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By A. S. Rhea

SALT-WATER disposal in the East Texas field by means of injection into the Woodbine sand is a relatively new procedure. The purpose of this paper is to present what has been accomplished to date in this field, with-out detailed discussion of other means of disposal, such as surface impound-ing for evaporation or release into surface streams. Subsurface disposal of salt water is still in an experimental stage in the East Texas field, and, though water can be injected into the Woodbine sand, the economic problem is not as yet solved. As past experience has been that fields producing from the Woodbine formation produce large quantities of salt water, it was assumed early in development of East Texas that it would be necessary to dispose of a tremendous quantity of salt water in the later periods of production. There has been a gradual increase in the amount of salt water pro-duced in the field, until at present it is about 200,000 bbl. per day from approximately 4400 wells. It is only natural to expect an increase in the number of wells producing water, as well as the amount of water produced in the future, and it has been estimated that if present practices con-tinue the production of salt water may ultimately be as much as 700,-000 bbl. per day. The Woodbine sand is found in the East Texas field at an average depth of 3650 ft. The oil-bearing portion of the sand lies between the depths of 3050 ft. below sea level, on the east edge of the field, and 3320 ft. below sea level on the west, which depth was the estimated original average oil-water contact. The Woodbine sand under the field has the form of a broad tilted wedge pinching out on the eastern side of the field and dipping gently into the East Texas Basin toward the west. The Woodbine sand in the East Texas field has an average porosity of approximately 25 per cent and is highly permeable, the average being about 1300 millidarcys.

Jan 1, 1940

By Evert Hoek

SYNOPSIS It can be shown that the properties of intact rock are relatively unimportant in rock slope stability and that failures are controlled by structural discontinuities such as bedding planes, joints and faults in the rock mass. The frequency, orientation and inclination of these discontinuities as well as their strength characteristics are important factors to be considered in any rock slope analysis and their influence will be demonstrated by means of a number of practical examples. Methods for determining the mechanical properties of discontinuities will be reviewed and the interpretation of the strength test results for use in stability computations will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1971

By Elliott J. Roberts

In spite of the fact that the percentage of true colloids in an ore grind is very small,' these pulps exhibit many of the properties of true colloidal suspensions. A quartz particle, appreciably finer than 10 microns in diameter, has a settling rate so low that at a dilution of 5:l or over, the capacity of a settling tank to settle such particles would be uneconomical if the individual particle rate prevailed. However, by grouping the finer particles into aggregates or flocs, the settling rate can be increased to an economical value. The colloidal chemistry of pulp thickening is thus chiefly concerned with particles having diameters of between 1 and 10 microns, although particles as coarse as 40 microns in diameter are more or less involved. These particles must be associated in such a manner that they settle at an economical rate and give a clear, supernatant liquid or overflow. The treatment of the subject may be divided into three phases, cach phase having a more or less different colloidal aspect. The first phase is the problem of getting the pulp or suspension into the proper condition of flocculence; the second is the behavior of the flocculent pulp in its initial and intermediate stages of settling; the third is the behavior of the flocs in the find period of settling or thickening stage. Let us look first into the methods and mechanism of obtaining the flocs and then consider their behavior and properties. Flocculation Colloids are merely ordinary substances reduced to a very small particle size, the upper limit being placed by definition at 1 micron (0.001 mm.) diameter by the soil chemists and at from 0.2 to 0.1 micron by various other colloid chemists. The lower limit is reached only when the particles approach molecular dimensions. The term L'colloid" should not necessarily imply lack of crystallinity. Particles as small as 0.01 to 0.02 micron give perfect X-ray patterns, while with 0.005 micron particles the bands on the powder photograph are merely broaderled and diffused.2

Jan 1, 1935

By C. C. Koch, M. L. Picklesimer

PHYSICAL metallurgists interested in the alloying behavior and phase transformations in rare-earth metals and alloys require a strain-free polished and etched surface for both metallographic and X-ray examination. However, the rare earths have presented a problem in this respect since they are difficult to polish free from strain and are very reactive to the atmosphere. Their tendency to oxidize readily even at room temperature necessitates careful preparation and rather elaborate protection if their surface is to be examined for any length of time. The "light" lan-thanides (i .e., atomic numbers less than 63), especially lanthanum and cerium, are particularly bad in this regard; they oxidize very rapidly at room temperature. To eliminate the problem of plastic deformation remaining on the surface after mechanical polishing, electropolishingl and chemical polishing techniques2 have been developed. The electropolishing technique requires the specimen to be immersed in an electrolyte at -77°C and thus obviates a metallographic study of, for example, the fcc —double-hexagonal close-packed (dhcp) transformation in cerium which begins at -10°C. The chemical polishing solution has been used only on several of the "heavy" rare-earth metals. However, a convenient method for protecting the polished and etched surfaces from atmospheric corrosion has not been available. Our interest in the superconducting properties of lanthanum, and in the phase transformations in lanthanum and cerium, has led us to develop a technique for the metallographic preparation of lanthanum and cerium which clearly reveals the microstructure and preserves the etched surface for days. The specimens are chemically polished and anodized. The chemical polishing is performed at room temperature, the anodic oxide film provides the required protection from the atmosphere, and colors produced in the film provide a simple positive technique for phase identification. Lanthanum and cerium metal ingots obtained from Johnson Matthey and Co., Ltd., were remelted to suitable shapes and heat-treated to produce various microstructures. The samples were placed in epoxy mounts and, after a small hole was drilled in the back of the mount for electrical contact, were ground on silicon carbide

Jan 1, 1968

By W. R. Ingalls

IN THE years immediately preceding 1914, the American people earned an aggregate income of 33 to 34 billion dollars, of which they saved about five billion, the annual saving being expressed mainly in the form of houses and railway extensions; to a less extent in public utilities, public improvements, factories and mines; and to a very small extent in foreign investments. It appeared needful that we should save and invest annually in these ways about 15 per cent. of our aggregate income in order to keep the development of our plant, so to speak, ahead of our steadily growing needs. The common knowledge that at present our housing and railway facilities are inadequate suggests immedi-ately that we have been running behind the pre-war ratio of reinvestment. Since 1919, we have not had any carefully prepared, authoritative estimates of the national annual income. However, with some experience in this subject, I have ventured to make rough estimates, which rest on solid foundations, although some rather empirical develop-ments are involved. Such estimates would be consid-ered good work in this field if they fell within limits of 10 per cent., plus or minus. Even so, these data are more useful when quickly available than more accurate data that are belated; for recognizing that there is a margin of error we can at least get a reasonable and approximate idea of how things are going.

Jan 2, 1923

By Thomas Egleston

The adoption of the regenerative principle for burning fire-bricks, pottery, etc., has been delayed beyond what would naturally have been expected, because there bas been until recently little necessity for high heat in burning such material. But the introduction of pro-

Jan 1, 1887

By John Garcia

IN some districts of the bituminous coal field the problem of construct-ing bulkheads to seal off water under pressure is becoming increasingly important. Recently this matter has been brought very much to the front by the loss of a large. Illinois mine due to failure of a bulkhead that separated it from several old, flooded mines. As this great misfortune has provoked much inquiry about proper bulkhead design, it is felt that a description of the successful and extensive water-sealing practice at three mines that have different natural conditions will be of considerable interest to those connected with properties having a present or future water problem and to engineers that may have to design safe bulkheads of economical construction. These three mines are the Saxton acid Dresser, near Terre Haute, Ind., and the Hegeler, near Danville, 111. All three have water conditions that make it necessary to regularly seal off till worked-out sections of the mine, and there are considerably over a hundred bulkheads in each. As far as the writers know, these three mines are the only ones in the bitu-minous coal fields of the United States with anything like so large a number of water seals and experience, although a number of other mines are known to have a few bulkheads. More detail will he included herein on the Saxton mine than on the others, as the writers are more familiar with it.

Jan 1, 1937

By George Watkin Evans

During the past ten or twelve years, the average reader of newspaper and magazine articles has been led to believe that enormous deposits of high-grade coal exist in the northland and that these can be mined for practically nothing. But much of the reputed glitter and attractiveness of Alaskan coals disappears when viewed at close range. Many areas of coal-bearing rocks are widely distributed geographically from Cape Lisburne, on Bering Sea, to Admiralty Island, south of Juneau. Bituminous coal is found at Cape Lisburne, on the Bering Sea, at Five Finger Rapids on the upper Yukon, and at Herendeen Bay and Chignik Bay; lignite is found on the Kobuck River, along the Yukon River from points near the mouth to Tonakat, near Rampart, at Dawson, on the east shore of Cook Inlet, and in the Tanana Valley, 50 mi. south of Nenana. The Susitna and Matanuska Valleys contain coal ranging from lignite to anthracite, and in the Bering Lake district, there are coals ranging from semi-bituminous to anthracite. No effort will be made to describe all of these fields, but the writer will confine himself to the four principal fields, namely, the Nenana field! in the interior of Alaska, tributary to the Fairbanks district; the Matanuska field, in the Matanuska Valley; the Kachemak Bay field on the east shore of Cook Inlet; and the Bering River field, east of the mouth of Copper River. Nenana Coal Field The Nenana field occupies an area east of the Nenana River 70 mi. (112 km.) southwest of Fairbanks and approximately 50 mi, from the town of Nenana, which is located at the junction of the Alaskan Railway and the Tanana River. It is on the northern flank of the Alaskan Range and occurs within the foothills of that district. The elevations range from 1000 to 4000 ft. (304 to 1219 m.). Future developments may prove the field to extend from a considerable distance west of the Nenana River to the headwaters of the Tanana River. The coal measures are of Tertiary age and are probably Eocene. They are not badly deformed by folding, but portions of the field show

Jan 1, 1922

By K. E. Beu

IN the measurement of retained austenite concentrations in steels using the integrated intensity method,1 Averbach has pointed out" that the absorption factor A(0) for a flat sample making a glancing angle 4 with the incident X-ray beam can be combined with his constant factor R to obtain our constant factor" G provided that "1—There is no preferred orientation in the sample, and 2—The geometric requirements [for the sample, film, and X-ray beam] have been met precisely."' If A(0) can be combined with R to give G according to the equation G = R . A(0) [14] then the possibility for making non-compensating errors in the austenite determination has been eliminated. This has been described previously in a technical note." Because of the brevity of the previous note,3 it was impossible to emphasize the fact that the two conditions on preferred orientation and geometry can be easily met experimentally, contrary to Aver-bach's statement that: ". . . the necessary conditions must be tested experimentally for each determination, and this is done most easily by observing whether the apparent absorption has the form of Eq. 2 [the theoretical equation for A(0)]."" he way in which these two conditions can be met experimentally will be discussed briefly to help clear up this point. In addition to these two conditions, other factors such as sample shape, homogeneity, and grain size which also affect A will be included in this discussion. A (0) depends on sample shape. The theoretical function for A was derived originally for a flat surface.' In general we have found that a flat sample surface is readily obtainable." If such a surface can * The effect of surfaces which are not flat on the measurement of retained austenite will be discussed later. be obtained, it has the following advantages: 1—it is easily reproducible from sample to sample, 2—it is the form required for metallurgical examination —this type of examination being frequently desirable for this work, and 3—it is an efficient shape for diffraction purposes. Perhaps the most important of these features is that a flat sample surface is easily reproducible; hence, this requirement on the repro-ducibility of A from sample to sample is met for all such samples. Fig. 1—Schematic diagram of the quartz crystal monochromator diffraction unit. The centerline of the main beam is at 6' to the target face. The tangent to the crystal face is at 16.8' to the moin beam. The centerline of the monochromatic beam is at 33.6 to the main beam. The sample surface can be rotated in its own plane. The angle of the sample surface and the monochromatic beam can be adjusted by rotating about the vertical axis, The film holder can also be rotated about B so that the film can be exposed over the desired angular range. For Fe K, X = 1.932A. 1011 planes of quartz have d = 3.35A. A(0) depends on homogeneity and grain size. If the sample is badly segregated or the grain size is large, the effect of micro-absorption and primary extinction1. ' must be considered. It has been shown, however, that for most plain carbon or low alloy hardened steels, neither micro-absorption nor primary extinction effects are present.' A (0) depends on camera geometry. For a given angle 0, A remains theoretically constant from a geometrical viewpoint only if the following factors are kept constant: 1—the angle of inclination .+ of the sample to the X-ray beam, and 2—the centering of the sample with respect to the film cylinder. These are mechanical problems which can be solved readily if the facilities of a good machine shop are available. The arrangement used to insure that the angle 4 remains constant and the centering of the sample is reproducible is indicated schematically in Fig. 1. The sample is clamped against a thin plate with a hole in it by means of a spring-loaded pres-

Jan 1, 1954

By Richard H. Ross

A broad definition of' "Mill Design" might cover everything from the first tentative choice of general process to the final structural details for construction. The first phases are mainly concerned with metallurgy and economics and the final stages with the mechanics of putting the selected equipment together into an integrated plant. It is the purpose of this article to discuss only data, derived from laboratory testing, that contributes directly to design of the milling plant itself, and only the plant design phases that are influenced by laboratory testing. Most ore beneficiation testing is devoted to determining recoveries, grades of products, elimination of impurities, reagent and supply requirements, etc. having little to do with physical plant design although these factors are of prime importance in the evaluation of a mining project.

Jan 3, 1964

By J. J. Snodgrass

Faults, sandstone channels, and abandoned mine workings present severe safety hazards, disrupt mining, and necessitate costly precautions or discontinuance of operations. In addition to fault detection, mining companies have a need to map discontinuities such as seam thinning and previously mined areas in both longwall and room-and-pillar operations. Initial field tests demonstrated successful generation and propagation of higher order guided wave modes. Theoretical studies indicate potential for improved resolution by sensing small details in the coal seam and roof structure. Controlled-waveform source transducers and specialized detectors are particularly useful to preferentially excite and detect the Love (SH) and Rayleigh-type (P-SV) waves, including the higher frequency modes. The distinct observation of reflections using the transducers in the shear wave mode makes feasible the detection of the water-filled voids.

Jan 1, 1986

By Charles E. Stuart

A paper on this subject can cover but a limited range. A thorough visualization of the subject would contemplate a comparative analysis of haulage machines and batteries of various types; the relationship of the storage-battery locomotive to other types of mine haulage should be considered and limiting factors in each case should be carefully developed. This paper will deal briefly with these factors. So far as the writer has been able to determine, the first storage-battery locomotives for mine haulage were manufactured in 1897 or 1898 and were tried out in the Pocahontas coal field, but they were not sufficiently satisfactory to justify their continued use. Battery explosions were frequent and caused serious damage to the wiring, electrical equipment, and the clothing and bodies of the motormen. Sulfuric acid was used as the electrolyte. Experiments were then conducted with locomotives bearing reels of flexible cable through which connection between the motors of the locomotive and the trolley wire was maintained. At first, these reels were turned by hand. Later, the reels were revolved by contact with the wheels of the locomotive, being raised out of contact with the wheels, by a lever, when necessary. About 1902, the plan of operating the reel, by chain and sprocket wheels, from one of the locomotive axles, as is still the practice, was devised. The popular floating motor-driven reel had its inception in the Pocahontas fields prior to 1906. The maximum radius of operation of the reel-type locomotive is about 500 ft. (150 m.) from point of connection with trolley wire. This is ample for room work and certain entry work, but the need for a machine that would operate entirely independently of the trolley wire was so great that, with the development of the storage battery, renewed efforts were made to manufacture a successful storage-battery locomotive. About 1908, the gasoline locomotive was introduced. In spite of many objections to this type of machine for such work, the fact that hundreds of these machines were purchased was proof of the need for a machine operating independently of the trolley.

Jan 1, 1923

By Charles E. Stuart

A paper on this subject can cover but a limited range. A thorough visualization of the subject would contemplate a comparative analysis of haulage machines and batteries of various types; the relationship of the storage-battery locomotive to other types of mine haulage should be considered and limiting factors in each case should be carefully developed. This paper will deal briefly with these factors. So far as the writer has been able to determine, the first storage-battery locomotives for mine haulage were manufactured in 1897 or 1898 and were tried out in the Pocahontas coal field, but they were not sufficiently satisfactory to justify their continued use. Battery explosions were frequent and caused serious damage to the wiring, electrical equipment, and the clothing and bodies of the motormen. Sulfuric acid was used as the electrolyte. Experiments were then conducted with locomotives bearing reels of flexible cable through which connection between the motors of the locomotive and the trolley wire was maintained. At first, these reels were turned by hand. Later, the reels were revolved by contact with the wheels of the locomotive, being raised out of contact with the wheels, by a lever, when necessary. About 1902, the plan of operating the reel, by chain and sprocket wheels, from one of the locomotive axles, as is still the practice, was devised. The popular floating motor-driven reel had its inception in the Pocahontas fields prior to 1906. The maximum radius of operation of the reel-type locomotive is about 500 ft. (150 m.) from point of connection with trolley wire. This is ample for room work and certain entry work, but the need for a machine that would operate entirely independently of the trolley wire was so great that, with the development of the storage battery, renewed efforts were made to manufacture a successful storage-battery locomotive. About 1908, the gasoline locomotive was introduced. In spite of many objections to this type of machine for such work, the fact that hundreds of these machines were purchased was proof of the need for a machine operating independently of the trolley.

Jan 1, 1923

By H. M. Strong, R. A. Oriani

THE technological interest attaching to light, age-hardening alloys for structural uses has been pointed out to one of us.1 A potentially interesting alloy would be titanium-rich Ti-Mg alloy, provided that sufficient solid solubility exists. or could be induced at high pressure. and provided also that age hardening can be induced by proper temperature and/or pressure annealing. It was decided therefore to explore the feasibility of producing a Ti-Mg alloy in the high-pressure apparatus. Experimental. Three high-pressure runs have been carried out. In each case the geometry of the sample was that of a cylinder of titanium of commercial purity, into which a narrow hole had been drilled along the axis; this hole was filled with magnesium wire,

Jan 1, 1967

By J. L. Gillson

In this past year of our Institute's life, February 1960 to February 1961, we had some major problems to face, as did our members, since businesses in which they were engaged were feeling the recession. The major problems confronting us during this past year were: 1) Financing the new Engineering Center. 2) Keeping our three almost autonomous societies working together and toward a stronger AIME. 3) Cooperation with other engineering societies the Functional Plan. 4) Licensing and registration, and the Model Law. 5) The reorganization of the Council of Section Delegates. 6) Combatting the slump in the appeal of engineering to the young students.

Jan 4, 1961

By J. B. Austin, R. H. H. Pierce

IN developing a consistent picture of the thermal expansion of the commercial chromium steels, which cover a range of, carbon contents, it is desirable to know the expansion in the limiting case of the binary, carbon-free, iron-chromium alloys. We have, therefore, determined the thermal expansion of a series of five special alloys, ranging in chromium content from 3 to 10.5 per cent, with not more than 0.03 per cent carbon, over a temperature range extending beyond the transformation region; this low carbon content enables us to draw reasonably reliable conclusions as to the behavior of the carbon-free system. Moreover, the measurements serve to determine the beginning and the end of the alpha-gamma transformation; and they emphasize once more the fact that a transformation temperature determined by any method in which the specimen is .cooled at an appreciable rate is apt to be seriously in error, particularly if the metal contains a transformation-retarding element such as chromium or managanese. The lag, or undercooling, observed at the ?-a transformation is explained in terms of the influence of temperature on transformation velocity; the rather unusual shape of the ? loop is attributed to a change with temperature and with composition of the distribution of chromium between the alpha-iron and gamma-iron solid solutions. The exact composition of the alloys which were obtained through the courtesy of Dr. W. Rohn, of the Heraeus Vakuumschmelze A-G., is given in Table 1. Determinations of the linear thermal expansion and of transformation temperature were carried out in the vacuum dilatometer previously described,1 using a rate of heating and of cooling of 3.0° to 3.5° per minute unless otherwise stated. Magnetic susceptibility, which was measured in studying the rate of transformation, was determined with a magnetic balance, which also has. been described.2

Jan 1, 1935

By H. E. Sadler, B. Silliman

INTRODUCTORY NOTE. THE research here recorded was undertaken early in the present year, and has been prosecuted steadily for about eight months. While the work has been under my constant supervision and advice, the labor has all been performed by Mr. Sadler, to whom is chiefly due the development of the successive steps which have led to the final result. The process is better than I dared to hope, and we are able to place at the command of chemists and engineers interested in the matter an apparatus of continuous and uninterrupted action, and methods of analysis by which the daily averages of the two variable and inconstant factors of illuminating gas, ammonia and sulphur, may be determined with all needful accuracy, even by those little skilled in chemical manipulation, and with very little loss of time. This research has been carried out in the laboratory of the New Haven Gaslight Company. B. SILLIMAN. October 17th, 1876.

Jan 1, 1877

By M. D. Cooper

LUCIEN EATON, Ishpeming, Mich.-It is not the custom in the Lake Superior region, as far as I know, to employ shot-firers. Each man, or pair of men (most of the contracts are given to two men) do their own firing; each contractor keeps his powder separately. The general custom is to distribute powder (dynamite only is used) to the mines 2 days a week. The boxes, marked with the contract number and the level, are taken underground and the men take them to their working places. They are kept in boxes, which must not be nearer together than 50 ft. and are usually away from the timber roads or traveling roads. When holes have been drilled, one man usually takes down the machine, and the other man makes up the charge. He cuts the fuse, puts in the caps, etc., at a distance from the powder box. He then carries the powder charges to the working place where both men charge the hole. They do their own firing and warn others coming from any direction that the holes are being fired.

Jan 4, 1917

FRIENDS of the late Charles F. Rand presented in 1930 a sum of money from which the income is available to support various phases of the work of the Institute in which Mr. Rand was so deeply interested. At present the fund amounts to $10,000. The specific terms of the deed of gift are as follows: "The fund collected to establish a memorial to the late Charles F. Rand shall be placed in the custody of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, to be set up as a trust to be known as the `Charles F. Rand Foundation,' the income of which shall each year be applied to a distinct purpose to be decided upon in that year by vote of the Board of Directors. This purpose shall be such as to promote the general welfare of the Institute and to constitute a permanent memorial of the usefulness of Mr. Rand, who for many years gave unstintingly of his time and talents in its service.

Jan 1, 1946

By F. K. Spragins

Growing demand for conventional crude oil in North America in the face of diminishing sup- ply is bringing about increased interest in synthetic fuels. With one commercial plant already in full production, another in the planning and engineering stage and still others being seriously considered, the Athabasca tar sands are proving to be a leading center of interest. Here, and in the closely related deposits, reserves in place total over 700 billion barrels.' When and if fully developed, Athabasca tar sands could make both Canada and the United States substantially independent of all off-shore supplies of crude for many years to come. Its product, a high-quality, low-sulfur synthetic crude, is beginning to enter the market place at a most favorable time. Oil Deposit The main body of Athabasca tar sands, about 250 miles northeast of the city of Edmonton, are centered in an area of something over 12,000 sq mi. The deposit runs as high as 250,000 bbl per acre and the average richness is placed at 100,000 bbl per acre. Of the over 700 billion bbl in place, 400 billion bbl of raw oil are considered recoverable from which 300 billion bbl of upgraded synthetic crude are expected to be produced.' In the deeper zones, thermal stimulation is considered the best approach to recovery, while in the shallow areas several surface mining techniques are deemed practical.

Jan 10, 1972