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By P. H. Cardwell

The effect of various plastics upon the permeability of a sand and the mechanism of their ensuring permeability within the consolidated sand body is discussed. Data are presented on various properties of the plastic materials used in sand consolidation and the effect of temperature and usable temperature ranges are considered. The recovery of petroleum from uncon-solidated sands presents serious production problems, owing to sloughing of the formation. The solution of some of these problems usually has been by mechanical methods.' The ideal way of controlling the sloughing tendencies of these un consolidated formations, however, is to prevent the movement of the individual sand grains by the use of a bonding medium. A step in the desired direction was taken by Irons and Stcesser2 when they taught the use of liquid plastics to produce a consolidating deposit that prevents sloughing. More recently, Wrightsman and Buckley3 proposed a modification of this process. In this use of the liquid plastic, the sand grains become coated and the ensuing hardening of the plastic by polymerization or condensation cements together the sand Particles. Liquid plastics that have been suggested for this Purpose are of the following types: phenolformaldehyde, alkyd resins, vinyl type resins, polystyrene and the acrylic esters. When the flow of fluids through a sand must not be materially reduced, it is essential only to cement together the sand grains with liquid plastic and leave a portion of the interstitial space for fluid flow. TO be assured of obtaining fluid flow through the sand interstices after injection of plastic, it has been necessary in the past to remove the excess plastic from the interstices between the particles before it sets. Wrightsman and Buckley suggest two methods for the removal of the excess plastic from the interstices of the sand: (I) to flush the excess plastic back into the formation, away from the well bore, by use of oil or water; (2) to produce the well before the plastic has set, thereby moving the excess plastic into the well bore. Under certain well conditions it is very difficult to remove the excess plastic from all parts of the formation by either of these methods and leave the formation consolidated with no sections completely sealed. The method* described herein of retaining permeability within a sand body is to use a liquid plastic that upon setting ensures permeability within the consolidated sand body. This cements the sand grains but obviates the need for removing plastic from the interstices of the sand. One of the ways of accomplishing this is to use a liquid plastic that occupies a considerably greater volume than the solidified resin it yields on further polymerization or condensation in situ. In order to be satisfactory, the volume of the plastic while liquid should be at least one and one half times the volume of the solid formed. Preferably,

Jan 1, 1947

By William Loblowitz

A simplified system of flotation testing has been developed recently at the Bureau of Mineral Research of Rutgers University. The technique involves the known principle of skin flotation and can be used with minute quantities of sample and reagents in a beaker. A vessel containing the conditioned sample with added water and flotation reagents is held inclined and rotated slowly. Water-repellent particles come in contact with air and float on the surface of the liquid, while wettable particles are submerged. The float is poured off and filtered whereas the nonfloat remains in the beaker. The filtrate may be returned to repeat the process. This procedure can be made quantitative. Separations are obtained and are remarkably complete and repeatable. The effect of different reagents, optimum quantities, pH and other variables can be determined in a fraction of the time required for conventional testing. However, the method gives no information on the effect of frothers and the quality of froth to be expected in a cell, and it is not practical for particles finer than 200-mesh. Unlike other preliminary tests, separate float and nonfloat products are obtained, and their contents can be determined quantitatively by chemical analysis or grain counts. After the optimum reagent combination has been determined, the effect of fines and frothing may be verified in the conventional flotation cell. On the other hand, agglomeration-tabling can be directly duplicated from beaker tests. Procedure: Five to ten grams of sample are weighed into a 100-ml beaker. Flotation reagents and a small initial quantity of water are stirred together; additional water is then added to produce the proper water-solids ratio. The beaker is then tilted to 45" and rotated slowly. After three to five rotations, liquid and float are poured off and filtered; the filtrate may be recycled until the separation is completed. One test generally requires less than 10 min. Reagent concentration and pH remain quite constant because of the recycling of the filtrate. Two to four tests may be made simultaneously, and the effect of varied conditions may be observed by comparison. Considerable time is saved in preparation and handling since small quantities of sample suffice for a series of systematic tests. Repeatability One test was repeated four times under constant conditions. The sample used was a quartz sand containing approximately 24 pct feldspar and some clay aggregates. The +28-mesh grains had been screened out, and most of those finer than 100-mesh had been removed by hydraulic classification. The results are presented in Table I. For comparison, 500 g of the sample were separated by agglomeration-tabling using the same reagent combination and quantities as given in Table I. The weight percent float was 18.3 pct, composed almost entirely of feldspar and with only traces of quartz. Most of the remaining feldspar was recovered in a middling product with 2.2 pct by weight.

Jan 1, 1952

By B. M. Larsen

ATTEMPTING to review the fundamental aspects of segregation in steel ingots of all types in a paper of reasonable length, we encounter two difficulties: (I) the fact that a large number of different physical and chemical effects are involved, and (2) rather incomplete and confusing evidence on certain aspects of detail and mechanism in the freezing process in which the segregation effect is involved. The best solution seemed to be to link together most of the underlying factors into a simplified theoretical picture that appears to the writer to explain most of the observed data, in the hope that this will serve as a reasonably good target for discussion and criticism. Segregation effects, especially in steel ingots or castings, are often divided into " microscopic " and " macroscopic," depending on whether the variations in concentration of solutes? or dissolved elements in the iron occur as: (I) a periodic variation over the small distances between the nuclei and the surfaces of the primary grains, or (2) as a larger scale effect involving concentration gradients over distances of the order of several inches, more or less. The reason for this somewhat artificial division is, of course, that it is only the macroscopic scale effect that has much practical importance. About the only effect of practical importance that results from microscopic segregation is the banded structure often left in rolled sections, and even this is relatively harmless in most cases. However, the causes of microscopic segregation also underly the larger scale effect, so we must first consider matters such as the formation and growth of crystal nuclei, selective freezing and diffusion, and others that are fundamental to all segregation effects. UNDERCOOLING AND NUCLEI FORMATION It is probable that although the degree of undercooling is small in iron, as in metals in general, a certain amount of it takes place, and also that the number of crystal nuclei increases very rapidly with increased undercooling below the liquidus tempera¬ture. In practical terms this means that the nuclei number increases very rapidly with increased cooling or freezing rate, thus being dependent on the rate of heat flow out from the zone of crystallization. TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS AND HEAT DISSIPATION DURING FREEZING Each pound of steel evolves about 100 B.t.u. when freezing. In addition to this, the temperature gradient in the solidified portion (required to dissipate the heat as freezing progresses into the axis) necessitates a loss of heat required to cool the solid metal below its freezing range, which is equivalent to an amount of not so much less in magnitude. In a 5-ton ingot, the total would include about one million B.t.u. for freezing alone and about 0.4 to 0.5 million B.t.u. for the gradient, up to the end of the freezing period: Thus the rate of freezing depends primarily on the rate of heat dissipation. In the ordinary ingot shapes, the axial rate of growth of the solid

Jan 1, 1944

By Henry F. Heblby

HOW often has the thoughtful observer pondered the apparent contradictions experienced in the weather? One can take records of two days, one in the winter and one in the summer. The "degree days1' indicate that space heating and domestic load were present in one case and not in the other. The Business Index may be about the same, indicating that the industrial activity of the area and its concomitant use of fuel were about the same. Thus the volume of the products of combustion released to the atmosphere varied only as related to the space heating demand. Yet on one day in winter the atmosphere may be clear and bracing, while on a summer's day the air is thick and murky and the visibility sharply reduced. The situation may be reversed. What are some of the factors that contribute to the creation of these conditions? These few notes have been prepared to indicate some of the influences that are exerted on the problem. The Sources of Atmospheric PolLution The industrial area of Pittsburgh, Pa., has been a dominant center for the production of iron and steel for over one hundred years. In fact, with the growth of the numerous auxiliary processes Allegheny County which contains Pittsburgh is prob- ably the most industrialized county in the world. In addition, the type of manufacture carried out in this area is predominantly dependent on thermal energy (heat). That energy is supplied from coke and coal produced in the vicinity of Pittsburgh Indicative of the stupendous quantities of fuel that are employed in this industrial area's economy, the following (Table I) taken from the U. S. Census (1940) may be of interest. In tonnage consumed in the area, the figures are equally impressive: Annual Tons oF Coal Metallurgical Industries.... 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 Commercial Installations (Pgh.)................. 1,500,000 Domestic hand-fired) (Pgh.)................. 750,000 An influence that has never been fully appreciated by many individuals is the fact that no matter what adventures the gases of combustion experience as they pass through the various processes, uti-mately the spent gases are discharged through chimneys to the atmosphere.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. van der Poel

When oil is displaced from a horizontal formation by another fluid of lower density, the latter tends to override the former in the shape of a tongue owing to gravity segregation. This gravity tongue has an adverse influence on the oil recovery. If the fluids are miscible, diffusion (mixing) takes place at the interfacial boundary of the gravity tongue. This mixing should have a favorable effect on oil recovery. The report describes a laboratory study of the magnitude of the mixing zone under various conditions, so as to assess the effect of diffusion on oil recovery both in laboratory experiments and under actual field conditions. The technique used enables visual observation and measurement of the size of the mixing zone in transparent glass-powder packs. The results show that in experiments in small models and cores the width of the mixing zone may well be of the same order of magnitude as the height of the model. In such cases oil recovery is favorably affected by mixing. It can further be concluded that, under conditions prevailing in the field, mixing of the injected fluid with reservoir oil is equal to that caused by molecular diffusion alone, eddy-mixing not taking place to any appreciable extent. A simple calculation, then, shows that molecular diffusion is too small for a beneficial effect to be expected from the injection of miscible fluids in horizontal or nearly horizontal reservoirs unless pay zones are thin. INTRODUCTION This paper gives results of experiments made on the mixing which occurs when a miscible displacement is carried out in a horizontal reservoir. This mixing takes place at the interfacial boundary of the gravity tongue formed when the lighter injected fluid overrides the oil present in the reservoir. The object of the experiments was to simulate the field case where, for example, propane with a viscosity of 0.075 cp under reservoir conditions displaces an oil of viscosity 0.6 cp. In the experiments the lighter fluid had a viscosity of about 1 cp and the heavier one a viscosity of about 8 cp, so as to obtain the same viscosity ratio. In order to enable the results to be compared with those published in the literature, a set of experiments with viscosity ratio equal to one was also performed. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE The technique developed for the purpose enables the width of the mixing zone to be studied as a function of time and place. A glass-powder pack is saturated with a water-glycerine mixture of suitable viscosity, which represents the reservoir fluid. The pack is then rendered transparent by dissolving sufficient ammonium thiocyanate in the mixture to obtain a solution with a refractive index matching that of the glass powder. Alkaline water to which phenol-phthalein has been added is used as the lighter and less-viscous displacing fluid. In those places where mixing or diffusion of the two liquids occurs, the slightly acidic ammonium-thiocyanate solution neutralizes the alkali in the water, and the glass pack shows up white against the red-colored invading water. If a black cloth is hung over the back of the apparatus, the transparent part of the glass pack appears black. In this way the position of the two phases and the transition zone between them is clearly visible, as shown in Fig. 1 (where the red-colored invading water is the grey-shaded zone lying uppermost). In all experiments the amount of alkali in the water was chosen such that the upper contour corresponded to a concentration of 5 per cent of the dense liquid. The lower contour is determined by the size of the glass grains and the thickness of the pack and, consequently, varies from experiment to experiment. Corresponding concentrations of the dense liquid range from about 97 per cent for packs of small grain size (permeability = 1 darcy) to about 95 per cent for those with large grains

By C. H. Li, J. A. Sarteli, W. Bonfield

The stress to cause a permanent micros train of 2 x 10-6 in. per in. (defined as the microscopic yield stress) in beryllium is found to be very sensitive to surface condition. The initiation of plastic flow in as-machined specimens, which contain a high density of twins and large residual compressive stresses to a depth of about 0.010 in. from the surface, occurs by the nucleation of slip from high stress fields around twin tips in the surface layers. Removal of the damaged surface layers by chemical polishing results in an appreciable increase in the microscopic yield stress, which is attributed to the remoual of stress raising twins rather than to the release of residual stresses. IT is well known that the macroscopic mechanical properties of beryllium are very sensitive to the nature of its surface finish. Matthews and coworkers1 have shown that the tensile strength of rolled beryllium sheet can be considerably enhanced by chemical polishing, presumably due to the removal of the high concentration of notches, twins, and large residual compressive stresses normally found in the surface layers of ground specimens. There was no similar effect of surface condition on the macroscopic yield stress (the stress to produce 0.2 pct strain), a point to which we shall return. To date there have been no extensive studies on the effect of surface condition on the microstrain region of beryllium. Recent measurements2 of the stress to cause a permanent microstrain of the order of 10-6 in. per in. on machined hot pressed QMV beryllium, gave values ranging from about 600 to 3500 psi. Reasons for the considerable scatter in the results were not discussed. In this paper, we wish to show that the microstrain region of polycrystalline beryllium is, in fact, very sensitive to surface condition. The stress to cause a permanent strain of 2 x 10-6 in. per in. which for convenience we will refer to as the microscopic yield stress, can be increased by almost a factor of 2 by minimizing the amount of surface damage. The variation of microscopic yield stress is attributed to the presence of twins in the surface layers, rather than to residual compressive stresses. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The starting material for this investigation was commercial purity hot pressed QMV beryllium, with an average grain size of about 20 . The effects of surface treatment were assessed by comparing the microstructure with residual stress measurements and microstrain properties. Specimens were prepared for metallographic examination by wet grinding with 240, 400, and 600 papers, followed by polishing with a suspension of fine alumina in warm 20 pct oxalic acid. After this treatment, the surface could be examined, either in the unetched condition with polarized light, or after etching in 2 pct hydrofluoric or boiling 20 pct oxalic acid with normal light. Thin films of beryllium suitable for electron transmission study were prepared from bulk specimens by chemical polishing with hydrofluoric and phosphoric acids, and were examined in an RCA-EMU-3 electron microscope. Residual stress measurements were made by a procedure similar to that of Treuting and Read.3 Specimens 4.0 in. by 0.625 in. by 0.080 in. were prepared by three different machining procedures, namely: turning, grinding, and sawing, in order to introduce different levels of residual stresses. An electrical resistance strain gage was attached to one side of the specimen, and that surface was then protected by an acid-resistant enamel, while the opposite surface was removed by etching approximately one thousandth of an inch at a time. The change in specimen curvature in the longitudinal direction was noted and the residual stress was calculated by the following formula:

Jan 1, 1963

By J. H. Jackson, P. D. Frost, C. H. Lorig, L. W. Eastwood, A. C. Loonam

R. S. BUSK*—I wish first to congratulate the authors of this paper both for the work done and the presentation of that work. We have also been working on this type of alloy development, but any technical contribution I might have is better reserved for a separate paper which is planned in the near future. However, I would like to insert a word of caution. The alloys described in this paper are still very much in the laboratory stage. There still remains the quite vexing problem of property stability at slightly elevated temperatures which must be solved before the properties quoted can be effectively utilized. These alloys are extremely interesting and I am confident that the problems can be solved. However, the present existence of those problems must not be overlooked. I have one question with regard to the work-hardening test. If the work harden-ability of magnesium is compared to aluminum using a more standard test such as the Meyer Analysis the magnesium is found to work harden the more rapidly. Is the test developed for this work truly a work-hardening test or a measure of something else ? J. H. JACKSON (authors' reply)—I am sure we appreciate the comments of Mr. Busk and we are pleased that the Dow Chemical Co. has also undertaken work in this field. It is a big field. We, of course, are continuing our research for the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, since, as clearly shown in the paper, the alloys are not completely developed. With regard to Mr. Busk's comments on the relative work-hardenability of aluminum and magnesium, the comparison we cited in the paper was intended merely to show that the results obtained by our method of testing were independent of the yield strength of the materials. We believe that this test method afforded a rough indication of the work-hardenability of the magnesium-lithium base alloys. It is not known whether this method affords greater or less accuracy than the Meyer Process, which is based upon a hardness-test impression. It is quite possible, since work-hardenability is a function of metal purity, that our results, obtained for commercial aluminum and magnesium, would be different if high-purity metals had been used. A. C. LOONAM—Lithium has some very interesting effects on magnesium. The paper showed that even small percentages increased ductility. These small amounts changed the axial ratio of the hexagonal magnesium from 1.624 in the pure metal to 1.606 in the saturated alpha solution, a value close to that of titanium, which has a ratio of 1.601. You will recall an article in the January, 1949, issue of the Journal of Metals where it was stated that titanium can be cold-rolled over 90 pct without any significant edge cracking. At 4.9 or 5 pct lithium, a change begins in crystal structure—from a hexagonal close packed to body centered cubic. There are two phases over a short range of lithium content, but at 10 pct the structure becomes completely cubic. The melting points of alloys in this range of lithium content are relatively high. Alloys even up to the six ratio have melting points above 500°C; this represents a relatively small reduction in melting point from pure magnesium itself. The magnesium-lithium system has a number of very interesting characteristics. This is only a very small part of the story. J. H. JACKSON—I would like to remind you that Mr. Loonam is one of the authors of this paper, and the fact is that this work is based on many of his ideas. I am sure we appreciate his additional comments in this discussion. R. LEITER*—I am interested in Fig 19 in which Mr. Jackson compares

Jan 1, 1950

By M. H. Gaskell, D. C. Lindley

Small, steeply inclined reservoirs without natural water drives often are found associated with salt domes or other highly faulted structures. Frequently, only one well may be economically justified in these reservoirs, from which oil is produced by an expanding gas-cap drive or by a dissolved-gas drive. Although a large fraction of the oil upstructure from the well may be recovered during primary depletion, only a small fraction of the downdip oil can be produced because of gravity effects. This downdip oil has been defined as cellar oil991 in contradistinction to "attic oil" which is the oil above the structurally highest well in reservoirs where a natural water drive is present. In this study, two methods of producing cellar oil by water flooding a one-well reservoir were investigated by means of a laboratory model. This model was scaled to represent a prototype reservoir having an area of 30 acres, a permeability of 500 md, and a thickness and dip of 30 ft and 30°, respectively. One method considered, the simultaneous injection of water and production of oil from a single well, would require that the lower portion of the productive interval of a well be completed for water injection and the upper portion for oil production. The other method considered, intermittent injection, would involve alternate injection of water into and production of oil from a single well. Injection of water into the formation would repressure the reservoir, causing gas to go back into solution. Since some of the injected water would flow updip from the well, water injection usually would be followed by a waiting period during which the water could drain from above the wellbore. Production of oil by gravity drainage and gas-cap drive could be initiated when water drainage became sufficiently complete. The amount of water produced along with the oil would naturally depend on how soon after water injection ceased that production was started. This process could be repeated in cycles until oil could no longer be produced economically. Of these two methods, the intermittent injection technique would be simpler to put into operation since it does not require a dual completion. Also, it is probably more generally applicable than the simultaneous injection-production method. It is to be expected that in some reservoirs the rock and fluid properties would be such that practical oil-production rates could not be achieved by the simultaneous technique. However, in reservoirs where the simultaneous method will result in practical rates of oil production, it does have the advantage of permitting immediate, continuous oil production; whereas in the intermittent method, oil production is interrupted by periods of water injection and drainage. It was the objective of this study to determine whether these two methods of cellar oil production are practical for the representative prototype investigated and to evaluate their relative merits. DESIGN OF LABORATORY MODEL SCALING REQUIREMENTS The prototype reservoir and fluids were selected to have the dimensions and physical properties shown in Table 1. The laboratory model was then designed in accordance with well known scaling criteria, as discussed by Croes, et al,2 except for one modification. According to Croes, et al, one requirement of scaling a laboratory model to a reservoir prototype is that both the relative permeabilities and dimensionless capillary pressure be the same functions of water saturation for the model and the prototype. Since unconsolidated sand packs are used in the laboratory model to represent the consolidated porous media of the prototype, it is virtually impossible to satisfy this requirement. Much of the difficulty stems from the fact that unconsolidated sands usually exhibit lower residual oil and connate-water saturations than do reservoir rocks. To satisfy the scaling requirement as nearly as possible, Perkins and Collins' have suggested that the relative permeabilities be re-defined as

By G. K. Dumbauld, B. E. Morgan

Kesults of laboratory investigations of the effects of drilling muds on oil well cements are presented which show that relatively large quantities of untreated muds do not seriously interfere with the setting of cement slurries, but that relalively small quantities of treated muds seriously retard the setting of cement slurries. Laboratory results also indicate that the harmful effects of contamination with treated muds can he counteracted by the addition of activated charcoal to cements. Also described is the successful use of cement containing activated charcoal for the placement of plugs in oPel hole after previous attempts with ordinary cement had been unsuccessful. INTRODUCTION The contamination of cement slurry by dilution with drilling mud has long been considered a cause of failure in oil well cementing. The cement slurry must displace the drilling mud from the annulus between the casing and the walls of the borehole. and it is probable that some mixing of the slurry and the mud occurs even under the most nearly ideal displacement conditions. Hole enlargement, failure to center the casing in the hole, and formation of gel structure in the drilling mud increase the probability of contamination. In some cementing operations, such as the placement of a cement plug in open hole, considerable mixing of the mud and slurry is likely. Many cement failures which can be attributed logically to no cause other than contamination of the cement slurry by the mud attest the need of a better understanding of this problem. Considerable attention was given to the problem of mud contamination of cements about 20 years ago.The effects of field mud upon cement slurries prepared with different amounts of mix water were investigated thoroughly, and the data obtained were invaluable in determining the causes of the high percentage of failure in oil-well cementing at that time and in bringing about improved cementing results. Since then, many aspects of the problem have changed, due primarily to advancements in cement and drilling mud technology. Today, several types of portland cement are used in well cementing and numerous chemical additives are used in drilling muds. An excellent report on the effects of drilling mud additives on oil-well cements was issued during 1951 by the American Petroleum Institute. Data in the report revealed that many mud additives, notably organic materials in relatively small amounts, produce a marked effect on the properties of cements. Prior to this time, little information has been available on the effects of chemicals commonly used in the treatment of drilling muds upon the properties of cements. Another aspect of the problem of mud contamination of cements, which has received no attention heretofore, is the possibility of producing a cement having properties unaffected by a reasonable amount of mud contamination. In view of the need for additional information on the contamination of present-day cements by currently-used drilling Muds, the investigation described herein was initiated Several years ago with a two-fold purpose: first, to determine the capacity of cement slurries to tolerate contamination by both untreated and treated muds without loss of ability to set and develop strength within a reasonable time; and, second, to investigate the possibility of enhancing the ability of cement slurries to withstand mud contamination by incorporating additives in the cement. The data for this study were obtained by mixing drilling mud with cement slurry and testing the resulting slurry-mud mixture for rate of set and development of strength. Also, several materials were tested for their possible improvement of the property of cement slurry to withstand mud contamination; these materials were tested in both contaminated and uncontaminated cement slurries.

Jan 1, 1952

By J. R. Lucas, H. E. Rutherford

The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasonic testing for the purpose of analyzing the structure and properties of rock material. A secondary objective of this study was to determine experimentally the elastic wnstants of various rock specimens with the use of ultrasonic equipment. Elastic constants can definitely be determined quickly and accurately by ultrasonic investigation. With proper equipment there are indications that ultrasonic waves could be utilized in the detection of flaws, such as fractures and planes of weakness, measurement of thickness, and the study of structure of rock material. Ultrasonic principles have been applied in many industries for the purpose of determining the structural characteristics of various materials. The principal applications of interest here are detecting flaws, measuring thicknesses, and determining elastic constants. The main advantage of ultrasonic analysis is that it is nondestructive. It also has extreme sensitivity, high penetrability, good accuracy, rapid response, and the necessity to have access to only one side of the specimen. These various applications and advantages lead one to think that ultrasonic principles might be applied to rock material in situ for purposes of analyzing its structural characteristics. Therefore, the primary objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasonic testing for the purpose of analyzing the structure and properties of rock material. A secondary objective of this research was to determine experimentally the elastic constants of various rock specimens with the use of ultrasonic equipment. The term ultrasonics is given to that branch of acoustics dealing with periodic sounds whose fre- quencies are above the audible range or above approximately 15,.000 to 20,000 cps. The first practical production of this high frequency sound was made possible after World War I due to developments of electronically controlled sound wave sources. At the present, the maximum practically attainable ultrasonic frequency is approximately 1000 megacycles per sec. Sound waves of sufficiently high frequency can be made to travel in a beam with little spreading. Therefore, such a beam can explore a material and detect nonhomogeneities in it by reflection. This is the principle of the ultrasonic reflectoscope invented by F. A. Firestone' in 1942. An ultrasonic beam, on pulse-penetratink a solid material medium, produces an echo when it strikes a flaw which has different acoustical properties than the surrounding medium. This echo can be detected by the same transducer which sends out the original pulse. This principle is the basis of the important industrial techniques of nondestructive ultrasonic testing of metals and other solid material. Later developments in the field of ultrasonic testing of solid material have been mostly improvements in equipment and instrumentation. To date, most of the industrial applications of ultrasonic analysis of solid bodies have been in the aircraft, electrical, and nuclear energy fields on the nondestructive testing of metal. The one solid material similar somewhat to rock material, upon which some work has been done to apply ultrasonic testing techniques to study structural integrity, is concrete. Jones and Gatfield3 briefly summarize this work on concrete. Their basic conclusion was that the strength of concrete was a function of the change of the longitudinal sound wave velocity in the concrete. Only recently has any extensive study been made to apply ultrasonic testing techniques to rock material. Lutsch studied rock material by an ultrasonic pulse method to determine the extent and degree of fracture of rock faces. Lutsch states that the number of observed reflections is a measure of the degree of fracture and that only ultrasonic waves are able to detect fractured zones subjected to high pressure. Suzuki, Sasaki, and Siohara5 studied the characteristics of the sonic wave in rock for propagation over a wide range of wave lengths. They indicated that, in rock, the propagation constant and attenuation of the

Jan 1, 1962

By P. A. Beck, Hsun Hu

It has been known for many years that in cold drawn polycrystalline aluminum the recrystallization texture is practically identical with the deformation texture.l,2,3 V. Goeler and Sachs4 stated that in cold rolled polycrystalline aluminum, too, the deformation texture is retained upon recrystallization. This behavior was interpreted by Dehlinger9 as an indication that each recrystallized grain inherits the orientation of the matrix in which it grew. However, Burgers and Basart showed6 that in deformed aluminum single crystals the orientation of the recrystallized grains strongly deviates from that of the matrix. Barrett demonstrated8 that even in deformed polycrystalline aggregates the local orientation within each deformed grain changes on recrystallization. No explanation has as yet been offered of how the aggregate texture can be retained, while the local texture is everywhere changing. According to Burgers and Louwerse6 the orientation change on recrystallization in compressed and rolled aluminum single crystals corresponds to a rotation around [112] axes lying in the active slip planes and perpendicular to active slip directions. This orientation change was rationalized by them on the assumption that the orientation of the recrystallized grains is determined by the orientation of the available nuclei, and that these nuclei are small fragments of the deformed crystal, rotated in the deformation process. Barrett pointed out,? however, that these assumptions were by no means proven, and that the total volume of material necessary for the nuclei is so small, that it must be available in any orien- tation whatever. It is, therefore, unlikely that an "oriented nucleation" theory could satisfactorily explain the orientation changes in recrystallization of a deformed crystal. Furthermore, in contradiction to Burgers and LOU-werse's conclusions, Barrett's results for the orientation change could be best expressed in terms of rotations around. [Ill] axes. Thus agreement is lacking not only in the interpretations but apparently even in the experimental results contributed by the various investigators. The orientation relationships on coarsening* in a highly oriented polycrystalline matrix were first investigated by Burgers and Basart.5 They produced a fine grained highly oriented matrix by the recrystallization of a compressed or rolled single crystal of aluminum, and studied the orientation relationships in three successive generations of crystals: the "deformation texture" in the single crystal, the recrystallization texture, and the coarsening texture. Burgers24 showed that the preferred orientation of each successive generation was almost always widely different from that of the preceding one, but that the coarse grains often approximately reverted to the orientation of their grandparent, the deformed single crystal. This observation, and the idea that the orientation of the coarse grains is determined by that of the available "nuclei," led to the concept that the coarse grains are nucleated by the remnants of the deformation texture.12,15 On the other hand, Bowles and Boas16 found, in a carefully conducted experiment, that in recrystallized fine grained copper of cube texture coarse grains grow in orientations which can be derived from the orientation of the recrystallized matrix by rotation around a [lll].] direction: the coarsening texture here does not appear to be related in any simple manner to the original rolling texture from which the cube texture had been obtained by recrystallization. It may be assumed that in a recrystallized material, even with a strong texture, there always are present some grains of practically any orientation. These may serve as "nuclei" for the coarse grains, provided that the conditions are favorable for their growth. The existence of a coarsening texture may be considered as an indication that grains with certain relative orientations with respect to the preferred orientation of their neighbors can grow much faster than others. This "oriented growth" theory was briefly suggested by van Arkel, as early as 1936,13 and it was mentioned by Burgers." Recently, C. G. Dunn produced direct

Jan 1, 1950

By M. R. Tek, F. F. Craig, J. O. Wilkes, C. S. Goddin

The waterflood performance of a water-wet, stratified system with crossflow is computed by a finite difference procedure. The effects of five dimensionless parameters on tile oil displacement efficiency, water saturation con-tour.7 and crossflow rates are evaluated in the absence of gravity forces. Crossflow due to viscous and capillary forces is shown to exert a significant effect on oil recovery in a field-scale model of a two-layered. water-wet sandstone reservoir. The crossflow is at a maximum in the vicinity of the front advancing in the more permeable layer. Under favorable mobility ratio conditions, the comparted oil recovery with crossflow always is interrnerliate between that predicted for a uniform reservoir and that for a layered reservoir with no crossflow. INTRODUCTION The important erects of reservoir heterogeneity on waterflood performance are commanding increased attention in the technical literature. Much of this attention is centered on two categories of layered reservoirs: those in which layers are non-communicating and those in which crossflow of fluids occurs between the layers. In the first category, the reservoir is assumed to consist of discrete layers, each uniform within itself and differing from the others only in such properties as thickness, porosity and absolute permeability. The performance within each layer is calculated by one-dimensional flow theory, and the performance of the total reservoir is obtained by summing individual layer performances. Capillary and gravity effects usually are not considered. Representative publications dealing with thi5 type of reservoir are those of Stiles,' Dykstra and Parsons,' Hiatt,3 Warren and Cosgrove' and Higgins and Leighton." Prediction of performance for reservoirs in the second category is considerably more difficult since viscous, capillary and gravitational forces all play important roles in causing crossflow between layers. A number of authors have investigated the simpler problem of two-dimensional displacement flow in a stratified system with a mobility ratio of unity and negligible capillary and gravity effects.'; Others have considered two-dimensional, non-steady-state flow of a single, slightly compressible fluid in a stratified reservoir. A limited number of laboratory oil displacement tests in layered models with crossflow have been reported. Miscible floods (with resultant zero capillary forces) in layered five-spot models were conducted by Dyes and Braun," who studied the effect of mobility ratio with zero gravity forces, and by Craig et al. 12 who studied the effect of gravity forces at constant mobility ratio. Waterfloods in layered five-spot models (with cross-tlow due to capillary, viscous and gravity forces) were conducted by Gaucher and Lindley,"' who showed the effect of gravity forces in causing underrunning of the injected water and by Carpenter, Bail and Bobek, 14 who demonstrated the reliability of Rapoport's" dimension-less parameters for scaling layered systems. Waterfloods in rectangular layered models were conducted by Richardson and Perkins."' who investigated the effect of velocity at constant mobility ratio and with zero gravity forces, and by Hutchinson," who studied the effects of varying mobility, layer permeability and layer thickness ratios. The differential equations which rigorously describe waterflooding in a heterogenous porous medium are non-linear and do not facilitate analytical solution. By using finite difference approximations it is possible to obtain a solution to any desired degree of accuracy. Such a solution, using an alternating direction implicit procedure (ADJP), is described by Douglas, Peaceman and Rachford.18 In the present study, a computer program using ADJP explores systematically the effects of important parameters on waterflood performance of a two-dimensional, two-layered, field-scale model of a water-wet sandstone system. Particular attention is given to evaluation of the water saturation contours and crossflow rates at the interface between layers to gain improved understanding of the crossflow mechanism. PROCEDURE BASIC: FLOW EQUATIONS The basic flow equations for two-dimensional, two-phase, immiscible, incon~pressible flow in a porous medium are:

Jan 1, 1967

By C. R. Sandberg, C. A. Connally, N. Stein

This paper describes the results of volumetric efficiency tests on oil well pumps handling gas oil mixtures. The work was performed in a large scale, above ground unit wherein test conditions could be accurately controlled and measured. The main variables studied were gas/oil ratio (including gas from solution and free gas mixed with oil), pump compression ratio, pump stroke length, pump speed, and clearance volume between the valves at their closest approach. Results are presented for two different pumps and for oils of two viscosities. Relatively small amounts of gas entering the pump resulted in large decreases in volumetric efficiency. Under conditions where the pump was operating at reduced efficiency because of the presence of gas, it was found that variation in the clearance volume between the standing and traveling valves had a considerable effect on pump efficiency level. This effect of the valve clearance volume was found to be significantly altered by the viscosity of the oil used in the tests. The effects on pump efficiency of the other variables studied were found to be relatively small over the range of conditions utilized. INTRODUCTION The production of oil by pumping is often hampered by low volumetric efficiency. A direct increase in lifting costs results from low volumetric efficiency. An indirect increase in lifting costs, probably greater than the direct increase, results from additional wear and tear on pumping equipment and from the down-time necessary for the repairs which can be traced to low-efficiency operation. Both increases in lifting costs tend to reduce economically recoverable oil. A number of different factors can contribute to low pump efficiency. A known basic cause of low efficiency is the presence of free gas in the pumped fluid. Pump volumetric efficiency is calculated only on the basis of liquid pumped and because any free gas pumped is discounted, this volume of free gas would represent a loss of pump efficiency. However, gas also causes a reduction in pump efficiency because it is a highly compressible fluid. It is known that pumps some- times "gas lock" because of excessive gas-to-liquid ratios in the pump barrel. Little is known of the role of gas compressibility in the intermediate case where the pump is operating at low efficiency. The opinion exists, however, that oil-well pumps tend to operate at higher efficiency with long stroke lengths at low speeds, but no quantitative studies of these pumping variables have been reported. It was believed that a much better understanding of the variables which control pump volumetric efficiency could be obtained and that possibly some suggestions as to the methods for increasing efficiency might be found from a study of the operation of pumps handling gas under closely controlled conditions. Previous investigators have studied the effects on pump efficiency of such factors as oil viscosity, oil temperature, slippage of oil. past pump plungers, pump submergence, valve size and spacing, pressure above pump plunger and fluid vapor pressure. However, none of these published investigations were conducted with pumps being subjected to large amounts of gas such as might be the case in a pumping well, nor did any of the investigations study the effect of variation in stroke length or pump speed. A large-scale teat unit was therefore constructed for studying the operation of pumps handling gas and for evaluating effects of such variables as pump stroke length and pump speed. PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT A schematic diagram of the pump testing equipment is given in Fig. 1. A 45-ft length of 6-in. casing is mounted vertically in a 65-ft tower. Sight ports are mounted in the casing at intervals near the location of the pump intake and the liquid level in the casing. These sight ports are fitted with Lucite windows sealed by neoprene "0" rings. The Lucite windows are machined to conform to the I.D. of the casing so that no obstruction to flow is present along the casing wall. The casing is fitted with a tubing head and 2-in. tubing is hung inside the casing. Pumps are seated in a shoe attached to the 2-in. tubing. A 1-in. polish rod is attacked directly to the pump without any intervening sucker rods. The top of the polish rod is attached to the weight carrier, which contains a number of weights to be used to force the polish rod in against tubing pressure on the down-stroke. This is necessary because a long string of sucker

Jan 1, 1953

By G. Sachs, A. W. Dana, C. C. Chow

A great number of the investigations on the plastic flow of metals have been concerned with the establishment of a "universal" stress-strain relation. In such a relation some stress function when plotted against a strain function should yield identical curves for the various stress states. In the first investigation of this type, Ludwik and Scheu1 plotted the maximum shearing stress as a function of the maximum principal strain. Later Ros and Eichinger2 introduced two universal stress-strain relations, the one relating the maximum shearing stress to the maximum shearing strain, and the other relating a stress invariant, suggested by von Mises and Haigh, to the corresponding strain invariant. (In more recent investigations the stress and strain invariants are frequently supplemented with some factor to render their meaning more lucid.) A further suggestion which has not attracted appreciable attention is that by Baranski³ who used stress and strain deviators. The most common means of experimentation to determine the relation between stress and strain consists in subjecting thin walled tubes to combined internal pressure and axial tension.4a,4b,4c This method allows the study of plastic flow under stresses which are variable in two directions. However, the plastic flow which can be obtained in this manner is comparatively small, being limited by either tension failure or instability. For copper,'. only the relation between maximum shearing stress and maximum shearing strain yielded good agreement. On the other hand, tests on a stee14b and on an aluminum alloy4c. resulted in systematic deviations if any of the discussed universal stress-strain relations were used. It would seem, therefore, that the agreement mentioned above for copper is only incidental and explained by its high rate of strain hardening compared to that of other metals. Much larger strains than experienced in the tube tests can be obtained by subjecting a thin membrane of a ductile metal, which is restrained at its periphery, to a uniform hydraulic pressure. The thin sheet forms a deep bulge before it fails. The stresses and strains in such a bulge increase with increasing distance from the edge of the clamping "die," the maximum stresses and strains occurring at the pole (crown) of the bulge. While the stress and strain states are determined by the contour of the bulge, the absolute magnitude of the stresses and strains depends upon the hydraulic pressure. The bulge contour is in turn correlated with the geometry of the die opening. The deformation and fracture characteristics of circular bulges, that is, bulges formed with circular clamping dies, have been the subject of numerous experimental and analytical investi-gations.5,6,7 It has been shown that plastically deformed circular bulges develop large and comparatively uniform strains before failure by instability"6b,6c,6d and closely assume a spherical shape.6d Also the distribution of strains across the contour of the bulge is dependent on the metal being investigated and is correlated with, but cannot be predicted from, the metal's stress-strain characteristics. On the other hand, oblong or elliptical bulges, that is, bulges formed with elliptical clamping dies, are not as susceptible to analytical analysis and have not been investigated to the extent that circular bulges have. The few available data6c,7c indicate that stress states are obtained at the poles of the bulges, varying between plane strain and balanced biaxial tension, depending upon the geometry of the die opening. In this paper, the strain state and curvatures exhibited by three bulge shapes, a circular and two elliptical bulges, Fig 1, are analyzed experimentally using methods described in previous publications.6a,6c An attempt is made to derive the stress-strain relations for these bulges, which represent strain states in which the ratio of the two positive principal strains varied between 1.0 and 0.35. In addition, tension tests yielded data for a value of —0.5 for this strain ratio. Such an analysis should indicate the applicability of the various laws correlating stress with strain to the stress and strain states occurring in bulged shapes. Definitions and Nomenclature The definitions of the major stress and strain quantities used in this paper are as follows: s1, s2, s3 = principal normal stresses Sl > s2 > S3 t = shear stress e = conventional (unit) strain e = In (1 + e) El, E2, E3 = principal natural strains 7 = shear strain The maximum shear stress: , _ S1 — S3 lmax = 2 Frequently, the flow stress, s1 — s3 = 2lmax rather than the maximum shear stress is used.

Jan 1, 1950

By T. H. Alden

Using alternating tension-compression straining, the hardening of magnesium oxide single crystals was studied up to large stresses and strains. At 0.25 pct plastic strain amplitude, the hardening curve is approximately linear with slope 25,000 psi from the shear yield stress, 7 to 8000 psi, to 35,000psi. Above this stress, the slope decreases. The strain hardening behavior of MgO is considered qualitatively similar to that of metal single crystals. The relatively high stress attainable by strain hardening is associated apparently with the high yield stress on the cross-slip system, (001) <110>. Cleavage fracture during testing is uncommon. It is argued that the centers of high internal stress at glide band intersections, at which cracks tend to nucleate, are dispersed by cyclic strain. Special features of the glide band structure produced by cyclic strain and revealed by dislocation etch pits, support this view. Strain hardened MgO has mechanical properties greatly superior to the as-received material: yield stress, greater than 100,000 psi; elongation to fracture about 1 pct. A material is said to strain harden if the yield stress increases with an increment of plastic strain. This definition is usually applied for straining done in one direction, but is also applicable when the strain direction is periodically reversed, Fig. 1. For certain metal single crystals, data are available which permit a comparison of the hardening behavior for cyclic straining and for tension straining.&apos;-4 With certain qualifications, these data show that the same processes of hardening are operative in each type of test.5 Despite this fact, the importance of the technique is not immediately evident, although tension-compression studies of the common metals appear to suggest some deficiencies in theories of strain hardening developed exclusively on the basis of tensile tests. However, a recent observation suggests that the cyclic straining method may be very useful for studying semibrittle crystals in which large plastic strains are not accessible in unidirectional testing. The observation is that zinc crystals, when strained in tension-compression at -52°C, do not fail by cleavage at low stress (-500 psi)6 as they do in tension, but harden to a limiting stress of more than 5000 psi over a total plastic strain of about 600 pct.2 An important characteristic of the behavior of zinc crystals is the high stress, relative to the yield stress, attainable by strain hardening. By comparison, the hardening of aluminum single crystals tested by an identical technique saturates at 1100 psi. This difference is best explained by the cross-slip hypothesis of dynamic recovery.7,8 In zinc, cross slip is difficult because of the high yield stress for glide on planes other than the basal plane in the < 1120 > zone. The present work was undertaken in order to test whether these methods and ideas are applicable to other materials. Magnesium oxide single crystals, in common with most crystals of the rock-salt structure, deform plastically but fail by cleavage after a small strain when tested in tension. It was hoped that larger strains would be attained using tension-compression. There is, in addition, evidence 8a which shows that slip on the probable cross system, (001) < 110>, is difficult in magnesium oxide; it may therefore be possible to attain high stresses by strain hardening. 1) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Experimental methods used in this study were based in part on techniques reported in papers of Stokes, Johnston, and Li.&apos; MgO blocks, purchased from Norton Co., were used without further annealing. Specimens were cleaved to dimensions approximately 0.125 in. sq and 1 in. in length. The gage section, formed by chemical polishing, was sprinkled with 280 mesh silicon carbide particles in order to introduce fresh dislocations. The crystals were then cemented into cylindrical aluminum adapters and clamped in an Instron testing machine. One of two alternating straining programs was used. In the first, total cross-head travel was established and increased in steps after various numbers of cycles. In the second, a capacitance gage was used to directly measure the elongation of the specimen and the crosshead was controlled so as to keep the plastic strain amplitude constant. The straining was always symmetrical with respect to the initial, zero strain condition. While both procedures produce strain hardening, only the latter permits a measure of the total plastic strain so that hardening curves may be drawn. Constant plastic strain amplitude tests were done

Jan 1, 1963

By Arthur G. Metcalfe

Arthur G. Metcalfe (SOLAR)—Three explanations to account for mechanical nucleation effects are considered in the paper, viz., theories based on fragmentation, agglomeration, and pressure-wave mechanisms. The authors show that none of these mechanisms will explain the results observed with tin and Sn-Pb alloys. A fourth mechanism of nucleation enhancement was developed during work at Armour Research Foundation on casting of beryllium and, although presented briefly on various occasions, the theory has never been discussed adequately. It is believed that this theory will explain many of the observations. Classical homogeneous nucleation theories assume that embryo nuclei are formed in the melt as a result of compositional and/or thermal fluctuations. Stable nuclei are formed when a critical size is reached such that the decrease in free energy for conversion of this volume of melt to solid offsets the increase of surface, energy. The assumption is made that the average properties of liquid and solid metal can be used. In practice this assumption is invalid and indeed is contrary to the postulation of thermal and compositional fluctuations in the melt. Actually the conditions favoring embryo formation bring the seeds of its own destruction—the thermal and compositional fluctuations leave the embryo surrounded by atoms of higher thermal energies and/or by solute atoms that depress the melting point. Any mechanical method of dispersing this destructive

Jan 1, 1964

By Arthur E. Bousu, C. T. Eddy, L. W. Eastwood

THE recrystallization and grain-growth phenomena of cold-worked metals have considerable industrial importance because of their role in the fabrication of metals. For this reason, and because of the general academic interest in the subject, these processes have received considerable attention since the time of J. E. Stead&apos;s paper1 on The Crystalline Structure of Iron and Steel. There are considerable differences of opinion regarding the theory of recrystallization and grain growth and also differences in the observation of the modus operandi of the processes themselves. The value of many of the existing quantitative data on grain growth is decreased by the failure to distinguish between the grain sizes just after complete recrystallization and those resulting from coalescence. For this reason also, the value of the diagrams of stable grain sizes, like those produced by . Bass and Glocker2 and Czochralski3, is lessened in so far as an interpretation of the facts of recrystallization is concerned. It is hoped that the data presented in this paper will help to clarify and to simplify the facts relating to recrystallization, and at the same time will show that some of the present-day conceptions are untenable. A paper on the theory of recrystallization with additional data will be completed in the near future by the writers.

Jan 1, 1935

By Bruce Chalmers, D. C. Larson

Aluminum crystals with longitudinal-axis orientations of (111) . (110), and (100) were deforined in tension and annealed. The conditions of deformation were controlled so that the re crystallization nuclei originated in either the heavily deformed regions at saw cuts {artificial nucleation) or in the lightly deformed matrix (spontaneous nucleation). The artificial-nucleatioln experiments showed that in lightly deformed (110) and (100) crystals low-angle twist boundaries are most mobile, while in (111> crystals and heavily deformed (110) and (100) crystals high-angle tilt boundaries with near (111) rotations are favored. The spontaneous-nucleation experiments showed the existence of preferred orientations in the (111) crystals. The nonrandomness of the grain orientations is quantitatively determined through a comparison with the results which would he obtained from a randowl set of grain ovientations. PREVIOUS recrystallization studies have been performed on single crystals deformed in tension.1 7 The crystals used in these studies usually had random tensile-axis orientations and the extent of deformation was not a primary consideration. The present study concerns the recrystallization of single crystals with tensile-axis orientations of (Ill), (110), and (100). The emphasis of this work is on the influence of the tensile-axis orientation and the degree of deformation on both the nucleation and growth processes. The multiple-slip orientations were chosen because secondary slip or slip intersection promotes nucleation.1,5,8 These crystals recrystallize at lower strains than the crystals which are oriented for single slip. Also, the greatest variation in deformation behavior is exhibited by the multiple-slip orientations. The stress-strain curves for crystals with tensile-axis orientations of (111) are higher than the stress-strain curves for poly-crystals, and the stress-strain curves for crystals with tensile-axis orientations of (100) are lower (at large strains) than the stress-strain curves for the crystals which deform initially in single slip.g The recrystallization nuclei originated in either 1) the homogeneously* deformed matrix of the crys- tals or 2) the heavily and inhomogeneously deformed regions at saw cuts. The nuclei will be referred to hereafter as spontaneous and artificial nuclei, respectively. The two terms do not imply a difference in the nature of the nuclei; they imply simply a difference in the mode of introduction of the nuclei. During spontaneous nucleation very few (always less than ten) grains nucleate, while during artificial nucleation large numbers of grains nucleate. Only a fraction of the artificially nucleated grains penetrate very far into the deformed matrix during annealing. The grains that penetrate the farthest into the deformed matrix will be referred to as the dominant grains. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The thirty-five crystals used in this investigation were grown from the melt in milled graphite boats at a rate of 1.6 cm per hr. The crystals had dimensions of approximately 6 by 12 by 80 or 6 by 6 by 80 mm and the aluminum was of 99.992 pet purity. The as-grown crystals were annealed at 610°C for 24 hr and furnace-cooled. They were then heavily etched and electropolished in a solution of five parts methanol to one part perchloric acid. The crystal orientations were obtained by back-reflection Laue photographs and were accurate to ±2 deg. The tensile-axis orientations were (loo), (110), and (111). Two of the side faces of the (111) crystals were (110) lanes. The (110) crystals had both {100) and {110) side faces and the (100) crystals had (100) side faces. The crystals were deformed at a strain rate of 0.003 per min. Shear stress and shear strain were obtained by multiplying and dividing the tensile stress and strain, respectively, by the Schmid factor, m. For the (111) crystals m = 0.272 and for the (110) and the (100) crystals m = 0.408. The Schmid factor is effectively constant during deformation for all orientations. The deformed crystals were sawed into 1-in.-long specimens while the crystals were totally enclosed in a graphite boat. The sawing was performed very carefully in order to limit the plastic deformation to the sawed regions. The specimens were electropolished in the solution mentioned above to remove the sawed-end deformation as well as controlled amounts of surface material. A special stainless-steel grip was used to hold the specimens during the electropolishing treatment. The gripping faces were flat, with no teeth, to prevent the introduction of extraneous de-

Jan 1, 1964

By W. H. Bassett

One of the difficulties for many young engineers is the acceptance of responsibility. Even though they start as assistants to older men, they hesitate to offer positive opinions. They often make reports of observations and leave the boss to draw his own conclusions. If they happen to be in a position where they are not reporting to a senior engineer, and it is necessary to take the final responsibility for a decision, they try to get someone to help out and either assume or share such responsibility. Generally this is the result of want of confidence in one&apos;s self and fear that something may happen to go wrong and bring about criticism. Frequently diffidence is the principal factor. Young men come to me with reports on work that has been well done and well written up, who are evidently laboring under an intense desire to drop through the floor or to make a rapid&apos; exit in some other way because of want of confidence. In my own early experience a consulting job came in that required considerable investigation. The man who was handing his place over to me mentioned my good fortune and I replied that the work would be interesting and I could handle it all right but feared the responsibility, which seemed considerable. He was an

Jan 1, 1932

By August Wendel

IT is a well-known fact to all Bessemer steel manufacturers using a blooming mill, that ingots show large cracks in the first few passes of the rolls, which, in the following ones, do not always roll up satisfactorily. This deficiency in the quality of the product is generally called " red-shortness," though, in the writer&apos;s opinion, mostly unjustly so. Different explanations for the said peculiarity are given by the leading authorities, each works selecting one element as a special scape-goat for the inferior quality of the ingot. The sulphur is generally first charged as being the principal cause of all mischief in this direction ; then, after ascertaining that sulphur is not higher than the average, and sometimes lower in the very worst heats, silicon has to bear its share of abuse. How and why silicon should affect the working qualities of the metal, the writer could never precisely learn, but is convinced that the doctrine of its pernicious influence is an established one with many. In cases where silicon failed to explain everything, resort was taken to calcium, aluminum, and some other known or unknown elements, without settling the difficulty; and lastly, when the skill of the chemist became exhausted, " practical men " came to the same conclusion, which many leading blast-furnace managers had arrived

Jan 1, 1876