used for the tests is described in some detail in the above mentioned publications. Briefly, it consisted of a domestic stoker, cast-iron boiler, and water-cooled heat exchanger, which were operated as a forced circulation hot-water system. The entire unit was mounted on scales. Instruments for recording the per- formance of the coal included a hot-water meter to indicate the quantity of water flowing through the boiler; a two-pen, mercury-actuated thermometer to record the temperatures of the water entering and leaving the boiler; a chemical-type meter to record the percentage of CO2 in the stack gases; a pressure gauge to record the static pressure in the stoker-air duct; and a multipoint potentiometer to record the temperatures in the stack and room, and the opacity of the stack gases. A 16 mm motion picture camera was available for taking pictures of either the fuel bed or the scale dial. Procedure The tests described in this report can be conveniently divided into three phases. For the first phase, a load of 5 or 6 tons of unwashed coal (usually screenings) was obtained from each of fourteen Illinois mines. These coals were all crushed and screened to a size of 35 in. (square hole) by 8 mesh. Combustion tests were made on a part of this raw, screened coal. Another portion was passed over a concentrating table to reduce the ash to what was considered to be commercially reasonable, and combustion tests were made on this upgraded coal. The ash content of the remaining coal was reduced to a still lower figure by passing it over the washing table with greater reject, or by standard float-sink procedure. This cleaned fraction was then tested in the stoker-boiler unit. Thus three coals with varying ash content were tested from each mine. For the second phase reported here, coals were obtained from four Arkansas mines and tested as received and after passing over the concentrating table with a normal reject. One Illinois coal was tested in the "washed" condition only. The third phase included tests on commercially prepared stoker coals

Jan 1, 1950

By J. P. Smith

Permian salt measures carry extensive lenses of soluble potash salts in north central Germany. Potash deposits of Oligocene age are found in the Upper Rhine Graben of Alsace (France), and in the Catalonian Basin of Spain. These deposits are found in a wide range of structural settings. Reserves are large, and the production of potash salts is an important phase in the economy of each of these countries.

Jan 1, 1950

By H. Kenworthy, R. B. Fisher, R. G. Knicherbocker, M. M. Fine

The progress made to date in the mineral dressing of complex Arkansas titanium ores is reported in this paper. Concentrates of rutile, a dioxide of titanium, were produced by treating a submarginal ore from the Magnet Cove Rutile Co., Inc., Magnet, Ark. The rutile recovery at present is 45 to 50 pct of the total TiO2, with the possibility of increased recovery with additional research. The work reported herein is part of a general study which will later include results of investigation of other titanium ore bodies in the Magnet, Ark., area. The fragile character of the rutile minerals, the softness of the gangue, the occurrence of pyrite and leucoxene, and the considerable proportion of extremely small size rutile in the presence of montmorillonite- and illite-type clays in the Magnet Cove open-pit mine are the important factors in the mineral dressing of this submarginal rutile ore. History The occurrence of titanium minerals in the Magnet Cove area of Arkansas was recognized as early as 1890, but it was not until about 1912 that any appreciable prospecting for the minerals was undertaken. At that time drilling was begun, a shaft was sunk, and several drifts were driven, but beneficiation to recover the titanium minerals was not attempted. The only successful mining and milling operation of the Magnet Cove rutile deposit was begun in 1932 by the Titanium Corp. of America and continued until 1942. The ore was washed by means of a rotary scrubber and then deslimed in a drag classifier. The discharge was ground in a rod mill, classified, and tabled to recover a rougher rutile concentrate, which was screen-sized and retabled on cleaner tables. The cleaner concentrates were given a reducing roast, screen-sized, and magnetically separated to produce a finished rutile concentrate. Most of the rutile produced during this period was sold abroad. In 1942, the Titanium Alloy Corp. of Arkansas (a subsidiary of the Titanium Alloy Manufacturing Co. of New York) purchased the property and rebuilt the mill. Subsequently, the plant and property were acquired by the Magnet Cove Rutile Co., Inc., of Little Rock, Ark., the present owners. Very little titanium has been produced since 1942. Although the Titanium Corp. activities yielded enough returns to allow continued operation for approximately 10 years, certain factors must be recognized. These are: (1) production of rutile in that period was during a low in the economic cycle which permitted low-cost operation on a small scale, and (2) a considerable portion of the production was above the water level and no drainage problems existed. Prior to this paper there has been no published report of any mineral-dressing investigation of the lower levels of the ore body. Reference is made in another paper1 to an earlier investigation of Magnet Cove rutile by the Rolla laboratory, in which it is stated that recoveries of 12 to 17 pct of the rutile were obtained. The present investigation was undertaken to improve the known milling processes and to provide adequate metallurgical information about the ore treatment. Titanium Technology The titanium mineral of primary interest in the present investigation was the titanium dioxide, rutile. Rutile is one of the industrial minerals whose annual consumption is relatively small but strategically important. The domestic production of rutile was 7100 tons in 1948. The imports of rutile in the same year were approximately 8000 tons.2 A major use of rutile is in the production of welding-rod coatings, for which a product containing a minimum of 92 pct titanic oxide is desired. Other constituents, such as lime, silica, and sulphur, must be held to a minimum, but hard-and-fast specifications for these elements cannot be drawn. It is necessary to incorporate the rutile in a welding-rod coating, make a sufficient number of test welds, and then determine the tensile strength of the weld metal in the as-welded and stress-relieved conditions. Such a test gives

Jan 1, 1950

By D. W. Loucks

There is plenty of evidence to indi-cate that at least one of man's chief interests in life is to make himself as comfortable as possible. If you doubt this, just watch the fellow next to you for the next half hour trying to find the most comfortable position that a hard chair has to offer. Comfort, however, does not always mean an easy chair. To some, it may mean a wealth of money; to another, freedom from worry. But to most of us, it means first of all a comfortable atmosphere in which to live, and to a great many of us it probably also means freedom from that annoying task of firing the furnace. Today more than ever before. automatic heat is one improvement that is placed high on everyone's list. Perhaps this is because automatic heating is becoming relatively cheaper. Perhaps it is because of a good publicity campaign on the part of the oil and gas men or maybe it is just that we are getting lazier day by day. At any rate, almost every issue of Better Homes and Gardens, House Beautiful, or your other favorite home magazine carries an article extolling the virtues of this or that automatic heating system. If I were to ask you to name the first thing that came to your mind when I said automatic heat, you would prob-ably say either gas furnace or oil burner. Or if you had just been studying heating systems, you might possibly say heat pump. But chances are you would not mention anything about coal, and yet coal is the most common source of the greatest automatic heat of them all. I say this because coal is the fuel used almost universally by the district heating industry in producing and delivering to certain heavily populated areas heat ready to use at the touch of a valve or the click of a thermostat. Although the industry is over a half century old, it has not experienced the widespread development of other utility industries because of certain limitations which I believe you will realize from the next few minutes discussion. District Heating Operations We may define district heating as any operation where two or more buildings are heated from a central heating plant. The method of heat transfer may be hot water or in some cases warm air, but generally the medium of heat transfer is steam. So universally is steam used that the industry is frequently referred to as the district steam industry. The Allegheny County Steam Heating Co. which operates the district heating system in downtown Pittsburgh is a subsidiary of the Du-quesne Light Co. Although organized in 1912 primarily as a means of securing the electric load of downtown buildings, the service has now become so valuable and so popular that it is no longer considered a necessary adjunct to the electric business but rather a separate business standing on its own feet. Fig 1 shows the layout of the plants and distribution system of downtown Pittsburgh. Two generating plants, one known as the Stanwix and the other as Twelfth Street, supply the area. Each has two boilers with capacity totaling 1,350,000 lb per hour. The Stanwix Plant is supplied coal by truck. The coal is pulverized at the plant and burned as powdered fuel. Coal is supplied to the Twelfth Street Plant also by truck but the boilers arc stoker fired. Over 1 1/2 miles of tunnel house a portion of our main lines, but it requires over twelve miles of pipeline, ranging in size from 32 down to 1 in. in diameter, to supply all our customers. The distribution system consists of two systems in a sense, one high and one low pressure with certain interconnections between the two. Our high pressure system supplies steam up to 125 Ib to some but not all customers, while the low pressure system operates in the range of 10 to 20 psi. Note that the two plants are tied together through large steam mains and that the system to some extent is a loop system, making it possible to have a portion of the line shut, down without interrupting service to any customer. Fig 2 conveys a picture of the extent to which steam service is used in the downtown triangle. The black area indicates the buildings which now use district steam. The dotted area indi-

Jan 1, 1950

By C. B. Post, G. V. Luerssen

It is generally recognized that non-metallic inclusions in steel come from two principal sources. First are the chemical reactions in the furnace, or in subsequent deoxidation, resulting in slag which does not free itself from the metal. Much information has been published concerning these chemical reactions and their control through proper attention to slag viscosity, composition of deoxidizers, and other qualities. The studies of this subject by C. H. Herty, Jr. and others through the medium of physical chemistry have yielded much information for the steelmaker. The second source is erosion of ladle refractories, such as lining brick, stoppers, nozzles and runners, causing entrapped particles of globules of fluxed silicate material. In contrast with the large amount of information available on the first source, relatively little has been published on the subject of erosion which, in the case of basic electric melted steel, is the principal source of nonmetallics. This is probably due to the fact that the problem was assumed to be one of simple mechanical erosion, which could be solved primarily by modification of ladle practices. Good improvements have been made by elimination of slurries in the ladle, better ladle and runner refractories, and more attention to pouring temperatures. It is doubtful, however, that this problem has been recognized in its true light since it is not one of simple mechanical erosion but rather one of chemical reaction between the metal and the refractories; and in this sense is as much a problem of physical chemistry as the reactions involved in the actual steelmaking process. The influence of ladle refractories on the resulting cleanness of steels was early recognized by A. McCancel who examined large inclusions in steels made by both acid and basic practices. His chemical analyses showed the large influence exerted by the manganese content of the steel on erosion of the ladle and nozzles used in those days. The presence of MnO in such inclusions led McCance to the hypothesis that both basic and acid steels react chemically with the ladle refractories so that small globules of fluxed refractories are carried in the stream into the molds. This early work of McCance was checked by one of the present authors on basic electric bearing-steel, and it was found that on steels containing as low as 0.40 pct manganese the fluxed surface of the ladle lining after delivering such a heat showed as high as 25 pct MnO by actual analysis. Furthermore, by lowering the manganese content of the steel to 0.20 pct, ladle erosion was decreased with a corresponding decrease in silicate inclusions in the steel. Limitations placed on the manganese content for the required inherent properties made it impossible to pursue this line further, and subsequent attention was concentrated on improved ladle refractories, care in keeping the ladle clean and free from loose refractories up to the time of tapping, and pouring the steel at optimum temperature. Our study of the chemical reactions at the metal-brick interface between steel and ladle refractories was revived in 1939 as a result of an experimental observation made on the cleanness of alloy steels of the SAE types. This observation showed that the relative cleanness of such steels made in basic electric arc furnaces of 12 ton capacity and poured in ingots ranging from 1100 to 2200 lb weight was determined to a large extent by the ratio of the manganese and silicon contents, provided other steelmaking variables such as tapping temperature, pouring temperature, pouring time, amount of aluminum added for grain size control, and degree of deoxidation in the furnace were kept reasonably constant. Detailed studies made on the deoxidation and slag practice during the refining period of basic electric furnace practice showed that these two variables exerted some influence on the resulting cleanness of steel in the form of bars and forgings. The important variable, the manganese-silicon balance, was not apparent until heats were made in succession by the best furnace practice kept under fairly rigid metallurgical control. Another observation pertinent to this work concerned the similarity in the microscope of slag particles causing magnaflux or step-down indications in subsequent rolled bars, and the patches of slag frequently seen on the surface of ingots. These patches are generally believed to come from the glassy metal-brick interface in the ladle and represent an entrapment of such glass (both from the ladle brick and nozzle) in the metal as it flows over the refractories in the neighborhood of the nozzle. These glassy particles are carried down into the mold with the liquid steel, and gradually coalesce into a slag "button" which floats on the surface of the steel as it rises in the molds. Periodically the button is washed to the side of the ingot where it is trapped between the surface of the ingot and the mold, later appearing as a slag patch on the surface of the ingot after stripping. Even though most of the small glassy particles coalesce into a slag button while the ingot is being poured, it is logical to suspect this step in the steelmaking process as being a source of slag lines large enough to cause trouble

Jan 1, 1950

By J. A. Brothers, M. R. Foran

"AbstractThis paper reviews the progress made in the manufacture of hydraulic cement from iron blast-furnace slag by simply grinding the granulated material with other constituents. The influence of the chemical and mineralogical composition of the slag, the conditions of granulation, the manner of drying, and the fineness of grinding, on the hydraulic properties of the cement, is discussed. The effect of additions of lime, portland cement, and anhydrite, alone and in combination, on the physical and cementing qualities of the mortar and concrete made from Sydney blast furnace slag, is shown in tables of data and is reviewed in some de- tail. The work at the Nova Scotia Technical College has shown that a cement equivalent in every respect to portland cement can be made from basic blast furnace slag- by the us2 of certain quantities of portland cement as an activator.IntroductionBlast furnace slag is a potentially valuable material for the manufacture of hydraulic cement. It is a by-product of the manufacture of iron in the blast furnace, and is formed by the combination of the silica and alumina .of the iron ore with the limestone flux. The metallurgist terms a slag .acid or •basic according as the percentage of lime is less or greater than the percentage of silica plus alumina. The basic slags have the •more pronounced hydraulic properties."

Jan 1, 1950

A comparatively new and very promIsmg field for applying cemented tungsten-carbides is in the mining and quarrying industries. The economic advantages of this unique engineering material over the conventional hollow drill steel, or steel detachable bits, have proven so great that the use of "hard metals" promises, in some instances, to revolutionise the drilling of all manner of minerals. Early in the war years the Germans realised the tremendous advantages cemented carbides offered for holing hard rocks, and they proceeded to develop detachable percussion bits to do this work, at the same time evolving fast, comparatively light-hitting driliing machines, especially designed to suit the mechanical properties of the carbide.Here in Australia also, it has appeared that the detachable percussion bit offers the greatest economic benefits to consumers, although the author is well aware that carbide-tipped drill rods have, and may continue to work out satisfactorily in certain mines and quarries.Most drilling equipment at present installed in Australia may be described as being of the heavy hard-hitting variety, so that the designer of an efficient percussion bit has to take special precautions to overcome the problem of fatigue, and to ensure that the inserts are securely mounted in the body with the minimum of internal stress in the carbide.

Jan 1, 1950