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By W. N. Poundstone, G. R. Spindler

A comprehensive report on extensive experimentation in degasification of the Pittsburgh Coal seam is presented. Detailed accounts of the procedures and results are given for permeability tests, vertical bore hole tests, measurement of gas flow from sealed drainage areas, horizontal rib hole tests, and water infusion tests. The removal of methane gas from coal seams in advance of mining is not a new idea with mining men—much attention has been given to the possibility for many years. In other parts of the world, a principal concern has been in the recovery and utilization of the gas and a number of successful projects have been developed in Europe and elsewhere. In this country, the principal motivation has been related to the safety aspect with some possible side benefits concerning costs and efficiency in mining as secondary objectives. To date, experimental work in this country has been largely or entirely exploratory to determine bed characteristics with respect to the liberation of combustible gases to investigate or establish the possibility of degasification in advance of mining and as an aid in projecting mine ventilation systems to provide for safe, effective and economical handling of combustible gases liberated during mining. With these objectives in mind, the School of Mines and Engineering Experiment Station at West Virginia University, in cooperation with the Christopher Coal Co. of Osage, W. Va., initiated some experimental work in May 1952 and the project has been more or less continuous since that time. The work has been centered entirely in mines of the cooperating company in Monongalia County, W. Va., and Greene County, Pa. LOCATION AND GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE AREA The principal mining in the area involved is in the Pittsburgh coal seam which lies at the bottom of the Monongahela series of the Pennsylvanian. The Pittsburgh coal in the area is generally uniform in its structure and physical characteristics. The bed thickness averages about 7 to 8 ft and the coal has a characteristic blocky structure as the result of pronounced face cleats and definite, but somewhat less pronounced, butt cleavage. It is a medium volatile coal, averaging about 37 pct, and is marketed principally as a steam fuel and for metallurgical purposes. The Pittsburgh coal outcrops along the Monongahela River and dips gradually, but not uniformly, slightly north of west (about N75°W). The westward extensions of the bed, from the areas contiguous to the Monongahela River which have been heavily mined, constitute the principal reserves and are all well below drainage with the depth of cover increasing with the distance from the river. In general, with deeper cover, it may be expected that methane liberation will be more of a problem in future mining as compared to areas mined previously; therein lies the interest in possible de-gasification in advance of mining. Fig. 1 shows the Pittsburgh coal area in the vicinity of Morgantown in Monongalia County, W. Va., and Greene County, Pa., in which the experimental work discussed is located. Fig. 2 shows the contours on the Pittsburgh coal in the test area. It will be noted that the first two bore holes for the experiments were at the edge of a bench or terrace with considerable change in the gradient in the immediate vicinity of the test holes and that the same general condition applies to later test areas. Mining is intensively mechanized in the area and in the mines involved in the experimental work with corresponding rapid advance of working faces a typical characteristic. In the areas now mined the total methane liberation ranges from moderate to relatively heavy, but the actual face liberation is extremely variable and may range from practically

Jan 1, 1961

THE first session was held in the rooms of the American Philosophical Society, on Tuesday evening, February 26th. The President, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, called the meeting to order, and after a few introductory remarks concerning the importance of theoretical and speculative science, which often involves principles of the highest economic value, and, more than all that, serves to enlarge our conceptions of the universe, and ennoble us, by the cultivation which it affords to our most exalted faculties, proceeded to discuss some points in the chemistry of the atmosphere. It is known that there is in the crust of the earth a great amount of oxidized carbon, not only in the shape of coal, but also in the graphite or plumbago of the crystalline rocks, in the various bituminous shales or pyroschists, which are found in all succeeding rock-formations, and also in the forms of bitumen and petroleum. All the analogies of nature lead us to conclude that these various carbonaceous substances have had an organic origin, and have been generated by the deoxidation of carbonic acid, a process effected by the growing plant, and attended with the liberation of oxygen. He showed that the carbon of a layer of coal covering the whole earth's surface to the thickness of one meter, would, in its production from carbonic dioxide, liberate an amount of oxygen equal to that now present in our atmosphere. But bituminous coal contains also a large amount of hydrogen, derived from the deoxidation of water, which implies the liberation of a farther portion of oxygen. The amount from this latter source would equal, for the various coals and asphalts, from one-eighth to one-fourth, and, for the petroleums, one-half of that set free in the deoxidation of the carbon which these hydrocarbonaceous bodies contain. From what we know of the composition of the stratified rocks, it is probable that they include an amount of deoxidized carbon and hydrogen many times greater than that contained in a layer of coal one meter in thickness, and, consequently, that the disengaged oxygen in past ages must have far exceeded that now present in our atmosphere. To this must be added

Jan 1, 1878

The first session was held in the rooms of the American Philosophical Society, on Tuesday evening, February 26th. The President, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, called the meeting to order, and after a few introductory remarks concerning the importance of theoretical and speculative science, which often involves principles of the highest economic value, and, more than all that, serves to enlarge our conceptions of the universe, and ennoble us, by the cultivation which it affords to our most exalted faculties, proceeded to discuss some points in the chemistry of the atmosphere. It is known that there is in the crust of the earth a great amount of oxidized carbon, not only in the shape of coal, but also in the graphite or plunlbago of the crystalline rocks, in the various bituminous shales or pyroschists, which are found in all succeeding rock-formations, and also in the forms of bitumen and petroleum. All the analogies of nature lead us to conclude that these various carbonaceous substances have had an organic origin, and have been generated by the deoxidation of carbonic acid, a process effected by the growing plant, and attended with the liberation of oxygen. He showed that the carbon of a layer of coal covering the whole earth's surface to the thickness of one meter, would, in its production from carbonic dioxide, liberate an amount of oxygen equal to that now present in our atmosphere. But bituminous coal contains also a large amount of hydrogen, derived from the deoxidation of water, which implies the liberation of a farther portion of oxygen. The amount from this latter source would equal, for the various coals and asphalts, from one-eighth to one-fourth, and, for the petroleums, onehalf of that set free in the deoxidation of the carbon which these hydrocarbonaceous bodies contain. From what we know of the composition of the stratified rocks, it is probable that they include an amount of deoxidized carbon and hydrogen many times greater than that contained in a layer of coal one meter in thickness, and, consequently, that the disengaged oxygen in past ages must have far exceeded that now present in our atmosphere. To this must be added

Jan 1, 1879

Page Laboratory Methods...........................127 Special Analytical Methods.......................127 Improvements in the Accuracy of the Vacuum-fusion Method for the Determination of Oxygen in Steel....................127 Quantitative Spectrochemical Analysis of Mixtures of Gases.......131 Oxygen Samples from Open-hearth Bath...............133 Rapid Analysis of Sample for Alumina.................139 Accurate Carbon Analyses in Low-carbon Steel.............139 Laboratory Technique for Study of Reactions Involving Liquid Metal. . . . 142 Rotating Liquid Crucibles......................143 Stationary Crucibles.........................145 Jones and Laughlin Experimental Furnace...............148 Vacuum Melting..........................149 Measurement of Temperature of Liquid Iron and Steel;..........149 Pouring and Teeming Temperatures..................149 Bath Temperatures.........................151 Plant Methods.............................154 Methods of Studying Slags.......................154 Sampling Slag in the Open Hearth..................155 Viscosity of Open-hearth Slags....................155 Petrographic Examination of Slag...................156 Statistical Methods Applied to Study and Control of Chemical Relations in Bath...............................166 Rapid Method of -Correlation Applicable to Study of Steelmaking Reactions............................166 INTRODUCTION On Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 1939, a round table discussion was held on the subject of Experimental Methods in the Study of Steelmaking. Dr. John Chipman, Professor of Metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and chairman of the A.I.M.E. Committee on Physical Chemistry of Steelmaking, presided. In opening the meeting, the chairman said: "The purpose of this round table is to discuss methods of study by which more and better information on the fundamentals of steelmaking can be obtained. It was thought that a round table discussion rather than a symposium would furnish the best opportunity for those actually using various methods of study to get together and discuss their common problems. For this reason attention will be focused upon methods of study rather than upon their results. We want new and current and up-to-date discussion.

Jan 1, 1940

Page Laboratory Methods...........................127 Special Analytical Methods.......................127 Improvements in the Accuracy of the Vacuum-fusion Method for the Determination of Oxygen in Steel....................127 Quantitative Spectrochemical Analysis of Mixtures of Gases.......131 Oxygen Samples from Open-hearth Bath...............133 Rapid Analysis of Sample for Alumina.................139 Accurate Carbon Analyses in Low-carbon Steel.............139 Laboratory Technique for Study of Reactions Involving Liquid Metal. . . . 142 Rotating Liquid Crucibles......................143 Stationary Crucibles.........................145 Jones and Laughlin Experimental Furnace...............148 Vacuum Melting..........................149 Measurement of Temperature of Liquid Iron and Steel;..........149 Pouring and Teeming Temperatures..................149 Bath Temperatures.........................151 Plant Methods.............................154 Methods of Studying Slags.......................154 Sampling Slag in the Open Hearth..................155 Viscosity of Open-hearth Slags....................155 Petrographic Examination of Slag...................156 Statistical Methods Applied to Study and Control of Chemical Relations in Bath...............................166 Rapid Method of -Correlation Applicable to Study of Steelmaking Reactions............................166 INTRODUCTION On Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 1939, a round table discussion was held on the subject of Experimental Methods in the Study of Steelmaking. Dr. John Chipman, Professor of Metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and chairman of the A.I.M.E. Committee on Physical Chemistry of Steelmaking, presided. In opening the meeting, the chairman said: "The purpose of this round table is to discuss methods of study by which more and better information on the fundamentals of steelmaking can be obtained. It was thought that a round table discussion rather than a symposium would furnish the best opportunity for those actually using various methods of study to get together and discuss their common problems. For this reason attention will be focused upon methods of study rather than upon their results. We want new and current and up-to-date discussion.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. M. Gsudin, F. W. Bloecher, C. S. Chan-s, P. L. De Bruyn

M ANY elements can now be obtained in radioactive form. The radioisotopes have the same chemical properties as the corresponding inactive forms, differing from them only by their nuclear instability. This combination of properties permits radioelements to act as atomic tracers, the tracer atoms revealing themselves at the time of their decay with emission of electrons and positrons (beta radiation), helium nuclei (alpha radiation), or electromagnetic radiation (gamma radiation). The tracer technique is particularly attractive for the study of surface chemistry problems in general and flotation problems in particular because of its extreme sensitivity. A large proportion of the ionizing events, initiated by the characteristic decay emissions in a radioactive sample, can be recorded by radiation probes of suitable design and geometry. An idea of this sensitivity can be gathered from the following example: assume that 0.001 mg of pure RaD (radiolead), a beta-ray emitter, is used in a flota¬tion tracer experiment. This is 1210 X 10-1 mole; since the fraction trans¬formed per second (the so-called decay constant), is 9.92 X 10-10, the number of ionizing events per second would be (6.023 X 1023 X y,,, X 10-1) X 9.92 X 10-10 = 2.845 X 106. (The decay constant is expressed in sec-'. Its product with the half life, expressed in seconds, is the pure number, natural logarithm of 2 = 0.693. The half life is the length of time required for decay of one half of the total number of radioactive atoms of one particular type.) (See reference (1) at the end of this article.)

Jan 1, 1948

By W. Spencer Hutchinson

The experiments described in this paper were undertaken primarily for the purpose of measuring the quality of work done in screening and sorting in American concentrating-mills for Prof. Richards' work on Ore-Dressiag. For this purpose a series of samples of screened and sorted products was obtained from four different mills, and a plan was devised for sizing these products, and for tabular and graphic representation of the results. The results, together with discussions as to their significance, so far as they serve to interpret the quality of mill-work, have already been published in the above-mentioned work, and it is not the purpose of this paper to duplicate the work, except so far as is necessary to explain and illustrate methods and appliances. The sizing of coarse products was clone by sifting on screens of sheet-metal with round punched holes. These holes ranged in size from 64 mm. to 0.5 mm. in diameter. Below the smaller limit, punched metal, suitable for this work, was not obtainable, and the sizing was carried on by sifting on woven wire-sieves. The finest woven wire-cloth obtainable gave a hole 0.073 mm. square, and the finest silk bolting-cloth pave a pentagonal hole with an average diameter of 0.069 mm. Even these very fine screens served no useful purpose in sifting certain of the very fine classifier-products, of which all, or nearly all, passed through the finest screen. A new adaptation of a method of settling and decantation with water in beakers was therefore worked out, and by this means the sizing mas carried down to grains of a diameter as small as 0.012 mm. Description of Apparatus and Manipu1ntion.—Sieves of sheet-metal with round punched holes were used as far as practicable, chiefly because, as already explained, the primary object of the experiments was to test mill-work, and the mills had all used

Jan 1, 1905

By R. M. S. B. Horta, W. T. Roberts, D. V. Wilson

Evaluation of results obtained by the Harris method for inverse pole figures is discussed. Two existing analyses and a new approach are compared. In the most frequently used analysis, different reflections are accorded equal weight. A second method involves area-weighting of reflections, mainly to take account of nonuniformity of Pole distribution. In the new method, reflections are weighted according to their multiplicity factors. Intensity ratios obtained from a sample of steel sheet by the three methods are compared. INVERSE pole figures offer a convenient method of depicting the proportions of material with various orientations referred to a unique specimen axis. The technique was first applied to fiber textures, but it is now frequently used as a description of texture in sheet metal, the unique axis in this case usually being the sheet normal. The Harris method' for the determination of inverse pole figures has the great merit of simplicity. It suffers certain intrinsic limitations, but provided that these are borne in mind, the results allow useful conclusions to be drawn regarding the effects of texture components on certain mechanical properties. Much thought has been given to alternative methods of texture description, aimed at eliminating the ambiguity in the simpler methods.2"6 Refinements in the method of description are obtained at the price of increasing complexity, and it seems clear that a simple method, such as that of Harris, will continue to find application. The original derivation by Harris1 has been corrected by Morris7 and later by Mueller, Chernock, and Beck.2 Since the latter reference is more accessible, it is referred to more frequently than the work of Morris. Most users of the inverse pole figure method present their results on the basis of the treatment by Mueller et al., and it is the purpose of the present communication to comment on this treatment and to suggest a simple modification to the method of presentation which enhances the meaningfulness of the results. It will be convenient first to summarize the Mueller analysis as follows: The intensity Ihkl of a hkl reflection from a textured specimen is: Ihkl=CI0AL\Fhkl\2NhklPhkl [1] where C is a constant for a given sample I, is the intensity of the incident beam A is an absorption factor. With usual diffrac-tometer geometry and a flat specimen, A is inversely proportional to the density of the specimen. L is the Lorenz polarization factor Fhkl is the structure factor for the hkl reflection Nhkl is the multiplicity factor phkl is the fraction of crystals in the polycrystal-line aggregate with any particular (nkl) plane parallel to the surface. The corresponding equation for a specimen with randomly oriented grains is lR,hkl=CRl°ARL\fnkl\2Nnklk [2] the subscripts R indicating the factors that are different for the random sample, which will, in general, have a density different from that of the textured one. The intensity ratio is hkl , c A Phkl [3] IR,hkl CR AR PR The constants are eliminated by summing over all the measured reflections ^iRMi °R AR PR ljPkkl and from Eqs. [3] and [4] T IR,hkl The only unknown in Eq. [5] is Yj phkl and before this can be evaluated, it is necessary to adopt some form of normalizing procedure. Mueller et al. assume that when a large number, n, of reflections is used, the average value of p as defined by Eq. [6] below will be unity ? = £j**l3l [6] and the final result of their analysis follows: hkl Pkkl = i I&Jf~ [7] ±y* Ihkl ^ in,hki The normalizing procedure used by Mueller et al. involves an unrealistic assumption since it gives equal weight to each of the hkl reflections. Other normalizing procedures can now be examined with a view to selecting a more appropriate one. For an infinite number of reflections, the function p can be averaged over a continuous range of orientations covering the complete solid angle 4p by the integral relation: p =1 jp(a)dQ = l [8] This is the only exact procedure, but in practice a

Jan 1, 1970

Sykes, W. P.-Effect of Temperature, Deformation, Grain Size, and Rate of Loading on Mechanical Properties of Metals. Discussed by Zay Jeffries, W. H. Bassett, F. E. Carter 3 Evans, Geo. Watkin.-Alaskan Coal Fields. Discussed by P. N. Moore, H. H. Stoek, G. S. Rice, H. Emerson 4 Eavenson, Howard N.-Run-off and Mine Drainage. Discussed by J. R. Campbell, Andrew B. Crichton, J. B. Warriner, R. V. Norris, H. G. Moulton, H. B. Wright 7 Andrews, Allen, and Garcia, John A.-Skip Hoisting for Coal Mines. Discussed by R. V. Norris, Geo. S. Rice, H. N. Eavenson, E. A. Holbrook, Robert Obert, Andrews Allen, T. M. Chance 12 Rice, Geo. S.-Coal-pillar Drawing Methods in Europe. Discussed by Carl Scholz, D. Harrington; H. 1. Smith 16 Knapp, Arthur.-Modified Oil .well Depletion Curves. Discussed by Roswell H. Johnson 21 Alvey, Glenn H., and Alden W. Foster.-Barrel-day Values. Discussed by Roswell H. Johnson 22 Matteson, W. G.-Secondary Intrusive Origin of Gulf Coastal Plain Salt Domes. Discussed by Eugene Coste, E. W. Shaw, Joseph E. Pogue, F. G. Clapp, E. DeGoIyer, W. G. Matteson, H. W. Hixon, R. Van A. Mills 23 Reger, David B,-Carbon Ratio of Coals in West Virginia Oil Fields. Discussed by J. T. Singewald, Jr 33

Jan 5, 1921

By James B. Cathcart

The potash mine of the International Minerals and Chemical Corp. is about 18 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico, in sec 1 and 12, T 22 S, R 29 E, N.M.P.M. Potash is produced from two zones in the Salado formation of late Permian age. The lower zone, consisting of a mixture of sylvite (KCI) and halite (NaCl), lies at a depth of about 900 ft, and the upper zone, in which the principal potassium mineral is langbeinite (K2SO4 2MgSO4), lies at a depth of about 800 ft. Because of the plastic nature of the material, fractures in the Salado formation are extremely rare and have been noted only on the 800 ft level of the International mine. The open fracture described below is almost unique. Only one other open fracture has been noted, and it was on a working face in the same general area as the one described, but was destroyed before the writer had a chance to examine it. According to J. E. Tong, foreman on the 800 level, this fracture was similar to, but smaller than, the one herein described. The saline strata are nearly flat-lying and comprise interbedded layers of halite, anhydrite (CaSO4), and poly-halite (2CaSO4.MgS04.K2SO4-2H2O), with halite predominating. The halite layers contain local concentrations of sylvite, carnallite (KC1.MgCl2.6H2O), and langbeinite. The principal marker in the potash mines area is a bed of anhydrite about 8 ft thick, and 70 ft below the 800 level. This bed contains varying amounts of polyhalite, and locally a few blebs of sylvite. Two principal marker beds are present over most of the 800 level. The lower is the "Middle Salt Marker," a bed of bright-orange halite, which ranges in thickness from a knife-edge to about 0.6 ft, and is usually bounded above and below by thin seams of green or reddish-brown clay. In langbeinite-rich areas, this marker usually contains abundant blebs of langbeinite. The upper of the two principal markers is a green clay seam, containing abundant halite, which ranges in thickness from 0.1 to about 0.5 ft. It is 2 to slightly more than 5 ft above the Middle Salt Marker. No langbeinite of minable grade is found above this clay, and it

Jan 1, 1950

By G. H. LeFevre

THE Metal Sales Department, with offices in New York, is responsible for the sale of the Company's products, with the exception of gold and coal. At present the department handles the sales of lead, zinc, silver, antimonial lead, , cadmium, bismuth, arsenic trioxide, and tellurium; gold is shipped direct to the United States Mint and coal is marketed by United States Fuel Company's own sales organization. The department keeps in close touch with the metal markets and collects information on marketing conditions, which it makes available to other departments of the Company. The electrolytic lead produced at the U. S. S. Lead Refinery, Inc., is a high-uality product marketed as corroding grade under the "U. S. S.-ELECTRO" brand. It is largely sold to manufacturers of paints, pigments, lead oxides, and storage batteries.

Jan 1, 1948

By John T. Crawford

Introduction Loading and hauling systems are evaluated in open pit mining for new properties, expanding existing operations, changing systems or equipment, and equipment replacement analysis. The objective of such evaluations is to determine the equipment needed to handle planned tonnages at the lowest cash flow cost. Cash flow costs are used to combine capital outlays with operating and maintenance costs. Leasing costs could be substituted for capital costs with appropriate modifications to calculation procedures. These modifications will not be covered. This chapter will describe methods of evaluating loading and hauling systems, concentrating on some of the more often raised questions concerning quantitative data. While the methods described are not the only ones in current use, they have a record of proven reliability. The shovel and haulage truck system is used In the examples because of its common use in open pit mines. In medium to large open pit mines, electric shovels and diesel-electric drive haulage trucks are normally used. The basic ideas presented in this chapter apply to all loading and hauling systems, with appropriate modifications. The process of performing a shovel and haulage truck evaluation can be time-consuming and tedious because of the quantity of data involved, but it is not particularly difficult. The examples used to Illustrate shovel and haulage truck evaluation are based on a hypothetical open pit mine operating 350 days per year producing 31 750- 000 t (35,000,000 st, 100,000 stpd) annually, of which 11 110 000 t ( 12,250,000 st, 35,000 stpd) are ore. Selection of the optimum shovel and haulage truck fleets will be shown. The principal sources of data for the examples or any other equipment evaluation are equipment manufacturers and actual operations. Whenever possible, actual operating experience should be used to verify estimates. The quantitative data presented herein are unrelated to a specific existing mining operation.

Jan 1, 1979

By W. A. Hutchins

Water laws important to the mining industry are those which govern or affect the right to use water, to dispose of water after using it in mining or milling, and to discharge waste material into watercourses. They include statutes and court decisions having general applicability, as well as others that pertain specifically to mining. THE INDUSTRY'S CONTRIBUTION TO WESTERN WATER LAW Despite sharp differences of opinion, the water law the Spaniards brought to the Southwest appears to have included some form of appropriation of water. The Mormons, who settled in Utah in the mid-nineteenth century, also developed a system of appro-priative water titles. But by far the most profound impact on western water law was made by the gold-seekers who flocked to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California after the discovery of gold in 1848. Much of the gold was extracted from the ground by hydraulic or placer mining, and so the miners' rights to the use of water became fundamentally important. Since there was no organized government in the foothills and no laws other than those made by the miners, they helped themselves to the land, the gold, and the water needed to work their claims.1 They established and enforced regulations governing the acquirement and holding of mining claims and their rights to the water they needed.' In 1879 Justice Field, former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, spoke for the U. S. Supreme Court in saying that the miners were "emphatically the law-makers, as respects mining, upon the public lands in the State."" Rules of the California mining camps were based on two essential principles: 1) priority in discovering claims and appropriating water by diverting it from streams and putting it to use, and 2) diligence in working claims and applying water in mining. The customs so developed, which were copied in mining areas of other states and territories, were enacted into law in one western jurisdiction after another. They form the basis of what is called the arid-region doctrine of prior appropriation of water, which received the attention of Congress in legislation recognizing and protecting appropriations of water for mining, agriculture, and other purposes on the public domain.' In several western states a great number of water cases decided in the early years involved relative rights to the use of water for mining purposes or for milling connected with mining." The miner's inch, the customary unit for measuring water in the mining camps, is still used in various western communities, although its relation to the cubic foot per second varies from one area to another. Undoubtedly, the miners of a century ago made the major contribution to the appropriation doctrine as it is now recognized and applied throughout the West. What inspired the California gold-seekers to develop these principles? Thoughtful writers have pointed out that their regulations and customs were strikingly characteristic of much earlier mining enterprises in the Old World.D It is said that the right of free mining and free use of flowing water therefor —so similar to the California conditions and practices—-was a part of the customs of Germanic miners in the Middle Ages, that it spread from middle Europe to other countries and colonies, and that the doctrine of prior appropriation was widespread in the important mining regions of the world. Certainly the Forty-niners came to California from many countries. It does not tax the imagination to consider that they may have brought with them some knowledge of the old Germanic customs and applied this knowledge in their new environment. RIGHTS TO USE OF WATER IN GENERAL In the West, rights to the use of water of watercourses fall into two categories—appropriative and riparian. The doctrine of prior appropriation is recognized in each of the 17 western states. The riparian doctrine is recognized concurrently with the appropriation doctrine in some of these states but has been abrogated in the others. The riparian doctrine prevails generally throughout the East, although there is now considerable interest in developing something else. Generally speaking, the appropriation doctrine has been highly developed in the West, whereas the principles of riparian doctrine have been comprehensively established in only a few states throughout the country. The subject of water rights is a big one. Space permits no more than a brief discussion of aspects that bear upon the title of this article. RIGHTS OF PRIOR APPROPRIATION Fundamental to the doctrine of prior appropriation is the principle first in time, first in right. Although in some states there are statutory exceptions. the original and still generally prevailing rule is that the first one who initiates a right to divert and use water of a stream, and who completes his undertaking with reasonable diligence, acquires thereby the first right of appropriation of the specific quantity of water involved. Each succeeding right in point of time is junior to all earlier rights but senior to all later ones. The practical effect of this priority system is that when the water supply is not enough for all, the earliest rights must be fully satisfied before any water may be taken by those later in time. Acquirement of Appropriative Rights: Each of the 17 western states has a statute under which water may be appropriated pursuant to a prescribed procedure. Generally, the first step to be taken by the intending appropriator is to file application in the office of the State Engineer for a permit to make the appropriation. In most but not a11 states, valid ap-

Jan 1, 1961

By Edward Keller

About a dozen years ago the art of bessemerizing copper- * matte, brought to these shores from France, was first established at the smelter, in Butte, Montana, of the Parrot Silver and Copper Company, which had bought the process from Mr. Manhks, the inventor. Through the efforts of Mr. J. E. Gaylord, general manager, and Mr. A. J. Schumacher, snperintendent,, assisted by an able staff, the new method rapidly underwent, at the Parrot establishment, an evolution towards higher perfedion, and within a few years its success and its advantages were so marked that all the great works in the west followed in the footsteps of this pioneer. The converter-process has now practically superseded the reverberatory-process in this country. The latter will undoubtedly, in a not very distant future, be relegated to metallurgical history. The writer has availed himself of what was perhaps the last chance to make comparisons of the two methods, working practically on the same material on an extensive scale, the reverberatory process being that of the Baltimore Copper Smelting and Rolling Company,* while the converter-process is that of the Anaconda Copper Company—both using the matte from the latter company's works in Anaconda, Montana. For the greater portion of the material considered in this paper, the writer is indebted to the two companies. In order to understand the difference of behavior of the several elements, and the difference of the copper produced in the two processes, it is best to study and follow those elements

Jan 1, 1899

By B. C. Craft

The principal events in the oil and gas operations for Louisiana during 1933 have been the rapid development of the Converse field in Sabine Parish, the discovery of three new salt domes, one in North Louisiana and two in South Louisiana, increased development in the Iowa field on the Calcasieu-Jefferson Davis Parish line, and extensive geophysical operations over a wide territory. Other miscellaneous events worthy of mention are the continued leasing of prospective oil lands over a wide area, extension of production at the East Hackberry field, Cameron Parish, discovery of deep sands at Caillou Island, Terrebonne Parish, and the completion of several important wildcats. Despite proration, oil production showed a substantial increase during 1933. The total output for this area was 25,599,802 bbl. as compared with 22,507,387 bbl. during 1932. North Louisiana There were 111 oil wells and 47 gas wells completed in North Louisiana during 1933 as compared with 109 oil wells and 33 gas wells during 1932. North Louisiana oil production decreased approximately 692,625 bbl. in 1933 from its 1932 figure. The normal decline in the old fields was partly offset by increased production at the Zwolle and Converse fields in Sabine Parish. Acid treatment of wells in the Zwolle, Converse and Monroe fields was highly successful. The method of application has been described by H. K. Shearer, Geologist, Pelican Natural Gas Co., as fo1lows:l With tubing in the hole and standing valve removed, the casing is filled with oil to the surface. The limestone solvent is pumped in through the tubing, at the same time bleeding off enough oil from the casinghead to equal the volume contained in the tubing plus the volume of open hole to be treated. The amount of solvent used in most of the wells treated was 1000 gal., which is enough to dissolve about 11 cu. ft. of chalk or limestone. After the computed amount of oil is bled off, the casinghead is closed and the remainder of the solvent is pumped in at whatever pressure is necessary to force it into the oil-producing horizon. The solvent is followed up with enough oil to

Jan 1, 1934

By J. E. Breen, J. Weertman

The creep rate of polycrystalline tin was studied as a function of temperature and stress in constant stress experiments. The temperature was varied from room temperature to almost the melting point of tin. Activation energies were calculated from tests run at the same stress. It was found that on a log creep rate vs inverse temperature plot the experimental points did not fall on one straight line but on a line which changed its slope in the 90° to 160°C region. Two activation energies for the creep of tin can be calculated from the data: a value around 26,000 cal per mol at high temperatures and a value around 11,000 cal per mot at low temperatures. It is suggested that the discrepancies between the creep activation energies and those of self-diffusion can be accounted for if self-diffusion takes place predominately by Zener's ring mechanism rather than through vacancy or interstitial movement. SHERBY, Orr, and Dorn' and Dorn' have recently reviewed some of the data on high temperature creep of metals. -The data show that the activation energy of high temperature creep is approximately equal to the activation energy of self-diffusion. This same correlation has also been successfully made between the activation energy of grain boundary relaxation and that of self-diffusion.3,4 The metal tin does not fit into this simple picture. Its activation energies of self-diffusion differ appreciably from that of grain boundary relaxation and of creep. Fensham,5 from a precisely performed experiment, has determined that the activation energies of self-diffusion of tin are 10,500 and 5,900 cal per mol along the C and A axes, respectively. There are two energies because of the anisotropic nature of tin. Rotherham, Smith, and Greenough6 have shown that the grain boundary relaxation activation energy is 19,000 cal per mol (measurements made from room temperature to 100°C). Puttick and King7 found the same activation energy for grain boundary slip in bicrystals of tin (180° to 225°C region). Until recently, there was no high temperature large strain creep data on tin suitable for activation energy calculations. At rather small strains (up to 0.01), Tyte8 had made a series of measurements on tin from which activation energies can be calculated. In Fig. 1 are plotted some of his data on a log creep rate vs inverse temperature graph. It can be seen that Tyte's work indicates that at a relatively low temperature the activation energy is around 7,400 cal per mol but at higher temperatures the activation energy increases. Since Tyte measured the creep only for small strains, it is doubtful if a

Jan 1, 1956

The Role of the Drilling Contractor BY FERRIS E. SAINSBURY Ron Haxby, Occidental Minerals What is the best method for drilling a 12-in. diam hole to a depth of 1200 ft and maintaining the deflection within 25ft from vertical? Ferris Sainsbury: In order to drill a 12-111. hole down to 1200 ft, In most places you would have to employ a rotary tricone bit With a down-the-hole hammer, I expect by that depth significant Inflows of water would be experienced Even with foams, we would not be able to get the water out of a hole of that diameter So the down-the-hole tricone method of drilling would be best. To keep it straight, we would probably employ the largest square drill stem compatible with the diameter of the hole. Ron Haxby: Is it common in drilling contracts to put in a vertical hole clause? Ferris Sainsbury: You can put in the vertical hole clause Ron Haxby: Does it cost more? Ferris Sainsbury: Normally, if the hole deviates, the driller can correct it with deflection wedges and will charge it back to you at cost, plus 10% or somewhere along that range Any drill hole has a tendency to go perpendicular to the dip, and there are times when stabilization systems are not successful in preventing the hole from turning into the dip of the formation. The only solution, in this situation, is to go in with an oriented wedge and kick the hole back out.

Jan 1, 1979

By F. W. Glaser

Iron-silicon alloys have had a great influence, in many ways, in modern industry. Silicon steels have been used almost exclusively for the construction of electrical machinery, but have also become an important material for structures which benefit by the high tensile and yield strengths of this material. In elaborating on the early history of work done on iron-silicon alloys, Greiner, Marsh and Stoughton1 went back as far as 1808, and pointed to Berzelius as the first producer of ferrosilicon. During the last twenty years some very important contributions in the form of studies of the iron-silicon system, as well as of the physical properties of these alloys, have been published. In consideration of the brit-tleness and poor machinability of alloys containing more than 5-6 pct Si, commercial interests have stimulated the research done on iron-silicon alloys, but mainly in the range of 0 to 6 pct Si. Yensen2 has shown the influence of im- purities, such as carbon, sulphur and phosphorus on the magnetic properties of 2, 4, and 6 pct Si alloys. Corson3 extended his investigation of physical properties to approximately 32 pct Si, and attributed the brittleness of the high-silicon material to the particular constitutional features of the alloys. Though mentioned earlier in the literature, the effect of nitrogen on crystal growth and magnetic permeability of iron-silicon alloys has been demonstrated recently by Morrill4 and Rostoker,5 respectively. In all the above quoted investigations, except that of Rostoker,5 sand or chill casting processes were employed for the preparation of samples. A major advantage of the powder metallurgy process is that it does away with time-consuming machining in many applications. The powder metal industry is always interested in pro- ducing a finished product employing a material which has presented considerably greater difficulties in manufacture by other methods. Steinit26 described preparation and testing of various Fe-Si alloys which were produced by the powder metallurgy process for the manufacture of armatures for small electric motors or generators. While Steinitz investigated alloys up to 6 pct Si, Rostoker5 went as high as 9 pct Si. The author7 previously discussed the diffusion of iron-silicon compacts containing 6 and 10 pct silicon. It is the object of this paper to study the progress of diffusion occurring in iron-silicon alloys by electrical resistivity measurements. All samples were prepared by pressing and sintering of compacts. Iron, silicon, and Fe-Si powders of various mesh size and compositions were employed to obtain test samples. It was assumed that complete diffusion had been obtained when the electrical resistivity reached a constant value characteristic for that particular alloy. To this end, electrical resistance measurements were used to follow the progress of alloying under various conditions.

Jan 1, 1950

Lieut. Maxwell E. Erdory, now with the Army of Occupation in France, writes as follows: "The 602d Engrs., many of whose officers are members of the Institute, started its active service in France at Avocourt, where we built a road across `No Man's Land.' This road from Avocourt to Montfaucon started us on a career of road building which lasted from Sept. 26 to Nov. 9. The engineer in war has no working hours. Our first job meant 50 hr. continuous work, a layoff of 4 hr. and 18 hr. more. That was our initiation in this war game. "Back in the States we practised building trenches, dugouts, and underground shelters of all sorts. In France we were unfortunate enough to come upon the scene when the so-called open warfare started. That made all the above unnecessary. Roads was the cry and our job was to see that all the artillery got their roads and got over them. "I might mention here that the roads of France, which were in excellent condition except for numerous shell holes, w re one of the leading factors in the rapid termination of the war. "We built a narrow-gage railroad from Romagne to Landre St. George which cost us a few men. At Stenay we did our first bridge building. We built nine bridges across the Meuse, capable of carrying tanks, in 18 hr. The next day the American army crossed these bridges on their way to Virton, Belgium, and the Rhine. " Our course from Virton, Belgium, took us through Longwy, Musson, and Athus, in which towns I inspected the steel plants. In Musson as well as Longwy the Germans had destroyed most of the blast furnaces. This destruction began in August, 1917. In Athus the furnaces were in good condition, the Germans having removed all motors land electrical apparatus, rendering the plant inoperative. I have taken several photos of interest of these plants. "It is but fitting that I say that the engineer in this war has contributed much toward its success but the "Doughboy" is its hero and we engineers one and all say "All hail the Doughboy."

Jan 2, 1919

By W. B. Coleman

Considerable discussion on the effect of iron and steel scrap in blastfurnace burdens was presented in the January, 1927, issue of Mining and Metallurgy. Therein the question is asked as to what causes the difference in physical properties of pig irons where the chemical analyses are practically the same. This point no doubt has been noticed by a number of furnace operators, but several years ago very little thought was given to it. The foundries purchased pig iron, had it analyzed and found it to be within their specification. The castings made from this iron at times would be satisfactory and at other times hardness and shrinkage would occur. Since the iron was chemically correct the foundries generally were at a loss as to what to do. They changed their method of melting in the cupola and in some cases this corrected the trouble. In some instances the foundry would continue eliminating a brand of iron until the castings produced were satisfactory. Through this process of elimination they would finally arrive at the conclusion that a certain brand of iron was causing the trouble. During the course of this elimination minor changes might have been made in the melting and in the end satisfactory castings were secured without discovering any definite reason for the trouble. Frequently the foundries blamed the manufacturer of the pig iron although the seat of the trouble was in their own method of melting. I have in mind one foundry in particular that was using three brands of pig iron for producing their castings and their losses were rather high. Three entirely new brands of iron were substituted in the charge and still the losses continued. Even after using six brands of pig iron the management felt that the pig iron was the cause. The difficulties encountered in the melting of iron in the cupola, over the past several years, reflect in a great many cases on the operation of the cupola. At different times certain brands of iron were unsuitable for producing a certain class of castings, but at the same time one could see no reason why the iron should be considered abnormal. Irons from furnaces where production and low cost are the main factors that are being used in foundries produce in most cases harder cast-

Jan 1, 1927