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University of Alabama University, Alabama Mining and Metallurgical Society STEPHEN STILLWELL, President VINCENT ZENOBILE, Secretary GEORGE '1 BATOR, Faculty' Sponsor RAY L. FARABEE, Counselor University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona Miners' Society RICHARD BRITTAIN, President FRED W. SHERMAN, JR., Secretary J. B. CUNNINGHAM, Faculty Sponsor E. P. GARDNER, Counselor

Jan 1, 1943

By W. H. Hough, P. B. Leavenworth

Development during 1942 led to the discovery of 26 new fields in the Texas Gulf Coast, as compared with 27 during 1941. Of these, 19 are classed as oil fields, 4 distillate fields, and 3 gas fields. Production from the new fields amounted to 614,467 bbl. to October 1942. Producing Sections.—Discoveries in I942, compared with the previous two years, classified by producing formations, are shown in the following table: It is interesting to note the increase in Wilcox discoveries due to the extensive geophysical campaign that has been con. ducted since 1940. Drilling.—During the year 688 wells were drilled, of which 574 produced oil or gas and 114 were dry. This represents a considerable decline in activity over the previous year, when 1405 wells were drilled in the area, of which 1081 were producers and 324 failures. Jackson County continued to hold the lead, with 222 wells completed. Production.—-Despite curtailed drilling, production amounted to 118,009,451 bbl. for 1942, indicating a slight increase over the 113,726,893 bbl. produced during 1941. The statistics in Tables I and 2 include condensate and distillate as oil production, because many Gulf Coast fields produce oils with a wide variation of specific gravities, all of which are commingled in pipe lines. Table 3 shows by counties most of the activities referred to. The number of wells drilled includes only field wells; not wildcats. Outstanding Fields of 1942 The Texas Gulf Coast covered in this report has 270 more or less active oil and gas fields, including the new discoveries of 1942. Of these the most outstanding from the standpoint of production are listed in Table 4. Each of these fields produced one million barrels or more during 1942. Some of the fields where new extensions are occasionally referred to as separate fields, such as West Columbia and New West Columbia, or Thompson and South Thompson, are combined to give a more accurate outline. Two interesting facts may be noted from this list of some 26 oil fields: (I) that the Lolita field, Jackson County, is the only discovery since 1938 to produce more than one million barrels annually, although there have been 79 discoveries since Jan. I, 1940; (2) that 20 of these 26 fields produce from the Frio. New Fields ALief, Harris County.—Pure Oil Company's No. I Mike Albanese was drilled to 8637 ft. in Cook Mountain shale. After numerous tests the well was completed on Apr. 20, 1942, in a Yegua sand at 7919 to 7924 ft. for 54 bbl. of 52' gravity oil and 3,335,000 cu. ft. of gas through

Jan 1, 1943

By George F. Weaton, Carleton C. Long

Two years ago the general features of the St. Joseph Lead Company's zine-smelting process were described.' At that time the discussion was limited to a description of the production of high-purity electrothermic zinc oxide. The present paper will describe the commercial production of electrothermic zinc metal. Since a fairly complete description of the plant of the Josephtowlz smelter was given in the earlier paper, the brief recapitulation given here will be limited to mention of additional equip-ment recently installed and a bare outline of the preparatory process. The raw material is zinc sulphide concentrate received from the company's mines in St. Lawrence County, New York. An average dry-weight analysis of this material is: Zn, 58.28 per cent; Pb, 0.56; insoluble, 1.6; SiO², 1.12; Fe, 6.4; CaO, 0.47; MgO, 0.27; S, 31.9; Cd, 0.1; Cu, 0.06; Mn, 0.24. Moisture content is usually about 3 per cent. Three 21-ft. 6-in. diameter, 12-hearth Nichols-Herreshoff furnaces roast the coacentrate to a calcine of average conlposition (first 10 months of 1938): Zn, 67.69 per cent; Pb, 0.06; insoluble, 1.75; SiO², 1.26; Fe, 7.24; CaO, 0.47; MgO, 0.36; S, 1.88; Cd, 0.1; Cu, 0.07'; Mn, 0.27. The sulphur dioxide gas, after passing through a waste-heat boiler, proceeds through a recently redesigned low-resistance gas-purification assembly to the contact sulphuric acid plant, of which the capacity is 200 tons of concentrates per day. The calcine is mixed with a portion of returned furnace residues and sintered on 42-in, by 44-ft. Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines, gas-fired. Wind-box gases pass through air coolers before filtering in a 1440-bag Dracco unit, and thence to stack. The Dracco fume is mixed with Cottrell dust, from roaster gas cleaning, and sent to the leach plant, where it is roasted (SO² to acid plant) and leached with sulphuric acid to recover, as end products, lead sulphate, zinc sulphate and cadmium.

Jan 1, 1943

By Margaret Dienes, Karl L. Fetters

IT is recognized that ingot structure is important in determining the quality of finished steel. Such elements of ingot structure as the size, shape and distribution of primary crystals; the size, shape and distribution of shrinkage cavities; the degree and kind of segregation (both macro and micro); the distribution of nonmetallic impurities and gas cavities are each the result of solidification phenomena. These structural features vary with variations in ingot practice: Their control requires a knowledge of their correlation with the variables of ingot practice. The structures of full-sized commercial steel ingots have been studied extensively by the Steel Ingots Committee of the Iron and Steel Institute.1 This work has contributed much to our knowledge of ingot structure and the factors that control it. These investigations of necessity have been limited in scope because of their costliness and the great amount of time required. Studies of the structure of small steel ingots have not been very satisfactory because of the rapid rate of freezing of the ingots. Their structures are thus difficult to resolve and to interpret. Medium sizes of steel ingots in the ranges of 150 to 500 lb. do offer opportunity for study, but their cost also becomes greater and their use less expeditious. Experimental models for the study of steel-ingot structure have been made of nonferrous metals. Gathmann2 used lead-tin alloys and reported that they were satisfactory for determination of the location of the major shrinkage cavities and the "planes of weakness" resulting from the pattern of crystallization. Certain features of mold design have been illustrated by these results. Bezdenezhnihk3 has used copper and aluminum ingots similarly and has shown the effect of mold-wall thickness on the depth of columnar grains. These studies of nonferrous models have been useful, but their results have been limited because the analogy with steel ingots obviously is not a close one. Model wax ingots have also been useful in pointing out important features of mold design. Gathmann4 watched the solidification of wax ingots, through a glass-walled mold, and has reported the effects of mold type on the location of the shrinkage cavities. Segregation was simulated by using a mixture of paraffin and stearine and adding a red dye that on freezing segregated preferentially to the stearine. Brearley5 also used wax models to determine .the effects of some of the principal features of mold design. Carlsson and Hultgren6 used stearic acid to show that the columnar crystals of ingots tend to slope upward progressively from the mold wall toward the center of the ingot. As with the nonferrous ingots, the wax ingots have

Jan 1, 1943

By S. S. Cole, C. E. Wood, T. L. Joseph

"INTRODUCTION Iron ore containing titanium was first used in blast furnaces over a century ago. It is well known that TiO2 is a slag-forming material that will increase the amount of slag produced by the usual gangue materials, silica and alumina. Increase in the volume of slag due to the presence of TiO2 and a lack of information concerning its effect on the properties of the slag have prevented the general use of titaniferous ore. Also rather com¬mon belief among furnace operators that the bottom of the furnace builds up when ores containing TiO2 are smelted has militated against the use of titaniferous ore. This building up of the hearth has been attributed to the formation of copper-colored crystals of titanium cyanonitride, which have been observed in the salamanders of blast furnaces. Until recently the availability of nontitaniferous iron ore has left little incentive to use ore containing titanium.The presence of vanadium in certain deposits of titaniferous magnetite in New York State has created new interest in problems connected with the use of titanium-bearing ore. It appears that most of the vanadium in this ore can be recovered in pig iron, which can be blown in a converter to produce a slag containing vanadium in amounts suitable for the production of ferrovanadium.The Titanium Division of the National Lead Co. recently erected a largo mill to treat ore from Sanford Hill, in Essex County, New York, about 50 miles west of Port Henry. The ore deposit was acquired from the MacIntyre Iron Co. and is often referred to as Sanford ore. It is one of the largest deposits of Iron-bearing material to be found east of the Lake Superior region and is being mined by open-pit methods."

Jan 1, 1943

By C. A. Hartnagel

The production of petroleum in New York state in 1942 amounted to 5,410,000 bbl. This represents an increase over each of the four preceding years, and, with the exception of 1937, is the largest production since the peak of over six million barrels in 1882, shortly after the discovery of oil in Allegany County. The oil industry in New York is virtually stabilized and there has been little or no exploration for new sources of supply in recent years. The boundaries of the present fields were established more than 30 years ago and since then no additional reserves have been found. Deep drilling for natural gas during the past 10 years both within and without the oil fields has failed to find oil in quantity below the present producing sands of Devonian age. Oil Since 1882, the New York fields have produced approximately 140 million barrels of oil. Of this amount, 65 million was produced up to the year 1919 by ordinary pumping methods; that is, without flooding by water or the use of other secondary-recovery methods. In the year 1919, when a law was passed making the use of water-flooding methods legal, the oil production, of the state amounted to only 851,000 bbl. In the 23 years since 1919, there have been produced in the state 75 million barrels, or 10 million more than in the previous 37 years, which included the period of flush production. Price.—On March 26, the price of crude oil was raised from $2.75 to $3.00 per barrel, hut this increase had little or no effect on the number of wells drilled. In the Allegany field, which accounts for three fourths of the state's oil production, 1259 wells were completed in 1942, 7 less than in 1941. The smaller number of wells drilled was not only due to the shortage of labor but also was caused by the fact that in water-flooding territory a definite program for drilling wells is followed, and the flush period of an oil well is not usually reached in time to profit by any given price increase. Daily Production.—All of the oil wells in New York state, some 21,000 in number, are small producers. The average daily oil production is 7/10 bbl. per well. Under good flooding conditions, a maximum production of 5 to 8 bbl, a day is reached about one year after the flood begins to act on the well. In 5 years the daily production usually is less than one barrel. Although most of the oil in New York is produced by flooding, an estimated 2500 old wells produce without flooding. Some of these produce as little as 1/20 bbl. a day and are pumped only at intervals. The small producing Wells are mostly on lands leased to the larger oil companies and later will be included in a flooding program. At present, they are pumped only because the owners of the land insist on the royalty. Government Aid Needed.—Because of its good lubricating qualities, New York oil is one of those for which there is an insistent and growing demand, but even at its present price of $3.00 per barrel, many of the operators are producing at a loss.

Jan 1, 1943

By Walter Miller

AFter a year's continued impact of war, the task of the petroleum-refining industry stands out clearly and looms up in larger aspect. This time it is not, as it was so largely in the first World War, simply a matter of increased quantity—more and more of the same petroleum products that had substantially been standard for years. In this era the emphasis is largely on newer and improved materials which had been produced, if at all, in comparatively insignificant quantities, and for which manufacturing equipment was not available on a large scale. At the beginning of 1942 four great product needs (besides a number of lesser ones) confronted the industry: 100-octane aviation gasoline, toluene for T.N.T. production, high-quality lubricating oils for aviation and Army equipment service, and petroleum chemicals for synthetic rubber manufacture. The difficulty in presenting a review of engineering progress in petroleum refining during 1942 is that there is so little one is free to say about so much which has been and is being accomplished. At the opening of 1942 the program was to increase the then existing capacity of 50,000 bbl. a day of aviation gasoline to over 150,000 bbl. daily by building new plants at an estimated installation cost of $150,000,000. Later in the year. after the announcement by President Roosevelt of a large increase in the program for war-plane building, additional contracts were made between the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and rehers to raise the capacity to 250,000 bbl. per day. The greatly increased scope of the war activities in all parts of the world, the obligation of the United States as the arsenal of the United Nations, and the greater importance and use of bomber, transport, and cargo planes will undoubtedly bring about plans and installations for a further increase in production of aviation gasoline over the present announced plan. In this connection, Jesse Jones, Reconstruction Finance Corporation Chairman, announced that as of Oct. 31 the R.F.C. had through its subsidiary Defense Plant Corporation entered into contracts for the construction, expansion, or equipping of 28 plants to increase 100-octane aviation gasoline production, but gave no data on 'capacity involved or completion dates. His list did not, of course, include a number of existing plants, and some installations being made by companies who are themselves financing the construction. Production from existing operating installations was materially increased in a number of instances as a result of pooling knowledge of improvements in operation and also by the exchange of Components going into 100-octane blend to enable greater quantities of aviation gasoline to be produced from the over-

Jan 1, 1943

By Thomas Fraser, David R. Mitchell

THE primary purpose of the loading plant is to transfer the finished product from the preparation machines to the railroad car, truck, or barge in which it is to go to market. Secondary purposes of the loading plant are: to prevent excessive degradation of sizes during loading, to reduce segregation as much as possible, and to prevent excessive quantities of very good or off-grade coal from entering any one car. Nonuniformity of consignments is one of the chief sources of com- plaints by consumers and coal merchants. A properly designed loading plant will do much to reduce complaints and ensure uniformity, not only from shipment to shipment but also in each individual consignment along the length of the car and in cross section. DEGRADATION IN STORAGE, LOADING AND SHIPMENT The object in loading is not only to handle the coal without breakage and segregation, but also to produce a well-trimmed load that will ride to its destination without spillage or breakage en route. The small sizes present in a car of prepared coal as received by the purchaser consist-of: missed small sizes not screened out in the preparation plant, breakage during loading, and breakage caused by handling en route. For domestic sizes of anthracite shipped from the Pennsylvania anthracite field to Atlantic coast cities, the dealers' lass because of breakage in loading and shipment amounts to from 2 to 5 per cent and for anthracite shipped to Middle West cities, the loss is 8 to 9 per cent. This difference is in part because dealers in the Middle West rescreen their coal more thoroughly than is usual in the East. One dealer handling Illinois No. 6 coal shipped from southern Illinois mines to Chicago reports an average size loss of 10 per cent when lump coal is unloaded with a fork. This runs as low as 5 per cent for carefully loaded coal and as high as 15 per cent for carelessly loaded coal.

Jan 1, 1943

By George E. Cole

While many parts of Canada's pre-Cambrian shield are well served by railway, it is frequently necessary for prospecting purposes to proceed farther into areas inaccessible by rail. To such areas in summer the canoe was at one time the accepted means of travel for the prospector while the dog team was much used in winter. Although summer travel was much improved by the development of the outboard motor, the lack of facilities for cheap transportation has been a serious hindrance to the employment of capital in opening up the distant fields. The pre-Cambrian surface of Manitoba, like that of Ontario, is hummocky, with rounded hills and ridges of rock alternating with basinlike depressions and valleys occupied by lakes and rivers Or by many low-lying portions covered with muskeg' Routes to the mines have not usually been direct or easy and seasonal vagaries have presented problems in themselves. In summer, water transportation may be the cheapest method for the longer distances but it is not every water route that will satisfy the conditions of loading freight on to a boat or scow and of conveying it without interruption to its destination. By its location, a mine may require a large program of boat transportation in summer Over part of its route, to be followed by winter freighting for the remainder. In order to carry on development and produc- tion over a long period, it may be necessary to haul large quantities of supplies during the winter. This seasonal problem, particularly for the out-of-the-way properties, is SO important and demanding as to make it a major operation in the life of the mine. The -use of the tractor during winter months for heavy machinery and bulk supplies, and the use of the airplane throughout the year for the transportation of personnel and for emergency requirements, have greatly improved transportation to places that are inaccessible by rail. Canada has pioneered in both these methods. Development oF Transportation Twenty-two years have seen a marked change in transportation methods in Canada's mining country. Horse-drawn sleighs have given way to the tractor and that to some extent has been supplanted by the airplane. One of the earliest ventures involving transportation of considerable magnitude was that of the Mandy mine, on Schist at in northern Manitoba. According to accounts of early mining activities in Manitoba, the Mandy mine, beginning December 1916, had 3300 tons of ore hauled 40 miles by sleigh to Saskatchewan River and in summer this was conveyed by barge to The Pas, 130 miles, and then by railroad to Trail, British Columbia, 1200 miles. The mine shipped 6000 tons of ore in 1918 and 15,000 tons in 1919. In winter of the latter year, as many as 300 teams of horses were used on the 40-mile stretch to

Jan 1, 1943

By L. G. Sprague

THE fact that this latest and most modern of the Universal Atlas Cement Company's plants at Northampton, Pa., is the fifth to be built on these same properties, and their development has been coincidental with the development of the portland cement industry in the United States, makes it appropriate to sketch briefly the history of the successive steps. In 1889 the original Atlas Portland Cement Co. started its first plant at Coplay, Pa., which is just across the Lehigh River from the present operation. Here the first successful rotary kiln was operated. These kilns were 6 ft. in diameter and 60 ft. long; they used oil for fuel until 1895, when the company developed the first burner for pulverized coal. Shortly thereafter the Atlas company acquired property on the Northampton side of the river and built its plants Nos. 2, 3 and 4 within the following 10 years. During the same period the production of portland cement in the country was increasing rapidly; owing largely to the development of the rotary kiln and improved grinding machinery, which lowered the cost and improved the quality of cement. The general tendency has been to increase the length of the kiln and grind both raw material and finished product finer. In 1930 the Atlas Portland Cement Co. and the Universal Portland Cement Co. united to form the Universal Atlas Cement Co., and the same policy of improving the product has been continued. Because of the large amount of research carried on by manufacturers and consumers, including government agencies, there is a demand for cement of different chemical and physical characteristics for different kinds of structures. Hence many engineers in recent years have been asking for cements of certain definite chemical analyses, which they think are best for their particular jobs. This has compelled the manufacturer to make several different types of cement by variations of chemical composition. These are generally made by adding silica, iron and lime to the standard mixture, which necessarily increases the cost of the product. Therefore the Universal Atlas Cement Co., in planning the modernization of its Northampton plant, gave this particular phase of the problem considerable study. Research and experimentation have developed the practicability of making a wide variety of differently proportioned raw materials for cement by a process of subtraction rather than by addition. With such process, it is possible to discard the undesirable aluminates and silicates from the ample supply of impure limestone available from the company's property rather than by adding high-grade limestone obtained from distant sources. This procedure requires mineral separation by centrifugal sedimentation and froth flotation. Since the chemical and mineral constituents of Lehigh Valley "cement rock," together with the methods of separating them, have been thoroughly described in published

Jan 1, 1943

By R. L. Whitting, George Fancher

A typical drilling mud from the Hastings oil field, Brazoria County, Texas, containing only 8 per cent (dry basis) of material of colloidal dimensions, which is largely illite, was concentrated to a density of 10.2 lb. per gal. and used in this study. The effects of water dilution, treatment with complex polyphos-phates, temperature and the time of heating upon the rheological properties of the mud were investigated. It was found that water plays an important part in chemical treatment and that sodium acid pyrophosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate were more efficient than other complex polyphosphates for chemical treatment. Muds treated with either of these chemicals manifested maximum reduction in viscosity and minimum filtration rates at low concentrations. Furthermore, .mud treated to minimum viscosity with either of these two chemicals was virtually unaffected by heat-treatment. Introduction The drilling of deep wells is dependent upon the use of drilling mud, and problems frequently arise concerning the effects on mud of temperature, prolonged heating and aging. The use of chemicals to control the rheological properties of mud is a well-established practice. Salts of weak organic acids such as sodium tannate or gallate were used at first until the complex phosphates of sodium were found to be more efficient. Consequently, it seemed important to investigate the reaction of a mud to chemical treatment with phosphates, temperature, heat-treatment and aging, particularly since previous work in the laboratory at the University of Texas had provided the particle-size distribution and mineral composition of Hastings mud. Properties or Mud Used in Experiments A large sample of the mud from a drilling well in the Hastings field, Brazoria County, Texas, was obtained directly from the circulatory system. Some of the general physical characteristics of the mud and other data are presented in Table I. Table i.—General Properties of Hustings Drilling Mud Alex- Cur-ander keet Well Well Depth when sample was taken, It.. 5720 5700 Weight. lb. per gal............... 9.5 0.8 Viscosity, sec. A.P.I.............. 47 60 Viscosity, Stormer, grams......... 80 Viscosity, centipoises............. 13 Filtration rate, c.c. per 30 min.a. . . 19.6 22.8 Salt content (chlorides), per cent... 0.13 0.12 pH............................. 8.9 8.9 The Alexander mud was used for the experimental work. Comparison with Curkeet mud indicates a considerably greater dilution but otherwise suggests similarity. The mineral composition and particle-size distribution of Curkeet mud (Table 2) are available (Fancher and Oliphant6). It is suggested that Alexander mud would have a similar composition.

Jan 1, 1943

By W. S. Pellini, F. N. Rhines

In many of the otherwise well established alloy phase diagrams the solidus curves (temperatures at which liquid first appears upon melting) have not been located accurately, chiefly because the experimental techniques that have been most popular for determining solidus temperatures have been both cumbersome and subject to large errors. C. E. Homer and H. Plummerl have described a sensitive and at the same time a very simple technique for locating the solidus curves in a number of alloys of tin. Their method consists simply in noting the temperature at which a specimen of the alloy ruptures under the influence of a light bending force. Although this method is not new, it has been little used for this purpose in the past; nevertheless, it appears so attractive in its possibilities of speed, simplicity, and precision that the investigations presently to be described were undertaken to verify its merits. The redetermination of the solidus and eutectic temperatures of the lead-antimony system was employed as a medium of experimentation. New values obtained in this way are believcd to be sufficiently precise to warrant a revision of the currently accepted lead-antimony phase diagram (Fig. I). Determinations of the solidus of the lead-rich lead-antimony alloy series have been published by X. S. Dean2 and by E. E. Schumacher and F. C. Nix. Their points are represented in Fig. I. In their work the solidus was not located at antimony collcentrations greater than 2 per cent; the curve was presumed to meet the eutectic horizontal at an antimony concentration of about 2.5 per cent. In the present studies the solidus has been traced to 3.5 per cent, where the eutectic horizontal is intersected (Table I and Fig. I). Within the range investigated by Dean and by Schumacher and Nix the agreement with their values is good. H. Seltz and B. De Witt,4 on the basis of activity measurements, have calculated that the intersection of the solidus and the eutectic reaction horizontal should lie at 3.86 per cent of antimony. The following determinations of the eutectic temperature have been reported: Roland-Gosselin,5 228°C.; Ewen,6 228OC.; J. E. Stead,7 24g°C.; Campbell,8 228°C.; W. Gontermann,9 245' to 252°C.; R. Loebe,lo 245°C.; E. Heyn and 0. Bauer,ll 245°C.; H. Endo,12 250°C.; R. S. Dean,= 247' to 258°C.; E. Abel, O. Redlich, and J. Adier,13 245°C.; W. Broniewski and L. Sliwowski,14 250' to 252°C.; H. Seltz and B. De Witt,4 25o°C. A temperature of 247°C. appears to have been generally accepted in recent years; it is the value most frequently obtained by the method of cooling curves. Values below 247°C. have usually been obtained by inferior cooling-curve techniques; those above 250°C., by the method of heating

Jan 1, 1943

By H. M. Bouton, G. S. Phipps, E. E. Schumacher

The seriousness of the present tin scarcity has stimulated large consumers of this vital metal to develop drastic conservation measures in order to extend the available supplies to cover the emergency period. By devising new soldering methods and alloys the Bell System has contributed a substantial share in the tin conservation effort. Fortunately, the changes, as far as can be determined now, have not introduced weakness into the soldered joints. Some of the new procedurcs were already in the process of development at the onset of the emergency, while others were devised under its stress. In some instances, the newly developed solders were found to be more difficult to use than the alloys previously available, and would not have been introduced under normal conditions. One major change made that previously had been under consideration will result in large savings of tin. Unless service difficulties are encountered, this modification gives promise of remaining after the emergency has passed. The change involves a reduction in the amount of solder placed on a wiped joint between the cable sheath and the sleeve. Instead of the customary full sized wiped joint, a wipe of fillet proportions is formed. Through this change, a solder saving of more than 60 per cent per joint can be realized. Plumbers and cable splicers for many years have joined lead pipes and cable sheath by a soldering process called " wiping." The name is an apt description of the operation. For a wiped joint, the sections to be united are heated by molten solder poured over their surfaces, and the resulting semiliquid mass is manipulated by wiping with cloth pads to a well rounded symmetrical form like the one shown in Fig. I. The operation requires considerable skill on the part of the splicer and close control of the composition of the solder. At first consideration, the problem of tightness in such joints seems simple but experience shows that even under the best conditions the fissures frequently found in the solder occasionally link and form a path that allows leakage to occur. In telephone cables not maintained under gas pressure, such leaks permit the entrance of water, which wets the paper-covered conductors and thereby impairs the insulation value and causes service interruptions. Ry going to an extreme and wiping off all the solder in excess of a fillet, it has been found that many causes of porosity are eliminated. Figs. 2 and 3 show cross sections of joints wiped in the old and the new ways. The saving in solder, and consequently in strategic tin, is evident. The field splicing forces find that joints are easier to make by the new method and are less likely to be porous. The metallurgical considerations that are responsible for the success of the fillet wipe are of interest. Much has been written about the wiping process of soldering cable joints and the many requirements of a good wiping solder have frequently been listed. The success of the procedure described

Jan 1, 1943

By Frank L. Hess

"New England" and "granite" if not synonymous are at least associated terms. Where there are granites that are not deeply eroded there are usually pegmatites, the most erratic of rocks, and of them New England has a full portion. Many of the New England pegmatites contain the rare alkalis - lithium, rubidium, and cesium. however, the same in homogeneity of the earth's crust that has made the New England pegmatites unusual, in that so many of them contain the rare alkalis, has likewise made the distribution of the rare-alkali minerals sporadic even in those pegmatites, and most contain only enough to furnish collectors with more or less ornamental and uncommon minerals. New England has long had numberless collectors of minerals, and the mineralogists of its various schools have published many papers on the pegmatitic minerals, including those of the rare alkalis, but none of the papers have dealt with estimates of quantities. In this paper we have tried to place the emphasis on quantity rather than on mineralogy.

Jan 1, 1943

By Michael Perch, Charles C. Russell

Nearly 7 5 per cent of the total coke production in the United States in 1940 was consumed in blast furnaces. In 1939 the percentage was 69.9, and in 1938 it was 61.3. To produce a net ton of pig iron 1757 lb. of coke was required in 1940 and 1760 lb. in 1939. These figures indicate how dependent the production of pig iron is upon the production of coke. The rate of iron production is in some measure influenced by the physical and chemical characteristics of the coke. Blast-furnace operators believe that the physical properties of coke profoundly influence the operation of the furnace. Although it is true that coke of a wide variety of physical properties is used in American blast furnaces, the periodic fluctuation of these properties is one of the causes of irregularity of blast-furnace operation. The purpose of this paper is to present a broad picture of the physical properties of by-product coke that are generally considered to be important by coke-oven and blast-furnace operators. Effects of the kind of coal used, the preparation of the coal, the rate of coking, and other factors will be considered. Of all these variables, the kind of coal used is by far the most important. In this discussion use will be made of the method of coal classification by rank1 standardized by the American Society for Testing Materials. Although this method of classification has been an American standard for several years, it has not been given the attention it deserves, especially in connection with the selection of coal for production of coke. Despite the fact that many producers of blast-furnace coke are limited to some particular source or sources of coal, a good understanding of the principles involved in setting up the standard method of classification may lead to a better appreciation of the causes of changes in coke characteristics. Furthermore, where it is necessary to select new coals as a substitute for the original supply, this method of classification can be of great assistance. The data presented have been gathered from many sources, but no attempt has been made to cover the vast literature. Instead, some of the more important data have been selected to show how coals and their carbonization affect some of the physical properties of coke. It must be emphasized that generalizations concerning the behavior of coking coals are presented and that individual coals may vary widely from the specific behavior depicted. Nevertheless, it is believed that the data illustrate certain typical behaviors. Neither was it possible to cover completely all the factors involved; for example, the macroscopic constituents of coal are believed to have important effects on the physical properties of coke, but since there is little information available for such study, and since vitrain, clarain, and durain are neither

Jan 1, 1943

By Leo H. Glanville

UNTIL 1934, natural ventilation was depended upon in the mine of the Climax Molybdenum Co. at Climax, Colorado. In that year a 7-ft. axial-flow, low-pressure fan was installed as an exhausting unit. In 1936, three more fans of the same kind were installed, all as exhausting units, with a total capacity of 115,000 cu. ft. per min., and since then fans and sprays have been added as required. ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS Adverse atmospheric conditions at this elevation of 11,500 ft. account in part for difficulty in maintaining adequate ventilation throughout the mine. Barometric pressures range from 18.99 to 20.01 in. of mercury; the normal average being 19.70 in. Air weight is 0.051 lb. per cu. ft., and humidity is low-about a 30 per cent yearly average. This makes the use of mechanical humidity aids mandatory the year around to prevent excessive dryness of the mine workings and the resultant dust hazard. The yearly temperature range is from minus 24° to 95°F.; typically, in February 1942 the mean low was minus 3.25°F. and the mean high, 21.3°F. In August the mean low was 34.8°F.; the mean high, 64.26°F. Even during the summer month air filtration through the openings of the cave area is 32°F., owing to accumulation of snow in the glory hole and in part to glacial ice, which, combined with a rock temperature of 39°F. on the upper levels (elevation 11,945 ft.) and 42°F. on the main haulage level (elevation 11,490 ft.), makes it difficult to maintain a comfortable working temperature. The one advantage in ventilation of mine workings at the altitude of the Climax mine is that the power required to circulate a given air volume is 32 per cent less than would be required at sea level. PROBLEMS Since 1936 the mine management has studied intensively plans for providing adequate ventilation for the entire mine for its expected life. As the ore breaks into large pieces, much secondary blasting is necessary, therefore there is a considerable amount of smoke, gas and dust, which requires circulation of a large amount of air to remove the contamination. It is undesirable to use haulage drifts and manways as air passages because some would be passageways for contaminated air also, and there would be undesirable high velocities in some drifts. High velocities and large volumes of subfreezing air dry out the passageways through which they pass, and thus increase the amount of dust. Regulating doors in haulage drifts are difficult of upkeep and interfere with production. It was decided as a general principle to distribute fresh air to each working place at low velocities and low pressures and to remove contaminated air as soon as possible with a minimum of travel through working places.

Jan 1, 1943

By Hubert D. Keiser

AN observation that is finding fresh confirmation in the leadership of the Allied Nations is "When the need arises, a man will rise to fill it." Much the same can be said of industrial advances in the current emergency. Events and circumstances have created needs for new materials and stimulated the inventive genius of man to fill them. The timely development of fibrous-glass manufacture, in relation to present war needs, is a case in point. HISTORICAL SUMMARY It is probable that the first glass fibers produced by the hand of man were made about 4000 years ago. Successful production of glass fibers for manifold industrial and military uses, on any scale that could begin to meet present needs, has a history spanning a scant four years. The American processes that brought this young industry into being were developed between the years 1931 and 1937; research and manufacturing efforts were consolidated to create a commercially satisfactory operation as late as November 1939. In the 40 months that have elapsed since then, the industry has achieved commercial importance, supplied immense quantities of materials for pre-war industrial expansion to meet "defense" and Lend-Lease needs, and now has reached such importance that it has come largely under the control of the War Production Board for equitable distribution of its major products among 13 claimant agencies. It is worthy of note, however, that the Bureau of Ships, Navy Department, began exploratory use of fibrous-glass products in 1932, within one year after the date of the first experimental trials of the new process. This early recognition of the military importance of fibrous glass gave impetus to further research work. The foregoing rapid scanning of historical development must be filled in, lest the impression be created that glass fibers were suddenly created out of thin air, with no antecedent trials, failures, and partial successes. The actual history of glassmaking is lost in antiquity. Probably some nomadic tribesman found molten glass beneath the bed of a hot campfire built upon sand of the proper composition. If his curiosity led him to poke the glowing, viscous pool with a green-wood stick or some handy weapon, it is probable that he drew a glass fiber on the end of his implement. Molten glass has much the same consistency as honey or molasses; it strings out tenuously. Thus, it is quite possible that the first form of glass shaped by man's action was a glass fiber. Artisans in glass, throughout the long history of glassmaking as an art, drew fibers from fine rods for many decorative applications, including "spun glass" decoration in beautiful stemware and the charming millefiori (glass flowers encased in solid glass), and even to create the blood vessels in glass eyes to match a bleary mate.

Jan 1, 1943

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS C. H. MATHEWSON. Chairman PAUL D. MERICA, Vice-Chairman CHESTER A. FULTON CARROLL A. GARNER H. Y. WALKER FINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ERLE Y. DAVELER, Chairman WILBER JUDSON RUSSELL B. PAUL HENRY KRUMB, Consultant

Jan 1, 1943

By J. H. Frye, R. M. Treco, J. W. Caum

IT has been suggested that: "Insofar as the hardening due to a solute depends upon the increase of lattice parameter produced by it, it is reasonable to suppose that this hardening might be related to the resistance which the pure solvent would offer to increase in its parameter."1 It was further suggested that this hypothesis might be examined by comparing the hardnesses of analogous silver and copper alloys, since the stress necessary to produce a given lattice expansion is quite different in the two metals. Suitable data 2,3,4 are now available on these alloys, and we shall proceed to an examination of the hypothesis quoted above. HARDNESS, LATTICE PARAMETER AND IONIC OVERLAP Increase in ultimate Meyer hardness has been plotted against increase in lattice parameter in Figs. I and 2, It is believed that most of the values are accurate within the limits indicated by the rectangles, These data are also presented in Table I. Ultimate Meyer hardness, Pu, is defined by the equation: [P" - D2] where L = load, D = diameter of an impression having the same diameter as the testing ball, which in this case is 4 mm. Increase in lattice parameter is defined as the difference between the lattice parameter of the solid solution and that of the pure solvent. The curves in Figs. I and 2 are based on equal solute concentration and an equal degree of plastic deformation pro¬duced by the testing ball. Hardnesses are corrected to a constant grain size for copper and silver alloys, respectively, and these two grain sizes are approximately equal. Furthermore, all solutes are from the same period of the B subgroup of the periodic table as their solvent. [ ] The question arises as to whether or not lattice parameter is the only factor controlling the hardness of these alloys. There

Jan 1, 1943

6784. Barnes, V. L., and Romberg, Frederick. Gravity and Magnetic Observations on Iron Mountain Magnetite Deposit, Llano County, Tex. Geophysics, Menasha, Wis., vol. 8, No. 1, 1943, pp. 32-45. An outcrop of magnetite in the Central Mineral region of Texas is explored experimentally with a dip needle and a gravity meter. Two anomalies are observed, one due to the outcropping body and one probably due to a previously unknown body close to the outcrop. The possible attitudes of the bodies are discussed, and their masses and probable dimensions are computed from the gravitational observations. - Author's abstract.

Jan 1, 1943