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By James P. Kimball

Jan 1, 1881

By R. S. Shoemaker, D. L. Harris

PST investigations into the possibility of concentrating the low-grade iron ores of the Gogebic Range in Wisconsin have been hampered by the complex association of the constituent minerals. In part the problem arises from the fact that the iron occurs essentially as two minerals, hematite and goethite, having nearly the same chemical composition but exhibiting different physical properties. Individual grains of these minerals are usually so small that the ore must be ground to a size finer than 325 mesh if substantial liberation of the minerals is to be secured. Appraisal of beneficiation tests on this iron ore requires, therefore, some method of determining quantitatively the contents of constituent minerals in the various products of the beneficiation. Because of the chemical similarity of the two iron minerals, chemical analyses do not provide a means of differentiation. Although the minerals are different physically, they are both opaque and friable, and as the ore must be ground to a very fine size for liberation to be secured, quantitative microscopic methods of analysis are extremely difficult at best. In an effort to overcome these analytical problems, a quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis method has been developed at the University of Wisconsin for the research program on iron ore beneficiation. The X-ray diffraction analysis of chemical compounds of crystalline form has proved of inestimable value for structure studies and rapid qualitative analytical purposes in a number of fields.' In some cases X-ray diffraction analysis has been found suitable for quantitative determinations. H. P. Klug2 found that quantitative procedures for quartz powders when mixed with calcium fluoride were reproducible within ±1.0 pct. Talvenheimo and White3 reported quantitative analyses of clay minerals to be accurate within 10 pct and also detected 1 pct of bentonite in 99 pct illite. In other investigations,'" powders of quartz and mica have been analyzed quantitatively with accuracies from 1 to 5 pct. A powder of tungsten carbide was analyzed similarly by Redmond7 and Rooksby8 reported the determination of small amounts (0.11 pct) of calcium oxide in magnesium oxide. In the most generally practiced use of X-ray diffraction, traces of the diffracted beam are recorded as lines on a film much as lines of elements are recorded on an optical spectrograph film. As with the spectrograph, the darkness of the lines denotes the amount of the constituent in the sample. If the film is replaced by a Geiger tube assembly and a graphic recorder or a scaling unit, the intensity of the diffracted beam can be registered as a peak on a chart or energy impulses per unit of time on the scaler. Several methods of quantitative measurement have been investigated and reported in literature. Klug2 used manual operation of the goniometer and a counting technique to determine the difference in counting rates at the diffracted angle and for the background. In another case3 the area under the recorded diffracted peak was the basis for the determination. In other instances the height of the recorded diffraction peak above background, measured while the goniometer was moving, has been the basis for the measurement. The sizes of particles most suitable for diffraction techniques are reported in the literature as follows: for tungsten carbide a maximum of 40 microns7 and for quartz a maximum of 5 microns.' Very fine sizes of crystals are known to cause a broadening of the diffused beams; hence some workers have set a lower limit of 0.1 micron for quantitative results. Guinier10 has indicated that broadening of the diffracted X-ray beam is not appreciable for crystallites larger than 0.02 to 0.03

Jan 1, 1956

By Philip W. Henry

There is a difference of opinion among engineers on the subject of depreciation in general, and still more on its application to any given case The committee which was appointed by the American Society of Civil Engineers to make a report on Valuation of Public Utilities, states "There is no subject connected with valuation about which there are more diverse views than those relating to depreciation;" and in the discussion which took place upon the presentation of the preliminary report of this committee in January, 1914, that part of the report dealing with depreciation called forth more discussion than any other. From this discussion it was evident that the word "depreciation" was not always used in the same sense, so it is quite important that some definition be adopted. As this paper relates to the proper method of treating depreciation by corporations or individuals operating oil properties, both of which must make a return of annual net income to the government in connection with the income tax, it will be in order to adopt the definition of the Internal Revenue Bureau. Under date of Mar. 29, 1910, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue of the Treasury Department stated "Deduction on account of depreciation of property must be based on lifetime of property, its cost, value and use." Again, on Form 1035, "Return of Annual Net Income" for miscellaneous corporations (Section 2, Act of Congress approved Oct. 3, 1913), a deduction from gross income is allowed for "Total amount of depreciation for the year." This item is defined more particularly as follows: "The amount claimed under Item No. 5 (b) for depreciation should be such an amount as measures the loss which the corporation actually sustains during the year in the value of buildings, machinery, and such other property as is subject to depreciation on account of wear and tear, exhaustion, or obsolescence. The amount taken credit for on this account in order to be allowable should be so entered on the books as to constitute a liability against the assets of the corporation. The amount claimed under this item should not cover losses in the value of stocks and bonds. Decrease in the book value of securities owned, so far as such decrease represents a decline in the actual value of such securities, should be deducted under item 5 (a) of the return. "Where depreciation of physical property is made good by renewals, replacements,

Jan 1, 1915

By A. Schild

The effect of heating a producing well on the rate of oil recovery has been analyzed in the simple case of a well producing oil by a radial drive and in the steady state. Differences of production rates with and without borehole heating have been calculated and plotted; these measure some of the benefits of the thermal recovery process. A striking feature is that the production increase tends rapidly to a constant value for large production rates. Some concrete examples, including a rough comparison with field data. are discussed. Heating requirements have been calculated and plotted on the assumption that the heaters used are 100 per cent efficient. Heating has been thought of as applying only to low volume wells producing heavy oils. However, the calculations suggest that the thermal process considered might be profitable even for some wells producing large quantities of light oil, especially in unconsolidated formations where fracturing is not possible. In the case of wells producing other fluids with the oil or of wells producing partly or wholly by gravity drainage, the theory developed does not apply in detail. It can be expected, however, that any general qualitative be-havior will remain valid. Under normal temperature conditions, high viscosity emulsions sometimes form around the wellbore, lowering the permeability in the vicinity of the well and impeding the production of oil. Borehole heating often prevents such emulsification. This important effect is not easily amenable to mathematical analysis and has not been included in the theory presented here. It should therefore be kept in mind that the benefits due to borehole heating may in fact exceed the values given by the following calculations. INTRODUCTION The recovery of viscous, low gravity oils can often be stimulated by applying heat to the production zone. The higher temperature lowers the viscosity of the oil, increasing its mobility, and therefore its rate of production. One thermal method of recovery 1,2,3,4. consists in operating a heater inside a producing well and, at the same time, producing oil from the well. In this paper a simple theoretical model is analyzed to study the effect of such heating on the recovery of oil. The reservoir mechanics of the process is the only aspect of the problem which is considered here. The details of the heating system are ignored, and it is simply assumed that the heater raises the temperature in the immediate vicinity of the producing well to a pre-assigned temperature T w. Although heating requirements are calculated, these refer only to the heat supplied to the formation and to the oil being produced; they do not include heat losses due to the inefficiency of the heater. A short outline of the theory follows: The heat supplied to the producing well flows out into the formation by means of thermal conduction. At the same time, the flow of oil carries heat by convection from the formation towards the producing well. After sufficient time has elapsed, a steady-state is reached where the temperature, the velocity of the oil, etc., no longer vary with time but are functions of position only. In the steady state the temperature decays like an inverse power from the high value Tw at the wellbore to the original reservoir temperature T. at some distance away from the well. The effect of the high temperature and low oil viscosity near the producing well is the same as if the oil were produced at reservoir temperature To but through a producing well of a larger radius. From this point of view, the energy and money being expended to provide heat

Jan 1, 1958

By David B. Burrows, Francis R. Conley

INTRODUCTION A prerequisite to the evaluation and management of oil properties is accurate information derived from the analysis of core samples; but reliable data, such as porosity and permeability, can result only if all oil and water have been removed from the core samples analyzed. The most common method of core cleaning used to date has been Soxhlet extraction—a somewhat static technique, which depends upon the slow diffusion of hot solvent through the core sample. Soxhlet extraction performs satisfactorily only with highly permeable samples and at best requires long cleaning periods. The centrifuge method was developed in 1951 by Continental Oil Co. to overcome the inefficiencies inherent in the Soxhlet method. The new method is basically an operation in which hot solvents are caused to flow through the samples under the influence of centrifugal force. The centrifuge unit has proved so successful that samples which formerly required days for partial extraction can now be completely cleaned in approximately one hour. The original idea was conceived in 1950 by Elmer S. Messer, whose early experiments consisted of flowing solvent over sandstone samples suspended in a revolving basket and driven by a vertically mounted vacuum cleaner motor. Results were so outstanding that more permanent units were constructed. A modified model using this basic design was recently built by Core Laboratories, Inc., and is now used regularly in their operations. DESIGN Fig. 1 shows a photograph of the two extractors routinely used to clean small core plugs in the Production Research Div. of Continental Oil Co.'s Ponca City laboratories. For illustrative purposes, the basket from one of the units has been removed, and because both extrac- tors are of identical design only one is described in the following discussion. Each extractor unit consists of a centrifuge and a solvent still. The core basket of the centrifuge is made of mild cold rolled steel 7 1/2 in. in diameter and 1 1/8 in. deep. The basket holds 18 1-in. samples (cubical or cylindrical) and is attached directly to a cone fitted to the shaft of the motor. Both the outer rim and the hollow hub of the basket contain perforations for the passage of solvent and extract. The solvent is delivered to the perforations by means of a copper tube inserted into the hollow hub. The motor is a vertical tool post grinder motor; (115 v, 5.6 amp, 0-60 cycles, AC-DC, rated at 1/3 hp). It has a rated speed of 10,000 rpm under full load and 15,000 rpm with no load. Variation of speed is obtained by the use of a variable transformer. The solvent still was constructed from one end of a stainless steel oxygen bottle by inserting a heating element, sight glass, and piping as shown on the schematic diagram, Fig. 2. The heater used was a three-position, 1,000 w, 115-v, immersion type. Intermittent flow of solvent to the centrifuge is obtained by means of a siphon bottle inserted between the condenser and the centrifuge.

Jan 1, 1957

By HARRISON W. CRAVER

LIBRARIES are universally recognized as essential to modern civilization. In a world that gets most of its learning through the printed word, storehouses of print are a vital necessity. In this regard engineering differs in no way from the other learned professions, but until recent times the library needs of engineers have received rather scant attention. When the engineering profession was more of an art and less of a science than it is today, when each problem was solved more through the results of experience than by applying scientific principles, literature was less helpful. The engineer of today, however, is aware that his activities rest upon a scientific foundation and consequently comprehensive books dealing with more limited fields are now being published. Another difficulty for the operating engineer in the past was that the published works on engineering were written chiefly for use as college texts. A third obstacle to the development of engineering libraries has been the lack of librarians with experience in engineering.

Jan 1, 1938

By Carl Henrich

Jan 1, 1893

By Harlowe Hardinqe

ABOUT three years ago a distinctive new type of crushing and grinding equipment, known as the Hadsel mill, was announced. A description appeared in the November, 1932, issue of this magazine. Any machine that would take run-of-mine ore and reduce it, in one operation, and at a reasonable cost, to a size suitable for metallurgical treatment was bound to attract much interest, as the original Hadsel mill did. The first commercial sizes were built with the drum supported by an overhung shaft and partly immersed in a tank. The drum carried inside and outside buckets to lift the ore, which was dropped as the drum revolved onto stationary breaker plates projecting into the drum from the opposite tank wall. The coarser material settled back into the inside buckets. Intermediate sizes were carried into the tank, and this material was scooped out by the outside buckets and deposited hack in the drum for further grinding. The fines were carried out of the mill with the wash water over an adjustable weir at one side of the tank.

Jan 1, 1935

By Edward H. Robie

PROBABLY nowhere in the United States or its possessions is mining development more active at present than in the Philippine Islands. Only a few years ago only one company was of any importance, the Benguet Consolidated. Now, five companies are paying dividends, five others have reached the producing stage, some seven others may produce this year, and a score or so are being actively developed. Gold production in 1933 was valued at about $8,000,000, last year at about $11,000,000, and this year an output valued at about $17,000,000 is envisaged. At the beginning of 1934 about 1750 tons of ore was being milled daily; at the end of the year, the tonnage was approximately 3400. In 1933 there were only thirteen Institute members in the Philippines; a year ago there were 27, and now there are 46. About fifteen thousand amen were employed in the mining industry last year, with mine payrolls amounting to $3,500,000. An immense amount of new machinery has been required. One difficulty has so far hindered gold-mine development to some extent-lack of adequate power. Each company therefore finds it necessary to generate its own power, and for this purpose diesel engines are generally adopted.

Jan 1, 1935

By Carle Hayward

IN reheating quenched steel to remove part of the hardness, the softening effect has generally been considered to be a function of temperature and time. The temperature effect is well known, and long before pyrometers were heard of the blacksmith was able to do a good job of tempering, by rule-of-thumb methods and experience in judging temperatures. Modern conditions, which demand steel that will withstand the severest tests, require that the heat treatment he carried out with every possible precaution to secure the best results obtainable. Pyrometers and heat-treatment furnaces of many types are on the market and improvements are continually being made so that it is now possible to regulate the temperature in heat treatment very accurately. There is -still a question regarding the time that the steel should be subjected to treatment. It is customary with all operators to insure the desired tem-pressure throughout the specimen and it is generally supposed that a longer treatment of a hardened steel produces a further softening but there are few published figures showing the exact effect of time of treat-ment at constant temperature. A search of the literature disclosed several brief statements that the tempering effect was a function of both time and temperature, but in no case were any figures given. The opinion is very generally held that the well-known tempering colors are accurate indicators of the degree of tempering. This is disputed by Brearley (The Heat Treatment of Tool Steel, page 102) who states: It has been said that the result would be the same in respect to both hardness and other properties whether the colors were obtained by a shorter heating at a higher temperature or a longer heating at a lower one. This, to say the least, is a very doubtful conclusion, and is certainly not borne out by mechanical tests on oil-hardened and tempered motor car steels, which, after tempering for periods varying from 15 min to 2 hr., show no very great differences. The present investigation had for its object the obtaining of some definite data regarding the effect of time, which might serve as a guide to those engaged in the heat treatment of steel. The Rhode Island Tool Co. cooperated by furnishing the steel and machining the test specimens.

Jan 2, 1917

Henry Louis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (communication to the Secretary): I think very highly of the novel and ingenious device of Prof. Richards for analyzing the movement of the various elements of the jig; it is a method that certainly seems to promise valuable results, if we could only make certain that these various indicator-appliances have no effect upon the action of the jig. I would like, however, to suggest that in future experiments the connection between the plunger indicator-rod and the pencil should be made by means of parallel motions, so as better to reproduce the rectilinear motion of the piston. I should expect, if this were done, that the " curve " of the plunger in the Harz jig, at any rate, would be represented either by straight lines or else by quite regular curves, according to the method by which the plunger is set in motion; the apparent combinatioil of straight line and curve seems difficult to explain. With respect to the water-curve, I am afraid I am completely at fault, but no doubt Prof. Richards can explain my difficulty. In Fig. 2, the areas of the screen-side and the plunger-side of the jig are equal. If the piston be a fair fit and the bottom of

Jan 1, 1897

By Howard N. Eavenson

ALL of the matters so far taken up by the Institute Committee on Stabilization of the Coal Industry will be of help, but it seems to be that under present conditions not very much can be expected until the railroad situation has been improved. As an instance of this, I would cite the fact of our experience at our mines in West Virginia and Kentucky. During 1917 and 1918 at our West Virginia plants we produced for our own consumption, practically entirely in the Chicago district, about 4,750,000 net tons of coal. In 1919 our output was reduced to 3,500,000 tons, this being caused partly by the shortage of orders in the few months following the armistice, but more particularly by The car shortage which began last September and continued throughout the remainder of the year, with the exception of December. This car shortage has been more acute since the first of the year, and while we now have an actual capacity here of 20,000 tons daily and have the equipment to produce it, with the possible exception of a few houses, we are able to average only about 12,000 tons, and in consequence, about 30 per cent. of our by-product ovens in the Chicago district are idle, and a number of blast furnaces are down for the want of coke. These figures, of course, refer to conditions before the strike of switchmen in April was started.

Jan 1, 1920

By Betty L. Gibbs

A company must have an organized approach to effectively sort through the profusion of available software and hardware and find the programs and equipment which fit defined needs. The selection process must build a complete compatible system which includes hardware and software. The methodology presented in this paper helps identify some of the more important considerations. The steps needed for an organized approach to software/hardware selection are: •All involved staff should contribute to an assessment of current computer capabilities and projection of future needs. •Alternatives are analyzed to determine what software and hardware is available and how selections may possibly be merged into the existing computer system. The evaluation process focuses on details of program capability and hardware compatibility. Analysis must be done to determine how closely individual programs fit the established requirements. The final decision is often a balance of needs between program capabilities and hardware availability. Any programs selected must be able to run on existing and newly purchased hardware. Any additional hardware selected must be capable of meshing with the available computer system.

Jan 1, 1983

By John T. Ryan

FOR the first ten months of 1942, on which data are available at the time this is written, the coal-mining industry achieved a most creditable safety record, and ha1 figures for the year may show a record surpassing that of 1941 in which the industry reached the best accident rate in its history. The ten- month accident rate for both bituminous and anthracite mining in 1942 was 2.197 fatalities per million tons of coal mined, compared with a revised rate of 2.271 for the same months of 1941. The bituminous rate decreased from 2.139 in 1941 to 2.039 for ten months of this year, and the anthracite rate shows a reduction from 3.707 to 3.699 for the same period.

Jan 1, 1943

By James P. Kimball

AMONG the curious results of the recent advance of prices in the iron trade of the United States, one of them at least is to be regarded as of great importance. I allude to the utilization of mill cinder as a cheap and almost costless substitute for high-priced iron ores in many blast furnaces, situated within easy reach of such raw material. It has been, with but few exceptions, the practice in this country, based upon tradition rather than upon authority or European precedents, to waste this material on 'account of its high proportion of silicic and phosphoric acids, although known to contain more iron than most ores, and although also known to be sometimes applied to the blast furnace in greater or less quantities without serious detriment to the iron for specific purposes. While in use to a limited extent in the Hocking Valley and Hanging Rock iron regions of Ohio for several years, its use in Western Pennsylvania has only become general of late, under the exigencies of high prices and a short supply of ore. Especially has mill cinder largely entered into the stock of furnaces attached to rolling mills in and about Pittsburgh. Under such circumstances the cinder pig has been paddled on the premises, and the malleable iron produced has been unexpectedly good. Cautiously as at first mill cinder has been applied, it is evident that the temptation to use it freely is a strong one whenever the commercial rates for high-class ores are out of proportion to the general conditions of the iron trade, as sometimes happens in this country, especially as the free use of it is apparently justified by the quality of the iron produced from this cheap and abundant material. Indeed the consumption of cinder pig has., not been wholly confined to mills using up the production of furnaces belonging to the same plant. One furnace at least on the Ohio, at Covington, for several' months has been making foundry pig from "all cinder." The iron has gone into the general trade. It is probable that malleable iron of good quality can he made from the poorest cinder pig, but with what degree of economy will

Jan 1, 1881

By D. C. Jackling

I BESPEAK your indulgence for a brief expression of the views of a patriarch in the field of mineral industry technology relative to young men's problems in that sphere of education and endeavor. Wherever hereafter I employ the terms "technical education," "engineer," "technologist," or similar expressions, these are intended to be understood as relating to the broad field of the sciences and arts applicable to the mineral industries. First, the usefulness of technical education to either the possessor of it or those to whom its services may be made available industrially depends primarily upon the quality of the education and the capabilities of the educated to put his talents to effective and constructive employment in his chosen field of applied science.

Jan 1, 1940

Meeting of Feb. 16, 1915.-The Committee on Membership was appointed with the following personnel: John H. Janeway, Chairman; Karl Filers, Lewis W. Francis, Louis D. Huntoon, and Thomas H. Leggett. President Saunders announced the appointment of the Committee on Increase of Membership, as shown on p. xxviii of this Bulletin. The reproduction by the anastatic process of 100 copies of Volume IX of the Institute Transactions was authorized. The sum of $50 and the exchange of the Bulletin. was awarded to the commission publishing the Annual Table of Constants. The sum of $49.07 was contributed to the expense of the John Fritz Medal Board of Award for the year 1914, and the Institute agreed in the future to share the annual expense for the John Fritz Medal Board of Award not to exceed one-quarter of $500 in the year. Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Membership, 36 Members, 1 Associate, and 13 Juniors were elected. The resignations of 26 members were accepted. L. D. Ricketts was elected a Vice-President of the Institute to serve the unexpired term of W. L. Saunders. George D. Barron was elected a Director to serve the unexpired term of L. D. Ricketts.

Jan 4, 1915

By HUGH E. McKinstry

OPENING the sessions of the Mining Geology Committee, the program on postwar mineral controls drew a larger attendance than any other session of the entire meeting. In view of its general interest, the papers of this session, or a substantial portion of them, are printed elsewhere in this issue. Whether control of mineral resources can help to promote peace, how controls could be applied and to whom, are questions so far-reaching that naturally no pat answer was agreed upon. In fact the discussion took on something of the flavor of a debate between those who favor strict control and those who felt that attempting to ration nations in peacetime would defeat its own ends. Discussion from the floor emphasized the difficulties in administering any international control and the $64 question, that no one cared to answer, asked by a courageous young lady who was induced to mount the rostrum for the purpose, was whether the United Nations should exchange mineral controllers to police each other.

Jan 1, 1944

By AIME AIME

THE iron and steel activities of this meeting opened on Monday morning with the steel melting session," with G. B. Waterhouse in the chair and A. L. Feild as vice-chairman. N. A. Zeigler's paper, on "Gases Extracted From Iron Carbon Alloys by Vacuum Melbing," created considerable interest and the discussion in general was most favorable. H. W. Gillett and Louis Jordan of the Bureau questioned the method of analysis for oxygen and C. H. Herty, Jr., and J. M. Gaines, Jr., I , expressed their surprise at the large amount of oxygen with the high ,carbon alloys. Whether the gases found existed as gas in blowholes or as oxide inclusions was also a moot point. A paper by C. D. King, on "Basic Open-Hearth Yields," was an extremely interesting and valuable contribution. It was discussed by C. E.Kinney and A. L. Feild and numerous questions were asked throughout the presentation. Mr. King then presented a critical analysis of the losses together with novel methods of calculating them. A paper by C. H. Herty, Jr., and J. M. Gaines, Jr., on "Unreduced Oxides in Pig Iron and Their Elimination in the Basic Open-Hearth Furnace," followed. The question of silicates and oxides in pig iron created much discussion, notably by Henry Hanson and W. J. MacKenzie, who gave figures on chipping cost as a function of blast-furnace practice.

Jan 1, 1929

University of Alabama University, Alabama Mining and Metallurgical Society WILLIAM R. HIGGS, President ROBERT E. MEAD, Secretary J. R. CUDWORTH, Faculty Sponsor MILTON H. FIBS, Counselor University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona Miners' Society LEE BLESSING, President R. W. CORY, Secretary E. P. MATHEWSON, Faculty Sponsor B. R. HATCHER, Counselor University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Student Chapter, A.I.M.E. ARCHER WARNE, President ROBERT JOHNSTON, Secretary E. K. SOPER, Faculty Sponsor EMILE HUGUENIN, Counselor Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado Student Chapter, A.I.M.E. J. Ross REED, President ANDREW PERRY, JR., Secretary J. BURNS READ, Faculty Sponsor A. W. NEWBERRY, Counselor

Jan 1, 1936