Search Documents

By D. R. Uhlmann, T. P. Seward, O. Chalmers

A magnetic field has been used to damp out liquid convection during the solidification of castings. Ingots of Al-2 pct Cu were poured from various sperheats (10" to 65°C) into a room-temperature graphite mold located between the poles of an electromagnet. The effect on ingot structure of varying the strength and time of application of the magnetic field was investigated, and the results are interpreted in light 01- current theories of ingot structure. In the solidification of alloy systems, thermal gradients in the melt and differences in density of the constituents are expected to produce convective motion in the liquid. The thermal convection caused by temperature gradients should be present during the freezing of both alloys and pure materials, while the solute convection caused by density differences should be of concern only for alloys. The possible influence of this natural convection on the structure of castings has been discussed by Ruddle,' Chalmers, and Tiller. More recently, an experimental investigation of such effects was carried out by Cole and Bolling. These workers took stationary molds containing lead- and tin-based alloys and. using a brine solution. quenched them from various superheats above their respective liquidus temperatures. When grids were placed across the mold diameter to suppress convection, the grid region was later observed to contain a larger percentage of columnar grains than other parts of the casting or than similar castings poured without the grids present. From thermocouple measurements, they found the temperature in the grid region to be higher than that in the region outside the grids throughout the freezing process, and concluded that convection should be an important mode of heat transfer in normal castings. In addition to such convection arising from thermal gradients or differences in density of the constituents, a further source of convective motion, which we shall call "momentum convection", may be particularly important in small (laboratory-size) castings. By this term we refer to the convective motion produced in the initial pouring process, a motion which is damped out as the linear momentum and angular momentum of the liquid are dissipated. Besides these sources of convection, which are present to some extent in all castings. external influences may also be effective in producing convective motion. Examples of such "forced" convection which have been discussed in the literature include stirring the melt, shaking the mold, rotating the mold, and so forth The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of convection on the structure of castings poured into a cold mold. In this work, a magnetic field was employed to damp out the convective motions within the liquid, and hence control the extent of con- The effect of a magnetic field on convective currents in a conducting liquid is to induce eddy currents which oppose and damp out the convective motion. vection. The technique of magnetic damping was previously used by Utech and F1emings" in their study of convective effects on impurity banding and other substructure in alloy crystals grown unidirectionally from the melt. In their investigation, fields as small as 200 gauss were found to be effective in damping the convection currents which influence the banding. I) EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE In the present study, alloys of A1-2 wt pct Cu were poured into a room-temperature graphite mold. The mold, in the shape of a circular cylinder, 2 in. ID, 2-3/4 in. OD, 5 in. inside height, and 5-1/2 in. outside

Jan 1, 1967

By B. A. Rogers

The etching effect that is produced on a piece of polished iron or steel when it is heated in hydrogen or in a vacuum seems to have been observed first by Osmond,' who believed that he could distinguish four systems of grain boundaries on a piece of steel which had been heated in hydrogen. In a number of other investigations, samples of pure iron were found, after heating, to have complex networks in which two or three systems of grain boundaries could be detected. It was further noticed that samples that had been polished plane before being placed in the furnace were, after treatment, roughened and undulating over their entire surfaces. From a comparison of the temperature of heat treatment with that of the A3 transformation, it was concluded that the changed appearance of the samples was definitely related to the latter phenomenon. Certain other deductions were made but these are not of importance here and only observations on the appearance of the samples will be reviewed. Ewen2 heated a strip of polished iron in a vacuum in such a way that one end was maintained at a temperature of 1000" C. and the other at 580" C. On the cooler end there was outlined a simple polyhedral network, and at the hotter there appeared the complex systern of lines ant the undulating surface characteristic of iron which has passed through the A3 transformation. He found that in going from the cooler toward thc hotter end the sample maintained much the same character of surface up to the beginning of the transformed area, but that near this region doublc grain boundaries were of frequent occurrence. Rawdon and Scott concluded that the simple type of network brought out by heating a sample of pure iron in a vacuum was of the same type as that developec by ordinary etching methods. They also confirmed the observations of

Jan 1, 1929

By J. H. Fletcher

AIR has been cooled, heated, washed; humidified and dehumidified for many purposes and in many industries. At a number of metal mines air is conditioned to reduce the high humidity and unbearable heat found in deep workings, and at some mines air is washed to allay siliceous dust. Steam is introduced into the intake air at many coal mines, particularly in winter, for the purpose of keeping loose coal dust so moistened that the hazard of an explosion is lessened. This paper will describe a further successful application of air conditioning in a coal mine, where, for over three years, all intake air has been cooled to a constant temperature for the sole purpose of preventing roof falls.

Jan 1, 1931

ALABAMA America.-Foreman, J. T. Ashland.-Sturdevant, J, C. Altalla; Henderson, R. M. Bessemer.-Ball, E. M. Maschmeyer, W. L. McKenzie, W. C., Jr. Birmingham.-Abbott, C, E. Aldrich, T. H. Aldrich, T. H., Jr. Aufderhaar, H. C. Berg, H. A. Blair, C. S. Bush, M. W. Clark. G. H.

Jan 1, 1929

By Enrique Hauser

FiRE-damp is a mixture of methane with other inert gases or combustible gases. The inert gases in question are carbonic acid, water vapor, nitrogen, etc. The combustible gases are hydrogen, ethane, etc. The study of the properties of fire-damp, therefore, becomes a study of the properties of methane and the influence on its properties of the different gases we have mentioned. Characteristic Properties of Methane 1. Respirability.—Methane being a paraffin is characterized by its weak chemical affinities. Prom the physiological point of view one could substitute it for nitrogen of the air at least momentarily, without experiencing any difficulty in breathing the mixture consisting of 21 per cent. 02 + 79 per cent. CHI. I have tried this on myself, making the gas exhaled from the lungs burn subsequently in a Bunsen burner.' From the chemical point of view, this weak affinity permits the gas to be burned in certain circumstances with hydrogen and oxide of carbon in an oxygenated mixture, with the result that the last two gases achieve only a fractional combustion. This practice has been utilized with success in the methods of analysis which I have perfected and which I describe later in this paper. 2. Retardation of Flashing Point.—A characteristic property of methane is its retardation of flashing point, noted by Davy in 1816 and studied by Mallard and Le Chatelier in 1883.2 Taffanel and Le Floch have recently confirmed these results.8 Let us recall the nature of this retardation: When a mixture of combustible gases with air or with oxygen is

Jan 1, 1916

By G. T. Jackson

PROPERTY AND LOCATION THE Alaska Gastineau Mining Co.'s mine is located at Perseverance, about 4 mi. east of Juneau, Alaska. Its property consists of a group of claims, the lode system traversing these claims for a distance of 11,000 ft. (3352 in.). It is shown in Fig. 1. FIG. 1.-ALASKA GASTINEAU MINING CO.'S PROPERTY NEAR JUNEAU. The ore deposits occur in what is known as the Juneau gold belt. This gold belt can be traced for about 50 mi. northwest of Juneau and 40 mi. southeast. It consists of a single band, several hundred feet wide, in which stringers and veins of quartz, carrying gold, occur in a slate formation near its contact with some altered volcanic rock known as greenstone.

Jan 9, 1919

By L. M. Pidgeon, W. Curlock

FREE energies of formation of zinc sulfide and magnesium sulfide had previously been estimated to an accuracy of ± 5.0 kcal per g mol. In the present work, these values were determined experimentally. As the determinations of the free energies of formation of zinc sulfide and magnesium sulfide presented different problems, separate experimental procedures were employed for each. ZINC SULFIDE It is difficult to measure the free energy of formation of either zinc sulfide or magnesium sulfide by measuring their decomposition pressures directly, as they are very stable compounds. An attempt was made by Jellinek and zakowski3 to study the equilibrium. zns(s) + H2(g) = Zn(g) + H2S(g) [I] They passed hydrogen over zinc sulfide and analyzed the gases leaving the reaction zone for H2S. They were unable to determine the true partial pressures of the H2S by this method, as some of the H2S on being cooled from the reaction temperature, reacted with the zinc in the gas to produce ZnS. Consequently, they were unable to establish any true equilibrium data for reaction [I]. More recently,' the equilibria ZnS(sphaledte) + Fe (s) — FeS(s) + Zn(g) [2] and ZnS(sphalerite) + 2Cu(s) — Cu2S(S) + Zn (g) [3] were studied. As the standard free energy of formation of Cu2S is known to * 3.0 kcal, and of FeS to ± 1.0 kcal, it should be possible upon performing equilibrium studies on reactions [2] and [3] to deduce the standard free energy of formation of ZnS (sphalerite). However, as both of these equilibria involve 2 solid sulfides, and as it is possible for these sulfides to dissolve in one another, it is necessary first to ascertain the activities of the various sulfides in these solid phases.

Jan 1, 1959

By S. S. Shen, M. J. Pool, P. J. Spencer

Heats of solution of gold and copper in dilute Au-Cu-Sn alloys have been determined using a liquid metal solution calorimeter. The self-interaction coefficient, Au - has been calculated at constant copper concentrations and n cu has likewise been determined at constant gold contents. Good experimental agreement is obtained between the interaction coefficients and nAu Cc thus demonsbating the reliability of the measured heat values. The measured data are compared with the Predictions of certain solution models. In previous publications,1,2 the results of calori-metric investigations of dilute Ag-Au-Sn and Ag-Cu-Sn alloys have been presented. The present work on the Au-Cu-Sn system concludes a program of studies of enthalpy interaction coefficients in dilute alloys of the Group IB metals with tin. Since the definition and derivation of an enthalpy interaction coefficient has been discussed previously,1,2 no restatement of this theory will be presented here. From the determination of the partial heat of solution of gold and copper in ternary alloys of various copper and gold contents, values of the interaction coefficients can be calculated. These coefficients give an insight into the various solute interactions that occur in the liquid solutions since changes in their magnitude and sign reflect bonding changes that are taking place in alloys of varying solute contents. EXPERIMENTAL Details of the design and operation of the liquid metal solution calorimeter used in this work may be found in a paper by Poo1.3 For the present studies copper of 99.999 pct purity was supplied by American Smelting and Refining Co., gold of 99.999 pct purity by A. D. Mackay, Inc., and tin of 99.99 pct purity by Baker Chemical Co. At the commencement of each series of experimental drops, a tin solvent bath consisting of between 70 and 90 g of the pure metal was inserted in the calorimeter. The weight of the bath was accurately determined and to it were added appropriate amounts of gold or copper to give alloys of the desired composition. For determinations of approximately 0.0015 g-atom samples of Cu were used and for measurements of ?HAu approximately 0.0025 g-atom additions of Au. The heat capacity of the bath was determined at regular intervals during a series of drops using tin calibration samples. Measurements were made of the heat of solution of copper in alloys containing a constant 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04 mole fraction of Au, respectively, in order to determine ?HCu in each alloy, and the same mole fractions of copper were used to determine equivalent values for nAu at constant copper concentrations. The composition of the bath was maintained at the desired constant gold or copper content by making calculated additions of the appropriate solute throughout the experiments. The limiting values ?HAu in alloys of constant copper content and of %c, in alloys of constant gold content were studied as a function of the mole fraction of copper or gold respectively in order to determine and nCu. Heat content and heat capacity data used in calculating values of ?ºHAu and ?HCu at the experimental temperature of 720°K were obtained from Hultgren et a1.4 ' RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Determinations of ?HAu. The partial heat of solution of gold in pure tin as a function of gold concentration was determined in the previous study of dilute Ag-Au-Sn alloys1 and can be represented by the least-squares expression: ?HAu(l) =-8075 + 2413xAu [l] which is valid between XAu= 0.00 and xAu = 0.05. The standard error in the constant term, which represents the partial heat of solution of gold at infinite dilution in tin,?HºAu(l)is 35 cal per g-atom, while the standard deviation of the slope, which represents n Au is ± 619 cal per- agtom. Corresponding expressions for ?HAu(l) in alloys containing constant mole fractions of 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04 copper were obtained from the data listed in Table I and are themselves given in Table II. Fig. 1 illustrates the partial heat of solution of gold as a function of its concentration in each of the alloys. For the four alloys of constant copper concentration, the values obtained for ?HºAU(l) (in order of increasing copper content) are -8141 i 36 cal per g-atom, -8210 ± 42 cal per g-atom, -8202 ± 46 cal per g-atom and -8268 ± 51 cal per g-atom. The corresponding values of the self-interaction coefficient, n Au, for these alloys are 3103 * 644 cal per g-atom, 2425 ± 676 cal per g-atom, 2574 * 717 cal per g-atom and 2523 ± 899 cal per g-atom. In Fig. 2 these values of n Au are plotted as a function of the copper content of the alloys and are seen to remain approximately constant within the experimental limits. The addition of increasing, small amounts of copper to dilute binary Au-Sn alloys thus has no apparent effect on Au-Au interactions in these dilute liquid solutions, although more exothermic values of ?HºAu(l) do result from an increase in the copper content of the alloys. Analogous behavior was observed with additions of silver to dilute Au-Sn alloys.' By

Jan 1, 1970

By John Johnston

WHEN I was honored by being invited to give the Howe Memorial Lecture, I decided to read Howe's book, "The Metallography of Steel and Cast Iron," published in 1916-that is, about 25 years ago-in search of a text. I found the book written in fine, clear, attractive, yet precise style, as I expected, knowing that his father Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, his mother Julia Ward Howe, and all of his four brothers and sisters had lived in a New England literary atmosphere and had written books. This leads me to suggest that many authors of metallurgical papers and books could well study Howe's writings with a view to the improvement of their own. I failed to find a specific text, but did find a subject, for in reading his book I was struck by the few instances in which time is considered explicitly as a factor in the phenomena examined, and by the fact that many of the hottest arguments would have been settled had time been taken properly into account. Indeed, Howe hardly mentions time except in a rather incidental way, as in a few references to lag; for instance: The lowering of temperature at which the transformation occurs by rapid cooling . . . is a phenomenon of undercooling or lag. It is in part explained by the fact that the transformation itself is a time-consuming reaction which, setting in during a rapid fall of temperature, is naturally protracted till the temperature has sunk far below that at which it is due. He does discuss, quite fully, the iron-carbon equilibrium diagram, as known at that time, introducing it by stating: As he is a reasonable man who is not deterred from using a hand' truck for moving his trunk by the consideration that he has thus to move a trunk plus a truck, so am I reasonable in putting into your hands this useful, indeed indispensable, tool for mastering the ABC of iron metallurgy. Somewhat later, in introducing a discussion of the phase rule, which "it would be hardly proper to pass ... by without an attempt to outline its meaning," for "a clear exposition of its applicability or jurisdiction is needed to restrain the half¬initiated from misusing it and the uninitiated from being misled by these misuses," he writes-and I quote his statement because we cannot properly discuss the influence of time on a process until we know the state of equilibrium which would ultimately be reached by the system under consideration: It is a most remarkable and valuable generalization, its conceptions help greatly toward getting a broad outlook on metallography, but its misconception has brought out a flood of obscuring writings. It tells us about the constitution towards which alloys tend, that which they reach when equilibrium is complete, when all tendencies have corrected themselves and have been complied with completely. Its application, in absence of true equilibrium, is like determining density with a telescope or even with a tuning fork; it is like the mad tea party at which the butter put into the works of the watch was the best butter. If the reader learns no more than to beware of attempts to decipher the conditions of inequilibrium by a law which touches only the conditions of exact

Jan 1, 1942

By G. P. Boomsliter

IN previous discussions on stresses in hoisting ropes, little has "been said concerning the effect of the elasticity of the rope itself on the stresses due to acceleration. Laschinger1 has calculated acceleration stresses. for several cases but he has ignored the elasticity of the rope as a factor, except as it compresses the drum and stretches itself as it winds thereon. He also deals with steam plants and he shows the effect of the "jerky" start of the engine. This effect would actually be reduced by the elasticity of the cable. With the advent of the motor-driven hoist, new conditions have arisen. The jerk mentioned by Laschinger has been eliminated and smoother starting made possible. But the elastic properties of the rope seem to introduce considerable periodic acceleration stresses in the rope. The following discussion of acceleration stresses is based on the assumption of a constant acceleration at the drum. To be exact, the mathematical work is based upon the assumption that the top is moving upward with a constant acceleration, and ignores the fact that the cable is shortening as it winds. However, the effect of the shortening would be inconsiderable during the first part of the acceleration period. Most hoisting engineers make the assumption of constant acceleration at the drum. Under the older method of calculating acceleration stresses, this would be true with a constant torque motor. But if stresses vary, as this paper attempts to show that they do, constant torque would not give constant acceleration, although the velocity-time curves obtained in the full size test herein described showed that they approach rather closely to this condition, at least as nearly as could be measured.

Jan 2, 1927

By George Young

DURING the spring of 1910 I visited a number of open-pit brown-coal mines and underground workings in the vicinity of Halle, Halberstadt, Leipsic, Cologne and Bonn. The notes which I took and the observations which I made at the time have been condensed and make up the principal part of this paper. Certain supplementary information has been taken from several sources which are given in the paper. The mining of brown coal is one of the important industries of Germany. The coal varies in color from dark brown to almost black and is soft like loam. Pieces of wood and strips of bark and, even parts of tree trunks are frequently encountered in the excavation although the coal for the most part consists of a pulverulent, more or less matted mass of small particles of vegetal matter. It is a product between peat and lignitic coal. An analysis, taken from Coal Resources of the World shows the approximate composition of the material: Moisture, 53.73 per cent.; ash, 4.98; fixed carbon, 18.08; volatile carbon, 23.31 per cent. The principal characteristic is the amount of moisture. This seldom runs less than 48 per cent. The ash is usually low and ranges from 5 to 10 per cent. The sulphur content is usually less than 0.5 per cent. The heating effect of the fuel ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 calories.

Jan 2, 1916

By Edward Estabrook

THE Salt Creek oil field in Natrona County, Wyo., is the largest pool that has been found in the Rocky Mountain region and one of the largest in the United States. Many features of its production records are of peculiar interest, because of the unusual slowness with which it has been developed. This paper is published by the permission of the Midwest Refining Co., whose records have been freely drawn upon. Many mem¬bers of the Midwest organization have assisted in the collection of the material, but Messrs. F. E. Wood and L. E. Smith have been particularly helpful. The Salt Creek oil field is situated on a great dome with a closure of about 1500 ft., which rises at the northern end of a long anticline extending north-northwest by south-southeast for fully 25 miles. The productive area includes parts of townships 39 and 40 north and ranges 78 and 79 west of the sixth principal meridian. The Teapot oil field occupies a minor dome at about the center of the same anticline and adjoins the Salt Creek oil field on the southeast. The Teapot Naval Reserve includes the Teapot Dome and about 760 acres of the Salt Creek dome. In this paper, the Salt Creek oil field will be considered as' including all of the dome, except that part which lies within the Teapot Naval Reserve and the area west of the dome where oil is produced from shale crevices.

Jan 9, 1925

By J. P. Matoney, E. J. Sandy, D. A. Dahlstorm

INTRODUCTION Before an understandable discussion concerning coal-dewatering processes can be initiated, it is necessary to define some terms of usage. The many different meanings and interpretations of terms preclude development of standard definitions so that the terms which are defined in this chapter should be regarded mainly as working terms intended to facilitate communication. A coal slurry ' might be defined as a watery suspension carrying particles of fine coal and other assorted material ranging upward in size from the finest clay particles. Some particles may be in the colloidal sue range and exhibit characteristics of suspended colloids. The dilution of the system generally is such that it is in a condition of independent particle subsidence. In some coal mining areas a slurry is regarded as a suspension of fine coal and other materials having a dilution that cannot be economically dewatered by filtration. A coal slime may be regarded as a slurry containing particles of such size range that 50 per cent or more (by weight) will pass a 200-mesh sieve. Slime suspensions generally are difficult to handle without special treatment in conventional sedimentation equipment. A coal sludge is defined as a slurry that has been partly dewatered by sedimentation usually to a thick or viscous consistency where further dewatering can be most readily facilitated by filtration. Culm and silt are terms characteristic of coal-preparation practice which should be defined. In anthracite terminology, culm is the generally coarse residue or waste accumulation of coal, bone and rock from preparation plants most of which are no longer functional. Culm has a wide range of sizes, some rather coarse, and except to differentiate it from silt, the term is of limited interest in this discussion. In anthracite terminology, silt is the accumulation of waste fine coal, bone and slate settled out from preparation plant water in excavated basins. Silt is generally made up of particles ranging in size from 3/32-in. round-opening screen to the very finest sues. Silt is also referred to at times as sludge, fines, slush, and mud and is the partly dewatered derivative of what has been previously defined as slurry. In the terminology of the bituminous coal producing areas, the word culm commonly corresponds to slurry or slime, depending upon the size distribution of the suspended solids. Editor's Note: Because of the numerous and varied contributions of the associate authors of this chapter, the text does not differentiate between sections authored by each individual as is the case in most chapters of this book.

Jan 1, 1968

SANTA Rita del Cobre Grant, as the present Chino property was known in the early part of the nineteenth century, was the scene of the first copper-mining operations of consequence in the territory now included in the United States. As early as 1801, the mines afforded the principal supply of copper for coinage by the Mexican Government. According to an estimate made from old records by H. A. Thorne, now superintendent of mines for the Chino company, about 41,000,- 000 lb. of copper had been produced prior to 1845, when the exploitation of the native copper deposits of the Lake Superior district was started for the first time by white men. B. S. Butler, in Mineral Resources of the United States for 1913, estimated the production from Grant County, New Mexico, from 1845 to 1913, at 134,353,963 1b.-an amazingly precise figure, considering the character of the data that he must have used. As "Grant County" may be interpreted for practical purposes as the Santa Rita district, it seems fair to credit the Chino group with a production of 165,000,000 lb. of copper prior to the time when the modern operations commenced. Unlike Morenci, which, by the way, lies only about 80 miles westerly across the Arizona-New Mexico line, Chino offers no problem as to when its production might properly be classified as coming from a Porphyry Copper. The time is definitely fixed by the starting of the new mill at Hurley in October, 1911. The interval from 1903 to 1913 had witnessed little production of any kind; and prior to that time operations had been confined entirely to the mining of narrow veins or lenses of ore assaying 10 to 15 per cent copper or even more. Such orebodies frequently are encountered today, when the electric shovels, working in broad daylight, eat away rock that once was buried

Jan 1, 1933

By G. St. J. Perrott

During the past year, the Bureau of Mines has carried on an investigation of liquid-oxygen explosives (L.O.X.) to supplement the work described in previous publications.' The present paper gives results of the first part of this work, which was a laboratory investigation of the properties of typical combustibles used in L.O.X., and the relation of these properties to the absorption and retention of oxygen by the explosives and their explosive characteristics. No attempt will be made to describe the development of liquid-oxygen explosives, because this phase of the subject has been well covered.2 The L.O.X. cartridge consists of a paper wrapper filled with an absorbent combustible material that is saturated with liquid oxygen by soaking it therein. After saturation, the cartridge is removed from the liquid and fired with fuse and cap, or electric detonator, in a manner similar to other explosives. Certain types of cartridge may be detonated with fuse alone, requiring no cap to initiate the detonation. ' By suitable variation of the nature and density of the combustible, cartridges having a wide variety of explosive characteristics may be made.

Jan 1, 1925

By Alan F. Stewart, Douglas R. Piteau, Dennis C. Martin

Three examples of open pits where toppling failure controls the stability and design of the slopes are described. Two examples involve the design of overall slopes in base metal mines. The third example concerns the analysis and design of remedial measures to prevent toppling failure from occurring in a critical slope in a coal mine. The analytical techniques for assessing toppling failure on a rational basis are discussed for the three examples. This includes an assessment of the important parameters which govern the stability for the toppling failure mode. The geological setting and input data for each example are described, as are the important external or limiting factors pertinent to the sites in question. A statistical cumulative technique was used to assess one of the most important input parameters in the two examples involving overall slope design. Both deep-seated toppling failures, involving the entire slope, and shallow bench failures are considered. Results of the stability analyses and their related engineering significance with regard to slope stability and design are discussed. A sensitivity analysis of various parameters is effectively utilized. Design charts are developed and evaluated accordingly. In the example where toppling failure was unavoidable, the rationale for design of stabilization techniques to prevent toppling is discussed.

Jan 1, 1983

By Malcolm Wilson

THE year 1923 was one of great importance in northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, so far as the' development and expansion of previously discovered oil and gas fields were concerned. However, the search for new fields failed to produce a single discovery that led to important development during the period; in this respect, the year was one of discouragement to the prospector. During the winter and spring months, an especially active "wildcat" campaign was in. progress in southern Arkansas, and a large number of tests were drilled in northern. Louisiana but this activity subsided during the summer and fall. By the close of the year, only routine drilling was in effect in the fields; and only two new areas-Cotton Valley, in Webster Parish, and an area in Union Parish, La.-were showing any important activity because of favorable oil showings. Further drilling is contemplated in both of these areas, and the present feeling is that one or the other may produce the next oilfield in this territory. Briefly, the development of the Smackover field was the overshadowing event of the year. In. southern Arkansas, important development also took place in the East El Dorado, Stephens, and Irma fields; but all of these were relatively small. In northern Louisiana, many new oil wells were drilled in the Bellevue field, and many new gas wells in the Monroe field. In the old Caddo field, a large number of the deep Woodbine wells were plugged back to the "chalk rock," where a high gravity oil is obtained. In the other fields, only a few small wells were drilled. Therefore, Arkansas, furnished the real development of the year in this area. The production for the year showed a material increase over that of 1922, due, chiefly, to Smackover, and practically altogether to the Arkansas fields. In Louisiana, every field, except Caddo, Bellevue, and Elm Grove, showed slight to marked declines; while in Arkansas, El Dorado was the only field that declined throughout the year.

Jan 3, 1924

By JAMES J. DOUGHERTY

THIS paper is a general discussion of developments in our reverberatory smelting practice during the past five years. It deals briefly kith changes in furnace types ; changes in furnace feed ; de- crease in the amount of slag produced; relation of slag assays to copper loss in the slag; increase in the grade of matte and furnace capacities. The reverberatory is but one unit in the copper plant ancl 'any discussion of it must be considered with reference to the other units and to the plant as a whole. A change in the grade of concentrates at the concentrator puts an entirely new aspect on reverberatory smelting and, likewise, a change in the grade of matte at the reverberatory affects the rate and cost of converting. The introduction of differential flotation in 1927 had a very marked influence on all smelting operations and its effect will be noted

Jan 1, 1930

By Harry M. Bendler, W. A. Wood

Electron metallography has been applied to the study of the torsional fatigue of polycrystalline OFHC* copper. The development of slip bands, fis- sures, and microcracks has been followed as a function of strain amplitude and number of cycles. Those factors that have been found to be relevant to a geometrical theory of the fatigue process are described. From the point of view of this theory it is important to distinguish between the effects of cycling at large amplitudes and at small amplitudes (true fatigue deformation). EARLY investigations showed metal fatigue cracking is caused by continued reversal of a small plastic strain. Fundamental study of fatigue, therefore, has been largely concerned with the cumulative effects of these plastic reversals on the metal structure. In particular, recent work has shown that the plastic reversals produce slip movements that are finer than the slip movements produced by unidirectional increments of plastic strain; individual slip movements in fatigue, for instance, are too fine to see by optical microscopy.2 It has also been shown that the fine slip movements of fatigue tend to concentrate in bands and that in this way they can build up, after enough cycles, a progressive surface disturbance. It is this disturbance which, in effect, makes the slip movement visible. It is also in this disturbance that the first cracks appear to form. From this point of view, therefore, the problem of fatigue becomes one of finding why the fine slip movements should concentrate in bands and why the. bands should finally open into cracks. Thus far, study of the slip bands has been limited to the changes they produce at the surface only. These studies have given interesting results. Ewing and Humfrey3 many years ago showed that the bands in iron could extrude debris. Forsyth found that bands in aluminum alloys could extrude thin tongues of material. Thompson showed that, after lightly dissolving away the surface of copper specimens, some bands persisted as superficial cracks might, and that the life of a specimen under fatigue deformation might be prolonged by dissolving away the surface at intervals. Thus these and related results have suggested that the metal structure in fatigue bands may disintegrate and that this may happen long before obvious cracking. These surface studies, however, have not shown definitely how cracking may begin, for they do not show sufficiently what is happening in depth. However, some advance in this direction has been made recently by a new approach, summarized later, which reveals slip bands and their surface disturbances in section. In the work done thus far, the sections have been studied by optical microscopy only. In the present work they have also been studied by electron microscopy with extended results. This paper also describes some observations on the surface disturbances prior to sectioning. These observations are relevant to a suggested theory of fatigue cracking. REVERSED SLIP MOVEMENTS Slip movements in fatigue deformation must reverse direction in each cycle. The question arises: DO the "backward" and "forward" movements take

Jan 1, 1962

By R. J. Watson

In an earlier paper, Ehrenburg and Watson1 published the develop ment for a potential function by which it is possible to obtain the electric potential at points on the surface of the ground when a current I passes between two electrodes and the subsoil is composed of parallel, homogeneous layers. In view of the continued interest in the resistivity method of electrical prospecting, the author has considered it desirable to publish the results of a number of theoretical studies making use of this potential function, and also the results of a considerable number of tests with models designed to show the soundness of the mathematical theory. It is hoped that these results will prove how erroneous the various empirical rules for depth determination may be. It has always seemed puzzling to the author that one can find, in papers published comparatively recently, statements upholding empirical rules for depth determination, and attributing most of the irregularities of resistivity curves to vertical discontinuities in resistivity in the subsoil. It would indeed be fortunate for the geophysical investigator if such a simple rule held. However, numerous investigators have proved both theoretically and by the success of their field work that such a rule does not hold, even by a "rough approximation" in many cases. On the other hand, as is shown in the development to follow, if the underground conditions are favorable it is possible for such empirical rules to give a satisfactory depth determination. Authors should be more careful about making such sweeping statements about the accuracy of these empirical rules because the relative simplicity of the field work places the method in the hands of any interested experimenter, and he is likely to become completely disgusted with the method after he has made several obviously wrong interpretations by empirical rules. There are simple and rapid methods for finding out whether the ground beneath the electrodes is sufficiently similar to the conditions

Jan 1, 1934