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By J. B. Austin

In considering so complex a process as the smelting of iron in the blast furnace, there is obviously no single method of calculating efficiency that gives a complete appraisal of the performance of the furnace in all its several functions; such a comprehensive view as is required to evaluate producing ability and manufacturing costs for a given furnace is obtained only by considering a group of efficiencies, each of which measures the performance of the furnace from a specific point of view. For instance, there is the rate of consumption of coke per ton of iron produced, which is probably the most frequently considered, and is certainly one of the most important of the group; there is the efficiency of recovery of iron charged; and there is the efficiency of utilization of energy, both chemical and thermal, in some respects related to the former two yet in other ways independent of either. In each of these cases, the calculation can be made on the basis of the actual input of material or energy, or it may be based upon a comparison with the minimum amount of material or energy that would be required by a "perfect" furnace; that is, an imaginary ideal furnace analogous to the perfect steam engine used in thermodynamic calculations, when this furnace is operating under optimum conditions. Moreover, the furnace itself can be considered either as an apparatus for smelting iron or, taking a somewhat less common point of view, as a gas producer yielding iron and slag as by-products. Some of these efficiencies are more useful than others, yet all are instructive; for a knowledge of them not only leads to good engineering practice from the standpoint of control but also discloses limits to possible improvement in performance and indicates the lines along which improvement is most likely to be profitable. Estimates of some of these efficiencies have appeared from time to time in the literature, but many of them are open to objection because they are based on data of uncertain accuracy or because they have been caleulated without due regard to the thermodynamic principles involved. Moreover, so far as the author is aware. no general survey of the blast furnace comparing its performance in all the aspects mentioned has been made.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Austin

In considering so complex a process as the smelting of iron in the blast furnace, there is obviously no single method of calculating efficiency that gives a complete appraisal of the performance of the furnace in all its several functions; such a comprehensive view as is required to evaluate producing ability and manufacturing costs for a given furnace is obtained only by considering a group of efficiencies, each of which measures the performance of the furnace from a specific point of view. For instance, there is the rate of consumption of coke per ton of iron produced, which is probably the most frequently considered, and is certainly one of the most important of the group; there is the efficiency of recovery of iron charged; and there is the efficiency of utilization of energy, both chemical and thermal, in some respects related to the former two yet in other ways independent of either. In each of these cases, the calculation can be made on the basis of the actual input of material or energy, or it may be based upon a comparison with the minimum amount of material or energy that would be required by a "perfect" furnace; that is, an imaginary ideal furnace analogous to the perfect steam engine used in thermodynamic calculations, when this furnace is operating under optimum conditions. Moreover, the furnace itself can be considered either as an apparatus for smelting iron or, taking a somewhat less common point of view, as a gas producer yielding iron and slag as by-products. Some of these efficiencies are more useful than others, yet all are instructive; for a knowledge of them not only leads to good engineering practice from the standpoint of control but also discloses limits to possible improvement in performance and indicates the lines along which improvement is most likely to be profitable. Estimates of some of these efficiencies have appeared from time to time in the literature, but many of them are open to objection because they are based on data of uncertain accuracy or because they have been caleulated without due regard to the thermodynamic principles involved. Moreover, so far as the author is aware. no general survey of the blast furnace comparing its performance in all the aspects mentioned has been made.

Jan 1, 1938

THIS chapter and Chapter 19 deal with the heat quantities involved in open-hearth steelmaking, including the thermal efficiency of the furnace as a generator of high-temperature heat, the heat storage in the steel and slag produced and in the furnace walls, and the heats of the various chemical reactions involved in combustion, in the formation of slag, and the refining of steel. The fundamental laws to be considered are the first two laws of thermodynamics as applied to problems involving sensible and potential (or latent) heat only: 1. Heat input equals heat outflow plus storage. 2. Heat may be transferred only from a hotter body to a colder one. The first of these laws relates to the various heat quantities or the heat balance of the process. No one has as yet made an open-hearth heat balance that came out almost exactly balanced. The cause probably lies in the difficulties of accurate temperature and flow-rate measurements at the high temperatures involved and the inherent complexities in flow distribution and air leakage present in any real open-hearth furnace system. Some idea of the magnitude of the heat quantities involved can be obtained by a brief, crude outline of the heat balance of a 90-ton heat of steel. We will assume a 60 to 70 per cent hot- metal charge in a fairly fast working and only moderately efficient furnace, burning fuel oil, with a fuel consumption of around 4 million Btu per net ton of ingots produced. The time from start of charge to tap is 9 hr. During this period, the oil burned represents 360 million Btu and the sensible heat in the preheated air at the port ends is 117 million Btu, so that the total heat input at the ports is 477 million Btu. Heat stored in the steel and slag at the end of the heat, plus the various amounts absorbed by certain bath reactions, amounts to a total of 195 million Btu, but 120 million of this is supplied by the heat in the hot metal and by various heat-evolving reactions in the bath,

Jan 1, 1964

By W. N. Poundstone

The mining and ventilating system used in development work in the Pittsburgh Seam in northern West Virginia is discussed. The seam conditions and the nature of the accompanying methane gas are described. The type of equipment and the mining cycle will be discussed, showing how they are well suited for very gaseous development work. Face ventilation in development work is possibly the fastest growing problem of the industry. The coal mines of the future will be faced with the prospect of mining from under increasing depths of cover. Consequently, larger and larger amounts of methane gas probably will be found. The Pittsburgh Seam, in northern West Virginia, is an example of an area already faced with this problem. At the present time, most of the development work being done in this seam lies beneath 500 to 1200 ft of cover. The Pittsburgh Seam in this area has always been very gassy—even near the outcrop—and the recent development work has been accompanied with extremely large volumes of gas. In many cases, a single development section has liberated in excess of 1,000,000 cfm in 24 hr. This problem of heavy gas liberation was the chief concern, several years ago, when continuous mining equipment was first considered at Christopher Coal Co. All of us were apprehensive about the liberation that would accompany rapid extraction in a single working place. However, the experience during the past few years has shown that this ability to mine only one place at a time, is actually the key to working this type of coal. With all of the mining or advancement concentrated in one place, the ventilation can also be concentrated. By this it is meant that continuous mining permits the active working place to be ventilated with a maximum amount of fresh air, taken directly from the intake source without first passing another working place. Continuous mining (and a good ventilating system) also permits a much greater concentration of attention or vigilance to the actual working place. There are two things that are very important to the mining of coal having high rates of liberation. First, adequate volumes of air are necessary. Second, and perhaps more important, a mining and ventilating system must be used that will provide an uninterrupted flow of air to every portion of the working section. Liberations of this magnitude take only a few seconds of interruption for a dangerous accumulation of gas to occur. With adequate volumes of air available, the ability to concentrate ventilation more than offsets the concentration of gas emission that is inherent with continuous mining. The mining system used with continuous mining equipment at Humphrey Mine is similar to the system used at many mines in the area for development work. This system is designed to favor ventilation, realizing that other efficiencies are meaningless if the equipment must stop because of ventilation difficulties. This plan is especially well suited to minimizing ventilation interruptions. Basically, the overall plan of mining is to develop headings into virgin coal and encircle or block out large areas. These blocks are generally at least 2000 ft sq. The purpose of this blocking out is to bleed gas from the area before pillaring. Experience has shown this method to be quite effective, even in the most gassy areas. The gas in this field seems to migrate or flow readily from the solid coal into the outside return headings of the development work. The numerous clay veins and slips that are found in the area are extremely good avenues for gas flow. A block of coal, surrounded with development headings, usually bleeds off readily; and since it is cut off from the virgin coal, it is not subject to gas migration, through the seam, from this source. However, the outside return of the encircling development work, adjacent to the virgin coal, may liberate gas for years. This liberation from the outside ribs in the virgin coal is the reason split ventilation is used in development work. If split ventilation were not used, there would, in many cases, be a serious build-up of gas in the intake before it could reach the working face. Fig. 1 shows a typical development section having seven headings. The two outside places on each side are returns, and the three center headings serve as intakes. This section is equipped with a ripper-type continuous mining machine. An off-track loading machine is used to load from a surge pile on the

Jan 1, 1961

By F. W. Warnaars

The Los Bronces copper deposit is located on the west side of the Andes Mountains in central Chile about 54 km (34 miles) northeast of Santiago. The deposit consists of a hydrothermal breccia complex that was emplaced in the western part of an earlier porphyry copper mineral system. This system exhibits propylitic, sericitic, silicic to potassic hydrothermal alteration with disseminated and stockwork copper-molybdenum sulfide mineralization over an area of about 12 km2 (5 sq. miles). The Rio Blanco Mine, about 800 m (0.5 miles) east of Los Bronces, is an underground block caving mine located in the central part of this system. The mineralization at Rio Blanco is characterized by one of the highest primary copper grades known for porphyry copper systems. Present mining at Los Bronces is from an open pit located in the northern part of a hydrothermal complex that is composed of at least seven different copper-bearing tourmaline breccia pipes. Together these pipe form one large contiguous body about 2 km (1.2 miles) long and 0.7 km (0.4 miles) wide at the surface. This body crops out at elevations of between 3.5 and 4.1 km (2 and 2.5 miles) above sea level. Each breccia pipe has a characteristic shape, matrix, type and degree of mineralization and alteration. Quartz, tourmaline, specularite, anhydrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sericite, chlorite, and rock flour are present in significant quantities in most breccia matrices. The clasts consist mainly of quartz monzonite, andesite, and minor amounts of quartz latite porphyry. The seven different breccia pipes are identified, from oldest to youngest, as Ghost, Central, Western, Infiernillo, Fine Gray, Anhydrite, and Donoso. The breccias coalesce, interfinger, or display gradational contacts. In places they form sharp contacts with each other and with the surrounding intrusive or volcanic host rocks. Early breccias are disrupted or cut by subsequent breccia events. Explosive emplacement was followed by collapse after the release of hydrothermal pressures. The Los Bronces breccia complex has sharp contacts with the surrounding intrusive stock and andesites. These contacts dip inward on the north, west, and south margins. The eastern contact is nearly vertical and/or dips slightly outward and suggests a westward tilting of the body of about 15° after emplacement. The breccia complex is not fully explored at depth, but is known to extend at least below the 3 km (2 mile) elevation in its central eastern part, about 1 km (0.6 miles) below the highest breccia outcrop. Primary copper sulfide minerals are most abundant in the Donoso and Infiernillo breccias where the matrix consists mostly of tourmaline, quartz, sulfides, specularite, and/or chlorite with minor amounts of rock flour, sericite, and clay. The volume of the matrix material is mostly smaller than in the other breccias. Secondary enrichment enhanced the primary copper grade in the southern two-thirds of the Los Bronces breccia complex and in much of the surrounding porphyry system. Primary grades of 0.3% to 0.5% copper have been enriched to approximately 0.9%. This enrichment may extend from surface outcrops to a depth of more than 500 m (1, 640 ft) in more permeable parts of the breccia complex. A leached and oxidized capping of variable thickness covers a large part of the enriched layer and exceeds 300 m (984 ft) at one location. The shape and depth of the enrichment blanket and the capping suggest that the enrichment process is still active.

Jan 1, 1983

By L. H. Robinson

Triaxial compression tests have been performed to determine the strength characteristics of limestone, sand-stone and shale rocks subjected to controlled stress conditions. This control tuns exercised by varying the liquid pressures within and around a plastic-encased rock specimen. The pressure in the pores of the rock was varied throughout the range from atmospheric to 15,000 psig; the external pressure was changed over the same range with various positive pressure differences between is and the intertnal pressure. The data show that the rock strength increased and the mode of failure changed as the pressuire. surrounding the rock became greater than the pressure in the pores of the rock. These observations and the resu1ts of microbit drilling experiments indicate that the increased rock strength under pressure may bc an important effect in reducing drilling rare, but that other factors are probably of even greater importance. INTRODUCTION A large part of the research conductcd to reducc thc cost of drilling is directed toward improving present drilling technology and dcveloping new drilling methods. In spite of the fact that drilling is essentiaIly the act of making rocks fail, many details of the mechanism of failure are not known. It seems probable, therefore, that continuing studies of the fundamentals of rock failure can lay a foundation for future improvements in drilling technology. One of the factors which affects rock failure is the stress applied to the rock. This effect has been known for many years.'.'.; As an example, stress studics have been published by engineers' concerned with the strength characteristics of concrete in large dams. More recently, a number of investigators4-12 have explored the effects of stress on the strength of geologic formations and the geologic implications of their findings. During the last few years some research'" on rock strengths has also been conductcd in an attempt to gain additional insight into the factors which affeet rock drillability. In detcrmining the strength characteristics of rocks under different stress conditions, investigators have conventionally used triaxial compression equipment. wherein a jacketed rock cylinder is uniformly loaded from all directions and then compressed longitudinally. The results of this work have demonstrated that the mode of failure (brittle or malleable) is dependent upon the loading pressure, and that the strength of the rock increases as the loading pressure increases. These results clearly manifest that the stress, which is determined by the loading pressure, affects rock strength, and this implies that rocks under stress should be stronger and hence harder to drill. During the drilling of a porous rock the stress conditions are determined not only by the pressure surrounding the portion of the rock undergoing failure (confining pressure) but also by the pressure of the interstitial fluids within the rock (pore pressure). The importancc of both these pressures on the drilling rate of rocks has already been demonstrated by a number of investigators. Murray and Cunningham" found in microbit drilling expcriments that at constant pore pressures the drilling ratc decreased as the hydrostatic pressure surrounding an unjacketed, impermeable rock increased. Later Eckel" found that for jacketed Iimestone specimens the differcnce between hydrostatic (wellbore) pressure and formation (pore) pressure had an important effect on drilling rate. These observations of the effect of pressure on drilling rate emphasize that for drilling studies triaxial compression tests should be conducted under conditions of confining and pore pressure which simulate conditions underground. In the past, triaxial tests have been made under conditions which do not reproduce those underground. In particular, most of the tests on porous materials have keen made at varying confining pressures but with atmospheric pore pressures. In only one group of tests' was any data on the effect of pore pressurc reported, and these few data were on materials not representiltive of those encountered in drilling earth formations. The research described herein was initiated to deter-mine the importance of both internal pore pressure and confining pressure on failure characteristics of limestone. sandstone and shales. Triaxial loading equipment was used to obtain strength data at pressures up to 15,000 psig. An additional objective of this research was to apply these results to drilling rate studies by comparing them with the previously published drilling data of Murray and Cunningham" and of Eckel12. The work reported here is but one step in determining and evaluating the fundamental mechanisms which control drilling rate. Additional research is needed to clarify other aspects of the drilling process. The better

By David Browne

THE literature dealing with the physical constants of nickel is so fragmentary and unrelated, that a synopsis presents unusual difficulties. It is only within the last few years that investigators have understood the importance of placing on record not only the determinations they have made but also the composition, physical treatment, and past history of the material investigated. For this reason much of the earlier literature is valueless. Determinations have been made of the same physical constants on samples differing widely in origin, composition, and treatment, and the results differ widely among themselves. In the first place nickel is almost as flexible a term as steel. Its physical properties are widely influenced by its composition and treatment. It absorbs large quantities of gases and is exceedingly difficult to prepare in a state of chemical purity comparable to gold, silver, or copper. It is vitally affected by thermal and mechanical treatment. Hence in the following pages the recorded literature, where quoted, must be accepted with a certain reserve and used, as far as possible, as a check on later observations, in which these important factors are noted. In every case where new determinations are given, an attempt has been made to record all available information concerning the composition and treatment of the material used so that the data may serve as steppingstones toward a wider knowledge of the properties of the metal. As this synopsis is an attempt by men of metallurgical training to do what should long before have been clone by physicists, it is to be expected

Jan 9, 1919

By P. F. Gnirk, J. B. Cheatham

The results of combined analytical and experimental studies involving simulated multiple bit-tooth penetration into mck are incorporated into a drilling rate equation for roller-cone bits assuming rather idealized downhole conditions. In particular, it is assumed that the rock behaves statically in a ductile fashion during bit-tooth penetration and that the rock chips are instantaneously removed from the bottom of the drill hole. The general analysis demonstrates an application of plasticity theory for the rock/bit-tooth interaction to the formulation of an upper limit on rotary drilling rate. INTRODUCTION Extensive experimentation involving single and indexed bit-tooth penetration into rock in a confining pressure environment has demonstrated that the chip formation process is of a ductile, or pseudoplastic, nature at sufficiently low differential pressures so as to be of interest in rotary drilling. Coincident with the experimentation, analytical consideration has been given to the theoretical problems of single and indexed bit-tooth penetration into rock. In general, the analyses have assumed that the rock behaves statically in a rigid-plastic fashion and obeys the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion. The quantitative comparison between experimental and calculated values of bit-tooth load required for chip formation has been remarkably good for a variety of rocks commonly encountered in drilling and at simulated differential pressures as low as 500 to 1,000 psi. Results obtained recently for indexed bit-tooth penetration indicate that the work (or energy) required to produce a unit volume of rock chip can be minimized by a proper combination of bit-tooth spacing and bit-tooth load for a given rock type and differential pressure. By utilizing this information, it is possible to formulate a drilling rate equation, at least in a preliminary fashion, for a roller-cone bit performing under rather idealized downhole conditions. In particular, through the use of characteristic dimensionless quantities pertinent to a roller-cone bit and to indexed bit-tooth penetration, interrelationships among bit weight, rotary speed, rotary power, bit diameter, rock strength and bit-tooth shape and spacing can be explicitly expressed. In the formulation of the equations, however, it is assumed that the rock chips are instantaneously removed from the bottom of the drill hole and- that the rock behaves in a ductile manner during bit-tooth penetration. In addition, the effects of bit-tooth load application and penetration by a yawed tooth at an oblique angle are neglected. Although the analysis is presented in the light of some rather restrictive conditions, it does demonstrate a method of applying fundamental rock/bit-tooth interaction data, obtained by combining the results of analysis and experiment to the formulation of a drilling rate equation for rotary drilling. JNDEXED BIT-TOOTH/ROCK INTERACTION PREVIOUS RESULTS The mechanics of bit-tooth/rock interaction under simulated conditions of borehole environment have been extensively described in a number of papers.l-ll In particular, the effects of differential pressure, mechanical properties of rock, pore fluid, bit-tooth shape and spacing, rate of bit-tooth load application and dynamic filtration below the bit-tooth have been investigated experimentally. From a sequence of experiments.1-4 it was demonstrated that, for dry rock at atmospheric pore pressure, the mode of chip formation exhibits a transition, with increasing confining pressure, from predominantly brittle to predominantly ductile. This transition

Jan 1, 1970

By E. W. Shaw

Continued discussion of the paper of Roswell H. JOHNSON, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 98, February, 1915, pp. 221 to 226. See also Bulletin No. 101, May, 1915, pp. 1157 to 1162. E. W. SHAW, Washington, D. C. (communication to the Secretary+). -With the word petrology-literally the science of rocks-being used primarily for igneous rocks, and with geophysics coming to mean the study of lavas and the rocks into which they solidify, contributions to the knowledge of the physical chemistry of sedimentary rocks, even though only ideas which may be used as working hypotheses, become most welcome. The forces which control the formation and subsequent history of the stratified portions of the earth's crust are so little known that no one has yet been able to settle finally the questions as to whether petroleum is of organic or inorganic origin; whether it originated far from its present position, or nearby. Yet both the chemical and physical problems of the rocks in which oil occurs seem to be more simple than those of the igneous rocks. The oil-bearing rocks of western Pennsylvania, for example, have in all probability never been subjected to a pressure exceeding 3,000 or 4,000 lb. to the square inch, nor to a temperature higher than 100° or 200° C. These pressures are considerably below the crushing strength of rocks, and the temperature far below their melting point. The igneous rocks,, on the other hand, have been affected by enormous pressures and very high temperatures and yet steady progress is being made in reproducing in the laboratory the conditions of their formation and subsequent modification within the earth. The solution of the sedimentary-rock problems would seem to be fully as important as those of igneous rocks, and yet we must content ourselves with reasoning backward and our inferences as to what has happened are oftentimes little more than guesses.1 One of the fundamental problems is the origin of the salt water in oil fields. Is the salt water fossil sea water; has it been formed by the solution o-f salts of various kinds from distinct beds, from disseminated par-ticles, and from the weathering of suitable grains in the rock; or is it of deep-seated origin? Its general resemblance to sea water points to the first, but the principles held by some concerning the free circulation of water throughout the earth's crust, and certain peculiarities of composition indicated by the few analyses available, seem out of harmony with such an explanation.

Jan 7, 1915

By J. B. Davis

This paper has been prepared at the suggestion of Mr. Dunbar D. Scott, to supplement his " Evolution of Mine-Surveying Instruments."† Before entering into a detailed history of solar instruments, a few remarks will be made touching upon land-surveys in general, and on what has led to the development of these instruments.The oxidation of metals melted in contact with air takes place with dissimilar results. Tin, lead or zinc are examples of a class, the oxides of which float on the surface of the melted metal. First a film is produced, which covers the surface; then, if agitation from any cause exposes new metal to the action of the air, additional oxidation takes place, and the film is increased in volume. This change goes on until a considerable quantity of oxide (or " dross," as it is technically called) is formed; depending, of course, upon the duration of the exposure of the metal to the atmosphere. When such metals are poured, the dross may be skimmed off; and clean metal will be left underneath. The removal of such oxides is, therefore, merely a mechanical process. In the case of copper, however, the result is quite different. The sub-oxide of copper (Cu2O) is readily soluble in molten copper; and therefore, instead of the formation of a film of oxide, to be finally removed as dross, the surface of the metal remains bright and clear, because the oxide has been dissolved as soon as it was produced. It is customary in the process of copper-refining to leave a small quantity of oxide in the metal, in order to oxidize any traces of bismuth, arsenic or antimony which have not been entirely removed. As a result, these metals exist in the commercial product as oxides, and not as metals, which would form an

Jan 1, 1901

By T. M. Geffen, J. L. Sanderlin, F. F. Craig, D. W. Moore

Scaled reservoir models have been used to study the effect of gravity on oil recovery performance in frontal-drive operations; namely, water, gas, or solvent flooding. The difference in density between the reservoir oil and the injected fluid causes their segregation, resulting in a non-uniform advance of the fluid front. In the laboratory flow tests, which simulated both five-spot and linear injection operations in flat reservoirs, the viscous, capillary, and gravity forces present in these operations were scaled. Dyed fluids were used so that the gross movement of the injected fluid could be observed. The studies covered a range of injection rates, formation thicknesses, and rock and fluid properties normally encountered in field operations. The results of the model tests indicate that the volume of the reservoir contacted by the injected fluid at its breakthrough into the producing well is less than that expected based on information which neglects gravity effects. This difference can often be as much as 80 per cent by gas or water injection in uniform sand bodies. Preliminary flow tests on a non-uniform sand body indicate that the uniformity of the flood fronts may in some situations be influenced to a much greater degree by permeability variations within the rock body than by gravity effects. The magnitude of fluid segregation due to gravity is controlled by the average injection rate, rather than day to day or week to week variations. INTRODUCTION One of the important factors controlling the oil recovery from a frontal-drive operation, such as water, gas, or solvent injection, is the volumetric sweep efficiency. This factor is a measure of the gross portion of the reservoir that is contacted by the displacing fluid. The volumetric sweep efficiency is influenced by gravity effects, well arrangements, and variations in rock permeability within the reservoir. The gravity effects are due to the displacing fluid being of different density than the reservoir oil. This causes the displacing fluid to move preferentially toward either the top or bottom of the formation. Non-uniform advance of the flood front can be caused by the relative positions of the injection and production wells. Variations in rock permeability also result in an uneven advance of the displacing fluid. Gas zones, representing paths of low resistance, may result in non-uniform movement of the injected fluid. The more uneven the advance of the displacing fluid, the lower is the volumetric sweep efficiency and thus the lower the oil recovery efficiency. The effects of well arrangement and permeability variations, upon the gross movement of the injected fluid have been the subjects of extensive investiga-ti0ns.1,2,3,4,5,6 Gravity effects have been recognized as being present in frontal-drive operations'.' but there has been little quantitative measure of their magnitude. Very likely the reason gravity effects have not been studied is that this problem does not lend itself to simple experimental or mathematical analysis. The development of reservoir modeling techniques has made possible a quantitative determination of the effect of gravity on fluid segregation and thus upon the oil recovery performance of frontal-drive operations. This paper presents a progress report on a laboratory investigation of gravity effects in fully liquid-saturated, horizontal, uniform as well as non-uniform systems. These results were obtained from scaled experiments on both linear and five-spot systems within the range of conditions normally encountered in secondary recovery operations. This study is concerned with the gross movement of the injected fluid to the time it first reaches the production wellbore. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the results of this paper can not be used to determine the effect of gravity segregation on oil recovery efficiency at abandonment conditions. MODEL SCALING The science of scaling models is relatively new as applied as petroleum production problems, Many of the scaling techniques have been adaptions of those used in basic studies of heat and fluid flow. There are

Jan 1, 1958

By J. M. Hodge, M. A. Orehoski

tions to which it will be subjected, and this premise is probably the most important reason for hardenability control. However, the criterion of hardenability [ ] ture after quenching should consist wholly of martensite; and that transformation of austenite to intermediate-temperature products during quenching will have a deleterious effect upon the physical properties, particularly the toughness, of the tempered material. This implies that, in order to obtain the optimum physical properties from a given steel, its "hardenability" should be high enough to suppress all transformation except that to martensite under the heating and quenching condi- IT is now generally conceded that if a steel is to develop optimum physical properties in the conventionally quenched and tempered condition, the microstruc- [ ] that at present is most widely accepted and used is based on a microstructure of 50 per cent martensite. This criterion, which was suggested by Grossmann,1 does have considerable justification. It may be readily measured by a fracture or etch test and, since it represents the point at which the hardness is changing most rapidly with variations in cooling rate, it may be determined empirically from a hardness-depth curve by determining the point of steepest slope (the inflection point. Furthermore, in plain carbon steels or in steers of low hardenability, the difference in hardenability expressed in

Jan 1, 1945

By S. J. Hruska, G. M. Pound

The critical supersaturations for appreciable nucleation rate of cadmium crystals on copper and glass substrates at 186°Kwere measured as a junction of thermal-beam energy over a range of source temperatures between 616" and 839OK. There was no effect of source temperature on critical super saturation. This implies that the adsmbate prior to nucleation is in thermal equilibrium with the substrate. THE deposition of metallic vapors on solid substrates has been found to exhibit a critical behavior in that the rate of formation of deposit increases markedly when the intensity of the vapor source is increased slightly.* Evidence of the ability of sub- where Je is the flux which would arrive if the substrate were equilibrated with bulk condensate at the adsorbate temperature. The following work was undertaken to test this hypothesis. A) Energy Exchange Between Metallic Vapor and Substrates. When a freely translating atom collides with a stationary solid body its energy and momentum undergo changes which determine whether the atom is reflected or adsorbed. An atom is considered to be reflected if it returns to a freely translating state after remaining under the influence of the body for only a time comparable to the period of oscillation of atoms on the surface. An atom which remains for a longer time is said to be in an adsorbed state. The parameter which describes the energy transfer occurring at the interface is the thermal-accommodation coefficient which may be defined in terms of energy as Ei = average energy of impingent atoms, Eeq = average energy of an emergent atom which has equilibrated with the substrate, and Eem = average energy of an emergent atom. If a temperature is assigned to each of these energies, we have at as defined by Knudsen.2 Since this allows no distinction between reflected and evaporated atoms, a more specific definition is introduced for the present purposes, namely 71 = probability that an impingent atom is transferred to an adsorbed state, aj = thermal-accommodation coefficient for reflected atoms, and aTc = thermal-accommodation coefficient for adsorbed atoms. During a time t,, the mean stay time, prior to evaporation the adsorbed atom (adatom) will interact with the substrate and this will have the net effect of transferring the adatom towards a state of

Jan 1, 1964

By Charles Burrows

THE burden a man can endure depends on its magnitude and the number of tunes it is applied, as well as on many other factors. The resisting power of steel likewise is dependent on many factors. The maximum load it can support indefinitely is much less than its possible momentary burden. A light load straining the metal far within its elastic limit, if repeated indefinitely, ruptures the metal. The magnitude f the stresses that may be alternately applied and removed without rupturing the material depends on the number of repetitions of the cycle; the intervening periods of rest; the thermal, electric, and magnetic conditions, as well as the presence of secondary stresses. While we are unable to formulate the law between the magnitude f repeated stresses necessary to produce rupture and the length of time during which these alternating stress may be applied before rupture, my experience is that the time increases as the magnitude of the force decreases, according to a law which, to a first approximation, is exponential. In other words, F = Ce-t where F = magnitude f alternating stresses; = time for which stresses are continued; C = constant, which' depends on the conditions under which the operations are carried out. It is quite probable that the same type of law holds for the magnitude of a continuous force and its duration. When a rod of steel is subjected to the blows of a drilling hammer several things happen. First, one end is struck by the hammer and the other end is driven into the rock, thus causing a bodily displacement of the entire material of the steel drill. The greatest stresses involved in this bodily displacement are located at the two ends of the steel and manifest themselves by the distortion of these parts. Second, after the blow has been delivered the steel drill, due partly to its own resiliency and partly to the resiliency of the rock, experiences a vibratory motion as a whole, this motion is quite similar to the bouncing of a rubber ball thrown violently upon a smooth pavement. Third, the free vibration of the drill is determined only by its own natural period of vibration. This motion involves all the characteristics f any vibrating body emitting sound. Certain elements of the rod will experience alternations of condensation and rarefaction and, in these regions, the individual steel

Jan 6, 1921

By E. A. Elevatorski

Wollastonite, named after William H. Wollaston, an English chemist, is a calcium metasilicate, CaSiO3. It has a short history as an industrial mineral. The earliest production of wollastonite is reported to be from a deposit near Code Siding, located north of Randsburg, Calif. At this locality small tonnages of wollastonite were quarried during 1933-34 and 1938-41, and processed into mineral wool. This operation was largely experimental and virtually no United States production was again reported until the 1950s when a large deposit near Willsboro, N.Y., was developed by the Cabot Corp. A processing plant was placed on-stream in 1953, with nearly continuous production to date, and it is currently operated by Interpace Corp. Since 1958, wollastonite deposits in the Little and Big Maria Mountains of Riverside County, and in the Panamint Range of Inyo County, both in California, have operated intermittently for production of both ornamental and commercial wollastonite. During 1973, the United States was the major producing country, furnishing about 75% of the world's output. Recent production also has come from Finland, Mexico, and Kenya. Small amounts have been shipped intermittently from India, USSR, New Zealand, Republic of the Sudan, Republic of South Africa, and South-West Africa. The principal use of wollastonite is in the manufacture of ceramics, especially wall and floor tiles. Other uses are for paints, fillers, adhesives, reinforcing agents, plastics, fluxes, and glazes. Mineralogy Pure wollastonite, CaSiO3, has the composi¬tion of 48.3 % CaO and 51.7 % SiO,. However, it is seldom found in the pure state due to the ease with which it takes into solution the metasilicates of manganese, magnesium, iron, and strontium. Predominantly, wollastonite occurs as a contact metamorphic deposit forming between limestones and igneous rocks. Commonly associated minerals are garnet, diopside, epidote, calcite, and quartz. It has a specific gravity of 2.8 to 3.0, and hardness of 4.5 to 5 on Mobs' scale. When pure, it has a brilliant white color, but with impurities it may be grayish or brownish. Luster is vitreous to pearly. Melting point of wollastonite is about 1540° C. Wollastonite occurs in coarse-bladed masses, rarely showing good crystal form. It is usually acicular or fibrous, even in the smallest of particles. The most unique property of crushed and ground wollastonite is its cleavage. Fragments of crushed wollastonite tend to be needle-shaped, imparting a high strength, and this property is the basis for many of its uses. The fiber lengths are commonly in the ratio of 7 or 8 to 1, length to diameter. Some crystals of wollastonite fluoresce under short-wave or longwave ultraviolet light, or both; colors ranging from yellow-orange to pink-orange. Specimens may also show phosphorescence. The brightness of wollastonite is a property of considerable importance to the paint industry. Material, 99% pure, with a size of -325 mesh, has a General Electric reflectance rating of 92 to 96%. Chemically, wollastonite is inert and this property makes it useful as a filler and reinforcing agent. There are two polymorphs of calcium silicates: wollastonite, a low temperature form, and pseudowollastonite, a high temperature form. Inversion of wollastonite to pseudowollastonite occurs at about 1120° C, resulting in an increase in the coefficient of expansion and a color change. Pure white wollastonite, on inversion, may change to a cream tint, or various shades of red or brown. The color change is thought to be due to the presence of iron and strontium.

Jan 1, 1975

By Lester C. Uren

With the depletion of our older, and relatively shallow, oilfields and the necessity for securing new production from deeper horizons, much attention is being given to the improvement of oil-well pumps in order that they may function satisfactorily under the more difficult conditions imposed by increased depth. Until recently, practically all of the world's petroleum was secured from wells less than 3000 ft. deep, whereas horizons are now being explored to depths of from 5000 to 7000 ft. in some of the more prolific fields, and it seems probable that the greater part of the future supply must come from depths in excess of 3000 ft. While much of the early production in a new field is obtained by natural-flow methods, when the stimulus of high gas pressure fails, recourse must be had to some method of pumping. The perfection of a pump capable of economically and efficiently lifting oil from depths ranging from 3000 to 7000 ft. is therefore a matter of prime importance to the oil-producing industry. This paper is offered as an estimate of the present state of development of the oil-well plunger pump and as a review of the general principles involved in its operation in deep-well pumping. A design for a new type of oil-well pump embodying several novel features, is also described. Essential Parts of Oil-well Plungeb Pump The pump commonly used in lifting oil from wells in American practice is of the simple displacement type, in which a plunger equipped with a working, or traveling, valoe is given a vertical reciprocating motion in a stationary working barrel. The latter is suspended from the surface by tubing, submerged in the well fluid, and is equipped at its lower end with a stationary standing valve; Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate two common types of oil-well pumps. The simple cup-leather packed plunger of Pig. 1 has its counterpart in the long, hollow, cylindrical, polished steel plunger of Fig. 2; otherwise the two types are identical in the form and arrangement of their essential parts. Fig. 2 shows the additional feature of a "garbutt

Jan 1, 1927

By A. O. P. Casbarian

An analytical method is developed to determine the variation of the ultimate lateral resistance of a plate in a cohesionless soil with depth. This analysis is based on a modification of Rankine's classical earth pressure theory and the theory of plasticity as applied to soils. The ultimate resistance is defined as the product of the effective stress at the midpoint of the plate, the area of the plate and a dimensionless variable termed the ultimate resistance factor. This variable has been plotted us the depth ratio: i.e., the ratio of of the depth of embedment us the height of the plate. The resistance of a plate may then be calculated using the values af the ultimate resistance factor from the chart provided or the equation may be programmed for use in an analysis of anchor systems in cohesionless soils. It is emphasized that the analysis is semitheoretical. The theory has been compared with experimental results reported in the literature and results indicate general agreement. Actual field tests are necessary to further verify this theory. INTRODUCTION With the exploration for oil offshore in waters all over the world, it is of importance to determine the behavior of the various soils in relation to their ultimate resistance to deformation. Examples of such problems are the holding capacity of anchors and the lateral resistance of piles. Very little information is available in the published literature on the design and performance of anchors, in either cohesive or cohesionless soils. The analysis developed in this report is the first step in obtaining a solution for the determination of anchor holding capacity in a cohesionless material. DISCUSSION The theory used in the analysis is based on the ultimate strength of the soil and is the maximum resistance developed by the plate against further movement. In such a state the elastic deformations are disregarded in comparison with the plastic deformations. Hence, the plate can be considered as completely rigid. The theory of plasticity determines the three unknown stresses at any point by means of two equilibrium conditions for a small earth element in combination with the failure condition. However, the exact solutions can only be carried out in a few simple cases such as, for example, when the rupture or failure lines are straight (Rankine theory) or with spiral and straight rupture lines (Prandtl theory).l Kiitter 2 derived a single equation expressing the variation of the stress in any given rupture line. To utilize this equation, it is necessary to know the stress in the rupture line at a certain point. Unfortunately, this is difficult to obtain unless the rupture line intersects the free surface at a certain angle or when the earth is cohesion-less and unloaded. A method to overcome this is to consider only the boundary conditions at both ends of a rupture line without investigating the equilibrium of the earth above the rupture line. This assumes that the rupture lines meet the surface at statically correct angles, so that boundary stresses may be determined. As Kiitter's equation furnished a relation between these stresses, the unit earth pressure may be calculated at the point where the rupture line meets the wall. Another way in which Kotter's equation may be applied is in investigating the equilibrium of a soil mass above a rupture line. This method assumes that the failure or rupture line is known and that the boundary stresses in the rupture line at the ground surface can be determined. In this case it is possible to determine the earth pressure from the equations of equilibrium.

Jan 1, 1967

By W. E. Crawford

The Fresnillo Company's mill at Fresnillo, State of Zacatecas, Mexico, treats oxide ores from the Fresnillo mine, dump ores and underground ores from the Plateros district, company leases and custom ores from the Zacatecas district, custom ores from other districts and tailings from old dumps at Fresnillo. The normal capacity of the mill is approximately 2600 dry short tons per 24 hours (a ton of 2000 lb.). The final product of the mill is a precipitate containing gold and silver, which is smelted and shipped as doré bullion to the refinery of the Compania Minera de Penoles, S.A., at Monterrey, State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The geology of the district was described in 1923, by T. C. Baker,' from whose paper the following data have been taken: The mineralization of the district was effected in the Tertiary period, following the intrusions and preceding the appearance of the flows. The area within which productive veins have been found is 1 mile long by 1/2 mile wide. The important units of each of the four general fracture systems meet in the central portion of Proano hill, which is an outcrop of graywacke, and where the rock was also intensely fractured by subsidiary movements, resulting in a shattered zone 1200 ft. long by 400 ft. wide. The mineralization was more intense in the immediate vicinity of the principal channels through which the solutions rose. The valuable metals are silver and gold, the ratio by weight of the former to the latter being 1000 to 1.5. Argentite is the predominant silver mineral, and is associated with pyrite and manganese mineral. The sulfides are primary throughout. A slight secondary action is represented by small quantities of native silver and silver halides, principally cerargyrite, which are found in the upper part of the mine. Oxidation has penetrated with great thoroughness to the lowest horizon so far exposed, this being 420 ft. below the present ground-water level. The shattered mass within the central portion of the hill and near the surface was sufficiently mineralized to produce a large stockwork

Jan 1, 1935

By E. L. Mann

Asbestos is the generic name given to a group of fibrous mineral silicates found in nature. They are all incombustible and can be separated by mechanical means into fibers of various lengths and cross sections, but each differs in chemical composition from the others. The commercial grades of asbestos consist of a spectrum of lengths and sizes and are not definitive as are most organic fibers. It is generally recognized that there are two main groups of asbestos. The first only contains the fibrous serpentine called chrysotile and comprises about 94% of the world production of asbestos. The second group contains five minerals in the amphibole series-crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite. The latter two have no commercial importance. Properties Physical The structures of asbestos fibers have been studied intensively over a number of years. X-ray diffraction patterns have been used as a means of identification and classification. Low angle X-ray scattering techniques have shown that chrysotile fibers are "hexagonally close packed" and parallel to each other, having cross-sectional diameters varying from 18Å to 300 Å units, while the amphibole fibers are many times larger in cross section, have considerably smaller surface areas, and the fibers are less symmetrical than those of chrysotile. Electron micrographs of the more common types of asbestos are shown in Figs. 1-4. Fig. 1 illustrates the softness and flexibility of chrysotile which make it suitable for textile-type products. For a number of years there was considerable controversy over the exact nature of chrysotile fiber, but the photographic evidence in Figs. 5-7 clearly show that it is tubular in structure. The curvature is the result of the mismatch in the dimensions of the silica [Si2O5] and brucite [Mg(OH)2] layers which are on the inside and outside, respectively, of a double sheet. This curvature had been predicted by Pauling (1930) years ago based on the molecular dimensions of the two component structures. In contrast to this, the structure of the amphiboles consists of two ribbon chains based on Si4O11 units separated by a band of seven cations with two hydroxyl groups attached to

Jan 1, 1983

By J. C. Griffiths, D. W. Bennion

A mathematical model, which does not assume a priori that stratification exists, but was designed to test for the stratification was developed. The model segmented the reservoir horizontally into areas of common variance, then divided it vertically into strata (if strata were present). Next, trend surface techniques were used to determine the lateral extent and variation of each stratum. The model was tested on two reservoirs (sandstone and limestone) using porosity as the reservoir rock property. The sandstone reservoir contained approximately 60,000 samples from 2,000 cored wells, while the limestone reservoir had approximately 24,000 samples from 430 cored wells. Within the areas of common variance tested, the model was able to distinguish four separate lithological units or zones in the sandstone reservoir, four in the Marly section and seven in the Vuggy section of the limestone reservoir. INTRODUCTION To accurately predict the movement and production of fluids from a reservoir rock, it is necessary that the reservoir engineer have a knowledge of the rock properties and their distribution throughout the reservoir. For this study, a reservoir rock is defined as a solid containing interconnecting holes or voids which occur relatively frequently and are dispersed within the rock in a regular or random manner. The fraction of bulk volume that these interconnecting voids occupy is called porosity. The rock must also possess sufficient permeability to allow fluids to move through it and it may be composed of one or more strata or lithological units. A stratum or lithological unit as defined in this study is a body or volume of reservoir rock whose properties are so distributed that its lateral and vertical extent can be traced throughout or through a portion of the reservoir. Operationally, the existence of strata are question- able unless the variance within strata is less than among strata. Within the past few years computers have been widely used as a tool for calculating movement and production of fluids from reservoirs. Most prediction models require some type of a mathematical description of certain reservoir rock properties. In the past, most of these models have been relatively simple. Some have assumed vertical variation but no lateral variation, while others have assumed lateral variation but no vertical variation. In general, most of these models have not used functional relationships to predict reservoir rock properties as functions of position. The object of this study was to develop a model which would predict lateral and vertical variations of reservoir rock properties. Since samples are usually available from only a small portion of the total reservoir rock, it seemed logical that if measurements from these samples were to be used to infer the properties of the actual reservoir, the data should be treated statistically as a sample from the total population (reservoir). Therefore, the model developed in this study to predict reservoir rock properties was a stochastic model. The model was tested using porosity (a macroscopic reservoir rock property) measurements from two reservoirs — the first, a sandstone reservoir from which 60,000 samples were obtained; and the second, a limestone reservoir with 24,000 samples. Several investigators have proposed methods to determine the vertical and areal variation of a reservoir rock property. Stiles: Dykstra and Parsons 2 and Suder and Calhoun3 have all developed waterflooding prediction techniques which assume vertical variation but no lateral variation. Stiles developed a method to segment a reservoir arbitrarily using frequency distribution. Law4 suggested that porosity has a normal frequency distribution and that permeability has a log-normal frequency distribution. Elkins and Skov 5 proposed that when a reservoir is segmented vertically, the

Jan 1, 1967