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By D. H. Davis

HAND picking was the earliest form of coal preparation, first practiced to improve the outward appearance of the coal being loaded and to remove any pieces that might appear objection- able to the buyer. It is still extensively practiced on the plus 1-in. sizes, and particularly on the plus 4-in. and larger sizes. The percentage of ash reduction that can be obtained by hand picking depends entirely upon the amount of free impurity occurring in the coal. In a particularly dirty seam, where a considerable quantity of rock occurs with the coal as mined, hand picking produces sizable reductions in ash. If the coal is prepared clean at the working face hand picking is a final check; in some cases, on the smaller sizes, it is practiced only to show that an effort is being made to prepare a clean product. Because of the variety and different methods of handling coal, the early plants were not always adapted for efficient hand picking. At most mines an attempt is made to remove the visual impurities at one or more of the following places in the surface plant:2 (1) in the tipple during screening; (2) on picking band, belt, or shaking conveyors;. (3) during the loading of the coal as it goes into the railroad car. Whatever the physical arrangements of the plant may be, the usual practice is to run the coal over the screen, picking table or boom at such a rate that each-piece of impurity is exposed to the view of the picker. Coal should be uniformly sized and spread out on the table so as not to exceed one particle in depth. The flow should be even in tonnage and the speed of travel should be from 30 to 60 ft. per minute and not 'exceed 80 ft. per minute. The dirtier the coal, the slower the speed required for a fixed number of pickers. Actually, picking capacity depends on the number of particles per minute that can be picked out and-rejected. The percentage of impurity removed is determined by this and the average weight of piece rejected. Handling a mixture of sizes from nut to the largest lump over the same picking table or conveyor is not conducive to efficient separation by hand picking because the lump hides the smaller impurities. Picking tables should not exceed 5 ft, in width, so that a picker on either side will be able to remove impurities from the center of

Jan 1, 1943

CHARGING of an open-hearth heat is begun as soon as possible after the previous heat has been tapped. Ordinarily, about 40 min is required to drain and dress the furnace hearth, make up the taphole, and perform routine repairs of the banks. Repairs to the upper back wall and to the front wall and jambs can ordinarily be done while the first scrap charge is being heated and are therefore allowed to wait in order to save furnace time. Any major repairs required on the hearth or other parts of the furnace necessitate longer delays because such repairs must be made while the furnace is empty. Although charging practice varies considerably in detail with the type and proportions of scrap and iron used, many factors are common to all varieties of charge. Such general considerations are dealt with first. CHARGING EQUIPMENT AND STOCK HANDLING The physical equipment available for loading and weighing the stock, transporting it to the furnace, and charging it, may have a major effect on charging practice. Limestone, scrap, and all other solid melting stock are charged mechanically by means of equipment illustrated in Fig 2-1. The charging of hot metal is shown in the background of this figure. Mechanical equipment and plant layout for stock handling are described in Chapter 1. It is generally desirable to charge the scrap about as fast as the physical volume can be put into the furnace. Charging scrap that is too heavy or adding the charge too rapidly (less than 45 min) may be detrimental to melting rate because of excessive chilling of the entire furnace system and also because of poor conduction of heat to the lower layers in the furnace; but the more common problem is the reverse one of charging light 'scrap fast enough to maintain a normal heat time. A limiting factor may be the height to which the scrap may he piled in the fur-

Jan 1, 1951

By Prakash C. Kapur

Many balling and gradation system6 generate self- similar size distributions of the agglomerates. Inspection of the experimental data shows that this is also true of the steady state distributions resulting from the granulation of coarse, partially wet powders, for example, the fertilizer feeds. This result is exploited in the derivations of a number of simple and useful relationships that are pertinent to the analysis of these agglomeration systems. The bonding liquid demand of the granulating charge is a third order polynomial function of the dimensionless ratio of feed particle size to median granule diameter in the weight-fraction distribution. The median size, in turn, is the scale factor or characteristic size parameter in the similarity distribution. The granule size distribution, therefore, is completely specified by the liquid content and the similarity function, and so are the process efficiency and the ungranulated component In the product at steady state.

Jan 1, 1977

By Robert Glass Cleland

BECAUSE of the country's vast mineral resources, Alexander Von Humboldt, the great German scientist who visited Mexico, or the Kingdom of New Spain, a hundred and fifty years ago, very aptly called that country the "Treasure Chest of the World." During the three centuries of Spanish rule, mining was the principal industry of the kingdom, the largest contributor to the country's prosperity, the chief common denominator in Mexican economic life. Public revenues and private fortunes, employment and markets, agriculture and trade, charities and churches, the incentive for frontier settlement and exploration, and the funds for outfitting the expedition of colonizer and conquistador-all were dependent upon the streams of precious metals that flowed century after century from the mines of Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Real del Monte, San Luis Potosi, and scores of other minería that lay scattered everywhere throughout the land. Sonora, one of the oldest and most renowned of the frontier provinces of New Spain, had been the scene of a hundred rich strikes, sudden stampedes, and widely heralded bonanzas long before the famous and frenzied Gold Rush

Jan 1, 1952

By Albert Sauveur

Some writers believe that when austenite transforms completely into pearlite on slow cooling through the thermal critical range, such transformation does not imply the formation of any of the so-called transition constituents: martensite, troostite and sorbite. Might it not be claimed with as much justification that when water freezes it does so suddenly, solid ice being obtained without passing through the intermediate stages of ice and water? Obviously, regardless of the speed of solidification, this would be erroneous. Before reaching the completed solid condition, this must of necessity pass through an unbroken series of stages when the system consists of mixtures of water and of ice, the former decreasing and the latter increasing in amount. Are not these "transitionV stages in the freezing of water similar to the transition stages occurring in the transformation of austenite into pearlite? To clarify, let us consider in Fig. 1 the mechanism of the transformation of eutectoid steel from its austenitic to its pearlitic condition as it cools slowly through its thermal critical range. It is generally admitted that this transformation is the result of two distinct phenomena: (1) the allotropic change of gamma iron into alpha iron and (2) the crystallizing out of solution of the carbide Fe3C. Whether this crystallizing of Fe3C implies also its formation is immaterial for our purpose. In other words, whether it is the carbon in atomic dispersion which is present in gamma iron or molecules of Fe3C has no bearing upon the matter to be discussed. The transformation of gamma iron into alpha iron cannot take place suddenly. It must of necessity be progressive, regardless of the speed with which it may take place. At A, for instance, there would be present AB gamma iron and BC alpha iron. The distance MN does not refer to falling temperature, but to the passage of time. It may be assumed that the transformation takes place at a constant temperature (the Ar321 point). In a similar way, the crystallization of Fe3C out of the austenite solid solution must be progressive as depicted between M and N. At A there would be present AB gamma iron, BC alpha iron, CD carbon dissolved in gamma and in alpha iron and DE Fe3C. This condition may be described according to individual preference as martensite or troostite. To sum up, can the metal pass from condition

Jan 1, 1931

ONE of the interesting-though not unnatural-features of the whole Porphyry Copper development is the way in which the history of each property dovetails with that of one or more of the others. The same names keep cropping up as one digs into the accounts of events from 1900 to 1915. J. Parke Channing made examinations of Nevada, Ray, and Inspiration, as well as of Miami. Henry Krumb did important work in the early stages of the exploitation of Utah, Nevada, Ray, Braden, and Inspiration. Pope Yeatman was favorably impressed with the Braden property before he had ever visited it, when he saw a batch of Braden ore sent to the United States for testing. It reminded him immediately of Nevada Consolidated ore: indeed, he was unwilling at first to believe that it came from South America. And it was while working on the examination at Utah Copper that Philip Wiseman became enthused with the possibilities of the Ray mines. In 1905, Mr. Krumb, under the general direction of A. Chester Beatty, was strenuously engaged at Bingham, Utah, in arriving at an answer to this question: Should or should not the Guggenheim interests back Jackling to the tune of several million dollars to build the big concentrators at Gafield? Seeley W. Mudd was the Guggenheim engineer on the Pacific coast and in that capacity was indirectly responsible for the work at Bingham. At his suggestion Wiseman came up from Los Angeles as one of Krumb's assistants-at $5 per day, incidentally. A little later Mr. Mudd, in Utah on one of his visits, went down to Bingham. That evening in the old Hills Hotel in Markham Gulch he was going over reports with Mr. Krumb. Wiseman and some of the other engineers on Krumb's staff were present. During a breathing spell, Mudd expressed

Jan 1, 1933

By E. Lancaster-Jones

THE gravity magnitudes obtained by means of observations with the Eötvös balance in the field are necessarily resultant or total effects due to all abnormalities of mass distribution, including even the effects due to the ellipticity and rotational motion of the whole earth. Since the object of the survey is to isolate the effects which arise solely from some particular subterranean feature, and to deduce therefrom the configuration and extent of this feature, the first step is to eliminate from the observed effects all those due to "disturbing" (i, e., unwanted) features, whether above or below the surface of the ground. The disturbing features have different characteristics, according to their situation relative to the center of the balance and to the horizontal plane through the foot of the balance, or station point; this diversity was recognized by Eötvös, who divided the total effects into so-called Normal, Terrain, Topographical, Cartographical and Subterranean effects. This classification has been adhered to by most subsequent investigators, but the writer prefers to employ the term "three-dimensional," which really indicates the essential character of the class of effect known as "Subterranean," at any, rate from the standpoint of the computer of effects. Before disturbing effects can be eliminated, the features must be measured up or surveyed, whether by topographical, mining, or boring methods, and then the effects of each feature calculated and subtracted from the total observed effects. After this the problem of interpreting the residual effects will itself necessitate the computation of the assumed feature, or even a series of trial features.

Jan 1, 1928

By E. H. Tenney

A discussion of the probable future use of coal for power development involves the study of several basic factors, such as future demand for power, the quantity and availability of fuels in direct competition with coal, the price of coal, and a closely related factor—the efficiency and cost of fuel utilization. Predictions based on purely statistical analyses of past coal consumption have definite limitations. For example, statistics showing the relation between coal utilization and total energy consumption from all sources between the years 1890 to 1930 indicate that during that period the energy consumption per person in the United States increased five times, while the coal consumption per person increased only twice1, and there has been an actual decrease in per capita coal consumption since 1920. Figures such as these, compiled by authentic agencies, emphasize the need for caution in attempting estimates as to the future use of coal, and, incidentally, would seem to offer little basis for optimism in the coal industry. They also suggest the value of analyzing broadly the part played in the past by the related factors of power consumption, competitive fuels, coal prices and the efficiency of utilization. Proper weight must also be given in such a study to the present status and limitations of power-plant developments, arid to the question of what the coal industry itself can do to further its own interests arid influence the consumption of its product.

Jan 1, 1936

By Paul Tyler

THE extensive employment of nonmetallic minerals antedates the use of metals, but only within the last two decades has the production of nonmetals begun actually to keep pace with the complicated activities which characterize the so-called Machine Age. The economic changes ushered in by the Industrial Revolution were reflected first in an increased demand for metals and for fuels. In the modern sense, therefore, the nonmetallic mineral industries are new and afford new opportunities for engineer and economist alike. A certain amount of caution is indicated, therefore, before attempting to apply ready-made formulas to the problems of these industries. Economics is not an exact science. In the field of production technology where the number of variables is fairly well known, the principles of economics are readily applicable, but as the student proceeds through the province of marketing into the unexplored regions of psychology and sociology he must distinguish carefully between scientific reasoning and purely metaphysical speculation, even when the latter masquerades as economics. The present paper attempts to prove no preconceived theorems and is designed primarily to stimulate careful thinking on sundry neglected phases of these industries. An attempt is made to differentiate the general problems into single aspects which afford promise of being comprehended separately; also, some fundamental statistical data are presented, but merely to indicate a method of scientific approach applicable to more intensive studies.

Jan 1, 1933

By N. J. Grant, Masao Adachi

A number of Cu-SiO, and Cu-A1203 alloys of low oxide content, produced by internal oxidation of copper-silicon and copper-aluminum dilute solid solutions, were exposed at temperatures up to 1050°C for fairly long times to bring about partial or total re crystallization. The creep-rupture properties of these re crystallized alloys were compared to those in the as-extruded condition at 450° C. Some of the alloys were cold worked after re crystallization to note changes in creep-rupture properties, also at 450OC. SINCE the introduction of the SAP alloy in 1949,~ many studies have been carried out on similar oxide and intermetallic dispersion hardened alloys to determine properties and to establish the mechanisms involved in the strengthening process which led to stable, high-temperature behavior.'-' To date, it has been indicated that, however achieved, the structure should be composed of a continuous ductile metal matrix in which is dispersed a fine, submicron size, hard, insoluble second phase (or at least, essentially insoluble at temperatures very near the melting point), with a submicron or near submicron interparticle spacing. Stored energy, obtained by a high strain rate deformation process appears desirable, as an additional strengthening means beyond pure dispersion.=

Jan 1, 1961

By G. Broughton

For the past few years a great amount of work has been done on the viscosity characteristics and gelation of clay suspensions, much of which has been reported in papers published by the Institute.7,12,18,19,24 Impor-tant reviews have been made elsewhere by Evans and Reid,10 Marshall20 and Clews, Macey and Rigby,8 the last two on the general properties of clay. It is unnecessary, therefore, to recapitulate past work beyond recalling that three explanations for the high viscosity and gelation of clay suspensions have been put forward. For lack of more exact nomencla-ture, these may be called the water hull,16 mechanical interference" and attraction-repulsion" theories. The first pictures the clay particles as surrounded by relatively rigid water envelopes, which increase effective volume; the second emphasizes the mechanical interference of platy particles or their agglomerates; while in the third the particles are assumed to be held relatively rigidly at a distance from each other determined by the balance between the attractive (van der Waal's) forces and the elec-trical repulsions of the charges. 13,14 This article presents fresh data on clay suspensions, particularly on the influence of previous flow history of the suspensions, specific contra-ions, temperature, solvation and particle size, in an attempt to contribute to the solution of the problem.

Jan 1, 1938

By Frank R. Van Horn

In the summer of 1908, R. B. Cochran, Superintendent of the Compania Metalurgica Mexicana at Sierra Mojada, Mexico, presented to the Department of Geology and Mineralogy at Case School of Applied Science an interesting series of silver-, copper-, and lead-ores from the Veta Rica mine. These ores contained several interesting minerals which were associated in a somewhat peculiar manner, so that I was impelled to make a closer study of their occurrence. The investigation has brought out several new facts concerning the geology of the district and the geological occurrence of the ores, and therefore has seemed worthy of record. Two papers have been published previously about the region, one by Chisml in 1887, and the other by Malcolmson² in 1902. These articles, however, treat of the district more from the stand-point of the metallurgist and mining engineer, and not much attention is devoted to its mineralogy and economic geology. 11. Geographical Location of the District. The Sierra Mojada is situated in the extreme western part of the State of Coahuila, near the Chihuahua boundary. It is reached best via the Mexican Central railroad from El Paso, Tex., to Escalon, Chihuahua, a distance of 494 miles. From this point, a branch line, the Mexican Northern railroad, runs 78 miles in a NE. direction to the mines, which are its northern terminus. The railroad was built about 1890, practically on account of the Sierra Mojada mining-district.

Jan 1, 1913

By E. H. Tenney

A discussion of the probable future use of coal for power development involves the study of several basic factors, such as future demand for power, the quantity and availability of fuels in direct competition with coal, the price of coal, and a closely related factor—the efficiency and cost of fuel utilization. Predictions based on purely statistical analyses of past coal consumption have definite limitations. For example, statistics showing the relation between coal utilization and total energy consumption from all sources between the years 1890 to 1930 indicate that during that period the energy consumption per person in the United States increased five times, while the coal consumption per person increased only twice1, and there has been an actual decrease in per capita coal consumption since 1920. Figures such as these, compiled by authentic agencies, emphasize the need for caution in attempting estimates as to the future use of coal, and, incidentally, would seem to offer little basis for optimism in the coal industry. They also suggest the value of analyzing broadly the part played in the past by the related factors of power consumption, competitive fuels, coal prices and the efficiency of utilization. Proper weight must also be given in such a study to the present status and limitations of power-plant developments, arid to the question of what the coal industry itself can do to further its own interests arid influence the consumption of its product.

Jan 1, 1936

By Volker Weiss, George Sachs, AE. P. Klier

PHYSICAL chemistry contributes to the understanding and efficient operation of hydrometal-lurgical processes in many ways, among them by providing quantitative answers to the following questions. 1) Can a given chemical reaction or process be made to operate and. if so, under what conditions? 2) what are the' factors which determine the rate of the reaction and how can this rate be regulated in practice? Thermodynamics attempts to answer the first of these questions and kinetics the second. The answer

Jan 1, 1958

By W. C. Elmore

THE magnetic powder method, long used. for roughly mapping mag-netic fields, has recently been refined 1,2 for investigating the microscopic variations in the surface magnetization of ferromagnetic crystals. Bitter2 first discovered regular powder patterns connected with the crystal structure of such specimens. Several other investigators3 have used Bitter's original technique, with slight modifications, to study the varia-tion of the patterns with variations in the magnetizing field applied parallel to the surface, and their dependence upon the state of strain, of polish and of crystal cut. All of the explanations of these patterns on metallic ferromagnetics have been couched in general terms. In a preliminary report we have described an improvement in the powder technique which led us to the discovery of a new effect throwing con-siderable light on the magnetic secondary structure of alpha iron4 and of nickels single crystals. We now report additional evidence confirming the existence and stability of a magnetic block secondary structure.

Jan 1, 1936

By John V. Beall

Many Americans will judge the energy crisis by the picture shrink on their TV screen. And they are right to make this assessment considering the large areas of the country with marginal generating capacity, (See Fig, 1). The Federal Power Commission (FPC) recommends 20-25% reserve generating capacity above peak summer loads and 15-20% as minimal. The New York metropolitan area is the most concentrated power service area in the United States, and a spot check with Consolidated Edison, serving this area, revealed that on Friday, August 18, the company was operating at 5% reserve.

Jan 10, 1972

By Robert Carlson, Hugh McMillan

During 1967, the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago adopted a policy of land application as a method of using the solids produced in the wastewater treatment process. Research by the Agronomy Department of the University of Illinois, several demonstrations on farm land, reclamation of acid strip-mine spoils, fertilizing a land fill, and reclamation of an alkaline sand waste pit showed the value of using wastewater solids to reclaim marginal and submarginal lands. To launch the Solids-On-Land Program, 10,000 acres of land in Fulton County, Ill., was purchased, part of it previously strip-mined for coal. The Sanitary District initiated a water monitoring program, constructed holding basins, leveled the land, awarded a liquid fertilizer transportation contract, installed a distribution end application system, and began application and crop production. During 1972, the Sanitary District completed the first year of application and harvested the first corn crop. The corn yielded 60 bu per acre while the previous year in a demonstration field it yielded 56 and 13 bu per acre, respectively, on treated and untreated strip-mined land.

Jan 1, 1976

By John Gross

A SURVEY of the status of ore dressing in 19231 placed particular stress on the need of research in the crushing and grinding of ore, especially on the need for a method of measuring the surface of the products obtained in crushing and grinding, and for fundamental data on the law of crushing, in order that intelligent conclusions may be drawn from actual crushing or grinding experiments. There has been no satisfactory means of determining the surface of crushed products. The results have been judged entirely by the amount of the various sizes produced, based on sieve sizing for particles above 74 microns in size and on microscopic measurement or elutriation for particles below 74 microns, a method which could give only a general idea of what had been accomplished. The fact that the long controversy between the followers of Kick and of Rittinger has resulted in no accepted conclusion is evidence of the need for fundamental data on the crushing law.

Jan 1, 1928

Jan 1, 1920

Discussion of the paper of HOWARD N. EAVENSON, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 98, February, 1915, pp. 413 to 430. WILLIAM H. GRADY, Bluefield, W. Va.-Mr. Eavenson gave a comparison between accidents in the State of West Virginia and in the Pocahontas field. The figures quoted are, I presume, taken from the reports of the State Mine Inspector. There are no statistics available, in readily accessible form, giving a comparison between the Pocahontas field and the mines of the United States Coal & Coke Co. which are a part of the field. It occurs to me that the paper would be more complete with these data and I will say that the mines of the Pocahontas field produced during the year 1913 about 15,000,000 tons, about 3,000,000 tons of which was produced by the United States Coal &Coke Co. This gives an indication of the extent of its operations. The Pocahontas field lies largely in the counties of McDowell, Mercer, and Wyoming in West Virginia, and Tazewell in Virginia.: Without consulting maps, I should say that all of the acreage under operation at present by this company lies wholly in McDowell County and that the average conditions off roof top and bottom in its mines are the average of the county, but that the worst conditions in some of these mines are the worst to be found in the county. The average conditions in Tazewell County are about the same as in McDowell County, except that the average thickness of the seam is much greater. The average conditions of top and roof and bottom are better in Mercer and Wyoming counties than in the mines of the United States Coal &. Coke Co.; the worst conditions in these counties are not so bad as in McDowell and Tazewell counties and the best are better than those encountered in McDowell and Tazewell counties; also the thickness of seam is less in Mercer and Wyoming counties. THOMAS W. DAWSON, Scottdale, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*).-The H. C. Frick Coke Co., the mines of which are in Fayette and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania, in the Connellsville coke region, has been pursuing a safety campaign for a number of years and a short resume .of its practices will be of interest in connection with Mr. Eavenson's paper.

Jan 5, 1915