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Part XI – November 1969 - Papers - The Deformation and Fracture of Titanium/ Oxygen/Hydrogen AlloysBy D. V. Edmonds, C. J. Beevers
Tensile tests were carried out on a! titanium containing 850, 1250, and 2700 ppm 0, and up to -500 ppm H. The tests were performed at -196", -78", 20°, 150°, and 300°C at a strain rate of -1.0 x 10??3 sec-1. Increasing oxygen content, increasing grain size, and decreasing test temperature resulted in enhanced embrittlement of the a titanium by the hydrogen additions. Metallographic observations showed that this can be correlated with the influence of these parameters on the introduction of cracks into the a! titanium by fracture of titanium hydride precipitates. CRAIGHEAD et al.1 reported that the hydrogen content normally found in commercial-purity a! titanium (60 to 100 ppm) was sufficient to cause a substantial lowering of the impact strength, and they attributed this embrittling effect of hydrogen to the precipitation of titanium hydride. Lenning et al.' found that in commercial-purity a titanium there is an almost complete loss of impact strength at about 200 pprn H, which is approximately half the value needed to eliminate the impact strength of high-purity a titanium. They also showed that the presence of 3000 ppm hydrogen reduces the room-temperature tensile ductility of commercial-purity material to a value of the order of 10 pct; the corresponding hydrogen concentration for high-purity titanium is over 9000 ppm. It thus appears that the detrimental effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of commercial-purity titanium becomes evident at much lower hydrogen contents than for high-purity titanium. The main difference between the two types of a titanium might be expected to be the higher level of interstitial impurity in the commercial-purity grade. Jaffee et a1.3 studied the influence of temperature and strain rate on the hydrogen embrittlement of high-purity and commercial-purity ! titanium. In general, the behavior was the same for both materials; embrittlement was enhanced by decreasing temperature and increasing strain rate. Recent results from tests on commercial-purity a titanium containing 850 ppm O and varying amounts of hydrogen up to -500 ppm showed that the degree of embrittlement by hydrogen is intimately related to the fracture characteristics of titanium hydride precipitates.4 The present paper considers the interrelationship between the mechanical properties and micro-structural features of commercial-purity a! titanium containing 850, 1250, and 2700 ppm 0 and varying amounts of hydrogen up to -500 ppm. 1. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Three types of commercial-purity titanium supplied by IMI* were used in the investigation, and for the *Address: Witton, Birmingham 6, United Kingdom. purpose of this paper are designated Ti 115, Ti 130, and Ti 160. The principal impurity elements are given in Table I. The material was received in the form of 12.7 mm diam bars having a fully recrystallized structure. Tensile specimens with a round cross-section of 4.5 mm diam and a gage length of 15.2 mm were machined from the bars. In order to develop the same grain size (mean linear intercept of grain boundaries) in each of the three types the specimens were annealed under a dynamic vacuum of <10?5 mm Hg, Table 11. Specimen hydriding was carried out in a modified Sieverts apparatus;' hydrogen was taken into solution at 450°C and after holding the specimens at this temperature for 24 hr they were furnace-cooled to room temperature at an average rate of -100 C deg per hr. By this method nominal hydrogen contents of 0, 50, 100, 250, and 500 ppm were introduced into specimens of Ti 115, Ti 130, and Ti 160 (100 ppm (wt) -0.5 at. pct). The actual hydrogen contents were calculated from the weight differences obtained by weighing the specimens before and after the hydriding treatment. Tensile tests were carried out at temperatures of -196", -78", 20°, 150°, and 300°C on a 10,000 kg In-stron machine at a nominal strain rate of -1.0 x 10-3 sec-1. Fractured specimens were sectioned in planes parallel to the tensile axis, mechanically polished to 0.25 µm grade of diamond paste, and then attack polished using a solution containing by volume 99 parts H2O, 1 part HF, and 1 part HNO3. Although the latter treatment unavoidably opened out cracks and voids visible after mechanical polishing, it did reveal the grain structure, titanium hydride morphology, and deformation twinning structure.
Jan 1, 1970
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Iron and Steel Division - Experimental Study of Equilibria in the System FeO-Fe2O3-Cr2O3 at 1300°By Takashi Katsura, Avnulf Muan
Equilibrium relations in the system FeO-Fe2O3 Cr2O3 have been determined at 1300°C at oxygen pressures ranging from that of air (0.21 atm) to 1.5 x 10-11 atm. The following oxide phases have stable equilibrium existence under these conditions : a sesquioxide solid solution with corundum-type structure (approximate composition Fe2O3-Cr2O3); a ternary solid solution with spinel-type structure (approximate composition FeO Fe2O3-FeO Cr2O3) and a ternary wüstite solid solution with periclase-type structure and compositions approaching FeO. The metal phase occurring in equilibrium with oxide phase(s) at the lowest oxygen pressures used in the present investigation is almost pure iron. The extent of solid-solution areas and the location of oxygen isobars have been determined. ThE system Fe-Cr-O has attracted a great deal of interest among metallurgists as well as ceramists and geochemists. Metallurgists have studied the system because of its importance in deoxidation equilibria, ceramists because of its importance in basic brick technology, and geochemists because of its importance for an understanding of natural chromite deposits. Chen and chipman1 investigated the Cr-O equilibrium in liquid iron at 1595°C in atmospheres of known oxygen pressures (controlled H2O/H2 ratios). The main purpose of their work was to determine the stability range of the iron-chromite phase. Hilty et al.2 studied oxide phases in equilibrium with liquid Fe-Cr alloys at 1550°, 1600°, and 1650°C. They reported the existence of two previously unknown oxide phases, one a distorted spinel with composition intermediate between FeO Cr203 and Cr3O4, the other Cr3O4 with tetragonal structure. They also sketched diagrams showing the inferred liqui-dus surface and the inferred 1600°C isothermal section for the system Fe-Cr-O. Koch et al3 studied oxide inclusions in Fe-Cr alloys and also observed the distorted spinel phase reported by Hilty et al. Richards and white4 as well as Woodhouse and White5 investigated spinel-sesquioxide equilibria in the system Fe-Cr-O in air in the temperature range of 1420" to 1650°C, and Muan and Somiya6 delineated approximate phase relations in the system in air from 1400" to 2050°C. The present study was carried out at a constant temperature of 1300° C and at oxygen pressures ranging from 0.21 atm (air) to 1.5 x 10-11 atm. The chosen temperature is high enough to permit equilibrium to be attained within a reasonable period of time within most composition areas of the system, and still low enough to permit use of experimental methods which give highly accurate and reliable results. These methods are described in detail in the following. I) EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 1) General Procedures. Two different experimental methods were used in the present investigation: quenching and thermogravimetry. In the quenching method, oxide samples were heated at chosen temperature and chosen oxygen pressure until equilibrium was attained among gas and condensed phases. The samples were then quenched rapidly to room temperature and the phases present determined by X-ray and microscopic examination. Total compositions were determined by chemical analysis after quenching. In the thermogravimetric method, pellets of oxide mixtures were suspended by a thin platinum wire from one beam of an analytical balance, and the weight changes were recorded as a function of oxygen pressure at constant temperature. The data thus obtained were used to locate oxygen isobars. The courses of the latter curves reflect changes in phase assemblages and serve to supplement the observations made by the quenching technique. 2) Materials. Analytical-grade Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 were used as starting materials. Each oxide was first heated separately in air at 1000°C for several hours. Mixtures of desired ratios of the two oxides were then prepared. Each mixture was finely ground and mixed, and heated at 1250" to 1300°C in air for 2 hr, ground and mixed again and heated at the same temperature for 5 to 24 hr, depending on the Cr2O3 content of the mixture. A homogeneous sesquioxide solid solution between the two end members resulted from this treatment. A Part of some of the sesquioxide samples thus prepared was heated for 2 to 3 hr at 1300°C and oxygen pressures of 10-7 or 1.5 x 10-11 atm. Reduced samples (either iron chromite
Jan 1, 1964
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Metal Mining - New Mining Methods Tested by Menominee Range Iron Ore ProducersBy Warren W. Jamar, Philip D. Pearson
IN recent years, there have been many changes in mining operations in the Lake Superior district. To follow these trends on the Menominee Range of Michigan, information has been assembled from all of the iron informatior]mining operations in the area. There are 15 operating underground mines in the Iron River-Crystal Falls area of the Menominee Range. Within the past two years, two idle properties were reopened pasttwoyears,and are now producing, and a third and fourth are being reopened. Also, there are two siliceous openpits operated by independent companies outside this immediate area. Six companies operate the underground mines, employing some 1850 employees. Table I shows pertinent facts about these properties. During 1949, the largest mine in Iron County shipped 571,287 tons, and one of the newer mines shipped 39,378 tons, with a range total to 3,535,-373 tons. Since the Menominee Range was opened in the 1870's, the mines in Iron County have shipped 85,890,922 tons. From an operator's viewpoint rather than a geologist's, the ore is' classified as semi-hard, composed of hematite and limonite. It is not as soft as the ores of the Marquette Range nor is it as hard as the hard ores of the Marquette and Vermillion Ranges. The ore bodies have slate hanging walls and slate footwalls. In most cases the hanging walls and footwalls are soft and high in sulphur. The sulphur comes from pyrite, and these slates will ignite when piled more than 6 to 8 ft high. Ore is mined on this range by: 1—Sub-level stop-ing; 2—Shrinkage stoping; 3—Sub-level caving; 4— Block caving; 5—Top slicing. The predominance of these methods is in the order named. Underground drilling is important in the mining cycle. Some changes made and trends toward future changes fall into four categories: Drill bits, drill steel, drill machines, and compressed air pressures. Several types of bits have been tried and are in use. They include the detachable tungsten carbide, insert bit; the intraset steel bit, which is a conventional steel rod with tungsten carbide insert; the one-use bit; and the multiple-use bit. For many years, detachable multiple-use bits have been standard. In tests conducted recently to im- prove drilling efficiency, this bit was used as the basis for comparison. Under existing conditions, a multiple-use bit can be resharpened about three times before it is discarded. A thorough test of 2-in. tungsten carbide threaded bits was conducted under various ground conditions. 1—The drilled footage ranged from 48 to 600 ft per bit; averaging 357 ft per bit. Under these same conditions, a multiple-use bit ranged from 8 to 80 ft per bit. 2—The bit cost was greater for the insert bit in each case. 3—The average drilling speed for the insert bit was 12 in. in 62 sec and for the multiple-use bit was 12 in. in 64 sec. In a second test, 2V4 -in. tungsten carbide bits with the large 1 3/16-in. thread were used in moderately soft ground on a 152-lb drifting drill on a long feed jumbo. 1—The drilled footage ranged from 450 to 5000 ft per bit, averaging 1810 ft per bit. Under these same conditions, a multiple-use bit averaged 64 ft per bit. 2—The bit cost was reduced by the use of the insert bit. 3—No increase in drilling speed was recorded. 4—Minimum footage obtained was caused by thread failure. To improve the thread life, thread size on the rod was increased and the bit was attached to the rod with a pipe wrench. After this, bits failed in equal proportions because of cracked skirts, broken inserts, and gage loss. Tungsten carbide bits are now used in the operation where this second test was conducted because labor costs were lowered as a result of reducing the number of bits being changed by the miners. At the same operation and under the same conditions as the second test, 1Y4-in. insert bits with standard 1-in. threads were used. These bits did not drill much more than 300 ft before thread failure and were then welded to the rods and used until total failure. Sometimes this footage was considerable, sometimes it was not. Chisel-type 2%-in. insert bits were
Jan 1, 1952
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Institute of Metals Division - Mercury-Induced Crack Formation and Propagation in Cu-4 Pct Ag AlloyBy Irving B. Cadoff, Ernest Levine
The crack formation and propagation in the single -phase Cu-4 pct Ag alloys were studied. The alloys were loaded in mercury to various stress levels, the mercury was removed, and the specimen examined for cracks. Cracks were found to develop below the fracture stress; the frequency of such cracks increased with increasing stress level. Some cracks were nmpropagative. Fracture in mercury was found to occur by the link-up of cracks formed at various stress levels rather than by the growth and propagation of a single crack. If the mercury environment is removed prior to a critical amount of crack formation, then continued loading results in ductile fracture. The appearance of the cracks at selected grain boundaries is related to the relative orientation of the boundaries, as are the propaga-tive characteristics of the crack. The mercury interaction appears to be one of lowering the strength of the metal-metal bonds in the high-stress area of the grain boundary. GRIFFITH'S microcrack theory1 proposed a critical crack size above which a crack in an elastic material grows with decreasing energy at a stress of From his theory it was proposed that the presence of a liquid tends to lower the surface energy of the microcrack faces2 leading to a decrease in the critical crack size necessary for spontaneous fracture propagation. stroh3 proposed that the stress concentration at a grain boundary due to pile-up may initiate a microcrack at the grain boundary. petch4 and Stroh5 evaluated the stress distribution at the head of a pile-up in a polycrystal-line material and deduced that the critical crack size and hence of is dependent on the grain size. Experimental verification of this dependence was found by petch6 for hydrogen embrittlement of steel. Studies in stress-corrosion cracking7 have provided a picture of fracture which shows that initial separations occur in a scattered, independent fashion in regions of high tensile stress. A minimum or threshold stress is necessary to produce a sufficient stress concentration to initiate frac- ture. These separations join up to form a crack. The extension of fracture is largely discontinuous and consists of a joining up of cracks. In recent worka evidence of this scattered crack network was found in a Cu-Ag alloy embrittled by mercury. For the Cu alloy-Hg couple, the crack path has also been found to be dependent on the orientation of adjacent grains, and with the addition of zinc to mercury a reduction in embrittlement along with a change in fracture morphology was found.9 In this present study, a mercury-dewetting method was used to observe crack initiation and fracture morphology when a Cu-4 pct Ag alloy is deformed in mercury and Hg-Zn solutions. PROCEDURE Specimens of Cu-4 pct Ag were prepared as in previous crack-path studies.' The specimens were heated at 770°C for 24 hr and water-quenched Tension tests using a table-model Instron were carried out in mercury and in various concentrations of Hg-Zn. Loading was in steps up to the fracture stress, with the load being removed and the specimen examined for surface cracks at each step. The specimens were dewetted after each load to permit examination of the surface structure and rewetted prior to continued loading. The specimens were wetted by electro polish ing in phosphoric acid, rinsing in alcohol, and then immersing in a pool of mercury. Dewetting was accomplished by flame heating the specimen for 30 sec in a vacuum. Some surface contamination was found, but not enough to obscure crack configurations and grain boundaries. RESULTS Fracture Characteristics in Mercury. Fig. 1 is a stress-strain curve showing the progressive step-wise loading of the specimen. As may be seen from the graph, the first position stopped at a is at a stress 5000 psi below the expected fracture stress of 25,000 psi. Examination of the specimen after removal of mercury showed only one crack. The appearance of this crack at a stress far below the fracture stress of this alloy in mercury did not affect the stress-strain curve in any manner. The specimen was then recoated with mercury and deformation was continued (curve b, Fig. 1) raising the stress by 4000 psi, and the same procedure re~eated. The initial crack was located and appeared as in Fig. 2 (crack lb). In this figure the crack is
Jan 1, 1964
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Technical Papers and Notes - Iron and Steel Division - The Air Melting of Iron-Aluminum AlloysBy V. F. Zackay, W. A. Goering
ALLOYS of iron and aluminum up to 35 wt pct aluminum are single-phase solid solutions, and are of potentially wide applicability.1-3 In spite of early and continued interest1-4 little progress has been made until recently in the preparation and evaluation of sound alloys containing more than 6 wt pct aluminum. Vacuum-melting techniques for the production of ductile Fe-A1 alloys have been described recently.1-7 A. procedure for air melting these alloys is presented here. Low-carbon iron is induction melted without a slag in a rammed magnesia crucible. At the beginning of melt-down, aluminum pig (99.95 pct Al), charged in a clay-graphite bottom-pouring crucible is placed in a pot furnace at 1800°F. The primary deoxidation of the molten iron after melt-down is effected by the addition of 0.1 pct aluminum and 0.5 pct manganese. (Hilty and Crafts" have reported a significant increase in the deoxidation efficiency of the aluminum and manganese combination over that of the aluminum alone.) A more drastic deoxidation designed to reduce the oxyen content to the lowest possible level is accomplished by plunging metallic calcium to the bottom of the melt. This is done by wiring small cubes of the metal to a steel rod. A circular shield larger than the diameter of the crucible opening is attached to the rod so that any spa'ttering of the molten metal will not endanger the operator. Since the temperature of the molten metal is above the boiling point of calcium, the bath is vigclrously purged by calcium vapor. It is believed that the calcium-vapor treatment permits a homogeneous distribution of calcium in the melt. Owing to the vigor of the reaction the temperature of the molten metal should be kept below 2900°F prior to the calcium addition. A total of 0.05 pct calcium is added in two stages in this manner. The second calcium deoxidation is made just before charging the molten aluminum into the iron, in order that an excess of calcium be present for the remainder of the melt. The aluminum, which has been removed from the holding furnace, is then hydrogen degassed by bubbling chlorine through a quartz tube immersed in the molten aluminum. The hydrogen-chlorine reaction is an exothermic one preventing the solidification of the aluminum during the 5-min chlorination. Approximately 0.1 pct calcium, based on the amount of aluminum, is then added to the aluminum. A further excess of calcium is introduced into the melt in this manner. The oxide dross is removed, fluorspar is added to the molten iron, and the molten aluminum is poured through the fluorspar slag. The fluorspar should be dried thoroughly prior to its use, as any water present will react with the aluminum. Aluminum oxide formed during the pouring operation reacts with the fluorspar slag to form gaseous aluminum fluoride and calcium oxide. A forced-draft ventilating system is required for this operation as aluminum fluoride is toxic. As soon as the molten aluminum has been added, vigorous manual stirring of the melt is required because the slag-aluminum oxide reaction is highly exothermic and tends to take place near the top of the melt. The combination of high temperature and the slagging action of the fluorspar quickly erodes the crucible at the slag line if the aluminum is not stirred uniformly into the melt. It has been found that at least 4 min of manual stirring combined with induction stirring are necessary to ensure homogeneity. The power is shut off 1 min prior to pouring to allow metal and slag to separate. As much slag as possible is removed from the melt, which is then poured directly into cast-iron molds. A mold wash of aluminum oxide is used to prevent ingot sticking. For slab ingots which are to be rolled into sheet, a carbon-tetrachloride vapor atmosphere or a chlorinated-pitch mold wash is desirable, as the aluminum oxide formed in the pouring operation is subsequently removed by the chlorine in the presence of carbon." As in vacuum melting, a pouring temperature of about 2900°F is recommended. Adequate hot-topping is important as iron-aluminum ingots are subject to very deep piping. Ingots are removed from the molds and buried in vermiculite, where they are allowed to cool slowly to room temperature. The ingots are radiographed,
Jan 1, 1959
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Extractive Metallurgy Division - The Viscosity of Liquid Zinc by Oscillating a Cylindrical VesselBy H. R. Thresh
An oscillational vis cometer has been constructed to measure the viscosity of liquid metals and alloys to 800°C. An enclosed cylindrical interface surrounds the molten sample avoiding the free surface condition found in many previous measurements. Standardization of the apparatus with mercury has verified the use of Roscoe's formula in the calculation of the viscosity. Operation of the apparatus at higher temperatures was also checked using molten lead. Extensive measurements on five different samples of zinc, of not less than 99.99 pct purity, indicate i) impurities at this level do not influence the viscosity and ii) the apparatus is capable of giving reproducible data. The variation of the viscosity ? with absolute temperature T is adequately expressed by Andrade's exponential relationship ?V1/3 = AeC/VT , where A and C are constants and V is the specific volume of the liquid. The values of A and C are given as 2.485 x 10-3 and 20.78, 2.444 x 10-3 and 88.79, and 2.169 x 10-3 and 239.8, respectively, for mercury, lead, and zinc. The error of measurement is assessed to be about 1 pct. Prefreezing phenomena in the vicinity of the freezing point of the zinc samples were found to be absent. AS part of an over-all program of research on various phases of melting and casting nonferrous alloys, a systematic study of some physical properties of liquid metals and their alloys was undertaken in the laboratories of the Physical Metallurgy Division.1,2,3 The most recent phase of this work, on zinc and some zinc-base alloys, was carried out in cooperation with the Canadian Zinc and Lead Research Committee and the International Lead-Zinc Research Organization. One of the properties investigated was viscosity and the present paper gives results on pure zinc; the second part, on the viscosity of some zinc alloys, will be reported separately. Experimental interest in the viscosity of liquid metals has virtually been confined to the past 40 years. The capillary technique was already established as the primary method for the viscosity of fluids in the vicinity of room temperature; all relevant experimental corrections were known and an absolute accuracy of 1 to 2 pct was possible. Ap- plication of the capillary method to liquid metals creates a number of exacting requirements to manipulate a smooth flow of highly reactive liquid through a fine-bore tube. Consequently, the degree of precision usually achieved in the high-temperature field rarely compares with measurements on aqueous fluids near room temperature. However, the full potential of the capillary method has yet to be explored using modern experimental techniques. As an alternative, many investigators in this field have preferred to select the oscillational method. Unfortunately, the practical advantages are somewhat offset by the inability of the hydrodynamic theory to realize a rational working formula for the calculation of the viscosity. In attempting to overcome this restriction many investigators have employed calibrational procedures, even to the extent of selecting an arbitrary formula for use with a given shaped interface. However, where calibration cannot be founded on well-established techniques, the contribution of such experiments to the general field of viscometry is questionable. A critical appraisal of the viscosity data existing for pure liquid metals reveals a somewhat discordant situation where considerable effort is still required to establish reproducible and reliable values for the low-melting point metals. The means of rectifying this situation have gradually evolved in recent years. Here, the theory of the oscillational method has undergone major advances for both the spherical and cylindrical interfaces. The basic concepts of verschaffelt4 governing the oscillation of a solid sphere in an infinite liquid have been adequately expressed by Andrade and his coworkers.5,6 Employing a hollow spherical container and a formula, which had been extensively verified by experiments on water, absolute measurements on the liquid alkali metals were obtained. The extension of this approach to the more common liquid metals has been demonstrated by culpin7 and Rothwel18 where much ingenuity was used to surmount the problem of loading the sample into the delicate sphere. Because of the elegant technique required to construct a hollow sphere, the cylindrical interface holds recognition as virtually the ideal shape. On the other hand, loss of symmetry in one plane increases the complexity of deriving a calculation of the viscosity. The contributions of Hopkins and Toye9 and Roscoe10 have markedly improved the potential use of the cylindrical interface in liquid-metal viscometry. The relatively simple experi-
Jan 1, 1965
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Institute of Metals Division - Ordering Reaction of the Cu4Pd AlloyBy J. B. Newkirk, A. H. Geisler
The alloy Cu4Pd has a disordered face-centered-cubic structure when quenched from temperatures between 478ºC and the melting point (about 1100°C). Below 478ºC an ordered phase is stable. The results of a Debye-Scherrer X-ray analysis indicate that the ordered phase has a tetragonal unit cell described by the space group C24h — P42/mt with 2 Cu in 2a, 2 Cu in 2f, 4 Cu in 4j (x = 0.2, y = 0.6), 4Pd in 4j (x = 0.4, y = 0.2), and 8 Cu in 8k (x = 0.1, y = 0.3). The orientation relationship between the face-centered-cubic phase and the ordered tetragonal phase is given by: [100],,. // [130]al,. COO1Ia.d.//COO1I,,.. • The behavior of Cu,Pd is typical of ordering alloys except that the transformation is very sluggish. The increase in hardness and the microstructural and X-ray diffraction effects are interpreted in terms of coherency strains caused by the ordering. AN anomalous construction in the Cu-Pd phase diagram (Fig. 1) was reported in 1939 and has been allowed to stand without further published attention since that time. The odd figuration about the composition 10 to 27 atomic pct Pd is derived mostly from the work of Jones and Sykes.1 Evidently several features of this binary system require further study if the constitutional forms are to be well understood. The present paper includes a study of one of these features, that is, the crystal structure of a single ordered alloy containing nominally 20 atomic pct Pd. This choice of composition was suggested by the work of Harker and associates who determined the structure of Ni4Mo2 and Ni4W.3 The nature of the ordering process in Cu4Pd was studied also by observing the hardness, microstructure, and Debye-Scherrer patterns of specimens which had been aged at various temperatures after quenching from an initial disordering treatment. Experimental Methods A 20 gram ingot of Cu4Pd was made by melting spectrographically standardized copper from Johnson, Matthey, and Co., and commercially pure (99.5 + ) palladium in an argon-filled quartz tube. Chemical analysis showed that the ingot contained 80.0 atomic pct Cu. The ingot was rolled about 60 pct to a strip 0.060 in. thick and was homogenized for 16 hr at 950°C in low pressure argon. Rods cut from the rolled strip were worked into wire 0.015 in. in diameter, and specimens for hardness and microscopic examination were cut from the remaining strip. All specimens, with the exception of some of the wire, were given an initial disordering treatment by heating for 16 hr at 950°C, followed by water quenching. A 10 cm length of as-drawn wire was water quenched after being held in a temperature-gradient furnace4 for 89 days. Room-temperature Debye-Scherrer photograms were then made at points along the wire to determine the temperature below which the ordered phase was stable. Although the accuracy of temperature determination in the gradient was only about ±10 °C, the temperature gradient was sufficiently gradual that the sensitivity was much better and locations which had differed by as little as 1°C could be distinguished. An analysis of the crystal structure of the well ordered alloy was made by X-ray diffraction using a specimen cut from this wire. The change of Debye-Scherrer pattern as ordering progressed was studied by using isothermally aged samples of initially disordered wires. The wires were sealed under low-pressure argon in small quartz tubes for heat treatment. After the aging treatment, the tubes were quenched in water and photograms were made at room temperature in a 10 cm diam camera using filtered Cu kX. (A = 1.540511) Hardness was measured on a Vickers hardness tester using a 10 kg load and 2/3 in. objective lens. Reported values are the average of at least three impressions made on flat specimens 0.060 in. thick. After the hardness of a heat-treated sample had been measured, it was resealed in low-pressure argon and returned to the furnace for continued aging at the same temperature. In this way, two samples served for all aging times at each temperature. Hardness specimens which had been aged 500 hr or more were used for metallographic examination after the final aging treatment. A dilute potassium-dichromate etching solution was used.
Jan 1, 1955
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Drilling–Equipment, Methods and Materials - Wellbore Pressure Surges Produred by Pipe MovementBy J. A. Burkhardt
Field measurements and theoretical studies have been made of pressure surges—momentary variations in fluid pressure—produced by movement of pipe in mud-filled boreholes. Pressure measurements were recorded by five pressure gauges located at various positions in the borehole. An important positive pressure peak was found to occur as the casing moved with maximum velocity. Important negative peaks were found as the casing was lifted from the slips and as brakes were applied to stop pipe movement. A rigorously formulated theory has successfully predicted the sequence and magnitudes of these positive and negative surges and has established a basis for understanding how they occur. Both the measurements and theory indicate that the most important pressure surge is usually due to viscous drag of the flowing mud. The theory of viscous-drag pressure surges has been approximated by simplified graphs and calculation procedures to facilitate ready use in field operations. Comparison of measured results with those predicted by the simplified theory shows that the magnitude of this surge can be predicted accurately. INTRODUCTION It is widely recognized that raising or lowering pipe in a fluid-filled borehole produces momentary variations in fluid pressure, commonly called pressure surges. Both negative (or "swabbing") surges and positive (or "fracturing") surges may occur. In 1934, Cannon1 measured the negative surges and showed that they could be large enough to cause flow of formation fluids into the well-bore and, in extreme cases, lead to blowout conditions. Later, Coins2 measured the positive surges associated with lowering pipe. His results and subsequent field operations strikingly demonstrated that pressure surges could be an important factor in some cases of lost returns. In addition, although the evidence is less clear than in the case of blowouts and lost returns, other investigators 3, 4 feel that pressure surges probably play a part in many instances of minor gas cutting, salt-water flow and other hole trouble. The importance of pressure surges in drilling operations led naturally to attempts to explain the physical causes, nature and magnitude of the surges. Cardwell5 was the first to publish a theory which allowed the quantitative prediction of momentary pressure variations. He assumed that the drilling fluid was a 300-cp Newtonian fluid in turbulent flow. Most field muds have a considerably lower viscosity and are generally believed to be Bingham plastic in nature.6 However, card-well's results were useful because they were presented in a form convenient for field use and, in some cases, gave a reasonably accurate predicted value for the maximum pressure surge. Subsequently, Ormsby7 published a more comprehensive theory of pressure surges. He discussed both laminar and turbulent flow and considered the theory of mud-bypass devices for reducing pressure surges. As a consequence of his more rigorous approach, his results were more accurate but more complex and difficult to use. Further, both Ormsby and Cardwell considered only the pressure surge arising from viscous drag of the moving mud. Clark later published idealized graphs of surges and presented equations for predicting their magnitudes. In addition to pressure variations arising from viscous drag, he considered those caused by inertial effects. His theory was in this respect more complete than those of Cardwell and Ormsby, although he did not discuss pressures due to breaking of the gel. Furthermore, his equations, while not exceptionally complicated, were too complex for ready use at a drilling location. One difficulty common to all three theories is that none was tested rigorously by direct comparison with measured pressure surges. Their accuracy, therefore, could, not be demonstrated. Further, the two theories based on most realistic assumptions (Ormsby and Clark) required the solution of one or more rather complex algebraic equations. The research described in this paper was undertaken to supplement that described and to overcome some of the difficulties noted. It seemed obvious that a fully satisfactory study of pressure surges should encompass three main phases. 1. A valid theory useful in all field situations must be developed. This theory must be based upon realistic assumptions, must be formulated rigorously and should lead to clear concepts whereby the nature of pressure surges can be easily understood. 2. The theory, however complex and involved, ultimately must be presented in simplified form for convenient field use. This may involve extensive machine computations and the use of figures and empirical equations. 3. The accuracy of the simplified equations must be established by comparing measured pressure surges with those predicted by the theory. These must agree both in their characteristic nature and in magnitude. 'This means that careful measurements of surges occurring in actual field operations must be made.
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Part XI – November 1969 - Papers - Some Observations on the Relationship Between the Effects of Pressure Upon the Fracture Mechanisms and the Ductility of Fe-C MaterialsBy George S. Ansell, Thomas E. Davidson
It has been known for a considerable period of time that the ductility of even quite brittle materials can be enhanced if they are deformed under a superposed hydrostatic pressure of sufficient magnitude. The response of ductility to pressure, however, has been shown to vary considerably between materials. Prior work has shown that the effects of pressure upon the tensile ductility of Fe-C materials depend upon the amount, shape and distribution of the brittle cementite phase. In this current investigation, the effects of pressure upon the fracture mechanisms in a series of annealed and spheroidized Fe-C materials were examined. It was observed that the principal effect of pressure is to suppress void growth and coalescence, retard cleavage fracture and to enhance the ductility of cementite platelets in pearlite. Based upon the observed effects of pressure upon the fracture mechanisms, a proposed explanation for the enhancement in ductility by pressure and for the structure sensitivity of the phenomena is presented and discussed. THE effect of superposed pressure upon the tensile ductility of a variety of metals has been well documented.'-'' Some of the results from several investigators are summarized in Fig. 1 where tensile ductility in terms of true strain to fracture (ef) is plotted as a function of the superposed pressure. As can be seen, a pressure of sufficient magnitude can significantly enhance the ductility of metals. However, Fig. 1 also demonstrates that the response of ductility to pressure and the form of the ductility-pressure relationship varies considerably between materials. Several explanations have been offered for the observed enhancement in ductility by a superposed pressure. Although no experimental evidence was provided, Bridgman13 and Bobrowsky10 proposed that the observed effect was due to the prevention or healing of microcracks or holes. Bulychev et a1.14 observed that cracks and voids in initially prestrained copper were healed in the necked region of a tensile specimen upon further straining while under a superposed pressure. Also, pugh5 observed that large cavities were suppressed in copper fractured in tension while under pressure. A second proposal has been forwarded by Beresnev et at al.6 This proposal is based upon the hypothesis that a material fails in a brittle manner because the normal tensile stress reaches a critical value before the shear stress is of sufficient magnitude to cause plastic flow. Since a superposed hydrostatic pressure will increase the ratio of shear to normal tensile stress, a sufficiently high hydrostatic pressure should favor plastic flow while retarding brittle fracture. Galli15 reported that a superposed pressure shifts the ductile-brittle transition temperature of molybdenum. This was explained based upon the reduction of the normal tensile stress by the superposed pressure. Pugh5 explained the occurrence of the observed pressure induced brittle-to-ductile transition in zinc in the same manner. Davidson et al.12 proposed an explanation for the enhancement of ductility by pressure based upon the effects of pressure upon the stress-state-sensitive stages of various fracture propagation mechanisms. Basically, they proposed that pressure will retard cleavage and intergranular fracture by counteracting the required normal tensile stress or will suppress void growth. They observed suppression of intergranular fracture and void growth in magnesium by pressure. Davidson and .Ansell16 reported ductility as a function of pressure for a series of annealed and spheroidized Fe-C alloys. Fig. 2, from this prior work, demonstrates that the effect of pressure upon ductility is structure sensitive in terms of the amount, shape and distribution of the brittle cementite phase. As shown in Fig. 2, in the absence of cementite or when the cementite is in isolated particle form (spheroidized), the ductility-pressure relationship is linear and the slope decreases with increasing carbon content. In the annealed carbon-bearing alloys wherein the cementite is in the form of closely spaced platelets (pearlite) or in the form of a continuous network along prior aus-tenite boundaries (1.1 pct C material), ductility as a function of pressure is nonlinear (polynomial relationship) in which the slope increases with increasing pressure. At the highest pressures studied (22.8 kbars), the slope of the curves for these materials tends to approach those for the spheroidized material of the same carbon content. In this current investigation the change in fracture mechanisms as a function of pressure for the materials shown in Fig. 2 has been examined. The possible connection between the observed effects of pressure upon the fracture mechanisms and the effect of pressure upon ductility is discussed.
Jan 1, 1970
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Part X – October 1968 - Papers - Low-Temperature Heat Capacity and High-Temperature Enthalpy of CaMg2By J. F. Smith, J. E. Davison
The heat capacity of CaMg2 was measured over the temperature interval, 4.8° to 287°K, by the technique of low-temperature adiabatic calorimetry. Heat content measurements were performed with a drop calorimeter over the temperature interval, 273" to 673°K. From these data the thermodynamic functions, (FT - H0)/T, ST - So, and & - Ho, were evaluated. A third-Law calculation of the standard entropy of formation of CaMg2 yields a value of -0.25 * 0.06 cal per (°K g-atom) , and the free-energy function derived from this study when combined with existing equilibria data yields a value for the standard enthalpy of formation which is in agreement with direct calorimetric enthalpy measurements. The accompanying paper' shows that the enthalpy of formation of CaMg2 has been determined with good precision by three different calorimetric techniques.'-= TWO independent determinations of the Gibbs free energy of formation of CaMg2 have also been made; both determinations were based on vapor pressure measurements, being in one case hydrogen vapor pressures over ternary Ca-Mg-H alloys4 and in the other case magnesium vapor pressures over binary Ca-Mg alloys.5 The present determination of heat capacity of CaMg2 below room temperature and of the heat content of CaMg2 above room temperature was undertaken to provide supplementary data. These data are useful in their own right but can in addition be used to evaluate an entropy of formation for CaMg2 which, because of the interrelation of free energy, enthalpy, and entropy, can be used as a check of the self-consistency of the composite of the presently available information. LOW-TEMPERATURE HEAT CAPACITY The heat capacity of CaMg2 was measured over the temperature interval 4.87° to 286.64°K in an adiabatic calorimeter. The physical details of the calorimeter and the experimental procedure for measuring the heat capacity of a specimen have been adequately described by Gerstein et a1.6 The source and purity of the calcium and magnesium are described together with the methods of sample preparation and chemical analyses in the accompanying paper.' Results of chemical analyses of the material which was used in the present investigation are shown in Table I. These analyses show that, on the basis of the published phase diagram,7 the heat capacity sample contained a slight excess of a calcium while the heat content sample contained a slight excess of magnesium. However, in both cases the excess was small, and X-ray diffraction patterns showed reflections which were without exception attributable to CaMg2. The sample which was used for heat capacity measurements weighed 69 g while the sample container and addenda weighed 132 g. The sample was in the form of annealed powder, 50 to 60 mesh, and was sealed into the sample container under 0.1 atm of helium. Copper fins inside the sample container facilitated thermal equilibrium of the powdered Sample. Time intervals of the order of 10 min were required for thermal equilibration, and such times are normal for this calorimeter regardless of the form of the sample. The observed heat capacities were corrected for the small excess of a calcium through use of the heat capacity values tabulated by Hultgren et a1.8 The corrected heat capacities are tabulated as a function of temperature in Table II. The free-energy function and the absolute entropy of CaMg2, which were calculated from the experimental heat capacity data, are listed in Table 111. A smooth curve was fitted to a plot of the experimental values of the heat capacity and in only two instances above 30°K did the plotted points deviate from the curve by more than 0.2 pct. Below 10°K the deviation of several of the points was as much as 50 pct. These large percentage deviations were attributed to the small value of the heat capacity and to the low sensitivity of the platinum resistance thermometer in this temperature range. The deviations in the region of 10°to 30°K were less than 5 pct. Although the percentage deviations of some of the low-temperature measurements are large, the actual value of these deviations is small since the magnitude of the heat capacity in that temperature range is small. The error in the value of the third-law entropy at 298.15°K was estimated to be less than 0.01 cal per (°K g-atom). A value of -0.25 ±0.06 cal per (°K g-atom) was obtained for the standard entropy of formation at 298.15°K from the relation:
Jan 1, 1969
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Part III – March 1969 - Papers- Effects of Substrate Misorientation in Epitaxial GaAsBy A. E. Blakeslee
Morphological and electrical properties of GaAs epitaxial layers are influenced not only by changes in the nominal substrate orientation but also by small amounts of misorientation from the exact crystal planes. Deviations up to 5 deg from {11IA}, {11IB}, and (100) planes were investigated. Growth rates increase progressively with angle, approximately I u per hr per deg. Size and density of growth pyramids fall off with increasing angle, but other effects that are deleterious to the surface may occur which are heightened by increased misorientation. Carrier concentration decreases and electron mobility consequently increases as the angular offset increases, except in the case of strong compensation, where the mobility trend is reversed. It has long been known that changes in the crystallo-graphic orientation of the substrate may cause pronounced effects on the morphological properties of vapor grown semiconductor films. Reports of orienta-tion-dependent growth rates and surface characteristics are as old as the literature on epitaxy itself. shawl has recently published a comprehensive study of the dependence of growth rate on substrate temperature and orientation in epitaxial GaAs. It is also well-known that misorienting the substrate surface a few degrees away from the nominal low-index crystal-lographic plane often produces a much smoother epitaxial surface. This was reported by Tung2 for silicon, Reisman and Berkenblit3 for germanium, and by Kontrimas and Blakeslee4 for GaAs, and use is commonly made of this fact in the semiconductor industry to help guarantee smooth vapor deposits. The effects of substrate orientation on the carrier concentration and mobility of vapor grown GaAs were first documented by williams5 in 1964 and have been observed by several other authors since then,6,7 but no one has yet reported a careful study of how small changes influence these properties. We have made such a study and have found that sizable differences in growth rate, morphology, carrier concentration, and mobility can indeed be observed for epitaxial films grown on substrates that are oriented by progressive small increments away from the exact crystal plane. EXPERIMENTAL Early in the investigation an arsine synthesis system of conventional design8 was employed to produce growths on {111A}-oriented GaAs substrate crystals. In that early work, pronounced effects on carrier concentration and electron mobility were observed as a function of slight misorientation from this low index plane. That observation led to the more careful study that is reported here. An AsC13 system, differing in major aspect from those commonly in use today9 only in that the reactor is vertical rather than horizontal, was used for the detailed study. The gallium source was at 900°C and the substrates were at 750°C. The flow rate of pal-ladium-diffused H2 through the AsCl3 bubbler was 200 cu cm per min, and the flow rate of bypass H2 was also 200 cu cm per min. The substrates consisted of chro-mium-doped semiinsulating GaAs to facilitate elec-trical evaluation of the overgrowth by means of Hall and conductivity measurements on conventional eight-legged Hall bridges. They were misoriented by 0 to 5 deg from the {111A}, {111B}, and (100) planes, toward the (100) from the {111A} and {111B} and randomly toward the <111A> or <111B> from the {loo). The crystals were oriented for sawing by the Laue back-re-flection technique, which is good only to about ±1/2 deg; but after polishing or sometimes after epitaxial growth the wafers were checked by a diffractometer technique which is accurate to about * 0.1 deg. After lapping, the wafers were polished with NaOCl after the technique of Reisman and Rohr,10 and just before use they were cleaned in NaOC1, thoroughly rinsed with de-ionized water, and blown dry with nitrogen. Each run employed four wafers, each misoriented by differing amounts from one of the three major faces, and at least two runs were made for each orientation. The runs were continued long enough to provide at least a 15-µ or thicker layer. SURFACE MORPHOLOGY The appearance of all the films that were grown in a given run always changed from wafer to wafer as a function of increasing misorientation, but not always in the same regular fashion. At least three different trends were observed. These are more easily seen than described, and reference to the series of photo-
Jan 1, 1970
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Institute of Metals Division - Electron Microscope Study of the Effect of Cold Work on the Subgrain Structure of CopperBy L. Delisle
This work represents the first step of an attempt to test the applicability of the electron microscope to the study of subgrain structures in copper. Observations on annealed and deformed single crystals and polycrystalline samples of copper are described. IN the course of study of the structure of fine tungsten wires and tungsten rods with the electron microscope, well defined subgrain structures were observed. The size, size distribution, and orientation uniformity of the etch figures varied widely in different samples. Figs. 1 and 2, electron micrographs of a tungsten wire and of a tungsten rod, respectively, are illustrations of the difference in size and size distribution of the etch figures in different samples of the same metal. The observed differences, as pointed out in a previous paper,' appeared to be related to the heat and mechanical treatments of the samples. They were also consistent with the results reported in the literature on the mosaic structure of metals.' For that reason a program of research was initiated in an effort to obtain more systematic evidence of the possible relation of heat and mechanical treatments to the subgrain structure of metals as observed in the electron microscope. The purpose of this paper is to present observations made on the effect of cold work on the subgrain structure of copper. Procedure Starting Materials: Copper was the metal studied because it can be obtained in a high degree of purity, much information is available in the literature on its properties and its response to cold work and heat treatment, it shows no allotropic change, and it is sufficiently hard to be handled without great difficulty. Two groups of specimens were used: 1—single crystals cast from spectroscopically pure copper and 2—polycrystalline samples of oxygen-free high conductivity copper. Single crystals were studied because it was hoped that the elimination of a number of variables, such as grain boundaries, orientation differences, degree of purity, would simplify the problem and perhaps permit a better understanding of the phenomena that would be observed. The polycrystalline samples were designed to give a general picture of the changes considered. The single crystals were made of copper which analyzed spectroscopically to better than 99.999 pct Cu. They were cast in vacuum, by the Bridgman method, in crucibles made of graphite with a maximum ash content of 0.06 pct. The mold design is shown in Fig. 3. It permitted casting crystals of the size and shape required for the experiments, so that the danger of introducing cold work in the original samples by cutting or other machining would be eliminated. The polycrystalline samples were pieces, 3/4 in. long, cut from a rod of oxygen-free high conductivity copper, % in. in diameter. A flat surface, 1/4 in. wide, was milled along the rods, polished, and etched. The samples were then annealed in vacuum at 850°C for 1 hr. Polishing and Etching: Work previously done on tungsten,' polished mechanically and etched chemically," had shown that: 1—the general appearance of the etch figures of a given sample was not altered by repeated polishings and etchings under similar conditions; 2—variations in the time of etching and the concentration of the etchant changed the definition of the etch figures, but did not alter their general size nor orientation distribution within the limits of observation. Further work confirmed the reproducibility of the subgrain structures observed in, 1—single crystals and polycrystalline samples of copper when polishing and etching were repeated under similar conditions, and 2—specimens of tungsten and polycrystalline copper when electrolytic polishing and etching were substituted for mechanical polishing and chemical etching, respectively. On the strength of these observations, it was felt that, if conditions of polishing and etching were kept constant, changes observed in the subgrain structure of a sample upon deformation and annealing would be attributable to such treatments. For that reason the conditions of polishing and etching were kept as constant as possible. The single crystals were polished electrolytically in a bath of orthophosphoric acid in water, in the ratio of 1000 g of acid of density 1.75 g per cc to 1000 cc of solution, under a potential drop of 1.6 to 1.8 V. Electrolytic polishing was selected to prevent the formation of distorted metal in polishing. The same samples were etched by immersion in a 10 pct aque-
Jan 1, 1954
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Iron and Steel Division - Phase Equilibria in the System FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2By A. Muan
Liquidus data are presented for mixtures in the ternary system FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2 in equilibrium with a gas phase with O2 pressures ranging from 10-10.9 to 1 atm. Data obtained are combined with previously published data to construct lines of equal 02 pressures and lines of equal CO2/H2 mixing ratios along the liquidus surface. Courses of crystallization of selected mixtures under conditions of constant total composition, constant O2 pressures, and constant CO2/H2 mixing ratios are discussed. PHASE equilibrium studies of silicate systems where iron is one component are complicated by the fact that iron readily occurs in three different states of oxidation: Fe3+, Fe2+, and Fe0. Success or failure in work with iron silicate systems is to a large extent dependent on control of the oxidation state of iron and all investigations therefore must be carried out under carefully controlled atmospheric conditions. Silicate systems containing only strongly electropositive metals (like Na+, Ca2+, Mg", etc.) can, for simplicity, be treated as condensed systems, that is, the gas phase can be neglected and the phase relationships discussed in terms of the phase rule written in the well known simplified form P + F = C + 1. In the case of iron silicate systems, however, the composition of the condensed phases varies with the gas composition, and a complete picture of phase relationships can be obtained only by varying the gas composition over a wide range. In order to understand the phase relationships in the more complicated multicomponent silicate systems with iron oxide as one of the constituents, a knowledge of the ternary system FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2 is essential, since it constitutes a bounding portion of all such systems. It was with this in mind that the present study was undertaken. Previous Work A considerable amount of work has been done on various aspects of the chemistry and metallurgy of systems containing silica and iron oxides. The two bounding binary systems FeO-Fe2O3 and FeO-SiO2" The first attempt to obtain information on phase relationships of iron oxide-SiO, mixtures at different 0, pressures was made by Greig.' Darken" determined the melting points of iron oxide on solid silica under various atmospheric conditions. Darken did not determine experimentally the composition of the melts at liquidus temperatures but discussed very ably the principles involved in applying the phase rule to the system. In a recent study Schuhmann, Powell, and Michal8 determined experimentally the liquidus surface of a portion of the ternary system and combined the new information with data in the literature to construct a phase diagram. Their method was briefly as follows: Homogeneous mixtures with various contents of SiO2, FeO, and Fe2O3 were made up by melting together stock mixtures in various proportions. Samples of the homogeneous mixtures, the compositions of which were determined by chemical analysis, were then heated in platinum crucibles in an inert atmosphere until equilibrium among the condensed phases was achieved. The samples were quenched to room temperature and the phases present determined by microscopic examination. Assuming that no change in composition takes place during the equilibration run in inert atmosphere, the liquidus surface can be determined, but no information is obtained regarding the partial pressures of 0, of the gas phase in equilibrium with the condensed phases. The author's method, to be described in the next section, permitted the location of points at the liquidus surface as well as a calculation of the corresponding partial pressures of O2. Experimental Method General Procedure: The standard quenching technique was adapted for a study under controlled variable atmospheric conditions. Premelted mixtures of silica and iron oxides in platinum envelopes were held at constant temperature under chosen atmospheric conditions until equilibrium was reached among solid, liquid, and gas phases. The sample was then quenched to room temperature, the phases present identified, and, for the most significant runs, the composition was determined by chemical analysis. The corresponding partial pressure of 0, was calculated from known equilibrium constants of the gas reactions occuring in the furnace atmosphere. Materials: Starting materials were oxides of commercially highest available purity; cp silicic acid was dehydrated by heating to 1350°C for 6 hr and cp Fe2O3 was dried at 400° C for the same length of time. Samples of 10 g were made up by mixing
Jan 1, 1956
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Institute of Metals Division - Effect of Nitrogen on Sigma Formation in Cr-Ni Steels at 1200°F (650°C)By C. H. Samans, G. F. Tisinai, J. K. Stanley
The addition of nitrogen (0.10 to 0.20 pct) to Fe-Cr-Ni alloys of simulated commercial purity results in a real displacement of the u phase boundaries to higher chromium contents. The effect is small for the (Y + s)? boundary, but is pronounced for the (y + a +s)/(y + a) boundary. Although there is an indication of an exceptionally large shift of the n boundaries to higher chromium contents, especially in steels with nitrogen over 0.2 pct, the major portion of this apparent shift results from the fact that carbide and nitride precipitation cause "chromium impoverishment" of the matrices. The effect of combined additions of nitrogen and silicon to the Fe-Cr-Ni phase diagram is demonstrated also. Nitrogen can nullify the effect of about 1 pct Si in shifting the (y + o)/? phase boundary to lower values of chromium at all nickel levels from 8 to 20 pct. NItrogen can nullify this U-forming effect of about 2 pct Si at the 8 pct Ni level, but not at the 20 pct Ni level. The alloys studied were in both the cast and the wrought conditions. There are indications that the u phase forms more slowly in the cast alloys than in the wrought alloys if both are in the completely austenitic state. The presence of 6 ferrite in the cast alloys accelerates the formation of U. Cold working increases the rate of o formation in both cast and wrought alloys. THE major improvement in Fe-Cr-Ni austenitic alloys in recent years has been in the addition or removal of minor alloying elements to facilitate better control of corrosion resistance, sensitization, and heat resistance. One shortcoming of the austenitic Fe-Cr-Ni alloys, which never has been completely circumvented, is their propensity toward u formation. In the AISI-type 310 (25 pct Cr-20 pct Ni) and type 309 (25 pct Cr-12 pct Ni) steels, sufficient amounts of u phase can form, if service or treatment is in a suitable temperature range, to cause severe embrittlement. Also, there is a growing conviction that this phase may be contributory to some unexpected decreases in the corrosion resistance of certain of the 18 pct Cr-8 pct Ni-type steels. The present paper discusses the effect of nitrogen additions on the location of the (r+u)/d and the (y+a+u)/(y+a) phase boundaries in the ternary Fe-Cr-Ni system, for cast and wrought alloys of simulated commercial purity, and in similar alloys containing up to about 2.5 pct Si. The objective is to define compositional limits for alloys which will not be susceptible to u formation when used near 1200°F (650°C). An excellent review of the early studies of the u phase in the Fe-Cr-Ni system has been compiled by Foley.1 Rees, Burns, and Cook2 have determined a high purity phase diagram for the ternary system, whereas Nicholson, Samans, and Shortsleeve3 are- stricted themselves to a portion of the simulated commercial-purity phase diagram. Both groups of investigators show almost an identical position for the commercially significant (y+u)/y phase boundary. Further comparison of the work of the two groups indicates that, below the 8 pct Ni level, the commercial alloys have a decidedly greater propensity toward u formation than the high purity alloys. The two groups of workers agreed that both the AISI-type 310 (25 pct Cr-20 pct Ni) and the type 309 (25 pct Cr-12 pct Ni) steels are well within the (y+~) region and that the 18 pct Cr-8 pct Ni-type alloys straddle the U-forming phase boundaries. Nicholson et al.3 showed, in addition, that these boundaries shift toward lower chromium contents if greater than nominal amounts of silicon or molybdenum are added. The effect of nitrogen on the location of the s phase boundaries in the Fe-Cr-Ni system has not been known with any certainty. In 1942, an approach to this problem was made by Krainer and Leoville-Nowak,' but at that time they apparently were unaware of the slow rate of s formation in strain-free samples and aged their samples for insufficient times, e.g., 100 hr at 650°C (1200°F) and 800°C (1470°F). For this reason, it would be expected that their (y+ u) /y boundary would be shifted toward lower chromium contents (restricted ?-field) when equilibrium conditions were approximated more closely. Procedure for Studying the Alloys The alloys used were prepared in the following way: Heats of 200 lb each were melted in an induction furnace. A 5 lb portion of each heat was poured into a ladle containing an aluminum slug for de-
Jan 1, 1955
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Institute of Metals Division - Kinetics of Grain Boundary Migration in High-Purity Lead Containing Very Small Additions of Silver and GoldBy J. W. Rutter, K. T. Aust
The migration of individual, large-angle grain boundaries has been studied as a function of tempereature and solute concentration in specimens of zone i.e filled lead containig very small additions of silver and of gold. Tile results are compared with various the-ories of grain boundary migration and with observations made prev.iorlsly of grain boundary migration in similar specimens of zone-refined lead containing tin additions. A previous investigation by the authors dealt with [he temperature dependence of grain boundary migration in bicrystals of zone-refined lead containing small additions of tin.' It was shown that tin additions as low as a few parts per million cause a large decrease in the grain boundary migration rate at any given temperature, as well as a marked increase in the temperature dependence of the migration rate. It was found that existing theories of grain boundary migration. based on the motion of dislocations. or upon the concept of atom transfer in groups across the boundary (group process theory). or upon the control of grain boundary motion by volume diffusion of impurity atonls along with the boundary. are incapable of accounting for the observations. The single process theory of grain boundary migration. which is an absolute reaction rate calculation based on the transfer ui atoms singly across the moving boundary, was found to predict the migration rate reasonably well for a number of boundaries whose motion was shown to be very little influenced by impurities, but not for boundaries whose illation was influenced markedly by impurities. It was concluded that the elementary process of grain boundary migration involves the activation of single atoms during transfer across the boundary. and that inadequate knowledge is available to permit the influence of impurities to be properly taken into account. The present study was initiated to check the validity of the above conclusions with other alloy systems, namely high-purity lead with small additions of silver and of gold. Both silver and gold diffuse faster. and with a lower activation energy of volume diffusion. than does tin in lead;' consequently, a study of the effects of silver and gold on grain boundary migration in high-purity lead offered a means of testing theories of boundary migration based on bulk diffusion of the solute (eg. ref. 3). In addition. it was hoped that the present work, in comparison with the results for tin in lead, would provide information concerning which factors are important in determin- ing the interaction between solute atoms and a grain boundary. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The preparation of bicrystals of zone-refined lead, with various silver or gold additions, was identical to that previously described for the lead-tin alloys.''4 Each bicrystal consisted of a striated crystal which was grown from the melt. and an adjacent striation-free crystal which was introduced by artificial nucleation and growth.''4 The striation or lineage substructure in the melt-grown crystal provided the driving force for grain boundary migration. During the preparation of striated single crystals by growth from the melt, it was found that silver or gold concentrations as low as 2 or 3 ppm by atoms were sufficient to cause formation of the hexagonal cell structure. which is due to the presence of impurity, during freezing. This structure is revealed on the solid-liquid interface by decanting the liquid during freezing. The hexagonal cell structure was observed previously4 in zone-refined lead crystals with tin contents above approximately 200 ppm by atoms. These concentrations of silver, gold, or tin are in agreement with the predicted amounts required for cell formation in lead,5'6 under the present conditions of freezing.4 The absence of cell structure at decanted interfaces, therefore, served as a useful indication that the silver or gold contents were less than 2 or 3 ppm by atoms in the specimens as grown. It was found that grain boundary migration occurred only very slowly when the solute content approached that necessary for cell formation. As a result, the present experiments were conducted with silver or gold additions less than 1 ppm by atoms. This impurity level is well within the solid solubility limits for silver and gold in lead.7 The annealing treatments, measurements of grain boundary velocities, and orientation determinations were carried out as described previously.' However. each bicrystal was also chemically polished in a solution consisting of 8 parts glacial acetic acid and 2
Jan 1, 1961
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Institute of Metals Division - Solid Solubility of Carbon in ChromiumBy W. H. Smith
IN connection with some recent work on the effect of impurities on the ductility of chromium, it appeared desirable to know the solid solubility of carbon in chromium. A literature survey indicated that this information was not available. Although considerable work has been done on the Cr-C phase diagram,'.' previous investigators have been more concerned with the structure and phase boundaries of the carbide phases than with the terminal solid solution. The phase diagram shown in Fig. 1 is taken from the work of Bloom and Grant' and represents the most recent determination. As indicated by the dashed line, the a solid-solubility limit was not determined. Experimental Procedure Alloys of chromium were prepared from hydrogen-treated and vacuum-degassed electrolytic chromium plus spectrographic grade carbon. The oxygen and nitrogen content of the alloys was <0.002 pct. After melting, analysis of the alloys showed them to contain 0.02, 0.08, 0.15, and 0.55 pct C. Pieces of the alloys were heated in a protective atmosphere to various temperatures and then quenched after holding for a time sufficient to insure equilibrium. Microscopic examination of the as-quenched alloys for the presence of a second phase was used as a measure of the solubility limit. The heats were made in a multiple hearth arc-furnace using a zirconium-gettered static argon atmosphere. A zirconium melt was made before each Cr-C heat. Triple melting was used to insure ingot homogeneity as shown by microscopic examination. The alloys were prepared by adding portions of a 4.5 pct C-Cr master alloy to high purity chromium. The carbon contents listed previously were those obtained by analysis. The nitrogen and oxygen contents after arc melting were both <0.002 pct. Sections 1/8X1/4X1/2 in. were cut from the 100-g ingots and a hole drilled in one end in order to suspend the sample from a molybdenum wire. After the surface was carefully cleaned, a sample of each melt was hung in a mullite tube heated externally by a platinum resistance furnace connected to a vacuum system. The lower portion of the mullite tube was sealed to Pyrex and closed off several inches below the furnace. This was filled with sili-cone oil kept cold by circulating cold water around the outside of the Pyrex. Quenching into the oil bath was achieved by melting a fuse wire supporting the sample. It required about 4 sec for the sample to cool from 1400" to 600°C. This severity of quench was considered satisfactory to freeze-in the high temperature equilibrium. For tests made at temperatures of 900" to 1200°C, heating was done in vacuum; for tests above 1200°C, an argon atmosphere was used. The holding time employed ranged from 12 hr at 900°C to 6 hr at 1400°C. Experiments were performed at temperatures of 900°, 1000°, 1100°, 1200°, 1300°, and 1400°C. Microscopic examination for evidence of a second phase was done at X1500. Experimental Result The microstructures of a 0.08 pct C-Cr alloy as-cast and after quenching from 1300°C are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A 0.15 pct C-Cr alloy quenched from 1300°C is shown in Fig. 4. The data obtained from the quenching experiments is shown graphically in Fig. 5. If the Van't Hoff equation is obeyed, a plot on a logarithmic scale of the mol fraction of solute vs the reciprocal of the absolute temperature should give a straight line. For dilute solutions the weight percentage can be substituted for the mol fraction without introducing any appreciable error. The Van't Hoff equation can then be written as where H is the heat of solution in calories per mol. The slope of the straight line on the log pct C vs 1/T plot gives the value of AH. Assuming that the Van't Hoff equation is obeyed, which is probably justified for the dilute solution of carbon in chromium, the heavy straight line shown on Fig. 5 represents the best fit of the data. This line was obtained as follows. On Fig. 5 the results of the microscopic examination of all alloys following quenching were plotted and designated as to whether one or two phases were seen. Below 1100°C all alloys showed a second phase on quenching. The heavy vertical lines shown in Fig. 5 therefore represent the possible range of the ter-
Jan 1, 1958
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Part I – January 1968 - Papers - On the Constitution of the Pseudobinary Section Lead Telluride-IronBy R. W. Stormont, F. Wald
The phase diagram of the Pseudobinary section PbTe-Fe was determined. It was found to contain a monotectic and a eutectic reaction, the latter one taking place at 14 at. pct Fe and 875° * 5°C. The solid solubility of iron in PbTe was found to be 0.3 at. pct by electronmicroProbe analysis. No solubility of PbTe was detected in iron. Slight deviations from true pseudobinary behavior were found to occur in the range of - 5 to 10 at. pct Fe. In the course of a general investigation of reactions of various metals with lead and tin telluride,' the lead telluride-iron system was reinvestigated. It had been established much earlier than iron does not chemically react with lead telluride but forms a eutectic with a melting point of 879" The eutectic composition or other related information has never been reported, but for a number of years iron has been in general use for contacting of lead telluride and lead telluride alloys for thermoelectric applications. It seems therefore desirable to clarify the exact constitution of the system to furnish a base for the long-term evaluation of bonds made between lead telluride and iron either by pressure contacting or by brazing methods. I) EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Lead telluride-iron alloys were prepared in 10-g charges, using premelted lead telluride. This material was prepared from high-purity, semiconductor-grade lead and tellurium obtained from the American Smelting and Refining Co. and described as 99.999 pct pure. The iron used was "Armco" iron; the major impurities found here were 0.02 pct C, 0.018 pct Si, and 0.015 pct Cr. All remaining impurities were less than 0.01, the total of all impurities not exceeding 0.15 pct. Charges were prepared in closed quartz arnpoules which were evacuated and in some cases backfilled with high-purity argon to retard excessive lead telluride evaporation and deposition in slightly cooler parts of the ampoule. For high iron concentrations, this can lead to total separation of the constituents, since the vapor pressure and the sublimation rate of PbTe are quite high.4 Nevertheless, since the ampoules are closed, no change in overall composition was expected and the nominal composition of all alloys was assumed to be retained. X-ray diffraction analysis, thermal analysis, and microsections were used in the evaluation of the alloys. The nature of the system was such that X-ray diffraction was not particularly helpful. It merely served to establish that at all concentrations PbTe and a! iron were in equilibrium at room temperature. Thermal analysis was carried out by taking direct temperature vs time curves on a Sargent recorder where a width of 10 in. was kept as 1 or 0.5 mv by use of an automatic bucking voltage network. Quartz ampoules with minimized dead space, coated with boron nitride and fitted with a thermocouple reentrant, were used as containers for the charge. At high temperatures and over long periods of time, boron nitride reacts with iron. For the thermal analysis runs, however, this was not significant. More significant was the fact that the vapor pressure of PbTe at some of the meas -uring temperatures apparently exceeded I atrn quite considerably. This, in some cases, caused the slightly softened quartz tubes to blow out if great care was not taken to contain them and minimize time and temperatures used. As containers pure nickel tubes were used which also served to avoid temperature gradients in the quartz ampoule. Nevertheless, the experimental difficulties at high temperatures were severe and the monotectic temperature could therefore not be determined accurately. In general, the accuracy reached by the thermal analysis setup in this case is *4"C as determined with gold, silver, and tin, under the conditions of analysis here. Inherently, the apparatus is capable of reaching accuracies better than i 1°C. Also, difficulties were encountered in microsection-ing. They were related to polishing, since it is rather difficult to avoid pulling the iron out of the weak and brittle lead telluride matrix. It proved best to follow a procedure where, after grinding to 600 grit on carborundum paper, a polish with 6 p diamond was used on nylon cloth. Finally, #3 "Buehler" alumina and an automatic polisher were used for -5 min only, to avoid relief. The best etching results were achieved with
Jan 1, 1969
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Institute of Metals Division - Influence of Additives in the Production of High Coercivity Ultra-Fine Iron PowderBy E. W. Stewart, G. P. Conard, J. F. Libsch
The effects of several additives upon the reduction characteristics of hydrogen-reduced ferrous formate are described. The various additives inhibit sintering of the reduced iron particles by apparently different mechanisms. The magnetic properties of the low density compacts produced from the resulting ultra-fine iron powders were improved markedly. THE permanent magnetic characteristics of ultra-fine iron powder prepared by various means have been a subject of considerable interest and experimentation in the past few years. When such particles are small enough to show single domain behavior, they possess' 1—permanent saturation magnetization, and 2—high coercive force. In the absence of domain boundaries, the only magnetization changes in a particle occur through spin rotation which is opposed by relatively large anisotropy forces. With decreasing particle size, the coercive force tends to increase to a maximum and then decrease because of the instability in magnetization associated with thermal fluctuations. Kittel' has calculated the critical diameter at which a spherical particle of iron can no longer sustain domain boundaries or walls to be approximately 1.5x10-' cm. Stoner and Wohlfarthr in England and Neel4,6 in France have shown from purely theoretical calculations that the high coercive force expected from single domain particles is dependent upon crystal anisotropy, shape anisotropy, or strain anisotropy contributions. Further work by Weil, Bertaut,' and many others has contributed much to the understanding of fine particle theory. Neel and Meikeljohn" have demonstrated that a decrease in particle size below a critical value of approximately 160A leads to a quite rapid decrease in coercive force because of the prevention of stable magnetization by thermal agitation. Lih1, working with powders prepared by the reduction of formate and oxalate salts of iron, has shown the marked influence of powder purity upon magnetic properties. Maximum coercive force was obtained in powders of approximately 65 pct metallic iron content while the maximum energy product, (BxH) occurred in powders of 85 pct metallic iron content. Careful consideration of the preceding theoretical considerations and experimental results has led to the manufacture of permanent magnets from ultra-fine ferromagnetic powders by powder metallurgy techniques. Such work has been done by Dean and Davis," the Ugine Co. of France, and Kopelman." The aforementioned work of Kopelman and the Ugine Co. was concerned somewhat with the effect of various additives upon the properties of hydrogen-reduced ferrous formate. Virtually no work, however, has been published on the effects of additives on the reduction rates of metal formates, although unpublished work by Ananthanarayanan16 howed promise of improved energy product in ultra-fine iron compacts prepared by the hydrogen reduction of a coprecipitated mixture of magnesium and ferrous formate. After consideration of the preceding information, it was hoped that a better balance between the metallic iron content and particle size of the reduced iron powder could be accomplished by a prevention of the attendant sintering of the partially reduced iron powder during the reduction reaction. It appeared possible that magnesium oxide might interpose a mechanical barrier between adjacent iron particles and prevent their sintering together, while metallic cadmium and metallic tin would interpose a liquid barrier which might accomplish the same purpose. The degree to which these materials were effective in accomplishing the foregoing objective and the experimental details associated with the work are reported in the following sections of this paper. Experimental Procedure Preparation of Formate and Oxide Mixtures: To obtain ferrous formate of reproducible reduction characteristics, a slight modification' was made in the technique of Fraioli and Rhoda." A supersaturated solution of ferrous formate was mixed with an equal volume of 95 pct ethyl alcohol and the formate crystals precipitated by stirring and screened to —325 mesh. These crystals were in the shape of elongated hexagons, approximately 4x10 micron in dimension. Various preparations of such ferrous formate, designated as lot 111, were reduced for 2 hr, yielding ultra-fine iron particles of exceedingly reproducible size, metallic iron content, and magnetic properties. The magnesium and cadmium formates were prepared by the reaction of dilute formic acid with their respective carbonates, while the tin formate was prepared by the reaction of dilute formic acid with stannous hydroxide. To evaluate the effect of metallic formate additives in intimate mixture with the ferrous formate, varying amounts of magnesium, cadmium, and tin formates were coprecipitated with the latter. The designations of these materials and their chemical compositions are given in Table I. Due to the differing solubilities of the various formates in aqueous media,
Jan 1, 1956
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Reservoir Engineering-General - Oil Recovery from Watered-Out Stratified Porous Systems Using Water-Driven Solvent SlugsBy A. K. Csazar, L. W. Holm
This paper describes our investigation of a post-water-flood, oil recovery process which consists of injecting a slug of propane followed by water. Also described are the results obtained by applying a modification of the process in which gas was injected ahead of the water. Under the conditions of the latter experiments, misci-bility was not achieved between the propane and gas. Preliminary experiments or) uniform, watered-out sandstone cores showed that an oil bank could be formed and produced by applying this recovery process. However, since reservoirs are not uniform in structure, the process also was applied to porous media containing irregular porosity and to stratified sand systems. As a supplenzerrt to the experinlental work, a mathernatical procedure was developed for calculating the performance of the recovery process in a bounded, layered, porous system with crossflow between layers. As a specific example, the method was applied to predict the perforrnance of the recovery process in a 6-ft long, two-layer, stratified, unconsolidated sand model for comparison with experinlental data. The calculations were programed for the ZBM 704 computer. The equations and calcula-tional procedure presented can be extended to systems containing any number of randomly distributed permeability variations or any number of parallel layers. INTRODUCTION The problem of recovering the oil that remains in a reservoir which has been waterflooded is receiving considerable attention now as an increasing number of water floods reach an economic limit. A large number of the waterflood projects are in shallow reservoirs which are at pressures below 1,000 psi. It has been demonstrated in the laboratory that post-waterflood oil can be recover-ered by miscible displacement, but the LPG-gas, miscible flood and the enriched gas drive cannot be applied effectively at pressures below 1,000 psi. Only a few reports have appeared in the literature2-4 on low pressure, partially miscible recovery methods. However, it is possible to use LPG in a partially miscible displacement process in a reservoir where pressures of 200 to 1,000 psi can be achieved. Under these Pressures and at normal reservoir temperatures, propane is miscible with the oil; but, of course, gas or water used to drive the propane slug would not be miscible with the propane. Because of the lack of complete miscibility, it has generally been concluded that excessive amounts of propane would be required to recover oil and that such a recovery method would not be economical; however, we have found that under conditions present in certain reservoirs, an imrniscible recovery process can be applied effectively. The oil saturation in reservoirs at the economic limit of waterflood projects is usually in the range of 20 to 35 per cent of the pore space." A certain portion of this oil is left trapped by water in various size pores of the rock, but a good part of this so-called "residual" oil can be present in the less permeable lenses or layers of the reservoir rock which were by-passed to some degree by the water. The oil in these permeability traps can be produced only if favorable pressure gradients are formed in the reservoirs between adjacent zones of high and low permeabilities. A low viscosity liquid, miscible with the oil in place, which is driven by water through a stratified or heterogeneous porous system can aid in the development of these favorable pressure gradients. The oil that is released thereby from the permeability traps can be recovered by the subsequent water flood. Studies were made to determine how much oil could be recovered from homogeneous and stratified cores and models, which had been water flooded, by injecting a slug of propane and driving it with water. The effect of injecting a slug of gas ahead of the water was also determined. Most of the work described herein was done with the propane-water combination; unless otherwise specified, no gas was injected. The principal objectives of the investigation were to determine (1) if an oil bank could be formed and (2) what ratio of oil recovered to propane injected would be obtained. A further objective was to develop a method for calculating fluid-flow performance in stratified systems which would account for fluid transfer between zones in hydrodynamic communication but of different permeabilities. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS In a theoretical study of the recovery process, analytical expressions were derived to calculate the pressure distribution, the fluid flux in longitudinal (parallel to layers) and transversal (across the layers) directions, and the fluid distribution at any point in the system. The equations were developed for a two-layer porous system in which it was assumed that the fluids in the system were incompressible and that capillary and gravity effects were
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Iron and Steel Division - Vanadium-Oxygen Equilibrium in Liquid IronBy John Chipman, Minu N. Dastur
This paper presents equilibrium data on the reaction of water vapor with vanadium dissolved in liquid iron at 1600°C. The thermo-dynamic behavior of vanadium and oxygen when present together in the melt is discussed. A deoxidation diagram is presented which shows the concentrations and activities of vanadium and oxygen in equilibrium with V209 or FeV2O4. STUDIES of the chemical behavior of oxygen dissolved in pure liquid iron1-3 have served to determine with a fair degree of accuracy the thermody-namic properties of this binary solution. The practical problems of steelmaking, however, involve not the simple binary but ternary and more complex solutions. Only a beginning has been made toward understanding the behavior of such systems. The silicon-manganese-oxygen relationship was studied long ago by Korber and Oelsen4 and more recently by Hilty and Crafts." The carbon-oxygen reaction was investigated by Vacher and Hamilton6 and by Marshall and Chipman.7 A number of deoxidizing reactions have been studied empirica1lys'10 with the object of determining the appropriate "deoxidation constants." The work of Chen and Chipman" afforded a clear-cut view of the effect of the alloy element, chromium, on the thermodynamic activity of oxygen in liquid ternary solutions. These investigators determined the oxygen content of experimental melts which had been brought into equilibrium with a controlled atmosphere of hydrogen and water vapor and were able to show that the presence of chromium decreases the activity coefficient of oxygen. They determined also the conditions under which the two deoxidation products, Cr2O3 and FeCr2O4, were formed and showed that the activity of residual oxygen is considerably less than its percentage. It was the object of this investigation to apply a similar method to the study of molten alloys of iron, vanadium, and oxygen. Vanadium was once considered a moderately potent deoxidizer, but this is now known to be erroneous, in the light of its behavior in steelmaking practice. Its reaction with oxygen retains a certain amount of practical interest in that a high percentage of one element places a limit on the amount of the other that can be retained. As a deoxidizer it will be shown that vanadium lies between chromium and silicon. Experimental Method The apparatus was that used by the authors3 in their study of the equilibrium in the reaction: H2(g) +O = H2O(g);K,= [1] PII., ao Crucibles of Norton alundum or of pure alumina were used. The latter were made in this laboratory and were of high strength and low porosity. Under conditions of use they imparted no significant amount of aluminum (less than 0.01 pct) to the bath. Temperature measurements were made with the optical equipment and calibration chart of Dastur and Gokcen.= The charge was made up of calculated amounts of ferrovanadium (20 pct V) and clean electrolytic iron totaling approximately 70 g. The first few heats were made in alumina crucibles with an insufficient amount of vanadium so that no oxide of vanadium would be precipitated under the particular gas composition. All the heats were made at 1600 °C under a high preheat and with four parts of argon to one part of hydrogen in the gas mixture to prevent thermal diffusion. The rate of gas flow was maintained constant at 250 to 300 ml per min of hydrogen. The time for each heat was three quarters of an hour after the melt had melted and attained the required temperature (1600°C). The water-vapor content of the entrant gas mixture was gradually raised in succeeding heats, keeping the vanadium content of the melt constant. This was controlled by manipulation of saturator temperature. A point was reached when for a given H2O:H2 ratio some of the dissolved vanadium was oxidized and appeared as a thin, bright oxide film on top of the melt. By raising the temperature of the melt it was possible to dissolve the oxide film which reappeared as soon as it was cooled down to 1600°C. The temperature readings taken on the oxide film were consistently higher by 80" to 85 °C as observed by the optical pyrometer. The heat was allowed to come to equilibrium under a partial covering of this oxide film. At the end of the run the power and preheater were shut off and the crucible containing the melt was lowered down into the cooler region in the furnace. This method of quenching proved quite
Jan 1, 1952