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The study of gas emitted from face coal samples at the coal face is part of an investigation of instantaneous outbursts of coal and gas. Normally, seam gas essentially comprises methane of which the origin in the metamorphism of coal is undoubted. The origin of other gases sometimes occurring in high proportion in seam gas, particularly carbon dioxide, is more controversial. A simple meter for rapidly assessing gas in coal was developed. Tests with the meter enabled comparisons of seam gas in face coal at some outbursting and nonoutbursting mines, and under various working conditions. The varying results of widespread testing suggest certain trends, including some prospect of recognising outbursting potential at the coal face.INTRODUCTIONThe aim of this work is identification of differences in gas condition between coals subject to instantaneous outbursts and coals which have not outburst, and between faces of coals which will and which will not subsequently outburst. Any comparative test should be conducted right at the coal face on coal about to be worked and the results of testing should be available after a short period. Moreover, the method and the comparison of results should require no special skill, and be well within the capacity of junior mine officials. Any consistent relation between gas condition and subsequent mining conditions - outbursting or not might be valuable in prediction of outbursts.INSTANTANEOUS OUTBURSTSInstantaneous outbursts (Hargraves, 1958) , are largely unpredictable and unaccountable ejections of coal (up to 5,000 tons) and gas (up to 5,000,000 cu.ft.) from a standing coal face. Usually the gas is essentially methane (CH4 ) but may be essentially carbon dioxide (C02 ), or an intermediatemixture...

Jan 1, 1962

By Carl J. McHargue

Rods of 99.99 + pct Al which had initial orientatzons of <001>, <118>, <115>, <111>, and random were swaged at room temperature. Changes in orientation as a function of deformation were studied on axis distribution charts. The <001> orientation appeared to be relatively stable due to the inhomogeneity of the deformation process. near the <100> zone were quickly reoriented towards <001>. Orientations on the <110> zone between <118> and <115> appeared to be stable to reductions of about 50 pct, then were reoriented toward <001>. At very high reductzotzs. movement away from the <111> orientation was observed. the requirement that a circular cross section be maintained. In addition to these mechanical factors, there are grain-boundary effects in poly crystalline materials which are not yet understood. Hartmann and Macherauch conclude, for example, that multiple slip occurs for all orientations in fine-grained aluminum and copper and that the choice of operative slip systems has no simple relationship to orientation.? Many investigators have attempted to avoid problems of interpretation caused by an initial texture by treating the starting material to obtain as ran- IT has been generally accepted that the deformation texture obtained at high reductions, e.g. 90 pct, will not be noticeably affected by a prior texture; whereas, that obtained at reductions of 40 to 50 pct may be significantly influenced by the specimen history.&apos; Some recent studies, however, have been interpreted as showing that an initial texture strongly influenced the deformation textures in rods at reductions greater than 90 pct. Freda and Cullity suggested that the <001> texture in a heavily cold-worked copper rod was due to a <001> texture in the original casting. McHargue, Jetter? and Ogle concluded that the <001> component in an aluminum rod extruded at liquid nitrogen temperature was remanent from a <001> texture in the cast extrusion billet.3 Most of the published work on the effect of initial orientation on deformation textures has been for cold-rolled or compressed single crystals,4-6 The primary interest in these studies was to examine various orientations with regard to their stability under flow? thus determining the possibility of such orientations being stable end orientations. There appears to be no published studies on the effect of initial orientation on fiber textures in polycrystalline specimens. A recent study, however, is concerned with the reorientation of individual grains in polycrystalline specimens pulled in tension.? Although the reorientation of single crystals loaded in simple tension is well known, the movements in the forming of wires and rods would be expected to be different due to the circular array of radial-compressive stresses exerted by the die walls or the rolls, and to

Jan 1, 1962

By P. H. Riordon

ONE OF the major sources of the world's supply of asbestos lies in a belt of ultrabasic rocks stretching through the Eastern Townships of Quebec where chrysotile asbestos has been mined continuously since 1878. The productive portion of the belt extends from the town of Asbestos in Shipton town-ship northeastward some 60 miles to the eastern edge of Broughton town-ship. (See map). Twelve mines, currently treating an aggregate of over 60,000 tons of rock daily, produce more than one million tons of asbestos :annually. An equal number of mines are now dormant, having for the most part exhausted their reserves. It is evident from the past and present activity, in this belt that it can look forward to at least half a century or more of large scale production. The host rock to the asbestos de-posits is essentially a peridotite which originally contained I 0 to 15 per •cent pyroxene. The peridotite, associated with dunite, pyroxenite

Jan 1, 1962

By Kenneth M. Earl

This report describes the results of a field study conducted by the Bureau of Mines during 1956 and 1957 on manganese-and iron-bearing mineral deposits in the southern district of Aroostook County, Maine. The work was undertaken to determine the extent of deposits largely concealed under glacial drift and to obtain subsurface samples for manganese mineral identification and research in ore dressing and extractive metallurgy. The investigation was confined to the Westford Hill-Daggett Hill area in Hodgdon Township and to the Stewart prospects and vicinity in Linneus Township. Over 50 magnetic anomalies were mapped by magnetometric surveys in the Westford Hill-Daggett Hill area, Hodgdon Township. The largest anomaly, as outlined by the 1,000-gamma contour, indicates a deposit 3,200 feet long with a maximum width of 350 feet. The smallest anomaly measures about 10 feet wide by 25 feet long.

Jan 1, 1962

By J. B. Malcolm

The discovery of tungsten-bearing quartz outcroppings in Vance County, N. C., by the Hamme brothers in 1942, made international news in the mining industry and was, in fact, one of the major ore discoveries made in the U.S. during the last 25 years. Operations began at the Hamme mine in 1942, but after 16 years of successful operation, the mine was closed down in 1958 under adverse market conditions. By that time, it had produced nearly 20 million lbs of metallic tungsten. Because of the square-set timber mining method then in use, mine operating expenses were high, actually representing 78% of the total operating expenses at the property. In timber work alone, 160 men were employed. Approximately 500,000 bd ft of timber were placed monthly at a direct supply cost of $1.00 per ton of ore mined. Late in 1959, following a slightly improved position in the tungsten market, company management decided that, by changing the mining method, the operation could be economically feasible. The major premise in this decision was that a reduction of from 25 to 30% of the mining costs could be achieved by the conversion of the mining method from square-sets to horizontal cut and fill. Reopening of the mine began in February 1960, Full production has now been reached and overall mine productivity has been doubled.

Jan 1, 1962

By J. F. Enrietto

It is shown that one cannot approximate the broad internal friction Peaks observed in the Fe-Mn-N system as the sum of a number of subsidiary Peaks and still vetain the concept of a single relaxation time. Furthermore, the approximation of manganese affectirg only nearest neighbor interstitial sites is shown to be incompatible with the experimental results. The results of this experiment show that the influence of manganese in the ferrite lattice extends over 3 to 4 atomic distances. NUMEROUS experiments have shown that the presence of relatively small amounts of substitutional alloying elements can profoundly affect the profile of the damping spectrum in the vicinity of the Snoek peak in bee metals.1-7 Dijkstra and Sladekl observed this phenomenon in Fe-Mn-N alloys where it appeared as a broadening and shifting of the Snoek peak to higher temperatures. The authors interpreted this as being the result of a superposition of two damping maxima—the normal Snoek peak, located at its usual position and having a normal half-width, and an interaction peak having a normal half-width, but occurring at a somewhat higher temperature. They prclposed that the interaction peak was caused by nitrogen atoms jumping from Fe-Mn sites to Fe-Fe sites, the Fe-Mn interstitial sites having one manganese and one iron atom as nearest neighbors, and the Fe-Fe sites having two iron atoms as nearest neighbors. They further suggested that the Fe-Mn sites had a lower energy than the normal Fe-Fe sites because of the presence of the adjacent manganese atoms. From the relative heights of the two postulated damping peaks, the dif-

Jan 1, 1962

By M. M. Wong

Beryllium possesses attractive properties for use in the nuclear and space fields. Since fused-salt electrorefining can be employed to produce this metal in high-purity form from low-grade or scrap metals, the Bureau of Mines investigated electrorefining of beryllium in electrolytes composed of a LiC1-KC1 eutectic mixture plus varying amounts of BeC12. Results showed a 99- percent or better reduction of oxygen and magnesium and a substantial reduction of other minor metallic impurities. Extremely pure beryllium metal was produced. Operating variables, including BeCl2 concentration in the bath (3.5 to 16.5 mole-percent), temperature of operation (450° to 550° C.), and cathode current density (45 to 770 a,/sq, ft.), were studied; their effects on the deposition of metal, working condition of the bath, and purity of the refined metal are discussed. The safety precautions used in handling beryllium in the laboratory are also described.

Jan 1, 1962

By Fred C. Bond

Any improvement in the accuracy of commercial comminution calculations under the Third Theory must be accomplished either by increased precision in energy input measurements, or by a better evaluation of the total new crack length produced, as indicated by the feed and product size distributions. Since at the present time feed and product sizes are approximated solely by the microns 80% passes, the most promising opportunity for increased accuracy lies in consideration of their plotted size distribution characteristics. This paper shows how more accuracy can be obtained over an increased range of feed and product sizes from size distribution studies.

Jan 1, 1962

By Molly Gleiser, John Chipman

The standard free energy of formation of WC was obtained from determination of the equilibrium WC + CO2 = W + 2CO between 1215° and 1266°K. Its uallie is -8340 * 300 cal Per mole over the above range of temperature. AS a part of a program devoted to measuring the stabilities of the carbides, a study was made of the free energy of formation of tungsten carbide, WC. The homogeneity range of this compound is very small,&apos; and it is generally accepted and is dealt with here as a stoichiometric compound. The heat of formation, ?H°f, of WC has been accurately measured by Huff, Squitieri, and snyder.2 The only attempt, however, to measure the free energy of formation of this compound was made by Schenck, Kurzen, and wesselkock3 who brought tungsten carbides into equilibrium with H2 and CH4. Unfortunately their results are not sufficiently accurate nor consistent enough to permit the calculation of free energies. METHOD Heating mixtures of tungsten and carbon powders in hydrogen for 4 days at 1050°C led to formation of some WC without any trace of W2C. It was deduced, therefore, that at least below this temperature W2C will not be formed during experiments with mixtures of tungsten and WC. This was subsequently shown to be correct. The method chosen was the measurement of the equilibrium of the reaction

Jan 1, 1962

By A. C. Elliott, A. J. Lafreniere

THE Hamilton Works of The Steel Company of Canada is a fully integrated steel plant with an annual capacity of three million tons. Located on the south shore of -Hamilton bay, it is in the centre of Hamilton's industrial belt. The heavy concentration of industrial activities found in this area, accompanied metallurgical well-known sources of pollution which are normal to urban areas is creating a pollution problem which concerns both industry and the general public. The Steel Company of Canada has recognized this problem and, accordingly, has adopted the policy of integrating suitable pollution control devices into its new installations. Much effort is also being expended to control the emissions of air contaminants from the existing equipment. At the Hamilton Works, there are two main sources of metallurgical dust emissions to the atmosphere -the Open Hearth furnaces and the Sinter Plant. Of these two, the Open Hearth furnaces are, undoubtedly, the largest single source of

Jan 1, 1962

By J. R. Welty

High-temperature thermodynamic data have, in recent years, become increasingly important for the extractive metallurgist. The extraction of metals from their ores previously was based on trial and error methods, involving hours of testing and often costly equipment fabrication. Using thermodynamic data it is frequently possible to predict the feasibility of a proposed metallurgical process as well as the optimum operating conditions for the process with reasonable accuracy. Such predictions can save consider-able tim~ and expense. Widespread use of thermodynamic analyses has been handicapped by lack of dependable experimental data. Investigators, notably K. K. Kelley (4)4. have devoted many years to determining and compiling such data. These investigators, although prolific in their production of thermodynamic values, have been unable to meet all the needs of industry and other branches of science. This becomes obvious when one considers the aeronautical and nuclear fields, in which previously unimportant, therefore uninvestigated, substances have become of prime importance.

Jan 1, 1962

By Mark J. Klein, Robert A. Haggins

The pesence of a small amount of oxygen was found to cause significant grain growth restraint in 99.99 pct Ag. This behavior does not seem to be due to the presence of an oxide dispersion, but instead, to be related to the existence of minute amounts of oxygen m solid solution. In the amounts necessary to cause the observed effects it was found that oxygen migrates with extreme rapidity, probably along extended structural imperfections, such as dislocations and grain boundaries. A number of years ago, hastton&apos; observed that the presence of small amounts of oxygen caused a retardation of grain growth in silver. He attributed this behavior to the formation of a fine dispersion of oxide particles by the internal oxidation of trace impurities. More recently, wood2 also found that oxygen caused grain growth restraint in copper. Experiments using both copper and a dilute solution of aluminum in copper led to the conclusion that the effects observed in copper were due to oxygen in solid solution, rather than an oxide dispersion. During the course of a study of the influence of several solutes on the recrystallization of Silver, the presence of minute amounts of oxygen was found to exert a very significant influence on grain growth. The experiments reported here were undertaken to determine whether the grain growth restraint observed in silver due to the presence of oxygen is related to oxygen in solution or to an oxide dispersion. Because of the difficulty in measurement and control of the very small oxygen concentrations causing the observed effects no attempt was made to treat the data in a quantitative manner. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE AND RESULTS Silver of 99.99 pct purity was melted and cast into slabs in a vacuum of better than 0.1 p. These slabs were reduced 50 pct by cold rolling to a thickness of approximately 2.5 mm. Samples cut from this material were annealed in vacuum for a series of different times at 803°C. Another group of samples was similarly annealed in air. This temperature is well above the recrystallization range for silver of this purity (150" to 200°C). The mean grain diameter of these samples was measured, both in the center and near the edge, using the line-intel-cept method, and is shown as a function of annealing time in Fig. 1. The grain size in the centers of the samples annealed in air was found to be larger than that of the surface regions, while the grain growth behavior of the edge and center regions annealed in a vacuum was approximately the same. he edge measurements were taken at a distance of 0.2 mm from the surface.) A few samples were annealed in nitrogen. Their behavior was identical to that of the vacuum-annealed samples. Samples annealed in oxygen had approximately the same grain growth behavior as those annealed in air, leading to the conclusion that this behaviouer is due to oxygen. The microstructure of a sample annealed in air at 803" for. 30 minutes is shown in Fig. 2. The smaller grain size near the surface is characteristic of the iir-annealed specimens. Possible causes of this grain growth restraint in the air-annealed specimen are the formation of an im-

Jan 1, 1962

By Donald G. Oss

The need for instrumentation and automatic control of the various parameters in the heavy media process of iron ore beneficiation has been apparent for some time. Continued demands for higher grade, competitive products from the Mesabi Range have made it necessary to increase the efficiency of the process in every possible way. A brief review of a typical heavy media flow scheme, as illustrated in. Figure l, might be in order for those not intimately associated with this process of iron ore beneficiation.

Jan 1, 1962

By Eugene L. Grumer

High-expansion foam was applied to the flames of six fuels burning in a 1-foot-diameter tray. The flames of three hydrocarbon fuels were more readily extinguished than the flames of methanol, acetone, or unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine. The result is rationalized on the basis that heat transfer from flame to fuel surface is primarily radiative with the hydrocarbons and more largely convective with the nonhydrocarbons. INTRODUCTION Equipment for producing high-expansion foams has been developed by the Bureau of Mines to control coal mine fires.5 Recently such equipment has been redesigned for portability and has now been produced commercially for other fire-fighting applications. In May 1961, a 50-by 50-foot gasoline fire was extinguished within 2 minutes by a trailer-mounted foam unit that produced 12,000 cu.ft./min. of high-expansion (1,000:1) foam.6

Jan 1, 1962

By D. Mizer, J. B. Clark

In a recent investigation of the entire magnesium-yttrium phase diagram, Gibson and Carlsonl report the maximum solid solubility of yttrium in magnesium as 8.0 wt pct Y at 1050°F (565°C). However, independent studies of the precipitation in magnesium-yttrium alloys, 2 conducted prior to the publication of the above phase diagram, indicated a greater solid solubility of yttrium in magnesium. Accordingly, the magnesium-rich region of the diagram was re-investigated to determine more accurately the liqui-dus, solidus, and solvus of the magnesium solid solution in this system. Metallography and thermal analysis were chosen as the best corroboratory methods for accurately determining this region of the diagram. A magnesium-yttrium master alloy was prepared from yttrium of 99.9 pct purity and singly sublimed magnesium of 99.9 pct purity. Subsequently, the twelve magnesium-yttrium alloys shown in Fig. 1 were prepared using standard alloying procedures for magnesium. Metallographic samples of the alloys were heat treated under an SO, atmosphere in an electric furnace capable of control within ±3oF of the desired temperature. Alloy samples for the metallographic determination of the solvus, and for the precipitation studies were solution treated at 1000° F for 16 hr. Subsequent aging times for the solvus determination varied from a minimum of 6 hr for the higher temperatures up to 816 hr for lower temperatures. Periods of 30 min at temperature were used to generate liquation for the metallographic placement of the solidus and eutectic horizontal. The liquidus and the eutectic horizontal were determined by thermal analysis. Simple time-temper- ature heating and cooling curves were obtained from 10-g alloy samples heated and cooled in a well-insulated electric furnace. An Iron-Constantan thermocouple was placed in direct contact with the sample. The thermocouple did not contaminate the alloy sample since metallographic examination showed that the alloy melt did not wet or attack the thermocouple. The heating and cooling rates were approximately 5 to 8OF per min. The standard metallographic procedures for magnesium were used in polishing and etching the magnesium-yttrium alloys studied. Glycol etchant* was etchant was used to reveal precipitate in the solvus determination. The redetermined magnesium-rich region of the magnesium-yttrium diagram is shown in Fig. 1. The

Jan 1, 1962

By Robert E. Hoffman, John B. Hudson

The self-diffusion coefficient of pure lead has been measured at five pressures between atmospheric and 40 kb. over a temperature range of about 150°C near the melting point at each pressure. Measurements were made using a radiotracer technique, samples being sectioned electrochemically after the diffusion anneal to determine the diffusion penetration curve. Pressure was applied in a "belt" type pressure device similar to that used by Hall et al., in the diamond synthesis. The self-diffusion coefficient, D, can be represented by an equation of the form at constant pressure, and an equation of the format constant temperature. An apparent correlation between the effects of pressure on self-diffusion and on the melting point of the material observed by Nachtrieb et al., at pressures below 10 kb. was found to be only approximate as measurements are carried to higher pressures. OVER the course of the past 30 years a large number of studies1-&apos; of the rate of atom movements in solid metals have been carried out. These studies have in general been aimed at increasing the understanding of the detailed atomic process by which atom movements in metals can take place. The largest portion of these studies consisted of measurements of the self-diffusion coefficient, D, as a function of temperature. From such studies con- siderable information regarding the energetics of the motive process has been deduced. Recently such measurements have been extended to the pressure dimension. However, the existing work in this area is scanty and has in the past been limited to the pressures attainable in oil or gas bombs—i.e., up to about 10 kilobars (kb). In the present work, the self-diffusion behavior of pure lead has been investigated using the "belt" type high-pressure apparatus designed by Hall7 over a pressure range from atmospheric to 40 kb at temperatures extending over about a 150°C range close to the melting point at each pressure.

Jan 1, 1962

By Stephen Utter

This report summarizes the results of preliminary investigations concerning the influence of block caving mining upon adjacent mine openings and discusses possible methods for reducing critical rock pressures and damage to these openings. These investigations are one part of a general study of the rock mechanics of block caving by the Denver Mining Research Center of the Federal Bureau of Mines. The purpose of this part of the study Is to obtain an estimate of the stress concentrations around mine openings adjacent to block caving stopes for use in developing better designed openings and improving mining methods. When mine openings such as slusher drifts, grizzly drifts, and haulage drifts are damaged by rock pressures induced by block caving mining, the mining cost increases, mine production decreases, and ore recovery may be consider- ably lessened. Methods of mining that result in lower rock pressures and methods of design that enable mine openings to withstand these pressures are desirable. The development of these methods, in turn, requires a fuller understanding of the following: The stres concentrations around the mine openings and the changes in stress induced by adjacent mining; the physical properties, such as the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of the rock surrounding the openings; and the support supplied by the concrete lining, timber sets, or other types of supports used in the openings.

Jan 1, 1962

By C. L. Meyers, J. L. Lytton, T. E. Tietz

The recovery of tensile flow stress of 99.995 pct A1 under conditions of elastic strain and plastic creep straining was investigated using a fractional recovery parameter. Tensile straining was conducted at room temperature to a true strain of 0.10, and recovery treatments were made under stress in the temperature range from 80° to 198°C. Whereas elastic strains had no appreciable influence on flow-stress recovery, plastic creep straining was found to accelerate the recovery process. Although higher creep stresses gave greater recovery for a given time and temperature, it was found that lower stresses produced greater recovevy at equal ALTHOUGH many studies have been made to date on the recovery of metals from the cold-worked creep strains above about 0.005. This effect was attributed to the coarser, and therefore weaker, substructure developed during creep at the lower stresses. The activation energy for recovery during creep straining at 2075 psi between 160" and 198°C was found to be 25,000 cal per mole. This value was not significantly greater than the value previously obtained for no-load recovery. The activation energy for creep at 2075 psi between 160" and 198°C was 34,000 cal per mole, a value significantly greater than that for recovery under the same conditions. state, little is known concerning some important aspects of recovery behavior. One such area is the effect concurrent strain has on the recovery process. Since metals in structural applications at high temperatures are under stress, the possible effects of the resulting elastic and plastic strain on recovery may be of significant importance.

Jan 1, 1962

By F. E. Brantley

Blister copper was successfully deoxidized with any of a variety of reducing gases; lancing techniques or a vertical-column furnace were used to contact the copper and gases. Of the gases tested, butane, when used to lance molten copper at about 1,200° C, reaction temperature, was slightly more effective than propane, natural gas, carbon monoxide, or reformed gas for deoxidizing copper from about 1.0 to less than 0.1 percent oxygen content, Laboratory-scale tests revealed that the vertical furnace, composed of a heated column packed with silicon carbide chips or hollow carbon cylinders, was significantly faster and more efficient than the lancing technique for deoxidizing molten copper with any of the gases tested. Comparison of the gaseous-reduction method with the conventional poling method suggests that the gaseous method has important technical and economic advantages for deoxidizing blister copper to any readily controlled amount of residual oxygen content.

Jan 1, 1962

By N. A. Gokcen, S. Fujishiro

The dissociation pressure of Cr3C2 has been measured in the range of 1908" to 2237°K by means of graphite Knudsen effusion cells. It has been found that Cr3C2 vaporizes according to the following reaction: 1/3 Cr3C2 (s or 1) = 2/3 C (graph.) + Cr (g). The equilibrizcm pressure, P, of Cr (g) is found to be log Ps=- - (21,194/T) + 6.525 over solid Cr3C2 and estimated as log P, = - (19,535/T) + 5.76 over liquid Cr3C2. CARBIDES of chromium are of great importance in alloy steels and cemented carbides. The published data on their therm odynamic properties at high temperatures, however, are meager. The heat capacity and change in entropy of Cr3C2 were determined calorimetrically by Kelley and Moore1 in the range of approximately 50" to 300°K, and by Oriani and Murphy2 from 297" to 1188°K. The standard entropy of Cr3C2at 298.15°K, obtained by Kelley.7 was later confirmed by DeSorbo.4 Equilibrium in the reaction was investigated by Boericke.5 A recent tabular summary

Jan 1, 1962