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By Anwar-ul Karim

In one of our recent papers, Cheng, Karim, Langdon, and Dom1 analyzed the creep mechanisms in a Fe-4 pct Si alloy. The experimental results of apparent ac-

Jan 1, 1970

By H. A. Lequear, J. D. Lubahn

A sudden change from one constant strain rate to another during a tensile test causes an unusual transient in aluminum alloy 61ST. A sudden change from one constant stress to another during a creep test does not produce an unusual transient in this material. A specially devised test shows that the nature of the previous steady-state conditions, which the sudden change disturbs, is one of the factors affecting the transient behavior. Some of the observations may be explained in terms of strain aging. USUALLY a sudden change during a tensile test from one constant strain rate to another causes a small, abrupt vertical shift from one stress-strain curve to another, parallel one. This behavior is apparently characteristic of all metals at very low temperatures and of many metals for wide ranges of temperature. It is illustrated in Fig. 1 for some early data on 61ST tested at — 195oC, and in Fig. 2 for some recent data on copper at room temperature. The greater accuracy of the results of Fig. 2 over previous ones' is due to the equipment shown in Fig. 3. Three levers apply the bulk of the load, while the changes in the small remainder load are indicated sensitively by a low capacity load scale. Refs. 2 and 3 describe the recording equipment. A test like those in Figs. 1 and 2 provides the information necessary to determine the rate sensitizrity, n,4 of the metal. ( a log s ) ? log s n = ------------------------ ----------------------------= ( a logs e, ? log e logS2-logS1 log S2/S1 log i2 — log e1 log e2/e1 where S equals stress: e is logarithmic strain or natural logarithm of (final gage length/initial gage length);" i is strain rate or de/dt: and n is rate sensitivity, rate of change of log stress with log strain rate at a given strain, or (a log S/a log i),. Normally, the rate sensitivity, n, is positive, which means that an increase in stress causes an increase in rate. However, certain exceptions, attributed to strain aging,5 have been observed. Fig. 2 indicates how rate sensitivity values are derived from the measurements. Table I summarizes the rate sensitivity values derivable from Fig. 1. In contrast to the behavior of copper in Fig. 2, the aluminum alloy 61ST, which strain ages when tested near room temperature, exhibits an unusual transient when the strain rate is suddenly changed,' as shown in Fig. 4. Initially, there is a comparatively sudden vertical shift of the stress-strain curve in a direction corresponding to the rate change, but then the curve gradually shifts back again. The initial shift is not as sudden as might be expected, because the testing machine is unable to achieve the impressed rate change instantaneously, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The behavior shown in Fig. 4 will be referred to as a tensile transient, the word tensile implying that the behavior was observed in a tension type of test. The corresponding test, where the strain rate is maintained constant except for the sudden change, will be called a tensile transient test. A creep transient, by contrast, will be defined as a temporarily abnormal behavior in a creep transient test, where there is a sudden change from one constant load to another.' In Fig. 4, a naive look at the gradually decreasing and then increasing load after a sudden rate incre-

Jan 1, 1957

By E. S. Machlin, Morris Cohen

GRENINGER and Troiano' were the first to establish the fact that the habit planes of mar-tensitic products are usually planes of high indices. In steels containing 0.55 to 1.4 pct C, the habit plane indices are {225}A.* In steels with more than 1.5 pct C and in Fe-Ni alloys, the indices are {259In. The presence of both habits in certain alloy steels has been reported recently." Several investigators"-" have subsequently attempted to provide an understanding of these complex habit relations. Bowles'6 work is the most recent and the most successful. Like Greninger and Troiano, Bowles concluded that the transformation occurs in two steps, the first, a strain (or displacement) that is homogeneous throughout the volume of the martensitic plate, while the second is a strain that is homogeneous only within relatively small portions of the martensitic plate. The first strain yields the measured tilt of the specimen surface, but does not produce the final martensitic structure. This and the correct lattice orientations are achieved by the second strain. Bowles also reasoned that each strain could be described by the motion of a plane of no rotation and no distortion (hereinafter called the invariant plane) in a direction not necessarily contained in the plane.** In applying these considerations to steels with {225}a habits, Bowles found that the habit plane coincided with the invariant plane of the first strain, a result which signified that the atoms move along certain paths during the transformation. Whether this correlation results from the existence of some sort of a plate nucleus6 lying along the invariant plane of the first strain, or whether the invariant plane primarily defines the preferred directions of propagation of the first strain, will be discussed in a later section. There are two obstacles to the general acceptance of Bowles' treatment: 1—it has not been shown that elements of his double-strain analysis are unique, and 2—it is not known whether his treatment applies to transformations yielding the {2591A habit. Unless these two questions are resolved, the correlation between the habit and invariant planes in the {225}A systems might be regarded as coincidental. Experimental Procedure Using a 70 pct Fe-30 pct Ni alloy as an example of a {2591A habit system, preliminary attempts were made to obtain a double-strain solution based on a Nishiyamax** set of orientation relations and on a Greninger-Troianot set, adopting the stereographic technique described by Bowles" who used the Kurd-jumow-Sachstt set in connection with the {225}A habit. These attempts were unsuccessful because the method is essentially one of trial and error and requires either exceedingly good luck or a prior knowledge of the results being sought. Consequently it was decided to measure independently the strain associated with the formation of a martensitic plate as well as the habit-plane indices of the particular plate. By means of matrix algebra, the measured strain was applied to the austenite lattice, whose orientation with respect to the strain was determined, in order to ascertain whether the resultant structure would have the lattice of martensite. This was not found to be the case, and hence it was assumed that the measured strain was the first of two Bowles-type strains, characterized by the motion of an invariant plane. A solution of this displacement was obtained in terms of the invariant-plane indices and the direction of motion of the atoms. Then the second strain

Jan 1, 1952

The ten-year "supply-demand relationship" tables in this chapter for various mineral and metal commodities have been adapted from Minerals in the U.S. Economy, compiled by the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, published in 1975. Acknowledgment is made to the Bureau of Mines for compilation of the tables. [ ]

Jan 1, 1976

By B. G. Ricketts, A. Kelly, P. A. Beck

The isothermal kinetics (at 200" to 400°C) of subgrain growth and of softening were studied in a 99.997 pct pure Al crystal rolled to 80 pct RA, under conditions where recrystallization did not take place. It was found that the kinetics of subgrain growth and of softening were similar, and that the correlation between subgrain growth and softening was in first approximation independent of the annealing temperature. It has been shown by Heidenreich' by means of electron transmission microscopy and by Hirsch and Kellar2 by means of an X-ray microbeam technique that the crystals of heavily cold-worked polycrystalline aluminum consist of subgrains of approximately 2µ diam, which are slightly disoriented with respect to each other. This substructure is found on cold working at room temperature, without annealing. A preliminary study has been previously published3 of the softening upon annealing at 350°C of a heavily cold-rolled aluminum single crystal. Softening and X-ray line sharpening for such a rolled aluminum crystal were later studied in more detail as a function of annealing time and temperature.4 Perryman5, 6 has studied the recovery of polycrystalline aluminum after cold rolling. By means of phase contrast microscopy he found that the subgrain size increases with the annealing temperature but does not alter very much with annealing time at a given temperature. In the present work further study was made of softening as a function of annealing time and temperature and subgrain sizes were determined by two different techniques in an attempt to find any correlation that may exist between softening and subgrain growth. Subgrain size measurements were made both by the X-ray microbeam technique and by transmission electron microscopy. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE For the X-ray studies specimens were cut from

Jan 1, 1960

By Eric Jette

IN thermodynamic studies of gas mixtures and liquid solutions, the respective problems have been greatly simplified by the use of two general limiting laws; Dalton's law of partial pressures and Raoult's law. It is generally recognized that these two laws have a common physical and chemical basis which may be stated as follows: The law may be expected to be strictly valid only for systems in which the different molecular species are so nearly the same in their physical and chemical properties that a molecule is unable to recognize whether its neighbor is one of its own kind or not. Positive and negative deviations from both laws are frequently encountered. The occurrence of negative deviations in both gases and liquids is ascribed to attractive forces which, in the more extreme cases, may be so large in magnitude and so highly specific in character as to lead to the formation of definite chemical compounds. Positive deviations in gases develop only at higher pressures where the intermolecular distances are so decreased that factors such as molecular size and shape, which ultimately become concerned with the repulsive forces, come into play. In liquid mixtures, positive deviations are generally considered as due to differences in the symmetrical (nonpolar) fields of force which surround the various molecular species and which are supposed to give rise to a tendency for each species to associate with its own kind and thus to "squeeze out" the other variety. Fundamentally this also involves the existence of repulsive forces between unlike molecules. If the fields of force are unsymmetrical (polar) a tendency towards compound formation results. Stated in more exact terms, strict adherence to the law means that the "activity" (or any adequate measure of this quantity) of a component in a mixture is a linear function of the molecular (or atomic)

Jan 1, 1934

By Strathmore R. B. Cooke, William F. Stowasser

RESULTS presented in a previous paper1 have shown that the strength of fired pellets made from eastern Mesabi magnetite concentrates containing 8 to 9 pct Si02 as quartz and silicates is due to several processes which occur during firing. These are: l-recrystallization and cementation of the fragmented magnetite grains; 2-formation of slag from reaction between the quartz, silicates, and available ferrous iron, followed by slag-bonding of the magnetite grains; and 3-oxidation of the magnetite to hematite and subsequent recrystallization and grain growth of this constituent. Microscopic examination of all magnetite pellets fired in one operation in small and large-scale pilot plant furnaces and possessing normal strengths shows that the processes 1,2, and 3 have taken place; where strengths are low and the pellets are otherwise sub- normal, one or more of the processes has not occurred. For example, soft and friable red pellets may contain a central core of slag-bonded recrystallized magnetite which is strong enough in itself, but the shell contains only slightly recrystallized hematite, indicating that the maximum temperature reached was too low. Processes 1 and 2 can occur only under reducing conditions, as for example, when coal is intention- ally added to the original pellets; under neutral conditions, when pellets are fired in an inert atmosphere; or when pellets are brought so rapidly to temperature in an oxidizing atmosphere that oxygen diffusion to the core lags behind the recrystallization and slagging effects. This last-mentioned process has occurred in all pilot-plant shaft fur-

Jan 1, 1952

By John M. Tinsley, Calvin D. Saunders, H. K. van Poollen

In the past few years much con-sideration has been given to the evaluation of the effect of hydraulic fracturing on the productivity of wells. Generally, these studies included the evaluation of fracturing materials, fracture extension and formation damage due to the use of various fracturing fluids. Only little consideration has been given to the characteristics, and in particular the flow capacity, of the fracture itself and its effect on well productivity. This paper presents the results of laboratory investigations pointed toward fie evaluation of the efficiency of various fracrures with special emphasis on the flow capacity of these fractures. Data presented in this paper are the results of both an electrical model study and physical testing. Under consideration are (I) effect of overflush, (2) premature production of well after treatment, (3) "tailing-in" with coarse sand near the end of the treatment, (4) effect of propping agent size and concentration, (5) reduction in effective frac-ture permeability caused by formation caused by formation fines, silt and clays, and (6) effect of various fluids on formation strength and competency. The results of this investigation indicate that the flow capacity of a fracture is affected by any or all of the various parameters mentioned above. The authors believe that a better understanding arid utilization of these factors should result in more efficient formation fracturing. INTRODUCTION Hydraulic fracturing has become almost a standard practice of many companies for stimulating production from old and new wells. Although most companies utilize this service, techniques of application vary widely between companies and areas. Probably too often when a well in an area responds favorably to a particular technique all future wells in the same area are treated in a similar manner. Possibly a modification of the technique would result in a further production increase. Variables, of which many are extremely difficult to evaluate from field results, hamper the selection of procedure changes. Attempts are being made by a number of organizations to analyze statistically treating techniques from production data. This is a very worthy and necessary approach but very possibly laboratory investigations may aid in evaluating some of the variables which tend to affect the results of a fracturing treatment. Some of the factors cannot be studied from practical field experience and only laboratory tests can show the possibilities which might exist. One of the factors which appears to be of major concern today is the flow capacity of the created fracture and how it can be changed. Papers on this general subject have been primarily concerned with the size of propping agent and the extent of fracture. Papers have also been written on the possible permeability damage to formations by fracturing fluids. In addition, it might be possible that another type of flow restriction is prevalent. This would be a restriction of flow through a sand-packed frac- ture caused by foreign materials integrating within the propping agent. This paper presents preliminary data obtained in an attempt to evaluate the effect of some factors affecting flow through sand-packed fractures. No attempt is being made to offer a fracturing technique adaptable to all areas and conditions, but to furnish data tending to show the possible effects which might be caused by variations in procedures and materials. PROPPING AGENT PERMEABLLITIES A hydraulically induced fracture containing sand as a propping agent may theoretically be classified as a packed-sand system. The flow of fluids through such packed systems has been the subject of much research. Although there have been numerous methods proposed for the evaluation of such systems, most writers agree on the general properties affecting their flow capacity or permeability. These properties include porosity, particle size, sphericity and the roughness of the particle. In some methods of evaluation . the particle size and sphericity terms are combined to produce an equation which is a function of the surface area of the particles. In this study the permeability of various fracturing sands was both measured and calculated. The apparatus for the permeability measurements consisted of a 52-in. Lucite tube with a 2.5-in. ID. A screen and drain plug were fitted in the bottom of this tube to retain and hold the sand in place while allowing fluid flow. Two pressure taps consisting of thin, highly perforated

By Richard F. Link, George S. Koch

Advantages and disadvantages of deflecting (wedging) diamond-drill holes to obtain sampling data are compared with the alternative of drilling additional holes. The discussion is based on a statistical analysis of a large set of deflection data from exploratory boreholes in South African gold mines. Representative cost comparisons show the conditions under which deflections are likely to be desirable.

Jan 1, 1969

By Henry H. Otto

The anthracite industry can be divided into two parts—the underground, or mining, and the outside, or preparation or manufacture. To understand recoveries in the two branches, some of the history of the industry and the changes that have taken place in the past century should be considered. It is a long step from 1807, when 55 tons were produced in the Wyoming field, to 1917, the peak year, when 80,841,223 tons were shipped to market from all the fields. In 1820, the Lehigh Coal Co., the predecessor of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., shipped 365 tons in arks down the canal of the Lehigh Navigation Co. The Schuylkill field was not opened until 1822, when 1480 tons were shipped. The Wyoming field really became a producer in 1829, when 7000 tons were mined and shipped. It is well to note, at this time, the passing of the Coleraine colliery after a life of 88 years; in collieries of this age will be found the romance of the region, as well as the history of the changes to date. Mining Methods In the Lehigh region, the first coal came from the old quarry mines at Summit Hill; a little later the open-cut workings, or quarries, east of Jeansville, and near Beaver Meadow were opened. In the Wyoming field, it was necessary to resort to underground mining almost from the very first. Ashmead1 has described the changes in outside preparation methods, dl tending to increase the percentage of coal shipped to market. A description from the days when the lump coal was raked and screened out in the quarries or mines, to the modern breaker of today, shipping as high as 6000 tons of at least eight sizes of coal in an 8-hr. day is a very interesting story. Each size is a step toward increasing the yield from the property. With the belief that the supply was inexhaustible, the early mining was conducted with the thought of getting the maximum amount of coal on first mining. The superintendent was his own foreman and engineer.

Jan 1, 1925

By C. J. Frosch, J. A. May, H. G. White, C. D. Thurmond

Gallium phosphide epitaxial layers were grown from the vapor phase on undoped single-crystal galliurn arsenide substrates in silica tubes by an open-tube wet-hydrogen process. The epitaxial layers were grown over a range of water pressures at three substrate temperatures. Excess donor concentrations were determined by surface barvier capacitance measurelrzents without removing the layers from the substrates. The excess dmlor concentration, ND-NA, is fo~ind to vary approxilnately inversely with the pressure of water added to the hydrogen carrier gas. This is the relationship that would be expected for singly ionized silicon donors on gallium sites in extrinsic galliunz phosphide, with the silicon coming from the SiO generated by the reaction of hydrogen with the silica tube. An increase in the partial pressure of water in the hydrogen stream decreases the SiO pressure. The results indicate that ni, the intrinsic hole and electrmt concentration for gallium phosphide at the three substrate temperatures, is smaller than the concentration estimated from available data for the density of states effective masses and the energy gap. Mass-spectrographic measurements confirm that the dono?, introduced into gallium phosphide is silicon. The equilibrium concentrations of silicon in vapor-flown gallium Phosphide have been estimated from available thernzodynamic information that includes the solubility measurements of silicon in gallium phosphide in equilibrium with a gallium-rich liquid phase. Satisfactory agreement with the measured silicon concentrations is obtained. FROSCH1 has described an open-tube process for growing single-crystal Gap from the vapor phase by a GazO transport mechanism. The method depends upon the reaction of H20 in an H2 carrier gas with a heated source of polycrystalline Gap which provides the necessary vapor species. When the temperature of these vapor species is lowered, super saturation occurs and single-crystal Gap will deposit on a suitable substrate. Unintentionally doped single crystals of Gap grown by the wet H2 process in silica tubes are n type. Evidence is presented to show that the donor introduced is silicon, and that a qua si-equilibrium model accounts for the inverse dependence of the donor concentration on the water partial pressure and predicts the magnitude of the donor concentrations. Ainslie et al. experimentally showed a similar inverse relationship between the carrier density and oxygen pressure for GaAs. Emission-spectrographic analyses showed a decrease in the silicon concentration with increasing oxygen overpressure for GaAs. Cochran and Foster suggested the theoretical possibility of suppressing silicon contamination by using Ga20 generated by the reaction of gallium with water vapor. 1) EXPERIMENTAL The apparatus and procedures are essentially the same as those described by Frosch.' The apparatus consists of a 25-mm-ID SiO2 tube extending through a controlled high-temperature flat zone for the location of the polycrystalline Gap source and a downstream temperature gradient falling at a rate of about 14°C per cm. The latter provides the region of super saturation for the location of the single-crystal substrate. The partial pressure of water in the inflowing hydrogen stream, pA2, O was controlled by mixing me-tered proportions of dry H2 with H2 saturated with H2O vapor at 0°C. The total gas flows were about 200 cu cm per min in all experiments. The Gap sources were prepared by pulverizing boat-grown polycrystalline ingots to pass a 20-mesh sieve. The substrates were cut from an undoped single-crystal boat-grown GaAs ingot purchased from Monsanto. This ingot had a carrier concentration of about 1015 atoms per cu cm, a resistivity of about 5 ohm-cm, and a mobility of about 5000 sq cm per v sec at 25°C. Substrates with dimensions of 1 by 1 by 5 x lo-' cm were employed. The growth faces were chemically polished (111) arsenic faces. Epitaxial layers, at least 7.5 x 10-3 cm thick, were grown,. This required from 1 to 24 hr depending upon the Pii2Q values and the temperatures. In all of the runs, the source temperatures were 50°C higher than the substrate temperatures. Samples were prepared

Jan 1, 1968

By H. R. Collins

The purpose of pulverizing coal before burning it is to make available every heat unit it contains. Machinery has been developed which will pulverize coal in one operation, delivering it to bins in front of the furnaces at an expenditure of about 17 hp.-hr. per ton, in a medium-sized plant. The cost of the operation depends upon the amount of moisture that must be expelled before pulverizing, the cost of labor, and the cost of coal delivered at the plant. At a small plant, requiring a pulverizer with a capacity of only 1/2 ton per hour, the cost per ton pulverized will naturally be greater than at a plant requiring the largest pulverizer, with a capacity of 7 tons per hour. :The first step is to reduce large lumps to a size suitable for drying uniformly, before passing to the pulverizing mills; this is done in rolls, at a single pass. The second step is the elimination of moisture, in order to facilitate pulverizing to great fineness, while also increasing the heating effect and the temperature attainable when the coal is burned. There are other mechanical advantages in the handling of dried coal. Driers are now manufactured which are able to eliminate moisture without distilling any of the volatile combustible matter in the coal; they are fired by hand or with pulverized fuel. The heat first surrounds the shell of the drier, being confined within a chamber where complete combustion takes place; the heated gases are then led through a duct to the discharge end of the drier and enter the inside of the shell at a temperature not exceeding 300" F. This temperature is maintained by the operator and is indicated by a pyrometer. Volatile combustible matter is not likely to be distilled until the temperature rises above 400" F. On discharging from the drier, the coal is usually passed over a magnetic separator in order to prevent pieces of iron from going to the pulverizer. Two types are used: a magnetic pulley which automatically discharges its collection of iron, and a lifting type, from which the iron is removed by hand when convenient. In the operation of pulverizing, the coal should preferably be reduced until 95 per cent. will pass through a 100-mesh and 70 per cent. through a 300-mesh sieve. Such a product is obviously an almost impalpable powder.

Jan 1, 1920

By James H. Courtright, Kenyon Richard

TOQUEPALA is a porphyry copper deposit in which mineralization is localized by a large breccia pipe formed in dose genetic relation to intrusive rocks. The deposit is in southern Peru, 55 airline miles north of the small city of Tacna and the same distance inland from the port of 110. Quellaveco and Cuajone, geologically similar deposits, lie 12 and 19 miles north of Toquepala. Chuquicamata is 400 miles to the south. The deposit is high on the southwestern slope about 20 miles from the crest of the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes Chain. It lies in a mountainous desert where the steep southwesterly slope of the Andes is dissected by a succession of rapidly downcutting, deep canyons. Local topography is moderately rugged with a dendritic drainage pattern and an elevation of 8000 to 14,000 ft. Volcanic peaks along the crest of the Cordillera rise over 19,000 ft.

Jan 2, 1958

By C. C. Harris

The modern flotation machine is the result of decades of adaptation to a changing environment. In response to falling ore grades, and rising demands, tonnages, and costs, attempts are now underway to expand machine capacity by about an order of magnitude, while at the same time maintaining metallurgical performance and if possible reducing power requirements per unit throughput. Empiricism and rule-of-thumb have guided flotation machine design and scale-up, and a current need is for the development of a fundamental understanding of the subject. Design features of current and some obsolete machines are discussed in an attempt to outline those principles of flotation machine design which are known, and to delineate topics needing investigation. Attempts are made to distinguish between essential machine features required by the physics of the process, those features resulting from speculative theories on the flotation mechanisms, and features which are essentially styling variations. Topics discussed include: flotation mechanisms; tank and impeller/ stator design and dimensions; impeller speed; aeration; power consumption; particle suspension and dispersion; capacity; correlation of design parameters and operating variables; scale-up and scale-down; materials flow; problems in machine design. Design details and operating data for several current machine families are provided in Appendices.

Jan 1, 1976

Jan 1, 1923

By C. K. Leith

Jan 1, 1906

Jan 1, 1923

By K. S. Lane

As the initial chapter in this section entitled "Role of Fluid Pressure in Rock," this attempts to fulfill an assignment for (1) summarizing the state-of-the-art and (2) illustrating engineering problems resulting from rock pore pressure. Hence, the chapter is presented in two parts: 1) Basic Concepts, and 2) Examples of Engineering Problems, including failures. Neither of these objectives has necessarily been completely met: partly from limitation of space and partly as the case histories have been restricted to the author's own field in civil engineering, and there deemphasizing those applications which will be covered in more detail by subsequent papers in this section. As with any state-of-the-art attempt, contributions of some have undoubtedly been overlooked (or omitted for brevity). Notwithstanding the foregoing limitations, it is hoped that this summary of the situation will at least: 1) Outline current concepts on effects of fluid pressure in rock-both as a pore pressure in interconnected void spaces of the intact rock and as a cleft pressure or hydraulic force acting in the joints or other discontinuities of the rock mass. 2) Indicate the often fragmentary nature of evidence presently available to support these concepts and thus encourage further research. 3) Illustrate the major significance of fluid pressure in several types of engineering problems and thus stimulate its consideration as designers encounter related situations.

Jan 1, 1970

Jan 1, 1884

By L. A. Geoffrion, R. H. Perkins, J. C. Biery

Densities of cerium metal and several lour-melting binary cerium alloys were measured over the range 25° to 800°C. A rolumeter, using NaK as working fluid, was used to obtain the data. The cerium, Ce-Co, Ce-Ni, and Ce-Cu alloys all exhibited an increase in density on melting, while a Ce-Mn alloy expanded on melting. FOR the proper design of a nuclear reactor, the change in density of the fuel with temperature must be known. This is especially important in a system utilizing molten fuel, such as LAMPRE (Los Alamos Molten Plutonium Reactor Experiment), since a relatively large change in density usually occurs during the solid-liquid transition. The fuel for LAMPRE is a Pu-2.5 wt pct Fe alloy with a melting temperature of 410°C. However, limitations in reactor design with this fuel have led to consideration of other plutonium-containing alloys for use in future generations of this type of reactor. Several ternary alloys containing plutonium and cerium as two components have satisfactorily low melting points. The system that at the present time appears to be most acceptable is Pu-Ce-Co; it exhibits little change in melting temperature with wide variation in plutonium concentration. Other alloys that have received some consideration contain nickel, copper, and manganese as the third constituent. The proposed fuel alloys are difficult to handle experimentally in the 25" to 800°C temperature range since they oxidize readily, react with many solvents, and contain a poisonous fissionable material. In addition, in this temperature range the alloys pass through the solid-liquid transition. Several techniques are available for measuring the densities and volume coefficients of expansion of solids or liquids. However, the only apparatus that appears suitable for measuring expansion coefficients over this temperature range and through the phase transition is a volumeter. In a volumeter, the indicating medium must be essentially inert to and insoluble in the material being studied. It must also possess a low vapor pressure over the operating temperature range, and its coefficient of expansion must be accurately known. One material that is satisfactory in nearly all of these respects is the alloy Na-78 wt pct K, which melts at -10°C and has a vapor pressure of 860 mm Hg at 800°C. This relatively high vapor pressure at 800°C requires an overpressure of an inert gas to prevent boiling. While a volumeter is capable of determining accurately the volume coefficients of expansion of materials, it cannot be used for absolute density measurements. Therefore, a density determination at a known temperature must be coupled with the volumeter measurements to give all the desired data. The weight-loss technique using immersion in bromobenzene at room temperature proved to be satisfactory. The preliminary work that was done on this experimental program involved developing and calibrating the equipment, and measuring the densities and volume coefficients of expansion of cerium and some low-melting binary cerium alloys. The complications that are caused with the introduction of plutonium into the system were avoided until the equipment was proved to be satisfactory and until experience was gained in its operation. It is this first phase of the experimental work that is described in this report. DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT AND OPERATING PROCEDURE The NaK volumeter is shown schematically in Fig. 1. Basically, the equipment consists of two weld-sealed stainless-steel containers of nearly identical volume. One container holds a tantalum crucible and the specimen being measured; the other contains a tantalum crucible and a tantalum specimen used as a control reference material. To avoid temperature gradients, the bombs are located in a copper block inside the furnace. Stainless-steel capillaries of equal length and volume connect each stainless-steel container to a glass viewing capillary. The stainless-steel containers, stainless-steel capillaries, and a portion of the glass capillaries are filled with NaK (22 wt pct Na-78 wt pct K). The NaK/gas interface in the glass capillary is viewed with a cathetometer which is accurate to *0.5 mm. The cathetometer readings are used to calculate the volume changes of the samples during a run. This volumeter is basically the same as that described by F. Knight in Plutonium 1960. 2 However, changes in equipment design and operating procedure were made to eliminate some major operating difficulties. These changes are summarized below. 1) In filling the manometer with NaK, gas was frequently entrained in the system. Evacuation of the system before filling failed to eliminate the en-

Jan 1, 1965