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By C. N. Reid

In the course of annealing studies on molybdenum, it has been observed that a carbide precipitates preferentially on internal and external surfaces. The evidence for this is as follows. Electropolished bend specimens prepared from two grades of commercial molybdenum were loaded in a closed but unsealed tantalum can, and were annealed for 1 hr at 2000°C under a vacuum of 1 x 10-4 torr. The compositions of these materials are summarized in Table I. The samples were then slowly cooled at an average rate of 10°C per min, and were examined when cool. The surfaces of specimens prepared from Molybdenum A were consis- tently clean and featureless, except for thermally etched grain boundaries, see Fig, l(a). On the other hand, Molybdenum B had surfaces containing many needle- and featherlike markings, see Fig. l(b). These features were present in all surface grains, and within a given grain belonged to families

Jan 1, 1965

By Saluja, Sunder S.

Man had to learn to break rocks as early as the Stone Age, when they formed his main source of raw material. He started with chipping and over the years has reached a stage where he can employ atomic blasts and break, with one blast, millions of tons of rock. In between these two extremes there have been several stages of development including fire setting, use of the expansion of water on freezing in chipped cracks in cold climates, the use of low or deflagrating explosive black powder in about the 17th century, the use of high explosives with the discovery of nitroglycerine in 1846 by Sobrero, followed by the monumental discoveries of the great Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Jan 1, 1968

By William C. Harrigan, William D. Nix

Dynamic measurements of Young's modulus have been made for poly crystalline Ni-W alloys from room temperature to 800°C. The alloys studied range in composition from pure nickel to Ni-10 at. pct W. The results indicate that Young's modulus decreases linearly with temperature above the Curie temperature. The rate of change of Young's Modulus with temperature mas found to range from 104 psi per "C for pure nickel to 0.82 x 104 psi per °C for Mi-10 pct W. At all temperatures the elastic modulus decreases with increcrsing tungsten content up to 1 at. pct W, and increases as the tungsten content is increased above that level. Young's modulus decreases slightly as the carbon content is increased from 0.002 to 0.09 wt pct C THE knowledge of the elastic modulus of metals and alloys is important for a number of reasons. The first and most obvious reason comes from the need to predict elastic deflections under given loading conditions. A second and somewhat more subtle reason comes from the fact that the elastic properties of an alloy must be known before a proper account of the mechanisms of plastic deformation can be made. This is especially true for high-temperature creep of crystalline solids. Sherby and his coworkers have shown that the high-temperature steady-state creep rates of crystalline solids are inversely related to the elastic modulus1,2 and that the temperature dependence of the elastic modulus must be taken into account if reliable determinations of the activation energy for creep are to be made. In addition, measurements of the elastic constants of solid solutions are needed to allow one to assess the modulus interaction contribution to solid-solution Strengthening.3-5 Pelloux and Grant6 have demonstrated that substantial solid-solution strengthening at room temperature and elevated temperatures occurs when refractory metal solute atoms are added to nickel. While the high-temperature elastic properties of pure nickel have been measured by a number of authors,7-10 the elastic properties of nickel-based refractory metal alloys have not been determined. The purpose of this paper is to report on measurements of Young's modulus of polycrystalline Ni-W alloys at elevated temperatures. It is expected that these measurements will be valuable to studies of the mechanical properties of nickel-based refractory metal solid solutions. I) EXPERIMENTAL Young's moduli of polycrystalline samples were determined by a dynamic method in order to reduce high- temperature anelastic and plastic relaxations. The samples were forced in transverse free-free vibration; that is, both ends of the sample were unrestrained and the vibration was transverse to the long axis. The fundamental resonant frequency was determined by the Forster method.11 The analysis of this type of vibration which was formulated by Rayleigh,12 Timo-chenko,13 and pickett,14 and reviewed by Fine," leads where fn is the resonant frequency of the nth mode, r is the radius of the circular cross section. L is the specimen length, ßn is 1.5056 for free-free vibration in the fundamental mode of vibration, 6 is the mass density, and E is Young's modulus in the axial direction. This equation can be transformed into: E = 9.17605 x 10-6(L/D)E/Lf2 [2] where E is Young's modulus in psi, L is the length in inches, d is the diameter in inches, W is the weight in grams, and f is the resonance frequency in cps. Eq. [2] was further modified in order to take account of the thermal expansion of the samples. The resulting correct term is: where the thermal expansion coefficients for nickel and tungsten, respectively. Xw is the atom fraction of tungsten in the sample and T is the temperature in "C. The treatment of the thermal expansion coefficient as a linear function of composition seems sufficiently accurate since an error of 25 pct in the expansion coefficient will result in only a 0.3 pct error in the modulus at 1000°C. A) Apparatus. The equipment for this investigation has been described by Lytton et al.16 Several modifications of the equipment have been made. The most significant change involved replacing the detector crystal transducer with a magnetic transducer. A phonographic magnetic transducer was employed as a sensing device since the contact pressure necessary to produce a stable signal is much less than that for a crystal transducer. This magnetic transducer is also not affected by conditions of high temperature and vacuum which are present in these experiments. The vacuum was 10-5 torr at room temperature and about 5 x 10-4 torr at 900°C. This was sufficient to prevent surface contamination of the samples during the tests. The samples were heated in an elliptical furnace with a quartz lamp at one focal line and the sample at the other, as described by Lytton et a1.16 The temperature of the sample was measured by monitoring the

Jan 1, 1969

The 128th meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers constituted a two weeks trip through the Great Northland of Ontario and Quebec and was a most memorable occasion. The last visit of the Institute to Canada was made in 1907 when the mines, which now have brought world wide fame to some of the camps, were not yet dis-covered. The party reached its greatest numbers at Porcupine where 167 visitors and nearly one hundred local members participated. Five members of the party from the States were on the previous trip in 1907. They were Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Huntoon, John Stevenson and son and E. F. Eurich. The Minister of Mines for the Province of Ontario attached his private car to the "Mining Engineers' Special" and made the complete trip through Ontario. This was a happy incident in many ways and gave the visitors an opportunity to discover a spirit of mutual accord between the Minister and mining industry that might well be emulated elsewhere. Two compartment cars and one standard Pullman with the Institute members from New York and the metropolitan district were attached special to the 6.15 p.m. Lehigh Valley train from New York, Sunday, Aug. 19, en route to Toronto, where was held the first session of the Institute's 128th Meeting.

Jan 9, 1923

By R. T. ROLFE

IN this critical age, people are not content .with the judgments passed on men and things long ago, but must needs revise them. It is an excellent spirit, so long as we do not start out with the idea that old opinions must necessarily be wrong, and that all ancient malefactors must therefore be whitewashed. That interesting ogre, Gilles de Retz, to whom the process has recently been applied, is no longer with us, so no one will be the worse for it, but the old bugbear8 of the steelmaker, sulfur and phosphorus, still are, and now Mr. McIntosh, in a recent article in these pages, asks us to regard one of them in a new light.' This article is a most interesting one, with much of which one must agree. One of his -statements, how- ever, although correct, is somewhat' misleading, and he rather discounts the fundamental objection of the steelmaker to phosphorus, its dangerous propensity to segregate and the secondary effect on the carbon distribution and therefore on the homogeneity of the steel that is produced thereby. Further, the evidence on which he bases his claim that phosphorus does not lower the impact strength of steel is rather slight. The writer views with the utmost misgiving any proposal to increase the amount of phosphorus in steel, and cannot regard it in any other light than as a prejudicial impurity, to be kept down to as low a proportion as possible. It thus becomes necessary to examine the evidence upon which Mr. McIntosh's claims are based

Jan 1, 1926

By George H. K. Schenck

Diminishing returns in management's fight to lower manufacturing expenses have added luster to savings that can be achieved in delivered costs through creative management of the distribution function. This is especially true for companies engaged in the production of bulk commodities, for which transport costs may represent 25 to 50% or more of total delivered price, A. E. Cascino, vice president of International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, recently gave an example of why top management in his firm is concerned with distribution: "The price of a ton of phosphate rock, f.o.b. mine, is about $7. The cost of warehousing, freight, and handling frequently totals an additional $11 . . . . If one of our competitors . . . discovers a way in which he can cut his distribution costs by $3, we're dead! Even if we wanted to offset our competitor's more efficient means of shipping with reduced f.o.b. price for our product-we don't have that much profit margin . . . ." In a special report on the revolution now occurring in transportation of goods, Business Week stated in its September 24 issue: "Moving and storing goods on their way from mine and mill through various sub-assemblies to their final markets costs anywhere from $50 billion to $75 billion a year- $100 billion if paperwork costs are included.

Jan 1, 1967

By R. E. Cuthbertson

AN early appreciation by the management that Climax ore presented a challenging problem of economic concentration was responsible for the establishment, in June 1926, of an ore-testing department at the experimental plant of the Colorado School of Mines at Golden, some ninety miles from Climax. An engineering office was later organized in the same community for the design of all ore-treatment units erected at Climax during the period of rapid growth. Work of the ore-testing and design staffs was effectively co-ordinated under a common head. The primary reason for having the ore-testing and plant design departments in Golden, was to place these activities under the able supervision of A. J. Weinig, consultant for the Climax Molybdenum Co., and director of the experimental plant. A secondary consideration was the availability of excellent facilities for research in ore dressing in a highly favorable environment. Concentration of molybdenite by flotation from an ore of simple mineral composition does not appear, superficially, to present a serious problem in ore dressing but experience belies this apparent simplicity. The molybdenite content of average Climax ore is low and it is finely

Jan 1, 1946

By R. J. Mechin

TOP-SLICING was introduced in the Pachuca district in 1917 by T. C. Baker, at that time mine superintendent, of the Santa Gertrudis mine. There then existed 1200 ft. (365.7 m.) below the surface, lying between the fourteenth and eighteenth levels (a vertical distance of 108 meters) a block of ore having a length of 295 ft. (90 m.), and an average width of 82 ft. (25 m.) and dipping at an angle of 65°. This block lay in the hanging wall of the vein and consisted of highly altered and fractured andesite, cut through with mineralized quartz stringers. On the foot-wall side, 26 ft. (8 m.) of old filling, left by former operators, was of payable grade. Stoping therein was first undertaken by the square-set filling system, but because of the extremely heavy hanging wall and loose dry filling in the foot wall, all square setting had to be accompanied by spiling, which made the operation exceedingly slow and costly. A system of mining was sought that would eliminate the difficulties inherent to the square-set system in heavy ground and that at the same time would effect the desired economies in mining. After several years, top-slicing has met all the conditions most satisfactorily, so that when similar conditions presented themselves in El Bordo mine, this method was adopted with necessary modifications. El Bordo mine is operated by the Santa Gertrudis company, and is situated about two miles north of Pachuca. Because of the diversity of the orebodies, a number of different mining methods are in use, among them top-slicing.

Jan 10, 1925

By Edward H. Robie

PONCA CITY proved an ideal selection as a place of meeting for the Petroleum Division this fall. The accommodations at the Conoco Club were just what was required for such a gathering; the committee having the arrangements in charge functioned with the efficiency of veterans and the enthusiasm of neophytes; and the members and guests followed the speakers with close attention, entered the subsequent discussions with gusto, and divulged the "low-down" at private conferences. No one minded the drizzling rain on the first day, which only served to keep up the attendance in the auditorium; the weather then cleared up in time for a group picture before the gathering went their separate ways.

Jan 1, 1932

By R. S. Archibald, L. S. Chabot

The Blueberry mine is about 10 miles west of Ishpeming, Marquette County, Michigan. The property consists of about 2000 acres in sees. 3, 4 and 5, T. 47, N.R. 28W. and secs. 32, 33 and 34, T. 48, N.R. 28W., and, excepting one intervening 80-acre tract, contains the iron formation for a length of about 21/4 miles. The property is traversed by State Highway M-28 and is served by three railways, the Chicago & Northwestern, the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, and the Lake Superior & Ishpeming. The Northwestern transports the ore to a dock at Escanaba; the other railways, to Marquette. Ore for Chicago goes via Escanaba and that for Lower Lake ports, as Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo, via Marquette. History The presence of iron formation in this property has been known for many years, and mining operations on a small scale have been carried on intermittently. The Dexter mine, on the SE.1/4 of the NW.1/4 of sec. 3, was worked from 1883 to 1897 and 118,000 tons of ore was mined. From 1907 to 1915 extensive exploration was carried on over the whole of sec. 3, including 79 diamond-drill holes with a total footage of 26,000 ft. The Chase mine, on the NE.1/4 of the NE.1/4 of sec. 3, was developed from this exploration work, but after about 200,000 tons had been mined the property was abandoned. From 1908 to 1910 exploration was carried on by another company on sec. 4, 47-28, including four drill holes with a total footage of about 5000 ft. Much of the drilling on sec. 3 and of the exploration work on sec. 4 are within the present developed area of the Blueberry mine. A general campaign of diamond-drill exploration was undertaken in 1924, and within a year a considerable amount of ore was developed. The Ford Motor Co. then took an option on the property and carried on check drilling and diamond-drill work until the spring of 1926, when enough ore had been developed to warrant the sinking of a shaft

Jan 1, 1937

By Wallace E. Pratt

UNDER the stimulus of war psychology the American public has grown confused and jittery in its thinking on the subject of this nation's petroleum resources. This confusion arises from the failure of the average citizen, and even of many leaders in government, in our armed forces, and in the petroleum industry itself, to distinguish between our proved reserves of petroleum in the several oil-producing states and the total petroleum re- sources available to this nation. Leaders and public alike examine the accepted estimates of our proved reserves and thoughtlessly conclude that these estimates represent the total of our petroleum resources. Our fears are aggravated if we turn to the statistics on oil-finding and observe that the discovery of new reserves has waned decidedly in recent years. This confusion is dangerous because, under its influence, ill - considered policies spring up and flourish, choking out the most valuable fruits of the long experience of the American petroleum industry.

Jan 1, 1944

By AIME AIME

The 102d meeting of the Institute was held at the Institute headquarters in the Engineering Societies Building, New York, N. Y., on Feb. 19, 20 and 21, 1912. A Bureau of Information, in charge. of Mr. George Buckman, was maintained during the meeting. The proceedings opened with an informal social meeting on Monday evening, Feb. 19, in Assembly-Room No. 1, on the

Mar 1, 1912

By W. A. Selvig

BY plotting fixed carbon against British thermal units of coals free from mineral matter, and ranging in rank from anthracite to lignite, it is found that the coals of higher rank, from anthracite to the higher rank of the high-volatile bituminous coals, inclusive, can be separated into groups according to their degree of metamorphism by reference to their fixed carbon. Such charts show also that the coals lower in rank can be best separated into groups with respect to B.t.u., especially when plotted on the moist basis, that is, coal containing its natural bed moisture. A tentative scheme for coal classification was presented at the October, 1932, meeting of the Technical Committee on Scientific Classification, of the American Standards Association Sectional Com-mittee on Coal Classification. This scheme was sponsored by Sub-committee IV on Tentative Classification of Coals, under the chairmanship of W. T. Thom, Jr. It proposed the grouping of coals according to rank by reference to fixed carbon and B.t.u., on the basis of coal containing its natural bed moisture but free from mineral matter. This scheme proposed classifying coals into four broad classes: (1) anthracitic, (2) bituminous, (3) subbituminous, (4) lignitic.. The anthracitic class was divided into three groups designated as meta-anthracite, normal anthracite, and semianthracite. The bituminous class also was divided into three groups, low volatile, medium volatile, and high volatile. The high-volatile group was further subdivided into four subgroups according to moisture content, as follows: (1) less than 5 per cent, (2) 5 to 10 per cent, (3) 10 to 15 per cent, and (4) 15 per cent and more. The subbituminous class was divided into two groups, group, 1 including subbituminous coals having calorific values of 10,500 B.t.u. or more, and group 2 including those with less than 10,500 B.t.u. , The lignitic class of coal was divided into two groups both below 8,000.B.t.u., the one group consisting of consolidated and the other of unconsolidated

Jan 1, 1934

By William B. Plank

AGAIN the records show an unprecedented enrollment of students in the mineral technology schools of the United States and Canada. In the current year, 1938-'39, 9619 students were resident in the 53 schools of the United States arid 1014 in the six schools of Canada. These data are from my fifth study of the mineral technology schools of the United States and Canada. the last previous study having been made for the year 1936-'37. The undertaking as previously was made under the auspices of the Mineral Industry Education Division of the A. I. M. E. The data or, the various schools were collected in the same way as for former studies.

Jan 1, 1939

L. D. GODSHALL, Everett, Washington: This very interesting paper cannot fail to command the attention of every one who has ever had experience in the amalgamation of gold-ores. I wish to call attention to three very important facts brought out very prominently by the paper, namely: 1. The extent of accumulation of amalgam on copper plates in the form of scale, not removable in the ordinary manner; 2. The change in the relative quantity of the two metals in the amalgam as we. recede from the battery-discharge; 3. The difference in fineness of the bullion obtained from the above-mentioned scale as compared with the bullion from the daily clean-ups. From Mr. Bayliss's figures we find that during the life of the plate in question 14,942 tons of ore were crushed, yielding amalgam of the value of $5.03 per ton, or a total value of $75,158.26. The amalgam accumulating on the plate during this time as scale, we find to have had a value of $8340.54, or $0.558 per ton of ore treated, representing 11.09 per cent. of the total amount of amalgam saved in the ordinary clean-up; or, taking the amalgam saved by daily clean-up plus the amalgam-scale as representing the total saved on this plate, or 100 per cent., we find that the daily clean-up saved 90.01 per cent., while the scale represented 9.99 per cent. The above figures do not include some additional amalgam still adhering to the plate after scale had been removed. We are told that this was not an exceptional case at the Drum Lummon, but that other plates have even yielded a third more than the one in question. The interesting query now comes up, whether this experience at the Drum Lummon is exceptional or universal at all mills; and another question arises, as to how long such an accumulation might continue,

Jan 1, 1897

By C. H. Herty Jr, C. H.

FEW subjects have attracted the attention of metallurgists more than oxygen in steel. From the days of Mushet and Ledebui interest in this subject has been increasing, and as additional knowledge has become available, the problem has naturally grown more complex. Instead of using the simple term "oxygen" we now distinguish between iron oxide, silicates of various kinds, oxysulfides, oxygen as gas and oxygen in solid solution in steel. There are five general methods for determining oxides in steel: hydrogen reduction; vacuum fusion; various wet-extraction methods, including electrolytic methods; methods depending on volatilization of the iron away from the oxides; and metallographic methods. For oxygen in solid steel each of these methods has both advantages and disadvantages. The hydrogen-reduction method is of no use on steels above about 0.20 per cent. carbon; 1 furthermore, it gives only FeO and possibly some MnO. The vacuum-fusion method2 is expensive and gives total oxygen, with the exception of some A1203, and does not differentiate between the various oxides in which the oxygen exists. Most of the wet-extraction methods3 give only the more insoluble oxides SiO2 and A1203, though the iodine method gives MnO to an uncertain degree (information that may be more misleading then no information

Jan 1, 1957

COMMITTEES. Iron and Steel. Albert Sauveur, Chairman. A. A. Stevenson, Vice-Chairman. Herbert M. Boylston, Secretary, Abbot Bldg., Harvard Sq., Cambridge, Mass. LOCAL COMMITTEES. Program Committee.-A. A. Stevenson, Chairman. Herbert A3. Boylston, J. E. Johnson, Jr., Henry D. Hibbard, E. Gybbon Spilsbury. Reception Committee.-J. R. Johnson, Jr., Chairman. Felix A. Vogel, William R. Walker. Dinner Committee.-E. Gybbon Spilsbury, Chairman. The opening session was held on Thursday morning, Oct. 16, 1913, at the Institute Headquarters in the Engineering Societies Building, 29 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y., and was called to order by President Rand, who addressed the meeting briefly before presenting Albert Sauveur, who responded to the President's address, and presided at the meeting. The following papers were then presented in oral abstract by their authors or authors' representatives: The Cleaning of Blast-Furnace Gas, by W. A. Forbes. Discussed by S. K. Varnes, H. N. Diehl, F. H. Wagner, Joseph Hartshorne, S. B. Marshall, J. W. Richards, J. E. Johnson, Jr., W. A. Forbes, and others.

Jan 12, 1913

By Peter Allen, John R. Stuermer

COUNTRY RISK ANALYSIS A company operating in a foreign country assumes all the risks that it would at home. However, beyond these, it assumes risks that arise from the unique political economic, financial conditions of the foreign country which it operates. These risks are known as "country risks". The importance of these risks has grown appreciably in the recent past (particularly in the aftermath of Iran's revolution in the late 1970s and Mexico's debt rescheduling of 1982-83), and as a result, country risk analysis has become an increasingly useful management tool. Country risk analysis seeks to assess the probability that countries will service their aggregate foreign liabilities on time, as well as the probability that country conditions could inhibit the debt service capability of private sector debtors. This involves assessment of both the ability and the willingness of countries to meet their external liabilities in a timely fashion. "Ability" is linked economic and financial variables: principally, a country's economic structure, foreign exchange generating capacity and debt service burden. On the other hand, "willingness" is tied to political factors: mainly the economic/financial orientation of government policy and the stability of economic decision making. Ability: Economic, Financial Conditions and Prospects Judgement of a country's ability to meet foreign financial obligations begins with a detailed study of a country's external balance sheet which compares the country's foreign liabilities and assets. Table 1 below presents country balance sheets for Mexico, Korea and Indonesia. [TABLE 1 The External Balance 3-,-et 1983 (billions of dollars; Indonesia Mexico Korea Foreign Liabilities 31.1 67.6 40.5 By Source: Bank 13.1 75.5 26.3 Non-bank 18.0 12.114.2 Foreign Reserves 9.3 4.7 7.0] The large magnitude of Mexico's external debt (nearly $90 billion), compared to foreign assets of approximately $5 billion, illustrates the weakness of this country's external payments position, and the main reason that it has been unable to meet interest and principal payments and been forced to reschedule its foreign debt. On the other hand, the relationship between Korea's external liabilities and assets ($50.5 billion and $7 billion, respectively), is more favorable and helps explain why Korea has been able to meet debt service payments and maintain its access to the international capital markets. Indonesia has even a more favorable relationship between its foreign assets and liabilities, $31 billion and $9 billion, respectively, and its debt is mostly lower interest rate, non-bank debt, making for a less onerous debt service burden. After the balance sheet, the analysis turns to a comparison of the country's foreign exchange earning capacity and its prospective financing requirements, that is, the country's future earnings stream

Jan 1, 1985

By Luis Toron, Salvador Cortes-Obregon

John D. Price (Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp., Pueblo, Colo)—The paper on the coal fields of the Oaxaca district as prepared by engineers Toron and Cortes-Obregon of the staff of the Bank of Mexico bears witness to the thorough and careful way in which the men associated with this organization perform their work. There is little to be added to their paper in way of discussion other than to confirm and amplify some of their statements. Since the only extensive and well-developed field of coking coal lies in the northeastern section of the country adjacent to Sabinas in the state of Coahuila, it follows that blast furnace plants would be located in that same region. Two such plants are now operating at Monterrey and Monclova, using coke produced at the Sabinas district mines. But the nearer of these two plants is 600 miles from Mexico City and even farther from the center of population. Transportation of products from these mills to the market area is therefore expensive, both because of the distance and the difficulty of the terrain over which it must be carried. The development of an integrated steel industry closer to the center of population has therefore long been a goal toward which the Mexican technicians have been striving. While the presence of coal of some grade has been reported in many of the states, and many ideas have been advanced regarding its possible uses in iron and steel production, deposits of anthracite in Sonora and the various coals of the Oaxaca district as reported on in this paper are the only ones that have been explored in a serious manner. The coking coal from the Mix-tepec zone appears to offer promise of producing a coke which could be used in a standard blast furnace. Several problems are indicated, however: 1—The ash in the coal is high as mined, but indications are that it can be washed to an ash content of 15 pct with a recovery of 70 pct of washed coal. 2—Such washing would increase the volatile content from 17.4 pct to about 20 pct, and in a byproduct oven this should give a coke yield of close to 80 pct with an ash content of coke under 20 pct. 3—A free swelling index of 5 appears low for a good coking coal, and below that of the coals from the Sabinas district, which show between 6 and 9. But washing of the coal should result in an improvement in this regard; in the United States coals from Utah with an index even lower than 5 have made a usable coke. 4—A coal with volatile as low as 17.4 in raw coal and 20 in washed coal would come close to being classed as a low-volatile rather than medium-volatile coal, and low-volatile coals are notorious for their high expansion properties. Several plants in the United States are making coke from straight medium-volatile coal of 26 to 28 volatile content, and one at Rosita,, Mexico, from coal of 25 volatile. But no plants to my knowledge are using coal as low as 20 volatile. Since the Rosita coal appears to be a borderline coal from the angle of its expansion properties the coking of one of the straight lower volatile must be approached with caution. 5—There are few coals possessing any degree of coking properties which cannot be used in coke production by careful attention to its preparation and blending. The fact that coals of other types are available in this same region make improvement through blending very possible. 6—There are other workable methods of reducing iron ore other than the conventional coke-blast-furnace method. These will not be discussed here but it is known that their use has been considered. The technicians of not only Mexico but also of the other Latin American countries are keenly aware of their natural resources and their national needs. This paper emphasizes the fact that the Mexican technicians are working on their problem and attempting to speed the day of self-sufficiency for their country. Salvatore Cortes-Obregon (author's reply)—I wish to thank Mr. Price for his kind remarks. The Mixtepec coal as shown in Table II has 30 pct ash and a free swelling index of 5, but when the same coal is washed to 15 pct ash it has a free swelling index of 8 to 9 and the volatiles increased from 17.4 to 20.7 pct. A satisfactory coke has been produced from blends made in the Mexican laboratory using at least 40 pct of the Mixtepec coking coals with the other Oaxaca non-coking coals. Koppers in Germany report good coke obtained from the Oaxaca coal with a blend of 80 pct Mixtepec coal. Consideration is being given the possibility of using methods other than the conventional blast furnace for the reduction of iron ore near the Oaxaca area; electric furnaces appear promising. The non-coking coals could be used to produce cheap electric energy and the coking coals to make metallurgical coke.

Jan 1, 1955

By F. R. Morral, E. P. Miller

Hot-dipped heat-treated zinc coatings on sheet steel were examined with X-rays. The phases identified were compared with those listed in the modern literature 01 the zinc-iron system. The zeta (FeZn13) phase is shown to correspond to the phase found by Schueler (1925) in heat-treated zinc coatings. An investigation was undertaken to determine the phases present in hot-dipped heat-treated zinc coatings on steel sheets and wire. This kind of coating on wire was studied some years ago by Schuelerl by microscopic and chemical methods. He reported a new phase, FeZn10. Later, Clark and Stillwell,2 using X-ray crystal analysis, identified a new phase in ordinary galva. nized wire, which was assumed to be the FeZn10 phase. Since the extensive review of the iron-zinc alloys presented a few years ago,3 much new work has been published, some of which5-l6 was too late to be included in the recent edition (1939) of the American Society for Metals' Handbook.4 Figs. 1 and 2 are reproductions of the latest iron-zinc diagram proposed by Schramml1 as a result of his investigations by microscopic, thermal, magnetic susceptibility and X-ray methods. Table 1 summarizes all the known published X-ray data of the phases Present. The solubility of iron in zinc has been determined by x-ray methods.10 In the same manner the homogeneity range of the P phase was studiedlo using the principle that the parameter of an intermetallic compound changes while the concentration of One of the constituents changes. Schramm10 has found some 80 alpha lines in X-ray powder photograms of phase d1, and from these he believes that this phase is related to the P phase. Previous investi-

Jan 1, 1941