Search Documents

By Frederic E. Carter

THERE have been many attempts to prove that platinum was known to the ancients, but since no traces of the metal have been found in the relics of early times, it must be concluded that it was not known to them. As far as records go, it was actually first discovered in the 16th century in a Spanish mine on the Pinto River in South America; from which source it received its name of Platina del Pinto (little silver from the Pinto). It was more or less of a rarity and was a subject of interest to a few chemists only, until the year 1822 when the metal was first discovered in Russia. In 1819 there were noticed in the washings of the gold sands of the southern part of the Ural Mountains, grains of a heavy white substance, but it was not until three years later that this substance was found to contain platinum. While at first the amounts of platinum brought from the Urals were meager, prospecting soon disclosed rich deposits extending over a considerable area, and nuggets from 10 to 20 lb. were by no means rare. This discovery assured to chemists an ample supply of platinum for their crucibles, etc. The ore is now found in various parts of the world but the richest deposits are still found in the Ural Mountains. The platinum of commerce is obtained entirely from alluvial deposits at depths varying from 6 to 40 ft. The sand and gravel of former river beds are subjected to a series of screenings and washings to effect the separation of the ore. Actually, probably all gold-bearing gravel beds of the world contain platinum, and it is more than likely that large quantities of platinum ore have been thrown away with the black sand washings from gold placer deposits. This is especially true of the alluvial deposits of the Pacific Coast in California and Oregon. Platinum ore is usually found in the form of rounded or flattened grains of "sand," and occasionally in irregular lumps of the size of peas. Large nuggets are very rare. The ore has a metallic luster and is distinguished by its steel gray color, but shows light gray streak when rubbed on a hard white surface; it has a high specific gravity, 16 to 19; is infusible in the hottest blast furnaces, and insoluble in any single acid. Platinum ore is a complex body consisting of the metal in combination with varying proportions of the other members of the platinum group; iridium,

Jan 1, 1928

By Charles E. Barker

Jan 1, 1985

Jan 1, 1958

By J. M. Hassler

NOWHERE can there be found a more misleading statement than the old one that "Iron can be manufactured cheaper in the South." During the past decade ironmakers and users of iron have heard varied and sundry stories of the wonderful resources of the Birmingham district, including abundant ore and coal fields, cheap labor, a wonderful climate and similar industrial Utopian statements. Birmingham represents the major portion of the iron business in the South, acid as Birmingham fares so goes the iron business of the South. The intent of this paper is to shed some light on the actual conditions surrounding ironmaking in the South, especially in the Birmingham, or North Alabama, district. By a presentation of facts it is desired to point out that the "cheap iron" of the industrial South is a thing of the past, primarily because of increased labor cost and because labor is radically different in performance to what it was years ago. Also, because most of the raw materials needed in ironmaking that would be classed better than inferior are gone.

Jan 1, 1937

By Howard Evans

Moderate but substantive gains were recorded in 1972 in the minerals processing industry. In the area of mill design, a number of large plants under construction during the past two to three years were tuned up and went into production. The application of operating controls has also made some significant strides. Progress here has been made in the areas of on-stream particle size analysis, on-stream x-ray analysis, slurry transportation, tripper control, flotation reagent control and digital control of grinding circuits. The major contributions to improved equipment are coming from smaller specialized equipment makers.

Jan 2, 1973

By C. M. Haight

The mines of the New Jersey Zinc Co. in New Jersey, are situated in the northern part of Sussex County, at Franklin, formerly Franklin Furnace, and also at Ogdensburg. The mine at Ogdensburg is still in the development stage, but the, mine at Franklin, with which this paper deals chiefly, has been a steady producer of high-grade zinc ores for many years. The town is about 50 miles from New York City, among the foothills -of the Kittatinny Mountains. It is equipped with water supply (filtered and chemically treated), good roads, electric lights, efficient police protection and excellent schools, including a new vocational high school. For a mining community, the conditions and location are far above the average. Franklin Furnace Folio, No. 161 of the U. S. Geological Survey, describes the geology and mineralogy of the district in detail, so that merely an, outline of the main characteristics of the orebody need be given. The

Jan 10, 1917

By J. J. Fischer

COMPOSITES containing cold-drawn, high-strength steel wires have shown promise for normal and slightly elevated temperature applications, particularly where strength-to-weight ratios or corrosion resistance are important.'-3 Although tensile strengths up to 500,000 psi may be obtained by cold drawing these wires, processing the composite at elevated temperatures will result in a rapid decrease of the wires' strength. In wrought maraging steels, high-strength levels can be obtained by aging at 900' . Because these alloys do not rely on heavy cold working to achieve their strength, and because they do not overage readily, they are of potential interest for use in composites. In view of this, the tensile strengths of composites containing The total heat effect thus represents the heat of formation, AHf of the compound at 273' . Since the heat of solution of tin in the tin solvent bath is zero, AHz = 3( - H273)Sn and Hf is given by: For LaSn3, AH3 had a measured value of 11,285 i 380 cal per g-atom while for La2Sn, the corresponding value was 33,658 870 cal per g-atom. Using the measured data for the compounds and pure lanthanum, a value of -15,150 200 cal per g-atom was calculated for the heat of formation of LaSn, at 273°K, while Hf for La2Sn3 was found to be -28,090 400 cal per g-i&om. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Army Research Office, Durham, North Carolina. under contract No. DA-31-124-ARO-D-384.

Jan 1, 1969

By Reno Sales

INTRODUCTION. THE geology of Butte possesses especial interest on account of the magnitude of the ore deposits, their extraordinary richness and persistence in depth. Since its discovery in the early 60's the district .has yielded, in round numbers, 6,000,000,000 lb. of copper, 260,000,000 oz. of silver, 1,250,000 oz. of gold, and a large but not definitely known number of pounds of zinc. This enormous metal production has been derived from an ore tonnage estimated roughly at 65,000,000 tons. At the present day, most of the important mine shafts have reached a depth of. 2,400 ft., while several are more than 3,000 ft., deep. At these-great depths rich bodies of copper ore are being exploited, showing no diminution in metal content as compared with the ores of the higher levels. The present (1913) daily rate of production is approximately 14,000 tons, of which 13,250 tons may be regarded as copper ore, although a small percentage of this is minable only because of the presence of

Jan 8, 1913

By W. H. Bassett, C. H. Davis

The late J. P. Sparrow, chief operating engineer of the New York Edison CO., carried out a series of practical tests on condenser tubes of several copper alloys and reported on the results to the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies at its meeting in September, 1913. In the preparation of these tubes the senior author had the pleasure of cooperating. Copper-zinc alloys in the proportions of 60-40,70-30,80-20, 90-10, and Admiralty metal, which is in effect 70-30 with 1 per cent. of tin, were tried. Monel metal and several copper-nickel alloys, and 8, 5, and 3 per cent. aluminum bronze were also tried. At the time of this report, the aluminum bronze had been in service for 4 1/2 years and seemed to be giving especially good results but later it began to fail and showed no substantial improvement over Admiralty metal. Monel metal was unsatisfactory and the nickel alloys apparently did not give better service than the Admiralty alloy. Previous to the publication of the report, and after considerable discussion, it was agreed that a test where tubes of different kinds could be under laboratory observation would be advisable, so the apparatus described here was set up in The American Brass Co.'s Waterbury Laboratory. This was fitted with tubes of copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver, cupro-nickel and other alloys, and the test started on Oct. 11, 1912. Salt water from East River, New York harbor, was barrelled and transported to the laboratory for the test. A fresh supply, completely replacing the water in service, was obtained at the end of each six months period. Plan of Procedure In general, the procedure was to inspect the tubes at short intervals and to remove those that had begun to leak. The tubes removed were carefully examined and a photographic and microscopic record of the

Jan 1, 1925

By George M. Fowler, Joseph P. Lyden

PaGE Scope of this Report.................................................... 206 Production of Tri-State District.......................................... 207 Historical Sketch....................................................... 207 Location and Topography............................................... 211 Geology............................................................... 212 The Tri-State District.............................................. 214 Stratigraphy........................................................... 217 General Geological Section in Tri-State Region....................... 217 Stratigraphic Section of Mineralized part of Boone Formation........... 218 Stratigraphic Section Bird Dog Well.................................. 219 Metamorphism........................................................ 220 Structure............................................................. 225 Regional.......................................................... 225 Due to Metamorphism.............................................. 229 Ore Deposits.......................................................... 231 Types............................................................ 232 Hard-ground Deposits.......................................... 232 Brecciated................................................. 232 Stratified............................................ 232 Sheet Ground............................................. 232 In Dolomite............................................... 233 In Shale.................................................. 233 Soft-ground Deposits.......................................... 233 In the District as a Whole....................................... 233 Ore Minerah and Analysis......................................... 233 Paragenesis....................................................... 234 Conclusions........................................................... 236 Structure.......................................................... 236 Genesis of the Ore.................................................. 237 Future of the District............................................... 239 Acknowledgments..................................................... 239 Discussion............................................................ 239 Scope of This Report The Tri-State district. as outlined in this paper. refers to the entire mineralized area in sout'hwestern Missouri. southeastern Kansas and

Jan 1, 1932

The United States has never been a large coal exporting nation, and normally such shipments, aside from those to Canada, have been relatively small. Since the first railroad was built across the Allegheny Mountains, the imports have been quite small also, although fairly large tonnages of Canadian coal have moved into the extreme northeastern and northwestern states at times. In Table 21 are shown all data available about these shipments from 1790 to 1939, inclusive.

Jan 1, 1942

By N. F. Dyson, T. R. Scott

The iilzfluence of catalytic agents on the oxidation of ZnS has been studied under pressure leaching conditions, using a chemically prepared sample of ZnS which was substantially unreactive on heating at 113°C with dilute sulfuric acid and 250 psi oxygen. Nurnerous prospective catalysts were added at the ratio of 0.024 mole per mole ZnS in the above reaction but pvonounced catalytic activity was confined to copper, bismuth, rutheniuwl, molybdenum, and iron in order of. decreasing effectiveness. In the absence of acid, where sulfate was the sole product of oxidation, catalysis was exhibited by copper and ruthenium only. Parameters affecting the oxidation rate were catalyst concentration, temperature, time, oxygen pressure, and a7riount of acid, the first two being most important. The main product of oxidation in the acid reaction was sulfur, with trinor amounts of sulfate. An electrochemical (galvanic) mechanism has been suggested for the sulfuv-forming reaction, whereby the relatively inert ZnS is "activated" by incorporation of catalyst ions in the lattice and the same catalysts subsequently accelerate the reduction of dissolved oxygen at cathodic sites on the ZnS surface. Insufficient data was obtained to Provide a detailed mechanism for sulfate fornzation, which is favored at low acidities and probably proceeds th'rough intermediate transient species not identified in the preseni work. THE oxidation of zinc sulfide at elevated temperatures and pressures takes place according to the following simplified reactions: ZnS + io2 + H2SO4 — ZnSO4 + SG + HsO [i] ZnS + 20,-ZSO [21 In dilute acid both reactions occur but Reaction [I] is usually predominant, whereas in the absence of acid only Reaction [2] can be observed. Both proceed very slowly with chemically pure zinc sulfide but can be greatly accelerated by the addition of suitable catalysts, as suggested by jorling' in 1954. Nevertheless, an initial success in the pressure leaching of zinc concentrates was achieved by Forward and veltman2 without any deliberate addition of catalytic agents and it was only later that the catalytic role of iron, present in concentrates both as (ZnFe)S and as impurities, was recognized and eventually patented.3 It is now apparent that another catalyst, uiz., copper, may have also played a part in the successful extraction of zinc, since copper sulfate is almost universally used as an activator in the flotation of sphalerite and can be adsorbed on the mineral surface in sufficient amount The importance of catalysis in oxidation-reduction reactions such as those cited above has been emphasized by various writers and Halpern4 sums up the situation when he writes that "there is good reason to believe that such ions (e.g., Cu) may exert an important catalytic influence on the various homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions which occur during leaching, particularly of sulfides, thus affecting not only the leaching rates but also the nature of the final products." Nevertheless relatively little work has appeared on this topic, one of the main reasons being that sufficiently pure samples of sulfide minerals are difficult to prepare or obtain. When it is realized that 1 part Cu in 2000 parts of ZnS is sufficient to exert a pronounced catalytic effect, the magnitude of the purity problem is evident. An incentive to undertake the present work was that an adequate supply of "pure" zinc sulfide became available. When preliminary tests established that the material, despite its large surface area, was substantially unreactive under pressure leaching conditions, the inference was made that it was sufficiently free from catalytic impurities to be suitable for studies in which known amounts of potential catalytic agents could be added. The first objective in the following work was to identify those ions or compounds which accelerate the reaction rate and, for practical reasons, to determine the effects of parameters such as amgunt of catalyst, temperature, time, acid concentration, and oxygen pressure. The second and ultimately the more important objective was to make use of the experimental results to further our knowledge of the reaction mechanisms occurring under pressure leaching conditions. The fact that catalysts can dramatically increase the reaction rate suggests that physical factors such as absorption of gaseous oxygen, transport of reactants and products, and so forth, are not of major importance under the experimental conditions employed and an opportunity is thereby provided to concentrate on the heterogeneous reaction on the surface of the sulfide particles. As will appear in the sequel, the first of these objectives has been achieved in a semiquantitative fashion but a great deal still remains to be clarified in the field of reaction mechanisms. EXPERIMENTAL a) Materials. The white zinc sulfide used was a chemically prepared "Laboratory Reagent" material (B.D.H.) and X-ray diffraction tests showed it to contain both sphalerite and wurtzite. The specific surface area, measured by argon absorption at 77"K, varied between 3.9 and 4.6 sq m per g. Analysis gave 65.0 pct Zn (67.1 pct theory) and 31.9 pct S (32.9 pct theory). Other metallic sulfides (CdS, FeS, and so forth) used in the experiments were also chemical preparations of "Laboratory Reagent" grade. Samples of mar ma-

Jan 1, 1969

By A. P. Watts

FOREWORD THE problem of concentrating the disseminated lead ore of southeast Missouri is extremely simple. The economic mineral is galena and the gangue is dolomite. The ore assays from 4 to .6 per cent. lead, 80 per cent. of which is recovered in a 70 per cent. concentrate.. The ore is crushed through 10 mm. and sized on 2 mm.; the oversize is jigged, while the undersize is tabled, and the slime treated by flotation. The district is the largest lead producer in the world, the output of metallic lead for the year 1915 being 183,906 tons. Over 20,000 tons of ore a day is being treated. The management of the different properties is progressive and always open to suggestion. The fact; however, must not be lost sight of, that the problem in the district is peculiar, as the average ore contains but 80 to 120 lb. of a metal normally selling at about 4c. per lb. The low price of the metal limits the treatment system to one of low cost. An elaborate treatment is neither logical nor advisable. An engineer first visiting the district may consider that the method of treatment could be improved

Jan 10, 1917

By Samuel M. Cassidy, John A. Garcia

In some districts of the bituminous coal field the problem of constructing bulkheads to seal off water under pressure is becoming increasingly important. Recently this matter has been brought very much to the front by the loss of a large Illinois mine due to failure of a bulkhead that separated it from several old, flooded mines. As this great misfortune has provoked much inquiry about proper bulkhead design, it is felt that a description of the successful and extensive water-sealing practice at three mines that have different natural conditions will be of considerable interest to those connected with properties having a present or future water problem and to engineers that may have to design safe bulkheads of economical construction. These three mines are the Saxton and Dresser, near Terre Haute, Ind., and the Hegeler, near Danville, Ill. All three have water conditions that make it necessary to regularly seal off all worked-out sections of the mine, and there are considerably over a hundred bulkheads in each. AS far as the writers know, these three mines are the only ones in the bituminous coal fields of the United States with anything like so large a number of water seals and experience, although a number of other mines are known to have a few bulkheads. More detail will be included herein on the Saxton mine than on the others, as the writers are more familiar with it. General Mining System All three of the mines use the same general panel room-and-pillar system, which consists of rooms turned both ways off room entries and a solid block of coal left on all sides of the completed panel except on the cross-entry side, where a heavier pillar is pierced by two entries for haulage and air. On completion of the panel the two entries arc sealed and the panel is then isolated from the rest of the mine. Owing to water conditions, no pillars are pulled; recovery inside the panel barrier pillars is approximately 65 per cent.

Jan 1, 1938

By Samuel M. Cassidy, John A. Garcia

In some districts of the bituminous coal field the problem of constructing bulkheads to seal off water under pressure is becoming increasingly important. Recently this matter has been brought very much to the front by the loss of a large Illinois mine due to failure of a bulkhead that separated it from several old, flooded mines. As this great misfortune has provoked much inquiry about proper bulkhead design, it is felt that a description of the successful and extensive water-sealing practice at three mines that have different natural conditions will be of considerable interest to those connected with properties having a present or future water problem and to engineers that may have to design safe bulkheads of economical construction. These three mines are the Saxton and Dresser, near Terre Haute, Ind., and the Hegeler, near Danville, Ill. All three have water conditions that make it necessary to regularly seal off all worked-out sections of the mine, and there are considerably over a hundred bulkheads in each. AS far as the writers know, these three mines are the only ones in the bituminous coal fields of the United States with anything like so large a number of water seals and experience, although a number of other mines are known to have a few bulkheads. More detail will be included herein on the Saxton mine than on the others, as the writers are more familiar with it. General Mining System All three of the mines use the same general panel room-and-pillar system, which consists of rooms turned both ways off room entries and a solid block of coal left on all sides of the completed panel except on the cross-entry side, where a heavier pillar is pierced by two entries for haulage and air. On completion of the panel the two entries arc sealed and the panel is then isolated from the rest of the mine. Owing to water conditions, no pillars are pulled; recovery inside the panel barrier pillars is approximately 65 per cent.

Jan 1, 1938

By H. H. Stoek, G. W. Harries

The term " Anthracite Coal-Field " is generally used to refer to a comparatively small territory lying in the eastern-central part of Pennsylvania. This territory includes about 3,300 sq. miles of area, located chiefly in five counties in which anthracite-mining is the dominant industry. Although an area of 3,300 sq. miles is embraced in the region, less than one-fifth of this area, or only 484 sq. miles, is underlain by workable coal-seams. Moreover, this prorluctive portion is not a continuous area, but consists of a number of detached basins. These are known as the Northern, containing 176 sq. miles; Eastern-Middle, containing 133 sq. miles; Southern, containing 181 sq. miles; and western-Middle,containing 194 sq. miles. From the standpoint of business and trade, the region is divided into three districts, known as (1) the Wyoming, which includes the Northern field and the small Bernice basin; (2) the Lehigh region, which includes all of the Eastern Middle field and that part of the Southern field east of Tamaqua; and (3) the Schuylkill region, which includes the WesL ern-Middle field and that part of the Southern field west of Tamaqua. The relative commercial importance of these districts at the present time is shown by the coal-shipments as given in the following table :

Jan 1, 1904

By J. E. Howard

On Aug. 25, 1911, a rail failed on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, causing a disastrous wreck. The surface of the fracture was in a plane at right angles to the length of the rail. There was a dark-colored, oval spot on this surface, located on the gage side of the head, representing the part of the rail which was the first to fracture. The nucleus of this spot showed that the fracture had an interior origin. Other fractures of this kind, the peripheries of which had not reached the surface of the rail, presented surfaces having a (silvery luster. The darkened surface of the present fracture was caused, doubtless, by the air having had access to it. This fracture was recognized as a fatigue fracture, of a modified type, its interior origin having been due to a component in the rail which is not usually present in cases of fatigue fractures. The metal next the running surface of the head of the rail was in a state of internal compression, this being the component not commonly met with in other cases, and which caused the fracture to have its interior origin. For the purpose of giving this modified type of fatigue fracture a specific name, for identification, the term "transverse fissure" was applied. No mystery was thought to attach to its formation, or to its development. The explanation of its occurrence seemed obvious in the light of common knowledge upon the behavior of steel under repeated alternate stresses.' By reason of the state of internal compression at the running surface, the maximum tensile stresses in the head, ander bending loads, were along an interior element. Here the tensile strains were higher than in the fibers more remote from the neutral axis. Under such conditions the fracture of the rail would be expected to have an interior origin. A discussion of the subject of transverse fissures essentially becomes a discussion of fatigue fractures, since they are believed to be identical. The descriptive term employed, merely for the identification of this type of fatigue fracture, had the appearance of creating alarm. Apprehensions arose that a new phenomenon in the physical properties of steel had presented itself, the explanation of which was sought in every

Jan 1, 1918

By R. J. Cowan

In the art of cementation a controversy has been going on for years as to whether solid or gaseous carbon is the active agent in carburizing steel. More recently opinion has crystallized into a compromise to the effect that carburizing is a gaseous cementation of steel in the presence of solid carbon. The importance of this theory has a particular bearing upon the work to be described. In the art of carburizing, use is commonly made of such words as '' Catalytic" "atomic," "nascent" and "activated," in an attempt to describe the process. These words are used indiscriminately. For instance, the gas is said to be "catalytic" and carbon to be "nascent," or vice versa. In using these expressions, investigators are confirming the acceptance in their minds of the active conditions of both gas and carbon in the cementation process. Reactions at Metal Surfaces For many years attention has been directed to the consideration of reactions that occur on metal surfaces. When heated under the influence of certain metals a complex gas will be broken down and one of the constituents thereof usually found to be very active chemically in combining with the metal. The process of nitriding is an example of this type of reaction. In this case ammonia (NH3) breaks down at the metal surface and the nitrogen which is thus liberated reacts with the surface to form a nitride whereas molecular nitrogen not so liberated is inert and will not react chemically with the metal. Whatever term or terms may be used to describe such reactions, the fact remains that they are highly important and valuable in their commercial applications. Since the metal surface plays so important a part in these reactions, it is evident that any accumulation of reaction products thereon interferes seriously with the progress of the reactions. For this reason it is desirable to remove all such products as rapidly as they are formed in order to bring active gas into contact with the surface and thus facilitate the desired reactions. This is accomplished best by conducting the operation in a continuous manner, thereby causing the reacting gases to pass over the

Jan 1, 1931

By Frederick N. Rhines, William A. Anderson

The investigations of Wymanl have demonstrated that copper deoxidized with several of the commonly used agents that confer immunily to ordinary hydrogen em-brittlement can still be embrittled if it is annealed alternately under oxidizing and reducing conditions. During the oxidizing cycle, oxygen diffuses into the copper and frequently deposits a subscale composed of the oxide of the residual deoxidizing agent. Upon subsequent reduction with hot hydrogen, the copper becomes ruptured along the grain boundaries to a depth sharply limited by the previous penetration of oxygen as delineated by the inner boundary of the subscale. Obviously the sensitivity to this kind of hydrogen embrittlement is engendered by the introduction of oxygen during the oxidizing anneal, but beyond this the mechanism of the process, and hence the controlling factors, remain obscure. There are several possibilities: (I) oxygen dissolved in the copper matrix of the subscale may, upon cooling prior to the hydrogen anneal, precipitate as cuprous oxide which is subsequently reduced by hydrogen as in the familiar case of hydrogen embrittlement; (2) oxygen in solid solution in copper may itself confer susceptibility to embrittlement by hydrogen; (3) the normally refractory oxides such as those of aluminum, silicon and titanium may themselves be reduced by hydrogen when in contact with copper; or (4) the precipitated oxides of the subscale may be complex compounds such, perhaps, as SiO2.Cu2O, which are partially reduced by hydrogen. These possibilities have been examined, and it has been concluded that the first three and possibly the fourth are operative collectively or individually under more or less predictable conditions. Effect OF Precipitated Cuprous Oxide and Dissolved Oxygen The literature provides no definite proof that oxygen in solid solution in copper can confer susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement; indeed, the research of Leiter2 seemed to indicate the opposite—that to produce the effect, cuprous oxide must be present in massive form and in a more or less continuous network along the grain boundaries. To test this point, pure copper has been annealed in hydrogen under conditions designed to ensure the presence in various samples of: (I) precipitated cuprous oxide, (2) dissolved oxygen only, and (3) no oxygen in any form. Very pure copper" said to contain no oxygen and no spectro-scopically detectable traces of any other element (that is, no individual detectable impurity in quantity greater than 0.0001 per cent) was used. Strips of this material cold.-rolled 75 per cent to 1/8 in. in thickness were subjected to the following treatments, the results of which are noted:

Jan 1, 1941

By Frederick N. Rhines, William A. Anderson

The investigations of Wymanl have demonstrated that copper deoxidized with several of the commonly used agents that confer immunily to ordinary hydrogen em-brittlement can still be embrittled if it is annealed alternately under oxidizing and reducing conditions. During the oxidizing cycle, oxygen diffuses into the copper and frequently deposits a subscale composed of the oxide of the residual deoxidizing agent. Upon subsequent reduction with hot hydrogen, the copper becomes ruptured along the grain boundaries to a depth sharply limited by the previous penetration of oxygen as delineated by the inner boundary of the subscale. Obviously the sensitivity to this kind of hydrogen embrittlement is engendered by the introduction of oxygen during the oxidizing anneal, but beyond this the mechanism of the process, and hence the controlling factors, remain obscure. There are several possibilities: (I) oxygen dissolved in the copper matrix of the subscale may, upon cooling prior to the hydrogen anneal, precipitate as cuprous oxide which is subsequently reduced by hydrogen as in the familiar case of hydrogen embrittlement; (2) oxygen in solid solution in copper may itself confer susceptibility to embrittlement by hydrogen; (3) the normally refractory oxides such as those of aluminum, silicon and titanium may themselves be reduced by hydrogen when in contact with copper; or (4) the precipitated oxides of the subscale may be complex compounds such, perhaps, as SiO2.Cu2O, which are partially reduced by hydrogen. These possibilities have been examined, and it has been concluded that the first three and possibly the fourth are operative collectively or individually under more or less predictable conditions. Effect OF Precipitated Cuprous Oxide and Dissolved Oxygen The literature provides no definite proof that oxygen in solid solution in copper can confer susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement; indeed, the research of Leiter2 seemed to indicate the opposite—that to produce the effect, cuprous oxide must be present in massive form and in a more or less continuous network along the grain boundaries. To test this point, pure copper has been annealed in hydrogen under conditions designed to ensure the presence in various samples of: (I) precipitated cuprous oxide, (2) dissolved oxygen only, and (3) no oxygen in any form. Very pure copper" said to contain no oxygen and no spectro-scopically detectable traces of any other element (that is, no individual detectable impurity in quantity greater than 0.0001 per cent) was used. Strips of this material cold.-rolled 75 per cent to 1/8 in. in thickness were subjected to the following treatments, the results of which are noted:

Jan 1, 1941