Search Documents

Jan 1, 1951

By R. F. Krueger

Results are presented from tests of dynamic fluid-loss rates to cores from clay-gel water-base drilling fluids containing different commercial fluid-loss control agents (CMC, polyacrylate or smt,ch), organic viscosity reducers (quebracho and complex metal lignosulfonate) and oil at several different levels of concentration. In the dynamic system the most effective individual additives to the clay-gel drilling fluid, based on cost-equalized concentrutiom, were found to be starch and the viscosity reducers. These results do not conform with the rankings determined by API fluid-loss rests, which indicate CMC, polyacrylate and starch to be the most effective and comparable. Generally, minimum dynamic fluid-losr rates were attained at cost-equalized concentrations of additive (including thinner) of about $1.00/ bbl, or less. For chernically treated clay-gel drilling fluids, both the standard and the high-pressure API filter-loss tests were found to he inaccurate indicators of trends in dynamic fluid-loss rates under the test conditions used, particulurly for drilling muds containing viscosity reducers. From a practical field viewpoint, restrictions on the applicability of the API fluid-loss test are such that it is open to question whether or not results of this test can be used routinely with confidence as an indicator of control of down-hole fluid loss under field treating conditions. INTRODUCTION The petroleum industry spends large sums of money during drilling operations to control the fluid-loss properties of drilling fluids based on the standard API filter-loss test,' which is a static filtration system. Laboratory studies' ' of dynamic filtration have shown that in a given time period filtrate loss from a circulating mud stream is greater than from a static system and that it is a function of linear mud velocity, pressure and the properties of the drilling fluid. Ferguson and Klotz' and Horner, et al," observed that (I) the dynamic fluid-loss rates for the drilling fluids used were not related to the extrapolated API filter loss and (2) the drilling fluids with the lowest API filter losses did not have the lowest dynamic fluid-loss rates. However, there has been no published information on the relative effects on dynamic fluid-loss rate as a given drilling fluid is treated with increasing amounts of chemical additive to reduce the API filter loss. Such information is economically important because drilling-fluid costs rise rapidly as chemical requirements increase. This paper presents the results of a study of dynamic filtratioi rates to cores from a clay-gel water-base drilling fluid treated with various commercial viscosity reducers and chemical fluid-loss control agents. The dynamic fluid-. loss rates to cores are compared with the standard API filter-loss values at several different levels of additive concentration. Dynamic filtration rates were obtained in each experiment under two different simulated wellbore conditions: (1) filtration just above the bit through a new mud cake laid down dynamically on a freshly drilled formation and (2) filtration up-hole through a mud cake formed by deposition of a static filter cake on top of the initial dynamically formed cake. The latter case corresponds to the bottom-hole conditions existing above the bit when mud circulation is restarted after a stand of pipe has been added or a round trip has been made to change the bit. Except for the short-duration, high-rate filtration beneath the bit where no mud cake can form, these two conditions probably represent the two extremes of dynamic filtration. Because thickness of a dynamic mud cake formed on freshly exposed formation is limited by the shearing action of the mud stream, the filtration rate for this condition is high. On the other hand, once circulation is stopped and a static mud cake forms on top of the dynamic cake, re-starting circulation has only a small effect on the cake properties and filtration rate is much lower thereafter. A discussion of the mechanics of mud-cake deposition and dynamic filtration is outside the scope of this paper but may be found in more detail in publications by prior investigators. APPARATUS AND EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS The test equipment used to simulate the dynamic flow conditions existing during drilling was a modification of that described previously by Krueger and Vogel: A schematic flow diagram is shown in Fig. 1. In general, a power-driven, high-pressure mud pump capable of delivering up to 60 gallmin was used to circulate drilling fluid parallel to the faces of 1-in. diameter sandstone cores mounted in a 2 3/4-in. ID high-pressure test cell. Pump rates were controlled by means of a magnetic clutch to maintain an average axial fluid velocity of 110 ft/min in the annular space between the cell wall and a 1 1/2-in. rod positioned on the center line of the cell. The core specimens were Berea sandstone plugs sealed with plastic inside 1 1/8-in. OD tubes and were fluid-saturated prior to use. Burettes were used to accumulate fluid discharged from the cores. The mud sump shown was used for treatment and storage of the drilling-fluid samples during a particular test. The valve arrangement permitted either (1) circulating drilling fluid through the by-pass line while treating with

By Leon T. Eleiel

Ten years ago a broad knowledge of aerial mapping, coupled with a smattering of geology, qualified one to speak on the subject of the application of aerial mapping to geology. Today, with aerial maps a common tool in the hands of expert geologists on every continent throughout the world, it would be nothing short of presumptuous for the author of this paper, who is not a geologist, to give any geological statements on his own authority. Relatively, today we are only purveyors of general geological gossip, with a definite case here and there by way of illustration. But we can present a story of the really marvellous strides that have been made in the evolution of aerial mapping, built around a skeleton of geological tidbits, from which some useful conclusions may be drawn. The average geologist goes about reading his aerial maps much as one would approach the problem of deciphering a cryptogram. To begin with, typical key expressions appear in recurring sequences and under certain conditions. If once the meaning of these isolated bits of information can be ascertained, the message begins to take meaning. In a similar fashion, the geologist works out his key from aerial maps of territory with which he has some familiarity. He learns that a certain type of thin, white line may mean a vein of quartz. He sees that a certain change in the photographic tone of vegetation on the ground reflects two kinds of soils on opposite sides of a contact. He sees that a certain type of alignment of topographical features often means a fault. He learns that by the erosion pattern he can frequently distinguish soft formations from harder ones. And so, bit by bit, he ties together the information of the picture with his experience on the ground until he develops a reasonably creditable capacity of interpretation. Through the complete gamut of surface conditions, ranging all the way from flat, arid, exposed desert terrain to dense jungle, or rugged mountains, the evidence from which the geologist must make his interpretation varies with bewildering profusion. The quality of photographs which are obtainable may range from perfect pictures in the desert to almost useless smudges in the steaming jungles. One thing he has learned with certainty—the airplane carrying its mapping camera is a superb reconnaissance tool, only awaiting his ingenuity in correlating the pictures with the ground to simplify most exploratory problems.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. Zener, J. H. Hollomon

IT Is commonly recognized that a given material may be described as ductile or brittle only with reference to the conditions of test. Thus under the usual test conditions quartz is brittle, but under high pressures it is ductile. Salts that are brittle at room temperature become ductile at elevated temperatures. Pitch, brittle with respect o rapid loads, flows at low rates of loading. Pearlitic steel, ductile under the usual conditions of test, may be embrittled under the proper conditions of combined stresses, temperature, and rate of loading. EARLIER INVESTIGATIONS A clear analysis of the conditions necessary for plastic flow and for fracture was first given by Ludwik,1 who introduced two types of stress, the "flow stress" and the "stress at fracture." These stresses may refer to tensile or to shear stresses, or, in fact, to any type of stress. Ludwik considered these two stresses to be independent of one another, functions of the conditions of test and of the prior history of the material. For the purpose of analysis, both a flow stress and a stress at fracture can be envisaged as functions of strain over the entire range from zero to infinite strain. Thus, the material is brittle if the stress at fracture is less than the flow stress and ductile if the reverse is true. According to Ludwik's analysis, the problem of determining the effects of combined stresses, of temperature and of strain rate upon the behavior of metals reduces to a problem of determining the effect of these variables upon the flow stress and upon the stress at fracture. In the present paper, methods are described for determining the effects of two of these variables, temperature and strain rate, and examples are given of the dependence or now stress and stress at fracture, upon these two variables. The effect of combined stresses will be discussed in a succeeding paper. The flow stress may be determined from a load-diameter curve. Load-diameter curves were obtained over a wide range of temperature and over the limited range of strain rates obtainable with the lever-type Riehle machine used. The. curves were then converted to an extremely wide range of strain rate by making use of the equivalence of the effects of changes in strain rate and changes in temperature, previously proposed2 and demonstrated' by the authors. According to this principle of equivalence, strain rate E and temperature T affect the flow stress only through a single parameter p of the form: p = EeQ/RT [I] In this equation, R is the gas constant (2 cal. per gram mol per deg. C.), and Q is a heat of activation, which varies from material to material, and may depend upon the strain, but not upon the strain rate or the temperature. There is associated with every value of p a flow-stress curve. Combinations of strain rate and of temperature that give the same p have the same flow-stress curve. Therefore, merely by changing the temperature of test, the effect of changing the strain rate may be obtained. Thus, under isothermal conditions, the material will behave the same at

Jan 1, 1944

By R. J. Tailleur, M. Rosenberg

Oil well drilling muds prepared with lubricating aids such as oil, graphite or mica will not produce a sufficiently strong protective lubricant film for the bit bearing surfaces under high load conditions encountered in drilling operations. Consequently, the damage to the bearing surfaces resulting from the absence of such a film frequently results in a shortening of the drill bit life. Several different types of extreme pressure lubricating additives for use in muds have been developed. These arlrlitives are capable of providing a protective lubricating film for bearing surfaces subjected to high load pressures. A modified version of the Timken lubricant tester, an instrument commonly used for testing the extreme pressure lubricating properties of oils, is used for measuring and controlling the lubricating qualities of the mud. Comparison tests made in the laboratory with 55/8-in. tricone bits drilling on steel plates immersed in extreme pressure lubricating muds and conventional muds showed that the bearing life of those bits tested in the lrrbricating mud was three to four times greater than obtained with conventional muds. Drilling tests made with extreme pressure lubricating muds in West Texas increased over-all bit life three to fourfold, reduced drilling torque and wear on drill pipe and drill collars. INTRODUCTION Roller bit cones contain roller, ball and journal-type bearings that are subjected to very heavy loading during drilling operations in which the only lubricant available for these bearings is either water or drilling mud. These bearings must be able to operate satisfac- torily in order for the cutting structures on the surface of the cones to be fully utilized. Frequently, the bearings wear to the point that the cones freeze and the bit must be pulled before the cutting structures on the cones become worn. In some instances the bearings continue to turn with severe wear but the cones, which are held on the bit by the bearings, drop off; and this causes an expensive fishing job. In other instances the bearings wear to the point that the cones pinch in causing an undergauge hole and delays to ream the hole. The advantage of increasing bit bearing life is self-evident. Because of inability to control the internal wear of bits while drilling, it was felt that improvement of the lubricating qualities of the circulating mud would be helpful. However, the often-discussed lubricating property attributed to muds has been a rather vague and intangible one. The literature has implied that the oil-emulsion muds are more effective lubricants than non-emulsion muds. Actually, there has been no direct method of measuring the lubricating property of muds which would indicate that one mud was better than another; there has been no way to determine whether the lubricating property of any mud was adequate. Furthermore, in comparing lubricating properties of muds, two qualities should be considered—the coefficient of friction and the extreme pressure lubricating qualities. For example, graphite can reduce the coefficient of friction, but does not provide a strong enough lubricating film to protect bit bearings subjected to high loads. The primary object of the investigation reported herein was to find a method for prolonging the bearing life of drill bits; and considering the heavy loads used in drilling, it was felt necessary to find both a method of measuring lubricating properties under high load conditions and methods of establishing effective lubrication under these conditions. Extreme pressure lubrication deals with that realm of lubrication where metal surfaces are in rubbing contact with each other under very high pressures. These pressures may be quite high, as for example,

By Walter Renton Ingalls

Vague references to tin-deposits in Mexico are scattered throughout technical literature, and that country has been looked to as a likely source of a part of the world's supply of till at no very distant date; but thus far nothing but occasional small lots have come forward, so that the notion has arisen that these mines are either mythical or unworkable. So far as I am aware, there has not yet been published any description of the tin-deposits of Mexico except a few brief references; and this paper, based on a study of them made in 1892, is therefore offered.

Jan 1, 1896

By William E. Greenawalt

Ever since electrolytic copper refining gave promise of success, about a half century ago, efforts have been made to apply the idea to the extraction of copper from its ores. The methods of attack have, usually, been to leach with a dilute acid and then to deposit electrolytically the copper from the resulting solution with the simultaneous regeneration of the solvent used in the process. Many efforts have been made, and many patents have been taken out, both in the United States and abroad, to give this idea practical application, but only within the past few years have the difficulties been surmounted. Leaching and electrolysis, as applied to copper ores, are among the most promising fields in modern metallurgy. New conditions are arising, which will bring the wet methods into prominence; while high freight rates and increasing cost of fuel will tend to limit smelting to highly favored localities. The possibilities offered by the installation of hydroelectric plants and the greatly enlarged range of power transmission will greatly widen the field of electrolytic methods. Electrolytic methods are ideally adapted to hydroelectric development, for the load is constant throughout the full twenty-four hours, and the cost of both installation and operation of hydroelectric plants is not appreciably greater when operating for twenty-four hours than when operating for eight or ten hours; whereas, in fuel-power generation, as also in smelting, the cost is more or less in proportion to the fuel and power used. Nevertheless, fuel-power generation presents advantages in electrolytic methods, as the power plant may be located in a favorable place while the leaching and electrolytic plants may be located at the mine. The ultimate possibilities of the wet methods have yet to be determined. The possibilities of smelting have been thoroughly worked out; there is no unsolved major problem in copper smelting, and it has practically reached the limit of its possibilities. It seems hardly probable that any future improvement, either of method or apparatus, will greatly

Jan 1, 1924

By G. S. Cole

The temperature has been measured ahead of stationary solid-liquid interfaces under conditions approximating luzidirectional heat flow and therefore unidirectional solidification. Natural convection flow patterns may be deduced from the temperature distributions , temperature fluctuations, and shape of the interface. Fluid flow increases with the height and the rate of heat transfev through the interface and this is further manifested by a deviation of the interface from aflat vertical plane. The influence of fluid flow on solute inhomogeneity during alloy crystal growth can be inferred from the observed temperature distributions. A buoyancy force exists in the liquid ahead of a vertical solid-liquid interface, caused by a difference in density between cold fluid near the interface and warmer fluid in the bulk liquid. When the viscous and inertia forces in the melt exceed this buoyancy force, a flow of fluid takes place, termed natural or free thermal convection. Natural convection in purely liquid systems has been extensively studied for many years. 1"u On the other hand, fluid flow during horizontal crystal growth has oniy recently been the subject of experimental investigation."-25 The requirements for horizontal crystal growth differ from other heat flow systems. The small aspect ratio (ratio of height of cold wall to length of fluid) has never been considered. The uniform furnace gradient which supplies heat radially (and not necessarily symmetrically) differs from previous boundary conditions of uniform heat flux at the cold and hot ends. And most important of all an isothermal s/l interface is present which can adjust its shape and position to conform to heat and fluid flow. All of these boundary conditions involve complexities which cannot be readily solved analytically. Preliminary observation has demonstrated the penera1 shape of the natural convective flow pattern in transparent media.20'24'25 The flow is circulatory, directed toward the interface at the surface of the liquid, down and away from the interface at the bottom, and then up at the hot end of the melt. During crystal growth such a flow may interact with the solute boundary layer at the s/l interface to affect solute incorporation.M'1B|28'i!T Evidence has also been presented recently to show that thermal convective flow will affect the structure of ca~tin~s.~~-~~ The rate of heat transfer (conduction plus convection) in a given fluid system is a function of the temperature difference between the hot end of the liquid and the s/l interface and the height of the interface. At the lowest values of these variables* all heat is *It has been shown' that adverse temperature gradients as low as O.OOS°C oer cm are sufficient to cause convection. transferred by conduction. When the temperature difference or interface height are increased, laminar fluid flow commences and heat transport takes place by laminar convection as well as by conduction; turbulent heat transfer takes place at higher values of these variables. In the transition region between laminar and turbulent flow, boundary layer separation takes place; fluctuations in temperature are also noted and increase in amplitude and frequency as turbulence becomes dominant. In this paper, fluid flow patterns in the melt ahead of a stationary interface are deduced from observations of temperature distribution and fluctuations, heat flow rate, and interface shape. The fluid flow ahead of advancing interfaces and the effect of such flow on solute incorporation may be inferred from these measurements on stationary interfaces. Observations during enforced fluid motion will also be considered. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The metal was contained in a lava boat 10 cm in length, 1+ cm in width, and 2 cm in height, as shown in Fig. 1. A water-cooled, molybdenum block heat-sink is at one end of the boat; surrounding this assembly is a slotted stainless-steel tube noninductively wound with a nichrome heating element. Temperature was measured by 38-gage Chrome1 vs Alumel thermocouples sheathed in 0.05-cm-diam graphite-coated stainless-steel tubing, which were moved longitudinally and vertically through the melt by means of a two-dimensional motorized micrometer stage. In some experiments the thermocouple junction was exposed, but in the majority of experiments the junction was welded to the sheath tip; no significant difference

Jan 1, 1968

By Bruce N. McIver, Leo Casagrande

Similarities are noted in the practices and problems of constructing dams to impound mine tailings, fly ash, and chemical wastes. The comparison of a typical tailings dam with a conventional water-retaining earth dam shows that the former is inherently less stable and can be susceptible to cracking, liquefaction, erosion, and frost action, as illustrated by examples. Several methods are presented for building safe tailings dams using either the coarse fraction of the tailings or local soils, the important factor in each method being proper compaction of the material. The safety of existing tailings dams can be improved by flattening the overall slope, preferably by adding berms, or by decreasing the height. Where neither remedy is possible, the installation of electro-osmotic tie-backs is suggested. Dumps of mine spoil can be stabilized economically by compacting the material in layers along the toe to form a dam.

Jan 1, 1971

By Anton Eilers, R. W. Raymond, O. H. Hann

THIS paper will treat of such works only as beneficiate ores directly in the mining districts. And when it is said that more than twenty

By Charles E. Parsons

One of the greatest factors in our industrial development is cheap and convenient power. Long-distance electrical transmission has now reached such a stage that it is feasible, and practicable, to utilize the water-power of the country which was heretofore too remote for consideration. In all of the changes of energy from its various sources to its electrical applications, water-power stands pre-eminent in point of economy. Power-users the world over have endeavored to utilize this force in preference to any other, and until long-distance transmission was found practicable it seemed that every available water-power in this section of the country was doing its full share for the benefit of mankind. The success of each great industrial development has been clue in a greater part to some one man one who is just a step in advance of the rest in his particular field; one who is able to grasp a situation and foresee possibilities; and, above all, one who has that indomitable pluck and perseverance which sees in each obstacle one more step toward success. Such a mail is Eugene L. Ashley, for it was through his efforts that the development of the greatest power on the Hudson river was made possible. For several years prior to 1897 the various properties along the river between Glens Falls and Palmer Falls were in the hands of speculators. These men knew the value of waterrights, but they had not the ability to assemble the properties and finance such an undertaking. In 1897 Mr. Ashley began buying these water-rights, and, after two years of litigation, title mas secured to all of the properties along each side of the river, and the Hudson River Water-Power Company was organized to construct a dam and transmit power to the surrounding cities and villages. A contract was let for a dam

Jan 1, 1904

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

By S. A. Falconer

One of the outstanding achievements in connection with this country's war efforts has been the ability of our mining industry to supply from domestic sources many of the minerals of strategic importance that formerly were obtained principally from abroad. In order to meet the war-born demands for these scarce minerals, it has frequently been necessary to develop special methods for treating ores and waste products hitherto considered too lowgrade to be workable; and to improve the efficiency of older beneficiation processes. Important in this respect have been the recent technological advances in the field of froth flotation of nonsulphide minerals. Because of the refractory nature of many of these domestic ores, and, in many cases, the limited available technical data regarding their treatment, much research work has been necessary. The following examples describe the procedures and reagents used, and the results obtained, in certain laboratory flotation investigations conducted by American Cyanamid Company's engineers at the Cyanamid Ore Dressing Laboratory on ores containing such minerals as scheelite, manganese oxides and carbonate, ilmen-ite, brookite, kyanite, garnet, spodumene, mica, feldspar, celestite, fluorite, chromite, corundum, and cassiterite. In presenting these data, we wish to point out that many of the minerals listed have previously been tested, and their amenability to flotation reported, by other investigators—notably those of the United States Bureau of Mines. In some instances the procedures and reagents used in the treatment of some of the following described ores follow rather well-established lines, and with one or two exceptions, the reagents used were well known. However, many of the ores tested did not respond well to simple conventional procedures and it was necessary to adopt special methods of conditioning and desliming, reversal of the usual order of floatability of some of the minerals, multiple cleaning, etc., in order to secure separations. Except where otherwise noted, all numbered and trade-marked reagents mentioned in this paper are marketed by the American Cyanamid Co. or the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation. Tungsten ORes Tungsten minerals, vitally important in the war industries of the United States, rank high in the list of those we formerly had to import in order to supply our needs. Most of our domestic ores of tungsten contain scheelite as the valuable mineral. Today there are in the neighborhood of twelve tungsten operations in this country where flotation is used as the main or accessory form of benefication. It has, of Course, been known for some time that scheelite and other tungsten minerals respond to treatment by flotation.

Jan 1, 1947

By S. A. Falconer

One of the outstanding achievements in connection with this country's war efforts has been the ability of our mining industry to supply from domestic sources many of the minerals of strategic importance that formerly were obtained principally from abroad. In order to meet the war-born demands for these scarce minerals, it has frequently been necessary to develop special methods for treating ores and waste products hitherto considered too lowgrade to be workable; and to improve the efficiency of older beneficiation processes. Important in this respect have been the recent technological advances in the field of froth flotation of nonsulphide minerals. Because of the refractory nature of many of these domestic ores, and, in many cases, the limited available technical data regarding their treatment, much research work has been necessary. The following examples describe the procedures and reagents used, and the results obtained, in certain laboratory flotation investigations conducted by American Cyanamid Company's engineers at the Cyanamid Ore Dressing Laboratory on ores containing such minerals as scheelite, manganese oxides and carbonate, ilmen-ite, brookite, kyanite, garnet, spodumene, mica, feldspar, celestite, fluorite, chromite, corundum, and cassiterite. In presenting these data, we wish to point out that many of the minerals listed have previously been tested, and their amenability to flotation reported, by other investigators—notably those of the United States Bureau of Mines. In some instances the procedures and reagents used in the treatment of some of the following described ores follow rather well-established lines, and with one or two exceptions, the reagents used were well known. However, many of the ores tested did not respond well to simple conventional procedures and it was necessary to adopt special methods of conditioning and desliming, reversal of the usual order of floatability of some of the minerals, multiple cleaning, etc., in order to secure separations. Except where otherwise noted, all numbered and trade-marked reagents mentioned in this paper are marketed by the American Cyanamid Co. or the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation. Tungsten ORes Tungsten minerals, vitally important in the war industries of the United States, rank high in the list of those we formerly had to import in order to supply our needs. Most of our domestic ores of tungsten contain scheelite as the valuable mineral. Today there are in the neighborhood of twelve tungsten operations in this country where flotation is used as the main or accessory form of benefication. It has, of Course, been known for some time that scheelite and other tungsten minerals respond to treatment by flotation.

Jan 1, 1947

By O. W. Ellis

BEFORE entering upon a general discussion of the fascinating, but at present rather controversial, subject of gases in copper, the author feels that some attention should be directed to the work which has been carried out on the solubility of gases in metals. The outstanding contributions to our knowledge of this subject have been made by Sieverts and his collaborators(1) t and by Iwasé.(2) Both the German and the Japanese investigators employed apparatus of the same general design in their investigations. Full reference need only be made, therefore, to the German scheme, which is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1. This, to use the words of Sieverts, which he employed in describing his Burette arrangement of apparatus at the 1928 meeting of der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Metallkunde(1g): shows a diagram of the usual mode of procedure. A quartz flask contains the metal (for high temperatures a highly refractory porcelain FIG. 1.-SIEVERTS' APPARATUS FOR INVESTIGATING SOLUBILITY OF tube is used) and is connected with the rest of GASES IN METALS. the apparatus by means of a stopcock. The other parts consist of a burette divided into 1/10 c.c., a leveling tube, and art adjus-table mercury reservoir. The burette is connected on one side with the gas inlet and on the other side with the absorption flask; the connection can be interrupted by means of suitable taps. Another tap permits the connection of the flask and the Töpler pump. In an experiment the quartz flask is first exhausted and then a meas-ured quantity of gas is let in from the burette. In the first place the volume of the flask when empty is found by calibration with an inert gas. The pressure is read off on the level tube of the burette, and the temperature measured by means of a thermo-couple whose welded junction lies close to the outside of the quartz flask, which is heated in an electric furnace. In several experiments the quantity of absorbed gas was transferred to a burette by means of a pump and measured.

Jan 1, 1932

By Robert R. Abbott

The practice of carbonizing steel for the purpose of case-hardening has assumed great commercial importance within the past 10 years. Formerly, case-hardened steel was held in more or less contempt, since it was considered a cheap substitute for tool-steel. This is no longer the case. The development of the motor-car industry, and coincidentally that of modern alloy-steels, has resulted in overcoming many difficulties formerly experienced in case-hardening. This result has been accomplished by increased knowledge regarding the analysis of the steel which would respond most readily to case-hardening, and by more careful methods of treatment of the carbonized steel. The ordinary method of carbonizing consists in packing the steel with the carbonizing-material in cast-iron boxes and placing them in a furnace at a temperature of from 1,500° to 1,900° F. for a time sufficient to give the required depth of " case." The steel is then either quenched directly from the box, or is allowed to cool without unpacking, and finally given a single hardening-heat, or, for special work, two or three heats. During the year 1911, more than 100,000 tons of carbonizing-material was sold in the United States, at an average price of probably $55 per ton. More than 85 per cent. of this material consisted of granulated bone. Within the past four years, many manufactured compounds have been placed on the market, consisting largely of some form of carbon or carbonaceous material, with or without the addition of chemicals. Steel will absorb carbon placed in contact with it at the temperature of the atmosphere. The reaction is exceedingly slow, but increases rapidly with increasing temperature. Below

Jan 1, 1913

By P. G. Beckett

The problem of handling the large quantities of water encountered in the Old Dominion mine presents many features of interest. In the present paper are discussed the probable sources of water, the pumping equipment, the increased flow into the mine in the early part of 1915, culminating in the flooding of the 18th and 16th levels in March of that year, and the difficulties that were met with during the high-water period. I. PRELIMINARY The Old Dominion mine, situated 1 mile north of the town of Globe, Ariz., has long been one of the prominent copper producers of the State, and until the opening up of the copper schist deposits in the neighboring mines of Miami, was responsible for the greater part of the copper output from the Globe district. As the gradual exhaustion of its orebodies near the surface led to the downward development of the mine, more water was encountered in the western portions directly underlying the dacite formation until the drainage problem became a serious factor in the operation of the mine and in the economical extraction of the ore. A heavy inrush of water on the 10th level of the mine in 1906, preceded by still earlier water difficulties, rendered imperative the immediate installation of a pumping equipment capable of handling large flows of water. While the Old Dominion has been recognized as a wet mine since its early days and one in which the complete control of the water situation was of paramount importance in the development of the lower levels, it is chiefly in the last nine years, since the installation of the increased pumping equipment, that the mine has developed and handled large quantities of water. Its maximum pumping record was reached in the first six months of 1915, during which time, following a prolonged period of abnormal precipitation, the pumps handled 1,624,740,000 gal. of water; while in the month of March alone, over 407,000,000 gal. of water were pumped from the mine.

Jan 1, 1917

By M. C. Leverett, M. E. True, W. B. Lewis

This paper states the theory underlying the design of two kinds of dimensionally scaled models of parts of idealized oil fields. One of these simulates an oil well and its surrounding sand for a distance of 16 ft. radially from the well. The other model simulates linear flow through layered sands. Construction and operation of the models are described and typical data are given. The unique features in the design of the models are: (I) the treatment of the permeability-viscosity quotient as a single variable and (2) the use of previously reported experimentally developed relations between relative permeability and saturation and capillary pressure, saturation, porosity, permeability and interfacial tension. The models at present simulate flow of oil and water only, through unconsolidated sands. They are superior to unscaled models, which may give rise to erroneous conclusions. The models are designed to study the desirability of various methods of well completion and the effects of various factors on recovery of oil from layered sands. Introduction Recent work on the fundamental behavior of flowing mixtures of fluids in sands has resulted in the development of some new theory in this field, much of which has been presented in previous papers.l-4 However, the application of this theory to the behavior of oil wells or oil fields has proved too complicated for ordinary mathematical techniques, except in very highly simplified cases. A practical solution to this problem appears therefore, to lie in the use of dimensionally scaled models of elements of oil fields. The object of this paper is, first, to present the theoretical and experimental basis of the design of such models, and, second, to describe their construction and operation. Experiments now under way on the models already built will yield material for other reports, which will be devoted to interpretation of the results in terms of oil-field behavior. So far, simple dimensional models of two kinds have been built and are being operated. These models represent different parts of an idealized oil field but obey the same underlying theory. The only fluids represented are oil and water, since certain questionable approximations are necessary for gas-liquid systems. General Theory Dimensional models have been used in other fields for a long time, and their theory is adequately given in the literature. 5 Here, it suffices to state that each physical element entering into a dynamic relation may be given a definite description in terms of three fundamental, but arbitrarily chosen, dimensions. These usually are mass, length, and time, symbolized here by the small letters m, I, and t. Two systems are said to be dimensionally similar or dimensionally scaled if for each element in one system there is a corresponding element in the second system and the ratios of the numerical magnitudes of corresponding elements are constant for all elements of the same dimensional type.

Jan 1, 1942

By W. B. Lewis, M. E. True, M. C. Leverett

This paper states the theory underlying the design of two kinds of dimensionally scaled models of parts of idealized oil fields. One of these simulates an oil well and its surrounding sand for a distance of 16 ft. radially from the well. The other model simulates linear flow through layered sands. Construction and operation of the models are described and typical data are given. The unique features in the design of the models are: (I) the treatment of the permeability-viscosity quotient as a single variable and (2) the use of previously reported experimentally developed relations between relative permeability and saturation and capillary pressure, saturation, porosity, permeability and interfacial tension. The models at present simulate flow of oil and water only, through unconsolidated sands. They are superior to unscaled models, which may give rise to erroneous conclusions. The models are designed to study the desirability of various methods of well completion and the effects of various factors on recovery of oil from layered sands. Introduction Recent work on the fundamental behavior of flowing mixtures of fluids in sands has resulted in the development of some new theory in this field, much of which has been presented in previous papers.l-4 However, the application of this theory to the behavior of oil wells or oil fields has proved too complicated for ordinary mathematical techniques, except in very highly simplified cases. A practical solution to this problem appears therefore, to lie in the use of dimensionally scaled models of elements of oil fields. The object of this paper is, first, to present the theoretical and experimental basis of the design of such models, and, second, to describe their construction and operation. Experiments now under way on the models already built will yield material for other reports, which will be devoted to interpretation of the results in terms of oil-field behavior. So far, simple dimensional models of two kinds have been built and are being operated. These models represent different parts of an idealized oil field but obey the same underlying theory. The only fluids represented are oil and water, since certain questionable approximations are necessary for gas-liquid systems. General Theory Dimensional models have been used in other fields for a long time, and their theory is adequately given in the literature. 5 Here, it suffices to state that each physical element entering into a dynamic relation may be given a definite description in terms of three fundamental, but arbitrarily chosen, dimensions. These usually are mass, length, and time, symbolized here by the small letters m, I, and t. Two systems are said to be dimensionally similar or dimensionally scaled if for each element in one system there is a corresponding element in the second system and the ratios of the numerical magnitudes of corresponding elements are constant for all elements of the same dimensional type.

Jan 1, 1942