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By George H. Gilman

THE campaign now being waged to improve the quality of the rock-drill bit is the natural outcome f the scientific development of the drilling machine during the past twenty years. In this development there has been a great increase of power output per unit of weight of machine. But the development of the rock drilling engine has been seriously hampered by the need of a drill bit that would withstand, without undue wear or breakage, the heavy rapid blows of the improved pneumatic hammer. This problem was difficult to solve because an increase in the weight or section of the drill-steel bar resulted in decreased cutting speed and higher operating costs of both the bit and its actuating engine. The solution, therefore, is to make the bit of steel that, for a given weight or section, will be more shock and wear resisting. In the attempt to meet these requirements, many of the drill-steel manufacturers alloyed the steel with vanadium, chromium, nickel, etc., on the assumption that such elements would improve the rock-drill bit but due to the sensitiveness of such steel to forging and heat treatment, higher cost, and lack f continuity of effort on the part of the steel manufacturer to perfect this product, but little progress has been made in the adoption of these steels and the so-called straight carbon steel is today recognized as the standard material for all rock-drill bits. The first step in improving drill-bit efficiency is the determination f the cause of breakage and wear. For this reason, in 1917, certain rock-drill manufacturers, in conjunction with some of the larger mining interests, conducted exhaustive tests in both the field and laboratory. It was then found that, in the main, the cause of drill-steel troubles is not attributable to the duty imposed upon it by the normal operation of the drilling engine, but to improper forging and heat treating of the bit and to the subjecting of the bit to improper use. The fact that it is possible to minimize the troubles attributable to improper heat treatment of the drill steel has been demonstrated and it is recommended that such knowledge be made available by teaching those interested in the production, use, and up-keep of drill bits the principles on which success in this direction may be achieved.

Jan 6, 1921

By G. Sachs, Jr. Brown W. F., Ebert L. J.

It is a generally recognized fact that a steel quenched from the austenitic range and tempered to yield a structure composed of tempered martensite becomes increasingly more ductile with increasing tempering temperature. However, the conventional tensile test fails to yield any value that is sensitive to differences in behavior on tempering among the various low-alloy steels or among different heats of a particular steel. The notched impact bending test, on the other hand, has been recognized for a considerable length of time as capable of revealing differences in impact properties among various steels tempered to 'the same strength level (i.e., the same tensile strength in a conventional tensile test). However, this test is very complex and its significance has not been clarified up to the present time. Of its three characteristic features—the high speed, the notch, and the bending—the notch has been found by Davidenkov2 to be the most potent embrittling factor. Recent investigations on low-alloy steels have shown static notch-bar tensile tests to be more lucid and to evaluate the metal properties in much the same manner as impact tests. In an attempt to analyze the fundamental nature of this test, it was found possible to separate the effects of the two basic characteristics of the stress pattern introduced by the presence of a circumferential notch, the stress state and the high initial stress concentration at the notch bottom. The major conclusions drawn from these previous investigations were as follows: I. The magnitude of the triaxiality at fracture depends primarily on the initial notch depth. Its effect is a great reduction in the average ductility (contraction in area at fracture in the notched section) as compared with that observed in uniaxial tension. This triaxial stress state occurs at a point in the interior of the notch specimen. It determines the notch ductility if the notch is mild and/or the metal possesses a considerable ductility. On the contrary, brittle specimens probably fracture on the metal surface (at the notch bottom) at which point biaxial stress state is present. This biaxiality also considerably reduces the ductility of the metal. For small notch ductilities the notch strength and the notch ductility become very sensitive to embrittling factors. This is contrary to the behavior. of the ductility values derived from a conventional tensile test, which are comparatively insensitive.

Jan 1, 1947

By Ebert L. J., G. Sachs, Jr. Brown W. F.

It is a generally recognized fact that a steel quenched from the austenitic range and tempered to yield a structure composed of tempered martensite becomes increasingly more ductile with increasing tempering temperature. However, the conventional tensile test fails to yield any value that is sensitive to differences in behavior on tempering among the various low-alloy steels or among different heats of a particular steel. The notched impact bending test, on the other hand, has been recognized for a considerable length of time as capable of revealing differences in impact properties among various steels tempered to 'the same strength level (i.e., the same tensile strength in a conventional tensile test). However, this test is very complex and its significance has not been clarified up to the present time. Of its three characteristic features—the high speed, the notch, and the bending—the notch has been found by Davidenkov2 to be the most potent embrittling factor. Recent investigations on low-alloy steels have shown static notch-bar tensile tests to be more lucid and to evaluate the metal properties in much the same manner as impact tests. In an attempt to analyze the fundamental nature of this test, it was found possible to separate the effects of the two basic characteristics of the stress pattern introduced by the presence of a circumferential notch, the stress state and the high initial stress concentration at the notch bottom. The major conclusions drawn from these previous investigations were as follows: I. The magnitude of the triaxiality at fracture depends primarily on the initial notch depth. Its effect is a great reduction in the average ductility (contraction in area at fracture in the notched section) as compared with that observed in uniaxial tension. This triaxial stress state occurs at a point in the interior of the notch specimen. It determines the notch ductility if the notch is mild and/or the metal possesses a considerable ductility. On the contrary, brittle specimens probably fracture on the metal surface (at the notch bottom) at which point biaxial stress state is present. This biaxiality also considerably reduces the ductility of the metal. For small notch ductilities the notch strength and the notch ductility become very sensitive to embrittling factors. This is contrary to the behavior. of the ductility values derived from a conventional tensile test, which are comparatively insensitive.

Jan 1, 1947

Discussion of the paper of ROSWELL H. JOHNSON, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 98, February, 1915, pp. 221 to 226. A. C. LANE, Tufts College, Mass.-About a year ago Mr. Washburne read a paper on the same characteristic oil-sand waters, discussing their chemical character, and the possibility of their chemical character being modified by adsorption in passing through the shale. We are used to consider circulation as being in one stratum, and I have often gone so far as to think that 2,000 or 3,000 ft. clown I could recognize the chemical character as in part connate to a given water. For instance, the St. Peter sandstone, far underneath oil sands, seems to retain' a relatively fresh and peculiar character. I am, therefore, tempted to ask the writer if in his experiments lie has made any test to see whether the chemical character of these waters is also changed, where there is any adsorption, so that the water passing through these fine-grained beds should leave behind its salt as well as its oil. In many cases salt-waters are associated with oil and-gas. A second question has occurred to me. In these days when we hear a good deal about oil flotation, may it not be well to repeat these experi-ments with pyritic concentrates, and see if they observe precisely the same with regard to the selective accumulation of oil and gas. ROSWELL H. JOHNSON.-I thank Profesor Lane for bringing this question forward. I recognize its importance, but. am not able to say I have any data upon that point. It is also very interesting in connection with Dr. Day's hypothesis of fractional filtration, and we may very easily get something happening to the water corresponding in some degree to what we get with oil. D. B. REGER, Morgantown, W. Va.-Mr. Johnson in his paper states his belief that the oil is formed originally from organic matter in the shale, and is forced out of the shale into the porous reservoir of the sand above the shale. He states further, that as you go deeper iii the measures where there is an increasing overburdens, the oil becomes less and the gas increases in large proportion, or lie says that the oil is forced back out of the sand by pressure, into the shale.

Jan 5, 1915

By C. R. Fondersmith, John Chipman

In the manufacture of rimming steel—which constitutes the bulk of the world's production of mild steel—the factors that determine the quality of the product are very closely associated with the pouring and solidification of the steel in the ingot mold. The behavior of the metal in the mold is, on the one hand, the resultant of the complex processes through which the liquid metal has passed, and, on the other, it is an indication of the probable behavior of the ingot during subsequent rolling and finishing operations. A detailed study of the mechanism of solidification of rimming ingots ought to yield information that will be useful in controlling the structure of the ingot and the quality of the ultimate product. The first step in such a study is to determine the rate at which the solid shell of the ingot forms from the liquid metal in the mold. A knowledge of the rate of solidification will make it possible to correlate observations of rimming action and gas evolution with studies of the structure, porosity, and segregation within the ingot. Thus, if the metal in the mold is observed to fall, let us say one minute after pouring, the portion of the structure associated with this fall will be located in the part of the ingot that is solidifying at that particular moment. The knowledge that the ingot solidifies to a depth of 3/4 in. in the first minute enables us to locate in the ingot the structural features corresponding to the observed fall. Conversely, the blowhole condition associated with a rising or growing ingot will be found in the part of the ingot that is solidifying at the time the phenomenon occurs. The time required for the complete solidification of an ingot has long been a matter of speculation. It is of considerable practical importance in connection with charging and heating in the soaking pits. Too rapid handling of the ingot through heating and rolling processes has been thought to be associated with excessive pipe and other internal defects, so that a further object of this investigation was to attempt to estimate the time required for complete solidification, or the minimum practical time within which the subsequent operations can be performed with the minimum hazard.

Jan 1, 1937

By Richard P. Rothwell

FIRES in mines are so serious in their consequences and of such frequent occurrence, that their causes and the means of extinguishing them are certainly questions of the greatest interest to a large part of the engineering profession. We have already, in this country, many mines which have been burning for years, and though our hard anthracite is so difficult to ignite that for a quarter of a century after it was first discovered it was not known how to burn it except with the aid of an artificial blast, yet most of the fires which have occurred underground have been in anthracite mines, and in the coal itself. The injury which these fires have caused to properties in various parts of the anthracite regions, and the cost of extinguishing them, would amount to many millions of dollars, and they have also occasioned the loss of many valuable lives. It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject has already attracted much attention, and the exercise of great ingenuity ; and the present communication is made less with the expectation of announcing anything new, than with the object of putting upon record the present state of our knowledge on this subject, or, in other words, of indicating how defective are the present means of combating underground conflagrations. (Causes of Mine Fires.-Even upon the surface, fire is a terrible foe to contend with, and there is probably no other which inspires such thorough and well-founded alarm. With what feelings, then, must we look upon this destructive element, when its field is in the narrow galleries of a mine, where the poisonous products of combustion, spreading in every direction, protect, in the most effectual manner, the fire itself from the attacks of extinguishers, while, if the face of attack be ventilated so as to enable them to approach the seat of the fire, the air current simply increases the extent and violence of the conflagration. Fires underground originate in as various ways as those on the surface, and it is scarcely necessary to say that, except in the rare cases where they are the result of design, they are invariably classed as " accidents," and most generally as " unavoidable accidents." In reality, by an intelligent understanding of their causes and with due precautions, they can almost always be prevented. Ignorance and

Jan 1, 1876

By C. L. Berrien

Many fires have occurred in the mines of Butte in recent years, and while all have been of a serious nature, simply because they were mine fires, six of them have been especially dangerous in respect to loss of life and property, and the expense of extinguishing or controlling them. It is not my intention to discuss the relative merits of methods used in fighting these different fires because the conditions under which they occurred varied in each case, and it was not always advisable to expend the large sum of money necessary to actually extinguish them if they could be bulk-headed off from the rest of the mine. It is needless to say that everything possible has been done to check all fires at the beginning, but without success in some cases; and it has then become necessary to bulkhead all connections to them, in which state several now exist. The mine fires of Butte, or fires in any mine, may be divided into two classes, namely: Those occurring in accessible workings, and those occurring in inaccessible workings; because these two conditions govern to the greatest extent the methods of fighting fires. Accessibility and inaccessibility in the case of mine fires concern not only new open workings and old closed workings, respectively, but also the condition of the ventilation in and about those places. When a fire is accessible at the start it should not be difficult to confine it to a small area and extinguish it in a relatively short time, but when it is impossible to actually reach a fire in old filled, abandoned workings, or there is no opening by which the gases may be conducted away from the fire zone, then the time consumed in changing those conditions permits the fire to increase to such an extent that it is a long, hard fight to overcome it. These different conditions have been met in Butte, and of the six fires of serious proportions the Steward mine fire and the High Ore-Modoc mine fire were in new accessible workings and were extinguished in a month or so. The Anaconda mine fire, the Leonard-Minnie Healy mine fire, the West Colusa mine fire, and the Mountain View mine fire, were all inaccessible. The Anaconda mine fie started about 25 years ago and though safely bulkheaded is still active. The Leonard-Minnie Healy

Jan 1, 1916

By T. Egleston

THE manufacture of charcoal in kilns was declared many years ago, after a series of experiments made in poorly constructed furnaces, to be unprofitable, and the subject is dismissed by most writers with the remark that in order to use the method economically the products of distillation, both liquid and gaseous, must be collected. It is asserted with truth that the number of kilns required for a large production of iron would be so great that it is doubtful whether any works would be justified in making the necessary outlay for their construction, but it can also be asserted with equal truth that for any such production in a given locality the use of charcoal as fuel would be equally unjustifiable. It appears to have been forgotten that there were other manufactures besides iron in which large amounts of charcoal were used, but these consumers seem to have been guided entirely by the results of the experiments of the iron men, who necessarily made the largest quantity of it. Some authors speak in a doubtful way of the quality of the charcoal produced, and a few concede that with great care good charcoal can be made in kilns, but that most of the workmen do not like kiln charcoal. This is the real secret of the opposition to this method of manufacture. Most of these objections were written when charcoal was the most important fuel used by the iron manufacturer, and when what was a large production of iron for several furnaces was less than that produced by a single modern one, in localities where other fuels can be had. Almost all that has been written on the subject related to the use of the fuel for the manufacture of iron in the blast furnace, where very peculiar properties are required, and where the quantity produced is limited by the height of the furnace, and this in turn by the crushing resistance of the charcoal. A large production was, therefore, only possible when the best and hardest woods were used. Of all these objections there is not a single one which is not equally applicable to any method of charcoal manufacture, whether it be meilers, pits, or furnaces. Until recently, therefore, the manufacturers of charcoal iron * Read at the Pittsburgh meeting, May, 1879.

Jan 1, 1880

By G. A. Moore, D. W. Williams, C. E. Sims

During the past several years the steel casting industry has made studies of heavy castings in which the test bar has been taken from heavy sections rather than from attached or separately cast coupons. It has been noted that the ductility properties of these heavy sections are often lower than those normally expected. Such lowered ductility is usually accompanied by a spotty test bar fracture and the ductility values often can be greatly improved if a low-temperature aging treatment is given to the casting. A loss of ductility of this type is considered "abnormal," since it is not accompanied by an increase of tensile strength or hardness, and "temporary" when the ductility can be restored by aging, The cure of such an abnormal condition represents a real improvement in the quality of the steel. Some hundreds of previous investigations, largely qualitative in nature, have established beyond reasonable doubt that hydrogen is normally present in newly manufactured steel and that this gas, in small amounts, can cause a temporary ab- normal loss of ductility. The commonly observed association of high gas content and low ductility has given strong evidence for the presumption that hydrogen, possibly assisted by other gases, is the primary cause of the low ductility observed. Accordingly, the Steel Founders' Society of America has, since Nov. I, 1944, sponsored investigations at Battelle Memorial Institute whose primary objective is to obtain quantitative information on the relation of the amount of hydrogen and nitrogen in steel, together with associated methods of steelmaking and treatment, to low-ductility effects and porosity. In order that these investigations might proceed on a quantitative basis, hydrogen analyses of a precision considerably higher than any previously reported in the literature were necessary. 'The method chosen was selected entirely on the basis that it had the highest probability of freedom from uncontrollable errors and will be described in detail in another publication.' Briefly, the method used consisted of the hot extraction of solid pieces of steel weighing from 45 to 50 g in a highly evacuated quartz tube maintained at 1050°C (1925°F) for a period of approximately 40 hr. The greatest precautions were taken to eliminate blanks and insure a sound gas-collection system. vacuum and temperature conditions were maintained automatically. Mercury-filled risers were used for the introduction of samples in order that the System could be degassed thoroughly in

Jan 1, 1949

By C. E. Sims, G. A. Moore, D. W. Williams

During the past several years the steel casting industry has made studies of heavy castings in which the test bar has been taken from heavy sections rather than from attached or separately cast coupons. It has been noted that the ductility properties of these heavy sections are often lower than those normally expected. Such lowered ductility is usually accompanied by a spotty test bar fracture and the ductility values often can be greatly improved if a low-temperature aging treatment is given to the casting. A loss of ductility of this type is considered "abnormal," since it is not accompanied by an increase of tensile strength or hardness, and "temporary" when the ductility can be restored by aging, The cure of such an abnormal condition represents a real improvement in the quality of the steel. Some hundreds of previous investigations, largely qualitative in nature, have established beyond reasonable doubt that hydrogen is normally present in newly manufactured steel and that this gas, in small amounts, can cause a temporary ab- normal loss of ductility. The commonly observed association of high gas content and low ductility has given strong evidence for the presumption that hydrogen, possibly assisted by other gases, is the primary cause of the low ductility observed. Accordingly, the Steel Founders' Society of America has, since Nov. I, 1944, sponsored investigations at Battelle Memorial Institute whose primary objective is to obtain quantitative information on the relation of the amount of hydrogen and nitrogen in steel, together with associated methods of steelmaking and treatment, to low-ductility effects and porosity. In order that these investigations might proceed on a quantitative basis, hydrogen analyses of a precision considerably higher than any previously reported in the literature were necessary. 'The method chosen was selected entirely on the basis that it had the highest probability of freedom from uncontrollable errors and will be described in detail in another publication.' Briefly, the method used consisted of the hot extraction of solid pieces of steel weighing from 45 to 50 g in a highly evacuated quartz tube maintained at 1050°C (1925°F) for a period of approximately 40 hr. The greatest precautions were taken to eliminate blanks and insure a sound gas-collection system. vacuum and temperature conditions were maintained automatically. Mercury-filled risers were used for the introduction of samples in order that the System could be degassed thoroughly in

Jan 1, 1949

By E. D. Gardner

Apparently the widespread agitation for the codification of our mining laws has had its effect, and it is quite possible that Congress will take up the question during this present session. The greatest objection to our present statutes pertaining to metalliferous deposits seems to be directed against the law of the apex. Those who are not in favor of changing this law are very far in the minority and they apparently realize that it is useless to urge its retention. Next in importance to the repeal of the law of the apex, seems to be a widespread advocacy for the repeal of the law requiring discovery of mineral before a valid location of a mining claim can be made. To a lesser extent there appears to be a desire to have the law changed so as to allow patent for claims without mineral discoveries. The purpose of this article is to review the arguments in favor of the proposed change of the discovery requirement, to show some of the evils that may be expected to result therefrom, and to consider whether a system may be devised to correct the undesirable features of the present law in this respect and at the same time not expose the mining fraternity and the general public to the evils which would result from the repeal of this fundamental requirement. Under the law as at present framed, the validity of a mining location is dependent upon the fact of discovery of mineral within the boundaries of the land claimed. " * * * but no location of a mining claim shall be made until the discovery of the vein or lode within the limits of the claim located" (Sec. 2,320, U. S. Rev. Stat.). All authorities agree that discovery is the source of the miners' title. Lindley, in his valuable work on Mines (3d Ed., Sec. 335), lays down the rule in part as follows: "Discovery is the initial fact. Without that no right can be acquired. * * * Such discovery must precede the location, or be in advance of intervening rights. The proof of recording and marking a claim will not authorize the court to presume a discovery." As is well stated by the U. S. Supreme Court in Erhard v. Boaro (113 U.S. 536):

Jan 1, 1917

By John H. Holloman

In recent papers, O'Neill,' Vivian, and Zener and Hollomon3 have reviewed some of the information concerning the relations between stress and strain during plastic deformation. Since further information has been obtained since these reviews were published, this paper attempts to further coordinate and amplify the knowledge concerning the plastic deformation of metals in simple tension. Ordinarily the results of tensile tests of metals are presented as graphs in which the load divided by the original area is plotted as a function of the percentage of elongation measured over some specified gauge length. The interpretation of graphs of this sort is limited, since the stress required to deform the metal at any stage of the deformation is actually the load divided by the instantaneous rather than the original area. Furthermore, each increment of the deformation is performed on metal that has been previously deformed, and, as pointed out by Ludwik,4 the strain could be more effectively defined: where e is the strain and AO and A are, respectively, the original and instantaneous areas. The results of the tensile tests can be more effectively presented and interpreted if the stress* (load divided by actual area) is .lotted as a function of the strain as defined above. A schematic curve of this type is presented as Fig. I. In a previous paper,6 the concept of Ludwik7 concerning the flow and fracture of metals was successfully employed to explain some of the puzzling results of notched-bar impact tests of steel. It appears that the use of this concept ii; very fruitful and should be kept in mind in any study of the deformation charactcristics of metals. Ludwik considered that a flow stress-strain curve of a metal was essentially a locus of points that described the stress required for plastic flow of an infinite numbcr of specimens, each with a different strain history determined by the preceding part of the flow curve Each of these specimens can also be considered to have a fracture strength. Uniortunately (or fortunately depending upon the point of view), all the specimens, except the one deformed to the fracture strain, flow and do not fracture. Even though the metals do not fracture, the concept of a fracture-strength curve seems

Jan 1, 1945

By C. E. Berner

Since 1933, the Coal Mine Rating Schedule in Pennsylvania has provided credits in the Workmen's Compensation insurance premium rates for the use of safety hats, goggles and shoes. In that year, the worth of such protective clothing had just been well established and satisfactory articles were being made by a number of manufacturers. Standards for these three items of safety clothing' were written in the Rating Schedule and have been little changed through the years. The credit in the premium rate for a bituminous mine is $0.14 for hats, $o.08 for goggles, $o.08 for shoes. In order to earn such credit, it is necessary that all the employees in the particular mine be equipped with safety hats, goggles or shoes, as the case may be. In fact, it is not unusual for mines to qualify in all three categories, thus earning a rate reduction of $o.30 per $100 of payroll. These credits have been a decided stimulus to the use of safety clothing, and at present insured bituminous mines are credited as follows: Hats........ 63 per cent, or 22,600 employees Goggles..... 28 per cent, or 10,000 employees Shoes....... 44 per cent, or 15,800 employees Of course, many other employees wear these protective articles but they are in mines that are not fully equipped and so are not given the rate credit. The growth in use of this equipment has not been spectacular but it has been steady, as shown in Table I. An interesting thing about this is that it covers virtually all of the small and medium-sized bitumi- nous mine operations in Pennsylvania. A number of large operations are included, but many large mines are self-insured. It is difficult to keep alive interest in safety work in the smaller mines: first, because employment of safety engineers is out of the question and the one or several mine officials employed are often concerned only with production; second, because the life of many small mines is brief, so that safe conditions although established do not last long. Conditions as to safety in mines of this class rest chiefly with inspectors of state mine departments and of casualty insurance companies. Many millions of tons of production come from these mines, so that

Jan 1, 1944

By C. E. Berner

Since 1933, the Coal Mine Rating Schedule in Pennsylvania has provided credits in the Workmen's Compensation insurance premium rates for the use of safety hats, goggles and shoes. In that year, the worth of such protective clothing had just been well established and satisfactory articles were being made by a number of manufacturers. Standards for these three items of safety clothing' were written in the Rating Schedule and have been little changed through the years. The credit in the premium rate for a bituminous mine is $0.14 for hats, $o.08 for goggles, $o.08 for shoes. In order to earn such credit, it is necessary that all the employees in the particular mine be equipped with safety hats, goggles or shoes, as the case may be. In fact, it is not unusual for mines to qualify in all three categories, thus earning a rate reduction of $o.30 per $100 of payroll. These credits have been a decided stimulus to the use of safety clothing, and at present insured bituminous mines are credited as follows: Hats........ 63 per cent, or 22,600 employees Goggles..... 28 per cent, or 10,000 employees Shoes....... 44 per cent, or 15,800 employees Of course, many other employees wear these protective articles but they are in mines that are not fully equipped and so are not given the rate credit. The growth in use of this equipment has not been spectacular but it has been steady, as shown in Table I. An interesting thing about this is that it covers virtually all of the small and medium-sized bitumi- nous mine operations in Pennsylvania. A number of large operations are included, but many large mines are self-insured. It is difficult to keep alive interest in safety work in the smaller mines: first, because employment of safety engineers is out of the question and the one or several mine officials employed are often concerned only with production; second, because the life of many small mines is brief, so that safe conditions although established do not last long. Conditions as to safety in mines of this class rest chiefly with inspectors of state mine departments and of casualty insurance companies. Many millions of tons of production come from these mines, so that

Jan 1, 1944

By R. C. Craze

This paper discusses the characteristics of the velocity logs now available to the petroleum industry, and some of their advantages and limitations. The velocity log was designed as an aid to the geophysicist to determine velocity layering in the earth and to provide fast, accurate and economical vertical travel time data. After a number of logs had been made, studies were carried out on their use ia correlating strata in adjacent wells. It was found that adjacent strata usually show sufficient velocity contrast to make it possible to correlate these from well to well, even in areas where electric or radioactive logs fail.' In addition, velocity logs have been useful in the determination of porosity and thickness of reservoir rock.' These uses for velocity logs require an understanding of the characteristics of the log in response to the changes in velocity and in borehole conditions encountered normally in logging. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF INSTRUMENTATION The measurement made in velocity logging is more accurately described as a measurement of time rather than velocity. Ideally the log is obtained by measuring the length of time required for compressional sound waves to travel through a fixed distance in the formation. In practice, the time measurement may be made accurately but the distance through which the waves have traveled may vary slightly. Changes in borehole diameter are responsible largely for the difficulty in maintaining a fixed distance, especially if the diameter variations are so abrupt and frequent that the borehole instrument cannot follow contours of the hole. Several service companies have velocity logging equipment available or under development which have different transmitters, receivers, and measuring systems. While these differences are important, there are actually only two systems in use at the present time (Fig. I)."' The first system initiates a pulse at a trans-mitter and detects it at a single receiver. The transmitter and receiver are separated by a fixed distance, called the spacing. The time measured is that between the initiation of the pulse and the first arrival of acoustical energy at the receiver. The second system uses two receivers and a transmitter. The receivers are separated by a fixed distance and the time between arrivals of energy at the two receivers is measured. Here, the spacing is the distance between receivers. The two systems have much in common for it is possible to record both logs simultaneously. Usually the transmitter is an electro-mechanical transducer which produces discrete

By J. J. Bodmer

The substances or materials employed in this manufacture, are the same as those used in the preparation of mortar and concrete, viz., the different kinds of lime and sand. Instead of, or in conjunction with, sand there may be used calcined clay, blast-furnace slag, clinkers or ashes from furnaces, natural puzzolana, powdered chippings from stone quarries, etc. Of the different kinds of sand, pitsand—siliceous sand, as it commonly occurs mixed with gravel—and the sand found on the seashore, where the salt has been washed out by long exposure, whilst out of reach of the tide, may be used. The purer the above-named materials are from admixtures of clay, earth, or organic substances, the more complete will be their combination with the lime, the quicker will the manufactured brick or block set, and the more satisfactory will be the quality which it ultimately attains. For this reason, subdivided blast-furnace slag is preferable in most cases to sand, and the only sand which, in reference to setting capacity, is analogous to blast-furnace slag, is the volcanic sand occurring in different localities in North and South Wales, as an almost pure calcined silica. The lime used for the manufacture may be either slaked or unslaked. In the first case, (slaked), in order. to obtain satisfactory results, the lime must be strongly hydraulic. The use of unslaked lime, however, is by far preferable. A process for using fresh or unslaked lime has been patented in England by Major-General Scott. Lime thus prepared is called " selenitic lime," and consists of a mixture of fresh (unslaked) lime with sulphate of lime, or plaster of Paris. The graystone lime, for instance, found by the Medway, is mixed with from 5 to 7 per cent. of plaster, which has the effect of keeping the lime from slaking when water is added. This mixture also partakes of the nature of cement, and when used for mortar, or concrete, attains in a shorter time a greater degree of hardness than the same lime would ever have obtained after being slaked. Bodmer's process for the manufacture of artificial stone bricks consists chiefly in the use of automatic measuring, forwarding, and mixing apparatus, by means of which the materials are supplied and unite in a continuous stream, and are accurately measured. They

By Ralph H. Sweetser

At the joint session of Blast Furnace and Open Hearth Committees, April 7, 1937, at Birmingham, the subject of the quality of basic open-hearth pig iron was so well presented and discussed from so many different viewpoints that it was the general opinion that progress had been made and that such meetings were conducive to the advancement of the art of making pig iron of the right quality for the open-hearth man to produce the most satisfactory quality of steel. It was agreed that there is a decided differentiation between the chemical analysis of pig iron and the "quality" of pig iron. Paul J. McKim said that open-hearth furnace operators frequently make reference to certain types of iron as "bad iron," "dirty iron," "cold metal," etc., claiming that when using these irons, although they are within specified chemical analysis, it is impossible to produce quality steel. Mr. McKim gave a list of the suggested causes of those "certain types" of bad irons that have a thoroughly respectable analysis but a thoroughly disreputable character. Another open-hearth man, P. A. MacIsaac, of Nova Scotia, said that: The effects of iron that is below standard in analysis or in that mysterious property called quality, are well known to all open-hearth operators. It has been shown that iron of this type results in the production of steels on which the rcjections of finished product run high. What is to be done about it? I would say that the burden of producing high-quality iron should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the blastfurnace man, even as that of making good steel is shouldered by the open-hearth man. It is the purpose of this paper to bring out into the open this "mysterious property called quality"; that is, in those "certain types" of basic pig iron that make it impossible to produce quality steels; and at the same time to point the way for the blast-furnace man to be able to shoulder the burden that Mr. MacIsaac and all other open-hearth men and foundry-men have placed upon him. Silicon, sulphur, phosphorus and manganese are not the guilty elements because these are known, specified and usually kept within the

Jan 1, 1938

By H. C. Otis

During the past year or two considerable time and money have been spent in developing equipment for tubing large-volume high-pressure oil and gas wells without loss of production. That the efforts have met with success is proved by the fact that any properly cased well, regardless of its production or regardless of its rock pressure or working pressure, can now be safely tubed with no appreciable loss of production, provided experienced crews handle the new equipment. It is conceded that a far better gas-oil ratio can be secured by flowing a well through tubing of a proper diameter—the diameter of the tubing depending, of course, upon the volume of fluid and gas and the depth of the well—than by the more usual method of installing a choke at the mouth of the well. Where possible it is becoming the practice to bring wells in through tubing, though in the majority of instances this is not feasible. In many instances it has developed, after a well has been brought in through tubing, that the tubing installed is either too large or too small for the most efficient operation or that the well had not been drilled deep enough. The equipment described in this paper, in the hands of experienced men, permits the tubing of these wells after they have been brought in, with the size of tubing then determined by actual observation to be best suited for each particular well, and with no danger of the well getting out of control, of catching fire, of drilling itself deeper, or of any loss of production. The deeper the flowing production with the consequent future higher lifting costs, the more essential it is that the size of tubing used be such as to give the best possible gas-oil ratio. The ability to bring in these deep wells through the casing and then, immediately after their completion, regardless of volume or pressure, to tube them with the size of tubing that permits the most efficient use of the gas present will doubtless save many dollars. Uses for the New Equipment The equipment permits a further step in the operation of wells where the conservation of gas is of major importance. Perhaps 3-in. tubing

Jan 1, 1930

By Ralph H. Sweetser

At the joint session of Blast Furnace and Open Hearth Committees, April 7, 1937, at Birmingham, the subject of the quality of basic open-hearth pig iron was so well presented and discussed from so many different viewpoints that it was the general opinion that progress had been made and that such meetings were conducive to the advancement of the art of making pig iron of the right quality for the open-hearth man to produce the most satisfactory quality of steel. It was agreed that there is a decided differentiation between the chemical analysis of pig iron and the "quality" of pig iron. Paul J. McKim said that open-hearth furnace operators frequently make reference to certain types of iron as "bad iron," "dirty iron," "cold metal," etc., claiming that when using these irons, although they are within specified chemical analysis, it is impossible to produce quality steel. Mr. McKim gave a list of the suggested causes of those "certain types" of bad irons that have a thoroughly respectable analysis but a thoroughly disreputable character. Another open-hearth man, P. A. MacIsaac, of Nova Scotia, said that: The effects of iron that is below standard in analysis or in that mysterious property called quality, are well known to all open-hearth operators. It has been shown that iron of this type results in the production of steels on which the rcjections of finished product run high. What is to be done about it? I would say that the burden of producing high-quality iron should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the blastfurnace man, even as that of making good steel is shouldered by the open-hearth man. It is the purpose of this paper to bring out into the open this "mysterious property called quality"; that is, in those "certain types" of basic pig iron that make it impossible to produce quality steels; and at the same time to point the way for the blast-furnace man to be able to shoulder the burden that Mr. MacIsaac and all other open-hearth men and foundry-men have placed upon him. Silicon, sulphur, phosphorus and manganese are not the guilty elements because these are known, specified and usually kept within the

Jan 1, 1938

T. A. Rickard, Denver, Colorado: The observations made by the author concerning the treatment of gold-bearing ores, deal with the subject only briefly and in a general way; but, coming from an authority, they invite comment. In stating the fact that a " finely-divided condition " is a necessary characteristic of ores containing free gold, the author must be refer ring to those mining districts only with which he himself is ac quainted. The statement would not be true of certain gold-mining regions in America and Australia. The ores of some Californian mines and the mill-stuff treated at certain of the mills of Clunes and Ballarat in Australia, and of Otago in New Zealand, contain the gold in a free but in a coarse state. Moreover, "reduction to fine sand and flour" is not required by certain ores, even though the gold be in a finely-divided condition. In such cases the gold becomes de tached from the quartz before the gangue has been pulverized into particles as small as those in which the gold occurs. The dry-crushing of free-milling gold-ores is onknown in the new mining regions of the world. It is not clear whether the author has in mind any European district in which such a process is in actual use. If he has, a description of the method and the results obtained would be very valuable. Dry-crushing is, other things being equal, twice as slow and twice as expensive as wet-crushing. In the case of free-milling gold-quartz it serves no purpose, since such ore does not carry sulphides which contain any large percentage of value, and which, by being slimed, may carry away part of that value. The dry-crushing of a free-milling gold-quartz would be considered an absurdity by an American metallurgist. If the ore contain "free gold only," why submit it to a further treatment, such as concentration, after its passage over the amalga mating-plate ? What does the author propose to concentrate ? Again, why anticipate the treatment of tailings by the McArthur Forrest, or some other process ? The satisfaction felt by a mill-man in saving gold by a subsequent treatment of the tailings from his mill appears to me to be like that of the man who shoots at a rabbit,

Jan 1, 1894