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By R. S. Dean

The careful work of Gross and Zimmerleyl has established the fact that the energy actually used in grinding is proportional to the new surface produced. This confirmation of Rittinger's law was made by crushing quartz in a frictionless drop-weight machine and determining the surface of the quartz by its rate of solution in hydrofluoric acid. The details of this procedure have been described adequately elsewhere and need not be repeated here. The resultant data furnish the only available basis for comparing accurately the efficiency of grinding machines. This method is so cumbersome experimentally that it has been little used. As an alternative all sorts of approximations have been proposed. The best of these is complete size analysis by sieving and elutria-tion. Such procedure is very lengthy and difficult to carry out accurately. Furthermore, any sizing method becomes very inaccurate for determining surface with very fine sizes where the ratio of surface to volume becomes very large. To avoid the lengthy and difficult technique of elutriation it has been proposed to estimate the size distribution below 200 mesh from various probability formulas. Such a procedure is at best an engineering approximation; at worst it is a mere guess. Some time ago Dr. V. H. Gottschalk2 found that the coercive forces of magnetite powders were directly proportional to the surface area, regardless of size distribution. It was at once apparent that this furnished a method for determining grinding efficiency quickly and accurately. The only requirement was a single determination of the relation between the work input of the Gross-Zimmerley drop-weight machine and the coercive force of the resultant crushed magnetite. For this purpose Ural Mountain magnetite in definite octahedra was

Jan 1, 1939

The papers discussed in the following pages were presented during two sessions of the Geophysics Education Committee of the Mineral Industry Education Division on Feb. 17 and 18, 1941. At the first meeting, to consider the "Influence of Geophysics upon Geology Curricula," this Committee was joined by the Geophysics and Mining Geology Committees of the A.I.M.E., the Society of Economic Geologists, representatives of the American Geophysical Union, and delegates from the Committees on College Curricula and on Applications of Geology of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Quentin D. Singewald and Sherwin F. Kelly presided. At the ensuing session, especially emphasizing the integration of geology, physics and chemistry for the solution of earth problems, the joint participants with the Geophysics Education Committee were the Geophysics Committee, and representatives of the American Geophysical Union and of the Committee on College Curricula of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Richard M. Field and W. R. Chedsey presided. In the following summary of the discussion at the two meetings, written discussion submitted subsequently is not differentiated from that offered orally at the session. A provisional report of the Geophysics Education Committee was presented at the second session, and some of the following discussion refers to it. This report has not been printed (it is anticipated that a more comprehensive, final one will be rendered at the 1942 annual meeting). A few mimeographed copies of this provisional report were made. Dr. W. P. Haynes presented some notes prepared by Dr. F. H. Lahee, Chairman of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Committee on College Curricula. This Com- mittee's inquiries reveal the general opinion that a four-year academic preparation is inadequate, five or six being advisable. The fundamentals, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and English composition, should be stressed in the first three years, with specialization in the last two or three years. Some companies provide an apprenticeship period, and themselves give additional training. During academic years more attention needs to be given to engineering training, to field mapping, and in geology to stratigraphy and sedimentation. The amount of mere memory work should be cut, and men trained to observe and reason. Dr. Lahee emphasized the need of more adequate preparation in English composition, because of the inability of many graduates to compose acceptable reports. Sherwin F. Kelly pointed out that much time in university training, which ought to be devoted to technical subjects, was taken .up with English courses. He emphasized that it is the part of the universities to demand of the high schools that the students they send to the university be properly trained to speak and write English. Prof. W. T. Thom protested against the crowding of high-school material into already overcrowded college curricula. C. E. Dobbin, chairman of the Committee on Applications of Geology of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, described briefly the work of his committee in publicizing geology, and said that it found a widespread popular interest in the subject but a lack of appreciation of its importance. He recommended that attempts to coordinate the works of geologists and geophysicists be expanded somewhat toward the further developing and encouraging of a "species of geopolitician" capable of assisting the progress of geology and geophysics by more vigorous advertising of

Jan 1, 1946

The papers discussed in the following pages were presented during two sessions of the Geophysics Education Committee of the Mineral Industry Education Division on Feb. 17 and 18, 1941. At the first meeting, to consider the "Influence of Geophysics upon Geology Curricula," this Committee was joined by the Geophysics and Mining Geology Committees of the A.I.M.E., the Society of Economic Geologists, representatives of the American Geophysical Union, and delegates from the Committees on College Curricula and on Applications of Geology of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Quentin D. Singewald and Sherwin F. Kelly presided. At the ensuing session, especially emphasizing the integration of geology, physics and chemistry for the solution of earth problems, the joint participants with the Geophysics Education Committee were the Geophysics Committee, and representatives of the American Geophysical Union and of the Committee on College Curricula of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Richard M. Field and W. R. Chedsey presided. In the following summary of the discussion at the two meetings, written discussion submitted subsequently is not differentiated from that offered orally at the session. A provisional report of the Geophysics Education Committee was presented at the second session, and some of the following discussion refers to it. This report has not been printed (it is anticipated that a more comprehensive, final one will be rendered at the 1942 annual meeting). A few mimeographed copies of this provisional report were made. Dr. W. P. Haynes presented some notes prepared by Dr. F. H. Lahee, Chairman of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Committee on College Curricula. This Com- mittee's inquiries reveal the general opinion that a four-year academic preparation is inadequate, five or six being advisable. The fundamentals, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and English composition, should be stressed in the first three years, with specialization in the last two or three years. Some companies provide an apprenticeship period, and themselves give additional training. During academic years more attention needs to be given to engineering training, to field mapping, and in geology to stratigraphy and sedimentation. The amount of mere memory work should be cut, and men trained to observe and reason. Dr. Lahee emphasized the need of more adequate preparation in English composition, because of the inability of many graduates to compose acceptable reports. Sherwin F. Kelly pointed out that much time in university training, which ought to be devoted to technical subjects, was taken .up with English courses. He emphasized that it is the part of the universities to demand of the high schools that the students they send to the university be properly trained to speak and write English. Prof. W. T. Thom protested against the crowding of high-school material into already overcrowded college curricula. C. E. Dobbin, chairman of the Committee on Applications of Geology of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, described briefly the work of his committee in publicizing geology, and said that it found a widespread popular interest in the subject but a lack of appreciation of its importance. He recommended that attempts to coordinate the works of geologists and geophysicists be expanded somewhat toward the further developing and encouraging of a "species of geopolitician" capable of assisting the progress of geology and geophysics by more vigorous advertising of

Jan 1, 1946

By J. J. B. Rutherford

IT is now well known that troublesome intercrystalline corrosion may occur in austenitic stainless steels following exposure of the metal to a temperature within the range 1000° to 1500° F. (540° to 815° C.). The present paper describes a satisfactory method of estimating the extent of such corrosion, based on the measurement of the electrical resistance of a specimen before and after attack. This new method enabled us to study quantitatively the effect of several factors upon intergranular corrosion in the 18 Cr, 8 Ni type of alloy. The results show that susceptibility to this attack increases with increasing carbon content and grain size and appears to pass through a maximum for certain combinations of temperature of sensitization and period during which the alloy was maintained at that temperature; and are in complete accord with our interpretation of the mechanism of this phenomenon. The method is probably applicable to other metals or alloys subject to intercrystalline attack, such as the aluminum alloys of the duralumin type. The methods hitherto in use for estimating the degree of intergranular attack fall into three types: (1) microscopic examination,1 (2) macroscopic examination of fractures, and (3) determination of the time required for complete failure or disintegration .2 None of these lends itself very well to a measurement of the extent of corrosion. The first two are qualitative in nature and the third provides an arbitrary value largely dependent on individual judgment, since failure is a progressive phenomenon and not a sudden event. Our experience is that weight-loss determinations, although valuable in some types of corrosion investigations, bear no simple relation to intercrystalline corrosion in this type of alloy, as is to be expected since the phenomenon probably involves only the thinnest films between adjacent metallic grains.

Jan 1, 1932

By John G. Koert, Koert D. Burnham, John G. Broughton

Wollastonite in Essex County, New York, occurs as a typical contact mineral in a series of rocks metamorphosed by anorthosite. Sole current use is in various types of electric welding fluxes. Its uniform lathlike shape suggests its use as a specialized filler. Introduction Wollastonite (CaSiO3) was first noted in the vicinity of Willsboro, Essex County, New York, about 1810 by Dr. William Meade, and described from the same locality in 1821 by Lardner Vanuxem.' Recent exploration and development indicate that the deposit is of adequate size for continued exploitation on a larger scale than the present operations. The only other known occurrence of like magnitude in this country is in Kern County, California.* Wollastonite has been reported from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Lewis County, New York, but these are little more than mineral localities. Geology The Essex County wollastonite has been found outcropping at numerous separate localities in a belt of contact metamorphosed sediments, 1/4 mile wide, which begins 2 miles southwest of the village of Willsboro and trends N. 70" W. for approximately 6 miles (Fig. I). In this belt, the pre-Cambrian Grenville has been injected and partially replaced by the more liquid portions of an anorthositic magma. Bud-dington and Whitcomb3 have described the rock in this contact metamorphosed belt as "Mixed gneisses: Grenville mafic, pyroxenic and garnetiferous gneisses and skarns* with local nearly uniform garnet or pyroxene layers and with gabbroic anorthosite sheets. A few limestone layers." These rocks are underlain, presumably at no great depth, by gabbroic anorthosite gneiss, the typical Whiteface border facies of the Adirondack anorthosite massif. The occurrence of wollastonite in large quantities was discovered during the quarrying of the garnet-rich layer that overlies the wollastonite at one opening. Further prospecting revealed its presence elsewhere in the belt, overlain in most places by the garnet. Accurate tracing of the wollastonite is difficult, owing to the glacial cover and to the fact that the weathered surface of the mineral has a dark, dirty brown color, and that the wollastonite itself has been dissolved more or less completely along the outcrops. It has, however, been noted at 10 localities within the skarn belt in the first 2 1/2 miles from its southeastern end. It has not been found in the northern half of the belt and therefore may be limited to the southern half. At the Fox Hill quarry, which is the main opening, 150 ft. have been exposed, showing an aggregate thickness of 30 to 35 it. Of

Jan 1, 1948

By Koert D. Burnham, John G. Broughton, John G. Koert

Wollastonite in Essex County, New York, occurs as a typical contact mineral in a series of rocks metamorphosed by anorthosite. Sole current use is in various types of electric welding fluxes. Its uniform lathlike shape suggests its use as a specialized filler. Introduction Wollastonite (CaSiO3) was first noted in the vicinity of Willsboro, Essex County, New York, about 1810 by Dr. William Meade, and described from the same locality in 1821 by Lardner Vanuxem.' Recent exploration and development indicate that the deposit is of adequate size for continued exploitation on a larger scale than the present operations. The only other known occurrence of like magnitude in this country is in Kern County, California.* Wollastonite has been reported from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Lewis County, New York, but these are little more than mineral localities. Geology The Essex County wollastonite has been found outcropping at numerous separate localities in a belt of contact metamorphosed sediments, 1/4 mile wide, which begins 2 miles southwest of the village of Willsboro and trends N. 70" W. for approximately 6 miles (Fig. I). In this belt, the pre-Cambrian Grenville has been injected and partially replaced by the more liquid portions of an anorthositic magma. Bud-dington and Whitcomb3 have described the rock in this contact metamorphosed belt as "Mixed gneisses: Grenville mafic, pyroxenic and garnetiferous gneisses and skarns* with local nearly uniform garnet or pyroxene layers and with gabbroic anorthosite sheets. A few limestone layers." These rocks are underlain, presumably at no great depth, by gabbroic anorthosite gneiss, the typical Whiteface border facies of the Adirondack anorthosite massif. The occurrence of wollastonite in large quantities was discovered during the quarrying of the garnet-rich layer that overlies the wollastonite at one opening. Further prospecting revealed its presence elsewhere in the belt, overlain in most places by the garnet. Accurate tracing of the wollastonite is difficult, owing to the glacial cover and to the fact that the weathered surface of the mineral has a dark, dirty brown color, and that the wollastonite itself has been dissolved more or less completely along the outcrops. It has, however, been noted at 10 localities within the skarn belt in the first 2 1/2 miles from its southeastern end. It has not been found in the northern half of the belt and therefore may be limited to the southern half. At the Fox Hill quarry, which is the main opening, 150 ft. have been exposed, showing an aggregate thickness of 30 to 35 it. Of

Jan 1, 1948

By G. W. Imholz

A number of interesting wells were drilled in north central Texas during 1940. The Shell Oil Company's Smith well in scc. 143, block I, H. and T. C. survey, Stonewall County, was completed for an initial production of 581 bbl. per day from the Mississippian limestone, with a total depth of 6065 ft. The same company's Patterson well, sec. 393, block D. H. and T. C. survey, Stonewall County, tested the Ellenburger limestone and was abandoned as a dry hole with a total depth of 6760 feet. In Nolan County the Tex-Harvey Oil Co. drilled a well in sec. 43, near the Tipton well, which was completed as a small producer in the Strawn section. The Tex-Harvey well tested this producing horizon but was abandoned as a dry hole with a total depth of 5210 feet. The Montour-Haggart well, sec. 184, block 2, H. and T. C. survey, Fisher County, tested the Strawn and was abandoned with a total depth of 5664 feet. The Georgian Oil Company's Blach, sec. 309, T. R. and L.. Shackelford County, encountered the top of the Ellenburger limestone at 4725 ft. After being plugged back to 3915 It. from a total depth of 4825 ft., the well tested 10 bbl, of oil per day and 300 bbl. of water. The W. I. Sothern No. 2 Carlisle well in sec. 293 was deepened to the Cambrian. The top of the Ellenburger was encountered at 6540 fcet. A wildcat well in Fisher County, the E. A. Stephenson-Maberry, apparently opened a new pool when the well encountered sand from 3298 lo 3302 ft. and was completed for 50 bbl. per day in the Cook sand horizon. In Jones County, the King Oil Company's Olsen well, sec. 158, B. B. B. and C. survey, extended the Avoca-Olander pool. The well was completed for 263 bbl. in 8 1/2 hr. from the Palo Pinto limestone, from 3298 to 3302 ft. Ungren-Frazier extended the Akard pool with No. I Akard, in the D. 'T. Bruce survey. The well was completed for 83 bbl. per day from the Cook sand, encountered from 2109 to 2126 feet.

Jan 1, 1941

By G. W. Imholz

A number of interesting wells were drilled in north central Texas during 1940. The Shell Oil Company's Smith well in scc. 143, block I, H. and T. C. survey, Stonewall County, was completed for an initial production of 581 bbl. per day from the Mississippian limestone, with a total depth of 6065 ft. The same company's Patterson well, sec. 393, block D. H. and T. C. survey, Stonewall County, tested the Ellenburger limestone and was abandoned as a dry hole with a total depth of 6760 feet. In Nolan County the Tex-Harvey Oil Co. drilled a well in sec. 43, near the Tipton well, which was completed as a small producer in the Strawn section. The Tex-Harvey well tested this producing horizon but was abandoned as a dry hole with a total depth of 5210 feet. The Montour-Haggart well, sec. 184, block 2, H. and T. C. survey, Fisher County, tested the Strawn and was abandoned with a total depth of 5664 feet. The Georgian Oil Company's Blach, sec. 309, T. R. and L.. Shackelford County, encountered the top of the Ellenburger limestone at 4725 ft. After being plugged back to 3915 It. from a total depth of 4825 ft., the well tested 10 bbl, of oil per day and 300 bbl. of water. The W. I. Sothern No. 2 Carlisle well in sec. 293 was deepened to the Cambrian. The top of the Ellenburger was encountered at 6540 fcet. A wildcat well in Fisher County, the E. A. Stephenson-Maberry, apparently opened a new pool when the well encountered sand from 3298 lo 3302 ft. and was completed for 50 bbl. per day in the Cook sand horizon. In Jones County, the King Oil Company's Olsen well, sec. 158, B. B. B. and C. survey, extended the Avoca-Olander pool. The well was completed for 263 bbl. in 8 1/2 hr. from the Palo Pinto limestone, from 3298 to 3302 ft. Ungren-Frazier extended the Akard pool with No. I Akard, in the D. 'T. Bruce survey. The well was completed for 83 bbl. per day from the Cook sand, encountered from 2109 to 2126 feet.

Jan 1, 1941

By James C. Ray

The age classification of the mineralized veins of the Butte district, as given by Weed and Sales, was tacitly accepted for many years. Weed, whose field work was completed in 1906, divided the copper veins into groups of four ages.' In 1913, Sales modified Weed's classification and assigned all mineralized veins (including the silver-zinc veins of the border or "peripheral" zones) to three periods of fracturing and mineralization. Both writers based their classifications mainly on the relative ages of the observable faulting whereby the veins of a so-called "earlier" system are intersected and offset by those of a "later" system. Nevertheless they possess structural and mineralogical characteristics in common which indicate that they are of the same age. The writer has maintained since 19143 that these vein systems were formed during one general period of mineralization along a network of intersecting fractures of approximately simultaneous origin and that the existing offsets are largely due to postmineral faulting. Leith,* takes cognizance of the accumulating mass of data relative to the simultaneous formation of intersecting fracture systems and says, referring to ~utte: "It now appears that the mineralization accompanying them (individual structure systems into which the veins have been grouped) is substantially of one period, indicating that the successive structural movements took place mainly within the period of mineralization." This paper presents the results of certain structural experiments which suggest a modified interpretation of the published data on the Butte district. The interpretation is substantiated by the writer's observations in the Butte mines and is offered with the hope that it will reconcile the structural with the mineralogical conditions existing in this most interesting district; also, that it will emphasize the importance of a

Jan 1, 1931

By A. J. R. Curtis

THE Portland Cement Association was organized more than a third of a century ago by a group of cement manufacturers, to do cooperatively the educational and research work needed to ensure proper use of their product. Specifically, the Association has a threefold purpose: (1) to search out facts to ensure the best possible service from concrete; (2) to give the widest possible circulation to facts affecting the use of concrete; (3) to urge practical application of those facts on actual building projects. An organization of technically trained men conducts many research projects in the Association laboratories, interprets their findings and applies them practically in the field. The net effect of this work has been to improve the design and prolong the life of roads, bridges, industrial, commercial and public buildings, homes, farm structures and concrete products. The results of this technical research and experimentation are made available to the entire construction industry through bulletins and reports. Information is also released to the general public through newspapers, magazines and Association publications. In addition to a technical staff in the general office in Chicago, the Association has district offices in 22 cities. Field engineers cover 37 states, the District of Columbia and British Columbia, to give service to users of Portland cement. ACCIDENT PREVENTION During the early part of the century, there began a complete transformation in the processes of manufacturing cement. Electricity, with its attendant hazards, was beginning to replace steam; huge rotary kilns and tube mills were being substituted for the vertical kiln and "coffee grinder" mill. Only a few far-sighted leaders realized the import of these innovations, and they also recognized the fact that workmen must be protected against the hazards of the new machinery. By their sincerity and firm purpose they infused into the whole industry the concept of industry's responsibility for safeguarding employees. Even before effective compensation laws had been passed in most states, the Portland Cement Association had assigned to an Accident

Jan 1, 1937

By G. F. Huff, G. R. Bailey, J. H. Richards

An improved bomb-sampling technique for obtaining samples for oxygen analysis from liquid steel is described. Analyses of samples taken from open-hearth furnaces by the improved method show sufficient agreement with laboratory data to indicate the accuracy of the method is better than that of other existing sampling methods. THE bomb-sampling method of determining the oxygen content of a liquid-steel bath was studied by obtaining and analyzing more than 200 samples from normal open-hearth heats. Of these samples, about 60 were obtained with a bomb of conventional design;' the remainder were taken with a somewhat modified bomb designed to give greater protection against slag contamination. In the new device, the contacting faces of the cast-iron mold halves are machined so that they fit closely; the opening at the top of the bomb is covered with a thin steel cap; and the top of the bomb is further covered with a wood block held in place by heavy steel wire. After the bomb has passed through the slag layer and has entered the steel bath, the wire melts and the wood block floats to the surface. Thereafter, the steel melts through the thin cap and flows into the bomb cavity where it is deoxidized with aluminum wire. An assembled bomb, ready for sampling, is shown in Fig. 1. To standardize sampling procedure, the samples were usually taken through the center door and at the bottom of the furnace; that is, the bomb was on the bottom when the metal cap melted. After each addition to the furnace, at least 20 min elapsed before a sample was taken. The oxygen contents of all the samples were determined by using the vacuum-fusion method, two or more specimens from each sample being analyzed. The specimens were cubes of metal cut from a region in the interior of the bomb sample, as shown in Fig. 2. Drillings for carbon analysis were obtained immediately above the oxygen-analysis region. Reproducibility of Results In determining the reproducibility of the results obtained with the modified bomb, the following four factors were studied: 1—variation in the oxygen concentration of duplicate specimens taken from a single sample; 2—variation in the oxygen concentration of duplicate samples taken in quick succession: 3—effect of the amount of aluminum wire

Jan 1, 1953

By F. M. Perkins, R. H. Jamison

Publications concerning scaling laws for laboratory flow models of oil reservoirs indicate that the relative permeability and capillary pressure relations must be the same functions of saturation in the model and its prototype. In this paper, the relative permeabilities and saturations are redefined in a way which permits one to have diflerent relative permeability and capillary pressure relations in the model and prototype. The development of the new scaling criteria is demonstrated by deriving scaling laws for one simple flow problem. INTRODUCTION The successful application of information gathered through bench-scale model studies to the prediction of multi-phase fluid flow behavior in petroleum reservoirs requires careful consideration of the scaling criteria. The requirements which must be met for a small-scale model to duplicate the behavior of a much larger reservoir prototype have been discussed by Leverett, et al,' Rapoport,2 and Geertsma, et al.3 According to these authors, the relative permeabilities to water, oil and gas and the dimensionless capillary pressures must be the must have the same values in the model and prototype. Furthermore, they point out that the viscosity ratios must have the same values in the model and prototype. In addition to these requirements, other scaling criteria are given which, when considered, usually dictate a much higher permeability in the model than exists in the reservoir. Since the more permeable model sands may have connate-water and residual oil saturations quite different from those in the prototype, the scaling requirements pertaining to the dependence of relative permeabilities and dimension l ess capillary pressures on saturation usually are not met. Also, if the model fluids are selected to give equal viscosity ratios in the model and prototype, one may find greatly different mobility ratios* in the two cases and, therefore, may expect grossly different flow patterns. For this reason, Craig, et al,' correlated the results of their model studies with mo- bility ratio rather than with viscosity ratio. As yet, however, no satisfactory method has been advanced which permits use of anything other than the scaling requirements outlined in the previously mentioned papers. The purpose of this paper is to present a method of developing a set of scaling criteria which permits different relationships between saturation and relative permeability or capillary pressure in the model and prototype. Rather than attempt to report scaling criteria for a variety of practical situations, this paper demonstrates by use of one simple example how the modified scaling criteria are derived.

By Prof John E. Church

ONE of the most striking phenomena connected with the mines on the Comstock lode is the extreme heat encountered in the lower levels. This heat is not due to the burning of candles, heat of the men, and decomposition of timbers, all intensified by bad ventilation, as was the case nearer the surface. It proceeds from the rock, which maintains constantly a temperature very much higher than the average of the atmosphere in Nevada. The heat of these mines is a matter of more than usual interest, for they are the only hot ones now worked in the United States, and both in the present temperature encountered and in the increase which is to be expected as greater depths are reached, they appear to surpass any foreign mines of which we have a record. Hot mines are known also in other countries, as in the tin and copper lodes of Wales, where one of the veins worked by the United Mines is known as the hot lode. It has springs which discharge water at a temperature of 116' Fahrenheit, the depth being 220 fathoms, or 1320 feet. The heat of the air in these workings is. given at 100' to 113' Fahrenheit. The air is bad, and the heat in the drifts seems to be traceable to defective ventilation rather than to the real necessities of the case. Air is supplied through a small pipe, and is drawn from a place where the temperature is 95' Fahrenheit. Under such circumstances it is not surprising to read that in this hot mine the air is hotter than the rock, a state of things which I hare never observed in the Comstock. Other mines have been reported to the British Coal Committee as having temperatures of 106" Fahrenheit and thereabouts, but the only positive comparisons that are available at this writing are the following, all from Cornish mines : Mine. Depth Temperature. in feet. Air. Rock. Tresaveau,.....1581 86° 83° to 85° Consolidated Mines,. .. 1500 87° 86° " " . 1722 94o 93° " L .. .. 1764 94o to 96° 921/2° to 931/2°

Jan 1, 1879

By S. Vela, R. M. McKinley, L. A. Carlton

Johnson et al. have described a new well-testing technique that measures formation flow properties between wells.' The technique, called pulse-testing, requires a sequence of rate changes in the flow at one well and measzcrement of the re.rulting pressure changes at an adjacent well with a very sensitive differential pressure gauge. This paper describes an extensive application of the technique in a producing oil field. Pulse-tests on 28 of 45 possible well pairs in the field provided a picture of the areal distribution of reservoir hydraulic diffusivity, trans-missibility and storage. The primary objective in presenting these data is to demonstrate the potential of the methcid for reservoir description. A second objective is to show in three ways the qualitative and quantitative accuracy of reservoir parameters determined from pulse-tests: (I) pulse-test data show a nonuniformity in the field, closely correlating with the oil-water distribution as given by production data: (2) pulse-test values for permeability are comparable with core va1ue.s; and (3) perhaps most important, the field responds to a conventional interference test in the manner in which pulse-test data predict it should. The pulse-testing technique by Johnson et al.' is an ideal source of data for purposes of reservoir description, for it provides a measurement of formation storage S = +ch, hydraulic diffusivity 91 = k/+cp and transmissibility T — This paper describes an application of this method in a producing oil field. Results were analyzed to give numerical values for the parameters 7, T and S. These values were compared with oil-water production data (for the effect of fluid saturation), with core data and with data from an interference test. The reservoir in which the pulse-test survey was run is the result of a structural trap formed by a fault along the east side of a north-south trending anticline. A down-structure aquifer providcs a natural flank water drive for the pool. The producing formation is a dolomitic lime- stone having mainly vugular permeability; the formation oil has a gravity of 29" API with negligible dissolved gas. The field contains 19 wells, all on pump, arranged on 40-acre spacing along the top of the anticline. Fig. 1 shows the location of all these wells except two at the south end of the field. The dashed line on the right-hand side of the figure represents the approximate location of the fault with respect to well positions. Pulse-Test Survey and Analysis of Data A pulse-test requires a pulsing well and a responding well. In the field, changes were made in the rate of flow at the pulsing well by stopping and starting the pump periodically and measuring the corresponding pressure

Jan 1, 1969

By Roy Lindgren

SINCE the year 1643, when the first blast furnace in America for treating iron ore was built at Saugus, Mass., out of mica schist quarried in the neighboring district, the procurement of a suitable refractory for furnace lining has been a problem of concern to the operators of furnaces. The stacks built of mica schist continued to smelt iron ore until about 1836, when, according to F. H. Norton, the first firebrick were produced1, at Queens Run, Pa. Other writers speak of brick having been molded and burned in Massachusetts about the year 1834. In 1841, Andrew Russell began to produce medium refractory plastic clay brick near East Liverpool, Ohio, that were used for lining blast furnaces1. The well-known Kentucky clay-producing district was not opened up until the year 1871, but since then it has produced a large percentage of the linings for iron blast furnaces. While some strides have been made by the refractories industry during the 100 years that have passed since the first firebrick were produced, it has been only during the last two decades that any real progress has been made towards bettering the product, even though the method of production had improved. Perhaps the fault lies with the user of the brick rather than with the producer, for not sooner demanding a supe-rior product. During the past 15 years the tonnage produced per lining has increased from 500,000 gross tons to 1,000,000 gross tons, and now some furnaces are producing 1,600,000 gross tons and better on a single lining. It is true that enlarged capacity of furnaces and improved practice have accounted for some of this increase in tonnage, nevertheless better quality in firebrick must be given credit for its share. However, we are not yet ready to say that we have reached a maximum life of furnace lining. We believe that a better product can be produced and that the refractories industries of America will, through their extensive research depart-

Jan 1, 1936

By H. S. Price, J. C. Cavendish, R. S. Varga

This paper presents a new technique for solving some of the partial differential equations that are commonly used in simulating reservoir performance. The results of applying this technique to a simple problem show that one obtains accurate pressure values near wells, as well as accurate pressure pdients, which can be explicitly calculated. The method is completely rigorous in that convergence of the discrete numerical solution to the continuous solution for both pressure and pressure gradient is established. High-order, piecewise-polynomial approximations are used near the wells where pressure gradients are steep, while low-order, piecewise-polynomial approximations are used elsewhere to reduce greatly the calculation time. This combination is shown to give a uniformly good approximation to the solution. These approximations, obtained by using a Galerkin process with suitable Hermite subspaces, are shown to be theoretically and numerically superior to the usual approximations obtained from standard finite-difference techniques. Not only are much greater accuracies obtained, but computer times are also greatly reduced. The application of this technique to multiphase flow problems (e.g., single well coning problems) would have considerable practical interest, but such extensions of this technique with full mathematical rigor have not been made as yet. However, the numerical methods presented here are general, and in principle extend to multidimensional, multiphase flow. Moreover, the preliminary results given in this paper are sufficiently encouraging that we feel the effort in attempting these extensions is justified. INTRODUCTION The problem of obtaining accurate pressure distributions and pressure gradients around wells is of considerable importance in the numerical simulation of reservoir performance. The most common approach to solving this problem is to use finite difference techniques (see McCarty and Barfield9 or Peaceman and Rachfordl0). This approach, however, has many disadvantages, the major one being that many grid points are generally necessary for accurately describing the pressure distribution and the pressure gradient around wells. This need for a fine grid results in large computer times and often in prohibitively high costs. Besides investigating the method of finite differences, some authors, such as Welge and weber17 and Roper, Merchant and Duvall,13 have considered a combination of analytical and numerical techniques with some success. These approaches, however, are all nonrigorous and quite often cannot even be applied. In this paper, we present a numerical formulation of high-order accuracy, based on the Galerkin method, for solving this problem. We treat here only the partial differential equation that describes steady-state, single-phase flow. However, the methods presented are general and in principle extend to multidimensional, multiphase flow. Specifically we treat special cases of the problem in two dimensions described by: where G is a rectangle (with sides parallel to the coordinate axis) with boundary ?G, ?/?n denotes the outward normal, and y and B are non-negative constants such that y + B > 0.

Jan 1, 1970

By E. DeGolyer

The only known direct method of discovering oil deposits is by the drilling of test wells. Such exploration is always hazardous and generally very costly. The problem of the prospector, therefore, is to select test sites that are favorably located and so to reduce the odds against his venture. Early in the history of the oil industry, it was realized that oil and gas deposits, other conditions being favorable, were usually found in anticlinal types of structure. This very undestandable and rational habit of occurrence furnished the first substantial clue to the prospector. Oil occurs in sedimentary rocks, and beds of such rocks are deposited originally in approximately parallel layers. An anticline at the surface, therefore, could be accepted as an indication of an anticline in lower beds. Structural geology became the tool of the prospector, and by its use in the past two decades the majority of the known important oil deposits of the world have been discovered. This is but a partial, and the simplest, statement of the problem, Nine-tenths and more of the important oil pools of the world belong to the great class of accumulations controlled by structural traps—anti-clines, faulted structures, salt domes, etc.—but by no means all of these structures are clearly or adequately expressed at the surface. As the more obvious anticlines were explored and the search for new deposits led to the testing of progressively deeper beds, it became more and more apparent that marked favorable structures involving petroliferous rocks can, and do, exist without any marked surface expression. There are great areas where the surface, covered by some masking material such as water, alluvium, glacial deposits, or sand dunes, affords no clue to structural conditions in the subsurface, and there are also regions where the surface formations are unconformable with the oil-bearing formations. The structure in which the prospector is fundamentally interested is that of the oil-bearing formation itself, together with roof and floor beds. No other geologic information is of interest or importance to him except as it affords clues to the stratigraphy and structure of the supposed oil-bearing formations.

Jan 1, 1932

By O. J. Neslage, R. W. Jenkins

MINE operators today are paying increased attention to the mechanization of drilling operations as an important factor in increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. Recent progress in the design of drill jibs for mounting on drill carriages, or jumbos, has done much to advance the mechanization of mining methods. This progress has introduced new opportunities in the application of "jib jumbos" that are worth serious consideration. An attempt will be made here to classify the various types of jumbos and drill mountings available for level development and flat stope work, t6 indicate applications, and to measure their effectiveness in relation to their cost. The data here are based on a wide variety of field usage, and are offered only to point up, in a general way, the relative efficiency in proportion to cost. It should be remembered that any contemplated jumbo installation must be studied to determine what type of installation is most suitable, considering ground conditions, loading, timbering and haulage equipment, service available, and attitude of manpower. Early Drill Carriages: The advantages of some sort of a drill carriage were recognized at the time rock drills were introduced. In drift or heading operations where a fairly standard drill round and cross section were anticipated, as well as in flat bedded deposits where standard slabbing rounds were used, track and crawler-mounted drills found an early application. These first drill jumbos were little more than drill carriers, designed locally and manufactured with materials at hand. Of comparatively simple construction, function, and low capital cost, they usually consisted of a hinged column which supported one or more drills on arms or universal bars. When the column was pivoted vertically, the drills were moved into position. Screw jack extensions reached from the column to the roof and floor to hold the drill rigid. In some cases, particularly in tunnel jumbos, enough weight was carried that rail clamps or roof jacks were sufficient. Many of these column and arm-type jumbos, usually equipped with air and water manifolds, steel racks, and staging for drillers, are still in use today. Some have employed air or hydraulic extensions for securing the columns. They offer the equip-saving advantage of having all the necessary out, ment together, and they un be moved i and t. set up and torn down as a unit. Boom-type Jumbos: When the advantages of to column-type jumbo were seen, operators could to realize the further gains possible. More time could be saved with mechanical assistance to position api drill vertically. A rack on the column and a pinion on the arm for raising and lowering the drill in the manner of a quarry bar were tried with some success. The most outstanding solution to the vertical handling problem was reached with the boom-type of jumbo. Here two or more machines were mounted on a cross arm at the end of a boom that was pivoted at the rear of the track. This was raised and lowered by various mechanical aids. Occasionally air or hydraulic power was used. Nearly all of today's wagon drills use this boom-type principle. Boom jumbos represent a savings in time and physical effort expended in raising and lowering the drills. The boom must be balanced by the roof of the truck which is secured by rail clamps or type jacks. The most successful application of areawhere this of jumbo has been in the Tri-State area where multiple long-feed machines are used on caterpillar-mounted, boom-type jumbos for slabbing

Jan 1, 1951

By R. W. Jenkins, O. J. Neslage

MINE operators today are paying increased attention to the mechanization of drilling operations as an important factor in increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. Recent progress in the design of drill jibs for mounting on drill carriages, or jumbos, has done much to advance the mechanization of mining methods. This progress has introduced new opportunities in the application of "jib jumbos" that are worth serious consideration. An attempt will be made here to classify the various types of jumbos and drill mountings available for level development and flat stope work, t6 indicate applications, and to measure their effectiveness in relation to their cost. The data here are based on a wide variety of field usage, and are offered only to point up, in a general way, the relative efficiency in proportion to cost. It should be remembered that any contemplated jumbo installation must be studied to determine what type of installation is most suitable, considering ground conditions, loading, timbering and haulage equipment, service available, and attitude of manpower. Early Drill Carriages: The advantages of some sort of a drill carriage were recognized at the time rock drills were introduced. In drift or heading operations where a fairly standard drill round and cross section were anticipated, as well as in flat bedded deposits where standard slabbing rounds were used, track and crawler-mounted drills found an early application. These first drill jumbos were little more than drill carriers, designed locally and manufactured with materials at hand. Of comparatively simple construction, function, and low capital cost, they usually consisted of a hinged column which supported one or more drills on arms or universal bars. When the column was pivoted vertically, the drills were moved into position. Screw jack extensions reached from the column to the roof and floor to hold the drill rigid. In some cases, particularly in tunnel jumbos, enough weight was carried that rail clamps or roof jacks were sufficient. Many of these column and arm-type jumbos, usually equipped with air and water manifolds, steel racks, and staging for drillers, are still in use today. Some have employed air or hydraulic extensions for securing the columns. They offer the equip-saving advantage of having all the necessary out, ment together, and they un be moved i and t. set up and torn down as a unit. Boom-type Jumbos: When the advantages of to column-type jumbo were seen, operators could to realize the further gains possible. More time could be saved with mechanical assistance to position api drill vertically. A rack on the column and a pinion on the arm for raising and lowering the drill in the manner of a quarry bar were tried with some success. The most outstanding solution to the vertical handling problem was reached with the boom-type of jumbo. Here two or more machines were mounted on a cross arm at the end of a boom that was pivoted at the rear of the track. This was raised and lowered by various mechanical aids. Occasionally air or hydraulic power was used. Nearly all of today's wagon drills use this boom-type principle. Boom jumbos represent a savings in time and physical effort expended in raising and lowering the drills. The boom must be balanced by the roof of the truck which is secured by rail clamps or type jacks. The most successful application of areawhere this of jumbo has been in the Tri-State area where multiple long-feed machines are used on caterpillar-mounted, boom-type jumbos for slabbing

Jan 1, 1951

By Ralph Monaghan, Arthur Youmans

General principles of scintillation counter-type instruments for radioactivity logging are discussed and the various possible causes for instability are examined. It is shown how instrumentation problems are solved. Means are discussed for minimizing drift and instability due to "fatigue" of the photomultiplier tube and neutron activation of the crystals. INTRODUCTION Neutron and gamma-ray logs made with logging instruments employing scintillation counters are now routinely available from most of the logging service companies. The superior characteristics of scintillation counters by comparison with older types of detectors promises to bring about important improvements in quantitative interpretation of radioactivity logs. Moreover, new types of logs can be made with scintillation counters which are not possible with other detectors. But in spite of the obvious superiority of these counters with respect to efficiency, speed, and versatility, they suffer from a number of inherent difficulties and weak- nesses. Unless these inherent diffi-culties are fully recognized and satisfactorily overcome by sound engineering of the associated instrumentation, scintillation counter logs are particularly likely to exhibit drift and instability of sensitivity. This defect in logs when they are intended for quantitative interpretation is intolerable and more than outweighs any advantages over the older type of instrumentation when the latter is operating correctly. SCINTILLATION COUNTER OPERATION In general all radioactivity logging instruments consist of a detector sensitive to gamma radiation or to neutron radiation coming from the strata. This radioactivity is either due to naturally decaying radioactive elements in the rock, radioactivity induced in the rock by a neutron source in the instrument, or scattering by the rock of neutrons or gamma rays coming from a source in the instrument. In the scintillation counter the gamma radiation or neutron radiation reacts with the scintillation phosphor to produce light pulses. These light pulses are then converted to amplified electrical pulses by the multiplier phototube. Basically the problem of making a good scintillation counter logging instrument is to make the radiation sensitivity of the system as nearly constant as possible. The size of each scintillation counter pulse is dependent on the energy of the individual quantum of radiation being detected. In normal radiation logging, gamma rays of all energies, up to some maximum value, reach the detector. If a suitable scintillator is used, such as a sodium iodide crystal, each gamma ray produces a number of photons proportional to the energy absorbed by the crystal from the impinging radiation. The light flashes are detected by means of a photo-multiplier tube which contains not only a photo-sensitive cathode from which photoelectrons are collected, but also an amplifier, called an electron multiplier, built inside the photomultiplier tube; the electron multiplier usually has about 10 stages, having an over-all gain of perhaps 500,000. In an ordinary gamma-ray log one wishes to detect all gamma rays down to the lowest possible energy; therefore, one wishes only to reject the "noise" pulses which are invariably present due to thermal emission of electrons from the photo-cathode of the photomultiplier. In other radioactivity logs it may be desired to measure the radiation within a particular energy band, or above

Jan 1, 1958