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By Richard V. Ageton

Salt bodies in the form of rolls, horses (sometimes called horsebacks), folds, wants and pinches1 have been encountered while driving entries and mining out rooms during the development of the potash mines in New Mexico. Superficially these sporadic salt occurrences appear to be much alike, but closer examination reveals individual characteristics, and after four years of observation it seems possible to divide them into three general groups that may tentatively be called "depositional," "erosional," and "structural." The data collected are not yet sufficient to permit forecasts of their probable location, so that the annoyance of having to mine salt instead of potash could be avoided or lessened. However, the information so far available appears to throw some light on the occurrence of the sylvite2 bed now being mined, and it is as a progress report that the writer presents the results of his observations. The mines of the United States Potash Co. and the Potash Company of America are about 20 miles northeast of Carlsbad, in Eddy County, N. M. They are on the southwestern flank of the Permian salt basin, which underlies western Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, south-central Nebraska, southeastern Colorado and eastern New Mexico. The cuttings from many oil wells and the cores from the potash tests drilled in this basin indicate that this salt series approached its greatest thickness (about 4000 ft.) in the southeastern part of New Mexico and the adjoining portions of Texas, and that the most advanced stages of

Jan 1, 1938

By T. Sterry Hunt

The deposit of rock-salt which is known to exist along the eastern shore of Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario, has lately been more completely explored than before, by a boring with a diamond drill, put down by Henry Attrill, Esq., of New York City, and the results obtained are so important in every way that I make no apology for presenting them to the Institute of Mining Engineers. I may be permitted to preface an account of this remarkable exploration, and of its results, with a historical sketch of the discovery and development of this salt-region. It was in December, 1865, that a boring was begun near the town of Goderich, in the hope of finding petroleum. In this the adventurers were disappointed, but, after passing through about 800 feet of limestone, they encountered a series of variegated marls, in which, at a, depth of 964 feet from the surface, a bed of rock-salt, 30 feet in thickness, was met with in May, 1866. The boring was carried to a depth of 1010 feet, ending in hard rock, and yielded, by pumping, a very pure saturated brine when examined by me in August of the same year. In the report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1863-66, published early in 1867, I described this salt-well, with many geological details, and gave an analysis of the brine. In the next three years a considerable number of wells was sunk in and around Goderich, and numerous trials were made in various other parts of the region. Salt was found at Kincardine, thirty miles north-northeast from Goderich, at a depth of about 900 feet, and also at Clinton, thirteen miles southeast, at 1180 feet. Records of these wells, with analyses of the brine from them, were given by myself in a subsequent report of the Geological Survey, 1866-69, published in 1870 (pp. 211-244), together with accounts of various unsuccessful borings in the neighborhood, analyses of the brines from the various wells (including one analysis by Dr. Goessmann), with many details of the salt-manufacture at Goderich, at Syracuse, New York, and at Saginaw, Michigan. The geological character of the region was there discussed at length, and it was shown that the salt here occurs in the Onondaga or Salina formation, which

By John Finch

IN AUGUST, 1927, the writer examined certain copper deposits in New Mexico, which occur in beds of sandstones and shale, and in connection therewith reviewed the literature upon deposits of this type. Such deposits are known and have been reported upon at various points in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, but in New Mexico they have been given more development than elsewhere and apparently occur there more conspicuously than in the other states. Some 25 years ago the writer examined deposits of similar origin in northern Arizona and more recently other deposits in western and southwestern Colorado, and these examinations have led him to realize how widely scattered are the deposits and how generally non-commercial they are. On superficial development, to one without a comprehension of their geologic nature, they are alluring on account of occasional small amounts of high-grade ore and much misplaced capital has been expended upon them. This paper, therefore, aims to present briefly certain theories of genesis, some details of which may possibly be new, and to lead up to practical conclusions which may be useful to other geologists and engineers. A bibliography of the more important literature upon such deposits is given below.2 Coffin's Bulletin upon the Radium, Uranium and Vanadium Deposits of Colorado, published in 1921, is a particularly clear discussion. The most comprehensive recent statement is Butler's. He describes a large number of occurrences in Utah and connects them up genetically with deposits in other states.

Jan 1, 1928

By D. A. Elgillani, S. Atak, D. A. Rice, M. C. Fuerstenau, R. B. Bhappu

Quartz and feldspar cannot be floated with sulfonate at any pH; spodumene floats over a narrow acid pH range, while beryl responds moderately over a broad pH range. After wet-grinding in a steel mill, beryl, quartz, and spodumene float well with sulfonate below about pH 7, whereas the improvement in the response of feldspar is not so marked. A mechanism by which iron can be adsorbed on these minerals is presented. Also, the responses of leached, natural, and wet-ground beryl to amine, sulfonate, and oleate flotation are shown and related to the measured zero-points-of-charge of these materials. Earlier work with leached beryl showed that good flotation could be obtained with alkyl aryl sulfonate over a rather wide pH range using a Fagergren flotation cell.' When a similar response was observed with leached quartz, it was decided that unintentional activation was being obtained from the metallic components of the Fagergren cell. To obviate this difficulty, a microflotation cell was designed, and an experimental technique was devised. These have been described elsewhere. Experiments conducted with the small cell showed that leached quartz could not be floated at any pH with any sulfonate addition,3 which is in agreement with the observations of Kraeber and Boppel.4 Similarly, it was also found that leached beryl responded to sulfonate flotation only over a narrow pH range rather than the broad range reported earlier.1 This early work,1 however, revealed the important effect that wet-grinding in a steel mill has on the flotation response of certain silicates. That is, it was found that quartz and especially beryl floated well over an unusually wide pH range after wet-grinding in a steel mill. Microcline, however, floated poorly below pH 4, even though wet-ground under the same conditions. The work of Eigeles6 on adsorption of oleic acid on leached quartz and iron-contaminated quartz at constant pH is in agreement with these flotation data. Other research has shown that ferric iron, added as a salt to the system, functions as an activator in the narrow pH range in which Fe +++ iron hydrolyzes to its hydroxy complexes.3,5 These phenomena indicate that iron functions differently in flotation systems depending on its method of introduction. The object of this paper is to determine the mechanism by which iron is adsorbed on certain minerals, the mechanism of collector adsorption after iron abstraction, and the role that Fe++ and Fe+++ assume in the selective separation of these minerals. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHODS Sodium alkyl aryl sulfonate, mol wt 450,7 pure potassium oleate, and pure dodecylamine were used as collectors. All other chemicals were reagent grade in quality, i.e., n-amyl alcohol as frother; HC1, H2SO4, and KOH for pH adjustment; and ferric chloride as activator. Conductivity water, made by passing distilled water through an ion exchange column, was used in the experimental work. All minerals used in the investigation were hand-picked specimens. Sample Preparation: Each of the minerals was crushed through 8 mesh, and the product was divided into two groups, one to be ground dry and the other wet. Dry grinding was accomplished with an alumina mortar and pestle. The product was dry-screened to 48 x 150 mesh, cleaned magnetically, deslimed in conductivity water, and dried. Preparation of the samples by wet-grinding involved grinding a 200-g charge of the mineral (-8 mesh) at 60% solids with natural water in a mild steel rod mill for four minutes. This charge was then wet-screened immediately with natural water to 48 x 150 mesh, dried, and cleaned magnetically. Some experiments were also conducted with leached beryl and quartz. These products were prepared by leaching the sized sample (48 x 150 mesh) with concentrated HC1 with a percolation technique until no iron could be detected in the leach liquor. Following this step, the sample was rinsed with conductivity

Jan 1, 1967

By F. W. Jessen, N. Mungan

The plastic flow characteristics of clay water suspensions were first recognized by Binghaml in 1916 and further studied by Ambrose and Loomis' in 1931-1932. Many physical and chemical properties of clay suspensions are deeply influenced by particle size distribution as well as by the exchange cation. Separation of a number of fractions is particularly helpful in making a detailed study of a suspension. A limited amount of work has been conducted on the effects of particle size on specific properties of mud drilling fluids. A knowledge of particle size distribution is essential for a better understanding of fundamental properties of clay suspensions, particularly viscosity and gel strength. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of particle size on the viscosity and gel properties of clay suspensions and to determine any changes in mineral composition accompanying variation in size. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Numerous methods may be used to fractionate a poly-dispersed clay suspension into nearly mono-dispersed systems. Particles larger than 44 micron (325-mesh) may be obtained by wet screening. For sizes from 44 to 1 micron, the fractionation may be accomplished by sedimentation, elutriation plus microscopy,' or turbidimetry.6 When dealing with systems which contain a major portion of particles below l-mi-cron size, slit ultramicroscopy,7 centrifuge methods of Svedberg,5 eams,9 and McBain,l0 and X-ray methods" may be employed. The Sharples super centrifuge has been proved suitable for the economical separation of suspended particles of submicron range.12,13,14 Three-hundred and forty-five gal of 1 per cent by weight Aquagel suspension was mixed in a high-speed 5-gallon mud mixer and the suspension was allowed to stand in 5-gal glass bottles for 30 days to assure full hydration. All particles larger than 44 microns were removed by wet screening. Five fractions in the range of 44 to 1 micron were obtained by sedimentation. The Sharples super centrifuge method described by Hauser and Reed.13 Norton and Speil,14 Ha user and Lynn,15 and Hauser and Schachman,10 as employed to yield five fractions of submicron size. A super centrifuge operation chart prepared by Fancher, Oliphant, and Houssierre12 was used to determine operating conditions for the desired particle ranges. The clay suspension, after removal of all material above 1-micron size, was centrifuged. During rotation of the bowl, the particles were deposited on a thin plastic liner which fit closely inside the bowl. After passing 5 gal of suspension through the centrifuge, the liner was removed and the particles on the liner were scraped off, remixed and recentrifuged. This was repeated five times. Thus, Fractions H, I, K, and L were obtained. The finest fraction, M, remained in an approximately 0.4 per cent suspension. Water was evaporated under reduced pressure from this suspension to yield the finest particles. Results of the fractionation are included in Table 1. In order to achieve proper orientation and humidity conditions for X-ray diffraction analysis, the following procedure was employed. The dilute suspensions were placed on glass slides and allowed to dry at room temperature. This was repeated several times. Previous to measurement each sample first was placed in a water desiccator for half an hour and then allowed to stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. thus yielding an equilibrium condition of about 52 per cent relative humidity. The relative humidity of the room in which the X-ray diffraction was carried out was maintained at approximately 50 per cent so that there was no change in the spacings during the X-ray examination. Samples

By C. E. Gregor

Current modern trends in mining show that hoisting shafts are being expected to fulfill an important ventilation function. However, where rigid guides and supporting structures are mandatory, ventilating power costs will be high, unless the transverse structures (shaft sets) are streamlined. In the complex configurations of hoisting shaft furniture patterns, either for original design purposes, or for the adjustment of an existing shaft, a useful degree of aerodynamic optimization, by reduction of overall resistance, can only be effectively evaluated by model studies in a special purpose wind tunnel, as described herein. The author has shown that, in one particular case, an annual power cost saving of more than $50,000 was indicated, mainly by the selection of buntons and dividers of improved aerodynamic profile. Mining companies are now realizing the advantages that can accrue through proper attention to the aerodynamic aspects of mine shaft design. With progressive demands of civilization for an ever greater supply of coal and metals, and with greater depths of working, higher rates of extraction, advanced degrees of mechanization, and improved standards of environmental health and work comfort, shaft design is becoming an extremely important aspect of mining operations. In addition, because the cost of sinking, equipping, maintaining, and operating a mine shaft is continually increasing, there is a greater incentive to use a shaft for the maximum duty, consistent with economy. The current natural tendency is therefore to sink multi-purpose shafts, to install as much equipment as is safely and effectively possible to operate; and then, over and above all these functions, to use the shaft to its maximum possible ventilating capacity, as a major, or auxiliary, airway. Clearly, this latter additional function can only be employed at a significant cost, since the most economic operating airways are smooth-lined and devoid of internal rigid furniture. It is true that hoisting functions can be carried out in such shafts if rope guides are used, but only under restricted conditions. Where a manway must be provided, fixed guides and supporting structures are mandatory, and ventilation costs become accentuated. It is generally recognized that the prime element of cost in ventilating a mine can be represented by the power required to drive the fan unit. It is also known that the largest component of total mine resistance is that of the downcast shaft, where this shaft is equipped with rigid guides for hoisting purposes. The pressure loss varies directly as the resistance of the shaft, in accordance with a modification of the Atkinson equation p = RQ2/3600. Furthermore, the air horsepower drawn is given by the equation AHP = (p x 0/33000. Therefore, the power required to drive the fan unit varies as the resistance of the shaft and the cube of the air quantity. Clearly, if Q is a specified minimum, then the only way to minimize the pressure loss (and the power costs) is to reduce the shaft resistance R. (See Table I for a list of symbols.) The resistance to airflow of a shaft equipped with rigid guides and supporting structural sets consists of two components which, for the sake of analytical simplicity, can be regarded as additive. 1) Frictional resistance, represented by the viscous frictional forces within the boundary layer, as air flows along the surfaces of the walls and the periphery of the vertical elements (guides, pipes, cables, ropes, etc.) of the furniture. The friction loss can be readily calculated by the Atkinson equation, after selection of a suitable value for the friction factor K from the McElroy compilation.' KxLxO xQ2 5.2 xA3 Friction loss can be minimized by lining the shaft walls (particularly if of circular or elliptical cross-section) with a smooth continuous lining of monolithic concrete.

Jan 1, 1968

By D. W. Fuerstenau, P. C. Kapur

The kinetics of green pelletization in a laboratory balling drum have been studied, using pulverized limestone as a model system. The growth characteristics of green pellets were found to be extremely sensitive to the moisture content of the material. Empirical kinetic equations, which incorporate a function of specific surface of the pellets as the criterion for growth potential, have been found to describe growth in a nucleation region and in a ball growth region. The rate constants in the kinetic equations are strongly dependent on the moisture content of the material being pelletized. Size distributions of the balls at different stages of pelletiz-ing are also discussed. In many industrial chemical processes, particulate matter can only be utilized if it is in an agglomerated form, such as pellets. Pelletizing is now widely used in iron ore technology1, and it has also been applied to a number of diverse fields such as the production of cement-kiln feed2, fertilizers3, and fluorspar4. Recently, it has been proposed to pelletize dispersion-type ceramic nuclear fuel elements5. In iron ore technology, for example, the production of agglomerates by pelletizing involves two major steps: 1) the preparation of green balls by rolling particles in a suitable balling device and 2) the firing of the green balls to form compact, strong bodies upon sintering. The critical step in a successful iron ore pelletizing operation is generally considered to be the balling operation1. In this paper, which is not concerned with the sintering of green pellets, the words green pelletizing and balling will be used interchangeably. Green pelletizing, or balling, will be defined as the process of forming larger bodies by rolling fine particles on a surface without the application of direct pressure. Two recent literature surveys6" indicate that in spite of the considerable amount of industrial pelletizing, very little is known about the fundamental principles of balling and its kinetics. The first reported research on the kinetics of pelletizing is the work of Newitt and Conway-Jones8. Using silica sands of different sizes in a batch laboratory balling drum, they found that the average green pellet diameter increased linearly with time at constant drum speed, and qualitatively the growth rate increased with moisture content. Generalized conclusions cannot be drawn from their research since the materials which they pelletized were sand and sand-silt mixtures rather than comminuted materials. Moreover, Newitt and Conway-Jones used testing sieves to estimate the size distribution of the green pellets, and this technique limited the range over which they could study the growth kinetics of the pellets. Bhrany and co-workers9 investigated the kinetics of balling iron ore fines on disk pelletizers ranging in diam from 1 to 18 ft. In their investigation, balling was carried out as a continuous operation, and growth kinetics were studied in terms of retention time of the material on the disk. Although the feed material in their study was quite coarse (the maximum size being about 1/2 in.), they also found qualitative relationships between pellet growth and water content, and feed size. In the present investigation, a number of innovations were introduced that refined the experimental measurements and established the reproducibility of balling experimentation. This enabled extension of the range of measurements to include study of agglomerate nucleation phenomena in the fractional mm size. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the nucleation and growth of green pellets in a laboratory balling drum. MATERIALS AND METHOD Pulverized limestone of specific gravity 2.72 was used as a model system in these studies. It has already been established that the balling characteristics of limestone and silica are similar to those of iron ore concentrates 2,8,10, depending on physical, rather than chemical, properties of the particles. The size distribution of the limestone was determined by a wet-dry sieving technique in the sieve range and by a sedimentation balance in the sub-sieve range. Fig. 1 presents the size distribution of the limestone used in this research. This figure shows that the material is finer than 200p (65 mesh) and that 25% of it is finer than 12. The specific surface area of this powder, as measured by BET gas adsorption methods,

Jan 1, 1964

By Walter Crafts, D. C. Hilty

The liquidus diagram for the iron field of the Fe-S-O system has been derived experimentally. The solubility of oxygen in molten Fe-S alloys has been measured at several temperatures and found first to decrease slightly and then increase rapidly with increasing sulphur content. IT is well-known that the types, distribution, and amount of inclusions in any given steel are closely allied with the oxygen and sulphur contents of the metal, so that the term "deoxidation" as conventionally applied in steelmaking refers not only to the control of oxygen and oxide inclusions but to collateral modification of sulphide inclusions as well. Inclusions commonly occur in steel as mixtures of oxides and sulphides, sometimes closely associated and sometimes apparently completely divorced. Their effects on the properties of the metal may vary widely depending on their types and distribution as well as on their quantity. The mechanism by which inclusions form, however, and the means for controlling it are exceedingly complex and not well understood. Nevertheless, as described by Benedicts and Lofquist' and by Wentrup' all oxide and sulphide inclusions, excluding mechanically entrained matter, must result from specific modifications of the basic equilibria of the Fe-S-O system. In an investigation of the mechanism of deoxidation and inclusion formation being carried out at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, it became evident that quantitative data for the fundamental Fe-S-O system were essential to a better understanding of the problem. Consequently, the liquidus surface of the portion of the Fe-S-O diagram of interest in steelmaking has been determined, and the solubility of oxygen in liquid iron containing sulphur has been measured. Fe-S-O Diagram The portion of the Fe-S-O diagram of specific interest in steelmaking is the Fe-FeS-FeO corner. Of the contiguous binary diagrams for this partial system, only those for Fe-FeO and Fe-FeS are known with reasonable certainty.3 Several attempts to derive the FeO-FeS diagram have been made, chief among them being the work of Giani as reported by Oberhoffer,4 and, more recently, that of Vogel and Fulling." Although both Giani and Vogel and Fulling published diagrams for the FeO-FeS system, their observations indicated that the oxide component approximated Fe3O4 rather than FeO, so that there is doubt whether the system is truly binary. Benedicts and Lofquist and also Wentrup published qualitative sketches of the ternary diagram based on the assumption that it was of the type described by Marsh for a ternary system in which two of the contiguous binary systems are simple eutectic systems and the third exhibits a solubility gap in the liquid. Apparently, however, the only previous effort to establish the diagram experimentally was that of Vogel and Fülling whose results are reproduced in Fig. 1. Although defining approximately the limits of the miscibility gap and the location of the ternary eutectic, point E in Fig. I, Vogel and Fülling's diagram must be considered only semiquantitative. It was derived from a limited number of observations mainly along two quasi-binary sections, and the directions of the tie-lines and the location of the critical point, K in Fig. 1, were estimated by computation. Experimental Procedure The experimental technique employed for the present investigation involved melting mixtures of ferrous sulphide and ferric oxide in contact with iron. Since it was considered that in this part of the system the vapor pressures of sulphur and SO, are so low that they would not affect the results significantly, the melting was carried out in a current of argon to sweep out products of any initial re-

Jan 1, 1953

By F. H. Wilson

Copper base alloys containing various amounts of aluminum and silicon are of considerable commercial interest. In particular the alloy containing 7 pct aluminum and 2 pet silicon shows an attractive combination of high strength with excellent, machinability. Since there is no evidence ill the literature that this ternary system has been studied since the recognition by Smith1 and Anderson2 in 1939 of the kappa phase of the binary copper-silicon system, the determination of the equilibrium phase relationships in the copper corner of the ternary diagram has been undertaken to provide a fundamental basis for understanding the behavior of these alloys. Phase boundaries have been determined by the micrographic examination of quenched samples while points on the liquidus surface have been obtained by thermal analysis. The results, of sufficient precision to serve their major purpose of providing a guide for the control of the manufacture of alloys in the region covered, are presented in a series of both isothermal and vertical sections of the diagram. Alloys StVdied For a rough survey of the copper corner of this ternary system the compositions listed in Table I (Series A) were employed. The results of examinations of these alloys indicated that the compositions listed in Table 2 (Series B) would further clarify regions of greater complexity. All alloys were prepared as 1200 g heats, the copper being melted under charcoal, and then first silicon and then aluminum were added. An excess of 0.05 pet silicon was allowed to cover deoxidation losses. Two small bars 5/8 by 1 1/4 by 5 1/4 in. were cast using Durville type casting equipment. Ailalyses were made on all alloys using material which was hot-rolled at 800 or 850°C and annealed 17 hr at 650°C. All analyses were found to be within 0.05 pet of the nominal composition. Since the precision of analysis is not much better than this, the points of both isothermal sections and vertical sections at fixed aluminum and silicon contents have been plotted at the compositions indicated by the nominal composition.

Jan 1, 1949

By A. G. Guy

In a special type of electrodiffusion experiment the entire specimen is at constant temperature. The vacancies are then created at one end of the specimen and flow to the other end where they are destroyed. The energy required to operate the corresponding sources and sinks results in a super saturation of vacancies at one end of the specimen and an under -saturation at the other end. This gradient in vacancy concentration produces a chemical-diffusion flux, J(D), of vacancies in addition to the flux, J(E), caused by the electric current. Using the experimental data of Ch. Herzig,5 it is shown that a super saturation of 1 pct can cause J(D) to be about 25 pct of J(E), and thus account for the anomalous behavior of short specimens. THERE are advantages in a phenomenological treatment as contrasted to an atomistic one. For example, there are many reactions involving the element copper that are quantitatively and usefully understood from a phenomenological viewpoint, even though electron theory is not yet able to predict whether copper should be fcc or cph.' Similarly, the lack of a complete atomic theory of vacancies need not prevent the development of a treatment based on thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. In the following discussion, models will be used for the vacancies and for the mechanisms by which they move or are created or destroyed, but the phenomenological treatments are not dependent on the details of these models. The important product of a phenomenological analysis is an equation that describes the relation among the measurable quantities determining the behavior of the system. Based on such an equation, experiments can be performed to study these quantities in detail. Eventually atomic theory will supply an adequate theoretical base for the phenomena in question. A chemical species whose chemical potential was invariant during reactions in binary and ternary systems of varying composition would indeed be an anomaly. Yet this is the role that has frequently been assigned to the vacancies in pure metals, in dilute solutions, and even in ordinary alloys. The weight of available evidence supports the view that supersatu-rations of vacancies are on the order of 1 pct in usual diffusion processes.' Although it may seem strange that such a small deviation from equilibrium could significantly affect the thermodynamic properties of the vacancies, it is well known that the driving force for an ordinary chemical reaction is the departure of the components from their equilibrium state. Similarly, the reaction of vacancies that results in the formation of pores in various types of diffusion3 can reasonably be attributed to the supersaturation of vacancies. In the present paper, it will be shown that small degrees of supersaturation can significantly affect the kinetics of the diffusion process itself. ISOTHERMAL ELECTRODIFFUSION Two different experimental techniques are convenient for studying the behavior of vacancies in a pure metal in the presence of an electric field. Gilder and Lazarus4 studied self-electrodiffusion in a gold specimen in which only the central portion was at high temperatures. In this case the significant vacancy sources operate inside the specimen in the presence of a temperature gradient. In the laboratory of Th. Heumann a method has been devised for studying self-electrodiffusion at constant temperature.5 In principle, there is then no effect of thermodiffusion. It will now be shown why in this case the significant ATungsten disks \^^ ^^ ^Gold disks^^ ^^"T>.... "TTZA ? Up Iy'7 markers ///// ////// initial plane p I y/y/y of joining \I 7//// V7//A_________I_________V//// -I 0 +I Distance from center of specimen (a) -— Direction of flow of electrons —Direction of flw of vacancies %yy} Matano I z~irkendall /%W, vy/A inlerfacej "interface ///// -} HfiK- +/ 0 Distance from center of specimen (6) Fig. 1—-Schematic illustration of the essential features of isothermal self-electrodiffusion. (a) Initial condition of specimen. (b) Condition of specimen after electrodiffusion.

Jan 1, 1970

By N. H. Jensen, B. L. Sackett, Carlos Bardwell, Simon Jacobson

Lead smelting has been an important industry in Utah for many years. The first lead smelting was done, over 60 years ago, at the Rollins mine in Beaver County, by burning heaps consisting of alternate layers of wood and high-grade carbonate ore. The lead thus obtained was molded into bullets. With the development of the mines, the problem of cheaper handling of the ore became important. The only outlet for this ore was Swansea or the Atlantic Coast but to ship to either cost $150 per ton or more for treatment and handling. From 1864 to 1871, experimenting was done with blast, Scotch hearth, and reverberatory furnaces, with the blast furnace surviving as the standard plant. The first crude furnaces were circular or hexagonal in shape, and were made of adobe and stone, which quickly burned out. They were small, about 21/2 ft. in diameter, and smelted from 3 to 10 tons in 24 hr. The metal had to be tapped from the bottom of the crucible, necessitating a shut down of the furnace during this process. This procedure caused salamanders to form around the tap hole when the furnace was started again, which frequently resulted in freezing. The campaign lasted until a tap of bullion was made. The first successful plant of the crude stone type was operated in 1870. From 1870 to 1872, there was a smelter building craze in the state. During that period, about 20 furnaces were built, chiefly near the mines, and their operation was limited and sporadic. The work was then placed in the hands of trained metallurgists, who standardized on the rectangular form of furnace. In 1871, Daggett, at the Winnamuck mine in Bingham, installed water-jackets around the smelting zone of the furnaces. These furnaces were circular; the diameter at the tuyere line was 3 ft. 6 in. and at the charge floor 5 ft. 3 in. The height from tuyere line to charge floor was 14 ft., height of tuyere line above top of crucible was 3 ft. 8 in. Furnace capacity was about 14 tons per day, with a campaign of about 16 days. Cost of smelting was about $44 per ton. The ores making the

Jan 1, 1926

By F. V. Lene, E. J. Westerman

The recrystallization behaviors of two extruded and cold-drawn experimental sintered aluminum powder alloys, containing 1.75 and 3.0 pct Al2O3 by weight, were compared with that of extruded and cold-drawn commercially pure alumirzum. The kinetics of recrystallization of the alloys are described semiquantitatively. For the alloy containing 1.75 pct A l203 the rates of nucleation and of growth were also semiquantitatively determined. THE most striking property of aluminum alloys strengthened by a dispersion of Al2O3, the so-called SAP alloys, is their stability at elevated temperatures. One of the manifestations of this stability is their resistance to recrystallization after they have been cold worked. Most of the commercial grades of either the Swiss SAP or of Alcoa's Aluminum Powder Metallurgy Products have not been recrys-tallized after cold working, even when they are heated for a long time at a temperature near the aluminum melting point. Lenel, however, observed that the dispersion strengthened aluminum alloys with a larger spacing between the oxide particles than that of most commercial grades would recrys-tallize.1 It appeared to be of interest to further investigate the mode and kinetics of recrystallization of these alloys, and to compare their recrystallization behavior with that of commercially pure aluminum. Because homogeneous deformation of these SAP alloys in tension did not provide sufficient cold work to induce recrystallization, they were cold worked by wire drawing; the nonuniformity of this deformation unavoidably complicated the interpretation of the recrystallization studies. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Extrusions—Two types of sintered aluminum powder extrusions were used in this study. One type, designated AT-400, was produced from Reynolds atomized aluminum powder consisting of spherical particles averaging 3µ in diam and containing 1.75 wt pct of Al2O3. This powder was very similar to the R3M powder from which extrusions were previously prepared with an average spacing of 0.9µ between oxide particles.2 The second type, designated MD 2100, was produced from Metals Disintegrating Co. flake powder containing 3.0 wt pct of Al2O3, with an average flake thickness of 0.8µ. The average spacing between oxide platelets in MD 2100 extru- sions was 0.45µ.2 Powder compacts of 3/4-in. diam were extruded at 1000°F into 0.097-in. diam (AT-400) and 0.093-in. diam (MD 2100) wires by methods previously described.3 In order to compare the recrystallization behavior of sintered aluminum powder extrusions with that of wrought commercially pure aluminum 3/4 in. rod stock of 1100 F aluminum was extruded at 1000°F into 0.102-in. diam wire. Wire Drawing—Tungsten carbide dies were used for the AT-400 and 1100 F alloys. They had an included angle of about 15 deg and reduced the wire area approximately 7 pct per pass. Steel dies with an included angle of 11 to 13 deg and an average reduction per pass of 10 pct were used for drawing the MD 2100 alloy, because drawing this alloy through the carbide dies produced overdrawing defects. Heat Treatment—The cold-drawn wires were cut into small samples, and the deformed ends were etched off. The samples were each wrapped tightly in a single layer of aluminum foil, and individually isothermally annealed in a lead bath. Metallography—The modes and kinetics of recrystallization were determined by metallography. Mounted and polished specimens were anodized in a solution of 1.8 pct HBF4;4 examination under polarized light clearly revealed their grain structures. The recrystallized grains were generally much larger than those of the unrecrystallized matrix, and could clearly be distinguished because they alternated between maximum and minimum light reflection when the microscope stage was rotated, while the unrecrystallized matrix had a comparatively homogeneous "salt and pepper" structure. The fractional recrystallized volumes of the dispersion hardened alloy wires were determined by cutting and weighing of recrystallized and total transverse areas on photomicrographs. The recrystallized grains in the 1100 F alloy were too small to be cut out individually; therefore a combination of cutting and lineal analysis was used in this case. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Modes of Recrystallization—The modes of recrystallization of the three alloys varied widely. In the 1100 F alloy nucleation and growth started in the region midway between the center and the surface;

Jan 1, 1961

By I. Javandel, P. A. Witherspoon

The finite element method was originally developed in the aircraft industry to handle problems of stress distribution in complex airframe configurations. This paper describes how the method can be extended to problems of transient flow in porous media. In this approach, the continuum is replaced by a system of finite elements. By employing the variational principle, one can obtain time dependent solutions for the potential at every point in the system by minimizing a potential energy functional. The theory of the method is reviewed. To demonstrate its validity, nonsteady-state results obtained by the finite clement method are compared with those of typical boundary value problems for which rigorous analytical solutions are available. To demonstrate the power of this approach, solutions for the more complex problem of transient flow in layered systems with crossflow are also presented. The generality of this approach with respect to arbitrary boundary conditions and changes in rock properties provides a new method of handling problems of fluid flow in complex systems. INTRODUCTION Problems of transient flow in porous media often can be handled by the methods of analytical mathematics as long as the geometry or properties of the flow system do not become too complex. When the analytical approach becomes intractable, it is customary to resort to numerical methods, and a great variety of problems have been handled in this manner. One such method relies on the finite difference approach wherein the system is divided into a network of elements, and a finite difference equation for the flow into and out of each element is developed. The solution of the resulting set of equations usually requires a high speed computer. When heterogeneous systems of arbitrary geometry must be considered, however, this approach is sometimes difficult to apply and may require large amounts of computer time. The finite element method is a new approach that avoids these difficulties. It was developed originally in the aircraft industry to provide a refined solution for stress distributions in extremely complex airframe configurations. 27 Clough has recently reviewed the application of the finite element method in the field of structural mechanics.6 The technique has been applied successfully in the stress analysis of many complex structures.l, 27, 28 Recognition that this procedure can be interpreted in terms of variational procedures involving minimizing a potential energy functional7 leads naturally to its extension to other boundary value problems. In the field of heat flow, there recently have been introduced several approximate methods of solution that are based on variational principles.2-4, 17 By employing the variational principle in conjunction with the finite element idealization, a powerful solution technique is now available for determining the potential distribution within complex bodies of arbitrary geometry. In the finite element approximation of solids, the continuum is replaced by a system of elements. An approximate solution for the potential field within each element is assumed, and flux equilibrium equations are developed at a discrete number of points within the network of finite elements. For the case of steady-state heat flow, the technique is completely described by Zienkiewicz and Cheung.33 Since the flow of fluids in porous media is analogous to the flow of heat, Zienkiewicz et al. have employed the finite element method in obtaining steady-state solutions to heterogeneous and anisotropic seepage problems. 34 Taylor and Brown have used this method to investigate steady-state flow problems involving a free surface.25 The work of Gurtin has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for the application of finite element methods to linear initial-value problems.12 As a result, Wilson and Nickell have recently

Jan 1, 1969

By Raymond C. Moore

The oil-producing districts of Kansas comprise the northern portion of the so-called Mid-Continent field. As shown in the accompanying map, these districts are located chiefly in the southeastern and south central parts of the state. A considerable area in southeastern Kansas, extending northward nearly to Kansas City, has long been known as oil territory, the productive wells being distributed in patches or spots of irregular size and shape, the location of which is controlled by conditions of rock structure, and by the texture and porosity of the "sands" beneath the surface. In south central Kansas, there are a number of producing fields, the location of which appears to be controlled chiefly by well-defined structure. The most important districts are those in Butler County, especially that in the vicinity of El Dorado, which was for a time the most productive district in the entire Mid-Continent field. Recently new production of importance has been brought in the vicinity of Peabody and present development is active to the north across Marion County. Tests in the western parts of Kansas have not been successful in finding new petroleum fields. Histoby The first well drilled for petroleum, in Kansas, was near the town of Paola, Miami Co., about 40 mi. southwest of Kansas City, in the summer of 1860, only a few months after the completion of the famous "Colonel" Drake discovery well in Pennsylvania. Kansas appears to be the second state to engage in a serious attempt to find oil by drilling. The Civil War caused the temporary abandonment of attempts at oil development in the state. It was in the vicinity of Paola, where numerous oil seepages had been observed, that the first well producing oil in commercial quantities was drilled,' where also gas was first piped to the city for commercial use. Prospecting spread southward into Linn County and northward into

Jan 1, 1921

OUR 78th Annual Meeting was, technically and attendance-wise, one of the greatest to date. No one who came to New York's Hotel Statler had time to hear all 266 papers, or to attend all 70 sessions and 27 committee meetings, or to shake the hands of the more than 3000 engineers, educators, students and executives who attended-but no one was lost in the crowd. For crowds always dwindle down to groups of two and three and four, and those are the little sessions which make our meetings well worth attending. Herewith four pages of photographic highlights and sidelights on the February gathering.

Jan 3, 1950

By Thomas M. Turner

Open pit mining, always a demanding task, faces two relatively new problems today: (1) availability of equipment and (2) environmental restrictions. The modern dredge offers relief in both problem areas. Delivery on a major dredge might run 18 to 24 months rather than 60 months; and lowering of the water table is precluded, thus minimizing environmental objections. In addition, a lower first cost and potentially increased efficiency may offer real advantages to the miner who is forced away from his traditional mining methods. What are the objections to the use of a dredge in open pit mining? Perhaps first and foremost is the natural reluctance to change from a successful operation. Who can blame the miner who has developed expertise in the use of the dragline if he is reluctant to change to a new mining technique that requires new and different skills? A part of the same problem is the miners' desire to control the excavation visually in order to delineate sharply between overburden and matrix. This problem can be alleviated significantly by utilizing good boring data and a positive acquisition cutter. In the final analysis, however, if the miner is prohibited from dewatering the area, either he mines the deposit by dredge or not at all. There is little doubt that when the decision is made to remove overburden and/or matrix by dredge, the problems of delineating between overburden and matrix, creation of slimes, and development of mining plans to minimize double handling etc., will be addressed and solved. There are two broad categories of dredges: mechanical and hydraulic.

Jan 1, 1976

By R. W. Lai, I. Iwasaki

Some physical as well as chemical aspects of the methods of dispersion of various corn starches and their derivatives are investigated and their effects as depressants in anionic silica flotation of iron ores ascertained. The adsorption behavior of starches on hematite and quartz is strongly affected by their molecular sizes as inferred from viscosity measurements. The implication of this behavior on flotation and flocculation is discussed. Mechanical treatment of causticized starch solutions is shown to reduce the starch requirements in flotation appreciably. Starches and starch products have been used as depressants for iron oxides both in amine flotation of siliceous gangue and in soap flotation of activated silica from iron ores. Cooke and his associates1,2,3,4 extensively studied the effects of certain starches and their derivatives in the amine flotation of iron ores at near-neutral pH and found that although most starches were good flocculants for hematite and de- pressed that mineral more or less selectively1,3 they did not flocculate quartz suspensions. Further, that replacement of active groups in corn starch modified its behavior as a flocculant for hematite or quartz suspensions1 and as an iron oxide depressant. Schulz and cooke2 showed that many starches and their derivatives, except aminoethyl starch, were abstracted more effectively by Brazilian hematite than by quartz and that the adsorption of a starch product was strongly dependent on pH and on the presence of calcium ion. In soap flotation of calcium-activated quartz, certain starches and their products have been used to depress iron oxides.5'6 The behavior of these substances in flotation appears at times to be at variance with those previously reported and especially with results obtained in the Mines Experiment Station laboratories. This is attributed, at least in part, to differences in flotation procedure and flowsheets and in the method of preparing the depressant. Most of the investigators referred to above, solubilized the starch products by autoclaving at 120°C. Others have used acid,7 alkali8 or oxidizing agents.9 In view of the limited knowledge of the depressing action of starches and their derivatives in iron ore flotation, particularly in soap flotation of calcium-activated silica at high alkalinity, an extensive study

Jan 1, 1965

By Milton Williams

It is generally recognized that fluid is lost from rotary drilling muds to permeable strata during normal drilling operations;1,2-3 but that this fluid is the filtrate from the mud, rather than the mud itself, has been shown by various workers.1,4,5 The presence of this filtrate in oil-bearing or gas-bearing strata is undesirable and harmful. The decreased permeability of the stratum to oil effected by the presence of water has been pointed out by several investigators,6,7 and since, in the production of the reservoir fluid, the greatest pressure drop occurs immediately adjacent to the borehole, it follows that infiltered water is particularly objectionable in this region. Again, this filtrate tends to make electrical logs less reliable, since oil in the proximity of the borehole is probably flushed out to an appreciable extent by the water.8 Observation of side wall cores may be misleading for the same reason. Drill-stem tests in low-pressure areas may be of doubtful value where no oil is recovered, unless sufficient time is allowed for production of water lost from the mud. The infiltered water may hinder drilling operations by softening shales and causing sloughing; the ['tight hole" occasioned by excessive deposition of filter cake in the hole is a common occurrence. The filter cake remaining on the face of the producing formation may itself sometimes be detrimental to production.9 In view of these implications of the importance of filtration of mud, an investigation was undertaken to determine the factors involved in the infiltration process, and to correlate these in such a manner that the values obtained in routine filter tests employing a conventional filter of the "wall-building tester" type,10 together with data on size of hole, drill pipe, and rate of mud circulation, could be used to estimate water loss and distance of penetration of the filtrate into strata. Quantitative relations of filter-cake permeability, filtrate viscosity, and rate of filtration have been developed for filtration in the simple laboratory filter.4a,11,12,13 It is obvious, however, that the conditions

Jan 1, 1940

By Milton Williams

It is generally recognized that fluid is lost from rotary drilling muds to permeable strata during normal drilling operations;1,2-3 but that this fluid is the filtrate from the mud, rather than the mud itself, has been shown by various workers.1,4,5 The presence of this filtrate in oil-bearing or gas-bearing strata is undesirable and harmful. The decreased permeability of the stratum to oil effected by the presence of water has been pointed out by several investigators,6,7 and since, in the production of the reservoir fluid, the greatest pressure drop occurs immediately adjacent to the borehole, it follows that infiltered water is particularly objectionable in this region. Again, this filtrate tends to make electrical logs less reliable, since oil in the proximity of the borehole is probably flushed out to an appreciable extent by the water.8 Observation of side wall cores may be misleading for the same reason. Drill-stem tests in low-pressure areas may be of doubtful value where no oil is recovered, unless sufficient time is allowed for production of water lost from the mud. The infiltered water may hinder drilling operations by softening shales and causing sloughing; the ['tight hole" occasioned by excessive deposition of filter cake in the hole is a common occurrence. The filter cake remaining on the face of the producing formation may itself sometimes be detrimental to production.9 In view of these implications of the importance of filtration of mud, an investigation was undertaken to determine the factors involved in the infiltration process, and to correlate these in such a manner that the values obtained in routine filter tests employing a conventional filter of the "wall-building tester" type,10 together with data on size of hole, drill pipe, and rate of mud circulation, could be used to estimate water loss and distance of penetration of the filtrate into strata. Quantitative relations of filter-cake permeability, filtrate viscosity, and rate of filtration have been developed for filtration in the simple laboratory filter.4a,11,12,13 It is obvious, however, that the conditions

Jan 1, 1940

By J. L. Sepulveda, R. F. Yap, R. Jauregui

INTRODUCTION The Third Theory of Comminution, oftentimes called the Bond Theory, was first published by Fred C. Bond in 1952. Since then, it has been widely used in the milling industry to size crushing and grinding equipment as well as to predict and evaluate their performance. Although two other comminution theories were advanced almost a century earlier, one by Rittinger, 1867, and the other by Kick, 1885, their use was limited because they did not agree with actual commercial comminution systems (Bond, 1961). According to Bond's Third Theory, the work input is proportional to the new crack tip length produced in particle breakage, and equals the work represented by the product minus that represented by the feed. For particles of similar shape, the crack tip length is equivalent to the square root of one-half the surface area, and the new crack length is proportional to [(1/vT - vF)]; where P and F are particles diameter of product and feed, respectively. For practical calculations, the particle diameter can be expressed in terms of the 80% passing sizes, P and F, respectively. Therefore, the work input is given by, [10 _ 10', W = Wi [7P_7F(1)] Where W = the energy input to the mill, (kwh/t) Wi = Work Index, (kwh/t) P = square sieve opening which 80% of the product passes, (microns) F = square sieve opening which 80% of the feed passes, (microns) Equation (1) is the mathematical statement of the Third Theory, or the Bond equation. Numerically, the work index is the energy required in kwh/t to reduce a given material from theoretically infinite feed size to 80% passing 100 microns. The work index of a particular material is determined in the laboratory by conducting the standard Bond grindability test. Bond developed separate tests for the rod mill and the ball mill. The simplified test method described in this paper, which is used at Anaconda Research Center to approximate the work index, is an alternative procedure to the ball mill

Jan 1, 1982