Search Documents

By J. R. Low, A. M. Turkalo

ManY qualitative observations have been made concerning the relationship of the carbide dispersion and the mechanical properties of steel. With reference to the strength and hardness we know that for a given composition a steel having a fine pearlitic structure is stronger than that having a coarse pearlite. The martensitic structure tempered at a relatively low temperature and having finely dispersed carbides gives greater strength than that given by the martensitic structure tempered at a relatively higher temperature and having a coarser

Jan 1, 1959

By Philip Wilson

Tun mines of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Co. are situated in the Warren Mining District, Cochise County, Arizona, between Bisbee and Warren and adjoin those of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co. and the Shattuck Arizona Copper Co. Paleozoic limestones of considerable thickness have been intruded by granite porphyry. A great stock of the intrusive outcrops boldly near the city of Bisbee and is known as Sacramento Hill. From this central core the porphyry has tongued out into the limestone for many thousands of feet as dikes and sills of irregular shape and variable dimensions. Churn drilling has recently developed a large tonnage of secondarily enriched copper ore in the main porphyry mass of Sacramento Hill. While some ore has been found in porphyry in other parts of the district it is relatively unimportant compared with that which occurs in the Paleozoic limestone as irregular lenses replacing favorable beds near porphyry contacts or associated with well-marked fracture zones often many hundreds of feet away from the intrusive. In a zone extending from Sacramento Hill for a distance of from 1,500 to 3,000 ft. the limestone has been extensively metamorphosed and in this contact metamorphic zone the ore occurs through a known vertical thickness of upward of 900 ft. and individual orebodies often show extension in a vertical direction of over 200 ft. At a greater distance from the intrusive stock the ore occurs as lenses of greater horizontal than vertical dimensions with an average thickness of approximately 30 ft. An exception to this rule is found in the occasional steeply dipping mineralized fractures, almost true tabular veins, which are found long distances away from the zone of contact metamorphism.

Jan 7, 1916

By James E. Lawver, James L. Wright

This paper describes the design of a cell used to measure the electrical conductivity, or the reciprocal resistivity, of granular materials. It also establishes a quantitative relationship between the electrical conductivity and the electrical separation of selected mineral samples. It is estimated' that the free world produces about 13 million tons of mineral concentrates a year by electrostatic or electrodynamic methods. At least 95% of these concentrates are produced by corona discharge type machines that separate minerals by exploiting the differences in their electrical conductivity. But, what is meant by the electrical conductivity of a mineral? How large a difference in the electrical conductivity of two mineral species is necessary to effect a separation? Just what is the role of conductivity in electrical separations with regard to capacity and selectivity? There is a considerable amount of information in the literature on both the mechanisms of conduction and the values of the electrical conductivity of pure single-crystal mineral specimens. In addition, some insight into the role of mineral conductivity can be obtained by referring to a Bureau of Mines publication' in which 95 minerals have been grouped as conductors or insulators as a function of temperature. The classification was made on the basis of the percent of weight that reported as "conductors" in an electrical separator. But, as is often the case in the mineral industry, practical application leads theory — and there is little useful information in the literature giving any kind of quantitative relationship between electrical conductivity and electrical separations. The problem is a bit complex because electrical conductivity per se — which can be rather easily measured on large, single grains — is not sufficiently informative to permit quantitative predictions of the separability of the mineral system. Practical "high-tension"* separations are made at such feed rates that the band of minerals on the rotor is multilayered in thickness. Thus, the effective conductivities of minerals as seen by a high-tension machine include particle-to-particle contact resistance, which is often a controlling factor in making a separation. This is particularly true when the mineral grains are coated with slime or with a dielectric surface film. From a high-tension separation viewpoint, one is actually concerned with the time required for corona-charged grains to lose enough charge so that the centrifugal force acting on the particles exceeds the image force holding the grains to the rotor. This calculation requires a knowledge of the effective mineral conductivity s. (The conductivity of the metal rotor is sufficiently greater than that of the minerals so that it need not be considered in charge decay calculations.) The charge density at time t can be approximated by the relaxation equation.3 where t 5 charge density at time t r, - charge density when t = 0 cr e total electrical conductivity £ = permittivity The time required for the charge density to fall to l/e of its initial value is called the relaxation time and is numerically equal to €/n. AS defined here, u is the conductivity of an element of homogeneous grains making contact with each other and with a grounded rotor. This paper deals with the design of a conductivity cell used to measure a, or its reciprocal p, the electrical resistivity. CELL DESIGN Initial test work was performed with a cell recommended by ASTM.4 Since the reproducibility with the ASTM cell was not satisfactory, it was decided to

Jan 1, 1970

By H. D. Newell

Jan 1, 1938

By H. D. Newell

Jan 1, 1938

By Frederick Laist

(Butte Meeting, August, 1913.) WHILE remodeling No. 1 section of the concentrator at the Washoe Reduction Works of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. during the summer of 1912, for the purpose of ascertaining what additional metal recoveries could be made by improvements in concentration practice which had been developed by the staff of the Boston & Montana Reduction Department, at Great Falls, it was deemed advisable to carry on some experiments on the treatment of the regular mill tailings by roasting and leaching, to see whether the losses of metal values might not be still further decreased. In the course of these experiments about 5,000 tons of tailings were roasted, and of the resulting calcine about 200 tons were leached. The results were so satisfactory that it was decided to continue the work on a larger scale, particularly as regards the leaching end of the process, and construction work on an 80-ton roasting and leaching plant was accordingly commenced during the latter part of February, 1913, and is being pushed as rapidly as possible. 80-Ton Leaching Plant. This plant will consist of one 20-ft. roasting furnace of the MacDougall type, specially adapted to the work of roasting for leaching; two leaching tanks, .32 ft. in diameter by 12 ft, deep, together with the necessary solution tanks, air lifts, precipitating launders, etc. It has been decided to precipitate the copper from solution on scrap iron, so as not to hamper the roasting and leaching departments by any weakness that might develop in the precipitating department. It is, however, the intention to experiment with a number of different methods of precipitation ; for example, by electrolysis and by hydrogen sulphide.

Jan 7, 1913

I. PRESIDING OFFICERS. At all Business meetings of the Institute the President, or, in his absence, the Vice-President, or, in the absence of both of them, any other member of the Board of Directors to be chosen by the meeting, shall preside. At all other meetings of the Institute the President of the Council or, in his absence, one of the Vice-Presidents, if present, shall preside II. ORDER OF BUSINESS. At each Business meeting of the Institute the order of business shall be as follows 1. Reading of minutes of preceding meeting. 2 Report of the President. 3. Report of the Treasurer. 4. Report of the Secretary. 5. Election of Directors. 6. Reports of Standing Committees. 7. Reports of Special Committees. 8. Special Orders 9. Miscellaneous business. This order of business may be changed by a vote of a majority of the Members and Associates present in person or by proxy. The usual parliamentary rules shall govern all meetings of the Institute except in cases otherwise provided by the Constitution or the By-Laws. At all sessions of the Institute other than business meetings, the order of proceedings and the time of adjournment, shall rest in the discretion of the presiding officer

Jan 1, 1923

By M. J. Pool

The partial molar heats of solution in liquid tin of cadmium, silver, tellurium, and zinc have been measured at 655°. 700°, and 750°K by liquid-metal solution calorimetry. Silver, cadmium, and zinc are endothermic at these temperatures while tellurium is exothermic. Only the heat of solution of silver depends on composition while all four elements show a temperature-de pendent heat of solution. The heat of solution of tellurium is constant up to 0.6 g-at. pct, becomes increasingly more exothermic, and reaches a limiting value at 1 g-at. pct Te. The limiting value has been used to calculate the heat of formation of SnTe at 750°K. The heat effects associated with the dissolution of the compounds Ag2 Te, CdTe, and ZnTe in liquid tin were measured at 750°K. These values are cotnOined with the measured hat effects at 750°Kfor silver, cadmium, tellurium, and zinc to detertrline the heats of formation of the telluride compounds. Cadmium lelluride exhibits a heat of dissolution which has a compositional dependence. THERE is a considerable amount of interest in the compounds of tellurium because of their electronic properties. Both cadmium and zinc tellurides are thermoelectric materials and considerable work has been done on their electronic properties but a limited amount of data is available on their ther-modynamic properties. This work was undertaken to elucidate the heat of formation data on cadmium and zinc telluride. Since both cadmium and zinc are in Group II it seemed to be of interest to compare the values obtained for them with the heat of formation of a Group I telluride. Silver telluride was selected for this comparison. In the course of the work it was also possible to determine the heat of formation of tin telluride and therefore to make a comparison of some of the Group I, 11, and lV tellurides with the metallic elements silver, cadmium, and tin being in the same period. There is also a great deal of interest in the energetic changes which occur upon addition of solute elements to a common solvent. This investigation provided an opportunity to study the partial molar heats of solution of silver, cadmium, tellurium, and zinc in liquid tin. The partial molar heats of solution are of theoretical interest because solute-solute interactions are a minimum in dilute solutions and application of solution models is simpli- fied. In order to complete the analysis of solute-solute and solute-solvent interactions the temperature dependence of the partial molar heats of solution was also measured. MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE All materials were of the highest purity available. The silver, zinc, cadmium, and tellurium were obtained from American Smelting and Refining Co. and were reported to be 99.999 pct pure. The silver telluride, zinc telluride, and cadmium telluride were obtained from Atomergic Chemetals Co., a division of Gallard-Schlesinger Chemical Manufacturing Corp., and were electronic-grade material of 99.999 pct purity. Tin used for the solvent bath and for calibration was obtained from the Vulcan Manufacturing Co. and was reported as being 99.99 pct pure. The liquid-tin solution calorimeter used in this work is similar in principle to the differential twin-type calorimeter described by K1eppa.l Two of three identical calorimeter wells are used together during any set of experiments, one well being active and the other being passive. The wells are positioned 120 deg apart in an aluminum calorimeter block. Each well contains a multijunction thermopile and a Pyrex test tube to hold the liquid metal bath. Forty-eight of the thermopile junctions are distributed over the surface of each calorimeter well adjacent to the test tube and serve to integrate the heat effects occurring. The other forty-eight are next to the aluminum calorimeter block. The thermopiles for the three wells are connected differentially so that any change in temperature at the outer junctions (which will be the same for both wells because of the high conductivity of the aluminum block) will oppose for the two wells and result in no shift of the zero. The electrical output represents the true temperature difference between the two reaction vessels. A reaction occurring in the active well gives a comparison with another body of very similar thermal properties. In this way, any spurious heat effects due to slight temperature drifts within the entire calorimeter block are eliminated. The output of the differential thermopile goes to a dc amplifier with multiple ranges of from * 10 pv to 1 30 mv. The output of the amplifier is then fed into a Leeds and Northrup strip-chart recorder. The adiabatic temperature change is then calculated using the technique of Howlett, Leach, Ticknor, and ever.' The aluminum calorimeter block is contained in a cylindrical furnace with main and control heaters

Jan 1, 1965

By E. Lancaster-Jones

THE gravity magnitudes obtained by means of observations with the Eötvös balance in the field are necessarily resultant or total effects due to all abnormalities of mass distribution, including even the effects due to the ellipticity and rotational motion of the whole earth. Since the object of the survey is to isolate the effects which arise solely from some particular subterranean feature, and to deduce therefrom the configuration and extent of this feature, the first step is to eliminate from the observed effects all those due to "disturbing" (i. e., unwanted) features, whether above or below the surface of the ground. The disturbing features have different characteristics, according to their situation relative to the center of the balance and to the horizontal plane through the foot of the balance, or station point; this diversity was recognized by Eötvös, who divided the total effects into so-called Normal, Terrain, Topographical, Cartographical and Subterranean effects. This classification has been adhered to by most subsequent investigators, but the writer prefers to employ the term "three-dimensional," which really indicates the essential character of the class of effect known as "Subterranean," at any rate from the standpoint of the computer of effects. Before disturbing effects can be eliminated, the features must be measured up or surveyed, whether by topographical, mining, or boring methods, and then the effects of each feature calculated and subtracted from the total observed effects. After this the problem of interpreting the residual effects will itself necessitate the computation of the assumed feature, or even a series of trial features.

Jan 1, 1928

By Frederick G. Tickell

Petroleum engineers are displaying considerable interest in those fundamental properties of matter and energy that control the phenomena of oil and gas production. The subject is a difficult one to investigate by laboratory experiments for two reasons: (1) it is impossible to reproduce in the laboratory the scale of forces and dimensions that exist in the underground reservoir; (2) if we attempt to scale down the dimensions we are unable to reduce all proportionally. It is as if we tried to construct a model blast furnace for the reduction of iron ore, and reduced all lineal dimensions. We should find that the interstices between the miniature chunks of ore would not permit rapid transfer of gases, that combustion and heat transfer would not take place as in the full size furnace and that, in short, the contraption would not work. Just so, when we attempt to make a reduced scale oil field we find we must have, not only miniature reservoir and miniature wells, but "miniature" sand, 011, gas, etc. Much valuable work, however, has been done along these experimental lines and more will no doubt follow, but investigators should bear this point in mind and strive to attain dimensional homogeneity and dynamical similarity in order that their conclusions may be translated into terms applying to the oil reservoir. As Gibson says,' "These conditions are attained when all terms of the physical equation have the same dimensions, . . . when all corresponding particles of the two systems trace out similar paths and when the velocities are such as to make all corresponding forces acting on two such particles in the same ratio." It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the mechanics of fluid movement as it pertains to the oil pool and to point out the complexity of the laws of fluid delivery under the conditions often found. We have to do, fundamentally, with confined fluids, possessing potential energy whose expenditure is restricted by certain properties of the confining media and of the fluids themselves. The equation of motion and time is completely stated when we can assign values to the propulsive

Jan 1, 1929

Jan 1, 1880

By C. D. King

DURING the 30-year period spanned by these annual Howe Memorial presentations, many lecturers could proudly claim a kinship either as a student or an associate of the man whose memory we honor. Although it has been my good fortune to have attended many of these annual lectures, it was not my privilege to have known Henry Marion Howe personally. However, his great repute as teacher and scientist was known to all undergraduates of my day and the later years have enhanced my appreciation of his wisdom and foresight. Those who knew him well have said he derived particular pleasure from speculations on the future world of metallurgy. For this reason, I feel that perhaps he would not be unsympathetic to a lecture in his honor which departs from the highly instructive scientific presentations made in the past by so many able Howe Memorial lecturers, and which is concerned more with the practical phases of various steelmak-ing processes and some speculations on their future form and relative importance. The word "revolutionary" is frequently applied to each seemingly important improvement in the production of steel ingots, but in retrospect these changes, impressive as they appear at the time, are merely steps of progress. In the hundred years from the inception of tonnage steelmaking, only three processes can be truly classified as revolutionary. They are the pneumatic process, known in this country as the bessemer process; the reverberatory method called the open hearth process; and, the electric furnace process. There have been many variations and combinations of the three fundamental methods, but they remain truly the only revolutionary methods in steelmaking since its early history. Everything else has been evolutionary, in effect. doing the same things that we have done in the past but doing them better, correcting our errors through experience, and slowly but inevitably reaching a higher state of accomplishment. It has often been said that coming events cast their shadows before, and the production of steel ingots is no exception. As a result of the unrelenting demands of World War I1 and the years that followed, truly impressive progress has been made in steel ingot production. The incessant pressure for immediate results during this period required the employment of initiative and daring, as in few past decades, and many developments were brought to fruition. Of equal importance is the possible effect on future steelmaking methods of the many ideas initiated but still in formative stages. Fig. 1 portrays ingot production in the United States by the three fundamental processes over a period of 75 years and is interesting because it poses some questions as to future trends. The early ascendancy of the bessemer, its replacement in importance by the open hearth process, the amazing growth of the latter, and the recent challenge of the electric furnace are evident from the chart. Management is fully aware of these changes, but is even more interested in the future trends. Our concepts of the relative importance of the more recent developments and their possible effect on future processes may perhaps be best exemplified by a specific, hypothetical problem. Let us assume management is contemplating a new ingot producing plant with an output of 100,000 net tons per month, located in an area where some purchased scrap may be obtained but where by far the largest component will be own-produced blast furnace iron. Management requires a process or combination of processes which will yield highly uniform quality characteristics in the ingot form, and represent the soundest selection in investment and operating cost. Under these conditions, the obvious selection for the past four decades has been the open hearth process but, in view of more recent developments, management may believe that it is no longer permissible to disregard other possibilities with impunity. Accordingly, to be assured of the best possible selection, they request that you review not only the possibilities of utilizing the conventional open hearth, duplex, bessemer, and electric furnace methods, but also the more recent developments, such as the turbo-hearth, the Linz-Donawitz method, the Perrin modifications, and other possibilities. With this background, one might then appraise the relative importance of these methods to meet a specific need, and concurrently speculate on the forms that future ingot processes will assume and the relative importance of these processes.

Jan 1, 1955

By R. L. Curfman

From January 1, 1965 through July 5, 1970, the very difficult potash ore body of Texasgulf Inc. near Moab, Utah was mined by conventional methods. The mine was gassy, the temperature was high and structural conditions precluded a satisfactory or economical extraction ratio due to the undulating configuration of the ore horizon. In 1966, 67, and 68, alternative mining methods were considered, among which was solution mining of the ore body. Cost studies indicated that the use of crystallizers to evaporate the large amounts of water attendant to solution mining offered no chance of economic success. In 1969 additional testwork and cost studies were carried out utilizing solar evaporation. These studies showed economic potential and justified additional investigation. As a result of these studies, Texasgulf now gathers potash solids from these solar evaporation ponds, (Fig. l), after pumping them from the underground mine as brine. The investigations were concentrated in four basic areas : (1) area evaporation rates and crystal growth habits; (2) underground solution tests including heat transfer rates; (3) accelerated evaporation tests to provide material for metallurgical testing, and (4) tests of evaporation pond lining materials and application techniques, along with area surveys to ascertain if sufficient earth was available in the near vicinity to con-

Jan 1, 1974

By Ralph Hayden

I. INTRODUCTION. IN the wet concentration of ores there is always a certain amount of very fine material with which to contend, and which invariably carries such quantities of value that the treatment of it is worth while; commercially. This fine material usually contains that portion of the ore which hinders the separation of the mineral values: namely, the colloidal material resulting from the decomposition of certain constituents of the ore. The object of this paper is to show what efforts have been made to solve the slime problem as it occurs in the concentrator of the Washoe

Jan 8, 1913

By N. E. Truitt, D. G. Russell

The transient pressure behavior of a well which produces a single compressible fluid through a singte-plane wrticat fracture has been investigated mathematically. The fracture is assumed to possess infinite flow capacity, to be of limited mdial extent, and' to penetrate the producing formation completely in the vertical direction. Previous studies of vertically fractured wells have been concerned primarily with production rate performance or semisteady-state pressure behavior. This study was undertaken to ascertain the influence of vertical fractures on transient pressure tests such as pressure build-ups and flow tests. In a vertically fractured system, flow in the region nearest the fracture is practically linear, whereas farther away from the fracture essentially radial flow prevails. Thus, transient pressure analyses based on radial flow theory are somewhat inaccurate. As fracture penetration increases radially, kh values calcutated from pressure build-up and flow test curves become increasingly larger than true values. Failure to consider the effect of fracture penetration also introduces inaccuracies into the catculation of fracture length from the apparent skin factor and into the determination of average reservoir pressure. If the total length of the fracture is 20 per cent, or greater, of the drainage radius of the well, corrections must be made to pressure build-up and flow test results. Methods for correcting such results are discussed in this paper. For wells with prefracturing pressure build-up or flow test data, it is possible to estimate fracture length by comparison with postfracturing build-up or flow test results. In new wells or wells without prefracturing build-up or flow test data, fracture length must be estimated to correct the values obtained from analysis of pressure tests after fracturing. Fracturing efficiency calculations should be made whenever possible to provide an estimate of fracture length. Tables of the dimensionless pressure drop as a function of time and fracture penetration are included in this paper. Using these values should permit analysis of other types of transient pressure behavior in vertically fractured wells. INTRODUCTION Hydraulic fracturing has been used quite successfully for over a decade as a completion and stimulation technique in oil and gas wells completed in low-permeability reservoirs During this period a considerable amount of theory has evolved on the performance of hydraulically fractured reservoirs and on more efficient means of artificial fracturing. Although theory has been developed, no rigorous investigation has been made of pressure build-up and flow test behavior in such wells. Prats et al.1 first discussed the performance of vertically fractured reservoirs for the case of a compressible fluid. Their work was primarily concerned with production performance at constant flowing pressure. These authors also considered large-time (semisteady-state) constant production rate behavior for vertically fractured wells; however, transient pressure behavior at constant rate was not investigated. McGuire and Sikora10 and Dyes, Kemp, and Caudle2 employed an electrical analog to investigate the influence of artificial vertical fractures on well productivity and pressure build-up. They found that fractures which extend beyond 15 per cent of the drainage radius away from the well alter the position and slope of the straight-line portion of the build-up curve. They concluded that these effects must be considered both in the determination of the effective permeability of the formation and in any calculations of final build-up pressure. Although these authors did not undertake an exhaustive study of the influence of vertical fractures on pressure build-up performance, their limited results were quite interesting from the standpoint of the effects they demonstrated. In a more recent paper, Scott- reported the results of an investigation of the effect of vertical fractures on pressure behavior, which was conducted with a heat flow model. Scott's results appear to be consistent with those reported in Refs. 1 and 2. However, the effects of different fracture lengths on performance were not investigated. Pressure build-ups and transient flow tests are among the most diagnostic tools available to the reservoir engineer or production engineer. Since a very high percentage of present-day well completions incorporate the hydraulic fracturing technique, a definite need exists for information on the effect of fractures on transient pressure performance. For these reasons we have undertaken a rigorous study of pressure build-up and flow test behavior in vertically fractured reservoirs. The objectives of this study were (1) to obtain synthetic pressure build-up and flow test

Jan 1, 1965

By S. B. Christy

Jan 1, 1902

NAME AND OBJECT. SEc. 1. This Institute is incorporated under the Membership Corporations law of the State of New York ; its corporate name is American Institute of Mining Engineers; and its objects are such as are stated in its Certificate of Incorporation. ARTICLE II. MEMBERS. SEC. 1. The membership of the Institute shall comprise four classes, namely 1. Members ; 2. Honorary Members ; 3. Associates ; 4. Junior Members. All members shall be equally entitled to the privileges of membership, except¬ing that Honorary Members, Junior Members, and Members and Associates whose residences shall be outside of the United States, Mexico, and Canada shall not be entitled to vote. Members and Associates residing within the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada, and not in arrears for dues, shall be entitled to vote in person at the meetings of the Institute, or, as hereinafter provided for, by letter ballot. SEC. 2. The following classes of persons shall be eligible for membership in the Institute, namely : as Members, all professional mining . engineers, geologists, metallurgists, or chemists, and all persons actively engaged in mining and metal¬lurgical engineering, geology, or chemistry ; as Associates, all persons desirous of being connected with the Institute who in the opinion of the Board of Directors are suitable.

Jan 1, 1923

By Edward H. Robie

IN many ways, the Annual Meeting of the Institute in February was the most successful yet held. Attendance surpassed even that of the 75th Anniversary Meeting in 1947 with its international flavor. The number of technical sessions and the number and quality of papers presented almost certainly set a new record. The banquet was the best attended of any yet held even though the price reached a new high. Despite the demand for almost 1700 tickets to the banquet, some felt that the price-$13.50-was higher than they could afford. There are two points of view: One is that this is the big social event of the year for members and that it is worth from three to five dollars more to have it at the Waldorf and to have a luxury menu, as we did this year, with turtle soup, a fish course, guinea hen for the entree, and wild rice (which we understand is $3.50 per lb) for a vegetable. The other point of view is that a seven or eight dollar banquet of more simple food at the Commodore Hotel would more than make up in appeal, especially to the younger and less well-heeled members, what it would lack in glamour.

Jan 1, 1952

By E. J. Whittenberger, F. N. Rhines

The formation of casting porosity is viewed as a nucleation and growth process with solidification shrinkage and gas precipitation as cooperative driving forces. Experimental evidence evaluating the individual contribution of each force confirms the major premise that microporosity is nucleated by gas precipitation. Additional data disclose the effects of the identity and quantity of gas, the temperature range of freezing, and the freezing rate upon the amount and distribution of porosity in light metal castings. POROSITY, as it commonly occurs in metal castings, has been ascribed to the contraction that accompanies the freezing of the metal, to the evolution of dissolved gases from the liquid during cooling and freezing, and, most frequently, to a combination of the two.'" "Pipe" formation is universally associated with solidification shrinkage; spherical "gas holes" are understood to be retained bubbles of gas; but the origin of microporosity, which usually exhibits an irregular or scalloped outline when viewed in cross-section, remains a subject of continuing debate.", ' The present research constitutes an endeavor to show what parts are played respectively by shrinkage and gas evolution in the initiation and growth of micropores and what factors determine their number, size, shape, and distribution. A preliminary outline of the mechanism of cavity formation in castings will serve to coordinate the experimental findings that will be reported and will at the same time provide a general theory of the origin of casting porosity. Basic to the mechanism of cavity formation that will be proposed are the following established facts: 1—that liquid metals and alloys contract gradually during cooling down to the freezing range, where a relatively large contraction, known as the "solidification shrinkage," takes place (exceptions in bismuth and gallium being noted);' 2—that the capacity of liquid metals and alloys for dissolving gases diminishes with cooling until, in the freezing interval, a large decrease takes place (various exceptions being noted and excluded from present consideration) ;.: and 3—that freezing proceeds counter to the direction of heat flow, the freezing front most commonly being composed of a system of tapering dendrite stalks and side arms which are coarser the lower the freezing rate and which protrude into the liquid for a distance that is greater the longer the freezing temperature interval of the alloy and the smaller the thermal gradient.' The mechanism by which voids are generated

Jan 1, 1953

By C. Schlumberger

IN the course of the past few years the authors and their associates have had different opportunities to study the electrical phenomena which accompany the oxidation of pipe lines. The causes of such phenomena are very similar to those which have been described under the name "spontaneous polarization" with reference to metallic orebodies,1 and can be investigated in the same manner. These investigations, however, until recently were of a scientific and theoretical character, and had not found any important practical application. During the year 1931, however, the authors treated several industrial corrosion problems for public utility companies. These problems usually had to be studied in towns or in densely populated areas, where it was well-nigh impossible, or very expensive, to dig pits and trenches in order to make electrical measurements on the pipe itself. The authors were thus led to evolve a method and apparatus permitting the study, from the surface, of the direction of the currents flowing from pipe lines. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the results obtained in the course of these investigations. However, in consideration of the importance and interest of the work carried out by other scientists along the same lines, a separate chapter will be devoted to a summary of the results achieved up to the present time in the study of pipe line corrosion.

Jan 1, 1932