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By Mark R. Lamb

The recent growth of a sentiment among cyanide-plant designers against the use of gravity-stamps for the crushing preliminary to cyanidation may be said to date from the almost simultaneous perfection of the ribbed tube-rnill liner and of the tall, air-agitation tank. The first step in the resulting change of practice mas the universal adoption of the tube-mill for fine-grinding and the use of coarse screening on the battery. This was the beginning of the surrender of supremacy by the gravity-stamp; since merely the single fact that it was a more economical machine for crushing fine had retained it in favor as conlpared with ball-mills, rolls, or steam-stamps. The surrender, however, is not yet complete.

Jan 1, 1911

By F. W. Bloecher

D ETERMINATION of the surface area of finely divided minerals is of interest to mineral engineers engaged in flotation, comminution, and dewatering studies. In the industrial minerals field, many materials are classified as to fineness according to their specific surface (surface area per unit weight). A method of surface area determination has been tested and used in the Richards Mineral Engineering Laboratories at M.I.T. It involves low temperature krypton adsorption measurements using the technique described by Beebe.1

Jan 3, 1951

By John I. Yellott

SINCE the days of Newcomen and Watt, when men first sought to turn the energy of fuels to useful purposes, coal-generated steam has supplied most of the power needed for both stationary and mobile applications. The low efficiency and large water requirements of the nineteenth century steam-power plant caused many engineers to turn their thoughts toward more direct means of converting heat into power. As far back as 1791, John Barber secured an English patent on a combination' which he might well have called a "gas turbine." He proposed to generate procducer gas from coal or charcoal, to burn it under pressure in air obtained from a reciprocating compressor, and to drive a turbine wheel with the resultant hot combustion products. With the optimism characteristic of the inventor, he hoped that the turbine would not only operate his compressor but also perform useful work. There is no record that Barber ever built his machine, but if he had done so he would have learned that useful power can result from such a combination only when both turbine and compressor are highly efficient and when the temperature of the gas entering the turbine is not far below 1000°F. Hot-air prime movers continued to attract attention, and both Stirling in England and Ericsson in America2 built reciprocating engines that operated with some success upon coal-heated air. The internal-combustion engine, burning liquid fuels, supplanted the hot-air type, and, for the first time, challenged the supremacy of both the steam cycle and its familiar fuel, coal. LIQUID FUELS COMPETE WITH COAL As the increasing use of the automobile multiplied the demand for gasoline, the supply of residual fuel increased rapidly, and heavy oil declined in price to the point where it became competitive with coal. First in the marine field and later in stationary plants in areas adjacent to refineries, oil began to be widely used. Oil's greater convenience and higher heating value per pound of weight or per cubic foot of bunker space have caused it to take over much of the marine field. The introduction of the highly efficient diesel engine, capable of burning a fuel that is cheaper than gasoline, again threatened the position of coal, for the operating costs of the diesel became directly competitive with those of coal- burning equipment. In isolated power plants and smaller marine installations, the diesel provided the medium by which oil again successfully invaded fields formerly dominated by coal. The diesel engine, provided with an

Jan 1, 1946

By Carroll F. Hardy

The day by day loss of industrial plants to gas and oil is chiefly by default. The coal industry is not selling its superior economy, safety, and other advantages to its customers. THE position of the coal industry has been affected by a wide variety of developments in the production and use of energy. The tempo of development and change has been increasing and the end is not in sight. Legislation is currently being proposed for commercial use of atomic power, and the employment of atomic energy in significant quantity will probably occur about the same time as the decline in production of petroleum and natural gas. But these developments are in the future and have little immediate effect on utilization and marketing of coal. While no one should try to suppress or retard the development of a new and economical source of energy, both the coal and private utility industry should be allowed to question how the nuclear power is to be used, who is to use it, and who is going to pay for it. The taxpayers have a monopoly on fissionable material and the knowledge to employ it. Any commercial use must stem from this source. It is not hard to visualize either taxpayer-subsidized private utility atomic power plants on one hand and super TVA's on the other. In view of the gains of gas and oil in the home heating field, it is interesting to compare the 1940 and 1950 census reports on the kind of fuel used for heating in occupied dwelling units. Table I shows that whereas coal provided 77 pct of the fuel for central heating (furnaces and boilers) in 1940, it was down to 45.4 pct in 1950. However, only about 1 1½ million units were lost in this 10-year period. In the non-central heating category, which principally includes stoves, the percentage declined from 39.2 to 25.6, but the units declined about 2½ million in number. The big increase was in heating units designed to burn gas and oil. Use of wood for central heating declined about one-third. Data on amount of fuels used for residential heating are not available, but information is on hand for residential and comnlercial space heating, see Table 11. Commercial space heating includes office buildings, churches, schools. and similar structures. The annual use of bituminous coal in these two categories declined about 1 million tons in the 10-year period. Other forms of solid fuel showed greater losses, except wood, which remained the same. Domestic stokers reached their high point in 1948 with about 1,200,000 in use. At the end of 1951 there were approximately 1,116,790 stokers in use. Conversions to gas and oil have been from hand-fired heating plants in the ratio of about 7 to 1 compared to stokers. In other words, for every one stoker which has been converted to gas or oil, seven hand-fired units have been converted to gas or oil. A bare recital of these data would indicate that the coal industry is holding its own reasonably well. However, 93.4 pct of the new homes built in 1951 were heated by gas or oil. Oil-burning equipment was installed in 37.8 pct and gas equipment in 55.6 pct of the new homes. This indicates that the public prefers gas when it is available, and that oil is second choice, with all forms of solid fuel apparently used when it is unavoidable. It must be pointed out, however, that during the period of rapid expansion of gas pipelines gas has been sold for house heating at prices that are in some cases actually lower than coal prices, or very nearly on a par. Gas has been sold at wells at far below the comparable price for oil produced from the same wells, and far below its actual worth. This situation is being remedied at the present time by increases in gas prices at the wells. For example, the wellhead price of gas in Texas averaged 7.494 per Mcf in 1952. In 1949 it was 4.59c per Mcf. This increase in price is being reflected in pipeline gas prices, and in most of the markets served by the pipelines the tendency is to get it out of the bargain basement type of sales. The American Gas Association estimates that at the end of 1952 there were in the United States about 11 million customers for gas house-heating, and the Association expects additional gains each year until around 18 million homes will be heated by gas in 1975. By 1975 there should be 60 million dwelling units to be heated in the United States, if dwelling units increase at the same rate as the population. If the gas industry heats 18 million dwelling units by that time, this still leaves 42 million units to be heated by some other fuel. If oil is used to heat 18 million dwelling units in that same year, 24 million would of necessity be heated by coal, coke, wood, electricity, or another fuel. The total number of dwelling units using coal listed in the 1950 Census was 18,776,000, so it would appear that coal has a chance at least to stand still in the tonnage sold for domestic use. In the first quarter of 1953, 2044 domestic stokers

Jan 1, 1955

By James M. Link

The design and construction of cross-country pipelines for fluids such as crude oil appears relatively simple compared to the complex problems encountered in slurry systems. Considerable effort has been expended in hydraulic research laboratories in an attempt to improve the understanding of slurry behavior. This effort has been rewarded with considerable success and is best illustrated by the large number of slurry systems now planned or under construction. However, slurry transport in pipelines is still, in many instances, more of an art than a science. In order to minimize the risk factors in the construction and operation of large scale slurry systems, studies are frequently conducted in pilot scale test loops such as the one at the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute. The pilot scale projects are designed to provide the basic engineering data necessary to design slurry transport pipeline systems. Usually three slurry solid concentrations are pumped at various line velocities and optimum slurry densities and velocities are determined. Critical velocities, friction head losses, power requirements, and so forth, are also determined from measurements and calculations. Wear tests are also strongly recommended and anticipated pipe wear rates in inches per million tons of solids reported.

Jan 11, 1972

Jan 1, 1920

By Charles F. Manness

In the great increase of product which has been accomplished in the American Bessemer plant, through improvements in machinery and refractories, and by more perfect skill in their manipulation,

Jan 1, 1881

By H. Rumfelt

The author demonstrates an approach for analyzing overcasting requirements for a stripping project. This approach to the problem employs indicated trends in the relationship of the weight of the machine (only electropowered draglines are considered) to its ability to do stripping work. Strip mining in the domestic coal industry is contributing a greater proportion of overall production than at any time in the past. U.S. Bureau of Mines statistics show that the percentage of total production mined in 1958 by stripping methods increased to more than 30 pct, up from 22 pct in 1951. The tendency to favor strip and open pit mining exists in other mining activities, but such trends are not as clearly outlined as in the coal industry. Significantly, the depth of overburden in coal properties considered suitable for stripping is also increasing. A depth of 50 to 60 ft of overburden was once considered to be about the maximum amount that could be handled economically. Today, a depth of 80 to 100 ft is frequently taken into consideration for simple overcasting operations (i.e., excavating overburden and dumping it in the spoil position where it remains indefinitely). Accompanying these changes, there have been continuing studies searching for procedures to appraise deeper stripping problems. Although the only known practicable way to accurately evaluate a proposed stripping venture is to make studies (including cost estimates) step by step, it is nevertheless desirable to have a quick method for making preliminary evaluations of potential strip mining operations. A recently devised digital computer method of providing a preliminary simple overcasting analysis for a stripping prospect relates the indicated trends in the relationship of the weight of the machine to its ability to do stripping work. In addition, this approach employs situations where the geometry of each cut-and-spoil section is assumed to take certain defined relationships for varying overburden depths. Slopes are necessarily considered to be stable, which means such practical factors as the mechanics of soils are neglected for the sake of convenience. Definition of Terms: Photographs A and B show a shovel-type and a dragline-type of simple overcast operation, plus terms used to denote certain parts of a pit. Pits that follow a straight line when projected on a horizontal plane are referred to as straightaway. It has been assumed that all section drawings accompanying this article pertain to straightaway cuts which, in turn, means that areas can be compared by relative volume. The volume of overburden is measured in virgin cubic yards. Material displaced from its virgin state to a spoil area normally occupies a larger volume than when in situ; the difference is termed swell, and it is expressed as a percentage of the original volume. For example, if the original cut volume is denoted V cu yd, and the spoil volume is 1.2 V cu yd, the swell is a positive 20 pct. MAXIMUM USEFULNESS FACTOR (MUF) CONCEPT Men experienced in overburden removal give emphasis to the weight of the machine in relation to its value as an excavator. From the writer's understanding, value has been only loosely defined and discussed generally and vaguely. The concept is considered important, however, since it is based upon the observations of many men. It provides a clue for the approach taken to solve deep stripping problems. In the procedure described below, value has been arbitrarily established as the product of the nominal dipper size of the shovel (or dragline) times a functional dumping reach. MUFs—Shovel: A shovel's capability to handle thick overburden is usually limited by its ability to dispose of the spoil. Thus the dumping reach, as well as its dumping height, is significant. The angle of repose of spoil material must also be considered. Although such slope angles vary among different mines, jobs, and materials, a slope of 1.25 to 1, frequently found in both planning and practice, is used by this author in the illustration of this analytical method. The relationship of the shovel's geometry to a stripping operation is shown in Fig. 1. To gain maximum advantage in constructing spoil piles, the shovel is placed so that its tracks adjacent to the spoil are as close as possible to the rib of the coal deposit. A vertical plane passing through the line

Jan 1, 1961

By Ikuya Takase

INTRODUCTION Since the occurrence of the first oil crisis, coun-tries of the world, especially oil-importing countries have made sustained and vigorous efforts to lessen the dependency on oil as a source of energy supply. The adoption of "Principles of Coal Policy" by the IEA Ministerial Governing Board Meeting in May, 1979 was the first formal action taken by major energy consuming countries. At the Venice Summit in June, 1980, it was agreed that production and use of coal should be doubled over the next ten years. In fact, the world coal use in 1980 showed around a 10 percent increase over the previous year. Recently, we have seen an indication that the balance of oil supply and demand in the short term have eased. But I believe that it remains vital that we continue to encourage the development and introduction of alternative energy sources. Because, from the medium and long range viewpoint the recovery of the worldwide economy will lead us to increased oil requirements and thus we will be faced with the cyclical, structural tightening situation between the supply and demand of oil. Moreover, we are still convinced that the constraint of the supply capabilities of the Middle-East nations may be increasing in the long-term, since there still remains political uncertainties among these nations. Consequently, above all, coal is viewed as an alternative energy resource available for immediate expansion of use and is given as high a priority as nuclear power. In Japan, we regard coal as the most reliable alternative energy resource to replace oil. According to the "Alternative Energy Supply Targets" approved by the Cabinet in November, 1980, the level of coal imports is estimated to approximately double by 1990, while our domestic coal production will remain nearly at the same level. The transition from oil to coal is found in the recent import levels of coal---73 mil¬lion tons in 1980, a 23 percent increase over the 59 million tons imported in 1979. There was an upsurge in steaming coal imports, reflecting the transition in feedstocks---7.2 million tons in 1980, four times over the previous year's amount. Henceforth, from the medium to long range view, the demand for coal, especially that of steaming coal is forecast to continue to grow. The timely expansion of supply capabilities is our utmost concern and should be one of the most significant goals of our comprehensive policy. The Overseas Coal Investigative Committee, a privately organized advisory panel to the Director-General of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), investigated means to secure a stable supply of overseas coal. The panel presented its interim proposals in August, 1981, recommending the diversification of coal import sources, extensive use of low rank coal, as well as enhanced international cooperation between coal producing and importing countries. THE CONTENTS OF THE COMMITTEE'S REPORT Four Points for Major Consideration In order to ensure a stable supply of overseas coal, Japan needs adequate policy measures consistent with the characteristics of coal resources and environmental requirements, giving consideration to Japan's status and the role she is expected to play in the areas. From the above, great importance should be attached to the following four points: All the components of the "Coal Chain" (Namely, the development of mine sites, construction of railroads, port loading facilities, coal shipping vessels, port receiving facilities, including coal centers and international transport facilities etc.) should be reviewed and reformed with steps taken to assure efficiency consistent with the entire coal chain system. The complete formation of a coal chain system requires such lengthy lead times and huge amounts of investment that necessary measures should be undertaken well in advance utilizing long-range projections of future demands and various economic surveys. Policy planning should be conducted taking into account of harmonizing stability and economics of the supply structure. For ensuring the long-term stability and expansion of the coal trade, international cooperation on a bilateral and multi-national basis should be encouraged. Mutual understanding and close relationships are essential to facilitate the formation of the supply system and to promote the extensive use of coal. Direction and Problems Related to Supply Stability Expansion of Supply Capabilities. World coal imports in 1979 amounted to 229 million tons, of which Japan's share amounted to 59 million tons, or one fourth of the entire amount. The imports of European and Asian countries accounted for 83 million tons and 7 million tons respectively. According to the examination of the Investigative Committee, Japan's coal requirement is estimated to be between 140-150 million tons by 1990, nearly the same level as announced in the Provisional Long-Term Energy Supply and Demand Outlook in 1979. This fore¬cast is-to be revised in April, 1982. Japan's demand is expected to be met through fiscal 1985; however, by 1990, the supply is estimated to fall short of demand, particulary, in the field of steaming coal. For the expansion of supply capability, first, mine development should be accelerated. The proposed

Jan 1, 1982

By R. W. Heckel, H. W. Paxton

The growth of grain boundary films and Widmanstiitten plates of proeutectoid cementite in hypereutectoid steels ulas considered quantitatively in three plain carbon steels and one "pure" iron-carbon alloy. Growth was found to take place at a slower rate than would be predicted on the basis of a model invoking rate control by long range diffusion of carbon. The films in the pure alloy grew faster than those in the plain carbon steels. A possible explanation is suggested. In 1904, Nernsst' and Brunner2 postulated that ionic crystals growing in supersaturated aqueous solutions grew at rates determined by diffusion through the solution to the growing crystal interface. The gradient down which the diffusion took place was assumed to be fixed by the supersaturated bulk solution concentration, the concentration dt the crystal surface and some arbitrary distance. The flux of material to the crystal was described as Flux where D is the diffusion coefficient, A the crystal surface area, Ci the bulk solution concentration, Co the saturated solution concentration, and 6 the thickness of the diffusion zone. It is obvious that the expression is an adaptation of F+ick's3 first law of diffusion (steady state). This was the initial formulation of what will be defined here as "diffusion controlled growth," i.e., growth limited by the long range diffusion of a component either to or from the advancing interface assuming both phases at the interface to be in equilibrium. This idea of equilibrium interface concentration implies an infinite reaction rate at the interface. Volmer, Zener,' and 11schner6 have derived expressions for the diffusion controlled growth of spherical precipitates in metallic systems. These analyses agree that the growth in a given direction should be parabolic with time. Brown and Hawkes7 observed that graphite, formed both from the decomposition of cementite and from the decomposition of eutectoid austenite in cast irons, grew according to a parabolic relationship and, therefore, concluded that the laws of diffusion controlled growth, as defined above, were obeyed. They, among others, failed to consider, however, that parabolic growth is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for diffusion controlled growth. Mehl and Dube"' have pointed out that equilibrium may not be realized because the concentration at the interface cannot change instantaneously from that of the bulk to the saturation value. Furthermore, they propose that an equilibrium solute concentration in the parent phase adjacent to the precipitate would remove the thermodynamic activity gradient across the interface and, thus, stop the growth process. Frisch" has also emphasized the importance of interface concentrations that vary throughout the growth of a new phase. The variation in activity across an interface, as discussed by Onol' and Cahn and Hilliard,12 is of fundamental importance to this question. Ham13 considered the data of Turnbull14 on the growth of barium sulfate in aqueous solutions. He concluded that the data could be analyzed in terms of a radiation-type boundary condition. Flux across interface = K (c, - C,) [21 where C, is the concentration in the solution at the interface, Co the saturated solution concentration, and K the proportionality constant. The edgewise growth of Widmanstlitten plates, frequently referred to as the rate of lengthening, was first considered by Zener.'' Basing a mathematical analysis on steady-state (constant velocity) growth he concluded that where G is the growth rate, D the solute diffusivity, Ci the concentration in the bulk, Co the equilibrium interface concentration, C, the concentration in the precipitate, a a constant, Y the radius of curvature of the edge of the plate, and rC the critical radius, i.e., the radius which would increase the activity of solute at the interface at equilibrium under the influence of capillarity to that of the bulk. Zener1'

Jan 1, 1961

By G. W. Jr. Jarman

THE purpose of this paper is to present briefly a description of some of the special methods of separation or concentration, either singly or in combination with others, and to give certain operating data and examples. Explanation of the usual methods of large-production mill treatment, such as flotation or wet tabling, or of chemically treating industrial minerals, is not included in the scope of this paper, although one of these methods might be, in certain instances, augmented by one or more of the special methods that will be enumerated herein. Description of these special methods will be centered on magnetic separators, electro-static separators and air flotation or air tables.

Jan 1, 1938

By Porter W. Shimer

The device here described has been found useful in sampling foundry-iron, and there is no reason why it should not be equally useful in sampling other metals, which are not too hard to be drilled with a breast-drill. It consists, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, of an ordinary plumber's gas T (without bead) of about 1/2-inch in internal diameter, over the leg of which is snugly fitted a small tin cup, about If inches deep, to catch the drillings which are made by use of a breast-drill with a 1/4-inch twist bit, working through the arms of the T. The forward arm of the T is filed down to a blunt edge, over which is stretched a short piece of rubber tubing projecting a little beyond the end. The bottom of the inside of the front arm of the ? is filed down to a slope, to facilitate the passage of drillings into the tin cup. The rear arm of the T is fitted with a tin ring, projecting about 1/4-inch, for the purpose of holding in place a stiff spiral brass spring, which serves to press the sampler firmly against the metal to be drilled. The other end of the spring is supported against a shoulder of the breastdrill. The projecting rubber prevents the loss of any drillings, and also the falling of sand from above into the sampler. With ordinary care there need be no risk of getting particles of rubber into the sample. It is, of course, not possible to get a fair average sample of drillings, representing a pile of foundry-iron, by taking drillings from any one or two pieces, because of the frequently mixed character of the iron. This observation applies more particularly to the sampling of iron as it is broken and piled at the foundry, than to sampling at the works, where, if the furnace is working regularly, a few pigs may fairly represent a whole cast. By the use of this device, it is possible for a sampler to pass

Jan 1, 1901

Background The annual awards, which have been given by the US National Committee for Rock Mechanics since its inception in 1969, recognize out- standing research in rock mechanics. Such recognition has always been accompanied by a plaque or certificate for the winners and a presentation at the symposium awards banquet. Starting this year, the US National Committee will give the winners even more recognition and allow the rock mechanics community to benefit from the papers by publishing abstracts of the work in the proceedings of the 25th US Symposium on Rock Mechanics and in various society journals and news letters. "We hope this will stimulate the production of more research papers," said William R. Judd, former chairman on the subpanel of awards. "It's beneficial for researchers to have their work published as an award paper." There are four categories of awards: Basic Research, Applied Research, Case History, and Student Masters' Thesis. Approximately ten papers are nominated annually for each category; however, in some years awards are not made in all four categories. For instance, there were not enough case history nominations in 1983 for an award, but there were two equally outstanding recipients of the award for applied research. The winners of the 1983 research awards reflect the wide variety of professions involved with rock mechanics. They are introduced on the following pages by category, and accompanied by an abstract of the paper

Jan 1, 1984

By H. De. Cizancourt

There is no new outstanding fact to be noted concerning the development of petroleum production and research in France and her possessions during 1935. France.—Pechelbronn remains the only important producing field in France. The total output has reached 538,921 bbl., showing a small decrease on last year's figures. Out of this, 302,737 bbl. was extracted by drilling and 236,184 bbl. (44 per cent) was obtained by means of shafts and galleries. Exploration of deeper formations was still in progress, and resulted in the discovery of a new Middle Triassic (Muschel-Kalk) producing horizon. In the vicinity of Hirtzbach (South Alsace) shallow exploration tests (500 ft.) were drilled by the Société de Pechelbronn, oil indications being found in the Tertiary. Two more important wells are now drilling in deeper horizons. The Chantenay well (Niévre) was finished in August, 1935, at a depth of 3544 ft.1 A test is under progress in Savoie. South of Gabian, at Pezenas, the erection of a rig is nearly completed.

Jan 1, 1936

There is no new outstanding fact to be noted concerning the development of petroleum production and research in France and her possessions during 1935. France.—Pechelbronn remains the only important producing field in France. The total output has reached 538,921 bbl., showing a small decrease on last year's figures. Out of this, 302,737 bbl. was extracted by drilling and 236,184 bbl. (44 per cent) was obtained by means of shafts and galleries. Exploration of deeper formations was still in progress, and resulted in the discovery of a new Middle Triassic (Muschel-Kalk) producing horizon. In the vicinity of Hirtzbach (South Alsace) shallow exploration tests (500 ft.) were drilled by the Société de Pechelbronn, oil indications being found in the Tertiary. Two more important wells are now drilling in deeper horizons. The Chantenay well (Niévre) was finished in August, 1935, at a depth of 3544 ft.1 A test is under progress in Savoie. South of Gabian, at Pezenas, the erection of a rig is nearly completed.

Jan 1, 1936

The next meeting of the Institute, the 113th meeting, will be held in Arizona in the latter part of September, 1916. All papers to be presented, at this meeting must be published in the September Bulletin or previously. Manuscripts must, therefore,' be in the hands of the Secretary of the Institute not later than July 1. In case manuscripts are given by authors to members of technical committees, or others, they must be in the hands of such persons sufficiently in advance so that they may be actually in the hands of the Secretary of the Institute by the date mentioned. In the past, the Secretary has received urgent requests for special consideration regarding manuscripts that come in after the closing date. In view of the obvious unfairness of this, the Committee on Papers and Publications has instructed the Secretary not to accept for presentation at the Arizona Meeting any papers received later than July 1, 1916.

Jan 3, 1916

By G. Rinelli, A. M. Marabini

Flotation of rutile with N-benzoyl-N-phenyl-hydroxyhmine (N-BPHA) has been investkated. Initially, floatability tests were performed in a Hallimond tube. The results indicated that rutile was floatable at pH 2-4 with N-BPHA concentration between 2 x 10-3 mol/L and 2 x 10-2 mol/L. Selectivity against hematite was recognized when operating at pH values below 2. Following the hypothesis of the formation of a surface chelate between N-BPHA and titanium ion, this compound was precipitated from a solution of Ti (SO4)2 to which N-BPHA was added. I. R. spectrometry of the rutile before and after treatment with N-BPHA solution confirmed the presence of this compound on the rutile surface. Adsorption isotherm and kinetics were determined by analyzing N-BPHA in solution with an U. V. technique. A hypothesis on the way N-BPHA is adsorbed on rutile is presented.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. G. Wheeler, J. W. Goffard

The Larson-Miller parameter was used to correlate time, temperature, and indentation creep of magnesium, aluminum, and some of their alloys. In the temperature range 300" to 450°C, the short-time Meyer hardness of pure magnesium was less than that of the magnesium alloys tested, but for long times the pure magnesium has greater indentation creep resistance. Aluminum (1100 alloy) had 1.5 to 2.5 times more indentation creep resistance than magnesium at 300" and 450oC, respectively. Hardening of aluminum with a dispersion of Al2O3 was effective in the time and temperature ranges studied. New technologies have required the development of new materials and the utilization of the more familiar materials for new and unusual applications. The use of magnesium and aluminum and some of their alloys, because of their desirable nuclear characteristics, light weight, low cost, and ready availability, has been extended to the 300" to 450°C temperature range. In this temperature range the basic consideration of these materials must be their rate of plastic flow rather than offset yield strengths. The indentation testing reported here arose from a need for design data for the load-holding ability of supports made of these materials. Test Procedure—Hardness indents were made with a 0.275-in.-diam quartz indentor and a 10.65-lb load. The indentor was made by fire-polishing a spherical surface on the end of a fused quartz rod. The samples were held at temperature in a graphite crucible controlled to ±2°C. A thermocouple was attached to the sample and test temperatures were recorded. The diameter of the spherical indentation was measured at the end of a test period and the compression stress (Meyer Hardness) was determined by: H___________load__________ m = projected area of indent Samples were 1 in. in diam and at least 1/4 in. thick. It was observed that at the higher temperatures and longer times, the quartz indentor would stick to the magnesium sample. The quartz indentor was, therefore, frequently inspected and fire-polishing repeated when necessary. The area of sticking was always a small fraction of the area of indent and was therefore considered to have an insignificant effect on results. Correlation of Hot-Indentation Test Data with Time-Temperature Parameter—Sherby and Dorn' have correlated creep or tensile data of a' solid solutions of aluminum with a temperature and strain-rate parameter suggested by Zener and Holloman. underwood2 used this parameter to correlate creep properties of some steels with hot hardness, and upon the basis of this correlation a means of obtaining creep properties from short-time (and inexpensive) hot hardness tests has been demonstrated. Since the validity of the correlation of creep properties with a time-temperature parameter and the correlation of creep properties with hot hardness have been shown, it follows that hot hardness may correlate with the time-temperature parameter. The hot-indentation data obtained was expressed as Meyer hardness, and was shown to be time and temperature dependent. Correlation of Meyer hardness, time, and temperature with the parameter was made using the relationship: Hm = Meyer hardness t = time, hours T = absolute temperature, OK K = constant A value for the constant K was calculated by equating In l/t + K/T at different temperatures and times but at the same hardness. The correlation was tested by plotting Hm vs the parameter, In 1/t +K/T. Since materials are being sought which have high hardness at low indentation creep, i.e., a high Meyer hardness for long time at high temperatures, low values of the parameter are ofthe most interest. TEST RESULTS Magnesium—Pure magnesium (99.98 pct) cut from extruded rod was indentation tested perpendicular to the rod axis at temperatures of 300°, 350°, 400°, and 450°C for times ranging from 6 sec to 112 hr. Fig. 1 shows the time dependency of Meyer hardness at the four constant temperatures. Fig. 2 shows the correlation of the Meyer hardness of pure magnesium with the time-temperature parameter using a K of 22,720 in Eq. [I]. At the bottom of Fig. 2, the effect of doubling the time of indentation t2 = 2(t1), on the abscissa for any time is shown graphically. This effect is of constant magnitude. Also shown graphically are the magnitudes of the effects on the

Jan 1, 1960

By E. P. Klier, Volker Weiss, George Sachs

IT has been shown that the isothermal transformation of austenite in a special steel can be modified by isothermal holding in the high subcritical transformation range.' Since this treatment potentially leads to increased hardenability, limited testing has been completed to determine if the stabilization effects observed with this treatment can be used to advantage in the heat-treating of 4340 steel. As an index of the effects of the several austenitizing treatments on the hardenability of the steel, Jominy-type hardenability tests were completed for specimens 2.5 in. in diameter and 8 in. long. Since the steel studied is to be used at strength levels where notch sensitivity is of major concern, notch sensitivity after selected austenitizing treatments has been evaluated by notch tensile tests for several specimen sizes. The steel composition and the austenitizing treatments are given in Table I. The test specimens are presented in Fig. 1. The hardenability data are given in Fig. 2 and the notch tensile properties are presented in Fig. 3. The hardenability of the steel investigated when determined by use of the standard Jominy test specimen2 as high and remained essentially unchanged for the different austenitizing treatments. For the larger test specimen, as has been shown by other investigations," the characteristic hardenability indexes are changed and it becomes possible to isolate austenitizing treatments which promote maximum hardenability. The stepped austenitizing treatment promotes higher hardenability as is indicated in Fig. 2. The evaluation of notch sensitivity for very high strength steels is best accomplished by means of the notch tensile test. The experimental conditions of the test, however, modify the notch strengths measured, and in the present experimentation an effort was made to achieve a limiting notch condition by fixing the notch root radius at 0.001 in. while the specimen diameter was allowed to increase from 0.3 to 1.1 in.* For this root radius the notch strength, 0.3-in.-diam specimen, and this trend differs from that for the larger specimens. At the highest tempering temperatures the 1.1-ip.-diam specimens yield comparable results for the austenitizing treatments compared. However, as the tempering temperature is progressively lowered below 800°F, em-

Jan 1, 1958

A little more than a year and a half ago construction started on Canada's largest initial milling plant. Today the zinc concentrating plant 7 miles north of Barraute sits on ground that once was forest and clay flats. The plant is part of Barvue Mines Ltd. zinc-silver operation. Employees of the plant live in the model community of Barvue, built like the plant in record time. About 5000 tons of ore are handled by the plant daily, with an output of 200 tons of zinc concentrate. Management hopes to raise capacity of the $8 million plant to 6000 tons.

Jan 8, 1953