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By M. C. Chapman, E. C. Westman, A. T. Iannacchione

Examination of seismic records during the time interval of the Sago Mine disaster in 2006 revealed a small amplitude signal possibly associated with an event in the mine. More needs to be understood about the seismicity from mine explosions in order to properly interpret critical seismic information. A seismic monitoring system located at NIOSH’s Lake Lynn Experimental Mine has monitored experimental gas and dust based explosions and impact tests. The seismic signatures from these different events were analyzed using standard waveform analysis procedures. The magnitude of seismic energy during a gas and dust explosion was found to be more dependent on mine entry geometry and seal behavior rather than on the amount of explosive fuel present. The results suggest a large explosion that’s not restricted can generate potentially the same magnitude as a small explosion that is restricted.

By P. V. Roundy

PUBLIC lands in Florida were first withdrawn from entry by President Taft on July 2, 1910, as a conservation measure because of their possible phosphate content. The reserve thus established was subsequently modified by further withdrawals and by restorations, so that on Jan. 1, 1934,' it contained 66,796 acres, of which only a small part had been defi-nitely classified. The reserved land was in scattered parcels, ranging from less than 40 acres to 320 or more, distributed in many counties. For administrative purposes and for final disposal of any of the numerous parcels, mineral classification of the land is legally necessary. In 1934 and 1935 the United States Geological Survey, under two successive grants from the Public Works Administration, prospected some 83 tracts of these lands in Polk County, comprising in all about 3300 acres, and six tracts comprising 240 acres in Citrus and Marion Counties. The tracts in Polk County were all in the so-called land-pebble field and the others in the hard-rock field. The Survey field party was under the direction of P. V. Roundy, from whose unpublished report the material in this paper is largely taken. The foreman of the prospecting crew was J. H. Wingate of Zephyrhills, Fla. The individual tracts were identified through the cooperation of the General Land Office, by transitman Hugh B. Crawford. This prospecting work fitted well the classification adopted for Public Works projects in general: it could not he done on any considerable scale under the Survey's usual appropriations; it gave employment to unem-ployed labor; and it may be expected ultimately to repay the Government in royalties more than the cost of the exploration.

Jan 1, 1937

The Mobile Miner MM130 (Figure 1) is designed to tunnel or mine in hard rock. It has a 4.1 m diameter cutterhead mounted on a horizontal axis which in turn is perpendicular to the line of the machine. The cutterhead rotates at 15 rpm and is supported on a boom which swings the cutterhead through a horizontal arc.

Jan 1, 1993

By Stephen C. Tadolini, Thomas M. Barczak

Western mines have had limited choices for standing support. Wood cribs were often too soft and unstable. The introduction of the Can support in the early 1990’s provided a very effective alternative and remains the dominant form of tailgate support. Water-filled prestressing cells are now used to cap the Can and preload it to provide an active roof load. The Cluster Prop, consisting of three timber wedge props bundled together, provides more capacity than an equivalent sized Can support and improves transport efficiency. However, the Cluster Prop is less stable and does not maintain a consistent load throughout its loading profile. Pumpable roof supports are another alternative support, but they have not been proven in high deformation environments. Alternative supports are also being used in longwall recovery operations. These include the Rocprop and Omni Prop, which are extendable support systems. They also provide active roof loading which can be beneficial in these applications. Specialty supports, such as the Sand Prop and Spider Prop, have also been introduced into western longwall operations. This paper compares the performance characteristics of these various support systems.

By G. W. Bain

The Canadian magnesite deposits are situated in Grenville township, about 8 miles from Calumet station, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, but the poor transportation facilities have hindered their development. Magnesite was discovered in the boulders near White Rock Lake by Rev. W. P. Boshart in 1900. Observing that the material of these boulders was more glistening and whiter in color than Grenville limestone, he sent a specimen to the Department of Mines, Ottawa. An analysis showed this to be almost pure carbonate of magnesia and of commercial value if present in sufficient quantities. That summer, Boshart and McAllister found numerous outcrops, both of boulders and of bed rock, that gave promise of being magnesite of a commercial grade, and decided that this mineral deposit, if developed, would rival that at Veitsch, Austria. So they procured options on most of the land on which they knew the magnesite occurred. But the transportation difficulties were too great for the deposits to be mined at the prices offered for the product. In 1907, T. J. Waters organized the Canadian Magnesite Co. and opened a quarry on the north half of lot 18, range IX, and later on lot 15, range IX, of the same township. A lirnestone kiln was erected and the calcined rock was hauled to Calumet. In 1914, the North American Magensite Co, took over the quarries and shipped both crude and calcined magnesite until January, 1923. During 1915, S. Melkman organized the Scottish Canadian Magnesite Co. and opened a quarry on lot 15, ranges X and XI, Grenville township. A light, narrow-gage railway connects this quarry with the C. P. R. at Magnesite station. but shipments are made only during the summer months. Numerous other quarries have contributed to the output of the district but the greater part has come from the open pits of the

Jan 1, 1923

By J. G. Koenigsberger

The electrical specific resistance of rocks in the field is measured by sending a current through a medium of great volume, compared to the electrodes, whose resistivity should be measured. The whole resistance can be determined by the Wheatstone bridge and the specific resistance calculated by a well-known formula. The resistivity of some rocks in place in Germany and in Switzerland is given; first, of a rock near the surface, and especially near electrodes. Practical applications are made in the determination: (1) of the continuity of a conducting orebody; (2) of the surface ares of an orebody; (3) in the detection of a water-bearing fault in a salt mine. Preliminary 'observations are described: (1) on the influence of the depth of ground-water table; (2) on the detection of gas under high pressure in coal seams. The observations in this paper of the electrical resistivity of rocks and soil in place are along the lines of the very interesting method and results of the Messrs. Gish, Rooney, Hotchkiss and Fisher. 1,2 All the work described has been done since 1920. Method Used The very simple method consists in the application to the rock of two plane circular electrodes of iron or brass of a suitable diameter, with the aid of a contact substance, and in measuring the resistivity in a Wheatstone bridge with alternating current of 100 to 400 Hertz frequency per sec.). The general formula is known to be R= R0 +d/4(1/a+1/b-1.7/l+0.8(a+b)/l2) (1)

Jan 1, 1929

By J. -M. Bosgiraud, G. Armand, S. Dewonck, L. Richard-Panot

"The Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (URL) is located on the eastern boundary of the Paris Basin. The URL started to be built in 2000 (shaft sinking operations) in the framework of ANDRA’s (French national radioactive waste management agency) research program aimed at determining the feasibility of a reversible deep geological disposal of high-level and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste (HLW, IL-LLW). Its underground drifts are used to study the Callovo- Oxfordian claystone layer between 420 m and 550 m in depth.The ongoing research program (started in 2006) following the “Technology Readiness Level” (TRL) Scale is more dedicated to technologies improvement and demonstration issue of the different disposal components, even if characterization and monitoring studies are still ongoing.In rock mechanics, at the main level of the URL (located at 490 m), construction and evolution of disposal cells of different size are studied for HLW and IL-LLW packages. A step by step approach, started in 2006, is carried out based on comparison of HM behavior of parallel drifts excavated/supported by different construction methods. These various configurations give insight of the influence of construction method on the EDZ extent and evolution and on the progressive loading of the support, which are key issues to design the Cigéo disposal drifts and excavations.The concept of disposal cells studied for HLW consists in horizontal steel lined micro-tunnels 80 m long and 70 cm in diameter. Several campaigns of tests have been carried out since 2009 in order to demonstrate the feasibility of excavating such micro-tunnels and study their behavior under different conditions (with and without back filling the annular gap between the rock and the casing, watertight or not casing). A full scale demonstrator representative of the benchmark concept has also been excavated, to study its behaviour under thermal loading with heat produced by electrical heaters."

Jan 1, 2015

By Allan J. Breitenbach

Heap leach operations provide a low-cost method for recovering gold, silver, and copper metals from low grade ore materials. The processed ore materials are stacked in controlled lifts on a lined pad facility for heap leaching. A controlled barren solution is applied to the heap ore surface by sprinkler or drip emitter irrigation, and ore metals are leached into the solution for collection and extraction in plant process facilities. The leach pad and solution collection facilities are lined with impervious materials for containment of all process solutions. The liner system typically includes a composite geomembrane and clayey soil liner with a protective drain cover fill to maximize solution recovery and protect the underlying groundwater conditions. This paper discusses the types of pad liner systems currently used by the mining industry and the "good, bad, and ugly" lessons learned in engineering practice over the last 10 years in the design and construction of heap leach pads.

Jan 1, 1999

By K J. Ward, C N. Hatton, J Scalia IV, C A. Bareither, D L. Spencer

The mining industry is experiencing change in the governance of tailings facilities (TFs). Guidance and regulations across many jurisdictions contribute to this amorphous change. The Canadian Dam Association, Mining Association of Canada, Australian National Committee on Large Dams, and the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, produced by the International Council on Mining and Metals, are establishing guidelines for more rigorous industry governance. Evolving guidance regarding TFs is developing concurrently with a shortage of experienced tailings engineers, which adversely affects the resource base available to support new governance. This paper presents an updated semi-quantitative estimate of the impending resource shortage of qualified tailings professionals. Updates are provided herein for the estimated number of TFs worldwide, which included available data on active and inactive TFs, as well as the estimated labor resources required to service these facilities. The tailings labor shortage is discussed in the context of academic and professional training currently available to increase the quantity of trained personnel. This paper represents a discrete moment in time as contributions to the available information and inventories accessed continue to improve, but as of today are incomplete. However, the data and information included provide insight into the resource deficiencies currently within our profession, training and education opportunities to address those resource deficiencies, and a snapshot of a recent professional training course offered on mine tailings.

Jul 1, 2021

By J. N. Hummel

The methods of electrical prospecting, which employ contact electrodes to produce an electric field in the ground, furnish information concerning the constitution of the material beneath the surface, as indicated by the distortion of this artificially produced field and anomalies therein. To reveal the distortion of such field of known character, it is only necessary to measure qualitatively the direction of the field, using sensitive compensation methods. In such a case, the survey is relatively simple, and that is an important factor from a practical point of view. The distortion of the normal field thus determined permits an easy interpretation and gives approximate information as to the subsurface conditions, without the necessity of a thorough theoretical knowledge of the electrical field. The true field of application of the equipotential lines and search-coil methods, which are based on this principle of directional determination of the electrical field in the ground, is that of search for deposits of economic minerals for the mining industry, although they can also be used in solution of other problems; for example, in the determination of the strike of anisotropic beds. The distortion of the electric field as represented by the picture of equipotential lines or other measured curves is striking only when bodies having conductivities different from that of the country rock are embedded in the underground, or when the underground is anisotropic. It is obvious that methods based on such a simple principle and capable of solving directly many of the practical problems of mining geology have found a widespread application. However, these methods are unable to furnish any information as to the presence, depth and physical properties of layers in the underground, which have different conductivities, but are parallel, or only slightly inclined, to the surface. Where such conditions exist in the underground, the picture of the field

Jan 1, 1932

By Ralph Sherman

THE remarkable increase in the distribution of the small underfeed stoker for use in furnaces and boilers in small industrial plants, apartment houses and homes has brought producers and distributors of bituminous coal to consider the problem of which coals and which sizes are best suited to this market. Many papers have also appeared, mostly in the trade journals, discussing the problem of the combustion of various coals and various sizes of coal in small stokers. Much difference of opinion has been apparent in these articles; due often, it would appear, to a mis-understanding of the fundamentals of the process of combustion in the stoker fuel bed. During the past year and a half, a program of research has been conducted at Battelle Memorial Institute: (1) On the process of combus-tion in the fuel bed of the small stoker, sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute, and (2) on the relation of the characteristics of bituminous coals to their performance on small underfeed stokers, sponsored by Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. As a result of this program of research, two publica-tions have been made, one1 dealing with the problem of clinker formation, and the other2 with the relation of the size of the coal fed to the stoker hopper to that of the coal that reaches the retort to be burned. The experimental research on the relation of size to the performance of the coal is being actively continued. A publication of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. presenting the data obtained on the performance of several sizes of four typical bituminous coals will appear shortly. Because of the early appearance of that publication, the present paper includes few numerical data. The purpose of this paper is to follow the coal from the hopper through the furnace with a discussion of the various actions that occur, in the hope that it will lead to a clearer understanding of the relation of the type of coal, the size of coal, and other characteristics, to the performance. The authors do not pretend to have obtained the answers to all the complex questions involved; many unanswered questions will be proposed on which future research work is planned.

Jan 1, 1936

By Graeme Lane, Yuqing Feng, Kaixi Jiang, Junwu Zhou, Zhengchang Shen, Tao Song

"Airlift reactors are used in a wide range of industries, such as hydrometallurgy, biochemical processes, chemical process industry and waste water treatment. With increasing superficial gas velocity three circulation regimes can be defined: no gas bubbles in the downcomer, gas bubbles remain stationary in the downcomer and gas bubbles in the circulating regime. In this paper a numerical modelling method was presented for gas-liquid flow in airlift reactors under different bubble recirculation regimes. Gas-liquid flow was modelled using the Eulerian two-fluid equations, and extra user defined subroutines were incorporated to consider the complex physics, such as bubble induced turbulence and turbulent dispersion force. Some alternative correlations of drag coefficient were used to capture the bubble distributions in the riser and downcomer of the airlift reactor, with consideration of the interaction between bubbles. As using constant bubble size is hard to describe global characteristics of the flow in airlift reactors for three circulation regimes, a model including multiple bubble sizes was presented to get more accurate simulation results of gas holdup and water velocity. Also, the inhomogeneous MUSIG model was used, as an exploration, to compute the complex flow regimes. The MUSIG model is a population balance method to predict the bubble sizes, taking break-up and coalescence into account. The modelling method was applied to a laboratory internal loop airlift reactor, and the simulation results were compared with the experimental measurements of Simcik et al. (2011) for gas holdup and water velocity. The three bubble circulation regimes were observed from simulation figures. Reasonable agreement was obtained over a range of operating conditions, and an improvement was demonstrated using the proposed methods."

Jan 1, 2014

By Robert A. Reiley

Under the traditional environmental paradigm, industry, stakeholders, and government impact the environment through production, consumption, and regulation. For more than twenty years, this paradigm has survived more or less unchallenged. Environmental action has followed a typical pattern: industry pollutes, the public clamors, government enacts legislation, and industry expenditures for pollution-control equipment soar. In the 1990's, many groups realize that command-and-control techniques may not be the most effective method of dealing with environmental issues in the new millennium. The need for regulatory reform became apparent in the 1980's after an accident at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. In addition, the prospects of an integrated European market and increased global trade sparked a need for common standards regarding the production of goods and services, which led to the adoption of the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 Quality Standards. These factors, and others, triggered the development of the Environmental Management System (EMS). Over the past decade, country-and industry- specific EMSs were developed. However, the IS0 realized the need for a single, internationally recognized standard that would be workable for any type organization. The goal of this standard is to promote economic competitiveness, remove trade barriers, and promote environmental protection. To this end, the IS0 14000 Standards were developed to provide business with a structure for managing environmental impacts. This article argues that a new paradigm has begun to transcend the old. Protection of the environment if shifting from "government drivers" to "market drivers". This shift means that industry and stakeholders, instead of government, are taking the lead to develop ways to protect the environment. This article also argues that government can use this new paradigm, in a time of declining budgets and regulatory reform, to continue to protect the environment through increased compliance monitoring and rigorous enforcement. Specifically, the IS0 14000 Standards can allow the government to reduce compliance costs, streamline permit and reporting requirements, and provide business with regulatory flexibility. Finally, this article argues that IS0 14000 will be central to the regulatory reform effort, because it can be internally implemented with little need for legislative intervention.

Jan 1, 1999

The platinum group of metals (PGMs) possess a range of unique chemical and physical properties and arc increasingly finding important uses in a wide variety of environmentally-related technologies (eg. catalytic conveners, fuel cells, electronics). The typical ore grade for PGM mineralisation is similar 10 gold (gil) but the processing is more akin to base metals (at percent). The typical scheme for a PGM project is a mine, flotation concentrator, smelter and refinery. The environmental costs could therefore expected to be more significant than gold mining -in contrast to the uses for PGMs in many environmentally focussed technologies. The global production of PGMs is dominated by South Africa due to their large economic PGM resources in the Bushveld Complex, while other countries playa minor but important role. Concerns arc being raised about the long-term ability to supply PGMs to meet future technological needs, as well as allegations of significant environmental and social impacts such as water pollution, unfair village relocation and compensation issues. This paper presents a detailed review of the platinum-PGM industry and major environmental costs such as water, energy and greenhouse emissions. The relationships between production statistics and environmental or ?sustainability metrics' are then investigated with a view to understanding the current trends in PGM mining and potential future implications. The paper presents a unique case study for a group of metals which are uniquely concentrated in one major region of the earth and pose some intriguing and difficult sustainability issues for the future.

Jan 1, 2009

By W. Wittke, D. Schröder, H. Polczyk

ABSTRACT: The Urft dam, the Diemel dam and the Eder dam are three old masonry damslocated in Germany. The paper describes the rehabilitation measures and the correspondingstability analyses carried out to adjust the dams to today's standards. Remedial works such as theexcavation of inspection galleries, the installation of a grout curtain with a downstream drainagescreen as well as the installation of pre-stressed permanent tendons were carried out. In all threecases the stability of the upgraded dam could be proven on the basis of finite element analyses. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Die Urft-, Diemel- und Edertalsperre sind drei alte deutscheSchwergewichtsmauern aus Bruchsteinmauerwerk. Im Beitrag werden Instandsetzungsmaß-nahmen und Standsicherheitsnachweise beschrieben, die erforderlich waren, um die Staumauernan den heutigen Stand der Technik anzupassen. Hierzu wurden Kontrollgänge aufgefahren,Dichtungsschleier mit luftseitiger Dränage sowie vorgespannte Daueranker hergestellt. In allendrei Fällen konnte unter Berücksichtigung der Instandsetzungsmaßnahmen die Standsicherheit derMauer auf der Grundlage von Berechnungen nach der Methode der finiten Elemente nachgewiesenwerden. RÉSUMÉ: Les barrages de Urft, Diemel et Eder sont trois barrages-poids vieux allemandsconstruit de maçonnerie de moellon. Dans cet article, opérations de remise en état et preuves destabilité sont décrits, qui étaient nécessaires pour adapter les barrages à l'état de la techniqueactuelle. À cet effet, des galeries de contrôle étaient creusés, voiles d'étanchéité avec des drains àla face aval et tirants précontraints permanents étaient fabriqués. Dans tous les trois cas, tenantcompte des opérations de remise en état, la stabilité de la barrage pouvait être prouvée à partir decalculs selon la méthode des éléments finis.

Jan 1, 2003

By Kot Unrug

Fully grouted tensioned bolts provide a desirable compressive of laminated roof and bondage along the entire bolt length, at the same time the entire surface of the hole is protected against penetration of moisture. This is particularly important in shale strata, where, when left unprotected by a partial grout column, moisture penetrates to the annular space, and weathers rock around the bolt hole, having an easy access to the bedding planes which are strongly hydrophilic. The most desirable are thrust tensioned rebar bolts that can be installed with one procedure step, and can secure a desired pre-stressing. Such bolts have a forged conventional head and offer no hazard to miners in low clearance mines, whose number increase constantly due to the depletion of reserves in thicker seams. The presented field-testing program has been based on instrumented bolts allowing for monitoring of tension at installation and at a chosen time interval after. The tested system is based on rebar bolts installed with two speed Fosroc resin (fast at the top and stow at the bottom), and mechanical compression by the bolting machine at installation. Combination of several different washer -- plate arrangements have been tested. The results are reported with their interpretation, and recommendations directly towards strata control requirements, as well as the operational considerations for efficiency of installation.

Jan 1, 2002

By C. H. Li, R. J. Stokes, S. H. Bendel, J. A. Sartell, T. L. Johnston

The mechanism of the oxidation of high-purity copper has been studied at temperatures from 500° to 981°C employing gravimetric, high-temperature microscopic and inert marker techniques. An investigation of the adhesion of copper oxides was also made. The oxidation of copper is found to be parabolic at all temperatures. It is concluded that the controlling mechanism is the outward diffusion of CU+ ions through the Cu2O layer, but the mechanism of diffusion is modified by the state of compressive stress in the oxide layer at the oxidation temperature. At temperatures below the transition from elastic to plastic behavior of Cu2O the growth stresses reach a value sufficiently high to cause CuO whiskers to be extruded. The extrusion of whiskers results in the injection of a large number of vacancies into the CuO. The Cu20 layer grows by the advance of the CuzO/CuO interface into vacancy-rich CuO. Since there is an adequate supply of non -thermally created vacancies, the activation energy for oxidation is that required to move the Cu+ ion through the appropriate saddle point to a neighboring vacancy, which has been determined to be 20,000 cal per mole. At temperatures at which the Cu20 can deform plastically the stresses are never high enough to cause whiskers to form. thus vacancies must be supplied by themal activation and as a result the activation energy increases to 40.000 cal per mole. ALTHOUGH extensive studies of the oxidation kinetics of pure copper have been made in the past. the mechanism has received relatively little attention. As a result, certain features of the kinetic data have not been satisfactorily explained' For example, several workers1,2 have reported that the activation energy for oxidation in the range from 500° to 700° C was about 20,000 cal per mole whereas that above

Jan 1, 1960

By Pieter W. Greeff, Graeme W. Mitchell

INTRODUCTION This paper describes the underground environmental planning parameters developed for Pancontinental Mining Limited's Jabiluka uranium deposit. The deposit is located 230 km east of Darwin in the Alligator Rivers region of the Northern Territory, Australia. The deposit is situated within land subject to an Aboriginal land claim, adjacent to a National Park and within a proposed extension to that National Park, as well as being close to a long- established Aboriginal reserve. In addition, being the first large underground uranium mine planned in Australia, the environmental considerations, both on surface and underground are considerable. Pancontinental is committed to the highest practicable standard of environmental management in the operation of the mine. In addition, Government regulations and requirements are particularly stringent by world standards. The underground environmental problems are discussed later in the paper with emphasis placed upon radiation aspects, both gamma and radon daughters, and dust. Consideration has also been given to heat and humidity due to the location of the deposit in a sub-tropical region 12° south of the equator. The paper explains how these environmental factors influence the design and selection of stoping methods. GEOLOGY AND ORE RESERVES The Jabiluka Two orebody is completely overlain by flat-bedded Kombolgie Sandstone with a thin layer of surficial colluvial sands. The orebody occurs in an east-west striking folded succession of Lower Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Cahill Formation. Uraninite and pitchblende constitute essentially all the uranium mineralisation and are contained in the four lithological series, as shown in Fig. 1. - ,Upper Graphite Series - Main Mine Series - Lower Mine Series 1 - Lower Mine Series 2 The succession at Jabiluka has been folded and forms an east-south-east striking, asymmetric syncline-anticline which dips south and plunges to the east. A major fault bisects Jabiluka Tw8 having a north-south trend and dipping about 80 to the west. A near vertical tourmaline granitic pegmatite dyke up to 30 m in thickness has intruded the Jabiluka Two orebody at the western end. Current drilled ore reserves for Jabiluka Two are 52.0 million tonnes at 0.39% U308. Included in these reserves are 1.1 million tonnes of gold ore at 10.7 g/tonne. A large proportion of the orebody can be mined in thick sections (over 80% of tonnage) either as single sections or by bulking a number of thin sections which are close together.

Jan 1, 1981

By C. Willard Hayes

Introduction.—The recent developments in the metallurgy of aluminum and its consequent rapidly growing use in the arts are at present attracting considerable attention to its ores. The success of the Hall electrolytic process, by which the metal is obtained directly from the oxide, has removed bauxite from the position of a rather uninteresting mineral to that of an important ore. Its production on a commercial scale is so recent, particularly in this country, that little attention has yet been paid to its mode of occurrence and origin.. Any investigation, therefore, which throws light upon these points should be of interest to mining engineers- at the present time, especially if the conclusions afford a basis for estimating the probable extent and value of deposits already known and a mane of directing search for others. Two localities in the United States have so far yielded bauxite in commercial quantities. These are in Arkansas and in the Coosa valley of Georgia and Alabama. According to descriptions of the Arkansas deposits by Branner, they bear little resemblance to those in the Southern Appalachians and their geological relations appear to be entirely different. Only the latter deposits are considered in the following paper. These have been briefly described by McCalley† and Spencer.† They were visited by the writer during the past summer and somewhat carefully examined, in connection with the study of the areal geology of the region. Location of the Deposits.—The ore is found irregularly distributed within. a narrow belt of country extending from' Adairsville, Ga.,

Jan 1, 1895

By W. W. Gerberich, P. L. Hemmings, V. F. Zackay

ThE strain-induced martensitic transformation may be used to attain desirable combinations of strength, ductility, and fracture toughness. One of the parameters is the relative stability of the austenite. For example, it has been shown by Zackay et al.1 that the volume percent of strain-induced martensite is related to the combination of strength and elongation obtained. It has also been shown that the degree of transformation is an important factor in the crack propagation resistance of metastable austenitic steels.2 Considering both tensile and crack-propagation tests, it was of interest to see if there was any functional relationship between the amount of strain and the volume of strain-induced martensite. Previously,9 it had been shown that at room temperature, there was a relationship between uniaxial tensile strain and the volume percent of resulting martensite given by The data were obtained by plastically elongating tensile samples to a certain strain and then measuring the field strength to determine the strain-induced ferromagnetic volume. This was accomplished for two conditions having yield strengths of 229 and 233 ksi. The nominal composition of this material was 9Cr-8 Ni-3 Mo-2 Mn-2 Si-0.25 C-0.09 N. In evaluation of the strain-induced martensite at a crack tip: the question arose as to whether Eq. [1] would also be valid under triaxial stress conditions. Tests were conducted on 1/2-in. thick plate material having a composition of 9 Cr-8 Ni-4 Mo-2 Mn-2 Si-0.27 C. It was found that sectioning, polishing, and etching of fractured specimens could reveal the strain-induced martensite occurring at a crack tip. Care had to be taken to minimize the final polishing steps so as to avoid a smeared layer of strain-induced martensite. The method for taking metallo-graphic samples from fractured crack-line loaded type samples is shown in Fig. 1. Observations of the strain-induced martensite occurring at room tem-

Jan 1, 1970