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By Carl J. Christensen

This paper presents the development of diamond coring of the Weber sand section in the Rangely Field, Colorado. The description and operation of the diamond-coring equipment is included as well as the economics and results obtained by its use. Diamond coring is compared with the other methods used for drilling the Weber sand. Two types of diamond coring are discussed. The first and the one used most extensively is the regular 6 ?x 3¾-in. diamond bit and bottom hole 50-ft barrel. The second type, which has also been used successfully by Stanolind, consists of a 4 13/16 x 2 11/32-in. cutting bit and reverse circulation coring equipment. The first type will be referred to as regular or conventional diamond coring while the latter type will be referred to as reverse circulation diamond coring. Introduction Diamond coring has been used for many years in mines, quarries, surface coring at dam sites, laboratory work, and so on, but, until recently, had never been used very extensively in coring oil sands and other oil-bearing strata. It was demonstrated early in its development that hard forma-tions could be cut rapidly and that core recoveries far exceeded those obtained with conventional hard rock bits and quite often 100 pet recovery was obtained. However, the poorly constructed diamond-coring equipment and resulting high costs of early diamond coring slowed down its progress. Early in the development Of the Rangely Weber field, Rio Blanco County, Colorado, the Rangely Engineering Committee selected key wells that were to core the Weber section in its entirety. These cores were to be analyzed and various sections tested to gather sufficient information so that accurate reservoir studies could be made. The number of wells selected were kept at a minimum inasmuch as the productive Weber section, which is found at an approximate depth of 6000 ft, is thick, being as much as 600 to 700 ft on top of the structure. The Weber section is also comparatively hard to drill. For instance, one well took 60 days to core 490 ft of Weber sand with conventional coring equipment. It was noticed, however, that Core Labora-verse diamond plug cutter could quickly cut a plug from. one of these hard cores. This fact led to the serious consideration of diamond coring the Weber sand. The first diamond coring at Randy was performed by Stanolind in August 1946 andl although we experienced some difficulties, the results definitely indicated that diamond coring would be successful at Rangely for .coring the Weber sand. As more wells were cored and the equipment improved somewhat, diamond coring became less expensive than drilling the Weber sand with the conventional rock bit. In less than one Year diamond coring has definitely Proved its usefulness in oil-field drilling operations in the Rocky Mountain area where formations quite often drill very hard. The practice of spot coring in hard oil-bearing formations with conventional coring equipment is giving way diaimond coring of the entire sections, thus givng an operator the complete picture.

Jan 1, 1948

By Earl Oliver

SEVERAL notable papers, and free discussion on many controversial subjects, marked the various sessions of the Petroleum Division at the annual meeting. The Division first convened on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 16, and wound up with a dinner and technical meeting on Thursday night. H. C. Fowler presided at the opening session, which was devoted to problems of engineering research and production engineering. Joseph Chalmers abstracted his paper on the flow of air and gas through porous media, in the preparation of which E. L Rawlins and D. B. Talia-ferro contributed. G. H. Fancher told how much he and his associates at Pennsylvania State College were interested in this field, and described the problems they had met in conducting test work. He made a plea for standardization of testing methods. Mr. Fowler then read an abstract of written discussion by Professor Barb, which was followed by discussion by Dr. Fancher and Mr. Chalmers of technical points in connection with the Chalmers' paper. H. H. Hill abstracted written discussion from Messrs. Wilde and Moore, of the Humble company. The second paper, by K. B. Nowels, on computing pressure drop in the pipe of flowing oil wells, was abstracted by the author. Messrs. Blair Smith, G. W. Coggeshall, and I. I. Gardescu participated in the discussion, and the chairman abstracted written discussion prepared by Mr. Rawlins. Most of this had to do with the viscosity of gas¬oil mixtures, on which subject Mr. Nowels said there was great need of accurate technical information.

Jan 1, 1932

By H. S. Cannon, F. N. Rhines

IT. H. Hausner( Sylvunia Electric Products Inc., Bay-side, N. Y.)—The results reported by the authors are interesting because they contribute some information on the principles of sintering and also because of a certain practical value for the manufacture of powder . metallurgical parts in production. Pressed powder compacts are frequently sintered in a boat in several layers so that the lower layers are actually sintered under the weight of the upper layers and, therefore, are frequently deformed. The authors gave information on this deformation process by determining the effect of the load on the density. The experimental setup of the authors, however, has a disadvantage—that the sintering occurred in a cylindrical container so that the deformation was stopped in the direction of the diameter. The authors should have rather called this a study of hot-pressing than of sintering. I want to call the attention of the authors and others interested in sintering under load to the experimental work described by Dawihl and Rix.' These authors sintered cylindrical compacts under a lengthwise ten-sional load of 0 to 25 g and found that the shrinkage in length and diameter changes considerably with the load, but that the volume shrinkage is affected very little by the load. H. S. Cannon (authors' reply)—We wish to thank Dr. Hausner for calling attention to the experimental work of Dawihl and Rix. The fact that they found volume shrinkage little affected by varying tensional loads during sintering seems to support the contention that the forces due to loading are equivalent to and additive to the forces which cause densification. This contention is the basis of our comparison of sintering and creep.

Jan 1, 1952

By Terkel Rosenqvist

THE desulphurization of molten iron and steel is a very complicated process. One way to arrive at a better understanding of this process is to break it down into several simpler chemical processes that can be studied individually in the laboratory. For a study of the different factors that influence the equilibrium distribution of sulphur between liquid metals and slags, several simpler equilibria may be investigated. One very important subject is the determination of the escaping tendency of sulphur in the liquid metal and its dependency on temperature and composition of the melt. Several papers in this field have recently been published.', ' Another subject is the study of the sulphur capacity of the slag. A molten slag is indeed complex, and even if sulphur distribution data for a large variety of molten slags may give empirical data about their desulphurizing power, the importance of the individual components is still not quite clear. It is accepted generally that lime is the most important desulphurizing component in the slag. The present investigation has as its purpose to study the desulphurizing power of lime in its standard state, and to provide a basis for thermodynamic calculations of the desulphurizing power of various lime-containing slags. The standard state of lime at steelmaking temperatures is solid calcium oxide, CaO. It can react with sulphur to form solid calcium sulphide, CaS. The relative stability of calcium oxide and calcium sulphide is expressed by the free energy of the reaction: 2Ca0 (s) + S1 (g) = 2CaS (s) + O2 (g) The existing free energy data for this reaction, listed by Kelley5 nd Osborn,' are uncertain to about 10 kcal and are of limited value for a calculation of equilibrium constants. Under the conditions prevailing in a melting furnace, the sulphur pressure may be expressed conveniently by the ratio H,S/H2 and the oxygen pressure by the ratio H,O/H, (or CO,/CO). The desulphurizing power of calcium oxide may, therefore, be studied by the reaction CaO + HIS = CaS + H2O. A study of this reaction may be complicated by certain side reactions: Water vapor and hydrogen sulphide may react. to form sulphur dioxide, and calcium sulphide may be oxidized to calcium sulphate. A thermodynamic calculation shows that these side reactions will be suppressed to insignificance if the equilibrium is studied in the presence of an excess of hydrogen. The apparatus used is shown in Fig. 1. About 10 g calcium oxide and 20 g calcium sulphide (laboratory qualities) were intimately mixed, and some water was added to make a thick paste. The paste was put into a thimble of zirconium silicate, which was placed within the constant temperature zone of a furnace, and capillary refractory tubes were attached in both ends. After the mixture had been heated in dry hydrogen at 1000°C for several hours all Ca(OH), and CaCO, had decomposed and CaSO, was reduced, so only CaO and CaS remained in the thimble forming a porous plug. The mixture was examined by X-ray diffraction after the initial reduction in dry hydrogen as well as after the subsequent experimental runs up to 1425 °C. It was shown that crystalline calcium oxide and calcium sulphide were always present together in about equal amounts. The unit cell edges were found to be 4.80A for CaO and 5.68A for CaS in good agreement with existing literature values." This shows that the mutual solid solubility is very small, and that the compounds are present in their standard states. Purified hydrogen was passed through water sat-urators kept at constant temperature in a thermostat bath. The amount of water vapor saturation was checked by means of a dew point method, not shown on Fig. 1. The gas mixture was passed through the capillary inlet into the furnace, where it was sifted through the porous plug of calcium oxide and calcium sulphide. The hydrogen sulphide present in the outgoing gas was absorbed in a zinc acetate solution and the hydrogen was collected over water. When one liter of hydrogen had been collected, the amount of hydrogen sulphide was determined by iodometric titration. As one molecule of H,O is used for the formation of each molecule of H,S, the equilibrium ratio H,S/H,O would be , where (H,O) is the molar concentration in the ingoing gas, and (H,S) the molar concentration in the outgoing gas. In the present work (H,S) was always very small compared to (H20). In order for the observed H,S/H20 ratio to represent the true equilibrium ratio the gas flow has to be: 1—Sufficiently slow to give a complete establishment of equilibrium, and 2—sufficiently fast to counteract thermal diffusion. Incomplete reaction would give a value decreasing with increasing flow rate, and thermal diffusion would give a value increasing with decreasing flow rate. When inlet and outlet tubes of about 2 sq mm cross-section were used, the observed gas ratio was independent of the flow rate between 15 and 125 cc per min, Fig. 2. In this range, therefore, the observed gas ratio represents true equilibrium.* For the rest of the in-

Jan 1, 1952

By D. A. Stevenson, R. A. Burmeister

Single-phase silver antimony telluride has been prepared by zone-melting techniques using initial compositions of A new phase appears upon prolonged annealing of this material, but the reaction does not appear to be a simple eutectoid decomposition. A complete analysis of the phase equilibria is complicated by the slow kinetics involved. The Hall coefficient, magneto -resistance, electrical resistivity, and Seebeck coefficient are all sensitive to the presence of second phases. The low Hall mobilities measured for single-phase material indicate that the usual band theory is inadequate to explain the observed transport properties in the system. Density anomalies of up to 2.5 pet between measured and theoretical density were observed but are not conclusive evidence for a defect structure. COMPOSITIONS in the Ag-Sb-Te system have been studied previously by several investigators.1"18 The interest in this system arises from potential thermoelectric applications of alloys on the Ag2Te-Sb2Tes vertical section. Although the composition corresponding to the formula AgSbTe, has received most attention, it has been found to consist of more than one phase.7'8 A thorough understanding of the properties of this heterogeneous material has been impeded by both lack of knowledge of the properties of the homogeneous phases comprising it and the problem of analysis of transport properties in an inhomogeneous system. The present work describes the preparation of the homogeneous ternary phase and the corresponding electrical properties of both homogeneous and heterogeneous material. MATERIAL PREPARATION Most specimens for this investigation were prepared by encapsulating the elements in evacuated quartz tubes after which they were melted and homogenized in the liquid state. The ambient temperature was then dropped to 500°C and the resulting ingot zone melted. The growth rate, width of zone, stoichiometry, and number of passes have an effect on the resultant microstructure. Grains several centimeters in length were easily produced by this method. Other solidification techniques were also used, including uniform slow cooling of the entire specimen and rapid freezing. The microstructures of specimens produced by these techniques frequently differed appreciably from similar compositions prepared by zoning. A variety of nonequilibrium microstructures characterized by long needlelike particles resulted from the rapid-freeze method. PHASE EQUILIBRIA The lack of information on phase equilibria is a major difficulty associated with a comprehensive study of the Ag-Sb-Te system. Considerable confusion has resulted from the use of the formula AgSbTe, to identify the cubic ternary intermediate phase even though it has been established that material of this stoichiometry normally contains AgzTe as a second phase.798 In this paper, silver antimony telluride will denote the cubic ternary intermediate phase comprising the major portion of AgSbTe,. The term "single phase" will denote material which consists of only the cubic phase (as evidenced by metallographic examination and X-ray diffraction) and the term heterogeneous will describe multiphase material containing AgzTe, SbzTe3, or other phases in addition to the cubic phase. The single-phase material may actually contain a variety of inhomogeneities—gradual changes in composition on a macroscopic scale, localized fluctuations in composition, clusters or other products of early stages of the precipitation process, and a variety of point and line defects—all of which will not be detected by the present techniques for determining homogeneity. Single-phase material has been prepared from compositions close to 59 mole pct SbzTe3 21 (this notation refers to the location on the Ag,Te-Sb2TeS vertical section). Zone widths of =2 cm and growth rates 51.2 cm per hr were used. The single-phase region at elevated temperatures extends off the vertical section to a composition which can be expressed approximately as Ag,,SbzgTes,.9 The latter two compositions as well as AgSbTe, are represented in the conventional Gibbs triangle in Fig. 1. It is not presently possible to ascribe exact values to the limits of the single-phase region on a given isotherm or vertical section due to the extremely

Jan 1, 1964

By J. E. Owen

A model of a porous body is presented in which the pore space consists of a system of voids and interconnecting tubes. Relationships between porosity and resistivity formation factor are determined partly by calculation, partly by experiment. Con triction effects characteristic of the model are shown to be sufficient to account for high formation factors. It is shown that constriction may be combined with moderate amounts of tortuosity to give model pore systems exhibiting to a first approximation porosity and resistivity properties similiar to those of natural porous bodies. INTRODUCTION The relationship between the electric resistivity of a fluid-filled porous body and the geometry of its pore space is so complex that the calculation of the resistivity of a natural porous rock is a practical impossibility. Both the resistivity of a body and its porosity are measurable quantities, however, and previous successes at relating them have been reached by an empirical approach. Efforts at obtaining theoretically derived formulae relating them have generally been unsatisfactory. One of the reasons for this may lie in the pore geometry that has been assumed. THE TORTUOSITY CONCEPT A Parameter called the formation factor is useful in dis-cussing the resistivity of a fluid-filled porous body. This parameter is the ratio of the resistivity of a fluid saturated porous body to the resistivity of the saturating fluid. Formation factors are often available from measurements on cores or from electric logs, and many attempts have been made to correlate formation factors and porosities of geological formations. Whenever a successful correlation is found, the engineer working with electrical logs has a useful tool for the determination of porsities of pay section?. One of the more successful formulae applicable to these correlations is the familiar equation empirically obtained by Archie.' which F is the formation factor. $ is the porosity, and rn is an exponent called the cementation factor. When the for- mula applies, the cementation factor usually is found to be between 1.3 and 2.2. The values for formation factors experimentally obtained are often higher than simple pore geometry would lead one to expect. In an effort to account for such high values certain formulae have been derived based on a so-called "tortuosity concept." In deriving these formulae a synthetic porous body is usually assumed in which the solid material is an electrical non-conductor. and in which the pore system consists of three sets of fluid-filled tubes of uniform diameter connecting opposite faces of the body which, for convenience, is considered to be cubical in shape. The three sets of tubes account for the whole of the effective porosity of the body, and usually, it is specified that they do not interconnect. By considering that the pore tubes are not straight but tortuous, their resistance to the flow of electric currents can be made as high as needed to explain high formation factors. Such an explanation has some basis in fact, but it appears that the tortuosity concept is often incorrectly applied when other factors are largely responsible for observed high resistivities. Recently, Wyllie and Spangler have recognized that tortuosity as calculated by conventional formulae has little if any physical significance.' RESISTIVITY AND THE CONSTRICTION CONCEPT Any explanation of high formation factors which depends solely on tortuosity of uniform pore paths necessarily ignores the effect that variations in the cross-sectional area of the conducting paths have on the resistivity of a body. Although, as previously pointed out, the calculation of such paths for an actual body is impossible, it will he shown that a synthetic pore network can be devised which will yield to analysis, and lead to results in agreement with the experimental data represented by Equation (1). The porous body to be considered is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic or, for present purposes, identical in its characteristics in the three directions parallel to its coordinate axes. It will he assumed to be built of identical unit cubes, each of which contains a single pore network connecting all faces of the unit cube. A unit of such a pore network is shown

Jan 1, 1952

By R. U. Jackson

FACED with rising costs, the mining industry is looking to new methods and equipment to supply the relief necessary for profitable operation. Conveyor transportation is rapidly taking a superior position to motor tramming in underground mines because of lower installation, maintenance, and operating costs. Haulage is always a critical problem in underground mining. The ease of operation and flexibility of a haulage system can have an important effect on ultimate mining cost. With the average tenor of ores on the downgrade, larger tonnages are required for the same metal recovery. This selection of a tramming system can be the key to a successful, paying plant. Because this shift is being made at an ever advancing rate, it may become necessary to tailor mining operations to the transportation system, rather than to select a haulage system fitting set mining methods. In choosing a haulage system, the relative costs of the various methods are of the greatest importance. Adapting the mine to one or the other type of tramming is not considered in the cost analysis, and very likely would make little difference, outside of location of drifts and raises. In the cost sheet, the problem presents recommendations for a conveyor installation and a comparison of equipment, installation, operation, maintenance, and power costs are made. Under the track haulage estimate, no allowance was made for dumping equipment at the shaft pocket or bin. If this equipment was added to the balance sheet, the additional

Jan 1, 1952

By J. H. Jackson, J. G. Kura, M. C. Udy, L. W. Eastwood

The melting and casting of any commercial metal depends upon the success with which the problems attendant to the handling of the specific metal are overcome. Common difficulties encountered in the handling of commercial metals are tendencies to burn or oxidize excessively, low fluidity, entrapment of dross, hot cracking, cold embrittlement, cold shuts, and un-soundness caused by gas evolution. Beryllium is not only subject to these same difficulties but is generally more sensitive to them than are the more common metals, thus necessitating more exact founding precautions. Characteristics of Beryllium Certain characteristics of beryllium which make it particularly difficult to handle in the plant or laboratory are as follows: 1. The melting point of beryllium is about 2400°F and pouring temperatures vary from 2600 to 2900°F, depending upon the degree of fluidity required. The extreme chemical activity, combined with the high temperatures, makes necessary the use of inert atmospheres, slags, or vacuum for protection during melting and pouring. Furthermore, beryllium tends to react with the melting crucibles, tools, and molds, thus requiring the selection of suitable materials and proper maintenance of these items. 2. The very marked absorption of gas by molten beryllium and the subsequent evolution of gas during solidification causes a great deal of difficulty with unsoundness. Beryllium castings may also be subject to unsoundness as a result of gas formation by chemical reaction with the mold surface during solidification. 3. The very marked chemical affinity between molten beryllium and the normal atmosphere causes the formation of dross. On relatively quiescent melts, this dross forms a very tenacious film which, if carried over to the mold, can cause defects such as the formation of skins or dross in the interior or on the surface of the casting; folds or defects similar to cold shuts may also be found. 4. During the pour and attendant turbulence, the dross may be mixed into the metal and then carried to the casting. There it may be entrapped during freezing and cause internal defects, or it may float to the surface and cause severe dross defects on the cope side of the castings. 5. Solid beryllium is very weak at a temperature near the solidus line; brittleness is also a problem at lower temperatures. Thus, hot and cold cracking must be guarded against. Scope of the Experimental Work All of these problems have been given consideration in the work at Battelle. Before the work was started at Battelle, it was customary to melt beryllium in a vacuum furnace or under flux in graphite-lined induction furnaces. Because of the difficulty of preventing gas unsoundness in beryllium castings, an investigation was undertaken primarily to study this particular problem and, secondarily, to devise methods of overcoming the other difficulties encountered in the founding of beryllium. The objectives of the laboratory work were multifold: 1. To devise a practical method of melting, other than vacuum melting, by means of which consistently sound beryllium castings could be produced. 2. To obtain fundamental data which would promote a better understanding of the causes of gas unsoundness in beryllium. 3. To develop a casting technique which would permit low melt temperatures, minimize dross defects and hot cracking, and eliminate reaction with the mold surface. Up to the present time, a considerable amount of progress has been made on the first and third objectives, with the result that it can now be safely stated that consistently sound castings can be made by the open-pot melting method, using argon as a protective atmosphere and a proper casting technique. There has been some progress on the second objective of the project, but it cannot yet be safely stated that the problem is completely understood. Most of the experimental work has been conducted in an enclosed melting and pouring apparatus in which very-close control of melting variables has been effected. Findings based on the results of the work conducted in this small experimental apparatus have been applied to large-scale melts which have been made by techniques suitable for duplication on a commercial scale.

Jan 1, 1950

By W. W. Colpitts

To me, as to many other students of railroad needs, the necessity for reducing the dead weight in railroad rolling stock, both passenger and freight, has been apparent for, many years. The problem of weight reduction of passenger cars is so entirely different from that of freight cars, is so much more to the fore at the present moment and would seem to be so much nearer solution, that I shall confine myself in these remarks to the former. On the surface of things there would appear to be no close association of thought between the decline in traffic on the railroads, which is largely responsible for their present deplorable financial condition, and new metal alloys. It sounds like a trick riddle a school boy might propound to his parents. But that there is a relationship between the two, and one that bids fair to be of great mutual benefit to the railroads and the makers of .high-strength metal alloys, I hope I shall be able to show before I have finished. To make the situation understandable to those who are not entirely familiar with the problems of railroad management, and, who feel that the railroads have not moved as rapidly as they should in the direction of greater use of newer materials and newer appliances, I shall have to review briefly the course of recent railroad history. If in this part of my talk I seem to the professional man to be a little off key I feel sure my remarks will be fully appreciated by the business man who cannot understand why he is not making better headway in selling things to the railroads. To do this I shall have to go back to war times for a moment.

Jan 1, 1936

By William A. Johnson

IT was pointed out in an earlier paper1 that our understanding of the atomic mechanism by which diffusion occurs in metallic alloys is scarcely in an advanced state. This unsatisfactory condition is the result not of any lack of interest, but of the difficulty of designing experiments that will yield suitable data. The diffusion coefficient of an alloy, measured in the usual way, is simply a number specifying the rate of homogenization of a nonhomogeneous metal; this number, of itself, can furnish neither the rate at which the individual atoms move nor information as to the mechanism by which they move. It does not necessarily follow, however, that such information cannot he obtained, even if the path to be followed is still not clear. Much success has been attained in the study of diffusion in ionic crystals. A number of experiments, for which there are few counterparts in connection with metals, yields information often indicating a detailed mechanism by which diffusion probably occurs. From such work, quite acceptable theories of lattice imperfections have been developed by Wagner, Schottky, Frenkel, Jost and others.2 It is postulated that real crystals of stoichiometric composition contain, in equilibrium, certain imperfections of which the most important types are: (I) vacant cation sites, with an equal number of interstitial ions; (2) vacant anion sites, with an equal number of interstitial ions; (3) equal numbers of anions and cations in interstitial positions; (4) equal numbers of vacant anion and cation sites. The classification of a particular crystal according to this scheme then follows from studies of the variation of electrical conductivity with pressure of the electronegative component surrounding the crystal, with ion size, and with temperature; other physical phenomena, such as the Hall effect, have aided in establishing the classification. The relative mobility of the anion and cation may be determined by chemical analysis of the salt at the electrodes following electrolysis. With such information, and knowing that one ion never occupies the lattice site normally belonging to an ion of opposite sign, it is usually possible to ascertain the diffusion mechanism. It is clear that the same experiments are not applicable to metal crystals, and substitute experiments that yield as much information have not yet been devised. Much can be learned, however, about the mobilities of the two* kinds of atoms in alloys by the use of radioactive metals as indicators. Only one such experiment has been performed in the past. In 1933, Seith and Keil,3 in an effort to explain the great difference between the rate of diffusion of gold in lead and of lead in lead, measured the rate of diffusion of radioactive lead in a gold-lead

Jan 1, 1942

By J. J. Arps, T. G. Roberts

Since the introduction of the relative permeability concept in the middle thirties1,2 various investigators have shown3,10,11,12,15 how the basic equations for the flow of oil and gas through porous media can he utilized to compute the recovery from depletion type or solution gas drive type reservoirs under certain conditions, when the necessary physical data pertaining to the reservoir rock and its reservoir fluids are known. In the study by Muskat and Taylor" in 1945, the effects of viscosity, gas solubility, shrinkage, and the permeability-saturation characteristics of the producing formation on the production histories and the recovery of gas drive reservoirs were analyzed. Each parameter was varied a limited number of times, while keeping the others constant. The work was not carried to the point where the data could be used directly to estimate the primary recovery in those cases where certain rock and fluid characteristics were known or could be assumed. Since the publication of this classic study, the work by Beal in 194616 and Standing in 1952'" has established general correlations of oil viscosity and shrinkage with gas solubility and oil gravity. In addition. a considerable number of relative permeability relationships for different types of reservoir rocks has been published2,5,13,17,19,20. Also, the burden of the numerical work required in the solutions of the differential equation has. during the last few years, been greatly reduced with the availability of modern electronic computing facilities. The purpose of this paper is therefore to present the results of a large number of such recovery computations covering the normal range of variation of the main parameters such as the type of rock, the API gravity of the oil, and the amount of gas in solution. As is to be expected, the ultimate recovery is found to increase with the oil gravity. except for the higher solution gas-oil ratios. Within the normal range of solubilities, the ultimate recovery generally appears to decrease with the amount of gas in solution for the higher oil gravities, and to show a slight increase for the lower oil gravities. Intermediate oil gravities seem to fall between the two trends. The type of reservoir rock, as identified by its relative permeability relationship, appears to have a very pronounced effect on the ultimate recovery. In general, sands and sandstones show higher recoveries than limestones and dolomites, although certain intergranular limestones seem to show a higher theoretical recovery than unconsolidated sand. The recovery from sands and sandstones generally decreases with increasing cementation and consolidation, while the recoveries from limestones and dolomites are highest for the intergranular type and lowest for the fracture type porosity.

Jan 1, 1956

By A. William Johnson

It was pointed out in an earlier paper1 that our understanding of the atomic mechanism by which diffusion occurs in metallic alloys is scarcely in an advanced state. This unsatisfactory condition is the result not of any lack of interest, but of the difficulty of designing experiments that .will yield suitable data. The diffusion coefficient of an alloy, measured in the usual way, is simply a number specifying the rate of homogenization of a nonhomo-geneous metal; this number, of itself, can furnish neither the rate at which the individual atoms move nor information as to the mechanism by which they move. It does not necessarily follow, however, that such information cannot be obtained, even if the path to be followed is still not clear. Much success has been attained in the study of diffusion in ionic crystals. A number of experiments, for which there are few counterparts in connection with metals, yield information often indicating a detailed mechanism by which diffusion probably occurs. From such work, quite acceptable theories of lattice imperfections have been developed by Wagner, Schottky, Frenkel, Jost and others.2 It is postulated that real crystals of stoichiometric composition contain, in equilibrium, certain imperfections of which the most importarlt types are: (I) vacant cation sites, with an equal number of interstitial ions; (2) vacant anion sites, with an equal number of interstitial ions; (3) equal numbers of anions and cations in interstitial positions; (4) equal numbers of vacant anion and cation sites. The classification of a particular crystal according to this scheme then follows from studies of the variation of electrical conductivity with pressure of the electronegative component surrounding the crystal, with ion size, and with temperature; other physical phenomena, such as the Hall effect, have aided in establishing the classification. The relative mobility of the anion and cation may be determined by chemical analysis of the salt at the electrodes following electrolysis. With such information, and knowing that one ion never occupies the lattice site normally belonging to an ion of opposite sign, it is usually possible to ascertain the diffusion mechanism. It is clear that the same experiments are not applicable to metal crystals, and substitute experiments that yield as much information have not yet been devised. Much can be learned, however, about the mobilities of the two* kinds of atoms in alloys by the use of radioactive metals as indicators. Only one such experiment has been performed in the past. In 1933, Seith and Keil,3 in an effort to explain the great difference between the rate of diffusion of gold in lead and of lead in lead, measured the rate of diffusion of radioactive lead in 3 gold-lead

Jan 1, 1942

By A. William Johnson

It was pointed out in an earlier paper1 that our understanding of the atomic mechanism by which diffusion occurs in metallic alloys is scarcely in an advanced state. This unsatisfactory condition is the result not of any lack of interest, but of the difficulty of designing experiments that .will yield suitable data. The diffusion coefficient of an alloy, measured in the usual way, is simply a number specifying the rate of homogenization of a nonhomo-geneous metal; this number, of itself, can furnish neither the rate at which the individual atoms move nor information as to the mechanism by which they move. It does not necessarily follow, however, that such information cannot be obtained, even if the path to be followed is still not clear. Much success has been attained in the study of diffusion in ionic crystals. A number of experiments, for which there are few counterparts in connection with metals, yield information often indicating a detailed mechanism by which diffusion probably occurs. From such work, quite acceptable theories of lattice imperfections have been developed by Wagner, Schottky, Frenkel, Jost and others.2 It is postulated that real crystals of stoichiometric composition contain, in equilibrium, certain imperfections of which the most importarlt types are: (I) vacant cation sites, with an equal number of interstitial ions; (2) vacant anion sites, with an equal number of interstitial ions; (3) equal numbers of anions and cations in interstitial positions; (4) equal numbers of vacant anion and cation sites. The classification of a particular crystal according to this scheme then follows from studies of the variation of electrical conductivity with pressure of the electronegative component surrounding the crystal, with ion size, and with temperature; other physical phenomena, such as the Hall effect, have aided in establishing the classification. The relative mobility of the anion and cation may be determined by chemical analysis of the salt at the electrodes following electrolysis. With such information, and knowing that one ion never occupies the lattice site normally belonging to an ion of opposite sign, it is usually possible to ascertain the diffusion mechanism. It is clear that the same experiments are not applicable to metal crystals, and substitute experiments that yield as much information have not yet been devised. Much can be learned, however, about the mobilities of the two* kinds of atoms in alloys by the use of radioactive metals as indicators. Only one such experiment has been performed in the past. In 1933, Seith and Keil,3 in an effort to explain the great difference between the rate of diffusion of gold in lead and of lead in lead, measured the rate of diffusion of radioactive lead in 3 gold-lead

Jan 1, 1942

Discussion of the paper of WALTHER MATHESIUS, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 99, March, 1915, pp. 539 to 555. JOSEPH W. RICHARDS, So. Bethlehem, Pa.-This paper answers. partly the difficult questions which have come up as to why it is not economical to use higher blast temperatures in the smelting of Mesaba ores, such as the high temperatures used in European practices, and the answer is very plain that the ores will not stand the higher temperature. But the paper does not go into detail as to what special difficulties were found with the higher temperature of blast, and I would ask the author to kindly specify them. W. A. FORBES, New York, N. Y.-A large part of the troubles that furnace men experienced in using high-blast heats in smelting Mesaba ores in the early days of using Mesaba ores, was clue to the attempt to use these soft ores on furnaces having the same lines as the furnaces used in smelting the hard Old Range ores. As the result of observation and study, the dimensions of the lower part of the blast furnaces have been changed and the difficulties of the blast-furnace men in operating with a large percentage of Mesaba ore and high-blast temperatures have been largely overcome. The changes I refer to in particular are: (1) steepening the angle of the bosh; (2), decreasing the height of the bosh; (3) increasing the diameter of the hearth. JOSEPH W. RICHARDS.-Mr. Forbes's answer is quite satisfactory, and the moral which it points is that when the furnace is run with a higher temperature in the smelting zone, the furnace lines which were adapted for the lower temperatures are not necessarily those best suited for the higher hearth temperatures. If. enriched blast were used in a furnace, and higher temperatures run, it would be found necessary to further modify the lines of the furnace to meet the new conditions and to get the maximum output with economy. J. E. JOHNSON, JR., New York, N. Y.-It seems to me this is one of the few papers which could well have been a little longer. The data which Mr. Mathesius has given us, I think should be considered in connection with the paper which Mr. Brassert read before the American Iron and Steel Institute last spring, in which he described how they had obtained remarkable results with furnaces with steep but very short boshes; the angles have been raised to 80°, and the boshes made so short that they no longer appear as a conspicuous part of the shape of the furnace.

Jan 5, 1915

By E. W. McAllister

THE decision of the California Oil Umpire's1 office to accept well potentials established from subsurface-pressure data has brought to the attention of many operators for the first time the application of such data to production problems. This paper reviews the development and application of subsurface-pressure data in Kettleman Hills, where these data have been used in production work since 1932. The Kettleman Hills field was discovered in October 1928. The first subsurface-pressure surveys were made early in 1932 and by the middle of 1933 the two major operators in the field were making routine pressure runs in their respective wells. Shortly thereafter, these companies agreed to exchange pressure data, and later a third company entered into the agreement. This made it possible to analyze the effects upon the reservoir pressure of past production practices, which are discussed in the latter part of the report. It is interesting that many of the applications of subsurface-pressure data discussed herein were anticipated by C. L. Clarks and C. B. Kimberlin‡ in a reports dated March 1933. PRODUCTIVITY INDEX In the majority of individual well problems involving the use of subsurface pressure data, it is necessary to use a factor known as the "productivity index," which indicates the ability of a well to produce and represents the number of barrels of oil or oil and water per day that will enter the well bore for each pound per square inch pressure drop made opposite the producing interval of the well. The productivity index may be determined from pressure and production data for one or more rates of flow and a static or shut-in pressure survey or from production and pressure data for two or more rates of flow. Productivity indices may be based upon either net oil or total fluid production. All indices referred to in this report are based upon net oil. The value of the productivity index for Kettleman Hills wells decreases generally with time and it is not uncommon for the index to vary in value at any specific time for various rates of flow. The decline of the productivity index may be attributed partly to the loss of reservoir pressure. As. the reservoir pressure decreases, gas originally in solution is released from the oil, congesting the flow of fluids through the formation and increasing the viscosity and surface tension of the oil; thus the flow resistance of the fluids through the formation is increased, resulting in a decrease of the productivity index. For convenient reference, the productivity indices for each well are plotted against time and a curve is drawn through the points showing the trend of the average index value. Plotted on Fig. I are index values for five

Jan 1, 1941

By George Sachs

I deeply appreciate the honor of being selected to deliver the twentieth Annual Lecture of the Institute of Metals Division. The subject of my paper is extremely involved and voluminous, therefore I shall discuss only some more recent experimental material and speculate somewhat on the physical and mechanical fundamentals of these changes. The flow and the rupture of a solid material are rather different phenomena. It is therefore surprising that up to a rather advanced stage in metallurgical science these two fundamental phenomena have been simultaneously treated and forced into the general conception of the "failure" of solid material. Only in this century, and particularly during the last 20 years, have the very different physical meanings of flow and rupture been clearly recognized. Several hundred of the more recent publications deal with these subjects.1 LAW OF SIMILARITY The basic values commonly considered responsible for the mechanical behavior of any material are the stresses. From this standpoint both a large and a small article made from the same homogeneous metal and of geometrically similar shapes should behave identically, i.e., they should deform geometrically in a similar manner, if subjected to the same stress values at corresponding points. This "law of similarity" was introduced about 60 years ago simultaneously by Barba2 and Kick3 and was derived from the classical theory of elasticity. As far as the plastic behavior of a metal is concerned, this rule appears to be valid. The conventional properties of large and small tension or compression test bars, machined from larger sections, are identical; while the force required to deform a section is proportional to its cross-sectional area and the work consumed in deforming geometrically similar articles in a geometrically similar manner is proportional to its volume. The general trend of the stress-strain diagram of a metal is independent of the section size (Fig. I). No exceptions from this rule are known. However, if the deformation of a metal is continued until rupture occurs, and the breaking stress or the work consumed is measured, a test bar of large cross section appears to fail before or at lower stresses than does one having a small cross section. Thus, the specific impact energy has been often found to decrease with increasing size of the test specimen, particularly for materials with a limited ductility.4 Another exception from the rule of similarity is offered by fatigue-strength values, which usually decrease with increasing section size. 5,6 The conclusion must be drawn from these experimental facts that the ductility of a homogeneous metal decreases with increas¬ing section size (Fig. x). This effect has been actually confirmed by Docherty,7 who observed that in static notch bending tests large specimens failed earlier and in a more brittle fashion than small specimens ma-

Jan 1, 1941

By Benjamin Lustman, Robert F. Mehl

The study of the high-temperature oxidation of pure metals, intensively pursued experimentally since the pioneer work of Pilling and Bedworth1 and supplemented by the recent theoretical work of Wagner2 is now well advanced. The important field of low-temperature oxidation—i.e., oxidation extending only through the temper color range of thicknesses with the formation of thin oxide layers in the range from 0 to 1000-2000 ?ngstroms—has not, however, reached so satisfactory a state, owing largely to the experimental difficulties that attend the formation and study of thin films; most of the work has been performed on abraded specimens whose surface irregularities approximated the thickness of the films formed. It has been pointed out that the rates of oxidation of different crystal faces are different and that the difierence may be related to the orientation relationships that obtain between the metal crystal and the superimposed oxide crystal; it has also been suggested that this orientation dependence should manifest itself in rates of oxidation and perhaps also of corrosion in aggregates bearing preferred orientations.3'4 An attempt to measure the rates of oxidation of different crystal faces of alpha iron demonstrated this difference in rate,4 but the dependence of rate on orientation was not simple; the method of measuring thickness, consisting of a color comparison with barium stearate multi-films of known thickness, was not wholly satisfactory. For these reasons it was felt that a study of the rate of oxidation of single crystals prepared with surfaces as smooth as possible, using a sensitive method giving true film thickness, should be profitable. Copper was chosen because of the ease of reduction of the primary oxide film and because the orientation relationships between metal and oxide and the composition of the oxide films formed at low temperatures are known; for thin films formed at low temperatures, Cu2O alone occurs.22-24 Experimental Procedure Various methods of surface preparation were attempted in order to obtain a surface that would oxidize uniformly and repro-ducibly. Electrolytic polishing by the method of Jacquet5 and electrolytic and mechanical polishing followed by annealing in vacuum and in purified hydrogen at various temperatures were tested. The procedure finally adopted consisted in a fine metallographic polish followed by an anneal in purified hydrogen at temperatures of 900° to 1000°C. for 12 hr. or more. The surface so produced was very bright and smooth, with no trace of specular etching (though some grain-boundary etching was observed); indeed, fine scratches produced by the final polish were entirely removed by the high-temperature anneal. After this treatment, the specimens were cooled in hydrogen to room temperature and placed in the oxidation furnace, where

Jan 1, 1941

By Benjamin Lustman, Robert F. Mehl

The study of the high-temperature oxidation of pure metals, intensively pursued experimentally since the pioneer work of Pilling and Bedworth1 and supplemented by the recent theoretical work of Wagner2 is now well advanced. The important field of low-temperature oxidation—i.e., oxidation extending only through the temper color range of thicknesses with the formation of thin oxide layers in the range from 0 to 1000-2000 ?ngstroms—has not, however, reached so satisfactory a state, owing largely to the experimental difficulties that attend the formation and study of thin films; most of the work has been performed on abraded specimens whose surface irregularities approximated the thickness of the films formed. It has been pointed out that the rates of oxidation of different crystal faces are different and that the difierence may be related to the orientation relationships that obtain between the metal crystal and the superimposed oxide crystal; it has also been suggested that this orientation dependence should manifest itself in rates of oxidation and perhaps also of corrosion in aggregates bearing preferred orientations.3'4 An attempt to measure the rates of oxidation of different crystal faces of alpha iron demonstrated this difference in rate,4 but the dependence of rate on orientation was not simple; the method of measuring thickness, consisting of a color comparison with barium stearate multi-films of known thickness, was not wholly satisfactory. For these reasons it was felt that a study of the rate of oxidation of single crystals prepared with surfaces as smooth as possible, using a sensitive method giving true film thickness, should be profitable. Copper was chosen because of the ease of reduction of the primary oxide film and because the orientation relationships between metal and oxide and the composition of the oxide films formed at low temperatures are known; for thin films formed at low temperatures, Cu2O alone occurs.22-24 Experimental Procedure Various methods of surface preparation were attempted in order to obtain a surface that would oxidize uniformly and repro-ducibly. Electrolytic polishing by the method of Jacquet5 and electrolytic and mechanical polishing followed by annealing in vacuum and in purified hydrogen at various temperatures were tested. The procedure finally adopted consisted in a fine metallographic polish followed by an anneal in purified hydrogen at temperatures of 900° to 1000°C. for 12 hr. or more. The surface so produced was very bright and smooth, with no trace of specular etching (though some grain-boundary etching was observed); indeed, fine scratches produced by the final polish were entirely removed by the high-temperature anneal. After this treatment, the specimens were cooled in hydrogen to room temperature and placed in the oxidation furnace, where

Jan 1, 1941

By P. W. Bakarian

PREVIOUS determinations1,2,3 of the texture of magnesium and its alloys have shown only slight variations in the principal features of the structure. This investigation presents pole figures for magnesium and two of its alloys, in which differences of some magnitude will be shown. Schmid and Wassermann have considered the texture of magnesium in analogy with that of zinc-also a hexagonal lattice. Whereas the zinc texture is said to be derived primarily through basal slip and secondarily through {102}† twinning, the {102} twinning is considered impossible at the later stages of the rolling in magnesium because of its smaller axial ratio. This state of affairs appears reasonable for pure magnesium, but for alloy textures the situation is more complex. A double orientation similar to that found in zinc has been reported by J. D. Hanawalt,4 and the addition of small amounts of calcium to magnesium and its alloys to produce a double texture was noted by J. C. McDonald.5 The pole figures of this investigation, using an improved X-ray technique, show these various textures. The dependence of directional properties of rolled sheet on modifications of texture is well recognized. Correlation of physical properties with existing texture should be even more significant if quantitative valuations are attached to the various areas on the pole figures. Such a quantitative technique is developed herein. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD Two alloys were used, besides high-purity magnesium. In each case, the metal was extruded to bars 32 in. thick and hot-rolled to a thickness of about 0.075 in. It had been established previously that such a reduction was more than sufficient to eliminate the extruded structure. The rolling proceeded in the same direction as that of the extrusion, without any cross rolling. The temperatures corresponded to normal commercial practice, averaging around 600°F. A unique method of preparing the sample was developed in this work. Instead of using a flat specimen, a stem of the metal was cut out of the rolled sheet in the desired direction (rolling direction) as shown in Fig. 2. From a sheet of 0.075 to 0.065-in. gauge, the stem was cut to a square cross section with a jeweler's saw, rounded with a file and polishing paper to a diameter of 0.060 in, and evenly etched in dilute hydrochloric acid to a diameter of 0.038 ± 0.001 in. In this way, a cylinder of the original sheet with its axis in the desired direction was produced. By using this type of specimen for the pin-point pictures, any variance in the absorption of the diffracted beam at the various angular settings of the specimen, was completely eliminated.*

Jan 1, 1941

By W. B. Mather

A SURVEY of the technical literature concerned with oil well drilling methods and particularly with rate of penetration by various cutting media on different types of rock provides a mass of conflicting data. This is especially true with respect to, (1) the relative efficiency of diamond, rotary and percussion drilling operations; (2) the costs of the various types of drilling; and (3) the hardness factor of various types of rock and cutting media. The latter is the particular phase of the subject discussed here. The cause of the confusion may be attributed partially to a lack of 'basic knowledge concerning the physical properties of the cutting media and of individual types of rock. It is also due in part to a general lack of uniform standards in the industry for evaluating the hardness versus drillability of rocks while possible errors in interpretation by the authors of the various papers pertaining to the subject may be an additional cause of misunderstanding. The hardness of a mineral is defined by Dana' as "the resistance which a smooth surface offers to abrasion." Webster' states that hardness is "the cohesion of the particles on the surface of a body (as a mineral) as determined by its capacity to scratch another or be itself scratched." Rock hardness, although not usually defined in publications describing rocks, is assumed to be the same as the minerals which compose the rock or the resistance of the rock to abrasion. Drillability of a rock may be defined arbitrarily as the rate at which rock is penetrated by a definite type of drilling tool with the assistance of a specific type of cutting surface or medium and under speci- fied conditions as to speed of rotation and applications of pressure. Eventually the term penetrability may have to be employed to include any method of making boreholes in rocks, since methods other than those using conventional cutting surfaces are already in operation. A case in point is the jet piercing methoda which employs an oxy-acetylene flame as a means of penetration. The word hardness as used by the drilling fraternity has a variety of meanings which depend upon the type of drilling method employed. For example, in diamond drilling, hardness is interpretated as resistance to abrasion. In percussion drilling the term implies resistance to impact or indentation, while in rotary drilling, hardness is considered anal-agous to compressive strength. The three types of hardness—abrasion, impact and compression—are conflicting variables for different types of rock. Nevertheless, the term hardness is applied indiscriminately by the industry for the resistance of rock to penetration by any type of drilling technique. Abrasion Hardness Since 1818, Moh's scale of hardness, although only relative in nature, has been accepted universally as the method of measuring mineral and therefore rock hardness. In 1933, Ridgway, Ballard and

Jan 1, 1952