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By Ralph Hultgren

FEW phase diagrams of alloys composed of two transition metals have been adequately studied, probably because of the high melting points involved. Transition metals are the elements that have inner shells incompletely filled with electrons. They comprise groups IIIa to Villa of the periodic table, including more than half of all metals. We have chosen to study two systems whose comparatively low melting points allowed the alloys to be melted in a molybdenum resistance furnace. The nickel-palladium system proved to consist of a simple series of solid solutions, but iron-palladium manifested several remarkable features. The main characteristics of the latter diagram were decisively established, but lack of time prevented precise determination of phase boundaries. The gamma to alpha transformation in this system is unusual and warrants further study. Grigorjew1 determined the liquidus and solidus of the iron-palladium system by thermal methods. He found a minimum melting point, but no eutectic. He also found that palladium lowered the gamma to alpha and raised the gamma to delta transformation temperatures of iron, with a complete series of solid solutions existing between gamma iron and palladium. His measurements also indicated a compound or super-lattice near the composition FePd3. Jellinghaus2 found that annealing at 500° C. greatly increased the magnetic coercive force of an alloy of composition FePd. X-ray dif-fraction photographs showed that a tetragonal ordered phase had formed during the anneal.

Jan 1, 1939

By R. F. Mehl, C. E. Birchenall

R. E. Hoffman and D. Turnbull—The authors have presented evidence which they have interpreted as indicating that the rate of self diffusion is not intrinsically more rapid at grain boundaries than within the grain. Grain-size effects which apparently exist are attributed rather to impurities concentrated at the grain boundaries. In view of our own experiments and the existing evidence, we believe that the support for this hypothesis is not convincing. We have in progress an investigation in which the rate of self diffusion of silver is being measured over an extended temperature range in both single-crystal and polycrystalline specimens. The results of the single-crystal experiments and some preliminary data on fine-grained polycrystalline specimens have already been reported:' and it is anticipated that a complete report will be published in the near future. The self-diffusion coefficient of large-grained polycrystalline silver (1 grain per sq mm) has previously been measured by Johnson" between 730" and 940°C. The diffusion coefficients which we have measured in single crystals (210 plane normal to diffusion direction) agree within experimental error with values calculated from an extrapolation of Johnson's curve down to temperatures as low as 500 °C. However, it has been demonstrated that the overall self-diffusion rate in fine-grained polycrystalline specimens (initial grain size of 0.003 cm) becomes measurably larger than the overall rate in a single crystal at a temperature of 600°C, and the discrepancy between the two rates becomes greater as the temperature is further decreased. In fact, it has been possible to obtain satisfactory penetration curves for polycrystalline specimens using the sectioning technique at temperatures as low as 400°C. At this temperature, the penetration is 50 to 100 times greater in the polycrystalline specimens than in a single crystal. Fisher" has developed an analysis whereby the ratio of the rate of the unit diffusion process at the grain boundary to the corresponding rate within the grain can be calculated from the penetration curves and an assumption as to the width of a grain boundary. This analysis applied to our data indicates that the unit process at the grain boundary is faster by a factor of 10' at 475°C when the grain boundary width is taken to be 5. The silver used in most of these experiments was obtained from the Handy and Harmon Co. and listed as 99.97 pct pure. Preliminary experiments on 99.999 pct silver from the Jarrel-Asch Co. indicate a grain-size effect of the same order of magnitude as in the less pure silver. Nominally, these purities are as good, at least, as that of the carbonyl iron used by the authors, but of course if an impurity effect does exist its magnitude might be very dependent upon the nature of both major and minor constituents. The authors have cited the work of other investigators who have found no grain-size effects. Neither Steigman, Shockley and Nix" nor Maier and Nelson8 were able to correlate self-diffusion coefficients of copper with grain size. However, all their measurements were performed at or above 750°C; and on the basis of our work with silver, no grain-size effect would be expected at temperatures above about 0.7 of the absolute melting temperature unless the grain size were exceedingly small. Likewise, in the investigation of the self diffusion of lead by Seith and Keil,14 the lowest temperature at which the diffusion coefficient was measured in polycrystalline specimens was 207°C, which is still sufficiently high so that the lack of a grain-size effect is not surprising. Finally, in those experiments on iron from which they concluded that there was no grain size effect, Drs. Birchenall and Mehl seem to have no information as to the actual grain sizes immediately prior to and following the diffusion anneal. Without this information, we believe that their own experiments offer little support for their hypothesis. F. S. Buffington, I. D. Bakalar, and M. Cohen—The results given in this paper agree in order of magnitude with those tentatively reported by us.27 However, significant differences exist in the two sets of data, and it may be well to make an explicit comparison. The diffusion studies at M.I.T. were conducted on somewhat higher purity iron (99.98 pct Fe) than the grades used by the authors, but this is undoubtedly not the answer. Fig. 4 shows the diffusion results of both laboratories for the gamma phase, omitting the authors' data on the commercial steels, while fig. 5 presents a similar comparison for the alpha phase. The divergence is much more marked in the latter case than in the former. In connection with the M.I.T. determinations, all of the runs in the gamma range and those above 800 °C in the alpha range were conducted with specimens having a relatively thick (0.002 cm) electrodeposit of radioactive iron. This practice minimizes any possible error due to extraneous diffusion that may occur during the heating to and cooling from the operating temperature. An exact solution of Fick's law for these boundary conditions was used in calculating the diffusion coefficients. At a later time, three runs were made below 800°C, using very thin electrodeposits similar to those of the authors, and the points fell considerably below the values expected from the extrapolation of the results based on the specimens with the thick deposits (compare dash-dot line in fig. 5). However, in the runs with the thin deposits, deviations of 100 pct were found between the individual specimens, whereas the maximum deviation with the thick deposits was less than 25 pct. Accordingly, it is not known at the moment whether the M.I.T. points below 800 °C should be given as much weight as those above 800°C. If this were done, the frequency factor would be of the order of 400 cm2 per sec, which is quite high. In other metals, the frequency factor for self diffusion lies between about 0.1 and 10 cm2 per sec. As the points below

Jan 1, 1951

By R. W. Ludt, C. C. DeWitt

The use of froth flotation for the separation of minerals has become one of the most important of ore dressing processes. Its particular adaptability to the enrichment of low grade ores has made the process an important factor in the national economy. The methods have been extended to the recovery of a great number of minerals. Among the few minerals which have resisted efforts toward industrial flotation is chrysocolla, a hydrated partly colloidal copper silicate. Chrysocolla, being a product of natural oxidation, has been found to occur in small quantities with many ores which are recovered by flotation methods. In present practice, these small quantities of copper silicate pass off with the tailings and are lost. The advantages to be gained by a satisfactory process for the recovery of chrysocolla is apparent. Any application of principles which points a way toward the satisfactory industrial flotation process for copper silicate would be of advantage. This paper presents an attack on this problem. Two methods for the recovery of chrysocolla have been developed by the United States Bureau of Mines.1,2 They have been successful on a laboratory scale but have been seriously restricted in industrial application by critical requirements in the procedure. In one of the Bureau of Mines methods,' the ore is activated with sodium or hydrogen sulphide in an aqueous solution at a pH of 4. Amy1 xanthate is then used as a collector with pine oil as a frother in the flotation process. An excess of sulphide acts as a depressant and the state of optimum conditions is difficult to control industrially. In the second Bureau of Mines method,2 soap is used as the collector at a pH of between 8 and 9. The diffi- culties with this process are that soap is not a specific collector, that heavy metal or alkaline earth ions cause the formation of insoluble soaps, and that a more acid solution causes the formation of a free acid which does not act as a collector for chrysocolla. The problem of recovering chrysocolla by flotation involves the selection of a suitable collector. The collector molecule must be composed of an active polar group that has an attraction for chrysocolla, and of a hydrocarbon chain. Certain dyes have been shown to have an attraction for certain minerals. Suida3 found that hydrated silicates are colored by basic dyes. Dittler4 showed that chrysocolla, among other colloidal minerals of acid reaction, preferentially takes up such basic dyes as fuchsin B, methylene blue, and methyl green. Endell5 gave information to show that the colloidal material in clay may be determined by its selective adsorption of fuchsin. A simple experiment, likewise, illustrates the difference in the adsorptive power of chrysocolla and of silica for the basic triphenyl methane dyes. When a mixture of chrysocolla and silica is immersed in a very dilute dye solution, less than 5 ppm, the chryso-colla is rapidly dyed and the silica is dyed more slowly. The difference is substantial but one of degree. Dean2 showed that the dyes, crystal violet and toluidine blue, are taken up by quartz in an adsorption type process. The difference in the adsorptive power, however, offers the means by which a new collector may act. To form such a collector, a hydrocarbon chain must be attached to the dye molecule. This involves a process of organic synthesis. Butyl, hexyl, and octyl hydrocarbon chains were selected for substitution in the malachite green molecule. For the purpose of identification, the alkyl-substituted dyes formed are called: butyl-malachite green; hexyl- malachite green; and octyl-malachite green. An outline of the procedure for their synthesis is given in the appendix. It is generally recognized in the preparation of this type of dye that the chemical structure of some of the dye molecules varies. However, a uniform formula is attributed to the dye. Such a procedure has been followed in specifying the structure of these alkyl-substi-tuted malachite green dyes. The structure is given on the basis of their properties as an homologous series of dyes, on their method of preparation, and on the purity of intermediates used. Structure of substituted alkyl malachite green is: C6H4 N(CH3)2 p-R C6H4 CH C6H4 N(CH)2 Procedure The flotation cell is a Bureau of Mines 100-g, batch unit provided with an air inlet at the bottom above which is a variable speed agitator. The agi-

Jan 1, 1950

By V. S. Gupt, W. H. Somerton

Rock may undergo great changes in physical properties when heated to high temperatures and then cooled, The temperature and intensity of reactions causing rock alterntiorl.s can he controlled by introducing certain chemicals during heat treament. Three typical outcrop sandsone samples were saturuted with common salt solutions, then heated to several maximum temperatures. After cooling, it was found that per-rrreuhilities had increased much more for salt-saturated samples than for samples not saturated with salt but heated to the same temperatures. This was only true, however. for samples heated above the melting points of the particrrlar salts. Potassium chloritle was particularly effective with Bandera sandstone. Samples saturated with potassium chlorirlr. solution and heated to 900C showed an 11-fold increa.se in perrrieahility. Samples without potasrirdrn chloritle but heated to the .same temperature. showed only a 2.7-jold incresre in permecahility. In application, it seems possible that injecting chemicalc into the formations from a wellbore followed by applying intensive borehole heating might promote reactions which would greatly improve permeability of the formalions. INTRODUCTION Great changes in the physical properties of rocks which have been heated to temperatures in the range of 600 to 800C have been reported earlier. Permeability increases of 50 per cent, and equivalent decreases in sonic velocity and breaking strength have been observed. Although there might be some suppression of certain reactions responsiblc for these changes when rock samples are heated under simulated reservoir pressure conditions. recent work has shown that these are more than offset by the increased importance of other reactions at high pressures. The reactions considered responsible for alteration of rock properties by heating include differential thermal expansion. dehydration, phase changes and dissociation of mineral constituents. Ceramists have long known that temperatures at which reactions occur can be raised or lowered by the presence of certain impurities in the sys. tcnl. Thus the possibility exists that by saturating rocks with appropriate solutions. desired reactions might be accelerated and unwanted reactions might be suppressec! when the rock is heated. Purpose of the present work was to investigate the effects of several common salts on the thermal alteration of sandstones. Types of reactions which might occur are reviewed and the findings of a number of thernlochemical alteration tests are presented. THEKMOCHEMICAL ALTERATION OF SANDSTONE MINERALS The most abundant constituent of most sandstones is quartz. Quartz can exist in at least eight different forms, but in the temperature range of immediate interest (to 900C) only two forms are of importance—alpha quartz below 573C and beta quartz above this temperature. Although the alpha-beta inversion of quartz is very important in thermal alteration of rocks. it is not particularly important here because the inversion temperature cannot be changed significantly by the presence of impurities or by the application of pressure. The transition temperature of quartz to tridynlite is 867C. but the transition is very sluggish. Tridymite is considered to be a metastable transition phase between two stable phases: quartz?cristobalite. However. the transition temperature for tridymite to cristobalite is 1,470C.4 The quartz-tridymite-cristobalite transition can be accelerated substantially by the presence of fluxing agents. Finely divided calcium, magnesium and titanium oxides accelerate the conversion while A12O may retard it. A Mixture of NaCl and CsCl reduces the temperature for cristobalite formation by as much as 420°C. Feldspars constitute the second most important mineral in sandstones. The melting points of feldspars range between 1,000 and 1,700°C depending upon the variety. No information available indicated any important role of fluxing agents in the thermal alteration of this group of minerals. Carbonate minerals are subject to dissociation at temperatures within the range of the present investigation. The dissociation of magnesite can start at a temperature of 373°C, but the reaction is sluggish and might not occur untll a temperature of 500°C or ,higher is reached. Dolomite dissociates in two stages at 500°C and 890°C, whereas calcite dissociation temperature is about 885C. Because CO2 is released in the dissociation of carbonates, ail such reactions are somewhat dependent upon CO2 partial pressure. In the absence of CO: in the surrounding atmosphere, the dissociation of calcite starts at 500°C.However. when 1 atm of CO surrounds the sample, the dissociation does not start until 900C. The other carbonates are apparently much less sensitive to a change in partial pressure of CO2. The aragonite calcite transformation can occur an!. where within the temperature range of 357 to 488°C. depending upon the presence of impurities such as barium. strontium. lead and perhaps zinc. The differential thermal analysis (DTA) curves of both magnesitc and dolomite vary with the presence of 'impuritics. The presence of iron in particular seems to affect the magnesitc DTA curve

Jan 1, 1966

By H. E. Cline, J. L. Walter

Grain boundary sliding and migration were studied in pure aluminum bicrystal and polycrystal samples with two-dimensional grain structure. Scratches, 50 P apart, were used for measurement of sliding and migration distanceso. Samples were deformed at constant rate at 315C and events recorded continuously on wrotion picture film. Electron micrograPhs of boundary-scratch intersections were obtained. Yield and flow stress values were measured. The sequence of sliding and migration events for a three-grain junction is described in detail. Sliding depended only on the resolved shear stress imparted to the boundary. Sliding was accowmodated by formation of shear zones in grains opposite triple points and adjacent to curved boundaries. These shear zones provided the driving force for grain boundary migration. Migration caused rumpling of the boundaries, decreasing the sliding rate. Sliding and migration generally began at the same time, occurred simultaneously and ended at the same time. In the bicrystal, sliding and migration rates were proportional. Initial sliding rules of 5 X joe cm per sec. were measured for the polycrystal and bicrystal samples. These sliding rates agree wilh the internal friction experirnents of K;. The observations seem consistent with a viscous boundary sliding nzechanism. GRAIN boundary sliding is the translation of one grain relative to its neighbor by a shear motion along their common boundary. Sliding is thought to be an important mode of deformation at elevated temperatures and at low strain rates such as prevail in creep,' and perhaps in the area of superplastic behavior.2"4 Although much work has been done to investigate grain boundary sliding, the effort has not led to the identification of a mehanism. KG showed that grain boundaries in aluminum exhibit a viscous nature under very small displacements of internal friction measrements. Various dislocation mechanisms have been proposed but are without conclusive experimental support. Attempts to relate sliding to 6's viscous boundaries have been unsuccessful in that measured rates of sliding are always several orders of magnitude lower than KG'S results would predict.= In bi crystals7and polycrystalsR of aluminum tested under constant load, the grain boundary sliding was found to be proportional to the total creep elongation which indicated that sliding might be controlled by deformation of the grains. Shear zones were observed to extend beyond grain boundaries at triple points to accommodate the sliding.8 Surface observations brought forth the opinion that sliding and migration occurred alternately, in sequence.' Measurements of sliding at the surface have been criticized because they might not be representative of the interior of the sample. Generally speaking, it seemed that much of the previous work and knowledge was based on observations made at relatively low magnification and examination of samples after deformation had been accomplished. Thus, it was the purpose of the present study to continuously record, at high magnification, the events occurring during the deformation of pure aluminum. Samples with two-dimensional grain structures were used to simplify interpretation of the results. The sliding and migration of small areas of many samples were continuously recorded by time-lapse motion pictures. Replicas of the surface were used to provide high-resolution electron micrographs. These observations, coupled with tmsile strength data, provide sufficient information to arrive at an understanding of the phenomenon. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE An ingot of 99.999 pct A1 was rolled to sheet, 0.127-cm thick. Tensile specimens, with a gage length of 0.85 cm, were machined from the sheet. Bicrystal tensile specimens, of the same dimensions, were spark cut from a large bicrystal ingot. The grain boundary was oriented at 45 deg to the tensile axis. The surfaces of the tensile samples were ground flat on fine metallographic paper and were then electropolished in a solution of 75 parts absolute alcohol and 25 parts of perchloric acid. The solution was cooled in an ice-water bath. Using a weighted sewing needle suspended from a small pivot on a precision milling machine, a grid of fine scratches, 50 p apart, was scribed on one surface of the sample. The polycrystalline samples were then annealed in hydrogen for 15 min at 350" to 400°C to produce a two-dimensional grain structure of about 0.2-cm average grain diameter which would not undergo further growth at the test temperature, 315OC. Examination of both surfaces of the samples showed that the grain boundaries were perpendicular to the surface of the polycrystal and bicrystal samples. A hot-stage tensile machine was constructed for use with an optical microscope as shown in Fig. 1. The specimen is shown mounted in the grips. The grips ride in V-ways so that the sample can be mounted without damage. The rear grip is free to slide so that when the sample expands during heating it is not put under a compressive stress. When the grips and samples are at temperature, the rear grip is locked in place by two set-screws. The other grip is connected to a synchronous drive motor which, through a worm gear and a fine-threaded rod, deforms the

Jan 1, 1969

By E. A. Gulbransen, K. F. Andrew

In a recent communication14 we have reported on the kinetics of the reactions of zirconium with O2, N2 and H2 as a function of the time, temperature and pressure variables. A systematic study was made and the results correlated with fundamental theories of gas-metal reactions. This paper will present a similar study for titanium. Titanium and zirconium are members of the IV group of the periodic table and possess many similar physical and chemical properties as a result of their similar electronic configuration for the outer electrons. The two metals are relatively inert to both gas and liquid phase corrosion at room temperature. However, at moderate temperatures the metals become active and react readily with the common gases including O2, N2 and H2 which are of interest in this study. A study of the kinetics of these gas-metal reactions is of interest for three reasons: (1) to understand the rate of reaction of titanium and its role in the behavior of high temperature alloys; (2) to understand the practical difficulties of the reduction, refining and working of titanium; and (3) to correlate the data with fundamental theories of gas-metal reactions and crystal structure predictions. Literature Survey Several review papers8 and books4243 exist on the preparation and properties of titanium and its alloys. THE METAL Titanium has, at room temperature, a hexagonal lattice of the zinc type. Hagg19 gives a value of 2.953A for the (a) axis, a value of 4.729 for the (c) axis and a density of 4.427 at 20°C. Burgers and Jacobs6 have observed the transformation of the hexagonal to the body-centered cubic structure at 880°C and have established a value of 3.31 for the cube edge and a density of 4.31. TITANIUM-OXYGEN Carpenter and Reavell6 using a pressure change method have studied the reaction at temperatures of 742° and 1000°C and for a pressure of one-fifth of an atmosphere. The probabilities for reaction are calculated from kinetic theory and they report a value of 10-5 for O2 at 1000°C and 10-6 at 740°C. The titanium-oxygen system has been investigated by Ehrlich.10,11 Five phases are observed. Between (TiO2 and TiO1.90) an alpha-phase, consisting ofarutile lattice, is found. A beta-phase is observed between (TiO1.80 and TiO1.70). A gamma-phase is homogeneous between (TiO1.56 and TiO1.46) and has a structure of the corundum type. The delta-phase exists between TiO1.25 and TiO0.6 and has a sodium chloride structure. From TiO0.42 to Ti the metal structure is observed. The surface oxide films have been studied by Hickman and Gulbransen.20 The rutile structure is observed in the temperature range studied, 300 to 700°C. Three crystalline modifications of TiO2 exist: rutile and anatase which are tetragonal and brookite which has an orthorhombic structure. Anatase is reported36 to exist in two forms: I and II. Anatase II changes to anatase I at 642°C. Anatase I is stable up to 915°C where rutile becomes the stable modification. At 1300°C rutile transforms to brookite which melts at 1900°C. The monoxide, TiO, may be prepared from the dioxide by high temperature reduction with carbon or magnesium. Its melting point is 1750°C. TITANIUM-NITROGEN Carpenter and Reavell6 report that at 1000°C a linear rate law is observed. The probability of reaction is given as 10-8 at 1000°C. Fast12 has studied the solubility of nitrogen and its effect on the mechanical properties of the metal. The crystal structure of TiN has been shown by several workers2'21'44 to follow the sodium chloride structure. However, the calculated density is found to differ from the pycnometric value. This is studied by Brager3,4 in detail. He has suggested that the titanium sites in the lattice are only partially filled at low temperatures. As the temperature of preparation is raised the vacant sites become occupied which expands the lattice and increases the hardness and density. An (a) value of 4.22Å is given for room temperature. TITANIUM-HYDROGEN The solubility and the crystal structures observed in this system have been reviewed in a recent book by Smith.40

Jan 1, 1950

By A. W. Ashbrook

There are essentially three main classifications for extractants: acidic, basic, and neutral. The acidic and basic are also referred to as cationic and anionic, respectively. Some extractants are shown in Table 11-1. Acidic Extractants Acidic extractants which are of use, because of cost and/or insolubility in water, are alkylphosphoric, sulphonic, aliphatic monocarboxylic acids and naphthalene derivatives.

Jan 1, 1978

By Sherwin Kelly

THE need for geophysicists to adopt a uniform mode of expressing the electrical resistivity of geological formations has been stressed by Dr. A. S. Eve.1 The present paper is to emphasize the point he raised, to bring the weight of disinterested authority to bear on the matter, and to urge the adoption henceforth, save in exceptional cases, of a standard expression for resistivity; all in the hope that the needed reform will thus actually be brought about. The general definition of the resistivity of a material is the resistance in ohms between two opposite faces of a unit cube of that, material. No account need be taken here of the cases in which the unit volume is not a cube, and the units of length and cross-section are different, encountered principally when dealing with metallic conductors such as wires. The idea of the resistance of a unit volume of earth or rock has found expres-sion in geophysical literature in a number of forms and with a variety of units. Fortunately, the metric system has been adhered to in most cases, so ordinarily the meter or the centimeter, usually the latter, has been the measure chosen. The resistivity is then the resistance of a cube of the given rock, or soil, one centimeter on, an edge. This is far from always being the same thing, however, as the resistance of a cubic centimeter. A long thin wire could contain a cubic centimeter and have a high resistance, whereas the same volume formed into a flat plate would have an entirely different, and quite low, resistance between faces. Con-sequently, it is not proper to express resistivity in ohms per cubic centi-meter, inch, etc., as has been done occasionally by .some writers. In an effort to emphasize the idea of cubic volume, some geophysicists, the writer among them, have used the phrase, ohms per centimeter cubed. This is a graphic way of picturing the measure, but is not in favor among highly qualified authorities. In this connection, an appeal was made to the U. S. Bureau of Standards for advice, and the Director, George K. Burgess, kindly replied in detail as to the practice adopted by his Bureau: ." . .' such expressions as ohms per centimeter cubed' or any similar expressions are objectionable, because they certainly carry the implica-tion that the resistivity is found by dividing ohms resistance by the volume in cubic centimeters." Actually, of course, resistivity is found

Jan 1, 1932

Discussion of the paper of HOWARD N. EAVENSON, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 94, October,' 1914, pp. 2637 to 2660. GEORGE S. RICE, Pittsburgh, Pa.-I think it is very wise to point out the greater liability to explosions in certain parts of the year, if there be such difference, with the caution, however, that vigilance be not relaxed at other times. In comparing the figures for the United States with those of Europe, I think we should separate them as far as possible according to cause of origin and means of propagation. That is to say, it would appear to me that the majority of our explosions are due more directly to the ignition of coal dust directly from the flame of explosives, whereas, judging from my inquiries and observations in some of the mines of Europe, the majority of their explosions have been caused by the ignition of fire damp. Now, in the case of fire damp, I do not think that anybody has yet attempted or has been able to find any connection between the seasons and the issuance of methane into mines. One thing must be borne in mind, that if you get a strong explosion of fire damp, dust of a character that might not ignite readily by itself might assist in the extension of an explosion of fire damp through a considerable area in the mine, if not throughout the mine. While it is true we have many lesser explosions in this country attributable to fire damp, it would appear that the majority of all the mine explosions of the country, in considering the means of propagation beyond the locality of the origin, are due to coal dust; and it is the liability to coal-dust explosions that appears to be affected by seasonal changes. Hence the desirability of separating statistically (if it could be done by the inspectors) fire-damp explosions from coal-dust explosions, in order to obtain the true value of the seasonal effect. Nevertheless, in spite of the inclusion of fire-damp explosions with coal-dust explosions, the preponderance of the evidence, as indicated in Mr. Eavenson's figures for American mines, has shown that' in this country there were more explosions in the winter and spring months, when the mines are drier; that is, when the mines are apt to be drier. Whereas, according to the European figures that he has gathered, it seems to be very clearly demonstrated that in France, England, and Belgium, the time when explosions occur has no connection with any particular season. That, I think, is partly due to the point just mentioned, that a majority of their explosions have originated from fire damp. The European mining men have been more careful, generally speaking, with the use of explosives than we have, so that the cause of ignition from that source has been less. Only comparatively few of the mines in foreign

Jan 4, 1915

By W. A. Boyer

If the safety factor of a mine hoisting rope is checked for the lowest depth, is the rope then safe for all levels? The answer here is no. A new set of volues is proposed. HOISTS for metal mines are seldom designed for one particular depth. They are intended for an ultimate load and depth with a given speed but are first used to hoist from a shallower depth, gradually working to the ultimate as development progresses. Sometimes the mine is not worked on the upper levels because of the kind and grade of ore, the mining of which depends on market conditions. In this case the hoist may be used in the same working shift to lift ore, for example, from the 1200 and the 4400-ft level. This means that the safety factor of the rope should be considered not only when it hoists from the greatest depth, but also when it hoists from the upper levels. According to present safety factor standards, a hoisting rope can have ample safety margin when hoisting from the lower or lowest level and still be shy of sufficient safety margin when hoisting from the upper levels. This will be shown by curves presented in this paper. The safety factor of a hoisting rope as defined by the U. S. Bureau of Mines' is the ratio of the static load to the tensile strength of the rope. It is calculated by dividing the breaking strength of the rope* In Fig. 1 curves A and B are plotted against the vertical suspended distance, which is the abscissa, and the factor of safety, the ordinates. Curve C is a smooth curve drawn through the midpoints of the steps of curve A and would more closely represent the minimum factor of safety for new rope for any particular depth. Curve D is a smooth curve drawn through the midpoints of the steps of Curve B and would more closely represent the minimum factor of safety when ropes should be discarded for any particular depth. If a new rope were applied with a minimum factor of safety, then the vertical distance or ordinate under curve D for any particular depth, divided by the vertical distance or ordinate under curve C, would represent the minimum percent of remaining area intact that could be allowed before the rope would be discarded. Also, that section of the ordinate between curve C and curve D is proportional to the section of the area of the new rope that could be allowed for wear and broken wires. Considering that point at 2500 ft on the chart, the ratio do to co would be the minimum percent of rope area remaining at the point of discard. The ratio of that portion of the ordinate cd to co would represent maximum percent of area of a new rope available for wear and broken wires.

Jan 1, 1955

By H. C. Ray

ABOUT the beginning of 1930, coal preparation had reached the stage where the cleaning of coal by liquid or air had become the order of the day. Since that time many new preparation plants have been installed in spite of the years of depression in the coal industry, and this is indicative of a trend wherein the coal producer found it expedient to manufacture a cleaner product in order to compete with other fuels. It was also about 1930 that, because of the difficulties encountered with fine coal in cleaning plants, dust collectors came into use. Both cleaning plants and dust collectors, therefore, were much discussed at the engineering meetings of the early 1930's. During these meetings the many advantages to be gained through the use of dust-collecting systems were pointed out by Hebley,1 Appleyard2 and others. The great possibilities of new markets for this product were emphasized and discussed at the same time; however, the disposal of the collected dust remained a problem. Since the purpose of dust collecting is to improve the preparation and, consequently, the salability of the coal, it seems illogical to return the collected dust to any of the coal being prepared for market use, as is done in preparation plants that include dust-collecting systems. The logical thing is to dispose of the dust in some useful and practical manner outside of the tipple. As a practical matter, this can be done in one or both of two ways; either by consuming the dust at the mine's own power plant or by marketing the dust direct to the consumer. The latter method not only offers the greatest opportunities, but is the most important, because of inequalities that may exist between the quantity of dust collected and the consuming capacity of the mine's power plant. In considering the more important marketing possibilities, we are confronted immediately with the problems connected with the handling and transportation of so fine a material. It is this problem, rather than the problem of finding new markets, that has been responsible for the lack of progress in the matter of dust disposal. It is the purpose of this paper to point out again some of the potential market outlets, and also to describe an existing system of handling and transporting coal dust. To the best of the writer's knowledge, this is the first and only operation in this country that has handled fine-mesh coal in bulk 50-ton lots direct to the consumer. POtential Markets for Fine-mesh Coal Dust In general, the potential market outlets would include any operation of which the pulverization of coal is a necessary part. To be more specific, a few of the better known operations of this type must include: colloidal-fuel plants, briquetting plants, "sea coal" distributing plants, water-purification plants and, obviously, pow-

Jan 1, 1944

By H. C. Ray

ABOUT the beginning of 1930, coal preparation had reached the stage where the cleaning of coal by liquid or air had become the order of the day. Since that time many new preparation plants have been installed in spite of the years of depression in the coal industry, and this is indicative of a trend wherein the coal producer found it expedient to manufacture a cleaner product in order to compete with other fuels. It was also about 1930 that, because of the difficulties encountered with fine coal in cleaning plants, dust collectors came into use. Both cleaning plants and dust collectors, therefore, were much discussed at the engineering meetings of the early 1930's. During these meetings the many advantages to be gained through the use of dust-collecting systems were pointed out by Hebley,1 Appleyard2 and others. The great possibilities of new markets for this product were emphasized and discussed at the same time; however, the disposal of the collected dust remained a problem. Since the purpose of dust collecting is to improve the preparation and, consequently, the salability of the coal, it seems illogical to return the collected dust to any of the coal being prepared for market use, as is done in preparation plants that include dust-collecting systems. The logical thing is to dispose of the dust in some useful and practical manner outside of the tipple. As a practical matter, this can be done in one or both of two ways; either by consuming the dust at the mine's own power plant or by marketing the dust direct to the consumer. The latter method not only offers the greatest opportunities, but is the most important, because of inequalities that may exist between the quantity of dust collected and the consuming capacity of the mine's power plant. In considering the more important marketing possibilities, we are confronted immediately with the problems connected with the handling and transportation of so fine a material. It is this problem, rather than the problem of finding new markets, that has been responsible for the lack of progress in the matter of dust disposal. It is the purpose of this paper to point out again some of the potential market outlets, and also to describe an existing system of handling and transporting coal dust. To the best of the writer's knowledge, this is the first and only operation in this country that has handled fine-mesh coal in bulk 50-ton lots direct to the consumer. POtential Markets for Fine-mesh Coal Dust In general, the potential market outlets would include any operation of which the pulverization of coal is a necessary part. To be more specific, a few of the better known operations of this type must include: colloidal-fuel plants, briquetting plants, "sea coal" distributing plants, water-purification plants and, obviously, pow-

Jan 1, 1944

By Sherwin F. Kelly

The need for geophysicists to adopt a uniform mode of expressing the electrical resistivity of geological formations has been stressed by Dr. A. S. Eve.1 The present paper is to emphasize the point he raised, to bring the weight of disinterested authority to bear on the matter, and to urge the adoption henceforth, save in exceptional cases, of a standard expression for resistivity; all in the hope that the needed reform will thus actually be brought about. The general definition of the resistivity of a material is the resistance in ohms between two opposite faces of a unit cube of that material. No account need be taken here of the cases in which the unit volume is not a cube, and the units of length and cross-section are different, encountered principally when dealing with metallic conductors such as wires. The idea of the resistance of a unit volume of earth or rock has found expression in geophysical literature in a number of forms and with a variety of units. Fortunately, the metric system has been adhered to in most cases, so ordinarily the meter or the centimeter, usually the latter, has been the measure chosen. The resistivity is then the resistance of a cube of the given rock, or soil, one centimeter on an edge. This is far from always being the same thing, however, as the resistance of a cubic centimeter. A long thin wire could contain a cubic centimeter and have a high resistance, whereas the same volume formed into a flat plate would have an entirely different, and quite low, resistance between faces. Consequently, it is not proper to express resistivity in ohms per cubic centimeter, inch, etc., as has been done occasionally by some writers. In an effort to emphasize the idea of cubic volume, some geophysicists, the writer among them, have used the phrase, ohms per centimeter cubed. This is a graphic way of picturing the measure, but is not in favor among highly qualified authorities. In this connection, an appeal was made to the U. S. Bureau of Standards for advice, and the Director, George K. Burgess, kindly replied in detail as to the practice adopted by his Bureau: 'I.., such expressions as 'ohms per centimeter cubed' or any similar expressions are objectionable, because they certainly carry the implication that the resistivity is found by dividing ohms resistance by the volume in cubic centimeters." Actually, of course, resistivity is found

Jan 1, 1932

By J. J. Sense

This paper deals with the Asarco method for the determination of equipment availability. It is apparent that no single availability equation will provide all of the information necessary for the complete record of equipment availability. In the Asarco system, three separate availability records are carried on major equipment. The first is mechanical availability, the second is operational availability, and the third is a historical record of equipment use. The derivation of the three items and the definitions of the time elements used in the various availability equations are presented and discussed. The Mission unit of American Smelting and Refining Co. is located in Pima County, Ariz., approximately twenty miles southwest of Tucson. The unit consists of an open pit copper mine and concentrator. The concentrate is shipped by rail to company smelters at Hayden, Ariz., or El Paso, Tex. Mine stripping began at Mission in the fall of 1959, and construction of the 15,000 tpd concentrator was started in the spring of 1960. The first ore was treated in midsummer of 1961 and full ore production was reached in August 1961. At that time over 46 million tons of material had been moved from the pit. Current production (ore and waste) averages over 100,000 tpd. Total production to date (ore and waste) is over 120 million tons. Major equipment currently in operation at the Mission pit is as follows: 3 P & H 1800 Electric Shovels - 9 cu yd dippers 1 P & H 1900 Electric Shovel - 9 cu yd dipper 2 B.E. 190-B Electric Shovels - 9 cu yd dippers 35 Euclid LLD Trucks - 60-ton capacity 6 KW-Dart 55-T Trucks - 55-ton capacity 1 KW-Dart D-2550 Truck - 65-ton capacity 1 LeTourneau Westinghouse 65 Haulpak - 65-ton capacity 3 Euclid S-18 Scrapers - 274011 capacity 4 Caterpillar D-8 Dozers 4 LeTourneau Westinghouse Tournadozers 1 Michigan 280 Dozer 2 Caterpillar Model 12 Motor Graders

Jan 1, 1964

By F. N. Rhines

Despite the large amount of study which has been devoted to the subject our present knowledge of the copper-oxygen system remains incomplete and unsatisfactory .in many respects. This applies particularly to those regions in which solid metallic copper exists. The primary object of the present paper is the contribution of new information relative to the solid solubility of oxygen (or cuprous oxide) in copper at atmospheric pressure, together with certain observations in the low-pressure regions of the system. It seems appropriate also to present a brief summary of the outstanding previous work on the constitution of mixtures of copper with its lowest oxide in order. to show the relation between the new facts and the system as a whole. The earliest recorded investigations of the copper-oxygen system are those of M. S. Lucas(l) $ and of M. Chevillot(2) in 1819 and 1820. Lucas believed that liquid copper is capable of dissolving its oxide, but neither he nor Chevillot was able to furnish convincing proof of this property. It was not until 1866 that T. Graham(3) definitely established the existence of such a solubility. Nine years later W. Hampe(4) measured its extent and roughly outlined the copper-rich portion of the system. The first really precise examination of the constitutional relationship between copper and cuprous oxide, however, was that of E. Heyn(5) who in 1900 published a temperature-concentration diagram covering the range from 0 to 10 per cent of cuprous oxide at atmospheric pressure. Within these limits of composition cuprous oxide was found to dissolve in liquid copper, forming at 3.4 to 3.5 per cent a eutectic which melted at 1065" C. R. E. Slade and F. D. Farrow(6) extended these studies to mixtures of higher oxygen content. They discovered that between 20 and 95 per cent of cuprous oxide the metal and oxide form two liquid phases at a monotectic reaction of 1195" C. The span of the biliquidal region diminishes slightly

Jan 1, 1934

• The Venezuelan Trade Mission to the United States announced that Bethlehem Steel Corp. will begin exporting iron ore from its El Pao concession, south of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, in about three months. The ore will be transported by rail from the mines to barges on the Orinoco and transshipped to ore vessels at the coast for shipment to the Sparrows Point, Md., plant. The Latin American business men warned that projected increases in the United States tariff on petroleum imports from Venezuela would force that country into bilateral trade agreements with other countries and would mean drastic curtailment of Venezuelan imports from this country. •Bethlehem, South American Gold and Platinum Co., and U. S. Steel are investigating the possibilities of securing American foodstuff for their South American mining camp commissaries through the International Basic Economy Corp. IBEC buys in quantity to supply its subsidiary companies operating in Venezuela and Brazil. The mining companies will rid themselves of this burdensome task as well as realizing a saving from the bulk purchases of IBEC. •Oliver Iron Mining Co. has begun construction of a fine ore and taconite agglomeration plant at Virginia, Minn. It is expected to be ready in six months. The plant will be used to experiment with the making of clinker cakes and egg-sized lumps by sintering machines and nodulizing kilns respectively; about 1 million tons per year will be produced. • Roof pinning has been adopted at the iron mines of TCI, near Birmingham, to support overlying strata as mining progresses. Favorable results have been obtained in that dilution of the ore has been reduced by 50% which is attributable to this method of supporting the roof. •An American mining engineering team has gone to Turkey for a two-year assignment assisting Turkish government agencies in the $45 million ECA development, mechanization, and construction of cleaning plants for the Zonguldak coal field, 200 miles east of Istanbul on the Black Sea. The group consists of James Beeley, John E. Good, John S. Lambright, David Renshaw, and Charles R. Weir, all of the Paul Weir Co. •Arthur F. Taggart describes a new way of training engineers by emphasis on broad, basic engineering courses on page 460 of this issue. •Lawrence T. Tierney, chairman of the National Bituminous Coal Advisory Council, released a report stating that the increase in oil imports since the latter part of 194$ has caused significant damage to the U. S. fuel economy. It has reduced the strength of and employment opportunities in the coal, domestic petroleum, and transportation industries, as well as in related service and supplier fields. •Women, camels, and donkeys are the beasts of burden of the Sahara, according-to the UNESCO World Review. •Increased demand for magnesium sheet in airplane construction ana other phases of the national security program have led Alcoa to establish a sheet magnesium rolling division at its New Kensington, Pa., works which will begin operation shortly. Novel prospecting methods being used by the USGS in its search for uranium include: shock-mounted instruments in light trucks,. Geiger-counter probes lowered into augur holes, and experimental airborne prospecting.

Jan 4, 1950

By W. C. Clarke

An empirical study of the nature of the embrittle-ment which occurs in martensitic and semiaustenitic precipitation hardening stainless steels upon exposure at temperatures of from about 550" to 875°F has been undertaken. This work was aimed at determining cazusation and means of controlling this phenomenon. A commercial copper bearing precipitation hardening alloy was used as a basic material for study. The effect of heat treatment variables was studied as was the effect of variations in analysis. It is concluded from the evidence that martensitic and semiaustenitic precipitation hardening stainless steels are subject to 885°F ernbrittlement similar to that observed in the straight chromium stainless steels. A characteristic of precipitation hardening stainless steels which has limited their use in certain applications is that they embrittle when held at temperatures in the range of from about 550" to 900°F. This is true to a more or less degree in all currently available alloys, either the basically martensitic type or the semiaustenitic type. The rate of embrittlement varies markedly with exposure temperature, being low at 550" to 600°F and in-creasing as the temperature increases. In spite of this embrittlement, these alloys with their unique combination of high mechanical strength, reasonable toughness, and good corrosion resistance are used in many hundreds of applications. Nevertheless, there are potential applications where the embrittle-ment described is a limiting factor. The purpose of this investigation was to study the embrittlement of these alloys and to find a way to control or eliminate it. GUIDELINES USED IN PRESENT WORK The work reported in this paper is based on a study of 17-4 PH*, a very widely used alloy. It has been used *Trademark of Armco Steel Corp., licensor. in pressurized water and boiling water atomic reactors operating at about 550°F for a number of years. As the life of such equipment is extended or operating temperatures are raised, the possibility of embrit-tlement becomes of increasing concern to materials engineers. Much investigation work was done with respect to the use of 17-4 PH at 550°F. K. C. Antony' states "Such estimation" (of an activation energy for the diffusion of chromium in iron) "would indicate W. C. CLARKE, Jr. is Senior Research Engineer, Advanced Materials Division, Armco Steel Corp., Baltimore. Md. This manuscript is based on a talk presented at the symposium on New Developments in Stainless Steel, sponsored by the IMD Corrosion Resistant Metals Committee, Detroit, Mich., October 14-15, 1968. significant secondary aging is improbable at temperatures less than 700°F within normal component service life". This statement is modified however by the recognition of the accelerating tendencies of applied stress and internal stress as well as the possible effect of irradiation. In this investigation of 17-4 PH, the H 1100 (1900°F-1 hr oil quench or air cool + 1100°F-4 hr-air cool) condition was used, partly because this condition is normally used in atomic reactors. As shown later, the precipitation hardening temperature has no real bearing on the rate of embrittlement. An exposure temperature of 800°F was selected since embrittlement at 800°F is rapid, permitting development of relative data in time periods of 400 to 500 hr. For those not familiar, a nominal present day analysis of 17-4 PH is: C Mn P S SiCrNiCuCbN 0.04 0.30 0.015 0.015 0.60 16.00 4.30 3.25 0.23 0.030 TYPICAL BEHAVIOR OF 17-4 PH Figs. 1 and 2 show the behavior of a commercial heat of 17-4 PH under the conditions defined. Characteristically, 800°F exposure causes a rapid drop in Charpy V-notch impact strength. Tensile and yield strengths gradually increase and a gradual loss of elongation and reduction of area occur, accompanied by an increase in hardness. Notched tensile strength increases to 125 hr exposure and then sharply decreases after exposure for 500 hr. The notched vs un-notched tensile ratio remains virtually constant to exposure for 125 hr (1.67 to 1.56) but drops to 1.15 after 500 hr. Tensile ductility is not alarmingly affected even after much longer exposure times than these. For example, samples aged at 1100°F for 1 hr exposed at 800°F for 4000 hr showed a drop in elonga-tion of from 13 to 11 pct and in reduction of area of from 58 to 37 pct. Notched impact is the property SmIgth KSI 3JJ[/__________^UTS-Nrteh 260 ;/- 240 —^ 200 UTS-Smooth________._, o ioo mo Sob" m Too Hours Exposure Fig. 1—Effect of exposure at 800°F for various times on notched tensile strength and smooth tensile and 0.2 pct yield strength of 17-4 PH in the H 1100 condition.

Jan 1, 1970

By M. C. Flemings, F. R. Mollard

Two-phase Pb-Sn alloys, ranging in compositiotz from 12 to 26 at. pct Pb, were unidirectionally solidified in a convection-fvee system, with thermal gradients in the liquid of up to 480°C per cm. Plane front solidification Loas achieved in all alloys at sufficiently steep gradient and slow growth rate. Conditions causing breakdown of the interface to a cellular or dendritic structure were roughly as predicted by a sinlple constitutional supercooling criterion. Structures of alloys of near-eutectic composition, solidified with plane front, exhibited a lamellar structure; the alloys furthest from the eutectic exhibited a rod-like morphology. Assumptions used in a previous paper for calculations of solute redistribution in two-phase plane front growth are shown to be reasonable for Pb-Sn alloys. Results of calculations are in good agveement with experiment. These show that variations in growth rate during solidification of the composite produce marked changes in average composition of the solid. IN a previous paper, Part I,' conditions necessary for plane front solidification of two-phase alloys were discussed and calculations given on solute redistribution in this type of solidification. This paper, Part 11, describes experiments on Pb-Sn alloys, designed to check the assumptions of the analyses presented, and to demonstrate their applicability to a given alloy system (Pb-Sn). APPARATUS AND PROCEDURE General. A vertical crystal growing unit was built for the study as described below, and "normal solidification" employed throughout (i.e., the ingot was completely melted except for a portion near the bottom end and then solidification initiated). The furnace was designed to permit achieving very low interface velocities, and steep gradients, in essential absence of convection; it is sketched in Figs. 1 and 2. Simple heat flow considerations indicated choice of a small-diameter specimen (ingot) to achieve high thermal gradients; ingot size chosen was 0.3 cm in diam. The ingots were held inside silica tubes 0.06 cm wall thickness. The requirement for an essentially convection-free system was met by use of the vertical furnace with the heat source over the heat sink, as well as by use of the small diameter ingots. In addition, by selection of tin-rich Pb-Sn alloys, the diffusion boundary layer (lead-rich) was denser than the bulk liquid and would not cause convection. The only apparent driving force for convection in this system was the small transverse temperature gradient resulting from heat flow into the samples from the furnace. Such convection must have been small, however, since 1) no temperature fluctuations in the melt were noted in the recordings, which would have indicated turbulent convection, and 2) experimental results obtained and described below could not have been achieved in presence of significant convection. Ingot Preparation. Pb-Sn alloys ranging from 12 to 26 at. pct Pb were prepared from high-purity lead and tin (99.9999 pct pure metal). Each alloy was prepared by first melting the pure metals in the proper ratio in air, in a Pyrex container. The melt was then stirred thoroughly with a graphite rod and cast into a preheated graphite mold. Ingots were then prepared from these castings for use in the actual experiments; each ingot consisted of a rod of alloy, 15 cm long in a 25-cm-long transparent fused-silica tube, 0.3 cm ID and 0.06 cm wall thickness. One chromel-alumel thermocouple, made with 0.004-in.-diam wire and protected by a two-hole alumina tube, was inserted into each ingot. The 1.5 cm of the thermocouple nearest the bead were protruding from the alumina tube and were coated with a very thin layer of boron nitride paste which provided electrical insulation while allowing good heat conduction. The electrically welded junction size was about that of each wire and the cross section of the two wires represented about 0.3 pct of the sample cross section. Including the coating, the thermocouple cross section still represented less than 0.5 pct of the ingot cross

Jan 1, 1968

By H. Udin

G. KUCZYNSKI* and B. H. ALEXANDER*—This paper represents a most noteworthy attempt to evaluate experimentally the surface tension of a solid metal. Because of the great importance of such measurements, any proposed method should receive the closest scrutiny before the results can be considered reliable. In regard to the experimental method, we think that the marking of the gauge length by means of tieing knots in the wire may be the cause of some of the spread in the results. Such a knot may be expected to tighten slightly, and thus increase the gauge length, when placed under stress at high temperature. Although this effect would be very small, amounting at most to only a few times the wire diameter. A fairly tight knot in a wire will decrease the wire length by about ten times the wire diameter, thus only a slight tightening of the knot would cause considerable spread in the results. Upon plotting the stress strain curves from the authors' data, the writers found that there was a fairly consistent tendency towards an S-shaped curve, instead of a straight line. Such an effect could be caused by the tightening of the knots. The writers think, however, that the experimental results are fairly reliable, but that there may be other methods of interpreting them depending upon what mechanism is assumed to be responsible for the shrinkage of the wires. The authors have assumed that the stress due to surface tension results in viscous flow. It should be made clear that it has never been demonstrated that viscous flow can occur in metal crystals even at very high temperatures. The experiments of Chalmers13 on tin, which are so frequently quoted as giving evidence of viscous flow at low stresses are by no means satisfactory. In his experiments, Chalmers found that only the initial rate of flow was approximately proportional to stress. He also found that the rate of flow varied markedly with time which, in his experiments, was less than 2 hr. Inasmuch as there is no proof of viscous flow in metals, and the authors have brought forth no conclusive evidence on this point, it may be worth while to investigate other possible mechanisms of material transport which would account for the shrinkage of the wires. The writers wish to point out that in these experiments the shrinkage of the wires can be adequately explained, according to a self diffusion mechanism. Thus, if we assume a concentration gradient for self diffusion which is a function of the radius of curvature of the wires, and assume that diffusion will occur so that the total surface area is decreased, we find the following expression for the self diffusion coefficient: where k = Boltzmann constant r0 = initial radius of the wire T = absolute temperature ? = surface energy 8 = interatomic spacing t = time e = strain at zero applied stress Eq 19 may be used to evaluate the self diffusion coefficient of copper, using the strain measurements obtained by the authors for zero stress as obtained by extrapolating their curves for 5 rail wires. By inserting a reasonable value for the surface energy (1500 ergs per cm2) we find: -66,000 D = 5 X 10e RT [20] The activation energy is of the correct order of magnitude, but the frequency coefficient is much too high, indicating that surface diffusion may be playing an important role. This discrepancy in the action constant is much smaller than the corresponding discrepancy obtained by the authors for the viscosity coefficient. The writers by no means propose that this proves that the shrinkage of the wires is due to self diffusion but we merely wish to point out that there are explanations other than that given by the authors. In this, as in any kinetic phenomena, it is necessary to study the rate of the process before anything can be said about the mechanism. The determination of surface tension given by the authors is based upon an interpretation of the data which embody the concept of viscous flow. The final proof of this concept will be obtained only after the time relationships confirming the authors' Eq 15 have been conclusively established. The rough linearity of the stress strain curves obtained by the authors for experiments run the same length of time should not be considered as proving that viscous flow is occurring. H. UDIN (authors' reply)—All of the test specimens were annealed at 1000°C for an hour or more before preliminary measurements were made. During this anneal the wires recrystallize, and the greatest part of grain growth takes place. Also, the knots sinter at the cross-over points. This does not in itself eliminate the possibility of end errors, although it greatly decreases their probable magnitude. It is still possible that some extension occurs due to creep in shear at the sintered points. If so, this effect would be quite independent of and superimposed on the normal shrinkage or extension of the wire itself. Within the precision of the experimental results, straight lines satisfy the data as well as do any other simple curves. Until data of greater precision are obtained, it is futile to discuss any possible trends away from linearity. The disagreement between Kuczynski and Alexander's Eq 19 and our Eq 18 is one of semantics and mathematics, not mechanism of flow, since Eq 18 is based on the self-diffusion concept of viscous flow. It would be interesting to learn how the mathematics leading to Eq 19 deviates from that of Eyring and of

Jan 1, 1950

By R. V. Norris

It was stated in a former paper1 that an intensive study of anthracite costs was being made by the engineers of the United States Fuel Administration. The results of this study are now available and are offered as a supplement to the former paper. Anthracite costs as reported for the 6-months period, December, 1917, to May, 1918, inclusive, as compiled by the Federal Trade Commission, were used as a base, and charts similar to those described in the former paper were made for the standard white ash anthracite and for red ash and Lykens valley coals. Adjustments The adjustments of cost from a reported to a price-fixing basis, as described for the bituminous methods, were applied but showed only minor adjustments as necessary. The great spread in anthracite prices on the varyingsizes, which for the 6-mo. period under review ranged in average from $5.244 for nut to $2.074 for barley coal, makes the question of the percentage of sizes produced at the different collieries a vital one. The realization with the same prices for each size must be within very wide limits, when it is considered that the percentage of prepared coal reported from different collieries varied from over 80 per cent. to below 30 per cent. for fresh-mined coal. Hence, as the spread in prices for the various sizes must be predicated on some percentage, it is essential to find some method of adjustment to allow for this variation. The logical method of adjustment is to calculate actual costs to costs as of the standard percentage of sizes, so that the margin between the adjusted costs and the average realization shall be the actual margin for each colliery between its actual costs and actual realization due to its particular percentage of sizes. As a base for realization the actual percentage of sizes for fresh-mined coal for the 6-mo. period was adopted. This percentage is given in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1920