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By D. B. Robinson, C. A. Macrygeorgos, G. W. Govier

Experimental data have been obtained on the volurrletric behavior of ternary mixtures of methane, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide at temperalures of 40°, 100" and 160°F up to pressures of 3,000 psia. The results indicate that the compressibility factors for this system do not agree with compressibility factors for sweet natural gases at the same pseudo-reduced conditions. The deviation increases as the temperature and methane content decrease. Discrepancies of up to 35 per cent were observed. A careful analysis has been made of the existing pUrblished data on compressibility factors for binary systems containing light hydrocnrbons and hydrogen sulfide or carbon dioxide. It has been found that the deviation of actual from predicted compressibility factors for methane-acid gas mixtures is a function of the methane content and the pseudo-critical properties,.v of the mixture. The ratio between actual compressibility factors for methane-acid gas mixtures and compressibility factors for sweet natrlral gases at the same pseudo-reduced conditions has been currelated over a range of pP,, from 0 to at least 7 arid a range of pT, from about 1.15 to at 1east 2 0 with an error not exceeding 3 per cent and over most of the range within I per cent. The validity of the correlation for mixtures containing appreciable hearvier hydrocorbons has not been fully established, but it is shown to be preferable than the use of a corretation based only on hydrocarbons. INTRODUCTION Although a relatively accurate method for predicting compressibility factors of pure materials is provided by charts based on reduced properties and the assumption that the compressibility factor is a unique function of T P and z the determination of the correct values of compressibility factors for gas mixtures is somewhat difficult. Two general methods of dealing with gaseous mixtures have been proposed. The first assumes a direct or modified additivity of certain properties of the mixture in terms of the properties of the individual components. Examples of this method are based on the familiar laws of Dalton and Amagat. The second method averages the constants of an equation of state applicable to the pure components. Both of these methods are of limited value in engineering calculations because the first usually provides reliable answers only over narrow ranges of pressure and temperature and the second is cumbersome to handle. In petroleum engineering practice accurate estimations of the volumetric behavior of natural gases arc frequently required. To fulfill this need, several generalized compressibility charts have been developed.' ' Of these, the one prepared by Standing, el al is widely used at present. In the construction of charts of this type a third method for dealing with mixtures has been followed. It is based on correlation of pseudo-critical properties as outlined by Kay and calculated from the critical properties of the individual components in a mixture. Although these charts provide relatively accurate information on the compressibility of dry or wet sweet natural gases, they are less reliable when used for gases containing high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide or carbon dioxide or both. Thus, an experimental program, although time consuming, is the best means now available for the determination of the volumetric behavior of sour or acid gas mixtures. An increased interest in the behavior of these gas mixtures, particularly in connection with some of the fields in Western Canada where the acid gas concentration of the reservoirs may be as high as 55 per cent and where hydrogen sulfide alone may be as high as 36 per cent, provided the incentive for this study. It was the purpose of the investigation to determine the volumetric behavior of selected mixtures of methane, hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide over a range of temperature from 40" to 160°F and at pressures up to 3,000 psi. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD The apparatus used in this investigation was basically the same as that described by Lorenzo.'" The amount of each pure component used in preparing the gas mixtures was measured over mercury in a glass-windowed pressure vessel. The pure components were then transferred individually in the desired amounts to a second glass-windowed pressure vessel where the volumetric behavior of the mixture was determined. Volume was varied by mercury injection or withdrawal. The capacity of the cell was about 125 cc. Temperatures in the cells were measured with copper-constantan thermocouples and a Leeds Northrup semi-

By S. B. Christy

The practice of the cyanide-process of gold-extraction has brought to light many important contradictions of familiar chemical analogies, which still obscure both the theory and the practice of the art with distinctions subtler and more difficult to make or follow than those which delighted the heart of the old-time metaphysician. Yet Nature herself has drawn these distinctions; and if we hope to succeed in this modern search for the Golden Fleece, we must be able to follow her through the winding labyrinth. There are so many phases of this question that I shall attempt to touch on only one of them at this time, but it is one that lies at the root of many others. In reviewing my paper on " The Solution and Precipitation of Cyanide of Gold,"* Mr. E. B. Wilson contends† that" in the solution of gold by means of alkaline cyanides the various reactions are determined, as to their order and intensity, by the relative position of the elements concerned in the electro-chemical series, or series of voltaic tension." In a modified form this statement is probably true. That is to say, the difference of electrical potential in any closed electrical circuit determines the nature of the reactions which ensue. But the matter is not so simple as Mr. Wilson assumes. Recent investigations show that the order of the metals in the electro-chemical series depends not only on the nature of the elements themselves, but also on the chemical composition of the solution in which they are placed; its degree of concentration; its temperature; and, in the case of gases, on the pressure. Unless all these conditions are taken into account, inferences drawn from the electro-chemical series are likely to prove more

Jan 1, 1901

By Herbert Hoover

THE desire of the engineers over the last few years, growing out of their contact with public affairs, that this Institute should take a wider vision than the narrower field of technology and should apply its skill to the development of civic problems which must lay in their foundation on engineering, has led to this discussion today. Some of us in San Francisco, in discussing this question of the relation of the engineers to civic problems, raised the question as to whether or not in this national emergency it was not the duty of the Mining Engineers to bring, forward their combined skill and knowledge and experience to bear upon the problems of the coal industry. This industry, considered as a whole, is one of the worst functioning industries in the United States. It is equipped with capital, with machinery, plants and labor to a peak load at least 20 per cent. above the average necessity. This peak load, therefore, involves the use of probably 100,000 men diverted from other productive industries; it involves an intermittency of employment through its whole personnel that results not only in a long train of human woe, but results also in a higher cost of coal -to the general public. The problem of whether the industry can, by any device, be cured or even partially cured of its intermittency, is solely an engineering problem. It is therefore an apropos problem for this Institute. Your President and myself and others thought that we could best develop this discussion by calling upon men of large experience in the particular branches of the soft coal industry, to bring the facts in front of this general committee, with a view to an exhaustive discussion and perhaps subsequently the appointment of a committee to formulate those facts and such remedies as may be developed into a report that would be of constructive value.

Jan 3, 1920

By L. J. Kashar

By means of a continuum-mechanics approach, the following equation for calculuting the pressure for axisymmetric cold forging has been derived: where P is the extrusion pressure; K and n are the strength coefficient and the strain-hardening exponent of the steel, respectively; a and b are strain factors, primarily dependent on the die design; and R is the extrusion ratio. Data from compression and backward-extrusion tests performed at a crosshead speed of 0.5 in. per min on a nonwork-hardening material pure lead) and on a work-hardening material (1018 steel) indicate that the predicted extrusion pressures obtained from the derived equation agree very closely with the actual extrusion pressures. Therefore, the equation can be used to predict backward-extrusion pressures from standard mechanical-test data. The decision to cold-forge a part is based on several considerations, most of them related to economics. However, the production feasibility is usually determined by the pressure needed to extrude the part and the availability of tooling that can repeatedly sustain this pressure for over several hundred thousand cycles. A major contribution to the cold forging of steel would result from the development of steels that could be forged at reduced pressures and from the development of techniques that permit the accurate prediction of the pressure necessary to cold-forge the part. The ability to predict extrusion pressures is necessary to properly design the tooling required for the cold-forging process. Attempts to theoretically predict the cold-forging pressure, especially for work-hardening materials, have been unsuccessful in previous investigations of the cold-forging process.1-3 Many empirical relations have, therefore, been proposed relating the extrusion pressure to the chemical composition,' the extrusion ratio,2 the tensile strength,273 and hard- ness, 2 and the yield strength3 of the material being extruded. However, these empirical relations are valid only for the specific conditions used in their development, and, in some cases, the empirical relations had a scatter band greater than * 10 pct. A study of the extrusion process was undertaken with the objective of developing predictor equations for extrusion pressure by using a continuum-mechanics approach to the problem of metal flow. The derivation of such an equation is summarized in this paper, and data are presented that confirm the validity of the derived equation. DERIVATION OF THE EXTRUSION EQUATION If the extrusion of a material through a die is considered in terms of a work balance, it has been shown that it is possible to derive an equation relating the work necessary to move the material through the die to the deformation work undergone by the material. The work done, W, in moving the material is given by where F is the extrusion force, I, is the distance the material was moved, A, is the original cross-sectional area of the material, P is the extrusion pressure acting on A,, Ap is the cross-sectional area of the extrusion punch, and Pp is the punch pressure acting on Ap. The deformation work, WD, is given by where V is the volume of metal deformed, ay is the flow stress of the metal, and E is the total strain undergone in the extrusion. If there are no frictional losses, the work done, W, is equal to the deformation work, WD; therefore, Since the volume of a metal does not change during deformation,

Jan 1, 1968

By H. S. George

On one occasion when it seemed desirable to reveal under the microscope not only the metallic structure of an alloy, but certain small non-metallic inclusions that are ordinarily obliterated by etching, it was discovered that, by partly eclipsing the illuminating pencil of light rays, the residual light was thrown on the object from one side and the structure was brought out in relief. At the same time, the non-metallic inclusions were retained in clear view. In this first demonstration of lighting obliquely through the objective a card was thrust part way into the light beam between the arc iris and the light filter; the shadow of the card on the filter served to locate its position. Next several stiff-paper disks of various diameters were mounted on flexible wires; some plasticine on the other end of the wires made it easy to adjust and maintain a disk at any desired position in the light beam. To facilitate manipulation, an assortment of disks was mounted on a wheel, as shown in Fig. 1. The purpose of partly eclipsing the light beam was discussed in an earlier paper.' There it was pointed out that the usual methods of illuminating opaque objects for microscopic examination lend an unnatural appearance to the view, while the new method, which has been termed conical illumination, revels the true relationship of constituents by simulating natural lighting. In nature, all objects are lighted diffusely, or by light predominating from one direction, or by a combination of diffuse and directed light. Under these conditions, objects appear to have three dimensions—they possess relief. The kind of illumination known to metallographists as vertical or axial results in an unnatural appearance, as a large proportion of the illuminating rays are parallel to the line connecting the eye with the object, a condition almost never met in nature. Microconstituents

Jan 1, 1924

By F. J. Schuh

The drilling industry long has been plagued by failures in the bottom few joints of surface and intermediate casing strings. This paper presents an analysis of the various possible causes of failure and concludes that failures are caused by short-lived, high-energy torque impulses delivered from the drill string through the bit while drilling out the cementing plugs, cement and floating equipment. The magnitude of these torque impulses is shown to be a function of the rotational momentum of the drill string, and a method is derived to calculate the magnitude of these impulses. The available methods of strengthening the bottom joints are reviewed. It is concluded that, while present methods are ineffective, a combination of improved procedures for strengthening and minor restrictions on drillout practices will prevent failures. Introduction In most cases, failure in the bottom few joints of casing strings is not discovered until electric logs record that the bottom one, two or three joints have parted from the casing string and slipped down the hole. However, in some cases the parted section of casing uncovers a high-pressure or lost circulation zone, or shifts laterally restricting the passage of drilling equipment. In these instances extensive remedial work is required to realign the parted pieces and seal the exposed formations. Several methods used to strengthen the bottom joints of casing strings include locking set screws in the couplings, putting wedges in special collars, welding straps across the couplings, welding the couplings and, most recently, using epoxy resin-based, thread-locking compounds. Since none of these techniques has eliminated the problem, this study was initiated to find the cause of failures and to evaluate the available methods of prevention. Mechanics of Casing Failures An analysis of the various possible causes of failure indicates that the casing is unscrewed rather than broken and that therefore failure must occur before the shoe is drilled. Since there is no general agreement as to the causes of casing failure, some possible mechanisms were ATLANTIC RICHFIELD CO. DALLAS, TEX. considered in this analysis. Failure of the bottom joints of casing can occur by only one of three types of stress: tension, torsion or bending. The possible mechanisms of failure were evaluated by determining the forces required to cause casing failure by each of the stresses; and, where applicable, the possibility of failure by fatigue was considered. For casing to part under tension requires a downward load of more than the tensile strength of the casing. The lightest API weight H-40 grade casing requires a bit load on the bottom of the casing of 27,000 to 34,000 Ib per inch of bit diameter (Table 1). Since maximum drill collar weights seldom exceed 10,000 Ib per inch of bit diameter, it is apparent that casing strings cannot be parted by the downward load of the drill string. The second mechanism considered was failure by bending. This mechanism requires that the lowermost casing joints be free to be deflected laterally until the bending stress exceeds the strength of the pipe. To fail, the casing (at a height L above the shoe) requires a force and deflection' at the shoe of To deflect the casing shoe with the drill string obviously requires a dog-leg at the casing shoe. This dog-leg must have a rate of change equal to or greater than the change in curvature of the deflected casing, which is given by

Jan 1, 1969

By Frederick Prime

The first catalogue of Geological Reports of the United States was prepared by Prof. 0. C. Marsh, and published in the American Journal of Science and Ark for 1567, vol. xliii, second series. Since then the list has more than doubled, and it was thought that the publication of a new catalogue, brought clown to date, would be useful to many of the members of the Institute of Mining Engineers. The compiler will be most thankful to have any omissions or inaccuracies in the list sent to him, to be published as a supplement in the next volume of the Transactions. Especially to have the correct title, number of pages, plates, and maps of any volume on the list to which an * is prefixed, as he has been unable to personally consult such works. A preliminary list was issued last February, which has been almost doubled by the kindness of many friends. The writer desires more especially to express the obligations he is under to the following gentlemen : The Chief of Engineers, U. S. A.; Principal Dawson, Mr. G. M. Dawson, Drs. R. J. Harrington and T. Sterry Hunt, of Montreal; Mr. H. Engelmann, of La Salle, Ill.; Dr. F. V. Hayden and Prof. J. W. Powell, U. S. Department of the Interior; Prof. E. W. Hilgard, University of California; Prof. Henry Y. Hind, Windsor, N. S.; Prof. C. H. Hitchcock, of Dartmouth College; Mr. Henry A. Holmes, State Librarian, Albany; Maj. Jed. Hotchkiss, Staunton, Va.; Prof. W. C. Kerr, Raleigh, N. C.; Dr. J. S. Newberry, of Columbia College ; Prof. W. H. Pettee, of the University of Michigan ; Dr. Samuel H. Scudder, Prof. N. S. Shaler, and Prof. J. D. Whitney, of Harvard College; Mr. Sanderson Smith and Prof'. J. J. Stevenson, of New York; Mr. Addison Van Name, of Yale College, and Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, U. S. Engineers.

Jan 1, 1879

By Byron M. Bird

JIGGING is the stratification of a mass of solid particles in upward pulsations of water or in alternating upward and downward pulsa¬tions. The stratification usually is effected in a rectangular open¬top container having a perforated bottom through which the pulsations of water are applied to the materials to be separated; in separating coal, to a mass of coal and refuse. Jigging usually is a continuous process involving three steps: (1) the reception of the raw coal, (91) the stratification of the coal and refuse so that the refuse settles to the screen plate, and (3) the overflow of the cleaned coal and the withdrawal of the refuse collected on the screen. The jig is the most universal washer ever devised. It is handling in practice a wide range of closely sized coals and ores, mixed sizes of coal from 8-in. to 0 through %-in. to 0, and mixed sizes of ores down to %3 O-in. to 0 and even smaller. It is treating materials ranging in specific gravity from that of gold at 19 to that of coal at 1.30. It is handling feeds in which the proportions of high-gravity materials range from 90 per cent or higher, as for some iron ores, to 10 percent or less for some coals. It is handling feeds containing all shapes of particles-round, rectangular, and flat. It is handling simple separation problems and difficult separation problems. Thus, it is an almost universal separating device. One might add that it has been one of the most misunderstood types of washers, from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. Although con¬siderable progress has been made in coal jigging in the past 10 years, the jig probably has more unexplored possibilities than any other type of washer. In this chapter the object has been to treat the jigging process in a practical manner and to give information that will help the reader to improve his particular operation. Inasmuch as performance data from operating plants would contribute little of value, none has been given. Instead, the emphasis is upon jigging principles as a foundation for attacking the problems that arise. These principles are in reality tenta¬tive conclusions from research in the field of jigging during the past 10 years and most of this chapter should be regarded as a progress report on an investigation still under way.

Jan 1, 1943

By Rollin A. Slater

This paper presents a composite of ideas on materials handling systems by describing the design of an over-all system for a hypothetical steel pellet plant located on the Great Lakes. The bulk materials handling industry has served for years as the skeleton and the central system of nerves and nourishment for the body of basic industries. During the past two decades, this body has undergone substantial growth and mutation to meet the surging demands of our national economy for more and better products. The steel industry has kept pace with spiralling demand by innovation which has resulted in new processes and improved designs which generally yield greater production from fewer units. Materials handling technology has likewise improved its techniques and currently has a new, stronger generation of equipment to perform its necessary supporting function. Drawing upon excerpts from several recent plant designs, this paper describes a basic approach to the selection and application of modern bulk materials handling systems to an entirely new steel plant. Specific details are not available for publication, and therefore the plant described herein is a composite of ideas. This imaginary plant will be located on the United States side of the Great Lakes and its owner will be called the Hypothetical Steel Corp. for purposes of discussion. TYPES OF EQUIPMENT The basic bulk materials handling systems and components required in a plant so situated are: lake boat unloaders; railroad train unloading systems; storage pile stackers and reclaimers; large bins and regulating feeders; and the conveyor systems — with their attendant controls— which connect the foregoing. PROGRAM OF DEVELOPMENT The initial work on the plant must be that of the process engineers who develop and refine the basic data, i.e., the logistics of all raw materials, waste materials and products within the plant. During this phase of study, the materials handling engineer may advance his planning only in basic areas such as movements at the dock and movements at the railroad. This initial planning work is concerned only with defining logical plant locations in the light of channels, currents, existing traffic, governmental regulations, locations of existing railroads and available rights-of-way. These systems alone have their own individual criteria which must be respected and accommodated in the final layout. All other elements, such as the arrangement of the blast furnaces, power house, coke plant, by-product plant, scrap preparation plant, BOF shop, and facilities for continuous casting, degassing, calcining, etc., are dictated by their own specific needs and their relation to each other. In the arrangement of these latter facilities, the materials handling system is secondary and must be designed to accommodate. BASIC LOGISTICS The result of the process engineer's work can be expressed in terms similar to those shown in Table I. Plants are customarily rated in terms of annual tons of ingots. Therefore, the basic size of this plant can be determined by referring to the BOF Shop wherein it is sized at 5 million tpy. From the base, the required hot metal can be traced to the blast furnace, which in turn indicates the amount of required flux, iron bearing materials and coke —which in turn establishes the demand for coal. Likewise, the total demand for flux can be determined by the combined demand of the lime plant and blast furnace. The generation of fines and waste products, which have significant value but are not usable as such, create the need for a sintering plant. From projections such as the foregoing, the complete flow of materials can be established and accommodated. The basic premise upon which this typical materials balance is predicted is that the plant will be a producer of high tonnages of non-SpecialtV- products. All basic raw materials (flux bearing, iron bearing, coal) will be prime quality. For example, the basic iron charge will be pellets, and the iron ore fraction will be sized lump, all of which

Jan 1, 1970

By Frederick Jr. Prime

THE first catalogue of Geological Reports of the United States was prepared by Prof. O. C. Marsh, and published in the American Journal of Science and Arts for 1867, vol. xliii, second series. Since then the list has more than doubled, and it was thought that the publication of a new catalogue, brought down to date, would be useful to many of the members of the Institute of Mining Engineers. The compiler will be most thankful to have any omissions or inaccuracies in the list sent to him, to be published as a supplement in the next volume of the Transactions. Especially to have the correct title, number of pages, plates, and maps of any volume on the list to which an * is prefixed, as he has been unable to personally consult such works. A preliminary list was issued last February, which has been almost doubled by the kindness of many friends. The writer desires more especially to express the obligations he is under to the following gentlemen The Chief of Engineers, U. S. A.; Principal Dawson, Mr. G. M. Dawson, Drs. B. J. Harrington and T. Sterry Hunt, of Montreal; Mr. H. Engelmann, of La Salle, Ill.; Dr. F. V. Hayden and Prof. J. W. Powell, U. S. Department of the Interior ; Prof. E. W. Hilgard, University of California; Prof. Henry Y. Hind, Windsor, N. S.; Prof. C. H. Hitchcock, of Dartmouth College; Mr. Henry A. Holmes, State Librarian, Albany; Maj. Jed. Hotchkiss, Staunton, Va. ; Prof. W. C. Kerr, Raleigh, N. C.; Dr. J. S. Newberry, of Columbia College ; Prof. W. H. Pettee, of the University of Michigan ; Dr. Samuel H. Scudder, Prof. N. S. Shaler, and Prof. J. D. Whitney, of Harvard College ; Mr. Sanderson Smith and Prof. J. J. Stevenson, of New York ; Mr. Addison Van Name, of Yale College, and Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, U. S. Engineers. PHILADELPHIA, 907 Walnut Street, October 1st, 1879.

Jan 1, 1879

By J. Murray Riddell, Arthur E. Anderson, Grover J. Holt

OUT of the depths of each business cycle we emerge with a stimulus for greater efficiency and a realization of progress in industrial technique. The recent years have not been an exception to this rule, and in retrospect we sense that significant advances have been made in mining practices on the Mesabi Range, with emphasis on speed of production and economy of operation. A survey of such changes does not reveal anything that is fundamentally or basically new, but it is apparent that ideas and machines that have found wide application in industry elsewhere, with necessary modifications, are being put to productive use in mining iron ore. Innovations in transporting and conveying ore from the open pits stand out with greatest prominence, so that, in the main, it will be with these features that this paper will treat, in the review of progress made to this date. The late years have witnessed the development of small deposits for open-pit operation, the cleaning up of pits nearing exhaustion, and in two large operations the approach to the limit for haulage by steam locomotives, owing to grades, making it necessary to recover the ore in slopes, track benches and below the power-shovel limit by a milling and scram operation. For several years small standard-type dump trucks have been used in clean-up or scram operations within the pits, but during the seasor1 of 1936 the first effort was made to use heavy truck haulage in the transportation of stripping and iron ore. The new units in use today vary from 15 to 20 tons in capacity, and are equipped with powerful gasoline or Diesel engines and supplemented by trailers or wagons on rubber or crawler treads. The Diesel engine finds favor with most operators because of fuel economy. These units develop upward of 125 hp. in the 15-ton trucks. The speed of these trucks varies from 2 miles per hour in low gear to 35 in high gear. The transmission affords 12 speeds forward and 3 speeds in reverse.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. H. Mathewson

(New York Meeting, February, 1916) DURING the past year considerable work dealing with the mechanical properties and microstructure following the anneal under uniform conditions of certain types of commercial rolled brass has been done in this laboratory. Since these experiments were conducted with the active cooperation of the Bridgeport Brass Co., involving free use of its product, and have thus furnished information which is characteristic of some of its special mixtures, full publication of the numerical relationships and comparative results encountered does not seem justifiable. Some of the more general features of this work are, however, available and it is our present purpose to use the material in question, along with some results of special tests, in discussing the characteristics of recrystallization as related to the degree of hardening by strain and the ordinary annealing variables. We desire to make acknowledgment of the many courtesies extended by Mr. Charles Ferry, Metallurgist of the Bridgeport Brass Co., and the value of his cooperation, which has greatly stimulated the study of brass in this laboratory. A clear and systematic presentation of the principal relations between temperature and time of anneal, the changing physical properties and microstructure and the degree of previous reduction by cold-rolling, was first made, in the case of rolled brass and copper, by the French engineer, C. Grard,1 in 1909, although much fragmentary information of this general character had appeared earlier and the main facts involved were undoubtedly known to many brass specialists through their own private research. From this work, it appears that in the cartridge mixture (67 per cent. copper, 33 per cent. zinc) the properties imparted by cold-working within the limits, 13 to 75 per cent. reduction of area by rolling

Jan 1, 1916

Industrial minerals enjoyed a fairly successful year in 1978, despite the sluggish economy, inflation, and environmental restrictions. A glance at US Bureau of Mines statistics shows that, in general, production of industrial minerals increased from + 1% (salt) to as much as 26% (sulfur, other than Frasch or recovered). A few industrial minerals showed a decline; fluorspar production, for example, registered a 23% decrease in 1978 from 1977 due to the closing of three domestic mines. Bromine, natural sodium sulfate, Frasch sulfur, and vermiculite also had production decreases of 2-6% in 1978.

Jan 5, 1979

By F. W. SUTTER

IN order to have ore available on the completion of the beneficiation plant at Clifton and to provide for continuous production while underground development was carried out, it was decided to develop an open-pit through the crest of a long hill in which the ore outcropped, using 40-ft. vertical benches.

Jan 1, 1943

By I. R. Kramer, L. J. Demer

Aluminum single crystals were pulled in an electrolytic cell allowing surface removal during the deformation. The extent of Stages I and 11 of the stress-st-aitz curve was increased and the slope decreased as the rate of metal removed from the surface was increased. An increase of the strain rate caused a decrease in the effectiveness of the metal removal. The data indicate that the work-hardening coefficient in Stage I is determined primarily by the conditions which exist on the surface of the crystal. In Stages 11 and 111, both surface effects and internal barriers are important. ALTHOUGH numerous investigations have been conducted on the plastic flow characteristics of metals in an attempt to explain the mechanism of work-hardening, relatively few studies have taken into account the influence of the surface. In all current theories of work-hardening it is assumed that the impediments to the movement of dislocations are within the crystal. The barriers due to the surface and the existence of solid and liquid films have been neglected even though it has been demonstrated that the surface exerts a large effect. A number of investigators1-l8 have shown that solid films on the surface of single crystals markedly affect their mechanical behavior. In general, the presence of a solid film tends to increase the yield stress and increase the work-hardening rate. Often, on single crystals, Stage I and, at times, Stage II regions are completely suppressed. Various mechanisms have been offered for the effects of oxide and metal films as well as the influence of electrolytes. Of these, concepts concerned with the locking of surface dislocation sources and the blocking of dislocations at the surface resulting in pileups appear to be actively considered at present. Barrett,11 Takamura,6 Gilman,19 Lipsett and King,20 Shapiro and Read,10 and Weiner and Gensamer21 are among those who have interpreted their results in terms of piled-up dislocations at the surface, while Adams.22 and Chalmers and Davis23 have explained their experimental observations in terms of locking of surface dislocation sources. In general, the change in plastic flow properties due to electrolytes has been explained in terms of the unblocking or unlocking of dislocations by the removal of the oxide films. In considering the two proposed mechanisms, it appears that the locking of sources of surface dislocations by a solid film should exert a primary influence only on the critical resolved shear stress for flow and not on the slopes of Stages I and 11. However, the blocking at the surface of dislocations from internal sources may also affect the critical resolved stress and furthermore exert an influence throughout the whole plastic range. In certain cases it does not seem feasible to explain the results of experimental observations in terms of locking of surface dislocation sources. The abnormal aftereffects found by Barrettll,12 by removing the oxide by an acid treatment are excellent evidence of the blocking of dislocations at the surface. Additional evidence in favor of a blocking due to a pileup of dislocations at the surface may be found from the observations that the critical resolved shear strength continues to increase with the thickness of the oxide layer until very heavy oxide layers are formed. If the locking of surface dislocations sources were the dominant factor, the critical resolved shear stress would not be expected to increase after all of the surface sources were locked by the formation of the oxide. This may be expected to happen after a few atomic layers of the oxide are formed. In spite of the above evidence on the strong influence of the surface on the plastic flow characteristic, this has been ignored in current theories of work-hardening. Seeger24,25 suggested that most of the dislocations may slip out of the crystal only when the specimen axis is within certain areas of the orientation triangle. In other areas the resolved shear stress in other glide systems is large enough to generate dislocations which can form Lomer-Cottrell locks, thereby decreasing the average slip distance in some directions and causing a larger hardening rate. Friede126 assumed that at the beginning of Stage 11, a large number of Lomer-Cottrell dislocations are formed by a catastrophic process which used up all the Frank-Read sources on the secondary slip-planes. In this manner a fixed number of Lomer-Cottrell locks is formed which act as barriers against which the dislocations can pile up. In Stage 111, Seeger24 and Diehl, Mader, and Seeger25 proposed that Lomer-Cottrell barriers are circumvented by the cross slip of extended screw dislocations. Cottrell and Stokes,27 Friedel,26 Cottrell,26 and stroh29 suggest that the Lomer-Cottrell dislocations collapse under the stress field of the dislocation pileup. It is the purpose of this paper to report the changes in Stages I, II,and III of the deformation process in

Jan 1, 1962

By E. W. Engle

Fox several years the Fansteel Products Co. has been engaged in the production and development of various of the rarer metals. It is at present engaged in the commercial production of tantalum, tungsten, and molybdenum in a very high state of purity. The information contained in this paper is partly a general compilation from various sources and partly information obtained as a result of recent years of work in the laboratory of this company. Tantalum, tungsten, and molybdenum form a group peculiar to themselves among the commercially available metals. Their very high melting points (tantalum 2770° C., tungsten 3350° C., and molybdenum 2550° C.) set them apart so far as the metallurgical processes for their production are concerned. Further, when properly prepared and treated they will stand a somewhat unusual degree of cold work, that is work below the temperature at which marked crystal growth takes place. Such cold-worked metal may show a high tensile strength; tantalum to 130,000 lb. per sq. in., tungsten to 490,000 lb., and molybdenum to 260,000 lb., in the form of fine wire. In physical appearance, these metals are not unlike some steels; they may be better described by saying that polished tantalum some¬what resembles lead; polished tungsten, iron; and polished molybdenum, nickel. The polished surfaces of all three remain untarnished in ordinary air. Air containing corrosion-producing impurities will, in general, show molybdenum the least resistant to corrosion and tantalum the most resistant. Molybdenum has, however, a high degree of resistance to corrosion by hydrochloric acid, a property that should render it of commercial interest. On the other hand, it is markedly attacked by some of the weaker organic acids.

Jan 3, 1925

By Augustus Locke

In 1900, when. the public first heard of "secondary enrichment," the Butte chalcocite seemed clearly supergene. Mining, through successive regions of leached capping, bonanza sulfide, and sulfide less rich, had paused at lean bottom levels which, though chalcocite-bearing, suggested the waning of copper. The deepest chalcocite, at 1500 ft., was yet too shallow to disturb the supergene hypothesis. But, with deeper mining, lean levels yielded to fat ones. Here and there they showed, within the same vein, an inverted distribution, chalcopyrite above and chalcocite below. To the miners' astonishment, they carried chal-cocite, unaffected by cross faults, on an independent course to the depth of 2500 ft. The pattern of ore distribution, hitherto revealed only in fragments, was now appearing in perspective, and, in the depth of the chalcocite, was beginning to make Butte differ from all districts where the chalcocite is indubitably supergene. The idea of hypogene origin at length came into favor; by 1913, when Sales' advocated this origin, the argument had become a powerful one. This argument rested on field evidence; but, already, there was beginning to emerge microscopic evidence not included in this argument. Especially pertinent was the proof that (1) the deep chalcocite lies in-mixed with bornite, often microscopic; (2) the deep chalcocite often replaces bornite; and (3) replacement of bornite by chalcocite is accomplished more easily than that of pyrite, enargite, or chalcopyrite. The microscopic evidence has been accumulating for ten years and it demands

Jan 1, 1924

By Clarence G. Merritt

Stainless iron, as mild stainless steel is usually called, an alloy ranging from 11.50 to 15.00 per cent chromium with carbon under 0.12 per cent, has been considered to be not appreciably affected in respect to corrosion resistance by heat treatment. This metal, while one of the most widely used of the "straight" chromium stainless alloys, has failed in many applications because of insufficient information regarding heat treatment. These failures have been attributed to many possible causes from an inherent lack of resistance to corrosion and misapplication to mlysterious electrolytic effects or comparatively minute non metallic inclusions. Many uses for a steel with such excellent physical properties as are latent in this alloy have been lost on account of corrosion failures which could have been avoided by applying proper heat treatment. The alloy has not received the recognition or attention it should because of the fact that the details of its metallurgical behavior were not thoroughly understood. Response to heat treatment of the steel is well known as regards tensile properties,1-2 but its application has been for improvement in tensile characteristics or on account of machining considerations rather than for corrosion prevention. The potential user of this steel has not been clearly advised in papers, either technical or commercial, that have been written about it in the last 10 years or more, of particular features that are of prime importance in developing the excellent properties of this metal. The data to be presented in this paper are concerned mainly with the effect of heat treatment on the corrosion resistance, but a study has also been made of the concurrent microstructural changes and an explanation developed for the phenomena revealed, as well as a correlation to the other physical properties—hardness, tensile characteristics and impact strength. Stainless steel, largely used for cutlery purposes, an alloy of approximately 13.00 per cent Cr with 0.30 per cent C;, must be hardened and the surface prepared by polishing or pickling for best resistance to staining and corrosion. Monypenny reports that a loss of hardness is

Jan 1, 1932

By R. O. Leach, O. W. Wagner

Because of unfavorable wetting conditions much residual oil is left when a porous material is Pushed by water. Methods suggested to change reservoir wetting to improve oil displncernrnt efficiency are generally expensitlr. The present 1aborator.y study was undertaken to gain an under.standinx of the factors which determine reservoir wettability, arid to find out if oil displacement efficiency might be improved by a wettahility change accomplished at low cost in on oil reservoir. Contact angle measurements were made on mineral surfaces using sevc.r~zl sets of reservoir oil and water samp1es. Results of the contact angle studies suggest that reservoir wetta-hility may he primarily determined by natural surface-active substances present in the reservoir fluids. The effect of changing sa1inity and pH of the water phase was studied. The re.suits suggest that gross changes in preferential wettability might be acc~o~npli.shed by injection of water containing simple chernicnls to alter pH or salinity in the reservoir. Such treatment could he much less expensive than injection of commercial surface-active agents. Waterflood tests have also been made using synthetic cores and oil and water having wening characteristics similar to those of reservoir fluids. Cores initially oil-wet were flooded in such a way that they were made prefermtial1y water-wct by the advancing flood water. This reversal in preferential wettability achieved greater oil displacement efficiency than when either oil-wet or water-wet conditions were maintained throughout the flood. For the systems studied, the higher the oil viscosity the greater the percentage improvement obtained over conventional waterflood recovery. This suggests that a flooding process making use of wettability-reversal may extend the oil viscosity range over which water flooding is attractive. Because a precise adjustment of reservoir wettability does not seem to be required, and because altering the pH or salinity in some reservoirs may be inexpensive, it appears that a waterflooding process employing wet-[ability-reversal could find .succesful field application. I NTRODUCTION The efficiency with which water will displace oil from a porous material is related to the nature of the capillary forces present. These in turn are controlled by the preferential wetting of the solid by the two fluids. Because of unfavorable wetting conditions, 30 per cent or more of the original oil in place may remain unrecovered in that portion of a reservoir flushed by water. This paper is concerned with the possibility of improving waterflood oil displacement efficiency by alterations in the wettability of the porous material. A laboratory study was made to gain a better understanding of the factors which control reservoir wettability, and to determine if the oil displacement efficiency could be improved by some inexpensive means of manipulating wettability of the porous medium. Contact angle measurements were made with several natural and synthetic oil, water and solid systems (1) to obtain a better understanding of how to duplicate reservoir wettability in the laboratory, and (2) to discover possible means for changing preferential wettability of natural reservoir systems. Flooding tests were also made in synthetic systems to determine if oil displacement efficiency could be improved by those wettability manipulations suggested by the contact angle measurements. Based on these studies a possible method for improving waterflood oil displacement efficiency is presented. This method involves causing an originally oil-wet porous material to become preferentially water-wet during the course of a water flood. The purpose of this paper is to present results of the laboratory studies. THEORY Rock surfaces in some oil reservoirs are believed to be covered with a firmly attached bituminous or other organic coating. Such surfaces would be preferentially oil-wet in the presence of both oil and water, regardless of composition of reservoir fluids. Other reservoirs are believed to contain rock surfaces not permanently coated with such materials, and which would be preferentially wet by water in the presence of water and oil free from surface-active substances. However, when the reservoir fluids do contain certain natural surface-active materials in sufficient quantity, rock surfaces acquire a degree of preferential oil wettability caused by adsorption of these natural surface-active materials on the solid. The equilibrium amount of these materials adsorbed per unit surface area is believed to depend upon their concentration in the bulk liquid phases.

By W. R. Bean

Probably few, if any, of the many serious problems confronting malleable foundries have been more difficult of solution than the question as to why malleable that is ductile, black in fracture, and normal in all respects before galvanizing should, by that process, be rendered brittle, brilliantly crystalline or "white" in fracture, and of low resistance to shock. So far as we are aware, the technical literature contains no data or discussions on this subject, except two referencesl,2 of a general character. It is apparently a question that every one concerned, producer and consumer alike, has been willing to evade as far as possible. Various theories as to the cause of the deterioration have been given but such checking of these theories as we have done indicates that there was no sound basis for most of them. This work on the galvanizing of malleable was first undertaken in 1916, and has continued until the present time. We now feel that for all practical purposes we have reached a solution and are glad to be able to offer it in a form that can be readily applied to production processes. It is impossible to give here a detailed account of the early work done on this problem. A great number of tests were instituted and an enor-

Jan 1, 1923