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By M. Prats

The effect of a sand-filled vertical fracture of limited radial extent and finite capacity (fracture capacity is the product of the permeability and width of the fracture) on the flow behavior of a cylindrical reservoir producing an incompressible fluid through a centrally located well has been investigated mathematically. The shape of the lines of equal pressure near the fracture is essentially independent of the size of the reservoir, provided that the field radius is of the order of the fracture length or larger. For reasonable values of production rates and of fluid, reservoir and fracture properties, the total pressure drop between the end of the fracture and the well is gelrerally negligible compared with the pressure drop in the reservoir. With regard to production response, the effect of vertical fractures can be represented by the production response of an equivalent or effective well radius. For a high-capacity fracture, the effective well radius is a quarter of the total fracture length, decreasing with the fracture capacity. When invasion effects are simulated by decreasing the width of the damaged zone with distance from the well, the effect of formation damage around a fracture on the production response is not so seriolls as indicated by the literature. This suggests that frac fluids with a conventional filter-loss response are better than high-spurt-loss frac fluids, provided the effective permeability of the damaged zone is the same. INTRODUCTION This paper considers the effect of the fracture capacity, as well as the formation damage which can result from fracture treatments, on the productive capacity of vertically fractured wells. Other publications, notably those of van Poollen,l,2 consider these same effects. In addition to providing more general results for vertical fractures than are available from the liter- ature, the present paper gives the equivalent well radius of fractures having different lengths and capacities and, also, includes pressure distributions in and around the fractures. The effect of a damaged zone around a fracture on the production response was not found to be so great as that reported by van Poollen. 2 This difference probably stems from the fact that we consider a damaged zone which is widest (but is still small) near the well and thins out toward the extremities of the fracture, whereas van Poollen considers a damaged zone having a uniform width for the entire fracture length. Simple, but adequate, equations which describe the effect of these variables on production response are presented (in Appendixes A and B). Thus, results can easily be extended to values of the variables not specifically considered here. IDEALIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE FRACTURED SYSTEM It is assumed that a horizontal oil-producing layer of constant thickness and of uniform porosity and permeability is bounded above and below by impermeable strata. The liquid is incompressible. It is assumed that, after the well is fractured, the cylindrical outer "boundary" is at a uniform potential, provided that it is not too near the fracture. The fracture system is represented by a single, plane, vertical fracture of limited radial extent, bounded by the impermeable matrix above and below the producing layer (reservoir).3 Fig. 1 indicates the general three-dimensional geometry of the fractured reservoir described above. If gravity effects are neglected, the flaw behavior in the reservoir will be independent of the vertical position ill the oil sand. This means that the flow behavior in the fractured reservoir can be described by the two-dimensional flow behavior shown in the horizontal cross section of the reservoir, Fig. 2. PARAMETERS The effect of a fracture on the pressure distribution in the fracture itself and in an otherwise undamaged (no skin) reservoir indicates that the pressure distribution is a function of three parameters.

By N. H. Harrison, J. K. Rodgers, S. Regier

This paper presents comparisons of data obtained from a laboratory reservoir study and from a calculated behavior prediction with the actual production history of a condensate reservoir. A small non-commercial discovery was depleted under closely controlled conditions and the well fluids were sampled at frequent intervals. Data on the reservoir and production variables were accumulated on a fixed schedule. A laboratory reservoir study war made using the initial well fluid samples as charging stock. The production procedures and operating conditions were held constant throughout the study wherever possible and in general paralleled the field work. The well fluid compositions and the cumulative recoveries ar a function of the reservoir pressure were also calculated using conventional flash vaporization procedures and equilibrium constants. Comparisons based on the composition of the well fluid show good agreement, the laboratory study agreeing within experimental accuracy with the field work and the calculated data comparing equally well. The gas-oil ratios are also in good agreement, but with somewhat greater deviations at the higher pressures. In the overall picture, it is believed that a model st,~tiy can predict within experimental accuracy the production history of a condensate reservoir. Better equilibrium constants for the heavier hydrocarbons are needed in order to attain improved composition accuracy by calculation. INTRODUCTION In Aug., 1955, a gas condensate well was completed in San Juan County, Utah, that was initially thought capable of good commercial production. These conclusions were derived principally from core data and electric logs, which indicated good permeability, porosity and gas content. However, after the usual series of potential tests it was found that the reservoir pressure had declined some 22 per cent, and it was obvious that the zone tapped was but a small pocket or trap. It became apparent that, with a controlled depletion of a small reservoir, a unique opportunity was available to compare laboratory and calculated studies with an actual field depletion and to further the present knowledge of condensate reservoirs. FIELD WORK The Coalbed Canyon Well No. 1 was conventionally completed in the Paradox limestone formation to a total depth of 5,912 ft. The producing zone from 5,762 to 5,806 ft was perforated with four jet shots per ft. The wellhead and field equipment were also conventional, the major items consisting of a two-pass indirect fired line heater, a high- and a low-pressure separator with the necessary controls and accessories, gas meters, back-pressure regulators, flare stacks and condensate stock tanks. The initial testing of this well con-sisted of a series of flow potential and pressure build-up tests during which some 30 MMcf of gas was produced. The reservoir pressure declined from an estimated 2,300 to 1,782 psig during this period, from which it was concluded that the reservoir was very small. In order to approach steady-state conditions in the reservoir and so provide optimum conditions for making comparisons, the field depletion was programmed to approach, if possible, constant production conditions. Bi-hourly readings were taken of the tubing pressure, the pressure and temperature of the separators, oil and gas rates, and other pertinent operating data. The gas rate, as indicated by the orifice meter, was held constant by the adjustment of the choke in the line heater. The temperature of the first stage separator was held constant by adjustment of the line heater jacket temperature. Practical considerations of production made the maintenance oi a constant gas rate impossible. The test started with a gas rate of 4 MMcf/D and a separator pressure of 250 psig. This rate was maintained until the choke was fully opened. The gas rate then declined with the falling tubing pressure and production was continued until the rate was about 2

By B. F. Decker, J. H. Keeler, W. R. Hibbard

Textures of hot-rolled, of cold-rolled, and of cold-rolled and annealed zirconium sheets were determined by use of an X-ray spectrogoniometer. All textures showed a tilt of the basal planes 240" from the rolling plane about the rolling direction. Deformation textures showed the [1010] direction to be approximately in the rolling direction. After recrystalliza-tion, the 111201 direction was approximately in the rolling direction. This texture was sharpened by annealing above the allotropic transformation. Textures of sheet produced by alternately cold rolling and then annealing were less strongly oriented than sheets that underwent severe deformation without intermediate anneals. THIS study of the deformation and annealing textures of high purity zirconium was carried out to supplement an investigation of zirconium and zirconium-base alloys. The spectrogoniometer method of pole figure determination was used and yielded more detailed and precise information than the photographic techniques used by previous investigators. Earlier investigations of the rolling textures of hexagonal metals titanium,1,2 beryllium," and zirconiumL having a c/a ratio slightly less than 1.6 disclosed a rotation of the basal planes from the rolling plane about the rolling direction so that the basal poles were inclined toward the transverse direction, and with one exception,& the [1010] direction was found parallel to the rolling direction. Similarly, hot rolling produced a spread of the basal poles in the transverse direction,2,3,5 With the [1010] direction parallel to the rolling direction. The textures of these metals after recrystallization differ somewhat from each other although still exhibiting the transverse rotation of the basal poles about the rolling direction. Zirconium" was found to have the [1120] direction in the rolling direction, beryllium" continued to have the [1010] direction in the rolling direction, and titanium' was shown to have the [1010] direction in the rolling direction (the cold-rolling texture) when annealed at 1000°F, changing to the [1120] direction in the rolling direction when annealed at 1500°F. It was suggested2 that the titanium retains the deformation texture after re-crystallization, and preferred grain growth at higher temperatures produces the second texture. Annealing above the allotropic transformation temperature did not appreciably change the high temperature recrystallization texture for titanium.' Coarsegrained zirconium showed more spread" in the transformation texture than in the recrystallization texture. The material used in this investigation was crystal-bar zirconium prepared by the iodide process. The major impurity was hafnium which was less than 0.3 pct. The composition obtained by spectro-graphic analysis is given in Table I. The hot-rolled specimen was prepared from a 50-g button of zirconium arc-melted in a water-cooled crucible under an argon atmosphere. This button was enclosed in a welded sheath of soft iron and the ensemble was rolled at 825°C. After each pass the sheath was put back into the furnace to allow it to return to the desired temperature. The zirconium ingot was reduced in this manner to a thickness of about 0.035 in., a reduction of approximately 90 pct. The sheet after removal from the sheath was alternately polished and etched to a thickness of 0.001 in. Cold-rolled specimens were prepared from crystal bar by a series of reductions of approximately 0.010 in. until the sheet reached a thickness of 0.010 in. after which it was cold-rolled to 0.001 in. thickness between sheets of alloy steel. The total cold reduction amounted to about 99.8 pct. Specimens were annealed in an evacuated Vycor or quartz tube. The transmission pole figures were obtained by the quantitative method of Decker, Asp, and Harker6 modified by Geisler7 using an X-ray spectrogoniometer with Cu Ka radiation. Unless otherwise specified all four quadrants were examined with 5" increments along the radius of the pole figure. Absorption corrections were made for changes in length of the X-ray path through the sample as inclination of the

Jan 1, 1954

By J. P. Hammond, C. J. McHargue, S. E. Adair

Cold-rolled sheet textures have been determined for binary solid solutions of aluminum, columbium, tantalum, and zirconium in titanium. An alloy containing 3.8 pct Al had a (0002) [10101 texture, whereas alloys with the other elements had rotated (0002) [10101 textures similar to that of iodide titanium. THERE have been relatively few studies of the effect of alloying on deformation textures. A second element may be present in the base metal in solid solution and/or as a second phase. The literature offers no satisfactory explanation for the effects of solid solution alloying on textures noted thus far. For example, there is no satisfactory explanation of the difference in the textures of copper and a brass. The most complete study of the effects of solid solution alloying on deformation textures has been that of Brick, Martin, and Angier.¹ These investigators reported that the copper texture was retained by alloys of copper with up to 30 pct Ni, less than 5 pct Zn, less than 2 pct A1 or Co up to the limit of solubility. Copper containing more than 5 pct Zn, more than 2 pct Al, or the maximum soluble concentration of tin, silicon, or manganese showed the deformation texture of a brass. Bakarian² reported that additions of 0.20 pct Ca to 99.98 pct Mg or 2.0 pct Mn plus 0.15 pct Ca to magnesium resulted in entirely different textures than for the pure magnesium. The texture obtained for high-purity magnesium sheet showed the basal plane to be concentrated parallel to the rolling plane. The texture obtained for the alloy containing 0.20 pct Ca had the basal planes concentrated in elliptical areas whose centers were tilted 15" from the center of the pole figure toward the rolling direction. This split basal orientation was even more pronounced in the alloy containing 2.0 pct Mn and 0.15 pct Ca. Fuller and Edmunds" studied the rolled sheet textures in a zinc alloy containing 1 pct Cu and 0.01 pct Mn. The basal pole figure of this alloy contained a region of strong concentration not found in the pole figure for pure zinc.' In the above cases, results were discussed in terms of possible changes in slip and/or twinning systems and critical shear stresses. However, there were no experimental data to relate these speculations with the observed textures. It has been suggested that the deformation textures of titanium, zirconium, and beryllium could be directly ascribed to their low c/a ratios. The complex deformation mechanisms of titanium" also have been suggested to be characteristic of hexagonal close-packed metals with low c/a ratios. The purpose of this investigation was to study the cold-rolled sheet textures in binary titanium-base a alloys in which the c/a ratios were greater than, less than, and about the same as the c/a for iodide titanium. The annealed textures of these alloys will be reported in a subsequent article. Materials and Methods The chemical analyses of the metals used in this investigation are given in Table I. The alloys were prepared as 15 g buttons on a water-cooled copper block in a vacuum arc-furnace. The furnace was evacuated to pressures of the order of 10.' mm Hg, flushed with 99.98 pct pure argon, and melting was carried out in 0.2 atm pressure argon. Each button was remelted until radiographs and chemical analyses indicated complete solution of the solute elements. All buttons were forged and homogenized 72 hr at 500°C. The buttons to be rolled were ground and etched to sizes and shapes suitable for the rolling

Jan 1, 1954

By Larry J. Tucker

INTRODUCTION The orebody at Pea Ridge strikes NE-SW and dips at about 800 to the SE. The ore and surrounding rocks are Pre-Cambrian in age. These rocks are usually very competent. Locally strong jointing has caused problems and toward the hangingwall dikes have caused particular problems during or after the open stoping phase of production. About 396 m of sediments lie over the ore. The shape and mineral content of the orebody has been fairly consistent so far with production areas lying from the 1375 to the 2475 levels. The deeper limits of the ore- body haven't been found yet. The ore is high grade magnetite with a strike length of over 600 m and a maximum width of over 180 m on some levels at the center of the orebody. Production at Pea Ridge for the first three years of operation came from two types of open stopes. The original stopes were recovered with horizontal production rings being drilled and blasted from vertical raises. Later a more typical sublevel stoping method using vertical production rings from one or more drilling sub- levels was used. There were a number of reasons for the selection of open stoping as the initial production method at Pea Ridge. First, it was judged that the ore was not of a block cave quality. After fifteen years of production, this assumption can be verified. There was some concern during the planning days for the potential for high flow rates of water into the mine from aquifers in the sediments lying over the orebody. Dewatering wells from surface and underground were put in as a precaution and nothing came of this potential problem. Open stoping and its resulting pillar structure put off this problem by supporting the sediments a few years longer. For a moderate investment in level development some production from open stoping was quickly realized. The first open stopes were brought in on what was then the bottom mine production level (2275), near the shaft pillar and situated on the footwall. This production practice of stoping on the heels of development from shaft pillar westward and from footwall to hangingwall continued through the open stope phases of production at Pea Ridge for many years. From the standpoint of mine efficiency and pillar stability, this would not seem to be a recommended mining practice. 74 570 w electric slushers, using 1.37 m dippers, pulled the open stope ore out into 18 ton bottom dump cars. Ordinarily five of these cars made up a train, which was pulled to the dump area by a trolley powered electric locomotive. Open stoping had the disadvantage that 100% of the recoverable portions of the orebody had to be developed in order to recover 33% of the ore. 67% of the ore was left behind in a large pillar system. For many years we had no planned method for recovery of these pillars. Mining methods are of course, limited by the existing technology. Advancing technology, coupled with the limited production capabilities of open stoping, low efficiencies and high relative cost early in the history of the operation recommended that other mining methods be looked at. In Sweden, considerable practical experience, coupled with a large amount of theoretical work had become available on sublevel caving. To Pea Ridge it offered the apparent benefits of: 1) The flexibility of diesel powered trackless haulage. 2) The efficiency of two machines to one operator on longhole drilling. 3) A multilevel production picture with a large number of drawpoints for ore recovery. 4) 100% recovery of the mineable portion of the orebody in one production pass, with no pillar recovery problems left behind. This paper outlines the experiments and experiences which Pea Ridge has gone through with sublevel caving from 1967 to this date.

Jan 1, 1981

By P. R. Sahm, T. V. Pruss, D. A. Gandolfo

Cb 3 Sn powders were hot-pressed to estahlish densi-fication conditions and assess the possible use of such compacts in multiphase structures with ceramic or magnetic inclusions. Superconducting transition temperatures, Tc, were measured as a function of powder particle size, pressing temperature, and second-phase admixtures. The highest transition temperatures were found in coarse powder (5 to 500 u) compacts and were only weakly depended on pressing temperatures up to 1200°C. Fine powders (below 5 p), however, both single-phase CbsSn and Cb3 Sn-composites, showed a stronger dependence on hot-pressing temperatures. While Al2 O3 phase admixtures did not affect T, much more, a Pronounced T, degradation was observed upon the addition of ferrimagnetic Fe2 Mno. 5 Zno.5 O4 powders. Likewise, critical current densities, Jc, at 4.2° K were lowered appreciably in the ferrite doped samples, whereas the neutral A1203 inclusiow gave slightly improved Jc values. MULTIPHASE structures in electronically active materials have recently gained in interest as pointed out by Galasso in a review article.' In superconductors the most widely reported group are eutectic alloys which have been mostly investigated with respect to the proximity effect.2"4 In addition, "artificial eu-tectics", for example in the form of mercury-vycor glass sponge5 or fine niobium wires imbedded in a copper matrix,= have been prepared to attain higher critical fields and critical current densities. The idea was to enhance flux pinning phenomena by second-phase inclusions or ho1es. 7 Flux pinning should also be possible by the introduction of insulator inclusions into a superconducting matrix. Ceramic-metal combinations are most easily produced by hot pressing (= pressure sintering), as it permits an almost unlimited selection of material combinations. Cb 3 Sn has been prepared by vapor phase growths or in the form of thin films. Large compacts must be sintered,1° however, and normally present difficulties. At temperatures below 1350°C insufficient densities are obtained and at higher temperatures the loss of tin due to dissociation upsets the stoichiometry. Hot pressing is a natural approach to circumvent the problems, since one can obtain satisfactory densities despite low sintering temperatures. This work was mostly concerned with establishing conditions to hot press Cb3 Sn and Cb3 Sn multiphase structures (= composites), because no data are presently available, and to evaluate these with respect to their transition temperatures. However, a few measurements on critical current densities were also carried out, in particular to assess the value of ferrimagnetic inclusions. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experimental procedure involved the preparation of feed material and powders, hot pressing, and evaluation of the resulting ingots. As no attempts were made to synthesize Cb3Sn from the elements during hot pressing, feed material had to be produced. For this purpose, a stoichiometric Cb-Sn powder mixture was compacted into a 3-cm-diam ingot (80,000 psi) and then inserted into a quartz tube and evacuated. Rf heating was employed. Above the tin melting point (230°C) liquid tin was forced out of the ingot, but was pulled back by capillary action after approximately 0.5 hr of continuous pumping at 700°C. Thus, it appears that evacuation at this temperature caused desorption of impurity gas creating wetting surfaces which, later on, favored alloying at relatively low temperatures. After a presintering period of 17 hr at 800°C, the quartz tube was tipped off and sealed into another such larger-diameter tube which, in turn, was connected to a pump system. This configuration permitted a temperature treatment at 1400°C, carried out for 65 hr, without collapsing of the glass walls or unfavorable chemical interaction of Cb3Sn with the quartz. The resulting material was

Jan 1, 1969

By M. J. Hordon

Measurements of the 103 yield stress of ordered and disordered poly crystalline Cu ,Au were related to the ordered antiphase domain size determined by resistivity measurements. For undeformed material, a yield stress maximum wa obtained at a critical domain diameter of about 40A. Plastic deformation resulted in a marked increase in the yield stress and electrical resistivity of the ordered alloy compared to the disordered, the strain hardening rate increasing regularly with initial antiphase domain size. Order hardening was accompanied by a sharp reduction in size of the initially large domains. It has been observed that the yield stress of ordered and partially ordered Cu3Au alloy varies sensitively with antiphase domain size aid degree of order.ly2 In addition, ordering of the lattice leads to a marked increase in the strain hardening rate (order hardening) as compared to the rate for the disordered alloy. In the present investigation, changes in the electrical resistivity and yield stress of ordered polycrystalline Cudu with varying initial domain diameters were measured after tensile plastic deformation in order to examine the effect of cold work on the antiphase domain size. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Au-Cu alloy of 99.99 pct purity analyzing 50.85 wt pct Au-balance copper was obtained from the Handy-Harmon Co., N. Y., in the form of 0.061 in. diam drawn wire. Wire specimens 3 in. in length were given the following annealing treatment in nitrogen: 500" for 72 hr, 820" for 15 hr, and 450" for 5 hr, followed by a water quench. The annealing sequence resulted in a completely disordered structure with a grain size of about 0.2 mm. The disordered specimens were then reannealed at 360' in nitrogen for periods varying from 10 min to 150 hr followed by quenching to produce ordered structures with varying domain sizes. The degree of ordering and variation of domain size was followed by electrical resistivity measurements made at room temperature using a low resistance precision Kelvin double bridge apparatus. The specimen resistance was determined over a length of 4.0 cm between two brass knife-edge contacts while the specimen was immersed in an oil bath to minimize temperature variations. In addition, the current flow in the circuit was minimized by a current pulse technique in balancing the bridge in order to avoid heating the specimen. Using a sensitive galvanometer to detect the bridge null, the accuracy of the resistance measurement Wire specimens were plastically strained in tension with an Instron tensile unit at strain rates in the range 5 x 10"5 sec-' to 2 x 10"4 sec-'. Stress and extension data were fed into the Instron chart drive amplifier to obtain the actual stress-elongation curve from which the yield stress at 10"3 strain was determined. The maximum resolution of the apparatus was approximately 50 psi stress and 3 x 104 strain. At various plastic strain levels, deformation was interrupted and the electrical resistivity determined after removing the stress. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1) Yield Strength of Ordered Cudu. In order to determine the effect of the ordered antiphase domains on the initial yield stress, specimens were prepared with varying domain sizes ranging from zero for 5 completely disordered structure to about lo5A for a completely ordered structure by suitable annealing treatment. Domain sizes were estimated by comparing room temperature electrical resistivity data with the original data of Jones and sykes3 as modified by rdle.' In agreement with previous work, the resistivity varied sensitively with domain diameter and degree of order, decreasing from approximately 11.6 x l0- ohm-cm for the disordered structure to about 5.9 x l0- ohm-cm for ordered domains above 10"3 cm in diameter. Fig. 1 shows the change of the 103 yield stress with ordered domain size. It is evident that the maximum

Jan 1, 1963

By H. W. Mead, C. E. Birchenall

SELF-DIFFUSION in pure gold has been studied by Sagrubsky,1 McKay,2 Gatos and coworkers,3,4 and Okkerse.5 Sagrubsky used a sectioning technique but reported results far lower than any of the others. The work seems to be carefully done, and it appears that a factor of 60 must have been omitted in his calculations or the units misstated by an equivalent amount. McKay used a surface activity method, and Gatos and Kurtz, following Gatos and Azzam, applied autoradiography to the measurement of activity on an oblique section through the diffusion zone. These two investigations agree well with each other but give results below those reported here. Okkerse employed a very careful sectioning technique. Chemical interdiffusion in Au-Ag alloys has been measured under several concentration conditions. Average values of the diffusion coefficient for the range of 0 to 18 atomic pct Au were obtained by Braune.6 since the diffusion coefficient probably varies markedly over this range, the values may not be too useful. Also, a plot of these data suggests that grain boundary contributions may have been appreciable at the lowest temperature employed. Ebert and Trommsdorf7 give average values for 0 to 9 atomic pct Ag, and Johnson8 reports average values for 45 to 55 atomic pct Au. Johnson also measured silver and gold self-diffusion coefficients in 49.2 atomic pct Au alloys, and self-diffusion in pure silver. The self-diffusion of gold in pure silver has been determined by Jaumot and Sawatsky.10 Other measurements which do not cover a range of temperature or are of low precision are not mentioned in this account since a review by Kubaschewski is available." This contribution reports diffusion coefficients for self-diffusion in gold, self-diffusion of gold in Au-Ag alloys, and chemical diffusion in Au-Ag alloys. Although it had been intended to obtain silver self-diffusion data in the alloys it now appears unlikely that these measurements can be done soon, so a table has been worked out for a self-consistent scheme of diffusion coefficients which should not be too far from the true values. Experimental Details Experiments on pure metals were conducted using fine gold of 99.99+ pct Au and silver of the same purity. Alloys were prepared by melting the two metals together in a graphite crucible in vacuo and allowing the slug to solidify in the crucible. After machining to a cylinder about 0.85 in. diam each slug formed one half of a diffusion couple. Compositions were determined later by analyzing chips taken from the extremities of the diffusion zones. The gold used in the preparation of alloys was sometimes pure gold but was normally either in the form of clean pickled alloy from previous experiments or gold recovered by oxalic acid precipitation from warm aqueous solution. Chips from the various stages of experimentation were dissolved in aqua regia and the solution taken to low bulk, diluted with water, and again taken to low bulk before diluting for the precipitation. This precipitated gold contained a small amount of silver as the only impurity detectable by spectrographic analysis. Disks for use in diffusion couples had opposite plane faces abraded on emery paper as far as zero grit, were annealed for 12 hr at 900°C in argon, and had one face of each disk polished to 000 emery paper. Radioactive gold was plated at about 2 ma per sq cm from a small volume of cyanide solution containing 1 mg of inactive gold as a carrier. Specimens , were freshly abraded on 4/0 emery paper immediately prior to plating. In the case of the active couples disks of a similarly prepared but unplated alloy or pure metal were placed on top and welded to the active disk. With the concentration couples disks of different compositions were welded. Welding was performed after a pressure of 5,000 lb had been applied at

Jan 1, 1958

By A. L. Barnes

A number of reservoirs have been partially invaded by bottom water. Water flooding such reservoirs can be especially inefficient if the oil has a high viscosity because injected water will under-run the oil and emerge at producing wells without having displaced much oil. A possible means of improving water sweep efficiency would be to precede the water flood with a slug of water purposely thickened with a chemical additive. This possibility has been studied with a scaled laboratory flow model. The investigation was carried out on a model representing a 20-acre five-spot with one set of reservoir condition~. Displacements were performed with water, with viscous-water slugs of 10 and 25 per cent of the pore volume followed by water, and with all viscous water. Displacement tests were made at several rates of injection. For all cases, compared at the same producing water-oil ratio, an increase in rate resulted in an increase in volumetric sweep. The larger the quantity of viscous slug injected, the greater the crossflow of oil ahead of the displacing front and, thus, the lower the WOR during that period of a displacement. This investigation indicates that the injection of aqueous viscous slugs in this type of system would give some additional benefit over conventional flooding by (I) reducing the life of the flood, (2) reducing lifting costs and (3) increasing ultimate recovery. The benefits of a viscous-slug displacement would warrant its use if the viscous water could be created for a few cents per barrel. INTRODUCTION The most appropriate method for water flooding oil reservoirs which have been partially invaded by bottom water has been a problem of considerable interest. Such reservoirs, having good vertical permeability and unfavorable mobility ratios, are difficult to produce efficiently under normal waterflood procedures. Even though the injection wells have been plugged back above the oil-water contact and the water zone has been squeezed off, injection water will enter the formation and not only displace oil, but also much of it will displace the bottom water, thus creating a high producing water-oil ratio at the start of a flood (see Fig. 1). Since the rate of injection and the viscosity of the displacing fluid are the more easily controlled physical parameters of the reservoir, it is quite natural to study their effects on the volumetric sweep of the oil zone and on the producing water-oil ratio. Increasing the viscosity of the displacing fluid has two disadvantages—it reduces the maximum rate of injection into the reservoir, and it costs more than water. It was thought that the injection of a viscous-fluid slug, followed by water, would minimize these two disadvantages, increase the volumetric sweep of the oil zone and reduce the producing water-oil ratio. Water with an additive to increase viscosity would probably be the most effective. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the feasibility of injecting viscous-water slugs followed by water to improve or hasten oil recovery while reducing the producing water-oil ratios. The effect of injection rate upon recovery was also investigated. A laboratory model, scaled to a 20-acre five-spot prototype with one set of reservoir conditions, was constructed. Laboratory studies of displacements with (1) water, (2) viscous-water slugs of 10 and 25 per cent of the pore volume followed by water and (3) all viscous water were performed at several rates of injection. THEORY OF SAND MODEL SCALING There are two conventional means of determining scaling criteria. These are dimensional analysis and inspec-tional analysis. Determining scaling criteria by dimensional

By Robert L. Dean, Michael Hoch, Samuel M. Wolosin, Chung K. Hwu

The general shape of the 1450°C isotherm of the Ti-TiO-ZrO2-Zr region was evaluated from the surrounding binary phase diagrams and from thermo-dynamic data on the metal-oxygen binaries. The phase boundaries were accurately determined using X-ray and metallographic techniques. At 1450°C the system shows a large bcc ß field, which extends from the two metal-oxygen binary systems as a Gaussian error function, and is stable up to 30 at. pct 0 when Ti and Zr are present in equal amounts. At higher O Concentrations, the ß field is in equilibrium with t-ZrO . The following four regions, with three solid phases, are present: two a ß t-ZrO,, a TW t-ZrO,, and TiO t-ZrO2 c-ZrO2. On cooling the ß phase transforms into the a phase, going through the w transition phase. The isotherm at 1500°C for the region TiO-TiO,-ZrO, was obtained by using X-ray diffraction. At 1500°C a large c-ZrOz region is present as well as a large two-phase field, Ti0 c-ZrO,. The following regions, with three solid phases in equilibrium, were found These regions are relatively small. The solidus and liquidus relationships were determined by observing samples suspended in a tungsten crucible by means of a fine tungsten wire and heated in vacuum. Eleven univariant points were found. C-ZrO, decomposes through a peritectic reaction into liquid t-ZrO2. The activities of Ti and TiO in the TiO t-ZrOz and in the two a ß t-ZrO regions were measured using the Knudsen effusion method. In the a TiO t-ZrO, region the activities of Ti and Ti are the same, as in the a — Ti TiO binary. In the two a t-ZrO, regions, the Ti activity is high and the Ti0 activity very low, although all phases present contain at least 30 at. pct 0. This indicates a short-range order in the solid phases, Zr atoms being preferentially surrounded by 0. 1 HE system Ti-Zr-0 is of interest because of the wide ranges of solid solubility exhibited by the boundary systems; as titanium and zirconium both belong to the same group of the periodic table, large single-phase regions should occur within the system, with a great variation of properties (as the composition changes within the single-phase region). Furthermore, the possibility of modifying ZrO, to make it a more usable refractory by the addition of other metals makes this system also of interest. Because of the high affinity of titanium and zirconium for oxygen, the oxygen partial pressure is very low at all compositions; thus, there exists a ternary metal-metal-oxygen system in which the oxygen pressure is not an important variable, so long as it is low enough. When a sample is heated in vacuum to a temperature high enough for vaporization to occur, the vapor phase will consist of metal and metal-oxide gas, the oxygen concentration being very low. The phase relationships in the surrounding binary systems have already been reported in the literature; therefore, the study of the ternary diagram

Jan 1, 1962

By Harry K. Ihrig

THE hot-working of iron and steel is an art dating back to antiquity, but until about 25 years ago, relatively few alloying elements were used, and these were present only in small percentages. With the exception of sulphur, the amounts of other elements in steels did not markedly affect their hot-workability. The references in the literature on the effect of other elements on the hot-workability of steel are usually reports of failure of these steels in forging or rolling.1/8 With the increased use of alloying elements, and their use in larger amounts, it was observed that many of the new steels were red short in certain critical ranges or at all hot-working temperatures. The stainless steels are particularly difficult to hot-work. The determining of the correct conditions for piercing, rolling and forging of these alloys by experimentation in the mill often results in large losses of these expensive metals. It also is found that the hot-workability limits of many types vary from heat to heat, and hence poor results are obtained on changing to a new heat after a previous one has rolled satisfactorily. To determine the effect on hot-workability of iron to which various elements have been added, it was, necessary to devise a method that could be used on small quantities of metal. In such a method, the minimum number of variables should be present, and the procedure should be simple, quick and correlatable with large-scale hot-working operations. Sauveur,9 in the first Henry Marion Howe lecture in 1924, described the effect of carbon on the ductility of steels in torsion near their critical points. He found that carbon increases the plasticity of gamma iron. In the 1930 Campbell Memorial lecture,10 he gives the effect of carbon, chromium, and chromium and nickel on the ductility of steels under 2000°F. in torsion. Ellis11 has studied the malleability of steels at various elevated temperatures by means of a single-blow drop-hammer test. In this test the percentage decrease in height of standard cylinders is taken as a measure of their malleability. He has shown that in the low-alloy steels studied, carbon has a greater effect than nickel, chromium and vanadium. In 1938 the first tests were run on a new quantitative hot-workability test in the laboratories of the Globe Steel Tubes Co. Thum12 mentioned it in 1940. An illustration of the apparatus was published in January 1942.11 The effect of a few alloying elements on the hot-workability of metals was shown in a description of the test in 1944.14 DESCRIPTION OF TEST METHOD The method adopted after a trial of several others is a rapid twisting of bars to failure in a furnace. The standard-size bar was chosen as 9/16 in. It is prepared from larger pieces by forging and cold-

Jan 1, 1945

By J. L. Bruce

After six years of war-enforced idleness, Cyprus copper mines are operating again. This relatively long shutdown seems infinitesimal when compared with something like seventeen hundred years of inactivity that followed the important operations of the ancient Romans, and continued until the twentieth century. The historical records of the ancient operators are scarce but full of interest to those who realize that Cyprus copper production was important more than two thousand years ago. This paper, however, will give only a brief review of the ancient history and the evidence of ancient mining which have been quite fully covered in other publications.1-6 The purpose of this paper is to give a general sketch of the Cyprus Mines Corporation's enterprise in the Island of Cyprus, with special emphasis on those conditions and practices which are unusual. The picture is not intended to be complete, and many interesting details will be omitted. Some of these may be described in subsequent papers covering departmental practices. The principal operations of Cyprus Mines Corp. are in Cyprus, where it has leasehold concessions from the Cyprus Government covering about 50 square miles. It holds additional areas under "Prospecting Permits." The consideration for the concessions is a royalty on production, coupled with minimum annual rentals. Cyprus is a British Colony in the Eastern end of the Mediterranean with an area of about 3000 square miles and a population of about 400,000, of which 65 pct may be classed as Greeks on the basis of language, religious training, and traditions. About 25 pct are Moslems, principally of Turkish extraction. Prevailing languages are Greek and Turkish. A large proportion of the supervisory and administrative staff and practically all of the skilled and unskilled craftsmen and laborers are drawn from the native population. The "overseas" staff constitutes not more than 2 pct of the employees. The majority of these are from the United Kingdom, the British Dominions and Colonies. About one-third are from the United States of America. The topography of the Island is rugged, with mountains and foothills covering more than two-thirds of the area. Between the Kyrenea range rising to 3000-ft elevation, along the north coast, and the Troodos range (maximum elevation 6400 ft) occupying the southwest half of the Island, lies a cultivated rolling plain, the "Mesaoria," dry in summer and watered only by the winter rains and by scanty irrigation from small mountain streams and wells in the spring and summer. Climate and natural vegetation are characteristic of semi-arid conditions. The "urban" population, about one-fourth of the total, lives in the five port towns, Famagusta, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos and Kyrenia, and in the capitol Nicosia, near the center of the Island. The suburban population lives almost entirely in villages or small towns, with very few people residing in isolated country homes.

Jan 1, 1949

By G. H. Pardue, L. H. Gollwitzer, J. H. Moran, R. L. Morris

Experimental and theoretical studies of casing-borne signals have provided data on the attenuation efect, compressive strength and shear modulus for different types of cement. These data resulted in the establishment of a definite relationship between the cement compressive strength and the Cement Bond log reading. The relationship is influenced by the casing dimensions, but is independent of the type of cement and the curing conditions. The theoretical analysis provides a mathematical statement of the phenomenon and shows that the attenuation rate is basically a function of the shear modulus of the cement and the thickness of the casing. The lab tests provided a connection between the shear modulus and the compressive strength, and permitted a comparison of the experimental and theoretical work. The results of the experimental and theoretical study have provided means of quantitative interpretation of the Cement Bond log. This interpretation is made more convenient with the use of a nomograph. INTRODUCTION Past interpretation of Cement Bond logs has been essenlially based upon a qualitative comparison between the log response in the zone of interest and the responses in the "fully cemented" and the "uncemented" intervals. Most of the variables influencing the magnitude of the signals were recognized in an earlier paper'; however, insufficient laboratory data were available at that time for quantitative evaluation of these variables. Early attempts to use the numerical amplitudes of the signals without full knowledge of their significance resulted in erroneous comparisons between various types of cement. An extensive program was undertaken to evaluate, both experimentally and theoretically, the attenuation phenomenon and to study the effects of the more common variables. A major objective of the experimental program was to obtain data on the relationship between cement-bond-tool response and physical property standards used by the industry so that practical interpretation methods could be devised. The studies included a comparison of attenuation rate with these properties as a function of time, temperature and pressure, using common sizes of casing. The main result was that a definite relationship was established between the compressive strength of the cement in inti- mate contact with the casing and the response of the cement bond tool. For a given casing thickness, regardless of the type of cement or the curing conditions used, the attenuation rate is a function of the compressive strength. A theoretical analysis showed that the attenuation rate for casing-borne signals should be a function of (among other things) the shear modulus of the cement and the thickness of the casing. The relationship between the compressive strength and shear modulus for curing times similar to those encountered in the field was determined from laboratory tests. Using this relationship, the computed attenuation rates showed reasonable agreement with the measured attenuation rates. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of the experimental and theoretical investigations and to present the first practical method for a quantitative interpretation of Cement Bond logs based on known variables. This method is applicable where the casing-borne signal is not affected by high-velocity formation arrivals. DESCRIPTION OF LOGGING TOOL The Cement Bond logging tool shown schematically in Fig. 1 has been described previously.' The tool consists of two sections: acoustic and electronic. The acoustic section contains a transmitter and a receiver, usually spaced 3-ft apart. Sonic energy emittted by the transmitter travels through the casing and is detected at the receiver. The electronic section measures the amplitude of the

By R. P. Carreker, R. W. Guard

True stress-true strain data are given for nominally pure molybdenum (99.95 pct) over the temperature range -196° to 1540°C (0.027 to 0.63 T/T). Strain rate sensitivity was determined by rate change tests and stress relaxation tests. Inhomogeneous yielding and strain aging effects were observed. The yield stress and tensile strength depend markedly on temperature below 400°C and are insensitive to temperature in the range 400' to 800°C. The ductile to brittle transition range is +25O to -25OC. Strain rate sensitivity and stress relaxation effects are very large near room temperature. THIS report presents data which were obtained as a part of a continuing program designed to document the deformation behavior of nominally pure metals over a wide temperature range.'" This research program is rooted in the conviction that sufficient tensile and creep data of appropriate quality and detail does not exist to provide precise phe-nomenological descriptions of the deformation behavior of pure metals as a function of temperature, strain rate, and grain size. Such knowledge is needed to provide a firm base for alloy design and an experimental framework to which theories of deformation must conform. These data also complement a parallel exploratory program investigating the properties of refractory metals, including molybdenum, and their alloys. Several important reviews and research reports dealing with the tensile properties of molybdenum as a function of temperature have appeared."-lo To a great extent the work to be reported in the present paper parallels that of Bechtold and of Pugh. The authors' results are in general agreement with those of Bechtold and Pugh. The principle differences be- tween the present experiments and those published previously are as follows: 1—Wire specimens prepared from arc cast molybdenum were used in the present experiments, bar specimens were used by others. Pugh used arc cast material while Bechtold's most extensive results" were obtained on powder metallurgy specimens. 2—Several different grain sizes were tested in the present experiments. 3—The testing range was extended to cover from -196°C to 1570°C (0.027 to 0.63 T/Tm). 4—The combination of wire specimens, high speed autographic recording, and a stiff testing machine permitted more detailed study of initial yielding. The principle contribution of the present paper is the demonstration of the relatively consistent mechanical properties of nominally pure arc cast molybdenum specimens of differing metallurgical history. Bechtold and Scotts have shown that arc cast and powder metallurgy molybdenum samples have comparable tensile properties in the range —75" to 200°C when processed to have the same re-crystallized grain size. Material The molybdenum used in this investigation was supplied by the Climax Molybdenum CO. Its metallurgical history is outlined in Table I; the final products were 0,030 in, diam wire specimens annealed at 1100' and 1375°C and 0.060 in. diam wire

Jan 1, 1957

By Claude P. Heiner, Carl S. Westerberg

OBSERVATION of the clinkering action of coal from the Castle Gate D seam in underfeed stokers over a period of years has given rise to the present investigation of the effect of bony coal on clinkering. Some very costly examples of slagging clinkers in particular cases have been of especial interest to the authors. In such cases coal analyses and ash-softening and fluid temperatures have been found of little value. In general, it was noted that slagging was accompanied by a somewhat higher ash content of the stoker slack, and the suspicion naturally arose that foreign matter was the troublemaker. One would naturally suspect bony coal and rock impurities because of their occurrence and prevalence within the seam and the relative absence of sulphur or other impurities in the coal mined. The test results given herein indicate that the concentration of the bony coal and rock impurities in the coal determines the clinkering tendencies of the ash during combustion. CASTLE GATE D SEAM Extending from the Utah-Colorado line near Grand Junction, Colo., westward to Greenriver, Utah and thence in semi-circular form north and westward to Castle Gate, and from there southward to Mt. Hilgard in central Utah, is a line of nearly perpendicular cliffs, composed of interbedded massive sandstone and shales, making up the coal-bearing horizon of the Mesaverde formation of Upper Cretaceous age. The cliffs face roughly concentrically toward the south and southeast and the strata, with conformably enclosed coal beds, gently dip away from the face of the cliffs and at right angles to their front line. Back of these cliffs the mountain masses rise to an altitude of from 8000 to 10,000 ft. above sea level. Stretching away from their foot is a great shale plain, on which the towns are situated and over which the railroad lines and highways run. The Castle Gate mines enter the coal beds at their outcrop; the workings extending within a particular coal bed away from the outcrop and under the mountain mass back from the cliff line (Fig. 1). Throughout the Mesaverde formation in the Castle Gate general area, there are from two to five workable coal beds. Usually not all of these are coincidentally of workable size and merchantable quality throughout any given large tract. In the Castle Gate mine area, the base of the Mesaverde horizon and coal measures is marked by a massive, cliffmaking, gray sandstone bed 6o to 8o ft. thick. Locally this is referred to as the "Castle Gate sandstone floor." Frank R. Clark, in U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 793, designates it as the "Aberdeen sandstone." At Castle Gate the various coal beds are designated by the letters A, B, C, etc., commencing with the lowest bed. Fig. 2 is a graphic generalized vertical section, compiled from physical exposures

Jan 1, 1941

By G. B. Walker, S. A. Falconer, S. J. Swainson, H. H. Vogel

During the past few years much interest and attention has been focused on a relatively new method of ore concentration, which utilizes the principles of sink and float and employs as the heavy medium a suspension in water of a finely ground solid, such as galena or ferrosilicon. Although a relatively recent development, much progress has already been made in applying heavy-media separation processes to a considerable number of ores. Eight plants in this country and abroad are now treating approximately 10 million tons of ore annually by heavy-media separation (sink-float) processes, including lead-zinc, lead, iron, garnet, tin and tungsten. At the annual meeting of the A.I.M.E. in 1941, three interesting papers (unpublished) dealing with heavy-media separation (sink-float) processes of ore concentration as practiced in four commercial units in the United States were presented by Victor Rakowsky, Grover Holt, Elmer Isern and Robert Ammon. These papers gave an excellent exposition of the principles of sink and float, as well as the operating practice in two iron-ore-beneficiation plants, the Harrison and the Merritt, of Butler Brothers, in Minnesota; the Central mill of the Eagle Picher Mining and Smelting Co.; and the Mascot mill, of the American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Co. Augmented by pictorial descriptions and a working model demonstrating the processes, these papers evoked a great deal of interest and discussion. In fact, in reporting the high lights of the meeting in the April 1941 issue of Mining and Metallurgy, Professor Taggart made the statement that " preconcentration by heavy suspension was Miss A.1.M.E 1941 so far as milling is concerned." Although to date the greatest application of heavy-media separation from the tonnage point of view has been for the treatment of lead, zinc and iron ores, these processes have a much wider field of usefulness. In this regard, it is to be noted that recently new heavy-media separation plants for treating cassiterite ore and garnet ore have been placed in successful operation. Moreover, numerous other types of ores have been found to respond well to these processes when tested on a semi-commercial scale, and it is expected that in the near future a considerable number of new plants will be erected. In view of the fact that heavy-media separation processes offer such attractive possibilities, particularly now, when the mining industry is being called on for an even larger production than ever before has been attempted, despite shortages of labor and supplies, it was felt that a description of some of the successful separations that have been worked out during the past year in the Ore Dressing Laboratory of the American Cyanamid Co. on a variety of ores of strategic importance would be of interest. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to present the essential data relating to investigations of heavy-

Jan 1, 1943

By G. B. Walker, S. J. Swainson, S. A. Falconer, H. H. Vogel

During the past few years much interest and attention has been focused on a relatively new method of ore concentration, which utilizes the principles of sink and float and employs as the heavy medium a suspension in water of a finely ground solid, such as galena or ferrosilicon. Although a relatively recent development, much progress has already been made in applying heavy-media separation processes to a considerable number of ores. Eight plants in this country and abroad are now treating approximately 10 million tons of ore annually by heavy-media separation (sink-float) processes, including lead-zinc, lead, iron, garnet, tin and tungsten. At the annual meeting of the A.I.M.E. in 1941, three interesting papers (unpublished) dealing with heavy-media separation (sink-float) processes of ore concentration as practiced in four commercial units in the United States were presented by Victor Rakowsky, Grover Holt, Elmer Isern and Robert Ammon. These papers gave an excellent exposition of the principles of sink and float, as well as the operating practice in two iron-ore-beneficiation plants, the Harrison and the Merritt, of Butler Brothers, in Minnesota; the Central mill of the Eagle Picher Mining and Smelting Co.; and the Mascot mill, of the American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Co. Augmented by pictorial descriptions and a working model demonstrating the processes, these papers evoked a great deal of interest and discussion. In fact, in reporting the high lights of the meeting in the April 1941 issue of Mining and Metallurgy, Professor Taggart made the statement that " preconcentration by heavy suspension was Miss A.1.M.E 1941 so far as milling is concerned." Although to date the greatest application of heavy-media separation from the tonnage point of view has been for the treatment of lead, zinc and iron ores, these processes have a much wider field of usefulness. In this regard, it is to be noted that recently new heavy-media separation plants for treating cassiterite ore and garnet ore have been placed in successful operation. Moreover, numerous other types of ores have been found to respond well to these processes when tested on a semi-commercial scale, and it is expected that in the near future a considerable number of new plants will be erected. In view of the fact that heavy-media separation processes offer such attractive possibilities, particularly now, when the mining industry is being called on for an even larger production than ever before has been attempted, despite shortages of labor and supplies, it was felt that a description of some of the successful separations that have been worked out during the past year in the Ore Dressing Laboratory of the American Cyanamid Co. on a variety of ores of strategic importance would be of interest. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to present the essential data relating to investigations of heavy-

Jan 1, 1943

By E. C. Wright

THE bessemer process is nearly one hundred years old. William Kelly, the American inventor, was able to demonstrate that he had accomplished the pneumatic purification of molten pig iron as early as 1847; Henry Bessemer's English patent was granted in 1855. The application of this steelmaking process since then and the present position of bessemer steel are concisely discussed on pages 355 and 356 of the fifth. edition of "The . Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel." The great expansion of the automotive, machine-tool, chemical and oil industries after 1910 opened up a large market for special steels, whereas the output of steel before that time was mainly for structural purposes. The need for building more blast-furnace capacity complementary to bessemer operations, combined with the availability of the necessary amounts of steel scrap, both contributed to the extension of open-hearth plants at the expense of bessemer capacity. The ability of the open-hearth furnaces to consume virtually all types of raw materials as far as phosphorus content is concerned, and the need for selecting low-phosphorus ores of rapidly decreasing sources for the bessemer, also played a part in the reduction of bessemer steelmaking operations and the increase in basic open-hearth plants. As a consequence, the proportion of bessemer steel made in this country decreased from 65.7 per cent of the total in 1900 to 37.1 per cent in 1910, and only 6.8 per cent of the total in 1937. The metallurgical concepts existent between 1910 and 1920 caused the writing of many specifications of very low phosphorus and sulphur content, which definitely barred bessemer steel from many commodities. Now sulphur is being added to many open-hearth and bessemer steels in amounts far exceeding the maximum sulphur content of good bessemer steel. Rephosphorizing is also widely practiced for several specific applications. Even today, the chemical-analysis limits of many important steel specifications have an arbitrary and archaic tinge. The old standard "0.30 .to 0.60 per cent manganese" might be mentioned in this connection as similar to the rigid requirements for maximum sulphur and phosphorus that were established at least 25 years ago. The literature is full of vague and complex discussions of the effects of nitrogen and oxygen where these elements existed in steel in amounts less than 0.02 per cent. Many failures have been attributed to these elements without reasonable proof on which to base the conclusion. Methods of determining oxygen in steel require such complicated equipment that only a few research laboratories have the required apparatus. Even so, the accuracy of oxygen determinations in steel has been only recently reproducible. Up to the present time, no one has succeeded in obtaining a sample of molten steel that accurately indicates the full. oxygen content of the metal in the furnace or ladle because the molten sample

Jan 1, 1944

By E. C. Wright

The bessemer process is nearly one hundred years old. William Kelly, the American inventor, was able to demonstrate that he had accomplished the pneumatic purification of molten pig iron as early as 1847; Henry Bessemer's English patent was granted in 1855. The application of this steelmaking process since then and the present position of bessemer steel are concisely discussed on pages 355 and 356 of the fifth edition of "The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel." The great expansion of the automotive, machine-tool, chemical and oil industries after I9I0 opened up a large market for special steels, whereas the output of steel before that time was mainly for structural purposes. The need for building more blastfurnace capacity complementary to bessemer operations, combined with the availability of the' necessary amounts of steel scrap, both contributed to the extension of open-hearth plants at the -exense of besskmer capacity. The ability of the open-hearth furnaces to consume virtually all types of raw materials as far as phosphorus content is concerned, and the need for selecting low-phosphorus ores of rapidly decreasing sources for the bessemer, also played a part in the reduction of bessemer steelmaking operations and the increase in basic open-hearth plants. As a consequence, the proportion of bessemer steel made, in this country decreased from 65.7 per cent of the total in 1900 to 37.1 per cent in 1910, and only 6.8 per cent of the total in 1937. The metallurgical concepts existent between 1910 and 1920 caused the writing of many specifications of very low phosphorus and sulphur content, which definitely barred bessemer steel from many commodities. Now sulphur is being added to many open-hearth and bessemer steels in amounts far exceeding the maximum sulphur content of good bessemer steel. Re-phosphorizing is also widely practiced for several specific applications. Even today, the chemical-analysis limits of many important steel specifications have an arbitrary and archaic tinge. The old standard "0.30 to 0.60 per cent manganese" might be mentioned in this connection as similar to the rigid requirements for maximum sulphur and phosphorus that were established at least 25 years ago. The literature is full of vague and complee discussions of the effects of nitrogen and oxygen where these elements existed in steel in amounts less than 0.02 per cent. Many failures have been attributed to these elements without reasonable proof on which to base the conclusion. Methods of determining oxygen in steel require such complicated equipment that only a few research laboratories have the required apparatus. Even so, the accuracy of oxygen determinations in steel has been only recently reproducible. Up to the present time, no one has succeeded in obtaining a sample of molten steel that accurately indicates the full oxygen content of the metal in the furnace or ladle because the molten sample

Jan 1, 1944

By K. O. Stamm, B. A. Rogers

Because it is the basis of the economically important operation of hardening steel by quenching, the A3 transformation in iron has been the subject of numerous investigations. Although the contributions to this subject are interesting, no general review will be given here. Readers who care to follow the matter further are referred to the comprehensive summary by Cleaves and Thompson,l which covers the literature to about 1935. Their references to 53 papers on the subject suggest that further investigation is hardly justifiable. However, considerable interest has devel oped recently concerning the reversibility of the transformation. From thermo-dynamic considerations, the transition ought to occur at the same point on heating or cooling, if the change of temperature is sufficiently slow. Yet all of the earlier investigators found a difference of several degrees. Burgess and Crowe,2 who used thermal methods, obtained average temperatures of 912" for Ac3 and 900°C. for Ar3 on electrolytic iron. Their data indicate a considerable range of temperature over which the change occurs, both on heating and on cooling. Terry3 measured the susceptibility in the critical range and estimated from the steepest parts of his curves that Ac3 came at 9I8° and Ar3 at 903°C. Ishiwara4 was one of the first investigators to report a shorter interval between the temperature of the change in the two directions. He measured the change of susceptibility of kaolin-coated samples of steel, in a hydrogen atmosphere, at rater of heating and cooling so low that about 3 or 4 hr. were required for the transformation to complete itself. His results show some variability between samples, but indicate that the difference between Ac3 and Ar3 is in the vicinity of 6°C. Roberts and Davey5 measured the space lattice in pure iron in the vicinity of 900°C. and concluded that a change occurs reversibly between 907' 3" and 910" 3°C., probably between 907" and 910°C. Wells, Ackley, and Meh16 made dilatometric determinations of the Ac3 and Ar3 points in samples of hydrogen-treated carbonyl iron maintained under a vacuum. They used three rates of heating and cooling: 2°, ½°, and .?°C. per min. and found the spread between the two points decreased with low rates. At the slowest rate, the Ac3 transition occurred at 909° to 909. 5°C. and the Ar3 change at 907°C. in three of the samples believed to contain the lowest percentages of alien elements. They concluded that if the rate of temperature change and the content of alien eiements were low enough, the A3 transformation would be completely reversible at 909.50 + 1°C. The question of reversibility is an interesting one and when some iron with especially small percentages of alien elements became available the opportunity to conduct an investigation was welcomed. This iron was prepared by the Division of

Jan 1, 1942