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By G. B. Thomas

Several methods of analyzing pressure build-up data in wells have been presented by various authors. This paper reviews the theory and method of D. R. Horner and presents example calculations performed on data obtained by testing several different types of wells. These calculations include, (1) graphical estimation of final static pressure, (2) determination of the productive capacity of the pay away from the well bore and. (3) the degree to which the formation adjacent to the well bore has been damaged by completion or other causes. The methods of testing and precautions which should be taken to assure the best data possible are discussed. Limitations and reliability of calculated results are also treated. INTRODUCTION Pressure testing of wells is generally limited to the determination of producing and static mean formation pressures. The so-called "static" pressure determination.. along with PVT, electric log and production data, enable the reservoir engineer to determine, within reasonable limits, the drive mechanism of the reservoir and in some cases. the amount of edge water encroachment. Producing pressure tests enable calculation of productivity indices and allow the engineer to plan the systematic production of a pool for optimum conservation of suhsurface energy. The radial flow formula advanced by Muskat' has been based on the assumption of incompressible radial fluid flow. It has been known that reservoir fluids do not behave in an ideally incompressible manner. For example, incompressible flow theory indicates a simple logarithmic relationship between the difference of the instantaneous and static well pressures when plotted against time. 'The latter stages of this type of plot of pressure build-up data generally show a marked devia-, tion from the earlier straight line trend. which deviation may be shown to be due to the compressible flow of fluids toward the well bore. Shut-in times of 24, 48. 72. or at most 96 hours are currently in wide use for determining so-called "static" reservoir pressure. Due to the continuation of compressible flow of fluids into the well bore long after this arbitrarily taken shut-in time, the determination of static pressures has almost invariably resulted in lower than equilibrium values. Materials balance calculations made early in the life of a reservoir often result in a calculated reserve which later observations prove to be too low. Failure to obtain reliable "static" reservoir pressures within the prescribed 24 or 48-hour build-up period has undoubtedly been a major factor in obtaining these low estimates. Comparison of theoretical and actual productivity performance has indicated that formation damage and not being able to attain true static pressures have been partially responsible for the observed discrepancies. Research into the theory of compressible flow behavior has resulted in methods of applying these theories to the testing of wells. Application of the developed theories to pressure build-up performance indicates that in many cases the following can be estimated. 1. The static reservoir pressure. 2. The in-place effective formation permeability away from the well bore. 3. The degree or extent by which the formation has been damaged adjacent to the well bore, either through completion methods or subsequent damage due to fluid entry. REVIEW OF THEORY Horner2 has shown that the pressure build-up within a "point source" well is approximated by the following formula: Equation (1) is the approximate "point source" solution to the radial compressible flow equation advanced by Muskat. The solution assumes the following: 1. A point source well is producing at constant rate from the center of an infinite reservoir with a constant pressure at its external boundary. 2. The fluid flowing is present in one phase only. 3. The compressibility and absolute viscosity of the fluid remain essentially constant over the range of temperature and pressure variation encountered. 4. The well i.; shut-in at the sand face arid there is 110 after production into the well bore. 5. The formation permeability is homogeneous in the direction of flow. From Equation (1) it can be seen that if an ideal well were shut-in while producing from a reservoir under the conditions assumed, the pressure build-up would be a logarithmic func-

Jan 1, 1953

By F. E. Marcy

It is not my purpose to write a lengthy article or to attempt the solution of the problem I am presenting, but to call attention to what I believe an important issue, hoping that it may arouse in some one, or in some company, a sense of responsibility. I am referring particularly to modern up-to-date milling plants discharging tailings which under existing conditions cannot be further treated or from which a recovery cannot be made at a profit, but where a quantitative and qualitative analysis shows that a portion of these tailings might profitably be treated at some future time when our metallurgical knowledge has advanced, when we have cheaper power, chemicals, labor or other advantageous conditions. Early Methods In our early milling methods very little attention was given to the care of tailings. It was thought that if the mill could be located by a stream or a river where the final disposal of the tailings could be forever lost sight of, it was highly desirable. We can now see and estimate what was lost in these rich tailings, not recoverable from the streams and the great rivers. Fortunately for many, the depositing of tailings in these streams and rivers was objected to by the farmers and finally prohibited by the State Legislatures. In looking back over our past milling methods, it seems that the first endeavor was to make the maximum amount of money for a particular period, or year, regardless of the future, the depletion of the mine, or the conservation of the total mineral content. The dumping and sluicing of 3000 tons per day, for a period of many years, of a copper tailing carrying 12 lb. of recoverable copper together with its portion of precious metals, the thousands of tons of valuable metal contained in the tailings that have been carried away by Silver Bow Creek, the streams of the Coeur d'Alene, the Flat River and Colorado districts, the enormous quantities

Jan 1, 1918

By Walter Henoch

THE subject of my talk is, "What 'the college, student expects when he gets out of college." Since all of us, here tonight are engineers, I think it will be proper to limit the discussion to "What the engineering student expects when he emerges from college." It might be well to con-sider just why we chose engineering rather than some other of the many courses open to us. We certainly did not choose it because it is easy nor because we thought it would be a very pleasurable way to spend four years of our lives. The majority of students who choose this profession have a pretty well-formed idea of what an engineering course requires. They at least know that they must work to re-ceive their credits. The minority, which is no small num-ber, are soon disillusioned and as a result they either quit college entirely or they join the' Commerce School. I asked a number of my fellow students just what it was that induced them to join the engineering profession, but it was hard to obtain a clear cut statement from any of them. Some said it was due to environment; others said, they took it because they liked it, and still others said they took it because their folks wanted them to. These state-ments are rather vague and incomplete, but underlying them all is something that the fellows found hard to ex-press. I think it is this: To the layman there is something of romance and adventure about the engineering profes-sion, and this fact coupled with the reputed high salaries and high commands of certain noted engineers no doubt fired our imaginations and consequently led us to join the ranks of the engineers. No doubt many engineers have gone out into the world and have found little romance or adventure .attached to their work, but nevertheless it is an occupation of a wide diversity of interest, of constant change of scene, and of vivid and human relations.

Jan 5, 1928

A USEFUL and very ingenious idea was surely that of the inventor of AN a short way of extracting gold and silver from the sweepings of all those arts that handle them as well as every particle that smelters of ores might have left in the slags, and also that in some ores themselves. This is done without using great labor in smelting but by the sole means and virtue of mercury. To do this, first make a large bricked pan of stone or wood and arrange a millstone inside which rotates in the hollow of this pan like that of a flour mill. In the hollow of the pan put some of your material containing gold after it has been crushed well in a mortar and then washed and dried. Grind it in the said mill, moistening it meanwhile with vinegar or water in which sublimate, verdigris, and common salt have been dissolved. Then enough mercury to cover these materials is poured over them. They are agitated inside for an hour or two, by turning the mill either by hand or with a horse, depending on the device that you have arranged. Remember that the more the mercury and the material are rubbed together in the mill the more it can be believed that the mercury absorbs the substance that the materials contain. Finally, thus prepared, the mercury is separated from the earthiness with a sieve or by washing and thus the mercury is retrieved. Then, make it rise with a little cucurbit or pass it through a purse and there will remain at the bottom the gold, silver,. copper, or whatever metal you placed in the pan under the millstone to be ground. Wishing to know this secret, I gave to the one who taught it to me a ring with a diamond worth twenty-five ducats, and I also pledged myself to give him the eighth part of whatever profit I should gain from this

Jan 1, 1942

Do not write until you have something to say. Think first; then write. In order to be understood, you must know what you wish to say. Clear writing is the consequence of clear thinking. Therefore consider your subject well before you begin to write; ruminate on it; marshal the salient facts in your mind; saturate yourself with the ideas you wish to express and with cognate ideas; then express yourself deliberately. If you are bubbling over with your subject the words will come, but you might as well expect to sail without a breeze as hope to give life to words without the living thought. Here I may advert to the fact that among the uneducated it is a common expectation to acquire the knack of writing without taking the trouble to study the art of literature. I overheard a woman in a suburban train remark to her neighbor: "I'd like to be able to write well without stopping to think about it". She was one of many that would like to do a thing well without the trouble of thinking; but it cannot be done in respect of anything to which thought is essential. The possession of a good voice does not justify a person in expecting to sing successfully to a large audience; before singing in public one has to master the technique of singing; one has to learn first how to breathe properly, how to enunciate, and many other things. The successful singer is an artist, not a megaphone. Most of us would regard a man or a woman without any training in the art of singing as a fool or an impostor if he or she were to give a public concert, yet we do not recognize the equal foolishness and imposture of persons that write books before they have studied the technique of writing. That is why so many books are unreadable, and why many books by clever men are difficult to read. They start to write books before

Jan 1, 1931

Discussion of the paper of N. V. Hansell, presented at the Cleveland meeting, October, 1912, and published in Bulletin. No. 72, December, 1912, pp. 1497 to 1,517. F. L. GRAMMER, Leesburg, Va. (communication to the Secretary*).:-Mr. Hansell conies from a country where charcoal is the fuel, and fuel is therefore costly. The Swedes appreciate more than most Americans the value of ore-concentration, not only in fuel-economy, but also in its influence on the quality of metal produced. Neither in these particulars nor in our knowledge of the dressing of iron-ore do I think. we can claim to be their equals. A 60 per cent. ore is not merely- twice, but more than four times, as valuable as an ore carrying 30 per cent,. Failure to appreciate this fact explains many idle American stacks, erected in defiance of it. Next to the rule that the equipment-cost of a blast-furnace increases approximately as the square of the hearth-diameter, I know of no mathematical relations involved in smelting iron which are less appreciated than the disadvantages of lean ores. Mr. Orn told me, when I was in Stockholm, that 2,500 patents on magnetic concentration had been taken out. He may have been joking as to the exact figure, but his remark indicated the great activity of inventors in this field. The magnetic separators seem to represent two main ideas, namely, wet and dry separation. The wet separators, such as the Gröndal, are applicable to ores requiring the greatest comminution by reason of the small particles of associated minerals or because of the occurrence of magnetite with a soft mineral likely to cake, as in those of Cornwall, Pa. Of the dry magnetic separators some are well suited for large-grained ores, such as those of Mineville, N. Y. We have also magnetic separators, like the Wetherill, for ores not usually classed as magnetic.

Jan 5, 1913

By D. J. Jr. McAdam

This paper presents stress-cycle graphs for five samples of monel metal and three high-strength aluminum alloys. These graphs are evidently curves with horizontal asymptote. The position of the horizontal asymptote can be determined with sufficient accuracy by extending the experiments to not more than 50,000,000 cycles. For some of the graphs, there is a slight downward slope between 50,000,000 and 100,000,000 cycles. The slope is so slight, however, that, extrapolation from 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 cycles gives the endurance limit with sufficient accuracy. Monel metal and duralumin are not exceptional among non-ferrous metals in endurance properties. IN Part I of this paper' a comparison was given of the results obtained in investigation of the endurance properties of non-ferrous metals in .three laboratories: the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, the U. S. Air Service at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, and the U. S. Naval Engineering Experiment Station, Annapolis, Md. Part I was devoted to a discussion of the forms of the stress-cycle graphs obtained at the three laboratories. For comparison, typical graphs obtained at the three laboratories were plotted on the same semi-logarithmic scale. The typical rotating-cantilever graph for ferrous and non-ferrous metals obtained at the Naval Experiment Station was described as a curve descending with gradually decreasing slope to a horizontal line. In the reply to the discussion of Part I, however, this graph was described as a curve with horizontal asymptote. It. was also said that the ordinate of the asymptote (the endurance limit) could be determined by endurance tests of not more than 50,000,000 cycles. This description was intended to apply only within the range of ordinates used in plotting an ordinary endurance graph. It was recognized that if .extended upward beyond the usual field, the curvature of the graph would decrease until -the graph would either approach a straight a line or possibly reverse its curvature.

Jan 2, 1926

By C. Fairhurst, A. M. Starfield

As a practicing mining engineer, I face many rock mechanics' problems daily and would like to mention one or two examples to illustrate the current gap between laboratory investigations and actual field problems. I would like to endorse Dr. Obert's suggestion that more field measurements and observations should be undertaken. There is an ever-increasing body of data beginning with Hast's results in Sweden,l then measurements at Elliot Lake, Canada, and so on, including our own measurements at White Pine, which clearly indicate that the horizontal stresses underground are often at least as large as the vertical stresses. Visual obsenation of the deformation of roof and pillars (including failure due to horizontal compression) also demonstrates that the horizontal stresses are often most important. Yet almost every laboratory investigation begins with the assumption that the only stresses acting are vertical. Roof spans in layered formations. for example, are calculated on the assumption that the rock behaves as a gravity loaded beam. This is all too often unrealistic. Roof bolts are also often considered to be simply means of suspending the gravity loaded beams. As Dr. Reed has mentioned they are probably, in fact, acting to restrain a beam which is attempting to buckle due to lateral pressure. The fact that moisture can reduce the strengths of some rocks as much as 50 percent has been known for many years. In the mine me are almost always faced with wet rock, yet no one has investigated ways in which this wakening effect can be overcome. as, for example, by waterproofing the rock. C. Fairhurst, University of Minnesota I would like to mention that we have found,2 from stress-relief determinations, that appreciable (over 1000 lb per sq in.) horizontal pressures occur also at the surface in granites quarried in central Minnesota. Whilst I agree that more field measurements are desirable, it is important to point out that most university research is undertaken by graduate students who must attend classes daily. Their research is therefore restricted to the laboratory. A.M. Starfield, University of Minnesota No one denies the importance of obtaining: data from field measurements. It is equally important, however, that field measurements be guided by theory. Much time and money can be wasted by indiscriminate measurement. An example of the value of theory in interpreting measurements is given in Dr. Obert's comments on the time dependent strain observed in a salt mine. He anticipated that the stress at the wall of the opening would change with time because salt is viscoelastic rather than elastic. It can be shown from theory that if an excavation in a viscoelastic medium is unsupported, then the stress at the wall does

Jan 1, 1967

By Herbert H. Kellogg

C. M. Decroly (University of Brussels, Belgium) — The importance of the fluorides in the process metallurgy of special metals has already been accepted and it will probably increase in the future. Free energy diagrams as such established by Professor Kellogg are therefore very useful. It is interesting to note that the absolute value of the standard free energy of formation of HF increases with temperature, whereas for almost all the other fluorides it decreases; consequently it should be theoretically possible to reduce all the fluorides of the metals which, at low temperature, have a greater affinity for fluorine than hydrogen by this last element, provided a sufficiently high temperature is used in order to have a good efficiency. However, with regard to the reduction of UFe by hydrogen, I doubt that it will be possible to obtain directly the metal at comparatively low temperatures. There are other uranium fluorides which are more stable than UF6 and it is very likely that such fluorides will be obtained first. For example, in considering the reaction: UF6gas + H2gas + UF1so1id + 2 HFgas it is found, using the thermodynamic data of Brewer et al, that ?H298 = —66 kcal and ?G°298, = —65.2 kcal. As a result, the reduction of UF6 to UF4solld should proceed spontaneously even at ordinary temperature. On the other hand, the standard free energy of formation of UF4solid at 298°K is AG°298 = -209 kcal per mol of F2. The reduction of UF4 by hydrogen will be practically difficult and, as it is known, the only practical way of reducing this compound is to use alkaline-earth metals such as calcium or magnesium. I should like to point out, further, that the fluorination of many metal oxides can be carried out very easily by using the ammonium difluoride method of preparation, which renders the use of fluoride gas unnecessary. The first compound formed is generally a double fluoride of the metal and ammonium. This compound can be decomposed by heating either in a vacuum or in an inert atmosphere, ammonium fluoride being volatilized leaving the metal fluoride in a very pure state. H. H. Kellogg (author's reply)—Professor Decroly is quite right in pointing out that the formation of lower halides of uranium may complicate the reduction of UF6 by H2. I was unable to find his reference to the free energy of formation of UF4 in the compilation of Brewer.13 however. The value of AG°298, = —209 kcal for formation of ½ UFa seems rather high, and I hope the source of this value may be made clear.

Jan 1, 1952

Discussion of the paper of GEORGE S. Rice, presented. at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 94, October, 1914, pp. 2459 to 2492. WILLIAM GRIFFITH, Scranton, Pa.-I notice in the discussions and literature that emphasis is placed on rock dust, shale dust, and limestone dust, and I infer that these different. sorts of rock are ground up to produce this dust. -Is that right? MR. RICE.-That is correct, but we do not have to grind the limestone dust we are using in the experimental mine, as that is obtained from a quarry, and is used just as it comes; we can get it very cheaply, as it is a by-product of the quarries. MR. GRIFFITH.-Have any experiments been made with ordinary dirt out of the fields; could not that be used as ground dust? MR. RICE.-If you dry it and powder it enough so it will float in a, strong air current it might be all right for the barriers, but if it is damp there will be a tendency for it to mat together; then it would be quite useless for making a dust cloud. There might also be another disadvantage if used through the whole mine, if it had very much free silica in it, which is bad for the lungs. Limestone and selected shale dust would not affect the health of miners. MR. GRIFFITH.-In order to do very much good with any of those barriers, they ought to be rather extensively used throughout the mines, and there are few mines that have facilities for grinding up this rock into such a fine dust. If the ordinary earth from a plowed field could be used, even if it were not quite so good, it is more accessible and very much cheaper; therefore, in using it, with the universality of the supply through-out the country, it would tend to stop explosions. MR. RICE (communication to the Secretary*).-In closing, it is well to again emphasize that I do not advocate barriers being a "cure-all" for explosions. It will be generally agreed that prevention is best, not only by means of improved methods of using explosives, and ventilation to prevent accumulations of firedamp, but also by either thoroughly wetting the dust throughout the mine, or else so treating it with rock dust or other inert dust that an explosion cannot start. From my observations I believe that rock dusting. is a practicable method, and has the merit of visibility, and remaining effective for considerable periods, whereas the watering method has to be daily followed up, and if neglected for a short period the mine may become in a dangerous condition. The Germans

Jan 4, 1915

G. SHERBURNE LAGERS (written discussion*).-Mr. Kennedy's discussion1 of Mr. Matteson's paper takes the form of a criticism of my own comments2 on this paper. Mr. Kennedy is a respected authority on matters pertaining to the salt-dome oil fields, and his characterization of my "elaborate figures" as "worthless" is sufficiently candid and comprehensive to warrant a brief reply. My "voluminous figures" consisted simply of a rough estimate of the minimum quantity of salt in the Humble dome, and a calculation of the volume of sea water and of the volume of saturated brine which this salt would represent. Mr. Kennedy apparently interprets my remarks as opposing the idea that so large a volume of salt could have been deposited from sea water, for lie cites the area and thickness of European salt beds; but nothing was further from my intention. Given an arm of the sea, an arid climate, and evaporation under a hot sun, it is easy to conceive the formation: of almost any thickness of bedded salt. I cited the figures in connection with Harris' theory of the origin of salt domes, according to which the plugs were formed by the deposition of salt from ascending brine solutions, owing to the drop in temperature as they neared the surface. I pointed out the well-known fact that the solubility of salt is only slightly affected by temperature, and that a drop of 80° C. would cause the deposition of less than one-tenth of the salt in solution; hence that more than ten times the volume of salt actually forming the plug must have been involved. If ten times the salt actually in sight be computed in terms of brine and multiplied by 50 or 60 to take into account all of the known salt domes, the resulting figure is so enormous that I am not at all as sure as Mr. Kennedy seems to be that the porous stratified rocks of eastern Texas and western Louisiana could contain or furnish so great a volume of migratory brine.

Jan 8, 1918

By H. M. Howe

One of the little electric-resistance magnesia crucible-furnaces which I designed for the metallurgical laboratory of the School of Mines of Columbia University is shown, in vertical section, of full natural size, in Fig. 1. The furnace itself consists of two semi-cylinders of magnesia, A A, with a cover of magnesia, B B, and a stopper, C, also of magnesia, which is perforated to admit the leads x, y, of a thermo-electric couple. The furnace is heated by the spiral of platinum wire, D D (entering and departing by the openings I and K), through which a current of any desired strength is passed, bringing it to incandescence, and to ally temperature, not above the melting-point of platinum, which may be desired. The crucible E, actually used in this furnace, is also of magnesia. I have heard of some unsuccessful attempts with furuaces of this general class, and have attributed these failures to the use of siliceous materials for the furnace-walls. Of course such a result is what we should expect, since the silica mould readily be electrolysed by the current, and the resultant silicon would alloy with platinum ; but the little magnesia furnace here clescribed seems to be wholly free from this objection. It has been used in my laboratory for some months, and temperatures, up to 1100° C, hare been developed in it over considerable periods of time—indeed, it has been held near 1400" C. for about two hours—without indication, thus far, of any deterioration of the platinum. In the section shown, F F are a pair of steel disks, bound together, but separated by the inverted thermo-junction, N, of the thermo-electric pyrometer. This arrangement permits the observation and record of retardations in the heating and cooling of F F—in other words, the determinations of the cooling curves of steel—a purpose for which the furnace has been used, thus far, more frequently than in the determination of meltingpoints. For the latter operation, however, it is also suitable.

Jan 1, 1902

By Clyde Williams

IF you would allow me some liberties, I would restate the title of this talk as "Scientific Research, Our Greatest Resource," because that title would represent more clearly a present-day conception of the metals and minerals situation. It is a subject worthy of careful consideration. Canada and the United States are so similar and interdependent in their national economies that, in the following discussion, examples of conditions in the United States may be interpreted to apply to Canada as well. Moreover, it is a striking fact that the per capita value of mineral production in Canada and the United States in 1940 was almost the same. Therefore, in the consideration of this subject, I have made no attempt to differentiate between the two countries. Consumption of the world's mineral resources in the last few decades. and particularly during World War II, has been so enormous as to require some form of magic to ensure the continued progress of civilization in the face of a diminishing supply of these resources which are so critically essential. As C. K. Leith pointed out, in 1941, indus-

Jan 1, 1947

By C. A. Zapffe

BOTH the foundryman and the theoretical metallurgist are now generally agreed that the anomalous "rising" or "bleeding" of certain ferrous castings of killed metal is primarily attributable to hydrogen. How and why the phenomenon occurs, however, have not been made clear. The following discussion is intended to harmonize foundry experience with metallurgical theory so that the foundryman may possibly improve his ability to prognosticate whether a certain casting may bleed or not. BLEEDING, RISING, AND PIPING The "rising" to be discussed here is not to be confused with the action in rimming ingots as a result of the carbon-oxygen reaction, although a conclusion will be drawn that may apply to the art of controlling the rimming action. Only killed metal is considered, which includes both steels and irons. In Fig. I, three killed, chill-cast ingots are shown: a porous ingot whose evolution of gas during late stages of solidification has ejected metal through the top; an ingot in which moderate gas evolution during solidification has lifted the mushy central metal, i.e., it has "risen"; and, third, a sound ingot with good piping characteristics. The first type is referred to as "bleeding," and generally infers that a solid skin had first formed through which the liquid metal later erupted. There is no fundamental distinction between bleeding and rising in reference to killed metal.* POROSITY Hydrogen appears as a cause of bleeding because the gas evolution simultaneously leaves a porosity of a type traceable to hydrogen. Twenty years ago, Melmoth1 noted that killed steel that rose unexpectedly in the mold, if returned while liquid to the furnace and heated further under a reducing lime slag, would again rise in the mold; but that if the ingot were allowed to solidify and was then remelted no rising occurred. A critical quantity of the responsible gas is therefore removed by the rising action. Melmoth associated rising with high silicon (0.7 to 0.9 per cent) and concluded that silicon increased gas absorption. Because silicon is a strong deoxidizer, oxygen must, therefore, be eliminated from consideration of the three common gases in steel-oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Butterworth2 later decided that pinhole porosity was caused by gases dissolved in the metal and that hydrogen was obtained from steam in the mold. Allen's classical work on copper castings,3 soon followed by

Jan 1, 1942

By C.A. Zapffe

Both the foundryman and the theoretical metallurgist are now generally agreed that the anomalous "rising" or "bleeding" of certain ferrous castings of killed metal is primarily attributable to hydrogen. How and why the phenomenon occurs, however, have not been made clear. The following discussion is intended to harmonize foundry experience with metallurgical theory so that the foundryman may possibly improve his ability to prognosticate whether a certain casting may bleed or not. Bleeding, Rising, and Piping The "rising" to be discussed here is not to be confused with the action in rimming ingots as a result of the carbon-oxygen reaction, although a conclusion will be drawn that may apply to the art of controlling the rimming action. Only killed metal is considered, which includes both steels and irons. In Fig. I, three killed, chill-cast ingots are shown: a porous ingot whose evolution of gas during late stages of solidification has ejected metal through the top; an ingot in which moderate gas evolution during solidification has lifted the mushy central metal, i.e., it has "risen"; and, third, a sound ingot with good piping characteristics. The first type is referred to as "bleeding," and generally infers that a solid skin had first formed through which the liquid metal later erupted. There is no fundamental distinc- tion between bleeding and rising in reference to killed metal.* Porosity Hydrogen appears as a cause of bleeding because the gas evolution simultaneously leaves a porosity of a type traceable to hydrogen. Twenty years ago, Melmoth' noted that killed steel that rose unexpectedly in the mold, if returned while liquid to the furnace and heated further under a reducing lime slag, would again rise in the mold; but that if the ingot were allowed to solidify and was then remelted no rising occurred. A critical quantity of the responsible gas is therefore removed by the rising action. Melmoth associated rising with high silicon (0.7 to 0.9 per cent) and concluded that silicon increased gas absorption. Because silicon is a strong deoxidizer, oxygen must, therefore, be eliminated from consideration of the three common gases in steel—oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Butterworth2 later decided that pinhole porosity was caused by gases dissolved in the metal and that hydrogen was obtained from steam in the mold. Allen's classical work on copper castings,3 soon followed by

Jan 1, 1943

By C. A. Zapffe

Both the foundryman and the theoretical metallurgist are now generally agreed that the anomalous "rising" or "bleeding" of certain ferrous castings of killed metal is primarily attributable to hydrogen. How and why the phenomenon occurs, however, have not been made clear. The following discussion is intended to harmonize foundry experience with metallurgical theory so that the foundryman may possibly improve his ability to prognosticate whether a certain casting may bleed or not. Bleeding, Rising, and Piping The "rising" to be discussed here is not to be confused with the action in rimming ingots as a result of the carbon-oxygen reaction, although a conclusion will be drawn that may apply to the art of controlling the rimming action. Only killed metal is considered, which includes both steels and irons. In Fig. I, three killed, chill-cast ingots are shown: a porous ingot whose evolution of gas during late stages of solidification has ejected metal through the top; an ingot in which moderate gas evolution during solidification has lifted the mushy central metal, i.e., it has "risen"; and, third, a sound ingot with good piping characteristics. The first type is referred to as "bleeding," and generally infers that a solid skin had first formed through which the liquid metal later erupted. There is no fundamental distinc- tion between bleeding and rising in reference to killed metal.* Porosity Hydrogen appears as a cause of bleeding because the gas evolution simultaneously leaves a porosity of a type traceable to hydrogen. Twenty years ago, Melmoth' noted that killed steel that rose unexpectedly in the mold, if returned while liquid to the furnace and heated further under a reducing lime slag, would again rise in the mold; but that if the ingot were allowed to solidify and was then remelted no rising occurred. A critical quantity of the responsible gas is therefore removed by the rising action. Melmoth associated rising with high silicon (0.7 to 0.9 per cent) and concluded that silicon increased gas absorption. Because silicon is a strong deoxidizer, oxygen must, therefore, be eliminated from consideration of the three common gases in steel—oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Butterworth2 later decided that pinhole porosity was caused by gases dissolved in the metal and that hydrogen was obtained from steam in the mold. Allen's classical work on copper castings,3 soon followed by

Jan 1, 1943

Sec. 1. The membership of the Institute shall comprise six classes, namely: 1. Members; 2. Honorary Members; 3. Senior Members; 4. Associates; 5. Junior Members; 6. Rocky Mountain Members. All shall be equally entitled to the privileges of membership, excepting that no member of any class whom residence shall be outside of the United States of America, except those residing in Mexico and Canada, shall be entitled to vote. SEC. 2. Members: A person to be eligible for election or transfer into the claw of Member must be at least 27 years of age and must have had at least six years' employment in the practice of engineering, mining, geology, metallurgy, or chemistry, during at least three years of which he must have held positions of responsibility in one or more of these fields. This shall not apply to Rocky Mountain members.

Jan 1, 1941

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

IT is a generally recognized fact that a steel quenched from the austenitic range and tempered to yield a structure composed of tempered martensite becomes increasingly more ductile with increasing tempering temperature. However, the conventional tensile test fails to yield any value that is sensitive to differences in behavior on tempering among the various low-alloy steels or among different heats of a particular steel. The notched impact bending test, on the other hand, has been recognized for a considerable length of time as capable of revealing differences in impact properties among various steels tempered to the same strength level (i.e., the same tensile strength in a conventional tensile test), However, this test is very complex and its significance has not been clarified up to the present time. Of its three characteristic features-the high speed, the notch, and the bending-the notch has been found by Davidenkov2 to be the most potent embrittling factor. Recent investigations on low-alloy steels3,4,7,8 have shown static notch-bar tensile tests to be more lucid and to evaluate the metal properties in much the same manner as impact tests, In an attempt to analyze the fundamental nature of this test,8 it was found possible to separate the effects of the two basic characteristics of the stress pattern introduced by the presence of a circumferential notch, the stress state and the high initial stress concentration at the notch bottom, The major conclusions drawn from these previous investigations were as follows: I. The magnitude of the triaxiality at fracture depends primarily on the initial notch depth. Its effect is a great reduction in the average ductility (contraction in area at fracture in the notched section) as compared with that observed in uniaxial tension, This triaxial stress state occurs at a point in the interior of the notch specimen, It determines the notch ductility if the notch is mild and/or the metal possesses a considerable ductility. On the contrary, brittle specimens probably fracture on the metal surface (at the notch bottom) at which point biaxial stress state is present, This biaxiality also considerably reduces the ductility of the metal. For small notch ductilities the notch strength and the notch ductility become very sensitive to embrittling factors, This is contrary to the behavior of the ductility values derived from a conventional tensile test, which are comparatively insensitive.

Jan 1, 1946

Mark R. Lamb, Torres, Sonora, Mexico (communication to the Secretary*): I have read Mr. Merrill's paper with much interest, and cannot but accept his challenge as regards the cost of the clean-up at the Homestake mill. If I understand him correctly, the two men take the precipitates from the presses in about six hours, and do nothing towards refining them. If that is so, it would correspond to the work four men do here in about eight hours—that is, to clean the box and to place the precipitates in the driers. In order to make a fair comparison, the bullion in each case should be stated in ounces, since it is as diflicult to precipitate silver as gold, and our bullion is mostly silver. Bullion to the value of $50,000 is equivalent to a weight of about 2,500 oz. At our last clean-up eight standard bars, each 1,100 oz. in weight, were made, which equals a total weight of 8,800 oz'. Four men had the precipitates drying by 8 p.m. This plant, the Minas Prietas works of Charles Butters & Co., at Minas Prietas, has square-bottomed electrolytic vats, an arrangement which necessitates the handling of all the precipitates in buckets. The Butters plant at Virginia City, Nev., is equipped with conical vats, and probably could make a still better showing under similar conditions. Another point is that common labor only is required. (Ordinary laborer's wages at Minas Prietas are $0.70 gold.) I may say also that, except for the convenience of the refinery, the box could be cleaned monthly, instead of bi-monthly, at only a slight additional expense. The comparison, if made a few months ago, would have been much more in favor of the electrolytic process, as the tailings handled at that time contained a large quantity of copper, and the amount of zinc-dust required would have been enormous.

Jan 1, 1904

By J. O. Betterton, W. K. Noyce

I~JTI HE work on the indium-zirconium system is part A of a larger investigation of zirconium-phase diagrams with solute elements, silver, cadmium, indium, tin, and antimony, which is intended to provide information about the metallic valency of zirconium. The system is an ideal example since the sizes of indium and zirconium atoms are nearly the same, and the solute and the solvent occur in the same row of the periodic table. The only solute from Group III B which had previously been added to zirconium was aluminum' and it was of interest to determine whether indium would dissolve appreciably in alpha zirconium and stabilize this phase in the same manner. Experimental Procedure The experimental methods used in the indium-zirconium work are similar to those described earlier for the silver-zirconium system.' Reactor Grade 1 iodide zirconium of 99.95 pct purity* and indium of 99.99 pct purity were arc cast, and then annealed in silica capsules with protective foils of zirconium and molybdenum. Annealing temperatures and times varied from 1 day at 1300°C to 43 days at 550°C. The compositions of the alloys were detcrmined by an individual chemical analysis of the actual metallographic specimens after two or more sides were examined to insure the absence of solute segregation. Calibrated thermocouples were used throughout, and the uncertainty in the temperatures reported, owing to calibration error, furnace control, and measurement of the small temperature gradients near the capsules, is believed to be well within ±2°C. Typical impurities in the alloys were found by a neutron-activation analysis of four different alloys. The results are given in Table I where the ranges of values will be seen to compare favorably with the usual values for iodide zirconium. With respect to oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon the absence of any unusual amount of these elements compared to iodide zirconium was indicated by the alloy hardness values, since hardness is increased sharply by the presence of these elements. The value for 0 pct In, obtained from the alloys by extrapolation, is 58 2 7 VPN which is in the low part3 f the normal range of hardness found in iodide zirconium. Results of the Experiments The zirconium-rich portion of the indium-zirconium phase diagram from the annealing experiments is shown in Fig. 1. Indium was found to

Jan 1, 1959