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By F. N. Rhines

Despite the large amount of study which has been devoted to the subject our present knowledge of the copper-oxygen system remains incomplete and unsatisfactory .in many respects. This applies particularly to those regions in which solid metallic copper exists. The primary object of the present paper is the contribution of new information relative to the solid solubility of oxygen (or cuprous oxide) in copper at atmospheric pressure, together with certain observations in the low-pressure regions of the system. It seems appropriate also to present a brief summary of the outstanding previous work on the constitution of mixtures of copper with its lowest oxide in order. to show the relation between the new facts and the system as a whole. The earliest recorded investigations of the copper-oxygen system are those of M. S. Lucas(l) $ and of M. Chevillot(2) in 1819 and 1820. Lucas believed that liquid copper is capable of dissolving its oxide, but neither he nor Chevillot was able to furnish convincing proof of this property. It was not until 1866 that T. Graham(3) definitely established the existence of such a solubility. Nine years later W. Hampe(4) measured its extent and roughly outlined the copper-rich portion of the system. The first really precise examination of the constitutional relationship between copper and cuprous oxide, however, was that of E. Heyn(5) who in 1900 published a temperature-concentration diagram covering the range from 0 to 10 per cent of cuprous oxide at atmospheric pressure. Within these limits of composition cuprous oxide was found to dissolve in liquid copper, forming at 3.4 to 3.5 per cent a eutectic which melted at 1065" C. R. E. Slade and F. D. Farrow(6) extended these studies to mixtures of higher oxygen content. They discovered that between 20 and 95 per cent of cuprous oxide the metal and oxide form two liquid phases at a monotectic reaction of 1195" C. The span of the biliquidal region diminishes slightly

Jan 1, 1934

By W. A. Jr. Slippy, E. P. Dahlberg, R. B. Reed-Hill

A large room-temperature mechanical-hysteresis effect under cyclic tensile loading was observed in zivconium specimens prestrained at 77°K so as to form large numbers of (1121) twins. The observed hysteresis loss was a maximum when the prestrain was just under 1 pct It also depended strongly on the maximum applied cyclic stress, but only moderately on loading rate and temperature (-72°to 100°C). The phenotnena have also been studied in terms of the elastic aftereffect where the data has been found to cotlforln closely to the functional relationship between strain and time, c = -RT/a In tank ft. t to)/Zr, for strains cts large as about 10-4 This eyication can be derived directly from the strain-rate equation There may be important commercial implications to the present discovery since it appears that within rather wide limits it may be possible to obtain any desired magnitude of damping capacity in zirconium melal. The damping propevties may also be given directional characteristics. It is shown that the observed anelaslic phenomena can he explained on the assumiplion that they are the resuilt of stress-induced twin-boundary movements in which the average twin increases its thickness by only a few percent. In polycrystalline zirconium, a grain is least favorably oriented for slip when its basal plane, containing the (1130) slip directions, lies nearly perpendicular to the principle normal stress. Mechanical twinning is favored by this orientation and under simple tensile deformation at room temperature the primary twinning mode is {1012).' The (1012) twinning shear is small (0.17) so that, during deformation, twin growth does not greatly enhance ductility. At 77°K, on the other hand, the predominant twinning mode shifts to {1121), and many thin (1121) twins can form at small strains.' Twins thus nucleated can grow readily during subsequent room-temperature deformation and permit easy deformation in unfavorably oriented grains. In addition, the (1131) twinning shear is large: 0.63. These facts have lead to a process' for greatly improving the room-temperature ductility of zirconium when it contains a sizable fraction of grains with basal planes nearly normal to the stress axis. Optimum results are obtained by slightly less than 1 pct prestrain. The effect is large so that a 50 pct elongation increase is readily attained. A large room-temperature mechanical-hysteresis effect has also been observed in zirconium specimens prestrained at 77°K. The present paper is concerned with some aspects of this effect which the experimental observations strongly indicate is primarily the result of strain-induced {1121) twin-boundary movements. This clearly suggests that mechanical twins formed by plastic deformation can cause anelastic effects similar to those previously observed2 for annealing twins and twins associated with phase transformations. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES All specimens were prepared from arc-melted sponge zirconium plate stock as previously described,3 which has a preferred orientation with basal planes aligned parallel to and uniformly distributed around the rolling direction. Both lonti-tudinal and transverse tensile specimens, with axes parallel and transverse, respectively, to the plate rolling direction, were cut from this plate. In a longitudinal specimen most grains are favorably oriented for slip, while in a transverse specimen a large fraction are unfavorably oriented. Prestraining at 77°K was performed in two ways. In one, annealed zirconium plate stock was cooled in liquid nitrogen and then rolled in the transverse plate direction to strains varying from 0.5 to 12 pct. Cylindrical 1/8-in.-diameter by 1-1/4-in.-gage-length tensile specimens were machined from this material. In the other, previously machined tensile specimens were prestrained in tension at 77°K between 0.2 and 3.8 pct. Type FA 25-12 SR4 strain gages were cemented to all specimen gage sections. All tests were performed on an Instron testing machine of 10,000-lb capacity. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Fig. 1 shows a typical two-cycle room-temperature stress-strain diagram for a specimen prestrained 0.65 pct by rolling at 77°K. The maximum stress in both cycles was 14,500 psi. Note that in the first cycle the loading and unloading curves are unsymmetrical so that a residual strain, er, remains after unloading. In the second cycle the stress-strain curves form a nearly symmetrical hystere-

Jan 1, 1965

By M. R. Campbell

Coal is the geological product of entombed vegetal tissues. This view of its origin led Stopes and Wheeler to define it as "mummified plants." They evidently intended this term to be used in a broad way and to mean the preservation of the organic material, as such, regardless of the means employed to accomplish the purpose. The term " coal" should be regarded, therrfore, as broadly generic, and applicable to all accumulations of vegetal tissues as soon as they are covered and protected either by water or by earthy material. In this sense peat should be regarded as the first stage of coal formation and the term coal should include the resultant products of transformation in all other stages of the process until they have lost all resemblance to the original matter from which they were derived. If this idea of the development of coal is accepted and it is admitted, as the geologists claim, that the forces which produced this transformation of the coal have been active since vegetation began to grow upon the land, and are still in operation, it is obvious that somewhere in the world there are all gradations of this material from peat just forming in the swamps of today to graphitic anthracite which presumably marks the most advanced stage that can be recognized with certainty as belonging to the series. Some of these coals, particularly those occurring in the upper part of the series, are fairly well known because they are the ones that are most widely distributed and have been mined and utilized most extensively. On the other hand, the coals in the lower part of the series are but little known because they are not so abundant and, owing to their relative inefficiency, have been only slightly exploited and utilized, especially in regions where the better coals are abundant. The result of these conditions is that much research work has been done on coals of the higher ranks and a great body of facts regarding their physical and chemical properties and the uses to which they are best adapted has been accumulated, but little information is available regarding the coals of the lower ranks. Many able scientists, particularly chemists, have attempted to bring some order of the chaos of coals of various compositions and uses by

Jan 1, 1930

By J. D. Alexander, W. L. Martin, J. N. Dew

This paper presents data obtained using a flood-pot technique to determine the fuel available and the corresponding theoretical air requirements for in situ combustion of crude oils. Since the technique is relatively quick and easy, it is a practical and convenient tool for evaluating reservoirs as fireflood prospects. It is also a research tool which facilitates systematic study of the variables affecting fuel availability and corresponding air requirements. The understanding of these variables is of prime importance to those concerned with the technical and economic development of in situ combustion as an oil-recovery process. The experimental results show conclusively that the fuel available for in situ combustion is not a constant but, rather, varies with crude-oil characteristics, porous-medium type, oil saturation, air flux and time-temperature relationships. Thus, the fuel availability for specified field applications should be determined using actual reservoir crude and core material and the process conditions expected during in situ combustion in the reservoir. INTRODUCTION In situ combustion is a thermal process for recovering crude oil from reservoirs. The thermal energy released during the combustion of a small amount of the oil in place aids in the displacement of the remaining oil. Numerous articles have been published describing the in situ combustion process giving detailed results of laboratory and field experiments.10 In order to engineer an in situ combustion project, a number of important factors must be considered and determined. These factors include: (1) the amount of fuel consumed per unit of reservoir volume swept by the combustion zone, (2) the composition of the fuel consumed, (3) the amount of air required to consume this fuel, (4) the portion of the reservoir swept by the combustion zone, (5) the appropriate air-injection rates and pressures, (6) the amount of oil that will be recovered, (7) the rate of oil production and (8) the operating costs. Nelson and McNiell1 recently have described a procedure which utilizes laboratory combustion-tube data as a basis for the calculation of some of these design factors. Various authors have attempted to describe the in situ combustion process mathematically, and considerable progress has been made. Analytical solutions to the problem of heat transfer from a moving combustion front have been obtained for linear and radial systems."-' All of the published results involve the assumptions that: (1) fuel concentration is constant throughout the reservoir, or that fuel concentration is inversely proportional to the velocity of the front for a given rate of oxygen consumption; and (2) the fuel reacts instantaneously with injected oxygen, while liberating a constant amount of heat per unit weight of fuel at all temperatures. It seems both desirable and reasonable to test the validity of these assumptions experimentally. This paper presents laboratory data which were obtained by means of a "fire flood-pot" method for determining fuel availability and composition, and the corresponding theoretical air requirements for in situ combustion of crude oils under variable conditions. The mechanics of the method are similar to a conventional tube-run experiment.' The important differences involve the size of the reservoir model used and the method for providing the experimental environment. The new method subjects conventionally-sized core samples or unconsolidated sands to a programmed environmental sequence similar to that experienced by a similar volume of rock during the approach and passage of a combustion front in a long tube or in an oil reservoir undergoing in situ combustion. Restored-state samples can also be used. The small samples and relatively simple techniques involved allow an experiment to be set up, run and calculated in about three 8-hour days. This is a considerable improvement over long-combustion-tube techniques which can require several days to run and several more work days to set up and calculate. All the runs presented were run at 40-psig injection pressure. Pressure was not considered as a variable for these experiments, since we previously had found that it had only a small effect on fuel availability up to 600 psig.APPARATUS AND MATERIALS APPARATUS The fire flood-pot apparatus consists of a consolidated

By A. F. Andresen

IN the course of another investigation the lattice parameters were determined for a series of compositions of tin in copper. Ten-gram samples of the alloys were made from spectroscopically pure tin and copper. The metals were weighed and placed in graphite capsules (previously fired at 5500°F) which were then sealed individually in evacuated vycor tubes. The tubes were mounted on a spit, transverse to its axis, which continually rotated the melts in a furnace. After homogenizing, filings were made of one third of each slug by filing off a complete cross section. A 325-mesh sieve was used to obtain the powder for the X-ray determination. The sieved powders were annealed in vacuo at 600°C for 24 hr to remove the cold work, and then quenched. The lattice parameters were determined with a flat-plate back-reflection camera using CuKa radiation (A., = 1.5405A, A,? = - 1.5443A). With this radiation the (331) and (420) reflections appeared close to the focusing region. As reference lines were used the same reflections from pure copper powder, between which the (420) lines of all these alloys are situated. The variation of the systematic error over this angular range was found to be less than the estimated experimental error ±0.0005A which is indicated in Fig. 1 for all but the sample with 8 pct Sn. As a check some of the powders also were examined in a regular Debye-Scherrer camera with the Straumanis film mounting. The parameters were here evaluated by extrapolation against cos2? to ?= 90o. The results are shown in Fig. 1 where the lattice parameters in Angstrom units are plotted as a function of weight percent of tin. The reflection lines for the 8 pct alloy were not clear at first, perhaps due to coring. Several measurements were made after different annealing programs on two separate

Jan 1, 1959

THE Copperton mill in reality was a sort of proving ground. It was. designed to serve three purposes: (1) to verify the accuracy of the mine sampling by actually treating substantial tonnages of ore, (2) to demonstrate on a reasonably large scale the percentage of the copper in the ore that could be recovered, and (3) to permit the testing of various kinds of machines and devices for crushing and concentrating the ore, so as to guide the engineers in designing the proposed 6000-ton milling plant at Garfield. As a matter of fact, it contained a lot of second-hand equipment sent by MacNeill and Penrose from the works of the United States Reduction &Refining Co. in Colorado; and it was by no means a model installation. Probably it would have been even less efficient, except for the skillful work of George O. Bradley and-Frank-G, Janney, both of whom had worked with Jackling at Mercur. Bradley was a mechanical engineer employed to design the plant. Later he directed the design of the concentrator at Garfield and remained as consulting mechanical engineer to the company until 1915. Janney, who afterwards became manager of mills, a position that he retained until his death in 1916, was a skilled mechanic at the Golden Gate mill at Mercur when Jackling built the plant in 1897. His flair was making machinery do what it was intended to do. He was not an ore-dressing engineer in a technical sense; but Jackling him- self was a specialist in this respect as well as in designing and construction and Janney's mechanical aptitude made him a particularly valuable man in the Utah organization. John McDonald, another of Jackling's Mercur associates, was the first mine superintendent. With practically all of the available funds earmarked for construction of the Copperton

Jan 1, 1933

By H. Y. Hunsicker

A graphic method has been devised for three-di-mensional analysis of hot deformation and for correlating the amount and directionality of the deformation with resulting directional properties. Deformation is evaluated in terms of dimensional change ratios referred to three orthogonal axes. Since all combinations of the three ratios can be represented in a triangular coordinate field with logarithmic scales, a two-dimensional chart of extent of deformation and degree of asymetry is possible. The entire gamut of shape changes from upsetting through flat-rolling to rod-rolling is accommodated. The resulting coordinate system is a base upon which can be represented the properties of the wrought products measured in the directions of the axes employed fir evaluating the deformation. When property data are available for many types and amounts of deformation, a three-dimensional figure can be constructed, and the projection of this figure is referred to as a ''3d'' chart. Experience in using such charts to plan fabricating operations for a variety of thick-section forged and rolled products of heat-treated aluminum alloys has verified its practical value for optimizing directionality relationships. MechANICAL anisotropy of thick section products of heat-treatable aluminum alloys is recognized by producers and users of these products, and the extent of the directional differences is apparent in property tabulations included in handbooks, standards, and specifications.' Attention has also been directed to the existence of important directional differences in the resistance of these products to stress-corrosion cracking. Metallurgical structure factors responsible for these directional differences include, among other possibilities, shape and alignment of grains, voids and nonmetallic inclusions (when present), volume fraction and spatial distribution of secondary phase particles and solid-state precipitates, crystal-lographic textures, and Bauschinger effect. The contributions of the individual factors vary with alloy composition, heat-treated temper, type of working process (forging, rolling, extrusion), and the amount and directional nature of the deformation. In general, the cast ingot used as the starting material for producing these wrought products exhibits only a modest degree of directionality. A monotonic and continuous transition from this nearly isotropic state with progressive hot deformation would appear probable, assuming that the working temperature is sufficiently high to cause continuous dynamic recovery. Several years ago a project was undertaken to evaluate the effects of hot deformation and metallurgical structures on the directionality of thick wrought aluminum alloy products, and the method to be described was developed as an analytical tool in this investigation. DIRECTION NOMENCLATURE The nomenclature system adopted by industry for the three mutually perpendicular directions employed in testing aluminum alloy products includes four terms: "longitudinal", "transverse", "long transverse", and "short transverse". These terms are conventionally related to the external geometry of the product but also by implication to the deformation and resulting metallurgical structure. Occasions arise in which through use of unusual fabricating methods, intentional or otherwise, the structure does not have the usual relationship to external geometry or may be very complex because of inhomogeneity of deformation throughout the piece. The longitudinal direction is generally parallel to the primary rolling direction or to the direction of extrusion. In the case of forging, it is parallel to the direction of maximum extension (not maximum "working" or "flow", as frequently stated). The term transverse is applied to any direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in a product having symmetry about the longitudinal axis, and generally, although not always, the deformation to produce these forms is nearly symmetrical in the transverse plane. This term then may be applied to a round, square, hexagon, or other polygonal, symmetrical shape produced by extrusion or rolling or by forging, if produced by a simple, symmetrical drawing procedure. The type of microstructure generally associated

Jan 1, 1970

By C. H. Gerould

I would like to take a moment to consider our polystyrene-silica replica technique, which was developed at the Dow Chemical Co. and which was mentioned in the paper just given by Mr. Thielsch. He stated that he feared that our replica technique would cause difficulty due to deformation of the metal as a result of the application of pressure during the molding process. We at the Dow have never had any reason to suspect that any deformation of the metal was occurring during the molding process. Our procedure has been to heat the polystyrene to a temperature of 160°C. before applying any pressure, at which temperature the polystyrene is a viscous liquid. By so doing the pressure of the polystyrene against the metal is essentially hydraulic and is therefore applied equally in all directions, which we feel should not cause deformation. Our work using this replica technique has brought forth several indications that deformation of the specimen is negligible. These indications are: I. Direct comparisons have been made between the light and electron microscopes when studying a specific spot on a metal surface. These "same spot" studies were obtained by first taking micrographs at high magnification, with a light microscope, of a specific structure that could be readily recog-

Jan 1, 1947

By W. N. Lacey, B. H. Sage

THE results of an extensive experimental program relating to the effectiveness of gravel screens have been correlated. The factors considered in some detail include gravel size and condition of packing, sand size and size distribution, fluid velocity, fluid viscosity, and thickness and arrangement of gravel screens. Good agreement between calculated values based upon probability considerations and experimental results relating to the influence of the thickness of the gravel screen was obtained. All of these factors are treated in the correlation in order that their influence may be taken into account in ascertaining the characteristics of an effective gravel screen for a particular set of conditions. The details of the experimental program are not given in the present paper but a description of generalized behavior and typical experimental results are recorded in graphic form. INTRODUCTION Gravel screens have been placed in water and oil wells for a number of years1,2,3 with the dual objective of increasing the productivity and decreasing the entrance of sand into the well bore. An understanding of the factors controlling the effectiveness of gravel screens in this connection is of industrial interest because it will lead to the proper selection of gravel. Some of the fundamental considerations involved in the migration of sand through a coarser body of porous materials were investigated by Coberly and Wagner4 and further experimental work has been carried out by Gumpertz.5 Apparently the pertinent phenomena are somewhat complex and are influenced by many variables. The present paper deals with the prediction of the behavior of gravel screens under the conditions encountered in practice but does not attempt to discuss the experimental methods or results that were obtained as a background and upon which the prediction is based. INFLUENCE OF GRAVEL SCREENS UPON PRODUCTIVITY The use of a gravel screen may increase the productivity of a well by increasing its effective diameter, and this constitutes one of the objectives of its use. The permeability of most gravels and coarse sands that are employed in practice is so large compared to that of the sand in place that relatively little loss in production rate will arise from the use of material fine enough to cause the desired resistance to sand migration. For example, in Fig. I is depicted the approximate variation in the permeability of closely sized spherical gravels under the conditions of packing likely to be encountered in screens. The dotted lines indicate the variation that might be found because of differences in packing. It should be realized that the permeability is not a single-valued function of the. average grain diameter but is related to a large number of factors, including the size, the size distribution and the shapes of the particles. However, Fig. I does permit a rough estimation of the permeability of closely sized- spherical gravels and shows that the permeability with even the smaller particles is very large compared to that of most petroleum production horizons.

Jan 1, 1941

By Alexander L. Holley

The 400-ton testing machine, ordered in June, 1875, by the United States Board appointed to test "iron, steel, and other metals," has lately been completed at the Watertown Arsenal, thoroughly proved and accepted by the Board. The excellence of the machine in every respect is more than satisfactory, and its accuracy is at first sight astonishing, although an investigation of its principles must show that if the weighing apparatus will weigh at all, it must do so with perfect accuracy, because all its movements are absolutely without friction. The proof experiments were numerous, and the effects of recoil after sudden ruptures at maximum loads, were watched with great care, but without much anxiety, because the weighing parts affected are by no means delicate in structure, and their motion is almost infinitely small. Among the tests were the following : A forged link of hard, wrought iron, 5 inches in diameter between the eyes, was slowly strained in tension, and broke short off with a loud report at 722,800 pounds. The diameter before breaking at the point of fracture was 5.04 inches; after breaking, 4.98 inches. In order to see if the weighing parts had been disturbed by the recoil, which was obviously near the greatest recoil the machine will ever suffer, a horse-hair was next tested; it was 7-1000ths of an inch in diameter; it stretched 30 per cent., and broke at 1 pound. Other horse-hairs vary in tenacity between 1 and 2 pounds. Of course, the accuracy of the machine on such delicate specimens, and indeed on specimens having some hundreds of pounds tenacity, has been checked and proved by other weighing machines. A 5-inch round bar, turned down to 38 inches diameter along the centre, was pulled apart at 430,200 pounds tension. Then some more horse-hairs were tested ; also copper wires 191/2-1000ths of an inch in diameter, which averaged 25 pounds tenacity..

Jan 1, 1879

By K. E. Brown, A. R. Hagedorn

A 1,500-ft experimental well was used to study the pressure gradients occurring during continuous, vertical, two-phase flow through 1-in., 1 1/4-in. and 1 1/3-in. nominal size tubing. The test well was equipped with two gas-lijt valves and four Mathak electronic pressure transmitters as well as with instruments to measure the liquid production rate, air injection rate, temperatures and surface pressures. Tests were conducted for widely varying liquid flow, rates, gas-liquid ratios and liquid viscosities. From these data, an accucrate pressure-depth traverse was construcred for each test in each of the three tubing sizes. From the results of these tests, correlations have beer] developed which allow the accurate prediction of flowing pressure gradients for a wide variety of tubing sizes, flow conditions, and liquid properties. Also. the correlations and equations which are developed satisfy the necessary condition that they reduce to the relationships approprate to single-phase flow when the flow rate of either the gas or the liqutid phase becomes zero. All the correlations involve only dimensionless groups. which is a condition usually Sought for in similarity analysis but not always achieved. The correlations developed in this study have been used to calculate pressure gradients for pipes of larger diameter than those upon which the correlations are based. Comparisons of these calcuclaed gradients with experimetally determined gradients for the same flow conditions obtained from the literature indicate that extrapolation to these larger pipe sizes is possible with a degree of accuracy sufficient for engineering calculations. The extent of this extrapolation can only he determined with additional data from larger pipe diameters. INTRODUCTION The accurate prediction of the pressure drop expected to occur during the multiphase flow of fluids in the flow string of a well is a wideiy recognized problem in the petroleum industry. The problem has been brought even more into prominence with the advent of tubingless or slim-hole completions which use small-diameter tubing. Many of the correlations which give reasonably accurale results in the lager tubing sizes are greatly in error when applied to small-diameter conduits. Small-diameter conduits are defined as 1 1/2-in. nominal size tubing or smaller. The study of the pressure gradients which occur during multiphase flow of fluids in pipes is exceedingly complex because of the large number of variables involved. Further difficulties relate to the possibility of numerous flow regimes of widely varying geometry and mechanism and the instabilities of the fluid interfaces involved. Consequently, a solution to the problem by the approach normally used in classical fluid dynamics based on the formulation and solution of the Navier-Stokes equation has not been forthcoming. This is primarily the result of the nonlincarities involved and the difficulty of adequately describing the boundary conditions. As a result of the foregoing, most investigators have chosen semi-empirical or purely empirical approaches in an efford to obtain a practical solution to the problem. Much of the previous work in this area was done in short-tube models in the laboratory. A number of problems arise, however, when attempts are made to extrapolate these laboratory results to oilfield conditions where a much longer tube is encountered. In those few studies where data taken in long tubes were utilized, the data covered only a limited range of the variables, and as a result inaccuracies are introduced when the correlations are extended outside the range of the original data. Also, as a consequence of the limited amount of data available for these studies, the effects of several important variables were overlooked. The problem of predicting the pressure drop which occurs in multiphase flow differs from that of single-phase flow in that another source of pressure loss is introduced, namely, those pressure losses arising from slippage between the phases. This slippage is a result of the difference between the integrated average linear velocities of the two phases, which in turn is due to the physical properties of the fluids involved. In contrast to single-phase flow. the pressure losses in multiphase flow do not always increase with a decrease in the size of the conduit or an increase in production rate. This is attributed to the presence of the gas phase which tends to slip by the liquid phase without actually contributing to its lift. Many investigators have attempted to correlate both the slippage losses and the friction losses by means of a single energy-loss factor analogous to the one used in the single-phase flow problem. In an approach of this type, hourever, many of the important variables, such as

Jan 1, 1966

The history of surface mining is essentially that of mining coal, copper, and iron ores and the non- metallic minerals, i.e. clays, gypsum, phosphate rock, sand, gravel and stone. The accompanying table comparing world production with that of the U. S. indicates that two thirds of the 8.8 billion tons of ores mined throughout the world come from surface operation. Assuming that the stripping ratio for surface mining in the U. S. applies equally to world production, then over 21 billion tons of waste, or a total of nearly 27 billion short tons of material are mined annually in the world by surface methods. Several factors are significant indicators of economic and technologic trends in surface mining. Among these are increasing production, a shift in emphasis from underground to surface mining, a decline in the grade and quality of some crude materials and, with few exceptions, an increase in the productivity of labor.

Jan 10, 1967

SINCE I have told you of the distillation of waters and the extraction of oils from things-all ingenious and useful processes-I wish to continue to speak of the arts. I am reminded that I first wish to write down for you the discourse that I made to you on another occasion a few days ago concerning the operation of a mint, so that if you have lost it from your memory (and this would not be surprising since you have had no practice in it) you may repossess it if you should need to practice it or even to talk about it, and if you find yourself in this activity it may not be new to you. I told you, as I believe you will remember and so again I repeat, that a very great and constant diligence is required by one who wishes to operate a mint well, or to have it operated, because it has many parts which it is necessary for anyone who enters this work to understand very well; indeed, if he wishes that all the work of his helpers be done well, he will have to do it himself. And if it were possible, he should have a hundred hands and a hundred eyes together, and at the same time should be in different places, because some loss often occurs in what is handled because of the carelessness of the workers or because of their little real trustworthiness. It is understood that such things require great hard labors and many kinds of knowledge. The material handled in this work is most often either gold or silver all ready to be spent, and these things are very attractive to those who handle them. In addition to being made into pieces of money likely to disappear, it is very easy to lose, and whatever part is lacking for any reason whatever [132v] brings detriment and loss to the patron since it is a thing of value. Therefore, in short, anyone who wishes to exercise this art well, without being fraudulent therein, must watch the weights with all care because the essence of this art is naught but the division of a quantity of weight into many exactly defined pieces and the alloying of gold by carats and of silver by leghe, exactly established in accordance with what the prince grants you as remedy.* If through negligence you exceed in perfection

Jan 1, 1942

By Wllliam D. Davis

C OMMERCIAL production of oil in northeastern Oklahoma began in 1897 and in the next two decades this area became one of the greatest oil districts of the time. Its importance is now secondary, but thousands of wells in this area have produced uninterruptedly for more than thirty years. They are now classified as stripper wells. By means of what is known as water flooding their L. production can be considerably in- creased. This practice consists in injecting water under pressure into the sand surrounding an oil well, thus displacing the oil in the pores of the sand and forcing it into the oil well.

Jan 1, 1940

By J. H. Nead

OBJECT THE experiments herein described were undertaken with a view to investigating thoroughly the influence of carbon on the tensile and impact physical properties of carbon steel. The original comprehensive plan included investigation of a series of steels with varying carbon contents over a wide range of heat treatments. These were to be studied as to their static tensile qualities, and also their resistance to shock as measured by the Charpy impact bending test. A thorough metallographic examination was likewise included in the schedule. The Charpy tests and the metallographic examination have not been completed to date, and are accordingly withheld for another report. All heat treatments, however, have been made, and the static tensile tests have been completed. A description of the procedure of the experiment and the results thus far obtained are therefore reported herein. CONCLUSIONS No attempt is made to draw general conclusions from these experiments, but the curves and the data are submitted as being of general importance and wide applicability.

Jan 12, 1915

By Thomas E. Wayland

AN isopachous map is one on which lines connect points of equal thickness of a given unit. This type of map is used by the Florida Phosphate Project of the U. S. Geological Survey to represent the economic phosphate deposits known as matrix and the waste material, or overburden, that overlies the matrix. The top of the bed on which the phosphate was deposited is known as the basement and a subsurface contour map of this old buried erosion surface is known as a basement map. Recent experiments have been made in preparing maps that show tonnages and grades of the phosphate content of the matrix. Few of the operating companies in the Florida phosphate district have applied isopachous (Greek isos, equal and pachys, thick) to mapping. The writer believes there is a need for the techniques discussed herein and that they can be applied to mapping other geologically similar areas in either economic or scientific investigations. The land-pebble phosphate district of Florida occupies a compact area in the west-central part of the state. It includes mainly the following land survey divisions: Ts. 27 S. through 32 S. and Rs. 20 E. through 26 E. The town of Mulberry, Fla., is in the approximate center of the district. The strata of the area, which is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain, occur in thin formations with broad outcrop belts, and low dips. The topography is subdued and gently rolling with three marine terraces, which are found at 30, 100, and 150 ft above sea level,' accounting for most of the relief. Occasional small sinkhole lakes are present, most of them above the 150-ft shoreline. The phosphate deposits occur in unconsolidated sediments such as clays, sands, and sandy clays. They are overlain by a heterogeneous assemblage of sands, clays, muck, and iron-cemented sand, easily penetrated, in most cases, by a hand auger or drill. Limestone, locally called bedrock, or a calcareous bedclay, thought to be a residue of the limestone, directly underlies the phosphate deposits. General Requirements Most companies and independent prospectors operating in the district have furnished prospecting data to the U. S. Geological Survey. The information is recorded on either field logs or prospecting maps and includes the following information for each hole drilled: location of the hole, thickness of the overburden, thickness of the matrix, phosphate content in long tons per acre, grade of the phosphate content expressed as the percentage of bone phosphate of lime (P2O5 x 2.18) or BPL, and the per- centages of iron-aluminum oxides and insolubles. The phosphate is classified according to size as either pebble or flotation material. The milling processes of the companies vary, and the size classification is necessarily different in many cases. However, pebble may be considered as larger than 14 mesh and flotation material as smaller than 14, but larger than 150 mesh. Some prospecting data include the exact depth at which bedrock or bedclay was reached, and these figures greatly increase the reliability of the data both for isopachous mapping and for mapping the basement. A drilling density of four holes per 40 acres of land furnishes a minimum amount of data for isopachous and related mapping. From the minimum of four, densities up to 32 holes per 40 acres are used. The various drilling densities may influence the choice of the proper scale. Selection of the proper scale is dependent upon the known drilling densities, the subsurface variations to be shown, the extent of the area to be mapped, and the detail desired in the completed map. Scales of 1:24,000, 1:4800, and 1:2400 are used in isopachous and related mapping by the Florida Phosphate Project. The 1:24,000 scale is used most effectively with drilling densities not exceeding eight holes per 40 acres. The subsurface variations should be relatively low and uniform, permitting the use of smaller intervals without undue crowding of the lines. Comparatively large areas can be mapped on this scale, but minute detail is necessarily sacrificed, because the information is drawn from a maximum drilling density of only eight holes per 40 acres. Isopachous and related maps of the 1:4800 scale are made of areas on which the drilling information covers from 4 to 16 holes per 40 acres. Moderate subsurface variations with relatively sharp gradations can be shown accurately. The area represented by the maps is reduced considerably in favor of detail. The 1:2400 scale is most frequently used by the Florida Phosphate Project. It lends itself particularly well to isopachous and related mapping, being easily adapted to the multiform drilling data available. Maps of this scale are prepared with information ranging from 4 to 32 holes per 40 acres; however, use of the minimum drilling density on the

Jan 1, 1952

By Morgan Walker

Intermittent injection of gas in gas-lift pumping is a variation of the common practice in that the gas is delivered to the well for a short period, called the "on time," followed by a period during which none is admitted, called the "off time," instead of being admitted continuously at a constant rate or by intermittent flowing in which it is occasionally delivered to the well in just sufficient quantity to flow off the accumulated head of fluid. The term "gas" is used throughout this discussion but it should be remembered that in so far as the operation is concerned either air or natural gas may be used. The equipment at the well is the same as commonly used in gas-lift installations and gas may be admitted to either the tubing or the casing. It seldom occurs that all the wells on a lease can be pumped economically by intermittent injection from one header. Wells that have flow characteristics which permit their being handled together have their intake lines grouped at a central compressor station. Well groups may consist of two or more wells. The total volume of gas delivered by each group of compressors goes to one well at a time through a quick opening valve, each well connected to the header receiving its charge of gas in turn. Special cases may require a deviation from this arrangement. The distribution of the gas to the different wells is effected by an automatic timing device which operates quick-opening valves on the intake lines. The timing mechanism may be actuated by electricity, liquid or gas pressure, The essential factor in the operation of the timing mechanism is that as one intake valve is closed another must be opened. Water-operated Timing Device Timing devices operate the intake valves either directly, or indirectly by pilot valves. Of the former type one that is operated by water and has given satisfactory service is shown in Fig. 1 and can be made on the lease. The horizontal cylinder is a piece of 10-in. casing about 7 ft. long, closed at each end and free to oscillate about a fulcrum at the center.

Jan 1, 1929

By Kenneth Seaver

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) INTRODUCTION IT is rather gratifying that in the field of the manufacture 'of refractories, in which, as a whole, foreign practice has surpassed us, the United States stands pre-eminent in the making of silica brick. In some instances European manufacturers have refused point-blank to credit the possibility of making to such specifications as are common with us, until the actual 'completed shapes were shipped for inspection. But both the manufacturer and consumer in foreign lands are now frankly learning from us, and benefiting by our advanced practice in this field, as is evidenced by the orders placed here and the efforts put forth abroad to come up to the standard of American-made material. In no metallurgical operation has the employment of silica brick spread with. such leaps and bounds as in the building of plants for the carbonization of coal, particularly in the byproduct coke oven. Today, in practically all types of oven, the structure above the floor level (except the facings) is of silica, while in the recuperative and in some regenerative types, its use is extended to that portion of the oven below the floor as well. By reason of the fact that there are a number of classes of refractories of higher silica content than the usual so-called fire-clay brick, there is sometimes a misunderstanding as to the class of material referred to as "silica" brick. We here refer only to a brick having a silica content of 94 per cent. or more and made usually from quartzite rock with a small percentage of lime as a binder. The term "silica" brick is sometimes rather loosely applied to brick front highly siliceous clays, or to a quartzite refractory of mingled fire-clay and quartz rock; but such products are not considered in this discussion.

Jan 9, 1915

PAST AND PRESENT CHAIRMEN OF DIVISIONS Institute of Metals Iron and Steel Mineral Industry Industrial Minerals Year Division Petroleum Division Division Coal Division Education Division Division 1918 W. M. CORSET 1919 " 1920 W. H. BASSETT 1921 " 1922 W. B. PRICE RALPH ARNOLD 1923 E. DEGOLYER 1924 G. B. ELLIOTT 1925 F. JULIUS FOHS 1926 P. D. MERICA 1927 11 JOHN. M. LOVEJOY 1928 S. SKOWRONSKI A. W. AMBROSE RALPH H. SWEETSER ' 1929 " J. B. UMPLEHY G. B. WATERHOUSE 1930 ZAY JEFFRIES C. V. MILLIKAN W. J. MACKENZIE HOWARD N. EAVENSON 1931 SAM TOUR C. E. BEECHER F. M. BECKET 1932 C. H. MATHEWSON EARL OLIVER F. N. SPELLER THOMAS G. FEAR C. H. FULTON 1933 T. S. FULLER W. E. WRATHER JOHN JOHNSTON ELI T. CONNOR " 1934 J. L. CHRISTIE H. D. WILDE, JR. L. F. REINARTZ " T. T. READ 1935 W. M. PEIRCE HARRY H. POWER A. B. KINZEL JOHN T. RYAN SAMUEL H. DOLBEAR 1936 E. H. DIX, JR. HALLAN N. MARSH C. E. WILLIAMS EUGENE MCAULIFFE WILLIAM B. PLANK OLIVER BOWLES 1937 A. J. PHILLIPS M. ALBERTSON FRANCIS B. FOLEY J. B. MORROW " CHESTER A. FULTON 1938 R. F. MEHL G. B. CORLESS J. T. MACKENZIE PAUL WEIR FRANCIS A.THOMSON J. R. THOENEN 1939 R. H. LEACH W. H. GETS J. HUNTER NEAD C. A. GIBBONS " M. M. LEIGHTON 1940 E. M. Wise T. V. MOORE F. T. SISCO C. E. LA WALL W. R. CHEDSEY W. M. WEIGEL 1941 D. K. CRAMPTON E. A. STEPHENSON C. H. HERTY, JR. JULIAN E. TOBEY " PAUL M. TYLER 1942 CARL E. SWARTZ HARRY P. STOLZ E. C. SMITH NEWELL G. ALFORD A. F. GREAVES-WALKER B. L. MILLER

Jan 1, 1942

By J. E. Forciea, O. E. Palasvirta, L. G. Hendrickson

All pilot and commercial plants working with Mesabi Range taconite employ wet magnetic separation. Progress is being made with a dry magnetic process,9-11 but this has not yet been applied to taconite except in the laboratory and pilot plants. Flowsheets in all five plants are similar, including multiple stages of grinding, each followed by magnetic separation, which rejects a finished tailing. The flowsheet in Fig. 1 is used in the preliminary and commercial plants of the Erie and Reserve mining companies and in Unit C of Oliver's Pilotac plant. At Erie the desliming operation is omitted. In the Reserve plants two ball mills are used with each rod mill. Pilotac uses flowsheet 2 in Unit A-B and has also tested flowsheet 3. Principal differences in the three flowsheets are the number of grinding stages and the type of roughing. The terms open- circuit roughing and closed-circuit roughing are best defined by the diagrams.

Jan 12, 1958