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By Robert T. MacMillan

Of all the mineral substances utilized by man, salt or sodium chloride has one of the longest and most varied histories. Because all animal life is descended from marine organisms, sodium and chlorine became necessary to life, and as sodium chloride meets requirements most readily, common salt has been essential to human and animal diets from earliest times. As civilization progressed, man learned to evaporate sea water and brines of saline lakes and springs to obtain salt, and gradually ceased to depend on the flesh of animals and the occasional salt outcrops or "salt licks" they frequented. He also learned that salt had a multitude of uses, particularly as a preservative of meat and other foods. The importance of salt in the minds of early men may be readily seen from many allusions in the Bible and other ancient writings. Expressions such as "not worth his salt," and "the salt of the earth" are deeply embedded in the English language. Salt has symbolized friendship, fidelity, purity, and hospitality. It has been used as currency; had religious significance; caused wars; and has been a favorite commodity for taxation. The English word "salary" stems from the Latin word for salt, in which Roman soldiers received part of their pay. Although salt today retains its dietary importance, it has thousands of other uses. Of each 100 pounds produced in the United States less than three pounds is for table use. The other 97 pounds goes for agricultural, industrial, and chemical uses. Fortunately, reserves of salt are enormous and reasonably well distributed on the face of the earth. The sea is an inexhaustible source of salt which may be had at prices which vary with climate and other factors. In addition, large underground salt deposits and many salt lakes, springs and playas are scattered throughout the world. Most countries have access to a salt supply, although some are more favored than others. Properties Crystallized sodium chloride or common salt is known as halite. Its molecular weight is 58.454 and it contains, by weight, 39.34 pct sodium and 60.66 pct chlorine. Alternate positions in the cubic lattice are occupied, respectively, by negative chloride and positive sodium ions; the crystal form is isometric. Crystallization from water produces concentric shells, and when broken, a crystal shows conchoidal fracture. Salt has a hardness of 2.5; its specific gravity ranges from 2.1 to 2.6 for rock salt and is 2.165 for the pure crystal. The refractive index is 1.554; it melts at 800.8 ± 0.5°C and boils at 1413°C. Its heat of fusion is 123.59 cal/ gram. Salt is transparent or translucent and highly diathermous. It is colorless when pure and has a vitreous luster. Salt containing traces of iron oxides has varying shades of yellow, orange, brown, pink, or red. The peculiar shade of red sometimes found in that produced by solar evaporation of sea water has been attributed to tiny organisms. Blue mottlings sometimes seen in halite crystals have been attributed to colloidal sodium. Salt is soluble in water to the extent of 35.7 parts per 100 parts of water at 0°C and 39.8 parts per 100 of water at 100°C. The small difference in solubility with increasing temperature is important in the economics of producing salt by evaporating brine. Salt has a negative heat of solution which is 1.281 kg-cal/ mole at 18°C in 200 moles of water.

Jan 1, 1960

By R. M. Asimow, J. J. Svitak

Tile crilical resoll,r,d shear stress, CRSS, for slip of slow1y cooled Ag-All single crystals was measured at 201K. Tlze importance of short-range order and Suzuki sogregalion was inrestigated by deter~rlining llze ciic.cl of quenching on the CRSS. Thr obserz.ed rfrtenching effects were generally small and indicate that short-range ordcr and Slczuki srgregation do no1 account for n significant portion of the solid-solution strengthening in this system. However, all alloys slzozcwi yield drops ulhich rilere heat- lreat nrenl-sensiline THERE have been a number of mechanisms proposed to explain alloy strengthening in the Ag-Au system. The effectiveness of some of the proposed mechanisms, especially those that depend on Suzuki segregation1" or on short-range order,2-6 SRO? should be strongly dependent on heat treatment. Since internal friction investigations in this system indicate that there is stress-induced order,' we must also consider the possibility of local atomic rearrangement or short-range ordering in the stress field of a dislocation. There is not complete agreement whether these mechanisms should be most effective in raising the flow stress, in causing yield drops. or some combination of these two effects. This work was undertaken to determine the effects in the Ag-Au system of mechanisms that depend on segregation or order by using known but drastically different cooling rates following a high-temperature treatment. By comparing the critical resolved shear stress, CRSS, for slip measured after a very slow cool and again after a fast cool (quench) of the same crystal, it is possible to determine the effect of cooling rate on CRSS* and on yield drops. The single-crystal CRSS was determined at several compositions because there has been no data published across the phase field since the publication of room-temperature flow stress by Sachs and Weerts.' EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Starting with materials of 99.999 pct purity, single-crystal specimens of random orientation 1.25 mm square by 4 cm long were prepared with 0, 10, 14, 25, 30. 50, 70. 75. 80, 90. and 100 at. pct Au. Crystals were grown in an inert atmosphere using a modified Bridgman technique with a growth rate of 1.5 cm per hr in a gradient of 3°C per cm. To obtain a maximum practical degree of SRO, the crystals were cooled at a rate of 275'C per hr to about 310°C and then cooled at 6°C per hr to approximately 200°C. Specimens were tested in tension immersed in an alcohol bath at -72°C (201°K) at a strain rate > = 0.003 mm"1 to determine the CRSS (7). The activation volume of several crystals was determined from the flow stress increment (72 - T1) for a tenfold increase in strain rate. The total shear strain varied from 0.05 to 2.3 pct but was generally less than 0.4 pct. After testing, each crystal was then held at 500°C for 10 min, quenched into brine at -35°C and. after storage at -71°C for 1 day, retested in tension using a procedure identical to that of the first test. The quenching apparatus, see Fig. 1, was designed to enable accurate temperature control and rapid quenching while preventing specimen contamination and accidental deformation. Test data from a specimen with a fine thermocouple spot-welded to it indicated a cooling rate of 104C per sec. The relatively low heat-treatment temperature was chosen to minimize quenching defects caused by a large vacancy

Jan 1, 1970

Jan 1, 1925

Jan 1, 1882

By R. L. Smith, J. L. Rutherford

ALTHOUGH considerable effort has been devoted toward the determination of the mechanical properties of pure metals, it is extremely difficult to compare the results of such work. This is because of differences in method and type of test, grain size, heat treatment, and purity of material. There is very little information on the properties of most of the high melting point reactive metals with purities greater than 99.9 pct. Previous evidence concerning the tensile properties of unalloyed metals show that: body-centered-cubic metals are brittle at low temperatures; face-centered-cubic metals remain ductile; some hexagonal metals remain ductile, others become brittle. It may be that traces of impurities decrease the low temperature ductility of the body-centered-cubic lattice. This would suppose that a body-centered-cubic lattice free from impurities would exhibit nearly the same ductility as a face-centered-cubic structure. The present investigation has been an evaluation of the tensile properties of zone refined iron in order to determine whether higher purity material than that previously evaluated behaves differently. Experimental Procedure In this investigation, high purity iron was zone purified using the floating zone method.' The starting stock was obtained from two sources. The first,

Jan 1, 1958

By W. E. Rudolph, R. E. Baylor

DUE to its location in the Atacama Desert, one of the most barren of the earth's surfaces, Chuquicamata's water supply presents unusual problems. Yearly rain-fall averages less than one tenth of an inch at the plant. However, there are summer showers above 12,000 ft in the Cordillera to the east, the resulting run-off flowing through old river valleys buried beneath more recent volcanic formations, to be impounded within sediment-filled basins. This water emerges at springs where the outlets of these basins are blocked by lava flows, and here are formed the small streams which feed the only important river of the region, the Rio Loa. Chuquicamata's water is obtained from these springs and rivulets. [ ] The map above indicates four pipe lines from which potable and industrial water are supplied. Potable water, amounting to 4500 metric tons per day, is conveyed in the Toconce pipe line from springs 59 miles due east of Chuquicamata. This water is used not only for drinking, but also for boilers and other needs requiring high quality. For industrial water at the oxide plant, there are two 12-in. pipe lines from the Rio San Pedro, carrying a total of 17,000 metric tons per day of slightly brackish water. This water is at present used mainly for leaching and for hygienic purposes. Water Source Found For the present and future needs of the sulphide plant, it was calculated that at least 32,000 metric tons per day of make-up water would be required. For this purpose, a pipe line of 44 miles length was constructed to bring in the entire flow of the Arroyo Salado, one of the eastern tributaries of the Loa. The salt content of this water is so high (over 5000 parts per million of solubles, mostly chlorides) that it is highly detrimental to farming, and the Chilean Government had been studying projects to separate these waters from others of the Loa system in order to improve agricultural conditions in the fertile valley of Calama. So it happened that the Government was willing to award rights to the Arroyo Salado waters under agreement whereby the Mining Company removes waters from the Rio Loa system above Calama for all time. The outlet of these waters, after serving their purpose at the new concentrator and leaving the plant in tailing, is the Salar de Talabre, an old salt lake which presents fully ten square miles of surface to serve as an evaporating pan, the outlets having now been blocked by dams. Here the dry climate of Chuquicamata is a favourable factor, evaporation averaging slightly above 1/4 in. per day. The Toconce and San Pedro pipe lines have been functioning from 26 to 34 years, and through the use of special cleaning tools which were developed at the plant, as well as deaeration of the more active Toconce water, these pipes are now maintained at capacities which do not diminish as years go on. Constructing the Dam The Arroyo Salado pipe line design and construction involved certain special and interesting features, and inasmuch as this line and its intake works are solely for the needs of the new sulphide plant, more detailed description is given. The waters are impounded at a gravity dam constructed of concrete to a height of 100 ft above the river bed, keyed into the precipitous Dacite walls of the narrow canyon (barely 6-ft wide at the bottom, only 25-ft width at 50 ft above). A small secondary dam was built 100 ft down stream from the main dam, providing a pool of 15-ft depth to protect the main structure from flood flows over the spill-way during the rainy season. A system of four 36-in. syphons was designed for discharging these flood waters from the lower depths of the lake, in order to avoid eventual sedimentation behind the dam. The lake has a length of 3300 ft, and its water level is controlled by an adjustable spillway permitting draw-down of eighty inches, amounting to 41,000 metric tons of available capacity. This regulation is necessary because of wide fluctuations in stream flow between day and night due to freezing of feeders. During the construction of the dam the entire river flow was handled within a 36-in. pipe line some 2000 ft in length. As the excavations proceeded

Jan 1, 1952

Jan 1, 1884

By T. Sterry Hunt

THERE are about sixty bodies which chemists call elements ; the simplest forms of matter which they have been able to extract from the rocky crust of our earth, its waters, and its atmosphere. These substances are distributed in very unequal quantities, and in very different manners. As regards the frequency of these elements in nature, neglecting for the present those which constitute air and water, and confining ourselves to the solid matters of the earth's crust, there are a few which are exceedingly abundant, making up nine-tenths, if not ninety-five hundredths, of the rocks so far as known to us. The elements of which silica, alumina, lime, magnesia, potash, and soda are oxides, are very common, and occur almost everywhere. There are others which are much rarer, being found in comparatively small quantities. Many of these rarer elements are, however, of great importance in the economy of nature. Such are the common metals and other substances used in the arts, which occur in nature in quantities relatively very minute, but which have been collected by various agencies, and thus made available for the wants of man. It is chiefly of the well-known metals, iron, copper, silver, and gold, that I propose to speak to-night; but there are two other elements not classed among the metals, which I shall notice for the reason that their history is extremely important, and will, moreover, enable us to comprehend more clearly some points in that of the metals themselves. I speak of phosphorus and iodine. You all know the essential part which the former of these, com- * An address before the Polytechnic Association of the American Institute, during the meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in New York. Printed in this volume by request of many members.

Jan 1, 1873

By Research Staff ? Verde Copper Mines

FLOTATION is now commonly practiced in alkaline ore pulps, yet little is known regarding the action of the alkaline solutions on the ore particles beyond the fact that films of oxidized material form. We wish to chronicle our discovery of the presence of soluble reducing agents in alkaline ore pulps of the United Verde, and present some data on lime consumption. During the grinding and flotation of a pyritic ore containing small amounts of ferrous sulfate and other soluble salts, an excess of lime was added to precipitate the salts, and filtered samples of the solution were titrated with standard permanganate solution. Even in pulps of high causticity an appreciable permanganate titration was always obtained, in spite of the fact that the solutions were shown to contain little iron. Investigation of the cause brought about the discovery of several previously unsuspected compounds in flotation pulps made from pyritic ore. Not only the reducing agents present had to be identified, but also the amount of dissolved oxygen, and a survey was finally made of the free oxygen content and reducing agents of the mill pulp in the concentrating mill at Clarkdale. A great many. compounds might form, caused by oxidation of pyrite or other metal sulfides or by reaction between a lime solution and pyrite. The most probable compounds considered were calcium sulfides, polysulfides, thiosulfates, and polythionates. Later it was discovered in the literature that in alkaline pulp polythionates do not exist and if introduced are decomposed into sulfites and thiosulfates.1 Any precipitated sulfur is changed by alkali into thiosulfate and polysulfide. Sulfites and sulfides react to form thiosulfate, so that in the end it is possible to have in an alkaline solution only thiosulfate and an excess either of sulfide or sulfite. Confirmatory tests were made and it was finally established that the alkaline mill pulps made from the United Verde ore contained

Jan 1, 1929

By S. R. Dunbas, D. C. Jillson, E. A. Anderson

THE present work was undertaken to furnish information, lacking in the literature, on the deformation mechanisms active in pure titanium at room temperature. Since it was started, Rosi, Dube, and Alexander' have indicated that slip can occur in coarse-grained (2 to 6 mm diameter) titanium on the {1010} and {1011} planes and twinning can take place on the {1072}, (1122) and (1151) planes. Liu and Steinberg,' working with titanium flakes produced by fused salt electrolysis, found evidence of twinning on the {1032$, {1121), {1122}, (1123}, and (1154) planes. The crystals used in the present work were substantially longer (up to nearly 2 in. in length) and possibly purer. Production of Large Crystals It was the purpose of this part of the work to provide single crystal or large grain specimens for use in the deformation studies rather than to study the mechanism of crystal growth. Accordingly, all further exploratory studies on methods were abandoned when it was found that cold-rolled bars sealed in vacuo in individual Vycor tubes and given three or more cycles of 4 hr at 1200°C and three to five days at 850°C, gave large grains. Eighteen specimens about 0.2 in. square x 2 in. long yielded 33 useful grains, ranging from Va in. to nearly 2 in. in length, with an agreeably wide range of orientations, Fig. l. The 0.25 in. thick strip from which the starting specimens were cut had been reduced 67 pct on 18 in. diameter rolls from a scalped, hot-forged (959" to 1000°C), arc-melted, iodide titanium ingot. Thc bar was at room temperature, but the rolls were at 200°C. Reductions of about 0.03 in. per pass were used. The bar was cut into four segments, each of which was rolled in a somewhat different manner. No effect on the growth of large grains was noted. The composition of the titanium, determined on turnings from the ingot scalping operations, is given in Table I. The Rockwell A hardness of the ingot was 26. The standard starting specimens, about 1/4x1/4x2 in., were milled on all four sides, hand polished on 280 and 400 mesh emery papers, etched for 3 min in a 50 HF-50 glycerine solution, rinsed, and dried in alcohol and ether just before sealing them in Vycor tubes. The average specimen weight was 7.5 g, and the tube volume was 6.5 cc. A vacuum of less than 1 micron pressure was applied. The specimen tubes were placed in an evacuated Inconel muffle to minimize the danger of collapse of the glass tubes at temperature. In practice the specimens were first heated to 1200 °C for 4 hr and then transferred fairly quickly to an 850°C furnace where they were held for three to five days. This cycle was repeated at least three times before the specimens were cooled, removed from the tubes, lightly polished and etched on one surface for examinstion. Those in which large grains had not developed were resealed in Vycor and returned to the cycling. Satisfactory specimens (about one out of every four cycled) were polished with emery paper on all four side;, then metallographically polished using ctchinz between wheels to remove distorted metal and, finally, given a very light etch to reveal the grain boundaries. This was necessary because the surface was roughened by the sublimation of titanium under high temperature vacuum conditions. Specimens were identified by TiXl numbers using supplementary letters to designate specific grains.

Jan 1, 1954

By Owen F. Devereux

Two discrete types of microstructure me seen in cermets formed by the reaction: 4Al (liquid) + 3SiO2 (glass) — 2A12O3(a) + 3Si (solid) Relatively coarse-grained macroscopically isotropic specimens resulted from reaction with aluminum containing appreciable silicon, while macroscopically anisotropic fine-grained specimens were formed by reaction with aluminum low in silicon. Optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction suggest that the anisotropic material contains gross areas in which submicroscopic grains of a A12O3 are oriented along radial lines drawn from the specimen surface. These lines are presumed to originate at defects in an otherwise protecting surface layer. A unique cermet is formed by the reduction of high-silica glass by molten aluminum according to the reaction: 4A1 (liquid) + 3SiO2 (glass) — 2A12O3 (a) + 3Si (solid) The free-energy change accompanying this reaction is -150 kcal at 800°C; the volume change (volume of A12O3 and silicon minus volume of SiO2) is +6 pct. The reaction product, however, contains aluminum metal as well as Al2O3 and silicon because some of the product silicon is dissolved in the aluminum bath and is replaced by aluminum in the structure. The product is a hard gray solid that retains the external dimensions of the original silica article. The system has been studied in the past, the investigations culminating in patents to George1, 2 and Saw-chuk., The former emphasize that this reaction is but one of a relatively broad class of such systems, while the latter demonstrates that a marked improvement in the gross physical properties of the cermet can be obtained by dissolving appreciable quantities of silicon in the aluminum reactant. The system has also been studied by workers at Rolls Royce Ltd.,4-6 who have patented the addition of small quantities of arsenic, antimony, bismuth, or phosphorus to the reactant bath to SO impede the reaction that glass fibers may be metal-coated by immersion in molten aluminum.

Jan 1, 1969

By AIME AIME

FEW men are as well known to metallurgists or steel men everywhere as this year's Chairman of the Iron and Steel Division. This is evident from the writer's experience some years ago while visiting Krupp's new open-hearth plant near Essen and the Skoda Works at Pilsen. The first question asked there was: "You know Dr. Herty?" Knowing Charlie Herty has advantages, not the least of which is (or was in 1933) a fine lunch with a plethora of good Rhine \vine at Essen and a super- plethora of Pilsener beer at Slioda.

Jan 1, 1941

American Zinc Institute, 60 East 42nd St , New York, N Y. Julian D. Conover, Secretary The monthly Journal of the American Zinc Institute contains papers on zinc deposits, mining and metallurgy of zinc, as well as affairs of the Institute, statistics, and many papers on phases of the utilization of zinc It has the title "Zn " The numbers for each year are collected as volumes for that year, the first volume was issued in 1918, and the latest complete volume available is Vol 12 (1929) Copies of Indexes to the volumes will be sent upon request Back numbers of the Journal are not generally available for distribution but may be seen in most libraries For further information regarding papers, back numbers of the Journal, or volumes, address the Secretary

Jan 1, 1933

By AIME AIME

HONORARY COMMITTEE. HON. C. D. WALCOTT (Chairman.), Director U. S. Geological Surrey. HON. FREDERICK I. ALLEN, Commissioner of Patents. DR. FRANK BAKER, Superintendent National Zoological Park. MR. CHARLES A. BELL, President American Security and Trust Co. MAJOR JOHN BIDDLE, Engineer Commissioner of District of Columbia. ADMIRAL C. M. CHESTER, Superintendent U.S. Naval Observatory. GENERAL WILLIAM CROZIER, Chief of Ordnance, U. S. A. ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY, Admiral of the Navy. COLONEL CLARENCE R. EDWARDS, Chief Bureau. of Insular Affairs. MR. WILLIAM C. FOX, Director Bureau of American Republics. MR. CHARLES C. GLOVER, President The Riggs National Bank. GENERAL A. W. GREELY, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. MR. BERNARD R. GREEN, Superintendent Library Building. GEN. G. H. HARRIES, Vice-President Washington Electric Railway Co. HON. E. A. HITCHCOCK, Secretary of the Interior. COMMANDER H. M. HODGES, Chief Hydrographer, U. S. N. PROF. W. H. HOLMES, Chief Bureau of American. Ethnology. PROF. S. P. LANGLEY, Secretary Smithsonian Institution. GENERAL ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. ADMIRAL N. E. MASON, Chief Bureau of Ordnance, U. S. HON. WM. M. MEREDITH, Director Bureau of Engraving and Printing. HON. V. H. METCALF, Secretary Department of Commerce and Labor. HON. WILLIS L. MOORE, Chief -U. S. Weather Bureau. HON. PAUL MORTON, Secretary of the Navy. MR. F. H. NEWELL, Chief Reclamation Service, U. S. Geological Survey. HON. S. N. D. NORTH, Director Census Office. CAPT. E. C. PENDLETON, Superintendent Naval Gun Factory. MR. GIFFORD PINCHOT, Chief Forester, Department of Agriculture. MR. HERBERT PUTNAM, Librarian of Congress. ADMIRAL CHAS. W. RAE, Chief Bureau of Steam Engineering, U. S. A: MR. RICHARD RATHBUN, Assistant Secretary Smithsonian. Institution. HON. W. T. RICHARDS, Commissioner General Land Office.

Jul 1, 1905

By Howard I. Young

WHEN so many statements are being made relative to the requirements of zinc metal, it is difficult for some of us who are acquainted with the industry to visualize how it is possible to step up production so as to supply some of the fantastic requirement figures that are published from time to time. I shall attempt to approach this subject from the standpoint of existing conditions which affect production, also keeping in mind the price ceiling under which the industry operates. Total production of primary and secondary zinc in the United States for 1941 will be about 878,000 tons, to which should be added about 36,000 tons of Mexican slab zinc available for consumption or export from the United States, giving a total available of 914,000 tons. Production of slab zinc of all grades in 1942 should be 953,000 tons. Adding the available Mexican supply should bring the total to 989,000 tons.

Jan 1, 1942

By O. W. Simmons, L. W. Eastwood, C. M. Craighead

Binary alloys of titanium with silver, lead, tin, nickel, copper, beryllium, boron, silicon, chromium, molybdenum, manganese, vanadium, iron, and cobalt were studied. One-half-pound ingots of the alloys were prepared in an arc furnace, employing a water-cooled copper crucible, an argon atmosphere, and a water-cooled tungsten electrode. The half-pound ingots were fabricated by forging at 1700°F in air to 1/4-in. slab, followed by hot rolling at 1450°F to 0.060-in. sheet. Tensile properties, minimum bend radii, hardnesses, response to heat treatment and aging treatment, and phase relationships were determined for these alloys. EARLY in 1947, as one phase of the evaluation of materials for Air Force Project RAND, Battelle successfully arc melted Bureau of Mines titanium and obtained a few basic properties of unalloyed titanium and several titanium-base alloys. The low density, excellent resistance to corrosion, and high tensile properties of these materials stimulated a great deal of interest among metallurgists and designers seeking better materials of construction. As a result of this early work, Battelle, under contract with the Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, has continued extensive studies of titanium alloys. The result of the first year's work is described in three papers. The present one deals with binary alloys, the second with ternary alloys, and the third paper with quaternary alloys. Melting Method The arc furnace for melting titanium and other refractory metals was developed at Battelle Institute under Air Force Project RAND. During the present work, considerable improvement has been made in the design and operation of this furnace for making small ingots of titanium and titanium alloys. The improved furnace design is illustrated by fig. 1, which shows a cross-sectional view with the dimensions of various parts and their relationship to one another. The essential features of the furnace are the inert argon atmosphere, the water-cooled copper crucible, and the water-cooled tungsten elec- trode. The melting crucible is formed by spinning 0.064-in. annealed copper sheet. A groove for an O-ring seal is spun into the flange of the crucible. A fiber gasket between the crucible flange and the water-cooled brass cover provides electrical insulation. The brass cover is fitted with a sight glass, an opening for the water-cooled electrode, and a tube through which the material is charged. Direct current is used for melting, with the positive electrical terminal connected to the water jacket and the negative terminal to the electrode. A typical heat is made in the new furnace as follows: Approximately, 0.20 lb of titanium under 2 mesh per in. and the alloy addition, if any is to be used, are placed in the bottom of the crucible. The cover is clamped on the crucible so that the O-rings make a tight seal. The remainder of the charge is placed in a glass bottle, and this is connected by a rubber hose to the charging tube of the furnace. The crucible and the charge are evacuated with a mechanical pump to a pressure below 50 mm of mercury, or less if desired, and held at this reduced pressure for 5 min. Hot water is circulated through the jacket during the evacuation period to assist in outgassing the crucible. Following the evacuation, tank argon of 99.92+ pct purity is flushed through the crucible for 5 min and then adjusted to give a positive pressure of 1 to 2 psi. During subsequent operation, an argon pressure regulator introduces only enough argon to compensate for the small leakage which occurs through a mercury trap. Re-evacuation and reflushing the melting chamber with argon produced a negligible reduction in contamination. Two 550-amp generators, connected in parallel, constitute the power source. Normally, about 800 amp are used for melting alloys which are not extremely refractory. The generators are set for 90 v open circuit and 200 amp. The arc is struck and the electrode is withdrawn to produce an arc of 23 to 26 v. This voltage is maintained while the electrode tip is moved slowly around a circle 1 in. smaller than the diameter of the ingot. The current

Jan 1, 1951

By V. F. Parry, J. B. Goodman

The low-rank coals containing 10 to 50 pet natural bed moisture represent over half of the tonnage reserve of the available solid fuels of the United States, but only about 2 pet of United States coal production is derived from these fuels. Increased utilization of these large reserves will result if the bed moisture can be removed at the mine in high-speed low-cost processes. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study of the factors affecting high-speed drying of coal dusts. The time required to heat particles of coal is proportional to the square of their diameter, and it is calculated that the probable time in minutes is equal to 6D2. In other words, a 11 a in. coal particle should be heated to drying temperature in 1.5 to 2.0 sec. Likewise, 1/8 in. particles should be heated in about 6 sec. The net heat required to dry subbituminous coal and lignite varies from 240 to 375 Btu per pound, depending upon the moisture removed, and this heat can be obtained from 42 to 61 cu ft of hot gases at 600°F.

Jan 1, 1949

By AIME AIME

NEARLY two hundred 'engineers attended the dinner given at the Hotel Pennsylvania on Monday-evening, Oct. 10, to the delegation from the American l3nginiering Societies to Great Britain and France when the John Fritz Medal was presented to Sir Robert Hadfield and to Eugene Schneider. Representatives of the British and French Governments ' and of foreign engineering societies gave to the event an international aspect unique in gatherings of engineers. Messages from men distinguished in science, statesmanship and diplomacy were read. Medals struck by the French Government were presented to the general chairman of the deputation, to the chairman of each' individual delegation and to the president's of the four Founder Societies. The meeting was regarded by engineers as formally ushering in a definite movement for world unity in the engineering profession. J. Vipond Davies, president of the United Engineering Society, acted as toastmaster. The speakers ,were Ambrose Swasey, Charles F. Rand, F. B. Jewett, A. S. Dwight, John R. Freeman, all members of the deputa- tion; and M. Gaston Liebert, French Consul General; Captain G. H. Armstrong, British Counsel General; G. G. Clapperton, representing the British Institution bf Electrical Engineers, and Prof. Jacques Cavalier, spokesman for the French universities. Among the engineers from other cities was Governor. James Hartness of Vermont.

Jan 1, 1921

By G. Sachs

THE iron-rich iron-nickel alloys have at-tracted considerable academic interest in recent years. The carbon-free alloys are of minor practical importance, but they are Atomic per cent nickel FIG. I. FIG. 2. FIG, I.-HONDA'S AND MERICA's IRON-NICKEL DIAGRAM, FIG. 2.-MARSH'S IRON-NICKEL CONSTITU-TIONAL DIAGRAM. the base of many alloys with various out-standing properties. The iron-nickel alloys, therefore, have been investigated exten-sively regarding both their structures and their properties. The researches on these alloys up to 1938 have been collected and critically reviewed by J. S. Marsh,1 and will be discussed in some detail in the sec-tions of this paper dealing with specific subjects. These numerous investigations have not succeeded in establishing the equilibrium conditions in this system. Alloys containing more than a certain amount of nickel (8 to10 per cent Ni) undergo the allotropic transformation extremely sluggishly, both on heating and cooling, showing a large hysteresis,2 which is not dependent upon

Jan 1, 1940

By R. H. Winn

In this paper a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir is considered as a succession of layers of formations of radically different porosities, permeabilities, water saturations, and rock matrix types; i.e., the heterogeneity is vertical rather than radial to the wellbore. Presumably each layer is more or less homogeneous. To determine the "net oil in place" in this reservoir it is desirable to know the porosity and water saturation of each layer. In addition, the section must be subdivided into that which will produce oil, that which will produce water, and that which will produce little or nothing. In numerous wells drilled in these reservoirs radioactivity surveys, guard electrode surveys, and caliper surveys have been made. These logs have been compared with core analysis data, when available, and the analysis of the surveys compared with production data. This study, still in progress, is intended to provide improved analytical techniques if such are possible. This paper is a progress report on the work. DETERMINATION OF POROSITY The neutron-gamma log has long been recognized as a measure of hydrogen concentration.1,2,3 In reservoirs that are free of clay, shale, or other hydrogen containing matrices, it has been accepted as a measure of porosity.4,5 Empirical methods to relate relative neu-tron-gamma intensity to porosity are often employed." To provide a more precise determination of porosity from the neutron-gamma log each instrument is calibrated immediately prior to each survey by a method which refers all tools to a hydrogenous cylinder. To insure stability a calibration check is made after each survey. These calibration records are printed as an integral part of the log that is recorded in standard counts per second. A detailed description of the calibration procedure is available in the literature.' The procedure employed insures that each Survey is numerically reproducible within the limits of statistical variation. To relate the standard neutron counts per second to porosity and hole size, records were made in test wells constructed of blocks of limestone. The porosities of the blocks were accurately measured and the blocks completely saturated with fresh water. Fig. 1 presents some of the results obtained in these test wells.' The lines shown in Fig. 1 were obtained by deriving an empirical equation relating the 11 points shown so that the relationship may be projected to larger and smaller hole sizes. A detailed description of the tool is available in the literature.' Field tests indicate that the tool is adjacent to the wall of the hole most of the time when the surveys are made in uncased holes drilled with saline muds. In this circumstance porosity may be calculated from Fig. 1 if the hole size is known. When fresh muds that form thick mud cakes are employed, the centralizing effect of the mud cake must be considered and the porosity determination is less reliable. In cased holes the combined effect of variations in hole diameter and the unknown eccentricity of the casing in the hole may make porosity determinations extremely unreliable. In any event, an accurate knowledge of hole size is essen-

Jan 1, 1958