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By Maurice Rey, Victor Formanek, Paul Chataignon

IT is found when floating oxidized lead ores by sulphidization, that the presence of calcium salts in the water, is usually detrimental and lowers the recovery. This effect is particularly marked in dry countries such as North Africa, where the waters often carry large amounts of calcium sulphate and where the ore may even contain gypsum. The effect of calcium salts is readily visible. Whereas in their absence cerussite is quickly stained brown and then black by sodium sulphide, in their presence the mineral remains very light in color. A similar effect is produced when barium sulphide is used as a sulphidizing agent instead of sodium sulphide. Magnesium salts have little or no effect and even tend to reduce the detrimental effect of calcium salts. A study of this phenomenon indicates that it is due to the precipitation of calcium or barium carbonate in contact with the mineral simultaneously with the formation of lead sulphide. The chemical reactions can be interpreted as: PbCO3 + Na2S = PbS + Na2CO3 CaSO4 + Na2CO3 = CaCO3 + Na2 SO4 They might also be written: PbCO3 + S = + Ca++ = PbS + CaCO3 The precipitation of calcium carbonate can be followed by the lowering of the pH with which it is accompanied. Magnesium carbonate is more soluble than calcium carbonate and usually does not precipitate under the conditions prevailing. It is interesting to note that calcium salts have no effect on anglesite (lead sulphate) because calcium sulphate is soluble, but barium salts hinder the sulphidization of anglesite because of the precipitation of barium sulphate. Remedies When calcium sulphate is present in large amounts, the softening of the water with soda ash is usually too expensive to be considered, but the precipitation of the objectionable calcium carbonate can be prevented in two different ways. One is the use of sodium hydrosulphide instead of sodium sulphide. This salt gives a lower pH than sodium sulphide and does not bring about the immediate precipitation of the calcium which remains in solution as calcium bicarbonate. The other procedure is to add ammonium salts such as the sulphate or chloride which have the property of increasing markedly the solubility of calcium carbonate. Ammonium salts have other effects such as cutting down conditioning time and accelerating flotation. They should be added to the flotation cells rather than to the ball mills. Table I. Effect of Sodium Hydrosulphide and/or Ammonium Sulphate on the Flotation of Two Oxidized Lead Ores Mibladen Ore4 La Plagne Ored Con- Tall- Con- Tail-centrate ing centrate ing Reagents Pb, Pct Pb, Pct Pb, Pct Pb, Pot Without addition of CaSO, NaS 56.0 0.68 43.4 0.65 NaSH 56.2 0.60 40.4 0.50 Na2S + (NH4)2SO4d 54.6 0.56 NaSH + (NH4)2SO4d 43.0 0.66 With addition of 40 lb/ton CaSO4 Na2S 39.4 3.85 34.0 3.21 NaSH 49.1 0.70 49.6 0.88 Na2S + (NH4)2SO4d 53.9 0.85 NaSH + (NH4)2SO4d 51.0 0.45 41.1 0.78 In table I are given the results of representative tests on two different oxidized ores. They show that the strongly detrimental effects of calcium sulphate can be offset by the two procedures outlined above. Sodium hydrosulphide is now used regularly on a mill scale on certain ores. Tests are being carried out with ammonium salts. It should be noted that malachite is subject to influences similar to cerussite. One final word of caution—when the ore is rich in primary slime, which is flocculated by the calcium salts, it may be indispensable to remove these by washing or precipitation with sodium carbonate instead of keeping them in solution by the above methods. Acknowledgment We wish to thank Socibtk Miniere & Metallurgique de Penarroya and Minerais et Metaux, for permission to publish these results.

Jan 1, 1951

By John V. Beall

Probably it won't happen to us again in a thousand years, but it was very embarassing at the time. It is only because of certain matters that have come up this month that we tell you at all about it. At the beginning of our trip to Peru and Chile last summer, we were flying with Bill Haddon from Lima to Tacna aboard Fawcett. Being an old hand at foreign travel, particularly in South America, we felt obliged to explain some of the special features of travel in Latin America and the niceties of etiquette in particular and were so engaged when the plane landed at the airport. We led the way briskly into the terminal, expecting at any moment to have a representative of Southern Peru Copper pop up and present himself. However, this didn't happen so we repaired to the baggage arrival station to wait. All the bags were quickly picked up, but ours were no where to be seen. Bill was slightly agitated because the plane was being buttoned up for take off. However, rising to the emergency with our usual aplomb, we took charge of the situation. Brandishing the claim checks under the nose of the porter who pointed to them and said, "si, Tacna," we nodded briskly and in our serviceable Spanish said "si se[n]or, vayase viejo, rapido." He was off and back with our suitcases quickly enough.

Jan 1, 1970

On June 15, Dr. E. E. Southard gave the following report to the Advisory Committee on Industrial Mental Hygiene of the. Engineering Foundation. Psychiatric social work, a new specialty in social work, was the topic of several section meetings (500-600 in attendance) at the National Conference for Social Work, held at Atlantic City, June 1-6. The new specialty was stated, by Dr. R. C. Cabot, to be the greatest single advance in medical social work since its establishment. Reports from three schools (Smith, New York, Philadelphia) indicate a good production rate of personnel, probably at least one hundred a; year, chiefly to be absorbed by hospitals, unless industrial psychiatry steps into the field. No detailed public announcements concerning industrial psychiatry were made; but private discussions elicited approval only for the program. Indications are that many non-medical social workers will decide to get additional training to go into medical social work and then to specialize in psychiatric social work and that many medical social workers will desire to specialize in psychiatric social work, with a view partly to entering reconstruction work, partly to entering industrial psychiatry. Suggestion has been made that psychiatric social workers may go into some kinds of, employment management and may look for special courses to that end. Evidence. has been brought that certain "compensated" psychopathic employees have been good (even very good) workmen: emphasis should be laid on this point to show the constructive aspect of industrial psychiatry:

Jan 8, 1919

By George Evans

DURING the past ten or twelve years, the average reader of newspaper and magazine articles has been led to believe that enormous deposits of high-grade coal exist in the northland and that these can be mined for practically nothing. But much of the reputed glitter and attractiveness of Alaskan coals disappears when viewed at close range. Many areas of coal-bearing rocks are widely distributed geographically from Cape Lisburne, on Bering Sea, to Admiralty Island south of Juneau. Bituminous coal is found at Cape Lisburne, on the Bering Sea, at Five Finger Rapids on the upper Yukon, and at Herendeen Bay and Chignik Bay; lignite is found on the Kobuck River, along the Yukon River from points near the mouth to Tonakat, near Rampart, at Dawson, on the east shore of Cook Inlet, and in the Tanana Valley, 50 mi. south of Nenana. The Susitna and Matanuska Valleys contain coal ranging from lignite to anthracite, and in the Bering Lake district, there are coals ranging from semi-bituminous to anthracite. No effort will be made to describe all of these fields, but the writer wile confine himself to the four principal fields, namely, the Nenana field, in. the interior of Alaska, tributary to the Fairbanks district; the Matanuska, field, in the Matanuska Valley; the Kachemak Bay field on the east shore of Cook Inlet; and the Bering River field, east of the mouth of Copper River.

Jan 2, 1921

By J. R. Low

The brittle fracture of a Tic-lnconel cermet at room temperature is shown to occur primarily as a result of the cracking of the larger carbide particles (at a tensile strain of approximately 0.3 pct), followed by cracking of adjacent, smaller carbides and, finally, by the rupture of the lnconel matrix between cracked carbides (at a strain of-1.2 pct). No evidence was found for separation at the interface between carbide and matrix at any point in the fracture process. MATERIAL used in this study was a Tic-Inconel cermet prepared by infiltration (50 pct Tic, 50 pct Inconel: designated as TC66-I). A thin section of this material was brazed to a piece of low carbon steel and then mounted in lucite for metal-lographic preparation." After grinding, polishing, Deformation and fracture of the specimen was accomplished by bending the specimen as a simply supported, centrally loaded beam, in a bending fixture which could be placed in the stage of a microscope, with the tension side of the bend specimen under the microscope objective.? This method of deformation and observation has the advantage that the surface under examination is the most severely deformed portion of the specimen. The procedure followed was to deform the specimen a small amount, scan the surface at Xl OOO for any evidence of deformation or cracking, deform another small increment, scan the surface again, and so on until a

Jan 1, 1957

By Shiou-Chuan Sun, R. F. Wesner, J. D. Morgan

0. C. Ralston and F. Fraas—Dr. Sun and associates have presented an interesting paper not all of which is comprehended by us. The data assembled measure the deflections of particles in an electrostatic field as a function of a number of independent variables and some dependent variables that are not sharply differentiated. These data are all based on a Johnson type machine of definite, well-described geometry, something not often done in electrostatic separation literature. One new fact brought out by this technique is the effect of coal dust on admixed pyrite and quartz. The effects are opposite in character, as should be expected and we do not agree with the authors that these effects are negligible. Fraas' also used a multiple cell "distribution analyzer" and gives in fig. 5 of his paper a straight line plot with no humps or curves. This is not necessarily at variance with Sun's results because Fraas used a larger gap between electrodes and had no evidence of particles adhering to or dropping off the charged electrode. The section of Sun's paper on effect of surface conductivity contains a speculation that the dielectric constant "represents more or less the electrical conductance of the bulk body instead of the surface of the mineral particles." A simple picture of the meaning of the dielectric constant is that it is the specific inductive capacity of a dielectric when used as the dielectric between the plates of a condenser. It is at once evident that the above speculation confuses capacity with conductance—two definitely independent variables. We ask the authors to state in what group or subdivision their garnet belongs; what method and units were used in calculating the data of col. A, table I and their meaning; what was the temperature of the carrier roll and, finally, has any effort been made to investigate the effects of particle shape on distribution in the electrostatic field? S. B. Hudson—I have read this article with great interest. We have been engaged in research work on the principles of electrostatic separation in this laboratory for some time now, and our findings agree with those of the authors in many respects. The article shows evidence of careful and valuable research in the field of electrostatic separation. A "distribution analyser," very similar to that described in an earlier article by one of the authors," was incorporated in an inclined plate-type electrostatic separator designed and built in the Melbourne University laboratory in 1948 for investigation purposes.22 The actual splitting edges were machined from y! in. per-spex, and the paper hoppers were supported on linen thread immediately below the perspex dividers. These dividers fitted into machined slots in a framework to give accurate Yz-in. spacings. The hoppers (staggered) fed directly into a rack of test tubes, which is supported on a vertical pantograph arrangement. The rack was positioned with guides on the horizontal pantograph stand, and this ensured positive alignment when replacing the rack after making weighings. In later work, when much heavier feed rates were used, of the order of 30 to 40 Ib per in. per hr a rack fitted with rectangular metal containers and similarly aligned was used. Some work was done here on comparing the distributions of minerals when passed separately and when passed as a mixture, and it was found that there was quite an appreciable difference in the two results.= However, in our separator the particles do not pass down the plate in a single layer, and this difference is probably caused by collisions of one mineral particles with the other mineral particles. In most of the investigational work here, the change of the center point of the distribution is measured to establish the effect of a variable, such as voltage. Two minerals (zircon and rutile) have been studied rather exhaustively, and it was found that their distributions are very nearly normal. Owing to the sharpness of the distribution curves, the usual method of obtaining the mean or median was inaccurate, and was not used; instead the mean (also the median), calculated on the assumption of a normal distribution, was used to locate the center point of each distribution and proved satisfactory. The effect of polarity becomes very apparent in the plate-type separator where frictional charges play a very important part when using highly resistive minerals such as zircon. With rutile, a comparatively conductive mineral, polarity of the electrode has little effect. On the other hand, the magnitude of the voltage has a far greater effect on conductive than on resistive minerals. Shiou-Chuan Sun (authors' reply)—Thanks are extended to Drs. Ralston and Fraas for their keen interest in this paper. Their questions concerning coal dust,

Jan 1, 1951

By Shiou-Chuan Sun, R. F. Wesner, J. D. Morgan

0. C. Ralston and F. Fraas—Dr. Sun and associates have presented an interesting paper not all of which is comprehended by us. The data assembled measure the deflections of particles in an electrostatic field as a function of a number of independent variables and some dependent variables that are not sharply differentiated. These data are all based on a Johnson type machine of definite, well-described geometry, something not often done in electrostatic separation literature. One new fact brought out by this technique is the effect of coal dust on admixed pyrite and quartz. The effects are opposite in character, as should be expected and we do not agree with the authors that these effects are negligible. Fraas' also used a multiple cell "distribution analyzer" and gives in fig. 5 of his paper a straight line plot with no humps or curves. This is not necessarily at variance with Sun's results because Fraas used a larger gap between electrodes and had no evidence of particles adhering to or dropping off the charged electrode. The section of Sun's paper on effect of surface conductivity contains a speculation that the dielectric constant "represents more or less the electrical conductance of the bulk body instead of the surface of the mineral particles." A simple picture of the meaning of the dielectric constant is that it is the specific inductive capacity of a dielectric when used as the dielectric between the plates of a condenser. It is at once evident that the above speculation confuses capacity with conductance—two definitely independent variables. We ask the authors to state in what group or subdivision their garnet belongs; what method and units were used in calculating the data of col. A, table I and their meaning; what was the temperature of the carrier roll and, finally, has any effort been made to investigate the effects of particle shape on distribution in the electrostatic field? S. B. Hudson—I have read this article with great interest. We have been engaged in research work on the principles of electrostatic separation in this laboratory for some time now, and our findings agree with those of the authors in many respects. The article shows evidence of careful and valuable research in the field of electrostatic separation. A "distribution analyser," very similar to that described in an earlier article by one of the authors," was incorporated in an inclined plate-type electrostatic separator designed and built in the Melbourne University laboratory in 1948 for investigation purposes.22 The actual splitting edges were machined from y! in. per-spex, and the paper hoppers were supported on linen thread immediately below the perspex dividers. These dividers fitted into machined slots in a framework to give accurate Yz-in. spacings. The hoppers (staggered) fed directly into a rack of test tubes, which is supported on a vertical pantograph arrangement. The rack was positioned with guides on the horizontal pantograph stand, and this ensured positive alignment when replacing the rack after making weighings. In later work, when much heavier feed rates were used, of the order of 30 to 40 Ib per in. per hr a rack fitted with rectangular metal containers and similarly aligned was used. Some work was done here on comparing the distributions of minerals when passed separately and when passed as a mixture, and it was found that there was quite an appreciable difference in the two results.= However, in our separator the particles do not pass down the plate in a single layer, and this difference is probably caused by collisions of one mineral particles with the other mineral particles. In most of the investigational work here, the change of the center point of the distribution is measured to establish the effect of a variable, such as voltage. Two minerals (zircon and rutile) have been studied rather exhaustively, and it was found that their distributions are very nearly normal. Owing to the sharpness of the distribution curves, the usual method of obtaining the mean or median was inaccurate, and was not used; instead the mean (also the median), calculated on the assumption of a normal distribution, was used to locate the center point of each distribution and proved satisfactory. The effect of polarity becomes very apparent in the plate-type separator where frictional charges play a very important part when using highly resistive minerals such as zircon. With rutile, a comparatively conductive mineral, polarity of the electrode has little effect. On the other hand, the magnitude of the voltage has a far greater effect on conductive than on resistive minerals. Shiou-Chuan Sun (authors' reply)—Thanks are extended to Drs. Ralston and Fraas for their keen interest in this paper. Their questions concerning coal dust,

Jan 1, 1951

By Bernard S. Borie

THE U-A1 binary system has been studied by Kaufmann and Gordon.' They have shown that three intermetallic compounds occur in the system: UAl², UAl², and a third compound tentatively identified as UA15. UA1³ is simple cubic, a, = 4.26A. Its unit cell contains one formula weight, and it is iso-morphous with AuCu³. UA1² is face-centered cubic, a, = 7.72A, with eight formula weights per unit cell. Rundle and Wilson have shown that it is iso-morphous with Cu²Mg.² A Debye-Scherrer pattern of the Al-rich compound indicated a more complex structure than either UA1² or UA1³. The following is a report of an investigation of the crystal structure of this compound and a determination of its stoi-chiometric formula. A melt of uranium (99.9 pct pure) and aluminum (99.9 pct pure) was prepared which contained about 25 pct U by weight. It was cooled from 950" to 650°C at a rate of 500" per hr and then taken from the furnace and air cooled. An X-ray diffraction pattern of the ingot showed only lines of aluminum and the Al-rich compound. Filings from the ingot were reacted with a solution of sodium hydroxide, producing a fine black powder, the diffraction pattern of which showed no traces of aluminum. A comparison of the Debye-Scherrer pattern of our sample with the data published by Kaufmann and Gordon1 showed that it is identical with the Al-rich phase which they reported. Single crystals were obtained by cooling the melt more slowly (about 50°C per hr). After reaction with sodium hydroxide, the crystals appeared as small black needles attached to the ingot surface. Cell Size, Space Group, and Uranium Positions A series of Weissenberg photographs for rotation about two of the crystallographic axes, taken with copper radiation filtered through nickel foil, revealed an orthorhombic cell of dimensions: a = 4.41 ± 0.02A b = 6.27 ± 0.02A c = 13.71 ± 0.03A Reflections of the type hkl were observed only if: h + k + I = 2n, of the type hkO only if: h = 2n and k = 2n, of the type h01 only if: h + 1 = 2n, and of the type Okl only if: k + 1=2n. Hence, the cell is body-centered with an 001 glide plane. The evidence for the existence of the glide plane is the observed extinction of 23 possible re- flections of the type hkO with at least one index odd. There are only two space groups consistent with these data: C"" — I2ma and D28 2h — Imma.³ he possible sets of atomic positions for these space groups are: 12ma: (0 0 0; ½ ½ ½) + 4: (a) x 0 %; x % % (b) x ¼ z; x ¾ Z 8: (c) x y z; x y z; x, ½ + y, Z x, M - y, z Imma: (0 0 0; ½ ½ ½) + 4: (a) 0 0 0; 0 ½ 0 (b) 0 0 ½; 0 ½ ½ (c) ¼ ¼ ¼; ¾ ¼ ¼ (d) ¼ ¾ ¾ ; ¾ ¾ % (e) 0 ¾ Z; 0 ¾ z 8: (f) x 0 0; x 0 0; x 1/2 0; x ½ 0 (g) ¼ Y ¼; ¾ Y ¾; ¾ y ¼; 1 y ¼ (h) 0 y z; 0; ;; 0, ½ + y, z; 0, l/2 - Y, Z (i) x 1/4 z; x ¾ z; ¼ z; x ¾ z 16: (j) xy z; x y z; x y z; x y z; x, ½ + y, Z; x,½ - y, z; x, ½ - y, z; 11 1, + y,Z Though density measurements on different samples were found to vary somewhat, they were all within the range 5.7 * 0.3 g per cu cm. If it is assumed that the unit cell contains four formula weights of UAl,, it is 6.5 g per cu cm. If there were as many as eight uranium atoms per unit cell, the

Jan 1, 1952

By RICHARD L. HUMPHREY

IT IS proper that there should be a brief accounting of the stewardship which was entrusted to the Joint Conference Committee by resolution adopted by the. Organizing Conference on June 4, 1920, in part as follows: RESOLVED, that it is the sense of this Organizing Conference that the Joint Conference Committee should be entrusted with making provision for putting the conclusions of this Conference of engineers into effect, etc. Pursuant to this authority, the Joint Conference, Committee has acted as an Ad-interim Committee has- prepared, a synopsis of the proceedings of the Organizing .Conference, has edited and published the Constitution and By-Laws adopted by this Conference, and. has issued an invitation to become Charter Members of The Federated, American Engineering Societies; to the list of organizations to whom invitations had been extended to attend 'the Organizing., Conference. The Committee in connection with this invitation offered to the extent of its ability, such assistance as might be-desired; and arranged in many cases for one or more of its members to be present when the matter of membership in The Federated American Engineering Societies was considered. . .

Jan 1, 1920

A. 0. ASHMAN, Palmerton, Pa. (written discussion *).-From a theo¬retical point of view the best method to maintain the cold junction at a constant temperature is by means of a pipe driven in the ground, to which the so-called cold-junction compensating leads are run, ;and of course there are many times and places where it can be successfully used. There are, however, several objections to this method. In the vicinity of any furnace there are apt to be underground flues for preheated air or gases, recuperators, water mains, etc., which will eliminate the probability of a constant temperature. These, of course, can be avoided by carrying the leads to distant locations known to be free, but this is not good practice because the so-called compensating leads have a rather high re¬sistance, which materially affects the accuracy of even the high resistance instruments, unless they are specially calibrated for it. Moreover, the cost of these long leads is almost prohibitive. A better way is to run short lengths of compensating leads to electrically heated constant¬ temperature boxes conveniently located near the furnace in a place that is of fairly uniform temperature. These boxes are on the market and can be procured at a cost that is approximately equal to the cost of 100 ft. of compensating leads. They can be connected to any power or lighting circuit and once set require very little care. One box will ac¬commodate a number of couples.

Jan 12, 1919

By T. W. Watson, D. R. Flynn

Measurements have been made of the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of two specimens of 0.005-cm (2-mil) Be-Cufoil over the temperature range -140° to +200°C. The thermal cmductivity of Be-Cu Alloy 125 was found to be significantly higher than that of Alloy 25, which had a higher impurity content. The thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity values obtained were in concordance with the Smith and Palmer relation for copper alloys which states that ? = 0.0239 (T/p) + 0.075 where A is thermal conductivity (W cm-' deg-'), p is electrical resistivity (microhm-cm), and T is absolute temperature (OK) , indicating that the Smith and Palmer relation can be used to predict the thermal conductivity of this type of Be-Cu alloy over the temperature range -140" to + 200°C to within an accuracy suitable for most engineering applications. THE National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., requested the National Bureau of Standards to measure the thermal conductivity of 0.005-cm Be-Cu foil which was to be used to fabricate antennae for use in Radio Astronomy Explorer space craft. It was felt that measurements had to be made on the actual antenna material, rather than on a thick bar of similar material, since the cold-working and age-hardening properties of the alloy would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to place a thick bar in the same metallurgical state as the 0.005-cm material. As discussed in Section 111 of this paper, the thermal conductivity of many copper alloys can be computed rather accurately from electrical resistivity data using an empirical relation developed by Smith and palmer' and further confirmed by owell.' However, there has been very little work done on correlating thermal and electrical conductivities on Be-Cu alloys. We were reluctant to assume the validity of the Smith-Palmer relation on Be-Cu alloys because of the very large mass difference between beryllium and copper. As will be seen, however, our experimental results indicate that the Smith-Palmer relation is valid for the two alloys on which we made measurements. I) DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLES Samples of Be-Cu Alloy 25 and Be-Cu Alloy 125 were furnished to NBS in the form of rolled strip material, 0.005 cm thick by 5.08 cm wide. The Be-Cu Alloy 25 was purchased by NBS in the form of a continuous length of flat strip. The Be-Cu Alloy 125 was furnished to NBS by Goddard Space Flight Center in the form of two lengths of strip that had been formed into "tubing" of about 1.2 cm diam, with one side of the strip overlapping (but not connected to) the other side by about 90 deg. This "tubing" had been opened up to be flat and then rolled onto spools of about 3 cm diam. When unrolled, the strip would spring back into tubular form. Samples of both of the Be-Cu alloys were chemically analyzed by the NBS Analytical Chemistry Division. The beryllium content was determined quantitatively by the phosphate-gravimetric method to be 1.83 wt pct for Alloy 25 and 1.80 wt pct for Alloy 125. The two alloys were also examined by a general qualitative spectrochemical method for metallic elements. The Alloy 25 specimen contained between 0.1 and 1.0 wt pct Al, Co, Fe, and Si and between 0.01 and 0.1 pct Ni. The Alloy 125 specimen contained between 0.1 and 1.0 pct Co and between 0.01 and 0.1 pct Al, Fe, and Si. Other metallic elements present were in amounts less than 0.01 pct. The NBS Engineering Metallurgy Section measured the tensile strength, elongation, and Knoop hardness of both the Be-Cu Alloy 25 and the Be-Cu Alloy 125. These are given in Table I. The NBS Engineering Metallurgy Section also prepared photomicrographs of the two alloys; these are shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Jan 1, 1969

By M. R. Tek

General equations relating the pressure drop necessary to sustain the flow of a fluid through a porous matrix at a given rate have been developed. The results indicate that at high values of flow rate the pressure-flow behavior may not necessarily satisfy the usual Darcy equation. The mathematical analysis, carried through the micro-pore geometry and extended through the macro-reservoir scale, indicate that Darcy's law, of limited applicability to certain ranges of Reynolds numbers, can be generalized through the inclusion of some additional parameters. The "generalized Darcy equation" has also been formulated in dimen-sionless form permitting the evaluation of its predictive accuracy with regard to literature data. A comparison between predicted and experimental values indicates that the generalized Darcy equation predicts the pressure drops with good agreement over all possible ranges of Reynolds numbers. INTRODUCTION The limits and the nature of validity of Darcy's law' has been a subject of every-day interest to the industry for many years. It is well known that as the Reynolds number, characteristic of the fluid flow through porous media, becomes large, Darcy's law gradually loses its predictive accuracy and ultimately becomes completely void. For the last 20 years much has been said and written on this subject. Unfortunately little has been accomplished to bring about a satisfactory agreement, at least on the nature of the threshold of validity of Darcy.'s law. Fluid dynamists, geo-physicists, and engineers all had their individual views, explanations, interpretations and concepts on the subject. To some, a mechanistic analogy with pipe-flow proved a satisfactory explanation.' To others,' turbulence, in its random character, was incompatible with the geometric structure of consolidated porous systems. To some,4 turbulence merely represented a factor influencing the permeability measurements and again to others5,6,7 em-pirical or semi-empirical correlations proved satisfactory from an engineering viewpoint. Deviations from Darcy's law at high flow rates have been studied by systematic experiments by Fancher, Lewis, and Barnes.' In an article on the flow of gases through porous metals, Green and Duwezs conclude that the onset of turbulence within the pores appears unsatisfactory to explain deviations from Darcy's law. This view is held by many others. While the subject remained controversial for many years, the development of vast natural gas reserves throughout recent years further justified considerable interest on this problem from the standpoint of gas reservoir behavior. As large amounts of field data became available from the operation of many gas fields, it became evident that the steady-state behavior of gas wells was not, in general, in agreement or compatible with Darcy's law. This suggested a careful reconsideration of all mechanisms which may account for pressure drops in addition to viscous shear. In a series of articles9,10 . Hou-peurt indicated that deviations from Darcy's law may be explained on the basis of kinetic energy variations and jetting effects without resorting to assumptions on turbulent flow conditions. Another article by Schneebeli11 indicates that special experiments by Lindquist clearly demonstrated that the onset of turbulence does not necessarily coincide with conditions of deviation from Darcy's law. This view is also held by M. King Hubbert.12 Starting with the basic pressure-flow relations suggested by Houpeurt, the derivation, development and extension of analytical expressions to -supplement and generalize Darcy's law has been the objective of this work. MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS Derivation of Dimensionless Pressure-drop, Flow-rate Relations In considering the flow of a fluid through a porous matrix geometrically represented by a succession of capillary passages in the shape of truncated cones,810 an approximate expression may be derived relating viscous and inertial, i.e., total pressure drop to the physical properties of the fluid, geometric properties of the rock matrix and the rate of flow: ?P/?r = µ/k V [ 1 + c(m4 - 1) p V/16n" mµ w] ..........(1) Let us formally set: c (m4 - 1) / 16n" m = a d ......(2) Such a representation is equivalent to assert that the term [c(m4 — 1)/ 16n"m], variable with various porous media and probably highly variable within a given porous medium, may be macroscopically defined as equal to a lithology factor times the aver-age grain diameter d. In view of the usual grain and pore size distribu-

Jan 1, 1958

By R. Woodward Moore

A GRAPHICAL method of analyzing the data obtained from shallow earth-resistivity depth tests is presented. The method is based upon empirical results and has no theoretical basis. The usual apparent resistivity-electrode spacing curve is used together with a cumulative resistivity-electrode spacing curve plotted on the same sheet. The greatly reduced scale required for plotting the cumulative values of resistivity together with the effect of the summation of the individual resistivity values serves to minimize the effect of purely local surface anomalies and inadvertent errors of measurement. The point of intersection of tangents or straight lines drawn to intersect at zones of maximum curvature in the cumulative curve indicates the depth to the underlying material. Numerous figures are presented in which data from published reports and from recent field studies are analyzed and the results compared with actual depths established by borings or with depth values obtained by the use of theoretical methods of analysis. Smoothly rounded curves of apparent resistivity such as are often obtained in the field, and which have been a serious drawback to attempts to analyze the data empirically heretofore, appear to be susceptible to rather accurate analysis by the method described. The method is best suited to analyses involving shallow two-layer formations. It has been applied successfully, however, in analyzing the data obtained from tests made over shallow three-layer formations. As with most empirical methods, its chief advantage is its simplicity and ease of application.

Jan 1, 1944

By S. L. Crouch, C. Fairhurst

The general term "coal mine bump" refers to the sudden and violent failure of in-situ coal. Coal bumps occur in most countries where coal is worked by underground methods. They are related to geological factors and mining techniques. Coal bumps can be characterized as unstable releases of energy associated with yielding that occurs with progressive mining. Unstable releases of energy occur when the coal is able to absorb less energy than is released by the surrounding rock mass during the yielding process. At any stage of mining, the amount of excess energy so released is governed by the mining geometry, the overburden stress, the elastic properties of the rock mass, and the stress-strain characteristics of the seam material. If the coal in the vicinity of the working face is crushed, the peak abutment pressure occurs at some distance into the intact portions of the seam, and mining takes place in essentially destressed coal. With subsequent mining, additional yielding occurs, excess energy may be released, and the peak stress is again shifted into the solid. This process continues until the mining geometry is such that the zone of peak stress is effectively surrounded by yielding coal, at which point it can be anticipated that further mining will produce dramatic redistributions of stress and be accom¬panied by large releases of energy. On this basis, the differences between several alternatives for mining a given block of coal may be pronounced.

Jan 1, 1975

As 1970 develops and industrial minerals stand at a crucial point in their progress, research and development programs appear to be the key needed to open up new uses for each mineral's future growth. Radically new processes are needed for making a host of new synthetic products from mineral raw materials which will more nearly meet the demanding specifications required for high performance in space, nuclear and defense applications. Consumer applications for high temperature environments will be needed and are important for continuing the nations economic mineral position. In addition, an acute materials problem limits the effectiveness of some of the newer concepts for controlling ail pollution. What is needed then, according to a report printed by the National Academy of Sciences, is the carefully planned development of a limited number of major centers at universities to provide for both basic research and training of personnel; the nurturing of interdisciplinary mechanisms for research and problem solving within these centers; the achieving of a better balance between physics and chemistry within research, emphasizing the chemical aspects of the material sciences; and the enhancement of a broader professional identity by unifying the various disciplines involved into a possible federation of existing societies which have an interest in the problems. [EE] presents its 1969 annual industrial minerals review, where individual authors evaluate the status of each industrial mineral and recount the major developments which occurred during the year.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. H. Emmons

A DIATREME is a hole blown through a rock by gases, presumably of volcanic origin. Not all pipes of ore have formed by deposition of metals in such openings, but a considerable number have so formed. In this paper are described peculiar vein patterns that are believed to be incipient diatremes or "perforation pipes." Grading into this group is one showing thorough brecciation without rotation of fragments and into the latter a group of ore pipes showing brecciation with rotation of fragments-many of them with well rounded fragments. Also, volcanic craters or volcanic necks are explosion pipes. These may carry ore deposits along their contacts and some carry deposits within the pipes. As new data appear this group becomes increasingly impressive. It has been shown that veins are concentrated in and about cupolas of batholiths and that such veins commonly lienearly parallel to the long axes of cupolas as these are shown on plans. It would be supposed that conical cupolas would have radial patterns, but few vein systems exhibit radial patterns. It is probable that explosion pipes also may form in areas above conical cupolas. From these the gases escape more violently because the loads above them are less than above an elongated cupola where larger bodies of rock are affected. The hypothesis is sound mechanically, for the top of an elongated cupola is a line whereas the top of a conical cupola is a point.

Jan 1, 1938

By Otto Rellensmann, Eugene P. Pfleider

For many years mine surveyors and exploration engineers have sought an accurate means of transferring meridian underground by using the gyro-compass. These efforts have generally failed, either because they were inaccurate or because the size and cost of the unit were prohibitive. During the past ten years, however, great strides have been made. Autonetics in California has developed a comparatively light-weight (100-lb) gyro-theodolite, and the Institute for Mine Surveying at Clausthal Mining Academy in Germany has developed an instrument that is accurate to within 20" to 30" of arc. Concurrently, Minneapolis-Honeywell has produced an astounding gyro, the size of a salt shaker, that weighs less than 0.5 lb and compares favorably in performance with the 50-lb gyros of conventional design. This unit, designed for missile guidance, should be adaptable for surveying small boreholes. Given the proper interest and approach from the engineering fraternity, excellent gyro- compasses could probably be available for accurate underground survey work at nominal cost within the next three years. Principles of the Gyro-Compass: The gyro- compass, used for 50 years as a navigational instrument in ships and aircraft, senses the turning axis of the earth and points out true polar north. It does this by employing the earth's rotation, the force of gravity, and the precession characteristics of a gyro. For further details the reader is referred to several excellent publications1-3 covering the principles and application of the gyroscope.

Jan 5, 1959

By T. F. Archbold, R. E. Grace

The use of interference colors is the simplest experimental way to determine the approximate film thicknesses of oxides formed on liquid metals. A large amount of data under various conditions can be obtained easily and quickly. The oxidation of liquid lead has been studied by several investigators,1-5 but all of these studies have been on thick oxide scales. The purpose of- this work was to investigate the range 0 to 2000A film thickness. By using electron diffraction, Jenkins concluded that the surface of the film on molten lead is yellow orthorhombic PbO with the (110) planes parallel to the surface. This was confirmed by Shimaoka and Yamai7 who also used electron diffraction from the melting point of lead to 730°C. The rate of oxidation of pure liquid lead in air was measured in the temperature range 453" to 643°C by observing the rate of formation of interference colors on static lead baths. Approximately 170 g of lead (99.999 pct) was placed in a refractory dish having a working surface of 13.8 sq cm. This crucible was placed in a deep-well resistance furnace open to the atmosphere. The times at which the various interference colors appeared, after wiping the molten metal surface clean, were determined at 453", 533°, 600°, and 643°C. Elapsed times were determined with a stopwatch and all colors were estimated by eye. Bath temperatures

Jan 1, 1959

By W. H. Emmons

A DIATREME is a hole blown through a rock by gases, presumably of volcanic origin. Not all pipes of ore have formed by deposition of metals in such openings, but a con-siderable number have so formed. In this paper are described peculiar vein patterns that are believed to be incipient diatremes or "perforation pipes." Grading into this group is one showing thorough brecciation without rotation of fragments and into the latter a group of ore pipes showing brecciation with rotation of fragments-many of them with well rounded fragments. Also, volcanic craters or volcanic necks are explosion pipes. These may carry ore deposits along their contacts and some carry deposits within the pipes. As new data appear this group becomes increasingly impressive. It has been shown that veins are concentrated in and about cupolas of batholiths and that such veins commonly lienearly parallel to the long axes of cupolas as these are shown on plans. It would be supposed that conical cupolas would have radial patterns, but few vein systems exhibit radial patterns. It is probable that explo-sion pipes also may form in areas above conical cupolas. From these the gases escape more violently because the loads above them are less than above an elongated cupola where larger bodies of rock are affected. The hypothesis is sound mechanically, for the top of an elongated cupola is a line whereas the top of a conical cupola is a point.

Jan 1, 1938

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

We give the following brief notes on early works containing some reference to mineralogy, mining, or metallurgy, to indicate the literature available to Agricola and for historical notes bearing upon the subject. References to these works in the footnotes may be most easily consulted through the personal index. GREEK AUTHORS.-Only a very limited Greek literature upon subjects allied to mining or natural science survives. The whole of the material of technical interest could be , reproduced on less than twenty of these pages. Those of most importance are : Aristotle (384-322 B.c.), Theophrastus (371-288 B.c.), Diodorus Siculus (1st Century B.c.), Strabo (64 B.c.-25 A.D.), and Dioscorides (1st Century A.D.). Aristotle, apart from occasional mineralogical or metallurgical references in De Mirabilibus, is mostly of interest as the author of the Peripatetic theory of the elements and the relation of these to the origin of stones and metals. Agricola was, to a considerable measure, a follower of this school, and their views colour much of his writings. We, however, discuss elsewhere1 at what point he departed from them. Especially in De Ortu ct Causis does he quote largely from Aristotle's Meteorologica. Physica, and De Coelo on these subjects. There is a spurious work on stones attributed to Aristotle of some interest to mineralogists. It was probably the work of some Arab early in the Middle Ages.[ ]

Jan 1, 1950