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By T. A. Rickard

In a former paper* the writer has described the essential features of the general geology of the Cripple Creek region. In the present account it is intended to examine into the occurrence of the ores, the value of which has made this district the most important among existing American gold-fields. The production of Cripple Creek from its discovery, in 1891, to the close of 1901, has reached a valuation of fully $125,000,000. During the past year (1901) the output amounted to $17,285,470. In 1900 it was $18,174,681. The first discoveries, which led to the development of the district, were made in the spring of 1891, but it was not until 1893 that vigorous work was commenced. A great impetus was then given to the exploration for gold on account, of the sudden drop in the market-price of silver, caused by the closing of the Indian mints in the summer of that year. This induced an energetic population from the older silvermining camps of Colorado to go to the new gold-field, which was then beginning to attract attention. Prospecting, at first, was hindered by the comparative absence of outcrops, due to the fact that the surface of the hills is covered with a considerable thickness of shattered rock, resulting from the action of frost at a high altitude; but so much indiscriminate digging was done that a number of rich veins were uncovered, and this stimulated the search for others. The advanced condition of the mining industry of Colorado offered unusual facilities for exploration and reduction; progress was therefore rapid, with the result that the district soon achieved great prominence.

Jan 1, 1903

Page Laboratory Methods...........................127 Special Analytical Methods.......................127 Improvements in the Accuracy of the Vacuum-fusion Method for the Determination of Oxygen in Steel....................127 Quantitative Spectrochemical Analysis of Mixtures of Gases.......131 Oxygen Samples from Open-hearth Bath...............133 Rapid Analysis of Sample for Alumina.................139 Accurate Carbon Analyses in Low-carbon Steel.............139 Laboratory Technique for Study of Reactions Involving Liquid Metal. . . . 142 Rotating Liquid Crucibles......................143 Stationary Crucibles.........................145 Jones and Laughlin Experimental Furnace...............148 Vacuum Melting..........................149 Measurement of Temperature of Liquid Iron and Steel;..........149 Pouring and Teeming Temperatures..................149 Bath Temperatures.........................151 Plant Methods.............................154 Methods of Studying Slags.......................154 Sampling Slag in the Open Hearth..................155 Viscosity of Open-hearth Slags....................155 Petrographic Examination of Slag...................156 Statistical Methods Applied to Study and Control of Chemical Relations in Bath...............................166 Rapid Method of -Correlation Applicable to Study of Steelmaking Reactions............................166 INTRODUCTION On Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 1939, a round table discussion was held on the subject of Experimental Methods in the Study of Steelmaking. Dr. John Chipman, Professor of Metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and chairman of the A.I.M.E. Committee on Physical Chemistry of Steelmaking, presided. In opening the meeting, the chairman said: "The purpose of this round table is to discuss methods of study by which more and better information on the fundamentals of steelmaking can be obtained. It was thought that a round table discussion rather than a symposium would furnish the best opportunity for those actually using various methods of study to get together and discuss their common problems. For this reason attention will be focused upon methods of study rather than upon their results. We want new and current and up-to-date discussion.

Jan 1, 1940

Page Laboratory Methods...........................127 Special Analytical Methods.......................127 Improvements in the Accuracy of the Vacuum-fusion Method for the Determination of Oxygen in Steel....................127 Quantitative Spectrochemical Analysis of Mixtures of Gases.......131 Oxygen Samples from Open-hearth Bath...............133 Rapid Analysis of Sample for Alumina.................139 Accurate Carbon Analyses in Low-carbon Steel.............139 Laboratory Technique for Study of Reactions Involving Liquid Metal. . . . 142 Rotating Liquid Crucibles......................143 Stationary Crucibles.........................145 Jones and Laughlin Experimental Furnace...............148 Vacuum Melting..........................149 Measurement of Temperature of Liquid Iron and Steel;..........149 Pouring and Teeming Temperatures..................149 Bath Temperatures.........................151 Plant Methods.............................154 Methods of Studying Slags.......................154 Sampling Slag in the Open Hearth..................155 Viscosity of Open-hearth Slags....................155 Petrographic Examination of Slag...................156 Statistical Methods Applied to Study and Control of Chemical Relations in Bath...............................166 Rapid Method of -Correlation Applicable to Study of Steelmaking Reactions............................166 INTRODUCTION On Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 1939, a round table discussion was held on the subject of Experimental Methods in the Study of Steelmaking. Dr. John Chipman, Professor of Metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and chairman of the A.I.M.E. Committee on Physical Chemistry of Steelmaking, presided. In opening the meeting, the chairman said: "The purpose of this round table is to discuss methods of study by which more and better information on the fundamentals of steelmaking can be obtained. It was thought that a round table discussion rather than a symposium would furnish the best opportunity for those actually using various methods of study to get together and discuss their common problems. For this reason attention will be focused upon methods of study rather than upon their results. We want new and current and up-to-date discussion.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. W. Fountain, J. Chipman

THE solubility of nitrogen in iron and steel has been of considerable interest due to the role of nitrogen in strain-aging and in quench-aging. It is generally considered that quench-aging is the result of precipitation of carbide and nitride particles from supersaturated solid solution, while strain-aging results from the segregation of carbon and nitrogen atoms to dislocations.1-9 The rate of strain-aging is controlled primarily by the amount of carbon and nitrogen in solution and the temperature. In experiments on strain-aging of pure iron with only carbon or nitrogen as impurities, Fast" has shown that even after 40 hr at 50°C carbon did not give any strain-aging while

Jan 1, 1959

By Allan B. Bowman

Several years ago a wealthy Chinese business friend of mine purchased an interest in a pro- posed oil well to be drilled a great distance from his home. A few months later it came in as a producer and proved to be a huge success and materially added to his resources. I asked him why a man of his wealth should be so lucky in a venture outside his sphere of knowledge when most people of modest means never seemed to get ahead. His answer was, "Fat Hoy takes a chance." Even though this was his answer, I knew from my association with him that there were other tempering considerations which Mr. Hoy applied before making up his mind to enter any transaction. First, he was a cautious individual. He was also a great believer in details and insisted on knowing everything possible about a situation, and finally, he was what we call a very solid individual with good basic instincts and judgment. This philosophy of Mr. Hoy may be applied to most any business but especially to those engaged in a search for natural resources such as mining where great risks are involved. This article concerns events in the history and growth of Banner Mining Co., with which I have been associated for 27 years in capacities from mine surveyor to vice president. Mr. Hoy's philosophy has played a significant role in the exploration projects of this company over the years, but what is more important, the officers, directors, and controlling interests in Banner have been aggressive in their search for ore reserves.

Jan 6, 1963

By W. E. D. Jr. Stokes

THE application of aviation to mining and petroleum operations, on the basis of economy and attainment, has become a demonstrated fact. According to Dominion Government records, 30. Canadian companies engaged in air transportation with northland mining camps, carried 13,000 tons of freight in 1935, and in 1936 carried 16,000 tons. In addition, many mining companies used planes to transport prospectors with canoes, outboard motors, gasoline drums and supplies to remote locations, and one company maintained a plane to take radium-bearing ore from its mine on Great Bear Lake nearly 1000 miles south to the rail-way at Waterways, Alberta. Heavy pieces of mining machinery weighing 2 tons are being carried by Ford trimotor planes over the Andes, at an altitude of not less than 15,000 feet. At Bulolo, New Guinea, 17,500 tons of disassembled gold-dredging equipment has been flown over inaccessible terrain, while supplies and building materials for a, community of 1000 whites have been transported by airplane. A 3 1/2-ton shaft was carried on one notable trip, while at another time an automobile, 2 tons of rice and a large safe went over the mountains in one plane. Fig. 1 shows an electric generator that was carried by plane to Bulolo.

Jan 1, 1937

HAVING produced one ton of concentrate that contains the copper that can profitably be saved or recovered from anywhere between 3 and 60 tons of mine ore, the ore-dressing engineer passes the result of his handiwork over to the metallurgist for smelting. Essentially, the concentrate is a damp mass of finely ground material consisting of copper sulphide minerals; pyrite, the sulphide of iron; and gangue, usually silica and silicates of aluminum. The purpose of smelting is to produce metallic copper and a slag containing the iron and siliceous constituents by pyrometallurgy-the kind of metallurgy that employs fire and heat to produce the chemical reactions through which it attains its object. Though blast furnaces have been used to smelt Porphyry-mine concentrates, notably at Braden, more than 90 per cent of [ ]

Jan 1, 1933

ALABAMA Altoona.-Cain, J. America.-Foreman, J. T. Anniston.-Cowie, L. K. Foster, R. N. Rogers, R. F. White, H. E. Ashland.-Sturdevant, J. C. Bessemer. Ball, E. M. McKenzie. W. C., Jr. Morgan, C. Birmingham.-Abbott, C. E. Adler, J. E. Aldrich, T. H. Aldrich, T. H., Jr. Ashton, J. J. Burgin, G. E.

Jan 1, 1923

By H. E. Searle, Robert J. McKay, O. B. J. Fraser

The practical study of corrosion requires consideration of its economic aspects. It must be based on sound scientific principles, but it should be borne in mind that probably the most important object of a corrosion test is to determine what metal in corrosion-resisting construction will produce the greatest operating profit. Thus the corrosion test must be directly connected with money values or it is not a practical corrosion test. This, perhaps unusual, connection between corrosion and economics is partially due to the fact that corrosion deals only with the time factor or duration of equipment, and it is almost the only test which deals with this feature. In these statements a departure is made from the academic definition of the word corrosion and it is done deliberately. The use of the term corrosion is unusual. It is as though we spoke of a tensile test as a "breaking" test. We are not interested primarily in the break but in the strength of the metal. There is no English word which expresses our main interest in corrosion-testing, but let us have clearly in mind that we make corrosion tests to prevent corrosion. Our real interest is in this corrosion-prevention, not in the corrosion. Previous to 1922, it was common comment that "it is impossible to determine the course of corrosion by laboratory testing.'' This statement was true at that time in that the technique of laboratory testing for corrosion resistance was so vague that tests in the laboratory gave untrue results almost as often as true ones. This was so, even in the simple case of determining which one of two metals better resists a given solution. While this is no longer true the number of misleading "corrosion tests" still being ground out by laboratories is too large in the light of our present knowledge. There are two important features of corrosion testing whose neglect is a large contributing factor to misleading results: (1) The economic relations of the corrosion tests to other tests; (2) testing technique. Regarding economic relations J. F. Thompson l has said: "The use of any particular metal is rarely based upon the sole property of resistance to corrosion. In fact, I should like to venture the assertion

Jan 1, 1929

By Robert J. McKay, O. B. J. Fraser, H. E. Searle

The practical study of corrosion requires consideration of its economic aspects. It must be based on sound scientific principles, but it should be borne in mind that probably the most important object of a corrosion test is to determine what metal in corrosion-resisting construction will produce the greatest operating profit. Thus the corrosion test must be directly connected with money values or it is not a practical corrosion test. This, perhaps unusual, connection between corrosion and economics is partially due to the fact that corrosion deals only with the time factor or duration of equipment, and it is almost the only test which deals with this feature. In these statements a departure is made from the academic definition of the word corrosion and it is done deliberately. The use of the term corrosion is unusual. It is as though we spoke of a tensile test as a "breaking" test. We are not interested primarily in the break but in the strength of the metal. There is no English word which expresses our main interest in corrosion-testing, but let us have clearly in mind that we make corrosion tests to prevent corrosion. Our real interest is in this corrosion-prevention, not in the corrosion. Previous to 1922, it was common comment that "it is impossible to determine the course of corrosion by laboratory testing.'' This statement was true at that time in that the technique of laboratory testing for corrosion resistance was so vague that tests in the laboratory gave untrue results almost as often as true ones. This was so, even in the simple case of determining which one of two metals better resists a given solution. While this is no longer true the number of misleading "corrosion tests" still being ground out by laboratories is too large in the light of our present knowledge. There are two important features of corrosion testing whose neglect is a large contributing factor to misleading results: (1) The economic relations of the corrosion tests to other tests; (2) testing technique. Regarding economic relations J. F. Thompson l has said: "The use of any particular metal is rarely based upon the sole property of resistance to corrosion. In fact, I should like to venture the assertion

Jan 1, 1929

By L. F. Porter, G. J. Dienes

The effect of netltron irracliation on mart ensite transformation in the iron-nickel system was studied by means of electrical resistance and magnetic induction measuremertts. Irradiation lowers the M8 temperature of the allay, causes changes in the electrical and magnetic properties of the high-temperature phase which indicate either an accelemtion of phase separation or a clustering of nickel, and enhances strain recovery on specimens partially transformed to martensite prior to irradiation. Possible mechanisms to account for the effects; are discussed. 1 HERE is a good deal of evidence to indicate that neutron irradiation is capable of affecting phase changes in metals and alloys. While the mechanism of the effect often is not well understood, such studies hold promise of improving our understanding not only of irradiation damage but also of the phase changes involved. To date systematic and detailed investigations have been made of the influence of nuclear radiation on order-disorder transformations in the copper-gold, nickel-manganese, and copper-zinc system, and on precipitation reactions in the copper-iron, nickel-beryllium, and copper-beryllium system.' These solid-state reactions are diffusion controlled and the results can be explained largely on the basis of enhanced diffusion due to the presence of irradiation produced vacancies. Reversion of low-temperature eutectoid phases to the high-temperature phase has been observed in the fissionable uranium-molybdenum and uranium-niobium systems.2 Here it is necessary and logical to postulate a displacement spike mechanism to account for the effect. The only case of irradiation induced diffusionless transformation in metals is the allo-tropic transformation of p to a tin reported by Flee-man and Dienes. 3 They found that neutron irradiation markedly decreases the incubation time for transformation, but the mechanisnl is not well understood. Another diffusionless transformation which one might expect to be influenced by neutron irradiation is the martensite transformation. This transformation is known to be sensitive to strain, structural hardening, and the presence of imperfections.6,7 Since the transformation is diffusionless, one also

Jan 1, 1960

By J. M. Camp

In conforniity with the design of the oficials of the United States Steel Corporation for the standardization of the methods employed in the sampling and analysis of all materials encountered in their various lines of manufacture, the Chemists' Committee presents this compilatioti of standard methods for the sampling and subsequent analysis of molten pig-iron. In selecting the methods, the Committee employed the same line of procedure as in former cases, viz., the careful consideration of all the methods employed in each laboratory of the Corporation, evolving therefrom the several methods herein described, the immediate adoption of which is desired. The services of Messrs. W. B. N. Hawk, William Brady, and C. H. Rich, a sub-committee appointed for the preparation of the present paper, are gratefully acknowledged. II. Introduction. A quite obvious cause of nonconformity of results of comparative analyses in the various laboratories of the Corporation has been an apparent lack of uniformity of method in the sampling and analysis of molten iron. This condition is particularly apparent with regard to the determination of the sulphur, numerous discrepancies in which would appear t.o indicate the absence of, and the necessity for, some uniform method of procedure. The estimation of the

Jan 1, 1913

By Robert Bosworth

THE liability for damages to the surface caused by subsidence is an ever present threat in all underground mining. In ordinary lode mining, this threat rarely materializes into an action, due to the method of mining metalliferous ores, the dip of the veins, and the nature of the ground itself. In the mining of coal, however, this threat is very real. The coal frequently lies close to the surface, in beds underlying large areas of land of which the surface is suitable for: agricultural or urban development. Furthermore, the coal is generally mined by the "room and pillar" method and when the pillars of coal are removed, the subjacent support is destroyed. This question of the duty of surface support has now become a very live one in Colorado. What was waste prairie land a few years ago has become valuable agricultural land dotted here and there with growing towns. Frequent references will' be made here to Colorado conditions and adjudicated cases, but those conditions and cases and the conclusions to be drawn therefrom are applicable to all coal-mining states. Briefly stated, the question is "Does the owner of the substrata or underlying mineral owe any duty of surface support to the owner of the superjacent strata or surface?" There is no absolute duty of support owed by the mineral owner and this assertion is made with full knowledge of numerous expressions to the contrary by courts of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado and other coal-mining states. Whether or not any duty exists depends upon the circumstances surrounding each case, and since in the nature of things those circumstances are rarely identical, there can be no absolute rule.

Jan 1, 1928

By David H. Browne, John F. Thompson

The literature dealing with the physical constants of nickel is so fragmentary and unrelated that a synopsis presents unusual difficulties. It is only within the last few years that investigators have understood the importance of placing on record not only the determinations they have made but also the composition, physical treatment, and past history of the material investigated. For this reason much of the earlier literature is valueless. Determinations have been made of the same physical constants on samples differing widely in origin, composition, and treatment, and the results differ widely among themselves. In the first place nickel is almost as flexible a term as steel. Its physical properties are widely influenced by its composition and treatment. It absorbs large quantities of gases and is exceedingly difficult to prepare in a state of chemical purity comparable to gold, silver, or copper. It is vitally affected by thermal and mechanical treatment. Hence in the following pages the recorded literature, where quoted, must be accepted with a certain reserve and used, as far as possible, as a check on later observations, in which these important factors are noted. In every case where new determinations are given, an attempt has been made to record all available information concerning the composition and treatment of the material used so that the data may serve as stepping-stones toward a wider knowledge of the properties of the metal. As this synopsis is an attempt by men of metallurgical training to do what should long before have been done by physicists, it is to be expected that certain errors may have crept in. Any corrections or suggestions

Jan 1, 1921

By D. J. McAdam, G. W. Geil, R. W. Mebs

AS shown in previous papers by the authors 9-l7† the resistance of a metal to fracture, like its resistance to plastic deformation, is a function of all three principal stresses.‡ A technical cohesion limit is the technically determined resistance to fracture under a specific stress system. The technical cohesive strength thus comprises an infinite number of technical cohesion limits corresponding to the infinite number of possible combinations of the principal stresses. The technical cohesive strength, therefore, may be represented by a surface in a diagram with the three principal stresses as coordinates. As shown in previous papers, 9-I8 the technical cohesive strength increases with plastic deformation, with decrease in temperature, and with increase in the strain rate. The technical cohesion limit, therefore, is affected by the same factors that affect the flow stress, § namely, the stress system, plastic deformation, temperature, and the strain rate. More- over, the influence of each of these factors on the technical cohesion limit has been shown to be qualitatively similar to the influence of the same factor on the flow stress.9-18 Advance of knowledge about the conditions determining fracture, of metals has been retarded by the reluctance of some investigators to abandon preconceived ideas about how metals "should" behave. The incorrect idea is still prevalent that the conditions determining resistance to fracture are very different from those determining the flow stress. Attempts are still being made to express resistance to fracture in terms of a single parameter, such as a limiting value of the greatest principal stress, the maximum shearing stress, or the volume stress (one-third the algebraic sum of the three principal stresses). In these attempts, a sharp distinction is sometimes made between a ductile or "plastic fracture " and a "brittle fracture." In making this distinction, however, the meaning attached to the term "brittle fracture" sometimes is not made clear. The term could mean fracture after very little plastic deformation or it could be used to designate the type of fracture. An ordinary fracture of a ductile metal at room temperature starts as a cleavage, generally transverse to the direction of the greatest principal stress, but eventually changes to a shearing fracture. In some conditions, however, the metal fractures entirely by cleavage, with no evidence of plastic deformation during the fracture; the surface of such a fracture may have a

Jan 1, 1947

By Russell W. Dayton

THE metallurgical polarization microscope has been utilized in several researches in the last few years, thus attaining a fair degree of prominence, but little has been written in a manner suitable to a metallurgist concerning the theory of this instrument. In this investigation the theory was carefully studied, and the results are presented here in a detailed manner, yet as simply as possible. The theory - is discussed with particular reference to the three chief functions of the instrument: (1) determination of anisotropy; (2) effect of strain; and (3) identification of inclusions. Each of these is investigated experimentally, with especial attention to the mechanism of producing any effect. Where possible, the discussion is supplemented by photomicrographs. The instrument used had numerous defects as a polarization microscope; these and their remedies are discussed. In the microscopic study of transparent mineral sections (chalcography) the use of polarized light has aided tremendously in the identification of a mineral. The determination of strain in transparent substances (photoelasticity) by the use of polarized light has lately become a commercial process, used in testing finished glass articles. The success of the use of polarized light with opaque materials has not been so great. The magnitude of the effects obtained is much less than that of the corresponding effects with transparent materials, and the mechanical difficulties are much greater. Königsberger, (1)‡ in 1909, was the first to apply polarized light to the microscopic study of

Jan 1, 1935

ALTHOUGH the refining period of the heat is generally defined A as starting after the charge has been completely melted, it may more properly be considered as beginning with the first efforts to facilitate the shaping up of the slag and the making of corrective additions for the control of slag or metal composition. Such actions may be initiated during the latter half of the lime boil. The early part of the refining period may, then, in essence overlap the latter part of the melting period. The primary aims of the refining period are: (1) to reduce phosphorus and sulfur from the steel bath to levels safely below the maximum contents specified; (2) to eliminate carbon to a specified level as rapidly as possible and still allow time for proper conditioning of the slag and attainment of the necessary bath temperature; and (3) to have the heat ready for tapping or furnace deoxidation, with slag in the proper physical and chemical condition, and with carbon and oxygen contents and the temperature of the steel at the proper levels for the composition and grade of steel being produced. The particular conditions that fulfill these aims are distinctly different, depending upon whether the steel is to be finished according to fully killed semikilled, or rimming practice and also depending upon the carbon range specified. Regardless of the type of charging practice employed, the object of the refining period is to produce repeatedly the desired finishing and tapping conditions for the grade of steel being produced. The variations and proportions of raw materials used in the charge may cause some variations in the degree of control required during refining, but not in the method of control. The refining period can therefore be discussed from a viewpoint largely independent of charging and melting practice. SHAPING UP THE SLAG In the first helper's vocabulary, refining practice consists in

Jan 1, 1964

By Carle R. Hayward

This work was first undertaken in the metallurgical laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1907 by L. A. Dickinson, E. Phelps, and V. S. Rood, under the author's direction. They attempted to determine the diagram for the system Cu2S-MiS, but several inexplicable results were obtained. The following year, P. H. Mayer with Mr. Dickinson carried on some experiments with nickel sulphide and found that the molten material slowly lost sulphur until it reached a composition corresponding to the compound Ni3S2, established by Bornemann.l At this point the composition remained stable. The freezing points of the mixtures gradually fell off with the loss of sulphur. Since the above facts seemed to explain the erratic results obtained in the first experiments, Mr. Mayer with F. Jaeger attempted in 1910 to establish a correct equilibrium diagram for the Cu2S-Ni3S2 series. They prepared pure Cu2S and Ni3S2 and determined the cooling curves for various mixtures. The fusions were made in a platinum resistance furnace and the temperatures were measured with a platinum-iridium thermocouple connected with a Sullivan galvanometer. The curve was established for mixtures containing more than 40 per cent. Cu2S, but they were unable to determine certainly the direction of the curve beyond that point. Nothing further was attempted with this series until the present year, when the work was carried to a successful conclusion with the assistance of A. Butts, Jr., and E. H. Weil. The results of this work are given in the following pages. Preparation of Cu2S.—A piece of cathode' copper from the Buffalo plant of the Calumet & Hecla Co. was cut into shavings by a shaper and converted into sulphide by heating in boiling sulphur. A porcelain casserole was used for the purpose, the heat being furnished by a Bunsen burner. It was found that after boiling in the sulphur for an hour the copper shavings were completely converted into sulphide. The liquid sulphur was then poured off, leaving the solid sulphide in the casserole in

Jan 1, 1915

By E. H. Roberts, L. G. Swenson, F. C. Nix, R. A. Morgen

THE binary system lead-antimony has been the subject of comprehensive investigations in these laboratories by Dean' and his associates. The effect of a third constituent on this system, particularly on the lead-rich alloys in which dispersion hardening was found, has a commercial value as well as an academic interest. This paper covers the effect of the addition of copper, bismuth and tin, all of which are likely to be found in commercial lead-antimony alloys, and is divided into three parts, as follows: I. The System Lead-Antimony-Copper II. The System Lead-Antimony-Bismuth III. The Lead Corner of the System Lead-Antimony-Tin These three systems are of three different types, and hence may be considered as covering three general kinds of additions. Bismuth forms no compounds with either lead or antimony and forms solid solutions with both. Copper forms several compounds with antimony as well as solid solutions but with lead it forms a two liquid layer system and no appreciable solid solution. Tin is soluble in both lead and antimony in the solid state and also forms a compound with antimony. The effect of small amounts of bismuth on the lead-antimony alloys is small, having no appreciable effect on the solubility of antimony. The temperature of the solidus floor is lowered appreciably by the presence of bismuth, cutting down the range of heat treatment. Copper, on the other hand, due to compound formation, increases the apparent solubility of antimony. The excess antimony is tied up with the copper finally and so is not available for dispersion hardening. The net result of addition of small amounts of copper is to shift the dispersion hardening peak of the

Jan 1, 1928

By Roy Lindgren

Since the year 1643, when the first blast furnace in America for treating iron ore was built at Saugus, Mass., out of mica schist quarried in the neighboring district, the procurement of a suitable refractory for furnace lining has been a problem of concern to the operators of furnaces. The stacks built of mica schist continued to smelt iron ore until about 1836, when, according to F. H. Norton, the first firebrick were produced1, at Queens Run, Pa. Other writers speak of brick having been molded and burned in Massachusetts about the year 1834. In 1841, Andrew Russell began to produce medium refractory plastic clay brick near East Liverpool, Ohio, that were used for lining blast furnaces1. The well-known Kentucky clay-producing district was not opened up until the year 1871, but since then it has produced a large percentage of the linings for iron blast furnaces. While some strides have been made by the refractories industry during the 100 years that have passed since the first firebrick were produced, it has been only during the last two decades that any real progress has been made towards bettering the product, even though the method of production had improved. Perhaps the fault lies with the user of the brick rather than with the producer, for not sooner demanding a supe¬rior product. During the past 15 years the tonnage produced per lining has increased from 500,000 gross tons to 1,000,000 gross tons, and now some furnaces are producing 1,600,000 gross tons and better on a single lining. It is true that enlarged capacity of furnaces and improved practice have accounted for some of this increase in tonnage, nevertheless better quality in firebrick must be given credit for its share. However, we are not yet ready to say that we have reached a maximum life of furnace lining. We believe that a better product can be produced and that the refractories industries of America will, through their extensive research depart-

Jan 1, 1936