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By Hiram Brown

The problem of stress corrosion has been discussed a great deal recently, but many factors have as yet not been clarified. There are many interpretations of the definition of the word, different corrosive media are used, and numerous methods of stressing are utilized. Some quarters believe that the inherent strength of the material under test is the determining factor of its resistance to stress corrosion, while others think that the natural corrosion resistance of the material is the determining factor. This paper is intended merely to set forth the limited experience we have had and to discuss some of the other stress-corrosion tests which have been made with light alloys.

Jan 1, 1945

By William N. Matheson

The major consideration in any management and engineering decision is the economic evaluation of factors. The right decision is the best cost decision, provided of course that it is the safest. Changes, improvements, and advances in mining technology, as in any business, come about through the pressure of economics in combination with the inventiveness and engineering abilities of efficient mine operators. Without proper economic evaluation and an appreciation of profit and loss of an operation, advances in mining methods would come about at a slow pace, if at all.

Jan 4, 1959

By A. S. Richardson

The design of mine airways receives, in general, very little engineering treatment. To a large extent this is, of course, due to the fact that information upon which to base calculations is seldom available in definite form. In many rnines the extent of the workable deposits may not be known at the time an air course is planned, and the length of service is indeterminable. Volume of air required for ventilation rnay also increase with extension of the life of a property, and natural obstacles, such as heavy ground, often place limitations upon the size of opening that can be maintained. Perhaps most of the shafts used in the ventilation of metal mines were originally intended as hoisting shafts, and many of the tunnels and crosscuts similarly used, were also designed as haulage ways or for other operating purposes. Even when a shaft is sunk solely for ventilation, custom usually dictates a size and shape consistent with the type commonly used for ordinary operations, because experience has demonstrated it can be excavated and maintained. In fact, most ventilation openings were never made with any consideration as to economic design for such use. When an air course is required to pass air between different parts of mine workings under a fixed pressure, the size of opening required for a given volume of flow, is, of course, determined by the resistance factor of the air course. It is then impossible to proportion the opening with reference to economics of power consumption, and this paper is limited to the design of openings where ventilation pressure or power consumption may he varied for economic advantage. As the size of an air course is increased, the expense involved in excavation and support is, of course, also increased, but the charge for power is decreased. In the case of a mine that has only a short assured operating life, it would not be ecouomical to provide large openings in order to reduce power bills; but when operations are likely to continue for a long time, the power charge becomes a very important economic factor. Although lack of definite information on such factors as service life and costs of excavation and support affects the design of an air course, it appears, from a mathematical analysis of the problem, that considerable variations may be made in estimating these factors, without greatly

Jan 1, 1927

THERE are two general types of scientific approach to a problem. One approach, which is the more widely known, involves an analysis of the situation at the beginning of the experiment; this is followed by an analysis of the situation at each instant of time during the experiment and leads to a-detailed description of the prevailing conditions at the end of the experiment. Suppose, for example, we wish to predict the final rest position on a billiard table of a ball moving initially in a certain known direction with a known speed. The obvious approach is to estimate or measure off its course by consideration of angles of rebound, taking account of the "English" or spin if necessary and finally estimating from experience (or calculating from coefficients of friction) the slowing down occasioned by friction, thus establishing the point of the course at which the ball may be expected to stop. Any interference with the calculated course occasioned by collision with an unanticipated object would obviously cause us to revise drastically our estimate of the rest position. This general method of approach characterized by detailed description of how one situation developed from another seems intuitively appealing and is the most widely known method. There is no doubt that it gives very satisfying results when it can be used. There is a second general method of approach. In this method, the final state of a system is predicted from knowledge of general broad principles and their application, considering only the restrictions imposed upon the system. It is unnecessary to follow the course in detail; intermediate steps are not even considered. For example, if the billiard table mentioned in the first paragraph were tilted to one corner, one could predict that the final resting place of the ball would be in that corner; this prediction can be made independent of any particular course the ball may follow. This second general method of attacking problems is the one used in thermodynamics. There its use is so outstand-

Jan 1, 1951

By AIME AIME

WEDNESDAY night, by long tradition, is al- ways set aside for the annual dinner, even when, as it was this year, it is Ash Wednesday. Whether the somewhat smaller attendance than last year is attributable to that cause, the unexpectedly long persistence of business depression, or whatever may have been the reason, it was a joyous occasion, and the grand ball-room of the Commodore Hotel was as completely filled With diners as * was consistent with com- fort. In the half hour before the dinner was actually served the guests assembled in an adjoining room and not only exchanged greetings but proceeded along the receiving line to greet the guests of honor. The number present was so large that hardly more than half of them had been able to do this before the summons to the dining room sounded and a hearty and immediate response was made to it. Toy balloons at each plate, inflated and directed at the heads of companions or nearby friends, but which were just as likely to carom from the nose of a hurrying waiter, successfully broke the ice as well as not a few plates. It would be interesting to know whether the pleasure the guests derive from these de- vices is in part based on the all-too evident annoyance of the waiters, and what the relative quantitative relationships are.

Jan 1, 1931

By Robert D. Pehlke, Kazuhisa Okajima

The activity of zinc in dilute liquid lead alloys containing small additions of silver and gold has been measured using a multielectrode galvanic cell with a fused chloride salt electrolyte. The range of temperatures studied in the Pb-Zn-Ag system was 550" to 670°C and in the Pb-Zn-Au system was 680" to 800°C. The interaction parameters between zinc and the precious metals in the respective temperature ranges are ThE lead-rich corners of the Pb-Zn-Ag and Pb-Zn-Au ternary systems are of considerable industrial importance. The use of zinc additions for the desilvering The results of this investigation have Provided a senzi-quantitative determination of the liquidus phase boundaries in the lead-rich corner of these ternary diagrams. of liquid lead either by the Parkes process or by the more recent Williams continuous process is an important refining phase of lead production.1 Several in-ve~ti~ations~-~ have been carried out on the Pb-Zn-Ag system with the hope of improving the efficiency of refining lead in this manner. The addition of zinc also provides a means for separating gold from lead. Since gold is eliminated more easily than silver, a two-stage removal of gold and silver is possible.8'7 The thermodynamic interactions between zinc and these precious metals in dilute solution in liquid lead

Jan 1, 1968

By A. H. Grobe, F. N. Rhines

AT elevated temperatures the oxide of silver is unstable in the air at atmospheric pressure, consequently no external oxide scale forms upon pure silver under conditions of high-temperature annealing. When small quantities of certain alloying elements are present in the silver, the formation of a thin external scale is possible' and in addition there may form a subscale composed of the oxide of the solute element precipitated within the body of the silver. Norbury2 and Leroux and Raub3 have reported internal oxidation (subscale forma¬tion) in alloys of silver with 2, 7.5, and 30 per cent of copper. The presence of the subscale is believed to be responsible, at least in part, for the objectionable "fire mark" in Sterling silver.4 Several other alloys of silver, after oxidizing heat-treatments, are known to exhibit undesirable polishing characteristics that may be the result of internal oxidation. Except for the absence of an external scale of silver oxide, it is to be anticipated that silver alloys will prove to be very similar in their oxidation behavior to the alloys of copper, the oxidation characteristics of which have been studied in some detail5,6 The present research confirms this anticipation. The oxidation of a series of 20 dilute alloys of silver has been studied metallographically; some types of subscale not encountered among the copper alloys have been found. Instances of internal oxidation in alloys of most of the metals of the I-b and VIII groups of the periodic system are on record, but evidence of this type of oxidation in alloys of the metals of the intermediate groups is lacking. A number of the metals of the intermediate group, among them cadmium, lead, tin, and zinc, appear to provide the conditions essential to subscale formation; i.e., they form oxides with a relatively low negative free energy of formation, they dissolve other metals that form more stable oxides, and, presumably, oxygen will diffuse through them. In a study of 4o alloys of these white metals only a few cases of internal oxidation have been found. The probable reasons for this difference in behavior will be discussed presently. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Silver.-The silver alloys employed in the oxidation studies were prepared in heats of 30 grams each from high-purity silver (99.993 per cent Ag)* and the purest avail-

Jan 1, 1942

Alfred C. Young† (communication to the Secretary): Before the appearance of Mr. Scott's paper in these Transactions we were not specially interested in the investigation which he has started; but at his request we have endeavored to collect from musty records and the recollection of our old friends a brief chronicle of the progress made by this house. As 3000 instruments were manufactured by us before any descriptive record was kept, and 2000 more before the record contained more than a statement whether the instrument was a transit or a level, and sometimes its size, we approach the task with timidity, trusting that the reader will bear the difficulties in mind, particularly as the writer's predecessors, from whom, no doubt, the information desired could have been obtained, have passed away. Instruments for surveying were manufactured by David Rittenhouse, of Philadelphia, as early as 1760; but it was not until late in the first quarter of this century that there was any American market for an instrument outside of the ordinary surveyor's compass. With the advent of canals and railroads, and the more extensive development of the Pennsylvania coalfields, arose a demand for surveying-instruments to meet problems in engineering beyond the limited field of the compass. On May 1, 1820, in which year the practical mining of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania began, William J. Young, who had served his apprenticeship with one Thomas Whitney,

Jan 1, 1901

By B. H. Sage, W. N. Lacey

An apparatus is described for the measurement of the pressure-volume-temperature relations of pure substances, simple mixtures and complex mixtures with an over-all absolute uncertainty, which is usually not more than 0.2 per cent. The equipment is suitable for studies in the gaseous, two-phase, and liquid regions. The behavior of such systems may be investigated at pressures as high as 10,000 lb. per sq. in. for temperatures between 70 and 600 F. The methods of measurement and the construction of the apparatus are described in some detail. The measurement of the volumetric behavior of multicomponent systems requires the simultaneous measurement of the pressure, volume, temperature and weight of each component of the system. In the present apparatus a sample having constant weight is investigated at a number of independently controlled pressures and temperatures, therefore it is necessary only to establish the weight of each component added before a given set of measurements. This method is in distinction to that in which the total volume remains constant and the pressure is varied by addition or removal of material, the system having variable weight. An objective in the design of the apparatus to be described was to develop equipment that would yield results involving no uncertainties larger than 0.25 per cent throughout the range of pressures from 150 to 10,000 Ib. per sq. in. at temperatures between 70" and 600" F. Although this over-all absolute uncertainty of measurement may not appear to be small, it necessitated care in the plans for control and measurement of each of the fundamental variables. In general, any uncertainty greater than 0.05 per cent in the pressure, volume, absolute temperature or weight of each component was considered undesirable; therefore the attempt was made to obtain a precision of measurement in each case such that the absolute uncertainty would be only half this amount except in certain regions near the ends of the experimental range of the variable under consideration.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. N. Lacey, B. H. Sage

An apparatus is described for the measurement of the pressure-volume-temperature relations of pure substances, simple mixtures and complex mixtures with an over-all absolute uncertainty, which is usually not more than 0.2 per cent. The equipment is suitable for studies in the gaseous, two-phase, and liquid regions. The behavior of such systems may be investigated at pressures as high as 10,000 lb. per sq. in. for temperatures between 70 and 600 F. The methods of measurement and the construction of the apparatus are described in some detail. The measurement of the volumetric behavior of multicomponent systems requires the simultaneous measurement of the pressure, volume, temperature and weight of each component of the system. In the present apparatus a sample having constant weight is investigated at a number of independently controlled pressures and temperatures, therefore it is necessary only to establish the weight of each component added before a given set of measurements. This method is in distinction to that in which the total volume remains constant and the pressure is varied by addition or removal of material, the system having variable weight. An objective in the design of the apparatus to be described was to develop equipment that would yield results involving no uncertainties larger than 0.25 per cent throughout the range of pressures from 150 to 10,000 Ib. per sq. in. at temperatures between 70" and 600" F. Although this over-all absolute uncertainty of measurement may not appear to be small, it necessitated care in the plans for control and measurement of each of the fundamental variables. In general, any uncertainty greater than 0.05 per cent in the pressure, volume, absolute temperature or weight of each component was considered undesirable; therefore the attempt was made to obtain a precision of measurement in each case such that the absolute uncertainty would be only half this amount except in certain regions near the ends of the experimental range of the variable under consideration.

Jan 1, 1940

By J. A. Ede

The object of the writer is to call attention to a rather unique aggregation of economic products distributed over a line of succeeding formations about 3 mi. long, to be seen within a few miles of La Salle, Ill. Fig. 1 is an ideal section of the stratification exposed and exploited along a distance of 3 1/5 mi. in a southwesterly direction from the quarry of the Utica Hydraulic Cement Co. located near the historic site of Kaskaskia village to the Oglesby shaft at Oglesby. No attempt has been made to cover the whole field, special mention only being made (with the exception of two places) of the operations found along the course or parallel to the direction assumed in the ideal section. I have used Fig. 2, after J. R. Bent and De Witt Kelly, to locate the relation of the La Salle anticline to the coal mines of this district and to show the operation of No. 1 and 3 mincs of the Illinois Zinc Co. Anticline and the Rock Formations Owing to the structural deformation between La Salle and Utica, the older rocks of the state are exposed to the surface along the northern embankment and the bottoms of the Illinois River valley near the latter place. At; the Illinois Zinc Co. works, Sec. 16, Tp. 33, R 1, a well for water mas sunk 1828 ft. and samples taken every 10 ft. of the ground penetrated; duplicates were sent to Mr. Cady of the Illinois Geological Survey. A general compilation or synopsis study of this section is here presented. As the well is over 1 mi. west of the Western limb of the anticline, the section affords some reliable data. These samples were studied and interpreted by H. M. DuBois as Lower Magnesian, and by G. H. Cady as the Lower Magnesian. The results are given in Fig. 3. The most interesting geological feature of this district is the La Salle anticline. In 1865, Leo les Quereux, looking at Split Rock, asked how it happened that the upper coal measures overlie strata of the Lower Silurian and what has become of the formations which are generally found intermediate—the Upper Silurian, the Devonian and sub-carboniferous, and the lower member of the coal measures?

Jan 1, 1920

By R. G. Ward, John Henderson. R. G. Hudson, G. Derge

Densities of melts of the iron oxide-silica system in contact with solid iron have been measured by the maximum hubble pressure method in the composition range O to 37 wt pct SiOz and the temperature range 1255 to 1410C. The constitution of the melts is discussed and it is postulated that the structure changes from a dislribution of iron ions in an oxygen ion network at pure "FeO" to a distribution. of iron ions in a network of silicate tetrahedra at the orthosilicate composition. JOHN HENDERSON, Junior Member AIME, was formerly with the Metals Research Loborotory, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa., on leave from Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Ltd., Research Division, Shortland, Australia. R. G. HUDSON, formerly with Metals Research Laboratory, is now with the John Jay Hopkins Loborotory for Pure and Applied Science, General Atomic Division, General Dynamics Corp., LaJolla, Calif. R. G. WARD, was formerly with the Department of Metal lurgical Engineering, Carnegie lnstitute of Technology, while on leave from the Department of Metallurgy, University of Sheffield, England. G. DERGE, Member AIME, is Jones and Laughlin Professor of Metallurgical Engineering, Carnegie lnstitute of Technology. Manuscript submitted January 19, 1961. ISD The system iron oxide-silica is an important one metallurgically because it forms the basis of several complex slag systems in use for industrial smelting and refining processes. In recent years considerable work has been done on liquids of this system but there are still many points of difference among workers using different experimental techniques and theoretical approaches. Phase equilibria/"3 activity,4-6 electrical conductivity,' current efficiency,' transference number,8 viscosity,9 surface tension,'' and density" measurements have all contributed to an understanding of the problem. Measurement of density is one procedure which is directly indicative of liquid structure since any deviation from ideality must be a result of structural interactions. Liquids of the iron oxide-silica system are of special interest because this is one of the few metal oxide-silica systems on which measurements can be carried out conveniently over the entire composition range from pure oxide to silica saturation. This includes the range of high basicity which has received relatively little attention in other systems. Although one investigation of density in this system has previously been undertaken," the results seem of sufficient importance to warrant the independent redeter-mination reported here.

Jan 1, 1962

By Roy Lindgren

SINCE the year 1643, when the first blast furnace in America for treating iron ore was built at Saugus, Mass., out of mica schist quarried in the neighboring district, the procurement of a suitable refractory for furnace lining has been a problem of concern to the operators of furnaces. The stacks built of mica schist continued to smelt iron ore until about 1836, when, according to F. H. Norton, the first firebrick were produced1, at Queens Run, Pa. Other writers speak of brick having been molded and burned in Massachusetts about the year 1834. In 1841, Andrew Russell began to produce medium refractory plastic clay brick near East Liverpool, Ohio, that were used for lining blast furnaces1. The well-known Kentucky clay-producing district was not opened up until the year 1871, but since then it has produced a large percentage of the linings for iron blast furnaces. While some strides have been made by the refractories industry during the 100 years that have passed since the first firebrick were produced, it has been only during the last two decades that any real progress has been made towards bettering the product, even though the method of production had improved. Perhaps the fault lies with the user of the brick rather than with the producer, for not sooner demanding a supe-rior product. During the past 15 years the tonnage produced per lining has increased from 500,000 gross tons to 1,000,000 gross tons, and now some furnaces are producing 1,600,000 gross tons and better on a single lining. It is true that enlarged capacity of furnaces and improved practice have accounted for some of this increase in tonnage, nevertheless better quality in firebrick must be given credit for its share. However, we are not yet ready to say that we have reached a maximum life of furnace lining. We believe that a better product can be produced and that the refractories industries of America will, through their extensive research depart-

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. Dean

MANY studies have been made of the properties of steel produced by adding varying amounts of sponge iron to the charges used in steel-making furnaces.1-3 The results of these previous studies, however, have failed to disclose a reason for the belief of steelmakers that steel made in this way is definitely different from steel made entirely from scrap or iron melting stock. This paper deals chiefly with the structure of the sponge iron, of the wrought iron made by welding the sponge iron into blooms, and of the steel made by melting the forged and rolled blooms. It is believed that the structure of the final steel is inherited from the ore and that this inherited structure produces marked differences in the properties of the steel and explains the feeling of steelmakers which is based on their experience. Three kinds of sponge iron were used in this investigation: One made from a limonite ore reduced with natural gas, one made from a hematite ore reduced with natural gas, and one made from a magnetite ore reduced with charcoal. The sponge iron made by reduction with natural gas

Jan 1, 1935

By R. A., D. L. Sponseller, Flinn

Using specially del'eloped titanium nitride crucibles and a pressurized syslem, it has been possible to determine the solzibilitv of liquid calcium in liquid iron and iron-base alloys. At 2925°F the solubility is 0.032 wt pet Ca in pure iron. The solubility is increased by aluminum, carbon, nickel, and silicon additions, and lowered by additions of gold. An inflection in the calcium-solubility curve occurs as carbon is added to iron. At approximately 0.87 Wt pet Ca the CaC, phase replaces liquid calcium, and the calcium concentration de- creases as more carbon is added to the iron. The maximum solubility, 0.36 wt pet Ca, was obtained in iron containing 10.5 wt pet Si. The data have important implications regarding the use of calcium in process metallurgy, as well as providing an interesting test of theories of metallic solutions. Reasonably good agreement is found with theories of Alcock and Richardson and of Wagner, and criteria are suggested which permit these theories to be applied more readily to systems of this type. AT the present time relatively little is known about the factors influencing solubility in liquid metals. Information of this type is important for such matters as the control of impurity levels in liquid metals, the use of magnesium in ductile-iron production, and the use of liquid-metal alloys as fuels and coolants in nuclear power plants. One important example of restricted solubility concerns the extent to which liquid calcium will dissolve in liquid iron. This is a matter of considerable interest in view of the strong potential of calcium for removing certain impurities in steel,. as well as the ability of calcium to desulfurize, inoculate, and produce spheroidal graphite in cast irons.' Since ferrous materials normally contain other elements in addition to iron, the interactions of third elements with the Fe-Ca system are of interest. In view of the foregoing, this investigation was conducted to determine the solubility of liquid calcium in liquid iron and the effects of various third elements upon the solubility. For reasons of theoretical and engineering importance, the elements investigated were aluminum, carbon, gold, nickel, and silicon. Numerous attempts were made in the early part of the present century to determine the solubility of calcium in both liquid iron and steel, employing a variety of open-melt and closed bomb-type systems.2-4 From the results of these tests Wever concluded that calcium is insoluble in liquid and solid iron.5 These investigations were unsatisfactory in that they failed to insure the presence of a liquid layer

Jan 1, 1964

By H. W. Mossman

Three aspects of magnetite smelting are discussed. The first is the working out of equilibrium conditions for eliminating sulfur. The second is the influence of magnetite solubility on the difficulty of tapping the reverb matte. The third is an approximation of the equilibrium conditions in the reverb gases which govern whether magnetite is mode or reduced in the reverb slag by these gases and by any iron sulfide in the slag. MAGNETITE has had a varied history in the Hurley Smelter since its start in 1939. Magnetite determinations on the smelter products are made regularly only on the monthly composite samples. Variations on the monthly averages are shown in Table I. Magnetite which drops from the slag and matte in the reverb has some slight bottom buildup which comes and goes, but no substantial accumulation from this source has been found at the end of a normal nine months' furnace campaign. However, there has been some low grade magnetite bearing material mixed with considerable A1,0,, which has slid down from the bottom of the sloping flue between the reverberatory furnace and the waste heat boilers. This accretion has required drilling and blasting near the skimming end of the furnace. The magnetite has interfered with tapping at times. When the smelter was first started, tapping trouble from magnetite was extremely severe. Increasing the reverberatory furnace temperature by putting in an air preheater and a Dutch oven has helped greatly, although there still is occasional tapping trouble. When the present series of physical chemistry articles on copper smelting started coming out in 1950, they were read with interest, but no immediate application was seen for them. Results of some laboratory work in 1952 aroused a much stronger interest in this physical chemistry. A series of melts was made on some converter slags, which had magnetite in very large grain sizes, with the object of reducing the grain sizes in the slag, as it was known that it was easier to handle in the reverb in that condition. Anything done in the tests greatly reduced the grain sizes—even in the controls, where nothing was done except melt the slag and cast it. There was more magnetite in the slags after the tests than before, and with wide variations. There were no obvious reasons lor much of what happened in these tests. Much of the base material published in English in this field was made available for study. Recalculations were made on many of the type problems, and part of the data was reduced to local temperatures and compositions. Explanations were found for what happened in the 1952 series of tests on converter slags, and the same principles turned out to be a description of much of what magnetite does in the reverb. This article is to present the results of that study, from the viewpoint of applying the technical material in definite numerical form to the operating conditions in both the converters and the reverberatory furnaces at the Hurley smelter. Table I. Magnetite Variations on Monthly Averages, 1939 to 1955 Pet Magnetite Lowest Highest Average Converter slag 13.6 43.3 25.4 Roverb slaa 2.7 20.9 8.7 Matte 28 15.9 98 In general it was found that magnetite is made or reduced in both the converters and the rever-beratory furnace, depending on variations of temperature, matte composition, and reverb gas composition occurring in ordinary plant operation. Within reasonable limits, the field conditions for formation or reduction can be predicted, and probably can be set up and maintained. Converter conditions affecting magnetite formation can be put into numerical values better than for the reverb from purely technical calculations. The converter can be operated so as to keep the magnetite in the slag down to between 12 and 14 pct and still give satisfactory life for the converter brick. This depends upon having converter flux available which will make a slag with a good separation without raising the temperature too high. In the Hurley reverb and others with similar conditions, it is likely that a compromise of conditions will give a reasonably good control of combustion and still keep the magnetite from building up on the bottom. This discussion consists of three main parts. The first is the working out of the equilibrium conditions in the converter for determining in which direction the reaction 3 Fe,,O, (s) + FeS (1) F? 10 FeO (1) + SO, will go under actual converter operating conditions. The second deals with the influence of the solubility of magnetite in the slag and matte in the reverb on the difficulty of tapping matte. The third is an approximation of the equilibrium conditions in the

Jan 1, 1957

By Oswald J. Heinrich

THE responsibility resting upon the owners and managers of mines where fire-damp is generated, renders it a matter of imperative duty that a full and correct statement of any explosion that occurs should be given to the public. But such a statement must be based on the testimony of impartial eye-witnesses or trained experts. Then a sad experience may result in the adoption of effective preventive measures. In the absence of any official and professional body of mining experts in the State of Virginia, the writer desires to submit to his professional brethren of the American Institute of Mining Engineers an account of an explosion which recently took place in a colliery under his management, and earnestly desires a thorough and impartial discussion on the facts submitted. Description and Plan of the Mine.-The "Grove" shaft is situated at the nearest point 825 feet from the last old workings upon the Midlothian property, south of the old Pump shaft works. (See Plate III.) The shaft was sunk by the former company, some thirty years ago, to the depth of 622 feet. An incline over 230 feet long, starting in a northwest direction at a depth of 105 feet above the shaft bottom, had been driven to explore the coal on the dip. A return of very small dimensions had been driven round the shaft on the south side, entering the upcast chamber. With the information obtained from the former company that a seam of coal about four feet thick, at a depth of 490 feet, had been found, and with the information obtained by the present proprietor, R. T. Burrows, of Albion, N. Y., by means of two boreholes on the dip west of the old shaft, in both of which workable seams of coal at various depths had been ascertained, the clearing out and thorough retimbering of this shaft were commenced in March, 1873. Borehole No. 1, at a depth of 477 1/2 feet from surface, revealed a seam of coal. This borehole was afterwards carried to a depth of 1140 feet to the granite, without finding any other seam of coal. Borehole No. 3, at a depth of 608 feet, revealed the first coal-seam, 142 feet thick; at 633 feet, the second, 12 feet thick; at 662 feet the third, 1 foot thick, and at 692 feet the fourth, 4 1/2 to 5 feet thick. The borehole was stopped at a depth of 715 1/2 feet.

Jan 1, 1877

By M. B. Ramachandra Rao

THE spontaneous polarization surveys dealt with in this paper were carried out near Guddadarangavvanahalli (lat. 14° I7' N.; long. 76° 24' E.) in Chitaldrug district, which forms part of the Chitaldrug schist belt. The occurrence of gold, copper, lead and antimony ores has been noticed for several years but efforts to exploit them have been unsuccessful, therefore some spontaneous polarization surveys were made in the hope of finding indications of workable ore bodies. The country examined has a rugged topography, with numerous hills on which there is little vegetation. The climate is generally dry, the average annual rainfall of the tract being about 25 in., of which 17 in. occurs during the southwest monsoon. The geological formations of the area pertain to an ancient schistose series known as the Dharwar system (Archean). Locally, the rock formations have been divided into three series1-the chloritic series (or the Chitaldrug formation), the clay series (or the G.R. formation) and the trap series (or the Jogimardi trap). The chloritic series includes a complex of altered ancient traps and volcanic agglomerates intermixed with some schists of sedimentary origin, all of which are highly metamorphosed. The lithological types of this series are mostly distinguishable as greenstone schists, calc-chloritic schists, slaty schists, ochery and calcareous micachlorite schists, with subordinate bands of secondary limestone. The clay series (G.R. formation) is made up of shaly and argillistic schists, lithomargic clays, sandstones and brecciated ferruginous quartzites. The Jogimardi trap is mostly of the nature of an epidiorite (hornblende diabase), which is distinctly intrusive in the form of large laccolithic and narrower dikelike masses. In addition to this trap, there are other minor intrusives such as the chalybitic trap, quartz porphyry and quartz reefs. The topographical and geological features of the area are noted on the map of Fig. I. The locations of some of the spontaneous polarization centers determined by the geophysical survey are indicated also. METHOD OF SURVEY AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED The spontaneous polarization surveys were carried out in the manner recommended by the Imperial Geophysical Experimental Survey.2 Preliminary reconnaissance was first carried out along a series of parallel traverse lines that were laid out over the area. The potential profiles obtained in these traverses were plotted* on a suitable scale and when any

Jan 1, 1944

By Charles S. Larkey

Numerous papers have been published on the use of graphic methods for determining the best curve for estimating the production decline of oil wells but, as far as the writer has been able to ascertain, nothing has been published showing how curves may be worked out mathematically that will conform most closely to the production data under consideration in any given instance; hence the writer has endeavored to show just how such application can be made. Among the valuation engineers, two types of curves are in current use for the representation of the decline in production of oil wells. One may be represented by the equation, y = krx; this is sometimes known as a percentage curve, for the production for any period is multiplied by a constant rate or percentage to obtain the production for the succeeding period. It appears as a straight line on semilogarithmic cross-section paper. The other curve may be represented by the equation, y = kxn, and is shown as a straight line on logarithmic cross-section paper. In each equation, y represents the number of barrels produced in a given period of time, and x the successive periods of time. The other letters are constants to be determined for each well, or group of wells considered in arriving at the most probable curve to represent the rate of production for a given property. From this the underground reserves may be estimated by extrapolation, or by extending the curve beyond the last known period of production to show the most probable production values for the future. Application to the Burbank Pool Fig. 1 relates to a property in the Burbank Pool, Osage County, Okla. The production is shown as an average per well per month, is plotted to the vertical scale of barrels on the left-hand margin and to the horizontal scale of months at the bottom of the chart. In column y, the number of barrels is listed beginning with May, 1922, as the first month on which to base a decline curve. The type of curve used is of the form, y = krx, or, expressed in logarithms, log y = log k + x log r, in which log k and log r are constants to be determined so that the curve will most closely approximate the production data given.

Jan 1, 1925

By I. M. Roberts

The war emergency has affected every phase of industry. The gas and coke-oven companies have sought faithfully to discharge their responsibility in this critical period and have willingly modified their operations where possible to meet the ever increasing demands made upon them. Our company made commitments for blast-%urnace coke for war purposes which necessitated a reduction in coking time in order to produce the amount required to meet the new demands. At the same time there were certain customers of long standing, who had been supplied with foundry and egg-sized coke produced on fairly long coking periods, who also were engaged in war work and whose patronage we desired to retain. Coke produced on short coking rates from the coal mixture we were then using would not have been satisfactory for these customers. The average width of our ovens is 19¾ in., which is a little wider than the more modern ovens of the present day. They were originally designed to give somewhat cool tops in order to produce a rich gas. This necessitates carrying the heats a little on the warm side so that the tops will be fully carbonized. A reduction in coking time, as is generally known, is accompanied by a reduction in the average size of the coke produced. This is due to the greater shrinkage that takes place at the higher temperatures required to carbonize the charges in a shorter time. The net result is that the coke is more cross fractured and longitudinally fractured and breaks up into small sizes on handling. The cokes produced from the better coking coals seem to be more susceptible to fracture at high temperatures than those from poorer coking coals. A coal mixture that produces a beautiful foundry-sized coke at 30 to 36 hr. may yield a product at 18 hr. that would be so badly fractured as to be unsatisfactory for foundry practice. Coking Characteristics OF Coals Our problem was to find some economical innovation and develop a method that would enable us to reduce the coking time and still produce a coke satisfactory to our foundry trade. However, before discussing the results of our present operations, it might be well to present a few observations on the coking characteristics of coals in general. Most coke-oven operators carbonize a blended mixture of coals. It may consist of a single high-volatile coal with a single low-volatile coal, or of a combination of several high-volatile and low-volatile coals. Medium-volatile coals of the Eagle seam are used for the production of high-grade foundry coke. Medium and high-volatile coals are often blended with one or more low-volatile coals. The possibilities are almost infinite, but the combinations are limited by such factors as cost and facilities for handling multicoal mixtures, and by other practical considerations. Every coal has characteristics that make it blend better with a particular coal or coals in preference to others. This property has

Jan 1, 1944