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By E. J. Eisenach, Edward Matsen

AT the present time the Climax Molybdenum Co. is the largest molybdenum producer in the world and the operator of the largest underground mine in North America. It has grown steadily and rapidly since its beginning in 1917. Only 250,000 lb of MoS2 were produced during the first year from 1917 to 1918 when the company was formed. Operations were suspended shortly thereafter because of the lack of a market and knowledge of the uses of molybdenum. During World War I it was used as a substitute for some rare metals and for minor chemical purposes. After 5 years of intensive research and sales promotion, Climax metallurgists succeeded in finding proper applications for the newly discovered metal and the mine was reopened in 1924. Demand for molybdenum increased gradually and in 1930, 3.5 million lb of MoS2 were produced. In the meantime, research work for additional uses of molybdenum continued until it had established itself as one of the most important alloying elements in producing high quality steels. After the start of World War 11, from January 1942 to October 1953, 43 million tons of molybdenum ore were mined and 484 million lb of MoS2 were produced. Climax mine is located in Colorado, 100 miles southwest of Denver and 12 miles northeast of Leadville on the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains. The principal mine workings range from 11,170 to 12,000 ft in elevation. Topographically, it lies in the base of a large cirque that is surrounded by Mt. Bartlett to the north, Clinton Peak and McNamee Peak to the east and Ceresco Ridge to the south. This cirque opens to the west and to the Ten Mile Valley.

Jan 3, 1954

By Notman, Arthur

THIS is a day of surpluses, some good and some not so good. One can hardly pick up a newspaper, magazine, review or economic treatise without confronting the fact that we have or are threatened with more .of certain goods than we have use for, whether it be corn, wheat, cotton, coal or oil, -lumber, 'leather, newsprint, automobiles, zinc, lead, copper or what not. How did this unprecedented state of affairs arise? Who is to blame? How shall we avoid smothering ourselves in our own production? The voice of the farmer is raised in appeal to the Government to relieve him from the dilemma of his own fertility. In answer the Government employs thousands of experts and spends millions of dollars to aid the farmer. But to what end? To make him still more efficient so that he may produce even greater surpluses? Not satisfied with the result, it spends other millions to prepare vast areas of the arid land of the West for more farmers to cultivate and insure yet larger surpluses. Then what? Naturally another appeal to the Government to fix prices by financing the

Jan 1, 1928

By AIME AIME

The XCVIIth meeting of the Institute for the reading and discussion of papers will be held at Spokane, Wash., beginning Monday, Sept. 27, 1909, as already announced in Special Circulars of May 8 and Aug. 14, 1909, and in the Bulletins for June, July, and August. The meeting will be preceded by a tour through Yellow stone Park and visits to Butte and Anaconda, and will be followed by visits to the Coeur d'Alene district, to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at Seattle, to the mining- and smelting-plants near Salt Lake, and to the iron- and lead- and zinc-plants at Pueblo. The special train for the party' will leave Chicago, September 16, and return about October 12. Details of the itinerary are given later in this announcement. The Secretary of the Spokane Local Committee is Lyndon K. Armstrong, 615 Hyde Block, Spokane, Wash., to whom should be addressed all inquiries concerning local matters. The control of the papers and proceedings will remain in charge of the Institute office, as usual. It is greatly to be desired, both in behalf of the Institute and in recognition of the many courtesies to be extended on the trip, that the excursion party be made larger. Exceptional facilities to visit the many mines and smelters have been freely provided; and members are requested to make all reasonable effort to attend the meeting at Spokane and participate in the excursions. For those who cannot join in the entire trip, it may be possible to provide special Pullman accommodations after leaving Yellowstone Park. In order to make the necessary arrangement, however, the names of members and guests contemplating this partial trip should be sent at once to Theodore Dwight, 29 West 39th Street, New York City. The general cost of the trip per member will be $300, which includes transportation, berth, and meals for the entire trip from

Sep 1, 1909

By Henry Wurtz

Jan 1, 1880

By Max Hebgen

Within the State of Montana the streams rise in the high mountains at. an elevation of from 5,000 to 8,000 ft. These streams leave the State line both east and west at elevations from 3,500 to 2,400 ft. It is, therefore, apparent. that all these streams have an average fall of 3,000 ft. within the confines of the. State, and many opportunities are presented on all streams. for the development of power, by taking advantage of the natural fall. It is probable that 1,000,000 h. p. can :be developed in the State of Montana. I. NATURAL FEATURES OF STATE AFFECTING POWER DEVELOPMENT. The main. range of the Rocky mountains, forming the Continental Divide, cuts the State of Montana into two parts. The eastern part is drained by the Missouri river and its tributaries, the Madison; Jefferson, Gallatin and Yellowstone, rivers. The western part is drained by tributaries to the Columbia river, the Clarks fork and the Kootenai river. The Clarks fork in turn is formed by the junction of Missoula and Flathead rivers, the latter, draining Flathead lake. The western part of the State. is mountainous and the eastern part is comparatively level. As a natural result the rivers in the western part are capable of generating large amounts of power, while in the eastern part of the State natural power sites are much fewer and farther apart. It also follows that in the mountainous districts large amounts of power are required for the mining industry, while in the eastern part of the State, which is principally devoted to agriculture, power is required in smaller quantities. ?

Jan 8, 1913

By J. B. Conway

RECENT studies of first-stage creep data have led to a special least-squares procedure for use in calculating the Andrade creep-equation constants. This procedure is easy to apply, uses only experimental data, and yields results which do not vary with the individual making the analysis. Taking logarithms of the Andrade equation I = lo(1 +ßl1/3)ekt leads to In l = In lo + In(1 + ßl1/3) + kt A residual can then be defined as the difference between the logarithm of an experimental length value and the logarithm of a calculated length value. Following the usual least-squares approach differentiation with respect to 10 and k of the expression for the sum of the squares of the residuals leads to two equations which cannot be solved directly for the three constants involved. However, values of ß can be assumed and corresponding values of lo and k can then be calculated. Then the sum of the squares of the residuals can be calculated. For a certain value of ß this sum will exhibit a minimum value to identify the least-squares values for ß, lo, and k. An illustration of the application of the above least-squares approach is obtained by employing the creep data for lead originally presented by Andrade' in the development of the one-third creep law. A plot of the sum of the squares of the residuals as a function of ß is shown in Fig. 1 along with the corresponding lo and k values. The minimum is seen to occur at ß = 0.0143 from which lo = 39.149 and k = 7.27 x 10-5. Based on these results the Andrade equation for these lead data is 1 = 39.149(1 + 0.0143 t1/3)e7.27 x 10-5t compared to the equation I = 39.13(1 + 0.01457/l/3)e6.95 X 10-5t developed by Andrade (calculation procedure not given but was probably a graphical solution). Calculating length values using the above equations and comparing with the experimental length values, residuals corresponding to the difference between experimental and calculated length values can be obtained. The sum of the squares of the residuals can then be calculated. For the case of the least-squares approach a value for this sum was found to be 2.37 x 10-3 compared to a value of 3.47 x 10" for the equation originally proposed by Andrade. In other words, while the constants proposed by Andrade provide an excellent fit for the lead data, a still better representation is afforded by applying the least-squares approach discussed above. A similar result was obtained for the lead data at 162oc.l The least-squares approach led to 1 = 9.866(1 + 0.0497 t1/3)el.011 x 10-2t compared to the equation I = 9.94(1 + 0.0433 l1/3)e1.06 X 10-2t given by Andrade. In this case, too, the sum of the squares of the residuals is slightly smaller for the equation based on the least-squares approach. It should be pointed out that a double trial and er-

Jan 1, 1965

By Henry Howe

W. E. RUDER, Schenectady, N. Y.-In 1913 I presented a paper before this society on Grain Growth, and at that time it seemed to me that the only explanation for grain growth was that of critical strain. I do not think I published the photographs at the time, but I made some experiments on the effect of stretching sheets of metal. This allowed for fairly accurate determinations of the amount of cold deformation, At the time I worked-with silicon steel because one could see the change in grain growth with the naked eye. I stretched about 10-samples from 0.5 per cent. to 10 per cent., and, after heating to 1,050° C., I found that the maximum grain growth occurred at about 2 ½ per cent. cold deformation. This I designated "the critical strain" for maximum grain growth. About a year ago I talked with Prof. Jeffries, who explained to me his ideas of grain growth. It occurred to me that it would be a very easy thing to check the strain hypothesis against the strain and temperature hypothesis, if we took a certain number of these strips, strained exactly alike and heated to different temperatures; in that case the maximum grain growth ought to appear at a different percentage of deformation for each temperature. These experiments showed that there was, as Mr. Jeffries shows in his present paper, a decrease in germinative temperature with increased cold deformation. The samples were stretched from ½ to 8 per cent. and heated for 10 hr. in hydrogen. Samples were introduced into a furnace previously heated to temperature. A maximum grain growth was obtained at 5 per cent. deformation, when heated to 750° C.; at 2 ½ per cent. when heated to 800' C.; at 1 1/4 per cent., if heated at 950°C.; and at 5/8 per cent.. when heated at 1,100° C. This shows very clearly that the germinative temperature decreases with the increase in cold deformation. The growth was very much more marked, however, at the high temperature, i.e., the grain grew more rapidly and attained a much larger size than at lower temperature. In considering the photographs (Fig. A) those along the lateral edges should be ignored because.

Jan 4, 1917

Jan 1, 1970

By H. B. Pulsifier

The following report on the structure of copper is the result of work done in the laboratory of the Rome Wire Co. early in 1925. Previous work had indicated to the author that excellent results might be expected if a suitable technique in surfacing and etching could be developed. The resources of the Rome Wire Co. enabled this metal to be studied more intensively than previously, although none of the materials were investigated exhaustively. The material presented is hardly more than a preliminary summary of the most obvious character of the metal; a much longer research would have been necessary to solve many of the pressing problems connected with the casting and working of copper. The Rome Wire Co. has generously released the paper; to Dr. E. H. Darby, technical supervisor of the company, are due particular thanks for his appreciation of the importance of metallographic study of copper and for his effective support in the prosecution of the work and in making its publication possible. Dendrites, Cells and Granules The microscope reveals at least three orders of structural units in copper, as in other metals. The largest structural units are the dendrites —spine-shaped crystals building up the masses of metal when it solidifies from a melt or is crystallized from solutions by chemicals or electricity. The nucleus cells, commonly called "grains," are the largest and most conspicuous units of recrystallized solid metal; the limitations of their growth usually confine their sizes to microscopic proportions, although in "single crystals" they may become as large as the piece of metal itself. The granules are the microscopic fine-structural blocks or laminations that build up the nucleus cells; they are revealed when metal is etched with suitable chemicals. The granules are commonly visible at 500 diameters magnification and are plainly visible at 1000 diameters; magnification of the granular surfaces up to 6000 to 9000 diameters shows no finer units, not because of lack of optical resolution but because the chemical attack has left an unfeatured smooth surface.

Jan 1, 1926

Jan 1, 1970

Jan 1, 1967

By Henry Wurtz

HERACLITUS, a sage of antiquity, called the dark philosopher, who refused a throne, preferring a hermit's cell, propounded, twenty-four centuries since, the maxim : [ ] War (or strife) engenders all things. This, though probably intended by Heraclitus to apply especially to the internal forces of nature, is often said, with equal reason, of the affairs of men. Controversial strife, whether fortunately or unfortunately, is a crucible through which all new discoveries in science, and all technical applications of science must pass-a test which they must all endure before they can become so vitalized as to germinate, so to speak, take root in the human mind, grow tip, and overspread the earth. The greater the number and the power of the elements arrayed against such a growth, and of the influences hostile thereto, the greater should be the inherent vitality of the germ, the more strenuous, skilful, and persistent its cultivators and upholders. During the decade last past we have had, in spite of the severe stringency of the times, an active growth of this kind in progress, whose prospective importance it would now be difficult to overrate. This is the movement which has for its motive the idea that, generally speaking, fuel should be gaseous in form, and which has for its goal the introduction into general public use of gaseous products, made by cheap and rapid processes and on a gigantic scale, distributed throughout our cities and towns in distribution-systems which shall be proportionately gigantic, and sold at prices which will bring such fuel within the means of the poorest householders. Personally, for ten years past, the writer has never failed, on occasions public or private, to urge his belief that the realization of this idea, deemed by him a certainty of the future, will bring about

Jan 1, 1880

By G. A. Beske, P. Hilsch, J. Wulff

The effects of the growth precipitates on the su-perconduching properties of an Al- 15 al. pel Zu alloy have been studied using magneization, transition lem-perature, and residual resistivity measurements. Aging at 230C for 1/2 to 11 he produces an increase in Hfp, Ike field of first penetration, and tut increase in trapped flux. The upper critical field, Hc2 remains constant for such aging tunes. Aging at 200°C produces a decrease in Hfp and an increase in trapped flux. The transition temperature remains constant at Tc - 1.227° ± 0.02°K for aging at 220°C for tims of from 1/2 to 10 hr, and for aging at 200°C it remains constant at Tc. = 1.18° i 0.02°K for times from 1/2 hv to 26 hr. The observed behavior indicates that the superconducting matrix when aged at 220°C behaves tike a type U su-perconducior, but when aged at 200°C behares like a type I superconductor. The magnetization changes after aging can be attributed to the growth and clutnge in distribution of the precipitate in a matrix of fixed composition. IT has been realized for some time that the superconducting properties of alloys are highly structure-sensitive. This is evident in the work of Mould and Mapother1 who examined the properties of an aluminum alloy. Precipitation effects have also been briefly mentioned in other studies.2-4 Bonnin and coworkers5 have observed a sharp inc rease in trapped flux in an A1-Mg alloy when the residual resistivity reaches a value that indicates it is a type II superconductor. Recently Blanc, Goodman, and Nemoz5p have reported on precipitation effects in A1-Ag alloys. Detailed studies of precipitation in Pb-Sn and Pb-Cd alloys made by Livingston6 serve to show that the upper critical fields are enhanced by quenched-in solute. Furthermore. at various stages in the precipitation process? the upper critical field is determined largely by the remanent solute. The observed magnetic hysteresis and trapped flux in such alloys result from the interaction between precipitate and the flux filaments in the mixed state. The flux trapping appears to depend largely on the precipitate distribution and is greater if the superconductor is type II than if it is type I. To examine the effect of precipitation in another alloy system, particularly one in which the composition of the superconducting phase does not change significantly during the course of precipitation, the Al-Zn system seems interesting, especially in view of the transition temperature and resistivity studies of Chiou and seraphim.' Furthermore, the recent detailed electron-microscope studies of an Al-Zn alloy by Richards and Garwood8 provide a guide for relating superconducting properties to changes in structure. For these reasons, magnetization, transition temperature, and residual resistivity measurements for varying times of heat treatment at two temperatures were made with a -15 at. pct Al-Zn alloy. The results are reported in this paper. I) EXPERIMENTAL The alloy used was prepared by Cominco Products Inc. from 99.9999 A1 and 99.999 Zn. It was chill-cast, swaged, and drawn to 0.125-in.-diam rod. The analyzed composition was 15.6 at. pct Zn (31.1 wt pct). A jeweler's saw was used to cut the 0.125-in.-diam rod into the 0.875-in. lengths needed for magnetization measurements. The ends of the cylinders were slightly beveled to remove the sharp edges. A portion of the original 0.125-in.-diam rod was drawn into 0.010-in.-diam wire and used for transition temperature measurements. Specimens were suspended from wires within a vertical furnace during heat treatment. All were homogenized at 500°C for a minimum of 3 days and subsequently solutionized for times in excess of 6 hr. The solutionizing temperature was held constant to +3°C. Individual specimens were homogenized, quenched, and aged several times and no effects indicating loss of zinc were noted. The suspended specimens were quenched by cutting the wires and allowing the specimens to fall into a silicone oil bath held at the aging temperature. They were then isothermally transforked by aging in the same bath used for quenching. After aging for the required time (approximately 10 min aging was necessary before the upper critical field reached a fixed value), they were briefly (1 to 2 sec) dipped into an acetone bath at room temperature to remove adherent oil and then immediately transferred to liquid nitrogen where they remained until inserted into the helium bath (usually within an hour). The temperature of the aging bath was held constant to +3°C for longer aging times. The cryostat used for the measurement of superconducting properties consisted of outer and inner dewars for liquid nitrogen and liquid helium, Stokes 6-in. booster diffusion pump and Stokes Model 212 mechanical pump, temperature controller to measure and control the temperature of the helium bath, and a superconducting solenoid with inserted search coils to provide the magnetic field and measure the magnetic moment of the specimens. A schematic diagram of the cryostat is shown in Fig. 1. An ultimate temperature of 0.85°K was reached with this apparatus. The temperature controller used is similar to the one described by Blake and chase.' A 0.5 pct Allen-Bradley carbon resistor and a nichronle heater (200

Jan 1, 1968

In the Bowen Basin of central Queensland, coal production has gone from virtually nothing in 1961 to more than 24 million tons today4ut there's a cloud over this success.

Jan 1, 1977

CONTENTS PAGE FOGLER, M. F., and QUINN, E. J.-Scratch and Brinell Hardness of Severely Cold-rolled Metals. Discussed by H. S. Rawdon, Carl Benedicks, M. F. Fogler, A. L.Davis 1 GREEN, C. H. Eutectic Patterns in Metallic Alloys. Discussed by Carl Benedicks, Carle R. Hayward, G. E. Dalbey, George F. Comstock, C. H. Green. 3 ARCHER, ROBERT S., and JEFFRIES, ZAY.-New Developments in High-strength Aluminum Alloys. - Discussed by F. B. Coyle, M. F. Fogler, Zay. Jeffries, D. J. McAdam, Jr., Horace C. Knerr, Ernest Schweizer 6 FLICK, FULTON B.-Etching Aluminum and Its Alloys for Macroscopic and Microscopic Examination. Discussed by Samuel Daniels 22. MERICA, PAUL D., and WALTENBERG, R. G.-The Malleability of Nickel. Discussed by H. W. Gillett, Ancel St. John. L. W. McKeehan, A. L. Feild, A. L. Davis 23 ANDERSON, ROBERT J., and NORTON, JOHN T.-X-ray Evidence Versus the Amorphous-metal Hypothesis. Discussed by Zay Jeffries, Chu Phay Yap, Francis B. Foley, H. H. Lester, Edgar C. Bain, Ancel St. John, L. W. McKeehan, Carle R. Hayward, R. P: Heuer, Jerome Alexander, Carl Benedicks 26 COOK, MAURICE, and EVANS, ULICK R.-Recrystallization and Grain Growth in Soft Metals. Discussed by M. F. Fogler 36 POLUSHKIN, E. P.-Determination of Structural Composition of Alloys by a . Metallographic Planimeter. Discussed by H. S. Rawdon 36 BASSETT, WILLIAM H., and DAVIS, C. H.-Corrosion of Copper Alloys in Sea Water. Discussed by W. B. Price, W.. R. Webster, George A. Orrok, A. E. White, William H. Bassett, D. K. Crampton 38, Scratch and Brinell Hardness of Severely Cold-rolled Metals Discussion of the paper of M. F. FOGLER and E. J. QUINN, presented at the New York Meeting, February, 1925, and issued as Paper No. 1395-E with MINING AND METALLURGY, January, 1925. H. S. RAWDON, * Washington, D. C.-We had the privilege of looking over the data just given before they were published and we were not able to suggest any convincing reason for the differences that were secured

Jan 6, 1925

By E. F. La Vigne

On Aug. 10, 1884, the Retsof Mining Co. began the sinking of an 18 by 12-ft. shaft at Retsof, N. Y. Rock salt was reached in 1885, in September, at 1008 ft. below the surface. The first salt was shipped in the fall of 1885. A timber breaker was built in 1886. In July, 1895, there was a consolidation of the Retsof Mining Co., the Greigsville Salt & Mining Co., the Livonia Salt Co., and the Lehigh Salt & Mining Co. These consolidated salt companies are now known as the Retsof Mining Co., a subsidiary of the International Salt Go. Eventually all of the mines were closed except the mine of the Retsof Mining Co., at Retsof, Livingston County, New York. On July 6, 1921, about 1/2 mile south of the original shaft arid plant of the Retsof Mining Co., a new 9 by 28-ft. concrete-liried shaft was started. The shaft is 1063 ft. deep from the top of the shaft collar to the bottom of the salt bed. At the same time a reinforced-concrete breaker and other buildings were erccted. This new plant began operations on Dee. 15, 1923. It was designed for a capacity of 3000 tons in 8 hours. Geology The workable rock-salt bed is 1063 ft. below the surface and 326 ft. below sea level, and varies in thickness from 9 to 10 ft. The total thickness is greater than that but is contaminated with shale above and below the pure mineral. The characteristics of the formation are shown in Tables 1 and 2. The bed dips uniformly 0.87 per cent to the south. Prospecting As the salt deposil in New York State is known, very little prospecting has been necessary. Before the sinking of the Retsof No. 1 shaft, a well was drilled to prove the existence of salt. No. 1 shaft was sunk where the well was located. The several salt wells drilled in Livingston Courlty proved generally the existence of salt throughout the county. (See U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 669: Salt Resources of the U. S.)

Jan 1, 1938

By E. F. La Vigne

On Aug. 10, 1884, the Retsof Mining Co. began the sinking of an 18 by 12-ft. shaft at Retsof, N. Y. Rock salt was reached in 1885, in September, at 1008 ft. below the surface. The first salt was shipped in the fall of 1885. A timber breaker was built in 1886. In July, 1895, there was a consolidation of the Retsof Mining Co., the Greigsville Salt & Mining Co., the Livonia Salt Co., and the Lehigh Salt & Mining Co. These consolidated salt companies are now known as the Retsof Mining Co., a subsidiary of the International Salt Go. Eventually all of the mines were closed except the mine of the Retsof Mining Co., at Retsof, Livingston County, New York. On July 6, 1921, about 1/2 mile south of the original shaft arid plant of the Retsof Mining Co., a new 9 by 28-ft. concrete-liried shaft was started. The shaft is 1063 ft. deep from the top of the shaft collar to the bottom of the salt bed. At the same time a reinforced-concrete breaker and other buildings were erccted. This new plant began operations on Dee. 15, 1923. It was designed for a capacity of 3000 tons in 8 hours. Geology The workable rock-salt bed is 1063 ft. below the surface and 326 ft. below sea level, and varies in thickness from 9 to 10 ft. The total thickness is greater than that but is contaminated with shale above and below the pure mineral. The characteristics of the formation are shown in Tables 1 and 2. The bed dips uniformly 0.87 per cent to the south. Prospecting As the salt deposil in New York State is known, very little prospecting has been necessary. Before the sinking of the Retsof No. 1 shaft, a well was drilled to prove the existence of salt. No. 1 shaft was sunk where the well was located. The several salt wells drilled in Livingston Courlty proved generally the existence of salt throughout the county. (See U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 669: Salt Resources of the U. S.)

Jan 1, 1938

By E. L. Dougherty, J. W. Sheldon

A numerical method for computing the dynamical behavior of fluid- fluid interfaces is described. Results of studies made to assess the accuracy and economy of the method on a computer are reported. It is concluded that it is practical to obtain digital computer solutions for fluid- fluid interface problems with two space dimensions. PROBLEM DEFINITION We consider two-dimensional flow in a rectangle as shown in Fig. 1, where a fluid-fluid interface divides the rectangle into two regions. The pressure is specified along the lower boundary (the injection boundary) and upper boundary (the withdrawal boundary). There is to be no flow of fluid across the side boundaries, which are walls of symmetry for the flow, and px = 0 along these boundaries. The fluids are incompressible, the absolute permeability and porosity is constant, and each fluid has its own constant mobility. Thus, the pressure satisfies Laplace's equation in each region. Across the interface, pressure is continuous and the normal component of fluid flux is 1. These conditions are shown in Fig. 1. The velocity of a point on the interface in the direction of the normal from Fluid 1 into Fluid 2 is U,/ Q, where Un is the normal component of volumetric flux at the point on the interface, i.e., For brevity, we call the problem defined above "Problem A". Problem A is a simple example of a dynamical fluid-fluid interface problem. However, the same numerical methods which we use to solve Problem A can be extended to the solution of a large number of fluid-fluid interface problems which are mathematical models for various oil recovery processes,l hence our interest in Problem A. We define the interface by prescribing the x, y coordinates of a finite set of points. These points are called "interface mesh points" and are illustrated by triangles or asterisks in the figures. Fig. 2 is a procedural (flow) chart displaying the main steps in the solution. We comment briefly on some of these steps in this section and then give further details in subsequent sections. For mobility ratio greater than one it is well known that Problem A is unstable.*2 Small amplitude,

Jan 1, 1965

By A. H. Lee

Discussion of the paper of H. P. HOWLAND, printed in Bulletin No. 111, March, 1916, pp. 627 to 650. A. H. LEE, Buffalo, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary*). The statements and results recorded in Mr. Howland's paper can be accounted for by the use of coke with a low sulphur content (0.60 and under). This allows the furnaces to be run on a small volume of acid slag, which it is presumed was done in Mr. Howland's practice. H. A. Brassert has admitted that this was the largest factor in low fuel consumption in his practice. Where the coke contains from 1.00 to 1.25 per cent. of sulphur the situation is quite different and I doubt whether the results mentioned by Mr. Howland could be obtained under such circumstances. ` N. M. LANGDON, Mancelona, Mich. (communication to the Secretary + ).-Gruner's ideal working (which is but a statement of the law first enunciated by Bell) as given in Gordon's Translation of Studies of Blast Furnace Phenomena, "supposes that the reduction of the oxide of iron is effected by the CO only, without intervention of solid carbon." This ideal, if reached, would mean theoretically perfect or 100 per cent. efficiency of reduction. The workings of the large number of furnaces as given in Bell's and Gruner's great works do not show that this standard of perfection ever was reached. This problem has been worked out by the writer for a number of furnaces, and his results, as well as those given by others, all show a failure to reach perfection. Some furnaces, however, approach nearer to perfection than others. The "ideal" as given by Gruner was not stated as a solved problem in blast-furnace practice, but as an ideal to the attainment of which furnace managers should strive. A study of the factors involved from every angle is interesting and instructive and the paper on this subject contributed by H. P. Howland is no exception to the rule. This article is fairly open to criticism, not because of the unique method of presenting the subject, but for the reason that, as the writer conceives, erroneous assumptions are taken which lead naturally to incorrect conclusions.

Jan 7, 1916

By Raymond Mancha

TO determine the optimum inside dimension of an airshaft, it is necessary to strike the proper balance between the cost of power for air friction and turbulence losses within the airshaft, on the one hand, and the cost of sinking the airshaft, on the other. An airshaft larger than necessary is extravagant because the increased amortization rate exceeds the reduction in power cost. Conversely, an airshaft smaller than is needed wastes more power than can be justified by the corresponding reduction in amortization rate. The airshaft power is a function of the air volume Q cu. ft. per min. and the air- pressure drop p in. water gauge across the airshaft The airshaft pressure drop is calculated by the formula: [ ] wherein R is the air-friction coefficient for the portion of the airshaft 1 ft. deep, 0 ft. in perimeter and A sq. ft. in area, when passing an air volume of Q cu. ft. per minute. The airpower w kw. dissipated within the airshaft is computed by the formula: [ ] With a combined over-all unit efficiency of the fan and drive of E per cent, the air- shaft power requirements become [ ] There are 8760 hours per year, so with energy at I cent per kilowatt-hour the annual cost per kilowatt for continuous operation is $87.60; therefore, with energy at C$ per kw-hr. the annual airshaft power cost MI dollars per year becomes: [ ] which, expressed by the component parts, becomes : [] The amortization rate a dollars per year per dollar invested includes both depreciation and interest on the investment. These in turn involve the expected useful life of the airshaft and available monetary interest rate. For the purpose of this discussion the cost of airshaft sinking is assumed to comprise a fixed move-in charge Y dollars, which covers the cost of transporting, erecting and removing the shaft-sinking equipment and is independent of the air- shaft size. Also, it is assumed that the cost of shaft lining, if any, is fixed at $X per cu. yd. of lining material and that excava-

Jan 1, 1946