Search Documents

By A. L. Barnes

Residual oil in watered-out reservoirs is a tremendous reserve which has been unrecoverable by established production methods. A study of the new recovery methods indicated that the forward combustion urocess might- recover oil from such reservoirs; however, no thermal recovery operating experience in a watered-out system was available. The Delaware-Childers pilot thermal test was undertaken to test the feasibility of thermal recovery in this watered-out reservoir. The pilot test consisted of a 2.22-acre, inverted five-spot in the 600-ft deep Bartlesville sand. The reservoir in the pilot area had a porosity of 20.6 per cent, a permeability of 118 md and an average sand thickness of 45 ft. The reservoir contains a 33' API, 6-cp oil. Combustion was started Nov. 22, 1960. The initial air injection capacity was 750 Mscf/D, but it was eventually increased to 2,000 Mscf/D. The test was surrounded by an active water flood; therefore, water production was initially high, but decreased as the heat wave moved toward the producing wells. Oil-bank arrival at an individual well was indicated by a drop in GOR and WOR, and an increase in oil production. Combustion-front arrival was evident at three of the pilot producers, and they were plugged. Cumulative oil production from pilot area wells war over 12,000 bbl. Operational difficulties were negligible and only conventional equipment was necessary. The combustion efficiency of this test averaged over 80 per cent. Results from coring showed that the leading edge of the combustion front tended to be wedge-shaped but a nearly complete sweep of the reservoir was eventually obtained. An isopach map based on evidence from 10 core holes and the existing wells showed that 126 acre-ft had been swept by the heat wave. Using this swept volume, an air requirement of 15.7 MMscf/acre-ft was calculated. It was calculated that 275 ,STB/acre-ft was consumed bv the heat wave. INTRODUCTION There is a large amount of oil remaining in reservoirs that have been water flooded. A study of ways to recover this oil showed that the forward combustion process might be applicable. Results from a number of forward combustion tests have been reported in the literature, but none of these tests were conducted in a watered-out system. The Delaware-Childers pilot thermal test was initiated in 1960 to define the operating characteristics of underground combustion in this watered-out Bartlesville sand reservoir, The purpose of this paper is to present the pilot test results in detail. FORWARD COMBUSTION PROCESS The forward combustion process consists of initiating combustion in the formation surrounding an injection well and driving this heat wave through the formation toward offset producing wells. As the combustion front progresses through the reservoir, oil and formation water are vaporized, driven forward in the gaseous phase, and recon-densed in the cooler part of the formation. These distilled liquids, water of combustion and gaseous combustion products, form a bank or three-phase region ahead of the burning front. This bank pushes mobile reservoir fluids toward the production wells. The rate of movement of the combustion front is controlled by the rate at which the nondistill able residue which serves as process fuel can be completely burned off the sand. The production performance from a heat wave conducted in a watered-out oil reservoir will differ from one conducted in a dissolved gas-depleted reservoir because of the difference in fluid saturations. The primary depleted reservoir contains connate water saturation, relatively high oil saturation and some gas saturation. The watered-out reservoir contains a highly mobile water saturation, residual oil saturation and little gas saturation. As the combustion front moves forward in either type of depleted reservoir, it drives the distillable oil, the water in place and the water of combustion ahead, and burns the nondistillable portion of the oil. The heat-wave process in a watered-out reservoir differs from the process in a

Jan 1, 1966

By Leonard C. Grimshaw

The idea of bonding two dissimilar ferrous metals, and making use of both, is an old one. Tips have been brazed onto tool shanks for many years. The bonding of larger pieces to form whole bars and sheets has also been accomplished, but has received little attention in the technical literature, although a number of patents have been issued covering various methods for its accomplishment. There are three main motives behind the manufacture of composite steels. One is that the physical properties of one steel may supplement those of another; a useful, but at the same time, hard, brittle steel may be backed by a soft ductile one, or a stainless steel may be backed by a steel possessing greater strength. Another motive is direct lowering of cost; an expensive steel may be backed by a less expensive one, bringing down the cost of the piece as a whole. The third motive is an indirect lowering of cost, as when a useful steel is backed by a steel that is easier to machine, so that machining cost on a finished product is lowered considerably. Often more than one of these motives lead to a decision to use a composite steel. Previous Methods There are two methods in use that result in tolerably good bonds between ferrous metals: (1) the casting method, and (2) what we shall call the "heat-pressure" method. This "heat-pressure" method covers processes in which the bond is made between two prepared surfaces by heating them and then applying pressure. Usually sufficient pressure must be used to produce appreciable spread and elongation, or else we arc merely brazing and not truly welding. Casting methods for welding together ferrous metals have been used more than 74 years, and are described in the technical literature as applied

Jan 1, 1936

By Leonard C. Grimshaw

The idea of bonding two dissimilar ferrous metals, and making use of both, is an old one. Tips have been brazed onto tool shanks for many years. The bonding of larger pieces to form whole bars and sheets has also been accomplished, but has received little attention in the technical literature, although a number of patents have been issued covering various methods for its accomplishment. There are three main motives behind the manufacture of composite steels. One is that the physical properties of one steel may supplement those of another; a useful, but at the same time, hard, brittle steel may be backed by a soft ductile one, or a stainless steel may be backed by a steel possessing greater strength. Another motive is direct lowering of cost; an expensive steel may be backed by a less expensive one, bringing down the cost of the piece as a whole. The third motive is an indirect lowering of cost, as when a useful steel is backed by a steel that is easier to machine, so that machining cost on a finished product is lowered considerably. Often more than one of these motives lead to a decision to use a composite steel. Previous Methods There are two methods in use that result in tolerably good bonds between ferrous metals: (1) the casting method, and (2) what we shall call the "heat-pressure" method. This "heat-pressure" method covers processes in which the bond is made between two prepared surfaces by heating them and then applying pressure. Usually sufficient pressure must be used to produce appreciable spread and elongation, or else we arc merely brazing and not truly welding. Casting methods for welding together ferrous metals have been used more than 74 years, and are described in the technical literature as applied

Jan 1, 1936

At a meeting of the Associated Engineers, with Columbia Section in charge, a discussion of the metric system was led by-Mr. F. A. Ross. While the majority of the engineers present favored resolutions seeking compulsory adoption and use of the system at the end of 1924 it was believed the engineers present should not undertake to speak for the entire membership and upon suggestion of Mr. J. B. Fisken the resolutions were laid over to be acted upon at a later meeting. The resolutions are as follows: WHEREAS the Great War has drawn the United States into a permanent and close relationship with the other nations of the world and opened the way to an unlimited foreign trade; and WHEREAS more than-70 per cent. of all nations have discarded their arbitrary standards of weights and measures and have made the use of the decimal, or metric, system obligatory; and WHEREAS the United States still clings to an antiquated, complex, cumbersome, and wholly illogical system of weights and measures, consisting of a duodecimal and fractional arrangement of arbitrary units, instead of definitely determined and correlated units following the decimal system; and

Jan 8, 1919

By Henry N. Toler

Activity in the search for oil and gas in Mississippi was greater than it had been for several years. Interest manifested and exploration work in wildcat areas were at an all-time peak. Drilling activity in the state's two proven fields continued to decline; there being only four wells drilled in the Jackson field during the year. At the end of 1937 it seems very likely that 1938 will be a big year in the search for oil in Mississippi. Deilling Activity Jackson Gas Field.—The four wells drilled in the Jackson field during 1937 resulted in three producers and one dry hole. Nine producing gas wells were abandoned during the year because of salt-water encroachment. The total production for 1937 was 14,248,000,000 cu. ft., which was a billion and a quarter increase over 1936, the highest year prior to 1937. The grand total produced from the field is 72,341,000,000 cu. ft. of gas and over 15,000 bbl. of oil. The three wells that had produced oil the past few years were also abandoned during the year because of the small quantity of oil and the large volume of salt water.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. A. Shook, W. H. W. Husband, D. B. Haas

Although previous studies l,2,3 have been made, no correlations for pressure drop have been proposed. This is probably because severe particle breakage occurred and pressure drops changed substantially with time. A quantitative statement of the relationship of pressure drop to the parameters of the system is desirable for lignite since, unlike higher rank coals, lignite slurries are thixotropic. The present investigation was undertaken to quantify the pipeline behavior and required continuous monitoring of pressure drop and size distribution.

Jan 2, 1979

By T. G. Fulmor, William Wraith

What impelled The Anaconda Company to dismantle and move a concentrator 25 miles that was already operating at a rate of 35,000 ton per day? The answer to that question takes in almost exactly 49 years and perhaps 10 complete cycles of the metallurgical wheel in the Anaconda, Mont., mill. One could say with truth that the move is a logical next-step in the development of metallurgy in The Anaconda Co. In the old concentrator at Anaconda, the background story is unfolded: - Gravity separation by jigs, later supplemented with gravity tables, 1905. - Separate sand and slime froth flotation, 1915. - Acid bulk froth flotation, 1917. - Bulk alkaline flotation, 1926. - Alkaline flotation of total ore without sand- slime separation due to change in ore type. 1939.

Jan 5, 1964

[ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By Willard P. Ward

IT is the object of the present paper to bring to the notice of members of this Institute, the results of experiments made during the past six months in the manufacture of the alloys of iron and manganese in the blast-furnace. The ores at hand and available for the purpose were brown hematites, containing but a very small percentage of manganese, and various manganese ores containing a small percentage of iron. It is hardly necessary here to call attention to the statements regarding the production of iron-manganese alloys from such ores, which are given by all the well-recognized authorities on metallurgy. Suffice it to say, in a few words, that they hold that the operation is practically impossible, and that in the use of oxides of iron and manganese, mechanically intermixed in the same ore, much difficulty has been found in producing spiegeleisen. Spathic ores, containing manganese chemically combined, are alone recommended for the production of spiegel, and even then it is said that well-managed furnaces produce only about 75 to 80 per cent. of spiegel, the balance of the production being white laminated pig or gray iron.

Jan 1, 1876

By Willard P. Ward

It is the object of the present paper to bring to the notice of members of this Institute, the results of experiments made during the past six months in the manufacture of the alloys of iron and manganese in the blast-furnace. The ores at hand and available for the purpose were brown hematites, containing but a very small percentage of manganese, and various manganese ores containing a small percentage of iron. It is hardly necessary here to call attention to the statements regarding the production of iron-manganese alloys from such ores, which are given by all the well-recognized authorities on metallurgy. Suffice it to say, in a few words, that they hold that the operation is practically impossible, and that in the use of oxides of iron and manganese, mechanically intermixed in the same ore, much difficulty has been found in producing spiegeleisen. Spathic ores, containing manganese chemically combined, are alone recommended for the production of spiegel, and even then it is said that well-managed furnaces produce only about 75 to 80 per cent. of spiegel, the balance of the production being white laminated pig or gray iron.

By Walter Lawson

THE first plans were made in 1930 for the mining by open-pit methods of the low-grade disseminated ore body now known as the Morenci open pit. It was not until 1937, however, that final plans were completed and the decision reached to go ahead with the actual development. Many advances were made in open-pit mining equipment during that period of seven years, therefore the ways and means of attack actually used were very different from those originally contemplated. Diesel-operated bulldozers, big trucks, full-revolving electric shovels and electric churn drills constitute the major equipment finally purchased for this modern stripping operation. Neither the bulldozers nor the big trucks were considered in the early operating plans, for at that time bulldozers had not, been used in mining operations and the trucks as yet were undesigned. The full-revolving shovel and the churn drills were not new developments in open-pit equipment, but both had undergone remarkable manufacturing transition, emerging far more efficient and far more dependable than their predecessors. Even the ordinary drilling steel had been fundamentally changed. It was now threaded so that the dulled cutting bits could be detached and replaced, thus eliminating the costly transportation of long bars to the drill shop for resharpening. The decision to use trucks in the preliminary stripping operations was based on the desirability of this type of transportation to economi-cally prepare the pit for rail haulage, coupled with the success that the contractors had had with them on other big excavation jobs. There are at present no plans for the use of trucks beyond the preliminary work, inasmuch as rail haulage will give lower costs after roadbeds and benches are once established.

Jan 1, 1938

By Paul Foote

SEEBECK discovered, in 1821, that if, in a closed circuit of two metals the two junctions are at different temperatures, an electric current will flow in the circuit. In the case of an iron and a copper wire, for example, current will flow from copper to iron at the hot junction, or from iron to copper at the cold junction. Two factors combine to cause the current. An electromotive force exists between the two metals, the magnitude of which, depends upon the temperature and upon the metals; this is called the Peltier e.m.f. If a single wire of homogeneous material is heated at one end, an electromotive force is developed between the ends of the wire, the magnitude of which depends upon the metal and upon the difference in temperature; this is known as the Thomson e.m.f: The total e.m.f. acting in the circuit is the sum of the Peltier e.m.f. at the two junctions and the Thomson e.m.f. in each wire, consideration being given, of course, to the algebraic signs of the four e.m.f.'s. The total electromotive force thus depends upon the difference in temperature of the two

Jan 9, 1919

By C. A. Bruch, W. E. McHugh, R. W. Hockenbury

EXPERIMENTAL results of the last decade have shown that both accelerator particles and reactor radiations produce significant changes in the properties of metals. These changes, called radiation damage, are important from both academic and engineering viewpoints. An understanding of the radiation damage produced by reactor radiations is difficult, because many kinds of particles having varying energies are present. Therefore, many fundamental studies are being conducted using accelerators in order to obtain nearly mono-energetic beams of various charged particles. Furthermore, many of these experiments are conducted at low temperatures in order to freeze in the radiation-produced lattice defects, after which the specimens are annealed to study the movement of the defects. It is found that although much of the low temperature radiation damage disappears by annealing at room temperature, a significant amount remains. Because there is no assurance that irradiation followed by annealing at a higher temperature will produce the same effect as irradiation at the higher temperature, and because there is an immediate interest in reactor radiation effects during exposures at and above room temperature, a major program is in progress at this laboratory to investigate some of these effects. This paper, representing a part of the program, compares the radiation damage to a group of metals which were exposed under nearly identical irradiation conditions. The metals, representing the three major crystal systems, include copper, nickel, titanium, zirconium, iron, molybdenum, and type 347 stainless steel. The effects of reactor radiations have been treated from a theoretical viewpoint by Seitz' and Ozeroff.' The problem considered by them has been the atomic displacements produced in an infinite medium by mono-energetic beams of both neutrons and charged particles. For reactor experiments, this treatment is not wide enough in scope, because specimens and reactor components are finite, and there are continuous energy spectra of the various particles. Therefore, the theoretical considerations will be extended in this paper to cover reactor conditions and the findings will be compared with the observed radiation damage. Experimental Materials—The six basic metals for this investigation were of commercial or higher purity, and the type 347 stainless steel was of commercial quality. These materials were supplied in various forms ranging from ingots to finished rods, and were fabricated to rods approximately % in. in diam and annealed for specimen stock. A summary of data pertinent to these materials is shown in Table I. The values for chemical compositions include both actual analytical values and typical values supplied by the manufacturer. More information concerning typical

Jan 1, 1957

By William C. Alden

A great landslide occurred on June 23, 1925, in the valley of Gros Ventre River, about 35 miles south of Yellowstone National Park (Fig. 1). The relations of the north-easterly dipping rock formations of the slide scarp and of the dam formed by the slide are shown in the diagrammatic cross-section of the valley (Fig. 2). This generalized section is based on unpublished maps and notes by Eliot Rlackwelder, in the files of the IT. S. Geological Survey. Heavy rains and melting snow in the Gros Ventre Mountains had saturated clay layers in the Carboniferous strata, which dip toward the valley at angles of 18" to 21°, consequently an enormous mass of rock at the end of the north spur of Sheep Mountain became loosened and, on the afternoon of June 23, slid suddenly down into the valley. Within a few minutes this mass of debris—estimated as 50,000,000 cu. yd.—carrying

Jan 1, 1928

By H. H. Kellogg

A model of the slag-fuming process for recovery of zinc oxide fume from lead blast furnace slags, adapted to solution by a digital computer, is presented. The model incorporates the variaticm with time of the following: the fuming of zinc and lead, the change in the ferrous-ferric ratio in the slag, the transfer of sulfur to and from the slag, the temperature of the liquid slag, the temperature of the gases and fume which exit to the flue, the heat losses to the water jackets, and the amount of frozen slag on the water jackets. The assumptions which underlie the model-some of which are but crude approximations—are discussed. Despite some obvious shortcomings, the model simulates faithfully many of the important features of practical slag-fuming operations. The behavior of the model is compared with the operation of the American Smelting and Refining Co. fumzace at El Paso, Tex. The model is used to predict the effects on performance of changes in the coal rate, the temperature of the secondary air, and the composition of the coal. THE fuming of lead blast furnace slag for recovery of zinc oxide is standard practice today, and it has been the subject of several previous attempts at mathematical process analysis.'-' The mathematical process model described in this paper incorporates many of the features from the earlier studies, but it is a far more complete and realistic representation of the commercial process in that the following additional features have been included: the fuming of lead as well as zinc; the transfer of sulfur between slag and gas; the addition of slag feed in batches, over a period of time; tapping of the final slag over a period of time; the change of slag temperature with time. The additional features of the present model add greatly to the mathematical complexity, but this difficulty has been obviated by programming the model for solution by a digital computer. The IBM 7094 computer solves the model for one operating cycle of the fuming furnace in less than 1 min. It is doubtful if the same calculations could be completed with the aid of a desk calculator in less than a month. The computer program, written in the Fortran IV language, is too lengthy for presentation here.* Instead, this paper As shown in the sections which follow, it does simulate with remarkable faithfulness most of the known behavior of the industrial process. On the other hand, the model contains several gross simplifications of both the chemistry and heat balance, necessitated by the lack of more exact knowledge. In addition to these known weaknesses, it is not unlikely that those more intimately acquainted with industrial practice than the author will find other additions to or modifications of the model which will improve its utility and reliability. CHEMISTRY In brief outline, the present model treats the fuming furnace as two units, A and B, in series. In A the batch of slag reacts with the continuous stream of air (primary and secondary) and fuel injected at the tuyeres, to produce a stream of hot, reduced gases containing zinc vapor. The zinc content of both the slag and the product gas changes with time because of the batch nature of the process. Unit A is called the "lower furnace" in this paper; physically, it is considered to be that part of the fuming furnace which lies below the charge port. In B, the "upper furnace", the product gas from A is burned with the stream of "tertiary" air, to produce zinc oxide fume. The performance of B also depends on time because of the time dependence inherited from the product gas of A. The rate behavior in the lower furnace determines the important features of the process—the rate of elimination of zinc and lead from the slag, and the amount of fuel required for this purpose. Bell, Turner, and peters' published the first useful model of the lower furnace. They employed the assumption that, at any instant of time, the slag and reduced gas reach a state of equilibrium, according to the reactions: They cited only indirect evidence in support of their assumption of slag-gas equilibrium, yet several more recent laboratory studies of the activity of zinc oxide in slags4-8 have produced evidence which supports their view. On first acquaintance it seems unlikely that a high-output "rate" process like slag fuming would even approach an equilibrium state. The author, in an earlier study,' established, however, that the gas-slag interface in a fuming furnace was capable of such high mass-transfer rates that a close approach to equilibrium between gas and slag was quite probable. In devising the present model it was decided to assume a state of equilibrium between slag and gas at the outset, and then to modify this assumption as necessary in order to make the model agree with the be -havior of the actual process. Up to this time the assumption remains a part of the model, since no behavior

Jan 1, 1968

Jan 1, 1902

It was a brilliant idea that suggested the formation of Local Sections of the Institute. The results in increase of membership and attendance at, annual meetings of the Institute have been very gratifying. Many different plans have been followed by the various Local Sections to interest members in the local meetings. It has been found to be almost necessary that the meetings be preceded by luncheon or dinner at some club or hotel where a suitable assembly room is available for the after meeting. Each Local Section has to work out its own type of meeting to suit its conditions. Like all human affairs, a great deal depends on the leader. Special attention should be paid to the qualifications of the Chairman and Secretary as these two officers have to shoulder most of the responsibility for the success or failure of the Section. They should be chosen, not so much on account of prominence in the profession as for their push and popularity with the local membership. It has been developed that in most Local Sections the meetings should not be more frequent than once a month with a vacation during the summer months.

Jan 7, 1919

By Gilbert Soler

THIS year's Chairman of the Iron and Steel Division is a noted member of a small and select group of practical scientists now working in this country and in Canada to improve the production and properties and to reduce the cost of super-quality carbon and alloy steels; he is one of those all-important leavening agents-a man with his feet always on the ground but capable of putting his head into the clouds on occasion-that are so necessary in applying science sensibly to the practical problems of steel production. He is equally at home in a discussion of the free energy of deoxidizing reactions or the entropy of the formation of stable sulphides, and in a consideration of the relative advantages of the basic-electric and the open-hearth furnace for the production of rimming steels in the Detroit area. Gilbert Soler was born of American parents in Havana, Cuba, just forty years ago. He graduated as a ceramic engineer from Ohio State University in 1930 and received a Master of Science degree a year later. In 1940 he received the degree of metallurgical engineer from the same institution.

Jan 1, 1948

By James F. Kemp

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) THE iron ores of southeastern Cuba present a subject of exceptional geological interest. Their relations to the inclosing rocks are varied and in some cases unusual. The problem of their geological origin is not a simple one and for this reason has occasioned some divergence of views among previous observers. Profiting, however, by. these earlier studies and by more detailed field and laboratory observations as well as by the experience of added years of mining, much more satisfactory descriptions and interpretations can now be prepared. PREVIOUS WORK In 1884, interest in the southeastern coast of Cuba became active among the consumers of iron ore along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Active development was undertaken by the Juragua Iron Co., Ltd., a corporation affiliated with the Bethlehem Steel Co., and the Pennsylvania Steel Co. The property of the Juragua company, which is situated about 15 miles east of Santiago, was studied in June and July, 1884, by Dr. James P. Kimball, at the tine Professor of Economic Geology in Lehigh University and one of the best known of American mining geologists. Dr. Kimball published on his return two papers, the first important descriptions which we have of the local geology.1 It is

Jan 9, 1915

By James F. Kemp

The iron ores of southeastern Cuba present a subject of exceptional geological interest. Their relations to the inclosing rocks are varied and in some cases unusual. The problem of their geological origin is not a simple one and for this reason has occasioned some divergence of views among previous observers. Profiting, however, by these earlier studies and by more detailed field and laboratory observations as well as by the experience of added years of mining, much more satisfactory descriptions and interpretations can now be prepared. Previous Work In 1884, interest in the southeastern coast of Cuba became active among the consumers of iron ore along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Active development was undertaken by the Juragua Iron Co., Ltd., a corporation affiliated with the Bethlehem Steel Co., and the Pennsylvania Steel Co. The property of the Juragua company, which is situated about 15 miles east of Santiago, was studied in June and July, 1884, by Dr. James P. Kimball, at the time Professor of Economic Geology in Lehigh University and one of the best known of American mining geologists. Dr. Kimball published on his return two papers, the first important descriptions which we have of the local geology.1 It is

Jan 1, 1916