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By R. E. Grace

WHEN an Fe-C alloy, partially reacted to pearl-ite, is quenched rapidly enough to suddenly stop the growth process, it may be expected that any carbon concentration gradients will freeze in situ in the newly formed martensite. A short tempering treatment should precipitate finely dispersed iron carbide particles in approximately the same distribution in which carbon existed during the growth process. Examination with the electron microscope of areas of tempered martensite adjacent to the pearlite-martensite interface should reveal the existence of preferred areas of precipitation. Fig. 1 is an example of an electron micrograph used in this study. Small sections of a commercial steel (0.9 pct C, 1.6 pct Mn, 0.25 pct Si) were austenitized at 945°C in air for 45 min, furnace-cooled to 697°C, iso-thermally reacted to pearlite for 30 min, and quenched into iced brine. Two samples were tempered 5 and 20 min, respectively, in air at 498°C and were subsequently quenched in water. The samples were mechanically polished and etched in 1 pct picral. Collodion replicas were made by the conventional technique; these were shadowed with chromium at about 650' from the horizontal, and electron micrographs were taken at a linear magnification of 14,200X. Prints were made at a magnification of 44,100X. Lineal analysis of the prints was made as a function of the interlamellar spacing and volume percent of iron carbide. Straight lines were drawn into tempered martensite between adjacent lamellae at a distance S/4 or S/6 apart, where S is defined as the interlamellar spacing measured at the pearlite-martensite interface. The volume percent of iron carbide was measured along each of these traces with a "gage length" of S/10. The results of analyses of two samples are shown in Table I. The area included between the S/2 and S distance from the interface could be considered homogeneous within the sensitivity of the measuring technique. This value was used as a proportionality factor to evaluate an arbitrary carbon content of homogeneous austenite, and also as a parameter by which error in measurements could be evaluated. Results of the lineal analysis are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 4 shows the statistical nature of the interlamellar spacing for all lamellae measured in this

Jan 1, 1954

By Robert G. Woolery, S. Ramachandran, James A. Weber, Donald J. Hansen

Union Carbide began looking seriously at heap leaching in 1971. At that time some 1.6 million tons of mineral averaging 0.40 kg U3O8 /t) (0.80 lb U3O8) were stockpiled at various sites around the Gas Hills, Wyoming, uranium facility. Several alternatives for economically exploiting these reserves were considered and heap leaching seemed the most attractive. At the time, Western Nuclear Inc. was operating a heap leaching project nearby in which the low-grade ore was leached with sulfuric acid, the product liquor treated in an on site solvent extraction circuit, and the stripped product liquor re-acidified and recycled. The operators were most generous in allowing us to visit their site and in answering our questions. They were also helpful in discussing the problems associated with heap leaching. Their experience confirmed our belief that it was possible to operate a heap leach profitably on material too low grade for conventional milling. Based largely on what we had learned from Western Nuclear's experience, we undertook a program involving a laboratory study to determine the characteristics of the mineral stockpiles, as related to heap leaching, and to conduct a pilot heap leach adjoining our Gas Hill mill. Basically the pilot heap construction and leach procedure were similar to those described in the literature l, 2 with certain modifications to permit detailed monitoring of the operation. In May 1972, the decision was made to construct a test heap. The UCC plant at Gas Hills, Wyoming was selected as the most appropriate site for the following reasons: (1) The necessary equipment for heap construction was readily available. (2) Stockpiles of mineral from the various mining sites were on hand: (3) Construction of the heap could be made on an abandoned tailings pile minimizing problems associated with environmental approval. (4) Proximity of the mill would allow product streams to be absorbed into existing circuits. (5) Necessary utilities were available. (6) Tailings water from the existing circuit could be used for leaching. A program for the pilot heap leach was developed with the following primary objectives. (1) To confirm the data obtained in bench-scale tests particularly on uranium recovery, acid usage, and ore permeability. (2) To evaluate plastic liners used for base preparation. (3) To investigate heap configuration variables. (4) To determine heap leach amenability of the different mineral sources. (5) To establish the economics of heap leaching low-grade ores.

Jan 1, 1979

By R. Littlewood

The concepts of "redox potential" and "oxide-ion activity" are suggested as measures of the fundamental slag properties of interest to the extraction metallurgist. Thermodynamic data for single oxides are presented graphically in these terms and a method of expressing desulfurization of steel in electrochemical terms is indicated. The application of the theovy to mixtures of oxides (slags) is discussed and the redox potential is shown to provide a link between all the redox equilibria in a slag-metal system. In particular, the redox potential of the slag, its basicity, and the oxygen partial It is now generally recognized that slags are mixtures of polymeric anions of silicates, aluminates, phosphates, and so forth, neutralized by cations. However, conventional thermodynamic treatments of slags have almost always been in terms of activities of the pure component oxides (e.g., SiO,, CaO, A1203, and so forth), which are known not to exist as such in slags. While this type of empirical treatment is perfectly acceptable and provides a rigorous and self-consistent way of considering thermodynamic properties, it can give little guide to the structure of slags, since its very nature ig- pressure are closely connected. Direct deternzination of these by electrode-potential measurements is possible. Literature calculations of ion activities in the system Ca0 -Fe0-SiO,/molten iron are used to evaluate redox potentials, which are shown to correlate with data on sulfur partition in the system. In addition to its application to equilibrium conditions, an electrochenzical approach to slag-metal reactions might provide a basis for new methods of studying the kinetics of these reactions and for plant-control instruments in the pyrometallurgical industries. nores such complications. Recently, the thermodynamic properties of some slags have been successfully interpreted in terms of activities of anions of varying degrees of complexity. (While these have been successful curve-fitting exercises, there is no direct implication that the anions used in the models are necessarily the ones which actually exist in slags.) The success of these ionic thermodynamic treatments is encouraging but a complete picture of slag structure is still a long way off. What is needed is a complete knowledge of the values of stability constants for all reactions in slags of the type:

Jan 1, 1965

By L. Zwell, H. A. Wriedt

In describing their procedure for measuring the lattice parameters of solid solutions, Abrahamson and Lopata report (p. 77) the final heat treatment of their alloy specimens as "700°C for 100 hr, followed by a furnace cool". The isothermal part of this treatment may be expected to precipitate solute in excess of the stable a solid-solution limit at 700°C; the subsequent slow cooling is likely to reduce the dissolved solute still further. Fig. 1 (upper) presents the data for titanium alloys so he;rt-treated and shows the lattice parameters of solid solutions containing up to 3.5 at. pct Ti; Fig. 17 (lower) shows 2 at. pct Ti as the solubility limit in a iron at 700°C. Figs. 1 and 17 are thus incompatible. The paper contains comparable incon~patibilities for zirconium alloys, for niobium alloys, and for tantalum alloys. The final heat treatment at 700°C may also be responsible for the anomalous "knee" in the lattice-parameter data for nickel alloys, Fig. 3. The "knee" composition is located near the 700°C limit of the stable a solid-solution field;37 alloys of the experimental composition range with more nickel than the "knee" composition are two-phase at 700 C and prolonged heat treatment of them at 700°C would tend to produce inhomogeneity rather than homogeneity. In Figs. 4 and 7, the composition ranges of the zirconium, hafnium, and niobium alloys examined terminate at alloy concentrations of 0.1 to 0.2 at. pct. These metals form very stable oxides and their partial removal from solid solution in iron by impurity oxygen may be expected. We believe that the authors should have reported the procedure by which they distinguished the amounts of alloying elements in solution and in oxide. The diagrams pertaining to copper in Figs. 3 and 18 (lower) are almost certainly incorrect. Three recent investigations of this system38-40 all substantially agree on the solubility of copper in a iron, finding it to be much larger than that reported by Abrahamson and Lopata. The change of the lattice parameter with composition reported by Abrahamson and Lopata is too large by a factor of three to five, as seen by comparison with the findings of other investigators.41738 Moreover, the authors violate, in Fig. 18, the accepted Fe-Cu constitution diagram37 by ignoring the eutectoid at about 850°C.

Jan 1, 1967

By S. F. Shaw

MINING conditions in Mexico during the current year have been most unfavorable, synchronizing with conditions in the United States, but the outlook for the near future is improving. The chief difficulties met with are because of the following conditions: severe drop in prices of metals; high smelting rates; high prices of supplies; inadequate means of transportation; low efficiency of labor. In comparison with pre-war prices for metals it cannot be said that prices are low, particularly for silver, which recently has gone to a level that would have been considered exceedingly good in 1912. But conditions have changed so greatly that only the most favorably situated properties can operate without loss.

Jan 1, 1921

By F. W. Lee

A GREAT CURTAILMENT of field activities among the geophysicists occurred last year, especially in prospecting for the common metals. In gold, however, an "outstanding achievement . . . was made by the engineers of Consolidated Goldfields. Here the suboutcrop of the Main Reef Series was traced from Middelvlei through properties of the westward area, a distance of from 30 to 40 miles. Here Drs. Reineche and Krahman prospected with the aid of a sensitive magnetometer and established the singularities of the various beds which heretofore had not been sufficiently appreciated. Several underlying shale beds were used to determine this suboutcrop under the dolomite. This area promises to be the equivalent of one-half the size of the present gold fields and to rank in value with the Far East Rand." The present temperature compensated magnetometers permit accurate field observations to less than 5 gammas. Since magnetic anomalies may have their origin due to a change of elevation as well as to the outcropping of a bed of another magnetically different material, intimate geological knowledge is of great assistance in the interpretation of these measurements. To what extent magnetic measurements reflect the basement when the material is homogeneous, consisting primarily of red granite, was determined by members of the Bureau of Mines and described by Dr. J. H. Swartz. Because of the diverse causes of magnetic anomalies, some of which were discussed and correlated by Stratton and Joyce upon known conditions, magnetometer measurements are often difficult to interpret.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. Lee Barrett

SO commonplace that they are seldom noticed, mining-machinr, bits have a definite and important bearing on the cost of coal production. At the average mine many thousands of bits are used during the year. The actual cost represented by the purchase of the bits used, as well as that of sharpening and handling them, represents a considerable sum of money. From the point of view of indirect costs they are important, as the lack of good bits at a mining machine can seriously impair production. Good bits tend to ensure an adequate supply of coal. Classes OF Bits Mining-machine bits may be divided into three general classes, based on shape and method of use: (I) chisel, (2) pick-point and (3) one-use. The chisel and pick-point bits are shown in Fig. I. The so-called "chisel" bits were made of steel of various sizes and were sharpened to a wide chisel cutting edge. Few of this type of bit are used, except in places where coring is very bad. Sometimes chisel bits are used with standard bits to help cut out the core. The "pick-point" bit is widely used today. Normally it is made from ½ by I-in. steel, is about 4½ in. long when new, has a rake angle of about 25°, a front clearance of about 23O, a side clearance of approximsteji 8".' There are many variations in the shape of this bit, depending on the ideas of the individual that may be dressing the dies of the bit machine. This bit has been generally used for many years and at present, in one form or another, is by far the most popular bit used in coal mines. This bit usually is made from 0.85 carbon steel, although in recent years some alloy-steel bits have made their appearance. At present, carbon-steel bits are frequently tipped in. hard facing materials. A third class of bits might be called the L'one-use" bit; that is, a small bit that is used once and then thrown away. These bits have two or three points, are usually made from 0.85 carbon steel and sometimes from higher alloys. Recently some. of them have been tipped with hard facing material. Most of them were used at first with special

Jan 1, 1942

By A. Lee Barrett

SO commonplace that they are seldom noticed, mining-machinr, bits have a definite and important bearing on the cost of coal production. At the average mine many thousands of bits are used during the year. The actual cost represented by the purchase of the bits used, as well as that of sharpening and handling them, represents a considerable sum of money. From the point of view of indirect costs they are important, as the lack of good bits at a mining machine can seriously impair production. Good bits tend to ensure an adequate supply of coal. Classes OF Bits Mining-machine bits may be divided into three general classes, based on shape and method of use: (I) chisel, (2) pick-point and (3) one-use. The chisel and pick-point bits are shown in Fig. I. The so-called "chisel" bits were made of steel of various sizes and were sharpened to a wide chisel cutting edge. Few of this type of bit are used, except in places where coring is very bad. Sometimes chisel bits are used with standard bits to help cut out the core. The "pick-point" bit is widely used today. Normally it is made from ½ by I-in. steel, is about 4½ in. long when new, has a rake angle of about 25°, a front clearance of about 23O, a side clearance of approximsteji 8".' There are many variations in the shape of this bit, depending on the ideas of the individual that may be dressing the dies of the bit machine. This bit has been generally used for many years and at present, in one form or another, is by far the most popular bit used in coal mines. This bit usually is made from 0.85 carbon steel, although in recent years some alloy-steel bits have made their appearance. At present, carbon-steel bits are frequently tipped in. hard facing materials. A third class of bits might be called the L'one-use" bit; that is, a small bit that is used once and then thrown away. These bits have two or three points, are usually made from 0.85 carbon steel and sometimes from higher alloys. Recently some. of them have been tipped with hard facing material. Most of them were used at first with special

Jan 1, 1942

By R. E. H. Pomeroy

The statistical data given in this paper are taken from the actual performance of the No. 2 reverberatory furnace of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co., Mc Gill, Nev., for a period of four months, from April to July, 1914. The principal furnace dimensions are: Length, 132 ft. % in. at the skim-line level; average width, 18 ft., 10 in. at the skim-line level. The roof is 7 ft. above the skim-line level at the firing end. The average area in the uptake flue is 36 sq. ft., and the area above the skim line under the vulcatory arch is 24.3 sq. ft. Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic plan and sectional elevation of this furnace. The furnace is equipped with two 400-b.h.p. Stirling waste-heat boilers set in parallel. California crude petroleum is used for fuel and has a specific gravity of 16.5" B., flashing in open test at 199" F. The oil is heated to about 200" F. in a steam heater before going to the burners, requiring about 9 b.h.p. per furnace day to heat it from the line temperature to the burning temperature. Measurement is made by oil meter, checked daily by reservoir readings. The oil is fed by gravity (34 Ib. static pressure) to seven low-pressure blast burners of the Steptoe type (Fig. 2). The blast for these burners is supplied at about 40-08. pressure by a motor-driven Connersville blower of 42 cu. ft. capacity per revolution. The air supplied by the blower through the burners for atomizing the oil amounts to about 10 per cent. of the theoretical air necessary for complete combustion of the oil. The remainder of the necessary air enters the furnace through the burner openings in the firing wall. No checker holes are provided, and the charge holes in the roof are equipped with slide gates and " dog houses" to minimize air leakages. The combustion of the fuel, as shown by gas analysis at the front of the furnace, is practically complete, the carbon monoxide in the gases being less than 0.5 per cent. The draft at the firing end of the furnace is 0.18 in. of water. At the throat or in the uptake above the "verb" the draft is about 1 in.

Jan 1, 1915

By J. Kent Smith

The object of this investigation was to ascertain the effect of varying percentages of beryllium upon pure copper and the properties of the resultant alloys in their softest condition, the effect of heat hardening on them, and the extents to which these properties could be augmented by different combinations of heat hardening and cold rolling. The data compiled in this paper represent partial results of continuing work done by the writer during the years 1930 and 1931, which was a continuation of the unpublished ground work incepted in the laboratory of the Beryllium Corporation of America by H. B. Pulsifer in the year 1926. A short bibliography on beryllium alloys is appended to this paper. It has, of course, long been known that copper subjected to cold work is hardened and strengthened to a considerable extent; furthermore it had been qualitatively noted in previous experiments that copper-beryllium alloys seemed to take on hardness and strength as the result of cold work at a greater rate even than does plain copper. It was decided therefore to endeavor quantitatively to determine such rate of increase, as also the relative increases by combinations of cold working and heat hardening. The results are summarized in Tables 3, 4 and 5. A preliminary series of experiments had indicated that by an exposure to the heat of 575" F. for 2 1/2 hr. age-hardening of a 2.50 per cent beryllium-copper alloy took place. Slab ingots of nine different beryllium-copper alloys were prepared under identical conditions by means of the addition of a previously prepared 12.5 per cent beryllium-copper alloy to well melted and deoxidized pure copper. The ingots were then reduced by hot rolling to 12 gage (about 0.080 in.). These strips were heated to 1450" F. and quenched in cold water, and thus brought to their softest condition. (See Table 1.) Strips were next "precipitation-hardened" by reheating to a definite temperature. Similar strips to those itemized in Table 1 (which had been quenched from 1450" F.) were reheated for varying periods of time at 575" F. The hardness figures show that a metastable condition, of which the range of stability is dependent entirely upon time at the given temperature, begins to be noted in copper samples containing as little as 0.85 per cent beryllium. It is extremely noticeable in samples containing

Jan 1, 1932

By Sanai Nakabe

Japanese wartime economy demanded domestic cobalt production. This paper describes a process operated for two years at the Besshi mine and smelter on extremely low grade (0.1 pct Co) pyrite concentrates obtained from copper ore. 'The steps in the process were roasting, leaching, precipitation, reduction fusion to crude cobalt, and finally refining by electrolysis to 99+ pct. COBALT ore deposits in Japan are all small and of poor grade. In the past, a small amount of cobalt has been produced from the best portions of a few of these deposits, and very little production is expected in the future. In addition to these lean cobalt ores, cobalt is present in the cupriferous pyrite which is fairly abundant although of low grade, as is shown in Table I. Considerable cobalt is expected from these deposits because of their extent. Cobalt cannot be exclusively recovered economically from ore of this type; however, if means could be devised to recover it as a byproduct of copper production, a fairly large production at reasonable cost could be expected from Japanese sources. It was along this line that the research work was done. Selection of Suitable Process The process for extracting cobalt differs from ore to ore according to their composition. The difficulty in cobalt metallurgy arises from the fact that chemically cobalt resembles many such common metals as Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn, associated with it in the ores. In the present case the most serious difficulties were: 1—Extremely low grade ore, 0.1 pct Co. 2—The large proportion of iron accompanying cobalt and its close similarity in chemical behavior. 3—The fairly large proportion of zinc and manganese and their chemical similarity to cobalt. The recovery of cobalt oxide as a byproduct of the hydrometallurgy of copper had been attempted in Japan but was stopped after a short period because it proved uneconomical. The literature disclosed no method for the recovery of cobalt from cobaltiferous copper pyrite and it was therefore necessary to devise a new process. The following basic principles were considered in selecting the process: 1—A major alteration in copper production methods should not be necessary. 2—The first step should be the extraction of cobalt leaving the large quantity of iron unaffected. For this purpose wet metallurgy would be preferred.

Jan 1, 1952

By Clyde E. Williams, V. N. Krivobok, C. H. Herty

THE extreme effect of the depression on the steel industry is well illustrated by the fact that the amount of iron ore shipped from the Lake Superior district was the lowest in 47 years. Something over 3 1/2 million tons of ore was shipped in 1932, compared with over 65 million tons in 1929. It is not surprising then that practically no advancement in iron ore beneficiation has been made. Improved research and development work, however, was continued at the Michigan College of Mines in the survey of the lean iron ores of Michigan with reference to the possibility of their concentration; at the University of Minnesota in its large-scale jigging studies of Lake :Superior ores; and at Battelle Memorial Institute in the development of improved jigging of iron ores. The successful operation of the new Hadsel mill at a gold property in California gave such low grinding costs on a quartz ore as to give much encouragement in the iron ore industry for a cheapening of the cost of grinding lean ores for concentration.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. C., Weed

THE Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., located in the Globe-Miami district at Inspiration, Ariz., became a producer of copper in 1915. From 1915 until 1948, 116,278,000 tons of ore were produced from underground workings by the block-caving system of mining. In April 1948, open-pit ore production from portions of the ore body was started and earlier plans for block-caving in these areas were abandoned. The change was due to economic conditions. Prior to the war years Inspiration's costs of mining by block-caving methods were comparable to, or even below, the costs of some open-pit operations. By the end of the war these conditions were completely changed. Underground costs had risen steadily for labor and supplies. Difficulty was being experienced in finding competent underground men and underground development was almost hopelessly behind schedule. On the other hand, open-pit costs had been sharply reduced through the development of modern earth-moving machinery and plenty of labor was available for surface work.

Jan 1, 1950

By A. G. Buyers, J. Chilton, W. E. McKee

STUDIES in the high-temperature separations chemistry of thorium-uranium fuels are complicated by the corrosive nature of these molten metal systems at 1700°C. Separations research pointed toward the removal of fission products from irradiated alloys has included a frozen salt-bed technique which minimizes container reaction with molten metal. The procedure consists of high-frequency induction melting of the metal sample which is supported by a vertical column of unmelted salt. The molten alloy melts its immediate salt environment and as it slowly falls down through the column, many of the fission-product poisons are transferred into the fused salt environment. The molten salt-metal zone is encompassed at all times by unmelted salt, preventing container contact. EXPERIMENTAL Experimental methods were separated into three parts: salt-bed preparation, melting, and analytical evaluation. A) Bed Preparation—The procedure for casting calcium-fluoride briquettes was to compress the powdered salt at 5,000 to 10,000 psi and place this compact in a graphite crucible. This assembly was inserted into a vacuum system and surrounded by an alumina crucible as well as molybdenum, tantalum, or stainless-steel foil thermal-radiation shields. The pressure was reduced and the crucible heated under vacuum to about 800°C with the fore pump operating. Argon was then admitted to about 0.8 atm and heating continued until the CaF2 had melted 5 min at the melting point seemed satisfactory). Apparatus used included a 1-in. graphite crucible with 1/8-in. walls, 1-in. ID in a 2-in. induction coil, and a 6-kw Ajax high-frequency converter. B) Melting—Calcium-fluoride briquettes, 1 in. in diam and 1/2 to 1 in. thick, were prepared and vertically stacked to obtain the desired column length. An irradiated alloy sample (nut = 10") was placed on top of the salt column and the assembly was connected to the vacuum system. After evacuation of 5 to 10 , purified argon was admitted and the system flushed twice. The final argon pressure was about 0.8 atm. The sample was heated by induction at a power of about 6.5 kw. It then melted its way down through the salt and freely dropped into a small alumina crucible. The molten metal is followed during its downward course by the induction coil which is mounted upon a power-driven machine-threaded shaft. Experimental conditions used in the foregoing work

Jan 1, 1960

By D. A. Lyon

Discussion of the paper of DORSEY A. LYON and ROBERT M. KEENEY, presented at the San Francisco meeting, September, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 104, August, 1915, pp. 1707 to 1730. LAWRENCE ADDICKS, Douglas, Ariz.-I think papers of this character, while general in, nature, are of particular value and interest, because when we figure on competing with the East in electrometallurgical industries, on account of the cheap power on the Pacific Coast, we have to take two or three things into account. In the first place, power very rarely amounts to more than 20 per cent. of the total cost of an operation, even .though it be electrometallurgical, and I think it is the common opinion among those who are not familiar with those particular industries, that it amounts to more than 50 or 60 per cent. Take copper refining; we may say that it is 15 per cent. of the total cost. In the second place, around New York City, with 100 per cent. load factor and a reasonably large load, say 10,000 kw., we can generate from a certain class of coal 1 kw.-hr. for about 0.3c. I might say, however, that 0.3c. does not include overhead charges, interest on the investment, etc. The third factor we have to consider out here is that any product to be salable, must command a retail market. It would be useless to produce wire bars here on the Pacific Coast because there is no place to roll them. If we were going to establish a copper refinery, that part of its output which goes into wire bars would have to be taken care of by building a rolling mill alongside of it to turn it into wire and finally make a product that is salable. I do not think, however, that Mr. Lyon need have excluded copper refining from his industries. There are perhaps 50,000,000 lb. of copper a month refined in this country on a custom basis. I think the smelting companies would be very glad to build refineries here if conditions warranted it. The recent extensions of the Great Falls refinery and of the Tacoma refinery in the last few months give evidence of that.

Jan 12, 1915

By L. Sturkey

Quantitative X-ray diffraction studies of the precipitation of thorium in a Mg + 3.3 Th + 0.51 Zr alloy (HK31A) in both the as-cast and cold-worked states show that the precipitation may be described by f = 1 - e(t/T)1/2 over most of the aging period. The effects of cold work and temperature changes are determined. The precipitation of tile equilibrium Mg-Th compotund is Preceded by the formation of a transition phase of higher thorium content, with the cowposition Mg2Th and with a Laves-phase structure. Thorium-containing alloys of magnesium have assumed considerable commercial importance, especially for applications requiring exposures to temperatures greater than 500°F for appreciable lengths of time. The principal commercial wrought alloys in this system are HK31A, containing nominally 3 pet by weight thorium and about 0.7 pet by weight zirconium: and HM21A. containing 2 pet by weight thorium and 1 pet by weight manganese. These two alloys retain a high level of properties even after exposures of 100 hr at 600°F, while the more common alloys containing aluminum and zinc are badly overaged by these conditions. Therefore, in order to obtain some insight into the mechanism by which thorium produces high temperature stability in these wrought alloys, it seems desirable to investi- gate the effect of temperature and mechanical working on the precipitation processes involving thorium. Since the scattering power of a thorium atom for CuKa X-ray radiation is about ten times that for a magnesium atom, the magnesium alloys containing about 3 pet by weight thorium are ideal for quantitative measurements by X-ray diffraction of the amount of Mg-Th compound present at any time. Such quantitative measurements should be of theoretical importance in the study of the effects of time, temperature, and deformation on precipitation and precipitation hardening. Of the two commercial alloys, HM21A and HK31A, the latter is certainly the most suitable for study: In the Mg-Th-Zr2 system, only Mg-Th compounds need be considered, since no ternary compounds or binary Th-Zr3 and Mg-Zr4 compounds exist. The Zr is added to this alloy as a grain refining agent and probably plays a secondary role in precipitation. On the other hand. thorium and manganese form many

Jan 1, 1961

By Charles Wurms, Robert Steinitz

DURING an investigation to determine the compatibility of several metals with tungsten, the degree of reaction between tungsten and lead was determined. A literature survey showed considerable disagreement between the results of various earlier investigators. Information presented by M. Hansen1 states that, according to S. Inouye,2 tungsten has very poor resistance against attack by molten lead, even at the low temperature near the melting point of lead. A phase diagram in the same reference indicates a solubility of 30 wt pct W in molten lead at 1300°C. Contrary evidence was shown by Parkman and shepard3 in their investigation of materials for use in heat transfer systems containing liquid lead alloys; they performed experiments at 980°C for times up to 50 hr without noticing any appreciable attack on the tungsten. Tungsten sheet was immersed in molten lead contained in Vycor tubes evacuated to at least 10-4 mm Hg. R. Bernard4 and R. I. Jaffee5 also indicate that no reaction occurs between molten lead and tungsten. However, no experimental data were included in these reports. In order to settle the question of the solubility of tungsten in molten lead, tungsten powder with an average Fisher subsieve particle size of 6µ was pressed in a double-acting die at 6 tsi to small compacts. They were then sintered in an atmosphere of hydrogen for 2 hr at 1700°C, resulting in a sintered density of 64 pct of theoretical with final dimensions of 0.260 in. in height and 0.245 in. in diameter. For all tests, the tungsten pellets were immersed in molten lead. Table I is a summary of the experimental procedures showing atmospheres, temperatures, and times. The first experiments were performed at 650°C; at this temperature, the liquid lead should wet the porous tungsten better than at its melting point, and penetrate into the pores. The lead was heated in a graphite crucible with a graphite cover. No protective atmosphere was used, as it was expected that the formation of CO would be sufficient to prevent oxidation. This, however, proved to be wrong, and all tungsten samples showed a slight oxide film after treatment. The tungsten samples were immersed in the molten lead for times of 5 min, 10 min, 1/2 hr, 1 hr, and 2 hr. After this time, the melt was poured into a form and the

Jan 1, 1962

By F. E. Bash

PREVIOUS to the war, this country depended on Europe for its supply of a number of alloys of great importance in the manufacture of electrical apparatus and equipment. When this source was cut off shortly after the beginning of hostilities and the small stocks in the United States were exhausted, either inferior substitutes had to be used or the manufacture of the apparatus suspended. Since electrical equipment was of primary importance in the prosecution of the war, the substitutes had to be used until the composition and processes of manufacture of the alloys could be determined. Included among these alloys was one generally known as manganin, which is composed chiefly of copper and manganese and which, beside having a low-temperature coefficient of resistance, has a low thermal electromotive force against copper. These qualities make it valuable for the manufacture of electrical instruments and machines in which it is used in the shape of wire, rod, and strip. As a result of these circumstances, an investigation was started to deter mine how manganin could be made on a commercial basis so that a product of uniform quality and the necessary electrical characteristics could be produced. The object was to procure an alloy with temperature coefficient of resistance not greater than T 1 X 10-5 per ° C. and a thermal e.m.f. against copper no greater than that of the imported material. It is characteristic of manganin that the temperature-resistance curve is not a straight line but has a peak, which varies in position with different samples; it is most desirable, however, to have it at a temperature of 25° C. if possible. The coefficients of manganin from all records available ranged from a large negative to a large positive value. The composition as reported by different authorities is given in Table 1. Prof. Matthew A. Hunter, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, made up a number of small melts of manganin in a graphite crucible and the one that he reported as having the best coefficient gave the following analysis: Copper, 83.6 per cent.; nickel 2.5 per cent.; manganese,-13.6 per cent.; iron, 0.3 per cent. An analysis of a sample of German manganin gave the following: Copper, 82.6 per cent.; nickel, 3.8 per cent.; manganese, 12.8 per cent.; iron 0.7 per cent.

Jan 9, 1919

By T. J. Woodside

Prior to 1927 the lead blast furnace charge at El Paso consisted principally of direct-smelting carbonate ores, very low in zinc, and the resulting slag seldom carried more than 4.0 pct. With the exhaustion of the mines in Northern Mexico which supplied these ores, they were supplanted with a much smaller tonnage of sulphide concentrates containing appreciable amounts of zinc, and the zinc content of the slag rose to 10.0 pct. The Anaconda Company's slag fuming plant at East Helena, Montana, had then been in successful operation for several years, and it was immediately recognized that, while at that time the production of high zinc slag was small, if the grade held, a plant for the recovery of zinc from the accumulated slag might some day be practical. The grade not only held but became increasingly higher so that by 1946 suffcient slag had been accumulated to warrant the construction of a fuming plant regardless of future slag production from the blast furnaces, and with the removal of Government restrictions on construction at the end of the war the project was undertaken. The general design of the plant follows that at Bunker Hill, with waste heat boiler, unit coal pulverizers and even more extensive instrumentation and automatic control. The area around the lead blast furnaces is rather congested, being cut off from the nearest feasible site for the fuming plant by the copper plant, so that the most practical route for hot slag transfer is through the converter aisle. For this reason and also to make use of the existing converter cranes to serve the fuming furnace, an unused reverberatory at the north end of the converter building was dismantled and the fuming furnace and boiler located in its place. A flue at right angles to the furnace and boiler runs northward to the U-tube coolers and baghouse (Fig 1). From the bag-house a steel flue runs eastward to an existing and long unused 300 ft con- Crete stack. The coal handling system and de-leading plant lie north of the furnace and east of the cooling tubes and baghouse. The furnace is conventional, 8 X 21 X 33 ft high inside and completely water jacketed (Fig 2). There are 21

Jan 1, 1950

By Jerome Alexander

It is an outstanding fact of Nature that many of the practical properties of substances are dependent, not on their ultimate chemical composition, but on the kind and degree of aggregation of their constituent particles. Thus, a granite boulder is unmoved by wind or water, but if reduced to a fine dust it will be blown about by the wind and washed away by the rain. Carbon in one crystalline state of aggregation (diamond) is the hardest known substance, whereas in another crystalline state (graphite) it is so soft that it is used as a lubricant. Laying too much stress on the mere chemical analysis of substances is apt to obscure the fact that the nature of the aggregation of their particles is always a factor of importance, and sometimes the most important factor. Colloid chemistry deals with matter in a very fine state of subdivision; its sphere begins with particles just a little smaller than a wave length of light and extends down until they blend into molecular dimensions. With particles of this size, such phenomena as surface tension and adsorption, which depend on the development of free surface, become enormously magnified. Thus a cube of 1 cm. edge has a surface of only 6 sq. cm.; but if it is reduced to colloidal dimensions by being cut up into cubes each having an edge of 0.01 µ (0.00003 mm.), it will yield one million, million, million (1,000,000,000,000,000,O~) such cubes, having a combined area of 600 sq. m., or 21,274 sq. ft. The tiny force with which a drop of rain clings to the window pane becomes a factor to be reckoned with, if the surface involved is increased millions of times. From the colloid-chemical viewpoint, metals and alloys may be regarded as jellies or sponge-like structures,. the viscosity or stiffness of which at ordinary temperatures is exceedingly great; and like all jellies their properties are dependent on the composition and degree of dispersion of their constituent phases. These, in turn, depend on chemical composition, mutual solubility, speed of chilling, subsequent mechanical and heat treatment, etc. In fact, in preparing metals and alloys for practical use, we remove undesirable constituents (as in the conversion of pig iron into steel), add desirable constituents (as in

Jan 1, 1919