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By S. C. Lindsay, D. J. I. Evans

With each year that passes hydrometallurgical processes are being more widely used to recover base metals from ores and concentrates. Generally these processes involve liquid-solid separation of metal-bearing liquors from barren residues. This may be done by countercurrent decantation, thickening and filtration, or filtration or centrifuging only. Choice of method is governed by chemical and physical characteristics of the pulps; cost of labor, power, materials, and waste disposal; and even by the amount of capital available when building plans are under way. Since all these controlling factors change with time and location and with technological advances, the separation method must be re-evaluated when new plants or expansion programs are contemplated. At the Sherritt Gordon refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, an ammonia pressure leaching process recovers nickel, copper, and cobalt from the nickel concentrate produced at Lynn Lake, Manitoba.' Pregnant liquors are separated from the barren leach residues in a thickener-filter liquid-solids circuit. The decision to use this type of separation was based on a summation of economic factors during the pilot plant and design stages. Although countercurrent decantation was not incorporated in the refinery flowsheet, the problems solved in thickening the leach residues and the experience gained in operating the commercial plant are pertinent to countercurrent decantation, particularly where it is applied to slow-settling leach slurries or slurries having a relatively high vapor pressure of a valuable, obnoxious, or poisonous vapor. The nickel sulfide concentrate is leached under pressure with air and ammonia to dissolve the nickel, copper, and cobalt and most of the sulfur, leaving a residue of iron and siliceous material to be discarded.2,3 During a subsequent distillation stage to recirculate part of the ammonia used for leaching, copper is recovered from the solution as a high-grade sulfide. After further purification to remove traces of copper and undesirable sulfur compounds, the nickel is precipitated by hydrogen under pressure at an elevated temperature. The cobalt, together with unreduced nickel, is precipitated as a mixed metal sulfide by hydrogen sulfide for eventual cobalt recovery. The end solution is then evaporated to produce a crystalline ammonium sulfate byproduct. As shown in Fig. 1, the nickel concentrate is leached in a continuous, two-stage, countercurrent circuit. In the first stage, or adjustment leach, the fresh concentrate is partially leached (60 pct) in the liquor produced in the second stage, or final leach. This system is necessary to produce a solution suitable for treatment in the copper sulfide precipitation step. Both stages are carried out at 170" to 180°F under a total pressure, with air, of 100 to 120 psig in large, horizontal, water-cooled autoclaves. The autoclaves are divided by overflow weirs into four compartments to give a certain amount of staging during leaching. In each compartment a relatively slow-speed (100 to 150 rpm) agitator maintains the nickel concentrate in suspension. Adjustment leaching, carried out in two autoclaves in parallel, is followed by a thickener-filter liquid-solids separation. Final leaching is done in two parallel trains of three autoclaves using aqueous ammonia to extract metal values from the adjustment leach residues. This too is followed by a thickener-filter circuit. Here the residues are repulped once with aqueous ammonia and twice with process water and refiltered after each repulping stage, to insure a maximum recovery of soluble metal, before being discarded to the tailings pond. The adjustment leach is followed by a seven-disk Dorr-Oliver American filter, with an agitator in the filter boot to keep the residues in suspension. Agitators have also been installed beneath the four ten-disk filters following the final leach thickener. Slurry Characteristics: A typical analysis of the Lynn Lake nickel concentrate, produced by differential flotation,' is given in Table I. The concentrate comprises 35 to 49 pct pentlandite, (Fe, Ni)S; 3 to 6 pct chalcopyrite, CuFeS,; 1 to 4 pct pyrite, FeS2; and 24 to 42 pct pyrrhotite, Fe1-2S (where x varies between 0 and 0.2) together with various siliceous minerals such as actinolite, hornblende, and talc. During leaching, the sulfur in the pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and part of the pyrrhotite is successively oxidized through the thiosulfate and poly-thionate radicals to sulfate and sulfamate." Simultaneously the nickel, copper, and cobalt are converted to soluble ammine complexes and the iron in the pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and part of the pyrrhotite is oxidized to a spongy hydrated iron oxide. The hydrated iron oxide is readily broken down by the agitation needed to sustain the concentrate in suspension and to maintain a satisfactory mass transfer of the oxygen from the air to the slurry. Table I shows typical chemical, screen, and

Jan 1, 1961

By L. L. Oriard

INTRODUCTION In order to make effective plans for the control of blasting effects, it is necessary to understand a few basic principles relating to the behavior of explosives. For the purposes of discussing this behavior, it is convenient to divide blasting effects into two zones. The first zone is the non-elastic zone in close proximity to the explosive charge where rupturing of the rock occurs. For this zone, our discussion will be oriented towards the factors which affect the rock breakage, and the means of controlling the limits of this breakage. The second zone is that zone more remote from the charge location where elastic vibrations are transmitted through the surrounding medium. In this zone, we are interested in the factors affecting vibration intensity, and the means of controlling the intensity so that no damage is done to structures, utilities, or excavated slopes. It has been easier to gather data in the elastic zone, because the stress levels are lower and time durations are longer. The instrumentation for obtaining data in this zone can be less rugged and less sophisticated. Consequently, more information of ad empirical nature has been gathered. In the non-elastic zone, there has been more dependence on theory, fewer measurements, and more questioning of the validity of the measurements. In spite of these questions, there has been an encouraging advancement in knowledge in recent years, both theoretical and empirical, of the effects that take place close to the source of an explosion. When discussing the problems encountered in rock excavation, we can simplify the terminology by referring to the physical phenomena encountered in the non-elastic zone as a problem in "over-break". The phenomena in the elastic zone could be called "vibration effects". Although there is some interdependence between the two, it is possible to control the rock breakage to neat surfaces and still have very high vibration levels. Similarly, it is possible to control the vibrations to moderate levels and still have a great deal of overbreak. THE ROCK BREAKAGE ZONE First, let us discuss the effects in that zone close to the blast source that we might call the non-elastic zone. This is the zone of cratering, breakage, rupturing, and fracturing. These effects will vary with the site conditions, and a meaningful, specific analysis could

Jan 1, 1972

By Robert B. Kistler, Ward C. Smith

The borate industry is one of the few sectors of the mining and mineral-processing industry which the United States still dominates. Since about 1927, the United States has supplied over half of the world's total boron and borate raw materials, and many of the chemical derivatives as well. Chiefly responsible for this record are companies producing sodium borates from two large deposits in southern California, at Boron (Kramer) and Searles Lake. The sodium borates, or products derived from borax and borax-containing brines, are the preferred borates for industry because they are soluble in water and combine readily with most other chemicals. Calcium borates are required for certain end uses, and these are produced from smaller colemanite-ulexite-probertite bodies. Sodium-free borate compounds also are produced from boric acid, which can be manufactured from either sodium or nonsodium borate minerals. During the past hundred years, the use of boron compounds throughout the world has risen from a few tons per year to the equivalent of over a million tons of B2O3. Leadership in supplying borates shifted from country to country and from region to region during this period, generally as the result of the development of newly discovered deposits that were better in quality, more accessible, or more economically exploitable than previous sources (Table 1). Primary Products and End Uses The principal borate products offered by primary producers in the United States are listed in Table 2. In general, these products are utilized worldwide by almost all consumers, regardless of the original source of the primary borates, In the United States, the primary borates all originate in southern California. Colemanite is produced as crude or processed crude ore from the Death Valley area and is utilized by the fiber glass and ceramic industries without further treatment. Production from Searles Lake, CA is from brines that are processed in chemical plants where borax and other compounds are recovered and the principal borate products are produced. At Boron, CA, the world's leading producer is mining a deposit of mineral borax and operating a chemical refinery. The mineral borax is mined together with included clay, and refined borax or "10-mol" is one of the refinery products. The mineral and the chemical compound are identical, Na2B4O7 • 10H2O. In addition to ship¬ping all major refined borate products from [ ]

Jan 1, 1983

By A. S. Nowick, E. S. Machlin

ONE of the main criteria used to rate the heat-resisting properties of alloys is stress rupture.1 During a stress-rupture test a tensile specimen is held under a constant load at a constant temperature until it fractures. The chief measurement made during this test is the time required for rupture at the specific test stress and temperature. It was found empirically from a series of stress-rupture tests at a constant temperature that when the logarithm of the time for rupture is plotted against the logarithm of stress a straight line is obtained within experimental error.2~3 This method of showing stress-rupture data has been adopted by many investigators and the KACA.4 By interpolation and extrapolation from these plots, values of the stresses required to rupture the specimens (the rupture strengths) in 10, 100, and 1000 hr are obtained for specific temperatures. Alloys are then rated for a particular application on the basis of their rupture strengths at the rupture life that most nearly represents the application. Inasmuch as stress rupture is an important criterion in rating heat-resisting alloys, it would be advantageous to know the quantitative dependence of the time for rupture on stress, temperature, com- position, and structure. In order to obtain this information, an investigation was made at the KACA Cleveland laboratory during the spring of 1945. The theory of rate processes was used because it has been found to apply to certain processes such as chemical reactions, viscous flow, and creep that occur at a definite rate for given conditions. It was thought that stress rupture was such a process. An equation was derived that gives, for a given com- position and structure, the dependence of the time for rupture on stress and temperature. The investigation is part of a general program to provide information that will lead ultimately to the development of better alloys in order that the efficiency and power output of gas turbines used in aircraft propulsion can be increased. THEORY The theory of rate processes will first be discussed as a general theory. It will then be shown that if stress rupture of heat-resisting alloys can be treated as a rate process, certain equations must be satisfied. Later sections will then show that these equations are satisfied. General Theory of Rate Processes The theory of rate processes5 eveloped by Eyring and others has been applied to chemical reactions as well as to other processes such as viscosity of liquids and diffusion. In every case in which rate- process theory can be applied, there is a small subdivision, so that the macroscopic process is the net effect of all the small processes. This smallest subdivision is called the "unit process.'' For example, in a chemical reaction the unit process is

Jan 1, 1947

By E. A. Anderson, P. W. Ramsey, E. J. Boyle

Only a few zinc-rich alloys are in commercial use today, and these depend largely upon solid solution effects for their desirable properties. Typical examples are rolled alloys containing about 1 Per cent of copper, with Or without additions of elements such as magnesium, and die-casting alloys containing about 4 Per cent of aluminum with small amounts of magnesium and sometimes copper." A number of elements are capable of forming alloys with zinc, Which do not enter into solid solution except in limited degree. The Present Paper considers One such system, zinc-titanium, in which alloys having potentially useful properties in the rolled form were found. Zinc-titanium System The zinc-rich portion of the zinc-titanium diagram, as determined by standard methods in this laboratory,3 is shown in Fig. I. The portion of the diagram of significance in the present work extends from 0 to about 0.5 per cent titanium. Gebhardt4 places the eutectic at 0.45 per cent, but the evidence in favor 01 the composition given in Fig. I is considerable. The solid solubility of titanium in zinc is very low indeed and possibly places these alloys in a somewhat different category from the commercial alloys previously mentioned. Alloy Preparation All of the alloys used in this work were prepared with titanium metal of 98.9 per cent purity. In most cases high-purity zinc (99.99 per cent) was used but sufficient work was done later to show that zinc of about high-grade composition would yield approximately equal results. Best practice in alloy manufacture seemed to be to prepare a zinc-titanium hardener by adding about 4 per cent of titanium metal to molten zinc and holding under a boric acid cover, with frequent stirrings, at 750°C, until the titanium had dissolved. The desired titanium content could readily be obtained in the final alloy by adding the calculated amount 01 this hardener. The alloys proved to be quite stable in composition, unless overheated, and, with reasonable temperature control, required no cover or flux to prevent loss of titanium content by oxidatioll, Hot-rollig Tests Three alloys containing, by analysis, 0.05, 0.12, and 0.23 per cent titanium were selected for preliminary study. Slab cross sections a a marked grain refinement* (Fig. 2) in the two alloys of highest titanium content. Cast unalloyed zinc has a columnar grain structure similar to that shown for the alloy of lowest titanium content but without the scatter of small equiaxed grains at the center.

Jan 1, 1944

By P. W. Ramsey, E. J. Boyle, E. A. Anderson

Only a few zinc-rich alloys are in commercial use today, and these depend largely upon solid solution effects for their desirable properties. Typical examples are rolled alloys containing about 1 Per cent of copper, with Or without additions of elements such as magnesium, and die-casting alloys containing about 4 Per cent of aluminum with small amounts of magnesium and sometimes copper." A number of elements are capable of forming alloys with zinc, Which do not enter into solid solution except in limited degree. The Present Paper considers One such system, zinc-titanium, in which alloys having potentially useful properties in the rolled form were found. Zinc-titanium System The zinc-rich portion of the zinc-titanium diagram, as determined by standard methods in this laboratory,3 is shown in Fig. I. The portion of the diagram of significance in the present work extends from 0 to about 0.5 per cent titanium. Gebhardt4 places the eutectic at 0.45 per cent, but the evidence in favor 01 the composition given in Fig. I is considerable. The solid solubility of titanium in zinc is very low indeed and possibly places these alloys in a somewhat different category from the commercial alloys previously mentioned. Alloy Preparation All of the alloys used in this work were prepared with titanium metal of 98.9 per cent purity. In most cases high-purity zinc (99.99 per cent) was used but sufficient work was done later to show that zinc of about high-grade composition would yield approximately equal results. Best practice in alloy manufacture seemed to be to prepare a zinc-titanium hardener by adding about 4 per cent of titanium metal to molten zinc and holding under a boric acid cover, with frequent stirrings, at 750°C, until the titanium had dissolved. The desired titanium content could readily be obtained in the final alloy by adding the calculated amount 01 this hardener. The alloys proved to be quite stable in composition, unless overheated, and, with reasonable temperature control, required no cover or flux to prevent loss of titanium content by oxidatioll, Hot-rollig Tests Three alloys containing, by analysis, 0.05, 0.12, and 0.23 per cent titanium were selected for preliminary study. Slab cross sections a a marked grain refinement* (Fig. 2) in the two alloys of highest titanium content. Cast unalloyed zinc has a columnar grain structure similar to that shown for the alloy of lowest titanium content but without the scatter of small equiaxed grains at the center.

Jan 1, 1944

By Cyril Stanley Smith

For many years sulphur and its congeners selenium and tellurium have been regarded as very harmful elements in copper and copper-rich alloys. Like many similar prejudices, this has been found to be partly wrong. All three of these elements actually have no great effect on the working properties of copper and its alloys, and are desirable additions in that they considerably enhance the machinability of alloys in which they are present. Because of their possible commercial importance, a study of the machinability and other properties of the pure binary alloys was made, as described in this paper, and the effect of selenium on a large number of copper alloys was determined. The current opinion regarding the deleterious effects of elements in this group undoubtedly arose because of occasional failures of tough-pitch copper containing unusually high tellurium, and because of the well-known fact that sulphur causes spewing and unsoundness in tough-pitch copper. Siebe,1 also Deretchey and Margolina,2 studied the effect of sulphur on copper and showed that in the absence of oxygen it was present in the form of copper sulphide, which was less harmful to the properties than an equivalent amount of copper oxide. No data have been published on selenium and tellurium, although the statement is often made, following Eggleston,3 that tellurium makes copper hot-short. Copper specifications call for only traces of these elements. Skowronski and Mosher4 give data on the effect of selenium and tellurium on the conductivity of tough-pitch copper. In private communication Mr. Skowronski says that the samples were hot-forged from small castings and drawn to 0.081 in. diameter, but it should not be inferred from this that these elements are harmless to the working properties of wirebars and commercial shapes. Constitution and Microstructure Constitution.—Sulphur, selenium and tellurium exist in their alloys with copper in the form of copper sulphide, selenide or telluride. These compounds are practically insoluble in the solid state and possess limited

Jan 1, 1938

By Cyril Stanley Smith

For many years sulphur and its congeners selenium and tellurium have been regarded as very harmful elements in copper and copper-rich alloys. Like many similar prejudices, this has been found to be partly wrong. All three of these elements actually have no great effect on the working properties of copper and its alloys, and are desirable additions in that they considerably enhance the machinability of alloys in which they are present. Because of their possible commercial importance, a study of the machinability and other properties of the pure binary alloys was made, as described in this paper, and the effect of selenium on a large number of copper alloys was determined. The current opinion regarding the deleterious effects of elements in this group undoubtedly arose because of occasional failures of tough-pitch copper containing unusually high tellurium, and because of the well-known fact that sulphur causes spewing and unsoundness in tough-pitch copper. Siebe,1 also Deretchey and Margolina,2 studied the effect of sulphur on copper and showed that in the absence of oxygen it was present in the form of copper sulphide, which was less harmful to the properties than an equivalent amount of copper oxide. No data have been published on selenium and tellurium, although the statement is often made, following Eggleston,3 that tellurium makes copper hot-short. Copper specifications call for only traces of these elements. Skowronski and Mosher4 give data on the effect of selenium and tellurium on the conductivity of tough-pitch copper. In private communication Mr. Skowronski says that the samples were hot-forged from small castings and drawn to 0.081 in. diameter, but it should not be inferred from this that these elements are harmless to the working properties of wirebars and commercial shapes. Constitution and Microstructure Constitution.—Sulphur, selenium and tellurium exist in their alloys with copper in the form of copper sulphide, selenide or telluride. These compounds are practically insoluble in the solid state and possess limited

Jan 1, 1938

By C. H. Cheng, C. E. Birchenall

The fundamental problem in the thermodynamics of solid solutions is the determinatiorl or calculation of the activities of the components as a function of temperature and composition. Since the theory of metals is not suficiently developed to allow a priori calculation of these quantities, they must be obtained from experiment. C. Wagner1 has reviewed the literature of this subject for the period before 1940. Although several important and extensive studies have been made in the meantime, the number of systems to which any sort of quantitative information can be assigned is vanish-ingly small. These data have become of great potential importance in studies of the structure of solid solutions2 and intermetallic compounds, the nature of the diffusion process,3,4 and perhaps even the mechanism of mechanical deformation.5 For these reasons, it. seems very worthwhile to extend the experimental data in this field. Although there is little use in duplicating Wagner's review, attention should be directed to the most recently reported investigations. A brief enumeration of the methods of measurement previously employed also should be valuable. The most direct method is the determination of the partial pressure of the components in the vapor phase in equilibrium with the solution. Both equilibrium and kinetic methods have been tried in metal systems, but almost exclusively on liquid phases. Only in the ease of carbon in iron alloys and in the copper-zinc system have extensive measure- ments been made which include solid phases. When one of the components is an element, such as nitrogen or carbon, which forms compounds which are very volatile and stable at normal temperatures and pressures (CH4, Co2, CO NH3), it is frequently possible to equilibrate mixtures containing these (such as CH4-H2, CO2-CO, NH3-H2) independently with the elernents (C, X) and with the metal (Fe, Ni, etc.). Such measurernents have been made for carbon in iron, iron-silicon, and iron-manganese alloys by Smith6 and in iron and iron-nickel alloys by Toensing.7 Differences between carbon activity values at the same temperature and carbon content when carboil is introduced from CH4-H2 rnixtures or CO-CO. mixtures indicate that the effects of hydrogen and oxygen in the system are not negligible, and one can only hope that the true value lies somewhere between these sets of results, probably nearer the CH4-H2 data since hydrogen is less soluble in iron than oxygen. This is essentially an equilibrium method, although flowing gas is employed. A kirletic method has been employed which consists of sweeping an inert gas (generally hydrogen) over the alloy at a series of rates, condensing the metal vapor out,, and analyzing it. The metal content can be extrapolated to zero flow rate (equilibrium). Wejnarth's8 work on Cd-Mg and Zn-Mg is a good example of this frequently used method. A variant of this consists of equilibrating a known volume of inert gas with the alloy, sweeping it out quickly, and analyzing for metal. In common with the above method, it has the disadvantage that the "inert" gas is generally somewhat soluble in the alloy. Moreover, the former continuously displaces the system from equilihrium and may give low values if solid diffusion is involved. The dew point method applied by Hargreaves9 to the alpha and beta brasses and by Schneider and Stolll0 to A1-Zn avoids the introduction of another component to the system, but is useful only in systems in which one component is much more volatile than the other. The alloy sealed in one end of an evacuated silica tube is heated to the desired temperature. The temperature of the other end is lowered until droplets of the volatile component condense. When the temperature is raised slightly, the droplets will evaporate. By careful adjustment of temperature, the range between evaporation and condensation can be narrowed appreciably. An independent determination of the vapor pressure of the . pure volatile component is necessary to give the partial pressure over the alloy. This is the method employed here to determine the vapor pressures of zinc and cadmium over their silver alloys up to 34 pct in cadmium and 76 pct in zinc. The former involves only the a solid solution, but the latter covers the a, ß, y, and e fields. In recent determinations, Herbenar, Siebert, and Duffenbarkl1 used the

Jan 1, 1950

By G. R. Lehman

The Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. had an orebody at Miami, Ariz., of close to 100,000,000 tons of low-grade copper ore, and the method of mining this ore most profitably was of great importance. The selection of a method was practically limited to a "top-slicing," a "shrinkage-stope" or a "caving" method. The "top-slicing" method would give a high extraction of the developed ore, at a high mining cost, and the "shrinkage-stope" or "caving" methods a lower extraction of the developed ore, at a lower mining cost. Ore-Drawing Tests To decide on the method to be used it was necessary to know about what extraction of the ore could be obtained by the "shrinkage-stope" or " caving " methods. As no definite information regarding the,question was available at the time, C. E. Mills, the general manager, thought that some information could be obtained by experimenting in drawing ore, covered with capping, from an experimental box. Some work had already been done along these lines by W. C. Browning for the Inspiration Copper Co. and by myself for the Live Oak Development Co. The idea was to represent as nearly as possible, in the experimental box, the conditions within an area of caved stopes of caved ore all ready for drawing. That is, the area was supposed to represent a semibroken mass with the capping above it in the same condition and ready to follow the ore downward as it was drawn out of the chutes under the ore. To represent the above condition, in the experimental box, crushed ore from the mine was placed in it to a given height, and red barren capping from the mine was placed on top of the ore. The Experimental Box The experimental box shown in Fig. 1 was made of wood and glass. The glass was used for the sides so that the drawing action of the outside row of chutes could be seen and noted, the latter being cut in the center by the glass sides. The length of the box was 30 in., width 20 in. and the

Jan 1, 1917

By T. M. Geffen, J. L. Sanderlin, F. F. Craig, D. W. Moore

Scaled reservoir models have been used to study the effect of gravity on oil recovery performance in frontal-drive operations; namely, water, gas, or solvent flooding. The difference in density between the reservoir oil and the injected fluid causes their segregation, resulting in a non-uniform advance of the fluid front. In the laboratory flow tests, which simulated both five-spot and linear injection operations in flat reservoirs, the viscous, capillary, and gravity forces present in these operations were scaled. Dyed fluids were used so that the gross movement of the injected fluid could be observed. The studies covered a range of injection rates, formation thicknesses, and rock and fluid properties normally encountered in field operations. The results of the model tests indicate that the volume of the reservoir contacted by the injected fluid at its breakthrough into the producing well is less than that expected based on information which neglects gravity effects. This difference can often be as much as 80 per cent by gas or water injection in uniform sand bodies. Preliminary flow tests on a non-uniform sand body indicate that the uniformity of the flood fronts may in some situations be influenced to a much greater degree by permeability variations within the rock body than by gravity effects. The magnitude of fluid segregation due to gravity is controlled by the average injection rate, rather than day to day or week to week variations. INTRODUCTION One of the important factors controlling the oil recovery from a frontal-drive operation, such as water, gas, or solvent injection, is the volumetric sweep efficiency. This factor is a measure of the gross portion of the reservoir that is contacted by the displacing fluid. The volumetric sweep efficiency is influenced by gravity effects, well arrangements, and variations in rock permeability within the reservoir. The gravity effects are due to the displacing fluid being of different density than the reservoir oil. This causes the displacing fluid to move preferentially toward either the top or bottom of the formation. Non-uniform advance of the flood front can be caused by the relative positions of the injection and production wells. Variations in rock permeability also result in an uneven advance of the displacing fluid. Gas zones, representing paths of low resistance, may result in non-uniform movement of the injected fluid. The more uneven the advance of the displacing fluid, the lower is the volumetric sweep efficiency and thus the lower the oil recovery efficiency. The effects of well arrangement and permeability variations, upon the gross movement of the injected fluid have been the subjects of extensive investiga-ti0ns.1,2,3,4,5,6 Gravity effects have been recognized as being present in frontal-drive operations'.' but there has been little quantitative measure of their magnitude. Very likely the reason gravity effects have not been studied is that this problem does not lend itself to simple experimental or mathematical analysis. The development of reservoir modeling techniques has made possible a quantitative determination of the effect of gravity on fluid segregation and thus upon the oil recovery performance of frontal-drive operations. This paper presents a progress report on a laboratory investigation of gravity effects in fully liquid-saturated, horizontal, uniform as well as non-uniform systems. These results were obtained from scaled experiments on both linear and five-spot systems within the range of conditions normally encountered in secondary recovery operations. This study is concerned with the gross movement of the injected fluid to the time it first reaches the production wellbore. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the results of this paper can not be used to determine the effect of gravity segregation on oil recovery efficiency at abandonment conditions. MODEL SCALING The science of scaling models is relatively new as applied as petroleum production problems, Many of the scaling techniques have been adaptions of those used in basic studies of heat and fluid flow. There are

Jan 1, 1958

By AIME AIME

MINERALS and mineral resources are recognized as one of the things that nations are prone to quarrel about. The territory that was arbitrarily incorporated into the Polish Republic after the World War produces a variety of essential minerals on a substantial scale. The accompanying table has been compiled to give some idea of the relative importance of this production. Poland, before the recent war started, had an area of 150,000 sq.mi., just a little larger than the State of Montana. Its population was 32,000,000, equal to that of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Though not a highly industrialized country it nevertheless has important mines, steel plants, petroleum refineries, and sundry metal-fabricating manufactories. Coal, petroleum, iron and steel, zinc, lead, pyrite, potash, and salt are produced in excess of the country's domestic consumption. It has no appreciable production of copper, chromium, tungsten, nickel, tin, mercury, manganese, aluminum, magnesite, fluorspar, or graphite.

Jan 1, 1939

By L. B. Slichter

After statement of the principles of similitude which apply to electromagnetic modeling, charts showing the inductive response of conducting spheres as dependent upon frequency, conductivity, and size are exhibited in this paper. The shape of the curve which relates intensity of response to frequency is significant in indicating the advisability of low frequencies in the exploration for conducting bodies, when consistent with the securing of a large percentage of the ideally possible response. Comparisons of theoretical response and that observed with models are shown, and relationships with the subject of applied electromagnetic prospecting are indicated. Maxwell Field Equations The Maxwell field equations summarize the physical laws that govern electrical field phenomena; they are the basis for the solution of electromagnetic problems. These concise equations, with adequately formulated boundary conditions, specify the complete electrical condition of continuous media, and the development of their solution amounts merely to a more convenient re-expression of phenomena already completely described. Thus, the immediate content of the field equations themselves is sufficient and sometimes convenient for the treating of certain questions (such as those relating to electromagnetic models) which are independent of the special factors of geometry, or the nature of an impressed field. The four Maxwell field equations are written below, in c.g.s. gaussian units: curl E = -B/c [21 div eE = 4pp [31 div B = 0 [41

Jan 1, 1932

[Alphabetic Section (Page 1): The letter immediately following the member's name indicates grade: M-Member, A-Associate, J-Junior. The numerals following member's grade indicate year of election. The letter following year of election indicates primary Divisional affiliation: A-Mining & Exploration F-Coal B-Minerals Beneficiation G-Petroleum C-Iron and Steel H-Industrial Minerals D-Extractive Metallurgy J-Council o f Education E-Institute o f Metals K-Council o f Economics]

Jan 1, 1961

By E. C. Wright

The following article is based on observation of college graduates entering the steel industry in technical work made during the Past 25 Years, the first five of which were spent as a college instructor in two engineering schools, and the last 20 in the employ of a large steel company that has hired hundreds of engineering graduates for steel-mill operations. The college graduates encountered during this period have come from many colleges representing schools in Eastern States, Midwestern Universities, many Southern colleges, and many smaller colleges and normal training schools mostly in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The college training of these students for engineering work naturally has varied widely and the educational qualifications of the entrants have been in many ways different. It was found at an early date that graduates of standard engineering colleges were much more adaptable than graduates in science from nontechnical schools. The engineering students seemed to be more suited to actual work in steel plants and in general were better able to grasp a knowledge of the operations they observed. However, although the graduates of engineering schools have had somewhat better training in physics, mathematics, and engineering, it has been a general and continual observation that most of the students employed have had inadequate training in the fundamental sciences. Since this discussion relates entirely to metallurgical engineers it should be emphasized that students taking metallurgical engineering courses in college seem to be poorly trained in organic chemistry-physics, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, and any higher form of mathematics than simple calculus. It has been noted frequently that young engineers faced with problems in a mill that involve some mathematics generally flounder badly, and that they have little conception of physical chemistry. Another common deficiency lies in the young graduate's lack of knowledge of where to look for the more detailed literature on any subject. He reverts instinctively to some college textbook whose coverage is usually very elementary. It is recommended that such textbooks contain a bibliography of the source literature. and that students be taught to use the original data. Many of the students had had previous courses in college dealing with metallurgical work such as steel melting, metallograhy, etc.r but it was found that their grasp of these subjects was extremely sketchy. It was soon realized that an ordinary engineering graduate could be taught more about steel melting and manufacturing processes in a few weeks in a plant than he could learn in a college course on such subjects. A similar statement may be made regarding the ability of students to conduct laboratory work. Their lack of technique and skill in handling equipment and setting up experiments was soon apparent. It became neces-

Jan 1, 1948

By E. C. Wright

The following article is based on observation of college graduates entering the steel industry in technical work made during the Past 25 Years, the first five of which were spent as a college instructor in two engineering schools, and the last 20 in the employ of a large steel company that has hired hundreds of engineering graduates for steel-mill operations. The college graduates encountered during this period have come from many colleges representing schools in Eastern States, Midwestern Universities, many Southern colleges, and many smaller colleges and normal training schools mostly in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The college training of these students for engineering work naturally has varied widely and the educational qualifications of the entrants have been in many ways different. It was found at an early date that graduates of standard engineering colleges were much more adaptable than graduates in science from nontechnical schools. The engineering students seemed to be more suited to actual work in steel plants and in general were better able to grasp a knowledge of the operations they observed. However, although the graduates of engineering schools have had somewhat better training in physics, mathematics, and engineering, it has been a general and continual observation that most of the students employed have had inadequate training in the fundamental sciences. Since this discussion relates entirely to metallurgical engineers it should be emphasized that students taking metallurgical engineering courses in college seem to be poorly trained in organic chemistry-physics, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, and any higher form of mathematics than simple calculus. It has been noted frequently that young engineers faced with problems in a mill that involve some mathematics generally flounder badly, and that they have little conception of physical chemistry. Another common deficiency lies in the young graduate's lack of knowledge of where to look for the more detailed literature on any subject. He reverts instinctively to some college textbook whose coverage is usually very elementary. It is recommended that such textbooks contain a bibliography of the source literature. and that students be taught to use the original data. Many of the students had had previous courses in college dealing with metallurgical work such as steel melting, metallograhy, etc.r but it was found that their grasp of these subjects was extremely sketchy. It was soon realized that an ordinary engineering graduate could be taught more about steel melting and manufacturing processes in a few weeks in a plant than he could learn in a college course on such subjects. A similar statement may be made regarding the ability of students to conduct laboratory work. Their lack of technique and skill in handling equipment and setting up experiments was soon apparent. It became neces-

Jan 1, 1948

By W. W. Wirth

RESEARCH looking toward the reduction of the cost of roof support by substitution of longer-life materials for wooden timber is fully justified by the fact that roof support is an important element of all production costs. Permanent or semipermanent roof support will reduce the expense of timber-maintenance crews during steady operations, but even more markedly during idle periods. The management, therefore, is faced with the important problem of timber renewals, which in times of regular operation are frequently obscured by more urgent problems of production. Increased use of timber in the Anthracite Region of Pennsylvania is caused mainly by increased percentage of coal obtained from robbing areas, which requires more timber for safety than develop-ment work, and maintenance of long haulageways through crushed ground despite the fact that less coal is transported over them. The timber reserve in the immediate vicinity of the mines has been depleted to such an extent that it is necessary to secure 70 per cent of the timber requirements from distant sources. Originally, mine timbering in this region was done by largely utilizing round props or legs with round collars. The whole cross section of the tree from which timber was cut was utilized by forming the joints between the legs and the collars with saw and adze, using plank or round saplings for lagging behind the legs and over the collars to prevent material falling between them. The Mine Inspectors' report of 1898 records an important digression from the use of round timber, when two tunnels at the Babylon colliery, near Pittston, Pa., were timbered with 12 by 12-in. square timber sets with mud sills, through quicksand for distances of 425 and 160 ft., respectively. The timbers were lagged with 3-in. plank to control sand.

Jan 1, 1940

By Herbert Banks Johnson

DURING the past 10 or 12 years very little information has been made generally available concerning the commercial possibilities of separating materials by means of static electricity; and yet during that same period important improvements have been made in various branches of the science of electricity, which, when taken together, and applied to electrostatic separation, have resulted in important improvements in that art as well. For example, much improvement has been made in high-voltage electrical equipment such as full-wave vacuum-tube rectification and improved mechanical rectification. Great strides have likewise been made in the development of insulators for high-voltage work, not only in the materials used but also in the design of the insulators themselves. Again, in another field, the development of air-conditioning equipment has improved the technique of controlling the surface condition, through drying or humidifying, of the various materials that are passed through the electrostatic separator. In many authoritative publications and textbooks, the electrostatic separation process is declared to require a balance far too sensitive for general commercial application. For example, one publication1 in the past has referred to an unfavorable effect on the process caused by varying atmospheric conditions such as humidity. Some2 have even gone so far as to state that sunlight and shadows may seriously affect the separating efficiency of the process. Such statements may have been true in the early development of the art, when the source of static electricity was derived from a friction disk machine, such as the Wimshurst. The Blake Mosher equipment and the work of Huff in applying motor- generator sets, transformers and mechanical rectification overcame much of this kind of objection to the commercial application of the electrostatic separating process. Another objection made periodically is that it is generally considered necessary to feed the particles into the electrostatic field in a stream that

Jan 1, 1938

[Alphabetic Section (Page 729): The letter following the member's name indicates grade: M-Member, A-Associate, J-Junior. The numerals following member's grade indicate year of election. The letter following year of election indicates primary Divisional affiliation: A-Mining & Exploration F-Coal B-Minerals Beneficiation G-Petroleum C-Iron and Steel H-Industrial Minerals D-Extractive Metallurgy J-Council o f Education E-Institute o f Metals K-Council o f Economics]

Jan 1, 1961

D. K. CRAMPTON, Chairman EDMUND M. WISE, Past-Chairman CYRIL S. SMITH, Vice-Chairman CARL E. SWARTZ, Vice-Chairman H. A. MALONEY, Treasurer Executive Committee 1942 1943 FRANCES H. CLARK ERIC R. JETTE W. L. FINK LOUIS W. KEMPF J. T. NORTON GEORGE SACHS 1944 WILLIAM C. ELLIS ALAN MORRIS KENT R. VAN HORN Finance JOHN L. CHRISTIE, Chairman J. R. FREEMAN, JR. H. M. ST. JOHN W. M. PEIRCE JEROME STRAUSS

Jan 1, 1941