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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 Franklin H. Wilson

COPPER base alloys containing various amounts of aluminum and silicon are of considerable commercial interest. In particular the alloy containing 7 pct aluminum and 2 pct silicon shows an attractive combination of high strength with excellent machinability. Since there is no evidence in the literature that this ternary system has been studied since the recognition by Smith1 and Anderson2 in 1939 of the kappa phase of the binary copper-silicon system, the determination of the equilibrium phase relationships in the copper corner of the ternary diagram has been undertaken to provide a fundamental basis for understanding the behavior of these alloys. Phase boundaries have been determined by the micrographic examination of quenched samples while points on the liquidus surface have been obtained by thermal analysis. The results, of sufficient precision to serve their major purpose of providing a guide for the control of the manufacture of alloys in the region covered, are presented in a series of both isothermal and vertical sections of the diagram. ALLOYS STUDIED For a rough survey of the copper corner of this ternary system the compositions listed in Table I (Series A) were employed. The results of examinations of these alloys indicated that the compositions listed in Table 2 (Series B) would further clarify regions of greater complexity. All alloys were prepared as 1200 g heats, the copper being melted under charcoal, and then first silicon and then aluminum were added. An [ ] excess of 0.05 pct silicon was allowed to cover deoxidation losses. Two small bars 5/8 by 1 ¼ by 1 ¼ in. were cast using Durville type casting equipment. Analyses were made on all alloys using material which was hot-rolled at 800 or 850°C and annealed 17 hr at 650°C. All analyses were found to be within 0.05 pct of the nominal composition. Since the precision of analysis is not much better than this, the points of both isothermal sections and vertical sections at fixed aluminum and silicon contents have been plotted at the compositions indicated by the nominal composition.

Jan 1, 1948

By Gregoire Gutzeit

The development reported in this paper was begun by the author a number of years ago, while he was a lecturer on complex chemistry and metallurgy at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and in charge of that institution's research laboratory. Completion of the development and reduction to practice did not occur until last year at the Westport mill, laboratories and testing plant of the Dorr Company, where this method is now in general use for identifying and localizing the mineral constituents of both metallic and nonmetallic ores. It has proved to be a practical tool of the metallurgical staff at the Westport mill, devising unusual milling flowsheets for complex and refractory ore bodies. In a number of instances the findings have been successfully used as fundamental factors in the design and specification of complete metallurgical plants. Seven examples of the use of this method in solving practical milling problems are included in this paper. General Outline The microscopic study of an ore, at first only of scientific interest, has proved extremely useful both in practical geology and in ore dressing. The binocular magnifying lenses for rough observation of the products of an ore-dressing plant have been in use for a long time; but only within the last few years has a systematic microscopical examination of ore samples become a normal tool of any research laboratory dealing with ore-dressing problems. Such an investigation avoids considerable loss of time as well as empirical trials and useless experimentation. It will generally indicate the correct grinding and often will suggest the proper method of treatment. . The petrographic determination of transparent minerals in thin sections, or even in grains, has been perfected, and very accurate methods have been devised to meet any requirement, such as Feodorof's rotating stage on the petrographic microscope. Almost all transparent minerals can be positively identified by their optical properties; i.e., isotropism, anisotropism, color, pleochroism, refractory index, cleavage, crystal form, birefringence, and others. The identification of opaque minerals is a much more difficult problem and can be done only by using polished specimens. Unfortunately, most of the valuable metallic ores, and even some of the nonmetallic ones, are not transparent; therefore it has been necessary to develop a special technique for the determination of these minerals. Some optical properties—for instance, isotropism, anisotropism, color, cleavage, reflecting power-—are often adequate in roughly classifying the mineral. Only "reflecting power" is a measurable value, provided special photometric equipment (ocular photometer or Orcel's photoelectric cell) is available. The other optical properties mentioned are more or less relative,

Jan 1, 1943

By Gregoire Gutzeit

The development reported in this paper was begun by the author a number of years ago, while he was a lecturer on complex chemistry and metallurgy at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and in charge of that institution's research laboratory. Completion of the development and reduction to practice did not occur until last year at the Westport mill, laboratories and testing plant of the Dorr Company, where this method is now in general use for identifying and localizing the mineral constituents of both metallic and nonmetallic ores. It has proved to be a practical tool of the metallurgical staff at the Westport mill, devising unusual milling flowsheets for complex and refractory ore bodies. In a number of instances the findings have been successfully used as fundamental factors in the design and specification of complete metallurgical plants. Seven examples of the use of this method in solving practical milling problems are included in this paper. General Outline The microscopic study of an ore, at first only of scientific interest, has proved extremely useful both in practical geology and in ore dressing. The binocular magnifying lenses for rough observation of the products of an ore-dressing plant have been in use for a long time; but only within the last few years has a systematic microscopical examination of ore samples become a normal tool of any research laboratory dealing with ore-dressing problems. Such an investigation avoids considerable loss of time as well as empirical trials and useless experimentation. It will generally indicate the correct grinding and often will suggest the proper method of treatment. . The petrographic determination of transparent minerals in thin sections, or even in grains, has been perfected, and very accurate methods have been devised to meet any requirement, such as Feodorof's rotating stage on the petrographic microscope. Almost all transparent minerals can be positively identified by their optical properties; i.e., isotropism, anisotropism, color, pleochroism, refractory index, cleavage, crystal form, birefringence, and others. The identification of opaque minerals is a much more difficult problem and can be done only by using polished specimens. Unfortunately, most of the valuable metallic ores, and even some of the nonmetallic ones, are not transparent; therefore it has been necessary to develop a special technique for the determination of these minerals. Some optical properties—for instance, isotropism, anisotropism, color, cleavage, reflecting power-—are often adequate in roughly classifying the mineral. Only "reflecting power" is a measurable value, provided special photometric equipment (ocular photometer or Orcel's photoelectric cell) is available. The other optical properties mentioned are more or less relative,

Jan 1, 1943

By J. S. Johnson, W. C. McCulloch

ALL phases of plant operation must be synchronized so that the number of interruptions in the flow of material may be reduced to a minimum. In the majority of plants operating under a labor agreement, time lost during the operating shift cannot be made up with overtime. With the work week restricted to 35 hr., the ratio of productive time to total time justifies extra effort in keeping the plant operating at capacity during the productive shift. This does not apply when central plants with adequate storage are operated by multiple shifts. In such installations the problems become similar to those of any factory or mill where added units parallel circuits, or excess capacity serve to maintain the average production during intervals of maintenance shutdown. These plants, by special agreement, may run continuously, barring mechanical interruptions. The control of plant operation is in those procedures that are practiced to obtain from the run-of-mine product a high recovery of clean coal products to meet adopted trade standards and consumer specifications at the lowest possible cost. Correlation of all factors for continuous operation requires more than mechanical perfection in the plant. The run-of-mine coal must be delivered to the preparation plant without delays and the clean coal and refuse products taken away. Power supply and water requirements must be adequate. Signal systems must be established for emergency stops and to facilitate resumption of coal flow. ORGANIZATION Probably the most important item for successful operation of a preparation plant is a capable organization interconnected with the mine organization. A typical organization chart for companies operating in the Pennsylvania anthracite region is shown in Fig. 1. The breaker foreman is in direct contact with the plant preparation operation and reports to the outside foreman, who, in turn, reports to

Jan 1, 1943

By R. B. Russell

SINCE Cahn's¹ paper on plastic deformation in orthorhombic (a) uranium an increasing amount of work is to be expected on orientation of single crystals and preferred orientation in this metal. It would seem desirable to have a table of angles between crystallographic planes (hkl) and (HKL). Table I shows these angles as distances from (loo), (0l0), and (00l), and in Fig. 1 as a standard (001) stereographic projection. Only the locations of poles whose diffracting planes produce Cu Ka reflections up to 0 = 70.5" (i.e. (154) ) are given." The relative reflection of these planes are represented by circle diameters. It is hoped that the projection may also be used in making inverse pole figures, originally suggested by Harris.' Values of 4 were calculated from the expression hH kK 1L cos = hH/a²+kK/b²-lL/c² where the lattice parameters a, b, c, and the spac-ings d were taken from the work of Jacob and Warren." (They report a = 2.852 kX (2.8578 A), b = 5.865 kX (5.8768 A), c = 4.945 kX (4.9550 A).) The parameters reported by them may be subject to revision,4,5 accordingly the interplanar angles are listed to only the nearest tenth of a degree. References ¹R. W. Cahn: Acta Metallurgica (1953) 1, p. 49. ¹G. B. Harris: Philosophical Magazine (1952) 43, p. 113. 3C. W. Jacob and B. E. Warren: Journal ACS (1937) 59, p. 2588. 4J. S. Lukesh: Acta Crystallographica (1949) 2, p. 420. ³ J. Thewlis: Nature (1951) 168, p. 198.

Jan 1, 1954

By Douglass D. Donald

The New Jersey Zinc Co. successfully holed through a 2 ½ -mile haulage tunnel connecting its new Ivanhoe shaft with the Van Mater Shaft at Austinville, Va. This 8 x 10-ft cross-section tunnel was driven from both ends and met at a point approximately a mile from one shaft and a mile and a half from the other. In order to make certain that the faces met accurately on line and grade it was necessary to refine conventional mine surveying practices. The mines that are serviced by these shafts are located in the southwestern part of Virginia approximately midway between Roanoke and Bristol at the west foot of the Blue Ridge. While the presence of lead-zinc sulfide ores has been known in this area for more than 200 years, it was in 1902 that New Jersey Zinc Co. acquired the Austinville property, which has been in constant operation since that time. About ten years ago the company undertook an extensive diamond drilling program at Ivanhoe several miles to the southwest. This program was successful in locating sufficient ore to justify the purchase of a number of the properties in this area and plans were made to develop the new orebodies. The discovery of this ore as well as substantial additional reserves at Austinville resulted in a decision by the company to increase its daily milling capacity to 3000 tons, of which about 1000 tons would be supplied from the Ivanhoe mine.

Jan 9, 1958

By John J. Curzon

The existence of mineralized ground in the area near Lake Chelan has been known since 1887, when Major A. B. Rogers, a locating engineer for the Great Northern Railway, came up Lake Chelan to Railroad Creek in search of a pass over the Cascade Mountains. The steep mountainsides near the crest of the Cascades proved too difficult for railroad construction, and the project was abandoned. Upon his return to Seattle, Major Rogers apparently told his friends, the Denny family, about the large, red, oxidized patches he had seen on the valley walls along Railroad Creek. The Dennys, being true pioneers in spirit, grubstaked J. H. Holden to explore the area and to stake any promising mining ground, and thus began the chain of events that culminated in the construction of the plant that is now known as the Chelan Division of the Howe Sound Company. Holden staked the first group of claims in 1892. Soon afterward, A. H. Murdock, who was then a storekeeper in Chelan, and who is still living at Waterville, and his partner, W. P. Robinson, staked adjacent ground. These two groups of claims formed a substantial part of the mining property being worked today. During the period from the original staking in 1892 up to 1928, when the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. optioned the property, many attempts were made to bring the property into production, through the formation of several stock companies and by examination and testing by engineers from several well-known mining companies. Although the Britannia organization optioned the property in 1928, not much was done until 1930, when a subsidiary was formed—the Chelan Copper Mining Co.—to explore further the possibilities of the ground. Some work was done during the next few years, but it was not until March 1937 that the Chelan Division of the Howe Sound Co. took over with a program of "full speed ahead," and active development of the mine and construction of the complete plant was begun, including docks, tug and barges, 54 miles of power line, 11 miles of road, mill, shop buildings and complete camp. Production began in April 1938, and has continued without interruption, except for regular change days and holidays and a six-weeks strike in 1939. This interval of time has seen the gradual evolution of a mine and mill originally planned for a rate of 1000 tons per day into a compact operation that last year averaged 2264 tons per operating day. This operation, although rather small when compared with the large copper producers of the Southwest, is important to the state of Washington for several reasons: It has provided employment for several hundred people continuously since construction days in 1937; it has helped materially in the war effort, through production of vital copper and zinc, without which no war can be won; and last, but not least, it has conclusively refuted the old pessimistic arguments that a successful mine would never be found in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. The Holden mine has been producing

Jan 1, 1946

By William Blauvelt

Tun technical and engineering problems in the manufacture of coke are today the problems of the byproduct oven. Except in a few special localities, practically no beehive ovens have been built in the United States for the last 5 or 6 years except as renewals of old plants, and during these years the total number of beehive ovens in existence has been steadily falling. On the other hand, the number of byproduct ovens has increased from 4624 in 1911 to a total of about 7660 in operation at the end of 1917; with 2800 building, this makes a total of about 10,460 which will be in operation in 1918, or shortly thereafter. Preliminary Government estimates place the total production of coke for 1917 at 56,600,000 tons, the largest tonnage in the history of the industry. Of this 34,000,000 tons or 60 per cent. was beehive, and 22,-600,000 tons, or 40 per cent. was byproduct coke. Some time in 1918 the production of byproduct coke should pass the beehive output, and when the byproduct ovens now building are completed the total byproduct capacity will be about 40,000,000 tons of coke per. annum, which is over 70 per cent. of the record-breaking total coke production of 1917. The reasons for these changes in the coking industry are familiar to all of us, and need not be discussed here.

Jan 3, 1918

By Melvin H. Podwysocki

Lineament and fracture analysis have enjoyed a resurgence of interest over the last several years, particularly since the advent of the Landsat series of Earth resources satellites. Some applications for lineament analysis include mineral, petroleum and ground- water exploration, engineering studies such as highway routing, mine roof stability, dam and power plant siting and general tectonic studies. The needs of each study may be different, but the general problem of large masses of data is common to all. Methods for efficient handling of the information and some statistical methods for its evaluation are discussed. These include comparing the lengths of the fracture population against known distributions, trend surface analysis of fracture lengths and number per unit area and multivariate analysis of rose diagrams. Examples are shown in an experimental program for predicting the presence of reef structures, areas of potential petroleum production.

Jan 1, 1977

By M. S. Burton, B. W. Christ, G. V. Smith

Evidence of the effects which high-angle grain boundaries and veining subgrain boundaries have on the yield phenomenon of zone-refined iron is reported. Room-temperature tensile tests on 50-mil wive at several gram sizes produced upon recrystallization at diffevent temperatures below 910C (a-y phase-transfornzatzon temperature) show that upper and lower yield stress decrease with increasing grain size. The upper yield point effectively disappears at grain sizes of 81 and 102 u in samples of this diameter. However, samples of 129 p grain size. produced during recrys-tallization at 950°C, exhibit a pronounced upper yield point and an increased lower yield stress. Possible causes of the reversal in the grain-size dependence of yielding are discussed. Veining substructure, detected with picval-HC1 etchant, but not with 2 pct nital, is formed during the a-y transformation, and is believed to account for the observed effecls. The strengthening associated with high-angle boundaries in zone-refined tron is discussed in terms of: 1) the stress dependence of slzp multiplicity, and 2) the stress dependence of dislocation emission from grain boundaries. WIDE use of transmission electron microscopy and dislocation etch-pitting techniques has led to a growing awareness of the presence of dislocation substructures in annealed pure metals. Whereas much speculation'-4 has developed about the influence which subgrain structures have on the mechanical behavior of metals, particularly the yield strength, only limited experimental evidence correlating subgrain structures with lower yield strength has been presented. 2,3,5-7 It is the purpose of this note to present experimental evidence of the effects which grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries have on both the upper and lower yield strength of zone-refined iron. Effects due to high-angle boundaries formed upon recrystallization below the a-y phase transformation are compared with effects due to veining subgrain boundaries formed upon "recrystallization" above the a-y phase-transformation temperature. These effects are further compared with the reported influence 2,3,5-7 which low-angle boundaries have on the lower yield strength of bcc transition metals. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The starting material for these experiments was a 1-in.-diam zone-refined ingot prepared at Battelle Memorial Institute. Initial purification of electrolytic iron by vacuum-induction melting was improved by a floating zone-melting treatment in ultrapure hydrogen.' Chemical analysis of this zone-refined iron appears in Table I. Tensile samples of 50-mil wire were prepared by rolling and drawing portions of the ingot. An intermediate recrystallization anneal at 625°C after rolling to a reduction in area of 85 pct was carried out in an evacuated Vycor capsule (10-=5 mm Hg). Further reduction in area of 91 pct was followed by recrystallization in evacuated Vycor capsules at temperatures between 600" and 950°C, see Table 111. All samples

Jan 1, 1967

By Morris Muskat

A theory is presented for calculating the performance history of complete water-drive systems producing from idealized stratified formations. The general equations are applied to systems where the permeability stratification is either of the exponential or linear type. Calculations were carried through for different degrees of permeability stratification, but with special emphasis on the effect of the mobility ratio between the produced oil and the invading water on the resultant performance. These results are also expressed graphically as curves for the initial water breakthrough recovery, for the different degrees of stratification, as a function of the mobility ratio, and of the composition of the produced fluid stream as a function of the cumulative oil recovery. For several typical cases the latter has also been plotted as a function of the cumulative oil and water throughflow. The general result is that when the mobility of the oil is lower than that of the invading water the channelling tendency resulting from the permeability stratification becomes aggravated as the higher permeability zones become flooded out. Situations of this type would obtain when producing low gravity or highly viscous oils. Conversely, if the mobility of the oil is high compared to that of the invading water, the flooding of the high permeability zones will lead to a retarding and choking effect, and the gross bypassing phenomena will be partially suppressed. These conditions would correspond to those of flooding high gravity or low viscosity oils. A discussion is given of the various basic assumptions made in the analysis, including that of ignoring the stripping phase of the production history as implied by relative permeability concepts. INTRODUCTION The physical ultimate recoveries from oil reservoirs are basically determined and limited by the physical oil displacement processes associated with the reservoir producing mechanism. In practice, however, the economic ultimate recoveries are further limited by the mobility of the reservoir fluids and the uniformity and continuity of the producing formation. In fact, it is the differential depletion between the component parts of the composite reservoir which ultimately determines the total recovery at the time of field abandonment. While this observation applies to both the solution gas drive and gravity drainage mechanisms, in which use is made only of the energy contained within the original oil-bearing reservoir, it is of even more paramount importance under operations wherein the energy associated with extraneous fluids provides the ultimate oil expulsion mechanism. Whether the invading fluid is the water from an edgewater drive, water injected for pressure maintenance, gas injected for pressure maintenance, or gas returned to the formation in a cycling program, it is often the continuity and uniformity of the producing section which will control the economic efficiency of the operations. The importance of the problem of reservoir non-uniformity does not, of course, lessen its complexity or the difficulties of its solution. In fact, these are inherently such that the concept of a "general" solution is virtually meaningless. About all that can be reasonably hoped for is the analysis of specific and well-defined types of non-uniformity which may give some degree of approximation to actual reservoir conditions. Since variations in the nature of the reservoir which depend only on the position along the streamlines will not lead directly to major differential depletion development within the reservoir, the types of non-uniformity considered thus far have involved stratification assumptions. That is, the producing section has been replaced by a multi-layer "sandwich," each uniform areally, and differing from the others only in its basic physical constants as to thickness, porosity and permeability. The fluid motion in the composite system is thus approximated by a parallel superposition of the independent fluid movements in the individual strata. For the specific application to cycling operations the theory of the effect of permeability stratification has been developed for both discontinuous' and continuous types of permeability stratification. Among the latter, treatments have been given of systems in which permeability distributions are governed by exponential, linear' or probability3 functions. In all these studies complete dynamical equivalence was assumed between the injected dry gas and the displaced wet gas. The overall effective permeability of each stratum was therefore considered as constant and independent of the degree of invasion of the injected fluid. In the case of the displacement of oil by water, the assumption of dynamical equivalence between the water and oil will be strictly valid only by accident. Even if the oil viscosity should be the same as that of the water, the effective permeability to the oil in the presence of the connate water will in general be quite different from that of the water behind the water-oil interface flowing past the trapped residual oil. As a result the effective permeability for the stratum as a whole and rate of water invasion will change with time as the intrusion continues. The differential fluid motion in the individual strata will thus also vary with time. Qualitatively, it is easy to predict the resultant effects. If the permeability to viscosity ratio of the invading fluid exceeds that of the fluid displaced, the stratification and bypassing effect of the perme-

Jan 1, 1950

By James J. Bailey

Percussive drills have been in commercial use for many decades. Until relatively recently there was little serious effort to analyze the stresses in such devices in any detail. Within the last few years such analyses have been developed and have been reported by a number of authors.1-4 We present here an investigation of the impact systems of a family of conventional down-hole drills with optimization the objective. We have assumed that maximum drilling speed was the quality most desired and that this was to be achieved within conventional practice. In fact the methods that are demonstrated in principle below can readily be adapted to other percussive devices, whether conventional or not, and to other constraints. SOME PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS FOR PERCUSSIVE DRILLS Consider a percussive drill with an air motor operating with the following parameters: p-supply air pressure a-effective piston area W-piston mass S-piston stroke If we consider a simple (constant pressure) cycle, the following relationships can be derived. The blow frequency [N~ pa lie WS 377]

Jan 1, 1968

By N. N. Clark

Pachuca tanks are used widely as reactors for treating gold slimes, and for alumina digestion and uranium leaching. In some designs, slurry mixing in the tank is achieved by introducing air at the base of a draft tube, which is the full height of the tank. A buoyant air-slurry mixture rises in the draft tube and is discharged at the top. The slurry flows back through the bulk of the tank volume. Little information is available to predict the relationship between slurry flow rate in the draft tube, and the volume of air added at the base of the tube. Most current designs are based on the energy balance proposed by Lamont 25 years ago. Recent two-phase flow theory is used to develop a momentum balance for the flow in the draft tube, and a new, accurate design equation is derived. Bubble slip, frictional (wall) losses, entrance losses, and acceleration effects all contribute to the pressure gradient in the draft tube. None of these factors may be neglected under typical operating conditions. The new design equation accounts for all of these factors, and finds good agreement with Lamont's experimental example. Also, the new equation demonstrates that it is uneconomical to operate the draft tube with high airflow rates.

Jan 1, 1985

By E. H. Griswold, W. J. Wilkins

Pressure control of oil wells may be defined as the adjustment of pressures within a well to obtain the most efficient and economic utilization of the natural gas energy with a minimum of sand troubles or irregular water encroachment. The purpose of this paper is to present the methods used by the writers in applying pressure control and a discussion of the various effects occurring within the wells affected. The benefits to be derived from the conservation of natural gas energy have been so adequately discussed and demonstrated in prior papers by various engineers that the effects on ultimate production will not be discussed other than to mention a few representative cases. The detrimental effects of irregular edge-water encroachment and of sanding up arc of general knowledge to the industry. Effect on Ultimate Production One of the strongest objections voiced against pressure control is that of the danger or inadvisability of deferring oil production by cutting the rate of production. It has been our experience that such deferred product'ion is returned within a few weeks or months rather than years and that an increased cumulative oil production is obtained in the early life of the well by conserving the natural energy. In many cases the rate of production is increased rather than decreased by the adjustment of pressures to obtain the minimum gas factor. Fig. 1 shows the history of a Wilcox sand well in northern Oklahoma, which was pressure-controlled from completion. It is noted that during the early months while flowing naturally through the casing the gas factor was decreased rather than allowed to follow its natural tendency to increase. A string of 21/2-in. tubing was run to restrict the flow and resulted in a decreased gas factor with a more sustained rate of production. When first placed on gas-lift the gas factor again tended to increase, but after the proper pressure adjustments were made, remained approximately steady. It was necessary to defer 100 bbl. per day of oil production in order to maintain this low gas factor. In March serious

Jan 1, 1929

By F. N. Koepel, L. A. Callaway

The property of the Andes Copper Mining Co. is in the central part of the Republic of Chile, Province of Atacama, about 75 miles to the eastward from the port of Chafñaral. At this point the Andean system is made up of two principal ranges, and the mine and metallurgical plant are both on the westerly slope of the outer or western range. Mean elevation of the mine is 10,500 ft., while at the plant the elevation ranges from 9445 to 9700 ft. A meter gage railroad extends from the company's port at Barquito, near Chañaral, to the reduction plant at Potrerillos. This road has a total length of 94 miles, of which 57.79 miles are owned by the Andes Copper Mining Co. and the remainder of the road is controlled by the State. Development of the Potrerillos mine and installation of the metallurgical equipment presented unusual difficulties due to the arid nature of the country, high altitude and remoteness of the location from any considerable center of population. As a primary step it was necessary that railroad transportation be provided in order that mine development and plant construction could go forward on an economical basis. Provision of an adequate supply of water for domestic and metallurgical uses involved the construction of approximately 178 miles of pipe lines, all of which have their sources at altitudes ranging from 12,000 to 14,000 ft. above sea level and traverse rough and difficult terrane. Water for metallurgical use is brought to Potrerillos from the Ola River, a stream originating in the high cordillera to the eastward from the property. It is delivered by means of a steel pipe line, 32 miles long, having diameters ranging from 22 to 36 in. Domestic water is supplied to the various camps through a system of pipe lines aggregating 146 miles in length, the Ola water being unfit for this purpose. These conductors gather water from numerous springs in the high mountains to the eastward from Potrerillos and deliver it to the mine, the reduction works and the port at Barquito. Extensive permanent housing facilities had to be provided as it was necessary to care for more than 3000 workmen and employees at the

Jan 1, 1934

By J. J. Beeson

Fox the past fifty years or more, the structural features of the Cordilleran mountain system of western United States have presented some most interesting problems. Any geologist or engineer living in this region, or even making occasional examinations. of the mines, will lose much of interest and importance if he is not familiar with the literature. Some of the greatest works on geology have been the, result of studies carried on in sections of this region. Among the more important of the earlier works are those of Dutton,1. King,2 Gilbert,3 and Powell;4 of the more recent Lindgren,5 Ransome,6 Spurr,7 Butler,8 and others have contributed much. Many of the papers are largely of scientific interest but even these lay the foundation for the commercial application of the broader features of the geology. I have read many of these works with the keenest interest and pleasure; in fact, some have been read until some of the more important findings seem to be my own. In this paper, however, it is my aim to accept credit for little more than the labor of assembling some of the ideas of others. This is done with the hope that an interesting and valuable discussion will be the result. If some of the ideas presented should

Jan 9, 1925

By N. H. van Lingen

A laboratory stud], has been made to determine what factors affect the penetration rate of roller bits, diamond bits and drag bits in rock drilling with clay /water muds. The rather simple relations that exist when pressures in and around the borehole are equal become more conzplicated when under down-hole conditions the penetration rate is hampered by the existence of a pressure differential between the mud at the hole bottom and the pore liquid at cutting depth. Expressions that have been derived for both the penetration rate and the magnitude of the pressure differential in permeable rock together fully account for operating, rock, mud and bit variables. In impermeable rock a similar pressure differential is caused by the bit action itself. In all cases, the pressure difierential and the reduction in penetration rate increase with the effectiveness of the plastering at the bottom of the hole by mud particles. Where bits are employed whose action is largely that of crushing, however, the plastering may become even more effective owing to the addition of rock particles rubbed into the pores of the rock. With roller bits, a plastically hehaving layer may be formed, which causes a further reduction in penetration. In the case of bits whose action is chiefly scraping, moreover, penetration may be arrested by the bit's becoming balled-up. The various adverse effects are reduced by thorough scavenging of the hole bottom. This paper shows how with jet bits the efficiency of such scavenging may he improved by suitable choice of the position of the nozzles. INTRODUCTION The reduction in a bit's penetration rate with increasing depth of hole has been the subject of many investigations. Various investigators ',' have independently reached the conclusion that this reduction occurs not so much because the rock-breaking process becomes more difficult as it does because the lifting of the rock fragments is impaired by a fluid pressure differential holding the fragments down. When such a pressure differential can be avoided, as in air drilling and to a smaller extent in water drilling, penetration rates remain high. Although the range of applicability of these techniques is being extended, most oil wells still have to be drilled with mud. In this paper we present the results of laboratory experiments carried out to determine what factors govern the hold down effect encountered in mud drilling. In the course of this investigation, the well known importance of bottom scavenging came more and more into prominence. Not only may it reduce the magnitude of the hold-down forces, but also it appeared to be a means of preventing the accumulation of a plastic mass of cuttings and mud on the hole bottom and bit which may cause penetration to cease almost completely. So that the effects of fluid pressures may be more readily understood, the factors that govern penetration rate in the absence of these pressures will first be discussed. The effect of down-hole pressures will then be assessed for the case of permeable rock where fluid pressures are well defined, and it will be demonstrated how rock strengthening due to confining can be accounted for. Subsequently, fluid pressures in less-permeable rock will be examined; we will show that in impermeable rock it is the bit action that governs fluid-pressure distribution and hold-down. In the case of poor scavenging and/or high bit load. cutting cake manifests itself. The effect, like various others. appears to depend on the type of bit used. From the very beginning, therefore, we shall base our discussion on the three main types of bits used in rotary oil-well drilling— roller bits, diamond bits and drag bits. Since space is limited, it will be impossible to make more than a passing reference to many aspects of the problem. Moreover. certain relations that are not of primary irnportance to our argument will unavoidably have to be stated in a somewhat dogmatic fashion, and the experimental data on which these are based necessarily must be omitted. EQUIPMENT The drilling experiments were performed on three machines, of which one has been designed for the realistic simulation of down-hole pressure conditions. HIGH-PRESSURES MACHINE In this machine (diagramed in Fig. 1) the mud, pore and confining pressures can all be adjusted independently. The foil-covered rock sample contained in the inner pressure vessel is confined by oil that is pressurized by means of a hand pump. The pore space of the watersaturated sample is connected to an arrangement which keeps the pressure in the pore space constant regardless of the rate of filtrate flow through the sample.

By C. D. Rubert, W. J. Parton

LARGE quantities of fine anthracite with associated impurities are discharged with the waste water from the coal-cleaning plants in the Pennsylvania anthracite region. Furthermore, for many years this fine material has accumulated and formed silt banks. The difficulty of removing the impurities from the fine material and the lack of adequate markets are responsible for the waste of this material. In view of a larger demand for fine coal, mainly for pulverized fuel, the Lehigh Navigation Coal Co. Inc. decided to investigate the froth flotation process for recovery of fine coal from these waste solids. A test plant was constructed and operated for six months during 1942 in order to determine the practicability of recovering coal from the waste water of a cleaning plant (breaker) by froth flotation, and to obtain operating data for designing a commercial plant if the results were favorable. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION Before the pilot plant was constructed information was obtained by field and small-scale laboratory tests to serve as a guide in the design and operation of the pilot plant. Size and ash analyses of a representative sample of the material discharged in the wash water from a cleaning plant are given in Table I. [ ] The refuse content increases progressively as the size of the particles decreases. The larger particles (+35 m.) are low in ash content and could be marketed without cleaning. Since these solids are discharged from the breakers with 90 to 95 per cent water by weight, the first step in the recovery of the coal was that of reducing the quantity of water so that water in excess will not have to be handled. Furthermore, it was found that the removal of most of the minus 200 mesh high-ash material was desirable to permit the most efficient flotation of the coal. Classification tests were run and showed that a hydroseparator overflow rate of 12 ft. per hour was sufficient to eliminate much of the minus 200-mesh material while allowing the coarser material to settle and be thickened.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. S. Hooper

IN attempting to describe recent mining developments at the Bunker Hill mine, it may be well to recall first the old days of hand mining when holes were laboriously drilled by hand to a maximum depth of three feet, and were shot one or two at a time, in order that the miner could take advantage of every slip, crack or bedding plane, and so save as much drilling as possible. Broken muck, of course, was loaded by hand shoveling into wheelbarrows or small cars, and heading advances or stope ton¬nages were governed by the number of men that could find room to work in any given place. The first big improvement over these old methods was the introduction of the reciprocating type of air-powered rock drill. This innovation, crude as it was, enabled the miners to set up a machine and drill a complete round of holes in one shift; but broken muck was still loaded by hand, and the size and rate of advance in headings were limited by time required to remove the broken rock. The next improvement of consequence was the appearance of the hammer-type rock drill, which greatly increased drilling speed over the reciprocating type, and made possible the completion of a full cycle in one shift, by the use of crossbars in headings, and permitted drilling and mucking to be carried on at the same time. Rock drills continued to improve as time passed, and finally the smaller and more efficient mucking machines appeared on the scene, and it became possible to muck out a round of broken rock and have a clean setup for one or more drill columns and machines. A complete cycle of mucking, drilling, and blasting was completed in one shift with an average advance of five feet. These conditions prevailed for several years, but as the mine grew deeper, the distances to transport the workers grew longer, and this fact together with the shortening of the working day, soon presented the problem of attempting to complete a cycle of operations in a shift of only six hours at the working faces. Anticipating this condition, the operating heads at the Bunker Hill had started an intensive study of more and better mechanization, and over a period of comparatively few years have adopted and placed in service methods and machines that make it possible for a three-man crew to consistently advance headings seven by nine feet in cross section, at the rate of eight feet, and more, per shift, doing all the mucking, switching, drilling and loading. These improvements consist of the following major items: I. The development of a light, flexible, easily transported jumbo equipped with pneumatic columns (Fig I), that has decreased the "setting up" and "tearing down" time an average of 1 1/2 hr per shift, or 25 pct of the available working time. These jumbos were developed at the Bunker Hill mine by members of the staff and consist of two pneumatic columns attached to a suitable carriage. They fold

Jan 1, 1947