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By AIME AIME

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. D. W. BRUNTON DENVER, COLO. (Term expires February, 1911.) VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE COUNCIL. W. C. RALSTON SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. W. L. SAUNDERS NEW YORK, N. Y. H. V. WINCHELL MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (Term expires February, 1911.) BENJAMIN B. LAWRENCE NEW YORK, N. Y. JOSEPH W. RICHARDS SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PA. ALBERT SAUVEUR CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (Term expires February, 1912.)

Nov 1, 1910

By E. C. Wright

THE bessemer process is nearly one hundred years old. William Kelly, the American inventor, was able to demonstrate that he had accomplished the pneumatic purification of molten pig iron as early as 1847; Henry Bessemer's English patent was granted in 1855. The application of this steelmaking process since then and the present position of bessemer steel are concisely discussed on pages 355 and 356 of the fifth. edition of "The . Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel." The great expansion of the automotive, machine-tool, chemical and oil industries after 1910 opened up a large market for special steels, whereas the output of steel before that time was mainly for structural purposes. The need for building more blast-furnace capacity complementary to bessemer operations, combined with the availability of the necessary amounts of steel scrap, both contributed to the extension of open-hearth plants at the expense of bessemer capacity. The ability of the open-hearth furnaces to consume virtually all types of raw materials as far as phosphorus content is concerned, and the need for selecting low-phosphorus ores of rapidly decreasing sources for the bessemer, also played a part in the reduction of bessemer steelmaking operations and the increase in basic open-hearth plants. As a consequence, the proportion of bessemer steel made in this country decreased from 65.7 per cent of the total in 1900 to 37.1 per cent in 1910, and only 6.8 per cent of the total in 1937. The metallurgical concepts existent between 1910 and 1920 caused the writing of many specifications of very low phosphorus and sulphur content, which definitely barred bessemer steel from many commodities. Now sulphur is being added to many open-hearth and bessemer steels in amounts far exceeding the maximum sulphur content of good bessemer steel. Rephosphorizing is also widely practiced for several specific applications. Even today, the chemical-analysis limits of many important steel specifications have an arbitrary and archaic tinge. The old standard "0.30 .to 0.60 per cent manganese" might be mentioned in this connection as similar to the rigid requirements for maximum sulphur and phosphorus that were established at least 25 years ago. The literature is full of vague and complex discussions of the effects of nitrogen and oxygen where these elements existed in steel in amounts less than 0.02 per cent. Many failures have been attributed to these elements without reasonable proof on which to base the conclusion. Methods of determining oxygen in steel require such complicated equipment that only a few research laboratories have the required apparatus. Even so, the accuracy of oxygen determinations in steel has been only recently reproducible. Up to the present time, no one has succeeded in obtaining a sample of molten steel that accurately indicates the full. oxygen content of the metal in the furnace or ladle because the molten sample

Jan 1, 1944

By J. H. Palm

Experiments have shown12 that the formula -S = St - (St - Se')e ne [1] expresses very well the relation between the true stress S and the true form monotonic deformation of plastic metals in single tension and compression (Fig 1). St (asymptotic or final stress), Se' (threshold stress) and ne (characteristic or specific strain) are constants, the significance of which immediately follows from Fig 1. Only at the initial stages of deformation the experimental curve runs below the theoretical curve. This may be due, at least partly, to the uneven stress distribution caused by the anisotropy of the crystals. It is now obvious that a similar formula H = Ht- (Ht- He)e ne' [2] might be valid for the relation between the hardness and the strain. The hardness can be only a function of the strain and must therefore be independent on the hydrostatic tension present in the neck during straining. Hence, if Eq 2 is correct it will also represent the relation between hardness and strain in the middle section of the neck, the strain of which is generally assumed to be almost or fully homogeneous. For aluminum, copper, and several copper alloys it is indeed observed that Eq 2 agrees very well with the experimental Vickers hardness-strain relation from zero strain on up to the strain at fracture. Moreover nc' is, for several metals fairly equal to nc- Hence H = C1 + C2S [3] C1 and C2 are constants during uniform uniaxial tension. Eq 3 was also obtained for copper by Voce.3 According to Hencky's theory4 the ratio of the Brinell or Vickers hardness and the yieldstress (expressed in kg per mm2) of a non-strainhardening metal is approximately equal to 2.8. If Eq 1, 2 and 3 are correct the ratio Ht/S, must accordingly be the same for all plastic metals and be equal to 2.8. It is now experimentally established that this ratio varies between 2.7 and 3.1 with a mean value of 2.9. Taking into account that Ht and especially St can be obtained only by extrapolation from the range of rather low strains, the agreement with the theory is very satisfactory. References 1. J. H. Palm: Appl. Sci. Res. Al (1948) 198. 2. E. Voce: Jnl. Inst. of Met. (1948) 74, II, 537. 3. E. Voce: Metal Treatment (1948) 15, 53. 4. H. Hencky: Zlsch. f. angew. Math. and Mech. (1923) 3, 241.

Jan 1, 1950

William B. Cogswell, member of the Institute since 1872, died on June 7, 1921, at his home in New York City, after an illness of about six weeks occasioned by an infection of the middle car. Mr. Cogswell is survived by his wife, Mrs. Cora Brownell Cogswell; a son-in-law, and three grandchildren. His first wife died in 1877. William Cogswell was born at Oswego, Sept. 22, 1834, and was taken to Syracuse by his parents when he was four years old. He attended Hamilton Academy and private schools in Syracuse and Seneca Falls. In 1843, he visited England with his parents and brought back a set of drawing instruments, which led to a series of lessons in architecture under Luther Gifford, the only architect in Syracuse at the time. The boy drew many building plans and one set was used for the old Globe Hotel in Syracuse, erected in 1846 and 1847. In 1848, when only 14, he spent a year with a party that was surveying the route of the Syracuse & Oswego R. R. and relaying the tracks of the Utica & Syracuse R. R. He studied civil engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, for three years, but left that institution in 1852 without receiving his degree. Many years later, in 1884, the degree of C. E. was conferred upon him. During the three years following 1852, Mr. Cogswell served as an apprentice in machine shops at Lawrence, Mass., under the superintendence of John S. Hoadley. About 1856, he was made manager of the machinery department of the Marietta & Cincinnati R. R., at Chili-cothe, Ohio, and three years later became superintendent of the Broadway foundry at St. Louis, Mo. In 1860, in Syracuse, Mr. Cogswell was associated with William A. and A. Avery Sweet in the formation of Sweet Bros. & Co., which later became the Whitman & Barnes Mfg. Co. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Cogswell received a civilian appointment as mechanical engineer in the United States Navy. During 1860 he was located at Port Royal, S. C., having general supervision over the work of fitting up repair shops at five widely separated stations on the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico. In this year his genius and resourcefulness were notably shown. He literally launched a naval machine shop, so that warships could be repaired without leaving, and thereby weakening, blockades against Southern ports. The machine shop was assembled by Mr. Cogswell and shipped by boat to Port Royal. There an old whaler was made over for machine shop purposes and Mr.

Jan 1, 1922

William B. Cogswell, member of the Institute since 1872, died on June 7, 1921, at his home in New York City, after an illness of about six weeks occasioned by an infection of the middle car. Mr. Cogswell is survived by his wife, Mrs. Cora Brownell Cogswell; a son-in-law, and three grandchildren. His first wife died in 1877. William Cogswell was born at Oswego, Sept. 22, 1834, and was taken to Syracuse by his parents when he was four years old. He attended Hamilton Academy and private schools in Syracuse and Seneca Falls. In 1843, he visited England with his parents and brought back a set of drawing instruments, which led to a series of lessons in architecture under Luther Gifford, the only architect in Syracuse at the time. The boy drew many building plans and one set was used for the old Globe Hotel in Syracuse, erected in 1846 and 1847. In 1848, when only 14, he spent a year with a party that was surveying the route of the Syracuse & Oswego R. R. and relaying the tracks of the Utica & Syracuse R. R. He studied civil engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, for three years, but left that institution in 1852 without receiving his degree. Many years later, in 1884, the degree of C. E. was conferred upon him. During the three years following 1852, Mr. Cogswell served as an apprentice in machine shops at Lawrence, Mass., under the superintendence of John S. Hoadley. About 1856, he was made manager of the machinery department of the Marietta & Cincinnati R. R., at Chili-cothe, Ohio, and three years later became superintendent of the Broadway foundry at St. Louis, Mo. In 1860, in Syracuse, Mr. Cogswell was associated with William A. and A. Avery Sweet in the formation of Sweet Bros. & Co., which later became the Whitman & Barnes Mfg. Co. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Cogswell received a civilian appointment as mechanical engineer in the United States Navy. During 1860 he was located at Port Royal, S. C., having general supervision over the work of fitting up repair shops at five widely separated stations on the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico. In this year his genius and resourcefulness were notably shown. He literally launched a naval machine shop, so that warships could be repaired without leaving, and thereby weakening, blockades against Southern ports. The machine shop was assembled by Mr. Cogswell and shipped by boat to Port Royal. There an old whaler was made over for machine shop purposes and Mr.

Jan 1, 1922

By P. W. Neurath, R. E. Waite

INFORMATION is available on the effect of stress on permeability, coercive force, and hysteresis for a variety of materials' but for the technically important grain-oriented 3 pct Si-Fe' the stress effects are not adequately covered in the literature; in addition, most of the stress data do not permit estimation of what would happen to the 60 cycle watt losses of the material under stress. Direct measurement of these effects therefore has been made and appears to be of considerable theoretical as well as practical interest. Losses were measured on the central 25 cm portion of 40~3~0.035 cm samples which could be stressed in a small tensile machine built for this purpose. Under tension the following effects, illustrated in the figures by a particular example, were observed: 1—"Unstrained" material of commercially acceptable loss level shows no change or a small increase in loss at low elastic stresses. For the sample shown in the figures, this is illustrated during the initial run, where a 7 pct increase is observed (Fig. 1). 2—There is no additional change in loss when the sample is further strained up to the elastic limit (Fig. 1). Within that limit the loss-stress curve is reversible. This is not illustrated in Fig. 1. 3—Even in the plastic range only small increases in loss are observed as long as the sample is kept under stress (Fig. 2, point N); often no increase can be observed (Fig. 1). 4—A large increase in watt losses is observed after removal of the stress subsequent to plastic deformation (Figs. 1 and 2). 5—All, or nearly all, of the foregoing increase in loss due to plastic deformation can be eliminated by a reapplication of tensile stress but returns upon removal of this stress. This is illustrated in the third run (Fig. 3). This run remains within the elastic limit and shows the reversibility of the stress-loss curve under this condition. These findings have been confirmed on large Samples (approximately 200~10~0.035 cm and larger) except that under 1 no initial increase in loss was ever observed on these. The accuracy of the watt loss measurements is of the order of 1 pct. Neither bending of the sample in the tensioning device nor a redistribution of flux along the width of the sample accounts for these results. They therefore must be explained on the basis of either a change in the domain configuration due to stress or a change in the domain wall mobility. Acknowledgment The assistance of Mr. Robert L. TenBroeck with the instrumentation is gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1956

By AIME AIME

THE joint symposium on gases in metals on Tuesday: Feb. 16, between the Iron and Steel and the Institute of Metals divisions opened the technical sessions for both of these bodies. After a few words of introduction by P. D. Merica, R. S. Dean presented a paper by V. H: Gottshalk and himself on the solubility of gases in metals.

Jan 1, 1932

PRESIDENT L. D. RICKETTS,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. PAST PRESIDENTS BENJAMIN B. THAYER,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. WILLIAM L. SAUNDERS,2 NEW YORK, N. Y. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT SIDNEY J. JENNINGS1 NEW YORK, '_N. Y. TREASURER GEORGE C. STONE,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY EMERITUS ROSSITER W. RAYMOND, NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY BRADLEY STOUGHTON NEW YORK, N. Y.

Jan 4, 1916

By E. H. Crabtree, J. D. Vincent

Probably no metallurgical process in the history of the mining industry has been responsible for such increased mineral production as has flotation. It has made possible the economic treatment of low grade and complex ores which, with the old methods of gravity concentration, would have been classed as worthless. Starting with the sulfide ores of copper, lead, and zinc, the process has been applied to almost all metallic and nonmetallic minerals. Today, the sulfides of the common metals not only can be readily recovered, but can be separated from each other. Thus, three or four mineral recoveries from the same ore, such as galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and pyrite, are possible. Molybdenite is recovered initially with copper sulfides and the two are subsequently separated. Flotation of metallic gold and of native copper and graphite is being commercially practiced. The carbonates of some of the base metals, principally those of lead, can also be concentrated. Flotation of the oxides, silicates, phosphates, and other so-called non- metallic minerals represents the greatest advance in the art in the last few years. Today, commercial plants are successfully treating such minerals as feldspar, garnet, ilmenite, muscovite, cassiterite, cement rock, fluorspar, phosphate rock, sylvite, and a host of others. Flotation of the various types of iron ores along with other concentration methods is today the subject of a tremendous amount of investigation on the iron ranges. EARLY PATENT HISTORY OF FROTH FLOTATION Although what we call the froth flotation process as distinguished from bulk oil processes was not used commercially until 1905, many investigators had recognized its possibilities long before the twentieth century. The principal patents issued throughout the years give us a method of recording early flotation history. BULK OIL PROCESSES: In 1860, William Haynes patented (British Patent 488) a process for separating oil-wetted sulfide minerals from water-wetted gangue minerals by agitating the dry ground ore with oil and then the mixture with water. In 1877, the Bessel brothers patented (German Patent 42, Class 22) a process where a mixture of graphite ore was mixed with 1 to 10% oil; after adding water, the

Jan 1, 1962

By W. R. Crane

Mining of the red iron ores of the Birmingham district has been carried on energetically during the past 60 years, and their development has created a large iron and steel manufacturing center, the only important one in the South. The district produces approximately 10 per cent. of all the iron ore of the United States (80 per cent. of the Alabama ore mined is red ore); also, 40 of the 400 blast furnaces of the country are in the district tributary to Birmingham. The rapid growth of the district has been made possible through investigations that resulted in radical changes in furnace practice, and a still greater impetus will come from the study of the low-grade, high-silica ores, as a result on which they will be made amenable to treatment by concentration. Mining practice in this district has been comparatively simple because of the occurrence of the ore; but with the rapid extension of the workings and the disturbed condition of the ore bed at some distance from the outcrop, more difficult conditions are encountered and the tendency is toward worse rather than better conditions. Should the high-silica ores of the lower bench of the Big Seam become available through beneficiation, mining practice will have to be modified to meet the new conditions, which will be rendered more difficult by the increased weight of cover that will exist at considerable distances from the outcrop. Support of workings will require greater attention and the efficient and economical operation of the mines will depend largely on the successful solution of the problems of working and handling the ore. History and EaRly Development The first explorers of the coal and mineral lands of Alabama were blacksmiths and mechanics mustered out of the army after the war of 1812. These men recognized the red rock of the Birmingham district as iron ore, and utilized it in making cooking utensils and farm implements. The first blast furnace was built and operated at Russellville in 1818, where also was a foundry and rolling mill. Soft ore was used at that time, but, in 1864, the first red hematite ore of Red Mountain was smelted, near Irondale. Birmingham was founded in 1871, and the successful use of coke in making pig iron in 1876 was the beginning of

Jan 1, 1925

C. H. MATHEWSON, Chairman SAM TOUR, Past-chairman W. A. SCHEUCH, Vice-chairman T. S. FULLER, Vice-chairman W. M. CORSE, Secretary-Treasurer 810 Eighteenth St., N. W. Washington, D. C. Executive Committee J. L. CHRISTIE ARTHUR PHILLIPS E. H. Dix, JR. GUY C. RIDDELL W. M. PRIRCE J. WALTER SCOTT' A. J. PHILLIPS' H. M. WILLIAMS EL M. WISE

Jan 1, 1932

COMMITTEES. Precious and Base Metals. Charles W. Goodale, Chairman.. L. D. Ricketts, Vice-Chairman Darsie C. Bard, Secretary, Montana State School of Mines, Butte, Mont. Leonard S. Austin, Thomas J. Grier, Willet G. Miller, David W. Brunton, Hennen Jennings, Albert F. Schneider, Theodore B. Comstock, Edmund B. Kirby, George C. Stone, Stanley A. Easton, Charles W. Merrill, Benjamin B. Thayer. Samuel S. Fowler,

Jan 11, 1913

By AIME AIME

COUNCIL. PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. CHARLES KIRCHHOFF NEW YORK, N. Y. (Term expires February, 1912.) VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE COUNCIL. BENJAMIN B. LAWRENCE NEW YORK, N. Y. JOSEPH W. RICHARDS SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PA. ALBERT SAUVEUR CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (Term expires February, 1912.) B. CHRISTY BERKELEY, CAL. W. A. LATHROP PHILADELPHIA, PA. GARDNER F. WILLIAMS WASHINGTON, D. C. (Term expires February, 1913.)

Sep 1, 1911

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. D. W. BRUNTON DENVER, COLO. (Term expires February, 1910 ) VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE COUNCIL. J. PARKE CHANNING NEW YORK, N. Y. FREDERICK W. DENTON PAINESDALE, MICH. JOHN B. FARISH NEW YORK, N. Y. (Term expires February, 1910 ) W. C. RALSTON SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. W. L. SAUNDERS NEW YORK, N. Y. H. V. WINCHELL MINNEAPOLIS, MINK. (Term expires February, 1911 )

Jan 1, 1910

PRESIDENT L. D. RICKETTS,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. PAST PRESIDENTS BENJAMIN B. THAYER,1 NEW YORK, N, Y. WILLIAM L. SAUNDERS,2 NEW YORK, N. Y. FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT SIDNEY J. JENNINGS,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. TREASURER GEORGE C. STONE,1 NEW YORK, N. Y. SECRETARY EMERITUS ROSSITER W.. RAYMOND NEW YORK, N. Y SECRETARY BRADLEY STOUGHTON NEW YORK, N. Y.

Jan 6, 1916

By William P. Blake

THE phenomena of concentric arrangement of minerals in rock-masses, generally known as "orbicular structure," have of late received much attention from investigators. Lawson, of the University of California, has described the orbicular gabbro at Dehesa, San Diego county, Cal. Kessler and Hamilton, of Stanford University, working independently upon the same subject, published their descriptions,2 giving also a list of many other localities in Europe and America where orbicular rocks are found, adding copious references to the literature of the subject. The orbicular diorite of the type locality in Corsica., familiar to mineralogists and petrologists under the name "Napoleonite," was described by Vogelslang in 1862.3 Chrustschoff, of St. Petersburg, has also given much atten¬tion to the subject, and is the author of a classification of the various known forms of orbicular structure.4 No complete and satisfactory explanation of the origin of or¬bicular aggregations in rocks has yet been offered. The patent fact is generally recognized that the constituent minerals have crystallized from a more or less molten or plastic magma, but why these minerals should be arranged in concentric spheres or crusts has not been clearly shown. Vogelslang, for example,

Jul 1, 1905

Members whose deaths were reported from Mar. 5, 1919, to Apr. 5. 1920 [Elected Died 1895 ANDERSON, ROBERT HAY 1920 1916 ATWATER, M. W 1919 1905 BARD, D. C. 1920 1893 BECKER, GEORGE F 1919 1914 BIGELOW, BRAXTON 1917 1917 BLACK, HERBERT F 1919 1911 BOWLER, ROBERT P 1919 1902 BROWN, ARTHUR H 1919 1913 BURNHAM, WILLIAM 1918 1905 Carnegie. Andrew 1919] [ ]

Jan 1, 1925

The following list of US companies, mines, and mills engaged in uranium production was compiled by the Health and Safety Analysis Center, Mine Safety and Health Administration, in Denver, Colo. The list includes those companies reporting to the Center in 1978. Thanks to D. K. Walker, Chief of the Health and Safety Analysis Center, for providing the information to MINING ENGINEERING.

Jan 10, 1978

MINING METHODS. JAY A. CARPENTER, Chairman P. B. BUCKY, Vice-Chairman CLYDE E. WEED, Vice-Chairman ROY A. HARDY, Secretary Alluvial Mining CLINTON BERNARD O. B. PERRY NORMAN CLEAVELAND C. M. ROMANOWITZ R. B. EARL! NO J. B. STAPLER BENERE H. GRANT CHARLES THURMAN Open-Cut Mining Iron A. D. CHISHOLM P. G. HARRISON G. E. DIEHL EARL E. RUNNER G. E. LEVEQOE

Jan 1, 1942

By N. Mungan

Laboratory imbibition and displacement experiments were performed using crude oil and cores drilled with water and preserved under anaerobic conditions. The purpose of these tests was to determine reservoir rock wettability and to find out if more oil could be recovered by use of NaOH solution than by conventional waterflooding. The preserved cores were found to be oil-wet. Contrary to work in the literature, these cores changed to water-wet upon contact with air. After exposure to air for a week, the cores yielded more oil by waterflooding than when preserved under exclusion of air. At reservoir temperature of 160F, flooding the preserved cores with 0.5N NaOH solution recovered more oil than an ordinary wa-terflood, and additional oil when following a waterflood. When the caustic solution was used from the beginning, all the extra oil was obtained before breakthrough; when the caustic followed a conventional waterflood, the extra oil was produced in the form of an oil bank ahead of the injected caustic. The increase in oil recovery resulted from wettability reversal. Also, use of caustic reduced the volume of injection required to flood out the cores. At room temperature, however, the caustic solution did not reverse the wettability and gave no additional oil recovery. Cores which had become water-wet by air exposure or caustic flooding were restored to their original oil-wet state when saturated with crude oil and allowed to equcilibrate at reservoir temperature for two weeks. Therefore, in the absence of preserved cores, it may be possible to restore weathered cores to their original wettability for use in laboratory floods. INTRODUCTION Waterflooding has been in use since 1865, and is by far the simplest of secondary recovery methods. Unfortunately, most waterfloods are inefficient in recovering oil, often leaving half or more of the original oil in place un-recovered. The low oil recovery generally results from low sweep efficiency and low displacement efficiency. Consequently, to increase oil recovery by waterflooding, sweep and displacement efficiencies should be improved. Sweep efficiency is primarily affected by reservoir heterogeneities and mobility ratio, while displacement efficiency is affected by the capillary forces between fluids and rock surfaces. For petroleum reservoirs, the capillary forces are expressed in terms of interfacial tension and wettability. If oil recovery is to be improved significantly in water- flooding, the capillary forces holding the oil in the raervoir porous matrix must be reduced or eliminated. One way to reduce capillary forces is to inject commercial surfactants ahead of the injection water into the reservoir. Laboratory tests of this method have shown no promise of an economical process yet, and no increase in oil recovery was obtained in the field trials which have been reported. Work is continuing in many companies to find surface-active agents which, in workable concentrations, can yield substantial added oil recovery. Another way to change capillary forces operating in petroleum reservoirs is by changing the pH of the injected water. Wagner et al.' showed that change in the pH sometimes activates the surface-active materials natural to some crudes and brings about gross wettability change. Since pH alteration can be obtained with cheap chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide, the process shows promise of being economical in a field application. Pan American Oil Corp. reported oil recovery by use of caustic solution from a flooded-out reservoir.' Their test, conducted at a small additional cost, yielded results which were so sufficiently favorable and encouraging that the wettability reversal flood was expanded to portions of the field not previously flooded.13 It is important to bear in mind that changes in the pH of the water not only can reverse wettability but also can lower the interfacial tension between water and crude oil. Reisberg and Doscher4 have studied the pH dependency of the interfacial tension of Venture crude using sodium hydroxide solutions of various concentrations. Their data show that the interfacial tension was lowered from 23.0 to 0.02 dynes/cm by increasing the NaOH concentration from 0.005 to 0.5 per cent by weight. Thus, the use of NaOH may lead to additional oil recovery due to both wettability reversal and lowering of interfacial tension. Whether alteration of pH results in wettability reversal from oil-wet to water-wet and increases oil recovery depends on wetting properties of the reservoir rock and the crude. This necessitates delicate laboratory experiments, with suitable core and fluid samples from a field. Although many investigators have studied wettability reversal floods in the laboratory,1,2,5,6 these studies have been carried out with synthetic porous media, refined laboratory fluids and surface-active chemicals to simulate the process. The study presented in this paper is the first time that wettability reversal by pH alteration has been accomolished in laboratory core floods using carefully preserved natural cores, live crude and with experiments performed at reservoir pressure and temperature.

Jan 1, 1967