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By Maxwell Gensamer, Vsevolod N. Krivobok

It is generally recognized that "low temperatures" have a definite effect on the properties of metals and alloys. Furthermore, it is also generally understood that the effect is decidedly adverse. The possibility that the same low-temperature treatment might be employed for the purpose of improving certain properties of the alloys has received less attention until recently, and the experimental and theoretical knowledge consequently is meager. The effect of low temperatures may be studied in two ways: by studying such properties as tensile strength, hardpess, impact resistance, etc., at low temperature, and by studying the properties of alloys at room temperature after these alloys have been subjected to a low-temperature treatment. Even in the latter case, certain properties will differ materially from the same properties obtained on identical material but without cold treatment. In other words, subjecting alloys to cold treatment results in an irreversible change in mechanical properties. Changes of this character are usually indications of the appearance of a new phase or phases, and would be likely to occur in alloys which, either by virtue of their composition or by heat treatment, are retained at room temperature in a metastable condition. Consequently, studies of the effect of low temperatures logically should be conducted from the physicochemical point of view, since the results of such studies not only would furnish metallurgists with interesting theoretical data but would clearly indicate the classes of alloys that would hold promise of improvement, and, possibly, of new applications. As the present investmigation deals with chromium and chromium-nickel alloys of iron of the stainless variety, it has been thought desirable to present the data concerning low-temperature properties of these alloys, available from the most recent and most comprehensive work of H. S. Russell.l A summary of these data is given in Table 1. The data are confined to a limited number of alloys of the type dealt with in the present

Jan 1, 1931

By AIME AIME

THE non-ferrous 'metals industry of the Soviet Union found itself in a very low position at the beginning of the reconstruction period in 1922, due to the absence of modern smelters and the run-down condition of the existing ones. Up to. 1924 there was no great demand for newly smelted non-ferrous metals due to the considerable stocks' of copper, zinc, lead, tin and aluminum in the courtry and also to the undeveloped condition of Soviet industries. However, in 1925 it became necessary to obtain new stocks of non-ferrous metals and in that year 12,000 tons of zinc, 14,000 tons of lead and 2,000 tons of tin and aluminum were imported into the U. S. S. R.

Jan 1, 1929

By Milo W. Krejci

The plant and quarries of the Inland Portland Cement Co. are located at Metaline Palls, Wash., about 128 miles north of Spokane, on the Pend Oreille river, and within 10 miles of the Canadian border. The plant is one of a chain of cement plants controlled by the Lehigh Portland Cement Co., of Allentown, Pa. Work on this plant was commenced in June, 1910, and was completed in April, 1911, but on account of some delays in the construction of the power plant, the works were not put into operation until August, 1911. Since then it has been in continuous operation and has furnished the Inland Empire with a high grade of cement. Fig. 1 is a view and Fig. 2 is a plan of the works. Water Power Development.—The source of the water supply for the hydro-electric plant of the Inland Portland Cement Co. is Sullivan lake, a body of water approximately 5.5 miles long and' 0.5 mile wide, situated in the Kaniksu Forest Reserve. A wooden crib dam was installed so as to raise the elevation of the lake 25 ft., and the additional storage capacity was taken up by the diversion of Sullivan creek into the lake by means of a wooden flume, 0.25 mile long, 6 by 8 ft. in cross-section, and a ditch 1,200 ft. long. The water from the lake follows the natural water course to an intermediate storage reservoir, which was created by the construction of an earthen dam. This pond was used in connection with the saw mill which was installed at this point. Besides the earth dam, there was also built a crib, at the point shown in the sketch map, Fig. 3. This crib dam is 35 ft. high. From this point the excess water follows the natural course of Sullivan creek to the Pend Oreille river. The water is taken from this intermediage storage by means of a 6 by 8 ft. wooden flume approximately 13,000 ft. long. This flume is built up on the side hill, piling being driven most of the way on

Jan 1, 1914

By H. H. Waller, D. L. Monroe, D. P. R. Smyth

ORIGINALLY slusher drift development was conventional, advancing the drift full 10x13-ft size at 6 ft per round. This proved dangerous and costly because the weak fractured rock of the orebody cannot be left raw for any length of time without its reacting with air to cause spalling. With this method of drift development ground conditions were worsened by many blasts and the length of time it was necessary for the drift to remain open. The problem was practically solved by driving 5x7-ft pilot drifts, then enlarging to 10x13-ft raw size by slashing with 50 to 60-ft diamond drill holes. Calculated explosive charges are used to avoid wall and roof shattering. Still more recently jacklegs and sectional steel replaced the diamond drills, resulting in the same work for less than half the cost, see Figs. 1 and 2. Crosscuts at right angles to the main haulage drifts, which cross through the center of the ore-body, divide the ore into 200-ft blocks. Eight slusher drifts on 50-ft centers draw from one block. The slusher floor is 11 ft above the rail, inclined at 1 pct grade, and the top is 18 ft below the undercut. The finished slusher drift is 102.5 or 120 ft long, depending on whether it is north or south of the crosscut. Drawpoints are staggered on each side at 17.5-ft centers. The completed drift is concreted and has an inclined ramp and a vent at the back. When crosscuts and gangways have been excavated and concreted and slusher stations installed, slusher drift development is carried out in 10 clear-cut stages: 1—Pilot drift is driven full length, 5x7 ft. 2—Station is excavated at half-way point in pilot drift. 3—Pilot drift is enlarged to slusher drift size by drilling. 4—Lower part of slash is blasted and mucked for floor concrete. 5—Floor is poured. 6—Inside upper half of slusher drift is blasted, mucked, and concreted. 7—Outside upper half of slusher drift is blasted, mucked, and concreted. 8—Drawpoints are excavated. 9—Drawpoints are concreted. 10—Concrete ramp and sheave protection recess are constructed at back end of slusher drift. A 5x7-ft pilot drift is driven full length on the center line of the proposed slusher drift using a jackleg and detachable bits on 7/8-in. hexagon steel. A 10-hp air-driven slusher and 36-in. scraper pull muck directly into cars in the main haulage crosscut, see Fig. 2. Operations are on a three-shift basis. One man mucks the previous round, drills, and blasts his round in a shift. Average advance is 5 ft per shift. When the pilot drift is completed, 7 ft of drift in the center section is enlarged to full raw slusher drift size of 10x13 ft, for the set-up to drill long slash holes. The pilot drift is slashed to full raw size from this station with jacklegs and tungsten carbide chisel bits on 7/8-in. sectional steel. Crews line the holes without trouble, working from controls established by the engineers, and the pattern of holes for the slash is arranged to give the least shattering effect

Jan 1, 1955

By B. L. Averbach, Morris Cohen, S. A. Kulin

The martensitic transformation can be initiated by elastic stresses at temperatures above M. in a steel containing 20 pct Ni and 0.5 pct C. Shear strains and normal tensile strains acting on a potential habit plane promote the transformation but compressive strains oppose it. THE strain sensitivity of the martensitic transformation has long been recognized. It is now well known that martensite formation can be induced by plastic deformation at temperatures below, and not too far above, the M, point.' However, the exact role of elastic vs. plastic strains and of the concomitant stresses has proved to be a very elusive matter. Many investigators2-' of the steel hardening reaction have made use of the stresses resulting from volume changes to account for such observations as the existence of retained austenite and its variation across the section of a bar, the change in the amount of retained austenite with quenching rate, and the self-stopping nature of the transformation when the cooling is stopped. The effect of applied strain as an independent variable has been studied in 70 pct Fe-30 pct Ni alloys by Scheil7 and McReynolds.8 Some data are also available for lithium and Li-Mg alloys,9 Cu-Zn,10 Cu-Sn and Cu-A1 alloys," and aus-tenitic stainless steels."-" It has been found that martensite formation can be induced isothermally, even at temperatures above M,, by mechanical deformation of the parent phase. The competitive nature of plastic yielding by slip and by the martensitic reaction has been depicted by Scheil.7 Basically, Scheil postulated that: 1—at temperatures not too far above M, (where austenite is less stable than martensite), a critical resolved shear stress (within the elastic range) is required to promote the transformation to martensite; 2—at and below M,, the austenite lattice becomes mechanically, as well as thermodynamically, unstable and shears over spontaneously into martensite without the application of external stress; and 3—at temperatures sufficiently far above M8, the critical resolved shear stress for martensite formation increases to a level above that required for slip, and plastic flow then supersedes the transformation when external stress is applied. Scheil's concepts were tested by McReyno1ds8 ho found no change in the elastic moduli (measured both statically and dynamically) of 71 pct Fe-29 pct Ni alloys in the vicinity of the M, temperature. Since the moduli did not approach zero or become negative on cooling to M,, it was concluded that the austenite lattice does not become mechanically unstable at M2, as postulated by Scheil. McReynolds also reported that M, is not raised by elastic stresses. Accordingly, plastic deformation was considered to stimulate the transformation by generating martensite nuclei in the distorted regions of the parent phase. The above issues with regard to the role of applied stress require clarification, if a basic understanding of the martensitic transformation is to be obtained. For example, in the reaction-path theory,'"," it is postulated that strain embryos exist in the austenite that provide part of the activation energy for the nucleation process. These embryos are visualized to be regions of localized strain in which the atoms in the austenite lattice are displaced part way along the path to their ultimate positions in the martensite. Consequently, it would

Jan 1, 1953

By Jonathan Ludlow, Paul J. Guay

Based on two studies that were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the authors provide an overview of the benefits expected from mining deeper webs on United States longwalls. The first study, completed in November 1979, identified the limits and potential gains from taking deeper webs with presently available equipment. The second on-going study discusses the conceptual design and benefits of a future system for taking very deep webs.

Jan 1, 1981

By Theodor Knutzen, Charles H. Fulton

The plant of the National Smelting Co., a corporation controlled by the Horseshoe Mining Co., was built during 1901 to smelt the dry siliceous ores of the northern Black Hills, extracting the gold- and silver-values in a matte of low copper-percentage which is shipped to Omaha and Denver for refining. Originally, the plant was designed to collect the values of the siliceous ores in an iron-matte, which mas to be resmelted with lead-ores, in a lead-furnace, the lead-bullion produced to be refined into Doré bullion in English cupelling-furnaces. However, the scarcity of lead-silver ores in the Black Hills, owing to the present non-productiveness of the Galena district, led to

Jan 1, 1905

HeRbert A. MeGRaw, San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato, Mex. (communication to the Secretary*) :—Although Mr. Bordeaux prefaces his paper with the statement-that it is a general outline of practice in the Republic, many of his statements seem to be made from the view-point of a particular case, which does not always agree with general practice. For the purpose of calling attention to some of these variations, I respectfully offer the following comments: The operation of crushing and grinding is performed by so many different methods and systems that it is useless to select any one as the standard. However, primary crushing in rock-breakers followed by stamps is thus far so general that it might be so classified. Whether or not it is the best way, is open to question. Regrinding may be performed by any of the various types of Chilean mills, Huntington mills, or similar machines, or the material may be taken directly from the stamps and delivered to the tube-mills. Mr. Bordeaux's statement that " the slimes can be treated only by decantation; the new Butters slime-filter, as used in Nevada, does not seem to be successful with silver-ores," is surely an error. All over Mexico many of the purely silver-ores are being successfully handled by the Butters or similar filters, such as the Moore and the Burt filters, and a letter to the manufacturers of these filters will undoubtedly bring a list of the silver-ores now being successfully treated in this way. The statement that crushing silver-ores in solution is impossible is equally erroneous. Most modern mills crush the ore in solution, in some cases containing as much as 0.12 per cent, of KCN. I cannot for the moment recall any modern mill in Mexico which does not follow this practice. There may be some reason for it in particular instances, but, generally speaking, the practice is to crush in solution. Care in installation avoids any mechanical loss of cyanide, and the chemical loss is so small as to be negligible.

Jan 1, 1910

By R. W. Olson, A. L. Benham

Viscous fingering was studied as it occurred in an open Hele-Shaw model (1 ft x 4 ft x 1/16 in.); it was also studied in the same model packed with 80-mesh glass beads during miscible displacements under unfavorable viscosity ratio conditions. It was determined that the lengths of 20 elements of the front were distributed normally around the average position of the combined elements under all conditions. Represented by the normal distribution, the length of the viscous fingers grew linearly with the distance traveled from the point of finger formation, increased with displacement velocity, and increased with increasing mobility ratio. Results obtained during the first few inches of displacement were of little or no use in predicting finger growth and/or finger length throughout the 4-ft model since the point of finger initiation cannot be predicted and would often occur several inches from the point of injection with either positive or apparent negative coordinates. The fingering occurring during a miscible slug displacement was much greater than would be predicted based upon the actual mobility ratios between in-place fluid and slug and between slug and following fluid, using the results described above for miscible displacement in the absence of a slug. Many of the experiments in the packed model showed that the rate of growth of the viscous fingers was diminishing toward the end of the displacement in the 4-ft long model, indicating that microscopic mixing, such as diffusion or dispersion, was decreasing the viscous fingering effect. INTRODUCTION Viscous fingering is a manifestation of a finger-shaped interface between displaced and displacing fluids occurring during typical miscible displacement projects for oil recovery. Its cause may be traced to the instability of a viscous fluid being displaced by a more mobile fluid. Viscous fingering takes on important significance in the miscible slug process 1.2 where it may be a dominant factor in determining minimum slug size. Experimental1-3 and theoretical4-7 studies of viscous fingering have been made by other investi- gators. However, an exhaustive study of the variables affecting viscous fingering had not been made. The present study was undertaken in an effort to determine the effects of some of the more obvious variables—such as mobility ratio, displacement velocity, distance displaced, and packing—upon viscous finger length and growth in a small laboratory model. It does not necessarily follow that conclusions reached by studying the results of this model study may be applied to the field. Future studies would have to evaluate the effect of model size on extension of these results. EQUIPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES A flow diagram for the equipment used in this study is shown in Fig. 1. Basically, it consisted of (1) a constant-rate pump for the injection of displacing fluid into (2) a model made up of two flat transparent plates spaced a small distance apart and (3) provisions for the production of fluid into a calibrated graduate. The displacing fluid contained a dye which allowed visual observation of finger spacing and length. The pump performed at rates from 2.5 cc/hr to 480 cc/hr, while pumping a light mineral oil into a bladder in a closed glass container holding the displacing fluid. The model was made up of two plates of 1-in. Plexiglass with dimensions 1-ft wide by 4-ft long. These were spaced 1/16 in. apart so that the internal model dimensions were 1-ft wide x 4-ft long x 1/16

By Phillip B. Bucky, Fred D. Wright

The present known petroleum reserves are limited, and unless important new fields are discovered the Nation will be dependent, in the not too distant future, upon imports or upon synthetic liquid fuels to supplement domestic petroleum supplies. As a national defense measure, it would appear desirable to develop a substitute source of liquid fuels within the borders of the country if new discoveries of petroleum should Prove disappointing. Congress undoubtedly had this in mind when it passed the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act (78th Congress, approved April 5, 1944). The act directed the Bureau of Mines to construct and operate demonstration plants for producing synthetic liquid fuels from coal and oil shale, and from forestry and agricultural products. As a part of this program, the Bureau of Mines has built a demonstration plant at Anvil Points, near Rifle, Colo., for retorting the oil shale, and has developed a mine to supply the plant with oil shale. At the beginning of mining operations, the physical qualities of the oil shale, which would have a bearing upon the selection of mining methods and practices for exploiting the deposits, were largely unknown. A comprehensive mining-research program has been set up to determine the best methods and practices to follow to obtain the lowest overall practicable mining cost for producing the oil shale on a large scale. Unusually low mining costs will be necessary for shale oil to be produced commercially. Consideration now is being given to exploiting a series of flat-lying beds 70 ft thick by a room-and-pillar method of three benches with the advance heading at the top. This report is one of a series giving the results obtained in research on mining problems, The structure and physical qualities of the oil shale indicate that the 70-ft interval of the oil-shale measure can be safely mined in open stopes; studies indicate that this method would be the most economical one to use.' As labor will be a major item of expense, the largest equipment that could be operated efficiently in the workings would be required to obtain the lowest practicable mining Cost. It Was therefore desirable to know the maximum safe span of unsupported rooms and the size of pillars necessary to support the overburden. This paper describes the work done at the Columbia School of Mines Barodynamic Laboratory in determining the maximum safe unsupported roof spans and the minimum safe pillar dimensions for the oil-shale mine at Rifle, Colo.

Jan 1, 1949

By Walter W. Bradley

Mining by hydraulic process of the important gold-bearing gravels of the Sacramento Valley in the basins of the Yuba, Bear and American rivers began in 1853, and continued at an ever-increasing rate for 30 years. In its most active days it reached an annual production of $15,000,000, and averaged $10,000,000 per year over the 30 years. During that period no provisions were made to prevent the debris from being discharged into the water courses, and ultimately large quantities of silt, sand and gravel were washed down to the lower valleys; filling channels, causing overflow of agricultural lands and difficulty in maintaining navigable depths in the Sacramento River. Agitation and suits filed because of these damages finally resulted in the injunction decision of Judge L. B. Sawyer,' in the U.S. Circuit Court, Jan. 23, 1884, which closed down practically all hydraulic mining operations not having means to restrain their debris. In 1893 (approved March 1, 1893), Congress passed the act introduced by Representative Anthony Caminetti, of California, creating the California Debris Commission, composed of three officers assigned from the Engineer Corps of the U.S. Army, and since that time it has been legal and possible within the drainage systems of Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to conduct hydraulic mining of gold-bearing gravels behind dams built under this commission's permit and supervision. In the watersheds of the Trinity and Klamath rivers, which flow directly to the Pacific Ocean and do not affect navigation or agriculture, operating permits from the California Debris Commission are not required. There is a measure of restriction there, however, through what is known as the Trinity and Klamath River Fish and Game District. Chap. 215, Stat. 1931, in order to secure relatively clear water for the fishing season, provides that between July 15 and October 15 each year there must not be discharged into these rivers debris that will cause a turbidity greater than a content of 50 parts per million in the

Jan 1, 1937

By Robert W. Hunt

I have frequently stated that while the chemical composition of steel is important, yet even greater importance is connected with the mechanical and heat treatment of the metal. During the past year I encountered such a positive example of that fact that I deem it worth putting upon record. A prominent railway system divided an order for open-hearth steel rails between two steel works, both of which are under the control of the same corporation; giving to one about 18,000 tons, and to the other 7,500 tons of the same section and to be made under the same specifications. The rolling results obtained in the two mills varied so widely that a study of the figures is intensely interesting and serves to illustrate the advantages obtained by carefu1 ingot casting, and, quite as pertinently, the possible benefits of careful subsequent heating and rolling with moderate reductions in the rolling process. The smaller order was rolled complete in four installments during the same months that the larger order was being made in six separate installments; but, to permit of exact comparisons, the totals of the four installments (completing the order with the mill which I will call A) are given with the totals of the first four installments of the larger order, made by the mill designated as B. These rolling results are: Mill A. Mill B. Number of rollings,............................................ 4 4 Total number of rails rolled................................ 18,278 27,832 Percentage of rails cut to short lengths because of flaws near ends, etc......................................... 0.7 7.6 Percentage of rails made second quality for flaws, etc. 0.9 6.3 Percentage of rails scrapped for flaws, etc............... 0.6 4.5 Percentage of rails scrapped for failure at drop test... none 3.4 It should be stated that the figures given above cover all the reasons for putting the rails in the classes stated, Thus a part of the percentage of rails cut to short lengths may have been

Jan 1, 1914

By Joseph Jensen, J. B. Stevens

The history of the normal oil field is supposed to show an oil graph starting high in flush production, descending more or less steeply into the curve of settled production and dropping gradually to the vanishing point of economical operation. Together with this, somewhere in the early history of the field, there appears from a vanishing point a graph showing the production of water. During the period of settled production this graph rises higher and, toward the close, unless extensive work is done in the line of correction, rises far above the oil graph to the point at which the cost of operation terminates profitable pumping. Fields that start out with a high relative content of water are generally very short-lived. Fields that never develop a water problem are exceedingly rare. The McKittrick oil field, Kern County, California, with 840 acres of proved ground, 300 wells and a present recovery per acre of 94,598 bbl. from 1898 to Aug. 1, 1930, presents a study which is an apparent reversal of the outlined normal history. Though the history of the field now covers over 30 years of operation, it is still too early and the conditions too unique to project the graph of production to completion. The present conditions and directions of change are most interesting, in that the curve of oil production is remarkably flat and the curve of water invasion, after reaching an appalling height, has shown a definite reversal and a continued decline for 10 years. Early drilling in the McKittrick field was in or prior to 1898. Development continued steadily to 1918 when the present limitations of the field were determined. Shut-offs, according to accepted practice of the time, were made by driving the shoe into a shale stratum or into a tamped-in bridge of sand, rosin and clay. Records of early days speak of three waters: (1) surface water which was fresh; (2) an intermediate sulfur water, encountered below the top oil or tar sand; (3) bottom salt water. In different portions of the field any one of these waters let into a well by faulty completion might require immediate correction to obtain satisfactory production. In many wells,

Jan 1, 1931

By Axel Sahlin

Having no business interest in any of the various machines used for granulating ores, my remarks on the subject are prompted solely by my desire to contribute towards the determination of the best apparatus such information, as I have been able to gather,

Jan 1, 1893

By James F. Kemp

In submitting an additional contribution to the discussion on ore-deposits in the recent volumes of the Transactions, it is my desire to adhere closely to matters of material importance as affecting the actual processes. Judging from the discussion by Professor Van Hise, and from one or two reviews or other articles by associates of his in geological work, the impression seems to prevail that, in so far as my paper* referred to his masterly essay, I was guilty of misconceptions regarding both the part attributed by him in it to the igneous rocks and the ubiquitous presence of the ground-water. I should regret extremely to be wanting in these particulars or to have misunderstood one for whose great services in this and other branches of geology no one has a higher esteem than myself. I have, however, in the most careful way, and with these points in mind, read his essay again, and, taking it as a whole, I cannot gain any different impression of relative magnitudes than the one first received. The importance of the igneous phenomena and the restrictive influence of the processes described by " cementation " in their effect upon the ground-water, as set forth in Professor Van Hise's "Discussion" (Trans., xxxi., 292), impress me as being in very marked contrast with the same things in his first essay. If the point seems to anyone of sufficient importance, it can easily be decided by reading the originals. My paper was the result of some years of observation, reading and reflection, and was meant to be an independent contribution, controversial only in some subordinate particulars. In depicting the drama of the deposition of ores, I cannot but feel that Professor Van Hise assigned to the chorus and the scene-shifters some characters which, it seems to me, should

Jan 1, 1903

By H. M. Faust

THERE are a number of different types of power plants. Some use coal to generate steam, others use oil or gas either in the form of steam or internal combustion equipment, while still others avail themselves of water power as a source of energy. A general comparison of the relative power production with different sources of energy in the United States, for several different years is set up in Table 1. This table shows that coal was used to generate 85.6 per cent of the total heat power requirements of 1909, and only 59.2 per cent of the 1930 requirements. The increasing proportion of modern heat energy generated by the use of fuel other than coal is apparent. If coal is to maintain its importance as a source of heat energy, the necessity for its improved perform-ance, in which preparation plays an -important part, cannot be stressed too strongly.

Jan 1, 1933

By Thomas T. Read

THE benefits derived from stabilization of industry that might possibly be attained through some scheme of centralized economic planning have been much discussed of recent months, and opinions on the subject range from those who believe that some agency like the War Industries Board would be practicable to create and wholly beneficial in effects, to those who are equally convinced that none of the suggestions so far advanced are at all practicable, or likely to be productive of more of good than of evil. The discussion has been on the general topic, but-many of those who have written or spoken on it have introduced economic problems of the pinera1 industry; for example, Newton D. Baker, who referred to the coal industry in his address on economic planning at the Williamstown Institute of Politics on July 31, and then went on to say, "Industrial progress is made by the development of new things, but new things upset the equilibrium of any plan. Who could have planned the industrial effects of the development of the railroads, or the economic changes which you have seen attend the development of the internal combustion engine. Obviously, unless we are prepared to put world economics in a strait-jacket and, like the encyclopedists, write its full history on the theory that further progress is impossible, no such plan could be made for nations which are forging ahead as is entirely rational for nations which are still catching up."

Jan 1, 1931

By D. J. Blickwede

WHEN iron is dipped in molten zinc at temperatures in the range 840" to 930°F, the two metals react to form layers of Fe-Zn compounds which adhere to the iron. At the galvanizing tem- perature, the successive layers are:' y (Fe5Zn21), 61 (FeZn;), and 5 (FeZn13), in conformity with the Fe-Zn constitution diagram. There is no quantitative information in the literature on the rates of growth of the individual alloy layers over the temperature range 840° to 930°F. Rather all the past experiments have studied the loss in weight of iron as a function of galvanizing

Jan 1, 1954

By A. J. Teplitz, T. Bardeen

In the course of an investigation of lost circulation, a new tool has been developed which gives a qualitative measure of the relative velocity between the fluid column in the borehole and the tool. The position of a diaphragm in the side wall of the instrument depends on the flow through the device. This position is established by using the conductive borehole fluid in a potentiometric circuit. The instrument has high sensitivity and can detect changes in velocity as low as. 5 ft/min. Lost circulation mud additives do not interfere with the satisfactory performance of the tool. In a number of circulation losses of the pressure induced type, the instrument has shown that the losses were confined to extremely narrow zones (less than I ft), indicating that such ruptures occur in a more or less horizontal rather than vertical plane as has often been assumed. This pinpointing of the zone of loss is important in remedial procedures since it allows the treatment to be applied directly to the point of loss rather than to the entire open hole. The device can also be employed for indicating points of entry of water in producing wells. INTRODUCTION The need for an improved means of locating the positions of lost returns zones became evident during an investigation of lost circulation difficulties in the Gulf Coast area.1 With instrumentation available at the time, it had been learned that, contrary to common belief, the position of the thief zone responsible for a given loss seldom coincided with the point of bit penetration at the time the loss was encountered. In the majority of cases, the losses were found to be occurring at some distance removed from the bottom of the hole —sometimes as much as a few thousand feet. This information, along with other observations made during the investigation, led to improved techniques' for dealing with lost circulation problems. Highlighted, however, among the results of this work and of similar studies subsequently conducted in drilling operations in other parts of the country, was the indication that a considerable portion of the difficulty and expense involved in treating prolonged circulation losses is due to the unsystematic application of remedial measures to one or more apertures of unknown position. Basis of Tests It is worth considering that if the troublesome formation could somehow be transported to the surface where it could be directly observed, there would likely be little difficulty in readily effecting a seal. Although this is a decided oversimplification of the situation, it does appear that the chief obstacles to similar ease of handling of a lost circulation zone in a well are lack of visibility and of ready accessibility. The latter handicap is overcome to a considerable extent by placement techniques already in use, and other procedures now in the process of development are expected to offer further improvement. But in the matter of visual observation, the technique to be presently described appears to afford a quite satisfactory substitute.

Jan 1, 1957

By Shiou-Chuan Sun, R. F. Wesner, J. D. Morgan

0. C. Ralston and F. Fraas—Dr. Sun and associates have presented an interesting paper not all of which is comprehended by us. The data assembled measure the deflections of particles in an electrostatic field as a function of a number of independent variables and some dependent variables that are not sharply differentiated. These data are all based on a Johnson type machine of definite, well-described geometry, something not often done in electrostatic separation literature. One new fact brought out by this technique is the effect of coal dust on admixed pyrite and quartz. The effects are opposite in character, as should be expected and we do not agree with the authors that these effects are negligible. Fraas' also used a multiple cell "distribution analyzer" and gives in fig. 5 of his paper a straight line plot with no humps or curves. This is not necessarily at variance with Sun's results because Fraas used a larger gap between electrodes and had no evidence of particles adhering to or dropping off the charged electrode. The section of Sun's paper on effect of surface conductivity contains a speculation that the dielectric constant "represents more or less the electrical conductance of the bulk body instead of the surface of the mineral particles." A simple picture of the meaning of the dielectric constant is that it is the specific inductive capacity of a dielectric when used as the dielectric between the plates of a condenser. It is at once evident that the above speculation confuses capacity with conductance—two definitely independent variables. We ask the authors to state in what group or subdivision their garnet belongs; what method and units were used in calculating the data of col. A, table I and their meaning; what was the temperature of the carrier roll and, finally, has any effort been made to investigate the effects of particle shape on distribution in the electrostatic field? S. B. Hudson—I have read this article with great interest. We have been engaged in research work on the principles of electrostatic separation in this laboratory for some time now, and our findings agree with those of the authors in many respects. The article shows evidence of careful and valuable research in the field of electrostatic separation. A "distribution analyser," very similar to that described in an earlier article by one of the authors," was incorporated in an inclined plate-type electrostatic separator designed and built in the Melbourne University laboratory in 1948 for investigation purposes.22 The actual splitting edges were machined from y! in. per-spex, and the paper hoppers were supported on linen thread immediately below the perspex dividers. These dividers fitted into machined slots in a framework to give accurate Yz-in. spacings. The hoppers (staggered) fed directly into a rack of test tubes, which is supported on a vertical pantograph arrangement. The rack was positioned with guides on the horizontal pantograph stand, and this ensured positive alignment when replacing the rack after making weighings. In later work, when much heavier feed rates were used, of the order of 30 to 40 Ib per in. per hr a rack fitted with rectangular metal containers and similarly aligned was used. Some work was done here on comparing the distributions of minerals when passed separately and when passed as a mixture, and it was found that there was quite an appreciable difference in the two results.= However, in our separator the particles do not pass down the plate in a single layer, and this difference is probably caused by collisions of one mineral particles with the other mineral particles. In most of the investigational work here, the change of the center point of the distribution is measured to establish the effect of a variable, such as voltage. Two minerals (zircon and rutile) have been studied rather exhaustively, and it was found that their distributions are very nearly normal. Owing to the sharpness of the distribution curves, the usual method of obtaining the mean or median was inaccurate, and was not used; instead the mean (also the median), calculated on the assumption of a normal distribution, was used to locate the center point of each distribution and proved satisfactory. The effect of polarity becomes very apparent in the plate-type separator where frictional charges play a very important part when using highly resistive minerals such as zircon. With rutile, a comparatively conductive mineral, polarity of the electrode has little effect. On the other hand, the magnitude of the voltage has a far greater effect on conductive than on resistive minerals. Shiou-Chuan Sun (authors' reply)—Thanks are extended to Drs. Ralston and Fraas for their keen interest in this paper. Their questions concerning coal dust,

Jan 1, 1951