Search Documents

By David B. Reger

Sharp declines of initial production of both oil and gas occurred in West Virginia during 1943. There was only a small decrease in the number of ncw wells, but these wells did not show the quantities of oil and gas that might have been expected. The same situation prevailed both as to routine drilling in old pools and as to exploratory wildcat wells. Out of 42 wildcats drilled, 19 resulted in small commercial gas wells, and 2 in small commercial oil. No new oil pools were discovered, but the proved limits of several old pools were considerably extended, giving 4200 acres of newly proved oil territory. Three new gas pools, resulting from discoveries made in 1942 and former years, came into definite activity. The newly proved gas territory in these and in various extensions of old pools is 39,000 acres or more. It is doubtful whether the newly proved reserves of either oil or gas will balance current withdrawals. The account of operations, as gathered from trade journals and other reporting services, shows that 696 new wells were drilled, resulting in 82 oil wells with 919 bbl. of daily new production; 475 gas wells with 454,735,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow, and 137 dry holes. Also, 57 old wells were drilled to deeper sands, with 3 bbl. and 11,484,000 cu. it. of added production. On the new wells, the oil average was 11.2 bbl. per well per day, and the gas average was 957,337 cu. ft. per well per day. On new wells the ratio of dry holes to completions was 19.68 per cent. On deeper drilling the ratio of failures was 14.03 per cent. The greatly decreased average initial gas-well production in 1943, as compared with 2,270,406 CU. ft. per well in 1942, is directly attributable to the abrupt decline of completions in the Charleston gas field, which reached its peak in 1942. Production of oil for the year was estimated by the U. S. Rureau of Mines as 3,349,000 bbl., as compared with 3,574,000 bbl. in 1942. Production of natural gas for the year is estimated by the author as 210,000, 000,000 cu. ft., compared with the U. S. Bureau of Mines final figures of 215,193,-000,000 cu. ft.* in 1942.

Jan 1, 1944

By David B. Reger

Sharp declines of initial production of both oil and gas occurred in West Virginia during 1943. There was only a small decrease in the number of ncw wells, but these wells did not show the quantities of oil and gas that might have been expected. The same situation prevailed both as to routine drilling in old pools and as to exploratory wildcat wells. Out of 42 wildcats drilled, 19 resulted in small commercial gas wells, and 2 in small commercial oil. No new oil pools were discovered, but the proved limits of several old pools were considerably extended, giving 4200 acres of newly proved oil territory. Three new gas pools, resulting from discoveries made in 1942 and former years, came into definite activity. The newly proved gas territory in these and in various extensions of old pools is 39,000 acres or more. It is doubtful whether the newly proved reserves of either oil or gas will balance current withdrawals. The account of operations, as gathered from trade journals and other reporting services, shows that 696 new wells were drilled, resulting in 82 oil wells with 919 bbl. of daily new production; 475 gas wells with 454,735,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow, and 137 dry holes. Also, 57 old wells were drilled to deeper sands, with 3 bbl. and 11,484,000 cu. it. of added production. On the new wells, the oil average was 11.2 bbl. per well per day, and the gas average was 957,337 cu. ft. per well per day. On new wells the ratio of dry holes to completions was 19.68 per cent. On deeper drilling the ratio of failures was 14.03 per cent. The greatly decreased average initial gas-well production in 1943, as compared with 2,270,406 CU. ft. per well in 1942, is directly attributable to the abrupt decline of completions in the Charleston gas field, which reached its peak in 1942. Production of oil for the year was estimated by the U. S. Rureau of Mines as 3,349,000 bbl., as compared with 3,574,000 bbl. in 1942. Production of natural gas for the year is estimated by the author as 210,000, 000,000 cu. ft., compared with the U. S. Bureau of Mines final figures of 215,193,-000,000 cu. ft.* in 1942.

Jan 1, 1944

By F. B. JEWETT

TWENTY FIVE years of doing, finding, and encouraging others to do scientific research in' industry, and of organizing the machinery for the` smooth 'and effective conduct of such research, have left me with a feeling that so far as this branch of human activity is concerned the problems in 'essence are- not, materially 'different from those met elsewhere. Years ago, in a less mature period of life, I may have thought that the effective industrial research man was a being somewhat different from his fellow workers in adjacent 'fields, but I have long since 'changed my views. The rank and' file of the modern industrial research organization are relatively easy to find, though some¬times difficult to get in sufficient numbers. Mistakes in choosing them are not particularly serious to the or¬ganization, however unfortunate they may be for the misplaced individual who persists too long in the wrong environment. The reason for this is obvious from the fact that, taken by and large, the work of the rank and file is at best necessarily a work of detail done under guidance of the more experienced. In this respect the situation of the rank and file in an industrial research organization is not different from that class in any other group activity, whether concerned with industry, the university, or the church. This does not mean, however, that we are not all anxious to have the best possible material obtainable in the rank and file, or that we are indifferent to the utmost of encouragement and stimulation to its individual members.

Jan 1, 1929

By G. S. Hume

As predicted a year ago, owing to the discovery in 1936 of crude oil on the west flank of the south end of Tuner Valley in the eastern foothills of Alberta, 50 miles southwest of Calgary, and the drilling activity that resulted, the production of crude oil in Canada during 1937 showed a very substantial increase over the previous year. The production from other parts of Canada is relatively small and shows slight variations only from year to year. The production of crude oil in Canada and the production in Alberta, the main producing Province, is shown in Tables 1 and 2.

Jan 1, 1938

By F. C. Miller

THE metallurgical fuel of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico has been a very tardy member in the caravan of western industrial progress. The history of western coke has naturally been closely related to the development of the metallurgy of iron and steel and the precious metals, in the State of Colorado. It was at Leadville, with a population of 300 in 1877, that the Sentinel was published by Richard S. Allen. The Sentinel gave very full accounts of the various mineral discoveries at the new town of Leadville, which found their, way to the more widely circulated journals of the East, and attracted the attention of many people. At the close of 1878, a census showed a total of 5040 persons. The first smelter was established in 1877, at Malta, two miles from Leadville, by A. R. Meyer, but was not successful. It was succeeded by the Harrison Reduction Works, in 1878. The La Plata began with one furnace in June, 1878, and in 1879 had four furnaces in active operation. These furnaces used charcoal for fuel, and, because of hot tops, suffered a tremendous loss in lead and silver. This difficulty was overcome by the erection of 50 single-bank 10-ft. beehive ovens at Crested Butte, Colo., in 1880. The slack coal sent to these ovens was very pure, and yielded a coke carrying as little as 4.5 per cent. ash. Among the pioneers in the Leadville district were Grant, Eddy, James, Billings, Eiler, and Dickson. To these men the West owes the present expansion of its mining industry, and the erection of metallurgical processes for the treatment of precious metals.

Jan 8, 1918

By William G. Krantz

The increased service demands on some of the products of the National Mallcable Castings Co. prompted it about eight years ago to investigate the electric furnace, both in America and in Europe. The process had already been sufficiently developed in Europe to lead us to believe that the electric furnace would most nearly meet our requirements. After further investigation and consultation with the highest authorities on the subject, we decided upon the Heroult type as the simplest and most practicable. In 1910, we built a furnace of this type, of 300 Ib. capacity, for experimental purposes, and although it was crudely constructed the quality of the material we were able to make justified the installation of a 6-ton Heroult furnace in 1912. This furnace has three electrodes, 17 in. in diameter, uses three-phase, 60-cycle current, and is equipped with Thury regulators, which give US good regulation and a uniform load on the line even when cold melting. The power factor of the furnace is 04 per cent. Since July, 1912, the furnace has been in continuous operation, producing up to the present time over 20,000 tons of both carbon and alloy steels of varying analyses and of exceptional quality. Both cold-and hot-metal charges have been used, with a power consumption of about 150 kw-hr. per ton in the case of hot-metal charges and from 500 to 600 kw-hr. per ton in the case of cold charges. The electric energy consumed varies according to the final analysis of the steel and the amount of refining required. Too much cannot be said about the refining possibilities of the electric furnace, for no other method of steel manufacture can compete with the electric in this respect. In proper operation lies the whole secret of success. That steel has been made electrically means nothing, for when the furnace is operated under oxidizing conditions the quality is no better than that of open-hearth material; but when properly made, electric steel is as good as

Jan 1, 1916

By R. V. Whetsel, V. R. Gargias, J. W. Ristori

WoRld consumption of petroleum and its substitutes in 1941, the amount of which obviously is largely conjectural, is estimated at 2,066,653,000 bbl. This is 48,689,000 bbl. more than the previous year and is an all-time high. Except for the United States, this figure does not include consumption for military purposes. Consumption in the United States also reached an all-time high during 1941, totaling 1,492,000,000 bbl., or 158,230,000 bbl. more than the previous peak year of 1940. On the other hand, it is estimated that civil consumption in countries outside of the United States decreased 109,541,ooo bbl. as compared with the previous year. Demand for military purposes and/or additions to stocks in countries outside of the United States is estimated at 304,507,000 bbl. during 1941, compared with 209,635,000 bbl. in 1940. This increase was due largely to blitzkrieg warfare on several fronts. especially Russia; entailing large expenditures of petroleum by both sides because of the immense area covered by the fighting forces, the long supply lines necessary and the intensity of the fighting. It is interesting to note in this connection that Axis-controlled countries, excluding Japan, had an estimated production of approximately 89,000,000 bbl. of petroleum and its substitutes in 1941. The peacetime consumption of these countries in 1938, for example, was about 183,000,000 bbl. It is believed that the minimum to which civil consumption could possibly be re-duced in wartime is 20 per cent of that of peacetime, which would call for a minimum consumption of 37,000,000 bbl. in these countries in 1941 for civil purposes. This

Jan 1, 1942

By V. R. Gargias, J. W. Ristori, R. V. Whetsel

WoRld consumption of petroleum and its substitutes in 1941, the amount of which obviously is largely conjectural, is estimated at 2,066,653,000 bbl. This is 48,689,000 bbl. more than the previous year and is an all-time high. Except for the United States, this figure does not include consumption for military purposes. Consumption in the United States also reached an all-time high during 1941, totaling 1,492,000,000 bbl., or 158,230,000 bbl. more than the previous peak year of 1940. On the other hand, it is estimated that civil consumption in countries outside of the United States decreased 109,541,ooo bbl. as compared with the previous year. Demand for military purposes and/or additions to stocks in countries outside of the United States is estimated at 304,507,000 bbl. during 1941, compared with 209,635,000 bbl. in 1940. This increase was due largely to blitzkrieg warfare on several fronts. especially Russia; entailing large expenditures of petroleum by both sides because of the immense area covered by the fighting forces, the long supply lines necessary and the intensity of the fighting. It is interesting to note in this connection that Axis-controlled countries, excluding Japan, had an estimated production of approximately 89,000,000 bbl. of petroleum and its substitutes in 1941. The peacetime consumption of these countries in 1938, for example, was about 183,000,000 bbl. It is believed that the minimum to which civil consumption could possibly be re-duced in wartime is 20 per cent of that of peacetime, which would call for a minimum consumption of 37,000,000 bbl. in these countries in 1941 for civil purposes. This

Jan 1, 1942

By S. L. Couling, G. W. Pearsall

MOTT and Hainesl have summarized the available techniques for the examination of aluminum and some anisotropic metals under polarized light. Many of these techniques are rather complicated and cumbersome. This note presents a simplified procedure for using polarized light to obtain information about the crystallographic orientation of any particular grain in a magnesium alloy. Since other hexagonal metals are more anisotropic than magnesium, similar methods might well be applied to them. Ernst and Laves2 produced a double-refracting layer on magnesium alloy specimens by SuCCeSSiVe etches in solutions of perchloric acid in alcohol, magnesium perchlorate in perchloric acid and alcohol, and calcium and magnesium carbonates in water. They examined their specimens under polarized light and were able to determine the direction of the hexagonal axis in any particular grain from a measurement of the extinction behavior of that grain. The disadvantages of their technique were the complexity of the etching procedure and the explosive hazard of the perchloric acid-alcohol solutions. Results equivalent to those of Ernst and Laves were obtained in this investigation after etching specimens for 6 to 8 sec in an acetic picral solution containing 100 parts 6 pct picral, 10 parts distilled water and. 5 parts acetic acid. A. similar etch has been used by George3 in earlier metallographic

Jan 1, 1958

By David T. Day

In 1897 I published a proposed explanation for the variation in color and specific gravity of Pennsylvania oils. A resume of this subject mas also presented at the First International Petroleum Congress, in Paris, in 1900. Since that time

Jan 1, 1911

By Dorsey Hager

THE possibility of oil and gas production in Alabama has been little considered as yet. Gas and some oil have been found in northwestern Alabama, near Birmingham, in the Pennsylvanian beds, but the oil and gas possibilities in the Cretaceous beds are not generally appreciated. The recent activity of oil companies in that State has attracted much attention, and in this paper the main structural and the general stratigraphic features are described. Four favorable areas are outlined. These contain folds of major interest. There are other favorable areas which have not been mapped. Commercial pools discovered in this area would have the advantage of being near tidewater. Mobile, Ala., on the Gulf, of Mexico, would be the logical site for refineries and shipping facilities. A pipe line could readily be laid to that city from the Hatchitigbee and the Jackson areas. The logical outlet for the Geneva and the Gordon areas would be Panama City, Fla., on the Gulf of Mexico.

Jan 2, 1918

By Brandon H. Grove

In Austria's only producing field, at Zistersdorf, Erdoel Produktions-gesellschaft completed a single new producer, its well Gosting 6 coming in early in October for an average production of about 15 tons daily. For further testing within the proved part of the field this company's Gosting 7 was at the close of the year drilling in Pannonian strata at 760 m., and its Gosting 8 was rigging up. Outside of the proved area of the Zistersdorf field two further tests located on the Steinberg dome failed to find production in the known oil-bearing strata of the Sarmatian, and were deepened as wildcats into the Cretaceous Flysch. The first of these, Neusiedel 1, about one kilometer north of the known producing area, found oil in the Flysch beds at a depth of 1290 m. for an initial production of about 10 tons per day. The second test, Windisch Baumgarten la, is an old well previously considered a failure, which when deepened achieved a production of about 5 tons per day in the Flysch Inoceramus beds at 985 m. Neither of the foregoing wells is producing from a stratigraphically definable horizon, oil accumulation in the Flysch of this area being apparently controlled by tectonic breccias or related crevices.

Jan 1, 1937

By M. D. Voegele, C. Fairhurst

INTRODUCTION A computer study of excavation support loads in tunnels and other excavations in discontinuous rock masses was undertaken with the distinct element method introduced by Cundall (1971). In the distinct element method the rock mass is modeled as a composition of individual blocks of rock defined by the joint planes. Normal and shear deformation laws are ascribed to the joint surfaces; the blocks of rock themselves are considered to be rigid. The particular version of the program utilized in this study ran a mini computer and used inter, active techniques for the input of geometrical data such as joint orientation and spacing and subsequent display of rock mass deformation and other data. Two major aspects of the behavior of excavations in jointed rock masses are examined in this paper: i) the behavior of unsupported excavations in rock masses with varying joint configuration, joint properties and in situ stress fields; and ii) the modification of the behavior of similar excavations when support is provided. In the latter case the excavation behavior was examined through the use of ground reaction curves. THE DISTINCT ELEMENT METHOD The Distinct Element method introduced by Cundall (1971) is a computer based analysis that simulates the behavior of a system of discrete, semi-rigid rock blocks. Block interactions are governed by realistic friction and stiffness laws; each block may undergo unlimited displacement and rotation while progressive failure is modeled.

Jan 1, 1982

By David H. Carlson, John H. Johnson

The paper presents background information, a description of mine characteristics that affect air monitoring techniques, and a review of Portable measurement techniques and instruments for gas and particulate matter sampling. A general review of the laboratory and field research being conducted at Michigan Technological University in the area of diesel emissions is presented. The facilities involved with this research are also described. These are the experimental mine, the diesel dilution tunnel test cell, the mine air monitoring lab (MAML), portable instruments, and the production mines used.

Jan 1, 1982

By T. S. Lundy, F. R. Winslow

DIFFUSION coefficients of Hf181 in the high-tem-perature bcc phase of reactor-grade hafnium were determined at temperatures of 1795° to 1995°C by standard lathe-sectioning techniques. The temperature dependence of the data may be described by an Arrhenius-type expression for this limited temperature interval. However, hafnium is classed with the "anomalous" bcc metals zirconium, titanium, and y uranium by the low values of Do and Q observed in this study. The hafnium metal was received as 1/2-in.-diameter crystal bar. Analyses by the Analytical Chemistry Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory showed the major impurity to be zirconium— about 2.1 pct. The total interstitial content was about 225 ppm with 190 ppm of this oxygen. The Hf"' was supplied as HfC12 in HC1 solution by the Isotopes Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The hafnium bar was cut into disk-shaped specimens 3/8 in. long. One of the flat faces of each specimen was metallographically treated and then the isotope was deposited by vacuum evaporation from a tungsten filament. A 3 by 3 in. NaI (Tl) crystal with a single-channel analyzer was used for counting y rays with energies of 0.3 to 0.7 Mev. The as-deposited layers of isotope had counting rates of about 200 counts per sec. Specimens were annealed in argon in a tantalum resistance furnace. Temperatures were measured with a microoptical pyrometer calibrated for the particular furnace sighting conditions. All sectioning was done by standard lathe techniques. Section weights were determined on a semimicrobalance. A density of 12.5 g per cu cm was used in determinations of section thicknesses. Activities associated with the various sections were measured and the penetration data were treated using the computer code by winslow.' In all cases, except for specimens annealed at temperatures below 1795°C, normal Gaussian penetration behavior resulted. At lower temperatures, plots of In A(x) vs x2 were nonlinear [~(x) = relative activity at a distance x from the

Jan 1, 1965

By Walter Riethmeier, Arthur J. Lynch

The future of plant design in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy is discussed in relation to present trends and the future need to build plants that will treat larger tonnages and lower grades of ore. The future equipment and plant design of crushing, grinding, screening, classification, flotation, magnetic concentration, gravity concentration, hydrometallurgy, thickening, filtration, tailings disposal, health, safety, environment, and materials of construction are discussed. Future plants are expected to follow upon present evolutionary trends. The impact of escalation, energy costs, and increased regulation of the industry is foreseen as a major influence on plant design.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. H. Frye, C. P. Sun

A PRIMARY substitutional solid solution is a solution that has the same crystalline structure as the solvent metal, and in which solute atoms have replaced solvent atoms at random on the host lattice. This replacement usually results in an increase in hardness as measured by conventional penetration tests. The factors controlling this hardness increase have been investigated in some detail for copper and silver aneys.1-5 It has been shown that at least, four factors are involved: (I) concentration of solute, (2) row of the periodic table from which the solute is taken, (3) increase in lattice parameter of the solvent produced by the solute, and (4) work-hardening produced by penetration of the hardness indenter.2,4 The last factor is of the utmost importance. An investigation of the available data2.4 leads to the conclusion that the solutes that produce large hardness increases in copper or silver do so principally because they increase the rate of work-hardening. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether any solute produces appreciable hardening in the absence of plastic deformation and hence work-hardening. Thus it is clear that an understanding of the effect of solutes on rate of work hardening is essential to an understanding of the hardness of solid solutions. This effect of solutes is also important in forming operations such as rolling or deep drawing. The presence of elements that confer rapid rates of work-hardening will increase power consumption and may well decrease the amount of deformation possible between anneals. This paper is the report of an investigation of the factors that control rates of work-hardening in copper and silver solid solutions. The silver and copper alloys considered are those in which all solutes are from the B subgroups or second short period of the periodic table. Experience with hardness, with structure of alloys, and with electrical conductivity has proved that results of a fundamental nature are most likely to be obtained if alloys are made up on the basis of the positions of the constituent elements in the periodic table. In previous work, Meyer analysis data on high-purity copper and silver solid solutions were obtained through careful measurements with fully calibrated equipment and these data were corrected to correspond to a standard grain size. From these corrected Meyer analysis data rates of work-hardening have now been calculated. CALCULATION OF RATES OF WORK- HARDENING The Meyer analyses, on which this study of rates of work-hardening is based, consisted in determining impression

Jan 1, 1944

By John T. Galey

The restrictions placed on drilling by the Federal Government, which caused a severe curtailment in activity at the beginning of the year, were relaxed somewhat so as to permit the drilling of one shallow† gas well per 40 acres. New wells numbering 574† were drilled for a combined depth of nearly 1,500,000 It., and of this number 131 were dry holes with a footage of slightly over 375,000. Inside locations account for the majority of these totals and the increasing demand for natural gas would normally have increased the number considerably, but many of the independent operators chose to ask for fewer exceptions to Order M-68 of the Office of Production Management, and consequently to curtail the number of wells drilled. Initial open flow of natural gas developed from all operations§ is over 230 million cu. ft. Nearly 191 million cu. ft. of this volume resulted from the 410 new gas wells drilled to horizons above the Lower Devonian, and the footage drilled in these wells accounts for approximately 93 per cent of the total. Shallow Development Oil.—Thirty oil, wells, with a total initial production of slightly over 152 bbl. and a footage of 50.000, were drilled during the § Including deepening wells previously drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By John T. Galey

The restrictions placed on drilling by the Federal Government, which caused a severe curtailment in activity at the beginning of the year, were relaxed somewhat so as to permit the drilling of one shallow† gas well per 40 acres. New wells numbering 574† were drilled for a combined depth of nearly 1,500,000 It., and of this number 131 were dry holes with a footage of slightly over 375,000. Inside locations account for the majority of these totals and the increasing demand for natural gas would normally have increased the number considerably, but many of the independent operators chose to ask for fewer exceptions to Order M-68 of the Office of Production Management, and consequently to curtail the number of wells drilled. Initial open flow of natural gas developed from all operations§ is over 230 million cu. ft. Nearly 191 million cu. ft. of this volume resulted from the 410 new gas wells drilled to horizons above the Lower Devonian, and the footage drilled in these wells accounts for approximately 93 per cent of the total. Shallow Development Oil.—Thirty oil, wells, with a total initial production of slightly over 152 bbl. and a footage of 50.000, were drilled during the § Including deepening wells previously drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By B. H. G. Brady, C. M. St. John

Computational schemes for analysis of rock mass response to excavation, loading and other imposed changes, are employed pervasively in rock mechanics practice. Applications range in complexity from determination of stress and displacement distributions around openings, to prediction of the thermo-hydromechanical behaviour of a saturated fissured mass. While this may be taken as apparent sophistication in rock mechanics design activity, the indiscriminate use of computer methods may sometimes conceal inferior and inadequate engineering procedures. These inadequacies may not always be recognized, due to the general uncertainties which are inherent in rock mechanics investigations. This paper seeks to identify some common deficiencies in rock mechanics applications of computational schemes, and to propose ways of eliminating them. It also indicates some specific developments and applications of computational procedures, which are required to address persistent design problems in geomechanics practice.

Jan 1, 1982