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By H. A. Koch, R. L. Slobod

This paper discusses a new oil recovery process called the "miscible slug process." This process involves the injection of propane or LPG into the reservoir prior to gas injection. The operating conditions are maintained so that the slug is miscible with both the reservoir oil and the injected gas phase. Thus, a miscible phase displacement is achieved, and high recoveries are obtained from the area of the reservoir contacted. The most striking discovery of the laboratory study which included displacements from cores up to 123 ft in length was that relatively small slugs of LPG are effective over reservoir distances in the miscible displacement of oil. This makes possible the commercial application of the process. The important factors controlling the size of the slug are: (I) reservoir length, (2) reservoir fluid composition, and (3) reservoir pressure at the displacement front. Of lesser importance are the effects of injection rate and porous medium type. Questions which have not been completely answered deal with the effects of gravity and reservoir inhomogeneities on the process. INTRODUCTION One of the major problems facing the oil industry today is recovery of the large fraction of the discovered oil which will remain unrecovered unless some new processes are found. Water flooding has been one successful method used to increase recovery over natural depletion. But even successful water floods may leave 25 to 40 per cent of the pore space filled with residual oil. Recently a process which involves the use of thermal energy has been reported1,'*' which may prove useful in increasing recovery from shallow reservoirs containing highly viscous crudes. This paper deals with a new oil recovery process involving use of miscible phases to displace the oil from the reservoir. Miscible phase displacement oil has been an intriguing idea because the elimination of capillary effects in the reservoir leads to 100 per cent recovery in the areas contacted by the miscible displacing phase. The big deterrent in the past to the practice of miscible phase displacement has been the high cost involved in using large volumes of solvent in the process. The use of high pressure gas to achieve a miscible phase displacement of reservoir oil has been reported4,5 as one economically feasible method. However, this process calls for the maintenance of pressures above 3,000 psi at the dis-placement front. The process described in this paper is not restricted to high reservoir pressures; the only qualification being that the slug of material which is injected into the reservoir must be miscible with both the displaced oil 2nd the displacing phase. Two such cases are the use of an alcohol slug followed by water to achieve a mis-cable water flood, and the use of a low boiling hydrocarbon slug such as propane followed by gas to achieve a miscible gas drive. This paper will deal specifically with the propane dug process. This process will obtain a miscible phase displacement at pressures as low as about 1,200 psi at a reservoir temperature 01 150°F. The process is very simple. The propane displaces oil completely at one front because it is miscible with the oil, and gas displaces the propane completely at a second or trailing front because it is miscible with the propane. A small band of propane should thus remain wedged between the gas and oil phases. This idea has been called the "miscible slug process."6 Unfortunately, the propane slug will become diluted as it flows through the reservoir. This results from a mixing action since the fluids flow through a complex reservoir porous medium rather than simple capillaries. Fig. 1 diagrams a miscible slug displacement. The effects of some of

Jan 1, 1958

By R. Wiesenthal

A method is developed for improving the low recovery efficiency which results when viscous oils are flooded by water. Viscous oil has been diluted with a lighter liquid miscible in it in any ratio which produces a mixture possessing a reduced viscosity and which is then displaced by water. Light gasoline was used in these tests to reduce the viscosity of the oil in place. Oils possessing viscosities in the range of 1.28 to 324 cp at the test temperature of 30C were displaced from a cylindrical unconsolidated sand core, with a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a diameter of 10 cm (3.9 in.) at a flood of 6.27 cc/sq cm/hr. In two test series up to I PV of light gasoline was injected into the core before water flooding. In the first series the recovery of a low-viscosity oil (1.28 cp) increased as the volume of light gasoline was increased. However, only the oil which could not be recovered by water flooding alone could be replaced by the light gasoline. In the other series, the recovery of a more viscous oil (13.5 cp) was not increased even if large quantities of light gasoline were injected. An oil bank built up ahead of the water front so that the flood water met with equivalent saturation conditions, as would be the case in flooding solely with water. However, the recovery of more viscous oils could be increased substantially when the core was first flooded with water, followed by a slug of light gasoline, and then flooded with water again. Furthermore, an oil bank ,built up ahead of the second water front. The formation of this oil bank is particularly favorable for the displacement process; the greater part of the light gasoline injected was pushed out of the core ahead of the oil and recovered. Using a light oil of low viscosity, it was possible to replace only the residual oil that could not be recovered by water flooding by the light gasoline. As the basic study had shown that highly viscous oils could be recovered by flooding first with water, then with light gasoline, followed by a second injection of water, the study was extended by tests made with reservoir fluids and cores taken from the low-gravity oil reservoir of the Wietze field, Germany. A great increase in recovery over flooding with water alone was obtained in these tests. The results may show a way to recover high-viscosity oils by a comparatively simple flooding procedure. INTRODUCTION In fields where oil recovery has not benefited from natural water drive, increased recovery may be obtained by the injection of water into the reservoir, especially in the case of fields which produce high-gravity, low-viscosity oil. There is a rather close relation between the viscosity of the reservoir fluid and the recovery that can be obtained by water flooding. As the viscosity increases the oil recovery decreases proportionately, so that an oil viscosity about 30 times that of water is generally considered to be the upper limit for an economically successful water flood.' This limitation has been recognized theoretically by Buckley and Leverett,' and has been verified by numerous laboratory flooding tests, such as by Croes and Schwarz,V n the viscosity ratio range of oil to water from 1 to 500. The reason for the inferior recovery of viscous oils by water flooding can best be understood by considering the mechanism of flood tests. In such tests water is introduced into one end of a sand-packed tube which is saturated with oil of the viscosity to be tested, and oil is produced from, the other end. Oil, with a viscosity lower than that of water, is pushed ahead of the advancing water with considerable uniformity, and irregularities in the displacement process tend to be eliminated as the oil saturation decreases and the water saturation increases. However, oil recovery is not complete, for the water forms interfaces with the oil and traps residual oil droplets in certain of the pore spaces. These residual oil droplets are distributed rather uniformly through the sand, and they are not susceptible to recovery regardless of the amount of water passed through the test cylinder. In the case of an oil possessing a viscosity greater than that of water, the injected water tends to move irregularly through the sand in the test cylinder. At the place in the sand where initial water movement takes place, resistance to the movement of water is lowered and the water finger so formed will grow perceptibly; it will extend to the outlet end of the test cylinder so that a breakthrough of water takes place long before much of the oil-saturated volume of the sand has come in contact with water. Once the breakthrough of water takes place, the water-oil ratio is gradually approaching the economic limit, even though much of the oil in the test cylinder remains unaffected by water. Disconnected drops of oil are trapped in the portion of the sand that has been invaded by water, just as when an oil of low viscosity is flooded. The poor recovery of the more viscous oils, therefore, is due to the irregularity of water movement through the test cylinder, and the rate of water movement through restricted sections of the oil-saturated sand increases with the more viscous oils. There are three ways whereby the recovery of viscous oils by water flooding can be improved:' (1) adding materials which will increase the vis-

Jan 1, 1965

By A. D. Taylor

In recent years there has been an increasing effort to attract students into engineering. Obviously, the effort is necessary because young people find the image of the engineer unattractive. Some of the things they find unattractive are real, some are not, and part of the problem is too little knowledge of the field. First, I would like to comment on some of the ideas which appear to be justified. Engineering is a difficult course of study. True, and nothing can or should be done to change this. The education is continually being improved, but it is unlikely to be made easier.

Jan 1, 1970

By Alwyn Birchmore Cox, Ian William Wark

In defending the chemical theory of flotation, Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl have criticized1 the views of those who prefer to attribute the effects of certain flotation agents to adsorption. Perhaps with some justification, they describe the latter term as the "haven of refuge of writers lost in a morass of shaky experiment and muddy thinking." We prefer to regard it, however, as a haven of refuge for writers who seek a conventional term to describe the formation of films of flotation reagents on solid surfaces, because in many cases it is not yet possible to specify the forces that hold them there. Originally, as Taggart and his associates state, adsorption connoted a concentration difference and nothing more. In recent years, workers in the field of surface chemistry have tacitly added other meanings, and they now speak of orientated adsorption of unimolecular films on a solid sub-strate, of chemi-adsorption, and of exchange adsorption. Thus the term adsorption may connote simply the Gibbs layer of excess concentration at the surface of a solution, or a unimolecular film at the surface of a solid. Perhaps this has led to the misunderstanding of Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl concerning the relationship between surface tension and adsorption at solid surfaces. The change in "surface tension" accompanying adsorption at a liquid surface can be used as a measure of the adsorption, and the Gibbs equation as quoted by these authors correlates these two conceptions. But, to correlate two conceptions docs not necessarily imply an attempt to explain either, although sometimes such an "explanation" is carelessly inferred. Use of "surface energy per unit area" instead of the numerically equal but more difficult and less definite conception of "surface tension per unit length " would lessen many of the present difficulties. (Compare with Adam.2) At interfaces involving a solid phase, neither '" surface tension " nor " interfacial tension "can have any meaning, but the conception "interfacial energy per unit area" call be understood by anyone who is familiar with the concept of free energy. While it is true that surface energy cannot be directly measured at a solid surface,

Jan 1, 1939

By Ian William Wark, Alwyn Birchmore Cox

In defending the chemical theory of flotation, Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl have criticized1 the views of those who prefer to attribute the effects of certain flotation agents to adsorption. Perhaps with some justification, they describe the latter term as the "haven of refuge of writers lost in a morass of shaky experiment and muddy thinking." We prefer to regard it, however, as a haven of refuge for writers who seek a conventional term to describe the formation of films of flotation reagents on solid surfaces, because in many cases it is not yet possible to specify the forces that hold them there. Originally, as Taggart and his associates state, adsorption connoted a concentration difference and nothing more. In recent years, workers in the field of surface chemistry have tacitly added other meanings, and they now speak of orientated adsorption of unimolecular films on a solid sub-strate, of chemi-adsorption, and of exchange adsorption. Thus the term adsorption may connote simply the Gibbs layer of excess concentration at the surface of a solution, or a unimolecular film at the surface of a solid. Perhaps this has led to the misunderstanding of Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl concerning the relationship between surface tension and adsorption at solid surfaces. The change in "surface tension" accompanying adsorption at a liquid surface can be used as a measure of the adsorption, and the Gibbs equation as quoted by these authors correlates these two conceptions. But, to correlate two conceptions docs not necessarily imply an attempt to explain either, although sometimes such an "explanation" is carelessly inferred. Use of "surface energy per unit area" instead of the numerically equal but more difficult and less definite conception of "surface tension per unit length " would lessen many of the present difficulties. (Compare with Adam.2) At interfaces involving a solid phase, neither '" surface tension " nor " interfacial tension "can have any meaning, but the conception "interfacial energy per unit area" call be understood by anyone who is familiar with the concept of free energy. While it is true that surface energy cannot be directly measured at a solid surface,

Jan 1, 1939

By J. B. Newsom

SAFER, cheaper, and faster sinking of mine openings seems to have been realized with the completion of a borehole 5 ½ ft. in diameter and 1208 ft. deep, in Minnesota, during 1938. Moreover, as the opening is to be used solely for ventilation, its circular cross section, smooth walls and freedom from fire hazard recommend it in comparison with the usual timbered shafts of rectilinear cross section. It should be pointed out that a drill hole sunk without the use of explosives frequently will stand open without support, whereas a shaft sunk by standard procedure using dynamite usually must be timbered because of the wall-shattering effect of explosives. The saving in maintenance resulting from the elimination of timber is obvious. The work was done by Pickands Mather & Co. at its Zenith mine, Ely, Minn. This company wanted a ventilation opening capable of delivering 50,000 cu. ft. of air per minute to the fourteenth level, 1200 ft. below the surface. While several general articles1-3 have described the method used, detailed time and performance records have not been presented before. Moreover, with a method as new as this, it is important to compare the results attained under widely varying conditions. Among the new conditions faced at Ely were some extremely hard rock, a series of vertical fractures, seepage water, and some long stretches of sound rock which, combined with excellent equipment, gave a chance to operate without unusual delays. Developments in boring large holes have generally taken the obvious course of increasing the size of the equipment, a line of attack that has resulted in putting down 3-ft. diameter holes at damsites for studying the foundations4 and in drilling ventilation openings between levels at Butte. 5 Such drills operate from the collar of the hole, and the power from the drill is transmitted to the cutting tool through drill rods or pipes. In order to keep down the volume of rock that must be ground to sludge, the cores in large-diameter drilling are made as large in diameter as possible. Their large diameter increases their weight per foot of length, which

Jan 1, 1939

By R. N. Upadhyay, M. Maleki, I. Fatt

Conventional laboratory core analysis tests on samples of two limestone reservoir rocks indicate that about 20 per cent of PV is in dead-end pores. These tests (electric logging formation factor, mercury injection capillary pressure and miscible displacement) were carried out on 1/4-in. diameter test plugs. Test results show a clear dilference between these samples and sandstone or homogeneous limestone reservoir rock. Although the amount of dead-end pore space can be only roughly estimated, the presence of such pore space seems clearly indicated. Pressure transient studies also show presence of deadend PV. Although they do not give quantitative results, pressure transient data yield a reasonable estimate of the size of the neck connecting dead-end pores to the main flow channels. INTRODUCTION Equations conventionally used to describe reservoir flow behavior contain the implicit assumption that all connected pore spaces contributed to both porosity and permeability. Several authors3-7 have pointed out the changes in pressure transient behavior and in electric log interpretation that may result if this assumption is incorrect and, instead, dead-end or cul-de-sac pores are present. There is a need for laboratory tests that can detect presence of dead-end pores in core samples. With such information on hand the petroleum engineer can make more rational use of the mathematical tools now available for analysis of reservoir flow behavior. This paper describes laboratory studies designed to detect and, if possible, give a quantitative measure of dead-end PV in laboratory-size core plugs. Three reservoir rocks were used, two of which were limestones suspected of having deadend pore spaces and a well-known sandstone, used as a comparison standard, in which there is believed to be little or no dead-end pore space. All the studies were designed to measure the natural dead-end PV; i.e., the pore space which is dead-ended because of rock structure. During multiphase flow in a rock without dead-end pores, some parts of one of the phases can become surrounded by the other, thereby giving (for certain flow behavior) an effective dead-end pV8,9. Such behavior will not be described here.

Jan 1, 1967

By Y. C. Liu, H. Margolin

Investigation of martensite habit plane in water-quenched Ti-Mn alloys was carried out in the range of manganese contents between 4.35 and 5.25 pct. On the basis of 22 measurements, the poles were observed to fall into two groups, indicating the existence of two habit planes. The Miller indices of the poles close to these two groups were found to be <334>ß and <344>ß. TITANIUM has an allotropic transformation at 882.1° ± 0.5C1 by which the high temperature ß (body-centered cubic) phase changes to a (hexagonal close-packed) phase. It is well known, as in the case of low carbon steel, that the unalloyed high temperature ß phase cannot be retained no matter how rapid the cooling rate. However, the addition of alloying elements usually lowers the transformation temperature continuously and stabilizes the ß phase to a temperature much lower than the allotropic transformation temperature in pure titanium. A typical example of this behavior is found with manganese-alloying of titanium. Fig. 1 shows the titanium-rich Ti-Mn equilibrium diagram as established by Battelle Memorial Institute.&apos; The addition of manganese lowers the ß transus line and the eutectoid reaction takes place at 550°C, the eutectoid composition being 20 wt pct Mn. However, upon quenching to room temperature from the ß field, the ß phase can be completely retained with much less manganese, see Fig. 2. If the composition is less than that required to stabilize the ß phase completely, a plate-like structure, similar to that of martensite in other alloy systems, appears as shown in Fig. 3. Much lower alloying content merely intensifies the amounts of these transformed structures, as shown in Fig. 4. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the habit plane of these martensitic structures in Ti-Mn alloys. Experimental Procedure Investigation of the pole of a given platelet was made using the two-surface method of analysis." In order that a given martensite trace on two surfaces be readily recognized both at low and high magnifications, it is desirable that only a small amount of martensite be present. From a review of the data obtained at Battelle Memorial Institute4 on quench hardening in Ti-Mn alloys and the results of Duwez" on transformation in Ti-MO alloys, it was decided that the most appropriate Ti-Mn composition for this study would be about 6 pct Mn. A group of alloys containing from 3 to 10 pct Mn was made to bracket this composition. The choice of the 6 pct alloy was apparently proper, since it was later learned that approximately 5.5 to 6 pct Mn is required to stabilize the ß phase on water quenching.

Jan 1, 1954

By M. R. Daly

In a recent paper on Geologic Structure in the Cushing Oil and Gas Field, Oklahoma,l Carl H. Beal has pointed out some interesting peculiarities in the distribution of the hydrocarbons and the disposition of the "planes of separation" between the oil and the water (water surfaces). Mr. Beal&apos;s principal statements on this matter may be, summarized as follows: I. In every important dome in the Cushing field, which has not been complicated by folding along its sides, the oil area in each of the three oil and gas sands studied (Layton, Wheeler and Bartlesville) apparently extends farther down on the long axis of the dome than it does on the steeper sides. The result is that water is encountered at a lesser depth below datum plane (sea level) on the steep sides of the dome than along the ends where the beds are more gently tilted. II. In the Layton and Wheeler sands (to which the detailed study of water surfaces has been almost entirely confined), the water surface is not level, but dips at a gentle angle (maximum dip 100 ft. to the mile) away from the center of the structure. This inclination existed prior to development, and it has been rendered greater by the rapid extraction of oil and gas. To these statements, the following observations are added: The dominant structural feature in the Cushing field is a broad north and south anticlinal fold, along whose axis the domes are distributed (Fig. 1, p. 897), and the more important oil areas in each sand lie on the west side of the field. In many cases, gas has been forced to the east side of the structure, sometimes as far as the water line. From the distribution of the oil and gas bodies, Mr. Beal concludes that the hydrocarbons in this region probably migrated from the west or the northwest. It seems as if these different features would be susceptible of some

Jan 1, 1918

By Ross Glanville

INTRODUCTION The Optimum Production Rate (OPR) is one of the most important parameters in the evaluation of a mineral deposit. The OPR can also be expressed as the Optimum Mine Life (OML) in years since the expected mine life is determined by dividing the OPR per year into the estimated ore reserves. Unfortunately, very little time and effort has been directed towards the determination of the OPR. Instead, "rules of thumb" are often applied to select a mine life without due consideration of the economic implications of such a selection. A "justification" for a particular production rate is often based on a pre-conceived arbitrary requirement for a mine life of 5, 10, or 15 years, for example. In this paper it is demonstrated that such arbitrary selections for high-grade/low-tonnage mines (such as many underground gold/silver deposits) often lead to sub-optimal results. In fact, an apparently uneconomic deposit at an arbitrary production rate may be economic at the OPR. Consequently, investment opportunities may be overlooked if one analyzes mine properties based on arbitrary production rates. This paper analyzes the interrelationships of variables such as production rates, capital and operating costs, cut-off grades, discount rates, metal prices, etc. The analysis shows that the OML for high-grade/low-tonnage deposits is often in the range of two to four years. Although such mine lives intuitively appear too short to many individuals, it should be noted that, in the past, much of the mining industry became familiar with the economics of large scale mining operations. The rules of thumb developed for such large scale operations should not be applied to high-grade/low-tonnage mines such as many of the underground gold deposits. DEFINITION OF OPTIMUM PRODUCTION RATE The OPR is selected on the basis of maximizing the net present value of the after-tax cash flows. However, as discussed later in this paper, the production rate selected for a particular mine may be somewhat higher or lower than the theoretical OPR as a result of other variables such as: 1) the probability or expectation of additional reserves being discovered 2) the likelihood of being able to custom mill nearby deposits owned by others 3) the configuration or attitude of the orebody, which may place upper limits on the production rate 4) the residual, or salvage values, of the mine/mill facilities COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT PRODUCTION RATES For an orebody with definite physical cutoffs*, or boundaries (such as faults or unconformities), the total ore reserves at different production rates may be identical. Consequently, for such an orebody, varying production rates result in differing mine lives. Although the metallurgical recoveries, the mine dilution, and other similar physical parameters may vary slightly at different production rates, the major differences are the capital costs and operating costs per ton. The ramifications of these differences are especially important at low production rates (up to approximately 1000 tons per day), but can also be significant at higher production rates.

Jan 1, 1985

By Ingvar Janelid

DURING the last ten years, in the effort to save manpower and costs, methods of drilling and blasting in Sweden have changed and developed in a revolutionary manner. These developments have been accompanied by extensive alterations in methods of tunneling and in mining technique. Since the end of the 1940&apos;s there has been a 100 pct change-over in Sweden to the use of tungsten carbide tipped drill steel. Both investigations and practical results have shown clearly that a tungsten carbide chisel bit fastened directly on the drill steel is the most economical for Swedish conditions. This applies to drill steel up to the longest size it is practical to handle. In terms of drilling footage, durability of the drill steel and the tungsten carbide bit is generally the same. In this respect, therefore, a detachable bit offers no advantage over integral steel. Transportation of integral steel to the grinding plant, instead of detachable bits only, involves heavier work, but this is counteracted by placing grinding plants closer together or by grinding at the working place itself. The drilling rate with integral steel is higher, the trouble of changing bits is avoided, and the difficulties which always arise with joints are eliminated.

Jan 6, 1954

By K. E. Brown, F. W. Jessen

By utilizing an 8,000-ft experimental field well equipped with 10 gas-lift valves and 10 Maihak pressure recorders, gas-lift tests were conducted with port sizes ranging from 5/16 through I in. The well was equipped to provide accurate means of measuring surface pressures, temperatures, quantity of injection gas and fluid production. The tests were conducted in 2%-in. OD tubing, and the well was making 95 per cent water. A complete evaluation of gas-lift-valve port sizes shows the relationship of per cent recovery, gas-liquid ratios, minimum pressure created at the operating valve and horsepower requirements for each port. The length of time necessary for the fluid in the tubing to reach equilib.rium conditions after each cycle was recorded. Fallback of fluid at depths of 477, 969, 1,685, 2,493 and 4,290 ft was noted. For each port size, pressure loads of 2.50, 300, 350, 400 and 450 psi were lifted with a valve operating at approximately 550 psi at 6,000 ft. Gas-liquid ratios for each load were varied from excess gas to a gas volume per cycle whereby the load failed to reach the surface. Numerous curves are presented in evaluating the accumulated dara. The results show a 1-in. port to be the most efficient under all conditions. The production of intermittent liquid slugs against different-sized surface chokes was evaluated. These tests were conducted from a 7/16-in. ported valve at 4,072 ft. Tests indicate that, when possible, a %-in. in diameter choke or larger should be used at the surface. In the past few years most of the advancement in gas-lift operations has been made in continuous-flow operations. Yet, it is estimated that at least 70 per cent of the wells on gas lift in the United States are of the intermittent type. Since the term "slug flow" is sometimes used in both intermittent- and continuous-flow operations, it would be well to distinguish between the two types of flow. Continuous-flow gas lift is defined as a method whereby the fluids are produced at a continuous rate at the surface. This generally requires a continuous injection of gas through a surface choke; however, various other control devices sometimes are installed to eliminate freezing, to shut-off gas during natural flow periods, etc. The actual flow of fluids in the tubing may be of the slug type (one of many flow patterns known to exist in continuous flow). Intermittent flow is defined as a method of gas lift whereby the liquid is produced in separate piston-type slugs. Perhaps this type of flow could best be thought of as a ballistic-type flow where the liquid leaves bottom as a piston, propelled by a slug of expanding gas. Gas generally is injected through some type of control at the surface at predetermined intervals. However, the valve may have characteristics whereby gas can be injected through a small choke and still result in a ballistic-type flow. The purpose of the experimental work was to evaluate the most efficient port size to be used on the operating valve for the ballistic type of lift and, in addition, to establish the importance of utilizing a surface choke large enough to allow slugs to be produced without detrimental effects. This work is part of a compre- hensive study of both intermittent-and continuous-flow gas lift, representing a joint project conducted by the Ohio Oil Co., the Sun Oil Co., Otis Engineering Corp, and The U. of Texas. The problem of evaluating port sizes has been given little previous attention. Some work undoubtedly has been done which has not been published to date. Some tests were conducted when the wireline, mechanically-opened valve (Nixon) first came on the market. This valve was capable of utilizing full tubing area as its port size. It is known that this was a very efficient valve, but to the authors&apos; knowledge the results of tests have never been published. EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT These tests were conducted on an actual field well, the Ohio-Sun Unit Well No. 2-E, in the North Markham-North Bay City field, Matagorda County, Tex. The well incorporated 23/8-in. OD tubing and produced 95 per cent water. Since the running of equipment was to be quite elaborate and expensive, a well was selected in which both intermittent- and continuous-flow tests could be conducted. This particular well was capable of producing in excess of 1,000 B/D of liquid (95 per cent salt water), yet with a 3/64-in. in diameter bottom-hole choke, production was controlled to 82 B/D. Most of the intermittent tests were conducted at this low rate. Figs. 1 and 2 show all the surface and down-hole equipment. As can be seen, every attempt was made to insure that ample equipment was available for reliable testing procedures. Fig. 1 shows the surface testing equipment. The input gas was controlled first by a regulator, then

By B. R. Banerjee

MATERIAL used throughout this investigation was high-purity aluminum (99.998 pct). The 1/2-in. cubes were cut out of a cold-rolled slab and annealed at 550°C for 1 hr before deformation. The single crystal specimen was 1 in. in diam x 0.33 in. thick, cut from a cylindrical crystal produced by cooling at about 55°C per hr in a furnace which had a convenient gradient of about 10°C in every 4.5 in. vertical crucible length. Specific data on the ten specimens studied are summarized in table I. Three types of deformation were employed: (I) compression in a hand-operated hydraulic press; (2) impact with a 7-lb sledge hammer; and (3) rolling, using a wedge-shaped specimen&apos; to obtain a gradient of deformations varying from 0 to 50 pct along the length of the wedge. Specimens were either deformed at room temperature, or first cooled in a freezing mixture of dry ice and ether at a temperature of —72°C and then deformed between steel blocks cooled with dry ice. The specimens deformed at the low temperature were ground and polished through 000 emery paper and wheels impregnated with alundum and alumina No. 1. During this entire procedure the specimens were dipped frequently in the freezing mixture of dry ice and ether in order to maintain constantly a frosty surface as insurance against overheating. All specimens were given a final electrolytic polish, using two different electrolytes* to insure that the surface effects observed were not char- acteristic of the polishing technique. With both electrolytes, the annealed specimens gave even surfaces with good polish. Several standard etchants were tried without success. The best results were obtained with an immersion etchant, developed in this connection, containing: hydrofluoric acid, 4 parts; nitric acid, 1 part; glycerine, 3 parts. Discussion of Results Typical strain markings have been observed within deformation bands, as shown in figs. 1, 2, and 4. By stereographic plotting of metallographic measurements, the strain markings within a deformation band in a single crystal of aluminum deformed by compression were found to be traces of (111) planes within a maximum scatter of 6". The edges of the deformation band were found to be traces of the (100) planes also within the maximum scatter of 6" (in agreement with previous workers). At 30 pct deformation, this scatter was considered quite normal because of the fragmentation and rotation of the crystal. This solution, based on the traces on one plane of observation is not unique, but as the planes were observed to be those normally and logically to be expected, further work in this regard was not felt to be necessary. The study of strain markings in a wedge-shaped specimen, rolled to obtain a gradient of deformation from 0 to 50 pct, revealed prominent strain markings at 25 pct reduction in thickness (fig.5). Faint and weak strain markings were visually observable up to a minimum reduction in thickness of about 12 pct. Since strain markings have been observed in other face-centered cubic metals after much smaller deformations;1, 2 and since the rate of recovery in aluminum is high, it is believed that, at lower deformations, self-recovery removes the localized strains at the slip interfaces, thus removing the source of the etching effects that give rise to strain markings. At high magnifications, strain markings sometimes seem to appear as very thin, light-banded re-gions bounded by a pair of dark edges. This so-

Jan 1, 1951

By Grover R. Castle

INTRODUCTION "Project Financing" or "Project Loans" have become increasingly popular in recent years, and commercial banks are being asked to consider more and more of such financing. However, the analysis of this type of loan is quite different from the analysis of a loan to a financially sound corporation based on the company&apos;s balance sheet. For this reason Chemical Bank did a study of project loans in an attempt to be more sophisticated in our approach to them. As part of this study, we examined 29 project financings for which information was available. In this article I shall describe project loans and set forth the guidelines we developed, as an aid to credit officers who might have occasion to analyse this type of financing. DEFINITION OF "PROJECT FINANCING" OR "PROJECT LOAN" The terms "project financing" and "project loan" commonly describe the various methods that banks and institutional lenders use to finance the construction of new projects on a basis whereby payout is anticipated from the revenue stream generated by the project. A project financing often involves a loan to a new entity formed specifically to own the project. The analysis of a project loan proposal is quite different from the analysis of other term-loan proposals since it involves a credit decision based on the review of a projection or forecast rather than of historical earnings and/or it involves the reliance on contractual obligations of third parties. Lenders are asked to assume the added risks associated with project loans because: 1. Project financing may permit a company to obtain additional leverage. It is possible for companies to arrange financing on a project basis that could not be arranged as a direct borrowing. For example, a company may not be permitted to borrow more money directly, due to a limitation in a bond indenture. However, a project financing can sometimes be negotiated on a basis not prohibited by the indenture. 2. Often the sponsors of, or the stockholders in, the project are seeking an off-balance-sheet financing. For example, 11 of the 29 projects in our study were arranged on an off-balance-sheet basis and one showed on the balance sheet as a deferred income item. An off-balance-sheet financing, for the purpose of this article, is a financing which does not show as a direct liability on the balance sheet of the sponsors of or stockholders in a project. 3. Projects are often located in a foreign country. The financing is arranged so that the lenders assume the political risk on the loan because many companies rightly believe that this arrangement affords a degree of insulation from political risk not otherwise obtainable. 4. Many projects are jointly owned by several sponsors. This form of financing lends itself well to a situation where a new entity is formed to own a project and do the borrowing. Project loans can be used to finance a variety of activities including development of iron-ore deposits and associated pelletizing plants; development of coal reserves; construction of pipelines, alumina plants, fertilizer plants and refineries; etc. The specific areas of analysis can be quite different, depending upon the type of project being financed. It is important, therefore, to classify the proposal according to the type of project, and also by the nature of the financing - nonrecourse financing, financing covered by a guarantee of completion and financing supported by an undertaking lasting for the life of the financing. I will discuss each of these types in more detail later, but first, I should like to make some

Jan 1, 1985

By N. Brown

From the theories of flow and fracture it is shown that the difference in reciprocals of the transition temperatures (OK) is a quantitative measure of temper ernbrittlement. Experimental data are given which support this conclusion. STUDIES of temper embrittlement have been made with various viewpoints; some involved a study of the kinetics of the reaction,&apos;,2&apos;" others were concerned with changes in the mechanical properties," . and still others investigated the structural differences between the embrittled and unembrittled states by means of the microscope," -ray ,&apos; measurements of electrode potential," and electrical resistivity." In all these studies, the difference in impact properties was the criterion for distinguishing between the embrittled and unembrittled states. By common agreement the difference in transition temperatures is now taken as a measure of the degree of embrittlement, and this measure is used as the quantitative measure upon which studies of the phenomenon are based. Vidal and Jolivet"&apos; suggested that the degree of embrittlement was the same whether measured by impact or by a slow bend test. Their conclusion was based on tests at constant temperature. Jaffe and Buffum" using the impact and slow bend test showed that, for a given degree of embrittlement, the difference in transition temperatures varied with the method of testing. Hultgren and Chang" showed that the difference in transition temperature produced by the V-notched Charpy impact test was not the same as the value produced by the keyhole-notched impact test. This is a very fundamental point because there can be no true measure of temper embrittlement unless it is invariant with respect to the test method. Theory The purpose of this analysis is to show how the transition temperature depends on the stress distribution and the state of the material. The criterion for fracture may be stated as follws: where iF is some function of the principle stresses and F is a critical condition depending on the state of the metal. Similarly yielding occurs when Where is another function of the prin-ciple stresses and Y is a critical value depending on the state of the material. There is some controversy as to the exact form of the function f,.(u,, u,, us) but most experimental data give the following criterion:= where 8, and 6, = 21 or 0. Combinations of 6, and 8, give the various criteria such as the normal stress, the hydrostatic tension, and the maximum shear stress laws. Agreement is general that the octahedral shear stress law adequately describes the yield condition. where the bracketed factor will be called the design factor and depends on the stress distribution. Whether the metal decides to yield or fracture is given by the condition that The effect of temperature and strain rate upon Y has been studied by various investigators, It has been shown by MacGregor and Fisher" that

Jan 1, 1955

By Robert Linton

Tats paper deals with work that has been carried on for over three years by the management and staff of the North Butte Mining Co. in an effort to standardize mining methods, to eliminate lost motion in the operating organization, and to improve the efficiency of the individual workman. Naturally, much of this work is an adaptation of ideas suggested by other mining operations or by practice in manufacturing and other productive industries. The studies, however, have developed some features that it is believed are new. Both new and adapted features are given in detail. The normal capacity of the North Butte mines is about 2000 tons per. day. Hoisting is done principally through the Granite Mountain shaft, which is 3740 ft. (1140 m.) deep and equipped with an electric hoist capable of hoisting 200 tons per hour from a depth of 4000 ft. (1219 m.). The lowest stoping level is the 3400-ft. The Granite Mountain shaft is connected with the Speculator shaft, about 850 ft. (259 m.) south, and with the Gem, about 1150 ft. (350 m.) east, which are 3000 (914.4 m.) and 2000 ft. (609.6 m.). deep, respectively. These two shafts are equipped with reversible fans for ventilation. The Speculator has a; steam hoist with a capacity of 150 tons per hour from the 3000-ft. level. The Granite Mountain shaft is concrete lined from the 1600-ft. to below the 3000-ft. level and gunited with cement from the 1600-ft. level to the surface. Sections of the Speculator shaft with a total combined length of 500 ft. (152.4 m.) are also concreted. There are approximately 36 miles (58 km.) of drifts and crosscuts in the mine, in which there are 15.2 miles (24.5 km.) of track. At normal capacity, about 75 stoping faces, 20 raises, and 30 sill development faces are working. Stoping is usually by the standard square-set method. Where the size of the oreshoot and character of. the walls permit, the rill (or cut-and-fill) system is employed.

Jan 8, 1920

By H. F. A. Hergt, K. L. Sutherland, J. Rogers

In 1938 Ralston4 reviewed the many attempts to find a satisfactory collector for the separation of cassiterite from its ores and in 1944 Dean and Ambrose2 summarized some further attempts. Generally, soaps and amines are effective but nonselective collectors. We have discovered that reagents containing either the polar group — SO4- or — SO3- are excellent collectors for cassiterite and promise to be selective. The response to these reagents of cassiterite and of minerals commonly associated with it was studied, using the captive-bubble technique. Using these fundamental data, the practicability of separation and concentration of tin was investigated by flotation tests in a 2000-gram Denver cell. Experimental Methods Reagents All inorganic reagents were of Analar grade. The preparation and purification of sodium cetyl sulphate, cetyl trimethyl-ammonium bromide, laurylamine and cetylamine have been previously described.5 The other collectors were commercial surface-active agents, which were used without purification. Tests Captive-bubble Tests and Cylinder Flotation Tests have been previously de- scribed.5,10 The full lines shown in the figures relating solution composition to contact (flotation) distinguish solutions in which contact (flotation) is possible from those in which it is not. The curve is derived by successive approximation and the accuracy is ±0.2 pH units and ± 5 mg. per liter of collector or depressant. Solution compositions for which it was shown experimentally that contact or flotation is possible are marked by a circle, those for which it is not possible, by a cross, and those for which it is doubtful by a cross within a circle. It is assumed that at all other solution compositions within (without) the curve, contact or flotation is possible (not possible). After testing in the collector solution, the mineral was removed, washed, and tested by the captive-bubble method in water, or floated in a cylinder with frother only. In this way the composition of solutions in which a mineral was conditioned but in which properties of the collector solution prevented contact or flotation can be defined. The composition of solutions in which conditioning was possible lie between the full and broken curve, and the experimental results are indicated by a square. The curves show the limits of composition of solutions in which flotation in a cell would be possible but many factors other than those considered in these the determine recovery and grade of a given mineral in practice. Flotation Tests in 500 and 2000-gram Denver SUbmachines,—Melboume tap water, containing 12 parts calcium, 6 parts

Jan 1, 1947

By J. Rogers, H. F. A. Hergt, K. L. Sutherland

In 1938 Ralston4 reviewed the many attempts to find a satisfactory collector for the separation of cassiterite from its ores and in 1944 Dean and Ambrose2 summarized some further attempts. Generally, soaps and amines are effective but nonselective collectors. We have discovered that reagents containing either the polar group — SO4- or — SO3- are excellent collectors for cassiterite and promise to be selective. The response to these reagents of cassiterite and of minerals commonly associated with it was studied, using the captive-bubble technique. Using these fundamental data, the practicability of separation and concentration of tin was investigated by flotation tests in a 2000-gram Denver cell. Experimental Methods Reagents All inorganic reagents were of Analar grade. The preparation and purification of sodium cetyl sulphate, cetyl trimethyl-ammonium bromide, laurylamine and cetylamine have been previously described.5 The other collectors were commercial surface-active agents, which were used without purification. Tests Captive-bubble Tests and Cylinder Flotation Tests have been previously de- scribed.5,10 The full lines shown in the figures relating solution composition to contact (flotation) distinguish solutions in which contact (flotation) is possible from those in which it is not. The curve is derived by successive approximation and the accuracy is ±0.2 pH units and ± 5 mg. per liter of collector or depressant. Solution compositions for which it was shown experimentally that contact or flotation is possible are marked by a circle, those for which it is not possible, by a cross, and those for which it is doubtful by a cross within a circle. It is assumed that at all other solution compositions within (without) the curve, contact or flotation is possible (not possible). After testing in the collector solution, the mineral was removed, washed, and tested by the captive-bubble method in water, or floated in a cylinder with frother only. In this way the composition of solutions in which a mineral was conditioned but in which properties of the collector solution prevented contact or flotation can be defined. The composition of solutions in which conditioning was possible lie between the full and broken curve, and the experimental results are indicated by a square. The curves show the limits of composition of solutions in which flotation in a cell would be possible but many factors other than those considered in these the determine recovery and grade of a given mineral in practice. Flotation Tests in 500 and 2000-gram Denver SUbmachines,—Melboume tap water, containing 12 parts calcium, 6 parts

Jan 1, 1947

By Wilhelm Borchers

In all special branches of the chemical and metallurgical industries, in which large electric furnaces became necessary for carrying out new processes or for the improvement of old ones, the development of the electric furnaces took place on much the same lines. The endeavors to make a success of a new idea brought forth many ingenious designs, which, however, almost without exception, furnished the proof that the safest and shortest way to practical success is the utmost simplicity of construction of the necessary apparatus. Our knowledge of the qualities of materials for building electric furnaces and of the constituents of the furnace-charges, especially their electric conductivity and their chemical affinity towards one another at high temperatures, is still far from being complete, and from this fact we must conclude that the smaller the number of elements in the construction of a furnace, the fewer the number of unreliable factors both in the construction and in the operation of the electric furnace. This conclusion deserves special attention when an electric furnace for making steel has to be chosen from the constantly-growing number of inventions, inasmuch as the chief constituent of steel, the element iron, is a substance which in its liquid phase has so great an affinity for those elemen&apos;ts which are to be removed from the charge, that it is very difficult to comply with the following conditions: 1, to heat the refining-slag to the highest point of its chemical activity ; 2, to prevent the iron from entering the slag, or, where this cannot be done, to make it enter so that it finally appears in the end-product

Jan 1, 1911

By Dermot M. Ross-Brown

Introduction Slope angles are one of the major factors affecting the shape of the final pit and the location of the walls Due to differences in geology, the optimum slope angles vary from pit to pit and within different parts of the same pit. Indeed, it is not unusual to have different slope angles for the top and bottom portions of the same cross section. The optimization of these slope angles is a major study in itself and this chapter is intended as a general introduction to the subject. It is not intended to be a comprehensive text for the absolute beginner The objective is to put the various aspects of slope stability analysis into relative perspective by describing the vari¬ous analytical techniques available and indicating when each may be most appropriately used References are made to the many excellent texts and papers on slope stability for the reader who does not have a formal training in soil or rock mechanics. In writing this chapter, an assumption has been made that a tentative mining plan has been drawn up, includ¬ing a preliminary estimate of the slope angles. It has also been assumed that all the necessary field and laboratory data has been collected and reduced to a form suitable for input into the stability analyses.

Jan 1, 1979