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By J. Hall Carpenter, James E. Lawver

Shortly after the passage of the Taconite Amendment in Minnesota, several mining companies announced their intention to build new magnetite taconite plants and another announced its intention to augment present facilities. It is clear that Minnesota will enjoy an expanding magnetite taconite industry, but despite the fact that the reserves are large, eventually they will have to be supplemented by oxidized deposits. Furthermore, not all producers have magnetite taconite reserves. Due to the extensive oxidation of most of the western part of the Mesabi Range, there are no large blocks of unaltered magnetite taconite that lend themselves to open pit operations. Unless a commercial process can be developed to concentrate the oxidized, or so- called "nonmagnetic", taconite and semi-taconite, the existing mines operating in the western part of the range will be forced to shut down when the direct shipping, wash and gravity ores are depleted, or are no longer salable, because of their poor quality compared to high-grade pellets. KNOWN PROCESSES COSTLY The enormous reserves of the oxidized iron- bearing formation have offered a tantalizing challenge to metallurgists for many years. In fact, several processes for concentrating certain types of oxidized ore have been successful at both laboratory and pilot plant level, but to date no process for concentrating semitaconite or oxidized taconite has reached commercial fruition. Magnetic roasting, followed by low-intensity magnetic separation1, has shown considerable promise because the high iron recovery makes the ratio of concentration of many of the oxidized ores more favorable than that of magnetite taconite. However, the capital and operating costs are high and, in many cases, a high- grade concentrate cannot be made without resorting to flotation of the magnetic concentrate. Hence, most research groups are investigating alternate methods of concentration with the hopes of reducing the cost.

Jan 9, 1965

By Charles Goodale

THE principles and theory on which the U. S. mining law of 1872 was based are well understood, and have been discussed at great length by many writers. The papers by Dr. R. W. Raymond1 in the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers have covered the subject very fully, with explanations of practical results in many adjudicated cases. It is believed that the following instance of the application of the law in recent years will have some weight in a discussion of proposed changes in our mining laws. The litigation between the St. Louis Mining & Milling Co., and the Montana Mining Co., Ltd., a British corporation, over portions of the Drumlummon lode covered more than 20 years, and resulted in a judgment for damages in favor of the St. Louis Co. of such an amount that the Montana Co. declined to pay the judgment, and therefore lost the entire property. The Drumlummon lode claim in the Marysville district, Mont., was located in 1876 by Thomas Cruse. When he staked out his claim, he assumed that the discovery on the Drumlummon vein, and another showing of mineral about 200 ft. distant, were on the same vein, and the center line of the claim was given a course of N. 57'2'E. Development of the Drumlummon vein soon showed that its strike was about N. 15 E., and that the other outcrop was on the North Star lode; so it was inevitable that the Drumlummon vein would cross one or both side lines of the location, and the Montana Co. found it advisable to acquire adjoining claims on both sides of the Drumlummon, in order to avoid possible litigation over apex rights. They bought the Marble Heart, but would not purchase the Hopeful (see Figs. 1 and 2), at the terms proposed for the reason that exploration in the Cruse level had shown the vein to be barren in that region. The owners of the Hopeful were sinking an incline from that claim in 1889, and the Montana Co. enjoined them, contending

Jan 5, 1914

By T. L. Joseph, G. Bitsianes

The gaseous reduction of dense iron ore is a topochemical process in which reduction takes place at distinct interfaces between solid phases or layers. Under normal conditions, these interfaces remain parallel to the exterior surface of the ore body as they move inward. Certain conditions, such as cracking, high porosity, impurities, entrapped residual oxides, may cause departures from normal topochemical behavior. THE gaseous reduction of dense iron ore proceeds at interfaces between several solid phases or layers.',' Under normal conditions, these interfaces progress inward and remain parallel to the exterior surface of the ore body. This topochemical behavior is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 which shows partially reduced specimens of natural and synthetic hematite. Using a coordinated sequence of macro, micro, and X-ray examinations, the authors1-'2 found that the number of interfaces and participating phases was in agreement with the Fe-0 system. Above 570°C, reduction of the ore involved a maximum of three common boundaries between four solid phases: iron, wiistite (Fe,O), magnetite (Fe,O,), and hematite (Fe,O,). Below 570°C, reduction proceeded through two interfaces between three phases: iron, magnetite (Fe,O,), and hematite (Fe,O,). The decrease in the number of phases below 570°C was due to the instability of wiistite below this temperature. The sequence of phases was also consistent with the equilibrium requirements. For example, the layers of iron oxides that were formed in topochemical fashion were always orientated in the order of increasing oxygen content. Thus, in Fig. 1 an outer layer of metallic iron is followed in turn by a thick intermediate band of black wiistite, by a thin layer of light magnetite, and finally by a relatively large core of hematite. This arrangement of the oxide layers was due to restrictions in reducing conditions which were imposed by the physical structure of the solid. The highly reducing gas on the outside of the particle gradually lost its reducing power as it penetrated into the specimen. On a macro scale, the layers of the various oxides appeared to be sharply defined and uniform in composition. Microexamination of the sections, however, revealed that the interfaces did possess measurable widths which varied with the porosity and chemical activity of the oxide phase undergoing reduction. For example, Fig. 2 shows three interfaces in a dense hematitic ore which was partially reduced at 850°C. At the iron-wiistite interface where the greatest porosity developed, the reaction proceeded over a zone 25 to 30 microns in width. Toward the interior, the interfaces became progressively narrower until at the magnetite-hematite boundary the reaction zone was about 1 micron wide. In this region the structure was exceedingly dense; the hematite possessing a porosity on the order of 3 pct. A careful micro study across polished layers of the various oxides revealed generally homogenous and single-phase structures. As reported in a previous paper,' the wiistite layer was characterized by an increase in oxygen content with depth of penetration. The topochemical behavior of reduction was studied in six types of ore of different origin, composition, and physical structure. In most cases, reduction proceeded at the boundaries of well defined layers or phases, and this behavior may be regarded as normal for most dense fine grained ores. Deviations from Ideal Topochemical Behavior A number of deviations from the normal topochemical behavior were noted. In these cases, the continuity of the reduction interfaces was disrupted in one of four ways: 1—Cracking of the specimen interrupted the geometric configuration, and the interfacial advance was no longer parallel to the exterior surface. 2—As a result of high porosity, the interfaces were spread over an appreciable distance and all but obliterated. 3—Impurities in the ore promoted a variety of deviations, including cracking. 4—A residual oxide phase was entrapped in the reaction product and left behind the advancing macro interface. Results from Cracking: A crack leading into the interior of an ore specimen presents a path of least resistance for the counter-flow of reducing gases and gaseous reduction products. Higher reducing conditions can be maintained along such cracks and reduction accordingly will propagate well ahead of the normally advancing reduction interfaces. Cracking was caused by a number of factors, one of which was the thermal spalling of impurities in the massive form. A more general type of cracking was due to reduction and was found in all dense varieties of natural and synthetic hematite, particularly in the temperature range of 500" to 700°C. The effect is shown clearly in Fig. 3. In this case, a dense sphere of pure hematite was partially reduced at 650°C for 100 min. The macrosection shows that one large reduction crack had penetrated the specimen and disrupted the normal topochemical advance of the interfaces. The outer layer of iron was only slightly affected but the thin dark layer of wiistite, adjacent to the ferrite, had widened perceptibly as it progressed along the crack. Farther inward, the magnetite layer was greatly disrupted and had penetrated irregularly to form islands of unaltered white hematite. A great deal of internal cracking is evident in the magnetite phase. From a practical point of view, the cracking of dense ores in the blast furnace could lead to desirable as well as undesirable effects. The general result

Jan 1, 1956

By L. F. Marek, G. W. King, A. Bogrow

THE purpose of this paper is to present the data and some interpretation of the results of a laboratory study of the reduction of iron ore and the deposition of carbon from the reducing gas mixtures in such reductions. One major object of the study was to determine the effect of gas pressures on these chemical processes. Effort was made to approximate the conditions of temperature, gas composition, linear and mass gas velocities, pressure range, and extent of reduction prevailing in commercial blast furnaces. The results show that the reduction of Fe203 proceeds by two steps, largely consecutive under the conditions used herein: reduction of Fe203 to FeO, and reduction Of FeO to Fe. Unless the gas has a CO/CO2 ratio greater than 2.1 only the first step occurs under these conditions (850°C) but the following generalizations apply to either step or to the combination. The rate of reduction of relatively fine ore particles at any time is proportional to the mass rate of supply of CO (provided some of it is thermodynamically available) the rate therefore is proportional to the linear velocity at constant pressure, or to the pressure at constant linear velocity. Thus, the rate of reduction may be increased without increase in linear velocity f the reducing gas by increasing the mass velocity of the gas and increasing the pressure correspondingly to avoid any increase in the linear velocity. The rate "constants"-i.e., the efficiency of conversion of the "available" CO supplied-is not actually constant but decreases as the reduction proceeds, and is a function only of the state of the ore; i.e., of the amount of reduction already accomplished and hence of the amount of CO passed. The particle size Of ore used in nearly all the experiments was relatively small (8 to 14-mesh). The rate of reduction in run 16 with 3 to 8-mesh ore particles is within experimental error the same as with the finer ore. Although this would indicate an absence of effect due to particle size in this range of ore particles, it is desirable to have more data on other ore sizes and on ore of different densities before arriving at any generalizations on this point. Although it is possible to extend the analysis of these results to consideration of the more detailed kinetics and mechanism of iron oxide reduction, such extension is beyond the scope of the present paper. From the experiments on carbon deposition, it was evident that if carbon deposition is increased at all by the application of pressures up to 10 psi ga., such increase appears to be less than the experimental and analytical error. It appears safe to conclude that at top pressures on the order

Jan 1, 1947

By Rudolf Gahl

Some time ago the Detroit Copper Mining Co. had to decide the question whether it would pay to re-treat slime-tailings, and several machines were tested in order to ascertain the type of construction which would give the greatest saving. In previous tests on the ore of this company, several tables proved far inferior to the Frue vanner, and for this reason they did not receive any serious consideration. In the late tests, however, one table was found to surpass the vanner in the percentage of saving made. The Frue vanner used in these tests had been adjusted approximately to the slope which the slime-vanners in the concentrator of the Detroit Copper Co. had at that time, about 2 in. between the inside of the wooden posts, or 0.272 in. per ft. It had not been determined, however, if this slope was the most economical one for treating the slime-feed in the mill, or for re-treating the tailings from the slime-vanners, and I was instructed to ascertain by test-runs, under different conditions, the best adjustments for the work to be done. In order to determine if a change in the adjustments of the machines would improve the results, it seemed sufficient to continue running the tests between the vanner and the table before mentioned, keeping the feed and all other conditions the same, but varying the adjustments of the vanner from run to run. I employed a vanner-man of long experience to operate these machines, who expressed the opinion that a slope between 28 and 2.5 in. between the posts (0.323 and 0.340 in. per ft.) would give the best results. Some runs made this way gave a considerable improvement. While for a slope of 2 in. (0.272 in. per ft.) the saving had been only 40.5 per cent. of that of the table, it was 49.2 per cent. for 2.5 in. (0.340 in. per ft.) slope. A decrease of

Jan 1, 1910

Jan 1, 1879

By H. G. Schneider

The Smackover oil and gas field lies in Ouachita and Union Counties, Ark., in the south-central part of the state, in T.15 and 16S., R.15, 16, and 17W. It is 10 miles north of El Dorado, the principal business and railroad center in the south-central part of the state, and extends from the town of Smackover in all directions. Productive territory having an aggregate area of nearly 55 sq. mi. has been developed. It extends 6 miles from north to south and 12 miles from east to west. The field may be divided into two parts: the east district, which includes the area east of the town of Smackover, and the west district, which includes the area west of the town of Smackover. In relation to the neighboring productive fields of Arkansas, the Smackover field is 9 miles north of the El Dorado oil and gas field, 8 miles slightly west of north of the East El Dorado oil and gas field, and 16 miles east of the Stephens oil field. Smackover was discovered in May, 1922, when the Oil Operators Tnist drilled well No. 1 on the J. T. Murphy farm, in the southeast quarter of sec. 8, T.16S., R.15W. This well is located almost on the top of the Norphlet dome and was drilled to the Nacatoch sand. It had an initial open flow volume of 30,000,000 cu. ft. of dry gas per day, and a rock pressure of 950 lb. per sq. in. In July, 1922, the V. K. F. Co. completed the first oil well in sec. 29, T.l5S., R.l5W., on the north side of the Norphlet dome, and 3 miles north of the first gas well. This well started the active development of the north and northwest sides of the dome.] The field was extended westwards, when oil was discovered in the Nacatoch sand, during October, 1922, in sec. 4, T.l6S., R.l6W., 51/2 miles west of the original gas well. This opened up the so-called "light oil district," which is located on a structural terrace, for which the name

Jan 1, 1924

By E. A. Gulbransen, K. F. Andrew

THIS paper. will present the results of our studies on the kinetics of the gas phase reactions of co-lumbium and tantalum with O2, N2 and H2. Studies on zirconium and titanium have been previously reported.9,11 Due to their high melting points and their many excellent physical and chemical properties, colurn-bium and tantalum have been finding their places as useful metals in science and industry. Chemically the metals are very inert to gas and liquid phase corrosion at room temperature. However, at moderate temperatures of 250°C and higher the metals react readily with oxygen and hydrogen. It is of interest to study the gas phase reactions of these metals for the following reasons: (1) to compare the rates of the several reactions with those of other metals and to correlate the rate data with theory and structure predictions, (2) to add basic information on the practical difficulties of the reduction, refining and working of columbium and tantalum, (3) to anticipate new uses for the metals and (4) to understand the role that the metals play as components in high temperature alloys. Literature Survey A number of papers exist in the literature on the gas phase reactions of columbium and tantalum with O2, N2 and H2; however, only fragmentary data have been reported on the kinetics of these reactions. Although the free energy of formation of the oxide Ta2O520at 25°C has been determined and some thermodynamic work has been reported on columbium and its oxides, the data are not sufficient to make equilibria calculations at elevated temperatures. Oxidation: 1. Kinetics: The rate of oxidation of columbium and tantalum has been studied by McAdam and Geil23 using the interference color method. Tantalum is reported to oxidize more slowly than columbium, zirconium and iron. The amounts of oxidation of columbium after 20 hr in air for several temperatures are reported by the Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation.36 Columbium starts to oxidize in air at about 200°C. The oxide is said to be adherent and prevents further oxidation until the temperature is raised. Columbium is reported not to become brittle on heating in air for short periods like tantalum because the oxide film prevents further reaction. The columbium oxides dissolve into the metal when heated in a vacuum at temperatures between red heat and 1200°C. Above 1200°C the oxides are reported to evaporate. Columbium, in the oxide free state, is an active getter in vacuum tubes. 2. Preparation and Structure: G. Grube, O. Kuba-schewski and K. Zwiauer15 have studied the decomposition of Cb2O5 in argon. They find that CbO2 is formed slowly at 1150° and rapidly at 1300°C. Cb2O5 can be reduced to CbO2 by moist H2. The reduction of this dioxide to the lower oxides is rapid. By varying conditions CbO2, Cb2O3, CbO and Cb2O can be formed. CbO2, CbO and Cb2O have independent lattices while Cb2O3 is a stoichiometric mixture of CbO and CbO2. In a later paper O. Kuba-schewski" has shown that CbO is cubic and that CbO2 has a rutile type of lattice. The most exhaustive work on the oxides of columbium is that of G. Brauer.8 The number and constitution of the solid phases in the binary system Cb-O were investigated by the preparative, analytical and X ray methods. He indicates that only the oxides Cb2O5, CbO2 and CbO exist with limited regions of homogeneity. The solid oxide Cb,O, exists

Jan 1, 1951

By M. C. Leverett

THE dynamic behavior of a multiple fluid system is completely describable in terms of driving forces and resistances to flow. The latter are proportional to the vis-cosity of the fluid under consideration and inversely proportional to a property of the system termed the " effective permeability" to that fluid, a property therefore defined by this relation. Since three phases are usually present in oil reservoirs, it is essential to know the effective permeabilities to the several fluid phases, and the relationship between the composition of the fluid in the pore space and that of the flowing stream, in order to handle satisfactorily certain problems of oil production. In this regard, there are many unknown factors and parameters, and many that can be evaluated only indi-rectly. However, it is expected that work along lines similar to this present under-taking will help materially in solving these problems. Previous workers in this field have inves-tigated the two-phase systems, water-gas,1 water-oil2 in unconsolidated sands, and water-gas3 in consolidated sands. The ex-tension of the study of the flow of hetero-geneous fluid systems from two to three phases involved only slight changes in technique. The apparatus used in the present work, except for slight changes to be described, was that used by Leverett in his water-oil experiments.2 Correlation and interpretation of data were made by methods analogous to those used in two-phase work. The relative permeability to a phase-the effective permeability divided by the permeability of the system to a homogeneous fluid-was employed through-out in correlating the rate of flow of that phase with the composition of the pore space. Quantitative measurements of two inde-pendent physical properties of the system were required to determine the composition of the pore space. As in the two-phase work, the fraction of water was determined electrically. The gas fraction was deter-mined by measuring changes in volume accompanying measured pressure changes. Suitable account was taken of the solubility of the gas in the liquid phases, and of the vapor pressure of the water phase. Since this work was exploratory in nature, no attempt was made to obtain highly accu-rate numerical results. Reasonable precision and reproducibility were sought.

Jan 1, 1940

By L. C. Glenn

IN the preparation of this paper the writer has drawn freely upon the writings of Orton, Munn, Shaw, Mather, Miller, Hoeing, St. Clair, Jillson, and others, as well as upon his own personal knowledge of the fields of both states. It is to be regretted that certain data gathered by him and his assistants last fall are not available for publication. OIL IN TENNESSEE A few wells drilled for brine for salt making in Tennessee between 1820 and 1840 obtained oil, but no definite search was made for oil until just after the close of the Civil War. Active drilling was then begun in Overton and counties southwest of it on the eastern half of the Highland Rim. A number of strikes were made at shallow depths in the basal part of the Mississippian but the wells were soon exhausted and abandoned. Drilling was revived, about. 1892, when the Spurrier district in Pickett County was developed and was followed by the Riverton district in the same county in 1896. A pipe line was laid from the Wayne County, Ky., fields and about 60,000 bbl. of oil were run before a very heavy slump in the production, a failure to find an extension of the field, and excessive local taxation caused the removal of the pipe line in 1906. There was then no production in Tennessee until the discovery, in 1915, of oil near Oneida, Scott Co., at about 950 ft. (289 m.) in fissures in the Newman or St. Louis limestone. This field, however, soon failed and was abandoned. In 1916, oil was found at Glen Mary, Scott Co., in the Newman limestone at a depth of 1232 ft. (375 m.) A number of wells have since been drilled there, some of which were dry while others, close by, were producers. The largest one yielded, at first, about 340 bbl. per day and produced for several months, when it suddenly went dry. Several of the first wells began at 6 or 8 bbl. per day and are still maintaining that

Jan 1, 1920

By J. C. Bowling

Factors governing the choice of building types, materials, and the details of construction for mineral processing plants in remote locations with cold climates are discussed. Alternative types of building insulation in common use are described and a comparison is made of their suitability under various conditions.

Jan 1, 1973

By C. D. Ramsden

DURING the war years of 1941 to 1945, maintenance of mine locomotives and other mine equipment took the form of rebuilding rather than of renewing. Pur¬chase of new parts became increasingly difficult and mine operators found it necessary to maintain equipment by sal¬vaging old parts. Mine-locomotive wheels, although not representing a high cost per pound of material, contain a con¬siderable amount of steel and without rebuilding would have to be scrapped long before even a moderate percentage of the steel in the wheel is actually consumed. Many mine operators have been re¬building locomotive wheels for several years with automatic open arc-welding equipment. In 1927, the Pittsburgh Coal Co. started such a program, using a single Westinghouse automatic welding head. Since that time, many refinements have been added, until in 1944 the setup was operating very efficiently. A desire to increase wheel life and to hold down rising costs led the company in 1944 to investigate the possibilities of the under¬flux arc-welding process for wheel rebuild¬ing, although at that time, little or no work had been done on multiple pass or "build-up" welding with the underflux arc. Work with this process had been confined largely to welding together flat plates in a "down hand" position. Possibilities for savings were intensified by the fact that the company has 300 locomotives in operation, using actively or as spares 1200 sets of wheels. During 1942 and 1943, about 500 sets of wheels were sent each year to the company's maintenance shop at Library, Pa., for rebuilding. Based on having 800 sets in service (many of the company's heavy locomotives have three- sets of trucks), the average life of a set of wheels was approximately 19 months. Anything that could be done to increase wheel life promised sizable annual savings. OPEN ARC WELDING With the open arc process, a set of wheels could be rebuilt for about 40 pct of the cost of new wheels. Underflux arc welding gave promise of greatly increased welding speeds, more homogeneous, dense deposits and the chance for use of a wider range in welding-wire compositions. Against this was ranged the higher cost of materials and the cost of developing the process from the theory to a practical reality. Since 1927, when a single open arc head was placed in operation, fixed welding procedures had been gradually developed, a positioner for handling a set of wheels was built, and a second head was placed in operation in order to weld two wheels simultaneously. The fixture, or posi¬tioner, which was built to position and turn the wheels under the two welding heads, included a motor drive, controlled by a rheostat, which rotated the wheels through a double set of speed reducers and a removable jaw coupling attached to one end of the axle of the wheel truck.

Jan 1, 1946

By T. L. McCall

THE late Walter Herd1 in 1929 gave a full description of past and present conditions in No. 2 mine, Springhill, Nova Scotia, developed theories regarding the cause of these bumps and made certain suggestions regarding possible methods of future development. Recapitulating briefly from Mr. Herd's paper, the seam is bituminous coal, averages 9 ft. in thickness and has a well defined parting containing fusain about 14 in. from the roof. This roof coal is somewhat stronger than the rest of the seam and has a tendency to cling to the roof. The pitch of the seam where it is now being worked is about 20°. The first manifestations of bumps began when the room and pillar workings had reached a depth of cover of 1900 ft. and under continuously increasing depth of cover these bumps increased to such an extent, both in number and severity, that in the year 1924 it became apparent that some change in the system of extraction was necessary. After closely studying all the factors involved and benefiting largely by valuable out-side advice obtained by the Provincial Department of Mines of Nova Scotia,2 the system of working was changed from room and pillar to longwall retreating. Mr. Herd's paper described in detail three remarkable bumps in the year 1928 in April, July and October that affected the 5700-ft. and 5900-ft. East levels, the last bump being so severe both in intensity and in extent of damage done that this district was abandoned. The longwall workings to the west of the slope had been stopped in the year 1926 owing to an inbreak of water, coming from the flooded waste of No. 3 seam lying some 400 ft. vertically overhead. This inflow was not excessive, but a large quantity of water being impounded in the old workings it was considered advisable to take the prudent course and not incur the risk of possibly increasing the flow by further working. This district has remained idle ever since.

Jan 1, 1934

By C. P. Lawhon, J. P. Simpson, W. M. Evans

Recent efforts to design drilling fluids for increased drifting rates have confirmed some laboratory results of other investigators, but have also produced additional data that should be considered. These data were obtained under controlled test conditions using a microbit drilling machine. Clays and some polymers have previously been reported to cause reduction in drilling rate. Recent data have shown that under laboratory conditions, suspensions of a single day or polymer have sometimes given faster drilling rates than when water was used. Measurements have been made of clay suspensions and polymer suspensions comparing filtration (I) under API conditions, (2) while drilling with temperature of 150F and differential pressure of 1,000 psi and (3) under dynamic conditions after drilling. Some correlation between instanraneous filtration (white drilling) and drilling rate has been observed. INTRODUCTION Several papers have been presented that related drilling fluids to penetration rate. Generally, it was found that a decrease in the solids concentration resulted in significant increases in the drilling rate. Of course, this change also resulted in a decrease in the viscosity of the drilling fluid.' Conclusions from investigations by this laboratory are in agreement. Data have shown that of the simple mud measurements commonly made at the drilling rig (density, plastic viscosity. yield point, API filtrate and total solids), only the density and total solids have a significant relationship to the drilling rate in Berea sandstone when attempting to correlate a single mud property individually.' More recent drilling rate experiments have been designed to study (1) effects of individual clays and polymers on drilling rates in Berea sandstone and Lueders limestone, (2) the relationship between drilling rate and dynamic filtration as measured after drilling and (3) the relationship between drilling rate and dynamic filtration as measured during drilling. Data show that drilling rates are dependent upon type and concentration of particles, type of formation and filtration of the individual fluids while drilling. Mud pressure: pressure of drilling fluid as measured after leaving the drilling chamber (Fig. 1). This is taken to be approximately the mud pressure just past the bit and at the face of the formation. Terrastatic pressure: pressure representing weight of overburden. Formation pressure: pressure of formation fluid as measured at outlet of drilling chamber (Fig. 1). This is taken to be approximately the pressure of fluid in the interstices of the formation. Differential pressure: difference between the mud pressure and formation pressure. LABORATORY EQUIPMENT AND TESTING PROCEDURE The drilling equipment was described in two previous publications."' Main components are a drilling chamber, filter-heater, rotary drive and variable-speed circulating pump. Auxiliary pumps supply pressure boosts for the mud, terrastatic and formation pressures. All equipment is designed for 15,000 psi and 500F. Capacity of the circulating system is approximately 7 gal. The mechanical design was facilitated by moving the rock down onto the bit. Data collected with this design should not differ from that obtained by a normal design where the bit moves into the rock. Drilling fluid is pumped through 50 ft of ID pipe coiled in an oil bath, enters the rotary shaft at a right angle and is pumped through the jets on the bit (Fig. 1). Most of the drilled solids are extracted by a screen mounted in the circulating system on the suction side of the pump. Data reported in this paper were obtained by controlling these parameters: mud pressure, 5,000 psi; formation pressure, 4,000 psi; terrastatic pressure, 5,000 psi; force on bit, 1,000 Ib; formation, Berea sandstone and Lueders limestone; flow rate, 7 gal/rnin; bit, 11/4-in. diameter with two 0.078-in jets; mud temperature. 150F; and rotary speed, 60 rpm. Mud pressure was controlled at 5,000 psi, thus giving a differential pressure of 1,000 psi even though the fluid densities varied. Cores of 3%;-in. diameter and 8 in. long were selected from quarry blocks to provide some control of grain size distribution, permeability and porosity. A 2-in. section was cut off each core and a I -in. diameter plug was taken from this section. Permeability to 5 percent by weight sodium chloride solution was determined and the large cores were

By Theodore Nagel

Fuel-oil, natural gas and coke oven gas, producing the higher temperatures of open-hearth current practice, have been gradually displacing producer gas the lowest cost fuel for open hearth operations. The lower temperatures of combusts on products from producer gas is caused by nitrogen dilution. Practical Application of Combustion Thermochemistry One pound of carbon burned to CO produces 3,960 B.T.U. and one pound of carbon burned to C02 produces 14,140 B.T.U. The second unit of oxygen uniting with gasified carbon (CO) produces (14,140 - 3,960) 10,180 B.T.U. which is (10,180 - 3,960) 6,220 B.T.U. more heat than produced by the first unit of oxygen forming CO by uniting with solid carbon. A review of the relative combustion heating values of commercial gaseous fuels reveals CO requires a minimum of air for combustion and because of minimum nitrogen dilution and the high thermal release from CO higher temperature combustion products are produced from CO than from natural gas or from coke-oven gas under similar combustion conditions. Inert nitrogen diluent lowers the calorific value of fuel gas and its diluting effect is cumulative in lowering the temperature of the products of total combustion. It is not only logical but practical in partial combustion, converting bituminous coal to gas, to generate the gas with reduced nitrogen dilution.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. A. Meussner, C. T. Fujii

Chromium solution in wustite depresses the oxygen activity in a nonideal manner and expands the lattice slightly. Gravimetric measurements of the equilibrium compositions of wustite containing 0.00 to 1.38 wt pct Cr define the oxygen potential (CO2-CO atm) and the limits of the phase field at 1000°C. These data extrapolate to a maximum solubility of 2 wt pct Cr. The lattice parameter data, room-temperature measurements of quenched samples, differ significantly from those in the literature. Both pure and chromium wus-tites contract at uniform and equal rates as the oxygen content (metal deficit) increases. The a. US metal deficit relationships are straight lines showing none of the curvature previously reported. At constant metal deficit, the a. expands by 0.002? on alloying with 0.4 to 0.5 wt pct Cr but is insensitive to further chromium additions: a small expansion rather than a marked contraction. These results require a modification of the accepted alloying mechanism. IN the high-temperature oxidation of Fe-Cr alloys in Ha-H,and CO2-CO atmospheres the vapor transfer of oxygen from the continuous wustite outer scale to the porous inner scale/alloy interface sustains the high oxidation rates.1"3 The driving force for this transport is the difference in the oxygen activity of the outer wustite and that at the inner scale/alloy interface. In pure CO2, as well as in CO2-CO atmospheres, carburization of the alloy accompanies this oxidation. Current efforts to evaluate the parameters controlling this carburization have shown that the process is not simple; i.e., the carbon concentration in the alloy initially increases rapidly, reaches a maximum, and then decreases slowly as the oxidation time is extended. This is the same pattern reported by McCoy for the more complex oxidation-carburization of stainless steels and an Fe-Cr alloy in CO2 at lower temperatures.4 These changes in the carburization process occur while the overall oxidation rate and the lattice parameters of the scale layers remain constant. If this invariance of the lattice parameter is assumed to indicate a constant scale composition and thus a constant oxygen potential, the carburization results are not easily explained. Electron microprobe traces across the thickness of these outer scales, however, have revealed distinct chromium gradients penetrating 10 to 50 µ from the inner surface where the chromium concentrations were estimated at a few tenths percent. The variation of the chromium cmcentration on the inner surface of the scale, and the resulting change of the oxygen activity, during the oxidation process is considered to be important in defining the carburization process. Thus, to gain an understanding of the complex oxidation-carburization proc- ess, it was necessary to measure the properties of wustite containing known amounts of chromium (chromium wustite). Although the general features of the Fe-Cr-0 equilibrium diagram between 900° and 1300°C have been fairly well established by Richards and white: Wood-house and White,6 Seybolt,7 and Katsura and Muan,8 there have been no detailed studies of the limits of the chromium wustite phase field or the properties of these alloyed wustites. The recent results of a limited study of chromium wustite by Levin and wagner9 indicate that more than 0.67 wt pct Cr is soluble in wustite above 850°C and that this alloying is accompanied by a substantial lattice contraction. This change in the lattice parameter was not evident in the X-ray diffraction patterns of wustite layers from the oxidation experiments;1,3 the lines were sharp even though a chromium gradient existed in the scale. The present paper describes gravimetric equilibrium experiments which delineate the boundaries of the chromium wustite single-phase field at 1000°C and define the changes in the oxygen activity and the lattice parameter of wustite as functions of chromium and oxygen contents. The lattice parameter data of chromium wustite obtained from these equilibrium and special quenching experiments differ considerably from those reported.9 Those for pure wustite show significant differences from the widely accepted data of Jette and Foote.10 Since the causes of these differences are not easily assignable, and since the literature contains many sets of data on wustite which if not in conflict are at best not in harmony, the experimental procedures are discussed in the present paper. EXPERIMENTAL Oxide Preparation. The specimens used in these studies were porous pellets compacted from high-purity (Fe,Cr)2O3 or Fe2O3 powders. These powders were prepared from electrolytic chromium (99.8 pct purity) and electrolytic iron purified by consumable-electrode, vacuum arc-melting processing (299.9 pct purity).11 The oxides were produced by standard analytical procedures: solution of the metals in acids (HC1, then HNO3 added), coprecipitation of the hydroxides (NHaOH), and filtering and washing these precipitates. Initial dehydration of the coprecipitated hydroxides was done in a porcelain evaporating dish heated by a Meker-type burner, final dehydration by firing in a recrystallized alumina crucible at 1000" to 1050°C for 20 hr in an electrically heated furnace. Spectrographic analysis detected the following impurities: silicon, 0.01 pct or less; aluminum, 0.001 pct to trace; manganese and copper, 0.0001 pct to none. Each of these levels is at least one order of magnitude lower than in commercially available CP grade ferric and chromic oxides. Fluorescence analy-

Jan 1, 1969

THIS chapter and the one following deal with the heat quantities involved in open-hearth steelmaking, including the thermal efficiency of the furnace as a generator of high-temperature heat, the heat storage in the steel and slag produced and in the furnace walls, and the heats of the various chemical reactions involved in combustion, in the formation of slag, and the refining of steel. The fundamental laws to be considered are the simplification of the first two ' laws of thermodynamics as applied to problems involving sensible and potential (or latent) heat only 1. Heat input equals heat outflow plus storage. 2. Heat may be transferred only from a hotter body to a colder one. The first of these laws relates to the various heat quantities or the "heat balance" of the process. No one has as yet made an open-hearth heat balance that came out almost exactly balanced, and we assume that the cause lies in the difficulties of accurate temperature and flow-rate measurements at the high temperatures involved and the inherent complexities of flow distribution, air leakage, etc., present in any real, open-hearth furnace system. Some idea of the magnitude of the heat quantities involved can be obtained- by a brief, crude outline of the heat balance of a 90-ton heat of steel. We will assume a 60 to 70 per cent hot-metal charge in a fairly fast working and only moderately efficient furnace, burning fuel oil, with a fuel consumption of around 4 million B.t.u. per net ton. of ingots produced. The time from start of charge to tap is 9 hr. During this period, the oil burned represents 360 million B.t.u., and the sensible heat in the preheated air at the port ends is 117 million B.t.u. so that the total heat input at the ports is 477 million B.t.u. Heat stored in the steel and slag at the end of the heat, plus the various amounts absorbed by certain bath reactions, amounts to a total of 195 million B.t.u., but 120 million of this is supplied by the heat in the hot metal and by various heat--evolving reactions in the bath, so that only 75 million B.t.u. need be supplied to the bath by the flame.

Jan 1, 1944

By H. M. Faust

THERE are a number of different types of power plants. Some use coal to generate steam, others use oil or gas either in the form of steam or internal combustion equipment, while still others avail themselves of water power as a source of energy. A general comparison of the relative power production with different sources of energy in the United States, for several different years is set up in Table 1. This table shows that coal was used to generate 85.6 per cent of the total heat power requirements of 1909, and only 59.2 per cent of the 1930 requirements. The increasing proportion of modern heat energy generated by the use of fuel other than coal is apparent. If coal is to maintain its importance as a source of heat energy, the necessity for its improved perform-ance, in which preparation plays an -important part, cannot be stressed too strongly.

Jan 1, 1933

By E. H. Dix

All commercial aluminum contains small percentages of copper, iron, and silicon as unavoidable impurities. The purest metal obtainable commercially, special grade high purity ingot, contains a maximum of 0.50 per cent. impurities of which the usual minimum amount of copper is 0.01 per cent.; silicon, 0.12 per cent.; and iron, 0.20 per cent. This grade is too costly for most purposes. The two standard grades, Nos. 1 and 2, containing a minimum of 99.0 and 98.0 per cent. aluminum, respectively, are more generally used. Other grades of secondary aluminum often contain as high as 3 or 4 per cent. of impurities, which include 1 per cent., or more, of zinc. Specifications for high-grade aluminum-casting alloys generally allow a maximum of 1.7 per cent. for total impurities. The S. A. E. Specification No. 33, which is intended to cover alloys made from secondary aluminum ingot, gives the iron maximum as 1.5 per cent. and the maximum for silicon (including manganese and tin) as 0.75 per cent. The effect of even relatively small amounts of impurities on the physical properties of ingot aluminum is shown by the following cornparison of two lots of aluminum, which may be taken as representative of special grade and grade No. 2 ingot, respectively. AnalysEs Special Grade, Gbade No. 2, Per Cent. PeR CBnt. Copper................................. 0.01 0.32 Silicon................................. 0.12 0.32 Iron................................... 0.42 0.82 Aluminum.............................. 99.45 98.54

Jan 1, 1923

By E. H. Dix

All commercial aluminum contains small percentages of copper, iron, and silicon as unavoidable impurities. The purest metal obtainable commercially, special grade high purity ingot, contains a maximum of 0.50 per cent. impurities of which the usual minimum amount of copper is 0.01 per cent.; silicon, 0.12 per cent.; and iron, 0.20 per cent. This grade is too costly for most purposes. The two standard grades, Nos. 1 and 2, containing a minimum of 99.0 and 98.0 per cent. aluminum, respectively, are more generally used. Other grades of secondary aluminum often contain as high as 3 or 4 per cent. of impurities, which include 1 per cent., or more, of zinc. Specifications for high-grade aluminum-casting alloys generally allow a maximum of 1.7 per cent. for total impurities. The S. A. E. Specification No. 33, which is intended to cover alloys made from secondary aluminum ingot, gives the iron maximum as 1.5 per cent. and the maximum for silicon (including manganese and tin) as 0.75 per cent. The effect of even relatively small amounts of impurities on the physical properties of ingot aluminum is shown by the following cornparison of two lots of aluminum, which may be taken as representative of special grade and grade No. 2 ingot, respectively. AnalysEs Special Grade, Gbade No. 2, Per Cent. PeR CBnt. Copper................................. 0.01 0.32 Silicon................................. 0.12 0.32 Iron................................... 0.42 0.82 Aluminum.............................. 99.45 98.54

Jan 1, 1923