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By R. R. Wells

As a part of the strategic mineral program, examining engineers of the Bureau of Mines collected samples several manganese properties in Colorado. As all of the ores were too low-grade to be acceptable to manufacturers of ferromanganese, beneficiation studies were required .to determine the amenability of the ores to concentration. Manganese in the form of impregnations in sedimentary beds is found in the Denver plains area a few miles east of the Rocky Mountain front. Deposits are reported to occur intermittently over a distance of more than 200 miles. The manganese oxides occur in beds of conglomerate or arkosic sand, generally accompanied by limonite. The Manganese and iron oxides,, however, usually are found in separate layers. Three samples were submitted for beneficiation tests, two samples from Buckley Field bombing Yang, Arapahoe County, and one from near Franktown, Douglas County.

Jan 1, 1952

By Robert Glass Cleland

[Incorporated under the laws of the State of New York OFFICE, 41) WALL STREET, NEW YORK 5, N. Y. Authorized4,000,000 shares $150,000,000.00 Outstanding-5,071,260 shares 126,781,500.00]

Jan 1, 1952

By E. P. Pfleider

DIAMOND drill research work was initiated at the School of Mines, University of Minnesota, in late 1949. The Drilling Symposium held in Duluth that spring highlighted the problem of high cost and core recovery and the need for controlled testing. An advisory committee made up of informed representatives of both mining companies and drilling companies was formed to suggest and advise on a program of drill research. A Hy-Mac hydraulic drill unit, see Fig. 1, especially designed for experimental testing, was obtained for this work by the School of Mines through the courtesy of the Carboloy Co. It is an extremely flexible unit, capable of exerting a forward thrust of about 1750 lb and turning at speeds from 650 to 2200 rpm. The feed arrangement is so designed that the advance can be set either at a constant rate or permitted to vary at a fixed pressure, see Fig. 2. The

Jan 1, 1952

By O. C. Blade

A comparison of certain properties of the commercial aviation gasolines produced in the United States during October 1949, 1950, and 1951 is presented in table 1, the 1951 data being average values from tables 3 through 6 of the present report. Trends in the average values of certain characteristics of these fuels may be seen in figures 1 through 4 which also indicate the minimum and maximum values. As may be observed, with the exception of changes in kinematic viscosities, the properties of commercial aviation gasolines have not varied greatly during recent years. A list of aviation-gasoline survey reports published by the Bureau of Mines is given on page 6. A summary of the average values of the properties on jet fuels is shown in table 2.

Jan 1, 1952

By G. B. Shea

In the search for possible future sources of petroleum products, the recovery and utilization of bitumens from the large outcropping deposits of bituminous sandstones in the United States have been under study by the Bureau of Mines for the past several years. The results of laboratory research in the adaptation of the hot-water separation process to recovery of bitumen from bituminous sandstones were reported in an earlier publication, on the Edna deposits near San Luis Obispo, Calif. This publication included analytical data on the cracked products and asphalts obtained from the extracted bitumen and on the cracking and distillation of the bitumen. Comparable hot-water separation tests have been run in the San Francisco, Calif., laboratory of the Bureau of Mines on quarry samples from the large deposits of bituminous sandstones near Vernal and Sunnyside, Utah. The bitumens were isolated from the extracts of the separation plant and analyzed at the Petroleum and Oil-Shale Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines, Laramie, Wyo. Part I of this report summarizes the general characteristics of the Vernal and Sunnyside deposits and discusses the hot-water separation process as applied to those bituminous sandstones and the results obtained. The separation tests showed that these bituminous sandstones also respond to treatment by the hotwater method of separation. The bitumen in the Vernal sandstone was extracted more readily by the action of hot water than was the Edna bitumen, which greatly simplified plant operation. The Vernal sandstone contains no water-soluble iron compounds, such as were found in the Edna sandstone, and, therefore, required no preliminary water washing. Recovery of bitumen from the Vernal sandstone was about 96 percent.

Jan 1, 1952

By F. S. White, E. L. Kinsella

THE solids fluidization process brought out by the Standard Oil Development Co. in the early forties for catalytic cracking of petroleum enabled rapid transfer of large quantities of heat from gases to solids under closely controlled temperature conditions. As the technique developed, it was natural that applications for the process outside the petroleum industry would be sought. The calcination of limestone to ' quicklime requires the transfer of a large quantity of heat at high and closely controlled temperatures. For these reasons, this possible application was one of the first to be investigated. Laboratory work conducted by the Dorr Co. indicated that lime produced by solids fluidization would be of exceptional quality. Calculation of theoretical heat balances showed that savings in fuel could be expected. Accordingly, a pilot plant of 10 tons per day capacity was erected by the New England Lime Co. at Adams, Mass., to substantiate the process. Operation of the pilot plant, previously described,1 showed that excellent lime could be produced with a saving in fuel. The work also indicated the necessity of preparing feed to remove the finer fractions if dust losses were to be held to a tolerable level. A single-stage fluidized solids drier-stripper was developed to accomplish this sizing.2 Subsequently a commercial lime reactor was erected at Adams, beginning operation in June 1949, followed by air sizer facilities completed in November 1951. This paper will describe these two applications of solids fluidization. The raw material for preparation of lime by the fluidizing process is a high calcium crystalline lime stone having the approximate chemical composition shown in Table I. The stone is first prepared by crushing and grinding in conventional equipment to pass a 6-mesh sieve. After crushing, the material is sent to the FluoDry unit for drying and dedusting. Fluidized Drying and Sizing As shown in Fig. 1, the FluoDry unit consists of a 1/4-in. cylindrical steel shell, 9-ft ID by 22-ft 6-in. overall height. Attached horizontally at the bottom is a 6-ft diam combustion chamber, approximately 7 ft 6 in. long. A refractory constriction dome, consisting of first-quality fire brick shapes, partitions the inside into two sections. The lower section is called the windbox and the upper the bed compartment. The vertical wall of the shell is lined with 6-in. first-quality rotary kiln blocks. In the bottom of the windbox a hoppered section is formed with castable refractory to permit the windbox to be readily cleaned via a 6-in. screw conveyor. The combustion chamber is similarly lined with refractory shapes. On the 6-in. diam section, 4 1/2 in. of insulating brick, HW-26, are used. The inner combustion chamber is lined with 4 1/2-in. Korundal brick to withstand the high flame temperatures encountered. An 8-in. steel feed pipe, entering vertically through the top and fitted with an air-operated cone valve,

Jan 1, 1952

By Edward I. Salkovitz

THE determination of the orientation of metal single crystals and the studies of plastic deformation are greatly facilitated by the use of the stereographic projection. To draw a standard projection of the crystal it is necessary to have a tabulation of the angles between the various crystal-lographic planes of the particular crystal studied. Bozorth' has published such a table for the cubic system which can be found in many reference books; such convenient tabulation for the hexagonal metals, however, does not appear to be in the literature, although scores of workers have calculated these angles. Therefore, Table I of angles for magnesium, zinc, and cadmium has been compiled. Since the c/a ratio is different for each of these metals, three separate calculations are necessary. The angles 4 between (HKIL) and (hkil) were calculated by means of the formula: Hh+Kk+½(Hk + hK)1+~3aLl cos The c/a ratios were calculated from data given in the 1948 edition of Metals Handbook. Fig. 1 is a typical (0001) standard projection of zinc. For all practical purposes, it serves for cadmium as well, as can be seen from the table. For magnesium, however, it is necessary to construct another net. R. M. Bozorth: Physical Review. (1925) 26, 390.

Jan 1, 1952

By G. R. Hodgson, M. P. Lebourg

The introduction in the field of a new type well completion called for the setting of tubing open-ended in the well before perforating the casing. This paper describes a new perforating tool of the shaped charge expendable type, small enough to pass through tubing and powerful enough to perforate the casing. The perforations are produced at an angle and are large enough for optimum production. Performance of this tool in targets and under various well conditions is described. Very often no lifting equipment will be available at the well. In some cases, pressure will exist in the well at the time of the perforating operation (workover wells or multiple trip perforation) ; therefore, new equipment and new technique for the perforating operation were devised. This paper describes this equipment and technique, particularly casing collar recording, sheave support, and cable pull-down device. this last item being necessary for wells under pressure. Results obtained with this tool in the field are given. INTRODUCTION One of the key requirements for the introduction in the field of a new method of permanent well completion was the development of a new perforating method involving the use of a perforating gun small enough to go through tubing and with enough penetrating power to perforate the casing satisfactorily. The equipment described in this paper was basically designed to go through open-ended two-in. tubing and to perforate 5 1/2 in. casing. The equipment is illustrated in accompanying figures. NEW COMPLETION METHOD With the new permanent type well completion, the production string of casing is run and cemented through the potential producing zone. Open-ended tubing is -then run into the well and used to replace the drilling fluid with oil or water. The amount of the oil or water "cushion" can be varied according to the expected bottom hole pressure. Thus, if desired, the hydrostatic head can be greater, equal to, or less than the expected pressure within the zone to be perforated. Mud having been displaced, the tubing is -then positioned so that the end is above the zone to be perforated. The Christmas tree and flow lines are installed and tested. The drilling rig can now be removed from the well since it is not necessary for the perforating operation, thus resulting in a saving in rig tme. The perforating equipment is then moved to the well and the gun lowered through the tubing. After the gun passes out of the open end of the tubing, the depth measurements are correlated with casing collars and the gun placed opposite the zone to be perforated. Upon firing, the gun body is shattered and falls to the bottom of the well. Since the lubricator has been closed before firing, it is possible to withdraw the casing collar locator and head and then open the well immediately to the tanks. DESCRIPTION OF GUN An investigation of two basic types of Perforators, namely a bullet perforator and a shaped charge gun, was undertaken towards the development of a gun to meet the aforementioned requirements. Preliminary tests on various bullet perforator designs within the diameter limitations did not give results encouraging enough to warrant further study. Somewhat better results were obtained by using conventional shaped charges; but, as in the case of the bullet types, the necessarily small overall diameter proved to be a severe limitation and resulted in insufficient penetration. A shaped charge employing a new design was developed which gave excellent penetration. These shaped charges were designed to produce a large hole directed upward at a 45" angle. In order to obtain the maximum space possible for these charges, it was decided to use an expendable carrier made of drillable material, usually aluminum, which would shatter at the time of firing, leaving only harmless fragments at the bottom of the hole. The fixed spacing is five shots per ft. wit11

Jan 1, 1952

By Wilbur A. Haley

The demand on the nation's reserves of high-quality coals suitable for metallurgical purposes is resulting in the rapid depletion of some of the thicker coal beds. These beds are thick enough to permit the use of modern mechanized mining equipment. Many of the thin beds are not being mined at present. In limited areas where the coal is less than 36 inches thick some beds are mined by various conveyor methods. Usually, the room-and-pillar system or some modification of it is used, and often no attempt is made to extract pillars. Consequently, an appreciable quantity of a valuable resource is lost. Many steel companies and coal operators consider reserves of low-and medium-volatile coking coals to be critical, especially in areas where the thin beds are not being mined by modern mining methods. To improve recovery and to promote more-extensive mining in thin beds, methods and devices that are new to American coal mining but applicable to the mining of thin coal beds should be tried. As one of the functions of the Bituminous Coal Mining Section of the Bureau of Mines is to promote improved mining practices and efficiency in the interest of conservation, research in that line is necessary. In 1945 coal planers were observed in operation in Germany by a Bureau engineer member of Solid Fuels Mission to Germany. Planer designs and history of early developments and operations were published. In 1949 an improved planer was again studied by Bureau engineers, and its adaptability to certain conditions in the United States, especially thin beds of friable coal, was considered practicable. After the war the planer was improved, in design and for several years has been operating successfully in the Ruhr. Because of the conviction that the device would be successful, both from the standpoint of conservation and operational prodl1ctivity, under certain conditions in the United States, the Bureau of Mines, through the Bituminous Coal Mining Section, entered into a cooperative agreement with the Coal Division of Eastern Gas & Fuel Associates and Mining Progress, Inc. The purpose of the agreement was to conduct an experiment in modified longwall mining, using a new-type German-built coal plow or planer, known as the Loebbe Habel, supplied by Mining Progress, Inc. The experiment was made to determine if this type of mining equipment operated on a longwall face could be adapted to some of the thinner American coal beds. Such an experiment also would afford many opportunities to study the possibilities and principles of this type of equipment as well as the many factors involved in the mechanical mining of a longwall face.

Jan 1, 1952

By Irving Hartmann

In recent years various modifications in the methods of blasting have been tried as a means of increasing the production of cod and of reducing mining costs. Following an investigation by the Bureau or Mines, authorization was granted to increase the charger limit for permissible explosives par shot hole from 1.5 to 3 pounds under contain conditions; this greatly facilitates the blasting of coal in some cool fields the practice has gradually evolved of simultaneously charging several shot holes in a face and then firing the charges singly without inspecting for gas after each blast. This practice is disapproved by the Bureau of Mines. In other coal mines the explosive chews in several adjacent shot holes are fired simultaneously. This form of shooting is claimed to increase the rate of production, generate smaller volumes of noxious gases, promote the health and safety of workers by eliminating the need of inspection of the face after each charge is fired, produce less float dust, and require less explosive than single shooting. However, simultaneous blasting may have a more harmful effect on the immediate roof strata; in some instances it leads to wedging of the broken coal, thereby making the coal more difficult to load out; it makes misfired shots more difficult to detect and possibly increases the chances of misfires. This lacy be duo to variations in the characteristics of detonators, because of more stringent requirements for adequate firing current, to the need for better electrical connections in the shot-firing circuit, and partly to the inadequacy of present permissible multiple blasting devices.

Jan 1, 1952

By J. W. Snavely

WITH all the advantages of handling bulk materials by means of belt conveyor also go some problems, one of the most persistent being that of cleaning. When sticky materials are being carried; the build-up of material on the return idler rolls results in difficulty of belt training. Much attention has been given to the problem of cleaning conveyor belts, and a great variety of cleaning devices have been developed. Even the best involve troublesome maintenance, and none can completely remove the fine particles imbedded in the belt cover, which cause rapid wear of the return idler rolls, and at the same time, of the belt cover as well. One of the major rubber companies has been promoting a two-way belt system, in which the conveyor belt is given two successive 90" twists at each end to enable it to carry material in both directions simultaneously. For many years the flat belt transmission industry has installed quarter-turn and half-turn twists in countless numbers of instances. While quarter-turn and half-turn twists in transmission belts is a familiar application, the 180" twist apparently has never been previously attempted with a conveyor belt. About a year ago, two officials of the National Iron Co. of Duluth, Lester and Lewis Erickson, proposed twisting the return run of a conveyor belt on an installation that they were designing for one of the major iron ore producers. Since then the soundness of the idea has been demonstrated, both in theory and by practical test, with the result that the installation of two conveyor belts involving the twisting of the return run is now under way. These two installations are designed to have the return run of the conveyor belt twisted 180" as it leaves the snub pulley at the head drive. The clean underside of the belt is thus placed against the idlers on the return run as well as on the carrying run. Just before it enters the tail pulley, the belt will be twisted an additional 180°, restoring it to its normal position. Because this twisting of the return run of a conveyor belt is a radical departure from accepted practice, an elaborate and extensive test was conducted early in 1950 to demonstrate that this twisting of the return run could be done successfully, also to establish application data for accomplishing this twisting, and to determine if any special equipment would be required. In studying this concept of twisting the return run of a conveyor belt, a number of problems need to be solved, primarily the ones brought about by deliberately introducing an unequal distribution of stress across the conveyor belt and controlling that maldistribution of stress, while confining it to the return run portion. The tension conditions existing in the return run of a conveyor belt are clear to all designers. First, the return run carries the initial or slack side tension of the conveyor belt, the tension that must be supplied to the return run to provide proper frictional contact between the belt and the driving pulley so that the necessary power can be transmitted from the driving pulley to the belt without slippage. This slack side tension is supplied to the belt by means of takeups, either of the gravity type, which can be vertical or horizontal, or by means of the screw type. With inclined or declined belt conveyors the slope tension also must be considered, which is the tension imposed by the weight of the belt hanging from the top pulley. This slope tension frequently can furnish part or even all of the initial tension required. The maximum value of the slope tension will be at the top pulley, and it decreases in direct proportion to the length. In addition to the foregoing, it frequently is desirable to impose arbitrarily additional slack side tension to provide sufficient tension at the loading point at the tail, so that the belt will adequately support its load between the carrying idlers. Design Conditions for Twisting A number of design conditions exist, which must be satisfied successfully to accomplish the twisting of the return run without exceeding normal working limits in any portion of the conveyor belt. It is obvious that the belt edge, in its relation to the center of the belt, must stretch in making a twist, because as the twist is accomplished, the belt edge travels through a longer path than does the center of the belt. It is further obvious that if the edge of the belt is stretched, a redistribution of stress in the belt is required to allow this edge stretching. Moreover, this stress will be unequal across the width of the belt, having a maximum value at the edges, with a minimum value at the- center of the belt. With correct initial tension in the return run of a conveyor belt, the existing slack side tension will be unequally distributed when a twist is introduced. A condition then exists in which the edge stresses,

Jan 1, 1952

By R. W. Huber

While conducting an investigation on electrolytic reduction of magnesium oxide in 1943, it became necessary to obtain accurate data on the conductivity and density of various mixtures of fused chlorides. AZ the required information was not available in the technical literature, or there were inconsistencies in the data from several investigators, an independent study was made at the Bureau of. Mines laboratory at Salt Lake City on the conductivity and density of the molten chlorides MgCl2, CaCl2, BaCl2, KCl, and NaCl and the binary mixtures of MgCl2 with the other four chlorides. Studies were also made on the binary system KCl-CaCl2 and on certain portions of several ternary systems. Measurements covered a temperature range from the melting point to 1,000° C. The results of this study were reported in an intra-Bureau report prepared early in 1944. Since then the Bureau of Mines has received several requests for data on fused chlorides; the results of the previous study, therefore, are being published to make the data available.

Jan 1, 1952

By C. E. McManus

MANY mechanical advances have been made on mining equipment during the year 1951. There have been a number of trends established and many modifications made on open-pit equipment to increase the efficiency and availability of all the machines necessary in the moving of overburden and iron ore. Some years ago, the trend toward larger shovels for the loading of off-highway trucks began, but in the last year, it has become general practice to use the 5 to 7 ¼ -yd quarry-type shovels in the loading of haulage units. For years these larger shovels were used in the locomotive haulage pits. As the truck capacities increased from 15 to 20 to 30 tons, the need for larger loading units became apparent. Today in most mines, large shovels are in evidence and a few 8-yd shovels will be delivered this year for loading off-highway trucks. Torque Converter-Shovel The Diesel-driven shovel with its friction bands has been modernized with the torque converter. There have been about ten shovels remodeled to take a torque converter in the drive system. The large high-torque, low-speed Diesel engine was removed and replaced by a high-horsepower, high-speed, automotive-type engine. This engine was connected directly to the torque converter. The torque converter was connected to the shovel through the standard original sprocket and chain. Dual governors controlled engine performance. One governor controlled the high idle of the engine; the other governor, which is connected through a flexible shaft to the output shaft of the converter, controlled the loading of the engine. With this dual governor hook-up, the engine anticipates load conditions and is operating at high idle and full throttle before the shovel load is transmitted back through the converter to the flywheel. It has been found that with this automotive-type engine and converter, the shovel capacity has been increased about 20 pct. Also, the wear on the friction bands, breakage of hoist cables, and other mechanical breakages has been reduced materially. Alloy-Steel in Shovels The shovel equipment manufacturers have been experimenting with low-temperature-strength, high-alloy steels to combat the excessive breakage that occurs in extremely cold weather. High-nickel alloy steel has been used in critical areas that are affected by low temperatures, the most notable being dipper sticks. Most shovels ordered today are equipped with some of this special, alloy steel. More and more manganese alloy is being used for replacement parts such as shovel pads, idlers, drive sprockets, etc. Although the initial cost of these parts is considerably higher than the standard replacement items, the life of these manganese parts is considerably longer and well worth the added expenditure. Dipper-teeth repair is still a problem. Most companies use the small replaceable inserted tooth. It has become common practice among some of the companies to "job out" their dipper-tooth repairs to outside welding companies. This necessitates an additional inventory of teeth, but it does guarantee an adequate supply of replacement teeth at all times. These contractors have set up their shops on a production basis and can do an acceptable job at a high rate of speed. Thermite welding has been used in retipping teeth. To date, the process cannot be called successful but with improvements the time required to repoint the dipper teeth will be decreased considerably. The submerged arc process has been tried in the replacement of these dipper points, but like thermite welding has not proven successful. Here again, if a method can be developed to use submerged arc, the job of teeth repair will be made much easier. New model shovels in 6 ½ and 8 cu yd sizes fea-

Jan 1, 1952

1938 ABERNATHY, G E Feb 6, 1948 Min & Met Apr 1948 1937 ADAMS, ARMY Aug 20, 1949 Min Eng Dec 1949 1946 ADDY, GEORGE E Sept 24, 1950 Min Eng July 1951 1920 ALDERSON, WILTON P Feb 1951 Min Eng Sept 1952 1896 ALDRICH, T H , JR May 24, 1950 Min Eng Aug 1950 1942 ALDRIDGE, LEONARD June 8, 1952Jrn Met Sept 1952 1919 ALLEN, ROLLAND C July 18, 1948 Min &Met Sept 1948 1950 ANDERSON, C P Unknown Min Eng Feb 1951 1937 ANDERSON, JOHN H May 10, 1950 Min Eng Aug 1950 1914 ANDERSON, L DOUGLASS Unknown Min Eng Nov 1951 1948 ANDRAU, E W K Oct 20, 1951 1936 ANDREWS, CHARLES B Apr 19, 1950 Min Eng June 1950 1918 ARMITAGE, PAUL June 28, 1949 Min Eng Oct 1949 1924 ARMSTRONG, PERCY A E Jan 23, 1949 Min Eng May 1949 1906 ARNOLD, CHARLES LE NEVE Aug 7, 1949 Min Eng Oct 1949 1945 ARNOLD, HAROLD S Aug 7, 1950 Min Eng Oct 1950 1936 ASH, JAMES E Dec 17. 1949 Min Eng Apr 1950

Jan 1, 1952

By W. A. Calhoun

A method for treating high-iron Arkansas bauxites for recovering both abrasive and metal-grade bauxite has been developed by the Bureau of Mines. Present practice usually produces a reject containing appreciable quantities of metal-grade bauxite; however, the processing renders the alumina in the reject unsuitable for the Bayer extraction treatment. Thus the Arkansas abrasive bauxite industry has, in the past, produced little or no metal-grade bauxite. The present investigation was made to determine the possibilities of batter utilization of those particular bauxites through recovery of the wasted metal-grade portion. The large expansion of aluminum-production facilities planned for 1951-53 makes recovery of metal-grade bauxite from presently treated abrasive and marginal abrasive ores en especially timely objective and a welcome addition to our aluminum potential. The quality of the Arkansas bauxites and the inherently associated titania content have made this material particularly attractive to the abrasives industry. however, the gradual depletion of natural abrasive-grade bauxite reserves in this area, the comparative scarcity of high-grade ore, and the difficulty of maintaining adequate reserves have necessitated blending different grades of bauxite calculated to meet specifications. Production of abrasive-grade bauxite from tile, high-iron reserves 13 becoming, increasingly necessary. In one commercial operation, producing abrasive-grade from ores averaging slightly less than 10 percent Fe2O3, approximately 2.7 tons of ore are required to produce 1 ton of abrasive-grade bauxite. The reserves of ore of this grade, however, have been considered inadequate for a long-range production, and ultimately ores averaging 12 to 15 percent Fe2O3 will have to be treated to moot the continued demands of the abrasive industry.

Jan 1, 1952

By James A. West

The Quapaw pool is one of the smaller pools in an extensive area of Bartlesville-sand production in the eastern part of Osage County, Okla. (fig. 1). Most of the fields in this area were discovered from 1906 to 1916 and were developed and operated similarly. The Quapaw pool is representative of the area, and much of the developed in studying this pool is applicable to the other reservoirs. This petroleum-engineering study of the Quapaw pool was conducted to provide reservoir data that may aid in more widespread application of the intensive secondary-recovery production methods that have been employed with excellent results in the Bartlesville-sand fields of nearby Washington, Nowata, and Rogers Counties. This study is particularly appropriate because of the intense interest in Osage County fields as areas suitable for water flooding. Water flooding was introduced first into Oklahoma during 1931 in Rogers County, and activity was concentrated in the shallow Bartlesville-sand fields of and Nowata Counties for many years. Although water-flooding projects are now operating throughout the State, the intense activity of the Nowata-Rogers Counties area spread to adjoining counties only during the past few years. Since 1948 the rate of oil production in Washington County (between Nowata and Osage Counties) has increased by 260 percent as a result of water flooding. Currently, leases in eastern Osage County are sought eagerly by water-flood operators, and during the past 2 years the Osage Indian Agency has issued nine permits for water-flooding projects in eastern Osage County. Water-flooding operations are in progress on several projects. Although large oil reserves in eastern Osage County should, be recoverable by water flooding, development and operation of projects will be more expensive than projects in the shallower producing areas to the east. In addition, the Osage County reservoirs appear to be more complex and somewhat more difficult to water-flood successfully. It is hoped that this study will contribute to better understanding of the Quapaw reservoir and, in a general way, to the many similar reservoirs in eastern Osage County.

Jan 1, 1952

By W. C. Ellis, E. S. Greiner, M. E. Fine

C. H. Samans and W. R. Ham (Chicago, Ill., and Dix-field, Maine, respectively)-—For several years we have been studying transitions of this basic type in metals, alloys, glasses, etc. Usually, however, they are not so clearly marked as those which the authors have found, and hence are much more difficult to determine accurately. Since our studies indicate that most of them occur virtually unchanged (as far as temperature is concerned) regardless of the form in which the element appears, we believe that they are a characteristic of the atom. Specifically, we believe that there is an additional rotational degree of freedom possessed by the nucleus which has not been considered heretofore. This nuclear rotation is made up of several components, each related to the several quantum shells of electrons. In chromium there are four of these shells and hence four separate series of characteristic transition temperatures. The lowest temperature at which any transition occurs, based on the present state of our computations, is 125°K, 4° higher than the authors' value of 121°K. A convergence of this series, we believe, shows up at the higher temperature of 2085 °K, surprisingly close to the transformation temperature of 2103°K recently announced by N. J. Grant of M.I.T. for a body-centered to face-centered transformation in chromium. Likewise, our computations indicate a temperature of 311°K for the second transition temperature, reported by the authors as 310 °K. A convergence of this series, we believe, shows up at a higher temperature as the melting point at 2163°K. Although our work on these series must, in a sense, still be regarded as empirical, since we do not understand fully as yet just what the series mean, it is based on a reasonably firm picture. The individual constants, from which the various series are computed for each element, comes directly from the X-ray K absorption limit. Furthermore, the same basic method has accounted for transformation and melting temperatures in about 50 of the chemical elements, which is all we have tried thus far. In many cases the only known transformation is the melting point, but in others the occurrence of transformations or other transitions, equally as well marked as those of the authors, has been pointed out by others. These observations have assisted us greatly. Consequently we were very pleased to see the authors' excellent work in finding these two transitions in chromium. With these confirming data, our picture of this element is clarified considerably, so we expect that at least some of our work can be published in the near future. R. C. Ruder (E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Cu., Wilmington, Del.)—The authors' interpretation of these transitions in terms of 3d to 4s electronic structure transitions is most interesting. It would be interesting to have additional experimental evidence of such transitions from the temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient in the neighborhood of the property changes discussed in this paper. Simple theory15 suggests the Hall coefficient as a measure of the free electron (or s electron) concentration per unit volume. It has been shown that for paramagnetic'" and ferromagnetic1? metals the simple theory is in fact too simple. However, the existence of a discontinuity in the Hall coefficient would provide information which should aid both in our understanding of these transitions and the significance of the Hall coefficient in these metals. It was rather surprising that no significant paramagnetic effects were observed. In this connection the recent work of McGuire and Kriessman18 is cited. They measured the magnetic susceptibility of chromium from 20" to 1460 °C. They also observed no large change in the susceptibility although there might be a change in slope in the vicinity of the 40 °C transition. The existence of these 3d to 4s electronic transitions has been discussed in connection with the paramagnetic susceptibility behavior of nickel and nickel alloys.'"-" Assuming a correspondence principle between classical and quantum mechanical paramagnetic theory and using classical theory to calculate the effective Bohr magneton number from the Curie constant for substances obeying the Curie-Weiss law," it is found that the effective magneton number is a function of temperature. The process of calculation involves the inverse of the differential of the 1/x4 vs. temperature curve so that good and numerous data are necessary to obtain significant results. The data of Fallot23 show a discontinuous increase of about 12 pct in the effective magneton number between 850" and 900 oC, followed by a continuous increase up to the melting point. The data of Sucksmith and Pearce24 show a possible 8 pct increase. The older data of Terry25 and Weiss and Foex26 show a continuous increase. It is possible that small amounts of impurity atoms change these electronic transitions significantly. Fallot's23 data on a nickel alloy with 4.5 atomic pct Fe indicate that the discontinuity occurs around 1300 °C. Systematic investigation of the transition metals for transitions of this nature should provide information which would be very valuable for our understanding of these metals. The absence of antiferromagnetic structures in chromium has been shown by Shull27 using neutron diffraction techniques. M. E. Fine, E. S. Greiner, and W. C. Ellis (authors' reply)—The remarks by Drs. Samans and Ham are certainly very interesting, in particular those pertaining to the close agreement between the theoretically calculated values for transition temperatures in chromium and the experimental values reported by a number of investigators. This is a remarkable achievement and we shall look forward to a more detailed presentation of the method followed in their calculations. We do not believe that the transition in pure chromium near 40 °C remains temperature invariant with alloying, as was reported by Samans and Ham for a number of the substances that they studied. We have not done any work with alloys but base our belief on the results of earlier studies in which less pure chromium was included and considerably lower transition temperatures were observed. The transition tempera-

Jan 1, 1952

By E. J. Gleim

An important phase in the Bureau of Mines investigation of electrical machines designed for operation in gassy coal mines is testing enclosures of electrical components for explosion-proof qualities. In brief, this testing consists of filling and surrounding the enclosure with an explosive atmosphere of methane and air and then igniting the atmosphere within the enclosure to determine (1) Whether the resulting explosion is confined without discharge of flame; (2) whether the enclosure walls are permanently distorted; and (3) whether excessive pressures are developed within the enclosure. Ordinarily, the pressures encountered in routine testing do not exceed 100 pounds per square inch gage. Hence, the designer of the machine does not have too much difficulty in taking corrective measures to prevent flame discharge and distortion of the enclosure. Occasionally, however, the explosion pressures greatly exceed 100 pounds. Then the goblet of the designer may not be solved so readily, From experience over the year 0, the testing personnel often can predict that certain construction will result in high. Pressures, but, only in a very general way, has it been possible to advise designers what modifications might be made to reduce the explosion pressures to normal values. For example, if high pressures were developed in a motor starter having a partition with an opening through it, some enlargement of the opening may appear to be the logical procedure, but it has not been- possible to give information concerning the exact amount the opening should be enlarged to prevent development of high pressures .

Jan 1, 1952

By William L. Crentz

Early in the nineteenth century, coal from Clearfield County entered the eastern commercial market. Ashley reports that coal was moved down the Susquehanna River by ark from Clearfield to Columbia, a distance of 260 miles, as early as 18o4. Around 1850, the famous Moshannon or Lower Freeport bed was discovered. Several years later the Moshannon Basin was developed extensively, and the coal from this area soon acquired an enviable reputation as a high-quality industrial fuel. Today much of the original Moshannon Basin coal is worked out, and the Lower Kittanning bed has replaced the Lower Freeport bed as the principal source of production in southeast Clearfield County. With depletion of the thick underground deposits, the importance 'of Clearfield County as a coal Producer would have diminished rapidly, if it had not been for strip mining the thinner beds. About 60 percent of the coal produced in the county is strip-mined, and the trend toward this mining method is expected to continue as the older underground operations are exhausted. Many strip mines are working in beds that are too thin to be recovered economically by any other method.

Jan 1, 1952

By A. T. Coumbe

The first national survey covering sales of fuel oil by States and principal uses was made in 1926 by E. B. Swanson of the Bureau of Mines (then under the U. S. Department of Commerce) under a cooperative agreement with the American Petroleum Institute. This annual study, covering the market for fuel oil, was made through 1930 with the financial help of the institute bat has since been continued by the Bureau up to the present time. The scope and coverage of the survey have gradually changed over the years as new uses for fuel oil have been found and new products have come into importance resulting in market expansion. Range oil (No. 1 fuel oil or kerosine) came into use for cooking and space-heating daring the depression era in New England, and it was first reported as a total in the 1931 survey. In 1934 the sales were compiled on a State basis. State totals for distillate fuel oil, Diesel fuel, and residual fuel-oil sales were first shown for 1934 and by principal uses and States in 1937. Kerosine deliveries by States and main uses were also released for the first time in 1937.

Jan 1, 1952