Search Documents

By Torres S. Ricardo, Encina M. Víctor, Segura O. Claudio

INTRODUCTION This paper is a conceptual resume of engineering studies that have been evaluated by the Mine Department related to production planning over the next twenty-five years. These studies have been required principally because: a) The Rio Blanco Mine, property of CODELCO- CHILE, Andina Division, faces an operational problem due to heavy snowfall in winter which enters the surface subsidence area of the cave; later melts and filters into the broken ore creating a product that is difficult to transfer through the orepasses. The phenomenon is especially serious during the spring and has been increasing over the years. This element that complicates extraction will be controlled with the procedures proposed or others that may be determined in the future. b) The mine will increase production in 1985 by 40% . LOCATION The deposit is located in the central region of the Andes Cordillera, at an altitude of approximately 3,600 m above sea level, 50 km to the northeast of Santiago. The main camp is Saladillo (at 1,300 meters above sea level) located 30 km from the mine. Due to its location, the mine is subject to heavy snow storms during the year. On many occasions the road from Saladillo to the mine is closed because of storms and avalanches. For this reason the company has self-sufficient civil facilities near the mine to cover the needs and welfare of the working force. These housing facilities are connected to the mine by underground passages. For the same weather related reason the primary and secondary crushers, and the entire concentrator complex are located underground. GEOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS Geology Based on the geologic model developed for the Rio Blanco deposit and comparing it with standard models pertaining to copper porphyries, it can be concluded that this deposit is part of the apical sector of a mega deposit and therefore the projections of the Xio Blanco cop per mine are very favorable, both in lateral area and depth. In order to confirm and evaluate these geo- logic features, an extensive drilling program was started at the Rio Blanco deposit. Diamond drill holes were drilled to depth as well as in the areas named "La Americana", "Don Luis" and "Elguin". The area explored by the drill program is 3 km long in a north-south direction and 1.5 km wide in an east-west direction. In some sections the drilling in depth reached the 2,300 m elevation mark. The lowermost level in the mine is at elevation 3,070 m. These new studies have permitted the recognition of the following lithologic units: Andesite Andesite Breccia Granodiorites, Rio Blanco and Cascada Granodiorite Breccia Quartzmonzonite Porphyry Monzodiorites and Latites Tourmaline Breccia Dacite Pipe and Rhyolite marginal ring. The mineralogical study permits the definition of three stages of hypogene and hydroterma1 alteration of importance with a time-altered sequence. These stages correspond to a late hydrothermal stage. The kinds of alteration that have been recognized are: Potasic Alteration Propylitic Alteration

Jan 1, 1981

By J. P. Matoney, E. J. Sandy, D. A. Dahlstorm

INTRODUCTION Before an understandable discussion concerning coal-dewatering processes can be initiated, it is necessary to define some terms of usage. The many different meanings and interpretations of terms preclude development of standard definitions so that the terms which are defined in this chapter should be regarded mainly as working terms intended to facilitate communication. A coal slurry ' might be defined as a watery suspension carrying particles of fine coal and other assorted material ranging upward in size from the finest clay particles. Some particles may be in the colloidal sue range and exhibit characteristics of suspended colloids. The dilution of the system generally is such that it is in a condition of independent particle subsidence. In some coal mining areas a slurry is regarded as a suspension of fine coal and other materials having a dilution that cannot be economically dewatered by filtration. A coal slime may be regarded as a slurry containing particles of such size range that 50 per cent or more (by weight) will pass a 200-mesh sieve. Slime suspensions generally are difficult to handle without special treatment in conventional sedimentation equipment. A coal sludge is defined as a slurry that has been partly dewatered by sedimentation usually to a thick or viscous consistency where further dewatering can be most readily facilitated by filtration. Culm and silt are terms characteristic of coal-preparation practice which should be defined. In anthracite terminology, culm is the generally coarse residue or waste accumulation of coal, bone and rock from preparation plants most of which are no longer functional. Culm has a wide range of sizes, some rather coarse, and except to differentiate it from silt, the term is of limited interest in this discussion. In anthracite terminology, silt is the accumulation of waste fine coal, bone and slate settled out from preparation plant water in excavated basins. Silt is generally made up of particles ranging in size from 3/32-in. round-opening screen to the very finest sues. Silt is also referred to at times as sludge, fines, slush, and mud and is the partly dewatered derivative of what has been previously defined as slurry. In the terminology of the bituminous coal producing areas, the word culm commonly corresponds to slurry or slime, depending upon the size distribution of the suspended solids. Editor's Note: Because of the numerous and varied contributions of the associate authors of this chapter, the text does not differentiate between sections authored by each individual as is the case in most chapters of this book.

Jan 1, 1968

By Lawrence B. Wright, Lester G. Morrell

ON the steep slopes of the Kootenays, 15 to 20 miles south of Nelson, B. C., are a number of ore occurrences (Fig. 1). One that has many features of mining and geological interest is the Ymir Yankee Girl Gold Mines Limited. Discovery of this property was made in 1899 at an outcrop on the hillside, some 2500 ft. above the village of Ymir. This proved to be a branch vein 20 ft. long leading to two main veins, the Yankee Girl and the Spur (Fig. 5). The ore pattern as now delimited shows a remarkable increase in ore area with depth below the outcrop. This recent development is of interest particularly in view of the fact that the property was nearly condemned, professionally. Another interesting feature, which has a bearing upon its history, is the persistent excess of tonnage produced from period to period over visible reserves. This is not ascribed to lagging mine development, but to detailed vein characteristics, which we will endeavor to make clear by giving a description of the veins and their surroundings. HISTORY AND PRODUCTION Little interest was evidenced in this district until the building of the railway in 1893 provided easy access and the discovery of the Ymir mine [t] in 1896 attracted attention. As a result, the Ymir Yankee Girl group of claims was staked in October 1899. In 1907, an American syndicate took over the property and subsequently extended the 50-ft. drift and opened the present 400 and 540-ft. levels. In 1908, the Syndicate, without recording any shipments in the meantime, dropped its lease, which was taken up by H. L. Rogers, who bonded the Yankee Girl group. Rogers shipped 2622 tons of ore, mainly from the uppermost stope in the mine, which is reported to have yielded

Jan 1, 1938

By Clemens Catesby Jones

The substance of this paper, now amended and altered in form for its present use, was the basis of a private report prepared under professional engagement.* A private report is necessarily objective, and deprived of the scope and technicality of a scieintific treatise—which accounts for the prevalence of drawings and succinct mathematical statements rather than full descriptive details in a paper reproduced from data, of which all the original working-notes have been destroyed. In a practical sense the Hudson river valley clay-deposits owe their present existence to the protection afforded by the rock-formations on which they are supported, and, instead of being uniform in depth or continuity, are subject to the irregularities of the rugged masses which preceded and are now concealed by them. The only available information concerning these deposits contained in previous public reports or maps furnished at best a mere photograph of the surface, and as now apparent this was misleading or unreliable. It was the object of this investigation to determine in a practical manner the location, form and extent of all the clay-deposits at present existing in the lower Hudson river valley, and to ascertain with a

Jan 1, 1900

By K. C. Hong, R. B. Jensen

The problem of determining the optimum set of steam volumes and cycle lengths for a single well undergoing multicycle steam stimulation in order to maximize the cumulative discounted net income has been formulated mathematically and programmed for a digital computer. The mathematical fonnulation of the problem and the method for its solution are discussed in this paper. The oil production performance during each stimulation cycle was simulated by either a constant percentage or a harmonic decline. Using simple analytical expressions for production performance, the cumulative discounted net income and cumulative time of operation were related to the pertinent process and cost parameters and two principal process control variables (cycle length and steam injection volume). The discrete maximum principles was used to transform the equations for cumulative time of operation and cumulative discounted net income into a set of simultaneous equations. The simultaneous equations then were solved by trial and error on a digital computer to determine the set of cycle lengths and stem injection volumes that gives maximum cumulative discounted net income over the project life. INTRODUCTION Steam stimulation is a process for improving the oil recovery rate from wells producing high-viscosity crudes. The process is applied on an individual well basis and is executed in a series of cycles, each consisting of three phases: steam injection, soaking (steam condensation), and production. Significant increases in production rate following the stimulation operation result from heating the reservoir around the wellbore. As heat is removed with produced fluids and dissipated into nonproductive formations, the production rate declines, usually to near the prestimulation value. Typical production responses are given in case histories reported by Owens and Suter,l and are depicted in Fig. 1. Duration of the production phase is equal to the time for the oil production rate to decline to some specified value and is called the cycle length. (Cycle length is defined as the producing portion of the cycle and does not include the downtime required for steam injection and soaking operations.) Termination of the production phase coincides with the start of steaming for the next cycle. The process is continued, cycle by cycle, until it becomes unprofitable. Models 2-4 have been developed to simulate behavior of a single well during one cycle of steam stimulation and have been used to investigate the effects of system and operating conditions on the production responses. However, these investigations have not shown how the models can be used to determine a most profitable set of operating conditions for a multicycle stimulation project. Perhaps these models are too complicated mathematically to be adapted readily to an optimization study. This paper presents a method for optimizing a multicycle steam stimulation project based on simple production performance models. First, the performance of a steam-stimulated well during each cycle was simulated by either a constant percentage or a harmonic decline model. Using these simple analytical expressions for production performance, the cumulative discounted net income (before tax) and cumulative time of operation for each cycle were related to the pertinent process and cost parameters and two process control variables—the cycle length and the steam injection volume. Finally, the profit function to be maximized was formed. The analogy between the above problem and problems of optimizing multistage decision processes that have been reported extensively in the chemical engineering literatures5-10 in recent years has led this investigation to the use of the discrete maximum principle.5-7 This principle was used to transform the equations for cumulative discounted net income and cumulative time of operation into a set of simultaneous equations characterizing the optimum operating conditions in terms of the two control variables. These equations

Jan 1, 1970

By G. Thodos, R. B. Grieves

A method has been developed For predicting the critical temperatures and critical pressures of binary mixtures of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and oxygen with the normal paraffin hydrocarbons. For carbon-dioxide and hydrogen-sulfide systems, relations are presented that take into account the peculiar behavior of mixtures with closely boiling components, such as carbon dioxide-ethane and hydrogen sulfide-propane mixtures which exhibit minimum critical temperature points. For hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon-monoxide systems, the extreme critical behavior caused by wide differences in pure component properties is established In addition, those fixed gas-paraffin systems which resemble paraffin-paraffin systems are also accounted for. For a mixture of known composition, the pure component critical temperatures, critical pressures and normal boiling points are all that are required to determine its critical point. Graphical relations are presented relating Tc and PC , of the mixture to the pure component properties. From the treatment of 12 carbon-dioxide and hydrogen-sulfide systems reported in the literature (74 mixtures), the expected error lor the critical temperature is approximately 1.5 per cent, and for the critical pressure, approximately 2 per cent. From the treatment of six hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon-monoxide systems reported in the literature (30 mixtures), the expected error for both the critical temperature and critical pressure is approximately 2.5 per cent. The relationships, which have been developed with only normal paraffins as the hydrocarbon components, may be extended to those isoparaffins and olefins which fall within the allowable volatility ranges. INTRODUCTION Many of the fixed gases — carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and oxygen — occur in natural mixtures with hydrocarbons. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are frequent components of the fluids produced from underground petroleum reservoirs. Nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are present in varying quantities in most natural gases and gas-condensate well effluents. Hydrogen mixtures are of considerable interest in many phases of refining processes of petroleum. The determination of the critical temperatures and critical pressures of such mixtures is of value in vapor-liquid equilibrium studies, for the prediction of the characteristics of underground reservoirs, and for reduced-state correlations of PVT, transport and thermodynamic properties. The accurate estimation of the critical point for binary mixtures is an important initial step toward a complete analysis for the establishment of the critical temperatures and pressures of multi-component mixtures. Methods for predicting the critical temperatures and critical pressures of binary hydrocarbon systems have already been presented in the literature.8 It is possible to apply these existing methods to fixed gas-paraffin mixtures, but due to their unusual critical behavior, values calculated deviate considerably from experimental values. For systems containing trace quantities of the fixed gases, these methods are acceptable; however, for systems containing more than 5 mol per cent of the fixed gases, these utterly fail to produce reasonable critical values. Consequently, in this study a method has been developed for handling such binary mixtures over the entire composition range. CARBON-DIOXIDE AND HYDROGEN-SULFIDE SYSTEMS The critical behavior and the vapor pressure behavior of mixtures of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide with paraffinic hydrocarbons may be quite similar or quite dissimilar to that of paraffin-paraffin mixtures, depending on the volatilities of the components involved. The critical temperature and normal boiling point of carbon dioxide are very close to the corresponding values for ethane, while its critical pressure is considerably higher than that of ethane. The normal boiling point of

By Donald Ofte, L. J. Wittenberg

The absolute viscosity coefficients and activation energies for viscous flow of bismuth, lead, and zinc are reported. The viscosities were measured in an oscillating cup viscosimeter from nearly 1000°C to within 1 deg of the melting point of zinc; 2 deg of the melting point of lead; and in the supercooled condition of bismuth, 9 deg below the melting point. Two methods of relating the change in the viscosity coeflicient with temperature were compared. From the plot of the logarithm of viscosity (77) as a function of reciprocal absolute temperature (1/T), the equations of the lines which fit the data are: AS a part of the Reactor Fuels and Materials Research program at Mound Laboratory, precise measurements of the physical properties of liquid metals are of interest because the desirability for a low vapor pressure liquid coolant in high-temperature nuclear power plants has focused attention on the properties of the liquid metals.' Also, a clearer understanding of the liquid metal state can be achieved when better measurements are available. For these reasons, the viscosity values of certain liquid metals have been determined. The viscosities of the liquid metals, bismuth, lead, and zinc are measured in an oscillating cup viscosi-meter. In this apparatus the liquid is sealed in a right-circular cylindrical cup which is attached to a torsion fiber so that the system forms a torsion pendulum. The damping effect of the molten metal upon the normal oscillations of the torsion pendulum is a function of the viscosity of the liquid. This method is advantageous because of the small amount of sample required (8 to 10 cc), the ease of remote operation of the apparatus in a vacuum system, and the containment of the liquid metal in a hermetically sealed, nonreactive, tantalum crucible. With the liquid metal sealed in the crucible, loss of liquid by vaporization and chemical reactions with atmospheric gases are prevented. Additionally, an absolute viscosity determination is obtained which avoids the sources of possible error in a relative measurement. The difficulties in a relative method include the repetitious cup calibrations, and the uncertainty inherent in the practice of calibration of the apparatus at room temperature and extrapolation to the high temperatures necessary for the investigation of most liquid metals. The oscillating cup viscosimeter was first described by Meyer in 1891.2 The first complete mathematical treatment offering an absolute measurement of viscosity with this type of apparatus was proposed by Andrade and chiong3 in 1936 for an oscillating sphere filled with a liquid. This solution was modified to include a right circular cylinder by Hopkins and Toye4 in 1950, and R. Roscoe5 in 1958. Roscoe's treatment for the calculation of the viscosity of a liquid at a particular temperature from the logarithmic decrement and period of oscillation of the torsion pendulum was used in this investigation. A detailed description of the method of calculating the viscosity from these measurements has been reported earlier.' This calculation has been programmed for the IBM 704 and IBM 1620 computers for expedition of the otherwise laborious calculations. APPARATUS The cutaway view of the apparatus in Fig. 1 shows the suspension system within the high vacuum enclosure. The low residual gas pressure. maintained between 1 x 10-4 and 5 X 10-6 mm Hg during a determination, avoided both air drag on the pendulum and

Jan 1, 1963

By Stephen Taber

A vein may be defined as an aggregation of mineral matter, more or less tabular or lenticular in form, which was deposited from solution and is of later origin than the inclosing rock. This definition differs from the one found in many text-books in that no assumption is made as to the origin of the space occupied by the vein or the manner in which the mineral matter was deposited. In the present paper the writer purposes to discuss the mechanics of vein formation, and does not wish to begin by begging the question. The origin of ore deposits has been diligently investigated in recent years, but, while much has been written concerning the chemistry of the process, the physical side of the question has received less attention. The source of the ore minerals; the chemical composition of ore-bearing solutions; the relative importance of magmatic and meteoric waters as agents of concentration; and the causes of mineral precipitation have all been discussed at length. On the other hand, little has been written concerning the mechanics of vein formation, and the theories given in text-books today are essentially the same as those developed by the early Cornish and Saxon miners. Early investigators often regarded both veins and dikes as igneous in origin, but today the theory that vein minerals have been deposited from solutions, either liquid or gaseous, is firmly established. The latter view is supported by the fact that many vein-forming minerals are not found in unaltered igneous rocks; by evidence obtained in the laboratory regarding the solubility of minerals; by the presence of many ore minerals in hot-spring waters; by the occurrence of some veins in regions consisting exclusively of unaltered sedimentary rocks; by evidence as to the temperature at which some minerals are formed; and by the absence of mineral segregation due to difference in specific gravity. There is still, however, much difference of opinion as to whether certain tabular-shaped masses should be classed as veins or as dikes. Some of the earlier investigators have also advocated the theory that veins are contemporaneous in origin with the inclosing rock, while others have believed the vein minerals to represent a recrystallization or transforma-

Jan 1, 1920

ALABAMA Aldrich -Thomas, D A Altoona -Cain, J Anniston -Cowie, L K Walmsley, W N White, H E Ashland -Sturdevant, J C Bankhead -Connaway, M B Bessemer-Ball, E M McKenzie, W C, Jr Mitchell, F R Morgan, C Thompson, N E Birmingham -Abbott, C E Adams, J H

Jan 1, 1923

By G. W. Nabor, H. J. Ramey

A blotter-type electrolytic model was utilized to prepare flow diagrams for a field test of the in-situ combustion process. It is pointed out that the areal sweep of a combustion pattern is similar to sweep patterns that would be developed at an infinite mobility ratio, which exists (approximately) across a combustion front because of the complete removal of liquids from the sand behind it. The precision of the blotter method was tested by comparison with results obtained by other techniques and was found to be satisfactory. The blotter-type model will not furnish as much information as more elaborate and expensive potentiometric models, but its speed of operation and ease of construction make it a highly satisfactory tool to determine areal sweep patterns. A tabulation of sweep efficiency and mobility ratio is furnished for various well geometries. INTRODUCTION In connection with the first field experiment with the in-situ combustion method of oil recovery," flow diagrams for the unique well geometry and boundary conditions involved in the subject test were developed. From these diagrams, information concerning the areal sweep and distribution of flow was obtained. A survev of the literature on potentiometric models, utilized to solve two-dimensional flow problems,1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10 indicated that the information desired could be obtained by means of a blotter-type model by making certain modifications in the technique. The following discussion describes the application of the modified blotter-type electrolytic model to the solution of the problem of the flow of gases in an oil reservoir for an engineering appraisal of the progress of the combustion front during the first field experiment. Considerable information has been published on the theoretical aspects of electrical model techniques. One author stated that:' "The models are based on the observation that since the velocity of an ion in an electrolytic system is proportional to the potential gradient, just as the velocity of a fluid particle in a porous medium is proportional to the pressure gradient, the paths of the ions in the electrolytic systems must be similar to those of the fluid particles in a porous medium with the same geometry and equivalent boundary conditions." This suggestion of a real analogy has been established repeatedly by comparisons of analytic derivations with model results. The analogy between the movement of a combustion front and the model results is not as apparent, since the combustion process differs from water flooding and gas cycling in that the velocity of the burning front is different from the velocity of the injected fluid at the front in combustion. Analogy between electric current flow and movement of the burning front exists because the local velocity of the burning front is proportional to the air (mass) velocity at this point (assuming frontal temperatures are at least as high as the ignition temperature of the fuel). Most model studies fall into one of two categories: (1) electron conduction, or (2) ionic conduction models. Examples of these are models which employ as flow media either a thin metal sheet, or a porous blotter saturated with an electrolyte, respectively. Of the two, the porous blotter model, an ionic conduction model, appears to be the most adaptable to the flow problem that results when using in-situ combustion. This problem requires that the mobility of the particles in the model be controlled analogous to the mobility of gas flowing through burned sand of high permeability to gas and then through oil sand of lower permeability to gas. Although the blotter model has heretofore been

Jan 1, 1955

By L. W. Kempf, R. S. Archer

The binary aluminum-silicon alloys have certain characteristic advantages which are now well known, and these alloys have come into considerable use during the past several years.' Their field of application has been limited to a certain extent, however, by their low yield point and hardness, low endurance limit, and relatively poor machining characteristics. These properties are improved by the addition of copper, and the ternary aluminum-silicon-copper alloys constitute an important class. The addition of copper decreases the corrosion resistance of the aluminum-silicon alloys and increases specific gravity. Magnesium is a hardening addition which seems to have relatively little effect on corrosion resistance, and which, of course, reduces specific gravity. The object of the work described in this paper was the development of alloys and heat treatments for the production of sand castings and permanent-mold castings having substantially all the advantages of the binary aluminum-silicon alloys together with mechanical properties improved to a degree permitting wider application. Constitution of Alloys Magnesium and silicon combine in aluminum alloys as the compound Mg2Si, which forms a binary system with aluminum. In alloys containing an excess of silicon over that required to form the compound, solidification ends with the freezing at 1022' F. (550' C.) of a ternary eutectic of aluminum, Mg²Si, and silicon. Judging from the horizontal projection of the liquidus surface as given by Hanson and Gayler,² this ternary eut,ectic contains about 13 per cent. silicon and 6 per cent. magnesium. All of the alloys discussed here contain excess silicon, so it

Jan 1, 1931

By Thomas Kesler

THE Cartersville mining district, 35 miles northwest of Atlanta, Ga., has been of varying but continuous importance in the southern mineral industry during the past century. Noted chiefly for its production of brown iron ore, manganese oxide ores, barite, sienna, and magnesian limestone, the district and its environs have produced brick and tile clays, slate, gold, bauxite, and graphitic schist. Minor deposits of serpentine, sericite schist, copper ore, and red iron oxide have been prospected. The obvious deposits of brown iron ore, together with some associated specular hematite, were mined out years ago, although a little ore was left in the workings. Moderately steady production of sienna reached a peak about 1930, then declined rapidly. Manganese mining passed through a relatively active period from the World War to 1931, but has subsided to a small but rather constant output for the Birmingham market. How-ever, the White Manganese Corporation has prepared for possible increased production by constructing a new washer capable of handling about 300 tons of ore per day. Principal activity in the district proper has centered for some years in the production of barite and magne-sian limestone.

Jan 1, 1940

By F. Twyman, D. M. Smith

Those chemists (they are still greatly in the minority) who use the spectroscope, use it very often, and find it almost indispensable. As a means of detecting minute quantities of the metals it is unrivalled. A metal can be readily distinguished in the presence of any other element, compound, or mixture without the necessity of separation. The qualitative analysis of the metallic constituents of a substance, which the spectroscope gives so easily, is a sure basis for planning a chemical analysis. As the determination of each element proceeds the purity of precipitates may be checked as often as desired. If, possessing these advantages, the spectroscope has been neglected in general chemistry, it is not surprising that it was neglected in metallurgical chemistry; for many of the impurities which are of industrial interest, even when they are present in a metal or alloy in small quantities, are not then always easily detected by the examination of their visible spectrum. The history of the development of the art has been given in Bureau of Standards 19cientific Paper No. 444. The Development of Analysis by Spectrogbaphy Fig. 1 shows, by means of photographs taken with a quartz spectro-graph, what a valuable region of the spectrum is excluded if one has a visual instrument only. Wave length 4023 is about the end of the visible spectrum, the region from 3800 to 1854 being invisible. It is easy to understand then how it is that the vigorous resuscitation of spectrum analysis which has commenced in the last few years has been associated with the use of the quartz spectrograph; notwithstanding that the most useful instrument for the general inorganic chemist to have at his elbow, after the balance, is a good visual spectrometer.(1) 1 The revival of spectrum analysis is to be attributed chiefly to the work of W. N. Hartley with his co-workers, and to A. de Gramont. Hartley,

By Harry K. Ihrig

The hot-working of iron and steel is an art dating back to antiquity, but until about 25 years ago, relatively few alloying elements were used, and these were present only in small percentages. With the exception of sulphur, the amounts of other elements in steels did not markedly affect their hot-workability. The references in the literature on the effect of other elements on the hot-workability of steel are usually reports of failure of these steels in forging or rolling.1-8 With the increased use of alloying elements, and their use in larger amounts, it was observed that many of the new steels were red short in certain critical ranges or at all hot-working temperatures. The stainless steels are particularly difficult to hot-work. The determining of the correct conditions for piercing, rolling and forging of these alloys by experimentation in the mill often results in large losses of these expensive metals. It also is found that the hot-workability limits of many types vary from heat to heat, and hence poor results are obtained on changing to a new heat after a previous one has rolled satisfactorily. To determine the effect on hot-workability of iron to which various elements have been added, it was necessary to devise a method that could be used on small quantities of metal. In such a method, the minimum number of variables should be present, and the procedure should be simple, quick and correlatable with large-scale hot-working operations. Sauveur,9 in the first Henry Marion Howe lecture in 1924, described the effect of carbon on the ductility of steels in torsion near their critical points. He found that carbon increases the plasticity of gamma iron. In the 1930 Campbell Memorial lecture,10 he gives the effect of carbon, chromium, and chromium and nickel on the ductility of steels under 2000°F. in torsion. Ellis11 has studied the malleability of steels at various elevated temperatures by means of a single-blow drop-hammer test. In this test the percentage decrease in height of standard cylinders is taken as a measure of their malleability. He has shown that in the low-alloy steels studied, carbon has a greater effect than nickel, chromium and vanadium. In 1938 the first tests were run on a new quantitative hot-workability test in the laboratories of the Globe Steel Tubes CO. Thum12 mentioned it in 1940. An illustration of the apparatus was published in January 1942.'' The effect of a few alloying elements on the hot-workability of metals was shown in a description of the test in 1944.14 Description of Test Method The method adopted after a trial of several others is a rapid twisting of bars to failure in a furnace. The standard-size bar was chosen as 9/16 in. It is prepared from larger pieces by forging and cold-

Jan 1, 1947

By Harry K. Ihrig

The hot-working of iron and steel is an art dating back to antiquity, but until about 25 years ago, relatively few alloying elements were used, and these were present only in small percentages. With the exception of sulphur, the amounts of other elements in steels did not markedly affect their hot-workability. The references in the literature on the effect of other elements on the hot-workability of steel are usually reports of failure of these steels in forging or rolling.1-8 With the increased use of alloying elements, and their use in larger amounts, it was observed that many of the new steels were red short in certain critical ranges or at all hot-working temperatures. The stainless steels are particularly difficult to hot-work. The determining of the correct conditions for piercing, rolling and forging of these alloys by experimentation in the mill often results in large losses of these expensive metals. It also is found that the hot-workability limits of many types vary from heat to heat, and hence poor results are obtained on changing to a new heat after a previous one has rolled satisfactorily. To determine the effect on hot-workability of iron to which various elements have been added, it was necessary to devise a method that could be used on small quantities of metal. In such a method, the minimum number of variables should be present, and the procedure should be simple, quick and correlatable with large-scale hot-working operations. Sauveur,9 in the first Henry Marion Howe lecture in 1924, described the effect of carbon on the ductility of steels in torsion near their critical points. He found that carbon increases the plasticity of gamma iron. In the 1930 Campbell Memorial lecture,10 he gives the effect of carbon, chromium, and chromium and nickel on the ductility of steels under 2000°F. in torsion. Ellis11 has studied the malleability of steels at various elevated temperatures by means of a single-blow drop-hammer test. In this test the percentage decrease in height of standard cylinders is taken as a measure of their malleability. He has shown that in the low-alloy steels studied, carbon has a greater effect than nickel, chromium and vanadium. In 1938 the first tests were run on a new quantitative hot-workability test in the laboratories of the Globe Steel Tubes CO. Thum12 mentioned it in 1940. An illustration of the apparatus was published in January 1942.'' The effect of a few alloying elements on the hot-workability of metals was shown in a description of the test in 1944.14 Description of Test Method The method adopted after a trial of several others is a rapid twisting of bars to failure in a furnace. The standard-size bar was chosen as 9/16 in. It is prepared from larger pieces by forging and cold-

Jan 1, 1947

By J. M. Flaitz, A. S. Parks

OF the various methods of sampling gas-condensate wells, a method that secures a continuous representative sample of the well stream is desirable. Such a method, consisting of a sampling tube introduced into the well tubing, has proved satisfactory. The method is sufficiently accurate for operating and engineering problems A portable testing apparatus can be used with the sampling tube to obtain data useful in studying the economic and technical aspects of the development and operation of gas-condensate properties. Introduction The recent discovery and development of gas reserves that contain hydrocarbons that condense with reduction of temperature or Pressure, or both, to form a product known as condensate, has brought many new problems to the oil and gas industries. With further discovery of deep, high-pressure fields it is presumable that many more gas fields of this type will be added to the steadily increasing number. Such gas reserves are found either associated with oil as a gas cap or in separate formations. There seems to be no positive correlation between the physical or geological nature of the reservoir, and the chemical composition or phase characteristics of its contents. Knowledge of the chemical make-up and phase behavior of gas-condensate reserves is needed to cope with many problems. A knowledge of the chemical composition and phase characteristics of the reservoir material is necessary to properly design a gasoline or recycling plant, to estimate natural gas and condensate reserves, to enable the operator to study the economic and technical aspects of various methods of operation and development, and to carry Out the plan of operating subsurface and surface lease equipment. This information is often useful in questions of mineral ownership, proration, legal position, and taxation. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss methods used by the writers to determine the chemica1 composition and phase characteristics of the fluids produced from a condensate well. The scope of the paper includes a discussion and description of the method of sampling, the results of tests on the accuracy of the sampling method, a description of a portable testing apparatus used to examine the phase characteristics, typical results of tests on wells from several condensate fields, and some of the applications of these data to production problems. References to previous work on this subject are cited at the end of the paper. The Problem At reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure, the fluids produced from a condensate well exist in a homogeneous vaporous condition. The consequent reduction of temperature and pressure that occurs as this gas enters and flows up the well tube results in condensation of some of the hydrocarbon material to form a liquid. The relative amount of liquid condensed at any point in the flowing system

Jan 1, 1942

By J. M. Flaitz, A. S. Parks

OF the various methods of sampling gas-condensate wells, a method that secures a continuous representative sample of the well stream is desirable. Such a method, consisting of a sampling tube introduced into the well tubing, has proved satisfactory. The method is sufficiently accurate for operating and engineering problems A portable testing apparatus can be used with the sampling tube to obtain data useful in studying the economic and technical aspects of the development and operation of gas-condensate properties. Introduction The recent discovery and development of gas reserves that contain hydrocarbons that condense with reduction of temperature or Pressure, or both, to form a product known as condensate, has brought many new problems to the oil and gas industries. With further discovery of deep, high-pressure fields it is presumable that many more gas fields of this type will be added to the steadily increasing number. Such gas reserves are found either associated with oil as a gas cap or in separate formations. There seems to be no positive correlation between the physical or geological nature of the reservoir, and the chemical composition or phase characteristics of its contents. Knowledge of the chemical make-up and phase behavior of gas-condensate reserves is needed to cope with many problems. A knowledge of the chemical composition and phase characteristics of the reservoir material is necessary to properly design a gasoline or recycling plant, to estimate natural gas and condensate reserves, to enable the operator to study the economic and technical aspects of various methods of operation and development, and to carry Out the plan of operating subsurface and surface lease equipment. This information is often useful in questions of mineral ownership, proration, legal position, and taxation. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss methods used by the writers to determine the chemica1 composition and phase characteristics of the fluids produced from a condensate well. The scope of the paper includes a discussion and description of the method of sampling, the results of tests on the accuracy of the sampling method, a description of a portable testing apparatus used to examine the phase characteristics, typical results of tests on wells from several condensate fields, and some of the applications of these data to production problems. References to previous work on this subject are cited at the end of the paper. The Problem At reservoir conditions of temperature and pressure, the fluids produced from a condensate well exist in a homogeneous vaporous condition. The consequent reduction of temperature and pressure that occurs as this gas enters and flows up the well tube results in condensation of some of the hydrocarbon material to form a liquid. The relative amount of liquid condensed at any point in the flowing system

Jan 1, 1942

Jan 1, 1923

By H. Shaw

Gravitational measurements made by means of the Eotvos torsion balance over any area enable a representation to be obtained of the total gravitational effects over the surface of that area arising from the combination of all sources of gravitational disturbance. The investigation of gravitational anomalies occurring in the upper layers of the earth's crust, in this way, has been attended with considerable success, and, especially in areas in which no undesirable disturbing factors were present, it has been possible to locate geological structures and mineral deposits with remarkable accuracy and also to delineate their confines and to indicate their depth below the surface with a certain amount of precision. Before this can be done successfully, however, it is necessary to determine the gravitational effect arising from all other extraneous anomalies in order that these may be satisfactorily eliminated. Disturbing features giving rise to these gravitational anomalies may be divided into two classes, according to whether they are situated at or below the surface. The former are determined readily by a detailed leveling of the ground surface, and may be satisfactorily eliminated provided the specific gravity of the terrain material is known, but the latter are generally unknown, and can only be ascertained with difficulty. When, therefore, the observations obtained by means of the Eotvos torsion balance have been corrected for all surface irregularities, known as terrain and topographical effects, there remain residual gravitational values which are due entirely to subterranean conditions. The. task of interpreting these results consists in disentangling the various subsurface anomalies, and subsequently in computing and recombining the effects of these various masses in order to verify the interpretation. When the gravitational anomalies are due to large and comparatively simple structures it is a matter of little difficulty to arrive at a satisfactory interpretation of the subterranean conditions, but in more complex areas, where the geological conditions are more complicated and several irregular features exist, the process of disentangling the various constituents of the complex mass arrangement is more difficult and requires the expenditure of considerable time and labor. When the subterranean effects have been obtained, they are subjected to a critical examination, and an effort is made to recognize and

Jan 1, 1932

By C. H. Brehaut, W. N. Taylor, R. S. Douglas, H. A. Shannon

The name for this new method of mining is derived from a composition of Horizontal, Radial, Diamond, and the drilling is from raises. This method, worked out at Copper Mountain, B.C., is believed to be distinct in many features from other known methods. Geology The ore deposits of copper Mountain are related to the copper Mountain stock, which is an ideal example of the magmatic in in that it grades from a basic gabbro at the border to an almost pure orthoclase-pegmatite core. The "contact" ore bodies lie along the contact of the gabbro and an older complex of volcanies and sediment termed the "Wolfe Creek" formation. These older rocks, collectively referred to as greenstone, had been fractured prior to the intrusion of the stock and were highly metamorphosed during the intrusion. The "outlying" ore bodies are somewhat different in character, though a similar structural pattern prevails. It is believed that a deep-seated magma of which the Copper Mountain stock is a part has given off solutions that caused a partial graniti-zation of some of the volcanies. Mining problems are caused further by the presence of a series of soft barren dikes intersecting a great many of the ore bodies, which are about 30 ft. wide, strike north-south, and dip at a high angle to the east; and are further increased by the presence of four major faults, with a great many minor faults running at acute angles from them. Fault zones average 8 ft. in width, and consist of gouge and breccia. They strike northeast and dip steeply to the northwest. The faults cut through the ore zones and the dikes, and continue on into the gabbro. The general mine structure with two types of Ore bodies, bounded by weak walls and intersected by several series of soft barren dikes and major faults, indicated that a method of mining should be devised that would remove the ore at low cost with the least disturbance of the waste walls and dikes. , Theoretical Estimate of Stoping with the Diamond Drill After consideration of various methods, the most suitable one appeared to be horizontal drilling to break the ore in a manner similar to shrinkage stoping Drilling vertical holes or rings from a bench and breaking to an open slot was eliminated because the weak walls of ore, dike or waste would not permit this type of opening. It was then decided to drill either horizontal radial holes from a raise or parallel holes from a slot cut across the ore body. After discussion, the latter method was believed unsuitable, for the following reasons:

Jan 1, 1946