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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

In 1973, US Borax & Chemical Corp. began investing three days wages and about $20 in training materials in every new employee before having him report to his first job. The result? Accidents involving new employees in the past two years have dropped by more than half from the 1972 level. What made this success possible was safety training done with programmed instruction materials-which, incidentally, US Borax also uses for vocational training.

Jan 4, 1976

By M. TAYLOR

AT Grand Saline, some 65 miles east of Dallas, the Morton Salt Co. of Chicago has for some years operated a brine pumping and evaporation plant on a salt dome. They recently drilled trial holes to obtain data on the dome, preparatory to opening, a new mine, with the following results: The dome is in the form of a truncated cone, with an average of 210 ft. of cover. The top of the dome is approximately one mile in diameter, with the town of Grand Saline lying over the northern rim, and the sides slope off at an angle of 50" to 80" from the horizontal. The deepest holes were drilled to 900 ft. without penetrating beyond the salt, and indications are that the salt deposit is several thousand feet thick. As the deposit increases in area with the depth, there is undoubtedly enough salt to supply a mining operation for an almost unlimited period of years.

Jan 1, 1930

PITTSBURG MEETING The One Hundred and Ninth Meeting of the Institute, for the presentation and discussion of technical papers, will be held at Pittsburg, Pa., Oct. 8, 9 and 10, 1914. This meeting is to be under the auspices of the Iron and Steel Committee, the Committee on Petroleum and Gas, the Committee on Coal and Coke, and the Committee on Non-metallic Minerals. Thirty papers have been secured by these Committees and will be presented at the meeting. These papers will be published in the September and October Bulletins. The Local Committee of Arrangements for this meeting is as follows: SAMUEL A. TAYLOR, Chairman. FRANCIS C. PHILLIPS. GEORGE S. RICE. C. F. V. Rys. KENNETH SEAVER. JOHN S. UNGER.

Jan 9, 1914

By Theodore B. Counselman

Of all natural resources, iron ore made into steel is the most important both in tonnage and value. The primary reason for the prosperity of the United States in the last century has been its pre-eminence in domestic supplies of iron ore and steel. The depletion of these reserves by two world wars and by the demand for richer blast furnace charges, as well as the constantly growing world- wide demand for steel, has fostered the recent quest for new iron ore mines around the globe. These developments have made a dramatic change in the iron ore picture of the world. It is the purpose here, however, to look briefly at the development of the United States iron ore industry, which has played such an important role in the events leading to the modern day boom in iron ore exploration.

Jan 7, 1965

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

Discussion of the paper of Frederick Laist, presented at the Butte meeting, August, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 79, July, 1913, pp. 1147 to 1162. J. C. DICK, Salt Lake City, Utah :-I would like to ask Mr. Laist why a 10 per cent. salt solution was used. MR. LAIST :-The reason for using salt in the solution is to get .the sulphur. The solution of dilute sulphuric acid has no solvent action on the sulphur even after roasting, and the addition of the salt is made primarily to dissolve the sulphur chlorides. MR. DICK:-I would like to ask also if you made any experiments as to grinding fine your calcines, rather than leaving the coarse material. MR. LAIST :-We have not made any experiments along those lines except in the laboratory, but the objections which we have to grinding are that the difficulties of roasting are very much greater when roasting finely ground material than when roasting coarse material, and the difficulties of leaching are somewhat increased; the percolating system is simpler and easier to manipulate, particularly when acid solutions are used, so that we prefer from our experience not to grind. STUART CROASDALE,* Denver, Colo. (communication to -the Secretary +) :-In order to meet the conditions involved in his ore-treatment problem, Mr. Laist has developed a very interesting and apparently successful metallurgical hybrid which he calls the oxychloridizing roast. The lower floors of the MacDougall furnaces are made to accomplish what used to be done on the " cooling floor" in the old days of salt roasting and " hypo " or brine leaching of silver ores.

Jan 11, 1913

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

Prof. J. W. Richards, South Bethlehem, Pa. (in reply to several questions):—The cut representing some of the round briquettes which were under test shows that, at the brcaking-stresses, they break into lumps, and do not disintegrate into powder. The process is simplicity itself. I have followed the different processes for sintering iron-ores and flue-dust, am interested in all of them and wish them all success; but this process appealed to me strongly by its simplicity. It is in line with a method which I once tried to work out myself, but which never came to anything, namely, the agglomeration of fine iron-ores by means of Portland cement. As small an amount as 5 or 6 per cent. of Portland cement will enable fine ore to agglomerate and set into a briquette, but when I came to estimate the cost, I found it was a little too high. The Schumacher process, curiously enough, does not work well on iron-ore, but flue-dust thus treated does harden and give a strong briquette. In my attempts to find a reason for this difference, it has occurred to me that possibly the particles of flue-dust had been coated over with some sublimed silica, which might be an agent in the setting. But I found by experiment that neither sublimed silica, nor ordinary silica, nor ordinary alumina, would briquette. Chemically pure iron oxide briquetted quite hard; but the application of pressure is a necessary part of the operation. If simply moistened with the solution and allowed to stand it does not set hard, but the more pressure applied to it the hardcr it sets. Evidently the flue-dust particles must be pressed very close together in order to get the small proportion of active material wet, so that the particles shall act at their points of contact; for it is evident that only at the points of contact does the cementing action take place. The reactions are facilitated by considerable pressure, bringing the acting particles close together, and may go on with

Jan 1, 1913

By Kenzo Murao, Sei Nakao

HISTORY OF ASHIO SMELTER The Ashio copper mine, which formed the main part of Furukawa mining industry, is located inland of Kanto area, and is known as the oldest copper mine of Japan. The mining started even since 1610, and Mr. Furukawa began management in 1877. Afterwards, within a short period, the mine became to have the highest productivity in the Far East. The total quantity of mined copper reached approximately more than 800 thousand tons. The mother rock of the ore deposit in Ashio was rhyolite, and was formed of sissurefulling and irregular clod that was called Kajika deposit. The lode was nzrrow of 6 to 7cm. The mineral was formed mainly of chalcopyrite, including also pyrite, pyrrhotite, and arsenopyrite that were not favorable. After the founding of the copper mine, the Ashio smelter started the operation of Mabuki process as the beginning in 1611, and subsequently adopted the processes of the blast furnace, reverberatory furnace, and flash smelting furnace of the present use. As indicated above, the copper ore of Ashio mine included arsenic. For the purpose to remove it, the operation of the arsenic trioxide production using MacDougall's multiple hearth roaster was started in 1918, and it maintained the status of having the most qualified technique within the country. However, as the completeness in the disposition of anti-pollution and safety had been requested in those years, we studied and developed a unique equipment in 1970. It excludes the heavy metals especially arsenic and copper from the waste water of sulfuric acid process of Flash Smelter's exhaust gas.

Jan 1, 1976

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

Discussion of the paper of H. M. WARREN, A. S. BIESECEKER and E. J. POWELL, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 181 to 193. R.. V. NORRIS, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-For many years the power requirements of breakers designed in the Anthracite. Region have been based on calculations made from indicator diagrams taken during operation, with various sections of machinery idle; these, while giving reasonably accurate figures, gave no intimation of the peak loads which have been shown so clearly in the paper. The high-speed flywheel for breaker rolls is new and shows a remarkable saving in peak power required, besides eliminating the stalling of the rolls from overload. The figures given are so far in advance of anything previously published that they will undoubtedly be used as a basis for future breaker design. It is to be hoped that the authors will continue this investigation and extend their paper by a description of the motors found best suited for this work. WILLIAM KENT, Montclair, N. J.-I notice on p. 187 reference is made to one of the difficulties being the starting torque, and it is proposed to use roller or ball bearings in order to decrease the high starting torque. I suggest that. before the roller or ball bearings are put in, an investigation be made as to the amount of the starting torque, as shown by wattmeter measurements and as to what the starting torque ought to be, theoretically, according to the energy formula; that is, how much starting torque is required to accelerate the rotating mass in a given number of seconds up to full speed. Having secured this information it may be found the amount to be saved by roller bearings is not very great. If it appears that roller bearings will not greatly decrease the starting torque, the next thing to be done is to have a special design of motor in which there is a field that can be made very strong at the start, by the use of extra poles or other means, and the next thing that may be done is to increase the speed from 10,000 r.p.m. to 25,000, which can be done with wire-wound flywheels, especially if the wires are made of vanadium steel.

Jan 5, 1916

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

By Donald Barton

THE theory of gravitation is based on Newton's law that any two bodies exert a mutual attraction which is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them; i. e., A =KRM/R2 (1) where K is a constant, M and m are the respective masses of the two bodies, and R the distance between them. In the earth's gravitational system, the earth is one of the bodies; the other may be any body within or without the earth. In theoretical dis¬cussions and calculations in regard to gravity, that other body usually is taken as a unit of mass: in the C. G. S. system, a body of one gram in mass. GRAVITY AND LEVEL SURFACES Gravity is defined in geophysics as the force of attraction exerted by the earth, towards itself, on a body of unit mass. The intensity of gravity is usually expressed in dynes of force or in centimeters of acceleration. In geophysical work in America, most commonly it is expressed in dynes (per gram) with the "per gram" understood and not directly expressed. In geophysical work in Europe, most commonly it is expressed in centimeters per second per second (cm./sec.2) and less commonly merely as centimeter-gram-second units (C. G. S.). At sea level, the intensity of gravity amounts very nearly to 980 dynes. The vertical is the direction along which the attraction of gravity is exerted at any point. . In most cases, it is very nearly, but not quite, per¬pendicular to the earth's surface. The path that would be taken by a body falling freely through space toward the earth is vertical at each point and may be spoken of also as "the vertical," or as the line of the vertical, or as a line of force of gravity. At the earth's surface it com¬monly is very nearly, but not quite, a straight line.

Jan 1, 1928

By Frank Julian

After the solution of an iron ore, or metallic iron, in an acid, for the determination of phosphorus, it is necessary to evaporate the solution to dryness and to heat the residue to effect the complete separation of silica. Authorities differ as to the temperature required, some recormmentling not over 100' C., others as high as dull redness. For the purpose of securing some indications as to the degree of heat which may be safely or advantageously employed, I selected a gray pig-iron, a piece of Bessemer steel rail, and a sample of Ludington ore having the following composition; the phosphorus in the pig and steel being determined by Giutl's ferric chloride method:

Jan 1, 1884

By E. R. Williams

Continuous casting of nonferrous metals has become a commercial reality. After years of slow and arduous experimentation by a number of independently working inventors, starting with Lord Henry Bessemer in 1865, success has finally been achieved. Nonferrous metals—aluminum, copper and brass—extremely vital to our production of war equipment, are being continuously cast every day in large quantities. In fact, some nonferrous metals —for instance, high-strength aluminum alloys—could not have been produced in the huge quantities required for planes and other war equipment if it were not for continuous casting. These casting processes for nonferrous metals have not been entirely perfected but continuous casting is here to stay. Continuous casting of carbon and alloy steel has not yet gone into commercial production but it is well on its way. A great deal of hard work has been expended and -small fortunes in money have been and are being spent in marching down the long road to success. Considerable tonnage of plain carbon, stainless and other alloy steels of high quality have been produced by pilot-plant continuous-casting units and at speeds that give indisputable evidence of commercial success. What has made the difference between failure and success? What is there left to do to revolutionize completely the method of casting metals, which has existed for centuries? These questions are being rapidly answered. Fundamental Methods Present continuous casting processes have many common problems but differ considerably in their methods of solution. The two fundamental methods are: I. Forming the solidifying metal against mold walls that move with the metal, so that there is no relative movement between the walls and the metal. This is a development of Lord Bessemer's idea of pouring metal between two rotating rolls. 2. Moving the solidifying metal along a stationary mold wall so that there is relative movement between the wall and the metal. This was proposed by Trotz in Germany as far back as 1889. Neither Bessemer nor Trotz achieved commercial success. The chief reason seems quite apparent today, inasmuch as they did not solve the fundamental problem of rapid heat removal from the molten metal. The Williams Continuous Casting Process is based upon this fundamental idea of fast heat removal and dissipation. The bessemer method of forming the ingot against a moving mold wall—either rotating rolls or endless moving plates—was carefully considered by the author and promptly abandoned as being commercially impractical. Primarily, only a very small tonnage output was possible except at terrific lineal speeds, because the very nature of this method required casting thin sheets rather than ingots. Secondly, the casting of a sheet between lolls that are pressed together meant the rolling of two layers of solidified skin separated by a molten core. Internal bursts and segregation of the metal usually resulted. Moving Solidifying Ingot Along Mold Wall It was decided therefore to devote our research activities chiefly to- the idea of moving the solidifying ingot along. a stationary mold wall. It was soon dis-

Jan 1, 1945

By AIME AIME

DOUBT in anyone's mind that this is the age of metals, industrially speaking, could easily have been dispelled by attending the National Metal Congress in Chicago, Sept. 22 to 26. Iron, copper and aluminum; zinc, lead and nickel, often alloyed with each other or with some of a dozen minor metals, make the materials without which the modern world could not run. Science, pure and applied, is doing marvels in finding new mixtures, new alloys to meet new needs; in developing new means of rolling, fabricating, casting and welding metals cheaply-and effectively. These and related matters were the subject of 100 papers presented at 33 seperate sessions of the organizations that participated in the congress.

Jan 1, 1930

By David R. Maneval, H. B. Charmbury

At the turn of the century, iron and coal were the keys to industrial prosperity. At that time, Pennsylvania was the leading mineral producer in the Country, producing 200,000,000 tons of coal in a typical post-World War I year. Close to 90% of the Nation's energy was generated by coal. Today, coal accounts for but 22% of the energy generated, leading to a drastic reduction in Pennsylvania coal output. In contrast with the post-World War I days, 1964 figures showed a drop in production to 93,846,480 net tons. This huge decrease has created a serious economic problem in a state so much dependent on the coal industry. Along with the reduction in coal production, employment has dropped considerably through these years (the number of miners alone has gone from 280,011 to 43,149), thus causing a heavy burden of supporting the unemployed on the taxpayers. As far back as 1939, coal operators and economists saw the problems on the horizon and the need for improvement. Realizing that research was a way to improve and stabilize the industry they demanded legislative action. The Legislature reciprocated with a small grant to The Pennsylvania State University with the provision that each State research dollar be backed with one from the industry. This initial grant laid the foundation for the further growth in coal research.

Jan 3, 1966

By Georges Ranque

THIS paper by. Georges Ranque is an attempt to reason out the conditions of formation and stability of inclusions and to establish an operative process capable of eliminating or minimizing them. The paper consists of two parts; one in which the author considers the laws of physical chemistry and physics that apply to liquid slag-metal systems and one in which he describes a practice based on the theoretical considerations. Such a paper is bound to contain controversial points and it is therefore your speaker's intention to present Mr. Ranque's side of the picture to the best of his ability without regard for any thoughts or criticisms of his own. RISING VELOCITIES OF INCLUSIONS Most nonmetallic inclusions have densities ranging from about 1.7 to s, while liquid steel has a density of about 7. Under these conditions, ferrostatic pressure should cause the inclusions, being lighter, to rise from the bath and be eliminated. This rising tendency is expressed by Stokes' law, from which may be calculated the rising velocity of a spherical particle in a liquid medium whose density and viscosity are known.

Jan 1, 1947