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By L. H. Reiss, J. Groult, L. Montadert

Many fields, where the reservoir is composed of sandy layers, show great complexity because of the lack of continuity which results from a particular type of seditnentation. This complexity may be a factor of prime importance in studying reservoir drainage, especially in the displacement of oil by water or gas. This paper describes work done to study this heterogeneity and its influence in the exploitation of the fields of the lower Devonian sandy shale in the Fort Polignac Basin in Algeria. Two lines of research were followed. 1. On the border of the hasin, a detailed sedimentological study established rules for the distribution of the sandy zones, which furnished hypotheses necessary for devising a geologic model of the reservoir. A certain number of sandy zones were recognized and characterized by their sedimentation. 2. In the interior of the basin, production logs deterrnined the productivity profile. Study of these point data led to a description of the distribution of oil and gas phases in the reservoir so that the continuity of different zones between the wells could be deduced. These techniques were applied to the study of the lower Devonian sandy shale reservoir of Zarzaitine. The sedimentological study guiding the correlation work, with the aid of the conventional static data (logs and cores), led to the establishment of a useful geologic model of the reservoir. Production logs, thanks to the contribution of dynamic elements, permitted corrobora-tion of the model. In particular, the logs confirmed separation, as proposed by the sedimenfological study, of two comparable sandy groups by revealing the continuity of a thin impermeable layer, invisible on conventional logs. INTRODUCTION The heterogeneity of sandstone reservoirs considerably influences the distribution of fluids, as well as their displacement in the reservoir. Rational development of a field and maximum recovery of hydrocarbons are closely tied to an exact and precise knowledge of the intern architecture. We will try to show how it is possible I refine the knowledge of the reservoir by seeking qui different and varied sources of information. Productic geology, the group of techniques which leads to idei concerning reservoir architecture and its geometric descris tion, furnishes the framework of this undertaking. Of these techniques. those used so far are qui varied. Descriptive as well as quantitative, the technique partake as much of classical geology as of reservo science. They include (1) geologic studies of the enti basin, especially a stratigraphic and sedimentologic study of the reservoir member at its outcrop, detail1 observations of cores taken from wells and, finall oriented cores; (2) interpretation of geophysical dat (3) interpretation of electric logs, nuclear and sonic lo and dipmeters: (4) petrophysical study of the reserve on samples taken from wells; (5) reservoir dynamics (stu of the production history and, in particular, interpretati of production logs); and (6) analysis of the fluids a thermodynamic studies. This incomplete list could also include (1) study the migration of the fluids, (2) geochemistry (chemi characterization of the oils), (3) regional hydrodynamii and (4) injection and detection of tracers. If most of these techniques are classic, attention i nevertheless be called to applying two of the techniql in conjunction: the study of the reservoir member its outcrop and the study of dynamic distribution fluid phases in the reservoir through use of product logs, used in the study of the sandy shale reservoirs the lower Devonian of the Fort Polignac Basin, Alge in particular, their application to the study of the 2 zaitine field where they have led to a new and satisfact model of the reservoir will be described. THE ZARZAITlNE FIELD Situated in the interior of the Fort Polignac 8 about 150 kilometers (km) north of the lower Devol outcrop, the Zarzaitine Devonian oil field was discovc On Ian. 28, 19'' (Figs. 1 and l8). It is in the fern a monocline truncated by two perpendicular fault: great throw, with a downthrown section to the north\: Erosion at the top of the structure has caused one of it to disappear. It is a reservoir with a gas cap an m coefficient on the order of 1:5, open to the aql On the northeast, with the oil zone covering an Of 106 sq km and with initial oil reserves of 222 mi

Jan 1, 1967

By H. L. Lovell, L. H. E. Weyher

Cyclones have been used successfully in the mineral industries to solve solid-liquid as well as solid-solid separation problems in the processing of fine particles. Substantial information is available about the operation of cyclones as thickeners, classifiers, and concentrators using a dense medium. However, very little is known about the operation of the cyclone as a fine coal concentrator not using dense medium. This application of the cyclone, namely to wash fine coal in water, requires that classification phenomena be minimized in order to arrive at an effective separation of the high density ash and sulfur-bearing mineral particles from the low density coal particles over a wide particle size range. The authors have investigated the role of feed pressure, orifice diameters, and vortex-finder length in the cyclone washing of fine coal (--1/4 in.) in water. The results of this investigation show that cyclone washing of fine coal in water is an effective unit operation particularly capable of reducing the inorganic pyritic sulfur content. The combination of hydrocyclones with complimentary equipment such as Sieve bends, shaking tables, and flotation units appears to be especially promising and may ultimately yield fine coal processing systems that could approximate the high recovery efficiencies of today's coarse coal cleaning circuits. In the future, fine coal beneficiation can be expected to receive even greater research emphasis as a result of increasing sulfur restrictions on all major coal markets. In a previous paper, work, conducted at the Pennsylvania State University, on the hydrocyclone washing of fine coal was discussed.' The initial evaluation based on that wo-rk demonstrated the feasibility of hydrocyclones as fine-coal cleaning devices, and in that previous paper selected test data were presented that showed in principle how product yield and assay respond to variations of the major cyclone operating variables. The present paper reports in greater detail on the findings and presents a comprehensive evaluation of the data as follows: (1) Hydrocyclone throughput rates were related to feed pressure and other variables by regression equations. These equations are compared with other capacity-vs.-pressure drop expressions taken from the literature on classification cyclones. (2) The flow ratio was found to be the most important variable for the separation of the solids. Control of this ratio through various cyclone operating parameters is discussed. (3) The data on the product yield as well as the ash and sulfur assays from the tests were evaluated by means of correlation and multiple regression analyses. Because size-classification phenomena cannot be suppressed completely in hydrocyclone washers, product yield and assay data are regressed against cyclone operating variables separately for different size classes. These equations then reveal how the interactions of the cyclone operating variables vary in terms of the separation for different size classes. (4) Density partitions from additional tests were analyzed by supplementing product-size analyses with sink-float analyses of the separated product size classes. The evaluation of these data show how classification phenomena affect separation by density. The results demonstrate in particular the feasibility of the hydrocyclone washer for removing pyritic sulfur from fine coal. In addition to these specific findings, the investigation points up the value, in general, of using hydrocyclone washers in combination with unit operations such as screening, table concentration, and flotation. In order to make optimum use of the hydrocyclone washers and work out the most effective combination of unit operations, it is important to have careful flowsheet analyses corresponding to the given feed and product requirements. Analyses of this kind are now possible by means of computer simulation of flowsheets and other operation research tools. INTRODUCTION Before proceeding with the detailed treatment and evaluation of our results, it will be useful to review the fundamental aspects of cyclone separators and also restate the experimental procedures and data handling employed in these studies. Review of Cyclone Fundamentals: AS shown in Fig. 1, the basic components of cyclones commonly used

Jan 1, 1970

By A. L. Barnes

Residual oil in watered-out reservoirs is a tremendous reserve which has been unrecoverable by established production methods. A study of the new recovery methods indicated that the forward combustion urocess might- recover oil from such reservoirs; however, no thermal recovery operating experience in a watered-out system was available. The Delaware-Childers pilot thermal test was undertaken to test the feasibility of thermal recovery in this watered-out reservoir. The pilot test consisted of a 2.22-acre, inverted five-spot in the 600-ft deep Bartlesville sand. The reservoir in the pilot area had a porosity of 20.6 per cent, a permeability of 118 md and an average sand thickness of 45 ft. The reservoir contains a 33' API, 6-cp oil. Combustion was started Nov. 22, 1960. The initial air injection capacity was 750 Mscf/D, but it was eventually increased to 2,000 Mscf/D. The test was surrounded by an active water flood; therefore, water production was initially high, but decreased as the heat wave moved toward the producing wells. Oil-bank arrival at an individual well was indicated by a drop in GOR and WOR, and an increase in oil production. Combustion-front arrival was evident at three of the pilot producers, and they were plugged. Cumulative oil production from pilot area wells war over 12,000 bbl. Operational difficulties were negligible and only conventional equipment was necessary. The combustion efficiency of this test averaged over 80 per cent. Results from coring showed that the leading edge of the combustion front tended to be wedge-shaped but a nearly complete sweep of the reservoir was eventually obtained. An isopach map based on evidence from 10 core holes and the existing wells showed that 126 acre-ft had been swept by the heat wave. Using this swept volume, an air requirement of 15.7 MMscf/acre-ft was calculated. It was calculated that 275 ,STB/acre-ft was consumed bv the heat wave. INTRODUCTION There is a large amount of oil remaining in reservoirs that have been water flooded. A study of ways to recover this oil showed that the forward combustion process might be applicable. Results from a number of forward combustion tests have been reported in the literature, but none of these tests were conducted in a watered-out system. The Delaware-Childers pilot thermal test was initiated in 1960 to define the operating characteristics of underground combustion in this watered-out Bartlesville sand reservoir, The purpose of this paper is to present the pilot test results in detail. FORWARD COMBUSTION PROCESS The forward combustion process consists of initiating combustion in the formation surrounding an injection well and driving this heat wave through the formation toward offset producing wells. As the combustion front progresses through the reservoir, oil and formation water are vaporized, driven forward in the gaseous phase, and recon-densed in the cooler part of the formation. These distilled liquids, water of combustion and gaseous combustion products, form a bank or three-phase region ahead of the burning front. This bank pushes mobile reservoir fluids toward the production wells. The rate of movement of the combustion front is controlled by the rate at which the nondistill able residue which serves as process fuel can be completely burned off the sand. The production performance from a heat wave conducted in a watered-out oil reservoir will differ from one conducted in a dissolved gas-depleted reservoir because of the difference in fluid saturations. The primary depleted reservoir contains connate water saturation, relatively high oil saturation and some gas saturation. The watered-out reservoir contains a highly mobile water saturation, residual oil saturation and little gas saturation. As the combustion front moves forward in either type of depleted reservoir, it drives the distillable oil, the water in place and the water of combustion ahead, and burns the nondistillable portion of the oil. The heat-wave process in a watered-out reservoir differs from the process in a

Jan 1, 1966

By PROCEEDINGS OF MEETINGS

THE opening session of the Institute was held at Hazle Hall, Tuesday evening, October 27th, with a large attendance of members. President Raymond called the Institute to order, and after a few introductory remarks, introduced Mr. I. Lowthian Bell, President of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, and Honorary Member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. Mr. Bell was received with great applause, and made his acknowledgments in a brief speech, of which the following is the substance: He desired to thank the Institute personally for the honor conferred upon him in his election to membership, and also for the invitation extended last year to the body of which he was President. The difficulty felt by many members of the Iron and Steel Institute, of leaving for a long journey the works of which they had charge, aggravated by special industrial troubles at the time of the invitation, had obliged them to conclude that it could not then be accepted in a fitting manner. The iron manufacture of this country is a subject of great interest to Englishmen, who look with pride upon the achievements on this side the water of the descendants of a common ancestry. His own reception in this country had far surpassed in cordiality even the well-grounded anticipations he had formed from the assurances of the President and other friends. Notwithstanding the flattering manner in which his friend, in introducing him to the Institute, had spoken of his contributions to the science of iron metallurgy, he could not take to himself alone the significance of this welcome. He knew it was a recognition of the services rendered by the body which he had the honor to represent; and he was glad to see present a member of that body, Mr. Thomas Whitwell, who had fortunately been able to make the journey at this time, and whom he had had the pleasure of meeting on the shores of Lake Champlain. He had been requested to say something of his impressions of the American iron industry. It was not easy to digest so soon the vast

Jan 1, 1875

By C. E. Barnett, G. R. Durland

LUMINESCENT materials have been used in an increasing variety of ways in recent years. Such uses range from the screens on which the picture or image is presented in television and other cathode ray tubes to fluorescent lamps, fluorescent effects in decorative, theatrical, and display lighting, and the many applications of phosphorescence in paints, textiles, paper, and plastics. During the war the screens for a radar set or the "night-seeing" devices were not fundamentally different from those in other cathode ray tubes, but nevertheless they presented special problems for the phosphor manufacturer. It was essential that the "pips" on a radar screen continue to glow after the exciting beam had swept on, but this afterglow would be ruinous to a television screen. In the image tube used for seeing at night with infrared instead of visible light, electrons emitted by an infrared-sensitive receiving surface were amplified and converted to visible light after striking a fluorescent screen. The small size of the screen caused special problems in reducing the grain size of the phosphor to obtain adequate resolution. Other devices used phosphor surfaces which could be stimulated directly by infrared radiation to emit visible light. Energy was stored in the phosphors by prior excitation with short-wave-length radiation, and the stored energy released on subsequent exposure to infrared radiation. Maps, navigational charts, bombing manuals, and computers of various sorts were printed on fluorescent paper or lettered with fluorescent inks. Fluorescent markings excited by small ultraviolet lamps were used on airplane instrument dials. A large amount of research was done to determine the best color for the emitted light and other properties for the fluorescent materials, and on the best methods for their fabrication into the items listed above. Phosphorescent materials found wide use during blackout restrictions to mark safe passageways, to delineate traffic hazards, to identify packages, and to mark tools and other items of equipment.

Jan 1, 1948

By T. E. Leontis

Data are presented in this paper to show that addition of zirconium to sand-cast Mg-Th alloys effects a marked decrease in the grain size of these alloys which is accompanied by a significant increase in the mechanical properties over the entire range of thorium content investigated. The beneficial effect of zirconium on the strength properties is maintained at elevated temperatures up to 700°F. In addition the alloys exhibit exceptionally high creep resistance at temperatures up to 600°F. Zirconium does not greatly improve the strength or creep characteristics of extruded Mg-'Th alloys. Cerium is not a desirable addition to Mg-Th-Zr alloys. IN a previous paper,' it was shown that addition of thorium to magnesium imparts exceptionally high resistance to creep at elevated temperatures both in the sand-cast and in the extruded states. The large grain size of the sand-cast alloys, however, renders them of questionable value as engineering materials. Sauerwald² showed that the grain size can be reduced effectively by the addition of zirconium. Results of a detailed study of the properties of Mg-Th-Zr alloys over a wide range of thorium content are presented in this paper. In accordance with the preliminary findings of Sauerwald,² it is shown here that Mg-Th-Zr alloys possess the unusual combination of fine grain size and a high level of strength and creep resistance at elevated temperatures. Some information on the effect of cerium on the properties of Mg-Th-Zr alloys is presented also. Effect of Th on Solubility of Zr in Molten Mg Sand-cast test bars and 3 in. diam extrusion billets of Mg-Th-Zr and Mg-Th-Ce-Zr alloys* were pre- pared according to the procedures described in the previous paper.' The zirconium was added in the form of sponge metal as supplied by the Bureau of Mines.' The maximum amount of zirconium that usually can be introduced into magnesium at the customary alloying temperature of 1350° F is about 0.7 pct. The analyses in Table I clearly show that thorium in- creases the solubility of zirconium in liquid magnesium. The tabulated zirconium contents are designated as "acid soluble;" this serves to distinguish these values from the small amount of zirconium that is not dissolved when the alloy is subjected to the action of a dilute acid solution. The "acid-insoluble" zirconium is believed to be ineffective as an alloying ingredient. The acid-insoluble zirconium contents ranged between 0.03 and 0.16 pct in the present alloys, the tendency was toward higher values in alloys with higher thorium content. In contrast to the effect of thorium, cerium decreases the solubility of zirconium in magnesium. This is shown by the three Mg-Th-Ce-Zr alloyst in- cluded in Table I and stands in agreement with the observations of Nelson and Stricter".' on Mg-misch-metal-Zr alloys. Effect of Zr on Grain Size of Mg-Th Alloys The potent effect of zirconium as a grain refiner has been demonstrated for many types of magnesium alloys.3-8 Of greatest importance to date are Mg-Zn-Zr alloys5,6,8 and Mg-mischmetal-Zr alloys.3,4,7 Zirconium has also been found to exert a marked grain-refining action on Mg-Th alloys. All the Mg-Th-Zr alloys cast in the form of ½ in. diam test bars have an exceedingly fine grain size (Table I). Reference to the previous paper' will show that binary Mg-Th alloys containing up to 6 pct Th are almost completely columnar even in the M in. diam reduced section of a test bar, and that 10 to 50 pct Th alloys have an equiaxed grain structure of 0.03 to 0.08 in. The data in Table I also show that addition of cerium to Mg-Th-Zr alloys has no effect on the grain size. In addition to increasing the strength properties, the fine grain size of Mg-Th-Zr alloys

Jan 1, 1953

By L. Luini, E. Lee

An exploratory survey of the heat treatment response of commercial titanium alloys (Ti-150A, RC-130B, and MST 3AI-5Cr al-loys) shows a wide range of possible hardness and microstructural characteristics. The hardening is primarily dependent on the solid state transformation of the phase. An age hardening reaction which apparently is associated with ß decomposition and precipitation has been shown. Brittleness and notch sensitivity appear to be characteristic of age hardening to high hardness. Ductility, tensile strengths, and elongations are given. A NUMBER of commercially produced titanium-base alloys have been made available by the titanium metals industry. These alloys were developed to combine the light weight of titanium with increased strength through alloy additions. Usually the properties of these alloys are reported for material in the hot rolled and annealed condition. Since the production of commercial titanium has preceded the investigation of titanium-base alloy systems, the potential of these alloys is not well known. Although heat treatability has been indicated for these alloys, data on the response to heat treatment are quite limited. The heat treatability of titanium is based on the allotropic transformation of the high temperature, body-centered cubic ß structure to the low temperature, hexagonal close-packed a structure at approximately 1625 °F. This transformation in the pure metal is of little practical significance in heat treatment since the high temperature phase is not amenable to controlled transformation. Alloy additions serve to alter the transformation kinetics and permit control of the transformation by heat treatment variables. The effects of different alloys on the allotropic transformation in titanium classify them in two general categories,1 a stabilizing and ß stabilizing elements. The a stabilizers, represented by aluminum and oxygen, raise the temperature limits of the low temperature phase and introduce a two-phase a + ß temperature range. The ß stabilizers, represented by molybdenum and columbium, lower the equilibrium temperature of ß and give rise to an extended temperature range where both a and ß phases are stable. Another type of ß stabilizer, represented by iron, chromium, and manganese, introduces a eutectoid reaction. Some commercial titanium alloys belong to complex multiple element systems. Based upon the phase diagrams of the binary systems, the general effect of commercial compositions is to vary the stability of the high temperature phase and significantly alter its transformation characteristics. Therefore it is expected that the characteristics of alloyed titanium can be altered by heat treatment. The present investigation was undertaken to survey the variations in hardness, microstructure, and mechanical properties as affected by heat treatment variables. Commercial Alloys lnvestigated The commercially available titanium-base alloys selected for this investigation and obtained as 3/4 in. diameter hot rolled and annealed bars are listed in Table I. The producer did not determine the chemical composition of the Ti-150A heats X1052 and L685. The early heats of Ti-150A, prefixed with the letter X, were melted with tungsten-tipped electrodes and cast in approximately 500 lb ingots 12 in. in diameter. The heats prefixed with the letter L were melted under a revised melting practice yielding approximately 1300 lb ingots 16 in. in diameter. The final annealing treatment was at 1200" to 1250°F for 1 hr. The MST-3A1-5Cr alloy was melted in an induction furnace and cast in 7 in. diameter ingots. This practice produces high carbon material and some variation in the amount of carbides was found in different sections of the same bar. The RC-130B alloy was melted with a carbon arc. This alloy showed approximately 2 pct carbides. No large segregation effects were observed.

Jan 1, 1955

By Richard H. Hopkins, R. W. Kraft

A new technique facilitating the rapid determination of the three-dimensional morphology of phases suspended in an opaque matrix is described. The vapidity of the technique is based upon continuous cinephotomicrographic recording of specimen microstructure as the specimen surface is removed under controlled conditions in an electrolytic cell. The advantages of the technique for determining spatial morphologies in opaque materials are illustrated by application of this method to the study of the configuration of faults in a specimen of directionally solidified CuAl2-Al eutectic alloy. A spatial model of the eutectic fault network deduced in this manner has substantiated the facts that faults in this alloy tend to lie parallel to one another in a direction close to that of the specimen growth axis and that the majority of faults tend to bridge lamellae rather than run parallel to them as growth proceeds. For the specimen studied fault density decreased as growth proceeded. ALTHOUGH metallographic observation is a powerful tool for investigating the correlation between structure and properties in metallic alloys, ordinary metallographic methods suffer the fundamental limitation that any conclusions concerning the three-dimensional structure of these opaque materials must rely upon inference from two-dimensional microsections. For this reason it is frequently impossible to make valid judgments regarding the true spatial distribution of the micro-constituents in specimens under investigation. Several techniques have been devised to circumvent the basic limitation of planar microsec-tioning and employed with varying success. These include construction of three-dimensional models of alloy microstructure from sequences of photomicrographs,1-3 quantitative deduction of spatial features based upon statistical studies of data from random and/or selected plane microsections,4-6 and selective dissolution of one phase in a two-phase alloy to reveal the topography of the phase remaining.' However these techniques also have certain obvious disadvantages. Construction of three-dimensional models is a very time-con- suming procedure due to the tedious polish-etch-photograph cycle needed to obtain the necessary photomicrographs to portray the spatial microstructure. Statistical methods by their very nature give only average values of the quantities being studied and cannot therefore give a detailed physical picture of the microstructure to be observed. Finally, the technique of selective dissolution is only applicable in systems where the phases are of vastly different chemical reactivity; it is of little use in the study of single-phase alloys. Since the determination of the three-dimensional structure of opaque materials is hindered by two facts—the materials are opaque to radiation in the visible spectrum and construction of spatial models of microstructure is quite laborious—two solutions to the problem suggest themselves: 1) use radiation of energy great enough to render the alloy transparent, i.e., some microradio-graphic method, or, 2) devise a rapid means to section and record alloy microstructure. Stereomicroradiography has indeed been used to study internal arrangements of phases in several materials8,9 but the method, in general, is limited to very thin specimens (due to X-ray absorption) and simple microstructures. It would seem then that development of a rapid, simple, and generally applicable technique for studying the details of alloy microstructures in three dimensions can best be undertaken by following the second approach above. Using this idea a new technique for rapid evaluation of spatial microstructures was developed based upon cinephotomicrographic recording of the micro-structure of a specimen undergoing controlled electrolytic dissolution. It was further felt that application of this technique to the careful study of the spatial configuration of faults in a CuAl2-Al eutectic alloy would yield information that could be correlated with the extensive data3,6,10-12 already compiled concerning the solidification and crystallography of this eutectic. The practicality and usefulness of similar methods for studying three-dimensional features in alloys has recently been illustrated by the study of dislocation loops in zinc13 and spheroidized structure in steel.14

Jan 1, 1965

By G. B. Gould

Every mathematical statement of a measure of anything (as distinguished from a count') is followed by a qualification—always implied if not explicity stated—-that the statement is only an estimate, which may vary from absolute accuracy within certain limits, according to the accuracy of the measuring instrument. This basic fact, so obvious to engineers, is not so well understood by many that make use of laboratory coal tests. The tolerances that must be allowed in measurements of coal quality are very important in both their commercial and engineering applications—and the significance of these tolerances depends upon the use made of the laboratory coal test. Only in recent years has there been any intensive study of this question of tolerances as applied to measurements of coal quality. There is very little in our published literature on the subject, and what has been published is not readily comprehended by those who sell coal, or buy coal and use it, unless they happen to have made a study of the subject themselves. There is great need for more widespread understanding of what lias been discovered and how it applies to the use of laboratory coal tests. What follows is an attempt to condense into a few pages the results of the major investigations so far reported, and to explain their meaning in simple nontechnical language, with the addition of some recent illustrative experiments. Determining Deviations in Quality It is necessary at the outset to distinguish between: (I) the accuracy with which one test indicates the quality on one lot of coal; and (2) the accuracy with which a test of one lot of coal represents the average quality of a commercial product, of which the buyer will presumably receive a series of shipments—perhaps many thousands of tons. It is necessary to make this distinction because coal is a variable material—a heterogeneous mixture of a variety of components—the quality of which will vary from one lot to another. Therefore an absolutely accurate determination of the quality (if that were possible) of one lot of a coal is an

Jan 1, 1938

By G. B. Gould

Every mathematical statement of a measure of anything (as distinguished from a count') is followed by a qualification—always implied if not explicity stated—-that the statement is only an estimate, which may vary from absolute accuracy within certain limits, according to the accuracy of the measuring instrument. This basic fact, so obvious to engineers, is not so well understood by many that make use of laboratory coal tests. The tolerances that must be allowed in measurements of coal quality are very important in both their commercial and engineering applications—and the significance of these tolerances depends upon the use made of the laboratory coal test. Only in recent years has there been any intensive study of this question of tolerances as applied to measurements of coal quality. There is very little in our published literature on the subject, and what has been published is not readily comprehended by those who sell coal, or buy coal and use it, unless they happen to have made a study of the subject themselves. There is great need for more widespread understanding of what lias been discovered and how it applies to the use of laboratory coal tests. What follows is an attempt to condense into a few pages the results of the major investigations so far reported, and to explain their meaning in simple nontechnical language, with the addition of some recent illustrative experiments. Determining Deviations in Quality It is necessary at the outset to distinguish between: (I) the accuracy with which one test indicates the quality on one lot of coal; and (2) the accuracy with which a test of one lot of coal represents the average quality of a commercial product, of which the buyer will presumably receive a series of shipments—perhaps many thousands of tons. It is necessary to make this distinction because coal is a variable material—a heterogeneous mixture of a variety of components—the quality of which will vary from one lot to another. Therefore an absolutely accurate determination of the quality (if that were possible) of one lot of a coal is an

Jan 1, 1938

By H. S. Price, J. C. Cavendish, R. S. Varga

This paper presents a new technique for solving some of the partial differential equations that are commonly used in simulating reservoir performance. The results of applying this technique to a simple problem show that one obtains accurate pressure values near wells, as well as accurate pressure pdients, which can be explicitly calculated. The method is completely rigorous in that convergence of the discrete numerical solution to the continuous solution for both pressure and pressure gradient is established. High-order, piecewise-polynomial approximations are used near the wells where pressure gradients are steep, while low-order, piecewise-polynomial approximations are used elsewhere to reduce greatly the calculation time. This combination is shown to give a uniformly good approximation to the solution. These approximations, obtained by using a Galerkin process with suitable Hermite subspaces, are shown to be theoretically and numerically superior to the usual approximations obtained from standard finite-difference techniques. Not only are much greater accuracies obtained, but computer times are also greatly reduced. The application of this technique to multiphase flow problems (e.g., single well coning problems) would have considerable practical interest, but such extensions of this technique with full mathematical rigor have not been made as yet. However, the numerical methods presented here are general, and in principle extend to multidimensional, multiphase flow. Moreover, the preliminary results given in this paper are sufficiently encouraging that we feel the effort in attempting these extensions is justified. INTRODUCTION The problem of obtaining accurate pressure distributions and pressure gradients around wells is of considerable importance in the numerical simulation of reservoir performance. The most common approach to solving this problem is to use finite difference techniques (see McCarty and Barfield9 or Peaceman and Rachfordl0). This approach, however, has many disadvantages, the major one being that many grid points are generally necessary for accurately describing the pressure distribution and the pressure gradient around wells. This need for a fine grid results in large computer times and often in prohibitively high costs. Besides investigating the method of finite differences, some authors, such as Welge and weber17 and Roper, Merchant and Duvall,13 have considered a combination of analytical and numerical techniques with some success. These approaches, however, are all nonrigorous and quite often cannot even be applied. In this paper, we present a numerical formulation of high-order accuracy, based on the Galerkin method, for solving this problem. We treat here only the partial differential equation that describes steady-state, single-phase flow. However, the methods presented are general and in principle extend to multidimensional, multiphase flow. Specifically we treat special cases of the problem in two dimensions described by: where G is a rectangle (with sides parallel to the coordinate axis) with boundary ?G, ?/?n denotes the outward normal, and y and B are non-negative constants such that y + B > 0.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. K. McGeary, B. Lustman

The textures produced in zirconium by cold and hot rolling, and by recrystallization above and below the transformation temperature were determined. Thermal expansivities were measured in the thickness, transverse, and rolling directions of preferentially oriented zirconium and were correlated with the texture scatter in these directions. REVIOUS investigations have indicated that minor differences between hexagonal close-packed metals of similar axial ratio may appear with respect to the textures produced both on cold rolling and on subsequent recrystallization. In the case of magnesium, beryllium, and titanium, metals of axial ratio similar to that of zirconium, the ideal orientations produced by rolling are fundamentally the same, although marked variance is reported in the degree and type of scatter about the mean orientation; in those instances where recrystallization textures were observed, they were reported to be similar to the rolling textures. Measurement of the anisot-ropy of thermal expansion of both rolled and re-crystallized zirconium could not be correlated satisfactorily with the textures reported for the above metals, and therefore a study was made of the preferred orientations produced in zirconium. Reported below are the textures produced in zirconium by cold and hot rolling, and recrystallization above and below the transformation temperature, together with the results of thermal expansion measurements. Determination of Preferred Orientation Two types of zirconium were investigated: 1— "crystal bar" zirconium obtained from the Foote Mineral Co., produced by the thermal decomposition of zirconium tetraiodide, and 2—zirconium ingot obtained from the Bureau of Mines prepared by melting sponge zirconium in a graphite resistor vacuum furnace in a graphite crucible. The major impurities present in the two materials used are listed in Table I. Several of the pole figures were later checked with 0.03 pct hafnium crystal bar material and the results were identical with those to be shown for the 1.5 pct hafnium material. The materials were cold rolled to 0.014 in. in thickness as shown in Table 11. Specimens were cut from the 0.014 in. thick rolled sheets and etched to thicknesses of 0.002 to 0.010 in. Such specimens were used for exposures up to a 50' to 60" angle between the beam and plane of the specimen; for higher angles a wire shape, similar to that described by Bakarian,' was formed on an end of the original 0.014 in. sheet. A fine-bladed abrasive cut-off wheel was used to slot the sheet and to form the cylindrical cross-section. The wire shaped ends were then etched to 0.006 to 0.010 in. in diam. Although absorption of X-rays in the wire-shaped specimens does not vary with angle of rotation, the line width around the diffraction rings was not uniform, because the wire was narrower than the X-ray beam, and this condition caused some uncertainty in the estimation of azimuthal intensities. Furthermore, scanning was not practicable with this type of specimen so that spottiness of the rings due to large grain size was excessive for specimens which had been heated above about 650°C. Nevertheless, satisfactory information could be obtained for high angle exposures from the negatives by the use of both types of specimens. Transmission Laue photograms were taken using unfiltered molybdenum radiation (47.5 kv, 18 ma) and a 0.025 in. pinhole. With the film 8 cm from a 0.005 in. thick specimen exposures of about 30 min were adequate. For specimens with a coarse grain size, a device that scanned about 0.15 sq in. of sheet surface was used. An attempt was made to plot the pole figures by use of an X-ray spectrometer as described by Norton.' However, for the particular technique used, the intensity variations obtained were not considered definite enough to give reliable results, especially for the large grained recrystallized and transformed specimens. This method was therefore abandoned in favor of the standard photographic method. Nine exposures were taken of each specimen: seven exposures with the beam perpendicular to the rolling direction and at 0°, 10°, 20°, 35", 50°, 65", and 80" to the transverse direction, and two exposures with the beam perpendicular to the transverse direction and at 60" and 80" to the rolling direction. Additional exposures were then made where necessary. The intensity variations of the diffraction rings were estimated by eye. It was usually possible to estimate 3 degrees of intensity from the photograms but in some cases 2, 4, or 5 degrees were estimated. Experimental Results The preferred orientation was determined for the following treatments: 1—cold-rolled, 2—low temperature rolled, 3—cold-rolled surface layer, 4— cross-rolled, 5—hot-rolled, 6—recrystallized below the transformation temperature, and 7-—recrystallized above the transformation temperature. I—Cold-Rolled Textures: The slip plane in hexag-

Jan 1, 1952

By Richard S. McCaffery, Clarence H. Lorig, Joseph F. Oesterle, Ira N. Goff, Oscar O. Fritsche

This paper is the report of an investigation to determine the relations between the viscosity, temperature and composition of that portion of the silica-alumina-lime-magnesia system(l) within which blast-furnace slags are found. The work reported in this paper was made possible by a grant of funds from Engineering Foundation. It is a part of a project, the determination of properties and structure of iron blast-furnace slags, upon which the laboratories of the University of Wisconsin have been at work for some years. Three papers have been published, which have marked the progress of the study of iron blast-furnace slags at Wisconsin. The first,(2) Desul-furizing Power of Iron Blast-furnace Slags, discussed the solubility of sulfur in slags that contained no magnesia and discussed the viscosity. The second, (3) The Constitution of Iron Blast-furnace Slags, developed the constitutions of slags in the four-component system, silica-alumina-lime-magnesia, and pointed out an explanation of slag structure. Composition of Iron Blast-furnace Slags,(l) which was the third paper, gave a method of calculating the percentages of the various compounds present in slags when the amount of oxide was given and also an interpretation of quaternary equilibrium. Illustrations were given of the mineral composition of blast-furnace slags and some applications of composition results were shown. Because of their relative ease of measurement, the viscosity-temperature relation for slags was selected as a factor which would be useful in correlating the physical properties of molten slags to furnace operation. With this in mind the viscosities of slags whose compositions are in that portion of the quaternary system, silica-alumina-lime-magnesia, in which blast-furnace slags occur, were thoroughly investigated.

Jan 1, 1932

By N. Jaffe, J. E. Dorn

This investigation is concerned with the possibility that the creep resistance of metals might be reduced as a result of recovery at the creep temperature when the applied stress is reduced. For this purpose the effect of stress on the recovery of the creep behavior of pure polycrys talline aluminum was investigated in the cross-slip temperature range where the activation energy for creep is 28.000 cal per mole. Before recovery all specimens were given the same substructure by creeping them under a stress of 7800psi to a strain of 0.218. Recovery was then accomplished by holding the specimens at the creep temperatures of 327" and 337°K under a series of reduced stresses for various periods of time. When the original stress was reapplied the specimens crept more rapidly than when the original stress was first removed, illustrating that recovery did take place. The extent of recovery could be indexed in terms of the UNDER certain conditions of test, the creep rate decreases over the primary stage of creep often by as much as a factor of 10~B. Since the external variables of stress and temperature are held constant, such pronounced and significant changes in the creep rate must be attributed to various substructural modifications that are introduced as a result of creep itself. At the secondary stage of creep, over which the creep rate remains constant and the substructure no longer changes, a balance must be achieved between the rate of increase in creep resistance due to creep straining and the rate of recovery of the substructural modifications. The general validity of these concepts on substructural changes has already been shown,' including the corollary that a more creep-resistant substructure is introduced under a more rapid creep rate arising from a higher applied stress.' In spite of these well-documented facts, very little progress has been additional strain undertaken by the recovered specimen to achieve the same strain rate as the unrecovered specimen. It is significant that the higher recovery stresses gave the most rapid rates of recovery. Over the high range of reduced stresses, where some creq took place during recovery, the activation energy for recovery equaled that for creep, namely 28,000 cal per mole. But for stresses during recovery below 0.80 of the original creep stress, no creep was detected during recovery and an activation energy for recovery of about 72,000 cal per mole was obtained. Whereas the activation energy of 28,000 cal per mole suggests that cross-slip of dislocations is responsible for this recovery, the mechanism for the 72,000 cal per mole process is not known. This activation energy, however, is about twice that for self-difhsion. made in determining, in satisfactory detail, precisely what substructural changes so effectively modify the creep rate.' Up to the present, electron microscopy has failed to uncover, in a satisfactory quantitative manner, the mechanistic processes involved. Since, however, creep, at least at moderate and high temperatures, arises from one or more types of dynamic recovery processes, it should be possible to shed additional light on the total problem by investigating the recovery of creep resistance. The importance of such an investigation becomes apparent when the fact is recognized that there has yet been no direct experimental proof that the rate of softening due to substructural changes as a result of recovery equals the rate of hardening due to creep-induced substructural strengthening over the secondary stages of creep. Furthermore the problem of what happens to the creep-strain induced strengthening when the material recovers either at zero or some reduced operating stress has significant engineering consequences. It was for these reasons that the present investigation on the recovery of creep behavior was initiated. Inasmuch as a substantial background has now developed on the creep of high-purity aluminum, this material was again selected for the current investigation. Furthermore extensive evidence is now

Jan 1, 1963

By P. E. Hildebrand, S. W. Mao, C. N. Crain

Hydrologic and economic criteria figure in many obvious ways in water resources development, but they are rarely linked quantitatively, and most of the applications are pertinent only to the case in point. In the preparation of a regional plan for the massive program of groundwater development in the Punjab, situations have arisen where the choice among two or more alternatives was made by analyzing the economic implications of critical hydrologic parameters. Two of these situations which are of more or less general interest are described herein. The first involves basic development policy, i.e., the question of whether groundwater development should be based on the demand of the economy, or the conservation concept of safe yield. The analysis demonstrated that mining of groundwater is clearly indicated for areas where alternative supplies are unavailable. The second problem involves integrating hydrologic data into an economic model to determine optimum well design. From an analysis of all pertinent factors, a simple nomograph was derived for determining well specifications on site during construction. The nomograph can be modified for use in any alluvial terrain. In the Northern Zone of the Indus Plains —the region known as the Punjab- Pakistan is proceeding with integrated development of water and land resources on a scale never before contemplated. The heart of the development plan is a massive program of groundwater development to supplement canal irrigation supplies and to provide drainage relief to the irrigated lands. By the close of 1966 about 2500 high-capacity wells were in operation and furnishing the water supply and drainage requirements for nearly two million irrigated acres. The development plan calls for the construction of a total of nearly 30,000 wells with an aggregate capacity of 120,000 cfs by 1980. This is part of an integrated program eventually affecting over 20 million acres of irrigated lands. [This development program is administered by the West Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) for which the firm of Tipton and Kalm-bach, Inc. serves as regional planning consultant for the Northern Zone. The material presented herein is derived from planning studies which have been made in connection with the preparation of a regional development plan for the Northern zone.] Pakistan is proceeding with this large-scale development of land and water resources at a time when she is at the threshold of an almost calamitous population growth. Furthermore, she is attempting this development at a time when most of her usable land is already occupied and her food demands exceed current production. Here in the Northern Zone is one of the largest continuous areas of irrigated land in the world, easily irrigated, with a warm, dry climate and ample potential supplies of surface water and groundwater. Except for an abundance of land and labor, other primary resources are lacking or in very limited supply. The agriculture sector so dominates the economy that only by means of an effective development of the agricultural resources can other sectors grow and contribute to a viable economy. Because of inadequate irrigation, farming here has not effectively participated in the twentieth century revolution in agriculture, and only by means of massive development of potential supplies can Pakistan catch up. Capital for any kind of mass development must come from the outside. But the overriding restraint to development of the land and labor resources is the availability of water. ECONOMICS OF DEVELOPMENT The decision-making process in planning regional development becomes increasingly complex as the various sectors of the economy become more highly developed. Where, as in this case, one sector dominates the economy and its development can be considered the key to development of other sectors, the decision-making process is simplified and it is easier to identify alternatives and to trace the prob-

Jan 1, 1970

By J. L. Lehman, J. D. Sudbury, J. E. Landers, W. D. Greathouse

A full scale field experiment on cathodic protection of casing answers questions concerning (1) the proper criteria for determining current requirments, (2) the amount of protection provided by different currents, and (3) the transfer of current at the base of the surface pipe. Three dry holes in the Trico pool in Rooks County, Kans., were selected for cathodic protection tests. The three holes were in an area where casing failures opposite the Dakota water sand often accur in less than a year. Examination of the electric togs showed the wells to be similar to other wells in the field where casing in four of seven producing wells has failed. The three holes were cleaned out and cased with 75 joints of new 51/2-in. 14-tb J-55. Each joint was visually inspected and marked before it as run. The casing was bull plugged and floated in the hole 50 that the inside might remain dry and free of excessive attack. Also, if a leak occurred, a pressure increase could be observed on gawge at the surface. Extensive testing was done, including potential profiles, log current-potentid curves and electrode measurements from both surface and downhole connections. Based on these data, a current of 12 amps was applied to one well and 4 amps to mother. The third well was left to corrode. During the two-year period when the casing was in the ground, [he applied current was checked weekly, and reference electrode measurements were made about every two months. Three sets of casing potential profi1e.c were run. When the three strings were pulled, each joint was examined for type of scale formed, presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria, extent of corrosion nttnck and pit depth. Since the pipe was new when run, quantitative determination of the protection provided by current was possible. This is the first concrete field evidence to help resolve the many arguments about the proper method for selecting adequate current for cathodic protection of oilwell (-using. INTRODUCTION A casing string is run when a well is drilled. This pipe is supposed to protect this valuable "hole in the ground" for the life of the well. Often the casing does not last the life of the well; it is with these casing failures that this work is concerned. The cost of repairing a casing failure varies from field to field—from as much as a $30,000 per leak average in California to $5,000 per leak in Kansas. Additional costs other than actual repairs are also important. These include formation damage, lost production, etc. Casing damage caused by internal corrosion is important in some areas. Treatment normally consists of flushing inhibitor down the annulus, but further research is being done on control measures. The test described in this paper is concerned only with external corrosion. The problem of casing failure from external attack has appeared in several areas including western Kansas, California, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. Cathodic protection is currently being used in an attempt to control external corrosion. From reports in the NACE there are thousands of wells currently under cathodic protection. The quantity of current being applied ranges from 27 amps on some deep California wells to a few tenths of an amp being supplied from magnesium anodes on wells in Texas and Kansas. Considerable field and laboratory effort1,9,5,6 was exented on the problem of cathodic prctection of casing, and it became fairly obvious that this method could be used to protect wells. Early workers showed that current applied to a well distributed itself over the length of the casing and was not concentrated on the upper few hundred feet. Basic cathodic protection theory had shown that corrosion attack could be stopped by applying sufficient current. The problem resolved itself, then, into one of trying to decide just how much current was necessary. Various criteria were utilized in installing the many existing cathodic protection installations. These methods included the following. 1. Applying sufficient current to remove the anodic slope as shown by the potential profile." 7. Applying enough current to maintain all areas of the casing at a pipe-to-soil potential of .85 v.' 3. Applying the current indicated by a log current-potential (or E log I) curve." 4. Supplying the current necessary to shift the pipe to-soil potential .3 v." 5. Applying 2 or 3 milliamps of current per sq ft of casing."

By W. S. N. Waring, E. C. Bain, E. S. Davenport

The more familiar compositions of both the iron-carbon-chromium' and the iron-carbon-tungsten2 systems have been investigated with a degree of thoroughness which has permitted the construction of their three-dimensional equilibrium diagrams; and it is probable that these equilibrium diagrams are sufficiently accurate for the present metallo-graphic needs. Strangely enough, in spite of their importance, the alloys of iron, carbon and manganese apparently have not been investigated in the same systematic manner, and so far as is known, no three-component equilibrium diagram for this system is available. Even iron-carbon-nickel alloys3 have been studied rather more thoroughly; for these the solidus and liquidus surfaces have already been determined, but the solid transformations in this, as in the manganese system, have not been reported systematically. The present paper deals with the constitution at equilibrium of a series of 36 iron-carbon-manganese alloys of commercial purity limited by 1.5 per cent carbon and 15 per cent manganese, a range of compositions including most of the manganese steels. The temperature range of melting has not been determined, nor has the high-temperature (delta iron) ferrite equilibrium been included in the study, it being considered that the more important characteristics of the manganese steels are their ordinary transformations in the solid state. The delta iron region is almost certain to be a small tetrahedron not very different in magnitude or contour from that in the iron-carbon-nickel diagram. It is probably true

Jan 1, 1932

By JAMES H. McGRAW

P UBLZCLTY and engineers do not mix. In the very words of my subject, there is an apparent contradiction. In the past, publicity has been abhorrent to the engineer. It seems to be true that the engineer, because of his training or his background, has developed a state of mind which omits publicity. At any rate he has done a poor publicity job for himself. The average engineer is self-conscious; he ought to be class-conscious. If T should ask the men in this hall to get up one by one and tell who they are and what they have done, there would be an instinctive reaction in the mind of each man-a feeling that this was out of place. If I should ask each man to get up and tell something about his neighbor, I should find that each neighbor, once he got acquainted with the man next to him and understood what he was doing, would be as human and as generous-hearted in telling about his brother engineer as is any professional man.

Jan 1, 1920

By Francis R. Conley, John A. Sievert, John N. Dew

A brief review is presented of the past performance of a number of large, thin, highly permeable reservoirs with low dips in the Bolivar Coastal fields of Venezuela. The performance of these reservoirs indicates that the fluids are segregated vertically within the sand section by gravity. With this assumption, equations are developed which describe the performance under pressure maintenance operations. Methods of solving these equations and results of simple example calculations are presented. Example calculations indicate that under pressure maintenance conditions injected gas tends to {tow preferentially along the top of the sands and that encroaching water has a tendency to flow preferentially along the bottom. The expected performance of segregated fluids is discussed and compared with that of fluids which are uniformly distributed in any sand section. INTRODUCTION The field performance of a number of reservoirs described herein indicates that the fluids are segregated vertically within the sand section by the force of gravity. Thus, it was felt that any method used to predict the future performance of these reservoirs should consider the effects of segregation in the sand sections. A study of the available information on some of the reservoirs suggests that increased recoveries may be expected if the reservoir pressure is maintained by either crestal gas injection or flank water injection. To predict future performance of reservoirs under pressure maintenance operations, a method of analysis was needed which would account for segregation of fluids in the sand sections. Several methods of analysis have been developed to take into account the segregation of fluids in the reservoir as a whole1,3 To our knowledge no method considers segregation of the fluids within sand sections in the manner indicated by the past performance of several reservoirs in the Mara-caibo Basin. This paper outlines part of the work done in studying some of these reservoirs and contains a description of their performance characteristics. The analysis presented is restricted to pressure maintenance conditions, since space limitations prevent a full discus- sion of the development of the mathematical relations and the various methods of solving them. Only a sketch of the development of the mathematical relations is given. The various methods of solving these relations are pointed out, but the actual determination of solutions to various problems are omitted except for one example. It is felt that these results may aid in the study of reservoirs outside the Maracaibo Basin. Some concepts on which the present analysis is based are outlined by D. N. Dietz. However, the analysis presented herein includes several factors not considered by Dietz: (1) variations in permeability and in the cross section, (2) various shapes of the cross section, and (3) the production of fluids. Also, the mathematical development presented by Dietz differs considerably from our corresponding analysis. RESERVOIR CHARACTERISTICS The reservoirs under consideration, large and thin, with low dip and high permeability, are large to the extent that they contain from 0.5 to over four billion bbl of oil initially in place. The section thicknesses vary from 100 to 400 ft and the lengths from 10,000 to 40,000 ft. Thus, a length-wise cross section of the producing formation appears to be long and thin. The dip angles vary from 0 to 6 degrees and the average permeabilities vary from 0.5 to over three darcies. The reservoirs contain from 20 to 50 per cent shale inter-laminated with the productive sands. Most shale breaks within the major sands do not correlate from one well to the next, and correlation is often difficult, even between wells drilled from the same location. However, it is often possible to correlate the shale breaks between major sands for some distance. Herein we are concerned with the performance of reservoirs containing oil of gravities over 20" API. Past reservoir performance indicates good pressure communication and, in cases where pressure sinks have developed, large amounts of fluid migration have occurred. Few of the reservoirs have had initial gas caps, but also, few have been found to be highly under-saturated. Due to gravity segregation, secondary gas caps usually form before the pressure has been reduced more than 25 per cent of its initial value. The effect of gravity has not only been apparent on a reservoir-wide basis, but has also caused segregation of the reservoir fluids in productive sections. Proof of this is found from the results of selective well tests, workovers, and electric and various other types of logs. Evidence that

By J. F. Kemp

PAGE Introduction,............170 I. The Competence oF the Igneous Rocks to Supply the Materi als oF Veins,...........171 The Demonstrated Presence of the Metals in the Igneous Rocks,. . 171 The Presence of the Metals in the Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks, 173 Conclusions,...........175 The Abundance in Igneous Racks of Vapors or Dissociated Gases which will Yield Water on Emission and Cooling,. 175 The Sequence of Eruptions,. .. . 1 . • .. 78 The Sequence of Vein-Formations,.......1 79 Contact-Metamorphism,.........180 Pegmatites,............181 Frequency of Pneumatolitic Minerals in Veins,.. 183 Surface-Flows of Igneous Rock Unfavorable to Vein-Formation,. . 183

Jan 1, 1902